History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time, Part 14

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company
Number of Pages: 1120

USA > Nebraska > Gage County > History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time > Part 14

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The Otoes and Missouris were of very pure Indian blood, except in the case of three or four individuals whose names indicated a French ancestry. Two of these men were of striking appearance and physique. Both were fairly well educated and they were of nearly the same age. One was Battiste Deroin the other Battiste Barneby. Battiste Deroin was an Otoe while his lifelong rival and competitor for the position of United States interpreter was an Omaha, married to an Otoe woman. The French blood in the veins of each had been diluted through so many generations of Indian ancestors that its existence was hardly apparent. For some reasons that had mili- tated in his favour Deroin received the ap-

pointment as government interpreter from Agent Green, in 1869, - a position that he afterward held until the removal of the Indians from the county. Both men had great in- fluence among the Indians and were highly re- garded by many of the carly settlers of the county. They were both most interesting con- versationalists and well versed in all Indian lore. Battiste Deroin was a polygamist, his two wives being sisters, as he had availed him- self of an Indian custom that permitted a man to take his wife's younger sister as a supple- mentary wife without ceremony or gift. The fact that this young woman was the beauty of the tribe and had a host of admirers and lov- ers caused him many a pang of jealousy that was far from being groundless. Battiste Barneby was among the first Indians on the reservation to build a frame house and occupy it as a dwelling place both winter and summer. It was provided with a wide, open fire-place, within which a cheerful fire always blazed and beside which might be often seen a nearly full-grown wild cat, either asleep or engaged in washing its face with its paw, just as an ordinary pussy does. Its sharp claws en- abled it to exact due respect from the snarling dogs that tried to form its acquaintance. Mrs. Barneby wore the Kra-kah mark between her eyebrows, indicating that her father had been brave and honorable ; a man of great liberality and generosity. A bundle of small painted sticks, each representing a pony given away, doubtless accompanied him to the grave. Bat- tiste Barneby was accidentally killed, in Atchi- son, Kansas, in 1875 or 1876.

Perhaps no Indian was more widely known among the early settlers than old Medicine Jake, the snake doctor. Emaciated and en- tirely nude, except as to a breech cloth, his striking appearance was enhanced by a snake- skin bandaged around one of his skinny legs, just below the knee, as a sign or advertisement of his profession. Rattlesnakes and moc- casins were quite plentiful and the Indian children were frequently bitten. It was claimed that old Jake had an infaillible cure that nobody else knew how to prepare. Strange as it may seem, the Otoes were afraid to kill

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snakes owing to a belief that if one was killed its kindred would seek until they found the killer and inflicted revenge. Their name for snake was "wah-cun," signifying something akin to a spirit. Another remarkable char- acter was O-thro-kes-koo-nie, known among the white people as "Hog-Jaw" because of a deformity that caused his lower teeth and jaw to project in a frightful manner, - a malfor- mation that made the poor fellows life miser- able by creating fear and aversion whenever he appeared in the presence of strangers. Per- haps one of the strongest characters among the Otoes was Jo-John, captain of the Indian police. When Ar-ka-ke-ta was deposed and Medicine Horse made chief, Jo-Joh: was pro- moted by the agent to a chieftainship, but alas, Beatrice whiskey was his undoing, - when under its influence, in a sudden fit of anger, he killed a companion by striking him on the head with a neckyoke. This act cost him his position as chief and, according to ancient cus- tom, forfeited him his life, putting it abso- lutely at the disposal of the kindred of the slain. In order to save him from summary execution he was lodged in jail at Beatrice. Eventually the relatives of the murdered man were appeased by a liberal gift of ponies, and Jo-John was restored to the bosom of his family. Physically Jo-John was a splendid specimen of his race. Having a mental capac- ity above the average, he possessed those ancient traits of Indian character that won the confidence and esteem of the early French traders, - honesty, integrity, and truthful- ness. An incident illustrating this occurred shortly before the unfortunate homicide we have mentioned. It seems that he had bor- rowed a small sum of money from a person living near Blue Springs, promising to repay it within a certain time and when the time was near at hand he went to the house of the lender to repay it, only to find the premises oc- cupied by strangers, who informed him that the party he sought had removed tu a distant part of Kansas. Jo-John knew nothing about bank drafts or money orders, so, mounting his pony, he set out on a long and wearisome jour- ney to find his creditor. The trip required

several days and involved much inquiry, for it was not known exactly where the party had located and an inability to clearly express ideas in English made the task he had undertaken all the harder. His perseverance, however, was rewarded by finding the party sought, who was greatly surprised by the payment of a small debt that he had forgotten all about.

