He took his
leave with signs of gratitude for their hospi-
tality, and especially for the kindness of the
beautiful Sioux maiden. She seemed to have
understood his mission better than any one else,
and as long as she lived she kept his queer
trinket--as it seemed to the others--and per-
formed the strange acts that he had taught her.
Furthermore, it was through the pleadings
of She-who-has-a-Soul that the chief Tatankaota
advised his people in after days to befriend the
white strangers, and though many of the other
chiefs opposed him in this, his counsels pre-
vailed. Hence it was that both the French and
English received much kindness from our peo-
ple, mainly through the influence of this one
woman!
Such was the first coming of the white man
among us, as it is told in our traditions. Other
praying-men came later, and many of the Sioux
allowed themselves to be baptized. True, there
have been Indian wars, but not without reason;
and it is pleasant to remember that the Sioux
were hospitable to the first white "praying-
man," and that it was a tender-hearted maiden
of my people who first took in her hands the
cross of the new religion.
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