The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-09-04

l"CCOVClSd liOlii LIN u
! ing experiences of their long jour
ney, when one morning the cool
discovered there was a cup to-
: many. He knew what it meant, Blu
failed to report it until three day
! had passed. The authorities looke'
for the missing person, and foun'
: it to be Bull Hump, who had gon
to the Sioux agency to be with hi
wife. Again the Indians wer'
counted and then imprisoned. 4
few days later Bull Hump wa
brought back.
u The officers then tried to pur
suade the Indians to return to In
dian Territory. Dull Knife, speak
ing for his people refused, saying
" Wewill not go there to live. Thar
is not a healthful country, and il
we should stay there we would al
die. We do not wish to go back
there. and we will not CO.
The officers persisted in their eff
forts to overcome the chiefs oppo-
sition, but failed, Dull Knife re
spending: mo, I am here on my
own ground, and I will never go
back. You may kill me here; but
you cannot make me go back"
Captain Vessels, the command
ing officer, finding the Indians OBJ
durate, decided to starve them into
submission. Three of the leading
men were taken from the barracks
to be confined separately. One of
these escaped and running to the
barracks reported that Wild Hog
was captured, and was to be hand
cuffed.
"Then," said the young men,
eve must fight" and they became
sullen and reticent.
They were then deprived of food
and water, and fuel, although it
was m~idwinter, and excessively
cold. They scraped the snow from
the window lodges, and the little
children tried to get by the sentries
to gather snow, or get water but
were always prevented from doing
so. Still Dull Knife refused to go
south.
1--WE will not 60" said he. "The
only way to get us there is to come
in here with clubs and knock us on
the head, and drag us out and take
us down there dead. We have no.
thing to defend ourselves with, and
if you want to you can come here
with clubs and kill us like dogs"
Driven to desperation by the
cold, it being the second week in
January, of 1870, with the mercury
at zero; by lack of food and water
Little Shields one of the warriors
said to the young men: "Now,
dress up and put on your best
we will all die together"
Shields had heard them tell
ing one another: "They have tax
en- away our horses and our arms
and everything we have, and they
have kept us without food water or
fuel, for seven days. They are
starving us to death. We will not
go back south to die there. 1t is
better to die here fighting than to
die like like dogs" They put on
their war paint, their finest cloth
and their fancy ~moccasins, as
was their custom when going to
war.
They had five guns hidden under
the floor, and a few r~evolvers.
These had been taken to pieces and
given to the women and children
to keep until needed. The children
wore the small parts of the arms
such as hammers triggers, springs,
screws, etc., as ornaments, tied
about their neck braided intheir
hair or about their wrists like
bracelets. These parts were coll
lected and the arms put together.
The officers noticing the grow
uneasiness of their prisoners
placed a chain guard about the
barracks. That is, every sentry's
beat overlapped that OF the one
next to him.
Toward sunset the young men ar
in their best, kissed one an
other, and then at dusk stationed
themselves at the windows, where
hey piled up saddles and other ar
high enough to enable them
easily step out. They intended
shoot the guards. Little Shields
ired first then broke out the win-1
low sash. The others did likewise.
md all jumped to the ground.
Black Bears wife was the first one
tut.
The moon had risen, and it was