University of Virginia Library

THE DEVOTED.

In the year eighteen hundred and nineteen, or
twenty, two soldiers belonging to the sixth regiment
of United States' Infantry, then stationed at
Council Bluffs, were shot by two Dahcotahs of the
Susseton band. No provocation was given by the
sufferers; at least none was alleged by the perpetrators
of the crime. They were induced to do
the deed by one of those unaccountable impulses
that so often actuate Indians.

The Sussetons, or `People who end by Curing,'
inhabit the country on the St Peter's River.
They dress in cloth and blankets. Their original
vesture and implements have given place to articles
manufactured by the whites, so that they are

in a great measure dependent on the traders for
the necessaries of life. An embargo on the Indian
trade is therefore the greatest evil that can be inflicted
on them.

In order to compel the surrender of the offenders,
the Colonel commanding the post at the mouth
of the St Peters stopped the trading boats. Notice
was duly given to the Sussetons that an absolute
non-intercourse would be enforced till the
persons demanded should be given up to justice.
The good policy that dictated the measure was
soon apparent. No Indian on the St Peters could
shoot a duck, or catch a muskrat. The bow and
arrow, weapons long out of use, were put in requisition,
but to little purpose. The game taken
by their means was insufficient for the support of
life. As no knives could be had, if a deer was
killed it was flayed with a flint or a clam shell.
Tired of enduring such privations the Sussetons
took measures to terminate them.

A large camp was convened at Munday Ean
Tonkinkee, or The Big Stone Lake. A solemn
council was held on the green sward, to devise
means to avert the consequences of the folly of
their `young men.'

`I am willing,' said Mahzah Khotah, (The Grey
Iron,) one of the criminals, `to give my life to the
Big Knives, as a reparation for that I have taken.
They will put me to death. What then? I am
a man. Better that one should suffer than many.
I have been a fool, but now I will act with wisdom.'

The gutteral ejaculation peculiar to an Indian

council put the stamp of approbation to these generous
sentiments. But one of the assembled elders
did not join in the general applause. It was Ahkitcheetah
Dootah, (The Red Soldier,) the father
of the speaker. His head drooped, and he hid
his face in his hands.

`I too,' said the other person implicated, `will
go to the chief of the Big Knives. I will throw
away my body also.'

`Not so my son,' cried an old Susseton. `You
are my only boy, and how will your mother, and
your sisters, and your wife, and your children eat, if
you should die? I have long been unable to hunt.
I am old and useless. Life for life is all the Big
Knives can ask. They shall have mine. Come,
young men, let us start immediately.

This reasoning appeared conclusive to the assembly.
Two men were to die and it seemed to
the Sussetons immaterial which. The son himself
made no opposition. The next day after
leaving some worn out clothing and a quantity of
tobacco on a rock, as a tribute to the Great Spirit,
Mahzah Khotah and his intended fellow sufferer
started for Fort Snelling, attended by a numerous
retinue of friends and relatives. [20]

Arrived within a mile of the fort, the party halted,
smoked, and sung a prayer, in a subdued and
monotonous tone. If Handel could have heard, it
is probable he would not have wished ever to hear
a Dahcotah concert again. Then they smutted
their faces anew, and wounded their arms with
knives. The prisoners' elbows were secured with
ropes of braided buffalo's hair, and great oaken

skewers were thrust through their flesh. This unnecessary
pain they bore without blenching in the
least. The prisoners began to sing, and in this
fashion the whole party advanced to the walls of
the fort. A company was drawn up under arms,
and the commanding officer came out to receive
them.

The elders and warriors sat down in a circle on
the ground, with the prisoners in the midst. The
American officer was desired to take his place
with them, and then the peace pipe was produced
and smoked round the circle from left to right, or
with the sun, as the Indians express it. This ceremony
ended the elder of the prisoners rose and
spoke.

