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  Then came strange, new allies for the Lakota: smallpox and other European diseases against which the Indians had little or no immunity (ibid., pp. 17-18). Tribes like the Arikara, living in villages, were severely punished for their frequent European contacts, which caused illness to burn through them like wildfire across dry prairie. Three smallpox epidemics struck between 1772 and 1780, wiping out 80 percent of the Arikara. The Lakota, far wandering and widely dispersed, were less susceptible to contagions. While more sedentary tribes were virtually wiped out, the Lakota suffered relatively slight losses. In the first half of the nineteenth century, when disease cut some plains-tribe numbers by half, the Lakota increased, from about 8,500 in 1805 to 25,000 in the 1850s (ibid., p. 18).

  10 How the Brulé got their name: In about 1763 the people were camped on a lakeshore in eastern South Dakota, when a grass fire swept through, and the band sought refuge in the lake, but not before they were scarred on their legs. They were dubbed Sichangu or Burnt Thighs, by other Lakota, but the French called them Brulé. From Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, p. 5.

  11 Larson, Red Cloud, pp. 11—12.

  12 Bernard DeVoto, The Journals of Lewis and Clark (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953), PP. 33-43

  13 Schell, History of South Dakota, pp. 33—34.

  14 Stephen E. Ambrose, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), p. 170.

  15 Tom Streissguth, Wounded Knee 1890: The End of the Plains Indian Wars (New York: Facts on File, 1998), pp. viii—x.

  16 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, pp. 8, 9, 12.

  17 Schell, History of South Dakota, p. 50.

  18 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, pp. 24—25.

  19 John R. Milton, South Dakota: A History (New York: Norton, 1977), p. 54.

  20 Schell, History of South Dakota, pp. 50—51.

  21 Ibid.

  22 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, p. 41.

  23 And the liquor was truly bad, often concocted by traders themselves. The recipe went something like this: To a barrel of Missouri River water add two gallons of alcohol, three plugs tobacco, five bars of soap, a half pound of red pepper, a touch of sagebrush, and two ounces of strychnine. Boil until the liquid turns brown, strain, and bottle. According to one observer: "Strychnine, it is said, was added for its stimulating properties, while the tobacco was a necessity because of the nausea it produced in the Indians of the time, for no whiskey was of value unless the one who drank it eventually became deathly sick. Of the white man it is said that when he drank the mixture he became so inebriated that he could not close his eyes . . . one bottle was worth a buffalo robe, but increased in value of robes per bottle as the individual became drunker and desired more of this 'fire water.'" (Stanley Young and Edward Goldman, The Wolves of North America [New York: Dover, 1964], p. 330.)

  24 Lillian Schlissel, Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey (New York: Schocken Books, 1982), p. 24.

  25 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, p. 42. The Indians and the pioneers remained on uneasy terms, however, even in the best of encounters. Amelia Stewart Knight, who rolled by wagon past Fort Laramie in 1853, wrote in her journal for June 7: "This afternoon we passed a large village of Sioux Indians. Numbers of them came around our wagons. Some of the women had moccasins and beads, which they wanted to trade for bread. I gave the women and children all the cakes I had baked. Husband [sic] traded a big Indian a lot of hard crackers for a pair of moccasins." (Schlissel, Women's Diaries, p. 207.) Knight went on to describe the outcome of the trade: "After we had started on he came up with us again making a great fuss, and wanted them back (they had eaten part of the crackers). He did not seem to be satisfied, or else he wished to cause us some trouble, and perhaps get into a fight. However, we handed the moccasins to him in a hurry and drove away from them as soon as possible."

  Contact with the Lakota resulted, too, in strange juxtapositions. Lavinia Porter, who at nineteen traveled along the Platte trail in 1859, wrote in her journal, "I would state here that the Sioux Indians were the finest looking warriors we had seen." But she also reported her particular delight at the sight of an almost naked Lakota man wearing a discarded hoop skirt. (Ibid., p. 130.)

