%^ v», ^-^. .^ni IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ■^%^"A ^v <^^^/% r/j 1.0 I.I 1 ■^ i^ |2.2 ^ U£ ill 2.0 1-25 ill 1.4 III 1.8 1.6 % % -> jr^ .»V ■/^ a Photographic Sdeaces Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pelliculde Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ D Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured inl( (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr^e peut causer de ''ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int6rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage sont indiquds ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes n Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes >< Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolor^es, tachetdes ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d^tach^es X D Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Qualitd indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule ddition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6X6 filmdes 6 nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. Th to Th pa of fill Or be th( •ic oti fir si^ or Th sh Til wl Ml dil an be rifl ret This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X y 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Tha copy filmtd h«r« has baan raproducad thanks to tha o*n*rosity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia L'axacnplaira film* f ut raproduit grAca A la g4n(Sr/oslt* da: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha bast quality possibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in Itaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. Las imagas suivantas ont At* raproduitas avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da I'axamplaira film*, at an conformit* avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, or tha back covar Wtian appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Las axampiairas originaux dont la couvartura an papiar ast imprim*a sont film*s an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarmitiant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axampiairas originaux sont film*s an commandant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'iliustraticn at an tarminant par Ha darni*ra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Tha last racordad frama on each microficha shall contain tha symbol ^^> (moaning "CON- TINUED "), or tha symbol y (moaning "END"), whichavar applias. Un das symboias suivants apparaTtra sur la darnlAre imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la cas: la symbols ^^- signifia "A SUIVRE", la symbols V signifia "FIN". Maps, platas. oharta, ate, may ba filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film*s A des taux da reduction diffArants. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, ii est filmA A partir da I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant la nombrs d'imagas nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 '..;>^t?*^' 186 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. UOLB-m-TIIB-DAT. HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. TWENTY-FIVE years ago, a chief of the Chippewa (formerly Ojibway) Indians, came to Father Gear, then army chaplain at Fort Snelling, bringing his little boy of about fifteen years, with the request that the good clergyman should take the child and educate him in the arts of peace and civilization, and the religion of Christ. This chief was Pu-go-na-kc-shick, or HoIe-in-the-Day, the cider, the father of the sub- ject of this sketch . Originally he had been a com- mon Indian ; but by his prowess on the war-path against the Sioux (formerly Dacotahs), the hered- itary enemies of his tribe, by hi? daring in battle, ard his oratory in council, he had become an O-ge- mah, or war-chief of the nation. He was an In- dian of superior presence and ability; in personal appearance and achievement he would have rank- ed with the historical characters of the red race. Once he headed a war party who launched their canoes on the swift waters of the upper Mississippi at his call, without knowing where he would lead them. When near the place of his enterprise, he explained to them b bold and daring plan, and told them they might follow him or stay behind, as they chose. Only two of his warriors volunteered to share the danger. With these he pushed on, crept by stealth, in open day, into the midst of a Sioux village, near the present site of St. Paul, where he slioutcd his war-whoop and fired his rifle. Imagine the confusion and con- sternation of the moment, the wild 'ndignation and the hot pur- suit, A hundred warriors were on his track before the crack of his rifle had ceased to reverberate among the hills, and hunted him night and day, but in vain. For two days and nights he was in their country hiding, dodging, doubling on his track like a fox, often where his pursuers were in range of his rifle, but where he dared not reveal liis hiding-place even for an enemy's scalp. At the end of this time he managed to cross the