The Story of How Little Priest went out as a Soldier

told by John Harrison

Harrison Family History

Captain John Harrison

Hocąk Text with English Interlinear Translation

(224) First in 1865 they started back from Omaha City where they had gotten clothes and horses, and there on the west side, there they were. First a fort they came to, which they called "Fort Kearny." It is said that there they first crossed a large river. It is the Platte River (Nįpárazera). This is dangerous to cross as the sand draws one in, it is said. Straight towards the west (225) they went. There again they went towards a fort, all the time traveling as scouts. They said that Fort Laramie is the fort they came to the second time. To the third deer-river (canišánañk), there they say they went. The fourth time was a hill, Big Hill (Xéxete Xe) they say, where they say is a mighty one, it is said. (226) There again they came to Fort Reno, which it is said, is on Powder Creek (Ųxíni Nišónañk). There again they went forth. First, there they saw many animals — grizzly bears, wolves, elk — truly it is said, many. Again they went forth, to the Tongue River (Rézi Nicònañk), it is said. There they fought Arapahos. They shot Little Priest in the leg, (227) but it did not pierce through the leather breeches that he wore, so that it was merely swollen where he was hit. They scouted from the wagon train. They went to Big Hill Creek (Xé Xete Nióñka). From there they went to what is called "Yellowstone Park." There it is, Fort Rainer, there they went by, it is said. Some wintered over there, they told them. A Hocąk named "Bright Feather" said (228), "Before four [o'clock] they will kill one of us." He spoke truly: before four, there they killed a Hocąk named "White Snake" (Wak’ą́sgaga). Thus, throughout the spring they pursued them.

Once on a spring day, Little Priest told the Hocągara, "Today I will fight the entire day," he said. There were three Hocągara with him and he went as the fourth. (229) Those who were with him were Henry Decora, John Bonaparte, and Benjamin Chambers. Little Priest alone took a small rifle with him there and he went got there someplace about ten miles, he did it. He rode there on a swift horse. Twenty Indians (230) chased after Little Priest. The three Hocąks who had been with him were on a high hill looking at him. They could not help him, besides they thought, "There are too many, they will kill us," so they went back to the fort to let them know. When they got there they said, "They killed Little Priest there," it is said. Little Priest was still out there. (231) So whenever they came close, he dismounted and fought them on foot. When he rushed at them while he was on the ground, the arrows were thick. Again he would go until finally they killed his horse. They surrounded him on the open prairie. Just the same, there was a large stone there. There it was, and he tried to get to it, but before he could, four times (232) they shot him in the right breast. Again then it went into the breast crosswise, making a flesh wound right behind the shoulder. Again they shot one, and it was one below his navel before he got at the stone. He also killed one of them, cutting off his head, and now he was riding a horse again, so he tied the decapitated head to his ankle. (233) He did not run away but came forward then. They were also afraid that he would kill one of them, they thought, so they shot him in the shoulder and he fell to the ground. So they rushed towards him on foot, going for his head so that they could cut it off. So when they got to him, he rose up and took his gun. (234) Finally they again got to the horse, so he got to the rock; besides, they were afraid to go there. There he sat and sometimes he would take a shot at them, it is said. And then Little Priest's three people came and soldiers with them, but when they came within sight, the Arapahos there saw them, so they ran away.

Little Priest (235) was dead, this they were thinking. He was alive, but he was about dead. So they thought he was about to die, so the Hocągara put him in a blanket and took him towards the fort. They carried him by punching holes in the corners of the blanket and running their guns through them. They went about two miles. When they first got there it was dark. (236) They got there. There Little Priest was ready to come on a horse. The people got there. So his consciousness left him and his skin even turned white, but always he spoke, "Ho! Come on, come on," he said. All night he lay unconscious, then about daylight he came to, and then (237) they put him in the ghost-wagon that they brought there. They took him to the fort.

