.•*'■ ^A v-' ^^ ^ .'=,'^^ ^..^' V' ^.,^^ >A V*^ HISTORY O F FREEBOEN COUNTY; INCLUDING EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS of MINNESOTS, OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. By Rev. Edward D. Neill; SIOUX MASSACRE OF 1862. State Edu(3/\tion, BY CHARLES S. BRYANT. MINNEAPOLIS: MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COMPANY, i88z. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. . \ CONTENTS. Page. . Page Preface - - - . - Ill CHAPTER LXI. CHAPTER I-XXIII. Geneva Township 449-4.58 Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota 1-128 CHAPTER LXII. CHAPTER XXIV-XXVII. Hayward Township - - 458-464 Outline History of the State of Minnesota 1 '29 -160 CHAPTER LXIII. CHAPTER XXVIII-XXIX. Hartland Township - - 464-470 State Education . . - - 161-176 CHAPTER LXIV. CHAPTER XXX-XLIII. London Township - - . - 470-474 History of the Sioux Massacre 177-256 CHAPTER LXV. CHAPTER XLIV. Manchester Township - 475-483 Chronology . • - . - 257-262 CHAPTER LXVL CHAPTER XLV-LI. Mansfield Township - 484-489 Freeborn County - . . - 263-357 CHAPTER LXVII. CHAPTER LII-LIII. Moscow Township - 489-498 City of Albert Lea - - - . 358-402 CHAPTER LXVIII. CHAPTER LIV. Nuuda Townnhip 498-508 Albert Lea Township 403-406 CHAPTER LXIX. CHAPTER LV. Alden Township . - - - CHAPTER LVI. 407-414 Newry Township CHAPTER LXX. - 509-511 Bancroft Township - - - - 415-423 Oakland Township - - 512-516 CHAPTER LVII. CHAPTER LXXI. Bath Township . . - . 423-428 Pickerel Lake Township - - 517-524 CHAPTER LVIII. CHAPTER LXII. Carlston Township . . - - CHAPTER LIX. Freeborn Township - - - - CHAPTER LX. Freeman Township . - - - 429-434 434-442 443-449 Riceland Township - CHAPTER LXIII. Shell Rock Township Index . - - - - - 525-528 - 528-540 - 541-548 PREFACE. In the compilatioi' of the History of Freeborn County it has been the aim of the Publishers to present a local history, comprising, in a single volume of convenient form, a varied fund of informa- tion, not only of interest to the present, but from which the cjming searcher for historic data may draw without the tedium incurred in its preparation. There is always more or less difficulty, even in a historical work, in selecting those things which will interest the greatest number of readers. Individual tastes differ so widely, that what may be of absorbing interest to one, has no attractions for another. Some are interested in that which concerns themselves, and do not care to read even the most thrilling adven- tures where they were not participants. Such persons are apt to conclude that what they are not in- terested in is of no value, and its preservation in history a useless expense. In the settlement of a new County or a new Township, there is no one person entitled to all the credit for what has been accom- plished. Each individual is a part of the great whole, and this work is prepared for the purpose of giving a general resmne. of what has thus far been done to plant the civilization of the present century in Freeborn County. That our work is wholly errorless, or that nothing of interest has been omitted, is more than we dare hope, and more than is reasonable to expect. In closing our labors we have the gratifying consciousness of having used our utmost endeavors in securing reliable data, and feel no hesitancy in submitting the result to an intelligent public. The impartial critic, to whom only we look for comment, will, in pass- ing judgment upon its merits, be governed by a knowledge of the manifold duties attending the pro- secution of the undertaking. We have been especially fortunate in enlisting the interest of Rev. Edward D. Neill and Charles S- Bryant, whose able productions are herewith presented. We also desire to express our sincere thanks to the County, Town, and Village officials for their uniform kindness to us in our tedious labors; and in general terms we express our indebtedness to the Press, the Pioneers, and the Citizens, who have extended universal encouragement and endorsement. That our efforts may prove satisfactory, and this volume receive a welcome commensurate with the care bestowed in its preparation, is the earnest desire of the publishers, MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COMPANY. EXPLOBERS AND PIOI^EERS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTER I. FOOTPRINTS OF CIVILIZATION TOWAKD THE EXTREMITY OF LAKE SUrEIlIOR. HitmefiotH's Central Position. — D'Avagour's Prediction. — Nicolet's Visit to Green Bay.— First Wliite Men in Minnesota.— Notices of Groselliers and Badisson.— Uurons Flee to Minnesota. — Visited by Frenchraen. — Father Menard Disap- pears.— Groselliers Visits Hudson's Bay.— Father Allouez Describes the Sioux Mission at La Pointe, — Father Marquette. — Sioux at Sault St. Marie. — Jesuit Missions Fail. — Groselliers Visits England.— Captain GiUam, ot Boston, at Hud- son's Bay.— Letter of Mother Superior of Ursulines., at Quebec— Death of Groselliers. The Dakotahs, called by the Ojibways, Nado- 'waysioux, or Sioux (Soos), as abbreviated by the French, used to claim superiority over other peo- ple, because, their sacred men asserted that the mouth of the JNIinnesota River was immediately over the centre of the earth, and below the centre of the heavens. While this teaching is very different from tliat of the modem astronomer, it is certainly true, that the region west of Lake Superior, extending through the valley of the Miimesota, to the Mis- souri River, is one of the most healthful and fer- tile regions beneath the skies, and may prove to be the centre of the republic of the United States of America. Baron D'Avagour, a brave officer, who was killed in fightuig the Turks, while he was Governor of Canada, in a dispatch to the French Government, dated August 14th, 1663, after referrmg to Lake Huron, wrote, that beyond " is met another, called Lake Superior, the waters of which, it is believed, flow into New Spain, and this, according to general opinion, ought to he the centre of the country.'''' As early as 1635, one of Champlain's interpre- ters, Jean Kicolet (Kicolay), who came to Cana- da in 1618, reached the western shores of Lake Michigan. In the summer of 1634 he ascended the St. Lawrence, with a party of llurons, and probably during the next winter was trading at Green Bay, in Wisconsin. On the ninth of De- cember, 1635, he had returned to Canada, and on the 7th of October, 1637, was married at Quebec, and the next month, went to Three Rivers, where he lived until 1642, when he died. Of him it "is said, in a letter written in 1640, that he had pen- etrated farthest into those distant countries, and that if he had proceeded " three days more on a great river which flows from that lake [Green Bay] he would have found the sea." The first white men in Minnesota, of whom we have any record, were, according to Garneau, two persons of Huguenot aflinities, Medard Chouart, known as Sieur Groselliers, and Pierre d'Esprit, called Sieur Radisson. GroselUers (pronounced Gro-zay-yay) was born near Ferte-sous-Jouarre, eleven miles east of Meairx, in France, and when about sixteen years of age, in the year 1641, came to Canada. The fur trade was the great avenue to prosperity, and in 1646, he was among the Huron Indians, who then dwelt upon the eastern shore of Liike Huron, bartering for peltries. On the second of Septem- ber, 1647, at Quebec, he was married to Helen, the widow of Claude Etienne, who was the daugh- ter of a pilot, Abraham Martin, whose baptismal name is still attached to the suburbs of that city, the " Plains of Abraham," made famous by the death there, of General Wolfe, of the English army, in 1759, and of General Montgomery, of the Continental armv, in December, 1775, at the EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. commencement of tlie " War for Independence." His son, Medard, was liorn in 1G57, and tlie next year his mother died. The second wife of Gro- selliers was Marguerite Hayet(IIayay) Radisson, the sister of his associate, in the exploration of the region west of Lalce Superior. Eadisson was born at St. Malo, and, wliile a boy, went to Paris, and from IheTice to Canada, and in 165G, at Three Eiver.s, maixied Elizabetli, the daugliter of Madelehie Ilainault, and, after her death, the daughter of Sir David Kirli or Kerkt, a zealous Huguenot, became his wife. The Iroquois of New York, about the year 1650, drove the Ilurons from their villages, and forced them to take refuge Mith their friends the Tinon- tates, called by the French, Petuns, because they cultivated tobacco. In time the Ilurons and their allies, the Ottawas (Ottaw - waws), were again driven by the Iroquois, and after successive wanderings, were found on the west side of Lake Michigan. In time they reached the Mississippi, and ascending above the Wisconsin, they found the Iowa River, on the west side, which they fol- lowed, and dwelt for a time with the Ayces (loways) who were very friendly ; but being ac- customed to a country of lakes and forests, they were not satisfied with the vast prairies. Return- ing to the Mississippi, they ascended this river, in .search of a better land, and were met by some of the Sioux or Dakotalis, and conducted to their villages, where they were well received. The Sioux, delighted with the axes, knives and awls of European manufacture, whieh had been pre- sented to them, allowed the refugees to settle upon an island in the Mississippi, below the mouth of the St. Croix River, called Bald Island from the absence of trees, about nine miles from the site of the present city of Hastings. Possessed of firearms, the Hurons and Ottawas asserted their superiority, and determined to conquer the country for themselves, and having incurred the hostility of the Sioux, were obliged to flee from the isle in the Mississippi Descending below Lake Pepin, they reached the Black River, and ascending it, found an imoccupied country around its sources and that of the Chippeway. In this region the Ilurons established themselves, wiiile their allies, the Ottawas, moved eastward, till they found the shores of Lake Superior, and set- tled at Chagouamikon (Sha - gah - wah - mik - ong ) near what is now Bayfield. In the year 1659, (iroselliers and Radisson arrived at Chagouamik- on, and deternuned to visit the Hurons and Pe- tuns, with whom the former had traded when they resided east of Lake Huron. After a six days" journey, in a .southwesterly direction, they reached their retreat toward the sources of the Black, Chippewa, and Wisconsin Rivers. From this pomt they journeyed north, and passed the winter of l(>59-60 among tlie " Xadoucchiouec," or Siou.x villages in the JSIille Lacs (Mil Lak) re- gion. From the Hurons they learned of a beau- tiful river, wide, large, deep, and comparable with the Samt Lawi'ence, the great Mississippi, which flows through the city of Minneapolis, and whose sources are in northern Minnesota. Northeast of Mille Lacs, toward the extremity of Lake Superior, they met the " Poualak," or Assiniboines of the prairie, a separated band of the Sioux, who, as wood was scarce and small, made fire with coal (charlion de terre) and dwelt in tents of skins ; although some of the more in- dustrious built cabins of clay (terre grasse), like the swallows build their nests. The spring and summer of 1660, Groselliers and Radisson passed in trading around Lake Superior. On the 19th of August they returned to ilon- treal, with three hundred Indians and sixty ca- noes loaded with " a wealth of skins." " Furs of bison and of beaver, Furs of sable and of ermine." The citizens were deeply stirred by the travelers' tales of the vastness and richness of the region they had visited, and their many romantic adven- tures. In a few days, they began their return to the far West, accompanied by six Frenchmen and two priests, one of whom was the Jesuit, Rene ^le- nard. His hair whitened by age, and liis mind ripened by long experience, he seemed the man for the mission. Two hours after micbiight, of tlie day before departure, the venerable missionary penned at " Three Rivers," the following letter to a friend : ' Reverend Father : " The peace of Christ be with you : I write to you probably the last, which I hope will be the seal of our friendship \nitil eternity. Love wliom the Lord Jesus did not disdain to love, thougli the greatest of sinners; for he loves whom he FATHER MENARD LOST IN WISCONSIN. 3 loads with his cross. Let your friendship, my good Father, be useful to me by the desirable fruits of your daily sacrifice. " lu three or four months you may remember me at the memeuto for the dead, on accoimt of my old age, my weak constitution and the hard- ships I lay imder amongst these tribes. Never- theless, I am in peace, for I have not been led to this mission by any temporal motive, but I think it was by the voice of God. I was to resist the grace of God by not conihig. Eternal remorse would have tormented me, had I not come when I had the opportimity. " We have been a little surprized, not being able to provide ourselves with vestments and oth- er things, but he who feeds the little birds, and clothes the lilies of the fields, will take care of his servants ; and though it should happen we should die of want, we would esteem ourselves happy. I am burdened with business. What I can do is to recommend our journey to your daily sacrifice, and to embrace you with the same sen- timents of heart as I hope to do in eternity. " My Reverend Father, Your most humble and affectionate servant in Jesus Christ. R. MENARD. "From the Three Rivers, this 26th August, 2 o'clock after midnight, 1660." On the loth of October, the party with which he journeyed reached a bay on Lake Superior, where he found some of the Ottawas, who had fled from the Iroquois of New York. For more than eight months, surroimded by a few French voyageurs, he lived, to use his words, " in a kind of small hermitage, a cabm built of flr branches piled one on another, not so much to shield us from the rigor of the season as to correct my im- agination, and persuade me I was sheltered." During the summer of 1661, he resolved to visit the Hurons, who had fled eastward from the Sioux of Minnesota, and encamped amid the marshes of Northern Wisconsin. Some Frenchmen, who had been among the Ilurons, in vain attempted to dis- suade him fi'om the journey. To their entreaties he repUed, " I must go, if it cost me my life. I can not suffer souls to perish on the ground of saving the bodily life of a miserable old man like myself. What! Are we to serve God only when there is nothing to suffer, and no risk of Ufe?" Upon De ITsle's map of Louisiana, pubUshed nearly two centuries ago, there appears the Lake of the Ottawas, and the Lake of the Old or De- serted Settlement, west of Green Bay, and south of Lake Superior. The Lake of the Old Planta- tion is supposed to have been the spot occupied by the Hurons at the time when Menard attempt- ed to visit them. One way of access to this seclu- ded spot was from Lake Superior to the head- waters of the Ontanagon River, and then by a port- age, to the lake. It could also be reached from the headwaters of the Wisconsin, Black and Chip- pewa Rivers, and some have said that Menard descended the AVisconsin and ascended the Black River. Perrot, who lived at the same time, writes : " Father Menard, who was sent as missionary among the Outaouas [Iltaw-waws] accompanied by certain Frenchmen who were going to trade with that people, was left by all who were with him, except one, who rendered to him until death, all of the services and help that he could have hoped. The Father followed the Outaouas [Utaw- waws]to the Lake of the Illinoets [Illino-ay, now Michigan] and in their flight to the Louisianne, [Mississippi] to above the Black River. There this missionary had but one Frenchman for a companion. This Frenchman carefully followed the route, and made a portage at the same place as the Outaouas. He found himself in a rapid, one day, that was carrying him away in his canoe. The Father, to assist, debarked from his own, but did not find a good path to come to him. He en- tered one that had been made by beasts, and de- siring to return, became confused in a labjTinth of trees, and was lost. The Frenchman, after having ascended the rapids with great labor, awaited the good Father, and, as he did not come, resolved to search for him. With all his might, for several days, he called his name in the woods, hoping to find him, but it was useless. He met, however, a Sakis [Sauk] who was carrying the camp-kettle of the missionary, and who gave him some intelligence. He assured him that he had foimd his foot -prints at some distance, but that he had not seen the Father. He told him, also, that he had foimd the tracks of several, who were going towards the Scioux. He declared that he supposed that the Scioux might have killed or captm-ed him. Indeed, several years afterwards, EXPLOREBS AND PIOKEEBS OF MINNESOTA. there were found among this tribe, his breviary and cassock, which they exposed at their festivals, making offerings to them of food." In a journal of tlie Jesuits, Menard, about the seventh or eighth of August, 1661, is said to have been lost. GroselUers (Gro-zay-yay), while Menard was endeavoring to reach the retreat of the Hurons wliich he had made known to the authorities of Canada, was pushing through the country of the Assineboines, on the northwe.st shore of Lake Superior, and at length, probably by Lake Alem- pigon, or NepigOn, reached Hudson's Bay, and early in May, 1662, returned to Montreal, and sui-prised its citizens witli his tale of new iliscov- eries toward the Sea of the North. The Hurons ilid not remain long toward the sources of the Black River, after Menard's disap- pearance, and deserting iheir plantations, joined their allies, the Ottawas, at La Pointe, now Bay- field, on Lake Superior. While here, they deter- mined to send a war party of one huuth-ed agamst the Sioux of MiUe Lacs (Mil Lak) region. At length they met their foes, who drove them into one of the thousand marshes of the water-shed between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, wlierc they hid themselves among tlie tall grasses. Tlie Sioux, suspecting that they might attempt to es- cape in the night, cut up beaver skins into strips, and hung thereon little bells, which they had ob- tained from the French traders. The Hurons, emerging from their watery hiding place, stumbled over the unseen cords, ringing the bells, and the Sioux instll)ert, Minister of the ("olonial Depart- ment of France, wrote on the 10th of November, 167Q, that he has received intelligence that two English vessels are approaching Hudson's Bay, and adds : '• After reflecting on all the nations that might have penetrated as far north as that, I can ahght on only the EngUsh, who, under the guidance of a man named Des Grozellers, for- merly an inhabitant of Canada, might possibly have attempted that navigation." After years of service on the shores of Hudson's Bay, either with Englisli or French trading com- panies, the old explorer died in Canada, and it has been said that his son went to England, where he was Uving ui 1096, ui receipt of a pension. eauly mention of lake sufehiob copper. CHAPTER II. EARLY MENTION OF LAKE SUPERIOR COPPER. Sagard, A. D. 1636, on Copper Minop.— Boucher, A, D. 1640. Describes Lake Supo> rior Copper.— Jesuit Relatioas, A. D. 1666-67.— Copper on Isle Royals.— Half- Breed Voyaeeur Goes to France with Talon.— Jolhet and Perrot Search for Copper.— St. Lusson Plants the French Arms at Sault St. Marie.