The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

Zen and enraged, began to move eff. Then
lie told MS he had but just learned oil the
trouble himself, and should protect us as
long as he could. He fulfilled his promise,
even writing two letters which he sent
clandestinely to General Sibley. urging him
to procure the release OF captlves. lie TOOK
US 10 his own village. where he ie1t us
hidden while he went to see what his
soldiers might be doing He warned
us not TO expose ourselves, ana
said he would return as soon as possible,
We spent terrible day. with neither food
nor water, not daring to stir out to procure
either. About 9 O'Clock in the evening
three young women. captives, were brought
in, one mortallY wounded with SHOT
through the lungs, received while trying 10
escape from her captors. We all remained
In hiding nearly four days. during which
time the Sayages attacked Fort RidGely and
New UIm, and the terrible battle OF Birch
COulie was fOught-the most fearful in the
whole history of our Indian wars On the
afternoon of the fourth day the Indians all
returned. The whites were aroused. Cen
eral Sibley with his army was in pursuit OF
the Indians, and after a council 1t was de-
cided that all should proceed north and
escane into the British possessions.
Several councils were held over us cap,
tiyeS. Most If the Indians were tor killing
us at Ouce but Wa-ba-Shaw and some
others fought determinedly for our lives.
holding out 10 the hostile ones hopes OF our
being ransomed and doing all they could to
dissuade the biOOdthirsty ones. 1t was an
awful experience to listen TO DEBATES In a
language We could only imperlectly under
stand, but on which We knew our lives de-
pended. ! wish / could describe the assem-
blies. The Indians were laden with plunder
of every description and arrayed in the most
Impossible OF costumes. Some OF the men
wore wOmen's summer b0nnets on their
heads, trimmed with lace and flowers, while
the fronts Of their calico shirts were
adorned with brooches and all sorts of jew
ery, their ears hung with wheels and
hrasses taken from clocks, while their
lower limbs were clad IN furs. the tails OF
the animals still dangling from them. But
for the horror OF the scene II would have
been extremely ludicrOus. The dark side
was always plainly in view. Language
could hardly tell the awfnlness Of some OF
their Tecitals of the bl00dshed they had just
taken part in. Their faces were streaked
with warpaint in all col0rs of the rainbow,
and they looked more like demons than
men. We had started on our Journey TO the
British possessions and these councils used
to take place at night We had given up
ell hope of escaping and my Oldest boy
hardly 9 years old, began 20 almost look
forward to death as an escape from the
horror. IF only, mamma, he said 10 me
often, 'they wont kill us with knives" He
had a horror of the knife and hoped he
would be shot.
During the first day of our journey NORTH
we passed the agency, and my house. 1t
was in the midst of a terrible storm. The
rain came down in sheets. 1t was very
dark, and the thunder and lightning gave
added horror to the scene. ! passed more
than one of my friends and neghbors lying
on the ground. which was literally strewn
with their bodies, that had been there for
DAYS. The settlement was RACED to the
ground, and nothing remained but ruins. l
remember plainly how Manley, the brave
ferryman, lay dead at his post. Well, after
several DAYS travel, we encamped near the
HaZelw0Od Mission, above Yellow Med-
cine. Messengers had been sent to General
Sibley. by the Indians. asking what he
would do about recovering the captlYeS.
His reply was for the Indians to surrender
us and lie would then treat with them, but
not before. The Indians then decided that
they would kill all the feeble and sick cap
tiyes, aud go on with the rest to the far
north.
"Where were the soldiers and your friends
at this time?" the writer asked Mrs. Sweet.
They were at Fort Ridgely. was the
reply. defending the beleaguered garrison
ana those who had fed there for safety.
The Indians made two attacks on the fort.
and were repulsed at the second one.
Those at the fort, though they won, were
nearly exhausted before General Sibley
arrived. lie dispatched corps Of 80 men
to bury the dead and follow the enemy.
My husband had heard of the trouble the
second day after he left home, and return
ing at once 10 the fort was one of this conf
mand sent out.
To 60 back to the camp at the mission.
Mrs. Sweet continued. We had become
so weakened by hunger and fatigue that we
knew we could never endure the journey the
Indians proposed. We had been in captivity
some three weeks, travelling nearly all the
time, and during all that time it rained in
p0GqAntiV n /
those dreadful weeks l was never dry.
Most Of the time our clothing was soaked
with the water. Well, we decided to make
desperate attempt to escape. Among our
captors was one friendly Indian named
Ton -whu-ite-ton, member of the mission
church, who said he would aid us. He had
found canoe and skiff on the river the
Yellow Medieine). The canoe leaked badly
but the skiff was in good reralr We were
lucky to find these, for the Indians destroyed
every boat they came across to prevent es-
capes by their means. This Christian Indian
planned our escape, and promised to accom-
pany us. The time he set for the attempt was
the last night of the encampnlent at the mis-
sion. 1t was our last chance as the company
would leave the river next day. A friendly
squaw, the mother OF our deliyerer, provided
us with a small sack containing some -four,
which was all the food we could procure,
and about O'Clock on the morning OF the
10th of September we crept silently out OF
camp on our hands and knees, expecting
death any moment. The baby even seemed
to understand the necessity for silence and
creDt softly as any one OF US. We went IN
single file, the Indian coming last, care
fully rearranGing the grass behind
him and removing all traces of our
passage. The hour had been well timed.
The Indians had couns eled late over Slb.
ley's message, and being exhausted slept
soundly. We crept on until we reached the
hf.h haah 4ar
Keeping forward until daybreak we came
to swampy lake, where the reeds grew
something like the tules here In California,
but higher and thicker. Out into this lake
we waded until the water was nearly to my
waist. The Indian bent down some oil the
reeds and we sat upon them and waited. In
the distance we could hear the Indians break