Crazy Horse: feared by some, respected by all
Written and linked by Martha M. Failor
Grade 6
The young Indian boy stood by his tepee and watched Chief Conquering Bear speak with the white officer named Grattan. The boy, a member of the Oglala tribe of the Sioux Indians, was small for his age, with hair and skin lighter than most. His dream was to be a brave warrior, and already, at 10 years old, his father taught him how to fight and how to tame a wild horse. The boy knew of the agreement between the white men and the Indians. The Indians were to let the whites travel safely and build roads, and the whites were to give the Indians presents.
Grattan was here with the soldiers because of the dead cow. A white man was leading it along the road when five boys from the Brule tribe began chasing it. When the cow became frightened and excited, a warrior shot her. Now, the boy watched as Chief Conquering Bear offered five horses to replace the cow. The interpreter spoke to Grattan, but at Grattan’s shout, the soldiers raised their guns and shot Conquering Bear. The warriors that had stayed in their tepees emerged angrily. Though the soldiers tried to escape, they could not. Every soldier was killed. That night, the tribe packed up their belongings and moved, and from that moment on, the boy, named Crazy Horse, did not trust the white people.
In 1851, the Fort Laramie Treaty was made between the United States and many Indian tribes, including the Oglalas. This treaty was to bring peace, but instead, it brought further discord. While the treaty allowed for settlers to pass through Indian territories, the Indians did not want their way of life to change. Because of the roads, forts, and settlements that were set up, the Indians could not hunt large herds of buffalo and antelope. Soon, surveyors came, along with the possibility of a railroad through their land.
Crazy Horse attempted to stop the invasion of the white men by attacking them. While he was respected and admired by his own people, he was respected and feared by the white men. The United States sent in troops to defend their people and the land they, too, wanted. When the spring came in 1876, the US military sent three forces into the Dakota Indian territory, led by General George Custer, General Crook, and Colonel Gibbon. General Crook’s force was just a day’s journey away from Crazy Horse and his warriors. The tribe wanted to attack, and, with Crazy Horse leading the way, the Indians did attack and forced Crook and his men to retreat. After this battle, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, another Sioux chief, led their people to the north. Meanwhile, Custer was moving quickly, already a day ahead of Gibbon. The Indians camped by the Little Bighorn River, hunting and playing peacefully for five days. On the next day, June 25, 1876, a scout rode in, shouting, "Soldiers coming!" Custer had decided to attack on June 25—without waiting for General Crook's forces. The women grabbed the children, the boys raced for the horses, and the warriors ran for their weapons. The soldiers shot and the warriors charged. Crazy Horse cried, "This is a good day to die!" and led his warriors across the river while Sitting Bull led his warriors to the other side. Both the soldiers and the warriors fought hard, but the Indians surrounded them. Though many Indians were killed or wounded, every soldier was killed.
After this battle, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull led the Sioux farther north. Though Crazy Horse and his warriors still won battles over US soldiers, the military was too strong and plentiful for the Indians to overcome. Everywhere the Indians moved, the soldiers followed. Soon, the army entered the Oglala land, the Black Hills. Crazy Horse's people had no ammunition, could not hunt, and were sick. Finally they knew they could resist no longer, and they decided to give in to the US demands that the Indians live on a reservation. It was with pride that Crazy Horse rode, staring straight ahead, into the Red Cloud reservation, followed by his people. When he surrendered to General George Crook on that day, the wild, free life the Oglalas had always known was over forever.
Crazy Horse was worried for his wife. She had the cough that their daughter had died from. Crazy Horse gathered his wife and took her to the Spotted Tail reservation to be with her parents. Crazy Horse did not have permission to leave the reservation, and many in the army thought that he was leaving to begin another revolt among the Spotted Tail Indians. After leaving his wife, Major Lee told him that he must return at once to the reservation to explain his absence at Fort Robinson. At Fort Robinson, the general would not speak to Crazy Horse. As an officer led him to a building, Crazy Horse saw the white man's jail and cried, "Let me go!", attempting to free himself. Guards grabbed each of his arms, and General Crook gave the order to kill. A soldier grabbed his bayonet and thrust it into Crazy Horse's back. He fell to the ground and died the following day.
Crazy Horse is remembered as a great leader among his people. Though he was not a great orator, he was a great fighter. He fought to keep his land and his way of life. Though he lost the fight, his people continue to think of him proudly.
- If you would like to learn about another famous Indian chief, click here!
Meadowcroft, Enid LaMonte. Crazy Horse: Sioux Warrior. Champaign, Illinois: Garrard Publishing Company, 1965.
http://www.rlc.dcccd.edu/MathSci/anth/homepage/schmidt/crazyhor.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3976/Leaders1.html
Stewart, Edgar I. "Crazy Horse." Encyclopedia Americana. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1989.
Comprehension Questions:
- Of what tribe was Crazy Horse?
2. What turned Crazy Horse against white people?
3. What was the Fort Laramie Treaty?
- Why did the Indians attack soldiers and white settlers?
- What happened at Little Bighorn River? What was one reason why Custer lost?
- Why did Crazy Horse surrender and lead his people onto the reservation?
- Why was Crazy Horse worried for his wife?
- How did Crazy Horse die?
- Did you agree with Crazy Horse's way of preserving his lifestyle?
Answers to Questions:
- Sioux, specifically, the Oglala
- Seeing Chief Conquering Bear killed unjustly by white soldiers
- In 1851, the Unites States made an agreement with many Indian tribes, that, in exchange for gifts, the Indians would allow settlers and soldiers to travel across their land.
- To preserve their way of life.
- Custer was travelling one day ahead of the other two regiments who were supposed to join him at the river. Custer decided to attack alone. Every soldier was killed.
- They had no ammunition, were sick, and could not hunt for food.
- She had the same sickness/cough that their daughter had died from.
- As he was being led away to a white man's jail, Crazy Horse struggled to be free. General George Cook gave the order to kill him. A soldier thrust a bayonet into his back.
- Answers will vary.
Storytelling Outline:
- Boy watches
- Chief Conquering Bear and Grattan
- Boy's appearance
- Indian and white man agreement
- Cow incident
- Grattan's shout
- Soldiers shoot Conquering Bear
- Warriors kill soldiers
- Fort Laramie Treaty (1851)
- Indian attacks on white men
- US Forces sent (Crook, Custer, Grattan)
- General Crook attacked by Crazy Horse
- Custer attacks early
- At Little Bighorn River
- Custer vs. Crazy Horse
- Crazy Horse went north
- Surrendered to reservation
- Sick wife
- Led away to jail
- Struggled, stabbed, and killed
Props:
*Pictures of Indians, soldiers, war, times
*Map
*Indian artifacts/costume