Sioux vs. Crow : Sitting Bull's First Battle

[Music] foreign for The Westerns don't forget to click like share subscribe ring that notification Bell and leave us a comment if you like this story [Music] the sources for tonight's episode are the Last Stand by Nathaniel philbrick as well as the early life of the renowned leader of the lakotas by Mark Lee Gardner these are resources we will repeatedly return to and we can't recommend them enough for a more thorough understanding of tonight's topics links are in the description below and now on to tonight's episode 1831 somewhere in the Great Plains of the Dakotas a band of hunk Papa Lakota celebrate the arrival of a newborn boy the son of a warrior name returned again and his wife her holy door he is the apple of his parents eye the baby boy is named Jumping Badger the Lakota also known as the Sioux or the tetonsu were a martial people whose itinerant lives were based on the Buffalo herds migration and warring with anyone who sought to stand between themselves and those herds the Lakota are comprised of several bands they see kangju the Oglala the itasipcho the hunk Papa the mini kanju the hisapa the sihasapa and the uh numpa though they possessed a few close allies throughout the years including the Cheyenne and the Arapaho their enemies were both numerous and vociferous the assiniboids the flatheads the hadadsas and of course the U.S army were all hated enemies of the Lakota this was largely due to the Lakota being relatively recent arrivals to the Northern Great Plains arriving sometime in the 18th century from the Great Lakes region they had been encroaching on and taking over many other tribes hunting lands and building a significant amount of animus towards themselves in the process but perhaps the most hated enemy amongst the Lakota people were the crow interviews of Lakota Warriors taken well into the 20th century often denote their still vibrant vitriolic hatred for the crow whom one described as the most cowardly tribe that ever lived safe to say there was no love lost between the Lakota and the crow the young men like all young Lakota were taught to hate their enemies and to defend their families at all costs this meant being proficient in all means of Martial Endeavors from horsemanship to Marksmanship to wrestling their medal was tempered and tested through long exposure to sweat lodges and cold Rivers winter snows and summer Suns but in conjunction to building their bodies the young men also strengthened their minds and of most importance in the Lakota world view their Spirits they were inspired by Fireside stories of great warriors Deeds of great conquests capture and selflessness they edified their spirit and vision quests as with young men everywhere they spent the better part of their teens and early 20s yearning for an opportunity to make a name for themselves in Lakota society as was the case with most Plains tribes the only means of social advancement for young men was via prowess in both hunting and warfare and so it was for the young Jumping Badger or as his friends and family often called him slow the name was a result of the young man's deliberate and methodical nature but like his birth name it wouldn't stick for too long by the time he was 25 though more than a few accounts have this story occurring when he was as early as 14 years old the young man had established himself as a hunter and was beginning to make a name for himself as a cunning horse thief and the tribe with the most horses on the Northern Plains at that time were the crow this made them a powerful enemy and an enticing Target in his book Empire of the summer Moon also linked below author SC Gwen describes the stealing of horses on the open plains as the equivalent of instantaneous transmission of thousands of dollars into one's bank account thus many a Lakota raid was undertaken against the crow in an effort amongst Young Warriors to build both capital and Prestige when a group of young Lakota including slow and a number of his cohorts set out to raid a crow camp on the plains of what is today's South Dakota as they crested the low rise in the Twilight of the morning sun they spotted their Quarry a large group of horses seemingly without a guard posted as the crow believed themselves too far out in remote country to worry about Raiders or Intruders this was what the young Lakota had been hoping for silently they made their way closer and closer to the Crow's horse herd at a signal the Stampede was started and as many horses as could be taken in one Fell Swoop were driven away from the crow Village and Northwest onto the open Prairie but now the crow were alerted now the element of surprise had been rapidly if predictably disintegrated and the Lakota were on the defensive as often happened in these situations a running fight ensued over Rolling Prairie Land until eventually the Lakota managed to ensconce themselves in a defensive readout in a narrow ravine the crow pinned them down intent on making these Lakota Interlopers pay Immortal tolls for their intrusion and intentions at first they rained down bullets and arrows upon the position but finding Lakota had procured themselves sufficient cover they quickly found themselves mired in a stalemate the two parties quickly found themselves mired in a stalemate from their defensive positions hunkered down behind rocks and logs deep in the Ravine the young anxious Lakota Warriors debated their next course of action