placed in safety. Like other men of his age, Sitting
Bull got his family together for flight, and then joined the warriors
on the Reno side of the attack. Thus he was not in the famous charge
against Custer; nevertheless, his voice was heard exhorting the warriors
throughout that day.

During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting Bull was
hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military. The
following characteristic letter, doubtless written at his dictation by
a half-breed interpreter, was sent to Colonel Otis immediately after a
daring attack upon his wagon train.

"I want to know what you are doing, traveling on this road.
You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I
want you to turn back from here. If you don't, I will fight you
again. I want you to leave what you have got here and turn back
from here.

"I am your friend

"Sitting Bull."

"I need all the rations you have got and some powder. Wish you
would write me as soon as you can."

Otis, however, kept on and joined Colonel Miles, who followed Sitting
Bull with about four hundred soldiers. He overtook him at last on Cedar
Creek, near the Yellowstone, and the two met midway between the lines
for a parley. The army report says: "Sitting Bull wanted peace in
his own way." The truth was that he wanted nothing more than had been
guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1868--the exclusive possession of
their last hunting ground. This the government was not now prepared to
grant, as it had been decided to place all the Indians under military
control upon the various reservations.

Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting demands, the
hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for several more years,
and finally took refuge across the line in Canada, where Sitting Bull
had placed his last hope of justice and freedom for his race. Here
he was joined from time to time by parties of malcontents from the
reservation, driven largely by starvation and ill-treatment to
seek another home. Here, too, they were followed by United States
commissioners, headed by General Terry, who endeavored to persuade him
to return, promising abundance of food and fair treatment, despite the
fact that the exiles were well aware of the miserable condition of the
"good Indians" upon the reservations. He first refused to meet them at
all, and only did so when advised to that effect by Major Walsh of