chief, an office he was desirous of resigning. The
speeches made upon this occasion, as interpreted by Paquette, the modest
demeanor of the young man, and the dignified yet feeling manner of the
father throughout, made the whole ceremony highly impressive; and when
the latter took the medal from his neck and hung it around that of his
son, addressing him a few appropriate words, I think no one could have
witnessed the scene unmoved.

I had watched the countenances of the prisoners as they sat on the
ground before me, while all these ceremonies were going forward. With
one exception they were open, calm, and expressive of conscious
innocence. Of that one I could not but admit there might be reasonable
doubts. One was remarkably fine-looking--another was a boy of certainly
not more than seventeen, and during the transfer of the medal he looked
from one to the other, and listened to what was uttered by the speakers,
with an air and expression of even childlike interest and satisfaction.

Our hearts felt sad for them as, the ceremonies finished, they were
conducted by a file of soldiers and committed to the dungeon of the
guard-house until such time as they should be summoned to attend the
court appointed to try their cause.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ESCAPE OF THE PRISONERS.

The Indians did not disperse after the ceremonies of the surrender had
been gone through. They continued still in the vicinity of the Portage,
in the constant expectation of the arrival of the annuity money, which
they had been summoned there to receive. But the time for setting out
on his journey to bring it was postponed by Governor Porter from week to
week. Had he foreseen all the evils this delay was to occasion, he
would, possibly, have been more prompt in fulfilling his appointment.

Many causes conspired to make an early payment desirable. In the first
place, the Winnebagoes, having been driven from their homes by their
anxiety to avoid all appearance of fraternizing with the Sauks, had made
this year no gardens nor corn-fields They had, therefore, no provisions
on hand, either for present use or for their winter's consumption,
except their scanty supplies of wild rice. While this was disappearing
during their protracted detention at the Portage, they were running the
risk of leaving themselves quite unprovided with food, in case of a bad
hunting-season during the winter and spring.

In the next place, the rations which the Agent had been