TheSiouxlongreferredtothepresidentoftheUnitedStatesas\"Tamahay’sfather。\"
Thefollowingstoryistoldofhiminhislaterdays。HeattemptedonedaytocrossthefirstbridgeovertheMississippiRiver，butwasnotrecognizedbythesentinel，whowouldnotallowhimtopassuntilhepaidthetoll。Tamahay，whowasaprivilegedcharacter，explainedasbesthecould，withgesturesandbrokenEnglish，thathewasalwayspermittedtopassfree;butasthesentinelstillrefused，andeventhreatenedhimwithhisbayonet，theoldIndiansilentlyseizedthemusket，threwitdownintothewatersoftheMississippiandwenthome。LaterinthedayacompanyofsoldiersappearedintheIndianvillage，andescortedourherotoasortofcourt-martialatthefort。WhenhewasquestionedbytheColonel，hesimplyreplied：\"Ifyouwerethreatenedbyanyonewithaweapon，youwould，inself-defense，eitherdisablethemanorgetridoftheweapon。Ididthelatter，thinkingthatyouwouldneedthemanmorethanthegun。\"
Finallytheofficersaidtothem，\"Iseeyouarebothpartlywrong。Someonemustberesponsibleforthelossofthegun;
therefore，youtwowillwrestle，andthemanwhoisdownedmustdivefortheweapontothebottomoftheriver。\"
ScarcelywasthisspeechendedwhenTamahaywasuponthesoldier，whowassurprisedbothbytheorderandbytheunexpectedreadinessofthewilyoldIndian，sothathewasnotprepared，andtheSiouxhadthevantagehold。Inamomentthebluecoatwasdown，amidshoutsandpealsoflaughterfromhiscomrades。Havingthrownhisman，theotherturnedandwenthomewithoutaword。