Fanny Kelly: Held Captive by Sioux, Rescued by Sully

On May 21, 1876 Lieutenant James H. Bradley of the 7^th Infantry found an old message written by a Fanny Kelly. He had to dredge his memory, finally recalling Kelly had been a captive of the Sioux in 1864. She had been ransomed, or rescued, and had published a book on her experiences. It is still in print.

The Colonel’s Curiosity

Colonel Gibbon’s Montana column had patrolled the Yellowstone River for nearly two months. They were to block any “hostiles” from moving north across the river; they also tried to locate the nontreaty Indians’ burgeoning village. As part of their efforts they established a supply base on the Yellowstone across from Rosebud Creek.

In his journal Lt. Bradley describes taking one of the Fort Pease traders’ boats downriver. Across the river, he and Gibbon had seen “red-looking objects that . . . appeared like quarters of freshly butchered meat hung upon a frame of poles . . .” He found them to be two Indians corpses wrapped in red blankets. Their scaffolds, or “platform burials,” were falling down.

Despoiling the Dead

Both Indians and white men were known to disturb the others’ graves for various reasons. Some did so in order to scalp the dead, some out of curiosity. More on that later. A passionate historian, as his journal bears out, Bradley fell among the latter.

Bradley wrote, “To get a better insight into the methods of Sioux burial, I perpetrated the vandalism . . . to tear down one of the scaffolds and pry into the arrangement and accompaniments of the corpse.” He got an education.

Curious Contents

Wrapped in with the body, Bradley found a small packet of letters and a soldier’s hymn book. The had belonged to “a soldier of some regiment of Iowa volunteers . . . and among the letters were some from a wife to her absent soldier-husband . . . touching in their devotion and simplicity.”

Colonel Gibbon mentioned the account a year later in his summary of the campaign. He noted the soldier had been named Betts, of the 6^th Iowa Cavalry. He would have served in General Alfred Sully’s 1864 expeditions following the Santee Sioux uprising of 1862.

A Rescued Captive

Sully is connected to what Bradley found next. It was a paper signed, “Fanny Kelly, captive white woman.” Bradley did not quote all its contents, but he describes his indignation, stirred by the missive. He quotes its conclusion: “The Indians are kind to me, but I am compelled to do their bidding.” Bradley is especially indignant at the last statement, implying the “worse fate than death” suffered by many white women taken captive by various tribes.

Bradley recalled that Kelly had been captured by Sioux and eventually rescued by Sully. She had then written and published her Narrative of my Captivity Among The Sioux Indians. The book details not only her experience but also that of several other white women across the plains who were captured, enslaved and otherwise subjected to abuse and atrocities.

Kelly’s Account

In short, Kelly had married a Kansas farmer who felt a change of climates might help is chronic ailments. He may have suffered “gold fever.” They travelled with a small wagon train.

At Box Elder Creek in the vicinity of Fort Laramie, the party was attacked. The attack came while Kelly was out gathering wood. He survived. Other men of the party were killed, but Fanny was captured, along with her 8-year-old adopted niece.

Also taken captive were Sarah Larimer and her eight-year-old son. They managed to escape after two days. They were reunited with husband and father William Larimer at Deer Creek Station west of Laramie.

Fanny was not so fortunate. Desperate, she had her niece slip off a horse in the dark and hurry back toward the wagon trail. Only later would Fanny learn the girl had been riddled with arrows and scalped.

Fanny also tried to escape by slipping quietly off her horse and hiding in the darkness. She was soon discovered, recaptured and beaten. She remained enslaved for five months and was passed from one camp, or chief, to another. What is not written of her existence might be telling. We know only that she was treated as property and often physically abused.

At one point, Kelly was with a Sioux band that attacked Captain James Fisk in one of his wagon expeditions. The Sioux had her exchange written messages with Fisk, apparently hoping he would lower his guard. As her captors could not read her missives, though, Kelly was able to warn Fisk of their murderous intent. Negotiations for her release failed.

Kelly did find at least one protector and sympathizer amongst the Sioux. When the relative of a chief aimed his bow at her, Jumping Bear “jumped in” and disarmed him, defusing the conflict. In a dispute the chief had killed a horse belonging to the brave. Because the chief possessed Kelly at the time, his relative threatened to kill her in return. Thanks to Jumping Bear, the dispute was resolved without harm to her.

Jumping Bear later told Kelly he wanted to be “more than a friend” to her. Apparently he wanted to take her as his wife. However, thanks to Sully’s persistent efforts, the Sioux were persuaded to return her at his fort. In a written message carried by Jumping Bear, Kelly warned troops the Sioux planned to perpetrate an attack once inside the fort.

In the end, a dozen Sioux escorting Kelly were admitted to the fort, but then its gates were quickly closed and secured. Kelly regained her freedom, and the situation was defused without further bloodshed after a three-day stand-off.

Kelly would suffer more hardship and deprivation, most of which is detailed in her book. Thankfully, she was able to raise a son and prosper financially as a widow. She also engaged in charitable work through her remaining life.

A Cautionary Conclusion      

Sadly, Kelly described a Sioux warrior riding into the camp where she was being held. He held a sweater matching that her adopted niece, Mary had worn. His horse was adorned with a fresh scalp of blond hair much like Mary’s. This happened not long after she had tried to help Mary escape.

After the battle at the Little Bighorn in 1876, many of the Sioux and Cheyenne dead were found on platforms in abandoned lodges. Years later private Daniel Kanipe described opening the wrappings of one corpse out of curiosity. Within the buffalo robes, along with the corpse he found a collections of scalps on long cord.

Kanipe described one scalp as being obviously that of a white woman, with reddish hair “as long as my arm.” It is unlikely, but possible, that scalp had belonged to Mary.

Other instances of graves being disturbed are recounted across history of the West. Some were by various Indian tribes. After the Big Hole battle in 1877, it was noted that General Howard’s Bannock scouts dug into Nez Perce graves to take scalps. Bradley described measures taken to prevent graves of slain soldiers from being disturbed by animals as well as Indians seeking scalps.

Today, members of all races and cultures would disdain the pilfering or even disturbing of graves. In some cases it might seem softened by the historical and educational value to be gained. Sadly, as with so many wrongs and atrocities, plenty of blame for past wrongs is shared by all.

Recommended Reading:

Kelly’s book has been reprinted roughly a dozen times and can still be purchased. More graphic accounts of killings and horrors known by women taken captive by various tribes can also be found. The 2010 book Empire of the Summer Moon details conflicts and kidnappings by Commanches, Kiowas and other tribes on the southern plains. Those accounts parallel and connect with similar northern plains conflicts.  

Sadly, such wrongs would lead to – but would not end at – the Little Bighorn.