The renegade chieftain received his distinguished visitors with every mark of savage discourtesy. He haughtily refused their proffered hands, demanded that they should not sit behind the table, at which they had seated themselves, and sneeringly told them to speak the truth to the assembled chiefs. The ambassadors, on* behalf of their government, then presented the reasons why the hostiles should ‹5ease their hostile acts, return to the United States, and join the agencies.
The honorable treatment meted out to the tribes who had surrendered, the ever-recurring bounty of the government, the daily rations and frequent gifts, were painted in glowing colors.
It was promised to the Canadian refugees, on behalf of the United States Government, that no harm should befall Any of their number who would consent to cross the line, and peacefully take up their abode at any of the agencies. Not only would they be protected from harm, but many favors and privileges would be granted them; while the proceeds from the sale of their ponies and arms, which they would be required to surrender, would be applied to their benefit. These proposals were rejected emphatically and insolently, and the commission was, so far as any good results were attained, a complete failure.
During the remainder of that, and of the following year {1878), Sitting Bull and his band remained quietly on the northern side of the boundary line, only a few of his warriors occasionally crossing to American soil in pursuit of
buffalo, and their stay was never prolonged. Reports of his. coming in force were, however, frequently rife among the frontiersmen, and in the summer a reconnoissance of troops in force was made north of the Missouri, without result, however, and as the hostiles seemed inclined to keep the peace, and remain permanently north of the line, operations against them were, for the time, suspended, by order of General Sherman. Trouble with the Bannock Indians having then arisen, and the hostile remnant of the Nez Perces making demonstrations of hostilities, Sitting Bull once more dropped out of public notice.
For the protection of the settlers in northern Montana, a cordon of forts had been commenced in 1877, which were now nearly completed, and there was every reason to believe that the former scene of the Sioux troubles-the valley of the Yellowstone and its tributaries-would not be again entered by them. But north of their former field of operations they could roam unrestrainedly, while the stores of government supplies at Poplar River and other outlying posts were never safe from their raids.
In the opening of the year 1879 a panic prevailed among the white settlers near the border, in consequence of large bands of Sitting Bull's Indians crossing the line and committing depredations, killing the cattle of the settlers, stealing horses, etc. General Miles was accordingly sent to take the field, with troops sufficient to repel and overcome any body of Indians, however large ; and on the 12th of July he crossed to the northern bank of the Missouri with his command, in the vicinity of Old Fort Reck, and five days later the advance detachment, under Lieutenant Clark, struck a, large body of Indians between Beaver Creek and Milk River, and a spirited skirmish ensued. Sitting Bull was in command in person, and the battle would have ended disastrously for the whites, as they were largely outnumbered- but on the near approach of the main body of the troops he prudently withdrew to the north bank of Milk River, thence retreating to the British possessions. Many Indians were captured in the retreat, and the operations of that summer were attended with gratifying results. The bands of half-
"breeds, who had by their nefarious traffic with the hostiles kept them well supplied with arms and ammunition, were either captured or dispersed, and their traffic broken up. On the 28th of July, Long Dog, an emissary from Sitting Bull's camp, reported that the hostiles had elected to remain permanently north of the line, and General Miles was assured by the commandant of the mounted police that no further apprehension need be entertained of hostile raids- assurances which the facts in the end fully justified.
During the summer of 1880, there were a few isolated cases of murder and theft, in which the hand of the Sioux was apparent; but the surrender to General Miles, in the autumn, of the notorious Rain-in-the-Face, with many other chiefs and thousands of their followers, virtually settled the Indian problem in the Northwest.
When Rain-in-the-Face crossed the line and surrendered, Gaul and his followers crossed also, but the latter went to Poplar Creek instead of Fort Keogh, and though at first expressing a willingness to surrender, he delayed from time to time, until January 2d, 1881, he yielded to the persuasions o? Colonel Ilges and his frost-bitten soldiers, and a few shots from his Gatling guns, and gave himself up. Crow King had previously surrendered, and Sitting Bull was left alone in his glory, and with a handful of dispirited followers, in his old retreat at Wood Mountain. He, too, now submits to the inevitable, recognizing in the rapid development of the Northwest country, the signs of the inevitable fate that thrusts upon the red man the alternative of civilization or extermination. With «his handful of half-starved followers, he reluctantly accepts the bounty of the government he has so long defied, yet remjains sullen and defiant to the last.
