The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1899-12-22
SLEEPY EYE.
A Sketch Of the Old Indian
Chief Whose Bones were
Recently Removed
to Minnesota.
Written by the First White Man
Born in Minnesota.

The following interesting narrative
is from the pen of A. w. Williamson
of Rock Island, H., professor ot
mathematics in the Augustana Col
lege, and son of DR.. Williamson the
first Indian missionary west of the
Mississippi river. The letter is ad
dressed to A. G. Won Hagen through
whose efforts it was scured and in an
introductory note to Mr.. Won Hagen
he says:
Il greatly regret that being just
now very busy l cannot finish up the
sketch of Sleepy Eye in manner
worthy of the subject. His name in
Dakota was Ishta khba Eye sleepy J.
The vowels and the are pronounced
almost exactly as the.same letters in
German, the sh as in English, the kh
almost exactly as ch in Hanoveiran
German. How the story started of
his participating in hostility to the
whites | can't imagine. | never be-
anything of the kind. Father thought
it probable that but for his being
driven from his Swan Lake home in
violation of his understanding of the
treaty he would have been living at
the time of the outbreak. He was
much the Oldest chief of the Dakotss,
who have great respect for old chiefs.
Had he been alive and living on the
life reservation he asked for, father
have dared stir up the outbreak or
daring could have succeeded. Som
Of the band said that but for this i'll
usage, embittering his last days, re-
spect for his momory would have kept
them faithful to the whites.''
''In reply to your favor of the Goth
would say that it is alike pleasure
TO do favor to the companion of
Kind friend, and to give any itformat-
ton l can to my former townsman.
Old Sleepy Eye, as he was always
called by the whites, as long ago as
can remember, was as interesting a
character as ever knew. Something
the matter with the muscles controlling
The upper eyelid OF his left eye, caus-
ed it to be partly closed except when
tully opened by q voluntary effort;
whence his name. Like the town
which bears his name, he was the ex-
IRENE opposite OF Sleepy Eye in
character. I remember very distinctly
his appearance and part of what he
said when he called upon us, while we
were passing through Travres des
Sioux In 1843 and many things since,
but regret that can give no connected
account of his life. feel sure however
that stories that he was hostile to the
whites are figments of the Imagination
q shadow of found alton. He
was probably born few years before
the Declaration OF Independence, and
became chief of a very small band
prior to the war of 1912, located either
at Sleepy Eye or Swan Lake, do not
know which. A few families at each
place recognized him chief long before
my time. He was above the average
in size and much above the average in
strength. He had powerful voice,
was fluent speaker, and like all other
Dakota chiefs was strictly accurate in
the use OF language, yet he was not
one OF the orators of the nation, for
the reason that he did not rank high
intellectually, and had much higher
opinion OF his acuteness than any OF
his friends, frequently causing laugh
ter among his audiences just where he
did not intend it. His good natured
egotism and vanity contrasted strong
~ with his other qualities. He was
strictly honest and truthful, never con
senting to take more goods on credit
than he felt sure he could pay for the
next hunt. Not great in intellect, he
had great heart, full of sympathy for
all in distress. He was ever ready to
give his last morsel and none could
give more cheerfully and kindly when
giving meant starving. He was a
man Of remarkable physical strength
and endurance, and skillful hunter.
II deer, elk or buffalo were plenty, he
never killed more thancould beeaten OF
dried. In times OF scarcity he exerted
himself to the utmost. Among the
Dakotas, chiefs had no power, but he
was father to his little band and ex'
pected them to always yield to him.
They could laugh as heartily as any