river on a log, with the less of only his blanket. Ten days after his departure he re- turned to his people to tell them his wonderful exploit. Bravery like this was unfor- tunately obscured by acts of cowardly treachery. By custom among these bellii^rent tribes, the hunting season is a time of armistice. Taking advantage of this custom, Hole-in-the-Day one night entered a Sioux teepee, partook of its hospitality, and laid down to sleep on the skins spread for him by the unsuspecting inmates. It was a fatal confidence ; they never saw another sunrise. He arose before they woke next morn- ing, and tomahawked and scalped the whole family in cold blood. In later years he seemed to become tired of such deeds and scenes of blood. Of his own ac- cord he came to the officers at Fort Snel. ng, and asked their assistance and intercession to bring about a treaty of peace and amity between his nation and their hereditary foes. The offi- cers of the fort lent their aid, and the two na- tions were brought face to face in council, under the walls of the fort. The sight of their ancient enemies was too much for the savage temper and untamed patience of the Sioux. By word, act, and gesture, in and out of counbil, thejr heaped abuse, insult, and derision on the Chippewas. A collision seemed inevitable. In spite of the large force of soldiery present, there remained scarcely a hope that the council ground would not be turned into a bloody battle-field. But Hole-in-the-Day proved a stoic. He sat un- moved in council. When he arose to speak he told them he did not heed their taunts nor listen to their insults. He came to make peace, and '•'^, ■i,**-nr- t'ere of rate him For in ^g» ox, ! in he ace At ?ed ith 'en re- em ^^i,. \* V HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. 187 nothing should induce liim to do or say au^ht for any other purpose. He had yet anotiier trial. A Chippewa warrior had eaten a poisonous root or plant, and died. The Chippewas, foUowinfj the suffgestions of superstition, at once conceived that the death of the brave was a judgment of the Great Spirit for having dared to think of making peace with their old enemies. If their chief was a stoic before, he now added the talent of the philosopher. He convoked liis people in council, calmed and dissipated their heathenish fears, and explained to them that the event was not supernatural ; that, as the leaves, the trees, the birds, and the beasts must all die, so- the bravest brave and wiliest warrior, though he escape arrow and scalping-knife, must yet leave prairie and river and go to the hunting gi-ounds of the happy. His firm calmness was more pow- erful than the savage wrath of the Sioux. The treaty of peace was concluded, and for several years the tomahawk was buried and a feud stayed, which had been and yet is so deep and bitter, that there remains no tradition of its beginning, and no guess at the number of its victims. It is sad to know that fate does not always favor and foster the good impulses of bad men. As already written, the Chippewa chief brought liis son to the good chaplain at Fort Snelling. He was tired of war, he said, and disgusted and sickened with blood. He wanted his people to become peaceful, civilized, and prosperous. He wanted his son taught the ways and the knowl- edge of the white man, so that ho in turn might teach them to his nation. But Father Gear, though his heart warmed and quickened at the Indian's desire for usefulness and good, had nei- ther the money nor facilities to undertake the support and education of the boy. He gave all lie could — good advice ; but this was not enough. So father and son went back to their tMpe& — to their idleness, their filth, their savage instincts and traditions. The father learned to know and to like the fire-water of the pale-faces, and a few years after a barrel of whisky fell upon him and killed him. The son — whom his father called "Que-we- sans" — "The Boy," by which name he is still known among the Indians, but who now calls himself "Holo-in-the-Day," after his father — in time grew up to assume tlie chieftainship of one of the bands of Chippewas. His shrewdness and intelligence attracted the attention of the white traders and officials who came in contact with him. The notice which they bestowed upon him to secure his friendship, and through him that of his band and tribe) gave him much influ- ence with the Indians, and excited his vanity and ambition to become the recognized chief of the wloIc Chippewa nation. To this end he has for several years steadily directed his ener- gies with a skill in diplomacy and intrigue rare- ly found among the Indians. To effect his pur- poses ho knew he must also gain position and influence with the whites. By the treaty of 1856, at which time the Chippewas were re- moved to reservations further north on the Mis- sissippi, he managed to secure the grant of a sec- tion of land in his own right, as his share of the compensation. This he located on the cast side of the Mississippi, opposite the Indian Reserva- tion, which