St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-20
HoLE-IN-THE-DAY.

man senator. He was a large man, with
high cheek-bohes, Well-poiSed head,
brilliant black eyes and hair. and with
a pleasant smile he exclaimed while
passing" BoUshu nechee''-how to do
frieHd?-and took seat near me. There
was massive characteristic about the
man which did not belong to the ordi-
nary Indian. and yet he had all the in-
dian peculiarities. Dinner was soon
announced, and he took seat
near me at the table. He
ate with ordinary delibPra'ion
and slowed away an Ordinary
amount of food, but while so engaged
one of the windows was suddenly dark
ened, aid on looking up beheld many
grimy faces and burning eyes, with
War-paint and feathers, the pOsseSS0rs
of which belonged to the Sioux nation.
and which nation had been for years
and was then at war with the Chippe-
was. Cleaning knives and partially
covered tOnahawkS made my position
by the side OF the Chippewa chief
Father uncomfortable. SO [ moved; but
he continued to eat. and the the door
opened and some ten or twelve Sioux
warriors filed along in front of the foe
of their people, with ciinched rifles and
hearts glowing with revenge. Still
calm. with not muscle of his m0biEe
face denoting fear, the chief finiShedl
his dinner, cody arose, drew his blanket
about him, and with iordly tread. a
compressed lip and q flashing eye,
walked down iii front of these hostile
Sioux. and lighting his pipe. deliberately
pulled the smoke into the very faces of
his inyeterate foes. That man was Hole
in-the-Day, the Chief of the Ghippewa
nation. and the Sioux warriors were OH 4
his war-path, but they feared the white
mans troops at Fort Smelling that.
would dart down upon them the mo
ment a blow had been given, So they
restrained their wrath and let the great!
chief -depart unmoleSted. au
H0le-in-the-Day was an Indian of re-
markable sagacity and intelligence. He /
associated with the whites and compfe-
hended their ideas of civilization. He
was very willy and very brave, and
greatly feared by his enemies. 1T is
SAID of him that he would float down the
Mississippi river in his canoe to st.
Paul. paddle across the stream to the
opposite shore. secrete his boat, lay in
wait for the Sioux, who were in the
habit of following the trail to Mendoza,
then pOunce down upon them, kill one
or two, secure their scalpS and make his
way back to the east shore and thence
home. He visited Washington several
times, and became pretty we'll versed in
the ways of tricksterS and politicians.
Once, while on aviSit to the capital, he
fell in love with white waiter girl in
the National hotel, proposed to her,
was accepted and they were married
He came West, repaired his home near
Fort Ripley, Installed his wife i'll his
tepee as the white Indian queen, and
soon after he was aSsaSsinated while
riding home with his little son. probably
i,,tr 1f nf hn =
his SquaWS.
This white widow of Hole-in-the- Day
lives at present, or did live, in Minneap-
oils, where her son held position in
the poStOfffep. but | believe he is now
liz some official position on the White
Earth reservation. Ignatius dole-inthe-
Day, the oldest brother, and heir APP
parent to the chieftainship, was drowned
ill the Illinois river i'll Chicago about
| one year ago. OF course he was full
blood. His brother, or rather his half
brother, the son of the white wife, is
fine, genteel, well educated young man,
aud quite attractive in his appearance.
The head men of the tribe have been
anxious to have him take the place of
his father, but in an iatervieW with me
he said. while he would like TODD some
thing for his people, he could not go
from civilization back into the habits of
the Indians, as he would be obliged TO
do to hold any power over them.
The chief Hole-in-the-Day had
magnificent physical organization. He
was very straight. quite dignified, and
yet very affable, and witliaI he was
very generally liked by the whites.
During the Sioux outbreak in Mime
sofa in 1862, he had oYertures from
Little Grow. the great Sioux chief, to
join with him in massacreing the
whites, but he declined the honor, al
though some of his people were anxious
10 have him do SO. st. Paul. in early
times. without Enthusiastically would
be like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet
left out.
On the bank of the upper Mississippi
above Little Falls, in Minnesota, lies the
body of the once great Chippewa chief,
and that of his father, Hole-in-the-Day:
| another noted chief before him, both
bodies facing south, So they can watch
the movements of their enemies-the
Sioux. There is a depression between
the two hills upon which the bodies lie,
and i'll the middle of this depression
stands lone tree, conveying the idea
| from the roadside that a sentinel was
guarding the graves. But how changed
is everything now! Gone are the In
dians and their chieftainS, but in their
places have come grand cities. and back
of these roar the great waves of civiliza-
ton as they roll onward IN their Wild
career to the Pacific ocean.