Crazy Horse: Fallen Chief

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Fallen Chief Crazy Horse was perhaps one of the greatest war leaders of the Lakota people, his reputation and prestige as a courageous and fearless warrior was acknowledged by his enemies and allies alike. He is remembered for being one of the bravest of warriors always riding at the front of a charge. In his lifetime he counted more than two hundred coups which exceeding the likes of other respected warriors such as Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and Sitting Bull. If Crazy Horse had lived in an earlier time, history would only know of his deeds by “winter counts, pictographic calendars, and the stories told of him by his ancestors.” Unfortunately, Crazy Horse lived at a time when the choices for his people were limited to fighting to keep their …show more content…
Crazy Horse would fight for his people valiantly, holding out against the U.S. Cavalry and overcoming tremendous odds, but on May 6, 1877, Crazy Horse and his hostile Oglala finally surrendered at Camp Robinson. Tragically, Crazy Horse would be dead less than four months later. The story of his death has all of the elements of a classical Greek tragedy including envy, lies, deceit, jealousy, and misunderstandings. His death is also surrounded by uncertainty as conflicting eye-witness accounts give very different versions of Crazy Horse’s death. Nonetheless, when all is said and done, the murder of Crazy Horse was almost a foregone conclusion. Crazy Horse was too much of a free spirit whose natural and boundless way of life could never be contained by the reservation life.. Crazy Horse would once again epitomize his warrior spirit as he was stabbed and killed struggling to retain his freedom at Fort Robinson on …show more content…
Chief Spotted tail suggested that the feast be held in the camp of Crazy Horse. This greatly upset Red Cloud and other agency chiefs who promptly left the council in protest. That night two representatives from Red Cloud came to Agent Lee Irwin and told him that Crazy Horse had no right to hosts the feast as he was new to the agency. Also, they tried convincing Agent Irwin that Crazy horse might use the hunting trip as a cover to escape back to the North and once again go on the war path. The two representatives said that Crazy Horse was, “hostile, tricky, and unfaithful to others, and very selfish as to the personal interest of his own tribe.” Because of this developing situation, Irwin canceled the order to distribute ammunition that was supposed to be used for the buffalo hunt. Meanwhile, it seemed that Crazy Horse was becoming more and more disillusioned with his decision to surrender. He had to watch as his Cheyenne brothers who fought alongside him were marched south to Indian Territory where the government had been actively dumping other tribes from all over the Unites States. There were constant rumors that the Sioux reservation would be located on the Missouri River rather than near their homeland in the Black Hills. Finally, the issuance of ammunition for the hunt was canceled. For these reasons, it was easy for the Red Cloud

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