Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-08-15
GEORGE WASHINGTON FLOWERS.
The Hero OF n. Pierre aud h Man VINO
Knows all about Indians.

The Hero Of r.. Pierre and the Man Who |
Knows all about Indians.
George Washington Flowers has been
interviewed by the Boston Globe upon
the subject Of Indians and Indian
frauds in the Sioux country AMI
that remarkable young man has
made = confession Of his own superior
bravery and other mems sins which will
absolutely startle his acquaintances here
who know that he don't know much about
n or anything about the other. George
Washington Flowers blossomed in the Da-
kota wilderness about two years ago. He
was a tender bud when he arrived. He is
not like the other George Washington, who
could not tell a lie. Neither i. he like
Mark Twain, who wouldn't. On the con-
trsry he has filled the ear Of the Globe re-
porter with things which would cause old
Ananias, in his pslmiest days, to take a
back seat.
The reporter asked Flowers how many
Indian agencies he had travelled over.
Flowers replied, in an of hand sort Of a
way, as though it was the merest circum-
stance in = long career Of reckless daring,
"Oh! I've been in all Of them" And then
he went on and told the reporter the names
Of several Of the Missouri river agencies,
but as the list was evidently too short to
sufficiently impress that fu~nctionary. Flow
ers invented some names that have not yet
got into the Indian geography.
The reporter was impressed, We know he
was, for he said:
"And you have been in all of them|
Flowers admitted that he had and also
that he had seen the Indians.
This was another effective stroke. There
was an impressive silence of several min
utes, during which the reporter reveren-
TALLY removed his hat and gazcd admiring-
ly upon this bold hero from the plains.
Then he begged to be favored with some Of
Flowers adventures-hair breadth escapes,
&c.
He get them. The whole bundle was
unrolled, and it was i%nterspersed with &C.
counts Of frauds which will be a delight and
a surprise to Hammond. He told how ''one
time we were corralled by Indians six
hours" How another time, at the Chey-
enne crossing, We saw Indians ridingtowards
us and found out afterwards that we had
barely escaped an ambush, which escape
was very fortunate, as these Indians had
just killed three of billions men" How
another time Indians came into our camp
and 1 talked with them" How "another
time wesaved Yourselves bysuperior strength"
making the reporter believe all the time
that it was pure, undulterated courage that
accounted Tor his presence in Boston at that
particular moment. He told how he had
conversed tluently in the Sioux Language
with Red Cloud, Red Leaf, Lame Deer
Rain in-the- Face, Straw.in-the. Ear, Hair.
on-the-Nose and several other mighty chief
tains. He told how the Sioux indiana
were half starved, and how Agent Clarkson
Bonesteel & Turner and several other mer
who never were in charge of any Indian
were responsible for all this. He tolt
enough lies in q short space oftime to maxi
his hereafter a sure thing, and he complete
~ overwhelmed that gullible reporter, VIII.
went away with one hand on his scalp loci
to make sure it was there.
We know George Washington F. Ell
came TO Yankton during the Black Hills ex
citement, and lived a luxurious life of sew
eral months. Then he started for the Hills
We epjoyed the distinction of accompanying
him a. far as Fl. Pierre, and was there per
mitted 10 remain in his presence severa'
days. He wa, rugged out with two eight
inch revolvers, a ten-inch knife, and a six
teen shooting rifle. The rest of us wert
knocking around with our FIVE dollar pops
mixed up among a lot Of hair brushes
combs, bottles of Jamaica ginger, etc., ir
our grip eacks, and We felt sort of out O.
place in the society Of this walking arsenal
We felt as though the bill reducing the army
had missed him and struck us in our ord.
nance department, but We relied on him be
cause he was extensively heeled. There
was a camp of a couple of hundred men al
Pierre at that time, and Flowers insisted or
standing guard for the whole outfit every
night. As the shades of twilight deepened
he would don his habiliments of war, hide
himself behind a bush, and stand there till
dawn with his eyes leveled on every point
of the horizon and his hair in perpendicular
position. Uncouth bullwhackers used tc
come around and ask what was the matte,
with that darn fool but we never knew; or
if we did, we never told, because we didn',
like to have a member of our party referred
to in terms Of such apparent disrespect
We knew there wasn't an Indian within {
hundred miles who. would think Of bother
ing any one at Pierre but we had respec
for Flowers in those days, and tried to pro
tect him from the jeers of the hard hearted
i a- \ -Ds---.-- r.