A Lakota Account of the Battle

[Diane Merkel]

It was after a night so cold that the Lakota called it “The Moon of the Popping Trees” because as the winter winds whistled through the hills and gullies at Wounded Knee Creek on that morning of December 29, 1890, one could hear the twigs snapping in the frigid air.

When a soldier of George Armstrong Custer’s former troop the 7th Cavalry tried to wrest a hidden rifle from a deaf Lakota warrior after all of the other weapons had already been confiscated from Sitanka’s (Big Foot) band of Lakota people, the deafening report of that single shot caused pandemonium amongst the soldiers and they opened up with their Hotchkiss machine guns upon the unarmed men, women and children.

Thus began an action the government called a “battle” and the Lakota people called a “massacre.” The Lakota people say that only 50 people of the original 350 followers of Sitanka survived that morning of slaughter.

Full article: www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8434

[harpskiddie]

Diane:

Wounded Knee was a bungled, despicable, and probably unnecessary action that did involve the killing of noncombatants - but the posted article has too many inaccuracies to enlare upon.

The burial party interred 84 men and boys, 44 women and 18 children. There were 51 wounded treated at Pine Ridge Hospital, 7 of whom died. It is estimated that there were as many as 30 Lakotas missing, who either died and were not found, or who were wounded and later recovered without going to the hospital. The total population of the camp was about 120 men and 230 women and children. Total Lakota casualties were about 227, including the missing.

The 'unarmed' warriors, who supposedly fought with their bare hands, managed to kill 1 officer [George Wallace], 6 NCOs and 18 troopers. Wounded were 4 officers, 11 NCOs, 22 troopers and 1 civilian, making total army casualties of 63. Some of these casualties were undoubtedly from 'friendly' fire.

It's no wonder that the warriors were victorious at the Little Horn - there they had weapons.

The Seventh was under the command of their Colonel, James W. Forsyth, who was out of his depth [if not out of his mind], and brought the whole sad affair about by his method of attempting to disarm the Lakotas. He was under positive orders to do so; but his troop dispositions were such as to make a confrontation inevitable and chaotic, and were a major contributing factor in the tragedy.

Gordie

[crzhrs]

An excellent account of Wounded Knee and the events leading up to it can be found in the book: MOON OF POPPING TREES. Photos, statements from both sides. A sad and tragic event that ended the many sad and tragic events of the wars between white and red for North America.

PS: Miles ordered a full investigation of Forsyth's bungling of the massacre and wanted him disciplined (court marshalled?) but the board found Forsyth's innocent of any wrong doing.

This time Miles' supported the Indians.

Ironic that Wallace survived the LBH only to be killed at Wounded Knee. And even more ironic that it was the reformed 7th Cavalry that fired the Hotchkiss(?) cannons at fleeing Indians.

[jjm]

Read Oster's book on the Sioux from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee; read his chapters on the Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee itself and you'll see that Miles was covering his ass and that he was largely responsible for the debacle - regardless of what he did later.

[markland]

I was going through the Army & Navy Journal last night and found a bunch of stuff about Wounded Knee. Here is the extract of a letter published in that periodical in the January 10, 1891 issue.

Billy

"The policy is well defined. When Indians fleeing a reservation as hostiles cannot be shelled; when men fired on cannot return the fire; when companies who have loaded their rifles for defence are required to open chamber; when for fear of hurting the feelings of Indians, cheers for troops going to the front are forbidden; when all these things take place as they have, the question may be asked, are we soldiers? And how often must the cheek be turned for the smiter? There is universal disgust at the conduct, or rather misconduct, of affairs, and if peace is thus to be obtained at the sacrifice of military pride, spirit and honor, no more can be done than now, and in addition, the merited contempt of the Indian who had every reason to feel he deserved punishment. Big Foot had done nothing. He was moving slowly into the Pine Ridge Agency, and yet he and his band have suffered, and those in the Bad Lands who had defied the Government have gotten off scot free. Nothing should have been done till all were in, and then the choice given them to be disarmed or to go on the warpath. The casualties in the Big Foot affair were greater than half a dozen fights would have been, and for a little attempt at premature glory we have lost good officers and men. 'Tis easy to write an order "to disarm, dismount, etc.," but not so easy to carry it out. If done in a military way, no troops near the teepees, you are accused of threatening, and resistance follows from the Indian to save his life, as he supposes. If done in the pacific way, soldiers and Indians together, as was done, lives of your own men are sacrificed in the shooting which follows; or is it the old story of the War Department, "You will be damned if you do, and you will be damned if you don't."

