See the Essays section for a profile of Robert Placidus Higheagle (born ca. 1873).
An Indian named Step made a feast and invited good many Indians, as he wished to tell them about this dangerous escape in a war long time ago. His first statement was that he would have been dead long ago if he had lived in a savage state as he did many years ago. He then began to tell them the following story. He stated that a long time ago some men and himself went to war with a deaf and dumb boy. They went on foot, as they expected to capture some horses from their enemies.
Thus they continued marching until they arrived at a very high hill which they named Dog’s Ears Hill. From this hill they could see a long distance off. Looking down they saw herds of buffaloes and wild horses in a forest. They were not only pleased, but were very much surprised when they saw these objects before their eyes. So they concluded that they would divide their party in such a way, so that they would surround them. Down in the forest they went and were having a pretty tough chase. But all at once they were yelling and began to climb the tallest trees. What was the matter? (Here I wish to say that he mentions a kind of animal which I don’t think is found in this continent. He described it and it seems as though it must be an animal that is found in Africa called gnu—an animal something like a horse with two horns. So I will call it a gnu). They saw a gnu right among the herd—been engaged in chasing the herd before the men did. The animal stopped chasing the herd and began to attack these poor fellows. About six of them climbed on a single tree. But the gnu came around and began shaking the tree with its horns and the men were in great fear. Every time they attempted to shoot the animal, it acted more furiously. By and by the animal shook the tree with all its might and one of the men fell off.
This was the deaf and dumb boy the youngest but bravest in the crowd. Before the animal had the chance to attack him he climbed up another tree that was near by. From the tree he made signs to the other fellows, which meant that as he does not expect to see a hundred years he would give up his life for the others, and he descended to the ground and began to shoot at the animal. He shot him in the brain, which made the animal senseless for a time. While this was taking place the men came down from the tree and ran away in full speed. The boy himself ran away with the others. They all ran in the same direction. But before they were gone some distance another gnu attacked him. The young fellow knew that he was going to die this time so as soon as the gnu attacked him he fell down to the ground. The animal caught him in his horns and threw him up in the air. When he fell to the ground he was not hurt, but he lay there pretending to be dead. The animal came around, pawing him. By and by [the animal] began to feel if [the boy’s heart was beating]. The boy, even if he was deaf and dumb, was very ticklish. It is said that he could laugh at any time he gets [tickled]. So when the animal came around to feel his heart beating, he got so tickled that he had to burst into a loud laugh. He tried very hard to resist but he could not. So when the animal found out that he pretended to be dead he caught him in his horns and did the same thing to him as before, only a little harder than before.
But the young fellow got the best of him and was saved. While he was having this tough time with the animal his companions had gone away from him. He found their tracks and followed them. He soon overtook them and was very glad to see them again. It is said that they made him a chief on account of his bravery.
The next day they had war with their enemies and it is said that they were victorious. After they had overcome their enemies they captured all of their horses. Thus they went home in a good style.
The reason why he told this true story was, he wished to impress upon their minds that a person, even if he is deaf and dumb, can accomplish much, just by patient endurance of suffering that may befall him.
The Indians drew good many morals from this story. One was that a person, even if he could not hear, could attempt to defend himself in the time of danger.7
“In the land of the Dakotas,” there is a certain river known as the Owl River, from the fact that a famous event had happened there concerning the above named bird.
It was customary among the Indians of old to do anything in their power to bring up their children as brave as themselves. One of the common punishments inflicted to remedy cowardice was that, when a male child cried over anything instead of acting like a man, he was sent out of the community until he could overcome his stubbornness.
One night, when the Indians camped out near the above mentioned river (which did not have a name at that time) a boy was crying over something. Owls were plentiful in the neighboring woods and were wide awake as usual. They were the means by which the mothers could pacify their children by telling them strange anecdotes about them. But this child did not care to hear anything concerning the owls but kept on crying. His mother told him that if he did not stop crying she would send him out where the owls would come and carry him away. It was a general belief at that time that owls had enormously large ears—so large as to enable them to carry away in them a young child with perfect ease. Of course the mother was just saying this in fun, as mothers would often do, in order to quiet the child, but her words were of no avail. Finally she sent him outdoors into the darkness of the night and told the owls to come and get him for she can’t make him mind. The owls seemed to have understood her request and were coming along and before anyone knew anything about it the child was carried off. The whole family went out when they heard no one crying and to their surprise, the child was gone. Just imagine how the parents felt! Word was sent through the village immediately announcing the trouble and nearly all the men even the women came out with their weapons to bring back the child. They searched all night and the next day till dark but all in vain. During the night they heard someone crying in the woods. Everyone rushed toward the place but nobody was to be found.
The next day the parents offered a reward of two fine ponies to anyone who found their child. Some boys went into the woods for game not intending to find the child, but they heard the same cry, which sent them to search. They heard the cry again in the hollow of an old oak. One of the boys climbed up and found that the child was there. They caught the owl in a true “cowboy fashion” and brought him to the ground. Of course the owl tried hard to get loose from the boy but was in the same fix as when a wild Texas steer is once caught by a skillful cowboy and there is no knowing as to its escape. The boys butchered the owl in such a manner as not to harm the child’s life and succeeded in restoring the child in good condition.
The act of the owl has been one of the greatest if not the greatest event that ever happened on that river and therefore the Indians named it the Owl River. Some Indians even count their time from that period. If you should ask any of those old time Indians the year of their birth etc., they will answer you that they were born ten years or so before the owl carried that child away. Of course this may not be a true story but the Indians of that section of the country believe it to be a fact just as much as the people of Sleepy Hollow believed in the incidents said to have occurred in that spot years ago.8