第 15 节
作者:恐龙王      更新:2021-02-21 14:13      字数:9322
  until the calf was pushed back into a buffalo wallow in a sitting posture。
  The   boys   shouted:   〃He   has   subdued   the   buffalo   calf!      He   made   it   sit
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  down!〃      And from this incident was derived his familiar name of Sitting
  Bull。
  It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull; or any other Indian warrior;
  was of a murderous disposition。            It is true that savage warfare had grown
  more and more harsh and cruel since the coming of white traders among
  them; bringing guns; knives; and whisky。             Yet it was still regarded largely
  as a    sort of game; undertaken in order to develop the manly qualities of
  their youth。      It was the  degree of risk which  brought honor; rather  than
  the number slain; and a brave must mourn thirty days; with blackened face
  and   loosened   hair;   for   the   enemy   whose   life   he   had   taken。  While   the
  spoils     of   war    were     allowed;     this   did    not   extend     to   territorial
  aggrandizement; nor was there any wish to overthrow another nation and
  enslave   its   people。    It   was   a   point   of   honor   in   the   old   days   to   treat   a
  captive     with   kindness。     The     common       impression     that   the  Indian    is
  naturally  cruel   and   revengeful   is   entirely  opposed   to   his   philosophy  and
  training。    The revengeful tendency of the Indian was aroused by the white
  man。     It is not the natural Indian who is mean and tricky; not Massasoit
  but King Philip; not Attackullakulla but Weatherford; not Wabashaw but
  Little Crow; not Jumping Buffalo but Sitting Bull!               These men lifted their
  hands against the white man; while their fathers held theirs out to him with
  gifts。
  Remember        that  there   were   councils    which    gave   their  decisions    in
  accordance with the highest ideal of human justice before there were any
  cities on this continent; before there were bridges to span the Mississippi;
  before this network of railroads was dreamed of!                 There were primitive
  communities   upon   the   very  spot   where   Chicago   or   New York   City   now
  stands;    where    men    were    as  children;   innocent     of  all  the  crimes    now
  committed       there    daily   and   nightly。     True     morality    is  more     easily
  maintained in connection with the simple life。              You must accept the truth
  that you demoralize any race whom you have subjugated。
  From this point of view we shall consider Sitting Bull's career。                   We
  say he is an untutored man: that is true so far as learning of a literary type
  is concerned; but he was not an untutored man when you view him from
  the standpoint of his nation。        To be sure; he did not learn his lessons from
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  books。     This is second…hand information at best。              All that he learned he
  verified for himself and put into daily practice。               In personal appearance
  he was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression; but as he
  talked   he   seemed   to   take   hold   of   his   hearers   more   and   more。  He   was
  bull…headed; quick to grasp a situation; and not readily induced to change
  his mind。      He was not suspicious until he was forced to be so。                  All his
  meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events of his later career。
  Sitting Bull's history has been written many times by newspaper men
  and army officers; but I find no account of him which is entirely correct。
  I met him personally in 1884; and since his death I have gone thoroughly
  into the  details of his   life  with his relatives   and   contemporaries。           It has
  often been said that he was a physical coward and not a warrior。                  Judge of
  this for   yourselves   from the deed   which first gave him fame   in   his  own
  tribe; when he was about twenty…eight years old。
  In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians; one of the enemy took his
  stand;   after   the   rest   had   fled;   in   a   deep   ditch   from which   it   seemed
  impossible to dislodge him。            The situation had already cost the lives of
  several warriors; but they could not let him go to repeat such a boast over
  the Sioux!
  〃Follow me!〃 said   Sitting Bull;   and charged。            He raced his horse   to
  the   brim   of   the   ditch   and   struck   at   the   enemy   with   his   coup…staff;   thus
  compelling him to expose himself to the fire of the others while shooting
  his assailant。     But the Crow merely poked his empty gun into his face and
  dodged back under cover。           Then Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that no one
  had   followed   him;   and   he   also   perceived   that   the   enemy   had   no   more
  ammunition   left。      He   rode   deliberately   up   to   the   barrier   and   threw   his
  loaded gun over it; then he went back to his party and told them what he
  thought of them。
  〃Now;〃   said   he;   〃I   have   armed   him;   for   I   will   not   see   a   brave   man
  killed unarmed。        I will strike him again with my coup…staff to count the
  first feather; who will count the second?〃
  Again he led the charge; and this time they all followed him。                   Sitting
  Bull   was   severely  wounded   by   his   own   gun   in   the   hands   of   the   enemy;
  who was killed by those that came after him。                This is a record that so far
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  as I know was never made by any other warrior。
  The second incident that made him well known was his taking of a boy
  captive   in   battle   with   the   Assiniboines。    He   saved   this   boy's   life  and
  adopted   him   as   his   brother。    Hohay;   as   he   was   called;   was   devoted   to
  Sitting Bull   and helped  much   in later   years   to spread his   fame。          Sitting
  Bull was a born diplomat; a ready speaker; and in middle life he ceased to
  go upon the warpath; to become the councilor of his people。                     From this
  time on; this man represented him in all important battles; and upon every
  brave deed done was wont to exclaim aloud:
  〃I; Sitting Bull's boy; do this in his name!〃
  He had a nephew; now living; who resembles him strongly; and who
  also represented him personally upon the field; and so far as there is any
  remnant left of his immediate band; they look upon this man One Bull as
  their chief。
  When Sitting Bull was a boy; there was no thought of trouble with the
  whites。     He    was    acquainted     with   many    of   the  early   traders;   Picotte;
  Choteau; Primeau; Larpenteur; and others; and liked them; as did most of
  his people in those days。        All the early records show this friendly attitude
  of   the   Sioux;   and    the  great   fur  companies      for  a  century    and   a  half
  depended   upon   them   for   the   bulk   of   their   trade。   It   was   not   until   the
  middle of the last century that they woke up all of a sudden to the danger
  threatening their very existence。          Yet at that time many of the old chiefs
  had been already  depraved by the   whisky and other   vices of the   whites;
  and in the vicinity of the forts and trading posts at Sioux City; Saint Paul;
  and   Cheyenne;       there  was   general    demoralization。      The     drunkards     and
  hangers…on were ready to sell almost anything they had for the favor of the
  trader。    The   better   and   stronger   element   held   aloof。     They   would   not
  have anything of the white man except his hatchet; gun; and knife。                    They
  utterly refused to cede their lands; and as for the rest; they were willing to
  let him alone as long as he did not interfere with their life and customs;
  which was not long。
  It was not; however; the Unkpapa band of Sioux; Sitting Bull's band;
  which first took up arms against the whites; and this was not because they
  had come less in contact with them; for they dwelt on the Missouri River;
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  the natural highway of trade。          As early as 1854; the Ogallalas and Brules
  had    trouble    with   the   soldiers   near   Fort   Laramie;     and   again   in    1857
  Inkpaduta      massacred      several   families   of   settlers  at  Spirit  Lake;    Iowa。
  Finally; in 1869; the Minnesota Sioux; goaded by many wrongs; arose and
  mu