Two Kettles

[swiftbird659]

Chief Swift Bird or Flying Bird aka Alexander La Chapelle was born in 1832 on Chapelle Creek, Dakota Territory. This creek takes it`s name from his father a well known french fur trader. It was also called Smoke Creek by Lewis and Clark. It empties into the Missourri River at the Big Bend Reservoir historical site number 338.2, Chapelle Creek and historical site number 338.1, De Grey Post Office. Swift Bird`s father was David La Chapelle. The Chapelle`s were natives of Montreal. The real name was Janot. David was the grandson of the then famous Bazile Janot La Chapelle of french Canadian decent. Bazile was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1741 and married Marie Elizabeth Choquet in 1767. They moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois in 1770. Bazile was one of the principle early settlers of the island of Kaskaskia where he played an important role as a citizen in his community for 30 years, 1770-1801. Bazile and Elizabeth Janot La Chapelle both died in the year 1844 and were laid to rest in the Garrison Hill Cemetary, Randolph County Illinois. David La Chapelle came to Dakota Territory around 1828 during the peak of the early fur trade. He was an employee of the American Fur Company. David married a sioux woman from the Two Kettle Band and made their home at the mouth of Chapelle Creek. The north and south branches of Chapelle Creek are named for this well known trader/trapper. This area later became known as De Grey Township. The town`s name originates from it`s first settler Charles De Grey who worked for the American Fur Company. He was the mixed blood son of French Canadian Philip De Grey and a half breed Indian woman. Philip was an employee of the Northwest Company. Charles was born near Omaha Nebraska in 1823. He married Mary Louise Picotte, De Grey, Van Stolen the daughter of Henry or Honoree Picotte and Matilda Galpin aka Eagle Woman Who All Look At, at Fort Pierre and they settled on a site at the mouth of Chapelle Creek. This is the site which later became known as De Grey Post Office. Charles` daughter Theresa married Henry L. Jones in 1875. Henry was appointed the first Post Master on Feburary 13, 1886. David`s wife being of Arikkara or Ree in origin. Her father was a notable Chief who had been an active player in the Sioux/Ree Wars 1750-1794. David La Chapelle was a whitness to the accidental death of Thomas Lestang Sarpy on Jan. 19, 1832. Mr. David La Chapelle and the ordeals of his fellow fur traders or trappers are mentioned in a book titled Reflections of the Badlands by Philip S. Hall. He states the following on the untimely death of Mr. Thomas Sarpy. "The Oglala post was built in 1827 near the mouth of Rapid Creek at the north west corner of the Badlands. Thomas Sarpy was in charge. Sarpy and to assistants were organizing the storeroom on Jan. 19, 1832, when a candle was knocked into a keg of gun powder. The resulting explosion injured Pierre Herbert and Francois Broit and killed Mr. Thomas Sarpy. David La Chapelle immediately rebuilt the post and Colin Cambell was placed in charge. Trading apparently went on without interruption" David La Chapelle died in the summer of 1876. Swift Bird was a member of the Fool Soldier Society or Crazy Band. In November of 1862, this band was involved in the rescue of the white captives that were taken from Lake Shitake (Shetek/Shetak) in Minnesota, and were held prisoner by Chief White Lodge. The Fool Soldiers were able to negotiate their release and escape unharmed with the captives. This was the famous Swift Bird known for being a couragous supporter of Martin Charger and his new Society/Fool Soldier Band. He was a sort of historian especially informed about the areas of Chapelle Creek, Old Fort Pierre and Swift Bird Creek located in central South Dakota. His maternal grandfather, having lived in the vicinity prior to 1800 was able to inform Swift Bird personally of information related to what was known as the invasion of the Missouri River Region by the Sioux. Swift Bird and several other old men of the tribe also agreed that the Sioux or Teton did not cross the Missouri River until around 1760. Chief Swift Bird or Flying Bird lived with his band along Swift Bird Creek (named for him), also known as Swift Creek. It empies into the Missourri River at historical site number 464.2, M.R.S.(137), NE1/4 sec. 9, T. 13 N, R. 31 E. On this creek there was a site known as Swift Bird Camp or Agency, established around 1879 when he officially moved his band west of the Missouri River. It was located just 7 miles north of the newly established Cheyenne River Agency III. Chief Swift Bird considered it a great achievment to have a school for his own people in his camp. Swift Bird Day School No. 4 was reported in sesion an average of 210 days per year for the years 1884-1892. Annual report for this school in the year of 1891 was "excellent work is done in this school. This day school is one of the oldest in the Cheyenne River Agency and should be continued". It was home to one of the more famous of government school teachers, Miss Corabelle Fellows. She taught from sept. 1887 to May 1888. Miss Fellows describes Swift Bird as a wise chief who had told her he had evaluated the white man`s education and that of his own manner of living, after he decided that both were superior to his own. This village was called a camp but it had very few lodges and tents. Most families lived in log homes with framed roofs or well built frame structures. Corrabelle Fellows married Chaska or Samuel Cambell on Mar. 15, 1888. Their marriage caused national notoriety for them and they soon accepted speaking offers and went on a nation tour. Swift Bird Calvary Episopal Church and Swift Bird Calvary Cemetary were both located in Swift Bird`s Camp. Their many friends and supporters have provided the funding for a chapel at the Calvary Station in Swift Bird`s settlement. Swift Bird`s clergy consisted of 37 members. There were 14 confirmations for the year 1888. Catechist for the Calvary Mission was Stephan Togola. Swift Bird was married twice, one wife was Sara Ghost Face RS-761.5, 1841-1902. There were two children born of this marriage, Ada Swift Bird CRU, 1865-1898 and Water Swift Bird CR-42, 1870-1932. The other wife was Lucy CR-2711, 1836-1916. Five children were born of this marriage, Angeline Swift Bird CR-2699, 1861-1938, Virginia Swift Bird CR-2702, 1867-1932, Louise Swift Bird CRU, 1868-1893, Edith CRU, 1870-1889 and Hattie CRU, 1876-1894. Chief Swift Bird died on July 06, 1905 on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