`A cloud,' he said, `has come between us and
our father. We hope the beams of this day's sun
will drive it away. Our hearts are sad that the
chain of friendship has been broken. We wish to
mend it. Two foolish young men have acted according
to their folly, and the Master of Life [21]
is angry about it. One of them was my son. I
am here to suffer for him. We throw away the
other also. Have pity on us father, for we are
onsheekah. (pitiable.) Our women and children
are starving. We have come a long distance
to see you, and the path was overgrown with
weeds. Father, take pity on us, and let the road
between your people and ours be cleared.'

The pipe of peace was accepted. The prisoners
were taken into custody, and the other Sussetons
dismissed. Colonel Snelling wrote to Washington
for instructions, but it was long before he

received them. At that time, the facilities of communication
were not so great as at present. It
was not then known that the Mississippi was navigable
for steamboats to the falls of St Anthony,
and mail stages did not then run between Peoria
and the Lead Mines. The breath of civilization
has at length blown away all obstacles. Steam
has conquered the Father of Waters, to the astonishment
of the savages and the terror of the cat-fishes.
Keelboats and their concomitant `Salt
River Roarers,' are seen no more. So much for
the tide of emigration.

When the instructions did arrive, they directed
that the old Susseton should be set at liberty, and
that the young one should forthwith be sent to St
Louis, there to be prosecuted by the United States'
attorney, and dealt with as the law directs. So
was the proverbial wisdom of our government in
the management of Indian affairs exemplified!

Mahzah Khotah was put on board a boat and
conveyed to the capital of Missouri as fast as three
pairs of oars and a current of two miles an hour
could carry him. When he was brought before
the court on whose verdict his fate was to depend,
his counsel advised him to retract his confession.
There was no doubt of his guilt, for he had avowed
it again and again at St Peters. Here, however,
he pleaded not guilty, and as no witness appeared
against him he was acquitted and discharged.

In a few days he left the city and began his
journey across the prairies, directing his course to
the Teton villages on the Missouri. Probably,
these were his reflections: `I have killed an American,

and gained the name of a warrior. The
Big Knives have not dared to revenge it, and I
will therefore slay another the first opportunity.'
Whether these were his thoughts or not, it is certain
such were the common opinions of the more
remote Indians before they were acquainted with
the power of the whites; and this belief still prevails
in many tribes.

But in an evil hour for Mahzah Khotah, he
encountered with John Moredock, called from his
inextinguishable hatred to the Aborigines, the Indian
Hater. This man came into Illinois when the
descendants of the French emigrants were its only
inhabitants. The fourth husband of his mother
had died like her three former spouses, being killed
by the Indians. Yet this woman, who seemed
a mark for the shafts of border warfare, left Vincennes
in order to settle in Illinois with her children.
As she was ascending the Mississippi she
and the whole party with which she travelled were
surprised and butchered by the savages. Of all
her family John Moredoch only escaped, he having
voyaged in other company. From the day he
heard of this calamity, revenge on those who had
destroyed his kindred became his ruling passion.
The Indians who had been active in their extermination
did not escape him. By unremitting pursuit,
he achieved the destruction of every individual
of them. His vengeance did not sleep here.
Though irreproachable in his dealings with his fellows,
and though he afterwards obtained a seat in
the legislature of Illinois, and the rank of colonel of
militia, he never let slip an opportunity to dip his

hands in Indian blood. He was famous as a hunter
and partizan warrior, and in the course of his
life was said to have killed thirteen Indians with
his own hand, and it is probable the truth rather
exceeds than falls short of report.

