“…I expect to go direct to the abode of the Great Spirit, and to be happy when I get there; but we are told that the road is long and the distance great; therefore, as I am slow in my movements, it will probably take me a long time to reach the end of the journey, and I should not be surprised if some of the young, active men we will leave behind us will pass me on the road before I reach the place of my destination.”

— Tazoo (or Ptan-Doo-Tah, translated as Red Otter), convicted of murder, hanging, Minnesota.
Executed December 26, 1862

History records Tazoo as a medicine man and juggler who faced the gallows for murder and the rape of a white woman, though he denied the charges of sexual assault.

Each man called out his name, then the name of a friend, who called back, saying in essence:

“I’m here! I’m here!”

— Thirty-eight Dakota Indians, among them cut nose and big
eagle, convicted of murder, rape. and other crimes, hanging, Minnesota.
Executed December 26, 1862

These thirty-eight men were among the “most ferocious” followers of the Dakota (or Sioux) leader Little Crow; they were accused of slaying approximately 490 settlers, including men, women, and children, in a raid along the Minnesota frontier. All of the 303 Sioux captured by General John Pope for the attack were sentenced by military court to death, but President Abraham Lincoln interceded and reduced the number to thirty-nine. Thirty-eight were eventually hanged.

The St. Paul Pioneer described the scene and their “death wail” just before the execution:

All joined in shouting and singing. . . . The tones seemed somewhat discordant and yet there was harmony in it. Their bodies swayed to and fro and their every limb seemed to be keeping time. . . . The most touching scene on the drop was their attempt to grasp each other’s hands, fetteredas they were. . . .Three or four in a row were hand in hand, swaying up and down with the rise and fall of their voices. One old man reached out on each side but could not grasp a hand. His struggles were piteous and affected many beholders. We were informed . . . that their singing and dancing was only to sustain each other—that there was nothing defiant in their last moments. . . . Each one shouted his own name, and called on the name of his friend, saying in substance, “I’m here! I’m here!”

Written:
“You have deceived me. You told me that if we followed the advice of General Sibley, and gave ourselves up to the whites, all would be well; no innocent man would be injured. I have not killed, wounded or injured a white man, or any white persons. I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet to-day I am set apart for execution, and must die in a few days, while men who are guilty will remain in prison. My wife is your daughter, my children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection. Do not let them suffer; and when my children are grown up, let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief, and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Great Spirit.”

— Hdainyanka (or Rdainyanka, translated as “Rattling Runner”), convicted of murder, Minnesota.
Executed December 24, 1862

Hdainyanka’s final words were written to his father-in-law, Chief Wabasha. According to military tribunal accounts, Hdainyanka was an instigator of raids on white settlements, even though he claimed that he tried to stop the murders once they began.