— Copper at Ontanagon and Head of Lake Superior, Before white men had explored the shores of Lake Superior, Indians had brought to the tra- ding posts of tlie St. Lawrence River, specimens of copper from that region. Sagard, in his History of Canada, published in 1636, at Paris, writes : " There are mines of copper which might be made profitable, if there were inliabitants and work- men who would labor faithfully. That would be done if colonies were established. About eighty or one hundred leagues from the Ilurons, there is a mine of copper, from which Truchemont Brusle showed me an ingot, on his return from a voyage whicli he made to the neighboring nation." Pierre Boucher, grandfather of Sieur de la Ye- rendrye, the explorer of the lakes of the northern boundary of Minnesota, in a volume published A. D. 1640, also at Paris, writes : " In Lake Su- perior there is a great island, fifty or one hundred leagues in circumference, in which there is a very beautiful mine of copper. There are other places in those quarters, where there are similar mines ; so I learned from four or five Frenchmen, who lately retiu-ned. They were gone three years, without finding an opportunity to I'etum; they told me that they had seen an ingot of copper all refined which was on the coast, and weighed more than eight hundred pounds, according to their es- timate. They said that the savages, on passing it, made a fire on it, after which they cut off pie- ces Willi their axes." In the Jesuit Relations of 1666-67, there is this description of Isle Royale : '• Advancing to a place called the Grand Anse, we meet with an island, three leagues from land, which is cele- brated for the metal which is found there, and for the thunder which takes place there; for tliey say it always thunders there. " But farther towards the west on the same north shore, is the island most famous for copper, Minong (Isle Royale). Tliis island is twenty-five leagues in length ; it is seven from the mainland, and sixty from the head of the lake. Nearly all around the island, on the water's edge, pieces of copper are found mixed with pebbles, but espe- cially on the side which is opposite the south, and principally in a certain bay, which is near the northeast exposure to the great lake. * * * " Advancing to the head of the lake {Fon du Lac) and returning one day's journey by the south coast, there is seen on the edge of the water, a rock of copper weighing seven or eight hundred poimds, and is so hard that steel can hardly cut it, but when it is heated it cuts as easily as lead. Near Point Chagouamigong [Sha - gah - wah - mik- ong, near Bayfield] where a mission was establish- ed rocks of copper and plates of the same metal were found. * * * Returning still toward the mouth of tlie lake, following the coast on the south as twenty leagues from the place last mentioned, we enter the river called Nantaouagan [Ontona- gon] on which is a hill where stones and copper fall into the water or upon the eartli. They are readily found. "Three years since we received a piece which was brought from this place, which weighed a lumdred pounds, and we sent it to Quebec to Mr. Talon. It is not certain exactly where this was broken from. We thmk it was from the forks of the river ; others, that it was from near the lake, and dug up." Talon, Intendent of Justice in Canada, visited France, taking a half-breed voyageur with him, and while in Paris, wrote on the 26th of Febru- ary, 1669, to Colbert, the Mmister of the Marine Department, " that this voyageur had penetrated among the western nations farther than any other Frenchman, and had seen the copper mine on Lake Huron. LSuperiory] The man offers to go 8 EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. to that mine, and explore, either by sea, or hy lake and river, the communication supposed to exist between Canada and the South Sea, or to the regions of Hudson's Bay." As soon as Talon returned to Canada he com- missioned Jolliet and Pere [Perrot] to search for the mines of copper on the upper Lakes. Jolliet received an outfit of four hundred livres, and four canoes, and Perrot one thousand Uvres. Mhiis- ister Colbert wrote from Paris to Talon, in Feb- ruary, 1671, approving of the search for copper, in these words ; " The resolution you have taken to send Sieur de La Salle toward the south, and Sieur de St. Lusson to the north, to discover the South Sea passage, is very good, but the principal thing you ought to apply yourself in discoveries of this nature, is to look for the copper mine. " Were this mine discovered, and its utility evident, it would be an assured means to attract several Frenchmen from old, to New France." On the 14th of June, 1671, Saint Lusson at Sault St. Marie, planted the arms of France, in the pres- ence of Nicholas Perrot, who acted as interpreter on the occasion ; the Sieur Jolliet ; Pierre Moreau or Sieur de la Taupine ; a soldier of the garrison of Quebec, and several other Frenchmen. Talon, in announcing Saint Lusson's explora- tions to Colbert, on the 2d of November, 1671, wrote from Quebec : " The copper which I send from Lake Superior and the river Nantaouagan [Ontonagon] proves that there is a mine on the border of some stream, which produces this ma- terial as pure as one could wish. More than twenty Frenchmen have seen one lump at the lake, which they estimate weighs more than eight hundred poimds. The Jesuit Fathers among the Outaouas [Ou-taw-waws] use an anvil of this ma- terial, which weighs about one hundred pounds. There will be no rest until the source from whence these detached lumps come is discovered. " The river Nantaouagan FOutonagouJ appears between two high hills, the plain above which feeds the lakes, and receives a great deal of snow, which, m melting, forms torrents which wash the borders of this river, composed of soUd gravel, which is rolled down by it. "The gravel at the bottom of this, hardens it- self, and assumes different shapes, such as those pebbles which I send to ^Mr. Bellinzany. My opuiion is that these pebbles, rounded and carried off by the rapid waters, then have a tendency to become copper, by the influence of the sun's rays which they absorb, and to form oilier nuggets of metal similar to those which I send to Sieur de Bellinzany, found by the Sieur de Saint Lusfon, about four hundred leagues, at some distance from the mouth of the river. " lie hoped by the frequent journeys of the savages, and French who are beginning to travel by these routes, to discern the source of nroduc- tion." Governor Denonville, of Canada, sixteen years after the above circumstances, WTote : " The cop- per, a sample of which I sent M. Anion, is found at the head of Lake Superior. The body of the mine has not yet been discovered. I have seen one of our voyageurs who assures me that, some lifteen months ago he saw a lump of two hundred weight, as yellow as gold, in a river which falls into Lake Superior. "When heated, it could be cut with an axe ; but the superstitious Indians, regarding this boulder as a good spirit, would never permit him to take any of it away. His opinion is that the frost undermined this piece, and that the mine is in that river. He has prom- ised to search for it on his w'ay back." In the year 17,30, there was some correspond- ence with the authorities in France relative to the discovery of copper at La Poiute, but, practi- cally, little was done by the French, in developing the mineral wealth of Lake Superior. DU LUTH PLANTS THE FRENCH AEMS IN MINNESOTA. CHAPTER in. DU LUTH PLANTS THE FRENCH ARMS TN MINNESOTA Da Luth's Relatives. — Randin Visits Extremity of Lake Superior. —Do Loth Plants King's Arms.— Post at Kaministigoj-a.— Pierre MoreaF. alias La Taupine. —La Salle's Visit.— A Pilot Deserts to the Sioux Country.— uaifart, Du Lutli's Interpreter. — Descent of the River St. Croix.— Meets Fatlier Hennepm.- Crit. iciscd tiy La Salle.— Tra.les with New England.— Visits France.— In Command at Mackinaw, — Frenchmen Murdered at Keweenaw. — Du Lulh Arrests and Shoots Murderers.- Builds Fort above Detroit. — With Indian Allies in the Seneca War.— Du Luth's Brother.— Cadillac Defends the Brandy Trade.— Du Luth Disapproves of Selling Brandy to the Indians. — In Command at Fort Frontenac— Death. In the year 1678, se-«eral prominent merchants of Quebec and Montreal, with the support of Governor Frontenac of Canada, formed a com- pany to open trade with the Sioux of Minnesota, and a neplie'w of Patron, one of these merchants, a brother-in-law of Sieur de Lusigny, an oflBcer of the Governor's Guards, named Daniel Grey- solon Du Luth [Doo-loo], a native of St. Germain en Laye, a few miles from Paris, althougli Lalion- tan speaks of him as from Lyons, was made the leader of the expedition. At the battle of Sene'ffe against the Pruice of Orange, he was a gendarme, and one of tlie King's guards. Du Luth was also a cousin of Henry Tonty , who had been in the revolution at Naples, to throw off the Spanish dependence. Du Luth's name is va- riously spelled in the documents of liis day. Hen- nepin writes, "Du Luth;" others, "Dulhut," " Du Lhu," " Du Lut," " De Luth," " Du Lud." The temptation to procure valuable furs ft-om the Lake Superior region, contrary to the letter of the Canadian law, was very great ; and more than one Governor winked at the contraliand trade. Eandin, who visited tlie extremity of Lake Superior, distributed presents to the Sioux and Ottawas in the name of Governor Frontenac, to secure the trade, and after his death, DuLutli was sent to complete what he liad begun. With a party of twenty, seventeen Frenchmen and three Indians, he left Quebec on the first of September, 1678, and on the fifth of April, 1679, Du Luth writes to Governor Frontenac, that he is in the -woods, about nine miles from Sault St. Marie, at the entrance of Lake Superior, and adds that : he " -will not stir from the Nadous- sioux, until further orders, and, peace being con- cluded, he -will set up the King's Arms ; lest the English and other Europeans settled towards California, take possession of the country." On the second of July, 1679, he caused his Majesty's Arms to be planted in the great village of the Nadoussioiix, called Kathio, where no Frenchman had ever been, and at Songaskicons and Houetbatons, one hundred and twenty leagues distant from the former, where he also set up the King's Arms. In a letter to Seignaliiy, published for the first time by Ilarrisse, he writes that it was in the village of Izatys [Issati]. Upon Fran- queUn's map, the Mississippi branches into the Tintonha [Teeton Sioux] comitry , and not far from here, he alleges, was seen a tree upon which was this legend: " Arms of the King cut on this tree in the year 1679." He established a post at Kamanistigoya, which was distant fifteen leagues from the Grand Port- age at the western extremity of Lake Superior ; and here, on the fifteenth of September, he held a council with the Assenipoulaks [Assineboines] and other tribes, and urged them to be at peace with the Sioux. During tliis summer, he dis- patched Pierre Moreau, a celebrated voyageur, nicknamed La Taupine, with letters to Governor Frontenac, and valuable furs to the merchants. His arrival at Quebec, created some excitement. It was charged that the Governor corresponded with Du Luth, and that he passed the beaver, sent by him, in the name of merchants in his in- terest. The Intendant of Justice, Du Chesneau, wrote to the Minister of the Colonial Department of France, that " the man named La Taupine, a famous coureur des bois, who set out in the month of September of last year, 1678, to go to the Ou- tawacs, -with goods, and who has always been in- terested with the Governor, having returned this year, and I, being advised that he had traded in 10 EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. two days, one Inmdred and fifty beaver robes in one \'illage of this tribe, amounting to nearly nine hundred beavers, which is a matter of public no- toriety ; and that he left with Du Lut two men whom he had with him. considered myself bound to have him arrested, and to interrogate him ; but having presented me with a license from the Gov- ernor, pennittiiig him and his comrades, named Lamonde and Dupuy, to repair to the Outawac, to execute his secret orders. I liad him set at liberty : and immediately on Ids going out. Sieur Prevost, To^ii Mayor of Quebec, came at the head of some soldiers to force the prison, in case he was still there, pursuant to his orders from the Governor, in these terms : " Sieur Prevost, ^layor of (^»uebec, is ordered, in case the Intendant arrest Pierre ^loreau alias La Taupiue, whom we have sent to Quebec as bearer of our dispatches, upon pretext of his having been in the bush, to set him forthwith at libertVi and to employ every means for this purpose, at his peril. Done at Montreal, the 5th September, 1679." La Taupine. in due time returned to Lake Su- perior with another consignment of merchandise. The interpreter of Du LuUi, and trader with the Sioux, was Paffart, who had been a soldier under La Salle at Fort Frontenac. and had deserted. La Salle was commissioned in 1678, by the King of France, to explore the "West, and trade in Cibola, or buffalo skins, and on condition that he did not traffic with the Ottauwaws, who carried their beaver to Montreal. On the 27th of August, 1679, he anived at Mackinaw, in the " Griffin,'' the first saiUng ves- sel on the gi-eat Lakes of the West, and from thence went to Green Bay, where, in the face of his commission, he traded for beaver. Loading his vessel with peltries, he sent it back to Niag- ara, while he, in canoes, proceeded with his ex- pedition to the Illinois River. The ship was never heard of, and for a time supposed to be lost, but La Salle afterward leained from a Pawnee boy fourteen or fifteen years of age, who was brought prisoner to hisfort on the Illinois by some Indians, that the pilot of the " Griffin " had been among the tribes of the Upper ISIissouri. lie had ascended the Mississippi with four otliers in two birch canoes with goods and some hand grenades, taken from the ship, witli the intention of join ing Du Lutli, who had for months beeu trading with the Sioux ; and if their efforts were unsuc- cessful, they expected to push on to the English, at Hudson's Bay. AVliile ascendiilg the Missis- sippi they were attacked by Indians, and the pilot and one other only sursived, and they were sold to the Indians on the Jlissouri. In the month of June, 1680, Du Luth, accom- panied by Faffart, an interpreter, with four Frenchmen, also a Chippeway and a Sioux, with two canoes, entered a river, the mouth ot which is eight leagues from the head of Lake Superior on the South side, named Xemitsakouat. Beach- ing its head waters, by a short portage, of half a league, he reached a lake ■\\hich was the source of the Saint Croix River, and by this, he and his companions were the first Europeans to journey in a canoe from Lake Superior to the Mississippi. La Salle writes, that Du Luth, finding that the Sioux were on a hunt in the Mississippi val- ley, below the Saint Croix, and that Accault, Au- gelle and Hennepin, who had come up from the Illinois a few ^\eeks before, were with them, de- scended until he found them. In the same letter he disregards the truth in order to disparage his rival, and writes: '• Thirty-eight or forty leagues above the Cliip- peway they found the river by which the Sieur Du Luth did descend to the ilississippi. He had been three years, contrary to orders, with a com- pany of twenty " coureurs du hois " on Lake Su- perior; he had borne himself bravely, proclaiming everywhere that at the head of his brave fellows he did not fear the Grand Prevost, and that he would compel an amnesty. '• "Wliile he was at Lake Superior, the Nadoiie- sioux, enticed by the presents that the late Sieur Randin had made on the part of Coimt Fronte- nac. and the Sauteurs [Ojibways]. who are the sav- ages who carry the peltries to Montreal, and who dwell on Lake Superior, wislung to obey the re- peated orders of the Count, made a peace to unite the Sauteurs and French, and to trade with the Xadouesioux, situated about sixty leagues to the west of Lake Superior. Du Luth, to disguise liis desertion, seized the opportunity to make some reputation for himself, sending two messen- gers to the Count to negotiate a truce, during which period their comrades negotiated still bet- ter for beaver. Several conferences were held with the Na- FAFFART, BU LUTH'S INTEBPBETER. 11 douessionx, and as he needed an interpreter, he led off one of mine, named Faffart, formerly a sol- dier at Fort Frontenac. During tliis period there were frequent \'isits between the Sauteurs [Ojil)- ways] and Nadouesioux, and supposing that it might increase the number of beaver skins, lie sent Faffart by land, with the Nadouesioux and Sauteurs [Ojibways]. The yoiuig man on liis re- tnrn, having given an account of the quantity of beaver in that region, he wished to proceed thither himself, and, guided by a Sauteur and a Nadoue- « sioux, and four Frenchmen, he ascended the river' Nemitsakouat, where, by a short portage, he de- scended that stream, whereon he passed through forty leagues of rapids [Upper St. Croix Kiver], and finding that the IN^adouesioux were below with my men and the Father, Avho had come down again from the village of the Xadouesioux, he discovered them. They went iip again to the village, and from thence they all together came down. They returned by the river Ouisconsing, and came back to Montreal, where Du Luth in- sults the commissaries, and the deputy of the 'procurem- general,' named d'Auteuil. Count Frontenac had him arrested and imprisoned in the castle of Quebec, with the intention of return- mg him to France for the amnesty accorded to the coureurs des bois^did not release him." At tills very period, another party charges Frontenac as being Du Luth's particular friend. Du Luth, during the fall of 1681, was engaged in the beaver trade at Montreal and Quebec. Du Chesneau, the Intendant of .Justice for Can- ada, on the 13th of November, 1G81, wrote to the Marquis de Siegnelay^ in Paris : " Not content with the profits to be derived from the countries under the King's dominion, the desire of making money everywhere, has led the Governor [Fron- tenac], Boisseau, Du Lut and Patron, his uncle, to send canoes loaded with peltries, to the En- glish. It is said sixty thousand livres' worth has been sent thither;" and he further stated that there was a very general report that within five or six days, Frontenac and his associates had di- vided the money received from the beavers ^ent to New England. "^ At a conference in Quebec of some of the dis- tinguished men in that city, relative to difficulties with the Iroquois, held on the 10th of October, 1682, Du Luth was present. From thence he went to France, and, early in 1683, consulted with the Minister of ^Marine at Versailles relative to the interests of trade in the Hudson's Bay and Lake Superior region. Upon his return to Canada, he departed for Mackinaw. Governor De la Barre, on the 9th of November, 1683, wrote to the French Government that the Indians west and north of Lake Superior, " when they heard by expresses sent them by Du Lhut, of his arrival at Missili- makinak, that he was coming, sent him word to come quickly and they would unite with him to prevent others going tliither. If I stop that pass as I hope, and as it is necessary to do, as the Eng- lish of the Bay [Hudson's] excite against us the savages, whom Sieur Du Lhut alone can quiet." AVliile stationed at Mackinaw he was a partici- pant in a tragic occurrence. During the summer of 1683 Jacques le Maire and Colin Berthot, while on their way to trade at Keweenaw, on Lake Su- perior, were surprised by three Indians, robbed, and murdered. Du Luth was prompt to arrest and punish the assassins. In a letter from Mack- inaw, dated April 12, 1681, to the Governor of Canada, he writes: " Be pleased to know. Sir, that on the 24tli of October last, I was told that Folle Avome, accomplice in the murder and rob- bery of the two Frenchmen, had arrived at Sault Ste. Marie with fifteen families of the Sauteurs [Ojibways] who had fled from Chagoamigon [La Pointe] on accoimt of an attack wliicli they, to- gether with the people of the land, made last Spring upon the Nadouecioux [Dakotahs.] " He believed himself safe at the Sault, on ac- count of the number of allies and relatives he had there. Kev. Father Albanel informed me that the French at the Saut, being only twelve in num- ber, had not arrested him, beUeving themselves too weak to contend with such numbers, espe- cially as the Sauteurs had declared that they would not allow the French to redden the land of their fathers with the blood of their brothers. " On receiving this information, I immediately resolved to take with me six Frenchmen, and em- bark at the da^vn of the next day for Sault Ste. Marie, and if possible obtain possession of the mirrderer. I made known my design to the Kev. Father Engahran, and, at my request, as he had some business to arrange with Rev. Father Al- banel, he placed himself in my canoe. " Having arrived within a league of the village 12 EXPLOIiERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. of the Saut, the Rev. Father, the Chevalier de Fourcille, CanlonnieiTe, and I disembarked. I caused the canoe, iu wliicli were 15aribaud, Le Mere, La Fortune, and Macons, to proceed, wliile we went across the wood to the house of the Kev. Fatlier, fearing that the savages, seeing me, niiglit suspect the object of my visit, and cause Folle Avoine to escape. Fmally, to cut tlie matter short, I arrested him, and caused him to be guarded day and iiiglit by six Frenclimen. " I then called a council, at which I requested all the savages of the place to be present, where I repeated what I had often said to the Ilurons and Ottawas since the departure of M. Pere[Per- rot], giving them tlie message you ordered me. Sir, that in case there should be among them any spirits so evil disposed as to follow the example of those who have murdered the French on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, they must separate the guilty from the innocent, as I did not wish the whole nation to suffer, unless they protected the guilty. * * * The savages held several councils, to whirli I was invited, bi;t their only object seemed to be to exculpate the prisoner, in order that I might release liim. " All united in accusmg Achiganaga and his children, assuring themselves with the belief that M. Pere, [Perrot] with his detachment would not be able to arrest them, and wishing to peisuade me that they apprehended that all the Frenchmen might be killed. "I answered them, * * * 'As to the antici- pated death of yi. Pere [Perrot], as well as of the other Frenchmen, that would not embaiTass me, since I believed neither the allies nor the nation of Achiganaga would ■wish to have a war witli us to sustain an action so dark as that of which we were speaking. Having only to attack a few murderers, or, at most, those of their own family. 