Massacre of Lt. Grattan's Command 1854
Warfare Ignites Between Brule Sioux and the Laramie Soldier Fort
A precarious peace hovered between the Laramie soldier fort and the surrounding Sioux tribes (neither completely trusted the other). The shooting of an emigrant cow basically began the U.S. war with the American Plains Indians.
Stampeding Cow
It so happened that a Mormon's cow ran off from the nearby Oregon Trail stampeding through one of the Sioux encampments. Straight Foretop, a visiting Minneconjou Sioux, grabbed and held the animal by its horns. He waved to the Mormon, but the Mormon fled, abandoning the animal.
Rations had not been delivered as promised to the Sioux encampments--one of the U.S. government's promises in return for peace. This Brule Sioux village was on the brink of starvation. All Straight Foretop knew, was, he held a meal, and the Mormon had not claimed the animal. He shot the cow before anyone could stop him. Some of the people ate of it.
Grattan Demands the Cow's Killer Surrender
The Mormon reported to Lt. Grattan, a recent military graduate with no Indian experience--that the cow was stolen. Grattan promised to bring the culprit into custody. Conquering Bear, the elected tribal respresentative at the time agreed to meet with the lieutenant:
Conquering Bear and Man Afraid... thought there might be a little trouble..., "Let us go to the fort and talk with the Soldier Chief in the morning." ...before they could leave a Little Soldier Chief, called Grattan, came with twenty-seven soldiers and two wagon-guns.
Also,Grattan brought to this meeting a known, double-dealing interpreter (Wyuse) who not only played the middle from both ends, but his command of Sioux language was severely lacking. Conquering Bear tried to negotiate with the lieutenant. First, he offered to pay for the cow with his own mule. Grattan refused. Next, five warriors offered up a good pony, each. Grattan refused all of Conquering Bear's compensations. With each offering Lt. Grattan became more obsessed with his determination to capture Straight Foretop.
Because Straight Foretop was visiting this encampment as a guest, Sioux etiquette ruled that he could not be turned over to Grattan. For the sake of the camp, Conquering Bear and Man Afraid decided to convince Straight Foretop to give himself up. Despite several attempts to persuade Straight Foretop to surrender, he didn't agree that his surrender equaled the distressed state of the cow (...old, dry, with bleeding feet.).
During the course of negotiating most of the women, children and old ones silently slipped away, fearing trouble.
Conquering Bear is Shot
Though accounts vary, the known fact is, Grattan's command made the first aggressive move, either himself or a soldier of his command. Some accounts say that Grattan ordered the wagon-guns to fire upon the encampment. Other accounts say that a soldier shot Conquering Bear in the back and gunfire was exchanged on both sides until there were no more soldiers.
This set the stage for a soldier retaliation known as the Battle of Blue Water Creek or the Harney Massacre, 1855. Upon this stage enters Curly, roughly 11-14 years old, better known during his warrior days as, Crazy Horse.
Source
Mari Sandoz, Crazy Horse Strange Man of the Oglalas, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 1992, pgs. 22-44.
