Chapter 12 11. The War to Save the Bison

1874 On January 13, a brawl broke out between unemployed workers and the police in New York City, and hundreds of people were injured.On February 13, American troops landed in Honolulu to protect King Tu.On February 21, Disraeli became Prime Minister of Great Britain, succeeding Gladstone.On March 15, France declared itself Annan's protectorate.On March 29, the Social Democratic Party was dissolved in Germany.In July, Bell exhibited his new invention, the telephone.On July 7, journalist Dilton accused Pastor Bizzi of adultery with his wife.On November 4, Dilton was elected governor of New York after overthrowing the Qud gang.In December, a whiskey gang including distillers and government officials was exposed.

I heard that you plan to place us in a reserved area close to the mountains. I don't want to settle down, I just like to nomadic on the grasslands.On the grassland, I feel free and happy, but once I live here, I will lose my color and die.I have thrown away my bow, arrow, spear, and shield, yet I feel safe in front of you; I tell you the truth, and hide no little lies about me, but I don't know how the peace committee responds thing?Are they as bright and cheerful as me?A long time ago, this land belonged to our ancestors; but when I grew up by the river, I saw soldiers' tents on both sides of the river.These soldiers cut down my big trees and killed my bison; when I saw it, I felt a burning pain in my heart, and I felt uncomfortable. Could it be that white people have become children, and don’t kill indiscriminately for food?The red man kills the beast to eat, so that he can survive and not starve to death.

Chief White Bear of the Kiowai Nation My people have never drawn a bow first, or shot a white man first.There is trouble on the border between us, my youths dance the battle dance, but that is not what we started.You sent the first soldier, we sent the second, I came down this road two years ago, with the buffalo; To make my wife and children plump-faced and hot-bodied.But the soldiers shot at us, and since then there's been that thunderstorm noise, and we don't know which way to go, so it's all up to the Canadians.Our misfortunes never come singly. When it was dark and quiet, the soldiers in blue uniforms and the Ute tribe appeared out of the night, and set our cones on fire; instead of hunting wild animals, they killed our warriors, the tribesmen. Soldiers cut their hair short for the dead.It happened in Texas, they made us sad in the camp, we went out like the bulls when the female bison was attacked, and killed them as soon as we found them, and hung their scalps on our on the cone.The Kanmachi are not weak and blind like puppies who have just been born with Qisu. They are strong and can see far, like grown-up horses. We occupy their path and walk on it.White women cry and our women laugh.

But many of the things you have said to me I don't like.They are not sweet like sugar, but bitter like gourds.You said that you want to put us in a reserved area, build us a house, and build us a doctor's house. I don't want these.I was born on the prairie, where the wind blows freely and nothing can block the sun.I grew up where there were no fences, where everything breathed freely.I would rather die there than be surrounded by walls.I knew every stream and every wood from the Gran River to the Arkansas River, hunted and lived in that country, lived as my ancestors did, and lived as happily as they did.

When I was in Washington DC, the white patriarchs told me that all the Cammache land is ours, and no one can stop us from living on it.So why do you ask me to leave these rivers and sun and wind and live in a house?Don't ask us to give up the buffalo for the flock, the young men have heard it, and it makes them both sad and angry.Don't say that again. If the Texans hadn't come into my homeland, perhaps there would have been peace.But according to what you are saying now, the place where we should live is too small.The Deloitte has taken the place where the grass grows tallest and the trees grow best.We had those places, and perhaps did what you asked; but it was too late, the white man had a home we loved, and all we wanted was to wander the prairie till we died.

Chief Ten Bears of the Yangparika Tribe of the Kanmachi Nation After the Battle of the Wasita River in 1868, General Sheridan gave orders to all Saian, Orapaho, Kiewee, and Kanmachi to surrender at Fort Cobb; , will face the search, suppression, killing, and complete annihilation of his blue army uniform army. (Please refer to Chapter 7. Only those who are dead are good Indians.) After the death of Heiguo, Xiaopao succeeded as the chief and brought the Sai'an people to the village.Yellow bears bring the Orapaho.A few leaders of the Kanmachi tribe especially criticized Shawei. Xue Lidun told him that only dead Indians were good people who would surrender.The self-respecting and free Kiawe, however, show little sign of cooperating; and Sheridan sends Hard-ass Koster to force them to surrender or wipe them out.

The Kiowee saw no reason to go to Fort Cobb, surrender their weapons, and live on white handouts.The Treaty of the Runes of 1867 granted them their own territory, a right to hunt bison anywhere south of the Arkansas River, as long as the number of buffalo considered acceptable.From the Arkansas River to the western tributary of the Red River, the great plains were black with herds of buffalo by the thousands, driven down from north to south by the advancing civilization of the white men.Most of the Kiowai are fast horses. When the ammunition is scarce, they can also shoot enough bison with arrows to supply all the needs of food, clothing and housing.

Even so, the team of blue uniformed soldiers on horseback galloped to the Kiowai winter camp at Yushan Creek.The white bear didn't want to fight, so he took the lone wolf and a few escorting soldiers to negotiate with Coster outside the camp.Ice Bear is a big, burly and majestic man, with jet-black hair hanging on his tiger back, his arms and legs are solid muscles, and his cheerful face reveals his strong confidence in his own strength.His face and body were painted bright red, and his spear had red flaps; he liked to fight hard, ride bad horses, eat well, drink well, and laughed heartily, even to his enemies. in.He rode out to meet Coster, all with happy smiles, he stretched out his hand, but Coster didn't bother to touch it.

Ice Bear has spent a long time in various Kansas Forts, and knows the prejudice of white people, so he suppresses his temper, and doesn't want his people to be wiped out like a scapegoat.Negotiations began coldly, with two interpreters interpreting the conversation.As soon as Ice Bear knew that the two interpreters knew less Kiowai than English, he called out one of his soldiers, who had learned quite a lot of vocabulary from the white driver.Zou Bird spoke proudly to Coster, but the soldier chief shook his head, unable to understand the Kiowai accented English.The bird was determined to make him understand, so he approached Coster and patted Coster's arm like he had seen soldiers pat a horse.Big good son of a bitch, he said: good son of a bitch.

