The Spy And The Wolf

US Indian Scouts were an official branch of the US Military from 1865 to about 1950. Indian Scouts also had their own guidons, military flags.

The Spy And The Wolf

Tunwéya Na Šuŋgmánitu Tĥáŋka

By Dakota Wind

GREAT PLAINS – There were two kinds of scouts on the Great Plains in the nineteenth century. One kind consisted of Indians who enlisted in the US military as members of the US Scouts, an official branch of the US military. The Indian Scouts were charged with four basic responsibilities which included scouting the landscape for military expeditions, translating, running down deserters, and delivering US mail between military forts.

The other kind of scout served the native people by going out ahead of the main camp and watching for enemies, guiding the camp to the best campsites, and searched for game. The essential qualifications of the scout included truthfulness, courage, intuition, and a thorough knowledge of the landscape.

Native men who enlisted as US Scouts did so for a variety of reasons. Some enlisted as a means to avenge themselves on an enemy tribe, but others did so out of the desperate need to feed their families.

"The Buffalo Hunt Under The Wolf Skin Mask" by American artist George Catlin. Indian scouts sometimes employed the wolf skin as a means to sneak up on game or enemies.

Native men, so far as Lakĥóta men are concerned, were selected by council and gathered by the headmen for council. At the council, they would pray, smoke, and talk about the importance of the occasion. The chief and council spoke about the benefits for the entire camp upon success, and dire consequence upon defeat. The scouts were told to be wise as well as brave, to look not only to the front but behind, up as well much as to the ground, to watch for movement among the animals, to listen to the wind, to be mindful when crossing streams, to not disturb any animals, and to swiftly return to the people with any information.

Lakĥóta scouts, weren’t selected for their fighting prowess, nor were they necessarily warriors. The scout party was selected for each man’s keen eyesight and a man’s reputation for shrewd cunning and quick vigilance.

The Lakĥóta have sayings for mindfulness or awareness. In an online discourse with Vaughn T. Three Legs, Iŋyáŋ Hokšíla (Stone Boy), enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and radio personality on KLND 89.5 FM, and his čhiyé (older brother) Chuck Benson, they shared the phrase Ablésya máni yo, which means, “Be observant as you go,” but observation also implies understanding.

"Comanche War Party, Chief Discovering Enemy And Urging His Men At Sunrise" by George Catlin, 1834. Note: the chief meets the two scouts at the crest of the hill.

Cedric Goodhouse, a respected elder and enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, offered Ĥa kíta máni yo, which means, “Observe everything as you go.” He also put before this writer the phrase Awáŋglake ománi, or “Watch yourself as you go around.” Lastly, Cedric shared the philosophy Taŋyáŋ wíyukčaŋ ománi, “Think good things as you go around.”

The late Albert White Hat, a respected elder, teacher, and enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, often shared the phrase Naké nulá waúŋ, “Always prepared,” or “Prepared for anything,” but this preparedness also reflects a readiness in spirit to meet the Creator too.

Each of these sayings were things practiced daily in camp and on the trail, then and today.

Before starting out, the scout’s relatives, or the camp’s medicine people offer prayers of protection, for the sun and moon to light the way, for the rain to fall sparingly, for the rivers and streams to offer safe passage, for the bluffs to offer unimpeded views, and for gentle winds. All of nature is petitioned to assist the scout to the people’s benefit.

When the scouts set out, only two were permitted to go in the same direction. A larger scout party could see and report no more information than two. A larger party would certainly be discovered more easily by the enemy.

The scout, whether he was a US Indian Scout or a Lakĥóta scout, would take with him a small mirror or field glass, invaluable tools made available in the early fur trade days. A scout would signal with his mirror a pre-determined set of flashes for the main camp to interpret and prepare long before his return. A tremulous series of flashes might indicate that the enemy was seen.

An online search for "mirror," "bag," and "Sioux," brought this image up. This type of mirror bag could easily be modified to be worn around the neck.

As the scout approached the main camp, near enough for vocal communication, he might let loose a wolf howl, again, to indicate that the enemy was seen and/or approaching.

Upon viewing the flashes and certainly upon hearing the wolf howl, the main camp war chief, headmen, and warriors would gather in a circle broken by an opening towards the approaching scout. The scout or scouts entered the broken circle and completed it, where they shared the news.

Captain William Philo Clark, a graduate of the US Military School, and military scout under General Crook, observed firsthand or heard from native authorities of a ceremonial ritual upon the scout or scouts return. Clark served in Dakota Territory from 1868 to 1884, and authored “The Indian Sign Language.” Clark observed that all tribes observed a return ritual for their scouts.