lies on the west side of the river, and about two miles from the village of Crow Wing, the northernmost one on the Father of "«Vatei-s. Here he has until lately made his home. With the money the Government paid him as an an- nuity, and that which ho obtained in the way of presents and bribes from traders and agents, he built a handsome frame-house, bought a gold watch, a pair of horses, and a carriage. He had nominally but one wife; the other fiv« squaws about his house were his servants — so he explained to the whites. In part he adopted civilized dress, and visited on neighborly terms many families in Crow Wing and St. Paul. He was always ready to accept an invitation to tea, and frequently inquired into tiie details of civil- ized cookery, with a view to improve the culi- nary skill of his squaws. A prominent lawyer in St. Paul was his attorney and business adviser. He acquired some facility in the English lan- guage; and when moved by the impulse of special friendliness, or warmed by the mellow- ing influences of "fire-water," he would talk in the pale-face tongue. But when in the "sulks" he would sometimes sit a whole evening at a friend's fireside mute as a statue, only Touch- safing a sentence or two, through the medium of his interpreter, in unalloyed Ojibwa. Two years ago his favorite wife, and soon after one of his children, died. They were de- cently coffined and interred by the Episcopal clergyman at Crow Wing, with the burial rites of the Church. The chief seemed much affect- ed by his loss, and in conversation with the clergyman told him he did not believe the re- ligious traditions of the Indians, and desired to learn more of the white man's faith. About this time he signed a temperance pledge, and kept it faithfully for some three months. Among other things in which Hole-in-the- Day learned to imitate white men was to dabble a little in politics. The Legislature of Minne- sota, by special Act, made him a citizen of the State. As such he had a right to vote at State and local elections, and his name is recorded on the Crow Wing poll-book as H. Day, Esq. In the last Presidential election ho is said to have been quite zealous in the Bepublican cause; with what effect can not perhaps now be re- duced to evidence. His electioneering had one fault; ho mixed the rather incongruous ele- ments of Republicanism and whisky too freely. The latter made his tongue so thick as to render his English nearly unintelligible. " Pemmiean all right," he said, going about Crow Wing one day a little too full of adult, ited patriotism. "Pemmiean all right; Governor , Judge , and me, all good pemmiean." That ho thought his own political influence valuable is shown by the fact that he came to the Superin- tendent of Indian Affairs at St. Paul after the election, recounted the services rendered the new 41830 ^'*m>miV^':r.iB>vi .> i n.i g^' u m IIAUrEU'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Administration, nnd did not omit to mention the pecuniary remuneration which ho conceived he ought to receive tlierctbr. He has made several journeys to Wai-hiiifjton to SCO the " Great Fatlicr of the Nation," and all the wonders of civilization, in vhich he has al- ways evinced a peculiar interest, a.;d liie seeing which undoubtedly led him to adopt so many civilized habits. But ho did not always regard them as improvements. Only last spring ho was again in the "City of Magnificent Dis- tances," and saw among other sights our splen- did army of the Potomac. Like all great war- riors — whether on paper or on the battle-field — lie had his own ideas of "strategy." "All no good," he said; "give mc fifty tousand men, I fix 'em. I put five tousand dcre, I put tree tousand dere, I jnit fivo tousand dere; I fix 'cm." He would have htm ted rebels as he hunt- ed Sioux, in ambush or with swift and sudden surprise. " Somebody would have been hurt." Let not tho reader hastily suppose that this attrition with civilization has made our savage a gentleman. In all essentials he is still an In- dian. He consorts sufficiently with his people to bo thoroughly identified with them, and to secure their respect and obedience. He retains all the characteristic peculiarities of the Ind.an dress, the long liair, the leggins, tho moccasins, and last but not least, the blanket, the leaving oft' cr wearing of which now forms the chief dis- tinction between tho crvilized and uncivilized red man. When among Indianj he is never be- trayed into a word of English. On the hunt line of his squaws follows him to carry tho spoils of tho chase ; at home they cultivate his garden and do his household drudgery. Hole-in-the-Day is no tyro on the war-path. The old tribal hatred still burns in the hearts of Chippewas and Sioux with unquenchable fire. They hunt each other still, with tho fox's cun- ning and tho tiger's ferocity, in the depths of the forest, on the open prairie, in the very heart of white settlements. Within a few years the inhabitants of a village on tho Mississippi heard, at dead of I'.ight, tho death-shrieks