November 2006 • The Cowboy Chronicle • Page 23
B ook Review
by Doug Ellison, Western Edge Books, Art Work & Music, Medora
Narrative of my Captivity among the Sioux Indians by Fanny Kelly; edited by Clark and Mary Lee Spence, 1871. (Reprinted by Konecky & Konecky, 2006, 310 pages.)
Among the classic volumes of early Dakota history is Narrative of my Captivity among the Sioux Indians by Fanny Kelly. First published in 1871, Kelly’s Narrative tells the dramatic story of her five months of captivity in Dakota Territory during 1864. Starting from Kansas with a small wagon train, Fanny and her husband, Josiah Kelly, intended to open a mercantile store in the gold fields of Idaho. A short distance west of Fort Laramie, in present-day Wyoming, their train was attacked by a party of Oglala Sioux on July 12, 1864. Three men were killed, and Fanny Kelly and her adopted daughter, Mary,
were captured, along with Sarah Larimer and her young son, Frank. As the war party headed north, Fanny sought to spare seven-year-old Mary from whatever fate awaited them by sliding Mary off their horse on the first night, telling her to hide and then return to the wagon train. Only at the end of her own captivity did Fanny learn that little Mary was found dead along the trail. Sarah Larimer and her son escaped from the party on the second day, leaving Fanny alone with her captors. They arrived at the huge Killdeer Mountain village just a couple of days before the village was attacked by the army of General Alfred Sully. A few days later, the Indians and army again battled in the badlands near present-day Medora. It was during this battle that Sully first learned of the captive, when the Sioux boasted that they were holding a white woman in their camp. A few weeks later, the Sioux attacked the Fisk wagon train near present-day Rhame. After heavy losses, the Fisk train corralled at what became
known as Fort Dilts. Here, Fanny’s identity was made known to the whites for the first time when she was forced to write messages to the whites, relaying the Indians’ offer to trade her for food and ammunition. Negotiations fell through, however, and Fanny remained with the Hunkpapa Sioux for several more months. As winter approached, many of the Indian bands, suffering from the summer’s battles, sought to make peace. General Sully declared there could be no peace as long as Fanny Kelly was held captive. In early December, a band of Blackfeet Sioux arrived at the Hunkpapa village along Grand River, in presentday South Dakota, with three horses to trade for Fanny. When her owner did not want to trade, the Blackfeet took her from him at gunpoint, leaving the three horses as payment. On December 9, Fanny was delivered to the Army garrison at Fort Sully, ending her five months of captivity. Fanny’s narrative offers a unique view of life on the plains and in an 1864 Indian village. An informative Prologue and Epilogue also place Fanny’s story in proper perspective, with many additional details of her life.