General Johnathan Richard Mills

The following is from Major Johnathan Richard Mills whose daughter was kidnapped by the Lakota.

   I suppose that when we finally caught up with Mighty Buffalo's people for good we had expected things to be pretty much the same. Maybe Rebecca (His kidnapped daughter) would be the little girl I remember her as, or for her husband to still be the strong ageless warrior, and for Mighty Buffalo to be the young chief I had met. But twenty two years can do a lot to a people who were once strong , proud, and free. The young warriors were fierce, unafraid, and relentless. But now they stand before us starving and scarcely clothed. Many are sick and I can see in all of them that they are tired. Tired of running, tired of fighting to save what little they have left to call their own, tired of hoping that the whites would eventually see the error of their ways and let the Lakota free to live and hunt again.

   What have we done?

   I myself once agreed that Indians were no more than savage, uncivilized beasts and we pursued them into becoming just like us because we only saw that they were uncivilized because they were not like us. What have we done? Today I throw down my weapon and will never more use it against the Lakota. I would join them, but considering the hell that I have put them through and the hatred in their eyes I can understand why they would not accept me.

   I have wasted twenty two years of my life fighting to destroy the very essence of the Lakota and now I want to give it all back, but I cannot. Once you take something like that away it is much too late to say that you are sorry.

   What have we done?

   General Johnathan Richard Mills
   11 November 1890