Fort Robinson: Outpost on the PlainsGrange, Roger T.
History
Fort Robinson: Outpost on the Plains
Grange, Roger T.
Fort Robinson (Neb.); Indians of North America -- Wars -- 1866-1895
The soldiers from Camp Robinson who escorted the Indians built and
formed the garrison of a military post at New Red Cloud Agency,[26] but
the new location was used for only a short time. The Oglala refused to
go to the new agency site and set up their camp seventy-five miles away.
In 1878 the government gave up the Missouri River plan and the agency
was moved west again to become the present Pine Ridge Agency about fifty
miles northeast of Fort Robinson in South Dakota.
GARRISON LIFE
Camp Robinson was renamed Fort Robinson in January 1878. It remained an
important post and its garrison was called upon in several Indian
emergencies after the death of Crazy Horse.
Garrison life was normal at the post, with the officers’ families
joining them as soon as quarters were available. The first women to come
to live at Camp Robinson in the winter of 1874-1875 were the wives of
Capt. W. H. Jordan, the post commander, and Lt. J. M. Lee, both Ninth
Infantry officers.
Social activities included picnics, walks to the nearby buttes, long
horseback rides, visits to Indian camps and dances, and fossil hunting
in the nearby Bad Lands. Company dances were held with some regularity
and social calling was an important part of the daily routine of
officers and their ladies. Not all of the women were well impressed by
the post. When Surgeon Valentine T. McGillycuddy’s wife joined him at
Camp Robinson on December 13, 1876 she noted in her diary: “Commenced
enjoying the camp. Finished.”[27] Mrs. McGillycuddy later tempered this
first judgment of the post with diary entries that indicate her
enjoyment of horseback rides and social calls by such notables as
General Crook. Surgeon McGillycuddy’s wife even went along with her
husband and a detachment of troops on an extended stay in the Black
Hills in 1877.
The officers often entertained prominent Indian chiefs like Spotted Tail
and Red Cloud, inviting such leaders to join them for lunch. Lt. John G.
Bourke, General Crook’s aide, spent hours learning Indian languages from
his native friends. Bourke once had an amusing contest with the Cheyenne
medicine man High Wolf. Lieutenant Bourke used an old static electricity
generator to deliver a shock to Indians he tempted to reach into a pail
of water. The trap was baited with coins. In imitation of songs sung by
Indian medicine men, Bourke sang “Pat Malloy” while operating the
generator and acquired a reputation for having powerful “medicine.” A
challenge match was arranged to test the relative powers of Bourke and
High Wolf. There was a liberal prize and side bets by spectators. High
Wolf received such a strong electrical charge on his first attempt that
he fell and damaged Bourke’s machine. He shrewdly demanded a second
chance and won the contest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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