Post by ephriam on Apr 14, 2014 19:16:40 GMT -5
Interview with Edmond S. Meany:
Wounded Knee
Manderson S.D. 19 July 1907
Joseph Pourier, Interpreter
Slow Bull
Nick-name "Smoke"
Ta-Tonka-Hunke-Shni
63 years old.
He has a certificate by Wm. M. Leeds Acting Com'sr dated July 28, 1878, recognizing him as Slow Bull chief of the Minneconzi band of Sioux Indians.
He was 14 years old when he first went to war. It was against the Crows. Red Cloud was the leader. He was in 55 battles principally against Crows, Shoshones, Utes, Pawnees, Blackfeet, Kootenai. He was twenty-three years on the warpath but has not been on the warpath for forty years.
He says he never fought against the white people except in the Big Horn where he stole some horses from the soldiers.
In his opinion Red Cloud was the greatest leader of the Sioux.
He always hears the name of "Long Hair" General Custer and so he thinks that Custer was the greatest leader of the whites.
His grandfather had the name of Slow Bull, then his father an then he himself.
"When I was asleep I saw a buffalo. I was on a hill sleeping, not fasting, but resting while on a war party. The buffalo showed me a pipe and told me to pain the stem red. The buffalo also told me to pain five rods red. 'If you do not paint these sticks red you will die soon. If you paint them as I told you, you will live to be an old man. If you paint these as I told you, no bullet or arrow will go through your body.'" These were the words of the buffalo, and he also said "I would be wounded if I did not do as he said." Slow Bull was 17 years old at this time.
In a bag hanging to his lodge pole were some dried elk ears which he says the buffalo gave him for medicine.
Wounded Knee, 22 July 1907
Nicholas Rouleaux, Interpreter
Slow Bull
He counted coup eight times, seven of which were first and one second coups.
1st. He took 170 head of horses from the Crows when he was 17 years old. This was the first time he stole horses and therefore is coup.
2nd. Crow Indians came to the Sioux. He killed one of them stabbing him through the heart and took his scalp. He has a doll and knife illustrating this deed.
3rd. In a big battle between Sioux and Crows one of the Crows was shot. The Crow had a bow and arrow, shot at but missed Slow Bull who struck him and passed on.
4th. The Sioux charged on two Shoshones. He counted first coup on one who pulled the trigger of his gun but it failed as Slow Bull struck him and passed on.
5th. The Sioux charged on two Pawnees. He got to them first, jumped onto one, scuffled and let him go. The other Sioux killed the Pawnee but he counted first coup upon him.
6th-7th. The Sioux charged on a Crow village and the Crows chased the Sioux. Slow Bull turned and charged on the Crows but his horse stepped in a hole and fell throwing him on the ground. A Crow jumped on him but he got loose from the Crow jumped on his horse and struck the Crow in the face with his bow. Just as he started off another Crow charged on him and struck him on the back with a hatchet cutting a big gash the scar of which plainly shows to this day. This really counts three coups but he counts it as only two.
8th. The Sioux charged on a Crow boy stealing horses. On this boy he counted second Crow [coup].
Slow Bull's Holy Tipi.
His great grandfather was a medicine man and made of buffalo hides a tipi like the present. He made a plot of smooth ground and walked over it barefooted and saw a buffalo track over he smooth plot. He told the people that they must observe this holy tipi, that they would surround the buffalo and in the midst of the buffalo they would find an enemy. The people did not believe it. Some time after this they went on a buffalo hunt, surrounded the buffalo and in the midst found an enemy whose scalp they took and brought home. His great grandfather then made a pipe like "this" pointing to his own. This pipe was to be smoked by a just man. His great grandfather was then named Smoke. That original tipi was ornamented by buffalo tails as is represented by this one and the banner was the scalp of the enemy killed on the buffalo hunt. When his great grandfather became old he gave the tipi and the pipe to his son whom he named Slow Bull, and he told his son that when he went on a buffalo [hunt] they would kill an enemy among the buffalo again. This forecast came true. The grandfather turned the tipi over to his son and again an enemy was killed among the buffalo. Then his father in turn gave the tipi and pipe to him. Then he called the chiefs into the tipi and asked them to go on a buffalo hunt hoping to repeat the former experiences. They found many buffaloes and a Crow came into the Sioux village and was killed there which was nearly the same thing as had happened to the other three generations.
"Smoke" has remained a "second" name for the last three generations.
Slow Bull's Pipe Bag sold to Mr. Curtis
The red paint on the pouch represents the pipe. The pouch is representative of the enemy killed in the midst of the buffalo and the hair, the scalps taken. The four pipes represents the four generations since the tipi and pip originated. The circle of bead work represents the womb of a woman that is pregnant. If a woman cannot deliver the child she is brought into this holy tipi and then delivers the child with trouble. The hands represent the enemy killed in the midst of the buffalo by each generation. His father told him to put in the pouch a beaded hoof for every horse stolen but when 17 years old they stole 170 horses at one time so he simply put as many hoof prints as he could on the pouch. The red stripes represent the "four points" but the stripes between each pair of bands are missing because they ran out of red beads. The margin on top is only for pretty and has not meaning. The bundle of sweet grass is to light the holy pipe for special occasions.
Wounded Knee
Manderson S.D. 19 July 1907
Joseph Pourier, Interpreter
Slow Bull
Nick-name "Smoke"
Ta-Tonka-Hunke-Shni
63 years old.
He has a certificate by Wm. M. Leeds Acting Com'sr dated July 28, 1878, recognizing him as Slow Bull chief of the Minneconzi band of Sioux Indians.
