AC. Fanny Kelly Tells of the Sioux Sun Dance and Her Treatment During Captivity (ep. 13)

Fanny Kelly Tells of the Sioux Sun Dance and Her Treatment During Captivity (ep. 13)

today we got some more actual history about the Captivity of Fanny Kelly we’ll be reading first from her book Narrative of my captivity among the Sioux Indians this book was published all the way back in 1871 will then read a short section from this book a fate worse than death by Gregory and Susan michenow this book was published more recently back in 2007 a couple of the stories that Fanny Kelly recounts in today’s episode are similar to those written in Sarah larimer’s book The capture and escape this more recent

book a fate worse than death will provide some details on some contention and animosity That Grew between Fanny Kelly and Sarah Larimer many years after they were both rescued before the Indians left this camping ground there arrived Among Us an Indian called porcupine he was well dressed and mounted on a fine horse and brought with him presents and valuables that ensured him a cordial reception after he had been a few days in the village he gave me a letter from Captain Marshall of the 11th Ohio Cavalry detailing the

unsuccessful attempts that had been made to rescue me and stating that this friendly Indian had undertaken to bring me back for which he would be rewarded the letter further said that he had already received a horse and necessary Provisions for the journey and had left his three wives with 13 others at the Fort as hostages my feelings on reading this letter were Indescribable my heart leaped with unaccustomed hope at the evidence of the efforts of my white friends on my behalf but the next instant despair succeeded this gleam of

happy anticipation for I knew that this faithless messenger would not not be true to his promise since he had joined the Sioux immediately after his arrival among them in a battle against the whites my fears were not unfounded porcupine prepared to go back to the Fort without me disregarding my Earnest prayers and in treaties the chief found me useful and determined to keep me he believed that a woman who had seen so much of their deceitfulness and cruelty could do them injury at the Fort and might prevent their receiving annuities

porcupine said he would report me as dead or impossible to find nor could I Prevail on him to do anything to the contrary when reminded of the possible Vengeance of the soldiers on his wives whom they had threatened to kill if he did not bring me back he laughed the white soldiers are cowards he replied they never kill women and I will deceive them as I have done before saying this he took his departure nor could my most urgent and treaties induce the chief to yield his consent events and allow me to send a written message to my friends or

in any wise assure them of my existence all hope of rescue departed and sadly I turned again to the weary some drudgery of my captive life the young betrothed Bride of the old Chief was very gracious to me on one occasion she invited me to join her in a walk the day was cool and the air temptingly ball me down there she said pointing to a deep ravine come and walk there it is cool and shady I looked in the direction indicated and then at the Indian girl who became very mysterious in her manner as she whispered there are white people down

there how far I asked eagerly about 50 miles she replied they have great guns and men dressed in much buttons their wagons are drawn by horses with long ears a fort I thought but remembering the treacherous nature of the people I was among I repressed every sign of an emotion and tried to look indifferent should you like to see them questioned ego secular nycha she was called they are strangers to me I said quietly I do not know them are you sorry to live with us you do not have such bread as I would like to eat I replied cautiously and are

you dissatisfied with our home you have some meat now it is better than at the other camping grounds there we had no food and I suffered but your eyes are swollen and red into she you do not weep for bread these questions made me suspicious and I tried to evade the young Squall but in vain just look at how green that wood is I said affecting not to hear her but you do not say you are content repeated she will you stay here always willingly come and listen to the birds said I drawing my companion toward the Grove I did not trust her and

fear to other a single word lest it might be used against me with the chief neither was I mistaken in the design of ego secular nycha for when we returned to the lodge I overheard her relating to the chief the amusement she had enjoyed in lying to the white woman repeating what she had said about the fort and inventing in treaties which I had used urging her to allow me to fly to my white friends and leave the Indians forever instantly I resolved to take advantage of the affair as a joke and approaching the chief with a respectful

pleasantry begged to reverse the story it was the [ __ ] who had implored me to go with her to the white man’s Fort I said and find her a white Warrior for a husband but true to my faith with the Indians I refused the Wily Eggo secular nycha thus finding her weapons turned against herself appeared confused and suddenly left the tent at which the old Chief smiled grimly slander like a vile serpent coils itself among these Indian women and as with our Fair sisters in civilized society when reality fails invention is called in to supply the

defect they Delight in Scandal and prove it by their claim to some of the refined conventionalities of civilized life porcupine had spread the news abroad in the village that a large reward had been offered for the white woman consequently I was sought for the motive being to gain the reward one day an Indian whom I had seen in different places and whose wife I had known made signs intimating a desire for my escape and assuring me of his help to return to my people I listened to his plans and although I knew my position in such a case to be

