- 1875 - Pinker ton agents fire-bomb the
James family farm in Missouri in an unsuccessful attempt to kill the
notorious outlaws. The incident stirs widespread sympathy for the James
Gang, who are seen as populist enemies of the banks and railroads who
"rob" the common man. ( Jesse James was shot in the back by Robert Ford
in 1882)
- 1875 - Deadwood, soon to be one
of the wildest towns in the West, springs into existence when Black
Hills miners find gold on Deadwood Creek. Within a year, the legendary
gunfighter "Wild Bill" Hickock will be murdered here while holding aces
and eights -- the dead man's hand -- in a game of poker.
- 1875 - THE LAKOTA WAR -A Senate
commission meeting with Red Cloud and other Lakota chiefs to negotiate
legal access for the miners rushing to the Black Hills offers to buy the
region for $6 million. But the Lakota refuse to alter the terms of the
1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, and declare they will protect their lands from
intruders if the government won't.
- 1876 - Federal authorities
order the Lakota chiefs to report to their reservations by January 31.
Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and others defiant of the American government
refuse. General Philip Sheridan orders General George Crook, General
Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbon to drive Sitting Bull and the other
chiefs onto the reservation through a combined assault. On June 17,
Crazy Horse and 500 warriors surprise General Crook's troops on the
Rosebud River, forcing them to retreat. On June 25, George Armstrong
Custer, part of General Terry's force, discovers Sitting Bull's
encampment on the Little Bighorn River. Terry had ordered Custer to
drive the enemy down the Little Bighorn toward Gibbon's forces, who were
waiting at its mouth, but when he charges the village Custer discovers
that he is outnumbered four-to-one. Hundreds of Lakota warriors
overwhelm his troops, killing them to the last man, in a battle later
called Custer's Last Stand. News of the massacre shocks the nation, and
Sheridan floods the region with troops who methodically hunt down the
Lakota and force them to surrender. Sitting Bull, however, eludes
capture by leading his band to safety in Canada.
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