{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_36559/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_36559","id":"gutenberg_36559","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36559","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indians of North America -- Folklore","Indians of North America -- Kansas"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by David Edwards, Anna Hall and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLEGENDS\nOF THE KAW\n\nINDIAN\nFOLK LORE\n\n\nDE VOE\n\n[Illustration: SCENE IN THE KANSAS VALLEY.]\n\n\n\n\nLEGENDS OF\nTHE KAW\n\n\nTHE FOLK-LORE\nOF\nTHE INDIANS OF THE\nKANSAS RIVER VALLEY.\n\n\nBY\nCARRIE DE VOE.\n\n\nFRANKLIN HUDSON PUBLISHING CO.,\nKANSAS CITY, MO.\n1904.\n\n\n\n\nCopyright, 1904, by\nFRANKLIN HUDSON PUBLISHING CO.,\nKansas City, Mo.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nI.\n\nINDIAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\n     The heroes of Kansas in the early days.--The first\n     inhabitants.--Pathos of Indian traditions and their tragic\n     interest.--Interpretation of myths.--Tradition of the Mississippi\n     Valley.--Theory of a dual soul.--Ancient religion of the North\n     American Indians.--Ideas of Divinity.--Spirits.--Communication with\n     the unseen world.--Description of heaven, found in the diary of\n     Rev. S. M. Irvin.--Algonquin prayer to Father Allouez.--The\n     _totem_.--The folk-lore of the Indian his literature.--Myth of a\n     prehistoric world.--The transformation.--The burning\n     earth.--Formation of the stars.--The Water-Maiden.--The\n     Earth-Maiden.--Michabou.--Worship of the heavenly\n     bodies.--Sacrifices.--Relation of dogs to the moon.--The Horned\n     Serpent.--The Prince of Rattlesnakes.--Hiawatha, the Indian\n     Messiah.--The Red Swan.--The Pipe of Peace.--Thunder and\n     lightning.--The Storm Giant.--Rainmakers.--The Wild Parsnip.--The\n     Spirit of Fire.--Fire legend of the Navajos.--The Shawnee and\n     Delaware type of life.--The imagery of the red man.--Knowledge of\n     the fundamental truths of nature.--Earliest record of the Middle\n     West.--Dominant tribes.--The Paducas.--The emigrant nations. 15\n\n\nII.\n\nTHE PAWNEES.\n\n     Wanderings in Kansas and Nebraska.--Origin.--The word\n     \"Pani.\"--Imitation of wolves.--Bands.--Tuhk-pah-huks-taht.--\n     Skidi-rah-ru.--Tuh-wa-hok-a-sha.--Tu-hi-'ts-pi-yet.--Hunting\n     in ancient times.--Weapons.--Utensils.--Government.--Dress.--\n     Lodges.--Music.--Courtship and marriage.--Religious ceremonies.--\n     The Buffalo Dance.--Departure for semi-annual buffalo hunt.--The\n     surround.--Ti-ra-wa, the Pawnee Deity.--The Na-hu-rac.--Sacrifices.\n     --The wonderful horse.--Homes of the Nu-hu-rac.--The Nu-hu-rac\n     doctors.--Medicine men and priests.--Belief in a prehistoric race.\n     --Destruction of the giants.--Human sacrifices.--A Legend of\n     Kansas.--Pit-a-le-shar'-u.--Hostilities against other\n     nations.--Villages of the Iowas and Sacs.--War with the Iowas,\n     1839.--Battle amid the sunflowers.--Sale of Pawnee lands.--Removal\n     to the Indian Territory.--Success in agriculture. 34\n\n\nIII.\n\nTHE SIOUX.\n\n     Early home.--Wanderings in the Mississippi Basin.--Present\n     location.--Origin of name.--Meaning of word\n     \"Dakota.\"--Pantomime.--Divisions of nation.--Relation of chief to\n     people.--Disposition of bodies of the dead.--Eagle Eye and Scarlet\n     Dove.--Slavery of women.--Vanity of men.--Language of the\n     feather.--Decoration of the person.--Plural marriage.--Story of\n     Anepetusa.--Belief in four souls.--A typical\n     prayer.--Omens.--Worship.--Animals in Dakota\n     theology.--O-an-tay-hee.--The\n     creation.--Hay-o-kah.--Taku-shkan-shkan.--Wa-keen-yan.--Unk-tay-he.\n     --Chah-o-ter-dah.--Whitte-kah-gah.--Wa-hun-de-dan.--Fairies.--\n     Giants.--Giant's party.--Feasts.--The Wa-keen.--Initiation of the\n     medicine men.--War parties.--War Dance.--Sun Dance.--Moral code.--\n     Degree of manhood.--Incidents in the Life of Ta-ton-ka-I-o-ton-ka.\n     --Spotted Tail and Red Cloud.--Betrothal and death of daughter of\n     Spotted Tail.--Water Carrier, the wife of Lone Elk.--Present\n     condition of the Sioux. 67\n\n\nIV.\n\nTHE KAWS AND OSAGES.\n\n     Origin.--Manners and customs.--Savage proclivities.--Village of\n     American Chief.--Village of Fool Chief.--Removal to Council\n     Grove.--The Victory that made Wa-hon-ga-shee a famous Chief.--The\n     War Dance.--Paying off old scores.--Osages and Kaws on police\n     duty.--Superstitions.--Funeral ceremonies.--Creation story of the\n     Osages.--Territory.--Cessions.--Feasts.--Present condition. 89\n\n\nV.\n\nTHE DELAWARES.\n\n     Lineage.--Language.--The term \"Lenape.\"--Subjugation by the\n     Iroquois.--Peace treaty with William Penn.--Migrations.--Legends\n     preserved by missionaries.--The virgin who fell from\n     heaven.--Kikeron.--The tortoise in Algonquin pictography.--Symbol\n     of the earth.--The pristine age.--The earth submerged.--The\n     ancient turtle.--Rescue of the survivors.--Land supported by a\n     turtle.--First home of the Lenape.--Travels and conquests.--Land of\n     giants.--Fortifications of the enemy.--Mounds.--Divisions of the\n     nation.--Legend of the Hairless Bear.--Pictograph\n     system.--Rafinesque.--Walam Olum.--Wanderings of the\n     Delawares.--Tamenend.--The Lover's Leap.--Onoko.--Lenape in\n     Kansas.--The Battle of the Plains.--Removal to the Indian\n     Territory. 103\n\n\nVI.\n\nTHE WYANDOTS.\n\n     Origin.--Location at the time of the discovery of\n     America.--Alliance with the Senecas.--Termination of peace.--Hatred\n     of the Iroquois.--Settlement at Detroit.--Settlement in Ohio and\n     Michigan.--Clans.--Government.--Religion.--Gods.--Prayer of the\n     Huron.--Legend of Sayadio.--The White Panther.--Hurons leaders in\n     the councils of nations.--Keepers of the Council Fire.--Wampum\n     belts.--Corn Dance.--Clan names.--Visions of the Wyandot\n     maiden.--Wyandots in the War of\n     1812.--Roundhead.--Warrow.--Walk-in-the-Water.--Big Tree.--War with\n     Cherokees--Chief Splitlog.--Last religious feast and dance of the\n     Wyandots.--William Walker.--Silas Armstrong.--Matthew\n     Walker.--Governor Walker.--Matthias Splitlog.--Emigration to\n     Kansas.--Intelligence and education.--Accomplishments.--Belle of\n     the nation.--Sense of humor.--Elder Dennison and John\n     Grayeyes.--The Triumph of Chudaquana over the Power of\n     Witchcraft.--Romance of a Wyandot girl.--Present location of the\n     people.--Tribal relations.--Absorption by the white race. 127\n\n\nVII.\n\nTHE POTTAWATOMIES.\n\n     Descent.--Alliances.--Branches.--Location.--Part in War of\n     1812.--Suna-we-wone.--Treaty of peace.--Cessions.--Emigration to\n     Kansas.--Present location.--Belief in Kitchenonedo and\n     Matchemondo.--First inhabitants of the earth.--Submersion.--New\n     World.--Legend of the five young men.--Menweshma.--Encounter with\n     the Pawnees.--Wa-baun-see.--Story of the Flat-Boat.--Defeat by the\n     Osages.--Revenge upon the Osage chief.--Wa-baun-see's journey to\n     Washington.--Death. 155\n\n\nVIII.\n\nTHE SHAWNEES.\n\n     First emigrant tribe in Kansas.--Ancient home of the\n     nation.--Defeat by the Iroquois.--Flight\n     southward.--Return.--Settlement near Cape Girardeau.--Removal to\n     Kansas.--Removal to the Indian Territory.--Shawnees of Algonquin\n     stock.--Gypsies of the wilderness.--Creation theory.--Doctrine of\n     pre-natal existence.--An incident of war with the Pawnees.--Belief\n     in descent from one of the lost tribes of Israel.--Holy of\n     Holies.--Language.--Adventures of a trader.--Maune, the Chippewa\n     Girl.--A Fragment of History from the War of the Races.--Chinwa,\n     the White Warrior.--The Tragic Death of the Son of Chief\n     Lay-law-she-kaw. 167\n\n\n\n\n  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n  Scene in the Kansas Valley           Frontispiece\n\n  A Pawnee Buffalo Hunt                          40\n\n  Pit-a-le-shar'-u                               64\n\n  Ta-ton-ka-I-yo-ton-ka (Sitting Bull)           80\n\n  Sioux Infant                                   88\n\n  Wa-hon-ga-shee (No Fool)                       96\n\n  Ni-co-man                                     114\n\n  Tecumseh                                      190\n\n  The Shawnee Prophet                           202\n\n  Che-la-tha                                    210\n\n\n\n\n  \"Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple,\n  Who have faith in God and Nature,\n  Who believe, that in all ages,\n  Every human heart is human,\n  That in even savage bosoms,\n  There are longings, yearnings, strivings,\n  For the good they comprehend not,\n  That the feeble hands and helpless,\n  Groping blindly in the darkness,\n  Touch God's right hand in that darkness,\n  And are lifted up and strengthened;--\n  Listen to this simple story.\"\n\n  --_Longfellow._\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nA legend, according to Webster, is any story, be it truth or fiction,\nwhich dates back to early days. In this connection, it may be of\ninterest to the reader to know that the stories of adventure in this\nvolume are founded upon real events; but, wherever it has seemed best,\nnames have been changed. In committing to paper the histories of Maune',\nthe Chippewa girl, and Henry Rogers, there has been practically no\ndeviation from the facts as related by their descendants.\n\nThe incidents described in the last story were narrated by the daughter\nof an Indian agent, who lived many years with the Shawnees. The writer\nhas spent a portion of her life in the West, and having been located for\na number of years in an old mission town, has witnessed the bean dance,\nthe corn dance and the war dance. Her small strength has been exerted,\nmore than once, to assist in beating back the edges of a great fire,\nwhich threatened to creep over the narrow strip of plowed ground\noutside the fences enclosing a prairie home. Reliable information has\nbeen obtained through conversation with old settlers and their families.\nAn army officer, whose long life in the Indian country renders his\nstatements of great value, detailed many facts concerning the Sioux.\nInterviews with the natives and their descendants have brought out\nstrange traditions and superstitions. The works of Henry R.\nSchoolcraft--regarding the habits, customs and languages of the\naborigines,--the writings of George Bird Grinnell and Daniel G. Brinton\nhave proved exceedingly helpful.\n\nAlthough statistics show, within the last few years, an apparent\nincrease of the Indian population of the United States, comparatively\nfew included therein, are of purely Indian extraction. The red race, as\na separate people, is fading from the earth; and there will come a time\nwhen the mythology of America will be almost as eagerly studied as that\nof Greece and Rome.\n\nThe general public has an erroneous idea of the Indian of the present\ntime. He has passed through the first period--that of wildness and\nbarbaric splendor,--and, emerging from the second epoch--the state of\ndrunken semi-civilization,--has entered upon a career of greater mental\nactivity. With the exception of a few strong inherited tendencies, he\nnow differs but little from his paler-faced brother. The prevailing\nnotion concerning the natives has been formed from the worst class--the\nidle, uncleanly beggars. It is unjust to judge a whole people by the\nmost degraded specimens. Through intermarriage, the remnants of the\naborigines are rapidly becoming a part of the white race and engrafting\nupon it, not only their peculiarities of temperament but also their\nstrength and determination.\n\nIt is a source of regret to those who are awake to the knowledge that\nthere is a valuable field of literature in Indian folklore, that so\nlittle has been recorded. Even the best libraries contain few works upon\nthe subject.\n\nInspired with a desire to contribute an atom to this slowly accumulating\nliterature; to preserve the stories which herein appear in print for the\nfirst time; and to awaken a deeper interest in the old, oft-recounted\ntraditions--the author, trusting to the indulgence of the public,\nventures to submit the following.\n\n\n\n\nLEGENDS OF THE KAW.\n\n\n\n\nI.\n\nINDIAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\n\nThe history of Kansas has been of peculiar interest to the world at\nlarge, by reason of the struggles of ante-bellum days. The adventures of\nJohn Brown of Osawatomie and the achievements of General Lane, Governor\nRobinson, and other heroes of that period have formed the nucleus of\nmany a story and song. All honor to the men who labored so successfully\nin the cause of freedom! There is another, equally brave, though less\nfortunate, race that wandered over the rolling prairies of the Sunflower\nState and camped along its rivers; a race stern, taciturn, and ever\nready to do battle for home and liberty. Like the buffalo, former\nmonarch of the plains, it has gradually diminished in numbers.\nExtinction or amalgamation is now a question of only a few brief years.\nThis nation furnishes a romantic background, full of rich though somber\ncolor, to the later record of the great West.\n\nWho can say that the traditions of the red man lack pathos, or that his\ncharacter is devoid of the elements of nobleness, self-sacrifice and\neven martyrdom? Rude, wild and imperfect though it be, his folklore\ntells the story of a people, barbarous, it is true, but strong in their\nattachments and devoted to their faith. Many Indian myths, adventures\nand scraps of history are full of deep--often tragic--interest to one\nwho delves in legendary lore. Like the tales of ancient Greece, as\nexplained by Ruskin in _Queen of the Air_, each weird story admits of\nmore than one interpretation. Sometimes a great spiritual truth lies\nhidden in its quaint phrases--sometimes a scientific fact.\n\nThere was an idea, current among the Indians who roamed over the central\nportion of the United States, that at one time in the long past, the\nrivers of the Mississippi basin filled the entire valley, and only great\nelevations were visible. Geology substantiates this teaching. The\ntheory of a dual soul approached very close to the teachings of modern\npsychologists. While one soul was supposed to remain in the body, its\ncompanion was free to depart on excursions during sleep. After the death\nof the material man, it went to the Indian elysium and might, if\ndesirous, return, in time, to earth, to be born again.\n\nLike that of all uncivilized races, the ancient religion of the North\nAmerican Indian was incoherent. Association with Europeans produced\nchanges. Doctrines before unknown to the red man were engrafted upon his\nfaith. Some writers maintain that it is doubtful if the idea of a single\ndivinity had been developed previous to intercourse with missionaries.\nBrinton asserts that the word used by the natives to indicate God, is\nanalogous to none in any European tongue, conveying no sense of personal\nunity. It has been rendered Spirit, Demon, God, Devil, Mystery and\nMagic. The Dakota word is _Wakan_ (above), the Iroquois, _Oki_; the\nAlgonquin, _Manito_. God and heaven were probably linked together\nbefore there was sufficient advancement to question whether heaven were\nmaterial and God spiritual; whether the Deity were one or many. Good\nSpirit and Great Spirit are evidently of more recent origin and were,\nperhaps, first suggested by missionaries, the terms being applied to the\nwhite man's God, and adopted by the Indian and applied to his own. The\nnumber of spirits was practically unlimited, communication being usually\nin the hands of the medicine men, although the unseen world was often\nheard from directly in dreams.\n\nA description of heaven--by Wampasha, an Iowa Indian--was found in the\ndiary of Reverend S. M. Irvin, a devoted missionary among the Iowas and\nSacs. It reads:\n\n\"The Big Village (heaven) is situated near the great water, toward the\nsunrise, and not far from the heads of the Mississippi River. None go\nthere until after they die. A smart person can make the journey in three\nor four days; if, however, his heart be not right at death, the journey\nwill be prolonged and attended with difficulties and stormy weather\ntill he reaches the land of rest. Infants, dying, are carried by\nmessengers sent for them; the old or infirm are borne upon horses; they\nhave horses, plenty, and fine grass, and infirmities will all be healed\nin that village. The blind will receive new eyes; they have plenty of\ngood eyes and ears there. Good people will never die again, but the bad\nmay die three or four times and then turn into some bird.\"\n\nFather Allouez, one of the first missionaries among the Algonquins,\nentered a village never before visited by a white man. He was invited to\na council, and the old men, gathering around him, said:\n\n\"It is well, Blackrobe, that thou dost visit us; thou are a Manito; we\ngive thee to smoke. The Iroquois are devouring us. Have mercy upon us.\nHear us, O Manito! we give thee to smoke. Let the earth yield us corn;\nthe rivers give us fish; sickness not slay us; nor hunger so torment us.\nHear us, O Manito! we give thee to smoke.\"\n\nBirds and beasts were selected as guardians. Everyone considered his\n_totem_ a protector, and refrained from killing it. Whole clans were\nbelieved to be descended from a common _totem_ and information was\nconveyed by means of omens.\n\nThe character of a nation is engraven upon its literature, which, like a\nmirror, reflects the thoughts, emotions and progress of a people. The\nfolklore of the North American Indians was their literature. The myth,\ngrounded upon the unchanging laws of the universe, was conscious,\nhowever vaguely, of great principles that are forever true. Physical\nexistence formed the basis of each important fable. The earth, air,\nwater and other elements were personified. Every image had its moral\nsignificance.\n\nMythology has been said to be simply the idea of God, expressed in\nsymbol, figure and narrative. That of primitive America was founded upon\nthe conviction that there was, in pre-historic times, another world\ninhabited by a people strong and peaceable. So long as harmony reigned,\ncomfort and happiness were theirs, but when discord entered this Eden,\nconflict succeeded conflict, until, to punish his disobedient children,\nthe Master of Life transformed them, one by one, into trees, plants,\nrocks and all the living creatures. It was said that each person became\nthe outward embodiment of what he had previously been within himself.\nFor instance, from the head of one sprang an owl, from another a\nbuzzard, a third became an eagle, and in this manner was the present\nworld with its three kingdoms, vegetable, animal and mineral, evolved.\n\nAnother tradition says that in the days of turmoil, a powerful man, or\ndemi-god, ran to the place where the earth and sky meet, and with a\nlighted torch, set fire to the tall grass, igniting the earth itself.\nThose worthy of preservation were caught up to a place of safety.\nSparks, rising from the flames, and finding lodgment high above, became\nthe twinkling \"sky-eyes,\" which, in the language of the white man, are\ncalled stars.\n\nAfter the conflagration had subsided, one whose duty in the upper sphere\nhad been to provide water, carried it in a basket; and as she walked,\ndrop after drop fell through upon the parched region below, causing it\nto revive. Awakened Nature blossomed into new beauty, and all who had\nescaped the terrible fire fiend, returned to take possession of the\ncountry. The Water-Maiden still carries the basket; and its contents,\nwhich never grow less, still fall in gentle showers, to refresh the\nland.\n\nAmong the beautiful creation myths, is that of the Earth-Maiden, who,\nthrough being looked upon by the sun, became a mother, giving birth to a\nwonderful being, a great benefactor. By reason of his benign influence,\nmankind lives and prospers. This benefactor is really the warm, wavering\nlight, to be seen between the virgin earth, his mother, and the sun.\n\nThere are numerous narratives in which heat, cold, light and darkness\nappear as leading actors. A powerful god of the Algonquins was the\nmaker of the earth, Michabou (light), toward whom the Spirit of Waters\nwas ever unfriendly.\n\nIn Mexico, the worship of the sun and other heavenly bodies was\npracticed, sacrifices of men and women with white faces and hair being\nparticularly acceptable.\n\nAlmost all aboriginal people believed that dogs occupied a peculiar\nposition with regard to the moon, possibly because of the canine habit\nof baying at that planet.\n\nThe bird and the serpent were especially honored. The former, no doubt,\nbecause of its power of floating through the air and the latter for its\nsubtlety. The Hurons told the early Jesuits of a serpent with a horn\ncapable of penetrating rocks, trees and hills--everything it\nencountered. The person fortunate enough to obtain a portion for his\nmedicine bag was sure of good luck. The Hurons informed the missionaries\nthat none of their own people had ever seen the monster; but the\nAlgonquins occasionally sold them small portions of its horn for a very\nhigh consideration. The Shawnees, who had unquestionably practiced on\nthe credulity of their neighbors, led roving lives and had become\nfamiliar with the myths of many nations. It is not unlikely that the\nserpent fable originated with the Creeks and Cherokees, who thought the\nimmense snake dwelt in the waters. Tradition says that old people stood\non the shores and sang sacred songs. The creature came to the surface,\nshowing its horns. The magicians cut one off and continued to chant. The\nserpent again appeared, and the other horn was secured and borne away in\ntriumph.\n\nThese tribes asserted that in the fastnesses of their mountains was the\ncarefully guarded palace of the Prince of Rattlesnakes. On the royal\nhead shone a marvelous jewel. Warriors and priests endeavored in vain to\nget possession of the glittering trophy. Finally, one more thoughtful\nthan the rest encased himself in leather, passed through the writhing,\nhissing court, unharmed by poisoned fangs; tore the coveted charm from\nthe head of the prince, and carried it home. The gem was ever preserved\nwith great care and brought forth only on state occasions.\n\nThe story of Hiawatha (Hi-a-wat-ha), which Schoolcraft gives as an\nIroquois legend, is found among the traditions of many tribes, the\nleading character being called by different names. In the East he was\nknown as Glooskap, about the lakes as Manabozho, in other localities as\nChiabo; but, as in certain Aryan myths--of which this may be one--the\nprincipal features of the story are the same in all nations. Their hero\ncame to them as did Buddha to the East Indian, and Christ to those\nprepared to receive the gospel, bearing messages of peace, good will to\nmen; teaching justice, patience, conformity to truth, and to the laws of\nthe red man; instructing them in various manual arts, and destroying\nhideous monsters that lurked in the woods and hills, or lay concealed\namid the tall prairie grass. He lived as a warrior, hunted, fished and\nbattled for right, changing when necessary, to any animal or plant.\nWhile seated in his white stone canoe on one of the Great Lakes, he was\nswallowed by the King of Fishes. Undaunted, he beat its heart with a\nstone club until it was dead, and when birds of prey had eaten the\nflesh, and light shone through, climbed out with the magic boat.\n\nThe struggle with fire-serpents, in order to reach the wicked Pearl\nFeather, whom he fought the livelong day, has been recounted again and\nagain. How a woodpecker flew overhead, screaming \"Shoot at his\nscalp-lock!\" How, obeying this admonition, Hiawatha saw the enemy fall\nin the throes of death, and dipping his finger in the blood, touched the\nbird, and to this day a red mark is found on the head of the woodpecker.\nHe slew the Prince of Serpents, traveled from village to village\nperforming good works, and having wedded a beautiful Dakota woman,\npresented a perfect example of faithfulness and devotion. A league of\nthirteen nations was formed through the influence of this remarkable\nman; and as he stood among the assembled chiefs, addressing them with\nsupernatural eloquence, encouraging them in a voice of sweetness and\npower to lives of rectitude, the summons came. Promising to return at\nsome future time, Hiawatha stepped into his white stone canoe and was\nlifted heavenward, the air trembling with soft music as he floated from\nsight. To this final pledge are attributable many ghost dances and\noutbreaks against the whites, notably that at Pine Ridge Agency, when\nthe coming of the Messiah was expected with full confidence.\n\nThe well-known legend of the Red Swan was a satisfactory explanation of\nthe crimson glow that spread over the water at sunset. Three brothers\nset out in different directions, upon a hunting expedition, to see who\nwould procure the first game. They decided to kill no animal except the\nkind that each was in the habit of shooting. Odjibwa, the youngest,\ncaught sight of a bear, which was exempt according to agreement.\nNevertheless, in his eagerness, the hunter pursued and shot it with an\narrow, taking the skin. In a moment, the air became tinged with red and\na wild piercing cry was audible, like and yet unlike a human voice.\nOdjibwa followed the sound and came to the shore of a beautiful lake,\nupon which rested a graceful red swan. Its plumage glittered in the last\nbright rays of the sinking sun. Possessed with a desire to try his skill\nagain, the young man used every available arrow in the vain endeavor to\nhit the wonderful object; then remembering that in the medicine sack of\nhis deceased father were three magic arrows, he ran home, opened the\nsacred pouch and secured them. The third one struck the mark; and the\ninjured bird, rising slowly from the lake, floated away toward the\nwestern horizon. From that time forth, just at sunset, the blood of the\nwounded swan cast a blush, like the rich color of a maiden's cheek, over\nthe surface of the waters.