kft
The Commoner.
14
VOLUME 5, NUMBER J.
.V
The Chief Who Killed Custer
A dispatch to tho Chicago Record
Herald under date of Pierre; S. D.,
September 18, follows:
Rain-in-the-Face, the Sioux chief
who was, reputed to have fired the
shot which killed General Custer, is
dead at the Standing Rock reservation
in Boreman county. His death oc
curred September 12, but the fact
only became known to the state autho
rities today.
The Indian, during his lifetime, gave
tho TJnitod States troops as much
trouble as any other who ever lived.
Ho always bore the reputation of be
ing a "bad" Indian, and never lost his
hatred for the white man.
Rain-in-the-Face joined Sitting Bull
in his famous Uprising, and was one
of the leaders in the battle of the
Littlo Big Horn river, June 25, 1876,
which is popularly known as the "Cus
ter massacre." He always claimed
that ho fired the shot -which ended
the life of Custer. Rain-in-the-Face
was a pure blooded Sioux and was 62
years old at the time of his death.
A hard fighter, a maker of trouble,
a horse thief, an Indian who would
kill on the slightest provocati6n, the
best general Sitting Bull evor had un
der him in his campaigns, Rain-in-the-Face
was one of the most picturesque,
dangerous and daring chiefs who ever
fought against the troops of the Uni
ted States. He belonged to the Sioux
tribe and was a full-blooded member
'of it, without a drop of any other In
dian blood in his veins a fact of
which he was excessively proud.
The Custer Massacre was largely
due to his oath of vengeance against
the entire Custer famijy an" oath re
sulting from higL.cCrVest in the early
'70s by "TVtrni"' ' Custer, a brother of
Genp)iaAOuster. Custer arrested Rain-"Tn-the-Face
for murder in western Da
kota and took him to a government
prison in Missouri. Here the Indian
chief was held captive several months,
but finally made his escape.
"I will kill you all," was the threat
he left behind him for "Tom" Custer
and the whole Custer family. The
Custers were warned by friendly
guides and Indians that Rain-in-the-Race
was the most formidable and
dangerous man in the entire Sioux
tribe, and that he would surely do all
in his power to carry out his threat
of vengeance. The Custers, however,
were inclined to scoff at the Indian's
power of fulfillment of his oath.
After his escape .Rain-in-the-Face
joined Sitting Bull and his braves.
It is a curious fact that, although as
sociated with Sitting Bull in many
desperate battles, Rain-in-the-Face
never had a high opinion of the old
chief.
It was a year and a half after the
escape of Rain-in-the-Face that Gen
eral Custer and some 300 men of the
Seventh cavalry started on the hunt
for Sitting Bull. The command fol
lowed the trail of the Yellowstone
and on Juno 25, 1876, the United
States soldiers finally found the In
dians in camp in the valley of the
Big Horn, The Custer massacre in
spired in, great measure by Rain-in-the
Face and in fulfillment of the
Indian's threat, followed.
Not knowing that they had come
upon the full body or Sitting Bull's
warriors, General Custer and his men
rode into a trap which, according to
other Indian chiefs, had been prepared
by Rain-in-the-'Face when he knew the
Americans were coming to join bat
tle. Rain-in-the-Face had thrown out
scouts who kept him thoroughly post
ed on Custer's movements for more
than a week before the opposing
forces came in sight of one another.
When the fighting actually began,
and when many men of the Seventh
had been killed by the volleys of the
Indians, it was Rain-in-the-Face who
led the final charge against the knoll
where Custer and the survivors stood,
gallantly defending themselves as best
they could. Gradually the dauntless
handful of men in blue became fewer
and fewer and gradually the shots
from the soldiers became more scat
tered, as man after man fell beneath
the bullets of the Indians.
Finally but one living form stood
erect, facing the ring of Indians. It
was General Custer, his sword shat
tered, his revolvers empty, the last
member of the Custer family at the
mercy ,of Rain-in-the-Face, the gen
eral's brothers already having been
killed. There was silence for a mo
ment and tho Indians ceased to fire
or advance. Then came a puff of
smoke, a single shot, and General Cus
ter 'fell dead beside his troopers. Rain-in-the-Face
had kept his oath.
more of their associates root at the
bottom with leaves floating on the
surface or projecting above. Innu
merable low forms, known as algae,
are at home in lakes, ponds and
streams, or on the surface of the wat
er, while other kinds thrive in salt or
brackish water. These aquatics find
protection below the surface or by ex
tending above it, not only from numer
ous animals, but they have no competi
tion with others which can grow only
on dry or moist soil." Exchange.
Your Nerves
Are tho life, the vitality, tho energy of your
body,
It is the.nerves that cause tho heart to pul
sate, the lungs to inhale the oxygen, the braiD
"to direct the motion of every organ of thebody.
the Htomnch to digest food, the liver to secrete
the bile, the Uidnevs to niter the blood, and the
bowels to carry off the waste.
