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James Cox - My Native Land
possible for a man to give expression to, and there was not an Indian among his hearers but appeared to
accept it as within his power.
"'Sitting Bull' was dull in intellect, and not near as able a man as 'Gall,' 'Hump,' 'Crow,' and many others
who were regarded as subordinate to him; but he was an adept schemer and very cunning, and could
work upon the credulity of the Indians to a wonderful degree, and this, together with great obstinacy and
tenacity, gained for him his world-wide reputation. 'Sitting Bull' claimed in his statement to me that he
directed and led in the Custer fight; but all the other Indians with whom I have talked contradict it, and
said that 'Sitting Bull' fled with his family as soon as the village was attacked by Major Reno's command,
and that he was making his way to a place of safety, several miles out in the hills, when overtaken by
some of his friends with news of victory over the soldiers, whereupon he returned, and in his usual style,
took all the credit of victory to himself as having planned for the outcome, and as having been on a bluff
overlooking the battlefield, appeasing the evil spirits and invoking the Great Spirit for the result of the
fight.
"And, when considering the ignorance and inherent superstition of the average Sioux Indian at that time,
it is not to be wondered at that the majority, if not all, were willing to accept it, especially when united in
common cause and what they considered as their only safety from annihilation. As a matter of fact, there
was no one man who led or directed that fight; it was a pell mell rush under a number of recognized
warriors as leaders, with 'Gall' of the Hunkpapas and 'Crazy Horse' of the Cheyennes the more
prominent.
"The Indians with whom I have talked deny having mutilated any of the killed, but admit that many dead
bodies were mutilated by women of the camp. They also claim that the fight with Custer was of short
duration. They have no knowledge as to hours and minutes, but have explained by the distance that could
be walked while the fight lasted. They vary from twenty minutes to three-quarters of an hour, none
placing it longer than forty-five minutes. This does not include the fight with Reno before his retreat, but
from the time that Custer's command advanced and the fight with his command commenced. The opinion
of the Indians regarding Reno's first attack and short stand is, that it was his retreat that gave them the
victory over Custer's command. The helter skelter retreat of Reno's men enthused the Indians to such an
extent that, flushed with excitement and this early success, they were reckless in their charge upon
Custer's command, and with the slight number of Indians thus fully enthused, that small command was
but a slight check to their sweeping impetuosity. The Indians also state that the separated detachments
made their victory over the troops more certain."
Thus Custer fell. The mystery surrounding his death will probably never be solved in a satisfactory
manner, owing to the impossibility of placing any reliance on statements made by the Indians. The way
in which the command was annihilated and the soldiers' bodies mutilated, should go a long way towards
disproving many of the theories now in existence concerning the alleged ill treatment of Indians, and
their natural peacefulness and good disposition. Custer had so frequently befriended the very men who
surrounded his command and annihilated it, that the baseness of their ingratitude should be apparent even
to those who are inclined to sympathize with the red men, and to denounce the alleged severity with
which they have been treated. Travelers through the Dakota region find few spots of more melancholy,
though marked, interest than the one illustrated in connection with this chapter.
CHAPTER XII. AMONG THE CREOLES.
Meaning of the Word "Creole" - An Old Aristocratic Relic - The Venice of America - Origin of the
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