This book was written during the uprising of the Sioux Indians and their kindred tribes in the Dakotas in 1891. The time came when the Indians declared that they preferred extinction to slavery or to the adoption of colonial civilization. Thus, it was deemed a wise government policy to rid the lands east of the Mississippi of the Indians' presence. They granted migrating tribes large reservations and self-government, provided they would remain on the reservations and do what was asked of them. Numerous Indian tribes were forced into singular areas. There was insufficient land and food for the many different tribes. Inevitably the Indian tribes became more hostile and fought against one another. All of them continued with the traditional hostility to the white man regarding his advance as dispossession and his methods of life as obnoxious. Their quest for gold in California, development of agriculture and mining brought the white man into contact with the Indians producing constant clashes of the two races. This book tells the story of these bloody wars under the lead of Sitting Bull and includes a full account of the famous Messiah Craze and Ghost Dances. This DSI edition has been digitally retype set retaining the look and feel of the original work.