Blood Brothers by Deanne Stillman

Author:Deanne Stillman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2017-10-30T04:00:00+00:00

On the day of his arrival, the Buffalo Courier reported that Sitting Bull waited in his carriage in the afternoon sun “with characteristic Indian patience,” watching the day’s acts. He may have been heartened to see Annie Oakley displaying her shooting skills, to the thunderous applause of twelve thousand spectators. Finally, word came that Buffalo Bill was ready to meet him. He indicated assent and the carriage moved along the track toward the grandstand. People spotted Sitting Bull and began cheering loudly. Suddenly the carriage was stopped. Up the track, standing motionless, was Cody. Major Burke stepped down from the carriage, followed by Sitting Bull, his interpreter, and a reporter. Major Burke approached Bill, and heartily shook his hand. “I am here, governor,” he said. “I’ve got him. Come and shake hands. He’s a fine fellow. See, he is coming.” Cody hesitated and step forward briefly. So did Tatanka Iyotake. There was a strange pause, according to the Courier, and then “the famous redskin and the equally noted white hunter, pressed by the interpreter and Major Burke, advanced, and Buffalo Bill, drawing himself up and assuming a very striking and really handsome pose, held out his hand.” They grasped hands and eyed each other for several seconds, with the Indians, cowboys, and Mexicans of the Wild West lined up along a fence and looking on. So too were spectators watching from carriages and the grandstand, “with breathless interest,” as “the novel interview” unfolded.

Their grasp continued and became more forthright, “and both seemed to say to the other, ‘I can trust you.’ ” Major Burke then pointed to Cody and said, in Lakota, “Ea ton she Weechaka To kia,” which meant, “This is the white chief.” Then, gesturing to Sitting Bull, he said, “Dakota Weechiata ta-tape,” which meant, “The Great Dakota Sioux King.” Sitting Bull tried to smile and he looked at the throngs around him. Buffalo Bill was momentarily disconcerted, but with “vigorous effort, he straightened himself up to his full height.” Then he turned toward the concourse in the grandstand and addressed the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen of Buffalo. To me this hour is a most peculiar one, as on your beautiful fairgrounds, I meet a warrior whom I [once] attacked [along with] the active army forces of the government, fought a personal conflict with in the campaign of 1876, but he evaded us most successfully. Without egotism I can point with pride to my own record, if you will excuse the use of the only phrase I know to explain it as an Indian fighter; but though I have never been insensitive to the abstract [notion of] civilization, as our progress is called . . . [I think of myself as] the red man’s friend. . . . The man who stands before you today is a great warrior; his deeds, divested of our personal feelings to the victims of his success, occupy the blood-red pages of the nation’s history. He, from his standpoint, fought for what he believed was right, and made a name for himself to be known forever.

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