A narrative of the captivity and adventures of John Tanner

by John Tanner

  It was necessary for me to go to hunt immediately, although the condition of my feet was such that I could not stand without great pain. I had the good fortune to kill a moose the first time I went out, on the morning after my return. The same day snow fell about two feet deep, which enabled me to kill game in great plenty.

  CHAPTER IX

  Visit to several Assinneboin villages, in pursuit of stolen horses. – Peculiar customs. – I seize a horse belonging to an Assinneboin. – War excursion to Turtle Mountain. – Battle at a village of the Mandans. – Doctrines of the Shawnese prophet. – Drunkenness, and its effects.

  I had been at home but a short time when I heard that the Assinneboins had boasted of taking my horse. As I was preparing to go in pursuit of them, an Ojibbeway who had often tried to dissuade me from my attempt to recover him, gave me a horse on condition that I would not attempt to retake my own, accordingly, for some time, I said no more about it.

  Having spent the winter at the mouth of the Assinneboin, I went to make sugar at Great Wood River, but here it was told me that the Assinneboins were still boasting of having taken my horse from me, and I, with some persuasion, prevailed upon Wa-me-gon-a-biew to accompany me in an attempt to recover him. At the end of four days’ journey, we came to the first Assinneboin village, ten miles from the Mouse River trading house. This village consisted of about thirty leather lodges. We were discovered before we came to the village, as the Assinneboins, being a revolted band of the Sioux, and in alliance with the Ojibbeways, are in constant apprehension of attacks from the former, and therefore always station some persons to watch for the approach of strangers. The quarrel which resulted in the separation of this band of the Bwoir-nug, or “roasters,”[*] as the Ojibbeways call the Sioux, originated in a dispute concerning a woman, and happened, as we are informed, not many years ago. So many Ojibbeways and Crees now live among them that they are most commonly able to understand something of the Ojibbeway language, though their own dialect is very unlike it, resembling closely that of the Sioux. One of the men who came out to meet us was Ma-me-no-kwaw-sink, with whom Pe-shau-ba had quarrelled some time before on my account. When he came up to us, he asked whither we were going. I told him, “I am come for our horses which the Assinneboins stole.” “You had better,” said he, “return as you came, for if you go to the village they will take your life.” To these threats I paid no attention, but enquired for Ba-gis-kun-nung, the men of whose family had taken our horses. They replied they could not tell; that Ba-gis-kun-nung and his sons had, soon after the return of the war party, gone to the Mandans, and had not yet come back; that when they came among the Mandans, the former owner of my mare, recognizing the animal, had taken her from the son of Ba-gis-kun-nung; but that the latter contrived to remunerate himself by stealing a fine black horse, with which he escaped, and had not been heard of since. Wa-me-gon-a-biew being discouraged, and perhaps intimidated by the reception we met in this village, endeavoured to dissuade me from going farther, and when he found he could not prevail, he left me to pursue my horse by myself, and returned home. I would not be discouraged, but determined to visit every village and camp of the Assinneboins rather than return without my horse. I went to the Mouse River trading house, and having explained the object of my journey, they gave me two pounds of powder and thirty balls, with some knives and small articles, and directions to enable me to find the next village. As I was pursuing my journey by myself, I had occasion to cross a very wide prairie, in which I discovered at a distance, something lying on the ground, resembling a log of wood. As I knew there could be no wood in such a place unless it were dropped by some person, I thought it was most probably some article of dress, or perhaps the body of a man, who might have perished on a journey, or when out hunting. I made my approach cautiously, and at length discovered it was a man, lying on his belly with his gun in his hands, and waiting for wild geese to fly over. His attention was fixed in the direction opposite that on which I approached, and I came very near him without being discovered, when he rose and discharged his gun at a flock of geese. I now sprang upon him. The noise of hawk bells and the silver ornaments of my dress, notified him of my approach, but I caught him in my arms before he had time to make any resistance, his gun being unloaded. When he saw himself captured, he cried out “Assinneboin,” and I answered, “Ojibbeway.” We were both glad to find that we could treat each other as friends, and though we could not converse on account of the dissimilarity of our dialects, I motioned to him to sit down upon the ground beside me, with which request he immediately complied. I gave him a goose I had killed not long before, and after resting for a few moments, signified to him that I would accompany him to his lodge. A walk of about two hours, brought us in sight of his village, and when we entered it, I followed him immediately to his lodge. As I entered after him, I saw the old man and woman cover their heads with their blankets, and my companion immediately entered a small lodge, merely large enough to admit one, and to conceal him from the remainder of the family. Here he remained, his food being handed to him by his wife, but though secluded from sight, he maintained, by conversation, some intercourse with those without. When he wished to pass out of the lodge, his wife gave notice to her parents, and they concealed their heads, and again, in the same manner, when he came in.

