The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1943-03-04
BY LANES L. LONG

Authority OIL the hSSiiiiDoih
Tribe and author of Land of Ma
kOda."
Many Voices, last hereditary chief
of the A~ssiniboines, is dead. His
widow, Ada. Of Frazer survives, but
all his children had preceded him
in death, leaving no issue. He has
a large number of nieces and ne
phews, children of his two sisters
and one brother, living.
Known to the whites as Joseph
Matthews, a name given to him by
a government official, he was born
north of what is now Poplar in the
spring of 1863 and belonged 10 the
Paddlers band, one of 33 bands that
comprised the Assiniboine Nation
which once occupied what is now
northeastern Montana, northwest
ern North Dakota and the southern
part of Saskatchewan in Canada,
long before the boundary line along
the 49th parallel of north latitude
separated Canada from the United
States.
The first treaty between the
United States and the Assiniboines
was signed at Fort Laramie, indian
Territory, Sept. IT, 1851. The selec-
ton of Fort Laramie by the United
States was made because of its GEN.
trail location in the territory seven
other plains Indian tribes also &C.
cupied.
Two From Tribe
nn1,v tu-A 0hiafe frAp, fuyn hn.1dc
represented the Assiniboines at that
conference, First Fly of the Rock
band and Crazy Bear of the Padd-
lers. This small representation was
due to the other bands being scat
tered over their vast domain so
their chiefs and headmen could not
be reached. At that time of the
year the buffalo we're in prime con-
dition and many bands we're in the
northern part of the territory pro-
curing meat from these animals.
The presence of these two repre-
sentative chiefs came about because
their bands were the only ones near
Fort Union, Assiniboine trading
post, when the tribe was summoned
to the treaty. First Fly and Crazy
Bear were officially recognized by
the United States as chiefs of the
Assiniboine Nation.
When Crazy Bear died his bro
ther, Cuts off, was selected by
the band as next chief and Swings
His Thigh succeeded to that posi-
ton as the third line.
The fourth headman to rule the
Paddler band was Stalks Them, and
Made To Run succeeded him as the
fifth chief. Upon the death of Made
To Run in 1910, the craftsmanship
decended to Many Voices.
Led In Battles
BETTING his position as an As
siniboine chief, he was quiet but
had displayed leadership in various
exploits in battles with enemy tribes
when he was a young man.
When warfare was ended he was
a leader in organized social gather
ings and held the highest positions
in those groups until his death.
In March 1899, it was the privi-
lege of the writer to interview this
last chief of the AssiniboineS, as
such he was because, by then, many
of the bands we're extinct and the
surviving ones we're widely scattered
by intermarriages between bands
and the segregation on different In
dian reservations in the United
States and Canada.
Tells Of Treaty
He mentioned that the original
fYaofu uyriffora m rhnnpcGin ,r,oe ~
the possession of a law firm in
Washington, d. c., and that when
litigation was started by his pre-
decessor, Made To Run, in 1899, be-
cause of treaty violations by the
United States, the document was
then filed as a legal exhibit. A
medal that was given to a former
chief by President Andrew John
son in 1865, was in his possession
at the time of the interview. The
large silver medal was inscribed
Peace Between Indians and
Whites"
Many Voices made the statement
that his death would terminate the
line of chiefs among the Assini-
He said, There T no more
organized bands of the tribe left
and the so-called Assiniboines now
living are descendants of mixed
bands and even of different tribes
and also whites, who are following
in the footsteps of the whites to-
wards a life far different from that
once lived by their ancestors"
White Ceremony Followed
The statement Is true. Even he.
the last of his line, was buried &C