Cherry County, NE History - Native Inhabitants

(13) Before the white people came to what are now the states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Montana, the whole territory was the home of various Indian tribes, the principal tribe being the Sioux. How many years the Indians had lived here we do not know. They were friendly to the white people who came into their country until 1854 when an unfortunate incident changed their friendship into hatred.

At that time a large band of Indians was camped near a traders post eight miles east of Fort Laramie, Wyoming, waiting for a United States officer to come to distribute supplies of various kinds which the government had promised them for permitting the white people to travel westward through

their country along the North Platte River. That road is now known as Highway No. 30.

A band of Mormon immigrants was traveling up the river on their way to Utah. A cow which belonged to the Mormons became frightened by the Indians and ran away into the camp. A young Indian shot the cow and he and his tribe used the beef for food. When the Mormons reached Fort Laramie the man who had lost the cow complained to the commander and asked to have the young Indian arrested. Lieutenant Grattan, barely twenty-one years of age, with twenty-nine men and two (14) cannons, was sent to bring the young Indian in to the Fort. The Indians offered to pay for the cow but would not give up the young man who had killed the cow. Lt. Grattan told the chief that unless the young Indian was given up, he would fire into the camp. The chief offered several ponies in payment for the cow but refused to turn the young Indian over to the law. Lt. Grattan ordered the soldiers to fire the cannons and their muskets at the camp. Chief The Bear was killed and a number of Indians were wounded. This so enraged the Indians that they killed Lt. Grattan and all of the soldiers and destroyed the cannons. They then broke open the warehouses containing the supplies intended for them and took them and their dead chief and wounded comrades away to the north. Here the body of Chief The Bear was wrapped in fine robes and placed in a tree on the bank of the Niobrara River instead of in a grave as the body of a white person is.

From that time on the Sioux became the bitter enemy of the whites. They remained so until they were finally placed on the reservation in 1878. The Indians did not want to live on the reservation and were never contented. The government promised them food, clothing and certain sums of money for the lands which they vacated. As the years passed, gradually the government furnished them seed and farm machinery and employed Master Farmers to teach them how to farm and become self supporting.

The year 1890 proved to be a drouth year. Their crops and gardens were ruined. This hardship, added to the fact that they had always been dissatisfied with reservation life, prompted members of the tribe to urge rebellion against the whites. The unrest and demonstrations made by the Indians caused the government to send soldiers to the various towns in Cherry County to protect the people in case of an Indian outbreak.

During December of that year excitement ran high among the people who lived in the towns along the railroad and in the country near the reservation. At Thatcher a home guard company was formed which met every night at the school house to make plans for protection. O. G. Ackley, a Civil War veteran, was made captain; Jack Sellers, lieutenant; C. S. Reece, first sergeant and Hall Taylor, scout. Other localities took such measures as seemed best for defense if the Indians should come in on them.

At Brownlee Pete Rousche and J. R. Lee, assisted by (15) neighbors, built a sod fort with port holes. The main room was both under and above ground. Mr. Lee afterwards used this fort for a vegetable cave.

Dry Creek community had a home guard company of thirty-six members made up of residents of adjoining neighborhoods. It was found that Grant Perkins and George Miller were the two tallest men in the company. This company met, drilled and made plans for defense.

In School District 32 on the Niobrara south of Irwin the residents met at the home of Settler Sparks whose home was so situated near a bluff on the river as to afford good defense. When rumors that the Indians were coming were received the younger children were placed crosswise in bed to save space. Everything that could be melted, including spoons, was made into bullets. Men remained on guard all night. These hardy pioneers never for a moment thought of giving up their homes.

The Indians of the Rosebud reservation came together in larger groups than usual. They engaged in ghost dances, listened to the tales of discontented leaders who dwelt upon the loss of their land, their hunting grounds and their freedom and who pictured a glorious day when the whites would be driven out and the buffalo and other game would return. Finally the desire for revenge grew so strong that a band of Indians under Chief Big Foot started for Pine Ridge Agency. On December 28th, 1890, they were halted by Colonel George A. Forsyth with the Seventh Cavalry at a point on Wounded Knee Creek about three miles northwest of Rushville, Nebraska. The Colonel stopped them and started to take their guns away from them. A shot was fired and the battle was on. Thirty-two soldiers and one hundred fifty-six Indians were killed. The government rushed troops to the towns along the railroad as a safety measure. Minor skirmishes occurred for some time but the Indians finally decided they could not defeat the white soldiers and returned to the reservation. Thus ended the last attempt of the red men to return to the haunts and ways of their ancestors.

During the years since 1890 the Indians have made progress in taking up the kind of life which the government intends for them to adopt. Just to show how well they have succeeded at this time, 1944, young Indian women wear anklets while their husbands carry the babies while walking among the whites on the streets of our towns and villages. At this (17) time Indians make their living much as white people do. They farm, raise live stock and work at any employment available. During the present war many of them are working in war plants. They store fruit and vegetables for winter use.

The government provides schools, hospitals, and maintains an office to help them manage their lands which are under lease or grazing permits. The government also furnishes an officer, similar to our county agent, to advise them on farm and livestock practices. An Indian who is unable to earn a living is given relief assistance by the government. Those over 65 years of age may receive old age assistance from the government under the same arrangement as white people.

The Rosebud Indians are self governing. They have a business council consisting of twenty-five representatives who are chosen from districts on a population basis. Each representative is elected by secret ballot for a term of two years. The Indians maintain their own court system. The reservation is divided into judicial districts with district judges who are presided over by a superior judge. These courts are comparable to the justice of the peace courts of white people and handle the small law and other matters of the tribe.

Were you to stop at an Indian home at meal time, would find the meal served in much the same manner as among the white people.

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