  26 The figure was provided by Lieutenant Daniel Woodbury, who had helped build Fort Kearny, in a report dated June 2, 1849, and quoted on the Web site www2.sandi.net/kearneyh/history/swk/fk.html. The fort was a crude affair of mud buildings with trees planted on the perimeter. A reporter for the New York Herald, who visited the post in 1857 and 1858, wrote: "Intermixed between these immature trees on the side of the square are sixteen blockhouse guns, two field pieces, two mountain howitzers and one prairie piece. These constitute the artillery defences [sic] of the post against the Indians." Built on a slight elevation a few miles from the Platte, the fort had no fortifications. This quote is from the same Web site. See also Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, p. 51.

  27 Streissguth, Wounded Knee, p. xii.

  28 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, pp. 56-62.

  29 Ibid., p. 70.

  30 Ibid., p. 14.

  31 Ibid., p. 33.

  32 Ibid., p. 35.

  33 Ibid., p. 40.

  34 Ibid., pp. 67—69.

  35 Ibid., p. 76.

  36 Ibid., pp. 77-78.

  37 As a witty and intelligent man, always quick with a quip, he would have this amiable effect on white associates throughout his life. Once, when he visited the White House, he remarked that the whites had many fine possessions. One of the dignitaries present, interested in pushing the Lakota into farming, remarked that if Spotted Tail would farm, he too could own many fine things. Spotted Tail countered that if the whites would give him a tepee like the White House, he might give farming a try. On another occasion, his reservation agent, Lieutenant Jesse Lee, jested with Spotted Tail that you could tell an honest man by the growth of hair on his palms. Spotted Tail glanced at his own palms while Lee said, "I used to be ambitious to be honest. I worked at it pretty hard, but I never did get more than a few sprouts of hair on my palms." Spotted Tail laughed out loud and seized Lee by the hand, then looked again at his own palm and said, "My friend, I used to have hair on my palms, but shaking hands with so many dishonest white men has worn the hair all off." (Ibid., p. 279.)

  38 Ibid., p. 78.

  39 Ibid., p. 7.

  40 Ibid., p. 116. Hyde's Spotted Tail's Folk informs much of this text on the Brulé. He wrote that the Waglukhe treated the hunting Lakota "like country bumpkins who came to visit the sophisticated Sioux at the fort. These wild bulls from the Powder River were full of airs and big talk about fighting whites, but what did they know about the whites and their strength? They imagined that a fight among fifty warriors, in which two men were killed, was a big fight. The Loafers at the fort had heard details of the mighty three-day struggle at Gettysburg, and they knew what the white men meant when they spoke of battle."

  41 Larson, Red Cloud, p. 34. Leadership of a band was generally hereditary, although the choice of leader also was based on an individual's war record and social honors. "The headman of the least of bands achieved his position through an extraordinarily complicated system of family status and individual merit. Of supreme importance to his success was his family background. To be a son of renowned parents fostered political aspirations." (Hassrick, The Sioux, pp. 13-14.) A particularly successful headman also might attract members from other bands as his reputation grew. Successful leaders were those who embodied the four Lakota virtues: bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. See note 6, chapter 3 for details on the virtues.

  42 Ibid., pp. 40-41.

  43 War parties were usually organized by individuals. A warrior would announce his plan and ask others to join him. If he was respected, a large party might agree to go. The warriors would travel as a group, with some assigned to keep eager cohorts from attacking enemies too soon. When seeking enemies, warriors usually brought along their fastest horse but rode a second horse, keeping the swift horse fresh for ac
tion. They also adorned themselves and their horses with feathers, paint, and other finery so that, if they should be killed, they would arrive in the afterlife looking their best. (Robert M. Utley, The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull [New York: Henry Holt, 1993], p. 14.)

  Much of Lakota warfare was driven by the Indians' need as a hunting people to lay claim to a territory large enough to support the quantity of wildlife necessary for their survival. Plains Indians established distinct hunting territories that they defended from other tribes. Between established tribal territories lay unclaimed areas that constituted a sort of no-man's-land. Because few Indians hunted in these areas regularly, bison, the primary prey species, would seek refuge there from lance and arrow. Tribal hunters were safer on their own hunting grounds, where they could be fairly certain of encountering only friends. Nevertheless, the massing of bison in the no-man's-lands attracted hunters, who had to be on guard there constantly, as fighting could break out the moment warriors from different tribes spotted each other. In following bison migrations, Indians also might invade another tribe's hunting grounds (Larson, Red Cloud, pp. 24-25). An invasion could become permanent or could be merely a temporary arrangement compelled by the need for meat. Either way, following buffalo trails into the hunting grounds of other tribes could lead to war.

