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Conflicting reports of the battle were soon being reported across the country. For example, The Washburn Leader on December
27, 1890, called Sitting Bull’s camp “the most vicious element of
the Sioux” and claimed he was preparing to start a “prolonged
and bloody Indian War.” Their article called the Lakota men killed “probably the eight worst men in the tribe” and indicated that Red Tomahawk had taken a revolver given to Sitting Bull by Mrs. Weldon of Brooklyn (Caroline Weldon) while they were arresting Sitting Bull and that it was this revolver that Red Tomahawk shot Sitting Bull with. Bullhead and the other police officers were presumably armed mainly with Remington Model 1875 Army revolvers and Springfield trapdoors. Weldon had come to the reservation out of a desire
to help the Lakota in the late 1880s as a member of the National Indian Defense Association and painted portraits of Sitting Bull in 1890, including one with a Winchester rifle in his hands. In “Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull” by Eileen Pollack, the author notes regarding reports of Weldon giving Sitting Bull a revolver, “If Weldon did give the chief a gun, it vanished in the pandemonium.” Reports from the scene reported that Sitting Bull’s body had been horribly mutilated and most of his effects were looted. Unfortunately no details on the specifics of the revolver Red Tomahawk is said to have taken from Sitting Bull have been found.
The Chicago Tribune on December 16, 1890, reported that “The President [Benjamin Harrison] said that he had regarded Sitting Bull as the great disturbing element in his tribe and now that he was
out of the way he hoped that a settlement of the difficulties could be reached without further bloodshed.”That was not to be the case. Many of the Hunkpapa Lakota fled in fear to join with Spotted Elk and the Minicojou Lakota and together they then sought shelter with the Oglala Lakota under Red Cloud who had previously successfully fought the U.S. Army in the late 1860s. On December 28, 1890, the combined Lakota bands informed the U.S. Army that they would surrender rather than fight and were escorted by the U.S.
7th Cavalry to a site near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge reservation. The 7th Cavalry had long since rebuilt its strength after the disaster at Little Bighorn. The following morning, the camp was surrounded by the cavalry, and Hotchkiss guns were in place to fire down upon the camp. Troopers moved to disarm the Lakota. The camp had approximately 350 Lakota, around 230 of them men. They were surrounded by 500 cavalrymen. As with the death of Sitting Bull, exactly what triggered what follows remains somewhat a mystery. It is often said that a deaf Lakota man named Black Coyote did not want to have his expensive new Winchester rifle taken
from him and did not fully understand what was going on. His rifle apparently went off while it was being seized by the troopers and then both sides began firing. Some of the Lakota believed the Ghost Dance and their ghost shirts would protect them. The troopers also turned the Hotchkiss guns on the women and children and pursued and fired upon those fleeing for their lives or trying to surrender. At least 150 of the Lakota were killed and many others were wounded. Among the counted dead were 84 men, 44 women, and 18 children, including some infants. The true death toll has been estimated
to have been 250 to 300. 31 soldiers were also killed or mortally
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wounded, many possibly from the Hotchkiss guns and other friendly fire rather than the Lakota. Some of the fleeing Lakota fought the U.S. Cavalry again the following day in two small engagements
on the Pine Ridge Reservation largely marking the end of the
Indian Wars in the West. Despite the outrage and condemnation of the cavalry’s actions at Wounded Knee by prominent American military officers such as General Nelson A. Miles who witnessed the aftermath, 20 troopers received the Medal of Honor for their action that day.
CONDITION: Good. The revolver retains strong traces of original nickel plating in the protected areas and 25% of the case colors on the hammer; otherwise, it exhibits mottled gray and brown patina, some mild pitting, and general moderate overall wear. The barrel hinge screw is partially absent. The grips are very good and have some minor dings and scratches, mild handling wear, and smooth oiled finish. The extractor is not working,
but the revolver is otherwise mechanically fine. The leather
is good with moderate overall wear, including loss
from rubbing and flaking, restitching on the
holster, and an absent holster flap button.
Estimate: 25,000 - 50,000