Show cy cwg piM pirD fo cho 0 ka L 1 df ff 0 0 Q w 1 A f rv M al 4 aa 01 dr V T 4 4 A 04 ZA Z A chief crazy horse i A by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HEN american indian day which Is I 1 observed annually on the fourth friday in september la Is celebrated this year it will find a recently dedicated memorial to on one of the outstanding individuals of the red race out at fort robinson neb there has been erected a monument cut from the granite of 0 tho the black hills of 0 south dakota on which are engraved the symbols of a pipe of 0 peace and a broken bow arrow and to tomahawk mahaNk on it also Is a bronze tablet which tells the passerby passer by that near this spot on september 5 1877 crazy horse of the oglala sioux was killed dying as he had lived a fighting man chief crazy horse Ta was only thirty three years old when his warrior career ended but he be had bad already written his name high la in the annals of 0 the old west although lie was as the principal leader in the two greatest ilc ic tories ever won by his people oer the white men it was the irony of fate that in each ach case credit for the achleN ement should be glien ghen to another sioux chief whose name and fame happened to be wore more familiar to the white men than was crazy horses one of them was red cloud whom most historians record as being the leader in the so called fetterman massacre near fort phil kearney wyo in 1800 1860 despite the testimony of indian survivors that he was neither in command that day nor did he have any hand in planning or carrying out the ambush of Fetler Fetter mans ill fated command the other was as sitting cull bull who nho Is popularly and erroneously believed to have been mainly responsible for the maneuvers of the indians which resulted in the disaster to custers Ou command on the little big horn in montana ten years later crazy horse was born in 1844 the son of an oglala sioux chief of the same name ills mother died when he was two years old but his stepmother who ho was also his aunt raised him as her own trained by her and his father in the rigorous physical regime required of young boys of the sioux he early learned the lessons of courage self denial generosity modesty truthfulness and fair dealing which so strongly characterized his later life A line fine horseman and a skillful hunter unter Ji lie he joined his first war party when he be was only sixteen years old and by the time of the fir first st serious war between the sioux and the whites 1866 crazy horses tribe tribesmen looked to him as fl a principal war leader and een the cheyenne chiefs allies of the le sioux practically acknowledged ills his leadership although crazy horse had bad distinguished him bim self in the fetterman battle and at the famous wagon 11 box box ff fight bt a year later he rose to his greatest heights as a general in 1878 and 1877 on june 17 1870 he attacked the array army of gen george crook on the rosebud river in montana and fought that experienced indian fighter to a standstill thus breaking up the ardys plan of campaign and making certain the annihilation week later the only command a of custers Ou army officer who defeated him fairly and squarely was as gen nelson A miles bear coat who did that at battle butte in the wolf mountains in montana on oil january 8 1877 an engagement which led directly to crazy borses surrender few months later s by this time the hostile sioux had begun to that the white man was too powerful realize through the influence of chief spotted for the them brule sioux x an uncle of crazy horse tall of the was as persuaded to come in to chieftain the C oglala glata fort robinson neb and surrender which he be may 0 1877 did on his horses surrender of crazy the time at and the suffer suffering ln g from tuberculosis was wife medical care given h her er by dr V T I 1 mcgilly medical with the third cavalry not cuddy a surgeon friendship of the oglala him blin the le for or only won ori the of the name also met but chief kola miracle man and white the events load lead horse of crazy the be friend death are told in this Ilor horses ses crazy ing up un to who doctor firsthand first t hand recount acou nt by onn living in california still Is general crook held an all ili h S september pt ember son with crazy important council at S fort that day and carlp K clorse I 1 was in n the one it finally broke the council its a healed to create the belief no results UP with i hors e was meditate in arf 48 mind that razy to rejoin sitting aull H ing desertion 9 to Ss was and still lt cabado wh ere he had Yell and weasel br bear f ela xa 13 y L white bull at the baff battle I 1 e at rose bud NOTES ON THE PICTURES picture of crazy horse hone ail said to be the only photograph ever taken of tho the famous chief from the collections collection of E A brininstool Brinn Dint stool picture of limpy yellow doe do and weasel bear three cheyenne indian indman survivors of the battle of the rosebud Rot obud courtesy of T J gatchell of buffalo wyo wyom portrait of white bull and white bull at the battle of the rosebud Roi ebud from froin stanley Ve warpath karpath War path courtesy of the houghton mifflin company found refuse refuge under the british flag after the custer battle in 1876 this impression regarding the desertion of 0 crazy horse was the result of a purposeful serui misinterpretation by the government interpreter who was as an enemy anil and feared eared crazy horse of this I 1 was informed by louis bordeaux a reliable man who checked the interpreting the feeling was added to by red clouds jealousy of crazy horses luer increasing easing power and importance three days later a courier arrived from general crook who had gone to fort laralle Lar amle wyo with orders to general bradley Brad lcy commandant a at fort robinson to arrest crazy horse the next morning a force of three troops of cavalry and a field piece and myself as medical officer left the post an hour before