The Annihilation Of The Sacred

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Rasky's VietNam Memorial
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If You Can Find Pleasure In The Movement Of A Butterfly
Then You Still Have Hope
Hope Puts A Smile On Your Face When The Heart Cannot Manage

American Massacre At Wounded Knee
In 1889, Rumors Of A Miraculous Indian Redemption Began To Emerge
In Nevada During A Solar Eclipse
A Young Paiute Mystic By The Name Of Wovoka Had Fallen Into A Trance

When He Awoke
He Told Others That He Had Been Taken Into The Spirit World
He Had Received Revelations Of Great Future Events

The Dead Would Rise
The Buffalo Would Return In The Millions
The Whites Would Disappear

The Precepts Of This New Faith Called For No Fighting
No War
Nothing That Resembled War
No Stealing
No Lying
And No Cruelty
Followers Of This Faith Were Expected To Perform A Dance
Wovoka Had Learned The Dance While In The Spirit World
The Ritual Dance Was The Essence Of Simplicity
Each Of The Worshippers Were Painted With Sacred Red Pigment
They Shuffled CounterClockise In A Circle
They Moved Slowly At First
They Picked Up The Tempo While Singing Songs Of Resurrection

Many Of The Participants Fell Into A Trance
They Awoke To Tell Tales Of Meeting With Dead Relatives
They Saw Hosts Of Buffalo Roaming The Plains
This Faith Came To Be Called The Ghost Dance Religion By Curious Whites
Because Of The Emphasis On Resurrection And Reunion With The Dead

Like Other Peoples Who Had Picked Up A New Religion
The Sioux Added A Unique Touch Of Their Own, A Small Alteration
But One That Appeared To Taint The Basic Innocence Of The Rite
They Began Dancing In Loose Shirts Adorned With Feathers Or Other Trimmings
They Were Decorated With What The Whites Saw As Curious Canabalistic Designs

White Men Inquired After The Meaning And Function Of These Garments
The White Men Called These Ghost Shirts
They Were Advised That The Shirts Were Sacred
They Were Impervious Armor Against An Attacker's Bullets
The Reply Stirred Unease In Whites, Then Outright Alarm
What Need For Armor Unless A Mass Uprising Was Being Plotted

Agent James McLaughlin Reported
"It Would Seem Impossible That Any Person No Matter How Ignorant
Could Be Brought To Believe Such Absurd Nonsense
But The Infection Has Been So Pernicious
That Many Of Our Best Indians Appear Dazed And Undecided When Talking Of It"

McLaughlin Also Mistakenly Reported

That "The New Religion" Was Managed From The Beginning
As Far As The Standing Rock Sioux Were Concerned
By Sitting Bull
Tatanka-Lyotanka
1831-1890

Who

Having Lost His Former Influence Over The Sioux
Planned To Import
And Use It To Reestablish Himself In The Leadership Of The People
Whom He Might Then Lead In Safety
In Any Desperate Enterprise Which He Might Direct"
From Washington Came The Orders
They Alerted The Army To Take Up Positions To Contain And Put Down Any Outbreak
The Sudden And Highly Visible Presence Of Troops In Turn Alarmed The Indians
The Distrustful Bands Fearing Massacre By The Whites
Left The Vicinity Of Their Agencies And Headed For The Badlands
The Army Was As Apprehensive In Its Way As The Sioux Were In Theirs
The Army Mobilized To Round Them Up

On December 14Th 1890

The Army Received Word
That Sitting Bull Was Determined To Visit The Pine Ridge Agency
The Pine Ridge Agency Was South Of Standing Rock
McLaughlin Had Him Immediately Arrested

During The Arrest Sitting Bull Protested
His Followers Having Heard His Shout, Acted
One Of Them Fired A Rifle At One Of The Arresting Officers
That Arresting Officer Was A Fellow Sioux Named Lt. Bull Head
As The Police Chief Fell
He Managed To Put A Bullet Into Sitting Bull

General Gunfire Erupted Taking The Lives Of Sitting Bull
Six Policemen
And Eight Of Sitting Bull's Followers
The Killing Of The Chief Exacerbated The Turmoil
Turmoil Had Already Been Sweeping The Reservation Lands
Frightened Bands of Sioux Fled
Many Of Them Still Held Onto The Hope Of Deliverance
Deliverance Through The Ghost Dance Miracle

Some Of Sitting Bull's Followers Hurried Toward The Camp Of Big Foot
Big Foot Was A Miniconjou Sioux Chief
They Met Up With Big Foot
Big Foot And His People Were On Their Way To Agency Headquarters
The Agency Headquarters Was Near Fort Bennett
They Were Going There To Procure Rations

Meanwhile
Authorities Had Decided That Chief Big Foot Was A Troublemaker
They Decided That He Should Be Taken Into Custody
Col. E.V. Sumner Intercepted The Band
Big Foot Gave Assurances That Their Intentions Were Peaceful And Lawful
Sumner Questioned His Motives For Sheltering "Hostiles" From Sitting Bull's Camp

Big Foot Replied
That He Had Found 38 Men And Women
Who Were Hungry
Footsore
And Nearly Naked In Midwinter

Anybody With A Heart Would Have Done The Same Thing
He Told The Colonel
Sumner Nevertheless
Ordered Big Foot's Followers To Accompany Him To Camp Cheyenne
Big Foot's Followers Numbered More Than 300
At Camp Cheyenne They Would Be Kept Under A Watchful eye
They Obeyed The Orders Without Protest
They Obeyed Until They Had Traveled Back To The Vicinity Of Their Own Village

