Sitting Bull
Preserved but no longer current.
A famous warrior chief of the Sioux Indians, born on Grand River, South Dakota, in 1834. He commanded the Indians who defeated General Custer at Little Big Horn, 1 876, but was Rilled on December 5th, 1890 while resisting arrest at Fort Yates, N. Dakota, during the Sioux rebellion of that year.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Sitting Bull” mean?
A famous warrior chief of the Sioux Indians, born on Grand River, South Dakota, in 1834. He commanded the Indians who defeated General Custer at Little Big Horn, 1 876, but was Rilled on December 5th, 1890 while resisting arrest at Fort Yates, N. Dakota, during the Sioux rebellion of that year.
Is “Sitting Bull” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.