Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1912-04-19

| w NhOSiCi "do a uidJOl SeHeIdl VI lue
Confederacy already had been cut into
the granite and the hope of the sane
ones Is that 1t will remain there as
long as the granite endures.
went to Arlington and read the
Confederate service inscription. II
leads the rest of the record of Wheel
er's soldier service. Below 1t appears
the statement of the fact that Wheel
er was major general in the Federal
| army at the time of his death He
rests under the blue of the sky and
the gray Of the clouds and he rests In
good company.
Not long ago there was levity
in the usually grave senate wher
bill was considered to pension
the widows of several braves Of the
Crow tribe Of Indians. The levity
was caused by the names, read aloud
In the senate, of two of the widowed
beneficiaries of the bill-Mrs. Bull
head and Mrs. Shavehead. Other
widows who profited were Mrs. Little
Eagle and Mrs. Hawkman.
The husbands of these Indian WON
en- won pensions for them in an en-
gagement in which there was neither
time nor reason for levity. Bullhead
fought as well as did the hero Of fic
ton, and perhaps history, Front de
Boeuf, his namesake, of whom all
readers of Scott know. Shavehead
was not second to Bullhead in his
lighting, nor yet were the other Grow
Indians who, with their leaders, fell in
the fight at the time that the attempt
was made to arrest Sitting Bull at his
camp on the Grand river, December
Is, 1890.
1t was report of Colonel Fechet
now dead, that brought about the pen
sioning of the widows of the Indians
who were killed on that December
day little over twenty-five years ago
The pension bill by which Mary
Bullhead and Annie Shavehead and
the rest profit was before congress
for years, but no action could be Sc
cured.
| Picturesque Names Changed.
No white man ever fought better
than did the red man on the Grand
river, Standing Rock agency, just ter
days before two troops of the Seventh
cavalry were practically wiped out Of
existence by the braves of Big Foot
on Wounded Knee creek. Indiar
names are always picturesque, but
when the white man starts in witt
the water Of his baptismal fount the
picturesqueness is likely to be washed
away with the savage sin. Here are
the names Of some of the red mer
who won medals. One of the leaders
in the fight of Sitting Bulls camp was
known as Take the Hat; now he IL
plain Dennis. Swift Hawk has be
come Hugh, White Buffalo is Luke
and Soldier is Eugene.
Colonel Fechet, who made a report
on the bravery Of Bullhead, Shave
head and the others, had very little te
say about his own part Of the affaii
which ended in the killing Of Sitting
Bull and the dispensing of his follow
ing. The colonel in fact was content
to praise everybody but himself fol
the work done, and the chances are
that no senator on the floor remem
bered the part which this American
army officer played in that drama Of
the plains which served as curtain
raiser for the last great Sioux war.
Colonel Fechet's Exploit.
1t was bitter December night wher
the little company Of Indian police al
Standing Rock agency was sent out
under orders to arrest Sitting Bull
The war department officials thought
1t was better that the Indian police
should attempt to arrest the great
Sioux chief and medicine man rather
than to send white troops into the
field to accomplish the arrest.
There were 43 braves in the Indian
police band, and when they came tc
the camp of Sitting Bull they ran up
against 160 Sioux. The medicine man
was killed at the first exchange Of
shots and the most famous Sioux In
dian, of comparatively recent history
at least, went where 1t Is hoped the
buffalos are plenty.
The police routed Sitting Bulls fol
lowers. but they were speedily rein
forced by another band Of Sioux, and
the police were compelled to barricads
themselves in some log huts, from
which they held off the swarmine
horde until Fechet, then a captain oi
the Eighth cavalry, reached the scene
with two troops Of horse. Fechet had
gone into the field with his troops to
await the arrival Of courier with
the news of Sitting Bulls arrest. The
courier came headlong and almost
speechless. Finally he told his tale
Sitting Bull was dead, many Of the In.
dian police were killed and the rest
were surrounded by hordes Of Sioux
and in momentary danger Of being
slain.
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