from:
Minnesota in three centuries, 1655-1908BY LUCIUS F. HUBBARD RETURN I. HOLCOMBE
1908
www.archive.org/stream/minnesotainthree03hubbuoft/minnesotainthree03hubbuoft_djvu.txtIn the spring and summer of 1862 the several Sioux bands
of Minnesota who had been parties to the Treaties of 1851 and
1858 had, with a few exceptions, all their villages and homes
within the young State on their prescribed reservations bordering
the Upper Minnesota River.
The band farthest westward and northward was the Sisseton.
The sub-band of Sissetons farthest west and north was that of
the
Charger, or Wa-ah-na-tan, who was
half Sisseton and half Yanktonnais, of the Cut-Head branch, and a son of old Wa-ah-
na-tan, the noted Sisseton chief. The Charger's band was on the
western shore of Lake Traverse, "near the hills, about the mid-
dle part of the lake," says Mr. Solomon Two-Stars, and in what
is now North Dakota.
Adjoining the Charger's village was the village of
Sweet
Corn (Wamne-heza-skuya), which was also on the Dakota side.
The sub-band of
Standing Buffalo was located between the Big
Stone Lake and Lake Traverse, practically on the present site
of Brown's Valley. The band of
Scarlet Plume (or Scarlet
Eagle Plume, or Wam-bde-pe-doota) was on Big Stone Lake, at
"the bend," or about seventy miles northwest of Yellow Medi-
cine; Scarlet Plume himself commonly lived at Yellow Medicine.
There were five other small bands of Sissetons on the Upper
Reservation, but they were intermingled with the four principal
bands named. Uniform"? band was twenty-five miles west of
Big Stone Lake. The band of young
Sleepy Eye was located about
twenty miles west of Yellow Medicine. Sisseton bands living oS
the Reservation were
Lean Bear's band;, whose village was at a
place near Lake Benton, called by the Indians "Where we pick
up acorns;" this was formerly a part of old Sleepy Eye's band;
the remainder of the old band had for chief a nephew of the
noted old chieftain — who died in 1859 — and he had assumed his
distinguished uncle's name. Two other Sisseton bands living off
the reservation were
Limping Devil's (or Thunder Face's) that
had its village at the Two Woods, near Lake Shetek, on a small
lake, and at a locality called by the Sioux "Where we staked
down the Cheyenne Indian."
Of the Wahpaton band, the sub-chiefs were all near the
Minnesota, and generally about the Yellow Medicine. The band
farthest north was that of
the End (Inkpa) on Big Stone Lake.
Next east or southeast of him was the band of
Extended Tail
Feathers (Oope-ya-hday-ya) formerly called the Orphan, and
head chief of the Wahpatons. Next to it on the east was
Walk-
ing Spirit's band. Then, near the present site of the Camp
Eelease monument, on the south side of the Minnesota, in Yel-
low Medicine County, was the little band of thirty persons under
Mah-zo-manne, (or Walks on Iron, often called
Iron Walker)
although, the chief, a good friend of the whites, and a good man
generally, lived at Yellow Medicine; he was mortally wounded by
accident at Wood Lake. Five miles up the Yellow Medicine
from the Agency was
Cloud Man's band.
About the Yellow Medicine, or Upper Agency, were other
Wahpaton bands. The "Farmers' Bands," composed of Christians,
who had adopted the habits of white civilization, was at the
Hazelwood Mission, three miles or more above the Agency, and
the leader was
Simon Anah-wang-manne, (Goes Galloping on),
who had succeeded little Paul. Another "Farmers' band" near
the Agency was under the
Amazed Man, (E-ne-hah) who was
himself a Sisseton, although nearly all of the members of his
band were Wahpatons; a few of his relatives were located two
miles above the Agency. The band of E-yan-manne (
Running
Walker) had its village about a mile from the Agency.
John
Other Day and
Akepa (Meeting) were the leaders of small bands
that were scattered about the Agency.
According to the agent's census of 1861 the combined Sis-
seton and Wahpaton bands numbered 4,026, and of these 909
were listed as men, and the rest were women and children. The
number of warriors was about 900. Many men were too old to
fight, but many boys of sixteen were able to go on the war path.
The largest band was
Red Iron's, Wahpatons, numbering 369
m-en, women and children, and of these seventy-four were men.
Red Iron's band was located about eighteen miles up the Min-
nesota from the Upper Agency. Near it was the little band of
Rattling Moccasin. The largest band of Sissetons in 1861 was
Standing Buffalo's, numbering 276 men, women and children,
of whom fifty-eight were men.
