Sitting Bull
Death

In 1890, James McLaughlin, the U.S. Indian agent at Fort Yates on Standing Rock Agency, feared that the Lakota leader was about to flee the reservation with the Ghost Dancers, so he ordered the police to arrest him.

On December 14, 1890, McLaughlin drafted a letter to Lieutenant Henry Bullhead, an Indian agency policeman named as Bull Head in the letter's beginning, which included instructions and a plan to capture Sitting Bull. The plan called for the arrest to take place at dawn on December 15 and advised the use of a light spring wagon to facilitate removal before his followers could rally. Bullhead decided against using the wagon. He intended to have the police officers force Sitting Bull to mount a horse immediately after the arrest.

Around 5:30 a.m. on December 15, 39 police officers and four volunteers approached Sitting Bull's house. They surrounded the house, knocked, and entered. Bull Head told Sitting Bull that he was under arrest and led him outside. Sitting Bull and his wife noisily stalled for time as the camp awakened and men converged at the house. As Bull Head ordered Sitting Bull to mount a horse, he said that the Indian Affairs agent wanted to see the chief, and that Sitting Bull could then return to his house. When Sitting Bull refused to comply, the police used force on him. The Sioux in the village were enraged. Catch-the-Bear, a Lakota, shouldered his rifle and shot Bull Head, who, in response, fired his revolver into the chest of Sitting Bull. Another police officer, Red Tomahawk, shot Sitting Bull in the head, and Sitting Bull dropped to the ground. Sitting Bull died between 12 and 1 p.m.

A close quarters fight erupted, and within minutes, several men were dead. The Lakota killed six policemen immediately, and two more died shortly after the fight, including Bull Head. The police killed Sitting Bull and seven of his supporters at the site, along with two horses.
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