Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-01-09
A DYING NATION.
Tb Last of the Once Dreaded Chey-
enne WarTIers-MfIes, IL Reformation
-ScaIp-RaIsersT TurIed Into Potato-
Raisers-A Prosperous Community
Ruined When Their Powerful
Friend Leaves.

Friend Leaves.
Near this military fort dwell the
remnants of once powerful tribe of
I Indians, writes Fort keogh CORE S
! pendent OF The Pittsburgh Conner
cial Gazette. They have camp on
the Rosebud river under Chief Two
/ Moons, and a more wretched and
poverty-striken community than these
/ people present would be difficult to
] imagine. / drove up to their camp a
few days ago, and seeking out Two
| Moons III his tepee or lodge, through
/ the aid of John Rowland, a half-br
interpreter, learned few facts in re-
gard to their past and present eondi
| ton.
The Cheyennes are an ancient race,
and at one time numbered nearly II,
600 souls. Ten years ago, the main
band were located in Indian Territory,
and were at war with the government.
While Gen. Miles was chasing them
around Indian Territory, a large
party of bucks, under Chief Whirl-
wind, numbering 1,727 IN all, broke
away from the remainder of the tribe
aud made their way north into
Wyoming and Dakota This was the
first division in the Cheyenne nation.
From that time they were classed as
Northern and Southern Cheyennes,
the southern branch being located at
present at the Arapaho agency, in
Indian Territory. and the northern
branch at Pine Ridge agency, in Da
kota, and on Rosebud river in Mon
tana.
The Black Hills trouble, which be
gan in 1868, eliminated, as we all
know, in the Custer massacre on the
Little Big Horn river in 1876. This
was purely q Sioux trouble with the
United States government, but, as the
Northern Cheyennes were then at the
Sioux agencies, and under the leader
shis of a most thorough and warlike
soldier, Chief Little Wolf, the latter
had little difficulty in inducing his
braves to join their red brethren, the
Sioux, IN general war against their
common enemy, the whites. Accord
lngly we end the Northern Cheyennes,
under Little Wolf, Stabber, Dead
Eyes, and Flying Bird, following Sit
ting Bull aud his hostiles all over the
narthern ccgutry, and finally brought
TO bay with tnat daughty chieftain by
Caster and his'men on the fatal field
of the LlttIe Big Horn in the summer
of 1876 After that dreadfal June day
Sitting Bull drew his warriors back
into the fastness of the Big Horn
mountains, where he successfully
resisted all attempts to dislodge him
until Gen. Miles appeared on the scene.
That great Indian fighter did not rush
>n11
Custer, but, Gismounting his men and
deploying his battalion as skjrmisherS,
he hunted the willy red men according
to their own fashion, driving them
from rock to rock, from one hidln 2
place to another, until there was no
refuge left for them, and at last taking
to the plains they fled before Miles and
his troopers and finally, dispersed IL
numbers and broken iH spirit, attained
harbor beyond the international
boundary line With their ancient
enemy on their trail, the Cheycnnes
knew there was no hope for them. He
had taught them one lesson down in
the Indian Territory. So with the fall
of Sitting Bull the Cheyennes ceased
hostilit1es, came in and surrendered ia
bands of twos and threes at a time,
until about nine hundred in all We're
soon under guard as prisoners Of war
on the spot where this military post
now stands
Gen. Miles, IN his wisdom, prefer
red to try an experiment with those
savages according to his own under
standing Of Indian character. rather
than turn them over to the interior
department and the tender mercirs of
an Indian agent. He therefore pati-
toned the authorities at Washington
to allow him to place tie surrendered
hestjles on farm of their own, and
promised that in few years they
would be self-supporting. He asked
no aid from the government, rejected
1.-The protfer Of an agent, and permitted
the Indians to settle down in several
ty wherever they chose to reside.
\ majority of the surrendered red
skins selected fertile spot about three
miles ABOVE Fort Keogh on the Vel,
lowstane river, while others scattered
along Powder, Tongue. and Rosebud
rivers, aud all commenced farming in
dead earnest The Yellowstone
Cheyennes were more successful than
the others, for their land was rich,
black loam that produced wonderful
ly, and il was not long before these
poor, benighted, ignorant sons Of the
forest We're peddllng potatoes aud
other garden truck among the
people Of the fort. Some fine pota-
toes of immense proportions were pro
duced the second year after the in
augurati0n of the Cherenne gardens.
| Fifteen Of these tuoers. selscted after
bsing thoroughly washed, weighed
exactly Sc pounds 9 ounces-one of
them actually tipped the beam at 4
pounds ! ounces. Turnips were
grown of wonderful dlameterS, and
beejs, caboages, cora, and the like IN
the greatest profusion. Although ir-
| rgalion was not necessary, yet these
very same redskins were after the idea,
| and hit upon Plan which was orig
| inal in the extreme, and worthy of
the highest civilized ingenuity.
| remember driving up to the
4 Cheyenne camp IN the summer OF
1879 especially 10 witness their mo6us
operandi of diverting the waters Of
the Yellowstone from It's channel for
the purpose of irrigating their miles
of garden land. \ rude wooden
wheel had been constructed with pad
/ dies, so that the course of the current
revolvsd the wheel. The savage then
gathered all the empty tin oil cans
| thrown out from the fort, and attach
ed them firmly to different parts of
the wheel, SO that with the turning
wheel the cans weat down empty and
came up full. The full ones discharg-
ed their contents into a trough, from
which the water was conducted By a
series OF troughs from place to place,
and finally reached the upper part OF
the garden, where it was distributed
by small cutters to every portioR
the garden In this way was irriga-
ton carried on, and the Cheyennes 81
their gardens talked of all through the
northwest. The other bands on the
Rosebud and Tongue rivers gave up
hunting for q living and commenced
the business of raising cattle. This
was, in reality, the beginning of the
herds IN the northwest.
Their friend. Gen. Mills, encouraged
them in every way to earn their own
living. He gave them pIows, shovels,
rakes, harrows, and other garden inn
plements, loaned them wagons and