The Yankton Sioux had their principal villages on the
Missouri River, in the region where is now located the citj' of
Yankton, South Dakota. When Yanktons and Sissetons inter-
married their descendants were called by the whites Yanktonnais,
the French originating the term. There were other mixed blood
Yankton-Sisseton-Teton people who were called Cut Heads (Pah-
baksah), and the Cut Heads, and Yanktonnais, whose combined
membership did not exceed 200, had no permanent villages, or
stations, but roamed over the prairie country in search of the
buffalo upon which they chiefly subsisted. They never came east
of Lac qui Parle, and probably never went farther southward
or westward than the Missouri, but they often followed the
buffalo as far north as the Devil's Lake, and the Turtle Moun-
tain country.
Old Chief Charger was part Yanktonnais, and he
was recognized by those people, and also by the Cut Heads as
their head chief. His son,
the Charger of 1862, allowed some
of his father's relatives among these outside people to be enrolled
as Sissetons and draw annuities, and always at the time of pay-
ment the Cut Heads and Yanktonnais swarmed about the Upper
Agency to pick up what they could among their tribesmen and'
other beneficiaries of the pay table, even though they were com-
monly able to obtain but a few crumbs. Neither the Yanktons,
Yanktoimais, or Cut Heads had taken any part in the Treaties
of 1851, and were not entitled to any share in the payments
thereunder .
Of the two lower bands, the Medawakantons and Wahpa-
akootas — whose reservation began on the eastern bank of the Yel-
low Medicine, on the west, and extended down the Minnesota to
Rock Creek, four miles below Fort Eidgely — the sub-band farth-
est to the westward was the Medawakanton band whose leader
was
the Jug (Mah-kah-zhah-zhah). It was a very small band
whose tepees were a few miles below the Yellow Medicine.
The sub-band of
Shakopee (Six, commonly called Little
Six) was a mile and more west of the mouth of the Eedwood
River. All about the Lower or Redwood Agency, were the other
Medawakanton sub-bands. The old Kaposia village of Little
Crow was on the south side of the Minnesota, a little west of the
small stream called Crow's Creek, nearly opposite the present vil-
lage of Morton. Near Crow's village was the band of the Great
War Eagle, commonly called
Big Eagle (Wam-bde-Tonka) and
this had been the band of
Gray Iron, of Fort Snelling. Below
the Agency was the sub-band of Wah-pahah-sha (meaning liter-
ally Red War Banner) who was commonly called
Wabasha, and
who was the head chief of the Medawakanton band. Near him
was the village of
Wacouta (pronounced Wah-koota, and meaning
the Shooter) who was now chief of the old
Red Wing band. In
this vicinity was the band of
Traveling Hail, sometimes called
Passing Hail (Wa-su-he-yi-ye-dan) .
Old Cloud Man was alive,
but old and feeble, and had turned over the chieftainship to
Travelling Hail, formerly of Cloud Man's band of Lake Calhoun ;
and farther down the Minnesota, but along the crest of the high
bluff bank, was the band of
Mankato who had succeeded his
father, the historic old
Good Road, in the chieftainship of one of
the prominent old Fort Snelling bands. The Wahpakootas were
reduced to one band, whose chief was
Red Legs (Hu-sha-sha)
although
Pa-Pay was recognized as one in authority. The Wah-
pakoota village was below Mankato's on the same side of the
river. There were a dozen or more of the old band still living
about Faribault, that had refused to leave their old homes, and
go upon the reservation.
There was another band which deserves particular mention.
This was composed of a number of Indians, chiefly of Shakopee's
band, who had become dissatisfied with conditions on their reser-
vation, and had crossed to the north side of the little stream
called Rice Creek, above the mouth of the Redwood, and nearly
opposite Shakopee's village, had established a village of their
own. The members were all discontented spirits, of the nature
of Adullamites, who had left their bands because of quarrels,
strifes, or feuds, or because they rebelled at certain restric-
tions which had been placed upon them. In defiance of law
and order they had established their reservation on white
man's land, outside of their own reservation, and they announced
that they were willing to defend their intrusion and trespass at
all hazards. It will be remembered that the Sioux lost all their
land on the left bank of the Minnesota by the Treaty of 1858.
By the accession of recruits from the old bands, even from the
Sissetons and Wahpaton's, the Rice Creek band had, in the early
summer of 1862, about fifty members, with fifteen tepees. They
had also chosen a chief, a somewhat noted warrior called
Red
Middle Voice, (Ho-chokpe-doota) who had belonged to Shako-
pee's band.