\n\nThe song of \"The Peace Pipe,\" by Longfellow, was founded upon the belief\nof the Northern Indians that when the earth was still in her childhood,\nthe Master of Life assembled the nations upon the crags of the famous\nRed Pipestone Quarry, and breaking a fragment from the rock, moulded a\nhuge calumet--the emblem of peace. He smoked over the people to the\neast, the west, the north and the south; and the great white cloud\nascended until it touched heaven. Then, having told the warriors that\nthe stone was red, like their flesh, and should be used for their pipes\nof peace, the spirit became enveloped in smoke and was seen no more. The\nrock was glazed with heat and two large ovens or caverns opened\nunderneath. In a blaze of fire, two women entered, as guardians of the\nplace, where, to this day, they answer the prayers of the medicine men\nwho make pilgrimages to that locality.\n\nThe phenomena of thunder and lightning were variously explained by\ndifferent tribes. Some believed every storm to be a struggle between the\nGod of Waters and the Thunderbird. Others affirmed that thunder was the\nvoice of the Great Spirit reminding them of the approach of\ncorn-planting season; that lightning kindled sacred fires, and,\nstriking, penetrated the earth, forming such stones as flint, from\nwhich fire can be drawn.\n\nMrs. Eastman tells of the belief of the Sioux in a storm giant, to whom\nheat was cold and cold heat; who laughed when sad and groaned when\nmerry; who wore horns to represent lightning and hurled meteors with his\nhands; he used one of the four winds as a drumstick to produce thunder.\n\nIn seasons of drought, the rainmaker of the Lenape sought a retired\nspot, and drawing upon the ground the figure of a cross, pointing to the\ncardinal points, made offerings of tobacco and other articles, to the\nSpirit of Rains.\n\nThe Blackfeet massed stones upon the prairies, in the form of a cross,\nin honor of the \"Old Man who sends the wind.\"\n\nThe Creeks also called upon the four winds, whose duty it was to\ndistribute showers.\n\nThe Wild Parsnip was a bad man, going around doing harmful deeds, until,\nby transformation, compelled to stay in one place, he could no longer\ncause damage except by killing people when they ate him.\n\nThe Spirit of Fire was supposed to ride, bow in hand and face blackened\nwith rage, in a cloud of smoke. When he drew the bow, quickly the flames\nspread over the prairie.\n\nThe Navajos thought that fire was first brought to earth through the\nefforts of the coyote, the bat, and the squirrel. The coyote attached\nsome splinters to his tail, ran quickly through the fire and fled with\nhis prize. Being pursued, he was compelled to run rapidly and became\nexhausted, whereupon, the bat relieved him. The squirrel assisted him at\nthe last, to carry it to the hearths of the Navajos.\n\nIn some tribes fire was considered a type of life. The Shawnee prophet\nsaid to his followers:\n\n\"Know that the life in your body and the fire on your hearth proceed\nfrom one source.\"\n\nThe greatest feast of the Delawares was to their \"grandfather, fire.\"\nReferring to the immortality of their gods, the Algonquins said: \"Their\nfire burns forever.\"\n\nThe imagery of the red man compares favorably with that of other races.\nThe Indian lived near to the very heart of Nature and understood her\nfundamental truths. To him, all things were divided into the animate and\ninanimate. Everything endowed with life or capable of action was thought\nto possess intelligence and reason. There were lessons in the movements\nof the winds and waves; in flying clouds and in the azure skies; the\ncountless stars had a language of their own; and even the comet,\nsweeping across the heavens, told a story with a strong moral.\n\nThe earliest record of the Indians of the Middle West, that of Father\nMarquette, has been preserved at St. Mary's College, Montreal, Canada.\nThe document refers to the Kaws, Osages and Pawnees, as the dominant\ntribes. The Padoucas, of whom little is known, then dwelt near the head\nwaters of the Kansas River. They were strong and numerous, and ranged\nthe country southwest, in Colorado and New Mexico. The nation and\nlanguage were unknown in other parts of the continent; and no\nrelationship could be traced to the four principal Indian families. The\nhabits of the people were different from those of any other tribe. They\nlived in houses in villages with streets regularly laid out; but raised\nno grain, depending for subsistence chiefly upon the products of the\nchase. Certain students of ethnology have asserted that the Kiowas are\ntheir somewhat degenerate descendants.\n\nAs years went by, all was changed. The Padoucas became extinct and the\nPawnees reduced in numbers; the Osages ceded nearly all of their\nterritory in Missouri to the United States and were allowed a\nreservation in Kansas. A few years later, a large percentage of their\nlands and that of the Kaws was purchased by the Government, to be used\nas a home for the Eastern Indians. The Delawares, Wyandots,\nPottawatomies and Shawnees were the emigrant nations of the Kansas River\nvalley.\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nTHE PAWNEES.\n\n\nWhen the Territory of Louisiana was still the property of France; when\nthe United States was endeavoring to subdue the savages within its own\ndomain; a wild and unsophisticated people, to whom the vices of\ncivilization were as yet unknown, traversed the broad prairies of Kansas\nand Nebraska.\n\nThe Pawnees, or Pani, were, according to tradition, of southern origin.\nThe white man found them established in villages along the Platte River,\nwhence they sallied forth, roving over the entire region extending from\nthe Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains and carrying terror to all who\nventured opposition. None were more relentless in war or more ready to\nseek revenge. The word Pani, meaning \"horn,\" was supposed to have\nreference to a peculiar custom of wearing the scalp-lock dressed to\nstand upright like a horn. The Pawnees were often called \"wolves,\" on\naccount of a singular aptitude in imitating those animals. When desirous\nof noting the movements of the enemy without being detected in so doing,\nthey frequently put on the skins of wolves and dropped upon hands and\nknees as soon as near enough to be observed. Becoming common objects of\nthe landscape, they remained unnoticed.\n\nThe nation was composed of three bands, federated under one chief. In\norder of importance, they were the Chau'-i (In-the-Middle),\nKit-ke-hahk'-i (On-the-Hill), and Pit-hau'-erat (Down-the-Stream). These\nnames were given with reference to the relative position of the\nvillages. The Ski-di, or Loups, whose history is somewhat obscure,\nunited with the tribe at some period after it had become settled along\nthe Platte River. Western men called the different bands the Grand,\nRepublican, Tapage and Wolf Pawnees. The Ski-di were more intelligent\nand fierce than their neighbors. After they united with the tribe, there\nwere four important villages. The Tuhk-pah-huks'-taht (Pumpkin-vine\nVillage) derived its name from the fact that once, during the absence\nof the people upon a long summer hunt, the pumpkin vines grew until they\nclimbed over the lodges, almost hiding them from view. This was\nconsidered a miraculous occurrence.\n\nOne cold winter, when food was scarce, a band went into camp near the\nLoup River. Just below the village large numbers of buffaloes came to\ncross upon the ice. The Indians succeeded in killing so many of the\nanimals that, having dried all the meat required, they preserved the\nskins only, leaving the bodies to be devoured by wolves. About this time\na member of a starving band arrived and expressed great wonderment as to\nthe way in which they had obtained so much meat. Taking him down to the\nriver, his friends pointed out the spot on the ice where wolves,\nstanding in a pool of water caused by a slight thaw, were feasting upon\nthe buffaloes. Going back to his own band, the Ski-di told of plenty in\nthe other camp, and when questioned as to its location, replied:\n\"Ski-di-rah'-ru\" (Where the wolves stand in the water). From this\nincident the second village took its name. The third and fourth were\nTuh-wa-hok'-a-sha (Village-on-a-Ridge) and Tu-hi-'ts-pi-yet\n(Village-on-a-Point).\n\nIn ancient times the Pawnees had no horses and went hunting on foot.\nArrow heads were made of flint or deer horns. Until a recent date, the\nold stone arrow heads were believed to have supernatural power. White\ntraders introduced those made of iron. The warriors were skillful\nmarksmen and the bow and arrow remained the favorite weapon as long as\nthere were buffaloes to kill. The endurance of the Pawnees, when\nhunting, was remarkable. In the first place, scouts were sent out to\nlook up a herd. Having discovered one, they returned with information\nregarding its location. The hunters, disguised as wolves, advanced in a\nbody until within sight, then scattered, forming a large circle, which\ngradually became less, as they closed in upon the animals. When near\nenough to begin the attack, a man shouted to attract attention, and the\nstartled buffaloes ran, some one way and some another. Wherever they\nturned, an Indian, casting off his wolf skin, sprang up and drove them\nback. At length, the Pawnees, yelling and waving blankets and shooting\nin the midst of the herd, wore them out. The great beasts, when too\ntired to run, were easily despatched.\n\n[Illustration: A PAWNEE BUFFALO HUNT.]\n\nBefore the advent of the trader, all portions of the buffalo were\nutilized. Hoes were made from the shoulder blades, needles from bone,\nspoons and ladles from the horns, ropes from the hair, lariats from\nraw-hide, clothing from the dressed skins, and blankets and tents from\nthe robes. Pottery was formed from clay mixed with pounded stone,\nmoulded in hollows in stumps of trees, and baked. Wooden mortars and\nbowls were hollowed out by fire.\n\nThe Pawnee nation was ruled by a head chief of the Chau'-i band. The\noffice was hereditary but became difficult to retain if the chief were\nunpopular. Each band was governed by four chiefs. Important affairs\nwere discussed in council, by chiefs, head men and warriors. Personal\ncharacter determined position, and the opinions of the majority\nprevailed. There was a servant class, composed of young men and boys,\nwho lived in the families of men of prominence and performed menial\noffices.\n\nBreech-clouts, leggings, moccasins and blankets or buffalo robes\ncomprised the clothing of the men. Their heads were shaved, with the\nexception of a narrow strip extending from each forehead to the back of\nthe head. The ridge of hair, less than an inch in length, was stiffened\nto stand upright. From this fell the scalp-lock. The women were\naccustomed to wear sleeveless shirts and skirts reaching below the\nknees; also robes or blankets when necessary. There was no head\ncovering, except on great occasions, when some of the men donned\nchaplets of eagle feathers. Red and yellow paint were used on breasts\nand faces for ornament, while black paint was reserved for war. Boys\nwere permitted to go nude until ten or twelve years of age; but girls\ndressed in little shirts almost as soon as they could walk. Infants were\nplaced upon boards.\n\nA visitor at the home of a Pawnee chief, in the village on the Kansas\nRiver, about the year 1839, described the toilet of the host's son as\nextremely fanciful. On days when there was no hunt, the dandy began at\neight o'clock in the morning, by greasing his entire person with fat,\nand painting his face red. Earrings and wampum necklaces were worn, and\nyellow stripes adorned breast and shoulders. Armlets were placed above\nhis elbows and rings upon his fingers. Handsomely decorated moccasins,\nscarlet leggings fastened to a belt, and bead garters four inches wide,\nformed important parts of the costume. One of the women led his horse\nbefore the tent. Its forehead and shoulders were painted red and a\nfeather fastened in its tail. Chains of steel were attached to the\nbridle and bells to the reins. A scarlet mantle was thrown over the\nyoung man's shoulders, and thus arrayed, with a large turkey feather\nfan in one hand, and a whip upon his wrist, he ambled through the\nencampment, eliciting admiration on all sides.\n\nAt a social gathering, the guest sang for the entertainment of the\nIndians, and requested them to give him an example of their songs. The\nwhite man portrayed the result in the following language:\n\n\"All rose at once. Each singer began by strange and uncouth sounds, to\nwork his mind and lungs up to the proper pitch of excitement; and when,\nat length, the shrill and terrible cry rose to its full height, its\neffect was astounding and sufficient to deafen a delicate ear.\"\n\nThe song, to which the savages kept time with heads and bodies, was\nallowed to fall into monotonous cadence, then burst forth into full\nchorus, with mingled howls and yells.\n\nIn the early part of the nineteenth century, Pawnee courtships were\npeculiar. The lover first went to the father's tent, uninvited, and sat\nin a corner of the mat for some time, then rose and departed without\nspeaking. A few days later, he returned, wearing his buffalo robe hair\nside out, and sat silent. This was a regular proposal. If the father\ndesired to reject him at once, no skin was placed for him to sit upon\nand no meat was offered him. If the suit met with approval, the rites of\nhospitality were extended and feasts were given to obtain the consent to\nthe marriage, of the relatives of both families. The young man next\npresented himself to his bride at the door of her tent, turned and\nwalked slowly toward his own. She arose and followed him. The ceremony\nof marriage was then complete. Presents of horses, blankets and other\nvaluables were sent to the father of the young woman.\n\nPlural marriage was practiced, the husband being entitled to wed the\nyounger sisters of his first wife.\n\nIn the permanent villages on the Platte River, circular lodges were\nbuilt of sod. Every house had a wall seven or eight feet in height,\naround which, upon the floor, the inmates slept, each bed being\npartitioned or curtained off. Hanging upon the wall or in the space back\nof the bed, were the belongings of its occupant. The center of the house\nwas reserved for cooking, smoke escaping through an aperture in the\nroof. Skin lodges were used when traveling or upon the semi-annual hunt.\nEach family had many dogs.\n\nAfter spring planting, the people abandoned their villages for the\nsummer hunt, returning in time for harvest. Religious ceremonies, with\nfervent prayers to Ti-ra'-wa, the invisible yet ever-present Creator,\npreceded departure. The Buffalo Dance, executed by the younger warriors,\ncame next. This continued for three days, when the line of march was\ntaken up. Tents, cooking utensils and the entire property of the tribe\nhaving been packed on ponies and removed to the vicinity of a large herd\nof buffaloes, camp was established and preparations made for curing the\nmeat when it should be brought in. Approaching to make the attack, a\nlimited number of chosen men, led by standard-bearers with sacred poles\nwrapped in bright colored cloth and ornamented with bead-work and\nfeathers, advanced first. The remainder of the hunters followed. After\nthe slaughter, the squaws, with their sharp knives, amid much merriment,\ncut and bore away to the camp the most desirable portions of meat.\n\nTi-ra'-wa, the Pawnee deity, was not personified, being intangible and\nin and of everything. The nation did not adore any material substance,\nbut, like all aboriginal people, attributed to animals an intelligence\nsometimes exceeding that of man. As the messengers of God, the\nNa-hu'-rac received miraculous power through him, hence were often\nimplored to intercede with Ti-ra'-wa. In cases of great emergency,\ndirect intercession became necessary. A party prayed for success and\nmade sacrifices before starting on the war-path. Victory was\nacknowledged by thanksgiving offerings. War parties were made up by\nanyone with a grievance, if he had sufficient influence to secure\nfollowers. Frequently scalps taken from the heads of enemies were\nburned with much ceremony.\n\nOne of the best-known legends, related by George Bird Grinnell,\nillustrates the power of animals in changing the fortunes of those who\nlistened to their behests.\n\nAn old woman lived on the outskirts of a village located on the bank of\nthe Platte River. At one time she had been the wife of a brave hunter\nand warrior. During his life there was always a comfortable lodge, as\nwell as plenty of buffalo meat and robes. No one of the nation was more\nsuccessful in stealing horses from the enemy, which was considered a\nhighly honorable feat. He was killed in a great battle with the Sioux,\nand the poor woman had never ceased to mourn. Now, in old age, there\nremained but one relative, a grandson of sixteen years. Being reduced to\npoverty, they were in the habit, when the tribe moved, of following in\nthe rear, in order to pick up anything that might have been left behind\nas worthless. Once, to the delight of the boy, an old dun horse was\nabandoned by its owner. The animal was blind in one eye and had a sore\nback and a swollen leg; but was nevertheless valuable to the poor woman,\ninasmuch as it could carry the cooking utensils and the worn-out skin\nused for a lodge when traveling.\n\nThe village was moved to Court House Rock. Soon after arrival the young\nmen sent out to look for buffaloes returned with information that there\nwas a large herd in the vicinity, and among the animals was a spotted\ncalf.\n\nThe head chief had a young and beautiful daughter. He announced that\nwhosoever should kill the spotted calf should marry the girl. Since the\nbuffaloes were only four miles away, it was decided that the charge\nshould be made from the village. The one who had the fastest steed would\nbe most likely to obtain the calf. The poor boy made preparations to\nride the old dun horse. He was ridiculed to such an extent that he\nwithdrew to the bank of a creek, nearby. The animal turned its head and\nsaid:\n\n\"Plaster me all over with mud. Cover my head, neck, body and legs.\"\n\nThe boy obeyed and the horse then ordered that he remain where they were\nand make the charge from the creek. The men were drawn up in line and at\nthe word _Loo ah_ (go), leaned forward, yelled and galloped away. At one\nside, some distance away, the dun horse flew over the ground; he seemed\nyoung and strong of limb and sure of foot. As they neared the buffaloes,\nhe dashed in among the herd and stopped beside the spotted calf. His\nrider killed it, and taking another arrow, shot a fat cow, then\ndismounting, secured the spotted skin. Cutting out certain portions of\nthe meat, the boy packed them upon the horse. Putting the skin on top of\nthe load, he led the animal back to camp. It pranced and curveted and\nshowed much spirit. The warriors were filled with astonishment. A rich\nchief rode up to the boy and tried to buy the spotted robe, but without\nsuccess.\n\nSome of the hunters reached the village in advance and informed the old\nwoman of her grandson's triumph. She could hardly believe the story,\nand wondered if they were still ridiculing her boy. His appearance with\nthe coveted robe and more meat than they had had for many a long day,\nended her doubts; and there were great rejoicings in the tent.\n\nAt night the horse spoke to the boy, saying:\n\n\"To-morrow the Sioux are coming. There will be a battle. When they are\ndrawn up in line, jump on me and ride as hard as you can up to the head\nchief and kill him and ride back. Ride up to them four times and kill\nfour of the bravest Sioux; but do not go the fifth time or you will get\nkilled or lose me.\"\n\nThe next morning, just at day-break, the Sioux rode over the top of the\nhill and drew up in line of battle. They were attired in all the\ntrappings of war, and looked ferocious in their paint. The Pawnees had\nno time for decoration, but hastily seized their weapons, cut the\nlariats that bound their ponies, sprang upon them and rushed out of the\ncamp, when at the proper distance, forming in battle array opposite the\nenemy.\n\nIt was the custom of these tribes, when ready for a fight, to confront\none another in two long lines. After a few moments of silence, some man,\ndesiring to distinguish himself, rode out from the attacking party and\nexhorted his people, telling them of brave deeds in the past and of what\nhe now intended to do; then, turning quickly, he dashed toward the\nenemy, hanging over the side of his pony and riding along in front of\nthe foe, discharging one arrow after another, in rapid succession. If\nthe brave were killed, his own people made no sign, until a man rode out\nfrom the other side to challenge; but if he were fiercely set upon, they\nunited in a general attack.\n\nThe boy mounted the dun horse and joined the warriors. They looked\naskance but were too excited to make comment. The wonderful horse\ngalloped out from the line and made for the head chief of the Sioux. The\nboy quickly despatched the leader and rode back to the Pawnees. Four\ntimes he went forward, and each time killed one of the bravest of the\nenemy. Then, forgetting the warning, the boy charged again. An arrow\nstruck his horse and the rider had a narrow escape from death. The Sioux\ncut and chopped the horse in pieces.\n\nAfter a spirited conflict, the Pawnees were victorious. The following\nday the boy went out to where the horse lay. Gathering up the pieces of\nflesh, he put them in a pile, and wrapping himself in his blanket, sat\non the top of a hill not far away. He drew the robe over his head and\nmourned. A storm arose suddenly. The wind blew and rain fell. Removing\nthe blanket from his face, the boy saw the pieces coming together and\ntaking form. Another storm succeeded. When it cleared away, he beheld a\nslight movement of the horse's tail. Then the animal lifted its head\nfrom the ground. After a fourth storm had spent its fury, the horse\narose and its owner hastened down the hill and led it home. It\ncautioned him to render perfect obedience in the future, and said:\n\n\"Lead me away from the camp, behind that hill. Leave me there to-night\nand come for me in the morning.\"\n\nThe boy did as directed and found, standing beside his old friend, a\nbeautiful white horse.\n\nLeaving the dun horse a second night, the owner discovered a fine black\ngelding in the morning. After ten nights, there were ten horses, each of\na different color. The boy was now rich and married the daughter of the\nchief. Many years later he became the head of the nation. The old\ngrandmother was well cared for, and the dun horse, being considered\nsacred, was never mounted except at a doctor's dance; but was led around\nwith the chief wherever he went.\n\nThe Pawnees believed that the Na-hu'-rac held council in five places. At\nPa-huk' (White Island) on the south side of the Platte River, opposite\nFremont, Nebraska; under an island in the Platte River, near Central\nCity (Dark Island), on the Loup Fork, opposite the mouth of Cedar River\n(White Bank); and on the Solomon River, Kitz-a-witz'-uk,\n(Water-on-a-Bank). This was a mound with a hole in the middle, through\nwhich water might be seen. Articles were thrown in, as offerings to\nTi-ra'-wa. The fifth place, a hole in the side of a hill, was in Kansas.\nIt was indicated by a rock called Pa-hur' (Hill-that-points-the-Way).\n\nAn old story, current among the people, says that in the early days, in\none of the Pawnee tribes, was a boy, smaller than others of his age. He\nrefused to play with the children, preferring to spend much time alone.\nHis manner was strange and the child was frequently in tears. The father\nand mother observed that he often pasted mud upon his head. This was the\nsign of a doctor and designated faith in the earth. As the boy grew to\nbe a young man he appeared to have something constantly on his mind and\nwould fast for days, smoking and praying to Ti-ra'-wa during that time.\nHe doctored those who were ill, and, although rapidly becoming great,\nwas not proud. Nevertheless, the doctors of the tribe were jealous, and\none of them, a member of another clan, came to visit him. They ate,\ntalked and smoked together. The older man said:\n\n\"Now we will smoke my tobacco.\"\n\nThey did so, and he departed. As the summer weather came on, the young\nhealer began to feel sick. It was evident that the doctor had poisoned\nhim. He swelled up with a new disease and prayed almost unceasingly to\nTi-ra'-wa for relief. The people went on a hunt. He ascended a hill to\nthink and pray; and after making burnt offerings, mounted a horse which\nthe father had left behind, and journeyed east, instead of following the\ntribe.\n\nA few days later, the horse was sacrificed to Ti-ra'-wa and cut down the\nback, so that animals could feed upon it. The unhappy young man called\nupon the Na-hu'-rac to intercede for him. He traveled east to Pa-huk'\nand fell asleep. A strange voice asked what he was doing there. No one\nwas in sight. The same thing occurred next night. The sick man answered\nthe voice this time, and begged for pity, but received no reply. The\nfourth night something touched him and said:\n\n\"What are you doing here?\"\n\nThere stood a big elk, with black eyes. It informed him that they were\ndirectly over the home of the Na-hu'-rac. One night not long afterward a\nbird came, saying:\n\n\"Come, let us go to the edge of the cut bank.\"\n\nHe obeyed, and the bird said:\n\n\"When I dive down, follow me.