murderous hordes of hostile savages, and who have fought as heroes fight, for friends and home, country and fame, may well take a long breath of great relief.
The writer is now waiting for a special messenger to arrive from Fort Buford, in order to get a correct and full account of the surrender of ' the king of warriors,' the wily Sitting Bull, whose manoeuvering on the Plains, and in and out of the bad lands, and whose aptness for Indian warfare has attracted more attention than any other one person in the country, except our suffering President, Mr. Garfield. We will endeavor to present to the readers of this work a concise and clear account of this important move on the part of our red brother, who for many years has been the Stalwart of the Stalwart Warriors.
Crow King
SECTION III.
CHAPTEE I.
The Kingly Warrior Surrenders to Major D. H. Brothertcm.
One of the most important events in recent military operations against the hostile Indians in the Northwest, was the surrender of Crow King, a subordinate chief under Sitting Bull, together with all his warriors, war ponies, guns, old men, squaws, papooses and camp equipage, to Major D. H. Brotherton, of the 7th United States Infantry, in the Northwest, during the winter of 1880.
Crow King was in importance to Sitting Bull among the Sioux warriors as Sheridan was to Grant in the late War of the Rebellion. The surrender was received with great rejoicing by both officers and men of the long-suffering army of the frontier, and by the people of the land was hailed with joy, as practically the close of the Indian War in the Northwest.
Although popular rejoicing in this belief was premature- Sitting Bull, with the main body of able-bodied hostiles, with his usual good fortune or good generalship, having eluded capture and escaped to the British lines-yet the rank and importance of Crow King in the Sioux councils was so great, his influence with the savage tribes under Jrim being almost unbounded, that the effect of his retiring with his people from the war-path was most salutary in the cause of peace.
Among Indians of all tribes there are invariably found a number of subordinate chiefs who really desire to remain on the war-path, and nothing save actual suffering or necessity will ever persuade or force them to surrender. The presence of a large force of troops in front of them, with starvation among their old men, women and children, are the only arguments to which their stern natures are accessible.
In the case of Crow King and his warriors, they were driven to extremities. In the dead of a severe winter, without grass for their ponies, and insufficient shelter for their families, with the thermometer 32 degrees below zero, there was necessarily great suffering from cold and hunger among the non-combatants of tho hostile camp. Food and clothing were almost unobtainable in the field, and with the British lines closed apparently against them, and a large well-disciplined force of United States troops in front of them, with ample supplies, and everything necessary to the carrying on of a vigorous and successful campaign, their alternative was to surrender or to suffer total annihilation.
Scarcely less than the Indians did the brave men of the army suffer from cold and exposure during that fearful winter's campaign. In the field without tents, with the thermometer ranging from 32 to 44 degrees below zero, they suffered intensely from cold and frost-bites. Yet, with the usual stoicism and hardihood of the trained soldier, their sufferings in these respects were borne uncomplainingly, and with true heroism.
The representatives of the press, who, it must be observed, invariably reach the front as soon as the army, were on hand to chronicle the details of the surrender, and gave to the representative papers of the East, full and graphic accounts of the scenes in the field, and the solemn pow-wow and dance after the surrender. The people of the country are greatly interested in the development of the new Northwest, and consequently follow the operations of the troopa on the frontier with friendly interest and anxiety ; no news is more anxiously sought after or read with more avidity than the published reports from the seat of the Indian wars. Being desirous of seeing the country opened to settlement, all measures tending to that end are eagerly seconded by the people at large, and this is apparent in the universal desire for correct information from the scene of army operations, against those terrible hindrances in the path of progress-the wild Indians of the plains.
It was at first feared that the surrender of Crow King and his band was not a permanent one; that his warriors would again seek the war-path in the early spring, when the growing grass would furnish sustenance for their ponies ; but it soon became apparent that his personal surrender was made in good faith-that he really desired to settle down on a reservation and cultivate the arts of peace, in the company of his old men, women, and children-a desire that, laudable as it was, may have originated from the fact that he was sorely wounded, and barely able to sit on his horse. His people had unbounded faith in him as a leader. The young Graves of his tribe looked up to him with veneration, and heeded his counsels, as became the loyal subjects of a brave and kingly warrior. Although they acquiesced reluctantly in the surrender, yet such was their loyalty to their leader, that the United States officers, in charge of negotiations, had little to fear from future treachery on the part of his followers, save only from a very few of the ugly, discontented, and unconquerable warriors that are found attached to every tribe, and who undoubtedly, when the favorable opportunity came, would desert the reservation for the more congenial ^var-path.
The late action of the British authorities, in forbidding ihem to seek shelter on Canadian soil, undoubtedly planted the seeds of peace in the breast of many an unruly savage. So long as the British lines were open to them, they could penetrate into the United States, commit their bloody deeds of rapine and cruelty, murdering white men and stealing horses and other stock, then, when pursued, retreating into the friendly shelter of the Queen's dominions, knowing that the avenging feet of their pursuers must be stayed at the border line, as the Government troops could not invade Canadian soil without interference with international law, which would doubtless be quickly resented by the Dominion authority. But when this friendly shelter was closed against them, and food and clothing gave out; when the winter snows descended, and the wild winds blew fierce and strong across the wide prairies of the West, then many a plumed warrior's heart grew weak; and as he beheld the armed force of dauntless troops under the brave Major G. Hges, of the 5th XJ. S. Infantry, arrayed against their weak and shivering band, there came upon them a desire for a cessation of hostilities. They hungered again for the ' flesh-pots ' of the Indian Agency, and meekly submitted to the inevitable, accepting the situation with the coolness and philosophy characteristic of Indian nature.
The surrender of Gall to Major Guido Hges, of the 5th U. S. Infantry, is of equal importance in this campaign, and more so than that of any other chief under Sitting Bull, except Crow King. He was really the Kilpatrick of the whole Sioux nation. Major Ilges found this daring and reckless warrior occupying a strong position in the timber near Popular Creek Agency. After making a demand for a formal surrender, which was at first stubbornly refused by Gall, he opened fire from his Gatling guns, together with several volleys of musketry.
It was but a short time before an unconditional surrender was effected. During these operations against the ' Wily Gall,' on the part of Major Ilges, the chief warrior, ' Crow King,' was an attentive witness, standing on the roof of the trader's store at the Popular River Agency, and, strange as it may seem, not only sanctioned, but encouraged in every way possible, Major Ilges in forcing this surrender, as he could not move his own lodges into the Agency until Gall and his warriors were out of the wav.
CHAPTER II.
The Surrender.
As the terms of his surrender, Crow King demanded 160 acres of land for every man, woman and child belonging to his tribe. He also asked that school-houses might be built for the children, and the money obtained from the sale of Indian lands devoted to this purpose, and to the education of his people. There was no doubt of his
