The routine of activities at the Whetstone Agency during the winter months of 1869–1870 was occasionally relieved by the arrival of some distinguished chiefs and a portion of their tribe. They had passed the summer and fall in the raiding of stock from the early settlers to the south toward the Platte River or out on the Rosebud.
Now that cold weather had come and winter was approaching, they decided to visit the agency and see how it had fared with their brethren who resided near Whetstone Landing. As the Indians stated it, they had aspirations to “learn the ways of white men.”
One of these chiefs was Red Leaf. He had the reputation of being a bold warrior and gallant leader. He had taken a leading part in the Fort Phil Kearney massacre of 1866. His followers, men, women and children, had a much wilder appearance than their friends at the agency.
In place of woolen blankets and calico dresses, indicative of contact with an agency and annuity goods, they wore gaily painted and ornamented robes, buckskin leggings, and garments made of dressed deer and antelope skins, decorated with beads and bright-colored porcupine quills. This dress, corresponding to their wild habits, added much to their novelty and picturesqueness.
Their presence carried with it the impression of their wild, native independence. Their manner had more of ease and confidence, their step was more elastic and firm, and their eyes more keen in the quick glance of observation, than the agency Indians. Those Natives who were living near the agency showed signs of over-eating and the need for exercise. As the agency director wrote in his diary: “They were in the torpor of the chrysalis state, waiting to come forth, under the peace policy, full-fledged white men in manners and habits. At present the wilder sons of the prairie had the advantage in point of appearance.”
The coming of visitors such as Red Leaf and his followers was always announced days in advance by Indian couriers, who were constantly carrying news from camp to camp up and down the river. Their arrival was awaited with considerable impatience. The agency Indians killed the fatted calf and sang and danced before them.
In their zeal to help their friends they made inordinate demands for blankets, tobacco, powder and lead – the coveted wants of all Indians. As the Agency Director had none of these articles in the storeroom, they could not be supplied. Their next demand would be for a large quantity of food. The food was given, after assurance by the new comers to the agency that it was their intention to locate near the agency, or with Spotted Tail at the Whetstone Agency.
The summer of 1876 saw the Plains Indian Wars reach a climax. The Sioux in defending the Black Hills had fought General Crook to a standstill on the Rosebud River and had annihilated Custer’s command. The hostile bands then separated and the Army set into motion the operations which in effect suppressed the Indian resistance.
To help achieve this end an unprecedented number of Indian scouts were raised, almost four hundred, including, Sioux, Arapho, Shoshone, Bannocks, a few Cheyenne and a final two companies of Pawnee. The Pawnee furnished their own horses for which the government paid them forty cents a day and they received regular army pay.
On October 22nd, while on their way to Fort Robinson in Western Nebraska, the Indian Scouts received word to join General Ranaid MacKenzie in a march to the villages of Red Cloud and Red Leaf who had strayed off the Red Cloud Agency against army orders. Both villages were captured without bloodshed and the captives marched back to the Red Cloud Indian Agency (later to be known as the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation).
Much earlier, on Christmas Day of 1866 Red Leaf participated in the Fetterman Massacre near Fort Phil Kearny in Northern Wyoming. It was the worst disaster to befall the U. S. Army up to that point in the Indian Wars of the 19th century. It was estimated that 40,000 arrows were launched in that 40-minute-long battle.
Another visitor to the agency was Roman Nose, a Minneconjou Sioux, celebrated among the Indians as the active leader in many bold forays against their enemies. He, with a number of lodges, made his appearance on the Whetstone after the snow had begun to fly. He wanted rations and a place to rest for the winter.
He was recognized for facilitating a peaceful transition to a non-nomadic way of life, while retaining elements of his Cheyenne culture. He was a vocal proponent of obtaining education and training.
In 1887, Chief Roman Nose attended the Third National Conference of Indians and Their Friends in Denver at which he gave a most eloquent address. At the conclusion of his speech he said that he had read in a big book the solution to the whole Indian problem. He said:
“Maybe you can’t understand me, so I will tell you how to solve it.” Then, looking over the large audience he recited the “Sermon on the Mount.”
There was an audible buzz and feeling of enthusiasm in the room as the long-haired elderly Indian gentleman sat down, his stoic finely chiseled classic face showed no emotion.
Author Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on November 13, 2024