No one laughed, and the two interpreters finally convinced Ice Bear and Lone Wolf that they must lead the Kiewee tribes into Fort Cobb, or they would be wiped out by Koster's soldiers.At this time, Coster violated the peace talks, and suddenly ordered the arrest of the two chieftains and guard soldiers, and they were to be taken to Fort Cobb, where they would be detained as prisoners until their tribes arrived at the fort to join them.Ice Bear accepted the announcement with aplomb, but said he would send a messenger to summon the people to the keep.He sent his sons to the various villages of the Kiowai, but instead of ordering them to follow him to Fort Cobb, he warned them to flee westward into the country of the buffalo.

Coster's troops marched back to Fort Cobb, and each night a few of the captured Kiowai managed to slip away.However, Ice Bear and Lone Wolf are too tightly guarded to escape.When the blue uniform returned to the fort, only the two chiefs were left as prisoners.General Sheridon was furious, and announced that unless all the clansmen of Ice Bear and Lone Wolf entered the castle and surrendered, they would both be hanged. This is how most of the Kiowai were forced to give up their freedom through treacherous and insidious means.There was only one little chief, the woman Xin, who led the tribe and fled to the Youzhuang Plain, where they joined their friends, the Guanghadi Tribe of the Kanmachi tribe. In order to keep a close watch on the Kiowai and Kanmachi, the Army built a new soldier's stronghold called Fort Sill a few kilometers north of the Red River border. Hida School Site].General Grayson, the hero of the White Civil War, served as the commander of the troops. Most of the officers and soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment were black.Because of their skin color and hair, the Indians called them buffalo soldiers.Soon a hairless ranger arrived from the east to teach them how to farm instead of hunting buffalo for a living.His name was Taten, but the Indians called him Baldhead. General Xuelidun came to this Newcastle area, released the imprisoned white bear and lone wolf, and held a meeting.He denounced the two chiefs for their past crimes and warned them to obey the administrator. No matter what you told us, the white bear replied: I will hold on tight, I will pick it up and hold it tightly to my chest.Now if you shake my hand, or take me and hang me, it won't change my opinion a bit.My opinion will always be the same, what you said today opened my eyes and my senses.All this land is yours, and a road has been made for us to walk on it.After this time, I will have the way of the white man to plant and harvest corn.You'll never hear about Kiewee killing white people again. Now I'm not lying to you, it's the complete truth. Before the corn season, 2,000 Kiewee and 2,500 Kanmachi settled on the new reservation.It is ironic for the Cammakis that the U.S. government is forcing them to switch from bison hunting to farming.They had already developed an agricultural economy in Texas, but the white people came there, took away their farmland, and were forced to hunt bison in order to survive.And now this well-meaning old bald Taten wants to tell them to farm the white man's way, like the Indians don't know anything about growing corn.Didn't the Indians first teach the white man to grow and harvest corn? It was a very different story for the Kiewee. The warriors regarded digging in the fields as a woman's job, not worth it for the big men who rode and hunted.Besides that, as they always did, they traded dry beef and cowhide coats with the Vichitos for corn.The Vichitos liked to grow corn, but were too lazy and too fat to hunt bison.In the middle of summer, the Kiawe complained to Bald Taten about the restrictions on farming.I don't like corn, Ice Bear told him: it hurts my teeth.He, too, was sick of eating longhorn beef that was full of tendons, and begged Taten to fire his gun and load it so that the Kiewee could go on a buffalo hunt. That fall, the Kiewee and Cammache tribes harvested about fourteen hundred hectares of corn, but the distribution among five thousand five hundred Indians and a few thousand horses did not last long.By the spring of 1870, when the tribes were starving, Taten the Bald gave them a chance to hunt bison. That fall, the Kiowai held a grand sun dance on the North Bank of the Red River, inviting the Kanmachi and Nan Saian as guests, and during the ceremony many of the awakened warriors spoke of staying on the Great Plains , have plenty of bison to live on, instead of going back to reservations and living on meager handouts. The Ten Bears of the Kanmachi and the