," as known to the whites, Si Tanka, as known to the Indian
Bureau, and "Spotted Elk," so said Iron Shield, the scout, as known to
the Sioux themselves.

A famous character was Si Tanka. Next to Sitting Bull, now that Gall
was out of the way, dying of illness and old age, Si Tanka had more
influence than any chief afield, and he longed to be acknowledged head
of the allied Sioux. He had been to Washington, had been photographed
side by side with Mr. Blaine on the steps of the Capitol; had sold to
the whites the right of way for a railway through his Cheyenne River
lands. He belonged to the Cheyenne River Agency far to the east, and
declined to live there. He had his own village up in the Cherry Creek
country, midway between the troops at Fort Meade in the Black Hills and
Fort Bennett on the Missouri. He had white man's log-cabins, wagons,
furniture, horses, hens, and chickens. He had, moreover, hundreds of
cartridges, and the means and appliances wherewith to reload his
shells, and he had, what was worse, a lively son, Black Fox, who had
more Winchesters than he knew what to do with, and an insatiable
longing to use them against the whites.

Ever since the ghost-dancing had begun, Si Tanka stayed in the open.
Agents went forth and begged him to come in where he belonged--to the
Cheyenne Agency at the east, or to the Pine Ridge to the southwest, or
the Rosebud to the southeast, or, if his lordship preferred, he might
even go camp near Fort Meade, or surrender at Standing Rock Agency to
the northeast, but to be out in the wilds and barely one hundred miles
from Sitting Bull, also posing as a private and sovereign citizen,
accepting government support but declining government supervision--that
was something the Indian Bureau viewed with alarm, and well it might,
for if Tatanka Iyotanka (Bull Sitting Big) and Siha Tanka, Si for short
(Foot Big), should take it into their dusky heads to be allies and not
rivals, if the great Uncapapa and the big Minniconjou were to join
forces, there would be the mischief to pay all over the West. So the
Bureau sent and civilly requested. Si Tanka most uncivilly replied,
and Tatanka Iyotanka scorned to reply at all.

What made matters bad was this, that young braves were eternally
getting crazy over the ghost-dancing and going off to join these big
chiefs. "_Akichita hemacha_" ("I am a warrior"), being all they had to
say to friends and teachers who sought to dissuade them.

Away up at F