1 was certain that the French would have them dead or alive.' " This was the answer they had from me during the tliree days that the councils lasted ; after wliich 1 embarked, at ten o'clock in the moniing, sustained by only twelve Frenchmen, to show a few unruly persons who boasted of taking the prisoner away from me, that the French did not fear them. " Daily I received accounts of the number of savages that Achiganaga drew from his nation to Kiaonan [Keweenaw] mider pretext of going to war in the spring against the Kadouecioux, to avenge the death of one of his relatives, son of Ou- enaus, but really to protect himself against us, in case we should become convinced that his chil- dren had killed the Frenchmen. This precaution placed me between hope and fear respecting the expedition which M. Pere [Perrot] had imder- taken. " On the 24th of November, [1683], he came across the wood at ten o'clock at night, to tell me that he had arrested Achiganaga and four of his * children. He said they were not all guilty of the murder, but had thought proper, in this affair, to follow the custom of the savages, which is to seize all the relatives. Folle Avoine, whom I had ar- rested, he considered the most guilty, being wth- out doubt the originator of the mischief. '' I immediately gave orders that Folle Avoine should be more closely confined, and not allowed to speak to any one ; for I had also learned that he had a brother, sister, and uncle in the village of the Kiskakons. '• il. Pere informed me that he had released the youngest son of Achiganaga, aged about tliirteen or fourteen years, that he might make known to their nation and the Sauteurs [Ojibways], who are at Xocke and in the neighborhood, the reason why the French had arrested his father and bro- tliers. M. Pere bade him assure tlie savages tliat if any one wished to complain of what he had done, he would wait for them with a firm step ; for he considered himself in a condition to set them at defiance, havingfound at Kiaonau [Keweenaw] eighteen Frenchmen who had wintered there. "On the 2.')th, at daybreak, M. Pere embarked at the Sault, with four good men whom I gave him. to go and meet the prisoners. He left them four leagues from there, luider a guard of twelve I'renchmen ; and at two o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived. I had prepared a room Ln my house for the prisoners, in which they were placed under a strong guard, and were not allowed to converse with any one. "On the 26th, I commenced proceedings; and this, sir, is tlie course I pursued. I gave notice to all the chiefs and others, to appear at the council which I had appointed, and gave to Folle Avoine the privilege of selecting two of his rela INDIANS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT. 13 tives to supiwrt his interests ; and to tlie other prisoners I made the same offer. " The council being assembled, I sent for Folle Avorue to be interrogated, and caused his answers to be written, and afterwards they were read to Mm, and inquiry made whether they were not, word for word, what he had said. He was tlien removed under a safe guard. I used the same form with the two eldest sons of Achigauaga, and, as Folle Avoine had iiuUrectly charged the father with being accessory to the murder, I sent for him and also for Folle Avoine, and bringing them into the council, confronted the four. " FoUe Avoine and the two sons of Achiganaga accused each other of committing the murder, without denying that tliey were laarticipators in the crime. Achiganaga alone strongly mamtained that he knew nothing of the design of Folle Avoine, nor of his children, and called on them to say if he had advised them to kill the French- men. They answered, ' iSTo.' " This confrontation, which the savages did not expect, sui"prised them; and, seeing the prisoners had convicted themselves of the murder, the Chiefs said: ' It is enough; you accuse your- selves; the French are masters of yourl)odies.' " The next day I held another council, in which I said there could be no doubt that the French- men had been murdered, that the murderers were known, and that they knew what was the prac- tice among themselves upon such occasions. To all this they said nothing, which obliged us on the following day to hold another council in the cabin of Brochet, where, after having spoken, and seeing that tliey would make no decision, and that all my councils ended only in reducing tobacco to ashes, I told them that, since they did not wish to decide, I should take the responsibihty, and tliat the next day I would let them know the deter- mination of the French and myself. " It is proper. Sir, you should know that I ob- served all these forms only to see if they would feel it their duty to render to us the same justice that they do to each other, having had divers ex- amples m which when the tribes of those who had committed the murder did not wish to go to war with the tribe aggrieved, the nearest rela- tions of the murderers killed them themselves; that is to say, man for man. " On the 29th of November. I gathered together the French that were here, and, after the interro- ■ gations and ans^\■ers of the accused had been read to them, the guilt of the three appeared so evi- dent, from their own confessions, that the vote was imanimous that all should die. But as the French who remained at Kiaonan to pass the win- ter had written to Father Engalran and to myself, to beg us to treat the affair with all possible len- iency, tlie savages declaring that if they made the prisoners die they would avenge themselves, I told the gentlemen who were with me in coun- cil that, this bemg a case witliout a precedent, I believed it was expedient for the safety of the French who would pass the winter in the Lake Superior country to put to death only two, as that of the third might bring about grievous conse- quences, while the putting to death, man for man, could give the savages no complaint, since this is then- custom. M. de la Tour, chief of tlie Fathers, who had served much, sustained my opinions by strong reasoning, and all decided that two should be shot, namely, Folle Avoine and the older of the two brothers, while the younger should be released, and hold his Life, Sir, as a gift from you. " I thni returned to the cabin of Brochet with Messrs. Boisguillot, Pere, De Repentigny, De Manthet, De la Ferte, and Macons, where were all the chiefs of the Outawas du Sable, Outawas Sinagos, Easkakons, Sauteurs, D'Achiliny, a part of the Ilurons, and Oumamens, the chief of the Amikoys. I informed them of our decision * * * that, the Frenclmien having been killed by the different nations, one of each must (.lie, and that the same death they had caused the French to suffer they must also suffer. * * * This decision to put the murderers to death was a hard stroke to them all, for none had believed that I would dare to undertake it. * * * I then left the council and asked the Kev. Fathers if they wished to baptize the prisoners, which they did. "An hour after, I put myself at the head of forty-two Frenchmen, and, in sight of more than four hundred savages, and within two himdred paces of their fort, I caused the two murderers to be shot. The impossibility of keeping them until sprmg made me hasten their death. * * * "Wlien M. Pere made the arrest, those who had committed the murder confessed it; and when he asked them what they had dlone with our gnodn 11 EXPLOBETiS AKD FIOXEEES OF MINNESOTA. they answered that they were ahnost all con- cealed. He jiroceeded to the place of conceal- ment, and was very much suiinised, as were also the French with him, to find them, in fifteen or twenty different places. By the carelessness of the savages, the tobacco and powder were entire- ly destroyed, having been placed in the pinery, imder the roots of trees, and being soaked in the water caused by ten or twelve days' continuous rain, which inundated all the lower country. The season for snow and ice having come, they had all the trouble in the world to get out the bales of cloth. 'They then went to see the bodies, but could not remove them, these miserable wretches hav- ing thro%\ni them into a marsh, and thrust them down into holes which they had made. Kot sat- isfied with this, they had also piled branches of trees upon tlie bodies, to prevent them from float- ing when the water should rise in the spring, hopmg by this precaution the French would find no trace of those who were killed, but would tliink them drowned; as they reported that they had foimd in the lake on the other side of the Portage, a boat with the sides all broken in, which they believed to be a French boat. " Those goods which the French were able to secure, they took to Kiaouau [Keweenaw], where were a number of Frenchmen who bad gone tliere to pass the winter, who knew nothing of the deatli of Colin Berthot and Jacques le ilaire, imtil il. Pere arrived. '' Tlie ten who formed M. Pere's detachment having conferred together concerning the means they should take to prevent a total loss, decided to sell the goods to the highest bidder. The sale was made for 1 100 livres, which was to be paid in beavers, to M. de la Chesnaye, to whom I send the names of the purchsers. " The savages who were present when Acliiga- naga and his children were arrested wished to pass the calumet to M. Pere, and give him cap- tives to satisfy him for the miuder committed on the two Frenchmen ; but he knew their inten- tion, and would not accept their offer, lie told them neither a hundred captives nor a hundred packs of beaver would give back the blood of his brothers; that the murderers must be given up to me, and I would see what I woidd do. " I caused M. Pere to repeat these things in the council, tliat in future the savages need not think by presents to save those who commit similar deeds. Besides, sii", il. Pere showed plainly by his conduct, that be is not strongly inclined to favor the savages, as was reported. Indeed. I do not know any one whom they fear more, yet who flatters them less or knows them better. '■ The criminals being in two different places, M. Pere being obliged to keep four of them, sent Messrs. de Eepentigny, Manthet, and six other Frenchmen, to arrest the two who were eight leagues in the woods. Among others, M. de Re- pentigny and M. de Mauthet showed that they feared nothing when their honor called them. " M. de la Chevrotiere has also served well in person, and by his advice, havuig pointed out where the prisoners were. Achiganaga, who had adopted him as a son, had told him where he should hunt during the winter. ***** It still remained for me to give to Achiganaga and his three children the means to return to his family. Their home from which they were taken was nearly twenty-six leagues from here. Kjiow- ing their necessity, I told them you would not be satisfied in giving them life; you wished to pre- serve it, by giving them all that was necessary to prevent them from dying with himger and cold by the way, and that your gift was made by my hands. I gave them blankets, tobacco, meat, hatchets, knives, twine to make nets for beavers, and two bags of corn, to supply them tiU they could kill game. " They departed two days after, the most con- tented creatures in the world, but (iod was not ; fur when only two days' journey from here, the old Achiganaga fell sick of the quinsy, and died, and his children returned. "When the news of his death arrived, the greater part of the savages of this place [Mackinaw] attributed it to the French, sa>iiig we had caused him to die. I let them talk, and laughed at them. It is only about two months shice the children of Achiganaga retumel to Kiaonan." Some of those opposed to Du Liitli and Fron- tenac, prejudiced the King of France relative to the transaction we have described, and in a letter to the Governor of Canada, the King vrates : " It appears to me that one of the principal causes of tlie war arises from one Du Luth having caused two to be killed w ho had assassinated two French- ENGLISH TItADEBS CAPTUBED. 13 men on Lake Superior ; and you sufficiently see now mueli this man's voyage, wliicli can not pro- duce any advantage to the colony, and wliich was permitted only in the interest of some private persons, has contributed to distract the peace of the colony." Du Luth and his young brother appear to have traded at the western extremity of Lake Superior, and on the north shore, to Lake Nipegon. In June, 1684, Governor De la Barre sent Guil- let and Ilebert from Montreal to request Du Luth and I>urantaye to bring down voyageurs and In- dians to assist iu an expedition against the Iro- quois of New York. Early in September, they reported on the St. Lawi-ence, with one hundred and fifty coiu-eurs des bois and three hundred and fifty Indians ; but as a treaty had just been made with the Senecas, they returned. De la Barrels successor. Governor Denonvllle, in a dispatch to the French Government, dated November 12th, 1685, alludes to Du Luth being in the far West, in these words : " I likewise sent to M. De la Durantaye, who is at Lake Superior imder orders from M. De la Barre, and to Sieur Du Luth, who is also at a great distance in an- other direction, and all so far beyond reach that neither the one nor the other can hear news from me this year ; so that, not being able to see them at soonest, before next July, I considered it best not to think of undertaking any thing during the whole of next year, especially as a great number of our best men are among the Outaouacs, and can not return before the ensuing summer. * * * In regard to Sieur Du Luth, I sent him orders to repair here, so that I may learn the number of savages on whom I may depend. He is accredit- ed among them, and rendered great services to M. De la Barre by a lai'ge number, of savages he brought to Niagara, who would have attacked the Senecas, was it not for an express order from JSi. De la Barre to the contrary." In 1686, while at Mackinaw, he was ordereu to establish a post on tlie Detroit, near Lake Erie. A portion of the order reads as follows : " i\iter having given all the orders that you may judge necessary for the safety of this post, and having well secured the obedience of the Indians, you will return to Michil i mackinac, there to await Rev. Father Engelran, by whom I wiU commu- nicate what I wish of you, there." The design of this post was to block the pas- sage of the English to the upper lakes. Before it was established, in the fall of 1686, Thomas Roseboom, a daring trader from Albany, on the Hudson, had found his way to the vicinity of Jlackinaw, and by the proffer of ))randy, weak- ened the allegiance of the tribes to the French. A canoe coming to Mackinaw with dispatches for the French and their alUes, to march to the Seneca country, in New York, perceived this New York trader and associates, and, giving the alarm, they were met by three himdred coureurs du bois and captured. In the spring of 1687 Du Luth, Durantaye, and Tonty all left the vicuiity of Deti-oit for Ni- agara, and as they were coasting along Lake Erie they met another EngUsh trader, a Scotchman by birth, and by name Major Patrick McGregor, a person of some influence, going with a number of traders to Mackinaw. Having taken him pris- oner, he was sent with Roseboom to ^Montreal. Du Luth, Tonty, and Durantaye arrived at Ni- agara on the 27th of June, 1687, with one hun- dred and seventy French voyageurs, besides In- dians, and on the 10th of July jouied the army of Denonvllle at the mouth of the Genesee River, and on the 13th Du Luth and his associates had a skirmish near a Seneca village, now the site of the town of Victor, twenty miles southeast of the city of Rochester, New York. Governor Denon- vllle, in a report, writes: " On the 13th, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, having passed through two dangerous defiles, we arrived at the third, where we were vigorously attacked by eight hun- dred Senecas, two hundred of whom fired, wish- ing to attack our rear, while the rest would attack om' front, but the resistance, made produced such a great consternation that they soon resolved to fly. * * * We witnessed the p,iinful sight of the usual cruelties of the savages, who cut the dead into quarters, as is done in slaughter houses, in order to put them into the kettle. The greater nimiber were opened while still warm, that the blood might be drunk. Our rascally Otaoas dis- tinguished themselves particularly by these bar- barities. * * * We had five or six men killed on the spot, French and Indians, and about twenty wounded, among the first of whom was the Rev. Father Angelran, superior of all the Otaoan Missions, by a very severe gun-shot. It is a great ir> EXPLOIiEBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. misfortune that this woimd will prevent him go- jng back again, for he is a man of caiiacity." In the ord«r to Uu Luth assigning him to duty at the post on the site of tJie modem Fort Gra- tiot, above the city of Detroit, the Governor of Canada said: " If you can so arrange your affairs that your brother can be near you in tlie Spring. I shall be very glad. He is an mtelligent lad. and might bo a great assistance to you; he might also be very servicealile to us." This lad, CJreysolon de la Tourette, dining tliii wiuter of 1686-7 was trading among the Assina- boines and other tribes at tlie west eud of Lake Superior, but, upon receiving a dispatch, hastened to his brother, journeying in a canoe without any escort from ]Mackinaw. lie did not arrive until after the battle with the Senecas. Governor Den- onville, on the 2oth of August, 1687, wrote: " Du Luth's brother, who has recently arrived from the rivers above the Lake of the Allempi- gons [Nipegon], assures me that he saw more than fifteen hundred persons come to trade with liim, and they were very sorry he had not goods suffi- cient to satisfy them. They are of the triltes ac- customed to resort to the English at Port Kelson and River IJourbon, where, they say, they did not go this year, througli Sieur Du Lhu's iutluence." After the battle in the vicinity of Rochester, New York, Du Lutli, with his celebrated cousin. Henry Tonty, returned together as far as the post above the present city of Detroit, llichigan, but this point, after KiSS, was not again occupied. From this period Du Lutli becomes less prom- inent. At the time wlien the Jesuits attempted to exclude brandy from the Indian country a bit- ter controversy arose between them a^id the traders. Cadillac, a Gascon by birth, command- ing Fort Buade, at Mackinaw, on Aiigust 3, 16'.)o, wrote to Count Frontenae: "Now, what reason can we assign that the savages should not drink brandy bouglit with their own money as well as we? Is it prohibited to prevent them from be- coming intoxicated? Or is it because the use of brandy reduces them to extreme .misery, placing it out of their power to make war by depriving them of clothing and arms? If such representa- tions in regard to the Indians have been made to the Count, they are very false, as every one knows who is acciuaintcd with the ways of the savages. * * * It is bad faith to represent to the Count that the