The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-03-08
AGENT JIM COOPER.
NOW HE MADE THE CHEYENNE IN
DAMS RESPECT HIM.

and Refused to Quail Before 400 War
r,ors and Like Number OF squaws-He
Carried Through His Programme Too.
A tall, keen eyed square shouldered, |
candy haired man, with countenance |
that bespoke quiet and reserved nature |
strolled out of the Hotel Lawrence and |
walked slowly up K street toward News |
naper row. AS he passed the Press club |
an army officer stepped forward and shook |
hands with him cordially and then re- |
Joined his companions.
"Do YOU know who that TSP" inquired |
tho military man. "Noi Well, that's ex-
Sneoial Agent Cooper of the Indian office.
Everybody In the far west knows Jim
Cooper. He has nerve enough to supply
whole family of mountain lions and have
enouph left to equip several companies of
hard riding Indian fighters During the
stormy times at Pine Ridge agency several
years ago Cooper was strong factor In
sottlino matters with the Indians, being
rresent there as a civilian representative
If the government. His fame had preceded
him TO Pine Ridge from the Tongue river
reservation of the northern Cheyennes up
In Montana, where he followed career
that was full of exciting adventures. One
incident that may give you some idea as
"a the character of the man occurred up
on the Tongue river reservation In the lat
ter part of the eighties, when Cooper was
temporarily acting as the agent there.
Two Indian boys, as young unmarried In
dams are called, about 10 or 90 years of
are. respectively, had murdered white
man.
"Cooper called the Cheyennes together,
and they numbered about 400 warriors at
that time and equally as many squaws,
who are pretty near as good as warriors
when It comes to a ruction, and told them
that the boys would have to be broughtin
and delivered up to answer for their crime.
The Indians said they didn't know where
the boys were, and Cooper very plainly
told them that they were lying. Then
they asked him how many ponies he would
take 10 let up on the prosecution of the
criminals, and Cooper said that he would
not listen to any such talk as that, but
that what he wanted was the boys, and
that he wanted them brought In without
any further palavering or subterfuge or
DELAY. The father of one of the boys grew
very indignant at Cooper's determined
stand and said that the boys would come
in all right, but that Cooper was too big
a coward to meet them. This was the In
dian way of challenging Cooper to fight.
He never WINGED, but got mad In turn.
He told the gathering that the whole Chey-
enne tribe couldn't scare him, and that he
proposed to get those boys in spite of all of
them and see that justice was done and
dared the father to let the murderers
know what he said. Then he rammed a
few handfuls of ammunition into his
pocket, took up his rifle and started out
1.-The Cheyennes ranged themselves
round on the bluffs and waited for the fun
to begin, ready to take hand In an IN
slant, if necessary. Cooper knew that III
he showed the slightest signs OF nervous
ness or fear the Indians would make
short work of him, burn everything in
sight and 90 cavorting off the reservation.
But he grew mighty lonesome, for all the
white employees of the reservation had
become scared and gone to hiding. He
called on the six or seven Indian police
that were on duty at the reservation to
stand by him, however, and took the pre-
caution to send one of them after a cavalry
troop, think il was Troop A of the First,
that was camped down on the Lame Deer.
Pretty soon Cooper saw n couple OF Chey'
ennes in full war paint and regalia riding
like mad down the trail toward the agen
cy They were the boys who had murdered
the old man. AS they came within range
the agent raised his rifle and plugged one
Of them so good and hard that he rolleo
off his pony and gave up the ghost with
out single kick.
1.-The other one began circling aroun6
and around for little while, as Indiana
do, getting ready for rush. and Coope
awaited his opportunity to get good sho
at him, when the cavalry troop appeared
Then came the strangest part OF the pro
ceeding. That young Indian charged oil
rectly at the line of United States soldier
and went right through it, wounding iou
horses as he did so. But when he ha'
gone through somebody whirled that troo
around, and the result was that In les
than three ways of a sleeps tail Mr. In
dian boy was as full of holes as any piec
of honeycomb you ever saw in your life
There was no more trouble at the Tongu
river reservation while Cooper was there
and the Cheyennes respected him.
You mustn't imagine from this tina
the northern Cheyenne is a weak specime
of the Indian. Those fellows at Tongu
river were the very same who were take
down to Indian Territory many years az
and escaped and were not overhauled 9
stopped until they had gone north to witt
in 80 or go miles of Pine Ridge, and Tn
government didn't try to get them to
back any more. They are fierce to degre
and the best fighters that live today, pt
still they are upright In their dealing
and the character of their lives may DO al
precated when the fact Is known thi
there is not q woman among the norther
Cheyennes who Is not perfectly virtuous'
Washington Star.
Faithful Dog.