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Swimmer
Nov 12, 2016 15:10:54 GMT -5
Post by carlo on Nov 12, 2016 15:10:54 GMT -5
Looking for information on a man named Swimmer, born between 1845-1850, a Miniconjou who eventually settled on the Rosebud Reservation. His adolescent name was Hundred Scars, or a variation thereof. In the 1890s he worked as a clerk in Charles Percival Jordan's general store. Any additional details would be most helpful!
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Swimmer
Nov 13, 2016 8:58:38 GMT -5
Post by carlo on Nov 13, 2016 8:58:38 GMT -5
Managed to find some more details about this individual today. Here is the story I am working on, Swimmer's significant warrior exploit in the early 1860s:
In the 1890s a Miniconjou man named Swimmer worked as a clerk in the agency store on the Rosebud Reservation. A middle aged man, he had two pronounced scars on his face, missed two fingers on one hand and a thumb on the other. Many other scars were hidden under his clothes. When prompted by a traveler passing through the reservation from the east, Swimmer shared how he received his wounds. It was sometime in the early 1860s, he was a boy of fifteen years old and still known by his childhood name Looking At The Moon. The warriors from his Miniconjou camp were out raiding the Crows and, following a buffalo herd south, the remainder of the small band ventured across the North Platte River. They hadn’t traveled far from the river when a party of Crow warriors was spotted on the horizon. The Miniconjous immediately turned and fled back to the river, knowing their group of mostly old men, women and children was no match for the Crows. They managed to reach the ford a little in advance of their pursuers. The North Platte was wide and, although relatively shallow, the ford was surrounded by quicksand and deep holes, allowing them to only cross single file. Halfway across the river Looking At The Moon shouted for the others to keep going and find help, while he would hold off the Crows for as long as possible. Bare bodied and knee-deep in the water, the boy faced the onrushing enemy while the others pushed their way across the river and onto the north bank to safety. Looking At The Moon was fortunate to have two revolvers, and he squeezed them tightly as the Crows plunged into the water. At first the Crows greeted their young foe with derisive yells but when the boy showed no intention to flee they moved forward, forced into a single column by the narrow ford. Suddenly a shot rang out and the lead Crow warrior toppled from his horse. Smoke billowed from the boy’s revolver. The Crow was dead before he hit the water, with a bullet straight through his heart, and his frightened pony followed him into the current. After a tense few seconds the startled Crows regained their composure and almost simultaneously started shooting at Looking At The Moon. Volley after volley was unleashed at the teenager, from over each other’s shoulders and from under their horses necks, hitting their mark several times. The water colored red with his blood, yet the boy stoically kept firing his revolvers at the Crows until his bullets were spent. He saw several of the enemy fall down and thought to have hit a few more. Looking At The Moon then tossed his guns aside, grabbed his knife and began to chant his death song—certain that he would not get out alive. On they came, one by one, and he matched them blow for blow. Wounds covered the boy from head to waist; at one point, his left arm was pinned to his body by an arrow, but he tore it loose and still fought on. Finally he was knocked down by a fierce blow to the head from a Crow war club, laying open his forehead. Just at that moment a concerted war cry was heard from the north bank, and a mass of Miniconjou warriors charged into the river. The Crows were driven back to the south bank and the exhausted boy, barely alive, was taken to safety. It took three months for Looking At The Moon to recover from his many wounds, and when he did, a new name was bestowed upon him in honor of his heroics. He would be known as Hundred Scars, until he changed his name to Swimmer in adult life.
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