First Sergeant I-See-O (Plenty Fires), a.k.a. Tah-bone-ma, (c.1849 – 1927) was a Native American of the Kiowa tribe who served with distinction as an Indian scout in the United States Army from 1889 until his death.
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Early life
I-See-O was born on a reservation near Fort Larned, Kansas. When he was about 18 years old in 1867 he witnessed the Medicine Lodge Council which resulted in the Medicine Lodge Treaty between the United States government, represented by Lieutenant General William T. Sherman and the tribes of the southwest.
Three treaties resulted from the council. The first treaty was signed October 21, 1867, with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. The second, with the Kiowa-Apache, was signed the same day. The third treaty was signed with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho on October 28. Although provisions of the treaties were to be later violated by the United States, the tribes which signed the treaty were able to win a number of court cases against the United States government in the 20th Century.
Late in his life, I-See-O was able to identify the exact location of the Council for a commission which wanted to build a monument to the event.
In 1883 I-See-O (then using the name Tah-Bone-Ma) served as a private in the Indian Police of the Indian Territory (which would later become the state of Oklahoma) and was paid five dollars a month.
I-See-O is listed (under the name of Tah-Bone-Ma) was listed on the April 30, 1889 census of the Kiowa tribe. He is listed as being 40 years old along with his 38 year old wife Pau-to-mah, two daughters (ages 15 and 10) and a five-year-old son.
Military career
About 1889, I-See-O enlisted in the 7th Cavalry in 1889 and I-See-O taught future Army Chief of Staff Hugh L. Scott (then a lieutenant) Native American sign language and techniques of frontier warfare. When Scott was given command of Troop L of the regiment, he has I-See-O serve as his first sergeant. I-See-O and Scott worked together closely until Scott was reassigned in 1897.
During the ghost dance phenomenon of the early 1890s, I-See-O helped in persuading the Apache and Kiowa tribes not to go to war. This action, while serving the interest of white settlers and speculators, undoubtedly also saved the lives of many Native Americans. Scott's gratitude to I-See-O was such that, when he was Chief of Staff of the Army, he allowed for Sergeant I-See-O to remain on active duty for life.
I-See-O re-enlisted in the United States Army Indian Scouts for three years on February 26, 1897 as a private and served under future U.S. Army commanding general Nelson A. Miles. When his enlistment expired, I-See-O re-enlisted for three years on February 26, 1900 and was soon after promoted to sergeant.
In 1913, I-See-O (about the age of 64) left the Army and went to live with his family in the Big Bend of the Washita River. Having lived in pre-industrial environments all his life, he was stunned by the complexities of modern life and was reduced the poverty as he lacked employable skills.
Fortunately for I-See-O, his old friend Lieutenant, now Major General, Hugh L. Scott was Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Scott heard about I-See-O's difficulties and made a personal appeal to the Secretary of War in his behalf. As a result, I-See-O was re-enlisted at Fort Myer, Virginia on January 31, 1915 as a sergeant, and assigned to the Fort Sill Detachment of Indian Scouts. I-See-O was the only member of the unit and had the distinction of being the last living Kiowa Indian Scout in the U.S. Army.
General Scott, in a letter to the commanding officer at Fort Sill, dated February 1, 1915, said: "I would like to have you let him live on the reservation or out among his people, as he elects, and see that he gets pay, clothing, and rations from your Quartermaster, and that when his time expires he be re-enlisted as a sergeant until he dies. He is old and mediaeval, his mind is back in the middle ages, and he has simply been stunned by civilization. I do not see how he survived this long. When the government needed him he was supremely loyal, against the wishes of his own people."
In 1925, Sergeant I-See-O visited President Calvin Coolidge at the White House with other members of the Kiowa tribe. I-See-O wore his Army uniform on this occasion.
Death
Sergeant I-See-O died on March 11, 1927 in town of Lawton, Oklahoma. He is buried in the post cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.