  This formality is strictly observed by the married men among the Assinneboins, and I believe among all the Bwoi-nug, or Dah-ko-tah, as they call themselves. It is known to exist among the Omowhows of the Missouri. It affects not only the intercourse between men and the parents of their wives, but that with their aunt and uncles, and it is the business of all parties alike to avoid seeing each other. If a man enters a dwelling in which his son-in-law is seated, the latter conceals his face until he departs. While the young men remain with the parents of their wives, they have a little separate lodge within, or a part divided off by suspending mats or skins, and into this little apartment the wife retires at night. By day she is the organ of communication with those without. A man rarely, if ever, mentions the name of his father-in-law, and it is considered highly indecorous and disrespectful for him to do so. This custom does not exist in any shape among the Ojibbeways, and they look upon it as a very foolish and troublesome one.

  The people of this lodge treated me with much kindness. Notwithstanding the great scarcity of corn in the country, they had a little reserved, which they cooked and gave me. The young man told them how much he had been frightened by me in the prairie, at which they all laughed heartily. This village consisted of twenty-five lodges, but although I inquired of many of them, none knew where Ba-gis-kun-nung was to be found. There was another village at the distance of about one day’s journey: he might be there. I remained a little while at the lodge of the young man I had found in the prairie, and then went out to start for the next village. Geese were flying over, and I raised my gun and shot one. It fell in the midst of a number of Assinneboins. Seeing there a very old and miserable looking man, I motioned to him to go and get it. But he must first come up to me to express his gratitude, by a method I had not before seen used. He came up, and placing both hands on the top of my head, passed them several times down the long hair that hung over my shoulders, at the same time saying something in his own language which I could not understand. He then went and took up the goose, and returning, communicated to me by signs which I had no difficulty to understand, that I must go to his lodge and eat with him before I could leave the village. While he was cooking the goose, I went about from lodge to lodge, to look at their horses, thinking I might see mine among them, but I did not. Some of the young men of the village accompanied me, but without any arms, and all seemed friendly, but when I was ready to start for the next village, I noticed that one of them, mounted on a fleet horse, started to precede me.

  When I arrived at this village, no one took the slightest notice of me, or even seemed to see me. They were a band with which I had previously had no acquaintance, and I could perceive that they had been prejudi
ced against me. Their chief, whom we used to call Kah-oge-maw-weet Assinneboin, (the chief Assinneboin,) was a distinguished hunter, but he was soon afterwards killed. He had been unusually long absent from home, and by following his track, they found he had been attacked by a grizzly bear in the prairie, and killed.