The Otoes as a people were innately hon- est and generally careful to meet all their financial obligations. This characteristic was so well known to all Indian traders and agency employes that they never hesitated to extend them credit, knowing that on annuity payment, if not before, the debt would be paid. Per- haps next to Jo-John the finest looking and most typical specimen of an Indian warrior was Har-ra-gar-rah, son of Chief Big Sol- dier. He was known among the white peo- ple by the name of "Hod-de-god-die." It was the chief hope and ambition of Big Sol- dier's life that Hod-de-god-die should succeed him as chief, and many were the interviews he sought with the agent on that account, but the old man's hopes were doomed to disappoint- ment for Hod-de-god-die's mental equipment and calibre would have disqualified him even had a vacancy occurred. When arrayed in full Indian costume that included a very anc- ient necklace of bear's claws, ears loaded with silver bobs, and face bedecked with indigo and vermillion, Hod-de-god-die presented a rather gorgeous spectacle, but the real Beau Brummel of the tribe, the acknowledged prince of all fops, was Jack Wild-Bird. To visitors he was a curiosity. He appeared to have only one serious occupation, aside from athletic games, and that was the beautification and decoration of his personality. Hours were spent in painting and decorating his face with vermillion, indigo, yellow ocher, and white clay, and experience had taught him how to produce the most startling and inhar- monious effect. His head was always kept shaved to a scalp-lock, from which floated a fine eagle's feather. And many hours of his time were occupied in the use of his beard- puller and in watching his face in a large hand- glass that was carried attached to his waist

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cord. The beard-pullers used by the Otoes consisted of a spring-like steel coil about three inches in length which, when pressed against the face, and tightly squeezed, caught and held the small hairs and eyebrows, thus enabling the operator to extract a large num- ber at once. These instruments were sold by all Indian traders. During warm weather Jack's only raiment, aside from his scarlet breech cloth and heavy necklaces of wampum and beads, was similar to that possessed by Adam before the apple episode, but in cold weather he fairly bloomed in gay ribbands, deer-skin leggings decorated with the stained quills of the porcupine, and the handsomest scarlet blanket obtainable. He was un- doubtedly the most accomplished flute music- ian in the tribe, and during summer evenings the melodious strains of his flute, mingled with the far off wail of a mourner beside a lonely grave, were often aids in courting sleep. The neverfailing hospitality to be met with at every lodge rendered the matter of subsistence a minor consideration with this gay idler. In the ancient athletic games of the tribe he was a leader and expert. The village play ground was a very important fea- ture of village life. It consisted of well- smoothed and perfectly level space about five hundred feet in length by perhaps two hun- dred in width. It was there that many of the young men, nude except as to breech cloth, played from morning till night through the hottest days, exhibiting a wonderful dexterity in throwing, while running at great speed, a small flexible ring, causing it to spin along the ground while each runner essayed to catch it upon a sort of a javelin that he threw as he ran. This game was rendered very exciting by the betting that accompanied it, and it was from this source that Jack Wild-Bird acquired the means that enabled him to bedeck himself so gayly.

It was a custom among the Indians to de- prive a woman of the sight of one eye if she was known to have departed from the path of virtue. The writer was cognizant of a case of this kind in 1869, but occasions for the in- fliction of this severe punishment were very

rare. Marital infelicity, caused by infidelity on the part of a wife, called for the blood of her paramour; or in lieu of that a gift of ponies proportionate to his wealth.

The adjudication and settlement of all troubles devolved upon the agent. In the course of administering justice and punishing delinquents he found it necessary on one oc- casion to convert the agency smoke-house into a jail, and having placed a number of youth- ful culprits therein, under a ten days' sen- tence, he securely padlocked the door. The building being an old frame structure, the prisoners had little difficulty in devising a secret exit which enabled them to spend most of their time at home, being very careful to be in jail when the meals were handed in. This free and easy manner of suffering imprison- ment had been continued for several days so successfully that the prisoners grew careless in regard to being in limbo at meal-time, and their jailor having decided to pay them a visit a little earlier than usual, found the prison empty. The police were at once notified and soon reported that they had found them in the jail, where they positively declared they had been all the time.

