Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-02-28

war chief, Dull Knife, of the North
ern ~CheyenneS, will spend his de-
Ginning years with his mate of a half
century in his lonely shack on the
Rosebud a few miles west of Lame Deer
in spite of the efforts OF relatives and
friends to move him to more comfort
able quarters at the agency where
needs of the feeble old couple could be
attended to by younger hands. Grip
pied by rheumatism, a rare ailment
among Indians, the old man is now
His wife, also enfeebled by old age, is
nearly helpless. The old people have
refused to make their home with rela-
tives at the agency.
For just SO years Buffalo Hump and
his wife have lived together, following
the various fortunes of their tribe as
man and wife. from the bloody 70's up
to the present era Of peace and pros
perity. Honeymooning through one of
the cruellest chapters in Indian his
tory, Buffalo Hump and his bride were
active participants in thrilling occur
rences OF early days.
According to the story told by the
old man, he was a young man of 81
years at the time of the march of his
people, led by the famous We-he-hiv,
Morning Star, better known by his
Sioux name of Dull Knife. from the
fever-infested lowlands of Indian ter
ritOry to the homeland of the North
ern Cheyennes in southern Montana
and Dakota. While on this journey of
several hundred miles, during which
white soldiers were securing the plains
in an attempt to head off the raiding
hOstileS and during which the Indians
were constantly on the lookout for SOL
diers, Buffalo Hump took a bride, the
same wife with whom he is now living.
Band Divides
After they had crossed the Platte
river in Nebraska, the C%heyennes di-
vided into two bands, the Little Wolf
band going north and west in the Pow
der river country, where they were
later discovered by scouts sent out from
Fort KeOgh, and surrendered to the
commandment of that post. The Dull
Knife band went toward the place
where the Red Cloud agency had for
merly stood, in western Nebraska. They
thought themselves to be on their own
ground now, and expected to settle on
the Red Cloud agency with their
friends, the Sioux.
The Red Cloud agency had been dis
continued during the year the Chey-
ennes were in the Indian territory. One
night the CheyenneS discovered that
a body of troops was camped along the
same stream, a short distance from the
Indian camp. These soldiers told the
Indians that they had been sent out
to look for this band of C%heyennes
and that the Indians were to be dis
armed and taken to Fort Robinson
The C~heyennes gave up their arms and
surrendered to the soldiers. Reinforce
ments kept arriving in the soldiers
camp until a considerable force was
gathered, which force was to escort the
Indians to the fort.
Wagons were brought out from the
fort and the Indian women and chill
dren loaded into them. AS the force
neared the fort, the Indian men were
ordered to ride in the wagons also. 1t
was early winter then, October, 1878
A heavy snow covered the ground
About dusk the wagons crossed a small
stream at the bottom of a narrow ra-
vine. 1t was necessary for the soldiers
who were riding as an escort to the
wagon train to spread out at some dis
lance from the wagons as they crossed
the stream. Buffalo Hump, who was
riding On the end of one of the wagon
seats, slipped off his seat and rolled
down the hillside into some brush un-
noticed by the soldiers. He remained
concealed until the last of the soldiers
had passed the spot.
Finally S%urrenders
Having successfully escaped from his
captors, Buffalo Hump next set about
to secure his bride from the fort. The
Indians had been placed in a barracks
building at Fort Robinson, and were
under guard, making escape impossible
Buffalo Hump spent several days in
the hills and even mingled with the
Sioux Indians camped on the outskirts
OF the fort, but was unable to aid his
wife in escaping. Rather than be sep
arated from his bride, he finally sur
rendered himself to the commanding
officer and was placed in the barracks
with the Cheyenne captiveS.
AS the winter wore on, the officers
began to urge the Indians to consent
to return to Indian territory. This was
the purpose for which they were being
held. Provisions had been made for
them on the great reservation in the
south, and they were not to be allowed
to remain in the north. The Cheyennes
refused to go south again. Better tc
die in their homeland than to again