SPOTTED TAIL


Among the Sioux chiefs of the "transition period" only one was
shrewd enough to read coming events in their true light. It is
said of Spotted Tail that he was rather a slow-moving boy,
preferring in their various games and mimic battles to play the
role of councilor, to plan and assign to the others their parts in
the fray. This he did so cleverly that he soon became a leader
among his youthful contemporaries; and withal he was apt at mimicry
and impersonation, so that the other boys were accustomed to say of
him, "He has his grandfather's wit and the wisdom of his grandmother!"

Spotted Tail was an orphan, reared by his grandparents, and at
an early age compelled to shift for himself. Thus he was somewhat
at a disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have
helped to develop in him courage and ingenuity. One little
incident of his boy life, occurring at about his tenth year, is
characteristic of the man. In the midst of a game, two boys became
involved in a dispute which promised to be a serious one, as both
drew knives. The young Spotted Tail instantly began to cry, "The
Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to arms!" and the other boys
joined in the war whoop. This distracted the attention of the
combatants and ended the affair.

Upon the whole, his boyhood is not so well remembered as is
that of most of his leading contemporaries, probably because he had
no parents to bring him frequently before the people, as was the
custom with the wellborn, whose every step in their progress toward
manhood was publicly announced at a feast given in their honor. It
is known, however, that he began at an early age to carve out a
position for himself. It is personal qualities alone that tell
among our people, and the youthful Spotted Tail gained at every
turn. At the age of seventeen, he had become a sure shot and a
clever hunter; but, above all, he had already shown that he
possessed a superior mind. He had come into contact with white
people at the various trading posts, and according to his own story
had made a careful study of the white man's habits and modes of
thought, especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense
desire to accumulate property. He was accustomed to watch closely
and listen attentively whenever any of this strange race had
dealings with his people. When a council was held, and the other
young men stood at a distance with their robes over their faces so
as to avoid recognition, Spotted Tail always put himself in a
position to hear all that was said on either side, and weighed all
the arguments in his mind.

When he first went upon the warpath, it appears that he was,
if anything, overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his
people; and as a matter of fact, it was especially hard for him to
gain an assured position among the Brules, with whom he lived, both
because he was an orphan, and because his father had been of
another band. Yet it was not long before he had achieved his
ambition, though in doing so he received several ugly wounds. It
was in a battle with the Utes that he first notably served his
people and their cause.

The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the
Sioux on this occasion. Many of their bravest young men had
fallen, and the Brules were face to face with utter annihilation,
when Spotted Tail, with a handful of daring horsemen, dodged around
the enemy's flank and fell upon them from the rear with so much
spirit that they supposed that strong reinforcements had arrived,
and retreated in confusion. The Sioux pursued on horseback; and it
was in this pursuit that the noted chief Two Strike gained his
historical name. But the chief honors of the fight belonged to
Spotted Tail. The old chiefs, Conquering Bear and the rest,
thanked him and at once made him a war chief.

It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise
to allow the white man so much freedom in our country, long before
the older chiefs saw any harm in it. After the opening of the
Oregon Trail he, above all the others, was watchful of the conduct
of the Americans as they journeyed toward the setting sun, and more
than once he remarked in council that these white men were not like
the French and the Spanish, with whom our old chiefs had been used
to deal. He was not fully satisfied with the agreement with
General Harney; but as a young warrior who had only just gained his
position in the council, he could not force his views upon the older men.

No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux
than Fort Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened, and
the soldiers became more insolent and overbearing than ever. It
was soon discovered that the whites were prepared to violate most
of the articles of their treaty as the Indians understood it. At
this time, the presence of many Mormon emigrants on their way to
the settlements in Utah and Wyoming added to the perils of the
situation, as they constantly maneuvered for purposes of their own
to bring about a clash between the soldiers and the Indians. Every
summer there were storm-clouds blowing between these two -- clouds
usually taking their rise in some affair of the travelers along the trail.

In 1854 an event occurred which has already been described and
which snapped the last link of friendship between the races.

By this time Spotted Tail had proved his courage both abroad
and at home. He had fought a duel with one of the lesser chiefs,
by whom he was attacked. He killed his opponent with an arrow, but
himself received upon his head a blow from a battle-axe which
brought him senseless to the ground. He was left for dead, but
fortunately revived just as the men were preparing his body for burial.