"When tho norves of t.hn stnmnnii unnn
weakened or exhausted, Indigestion, Constipa
tion and Inflammation result, because the
stomaclns inactive.
Tills is true of ull the organs of the body, and
proves that to cure disease you must strength
en the nerves.
Dr. Miles' Nervine
is the great specific for the nerves, and in
bringing them back to health never falls to
euro all cases of Nervousness. Sleeplessness
Neuralgia, Headache, Spasms. Backache. Mus
cular Twltchlngs, St. Vitus' Dance, Epilepsy.
Stomach, Liver and Kidney troubles.
For 2 years physicians anu health resorts
failed to relieve me of a compl'eat'on of stom
ach, liver, kidney and heart affections. Six
bottles or ur, mhos' Nervine cured me."
SOME PLANTS THAT HIDE
C. 4 G. Pringle, for many years a
famous plant collector, especially in
Mexico and the aria regions of the
United States, speaks of a native grass
of Northern Mexico, Muhlenbergia
Texana, as such a favorite with all
grazing animals that it is usually ex
terminated, or nearly so, except when
growing under the protection of
thorny shrubs, usually mesquite bush
es. In Arizona during the winter and
spring the Indians bring it long dis
tances into the. towns to sell. He adds:
"How many times I have contended
with the horrid mesquite bushes to
gather an armful of this grass to
carry joyfully to my hungry and jaded
horses. In such cases the thorns,
spines, and perhaps bitter taste of the
bushes, not only protect the young
growth and, leaves of certain plants,
but furnish shelter for other tender
and nutritious herbage. In arid re
gions, especially, similarly instances
of protection by thorn bushes are
numerous."
Again, some plants retire beneath
the surface of the ground at the close
of the growing season, especially in
regions subject to drouths or cold, re
maining secure Deneath the surface
for months in the form of bulbs, tubers
and roots ticks. At such times they
are nearly sure to escape destruction
by animals. Examples are Solomon's
seal, Dutchmen's breeches, May apple,
goldenrod and artichoke. Other
plants are protected by water and
HOW WITTE DRIED HIS TEARS
With her band playing the Russian
national anthem, her flags fluttering
and her decks trimmed with passen
gers, the steamship Wilhelm II.
backed out of her dock yesterday and
pointed her nose oceanward. A cheer
ing, flag-waving crowd stood on the
pier as long as she was in sight.
On the hurricane deck his excel
lency, Sergius Witte, the Russian
peace plenipotentiary, stood, a com
manding figure. He was the subject
of the demonstration, and he waved
his hat in a final farewell to America.
Public service will hardly require his
presence here again, and he dreads
sea sickness more than he loves
travel.
It was a busy farewell scene at the
pier. Mr. Witte and every member of
his suite had friends there to see
them off, and they overran the ship.
A spirit of jollity dominated the
departure of the Russians. There
were a few tears, but they were emo
tional. Mr. Witte, even as he was
the biggest figure in every way, did
most of the kissing ana shed, most of
the tears.
Major Lynch, of the Irish club of
New York, was at the ship to wish
M. Witte a good voyage, and he was
presented with silk flags the size of
a pocket handkerchief of the United
States, Russia and Ireland. M. Witte
thanked the members or the club and
stuffed the flags in his pocket. Then
he went out on deck to say good-by
to those waiting on the pier.
Tears came unbidaert to M. Witte's
eyes. He reached his hand to his
pocket and pulled out the Russian
flag. After he wiped his eyes he dis
covered his mistake. He stuffed tho
flag hastily back into another pocket.
The tears came again, and this time
out came the Irish flag. The third
time it was the American flag. After
he had dried his tears on the flags
of all three countries M. Witte Anally
located his pocket handkerchief and
used that.
Baron Rosen, the Russian ambassa
dor, was the last to take leave of M.
Witte. M. Witte embraced him, kissed
him on both cheeks and shoolc hands.
Soon after he had boarded the ship
M. Witte met the newspaper report
ers in his cabin, and handed them a
piece of paper, on which was written:
"M. Witte desires to thank all of
the newspaper men present, and
through them all with whom he has
had the honor of coming in contact
while in the United States. Never
in his life before has it been so forci
bly impressed upon him as in the last
four weeks that' 'the pen. is mightier
than the sword." New York American.
wlinto9 Ayi -p.. i ..
