Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri: Edited with Notes and Biographical SketchDenig, Edwin Thompson
History
Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri: Edited with Notes and Biographical Sketch
Denig, Edwin Thompson
Assiniboine Indians; Indians of North America -- Missouri River Valley
Women are never acknowledged as chiefs, or have anything to say in
councils. We know of but one anomalous instance of the kind on the
whole upper Missouri which, being very remarkable, merits notice. She
is a Blackfoot by birth, but having been taken prisoner when young by
the Crows, was raised by and has since resided with that nation, being
identified with them.
We have known this woman for 10 years, and during that time have seen
her head large war parties of men against the Blackfeet, bringing away
great numbers of horses, and killing several of the enemy with her own
hand. She is likewise a good huntress, both on foot with the gun and on
horseback with the bow and arrow, ranks as a warrior and brave and is
entitled to a seat in councils of the Crow Nation. She ranked as fifth
from the Crow chief in a council held by the writer with the Crows
and the Cree at Fort Union on the occasion of making a peace between
these two nations. She keeps up all the style of a man and chief, has
her guns, bows, lances, war horses, and even two or three young women
as wives, but in reality servants. In appearance she is tolerably
good-looking, has been handsome, is now about 40 years of age, and
still goes to war. Her name is “Woman Chief,” and although dressed as
a woman the devices on her robe represent some of her brave acts. She
is fearless in everything, has often attacked and killed full-grown
grizzly bears alone, and on one occasion rode after a war party of
Blackfeet, killed and scalped one alone (within sight of our fort
on the Yellowstone), and returned unharmed amid a shower of bullets
and arrows. This extraordinary woman is well known to all whites and
Indians. She resided at Fort Union last winter, and appears in private
disposition to be modest and sensible; but she is an only instance in
all the roving tribes of the Missouri. Her success induced an imitation
a few years since by an Assiniboin woman, but she was killed by the
enemy on her first war excursion, since which no rivals have sprung up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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