The Brules sustained him in this quarrel, as he had acted in
self-defense; and for a few years he led them in bloody raids
against the whites along the historic trail. He ambushed many
stagecoaches and emigrant trains, and was responsible for waylaying
the Kincaid coach with twenty thousand dollars. This relentless
harrying of travelers soon brought General Harney to the Brule
Sioux to demand explanations and reparation.

The old chiefs of the Brules now appealed to Spotted Tail and
his young warriors not to bring any general calamity upon the
tribe. To the surprise of all, Spotted Tail declared that he would
give himself up. He said that he had defended the rights of his
people to the best of his ability, that he had avenged the blood of
their chief, Conquering Bear, and that he was not afraid to accept
the consequences. He therefore voluntarily surrendered to General
Harney, and two of his lieutenants, Red Leaf and Old Woman,
followed his example.

Thus Spotted Tail played an important part at the very outset
of those events which were soon to overthrow the free life of his
people. I do not know how far he foresaw what was to follow; but
whether so conceived or not, his surrender was a master stroke,
winning for him not only the admiration of his own people but the
confidence and respect of the military.

Thus suddenly he found himself in prison, a hostage for the
good behavior of his followers. There were many rumors as to the
punishment reserved for him; but luckily for Spotted Tail, the
promises of General Harney to the Brule chiefs in respect to him
were faithfully kept. One of his fellow-prisoners committed
suicide, but the other held out bravely for the two-year term of
his imprisonment. During the second year, it was well understood
that neither of the men sought to escape, and they were given
much freedom. It was fine schooling for Spotted Tail, that
tireless observer of the ways of the white man! It is a fact that
his engaging personal qualities won for him kindness and sympathy
at the fort before the time came for his release.

One day some Indian horse thieves of another tribe stampeded
the horses and mules belonging to the garrison. Spotted Tail asked
permission of the commanding officer to accompany the pursuers.
That officer, trusting in the honor of a Sioux brave, gave him a
fast horse and a good carbine, and said to him: "I depend upon you
to guide my soldiers so that they may overtake the thieves and
recapture the horses!"

The soldiers recaptured the horses without any loss, but
Spotted Tail still followed the Indians. When they returned to the
fort without him, everybody agreed that he would never turn up.
However, next day he did "turn up", with the scalp of one of the
marauders!

Soon after this he was returned to his own people, who honored
him by making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear,
whose blood he had avenged, for which act he had taken upon himself
the full responsibility. He had made good use of his two years at
the fort, and completed his studies of civilization to his own
satisfaction. From this time on he was desirous of reconciling the
Indian and the white man, thoroughly understanding the uselessness
of opposition. He was accordingly in constant communication with
the military; but the other chiefs did not understand his views and
seem to have been suspicious of his motives.

In 1860-1864 the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war
with the whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas, who were
their neighbors and intimates, were suspected of complicity with
the hostiles. Doubtless a few of their young men may have been
involved; at any rate, Thunder Bear and Two Face, together with a
few others who were roving with the warring tribes, purchased two
captive white women and brought them to Fort Laramie. It was,
however, reported at the post that these two men had maltreated the
women while under their care.

Of course, the commander demanded of Spotted Tail, then head
chief, that he give up the guilty ones, and accordingly he had the
two men arrested and delivered at the fort. At this there was an
outcry among his own people; but he argued that if the charges were
true, the men deserved punishment, and if false, they should be
tried and cleared by process of law. The Indians never quite knew
what evidence was produced at the court-martial, but at all events
the two men were hanged, and as they had many influential
connections, their relatives lost no time in fomenting trouble.
The Sioux were then camping close by the fort and it was midwinter,
which facts held them in check for a month or two; but as soon as
spring came, they removed their camp across the river and rose in
rebellion. A pitched battle was fought, in which the soldiers got
the worst of it. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, was against
Spotted Tail, who was practically forced against his will and
judgment to take up arms once more.

