Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-10-20
OLD RED CLOUD.
Was Cruel as Fate, But Not Without
Humor.


Humor.
There Is a firm paleface conviction
that the red man has no sense Of hu-
NOR. It were better perhaps to quail
fy the statement by making it trile
less sweeping. 1t is the paleface at
distance who thinks that the Indian
has no funny bone-the frontiersman
knows otherwise.
There is old Red Cloud, the Sioux
chieftain, now within a short journey
Of the joys which the happy hunting
ground holds for him, who probably
never laughed aloud in his life, but
who behind his mask Of stolidity hides
as keen an appreciation Of "the fun
Of the thing as can be found in the
composition of any one Of his white
conquerors.
Nearly forty years ago Red Cloud in
the nrime of his fighting days, led, with
other chiefs, an attack on the whites
near Fort Fetterman. Red Cloud had
the better of his foes on that day.
Afterward when the paleface soldiers
with blue coats proved too many for
him, Red Cloud had change Of heart
He said that he had plucked out
hatred. That was one Of Red Clouds
best jokes, and when the whites could
not see his face because 1t was turned
away from the council fire, the old
chief smiled and his eyes twinkled with
the JOY of 1t.
A quarter of a century divided the
fight at Fort Fetterman from that at
Wounded Knee. Red Cloud was at the
Pine Ridge agency when news Of the
battle between the soldiers Of the 7th
cavalry and the braves Of Big Foots
band was brought in by courier
The chief heard Of the loss Of some
300 Of his tribe, and said that notwith-
standing the fight and the killing, his
heart was still shut against the return
Of hatred for the palefaces
Not long after the Wounded Knee
battle Miles and Brooke succeeded In
throwing troops about the bands Of
| hostiles, and began the task Of forcing
them little by little into the Pine
Ridge agency and to final surrender.
There have been criticisms Of the
actions Of the 7th cavalry at Wounded
Knee e-unquestionably unjust criticisms
and Col. Forsythe, who was In COM
mand, had been ordered into arrest as
result Of the outcry which came from
philanthropists in states far removed
from the scene Of the Indian warfare.
Gen. Miles wanted to get the reds
back to the agency without precipitat-
ing another fight and another fire OF
criticism. So 1t was that he was urg-
ing the Ogallala and the Brule Sioux
bucks to surrender and was using his
troops rather for herding and for driv-
ing purposes than for actual offense.
Young Man Afraid-of- His Horses
went to the hostile camp and har-
angued his brother savages imploring
them to obey Miles and to come In
and be bad Indians no more. Young
Mans speech had some effect. Then
Red Cloud wanted to follow the exam
pie of the young chief. No one knows
definitely whether Red Cloud was sent
by the general commanding or went
on his peace talking Of his own initia-
tive, but he went.
| The hostiIes were north Of White
Clay Creek and west Of Porcupine
Butte. Red Cloud reached their camp
and he talked at their council fire.
Then there happened curious thing.
On the heels of the chiefs a pack band
of the young bucks broke away and
began to raid. There was a fight with
a squadron of the 7th cavalry near the
Roman Catholic mission school, and
an army wagon train was attacked at
a place not far distant from the
agency.
| Red Cloud came back to the agency.
Even his native command Of himself
could not give control Of the twinkle
that was in his ancient eye. But
what a tale was that to be told! The
Indians with bad hearts had rejected
his pleas for peace and surrender and
had driven him, their old chief, with
curses and blows from their camp.
He had plodded the trail from their
camp to the agency, footsore and
foodless, and in this day Of his falling
sight he would have been lost had not
his granddaughter, Star Eyes-or some
such name, for my memory Is at fault
led him all the way by the hand.
It was with as near a sob in his
voice as an Indian ever gets that old
Red Cloud told his story. Way down
inside he was enjoying the joke Of 1t
better perchance, than were his hear
ers. The old chief, who had made
miles Of distance, footsore and foodless
during the night, was looking in an
unusually robust and well-fed condi-
ton that frosty January morning four
teen years ago.
1t would be something Of joy to
know just what old Red Cloud had
said to the Brule and Ogallala bucks
beyond the White Clay Creek. The
old fellow was an orator, and when
| there were no Wnlte men lSleleIS He
knew the way to the seat of the saw
age passions.
Is the Indian lacking in a sense Of
humor? Old Red Cloud used to get
more genuine enjoyment out Of telling
his unsophisticated paleface listeners
the story of how he talked peace in the
hostile camp than Kicking Bear ever
did in running off a settlers stock, and
this means much.-Chicago Post
A Foxy MovE.-After the wedding
breakfast had been eaten and the
guests had departed, the brides father
sought the groom.
You know that $4,000 check that
placed among the presents" quoth he.
Yes, sir"
well. we'll just tear that up"
I'm sorry, sir" replied the groom
cheerfully, but I stepped around to
| lo.l, - Gov, ,,oo,,oonto on an6 had