Old
Man Afraid of His Horse died in 1889 at Pine Ridge. The
Pine Ridge censuses for 1887 and 1888 indicate that he was
born in or about 1808. According to his own statement, made
at Red Cloud Agency in 1874, he was the third in direct
line to bear the name. Generational dead reckoning indicates
that his father was born about 1780, his paternal grandfather
about 1755.
According to a statement by He Dog (to Scudder Mekeel, 1931:
precis in George E. Hyde papers, Kingsley Bray collection)
the "first Old Man Afraid" belonged to the Kuhinyan
band of the Oglala tribe. He Dog further identified this
tiyospaye as a sub-band of the larger Kiyaksa band. Hyde
interpreted this statement to refer to the father of 'Old'
Man Afraid, although given the latter's own statement it
might refer to his grandfather.
The family is identified with the Hunkpatila band
of Oglalas during the adulthood of Old Man Afraid of His
Horse. His oldest son and namesake was born into that band
(ca. 1836), a kinsman named Yellow Eagle was identified
as the Hunkpatila chief in 1839 (by Joseph Nicollet), and
Old Man Afraid was rated the chief of the band in an 1867
tabulation. The band split over its stance toward the USA
- repeatedly after 1866, but finally in 1871 when the Man
Afraid segment settled permanently at Red Cloud Agency.
It then became regularly known as the Payabya band.
The non-treaty faction retained the Hunkpatila
name, and remained in the Powder River country, led by such
headmen as Little Hawk, Worm, Yellow Eagle (III?), and most
famously Crazy Horse. —
Kingsley Bray