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THE PONCA CHIEFS

Chapter I

Standing Bear's First Encounter with The Indian Ring
In the autumn of 1876, the Indians on the Ponca reservation in Southern Dakota were at work on their farms as usual. ..Most of the children were attending school, and their church was in a flourishing condition. How these people were robbed of their wealth and a large portion of them sent to their graves, through the tools of the Indian Ring, it is the object of these pages to relate. 

On Sunday the Indians went to their church as usual, to hear the words of their minister... He told them that he had heard that they were to be driven from their homes and sent far to the south, never to come back again... he advised them to do that which was right, and trust in God, that in the end he would protect them from their oppressors. 

...Runners were dispatched, and in a few hours... every member of the Ponca tribe had heard the news. The one universal sentiment was: "We will not leave the home of our fathers to go to a strange land, never to return."

,..Somebody had ordered them to be taken to the Indian Territory. Soon after a great council was called, and some men puporting to come from Washington appeared, and said an order had been issued to take the tribe to the Indian Territory. Standing Bear, White Eagle and other chiefs absolutely refused to go. Standing Bear Said: