Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-09-12

gestiOn and caught butterflies and
smeared their wings on his feet, thus
capturing the magic of their swift
flight.
MY mother was wise" he said. "She
knew there was no magic in butterfly
wings, but she also new hat the dis
cipllne of chasing and catching them
would teach me to run swiftly"
And so, even in play, Plenty Coups
was laying the foundation for his fut-
ure greatness. While still a lad there
came to him his first deep sorrow, the
loss of his older, foster brother, who
was killed by the Sioux on Blue creek
a few miles south of the present site OF
Billings. After that the boys life was
dominated by one emotion-the urge
for ~revenge-the code of man of all
times-blood for blood. But, before a
Grow could attain manhood and be-
come a warrior and fight the enemy,
he must go up on the mountains and
"see visions" There was reverence and
awe in the old chiefs face as he told
of that unforgettable experience on
the mountain top. II stayed up there
two days and nights, alone, without
food or water" he said, land / was
afraid. / thought I was going to die.
And then, while I waited, an eagle came
down to me from the blue. Since then
the eagle has always been my strong
medicine. Many times, when in battle,
when danger has threatened me, an
eagle has flown over my head and saw
ed my life. And that day, while I was
on the mountain. a white man also
came to me from the blue. And SO the
white man has always been my broth
err
It was after his experience on the
mountain top that Plenty Coups, then
a lad of about II, stole into a Sioux
hunting camp and killed a Sioux and
i took his scalp, thereby revenging his
brothers death and making his first
coup. In those days, when tribe was
always at war against tribe, a mans
fitness for leadership was based pri-
marily on physical valour. The bravest
man, the warrior who made most
coups, proved himself the ablest leader.
There are many ways whereby an In
dian may make coup, all hazardous, all
involving danger. He makes coup when
he steals into an enemy camp and takes
a picketed horse; when he kills an
enemy, or when he strikes a fallen
enemy with his wal club while in the
thick Of battle. So now A-leek-chea-
ahoos was entitled to wear in his
headdress a feather, to the tip of which
was attached a tuft of red dyed horse
hair, denoting that he had killed an
enemy and was first to strike MIN
with his club. After that. In rapid sue
cessiOn, he acded many feathers, barred
with vermilliOn, to his headdress, Tor
he soon distinguished himself as one
Of the bravest of the tribe.
The next adventure was to lead a
II bond IF mo rriCrc QOQjnCf the Sioux
up in Big Horn canyon and ~re-capture
many horses stolen from the Crows.
Thus, step by step, the young Crow
earned his title: PLENTY Coups," n
climbed up, from warrior to tribal coun-
Gilman to sub-chief under Chief
Pretty Eagle, until ultimately he was
chosen chief of his tribe. Then, by sell
ection at Washington, endorsed by the
vote of representatives Of the various
tribes. he IVES made chief of all the
tribes of the northwest. But he said,
the last time I visited with him: "A
man cannot be made chief. He has 10
make himself one"
If Plenty Coups were a brave war
rior only, he could not have become
the truly great man that he was. Al
though he could neither read nor write
and never learned the English langu-
age, he possessed a fine mind, a poets
vision. together with an ambition that
was not wholly personal, but involved
all his people, and political shreWd-
ness. wary diplomacy. Many a tongue
battle he waged for the tribal rights
against shrewd politicians at Washing
ton. SororwhulG he recognized the
times as a period of enforced readJust-
ment for the Indian, and though at
heart a warrior, deploring the glory
of vanished buffalo ranges and the
wild, free life, and f~iercely fought bat
ties between tribes, he was wise enough
to preach the lesson of ~readjustment.
The last time / talked to him,
through u interpreter, Simon Bulltail,
1 asked him: What future do you for
see for the Crows. What do you want
for your people?"
He sighed. His face was grave.
II want" he said, that my young
men should go to white mans school
and then come back home and work
their land. But / want them to con-
tinue to go up on the mountain top
and see visions. Too many of them
are using fire-water or the peyote bean
which makes them see visions, but not
good visions. / want them to under
stand that the day Of the warrior is
gone and that the day of the farmer is
here"
Plenty Coups not only advised read
justment but had set an example for
his people. In his prime he was a sue
cessful farmer. He was proud of the
exhibits he brought down to the Yell
lowstone County fair. True to his ac-
cepted code-"Not only as good as the
best, but the best,"-he gloried In rails
ing the biggest potatoes. the best wheat,
the fastest horses. And he felt a naive
pride in owning the only two-story
house on the reservation. When ] Wis
Tied his home / found 1t a dark, bare, !