第 3 节
作者:闲来一看      更新:2024-01-16 22:40      字数:9321
  great speech made by Red Cloud; at a gathering upon the Little
  Rosebud River。  It is brief; and touches upon the hopelessness of
  their future as a race。  He seems at about this time to have
  reached the conclusion that resistance could not last much longer;
  in fact; the greater part of the Sioux nation was already under
  government control。
  〃We are told;〃 said he; 〃that Spotted Tail has consented to be
  the Beggars' Chief。  Those Indians who go over to the white man can
  be nothing but beggars; for he respects only riches; and how can an
  Indian be a rich man?  He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian。
  As for me; I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great
  Father; but his memory is short。  I am now done with him。  This is
  all I have to say。〃
  The wilder bands separated soon after this council; to follow
  the drift of the buffalo; some in the vicinity of the Black Hills
  and others in the Big Horn region。  Small war parties came down
  from time to time upon stray travelers; who received no mercy at
  their hands; or made dashes upon neighboring forts。  Red Cloud
  claimed the right to guard and hold by force; if need be; all this
  territory which had been conceded to his people by the treaty of
  1868。  The land became a very nest of outlawry。  Aside from
  organized parties of prospectors; there were bands of white horse
  thieves and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to
  plunder immigrants and Indians alike。
  An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish
  control and force all the Indians upon reservations; and another
  commission was sent to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory;
  but met with an absolute refusal。  After much guerrilla warfare; an
  important military campaign against the Sioux was set on foot in
  1876; ending in Custer's signal defeat upon the Little Big Horn。
  In this notable battle; Red Cloud did not participate in
  person; nor in the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud;
  but he had a son in both fights。  He was now a councilor rather
  than a warrior; but his young men were constantly in the field;
  while Spotted Tail had definitely surrendered and was in close
  touch with representatives of the government。
  But the inevitable end was near。  One morning in the fall of
  1876 Red Cloud was surrounded by United States troops under the
  command of Colonel McKenzie; who disarmed his people and brought
  them into Fort Robinson; Nebraska。  Thence they were removed to the
  Pine Ridge agency; where he lived for more than thirty years as a
  〃reservation Indian。〃  In order to humiliate him further;
  government authorities proclaimed the more tractable Spotted Tail
  head chief of the Sioux。  Of course; Red Cloud's own people never
  recognized any other chief。
  In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh; of Yale; head of a
  scientific expedition to the Bad Lands; charging certain frauds at
  the agency and apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter
  was considered worthy of official investigation。  In 1890…1891;
  during the 〃Ghost Dance craze〃 and the difficulties that followed;
  he was suspected of collusion with the hostiles; but he did not
  join them openly; and nothing could be proved against him。  He was
  already an old man; and became almost entirely blind before his
  death in 1909 in his ninetieth year。
  His private life was exemplary。  He was faithful to one wife
  all his days; and was a devoted father to his children。  He was
  ambitious for his only son; known as Jack Red Cloud; and much
  desired him to be a great warrior。  He started him on the warpath
  at the age of fifteen; not then realizing that the days of Indian
  warfare were well…nigh at an end。
  Among latter…day chiefs; Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man;
  simple and direct in speech; courageous in action; an ardent lover
  of his country; and possessed in a marked degree of the manly
  qualities characteristic of the American Indian in his best days。
  SPOTTED TAIL
  Among the Sioux chiefs of the 〃transition period〃 only one was
  shrewd enough to read coming events in their true light。  It is
  said of Spotted Tail that he was rather a slow…moving boy;
  preferring in their various games and mimic battles to play the
  role of councilor; to plan and assign to the others their parts in
  the fray。  This he did so cleverly that he soon became a leader
  among his youthful contemporaries; and withal he was apt at mimicry
  and impersonation; so that the other boys were accustomed to say of
  him; 〃He has his grandfather's wit and the wisdom of his
  grandmother!〃
  Spotted Tail was an orphan; reared by his grandparents; and at
  an early age compelled to shift for himself。  Thus he was somewhat
  at a disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have
  helped to develop in him courage and ingenuity。  One little
  incident of his boy life; occurring at about his tenth year; is
  characteristic of the man。  In the midst of a game; two boys became
  involved in a dispute which promised to be a serious one; as both
  drew knives。  The young Spotted Tail instantly began to cry; 〃The
  Shoshones are upon us!  To arms! to arms!〃 and the other boys
  joined in the war whoop。  This distracted the attention of the
  combatants and ended the affair。
  Upon the whole; his boyhood is not so well remembered as is
  that of most of his leading contemporaries; probably because he had
  no parents to bring him frequently before the people; as was the
  custom with the wellborn; whose every step in their progress toward
  manhood was publicly announced at a feast given in their honor。  It
  is known; however; that he began at an early age to carve out a
  position for himself。  It is personal qualities alone that tell
  among our people; and the youthful Spotted Tail gained at every
  turn。  At the age of seventeen; he had become a sure shot and a
  clever hunter; but; above all; he had already shown that he
  possessed a superior mind。  He had come into contact with white
  people at the various trading posts; and according to his own story
  had made a careful study of the white man's habits and modes of
  thought; especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense
  desire to accumulate property。  He was accustomed to watch closely
  and listen attentively whenever any of this strange race had
  dealings with his people。  When a council was held; and the other
  young men stood at a distance with their robes over their faces so
  as to avoid recognition; Spotted Tail always put himself in a
  position to hear all that was said on either side; and weighed all
  the arguments in his mind。
  When he first went upon the warpath; it appears that he was;
  if anything; overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his
  people; and as a matter of fact; it was especially hard for him to
  gain an assured position among the Brules; with whom he lived; both
  because he was an orphan; and because his father had been of
  another band。  Yet it was not long before he had achieved his
  ambition; though in doing so he received several ugly wounds。  It
  was in a battle with the Utes that he first notably served his
  people and their cause。
  The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the
  Sioux on this occasion。  Many of their bravest young men had
  fallen; and the Brules were face to face with utter annihilation;
  when Spotted Tail; with a handful of daring horsemen; dodged around
  the enemy's flank and fell upon them from the rear with so much
  spirit that they supposed that strong reinforcements had arrived;
  and retreated in confusion。  The Sioux pursued on horseback; and it
  was in this pursuit that the noted chief Two Strike gained his
  historical name。  But the chief honors of the fight belonged to
  Spotted Tail。  The old chiefs; Conquering Bear and the rest;
  thanked him and at once made him a war chief。
  It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise
  to allow the white man so much freedom in our country; long before
  the older chiefs saw any harm in it。  After the opening of the
  Oregon Trail he; above all the others; was watchful of the conduct
  of the Americans as they journeyed toward the setting sun; and more
  than once he remarked in council that these white men were not like
  the French and the Spanish; with whom our old chiefs had been used
  to deal。  He was not fully satisfied with the agreement with
  General Harney; but as a young warrior who had only just gained his
  position in the council; he could not force his views upon the
  older men。
  No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux
  than Fort Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened; and
  the soldiers became more insolent and overbearing than ever。  It
  was soon discovered that the whites were prepared to violate most
  of the articles of their treaty as the Indians understood it。  At
  this time; the presence of many Mormon emigrants on their way to
  the settlements in Utah and