The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-09-13
Sketch Of Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse was one of the most
noted Indian chieftains of modern
times. lie was about thirty years old,
and less than N year ago, was next to
Sitting Bull, the fiercest and most inlu-
entail leader among the hostile Sioux.
Prior to his surrender at the solicita-
ton of the old friendly chief Spotted
Tail, who, 10y the way, claimed the
dead warrior as his nephew, Crazy
Horse, like Sitting Bull, steered clear
of reservations. He avoided the whites,
save when ON the warpath, he met them
as enemies, or paused to scalp an oc-
casional courier or wandering hunter
after furs or gold. Though compare
lively a young chief Crazy Horse was
looked up to by quite n number of his
tribe. He was not II large or powerful
man, but possessed a peculiar earnest
ness of savagery that procured him the
respect of his untutored brethren. He
has led many skirmishes, both with
soldiers and with parties OF. citizens,
being Of an intensely active tempera-
ment, and was generally appreciated
along the border as All accomplished
marauder, horse thief and s~calp-taker.
He was q wiry, determined looking
leader, whose war-whOop would have
sent a chill through the veins of a vet
eran and caused the hair to sta nd on
end, ready for his unrelenting grip and
the scalping-knife. Long before his
surrender last spring Crazy Horse had
the reputation Of having taken over a
score of white scalps with his own hand.
In the spring of1s76, while camped ON
one of the streams to the eastward of
Old Fort Reno, he vas attacked in his
village by the United States troops,
under General Reynolds, who has since
been tried by court martial for alleged
mistakes on that occasion. The first
troops to enter the Indian village then
were a company of the Second cavalry,
under Captain Egan. For a time
Crazy Horses band fought desperately,
but Captain Egan's men CALAMITY held
their ground, though unsupported after
the plan originally devised. Ultimately
the Indians fled and the captured vii
lage was found exceedingly rich in
spoils. The tent of the chief was q
model of savage finery, being gorgeous.
ly furnished with deliberately wrought
robes and amply provided with Indian
trinkets and implements of use. AT
the time of the Custer fight Crazy
Horse and Sitting Bull were operating
together. The e%xigencies of their no
madic existence subsequently separated
them. Before their separation, how
ever, they are said to have mutually
agreed never to return alive to the
white mans dominion; at least such is
the story told of them by two young
braves who fought with them against
Custer. When these bucks, tired of
hostile activity, announced their inten-
ton on the approach of winter to re-
turn to reservation pickings, the two
chiefs presented them with n horse
each, and said:
go back and tell your white friends
that while one of our band lives we will
never lay down our arms o live with
the bad white man. Neither will we
allow the white man to come into our
land"
This bombastic declaration Crazy
Horse afterwards forgot when the
ceaseless vigilance he was obliged to
pay for his savage liberty had nearly
worn out his followers and Spotted
Tail approached him as 4 messenger OF
peace. Last winters Big Horn eXpe-
dition, under General Crook, was
chiefly directed against him at the
start, and before striking Dull Knife's
band in the Businesses of the noun
tains its movements caused him to
shift his quarters on Tongue River i'll
the midst of winter. He surrendered
to the authorities with several hundred