Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-04-20
CHAPTER XVI.

~NHE territory that now comprises
the two states of North and
South Dakota was a part of the
great hunting range of the pow
erful Dakota or Sioux nation,
whose allied tribes once rOamed over the
stretch Of country lying north of the Platte
river, and between the Mississippi river
and the Rocky mountains, and extending
northward as far as the severity Of the
climate would permit Of their j~Ourneying.
Tradition is silent as to the ancient name
borne by these mysterious nomads Of the
plains. The first explorers found them
here, a nation without a literature and APP
parently without a history.
Their records of the past are few and
rude, being limited to crude pictures,
painted upon the tanned skin of deerbides.
Some of these leathern records date back
a century or more, but such is the faithful
ness of their keepers in carrying out the
traditions of their race, that forbid their
records to be shown or the secrets OF their
nation to be disclosed to a white man that
but few know of their existence. l have
seer some of these leathern records that
were captured as spoils of war but there is
no key to decipher their meaning and they
are still unsolved enigmas, as mysterious
as the secrets locked up in Egyptian hero
glyphics. The traditions of the various
tribes pass verbally from n generation to
another, the prophets instructing the
youth in a knowledge of the laws and his
tory of their race and the parents teaching
their children the customs and usages of
their tribe.
In the traditions of all the tribes there is
much said of the Abenaznis, a reputed
nation who were claimed to have lived in
the east over the great water and who were
the forefathers of all the red men in the
world. They are described as a wise and
great people, learned in many arts and
having vast herds of cattle. The Indians
all believe that the redmen were originally
one people but that some of the powerful
chiefs or leaders in some way displeased
the Great Spirit and the nation was broken
UP into tribes and dispersed. After that
each tribe spoke a different language and
they fought with each other when they met
in their wanderings about the great plains
Of the earth. To this 'Tower of Babel'
tradition the Sioux invariably add that
their nation was the most warllke and
soon gained supremacy over all the other
tribes.
Aside from these traditions there is no
clue to their origin on their past. The
name Sioux bestowed upon them by the
French explorers, is not pleasing to them.
They prefer to be called "Dakotas." a
name in respect to the origin of which
there is novel conjecture. l have a theory
of my own in regard to the truth of which
1 Am convinced. 1t may convince no one
else, still l will give it, and it may take its
chances among the many ingeniously
pleasing theories in regard to the origin OF
this word. At Fort Rice there was an old
Rec woman, who was very fond of me.
She used to come skipping and waving her
arms, as happy as a little child when she
saw me coming to the Indian quarters
with my husband. She was quite lntelli-
gent, and would answer my questions in
regard to the native tribes of this country
their customs, most patiently. One day
our talk was of the hated enemy, the Sioux
@'Many winters ago." I said (the Indians
reckon time by winters) $50 many that
your grandfather wa but a pappoose
where did the seche Sioux liveW
Turning toward the river, she pointed
to the rangeSOf hills on the opposite side
aud then waving her hand to indicate the
surrounding country, she answered "Sioux
du coteau," Yes, the Dakotas I mean
.sWhere did the Dakota Sioux live in the
long gone ?? Again came the same gest
ure, and the reply in a slightly impatient
tone, aSioux, du coteau." l was puzzled
at first, then it flashed into my mind thai
the term aPlateau du coteau du Missouri
had been applied to the billy country eas'
Of the river by the early French explorers
.Do you mean that the Sioux lived on thu
~APlateau dn coteau ?" I began. She
nodded her head, with a gesture of as
sent, Eyes, Sioux lived du %coteau, du
a new thought.
The Sioux who had originally lived or
the east side of the river were the Thank
EtOnwanna Sioux, or jewellers on the
heights.n This poor Indian woman was
trying to tell me that the Sioux once lived
east of the river, among the hills. She was
correct. I asked her how long since she
had first heard the words sPlateau du
coteau," were they of the Indian tongue
and what did they mean. They We're priest
words, she said, meaning French. The
Indians call the French the priest Language
because they first heardit from the French
Jesuits.
She pointed to a little pappoose in its
mothers arms to indicate that the words
were known when she was so small al
that. Then with her hand she marked OF
above the surface of the ground many de
pressions and elevations with occasional,
winding lines between to indicate hills anG
valleys, with streams interwinding. HaG
she placed these on paper as skillfully al
her speaking.gestures traced them in The
air, it would have made a perfect map Of
the country between the Missouri and thu
James rivers. This incident led to thu
conviction IN my mind that when the frs