  Finding the people of this band decidedly unfriendly, I went into none of their lodges, but stood about, watching their horses, to see if I could discover mine among them. I had heard much of the fleetness and beauty of a young horse belonging to the chief, and I soon recognized this animal, known to me only by description. I had a halter under my blanket, and watching a favourable opportunity, I slipped it on the head of this horse, mounted him, and flew rather than fled. I was excited to this action, principally by a feeling of irritation at the unfriendly conduct of the people of the village, as it had not been my intention to take any horse but the one which belonged to me. When the horse and myself were out of breath, I stopped to look back, and the Assinneboin lodges were scarce visible, like little specks on the distant prairie. I now reflected that I was doing wrong, to steal away the favourite horse of a man who had never absolutely injured me, though he had refused the customary dues of hospitality towards a stranger. I got down and left the horse, but had scarce done so, when I saw thirty or forty men on horseback, who had before been concealed in a depression in the prairie. They were in pursuit, and very near me. I had scarce time to fly to a thicket of low hazel bushes, when they were upon me. They rode about for some time on horseback searching, and this delay gave me some little time to choose a place of concealment. At length they dismounted, and dispersed themselves in various directions, seeking for me. Some came near me, and then turned off to search in other directions. My position was such that I could watch their motions without the risk of exposing myself. One young man stripped himself as for battle, sung his war song, laid aside his gun, and came with only his war club directly towards the spot where I lay. He was within about twenty steps of me, my gun was cocked and aimed at his heart, when he turned and went back. It is not probable he saw me, but the idea of being watched by an unseen enemy armed with a gun, and whose position he could not hope to ascertain until he was almost over him, probably overcame his resolution. They continued their unavailing search until near night, and then returned, taking the chief’s horse to their village.

  I travelled towards home, rejoicing in my escape and without stopping for the night, either on that or the succeeding one, and the third night arrived at the Mouse River trading house. The traders told me I was a fool that I had not brought the chief’s horse. They had heard much of his qualities, and would, as they said, have paid me a high price for him.

  In the Assinneboin village, ten miles from this trading house, I had a friend called Be-na, (pheasant,) and when I had passed through I requested him, while I should be absent, to endeavour to discover my horse, or at least to ascertain, and be able to tell me, where I could find Ba-gis-kun-nung. When I returned thither, after visiting Mouse River trading house, Be-na took me immediately into a lodge where a couple of old women lived, and looking through the crevices, he pointed out to me the lodge of Ba-gis-kun-nung, and those of his four sons. Their horses were feeding about, and among them we distinguished the fine black one they had brought from the Mandans in place of mine.

  Wa-me-gon-a-biew had been to the trading house, but returned thence to the village before I arrived, and was now waiting for me at the lodge of some of the sons of a brother of Taw-ga-we-ninne, who were of course his cousins, and were very friendly to him. He had sent messengers to Ba-gis-kun-nung, offering him a good gun, a chief’s coat, and all the property he had about him, for a horse to ride home on. But when I heard this, I reproved him severely, and told him that if Ba-gis-kun-nung had accepted his presents, it would only have occasioned additional trouble to me, as I should have been compelled to take not only a horse, but those presents also.

