James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition, 1819-1820, part 1James, Edwin
History
James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition, 1819-1820, part 1
James, Edwin
Indians of North America; Rocky Mountains; United States -- Discovery and exploration; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
This Indian is known by several names, as Grand Batture, Hard
Heart, Sandbar, and in his own language, Wang-e-waha. During our
late contest with Great Britain, he turned his back upon his
nation, in consequence of their raising the tomahawk upon our
citizens, and crossing the Missouri, united his destiny with the
Otoes, who received and treated him with distinguished respect.
Last autumn his nation joined him, and submitted to his guidance;
so that the Otoes, Missouries, and Ioways were then united.
Some time since in a transaction with a captain, formerly of the
United States' army, he thought himself grossly insulted, and
demanded on the spot personal satisfaction, agreeably to the
custom of the whites, challenging his opponent to single combat,
with pistols or such other weapons as he might choose.
He is esteemed the bravest and most intelligent of the Ioways, and
amongst the Otoes he was associated with many equally brave with
himself. But as there are national prejudices amongst the Indians
as well as amongst the whites, he has not escaped from many a keen
allusion to his nation. In a quarrel, which arose from some
expressions of this nature, Ietan knocked him down with a
war-club.
He has been in fifty battles, and has commanded in seven.
He says the white people often request the Indians to abstain from
war, and yet the white people continue {164} to fight each other,
as if they wished to monopolize the occupation of war, and thereby
deprive the Indian of his principal avenue to honour and dignity.
Several Omawhaws, who have been trapping in the country opposite
to Blackbird-hill, remained with us last night. The principal one,
A-ha-ga-nash-he, or the Upright Horn, has a rather handsome Sioux
squaw, to whom he appears to be much attached, paying her great
attention in conversation, giving her a portion of his whiskey,
and handing her the pipe to smoke. She is, however, not exempted
from the ordinary employments of the Indian women, and we had an
opportunity to-day of seeing her depart from Mr. Lisa's with a
heavy load, consisting of the goods which her husband had received
in exchange for his beaver, on her back, whilst he carried only a
keg of whiskey slung over his shoulders, and his gun and hunting
apparatus. Previously to the departure of the Omawhaws from our
establishment this morning, the brother of one of them, who,
report said, had been killed by the Sioux, arrived; he has been
with about ten lodges, (about twenty men) of his tribe trapping on
the Elk Horn, and they had taken about two hundred beavers. He has
taken sixty himself, of which he presented his elder brother
twenty, and is on his way to Mr. Lisa, to have a trader with
merchandize sent to his party to deal for the skins. It is a
singular circumstance, that this is the second instance of these
two brothers meeting in this vicinity, after the one had been
supposed to have been killed by the Sioux.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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