The Ghost Dance religion was the result of an electrifying vision of a Paiute shaman from Nevada named Wovoka. He claimed that if a dance the whites called the Ghost Dance was performed often enough by Indians throughout the West, their ancestors and the buffalo would return and the intrusive whites would disappear. Lakota leaders such as Gall and Red Cloud were skeptical of the new religion. But Sitting Bull, probably for political reasons, allowed his followers to participate in the Ghost Dance despite McLaughlin’s strong objections. These Ghost Dancers were so intimidating that Gall and John Grass asked McLaughlin for 10 guns to protect themselves and their bands from Sitting Bull’s more zealous adherents.

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A controversial attempt by McLaughlin’s Indian police to arrest Sitting Bull resulted in the stubborn chief’s untimely death on December 15, 1890. When some of Sitting Bull’s outraged followers joined Big Foot’s Minneconjou band in their trek to Pine Ridge, where the most determined Ghost Dancers were, a tragic event occurred. Soldiers clashed with Big Foot’s people on December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek — the last major battle between the Lakota Sioux and the U.S. Army.

Gall’s response to Sitting Bull’s death is still subject to conflicting interpretations. Until his death in 1894, the leader of Standing Rock’s cooperative Indian faction did remain loyal to McLaughlin. But Gall’s years with Sitting Bull as a close friend and ally must have meant something to him. Nine months after Sitting Bull’s death, he encountered McLaughlin’s influential Sioux wife, Marie Louise. He expressed his alarm over the tales of brutality surrounding the bungled attempt to arrest Sitting Bull. Her response was to scold him and warn him not to believe all the stories that were being circulated by the troublemakers who were responsible for the chaos at Standing Rock during the past year.

Gall’s forbearance in the face of Mrs. McLaughlin’s biting criticisms was as much a result of Major McLaughlin’s support for Gall as it was of the respect Gall felt toward the charismatic Indian agent. To minimize Sitting Bull’s alleged obstructionism at Standing Rock, McLaughlin had lauded Gall’s accomplishments while denigrating Sitting Bull’s. The result was that Gall, at the time of his death, was almost as well known as his old mentor. During the following years, however, Gall’s renown was dramatically eclipsed by Sitting Bull’s. His accomplishments were downgraded almost as much as Sitting Bull’s had been during his declining years.

This article was written by Robert W. Larson and originally appeared in the June 2006 issue of Wild West magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Wild West magazine today!

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