sale of brandy reduces the savage to a state of nudity, aifd by that means places it out of his power to make war, since he never goes to war in any other condition. » * » Perhaps it will be said th.at the sfile of brandy makes the labors of the missionaries unfruitful. It is neces- sary to examine this i)roposition. If the mission- aries care for only the extension of commerce, pursuing the coiurse they have hitherto, I agree to it; but if it is the use of brandy that hinders tlie advancement of the cause of God, I deny it, for it is a fact which no one can deny that there are a great number of savages who never drink brandy, yet who are not, for that, better Chris- tians. " All the Sioux, the most numerous of all the tribes, who inhabit the region along the .shore of Lake Superior, do not even like the smell of brandy. Are they more advanced in religion for that? They do not wish to have the subject men- tioned, and when the missionaries address them tlicy only laugh at the foolishness of preaching. Yet these priests boldly fling before the eyes of Europeans, whole volumes filled with glowing descriptions of the conversion of souls by thou- sands in this country, causing the poor missiona- ries from Eiu'ope, to run to martyrdom as flies to sugar and honey.'' Du Lutli, or Du Lliut, as he wrote his name, during this discussion, was found upon the .side of order and good morals. His attestation is as follows : " I certify that at different periods I have lived about ten years among the (Ottawa nation, from the time that I made an exploration to the Nadouecioux people until Fort Saint Jo- seph was established by order of the Monsieur Marquis Denonville, (kivernor (Jeneral, at the head of the Detroit of Lake Brie, wliich is in the Iroquois country, and which I had the honor to command. During this period, I have seen that tlie trade in eau-de-vie (brandy) produced great disorder, the father killing the son, and the son throwing his mother into the fire; and I maintain that, morally speaking, it is impossible to export liiandy to the woods and distant missions, with- out danger of its leading to misery." Governor Frontenae, in an expedition against tlie Oneidas of New York, arrived at Fort Fron- tenae, on the l!)th of July, 169.5, anil Captain Du Luth was left in command with forty soldiers, DU LUTE AFFLICTED WITH GOVT. 17 and masons and carpenters, with orders to erect new builtlings. In about four weeks he erected a building one hundred and twenty feet in length, contammg officers' quarters, store-rooms, a bakery and a chapel. Early in 1697 he was still in com- mand of the post, and in a report it is mentioned that " everybody was then in good health, except Captain DuUiut the commander, who was imwell of the gout." It was just before this period, that as a member of the Eoman Catholic Church, he was firmly impressed that he had been helped by prayers which he addressed to a deceased Iroquois girl, who had died in the odor of sanctity, and, as a thank offering, signed the following certificate : " I, the subscriber, certify to all whom it may concern, that having been tormented by the gout, for the space of twenty-three years, and with such severe pains, that it gave me no rest for the*pac of three montlis at a time, I addi-essed myself to Catherine Tegahkouita, an Iroquois virgin de- ceased at the Sault Saint Louis, in the reputation of sanctity, and I promised her to visit her tomb, if God should give me health, tlu'ough her inter- cession. I have been as perfectly cured at the end of one novena, which I made in her honor, tliat after five months, I have not perceived the slightest touch of my gout. Given at Fort Fron- tenac, this 18th day of August, 1696." As soon as cold weather returned, his old mal- ady again appeared. He died early in A. D. 1710. Marquis de Vaudreuil," Governor of Canada, xm- der date of first of May of that year, wrote to Count Pontchartrain, Colomal Mmister at Paris, " Captain Du Lud died this winter. He was a very honest man." Ifi EXl'LOllEliti AXD PIONEERS OF MIXKESOTA. CHAPTER IV. FIEST WHITE 3IEN AT FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA. FalU of SI. Anthony Visitcl liy White Men.— La Salle Gives the First IVscription of Upper Mississippi Valley.— Accault, the Leader, Aecompanieil by Anfelle and Hennepin, at Falls of Saint Anthony.— Hennepin Declared Unreliable by La Salle.— His E.»rly Life.— His First Book Criticised by Abbe Bernou and Tn>nson. — Dceeptivo Map. — First Meeting with Sioux.;— Astonishment at Reading' His Breviary,- Sioux Nitmc for Guns.- Accault and Hennepin at Liike Pepin.— Leave the River Below Saint Paul.- At Mille Lacs.— A Sweating Cabin.— Sioux Wonder at Mariner's CoUtp.iss.— Fears of an Iron Pot — Miikinf a Dictionary.- Infant Baptisfd. -Route to the Pacific— Hennepin Descends Rum River.- FirstVisitto Falls of Saint Anthony.— On a Buffalo Hunt.— Meets Du Luth.— Returns to Mille Ucs.— With Du Luth at Falls of St. Anthony.— Returns to France. — Subscijuent Life.- His Books Examined.— Peoies in First Book His Descent to the Gulf of Mexico.— Dispute with Du Luth at Falls of St, Anthony.- Patronage of Du Luth.— Tribute to Du Luth.— Hennepin's Answer to Cnticisms.— Denounced by D'lbcrviUo and Father Gravier.— Kcsidcuce in Rome. In the summer of 1680, Michael Accault (jVko), lleiuiepin, the Frauciscau missionary, Augelle, Du Luth, and Faffart all visited the Falls of Saint Aiitliony. The first description of the valley of the upper Mississippi ■was written by La Salle, at Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, on the 22d of Au- gust, 1()82, a month before Hennepin, in Paris, obtained a license to print, and some time before the Franciscan's first work, was issued from the press. La Salle's knowledge must have been received from Michael Accault, the leader of the expedi- tion, Augelle, his comrade, or the clerical attache, the Franciscan, Hennepin. It differs from nennepin's narrative in its free- dom from bombast, and if its statements are to be credited, the Francisciin must be looked on as one given to exaggeration. The careful student, however, soon learns to be cautious m receiving the statement of any of the early explorers and ecclesiastics of the Northwest. The Franciscan depreciated the Jesuit missionary, and La Salle did not hesitate to misrepresent Du Lutli and others tor his own exaltation. La Salle makes statements which we deem to be -nide of the trutli when his prejudices are aroused. At the very time that the lutendant of Justice in Canada is complauiing that Governor Fronte- nac is a friend and correspondent of Du Luth, La Salle WTites to Ids friends in Paris, tliat Du Luth is looked upon as an outlaw by the governor. "While ollicial documents prove that Du Luth was in IMinnesota a year before Accault and asso- ciates, yet La Salle writes: " Moreover, the Xa- donesioux is not a region which he has discov- ered. It is known that it was discovered a long time before, and that the Rev. Father Hennepin and Michael Accault were there before him." La Salle in this communication describes Ac- cault as one well acquainted with the language and names of the Indians of the Illinois region, and also " cool, brave, and prudent," and the head of the party of exploration. We now proceed with tlie first description of the country above the Wisconsin, to which is given, for the first and only time, by any writer, the Sioux name, Meschetz Odeba, perhaps in- tended for Mcshdeke AVakpa, River of the Foxes. He describes the Upper Mississippi in these words : " Followuig the windings of the Missis- sippi, they found the river Ouisconsing, AViscon- smg, or Meschetz Odeba, which flows between Bay of Puans and the Grand river. * * * About twenty-three or twenty-four leagues to the north or northwest of the mouth of the Ouisconsing, * * * they fomid the Black river, called by tlie Nadouesioux, Chabadeba [Chapa AVakpa, Beaver river] not very large, the mouth of which is bor- dered on the two sliores by alders. " Ascending about thirty leagues, almost at the s.ame point of the compass, is the Buffalo river [Chippewa], as large at its mouth as tliat of the Ilhnois. They follow it ten or twelve leagues, where it is deep, smaU and without rapids, bor- dered by hills which widen out from tiu\e to time to form prairies." About three o'clock in the afternoon of the 1 Uh of April, 1680, the tl'avelers were met by a war party of one hundred Sioux ui thu'ty-three birch bark canoes. "Michael Accault, who was the BENNEPIN CRITICISED BY LA SALLE. 19 leader," says La Salle, "presented the Calumet." The Indians were presented by Accault with twenty knives and a fathom and a half of tobacco and some goods. Proceeduig with the Indians ten days, on the 22d of April the isles in the Mis- sissippi were reached, where the Sioux had killed some ilaskoutens, and they halted to weep over the death of two of their own number ; and to assuage their grief, Accault gave them in trade a box of goods and twenty-four hatchets. When they were eight leagues below the Falls of Saint Anthony, they resolved to go by land to their village, sixty leagues distant. They were well received ; the only strife among the villages was that which resulted from the desire to have a Frenchman in their midst. La Salle also states that it was not correct to give the impression that Du Luth had rescued his men from captivity, for they could not be properly called prisoners. He continues: " In going up the Mississippi again, twenty leagues above that river [Saint Croixj is found the falls, which those I sent, and who passing there first, named Saint Anthony. It is thirty or forty feet high, and the river is nar- rower here than elsewhere. There is a small islaild in the midst of the chute, and the two banks of the river are not bordered by high hills, which gradually diminish at this point, but the country on each side is covered with thin woods, such as oaks and other hard woods, scattered wide apart. " The canoes were carried three or four hun- dred steps, and eight leagues above was found the west [east?] bank of the river of the Nadoue- sioux, ending in a lake named Issati, which ex- pands into a great marsh, where the mid rice grows toward the mouth." In the latter part of his letter La Salle uses the foUowmg language relative to his old chaplain: " I believed that it was appropriate to make for you the narrative of the adventures of this canoe, because I doubt not that they will speak of it, and if you wish to confer with the Father Louis Hen- nepin, Recollect, who has returned to France, you must know him a little, because he will not fail to exaggerate all things; it is his character, and to me he has written as if he were about to be burned when he was not even in danger, but he beUeves that it is honorable to act in this manner, and he speaks more conformably to that wliich he wishes than to that which he knows." Hemiepin was born in Ath, an inland town of the Netherlands. From boyliood he longed to visit foreign lands, and it is not to be wondered at that he assumed the priest's garb, for next to the soldier's life, it suited one of wandering pro- pensities. At one time he is on a begging expedition to some of the towns on the sea coast. In a few months he occupies the post of chaplain at an hospital, where he shrives the dying and admin- isters extreme unction. From the quiet of the hospital he proceeds to the camp, and is present at the battle of Seneffe, which occurred in the year 1674. His whole mind, from the time that he became a priest, appears to have been on " things seen and temporal," rather than on those that are " un- seen and eternal." While on duty at some of the ports of the Straits of Dover, he exliibited the characteristic of an ancient Athenian more than that of a professed successor of the Apostles. He sought out the society of strangf.-rs " who spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing." With perfect non- chalance he confesses that notwithstanding the nauseating fumes of tobacco, he used to slip be- hind the doors of sailors' taverns, and spend days, without regard to the loss of his meals, listening to the adventures and hair-breadth escapes of the mariners in lands beyond the sea. In the year 1676, he received a welcome order from his Superior, requiring liim to embark for Canada. Unaccustomed to the world, and arbi- trary in his disposition, he rendered the cabin of the ship in which he sailed any thing but heav- enly. As in modern days, the passengers in a vessel to the new world were composed of hete- rogeneous materials. There were young women going out in search for brothers or husbands, ec- clesiastics, and those engaged in the then new, but profitable, commerce in furs. One of his fellow passengers was the talented and enterpri- prising, though unfortunate. La Salle, with whom he was afterwards associated. If he is to be credited, his intercourse with La SaUe was not very pleasant on ship-board. The yoimg women, tired of being cooped up in the narrow accommo- dations of the ship, when the evening was fair 20 EXPLOBERS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOIA. sought the deck, and engaged in tlie rude dances of the French peasantry of that age. Hennepin, feeling that it was improper, began to assume the air of the priest, and forbade the sport. La Salle, feeling that his interference was uncalled for, called liim a pedant, and took the side of the girls, and dumg the voyage there were stormy discussions. Good hiunor appears to have been restored when they left the ship, for Hennepin would otli- er^vise liave not been the companion of La Salle in his great western journey. Sojourning for a short period at Quebec, the adventure-loving Franciscan is permitted to go to a mission station on or near the site of the present town of Kingston, Canada West. Here there was much to gratify his love of novelty, and he passed considerable time in ram- bling among the Iroquois of Kew York. In 1678 he returned to (Juebec, and was ordered to join the expedition of Robert La Salle. On the 6th of December Father Hennepin and a portion of the exploring party had entered the Niagara river. In the vicinity of the Falls, the winter was passed, and wliile the artisans were preparing a ship above the Falls, to navigate the great lakes, the Recollect whiled away the hours, in studying the manners and customs of the Sen- eca Indians, and in admiring the subUmest han- diwork of God on the globe. On the 7th of August, 1679, the ship being completely rigged, luifurled its sails to the breezes of Lake Eiie. The vessel was named the " Grif- fin," in honor of the arms of Frontenac, Governor of Canada, the first ship of Em-opean constric- tion that had ever ploughed the waters of the great inland seas of North America. After encountering a violent and dangerous storm on one of the lakes, during which they had given up all hope of escaping .shipwreck, on the 27th of the month, they were safely moored in the harbor of " MissiUmackinack."' From thence the party proceeded to Green Bay, where they left the ship, procured canoes, and continue to the mouth of the Mississippi, and occupies over sixty pages in tlie narrative. Tlie opening sentences give as a reason for concealing to this time his discovery, that La Salle would have re- ported him to his Superiors for presuming to go down instead of ascending the stream toward tlie north, as had been agreed ; and that the two with him threatened that if he did not consent to de- scend the river, they would leave him on shore during the night, and pursue their own course. lie asserts that he left the Gulf of Mexico, to return, on the 1st of Apiil, and on the 24th left the Arkansas ; but a week after tliis, he declares he lauded with the Sioux at the marsh about two miles below the city of Saint Paul. The account has been and is still a puzzle to the historical student. In our review of his first book we have noticed that as early as 1683, he claimed to have descended the ilississippi. In the Utrecht publication he declares that while at Quebec, upon his return to France, he gave to Father Valentine Roux, Commissary of Recol- lects, his journal, upon the promise that it would be kept secret, and that this Father made a copy of his whole voyage, including the visit to the Gulf of Mexico ; but in his Description of Louis- iana, Ilenneiiin wrote, " We had some design of going to tlie mouth of the river Colbert, which more probably empties into the Gulf of Mexico than into tlie Red Sea, but the tribes that seized us gave us no time to sail up and down the river." The additions in his Utrecht book to magnify his importance and detract from others, are many. As Sparks and Parkman have pointed oiit the plagiarisms of this edition, a reference here is unnecessary. Du Luth, who left Quebec in 1678, and had been in northern Minnesota, with an interpreter, for a year, after he met Ako and Hennepin, be- comes of secondary importance, in the eyes of the Franciscan. In the Description of Louisiana, on page 289, Uennepin speaks of passing the Falls of Saint Anthony, upon his return to Canada, in these few words : " Two of our men seized two beaver robes at the Falls of St. Anthony of Padua, which the Indians had in sacrifice, fastened to trees."' But m the Utrecht edition, conuuencing on page 416, there is nuuJi added concerning Du Luth. After using the language of the edition of 1683, already quoted it adds: "Hereupon there arose a dispute between Sieiir du Ltitli and my.self. I commended wliat they liad done, say- uig, 'The savages might judge by it that they disliked the superstition of these people.' Tlie Sieur du Luth, on tlie contrary, said tliat they ought to have left the robes where the savages placed them, for they would not fail to avenge the insult we had put upon tliem by this action, and that it was feared that they would attack iis on this journey. I confessed he had some foun- dation for what he said, and that he spoke accor- ding to the rules of jirudence. But one of the two men flatly replied, the two robes suited them, and they cared nothing for the savages and their superstitions. The Sieur du Luth atthe.se words was so greatly enraged that he nearly struck the one who uttered them, but I inlei-vened and set- tled the dispute. The Picard and Michael Ako ranged themselves on the side of those who had taken the robes in question, which might have resulted badly. " I argued with Sieur du Luth that the savages would not attack us, because I was persuaded that their great chief Ouasicoude would have our interests at heart, and he had great credit with his nation. The matter terminated pleasantly. " When we arrived near tlie river Ouiscoiisin, we halted to smoke tlie meat of the buffalo we had killed on the journey. During our stay, three savages of the nation we had left, came by the side of our canoe to tell us that their great chief Ouasicoude, liaving learned tliat another chief of these people wished to pursue and kill us, and that he entered the cabin wliere he was consult- ing, and had struck him on tlu^ liead with sucli violence as to scatter his brains upon his associ- iites ; thus preventing the executuig of this inju- rious project. '■ We regaled the three savages, having a great abundance of food at that time. The Sieur du Luth, after the savages had left, was as enraged as before, and feared that they would pursue and attack us on om' voyage. He w ould have pushed TRIBUTE TO DANIEL GBEYSOLON DU LUTH. 27 the matter f iirtlier, but seeing that one man would resist, and was not in the humor to be imposed upon, he moderated, and I appeased them in the end with tlie assurance that God would not aban- don us in distress, and, provided we confided in Ilim, he would deliver us from our foes, because lie is the protector of men and angels." After describing a conference with the Sioux, lie adds, "Thus the savages were very kind, without mentioning the beaver robes. Tlie chief Ouasicoude told me to offer a fathom of ilarti- nico tobacco to the chief Aquipaguetin, who had adopted me as a son. This had an admirable effect upon the barbarians, who went off shouting several times the word ' Louis,' [Ouis or We] which, as he said, means the sun. Without van- ity, I must say that my name will be for a long time among these people. "The savages having left us, to go to war against the Messorites, the Maroha, the Illinois, and other nations which live toward the lower part of the Mississippi, and are irreconcilalile foes of the people of tlie North, tlie Sieur du Lutb. who upon many occasions gave me marks of his friendship, could not forbear to