BULL. 30] 



DAKOTA 



377 



latter part of the 17th century, Hennepin 

 (Descr. La., Shea trans., 201, 1880) says: 

 " Eight leagues al)Ove 8t. Anthony of 

 Padua's falls on the right, you find the 

 river of the Issati or Nadoussion [Rum 

 r.], with a very narrow mouth, which 

 you can ascend to the x. for about 70 

 leagues to L. Buade [Mille lac] or of the 

 Issati where it rises. ... In the 

 neighborhood of L. Buade are many other 

 lakes, whence issue several rivers, on the 

 banks of which live the Issati, Nadoues- 

 sans, Tinthonha (which means 'prairie- 

 men'), Ouadebathon River People, 

 Chongaskethon Dog, or Wolf tribe (for 

 chonga among these nations means dog 

 or wolf), and other tribes, all which we 

 comprise under the name Nadonessiou." 

 Here the Issati are distinguished from the 

 Tinthonha (Teton), Ouadebathon (Wah- 

 peton), Chongaskethon (Sisseton), and 

 Nadouessans (perhaps the Wahpekute). 

 From the time of Le Sueur's visit (1700) 

 the Dakota became an important factor 

 in the history of the N. W. Their grad- 

 ual movement westward was due chiefly 

 to the persistent attacks of the Chippewa, 

 who received firearms from the French, 

 while they themselves were forced to rely 

 almost wholly on bows and arrows. 



Lieut. Gorrell,an English othcer, men- 

 tions their condition in this respect as late 

 as 1763 ( Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., i, 36, 1855) : 

 "This day, 12 warriors of the Sous came 

 here [(Ireen Bay, Wis.]. It is certainly 

 the greatest nation of Indians ever yet 

 found. Not above 2,000 of them were 

 ever armed with fire-arms, the rest de- 

 pending entirely on bows and arrows and 

 darts, which they use with more skill 

 than any other Indian nation in North 

 America. They can shoot the wildest 

 and largest beasts in the woods at 70 or 

 100 yds. distance. They are remarkable 

 for their dancing; the other nations take 

 the fashion from them." He mentions 

 that they were always at war with the 

 Chippewa. On the fall of the French 

 dominion the Dakota at once entered into 

 friendly relations with the English. It is 

 probable that the erection of trading posts 

 on L. Pepin enticed them from their old 

 residence on Rum r. and ]\Iil]e lac, for it 

 was in this section that Carver (1766) 

 found those of the eastern group. He 

 says (Travels, 37, 1796) : "Near the river 

 St. Croix reside three bands of the Nau- 

 dowessie Indians, called the River bands. 

 This nation is comi)osed, at present, of 11 

 bands. They were originally 12, but the 

 Assinipoils [Assiniboin] some years ago, 

 revolting, and separating themselves from 

 the others, there remain only at this time 

 11. Those I met here are termed the 

 River bands, l)ecause they chiefly dwell 

 near the banks of tliis river: the other 8 

 are generally distinguished by the title, 



Naudowessies of the Plains, and inhabit 

 a country that lies more to the westward. 

 The names of the former are Nehogata- 

 wimahs, the Mavvtawbauntowahs, and 

 Shahsweentowahs." During an investi- 

 gation by Congress in 1824 of the claim 

 by Carver's heirs to a supposed grant of 

 land, including the site of St Paul, made 

 to Carver by the Sioux, Gen. Leaven- 

 worth stated that the Dakota informed 

 him that the Sioux of the Plains never 

 owned any land e. of the JNIississijjpi. 



During tiie Revolution and the War of 

 1812 the Dakota adhered to the English. 

 There was, however, one chief who sided 

 with the United States in 1812; this was 

 Tohami, known to the English as Rising 

 Moose, a chief of the Mdewakanton who 

 joined the Americans at St Louis, where 

 he was commissioned by Gen. Clark. 

 By the treaty of July, 1815, peace between 

 the Dakota and the United States was 

 established, and l)y that of Aug., 1825, 

 the boundary lines between them and the 

 LTnited States and between them and the 

 various tribes in the N. W. were defined. 

 The boundaries of the Sioux and other 

 northwestern tribes were again defined 

 by the treaty of Sept. 17, 1851. Their 

 most serious outl)reak against the whites 

 occurred in Minnesota under Little Crow 

 in 1862, when about 700 white settlers 

 and 100 soldiers lost their lives and some 

 of the most horrible cruelties known to 

 history were committed by the Indians; 

 but the entire Dakota group never j^ar- 

 ticipated unitedly in any of the modern 

 wars or outbreaks. The bands engaged 

 in the ujirising mentioned were the INIde- 

 wakanton, Wahpekute, Wahpeton, and 

 Sisseton. Although this revolt was quelled 

 and the Sioux were compelled for a time 

 to submit to the terms offered them , a spirit 

 of unrest continued to prevail. By the 

 treaty of 1867 they agreed to relinquish 

 to the United States all their territory s. 

 of Niobrara r. , w. of long. 104°, and n. of 

 lat. 46°, and promised to retire to a large 

 reservation in s. w^ Dakota before Jan. 1, 

 1876. r)n the discovery of gold in the 

 Black-hills the rush of miners thither be- 

 came the occasion of another outbreak. 

 This war was participated in by such well- 

 known chiefs as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, 

 Spotted Tail, Rain-in-the-face, Red Cloud, 

 American Horse, Gall, and Crow King, 

 and was rendered famous by the cutting 

 off of Maj. Gen. George A. Custer and 

 five companies of cavalry on the Little 

 Bighorn, June 25, 1876. A final rising 

 during the (Thost-dance excitement of 

 1890-91 was sulxlued Ijy (Jen N. A. Miles. 



The Dakota are universally conceded 

 to be of the highest type, physically, 

 mentally, and probably morally, of any 

 of the western tribes. Their bravery has 

 never been questioned by white or Indian, 



