"Sitting Bull was not in the fight, but watched it from a bluff some distance off."

Legendary Sioux warrior Sitting Bull had his bravery and honesty called into question in a revisionist report in the September 15, 1889 Brooklyn Daily Eagle that was originally published in the Minneapolis Journal. An excerpt:

“W.H. Mosher, of Ypsilanti, Mich., is in the city. He was formerly in charge of a store at Standing Rock Agency, Dak., and among his frequent visitors were Sitting Bull, Gall, Red Cloud and others of the famous personages of the Sioux tribe. Mr. Mosher was recently discussing Sitting Bull’s claim to honors in the Custer fight.

‘Sitting Bull has become famous as the hero of the Custer battle on the Indian side, but the fact is that he was not in the fight at all. I can understand Sioux well and speak it fairly. One night Sitting Bull and Gall met in my store and for over an hour discussed the details of the battle, and once or twice almost reached a fighting point. Gall was making an attack on Sitting Bull for attempting to steal his bravery.

‘The fact is that Sitting Bull was the first to reach a telegraph station with the news of the massacre, and he made the most of the opportunity. He pictured himself in the the thickest of the fight and had scalps with him to prove it, but they were all secured after the battle and not in it. Sitting Bull was not in the fight, but watched it from a bluff some distance off. At its close he rushed down and took three or four scalps and then rode away and painted himself a hero. At least that is what the Indians say. Gall was the natural leader and is regarded as a very brave warrior. Sitting Bull was merely a medicine man and had the reputation of being a coward.'”