Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-12-24
nae EouAL oE A WARRIOR.
A. Indian WomaE Who Distinguished
Herself After Being Captured.

A. Indian womaE Who Distinguished
Herself After Being Captured.
Old Suns wife sits in the council OF her
nation-the only woman, white, red or
black, Of whom / have ever heard who en-
joys such a prerogative on shis continent.
She earned her peculiar privileges II any
one ever earned anything. Forty or more
years ago she WAS Piegap maiden known
only in her tribe, and therefore nothing
more than her good origin, her comeliness
and her consequent value in horses. She
met with outrageous fortune, but she
turned it to such good account that she
was speedily ennobled. She was at home
In a little camp on the plains one day and
had wandered away from the tents, when
she was kidnapped.
1t was in this wise: Other camps were
scattered near there. On the night before
the day of her adventure band of Crows
stole number Of horses from a camp of
the Gros Ventres, and very artfully trailed
their plumber toward and close to the Pie
gan camp before they turned and made
their way to their own lodges. When the
Gros Ventres discovered their loss and fol-
lowed the trail that seemed to lead to the
Piegan camp the girl aud her father, an
aged chief, were at distance from their
tepees, unarmed and unsuspecting.
Down swooped the Gros Ventres. They
killed and scalped the old man, and then
their chief swung the young girl upon his
horse behind him, and binding her to him
with thongs of buckskin dashed off trium-
phantly for his own village That has hap
pened to many another Indian maiden,
80 VII hau 1ah axyad n
plaster image, saving few days of weep
ing. Not such was Old Suns wife. When
she and her captor were in sight of the
Gros Ventre village. she reached forward
and stole the chiefs scaiping knife out of
its sheath at his SIDE With it still wet
with her fathers blood, she cut him in the
back through to the heart.
| Then she freed his body from hers and
tossed him from the horses back. Leap
| ing to the ground beside his body, she not
only scalped him, but cut off his right
arm and picked up his gun and rode
madIy back to her people, chased most OF
the way, but bringing safely with her the
three greatest trophies warrior can wrest
from vanquished enemy. Two of them
would have distinguished any brave, but
this mere village maiden came with all
three. From that day she has boasted the
right to wear three eagle feathers.
Old Sun was young man then, and
when he heard of this feat he came and
hitched the requisite number of horses to
her mothers travois poles beside her tent.
do not recall how many steeds she was
valued at, but l have heard of very high
priced Indian girls who had nothing ex
cept their feminine qualities to recommend
them. In one case | knew that young
man, who had been casting what are called
"sheep's eyes" at maiden, went one day
and tied four horses to her fathers tent
Then he stood around and waited, but
there was no sign from the tent.
Next day he took four more, and so h'
went on until he had tied sixteen horses tt
the tepee. At the least they were wortl
twenty dollars, perhaps thirty dollars
apiece. At that the maiden and her peo
pie came out, and received the young MAJ
so graciously that he knew he was 9Th
young woman's CHOICE" as we say in civil
lied circles, sometimes under very simila
circumstances.
At all events, Old Sun was rich and pow
: erful, and easily got the savage heroine fo
his wife. She was admitted to the Black
foot council without protest, and hH
since proven that her valor was not sport
die, for she has taken the warpath upo
occasion, and other scalps have gone to he
credit-Julian Ralph in Harper's