daylight for a march of five miles to the camp to make the arrest we arrived at daylight and found but s a deserted camp ground crazy horse clorse and his people lodges and everything had scattered and gone that evening a courier arrived from major burke commanding at the spotted tall agency 40 miles east saying that crazy horse had arrived alone and was in spotted tails camp an order was sent to major burke to arrest crazy horse and return him to fort robinson burke informed chief spotted tall of his orders spotted tails reply was crazy horse Is a chief ile he Is my guest lie ile cannot be arrested but if the soldier chief will set the time we wili will council with him at a in next day spotted tall and crazy horse appeared at burkes ollice office crazy horse clorse was not informed that he was a prisoner but that general bradley at fort robinson wanted him there for or a council ills his reply was it Is well I 1 v III go entering the waiting ambulance and surrounded by indian scouts and a cavalry escort he be started for or fort robinson Kobl at p m they arrived at the adjutants office in the meantime bradley had issued orders to captain kennington officer of 0 the day that immediately upon his arrival crazy horse dorse was to be confined in the guard house bouse anticipating the arrival I 1 was standing in front of the adjutants office and shook hands bands with crazy horse on his big arrival he fie entered and wild mald he was there for or council but instead of meeting bradley he was taken charge of by kennington and was iad 4 d to the guard house which they entered quietly when crazy horse observed the steel bars between the guard room and the cells he be gave an outcry this til is a prison sont and seizing a knife in each hand froni from his belt fought his way to the parade ground where I 1 was bt anding kennington was wag hanging barging on oil one wrist and little big mati hail no an indian scout on the other then the chief suddenly fell to the ground writhing and groaning I 1 worked my way in between the guard and examined him ile he was frothing at the mouth pulse weak eak and intermittent blood trickling from the upper edge of 0 his hip A private of 0 the ninth infantry had transfixed him i J Z whito bull with will lils his bayonet and his big case was hopeless 1 I then worked my way to american horse the friendly chief alef who was sitting on his horse horsa and informed him that crazy horse was badly hurt and that we would place him in the guard house and I 1 would care for him ills his answer was no he la Is a chief and can not be put in prison the officers were at their quarters orderlies had vanished and no one to carry orders so I 1 tried to arrange matters and advised kennington to hold the ground while I 1 crossed the parade ground to the generals quarters to explain matters that resulted its as follows please give my compliments to the officer of 0 the day ile he Is to carry out ills bis original orders and put the indian in the guard house bouse 1 I returned to kennington and we proc proceeded coded to put the indian in the guard house As we started to lift him a tall sioux grasped my hand and in the sign language said that they did not want to see me hurt and for or me to desist the tha indians had begun cocking their rifles so another trip to the general to explain matters matter and I 1 remarked to him general I 1 know the temper and feelings feel feell ot of these indians you may be able abla to imprison crazy horse but it will mean the death of a good many soldiers and indians if you will pardon me for suggesting lk it we way may be able to compromise on the adjutants office where I 1 can care tor for him for he will die before morning after much reluctance he be acquiesced and I 1 returned to the scene on being informed of what I 1 had done american horse dismounted and spread his blanket on the ground the indians placed the chief on it and carried him into the adjutants office by administration of hypodermics of morphia etc I 1 eased his sufferings I 1 remained with him until his death at 1100 p m m and there were present then kennington officer of the day lemley lamley officer of the guard old man crazy horse and chief touch the cloud yutan six foot four in hel hellit height lit when crazy horse died this chief drew the blanket blanding over the face of the dead man arid and stan standing ding up pointed to the body and said there lle iles his lodge then pointing up the chief has gone above 1 I then returned to my quarters across the parade ground accompanied by touch the cloud who slept on his blanket outside my door through the night as there was still danger of trouble after I 1 retired word of the death of the chief got out and all we could hear were the walls and death songs from all quarters as we were surrounded for miles by the indian camps the th whole garrison of awo men was kept on guard for the night inight but matters finally adjusted them belies next day the body was removed to the spotted tall agency and placed on the usual platform later in tile the fall when we moved the indians miles to the missouri river arver it accompanied danied us in the fall of 1348 1373 when the indians were moved back to the present rine fine ald ridge e fi agency gency the hody body was brought back and concealed there to this day the last resting rest ln place of the chief remains a secret among the sioux and since it has never been market marked it Is altogether fitting that there should be some memorial to him such as tile the monument recently dedicated at fort robinson in the land lie he loved and for ach which he be fought so valiantly for as bourke writing ot of the chiefs first sepulcher at the spotted tat tall agency a simple one of plain pine slabs mabs hns said just as the grave of custer marked the high water mark of sioux supremacy in the trans missoura region so does the grave of crazy horse mark the ebb from which no we has ever risen 0 by castern avaloa |