2d Foot"

[markland]

harpskiddie said:

Diane:

Wounded Knee was a bungled, despicable, and probably unnecessary action that did involve the killing of noncombatants - but the posted article has too many inaccuracies to enlare upon.

The burial party interred 84 men and boys, 44 women and 18 children. There were 51 wounded treated at Pine Ridge Hospital, 7 of whom died. It is estimated that there were as many as 30 Lakotas missing, who either died and were not found, or who were wounded and later recovered without going to the hospital. The total population of the camp was about 120 men and 230 women and children. Total Lakota casualties were about 227, including the missing.

The 'unarmed' warriors, who supposedly fought with their bare hands, managed to kill 1 officer [George Wallace], 6 NCOs and 18 troopers. Wounded were 4 officers, 11 NCOs, 22 troopers and 1 civilian, making total army casualties of 63. Some of these casualties were undoubtedly from 'friendly' fire.

It's no wonder that the warriors were victorious at the Little Horn - there they had weapons.

The Seventh was under the command of their Colonel, James W. Forsyth, who was out of his depth [if not out of his mind], and brought the whole sad affair about by his method of attempting to disarm the Lakotas. He was under positive orders to do so; but his troop dispositions were such as to make a confrontation inevitable and chaotic, and were a major contributing factor in the tragedy.

Gordie

Gordie, I have slightly different numbers. This report is from the Army & Navy Journal, January 24, 1891.

"Camp U. S. Troops, Rosebud Crossing,
Wounded Knee Creek, Jan. 3, 1891

A. A. A. G. Dept. Platte, Pine Ridge Agency, S. D.:

Sir: In compliance with instructions contained in your letter of Jan. 1, 1891, I have the honor to report I have examined the ground where the fight with Big Foot's band occurred, and counted the number of Indians killed and wounded, also number of ponies and horses, with the following result: 82 bucks and 1 boy killed, 2 bucks badly wounded, 40 squaws killed, 1 squaw wounded, 1 blind squaw unhurt; 4 small children and 1 papoose killed; 40 bucks and 7 women were killed in camp; 25 bucks, 10 women and 2 children in the canyon near and on one side of the camp; the balance were found in the hills; 58 horses and ponies and 1 burro were found dead.

There is evidence that a great number of bodies have been removed. Since the snow, wagon tracks were made near where it is supposed dead or wounded Indians had been lying. The camp and bodies of the Indians had been more or less plundered before my command arrived here. I prohibited anything being removed from the bodies of the Indians or the camp.

I have not furnished a sketch or map of camp or vicinity, as Major Whitside arrived about noon today and informed me he had an officer with him for this purpose.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

F. A. Whitney,
Captain, 8th Cav., Comdg. Camp."

[HinTamaheca]

Lakota Accounts of the Massacre at Wounded Knee

Text taken from:
The Ghost-dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890, by James Mooney, 14th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Part 2, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1896.

From the Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1891, volume 1, pages 179-181. Extracts from verbatim stenographic report of council held by delegations of Sioux with Commissioner of Indian Affairs, at Washington, February 11, 1891.

TURNING HAWK, Pine Ridge (Mr. Cook, interpreter).
Mr. Commissioner, my purpose to-day is to tell you what I know of the condition of affairs at the agency where I live. A certain falsehood came to our agency from the west which had the effect of a fire upon the Indians, and when this certain fire came upon our people those who had farsightedness and could see into the matter made up their minds to stand up against it and fight it. The reason we took this hostile attitude to this fire was because we believed that you yourself would not be in favor of this particular mischief-making thing; but just as we expected, the people in authority did not like this thing and we were quietly told that we must give up or have nothing to do with this certain movement. Though this is the advice form our good friends in the east, there were, of course, many silly young men who were longing to become identified with the movement, although they knew that there was nothing absolutely bad, nor did they know there was anything absolutely good, in connection with the movement.