He was 14 years old when he first went to war. It was against the Crows. Red Cloud was the leader. He was in 55 battles principally against Crows, Shoshones, Utes, Pawnees, Blackfeet, Kootenai. He was twenty-three years on the warpath but has not been on the warpath for forty years.
He says he never fought against the white people except in the Big Horn where he stole some horses from the soldiers.
In his opinion Red Cloud was the greatest leader of the Sioux.
He always hears the name of "Long Hair" General Custer and so he thinks that Custer was the greatest leader of the whites.
His grandfather had the name of Slow Bull, then his father an then he himself.
"When I was asleep I saw a buffalo. I was on a hill sleeping, not fasting, but resting while on a war party. The buffalo showed me a pipe and told me to pain the stem red. The buffalo also told me to pain five rods red. 'If you do not paint these sticks red you will die soon. If you paint them as I told you, you will live to be an old man. If you paint these as I told you, no bullet or arrow will go through your body.'" These were the words of the buffalo, and he also said "I would be wounded if I did not do as he said." Slow Bull was 17 years old at this time.
In a bag hanging to his lodge pole were some dried elk ears which he says the buffalo gave him for medicine.
Wounded Knee, 22 July 1907
Nicholas Rouleaux, Interpreter
Slow Bull
He counted coup eight times, seven of which were first and one second coups.
1st. He took 170 head of horses from the Crows when he was 17 years old. This was the first time he stole horses and therefore is coup.
2nd. Crow Indians came to the Sioux. He killed one of them stabbing him through the heart and took his scalp. He has a doll and knife illustrating this deed.
3rd. In a big battle between Sioux and Crows one of the Crows was shot. The Crow had a bow and arrow, shot at but missed Slow Bull who struck him and passed on.
4th. The Sioux charged on two Shoshones. He counted first coup on one who pulled the trigger of his gun but it failed as Slow Bull struck him and passed on.
5th. The Sioux charged on two Pawnees. He got to them first, jumped onto one, scuffled and let him go. The other Sioux killed the Pawnee but he counted first coup upon him.
6th-7th. The Sioux charged on a Crow village and the Crows chased the Sioux. Slow Bull turned and charged on the Crows but his horse stepped in a hole and fell throwing him on the ground. A Crow jumped on him but he got loose from the Crow jumped on his horse and struck the Crow in the face with his bow. Just as he started off another Crow charged on him and struck him on the back with a hatchet cutting a big gash the scar of which plainly shows to this day. This really counts three coups but he counts it as only two.
8th. The Sioux charged on a Crow boy stealing horses. On this boy he counted second Crow [coup].
Slow Bull's Holy Tipi.
His great grandfather was a medicine man and made of buffalo hides a tipi like the present. He made a plot of smooth ground and walked over it barefooted and saw a buffalo track over he smooth plot. He told the people that they must observe this holy tipi, that they would surround the buffalo and in the midst of the buffalo they would find an enemy. The people did not believe it. Some time after this they went on a buffalo hunt, surrounded the buffalo and in the midst found an enemy whose scalp they took and brought home. His great grandfather then made a pipe like "this" pointing to his own. This pipe was to be smoked by a just man. His great grandfather was then named Smoke. That original tipi was ornamented by buffalo tails as is represented by this one and the banner was the scalp of the enemy killed on the buffalo hunt. When his great grandfather became old he gave the tipi and the pipe to his son whom he named Slow Bull, and he told his son that when he went on a buffalo [hunt] they would kill an enemy among the buffalo again. This forecast came true. The grandfather turned the tipi over to his son and again an enemy was killed among the buffalo. Then his father in turn gave the tipi and pipe to him. Then he called the chiefs into the tipi and asked them to go on a buffalo hunt hoping to repeat the former experiences. They found many buffaloes and a Crow came into the Sioux village and was killed there which was nearly the same thing as had happened to the other three generations.
"Smoke" has remained a "second" name for the last three generations.
Slow Bull's Pipe Bag sold to Mr. Curtis
The red paint on the pouch represents the pipe. The pouch is representative of the enemy killed in the midst of the buffalo and the hair, the scalps taken. The four pipes represents the four generations since the tipi and pip originated. The circle of bead work represents the womb of a woman that is pregnant. If a woman cannot deliver the child she is brought into this holy tipi and then delivers the child with trouble. The hands represent the enemy killed in the midst of the buffalo by each generation. His father told him to put in the pouch a beaded hoof for every horse stolen but when 17 years old they stole 170 horses at one time so he simply put as many hoof prints as he could on the pouch. The red stripes represent the "four points" but the stripes between each pair of bands are missing because they ran out of red beads. The margin on top is only for pretty and has not meaning. The bundle of sweet grass is to light the holy pipe for special occasions.
, I think that the Oyuhpe band was formed out of intermarriage btw ancestral Oglalas and Broken Arrow (ancestral Two Kettle) people early in the 18th c. Later the Broken Arrow formed a tribal organization with the Miniconjou proper. I suspect that many perhaps most of the Oyuhpe band, after some disagreement, left the Oglala and aligned with the Miniconjou across the rough period 1770-1830: hence the Miniconjou band called Tacoropa/Tacohiropapais/Tacoehparh in the 1790s and 1800s - some variant of Oyuhpe embedded in there methinks. In the 1830s a lot of Miniconjou-Saone people went (back?) to the Oglalas and recreated the powerful Oyuhpe band. But in the Warren journal table of divisions we see evidence that in the mid-1850s the Oyuhpe may have been running with the Eat No Dogs band of Miniconjou again (nb the END are another sub-band or split-off of the original Broken Arrow group). 