\"\n\nPassing through the water, they soon stood at the entrance of a lodge\nand could see a fire within. As they entered, the Na-hu'-rac made their\ndifferent noises. A bear was stationed at one side of the entrance and a\nsnake at the other. The head doctor was a white beaver. As they sat\ndown, the bird said:\n\n\"I have brought this man here and want you to take pity on him.\"\n\nTaking the man's pipe, the bird held it out to the beaver. The white\nbeaver hesitated, but finally took the pipe. All the animals made a\nsound, as if to say, \"_Loo-ah_\" (good). The beaver passed the pipe to\nthe other Na-hu'-rac and each one made a speech, saying that he had not\npower to heal. None had the power. The elk then took the man to another\nlodge but he was not cured. From there they went to the Loup River, to\nthe island in the Platte River and at last to the lodge under Center\nIsland; but without avail. The principal doctor said that the lodge at\nPa-huk' was the head. The bird took the man back.\n\nThe white beaver stood up and announced that he had sent the man to\nothers in order to see if they were equal to the lodge at Pa-huk'; then\ngoing to the ground-dog, he extended the pipe. The ground-dog reached\nout its paws, took the pipe, smoked and commanded the Pawnee to go and\nsit opposite the fire. He was ordered to stand up while the Na-hu'-rac\nsang and the ground-dog danced. Next they told him to lie down with his\nfeet toward the door. The head ground-dog jumped over him and was\nobserved to have a large piece of flesh in his mouth. Another dog\nfollowed, and another, each eating a piece of flesh, until all had\npassed over. This was kept up until they had eaten the swelling. The man\nseemed to be dead. The head doctor spoke to the bears; they arose and\nsang, then jumped on the body, shaking and pulling it around. After a\nwhile the blood began to flow and the man breathed. He was entirely\nrestored to health and remained some time with the Na-hu'-rac, learning\ntheir medical secrets. They told of the sky-house of Ti-ra'-wa and said:\n\n\"He made us; he made everything. Blow a smoke to each of the four\ndoctors; but blow four smokes to Ti-ra'-wa.\"\n\nThe man went home and got beads, pipes, tobacco and buffalo meat and\ntaking them back, threw them into the river to be carried down to the\nNa-hu'-rac lodge at Pa-huk'; then he went to visit the doctor who had\nmade him ill. He said:\n\n\"When you visited me, we smoked your tobacco. To-day we will smoke\nmine.\"\n\nAfter smoking, the young medicine man went down to the river and blew\nupon the ice, and in a moment, the river was full of blood. It was the\nblood of the wicked doctor, whose dead body was found in the lodge,\nperfectly hollow. The blood had gone into the river. The favorite of the\nanimals eventually became one of the most famous healers ever known in\nthe nation.\n\nPriests and doctors were not identical. Priests were the mediums of\ncommunication with Ti-ra'-wa and knew what was inside the sacred\nbundles. The medicine man was called upon in case of sickness or injury.\nThe sacred bundles, many of which were of great age, hung opposite the\ndoor of every house. On certain occasions, the contents formed a part of\nreligious ceremonies.\n\nThe Pawnees believed that the earth was first inhabited by a race of\ngiants, so large that they could carry buffaloes upon their backs. These\npeople did not acknowledge Ti-ra'-wa and grew more and more wicked. He\nwas angry and caused the water to rise and the ground to become soft\nand the giants sank into the mud. The large bones found at different\ntimes were thought to be their skeletons. A new race was created, from\nwhich all nations sprang.\n\nThe Ski-di band offered human sacrifices to the morning star. A young\ncaptive, taken in war, was selected and fattened, being treated kindly\nduring the days of preparation. He was permitted to know nothing of the\nfate in store, until the four days' feast and dance. Old men at the ends\nof the village called upon each male person to prepare bow and arrow and\nbe ready for the sacrifice. When the fatal day arrived, every woman had\na lance or stick, and every man held a pipe in one hand and bow and\narrow in the other.\n\nAt the west side of the village, two posts with cross poles were set up,\nto which the captive was bound, hand and foot. Behind him came a man\ncarrying a buffalo heart and tongue, followed by a warrior with a\nblazing stick, one with a bow and sacred arrow of flint, and another\nwith a stuffed owl. Wood was piled around upon the ground beneath the\ncross poles. The man with a blazing stick lighted the fire. When it had\nburned to the center of the pile, below the captive, the warrior with\nbow and arrow stepped forward and shot him through, under the arms, so\nthat the blood would drip down upon the fire. The buffalo heart and\ntongue were then placed upon the blaze. The man with the owl seized a\ntorch and burned the body four times, after which each male person\npresent shot an arrow into it, and each woman struck it with a stick.\nThe flesh was consumed by fire, while the people prayed.\n\nJohn Greenleaf Whittier left, among his papers, a poem that has\nimmortalized\n\nA LEGEND OF KANSAS.\n\nNight had fallen upon the broad prairie--a moonless night. The chill air\nvibrated with noise of barbarous laughs and yells. The measured tramp of\nheavy feet and the Hoo-ah, Hi-yah of excited dancers seemed fiendish.\nDark, weird-looking figures might be seen, dimly, by the light of a\ncamp-fire; and in the center of the frenzied throng was a maiden, silent\nand defiant. Around her feet was piled fuel for the sacrifice, for had\nnot the wise men of the Pawnees, who hold communion with the other\nworld, decreed that she should die by slow torture, to atone for\ncruelties practiced by her father, a fierce chief of the Kansas Indians?\nThe innocent girl might not hope for pity at the hands of her nation's\nbitterest foes; but she could show them how fearlessly her father's\ndaughter could face a horrid death; could shame their sons and warriors\nby a brave, unmoved demeanor; and even now, as a small blaze started up\nfrom the outer edge of the pile of sticks and began to creep slowly\ntoward the captive, the clear tones could be heard above the din,\nchanting her own funeral hymn--the death song of her people.\n\nOnce in a while some old, decrepit squaw, with shrill and penetrating\nvoice, would heap fresh taunts upon the victim; and as the fire\nbrightened, upon the dusky faces might be seen the gleam of savage\nhatred and of satisfied revenge. Wilder grew the howls; and still the\nmournful tones resounded above the shouts of triumph. The flames closed\nin around her, and they leaped up higher, toward the cross poles to\nwhich she was bound, flashes of light revealed more fully the pale set\nface of the doomed one. Now, she could feel the hot breath of fire.\nWhere was the Kansas chief? Had he taken refuge in the mountains of the\nWest and left his helpless daughter at the mercy of the enemy? Was all\nhope lost? No, her quick ear caught the sound of horse's hoofs, muffled\nby the soft prairie grass. The captors, with senses dulled by liquor,\nkept up their shrieks of exultation. Though her heart was beating\nloudly, she dared not cease the song. A moment and a brave young rider,\non his father's swiftest steed, dashed in among the dancers, hurled the\nfirebrands from around her and cut the thongs that bound the maiden. A\nmoment more, and they were safe without the startled crowd, flying over\nthe flower-strewn prairie, toward the country of the Kaws. In the words\nof the great poet:\n\n  \"Where the Kansas wanders free\n  By the willowy Siskadee\n  There their pictured tent is spread,\n  With the soft fur carpeted;\n  And that sweet young mother there\n  Smiling through her lavish hair,\n  Oft shall sing her hunter's glory,\n  Oft shall tell his daring story,\n  Till the listening Kansas maid,\n  Lying listless in the shade,\n  Dreams, perchance (for wild or tame\n  Woman's romance is the same),\n  Of some hero's circling arm\n  Shielding her from deadly harm;\n  And the Indian boy anear,\n  Leaning on his fishing spear,\n  Sees that same coy maiden bound\n  On the Pawnee's hunting ground--\n  He, upon his father's steed,\n  Hurrying at her cry of need--\n  Feels her arms around him thrown,\n  Feels her heart beat with his own,\n  And her soft breath, quick and low,\n  O'er his dark cheek come and go--\n  Hears behind the Pawnee yell\n  Fainter on the breezes swell--\n  Sees with joy the morning's beam\n  Flashing from his native stream,\n  As he drops his courser's rein\n  By the Kansas tent again.\"\n\nJohn B. Dunbar, who, in relating the story, asserts that the captive was\na Comanche girl, has preserved the Indian song in honor of\nPit-a-le-shar'-u, the hero. The oft recurring portion\n\n  Lu! ti-wak'-o-le\n  We-tut-i-wit-a\n  Pit-a-le-shar'-u,\n\nwhen translated, reads:\n\n  Well, he exclaimed,\n  You see I am come,\n  I, Pit-a-le-shar'-u.\n\nAlthough among the fiercest of the prairie Indians, the Pawnees never\ncarried on an organized war against the Government. They were, however,\nalways on hostile terms with the Sioux, Kaws, Osages, Iowas, Sacs and\nFoxes.\n\n[Illustration: PIT-A-LE-SHAR'-U.]\n\nIn a beautiful wooded region, near the Missouri River, were the villages\nof the Iowas and Sacs. A vast extent of prairie reached west and\nsouthward. The Indians lived in huts of bark stretched over poles.\nImplements for out-door work consisted of the \"squaw-axe\" and hoe,\npurchased from traders. Iron camp kettles, wooden bowls and ladles were\nthe only utensils for domestic use. The tribes still clung to barbarous\ncustoms when the Highland mission was founded; and their teacher\nnarrated that, at one time, a great feast was given in his honor. The\nprincipal article of food was a savory soup. He mentally congratulated\nhimself on having been presented with a dish so pleasing to the taste\nthat he might show due appreciation of the honor conferred upon him.\nSuddenly one of the hosts, in broken English, said:\n\n\"Dig deep, dig deep!\" The guest did so, and dipped up a ladleful of\nwhite worms.\n\nMissionaries found it difficult to check the wild propensities of their\npupils; and the war of extermination continued until stopped by the\nUnited States Government. The diary of Father Irvin, who established the\nschool, makes special mention of a war in 1839, and a skirmish in which\nnine Pawnees were slain near Arago, Nebraska. This was, doubtless,\nconsidered of great importance, inasmuch as the prowess of the Pawnees\nmade it a difficult matter for less formidable warriors to win a\nvictory, if the sides were equally divided as to numbers. Highland\nUniversity is now located upon the war trail over which the party\npassed.\n\nLike others of the Sioux family, the Iowas indulged in dances before\nsetting forth on the war-path; and upon the return, the women executed\nthe Scalp Dance, in which they carried, attached to poles, not only the\nscalps of enemies, but also fingers, toes and other mutilated portions\nof bodies.\n\nDuring the period of general, if not united, efforts against the\nPawnees, there was a conflict in which a small band was besieged on all\nsides, supposedly by the Sioux. The weaker party took refuge in a\nravine, where the sunflowers grew tall, and, protected by the thick\nstalks, which turned the balls aside, made a brave fight for life. After\nrepeated attacks, the assailants withdrew, bearing the body of their\nleader, who had been killed in the struggle. The Pawnees regained their\ntown without the loss of a man.\n\nAs immigration increased, settlers took possession of parts of their\nreservation. It was the old, pitiful tale. The tribe, reduced by war and\nfamine, relinquished its land and reluctantly departed for the Indian\nTerritory. Being an agricultural as well as a courageous people, the\nlast of the Pawnees have developed into excellent farmers. Maize, which\nwas called A-ti'-ra (mother), proved, after all, to be their best\nfriend.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nTHE SIOUX.\n\n\nAlthough Minnesota has been called the \"Land of the Dakotas,\" the Sioux,\nas well as the Pawnees, roamed over the entire Mississippi Basin,\nprevious to its settlement; and were found, at different times, in\nKansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. They are now located principally in\nSouth Dakota.\n\nThe word \"Sioux\" is of French origin. The tribes to whom it was applied\ncalled themselves \"Dakotas\" meaning \"allied,\" or \"joined together.\" The\nIndians in general, alluded to them as \"cut-throats,\" drawing the hand\nacross the throat in pantomime reference.\n\nThere were three great divisions of the nation; the I-san-ya'-ti,\nI-hank-ton'-wan, or Yankton, and the Ti-ton'-wan. Each division had its\ndialect.\n\nAmong these Arabs of America, the chiefs were not possessed of undue\npower. They might suggest, but seldom enforced; and usually depended\nfor influence upon popularity with the people. The Indian is by far the\nmost ardent advocate of liberty.\n\nIf a Dakota died, his nearest friend killed an enemy. The dead were laid\nupon scaffolds and allowed to remain a certain length of time, after\nwhich burial took place. The grief and devotion of a savage wife are\nbrought out in the old legend of Eagle Eye and Scarlet Dove.\n\nEagle Eye was the son of a famous war prophet who lived many years ago.\nThe young brave was a bitter foe, a warm friend and a wise counsellor.\nScarlet Dove, whom he chose as a wife, was distinguished for goodness as\nwell as for beauty; and in the eyes of her father, was worth the finest\nof horses and blankets. Eagle Eye did not hesitate to pay the required\nprice; and, according to custom, prepared a lodge for his bride. Only a\nfew moons after the marriage they joined a hunting party passing down\nthe Mississippi River.\n\nOne day as the husband, watching for deer, crouched behind some bushes,\na comrade accidentally shot an arrow into his heart. The lamentations of\nScarlet Dove could be heard from afar. She cut and lacerated her flesh\nin a terrible manner; and wrapping the body of her loved one in skins,\nput it upon a temporary scaffold and sat beneath. The hunting party\nmoved. She carried the dead upon her back, and at every camp erected a\nscaffold. At length they reached home, the sorrowing bride still bearing\nher precious burden. She procured forks and poles and built a strong\nscaffold. Hanging from this, was discovered a few days later, the body\nof Scarlet Dove.\n\nMirrors, when first introduced among the Dakotas, were regarded as\nsacred; and women were denied the privilege of gazing therein. As a\nconsequence, the young men of the nation became the more remarkable for\nvanity, decking themselves out to an unusual degree with savage finery.\nAn eagle feather, with a red spot, denoted the killing of an enemy. A\nnotch cut in the edges of a feather painted red indicated that the\nthroat of an enemy had been cut. One who had seen a fight, even though\nhe might not have participated, was allowed to mount a feather. Horses'\ntails, beads, wampum and a variety of paints were also used by way of\ndecoration.\n\nThe women were hard-working and submissive. Plural marriages being\nfertile sources of discontent, suicides were not infrequent.\n\nAnepetusa was an unfortunate wife, whose sad story has become a part of\nthe traditional history of Minnesota. When young and beautiful she\nbecame the bride of a Dakota hunter. For a time all was peace and\ncontentment in the lodge. Anepetusa was a happy wife, and her joy was\nincreased by the birth of a child. The boy grew strong and handsome, as\nthe years passed by; but, at length, a deep shadow fell across the\nthreshold of the forest home. A second wife was purchased, and came to\nshare the humble habitation. All the world seemed dark to the\nnow-neglected woman. The child was her sole remaining comfort. An\nexpression of deep sorrow settled upon the once beautiful features, yet\nno murmur escaped her lips. Grieving in silence, she followed her lord\nand master upon a hunting expedition. He appeared utterly indifferent to\nthis devotion. They approached the Falls of St. Anthony. Taking the\nchild by the hand, Anepetusa walked out into rapid water and entered a\ncanoe. As they pushed into the swift current she chanted an unearthly\ndirge. A moment afterward the astonished husband saw her go over the\nfalls. His heart was stricken with terror by the wild ringing of a death\nsong that could be plainly distinguished above the roaring of the\nwaterfall.\n\nFrom that time forth, so the Dakotas said, the spirit of an Indian wife,\nwith a child clinging around her neck, might be seen darting into the\nspray; and her death song was heard in the moaning of the winds and the\nraging of the waters.\n\nEach Dakota was supposed to have four souls. At the extinction of\nphysical life, one remained in or near the body, another was lodged in a\nbundle containing hair and clothes of the deceased, kept by relatives\nand thrown into the enemy's country, the third passed into the spirit\nland, and the fourth entered the body of a child, plant or animal.\n\nThe following petition, translated by a United States interpreter, was a\ntypical prayer of these primitive people:\n\n\"Spirits, or ghosts, have mercy on me; and show me where I can find a\nbear.\"\n\nAll unusual occurrences were regarded as good or evil omens. In crossing\na lake or other body of water, the Dakotas filled their pipes and\ninvoked the winds to be calm. According to Schoolcraft, they did not\nbelieve in the transmigration of souls. Worship was in a natural state.\nThere were no images of wood. A stone was picked up, placed a few rods\nfrom the lodge, an offering of tobacco or feathers was made, and an\nentreaty for protection from some threatened evil.\n\nO-an-tay'-hee, the supreme god, was regarded with the utmost reverence.\nHis name, like that of Jehovah of the Israelites, was seldom spoken. He\ncreated the earth. Assembling the aquatic tribes, he commanded them to\nbring up dirt from beneath the water, at the same time proclaiming death\nto the disobedient. This would indicate that the Indian, as well as the\nmodern scientist, realized the fact that the earth was in a liquid state\nat one period. The beaver and other animals forfeited their lives. At\nlast the muskrat went down and, after a long delay, returned with some\ndirt, from which the earth was formed.\n\nTaking one of his own offspring, O-an-tay'-hee ground him to powder and\nsprinkled it upon the earth; many worms came forth; they were collected\nand scattered again and matured into infants; these, having been\ncollected and scattered, became full-grown Dakotas. The bones of the\nmastodon were assumed to be those of O-an-tay'-hee; and in some\nmedicine bags, small portions were preserved among the sacred articles.\n\nHay-o-kah was a powerful deity, who could kill anything he looked upon,\nwith his piercing eyes. There were four persons in this godhead. The\nfirst was tall and slender, with two faces. In his hands were a bow\nstreaked with red lightning and a rattle of deer claws. The second, a\nlittle old man with a cocked hat and large ears, held a yellow bow. The\nthird had a flute suspended from his neck; and the fourth, invisible and\nmysterious, was the gentle breeze which \"swayed the grass and rippled\nthe water.\"\n\nTaku-shkan-shkan, unseen but ever present, was a revengeful,\ndissimulating, wicked searcher of hearts. His favorite resorts were the\nfour winds.\n\nWah-keen-yan, a god in the form of a huge bird whose flapping wings made\nthunder, lived in a tepee on a mound rising from a mountain-top in the\nfar West. His tepee, guarded by sentinels clothed in red down, had four\nopenings. A butterfly was stationed at the east, a bear at the west, a\nfawn at the south and a reindeer at the north. He fashioned the first\nspear and tomahawk and attempted to kill the offspring of O-an-tay'-hee,\nhis bitter enemy. When lightning struck, it was supposed that the latter\nwas near the surface of the earth and Wah-keen-yan had fired a hot\nthunderbolt at him.\n\nCaptain Eastman writes of Unk-ta-he, the God of Water, and\nChah-o-ter'-dah, the Forest God, who lived in a tree on a high eminence.\nHis house was situated at its base. By a strange power of attraction, he\ndrew birds, who performed the duties of guards.\n\nChah-o-ter'-dah was the relentless foe of the Thunder God. Indian fancy\nhas pictured many a spirited battle between the two. It was said that\nthe God of Thunder often came racing along, hurling lightning at a tree,\nto kill the Forest God, who, having been warned, had taken refuge in the\nwater. Then Chah-o-ter'-dah ascended a tree and hurled his lightning at\nhis adversary to bring him down to submission. The Forest God possessed\na crooked gun, with which it was possible to shoot in any direction\naround the earth.\n\nThe God of the Grass, Whitte-kah-gah, was formed from a weed,\n_pa-jee-ko-tah_, which had the power of causing men to have fits, as\nwell as to give success in hunting.\n\nWa-hun-de-dan (Aurora Borealis, or Old Woman) was the goddess of war.\n\nThe Dakotas believed in numerous fairies of the land and water, in the\nshape of animals, with ability to perform various services for mankind;\nand in frightful giants, in whose honor were established many feasts and\ndances. There was a clan called the \"Giant's Party.\" Men only\nparticipated in the ceremonies of this organization. On stated\noccasions, they went hopping and singing around the fire, over which\nkettles of meat were boiling. Every few moments, one would put in a hand\nand pull out a piece of meat, which he ate, scalding hot. After it was\nall eaten, the dancers splashed hot water on one another's backs, crying\nout \"Oh, how cold it is!\"\n\nThe impression among the people was that the god would not permit his\nclan to be injured by these rites.\n\nIn some feasts of the Dakotas, everything was sacred. Not a morsel of\nmeat was permitted to fall to the ground, otherwise the spirits would be\ndispleased and some calamity might befall. Bones were gathered up and\nburned, or thrown into the water, out of reach of the dogs and so they\ncould not be trampled on by the women. Sometimes a present was bestowed\nupon the one who ate his dishful first. This caused much haste, as soon\nas eating began, accompanied by a great blowing, stirring and grunting.\n\nThe Medicine Dance, instituted by O-an-tay'-hee, was conducted as the\nproceedings of a secret society. War prophets and medicine men, _waw\nkeen_, were revered as demi-gods. They were believed to have led\nspiritual existences, enclosed in seeds, something like those of the\nthistle, which were wafted to the abode of the gods, with whom the _waw\nkeen_ sustained confidential relations. They received instruction in\nthe magic of the spirit-land and went out to study all nations; then,\nselecting a location, were born into the world.\n\nWhen, at the proper time, a person signified his desire to join the\npriesthood, he was initiated by the Medicine Dance. First, the candidate\nmust take a hot bath, four days in succession; then he was taught the\nuses of medicine and its mysteries by the old men of the society; after\nwhich, he was provided with a dish and spoon. On one side of the dish\nwas carved the head of some animal, in which lived the spirit of Eeyah,\nthe Glutton God. The owner always thereafter carried the dish to the\nMedicine Dance. He was taught the use of paints and must always appear\nin the dance, decorated in the same manner. The paint was supposed to\nhave supernatural virtue and caused an object to become invisible or\ninvulnerable. In battle, it was regarded as a life preserver.\n\nBefore beginning the dance of initiation, ten or twenty prominent\nmembers spent the night dancing and feasting. In the morning, the tent\nwas opened. The candidate, painted and nude, with the exception of\nbreech-cloth and moccasins, was seated on a pile of blankets, an elder\nbeing stationed in the rear. The master of ceremonies, bag in hand,\napproached, ejaculating, \"_Heen, heen, heen!_\" and raising the bag to a\npainted spot upon the breast of the novice. Suddenly the latter was\npushed forward and covered with blankets. The dancers collected around\nhim. The leader, throwing off the covering, chewed a piece of the bone\nof O-an-tay'-hee and sprinkled it over him. Dancing around the\ncandidate, the members patted his breast until he heaved up a shell,\nwhich had been placed in his throat. Life was now fully restored; and\nthe shell was passed from hand to hand for examination. Ceremonies\nclosed with more dancing, continued until four sets of singers, with\ngourds, drums and rattles, had been exhausted.\n\nWar parties were made up by anyone injured. The head of the party was a\ngreat medicine man or prophet, or one distinguished in some way. The\nwar chief made a dance every three or four nights, before the party\nmarched. All who chose might join, and anyone was at liberty to return,\nshould he so desire, after the party started. War paint was red and\nblack in color, and the dance was executed by men.\n\nWomen performed the Scalp Dance, in which scalps, mounted upon poles,\nwere carried. The Sun Dance was another popular festivity, and has been\nsaid to be the cause of the weak eyes, noticeable among the devotees.\n\nWhen the Sioux were in a complete state of barbarism, strange as it may\nseem, they maintained a high standard of morality. Violation of the code\nwas invariably followed by complete loss of rights in the tribe. At\ncertain celebrations, maidens proclaimed their purity by joining in the\ndance. Coming in contact with the white race, the Indians first adopted\ntheir vices, then, as civilization advanced and the younger members of\nthe tribes returned from schools and colleges, they began to emulate\nthe virtues of their conquerors.\n\nTaking the Degree of Manhood was a savage custom adhered to by the\nDakotas until a recent date. When youths had attained proper age, they\nproved a right to the degree by torturing themselves in different ways.