Bloomsburg democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1867-1869, 1868-08-19
Tragcdy or indian Life.

gathered by gentleman VINO u collectlhs
material for history Of tho Upper Missis.
sippi valley: ,ns- -I.a''.IrT f'
A party of thirty Winnebagoes came
down from the scalp dance ut which the
tribe was gathered on the Trempelcau river,
in the north, and encampcd on French's
Island, in the Mississippi river, just above
the st. Pauls railroad depot at La Crosse.
The band was under the control ola we'll
known chief Of tho Winnebasocs named
Wau.kec.se. .hoong- -er.er or Snake Chief,
who had two wives, Se.es.ka and Hence.
kee, Se.es-ka was about thirty years Of age,
graceful in appearance, with pleasant look
and an interesting face. With whites she
was q favoritc, while with the Winnebagoes
she was looked upon very kindly-indeed,
adorned with all the ardor Of Indian fervor.
Snake Chief was a noted warrior Of the
Winnebagoes, and was very much liked by
his tribe. lie was a powerful and brawny
fellow, and when sober was peaceful and
good-natured; when drunk he was ugly and
disagreeable. One of his favorite pastimes,
when in this condition, was beating his
wives.
On Friday last, Snake Chief returned to
his wigwam, and the chief commenced beat
ing her over the head and shoulders. Dri-
ven to desperation, and unable longer to
stand his brutality, she drew her knife and
stabbed the chief twice, the blade penetra.
ting the heart Of the warrior, who died in
stantly while the first notes Of the death
song were on his lips The affair at once
created sensation among the Winnebagoes,
who did not know how to act. They loved
their chief, and their chieftain's wife. 1t is
a well-known regulation" among the In
dians that when a man is slain, relative
must avenge his death by taking the life Of
the slayer. Se,es-ka knew this. Some of
the Winnebagoes urgad her to fly, but she
would not. With true Indian resignation
she folded her blanket about her and sat
down in her wigwam, facing the door, and
awaiting her avenger. 1t was believed by
many that Ie.nee.kee, the younger and
iavoritc wife, would be the avcnger, but she
seems to have had no such intention. She
mourned the loss Of her husband, but took
no steps further than to send runner up
the Trempelcau, where Snake Chiefs re.
lations were, to notify them of what had
taken place. Meanwhile Se.cs.ka sat in her
cabin chanting the death song, stoically in
different to what was going on about her,
and only talking when questions were asked
her.
On Saturday morning an Indian from
Trcmpclcau made his appearance in camp.
He was known as Chan.no- mega, and had
evidently travelled without hating since he
learned of the death of Snake Chief. En-
tering the camp, without word, he walked
solemnly to the place where the body of
Snake Chief lay, took long look at it, and
then turned sulleuly away. Nobody spoke
to him, yet all watched with interest his
Deliberately loading his gun
with buckshot he uHinterruptedly walked
deliberately to the wigwam where Sc. ka
she having gremained there since the murder,
took one look at the woman, who loudly
chant,d the death song. Not muscle of
the woman's face moved to denote that she
abtred under any excitement but she sat
there quietly and calmly, her eyes moving
upward, and her voice, as the uncouth song
escaped her lips, steady and firm. She
knew the avenger was before hcr-that in
mother moment her spirit would leave the
fail tenement of clay and seek that of the
Chief who had gone before her; yet no look
,r sign indicated that she feared the fate
Such is Indian stoicism and Indifference.
The eyes of the two did not meet. In
he face Of Chan-no-ne-ga there was look
IF mingled hate and revenge Deliberately
,e raised his musket to his shoulder-dc-
iberately he aimed at the woman's head
DOLLY he fired. The report rang out through |
he Indian camp-the smoke cleared away
Se-es.ka still sat therc-her blanket about
,er-her arms folded, but one side of her
lead was blown completely away-her spirit |
nad fled, and the code Of Indian justice was
u-kee-se-hoong.er was aven-
red. '.
The murderer, with just look to satify
lin that his work had been well done,
houldered his musket and walked dcliber.
tcly out Of the camp. Nobody spoke to
lin nobody offered any interference, and
topping into his canoe he padded to the
hore, and disappeared in the woods, leav-
ng the Winnebagoes stupifed. -
The Manchester IN. II. Union tells Of q
raveler, ragged, dirty and half seas over
'aling at a tavern, and on being asked if he
vas not Seymour man, aightened him.
elf up and replied: From my present
ppearance, you would probably Judge that,
was Democrat, but ain't. learnt my
'olitics before l took to drink. '.''
That was not the way with Grant, he
ook to drink before he learnt his politics.
donovan, the artist, has done Butler to
he life in plaster. Butler bears big spoon