Narrative of My Captivity Among the Sioux IndiansKelly, Fanny
History
Narrative of My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians
Kelly, Fanny
Dakota Indians -- History; Dakota Indians -- Wars -- 1862-1865; Indian captivities -- West (U.S.); Kelly, Fanny, 1845-1904
Here they paused to dress, so as to make a gay appearance and imposing
entrance into the village. Except when in full dress, an Indian’s
wearing apparel consists only of a buffalo robe, which is also part of
a fine toilet. It is very inconveniently disposed about the person,
without fastening, and must be held in position with the hands.
Here the clothing taken from our train was brought into great demand,
and each warrior that had been fortunate enough to possess himself of
any article of our dress, now arrayed himself to the best advantage the
garments and their limited ideas of civilization permitted; and, in
some instances, when the toilet was considered complete, changes for
less attractive articles of display were made with companions who had
not been so fortunate as others in the division of the goods, that they
might also share in the sport afforded by this derisive display.
Their peculiar ideas of tasteful dress rendered them grotesque in
appearance. One brawny face appeared under the shade of my hat, smiling
with evident satisfaction at the superiority of his decorations over
those of his less fortunate companions; another was shaded from the
scorching rays of the sun by a tiny parasol, and the brown hand that
held it aloft was thinly covered by a silk glove, which was about the
only article of clothing, except the invariable breech-cloth, that the
warrior wore.
Vests and other garments were put on with the lower part upward; and
they all displayed remarkable fertility in the arrangement of their
decorations. They seemed to think much of their stolen goods, some of
which were frivolous, and others worthless.
Decorating themselves by way of derision, each noble warrior endeavored
to outdo the other in splendor, which was altogether estimated by
color, and not by texture. Their horses were also decked in the most
ridiculous manner.
Ottawa, or Silver Horn, the war chief, was arrayed in full costume. He
was very old, over seventy-five, partially blind, and a little below
the medium height. He was very ferocious and savage looking, and now,
when in costume, looked frightful. His face was red, with stripes of
black, and around each eye a circlet of bright yellow. His long, black
hair was divided into two braids, with a scalp-lock on top of the head.
His ears held great brass wire rings, full six inches in diameter, and
chains and bead necklaces were suspended from his neck; armlets and
bracelets of brass, together with a string of bears’ claws, completed
his jewelry. He wore also leggings of deer skin, and a shirt of the
same material, beautifully ornamented with beads, and fringed with
scalp-locks, that he claimed to have taken from his enemies, both red
and white. Over his shoulders hung a great, bright-colored quilt, that
had been taken from our stores. He wore a crown of eagle feathers on
his head; also a plume of feathers depending from the back of the crown.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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