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Spotted Tail

Spotted Tail, a chief of the Brule Teton Dakota tribe, of great fighting renown, was born about 1833, in Wyoming. He was prominent in the destruction of Lieutenant Grattan's detachment in 1854, and subsequently, was a terror on the Oregon Trail. In 1865 he signed a treaty embracing all of present South Dakota, agreeing to the construction of a railroad. Spotted Tail is also famous for the fact that he attempted to negotiate in Washington for the sale of mineral rights, gold having been discovered in Black Hills. This sagacious Indian had fully informed himself about the value of the precious metal. No agreement was reached, however, and Spotted Tail, after much valiant fighting, was killed in 1881.