I'm reading a gripping biography of Red Cloud, the great Oglala chief. In the process I'm learning a lot more about the Lakota and that whole midwest territory. Red Cloud was an amazing strategian and had the respect of many tribes. What caused respect is ruthlessness, and fearless guerilla warfare that the U.S. military had not experienced. The Indians did not play by the rules that the soldiers had experienced in the Civil War. They didn't follow up victories and certainly weren't about to line up to be shot. Their cruelty was legendary, and that made them feared and avoided at all costs. The "treaties" were violated on both sides, so they were shams for show. One can't help but compare the Lakota to the Commanches, so terrorizing in the south. It was a violent way of life, and the only honor or goal was counting coup. The clash with whites was bound to be horrific.
I've been wondering where the boxes labeled for me from Amazon came from. Now my older daughter tells me they were for her, but somehow she mixed things up. That answers that mystery. Now I have to send them to her, so that's annoying. But I can't really keep her birthday gifts, can I? Just kidding.
My foster granddaughter and I had fun yesterday working on sewing projects for her to give as holiday gifts. We're doing felt ornaments, scarves and pillows. She is so good with the sewing machine now. How she is growing up!
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