Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-07-18
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From the Kansas City Times
FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE AS 4 SQUAW.

FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE AS sQUAW.
The steamer Fontenelle arrived at this city
Yesterday morning, after a three months trip
to Fort Benton and the mountains. Among
her miscellaneous cargo of robes furs, peltries
and Nebraska corn was female named Miss
Amanda Barber, nee Squatting Bear, who, in
fit of fanatical romance, offered herself in
1867 as q voluntary missionary to the Brule
Sioux, then occupying the territory between
the Cheyenne River and the Big Horn Noun
tains, Dakota Territory.
Miss Barber created quite sensation in the
Eastern States by her marriage with young
Indian named Squatting Bear, who accompa-
MED party of Sioux to Washington in 1867.
Miss Barber was at that time clerk in one
of the Departments at Washington, in posi-.
ton secured for her by General Butler, before
the impeachment fasco. According to her
own statement, made yesterday to our repor-
ter, she was firmly impressed with the ideality
and perfection of the red men of the plains.
She had read everything relating to the Indian
tribes, from the reports of the commissioner of
Indian affairs down to the latest dime novel.
In a fit of enthusiasm or temporary insanity,
she offered herself to, and became the wife of
Squatting Bear, junior chief in the Lone
Horn band of Brule Sioux, and with him and
his party returned to the Yankton agency,
where she was duly initiated into her new life
as white squaw. Her romantic ideas OF In
dian life seemed to have received terrible
shock since her introduction to her new home
and relations, and though she endeavored to
fulfil her mission as teacher and missionary
to the best of her ability, her progress appears
to have been as slow as the progress of civili-
zation on the plains. She states that her first
great surprise was being required to mount
upol a wild, vicious pony, and travel without
saddle or attention, over the country from the
Missouri to the White Earth River, distance
of several hundred miles. Her inability to
make the journey provoked mirth among her
husbands companions, and finally exaspera-
ted Squatting Bear until he bound her with
rope to the pony's back and led the animal
himself on the westward trail. She was still
more surprised to find her husband possessed
of two other wives, one a vicious, dirty squaw,
of forty years of age, the other girl of scarce
ly fourteen years. Her life in his wigwam,
or teepe, was not as bright and happy as she
expected it would be. Herhusbands's absence
was taken advantage of by her rivals to COM
pei her to perform the vilest drudgery, such as
gathering wood, cooking meat, and scraping
robes for the tanning process; but during
Squatting Bears presence at home Miss Barber
appears to have been better treated. Her
husband, in violent fit Of passion, killed his
oldest squaw during the first year she was with
the tribe, when without warning or notice she
was hurried on to the main camp of the Brules,
three days journey towards the mountain, and
from thence she accompanied the tribe on its
annual buffalo hunt, where she became sick
from exposure and fatigue. She was left at
temporary drying camp at Rawhide 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 Cheyenne chief, who sported the
expressive soubriquet of Coo. Goose, or Bacon
sides. She was taken North in 1870, and has
remained with the Cheyennes ever since, un-
til her escape this spring. when she made her
appearance at and claimed the protection OF
the authorities at Fort Benton. Miss Bar
ber's experience would no doubt make story
more thrilling than that of the Escaped
Nun" She is woman rather plain in ap.
pearance, skin tawny and black, eyes small,
dark and expressive voice rather masculine
and, in fact, just such woman as Mrs. Colo
mel Anthony or Tennie ClaAin would choose
for second in command. Miss Barber con-
versed with our reporter without the least diff
fdence, and answered any question asked of
her. She says that, so far as the romance of
Indian life is concerned, she found none of it.
Her efforts to teach and reform the young In
dian children were treated with Indifference
and contempt. She learned the Sioux Ian
guage easily, but the Cheyenne dialect was
harder to acquire She has much higher
opinion of the Cheyennes than Of the Sioux.
The latter tribe, she says, are to blame for
nearly all thieving and numbering done in the
white settlements She found it necessary to
paint and color like the rest of the tribe while
she was with them, and twice witnessed the
murder or executions of white men, one a
soldier belonging to the Thirty-second United
States Infantry, who had been taken while out
hunting, who was burnt and scalped the 9th
ers were two teamsters, brought from Fort
Mcpherson. All three were burnt at place
called "Saddler's Hill," in the Nebraska
"Bad Lands"
Miss Barber has poor opinion Of Grants
Quaker policy, which she says is perfect
farce, and is so regarded by the Indians. She
asserts that there will be no peace while men
intrude into the buffalo range or tempt the
cupidity of the Indians by bringing stock and
valuables out into exposed frontier settlements.
The Indians have the greatest contempt for
the white mans judgment and the efficacy of
the soldiers. u.
Miss Barber left the steamer Fontenelle at
this port, and after few hours rest started on
her way to the home of her friends at Milford,
Massachusetts.