He had been at Chariton on business, when he
met Mahzah Khotah; both being on foot and alone.
His rifle was in his hand. At the sight of the savage,
his eyes flashed fire and his face grew black with
passion. He `sot his triggers,' but the time required
for this operation enabled Mahzah Khotah to
get behind a tree. He too was armed with a gun,
given him by the Indian agent at St Louis. Moredock
gained a similar cover. There they stood,
watching each other as the gladiator and the lion
might do in the arena. Neither could raise his
weapon, or take a more than momentary look,
without exposing himself to certain death. But
the fertile brain of Moredock suggested an expedient.
He drew his ramrod, put his cap on the end
of it, and protruded it from his cover at the height
of his head. The Indian very naturally supposed
that his head was in it. The lightning is not
quicker than was the flash of his gun. The Indian
Hater fell, and Mahzah Khotah, drawing his knife,
rushed forward to take his scalp. But the white
man was instantly on his feet again. `Where are
you going with your knife?' said he, with a fiendish
laugh. He fired, and the Dahcotah dropped.
`That counts one more,' said Moredock, as he
turned from the bleeding corpse to pursue his
journey.

From the time his son was surrendered to the
American officer at St Peters, Ahkitchetah Dootah
pitched his tent in the vicinity of the garrison. He
visited his offspring daily, wept over him, and asked
many questions relative to his probable fate. When
Mahzah Khotah was removed to St Louis, the old
man lost hope. He became listless and inactive.
He was no more seen spearing fishes in the river,
nor did the echoes of his gun disturb the silence of
the surrounding hills. To a white man, such a
course would promise a speedy release from sorrow
by starvation; but it was no great disadvantage
to Ahkitchetah Dootah. Among Indians, the
indolent share the provision made by the industrious,
and a refusal to give food or clothes, is a thing
unheard of. This very generosity is the great bar
to their improvement. Where the `social system'
prevails to its fullest extent, as with the Dahcotahs,
it is not to be expected that any individual will exert
himself more than is necessary to meet the wants
of the hour. It is no benefit to a squaw to plant a
cornfield, for the harvest must be reaped by hands
that did not sow. It is useless for a hunter to kill
more venison than is needed for the immediate
consumption of his family, as the greater part will
be eaten by those who have been smoking by the
fireside, while he has been freezing his fingers and
wearying his limbs in the chase. The obstacles
to the civilization of the Aborigines are indeed
many; but in the opinion of one who has had
many opportunities for observation, this is the greatest.
But, dear reader, we find we have been betrayed

into a digression, and if it pleases thee we
will return to our story.

Ahkitchetah Dootah continued his visits to the
fort, and at last learned that his son had been tried.
It was in vain to tell him that Mahzah Khotah had
been acquitted and set at liberty, for no process of
reasoning could make him believe it. `He has
been put to death,' he would answer to those who
endeavored to convince him that his son might yet
return. `He has been killed, and you are afraid
to acknowledge it. You think we might revenge
him. But I will not long survive my boy.' Accordingly,
he made a feast, at which he appeared
as naked as he was born. No one spoke, for savages
as the guests were, they respected the intensity
of his grief. When the dog was devoured,
and its bones burned in the fire, [22] he broke silence.
He recapitulated the circumstances of his
case and declared his belief as above stated. His
auditors heartily concurred in it, for the way in
which Mahzah Khotah had come to his end was
unknown to the whites, and therefore could not be
communicated to the Dahcotahs. In the same
faith they remain to this day, and nothing can persuade
them to the contrary.

`I have certainly,' said the old man, `committed
some heinous offence against the Master of Breath.
I do not know in what it consists, but it is certain
that his hand is laid heavily on me. He is angry,
and it is useless to live any longer. I am alone of
my race. I am onsheekah. I will throw away my
body the first opportunity.' [23] And his discourse
was applauded by all present.

He immediately removed, and pitched his lodge
on the extreme verge of the Chippeway territory,
where he was most likely to be visited by the enemy.
But having thus devoted himself to destruction,
he seemed to bear a charmed life. He could
find no hand charitable enough to terminate his
miserable existence. He twice joined the war
parties of his people, but in neither instance did
they find an enemy with whom to combat.

At last, in the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three,
he joined a party of twenty of his tribe, which
was going to the red pipe stone quarry. It has
been said that this is holy ground, and that the savages
forget their hostility there. But this is sheer
fiction. No war parties have ever met at the
quarry, and therefore no battle has ever taken
place in its vicinity.

