Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-06-25
Los pAREnTAL AFFECTION.

Indian Chiefs Who Show the Deepest Love
- for Their Children.
The Indian is generally not credited
with much regard or affection for his
family, but this impression was dis
PEELED from my mind during my recent
trip to Pine Ridge OF a number Of
friends made among the Indian chiefs
i will always remember American
Horse, a man of much prominence
among the friendly Sioux When he
learned that represented q newspaper
he gave my hand q cordial shake and
remarked: How cola. good" He had
one of his squaws with him, and through
. simple but beautiful sign language
informed her of my vocation. and she.
too, said How: good" and shook hands.
American Horse then brought out q
young papoose of about six years of
age, and informed me that it was his
youngest, and then he patted the little
one on the head and gave it an affec-
Gonate squeeze. In joke asked him
what he would take for the little Sioux
venir. He did not first understand
whether l was in earnest or Joking,
and was afraid had offended the old
horse, but he shook his head, pointed
his finger to bunch of several hundred
Indian ponies. then to a troop Of cavalry
horses, stamped his foot upon the earth
and waved his hand shout his head, and
I understood that not for all the horses
and ponies on earth would he part with
his child. He, however, did what he
could, and cut an elk tooth ornament
from the little Sioux's dress and pre-
sented it to the correspondent as a
memento, and with a grunt of satisfac-
ton and another "HOw." he took the
little one by the hand and walked away.
At the close of the Indian campaign of
1876 the captive Cheyennes and others
were taken to Fort Leavenworth to be
transferred to Indian territory. Capt.
Edie, of the hospital corps at Pine
Ridge was at that time stationed at
Fort Leavenworth and related to me
another instance of Indian affection
and pride in their offspring. The trans
fer to Indian territory was a terrible
blow to the proud Cheyennes and was
regarded as humiliating and degrading
in the extreme. One of the noted chiefs
of that tribe, whose name has unfor-
tunately slipped my memory, was es-
pecially bending under the imagined
and made several murder.
Gus attempts to escape. He had for
squaw a member of another tribe and
two boys were the result of the union.
Before the final transfer was made from
the fort to the territory the military
concluded to separate the different
tribes, and while the Cheyenne hostiles
were to be sent to the territory the
others were to be returned to the north.
The news was conveyed to the Chey.
enne chief. and the prospects that his
sons should not share in his disgrace
gave him undisguised pleasure, until he
was informed that families would not
be separated and that they would have
to accompany him He grew morose
and down-hearted, and one day he
walked into the hospital, and before any
one was aware of his intentions he had
seized pair of scissors, and with the
point of it ripped cash clear across his
abdomen from his left side to his right.
He expected to die, and said he wanted
his wife and children returned to their
homes in the north, but his terrible
availed him nothing, for
in spite of himself he recovered, and,
with his family, was taken to Indian
where he was lost to public
Rec.