The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-03-04
Massacred by Miles.
THE INDIAN NARRATIVE OF THE
SLAUGHTER AT WOUNDED KNEE.

SLAUGHTER AT WOUNDED KNEE.
Turning Hawk and American Horse
Tells a Touching, Terrible Story
or the Savage Butchery of Women
Girls, Boys and Babies by the Sol
diers.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE Sioux
Indian conference was concluded TO-
day and the Indians will start for
home tomorrow or on Friday, going
by way of Philadelphia and Carlisle.
The feature of to-day's meeting was
the story of the fight at Wounded
Knee, which was told by Turning
Hawk and American Horse. In be-
ginning his story Turning Hawk de-
scribed in picturesque language how
"a certain falsehood," the Messiah
erase and ghost dance, came to ms
agency from the west, and how, after
q time, hearing of the approach of SOL
diers and frightened because of it, the
Indians fled into the Bad Land, and
how they were induced to return oy
their friends.
Turning Hawk then continued:
"When our people, who mad oeen
frightened away, We're returning To
Pine Ridge, and when they had al
most reached the agency, they were
met by soldiers and surrounded and IL
nally taken to Wounded Knee Creek
and there at given time their guns
were demanded, and when they had
delivered them up the men were sepa'
rated from their families, from their
tepees and taken to certain spot
their guns having been given up:
"When the guns were thus taken,
and the men thus separated there was
q crazy man, a young man of very bad
influence, and in fact nobody, among q
bunch of Indians, fired his gun, and
of course the firing of the gun must
have been the breaking of military
rule of some sort, because Immediately
the soldiers returned the fire, and an
indiscriminate killing followed"
The commissioner here interrupted
to ask: "Did the man fire at the SOL
diers, or did he simply shoot in the
ARP"
Spotted Horse: HE shot an officer
in the army. The first shot killed this
officer. I was 8 voluntary scout at
that encounter, and had just asserted
that I saw exactly what was done, and
that was what I noticed, that the first
shot killed an officer"
Commissioner: "Did the soldiers re-
turn the fire Immediately, or did the
Indians keep up their firing"
Spotted Horse "As soon as the first
shot was fired the Indians immediate
.ly began drawing their knives, and
they were exhorted from all side to de-
sist, but this was not obeyed. Conse-
.quently the firing began Immediately
enthe part of the soldiers"
Turning Hawk: "All the men who
were in the bunch were killed right
there, and those who escaped that first
fire got into ravine, and as they went
along up the ravine for long distance
they were pursued on all sides by sol
diers and shot down, as the dead
bodies showed afterwards"
Commissioner "In this fight did
the women take any part ?"
! Turning Hawk: "rhey had no fire.
arms to fight with"
Commissioner 1.-THE statement has
been made in the public press that the
women fought with butcher knives,
and this has been given as a reason
YwOmen were shot,"
furning Hawk: "When the men
were separated and were punched to-
gether at q given place of course only
men were there. The women were at
q different place entirely, some dis
tanee Off"
Commissioner "Was it impossible
for soldier to tell the difference be-
tween an Indian man and an Indian
woman? The statement has been
made in the public press that the SOL
diers shot the women because they
were dressed in such a way that they
could not tell they were women"
Turning Hawk: II think man
would be very blind if he could not
tell the difference between a man and
o woman. I have told you that the
women were standing off at differ
ent place from that where the men
were stationed, and when the firing
began those of the men who escaped
the first onslaught went in one direc-
tion up the ravine, and then the wo-
men, Who were punched together at
another place, went an entirely differ
ent direction through an open field,
and the women Jared the same fate as
the men who went up the deep ra-
vine.n
2 Commissioner, to Interpreter "Tell
those that are present / would like if
he (Turning Hawk) makes any state
ment which they do not accept that
they will correct it. I want to get at
the truth"
American Horse "The men were
separated, as has already been said,
from the women, and they were sur
rounded by soldiers. Then came the
next village of Indians, and that was
entirely surrounded by soldiers also.
When the firing began, of course the
people who were standing immediate
ly around the young man who fired
the first shot were killed right togeth-
er, and then they turned their guns,
the Hotchkiss gun, etc., upon the wo-
men, who were in the lodges, standing
there under the flag of truce, and, OF
course, as soon as they were fired u pom
they fled, the men fleeing in one direc-
ton and the women running in two
directions, 80 that there were three
general directions in which they took
flight"
Commissioner: "Do you mean to
say there was a white flag in sight
over the women when they were fired
upon ?"
American Horse: "Yes, sir, they
were fired right upon, and there was a
woman with her infant in he- arms
who was killed as she almost touched
the flag of truce, and the women and
children, of course, were strewn all
along the circular village until they