Post by carlo on Dec 6, 2011 5:26:41 GMT -5
It was the spring of 1836 and with the coming of pleasant weather a band of River Crows made their way to Fort Van Buren, the new post on Yellowstone River at the mouth of Rosebud Creek, to trade. After more than a week of successful trading the Crows were ready to depart for home, when on the last night Lakota horse thieves were discovered among their horses. After alarm was given, a party immediately went in pursuit of the raiders. As they spurred on their ponies, the Crow warriors may have had fleeting thoughts about the similarity of the situation with the disaster from five years ago. (In 1831, twenty-three Crows were slain trying to recapture their horses from Lakota raiders.) But this time they soon caught up with the Lakota and killed six of them in the fight that followed. Although two Crows were wounded and the remainder of the Lakota thieves succeeded to get away with sixteen horses, the six scalps more than made up for it, instigating a four-day long celebration at the fort.
Over time, the names of those involved have been lost, and the encounter itself was insignificant in the Crow-Lakota wars, but it serves as a reminder of how volatile life was on the plains.
Carlo
Over time, the names of those involved have been lost, and the encounter itself was insignificant in the Crow-Lakota wars, but it serves as a reminder of how volatile life was on the plains.
Carlo