At this juncture came the sudden and bloody uprising in the
east among the Minnesota Sioux, and Sitting Bull's campaign in the
north had begun in earnest; while to the south the Southern
Cheyennes, Comanches, and Kiowas were all upon the warpath.
Spotted Tail at about this time seems to have conceived the idea of
uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in a great confederacy. He
once said: "Our cause is as a child's cause, in comparison with the
power of the white man, unless we can stop quarreling among
ourselves and unite our energies for the common good." But old-
time antagonisms were too strong; and he was probably held back
also by his consciousness of the fact that the Indians called him
"the white man's friend", while the military still had some faith
in him which he did not care to lose. He was undoubtedly one of
the brainiest and most brilliant Sioux who ever lived; and while he
could not help being to a large extent in sympathy with the feeling
of his race against the invader, yet he alone foresaw the
inevitable outcome, and the problem as it presented itself to him
was simply this: "What is the best policy to pursue in the existing
situation?"

Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at
the great council on the Powder River, just before the attack on
Fort Phil Kearny. We can imagine that he threw all his wonderful
tact and personal magnetism into this last effort at conciliation.

"'Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!' Thus speaks the old man, when
he knows that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him
forever. So we may exclaim to-day, Alas! There is a time
appointed to all things. Think for a moment how many multitudes of
the animal tribes we ourselves have destroyed! Look upon the snow
that appears to-day -- to-morrow it is water! Listen to the dirge
of the dry leaves, that were green and vigorous but a few moons
before! We are a part of this life and it seems that our time is come.

"Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another.
This strange white man -- consider him, his gifts are manifold!
His tireless brain, his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those
things which we despise he holds as treasures; yet he is so great
and so flourishing that there must be some virtue and truth in his
philosophy. I wish to say to you, my friends: Be not moved alone
by heated arguments and thoughts of revenge! These are for the
young. We are young no longer; let us think well, and give counsel
as old men!"

These words were greeted with an ominous silence. Not even
the customary "How!" of assent followed the speech, and Sitting
Bull immediately got up and replied in the celebrated harangue
which will be introduced under his own name in another chapter.
The situation was critical for Spotted Tail -- the only man present
to advocate submission to the stronger race whose ultimate
supremacy he recognized as certain. The decision to attack Fort
Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to hold his
position among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several
bullets passed through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded.

When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate
with the Sioux, Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to
obtain for his people the very best terms that he could. He often
puzzled and embarrassed them by his remarkable speeches, the
pointed questions that he put, and his telling allusions to former
negotiations. Meanwhile Red Cloud would not come into the council
until after several deputations of Indians had been sent to him,
and Sitting Bull did not come at all.

The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted
Tail never again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary,
it was mainly attributed to his influence that the hostiles were
subdued much sooner than might have been expected. He came into
the reservation with his band, urged his young men to enlist as
government scouts, and assisted materially in all negotiations.
The hostile chiefs no longer influenced his action, and as soon as
they had all been brought under military control, General Crook
named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus humiliating Red
Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the Ogallalas.
In order to avoid trouble, he prudently separated himself from the
other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort
Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called "Spotted Tail Agency."

Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to
the military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked
Spotted Tail for signing away the freedom of his people. From the
point of view of the irreconcilables, the diplomatic chief was a
"trimmer" and a traitor; and many of the Sioux have tried to
implicate him in the conspiracy against Crazy Horse which led to
his assassination, but I hold that the facts do not bear out this charge.

The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people
during the rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved
distinction by his bravery and sagacity; but he copied the white
politician too closely after he entered the reservation. He became
a good manipulator, and was made conceited and overbearing by the
attentions of the military and of the general public. Furthermore,
there was an old feud in his immediate band which affected him
closely. Against him for many years were the followers of Big
Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party led by a son
and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom Spotted Tail
had succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that one or
the other of them might obtain the succession.

Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once
taunted Spotted Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the
will of the tribe, but by the help of the white soldiers, and told
him that he would "keep a bullet for him" in case he ever disgraced
his high position. Thus retribution lay in wait for him while at
the height of his fame. Several high-handed actions of his at this
time, including his elopement with another man's wife, increased
his unpopularity with a large element of his own tribe. On the eve
of the chief's departure for Washington, to negotiate (or so they
suspected) for the sale of more of their land, Crow Dog took up his
gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding himself, and regarded by
his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an executioner.

Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the
Pontiac of the west. He possessed a remarkable mind and
extraordinary foresight for an untutored savage; and yet he is the
only one of our great men to be remembered with more honor by the
white man, perhaps, than by his own people.

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