of a family of eleven Chippewa Indians living on an island within stonc's-throw, who were crept upon, mur- dered, and scal])cd by a party of Sioux. Later still, the inhabitants of a village on tho Minne- sota llivcr stood for half a day on its banks the spectators of a battle on the other side of tho stream between a war party of Chippewas and another of Sioux. It is no uncommon thing for whites to witness the drunken orgies of a real scalp-dance. War chiefs flaunt their notched eagle ])lumes in tho streets of ihe State capital, and bring their hairy and bloody trophies to the photographers to make pretty pictures for curi- osity hunters. Within three or four years a war party of ten Sioux came tip to tho Chippewa Reservation on a scout after scalps. Nearly a fortnight they haunted tho neighborhood of IIolc-in-tlic-Day's house, hoping to make him a prize. But they were unsuccessful, and were at knr^th Dbliged to start home without trophies. On their wu_v down the prairie, some distance east of the town of Little Falls, they came to the grave where oM Hole-iii-the-l)ay was buried. Enraged at their disap])ointmcnt, they dug up tiio bones of the chief, kicked them about on the prairie, and offered them such insults as their superstitious brutality could devise. To an Indian a grave is a sacred thing. Ifyoung Holc-in-thc-Duy could have overlooked their quest after his own scalp- lock he could not forgive their outrage on \n> father's ashes. When it came to liis knowledge his blood boiled at the aft'ront. lln immediate- ly orgnnized a war party, donned his paint and feathers, and started in pursr.it. On the occasion of one of his visits to Wash- ington President Pierce had presented him witli a very fine, cfi'ifivo weapon, a six-chambered Colt's re> dving lifie, of the latest pattern, per- fect in its workmanship and appointments. Ii is :. plain piece, devoid of all ornament. No paint stains the black walnut stock, and neither gold nor silver disfigures its iron and steel com- pleteness ; but light, comjiact, and strong, it re- sponds to the touch and C3'e. It at once be- came his pet plaything and weapon, dearer to his savage heart than wis prettiest squaw. In his muscular grasp its weight was but as a featiier; but Avith his quick eye trained in daily practice, and his rigid muscles hardened in sun and storm, it became a sort of Jupiter's rod from which he shook out leaden thunder-bolts at will. He would shoot prairie-chickens on the wing with it, and drop his birds right and left as ex- pertly as if ho had had a double-barreled " Man- ton," charged with a whole handful of No. 8. Having selected his warriors for the expedi- tion, ho started them down the Mississippi in their birch-bark canoes. He himself went t»>*»»smmmi»r.->- -"^^.w On tliuir wuv Inst of the town |rave where old "•aged at their bones of the je prairie, and |r siiperstitioii- lian .1 grave i^ J-the-Day could Ihis own scalj). JUtrage on hi> Ihis knowledge lln immediate. his paint and isits to Wash- |nted him witli lix-ehambered pattern, per- ntments. Ii nnment. No :, and neither nd steel corn- strong, it re- t at once bo- on, dearer to squaw. In 'as but as a ined in dailv dened in sun ter's rod from •bolts at will, on the wing id left as ex- reled " Man- 1 of No. 8. ' the expedi- tississippi in self went to 3 bis horses, irriage with rie to "Lu- Falls, where i home, and tilla, which ) that point, l-craft they returning md up into ay along a ning lakes, and greeted i the quiek When the d the slain i'ond ques- ?"n. The. iball; bin :shot from jeneroutly ' was seen 1 carries ii with him Joy," sail! ng to it, HOLE-IN-TIIE-DAY. 18!) "what have you got in that sack?" The boy said nothing, but drew his forefinger signifi- cantly across his throat. The sack contained the heads of three of the fallen Sioux ; the oth- er two scalps, still reeking with blood, hung at • /jle-in-the-Day's girdle. A sad tragedy connects itself indirectly witli the chief's later history. A quarrel had gradu- ally grown up between him and the Indian Agent of the Chippcwas. IIole-in-the-Day determined to get rid of the Agent, went to Washington, and preferred charges of fraud and corruption against him. An investigation was jM-omised, and he returned home. Pending the delay two of his braves went to the Agency and killed sev- eral cattle. This incensed the Agent, who, in turn, sent an order to the military commandant of Fort Ripley to have the chief arrested. A file of soldiers was started to execute the order ; they succeeded in finding and securing one of his Indian henchmen, and also his gun, which the henchman happened to be caiTying. Hole- in-thc-Day, however, saw the proceeding from an eminence, hurried home to his house, quick- ly put his squaws and children into several ca- noes, and started across the Mississippi Kiver just as the soldiers came up. They leveled their guns at the party, and ordered Ilole-in- the-Uay to stop and surrender himself. He did .lot obey ; but pushing across the river, lea])ed out of his canoe, drew his pistol, and