(224) First in 1865 they started back from Omaha City where they had gotten clothes and horses, and there on the west side, there they were. First a fort they came to, which they called "Fort Kearny." It is said that there they first crossed a large river. It is the Platte River (Nîpárazera). This is dangerous to cross as the sand draws one in, it is said. Straight towards the west (225) they went. There again they went towards a fort, all the time traveling as scouts. They said that Fort Laramie is the fort they came to the second time. To the third deer-river (tcanicánañk), there they say they went. The fourth time was a hill, Big Hill (Xéxede Xe) they say, where they say is a mighty one, it is said. (226) There again they came to Fort Reno, which it is said, is on Powder Creek (Ûxíni Nicónañk). There again they went forth. First, there they saw many animals -- grizzly bears, wolves, elk -- truly it is said, many. Again they went forth, to the Tongue River (Rézi Nicònañk), it is said. There they fought Arapahos. They shot Little Priest in the leg, (227) but it did not pierce through the leather breeches that he wore, so that it was merely swollen where he was hit. They scouted from the wagon train. They went to Big Hill Creek (Xé Xede Nióñka). From there they went to what is called "Yellowstone Park." There it is, Fort Rainer, there they went by, it is said. Some wintered over there, they told them. A Hotcâk named "Bright Feather" said (228), "Before four [o'clock] they will kill one of us." He spoke truly: before four, there they killed a Hotcâk named "White Snake" (Wak'â´sgaga). Thus, throughout the spring they pursued them.

Once on a spring day, Little Priest told the Hotcâgara, "Today I will fight the entire day," he said. There were three Hotcâgara with him and he went as the fourth. (229) Those who were with him were Henry Decora, John Bonaparte, and Benjamin Chambers. Little Priest alone took a small rifle with him there and he went got there someplace about ten miles, he did it. He rode there on a swift horse. Twenty Indians (230) chased after Little Priest. The three Hotcâks who had been with him were on a high hill looking at him. They could not help him, besides they thought, "There are too many, they will kill us," so they went back to the fort to let them know. When they got there they said, "They killed Little Priest there," it is said. Little Priest was still out there. (231) So whenever they came close, he dismounted and fought them on foot. When he rushed at them while he was on the ground, the arrows were thick. Again he would go until finally they killed his horse. They surrounded him on the open prairie. Just the same, there was a large stone there. There it was, and he tried to get to it, but before he could, four times (232) they shot him in the right breast. Again then it went into the breast crosswise, making a flesh wound right behind the shoulder. Again they shot one, and it was one below his navel before he got at the stone. He also killed one of them, cutting off his head, and now he was riding a horse again, so he tied the decapitated head to his ankle.(233) He did not run away but came forward then. They were also afraid that he would kill one of them, they thought, so they shot him in the shoulder and he fell to the ground. So they rushed towards him on foot, going for his head so that they could cut it off. So when they got to him, he rose up and took his gun. (234) Finally they again got to the horse, so he got to the rock; besides, they were afraid to go there. There he sat and sometimes he would take a shot at them, it is said. And then Little Priest's three people came and soldiers with them, but when they came within sight, the Arapahos there saw them, so they ran away.

Little Priest (235) was dead, this they were thinking. He was alive, but he was about dead. So they thought he was about to die, so the Hotcâgara put him in a blanket and took him towards the fort. They carried him by punching holes in the corners of the blanket and running their guns through them. They went about two miles. When they first got there it was dark. (236) They got there. There Little Priest was ready to come on a horse. The people got there. So his consciousness left him and his skin even turned white, but always he spoke, "Ho! Come on, come on," he said. All night he lay unconscious, then about daylight he came to, and then (237) they put him in the ghost-wagon that they brought there. They took him to the fort.

