Before the 19th century, European settlers lived peacefully with the North American Indians But this all changed during the 1800s when settlers flooded in, many heading west across the Great Plains to farm, and mine for gold and minerals. These newcomers, many from Britain, had no time for the native peoples and their customs. All they wanted was their land. Fighting between the settlers and the Indians was inevitable, and rapidly grew out of control. The US Army--always on the side of the settlers--attacked the Indians without mercy.
The Great Plains, a wide and largely treeless band, runs down the middle of North America east of the Rockies, from the Canadian prairies in the north to Texas in the south. Once a vast grassland, it was home to huge herds of buffalo (bison) that grazed the waist-high grass. Like the zebra on today's African grasslands, the buffalo followed an annual migration, roaming north and west in spring, and south and east in the fall. They were hunted by Plains Indians: the Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Sioux, Pawnee, and many more. Beside meat, the buffalo provided most of the tribes' other needs, from hides for making coats and tipi covers, to stomachs used for cooking pots. The white man also hunted buffalo, mostly for hides. When the railroad was completed, in 1869, it was much easier to transport the hides to market, so hunting increased. Some railroad passengers even shot buffalo as their trains sped past, just for fun, leaving the bodies to rot in the sun. Buffalo numbers quickly fell because of this over-hunting, from an estimated 50 million, almost to extinction. This ended the Plains Indians' way of life forever. For some people like General Sheridan, appointed by President Ulysses Grant to fight the Indians, this was good reason for wiping out the buffalo.
As more settlers occupied Indian lands, the rightful owners were tricked into treaties and forced to live on reservations as "agency Indians." Many tribal bands refused, preferring to live free on the plains rather than living on meager hand-outs on the reservations. The most sacred of all the Indian lands were the Black Hills of South Dakota. A treaty of 1868 had promised them to the Sioux forever. But six years later General Sheridan sent troops there to establish a fort. General George Armstrong Custer led the expedition. Custer took along some miners, and when he reported back that the hills were full of gold, "from the grass roots down," prospectors swarmed in. The Government sent their officials to make a deal with the tribe. When they arrived they were met by a gathering of more than 20,000 Sioux, along with their Cheyenne and Arapaho friends. The officials, seated under a tarpaulin for shade, were protected by a troop of 120 cavalry. Suddenly, before the meeting began, a band of warriors rode in, firing their rifles skyward. The nervous officials thought they were being attacked! But the warriors were just making a point, and formed a line behind the cavalry. The Chiefs then came forward and sat down, facing the officials. At the end of the talks the Government offered the Indians $6 million for the Black Hills--one mine alone would produce more than $500 million in gold. The Chiefs refused to sell. next...
The Great Plains, a wide and largely treeless band, runs down the middle of North America east of the Rockies, from the Canadian prairies in the north to Texas in the south. Once a vast grassland, it was home to huge herds of buffalo (bison) that grazed the waist-high grass. Like the zebra on today's African grasslands, the buffalo followed an annual migration, roaming north and west in spring, and south and east in the fall. They were hunted by Plains Indians: the Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Sioux, Pawnee, and many more. Beside meat, the buffalo provided most of the tribes' other needs, from hides for making coats and tipi covers, to stomachs used for cooking pots. The white man also hunted buffalo, mostly for hides. When the railroad was completed, in 1869, it was much easier to transport the hides to market, so hunting increased. Some railroad passengers even shot buffalo as their trains sped past, just for fun, leaving the bodies to rot in the sun. Buffalo numbers quickly fell because of this over-hunting, from an estimated 50 million, almost to extinction. This ended the Plains Indians' way of life forever. For some people like General Sheridan, appointed by President Ulysses Grant to fight the Indians, this was good reason for wiping out the buffalo.
As more settlers occupied Indian lands, the rightful owners were tricked into treaties and forced to live on reservations as "agency Indians." Many tribal bands refused, preferring to live free on the plains rather than living on meager hand-outs on the reservations. The most sacred of all the Indian lands were the Black Hills of South Dakota. A treaty of 1868 had promised them to the Sioux forever. But six years later General Sheridan sent troops there to establish a fort. General George Armstrong Custer led the expedition. Custer took along some miners, and when he reported back that the hills were full of gold, "from the grass roots down," prospectors swarmed in. The Government sent their officials to make a deal with the tribe. When they arrived they were met by a gathering of more than 20,000 Sioux, along with their Cheyenne and Arapaho friends. The officials, seated under a tarpaulin for shade, were protected by a troop of 120 cavalry. Suddenly, before the meeting began, a band of warriors rode in, firing their rifles skyward. The nervous officials thought they were being attacked! But the warriors were just making a point, and formed a line behind the cavalry. The Chiefs then came forward and sat down, facing the officials. At the end of the talks the Government offered the Indians $6 million for the Black Hills--one mine alone would produce more than $500 million in gold. The Chiefs refused to sell. next...
Custer's West
