The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-11-06
S1.5O per Annum.
FROM sITTNG-BULL,s CAMP.
Interview With skunk Horse Recent,
frOni s'XVhite Mothers Country


Interview With skunk Horse, Recently
fronI ''White Mothers Country
Correspondence of Sioux City Journal
PINE RIVER AGENCY, d. T., October
Last night the Captain of the Police
informed the Agent that Skunk Horse
(NOrthern Sioux Indian) who left the
old Red Cloud Agency on the Missouri
River, in the fall of 1873, with Big
Roads band, and went north and joined
Sitting-Bull, has Just returned, and was
/ fresh and hot from the hostile camp.
The gentleman was sent for and brought
to DR.. McGillicuddy's office without de-
lay. Mr.. Horse is about so years of
age, 3 feet II inches in height, broad
shouldered, light complexion (for an
/ Indian), round chest, full face, bright,
| black eye, good natured and rather Il
| jolly-lOOking cOuntenance, wears n
blanket, calico shirt, abbreviated pants,
slouch hat, cartridge-belt, knife, gun
and revolver. He told his story sub
stantially as follows: In 1873 we were
living with the Ogalallas at the forks of
the White River. One day our band
concluded that we did not want to get
beef any more, but would rather 90
north, live in a big country, hunt buffa-
10 and be free to do as we pleased. We
then went direct to Sitting-Bull's camp
on the Milk River. l have been there
ever since that time. Last fall large
party Of Nez PerceS came among Us. and
they are up there now; said the soldiers
took all their hounds and every thing
they had, and would have taken them
had not they escaped and fled into the
. White Mother's'' (Canada) country.
Sitting-Bull is not chief of the North
ern Indians. Black Moon Is head chief.
Black Moon Is President; Sitting-Bull.
Secretary of War; Iron Crow, General;
and Big Road Is Brigadier-General. |
was with the Northern Indians when
Gen. Miles got after them this summer
on Milk River. We came over here to
hunt buffalo. Did not intend to fight.
Did not want to fight. Black Moon and
Sitting-Bull promised the White Mother
/ if she would consent to let us come over
into this country to hunt we would not
modest any body. The White Mother
| said~that if we did any thing bad we
would not be allowed to come back into
her country. We knew that Gen Miles
was coming after us several days before
he made the attack. Three thousand
Indians with guns and cartridges stood
/ on the banks of a canyon and saw his
command pass through The tempta-
U -
wanted to repeat the Custer massacre,
! but the head men would not allow it.
! The Indians were excited, and had
/ there been a shot fired, accidentally or
! otherwise, the whole command would
| have been eXterminated Not Il man
/ could have gotten out of the canyon
| alive. We then tried to avoid meeting
| Gen. Miles, but could not keep out of
/ his way, so we ran back over the line,
and thereby kept our promise with the
! White Mother. The army got too close
on to us Just before crossing the line and
| fired at US, killing five of our men.
| None were wounded. Many of the
/ Northern Indians would come into the
| agencies if they could, but it is almost
impossible to get on this side of the line
without running on some of the soldiers
and getting killed.
We three left there about the middle
of last month and travelled in the night
and kept hid in daytime, and in that
way managed to get through. Were
u days coming down. Did not see a
white man until we arrived on Chey-
enne River. There we saw three, and |
attempted to 90 to them, but they stood
us off and said they were afraid Of us.
! We expect to 90 back in about Il month
and tell the Northern Indians how Red
| Cloud and Spotted Tail are getting
| along. The half-breeds captured by
! Gen. Miles had ammunition, but only
J for the purpose of hunting buffalo. Could
! have rescued them from the army, but
| knew the army would not harm them,
| only take them down on the Yellow
/ stone and feed them. There are plenty
of buffalo in the North. They move
/ from one place to another. When they
come into the White Mothers country
we have plenty to eat, but when they
/ leave and 90 over into this country we
can not get them. The great father got
mad about the unpleasantness we had
with Gen. Custer, and drove US out of
our own country, and will not let us hunt
our own buffalo. We did not want to
| fight Gen. Custer He made the attack
on us to compel us to 90 and live on Il
reservation and eat beef, and we want
/ to live in our own country and subsist
on buffalo-meat.
/ We heard that white men and soldiers
were trying to take the Ute Indians
| country. Black Moon and Sitting-Bull
sent them word, by courier, that If they
desired to they could come and live with
us the same as White Bird and the Nez
| Perces. If the White Mother would let
us fight we would come over and hunt
! buffalo in spite of Gen. Miles and his
army. Black Moons tribe is about as
/ large as Red Clouds, 800 lodges of g.
400 persons, not including members of
/ other tribes who are living with US.