For four days the Indians sang the Grizzly Bear [Songs] for him. Where a soldier used to live whom they called "Good Chief" (Hûgepî´ga), there they took him, carrying him in a blanket. At first they sang for him so that he could make grizzly bear power (xop) for himself. At first he could not move at all. (238) The large first-born, Southwind, sang for him while about ten Hotcâks danced with him naked save for their breechcloths. Little Priest had told him that before this [life] he had been a grizzly bear, so the reason why they were doing this was so that he could cure himself. When they started the song, Little Priest started to move his finger tips. Finally, (239) he moved his whole arm. At last he sat up and they made his body dance. Finally, he stood up, but only with great effort could he stand himself straight up. At first he started to walk easy around the house, the way that the others were going. In the middle of the room there was a mound. The second time he went around it walking faster. (240) The third time he danced a little as he went around. Now then, the fourth time he danced hard around it. He came back to the middle of the room, put his hand on the mound, and rubbed all his wounds. There he was healed, but only on the back was it not quite well, so he reached it with great effort to make it well. So in the morning the Indians danced the Victory Dance. (241) Little Priest went, so the white people said, "Little Priest, you must be a devil," they said.

Commentary. It is said that Little Priest was the last true War Chief of the Hotcâgara. In worthy tribute to him is the Little Priest Tribal College in the state of Nebraska, an institution of higher learning in part dedicated to the preservation and elevation of Hotcâk culture.

"Omaha City" -- this is Omaha, Nebraska. The term "city" is appended to it so that it is not confused with the territory or reservation of the Omaha people after whom it was named. The text here reads, Omaha Sitiédja, the second word being a phonetic rendering of the English "city" (Hotcâk, tcinâk) with the suffix -edja attached, meaning "in, at". Omaha is also probably English, as the word in Hotcâk is Omâhâ.

"Nîpárazera" -- from nî, "waters"; paras, "broad"; and -ra, the definite article -- "the broad waters". It was once said of the senator from Nebraska, William Jennings Bryan, "the senator is like the Platte River of his native state, a mile wide at the mouth and about an inch deep".

"tcanicánañk" -- this literally means, "deer river", tca being the term for deer. This expression is not known elsewhere. Does it refer to the third fork in the river (after deer antlers)? On the other hand, the expression could also mean "Deer Creek", there being a Deer Creek Sation mentioned as being passed by the scouts after Fort Laramie (see below). The Hotcâk has hidaníhâna tcanicánâk, whereas Deer Creek Station is Ho’unî´ Tcanicánâk. Could ho'unî have been misunderstood as hidaníhâna? Or are there three tributaries know as Tca Nicánâk?

"Xéxede Xe" -- this is a rather odd designation for this promontory of unknown location. Xéxede is used to denote mountains, but actually itself means "big hill" (xede = "big", xe = "hill"). So Xéxede Xe means literally, "Big-Hill Hill", or "Mountain Hill".

"Ûxíni Nicónañk" -- the word ûxini denotes powder, but most specifically, charcoal powder, the powder formed by ashes.

"Little Priest" -- his name in Hotcâk is Hûk Xúnuga (or Hûgexunuga), where hûk means primarily "chief" and secondarily "priest"; and xunu means, "small, young". In the photograph below, the man seated at the far left may be Little Priest (called "Little Prophet").

"ghost-wagon" -- a literal translation of the Hotcâk, wanâ´ghi hirarút'ira. This is the term for a hearse.

The Grizzly Bear Songs (Mâtco Nâwâ´na) mentioned in the text were originally given to a devotée in a dream (vision) when these spirits blessed him. Here are four such songs which are known:

"mound" -- in the dance used to cure Little Priest, they speak of a mound in the middle of the room called a mâwárupuru, whose earth is efficacious in curing his wounds. A similar mound is also used in the Buffalo Dance, which they call a mânuserek. Spirits are often said to live in great mounds or hills, so this may be a smaller representation that functions as a special point of communication with the world of the spirits. It is therefore similar to an altar, but more powerful in its effacacy.

Other Accounts. There is now an historical marker in Nebraska commemorating the unit to which Little Priest belonged as well as its foremost soldier:

WINNEBAGO SCOUTS

In 1863, the Winnebago Indians were moved from their home in Minnesota to a barren reservation in Dakota Territory. Groups of Winnebago soon moved down the Missouri River to the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska. In March, 1865, the Winnebago used their own funds to purchase land from the Omaha. That land is now the Winnebago Reservation.

