It will thus be seen that he meant to many of the Plains tribes their very existence. The destruction of the buffalo meant the destruction of all. Indian chiefs were quick to foresee that if indiscriminate slaughter on the part of white people continued, the power of the Indian as a race was doomed. That is, of the Plains or “Horse” tribes. Our own army officers also were aware of this fact, and Custer, Miles, Sherman, Crook and others have stated in their reports that in order to bring the Plains Indians into subjection and control them on reservations, it was necessary to destroy the American bison. All the prominent Sioux, Cheyenne and other chiefs inspired their followers to continue the war against the white people, using as an incentive the phrase—“They are destroying the Indians’ means of livelihood.” Speeches of this character were always made in councils, or preceding war dances, and never failed to rouse a militant spirit. As the Indians became settled on reservations and attempted to provide themselves with meat, robes, dwellings, etc., as formerly, they experienced great difficulty on account of the scarcity of the buffalo. It was very natural, therefore, for them to turn to the authorities at Washington for support, since the authorities had permitted the hide-hunters, frontiersmen and numerous persons who flocked to the frontier at the close of the Civil War, to engage in lawless acts. These Indians were not agriculturalists, and yet they had always supported themselves. Their inter-tribal wars, while at some times serious, never resulted in the total destruction of a large band. In fact, too much has been made of the wars between the Crows and the Sioux, or the Ojibwa and the Sioux, or those between other bands. The existence that they led, in the good old buffalo days, was to them ideal. And from their point of view we must admit that they speak truly when they so declare. Many an old Indian has told me he would rather “take chances on a piece of lead” in olden times, than live as he does today. The effect of this lawless element on Indian life has been overlooked by other writers. They have minimized its pernicious effect. We know they were free from disease, until white men came among them; they desired nothing further than to be properly fed, clothed and housed. The destruction of the buffalo put an end to all of this, and the presence of the military further curtailed their activities. Hence the reservation and ration system sprang up.