The Otoe word for medicine had a broader meaning than we attach to its equivalent, for it is "mon-co,"-the mysterious, the occult, the incomprehensible ; even clairvoyance is not beyond its pale. A remarkable instance of an exhibition of the last named phenomena by the medicine men of the tribe occurred in 1872, while efforts were being made to recapture White-Water, the murderer, who, having es- caped from the sheriff after his arrest, was in hiding somewhere on the reservation. A large party of Iowas were visiting the Otoes at the time, on account of a pipe-dance, and had joined in the hunt that was being made for the hiding-place of the fugitive. On ac- count of a trifling peculiarity in the shape of the sole of his moccasin the searchers had discovered his trail in widely separated locali- ties, but his cunning in eluding them was greater than their sleuth-craft. The Indians were exceedingly anxious to capture White- Water in order to show their condemnation

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of his crime as well as to placate the animosity it had created, toward the Indians, among the friends and relatives of the murdered men. Disappointed in their efforts after several days of search, they at length invoked the oc- cult and mysterious power that was believed to pertain to the "Mon-co" men, with results in the direction of clairvoyance that were as astonishing as they were mystifying An as- semblage of probably two hundred horsemen, including the Iowas, was gathered at a place on the west side of the river where the prairie gradually sloped to a broad river-botton. The medicine men in their midst chanted and danced frantically until at length two of them, mounted on swift ponies, emerged from the throng and after circling around it a few times at great speed, darted off across the prairie and out of sight, - where they went or what happened to them during their absence of per- haps twenty minutes we do not know, but when they reappeared their horses were in a lather of sweat and as they approached it be- came evident that both swayed and could hardly retain their seats; a rush was made to meet them and each fell from his horse into the outstretched arms of his friends in an ap- parently unconscious condition. They were laid upon the ground and an excited crowd gathered closely around them. As they slowly recovered from a stupor they muttered words that were eagerly awaited for and lis- tened to by those who were bending over them. In gasping and broken sentences they told of where they had (clairvoyantly?) seen the fugitive seated. It was on the summit of a high bluff on the south side of Cedar creek at a point that could be reached by climbing a very steep rocky gulch that extended from the bed of the creek. There, they declared, he was sitting in the tall grass and gazing watch- fully over the country. The writer who ac- companied the party of horsemen that at once started for the spot indicated, which was several miles distant, noticed that as they drew near, the Indians halted and were evidently afraid to approach within gun shot, and it was not until he had appealed to the police to show their bravery that they finally charged up the

hill and, on the very spot designated by the medicine men, found the nest in the tall grass where he had been seated a very short time be- fore the party charged up the hill on the prairie side, his moccasin tracks proving that he had escaped down the rocky gulch to the bed of the creek and along the edge of the creek, where his trail was followed for about a mile when it struck across the prairie tow- ards the timber on Wolf creek.

The circumstances connected with the ar- rest of White-Water by Sheriff Alexander, of Jefferson county, his escape from the sher- iff, and his final capture by the Indians, may be of sufficient historical interest to relate here. News of an atrocious double murder had reached us, but it was not until the arrival of Sheriff Alexander at the Agency that we learned that White-Water was suspected of the crime. On inquiry it was learned that when the Otoes returned from the hunt a few days before he had loitered behind and came in alone and very seriously wounded some hours after the crime must have been com- mitted. The police informed us that he was living at Medicine Horse's village of bark lodges near the mouth of Mission creek, and the agent and sheriff at once proceeded to that place.

On their arrival an Indian, by a sly gesture, indicated the lodge where he slept and the agent at once entered and found him lying beside his wife on the platform of poles that, with a covering of skins, constituted his bed. On seeing the agent enter and catching a glimpse of the sheriff outside the doorway he at once realized that for him the situation was now desperate, and reaching beneath his pil- low he drew forth a heavy, old-fashioned navy revolver, the very one with which the murder had been committed, and cocking it with his unwounded hand, excitedly told his wife that "now my time has come to die and these two principal white men shall die with me." He arose from the bed and, keeping the pistol pointed at the agent, backed to the rear door- way of the lodge, the agent followed closely despite his repeated threats that he would shoot, a threat that he would undoubtedly