[likethewind]

Good Afternoon

My name is Dana Warrington Wardlow; Mary Kah-ta-tah was my 3rd great grandmother her father was Jerome Kah-ta-tah.

I've been doing research on Jerome Kah-ta-tah because I recently came a cross a will that belonged to Claira Waubanascum Kah-ta-tah whom was Mary kah-ta-tah's step mother.The will is dated 1849. We had always been told that Jerome Kah-ta-tah was Mary's Step Father but in Claira's Will it states she was not her mother but Jerome was her biological father.

So I came across your web site and the Two kettle Tribe. Now Native people would always pass down family names and some how we are related to the Flying Bird aka Kah-Kah-Tah-A-Ke-Ah. family. So I was wondering what information you may have on the Two kettle tribe and maybe I can fill in the blanks or find out where the Kah-kah-tah name comes from? Jerome Kah-ta-tah married a woman from the Menominee Nation.



Thank You,



Dana Wardllow

[mryan]

My name is Mike Ryan, I am the great, great, great grandson of Joseph Four Bears. My grandpa told me a story of how Four Bears earned his name. I assume it was the original Four Bears. He said a small war party was out and met up with a Mandan?? war party. Instead of fighting they each sent out one man to fight. I'm not sure what his name was before but he killed the Mandan and they made a hasty escape. Having only one rifle they gave it to him with a few bullets and told him to hold off the war party while they escaped. Upon returning the older men told him he should take that man's name that he killed to honor him. His name was Four Bears. In later years my grandpa's uncle Armstrong was invited to New Town to perform at their powwow but he refused saying "they'll probably try to kill me for revenge". My grandpa Gene Ryan told me this story when he was about 84 or 85 years old.

[kingsleybray]

Great to hear from you, Mike. Your grandfather's story of the origin of the name Four Bears is very interesting. Four Bears, Mato Tope, was a famous Mandan chief painted by Catlin and Bodmer. He died in the 1837 smallpox epidemic. However, Joseph Nicollet in 1839 talked to a lot of Lakotas and traders at Ft Pierre in 1839 and compiled a lot of data on the Lakota. He mentioned the father of Joseph Four Bears as a prominent chief, writing: "Mato topapa, Four White Bears. He took this name from the famous chief of the same name among the Mandan, who died from smallpox two years ago." That confirms the Mandan connection. My hunch had been that the Mandan chief may have ceremonially adopted your ancestor, and gave him his name. I think the two stories must be linked somehow. I have been doing some work on the first Four Bears recently. if you like, send me a message on A-tribes and we could swap more info'.

