第 3 节
作者:恐龙王      更新:2021-02-21 14:13      字数:9320
  uttermost   the   evident   purpose   of   the   government。          Red   Cloud   was   not
  altogether   ignorant   of   the   numerical   strength   and   the   resourcefulness   of
  the white man; but he was determined to face any odds rather than submit。
  〃Hear      ye;  Dakotas!〃      he   exclaimed。       〃When       the   Great    Father    at
  Washington   sent   us   his   chief   soldier   'General   Harney'   to   ask   for   a   path
  through our hunting grounds; a way for his iron road to the mountains and
  the western sea; we were told that they wished merely to pass through our
  country; not to tarry among us; but to seek for gold in the far west。                      Our
  old   chiefs   thought   to   show   their   friendship   and   good   will;   when   they
  allowed this dangerous snake in our midst。                 They promised to protect the
  wayfarers。
  〃Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold; the Great Father is
  building   his   forts   among   us。      You   have   heard   the   sound   of   the   white
  soldier's   ax   upon   the  Little  Piney。     His   presence here is   an   insult   and   a
  threat。    It is an insult to the spirits of our ancestors。           Are we then to give
  up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn?                Dakotas; I am for war!〃
  In   less   than   a   week   after  this   speech;   the  Sioux   advanced   upon   Fort
  Phil   Kearny;     the   new   sentinel    that   had   just  taken    her   place   upon    the
  farthest   frontier;   guarding   the   Oregon   Trail。       Every   detail   of   the   attack
  had   been   planned   with   care;   though   not   without   heated   discussion;   and
  nearly   every   well…known   Sioux   chief   had   agreed   in   striking   the   blow。
  The   brilliant   young   war   leader;   Crazy   Horse;   was   appointed   to   lead   the
  charge。      His lieutenants were Sword; Hump; and Dull Knife; with Little
  Chief of the Cheyennes; while the older men acted as councilors。                         Their
  success was instantaneous。            In less than half an hour; they had cut down
  nearly a hundred men under Captain Fetterman; whom they drew out of
  8
  … Page 9…
  INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
  the fort by a ruse and then annihilated。
  Instead of sending troops to punish; the government sent a commission
  to treat with the Sioux。        The result was the famous treaty of 1868; which
  Red Cloud was the last to sign; having refused to do so until all of the forts
  within     their   territory   should    be   vacated。     All    of  his   demands      were
  acceded to; the new road abandoned; the garrisons withdrawn; and in the
  new treaty it was distinctly stated that the Black Hills and the Big Horn
  were Indian country; set apart for their perpetual occupancy; and that no
  white man should enter that region without the consent of the Sioux。
  Scarcely was this treaty signed; however; when gold was discovered in
  the   Black   Hills;   and   the   popular   cry  was:   〃Remove   the   Indians!〃      This
  was   easier   said   than   done。    That   very   territory   had   just   been   solemnly
  guaranteed   to   them  forever:   yet   how   stem  the   irresistible   rush   for   gold?
  The government; at first; entered some small protest; just enough to 〃save
  its face〃 as the saying is; but there was no serious attempt to prevent the
  wholesale violation of the treaty。          It was this state of affairs that led to the
  last   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
  9
  … Page 10…
  INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
  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
  10
  … Page 11…
  INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
  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。
  11
  … Page 12…
  INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
  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