The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-04-28

twenty miles in width for hundreds o,
miles.
His arguments, as l see them now
covered every n that the unsel6sl
advocate Of communal existence car
advance, practicable when the so call
ed "civilized man" has become as con
tented as were the primitive children
Of prairie land and forest, but, lacking
which, this survival Of the fttes,
seems to decree the fate Of the Indian
and control the relative prosperity OF
the white. The fire horse caused
prairie fires. His attendants increased
until they came with shovel, spade and
carpenter tools. They first erected
tepees, got lonely and brought their
sQuaws. Their friends soon came tc
join them, and soon wooden tepees
were built and camps became villages
and villages towns until cities were
filled with crowds Of people, such as
Bismarck, Mandan, etc. Then the
"man In the DARK sold the land.
Later, when the crops failed and the
lessee did not pay, he kicked the tenant
out and resold the land. He took the
money back in the dark toward the
rising sun. If a poor man had nc
money he could not ride, but there was
plenty Of room; he had to walk-often
to die by the roadside of hardships OF
starvation, If some Samaritan Indian
did not feed him. The imam in the
dark" never came there when he and
his chief made complaints. No one
was responsible. They We're told to
send letters or speak by the lightning
to the man in the dark" but he never
answered. When the government trea.
ties We're broken a similar ~discourteous
lack Of consideration occurred. "My
chiefs and me, who signed, were al.
ways here. The great fathers head
men General Harvey and others) were
not. They never returned. New white
chiefs took their places, and every four
years new great fathers took power and
their men laughed at what their prede-
cessors had DONE"
The breaking of treaties so frequent
ly and the invasion Of the Black Hills
and other sections by the gold seekers,
prospectors and trappers became the
cause Of constant Irritation, leading to
almost continual contests, raids and
massacres. This condition had really
brought on the war of 1856, resulting
In the Custer fight as we'll as it's many
succeeding cleanups.
The forfeiture of the Black Hills and
injudicious reductions of rations kept
discomfort alive. When in 1889 con
gress passed a law dividing the Sioux
reservation into many smaller ones so
as to isolate the different tribes or
clans of the Dakota nation a treaty
was submitted to their vote whereby
by reinstating the cutoff rations and
paying for ponies captured or destroy
ed in the '76 war and other certain
conditions they ceded about one-half
their land-11 100000 acres. Fulfill
ment of conditions was delayed, post
poned- forgotten. almost-by congress.
At this time, through some mysteri-
GUS mountain phantom or trickster,
the "medicine men, became easy VIC
Tins of a craze. This was based on
lAC uSScl l1Ol IluI Vic NlcSSluu (LIlc
Manitou) was coming back on earth to
use his miraculous power in favor Of
the red nan to crush out the whites,
to restore everything to the idealistic
condition Of former years, restock the
ranges with big game, bulfaloes. elk,
deer, etc. This created q universal
lanatical fervor. and not alone among
the Sioux, but affected all Indians
on this continent. Former foes be-
came fast friends, and from the va
quis in old Mexico to the Alaskan
tribes in the far north the religious
ghost dance festivities famed the
flames Of war. The "medicine MEMS
preaching that the holy medicinal
ghost shirts would protect the wearer,
urn the white mans bullets. was &C
cepted and made recruits by thou
sands to the cause. The dancing
frightened the settlers, shocked the re-
ligious, philanthropic friends Of the
Indians and was officially ordered
stopped. Easy orders, eh" Instead,
If they had been allowed to dance,
even If some did so to the death, ex-
haustion, like a boilers safety valve,
and an afterthought might soon have
made 1t appear to them in the ridic-
ulous light that SO effectively kills alb
surdities.
I was at the time in Alsace-Lorraine
with my exhibition and had with me
seventy-five travelled Indians. We had
all the facts. and myself and partner
decided to close. camp the rest Of the
outfit in an old castle near Strassburg
Benfeld) with a large domain. and I
myself left by fast steamer via Eng
land for New York. while Major Burke.
with the Indians as pacifers. came
via Antwerp and Philadelphia and
fastened to the scene of strife.
The Indians brought home made a
strong peace contingent Mt Pine Ridge.
while I FASTENED, with General Miles
appreciation. to visit Sitting Bull in
person. feeling sure that my old enemy
and later friend would listen to my ad-
vice. The fact that ! was willing to