Kicking Birds of the Kiowai spoke against it; they thought it best for the tribes to continue to hold the white man's hand.The young Canmachi didn't blame Ten Bear, after all, he was too old to hunt buffalo or fight.But the Kiewee youth scoffed at the advice of kicking the bird, and he was a great fighter before the whites locked him in on the reservation, and now he talked like a bitch. As soon as the dance was over, many young men rode out of the reservation to hunt bison in Texas and attack the Germans who had robbed their land.They especially resented the hunters who came down from Kansas, who killed thousands of buffalo, only to take the buffalo away with their belts, and leave the bloody carcasses to rot and stink on the plains: The Marches looked as if white people hated everything about nature.In 1867 at Fort Larnde, Ice Bear met old man Huley Hancock, and he scolded Hancock: But you are cutting down the trees, and now this field is worthless at all.At Fumu River, he complained to the peace talks committee members: A long time ago, this land belonged to my ancestors, but when I grew up and went to the river, I saw soldiers' camps on both sides of the river.These soldiers cut down my big trees and killed my buffalo; when I saw them, it was like a burning pain in my heart, and I felt sick. Throughout the summer of 1870, the fighters on the reservation had no qualms about cursing the bird-kickers for advocating farming instead of hunting.Kicking Bird finally couldn't take it anymore, he formed a combat team, and invited those who tortured him the most, Jackal, White Horse and Old Santank, to carry out an assault into Texas together.Kicking Bird didn't have the burly and sticky physique of Ice Bear. He was slender, strong, and fair-skinned, because he was not of pure Kiewee blood. One of his grandparents was a crow, and he might have always been a little sensitive. With a hundred fighters at their back, Kicking Bird crossed the Red River border, purposely seizing a mail truck as a challenge to the army at Fort Richardson, Texas.When the blue army came out of the fort to fight, Kicking Bird showed his tactical skills. When fighting the enemy in a small frontal battle, he sent two pincer columns to attack the enemy's flanks and rear.Under the scorching sun, he slaughtered these cavalrymen and fought for eight hours before he broke away from the battle and led the soldiers back to the reserve in triumph.He proved his chieftainship; but from that day on he worked only for peace with the whites. Before the cold weather came, many wandering tribes returned to their camps near Fort Sill.However, that winter, there were still hundreds of Kiewee and Kanmachi boys staying on the Great Plains.Both General Grayson and Bald Tatten scolded the chiefs for their looting in Texas, but they appreciated the dry beef and hides brought back by the Indians to help their families survive under the government's insufficient rations. One winter, but could not speak out against it. Around the Kiewee campfire that winter, the white men's pressing from all sides was the most talked about.Old Santank was sad for his son, who was beaten to death by the Germans that year.Santank brought back his son's bones and placed them on a high platform in a special cone.At this time, when he talked about his son, he always thought he was asleep, not a dead person.Every day, he puts food and water next to the platform so that his son can eat and drink when he wakes up.Every night, the old man sat and stared at the campfire, his fingers full of bones, stroking his white beard as if he was waiting for something. Ice Bear was fidgeting about, talking all the time, advising the other chiefs what they should do.There was word everywhere that the iron-horse rails were coming into their buffalo-land.They all knew that the railroad had driven the bison herds from the Platte River and the Smoky Mountains, and that a railroad could no longer be allowed to run through their bison country.Ice Bear wanted to talk to the officers in the fort, to convince them that the soldiers should be withdrawn, that the Kiowai would live their lives as they had always done, and that a railroad should not scare away the buffalo. Dashu's method was more straightforward. One night, he would go to the fort area and set fire to the houses. As soon as the soldiers ran out, he would kill them all.Old Santank objected to this statement. Wouldn’t the conversation with the officers be a waste? He said that even if all the soldiers in the fort were killed, more soldiers would come to replace them.White people are like coyotes, always in abundance, no matter how many you kill.If the Kiewee are going