The sun., 1897-11-24
THE CHEYENNEs, TROUBLE.
An Innocent man Convicted, while the Mur
derer Turns Stnte'a Evidence.


derer Turns stnte'a Evidence.
To THE EDITOR OF THE suN-Sir: You were
sufficiently interested last summer in tho mis-.
fortunes of my friends, tho Cheyennes in Mon
tana, to print a column or two Of matter giving
the truth about the so-called outbreak.
As you may remember. tho trouble at Lame
Deer had Its origin in the killing of a sheep
herder by an Indian known as Stanley. To his
own people Stanley confessed the murder. say
ing repeatedly: - did it; I did it alone; no ono
was with mo-" After he had made this confess
sion he dressed himself in his war clothes,
armed himself, and went out on q hill near the
agency, expecting the troops to como out to try
to capture him. and then expecting to die fight
ing. This he was not allowed to do, but was
captured and has since been in Jail.
After his arrest the Prosecuting Attorney of
Custer county got at him and at his father and
mother and by telling them that they would
make 1t as easy as possible for him, per-
suaded Stanley to tell story duplicating some
other people. One Of these is young man
named Spotted Hawk, who was tried and on
the 9th inst. found guilty of murder in the first
degree. Stanley has not yet been tried.
If they hang Spotted Hawk it will be judicial
murder. There Is nothing to connect him with
the death OF the sheep herder except this second
thought story OF Stanley and the testimony of q
swore that with Spotted Hawk. Little Whirl-
wind. and tho small hoy, Little Shoulder Blade,
he went out to kill q steer. They found 2-year-
old COW and killed il. They had Just begun to
skin 1t when white man appeared and threat
ened them, and then went away; that the In
dians determined to kill the white man for fear
that they might get into trouble for killing the
animal: that they followed him and did shoot
him. Spotted Hawk shooting him in the body.
Shoulder Blade. up to the point where the In
dans started after the white man. when, the
boy SAID, he went home; but he professed to have
Against all this is the fact that no carcass of
O. cow was found anywhere near the body of
named Yellow Hair that he had killed a white
man and asked him to help him bury the body
e 'oa e did d h
no one helped him to do it; the fact that he
came out alone to fight and be killed.
the body away. and concealed it. and it would
| to do anything of this kind The body lay OH tho
prairie for three weeks before II was discovered,
because Stanley. who wanted 1t taken away and
| hidden, did not dare to attempt to carry it
stanley stated to a number of people that he
killed the man because he wanted TO die himself.
He had several times talked with his compan-
| ions about committing suicide. Both he and his
father, Badger, have long been known to be par
| Among all the people who know the crcum-
| stances of the case there Is but one opinion. that
| Stanley Is the murderer and that the testimony
| duplicating Spotted Hawk Is perjured. This is
the belief Of all the members OF the tribe and of
| all the white men ON the reservati ion who know
the persons connected with the crime.
An effort will be made TO secure for Spotted
| Hawk a new trial IL reversal of the jury 8
finding. This, Of course, will take money. and
| by Spotted Hawks counsel to the Indian Rights
| Association. in the hope that this association
may be in II position to furnish funds to obtain
his rights for Spotted Hawk. 1t is hoped that
| this appeal may save the young man from
death. Yours sincerely.
| Nov. %. GEO. BIRD GRINNELI-