In early 1865, about 75 members of the Winnebago Tribe enlisted in the Nebraska Volunteers. Known as Company "A", Omaha Scouts, the unit took an active part in quelling the Indian uprising of 1865 and 1866. This army service exemplified the Winnebago's desire for peace and good relationships between the Indians and the white settlers.

In the summer of 1866, upon the return of the Winnebago veterans, a homecoming festival was held. Shortly thereafter, Chief Little Priest died of wounds received in army service. An annual memorial celebration is held in remembrance of his sacrifice. The year following his death, Little Priest's service flag was raised as a symbol of the tribe's allegiance to their country. This ceremony remains an important part of each celebration. Later the gatherings became known as the Annual Pow-wow.

To the honor of these brave and noble forebears with their rare wisdom and foresight, do we, the remnants of once a proud nation, dedicate this marker.

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Historical Land Mark Council
US Highway 73, north of Macy
Thurston County
Marker 44

 He begins with an account of Little Priest the elder.

(231) The Little Priest of Black Hawk fame was also called Horah-tshay-kaw [Horatceka], meaning the Traveler. He was said to have been one of the most reputable of the chiefs: able, discreet, wise and moderate and always sincerely friendly to the Whites. [2]

In 1829 and also in 1832, his residence was given as Koshkonong. One side of his nose had been destroyed and he was frequently called "Old Cut Nose". His death is said to have occurred in 1882, in a Winnebago village, on White Creek, Adam's County, Wisconsin, at an extremely advanced age. He was one of the Winnebago chiefs held as a hostage in the Black Hawk War.

Little Priest had several sons, among them one called Hoank-khoo-no-nik-ka (Hûk-xununîka) meaning Little Chief. He was also called Little Priest by the whites, and he was a man of much sagacity and bravery.

In 1832 he was a resident of Koshkonong (Kinzie), and he was with his tribe on the Neutral Ground and in Minnesota and Nebraska. During the Sioux outbreak, he lived on the east border of Rice Lake in Blue Earth County and he was suspected of complicity (232) in that affair. He was taken to Fort Snelling Oct. 4, 1863, where he was imprisoned with other Winnebagoes. In Nov., they were taken to Mankato and tried. Although he was proved to have been present at the attack on New Ulm and at various other outbreaks, he was acquitted. In 1865 about seventy Winnebagoes enlisted in Company A of the Omaha Scouts at Decatur, Nebraska, with Little Priest as their leader. After going to Omaha and receiving their supplies of clothing, rifles and horses, they started west going through Julesberg in Colorado, Fort Laramie in Wyoming, Deer Creek Station, and after six days they encountered Red Cloud [with] a band of Sioux, with some Crows, Cheyennes and Arapahos. The battle they fought with them was known as the battle of Tongue River. Little Priest was wounded in the left leg by a rifle ball.

On this expedition Little Priest was accompanied by his wife who is now the wife of James Bird, who also accompanied the Winnebagoes, and whose affidavit contains much of the information from which this sketch was compiled. [3] In the affidavit Mrs. Bird's name is given as Ellen Tebo Bird.

Five or six Indian women were captured by the allied troops of whites and Winnebagoes, and the commanding officer of the troops ordered that they be turned loose and permitted to return home, and he sent with them a written message to the Sioux, asking them to quit fighting. When Little Priest heard of this order, he objected. He said the Sioux had been killing whites and a number of them should be captured and forced to quit fighting. He told the commanding officer he would go west after the women and secure that message. The commanding officer told him if he would secure the message, he would give him $25.00 and one of the two government horses which were being used by the Colonel.

Little Priest selected six other Winnebagoes, including the affiant (233) James Bird. They started and after traveling for some time, they spied an Indian on a hill; and Little Priest said he would go alone and interview him. On Little Priest's return, he reported that the Indian was Green Cloud, a Sioux chief from whom he had secured the document, and after his return he received the promised reward.