The Indians Then Announced That They Would Not Go Any Farther
Big Foot Advised The Colonel That They Intended To Return Home
That They Had Done Nothing To Justify Their Removal

But During The Night
The Indians Were Alarmed
There Were Reports Of Additional Troops Coming From The East
Big Foot's People Fled Toward Refuge In The Badlands
Orders Came From General Miles To Pursue And Apprehend The Fugitives
Another Cavalry Unit Caught Up With Them On December 28Th

Carrying A White Flag
Big Foot Approached Major Whitside To Parley
Whitside Demanded Surrender
Big Foot's Band Was In No Condition To Fight
He Gave In
The Troops Hurried The Band Southwest To Wounded Knee Creek
They Took Up Surrounding Positions As The Indians Set Up Camp
Four More Cavalry Troops Arrived Under The Command Of Col. James Forsyth
This Bringing The Total Number Of The Escort To 470

Big Foot Was Now Ailing With Pneumonia
Col. Forsyth Provided Him With A Camp Stove
In The Morning Forsyth Prepared To disarm His Captives

To Secure The Field
His Troops Were Disposed On All Four Sides Of The Indian Camp
Four Rapid-Fire Hotchkiss Guns Were Set Into Place On A Low Hill
The Hill Overlooked The Camp From The North

At About 8 O'Clock
The Indian Men Came Out Of Their Tipis
They Sat In A Semicircle In Front Of The Troops
Forsyth Issued Orders That They Should Return To The Lodges
They Should Return 20 At A Time And Bring Out Their Guns
The First Contingent Obediently Entered Their Tipis
But After Some Time They Reappeared With Only Two Weapons
Troops Around The Warriors Were Moved Up Within 10 Yards
Others Were Detailed To Go Into The Tipis And Make A Search

The Soldiers Went At Their Work With Hard-Handed Zeal
They Scattered Bedclothing And Pawed Through Other Property
Women Inside The Lodges Protested Loudly

Outside

Resentful Uneasiness Edged Into Hair-Trigger Tension
Then A Medicine Man Called Yellow Bird Began Blowing On An Eagle-Bone Whistle
He Exhorting Them To Resist

The Soldiers Began To Search The Warriors Themselves
The Situation Exploded
A Young Indian Pulled A Gun Out From Under His Robe And Fired Wildly

Instantly

The Soldiers Retaliated With A Point-Blank Volley
They Cut Down Nearly Half Of The Warriors
The Rest Of Them Drew Concealed Weapons And Charged The Soldiers
Then The Hotchkiss Guns On The Hill Opened Up
They Opened Up On The Women And Children
They Had Come Pouring Out Of The Tipis
Soon Many Of The Tipis Were Burning
They Were Being Ripped By The Explosive Shells

A Stumbling Mass Of Women
Children
And A Few Men Bolted Into A Ravine
The Ravine Led Them Away From The Encampment
The Soldiers Followed Them
They Fired At Them As They Went
The Hotchkiss Guns Were Then Re-Employed To Sweep The Ravine
They Cut Down Anything That Moved

Big Foot Died As He Tried To Rise From His Sickbed
Others Managed To Run As Far As Two Miles From The Camp
Trying To Escape But They Died From Their Wounds

Twenty-Five White Men Were Killed And 39 Wounded

The Besieged Indians Had Few Guns
Since The Troops Were Firing From Four Sides At Once
It Seemed Likely That The Soldiers Had Caused Many Of Their Own Casualties

The Indian Dead Numbered About 180
Other Reports Place This Number Much Higher

For Three Days
They Were Left To Lie Where They Had Fallen
Meanwhile A Winter Blizzard Swept Over Them
A Burial Party Was Sent To The Scene On New Year's Day
1891
One By One The Bodies Were Dragged From Under The Snow
They Were Frozen In The Grotesque Agonies Of Death
The Bodies Were Heaved Into A Single Pit

Four Babies Were Discovered Still Alive
They Were Still Wrapped In Their Dead Mother's Shawls
Most Of The Other Children Were Dead

"It Was A Thing To Melt The Heart Of Any Man If It Was Made Of Stone"
Said A Member Of The Burial Party
"To See Those Little Children
With Their Bodies Shot To Pieces
Then Thrown Naked Into The Burial Pit"

Source
Edited Description From The Great Chiefs Volume
Time-Lifes
The Old West Series Of Events

Pequot War
1637
The First Of The Many Wars Between Whites And Indians Was Fought In 1637
It Was Between The Pequots And New England Settlers
The Pequots Were A Warlike Tribe
They Were Centered Along The Thames River In Southeastern Connecticut

By 1630 Under Their Chief Sassacus
They Had Pushed West To The Connecticut River
There They Had Numerous Quarrels With Colonists
This Culminated In The Murder By The Pequots
Of A Trader
John Oldham
He Was Killed On July 20--1636

On Aug. 24th

Gov. John Endicott Of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Organized A Military Force To Punish The Indians

On May 26th--1637

The First Battle Of The Pequot War Took Place
When the New Englanders
Under John Mason And John Underhill
Attacked The Pequot Stronghold Near Present Day New Haven, Conn
The Indian Forts Were Burned
About 500 Men, Women And Children Were Killed
The Survivors Fled In Small Groups

One Group Led By Sassacus Was Caught Near Present Day Fairfield, Conn
This Happened On July 28th
Nearly All Of The Group Was Killed Or Captured
The Captives Were Made Slaves By The Colonists
Some Were Sold In The West Indies
Sassacus and the few who escaped with him were put to death by Mohawk Indians.
The few remaining Pequots were scattered among other southern New England tribes

Source
"The Encyclopedia Of American Facts And Dates"
10th Edition New York
Harper Collins Publishers--©1997

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