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have carried into effect had not Medicine- Horse arrived in the nick of time and com- pelled him to put up his pistol, telling him that if he killed either the agent or the sheriff the white people would wipe the tribe off the reservation. The murderer, pale with fear and suffering from his wound, was placed on a rear seat of the agency carriage with Medi- cine-Horse beside him as a guard as well as a friend and adviser, and driven rapidly to the

return the next day, but having finished his business by sundown, and the night being moonlight, he concluded to start back. In those days all the creeks between Beatrice and the agency were crossed by very dangerous and uncertain fords, and in order to reach the Wolf creek ford the road skirted along the creek through the timber for nearly a quarter of a mile. It was shortly before midnight when the agent reached this stage of his home-

Medicine Horse's Village on the Blue Near Mission Creek

Bark Lodges 1170

MEDICINE-HORSE'S VILLAGE

agency. On arriving at the Otoe village White-Water begged to be permitted to bid farewell to a relative, and it was while doing this that he sprang away from the sheriff and with the swiftness of a deer made his escape. It was nearly two weeks after the clairvoy- ance episode before his capture was finally ef- fected. It had become known that he was lurking in the timber bordering Wolf creek, heavily armed, and determined never to be taken alive; this knowledge had been obtained by secretly following and watching his wife, who had sought him out and was in communi- cation with him. On the day of his capture the agent had gone to Beatrice, expecting to

ward journey, the very timber tract in which the outlaw was secreted. The moon was shining brightly and as all the curtains of the carriage were rolled up he at once realized that he was about to become a possible target to an unerring marksman. He stopped the horses, unrolled and fastened down every cur- tain, and then useing the whip made quick time through the timber and across the steep- banked, dangerous ford. Approaching the agency with the expectation of finding all wrapped in darkness and slumber, he was greatly astonished to find the place all lighted and astir. The Indian police were standing on guard about the doors, and evidently some-

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thing momentuous had occurred. Yes, White- Water had been captured, brought to the agency, and delivered to the agent's wife, who had been left in charge of affairs during his absence. She had wisely planned all arrange- ments to render the murderer's escape impos- sible, but the unexpected return of her hus- band was a great relief to her. The capture was effected by his kinsmen in order that no one could be held liable, or compelled to atone for his blood in case of his execution, - it being the Indian custom for kindred to exact reparation either by taking a life or exacting a heavy penalty in ponies. They had ap- proached him with brotherly greetings that disarmed suspicion and it was his own brother who, at an opportune moment, sprang upon him and held his arms while the others bound him securely with a lariat. A farm wagon was then brought from the agency and his unhappy kindred completed their stern act of duty by delivering him into the hands of the law. The next day the Indian police, clad in their blue cavalry uniforms, and carrying a large United States flag at their head, escorted the large agency carriage containing the agent, his interpreter, Battiste Deroin, and the prisoner for Fairbury. Lack of space forbids giving details of the case; suffice to say that at a trial before Judge O. P. Mason, held some months later, White-Water was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. Seventeen years later he was pardoned by the governor, but his stay in prison had been an age to him. Confinement had ruined his health, his wife had married another, his kin- dred were mostly dead, and the beautiful val- ley of the Blue was no longer the home of his race.

The names of some of the leading braves and heads of families whose faces were fa- miliar to many of the early settlers of the county may become of historic interest to fu- ture generations and well worth preserving, together with the significance of each in Eng -. lish. Hence we present the following :

Shun-ga-mon-co (Medicine-Horse) Cha-pah (Buffalo's Head)

Cha-thea-ka (Buffalo's Tracks) Hoo-gra-toe-way (Four Pillars) E-stah-mon-tha (Iron Eyes) Kay-tah (Turtle) Paw-nee-inga (Little Pawnee) Paw-nee-coo-cha (Pawnee-Killer) Sho-cha-mon-ie ( Moving Smoke) Wah-nah-quash-coon-ie (Fearless) Wah-cun-hun-cha (Big Snake) Shun-ga-scaw (White Horse) Mon-co-yo (Valley or Low Land) Bah-thea-inga (Little Cedar) My-um-pe (Good Land) Nah-way-hun-cha (Big Hand) Koth-a-inga (Little Crow)

Lont-noo-inga (Little Pipe)

Nee-ach-shinga (Little Creek ) Maw-hee (Knife) Mah-loo-ha-la (Distant Land) Mon-toe-pah (Bear's Head)

Mon-toe-tha-way (Black Bear)

No-ho-cha-ning-shinga (Little Brains)

Ton-nah-coo-nah (Courting Favour)

