Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-08-07

INDIAN BONES.
A Mound Full of them Found Near Panra.
Nebraska.
%INorlnon Nebraska journal, Aug, ..

Northern Nebraska journal, Aug, 81
About a mile northerly from Ponca is
the range ofhigh bluffs which overlook the
Missouri river. Upon one of the highest,
which is or the farm of Mr.. Conrad is a
mound of circular form, about twenty feet
in diameter and ten feet high. Its appear
ance indicates that it was constructed by
human hands, and it is certainly wonderful
that its contents should have remained until
this week uninvestigated by those residing
near by. On Monday a party composed of
Messrs. n. S. Porter, f. Porter, M. Merre-
man, Perringone, L.. sJones, Young and
others, went over 10 the bluffs with pick
axes and spades for the purpose of digging
open the mound and finding out what it
contained. The ground was packed down
very hard, so hard that it was almost as i'm
penetrable as rock. With great difficulty
and labor, this party of explorers were en-
abled to excavate a hole from the top OF the
mound downward about three feet, and some
three or four feet across. They were re-
warded by finding six human skeletons.
These skeletons indicated that those buried
here were of great size,-the skulls were
large but thin,-the jawbones were power
full and armed with tremendously strong
double teeth. With these bones they found
a quantity of charcoal. The skeletons had
been, as near is could be determined, placed
side by side in a sitting position and front-
ing the north. With these bones no beads,
pipes or weapons were found, thus indicat-
ing that the occupants of the mound had
been deprived Of their weapons and orna-
ments before burial.
There is a legend, which is in a measure
corroborated by the history of the voyage of
Lewis and Clark up the Missouri, that sew
enty or eighty years ago the tribes of Indi-
ans in this part Of Nebraska were very tur-
bulent and waged a deadly war upon each
other, and that this vicinity especially was
enliyened by several deadly battles, in
which great numbers of warriors were slain.
IL may be that these Indians were killed
in one of these battles, or they might have
been taken prisoners and tortured to death.
The presence of the charred wood or char
coal would indicate the latter, and that they
were here tortured by fire. That they met
their deaths by violence, and that they were
buried without the respect that the Indians
always bestow upon their friends is shown
by the ignominious manner of their burial.
When Indians bury their friends, pipes,
beads, weapons &c. are placed in the grave
with them in order to give them a suitable
outfit to start business with in the other
world. But in this case not an arrow nor a
bead was bestowed upon them, nor even a
pipe with which to enliyen the journey to
the happy hunting ground.
And from the manner in which the six
Indians were planted, it would seem that
those who thus located them did not propose
that they should ever get to the happy hunt
ing ground at all. Their faces were turned
away from the sun, in which condition ac-
cording to ancient Indian theology, the
spirit was supposed to always grope in a
darkness which rendered his chances of sue
cess in finding the Indian paradise, very
doubtful indeed. This is the ancient In
dian method Of cruelty beyond the grave.
In digging out these bones they were
very badly broken up. A large sackful
were gathered and brought to MIR. Porter's
house for further examination.
There used to live in these parts about
the time of Lewis and Clark's voyage, a ia
nous Indian chief named Mish-te-ne- wah,
and a tough old reprobate he was, if all the
hard stories told about him are true. The
place where he used to live, or in other
words, his capital city, was located about
eighteen miles from Ponca, near the head
of the Daily. There he had a large village
and any number Of warriors. When the
spirit moved him to do so, he marched out
his fighting men and made fearful raids
upon the more numerous, yet more peace
able tribe, which were located at this place,
along the river. Mish-te-ne wah was a
skillful hand in the fighting and strategical
business, and he was therefore generally
successful in his battles, usually taking
large numbers of scalps, and conveying
home a numerous company of prisoners,
who vent with the comfortable assurance
of being burnt at the stake on their arrival.
But finally Mish-te-ne-wah came 10 grief.
He came down one day with some 300 or 400
warriors, and commenced his usual pastime
of ~scalping, when the Indians hereabout,
under the lead, it is said, of a white man,
went for the company Of ~marauders, and
hemming them into one of the ~ravines be
tween Ponca and the river, they captured OF
killed the whole crowd.
Those who were taken prisoners were tied
to stakes, wood piled around them and yari-
GUS interesting ceremonies were gone through
with, the browning feature of which was
setting fire to the wood, which in its turn
set fire to the c~aptives, who not to be behind
in their part of the performances, sang brave.
ly their war songs, until the flames choked
them off. Among the 80 or 40 who were
captured and burned was the warlike Mish.
te-ne-wah, Whose name being Interpreted
signifies "Son of the Sky" and which, had
he lived at this time, would probably have
been corrupted into "Old Sky Scraper")
The place where these gentry had then
threads of life burned off, may possible be a
this very mound which Mr., Porter opened
If so, the bones which he unearthed are only
a small portion Of what will be found on fur
Their investigation.
There are several very interesting legends
relating to the Indians who formerly liyec
in this country, which stories we will en-
deaver to collect and give to our readers.