Ojibwa’s Story
“When I was young, long ago, there were three Sioux who went into a home and assaulted a white woman, near Fort Snelling. The white woman screamed, and her husband ran up, took one of the three guns left outside the door by the Indians, shot one of the Indians, and the other two killed the white man. During this summer the soldiers tried to get the two Sioux who did this and could not find them.
“About a year afterwards, while at war, I killed a Sioux myself, and about the middle of the winter when we were camping at Little Rock Lake we heard that the soldiers were coming. The soldiers came and sent for Hole-in-the-Day, who was head chief. After he had been with them a little while the soldiers sent for me. I went over and found them eating dinner. As soon as I was there, they told me to eat, which I did. The Captain sat near me. The Captain said, ‘Did you kill the Sioux?’ and I replied, ‘I am the man.’ Then he asked me how I killed him, and I said I used my gun.
“He said, ‘What did you put in your gun?’ I told him, ‘I put in powder and bullet. Then I shot him and scalped him.’
“Then the Captain said, ‘I am sent to come after you.’ I said, ‘I will go along with you.’ He said, ‘Have you made up your mind fully to go along with me?’ I again said, ‘Yes.’
“Hole-in-the-Day then stood up and said, ‘You cannot take him until I give my consent. I will bring him myself after the ice goes out.’
“The Captain said, ‘You are a chief and you can bring him down when convenient.’ The Captain shook hands with me and said to Hole-in-the-Day, ‘Bring your son down to the fort in the spring.’ Hole-in-the-Day told our hunters not to go out but to go to Fort Snelling, and about forty of us went down there in canoes. When we got near there, we sent a letter by the interpreter saying we would arrive about noon the next day. When we arrived at the landing a soldier tried to shove our canoes back. Hole-in-the-Day jumped out and kept the soldier from hurting us and sent word to the General that we were there. Then some officers came down and Hole-in-the-Day tore all my clothes off, leaving me naked. Hole-in-the-Day made himself naked and painted himself red. We walked up the hill together, the Ojibwa back of us. We were led to the flagpole. The General came out and shook hands with us. Hole-in-the-Day said to the General, ‘I am here. I am Hole-in-the-Day. I promised you I would be here at this time and bring my son. I am giving my son to you. If you want to hang him, hang him; if you wish to punish him, do so; if you care to place him in the guardhouse, put him there. I give him to you.’
“I did not speak.
“‘Just a minute, Hole-in-the-Day,’ said the General. ‘I’ll wait until the Sioux arrive and you tell me then the same words in their presence.’ Then the Sioux came. The General was in the center and 400 Sioux back of him, with head men scattered in front. Then the General said, ‘Hole-in-the-Day, speak.’ And my chief repeated the same words he had said before. Then the General spoke to the Sioux: ‘Hole-in-the-Day is head chief here today and he has given me his son to punish as I see fit and I shall do so accordingly.’
“After the General said this, the Sioux head man said, ‘Turn this man over to us and we will punish him as we see fit.’ The General said, ‘No; he was given me to be punished.’
“Then the soldiers came up and put handcuffs on me while all the Indians looked on. The soldiers took me to the guardhouse and put me inside. They let me look through a small window and see what was going on.
“The Sioux would speak and then Hole-in-the-Day would answer, and they kept at it all day long. About evening I saw the soldiers with two Sioux on whom they had fastened balls and chains, and they led them to the guardhouse. The guards unlocked my door and brought me down to where the two Sioux were. We were put in the same room and guarded there. Then the guard took me back upstairs. Then I saw the Sioux march out of the fort and the Ojibwa stayed.
“After the Sioux were out of sight my guard came, unlocked my door, took off the handcuffs and hung them on the wall and brought me out. He took me to the General and when I got there the General was laughing and held out his arm and shook hands with me.
“The General patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘Thank you, thank you. You have helped me capture the men I wanted.’ He said, ‘If ever you get in trouble my authority will protect you.’ He wrote a paper and sent me to a store nearby where I was clothed Then I returned to the General, who had me shown about the fort, and we camped all day and were guarded by soldiers so the Sioux would not bother us. Next day a steamer arrived. We saw the Sioux prisoners march down and get on the steamer and go away.
“After some time we went home and reached our country safely, being guarded part way by the soldiers.”