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The Life and Adventures of a Quaker among the Indians (review)

1970; Volume: 59; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/qkh.1970.0008

1934-1504

Hi Doty,

Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment

BOOK REVIEWS TL· Life and Adventures of a Quaker among tL· Indians. By Thomas C. Battey, with an introduction by Alice Marriott. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. (cl968). 355 pages. $2.00. In Tenth month, 1871, as Friend Thomas Battey journeyed to his post as teacher to a camp of angry Caddo, his ox team plodded through a herd of buffalo that reached to the horizons of the vast Oklahoma plain. When, less than three years later, broken in health and troubled at heart, he made his last trip home, the buffalo were gone. The old life had run out for the nomadic hunters of the southern plains. That tender Quakers such as Battey should be sent among the wild tribes was the seemlier half of Grant's ambivalent "Peace Policy." The other part was that the planned extermination of the buffalo, source of horse-Indian life, should drive them, starving and begging, under the guns of augmented troops. Seven days travel beyond the last white settlement, Battey came to Wichita Agency (where Anadarko, Oklahoma, and its Indian City now stand) and took over a school, just one month old, with six shy pupils. They knew no English, he no Caddo, and at night they slept on bare earth, rain or stars. Along with deep and friendly concern, Battey brought much common sense and resourcefulness. Devising ways to bridge the language gap, placating suspicious elders, building living quarters for his pupils, even tailoring their first pantaloons, he dug his way through difficulties and soon had his school (which exists to this day) in flourishing condition. Onto this scene of quick success and satisfaction came sudden trouble. With no advance warning, on the morning of Third month 30, 1872, God spoke to Thomas, saying, "What if thou shouldst have to go and sojourn in the Kiowa camps?" (Rough modern translation: "You are needed in the deep inner city, by your Black Nationalist brothers.") From that hour until he hobbled back to civilization, Battey knew little comfort or peace. Lacking the stability of strong tribal organization, the Kiowas always had been a fierce, unpredictable people, and now were boiling over an injustice. Washington and the Kiowas had made a deal. If Kiowas would give up their raids into Texas, their principal chiefs Satanta and Big Tree would be released from prison. The raids stopped, Kiowas lived at peace, but now government decided to hold the Kiowa chiefs hostage until a group of Modocs a half-continent away (and completely unknown to the Kiowas) should come out of the lava beds and surrender. The war-pipe already was being passed when Battey, answering God's call, entered the camp of Kicking Bird, a famous warrior but now the least belligerent of the divided Kiowa leaders. Even 50 Book Reviews51 here, his attempt to start a school was aborted by violence and his life threatened. Though now a school teacher with no school, Thomissey (the Indians called him) stayed. Apprehensive (for his life was sought), in pain (for he fell seriously ill and was reduced to traveling by horse-ambulance in the continual moves of camp), he plugged away at saving the peace—tactfully encouraging Kicking Bird and strengthening his hand, confronting Lone WoK and other war leaders, humiliated by the assininity of government decisions which he had to relay, facing up to anger, protecting Indian pride, radiating always a loving concern for all of his brothers. The peace was saved. Bigger and more talented men played their more prominent parts in it, but perhaps it all depended finally on little Thomissey, whose only real power was a loving heart. When his health finally broke completely , and he was sent back to his wife in Iowa, he busied himself compiling this book from his letters home. The Quaker committee under which he served looked it over, ripped out his strongest strictures against government policy, and passed it on to Lee and Shepard, who published it in 1875. Now it is not merely rescued by the present publisher, but is augmented by the addition of a previously expurgated chapter, and by an interpretive introduction by Alice Marriott, ethnologist and adopted Kiowa. As Volume 23 in...