Autobiography of Red Cloud: War Leader of the Oglalas

by Red Cloud, Charles Wesley Allen, R. Eli Paul (editor)

"Written by Charles Wesley Allen from Red Cloud's reminiscences told to Sam Deon, and repeated to Allen"

Red Cloud was the only Native American leader ever to win a war against the United States Army. Here, for the first time in print, is Red Cloud's "as-told-to" autobiography in which he shares the story of his early years.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Native American, American History, Native American History

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Harold Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine, knowing my interest in Native American life, loaned me this book. She is an ancestor of Charles Wesley Allen, one of two white men responsible for garnering from Red Cloud his involvement in intertribal warfare on the Great Plains and present-day Montana and Wyoming up to the mid 1860s. The editor’s lengthy introduction sets the historical context of his experiences, explains how the autobiography came into being, and relates the probable reasons why the Sioux Lakota chief chose not to recount his confrontations with Whites: his battles with the U.S. Army and his negotiations with the federal government.

Although the introduction is informative, it is enough first to know where and when Red Cloud was born (1821, along Blue Creek, a tributary of the North Platte River in present day Garden County, Nebraska) and where and when he died (1909, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota).

Living on the Pine Ridge Reservation during his later years, Red Cloud walked each day to the Pine Ridge post office to receive his mail and spend considerable time talking with old friends and associates, two of whom were Sam Deon, a white trader who had done business with Red Cloud on the plains for many years, and Charles Allen, former newspaperman and at that time Pine Ridge postmaster. It was Allen who devised the plan to write an autobiography of the famous chief’s life. Allen explained his plan in 1917.

"The two [Red Cloud and Deon] used to put in two or three hours a day visiting on the bench by the post office, so I made arrangements with Mr. Deon to begin at the beginning and with questions and queries induced Red Cloud to go over his life from the beginning. … Immediately at the close of the conversation Mr. Deon would report [translate] to me, and I would take down all the facts as notes. … This continued through the whole summer [of 1893] and up to late in the fall, practically six months in duration or until the finish."

Editor R. Eli Paul wrote: “No evidence exists that Red Cloud knew of Deon and Allen’s arrangement, nor is it know whether he would have cared. After six months, Deon’s methodical probing may have aroused Red Cloud’s suspicions, hence the suspension of the old chief’s storytelling when it reached a more sensitive time in his life” – his dealings with the U.S. Army and the federal government.

Red Cloud told Deon that he had participated in 80 battles. The autobiography relates 21 experiences. They are all interesting. Particularly interesting to me were these three stories.

***

"During the 1840s, Red Cloud, who had so rapidly risen in the estimation of his people, as a brave young man, had become one of the head warriors of his tribe; he had introduced the system of small war parties composed of from eight to twelve men whom he was always accorded the command by unanimous consent. If fact, his bravery and sagacity had become so generally acknowledged that his name was synonymous with success. Strongly supported by a large body of admiring adherents, yet secretly opposed by the envy and jealousy of rivals, his fame continued to increase …

I"n the spring of 1849, Red Cloud, in the flush and vigor of youth, being twenty-eight years of age, decided to take a party of twelve warriors on a foray against the Shoshone Indians. After the party had traveled about one hundred miles, a discussion arose about whether they should continue their mission or return to their village. The cause of the disaffection, Red Cloud discovered, was Black Eagle, a man who had long been one of his trustiest warriors, but who, having grown jealous of his leader’s popularity, sought to embarrass this undertaking by creating mutiny. This he endeavored to do by telling his comrades that they were all lost among the mountains, that Red Cloud did not know where they were going, and that they were foolish to be dragged along day after day to a place where their enemies could so easily ambush them.

Having discovered Black Eagle’s intentions, Red Cloud had his party climb to the top of a mountain where visibility extended for many miles. Addressing Black Eagle and three warriors that had taken Black Eagle’s side, pointing to the east, Red cloud said, “Do you see that high blue ridge away yonder? At the foot of that mountain is our village; there is where the women are. Go! You cannot get lost. You can go back over the same trail you came. There is lots of game; get some of your party to kill it for you, and, when there is another party to go out, you had better stay at home and sent your women.”

