Fanny Kelly
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Fanny Kelly (c. 1845–1904) was a North American pioneer woman captured by the
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
and freed five months later. She later wrote a book about her experiences called ''Narrative of My Captivity among the Sioux Indians'' in 1871.


Early life

Fanny Wiggins was born in
Orillia Orillia () is a city in Ontario, Canada, about 30 km (18 mi) north-east of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is located at the confluence of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a Lis ...
in
Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...
in about 1845. In 1856, her parents, James and Margaret Wiggins, relocated their family to the new town of
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
in the soon-to-be state of
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. Along the way, her father died of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
, leaving the family to settle in Geneva on their own. In 1863, Fanny married Josiah S. Kelly, also of Geneva, a farmer and discharged Union soldier at least fifteen years her senior. Josiah hoped that a change of climate would aid his failing health, so he, Fanny, and her seven-year-old niece and adopted daughter, Mary Hurley set out on May 17, 1864 for the region that is now
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
or
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
. With them were two black servants, Franklin and Andy, and the Kellys' twenty-eight-year-old neighbor, Gardner Wakefield. A fellow traveler, a Methodist clergyman named Mr. Sharp, joined them a few days later. A couple of weeks after that, William and Sarah Larimer and their eight-year-old son Frank, with whom the Kellys were acquainted, left a large
wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...
to accompany them. The party was later joined by Noah Daniel Taylor, who drove the Larimers' wagon.


Captivity

On July 12, the ill-fated party had crossed Little Box Elder Creek in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
on the
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
when they encountered a large group of "about two hundred and fifty"
Miniconjou The Miniconjou (Lakota: Mnikowoju, Hokwoju – ‘Plants by the Water’) are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota people The Lakota (; or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people. ...
s and
Hunkpapa The Hunkpapa (Lakota: ) are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name ' is a Lakota word, meaning "Head of the Circle" (at one time, the tribe's name was represented in European-American records as ...
s, reported by Fanny Kelly to be "painted and equipped for war", led by their war chief, Ottawa, a chieftain of the
Oglala The Oglala (pronounced , meaning 'to scatter one's own' in Lakota) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live on the P ...
band. By Kelly's account, vastly outnumbered, the immigrants tried to placate the warriors. By the one Sioux account, the Indians had gone to see the white man's "Holy Road" (the
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
) that they had heard about, met some whites, and ate and smoked with them. While they were eating, a Sioux messenger arrived, reporting that U.S. soldiers had killed some of their relatives on the Missouri River, apparently putting their heads on poles. The Sioux, agitated, then shot some of the emigrants, with Sharp, Taylor, and Franklin being killed immediately. Wakefield was seriously injured. Josiah Kelly, William Larimer, and Andy got away, while the two women and two children were taken captive. Another wagon that happened on the scene by chance sped off, at the cost of one person's life. The Sioux then proceeded to loot the five wagons. Josiah Kelly and Andy separately made their way to the protection of a large wagon train some miles away, as did the people of the other wagon that had passed by. They later found William Larimer, with an arrow wound to the arm, and Wakefield with three arrows in him, but still alive. After a couple of days, the party made its way to Deer Creek Station, where there was an army garrison. Meanwhile, the prisoners attempted to escape. The very night of their capture, Fanny Kelly had Mary Hurley slip away in the darkness. Fanny herself tried to follow, but was caught and beaten. Mary's scalped and arrow-ridden body was found a few days later and buried by her uncle. Sarah Larimer and her eight year-old son, Frank, did manage to escape the next night. They were reunited with William Larimer at Deer Creek Station. When he had recovered from his wound, the family returned to Kansas.


