Allow me to throw a little history at you today. It’s about what was unquestionably the greatest hunt ever in the history of the Dakota Territory. I’m neither a historian nor an authority on Sioux Indian culture, but I do have a personal copy of James McLaughlin’s My Friend the Indian that was given to me by my grandmother in 1954. From that volume I’ll paraphrase McLaughlin’s account of the buffalo hunt on the Standing Rock reservation.

1882 saw Thomas Edison’s light bulb illuminate a New York City railroad station. Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that caused tuberculosis, and the first World Series game was played. It was also the year of the Great Sioux Buffalo Hunt.

It is important to understand the disposition of the Sioux Indians at the Dakota Territory’s Standing Rock Agency in 1882. During the Civil War (1861-1865) and the unsettled period that immediately followed, the Indians of the upper plains had life pretty much their own way. The buffalo were abundant, and the presence of the U.S. military was more or less non-existent. This period marked the end of good times for the American Indian.

With the reassigning of U.S. Army forces after the Civil War, most of the regular Army was afield in pursuit of the Indian. General Sheridan’s attitude could easily be summed up with the phrase, “There are no good Indians but dead Indians.” General Sherman, the head of the Army, believed the Indian must be suppressed by “merciless and vindictive warfare.” At this same time, equally hostile sentiments for the whites were held by the chiefs of the Sioux.

General Grant, in his inaugural speech as President on March 4, 1869, proclaimed a peace policy that might have been successful had the Indian been protected from Grant’s fool friends like Sheridan and Sherman. Grant’s intensions were good, but he was too trusting.

In the early 1870’s, many of the Sioux paid no attention to their assigned reservations even though their great leader, Red Cloud, had signed the Treaty of 1868. Too many promises by the whites had been broken, and the treaty was far from the liking of the Sioux. In spite of or because of the great Sioux victory at the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, enforced Army suppression soon followed, and life on the reservation became the way of the Indian.

In September of 1881, Major James McLaughlin became superintendent of the Standing Rock Reservation at Ft. Yates, ND. He had previously been the head man at Devils Lake. Today much of the Standing Rock Reservation lies within South Dakota’s Corson County. In 1881, it was still called the Dakota Territory.

It’s understandable that McLaughlin inherited a situation of sullen resentment on the part of the Sioux as they had been more or less starved into submission, and his primary concern was attempting to build morale. McLaughlin knew among other things that the Indians wanted to hunt. He thought about a buffalo hunt, and he met with the principal leaders on the Standing Rock to propose a buffalo hunt. These leaders included Gall, Crow King, Rain-In-The Face, and John Grass. They were enthusiastic about the hunt proposal, and June 10th was set as the hunt date. From this point on, the mood on the Standing Rock was festive.

Much preparation was necessary. Rifles were cleaned and knives sharpened. Though many of the horses were familiar with the rigors of a buffalo hunt, younger horses had to be trained. Trusted scouts, including Running Antelope, were sent ahead to assess the situation. They reported as many as 50,000 buffalo about a hundred miles to the west. Camp would be established at Hidden Wood Creek. The hunt on the western edge of the Standing Rock would include 600 mounted Sioux who would strip off their white man’s clothes and revert to breech cloths.

While McLaughlin had been trying to tactfully disarm his reservation Indians, he exhibited a great deal of trust by issuing rifles and ammunition. Breech loading single-shot .45-70 “trap-door” rifles would have been the standard government issue, but many of the Sioux had their own repeating rifles. Only a few were left with traditional bows and arrows.

Was the hunt successful? Watch for next week’s conclusion of the Great Sioux Buffalo hunt of 1882.

With colder temperatures finally coming along, I’ve tried to book a guided ice fishing trip to the Webster area. Outfitters are still leery of ice conditions, but maybe it will happen. While deer hunting, my partner told me of hauling in fat perch in the comfort of one’s living room. It seems there are trailer homes that lower onto the ice and seal out the cold. I’m turning into a wuss.

The application deadline for spring turkey tags is February 12th for the hard copy form. At the time of this writing, applications weren’t in the business places, and I couldn’t get through on the internet.

See you next week.