The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1877-06-23
Life at an Indian Agency.

L
themselves on every hand. On the day
of the surrender of Dull Knife's Chey.
enne tribe, the warriors were scarcely
disarmed before they were found con.
structing war clubs with round rocks
and rawhide after their peculiar manner.
The day aster the Crazy Horse surrender
cattle were issued to them in the usual
proportion of an Indians ration, they
asked as favor that the herd of wild
Texans be turned over to them alive, so
that they could enjoy sensation like
that of a buffalo hunt. The request was
granted; about twenty steers were turn
ed loose upon the plain and the savages
armed with bows and arrows and
mounted upon ponies obtained from Red
Clouds peace baud-gave chase. All
the thrilling whoops of battle were
shouted, and the terrific feats of horse
manship and the skill of the savage with
his rudest weapon, were exhibited.
Goaded by the twinge of the well aimed
arrow, and rendered almost frantic by
the unearthly yells, the swift and long
winded Texans skipped over ridge, gull
ly, and stream like the wind. Every
moment a poor brute would receive its
death wound from the unerring shaft,
and occasionally a maddened one would
turn and delight his pursuers by
plucky resistance. When the animals
were nearly all slain, three or four made
a dash over sheer precipice of some
fifteen feet in height. The reckless reds
were close upon their heels and turned
neither to the right nor left, but follow
ed pell-mell to the bottom. From the
cloud of dust emerged every savage,
firmly seated and evidently gratified at
the thrilling experience. In about TWEEN
ty minutes the cattle were all slain, and
squaws and boys who followed the chase
soon made the butchery complete.
A grand peace council was one of the
interesting sights afforded couple of
the visitors at Red Cloud Agency the
other day. Little Wound, one of the
most powerful of Sioux chieftains, sum-
moned the other leaders of his nation to
his grand council tepees, there to talk
over lasting peace and agency re-
forms. Two immense tepees were placed
side by side and made to furnish room
for 100 men. As the deliberators were
gathering in this gorgeously ornament
ed chamber, the master of ceremonies
and an assistant were slaughtering dogs
for the feast which always follows such
mOmentOus carnival of oratory. A
rawhide lariet was wound once round
the neck of the animal, when brawny
Sioux took hold of either end of the fatal
cord, pulled backward and forward with
a |" sea-saw" motion, and thus strangled
the victim. Then the dog was thrown
upon a blazing campfire, his hair pref
ty well singed of, and then the carcass
was artistically carved. Thus about
a dozen of the largest of their pets were
slaughtered. A number of pots were on
hand, each FORTS special purpose. All
the heads were thrown in one, all the
legs in another, the tails in another, and
SO on. These were placed upon the fire
in the midst of the circles of debaters
now assembled. As the guests stepped
into the circle, AN attendant flung a bright
red blanket upon the sward directly
in front of Little Wound, Crazy Horse
and other prominent chieftains, while |
these dignitaries motioned the white |
men.to sit there.
An old man opened the proceedings |
by an appeal to the Great Spirit, during |
which the chiefs in the array were inn |
deferential. One after an
other of the savage orators then arose,
stepped to the center, and uttered q |
forcible harangue. This continued for
two hours, when, dog being done, the
leading chief announced that the feast
would take place Immediately after an
other PRAYER, This was pronounced. |