【英文原著类】INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS(印第安英雄).pdf

INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
INDIAN HEROES AND
GREAT CHIEFTAINS
BY
CHARLES A. EASTMAN (OHIYESA)
1
INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS
RED CLOUD
EVERY age, every race, has its leaders and heroes. There were over
sixty distinct tribes of Indians on this continent, each of which boasted its
notable men. The names and deeds of some of these men will live in
American history, yet in the true sense they are unknown, because
misunderstood. I should like to present some of the greatest chiefs of
modern times in the light of the native character and ideals, believing that
the American people will gladly do them tardy justice.
It is matter of history that the Sioux nation, to which I belong, was
originally friendly to the Caucasian peoples which it met in ession-
first, to the south the Spaniards; then the French, on the Mississippi River
and along the Great Lakes; later the English, and finally the Americans.
This powerful tribe then roamed over the whole extent of the Mississippi
valley, between that river and the Rockies. Their usages and government
united the various bands more closely than was the case with many of the
neighboring tribes.
During the early part of the eenth century, chiefs such as
Wabashaw, Redwing, and Little Six among the eastern Sioux, Conquering
Bear, Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western bands, were the
last of the old type. After these, we have a coterie of new leaders,
products of the new conditions brought about by close contact with the
conquering race.
This distinction must be borne in mind -- that while the early chiefs
were spokesmen and leaders in the simplest sense, possessing no real
authority, those who headed their tribes during the transition period were
more or less rulers and more or less politicians. It is a singular fact that
many of the "chiefs", well known as such to the American public, were not
chiefs at all according to the accepted usages of their tribesmen. Their
prom