Ear Rings, Wife of Buffalo Meat

Written by Elva Shartel Ferguson

Ear Rings was born after her father's death. Her mother married again to Bear Tongue, a good man, who taught her about the Great Spirit and gave her much good advice, so that she lived a good life

When she was old enough to learn to ride, she became a good rider, and was like a boy, not afraid of anything. She used to ride with the hunters in the buffalo chase, and often lassoed the buffalo calves with a rope.

She was sixteen years old when the battle of Sand Creek occurred. When the alarm was given she ran out of the tent, and taking a girl about her own age by the hand, they ran to the creek, and finding a spade, dug a hole in the sand, and were thus protected from the flying bullets of the soldiers. After the firing ceased, they climbed out, and looking over the ground, found many dead and scalped. The soldiers also had removed the moccasins from the right foot of each man, woman, and child that had been killed. She also saw the soldiers capture and carry away two little Indian girls. Her little sister, eleven years old, had tried to escape by running away, and was shot down. She had loved her sister very much, and mourned her for a long time.

After the battle they went to the "Never Turn Back" band of Indians, who were then camped between the Kaw and Missouri Rivers. Afterward, the "Scabby Band" to which her people belonged, came south to what is now western Oklahoma. One day they saw soldiers but they were not molested. They visited the Kiowas, some of their band having relatives among that tribe. Her people had not many horses and their tents and bedding had all been destroyed by the soldiers at Sand Creek. The Kiowas received them kindly, and supplied them with the things they needed.

Afterward they learned that there were many buffalo on the Cimarron river, so they moved to that country and lived in peace for a long time. During the autumn, five large government wagons arrived, loaded with supplies of groceries, clothing, tents and bedding, and were distributed among them in place of the tings they had lost at Sand Creek.

Buffalo Meat was not only a great warrior, but also a good hunter and often sent her family presents of game, so a friendship grew up between them. Little Bear, her nearest male relative, gave her to Buffalo Meat, for a wife, and many presents were exchanged.

She said, "Our life was very happy together, though often when my husband came tired from the hunting, he was cross, and many times mistreated me, but we never separated." When Buffalo Meat was taken prisoner to Florida, she lived with her mother at Darlington. At that time she had one boy, two children having died. When the boy was put in school, they cut off his long black braids of hair, and soon afterward died. At that time they believed this to have been the cause of his death.

She said, "After Buffalo Meat returned he became a great drunkard and often abused me, but I was always very patient with him, and prayed for him. Other children came to us, and when our boy Raymond went away to school, I prayed for him often, though I was not yet a Christian. When the Mission was built, and some of the Cheyennes became Christian, I thought, 'This is what I wanted', and now I am very happy. I feel like I had something strong to hold on to, and it keeps me from falling."

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