during the rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved
distinction by his bravery and sagacity; but he copied the white
politician too closely after he entered the reservation. He became
a good manipulator, and was made conceited and overbearing by the
attentions of the military and of the general public. Furthermore,
there was an old feud in his immediate band which affected him
closely. Against him for many years were the followers of Big
Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party led by a son
and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom Spotted Tail
had succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that one or
the other of them might obtain the succession.

Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once
taunted Spotted Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the
will of the tribe, but by the help of the white soldiers, and told
him that he would "keep a bullet for him" in case he ever disgraced
his high position. Thus retribution lay in wait for him while at
the height of his fame. Several high-handed actions of his at this
time, including his elopement with another man's wife, increased
his unpopularity with a large element of his own tribe. On the eve
of the chief's departure for Washington, to negotiate (or so they
suspected) for the sale of more of their land, Crow Dog took up his
gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding himself, and regarded by
his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an executioner.

Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the
Pontiac of the west. He possessed a remarkable mind and
extraordinary foresight for an untutored savage; and yet he is the
only one of our great men to be remembered with more honor by the
white man, perhaps, than by his own people.