Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1864-03-05
= - SIOUX CITY, IOWA.; SATURDAY, MARCH s. 1854

lcnce and sdroittIess Of an Indian huh
ter, he closed upon her. and while she
was still leaning over the tub, unconscious
'of his approach, plunged i large knife
clesn through her body. Aesingle shriek
proclaimed her agony as she spraus from
her inclined position, and the next mo-
ment she lay struggling ii death 1t the
feet Of her murderer. .A7"a'7H22 '@'"'f~.'
The deed was now DONE and the savage
vengeance satisfied but to complete the
horror fthe scene, the wretched monster,
gloatipg in his brutality, drew the knife
from her trembling body, and turning 10
the spectators with = savage grin, held it
aloft, still reeking with her blood, and in
broken English, exclaimed, /" ,casn's that
| nice ." y " Il g.. ,"'" "a 81.
As might be expected, a thrill Of hor.
ror ran through the little community,
which made up the white population Of
the town; and although the Indians that
surrounded them were not less than ten
or twenty to one, still il was fully resolved
to execute the law. Accordingly, Big Lex
was arrested, tried for murder, convicted,
and sentenced to be hung. But then fol.
lowed train Of simplicities, before which
the gravity of the law is turned into
| ridicule. .... T. -... .a
The Indian heard his sentence pro-
nouuced, and looked with wonder upon
the solemnity Of his grave and sympathiz.
ng judge. But he knew about as much
of what was meant or intended as the
man in the moon. At length, however,
after a great deal Of trouble. he was made
to understand that he was to be suspended
by the neck until he was dead This, to
him, was something entirely new, and
very much cenfounded him 10 his ideas Of
execsticn for he was both Z hunter and
warrior; and, ss he supposed, versed in
all the arts Of savage torture. But the
cicilized idea Of lsuspending people BY the
neck had never before entered his mind
Neither was the language used to convey
the idea less foreign to his conception
than the operation TO be performed. ITO
hang" were words he had never before
beard. But, as the mode Of procedure
was made more clear to bis mind, he
sought for words within his conception,
| by which be could express it; and as he
had seen traders weigh with steelyards,
he adopted this term as expressive of
what was to be done. He was, therefore,
as be said, "to be ,eeigAed."'
This term brought the n,odus operandi
within the conception of all the Indians,
and accordingly the word soon ran through
the whole extent Of the tribe, that Big leg
was to be weighed by the neck until be
was dead.
When this news reached the particular
band to which he belonged-for all Indian
tribes are divided into small villages or
bands-it produced no little concern, as
Bg-leg was good hunter, and, as they
said, killed most Of the deer on which
they lived. This usefulness made him an
object of concern, and for it, more than
for any other good propsrty, they wished
to save his life. But they had been told
that the acquisitions Of the law must he
fulfilled, and that Big.leg could not, under
existing circums stances, be released. This
reqaisition of the law they interpreted &C.
coYding to their own custom, which is,
that for blood, blood must be she'd. -"
10 this they somewhat. resemble the
ancient Jews, aud from il, and some other
customs, which s.ill prevail among them,
have been, BY some, supposed to be tho
descendants Of the lost half tribe Of the
Children Of .Israel. s.r 4...s.~ ss =.
A council Was called in Big legs village
to devise means for bis redemption, and,
accordingly, an expedient was resolved
upon, which VAS thought fully adequate
to supply al the demands or re.ribu,ivs
justice. i lis eaz@. a@a teaad sat
They had in their band : lazy, worth.
less Indian, whom We viii call Sam. Him
they determined to, exchange, or, ~ they
said, fs'oap for Big.lsg nj Accordingly they
ell came to town in abody, and presented
their propositien 70, the jailor. "sam,'
said they, :" il = lazy, good, othing In.
diaa. Him, you may take and weigh a.
much asyou psesss; but " wsnt Big,lee."
The absordity Of this proposition was only
equalled By tho anxiety and sincerity with
which It was urged. But what 10 sill
moro remarkable, and equally character
istic Of Indian stupidity, Sam was along,
and wiling 70 b exchanged, a.I
Thus passed things with The tribe, while
Bis.lsg lay in prison, onooascious Of what
Was doing without; but pasisnsly awaiting
the time for his execution, and seriously
contemplating ths strange death hs WAS
about 70 die. Hs nov fully understood