Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-02-28
Som of Chief Morning Star,
Who Led Cheyenmes North,
Lives i'm LONELY Log Shack

suffer the hardships of the southern
climate, they said, many OF their tribes
men having been carried off by fever
while in the territory the previous win
ter.
Matters went from bad to worse. The
officers attempted to coerce the In
dams. One version of the affair is that
Buffalo Hump escaped from the bar
racks one day. His absence was noted
by the cook and reported to the CON-
handing officer. Soldiers found him
at Pine Ridge in Dakota and returned
him to the fort. From that time a
chain guard was put about the bar
racks, visiting with outside Indians
vas forbidden, and rations cut down.
The Indians soon became desperate un-
der this treatment.
Arms Struggled .
While the Cheyennes had been COM
PEELED to give up all arms before being
brought to the fort. friends among the
Sioux had been aiding in smuggling
arms and ammunition into the bar
racks. These had been concealed under
the floor of the large room in which
the Indians were quartered. At last
the Indians set a time for mutiny IN
the night of Jan. 9, 1879. They planned
to kill the guards and make a dash for
liberty.
All that day the warriors were busy
painting their faces, making medicine,
and singing their death songs. They
piled blankets, luggage and whatever
possessions they had under the VIM
doWs to. facilitate the escape of wom-
en- and children. At a given signal a
number Of young men sprang from the
windows onto the guards below, at
tempting to kill them and seize their
guns. Buffalo Hump was n of the
warriors chosen for this duty.
The ome and children quickly fol-
lowed, the warriors bringing up the
rear to guard their families from the
fire of the soldiers. The Indians struck
out across the parade ground toward
a stream which flowed past the fort.
It was moonlight, almost as light as
day. The soldiers fired into the flee
ing Indians, killing many outright.
John Farnum of Interior, S. D., now
a man SO years Of age, who was at that
time chief of scouts at Fort Robinson,
witnessed the shooting Of the escap-
ing Cheyennes. MIR. Farnum recently
described the scene to Eugene Fisher,
government farmer for the Lame Deer
district of the Tongue River Indian
reservation during a visit of the latter
to Mr.. Farnum's home. According to
the old scout the sight OF the snow
covered parade ground in the bright
moonlight, the Indians fleeing through
the frosty night, the falling OF the flee
ing figures as the soldiers bullets
reached them, stands out in his mem
DRY after SO years as clearly as if it
were yesterdays occurrence.
Sent to Reservation
Buffalo Hump and his wife were
among the Cheyennes in Dull Knife's
band who survived the Fort Robinson
tragedy, and later were placed on the
Tongue River reservation. Although he
served for a time as a scout during the
Sitting Bull campaign, Buffalo Hump
was never regularly enlisted, and there
fore not subject to the provisions OF
the pension law. Until three or four
years ago he owned and cared for a
small herd of cattle and horses, and
was considered rather well off from the
Indians point of view.
Old age and i'll health have brought
misfortune to the old mar and recently
it was found necessary to supply him
with rations provided for destitute In
dams by the Indian agency here.
Buffalo Hump was one OF the leading
chiefs of the tribe under the old tribal
organization. With recent changes in
the Indians mode of living these mat
tiers have been ~disregarded and tribal
offices and distinctions have given way
to standards more in keeping with the
white mans ways.