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Home , 7th Cavalry Regiment, Bloody Knife, Crow scouts, Little Bighorn River

Chapter 13.1 Cultures Clash on the Prairie • Buffalo population dropped from 30-65 million to less than 1,000 in 90 years • Single wild herd remained in Yellowstone • Treaty of Fort Laramie only temporary; settlers continued west • 1868, Kiowa and begin 6 years of raids on settlers • 1874, Red River War begins • US Army herded friendly tribes onto reservations and opened fire on all else • George Custer reported gold in the Black Hills; began into the area • Black Hills were off-limits according to Ft. Laramie • , protested; U.S. ignored

Battle of the Little Bighorn

• Why: Part of the Great Sioux War; Native refusal to give up ownership of the Black Hills to the U.S. • When: 1876 • Where: Little (, , U.S.) • Forces: • Native: Lakota, Cheyenne, tribes (~2,500) • U.S.: 7th of the U.S. Army and Crow scouts (~700) • Who: • , , Two Moon, Gall • Col. George Custer, • Outcome: Major victory for Natives, Custer killed Battle of Wounded Knee

• Sioux faced poverty, disease • Began performing ghost dance to restore Native lands and way of life Battle of Wounded Knee

• Sioux faced poverty, disease • Began performing ghost dance to restore Native lands and way of life • Ghost dance movement spread rapidly among Sioux on Dakota reservation • U.S. feared ghost dance was the beginning of a new war • 1890, Sitting Bull lived on Dakota reservation; put under arrest for fear of incitement • Killed in struggle • 7th Cavalary rounded up ~350 Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek (S. Dakota) • Ordered Sioux to give up all weapons; a shot of unknown origin was fired • 7th Cav. opened fire, killing ~300 Sioux • End of the “Indian wars”

Cowboys and Cattle

• With Natives no longer a threat, and no more buffalo, cattle and horses roamed the plains • American cowboys learned to herd large groups of livestock across vast distances • Learned how from Mexican vaqueros • Vaqueros ate charqui, wore chaparreras and spurs, and tamed bronco caballo; horses that escaped the ranchos were called mesteños • Cowboys not in demand until railroads reached • from to Abilene, most popular; ushered in the cowboy heyday • Other major trail went to Kansas City, Missouri

Cowboy Life

• 25% black American, 12% Mexican • Non-stop, hard work • 10-14 hours each day on the ranch • 14 on the trail • Watching for diseased animals that might attack; rarely outlaws • Many started out at 15 years old and most forced to retire by 40 • Owned their own saddles, but not their horse • Cattle were herded in Spring and starved for a week • Then branded to be driven for 3 months along one of the trails • 1 cowboy per 300 cattle • Cowboy era ended within 30 years due to: • Overgrazing of lands • Changing weather patterns •