For four days the Indians sang the Grizzly Bear [Songs] for him. Where a soldier used to live whom they called "Good Chief" (Hųgᵋpį́ga), there they took him, carrying him in a blanket. At first they sang for him so that he could make grizzly bear power (xop) for himself. At first he could not move at all. (238) The large first-born, Southwind, sang for him while about ten Hocąks danced with him naked save for their breechcloths. Little Priest had told him that before this [life] he had been a grizzly bear, so the reason why they were doing this was so that he could cure himself. When they started the song, Little Priest started to move his finger tips. Finally, (239) he moved his whole arm. At last he sat up and they made his body dance. Finally, he stood up, but only with great effort could he stand himself straight up. At first he started to walk easy around the house, the way that the others were going. In the middle of the room there was a mound. The second time he went around it walking faster. (240) The third time he danced a little as he went around. Now then, the fourth time he danced hard around it. He came back to the middle of the room, put his hand on the mound, and rubbed all his wounds. There he was healed, but only on the back was it not quite well, so he reached it with great effort to make it well. So in the morning the Indians danced the Victory Dance. (241) Little Priest went, so the white people said, "Little Priest, you must be a devil," they said.¹

Commentary. It is said that Little Priest was the last true War Chief of the Hocągara. In worthy tribute to him is the Little Priest Tribal College in the state of Nebraska, an institution of higher learning in part dedicated to the preservation and elevation of Hocąk culture.

"Omaha City" — this is Omaha, Nebraska. The term "city" is appended to it so that it is not confused with the territory or reservation of the Omaha people after whom it was named. The text here reads, Omaha Sitiéja, the second word being a phonetic rendering of the English "city" (Hocąk, cinąk) with the suffix -eja attached, meaning "in, at." Omaha is also probably English, as the word in Hocąk is Omąhą.

"Nįpárazera" — from nį, "waters"; paras, "broad"; and -ra, the definite article — "the broad waters." It was once said of the senator from Nebraska, William Jennings Bryan, "the senator is like the Platte River of his native state, a mile wide at the mouth and about an inch deep."

"canišánañk" — this literally means, "deer river," ca being the term for deer. This expression is not known elsewhere. Does it refer to the third fork in the river (after deer antlers)? On the other hand, the expression could also mean "Deer Creek," there being a Deer Creek Sation mentioned as being passed by the scouts after Fort Laramie (see below). The Hocąk has hitaníhąna canišánąk, whereas Deer Creek Station is Ho’unį́ Canišánąk. Could ho’unį have been misunderstood as hitaníhąna? Or are there three tributaries know as Ca Nišánąk?

"Xéxete Xe" — this is a rather odd designation for this promontory of unknown location. Xéxete is used to denote mountains, but actually itself means "big hill" (xete = "big," xe = "hill"). So Xéxete Xe means literally, "Big-Hill Hill," or "Mountain Hill."

"Ųxíni Nišónañk" — the word ųxini denotes powder, but most specifically, charcoal powder, the powder formed by ashes.

"Little Priest" — his name in Hocąk is Hųk Xų́nųga (or Hųgᵋxųnųga), where hųk means primarily "chief" and secondarily "priest"; and xųnų means, "small, young." 

Little Priest in New York, 1865		Little Priest and Henry Decorah in Nebraska, 1866

"ghost-wagon" — a literal translation of the Hocąk, waną́ǧi hirarút’ira. This is the term for a hearse.

The Grizzly Bear Songs (Mąco Nąwą́na) mentioned in the text were originally given to a devotée in a dream (vision) when these spirits blessed him. Here are four such songs which are known:

"mound" — in the dance used to cure Little Priest, they speak of a mound in the middle of the room called a mąwárupuru, whose earth is efficacious in curing his wounds. A similar mound is also used in the Buffalo Dance, which they call a mąnuserek. Spirits are often said to live in great mounds or hills, so this may be a smaller representation that functions as a special point of communication with the world of the spirits. It is therefore similar to an altar, but more powerful in its effacacy.

