The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1876-08-24
spotted Tall's Daughter.

LaTuHllcj w yOHILS lcIiitOIy, WIS
the following romantic story about
the daughter of Spotted Tail, the IA
nous Sioux chief, which we do not
remember having seeninprint. He
says;
Twenty yards from the new hos
pital, on the hill overlooking Fort
ILarmie, are two Indian graves-i e.,
collins raised fifteen feet from the
ground, on stout poles. One of these
collins contained the bones OF young
daughter of Spotted Tail, the famous
chief of the Sioux tribe, who died in
1854.
The tribe of Spotted Tail was at
that time permanently located near
this fort, and the chief and his fam
lily were treated with much consid-
Grafton by the ollicers-volunteers,-
The young squaw was one of the
fairest of the dusky maidens of her
tribe. She was alored by her old
father, and her hand sought by many
of the warriors. Unfortunately for
her, the charms of her dusky face
and figure were not passed unnotic-
ed by the pale faces, and certain
gay captain found opportunity to
whisper pleasant nonsense in her
ears. Moonlight strolls and waysidc
meetings were soon in order, and the
flowers Of Sioux began to sigh for the
company of the gallant pale face.
She made known her story of love to
her father and he Immediately wait
ed upon the young officer and de.
manded his hand in marriage to his
daughter The captains name was
not Smith, however, and he was
"a a,ningly ignorant of the precedent
If p, c2hontas, for he positively de-
cline3 tie honor conferred.
RE n, ahief, more in sorrow than
in orgor RI, urned with the crushing
news to his dan qhter. It was burn
i,,y sun to the ~ .lf% Flower" of the
Sioux. She droopca 'ad began to
wither and her father, US /" last re-
sort, sent her to visit sonle relatives
whose hunting grounds were on lhe
Father of Waters, five hundred mlIcs
away, Hers was u disease, howoys.r'
which change or scene and are did,
not affect, and she had been gone but
q short time when a mounted mes
senger came to her father in breath
less haste to summon him to the wig
wan of death. Mounting his swift
est pony he galloped madly over the
plains, and then only reached his
daughters side in time to receive her
dying request that she should be
buried at Fort Larmie.
His promise was kept, and the
broken,hearted girl was raised to the
last resting place amid one of the
grandcst displays ever witnessed on
the plains; soldiers and Indiansalike
participated, and twenty Indian po-
MES were killed in her honor The
commanding officer of the fort gave
his solemn promise to the old chief
that the box containing the body Of.
his daughter should never be dis
turbed, This promise had been sa.
credly observed until two months
since, when a moddling army sur
geon, just before starting on an ex-
petition with General Crook, emp
tied the coffin of its sacred contents
gave the bones to subordinate, and
ordered him to expose them to the
sun occasionally during the summer
TO bleach them, and upon his return
he would refresh his anatomy with
the skeleton.
Imagine the feeling of this sub one
day not long since upon being con.
fronted by another surgeon, and the
query, tremulously put, if he did not
have the bones of Spotted Tails fair
daughter in his possession, He an
swoyed anirmatiyely, and was further
questioned about the accompanying
bedding, wroppings, trinkets, &c,
This had all been burned, except
two rings and bracelets, and Spotted
Tail had just arrived for the purpose
of removing the remains to his own
agency 1t was feared that if the
dissertation of the grave became
known to him it would cause him to
abandon his peaceful attitude and
Join his brethren on the war path,
N,,,rl;u,sl,, Of Inpl az ,ipht thn