| INDIAN WARS IN THE WEST, RESERVATIONS Alas, the trail west saw great sorrows abound Despite all its grandeur and its beauty reknowned. As still we must tell of another great sin: The cruel treatment of those with a red-tinted skin. As native-Indian ways and the procession of whites Were like oil and water and lead only to fights. As on the Great Plains, where tribes found their food, The great buffalo herds were nearly wiped out for good. And the U.S. did plan to limit relations And force all the tribes onto set reservations, (Which were parcels of land for our native born brothers, Though often rocky and ragged, much worse than the others). And treaties were signed -- and yet repeatedly broken, -- As if oaths truly sworn had never been spoken! For whereever gold sparkled and gleamed in the soil, Another truce fell apart, and justice was foiled. Indeed, better angels of man had not appeared yet, And violence would come and then great shame and regret. As a deep thirst for space and a brutal ill-will Meant a flow of new tears and more blood to spill. And in Dakota's Black Hills where angry chiefs did gather, Intruders soon followed and the peace they did shatter. As fed up with forays and with all treaties and tricks, The Sioux went to war in 1876. As the great Sitting Bull and the brave Crazy Horse Now staged a revolt and a display of armed force. When at Little Bighorn they met General Custer, And beseiged his stray troops with all they could muster! Ah, but one rout couldn't halt the grim cast of their plight -- More soldiers would come, much too many to fight. Still, a wonder to cherish by all who would look: The great spirit and mettle of those proud native folk. |
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| Worksheet # 80 |
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