\nSometimes a skewer was driven through the arm and heavy articles hung\nupon the projecting ends. The flesh was cut and bruised. If an aspirant\nbore the pain without flinching, he was deemed worthy of all privileges\naccorded to men. These practices have been discontinued by order of the\nUnited States Government.\n\n[Illustration: TA-TON-KA-I-YO-TON-KA.\n\n(Sitting Bull.)]\n\nTravelers in the Sioux country are frequently entertained with recitals\nof\n\nINCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF TA-TON-KA-I-YO-TON-KA.\n\nSitting Bull, the famous commander at the Custer massacre, was, during\nhis prosperous years, the chief of chiefs, or supreme head of the\nnation. He first inherited the office, and was able to retain it\nbecause of mental superiority and by reason of the fact that, until the\nlast hope was gone, he assumed an uncompromising position in regard to\nthe encroachment of the whites. Then, too, Ta-ton-ka-I-yo-ton-ka was a\nmedicine man, capable of arousing religious fervor. That he was cruel\ntoward the enemies of his people cannot be denied; but, according to the\nred man's philosophy, that was simple bravery and loyalty.\n\nThe authority of a leader was seldom questioned, although a petty chief\nwas privileged to disregard orders, should he so desire.\n\nSitting Bull left an autobiography in pictograph. It contained a\ndescription of conflicts in which the hero had counted _coup_ on\nnumerous enemies, both white and Indian, and secured their scalps. There\nwere also records of horse-stealing. The signature consisted of the\npicture of a buffalo in a sitting posture. Little is known of the early\nhistory of the chief; his own accounts vary; he seemed to be well\neducated, and could converse fluently in French and English, as well as\nin the different Indian languages.\n\nThe Custer massacre took place in 1877. After the Sioux war had ended\nand the savages had surrendered, placing themselves under the protection\nof the Government, they were retained as prisoners at Fort Randall,\nSouth Dakota. The commandant caused a stockade to be erected, but\nSitting Bull refused to enter it, selecting, in preference, a strip of\nbottom land close to the river, for winter quarters, in order that there\nmight be plenty of fire-wood near at hand. In summer, a pleasant\nlocation about three hundred yards from the garrison, was chosen, where\na guard, composed of one non-commissioned officer and nine men, was\nstationed. At that time a majority of the prisoners had not learned\ncleanliness, and for the purpose of improving sanitary conditions, the\nquarters were inspected daily by the post surgeon and the officer of the\nday. Every one was compelled to wash each morning. A soldier asserts\nthat some of the Indians appeared heart-broken and became sick and\ndied. Might it not be more just to explain that daily baths in the\nriver, in a cold climate, were the causes of mortality?\n\nA death was followed by the customary rites. On every hill in the\nvicinity of the camp a woman might be seen and heard, mourning and\nhowling, in the hope that the departed would return to make an\nassignment of his effects, which were few, inasmuch as the most valuable\narticles had been lowered into the grave. Among them were usually placed\na knife, tin cup, moccasins, blanket and piece of buckskin. The ancient\nrule of laying the dead upon a scaffold was not permitted to be put into\npractice.\n\nBurials took place in the day, and at night grand dances were held.\nIndians on the opposite side of the river were invited to participate.\nTin cans, which had been collected and taken to the tepees, served as\nmusical instruments. The noise and confusion were sometimes deafening,\ndances being kept up almost continuously. Both men and women spent much\ntime in making arrow tips from old iron hoops.\n\nWhile at Fort Randall, Sitting Bull received an order from the\nquartermaster for three sacks of hay. Accompanied by a slave wife and a\nfavorite, he presented the order. The large army bed sacks were calmly\nhanded to the man in charge, who refused to fill them, telling the\nIndian to attend to that himself. The Sioux then turned to the slave\nwife, commanding her to perform the menial office. She did so with most\nabject humility, tying the bundle with a piece of rawhide; then the poor\ncreature crawled beneath the huge mass, pushing her head under it first\nand gradually forcing the burden upon her back. This accomplished, she\nrose slowly upon hands and knees and at last regained her feet. Being\nasked, indignantly, why he did not assist the woman, the great chief\nanswered with an expressive grunt.\n\nAn army officer, Major McLaughlin, secured several autographs of the\ncelebrated leader, but found it impossible to induce him to sit for a\nphotograph, until he had obtained twenty-five dollars and a white shirt.\nThe shirt proved too small, but the chief fastened it at the back of the\nneck with a buckskin string. Despite these weaknesses, he was dignified\nin behavior and apparently unmoved by curiosity, although the room of\nthe officer contained many objects new and strange to him.\n\nDuring a severe storm, lightning struck a tree near the Indian camp,\nforty or fifty yards from the tent of Ta-ton-ka-I-yo-ton-ka. He\nimmediately broke camp and removed to summer quarters, saying the evil\nspirit was after his people. Nothing could convince him that the Great\nSpirit was not angry with him for leaving Canada, when he crossed to the\nAmerican side and surrendered, after the Custer massacre, at the Little\nBig Horn. He said that all the water in the Missouri River could not\nwash out the white man's stains of crime.\n\nSpotted Tail and Red Cloud were also dangerous to the peace of the\nnorthwestern country. Spotted Tail had two attractive daughters, one of\nwhom died on the way to Fort Laramie, while the Indians were going in to\nsurrender. Thomas Dorion, the man who went out as a messenger of peace,\ndesired to marry the girl and she expressed a willingness to become his\nwife. It was largely due to her influence with her father, that he and\nRed Cloud consented to accompany the emissary to Fort Laramie to hold\ncouncil and make a treaty. Her sad life and premature death, which was,\nno doubt, the result of exposure and the vicissitudes of war, aroused\ngreat sympathy. The other daughter, Water Carrier, was much admired by\nthe army officers and received many valuable presents. One of her\nrelatives asserts that the officers seemed infatuated, but that she\nnever manifested any reciprocity. Water Carrier was deeply attached to\nher father's people and became the wife of Lone Elk. They live at the\nRosebud Agency, South Dakota.\n\nThe Sioux, like all tribes, are rapidly discarding their ancient\nbeliefs. Government schools have done effective work; and while the\nnumber of \"squaw men,\" or those who marry into the nation, is less than\nin the tribes of the Indian Territory, there is yet a liberal infusion\nof white blood. The dances, in a revised form, are, of recent years,\nindulged in by way of recreation or for the amusement of spectators.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nTHE KAWS AND OSAGES.\n\n\nThe Dakotas were strongly represented in the Kaw Valley and vicinity by\nthe Kansas or Kaw Indians and the Osages. In some respects there was a\nsimilarity of manners and customs between these branches and the\noriginal stock, in others a radical difference was noted.\n\nThe practice of shaving all of the head except a small place around the\ncrown--the scalp lock, which was reserved for the enemy, should he be\nable to secure it--was adhered to by the Kaws and the Osages, while the\nold Sioux law seems to have sanctioned scalping the entire head.\nHowever, when compelled to hurry, they took a small section from any\npart of the head. For the purpose of decorating themselves, many of the\nKansas cut the upper and outer edge of each ear, drawing it down so as\nto form a large ring, reaching to the shoulder. To this circle\nornaments were attached. The tribe retained savage proclivities long\nafter their neighbors had become partially or altogether reconciled to\nthe habits of the pale-face; and were tall of stature and physically\nwell developed, but decidedly inferior in mind and morals, being a\nconstant source of annoyance to both the white citizens and more\ncivilized Indians.\n\nOne day a golden-haired girl stood by the side of her father, at the\ndoor of their home in Kansas City, Kansas, (then Wyandotte) when a\nnumber of Kaws filed through the gate and up to the house. Their chief,\nthrough an interpreter, formally tendered a horse and several fine\nblankets in exchange for the \"squaw with the hair like the rising sun.\"\nReceiving an indignant refusal, he emitted a disappointed \"Ugh! ugh!\"\nand turning slowly, rode down the street with his warriors.\n\nA lady who resided at Westport when it was a hamlet of not more than\neight or ten houses, was surprised, on entering her kitchen one morning,\nto see, standing before the stove warming himself, a huge Kaw, entirely\nnude save for the blanket extended across his outspread arms. Almost in\nterror, the woman gasped out, \"_Puck-a-chee! puck-a-chee!_\" (go away).\nDeliberately, and with evident amusement at her fright, the savage took\nhis departure.\n\nThe main village of the Kaws, that of American Chief, was situated two\nmiles east of Manhattan, Kansas. It was composed of one hundred and\ntwenty dirt lodges, of good size. A large portion of the tribe was\nlocated, with Fool Chief, on the north bank of the Kansas River, in and\nnear Topeka. Later, by a treaty with the United States, this land, with\nthe exception of a few hundred acres reserved and divided among those in\nwhom white blood predominated, was ceded to the Government. The majority\nof the people removed, first, to Council Grove, and then to the Indian\nTerritory.\n\n[Illustration: WA-HON-GA-SHEE.\n\n(No Fool.)]\n\nThey delighted, for many years, to talk of\n\nTHE VICTORY WHICH MADE WA-HON-GA-SHEE A FAMOUS CHIEF.\n\nThere had been frequent, hard-fought battles with the Pawnees, who,\nbeing superior in numbers, had usually obtained the victory. However,\nthe Great Spirit punished them when, at last, a small band was\ndiscovered, just at nightfall, by a strong party of Kaws.\n\nRevenge, always sweet to the barbarian, was now assured. Surrounding the\nfoe under cover of darkness, the Kaws, commanded by Wa-hon-ga-shee (No\nFool), waited patiently for daylight.\n\nTwenty-four hours before going on the war-path a council had been held\nin the celebrated grove from which the present city takes its name, and\nevery warrior who had joined the preliminary dance, had fasted from that\ntime until the moment of departure. Their leader, together with the\nmedicine men, had long abstained from food, in anticipation of the\nevent. Other matters having been arranged, the line of men rode out\nof the village, carrying many an anxious good-speed from wives and\nmothers. Children, half-clothed, huddled together in awe-stricken\ngroups, or sought maternal protection. Old men and maidens gazed with\nhopeful pride on sons and sweethearts.\n\nOver the plains passed the braves, almost from view, when, by some\nmischance, their chief slipped and fell. Quickly recognizing an\nunfavorable omen, he gave the signal for return, and the entire\ncommunity joined in incantations to dispel future disaster. Again the\nwar party went forth, coming upon the Pawnees, who, all unconscious of\napproaching danger, lay encamped for the night. Guards had been\nstationed at proper intervals, and the ponies corralled, in order that\nthey might not wander away.\n\nAll seemed quiet until near morning. Faintly the sounds of awakening\nNature broke the silence of the prairie. The Kaws began to close in upon\nthe enemy, crawling stealthily through the grass. Gray dawn appeared;\nthen a red streak became visible in the east. The assailants rose with\na terrible war-whoop and rushed upon their sleeping victims. Even the\nguards were surprised. Reports of rifles and fierce shouts from\ninfuriated men mingled with the shrieks of the wounded and dying. Knives\nstruck pitilessly into the breasts of the Pawnees, who, stupefied by the\nsudden attack, were easily overcome. Blood flowed freely. Deftly a small\ncircle was described upon the head of each one, the scalp torn off, and\nthe reeking trophy attached to the belt of the slayer. Then, when\ndestruction was complete, and death had swept the camp, leaving not a\nmember of the little band alive, the victors gathered up the spoils and\njourneyed home in triumph. Ninety dead bodies, mutilated examples of the\neffects of savage warfare, were scattered over the field of battle.\n\nNow, preparations for the dance were in progress. Musicians brought\nforth flutes and tom-toms--rude drums made from powder kegs with\nraw-hides stretched over the ends--while the women busied themselves in\nmaking ready and cooking meat and cereals for the feast.\n\nThe warriors, in a circle, commenced the celebration with low\nejaculations and slow movements not unlike a march, gradually increasing\nspeed, and changing step until it became a wild rush of many feet,\naccompanied by howls of exultation. Then all was still for a moment, and\ntwo beautiful girls, dressed in almost Oriental costume, and carrying\nred fringed umbrellas, broke into the center of the ring and danced with\nthe utmost grace and abandon. Next followed the process of paying debts.\nIt was the custom for creditors to allow debtors the privilege of paying\noff old scores, at a dance of triumph, by standing in the center of the\ncircle and submitting to sound beatings, at one dollar a blow.\n\nAn old squaw had tried in vain to collect the sum of twelve dollars from\na young man. Desiring to end her importunities for money, he advanced\nand stood, the object of all eyes, in stoical forbearance, while she\nadministered, to the full extent of her power, the requisite amount of\npunishment.\n\nAs usual, the Kaws had buried their most valuable goods previous to\nundertaking the foregoing expedition. First, a large cavity had been\nmade in the ground and the articles placed inside. These were covered\nwith sticks and branches, earth being piled on top and stamped down. In\na violent effort to bestow the last blow effectively, the old woman\ncaused this structure to give way and sank into the chasm, to the great\ndiversion of spectators--for the Indians, among themselves, on such a\nday, were prone to cast dignity to the winds.\n\nFrequently, Osages and Kaws were employed to perform special police\nduty. It gave them a sense of responsibility that had a tendency to\nprevent mischief. Even in this capacity, they were governed by\nsuperstition. At night, when ready to give place to another watchman,\neach brave, before going home, went to the fire, gathered a handful of\nashes and rubbed it on his head to keep away the witches.\n\nDeath was mourned, not only by relatives, but by professionals, hired\nfor a period of two weeks. Pasting the hair on top of the head with mud,\nthey united in a series of groans and wails, dismal beyond description.\nThese strange songs had words, probably recounting the virtues and\nwonderful deeds of the dead. Wrapped in his blanket and provided with\nfood and drink, trinkets and valuables, with all that he considered most\ndesirable, the warrior was lowered to his last resting-place, a favorite\nhorse having been killed that the spirit might ride to the Happy Hunting\nGrounds.\n\nThe Osages were once the most powerful people west of the Mississippi\nRiver. They owned a vast territory and had remained in possession over\nthree hundred years; but were forced eventually to cede the greater\nportion to the Government. Nevertheless they are the wealthiest of the\nIndians. The tribe was divided originally into three bands, the Little\nOsages, the Grand and the Black Dog Band. They were tall and\nfine-looking, the young, able-bodied men being hunters and warriors,\nwhile the old men were doctors and cooks. Upon entering a village, a\nstranger was expected to present himself first at the lodge of the\nchief, and there partake of food. A general feast followed. The cook\nstood outside and called, in a loud voice:\n\n\"Come and eat. White Hair (or whomsoever it might be) gives a feast.\"\n\nWhen traveling, the Osages made lodges in the shape of wagon-tops, of\nbent trees covered with skins or blankets.\n\nA native orator, speaking of the good qualities of his people, said:\n\n\"Are we brave and valiant? Behold Dakota scalps drying in the smoke of\nour cabins. Are we strong? Here is the bow of an Osage boy--bend it. Are\nour women beautiful? Look at them and be convinced.\"\n\nDespite the fact that civilization has penetrated even remote portions\nof the United States, and its effects are felt in a greater or less\ndegree by every savage nation, the Osages in the Indian Territory have\nreturned to many of the old barbarous customs. They had a unique\ncreation story. Old people used to talk of a man, the first of the race,\nwho came out of a shell. They said:\n\n\"The father of our nation was a snail, who passed a quiet, happy\nexistence on the banks of our own river. His wants were few and well\nsupplied. He seldom hunted, going out only when driven by hunger to seek\nfood, and taking whatever could be most easily obtained. Thus lived our\ngreat forefather, the snail.\"\n\nAccording to the tradition, there was a storm and the river burst over\nits banks and swept everything before it. The snail, seated on a log,\nwas carried along down the stream and deposited at last upon a bed of\nslime. He was contented and had enjoyed the travel, since it had\nrequired no exertion. Now, he found himself in a strange country. It was\nvery warm and the sun came out and baked the earth in which he was\nembedded. It was impossible to move. Then, feeling a change, he began\nto grow and developed into a man, tall, strong and perfect. At first,\nthe new being was stupefied; but with returning memory, he realized that\nhe had once been a snail, and immediately set out for his former home.\n\nArrived on the banks of the Osage River, he became faint from hunger.\nGame was plenty, but he knew not how to catch it. There were birds and\nfish, but no means of reaching them. He lay down to die. A soft voice\nbroke the silence. The man looked up and saw, mounted on a noble,\nsnow-white animal, a being like nothing seen on earth. It was tall and\nmighty, having eyes like stars. The Osage trembled. The gentle voice\nsaid:\n\n\"Why does he who is the kernel of the snail look terrified? Why is he\nfaint and weary?\"\n\n\"I tremble because I fear thy power and quail before the lightning of\nthine eye. I am faint because I lack food.\"\n\nThen said the Great Spirit: \"Be composed. The Master of Breath punishes\nnot till sin is committed. Thou hast not sinned; be calm. But art thou\nhungry?\"\n\n\"I have eaten nothing since I ceased to be a snail.\"\n\nThe Great Spirit drew from under his robe a bow and arrows, and taught\nthe man to shoot. He killed a deer and was told to cover himself with\nits skin. The Great Spirit made fire and told him to use it for cooking\nthe meat.\n\nOne day, when hunting, the man went to a river to drink, and saw, in the\nwater, a beaver hut, on which the chief of the family was sitting. The\nanimal asked who he was and what he was looking for; and was informed\nthat the Osage had no home and came to the river to quench his thirst.\nThe beaver said:\n\n\"You seem to be a reasonable man. You may come and live with me. My\nfamily is large and there are many daughters. Should any of them be\npleasing in your sight, you may marry.\" The Indian accepted the offer\nand married one of the beaver's daughters. They had many children, from\nwhom the Osage people are descended. To this day, the members of the\ntribe refrain from killing the beaver, which is regarded as sacred.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nTHE DELAWARES.\n\n\nThe Delaware Indians, or Lenape, as they called themselves, are of\nAlgonquin lineage. Their language, which is soft and musical, bears a\nstrong resemblance to that of the Shawnees and Pottawatomies, who are\ndescended from the same people. The word Lenape has been translated\n\"men\" or \"fathers of men.\" This bears some significance, since the early\ntraditions of the Delawares declare them to be the parent stock. They\nwere the natives with whom William Penn held council, on the ground\noccupied at the present time by the city of Philadelphia.\n\nThe nation had been subjugated by the Iroquois, and bearing the name of\n\"women\" was at peace with the world. Although the domination of the\nother tribes was only temporary, the famous treaty with the Quakers was\nnever broken, during the subsequent years of warfare.\n\nThe Delawares were a migratory people. Most of their legends have been\npreserved by missionaries. The Algonquin myth of the virgin who fell\nfrom heaven and became the mother of twins, one light and the other\ndark, was found among the Lenape, and may be explained as referring to\nthe dawn, which gives birth to day and night.\n\nThe divinity Kikeron, the synonym for life, light and action, or energy,\nwas believed to be the first factor of the universe. He originated all\nthings, through the instrumentality of the tortoise, which, in Algonquin\npictography, was the symbol of the earth. There was an unexpected depth\nto this native philosophy. The earth is all-producing, and from it\nproceeds, directly or indirectly, all animate existence. The tortoise\nhad power to produce everything. From its back a tree had sprung, upon\nthe branches of which grew men.\n\nIn the pristine age, the world lived at peace; but an evil spirit came\nand caused a great flood. The earth was submerged. A few persons had\ntaken refuge on the back of a turtle, so old that his shell had\ncollected moss. A loon flew over their heads and was entreated to dive\nbeneath the water and bring up land. It found only a bottomless sea.\nThen the bird flew far away, came back with a small portion of earth in\nits bill, and guided the tortoise to a place where there was a spot of\ndry land.\n\nThe Delawares thought the land was an island, supported by a great\nturtle, the one that had been their preserver. There was a tradition\nthat many hundreds of years ago their forefathers dwelt in a distant\ncountry, far to the west. They traveled east, and at the Mississippi\nRiver encountered a race of giants. The wanderers desired to settle\nbetween the river and the mountains; but the request was refused.\nHowever, they obtained permission to pass through the country. While in\nthe midst of the strange land they were fiercely attacked by the huge\npeople, who were very powerful. Many battles ensued. The enemy erected\nfortifications; but large numbers of their warriors were killed. The\ndead were placed in heaps and covered with earth. The giants were\nfinally defeated, and fled, passing down the Mississippi River. The\nvictors took possession of the country.\n\nThe nation was then divided into three tribes. One settled on the shore\nof the Atlantic, one remained in the conquered land, and the third lived\nwest of the Mississippi River. The Atlantic coast Delawares were\ncomposed of three clans, the Turtle (Unami), the Turkey (Unalachtgo) and\nthe Wolf (Minsi). Other tribes, the Mohicans and Nanticokes among them,\nsprang from the Lenape.\n\nThe legend of the hairless bear is one of the oldest Delaware stories.\nIt was narrated that in the past, at some remote period, the country was\ninfested with a ferocious bear of immense size. Its skin was bare, with\nthe exception of a single tuft of perfectly white hair on its back. The\nanimal possessed a keen sense of smell, but its sight was defective. The\nheart of the bear was so small that only an expert hunter could hope to\nstrike it. The people held council and finally decided that the best\nplan would be to break its back. Experienced hunters formed a party to\nrid the earth of the monster. They discovered its retreat, made a great\nnoise to attract attention, and scaled a high rock. The bear could not\nclimb the rock but tore at it in a fury. The men discharged arrows and\nthrew stones at the creature until it was dead.\n\nIndian mothers were wont to frighten their children into obedience, by\nsaying:\n\n\"The naked bear will eat you.\"\n\nThe pictograph system, which was perfectly intelligible to all tribes,\nwas based upon gesture speech. Rafinesque, a learned but somewhat\nerratic Frenchman, claimed to have seen a set of wooden tablets, on\nwhich was engraved the history of the Lenape, both in picture and in\nsong. The eccentric archeologist prepared a translation of the strange\ndocument, which is called the Walam Olum, or Painted Record. Brinton\nseems inclined to believe it a genuine native production, given orally\nand written down by some one not thoroughly conversant with the Delaware\nlanguage. There is a possibility that the priests or medicine men,\nrealizing that their own downfall would come with the adoption of\nChristianity, were jealous of the missionaries. Having learned to read\nand write, from the white men, and hoping to gain new power, they may\nhave transmitted the story to wood, in such form as to be readily\nunderstood, both by educated and uneducated Indians. The song is\nrhythmical, and describes the formation of the universe by the great\nManito.\n\nAt first there was a fog and a watery waste; then the land and sky were\nformed and the heavens cleared. Each statement is accompanied by a rude\ndrawing or picture. The first part reads:\n\n1. At first, in that place, at all times, above the earth,\n\n2. On the earth, an extended fog, and there the great Manito was.\n\n3. At first, forever, lost in space, everywhere, the great Manito was.\n\n4. He made the extended land and the sky.\n\n5. He made the sun, the moon, the stars.\n\n6. He made them all to move evenly.\n\n7. The wind blew violently and it cleared, and the water flowed off far\nand strong.