Basically, the broken circle is complete when the scout or scouts enter the opening, whereupon the pipe is offered to the six directions, the war chief or other headman and scout draw breath on the pipe, and upon the fourth time, the scout or scouts are debriefed. It was Clark’s observation that often enough the ritual was not always practiced. Certainly if there were an enemy war party fast approaching, ceremony was dropped in preparation for combat.

The Lakĥóta word for scout is Tuŋwéya, which means “Spy,” “Guide,” or “Scout.” The sign for scout is simply “Wolf.” Hold the right hand, palm out, near right shoulder, first and second fingers extended, separated and pointing upwards; remaining fingers and thumb closed; move right hand several inches to front and slightly upwards, turning hand a little so that extended fingers point to front and upward.

The Lakĥóta scout sometimes employed a wolf headdress to aid in his mission; sometimes they even carried a bone whistle to aid in alerting the camp.

In English, the word spy implies a clandestine secrecy; a guide leads people in unfamiliar territory, and a scout might mean learning basic survival skills or a covert military reconnaissance. For the Lakĥóta, tuŋwéya clearly meant spying and reconnoitering for the camp; they already know their own country and all except the smallest certainly knew basic survival skills, however they definitely needed to know who else traveled in their territory. 

Historic Church On Standing Rock Burns In Fire

Historic Church On Standing Rock Burns

Ikpanazin :To Pick Up One's Self

By Dakota Wind
Cannonball, N.D. - On July 25, 2012, the St. James Episcopal Church located in Cannonball, ND on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, burned to the ground. Arson is the suspected cause.

St. James was founded in 1890 by Rev. William Cross, a Yanktonai Dakota man and member of the community. Cross' backstory is as interesting as the work he came to do.

A wood engraving of U.S. Indian Scouts on the trail.

William Cross enlisted as a U.S. Indian Scout at Fort Abraham Lincoln under the command of General George Custer in 1876, the summer that the general met his infamous death at the hands of the Teton Lakota. Cross, however, ran mail between the general's command and the fort and was not put in Major Reno's command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn like the other scouts. Cross had actually just delivered the last living correspondence that Fort Abraham Lincoln would receive.

After the fateful battle, Cross headed east to attend school at one of the Indian boarding schools. He left a warrior of the people, a scout for the military, and returned a minister. In 1890, Cross founded St. James Episcopal Church in Cannonball.

The church served the community in all its needs, as most churches do. It was a home.

St. James is also something else. A sanctuary where the services are conducted in Dakota, Lakota, and English. After years of language suppression, the church embraced the dwindling speakers language and uses it, even if it is just a simple newsletter.

Readers, my friends, please visit www.standingrockepiscopal.org and see what you or your community can do to help rebuild, to help the community pick it self up. If all you can do is pass the word on, share this article or this link.

Ikpanazin unkis kin phehnaga etahan (Picking ourselves up from the hot coals).

Wopidah, wopila tanka (Thank you, thank you very much).

http://issuu.com/thefirstscout/docs/ikpanazin_fund_booklet

The US Scouts on Campaign

In 1888, Harper's Weekly reported that the US Army was limited by law to 25,000 enlisted service men. The Army was also limited to only 200 Indian scouts. General Miles believed that the Indian scouts were essential to the Army's efforts on the frontier. Wood engraving by RF Zogbaum which appeared in Harper's Weekly, May 1889. 

The US Indian Scouts On Expedition

On The Little Bighorn Campaign

By Dakota Wind
MANDAN, N.D. - The scouts who served at Fort Abraham Lincoln were called the Fort McKeen Detachment of Scouts. Most of them were Indian scouts in service in the United States military defending their way of life, that is, that their people could live. Other scouts were contracted civilians, holdovers from the last days of the fur trade era, who could speak the native languages fluently or knew the lay of the land like the back of their hand.

This book was required reading for one of my courses at university. It details the interactions of whites, blacks, and natives leading up to the Revoluntionary War. The English had promised freedom to black slaves who fought for the British. The English and Americans divided several tribes as each country vied for allies during the war. Log onto Amazon or ebay and get yourself a copy.

The history of scouts serving our country goes back to before there even was a United States.Certainly the history of Indians serving our country goes back just as far, and the AmericanRevolution couldn't have been won without Indians aiding the colonials or the colonials adapting the guerilla fighting techniques the Indians favored.

It wasn't until the Civil War that Congress took note of the thousands of Indians who were already fighting for both the North and South, entire companies and commands made up of Indians, including battles fought by Indians, and against Indians (ex. Cabin’s Creek) that Congress recognized the Indians' service by forming an official branch for them, the US Scouts. This new branch of the Army included an official insignia and crossed sabers accompanied by the letters “USS.”