fired at the soldiers, who promptly returned the shots. But tlie Indian had been too quick; he had dodged into the bushes and escaped unhurt. As may be supposed, this hostile skirmish did not mend matters. The whole border at once took alarm. The settlers gathered up their guns and wcajjons, barricaded their doors and win- dows, and packed up their movables, to be ready to leave at a moment's warning. About this time the Sioux broke out in open war against the whites ; and although the Reservation was a hundred and fifty miles distant, the panic spread itself to this point. Women and children were gathered together in the towns, breast-works and block-houses were built, nightly guards and pa- trols established, and every precaution taken against a serious outbreak. The impending troubles and dangers so wrought upon the brain of the Agent that he became derang(>.d, fled from the Agency, traveled at break-neck speed down the Mississii)pi, crossing and rccrossing the riv- er, and intensifying the panic by telling wild and incoherent stories that the Indians were not only pursuing him, but attacking the settle- ments. Two or three days later he was found dead in the grass near tlie roadside, a pistol ly- ing by him, and having a frightful wound in his side. To all appearance he had shot himself in a fit of insanity. IIole-in-the-Day meanwhile had not been idle. Enraged at the attempt to arrest him, and at be- ing fired upon, he at once di.spatehed runners to the different bands of the Chippewas at Leech Lake, at Otter Tail Lake, and at Rabbit Lake, to kill all the whites, rob their stores and dwell- VoL. XXVI.— No. 152.— N ings, and join him at once with their warriors at Gull Lake, some thirty miles from the Govern- ment Agency. The order to rob was jiromptly obeyed ; every thing in the stores, at the Mis- sion, and in the dwellings at Leech Lake was either seized or destroyed. The whites were taken prisoners, and their fate was debated in council. The young men clamored for their death ; but two of the old ohiefs, Big-Dog and Buff'alo, earnestly ]jlead for and finally saved their lives. Tl.ey were brought as prisoners to Gull Lake, and afterward released and sent to the settlements. Two other chiefs, at other points, also evinced their friendship for the whites : Bad-Boy, who opposed Ilole-in-the- Day's action in council, and who, with his fam- ily and three of his braves, was com])elled to flee to Fort Ripley for protection, and Crossing- the-Sky, who warned and helped away the fam- ily of the German missionary at Rabbit Lake. The Indians now collected, and formed a camp of some four or live hundred warriors at Gull Lake, and soon afterward moved it down to with- in a few miles of the Agency and the village of Crow Wing. This was the condition of things when Mr. Dole, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who happened to be at St. Paul on an entirely differ- ent mission, hearing of the troubles, went up to the Chippewa Reservation to see if admonition and good counsel would not allay the turbulence of the Indians, and preserve the peace of that frontier. He went to Fort Ripley, and sent word to IIole-in-the-Day and his chiefs to come and meet him in council. For ten days, though the invitation was renewed from day to day, the chief returned dilatory, evasive, and negative answers. One diiy he would i)retend lo be dis- pleased with the messenger ; the next he would answer, "Give me my gun first;" the next he would reply that he had no answer to make, and so on. Finally, after nearly two weeks of par- leying, he agreed to meet the Commissioner at Crow Wing with thirty or forty of his chiefs and braves. On the lOth of September, 18G2, the Com- missioner, according to agreement, went there to hold the council. A company of about a hundred raw volunteers, who had not' yet seen three weeks' service, had been previously sta- tioned there. Perhaps twenty-five citizens in addition, who were there as spectatjrs, were also armed in various ways. This was the whole available force of the whites. At near noon the Indians appeared, having crossed at the ferry above the village where the Mississippi sweeps round to the northeast. They came on in irregular, straggling groups, chiefs and braves promiscuously intermingled, not fol- lowing the road but the bank and beach of the river. A quarter of a mile above the village they halted for ten or fifteen minutes, sonic seating themselves and others sauntering idl.i about — for what purjjose could not, at that dis- tance, be clearly seen or divined. Some as- cribed it to irresolution ; others thought it was ■'^M.fiM^ 100 IIAIU'ER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. for consultation. Ono thing, however, was plain ; as one after anntlier of tlie loiten-rs eamo ii]) ami jdIirhI the party, tiierc were not only tlie thirty or fnrty that hail heen ai,'reed upon, hut at Ica.st trijile that nunil)er. It was a picturesque yroup. Tlic hohl, lii^h anfile of hank and point of } cllow .sand-lji-aeh jutting out into the iieiul of