AMERICAN HORSE


One of the wittiest and shrewdest of the Sioux chiefs was American
Horse, who succeeded to the name and position of an uncle, killed
in the battle of Slim Buttes in 1876. The younger American Horse
was born a little before the encroachments of the whites upon the
Sioux country became serious and their methods aggressive, and his
early manhood brought him into that most trying and critical period
of our history. He had been tutored by his uncle, since his own
father was killed in battle while he was still very young. The
American Horse band was closely attached to a trading post, and its
members in consequence were inclined to be friendly with the
whites, a policy closely adhered to by their leader.

When he was born, his old grandfather said: "Put him out in
the sun! Let him ask his great-grandfather, the Sun, for the warm
blood of a warrior!" And he had warm blood. He was a genial man,
liking notoriety and excitement. He always seized an opportunity
to leap into the center of the arena.

In early life he was a clownish sort of boy among the boys --
an expert mimic and impersonator. This talent made him popular and
in his way a leader. He was a natural actor, and early showed
marked ability as a speaker.

American Horse was about ten years old when he was attacked by