Laura Ingalls Wilder referred to him as Soldat du Chene. He remained a mystery - who was he really?
Soldat du Chene was actually Le-Soldat-du-Chene. He was the chief of the
Osages when Laura and her family lived in the Indian Territory. It was
believed by some scholars that Soldat was something Laura "remembered", but was not
correct. (do
remember that Laura was much younger when she actually lived in the Indian
Territory, that how she depicted herself in Little House on the Prairie.
This is perhaps why she never wrote about her time in Missouri as a little
girl. She may not have remembered it, but the land documents do exist to show
that the Ingalls family did reside in Chariton County, Missouri for a short time).
I will be adding more about Le-Soldat-de-Chene soon!
© 1997 kelly2@rocketmail.com