Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1872-09-05

The Kansas City (Mo.) Times has the
following particulars of a story briefly
ma r.ted BY telegraph previously:
The steamer Fontenele arrived at this
city yesterday morning, after three
months trip to Fort Benton and the
mountains. Among her miscellaneous,
cargo of robes, turs, peltries and Nc
bra.ka corn, was female named Miss
Amanda Baker. nee squattlng Bear, who
in a fit Of fanatical ro.uance, offered her
self. in 1867. as u voluntary missionary
to the Brule Sioux, then occupying the
territory between the Cheyenne river apd
the Big Hon mountains, Dakotah Terri
tory.
Miss Barber created qnits sensation
in the Eastern States by her marriage
With young Indian named Squatting
Bear, who accompanied party o. Sioux
to Washington III 1867. Miss Barber
was at that time clerk in one of the
Departments at Washington. in position
secured for her by Gen. Butler. before
the impeachment iasco. According to
her own statement, made yesterday to
our reporter, sac was firmly impressed
with the Ideally aud perfection of the
red men OF the pluius. She had read
everything relating to the Indian tribes,
from the reports OF the Commissioners Of
Indian affairs down to the latest dime
novel. In ! fit Of enthusiasm or tenn
porary insanity, she offered herself to aud
became the wife of oquatiing Bear, a
junior chief in the Lone Horn band OF
Brule Sioux, and With him aud his party
returned to the Yankton agency, where
she was duly initiated into her new life
as q white squaw Her romantic ideas of
Indian life seemed to have received ter
rible shock since her introduet on 10 her
new home and relations. and though she
endeavered to fulill her mission as
teacher and missionary to the best Of her
ability, her progress appears to have been
as slow as the progress OF utilization on
the plaius. SAe states that her first great
surprise was being required to mount a
wild, vicious pony, aud travel without
saddle or attention over the country irom
the Missouri to the White Earth river,
distance of several hundred miles. Her
inability to make tho journey provoked
mirth among her husbands companions.
aud finally exasperated Squatting Bear
until he b1uad her with rope to the
poay,,s back and led the animal, himself
on the westward trail. She was still
more surprised to ind her husband
possessed Of Two other wives, one q vicious
dirty squaw Of forty years of age. the
other girl of scarcely fourteen years.
Her life in his wigwam. or teepee, was
not as bright and happy as she expected
it would be. Her husbands absence was
taken advantage of to compel her to per-
form the yilest drudgery such as gather
ing wood, cooking meat, scraping robes
for the tanning process, but during squat
ting Bears presence at home Miss Barber
appears to hSKe been better created. Her
husband, III sNiolent it Of passion. kill,
ed his Oldest sqaaw during the first year
she was with the tribe, when, without
warning or notice, she was hurried off to
the main camp Of the Brules. three days
journey towards the mountains, and from
thence she accompanied the tribe on les
annual buffalo hunt, where shs became
sick from exposure md fatigue. She was
left at temporary drying camp at Raw
hide river, where she attempted to escape
by walking to Fort Fetterman, distance
of sixty miles. For this attempt she was
beaten until nearly dead and then sold by
her husband for three ponies to a
Cheyenne Chief, who spor,ed the ex-
pressive soubriauet Of CooCoose, or
Baconsides. She was taken north in
1870, and has remained With the
Cheyennes ever since, uutil her escape
this spring when she made her appear
lance 1T and claimed the protection Of the