  Soon after my arrival in the village, I went to Ba-gis-kun-nung, and said to him, “I want a horse.” “I shall not give you one,” he answered. “I will take one from you.” “If you do I will shoot you.” With this I returned to the lodge of Be-na, and made my preparations for starting at an early hour in the morning. Be-na gave me a new buffalo robe to ride home on, and I got from an old woman, a piece of leather thong for a halter, having left mine on the chief’s horse. I did not sleep in Be-na’s lodge, but with our cousins, and very early in the morning, as I was ready to start I went to Be-na’s lodge, but he was not awake. I had a very good new blanket which I spread over him without making any noise; then, together with Wa-me-gon-a-biew, I started. When we came in sight of the lodge of Ba-gis-kun-nung, we saw the eldest of his sons sitting on the outside, and watching the horses. Wa-me-gon-a-biew endeavoured to dissuade me from the design of attempting to take one, since we could not do it without being seen, and had every reason to believe they were prepared to use violent measures to prevent us from succeeding in the attempt. I told him I would not listen to his advice, but consented to go with him two hundred yards on our road, and lay down our baggage. Then we were to return together, and take the horse. When we had proceeded as far as I thought necessary, I laid down my load, but Wa-me-gon-a-biew, seeing me resolute in my determination, began to run. At the same time that he started to run from the village, I ran towards it, and the son of Ba-gis-kun-nung, when he saw me coming, began to call out as loud as he could in his own language. I could only distinguish the words “Wah-kah-towah,” and “Shoonk-ton-gah,” (Ojibbeway – horse.) I supposed he said, “an Ojibbeway is taking a horse.” I answered, “Kah-ween-gwautch Ojibbeway,” (not altogether an Ojibbeway.) The village was instantly in motion. In the faces of most of those who gathered round, I could see no settled determination to act in any way, but there was encouragement in the countenances of my friend Be-na and a number of Crees who were about him. There was manifest hostility only in the Ba-gis-kun-nungs. I was so agitated that I could not feel my feet touch the ground, but I think I was not afraid. When I had got my halter on the head of the black horse, I stood for a moment hesitating to get on him, as in the act of doing so, I must for the moment deprive myself of the power of using my arms, and could not avoid exposing myself to an attack behind. But recollecting that any thing like indecision would at this time have a most unfavourable effect, I gave a jump to mount the horse, but jumped so much higher and farther than was necessary, that I fell sprawling on the ground on the other side of the horse, my gun in one hand, my bow and arrows in the other. I regained my feet as soon as I could, and looked round to watch the motions of my enemies; but presently an universal shout of laughter, in which all joined but the Ba-gis-kun-nungs, gave me some confidence, and I proceeded more deliberately to mount. I knew if they could have ventured to make any open attack on me, it would have been at the time I was lying on the ground, and not in a situation to make any dangerous resistance. The loud and hearty laughter of the Indians, convinced me also, that what I was doing was not generally offensive to them.

  When I turned to ride off, I saw Wa-me-gon-a-biew still running like a frightened turkey. He was almost out of sight. When I overtook him, I said, “My brother, you must be tired, I will lend you my horse,” and we went on together. At length, we saw two men coming on horse back from the village, to pursue us. Wa-me-gon-a-biew was alarmed, and would have rode off leaving me to settle the difficulty with them as I could, but perceiving his intention, I called to him to leave the horse, which he did, and resumed his race on foot. When the two men had approached within about half a mile of me, I got down from the horse, and taking the halter in my hand, stood with my face towards them. They stopped in the path, at a distance from me, and looking around in the other direction, I perceived that Wa-me-gon-a-biew had concealed himself in the bushes. The two men stood in the road, and I remained holding my horse nearly in the same place until near noon. The people of the village stood, in great numbers, on a little elevation close by the lodges, and watched to see what would
be done. The two Ba-gis-kun-nungs, after they were tired of standing, separated, and one came round on one side, the other on the other, and came up opposite to me. It was then I thought they would approach me, one on one side, the other on the other, and thus get an opportunity to shoot me down, but after coming near me once or twice, they went on, and got together in the road, between me and Wa-me-gon-a-biew. I now began to tire of their pusillanimous behaviour, and getting on my horse, I rode toward them, but they turned out of my way, and went around to the village. In this affair, I found Wa-me-gon-a-biew more cowardly than it was usual even for him to be, but it happened that the chiefs, and the considerate men of the band to whom Ba-gis-kun-mung belonged, were glad I had come to take a horse. Ba-gis-kun-nung and his sons were considered troublesome and bad men, hence it was that I was able to carry through this enterprise without any assistance from Wa-me-gon-a-biew.

  After the two men turned back, I rode along and Wa-me-gon-a-biew joined me from the bushes where he had been concealed. We found that night the lodge of our old friend, Waw-so, who used formerly to live with Pe-shau-ba. The horse I had taken I concealed in the woods, and did not wish to tell Waw-so of what I had done. But in the middle of the night, after I fell asleep, Wa-me-gon-a-biew began to relate to him all that had happened the preceding day, and when he came to hear of my jumping over the horse, of which I had told Wa-me-gon-a-biew, the old man waked me with his loud and hearty laughter.