The companions of Ahkitchetah Dootah took
as much of the stone as they needed, and then left
the place. We will not follow them till we have
attempted a description of the spot.

The country on each side of the river is a bare
prairie, in which the eye seeks in vain for a tree or
a shrub. The only objects perceptible are the
countless herds of buffaloes, and their constant attendants
the wolves. These last accompany them,
patiently waiting till one of them `takes a hurt from
the hunter's hand,' or falls exhausted by sickness
or old age. Then they hurry to the feast. Through
this vast plain the river runs, in a thousand crooks
and windings, its banks thinly skirted with trees
and shrubs. At the quarry the pipe stone is found
imbedded between strata of lime stone. It is red

and friable, a kind of serpentine, easily cut with a
knife when first taken from the earth, though it
grows harder by exposure to the air. Asbestos is
also found in the quarry. Here the bluff rises perpendicularly
from the river, and directly in its front
stands an isolated portion, rent from the parent
cliff by some convulsion of nature. It is about
twelve feet from the bluff, and the younger and
more active Dahcotahs use to try their nerves by
jumping upon it across the awful chasm below.

On the present occasion our friends wasted no
time in such feats, or in contemplating the scenery.
A trail had been found, which their sagacity discovered
to have been made by the feet of Saques
and Foxes, and it behoved them to make off with
all convenient alacrity, for no people better understood
that discretion is the better part of valor,
than Indians. They travelled swiftly for two days,
till they came to the north branch of the river
Terre Bleue, where they halted and pitched their
lodges. Ahkitcheetah Dootah indeed, remonstrated
against such unseemly haste, but as the
others were not so weary of life as he, his words
were unheeded. Yet he followed a good distance
in the rear, to give the Saques and Foxes an opportunity
to take his scalp.

The Dahcotahs had gained their halting place
unmolested, but not unobserved. The Saques and
Foxes had seen them, but though trebly superior
in number, they resolved to attack with as little
risk as might be to themselves. They followed at
a wary distance taking good care to keep out of
sight. They were better armed too, than the

Sioux, for their proximity to the whites enables
them to procure weapons at pleasure. They had
each a good rifle, whereas half their opponents
had nothing but bows and arrows.

At daybreak the next morning, the usual time
for Indian attacks, they approached the Siou camp,
taking advantage of the trees and of the inequalities
of the ground. When near enough they
raised the war whoop, and poured a shower of balls
into the lodges. Five men were killed by this
first volley. The sleepers started, and boldly gave
back the exulting shout of the enemy. They
made so good a use of their knives, that in an incredibly
short space of time each had dug a hole
in the ground deep enough to protect his body,
and with such effect did they project their missiles
that in a few minutes the assailants were compelled
to retire to a more respectful distance.

At the first fire Ahkitchetah Dootah sprang
upon his feet, and exclaimed that his time was
come at last, and that he should now rejoin his son.
He snatched up his tomahawk and ran out of the
lodge. A bullet through his thigh did not check
his career in the least. He brained the Saque who
had discharged it, and rushed upon the next with
his tomahawk uplifted. The enemy waited till the
old man was within five paces, and then fired his
piece with a certain aim. The bullet struck the
Siou between the eyes, and he was a dead man
before his face touched the ground. Thus did
Ahkitchetah Dootah fulfil his vow to `throw away
his body.'

The Saques and Foxes showed less than their

wonted courage and the strife was soon over.
They gave way before the Dahcotahs, and Keokok,
their partizan, or war chief, was the first to
throw off all encumbrances and fly. The Sioux
were too few to urge the pursuit far. Seven of them
had been killed, and twice that number of the enemies
remained on the field of battle.

He whose avocations or pleasure may lead him
to a wild and solitary glen on the north branch of
the Terre Bleue, four or five miles from its junction
with the other arm of the river, will there find
the bones of the slain Saques and Foxes whitening
on the earth. In the branches of the trees above,
he will see the bodies of the fallen Dahcotahs, carefully
wrapped up in buffalo robes. [24]