\n\nMen and animals were created, and lived peaceably until the coming of an\nevil spirit, in the form of a serpent, which introduced war, sickness\nand premature death. Strife and wanderings commenced. The evil Manito\nbrought a flood. A few people, escaping to the back of a turtle, were\npreserved by Nanabush, or Manabozho. Their protector caused the water to\nrecede and the serpent to depart.\n\nAfter the deluge the race found itself in a strange northern climate.\nThe people journeyed south, arriving at \"Snakeland.\" They conquered the\nregion; and a long list of chiefs, migrations and wars are recorded.\nAbundance followed. Then there was a division, some of the nation going\nsouth and some east to the salt sea. The three subtribes of the Lenape\neventually became established along the Delaware River. The song closes\nwith the advent of the white man.\n\nIn 1683 there were six thousand Delawares. Within a century their\nnumbers greatly diminished. In 1724 the white settlements had increased\nto such an extent that the former owners of the land began to seek homes\nin Western Pennsylvania.\n\nIt was at New Britain, Pennsylvania, that Tamenend--the Delaware chief\nfor whom the Tammany Society, of New York, was named--committed suicide.\nHe had become old and feeble and had been deserted by the tribe. Having\nfailed in an attempt to stab himself, the unhappy old man threw burning\nleaves over his body, and in that manner, died.\n\nA princess of the Lenape caused a cliff on Mount Tammany to be called\nLover's Leap. Her affection for a European was unrequited and, in\ndespair, the girl made the leap of death.\n\nNot far from Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, was a clear and sparkling lake.\nOn its bank stood a village of the Delawares. Among the wigwams was one\nlarger than the rest and more commodious. There dwelt the successful\nyoung chief, Onoko, a man of wonderful size, strength and daring.\nUnaided, he had destroyed the bear on Mauch Chunk (Bear Mountain). Happy\nwas Wenonah when he sought her in marriage. Her heart swelled with pride\nas she entered the richly decorated lodge.\n\nThe victories of Onoko in love, in war and in the chase aroused the\nanger and jealousy of Mitche Manito. One day, as the young people were\nfloating idly upon the lake in their canoe, the terrible Manito arose\namong the mountains, with a dark look of hatred upon his face and the\nthunder rolling and crashing about his head, and while lightning darted\nfrom his eyes, smote the hills with a mighty hand covered by the magic\nmitten. The earth shook and a great chasm opened, through which poured a\nvolume of foaming water.\n\nAt first alarm, the lovers, glancing upward, beheld the wrathful\nfeatures, and seeing no hope, awaited death, clasped in a close embrace.\nThe light canoe was swept rapidly away by the deluge; and the Manito, in\ngloomy satisfaction, retired to the hills. Ever since that time the\nLehigh has flowed through the chasm that he made. The name of Onoko was\nbestowed upon a cascade and glen in the vicinity of Mauch Chunk.\n\nThe Lenape gradually drifted to the streams in Central and Eastern Ohio.\nThe epoch of peace had passed and they were no longer \"women\"; but took\na prominent part in the War of the Races. Removing to the valley of the\nWhite Water River, in Indiana, they founded six towns. The treaty of\nVincennes guaranteed the title to the land forever, nevertheless it was\n\"ceded\" to the United States only ten years afterward. The fugitives\nthen sought a home west of the Mississippi; and eventually received a\ntract at the mouth of the Kansas River. They never fought against the\nGovernment after that time. Other nations arrived. The Lenape lived at\npeace with all except the wild prairie tribes. The old warlike spirit,\nstrong in every Indian, whether civilized or semi-civilized, was\nappeased by fierce battles far beyond their reservation. Even after the\nterritory had become the property of the white man, the Delawares took\npride in detailing such victories as\n\nTHE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS.\n\nNestled among the hills, where the Kansas River empties into the\nMissouri, lay a village of the once prosperous Lenape, who gloried in\nthe knowledge that, with the exception of a brief period, their people\nhad, from time immemorial, been successful in war. Belonging to the\nEast, they had drifted toward the setting sun, until the early part of\nthe nineteenth century found them, still adhering to antique customs, in\nEastern Kansas. Though but the shadow of its former greatness, the\nnation still retained sufficient numerical strength to keep up\nhostilities with its ancient enemies, the Sioux. At times, after\nseasons of rest and recuperation, well-equipped parties had sallied\nforth, going as far as Nebraska, Colorado or Dakota, in quest of\nadventure. A furious renewal of the old contest succeeded emigration to\nthe Middle West, and all was made ready for an expedition. Religious\nrites were performed, and the medicine men promised an easy victory.\n\n[Illustration: NI-CO-MAN.]\n\nAmong the Delawares was a chief, who bade fair to equal in fame, the\nmost distinguished of his predecessors. Not many moons before, Ni-co-man\nhad awakened from a dream of conquest and beheld, in the pale light, a\nshadowy figure wrapped in a blanket of snowy white. Its bony finger\nmotioned the chief to arise and follow. Mechanically, like one asleep,\nhe obeyed the phantom warrior, the strange chill that crept over him\nincreasing with each step. On they went, beyond the confines of the\nvillage, toward one of the highest points along the river that shone\nlike silver with reflected brightness. Pausing upon a spot from where\nthe undulating prairie could be seen, reaching for miles to westward,\nthe spirit chief stretched out a ghostly arm and addressed the\nawe-struck leader.\n\n\"Go thou, Ni-co-man, noblest of thy people, and lead them on to glory.\nTake all thy bravest warriors. Journey west; there shalt thou find, upon\nthe distant plains, our enemies, the Sioux. Rest not until thou hast\navenged my death, for by their hands was I, thy father's father, slain.\"\n\nSlowly he vanished, and Ni-co-man, pondering over these words, returned\nto his abode. Thenceforward he agitated the question of an advance, with\nfull assurance of meeting and overcoming the murderous Sioux.\n\nAround the council-fire were plans perfected. The pipe of peace was\npassed from hand to hand. Old men led the discussion while their juniors\nlistened in silent respect. When all the wiser heads had given advice,\nthe youthful braves, in turn, expressed opinions. The latter being\nunanimously in favor of adopting extreme measures, the council of\nNi-co-man prevailed; and having completed arrangements, the flower of\nthe nation, mounted upon mettlesome ponies, went forth, as did the\nchallengers of old, to seek renown.\n\nOver the rolling prairies, the tall grass waving in the sunlight, rode\nthe dusky knights, heavy war-paint giving greater fierceness to faces\nalready glowing with excitement.\n\nThe second day, a long distance from the starting place, they stopped at\nnight beside a flowing stream. The tired ponies, relieved of their\nburdens, were turned out to graze, a guard being stationed nearby. After\na meal of savory buffalo meat, and a quiet smoke around the camp-fire,\nthe Delawares, drawing their blankets over their heads, threw themselves\nupon the ground and were soon wrapped in profound slumber.\n\nAt early dawn, ere they had proceeded many leagues, a fresh breeze\nstarted from the Southwest, and close to the horizon a faint rose color\ntinged the sky. This suddenly changed to a lurid hue, as a sheet of\nflame, accompanied by volumes of smoke, swept rapidly toward them.\n\n\"Fly! _Tun-dahe Wel-seet-num-et_ (The God of Fire)!\" shouted the\nIndians, as, turning on the trail, they lashed the horses to the highest\npossible speed, while the fire made steady headway.\n\nOn rushed the fugitives, bending every energy to reach the water; but\nthe breath of the Fire God was at their shoulders. Then the hardy little\nponies made a final heroic dash and landed in the creek--safe, all but\none. As the terrible cloud passed swiftly over the half suffocated band,\nthey saw the angry spirit in the great, dark, curling chariot, bend low\nand smite their comrade; and when the seething whirlwind had gone by, he\nlay, face down, a lifeless heap, upon the blackened cinders. A hasty\nburial, with few of the usual ceremonies, and the party was traversing\nthe now desolate region, in the direction of the far-away mountains.\n\nThey entered what the white man calls the Great American Desert. A level\ncountry, the short-grass district, extended as far as the eye could see,\non every side. Its monotony was broken by an occasional \"draw,\" where\nwandering tribes often found refuge in defeat, or lay in ambush, ready\nto spring out at the approach of foes. These draws were caused by\nerosion, and may have been the beds of rivers, long since dried up.\n\nThe plains were dotted with wild flowers, for in Kansas each weed, at\nsome season of the year, bursts forth in all the glory of rich or\ndelicate blossoms. The fall had brought its wealth of gold and purple,\nand the buffalo grass, more nutritious when \"cured\" by the sun and hot\nwinds of summer, had turned to a rich brown, the ruling note of color.\nBirds, and even the prairie dogs, barking and chattering at the\nentrances to their underground towns, conformed to the prevailing tint.\n\nThe \"Loco\" weed had gone to seed, and the Indians, well knowing its\ndangerous properties, kept their horses, while grazing, away from the\nplant, which is said to cause animals to become \"locoed,\" or insane. A\nsimilar effect is produced on human beings, by the use of certain herbs\ncompounded by the medicine men.\n\nWinding through the sandy territory, was the Arkansas River, in the\nautumn a seemingly harmless layer of reddish brown soil with apparently\nstagnant water here and there upon its surface. Underneath the quicksand\nflowed a deep stream, promising certain death to him who essayed to\ncross with any but the lightest of vehicles.\n\nThe travelers had reached the heart of the buffalo country, and an\nabundance of game was found on every hand. A buffalo hunt, according to\nan Indian's views, was second only to victorious battle, therefore\nNi-co-man called a halt and the entire company joined in a grand\nslaughter.\n\nThe hunters, familiar with the habits of the animals, first arranged\nthemselves in groups in one of the draws, at the foot of a steep\nembankment or precipice, taking care to be well sheltered. Then a\nwarrior, grotesquely arrayed, and astride a strangely caparisoned steed,\ngalloped toward the herd, frantically waving a bright-hued blanket. The\nleader, an immense creature, scented danger and took his stand in front\nof the rest. However, curiosity, which is one of the characteristics of\nthe buffalo, prompted him to draw cautiously nearer the queer figure.\nThe herd followed. Gradually the decoy backed toward the precipice,\nstill gesticulating violently.\n\nAt last, the animals, thoroughly frightened, stampeded, accelerating\nspeed as they approached the embankment, over which they rolled and\ntumbled in the mad effort to escape. Those not injured in the fall,\nrecovered their feet and dashed away to the opposite slope, being easily\nshot in attempting the toilsome ascent. Thus, the majority were at the\nmercy of the red men.\n\nThe wanton destruction of these beasts at the hands of both Indians and\nwhite men is to be deplored. Where, two score years ago, thousands\nroamed the plains, now nothing remains to prove their having existed\nsave slight depressions in the earth called \"wallows,\" and large numbers\nof horns, scattered over the ranches. Once in a while the buffalo ring\nmay be seen, still barren of grass. Here the ever watchful sentinel had\ntramped around and around in a circle. A feast succeeded the favorable\ntermination of the hunt. Only the finest portions of the meat, which\nresembles beef in flavor, were reserved as food. Tongues were considered\na great delicacy.\n\nUp to this time, a few straggling Comanches and Arapahoes were observed,\nbut as yet no traces of the Sioux appeared. Ni-co-man, remembering his\nvision, still had faith that here, upon the plains, would the enemy be\nvanquished.\n\nEarly one morning a scout came in with the news that, far to the north,\na stray band of Sioux had encamped the previous night. In a moment all\nwas excitement. As soon as possible the entire cavalcade, well armed\nand ready for the fray, was galloping in the direction indicated. At\nsunset the Delawares halted for rest and food, waiting for darkness to\nmake an attack. But the enemy, too, were watchful; and knowing the\npresence of danger almost by intuition, had prepared for encounters.\n\nThey were in a deep cut, not easily accessible. Where the natural\ndefenses are limited, the natives learn to take advantage of every means\nof protection. Piling up large masses of hard earth, that had fallen\nfrom one portion of the crumbling bank, they had built a rude\nfortification, which extended entirely across the entrance. In the rear\nwas a narrow pass, with a steep acclivity on either side. Guards were\nstationed here and on the highest ridges. These gave the alarm as the\nDelawares, in three divisions, came silently forward at midnight.\n\nNi-co-man sent a detachment of good marksmen to the top of the\nembankment overlooking the Sioux, the second was despatched to the rear\nto force a way through the narrow passage, while he boldly led the\nremainder to attempt the low earthworks at the entrance. The war-cry of\nthe Lenape now filled the air.\n\nThe Sioux, crouching behind the fort and before the opening at the back\nof the camp, fought savagely. Occasionally marksmen on the elevation\npicked off one of their men, though it was a somewhat difficult task in\nthe semi-darkness.\n\nNi-co-man, being taller than his companions, and always at the front,\nwas a welcome target for his wild opponents. Again and again a shadowy\nfigure intervened as the bullets sped toward him. He bore, in truth, a\ncharmed life. As the moon passed under a cloud, for the elements were\npreparing for a conflict, the Delawares rushed forward, climbing\nrecklessly over the heaps of hardened earth, scattering great lumps\nright and left. Some of the braves fell, mortally wounded--some pressed\nupon the retreating Sioux, who found themselves in a trap. The shadowy\nfigure, invisible to all but the chief, was ever present, hewing down\nthe enemy with his great tomahawk.\n\nThe sun rose upon a frightful scene. The carnage was over, but ghastly\nupturned faces, smeared with war-paint and distorted with terror, even\nin death, told the tale of the night's work. Ere long it sought\nretirement, and the day grew dark. Ni-co-man gazed at the heavens in\nwonder. Did the Great Spirit manifest displeasure? A storm followed.\nLightning flashed and the ground seemed to shake with thunder. Rain fell\nin torrents, a most unusual occurrence in that locality.\n\nWhen the atmosphere had cleared, and the drenched warriors again beheld\nthe battle-field, lo! all blood was washed away. The Great Spirit had\nstamped with approval the triumph of his chosen people, the Lenape.\n\nLawrence, a town of more than ordinary historic interest, now the site\nof the Kansas State University, was built upon land that formerly\nbelonged to the Kaws. At a more recent date the Delawares were\nestablished in that vicinity. Haskell Institute, a flourishing Indian\nschool, is now located there. A majority of the nation, at the time of\nimmigration, adhered to tribal costume, and while harmless as far as\ntheir white neighbors were concerned, presented a most ferocious\nappearance. Many of the early settlers of Lawrence were from Eastern\ncities, where the red man was known by reputation only. The Indians had\na fear-inspiring way of peering into the windows of houses, and in order\nto obtain a better view, would spread out their blankets so as to\nexclude the light. Not infrequently a white family, while dining, would\nobserve that the room had become unusually dark; and glancing toward the\nwindow from which the sunlight had vanished, would behold a hideously\npainted face, with piercing eyes looking through the glass, in keen\ninterest. This was not at all contrary to Indian etiquette.\n\nThe wife of a resident who had the good fortune to secure the firm\nfriendship of White Turkey, a Delaware chief, sat sewing one day, in her\nrocking chair. It was a tranquil morning in early summer and the air\nwas still. Suddenly a shadow crossed the light, and to her intense\nfright, three huge Delawares, in all the horror of their picturesque\nnative dress, loomed up before the window. The lady, who had recently\narrived from New York City, fainted; and the disappointed visitors\nsought her husband, informing him that they had merely called to\nannounce the birth of a son--the future chief--named \"Solomon White\nTurkey\" in honor of the pale-face family. Years later, the gentleman,\nwhile traveling through the Indian Territory, was approached by an aged\nDelaware, surrounded by his friends, and introduced to a tall,\nprepossessing young man, who proved to be Chief Solomon White Turkey.\n\nKansas had been supposed to be permanently secured to the Indians; but\nthe emigrant ever followed in their footsteps, and again the land of the\nDelawares was sold to the United States, and the people, few in number,\ntook up their abode in the Indian Territory.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nTHE WYANDOTS.\n\n\nThe Wyandots, or Hurons, are of Northern origin, and descended from a\nbranch of the Iroquois. At the time of the discovery of America, their\nvillages were located near the Senecas, on the banks of the St. Lawrence\nRiver. When Cartier appeared, a small band of Delawares first observed\nthe ships of the Frenchmen on the gulf, and sent messengers to announce\nthe presence of \"great white-winged animals, spitting out fire and\nspeaking with voices of thunder.\"\n\nThe Wyandots and Senecas were closely allied and lived in amity many\nyears. It is said that the long peace terminated and hostilities began\nthrough the influence of a woman. One version of the story is that a\nSeneca maiden loved a young man, whose father, a powerful chief, opposed\nhis son's taking her as a wife. Other suitors were rejected. Then it was\ndeclared that the hand of the maiden would be bestowed upon him, only,\nwho should slay the chief. A Wyandot fulfilled this condition and became\nher husband.\n\nThe enraged Senecas flew to arms. An interminable war followed. Their\nneighbors moved to the vicinity of Niagara Falls. A series of migrations\nsucceeded. At one epoch a portion of the tribe settled near Lake Huron,\nwhich was named for them. A part of the Bear Clan always remained in\nCanada.\n\nFor some unknown reason, the other tribes of the Five Nations joined the\nenemies of the Wyandots. Cooper's novels contain numerous allusions to\nthe undying hatred of the Iroquois toward the Hurons, as they were\ncalled by the French, although Wyandot is the proper term.\n\nAlways pursued by the Senecas, a majority of the nation became\nwanderers. In 1701, seeking a new home, they embarked in canoes and\npassed out of Lake Huron, and into and beyond Lake St. Clair. In the\ndistance a group of white tents was visible. This comprised the city of\nDetroit. Landing, by order of the head chief, the Indians were received\nkindly by the governor of the colony. Accepting the protection offered,\nthey found a home in that locality.\n\nAfter the French territory had passed into the hands of the English,\nsome of the Wyandots settled in parts of Ohio and Michigan. They were\ndivided into clans, named for animals, conspicuous among which were the\ndeer, bear, turtle, porcupine, snake and wolf. The nation originally had\ntwelve of these divisions. Two or more formed a band. It was against the\nlaw to marry in one's own clan. Children belonged to the mother's clan;\nand women were accorded the privilege of voting for chiefs and council.\n\nThe head chief, or king, was the highest officer. The succession\nbelonged to the Big Turtle and Deer clans; and every heir to the throne\nmust be of pure Wyandot blood. The last head chief, Suts-taw-ra-tse,\nlived in the latter part of the eighteenth century.\n\nThe primitive religion of the Wyandots was somewhat similar to that of\nother aboriginal nations. The Great Spirit ruled supreme. There was a\nGod of the Forest, called Sken-ri-a-taun. Once a year a night feast was\nheld, in memory of the departed. Dancing was dispensed with, but all\njoined in condolence with some lately bereaved family. It was thought\nthat after death, the soul must cross a deep, swift river, on a bridge\nmade of a slight tree, and be compelled to defend itself, repeatedly,\nfrom the attacks of a dog. The Dakotas also believed this, but affirmed\nthat the bridge was formed from the body of an immense snake. The prayer\nof the Huron to a local god--as recited verbatum by Father\nBrebeuf--throws some light upon the subject of their conception of\nDeity.\n\n\"Oki, thou who livest in this spot, I offer thee tobacco. Help us, save\nus from shipwreck, defend us from our enemies, give us a good trade and\nbring us back safe and sound to our villages.\"\n\nThe teachings of the Jesuits were early engrafted upon the original\nfaith.\n\nFew of the oldest Wyandot legends have been preserved. The literary\nworld is indebted to Schoolcraft for the narration of the experience of\nSayadio, which gives a glimpse into the spirit world as pictured by\nIndian fancy.\n\nThe heart of Sayadio was heavy with sorrow. His young and beautiful\nsister had died and he refused to be comforted. Desirous of bringing her\nback, the young man embarked upon a long and difficult journey to the\nland of souls. When ready to give up in despair, after many adventures,\nhe met an old man who gave him a magic calabash with which to dip up the\nspirit, when it should be found. This man, who proved to be the keeper\nof that part of the land where the maiden dwelt, also gave him her\nbrains, which had been carefully kept.\n\nOn reaching the place of departed souls, Sayadio was surprised that they\nfled at his approach. Tarenyawgo assisted him. The spirits had\nassembled for a dance and he attempted to embrace his sister, but she\nstraightway vanished with the others. Tarenyawgo then provided him with\na mystical rattle to call them back. The _taiwaiegun_, or drum, sounded,\nand the notes of the flute could be heard. Immediately the air was full\nof floating figures, and Sayadio, dipping up the damsel with the magic\ncalabash, despite the efforts of the imprisoned soul to liberate itself,\nreturned to earth.\n\nFriends were invited to the lodge, and the dead body brought from its\nplace of burial to be restored to life. Just before the moment of\nreanimation, a curious old woman looked into the calabash, and the\nspirit took flight. Sayadio gazed heavenward but could see nothing.\nThen, with downcast eyes, he sat in the lodge, deploring that idle\ncuriosity had rendered of no avail his travels to the land of the\ndeparted.\n\nPeter Clarke, a native writer, was undoubtedly one of the most reliable\nsources of information regarding the ancient history of the Wyandots,\nwhose descendants, absorbed by the white race, have permitted the\ncustoms and many of the traditions of their forefathers to die out.\nUntil a comparatively recent period many firmly believed\n\nTHE LEGEND OF THE WHITE PANTHER.\n\nOn the shore of Lake Huron, long years ago, was a deep pool, or spring,\nin the midst of marshy ground. An outlet into a river allowed the\ndischarge of surplus water. Reeds and tall grasses almost obscured the\npond from view, and the scream of the loon and the cry of the reed-bird\nalone disclosed its presence, until the traveler found himself upon its\nvery verge.\n\nThe Wyandots knew of this place, and had little doubt that it was\ninhabited by a mysterious spirit. Sometimes the water rose and fell, as\nif stirred by the breathing of an immense animal beneath its surface,\nthen grew suddenly calm. A benighted hunter, passing that way, told of a\nwondrous light, sparkling like the glow of a thousand fireflies; and of\na rumbling sound that shook the earth, announcing that an evil spirit\nwas at work.\n\nA party of the Prairie Turtle Clan camped one day at the spring,\nestablished an altar and offered burnt offerings to the strange god.\nArticles of value, silver ornaments and wampum belts, were cast into the\npool and Ce-zhaw-yen-hau was chosen to call up the spirit. Standing in\nthe marsh, with a bow in one hand and a bunch of arrows in the other, he\nchanted a song; while his companions, in homage to the _Hoo-kee_, or\nwizard of the spring, burned tobacco. He invoked the spirit to come\nforth. A loon arose, screaming and flapping its wings.\n\n\"Not you,\" said Ce-zhaw-yen-hau, and the loon vanished. Next came an\notter.\n\n\"Not you,\" said the Indian, \"begone! Come forth, you wizard!\"\n\nThe water rose, as if agitated by some huge body, and a white panther\nemerged, looking eastward. Piercing its side with an arrow, the conjurer\nquickly extended a small vessel to catch the blood which trickled from\nthe creature's side. The moment the pan filled, the wounded animal\ndisappeared, and the air vibrated with a rumbling, muttering sound, like\ndistant thunder. Volumes of turbid water came to the surface, indicating\nthe course the monster had taken in passing down the river. Never again\nwas it seen at the pool.\n\nThe Prairie Turtle Clan, which had always been considered refractory in\ndisposition, and inclined to be rebellious toward the Good Spirit, now\nformed a society and deified the white panther. Anyone who divulged the\nsecrets of the association was instantly put to death. The blood in the\nsmall vessel coagulated and became dry. This was broken into pieces and\ndistributed among the members to be placed in their medicine bags. The\nmedicine bag was usually made from the whole skin of an otter, a mink,\nor other diminutive animal. Those who had been led by fanaticism to seek\nnew gods were repeatedly warned by the Catholic priest to renounce the\nevil spirit, or it would cause their destruction.