Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 129-444))Mooney, James
History
Calendar history of the Kiowa Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 129-444))
Mooney, James
Kiowa Indians; Kiowa language -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc.
Set-t'aiñte, "White-bear," better known as Satanta, who was thus finally
removed from the field of action, is one of the most prominent men in
Kiowa history, being noted among the most daring and successful warriors
of the tribe, while in authority he held the rank of second chief,
standing next after Lone-wolf. He has already been mentioned as a
leading chief in 1864. His eloquence and vigor of expression in his
native language, a peculiarly forcible one, had gained for him the title
of the "Orator of the Plains." Every line of his strongly marked
features showed the character of the man--a brave, forceful, untamable
savage (figure 45). The persistent efforts of the Kiowa to secure his
release prove the estimation in which he was held by his tribe. He came
early into prominence and was one of the signers of the treaty of 1867,
his name being second on the list. His seizure by General Custer the
next year, in order to compel the Kiowa to come into the reservation,
and his subsequent release, have been narrated. His arrest in 1871 for
being concerned in an attack upon a wagon train in Texas, the
commutation of the death sentence, and his release by the state
authorities in 1873, have also been noted in the proper place. He was
still, however, considered as a hostage for the good conduct of his
people, and subject to rearrest whenever they became troublesome. As was
almost inevitable, he became involved in the outbreak of the succeeding
year, although apparently more by accident than deliberate purpose, and
on coming in to Cheyenne agency with others in the fall of 1874 he was
again arrested and turned over to the military authorities and by them
sent back to the state penitentiary at Huntsville, Texas, to serve out
his life sentence (_Report, 45_). When informed by Horace P. Jones, the
government interpreter at Fort Sill, that he was to be returned to
prison, he expressed himself bitterly, claiming that he had kept his
parole and that there were others far more guilty than he. What affected
him most was the entire separation from his people. He was taken back to
prison in November, 1874, and four years later, refusing to live longer
in confinement, he committed suicide by throwing himself from an upper
story of the prison, October 11, 1878 (_Whatley letter_).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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