Crow Historian Tells of 1863-64 Battle

[Diane Merkel]

The manuscript about this battle is not readily available yet. See the source for more information about it.

All through his life, [Elias] Goes Ahead heard stories of a decisive battle near the present-day town of Pryor between the Crows and a combined army of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe.

The stories were specific. The battle was in 1863 or 1864 along Arrow Creek about 10 miles north of Pryor. The attacking force was there to push the Crows further westward, off the tribe’s rich ancestral homeland. The Crow families and fighters set their teepees tightly together in a defensive line, and dug trenches underneath the lodges. Old buffalo hides were used to fortify the bulwarks. Sometimes, Goes Ahead’s father or uncles would show him specific spots where Crow warriors fell or were rescued or where supernatural forces had intervened, such as where a herd of elk had stampeded, raising dust and distracting the attacking fighters, who feared that Crow reinforcements raced toward the fight.

Source: www.newwest.net/topic/article/amateur_historian_produces_history_of_old_west_all_indian_battle/C559/L559/