all native dignity of bearing and of character. The yells heard outside
the high wall of the fort at first filled me with alarm; but I soon
became accustomed to them, and to all other occasional Indian
excitements, that served to vary the monotony of garrison life. Before I
felt much interest in the Sioux, they seemed to have great regard for
me. My husband, before his marriage, had been stationed at Fort Snelling
and at Prairie du Chien. He was fond of hunting and roaming about the
prairies; and left many friends among the Indians when he obeyed the
order to return to an eastern station. On going back to the Indian
country, he met with a warm welcome from his old acquaintances, who were
eager to shake hands with "Eastman's squaw."

The old men laid their bony hands upon the heads of my little boys,
admired their light hair, said their skins were very white; and,
although I could not then understand their language, they told me many
things, accompanied with earnest gesticulation. They brought their wives
and young children to see me. I had been told that Indian women gossiped
and stole; that they were filthy and troublesome. Yet I could not
despise them: they were wives and mothers--God had implanted the same
feelings in their hearts as in mine.

Some Indians visited us every day, and we frequently saw them at their
villages. Captain E. spoke their language well; and without taking any
pains to acquire it, I soon understood it so as to talk with them. The
sufferings of the women and children, especially during the winter
season, appealed to my heart. Their humility in asking for assistance
contrasted strongly with the pompous begging of the men. Late in a
winter's afternoon, Wenona, wife of a chief named the "Star," came to my
room. Undoing a bundle that she took from under her blanket, she
approached and showed it to me. It was an infant three days old,