A Standard History of Waupaca County, Wisconsin. An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Civic and Social Development.

              HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY 77
two years in the sugar-bush, smokiman's pappoose, smokiman coming, scar on foot, and we're going to have it.' He raised his eye-brows and said: 'Oh, oh, oh.' Says I: 'Yes we are.' At this he ran for the tent as fast as I ever saw a man run. I hastened to where the men were, but the Indian was out of sight when I got up to them. They wanted to know if I had the words. 'Here's the document,' said I, showing them the paper. I told them of the Indian's actions, and Ware and A'^aughn said we better get down to the tent as soon as we could. We did make quick time going down, you better believe, for we thought they might skip out with the boy.
"When we reached there, we found the Indians, about forty in number, drawn up in line the shape of an ox-bow. The ends of the bow pointed to the north and the curve toward the south. Down in this curve, and near the tent, was old Nahkom^ and the boy. The Indians were fully armed with guns, knives and tomahawks, determined not to let us have the child. We were w^holly unarmed, not having a gun among us.    It was a case where brain was pitted against muscle.
"Dreutzer wanted to do the talking with the Indians, so Judge Ware, our leader, told him to go ahead. He tried to talk with the chief, but they stood and laughed at him. Ware then told me to talk to them. I stepped up to Peter and said: 'Look a' here. The Smokimen have come down to take the Pappoose. You stole it when it was a petite pap¬ poose. Winnebago two years in the sugar-bush. Smokiman's pappoose. Scar on the foot, and we are going to have it.' At this Peter became excited and said: 'Ah, ah, ah; no smokiman; no fasta.' I repeated it to him, saying ' If you don't let us have him, we are going right in after him. You understand that, don't you?' Peter crossed over to the chief, touched him, but kept pointing at me with his finger. He then repeated what I had said to him for the chief. Then I said: 'Yes, sir, we are.' The chief was so mad, he jumped right up and down. He took his toma¬ hawk from his belt. (The tomahawk was the handsomest I ever saw; about six inches across the bit, about the same to the eye, and had a handle about three feet in length. The handle was beautifully stained and varnished.) This the chief took to the scjuaw. Going to the wagon, he opened the canvas and made a motion for the squaw to enter. When she did so, he told her: 'If any smokiman come to wigwam to take pap¬ poose, put tomahawk down through the head—heap, heap, heap,' motion¬ ing out with his hands the way she was to serve us should we go to the tent for the boy.
"After the squaw and the pappoose were, as he thought, safely lodged within the tent, he came back to his place at the end of the line. He looked across the bow at Peter and then at me, and made a cross with