Other Accounts. There is now an historical marker in Nebraska commemorating the unit to which Little Priest belonged as well as its foremost soldier:

WINNEBAGO SCOUTS

In 1863, the Winnebago Indians were moved from their home in Minnesota to a barren reservation in Dakota Territory. Groups of Winnebago soon moved down the Missouri River to the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska. In March, 1865, the Winnebago used their own funds to purchase land from the Omaha. That land is now the Winnebago Reservation.

In early 1865, about 75 members of the Winnebago Tribe enlisted in the Nebraska Volunteers. Known as Company "A," Omaha Scouts, the unit took an active part in quelling the Indian uprising of 1865 and 1866. This army service exemplified the Winnebago's desire for peace and good relationships between the Indians and the white settlers.

In the summer of 1866, upon the return of the Winnebago veterans, a homecoming festival was held. Shortly thereafter, Chief Little Priest died of wounds received in army service. An annual memorial celebration is held in remembrance of his sacrifice. The year following his death, Little Priest's service flag was raised as a symbol of the tribe's allegiance to their country. This ceremony remains an important part of each celebration. Later the gatherings became known as the Annual Pow-wow.

To the honor of these brave and noble forebears with their rare wisdom and foresight, do we, the remnants of once a proud nation, dedicate this marker.

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Historical Land Mark Council
US Highway 73, north of Macy
Thurston County
Marker 44

The History of Little Priest as Set Out by Jipson

He begins with an account of Little Priest the elder.

(231) The Little Priest of Black Hawk fame was also called Horah-tshay-kaw [Horaceka], meaning the Traveler. He was said to have been one of the most reputable of the chiefs: able, discreet, wise and moderate and always sincerely friendly to the Whites.²

In 1829 and also in 1832, his residence was given as Koshkonong. One side of his nose had been destroyed and he was frequently called "Old Cut Nose." His death is said to have occurred in 1882, in a Winnebago village, on White Creek, Adam's County, Wisconsin, at an extremely advanced age. He was one of the Winnebago chiefs held as a hostage in the Black Hawk War.

Little Priest had several sons, among them one called Hoank-khoo-no-nik-ka (Hųk-xununįka) meaning Little Chief. He was also called Little Priest by the whites, and he was a man of much sagacity and bravery.

In 1832 he was a resident of Koshkonong (Kinzie), and he was with his tribe on the Neutral Ground and in Minnesota and Nebraska. During the Sioux outbreak, he lived on the east border of Rice Lake in Blue Earth County and he was suspected of complicity (232) in that affair. He was taken to Fort Snelling Oct. 4, 1863, where he was imprisoned with other Winnebagoes. In Nov., they were taken to Mankato and tried. Although he was proved to have been present at the attack on New Ulm and at various other outbreaks, he was acquitted. In 1865 about seventy Winnebagoes enlisted in Company A of the Omaha Scouts at Decatur, Nebraska, with Little Priest as their leader. After going to Omaha and receiving their supplies of clothing, rifles and horses, they started west going through Julesberg in Colorado, Fort Laramie in Wyoming, Deer Creek Station, and after six days they encountered Red Cloud [with] a band of Sioux, with some Crows, Cheyennes and Arapahos. The battle they fought with them was known as the battle of Tongue River. Little Priest was wounded in the left leg by a rifle ball.

On this expedition Little Priest was accompanied by his wife who is now the wife of James Bird, who also accompanied the Winnebagoes, and whose affidavit contains much of the information from which this sketch was compiled.³ In the affidavit Mrs. Bird's name is given as Ellen Tebo Bird.

