Charging Thunder (George Edward Williams): Escape From Persecution
In spite of his youth, Charging Thunder likely bore witness to the arrest of twenty-seven Lakota Sioux by order of Lieutenant Governor Miles for performing the Ghost Dance at the Pine Ridge Agency in the fall of 1890. Though the Chicago Tribune claimed they were "not held as prisoners of war" (29 Jan 1891) General Miles forcibly removed them and did not allow them to leave Fort Sheridan, Illinois until Buffalo Bill Cody petitioned the Secretary of State James G. Blaine to allow their release into his custody.10
Using their imprisonment as leverage, Cody worked to recruit the incarcerated Ghost Dancers as performers for his upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. In his negotiation with Blaine, Cody claimed that touring with the show would further Native assimilation into white culture. Blaine relented, and in agreeing to travel with the show to the England, the prisoners greatly reduced the terms of their prison sentence. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven prisoners agreed to travel with the show, joined by a further forty-two Lakota Sioux from the Pine Ridge reservation. Whether as an imprisoned man or as a resident of the Pine Ridge reservation, Charging Thunder traveled overseas with this group in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in the 1892 season.
On January 12th, 1892, in Glasgow, Scotland, Charging Thunder was arrested for assault and served 30 days in Barlinnie prison. Upon his release on February 11th, he returned to the Wild West Show and completed the 1892 tour. His arrest was blamed on liquor consumption, with newspaper articles referencing his usual quiet and peaceful nature. Not only did this media coverage support racist stereotypes in Europe and United States about the impact of alcohol on Native Americans, it generated publicity for Buffalo Bill's show. News stories about Charging Thunder's arrest incentivized viewers eager to witness the "wild" nature of Native performers, something Cody profited from, even as he had promised Secretary Blaine his intent was to "civilize" the performers with his tour. 11
In spite of his previous arrest in the United Kingdom, Charging Thunder returned to England with the Buffalo Bill Show in 1902. This time, however, he was never to return to South Dakota. Charging Thunder married an American horse trainer, Josephine, and adopted the English name, George Edward Williams. He and Josephine had two daughters, Gladys and Bessie, and settled in the Gorton area of Manchester, England. Williams continued to work with circus, performing with and training elephants at the Belle Vue Circus. In a 2006 interview, his grandchildren tell stories of his particular love for an elephant named Nellie, his favorite of all the show's animals. Williams died on July 28th, 1919, and is buried in Manchester.
Williams' story is one of a contented family life, but also one of persecution and imprisonment. Buffalo Bill's Wild West show provided one of few outlets that allowed the Lakota Sioux to leave the Pine Ridge Agency reservation, and for the incarcerated Ghost Dancers, a literal escape from prison. Williams' decision to leave the show and begin a new life in England exemplifies both the exploitation and the avenues of possibility provided to Native performers in the Buffalo Bill Wild West show.
