CHAPTER XIV.
INDIAN VILLAGE UPON THE MOVE—DOGS MADE USEFUL
—EDUCATING OF THE YOUTH—INDIAN MANNERS—
SEVERE ORDEAL—INDIAN COURTSHIP—MURDER OF
AN INDIAN GIRL—AN INDIAN WIFE—SCALP DANCE 191
CHAPTER XV.
BULL DANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
xii CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XVI.
THE INDIANS' SENSES—A LEGEND OF THE MORNING
STAR—INDIAN STOICISM—CHIEFTAINSHIP—FATAL-
ISM—INCA OF PERU—RED JACKET'S SPEECH—HUMAN
SACRIFICE—SMOKE DANCE . . . . . . . . . . 216
CHAPTER XVII.
WARRIORS' PRIDE—VENERATION OF AGE—CARE OF
THE AFFLICTED—HEROISM—FATE OF DEFORMED
CHILDREN—INHUMAN TREATMENT OF A CHILD—
MISSIONARIES' EXPERIENCE—BURIAL OF THE DEAD
—CONDITION IN THE SPIRIT-WORLD—HUMAN SACRI-
FICE—POISONING OF SPRINGS—ACTION OF THE ELE-
MENTS—MOURNING FOR THE DEAD—PERUVIAN TRA-
DITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
CHAPTER XVIII.
SECRET OF INDIAN COURAGE—SPEECH OF BLACK-HAWK
—EXECUTION OF A MANDAN CHIEF—QUESTION OF
CIVILIZING INDIANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
THE
CAPTURE AND ESCAPE,
_________________
CHAPTER I.
EARLY HISTORY—HOME IN KANSAS—JOURNEY TO THE
PLAINS—SCENERY BY THE WAY.
Lo, steam, the king with iron steed,
Sweeps over many a space,
Where travellers once, in helpless need,
Met Indians face to face.
IN the summer of 1864, long trains of emigrants westward bound, extended along the great highway of the plains from the Missouri River to the rugged mountains of Montana, the fertile valleys of the great basin of Utah, the rich lands of the Columbia, and the grassy slopes of California. The sun poured down his hottest rays upon the vast black hills, oppressing the hardy traveller and weary animals, as they pur- sued their journey.
They had come from the various States of the great, but then almost divided republic, toiling onward with one aim, seeking new fields of labor and greater room for expansion—pioneers of civilization—the founders
2 13
14 THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE;
of Western empire—the hardy sons of toil, whose footsteps disturbed the beaver in his quiet haunts, drove from his abode the grisly bear, and limited the range of the buffalo and prairie-wolf, braving the ven- geance of the savage, and turning the dreary wilder- ness into a garden, causing the desert waste to bloom like the rose.
At the camping-grounds, as they stopped for the evening rest and refreshment, they seemed to repre- sent whole towns of hardy adventurers, filling the scene with life and animation. Gladly they hailed the sun's decline, and temporary relief from clouds of heated
dust, as the last rays gilded the tops of the rolling hills that stretched far away until they joined a vast chain of mountains, the lofty summits of which are lost in the purple and golden hues of sunset. Bright harbinger of their future prosperity and glory! and, like the pillar of fire in the wilderness to the children of Israel, it pointed to the promised land.
The pleasant rest of evening, after the day's toil through sun and dust, came gratefully, as the cool winds blew softly over the wide prairies or lofty hills, and little birds warbled their evening songs and flut- tered among the waving grass or craggy peaks, and rosy, laughing children, freed from the restraints of confinement in the wagons, ran sporting around. The tired animals, loosed from their harness, lazily crop- ped the pastures about the encampments, while their owners prepared the evening meal, and enjoyed the twilight hour.
OR, LIFE AMONG THE SIOUX. 15
Their road lay over an extensive country of varying soil, and sometimes the travellers were compelled to rest through the night where water and vegetation were scarce, while at others a richly pastured valley and abundance of water invited repose.
Among the many emigrant trains travelling over that great highway was one to which the narrator of these adventures belonged.
As I begin to recount the pleasures and sorrows of our journey across the plains, my pen almost falters; for much that to me is painfully true, and is remem- bered with bitter recollection, will be to the reader but a tale that is told. I pause, and almost fear to traverse, even in fancy, the backward path that leads through so many sad recollections.
In the year 1859 my husband concluded to remove from Pennsylvania, our native State, to the West, and we bade our many friends adieu, and set out upon our journey. At the separation from the home I loved,
one lingering look was cast upon the house and grounds
of my earliest and dearest recollections.
Home is the place to which the heart is apt to turn in adversity, and memory see to the latest days of life, though oceans should roll and mountains rise between; and the china horse and doll are remem- bered in the busy throngs of earth.
Our journey was a safe one, and, after making a visit with our friends in Iowa, we concluded to emi- grate to Kansas, and were accompanied thither by my mother and her family. We located in Iola, a town
16 THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE;
situated in the beautiful valley of the Neosho River. This Territory was then impoverished by drought, and consequently famine, and before these blighting influences had been conquered, the evil effects of war were made manifest.
Conflicting interests divided the population, and bitter feelings separated nearest friends. My husband, in the loyalty of his heart, believed it to be his duty to risk his life in defence of the land he loved and his country's honor. He was chosen lieutenant, and in that capacity served upon the borders of his own State and in Missouri, but the exposures of a camp life proved too severe for him. He was taken with a serious illness, from which he only partially recovered, and, leaving the army, he returned to Iola, where he remained in an ailing and delicate state of health for two years, when his physicians assured him that a change of climate was necessary to the recovery of his health; and although this involved the sacrifice of friends and home comforts, it was cheerfully under- taken with the great object of a restoration in view.
Our first encampment was made in the beautiful valley of the Neosho, May 17th, 1864. As I looked back upon my adopted home far down in the valley, my heart swelled with contending emotions—a thou- sand reflections crowded upon my memory. I had bid farewell to friends and home to traverse an unknown
country—was leaving a fond parent and dear brothers
and sisters, to cast my lot with the pioneers of civiliza- tion—giving up the tried and true to plunge into unknown and untried associations.
OR, LIFE AMONG THE