The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-08-25
.r.ragetiy 2 % rn,lin,Il,l ,Il 10


The following story, from the Mil.
waukee Wisconsin,, reads like q ro.
nance of Cooper's condensed. hut, ia
said to be o record of facts gathered
by q gentleman who is collecting
material for o history of the upper
Mississippi Valley: iiief.
!, "A party Of thirty Winnebaeoes
came down from the scalp dance at
which the tribe was gathered on the
Trempeleau River, iii the North, and
encamped on French Island, in the
Mississippi River, just above the st.
PauPs Railroad depot, at La Crosse.
The band was under the control of
o well known chief of the Winneba-
goes named Wan-kee-se-h e-hoong-er-er
or Snake Chief, who had two wives,
Se-es-ka and He-nee-kee. Se-es-ka
was about thirty years of age, grace
full in appearance, with pleasant
look and an interesting face. With
whites she was favorite, while with
the Winnebagoes she was looked upon
very kindly-indeed. adored with all
the ardor of Indian fervor. Snake
Chief was q noted warrior of the
W1nnebagoes. and was very much
liked by his tribe. He was O power
ful and brawny fellow, and when
sober was peaceful and good natured;
when drunk he was ugly and dis
agreeable. One of his favorite pas
times, when in this condition, was
beating his wives.
On Friday last, Snake Chief re-
turned to his wigwam drunk. Sees
ka was in the wigwam, and the chief
commenced beating her over the
head and shoulders. Driven to des-
peration, and unable longer to stand
his brutality, she drew her knife and
stabbed the chief twice, the blade
penetrating the heart of the warrior,
who died instantly 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 they loved
their chieftain's wife. It is a we'll
known regulation" among the In
dians that when q man is slain, q
relative must avenge his death by
taking the life of the slayer. Sees
ka knew this. Some of the Winnie
bagoes urged her to fly, but she
would not. With true Indian resig-
nation, she folded her blanket about
her and sat down in her wigwam,
facing the door, and awaited her
avenger. 1t was believed by many
that He-nee-kee, the younger and
favorite wife, would be the avenger,
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
Trempeleau, where Snake Chiefs
relatives were, to notify them of
what had taken place. Meanwhile,
Se-es-ka sat in her cabin, chanting
the death song, stoically Indifferent
to what was going on about her, and
only talking when questions were
asked her.
On Sunday morning, an Indian
from Trempeleau made his appear
ance in camp. He was known as
Chan-no-ne-ga, and had evidently
travelled without halting since he
learned the death of Snake Chief.
Entering the camp, without word,
he walked solemnly to the place
where the body of Snake Chief lay,
took q long look at it, and then
turned sullenly away. Nobody spoke
to him, yet all watched with interest
his movements. Deliberately load
ing his gun with buck-shot, he unin-
terruptedly walked deliberately to the
wigwam where Se-es-ka sat, she hav-
ing remained there since the murder,
and took one look at the woman,
who loudly chanted the dcath-song.
Not q muscle of the woman's face
moved, to denote that she labored
under any excitement, but she sat
there quietly and calmly, her eyes
moving upwards, and her voice, as
the uncouth song escaped her lips,
steady and firm. She knew the
avenger was before her-that in
another moment her spirit would
leave the frail tenement of clay and
seek that of the chief who had gone
before her; yet no look or sign indi-
Gated that she feared the fate. Such
is Indian stoicism and indifference.
The eyes of the two did not meet.
In the face of Chan-no-ne-g there
was look of mingled hate and re-
venge. Deliberately he raised his
musket to his deliberatel,
he aimed it ut the woman's head
coolly he fired. The report rang out
| throu0b tho Indian oonon tbo -, o1,o