one of great Peril yet I felt continually that my life was of so little value that any opportunity however slights was as a star in the distance an escape should be attempted even at a risk we conversed as well as we could several times and finally Arrangements were made at night he was to make a slight scratching noise at the teepee where I was as a sign the night came but I was singing to the people and could not get away another time we had visitors in the lodge and I would be missed the next night I arose from my

robe and went out into the darkness seeing my intended rescuer at a short distance I approached and followed him we ran hastily out of the village about a mile where we were joined by the [ __ ] who had helped make the arrangements and was favorable to the plan for my Escape but she was not there white Tepee that was the Indian’s name looked hastily around and seeing no one darted suddenly away without a word of explanation why this Indian acted thus I never knew it was a strange proceeding fear lent me wings and I flew rather than ran back to

my teepee or Lodge were exhausted and discouraged I dropped on the ground and feigned Slumber for the inmates were already aroused having just discovered my absence finding me apparently asleep they lifted me up and taking me into the tent laid me upon my robe the next evening white teepee sent for me to come to his lodge to a feast where I was well and hospitably entertained but not a sign given of the adventure of the previous nights but when the pipe was passed he requested it be touched to my lips then offered it to the great spirit

thus signifying his friendship towards me in the same month the Indians captured a white man who was hunting on the Prairie and carried him far away from the haunts of other white men where they tied him hand and foot after divesting him of all clothing and left him there to starve he was never heard of afterward there were twin children in one of The Lodges one of which sickened and died and in the evening was buried the surviving child was placed upon the scaffold by the corpse and there remained all night it’s crying and

moaning almost breaking my heart I inquired as to why they did this the reply was to cause the mate to mourn the mother was on one of the neighboring Hills wailing and weeping as is the custom among them every night nearly there were women among the hills wailing for their dead about the first of October the Indians were on the move as usual and by some means I became separated from the family I was with and was lost I looked around for them but their familiar faces were not to be seen strangers gazed upon me and although I

besought them to assist me in finding the people of my own teepee they paid no attention to my trouble and refused to do anything for me never shall I forget the sadness I felt as evening approached and we encamped for the night in a lonely Valley after a wearisome days journey along one side stood a strip of Timber with a small stream beside it hungry weary and lost to my people with no place to lay my head and after a fruitless search for the family I was more desolate than ever even keoku or yellow bird the Indian girl who had been

given me was not with me that day making it still more lonely I sat down and held my pony it was Autumn and the forests were the last Glory of its gorgeous coloring already the leaves lay along the paths like a rich carpet of variegated colors the winds caught a deeper tone mournful as the tones of an aeolian harp but the air was balmy and soft and the sunlight lay warm and pleasant as in mid-summer over the beautiful Valley now occupied with numberless camps of tentless Indians it seemed as if the Soft Autumn weather was

to the last moments unwilling to yield the last traces of beauty to the chill Embraces of earn winter and I thought of the luxuries and Comforts of my home I looked back on the past with tears of sorrow and regrets my heart was overburdened with grief and I prayed to Die the future looked like a dark cloud approaching for the dread of the desolation of winter to me was appalling while meditating on days of the past and contemplating the future keoku came suddenly upon me and was delighted to find the object of her search they had

been looking for me and did not know where I had gone were quite worried about me she said and she was glad she had found me I was as pleased as herself and rejoiced to join them one has no idea of the extent of an Indian village or of the number of its inhabitants it would seem strange to some that I should ever get lost when among them but like a large city one may be separated from their Companions and in a few moments be lost the Indians all knew the the white woman but I knew but few comparatively and consequently when among strangers I

felt utterly friendless the experience of those days of Gloom and sadness seem like a fearful dream now that my life is once again with civilized people and enjoying the blessings that I was there deprived of some 25 years ago an immigrant trained and route for California arrived in the neighborhood of the crossing of the North Platte River and the cholera broke out Among The Travelers and every one of them died with the exception of one little girl the Indian black bear while hunting came to the wagons now a morgue and finding

the father of the girl dying with cholera took the child in his arms the dying parent begged him to carry his little one to his home in the East assuring him of abundant reward by the child’s friends in addition to the gold he gave them these facts I gleaned from a letter given to Black Bear by the dying father and which had been carefully preserved by the daughter instead of doing as he was desired he took the money the child and everything valuable in the train to his own home among the hills and there he educated

