The weekly Butte record., 1862-10-25
THE DAK0TAH INDIANS.


tive races OF North America Their numbers
exceed twenty-five thousand, Of whom one fifth
are warriors. Unlike the other red men of the
continent, they are actually on the increase
They are the most barbarous of all the abo-
rigines east of the Rocky Mountains, and gene
rally neglect entirely the cultivation Of the
soil, subsstiug BY hunting in the Summer and
fishing in the Winter. At their first discovery
they occupied the headwaiers of the Mississip-
pi and the Red River Of the North, since
which time they have gradually migrated TO
the South and West.
This change Of residence is historial. The
krees, or kuis;eneaux. who occupied the coun-
try north and west of the Dekotahs, were allies
of the Ojibwas, and took part in the sanguina-
~ encounters of those two nations. After a
while feud divided the Dekotahs into two
factions, one OF which was expelled from the
country between Sault Saint Marie and Lake
Winnipeg, and formed an alliance with the
krees and Ojibwas The latter nation, now
denominated the two Dekotah peoples, and the
Assiniboins, and the other Sioux or enemies
The Assniboins henceforth led in the war
path and, aided by their new allies, drove out
their former brethren from their habitations
north of the Cheyenne river, now their bouuda-
ry to the southwest, where they now remain.
The most implacable hostility still exists be-
tween them; and whatever difficulty may now
exist with the Ojbwas, we need not fear their
alliance with their hereditary foes.
The Dekotahs are most bitterly hostile TO
any encroachment on their territories by white
men. In 1887 they ceded to the United States
all their lands in Wisconsin and in 1850 they
made further cession of their domain in Min
nesota lying on the St. Peters river But
they do not regard the obligation of either
treaty as binding. In 1857 they held a grand
council of all their tribes on the Platte river,
and pledged themselves to resist the encroach-
ments of the whites and expel them from the
country. The emmiSsaries of the Southern
rebels have taken advantage Of this state of
things to involve our Western frontier in the
horrors of an Indian war
The Dekotahs extend from the CHEYENNE
river to the Platte and from Minnesota to the
Rocky Mountains and are divided into seven
nations, which are again, like the Iroquois and
others, subdivided into tribes, and lodges or
families. Four of these nations are in Mime
sofa: l. The Minowa Kantons, about two
thousand in number; they have seven tribes
and dwell around Spirit Lake. 3 The Wah-
pekontas, or Leaf-Shooters They are not
organized or subdivided like the other Indians
being, like the Seminoles, constituted of run
awayS and outlaws Of other nations. They
live west of the Desmoines river, and number
about FIVE hundred. g. The Sisritons. or
Dwellers in the Swamps. They live around
Lake Traverse and Coteau des Prairies, and
are about two thousand FIVE hundred in number
4. The Wahpetons. or People of the Leaves.
They formerly dwelt around the Falls of St.
Peters but now live about Lac Quiparle and
Bgstan Lake They number one thousand
two hundred.
The remaining Dekotah nations reside in the
Territories west of Iowa and Minnesota. The
Yanktons, about three thousand in number,
have their hunting grounds between the Big
Sioux and Missouri rivers. They are very
poor, and the Government. has purchased most
of their lands. The Yanktonnais, an ofshoot
of the same nation, but now distinct, range the
country between the James and Missouri river
as high up as Devils Lake. They are power.
ful people, and number six thousand four hun
dred. They are divided into three tribes, and
the Assiniboins or Dekotahs of the Rocks, to
whom allusion has been made, originated from
them.
The Titonowans, or Tetons, or Dwelers on
the Prairies occupy the plateaus west of the
Missouri, and extending to the Rocky Noun
tains. They constitute more than half of the
Dekotah tribes, making twelve hundred and
fifty lodges and about thirteen thousand per-
sons. They are divided into seven tribes:
First, the Hankapas second, the Sisapas or
Blackfeet; third. the Itszipkos fourth, the
wazhipas; fifth, the Ogalalas sixth,
the Sichanyus and seventh, the Ohenonpas.
The Tetons are the Bedouins of the prairieS,
and surpass the Arabs in their migratory and
ntractable disposition.
The Dekotah of the western praires differ
widely from the Indians who formerly dwelt in
the Atlantic States. The latter constructed
wigwams, titled the soil, made warlike expedI-
tions on foot remembered with equal constancy
the person who conferred favor or inflicted
wrong. But the prairie Indian is incapable of
gratitude, and no benefits can win bis afec
tons
The Dekotabs hate with the utmost bitter
ness. and their vendette is more implacable
than that of the Corscan. Like the old High
landers, failing to meet the author of injury,