Five or six Indian women were captured by the allied troops of whites and Winnebagoes, and the commanding officer of the troops ordered that they be turned loose and permitted to return home, and he sent with them a written message to the Sioux, asking them to quit fighting. When Little Priest heard of this order, he objected. He said the Sioux had been killing whites and a number of them should be captured and forced to quit fighting. He told the commanding officer he would go west after the women and secure that message. The commanding officer told him if he would secure the message, he would give him $25.00 and one of the two government horses which were being used by the Colonel.

Little Priest selected six other Winnebagoes, including the affiant (233) James Bird. They started and after traveling for some time, they spied an Indian on a hill; and Little Priest said he would go alone and interview him. On Little Priest's return, he reported that the Indian was Green Cloud, a Sioux chief from whom he had secured the document, and after his return he received the promised reward.

Little Priest's own version of this affair as related by Walking Priest is as follows: after telling his companions to stand by him, he went up to an Indian who was sitting on a hill, and the Indian advanced to meet him. Each one watched the other, and whatever motion either one made which might be considered a hostile move, was immediately made by the other. Both had their guns aimed and ready to fire, but finally shook hands instead, and the Sioux handed over the papers. Little Priest called his companions and they all shook hands and parted.

The entire company then started on the return trip but were stopped by a message telling them that white emigrants en route to San Francisco had been attacked by the Sioux and other bands of Indians. For that reason the scouts were ordered to accompany the emigrants and protect them, which they did, proceeding as far as the Big Horn River. After accompanying the emigrant train, which consisted of thirty-five wagons, the troops then went to a fort then being built on the Powder River, known as Fort Tyndall, arriving in the fall and remaining until the following June.

During the month of March, and while staying at Fort Tyndall, Little Priest, in company with three other Indians, sent out hunting for their horses. Little Priest was separated from his companions and chased by a band of Sioux numbering thirty-two. He fought them off during most of the day, receiving many wounds. One account stated that he was wounded in several places but shot three Sioux with his repeating rifle, one with his revolver, a fifth in hand to hand encounter and reached the fort with his five scalps. The Bird affidavit states that he fought all day and was finally relieved by a rescue party of Winnebagoes of which the affiant was a member. Little Priest died soon after this affair, (234) but the exact date of his death is unknown. According to his descendants, five hundred horses were captured from the Sioux Indians in the various skirmishes in which Little Priest and his followers took part, and turned over to the United States Government. Little Priest, the younger, signed the treaty of 1855. His children were Mary and Edward who died young, John and Louis Priest who live on the Nebraska Reservation, and Walking Priest who lives in Wisconsin. The last named is now (1921) sixty eight years old, and was born near White Earth in Minnesota.⁴

Commentary. "the Traveler" — this is the name given to one of the great and central Waterspirits. He is more usually called Hikiwarekega, but in the "Lost Blanket" he is also known as Horajegega, the same name given to Little Priest the elder.

"Koshkonong" — this is in Wisconsin. For Koshkonong, see "The Waterspirit of Lake Koshkonong."

"the Neutral Ground" — a 40 mile strip of land in Iowa ceded to the U. S. government in July, 1830. It was used to separate the Hocągara, who moved to Stawberry Point, from the hostile Sauk and Fox tribes located on the eastern side of the Neutral Ground. Just the same, during the ensuing eleven years, more than 40 Hocąks were killed by the Sauk and Fox. In 1849 the Hocągara were moved from the Neutral Ground to Minnesota.

"Deer Creek Station" — the "Wyoming Tales and Trails" website (http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/grock.html) has this to say of the locale, "Glenrock, 26 miles east of Casper, was originally known as Deer Creek Station or Deer Spring, established at the confluence of Deer Creek and the North Platte in 1857. ... In addition to the stage station there was a blacksmith and post office. Sir Richard Burton in his 1860 journey also noted the presence of a "grog shop." The saloon was owned by early mountain man Joseph Bissonette. Bissonette was a member of Manuel Lisa's expedition of 1812-1813 and served as an interpreter for Steven Long's 1819-1820 exploration of parts of present day Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. He also participated for a short distance for Fremont's first expedition. Later the Deer Creek Station served as a pony express, telegraph station and as starting point for the Bozeman Trail. By 1865, the Indians had become restless and there were frequent problems of the telegraph line being cut and guards killed. In 1866, the Station was burned."

