CRAZY HORSE: THE SHY WARRIOR
This is believed to be Crazy Horse.
By Alex B., Age 11
CONTENTS Research paper…………………………………………………………………2-3 Dialogue………………………………………………………………………….3 Timeline………………………………………………………………………..4-5 Cemetery……………………………………………………………………….6-7 Summary of Genres………………………………………………………………8 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...9
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Alex Botsford age 11 3/13/07 A dark skinned woman cradled her crying newborn baby while singing lullabies so he might quiet down and fall asleep. Then the baby closed his eyes and dozed off while his mother carefully set him down in a basket so she could tiptoe outside. She met her husband and they talked of a name for their son. They decided on Curly because of his curly hair. Curly was born around 1840, in Black Hills, SD. Curly had an older sister, Laughing One, and a few years later another boy, Little Hawk, was born to their family. Curly and his family were from the Oglala tribe, which was one of the seven that made up the Lakota. Before an Indian boy got his final name, men of high rank were allowed to call him whatever they wanted to as long as it was nice. Some of Curly’s names were Light Skin, Horse on Sight, and Fast One. Ever since Curly was a boy, he liked to spend most of his time alone. Many times he was found in shadows listening to adult conversations. He didn't always look people in the eye because he was shy. Even as an adult, he was very set back at tribal meetings and didn’t say much. There are no accurate pictures of Crazy Horse because he said, “My friend, why should you wish to shorten my life by taking from me my shadow?” Although being shy, he was always there when his people needed him. To prove himself, a young teen had to gather a small war party, raid an enemy village, and steal two or more horses before becoming a warrior. During Curly’s attack, arrows whizzed back and forth on the field. Even though few of the Oglala men had been hit, and the defense clouds were thick, the Oglalas fell back. Curly wanted to become a warrior so he started to ride forward. Two men jumped out at him and with fast reflexes, he shot them both. Because of that, Curly's father changed Curly's name to Crazy Horse. Curly's father, originally named Crazy Horse, changed his own name to Worm. Crazy Horse had overwhelming ability to catch wild horses and tame them. In future raids, when he and other young men went on their own tiny attacks, he always came home with the most horses. The Battle of Little Bighorn is probably the most outstanding event in Crazy Horse's life and in Native American history. It all started when the Indians were going to meet and discuss what was to be done with the incoming settlers crossing their territory. When the US government got wind of it they thought it the perfect time to destroy the Indians so they could have a free pass west. George Armstrong Custer was chosen to lead the men. While marching, Custer sent some scouts up ahead to see what was happening. When the scouts returned, they said that the whole army of 647 would die if they attacked. Custer ignored the scouts' advice and reinforcement offers from Washington because he thought he would win without help so then he would be highly honored. By the time Custer arrived, his men were tired because he made them march through the night, again, for the glory. Also, the total Indian count reached nearly 9,000. Because of Custer’s mistake, the Battle lasted less than an hour, and in the end Custer and his men lay on the ground. An interviewed Indian said, “As we rode toward them we could see their legs shaking and they could barely lift their guns.” Another one of the later interviewed Indians said his friend pointed out Custer’s Body and said, “He thought he was going to be the greatest man in the world, but there he is.”
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When Crazy Horse finally let the government take him and his tribe to a resettlement camp, the commander of the fort was secretly planning to arrest Crazy Horse so that he could send him to a prison island near Florida. When Crazy Horse realized what was happening, he pushed away the guards and started for the door. The guards caught up and jumped on him while a soldier shoved his bayonet into Crazy Horse’s chest. The great warrior died September 6, 1877.
