The autobiography of a Winnebago Indian

I was born in 1822, the son of an English sailor and a Winnebago princess. I was given the name Blow Snake at birth to honor my mixed heritage. I spent my childhood with my mother's people, learning how to track game through the forest, catch fish in the streams, and read the stars for guidance. But I knew that I was different from them-the white blood in me showed itself in coloration and temperament. And so, when I became old enough to take care of myself, I left my mother's people and went back to live with my father's people on the other side of the river. There I learned English from missionaries who had come to live among them.