tlie stream, and the shining and ri])pled exi)ansc of its waters; t''e swarthy fig- ures of the savages, in their varied and eareless- Iv-graeeful i..titiules and '^or.ttin'.es, idearly and siuirjily outlined against tiic dark-green hack- ground of i)ine f(jliago on the opposite side of the river, with oecasional red and white hlank- ets, making hright simtsof color that lighted up tlie wliolo scene. Hy-and-hy they again began to move, and came down, in the same straggling procession, to a little valley in the village which had heen indicated to them as the council-ground, and seated themselves in a long, irregular semicircle on its northern slojie, facing the group of tents, and the soldiers and citizens on the other slope. They were scarcely half seated when two or tliree of them ran np to the river hank and shouterl some signal or command in tlie dircctiim of down the river. Judge the surprise of the whites i)resent at seeing another party of In- dians, nearly equal to tliat in front, ajipear as if by magic from among tlie hushes on the road- side, and stretch a line across and take posses- sion of tiio road a hundred and fifty paces in the rear ! Tlie trick of the red-skins was now plain ; the party in front had waited on the river bank un- til the other could make a circuit through the woods L IS to take iwsition in the rear. As no treachery had at first been suspected hy the whites, they had out neither guard nor picket to warn them of the movement. Afterward they learned that still another party of Indians of about the same number remained concealed in the woods and did not show t! cmsclvcs uiitil they recrossed the river. Tiiere were in all about one hundred and twenty- five whites who were armed ; ojiposed to them were about three hundred Indians well armed after their fashion. One-third of them, perhajjs, had guns ; the others bows and arrows, war-clubs, tomahawks, and knives. Their bear- ing and manner was bold and confident. No sooner had the party in the rear appeared upon and taken possession of the road, which would have been the only avenue of retreat — for there wan the river on the left and a hill on the right — than they stojiped and detained as prisoners two white men of the neighborhood, who were coming into the village to be spectators at the council, and also stopped all transit from within the lines out toward the fort. A still worse sign now also manifested itself. Big-Dog and Bufifalo, the only two chiefs who had shown any friendliness to the whites, were not with the In- dians — tliey had been compelled to remain be- hind at the encampment. Mr. Dole, the Commissioner, v.ent forward and met IIole-in-the-Day, who had advani ed from among his men, and, through the iiitcrjiret - er, remonstrated with him against these strange and unusual proceedings, and demanded that the prisoners should he at once released, and the road opened to the free passage of all who might wisli to come and go. The chief rather unwillingly assented, and dispatched a c()U])le of his runners with the order; but when tbn C/'ommissioner also requested him to have the Indians who were in the rear brought round to the front, he evaded a direct answer, saying la- was anxious to avoid any difticulty, and that he could not control their action. 80 there was no alternative but to make the best of a bad di- lemma and go into council. In these latter days Indian councils are shorn of much of their preliminary ceremony ; this one was I 'most as plain and matter-of-fact as an or- dinary town-meeting. The Commissioner opened it by a few words, saying, substantially, that he was glad to meet them, and had come to hear their grievances, if they had any to nuike. Mean- while Hole-in-tlie-l)ay and his princijial chiefs and braves came fonvard and seated themselves on the ground within a few paces of the speaker, where they could distinctly hear the inter])reter as he rendered the successive English sentences into their wordy )ihrascs and difficult idioms. IIole-in-the-Day then arose from tiie ground, gathered his blanket about him, advanced and shook hands with the Commissioner, and began his reply. The portrait at the head of this paper is from a photograph taken some three years since, and ])resented by the chief to an American tourist. I will with pen attempt to sketch his portrait as he appeare(l on the present occasion : A man of say forty years, hut looking very young for that age; a little above nedium height, sym- metrical and well-|iro])orti oned figure; counte- nance in repose mild and attractive, the char- acteristics of Indian feature being rather modi- fied ; the skin of dark coppery hue ; the lower lir'.lf of the face, from the nose down, painted a deep brown, four or five shades darker than his natural color; a touch of white paint directly under each eye ; his long black hair plaitcJ, and the plaits wound horizontally, turban-like, round his head ; the scalp-lock, say four inches long, tied so as to stand like a spreading, up- turned brush, and painted bright vermilion ; and three eagle