Among the prominent figures of the Sioux Nation during a period marked by significant transition and upheaval, Spotted Tail stands out as a leader of exceptional foresight. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he possessed a keen ability to interpret the changing dynamics between his people and the encroaching white settlers, navigating a complex landscape with a blend of pragmatism and diplomacy.
Accounts from his youth paint a picture of a thoughtful and observant boy. Spotted Tail, rather than being drawn to the forefront of physical games and mock battles, preferred to assume the role of a strategist, meticulously planning and assigning roles to his peers. His aptitude for leadership emerged early, earning him respect and influence among his young companions. He also displayed a remarkable talent for mimicry and impersonation, leading others to remark on his possession of "his grandfather’s wit and the wisdom of his grandmother!" These observations hint at a young man endowed with both intelligence and a capacity for understanding human nature.
Spotted Tail’s early life was marked by hardship. Orphaned and raised by his grandparents, he was forced to become self-reliant at a young age. While this put him at a disadvantage compared to some of his peers, it also fostered resourcefulness and courage. One particular incident from his childhood, around the age of ten, reveals his quick thinking and ability to defuse conflict. During a game, a heated dispute between two boys escalated to the point where they drew knives. Young Spotted Tail, displaying remarkable composure, immediately cried out, "The Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to arms!" His cry, joined by the war whoops of the other boys, successfully diverted the attention of the combatants and prevented a potentially violent confrontation.
While the details of Spotted Tail’s boyhood are not as widely known as those of some other prominent Sioux leaders, his personal qualities shone through. Unlike well-born children whose progress was celebrated with public feasts, Spotted Tail had to carve his own path. However, it was his inherent abilities that allowed him to rise above his circumstances.
By the age of seventeen, he had become a skilled marksman and hunter, demonstrating his prowess in traditional Sioux pursuits. More importantly, he had already displayed a superior intellect. Spotted Tail had frequent encounters with white people at trading posts. According to his accounts, he carefully studied their habits, modes of thought, and particularly their focus on economy and the accumulation of property.
He observed closely whenever members of this unfamiliar race interacted with his people. During council meetings, while other young men stood at a distance with their faces covered, Spotted Tail always positioned himself to hear the discussions from both sides, carefully weighing the arguments presented.
When Spotted Tail embarked on his first warpath, his eagerness to prove himself was evident. Gaining acceptance among the Brules, with whom he resided, presented a particular challenge due to his orphaned status and his father’s belonging to a different band. Despite these obstacles, he quickly achieved his ambition, even though he sustained several serious wounds. It was during a battle with the Utes that he distinguished himself, significantly contributing to the defense of his people.
During this battle, the Utes, who were the attacking force, greatly outnumbered the Sioux. With many of the bravest young men already fallen, the Brules faced imminent defeat. Spotted Tail, leading a small group of daring horsemen, cleverly maneuvered around the enemy’s flank and launched a surprise attack from the rear. The ferocity of their assault led the Utes to believe that substantial reinforcements had arrived, causing them to retreat in disarray.
The Sioux pursued the retreating Utes on horseback. It was during this pursuit that the notable chief Two Strike earned his historical name. However, the most significant honors of the battle were bestowed upon Spotted Tail. The old chiefs, including Conquering Bear, expressed their gratitude and immediately appointed him as a war chief.
Even before the elder chiefs recognized the potential harm, Spotted Tail firmly believed that granting the white man so much freedom in their country was unwise. After the opening of the Oregon Trail, he, more than any other leader, attentively observed the conduct of the Americans as they journeyed westward. He often remarked in council that these white men were unlike the French and Spanish, with whom their old chiefs were accustomed to dealing.
While Spotted Tail was not entirely satisfied with the agreement made with General Harney, his status as a young warrior who had recently gained a position in the council prevented him from imposing his views on the older members.
Soon after the Oregon Trail was secured from the Sioux, Fort Laramie and other frontier posts were reinforced, leading to increased insolence and overbearing behavior from the soldiers.
It quickly became apparent that the whites were prepared to violate most of the treaty articles as understood by the Indians. The presence of numerous Mormon emigrants traveling to settlements in Utah and Wyoming further complicated the situation, as they frequently attempted to instigate conflict between the soldiers and the Indians for their own purposes.
Each summer brought brewing tensions between these two groups, often sparked by incidents involving travelers along the trail.
In 1854, an event occurred that severed the last bond of friendship between the races.
By this time, Spotted Tail had demonstrated his courage both on and off the battlefield. He had fought a duel with a minor chief who had attacked him, killing his opponent with an arrow. However, he himself sustained a blow to the head from a battle-axe, rendering him unconscious. He was left for dead but fortunately revived just as preparations were being made for his burial.
The Brules supported him in this conflict, as he had acted in self-defense. For several years, he led them in bloody raids against the whites along the historic trail.
Spotted Tail ambushed numerous stagecoaches and emigrant trains and was responsible for waylaying the Kincaid coach, which carried twenty thousand dollars. This relentless harassment of travelers eventually prompted General Harney to confront the Brule Sioux and demand explanations and reparations.
The old chiefs of the Brules then implored Spotted Tail and his young warriors to avoid bringing a general calamity upon the tribe. To everyone’s surprise, Spotted Tail declared that he would surrender himself.