In the course of time we heard that the soldiers were moving toward the scene of trouble. After awhile some of the soldiers finally reached our place and we heard that a number of them also reached our friends at Rosebud. Of course, when a large body of soldiers is moving toward a certain direction they inspire a more or less amount of awe, and it is natural that the women and children who see this large moving mass are made afraid of it and be put in a condition to make them run away. At first we thought the Pine Ridge and Rosebud were the only two agencies where soldiers were sent, but finally we heard that the other agencies fared likewise. We heard and saw that about half our friends at Rosebud agency, from fear at seeing the soldiers, began the move of running away from their agency toward ours (Pine Ridge), and when they had gotten inside of our reservation they there learned that right ahead of them at our agency was another large crowd of soldiers, and while the soldiers were there, there was constantly a great deal of false rumor flying back and forth. The special rumor I have in mind is the threat that the soldiers had come there to disarm the Indians entirely and to take away all their horses from them. That was the oft-repeated story.

So constantly repeated was this story that our friends from Rosebud, instead of going to Pine Ridge, the place of their destination, veered off and went to some other direction toward the "Bad Lands." We did not know definitely how many, but understood there were 300 lodges of them, about 1,700 people. Eagle Pipe, Turning Bear, High Hawk, Short Bull, Lance, No Flesh, Pine Bird, Crow Dog, Two Strike, and White Horse were the leaders.

Well, the people after veering off in this way, many of them who believe in peace and order at our agency, were very anxious that some influence should be brought upon these people. In addition to our love of peace we remembered that many of these people were related to us by blood. So we sent out peace commissioners to the people who were thus running away from their agency.

I understood at the time that they were simply going away from fear because of so many soldiers. So constant was the word of these good men from Pine Ridge agency that finally they succeeded in getting away half of the party from Rosebud, from the place where they took refuge, and finally were brought to the agency at Pine Ridge. Young-Man-Afraid-of-his-Horses, Little Wound, Fast Thunder, Louis Shangreau, John Grass, Jack Red Cloud, and myself were some of these peace-makers.

The remnant of the party from Rosebud not taken to the agency finally reached the wilds of the Bad Lands. Seeing that we had succeeded so well, once more we sent to the same party in the Bad Lands and succeeded in bringing these very Indians out of the depths of the Bad Lands and were being brought toward the agency. When we were about a day's journey from our agency we heard that a certain party of Indians (Big Foot's band) from the Cheyenne River agency was coming toward Pine Ridge in flight.

CAPTAIN SWORD.
Those who actually went off of the Cheyenne River agency probably number 303, and there were a few from the Standing Rock reserve with them, but as to their number I do not know. There were a number of Ogalallas, old men and several school boys, coming back with that very same party, and one of the very seriously wounded boys was a member of the Ogalalla boarding school at Pine Ridge agency. He was not on the warpath, but was simply returning home to his agency and to his school after a summer visit to relatives on the Cheyenne river.

TURNING HAWK.
When we heard that these people were coming toward our agency we also heard this. These people were coming toward Pine Ridge agency, and when they were almost on the agency they were met by the soldiers and surrounded and finally taken to the Wounded Knee creek, and there at a given time their guns were demanded. When they had delivered them up, the men were separated from their families, from the tipis, and taken to a certain spot. When the guns were thus taken and the men thus separated, there was a crazy man, a young man of very bad influence and in fact a nobody, among that bunch of Indians fired his gun, and of course the firing of a gun must have been the breaking of a military rule of some sort, because immediately the soldiers returned fire and indiscriminate killing followed.

SPOTTED HORSE.
This man shot an officer in the army; the first shot killed this officer. I was a voluntary scout at that encounter and I saw exactly what was done, and that was what I noticed; that the first shot killed an officer. As soon as this shot was fired the Indians immediately began drawing their knives, and they were exhorted from all sides to desist, but this was not obeyed. Consequently the firing began immediately on the part of the soldiers.

TURNING HAWK.
All the men who were in a bunch were killed right there, and those who escaped that first fire got into the ravine, and as they went along up the ravine for a long distance they were pursued on both sides by the soldiers and shot down, as the dead bodies showed afterwards. The women were standing off at a different place form where the men were stationed, and when the firing began, those of the men who escaped the first onslaught went in one direction up the ravine, and then the women, who were bunched together at another place, went entirely in a different direction through an open field, and the women fared the same fate as the men who went up the deep ravine.

AMERICAN HORSE.
The men were separated, as has already been said, from the women, and they were surrounded by the soldiers. Then came next the village of the Indians and that was entirely surrounded by the soldiers also. When the firing began, of course the people who were standing immediately around the young man who fired the first shot were killed right together, and then they turned their guns, Hotchkill guns, etc., upon the women who were in the lodges standing there under a flag of truce, and of course as soon as they were fired upon they fled, the men fleeing in one direction and the women running in two different directions. So that there were three general directions in which they took flight.