to drive the whites out of their homeland to save the bison, it should start with the settlers who keep building fences, building houses, building roads, and slaughtering all the wild animals. In the spring of 1871, General Grayson sent out a band of black GIs to guard the crossings along the Red River.But the soldiers, eager to see the buffalo again, slipped past the soldiers.They went all over the plains of Texas that summer and found more pens, more pastures, more white buffalo hunters armed with deadly long-range rifles slaughtering the dwindling herd of bison. During the Leaf Month of this spring, some chiefs of the Kiowai and Cammache tribes brought a large party of hunting Indians to the North Shore of the Red River, hoping to spot bison without leaving the reservation.Only a few were found, and most of the herd was as far away as Texas.Around the campfire in the evening, they began to talk about how the white people, especially the dukes, were trying to drive all the Indians into the ground.Immediately there will be iron horses galloping across the prairie, and all the buffalo will disappear, and the archmage, Go Sky, suggests that it's time for them to go south to Texas and start driving the dukes into the ground. They made some preparations, and in mid-May the battle team evaded Grayson's patrol and splashed across the Red River into Texas. in the ranks.But this time the attack was the spirit elephant he saw in the sky, so he became the leader.On the 17th of May, Walking the Sky led the fighters to a stop on a plateau overlooking Creamfields Road at Fort Richardson and Fort Burknap.They waited there all night, and at noon the next day, they saw a military ambulance cart, escorted by horsemen, heading east on the road.Some soldiers wanted to attack, but the sky refused to give a signal. He assured everyone that a richer prize would follow soon, maybe a wagon train full of guns and ammunition. (Unbeknownst to the Indians, one of the passengers in that military cart was none other than Cocoa the Great Warrior (Commander-in-Chief) Sherman, who was visiting various barracks in the Southwest.) Just as I had expected in the sky, a few hours later, a group of ten cargo trucks galloped up and entered the field of vision.At just the right moment he gestured to Ice Bear, who was holding a bugle for blowing.With the sound of the bugle, the soldiers swarmed down the hillside, and the drivers formed a chariot formation, forming a desperate stronghold, but the Kiowai and Kanmachi tribes came too hard, they broke through the chariot formation , killed seven drivers, and when they robbed the cart, they let the others flee to a nearby chaotic forest.They didn't find a gun, they didn't find any ammunition, it was all corn.They untied the mule from the cart, tied the wounded Indian to the horse, and rode north back to the Red River. Five days later, the great warrior Sherman arrived at Fort Sill. When General Grayson introduced the bald-headed Taten to him, Sherman asked the administrator if the Kiowai and Cammachis in his area Family, if anyone was absent last week, Tatten promised to check this matter. It was not long before several chiefs arrived from their camp to receive their weekly rations.Among them are Kicking Bird, Santank, Big Tree, Lone Wolf and Ice Bear.Superintendent Taten invited them into his office, and, with his usual kindly dignity, asked the chiefs if they had heard of any attack on a caravan in Texas.He said that if anyone knew anything, he'd love to hear it. Even though the leader of the attack was Skywalker, Ice Bear immediately stood up and acknowledged him as the leader.Why did he do it, people cite many different reasons, vanity?Is he just boasting?Or did he really feel that he had to take full responsibility as a Warchief?In short, he took this opportunity to reprimand Tatten for the treatment of the Indians, and I asked you repeatedly for guns and ammunition, and you did not do so, and we made many other requests, which were not granted.You don't listen to what I have to say.The white man is trying to build a railroad across our homeland, which should not be allowed.Years ago we were grabbed by the hair and dragged close to the Ducks and had to fight Two or three years ago when General Coster was here he had me arrested and locked up for days.But the arrest of the Indians is now over and will never be repeated.Because of these complaints, not long ago, I took a hundred soldiers of my subordinates, and chiefs such as Santank, Eagleheart, Big Tree, Big Bow, and Fast Bear to Texas, not far from Fort Richardson where we captured a train of baggage, and if any other Indian comes here and claims his honor