Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-12-09
RED NAPOLEON.


sSow York SUM AL the land bordering
Sn the Missouri river. from Fort Benton
20 Buf0rd, at tile mouth Of the Yellow
atone. and up that stream for 300 miles,
Nas Sitting Bulls country. It was here,
0nly eight years ago, that the Sioux
chief r0amed at viii, often penetrating
as far East as the Black Hills, In Da.
sxota. The outside belt of his hunting
Elands measured over 1000 miles in cir
aud twas fully 700 miles
Eacross them as the bird flies. The great
Eghief had his principal village at the
Smouth Of Tongue river, On the Yellow
stone, where Fort Keogh now stands.
There he dwelt in winter with IL, 900
Sioux, including assimilated tribes who
Acknowledged him as their leader.
The change in this section Of country
ssince 1916 is incredible. Then not
white man could venture down the Vel
lowstonc without mourning almost GER
stain destruction. Even large bodies Of
men were unable to penetrate far from
sthe Missouri river. remember very
swell, in the winter of 1876, of learning
THAT Sitting Bull hal surrounded forty
Seven adventurous white men at Fort
Pease, near the mouth of the Big Horn.
II was sent by General Terry with a
column Of troops to their relief II re-
iquired force Of 500 men to rescue them.
! Even this force would have been insult
6cient had Sitting Bull chosen to resist
/ the invasion Of his country.
/ This march began at Fort Ellis in the
dead Of winter. The beseiged men were
.not reached until March 6, 1876. I
efound them in desperate condition, six
shaving been killed outright, eight
kwounded, and the whole company on
bthc point of starvation. Sitting Bull
then had camp of eighty lodges It the
mouth of Little Horn, near where Fort
Custer is now located; but his great
scamp was on the Tongue river, and
was assured it contained over II, 600
souls. The camp at Little Horn did not
move, although we passed within twenty
miles of it, nor did Sitting Bull bring
any force from Tongue river to oppose
Us. He. seemed to know. as we'll as we
did why we had invaded his country,
and desired the success of our expedition
the taking away of the white men
from the Indian country.
The Fort Pease adventures had been
closely beseiged for over two months,
and, at the time Of our arrival, not
man could venture safely outside the
gates of the fort. Every ten days Sit
ting Bull would detail five hundred
warriors to fight the whites. When
these were tired out he would send FIVE
hundred fresh warriors to relieve them.
! It was reported that he had eight hum
bred warriors at the mouth OF the Little
/ Horn and fifteen hundred at Tongue
river, all under his command and ready
to obey his orders at moments notice.
From this il will be seen how easily he
could have defeated our small
force had he been so minded; but
he did not then wish 10 fight
any more than he does now. When
we got near Pease's bottom, on the
Yellowstone, he came over with a small
body Of warriors and quietly looked on
while we took the adventurous white
men out Of their rude fort and sent them
up the valley to their homes in Montana.
He followed close behind to see that we
were going off his lands, and seemed
perfectly satisfied to have Us 90 away in
peace. That Sitting Bull fought the
whites and made much trouble after
ward was perfectly natural. IN doing
so he only discharged his duty to his
people, and did what any brave man
would have done in his place.
It was in the winter Of 1915 that the
government determined to drive Sitting
Bull out Of tho Yellowstone valley, and
to appropriate 1t to the use of our own
people. had not yet arrived at my
post, when / heard that an expedition
was to be made against Sitting Bull and
war waged al along the Yellowstone
river. / did not believe it, but on
approaching Ellis, learned that General
Gibb0n was already there with column
Of infantry, and had orders for ms to.
turn back with the cavalry and 90, at
once to attack Sitting Bull and his.
people. After the nagnanimous con-
duct Of the old chief, l did not. Of
course, relish these orders, but had
no alternative but to obey them
Joined my column To General Gibbonls
and, under his command. marched down,
the Yellowstone valley, over the very
route / had just come, never hating
until we arrived st Fort pease, 1t the
mouth Of the Big Horn river.
Sitting Bull was astonished, but not
surprised, for he was TOO wary D warrior
to be caught mapping. He hastily
moved his camp ii the mouth Of Little
Big Horn over to the Rosebud and. III
fimatcly consolidated with it the great
camp on Tongue river He did not Il
first seem to understand our object IN.
coming back 50 suddenly into his c0un-
try, and merely atched our move
menfs. Il was not until he heard that
4 q