tell our men that I had all the reason in the world to believe that the Viceroy of Canada would give me a favorable reception, should we arrive before winter, and that he wished with all his heart that he had been among as many natives as myself." The style of Louis Hennepin is unmistakable in this extract, and it is amusing to read his pa- tronage of one of the fearless explorers of the Northwest, a cousin of Tonty, favored by Fron- tenac, and who was in jyiinnesota a year before his arrival. In 1691, six years before the Utrecht edition of Hennepin, another Recollect Franciscan had pub- Ushed a book at Paris, called " The First Estab- lishment of the Faith in New France," in which is the following tribute to Du Luth, whom Ilen- nepui strives to make a subordinate : " In the last years of M. de Frontenac's administration, Sieur DuLuth,a man of talent and experience, opened a way to the missionary and the Gospel in many different nations, turning toward the north of that lake [Superior] where he even built a fort, he advanced as far as the Lake of the Issati, caUed Lake Buade, from the family name of M. de Frontenac, planting the arms of his Majesty in several nations on the right and left." In the second volume of his last book, which is called " A Continuance of the New Discovery of a vast Country in America," etc., Hennepin no- ticed some criticisms. To the objection that his work was dedicated to William the Third of Great Britain, he replies : " My King, his most Catholic Majesty, his Elec- toral Highness of Bavaria, the consent in writing of the Superior of my order, the integrity of my faith, and the regular observance of my vows, which his Britannic Majesty allows me, are the best warrants of the uprightness of my inten- tions." To the query, how he could travel so far upon the Mississippi in so little time, he answers with a bold face, " That we may, with a canoe and a pair of oars, go twenty, twenty-five, or thirty leagues every day, and more too, if there be oc- casion. And though we had gone but ten leagues a day, yet in thirty days we might easily have gone three hundred leagues. If during the time we spent from the river of the Illinois to the mouth of the Meschasipi, in the Gulf of Mexico, we had used a little more haste, we might have gone the same twice over." To the objection, that he said, he nad passed eleven years in America, when he had been there but about four, he evasively replies, that " reck- oning from the year 1674, when I first set out, to the year l(iS8, when I printed the second edition of my ' Louisiana,' it appears that I have spent fifteen years either in travels or prmting my Discoveries." To those who objected to the statement in his first book, in the dedication to Louis the Four- teenth, that the Sioux always call the sun Louis, he writes : " I repeat what I have said before, that being among the Issati and Nadouessans, by whom I was made a slave in America, I never heard them call the sun any other than Louis. It is true these savages call also the moon Louis, but with this distinction, that they give the moon the name of Louis Bastache, which in their lan- guage signifies, the sim that shines in the night." The Utrecht edition called forth much censure, and no one in France doubted that Hennepin was the author. D'Iberville, Governor of Lou- isiana, while in Paris, wrote on July 3d 1699, to EXPLOBEIiS Am) PIOXEERS OF ItlNNESOTA. the Minister of Marine and Colonies of France, in these words : " Very much vexed at the Rec- ollect, whose false narratives had deceived every one, and caused our suffering and total failure of our enterprise, by the time consumed in the ' search of things which alone existed in his imag- ination." The Eev. Father James Gravier, in a letter from a fort on the Gulf of Mexico, near the Mis- sissippi, dated February 16th, 1701, expressed the sentiment of his times when he speaks of Hen- nepin " who presented to King William, the Rela- tion of the Mississippi, wliere he never was, and after a thousand falsehoods and ridiculous boasts, * * * he makes Mr. de la Salle appear in liis Relation, wounded with two balls in the head, turn toward the Recollect Father Anastase, to ask him for absolution, having been killed in- stantly, without uttering a word • and other like false stories." Hennepin gradually faded out of sight. Bru- net mentions a letter written by J. B. Dubos, from Rome, dated March 1st, 1701, which men- tions that Hennepin was li\ing on the Capitoline Hill, in the celebrated convent of Ara Coeli, and was a favorite of Cardinal Spada. The time and place of his death has not been ascertaiiied. NICHOLAS PJSBBOT, FOUNDEB OF FIBST POST ON LAKE PEPIN. 29 CHAPTER V. NICHOLAS PEKEOT, FOUNDEK OF FIRST POST ON LAKE PEPIN. £arly Life. — Searches for Topper. — Interpreter at Sault St. Marie, Employed Ijy La Salle. — Bmlds Stocl;ade at Lake Pepin. — Hostile Indians Relinked. — A Silver Ostensorium Given to a Jesuit Chapel. — Perrot in the Battle against Seneeas, in New York. — Second Visit to Sioux Country. — Taking Possession by "Proces Verbal." — Discovery of Lead Mines. — Attends Council at Montreal. — Establishes a Pbst near Detroit, in Michigan. — Perrot's Death, and his Wife. Nicholas Perrot, sometimes written Pere, was one of the most energetic of the class in Canada known as " coureurs des bois," or forest rangers. Born in 1644, at an early age he was identified with the fur trade of the great inland lakes. As early as 1665, he was among the Outagamies [Foxes], and in 1667 was at Green Bay. In 1669, he was appointed by Talon to go to the lake re- gion in search of copper mines. At the formal taking possession of that country in the name of the King of France, at Sault St. Marie, on the 14th of May, 1671, he acted as interpreter. In 1677, he seems to have been employed at Fort Froutenac. La Salle was made very sick the next year, from eating a salad, and one Nicholas Perrot, called Joly Coeur (Jolly Soul) was sus- pected of having mingled poison with the food. After this he was associated with Du Luth in the execution of two Indians, as we have seen. In 1684, he was appointed by De la Barre, the Governor of Canada, as Commandant for the West, and left Montreal with twenty men. Ar- riving at Green Bay in Wisconsin, some Indians told him that they had visited countries toward the sotting sun, where they obtained the blue and green stones suspended from their ears and nosts, and that they saw horses and men like Frenchmen, probably the Spaniards of New Mex- ico ; and otliers said that they had obtamed hatch- ets from persons who lived in a house that walked on the water, near the mouth of the river of the Assiniboines, alluding to the English established at Hudson's Bay. Proceeding to the portage be- tween the Fox and Wisconsui, thirteen Ilurons were met, who were bitterly opposed to the es- tablishment of a post near the Sioux. After the Mississippi was reached, a party of Winnebagoes was employed to notify the tribes of Northern Iowa that the French had ascended the river, and wished to meet them. It was further agreed that prairie fires would be kindled from time to time, so that the Indians could follow the French. After entering Lake Pepin, near its mouth, on the east side, Perrot foimd a place suitable for a post, where there was wood. The stockade was built at the foot of a bluff beyond which was a large prairie. La Potherie makes this statement, which is repeated by Penicaut, who writes of Lake Pepin : " To the right and left of its shores there are also prairies. In that on the right on the bank of the lake, there is a fort, which was built by Nicholas Perrot, whose name it yet [1700] bears." Soon after he was established, it was announced that a band of Aiouez [loways] was encamped above, and on the way to visit the post. The French ascended in canoes to meet them, but as they drew nigh, the Indian women ran up the bluffs, and hid in the woods ; but twenty of the braves mustered courage to advance and greet Perrot, and bore him to the chief's lodge. The chief, bending over Perrot, began to weep, and allowed the moisture to fall upon his visitor. After he had exhausted himself, the principal men of the party repeated the slabbering process. Then buffalo tongues were boiled in an earthen pot, and after being cut into small pieces, the chief took a piece, and, as a mark of respect, placed it in Perrot's mouth. During the winter of 1684-85, the French tra- ded in Minnesota. At the end of the beaver hunt, the Ayoes [loways] came to the post, but Perrot was absent visiting the Nadouaissioux. and they sent a chief to notify him of their arrival. Four Illinois met him on the way, and were anxious for the return of four children held by the French. When the 30 EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. Sioux, who were at war with tlie Illinois, per- ceived them, they wislied to seize their canoes, but the Frendi voyageurs who were guarding them, pushed into the middle of the river, and the French at the post coming to their assistance, a reconciliation was effected, and four of the Sioux took the Illinois upon their shoulders, and bore them to the shore. An order having been received from Denon- ville. Governor of Canada, to bring the JSIiamis, and other tribes, to the rendezvous at Niagara, to go on an expedition against the Senecas, Per- rot entrusting the post at Lake Pei)in to a few Frenchmen, visited the Miamis, who were dwel- ling below on the Mississippi, and with no guide but Indian camp fires, went sixty miles into the country beyond the river. Upon his return, he perceiveci a great smoke, and at first thought that it was a war party pro- ceeding to the Sioux country. Fortunately he met a Maskouten chief, who had been at the post to sec him, and he gave the intelligence, that the Outagamies [Foxes], Kikapous [Kickapoos], and Mascoutechs [Maskoutens], and others, from the region of Green Bay, had determined to pillage the post, kill the French, and then go to war against the Sioux. Hurrying on, he reached the fort, and learned that on that very day three spies had been there and seen that there were only SIX Frenchmen in charge. ' The next day two more spies appeared, but Perrot had taken the precaution to put loaded guns at the door of each hut, and caused his men frequently to change their clothes. To the query, " How me Sueur, who afterward built a post below tlie Saint Croix lliver, about nine miles from Hastings, the following document was prepared: " Nicholas Perrot, commanding for the King at the post of the Nadouessioux, commissioned by the Marquis Denonville, Governor and Lieuten- ant Governor of all New France, to manage the interests of commerce among all the Indian tribes and people of the Bay des Puants [Green Bay], Nadouessioux, Mascoutens, and other western na- tions of the Upper Mississijipi, and to take pos- session in the King's name of all the places where he has heretofore been and whither he will go: " We this day, the eighth of May, one thousand six hundred and eighty-nine, do, in the presence of the Reverend Father Marest, of the Society of Jesus, Missionary among the Nadouessioux, of Monsieur de BoisguUlot, commanding the French in the neighborliood of the Ouiskonclie, on the Mississippi, Augiistin Legardeur, Esquire, Sieur de Caumont, and of Messieurs Le Sueur, Hebert, Lemire and Blein. " Declare to all whom it may concern, that, be- ing come from the Bay des Puants, and to the Lake of the Ouiskonches, we did transport our- selves to the country of the Nadouessioux, on the border of the river St. Croix, and at the mouth of the river St. Pierre, on the bank of which were the Mantantans, and furtlier up to the interior, as far as the Menchokatonx [Med-ay-wah-kawn- twawn], with whom dwell the majority of the Songeskitons [Se-see-twawns] and otlier Nadou- essioux who are to the northwest of the Missis- sippi, to tiike possession, for and in the name of the King, of tlie countries and rivers inliabited by the said tribes, and of which they are prcijirietors. The present act done jn our presence, signed with our hand, and subscribed." The three Cliipiieway girls of whom mention has been made were still with tlie I'oxes, and Perrot took them with him to ^Mackinaw, upon his return to Canada. AVhile there, the Ottawas held some prisoners upon an island not far from the mainland. Tlie Jesuit Fathers went over and tried to save the captives from harsh treatment, but were misuc- cessful. The canoes appeared at length near each other, one man paddling in each, while the war- riors were answering the shouts of the prisoners, who each held a white stick in his hand. As they neared the shore the chief of the party made a speech to the Indians wiio lived on the shore, and giving a history of the campaign, told them that they were masters of the jirisoners. The warriors then came on land, and, according to custom, abandoned the spoils. An old man then ordered nine men to conduct the prisoners to a separate place. The women and the young men formed a line with big sticks. The young pris- oners soon found their feet, but the old men were so badly used they spat blood, and they were con- demned to be burned at the ilamilion. The Jesuit Fathers and the French officers were much embarrassed, and feared that the Iro- quois would complain of the little care which had been used to prevent cruelty. Perrot, in this emergency, walked to the place where the prisoners were singing the death dirge, in expectation of being l)unied, and told them to sit ilown and be silent. A few Ottauwaws rudely told them to sing on, but Perrot forbade. He then went back to the Council, where the old men had rendered judgment, and ordered one prisoner to be burned at Mackinaw, one at Saiilt St. Marie and another at Green Bay. Undaunted he spoke as follows : " I come to cut the strings of the PERROT VISITS THE LEAD M1N'£S. 33 (logs. I will not suffer them to be eaten • I have pity on them, since my Father, Onontio, has com- manded me. You Outaouaks [Ottavraws] are like tame bears, who will not recognize them who lias brouglit them up. You have foi^otten Onon- tio's protection. When he asks your obedience, you want to rule over him, and eat the flesh of those children he does not wish to give to you. Take care, that, if oyu swallow them, Onontio will tear them with violence from between your teeth. I speak as a brother, and I think I am showing pity to your children, by cuttmg the bonds of your prisoners." His boldness had the desired effect. The pris- oners were released, and two of them were sent witli him to Montreal, to be retimied to the Iro- quois. On the 22nd of May, 1690, with one hundred and forty-three voyageurs and six Indians, Fer- ret left Montreal as an escort of Sieur de Lou- vigny La Porte, a half-pay captain, appointed to succeed Durantaye at Mackinaw, l)y Frontenac, the new Governor of Canada, who in October of the previous year had arrived, to take the place of Denonville. Perrot, as he approached Mackinaw, went in advance to notify the French of the coming of the commander of the post. As he came in sight of the settlement, he hoisted the white flag with the fleur de lis and the voyageurs shouted, " Long live the king! " Louvigny soon appeared and was received by one hundred " coureur des bois " mider arms. From Mackinaw, Perrot proceeded to Green Bay, and a party of Miamis there begged him to make a trading establishment on the Mississippi towards the Ouiskonsing ( Wisconsin. ) The chief made him a present of a piece of lead from a muie which he had found in a small stream which flows into the Mississippi. Perrot promised to visit him within twenty days, and the chief then returned to his village below the d'Ouiskonche (iWsconsin) Eiver. Having at length reached his post on Lake Pepin, he was informed that the Sioux were forming a large war party against the Outaga- mis (Foxes) and other allies of the French. He gave notice of his arrival to a party of a))out four hundred Sioux who were on the Mississippi. They arrested the massengers and came to the post for the purpose of plunder. Perrot asked them why they acted in this manner, and said that the Foxes, Miamis, Kickapoos, Illinois, and Maskoutens had united in a war party against them, but that he had persuaded them to give it up, and now he wished them to return to their families and to their beaver. The Sioux declared that they had started on the war-path, and that they were ready to die. After they had traded their furs, they sent for Perrot to come to their camp, and begged that he would not hinder them from searching for their foes. Perrot tried to dis- suade them, but they insisted that the Spirit had given them men to eat, at three days' journey from the post Then more powerful influences were used. After giving them two kettles and some merchandise, Poerrt spoke thus: " I love your life, and I am sure you will be defeated. Your Evil Spirit has deceived you. If you kill the Outagamis, or their allies, you must strike me first; if you kill them, you kill me just tlie same, for I hold them luider one wing and you under the other." After this he extended the calumet, which they at first refused; but at length a chief said he was right, and, making invocations to the sun, wished Perrot to take him back to his arms. This was granted, on condition that he would give up his weapons of war. The chief then tied them to a pole in the centre of the fort, turning them toward the sun. He then persuaded the other chiefs to give up the expedition, and, send- ing for Perrot, he placed the calumet before him, one end in the earth aud the other on a small forked twig to hold it firm. Then he took from his own sack a pair of his cleanest moccasins, and taking off Ferret's shoes, put on these. After he had made him eat, presenting the calumet, he said: " We listen to you now. Do for us as you do for our enemies, and prevent them from kill- ing us, and we will separate for the beaver hunt. The sun is the witness of our obedience." After this, Perrot descended the Mississippi and revealed to the Maskoutens, who had come to meet him, how he had pacified the Sionx. He, about this period, in accordance with his prom- ise, visited the lead mines. He found the ore abundant " but the lead hard to work because it lay between rocks which required Ijlowing up. It had very little dross and was easily melted." 34 EXPLOBEBS AND PIOAEEBS OF MINNESOTA. Pemcaut, who ascended the Mississippi in 1700, wrote that twenty leagues below the "Wisconsin, on both sides of the Mississippi, were mines of lead called '• Nicolas Perrofs." Early French maps indicate as the locality of lead mines the site of modem towns. Galena, in Illinois, and Du- buque, In Iowa. In August, 1693, about two hundred French- men from Mackinaw, with delegates from the tribes of the AVest, arrived at Montreal to at- tend a grand council called by Governor Fronte- nac, and among these was Perrot. On the first Sunday in September the governor gave the Indians a great feast, after which thej and the traders began to return to the wilder- ness. Perrot was ordered by Frontenac to es- tablish a new post for tlie !Miamis in ilichigan, in the neigliBbrhood of the Kalamazoo River. Two years later he is present again, in August, at a council in Montreal, then returned to the West, and in 1699 is recalled from (Jreen Hay. In 1701 he was at Montreal acting as interpreter, and appears to have died before 1718: his wife was Madeline Raclos, and his residence was in the Seigneury of Becancourt, not far from Three Rivers, on the St. Lawrence. BAROii LA HONTAN'S FABULOVS rol'.l^'A'. 35 CHAPTER VI. BAEON LA HONTAN'S FABULOUS VOYAGE. Ln Hoiitan, a Gascon by Birth.