as leader, he's lying to you, for I did it myself. On this astonishing speech of Ice Bear, Taten, with an outwardly composed appearance, told Ice Bear that he had no right to issue guns and ammunition; If you want to play, you can apply freely. While the Kiowee chiefs were still debating the advisability of meeting with Sherman, Taten sent a note to General Grayson, informing him that White Bear had admitted leading his people to attack the convoy and that Names of the chiefs who participated in the incident at that time.Grayson soon received the news and passed it on to Sherman.Bai Xiong went to the headquarters of the Fort alone and asked to see the chief of the soldiers from Washington.Sherman stepped out into the wide corridor, shook hands with Ice Bear, and told him that he was calling all the chiefs to a meeting. Most of the chiefs who called for the meeting came voluntarily, but the soldiers had to force Santank to attend.Dashu wanted to run away, but was caught.When Yingxin saw the soldiers arresting him, he slipped away. As soon as the chiefs assembled in the hallway, Sherman told them that he was going to arrest Ice Bear, Santank, and Big Tree for the premeditated murder of the commoners in Texas.He also said that the soldiers under his command will send them back to Texas to be tried in court. Ice Bear threw back the blanket, reached for his pistol, and yelled in Kiewey that he would rather die than be sent to Texas as a prisoner.Sherman quietly gave a password, the shutters in the corridor windows were opened, and more than a dozen lances were aimed at the chiefs.The headquarters office was full of black cavalry from the Tenth Cavalry Regiment. At this time, Kicking Bird stood up and protested: You have already asked these people to kill them. He said: But they are my people, and I don't intend to let you kill them. You and I will die here. Just at this moment, a group of cavalry arrived at the scene. Just as they formed a formation along the fence, facing the corridor, the jackal came on horseback. He ignored the soldiers at all, dismounted leisurely, tied the horse to the fence post, and The two bursting lances in his hand were placed on the ground.Standing there for a while, his pistol belt fastened, his eyes quick and insultingly content on his face.Then picked up his weapon and strode down the corridor.As soon as he reached the steps, he handed the pistol to the nearest chief and said aloud in Kiawee: If anything happens, let it smoke. He tossed a lance to another chief, then sat on the corridor floor, put the lance in his hand to the red breech, and stared at the great warrior Sherman rashly. An officer issued a command, and the cavalry took up their lances in a shooting position and pulled the collision machine. The white bear stretched out his hands and shouted: "Don't!"Don't!Don't! Sherman calmly ordered the soldiers to drop their weapons. It was the 8th of June (summer month), and the soldiers untied the three chiefs into the cart and embarked on the long journey to Fort Richardson.Ice Bear and Dashu pushed into a large cart, and Santank into another cart. They were all handcuffed and staggered.When the cart drove out of the fort area under the escort of the cavalry, the old Santank sang the death song among the Kiowai warriors: O sun, you exist forever and ever, And our brother Kaizheng will definitely die; O land, you remain forever and ever; And our brother Kaizheng will definitely die. Pointing to a tree where the road bends across the creek, he shouted in Kiowai: I will never walk past that tree.He covered his head with a blanket.Under the blanket, he removed his hands from the handcuffs, ripped the flesh, drew a hidden knife from under his clothes, and, with a desperate roar, threw himself on the nearest guard, killing him to death. He threw it out of the car; in an instant, he snatched a lance from another guard.The platoon leader outside the car gave the command to shoot, and a volley of guns knocked down the old man in Kierwe.The soldiers had to stop for an hour to wait for Santank to die.They then dumped his body in a roadside ditch and resumed their trip to Texas. From July 5, 1871, in the Jack Polo Township Courthouse in Texas, the trial of Ice Bear and Big Tree was held for premeditated murder.The jury, the rancher and the cowherd with the pistols in their belts, heard three days of testimony and came out at once to find them guilty.The judge sentenced the two prisoners to be hanged.However, the governor of Texas, heeding many warnings that their execution would lead to war among the Kiowai, commuted the sentence to life imprisonment and imprisoned them in Hunter Prison. At this moment, the