Proceeding farther west, Red Cloud and his remaining followers eventually discovered a Shoshone village, killed and scalped two horse herders, and made off with a large section of horses. As they returned home, they came upon Red Cloud’s brother, who told them that Black Eagle had spread news that Red Cloud’s party was scattered and lost in the Big Horn Mountains, and that they were probably all killed by the Shoshones. Red Cloud and his men thereupon entered their village herding their captured horses, and Black Eagle was disgraced.

***

In love with two women, Red Cloud had to choose whom to marry first. "Pretty Owl and Pine Leaf were their names, and the only matter for him [the autobiography is written in third person] to decide was, which of the two should be number one, for, while he could properly marry each of them, he could not marry both of them at once. …

"… there was one grim and silent witness who stood aloof with jealous, scornful looks. It was Pine Leaf. Red Cloud had caught sight of her several times during the day’s festive marriage ceremony. Realizing that she was not aware of either his feelings or his intentions [to marry her at a later time], he mentally resolved to seek her out at the first opportunity and acquaint her with his purpose, but the opportunity never came." The next morning he discovered that Pine Leaf had hung herself.

***

A raid conducted by Red Cloud went awry after Gros Ventres tribesmen had warned an Arikara (Ree) village of the Sioux party’s near presence. Dangerously exposed, Red Cloud escaped by boat.

"… the Arikaras needed conveyances to cross the Missouri and resorted to the 'bull hide boat' … It consisted of buffalo hides stretched tightly over a round framework of willow, not the most seaworthy of watercraft " - in the editor’s words an unwieldy "tub of fur."

The Sioux from their hiding place watched the Ree village …Red Cloud and his party began getting nearer and nearer to the village. The Rees had rounded up their horses in the early past of the evening, and they were standing quietly at the edge of the village, having become accustomed to being corralled nights.

The Sioux had decided to make a rush and stampede the herd and, if an opportunity presented itself, shoot a struggling Ree or two and escape with their booty. Told by the Gros Ventres of the near proximity of the Sioux, the Ree villagers had set up an ambush. Having charged, surrounded in front, at each side, and behind, the Sioux party received a volley of bullets and arrows. As soon as they could … Red Cloud and a companion, who had led the charge, dismounted and sought refuge among the loose horses. Soon the herd began to separate in small bunches.

"… Dodging along among the horses he [Red Cloud] drew his blanket over his head and face. Wrapping it closely about him with his gun concealed beneath he stepped boldly out into the Ree village and began walking toward the river. It was quite dark, but the lights shone from the tops of the lower buildings. … He was passed once or twice but not accosted. …

"Red Cloud’s only object had been to reach the river. Once there he felt he could plunge in and swim to safety, but, when he descended the bank, he saw several canoes. Cutting one of them loose he got into it. He knew very little about managing the thing, but after a few awkward strokes he succeeded in getting out into the channel when it began to ride away from the Ree village. … he drifted along down the swift current all that night. …

"... He traveled nights without any interruption, but during the day he would stop to hunt and sleep and get views of the country to see if the coast was clear …" Eventually he came upon a Missouri River Sioux village. There was great rejoicing when he entered his own village, for it was supposed that he had been killed.

***

I enjoyed as much the details of native life that Deon and Allen were able to include. For this reason alone, reading Red Cloud’s “autobiography” is worth any curious reader’s attention. This book helps feel the need of readers like myself to know something about the lives of human beings over hundreds of years about which there is no or very little written record. Paperback and kindle versions are available for purchase on amazon.com.



[Ryan Hathaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very unique book but definitely not an autobiography. But kudos to the author for the hard work of publishing this text, I was very pleased to find it in existence.

