Tag Archives: Pawnee

Preserving Food

William We-ah-lup Smoking Salmon, 1906, Tulalip Indian Reservation, courtesy University of Washington Libraries

William We-ah-lup Smoking Salmon, 1906, Tulalip Indian Reservation, courtesy University of Washington Libraries

Patients at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, though forced to eat a relatively poor diet of increasingly refined foods provided by the government, benefited from the fresh food and meat raised on the asylum grounds. However, there never seemed to be a sufficiency that allowed the kitchen staff to do much in the way of preserving this more nutritious food for winter use. Continue reading

The Rough Riders

Lt. Colonel Theordore Roosevelt

When hostilities began between Spain and the U.S. concerning Cuba’s independence (see last post), the U.S. did not have a large standing army. Many men volunteered their services in the subsequent Spanish-American War, but most were not well-trained enough to be allowed into combat. One unit did have sufficient training and expertise:  the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, or Rough Riders, recruited by then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt resigned his position to volunteer in this company, and originally envisioned it filled with men from the Indian Territory. Instead, the unit filled with a whole range of  eager men from such diverse backgrounds as Ivy League athletes, glee-club singers, and Texas Rangers. Native Americans also joined the Rough Riders.

William Pollock (Tay-loo-wah-ah), a Pawnee, joined the Rough Riders and earned Theodore Roosevelt’s highest regards. Pollack fought in the battles of Las Guasimas, San Juan Hill, and Santiago with distinction, and Roosevelt said, “Among the men I noticed leading the charges and always nearest the enemy were Pawnee Pollock, Simpson of Texas, and Dudley Dean.” Pollack did not live long after the war; he died in 1899 and was buried with military honors in an Oklahoma Pawnee cemetery.

William Pollock, Rough Rider, from Theodore Roosevelt's book, The Rough Riders

A Group of Rough Riders in Camp, courtesy Library of Congress

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Who Came to Canton?

Canton, S. D., 1907, courtesy Library of Congress

Canton, S. D., 1907, courtesy Library of Congress

Patients began to trickle into the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians after it opened the last day of 1902. From January 1, 1903 to the end of the first fiscal year on June 30, 1903, ten males (all over 18 years of age) and six females (two of whom were under 18) were admitted to the asylum. During the fiscal year, one  patient died and two recovered.

An additional female was admitted in July, and by the time asylum superintendent O.S. Gifford (see previous posts) made his annual report at the end of August, 24 insane Indians had been ordered to the asylum. Nine tribes were represented among these patients: Cherokee, Comanche, Osage, Pawnee, Mission, Winnebago, Chippewa, Shoshone, and Sioux.

Coe Crawford, S.D. Governor, 1908

Coe Crawford, S.D. Governor, 1908

View of Big Sioux River (which flowed past the asylum) 1911

View of Big Sioux River (which flowed past the asylum) 1911

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Canton Asylum’s First Patients

On January 10, 1903, the superintendent at St. Elizabeths hospital in Washington, D.C. received permission to release its Indian patients to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians in South Dakota. The first patients were:

Chu-rah-rah-he-kah; Pawnee from the Ponca Agency; suffering from chronic mania

Joseph D. Marshall; Sioux from the Rose Bud Agency; suffering from chronic epileptic dementia

Miguel Maxcy; Mesa Grande froom the Carlisle Indian School; suffering from chronic meloncholia

Robert Brings Plenty; Sioux from the Pine Ridge Agency; suffering from chronic epileptic dementia

John Woodruff; Sioux-Mulatto from the Pine Ridge Agency; suffering from chronic meloncholia

Arch Wolf; Cherokee transferred from the penitentiary at Brooklyn New York; suffering from acute melancholia

These patients arrived at the Canton Asylum under escort of Dr. J.E. Toner, who received $157.71 reimbursement for expenses.

Train, circa 1900, courtesy Library of Congress

Train, circa 1900, courtesy Library of Congress

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