[Ho choa]

From my research using DNA and hints from oral and historical accounts Joseph Four Bears, Two Lance and Joseph Black Spotted Horse, and their sister Mary Hodgkiss were full siblings their Mother was Louis Mound (Walking Nation) and their father was Joseph DeSmet Lewis 1805-1889. Making Martin Charger and John DeSmet their half siblings I have done a Y-DNA test on male descendants of Martin and John and it confirms that they share the same Y-DNA. The autosomal DNA of the descendants of Joseph Four Bear, Two Lance, Mary Hodgkiss, John DeSmet and Martin Charger so a common ancestry. If any of the other male descendants where to do a Y-DNA test it would confirm this. Her Good Ground from the DNA shows that she is one of the daughters of Francois Deloria and I believe Blackfoot Women. I do have a Female to Female descendant that has done her Mt-DNA and I believe in time it will show a MtDNA match to this line. Interestingly enough we do have a match on that line too a descendant of Josette Carey Sarcee Dumont. Which was Bazille Claymore's grandmother which who make Mary White Women Sarpy his cousin of some kind.

[mahtotopa]

Sept 9, 2008 16:31:30 GMT -5 kingsleybray said:

Dietmar, Joseph Four Bears is indeed a son of the elder man of the same name. Incidentally, the latter is said by Nicollet to have been given the name by the famous Mandan chief (Mato Tope) - whose name of course also means Four Bears!

I have expanded my entry above, working in some details from the tribal profiles section of my paper on 'Teton Sioux Population History, 1655-1881', Nebraska History, 75: 2 (Summer, 1994).

Kingsley

Sept 16, 2008 15:49:24 GMT -5 Dietmar said:

Joseph Four Bears:

The son of Chief Four Bears was born in 1834. According to D. Sprague ("Cheyenne River Sioux") he married the daughter of Chief White Horse. She was probably the wife he had in census records called Amy Four Bears, born 1844. Her Indian name was Wigmaker.
They had a son, Chester Four Bears, who later married Louise Bear Face.

Joseph Four Bears was a member of the Fool Soldier Society that rescued the Shetak captives in 1862.

He died on April 24th, 1909 on Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Dewey, South Dakota.

[mahtotopa]

Hello all, Mahto Topa emaciyapi yelo. Lé mita até Joseph Paul Four Bear Jr., na nagi blehiciyapo, his spirit is alive and well today, and it is through me. Mita, gakala Joseph Paul Four Bear Sr., and his father before him, Armstrong Four Bear who is recognized by the SD Hall of Fame as “Chester Armstrong Four Bear,” but his father is named Chester. Armstrong was awarded the Croix De Guerre Medal for bravery in his swift running to the front lines under enemy fire. He was very well liked, affable, and it is said he once danced for the Queen of England. Chester’s father was Joseph Four Bear. My father, “Little Joe,” had two other brother’s, Mike and Eugene, who unfortunately, did not leave any sons behind. This leaves me to be the last male, true Four Bear to carry the name. On the rolls I am defined as CR 14279, in succession to CR 7740 (my dad), CR 4493 (Grandfather), CR 225 (Great Grandfather Armstrong, (Great, Great Grandfather Chester) and then CR 785, Joseph Four Bear, my great, great, great grandfather. He lives on through me and the world needs to know who the Fool Soldiers were. My birthplace of origin puts me right in the vicinity of the Lake Shetek Captive rescue in what is now Mobridge, SD. This deed that our forefathers did needs to be brought out into the light, and the world needs to know who the Fool Soldiers were.

[fonddulac]

The above comment that 4 Bears belonged to the "Fool Soldier Society" is the derogatory label used by Michael Zimny. The band that rescued that captives called themselves the The Strong Hearts. The uprising narrative identifies the band as being Two Kettle Lakota The newspapers below cover the history of the captives.

The Wisdom of the Fool Soldiers, Michael Zimny, South Dakota Magazine.com, Feb.6, 2019, www.southdakotamagazine.com/the-wisdom-of-the-fool-soldiers

The Sioux, Daily Globe, March 20, 1881, p.6, Minnesota Digital Newspapers Hub, 2024, MNHS, 345 Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/PsImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=a7f4d00a-1fdb-4bc7-8be1-5448011525b3%2Fmnhi0031%2F1DFIPZ58%2F81032001

Highly important News, Chatfield Democrat, Jan 10, 1863, Minnesota Digital Newspapers Hub, MNHS, 345 Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/PsImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=82713d98-4b7a-4670-aab4-336f2b388479%2Fmnhi0031%2F1DFBY456%2F63011001

The Saint Paul Daily Press, Dec 6, 1862, p.1, Minnesota digital newspaper hub, 2024, MNHS, 345 Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/PsImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=4b5b0c73-7db2-4ae6-a84d-85330b7d222b%2Fmnhi0007%2F1DFC4T56%2F62120601