"the Battle of Tongue River" — the Tongue River is located in northastern Wyoming. On August 29, 1865, General Patrick E. Connor with 125 cavalry troop and 90 Pawnee scouts, attacked Black Bear's peaceful camp of Arapaho without any provocation under the false impression that they were hostiles. The result was that the village was destroyed along with the winter's food supply and many women and children were massacred. Nevertheless, the Arapaho repelled one attack on the main body of warriors, then counterattacked, driving Connor's command back on its artillery. Only the fire of the howitzers enabled them to stave off annihilation. The long term result was to drive the Arapaho into an alliance with the Sioux and Cheyenne against the Federal Government, a confederation which reached its apogee with the victory at Little Big Horn. It is apparent that among the 90 scouts were at least some Hocąks.

Links: Supernatural & Spiritual Power, Blue Bear, Bear Spirits, Were-Grizzlies and Other Man-Bears.

Stories: mentioning Little Priest: Little Priest's Game; about the campaigns of the 1860's against the Arapahoes: They Owe a Bullet; about famous Hocąk warriors and warleaders: Little Priest's Game, The Masaxe War (Hogimasąga), Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath (Great Walker), Great Walker's Medicine (Great Walker, Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Šųgepaga (Dog Head), The Warbundle Maker (Dog Head), Black Otter's Warpath (Dog Head, Black Otter), The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara (Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Osage Massacre (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Fox-Hocąk War (Cap’ósgaga), The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, White Thunder's Warpath, Four Legs, The Man who Fought against Forty (Mącosepka), Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, The Hills of La Crosse (Yellow Thunder), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, Fighting Retreat, Mitchell Red Cloud, jr. Wins the Medal of Honor (Mitchell Red Cloud, jr.), How Jarrot Got His Name, Jerrot's Temperance Pledge — A Poem, Jarrot's Aborted Raid, Jarrot and His Friends Saved from Starvation, They Owe a Bullet (Pawnee Shooter).; about the (post-Columbian) history of the Hocągara: The Cosmic Ages of the Hocągara, The Hocągara Migrate South, The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, Annihilation of the Hocągara II, First Contact, Origin of the Decorah Family, The Glory of the Morning, The First Fox and Sauk War, The Fox-Hocąk War, The Masaxe War, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, Black Otter's Warpath, Great Walker's Medicine, Great Walker's Warpath, The Chief Who Shot His Own Daughter, Little Priest's Game, The Spanish Fight, The Man who Fought against Forty, The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, Jarrot's Aborted Raid, They Owe a Bullet, Origin of the Name "Milwaukee," A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Origin of the Hocąk Name for "Chicago"; mentioning the Decorah family: Origin of the Decorahs, The Glory of the Morning, The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, The Tavern Visit, The Hocągara Contest the Giants; mentioning the Wolf Clan: Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 3), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth; mentioning (spirit) bears (other than were-bears): White Bear, Blue Bear, Black Bear, Red Bear, Bear Clan Origin Myth, The Shaggy Man, Bear Offers Himself as Food, Hare Visits His Grandfather Bear, Grandmother Packs the Bear Meat, The Spotted Grizzly Man, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Redhorn's Sons, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The Messengers of Hare, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Hocąk Migration Myth, Red Man, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Two Boys, Creation of the World (v. 5), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Brown Squirrel, Snowshoe Strings, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The Spider's Eyes, Little Priest's Game, Morning Star and His Friend (v. 2), How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Trickster's Tail, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Warbundle Maker, cf. Fourth Universe; mentioning grizzly bears: Blue Bear, Brass and Red Bear Boy, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Were-Grizzly, The Spotted Grizzly Man, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Roaster, Wazųka, Little Priest's Game, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Migistega's Magic, The Woman who Loved her Half-Brother, The Two Boys (giant black grizzly), Partridge's Older Brother, The Chief of the Heroka, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, The Dipper (white grizzly), Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, The Creation of Man (v. 9), The Creation of Evil, cp. The Woman Who Fought the Bear; mentioning a small, sacred, earthen mound in the center of a lodge: Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Little Priest's Game, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5); mentioning sacred (artificial) mounds: The Waterspirit Guardian of the Intaglio Mound, The Green Lake Band, Baraboo in the 1840s, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (v. 1), The First Fox and Sauk War, Buffalo Dance, Buffalo Clan Origin Myth, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Mijistéga and the Sauks, Bear Clan Origin Myth (v. 12), Traveler and the Thunderbird War (v. 5), Little Priest’s Game, The Resurrection of the Chief’s Daughter, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Lost Lake, Tobacco Origin Myth, v. 5, The First Fox and Sauk War, Featherstonhaugh's Canoe Voyage; see also, The Archaeology of the Wazija, Indian History of Winneshiek County, Habitat of the Winnebago, 1632-1832, The Winnebago Tribe, The Hocąk Notebook of W. C. McKern from the Milwaukee Public Museum, The McKern Papers on Hocąk Ethnography, The Wisconsin Winnebagoes, Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, The Smoky Mountain Massacre, The Thunderbird Warclub; in which dancing plays a role: Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Mijistéga and the Sauks, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Little Priest's Game, Migistéga’s Magic, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, Trickster and the Dancers, Wolves and Humans, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Black Otter's Warpath; mentioning the Big Knives (white Americans): The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, Brawl in Omro, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka, A Prophecy, The Chief Who Shot His Own Daughter, The First Fox and Sauk War, The Cosmic Ages of the Hocągara, Turtle and the Merchant, The Hocągara Migrate South, Neenah, Run for Your Life, The Glory of the Morning, First Contact, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Migistéga’s Magic, Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, Mighty Thunder, The Beginning of the Winnebago, Soldiers Catch Two Boys, a Black One and a White One.

