Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/868

* RED CLOUD. 766 RED CROSS SOCIETIES. RED CLOUD (translation of his native name, Maqpeya-luta) (c.l825— ). A chief of the Uga- lala Sioux. He was born about 1825, and rapidly rose to the first rank in his band by his bravery and success upon the warjjatli and wisdom in council. He was active in wars with the Crow, Blaclcfoot, and other tribes, and fought against the Government in the war which began in 18G3 and lasted almost continuously until 1868. With .Sitting Bull he opposed the sale of the Black Hills in 1870, and also the agreement of 1889, by which the Sioux surrendered half of their remaining country. He supported the Messiah doctrine and the ghost dance in 1890. In his warrior days, according to his own statement, he 'counted coup' eighty times, i.e. performed eighty sejiarate deeds of valor against the enemy, any one of which entitled him to some distin- guishing badge of honor. His most notable en- counter was an engagement with the Crows, in which he is said to have killed fourteen of the enemy. As a delegate for his people he made numerous visits to Washington. RED CROSS, Knights and Ladies of the. A fi'aternal and benefit order founded in 1879 by members of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and other societies. The order pro- vides death, old age, and disability benefits, and claims to have an ample reserve fund to meet all contingencies. It is under the supervision of the Insurance Departments of the various States in which councils exist, and the rates for in- surance are based on the Fraternal Congress Expe- rience Table of Mortalit.v. The ritual is founded on the life and teaclvings of Constantine the Great. The emblem of the order is a red Greek cross, surmounted by a crown with a white five- pointed star in the centre. The motto is 'Omnia pro caritate.' The total membership in 1902 was 427,426. RED CROSS, OunER of the. ( 1 ) A Russian order with two classes, established in 1878 at the close of the Turkish War. It is conferred on women onlv, and is bestowed by the Empress. (2) An English order founded by ueen Victoria, in 188.3, for women who have distinguished them- selves in the care of sick soldiers. It is con- ferred on foreigners as well as English women. The decoration is a golden cross bearing the words 'Faith, Hope, Charity,' and the date 1883. RED CROSS KNIGHT, The. The hero of the first book of S|)ciisci"s Faerie Qiiecue, t,vpif.v- ing holiness, and secondarily .Saint George, also the Church of England. At first an awkward clown, when armed he becomes the ".goodliest man in that company" and the cliampion of Truth -(Una) against the dragon. Deceived b,v Archimago, he deserts Una for Duessa (Rome), and Una with the lion (Reason), meeting Archi- mago disguised as the Red Cross Knight, is de- ceived also. The real Knight is attacked bv Orgoglio (Pride) and thrown into prison, from which he is rescued by Prince Arthur. After resting in the House of Holiness he wins the victory over the Dragon and marries Una. RED CROSS SOCIETIES. International as- sociations whose ]iiirpnse is to mitigate the hor- rors of war by alleviating the sufl'erings of the sick and wounded. They are the result of an agitation begun by 'M. .Jean Henri Dunant (q.v.). a. philanthropic citizen of Geneva, Switzerland. On June 24, 1859, he chanced to be present at the battle of Solferino and was an e,vcwitness to the vast amount of unnecessary sufl'ering that resulted from the inability of the regular sur- gical corps to care for the thousands of woun<led who lay upon tlic field. Three years later he publislied the widely read book, [')! souvenir de Holfcri)io, in which he vividl.v described the hor- rors he had itnessed and proposed that societies should be formed in every country in time of peace for the jiurpose of training nurses and collecting supplies so that when war broke out the work of the regular military surgical corps could be supplemented. JNI. Dunant's proposal was well received by the tJenevan Society of Public Utilitv, and an agitation was begun which resulted in an international conference at Geneva in October, 18C3. A provisional pro- gramme was agreed upon Ijy the delegates of the sixteen nations that were represented, and in the following August a more formal diplomatic con- gress, composed of representatives from the same nvimber of nations, was held in the same city. On the 22d of that month was signed what is known as the Geneva Convention (q.v.). Contrary to generally received opinion, the Con- vention makes no direct provision for the organ- ization of Red Cross societies, but it renders such societies possible; and at the previous con- ference it had been stipulated that each nation which should ratify the Convention should have one national committee or society, civil in its character and functions, which should alone have the right to authorize the sending of surgical corjjs to a war. The Convent icm was quickly ratified by fourteen nations, a number that has now been increased to forty-three, and thus its provisions have come to be a recognized part of international law. During the Servian War of 187G the Turkish Government notified the signa- torv powers that it had adopted the crescent instead of the red cross as the badge of its societies, and Russia, which shortl.v afterwards entered the conflict, agreed to accept the substi- tution provided Turkey would respect the red cross of her adversaries. When the American National Red Cross So- ciet.v was formed in 1881 (the Convention was ratified liy the United States in the following year) its president. Jliss Clara Barton (q.v.), de- cided that its usefulness should be widened by including not onl.v relief during war, but also during great calamities, such as famine, pesti- lence, flood, or fire. This new feature received the unanimous sanction of the international and national committees. In carrying out the idea the American Association has expended about $2,000,000 since its organization, and has afford- ed valuable relief to the sufl'erers from the Michigan fires of 1881. the Fh}rida yellow fever of 1888, the .Johnstown flood of 1880. the Rus- sian famine of 1891-92. the South Carolina tidal wave of 1893, the Armenian massacres of 1890, the Spanish reconcentrado system in Cuba in 1897-98, the Galveston tidal wave of 1900, the JNIont Pelee eruption of 1902. and other disas- ters. The assistance which the association ren- dered during the Spanish-American War of 1898 should also be mentioned. It was soon found that the Convention of 1864 was in certain respects inadequate and that some revision was desirable. In 18G7 the first