SHONGMUNECUTHE;

OR,

THE IETAN.

THE original name of this famous chieftain was Shong-mun-e-cuth-e, or the Prairie Wolf. The title of the Ietan, by which he is chiefly known to the whites, was given for exploits which will be detailed in the course of our narrative. His father was named Big Horse, and he had several brothers, two of whom, Blue Eyes and Lodge Pole, became celebrated warriors.

The tribe of which he was a native, consists of the remnants of the Ottoes and Missouries, once numerous and warlike tribes, which roamed over the boundless west; but they are now so greatly reduced that the whole number of warriors, in both tribes, does not exceed two hundred. Being united by the closest friendship, they have cast their lots in union and act together as one people; and, small as is their aggregate, they have sustained themselves with such uniform bravery and good conduct as to command the respect of the tribes around them. They are more indebted to letan than to any other individual for the high reputation they have maintained, as he was not only one of the boldest of their warriors, but he was distinguished for his knowledge and wisdom in peace. The tribe lives near the La Platte, thirty miles

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southwest of Council Bluffs. They have two mud villages, where they plant corn and pumpkins, which they leave to grow during the summer, while they go to the prairies, to hunt the buffaloes. At this period, they live in tents made of their buffalo robes. Upon their return they gather their harvest, and spend the winter in their wigwams.

When Colonel Long's party were encamped on the Upper Missouri, in 1819, they were visited by a party of Ottoes, among whom was Ietan, then a young but distinguished warrior. A grand dance was performed in honor of the American officers; in the course of which the leaders of the greatest repute among the Indians narrated their exploits. In his turn letan stepped forward and struck the flag-staff which had been erected, and around which the dancers moved. This ceremony is called striking the post; and such is the respect paid to it, that whatever is spoken by the person who strikes, may be relied upon as strictly true; and, indeed, it could not well be otherwise, for the speaker is surrounded by rival warriors, who would not fail to detect, and instantly expose, any exaggeration by which he should endeavor to swell his own comparative merits.

In recounting his martial deeds, Ietan said he had stolen horses seven or eight times from the Kanzas; he had first struck the bodies of three of that nation, slain in battle. He had stolen horses from the Ietan nation, and had struck one of their dead. He had stolen horses from the Pawnees, and had struck the body of one Pawnee Loup. He had stolen horses several times from the Omahas, and once

from the Puncas.

He had struck the bodies of two Sioux. On a war party, in company with the Pawnees, he had attacked some Spaniards, and penetrated into one of their camps. The Spaniards, excepting a man and a boy, fled, himself being at a distance before his party; he was shot at and missed by the man, whom he immediately shot down and struck.

On the occasion above alluded to, we are told, in the dance letan represented one who was in the habit of stealing horses. He carried a whip in his hand, as did a considerable number of the Indians, and around his neck were thrown several leathern thongs, for bridles and halters, the ends of which trailed on the ground behind him. After many preparatory manœuvres, he stooped down, and with his knife represented the act of cutting the hopples of the horses; he then rode his tomahawk as children ride their broomsticks, making such use of his whip as to indicate the necessity of rapid movement, lest his foes should overtake him.

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While yet young, the Ietan was the leader of a party of some eight or ten warriors, against a small tribe called Ietans-probably a branch of the Snake or Blackfoot Indians; they surprised a considerable party of the enemy, and, in the desperate fight which followed, Ietan killed seven warriors with his own hand. returning to his camp, he displayed seven scalps, and several horses, the trophies of his skill and courage. From this period, he was ranked as one of the greatest warriors of his nation, and the name of the Ietan became his common appellation.

But the qualities of a warrior were not those by

them

which he was most extensively known. The Indians are by no means insensible to wit, and among selves they frequently take much delight in pleasantry. But it is not often that a person is found among them, who is distinguished for a playful fancy. This, however, was the case with Ietan. His humor broke out on all occasions. Wherever he went, he was the life of the party; and such at last was his established reputation as a wag, that, whenever he opened his mouth, the Indians around were prepared to laugh.

On one occasion a great number of warriors had assembled, to hold a council. They sat around in silence, no one presuming to speak. Decorum required, upon such an august occasion, the sages and warriors, renowned alike for their great virtues and their famous deeds, being present, that all should preserve the utmost gravity. Ietan was among the number; and a superficial observer might have fancied, on looking at his face, that he fully participated in the solemnity of the scene. A closer critic might have remarked, as beneath a mask, a quivering smile around his lip, indicating some merry thought about to burst forth upon the assembly. At last, preserving his grave exterior, he made some remark in a low tone, yet so as to be heard over the whole mass. In an instant the gravity of the council was disturbed; there was a general grunt, and then a laugh, which could not be repressed. Ietan had suggested some idea so humorous, that even the established laws of good society were set at naught.

An instance of playfulness of fancy is afforded in the following story. He had been on a visit to Gov

ernor Clarke, the intendant of Indian affairs at St. Louis. As he was returning, he stopped at the little settlement of Liberty, about half way to Council Bluffs. Here he manifested a great desire to see the process of manufacturing whiskey, which he knew was carried on there. As the Indians had already made some attempts to procure this article, in which they had sacrificed large quantities of their corn, it was not thought prudent to show so sagacious a person as letan the whole process. He was, therefore, taken only into the room where the distillation was taking place. When he saw the coiling pipe, called the worm, and understood its use and operation, he remarked playfully," I see now why it is that the whiskey, when it gets into the head, makes the brain turn round so; it is because of the trick it gets in passing through the tube."

Being once at Council Bluffs, with some of his Indian friends, he saw some rockets sent into the air by the soldiers. In talking with his companions upon the subject, he told them that the Great Spirit had made the whites superior to the Indians in two things, in making fire-water and fire-powder; and in gratitude for these gifts, they sent up these streams of fire, so that He might light His pipe.

About the year 1822, Major O'Fallan, who had been stationed at Council Bluffs, attended a deputation of chiefs, from several of the tribes, to Washington. Among them were warriors from the Kanzas, Pawnees, Otoes, Gros Ventres, Mandans, Omahas, &c., amounting in all to about twenty. Of this party, Ietan was one. During the expedition, he was con