Through the efforts of the scout, Louis Legare, mainly, the once powerful chieftain of the Sioux was induced to come into the lines and surrender to the military, kind treatment and immunity from punishment for his past misdeeds having been previously guaranteed him. With the last remnant of his people, some two hundred souls, old men, women and children, the old war-chief arrived at Fori Buford, Dakota, at noon, on July 19th, 1881. At the head of the mournful cortege rode Sitting Bull, Four Horns, Red Thunder and other sub-chiefs, on their war ponies, and following came six army wagons loaded with the squaws and children, and behind them came some twenty-five of Louis Xiegare's Red River carts, containing their baggage.
They presented a forlorn and pitiful appearance-the great Sitting Bull himself being very dirty and very hungry, his face wearing a sullen, bull-dog expression, his dress and appearance bearing marks of the hardships and destitution he has recently experienced. Yet, until called upon to surrender his arms, he preserved under this, the most trying ordeal to a savage, a dignified and unbroken silence. Thus •ended the war in the Northwest The closing of the five years' campaign against the most remarkable leader of modern times is tersely chronicled in the following official dispatches :
Fort Buford, D. T., July 14, 1881.-Gen. A. H. Terry, •Commanding Department Dakota, Fort Snelling: Just received a dispatch from Legare, dated 12th inst.; says he is en route with Sitting Bull, Four Horns and Red Thunder; in all, 6 chiefs, 40 families-about 200 in all, men, women and children. He says they came from Lake Qu'Appelle, starving. Will send in this morning to meet them with rations. Messenger says they are about sixty miles out. (Signed) D. H. Brotherton, Maj. 7th Infantry, Com.
Fort Buford, D. T., July 19.-Gen. A. H. Terry, Commanding Department of Dakota, Fort Snelling : Sitting Bull and his followers surrendered to me at noon to-day.
(Signed) D. H. Brotherton, Maj. 7th Infantry, Com.
While the last act of the drama, the final scene in Sitting Bull's career as a warrior, was enacted at noon on July 20th, when, by the hand of his little son, he delivered to Major Brotherton the rifle he had carried throughout so many bloody fields. This being done, the great chieftain spoke as follows:
"I surrender this rifle to you through my young son, whom I now desire to teach in this manner that he has become a friend of the Americans. I wish him to learn the habits of
the whites and to be educated as their sons are educated. I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle. This boy has given it to you, and he now wants to know how he is going to make a living. Whatever you have to give-or whatever you have to say, I would like to receive or hear now, for I don't wish to be kept in darkness longer. I have sent several messengers in here from time to time, but none of them have returned with news. The other chiefs, Crow King and Gaul, have not wanted me to come, and I have never received good news from here. I now wish to be allowed to live this side of the line or the other, as I see fit. I wish to continue my old life of lunting, but would like to be allowed to trade on both sides of the line. This is my country, and I don't wish to be compelled to give it up. My heart was very sad at having to leave the great mother's country. She has been a friend to me, but I want my children to grow up in our native country, and I also wish to feel that I can visit two of my friends on the other side of the line, viz.: Major Walsh and Captain McDonald, whenever I wish, and would like to trade with Louis Legare, as he has always been a friend to me. I wish to have all my people live together upon one reservation of our own on the Little Missouri. I left several families at Wood Mountain and between there and Qu'Appelle. I have many people among the Yanktonais at Poplar Creek, and I wish all them and those who have gone to Standing Rock to be collected together upon one reservation. My people liave many of them been bad. All are good now that their arms and ponies have been taken from them. (Speaking to Major Brotherton):
" You own this ground with me, and we must try and help ^ach other. I do not wish to leave here until I get all the people I left behind and the Uncapapas now at Poplar Creek. I would like to have my daughter, who is now at Fort Yates, sent up here to visit me, as also eight men now there (mentioning their names), and I would like to know that Louis Legare is to be rewarded for his services in bringing me and my people in here."
Sitting Bull and his people have been sent to the Indian
Agency of Standing Rock, Dakota, on the Missouri River, where Rain-in-the-Face, Gaul, Long-Dog and other chiefs of his tribe, with their followers, have preceded him.
At this agency there are now fully 7,000 Indians, and though "finis " may now be appended to the last chapter of the history of the Indian wars in the Northwest, yet, in dealing with these pent-up savages, soothing the malcontents, and restraining the unruly spirits there confined from deeds of violence, in helping and instructing those susceptible of civilizing influences, and benefiting and christianizing all, the Interior Department has a task as weighty, a labor as arduous, and a problem more puzzling, than that just worked out by the military, in their subjugation and capture.