The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-02-15

dIlerWaru Billy, VINO Was one OF GOu 3
own gentlemen, told me that story
while we sat on a grassy hillside
watching great festival of the Black
feet nation.
After the battle in which Custer
the Sun Child-fell. the big Sioux army
scattered, but a section of 1t was
rounded up by force under the guild
ance of Buffalo Bill.
"One of the Indians" he says, ''who
was handsomely decorated with all the
ornaments usually worn by war chief
:. sang out to me- Il know you, Prai-
RE Chief; II you want to fight come
ahead and fight mep
"The chief was riding his horse back
and forth in front of his men, as II to
banter me, and l accepted the chal-
lenge. galloped toward him for fifty
yards and as he advanced toward me
about the same distance, both of us rid
| ing at full speed, and then, when we
were only about thirty yards apart,
raised my rifle and fired. His horse
fell to the ground, having been killed
by my bullet. Almost at the same In
slant my horse went down, having
| steppedin gopher-hole. The fall did
not hurt me much, and l instantly
sprang to my feet. The Indian had
also recovered himself, and we were
now both on foot, and not more than
twenty PAGES apart. We fired at each
other simultaneously. My usual luck
| did not desert me on this occasion, for
his bullet missed me, while mine struck
| him in the breast. He reeled and fell,
ground was upon him, knife in hand,
and had driven the keen-edged weapon
to it's hilt in his heart. Jerking his
war-bonnet off, 1 scientifically scalped
him in about five seconds.
"The Indians came charging down
upon me from hill, in hopes of cut
ting me off. General Merritt !. !. or
dered :. Company X to hurry to my
rescue. The order came none too
soon. -. AS the soldiers came up
swung the Indian chieftain's topknot
and bonnet in the air, and shouted:
| Lie nISI SCdlp Luz SuSlcI!
Far up to the northward, Sitting
Bull, with the war chief Spotted Tail
and about three thousand warriors,
fled from the scene of the Custer mas
sacre. And as they travelled on the
lonely plains they came to little fort
with the gates closed. "Open your
gates and hand out your grub" said
the Indians.
"Come and get the grub" answered
the fort.
So the gates were thrown open and
the three thousand warriors stormed
In to loot the fort. They found only
two white men standing outside door,
but all round the square the log buied-
ings were loopholed and from every
hole. stuck out the muzzle of a rifle.
The Indians were caught in such
deadly trap that they ran for their lives
back to camp.
Very soon news reached the Black
feet that their enemies, the Sioux,
were camped by the new fort at Wood
Mountain, so the whole nation marched
to wipe them out, and Sitting Bull APP
pealed for help TO the white men. "Be
good" said the fort, "and nobody shaft
hurt you"
So the hostile armies camped on
either side, and the thirty white men
kept the peace between them. One day
the Sioux complained that the Black
feet had stolen fifty horses. SO six of
the white men were sent to the Black
foot herd 10 bring the horses back.
They did not know which horses to Sc
lect, so they drove off one hundred fif-
ty for good measure straight at gal
lop through the Blackfoot camp, close
ly pursued by that indignant nation.
Barely in time they ran the stock with
in the fort, and slammed the gates
home in the face of the raging Black.
feet. They were delighted with them
selves until the officer commanding
fined them months pay each for In
sulting the Blackfoot nation.
The winter came, the spring and
then the summer, when those thirty
white men arrived at the Canas.a-
United States boundary, where they
handed over three Thousand Sioux
prisoners to the American troops.
From that time the redcoats of the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police of
Canada have been respected ON the
frontier.
And now came very wonderful adj
venture. Sitting Bull, the leader Of
the Sioux nation who had defeated
General Clusters division and surren-
dered his army to thirty Canadian SOL
diers, went to Europe to take part in
circus personally conducted by the
chief of scouts of the United States
army, Buffalo Bill Sitting Bull was
afterw ard killed during an attempt to
rescue him from arrest near Fort
Yates. N. ID. Buffalo Bill for twenty
six years paraded Europe and America
with his gorgeous Wild West show,
slowly earning the wealth which he
lavished in the founding of Cody, Wyo--
ming.
Toward the end of these tours I used
to frequent the show camp much like
stray dog expecting to be kicked,
would spend hours swapping lies with
the cowboys in the old Deadwood
coach, or sit at meat with the colonel
and his six hundred followers. On the
last tour the old man was thrown by-a
bad horse and afterward rode with
two broken bones in splints. Only the
cowboys knew, who told me, as day by
day, watched him back his horse from
the ring with all the old Incompatible
grace.