Little Priest's own version of this affair as related by Walking Priest is as follows: after telling his companions to stand by him, he went up to an Indian who was sitting on a hill, and the Indian advanced to meet him. Each one watched the other, and whatever motion either one made which might be considered a hostile move, was immediately made by the other. Both had their guns aimed and ready to fire, but finally shook hands instead, and the Sioux handed over the papers. Little Priest called his companions and they all shook hands and parted.

The entire company then started on the return trip but were stopped by a message telling them that white emigrants en route to San Francisco had been attacked by the Sioux and other bands of Indians. For that reason the scouts were ordered to accompany the emigrants and protect them, which they did, proceeding as far as the Big Horn River. After accompanying the emigrant train, which consisted of thirty-five wagons, the troops then went to a fort then being built on the Powder River, known as Fort Tyndall, arriving in the fall and remaining until the following June.

During the month of March, and while staying at Fort Tyndall, Little Priest, in company with three other Indians, sent out hunting for their horses. Little Priest was separated form his companions and chased by a band of Sioux numbering thirty-two. He fought them off during most of the day, receiving many wounds. One account stated that he was wounded in several places but shot three Sioux with his repeating rifle, one with his revolver, a fifth in hand to hand encounter and reached the fort with his five scalps. The Bird affidavit states that he fought all day and was finally relieved by a rescue party of Winnebagoes of which the affiant was a member. Little Priest died soon after this affair, (234) but the exact date of his death is unknown. According to his descendants, five hundred horses were captured from the Sioux Indians in the various skirmishes in which Little Priest and his followers took part, and turned over to the United States Government. Little Priest, the younger, signed the treaty of 1855. His children were Mary and Edward who died young, John and Louis Priest who live on the Nebraska Reservation, and Walking Priest who lives in Wisconsin. The last named is now (1921) sixty eight years old, and was born near White Earth in Minnesota. [4]

Commentary. "the Traveler" -- this is the name given to one of the great and central Waterspirits. He is more usually called Hikiwarekega, but in the "Lost Blanket" he is also known as Horadjegega, the same name given to Little Priest the elder.

"Koshkonong" -- this is in Wisconsin. For Koshkonong, see "The Waterspirit of Lake Koshkonong".

"the Neutral Ground" -- a 40 mile strip of land in Iowa ceded to the U. S. government in July, 1830. It was used to separate the Hotcâgara, who moved to Stawberry Point, from the hostile Sauk and Fox tribes located on the eastern side of the Neutral Ground. Just the same, during the ensuing eleven years, more than 40 Hotcâks were killed by the Sauk and Fox. In 1849 the Hotcâgara were moved from the Neutral Ground to Minnesota.

"Deer Creek Station" -- the "Wyoming Tales and Trails" website (http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/grock.html) has this to say of the locale, "Glenrock, 26 miles east of Casper, was originally known as Deer Creek Station or Deer Spring, established at the confluence of Deer Creek and the North Platte in 1857. ... In addition to the stage station there was a blacksmith and post office. Sir Richard Burton in his 1860 journey also noted the presence of a "grog shop." The saloon was owned by early mountain man Joseph Bissonette. Bissonette was a member of Manuel Lisa's expedition of 1812-1813 and served as an interpreter for Steven Long's 1819-1820 exploration of parts of present day Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. He also participated for a short distance for Fremont's first expedition. Later the Deer Creek Station served as a pony express, telegraph station and as starting point for the Bozeman Trail. By 1865, the Indians had become restless and there were frequent problems of the telegraph line being cut and guards killed. In 1866, the Station was burned."

"the Battle of Tongue River" -- the Tongue River is located in northastern Wyoming. On August 29, 1865, General Patrick E. Connor with 125 cavalry troop and 90 Pawnee scouts, attacked Black Bear's peaceful camp of Arapaho without any provocation under the false impression that they were hostiles. The result was that the village was destroyed along with the winter's food supply and many women and children were massacred. Nevertheless, the Arapaho repelled one attack on the main body of warriors, then counterattacked, driving Connor's command back on its artillery. Only the fire of the howitzers enabled them to stave off annihilation. The long term result was to drive the Arapaho into an alliance with the Sioux and Cheyenne against the Federal Government, a confederation which reached its apogee with the victory at Little Big Horn. It is apparent that among the 90 scouts were at least some Hotcâks.