— Early Life-— Description of Fox ami Wisconsin Kivers — Indian Feast. — Alleged Ascent of Long River. — Bobe Exposes tlie Deception. — Route to the Pacific. The '• Travels" of Baron La Hontan appeared in A. D. 1703, both at London and at Hague, and were as saleable and readable as those of Ilerinepin, which were on the comiters of booksellers at the same time. La Hontan, a Gascon by birth, and in style of writing, when about seventeen years of age, ar- rived in Canada, m 1683, as a private soldier, and was with Gov. De la Barre in his expedition of 1684, toward Niagara, and was also in the battle near Rochester, New York, in 1687, at which Du Lnth and Perrot, explorers of Minnesota, were present. In 1688 he appears to have been sent to Fort St. Joseph, which was built by Du Luth. on the St. Clare River, near the site of Fort Gratiot, Michigan. It is possible that he may have accom- panied Perrot to Lake Pepin, who came about this time to reoccupy his old post. From the following extracts it v^dll be seen that his style is graphic, and that he probably had been in 1688 in the valley of the Wisconsin. At Mack- inaw, after his return from his pretended voyage of the Long River, he writes: " I left here on the 24th September, with my men and five Outaouas, good hunters, whom I have before mentioned to you as having been of good service to me. All my brave men being provided with good canoes, filled with provisions and ammunition, together with goods for the In- dian trade, I took advantage of a north wind, and ill three days entered the Bay of the Pouteouata- mis, distant from here about forty leagues. The entrance to the bay is fidl of islands. It is ten leagues wide and twenty-five in length. " On the 29th we entered a river, wliich is quite deep, wliose waters are so affected by the lake that they often rise and fall three feet iu twelve Lours. This is an observation that I made dur- ing these three or four days that I passed here. The Sakis, the Poutouatamis, and a few of the Malominis have their villages on the border of this river, and the Jesuits have a house there. In the place there is carried on quite a commerce in furs and Indian corn, which the Indians traffic with the ' coureurs des bois' that go and come, for it is their nearest and most convenient passage to the Mississippi. " The lands here are very fertile, and produce, almost without culture, the wheat of our Europe, peas, beans, and any quantity of fruit unknown in France. " The moment I landed, the warriors of tliree nations came by turns to my cabin to entertain me with the pipe and chief dance ; the first in proof of peace and friendship, the second to indi- cate their esteem and consideration for me. In return, I gave them several yards of tobacco, and beads, with which they trimmed their capots. The next morning, I was asked as a guest, to one of the feasts of this nation, and after having sent my dishes, which is the custom, I went towards noon. They began to compliment me of ray arrival, and after hearing them, they all, one after the other, began to sing and dance, in a manner that I will detail to you when I have more leisure. These songs and dances lasted two hours, and were sea- soned with whoops of joy, and quililili^s that they have woven into their ridiculous miisifiue. Then the captives waited upon us. The whole troop were seated in the Oriental custom. Each one had his portion before him, like our monks in their refectories. They commenced by placing four dishes before me. The first consis^^^ed of two white fish simply boiled in water. The second was chopped meats with the boiled tongue of a bear ; the third a beaver's tail, all roasted. They made me drink also of a syrup, mixed with water, made out of the maple tree. The feast lasted two 36 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. hours, after which, I requested a chief of the nation to sing for me ; for it is the custom, when we have husmess with them, to employ an inferior for self in all the ceremonies they perform. I gave him several pieces of tohacco, to oblige him to keep the party till dark. The next day and the day following, I attended the feasts of the other nations, where I observed the same formahties.'" He alleges that, on the 23d of October, he reached the Mississippi Kiver, and, ascending, on the .Sd of November he entered into a river, a tributary from the west, that was almost without a current, and at its mouth filled with rushes. He then describes a journey of five hundred miles up this stream. He declares he foimd upon its banks three great nations, the Eokoros, Essa- napes, and Gnacsitares, and because he ascended it for sixty days, he named it Long Eiver. For years his wondrous story was believed, and geographers hastened to trace it upon their maps. But in time the voyage up the Long Kiver was discovered to be a fabrication. There is extant a letter of Bobe, a Priest of the Congregation of the Mission, dated Versailles, March 15, 1716, and addressed to De L'Isle, the geographer of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, which exposes the deception. He writes: "It seems to me that you might give the name of Bourbonia to these vast coun- tries which are between the ^Missouri, ilississippi. and the "Western Ocean. "Would it not be well to efface that great river which La Hontan says he discovered? " All the Canadians, and even the Governor General, have told me that tliis river is unknown. If it existed, the French, who are on the Illinois, and at Ouabache, woidd know of it. The last volume of the ' Lettres Edifiantes' of the Jesuits, in wliich there is a very fine relation of the Illinois Coimtry, does not speak of it, any more than the letters \\iiich I received this year, which tell won- ders of the beauty and goodness of the country. They send me some quite pretty work, made by the wife of one of the princip.il chiefs. " They tell me, that among the Scioux, of the Mississippi, there are always Frenchmen trading; that the course of the Mississippi is from north to west, and from west to south; that it is knovsai that toward the soiux-e of the ^lississippi there is a river in the liighhmds that leads to the western ocean; that the Indians say that they have seen bearded men with caps, who gather gold-dust on the seashore, but that it is very far from this comitry, and that they pass through many nations unknown to the French. " I have a memoir of La :Motte Cadillac, form- erly Governor of Missilimacktnack, who says that if St. Peters [Minnesota] Hiver is ascended to its soiu'ce they will, according to all appearance, find in the higliland another river leading to the "West- ern Ocean. "For the last two years I have tormented exceedmgly the Governor-General, M. Baudot, and M. Duche, to move them to discover this ocean. If I succeed, as I hope, we shall hear tidings before three years, and I shall have the pleasure and the consolation of having rendered a good service to Geography, to Keligion and to the State." Charlevoix, m liis Ilistorj' of New France, al- luding to La Hontan's voyage, writes: " The voyage up the Long River is as fabulous as the Island of Barrataria, of which Sancho Panza was governor. Nevertheless, in France and else- where, most i)eople have received these memoirs as the fruits of the travels of a gentleman wIkj wrote badly, althougli (juite lightly, and who had no religion, but who described pretty sincerely what he had seen. The consequence is that the compilers of historical and geographical diction- aries have almost always followed and cited them in preference to more faithful records." Even in modern times, Nicollet, employed by the United States to explore the Upper 2ilississ- ippi, has the following in his report: "Having procured a copy of La Ilontan's book, m which there is a roughly made map of his Long River, I was struck \\ith the resem- blance of its course as laid down with that of Cannon River, which I had previously sketched in my own tield-book. I soon convinced myself that the principal statements of the Baron in ref- erence to the country and the few details he gives of the physical character of the the river, coui- cide remarkably with what I had laid dowii as belonging to Cannon River. Then the lakes and swamps corresponded; traces of Indian villages mentioned by him might be found by a growtli of wild grass that propagates itself around aU olii Indian settlements." LE SVEUIi, EXPLORER OF THE MINNESOTA RIVER. 37 CHAPTER Vn. LE STJETJR, EXPLORER OF THE ^IINNESOTA RIVER. Le Sueur Visits Lake Pepin. — Stationed at La Poinie. — Establishes a Post on an Island Above Lake Pepin. — Island Described by Penicaut. — First Sioux Chief at Montreal. — Ojibway Chiefs' Siteeches. — Speech of Sioux Chief. — Teeoskah- tay's Death. — Le Sueur Goes to France. — Posts West of Mackinaw Abandoned — Le Sueur's License Revoked. — Second Visit to France. — Arrives in Gulf of Mexico witli D'Iberville. — Ascends the Mississippi. — Lead Mines. — Canadians Fleeing from the Sioux. — At the Mouth of the Wisconsin. — Sioux Robbers, — Elk Hunting.— Lake Pepin Described.— Rattlesnakes.— La Place Killad.- St. Croix River Named After a Frenchman. — Le Sueur Reaches St. Pterre, now Minne' sola River. — Enters Mankahto, or Blue Earth, River.— Sioux of the Plains. — Port L'Huillier Completed. — Conferences with Sioux Bands — Assinaboines a Separated Sioux Band. — An Indian Feast. — Names of the Sioux Bands. — Char- levoix's Account. — Le Sueur Goes with D'Iberville to France. — D'Iberville's Memorial.— Early Census of Indian Tribes.— Penicaut's Account of Fort L'Huil lier. — Le Sueur's Departure from the Fort. — D'Evaqe Left in Charge. — Return' to Mobile.— Juchereau at Mouth of Wisconsin.— Bonder a Montreal Merchant. — Sioux Attack Miamis. — Boudor Robbed by the Sioux. Le Sueur -was a native of Canada, and a rela- tive of D'Iberville, the early Governor of Louis- iana. He came to Lake Pepin in 1683, -n'ith Nicholas Perrot, and his name also appears at- tached to the document prepared in May, 1689, after Perrot had re-occupied his post just above the entrance of the lake, on the east side. In 1692, he 'was sent by Governor Frontenae of Canada, to La Pointe, on Leake Superior, and m a dispatch of 1693, to the French Govermneut, is the following : " Le Sueur, another voyageiu-, is to remain at Chagouamagon [La Pointe] to en- deavor to maintain the peace lately concluded be- tween the Saulteurs [Chippeways] and Sioux. This is of the greatest consequence, as it is i\ov,' the sole pass by -which access can be had to the latter nation, whose trade is very profitable ; the comitry to the south being occupied by the Foxes and Maskoutens, who several times plundered the French, on the ground they were carrying ammu- nition to the Sioux, their ancient enemies." Entering the Sioux country in 1694, he estab- lished a post upon a prairie island in the Missis- sippi, about nine miles below the present to\A'n of Hastings, according to Bellin and others. Peni- caut, who accompanied him in the exploration of the Minnesota, -writes, " At the extremity of the lake [PepinJ you come to the Isle Pelee, so called because there are no trees on it. It is on this island that the French fi'om Canada established their fort and storehouse, and they also -winter here, because game is very abundant. In the month of September they bring their store of meat, obtained by hunting, and .after having skinned and cleaned it, hang it upon a crib of raised scaffolding, in order that the extreme cold, -which lasts from September to March, may preserve it from spoil- ing. During the whole winter they do not go out except for water, when they have to break the ice every day, and the cabin is generally built upon the bank, so as not to have far to go. When spring arrives, the savages come to the island, bringing their merchandize." On the fifteenth of July, 1695, Le Sueur arrived at Montreal with a party of Ojibways, and the first Ikikotah brave that had ever visited Canada. The Indians -were much impressed with the power of France by the marching of a detach- ment of seven hundred picked men, under Chev- aUer Cresafl, who were on their way to La Chine. On the eighteenth, Frontenae, in the presence of Callieres and other persons of distinction, gave them an audience. The first speaker was the chief of the Ojibway band at La Pointe, Shingowahbay, who said: " That he was come to pay his respects to Onon- tio [the title given the Governor of Canada] in the name of the young warriors of Pomt Chagouami- gon, and to thank him for having given them some Frenchmen to dwell with them; to testify their sorrow for one Jobin, a Frenchman, who was killed at a feast, accidentally, and not ma- liciously. We come to ask a favor of you, which is to let us act. We are allies of the Sciou. Some Outagamies, or Mascoutuis, have been killed. The Sciou came to mom-n with us. Let us act, Father; let us take revenge. " Le Sueiu- alone, who is acquainted -with the langufige of the one and the other, can serve us. We ask that he return with us." 38 EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. Another speaker of the Ojibways was Le Bro- chet. Teeoskahtay, the Dahkotah chief, before he spoke, spread out a beaver robe, and, laying an- otlier with a tobacco poudi and otter skin, liegan to weep bitterly. After drying his tears, he said: " All of the nations had a father, who afforded them protection; all of them have iron. B'lthe was a bastard in quest of a father; he was come to see him, and hopes that he will take pity on him." He then placed upon the beaver robe twenty- two arrows, at each aiTow naming a Dahkotah village that desired Frontenac's protection. Ke- suming his speech, he remarked: " It is not on account of what I bring that I hope him who rules the earth will have pity on me. I learned from the Sauteurs that he wanted nothing; that he was the Master of the Iron; that he had a big heart, into wliich he could receive all the nations. This has induced me to abandon my people and come to seek his protection, and to beseech bim to receive me among the number of his children. Take courage. Great Captain, and reject me not; despise me not, though I ap- pear poor in your eyes. jXJI the nations here present know tliat I am rich, and the little they oiler here is taken from my lands." Count Frontenac in reply told the chief that he would receive the Bahkotahs as his children, on condition that they would be obedient, and that he would send back Le Sueur with him. Teeoskahtay, taking hold of the governor's knees, wept, and said: "Take pity on us; we are well aware that we are not able to speak, be- ing children; but Le Sueiu', who imderstands our language, and has seen all our villages, will next year inform you what v\'ill liave been achieved by the Sioux nations represented by those arrows be- fore you." Having finished, a Dahkotah woman, the vnfe of a great chief whom Le Sueur liad purcliased from captivity at Mackinaw, approached those in authority, and, with downcast eyes, embraced their knees, weeping and saying: " I thank thee. Father; it is by thy means I have been liberated, and am no longer captive.'" Then Teeoskahtay resumed: " I speak like a man penetrated ■with joy. The Great CaptaLu; he who is the Master of Iron, as- i sures me of his protection, and I promise him that if he condescends to restore my children, now prisoners among the Foxes, Ottawas and llurous, I will return hither, and bring with me tlie twen- ty-two villages wlioin he lias just restored to life by promising to send tlieni Iron." On the 14th of August, two weeks after the Ojibway chief left for his home on Lake Superior, Nicholas I'errot arrived witli a dciiulation of Sauks, Foxes, Menomonees, Sliamis of Maramek and Pottowatomies. Two dajs after, they had a council witli the governor, who thus spoke to a Fox brave: " I see that you are a young man; your nation has quite tmned away from my wishes; it has pillaged some of my young men, wliom it has treated as slaves. I know tliat your father, who loved the French, had no hand in the indignity. You only imitate the example of your father who had sense, when you do not co-operate with those of your tribe who are wishing to go over to my enemies, after they grossly insulted me and defeated the Sioux, whom I now consider my son. I pity the Sioux; I pity the dead whose loss I deplore. Perrot goes up there, and he )jill speak to your nation from me for the release of their prisoners; let them attend to him." Teeoshkalitay never returned to his native land. "Wliile in Montreal he was taken sick, and in thirty-three days he ceased to breathe; and, fol- lowed by white men, his body was interred in the white man's grave. Le Sueur instead of going back to ilumesota that year, as was expected, went to France and received a license, in l(i9", to open certain mines supposed to exist in ilinnesota. The ship in which he was returning was captured by the Eng- lish, and he was taken to England. After liis release he went back to France, and, iu 1098, ob- tained a new commission for minhig. AVhile Le Sueur was in Europe, the Dahkotas waged war against tlie Foxes and Miamis. In retaliation, the latter raised a war party and en- tered the land of the Dahkotahs. Finding their foes intrenched, and assisted by " coureurs des bois," they were indignant; and on their return they had a skirmish with some Frenchmen, who were carrying goods to the Dahkotahs. Shortly after, they met Perrot, and were about to burn him to diath, when prevented by some LE SUEUB ASCENDS THE MISSISIPPI RIVEB. 39 friendly Foxes. The Miamis, after this, were disposed to be friendly to the Iroquois. In 1696, the year previous, the authorities at Quebec de- cided that it was expedient to abandon all the posts west of Mackinaw, and withdraw the French from Wisconsin and Minnesota. The voyageurs were not disposed to leave the country, and the governor wrote to Pontcbar- train for instructions, in October, 1698. In liis dispatch he remarks: " In this conjuncture, and under all these cir- cumstances, we consider it our duty to postpone, imtil new instructions from the court, the execu- tion of Sieur Le Sueur's enterprise for the mines, though the promise had already been given him to send two canoes in advance to Missilimackinac, for the puiijose of purchasing there some pro- visions and other necessaries for his voyage, and that he would be permitted to go and join them early in the sprmg with the rest of his hands. What led us to adopt this resolution has been, that the French who remained to trade off with the Five Nations the remamder of their merch- andise, might, on seeing entirely new comers arriving there, consider themselves entitled to dispense with coming down, and perhaps adopt the resolution to settle there; whilst, seeing no arrival there, with permission to do what is for- bidden, the reflection they will be able to make duruig the winter, and the apprehension of being guilty of crime, may oblige them to retm-n in the spring. " This would be very desirable, in consequence of the great difficulty there will be m constraining them to it, should they be inclined to Uft the mask altogether and become buccaneers ; or should Sieur Le Sueur, as he easily could do, furnish • them with goods for their beaver and smaller peltry, which he might send down by the retimi of other Frenchmen, whose sole desire is to obey, and who have remained only because of the impossi- bihty of getting tlieu- effects down. This would rather induce those who would continue to lead a vagaVxind life to remain there, as the goods they would receive from Le Sueur's people would afford them the means of doing so." In reply to this communication, Louis XIA'. answered that — " His majesty has approved that the late Sieur anpi, means Our Father.] The next day, he assembled in the fort the principal men of both villages; and as it is not possible to subdue the Scioux or to hinder them from going to war, unless it be by inducing them to cultivate the earth, he said to them that if they wished to render themselves worthy of the protection of the king, tliey must abandon their ening life, and form a village near his dwelling, where they would be shielded from the insults of of their enemies; and that they might be happy and not hungry, he would give them all the corn necessary to plant a large piece of ground; that the king, their and liis chief, in sending him, had forbidden him to purchase beaver skins, knowing that this kind of hunting separates them and ex- poses them to their enemies; and that in conse- quence of this he had come to establish himself on Blue River and vicinity, where they had many times assured him were many kinds of beasts, for the skins of which he would give them all things necessary; that they ought to reflect that they could not do without French goods, and that the only way not to want tliem was, not to go to war with our alhed nations. As it is customary with the Indians to accom- pany their word with a present proportioned to the affair treated of, he gave them fifty pounds of powder, as many balls, six guns, ten axes, twelve armsful of tobacco, and a hatchet pipe. On the first of December, the Mantantons in- vited Le Sueur to a great feast. Of four of their lodges they had made one, in which were one hundred men seated around, and every one his dish before him. After the meal, Wahkautape, the cliief , made them all smoke, one after another, in the hatchet pipe which had been given them. He then made a present to Le Sueur of a slave and a sack of wild rice, and said to him, showing him his men: " Behold the remains of this great village, which thou hast aforetimes seen so nu- merous! All the others have been killed in war; and the few men whom thou seest in this lodge, accept the present thou hast made them, and are resolved to obey the great chief of all nations, of whom thou hast spoken to us. Thou onghtest not to regard us as Scioux, but as French, and in- stead of saying the Scioux are miserable, and have no mind, and are fit for nothing but to rob and steal from the French, thou shalt say my breth- ren are miserable and have no mind, and we must V IBERVILLE'S MEMOIB ON THE MISSISSIPPI THIBES. 