Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-05-16
THE HERO OF WOUNDED KNEE
Paul Weinert Who Stood by
His Hotchkiss Gun.
A Stocky Little Soldier Who Wouldn't
BE Ordered Out of Danger
He Turned the Tide OF
Battle.

He Turned the Tide of
Battle.
Fort Sheridan, H., May S.-Fighters
t shoulder straps are numerous enough
to satisfy hero worshipers; the world
has no need to search the ranks of dingy
musketeers. and yet I'm the barrak-
rooms of many military posts In this
country there may be found the very
highest type Of physical courage and
daring.
Paul II. Weinert, a diminutive sol
der in the ranks of company Al Fiji
teenth infantry, is one cf these. lie has
courage of several descriptions. Cour-
age of his convictions is one of these
and this particular courage made him a
marked man at Fort Sheridan. For in
stance, I'm the winter Of 1891 Weinert be-
came convinced that the food I'm the
messroom was several points off. One
day when the inspecting officer was
making the roundsWeinert filled a bowl
with soup of a loud smelling brand and
held II under the officers nose. Ii raised
more than a literal stink and Weinert
was ~relegated to the guard house for
characterization.
And yet for distinguished bravery on
the field at Wounded Knee Weinert
wears a medal voted by congress.
Coming of the Messiah.
Four years ago last summer the Sioux
indians at Tongue River agency COM
menced the ghost dance. Fo weeks the
tribes of the northwest had been In q I,
fever Of excitement over the reported
nop,f,r ,g N NJoecinh uhn ShOnll RIGHT
all red mems wrongs. Nobody knows
where the craze originated, bot ii grew
into a frenzy.
II would be hard for q FennimOre
Cooper to find anything picturesque
about the Sioux ghost dance. Only in
It's terrible significance is ii impressive.
A tall poll is erected and at the top it Is
ornamented with short strips of gaudy
calico. Divested OF all ornaments, and
at the same time fasting, the savages
surround this emblem. The medicine
man invokes the aid OF the Deity and
an unlighted pipe Is held up for the
Great Spirit to smoke. Manifestly the
pffer Is refused, and this refusal Is taken
to mean that the Deity is adverse to
peace. The dancers moaning and chant
Ing. Join hands. and, keeping time to
weird music, whirl round and round.
From dizziness and exhaustion they H.
nally fall, and ii is while in this half
lnsensible condition that they receive
the Great Spirit message for war.
Ghost Dance AZ Pine Ridge.
When the Tongue river excitement
broke out Agent Cooper, who had a
wide influence, dissuaded the savages
Tor a time. But the excitement spread.
In ngtnhpr tho Pine Ridge Stony took
up the uncanny dance. Agent Gallag-
her, with a posse of Indian police, un-
1ertook to suppress the demonstration
by force of arms. The Indians showed
Tight and he was compelled to retreat
Six thousand Indians in the northwest
were in a state OF excitement and dis
content. This outbreak Of force precip-
ltated trouble and the agent at Rosebud
called upon the war department for
aid.
Nov. is. 1890. the Second infantry, at
Fort omaha, moved toward Pine Ridge.
equipped for a winter campaign. Light
battery T.. First artillery. was another
branch Of the service called intorequisi-
ton and Of this battery was Paul Vein
ert, then a first sergeant. General
Brooke left department headquarters at
Fort Omaha and tool command until
succeeded a few weeks later by General
Miles.
November 20 the situs ton in the
northwest was very critical. General
srooke Vas IN q Wild ,s@9ian sSinesRes.
Files and fully supplied with ammuni-
ton. The war department. recognized
the gravity OF the situation and troops
were ordered by telegraph from Forts
kJan6a NG,kInnaX pnhipcan Ninhrara
Riley and Leavenworth. Among the
re-enforcements were the crack Seventh
and Ninth cavalry. Both regiments
had seen hard service in the Indian
country and their men were experienced
In Indian warfare.
lntrenchcd In the Bad Lands.
The Sioux were encamped in the Bad
Lands. In these canyons and mountain
hefles they lay in wait. Outlying
ranches were plundered and the Indians
fed fat, For a month a waiting game
was played. Troops were not strong
enough to venture where ambuscades
were so certain and deadly and every
act OF General Miles had been to induce
the savages to surrender. Then came
The sensation. Famous old Sitting Bull,
the most dreaded OF the Sioux tribe, was
a DllltN ~ tHt IpiltNs ~ I00
cue was attempted and in the fight
which followed Sitting Bull was killed.
His hand, numbering 200, fed to the
bad Lands to join the hostile forces in
waiting. Il was realized that II these
fleeing redskins gained the camp Of the
main body the news Of Sitting Bulls
death would precipitate an attack. So
Il was that the Ninth cavalry went in
pursuit. All but a few stragglers were
rounded up and the start was made to
the agency.
December "a there came the news that
the captured Indians under Big Foot
had escaped and were again making to-
ward the Bad Lands. Colonel Henry
and a battalion Of the Ninth cavalry
started in pursuit on a forced march OF
forty miles. December q four battal-
Ions of the Seventh cavalry under
Colonel Forsythe started to Colonel
Henry's assistance. A general battle
was looked Tor momentarily. December
rs news came that Big Foot's band had
again been captured. The troops start
cd back with their prisoners and that
night encamped at the head OF Wounded
Knee creek.
Appearance of the Messiah.
In the meantime the indian Messiah
had appeared in the person OF A. G.
Hopkins, a half demented white man.
lie wore a white blanket and every
where mixed with the Indians, filling
their minds with his purpose to rid the
land OF the whites and to bring back
the buffalo herds.
There were soldiers that night in the
camp on Wounded Knee creek who dis
trusted the captive Indians. They had
made no offer to give up their guns and
knives and more than one trooper had
lmuttered against the laxity of the Of
fcers. On the morning of December 20,
however, Colonel Forsythe decided to
disarm his captives. He summoned the
sullen Sioux from their tents, and, muf-
fled to the chin I'm blankets, they gath
cred abou the tepee in which Big Foot
lay sick. Then a squad of twenty troop
ers was ordered 10 the Indian tents to
bring out all arms n ammunition for
surrender. The squad returned with
twenty rifles. Colonel Forsythe In an
Instant dlsmounted his troopers and
drew them up in close range of the $50
sullen Sioux. A squad of soldiers was
sent 10 the tepec. but only sixty com
~paratively worthless CUR were to be
found. AS the searching party started
out the Indians had set up a weird
chanting. which grew louder each mo-
ment. When the searching party had
returned Colonel Forsythe turned to the
Indians to ask the meaning OF their du-
plicity. AS he did so a medicine man
| reached dcyyu and ccrapinu toratho, ,