Show ft AYO A I 1 no ARM AM 4 A I 1 4 6 4 j X NL Q M U no j W am ming y M ain 4 tax by ELMO SCOTT WATSON al ME B R RICA I 1 C A N INDIAN D DAY ky which Is observed on the third friday in september lu in many states tins has an added touch of interest this year because of the announced plan for honoring a great leader in a new way sitting bull the sioux Is 18 to be made the subject of a poetry contest to be cor conducted by pasque petals south dakota poetry magazine C N herried of 0 aberdeen has offered a cash prize for the best 40 line poem on sitting bull to be submitted to the magazine before december 1 of tills this year from my viewpoint sitting hull bull was one of the truly great among the many notable sioux of the dakotas in spite of the fact that he has been misunderstood der stood and maligned mr herr herried led has declared there are many students of history who will confirm mr estimate so far his torys verdict on sitting bull has been handed down mainly by white men who saw in him only a troublemaker irreconcilable to the fate imposed upon his race by the white men under the name of chiv civilization if ever the red man Is called upon to hand down a verdicts verdict he be will probably tind find in the fact that sitting hull bull was irreconcilable a kind of racial patriotism that can only be admired misguided though it may have been it is doubtful it the name of any other indian Is so well known to the average american as Is tho the name of this warrior and tribal leader of the teton division of the great sioux or dakota confederacy and 0 a corollary to that statement Is that it Is 13 also doubtful it if there have eyer ever been told about any other indian so many wild tales and if there has ever eer been included in them so much sheer bunk as have been told and written about fatanka fatanka Ta tanka Iluf buffalo falo bull sitting here are a few of the choice bits of misinformation that have at one time or another been given out as tact fam and as such have been accepted by some so called historians 1 sitting bull was a halfbreed half halt breed and after receiving a 9 good deduc education a tion from french canadian priests cretu returned arned to his people and went back to the blanket 2 sitting bull was waa a graduate of west point who gradually drifted back into savage life lie ile had various solid could speak french like a parisian was a close student of napoleons campaigns etc etc 3 sitting bull was wag a mason know knew the masonic ritual and lodge work as aa well as tho the emblems and on at least two occasions saved the lives of white anen en captured by his warriors because they wore masonic emblems 1 4 sitting bull was waa commander in chief of 01 the indians at the battle ot of the little big horn where custer cuiter |