Kiewee tribe lost three of their strongest leaders. In the autumn, many young people slipped out in small groups to live with the Indians who have always lived a free life on the piling plains. together.Avoid the white hunters and residents who nomadicly follow the bison herds between the Red and Canadian rivers.When the goose crossed the moon, they set up a winter camp in the hard pole canyon. The Canmachi tribe ruled this group of Indians, but they welcomed the growing number of Kiewee people. Live with them. Lone Wolf had hunted with the Quanhardi tribe and must have thought of being with them.In early 1872, however, there was a struggle with the kicking bird over which direction the Kiewee on the reservation should take.Kicking Bird and Pour Bear were in favor of following the white man's path, even if it meant giving up bison hunting in Texas.The Lone Wolf objected that the Kiowai could not survive without hunting buffalo.He said that if the whites insisted obstinately that the Indians must hunt within the reservation, then the reservation should be extended to the Gran River in the south and the Missouri River in the north. This fierce speech of the Lone Wolf earned him strong support, evident in the fact that the Kiowai elected him over Kicking Bird and Dumping Bear when they sent important representatives to Washington.In August, the Legislative Council invited representatives of dissenting ethnic groups in the area to visit Washington to discuss treaty obligations. When a special envoy, Alfred, was sent to Fort Sill to handle the trip of the Kiewe representatives to Washington, Lone Wolf informed the special envoy that he could not go to Washington unless he first consulted with White Bear and Big Tree.Even if they are now locked in the Texas prison, Bai Xiong and Dashu are still the leaders of the clan. Without their opinions, no decision can be reached in Washington. Alfred was stunned, but knowing that the Lone Wolf meant what he said, he began to make a dreary arrangement to meet the two chiefs in prison.The governor of Texas was more or less reluctant, and finally agreed to release the two famous prisoners and temporarily hand them over to the US Army.On September 9, 1872, a deeply worried cavalry officer picked up two handcuffed chiefs in Dallas, Texas, and began to travel overland to Fort Sill.Behind the escorted cavalry, there were strands of armed Germans following, each eager to win the honor of killing the white bear and the big tree. As the detachment approached Fort Sill, the fort commander was so shaken that he sent a civilian scout to warn the cavalry officer that his prisoners should be taken elsewhere: here or near the Fort Sill reservation. The Indians wanted to bring their war chief, Ice Bear, in handcuffs and expect him to be sent back to the state prison. It is therefore my deepest desire that, notwithstanding your exact orders to the contrary, please do not bring them to this reservation, but escort them to the present station of the Mikander Railway. At this time, Envoy Everd had to convince the Kiowai that the meeting with the bear and the tree was being arranged in the big city of St. Louis.To get there, Alfred explained, they had to ride on iron horses on the railroad.The skeptical Kiowai representatives, followed by escorted warriors, walked 265 kilometers eastward and arrived at Atoka, the place of the Indians, which is the terminus of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. . At the city of Atoka, the burlesque affair reached its climax, and almost as soon as the representatives of Alfred and Lone Wolf arrived, they received a report from the captain of the cavalry, who was delivering the white bear and the tree to the station. , handed over to the envoy to take care of.Alfred was shocked by this incident. The train station was a lonely place. The special envoy was afraid that if the white bear suddenly appeared, the emotional reaction might be uncontrollable.He hastened back with his messengers, and begged the captain of the cavalry to hide the two important criminals in the oak wood until he could get the Kiowai representatives to set off for St. Louis. Finally, on September 29th, in a special room at the Avery Hotel in St. Louis, Ice Bear and Tree celebrated their temporary freedom with the Lone Wolf, who made it all happen.Alfred described this reunion as the most memorable and touching event.However, he was apparently unaware of the important affairs these Kiowai chiefs were conducting.Before Bai Xiong and Dashu returned to prison, Lone Wolf clearly understood what the trip should achieve in Washington. The Indian representatives who arrived in Washington at