Crazy Horse
Created | Updated Sep 22, 2011
Crazy Horse, the great warrior who kept his people on the Black Hills for the longest period known to Indians was believed to be born in 1840 near Rapid Creek in South Dakota. He was a great Lakhota peaceful warrior. He had a childhood that any typical Lakhota had. His land as you can see had natural barriers all around. He also learned to fight with their enemies like the Crow and others.
He had a pretty normal childhood. There wasn’t any contact with the white for many years. Then suddenly a flood of immigrants started coming in. The Indians angered at the settlers would snatch a horse their and a cow their. But that would not effect the immigrants.
The first massacre that happened was in 1854. Crazy Horse was only fourteen. A lame cow wandered into an Indian camp sight. The Indians slaughtered the cow and had it for lunch. The owner came in and demanded the cow. Conquering Bear the chief at that time offered the owner several horses, which anyone could be, better then the cow. But the owner insisted his cow back. The chief told him the truth. The owner angered went and complained the matter to Gen. Grettin. The General grabbed 30 men and charged in the Indian campsite where he demanded the warrior who killed the cow. The General and the many generals that followed him did not have brainpower but had gun power. The general lost his men’s and his life in the fight. This had a great impression of the white men on Crazy Horse.
Report of the Grettin Massacre reached the White House. The Attorney General without really looking at the facts declared a war against the Lakhota Tribe. In August 1855, William S Harny, a white bearded general told himself that he would catch the Indians and give them a lesson. His famous line was
“By God I’m for battle, no peace.”
He did find the Indians. The men were out hunting. The soldiers burnt more then a 100 women and kids. They also bat most of the women. Took some of the children for salves. When Crazy Horse returned he and his fellow men saw many mutilated bodies, which added up on Crazy Horse’s amounting grudges against the white. These incidents were the base for his attitude against white people. He never really liked them. It didn’t matter what the attitude of the other person maybe. Even a kind white men would be his enemy. He brought equality in the whites in his eyes. It had created a kind of Racism in him.
From 1861-1865 the civil war began. The whites were fighting amongst themselves. This was a great time for Crazy Horse to practice his warriorship. He meditated and practiced all the Indian rituals. Around this time he had his first vision quest. He went to an isolated region and did not eat food and water for 4 days and 4 nights. Then he had a dream. In his dream he was asked to lead his people in war, also to seek simplicity and never to take anything from the people. Then all his people engulfed him with their arms and carried him on themselves. He was also told that the flying bullets and arrow would never hit him and they never did. So he started to follow his god given prescription of spiritual teaching through dreams.
Then after the Civil war people began flooding towards west to settle on the Western limits of U.S.A. The immigrants traveled on the Bozeman trail. The Bozeman trail ran through the Lakhota Region. The Indians did not like that and would attack people going through the Bozeman Trail. Ulysses S. Grant passed an act, which protected immigrants passing through the Lakhota. To enforce this law President Grant decided to built Fort’s along the Bozeman Trail. The Indians led by Crazy Horse attacked the lumbers bringing wood for the fort. A young civil war veteran, Gen. Fetterman decided to take care of the lumber people. He was warned by his colleagues to not go out of sight. Fetterman ignoring the advice went out of sight. Crazy Horse, who was a master of making decoys, did a decoy leading Fetterman into his trap. The map of Fetterman’s advance is given below. All of Fetterman’s soldiers and himself died. The jaws you can see below
Described around the place
Where Fetterman was leaded had
About 15,000 to 16,000 Indians
Ready for the moment when a
General would enter the Area.
The US Government
Then sent Gen. Crook to get rid
Of the Indians, but he too got
Fooled by Crazy Horse’s
Cleverness.
Crazy Horse was
Admired by his people because
Of his courage and leadership he
Showed and also because of his
Excellent decoys.
His famous slogan for
Battle is most remembered by his followers:
“Oh Hanukkah,
It is a good day to fight, a good day to die,
Strong hearts in front weak hearts in rear”
Crazy Horse was then honored as the shirt wearer in his tribe. A shirt wearer was a person that wears this special shirt and makes everybody happy. He should sacrifice his bread to feed others. This made Crazy Horse more happy. There was only one thing missing in his life and that was a women. Crazy Horse was in love with an Indian named by Black Buffalo. But he never offered his hand to her. But when he tried it was too late, she got married to a man named No Water. But after sometime she ran away from No Water and joined Crazy Horse. No Water did not accept his wife acting like this, so he went to Crazy Horse’s teepee and shot him with an arrow in the Jaw. Crazy Horse survived with a scar on his face. Though since he did not keep a member of his tribe happy, his shirt was taken away. But later on because of his so many good deeds, the shirt was returned to the owner.
Gen. Custer was chosen to join Gen. Terry in trying to defeat the Indians. Custer thought that if he defeated the Indians alone, he would become pretty popular. So he set out alone with about 800 men and to majors, Reno and Mclean respectively. When he reached the Indian Territory near Crazy Horse’s people’s camp, he divided up the army into three units. One under Reno and the second under Mclean and the third was lead himself the battleplan is given in the maps. The first map shows where Reno and the Indians had a fight and the Second the place where the Custer’s advance was finished with death.
He was ordered to leave the Black Hills but Crazy Horse did not agree. Most of the Indian tribes by 1960 were on Reservation but the Lakhota tribe under Crazy Horse stayed at the Black Hills. But soon they had to turn themselves in. Crazy Horse was imprisoned. Two of his kind saw Crazy Horse take the poison and then his followers carried him to his grave, just like his dream he would be carried by his people in an honorable way.
