The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-29

fore the troops returned to the agency
a blizzard which is seldom seen any,
where outside of the desolate plains Of
South Dakota tore out of the Black
hills to the west and piled snow in
great pillows as far as the eye could
reach.
When Spotter Elk was asked why the
Indians had fed at the appearance OF
the cannon he said naively:
Indian does not like big gun. 1t
shoots today and hits tomorrow"
which, by the way. was tersely express
sive of the red mans conception of the
range of modern gun.
There are not many persons Who
know how the news of Sitting Bulls
death reached the thousands of Ogaiai-
las who were encamped at Pine Ridge.
1t was one cold night early in Deem
Der, when men who had not yet gone
to bed saw a faint light CLEAN from the
crest of a butte far to the north. A
moment later another and brighter
flame sprang from the top of a bluff
still nearer the Pine Ridge agency
Then, from peak TO peak flashes of fire
grew in intensity and rapidity, until
the SUBMITS of 100 buttes were pulsat-
ing with light. The more distant fire
looked like the blinking of red star
but the flame on the hill nearest the
agency was ominously distinct in its
fierceness. The Sioux at Standing rock
We're flashing the news of the red
Napoleon's death to their brethren at
Pine Ridge, distance of over 200 miles
The Indian police were the first TO
discover the flaming code. They crept
silently to the banks of White Clay
creek and there watched the dots and
dashes. Of the Indians midnight tele-
graphy. Each flash was repeated from
hill TO hill. Gen. Brooke and his staff
Il TLlNx .
uniform and with a pair of night
glasses watched the message as it came
out of the north. The police were sill
ent. Swords, their commander. lay at
full length upon the ground studying
every flicker of the distant light and
noted its duplicate approach the
agency.
1t was evident that something was
wrong. The Ogalallas and Brules en-
camped about the soldiers were already
active. Now and then a haranguer's
voice would come over the nipping air,
proclaiming, it is supposed his inter-
probation of the signals. There was a
hustle in the corrals. Ponies were
hastily driven into the great Indian
village, lights flashed from tepee to
tepee and, standing in solemn groups
on the crests of the snOwflecked hills
We're hundreds of Sioux, who eagerly
Standing rock, over 200 miles away.
On each high peak almost as the
crow flies of all this distance was a
band of Indians, with fire of cotton
wood and pine faggots, before which
they held blanket, raising and drop
ping it according to their code of tele-
graphy Thus, for overes00 miles, the
tale of Sitting Bulls death came flash
ing through the midnight to the ner
vOus and frightened warriors of the
Pine Ridge and Rosebud agencies.
Gen. Brooke, after studying the sig
nails for nearly an hour, asked Swords
the nature and cause of the signaling.
The Indian preferred to wait a little
longer before giving his Interpretation.
Finally he said: There is trouble at
Standing rock. That is all can make
out of the signals"
But it was evident that the police
man did not tell all he had read in the
flaming message. for the unrest and
activity of the Sioux about the agency
showed that they had been told Of
something far more serious to their
cause.
Three days later official news of Sit
ting Bulls death was received at head
quarters. Then the mysterious mes
sage which came like a red chain out
Of the north, was plain to everybody.