45 try to procure some for them. They rob us, but I will take care that they do not lack iron, that is to say, all kinds of goods. If thou dost this, I as- sure thee tliat in a little time the Mantantons will become Frenchmen, and they will have none of those vices, with which thou reproachest us." Having finished his speech, he covered his face with his garment, and the others imitated him. They wept over their companions who had died in war, and chanted an adieu to their country in a tone so gloomy, that one could not keep from partaking of their sorrow. Wahkantape then made them smoke again, and distributed the presents, and said that he was go- ing to the Mendeoucantons, to inform them of the resolution, and invite them to do the same. On the twelfth, three Mendeoucauton chiefs, and a large number of Inilians of the same vil- lage, arrived at the fort, and the next day gave satisfaction for robbing the Frenchmen. They brought four hundred pounds of beaver skins, and promised that the summer follo^^'ing, after their canoes were built and they had gathered their wild rice, that they would come and establish themselves near the French. The same day they returned to their village east of the Mississippi. KAMES OF THE BANDS OF SCIOUX OF THE EAST, WITH THEIK SIGNIFICATION. Mantantons— That is to say, Village of the Great Lake which empties into a small one. Mendeotjacantons— Village of Spirit Lake. QuioPETONS — Village of the Lake with one River. PsiouMANiTONs — Village of Wild Rice Gath- erers. Otjadebatons— The River Village. OuAETEJiANETONS — Village of the Tribe who dwell on the Point of the Lake. SoNGASQUiTONS— The Brave Village, THE SCIOUX OF THE WEST. ToucHOUAESiNTONS— The Village of the Pole. PsiNCHATONS — A^illage of the Red Wild Rice. OuJALESPOiTONS — Village divided into many small Bands. PsiNOUTANHiNiiiNTONS — The Great Wild Rice Village. TiNTANGAOUGHiATONS — The Grand Lodge Village. OuAEPETONS — Village of the Leaf. OuGHETGEODATONS— Dung Village. OuAPEONTETONS — Village of those who shoot in the Large Pine. HiNHANETONS — Village of the Red Stone Quarry. The above catalogue of villages concludes the extract that La Harpe has made from Le Sueur's journal. In the narrative of Major Long's second expe- dition, there are just as many villages of the Gens du Lac, or M'dewakantonwan Scioux mentioned, though the names are different. After leaving tlie Mille Lac region, the divisions evidently were different, and the villages known by new names. Charlevoix, who visited the valley of the Lower iSIississippi in 1722, says that Le Sueiu: spent a winter in his fort on the banks of the Blue Earth, and that m the foUowmg April he went up to the mine, about a mile above. In twenty-two days they obtained more than thirty thousand pounds of the substance, four thousand of which were se- lected and sent to France. On the tenth of February, 1702, Le Sueur came back to the post on the Gulf of Mexico, and found D'lberville absent, who, however, arrived on the eighteenth of the next month, wth a ship from France , loaded with suppUes. After a few weeks, the Governor of Louisiana sailed again for the old coimtry, Le Sueur being a fellow passenger. On board of the ship, D'lberville wrote a mem- orial upon the Mississippi valley, with sugges- tions for carrying on commerce therein, which contains many facts furnished by Le Sueur. A copy of the manuscript was in possession of the Historical Society of Mimiesota, from which are the foUovrang extracts: "If the Sioux remain in their o-mi coimtry, they are useless to us, being too distant. We could have no commerce vnth them exeept that of the beaver. M. Le Sueur, who goes to France to give an account of this country, is the proper per- son to make these movements. He estimates the Sioux at four thousand families, who could settle upon the Missouri. " He has spoken to me of another which he calls the Mahas, composed of more than twelve hundi-ed families. The Ayooues (loways) and the Octoctatas, their neighbors, are about three hundred families. They occupy the lauds be- 46 EXPLOREBS AND PIOXEERS OF MIXXESOTA. tween tiie ilississippi and the Missouri, about one huncked leagues from the IllLuois. These savages do not know tlie iise of arms, and a de- scent miglit be made upon tliem in a river, wUicli is beyond tlie Wabash on the west. * * * " The Assinibouel. Quenistinos, and people of the north, who are upon the rivers which fall into the Mississippi, and trade at Fort Xelson (Hud- son Bay), are about four hundred. We could prevent them from going there if we wish."' " In four or five years we can establish a com- merce witli these savages of sixty or eighty thou- sand buffalo skins; more than one hundred deer slcins, which will yiroduce. delivered in France, more tlian two million four hundred thousand livres yearly. One might obtain for a buffalo skin four or five pounds of wool, wliich sells for twenty sous, two pounds of coarse hair at ten sous. " Besides, from smaller peltries, two hundred thousand livres can be made yearly." In the tliird volume of the " History and Sta- tistics of the Indian Tribes," prepared under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian affairs, by Mr. Schoolcraft, a manuscript, a copy of which was in possession of General Cass, is referred to as containing the first enimieration of the Indians of the Mississippi A'alley. The following was made thirty-four years earlier by D"Iberville: "The Sioux, Families, 4,000 Mahas, 12,000 Octata and Ayoues, 300 Causes [Kansas], 1,500 Missouri, 1,500 Akansas, &c., 200 jSIanton [.MandanJ, 100 Panis [Pawnee], ti.oiiO Illinois, of the great village and Cania- roua [Tamaroa], 800 Meosigamea [Metchigamias], .... 200 Kikapous and Mascoutens, .... 4-50 Aliamis, . , 500 Chactas, 4,000 Cliicachas, 2,000 MobiUens and Chohomes, 3.50 Concaques [Conchas], 2,000 Ouma [Houmas], loO Colapissa, 250 Bayogoula, 100 People of the Fork, 200 Counica, &c. [TonicasJ, 300 Xadeches, 1,500 Belochy, [Biloxi] Pascoboula, .... 100 Total, . . ■ 23,850 '■ The savage tribes located in tlie places I have marked out, make it necessary to establish three posts on tlie Mississippi, one at the ^Vrkiinsas, another at tlie Wabash (Ohio), and the third at the Missouri. At each post it would be proper to have an oflicer with a detachment of ten sol- diers with a sergeant and corporal. All French- men should be allowed to settle there with their families, and trade with the Indians, and they miglit eslabli.sli tanneries for properly dressing the buffalo and deer skins for transportation. " Xo Frenchman shall be allmced to follow the Indians on their hunts, as it tends to keeji them hiinters, as is seen in Canada, and when they are La the woods, they do not desire to become tillers of the soil. ******* •■ I have said nothing in this memoir of wliich I have not personal knowledge or the most relia- ble sources. The most of what I propose is founded uimn personal reflection in relation to what might Ije done for the defence and advance- ment of the colony. ***** * * * It ^\'ill be absolutely necessary that tlie king should define tlie limits of this country in relation to the govTsmment of Canada. It is important that the commandant of the ^Mississippi should have a report of those who inhabit the rivers that fall into the ^Mississippi, and principally those of the river Illinois. '■ The Canadians intimate to the savages that tliey ouglit nf)t to listen to us but to the governor of Canada, who always speaks to tliem with large presents, that the governor of Mississippi is mean and never sends them any thing. This is ti'ue, and what I cannot do. It is imprudent to accus- tom the savages to be spoken to by presents, for, with so many, it would cost the king more than the revenue derived from the trade. AVhen they come to us, it will be necessary to bring them in subjection, make tliein no presents, and compel them to do what we wish, (i.s if they were'French- men. " The Spaniards have divided the Indians into parties on tliis point, and we can do the same. A\'hen one nation does wrong, we can cease to PENICAUT DESCRIBES LIFE AT FORT VHVILLIER. 47 trade with them, and threaten to draw down the hostility of other Indians. We rectify the ditli- culty by having missionaries, who will bring them into obedience secretly. " The Illinois and Mascoutens have detained the French canoes they find upon the ]\Iississippi, saymg that the governors of Canada have given them permission. I do not know whether this is so, but if true, it follows that we have not the liberty to send any one on the Mississippi. " M. Le Sueur would have been taken if he had not been the strongest. Only one of the canoes lie sent to the Sioux wasplmidered." * * * Penicaut's account varies in some particulars from that of La Ilarpe's. He calls the Mahkahto Green River instead of Blue and writes: " We took our route by its mouth and ascended it forty leagues, when we f ouud another river falling in- to the Saint Pierre, which we entered. We Dalled this the Green Eiver because it is of that color by reason of a green earth which loosening itself from from the copper mines, becomes dis- solved and makes it green. " A league up this river, we found a point of land a quarter of a league distant from the woods, and it was upon this point that M. Le Sueur resolved to build his fort, because we could not go any higher on account of the ice, it being the last day of Septemljer. Half of our people went hunting whilst the others worked on the fort. We killed foiu' hundred buffaloes, which were our provisions for the winter, and which we placed upon scaffolds in our fort, after havuig skinned and cleaned and quartered them. We also made cabins in the fort, and a magazine to keep our goods. After havmg drawn up our shallop within the inelosirre of the foi-t, we spent the winter in our cabins. " "WHien we were working in our fort in the begmning seven French traders from Canada took refuge there. They had been pillaged and stripped naked by the Sioux, a wandering nation hving only by liuuting and plundering. Among these seven persons there was a Canadian gen- tleman of Le Sueur's acquaintance, whom he rec- ognized at once, and gave him some clothes, as he did also to all the rest, and whatever else was necessary for them. They remained with us during the entire winter at our fort, where we had not food enough for all, except buffalo meat wlrich we had not even salt to eat with. We had a good deal of trouble the first two weeks in ac- customing ourselves to it, havmg fever and di- arrhoea and becoming so tired of it as to hate the smell. But by degrees our bodies became adapt- ed to it so well that at the end of six weeks there was not one of us who could not eat six pounds of nieat a day, and drink four bowls of broth. As soon as we were accustomed to this kind of livuig it made us very fat, and then there was no more sickness. " When spring arrived we went to work in the copper mine. This was the beginning of April of this year [1701.] We took with us twelve labor- ers and four hunters. This mine was situated about three-quarters of a league from our post. We took from the mine in twenty days more than twenty thousand pounds weight of ore, of which we only selected four thousand pomids of the finest, which M. Le Sueur, who was a very good judge of it, had carried to the fort, and which has since been sent to France, though I have not learned the result. '•This mine is situated at the beginning of a very long mountain, which is upon the bank of the river, so that boats can go right to the mouth of the mme itself. At this place is the green earth, which is a foot and a half in tliickness, and above it is a layer of earth as firm and hard as stone, and black and burnt like coal by the exlialation from the mme. The copper is Scratched out with a knife. There are no trees upon this mountain. * * * After twenty-two. days' work, we returned to our fort. When the Sioux, who belong to the nation of savages who pDlaged the Canadians, came they brought us merchandize of furs. "They had more than four hundred beaver robes, each robe made of nine skins sewed to- gether. M. Le Sueur purchased these and many other skins which he bargained for, in the week he traded with the savages. * * * * We sell in return wares which come very dear to the buyers, especially tobacco from Brazil, in the proportion of a hundred cro'wis the pound; two little horn-handled knives, and foiu- leaden bul- lets are equal to ten crowns in exchange for skins ; and so with the rest. " In the beginning of May, we launched our shallop ui the water, and loaded it with green 48 EXPLOREliS AND riOXEERti UF .UIXyESOTA. earth that hail hvcu taken out of the river, and Willi tlie furs we liail tiaih'd for, of wliieli we hiul three canoes full. M. Le Sueur before going held council with M. D'Evaque [or Eraque] the Canadian jieutlenian, and the three great chiefs of the Sioux, three lirothers, and told them that as he had to return to the sea, he desired them to live in peace with M. D'Evaque, whom he left ill command at Fort L'lluillicr. with twelve Frenchmen. M. Le Sueur made a considerable pre.sent to the three brothers, chiefs of the sava- ges, desiring them to never abanih>n the French. Afterward we the twelve men whom he had chosen to go down to the sea with him emliarked. In set- ting out, ^I, Le Sueur promised to M. D'Evaque and the twelve Frenchmen who remained with him to guard the fort, to send up munitions of war from the Illinois country as soon as he should arrive there ; which he did, for on getting there he sent off to him a canoe loaded with two thou- sand pounds of lead and powder, with three of our people iu charge.'' Le Sueur arrived at the French fort on the Gulf of Mexico in safety, and in a few weeks, in the spring of 1701, sailed for France, with his kinsman, D'Iberville, the first governor of Lou- isiana. In the spring of the next year (17(i2) D"Eva' men, on his way to establish a tannery for buffalo skins at the Wabash, and that at the Illinois he met the canoe of supplies sent by tjienville, D'lbervUle's brother. La ^lotte Cadillac, in command at Detroit, in a letter written on August 31st, ITO.'i, alludes to Le Sueur's expedition in these w ords: " Last year they sent Mr. Boudor, a ^lontreal merchant, into the country of the Sioux to join Le Su- eur. He succeeded so well in that journey he transported thither twenty-five or thirty thous- and ])oimds of merchandize with which to trade in all the coinitry of the Outawas. This proved to him an unfortunate investment, as he has befu robbed of a part of the goods by the Outa- gamies. Tlie occiusion of the robbery by one of onr own allies was as follows. 1 speak with a full knowledge of the factsas they occurretl while I was at Michillimackianc. From time immemo- rial our allies have been at war with the Sioux, abd on my arrival there in conformity to the or- der of yi. Frontenac, the most able man who has ever come into Canada, I attempted to negotiate a truce between the Sioux and all om- allies. Succeeding in this negotiation I took the occa- sion to turn their arms against the Iroquois with whom we were then at war, and soon after I ef- fected a treaty of peace between the Sioux and the French and theirallieswiiich lasted two years. "At the end of tha time the SioiLX came, in great numbers, to the villages of the iliamis, un- der i)retense of ratifying the treaty. They were well received by the Miamis. and. after spending several days in their villages, 'departed, apparent- ly perfectly satisfied with their good reception, as they certainly had every reason to be. " The JSIiamis, believing them already far dis- tant, slept quietly; but the Sioux, who had pre- meditated the attack, retiu-ned the same night to the principal village of the Miamis, where most of the tribe were congregated, and, taking them by surprise, slaughtered nearly three thousandC:') and put the rest to fiight.. * "This perfectly infuriated all tne nations. They came with their complaints, liegging me to join with tliem and exterminate the Sioux. But the war we then had on our hands did not permit it, so it became necessary to play the orator in a long harangue. In conclusion I advised them to ' weep their dead, and wrap them up, and leave them to sleep coldly till the day of vengeance should come;' telling them we must sweep the land on this side of the Iroquois, as it was neces- sary to extinguish even their memory, after which the allied tribes could more easily avenge the atrocious deed that the Sioux had just committed uiion them. In short, I managed them so well- that the affair was settled in the manner that I proposed. "But the twenty-five permits still existed, and the cupidity of the French induced them to go among the Sioux to trade for beaver. Our allies complained bitterly of this, sa\ing it was injust- TRADE FOBBIDDEN WITH THE SIOUX. 49 ice to them, as tbey had taken up arms in our quarrel against tlie Iroquois, while the French traders were carrying munitions of war to tlie Sioux to enable them to kiU the rest of our allies as they had the Miamis. " I immediately informed M. Frontenac, and M. Champigny having read tlie communication, and commanded that an ordinance be publ ished at Mon- treal forbidding the traders to go into the country of the Sioux for the purpose of traffic under penalty of a thousand francs fine, the confiscation of the goods, and other arbitrary penalties. The ordi- nance was sent to me and faithfully executed. The same year [1699] I descended to Quebec, having asked to be relieved. Since that time, in spite of this prohibition, the French have con- tinued to trade with the Sioux, but not without being subject to affronts and indignities from our allies themselves which bring dishonor on the French name. * * * I do notconsider it best any longer to allow the traders to carry on com- merce with the Sioux, under any pretext what- ever, especially as M. Boudor has just been robbed by the Fox nation, and M. Jucheraux has given a thousand crowns, in goods, for the right of passage through the country of the allies to his habitation. " The allies say that Le Sueur has gone to the Sioux on the Mississippi; that they are resolved to oppose him, and if he offers any resistance they will not be answerable for the consequences. It would be well, therefore, to give Le Sueur warning by the Governor of Mississippi. " The Sauteurs [Chippeways] being friendly with the Sioux wished to give passage through their country to M. Boudor and others, permit- ting them to carry arms and other munitions of war to this nation; but the other nations being opposed to it, differences have arisen betvsreen them which have resulted in the roljbery of M. Boudor. This has given occasion to the Sau- tem's to make an outbreak upon the Sacs and Foxes, killing thirty or forty of them. So there is war among the people." 50 EXPLOliEIiS AXD PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTER yill. EVENTS AVUICII LED TO liUILDIXG FORT BEAUHAKNOIS ON LAKE PEPIN. Be'EsUbhshineut of Mackinaw.— Sieur do Louvigny at Mackinaw.— De Lignery at Mackinaw.- Louvigny Attacks the Foxes.— Du Luth's Post Bcoccupied.— Saint Pierre at 1a Poiuto on Lake Superior.- Preparations for a Jesuit Mission amoni; the Sioux.— Ia Perriere Boucher's Expedition to Lake Pepin.— Dc Conor and Guiguos, Jesuit Missionaries.— Visit to Foxes and Winnebagoes. — Wisconsin River Described.— Fort Beauharnuis Built.- Fireworks Displayed. — High Water at Lake Pepin.— De Conor Visits Mackinaw.— Boucherville, Mont- brun and Guiguas Captured by Indians.— Montbrun's Escape.— Boucherville's Presents to Indians.— Exaggerated Account of Father Guiguas' Capture.— liis- patches (.'oncerning Fort Beauhamois.— Sicur de la Jeineraye. — Saint Pierre at Fort Beauharnois.— Trouble between Sioux and Foxes —Sioux Visit Queliec.— De Lusignan Visits tlie Sioux Country.