..v,i. nuu j.iuui lowered sHn.u.j
such things naturally fol t a
love of money, the recognition ftrSe
overwhelming power, whict "? er
growth of the national conscious
have bred a certain broad toleS
of the method of acquiring it aS
this tolerance reacts and encourages
graft in private and public life. IS
oyer, to this conception of the noww
of money and its logical result m
stated, is to be added a certain' d
tortion of the Spartan admiration for
shrewdness a national characteristic
leading us in a sort of way to halt
approve successful sharp practice or
even crime. It is useless to point to
the high individual standard that ob
tains to a greater or less extent all
over the country. The widespread
graft that fills the newspapers, hut
seldom the penitentiaries, is here, and
it is a result of a cause. And some
thing more than a mere tendency to
individual dishonesty in depraved per
sons is necessary to explain its ex
tent and the success attending it.
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
WAGES PAID BY THE PUBLIC
The Grand Central station in New
York is reported as about to cut off
all wages from their red-capped port
ers, who are now said to make so
much outside of wages that there aro
many more applicants than places to
be filled. The change would mean
nothing as the porters are now al
lowed to make it clear that they ex
pect travelers to pay and that some
what liberally. The Pullman conduc
tors last year complained that they
earned less than their porters re
ceived in fees, and there aro even
conductors who are not adverse to
indicating willingness to increase
tneir earnifcrrick Te uuruy ui i
compense Standing wofs Passengers
on their lrriclL arertain ldnd
pride is de&y -rapidly from Amer
icans. Colrrer's Weekly.
ORIGIN OF THE "FRANKFURTER"
The little sausage known as "Frank
furter" and "Wiener" was offered for
sale for the first time in 1805, and
the centennial was observed in Vien
na by the Butchers' Guild. The in
ventor of the sausage was .Tohann
Lahner, who named it for his birth
place, Frankfurt. The business found
ed 100 years ago by a poor man has
yielded a fortune to its various heads.
It has always remained in the same
family, and is now conducted m
Vienna by Franz Lahner, a grand
nephew of the original Frankfurter
sausage man. Wiener Neue Fieie
Presse.
CTADK bestbyTest-80 YEARS. WonAV Mg
5vlAtc Want MORE Salesmen IT n "By
d'ffittO Stark Nursery. Louisiana. Mo.: Dansvllle.N-..
A 2o STAMP, , . hrIncJ
Sont to L. Box C92, Golden, Colorado J tw
samples of up-to-dato Society nnd troicss'
Cards,
15, 3
THE GROWTH OF GRAFT
eat aquatic plants, but most other ani
mals are unable to reach them jfa'such
places. Water plantain, wild rice.
' . ,- " . --.-. w -- w I - W
Ki. v. AuuuuuLjj.urocer, uecatur, ma. pona mies, arrownead, pickerel weed
Tho first bottle will bonoilt, If not, the drue- pondweed. lizard's toll hninioii v.'
ylst will return your money, t rorif1 nntfou flo - '. . -'.
V
lor our part, we aro innHtinrl tn
bellflvo that, irrnft wlilla n.A
t-1,r. TP Ol . riXT-l 1 . . O ., IHH.U XM.M IUUID tU"
ui. .ii iui. Bua, uy. uiuniy ute, is more general in this country
the flowers of many species of plants than ever before. The ancient record
as they project above the surface of of some cities and some officials can
the water are protected from most not be exceeded, if equaled; but what
unwelcome insects, but the whole craft is found fn.inoir i fntAnatf,r m
plants as well. Mud turtle, certain l we imagine, bo more than compensat-
..w.u, ,4 .,.,, m,0 uiMUBcuis.ea ior uy its immensity as regards
area of country and -the numbers of
those involved. In truth, who doubts
that the nation's standards have been
somewhat lowered by the new ideals
natural to our condition, the gross
worship of success we see every-
mr&Mrs&AiTS?,,v ap-Bame& titt.
80 dav crtxUt t o all Agents. Ctlog & LuonUUt
CON80UDATKDPOUTUA1ICO. 378' 7S W.SUdUO"3 J
. .J.,.. lfnblU
npiUMae
reed, cattail flag, water dock and many
Sbs,Qbes, flrimtlslngjjjl
onn ACRES MUST BE SOLD. ALL M0I
UU ern Improvements. Gar den j
Minnesota. U. H. Palmer, St. Jnrccs
WANTED TO BUY A HIGH .GLASS MATCH
w pair of carriage horses. Must be ai)soi.
sound, well bred, good actors i, flno JUU rslx
welsh not, less 'than 2t100 lbs .. and iv ot o
years old. Give complete desoripttoc i am.
iowest cash price. Address W. 0., tora
office, Lincoln, Neb. ...
ftOOD HOME; 850 ACRES OredDweUJ
Buckingham Co., Va.; X clciirc " les
ing. f enoine: outhouses out of ropnjr. .
from depot; excellent land; some mutr ond
class ne ghborhood; convenient oium
schools. Landeasy to mprovo:expent
few dollars make desirable i home. oWlirflsvIU0
great bargain. Camm Patterson, howi
P. 0 Albemarle Co.. Virginia.