Wah-con-dah-keep-ah (Religious Head) Wah-cun-thra-cha (Long Snake) Whan-a-ga-he (Adviser)

Ho-mo-schu-cha (Red Elk)

Mah-sho-cha (Dust)

Chee-na-inga (Small Village)

Other heads of families, the English signifi- cance of whose names we are unable to give, but all of whom were well known to most of the early settlers of southern Gage county, were the following :

A-Gie-hi-ya Cha-ah-gra

Har-ra-gar-rah (Police)

Ka-gra-tha Mus-ka-gah-hay (Police)

Pah-wan-a-sha

Shoc-a-pi-ya

Poonch-e-in-do-wa

Who-ha

Ah-ga-ha-mon-nee Cre-cah-gah

Hoth-a-coe

Gah-he-gah (Police) Nah-pe-wah-la Pay-ton-gah-hay

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Tah-poth-ka (Police) Noh-thra-thra-cha Chu-sho-cha Ah-ho-thea-ah Ha-thon-ta Ha-naw

Loo-he-a-mon Noh-he-toppe (Police) Roc-co (Police) Um-buth-ka-day We-ru-gri-inga Sho-cha-inga

Among the names of prominent Otoe women who were occasional callers on the white set- tlers and whose faces were familiar to many of them were:

Ho-tock-a-me (Tom Boy)

Hun-gesh-cha-me

Ah-wa-soon-tha-me

Mon-ka-toe-wack-a-me

O-ma-toe-me Mon-com-pay-me

Hoo-gla-me Moh-sho-cha-me

Hun-do-ya-me Tah-cha-me Bah-ho-cha-me

Kay-lah-me Mon-thu-bla-me

In 1875-1876 better school accommodations were secured by the erection of a large mod- ern two-story school building, with accommo- dations for boarding a large number of the children. The supervision and care of the Indian Aid Association of the Society of Friends was continued from year to year, and this, combined with other civilizing influences, was instrumental in gradually changing the modes of living and habits of thought among the younger members of the tribe, but the old people adhered tenaciously to the ancient habits and customs of their race. The discon- tinuance of buffalo hunting, tribal visiting, pony-giving, pipe-dancing, and other episodes of Indian life that had always been of vast import to them, caused a feeling of unrest and dissatisfaction that finally culminated in a determination to remove to the Indian Terri- tory.

In concluding this account of the aborig- inal inhabitants of Gage county the writer wishes to bear testimony to their many virtues as a people, - their honesty, their never-fail- ing generosity, their unselfish liberality, and their love and deep regard for each other in every fantily circle. Many interesting facts and incidents might be added, but space for- bids.

CHAPTER XIII

FIRST WHITE SETTLERS

INDIAN AGENTS AND EMPLOYES - GIDEON BENNETT - DAVID PALMER - JOHN O. ADAMS, AND THE SHAWS - THE PETHOUDS - THE KILLPATRICKS AND OTHERS - SETTLE- MENTS IN ROCKFORD TOWNSHIP - IN GRANT TOWNSHIP - AT BLUE SPRINGS

The first white man to enter our county as far as we have any reliable information, were George Heppner, Indian agent for the Otoe and Missouri tribes of Indians, in 1855; his successor in office, William Wallace Den- nison, in 1859; and a few employes of the government who had in charge the mill which belonged to the Indians and which had been hauled from Nebraska City by ox teams, in April, 1855; the blacksmith, farmer, and such other employes as the government allowed at that time. At least one white man followed the Indians from Nebraska City and engaged in trade with them on his own account. This was Gideon Bennett, who, in 1854, kept the famous ferry on which so many immigrants to the new territory of Nebraska there crossed the Big Muddy then and later on, and who obtained a charter from the first territorial legislative assembly conferring upon him and his family the exclusive privilege and fran- chise for operating a ferry at Nebraska City for ten years, beginning April 1, 1855. This privilege the second session of this assembly revoked. Bennett established a trading post on Plum creek, just outside the eastern reser- vation line and in the immediate vicinity of the village of Liberty, on Plum creek. He, how- ever. acquired no residence in our county and remained at the trading post but a short time, when he sold it to a party named McDonald, at St. Joseph, Missouri, and returned to Ne- braska City, where his family resided. Af- terward he became prominent in local and territorial affairs, other

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History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time, Part 14

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849- Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company Number of Pages: 1120

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company
Number of Pages: 1120