BULL. 30] 



RED EAGLE RED HORN 



359 



without stint, commencing about 1821. 

 When in 1865 the Government undertook 

 to build a road from Ft Laramie, Wyo., on 

 the North Platte, by way of Powder r. to 

 the gold regions of Montana, Red Cloud 

 headed the opposition for his tribe, on 

 the ground that the influx of travel along 

 the trail would tlestroy the best remain- 

 ing buffalo ground of the Indians. The 

 first small detachment of troops sent out 

 to begin construction work were inter- 

 cepted by Red Cloud with a large party 

 of Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne, and held 

 practically as prisoners for more than two 

 weeks, but finally were allowed to proceed 

 when it seemed to the chief that they 

 might be massacred by his young men. 

 In the fall of the same year commissioners 

 were sent to treat with the Oglala for per- 

 mission to build the road, but Red Cloud 

 forbade the negotiations and refused to 

 attend the council. 



On June 30, 1866, another council for 

 the same purpose was called at Ft Lara- 

 mie, Red Cloud this time attending and 

 repeating his refusal to endanger the 

 hunting grounds of his people. While 

 he was speaking, a strong force of troops 

 under Gen. Carrington arrived, and on 

 being told, in reply to a question, that 

 they had come to build forts and open 

 the road to Montana, he seized his rifle 

 and with a final defiant message left the 

 council with his entire following. Car- 

 rington then set out on his mission, 

 which included the rebuilding and garri- 

 soning of Ft Reno, on Powder r., and the 

 establishment of Ft Phil Kearny and 

 Ft C. F. Smith, the last named being on 

 Bighorn r., in JNIontana. Another protest 

 to Carrington himself proving ineffectual. 

 Red Cloud surrounded the troops and 

 working force at Ft Kearny with per- 

 haps 2,000 warriors and harassed them 

 so constantly that not even a load of hay 

 could be brought in from the prairie ex- 

 cept under the protection of a strong 

 guard, while it was made impossible to 

 venture out after the game that was 

 abundant all around. On Dec. 21, 1866, 

 an entire detachment of 81 men under 

 Capt. Fetterman was cut off and every 

 man killed. On Aug. 1, 1867, another 

 severeengagementoccurred near the post. 

 In all this time not a single wagon had 

 been able to pas^s over the road, and in 

 1868 another commission was appointed 

 to come to terms with Red Cloud, who 

 demanded as an ultimatum the abandon- 

 ment of the three posts and of all further 

 attempts to open the INIontana road. A 

 treaty was finally made on this basis, 

 defining the limits of the Sioux country 

 as claimed by the Sioux, Red Cloud re- 

 fusing to sign or even to be present until 

 the garrisons had actually been with- 

 drawn, thus winning a complete victory 



for the position which he had taken from 

 the beginning. He finally affixed his 

 signature at Ft Laramie, Nov. 6, 1868. 

 From that date he seems to have kept his 

 promise to live at j)eace with the whites, 

 although constantly resisting the innova- 

 tions of civilization. He took no active 

 part in the Sioux war of 1870, although 

 he is accused of having secretly aided and 

 encouraged the hostiles. Being convinced 

 of the hopelessness of attempting to hold 

 the Black hills after the discovery of gold 

 in that region, he joined in the agreement 

 of cession in 1876. In the outbreak of 

 1890-91 also he remained cjuiet, being 

 then an old man and partially blind, and 

 was even said to have been threatened 

 by the hostiles on account of his loyal at- 

 titude toward the (iovernment. 



As a warrior Red Cloud stood first 

 among his people, having counted 80 

 coups (q. V.) or separate deeds of bravery 

 in battle. As a general and statesman he 

 ranked equally high, having been long 

 prominent in treaties and councils, and 

 several times a delegate to Washington, 

 his attitude having been always that of a 

 patriot from the Indian standpoint. LTn- 

 like Indians generally, he had but one 

 wife, with whom he lived from early 

 manhood. Personally he is described by 

 one well acquainted with him as a most 

 courtly chief and a natural-born gentle- 

 man, with a bow as graceful as that of a 

 Chesterfield. For some years before his 

 death he was blind and decrepit, and 

 lived in a house built for him by the 

 Government. His immediate band is 

 known as Iteshicha (q. v.) (j. m.) 



Red Eagle. See Weutherford, WlUinin. 



Red Fish. A prominent Oglala Sioux 

 chief about 1840. He led his people 

 against the Crows in 1841, and met a seri- 

 ous repulse which cost him his position 

 and influence. Father De Smet met him 

 at Ft Pierre, in the present South Da- 

 kota, in the latter year. (d. r.) 



Red Head. A prominent Onondaga, 

 whose English name wna borne by an 

 earlier chief, but his native name is not 

 mentioned. He drew a map of the St 

 Lawrence for Sir Wm. Johnson in Aug. 

 1759, and was an active war chief. A 

 creek e. of Oswego, N. Y., was called Red 

 Head's cr. Sir William "condoled" his 

 death at Oswego, Aug. 1764, he having 

 fallen dead in the fort before the baronet's 

 arrival. See Stone, Life of Sir William 

 Johnson, ii, 219, 402, 409, 1865. 



Red Horn. A Piegan chief. The border 

 troubles caused by lawless whites and 

 horse-stealing Indians reached such a 

 pitch in the fall of 1869 that Col. E. M. 

 Baker took out an expedition in the win- 

 ter to punish the truculent bands of Pie- 

 gan. He surprised the camp of Red 

 Horn on Marias r., Mont., Jan. 23, 1870, 



