Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-12
AT WOUNDED KNEE.
THE lNo,AHs' STORY or THAT DIS
GRACEFUL MASSACRE.
The Truth Observation-Disclosures, Boys.
and Girls slaughtered ItemorseiessiY
and Under Flag OF Truce.


i
meeting was the story OF the fight at
Wounded Knee. which was told by Turn
| ing Hawk and American Horse. In begin
ming his story Turning Hawk described in
| picturesque language how "a certain
falsehoodn (the Messiah craze and the
| ghost-dance) came 70 his agency from the
| West. and how, after time, hearing OF the
approach of soldiers and frightened be-
| cause OF IL, the Indians fled into the Bad
Lands and how they were induced to re-
turn by their friends. Turning Hawk then
/ continued:
| when our people, who had been fright
| ened away, were returning to Pine Ridge,
| and when they had almost reached the
| agency they were met by soldiers and sur
| rounded and finally taken to Wounded
| Knee creek. Their guns were demanded,
| and when they had delivered them up the
| men were separated from their families and
| from their tepees and taken to a certain
| 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 n nobody, among bunch oil
Indians, who fred his gun. and OF course
the firing Of the gan must have been the
| breaking Of O military rule OF some sort,
because Immediately the soldiers returned
the fire, and an indiscriminate kiplng ioi-
lowed"
The Commissioner here interrupted to
ask, "Did the man fire at the soldiers, or
! did he simply shoot in the arr"
Spotted Horse: He shot an officer in
| the army. His first shot killed this officer.
| | was voluntarily a scout at this encounter
| and had Just asserted that saw exactly
what was done and that was what l no.
| ticed-that the first shot killed an ofhcer."
| Commissioner Did the soldiers re-
| turn the fire Immediately, or did the In
dams keep up their fring?'
Spotted Horse: AS soon as the hrst
shot was fred the Indians Immediately
began drawing their knives, and they were
| exhorted from all sides to desist, but this
was not obeyed; consequently firing be-
Gan Immediately on the part of the SOL
| ders."
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 IA
vine for long distance they were pursued
on all sides by soldiers and shot down. as
the dead bodies showed afterwards"
DID THE WOMEN TAKE PART IN THE FIGHT
Commissioner: I'm this fight did the
women take any partI"
Turning Hawk: They had no firearms
| TO fight with"
Commissioner: "A statement has been
made in the public press that the women
fought with butcher-knives, and this has
been given as the reason why the men
| were shot"
Turning Hawk: "When the men were
separated and were punched together at
| given place of course only the men were
| there: the women were at different place
entirely some distance oil.
Commissioner: "Was il impossible Tor
| the soldiers to tell the difference between
an Indian man and an Indian woman
The statement has been made in the pub
| lie press that the soldiers shot the women
because they were dressed IN such way
that they could not tell that tney "eIe
| women"
Turning Hawk: II think q man would
be very blind if he could not tell the dit
ference between man and woman. l
have told you that the women were stand
ing of at different place from that where
the men were stationed and When tne
firing began those of the men who escaped
the first onslaught went in one direction
up the ravine and then the women who
were punched together at another place
! went entirely in o different direction,
through an open field, and yet the women
Jared the same fate as the men who went
up the deep ravine."
Commissioner Ito interpreter(: " Tell
those that are present / would like II he
| cunning HAWK uldhtS any cNatOhAth
which they do not accept that they VIII
correct it. l want to get at the truth"
KILLED UNDER FLAG OF TRUCE.
American Horse: 1.-THE men were sepa-
rated, as has already been said, from the
women, and they were surrounded by
| soldiers. and then came the next village OF
Indians and that was entirely surrounded
| nv soldiers also. When the firing began
| of course the people who were standing
| Immediately around the young man who
fred the first shot were killed right to-
cether, and then they turned their guns,
Hotchkiss guns, etc, upon the women
who were in the lodges, standing there IN
der the flag of truce, and, OF course, as soon
as they were fired upon they ned, the men
fleeing in one direction and the women
running in two different directions. SO
that there were three general directions IN
which they took flight"
| Commissioner DO you mean TO say
there was white flag in sight over the wo-
men when they were fred upon ~
American Horse: Yes, sir; they were
fred right upon, and there was woman
! with her infant in her arms who was killed
as she stood almost under the flag OF truce,
and the women and children of course
| were strewn all along the circular village
until they were dispatched. Right near
the flag of truce another was shot down
with ner infant child, and the child not
knowing that its mother was, dead was
still nursing when found, and that was
especially a very sad sight. Women as
they were, fleeing with their babes on
their backs, were killed together;--shot
right through, andwomen who were heavy
| with child were also killed. All the In
dians fed in these three directions"
NOT ONLY WOMEN, BUT BOYS AND GIRLS KILLED.
| L 4 L loI ha
CRY was made that all those who were not
killed or wounded should come forth and
they would be safe, and the little boys who
were not wounded came out OF their places
of refuge, and as soon as they came IN
sioht a number of soldiers surrounded
them and butchered them there"
Commissioner Cto interpreter): wish
YOU would say TO him that these are very
serious charges to make against the United
States army. do not want any state
ments made that are not absolutely true,
and want any one here that feels that the
statements are too strong to correct them. .
American Horse OF course, we all feel
very sad about this affair. | stood very
loyal to the Government all through those
troublesome days, and believing so much
in the Government and being so loyal TO IT
NV disappointment was very strong, and
+ have come to Washington with very
great blame against the Government on
my heart. OF course, it would have been
ali right il only men were killed-we would
feel almost grateful for it-but the fact OF
the killing Of women, and more especially
the killing of young boys and girls who
are 10 60 TO make up the future strength
of the Indian people-those being killed Is
the saddest part of the whole thing, and
we feel il very sorcly. This is all know
about that part of the story, and my good
friend here pointing to Turning hawk
will continue his narrative.
Commissioner: Does American Horse
know these things of his own personal
knowledge, or has he been told themr"
American Horse: Il was not there at tho
time before the burial Of the bodies, but
did 90 there with some of the Indian police
and an Indian doctor and great many OF
our people, men from the agency, and we
went through the battlefield and saw
where the bodies were from the track Oh
blood"
WAS TIDE MASSACRE TO AyESGE CLUSTERS
DEATH
Rev. Mr.. Cook, Sioux half breod and
rector of an Episcopal church at Pine
| lS;5ra Who has al times acted as lnterpre-