American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-09-09
SIEI1NG-BULL.

The Romance Knocked Ont Of the His.
tory of This Wicked and Dirty Old Red
| Skin.
| [From the st. Paul Pioneer.]
The inventive genius of the novelists
has been taxed to its utmost degree in
covering the dirty, greasy, copper-col-
ored hide of Sitting Bull with the CLAM
our of romance. One of these imagi-
native writer's is satisfied with nothing
less than the idea that Sitting-Bull is
u West Point cadet in disguise, and that
he possesses the military genius, STRAIT
egy and foresight of Napoleon or a
Grant. Another pictures him as brave
and thoughtful son of the forest-a pic
turesque Logan or Metamora, who, with
q buffalo toga folded across his manly
abdomen, and with melancholy mien,
PAGES up and down his wagwam, NUT
tering to himself, sWhere is the home
of my fathers? Once upon time my
noble ancestors trod in majesty from
New York to Omaha, and from st. Paul
TO Eads's jetties, and to-day their
wronged and prosecuted SONS must hunt
buffalo meat and chokecherries among
the Big Horn Mountains! Who is there
to care for Sitting-Bull? Not one.
Pale-face, beware!" And Herald in
terviewer says Sitting-Bull looks like
Tilden or European gentleman; that
he is a military master, drills his troops
like any general of militia, and that he
is bent upon discriminating the white
mani Much more fustian of the same
sort is put forth every day by all sorts
OF writer's, VINO know aio -Ge.o-e about
Sitting Bull or his gang than they do OF
the King of Dahomey and his army of
Amazons.
The simple fact is that Sitting-Bull is
only brave and bloody Indian chief
tain, like Little Crow, Little Priest,
Hole-in-the-Day, or any other leader of
savage cut throats. That he is a master
of military science is all CANNON, with
out particle of foundation. Give the
Indians large numerical superiority,
they become courageous and effective,
for the warriors are all braves, and like
the Russian Cossacks, Egyptian Mama
lukes, or Arabian freebooters, are good
horsemen and independent fighters, who
can harass well drilled army and cap
ture caravan, but who make no pre-
tensions to skillful warfare. But when
the enemy is weak, by natural intel
ligence and common courage, strong
er Indian force will concentrate its pow
ers to capture and destroy the weaker.
The bravery and success of Sitting Bull,
on the Little Horn, was not an excep-
tional case of Indian triumph over the
white man. During the Indian war in
Minnesota, in 1862, several instances
engagements with our volunteer troops,
can be referred to, which showed as
much and more military genius than
was displayed by Sitting-Bull and his
thousands of cut-throats. At Redwood
Falls, Capt. Marsh was surprised,
surrounded, defeated and killed,
and his company of troops almost. an
initiated; at Birch Coolie and Wood
Lake the Indians fought the soldiers
long and bravely, and well nigh sue
cessfully; Fort Ridgeley, a strong,
stone Notification, was assaulted, and
would, perhaps, have been captured, if
it had not been for Capt. Jones and his
battery of artillery; while the stockade
at Fort Abercrombie was closely be-
sieged for many days, and it would very
likely have fallen into their hands if
timely reinforcements had not reached
the demoralized and panic-stricken
white men who were holding tho fort.
During all these terrible fights between
the Indians and soldiers, no one thought
of attributing the glory to Little Crow
or any other single chief-it was glory
that the Indians, who did the fighting,
divided among themselves, for there
was no systematic campaign, or regu-
larly laid out plans of battle. When
ever the Indians caught the white men
at disadvantage, they proceeded to
open fight, and they did SO whether
they happened to be in bodies of two,
or dozen, or thousand. And that
is just the way with SittingBull. The
Government troops are floundering
among the canyons and bad lands of
the Yellowstone and its tributaries, and,
wherever they can be attacked with
comparative impunity from secret
ambush, the Indians will show them
selves and fight long and bravely.
Otherwise the red barbarians will quiet
ly sneak away, to await a favorable OPP
portunity for an attack.
But all this is merely preliminary to
the introduction of the following COM
munication from a gentleman in st.
Paul, who has himself been among the
Indians on the Upper Missouri at inter-
walls for fourteen years, and who knows
Sitting Bull to be just as described by
the man whose statement he gives.
The St. Paul gentleman "who has been
there" says:
"Much has been written and pub
lished in regard to Sitting Bull by par
ties who are certainly totally ignorant
of what they write as well as the geog-
raphy Of the country which they try to
describe. Day before yesterday l met
a man in this city who has been among
the Sioux Indians off and on for the last
thirty years, and who speaks their Ian
guage as fluently as his own. He has
known Sitting-Bull ever since he went
on his first war path. He says he is a
full-blooded Indian, and the illegitimate
an co,,aw His