Savage Conquest (34 page)

Determined to carry out his own investigation,
Lucas insisted they visit the agency to see what they
could learn. He assured Randy he felt fine as they left
the steamer for a few hours on land. But they
observed and discovered things that shocked them.
Life on the reservation was not what it was reported
or promised to be. . .

The once proud and energetic Indians appeared
spiritless, weary, and poor. Many were in rags, small
children naked. Most looked hungry and unhealthy.
It was a pathetic and depressing sight.

Wagons of supplies from the steamer were being
unloaded at the wooden structure which housed the
agency. Indians in tattered clothing dejectedly
waited for their meager portions to be doled out. She
could hear complaints about the moldy flour, the
spoiled meat, the flimsy materials for clothing, the
injustice of this beggardly practice, the humiliations they were helplessly subjected to by corrupt white
men, and the despair all felt at being unable to
change their new destiny-a destiny which demanded either an acceptance of degradation or the
total destruction of their families.

As Lucas questioned several traders and workers,
Miranda learned of the children being forced into
schools where they were forced to wear the white
man's clothes, where they spoke only the white
tongue, where they had to accept the white man's
customs and ways over those of their own people.
The young boys were required to cut their braids to
show obedience to the white man's rules, an act
which robbed them of what little pride remained. She
discovered that many places used boarding schools to
keep the Indian children away from the influences of
their parents and tribes. There was a look of
bewilderment and sadness in those small faces and
somber eyes and it pained Miranda to view such
cruelty.

The entire Indian culture was being destroyed.
Indians were stripped of their customs, their religion, their language, their pride and dignity, their
very reason for existence and happiness. Tree and
scaffold burials were outlawed. Leaders and chiefs
were often slain or imprisoned to subjugate the
remaining members of their tribes. The males were
refused guns or horses for hunting and were forced to
depend solely on the whites for food, clothing, and
shelter. Unable to seek medicinal herbs, many
Indians grew sick and died. It was almost as if the sadistic plan was to starve, freeze, or sicken the
remaining Indians until they died or were compelled
to escape, only to be tracked down and killed as
dangerous renegades.

She learned of the demoralizing action of constantly moving reservations from one place to
another. The Indians had difficulty settling down,
for they were whisked away before teepees were
barely in place. They were commanded to become
farmers, when they knew nothing but hunting and
when the reservation lands were unfertile.

Treaties and promises had been broken or changed
as frequently as the white men wished. Randy caught
hints of the "Indian Ring," in which dishonest
agents or suppliers to government contracts stole
part of the goods or shipped inferior ones. Although
whiskey was outlawed on reservations, traders were
allowed to camp nearby and entice the spirit-broken
and restless braves to drink themselves into stupors.
It was heartbreaking to witness and hear of such evil
and cruelty, to see a proud race trampled and
destroyed.

Now she understood why so many tribes and
leaders refused to make peace with the white men.
She could see why the Indians didn't trust them, why
they continued to make war. The whites didn't want
peaceful coexistence; they wanted to take and have
everything here. They wanted to subjugate these
noble people into demeaning slavery. Where was
their Lincoln? Who would bravely sign their
"Emancipation Proclamation"? Who would battle to free them?

When Lucas and Miranda returned to the Martha
Lane, both were too gloomy to discuss what they had
encountered here. Lucas was also dizzy and lay down
to rest, falling asleep quickly. Miranda paced the
floor of her small cabin, trying to forget the sights
and sounds of this day. If her father hadn't come here
years before and eloped with Princess Morning Star,
her mother could have been one of those miserable
people she had seen today. It stunned and alarmed
Miranda to realize her mother's old tribe was now
imprisoned and slowly dying near the Red Cloud
Agency. Miranda was relieved her mother had not
returned here to view such anguish and devastation.
All she could do was pray her grandfather and other
relatives were alive and safe. She tried to push such
haunting knowledge from her troubled mind, but
found it impossible to do so.