There was a woman with an infant in her arms who was killed as she almost touched the flag of truce, and the women and children of course were strewn all along the circular village until they were dispatched. Right near the flag of truce a mother was shot down with her infant; the child not knowing that its mother was dead was still nursing, and that especially was a very sad sight. The women as they were fleeing with their babes were killed together, shot right through, and the women who were very heavy with child were also killed. All the Indians fled in these three directions, and after most all of them had been killed a cry was made that all those who were not killed wounded should come forth and they would be safe. Little boys who were not wounded came out of their places of refuge, and as soon as they came in sight a number of soldiers surrounded them and butchered them there.

Of course we all feel very sad about this affair. I stood very loyal to the government all through those troublesome days, and believing so much in the government and being so loyal to it, my disappointment was very strong, and I have come to Washington with a very great blame on my heart. Of course it would have been all right if only the men were killed; we would feel almost grateful for it. But the fact of the killing of the women, and more especially the killing of the young boys and girls who are to go to make up the future strength of the Indian people, is the saddest part of the whole affair and we feel it very sorely.

I was not there at the time before the burial of the bodies, but I did go there with some of the police and the Indian doctor and a great many of the people, men from the agency, and we went through the battlefield and saw where the bodies were from the track of the blood.

TURNING HAWK.
I had just reached the point where I said that the women were killed. We heard, besides the killing of the men, of the onslaught also made upon the women and children, and they were treated as roughly and indiscriminately as the men and boys were.

Of course this affair brought a great deal of distress upon all the people, but especially upon the minds of those who stood loyal to the government and who did all that they were able to do in the matter of bringing about peace. They especially have suffered much distress and are very much hurt at heart. These peace-makers continued on in their good work, but there were a great many fickle young men who were ready to be moved by the change in the events there, and consequently, in spite of the great fire that was brought upon all, they were ready to assume any hostile attitude. These young men got themselves in readiness and went in the direction of the scene of battle so they might be of service there. They got there and finally exchanged shots with the soldiers. This party of young men was made up from Rosebud, Ogalalla (Pine Ridge), and members of any other agencies that happened to be there at the time. While this was going on in the neighborhood of Wounded Knee-the Indians and soldiers exchanging shots-the agency, our home, was also fired into by the Indians. Matters went on in this strain until the evening came on, and then the Indians went off down by White Clay creek. When the agency was fired upon by the Indians from the hillside, of course the shots were returned by the Indian police who were guarding the agency buildings.

Although fighting seemed to have been in the air, yet those who believed in peace were still constant at their work. Young-Man-Afraid-of-his-Horses, who had been on a visit to some other agency in the north or northwest, returned, and immediately went out to the people living about White Clay creek, on the border of the Bad Lands, and brought his people out. He succeeded in obtaining the consent of the people to come out of their place of refuge and return to the agency. Thus the remaining portion of the Indians who started from Rosebud were brought back into the agency. Mr. Commissioner, during the days of the great whirlwind out there, those good men tried to hold up a counteracting power, and that was "Peace." We have now come to realize that peace has prevailed and won the day. While we were engaged in bringing about peace our property was left behind, of course, and most of us have lost everything, even down to the matter of guns with which to kill ducks, rabbits, etc, shotguns, and guns of that order. When Young-Man-Afraid brought the people in and their guns were asked for, both men who were called hostile and men who stood loyal to the government delivered up their guns.

[wolfgang911]

Hin do you know if the few hunkpapa and minneconjou present knew what a hotckiss gun could do?
Except for (by the top op my head) being used once with the nez percé and another time against SB did the indians knew about machine guns being present and what they could do?
Looked like any light canon and could be present just for impressing and not for real use.
Could anyone imagine that at the slightest resistance they risked being mewn down by volleys of lead?
How could anyone imagine that even women and children under a truce flag and seperated from the men were also at risk, shot down untill nothing stood up.
Except for being in a trance by the ghost shirt protection which i doubt no indian could expect machine guns to open fire.
Which explains in a way the total disproportion between a light resistance anyone could expect to happen and the following massacre. Maybe the ones involved in the hand to hand fights after the first shot expected some arresting some fleeing etc but certainly not the lives of the whole band at stake.
If anyone has a theory on this ...