He had a pretty normal childhood. There wasn’t any contact with the white for many years. Then suddenly a flood of immigrants started coming in. The Indians angered at the settlers would snatch a horse their and a cow their. But that would not effect the immigrants.
The first massacre that happened was in 1854. Crazy Horse was only fourteen. A lame cow wandered into an Indian camp sight. The Indians slaughtered the cow and had it for lunch. The owner came in and demanded the cow. Conquering Bear the chief at that time offered the owner several horses, which anyone could be, better then the cow. But the owner insisted his cow back. The chief told him the truth. The owner angered went and complained the matter to Gen. Grettin. The General grabbed 30 men and charged in the Indian campsite where he demanded the warrior who killed the cow. The General and the many generals that followed him did not have brainpower but had gun power. The general lost his men’s and his life in the fight. This had a great impression of the white men on Crazy Horse.
Report of the Grettin Massacre reached the White House. The Attorney General without really looking at the facts declared a war against the Lakhota Tribe. In August 1855, William S Harny, a white bearded general told himself that he would catch the Indians and give them a lesson. His famous line was
“By God I’m for battle, no peace.”
He did find the Indians. The men were out hunting. The soldiers burnt more then a 100 women and kids. They also bat most of the women. Took some of the children for salves. When Crazy Horse returned he and his fellow men saw many mutilated bodies, which added up on Crazy Horse’s amounting grudges against the white. These incidents were the base for his attitude against white people. He never really liked them. It didn’t matter what the attitude of the other person maybe. Even a kind white men would be his enemy. He brought equality in the whites in his eyes. It had created a kind of Racism in him.
From 1861-1865 the civil war began. The whites were fighting amongst themselves. This was a great time for Crazy Horse to practice his warriorship. He meditated and practiced all the Indian rituals. Around this time he had his first vision quest. He went to an isolated region and did not eat food and water for 4 days and 4 nights. Then he had a dream. In his dream he was asked to lead his people in war, also to seek simplicity and never to take anything from the people. Then all his people engulfed him with their arms and carried him on themselves. He was also told that the flying bullets and arrow would never hit him and they never did. So he started to follow his god given prescription of spiritual teaching through dreams.
Then after the Civil war people began flooding towards west to settle on the Western limits of U.S.A. The immigrants traveled on the Bozeman trail. The Bozeman trail ran through the Lakhota Region. The Indians did not like that and would attack people going through the Bozeman Trail. Ulysses S. Grant passed an act, which protected immigrants passing through the Lakhota. To enforce this law President Grant decided to built Fort’s along the Bozeman Trail. The Indians led by Crazy Horse attacked the lumbers bringing wood for the fort. A young civil war veteran, Gen. Fetterman decided to take care of the lumber people. He was warned by his colleagues to not go out of sight. Fetterman ignoring the advice went out of sight. Crazy Horse, who was a master of making decoys, did a decoy leading Fetterman into his trap. The map of Fetterman’s advance is given below. All of Fetterman’s soldiers and himself died. The jaws you can see below
Described around the place
Where Fetterman was leaded had
About 15,000 to 16,000 Indians
Ready for the moment when a
General would enter the Area.
The US Government
Then sent Gen. Crook to get rid
Of the Indians, but he too got
Fooled by Crazy Horse’s
Cleverness.
Crazy Horse was
Admired by his people because
Of his courage and leadership he
Showed and also because of his
Excellent decoys.
His famous slogan for
Battle is most remembered by his followers:
“Oh Hanukkah,
It is a good day to fight, a good day to die,
Strong hearts in front weak hearts in rear”
Crazy Horse was then honored as the shirt wearer in his tribe. A shirt wearer was a person that wears this special shirt and makes everybody happy. He should sacrifice his bread to feed others. This made Crazy Horse more happy. There was only one thing missing in his life and that was a women. Crazy Horse was in love with an Indian named by Black Buffalo. But he never offered his hand to her. But when he tried it was too late, she got married to a man named No Water. But after sometime she ran away from No Water and joined Crazy Horse. No Water did not accept his wife acting like this, so he went to Crazy Horse’s teepee and shot him with an arrow in the Jaw. Crazy Horse survived with a scar on his face. Though since he did not keep a member of his tribe happy, his shirt was taken away. But later on because of his so many good deeds, the shirt was returned to the owner.
Gen. Custer was chosen to join Gen. Terry in trying to defeat the Indians. Custer thought that if he defeated the Indians alone, he would become pretty popular. So he set out alone with about 800 men and to majors, Reno and Mclean respectively. When he reached the Indian Territory near Crazy Horse’s people’s camp, he divided up the army into three units. One under Reno and the second under Mclean and the third was lead himself the battleplan is given in the maps. The first map shows where Reno and the Indians had a fight and the Second the place where the Custer’s advance was finished with death.
He was ordered to leave the Black Hills but Crazy Horse did not agree. Most of the Indian tribes by 1960 were on Reservation but the Lakhota tribe under Crazy Horse stayed at the Black Hills. But soon they had to turn themselves in. Crazy Horse was imprisoned. Two of his kind saw Crazy Horse take the poison and then his followers carried him to his grave, just like his dream he would be carried by his people in an honorable way.
