The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-11-27
AN INDIAN CAPTIVE IN so.

like this and would kill the women
LIE they kept up their CRYING, and
would not be good to me if / cried.
/ knew that this was true and re-
solved to do my best to please them.
After we had eaten, my little boy
was playing in front Of the house.
/ stood just outside the door watch
ing him, when Little Grow came
and pushed me inside the door, tel
ling me to keep inside Of the house,
out of sight of the Indians, or they
would kill me. Of course / obeyed
him.
Mrs. Earle. Mrs. White and were
now together, and as we were walk
ing in front of Little Crows house,
we saw white man walking some
distance from us, and we went to
him. We found it was Mr.. Geo. H.
Spencer, clerk in one Of the stores
at the Agency. He was wounded in
seven places and was the only white
man in the camp at the time. The
Indians dressed his wounds, and he
was finally delivered to General Sib-
ley at Camp Release when the other
prisoners were rescued.
/ soon began to fully realize what
it meant to be a prisoner of the
Indians, and to suspect the fate far
worse than death which awaited
me. Was there no way of escape?
The Indian leader whom the whites
called john who had made us cap
tives now came and said his tepee
was up and that we should all go
with him. We did so, and on
reaching his tepee we found his
squaws outside preparing supper
of which we all partook. After
supper Mrs. Earle was taken away
and / did not see her again.
A squaw furnished me some blank
cts with which to make bed for
my children and myself, and soon
the little ones were sleeping soundly.
Mrs. White and / remained together
and sat up all night. The excite
met in camp among the Indians was
very great, and Mrs. White, who
was newcomer in the country
and unaccustomed to their ways,
was very nervous and alarmed.
/ did all / could to reassure
her, remembering how l had suf-
fered when | first saw large.
number of the red fends together,
on my arrival at LaCroix's some
years before.
Later in the evening Little Crow
came and told us that we must
make ourselves some clothing like
that worn by the Indian women,
and braid our hair like theirs. |
talked with him about the uprising
against the whites. He said he was
determined to take back the lands
of his people; that he would kill all
the whites as far down the Mime
sofa valley as St. Peter, and then he
would take possession Of all the
country north and west. / asked
him about the soldiers Of the gov
eminent and he said there were
none left in Minnesota nothing but
women and old men; all the strong
men had gone south to fight for the
negroes.
AS soon as he had gone squaw
brought in some blue broadcloth for
our skirts and some calico for our
waists and sacques. The squaw's
costume at that time was not an
elaborate work of art, like the FASH
ionable dress of today. The skirt
consisted of two yards of broadcloth
simply made by sewing the two ends
together. The extra fullness folded
over the hips and was tied on with
a scarf. The sacques or basques
were made by folding a piece of
calico together, cutting out a hole
for the head to pass through, and
another on each side to form the
sleeve. The seam under each arm
was all there was to sew.
Mrs. White sewed much faster
than I could and got her costume
done first, but was very 10th to put
it on; but I persuaded her that we
had better do as the Indians wished
US, for we had everything to lose
and nothing to gain by opposing or
displeasing them. When we put on