Post by yellowhair1850 on Jun 4, 2011 13:00:37 GMT -5
The morning of 26 December 1862 is gray and overcast; and there is a cold wind blowing down from the north. But the weather does not dissuade the four thousand people who have assembled for the show.
Off stage, in a room by themselves with their ankles chained to the floor, sit the main actors of the forthcoming play. There are thirty-eight of them, and among the condemned walks a man of the cloth extolling the men to accept his God, the God of the Wasichu. There is no Wichasha Wahan, no holy man of their faith to tell them that Wakan Tan’ka will be waiting for them in the next world.
The minister stops in front of one called Chaska and sees that the young brave is distraught. “Have faith my son; eternity is near, accept Jesus as your savior and this day you shall be with Him in heaven. “
Looking up at the man dressed in black, the man called Chaska says in a loud clear voice, “I was taught there is only one Wakan Tan’ka. It does not matter what you call it, Jesus will do for you, but I am a Dakota and I will call the Great Mystery Wakan Tan’ka if you do not object. Let them remember that a brave should be prepared to meet death; and I will do so as becomes a Dakota. I am no squaw; I will die when the White-Man wishes.”
The scaffold is built high and there are thirty-eight nooses hanging from the cross beams. The mechanism for springing the thirty-eight trap doors has been tested and retested until the stage hands are sure that it will work and work perfectly.
The soldiers now enter the room and start unshackling the men from the floor. The men know that the time is nigh and begin to chant their death songs. As they chant, their hands are bound before them.
It is not a solemn procession to the gallows. The men are sanguine as they walk towards the thirteen steps that will lead them to a place of peace and good hunting.
When the men are together on the platform, white hoods are placed over their heads, but the chanting continues. The audience is kept from the stage by a ring of soldiers fourteen hundred strong.
Then the director appears. His name is William J. Duley and his wife and children were killed during the uprising. He was with them when they were attacked, and at first he fought bravely, killing the chief Lean Bear. But when he was pinned down by gun fire with other men, he ran, and he ran hard. He did not stop to ascertain if his family was still alive and maybe only wounded, no he ran. And today he is the master of ceremonies as well as the director.
The captain of the guard holds his gold watch in his left hand and at his side hangs his right arm. But when the time is right he will point his index finger of his right hand at the man who will cut the rope that will release all thirty-eight trap doors. The man who will do the honors is one William J. Duley.
The captain is watching the minute hand approach twelve. At exactly twelve noon he will give the signal.
The signal is given, the rope is cut and the largest mass execution to take place in the United States is now history.
Off stage, in a room by themselves with their ankles chained to the floor, sit the main actors of the forthcoming play. There are thirty-eight of them, and among the condemned walks a man of the cloth extolling the men to accept his God, the God of the Wasichu. There is no Wichasha Wahan, no holy man of their faith to tell them that Wakan Tan’ka will be waiting for them in the next world.
The minister stops in front of one called Chaska and sees that the young brave is distraught. “Have faith my son; eternity is near, accept Jesus as your savior and this day you shall be with Him in heaven. “
Looking up at the man dressed in black, the man called Chaska says in a loud clear voice, “I was taught there is only one Wakan Tan’ka. It does not matter what you call it, Jesus will do for you, but I am a Dakota and I will call the Great Mystery Wakan Tan’ka if you do not object. Let them remember that a brave should be prepared to meet death; and I will do so as becomes a Dakota. I am no squaw; I will die when the White-Man wishes.”
The scaffold is built high and there are thirty-eight nooses hanging from the cross beams. The mechanism for springing the thirty-eight trap doors has been tested and retested until the stage hands are sure that it will work and work perfectly.
The soldiers now enter the room and start unshackling the men from the floor. The men know that the time is nigh and begin to chant their death songs. As they chant, their hands are bound before them.
It is not a solemn procession to the gallows. The men are sanguine as they walk towards the thirteen steps that will lead them to a place of peace and good hunting.
When the men are together on the platform, white hoods are placed over their heads, but the chanting continues. The audience is kept from the stage by a ring of soldiers fourteen hundred strong.
Then the director appears. His name is William J. Duley and his wife and children were killed during the uprising. He was with them when they were attacked, and at first he fought bravely, killing the chief Lean Bear. But when he was pinned down by gun fire with other men, he ran, and he ran hard. He did not stop to ascertain if his family was still alive and maybe only wounded, no he ran. And today he is the master of ceremonies as well as the director.
The captain of the guard holds his gold watch in his left hand and at his side hangs his right arm. But when the time is right he will point his index finger of his right hand at the man who will cut the rope that will release all thirty-eight trap doors. The man who will do the honors is one William J. Duley.
The captain is watching the minute hand approach twelve. At exactly twelve noon he will give the signal.
The signal is given, the rope is cut and the largest mass execution to take place in the United States is now history.