the same time as the Kiewee representatives included several small chiefs of the Kanmache tribe, a group of Orapaho tribesmen, and a small number of Kanmache tribesmen.In the Quanhadi tribe of the Kanmachi tribe, which is really powerful in this tribe, there is no one; the ten bears represent the Yangparika tribe, and the Toshawei represent the Pinadika tribe. Washington officials gave a grand tour of the Indians, a demonstration of the government's military might, a Sunday sermon with interpreters from the Methodist Church, and an audience in the East Wing of the White House by Patriarch Grant.After everyone had delivered their rhetorical, often flattering speeches, Bureau Chief Walker arranged to address both the Kiowai and the Kanmachi.What he issued was an unexpected ultimatum: First, the Kiowai and Kanmachi tribes represented here must, on the fifteenth of the next December, every chief, leader, warrior, and family member be completely in the west. They camped within sixteen kilometers of Fort Fort and the management office; they had to stay there until spring, without any mistakes, and were not allowed to leave without the consent of the management.He went on to say that the Canmachi, the Quanhardi, and those who refused to send representatives to Washington would soon hear that the American Army had been instructed to attack them.Another point is that before December 15th, any Indian who did not camp within 16 kilometers of Fort Sill would be considered an enemy of the U.S. government, and soldiers could kill them wherever they met. Ten Bears and Toshawe replied that their Kanmachi tribe would do what the Great Patriarch asked, but the Lone Wolf expressed serious doubts that such an ultimatum could be imposed on all the Kiawe.He explained that White Bear and Big Tree are the war chiefs of the tribe, and as long as the Texans put them in prison, many young fighters will be determined to fight the Germans.Only when the white bear and the big tree are free to return to the reservation area, and they can restrain the young people from attacking in Texas, will there be peace to speak of. This condition, of course, was determined in one of the most memorable and moving events of the reunion of the Kiowai chiefs in St. Lois.孤狼的妙招抵得上一位訓練有素的外交官，雖然華克局長沒有權下令德州政府釋放白熊和大樹，終於不得不允諾，在狐狼同意服從最後通牒以前，使這兩位酋長獲得自由。孤狼更進一步，作了一個釋放的限期不得遲於下一個蓓蕾月月杪和樹葉月的月初；或者，大致在一八七三年三月前後。 這次華府行的一項影響，便是堪馬奇族人對十熊的完全疏遠。孤狼以英雄之身回到居留區時，十熊壓根兒沒人理會。人既不舒服，又力竭筋疲，這位大草原上的老詩人也就認命了，在一八七二年十一月二十三日逝世。除開他兒子以外，管理所所長白特說道：他的族人完全拋棄了他。 這時，在有樁平原上，正和華克局長所警告過的，陸軍開始出動搜索自由自在的堪馬奇族廣哈狄部落。騎兵第四團從李查遜堡出動，悄悄直達紅河上游。這些騎馬大兵由麥肯瑟率領，他是個堅強、暴躁、蓄著連鬢絡腮鬍的佩鷹酋長，堪馬奇人管他叫三指頭。（他在內戰期中，失掉了食指。）九月二十九日，三指頭的探馬沿著麥克里倫溪搜索，發現了一處堪馬奇族的大村落，是公熊的族人，印第安人正忙著烤肉準備過冬呢。騎兵實施以襲步衝鋒，揉躪了這處村落，打死了二十三名堪馬奇人，俘虜了一百二十名婦孺，奪走了幾幾乎整個馬群，共有一千多匹馬，燒掉這片二百六十二座錐幕後，麥肯瑟向下游收兵，在那裡安營過夜。這時，逃脫過這次攻擊的好幾百名戰士，走到了鄰近的一處堪馬奇族村裡，借了馬，有了生力軍，他們就對騎兵來了一次夜間的奇襲攻擊。事後一名戰士說道：我們奪回了所有自己的馬匹，而且還有一些大兵的。可是他們卻沒法救出被擄的婦女和小孩兒，等到麥肯瑟把她們押回西爾堡以後，公熊和好些其他的基厄威族就到了保留區，為的是同自己家屬在一起。然而，廣哈狄部落的主力，卻依然隨著野牛群自由自在地遨遊，繼續獲得西南方其他各族族人加入，在一個二十七歲的二轉子夸那派克的領導下，比以往更為難以和解。 一八七三年春意初萌時，基厄威族開始準備一次盛大的慶祝會，歡迎白熊和大樹的歸來，整個冬天，禿腦袋塔騰都在運用他的影響力，阻止釋放兩名酋長，可是理蕃局局長批駁了他。塔騰辭職，由海窩茲繼任。蓓蕾月一過，日曆已進入樹葉月裡，孤狼便開始談到，德佬兒如果拒絕釋放酋長，就要和他們大動刀兵。踢鳥要求戰士們忍耐一下，德州州長和那些痛恨印第安人的移民有麻煩。終於，在鹿掉角月（八月）裡，華府來的官員，安排好把白熊和大樹兩名犯人調往西爾堡。不久以後，德州州長本人也抵達來開一次大會議。 在開會的這一天，也准許白熊和大樹在一名衛兵押解下出席。州長致開會詞，告訴基厄威族，他們一定要在管理所附近定居下來種田；一定要領取口糧，每三天到一次點名；一定要阻止年輕人去到德州境內攻打；一定要像文明化的印第安人般，放棄武器和馬匹來種植玉米。在這段時間裡，他繼續說道：白熊和大樹還是留在禁閉室裡，一直到西爾堡指揮官滿意，這些條件都已經實施了為止。 孤狼第一個發言：你把這兩名犯人送回來，業已使我們的心好過了；今天把他們釋放，就使我們的心更舒服了。 可是州長並不退讓，說道：我不會更改這些條件。會議便告了結束。 孤狼失望得很痛苦，條件好苛刻呵，而兩位酋長依然是犯人。我要和平，他告訴白特所長：我辛辛苦苦工作就為了和平。華盛頓騙了我對我和我的族人沒有守信用毀了他的諾言；現在除開戰爭以外，半點兒都沒留給我們。我曉得，同華盛頓打仗那也就是我族人的消滅，可是我們是逼上梁山，寧願死不願生呵。 州長的這種要求，甚至連踢鳥都激怒了。我的心現在是石頭一樣的了，沒有一處軟地方；我曾經雙手接納白人，當他是朋友，可是他並不是朋友，政府騙了我們，華盛頓腐敗。 白特和新管理員海窩茲兩個人都意識到，如果州長不採取善意的姿態，從禁閉室裡把白熊和大樹釋放出來，流血，也很可能重啟戰端，都很可能。他們便到州長那裡去，向他說明情況，堅決勸他大發慈悲。當天夜裡，州長派出一名信差到狐狼和其他酋長處，要他們第二天上午同他會晤。基厄威族人都同意了，但是在破曉以前，他們都打定了主意，他們再也不多聽那些毀棄的諾言了。他們全付武裝與會，把戰士們配置在禁閉室附近，也派在快馬附近準備逃走。 所有這些德州州長沒有半點兒不知道，便長話短說，說他有把握在這一回討價還價裡，基厄威族會信守諾言。然後又宣布說，他已經把白熊和大樹假釋給他們的管理員管理。他們自由了，孤狼又贏得了一場不流血的勝利。 在落葉月裡，白熊搬進了自己漆成紅色的錐幕裡，自己的紅色垂旈飄揚在出煙孔上面的幕桿頂端。他把自己的靈符紅矛送給了老朋友白色燕八哥，說自己並不想再當酋長了，只求得一個自自在在快快樂樂，在草原上到處漫遊。但是他守信用，始終待在管理所附近，那年秋天也沒有溜出保留區外，同小伙子們到有樁平原上去獵野牛。 在雁去月裡，從德克薩斯州來了些白人偷兒，他們偷襲基厄威族和堪馬奇族的馬群，偷走了他們兩百匹良馬。一隊戰士出動追擊，可是德州強盜渡過了紅河，只找回來少數的馬匹。 不久以後，有一批小伙子基厄威族九人，堪馬奇族二十一人決定到南方去找馬，補充失去了的馬匹。他們為了不願因為攻襲德州的馬匹，使白熊和大樹惹上麻煩，而向墨西哥前進。他們避開居民地區，輕騎南下八百公里，在老鷹口與拉里多間，度過格蘭河。他們在墨哥境內攻襲牧場，一直到弄到手的馬數，大約是德佬兒從他們那裡偷去的數目相若為止，在回來的途程中，打死了兩個想攔住他們的德佬兒。這時，藍軍服死命的追趕來了，在距離克拉克堡不遠的追逐作戰裡，這些年輕的印第安人給打死了九個，其中就有孤狼的兒子塔安基，外甥吉坦。 死裡逃生的人回到西爾堡時，已是仲冬時分。基厄威族和堪馬奇族都為了死去的最勇敢青年而進行哀悼。孤狼在喪子之慟裡，剪掉了自己的頭髮，燒掉了錐幕，殺死了坐騎，發誓要向德佬兒報復。 一八七四年春天，草原上的嫩草甫綠，孤狼便組織起一支隊伍，深入德克薩斯去收塔安基和吉坦的屍體。因為他們在保留區受到密切的監視，基厄威族沒法使這次遠征保守秘密，他們還沒有渡過紅河，就有好幾支騎兵縱隊自康卻堡、麥卡維特堡、克拉克堡出動馳到，來攔截他們。