A Brule Teton Sioux who, like Chief Red Cloud, rose from the ranks. When he was nineteen years old he won his wife by fighting a knife duel with a subchief, in which he was severely wounded. When Spotted Tail recovered from his wounds he found himself famous.
Later, when his tribe was to be punished for killing some soldiers, Spotted Tail and two others marched into Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in full war dress, chanting their death songs, and gave themselves up as the killers so that their tribe might be spared. he was subsequently released. In 1865, when thirty two years old, he became chief of the Lower Brule.
During the troubles with the Sioux after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills and Custer Disaster, Spotted Tail was appointed chief of all the Dakota Sioux agencies. This was his reward from the Government for not having taken part in the troubles. he arranged for the surrender of his nephew, Crazy Horse, who led the Oglala Sioux in the Custer battle.
Spotted Tail was killed near the Roseland agency in South Dakota on August 5, 1881, by a tribesman named Crow Dog. It was charged that Spotted Tail was leading a hostile party against Crow Dog at the time, and Crow Dog shot in self defense. Spotted Tail was sixty eight at the time of his death.
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