\n\n\"Throw away the baneful substance which came to you from the devil in\nthe form of a panther,\" he said, \"for just as certain as you continue to\nkeep it among you, the time is not far distant when you will be ruined\nby it, body and soul.\"\n\nThe unmanageable society, however, persisted in worshipping the white\npanther; and the substance obtained from the demon of the spring, which\nwas used in witchcraft, eventually consumed the members themselves.\n\nNot many years after the episode at the pool, Ce-zhaw-yen-hau turned\ntraitor to the nation, and joined the Senecas. When leading a war-party\nagainst his own people, during the absence of the men, he saw two young\nwomen working in a field adjacent to the village. In a frenzy of\nenthusiasm for new friends and of hatred of the old, he slew the two\ngirls, and fled precipitately.\n\nThe warriors, returning, pursued with fury, and overtook the murderers,\ncrossing a miry creek. The entire band was destroyed, with the\nexception of two Senecas. Putting out the eyes of one and cutting off\nthe thumbs of the other, the Wyandots sent them back to their nation to\ntell the story.\n\nThe white panther worshippers were now made objects of revenge, being\nhunted down and killed, if suspected of carrying the ruinous substance.\nThe Prairie Turtle Clan finally became extinct. Its fate was considered\nan evidence of the evil effects of being led by superstition to adopt\nunknown gods.\n\nThe Hurons, keen and skeptical, became acknowledged leaders in the\ncouncils of nations. When the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies and\nWyandots formed an alliance for mutual protection, the latter were\nappointed keepers of the council fire, and the inter-national archives\nwere committed to their care.\n\nWampum belts designated agreements. Wampum was manufactured from a\nspecies of sea-shell and was composed of tubes one-eighth of an inch in\ndiameter and one-half an inch in length. These were fastened together\nwith strong cords or ligaments. Each belt represented a compact, the\nconditions of which were retained in memory by the chiefs and warriors\nof the tribe. The beaver belt of the Mohawk, Captain Brant, emblematic\nof secret enmity, was deemed a pledge, on the part of those who accepted\nit, to assist in exterminating the Wyandots. A dark colored bead belt,\nwith a red tomahawk upon it, indicated, when exhibited in council, that\nwarfare was in contemplation. These tokens, as well as parchments and\nother records, were taken to Kansas in 1843, but became scattered and\nare now the property of private parties.\n\nThe Green Corn Dance was celebrated each year, in the month of August.\nFestivities opened with a great banquet in which corn was the principal\nelement. After all had partaken generously of corn soup, corn bread and\nmeat boiled with corn, the men formed in a circle and the dance began. A\nwild chant, or Hoo-ah, accompanied the music of the tom-tom and cedar\nflute; and dried deer hoofs, tied around the legs of the warriors,\nrattled as they kept time. The cedar flute, a much valued instrument,\nwas composed of two cylindrical pieces of wood, tied together with\nbuckskin thongs. At intervals a sudden change of step and outward\nturning of faces occurred, every movement possessing deep religious\nsignificance.\n\nAt the annual corn feast, children and those adopted into the nation,\nreceived names, bestowed by the clans instead of by the parents. Each\nclan had a list of names that it was required to keep in use. A Wyandot\nhistorian tells a singular story, which illustrates the belief of the\ntribe in the necessity of observing this law.\n\nWhile living, with the rest of her people, at Lower Sandusky, a young\ngirl, gathering strawberries a short distance from the village, was\ntaken prisoner by a party of white scouts. On the second night of her\njourney in their company, a queer-looking Indian appeared in a vision,\nand said:\n\n\"I come to tell you that to-morrow about noon these white men will meet\na party of Indians on the war-path, and have a fight. Then will be your\nchance to escape and return home. I am not one of your race; I am a\nfrog, although appearing in human shape. Your race has often rescued one\nof our kind from the jaws of the snake, therefore, it is with grateful\nfeeling that I come to tell you of an opportunity to escape from the\nhands of these snoring white men, lying around here.\"\n\nNext morning the march was continued. About noon, as predicted, the\nIndians came in view and immediately made an attack. In a moment of\nexcitement, the prisoner was forgotten. Without waiting to learn the\noutcome of the struggle, she ran into the woods and was soon beyond\nreach of enemies. At dark, the tired and hungry maiden crept into a\nhollow sycamore tree, through an aperture at its base, and fell asleep.\nAn Indian woman became visible in a dream, and said:\n\n\"The day after to-morrow you will meet a party of warriors from your\nvillage. Follow their war path northward. I am not one of your race; I\nam a bear. Say to the people that there are three names belonging to\nyour clan, the Bear Clan, that are not now among you. Keep these names\nin use hereafter.\"\n\nThe famishing girl spent another night in the woods, and at dawn resumed\nher travels, striking the war path at mid-day. When the shadows began to\nlengthen, she met the Wyandots upon this trail. Providing food and\nreplacing the torn clothing and worn-out moccasins with the best that\ncould be obtained in such an emergency, they started her toward home,\nwhere a glad welcome awaited the wanderer, and perfect willingness to\nheed the admonition of her dreams.\n\nIn the war of 1812, a portion of the tribe adhered to Great Britain,\nwhile the remainder espoused the American cause. Roundhead\n(Staw-ye-tauh), who lived at the largest Wyandot village in Michigan,\nand Warrow, the leading chief on the Canadian side of the Detroit\nRiver, took an active part on behalf of the British, and were\nconspicuous in the battle of the River Raisin. Walk-in-the-Water\n(Mey-ye-ra), maintained strict neutrality, although in sympathy with the\nAmericans.\n\nBig Tree, a Wyandot whose eventful life has made his name a familiar\none, warred against the Americans, beginning, when a boy, at Braddock's\ndefeat. He belonged to the Bear Clan and was noted for strength and\nactivity. During a war with the Southern Indians, he was taken prisoner\nby the Cherokees, in a battle on the Kentucky River. The contest was a\nbloody one, the combatants laying aside guns, bows and arrows and\nfighting with tomahawks. Night ended the struggle and both sides retired\nfrom the field.\n\nBig Tree was taken from one place to another; at last to the mouth of a\nriver, unknown to him. The Cherokees held council and concluded to burn\nthe prisoner. Before the sentence could be executed, a woman whose sons\nhad been killed in the battle, stepped forward and claimed him. She\nsaid:\n\n\"You took all my sons with you. Now they are dead and I am left alone\nwithout any help. I claim this young man as my son. Will you pity my age\nand helplessness and release him to me?\"\n\nHe was given to the widow, but could not forget his own people and was\nalways looking for a chance to escape. The opportunity came while he was\nout hunting. For three days and nights the Cherokees pursued. The\nfugitive became faint from want of food. Reaching the Ohio River, he\npaused a moment and prayed:\n\n\"O Great Spirit, help a poor prisoner to swim this river, that he may\nget home to his own country.\" Then, tying his gun on his head, plunged\ninto the water and succeeded in getting to the opposite shore. He killed\na deer, cooked a part of the meat and rested. After three moon's\ntraveling, the wanderer arrived home.\n\nIn his old age, Big Tree became a devout Christian, and often related\nhow he had tried to follow the advice of the old people in the worship\nof the Great Spirit; how he had feared the \"Man in the Clouds\"; and had\nfollowed, first, the Seneca Prophet, next the Shawnee Prophet, then had\ngone back to the religion of his fathers; and finally, through the\nteachings of Stewart, the colored preacher, had gone down on his knees,\nwith the petition:\n\n\"_O Homendezue, tamentare, tamentare_ (O Great Spirit, take pity on me,\ntake pity on me).\"\n\nChief Splitlog (To-oo-troon-too-ra), a brother of Roundhead, and also a\nRoyalist, was one of the last to give up the habits of his progenitors.\nAlthough a Roman Catholic, he retained, to a great extent, the ancient\nbeliefs of his people. One who was thoroughly familiar with the history\nof Splitlog, describes the last effort on the part of the chief to\nobserve the old customs, in the following language:\n\n\"One day, a few years before he died, after the last council wigwam was\ndemolished (wigwam, or we-go-wam, is a Chippewa word for any kind of a\nhouse), and the ground on which it stood had been ploughed up, he called\ntogether at his residence, the few who still adhered to the ancient\ncustoms of the tribe. It was his last feast, and the last dance song of\nthis feast sounded mournful to the ears of the distant passer, who knew\nwhat it was.\n\n\"Two Indians, with whole snapping turtle shells, having some hard\nsubstance inside to make a rattling sound, sat on the ground, with two\nfolded deer skins, pelt side out, between them, on which they beat with\nthe turtle shells, while singing for the dance. The necks of the turtles\nwere stretched out to their utmost length and stiffened, for handles.\nAfter the dance, the musicians were allowed to walk off with the deer\nskins as their compensation.\"\n\nMuch has been said concerning the bravery and adventures of Chief\nSplitlog, not only in the battles against General Wayne, but also in the\nwar of 1812.\n\nWilliam Walker, the father of Governor Walker, was one of General\nHarrison's scouts at that time. Having been captured, several years\nbefore, by the Delawares, and traded to the Wyandots, he had become,\nboth by marriage and adoption, a member of the latter nation. During the\nheat of battle he was taken prisoner by the British and carried along\nwith the army, his wife, also a prisoner, being placed on board an\nEnglish warship.\n\nIn 1842 Silas Armstrong and Matthew Walker, whose Indian name,\ntranslated, was \"Twisting the Forest,\" were sent beyond the Mississippi\nto locate a new home, and went as far west as Salina, Kansas, with the\nintention of buying a large tract of land. A thorough investigation,\nhowever, resulted in their securing from the Delawares a comparatively\nsmall tract, seven or eight miles in extent, and the Wyandots\nestablished themselves at the mouth of the Kaw River.\n\nWilliam Walker, afterward Provisional Governor of Nebraska Territory,\nhad previously traveled west, having this removal in mind, and examined\nthe lands. He was a man of education and great strength of character--an\nacknowledged leader in the nation, as well as a writer of merit.\n\nMatthias Splitlog was identified with the early commercial interests of\nKansas City. Leaving Canada about the year 1840, he resided for some\ntime at Neosho, Missouri, and was the projector of a small railroad, now\na portion of the Pittsburg & Gulf line. He removed to Wyandotte, Kansas,\nbecame interested in numerous financial ventures and was known as the\nwealthiest of the Indians. Shrewd business men and corporations rendered\nhis later life a series of law suits; and much property was sacrificed.\n\nThis silent and reserved man lived, for many years, simply, in a log\nhouse. His wife was unable to converse in English. Finally, accompanying\nthe remnant of the tribe to the Indian Territory, he built a mansion,\nwith modern conveniences, in the reservation of the Senecas.\n\nAt the time of emigration to Kansas, a majority of the people were of\nsuperior intelligence, had long adopted the arts of civilization and,\nthrough the influence of missionaries, had become converted to\nMethodism. They were distinguished for regularity of feature and grace\nof movement, keeping perfect measure in the dance. The women were adepts\nin the art of needle-work. At the home of a lady of Wyandot lineage, is\nexhibited an elaborate piece of beading, of great age, in fleur-de-lis\npattern. The center of each leaf is of pale pink, encircled with dark\ngreen, skillfully shaded to delicate tints. A variety of colors were\nintroduced, yet the whole produced a most harmonious effect.\n\nThe belle of the nation in the '40s is said to have been so beautiful\nand cultured that, on the occasion of a visit to New Orleans, she was\nsupposed to be a French lady, and the most exclusive society of the city\nextended courtesies. The handsome young woman reigned supreme for a\nshort period. On the return trip, three or four squaws boarded the\nsteamer, and after standing quietly back for a brief space, silent\nwitnesses of her numerous conquests, one of them came forward and said:\n\n\"Her squaw, like me--heap big squaw.\"\n\nContrary to general opinion, the Indians possessed a keen sense of humor\nand thoroughly enjoyed a laugh at the expense of one of their number.\n\nIn the olden days, Elder Dennison conducted services in the Methodist\nChurch, through an interpreter. One Sunday, owing to the illness of the\nlatter, a well-educated Wyandot named Browneyes, was engaged as\nsubstitute. Browneyes, not being religiously inclined, had partaken too\nfreely of firewater. However, he appeared on the scene well dressed in\nhonor of the event. A huge cravat, faultlessly tied, and a dark green\ncoat, resplendent with brass buttons, were prominent features of his\nattire. Unfortunately, a large flask protruded from his hip pocket, and\nit was quietly decided that Mr. Armstrong should officiate. Browneyes\nsat down in a front seat, apparently humiliated on account of being\nsupplanted. The sermon proceeded smoothly for a time, then he remarked,\ndistinctly:\n\n\"Sile, you are not telling a word of truth, and you know it.\"\n\nNo attention was paid to the interruption, but when the discourse became\nmore eloquent, he averred, loudly and decidedly:\n\n\"Sile, that's a lie, and you know it.\"\n\nElder Dennison, discontinuing the address, said:\n\n\"Let us pray.\"\n\nDescending from the rostrum, he placed one hand in the back of\nBrowneyes' cravat, twisted it until the man's tongue hung out, and\nprayed long and loudly. It is needless to say this was the last time the\nservices were interfered with while the elder presided.\n\nA strange story is related concerning\n\nTHE TRIUMPH OF CHUDAQUANA OVER THE POWER OF WITCHCRAFT.\n\nFor some reason, Chudaquana had gained the enmity of a certain old woman\nof the community; perhaps he had unwittingly slighted her; perhaps a\nfamily feud existed; at any rate, the evil black eyes seemed to follow\nhim from place to place. It was reported that this woman had the faculty\nof changing herself into a dog. Chudaquana noticed that a\nstealthy-looking canine was constantly at his heels. Day after day, and\nweek after week, the animal was to be seen skulking near. The eyes were\ncertainly those of the witch. Fearing some great misfortune might ensue\nif this continued, he decided to be rid of the nuisance once and\nforever.\n\nIn order to kill a witch it was necessary to use silver bullets. Having\nprocured these, Chudaquana went about his ordinary pursuits, keeping a\nsharp lookout, meantime, for the enemy. It could be seen in the rear, at\nsome distance, tracing his footsteps. The man sought shelter behind a\ntree. On came the wild-looking animal, sniffing at the ground. As it\npaused directly opposite, there was a sharp report, an unearthly howl,\nand the witch was no more. The silver bullet had fulfilled its mission.\nThe old woman, so rumor said, carried to the day of her death, festering\nand sore, the mark of a bullet in her side.\n\nRomantic courtships and marriages between Wyandot maidens and white\nsettlers were not infrequent.\n\nBefore the entire tribe had discarded its picturesque costume, a young\nman of Caucasian descent located among the Wyandots for the purpose of\ntrade. One clear October morning, looking from the door of the small\nframe building in which he conducted business, he saw a graceful figure\napproaching, and a moment later, an Indian girl of thirteen or fourteen\nyears, arrayed in all the finery of her people, stepped lightly across\nthe threshold and stood, glancing confusedly and with decided coquetry,\nat the young merchant. Her slight form was clothed with a loose crimson\nwaist, or shirt, and a short skirt ornamented with embroidery and\nnotched ribbons. Beaded moccasins covered the little feet, and\nbroadcloth leggings extended to the knees. Her black hair was confined\nby a silk handkerchief. The color came and went in the dark cheeks, and\nbright eyes flashed admiration from under long lashes. He hastened to\nrespond to orders given timidly in the universal language of signs.\n\nAgain and again Markrete visited the store, purchasing brilliant hued\ncalicoes, beads and blankets, and receiving little presents from the\ntrader, who endeavored in this manner to win her regard. At last he was\ncompelled to employ an interpreter, who attempted to persuade her to\naccept an offer of marriage.\n\nFor some time the girl turned a deaf ear to all overtures. She was too\nyoung to give up freedom; and marriage, to an Indian woman, meant\nslavery. She climbed fences and rode horses; on one occasion, when\nthere was no ferry, swimming her horse across the river in order to\nvisit a relative.\n\nHowever, after protracted efforts under many difficulties, the young man\nwas victorious; and acquired rights in the nation, an Indian name, and\nlast, but not least, pretty Markrete.\n\nThe Wyandots have been gradually absorbed by the white race, and those\nwho maintain tribal relations are located in the Indian Territory. Many\nprominent residents of Kansas City are descended from the Wyandots.\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nTHE POTTAWATOMIES.\n\n\nThe Pottawatomies were of Algonquin descent and were termed\n\"Firemakers,\" in reference to their secession from the Odjibwas and\nbecoming the makers of their own fires. The Odjibwa tradition says that\nthere were two brothers at St. Mary's Falls. The fishing-rod of the\nyounger was taken into the rapids by the other and accidentally broken.\nA quarrel ensued. The elder brother went south. This was the origin of a\nnew tribe. The Pottawatomies of the Woods, located in Wisconsin and\nMichigan; and the Prairie Bands, of Illinois and Indiana, formed the two\nprincipal divisions of the nation, whose homes were scattered from the\nshores of Lake Superior to the Illinois River. In language and customs,\nthe Pottawatomies were similar to the Ottawas and Chippewas, with whom\nthey were closely allied. They crowded the Miamis from the vicinity of\nChicago.\n\nIn the war of 1812, the Prairie Bands, under the leadership of\nSuna-we-wone, fought against the Americans, and were at the massacre at\nFort Dearborn. The United States effected a treaty of peace with them in\n1815, and afterward purchased a portion of their land. Eighteen years\nlater, the cession known as the Platte Purchase was made, in\nconsideration of which the Government granted 576,000 acres adjoining\nthe Shawnees and Delawares, in Kansas. Subsequently, the tribe became\nwidely scattered. Portions located in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and the\nIndian Territory.\n\nThe Pottawatomies believed in two Great Spirits, Kitchenonedo, Good\nSpirit, and Matchemondo, Evil Spirit. Kitchenonedo made the world and\nits first inhabitants; they looked like people, but were wicked\nungrateful dogs that never lifted their eyes from the ground, to return\nthanks.\n\nIn punishment, the Creator dropped the earth, with everything upon it,\ninto a great lake, from which it emerged only after the destruction of\nthe race. Then a handsome young man appeared, who seemed sad because of\nloneliness. Kitchenonedo pitied him and sent a sister to brighten his\nlife. Many years later the young man had a dream. Telling it to his\nsister, he said:\n\n\"Five young men will come to your lodge door this night. The Great\nSpirit forbids you to answer or even look up and smile at the first\nfour, but when the fifth comes, you may speak and laugh and show that\nyou are pleased.\"\n\nShe obeyed his directions. The first who arrived was named U-sa-ma, or\nTobacco, and being repelled, he fell down and died; the next, Wa-pa-ko,\nor Pumpkin, meeting a like reception, followed his example; the third,\nEsh-kos-si-min, or Melon, and the fourth, Ko-kees, or Bean, had the same\nmisfortune; but she smiled upon the fifth, who was named Tamin, or\nMontamin (Maize), and opened the lodge door that he might enter. They\nwere married; and from them are descended the North American Indians.\n\nTamin buried his ill-fated rivals; and from their graves sprang tobacco,\nmelons, beans and pumpkins; and the Pottawatomies said that was the way\nin which the Good Spirit furnished his people something to put into\ntheir _a-keeks_, or kettles, with the meat, and something to offer as a\ngift at feasts and ceremonies.\n\nLong after a majority of the nation had become Christianized, they\nclung, in a great measure, to the ancient superstitions.\n\nNot many miles distant from the place where Topeka now stands, lived a\nchief called Menweshma. Menweshma was a believer in the Indian doctrine\nof transformation, and gravely asserted that he could turn his four\nhundred and eighty pounds of flesh into a bird or beast. Tradition says\nthat it was a favorite pastime of his, to assume the form of an owl.\n\nBeing an inveterate gambler, he at one time became the victim of a\nscheme by which he was defrauded. This so enraged the Pottawatomie that\nhe killed the seven Indians who participated in the trick, and\naccording to the laws of the tribe, was called upon to pay a heavy\nransom or submit to death. After surrendering all his possessions,\nMenweshma was yet indebted to the amount of five hundred dollars. This\nsum was borrowed from the trader, and year after year passed and the\nchief continued to disregard the solicitations of the white man to pay.\n\nOne night, after Menweshma had appeared particularly annoyed by these\nrequests, the settler and his family were disturbed by the hooting of an\nowl. Seizing a rifle, the man shot in the darkness at what appeared to\nbe the outline of the bird, and saw an object fall to the ground. On\nreaching the spot, he stooped to pick it up--and the nocturnal visitor\ncould not be found.\n\nAt nine o'clock next morning came a messenger with the request that he\ngo at once to Menweshma, who was dying. Entering the hut, he was left\nalone with the medicine man and the dying chief. The Pottawatomie,\ndisclosing a great wound in his side, said:\n\n\"Didn't you shoot an owl at your house, last night? I was that owl, and\nhad gone there to poison your children.\"\n\nQueer explanations were accepted without question, by the Indians, and\noften white folks were puzzled to account for strange events.\n\nEven the most warlike tribes did not hesitate to resort to deception,\nif, perchance, a victory were to be gained without striking a blow.\n\nBelow the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers was a\nreservation of the Pottawatomies. Just without its limits, the Pawnees,\nalways at war and straying from rightful boundaries, were wont to lie in\nwait for their less courageous neighbors.\n\nOn a sunny afternoon in the spring of 1856, seven or eight hunters and\ntrappers, going westward from Fort Riley, were confronted by a\npanic-stricken band of several hundred Pottawatomies. The fugitives,\ngalloping toward the reservation, shouted, \"Pawnee! Pawnee!\" Later in\nthe day, the plainsmen came upon the Pawnees, a party of fifty men,\ncelebrating with great satisfaction, their success in putting the foe to\nflight. The latter, in the morning, had camped not far from a large\nhill, or bluff, behind which the enemy were holding consultation as to\nthe best mode of attack. In order to give the impression of numerical\nstrength, the fifty braves filed around and around the bluff, seemingly\nan interminable line, then, with blood-curdling war-whoops, dashed\ntoward the camp. The Pottawatomies fled precipitately, leaving the\nentire supplies to fall into the hands of the strategists, who took\nadvantage of every opportunity to intimidate the more pacific nations of\neastern or southern origin, removed west by the Government.\n\nWith the exception of the Shawnee Prophet, the cruel and vindictive\nwar-chief, Wa-baun-see, was, doubtless, the most famous Indian among the\nemigrant nations. His brave deeds have formed the subject of many\ninteresting anecdotes. Notable among them is\n\nTHE STORY OF THE FLAT-BOAT.\n\nNear the close of the eighteenth century, the Americans again commenced\nto encroach upon Indian territory, and some of them proceeded\nsouthwestward down the Ohio River in large boats about thirty-five or\nforty feet in length and ten or twelve feet in breadth, with barricaded\ndecks. The rightful owners of the soil, determined to prevent further\nsettlement, disputed every mile of progress by all possible means.\n\nOne day the scouts, led by Wa-baun-see, watched a floating fort from the\nnorth bank of the river. An attack was feasible, since the pilot kept\nwell to the middle of the stream, beyond reach. The Indians consulted as\nto the best method of overcoming this difficulty. Word was sent to the\nmain body of warriors to conceal themselves at a certain point that\njutted out into the water, at some distance below their present\nlocation. They were also instructed to be prepared for battle when the\nboat should go ashore. Meantime, despite all efforts to the contrary on\nthe part of the pilot, the raft showed a decided tendency to approach\nthe river bank. The man at the helm was admonished again and again, but\ninsisted that he had been doing all in his power to keep off from shore.