Most of Red Cloud's story has been published 'third hand'. That is, he gave his story orally to a friend who then (without Red Cloud's knowledge) told them to the first writer, who wrote them into a manuscript. This manuscript was never published and then was forgotten about for 100 years where it was found by historians. The author of this current text then worked tirelessly to corroborate the original manuscript and then has published it in the form you see here. Hardly an autobiography. However, since no other true autobiographical texts exist of any Native American leaders of the era, this is the best we can hope for in the entire human catalogue. For this reason alone, we are looking at a very special circumstance.

Most of the chapters are events in Red Cloud's life BEFORE his wars with the Americans (apparently Red Cloud didn't consider war with the whites very honorable and thus refused to give it credence in his own life story). To me this is why the book has at least some value. It reveals much of the traditional way of command and conquer on the ancient plains and tells how the varying tribes fought and raided each other. All invaluable information.

However, Red Cloud's voice is not here. The whole thing is written in the third person. Thus it reads like a wikipedia page. There really isn't any literary value in this respect. This disappointed me so much. The personality of Red Cloud the man is not here. We are simply left with an explanation of events in time with little or no color added to them. You only get a half-image of the man. There is no access to how he felt or why he was motivated to do things. This access to emotion and motivation is the only reasons autobiographies are interesting to read in my opinion. These omissions are glaring.

Furthermore, the author of the current texts adds much of his own commentary. Most of this is great. However, the author leaves no way for us to tell when we are reading the original manuscript and when we are reading his own thoughts or research. It's all just meshed together. This is enraging.

There are simply too many hands molding Red Cloud's oral stories into the form we get them here to take this text very seriously. Genocide is genocide as our forefathers left little of the Native American culture intact for us to appreciate and learn from. Red Cloud's autobiography is just a glimmer, it's just so so so bittersweet.

[Mohammed Alshamsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected, the best of this book is the story of lost children in chapter 19.
I learned from this book that horses is the most valuable assessts of Native Americans.

[Nate Jordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

No matter how you slice it, it's still a bit of a stretch to label this an autobiography.... It's more of a puzzle, put together by many disparate pieces spanning decades, and what we get is a vague third-person portrait of the man.

[Jenni]

Very enlightening about what Indians went through when white people took their land from them and changed everything about their world.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it is not an autobiography. Red Cloud told his story to a friend, who wrote down what Red Cloud said and handed it off to a writer friend of his who, instead of transcribing and editing the book for publication (as he was supposed to do), wrote it in third person and also made judgments throughout the book about the content. So, while it is valuable in learning many things about Red Cloud's life, it is written from a third-person point of view--virtually third-hand from the source. Apparently, Red Cloud spoke 2-3 hours a day for six months to his friend about his life; what a shame that those incredible conversations were not captured. I loved this observation: "That Red Cloud made no mention in this story . . . of the great rush of whites westward, the congestion around Fort Laramie, and the cholera epidemics of 1849-1854 is typical for his narrative. His concerns lay with his people's traditional enemies or his personal rivals, not with whites, against whom no real glory could be gained." Lots of stories of war against other groups.

[John Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed in this book as it told nothing of Red Cloud's battles with the military or his depredations upon white settlers. These events were purposely omitted. What was offered was a collection of events, mostly hostile raids on neighboring tribes to steal horses and collect a few scalps in the process. The stories as told by Red Cloud to a white friend on the Pine Ridge Reservation in his later life depict a harsh, violent culture that evolved around exploiting neighboring tribes for plunder and to prove oneself in battle and thereby advance in the tribal hierarchy. A person should buy this book if they are interested in getting a glimpse of Sioux culture in the mid 19th century. It is a collection of stories that have been cobbled together by a third party. It is not an autobiography by Red Cloud.

[marina furdyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

That’s not an autobiography, so hence 4* however, lots of valuable information here and I appreciate the little fact-checked intros at the beginning of each chapter. The editor’s introduction provides lots of “behind the scene” information on how the biography of Red Cloud was actually written and it is an interesting read too.

Alongside “The heart of everything that is”, this is another good book about the life of Red Cloud, although I’m not an expert.

[Judy Ferneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Story of Native American Indian Life

A great story of the mid to late 1800s. Survival the biggest thing. They learned how to survive through all kinds of circumstances.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

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