The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-05-05
.X1ena st ;s}
by Captain
G. Elliott Nightingale
Copyright, WNU
WHEN SITTING BULL
REALLY SAT DOWN


whose weapons still glistened with
the white blood of the Custer mas
sacre, to do such an unheard of
thing and get away alive, such was
the distinction that came, rather
suddenly, to one of the smallest
men ever seen in the ranks of the
Mounted. The "untouchables" of In
dia had little on the old-time Indian
medicine men, when it came to
keeping fellow humans at a dis
lance, and one of the most famous
of 'untouchables" among American
Indians was Sitting Bull, medicine
man and mad magician of the hard
fighting Sioux.
After the frightful butchery at Lit
tie Big Horn, the Sioux knew that
if they stayed where they were they
would soon have thousands of
American soldiers on their necks,
men who would wreak the fullest
measure of revenge for the terrific
slaughter of Clusters brave troops.
1t was a case of fight, or fly, so
after much debate and wrangling,
the Sioux decided to fly to Canada,
to Manitoba, and seek sanctuary I'M
der the British flag until the excite
ment over the Custer affair had died
down. Six thousand Sioux and few
hundred Nez Perces took refuge on
Canadian soil, and the Northwest
Mounted Police began to be a bit
curious about the newcomers, so an
inspector and ten men were dis
patched to contact the Sioux and
find out what they intended to do
in regards to the future, whether
they intended to stay in Canada and
become wards" or If they planned
raids and depredations against the
white settlers in Canada.
After much peace-piping and par
leying Sitting Bull, the spokesman,
assured the police inspector that the
Sioux were on a peaceful mission
and that after a breathing spell they
would probably return to the United
States. Satisfied, the Inspector and
his men returned to quarters.
The Sioux settled down to the more
or less uneven tenor of their semi
savage ways.
Things went along quietly until
some of the braves grew restless
and staged a horse-stealing foray.
This was mistake number one. Mis-
take number two was that they had
been foolish enough to steal some of
the best horses from the Northwest
Mounted Police, and among these
was Inspector Aliens favorite
mount. This was, as Allen put it,
"a bit too thick" so with two men
he returned to the Sioux and de-
manded that all the stolen horses be
at once brought to him. Sitting Bull
shouted and waved a few times, and
soon some of the stolen horses
were led up to the Men of the
Mounted.
where's the rest of them?" que
ried the Inspector, quietly.
"Find 'em yourself" said several
Sioux simultaneously. AS time
passed other horses we're found and
the Men of the Mounted were feel
ing quite lucky, except for the fact
that the inspectors horse had not
been found. Then came a moment
when Inspector Allen saw his horse,
and its rider was Sitting Bull him
self. Giving the sign of friendship,
Inspector Allen, head and shoulders
shorter than any Sioux brave around
him, and probably half the size OF
Sitting Bull, pointed to the black
mare, and said:
"My horse. You must give il
back to me-"
''My horse Pony Soldier,
shouted Sitting Bull.
"That horse carries my brand,
my mark" said Allen, softly as he
moved close enough to have Sitting
Bulls left knee come under his
clean-shaven chin.
"My horse!" screamed Sitting
Bull. At this hundreds of Sioux war
riors, sensing trouble, closed in on
the quarelling pair. Allen stood his
ground, however. Again he par
leyed with Sitting Bull, and again
received flood of abuse and inso-
lence and threat of sudden death.
1t was then that Inspector Allen
violated a Sioux law as old as the
Sioux, the law that decreed sudden
death to anyone offering or commit
ting violence upon the sacred per-
sonage of a tribal medicine man.
Bracing himself, and reaching up
ward, Inspector Allen caught firm
hold of Sitting Bull, yanked him out
of the saddle, and landed him
squarely on his sacred sit-down. AS
tremendous and deafening uproar
broke out, and several braves made
dangerous passes at Allen, the lat
ter vaulted swiftly into his saddle.
Without showing any of the nervous
ness that he certainly must have
felt, Inspector Allen sat at stiff at
tention for a minute or two, then
nudged his horse and guided it
deity through the pack of bowling
Indians. Fifteen minutes later, with
all but a few of the stolen horses
herded for the trip back to quar-
tiers, the Inspector and his two men
rode quietly out of the Sioux en-
campment. Allen carried with him
the distinction of being the only
white man ever to man-handle the
great and sacred Sitting Bull, and
live to tell about it.