\nThe pilot then made a careful examination of the boat on the side next\nto land. A black object bobbed up occasionally, then disappeared. Closer\nscrutiny revealed a nude Indian, swimming under water and tugging away\nat a rope held in his teeth. The other end was fastened to the boat.\nOnce in a while the swimmer was compelled to come to the surface for\nbreath.\n\nQuietly obtaining his bayonet, the pilot watched the water with\ninterest. Again the dark head and shoulders emerged. They were those of\nthe war-chief. Quick as a flash, the bayonet plunged downward into his\nback. Wa-baun-see sank out of sight, keeping under water until he\nreached the shore. The braves conveyed him to a place of safety and\ncarefully dressed the dangerous wound. The daring chief recovered.\n\nWhen the Osages were strong and powerful, and claimed thousands of broad\nacres south of the Missouri River, they were frequently at war with the\nPottawatomies. During a battle, Wa-baun-see was routed, in addition to\nlosing a friend in the sally. The proud spirit of the war-chief was\ninjured; and the humiliation caused by defeat and the death of the brave\nrankled in his mind after other warriors had seemingly forgotten the\ncircumstances. He determined to seek revenge, should it ever become\npossible. Years passed without the gratification of his wishes. Then\ncame the news that, at an appointed time, a delegation of Osages would\nvisit a certain western fort. Wa-baun-see, with some of his best men,\nrepaired to the post, and, after a formal interview, withdrew. They\ngalloped a few miles away and waited for darkness. The Osages feared\ntreachery and communicated their suspicions to the commandant.\nPermission to sleep inside the fortifications was asked and granted.\n\nIn the night, when all was silent, Wa-baun-see rode quietly toward the\nplace. He stationed his men at a safe distance and went forward to\ninspect the defenses. It was necessary to employ the utmost caution, in\norder to avoid the guards. Approaching, he threw himself upon the ground\nand crept around the walls, finding, at last, an embrasure, almost too\nsmall to permit the passage of a man's body. The chief was seeking\nrevenge and was not to be daunted, therefore, after a long and painful\neffort, succeeded in writhing through the aperture, and warily sought\nout the adversaries of his people. They were sleeping soundly, feeling\nsecure in the protection afforded by the presence of soldiers. Wrapped\nin a blanket, and lying upon the ground a short distance from the group,\nwas the head chief. Crawling through the grass, the Pottawatomie reached\nhis side. There was no disturbance, only a dull thud, as the tomahawk\nburied itself in the head of the slumberer. Securing the scalp,\nWa-baun-see retired as noiselessly as he had come.\n\nIn the morning the Osages were greatly surprised and enraged to learn\nthat the enemy had been in their midst.\n\nThe impression that the relentless chief was the most ferocious Indian\nof his time, was confirmed by the frightful punishment of one of his\nwives, accused by another wife, probably a favorite, of cruelty to his\nchildren. Without giving the poor woman an opportunity to plead her\ncause, he commanded the accuser to split open her skull.\n\nWa-baun-see accompanied his tribe to Kansas in 1846, and during the\nlatter part of that year, went to Washington, with other influential\nmen, to conclude a treaty with the Government. The stage-coach, in which\nthey passed through Missouri on the way home, overturned near Boonville,\nand Wa-baun-see sustained severe injuries, which ultimately resulted in\ndeath.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nTHE SHAWNEES.\n\n\nThe capital of Kansas now occupies a portion of the former\nhunting-grounds of the Kaw and Shawnee Indians. The Shawnees were the\nfirst emigrant tribe to arrive in the Territory. The ancient home of the\nnation was near the Cumberland River. Early in the Seventeenth century,\nthe Iroquois invaded that region and vanquished its owners, who fled\nsouth and became scattered, settling in Carolina and Florida. At a later\nperiod, the divisions of the tribe reunited and returned to the vicinity\nof their old home, taking possession of a more extended country and\nfounding towns in the Ohio Valley. When they were driven west, the Baron\nDe Carondelet granted them land near Cape Girardeau.\n\nAs the white people entered Louisiana, the Shawnees sought new homes,\nagain and again. Finally, they relinquished all claims in Missouri, in\nconsideration of a large purchase in Kansas. In 1854 a treaty was\nsigned, disposing of all their land except two hundred thousand acres,\nwhich were divided among individuals; and in 1869 the remnant of the\ntribe removed to the Cherokee country, in the Indian Territory.\n\nA migration tradition says that once, when the Shawnees lived in the far\nEast, on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, they were surprised to see,\nriding along on the back of a large fish, a creature that looked like a\nman, although it had long green hair like weeds, a face like a porpoise\nand a beard the color of ooze. Around its neck were strings of\nsea-shells, and in its hand was a staff made from the rib of a whale;\nand, most astonishing of all, the strange being had the bodies of two\nfishes for legs. He stopped near shore and sang of the beautiful things\nin the depths of the sea. The people heard, in amazement, for he spoke\ntheir language.\n\nDay after day and week after week, the Man-Fish might be seen, seated on\nthe water, with his legs curled up under him; and all the time he sang\nof new countries; and the people, charmed, left their work and listened.\nMen forgot to go hunting and the women no longer busied themselves\naround the wigwams, but stood on the beach and watched. Repeatedly, the\ncreature sang: \"Come, follow me\"; but they refused to go. At last the\nsupply of food in the village was exhausted. Hunters entered a boat and\ntried to catch fish, but without success. The Man-Fish flirted water\nover them with his legs, and laughed at their trouble, chanting a melody\nabout the wonderful Spirit Island, in the midst of the Great Salt Sea.\nThe Shawnees said:\n\n\"Can you show us anything better than we have--good wives, good\nchildren, good dogs and plenty of deer?\"\n\nBut the stranger reminded them of storms in the Moon of Falling Leaves,\nof snow and ice, of hunger and constant danger from wild animals and\npainted warriors, saying:\n\n\"Come with me and I will show you a land where the air is always warm\nand soft, and the flowers are always in bloom; where you will find as\nmany deer as are among your icy hills, and great herds of animals called\nbison; where the men grow tall and the women beautiful as the stars of\nnight.\"\n\nThe Shawnees were afraid, and attempted to go toward shore, but were\nheld back by an unknown hand. They consulted among themselves. The\nMan-Fish bobbed up his head and sang: \"Follow me.\" They decided to obey.\n\nOut on the water, a mighty storm arose. The Great Spirit could be heard\nhissing in the depths of the ocean. The boat rocked and swayed on the\nbillows; but the protector was near and told them not to fear. He\nbrought food and a shell of fresh water from the bottom of the sea. Two\nmoons passed before land appeared. It was the glittering Spirit Island,\nwith big trees and high mountains. From some of them lightning seemed to\nshoot. Along the shores were seals and ducks. The inhabitants fled into\nthe woods, when they saw the Man-Fish, who went to find the Spirit of\nthe Island. He entered a cave and soon returned, accompanied by a being\nas strange as himself. It had a head like a goat, with horns and beard,\nand moss-colored hair. Its legs and feet were covered with handsomely\ndecorated leggings and moccasins. Speaking with the voice of a man, it\nsaid:\n\n\"I will take you, men of the Land of Snows, to a beautiful place, where\nyou will find all that could be desired.\"\n\nThe Man-Fish departed, and under the guidance of their new friend, the\nstrangers reached the interior of the Spirit Island. They married the\nmaidens of the country and grew into a bold, strong and valiant nation,\novercoming all tribes east of the River of Rivers.\n\nThe Shawnees were of Algonquin stock and were the roving clans, the\ngypsies of the wilderness, described by William Penn, belligerent under\nill-treatment but peaceable when dealt with justly. Referring to the\ncreation, they said:\n\n\"The Master of Life made the Shawnees first, from his brain, and gave\nthem all his knowledge. Other red people descended from them. He made\nthe French and English from his breast, the Dutch from his feet and the\nLong-knives (Americans) out of his hands.\"\n\nOne of the most interesting legends is that which has reference to the\norigin of the Piqua Shawnees. The word \"Piqua\" signifies \"Man Made from\nAshes.\"\n\nIt seems that long ago, in the dim past, the nation made a talk against\nthe Walkullas, who lived not far away, on the shore of the Great Salt\nLake. The older men opposed a war; but Mad Buffalo and the young\nwarriors refused to listen to their counsel.\n\n\"We are strong,\" said they, \"and the Walkullas are weak.\"\n\nA party, eager for a fight, went out from the village. Two moons passed\nand there were no tidings of the young men. The Walkullas were distant\nonly six suns journey. The third moon went by; and Chenos, the oldest\nand wisest man of the tribe, called the people together in council; he\ntold them that the young warriors had been slain. There was a shriek of\nhorror and the women began to lament for their husbands and sons.\n\n\"Yet,\" said Chenos, \"there is one left, who has had vengeance on the\nenemy and has drunk their blood; he will soon be here.\"\n\nEven as he spoke, the Mad Buffalo entered the Council Wigwam. One arm\nwas tied up with a piece of deer skin; and there was dried blood upon\nhis body. Attached to a pole, over his shoulder, were seven scalps. Six\nof them had long black hair, but the seventh was the color of sunshine,\nand curling. He told them how the braves had crept up to the enemy and\nwatched them prepare a feast to the Great Spirit; then, when all was in\nreadiness, the war-cry had been sounded. The Shawnees had killed many,\nbut the foe had been visited by people with skins as white as the\nclouds, who had taught them to use thunder and lightning in battle. Mad\nBuffalo's men had done well, but were slain, at last.\n\nChenos told the leader that he should not have gone at a time when the\nWalkullas were making sacrifices. The relatives of the dead warriors\ncalled out for vengeance. The wise men counseled as to what would most\nsurely appease the Master of Breath. Chenos said:\n\n\"The Mad Buffalo must give up that which is most dear.\"\n\nThe leader, casting a fierce glance toward him, said he would offer none\nof his own blood, but would kill a deer. Then Chenos said:\n\n\"The Mad Buffalo has not told all. There is another, a prisoner, with\ntrembling heart.\"\n\nThe warrior replied:\n\n\"Mad Buffalo never lies; he has a prisoner\"; and with that, he went out\nof the Council Wigwam and brought in a woman. He motioned her to lift\nthe veil that covered her face. The wild men of the forest gazed\nentranced. She had a skin white as snow, and cheeks, red, but not with\npaint, like the Indian's. More beautiful than the flowers, than the\nsun, moon or clouds, was the maiden. The Mad Buffalo claimed her as his\nown, telling how he had saved her and carried her in his arms.\n\nThe relatives of the dead men cried out for blood. Chenos forbade the\nsacrifice, saying that perhaps she had come from the Great Spirit. Then\nthe wicked ones left the place and sought the aid of a bad man named\nSketupah. Sketupah said the beautiful woman must be sacrificed; he\ndirected that certain religious rites be performed, with a wolf, a\ntortoise and a rattlesnake.\n\nA large ball rolled up the hill and unwound itself. A queer little old\nman with green eyes, stepped out. The ball was made from his own hair,\nwhich was the color of moss, and so long that when blown around by the\nwind, it seemed like the tail of a star. The little old man, who was the\nEvil Spirit, commanded them to bring forth the beautiful woman and tie\nher to a stake. They did so, and piled sticks around her feet. As the\nflames arose, the Mad Buffalo, giving his war-cry, ran forward against\nthe Evil Spirit. A breath from the powerful one, and he lay stricken\nwith death. Chenos called on the Master of Life for help. The Ruler of\nAll came, his eyes visible from afar, shining like two great stars. The\nevil one grew small, and his power failed when the Great Spirit\nadvanced. The beautiful woman was spared and the Master of Life said:\n\n\"Men of the Shawnee nation, the pale-faced people from over the Great\nSalt Lake are your brothers.\"\n\nHe told them that he had made all races; that the Indian was red because\nfear never entered his breast; that the heart of the white man was so\nchilled that the blood was scared from his cheeks; that the Shawnee had\nbeen brought from the land of the pale-face, long ago, but had lost his\npaleness. Then he said:\n\n\"Rake the ashes of the sacrificial fire; and when the Star of the\nEvening rises, put in the body of Mad Buffalo and cover it over with\nwood; keep the fire burning for two whole moons; bring out the beautiful\nwoman and place her near the ashes. This is the will of the Great\nSpirit.\"\n\nThe people obeyed these commands, and when the time had been fulfilled,\nthere was a disturbance in the ashes, and a man, tall, strong and\nperfect, came forth. He walked up to the maiden and looked into her\neyes. Chenos gave her to him as a wife; and from them were the Piquas\ndescended.\n\nA Shawnee religious belief, the doctrine of a pre-natal existence, bears\nsome resemblance to that of the Buddhists, and reminds one of the fact\nthat all nations have a common ancestor in the Aryan race. The following\nincident, related by an Indian agent, proves the implicit faith reposed\nin this particular belief.\n\nWhen the United States Government removed the tribe to Kansas, the\nPawnees waged incessant war against the new arrivals. Many times, ere\nthe country became their home, had war parties of the Shawnees\ntraversed the rolling prairie, passed out upon the plains, battled with\nthe wild Indians of the West, and returned, sometimes laden with booty,\nto their reservation east of the Mississippi.\n\nThe red man never forgets what he considers an indignity. The spirit of\nrevenge is always an incentive to action; hence, the recent comers were\nunder the necessity of keeping themselves in readiness for an encounter\nat any moment. Rumors of an attack by the enemy floated into the\nsettlements, and the head chief marshaled out his men to check the\nadvancing warriors. After a ride of one hundred miles to the northwest,\nthe scouts, far to the front, espied in the distance, what appeared to\nbe a great number of small black objects, outlined against the sky. A\nnearer view disclosed the fact that the Pawnees were approaching.\nInformation was carried to the main body.\n\nBoth parties called a halt. Then, the war-chief of the Shawnees,\naccompanied by an aide, rode forward, signifying that he desired a\nconference. He was met in the open space between the lines, by an\nopponent, a fierce-looking Indian, and by his side a brave of unusual\nsize and strength. Contrary to custom, it was agreed, after a parley,\nthat two of the most skillful warriors should meet upon the prairie, in\nthe presence of both sides, and decide the battle by a hand-to-hand\nconflict.\n\nReturning to their men, the chiefs called for volunteers. A quick\nresponse, and the chosen ones rode to the central ground, dismounted,\nand consigned their ponies to the waiting assistants, to be led back to\nthe lines. There was a moment of hesitation--of suspense to the\nspectators. The warriors regarded one another with looks of astonishment\nand recognition. Then La-ma-to-the, the Shawnee, spoke:\n\n\"Know you not, Pawnee, that we have met, far back in the past, the past\nthat appears to us now as the distant mountains when wrapped in smoke\nfrom heaven's pipe of peace?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied the other, \"I remember the blue sky and the broad\nprairie, covered with sweet grasses, where the rest of our kind fed\nquietly, or, scenting danger, galloped wildly from place to place.\"\n\n\"Pawnee, we were bison, then (Puk-wah-chee-m'-tho-tho), belonging to the\nsame herd and following the same leader. Let us go back to our people\nand tell them we were brothers in the other world.\"\n\nThey separated, and the war chiefs, understanding well, looked upward,\nin reverence to the Great Being who had transformed them all in the time\nlong ago, then returned in silence to their villages.\n\nMany Shawnees and Pottawatomies claim that they are of the lost tribes\nof Israel. Certain customs that have descended to them from time\nimmemorial, seem to bear out this theory. Their Holy of Holies\ncorresponds to the Ark of the Covenant, of the Israelites. Its contents\nwere known only to its possessor, and, under penalty of death, all\nothers, except the medicine men, were forbidden to touch the sacred\nrelic, which was wrapped and re-wrapped with bark until it became a\ngood-sized bundle.\n\nThe Shawnee language is a dialect of the Algonquin, which possesses all\nthe vowel sounds. The letters f, r, and v are wanting. X is also wanting\nin all Algonquin languages except the Delaware and Mohican. There is a\nstrong affinity between the Shawnee and the Mohican dialects. Verbs are\nfull and varied in their inflections. The meanings of whole words are\nconcentrated upon a few syllables or upon a single letter. The prefix\ntah, indicates futurity. Everything is considered as divided into two\nclasses--animate and inanimate. Terminations change accordingly.\nDivested of their appendages, words become monosyllables. The syllable\ne-bun is added to the name of one deceased. This is equivalent to the\nwords \"has been\" and is a delicate way of indicating a person's demise.\nFor instance, Tecumseh, after death, becomes Tecumseh-e-bun or \"Has Been\nTecumseh.\"\n\nA wealthy trader who married the descendant of a French officer\nstationed in Canada during Colonial days and the daughter of a chief of\nthe Chippewas, passed through many strange experiences while sojourning\namong the Shawnees.\n\nOne moonlight night, riding from Westport, now a part of Kansas City, to\nUniontown, on the present site of Valencia, he left the beaten road and\ntook a short cut for home over a seldom used Indian trail. A ghostly\nstillness prevailed, which was broken, ere he had proceeded far, by a\nseries of blood-curdling groans, sometimes clear and distinct, sometimes\nlike the rushing of the wind, but always seeming to follow in his wake.\nDrawing a revolver and wheeling to confront the enemy, he found only\nempty air--while the pale moon still shone serenely down upon the\nunbroken prairie. Again the terrible sounds became audible; and the\nhorse was urged to its highest rate of speed without avail. A sensation\nof horror creeping over him, the pioneer turned into a path leading to\nan Indian hut--the noise sweeping by like the breath of a cyclone--and\ninquired the cause. His host, well versed in explanations of the\nmedicine men, replied:\n\n\"Had you remained upon that trail, the route of a rambling night spirit,\nyou would have surely died before the break of day.\"\n\nDoubtless these interpretations often served to cover murderous designs.\n\nOn another occasion he was urged by a friendly Indian, a member of a\nsecret society, not to undertake his usual journey, as, at a gulley\nsouth of Martin's Hill, danger lay in wait. True enough, at that place a\nlarge gray wolf sprang out and made a fierce lunge, inflicting deep\nwounds upon the horse. The traveler fired but missed the animal. Again\nand again the ferocious creature jumped at him, each time failing to\nreach the man and burying its teeth in the horse. After a furious\nconflict, in which the rider succeeded in beating back the wolf with the\nbutt of his pistol, he urged forward the wounded steed and was enabled\nto outrun his wild adversary.\n\nA Shawnee, descended from the principal characters described, is\nauthority for the following story, of\n\nMAUNE', THE CHIPPEWA GIRL.\n\nNear the city of Quebec, so long ago as the time of the French and\nIndian War, lived a dark-eyed girl of the Chippewa tribe, in whose sweet\nface bloomed a dusky beauty that distinguished her from other maidens of\nthe nation and caused her to become an object of admiration to the\ngallant young officers who were struggling to maintain the supremacy of\nFrance. Had it not been for the brilliant victory of General Wolfe, and\nthe noble sacrifices of the British and Colonial troops, there were no\nsad story to record, for with the advent of England came an exodus of\nthe French soldiery from the Dominion, and crushing sorrow to Maune',\nwhose heart had been captured by the handsomest officer in the vicinity\nof their village.\n\nShe was the daughter of a great chief, renowned among his people for\ndeeds of bravery in war, therefore, it had occasioned small surprise\nwhen the noble Colonel Beauchamie selected _la petite_ Maune' as his\nIndian bride. In time, two fine boys brought new sunshine into the rude\nquarters which, in those primitive days, served as home, though to the\nyoung mother, the rich furs and blankets and pretty trinkets with which\nshe was endowed, seemed the very acme of luxury.\n\nLife was full of sweet contentment, until, one clear, cold morning, the\nFrench looked out in astonishment upon the army of General Wolfe, drawn\nup in battle array. How it had ascended the steep cliffs was a mystery\nto those within the walls.\n\nGeneral Montcalm, resting his faith in superior numbers, risked a battle\noutside the fortifications. The heroism and patriotism of the opposing\ngenerals, their glorious death, the celebrated victory of the English\nwith its important results, and the final expulsion of the French from\nthat portion of the New World, are all matters of history.\n\nColonel Beauchamie was ordered back to France with his regiment. The\nquestion now obtruded itself, \"What should be done with Maune'?\" He\ncould not present an Indian wife to friends at home, neither was he\nwilling to leave his sons in Canada. After prolonged consultation with a\nfew brother officers, it was quietly arranged that the children should\nbe spirited away and placed on board a ship destined to transport the\nsoldiers back to their native land; and the devoted woman was to be\ndeserted.\n\nMaune', suspecting these designs, crept quietly behind the partition\nthat screened the officers from view, and listened to the development of\nthe plan. Her affectionate heart sank as she became aware of her\nhusband's perfidy. Love, grief and determination followed in rapid\nsuccession. Sadly she stole away and prepared for flight. A canoe was\nstored with provisions and the sleeping children placed inside; then,\nwith mingled feelings of affection and the hatred and resolution\npeculiar to her race, she bade farewell to home, happiness, country, all\nthat made life dear, except the slumbering babes. For their sakes she\nwould struggle through the wilderness to a more favored land. Where, she\nknew not. The Great Spirit would guide and protect her; and the blood of\nfierce warriors, which flowed in the veins of this child of Nature, gave\nstrength and courage in the hour of need.\n\nUp the river she proceeded, keeping close to shore; when at a safe\ndistance from pursuit, landing for rest and for the purpose of adding to\ntheir scant amount of provisions. From the river into the lakes, slowly,\ncautiously, Maune' made her way, passing through untold hardships,\nalways caring tenderly for the dependent little ones. Cold, hunger, wild\nbeasts and the fierce storms of the Northern lakes were alike\ndisregarded; and at last, long after English rule had been firmly\nestablished in Canada, and Quebec and Montreal converted into British\nheadquarters; after the cruel conquerors had banished the simple\nAcadians from their land--Maune', weak, emaciated and fainting with\nstarvation, was found by a wandering party of Shawnees, upon the\nIllinois shore.\n\nBy almost superhuman efforts, the heroic woman had preserved her\nchildren; and the hardships of the journey had produced no serious\neffects upon their sturdy constitutions. Adopted into the tribe, she\nfound a habitation with the friendly Shawnees.\n\nThough the image of her pale-faced husband was never erased entirely\nfrom the heart of the faithful Chippewa, and a lingering sadness and\nsilence kept her in partial isolation, she lived many years in quiet and\nsaw her sons, as they grew to manhood, regarded as the boldest and most\nsuccessful of the tribe, in times of peace and war.\n\nAdvancing age brought with it the suspicion of witchcraft. Maune' was of\na strange nation; and her adherence to unknown customs aroused fear in\nthe breasts of the ignorant Shawnees. Finally, the leading medicine man\ndecreed that she must die. Her sons were powerless to resist the tide of\nsuperstition.\n\nA bundle of sticks was produced, and the unfortunate creature tied to a\nstake. Then the horrible torture commenced. Frantic Indians, chanting\ntheir weird melodies, danced round the fire, as it slowly consumed the\nill-fated Chippewa. Not a sound of terror or of anguish escaped the\nwoman in this moment of exquisite suffering. At last, a merciful breath\nof flame severed the thread of life, and all that remained of the bright\nlittle maiden, who had been the idol of her brave Canadian people, was a\ndisfigured mass of charred flesh and bones.\n\nSurely the Great Spirit whom she worshipped, and the tender Mother of\nChrist, whom the Jesuits had taught her to implore, looked down in\npitying love, and recompensed, in the Spirit Land, this child of\nmisfortune--Maune' _la miserable_.