Escape was impossible but so was an outright Victory and even if they could flee what was the point in going home at all if it was without any of the horses they had stolen and with no enemy scalps to show the debate raged intensely but briefly as one among them proposed his own solution he would go out alone he said and challenge the crow Chief to a one-on-one fight this was a time-honored means of intertribal conflict on the Plains and often a means through which a larger scale conflict could be avoided via them playing out in individual combats but obviously these were very high stakes for the combatants involved but the young man perhaps now showing The Virtue behind his supposed advice was cool and even tempered throughout he took up his thick Buffalo hide Shield that could not only deflect bullets when held at the right angle but also carried he believed a powerful protective medicine in his other hand he took up his single shot musket these were smooth board weapons and though outdated still highly prized amongst the tribes for the physical effects they could wreak and the psychological trauma that they could inflict the young warped rode confidently out from his defensive position seemingly unfazed by the prospect of enemy fire he called out and allowed clear and confident tone that he was challenging the crow Chief to a one-on-one fight to the death right here right now the crow Chief then Strode out from amongst his men also with a thick Buffalo hide shield and a musket he called out to the young haughty horse thief that not only would he not be going home with any Crow horses today he would not be going home at all now the crow Chief said he was going to kill him both men started in a militant Trot towards one another their comrades and charges waiting pensively behind them as he ran the Lakota who was known to have a fine clear high-pitched singing voice saying his death saw my trials are many but my life is short first to break step was the crow Chief who when the two were a few dozen yards away quickly dropped to one knee steadied his aim and fired in one Deft motion the young Sioux Warrior now perhaps making some of his comrades behind him second guessed the propriety of his slightly derisive nicknamed slow managed to angle his shield down so that the musket ball ricocheted off of it and down towards the ground however before smashing into Terra Firma the lead ball tore under the young lakota's foot it was a ghastly wound that would have rendered most combat ineffective but the young man's countenance seemed unchanged despite the blood pouring from his foot into the Prairie dirt his eyes seemed never to waver from his intended target as once the Crow's musket had been fired he now had time to stop and take aim for his own shot as the crow Chief rapidly closed the distance knife in hand the young Lakota cool took aim waited until the crow was but a few Paces away and definitely put a musket ball into his torso the crow went down hard writhing in agony from the internal irreversible Damage Done by the lead ball however he would not have to suffer long without hesitating the Lakota hobbled as fast as he could on his badly injured and profusely bleeding foot to the side of his disabled enemy here he quickly unsheathed his hunting knife and plunged it directly into the still-beating heart of the crow chief as the chief let loose his death rattle the Lakota cut slits in the skin and above his ears then around the back of the Crow's head and then the sides and then finally the forehead and after a few vigorous violent tugs he managed to rest the bloody scalp from its previous owner and thus cement his reputation as a new Warrior amongst his people the Lakota present all made their way Crow horses in tow back to their home camp where the young slow was greeted as a Conquering Hero and fearless new Warrior curious nature and fastidious disposition that it often seemed so perplexing to his people had now blossomed into not only a formidable fighter but a trustworthy leader and eventually as a kind of holy man whose visions and premonitions would hold great sway amongst his people in his life he would go on to meet presidents in royalty tour Europe stay in some of New York's finest hotels lead some of the bloodiest battles the Northern Plains would ever see and ultimately die a martyr's death on a lonely Frozen Prairie [Music] to Lakota would know him but you most likely know him a Sitting Bull Sitting Bull would go on to be one of the most seminal figures in American history and participate in countless more legendary raids and battles including the legendary Battle of the Little Bighorn and while those episodes are indeed coming soon very soon for tonight those are other stories for other times but let us know what you think would you have been as Brave as Sitting Bull against the crow would you have been as angry as the crow Chief if someone was trying to steal your horses is there a good guy here is there a bad guy let us know what you think in the comments below and be sure to click like share subscribe ring that notification Bell check us out on patreon at patreon.com hokc and we'll see you next time here on history at the okay Corral History 2 real for The Westerns [Music]

Channel: History at The OK Corral

Views: 57,075

Keywords: history at the ok corral, Lakota, Crow, Sitting Bull

Id: mlhW5dpQcV8

Length: 12min 18sec (738 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 08 2022