Her own account of her ordeal

According to Fanny, she was nearly killed by an old chief for losing his pipe, which she had dropped and broken. She managed to dispel the wrath of her captors by presenting them with some banknotes, telling them of their value. Another life-threatening quarrel ensued when she innocently accepted a gift of stockings from the brother-in-law of the old chief, inadvertently committing a social blunder. Angered, the chief killed one of his brother-in-law's horses. The brother-in-law sought to retaliate by aiming an arrow at Fanny, but a young Blackfeet named Jumping Bear snatched his bow away, aborting the immediate danger to her; the quarrel ended with the chief giving his brother-in-law another horse in return for the one killed. The band arrived at their home village, only to be attacked by a Union Army force led by Brigadier General
Alfred Sully Alfred Sully (May 22, 1820 or 1821 – April 27, 1879) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. He served as Brevet Brigadier General in the Union army ...
. Fanny was hustled away with the rest of the women and children. Freedom was not to be so quickly gained. After several days of pursuit, Sully's men gave up. When the Sioux returned to their homes, they were so angered at their losses, they threatened to burn Fanny at the stake. At a council to decide her fate, Ottawa spoke up for her, and she was spared. She became Ottawa's "exclusive property". She described him as being "over seventy-five years of age, and partially blind". One day, a Sioux named Porcupine arrived at the camp, bearing a letter from Captain Marshall of the Eleventh Ohio Cavalry detailing the attempts that had been made to rescue her. Porcupine had been offered a reward to help free her, but he chose not to do so, refusing even to take back a message to the Army. On September 5, a large band of Sioux attacked part of a wagon train led by Captain James L. Fisk taking settlers to what is now Montana; the attack was repulsed, the whites suffering twelve deaths to six by the Sioux. The Sioux made Fanny exchange letters with Captain Fisk, hoping to get him to lower his guard against further attack, but since the Sioux were illiterate in English, Fanny was able to warn Fisk of their intentions. Fisk tried unsuccessfully to ransom her, but he promised to spread the news of her situation. The old chief Ottawa went away on a journey, and Fanny was sent to live in another village with an elderly couple. While there, she met and spoke several times with the chief "Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses". She later found out he had been given two expensive outfits by her husband as ransom for her release, but had instead reported to Mr. Kelly that he could not find her. General Sully had been sent to stop the Indian attacks on settlers beginning in 1862. The
Sihasapa The Sihásapa or Blackfoot Sioux are a division of the Lakota people, Titonwan, or Teton. ''Sihásapa'' is the Lakota word for "Blackfoot", whereas '' Siksiká'' has the same meaning in the Nitsitapi language, and, together with the '' Kain ...
became weary of the fighting and offered peace. Informed by Captain Fisk of Fanny's plight, Sully insisted she be freed as part of the agreement, even though the Sihasapa protested she was being held by the
Oglala The Oglala (pronounced , meaning 'to scatter one's own' in Lakota) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live on the P ...
. In November, Sihasapa warriors, including the prominent leader
Kill Eagle Waŋblí Kte (Kill Eagle; ca. 1827–1885) was a prominent leader of the Sihasapa (Blackfeet) band of Lakota people during the late nineteenth century. Early years Born about 1827, Kill Eagle was the son of a Brulé father and a Sihasapa mother. ...
, went to the Oglala camp to negotiate for Fanny's release, but the Oglala resisted the idea of giving her up. The Sihasapa proceeded to take Fanny away without Oglala permission. When the Oglala pursued them to reclaim her, the two groups parleyed. It was eventually agreed that the Sihasapa would be allowed to keep Fanny. Fanny was taken to a Sihasapa village. She found out that other groups, having learned of the reward offered for her return, had been trying to buy her. White traders in four wagons came to purchase her release at one point; all but one were killed. Fanny began to fear that the Sihasapa intended to attack Fort Sully and not give her up after all. One day, Jumping Bear, who had protected her when she was first captured, visited her, reminding her that he had saved her life, and saying he wanted to be "more than a friend" to her. Fanny asked him to take a letter from her to General Sully; he reluctantly agreed. In the letter, she warned of a planned attack using her return as a ruse to gain entry to the fort. Though Fanny never saw Jumping Bear again, the letter he delivered for her led to her eventual release. A large contingent of Sihasapa warriors took her to Fort Sully, a journey of some two hundred miles. On December 9, a group of eight to twelve chiefs escorted her into the fort; the gates were shut behind the small party, precluding the attack that Fanny believed to have been planned. Fanny was free, after five months of captivity. Two months later her husband joined her at Fort Sully, and confirmed to her that their daughter was dead.


Alternate account

According to several books, Fanny did not live with the aged Ottawa. Despite her claim that "I had never suffered from any of he Oglallasthe slightest personal or unchaste insult", by other accounts, she was sold to a Hunkpapa Sioux named Brings Plenty to be his wife. So pleased was he with her docile demeanor, especially compared to Sioux women, that he named her "Real Woman", and it was only with great difficulty that Fanny was prised away from him by no less than
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...
. In this version of events, Fanny was returned safely to Fort Sully under Sitting Bull's protection.


Later life

Fanny and her husband returned to Geneva, then moved, first to Shawneetown, then to
Ellsworth, Kansas Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,066. Known as a cow town in the 1870s, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad operated a stockyard her ...
. There, an outbreak of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
claimed Josiah Kelly, who succumbed on July 28, 1867. Their child was born after Josiah's death. She was persuaded to go live with the Larimers, who had settled in Wyoming. While there, however, she claimed her manuscript was stolen for the purpose of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
. Sarah Larimer published a book about her own brief experience in 1870 called ''The Capture and Escape; or, Life among the Sioux''. Fanny had to resort to litigation.


References


External links

* *
Full text of ''Narrative of My Captivity among the Sioux Indians
at the
Making of America Making of America (MoA) is a collaborative effort by Cornell University and the University of Michigan to digitize and make available a collection of primary sources relating to the development of U.S. infrastructure. The Making of America collectio ...
digital archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Fanny 1840s births 1904 deaths American pioneers Captives of Native Americans People from Orillia People from Allen County, Kansas Emigrants from pre-Confederation Ontario to the United States People from Kansas Territory People from Wyoming Territory