East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-07-09


who took part in that tragedy were in
New York on the occasion, perform
Ing in mimic war dances and battles
with Buffalo Bill. They are Rocky
Bear and Iron Tail.
Both chiefs were reluctant at first
to talk about the fight, but at last
thawed out and for three hours recited
the story of the troubles that culmi-
mated in the death of Custer and his
men on June 25, 1876, and the ban
ishment of the Sioux from the coun-
try. Stripped of its crude wording,
Iron Tails story ran as follows:
MY tribe and the Cheyennes, with
which we are married, nave always
been fighting men. They have fought
and beaten all the Indians of the
plains, and have been feared for their
prowess. We made raids into the
country south OF us, ran of ponies,
cattle and whatever we wanted. We
fought the Indians and the whites and
the soldiers with success. Finally the
Great Father wanted us to become
reservation Indians and hold us to
tne agency Red Cloud, a great chief,
was a friend of the whites and wanted
the reservation. Sitting Bull, a bis
medicine man, he wanted to be as al
dian country, hunt, camp and roam.
Red Cloud had his followers, Sitting
Bull had his. With the latter were
such fighting chiefs as 'Gaul and
Rain-in-the-F Face. I was young, so
was Rocky Bear-we were just chiefs,
what you soldiers call colonels; they
were generals.
Previous to 1876 Northumberland
had been in the guard house at Fort
Abraham Lincoln, where Custer was
the big chief. and Tom Custer had
put iron on him, which made the
heart bad. He told Tom Custer he
would eat his heart some day when
he got away. Later Rain-in-the-Face
escaped to us and he was a bad Indi-
an, always wanting to fight; he kept
the young fellows stirred up and help
ed Sitting Bull.
I'm 1876 when grass came the SOL
diers came for us. There were three
big chiefs with three villages and they
tried to get around us, but Gaul-
he was our biggest chief-kept NOV
ing on until we came near the reser-
vations, and great many of the
young braves left the agencies and
went on tn warpath with us. We were
trying to get up near the line (Can-
adas, and had felt we were far away
from the soldiers when we fought
Custer. We felt so safe we had no
scouts out for two days when we
made village on the Little Big Horn
river.
we were all in tepees that morn
ing when Custer and his soldiers came
on us. We ran out and they shot at
us. We made for our ponies and
were going to escape down the river
when we found Clusters little chief
CReno) headed us off. We did not
know which way to go until we saw
the little chief run away.
Then Gaul-he big fighter-lead
us all at Custer. We find he only has
few men and we fight him. The
soldiers fight, fight like Sioux; they
brave, they good fighters, but we kill
them all in short time and scalp them.
Then we go for the little chief and
he and his soldiers in trenches, so
we take the women and the children
and go over the line.
1T a big fight"-to go back to
Tails words-"Sioux brave Indian,
whip soldier, get soldier gun, get
clothes, get blankets, get scalp and |
one sleep get where soldier no come. |
Gaul, he want fight, may be six suns |
more; he no want fight them. Gaul |
he fight good when Custer come.
Heap Sioux!
THAT long SHOWS ago! Me good In
dian now. Fight no more"
The old chief took the pipe of
peace from the hand of the writer.
The youthful fire of excitement at
living over those scenes of carnage
died from his eyes, the paint of his
face which had made him again the
savage of the '70s took on grotesoue-
ness.
Throughout the recital of the story
Rocky Bear had sat with legs crossed
under him, his beady eyes peering out
over cheeks as wrinkled as the hide
II an elephant, fixedly set upon the
speaker. When Tail had finished.
Rocky Bear said:
White Man think Sitting Bull big
chief. No, Sitting Bull big medicine
man. No fight. Big chief Gaul and
Rain-ih-the-Face, they fight. Rain
n-the-Face say\he eat Tom Custer,s