Nor could she forget the warrior who had saved her
life. She knew he must be one of those "renegades"
who refused to stop fighting and settle down on one
of those despicable reservations. She couldn't
imagine that fearless and strong male confined to
those conditions. Why had he defended her and
followed her? Why didn't he hate her and all she
represented? Apparently, fierce warriors made no
distinctions between male and female enemies. If
that were true, how could she explain their relationship? She couldn't.

Upon arrival in Pierre, Lucas discovered this
settlement was worse than Yankton, if that were possible. He refused to remain there a single night,
gaining passage on a keelboat heading for Fort Sully.
He could only hope the conditions there were better
and he was beginning to regret bringing Miranda
along. If not for the danger in Alexandria and along
the way, he would have been tempted to send her
home or somewhere safe. He had not imagined any
place could be worse or more perilous than being
near Weber. But it was too late to stop this journey,
and he was too driven to change his plans. At least
Miranda was holding up excellently under these
arduous circumstances.

Lucas was delighted to find that Fort Sully was
indeed better. What fences existed were low stone
ones to separate the officers' quarters or homes from
other sections of the fort; there was no tall outer wall
to protect the inhabitants from enemies. Lucas and
Miranda found this strange in light of the continuing skirmishes between whites and "hostiles."
The only barrier of any height surrounded the
ammunition and supply sheds and yards, for soldiers
were rumored to be as prone to thieving as renegades
or white drifters.

The structures were made of varying materials
from wood to adobe. There were barracks, stables, a
guard house, trader shops, sutler stores, an infirmary,
a chow hall, assorted privies, private homes, small
cabins, and supply sheds. There was one oblong
building which they learned was a recreation hall,
complete with tables and chairs for games and
reading. Fortunately, Fort Sully boasted of a library of nearly a thousand books and several periodicals.

The fort structures were in close proximity to each
other, with officers' private homes nearby. The
military compound was designed like the hub of a
wagonwheel, with businesses radiating like its
spokes and settlers encircling it as an outer rim. From
there in three directions, other cabins and structures
were built haphazardly. Some brave and solitary
types had put up their homes and barns at a farther
distance away, toward the Missouri River east from
Fort Sully. It appeared few people found the western
area desirable, for it edged on proclaimed Sioux
Territory. In the military surroundings, trees and
bushes were scant, grass even sparser. But as the
semicircle increased, so did the amount of greenery.
There was an abundance of trees, bushes, grasses, and
wildflowers. North of the civilian and military encampments was a small Indian village where workers
and scouts lived.

Wanting to keep his real assignment a secret,
Lucas decided not to use the letter of protection and
introduction from President Grant unless necessary.
With so much corruption and fraud in this area,
some men might be, suspicious of him and his job.
After all, those two soldiers had behaved as if there
was something important to conceal.

Lucas found a sturdy log cabin to rent near the fort,
one recently vacated when the fort sutler's brother
had died from a snakebite. Unknown to Lucas and
Miranda, it was uninhabited because it lay west of the
fort and was one of the most distant structures.

Aware that Lucas Reardon's sister was a real lady,
the sutler was glad he had cleaned and repaired the
cabin, completing his tasks just that morning in
hope of renting it to an incoming and ignorant
officer from the fort. When the sutler escorted them to
the cabin, Miranda was relieved to find it freshly
scrubbed and in excellent condition. She thanked the
man who in turn offered any assistance she needed.
While she remained behind, the man helped Lucas
fetch their belongings from his store, where they were
under strict guard.

Before dusk, they were unpacked and settled into
their new home. Lucas had assisted Miranda with the
sweeping and dusting, and he had opened the
windows to allow fresh air to flow through the cabin.
Miranda had scrubbed all the dishes, even though
they had appeared clean when she began her
mandatory task. Lucas had purchased enough wood
from the sutler to last until he could join a
woodcutting crew and furnish their own. As they
dined on the meal which she had prepared, they
relaxed and chatted about their new home. The cabin
had two rooms: one was a combination kitchen and
living area; the other was a small bedroom. It was
agreed she would have the private room and Lucas
would sleep on a cot purchased from the sutler.

