By western author Nick Brumby

“An honorable and peaceable Indian, a man of good character, a very fine man, deprecated hostilities and was a peacemaker.”

— Interpreter Louis Bordeaux

He was 6’9”, weighed 280 pounds, and was first cousin to Native American warrior legend Crazy Horse.

Yet Minneconjou Teton Lakota Chief Touch the Clouds was also a legend in his own right, known not only for his huge stature, but also for his bravery and skill in battle, physical strength and diplomatic engagements with the US government.

Born sometime between 1837 and 1839, Touch the Clouds was the youngest son of the powerful Chief Lone Horn, leader of a Minneconjou band called the Wakpokinyan (Flies Along the Stream). There is evidence suggesting that he was a cousin to Crazy Horse.

Touch The Clouds earned the respect of his peers and was cosen as the head of one of the tribe’s warrior societies. In this role, he often led war parties against enemy tribes. Lieutenant Henry R. Lemly, who met Touch the Clouds in 1877, described his “magnificent physique, standing even in his moccasins, and without an ounce of surplus flesh, weighing 280 pounds”.

With ever more settlers heading to the northern Great Plains anxiety grew among the various Lakota bands as they debated what to do. The Wakpokinyan split, with part of the band (including Touch the Clouds) going into the Cheyenne River Agency on the Missouri River. Lone Horn quickly learned the skills of a diplomat as he struggled to maintain dialogue between the various factions of Minneconjou and their relatives.

After Lone Horn died in 1875, Touch the Clouds was declared the new chief just as the US Army was beginning its campaign against the non-treaty Cheyenne and Lakota bands.

Shortly after word of Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn reached him, Touch the Clouds pleaded with army officers at the nearby post: “Have compassion on us. Don’t punish us all because some of us fought when we had to.”

In 1877, after a five-day council with other chiefs, Touch the Clouds led his band in to surrender in northwestern Nebraska. Touch the Clouds was the first to ride forward. “I lay down this gun,” he announced to all who could hear, “as a token of submission to Gen. Crook, to whom I wish to surrender.”

In the months that followed, Touch the Clouds and the Minneconjou lived peacefully at the Spotted Tail agency. The interpreter at Spotted Tail, Louis Bordeaux, described the Minneconjou leader as “an honorable and peaceable Indian, a man of good character, a very fine man, deprecated hostilities and was a peacemaker.” The army persuaded him to enlist in the Indian Scouts. Touch the Clouds served as the first sergeant for Company E.

Touch the Clouds’ relationship with Army officials soured in late August 1877 when he and Crazy Horse were asked to lead scouts north to fight Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce. Four days later, the army attempted to arrest Crazy Horse, but he slipped away to the Spotted Tail Agency.

Touch the Clouds accompanied his friend back to Camp Robinson, where Crazy Horse was fatally bayonetted when army soldiers attempted to force him into the guardhouse.

Touch the Clouds was allowed to remain with Crazy Horse that night until the Oglala died. Placing his hand on Crazy Horse’s chest, Touch the Clouds said, “It is good: he has looked for death, and it has come.” Touch the Clouds went to Washington, D.C. as a delegate the following month.

In 1890, Touch the Clouds’s brother, Spotted Elk, died in the Wounded Knee Massacre. 150 other Minneconjou men, women and children were also killed. Touch The Clouds was made Minneconjou headman, and for the rest of his life he advocated the rights of the Sioux people. He travelled to towns near the Cheyenne River Agency and gave speeches about the rights Indians had to a good education and freedom.

Touch The Clouds died on September 5, 1905. aged around 66 or 68 years old. Touch the Clouds was married at least twice. He had several daughters and at least one son. His oldest son, Amos Charging First, succeeded his father as a community leader.

Today, Touch the Clouds is remembered for his military prowess, his courage, and his competence as a negotiator and a diplomat.

About Nick Brumby

I like a good story. And of all stories, I love westerns the most.

As a kid, I spent far too many afternoons re-watching Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, picking up ‘Shane’ for just one more read, or saddling up beside Ben Cartwright when ‘Bonanza’ was on TV each afternoon.

I’m a former journalist and I love horses, dogs, and the occasional bourbon whiskey. I live with my wife, daughter and our ever-slumbering hound in a 1800’s-era gold mining town – our house is right on top of the last working gold mine in the area. There may not be much gold left, but there’s history wherever you look.

I hope you enjoy my westerns as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Happy trails,

Nick