ossible to raise the Indian to the standard of the white
man. The head chief of the Winnebagoes was well known to me, and we
became fast friends. He was a friendly man to all the settlers, but I
knew the characteristics of the Indian well enough to trust none of
them. He never overcomes the cunning and trickery in his nature and I
learned to know that when he seemed most amiable and ingratiating was
the time to look out for some deviltry. The Indians were great gamblers,
the squaws especially. They would gamble away everything they owned,
stopping only at the short cotton skirt they wore.

"Crazy Jane" was an educated squaw and could talk as good English as any
of us. She was very peculiar and one of the funny things she did was to
ride her Indian pony, muffled up in a heavy wool blanket carrying a
parasol over her head. She had the habit of dropping in to visit the
wives of the settlers and would frequently; on these visits, wash her
stockings and put them on again without drying. One day when we were
living at the agency I came home and found my wife in a great fright.
Our little three year old girl was missing. She had looked everywhere
but could not find her. I ran to the agency buildings nearby, but no one
had seen her. They were digging a deep well near our house and I had not
dared to look there before, but now I must and after peering down into
the depths of the muddy water and not finding her, I looked up and saw
Crazy Jane coming towards me with a strange looking papoose on her back.
When she came nearer I found it was my child. I snatched the little girl
away from her. She said she was passing by and saw the child playing
outside the door and had carried her away on her back to her tepee,
where she had kept her for several hours but had meant no harm.

We were ordered to New Ulm after the outbreak. We found the place
deserted. The doors had been left unlocked and everyone had fled for
their lives. The desk and stamps from the postoffice were in the street
and all the stores were open. I put out scouting parties from there and
we stood guard all night. After two or three days a few came back to
claim their property. They had to prove their claim before I would allow
them to take charge again. Uncle "Tommy" Ireland came to us a few days
after we arrived there. He was the most distressed looking man I ever
saw in my life. He had been hiding in the swamps for seven days and
nights. He had lain in water in the dee