and on December 15, 1890, orders to arrest
him were issued. Several Apache Indian police
confronted the old chief at his residence, and
he surrendered without a struggle. However,
numerous followers surrounded his lodge and
blocked his departure. Shots rang out on both
sides and Sitting Bull, his teenage son, and five
Sioux lay dead in the snow. Six Apache police-
men also died. A few days later, a detachment
of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry also massacred a
number of Ghost Dance followers at Wounded
Knee, bringing the tale of Sioux resistance to
its final, tragic conclusion. Defeat may have
been inevitable, but to his final days Sitting
Bull was unyielding in his determination to
live only the life of his forefathers.
Bibliography
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Edmunds, R. David. American Indian Leaders:
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Looking to the North for My Life”: Sitting Bull,
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James, and Paul Stekler. Killing Custer: The Battle
of Little Big Horn and the Fate of the Plains Indi-
ans.New York: W. W. Norton, 1994.SKORZENY, OTTO
Skorzeny, Otto
(June 12, 1908–July 5, 1975)
German Waffen-SS Officer
R
eviled as “the most dangerous man in
Europe,” Skorzeny was a special-forces
leader of exceptional size, bravery, and
guile. His daring exploits include rescuing
Italian dictator Benito Mussoliniin 1943 and
kidnapping other heads of state. After World
War II he channeled his clandestine expertise
into an underground railroad to rescue for-
mer SS personnel.
Otto Skorzeny was born in Vienna, Austria,
on June 12, 1908, where he trained as an engi-
neer. While studying at the University of Vi-
enna he joined one of the many dueling soci-
eties then in vogue and acquired a facial scar
across his left cheek. Within a few years, he
would be known as “Scarface” to friend and
enemy alike. The hardships of the Great De-
pression induced him to join the Nazi Party in
1930, for he believed that only Adolf Hitler, a
fellow Austrian, could rescue the country. In
1938, he became an active participant in the
Anschluss, Hitler’s forced annexation of his
country to Germany. Skorzeny was working
for a construction firm when he was drafted
into the military, but to avoid the drudgery of
army life, he tried joining the Luftwaffe as a
pilot. Rejected as too old, he served as a com-
munications expert before volunteering for
the elite SS (Schutzstaffeln, or protection
squads), Hitler’s personal armed forces. With