Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-10-14

still living.
Sitting Bull had 5000 fighting men
with him when he met the Seventh cavalry under the
"Yellow-haired Chief" who rode into the valley Of death
with less than three hundred following troopers, 1t is
the custom of the whites to speak Of every battle with
the reds in which the pale face loss was severe as a
massacre. The Custer affair was a massacre, but it
was one Of the few fights in which the whites were
defeated which rightly could be so called.
Red Clouds name is suggestive Of the warrior, and
in the years that are gone he made its significance ter
Tfble. With his braves he swept the settlements and
gave battle to the soldiery, rarely giving heed to the
odds that might be against him.
Red Cloud was a Sioux of the pure blood. There
were always men of the tribe who said that Sitting Bull
had a trace of white in him, and to the full-blood this
was the equivalent of discrediting him with a "streak Of
yellow" But this was only the Indian way of looking
at it and Sitting Bull probably never showed a towards
face to any foe, no matter what may be the opinion of
him as a plansman general.
In his old age Red Cloud is said to be an object Of
pity, but 1t was a different story in the earlier days,
when his arm was strong and his heart was vengeful.
Almost Immediately after the civil war Red Cloud met
in battle the feldtried heroes of that conflict and they
found in him a foe worthy Of their skill and STEEL
Mineral wealth had been discovered in Montana and
the rush of prospectors and settlers made it necessary
for the government to begin the erection Of military
posts along the trail leading over the prairies to the
mines. On the trail to the Powder river was built Fort
Phil Kearney. While the troops ordered to the new
post were on the march overland, a scout came riding
in to the column as If he had death at his heels. Col
Fetterman was in command, and after a hurried talk
with the scout the two rode forward, leaving the column
at a halt. Officer and scout skirted a patch of timber
and came to the banks of a small prairie stream from
which the view was unbroken for miles. To the front
and about 600 yards distant they saw a solitary Sioux
warrior standing on the plain with his spear thrust into
the ground at his side, while from the end of the weap-
ons handle futtered a bit of colored cloth. 1t needed
but little frontier knowledge to make Interpretation Of
that signal easy. It was the Sioux sign of warning that
there must be no trespassing on the lands over which
they held dominion.
Warning Is Spurned.
Red Cloud, the chief. had ordered the warrior to
display what was at once a notice and a menace, and
later he took a terrible vengeance because his warning
had been spurned.
Col. Fetterman rode back to his command, knowing
well what the signal Of the planted spear meant, but,
soldier like, fully determined to disregard its conveyed
threat. He pushed ahead with his men, throwing out
scouts to feel the way. The Indian sentinel had van
ished, but he had left his spear with its pennant of cloth
to stand as a %forbidding sign. Not another Sioux was
seen on the march to the new post, but the scouts knew
that Red Cloud was not far off and was biding his time.
"A few hours after the occupation of the fort a detail
of soldiers was sent out with a small wagon train to cut
and to bring in needed timber. Two hours later a
courier rode In and had barely time to tell his story
before he sank into Inconsistencies from the pain of
his wounds. The timber detail was surrounded by Sioux
and was in imminent danger of death.
In the fort were many women and children, the
wives and sons and daughters Of the officers and en-
listed men. Col. Fetterman knew that he must leave a
strong guard for the protection of the post, for the
attack on the timber party might be but a diversion to
uIdW away LAG ~ uAN bOy# thnAh5 u w AASu Will
him., the commanding officer rode out to the rescue of
the surrounded soldiers. Not one man Of the gallant
band ever rode back.
That Fetterman and his men exacted a heavy price
for their lives goes without saying, but how many of
the savage followers Of Red Cloud fell on that day no
man ever knew nor will man ever know unless the chief
In the hour of his dotage may one day babble the tale.
10 the memory of Fetterman a fort bearing his name
rose in the wilderness, but even the remembrance of the
memorial is now passing away. News Of the killing Of
the troops that had gone to the aid Of their fellows only
to die was sent to the nearest garrison by courier, who
made his way through the hostile country with peril
besetting every hoof stroke on the path. He eluded Red
Cloud only by matching cunning against cunning, and
the white craft won over the red.
Relief reached the post, but by this time the whole
Sioux nation had declared for war and the northwest
was afame, nor did the fires of conflict kindled by Red
Cloud, die out for more than a score Of years, the last
flicker Of the flame lighting the battle field Of THE
Mission near Pine Ridge, s. D. in the year 1891.
Red Cloud, at the agency near the scene Of the last
fight, saw the wounded brought In from the field. He
had seen the beginning Of the great war and he was the
witness of its end,