[wolfgang911]

Jul 28, 2009 12:14:26 GMT -6 HinTamaheca said:

Lakota Accounts of the Massacre at Wounded Knee

AMERICAN HORSE.
The men were separated, as has already been said, from the women, and they were surrounded by the soldiers.
.....and then they turned their guns, Hotchkill guns, etc., upon the women who were in the lodges standing there under a flag of truce
There was a woman with an infant in her arms who was killed as she almost touched the flag of truce, and the women and children of course were strewn all along the circular village until they were dispatched. Right near the flag of truce a mother was shot down with her infant; the child not knowing that its mother was dead was still nursing, and that especially was a very sad sight. The women as they were fleeing with their babes were killed together, shot right through, and the women who were very heavy with child were also killed. All the Indians fled in these three directions, and after most all of them had been killed a cry was made that all those who were not killed wounded should come forth and they would be safe. Little boys who were not wounded came out of their places of refuge, and as soon as they came in sight a number of soldiers surrounded them and butchered them there.

Of course we all feel very sad about this affair. I stood very loyal to the government all through those troublesome days, and believing so much in the government and being so loyal to it, my disappointment was very strong, and I have come to Washington with a very great blame on my heart. Of course it would have been all right if only the men were killed; we would feel almost grateful for it. But the fact of the killing of the women, and more especially the killing of the young boys and girls who are to go to make up the future strength of the Indian people, is the saddest part of the whole affair and we feel it very sorely.

horrible but weird statement though about the men

[Dark Cloud]

Not that it matters, but these were small cannons, not machine guns, rugged and simple. Hotchkiss did have a multi barrel weapon, but that wasn't used at Wounded Knee, far as I know. Probably because it was, like the Gatling gun, a pain to move, set up, operate.

Is this a third American Horse?

[HinTamaheca]

Aug 9, 2009 16:38:31 GMT -6 Dark Cloud said:

Not that it matters, but these were small cannons, not machine guns, rugged and simple. Hotchkiss did have a multi barrel weapon, but that wasn't used at Wounded Knee, far as I know. Probably because it was, like the Gatling gun, a pain to move, set up, operate.

Is this a third American Horse?

The four Hotchkiss guns use at Wounded Knee were rapid fire, breech-loading, 1.65-inch caliber (42 mm) light mountain guns, shown in the photos below.

The 1.65” Hotchkiss Mountain Guns at Wounded Knee fired a 2 pound common shell through a rifled bore, which would explode on contact, showering the intended target with jagged shell fragments.



Soldiers pose with three of the four Hotchkiss Guns used against the Lakota at Wounded Knee. Photo by Grabill, Deadwood, South Dakota. (Library of Congress [USZ62-11974]).



The caption in the photograph reads:
Famous Battery "K" of the 1st Artillery.
These brave men and the Hotchkiss guns that
Big Foot's Indians thought were toys,
Together with the fighting 7th what's
left of Gen. Custer's boys,
Sent 200 Indians to that
Heaven which the ghost dancer enjoys.
This checked the Indian noise,
And Gen. Miles with staff
Returned to Illinois.

[wolfgang911]

Aug 9, 2009 22:49:27 GMT -6 HinTamaheca said:

These brave men and the Hotchkiss guns that
Big Foot's Indians thought were toys, Together with the fighting 7th what's
left of Gen. Custer's boys,
Sent 200 Indians to that
Heaven which the ghost dancer enjoys.
This checked the Indian noise,
And Gen. Miles with staff
Returned to Illinois.

[/i][/quote]

this answers maybe my question.
anybody ever thought of it this way, the NDN's not expecting rapid gun fire from the canons explaining some resistance?

the american horse is the one of that Eastman related jack red cloud cried to during the ghostdance "you and the ones like you who have reduced our people into slavery and starvation"A 3rd I don't know

[tatanka]

Dec 12, 2006 17:01:29 GMT -6 jjm said:

Read Oster's book on the Sioux from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee; read his chapters on the Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee itself and you'll see that Miles was covering his ass and that he was largely responsible for the debacle - regardless of what he did later.[/q
uote]
You are correct. Miles ordered thousands of soldiers into the area for the sake of a few hundred starving Lakota. It wasn't the first time he had made statements promoting his own aggrandisement.