feathers, slanting backward, fastened in his hair. He was dressed in a light, striped shirt, a broadcloth frock-coat, an otter- skin trimmed with red, and evidently used to fasten round the throat like a mufller, hanging hack orer his shoulder; Icggins, moccasins, and a gray blanket gathered and held round the waist with his left arm and hand, so as to leave his right free for gesture in sjieaking, comjiletcd the costume. A black leather belt and holster round his waist hdd a Colt's navy revolver, and in his hand he carried a wooden war-club, fiat and crescent-shaped, with a large round ball at the cud. mmm»^ Mit w i» mfcM liad ndvaiK f(l li tlic iiiti'ijiroi. it these strange leinancled thnt released, nnd ii.!,'e of nil wbo 10 ehief latlior <'Iied a eoiijile l)iit when tho n to Imve the ii^lit niiind to ver, snviiig h(> y, nnd thnt he ii^o there was it of n bad di- cils are sliorn ony; this one fact as an or- sioner opened ially, that he eonie to hear iiakc. Jlean. nei'iml ehiefs d themselves 'thesjieakor, interj)reter sh sontenees Piilt idioms, the ground, Ivaneed and , and began iper is from since, nnd can tourist. portrait as A man young for ight, sym- ; counte- the eliar- ler modi- tlie lower iminted a r than his t directly !• Jjlaited, ban-like, ur inches ding, up- nnilion ; iiekward, 1 a liglit, an otter- used to hanging us, and and the to leave imjileted olstcr I'cr, niid ub, flat ball at Tiic artistic charm of savage figures is in their motion — in the postures and looks that express strength, lleetness, cunning, or fc'ir. They have none of the beauty wliieli tlij rchniiig eniotiuns of love, generosity, ])ity, or moral couraL,'e lend to the pii'tures-in-reposc of civilized man and woman, ytanding ere(;t, walkiii;:, moving his arm, with extended foretinger in ein]>hatii' ges- ture, his eye full of fire, and his features full of expressive energy, while be was making his siiort speech, Ilole-iii-tlic-Day was a very model of. wild masculine grace — a real forcst-iiriuce, bear- ing uiMiu his whole figure and mien the seal of nobility ; but the moment bo again se itcd him- self on the grounil his muscles relaxed, his eyes closed, his face assumed a look of stu])id stolid- ity, and he was once more a gross, rci)ulsivc being, with no higher iMsiinet than hunger, and no higher passion I'lan revenge. It was a critical and dangerous situation. Both parties now suspected treachery; both were ready for battle. The slightest spark would have fired the magazine. There was no hurry, no confusion, no excitement ; a holiday gathering could not have shown more ai)])arent carelessness. Quietly, and with scarce audible commands, the soldiers were instructed and jiost- ed in the most advantageous positions for de- fense ; a messenger was dispatched to the fort for reinforcements ; the citizens, seeming only to be sauntering about, brought and loaded their guns with studied indilFerencc and deliberation. Two old backwoodsmen, cool and trusty shots, were stationed within a few paces of Ilole-in- tlie-l)ay, with orders, at the first signs of a con- flict, to make him their special mark. Every nerve was tense, every hilt and trigger within instant grasj). Nor were the Indians less alert; not a motion escaped their keen notice. Hit- ting and lying about in motley groups, their faces striped and spotted with every imaginable hue nnd device, their blankets slii)ping down from their naked, bronzed, sinewy arms and busts, they smoked, chatted, and laughed with each other, feeling of the sharp jjoints of their new, bright arrow-heads, and showing one an- other the fashion, weight, and convenience of their war-cluhj with the most i)rovoking saiiy his i)e()])lc, and a jiresent of ten thousand dollars' worth of gocids to di.^tributc among them, as a guerdon of juniee wi.u the wliites. In such distributions he has almost uniformly succeeded in securing a linn's sliare for Iiimself. 15ut some of the Indians, vexed and irritated at his delays, and at having been through his orders brought into trouble, revolt- ed against bis authority. Rivals, jealous of his ' prosperity, crossed the river aiul biu'iied his house and furniture. A ])art of his followers joined Hig-Dog and nufialo, came down and held a council with the new Agent, from which they excluded lIolc-in-tbc-Day, as he had formerly excluded them ; and finally the camp was broken up and the Indians dispersed, without either the expected amnesty or l)ounty. ( The strange and rapid commingling and at- trition of races ia the New World has jjroduced few queerer or more anomalous characters than the subject of this sketch. Alternately a despot and subject, landholder and agrarian, aristocrat and communist, citizen and savage, now invok- ing and now defying the law, a civilized barba- rian who goes scali)-hunting by stage, and an aj)ostato heathen wbo believes in neither God : nor Manitou, he will be a potent instrument for good or evil so long as he remains on the bor- der, subject to the accidental influence of good or bad surroundings and imjiulscs.