This is the first official insignia worn by the US Scouts. The sabers of this insignia were later replaced by crossed arrows in the mid 1880s. 

The Indian scouts who served at Fort Abraham Lincoln began their service at Fort McKeen, a two company infantry post constructed in 1872. Fort Abraham Lincoln, a six company cavalry post, was built a year later on the plains below the infantry post and the new name encompassed both forts. The only thing to retain the name “Fort McKeen” was the detachment of Indian Scouts.

Each detachment of Indian Scouts received their own guidon like this one pictured. Some detachments even had their tribal affiliation on the guidon as well as which territory or fort they served at.

On July 6, 1872, Fred Gerard was hired as an interpreter at Fort McKeen. He held his position until 1882. During his first year he recruited several Arikara scouts from Fort Buford where activity was primarily running down deserters, to Fort McKeen where they engaged the Sioux in several hit-and-run raids. That first year seven Arikara Scouts died. The Post Surgeon remarked “The Indian scouts in the several skirmishes with the Sioux in Oct. and Nov. exhibited instances of the greatest personal bravery and fearlessness.”

This image of four Arikara scouts was taken at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Bloody Knife is featured in this image on the far right wearing a shaved horn headdress with eagle feather trailer, a symbol of his chieftainship in the peacekeeping society of the Arikara. 

General Custer was well aware of the value of the Indian scouts on the frontier. Oftentimes an Indian scout could get messages and mail through hostile territory where a white soldier or civilian scout could not. The scouts provided General Custer with intelligence, given with respect and varying degrees of awe, and were rewarded with preferential treatment.

Forty Arikara scouts were brought on to guide the military from Fort Abraham Lincoln to the Yellowstone in 1873. Only three civilians joined the Indian scouts to escort twenty companies of the 6th, 8th, 9th, 17th, and 22nd infantry regiments, and ten companies of the 7th Cavalry (about 1500), about 350 Northern Pacific Railway survey crew employees, four scientists, and two members of the British nobility, to Yellowstone country. General Custer often accompanied the Indian scouts.

General Custer and the Seventh Cavalry engaged in a skirmish on the north bank of the Yellowstone River across from Pompey's Pillar. Sixty-nine years before, the Corps of Discovery came by here and Captain William Clark left his signature on the east side of the pillar. When you visit the Battle of the Little Bighorn, be sure to take in a visit to Pompey's Pillar too. Its about an hour's drive north, just off of Interstate 94.

On August 4, 1873, the Yellowstone Expedition reached the Powder River. About 90 men, including the scouts, explored the Tongue River. There they were surprised when six Sioux men attempted to stampede their horses. The Sioux were driven off and pursued to a heavy stand of trees, when an estimated 300 mounted Sioux warriors led by Chief Gall, burst forth to fight. Bloody Knife was the quickest draw, remarked General Custer, having shot and killed the first antagonist, from horseback. The scouts' bravery and guidance spared all the soldiers' lives but for three.

The Arikara scouts were a conservative lot, who often complained to the chief of scouts, a non- Indian second lieutenant who served as liaison to the commanding officer, about the traffic in flesh the enlisted soldiers partook in. The scouts also had zero tolerance for domestic abuse, and any soldier who was found beating women was arrested immediately.

In his yearly report of 1873, Post Surgeon Middleton praised the service of the scouts, saying, “There have been no successful desertions during the year, although many have attempted it…deserters are easily overtaken by the scouts and [accompanying] detachments.” At some forts, the desertion rate was as high as 30% after many newly enlisted soldiers realized life in the army in the frontier wasn't what they expected. Middleton's acclaim for the scouts pulling military police duty was mirrored throughout Dakota Territory. Simply put, the scouts were at home in a land they were born and raised in, and could read the features of friend or foe in a glance.

Here's an image of the encampment at the Black Hills. Photo by Illingsworth.

The Black Hills Expedition of 1874, led by General Custer, a journey intended to confirm the discovery of gold in the hills, left Fort Abraham Lincoln guided by a detachment of scouts that consisted of 22 Arikara and 38 Santee Dakota Sioux up from Nebraska. There is no written record if the groups socialized, but together they led about 1,200 men to the hills and back, covering nearly 1,200 miles. Professor Donaldson, a geologist on the expedition, remarked, “The scouts are invaluable. Where they scour the country, no ambush could be successfully laid.”

Above is a map of what was then called the "Centennial Campaign."

