Our account of the great Indian uprising of 1890-91 would be incomplete without a few words concerning one of the most prominent leaders of that revolt. He was Red Cloud, who became head chief of the entire Sioux tribe. Considerably older than Sitting Bull, he fiercely opposed every change in the customs of his people which the government agents tried to bring about. He was the leader in the councils, and, when the outbreak came, he caught up his Winchester and proved himself a force with which the military arm had to reckon. In December, 1866, he and two thousand Sioux ambushed Colonel Fetterman and ninety of his men near Fort Phil Kearney. He was deposed in 1876 by General Crook, who made Spotted Tail his successor. This chief was killed by Crow Dog, and the way thus opened for Sitting Bull.
When the storm-cloud passed, Red Cloud openly opposed the scheme of allotting lands to the Indians, and making the red men support themselves by farming and cattle raising. He lived for many years in a two-story frame dwelling, which the government built for him near the agency at Pine Ridge, but refused to take his allotment of land, insisting that our government owed the Sioux a living without compelling them to work. The proud old chief said he would starve before he would accept a piece of land and toil like a squaw. So bitter was his feeling against the white man that he would never learn a word of our language.
Transciber's Notes:
Variations in spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation have been retained; typographical errors have been silently corrected.