Do-Hum-Me (c. 1825–1843) was the daughter of the chief of the Sauk Native American tribe. According to her gravestone, her father's name was Nan-Nouce-Push-Ee-Toe. Some sources state that her mother died when Do-Hum-Me was seven years old, and Nan-Nouce-Push-Ee-Toe raised her with great love and affection. In 1843, she accompanied her father in a trip to

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

for treaty negotiations. While there, she met and fell in love with a young member of the

Iowa tribe The Iowa, also known as Ioway or Báxoje (, "grey snow people"), are a Native American tribe. Historically, they spoke a Chiwere Siouan language. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes: the Iowa Tribe of Oklahom ...

named Cow-Hick-Kee. They married in Philadelphia, and soon thereafter were employed by

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...

's American Museum in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, performing ceremonial Native American dances. A contemporary writer,

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...

, wrote about Do-Hum-Me at length, and described Do-Hum-Me as "a very handsome woman, with a great deal of heart and happiness in her countenance". Many authors wrote about her, and many referred to what may have been part of her stage name - "The Productive Pumpkin". Do-Hum-Me was instantly very popular, not merely for her performances, but also because onlookers were delighted by the devotion and open, loving tenderness between her and her young husband. Unfortunately, within a mere four to six weeks of their marriage, Do-Hum-Me died, aged only 18, likely due to a communicable illness, such as

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. Lydia Maria Child blamed the death upon such factors as "sleeping by hot anthracite fires", followed by exposure to cold, wintry air, and then having to perform in poorly-ventilated, crowded indoor venues such as saloons and theatres. Child noted that such conditions - and illnesses - tended to impact Indigenous people more severely than white people. Indeed, many of Do-Hum-Me's compatriots became ill at the same time she died, and a number of them also died.

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

donated a burial plot, and she was interred by her father and husband, with many observers remarking upon their obvious grief. The poet

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

wrote about her grave. Her grave monument featured a bas relief of the figure of a weeping Indigenous warrior, carved by the sculptor Robert E. Launitz, and was "one of the earliest carved statues for an American cemetery". Her grave became the most well-known and most frequently-visited in the cemetery. Another poet, Carlos D. Stuart, wrote a poem about her, entitled ''Dohummee''. In 2005 her monument was restored with the effort of Isaac Feliciano, whose wife Rosa perished in the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

at the World Trade Center.

References

External links

* Sac and Fox people 1820s births 1843 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century Native American people 19th-century Native American women {{US-entertainer-stub