The next week passed swiftly in a blur of
excitement. Lucas's injury healed nicely and ceased
to trouble him. He spent his days making friends
with the soldiers and settlers, observing and questioning everything he saw or heard. It was a simple task for someone with Lucas's jovial personality
and good looks. The people in this rugged area
admired artists and writers, people who could put
life into words or capture it in oils or photographs.
Each person was eager to play a part in the making
and recording of history. Every time Lucas lazed
around the sutler's shop, men lingered to "talk off his
ears." As for those from the fort, the bored soldiers
were eager for any source of diversion and talked
freely and rashly with the cheerful young man.

Miranda was full of questions when Lucas
returned from a visit to the whiskey wagons which
were camped nearby in a grove of cottonwoods for
one week, pay week. He described what he had seen
in colorful details for her, including the prostitutes
and two musicians who traveled with the group.
Miranda jestingly inquired if Lucas had partaken of
either trade. He grinned and shook his head.

Miranda spent most of her time with Lucas; she
hadn't made many female friends. The upper
officers' wives seemed to be waiting until they were
assured of her social station before offering their
company or inviting hers. The lower officers' and
enlisted men's wives, what few there were, felt it was
improper to approach her and kept their distances.
On fear of penalty from the commander, the lowly
"laundresses" made it a point to avoid her completely, as was required of them where all "proper"
females were concerned. The social system was rigid
here, and Miranda didn't know where she belonged.
She concluded that she, as the stranger and new comer, should be approached first by whoever
wished to become her friend or acquaintance.

There was one female who Miranda and Lucas
found fascinating and colorful, Calamity Jane.
Martha Jane Canary was a large, strapping woman
who was widely known for her foul language, hard
drinking, expert horsemanship, skilled shooting,
and men's attire. She was reputed to be the most
famous female in the entire Dakota Territory, and
often teased about being continually drunk and
broke, even though she worked at several jobs
normally held by males. She rotated between being a
driver for supply wagons and stagecoaches, and a
scout for the cavalry. Of course most people said she
spent her money buying drinks for all present when
she entered a new town or saloon, for that was her
way of making friends and gaining attention. She
boasted of knowing every legendary male in the
West, good or bad. But most of them denied knowing
her.

Miranda and Lucas met this rustic character in the
sutler's shop one afternoon. Despite her mannish
appearance in looks and clothing, both were taken
with her vivacity and genial nature. Jane had been
many places and had faced countless dangers, or so
she claimed. Her independent and obstinate nature
caused many people to avoid her or to gossip about
her. It was sad and unfair, for Jane simply wanted
freedom and adventure, things which the present age
didn't allow even a strong and smart female. Jane
was so interesting and charming that Lucas and Miranda didn't care if her tales were true or not. After
that day, Jane became a welcome visitor in their
cabin whenever she was at Fort Sully. It did not take
long for Lucas and Miranda to realize that being
Jane's friend meant she would defend them with her
life if need be.

But there was a sadness about Jane, for she knew
that the present society would never permit her to
reach her potential and to carry out her dreams.
Miranda decided that Jane used her boistrous and
comical manner to conceal her disappointments and
bitterness. At twenty-one, the Missouri born Jane
Canary could probably outshoot and outride most
scouts, soldiers, Indians, and outlaws. Yet, few were
willing to let her prove it. Only Custer and Miles
were appreciative of her skills and courage; they had
discovered she was an excellent scout, when sober.

Most women here viewed life as dull and arduous,
but Miranda thrived on the excitement which
surrounded her. Due to the confiscation of Indian
horses, animals were in abundance at the fort. Lucas
would frequently rent two and they would go riding,
never straying far alone unless in the company of the
soldiers until they could learn their way around the
rugged terrain.