the little one with the habits of Indian life she forgot her own language her name and everything about her past life but she knew that she was white her infancy and girlhood were therefore passed and utter ignorance of the modes of Life of her own people and contented and happy she remained among them verifying the old adage that habit as second nature when she was of marriageable age black bear took her for his wife and they had a child a boy I became acquainted with this white woman shortly after I went into the village and we were sincere

friends although not confidants as I dared not trust her it was very natural and pleasant also to know her as she was white and although she was an Indian in tastes and habits she was my sister and belonged to my people there was a sympathetic cord between us and it was a relief to be with her on the occasion of my first visit with her black bear suggested the idea that white women always drink tea together so she made us a cup of herb tea which we drink and Company I endeavored to Enlighten her and to do her all the good

I could told her of the white people and of their kindness and Christianity which she listened to with great interest I was the only white woman she had seen for whenever they neared any Fort she was always kept out of sight she seemed to enjoy painting herself and dressing for the dances as well as the squaws Anne was happy and contented with Indian surroundings for she knew no difference a little boy 14 years old whose name was Charles Sylvester belonging in Quincy Illinois who was stolen when seven years

of age was in the village and one day I saw him playing with the Indian boys and discovering immediately that he was a white boy I flew to his side and tried to clasp him in my arms and my joy exclaiming oh I know you are a white boy speak to me and tell me who you are and where you come from he also had forgotten his name and parentage but knew that he was white when I spoke to him the boys began to plug and tease him and he refused to speak to me anymore running away every time I approached him one year after when this boy was out

hunting he killed a Comrade by accident and he dared not return to the Village so he then escaped on His Pony to the white people on his way to the states he called it a house where they knew what Indians he belonged to and they questioned him whether he had seen a y white woman in the village he replied in the affirmative and a bundle of pictures being given him he picked mine out from among them saying that is the white woman whom I saw after a while being discontented with his own people he returned to his adopted friends on the

North Platte River and became an interpreter and traitor and Still Remains there doing business at various posts when the Indians went to obtain their annuities they transferred me to the unkpapas leaving me in their charge where there was a young couple and an old Indian who had four wives he had been very brave it was said for he had endured the trial which proves a successful Warrior he was one of those who looked at the sun without failing in heart or strength this custom is as follows the one who undergoes this

operation is nearly naked and is suspended from the upper end of a pole by a cord which is tied to some splints which run through the Flesh of of both breasts the weight of his body is hung from it the feet still upon the ground helping support it of very little and in his left hand he holds his favorite bow and in his right with a firm hold his medicine bag a great crowd usually looks on sympathizing with and encouraging him but he still continues to hang and look at the sun without paying the least attention to anyone about him the

Mystery Men beat their drums and shake their rattles and sing as loud as they can yell to strengthen his heart to look at the Sun from its Rising until its setting at which time if his heart and strength have not failed him he has cut down receives a liberal donation of presence which are piled before him during the day and also the name and style of a doctor or medicine man which lasts him and ensures him respect through life it is considered a test of Bravery Superstition seems to have full sway among the Indians just as much as

in Heathen Lands Beyond the Sea where the Burma mother casts her child to the crocodile to appease the great spirit many of these Indians were from Minnesota and were of the number that escaped Justice two years before after committing an indiscriminate Slaughter of men women and children one day I was sent for by one of them and when I was seated in his lodge he gave me a letter to read which purported to have been written by General Sibley as follows this Indian after taking part in the present outbreak of the Indians against

the white settlers and missionaries being sick and not able to keep up with his friends in their flight we give you the offerings of friendship food and clothing you are in our power but we won’t harm you go to your people and glad in their hearts lay down your weapons and fight the white men no more we will do you good and not evil take this letter in it we have spoken depart in peace and Evermore to be a friend to the white people and you will be more happy H.