Themes: a seer makes true predictions down to unusual details: The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, Witches, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Fox-Hocąk War, A Prophecy, The Shawnee Prophet Predicts a Solar Eclipse, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, The Claw Shooter, Waruką́ną, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store; scouts spy on the enemy (from a hill) without being seen: The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Moiety Origin Myth, White Thunder's Warpath, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Worúxega; descriptions of human warfare: Black Otter's Warpath, Annihilation of the Hocągara II, The Warbundle Maker, The First Fox and Sauk War, Great Walker's Medicine, The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, Little Priest's Game, Wazųka, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, The Fox-Hocąk War, Great Walker's Warpath, White Fisher, The Lame Friend, White Thunder's Warpath, The Osage Massacre, A Man's Revenge, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, They Owe a Bullet, The Spanish Fight, Origin of the Name "Milwaukee," The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2), Tobacco Man and Married Man, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka; a group of men leave one of their own comrades behind alone to fight against an overwhelming force of enemy warriors: The Dog that became a Panther, Fighting Retreat; while a man fights a large enemy force, others go off to get reinforcements: White Fisher, The Warbundle Maker, The Dog Who Saved His Master, A Man and His Three Dogs; a Hocąk warrior single handedly fights an overwhelming enemy force (taking at least one enemy head or scalp): The Warbundle Maker, Little Priest's Game (Sioux), The Man who Fought against Forty (Dakota), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Osage), The Osage Massacre (Osage), Fighting Retreat, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka; head hunting: White Fisher, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, A Man's Revenge, Little Priest's Game, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Young Man Gambles Often, Morning Star and His Friend (v. 2), The Dipper, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, Turtle's Warparty, Ocean Duck, The Markings on the Moon, Wears White Feather on His Head, The Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man with Two Heads, Brave Man, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, Redhorn's Sons, Fighting Retreat, The Children of the Sun, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, The Were-Grizzly, Winneconnee Origin Myth; a warrior captures an enemy's horse: James’ Horse, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits.

