In considering the Indian, while most persons recognize the disadvantages under which he has labored, yet I am persuaded that very few realize the great, almost overwhelming difficulty, which must be overcome before a truly strong and high character can be developed. With but few exceptions, nearly every white man who went on the frontier as a scout, miner, trader, hunter or explorer, exhibited the worst side of his character when among Indians. It is natural that when a man is in a new and wild country, far from restraint, untrammeled by laws, unchecked by society or the refining influence of women, all that is bad in him comes to the surface. Many men died in defense of a woman or child, underwent great hardship to succor a comrade in danger, exhibited personal bravery in the defense of claims, wagon-trains, ranches, etc., but, admitting all this in their favor, most of them were destitute of a regard for the rights of Indians. Such men inspired hatred in their dealings with the Sioux.
The Indian became acquainted with all that was bad, and saw but little of the real good of civilization. He heard more oaths than prayers, saw more saloons than churches or schools. The men whom he met were not calculated, by their acts, to inspire him with any confidence or respect for the white race. If the Plains tribes had associated with a better class of citizens before they had learned the vices of civilization, I am satisfied that the historian would not be compelled to write so dark and tragic a narrative; nor would he feel constrained to hold them up as fit subjects for pity and compassion.
Considering that Red Cloud came in contact with a class of white men whose presence would not be tolerated in a respectable community; his high character, his forbearance, his submission to the unjust acts of his conquerors, places him, in my opinion, among the great men of America, regardless of color, birth or ancestry. His career exhibits a degree of mental capacity, a knowledge of human nature and an acquaintance with the affairs of men which we would not expect in the mind of a savage. Red Cloud’s bearing towards the Government in the Leavenworth and Fort Robinson treaties, in having secured his end in both instances, indicates a knowledge of diplomacy of no mean order.
His people were suddenly confronted with a high civilization which they could neither understand nor follow. For centuries they had been schooled in the simple life of the Plains (and it ranked below the culture of the bronze age of man in Europe), unmolested by any extensive or exterminating war, content with their lot. To be suddenly brought face to face with a question, the issue of which was not a matter of temporary supremacy, but involved the very existence of themselves as a nation—to have bravely met it, mustered every available young man and fought their superior forces for a period of nearly thirty years, and then to have ceased only when resistance was no longer possible—presents an heroic spectacle. All through this stormy period, Red Cloud figures as a brave warrior, dignified counselor, and staunch advocate of the welfare of his people.
After the treaty, he and his immediate followers, or those directly under his control, observed their part of the agreement, although the white people gave them every pretext for violation. A weaker man, one of less character, would have taken his warriors, as Sitting Bull did, and have fought until there was not a man left.
Red Cloud possessed more human kindness than any of his red contemporaries. It has been affirmed that after the Fetterman fight, he assisted the young men in scalping and mutilating the bodies of the dead. There is no direct evidence as to this. Red Cloud himself says he never tortured a living person nor mutilated a dead body, and that those under his control were no more cruel than the Colorado citizens at the Sand Creek massacre, the soldiers in the battle of Washita, or the Seventh Cavalry at Wounded Knee. He cites the murder of Crazy Horse and several subchiefs after they had surrendered and were held as hostages in one of the forts. He also says that some Whites, many years ago, visited the camps of the Sioux under the guise of friendship, and presented the Indians with whiskey which contained strychnine. Nineteen who partook of it died in terrible agony. He claims that in all his fights and raids he never perpetrated cruelties like these; that he was either a staunch friend or a bitter enemy.
In his later years he rather inclined towards the faith of the Catholics, but when younger he was reported to have said that he believed in no white man’s God, but held to the Great Spirit, Wakantanka, and propitiated the evil spirit also; that, if he tried to do his duty, help his people and was a good man, he should not fear to meet the Great Spirit in the hereafter. That so far he agreed with the missionaries of different denominations, but because they were in discord among themselves as to just how the Great Spirit should be worshipped, he considered that not one of them was better than another; that his religion was as good as theirs, and that he would do as his heart prompted him.
He has always been a little vainglorious, but not more so than other prominent men. His twenty years’ residence at Pine Ridge exhibited a quiet and gentle demeanor. He ever lamented the fate of his people, but there was no bitterness, and his bearing was such as one might expect in a man who has faced death upon the field of battle.
After his removal to Pine Ridge, a petty Agent arrested this great man, on a trivial charge, and confined him in the guardhouse. Immediately his warriors armed, and a great number of Indians prepared to attack the agency.