H Sibley Brigadier General commanding Expedition instinctively I looked up to his face after reading this and said you intend to keep your promise he laughed derisively at the idea of an Indian brave abandoning his profession he told of many instances of outrageous cruelties of his bands in their marauding and murderous attacks on traveling parties and Frontier settlers and further to assure me of his bravery he showed me a puzzle or game he had made from the finger bones of some of the victims that had fallen beneath his own Tomahawk the bones had been freed

from the flesh by boiling and being placed upon a string were used for playing some kind of Indian game this is but one of the heathenish acts of these Indians the Indians are fond of recounting their exploits and savage-like dwell with much satisfaction upon the number of scalps they have taken from their white foes they would be greatly amused at the shuttering horror manifested when to annoy me they would tauntingly portray the dying agonies of white men women and children who had fallen into their hands and

especially with the effect of their description of the murder of little Mary afford them satisfaction I feel now that I must have been convinced of her death yet I could not help then hoping that she had escaped these exploits and incidents are generally related by the Indians when they are in Camp and have nothing to do the great lazy brutes would sit by the hour making caricatures of white soldiers representing them in various ways and always as cowards and inferior beings sometimes as in combat but always at their Mercy this was

frequently done apparently to annoy me and one day losing patience I snatched a rude drawing from the hands of an Indian who is holding it up to my view you and tore it in two clasping the part that represented the white Soldier to my heart and throwing the other in the fire then looking up I told them the white soldiers were dear to me and that they were my friends and I loved them I said they were friends to the Indians and did not want to harm them I expressed myself in the strongest manner by words and signs never did I see a more enraged set

of men they assailed me with burning fire Brands burning me severely they heeded the points of arrows and burned and threatened me sorely I told them I meant no harm to them that it was ridiculous they’re getting angry at me for burning a piece of paper I promised I would make them some more that they should have pictures of my drawing when at last that pacified them they were much like children in this respect easily offended but very difficult to please I was constantly annoyed worried and terrified by their strange conduct

their transition from laughing and fun to anger and even rage I knew not how to get along with them one moment they would seem friendly and kind the next if any Act of Mind displeased them their faces were instantly changed and they displayed their hatred or anger and unmeasured words or conduct children one hour the next fiends I always tried to please them and was as cheerful as I could be under the circumstances for my own sake one day I was called to see a man who lay in his teepee in great suffering his wasted face was darkened

by fever and is brilliantly restless eyes rolled anxiously as if in search of relief from pain he was reduced to a skeleton and had endured torture from the separation of an old wound in the knee he greeted me with the how how of Indian politeness and an answer to my inquiry why he came to suffer so replied I go to fight white man he take away land and Chase game away then he take away our squaws he take away my best [ __ ] here is voice choked and he displayed much emotion pitying his misery I endeavored to Aid him and

rendered him all the assistance in my power but death was then upon him the medicine man was with him also practicing his incantations we were so constantly traveling it weird me Beyond expression the day after this Indian’s burial we were again on the move so that’s it from Fanny Kelly’s Narrative of her captivity for this episode it is now fall of 1864 after a train was captured in July she had another failed escape attempt then she got lost in the Sioux Village and then she was burned by some angry Warriors

after she reacted to them taunting her in the next episode in this series we’ll see what happens to Fanny after she has transferred to the hunk papa zoo you may have noticed that Fanny Kelly told some of the same stories that Sarah Larimer told in her book The capture and Escape published one year before Fanny Kelly’s book in 1870 particularly the stories about black bear’s wife as well as the story of a young boy captive from Illinois named Charles Sylvester I will now read an excerpt from this book a fate worse than death by Gregory and

Susan michenow this tells a little bit more about how the two books came to be Pub published in 1870 and then fannies in 1871 and how the publication process created some animosity between Fanny Kelly and Sarah Larimer in October of 1870 Fanny Kelly commenced a lawsuit against Sarah Larimer apparently she and Sarah had made an agreement in 1865 that they would prepare a joint Memoir of their experiences with both names appearing as co-authors in May of 1869 Sarah took the manuscript to Philadelphia where it was

published in her name only and as her own work clearly almost all of the Indian captivity experiences were fannies at the first trial Kelly recovered a judgment of five thousand dollars two more appeals followed however and the last one finally declared that the payment should only be one half of the value of the manuscript when Sarah Larimer took it Kelly was only awarded 285.

50 the case was bitterly contested with the last hearings dragging on until 1876 and the women becoming enemies so that’s it for this episode as you can see Fannie Kelly felt that Sarah Larimer had tried to publish the book they had both worked on as her own work although there is much in Fanny Kelly’s narrative that is not included in Sarah larimer’s book the stories about black bear’s wife and Charles Sylvester may have been ones that Fanny Kelly heard that Sarah Larimer included in her book this channel is called unworthy history because we talk about actual history

that isn’t worthy of History Channels on TV stay tuned to this channel for more Fanny Kelly stories and more actual history about people whose shoes we are unworthy to stand in so if you want to see more episodes like this then be sure to like And subscribe and we’ll see you next time on unworthy history