  44 Larson, Red Cloud, pp. 99-101. Fort Phil Kearny should not be confused with Fort Kearny in central Nebraska.

  45 Ibid., p. 100.

  46 Ibid., p. 102.

  47 Michael Fellman, Citizen Sherman: A Life of William Tecumseh Sherman (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1995), p. 410.

  48 Ibid., p. 271.

  49 Ibid., p. 264.

  50 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, pp. 131—32.

  51 Larson, Red Cloud, p. 106.

  52 Ibid., p. 115.

  53 Fellman, Citizen Sherman, p. 265.

  54 Ibid., p. 267.

  55 Larson, Red Cloud, pp. 117—18.

  56 Ibid., p. 117.

  57 Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, pp. 155-56.

  58 Larson, Red Cloud, pp. 116—21.

  59 Ibid., p. 116.

  60 Ibid., pp. 120-22.

  61 Ibid., pp. 122—23.

  62 Ibid., p. 120.

  63 Ibid., p. 116.

  CHAPTER 3. FREEDOM'S FINAL DAYS

  1 George Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk: A History of the Brulé Sioux (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961), p. 143. Many Waglukhe were married to whites, and the army paid these whites to pressure the Indians into moving.

  2 Ibid., pp. 146-47.

  3 Ibid., p. 241.

  4 Robert W Larson, Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997), pp. 229-31.

  5 For detailed discussion of the breakdown of Lakota culture under the reservation system, see Robert M. Utley, The Last Days of the Sioux Nation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1963); George Hyde, A Sioux Chronicle (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956); Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk; and Larson, Red Cloud.

  6 Successful leaders were those who embodied the four Lakota virtues: bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. The discussion here of the Lakota virtues is from Royal B. Hassrick, The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964), pp. 32—38. Bravery was, Hassrick wrote, "foremost for both men and women. To be considered full of courage, to have a strong heart, was an honor of extreme importance and worth great effort." That effort included fearlessness in the face of death. One precept of the Lakota was that "it is better to die on the battlefield than to live to be old."

  Training for bravery started in childhood. "The toddler who struck the prowling dog was cheered by older brothers and sisters, who urged the youngster to beat still harder," Hassrick wrote. "This encouragement was believed to aid the child in gaining a conviction of his own courage."

  The virtue of fortitude entailed what Ernest Hemingway called grace under pressure: The successful Lakota would show reserve during times of emotional stress and would endure physical pain without complaint. The sun dance, which included a painful and prolonged blood sacrifice, was a ritualized expression of fortitude.

  Demonstrations of generosity required property, which only a brave warrior could acquire, such as horses captured from enemy tribes. The Lakota were ambivalent about owning things. They believed that failure to acquire property was pitiable, but that holding on to property for its own sake was a disgrace. The most important aspect of owning things was giving them away. One Lakota whom Hassrick interviewed told him, "A man must take pity on orphans, the crippled, and the old. If you have more than one of anything, you should give it away to help these persons." Chiefs gained status by how much they gave away, leading to an interesting social dynamic among the Lakota: The incapable, the inept, and the merely poor were critical to the society because giving them things allowed leaders and aspiring leaders to build prestige. Among the Lakota, keeping up with the Joneses was a matter not of keeping but of giving. When a boy killed his first animal, his parents would give away something, a horse perhaps, in his honor. Similar rituals occurred when a girl reached puberty. "Families saved up in order to make a good showing, for the more gifts that were given, the deeper was the respect displayed for the person honored," Hassrick reported. "Actually, people vied with one another over who could give the most and the finest presents." The chief and holy man Sitting Bull would give away entire buffalo to people less skilled or lucky in hunting. In later life, when he traveled to towns and cities, he would give away to street beggars the money he earned in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. He did not understand how whites with great material wealth could ignore the poor among them.

  The final virtue, wisdom, was not something that could be measured and observed like bravery or generosity. But the Lakota recognized wisdom when a man had it. Wisdom included the ability to inspire others, to settle arguments, to offer sound advice, and to get along well with others.

