One summer the Sioux and the Sacs and
Foxes were brought together under a flag of
truce by the Commissioners of the Great White
Father, for the purpose of making a treaty with
them. During the short period of friendly in-
tercourse and social dance and feast, a noble
warrior of the enemy's tribe courted Dowan-
hotaninwin.
Several of her old lovers were vying with
one another to win her at the same time, that she
might have inter-tribal celebration of her wed-
ding.
Behold! the maiden accepted the foe of her
childhood--one of those who had cruelly de-
prived her of her parents!
By night she fled to the Sac and Fox camp
with her lover. It seemed at first an insult to
the Sioux, and there was almost an outbreak
among the young men of the tribe, who were
barely restrained by their respect for the Com-
missioners of the Great Father.
But her aged grandfather explained the mat-
ter publicly in this fashion:
"Young men, hear ye! Your hearts are
strong; let them not be troubled by the act of
a young woman of your tribe! This has been
her secret wish since she became a woman.
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