Songs. Bladder, Song about the Older Brother (v. 2), Bladder, Song about the Older Brother (v. 3), Buffalo Dance Songs, Clan Songs, Bear Clan, Clan Songs, Bear Clan, Song for Returning, Clan Songs, Bear Clan, Song for Starting Out, Clan Song, Bear Clan, Song of the Youngest, Clan Songs, Buffalo Clan, Clan Songs, Buffalo Clan, The Four Songs of Hojanoka, Clan Songs—Deer Clan, Clan Songs—Wolf Clan, Clan Songs—Wonáǧire Wąkšik Clan, The Crawfish's Song, Duck Song, Farewell Songs, The Four Services Songs, Grandfather Sparrow's Rain Songs, Grizzly Bear Songs, Hare's Song to Grasshopper, Hare's Song to the Wągepanįgera, Hare's Song to Wildcat, Hawk's Song, Heroka Songs, Holy Song, Holy Song II, Little Fox's Death Song, Little Fox's Death Song (for the Warpath), Little Fox's Tail Song, Love Song I (female), Love Song II (female), Love Song III (female), The Mouse Song, Nightspirit Songs, The Quail's Song, Redman's Song, Slow Song of the Heroka, Soldier Dance Songs, Song for Calling the Buffalo, Song from the Water, Song from the Water (King Bird), The Song of Bluehorn's Sister, Hocąk Text — The Song of Sun Caught in a Net, The Song of the Boy Transformed into a Robin, Song of the Frog to Hare, Song of the Thunder Nestlings, The Song of Trickster's Baby, Song to Earthmaker, The Song to the Elephant, The Sun's Song to Hare, Three Warrior Songs, Turtle's Call for a Warparty (v. 1), Turtle's Call for a Warparty (v. 2), Turtle's Four Death Dance Songs, Twins, Ghost's Song (v. 1), Twins, Ghost's Song (v. 2), Twins, Ghost's Song (The Two Brothers), Twins, the Songs of Ghost and Flesh, Twins, Song of the Father-in-Law, Victory Song, Wailing Song, Warrior Song about Mącosepka, What a Turtle Sang in His Sleep, Wolf-Teasing Song of the Deer Spirits. Songs in the McKern collection: Waking Songs (27, 55, 56, 57, 58) War Song: The Black Grizzly (312), War Song: Dream Song (312), War Song: White Cloud (313), James’ Horse (313), Little Priest Songs (309), Little Priest's Song (316), Chipmunk Game Song (73), Patriotic Songs from World War I (105, 106, 175), Grave Site Song: "Coming Down the Path" (45), Songs of the Stick Ceremony (53).

Notes

¹ John Harrison, "The Story of Little Priest," Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3892 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, June, 1908) Winnebago III, #11a: 224-241 (= 269-286), Winnbago III, #5: 74-82, Winnebago I, #7a: 53-77. The end of this was translated and published in Radin, The Winnebago Tribe, 300-301.

² Charles Bent, History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time (Clinton, Iowa: L. P. Allen, 1877) 524.

"Kinzie" — this undoubtably refers to Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie (1806-1870), Wau-Bun: The "Early Day" in the North-West (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1873 [New York: Derby & Jackson, 1856]) Chapter XXVII.

³ Jipson's note reads, "Walking Priest visited the writer last August, gave him a copy of the Bird affidavit and through the interpreter who accompanied him, his own version of the affair. Contemporary newspaper accounts verify the statement made in the Bird affidavit." (Jipson, p. 232, nt 249)

⁴ Norton William Jipson, Story of the Winnebagoes (Chicago: The Chicago Historical Society, 1923) 231-234.