Links: Supernatural & Spiritual Power, Blue Bear, Bear Spirits, Were-grizzles and Other Man-bears.

Stories: about great Hotcâk warriors and warleaders: The Masaxe War (Hogimasâga), Wazûka, Great Walker's Warpath (Great Walker), Great Walker's Medicine (Great Walker, Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Cûgepaga (Dog Head), The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara (Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Big Thunder Teaches Tcap'ósgaga the Warpath (Big Thunder, Tcap'ósgaga), The Osage Massacre (Big Thunder, Tcap'ósgaga), The Fox-Hotcâk War (Tcap'ósgaga), White Thunder's Warpath, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Fighting Retreat, Mitchell Red Cloud, jr. Wins the Medal of Honor (Mitchell Red Cloud, jr.).; about the (post-Columbian) history of the Hotcâgara: The Cosmic Ages of the Hotcâgara, The Annihilation of the Hotcâgara I, Annihilation of the Hotcâgara II, The Hotcâgara Migrate South, The First Fox and Sauk War, The Fox-Hotcâk War, The Masaxe War, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara, Great Walker's Medicine, Great Walker's Warpath; mentioning a small, sacred, earthen mound in the center of a lodge: Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5).

Themes: a seer makes true predictions down to unusual details: The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara, Witches, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Fox-Hotcâk War, A Prophecy, The Claw Shooter; scouts spy on the enemy (from a hill) without being seen: The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Moiety Origin Myth, White Thunder's Warpath, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Worúxega; descriptions of human warfare: The Annihilation of the Hotcâgara I, Annihilation of the Hotcâgara II, The First Fox and Sauk War, Great Walker's Medicine, Wazûka, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Big Thunder Teaches Tcap'ósgaga the Warpath, The Fox-Hotcâk War, Great Walker's Warpath, The Lame Friend, White Thunder's Warpath, The Osage Massacre, A Man's Revenge, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion; a group of men leave one of their own comrades behind alone to fight against an overwhelming force of enemy warriors: The Dog that became a Panther, Fighting Retreat; while a man fights a large enemy force, others go off to get reinforcements: A Man and His Three Dogs; a Hotcâk warrior singlehandedly fights an overwhelming enemy force, taking at least one enemy head (or scalp): Big Thunder Teaches Tcaposgaga the Warpath (Osage), The Osage Massacre (Osage), Fighting Retreat; head hunting: Big Thunder Teaches Tcaposgaga the Warpath, A Man's Revenge, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Young Man Gambles Often, The Dipper, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, Turtle's Warparty, Ocean Duck, The Markings on the Moon, Wears White Feathers on His Head, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man with Two Heads, Brave Man, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, Redhorn's Sons, Fighting Retreat, The Children of the Sun, The Were-Grizzly, Winneconnee Origin Myth; a warrior captures an enemy's horse: The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits.

Notes:

[1] John Harrison, "The Story of Little Priest," Paul Radin, Notebooks, Winnebago III, #11a, Freeman #3892 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) 224-241 (= 269-286). Told in June, 1908. The end of this was translated and published in Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990 [1923]) 300-301.

[2] Charles Bent, History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time (Clinton, Iowa: L. P. Allen, 1877) 524.

"Kinzie" -- this undoubtably refers to Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie (1806-1870), Wau-Bun: The "Early Day" in the North-West (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1873 [New York: Derby & Jackson, 1856]) Chapter XXVII.

[3] Jipson's note reads, "Walking Priest visited the writer last August, gave him a copy of the Bird affidavit and through the interpreter who accompanied him, his own version of the affair. Contemporary newspaper accounts verify the statement made in the Bird affidavit." (Jipson, p. 232, nt 249)

[4] Norton William Jipson, Story of the Winnebagoes (Chicago: The Chicago Historical Society, 1923) 231-234.