On May 17, 1876, the Centennial Campaign left Fort Abraham Lincoln with the scouts in lead, guiding about 1200 men to meet their destiny at the Little Big Horn. Twenty-one scouts were left behind at Fort Abraham Lincoln, twelve at Fort Stevenson, and six at Fort Buford to maintain open lines of communication. In all, a total of fifty-one Indian scouts from the Arikara, the Crow, the Sioux, and the Pikuni (also called Piegan or Blackfoot) escorted and safeguarded the 7th Cavalry. Surgeon DeWolf wrote of the scouts, “…we cannot be surprised very easily. The Indian

Scouts are all camped tonight outside us…Scouts working ten miles out.” Indeed, no ambush or raid could be laid.

Approaching the Little Bighorn, General Custer divided his command into three columns. One column was led by Captain Benteen, another by Major Reno, and one by General Custer himself. General Custer recieved a missive from General Terry telling him to engage the Lakota and Cheyenne. The General Terry/General Custer command was supposed to have waited a few more days for General Crook and General Gibbon.

The duty of the scouts was to guide the 7th Cavalry to the encampment of the Sioux and their ally, the Cheyenne. Vacant camps, trails, and other sign of the Sioux encampment lead the Indian scouts to believe there were perhaps five thousand of the enemy. On June 25, 1876, the Crow and Arikara, believing that they were likely seen approaching the Sioux, urged General Custer to engage the enemy immediately if that's what they came out to do, or lose any advantage that surprise would give them. Despite the advice to Custer to immediately go into battle with the Sioux, the scouts didn't seem as excited to fight as the general. Many accounts mention the scouts singing songs, plaiting their hair, painting, etc., not to take their time in meeting the enemy, but because many of them were preparing to meet the creator, as some of them did that day.

General Custer was attempting to flank the Lakota and Cheyenne from northeast of the encampment. General Custer used this same strategy at Washita where he was outnumbered there as well. That strategy was to capture the women and children who fled opposite from the first attack. The native camp was far larger than General Custer believed it was and his attempt failed. 

The scouts didn't have to be at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Their duty came to an end the moment they ascended the Crow's Nest and directed General Custer to the direction of the Sioux encampment. The scouts voluntarily entered combat against the principles for which they were employed, and they went to take traditional honors by stealing horses from the Sioux and Cheyenne.

General Custer ordered his men to take the higher ground, a last attempt to hold a strategic advantage over the Lakota and Cheyenne when the warriors began to retaliate. Today the hill is called Last Stand Hill. 

The Battle of the Little Big Horn didn't go as General Custer envisioned it would. Instead, a swift and utter downfall met his command. General Custer ordered the Scouts into battle with Major Reno, whose experience fighting the Indians was virtually none, primarily to distract the Sioux on one side so General Custer could flank the Sioux from the north. Dividing his command was a mistake which paved the way for Custer's last stand. Reno's witness to Bloody Knife's sudden death so rattled the Major that he ordered a halt and retreat three times.

Bloody Knife kneels on General Custer's left side and points to a location on a map. Bloody Knife was General Custer's favorite scout. From Bloody Knife, General Custer learned to speak a little Lakota, Arikara, and became well practiced in the Plains Indian sign and gesture language. The two became so close, they regarded one another as brother.

Bob Tailed Bull, Little Soldier, and Bloody Knife lost their lives, two others received wounds, Goose and White Swan, on Major Reno's retreat.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn is often broken down into lines, fights, and skirmishes, with the Last Stand Hill serving as climax. The Arikara and the Lakota regard the Battle of the Greasy Grass, as they regard it, as simply one battle. This author has visited the battle several times, and has heard the Lakota and Cheyenne bristle when they hear “there were no survivors.” For certain there were, for the victors in that fateful battle survived to either fight another battle, return to the reservations, or go to Canada.

Captain Miles Keogh's horse, Comanche, shown here is often regarded as the last survivor of Custer's command at Last Stand Hill. There were perhaps a hundred other horses and even one a yellow bulldog survived. Comanche died fifteen years after the battle and was stuffed. Comanche can be seen today in a glass class at the University of Kansas.

For several years Captain Miles Keogh’s horse was accorded some great degree of respect, almost reverence, even honored with a song by Johnny Horton. Similarly do the Arikara hold Bloody Knife’s horse in high regard. Bloody Knife’s pony was shot and injured at the battle and journeyed over 300 miles back to Fort Berthold where he came to stand outside Bloody Knife’s wife’s, She Owl’s, lodge. After arriving home, Bloody Knife’s buckskin pony lay down and died. The Arikara honored the pony in song. If you, dear reader, are fortunate enough to visit the White Shield pow-wow on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, you may hear that song, and if you’re luckier, hear one composed for the scouts, other veteran songs, or even one composed for General Custer.

Bloody Knife on one of his horses on the Yellowstone Expedition. 

Whether it was skirmishes at the infantry post, the cavalry post, or on expedition, the Indian scouts were the first in line to defend their charges, but most importantly, they protected our country to ensure that their people would live.