Lot of 2. Copy of Telegram, on War Department, Signal Service, US Army Form No. 202. (5 x 7.75 in.) Received at Ft. Yates, ND, 6:49 PM, Nov. 20, 1890. To "McLaughlin Agt." "Ft. Yates, ND / If condition of affairs now & for future requires that Leaders of excitement or fomenters of disturbances should be arrested and confined to insure quiet and good order among Indians telegraph me names at once so that assistance of military while operating to suppress any attempted outbreak may be had to make arrest. / R.V. Belt, Actg Commissioner."ADS, 1p, 7.875 x 9.75 in., "Headquarters Dept of Dakota / St Paul, Minn." December 12, 1890. Document titled, "Official Copy of translation of Cipher telegraph / respectfully furnished Major James McLaughlin / (Signed) G. H. Patten / 2d Lieut 22d Infantry / Acting Post Adjutant," at foot. Translation reads, "To Commanding Officer / Fort Yates, N.D / The Division Commander has directed that you make it your especial duty to secure the person of Sitting Bull. / Call on Indian Agent to co-operate and render such assistance as will best promote the purpose in view / Acknowledge receipt and if not perfectly clear repeat back. / By command of / Gen'l Ruger / [?] M. Barber Asst. Adjt General."Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had had a vision of many soldiers falling upside down into the Lakota camp, interpreted by many that a major victory of the Lakota over American soldiers was coming. Less than a month later, a number of Lakota bands along with the Northern Cheyenne defeated the 7th Cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, seeming to confirm Sitting Bull's vision. This gave the Hunkpapa leader great influence over many northern Plains peoples.Of course, the Army responded with overwhelming force, causing many to surrender over the next few months. Sitting Bull refused, and instead, took his band into what is now Canada where he remained for the next four years. In 1881, he and most of his band returned and surrendered at Fort Buford, then transferred to Fort Yates adjacent to Standing Rock Agency.The officials at Standing Rock kept Sitting Bull and his band separate from other Hunkpapa at the agency. They were later transferred to Fort Randall as prisoners of war. After just shy of two years they were allowed to return to Standing Rock. A few months later, show promoter Alvaren Allen requested that Sitting Bull be allowed to tour around the northern states and parts of Canada. It was here he met Annie Oakley, and the two developed great respect for each other. It was Sitting Bull who gave her the nickname she would use for the remainder of her career - Little Sure Shot.The following year Sitting Bull was allowed to join Annie with Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Although he only worked a few months with Buffalo Bill, his appearances are legendary. He tried to use this platform to advocate for education for Indians and for improving Indian-White relations. But most whites believed the rumors (untrue) - or wanted to believe the rumors -  that he was cursing white people in his native language instead. Not only was Sitting Bull paid for his appearances in the show, but he charged for photographs and autographs. He gave away the small fortune that he earned to those less fortunate than himself.After Sitting Bull returned to Standing Rock, tensions increased between he and Agent McLaughlin, mostly over selling parts of the Sioux Reservation (Sitting Bull would never give up his land). After a few years of drought and severe winters that affected much of the western United States, a prophet appeared among the Paiute in the Great Basin region. Wovoka told the Indians that if they sang special songs and danced, their relatives and the buffalo would return and disease would drive out the white man leaving the Indians to hunt and roam their lands as before.This new "Ghost Dance" religion spread rapidly, with many tribes sending emissaries to the Paiute to learn the new songs and dances, and to construct Ghost Dance shirts, said to be bullet-proof. When the religion caught on at Standing Rock, Sitting Bull allowed the people to gather at his camp, but there is no evidence that he participated. However, this was surely what led Belt and others to worry about him becoming a "Leader of excitement and fomenter of disturbances." (Many in Washington were also worried that the Indians would try to drive the white people out directly, rather than having "Greater Powers" do it, as Wovoka predicted.)Apparently McLaughlin ordered Sitting Bull's arrest and the second telegram relays the order from General Thomas Ruger of the Army to arrest Sitting Bull. In his report for the Department of the Interior on Sitting Bull's death (published later), he acknowledges receipt of a copy of the telegram and consulted with the post commander as to the best way to arrest the Sioux Chief. McLaughlin argued that arresting him on one of the bi-weekly ration days would insure that there were very few Indians around, reducing the chances of some of his followers becoming excited about the arrest. The post commander agreed, setting the date at December 20, as long as the Indian police keep him under surveillance to keep Sitting Bull from leaving the reservation. On Dec. 11, Sitting Bull notified McLaughlin that he was planning to go to Pine Ridge Agency, so the arrest schedule was moved up.It was decided to arrest him early in the morning on December 15, 1890. 39 police officers and four volunteers approached Sitting Bull's cabin. Lt. Henry Bullhead, Indian agency policeman, knocked on the door. Sitting Bull and his wife stalled, creating much noise, so that his followers woke up and headed to the cabin to see what the ruckus was. When Sitting Bull refused to mount a horse for the trip to the agency office (where he would be formally arrested), the Indian policemen decided to use force. One of the bystanders shot at the officers. Lt. Bullhead fired a shot into Sitting Bull's chest, and another policeman, Red Tomahawk, shot him in the head. The police shot seven supporters and two horses in the ensuing fight. At least eight policemen were also killed, including Lt. Bullhead.Many Sioux had already left the reservation to follow the Ghost Dance. Within a couple weeks, having lost their leader, many Lakota returned, some at the insistence of the 7th Cavalry, to the reservation at Wounded Knee Creek. The massacre that followed was made worse by the belief that the shirts the Sioux were wearing would protect them from bullets, so, unfortunately, they made no attempt to seek shelter when the shooting started (and there are multiple versions of how it started). In another of those historical "what if's" - would this have happened if the Sioux still had the calm wisdom of their leader?Provenance: Ex. William P. Lemons Collection of the Standing Rock Reservation; portion of lot previously sold at Butterfield, 2003 Books, Manuscripts, and Entertainment Memorabilia Auction, Lot 3485; consigned by a private collector.