孤狼居然辦到摔脫所有的追兵，一隊人到達了掩埋的地方，把兒子外甥的屍體挖掘出來，迅即北上往有樁平原去。然而，有一個騎兵連來得太近迫，逼得狐狼只有把他們的屍體重埋在一處山坡邊上。基厄威族便化整為零，越過有樁平原逃回去。大多數人都及時抵達了紅河，聽到在大角鹿溪正舉行一次非常特別的太陽舞。 多少年來，基厄威族都邀請友族堪馬奇人來參加本族的太陽舞；可是堪馬奇族一直都是來做看客，從來沒有舉辦過自己的這種典禮。一八七四年春天，他們可頭一回邀請基厄威族去參加他們的第一次太陽舞，協助他們決定，對那些把有樁平原上野牛群在消滅掉的，獵野牛的白人應該怎麼辦。踢鳥不接受這種邀請，他聽說是廣哈狄部落主辦這次太陽舞，因為認定他們是跟政府作對的人，踢鳥就要族人聽話，待在自己營地裡，等到七月裡辦自己的太陽舞吧。然而，狐狼卻依然為兒子的死悲哀，對白人甚至不讓他把孩子的死骨搬回來安葬，更是憤恨，決心帶了自己的部落去參加堪馬奇族的太陽舞。白熊也跟了他一起去，這位假釋的酋長認為；在保留區地境以內，參加一次堪馬奇族的慶典，沒有什麼妨礙，而且這是一種禮貌嘛。 廣哈狄部落大舉來到大角鹿溪，騎馬從有樁平原來到，帶來了野牛群的壞消息，到處都是白人的獵手和剝皮工，腐爛的屍骸臭味兒，使得各平原上的風臭叫人發嘔。也像印第安人一般，大批大批的野牛群也正被白人往地下趕盡殺絕。 （從一八七二年到一八七四年所殺掉的三百七十萬頭野牛裡，印第安人所殺掉的僅僅只有十五萬頭【譯註：約為總數百分之四。】。有一批關心的德州人去問薛立敦將軍，不要用什麼辦法阻止白人獵手的大批屠殺嗎，他答道：讓他們去殺吧，去剝皮吧，去賣吧，一直到野牛絕種為止；那是帶來長久和平，使文明得以前進的唯一辦法。） 自由的廣哈狄人，根本不要這種殺死有用畜牲而前進的文明。在堪馬奇族的太陽舞裡，一位廣哈狄部落裡的先知易煞泰，就說要用戰爭來拯救野牛。易煞泰是一個法術高強的人，據說他能從肚皮裡吐出一大車的彈藥，又說他的法術，能使白人的槍子兒飛著飛著就停下來。 廣哈狄部落中，年輕的作戰酋長夸那派克，也力倡打上一仗，把打獵的白人從草原上轟出去。他建議先打獵人的基地，是加拿大河上一處貿易站，以乾磚牆而聞名。 太陽舞結束以前，從北方的保留區裡，來了一批賽安族人和奧拉帕荷族人，因為一些白人的偷馬賊，盜去了他們五十匹最好的野馬，他們非常憤怒，猜疑這些馬賊或許就是獵野牛的。一聽說夸那的計畫，要攻擊打獵白人的乾磚牆，就決定要參加廣哈狄部落一起。狐狼、白熊和他們的基厄威族戰士也志願參加作戰。在他們心眼兒裡，挽救野牛免得絕種，這種緊急情況比起服從保留區小小規定重要得多。話又說回來了，可不是獵人闖進了條約中專供印第安人使用的野牛獵場嗎？假如大兵不守職責，沒把獵人驅逐出去，那麼印第安人就只有自己來了。 在蒼蒼白白的夏月裡，一共有七百名戰士從大角鹿溪策馬西行。易煞泰沿途施法，要戰士們放心。那些白人打不中你們的，他說道：有我的法術，我會使他們所有的槍停下來。你們一衝鋒上去，就可以把他們統統一掃而光。 六月二十七日日出以前，戰士們騎馬迫近了乾磚牆，準備停當，要來一次強大的衝鋒，把這處給養基地裡的每一個獵野牛的殺得乾乾淨淨。我們騎在馬上衝鋒得很快，揚起了好高的塵頭。夸那派克後來說道。草原上點點斑斑有許多土撥鼠洞，有幾匹馬馬失前蹄，把馬背上塗有戰彩的戰士摔在地上翻滾。印第安人發現兩個獵人坐在大車裡想跳走，便把他們殺死，剝下了頭皮。槍聲和萬蹄奔騰的雷鳴聲，驚醒了乾磚牆裡面的白人，就用他們的長射程野牛步槍開槍射擊。印第安人隊伍拉開，展開他們傳統的兜圈攻擊，一個個的戰士撲進去，投擲梭槍，或者朝窗戶裡開槍。 我同一個堪馬奇人上了乾磚房，夸那說道：就在屋頂上搗了洞朝下面開槍。 有好幾次，印第安人往後撤退，再度發起衝鋒，希望打獵人把所有子彈都打光。在一次衝鋒裡，夸那身下的坐騎挨了一槍，他想採取掩蔽，一發槍子兒打傷了他肩膀，他便爬進一叢李樹下，後來被人救了出來。 獵野牛的人數多得我們攻不下，一位堪馬奇族戰士承認：他們站在乾磚牆後面，槍上面有望遠鏡我們中間有一個人，被一發一千五百公尺以外打來的、衝勁兒消失了的槍子兒從馬上打翻，使他嚇慘了，但卻沒有把他打死。 下午很早很早，攻擊的印第安人都往後退，退出了強力的獵牛步槍射程以外。打死了十五名戰士，更多的人受了重傷，他們的憤恨和挫折都轉而出在易煞泰身上，他原來答應保護他們，會有一次大勝利，白人的槍子兒打不中的。一個光了火的賽安族人就用馬鞭抽易煞泰，還有幾個勇士也就一擁而上，可是夸那阻止了這一場痛打。他說，易煞泰的丟人現眼就夠懲處他的了。打從這一天起，夸那派克再也不相信什麼法師。 酋長們放棄對乾磚牆徒勞無功的圍攻以後，孤狼和白熊帶了戰士回紅河的北灘溪，去參加基厄威族的太陽舞，他們當然也請了友族堪馬奇人和賽安人來參加盛會，那年夏天，基厄威族慶典的主要特色，便是慶祝白熊和大樹回到保留區。廣哈狄部落和賽安族人責罵這些保留區的族人，侵入的獵野牛白人正在消滅他們的野牛群，卻反而在搞慶祝。他們要求全體的基厄威族人，來加入他們，從事拯救野牛的戰爭。 踢鳥對這種論點一點兒也不聽，太陽舞一結束，便忙著催族人返回管理所。然而，孤狼和他的手下人，卻相信本身的責任是和堅決的廣哈狄部落在一起。 這一回，白熊沒有和孤狼在一起，他斷定靠自己的運氣走得夠遠的了，這位愛群居、愛活動的酋長，勉勉強強折回西爾堡。在回去路上，他帶了一家人和幾個朋友到雨山溪去拜訪維契托族保留區，同這些種玉米的印第安人交易交易。這是個愉快的夏天，他並不忙著回西爾堡去開始應點和領口糧嘛。 在大平原上，這個夏天似乎一切事情都在轉壞，一天又一天，太陽燒烤得乾巴巴的大地更乾燥了，溪流沒有了水流動，一批批旋風般的蝗蟲從白花花的天空裡撲下來，把乾透了的草都吃掉。要是前不幾年，在這一帶有了這種乾旱，野牛群就會發了狂的奔竄找水喝，百萬蹄的雷鳴聲震動了大草原。可是而今牛群沒有了，剩下來的只是牛骨、牛骸、腐爛的牛蹄這一片無窮無盡的淒涼。大多數打野牛的白人都離開了，一股股的堪馬奇族，基厄威族、賽安族和奧拉帕荷族，永無休止地在蕩遊，卻只找到少數小小的牛群，可是大多數印第安人都不得不返回保留區，以免餓死。 在各處管理所，每一件事情都混混亂亂，軍方和理蕃局雙方發生誤解，補給品沒有運到，有些管理員扣壓口糧不發，以處罰那些沒有獲得准許而來來去去的印第安人。到處都發生了騷擾，戰士和大兵間彼此開槍。到六月半以前，在西爾堡登記有案的基厄威和族堪馬奇族，人走了一半。就像是由於一種神奇的力量，這些靠野牛生活的最後幾個部落，都給吸引到了最後野牛集散地的中心，硬桿峽谷的棟樹嶺。 硬桿峽谷在平坦的地平線上見不到，它是在大平原上深深沖刷出一條弧形的裂口，是一處山泉、瀑布、溪澗的綠洲，使得峽谷中的柳樹與牛草又綠又茂盛。到峽谷裡去，只有幾條被野牛群啃出來的小徑可通。十六世紀時，科羅納多到過那裡，但自此以後，僅僅只有少數幾個白人見過，或者曉得它的存在。 在一八七四年夏末，印第安人和野牛群都在那裡覓得了庇護所在地。印第安人僅僅只殺死夠他們過冬所需要給養的牛隻小小心心把牛肉剝下來，在太陽中晒乾，把牛髓和牛油貯藏在皮裡，把牛筋加以處理做弓弦和線，以牛角造湯匙和杯子，把牛毛編成繩索和帶子，保存牛皮作錐幕外層、衣服和靴鞋。 在黃葉月初，沿溪一帶的峽谷谷床已是一片錐幕森林基厄威族、堪馬奇族和賽安族全都好好儲備了食糧，足足可以支持到開春為止。幾幾乎有兩千匹馬兒與野牛共享豐富的谷草。沒有了畏懼，女人就到處做自己的事，小孩兒們沿溪嬉戲。對夸那和廣哈狄部落來說，這就是他們一向的生活方法；孤狼和基厄威族，以及其他逃出管理所的印第安人來說，這是生活從頭幹起的開端。 這種對白人方式的蔑視，當然使當局對保留區罄空的情形不能忍受。大戰士薛爾曼開始調兵遣將時，毫不和解的廣哈狄部落和盟族，根本還沒有在這些隱匿的村落裡安置停當呢。道奇堡的熊衣邁爾斯揮兵南下，康卻堡的三指頭麥肯瑟起兵北上；新墨西哥州貝斯康姆堡普萊士少校部隊東進；西爾堡的戴維遜上校、李里遜堡的布伊爾上校兩軍齊出。千千萬萬的藍軍服，配備著連發快槍和炮兵，來搜索幾百個印第安人，只為了他們拯救野牛，自由在地過他們的生活。 麥肯瑟的騎兵部隊僱用塔寇瓦族印第安人作探馬，在九月二十六日發現硬桿峽谷裡的大村落。狐狼的基厄威族遭受第一次凶狠的突襲，儘管受到了奇襲，戰士們還是挺住了很久，讓他們的婦孺逃脫，然後在一陣濃密的火藥煙雲下後退。麥肯瑟的騎兵衝上溪去，把錐幕放火燒掉，把印第安人過冬的給養都毀掉了。到那一天終了，他們捕獲了一千多匹馬，麥肯瑟下令都趕進托里谷，由藍軍服把牠們屠殺掉，一千多匹死馬留給了空中盤旋的禿鷹群。 穿越過大平原，印第安人零零星星四散奔走，沒有吃的，沒有穿的，也沒有住的。千千萬萬的藍軍服從四個方向進軍，有條不紊地加以追剿，幾支縱隊反覆交叉、對錯，起先找到了受傷的印第安人，然後是年齡大的，再然後是女人和小孩們。 孤狼和兩百五十二名基厄威族沒法逃過了追捕，可是到了最後再也跑不動了，一八七五年二月二十五日，他們進入西爾堡投降。三個月以後，夸那也把廣哈狄部落帶到了。 在這次軍事行動的混亂中，兩位假釋的酋長白熊和大樹逃進了保留區。他們到達賽安族管理所，便自願投案，但卻給上了鐐銬，關進禁閉室裡。 在西爾堡，每一股歸順的印第安人，都給趕進一處圈欄裡，由大兵解除他們的武裝。他們隨身攜帶的一點點兒財物，也都堆成一堆堆，一把火燒掉；他們的騾馬都趕到草原上開槍打死。涉嫌離開保留區有責任的酋長和戰士，都關進牢房裡，或者拘禁在一幢沒屋頂的冰屋高牆後面。每一天，俘主們就把一塊塊的生肉拋給他們，就像他們是關在檻籠裡的野獸。 大戰士薛爾曼從華府下令，對俘民加以審判、懲罰，海窩茲管理員請求寬免白熊和大樹。薛爾曼心中對大樹倒沒什麼反感，不過他記起了白熊的輕蔑，白熊該一個人送回德克塞斯州監獄裡去。 因為軍事當局不能決定，這麼多俘民中哪些人要加以懲罰，便命令踢鳥挑出二十六個基厄威族人，發配到弗羅里達州馬瑞安堡的地牢裡去，儘管這個工作很討厭，踢鳥還是照做。他曉得孤狼非去不可，還有女人心和白馬，還有走天空，因為他在德州打仗。限額中的其他人數，他挑上些沒沒無聞的戰士，以及少數幾個俘來而在族內長大的墨西哥人。 即令如此，踢鳥判定族人的這碼子事，使他失去了追隨族人的支持。我像一塊石頭，打破了，拋開了，他淒然告訴白特說：一部分往這邊丟，另一部分往那邊丟。 到起解到弗羅里達州漫漫長程的那一天，上了鐵鍊的犯人上了火車，踢鳥騎馬出堡來和他們道別。我對你們很抱歉，他說道：不過因為你們的冥頑不靈，我沒有能讓你們免出紕漏，你們一定會要被政府處罰，帶上你們的靈符吧，那不會有好久的，我愛護你們，一定盡力設法開釋你們。 走天空嘲笑地回答道：你可自由自在的嘛，跟白人在一起的大人物；不過，踢鳥，你也活不長久了，這一點我一定會努力。 兩天以後，在堡區附近的錐幕裡，踢鳥喝過一杯咖啡，不明不白地就死掉了。三個月後，走天空在馬瑞安堡聽說踢鳥的死訊後，走天空也突然死了。基厄威族人說這位法師因為施用法力，消滅了一個要好的族人，立定志願自己死亡。三年以後，白熊在德州監獄醫院裡日見衰弱，便從一處高高的窗戶跳出去，在死亡中求解脫。同一年，孤狼因為瘧疾發燒而形顏枯槁，奉准返回西爾堡，可是也是在一年內就死了。 偉大的首領們都過世了，基厄威族和堪馬奇族的強大力量瓦解，他們力圖拯救的野牛已經消滅掉了，這一切一切事情的發生，還不到十年。