History of the Spirit Lake Massacre and Captivity of Miss Abbie Gardner by Abbie Gardner-Sharp, first published in 1902, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

Leader of the Santee Sioux, Inkpaduta (1815–79) participated in some of the most decisive battles of the northern Great Plains, including Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn. But the attack in 1857 on forty white settlers known as the Spirit Lake Massacre gave Inkpaduta the reputation of being the most brutal of all the Sioux leaders. Paul N. Beck now challenges a century and a half of bias to reassess the life and legacy of this important Dakota leader. In the most complete biography of Inkpaduta ever written, Beck draws on Indian agents’ correspondence, journals, and other sources to paint a broader picture of the whole person, showing him to have been not only a courageous warrior but also a dedicated family man and tribal leader who got along reasonably well with whites for most of his life. Beck sheds new light on many poorly understood aspects of Inkpaduta’s life, including his journeys in the American West after the Spirit Lake Massacre. Beck reexamines Euro-American attitudes toward Indians and the stereotypes that shaped nineteenth-century writing, showing how they persisted in portrayals of Inkpaduta well into the twentieth century, even after more generous appreciations of American Indian cultures had become commonplace. Long considered a villain whose passion was murdering white settlers, Inkpaduta is here restored to more human dimensions. Inkpaduta: Dakota Leader shatters the myths that surrounded his life for too long and provides the most extensive reassessment of this leader’s life to date.

As indicated by the title, this event caused quite a sensation. The Gardiner family had moved from Seneca, New York, to the lovely little settlement of Spirit Lake on the Iowa frontier. Local Indians, apparently feeling deprived of provisions, descended upton the settlement, killing the men and children, and capturing fourteen-year-old Abigail and three other women. She endured a terrifying ordeal of brutality and hardship on her six-week journey to the Sioux village where she was sold to another tribe, who in turn took her to Minnesota for ransom. Lorenzo Porter Lee had just arrived in St. Paul at the time fourteen-year-old Abbie Gardiner was delivered by the Indians to Governor Samuel Medary of the Territory of Minnesota. Colonel Lee was commissioned by Governor Medary to accompany Abbie to Fort Dodge with the hope of finding her sister, Eliza. It was while he was with Abbie on this trip that Colonel Lee learned and set down many of the lurid details she related to him. A classic captivity account.

Captivity narratives have been a standard genre of writings about Indians of the East for several centuries.a Until now, the West has been almost entirely neglected.a Now Gregory and Susan Michno have rectified that with this painstakenly researched collection of vivid and often brutal accounts of what happened to those men and women and children that were captured by marauding Indians during the settlement of the West."

Generation after generation, families of vacationers have returned to northwestern Iowa's Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes for summertime rest and recreation. From the earliest pioneer days to the Spirit Lake Massacre to the first rustic outdoorsmen's accommodations, this deep glacial lake and its sister prairie lakes have been embraced by visitors for more than 150 years. Slow growing until rail service in 1882, the area saw investment in the form of the Orleans, the grandest hotel west of the Mississippi, which was demolished a scant 15 years later. By then, though, word had gotten out, and Lake Okoboji's wooded bluffs and sandy beaches became places of quiet repose for vacationers. Resorts of all sizes drew the wealthy and modest alike. Among the area's attractions were Arnolds Park Amusement Park; the Roof Garden; the Casino, Central, and Inn ballrooms; thrilling boat rides; skating; and summertime "bathing" in the revitalizing waters. Now largely given over to private residences of all sizes, the many marinas and public areas still draw summertime visitors intent on forging their own indelible memories.