The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-14
A NorAnI.n Dnxrn.

might have been among the noted men of the age if circumstances and conditions had been favorable. but as he was "only an Indian" his fame was not as fully recognized as It might have been if he had belonged to the white race.
 Red Clouds exact age is not known with any degree of certainty. We have seen 1t put at SC years by one authority, and at s1 by another. Whatever 1t may have been 1t is cer- tain that he was very old as years are counted. His memory took in all the noted Indian wars of the last cen- tury. from our own troubles with the Creeks, seminoles and others. to the latest disturbances in the West. !, That Red Cloud was generally look cd on as a bad Indian" is true. and If 1t was so there Is no need of sur prise. He may not have been a stu dent of written history but oral tra- dition with his race took the place of written history. and was sometimes
 more reliable. Important happenings and occurrences were handed down from sire to son with an accuracy and completeness that has always been a matter of wonder to the white race.
 Through these carefully preserved traditions an Indian like Red Cloud
 knew much of the transactions be- tween the red and the white man, and most of 1t was of nature caicu. lated to make him an enemy of the
 white race. He could call to mind that his race had been gradually but relentlessly forced back from the shores of the Atlantic to the wild West. He could tell of solemn trea- ties entered Into between the Indians and our government which were con- tinuaIly violated on our part He knew of reservations that had been set apart for the Indians by solemn compact. but which were ruthlessly invaded by the whites and the Indians forced further back. He knew of the many tribes of the East and the Gen. trai United States who had been driv- en from their homes. from the graves of their ancestors. and from all else that was dear to them and sent off into new and unknown regions where everything was strange. to them. and often conditions were so unfavorabie that life was almost uncomfortable. Ali this was known to the Sioux chief through the spoken traditions of his race, but he had something more directly personal More than thirty years ago the Sioux Indians eeded large tracts of land to our govern ment for merely nominal prices, the agreement between them and the gov ernment being to the effect that the Indians were to receive regular an- nuities for a stated number of years. The shrewd leaders of the tribe knew that if all the money were paid at once 1t would be squandered, and that 1t would be better for their people to get payments anually. and thus bene- fit by It They relied on the promises and pledges of the agents of the Unit ed States, but these pledges, like so many others, were not kept.
 It is no wonder that the Indians rebelled against this lack of faith on the part of the whites. and we should not blame them much. The bloody war of 1878 in which Custer was killed and many of his soldiers with him, was the result of this breach of faith. While 1t Is true that Sitting Bull was the main figure in that war 1t is known that Red Cloud was in sym pathy with the movement. His agen- cy was surrounded by our troops, his supplies cut off, his ponies taken away. his people left in a starving condition. and a little later he was deposed from the chieftainship. It is not to be wondered at if the last years of the old chief were years of sadness and of resentment towards the whites.
 But he has gone. whether to the happy hunting grounds of his race we may not say, but his career is ended. Let us not be severe on one who was faithful to his own people and to their sacred traditions. He was Indian in every fiber of his being. and acted on his nature. If he and his people had been treated fairly and honestly they would probably have been faithful friends of the whites as long as any of them were left, but the wrongs in- flicted on his own tribe, added to his Knowledge of what all other In- dians had endured. combined to sour his nature and make him the enemy of our government and people. What ever wrongs he may have done in his long and eventful life may we'll be buried with him.
 Notwithstanding the oft repeated claim that the oposition to the