At the conclusion of the war, thirty-eight of the chief perpetrators of cruelties upon the unoffending white people, were condemned to death and were hanged. The events that took place upon that occasion were described to me by an eye-witness, as having been exceedingly repulsive, in consequence of the defiant shouts and gestures of the prisoners. Hanging is a form of execution particularly disliked by Indians, because they consider that it is ignominious. The war was caused by a belief, spread among the tribes, that they had been treated with great injustice. They declared that they were not allowed to remain in possession of their lands, and that the treaties which had been made with them, had not been fairly carried out. The savage desire for revenge was aroused, and barbarous acts were committed by the Sioux, whilst they were in a state of passionate excitement.
On a terrace overlooking the waters of the Minnesota, close to the spot where the Sioux had been executed, I met a half-breed Indian, who was known to have seen some of the unmerciful deeds that had taken place. I asked him to give me an explanation of the reasons that had caused the Sioux, most of whom had led peaceful lives, to suddenly avenge themselves in this brutal manner. He said, that whatever may have seemed to be their character, all these Dakotas had an inveterate hatred for the pale faces, who had deprived them of their lands, their hunting grounds, their freedom, and all that made their lives tolerable. After a pause, he observed in a harsh angry tone, that the women and children were killed, because, in cases such as these, it was a rule with Indians, to not only kill all the men, but also all who could become men or give birth to men, and that it was their object to secure the total extermination of their enemies.
I afterwards met, near the lands which had been occupied by the Winnebagoes, one of those waifs of civilization, who prefer the adventurous freedom of the Indians to the ordinary forms of existence among the whites. He was a Virginian by birth, and had left his home at an early age to join the Apaches, whose hunting grounds were near the borders of New Mexico. He lived with them for several years, and then, desiring a change, he had joined a band of Chippewas. He was given by them the name of Ara-po-gai-sik or Day-Catcher, because he was first observed when approaching their camp at daybreak. I found him to be a man of considerable intelligence, and conversant with the habits of the tribes with whom he had dwelt.
It is unusual to find men of English descent electing, by their own wish, to entirely live with Indians. It seems to be different as regards the French or French Canadians, who appear to have certain instincts in their nature, which enable them to conform readily with the domestic customs of Indian life.
The subject of the claims of the Indians to the possession of their ancient hunting grounds, was brought to the notice of the United States Government during the time I was at Washington, after my return from Yucatan in the summer of 1870.
A large deputation from the Ogallalas, a warlike tribe of Sioux, who dwelt on the prairies to the west of the Missouri, came to the city for the purpose of making a statement of their grievances, with regard to their lands. They declared that the treaties concerning them had not been faithfully carried out.
The deputation consisted of the principal chief, an Indian named Red Cloud, who held a great reputation as a brave and daring warrior, and with him were Brave Bear, Rocky Bear, Red Dog, and other chiefs, who were also well known for their courage and fearlessness, which they had shown upon several occasions in fights upon the plains. Several men of the tribe accompanied them.
I happened to see those Ogallalas frequently, under various circumstances; they had that power, which is characteristic with thoroughbred Indians, of assuming when thought necessary, a reserved and dignified manner. Red Cloud, especially, maintained the deportment consistent with his position as the hereditary chief of his nation.
The speeches delivered by them in the presence of the Commissioner of Indian affairs were remarkable as proving that they possessed great natural oratorical abilities. The description of the events occurring in their territories, and the unfair treatment which they considered they had received, were expressed with much force and poetical imagination.
Their appeals were, however, unavailing. It was made clear to them, that it was not possible, that small numbers of Indians could be permitted to retain possession of extensive grounds, to the exclusion of the necessities of an advancing civilization, and that they must accept the fate which was inevitable, and accustom themselves to be confined within reservations of a limited and definite area.
The Secretary of the Interior, told the Sioux that the existing things were changing, and that they might as well try and keep back the winds with their hands, as to prevent these changes.
CHAPTER VII.
Prairies in Minnesota and Iowa.—Boulders.—Glacial Drift.—Wild Rice.—Snow Storm.—Nebraska.—The Pawnees.—Human Sacrifices.—Note on Indian Customs in War and Cannibalism.—Prairie Fires.—Prairie-Dog Villages.—Rattlesnakes.—Variations in the succession of growths of Trees.—Causes of absence of Trees upon Prairies.—Shoshone Indians on the Western Deserts.—Note upon Ute Indians and Fuegians.
It was getting late in the year, when I commenced to cross the prairies of Minnesota and Iowa. The higher plateaux were in many places already covered with snow, upon which we saw numerous tracks of wolves. The long icicles upon the graceful little waterfall of the Minne-ha-ha, indicated the approach of a severe winter, and flocks of wild geese were flying towards the upper lakes.
For many miles the surface of the land looked black, in consequence of the prairie fires that had burnt the grass, during the latter part of the autumn. On the eastern borders, near the rivers, we passed some scattered villages, chiefly occupied by emigrants of Welsh or Scandinavian origin; but towards the interior the land was too wet and exposed for the purposes of cultivation. Here and there, on the plains, we saw the lonely huts of adventurous squatters, who obtained a precarious living by supplying the wants of those who passed near them, on their way towards the South. At one of these dwellings situated upon the open plain, twenty miles from the nearest village, we halted after a long journey over a dreary country, forming the watershed of the streams that flowed east or west into the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi.