The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-07-20
Autobiography Of Sittihg-BuI
IFrom the New York Herald. I

Army Medical Museum of this city is an
autobiography of Sitting-Bull, gotten up
in the highest style of the art of savage
picture history, and telling, in fifty-five
drawings or sketches, the story of his
life down to 1870. Each picture is rude
ly outlined in ink, the men, horses and
other objects being such as children
would make. Many of them are partly
filled IN with red and blue colors, as if
Sitting-BHll had at some time got pos
session of one of the red and blue pen
ellis so well known in newspaper offices,
and with it elaborated his pictorial eff
forts. Blood or wound is indicated
by red blotch with streamers falling
down from it. The blue is used gener-
ally IN indicating the white mans pam
falcons. Each picture is made on a
shee5~of papsr eight by ten inches, and
is pasted into a book of blank leaves,
such as are used for a scrap book. By
holding the sheets up to the light it is
seen that they are the muster-roll blanks
of the 3lst United States Infantry, of
which Col. De TrobIiand was the com
mandant. The papers probably fell in
to Sitting Bulls hands at the evaeua-
ton of camp, or, as is more likely,
were stolen by him during visit to
some of o@ outposts. Sitting-BuIl is
not at all modest in committing to pos
terity the --t .- ..r
STORY OF HIS GREAT DEEDS.
Whether it be the scalping of a soldier
in battle or the sly theft of mule, he
brags equally of his prowess in his Gu
riOus autobiography. This literary
work, which is now likely to be famous,
fell into the hands of Assistant Surgeon
James G. Kimball, of the army, in the
month of August, 1870, while he was.
stationed at Fort Buford, Dakota Terri
tory. He had the pictures translated,
and sent them, with the translations
and an index, to the Curator of the
Army Medical Museum, Washington,
Surgeon George A. Otis, United States
Army, who has filed them, in book
shape, among the archives of the Dlu-
scum. The introduction, written by
DR.. Kimball, goes on to say that the
contains description of
the principal adventures in the life of
Sitting-Bull, who is an Unk-pa-pa chief.
1t was sketched by himself in the pic
ture language, in common use with the
Indians. Since the establishment of
Fort Buford, in 1866, Sitting Bull, ut
the head of from sixty to seventy war
riors, had been the terror of mail-car-
riers, woOd-choppers and small parties
in the vicinity of the post and from 100
to 200 miles from it either way, up and
down the Missouri River. During the
time from 1866 to 1870, when the biOgra-
ply was written, this band had several
times captured and destroyed the mail,
and had stolen and run off over 200
head of cattle and killed near a score of
white men in the immediate vicinity of
the fort. The Unk-pa-pas are q tribe
of the great Sioux Nation, living in the
Yellowstone and Powder River coun-
tries.
STORY OF THE BOOK.
The book was brought into Fort Bu-
ford by YanktonnaiS Sioux, and offer
ed for sale and purchased for 81 30
worth of provisions. The Indian gave
statements regarding the
manner in which he came into posses
sion of the book, exciting suspicion that
he had stolen it from Sitting Bull, who,
in his turn, undoubtedly stole the book
in blank from the whites. An index
has been prepared by the assistance of
Indians and interpreters explanatory of
the drawings. The word " COUP"
which occurs frequently in the index,
has been appropriated by the Sioux
from the French. Counting coup"
signifies the striking of an enemy, eth
er dead or alive, with q stick, bow,
lance or other weapon. The number OF
50 coups" counted are enumerated along
with the number of horses stolen and
scalps taken in summing up the brave
deeds of warrior. The following is
the index prepared by DR.. Kimball, de-
scriptive of each picture or scene in
life:
THE INDEX.
No. 1. Sitting-Bull, young man without
reputation, and therefore wearing no feath-
er, engages in his first battle and charges his
enemy, a Crow Indian, who is in the act of
drawing his bow, rides him down and strikes
him with ''cOup' stick.
Sitting Bulls autograph, 4 buffalo bull
sitting on his launches, i inscribed over
him. His shield, suspended in front, has
on it the figure Of an eagle which he cOnsid-
ers his medicine, in the Indian sense Of the
term.
No. .. Sitting Bull, wearing war bonnet,
is leader of a war party who take party OF
Crows, consisting of three women and
man, so completely by surprise that the man
has not time to draw his arrows from the
culver. Sitting Bull kills one woman with
his lance and captures another. the man
meanwhile endeavOring to drag him from
his horse; from which it is supposed he is
forced to desist by others Of the war party.
The fate only of Sitting-Bull and his vic
tins is given in this history.
No. 8. SittingBull pursuing his enemy,
a Crow Indian, whom he strikes with his
lance.
No. 4. Lances a Crow woman.
No. ). Lances a Crow Indian.
No. 6. Sitting-Bull twice wounded and
unhorsed; his enemy, Grow, at length
killed by shot in the abdomen and his
scalp taken and hung to Sitting Bulls bri-
die.
No. I. In an engagement with the Crows,
Bull mOrtally wounds one Of the en-
emy, and, dropping his lance, rides up and
strikes him with his whip. The lines and
dashes in the picture represent the arrows
and bullets that were flying in the air dur
ing the combat.
No. s. Counts Coup on a Gros Ventre
de Prairie by striking him with his lance.
GrOs Ventre distinguished from Crow by
of wearing the hair.
No. 9. Lances a Crow Indian.
No. 10. A Crow Indian attempts to seize
Sitting-Bu horse by the bride; Sitting
Bull knocks him down with coup stick,
takes his scalp and hangs it to his bride.
No. II. Sitting Bull, with his brother
mounted behind him, kills white man, a
soldier.
No. u. Counts "coup' on a white man
by hitting him with coup stick.
No. 10. In a warm engagement with the
whites, as shown by the bullets flying about,
Sitting Bull shoots an arrow through the
body of soldier. who turns and fires,
wounding Sitting Bull in the hip.
No. IA. Sitting-Bull counts coup on
white man by striking him with his bow.
Sitting-Bull wears a jacket and bandanna
handkerchief taken from some OF his victims.
Nos. 10 to - are repetitiOns Of No. IA,
Sitting Bull in each counting Coup on a
white man.
No. %. Sitting-Bull shoots a frontiers
man wearing a buckskin shirt, takes his
scalp, which he hangs to his own bride,
and captures his horse. Sitting-Bull wears
a blanket.
No. "a. Sitting Bull strikes a white SOL
dier with his Coup stick, takes his scalp
and his mule; wears a war shirt.
No. %. Counts ''cOup" on a soldier
Il