第15章 GALL(3)

In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the hand,nor catch around the neck,nor kick,nor pull by the hair.

One may break away and run a few yards to get a fresh start,or clinch,or catch as catch can.When a boy is thrown and held to the ground,he is counted out.If a boy has met his superior,he may drop to the ground to escape rough handling,but it is very seldom one gives up without a full trial of strength.

It seemed almost like a real battle,so great was the enthusiasm,as the shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in a mighty chorus.At last all were either conquerors or subdued except Gall and Roman Nose.The pair seemed equally matched.Both were stripped to the breech clout,now tugging like two young buffalo or elk in mating time,again writhing and twisting like serpents.At times they fought like two wild stallions,straining every muscle of arms,legs,and back in the struggle.Every now and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment,but came down planted like a tree,and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid again.

All eyes were upon the champions.Finally,either by trick or main force,Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held him fast for a minute,then released him and stood erect,panting,a master youth.Shout after shout went up on the Sioux side of the camp.The mother of Roman Nose came forward and threw a superbly worked buffalo robe over Gall,whose mother returned the compliment by covering the young Cheyenne with a handsome blanket.

Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our hero's career.It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a crisis,and in a striking and dramatic manner to take command of the situation.The best known example of this is his entrance on the scene of confusion when Reno surprised the Sioux on the Little Big Horn.Many of the excitable youths,almost unarmed,rushed madly and blindly to meet the intruder,and the scene might have unnerved even an experienced warrior.It was Gall,with not a garment upon his superb body,who on his black charger dashed ahead of the boys and faced them.He stopped them on the dry creek,while the bullets of Reno's men whistled about their ears.

"Hold hard,men!Steady,we are not ready yet!Wait for more guns,more horses,and the day is yours!"They obeyed,and in a few minutes the signal to charge was given,and Reno retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux.

Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned and directed the attack,whether against United States soldiers or the warriors of another tribe.He was a strategist,and able in a twinkling to note and seize upon an advantage.He was really the mainstay of Sitting Bull's effective last stand.He consistently upheld his people's right to their buffalo plains and believed that they should hold the government strictly to its agreements with them.When the treaty of 1868was disregarded,he agreed with Sitting Bull in defending the last of their once vast domain,and after the Custer battle entered Canada with his chief.They hoped to bring their lost cause before the English government and were much disappointed when they were asked to return to the United States.

Gall finally reported at Fort Peck,Montana,in 1881,and brought half of the Hunkpapa band with him,whereupon he was soon followed by Sitting Bull himself.Although they had been promised by the United States commission who went to Canada to treat with them that they would not be punished if they returned,no sooner had Gall come down than a part of his people were attacked,and in the spring they were all brought to Fort Randall and held as military prisoners.From this point they were returned to Standing Rock agency.

When "Buffalo Bill"successfully launched his first show,he made every effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions.The military was in complete accord with him in this,for they still had grave suspicions of these two leaders.

While Sitting Bull reluctantly agreed,Gall haughtily said:"I am not an animal to be exhibited before the crowd,"and retired to his teepee.His spirit was much worn,and he lost strength from that time on.That superb manhood dwindled,and in a few years he died.

He was a real hero of a free and natural people,a type that is never to be seen again.