Genre #3 Dialogue Between Curly and his Father Setting: An Indian father and son sit curled up in a sweat lodge, a dome structure made out of deerskins and branches for spiritual cleansing. It had a small fire in the middle with wet stones on it to create steam. Indians used this because they thought that it drove the bad “spirits” out of them (making them clean). The two persons happened to be Curly and Crazy Horse. It was three years after Curly’s vision quest that he finally told his father about his dream. Father: “Why did you wait so long to tell me about your vision?” Son: “I’m sorry but I thought that it wasn’t the right time before this.” Father: “Well, I forgive you.” Son: “I did see one thing before you found me and woke me up. There was a plain man on a floating horse; he had no war paint, but he was riding into battle. He wore one hawk’s feather flat on the top of his head and had a small, brown pebble tied behind his left ear. The rider called to me and said to never wear a war bonnet or paint my horse for battle. Instead I am to throw dust over my steed and self. He also said to not take anything for myself. While he explained this, a dark army seemed to close in on him. When they shot at the rider, everything fell away as it tried to hit him. After this, he said to only paint myself with gray spots of hail and one red streak of lightning. Then it all faded from view as you woke me up.” Father: “This means that you must dress as he dressed, and of course, do as he said. The part of not taking things for yourself means that if you do not, you cannot be harmed.” Epilogue: Curly applied this interpretation or “medicine” to his life as much as possible. Once, when he forgot the rules, he paid with pain. He had tried to take scalps of the dead enemy right after a battle. As he lifted them, a retreating Indian shot an arrow into the air and it happened to fall directly into Curly’s heel. Crazy Horse interpreted this as punishment for disobeying his “sacred” dream.
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Events in Crazy Horse’s life
Events elsewhere
Around 1840 Curly is born near Black Hills SD. 1844 Curly’s mother dies. 1844 YMCA was founded. 1846 Irish potato famine is at its worst. 1849 California gold rush pulls many across the US.
1854 Curly secretly leaves the camp for his Vision Quest, not remembering to have an adult with him. 1857 Curly tells his father about his dream. 1858 Curly earns the name Crazy Horse in his first horse raid.
1858 Charles Darwin travels to the Galapagos Islands off the west coast of South America and creates the theory of evolution. 1861 The Civil War is fought.
1861 The Indians relax while US soldiers go east to fight in the Civil War.
1865 Crazy Horse and a band of warriors attack a group of settlers who were on the Oregon Trail, crossing the Platte River in South Dakota. 1867 Crazy Horse participates in the Wagon Box Fight, when the Indians attacked US soldiers gathering wood.
1865 Lewis Carroll writes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
1867 Russia sells Alaska to America. 1869 Transcontinental Railroad is built.
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1871 Crazy Horse marries Black Shawl and she has a baby girl named They Are Afraid Of Her.
1873 QWERTY keyboards are invented.
1874 They Are Afraid of her dies when she is three from cholera.
1876 The Battle of Little Bighorn is fought.
1876 Alexander Graham Bell first uses the telephone.
1877 Crazy Horse moves tribe to resettlement camp and after a 4month stay, he is killed on September 6.
1877 German inventor, Nikolaus A. Otto, builds the internal combustion engine for automobiles.
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Tombstones of Crazy Horse's Friends and Family
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Summary of Genres Dialogue – The whole thing is true. The conversation is made up, but the content is real. Timeline – All of these events are true, both in Crazy Horse’s life and in other history. Cemetery – The characters really did exist and those were their actual names. The real tombstones probably don’t look like I have them.
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Bibliography
Birchfeild, D.L. Crazy Horse. New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 2003.
“Crazy Horse.” New Perspectives on the West.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crazyhorse.htm Freedman, Russel. The Life and Death of crazy Horse. New York: Holiday House, 1996. Haugen, Brenda. Crazy Horse Sioux Warrior. Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2006. Hogan, Maggie and Cindy Wiggers. The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide. United States: GeoCreations, Ltd., 2003.
Works Cited for Additional Genres Dialogue – Birchfeild, 10-12; Haugen, 29, 38-40; Freedman, 31-34.
Timeline – Haugen, 96-101; Hogan and Wiggers, 348. Cemetery – Freedman, 3, 12, 42-43, 57, 67, 72-73, 89.
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