Who were The Fool Soldiers?
The story of the fool soldiers all begins in the year of 1860 when a man by the name of “Kills and Comes Back” received a vision in his dreams. In this dream he saw ten black stags standing together, and when he approached them, the leading stag spoke to him. “This vision is to be fulfilled by you and to be complied with by all who are members. You and every member is to be respected and feared and you must be united in your undertakings.” The stag said to him. And it was at this moment that he had realized that the leading stag spoke in his own voice. After waking up he sought out a friend of his by the name of Martin Charger who would simply go by the name of “Charger” to speak to about this vision.
After speaking to him of this Kills and Comes Back and Charger went to hold council for the meaning of this dream. It was afterwards that one by the name of “Kills Game” interpreted this vision to mean that a band of ten people should be formed and in order to be respected among the tribe they must be generous with not only their food but also their property. In time this band went on to grow to ten members in total where it would stay at that number. These members included Kills and Comes Back, Charger, Four Bear, Swift Bird, Mad Bear, Red Dog, One Rib, Pretty Bear, Sitting Bear, and Strikes Fire. After forming this band, it would be in the year of 1862 that they would be dubbed the “Fool Soldiers” in what would become one of their defining moments.
During the winter of 1862 a small settlement of Lake Shetek in Minnesota would be attacked by a warband led by one named “White Lodge” where fifteen settlers would be killed and another eight would be taken hostage. Fleeing before the arrival of the US military White Lodges band moved west into the Dakotas where shortly afterwards the band of ten would learn of what had happened. Upon learning of this, the band would gather and move to meet where White Lodge was said to have been in the Dakotas to negotiate the release of the hostages that were taken. Having recently come off of another war with the US military, many members of the tribe had taken to calling them the “Fool Soldiers” for seeking the safety of the very people who they had spent years fighting against during the “Manifest Destiny” era of United States colonialism.
Despite this the Fool Soldiers were determined to "Do Good" and so the ten of them would set out to meet the warband of one hundred and eighty. Initially bringing food, sugar, and delicacies they thought appealing to White Lodge's band, they set camp where his band would see them. Understanding the intention, White Lodge invited them to hold a council with him and his band. At first, they stated plainly that they have come for the hostages and are wanting to negotiate for their freedom, to return them to their families. White Lodge refused the offer to trade for them, stating that he was brave and would not stop fighting until his death.
Next they laid out the food that they had brought with them. Charger spoke then, saying "Here is food. Eat what you want and go home, and we will take the captives and go home." White Lodge and his council indulged in these foods only to then refuse the offer again after finishing their meal. At this, frustration and outrage at such an insult built until it almost seemed that bloodshed would be inevitable. Despite this, once again Charger and the rest of the Fool Soldiers arranged another council with White Lodge, stating once again their desire to free the captives and return them to their loved ones.
In response to this, White Lodge once again stated that he would not release them and that he was brave and a warrior who would fight until the very end. Finally, Charger spoke to White Lodge. And what Charger would say next would make it abundantly clear to all who were present, what White Lodges situation actually was.
"White Lodge, you talk very brave. You kill white men who have no guns, and you steal the women and children and run away with them where there are no soldiers. If you are brave, why did you not stay and fight the soldiers who had guns? Three times we have offered our horses for the captives and you have refused us. Now we will take the captives and put them on the horses and take them to their friends. If you make us trouble the soldiers who have guns will come against you from the east and our people, the Tetons, will come against you from the west and we shall then see how brave you are."
After saying this, one of the Santee outside the council noticed that White Lodge's son, Black Hawk was strangely silent. When asked why he does not speak in this council Black Hawk responded, speaking to the Fool Soldiers.
"You young people have done right. Your grub tastes good. You are straight young men respected by your own people. I know some of you but my father, White Lodge, does not know you. We are starving and it is winter. I have one white child which I will give up. Let the others do as I have done and give up their captives."
At this the hostage negotiations were well and truly opened then. Since the hostages were considered to being held by individual peoples of White Lodge's band, the Fool Soldiers would have to negotiate with each of them for each of the hostages. After extensive negotiations and trading, the Fool Soldiers had finally gotten all the hostages. The trades in question had left all of them with only four guns amongst each other, having traded away all of their horses for the hostages, with the final hostage, a mother, being secured by Red Dog and Strikes Fire.
More than a hundred miles from home and with no horses, the Fool Soldiers began their journey, giving the hostages their own blankets, leaving themselves dangerously exposed. Additionally, White Lodge was now threatening to retake the captives from them. Giving the hostages a small tent to keep themselves warm, the Fool Soldiers marched around their new camp for the entire night to keep warm as a fierce storm raged against them. As morning rose, they resumed their journey. Fortunately as they continued their journey a member of the Yanktonai tribe on horseback happened by.
Trading two of their four guns, the Fool Soldiers now had a horse and after quickly making a travoix, resumed their journey. Carrying all but one of the children in the travoix, Pretty Bear carried the youngest on his back. With the rest of them walking, Charger had noticed that the mother had no shoes of her own. Giving up his own moccasins, Charger walked the rest of that days thirty-five miles barefoot until they reached LeBeau. Early on in that day, White Lodge had appeared once again.
Followed by five warriors, White Lodge demanded that the mother be given back to him. Carefully bluffing with the only two guns they had left, White Lodge would then give up the pursuit returning to his camp with his warriors in tow. Eventually reaching the village of Forest City, they made camp that night. The next morning they climbed the river bluff and cut directly across a frozen lake, moving in the direction of Primeau's fur trading post. The final obstacle of this journey would be the river itself, where the ice itself was quite thin, making crossing this river very hazardous indeed.
Thankfully, the Fool Soldiers were able to enlist the help of people nearby. Consisting of three people by the names of, Primeau, Dupree, and Laplant, finally the Fool Soldiers and the former hostages made it across the river and to safety. With Primeau giving clothing from his own stocks to the former hostages and Dupree offering them shelter, they would soon be reunited with their friends and loved ones. Returning home with only a horse, two guns, and the clothes on their backs, the Fool Soldiers had known that in that moment they had well and truly stayed with their goal to do good.
As time would go on, all the members of this band would go on to become highly respected members of the tribe, with Swift Bird even going on to become chieftain. Being referred to there on as "The Crazy Band" the name of "Fool Soldiers" still persists due to the association of this heroic deed. We hope now that you understand why the Fool Soldiers were such a great inspiration to us and why we too seek to carry on their mission to "Do Good". Thank you for reading!
Sources:
"The Wisdom of the Fool Soldiers" South Dakota Magazine, Michael Zimny, 2/6/19
"A Side Light on the Sioux" Doane Robinson, McClure's Magazine, August Edition, 1903