  Women also aspired to perfection in four virtues, but theirs differed by half from those of men. Like men, women were expected to show bravery and generosity. A woman "might display bravery in killing an enemy, in warding off an attacker, or in protecting her family against any harm," Hassrick wrote. "Bravery among women was equally meritorious and deserving of recognition as it was among men." But the four virtues of women replaced fortitude and wisdom with truthfulness and childbearing. (Although one could argue that bearing children is a form of fortitude.)

  7 The reservation infighting led to tragedy in the case of Spotted Tail. On August 5,1881, Spotted Tail was riding home on horseback from the agency with three other chiefs, one of whom was Two Strike (Hyde, Spotted Tail's Folk, p. 332). Near his house, Spotted Tail saw ahead of him a wagon, with a woman holding the reins, and kneeling beside it, as if tying his moccasins, a headman named Crow Dog. Spotted Tail and Crow Dog had been feuding for two or three years. A respected warrior who had escorted Crazy Horse to Fort Robinson when Horse surrendered, Crow Dog saw himself as a rival for Spotted Tail's chieftainship, a rivalry based in part over animosities generated while Crow Dog was head of the reservation police. When the chiefs rode up, Spotted Tail in the lead, Crow Dog snatched up a rifle he had placed strategically on the ground beside him and blasted Spotted Tail in the chest. Spotted Tail fell to the ground, dragged himself to his feet, and advanced on Crow Dog while trying to draw a revolver. But Crow Dog's bullet had done its work. Spotted Tail, one of the last of the great Lakota chiefs, fell backward and died in his tracks.

  Crow Dog was punished in the traditional Lakota way, paying a blood fee of six hundred dollars, several ponies, and a number of blankets to Spotted Tail's family. Nevertheless, white authorities arrested him and took him to Deadwood for trial. Convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, he was released when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dakota courts had no authority over crimes committed by Indians against Indians on a reservation. Ironically, Crow Dog did not rise to high power in the vacuum le
ft by Spotted Tail's death, but Two Strike did, becoming chief o£ a large portion of the Brulé.

  8 Ibid., pp. 303-6.

  9 Ibid., pp. 152-55.

  10 Ibid., pp. 193-94.

  11 Elaine Goodale Eastman, a New England teacher who lived at Pine Ridge in the 1880s and 1890s, described the process in her autobiographical book Sister to the Sioux, published in 1978 by University of Nebraska Press. The quotes here are from pp. 61—62.

  The next morning finds us gathered in a big, bare structure, cold as a barn, with a round-bellied wood stove in the middle doing its little utmost. Up and down the whitewashed walls are ranged in orderly piles the dark blue blankets, the gay calico quilts, the bolts of flannel, linsey, gingham, sheeting, the shirts and suits, hats and shoes each year doled out to these wards of the nation. Men of every shade of complexion, in buffalo coats, enormous mufflers, and felt boots, are sitting or standing in easy attitudes about the red-hot stove. A high counter shuts off a narrow space at one end of the long room. The issue clerk bends over the counter with a big book open before him and begins to call off the names in order. His assistants take their places before their respective piles. The doors are guarded by tall Indian police.

  The head chief, Iron Nation, is first named by the clerk and his name is repeated in Dakota by the interpreter, who stands beside him. The captain of police unbolts the door and sends out a ringing call. The old man comes forward with what dignity he can muster and touches the pencil which signs the receipt. Each article due him is then named in turn and the person who has it in charge must repeat the call in a loud singsong.

  "ONE AND A HALF BLANKETS! One and a half blankets!" echoes from the far end of the room. "ONE FLANNEL SHIRT—MEN'S! One flannel shirt—men's! ONE BOY—DUCK! One boy—duck! FOURTEEN SHEETING! Fourteen sheeting! TWENTY-FIVE BUTTONS! Twenty-five buttons!"—and so on and so on. Boys run to and fro with each article as named, and by the time the end of the list is reached, a huge bundle is made up on the counter. The blanket, upon which everything else is deposited, is gathered by the four corners and lifted or dragged out, after which exit Iron Nation and enter the next on the roll.