\n\nTragedies were every-day occurrences among the natives, in those days,\nand there were times when fanaticism swept all before it; but that the\ngreat men of the Indians were not unworthy of the admiration and\nrespect of their enemies, is shown in\n\nA FRAGMENT OF HISTORY FROM THE WAR OF THE RACES.\n\nOn a picturesque cliff overlooking the Mad River, in what is now the\nState of Ohio, was located, more than a century ago, the Indian village\nof the Piqua Shawnees.\n\nThe settlement was prosperous and fully two hundred acres of land were\nin cultivation. A log fort, surrounded with pickets, had been built, and\nthe Shawnees were prepared for defense in the event of an attempt to\ncapture the town.\n\nThis beautiful spot was the birth-place of the famous Tecumseh--Shooting\nStar--the most illustrious Indian that ever battled for the rights of\nhis people. Eloquent, powerful in mind and body, and possessing the soul\nof a hero, the patriotic chief was, at the opening of the nineteenth\ncentury, deep in plans for the advancement of his race. Is it a\nmatter of surprise that he should oppose, with ceaseless energy, the\nencroachment of the white man? That his talents should be unsparingly\nused in the hopeless endeavor to stay the westward progress of\ncivilization? He had seen the red man repeatedly deprived of land, under\nalmost compulsory treaties with the Government. His independent spirit\nrebelled against the authority of the pale-face; and the circumstances\nof his father's death, during the troublous times when the celebrated\nCornstalk waged war, had made a lasting impression.\n\n[Illustration: TECUMSEH.]\n\nThe far-seeing leader realized that without a combined effort on the\npart of the natives, extinction was certain. Fired with determination to\nbreak the growing power of the Long-knives (as the Americans were\ncalled), he formed a federation of nations for the purpose of putting a\nstop to emigration, claiming that their possessions were common property\nand could not be transferred without the consent of all.\n\nHe incited the Indians to hostilities, going from one part of the\ncountry to another, accompanied by two warriors of exceptional bravery.\nSa-wa-co-ta (Yellow Cloud) and Wa-se-go-bo-ah (Stand Firm) were the sons\nof a Chippewa mother. Their father, a French officer, had gone back to\nhis own land at the close of the French and Indian War. Prior to his\ndeparture, the unfortunate wife, learning of the proposed desertion, and\ndiscovering that her children were to be placed on board the ship which\nwould soon sail across the seas, fled with the babes and found a refuge\namong the Shawnees, where the boys grew to manhood. Tall, straight and\ncommanding, with all the intensity of the Latin races, and the wildness\nand stoicism of the aborigines, they were well fitted for positions of\ntrust under Tecumseh.\n\nIndian traits predominated in Sa-wa-co-ta, the older of the brothers.\nHis dark complexion, high cheek bones and flashing eyes bespoke, to a\nmarked degree, a savage lineage; while the open countenance of\nWa-se-go-bo-ah showed a stronger tendency toward the father's kindred.\nFrom early childhood, there had been in his manner, a refinement and\nsuperiority that denoted a long line of cultured ancestors from the\nnobility of France. Here, even in the wilds of America, was that\ndistinction observed and respected by a barbarous people.\n\nYoung and old alike listened with quiet approval when the lips of\nWa-se-go-bo-ah opened to give advice, and the sister of Tecumseh,\nTecumapease, heard with trembling joy the words his eyes had long since\nspoken, and betrothal followed. But there was one of dark and evil face\nand strange demeanor, the older brother of Tecumapease, who gazed with\nhatred on her future lord, and would, if possible, prevent the nuptials.\nThe prophet, Elkswatawa (Loud Voice), fearing the influence of the\nwarrior Stand Firm might exceed his own, opposed the union.\n\nTecumseh, having returned from a pilgrimage to a distant tribe, was\nseated in his cabin, awaiting the coming of the prophet. He regarded\nwith contempt the luxuries of life, and when at home in the new Piqua\nvillage, resided in a log hut chinked with mud. The ancient town had\nbeen destroyed by white soldiers, and its namesake founded near the\nGreat Miami River. A nose ring with three silver crosses, and a few\nstripes of brilliant paint gave a look of ferocity to the bright\nintelligent face of the chief; and a medallion of George the Third, on a\nwampum string, hung around his neck. Buckskin leggings, moccasins\ndecorated with porcupine quills, a deerskin jacket and a blue\nbreech-cloth completed the odd uniform.\n\nElkswatawa entered, clad in garments made from the skins of wild\nanimals. In addition to these, a kind of turban surmounted with bunches\nof feathers, a nose ring, large earrings, hideously painted cheeks, and\na sightless eye, the other gleaming with malignant fire, were well\ncalculated to inspire terror. The man was an object of superstitious awe\nto the Northwestern Indians.\n\nIn vain he sought to change the mind of him who had decided to bestow\nTecumapease upon the most beloved of all the braves. The wily Prophet\nappealed without effect to that innate love of power, strong in persons\nthat are born to rule. The Shooting Star looked deep beneath the\nsurface, and discerned, within the heart of Loud Voice, envy and\nunfounded dread of the growing popularity of Wa-se-go-bo-ah.\n\nThe Prophet left in anger; and collecting a few followers, betook\nhimself to a new locality, the present site of Greenville, where he\nestablished a town.\n\nAttracted by stories of wonderful deeds, savages from different\ndirections flocked to the place. It was rumored that the seer could make\npumpkins as large as wigwams come up out of the ground, and that one ear\nof his corn would feed six men; that he was invulnerable, and had all\nknowledge of the present, past and future. Many of the Shawnees\nconsidered Elkswatawa an impostor and refused to enter into any plans\nagainst the Government. Tecumseh frowned upon them, and spent much\ntime, when not upon his travels, at the Prophet's town.\n\nGeneral Harrison, Governor of the Territory of Indiana, became alarmed\nand sent a letter to the brothers, inviting them to Vincennes, for the\npurpose of making known their grievances. To the intense fright of the\ninhabitants, they responded with an escort of four hundred fully armed\nwarriors. At the appointed hour, on the morning of the Twelfth of\nAugust, 1808, Tecumseh advanced, with thirty chosen men, to the place of\nmeeting in front of the Governor's residence. By his side were Stand\nFirm, now the husband of Tecumapease, and Yellow Cloud. An aid-de-camp\npointed to a seat by General Harrison, and addressing the chief, said:\n\n\"Your father requests you to take a seat.\"\n\nDrawing his blanket more closely around him, Tecumseh replied:\n\n\"The Sun is my father and the Earth is my mother; on her bosom will I\nrepose\"; and flung himself upon the ground.\n\nHis speech at the council has gone down in history as one of the most\nremarkable on record, for native oratory. A spirited answer, with a\nrefusal to return the lands in question, aroused the braves, who, at a\nsignal, seized their war clubs. Tomahawks were brandished in a\nthreatening way. Bloodshed was averted only by the coolness and tact of\nthe Governor.\n\nIn the confusion which resulted, Wa-se-go-bo-ah fell heavily forward,\nstricken down, supposedly, by a white foe. The unconscious man was borne\nto the Indian camp. As no wound could be discovered on first\nexamination, the Americans were accused of employing supernatural power.\nThen a small bruise was found at the base of the brain, similar to one\nproduced by a missile. Gradually the favorite of the people recovered;\nand as he lay upon the grass, enveloped in a thick blanket, he turned,\nand suddenly beheld a terrible figure, with horns and one fierce\ngleaming eye, burning like a coal of fire, creep stealthily toward him.\nIts hand was raised to strike, and in the claw-like fingers was clutched\na glittering knife. Frozen with horror, he remained for a moment\nimmovable, then, quick as thought, rolled under the arm of the crouching\ndemon--evading the blade almost by miracle--and struck against its\nbreast. A desperate struggle ensued, in which Stand Firm secured\npossession of the weapon. Holding it aloft, he caught at the throat of\nthe hairy-faced monster and the mask came off, disclosing the features\nof the Prophet.\n\n\"Elkswatawa, N-tha-thah (my brother), why do you seek my life? Go, for\nthe sake of her whose eyes are as the stars of heaven, unharmed. Their\nlight shall guide me into paths of peace. Her love shall teach me to\nforgive your murderous wrath.\"\n\nThe creature slunk away; and the noble conqueror dreamed that night of\nthe little Piqua village, where Tecumapease, with trustful heart,\nbesought the great Master of Life to preserve him, who, even while she\nprayed, escaped the grasp of death. But the Mighty Being who controls\nthe destiny of humanity, from the highest even to the lowest, punished\nthe treacherous seer, when, on the sixth of November, 1811, the Indians,\nin direct violation of a truce, advanced upon the United States troops\nunder General Harrison, encamped within a mile of the Prophet's Town.\n\nThe Magic Bowl, the Sacred Torch and the Holy String of Beans were\ntouched, and the savages, believing themselves invulnerable, rushed upon\nthe tents of the Americans at four o'clock in the morning. Tecumseh was\nabsent upon a visit to the Creeks, Choctaws and Chickasaws. The cowardly\nProphet stood, at a safe distance from the battle-ground, going through\nreligious mummeries and singing a war song.\n\nComplete victory established the fame of General Harrison; and the\nBattle of Tippecanoe was one of the most important in results, of that\nperiod. The destruction of their village scattered the tribes over a\nlarge area. Elkswatawa took refuge with a few Wyandots on Wild Cat\nCreek. Eventually, he removed to Kansas and died in Shawnee Township,\nWyandotte County. His grave has no headstone, and those interested in\nthe early history of the State have sought in vain for some\ndistinguishing mark.\n\nThe really great Tecumseh, returning to find all his schemes defeated,\nbecame an ally of the British. Much of the trouble with the white\nsettlers had been occasioned through their agency. The two friends of\nthe rebellious chief faithfully followed his fortunes. If Fate dealt\nhardly with him, they shared the danger and disappointment. If kindly,\nthe triumph was theirs, also.\n\nSa-wa-co-ta was killed at Frenchtown, by a ball intended for his\nsuperior. The Americans, closely pursued, had sought shelter behind\nhouses and fences on the south side of the River Raisin. The Indians, by\na detour, had gained the woods in the rear and were protected.\nDisdaining to skulk from tree to tree, the fiery warrior, with Tecumseh\nand a small number of brave men, pressed boldly upon the fugitives.\nObserving that their leader was singled out by the enemy, his\ncompanions closed in around the chief to shield him, at the moment that\nYellow Cloud stepped in front, for the same purpose. The latter fell,\nheart and brain penetrated by bullets. Thus nobly ended the life of\nSa-wa-co-ta, of whose achievements, even the noted chiefs, Roundhead,\nPanther and Blue Jacket, might well be proud.\n\nHistory has recorded the outcome of the struggle, and traced the\nwanderings of those who, deprived of their inheritance and driven to\ndesperation, united with the foes of America.\n\nGeneral Proctor, discouraged by Perry's victory on Lake Erie, that\noccurred some time later, fled from Malden, where he was stationed at\nthe time, with eight hundred soldiers and two thousand Indians. General\nHarrison overtook the combined forces near the River Thames. During the\nbattle, Colonel Johnson and the Kentucky cavalry were ordered to charge.\nGalloping forward, they broke through the lines and formed again, when\nthe English surrendered. Tecumseh began the conflict with fury, fighting\nmore fiercely than ever before. His voice could be heard above the din,\ninspiring the men to make every exertion; but the day was lost. Colonel\nJohnson, engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with a fine, well-built\nIndian, was wounded by another, as soon as he had despatched the first.\nThe second assailant then sprang toward him with a tomahawk, when the\nofficer drew a pistol and killed his antagonist. The rest of the\nsavages, losing hope, gave way.\n\nNight came on, but the heavens were dark. The Shooting Star would never\nmore be seen. The ringing voice was silent; and Tecumapease, his sister,\nwaited in vain for the return of her lord. Stand Firm, \"faithful unto\ndeath,\" had fallen beside the chief. Next morning, the bodies of two\nwarriors, with dignity of face and form, were found, not far apart, upon\nthe bloody field.\n\nTecumseh was the greatest, most magnanimous, and bravest man the red\nrace had ever known. Now that his brilliant oratory no longer swayed\nthe multitudes, organized resistance to settlement north of the Ohio\nRiver ceased. Tecumapease, to whom had been entrusted the care of her\nbrother's child, died a few years later, and the boy, together with her\nson, drifted, with the Shawnees, from reservation to reservation. For\nmany years they lived in Eastern Kansas, where the descendants of\nTecumapease still reside, and relate, with pardonable pride, the\nexploits of their forefathers.\n\n[Illustration: THE SHAWNEE PROPHET.]\n\nThe tardiness of the red race in accepting civilization, has long been a\nsubject of comment. Yet the barbarian should not be censured, in view of\nthe fact that paler-faced youth, with all the benefits accruing from\npast generations of culture, have, in many instances, taken readily to\naboriginal customs. It was a part of the religion of all Indian nations\nto increase their number by adoption. Frequently white children were\nspirited away from home and carried from place to place, in order to\nevade pursuit. Almost invariably, after a lapse of time, they not only\nbecame reconciled to savage modes of living, but preferred them. A\nnotable case was that of\n\nCHINWA, THE WHITE WARRIOR.\n\nIn the early part of the nineteenth century, before the Shawnees had\nemigrated to the Valley of the Kaw, there was a famous old chief named\nBlack Fish, who was untiring in activity against the white settlers.\nDuring one of the numerous periods of hostility, Chinwa, the only son of\nthis warrior, was killed; and the grief-stricken father said to his\nbraves,\n\n\"Go, go and find me a boy to replace my son.\"\n\nPutting on their black paint, the Indians went over the Alleghanies into\nVirginia.\n\nIn a prosperous settlement in Western Virginia lived a wealthy planter\nnamed Rogers. His family consisted of himself, his wife and two young\nsons. One quiet evening in early fall, the boys were allowed to go for\nthe cows unaccompanied by the servant who ordinarily acted as body\nguard. The beautiful autumn woods were aglow with color, and the\nchildren's exuberance of spirits burst forth in shouts and other noisy\ndemonstrations.\n\nAs little Henry lingered to seize a brilliant spray of rich-tinted\nfoliage, two hideous black-painted savages sprang from the bushes and\ncaught him before he had time to call for assistance. The frightened\nchild was borne hastily away, through the forest, over the mountains, to\nan Indian village where Black Fish received him with open arms, saying:\n\n\"Don't be afraid; you are now my son--my Chinwa. Here, take his bow and\narrows; here are his gun and knapsack. Some day you will be a great\nchief.\"\n\nHenry was adopted into the tribe, and forgetting his former home,\nlearned to be content with the wild life of the Shawnees. A fine horse\nand saddle were a constant source of pleasure, and persistent practice\nmade the boy expert in the use of bow and arrows.\n\nAs he grew older, Chinwa became a successful hunter, and was looked upon\nwith pride and admiration by his sisters. The youngest of these, pretty\nlittle Chelatha, was sought in marriage by many braves; but old Black\nFish, waiting for the day when Chinwa should declare his love, repulsed\ntheir advances with disdain. At length the young chief could no longer\nconceal his regard from the object of his affection, and implored her to\nbecome his bride. She replied with indignation:\n\n\"You are my brother. I could not be my brother's wife.\"\n\nAfter a long conference with Watmeme, the mother, in which the entire\ncircumstances were explained, Chelatha said:\n\n\"If father says so, I will marry Chinwa.\"\n\nAmid great rejoicing, the pale-face took her to his habitation, and the\ntribe celebrated the event with feasting and strange ceremonies.\n\nExcitement prevailed in the Rogers household when Henry was captured,\nand a search had been prosecuted wherever a clue could be obtained. Long\nyears after the disappearance of her younger son, sorrow still reigned\nin the heart of the bereaved mother; and it was with fear and trembling\nat last, that the older brother, receiving tidings of the lost one,\ntraced him over the mountain ranges, into the beautiful blue-grass\ncountry, to the land of Daniel Boone.\n\nThe meeting was a happy one, though marked by some constraint--the\nresult of years of separation and widely different surroundings. Henry\nwas persuaded to leave his western home and repair to the aged mother,\nnow prostrated by severe illness. Once more within the confines of\ncivilization, he abandoned the insignia of savage life, and adopted the\ngarb of his own people. Unusual festivities followed; the mother,\nrecovering strength, employed every art to retain him, but without\nsuccess. In vain the pretty maidens of the village exerted all their\npower to please. Memories of a happy life in the wilderness were always\npresent, and he said:\n\n\"Mother, I have learned to love the Indians; there I am free. I love my\ntwo children and my dark-haired wife.\"\n\nThe next morning the colored servant was commanded to bring his horse,\nand Chinwa, the warrior, in all the splendor of beads and buckskin, bade\nfarewell to the home of his infancy. How fresh and sweet was the breath\nof the woods, as he dashed into her depths! The delicate blossoms of\nspring lifted their dainty heads and scattered perfume along the narrow\ntrail. The cloudless sky and the distant mountains seemed to beckon him\non to the loved ones who at that moment were waiting, longing for the\nwanderer's return.\n\nTime sped by on rapid wings, and soon Chelatha--sitting lonely in her\ndoorway, said to her little ones:\n\n\"Listen, I hear the voice of your father.\"\n\nAgain the faint call was borne through the distance and reverberated in\nher anxious heart. Then its beatings responded to the sound of horse's\nhoofs, and the next moment, Chinwa, the brave, sprang to the ground and\ncaught her in his arms, saying:\n\n\"I have come home--home to my Chelatha, never to leave her more.\"\n\n[Illustration: CHE-LA-THA.]\n\nAll the pleasures, all the riches which the world can give are as\nnothing when weighed in the balance against the sincere love of one\ndevoted heart.\n\nThe Shawnees, like other Indian tribes, were firm believers in evil\nspirits; and when it was thought that one had become possessed of a\ndemon, did not hesitate to employ heroic measures to drive it out. To\nsuch superstitions may be ascribed\n\nTHE TRAGIC DEATH OF THE SON OF CHIEF LAY-LAW-SHE-KAW.\n\nWhen the present site of the city of Topeka was the hunting-ground of\nthe Shawnee Indians there was a fierce war with the Pawnees.\n\nChief Lay-law-she-kaw (He Who Goes Up the River) had been successful in\nmany battles and pursued the enemy far into their own territory. At\nlength, in desperation, the Pawnees gathered strength, and making a\nfinal effort for the preservation of their homes, surprised the\nvictorious Shawnees while encamped among the hills along the river.\n\nIn the thick of the fight, Pa-che-ta, the son of Lay-law-she-kaw, sprang\nto the side of the old chief, just as a powerful warrior raised his\ntomahawk to cleave his skull. In another moment the leader would have\nfallen, had not the young brave, with the utmost coolness, lifted his\nrifle, taken quick aim and fired. With a horrible yell, the Pawnee sank\nto the ground. Attracted by his cry, three others appeared. Again the\nrifle did sudden duty, while Lay-law-she-kaw engaged the nearest enemy.\nTwo more were despatched, and now Pa-che-ta turned to face the\nremaining Pawnee, who had approached too near for rifles, and\nendeavored to use the tomahawk. This was dashed from his hand. The two\ngrappled fiercely, each striving to get the knife out of his belt. At\nlast Pa-che-ta succeeded in holding down his adversary, and plunged the\nknife deep into his heart. Blinded by the blood, which spurted up into\nhis face, the Shawnee staggered to his feet and ran forward a short\ndistance, only to find himself in the midst of the attacking Indians.\nDesperately he fought his way out, striking right and left, wounded and\nfaint. Then, seeing a gulley surrounded with bushes, he rolled into it,\nand creeping painfully to the edge of a pond, waded into the water.\n\nThe Pawnees lost the trail. They looked here and there while the main\nbody pursued old Lay-law-she-kaw and his braves to the country of the\nKaws. Night fell; and still Pa-che-ta lay concealed in the lake among\nthe tall grass. At the end of the second day the search was abandoned.\n\nThen the prisoner, half starved and half demented, dragged himself\nslowly homeward. A few berries and roots had been his sole food, and the\nburning rays of the sun had beaten down upon his head, until reason\ntottered.\n\nThe people went wild with enthusiasm when their hero, emaciated but\ntriumphant, appeared in the village. He was taken to Lay-law-she-kaw's\nhabitation and provided with nourishment, but sank into a stupor from\nwhich the medicine men, with all their skill, could not arouse him.\n\nAfter many days he awakened; great was the rejoicing. His father\nappointed a day of feasting; and the tribe gathered to do honor to him\nwho had fought so bravely in the face of defeat. Cattle were\nslaughtered, fires were kindled, and strange dances were in progress\nwhen Pa-che-ta approached. Demonstrations of joy greeted his appearance.\n\nAmong the children on the outer edge of the circle, stood little\nN-tha-thah, gazing proudly at the big brother who would one day be his\nchief. As the excitement increased, his heart swelled with pride, and\nthe next moment found him, bow and arrows in hand, the center of the\ncharmed circle.\n\nPa-che-ta gazed at the child with a strange look in his piercing black\neyes. Then, with a stealthy movement, he turned and slowly reached for\nthe rifle which rested against the stump of a tree.\n\nLay-law-she-kaw, keen witted and alert, noticed the sudden change that\ncame over the face of his eldest son. What was the cause of that cruel,\ncrafty expression? Had bad spirits entered the brain of Pa-che-ta, whose\nnoble deeds would ever after be celebrated by the nation? Now the brave\nwas creeping cautiously toward the little one, who stood motionless, in\nround-eyed wonder. Deliberately he placed the weapon to his shoulder and\ntook aim--but the crack of another rifle broke the awful hush which had\nfallen upon the people, and when the smoke cleared away, Pa-che-ta lay\nin a pool of blood. The father had fired in time to preserve his young\nchild.\n\nFor many years the old women of the tribe told, in accents of awe, how\nevil spirits had gone into the brain of their noblest warrior and looked\nout of his eyes with terrible glances of murderous hatred, in the moment\nof his greatest triumph. How they had been driven out with a rifle ball,\nand Lay-law-she-kaw, _O-kee-nah_ (the chief), sorrowing for his first\nborn, had that day been called by the Great Spirit to enter the Happy\nHunting Grounds.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe North American Indian was of a strange, somewhat contradictory\ncharacter: in war, daring, cunning, boastful, ruthless; in peace,\ncheerful, dignified, superstitious, revengeful; clinging as far as\npossible, to the customs of his forefathers. Civilization came almost as\na destroyer. Future generations will know him only as a dim, historic\nfigure, around which clusters the mythology of ancient America.\n\nWhence came these legends and traditions? The children of Nature read\nthem in the leafy woodlands, on the broad prairie, in the blue vault of\nheaven, the crimson sunset, the dark storm-threatening clouds, in every\ngentle breeze or sweeping hurricane. Each story lived in the hearts of\nthe people, and here and there a mighty forest tree bore a quaint\ninscription\n\n  \"Full of hope and yet of heart-break,\n  Full of all the tender pathos\n  Of the Here and the Hereafter.\"\n\n\"The stars, and hills and storms are with us now, as they were with\nothers of old; and it only needs that we look at them with the\nearnestness of those childish eyes, to understand the first words spoken\nof them by the children of men, and then, in all the most beautiful and\nenduring myths, we shall find, not only a literal story of a real\nperson, not only a parallel imagery of moral principle, but an\nunderlying worship of natural phenomena, out of which both have sprung,\nand in which both forever remain rooted.\"\n\n_Ruskin._\n\n    Transcribers Note:\n\n    Several words in this book were inconsistently hyphenated, I have\n    left all the hyphens as written. In particular the contents tables\n    often use different hyphenation and accents to the main text.\n\n    Some names were also spelt differently in the contents tables and in\n    the main text. I have left these differences as they were written.\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"Legends of the Kaw : $b The folk-lore of the Indians of the Kansas River Valley","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":34644}