During the fall of 1869 and winter of 1870, more than the usual discontent appeared among the Indians at Whetstone Landing and along the Missouri River. This was due to various causes; one of the principal reasons was the lack of suitable clothing and shelter in the severe winter weather at that latitude.
Their tepees were thin and worn, and no canvas had arrived to renew them. The distribution of ready-made clothing had been anything but satisfactory. They had no idea of exchanging their native dress for the cheap clothing of soldiers.
The goods suitable to their wants, for which Agent Poole had asked for so long ago had not yet arrived. Therefore, he was obliged to listen to many uncomplimentary remarks regarding his efficiency as an agent, and even some reflections on his character and truthfulness.
The approach of winter resulted in their wild and turbulent spirits becoming evident which helped to increase the discontent and dissatisfaction that was apparent in their conversations. They talked about the bold raids, the startling attacks upon their enemies and the pleasures of the chase, which they had enjoyed during their free and independent summer life. The old habits never lost their charm, and beside them their present life seemed tame and dull.
The natives at Whetstone had once again asked permission to hunt on the Republican River, under the stipulations of their earlier treaty. They were to be accompanied by some reliable white man who would govern their movements and behavior.
This request was refused, and, considering that an injustice had been done, them, they constantly referred to this subject in their talks. It was indeed a serious matter for the buffalo was the perfect store house of family supplies for them.
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east 453 miles through the states of Nebraska and Kansas. The river was named after a branch of Pawnee Indians known as “the Republicans.”
For nearly 10,000 years, the American buffalo – the largest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere – had evolved alongside Native Americans, who tied it to every aspect of their lives. It was a major resource for their traditional way of life (food source, hides for clothing and shelter, and horns and bones for tools). However, with the coming of settlers, the history of this extraordinary animal would take a tragic turn.
The history of the buffalo is interwoven with the unfortunate and precarious situation of the Native Americans in the American West. The Native Americans came to rely on the bison for everything from food and clothing to shelter and religious worship. They used every part of the animal, including horns, meat, and the hairs of the tail.
The buffalo were essential to the Plains Indians, and other Native American nations, as they were not only a vital food source but were regarded as a sacred gift the Creator had provided especially for the people. Buffalo supplied Native Americans with the resources that sustained them physically, culturally, and spiritually.
Between 1840 and 1890, with the approval and encouragement of the US government, millions of buffalo were slaughtered primarily to deprive the Plains Indians of their major resource and allow for the westward expansion of frontier settlements. The buffalo and the nomadic Plains Indians were regarded as obstacles to be eliminated.
At the height of the Plains Indians culture, there were over 60 million buffalo in the United States. By 1900 there were less than 300 due to the orchestrated slaughter by the government and business concerns to “manage” the natives onto reservations.
In 1859, Horace Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune, was on his way by stagecoach to Denver when he was confronted by a vast herd of buffalo on the Republican River in Nebraska. They were slowly wending their way north. As far as the eye could see, the sluggish moving animals completely filled the prairie.
The driver waited patiently for twenty-four hours. Finally it was decided to attempt to pass through the herd, which showed no decrease in numbers. They were constantly moving north at a slow pace. The coach was carefully driven through the herd in six hours – at an estimated average for one mile an hour as frequent stops were made. The herd was estimated to be six miles wide and fifteen miles long.
It was the unmitigated Western expansion of the colonists, alongside rapid technological developments and powerful market forces, which led the buffalo close to extinction by the end of the 1900s. Fortunately, in the early decades of the 20th century, this situation started to change due to conservation efforts.
The largest lake in the southern portion of South Dakota in the early 1900s, Lake Andes, in Charles Mix County, was a famous buffalo watering place during the first half of the 18th century and earlier. It was about 15 miles long and 1.25 miles wide. The almost 19 square miles of lake provided an abundant supply of fresh clean water to all wildlife that visited the area.
Ironically, the US government, primarily responsible for the near extinction of the buffalo declared it as the national mammal of the United States in 2016.
Author Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on November 20, 2024