Spotted Tail stated that he had defended the rights of his people to the best of his ability, avenged the blood of their chief, Conquering Bear, and was willing to accept the consequences.
He voluntarily surrendered to General Harney, and two of his lieutenants, Red Leaf and Old Woman, followed suit.
Thus, Spotted Tail played a significant role at the very beginning of the events that would soon lead to the downfall of his people’s free way of life. It is unclear how much he foresaw what was to come. But his surrender was a strategic move, earning him the admiration of his people and the confidence and respect of the military.
Spotted Tail suddenly found himself imprisoned, a hostage for the good behavior of his followers. There were numerous rumors regarding the punishment that awaited him. However, General Harney’s promises to the Brule chiefs were kept.
One of his fellow prisoners committed suicide, but Spotted Tail bravely endured his two-year imprisonment. During the second year, it was clear that neither of the men sought to escape, and they were granted considerable freedom.
This imprisonment proved to be an invaluable learning experience for Spotted Tail. His engaging personal qualities won him kindness and sympathy at the fort.
On one occasion, Indian horse thieves from another tribe stampeded the garrison’s horses and mules. Spotted Tail requested permission from the commanding officer to join the pursuit.
Trusting in the honor of a Sioux brave, the officer provided him with a fast horse and a good carbine, instructing him to guide the soldiers to overtake the thieves and recover the horses.
The soldiers successfully recaptured the horses without any losses, but Spotted Tail continued to pursue the Indians. When the soldiers returned to the fort without him, everyone assumed that he would not return. However, the next day, he reappeared with the scalp of one of the marauders.
Shortly after this incident, Spotted Tail was returned to his people, who honored him by making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whose blood he had avenged.
Spotted Tail had made good use of his two years at the fort, completing his study of civilization. From that point on, he sought to reconcile the Indian and the white man.
Consequently, Spotted Tail maintained constant communication with the military. However, the other chiefs did not understand his views and seemed to be suspicious of his motives.
During the years 1860-1864, the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war with the whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas were suspected of involvement with the hostiles.
It is possible that a few of their young men were involved. Two Face and Thunder Bear purchased two captive white women and brought them to Fort Laramie.
It was reported that these two men had mistreated the women while they were in their care.
The commander demanded that Spotted Tail, then the head chief, hand over the guilty parties. He had the two men arrested and delivered to the fort.
This action caused an outcry among his people. He argued that if the charges were true, the men deserved punishment, and if false, they should be tried and cleared by due process of law.
The Indians never learned what evidence was presented at the court-martial. The two men were hanged.
The Sioux were camping close to the fort and it was midwinter. When spring arrived, they moved their camp across the river and rose in rebellion.
A pitched battle ensued, in which the soldiers suffered heavy losses. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, opposed Spotted Tail, who was forced to take up arms once again.
At this time, the bloody uprising in the east among the Minnesota Sioux occurred, and Sitting Bull’s campaign in the north began. The Southern Cheyennes, Comanches, and Kiowas were all at war.
Around this time, Spotted Tail conceived the idea of uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in a great confederacy. He once said, "Our cause is as a child’s cause, in comparison with the power of the white man, unless we can stop quarreling among ourselves and unite our energies for the common good."
Spotted Tail was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent and brilliant Sioux leaders who ever lived. While he sympathized with the feelings of his race against the invader, he foresaw the inevitable outcome.
Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at the great council on the Powder River, just before the attack on Fort Phil Kearny.
"Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas! Thus speaks the old man, when he knows that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him forever. So we may exclaim to-day, Alas! There is a time appointed to all things."
"Think for a moment how many multitudes of the animal tribes we ourselves have destroyed! Look upon the snow that appears to-day – tomorrow it is water! Listen to the dirge of the dry leaves, that were green and vigorous but a few moons before!"
"We are a part of this life and it seems that our time is come. Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another."
"This strange white man – consider him, his gifts are manifold! His tireless brain, his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those things which we despise he holds as treasures; yet he is so great and so flourishing that there must be some virtue and truth in his philosophy."
"I wish to say to you, my friends: Be not moved alone by heated arguments and thoughts of revenge! These are for the young. We are young no longer; let us think well, and give counsel as old men!"
These words were greeted with an ominous silence. The decision to attack Fort Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to hold his position among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several bullets passed through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded.
When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate with the Sioux, Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to obtain for his people the very best terms that he could.
The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted Tail never again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary, it was mainly attributed to his influence that the hostiles were subdued much sooner than might have been expected.
Spotted Tail came into the reservation with his band, urged his young men to enlist as government scouts, and assisted materially in all negotiations.
General Crook named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus humiliating Red Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the Ogallalas.
In order to avoid trouble, Spotted Tail prudently separated himself from the other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called "Spotted Tail Agency."
Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to the military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked Spotted Tail for signing away the freedom of his people.
The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people during the rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved distinction by his bravery and sagacity.
On the eve of the chief’s departure for Washington, to negotiate (or so they suspected) for the sale of more of their land, Crow Dog took up his gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding himself, and regarded by his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an executioner.
Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the Pontiac of the west. He possessed a remarkable mind and extraordinary foresight for an untutored savage; and yet he is the only one of our great men to be remembered with more honor by the white man, perhaps, than by his own people.
