The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-04
SHORT BULL At COURT.
The Leading Figure Among the
Brule Sioux Suffering From
Partial Paralysis.
His Presentation to Victoria a
Notable Incident In the Annals
or st. James.
Regulation Dress Suit Rule Suspended ON
Tina Ocoasi0n-some Remarks ON
Sioux Character.

Regulation Dress Suit Rule Suspended ON
That OcGasi0n-Some Remarks ON
Sioux Character.
From over the water comes this messape:
''Short Bull. the leading medicine man Of
the Brule Sioux, who, after the death of
Sitting Bull, became the leading figure in
the Indian complications. ia lying at the
point of death in Glasgow, Scotland. Short
Bull ia suffering from partial paralysis. and
there is little hope of his recovery"
"Short Bull' is one of the leading attrac-
tions in the Wild West show which ia giving
European people such brilliant ideas of the
civilization of the United States, and was
introduced at one of Queen Victoria'sdraw-
ing rooms a year ago. He wore the feathers
in his hair az prescribed by court rules, but
the regulation dress suit rule was suspended
by unanimous consent, and Short Bull wore
his scalp shirt instead. This garment of
begrimed buckskin has for ftinpes about
the back and across the breast, hair taken
from the scalps of his victims. Some little
golden ourls mingled with the gray looks,
the first and last scene in the seven ages,
and there were brown and black ~tresses,
mostly from the heads of women.
The great Indian tragedy is drawing to a
close. For full forty years it has held the
boards, but the mighty chiefs who acted
the leading parts are passing over to The
happy hunting grounds. Some of the
names are as familiar as those Of the faith
full twelve. Sitting Bull, Spotted Tail,
Chief Gall. Running Antelope, Red Cloud,
High Back -Bone. Two Kettles, John Grass,
Crazy Horse, Rain-in-the-F Face, Frozen
Ear, Charging Bear, Black Owl, Young
Observation-Disclosures Half Moon-or
Big Turtle. Spotted Horse, Big Road. White
Horse, Little Turtle, American Horse and
Winning Hawk. These are a few OF the
led their red hordes against white encroach-
ment and civilization for nearly half q cen
tury.
Ihs average Sioux is as oantankerous a
7cuss as ever went unhung. The, name it.
self means "cut-throst." If You we're out
ON tho plains all alone and should meet a
Sioux Indian and could only talk sign
palm to the front about the height of the
right shoulder and with the thumb and
fingers extended and separated turn the
HAND to n fro a few times by wrist mo-
ton, then point to the Indian himself.
This means. Il ak who you are? To what
The pantomims reply of this knight Of
the scalping knife will probably not reas-
sure you. He will throw his head back and
draw his extended fingers across his throat
from left to right, meaning ''out-throat."
or cutoff -head,'' for in old times the
mics. .
Cut-throat, therefore, is the general
name for the Sioux. This tribe il the most
famous for infamous deeds of all tho abo-
rhymes of this country and was first known
rs the 'Dacotah n%ation,'' made up Of some
the more noted ones being the Ogallallas.
Brules. Uncapapas. Mi~nneconions, sam
Ares, Yanktons, Blackfeet and Two Ket-
Ties.
Sitting Bull was a man of powerful mind.
and ia considered one of the greatest Indi.
the Sioux and primarily of the u%ncapapas
tribe. The exact meaning of Uncapapas is
hard to get at. 1t probably meant '1n-the-
Lead" The Sioux, whom they go into
camp, arrange their tents SO as to describe
a circle not quite closed, and at this open
ing the Uncapapas are always stationed.
Sitting Bull was the great medicine mar
Of the Sioux, and while he was too clever q
man to have any faith IN the uncanny per-
formances he went through. he was per-
fectly aware of the power these rites gave
him ovor the superstitious Indiana. and the
to impress his greatness upon them. Hs
was killed in the fight at Standing Rock
agency, and his death so paralyzod the
dancing redskins that it brought an end to
the messiah craze for the time being. Run
ming Antelope, also q chief of the INCA
papas, is the great orator of the Sioux
nation. . \
The death of Sitting Bull brought Short
Bull into prominence. He was q chief of
the Brulss and a strong man among the
Sioux, second only to Sitting Bull. He at
once became the medicine man and holds
spirit has also passed over into the Po=ne-
nah with Pan-guk. If that is his fats it ia
to be hoped that the title of his tribe
(Brule) does not indicate the nature of his
punishment. The word Brule is adopted
from the French. and means burned"
%ung-goos, meaning literally burnt thigh"
and it came about in this way:
A great many years ago when old Spotted
Tail was chief, the Brules had been out on
the war trail, and had captured a wagon
load of government whisky. It was very
filled up on ''dre water and laid down by
a huge fire of blazing logs to sleep. Spot
ted Tail got too close to the heat and had
his thigh badly cooked, hence the name
Sich-ung-goos-burnt thigh.
Longfellow has immortalized the. "Daco-
tabs" in "Hiawatha." The 'son of the
west wind" belonged to the tribe of the
Ojibways, the sworn foes of the Dncotahs.
But Hiawatha, at the bidding of "Githbee
Manitou," called all the Indian tribes to-
gethcr and ~
While they stood there On the meadows,
With their weapons and their war gear,
Painted like the leaves OF autumn.
Painted like the sky of morning,
Wildly glaring at each other;
In their faces stern defiance,
In their hearts the feuus of ages,
The hereditary hatred.
The ancestral thirst for vengeance,
We made them bury their war clubs, take
a bath and smoke the pipe of peace. They
have olunR to the tobacco habit, but the
record of that ono bath has never been
broken.
Hiawatha's deal with tho Indians was
just about as disinterested as treaties with
than hNvo AuAr hnnr Dn .olot 49,