— Saint Pierre Noticed in the Travels of Jonathan Carver and Lieutenant Pike. After the Fox Indians drove away Le Sueur's men, in 1702, from the ^Slakalito, or Blue Earth river, t\w mercliants of :si<)iitreal and Quebec did not encourage trade with the tribes beyond :Mac'li- inaw. D'Aigreult, a French officer, sent to inspect that post, in the summer of 1708, reported tliat he arrived there, on the 19th of August, and found tliere but fourteen or fifteen Frenchmen. He also wrote: " Since tliere are now onlj' a few wanderers at Micliilimaclcinack, the greater part of the furs of tlie savages of the north goes to the English trading posts on Hudson's Bay. The Outawas are unable to make this trade by them- selves, because the northern savages are timid, and will not come near them, as they have often been plundered. It is, therefore, necessary that the French be allowed to seek these northern tribes at the mouth of theii- own river, which empties into Lake Superior." Louis de la Porte, the Sieur De Louvigny, in 1690, accompanied by Nicholas Perrot, with a de- tachment of one hundred and seventy Canadians and Indians, came to ISIackinaw, jind until 1094 was in command, when lie was recalled. In 1712, Father Joseph J. ISIarest the Jesuit missionary wrote, " If this country ever needs M. Louvigny it is now ; the savages say it is ab- solutely necessary that he should come for the safety of the country, to unite the tribes and to defend tliose wliom the war has caused to return to Michiliniaciiiac. ****** I do not know wliat course the Pottawatomies will take, nor even wliat course they will pursue who are here, if M. Louvigny does not come, es- pecially if the Foxes were to attack them or us." The next July, M. Lignery urged upon the au- thorities the establishment of a garrison of trained soldiers at Mackinaw, and the Intendant of Can- ada wrote to the King of France : " Michilimackinac might be re-established, without expense to his Jilajesty, either by sur- rendering the trade of the post to such individu- als as will obligate themselves to pay all the ex- penses of tw^enty-two soldiers and two officers; to furnish munitions of war for the defense of the fort, and to make presents to the savages. '■ Or the expenses of the post might be paid by the sale of permits, if the King should not tlihik proper to grant an exclusive commerce. It is ab- solutely necessary to know the •wishes of tlie King concerning these two propositions ; and as M. Lignery is at Michilimackinac, it will not be any greater injury to the colony to defer the re-estab- ment of this post, than it has been for eight or ten years past." The war with England ensued, and in April. 1713, the treaty of Utrecht was ratified. Fniiice liad now more leisure to attend to the Inilian tribes of the "West. Early in 1714, ^Mackinaw was re-occupied, and on the fourteenth of March, 1716, an expedition under Lieutenant Lou-vigny, left Quebec. His arrival at Mackinaw, where he had beeU long ex- pected, gave confidence to the voyageurs, and friendly Indians, and with a force of eight hun- dred men, he proceeded against the Foxes in Wisconsin. He brought with him two pieces of cannon and a grenade mortar, and besieged the fort of the Fo.xes, wliich he stated contained five Inuidred warriors, and three thousand men, a declaration which can scarcely be credited. After DESIBE FOR A NOBIUERN ROUTE JO THE PACIFIC. 51 three days of skirmishing, he prepared to mine the fort, when the Foxes capitvilated. The paddles of the bircli bark canoes and the gay songs of the voyageiirs now began to be heard once more on the waters of Lake Superior and its tributaries. In 1717, tlie post erected by Du Luth, on Lake Superior near the northern boun- dary of ilinnesota, was re-occnpied by Lt. llo- bertel de la None. In view of the troubles among the tribes of the northwest, in the month of September, 1718, Cap- tain St. Pierre, who had great mfluence with the Indians of Wisconsin and Minnesota, was sent with Ensign Linctot and some soldiers to re-oc- cupy La Pointe on Lake Superior, now Bayfield, in the northwestern part of Wisconsin. The chiefs of the baud there, and at Keweenaw, had threatened, war against the Foxes, who had killed some of their nu mber. When the Jesuit Charlevoix returned to France after an examination of the resources of Canada and Louisiana, he urged that an attempt should be made to reacli the Pacific Ocean by an inland route, and suggested that an expedition should proceed from the mouth of the Missouri and fol- low that stream, or that a post should be estab- lished among the Sioux which should be the point of departure. The latter was accepted, and in 1722 an allowance was made by the French Gov- ernment, of twelve hundred Uvres, for two Jes- uit missionaries to accompany those who should establish the new post. D'Avagour, Superin- tendent of Missions, in May, 1723, requested the authorities to grant a separate canoe for the con- veyance of the goods of the proposed mission, and as it was necessary to send a commandant to persuade the Indians to receive the mission- aries, he recommended Sieur Pachot, an officer of experience. A dispatch from Canada to the French govern- ment, dated October 14, 1723, amiounced that Father de la Chasse, Superior of the Jesuits, ex- pected that, the next spring, Father Guymoneau, and another missionary from Paris, would go to the Sioux, but that they had been hindered by the Sioux a few months before kiUing seven French- men, on their way to Louisiana. The aged Jesuit, Joseph J. Marest, who had been on Lake Pepin m 1089 with Perrot, and was now in Mon- treal, said that it was the wandering Sioux who had killed the French, but he thought the sta- tionary Sioux would receive Christian instruction. The hostility of the Foxes had also prevented the establishment of a fort and mission among the Sioux. \ On the seventh of June, 1726, peace was con- cluded by De Lignery with the Sauks, Foxes, and AVinnebagoes at Green Bay; and Linctot, who had succeeded Saint Pierre m command at La Pointe, was ordered, by presents and the promise of a missionary, to endeavor to detach the Dah- kotahs from their alliance with the Foxes. At this time Linctot made arrangements for peace between the Ojibways and Dahkotas, and sent tw^o Frenchmen to dwell in the villages of the latter, with a promise that, if they ceased to figlit the Ojibways, they should have regular trade, and a "black robe" reside in their country. Traders and missionaries now began to prepare for visitmg the Sioux, and in the spring of 1727 the Governor of Canada wrote that the fathers, appointed for the Sioux mission, desired a case of mathematical instruments, a universal astro nomic dial, a spirit level, chain and stakes, and a telescope of six or seven feet tube. On the sixteenth of June, 1727, the expedition for the Sioux country left Montreal in charge of the Sieur de la Perriere who was son of the dis- tinguished and respected Canadian, Pierre Bou- cher, the Governor of Three Rivers. La Perriere had .served in aSTewfoimdland and been associated with Hertel de Rouville in raids into New England, and gained an unenviable no- toriety as the leader of the savages, while Rou- ville led the French in attacks upon towns like Haverhill, Massachusetts, where tlie Indians ex- ultuigly killed the Puritan pastor, scalped his loving wife, and dashed out his infant's brams against a rock. He was accompanied by his brother and other relatives. Two Jesuit fathers, De Gonor and Pierre Michel Guignas, were also of the party. In Shea's " Early French Voyages" there was printed, for the first time, a letter from Father Guignas, from the Brevoort manuscripts, written on May 29, 1728, at Fort Beauharnois, on Lake Pepin, which contains facts of much interest. He writes: " The Scioux convoy left the end of Montreal Island on the 16th of the month of Jime last year, at 11 a. m., and reached Michili- 62 EXPLORERS AND PIOXEERS OF MINNESOTA. mackinac the 22d of the month of July. This post is two hundred and fift)'-one leagues from Itlontreal, almost due west, at 45 degrees 46 min- utes north latitude. " We spent the rest of the month at this post, in the hope of receiving from day to day some news from Montreal, and in the design of strengthening ourselves against the alleged ex- treme difficulties of getting a free passage through the Foxes. At last, .seeing nothing, we .set out on our march, the first of the month of August, and. after seventy-three leagues quite pleasant sail along the northerly side of Lake Michigan, running to the southeast, we reached the Bay [Green] on the 8th of the same month, at 5:30 p. 51. This post is at 44 degrees 43 minutes north latitude. ""We stopped there Iavo days, and on the 11th in the morning, we embarked, in a very great impatience to reach the Foxes. On the third day after our departure from the bay, (juite late in the afternoon, in fact somewhat in tlie night, the chiefs of the Puans [Winnebagoes] came out three leagues from their village to meet the French, with their peace calumets and some bear meat as a refresliment, and the next day we were received by that small nation, amid several discharges of a few guns, and with great demonstrations. " They asked us with so good a grace to do them the honor to stay some time with them tliat we granted them the rest of the day from noon, and the following day. Tliere may be in all the village, sixty to eighty men, but all tlie men and women of very tall stature, and well made. They are on the bank of a very pretty little lake, in a most agreeable spot for its situation and the goodness of the soil, nineteen leagues from the bay and eight leagues from the Foxes. " Early the next morning, the loth of the montli of August, the convoy preferred to continue its route, with quite pleasant weather, but a storm coming on in the afternoon, we arrived quite wet, still in the rain, at the ••al)ins of tlie Foxes, a nation so much dreaded, and really so little to be dreaded. From all that we could see, it is composed of two hundred men at most, but there is a perfect hive of children, especially boys from ten to fourteen years old, well formed. '• They are cabined on a little eminence on the bank of a small river that bears their name, ex- tremely tortuous or wmding, so that you are con- stantly boxing the compass. Yet it is apparently quite wide, with a cliain of hills on both sides, but there is only one miserable little channel amid this extent of apparent bed, which is a kind of marsh full of rushes and wild rice of almost impenetrable thickness. They have nothing but mere bark cabins, without any kind of pahsade or other fortification. As soon as the French ca- noes touched their sliore they ran do«ii with their peace calumets, liglited in spite of the rain, and all smoked. " "We stayed among them the rest of this day, and all the next, to know wliat were their designs and ideas as to the French post among the Sioux. The Sieur Reaume, interpreter of Indian lan- guages at the Bay, acted efficiently there, and with devotion to tlie King's service. Even if my testimony, Sii', should be deemed not impartial, I must have the honor to tell you that Rev. Father Chardon, an old missionary, was of very great as- sistance there, and the presence of three mission- aries reassured these cut-throats and assassins of the French more than all the speeches of the best orators could have done. " A general council was convened in one of the cabins, they were addressed in decided friendly terms, and they replied in the same way. A small present was made to tliem. On tlieir side they gave some quite handsome dishes, lined with dry meat. On the following Simday, 17th of the month of August, very early in the morning, Fatlier Chardon set out, with Sieur Reaume, to return to the Bay, and the Sioux expedition, greatly re- joiced to have so easily got over this difficulty, which had everywhere been represented as so in- surmountable, got uiider way to endeavor to reach its journey's end. " Never was navigation more tedious than what we subsequently made from uncertainty as to our course. No one knew it, and we got astray every moment on water and on land for want of a guide and pilots. ^Ve kept on, as it were feeling our way for eight days, for it was only on the ninth, about three o'clo'ck p. m., that we arrived, by accident, believing ourselves stiil far off, at tlie portage of the Ouisconsin, which is forty-five leagues from tlie Foxes, counthig ail the twists and turns of this abominable river. SITUATION AND DESCRIPTION OF FORT BEAUHARNOIS. 53 This portage is lialf a league in length, and half of that is a kind of marsh full of mud, " The Ouisi'onsin is quite a handsome river, but far below what we had been told, apparently, as those who gave the description of it in Canada saw it only in the high waters of spring. It is a shallow river on a bed of quicksand, which forms bars almi;st everywhere, and these often change place. Its shores are either steep, Ijare mountains or low points wi th sandy base. Its course is from northeast to southwest. From the portage to its mouth in the Mississippi, I estimated thirty-eight leagues. The portage is at 43 deg. 2-1 min. north latitude. " The Mississippi from the mouth of the Ouis- conshi ascending, goes northwest. This beauti- ful river extends between two chains of high, bare and very sterile mountains, constantly a league, three-quarters of a league, or where it is narrowest, half a league apart. Its centre is oc- cupied by a chain of well wooded islands, so that regarding from the heights above, you would thmk you saw an endless valley watered on the right and left by two large rivers ; sometimes, too, you could discern no river. These islands are overflowed every year, and would be adapted to raising rice. Fifty-eight leagues from the mouth of the Ouisconsin, accordmg to my calculation, ascending the Mississippi, is Lake Pepin, which is nothmg else but the river itself, destitute of islands at that point, where it may be half a league wide. This river, in what I traversed of it, is shallow, and has shoals in several places, be- cause its bed is moving sands, like that of the Ouisconsm. "On the 17th of September, 1727, at noon, we reached this lake, which had been chosen as the bourne of our voyage. We planted ourselves on the shore about the middle of the north side, on a low point, where the soil is excellent. The wood is very dense there, but is already thumed in consequence of the rigor and length of the winter, which has been severe for the climate, for we are here on the parallel of 43 deg. 41 min. It is true that the difference of the winter is great compared to that of Quebec and Montreal, for all that some poor judges say. "From the day after our landing we put our axes to the wood: on the fourth day following the fort v:as entirely finished. It is a square plat of one hundred feet, surrounded by pickets twelve feet long, with two good bastions. For so small a space there are large buildings quite distinct and not huddled togetlier, each thirty, thirty-eight and twenty-five feet long by sixteen feet wide. " All would go well there if the spot were not inundated, but this year [1728], on the 15th of the month of April, we were obliged to camp out, and tlie water ascended to the height of two feet and eight inches in the houses, and it is idle to say that it was the quantity of snow that fell tills year. The snow in the vicinity had melted long before, and there was only a foot and a half from the 8th of February to the IStli of March; you could not use snow-shoes. " I have great reason to think that this spot is inundated more or less every year; I have always thought so, but they were not obliged to believe me, as old people who said that they had lived in this region fifteen or twenty years declared that it was never overflowed. AVe could not enter our much-devastated houses until the 30th of April, and the disorder is even now scarcely re- paired. " Before the end of October [1727] all the houses were finished and furnished, and each one found himself tranquilly lodged at home. They then thought only of going out to explore the hills and rivers and to see those herds of all lands of deer of which they tell such stories in Canada. They must have retired, or diminished greatly, since the time the old voyageurs left the comitry; they are no longer in such great numbers, and are killed with difliculty. "After beatmg the field, for some time, all re- assembled at the fort, and thought of enjoying a little the fruit of their labors. On the 4th of No- vember we did not forget it was the General's birthday. Mass was said for him [Beauharnois, Governor-General of Canada] in the morning, and they were well disposed to celebrate the day in tlie evening, but the tardmess of the pyro- technists and the inconstancy of the weather caused them to postpone the celebration to the 14th of the same month, when they set off some very fine rockets and made the air rmg with an hundred shouts of Vive k Roy! and Vive Charles de Beauharnois! It was on this occasion that the wine of the Sioux was broached; it was par eoo- 54 EXPLOIiERS AKB PIOXEERS OF HflNXESOTA. celknce, although there are no ynnes here finer than in Canada. •' What contributed much to the amusement, was the terror of some cabins of Indians, who were at the time around the fort. AVhen these poor people saw the fireworks in the air, and the stars fall from heaven, the women and children began to take flight, and the most courageous of the men to cry mercy, and implore ns very earn- estly to stop the surprising pla\' of that wonder- ful medicine. " As soon as we arrived among them, they as- sembled, in a few days, around the French fort to the number of ninety-five cal)ins. which might make in all one hundred and fifty men; for there axe at most two men in their portable cabins of dressed skins, and in many there is only oue_ This is all we have seen except a band of about sixty men, who came on the 26th of the month of February, who were of those nations called Sioux of the Prairies. " At the end of November, the Indians set out for theii- winter quarters. They do not, indeed, go far, and we saw some of them all through the winter; but from the second of the month of April last, when some cabins repassed here to go in search of them, [lie] sought them in vain, du- ring a week, for more than sixty leagues of the Mississippi. He [La PerriereV] arrived yesterday without any tidings of them. " Although I said above, that the Sioux were alarmed at the rockets, which they took for new phenomena, it must not be supposed from that they were less intelligent than other Indians we know. They seem to me more so ; at least they are much gayer and open, apparently, and far more dextrous thieves, great dancers, and great medicine men. The men are almost all large and well made, Init the women are very ugly and dis- gusting, which does not, however, check debauch- ery among them, and is perhaps an effect of it." In the summer of 172.S the Jesuit De Gonor left the fort on Lake Pepin, and, by way of Mack- inaw, returned to Canada. The Foxes had now become very troublesome, and De Lignery and Beaujeu marched against their stronghold, to find they had retreated to the Mississippi Biver. On the 12th of October. Boucherville, his bro- ther Montbnui, a young ^adet of enterprising spirit, the Jesuit Guiguas, and other Frenchmen, eleven in all. left Fort Pepui to go to Canada, by way of the Illinois River. They were captured by the Mascoutens and Kickapoos. ami detained at the river " Au Ba-iif,"" which st;;cam was prob- ably the one mentioned by Le Sueur as twenty- two leagues above the Illinois River, although the sjmie name was g'ven liy Ilenneiuu to the Chip- pewa River, just below Lake Pepin. They were held as prisoners, with the view of delivering them to the Foxes. The iiight Viefore the deliv- ery the .Sieur ^lontbrun and liis l)rother and an- other Frenchman escaped. !Montbnm, leaving his sick brother in the Illinois country, journeyed to Canada and informed the authorities. Boucherville and Guignas reinaiueil prisoners for several months, and the former did not reach Detroit until .June. 1729, The account of expen- ditures made during his captivity is interesting as showing the value of merchandize at that time. It reads as follows: " ;Memi>randuni of the goods that Monsieur de Boucherville was ol)liged to furnish in the ser- vice of the King, from the time of his detention among the Kickapoos, on the 12th of October, 172s. until his return to Detroit, in the year 1729, in the month of June. On arriving at the Kick- apoo village, he made a present to tlie young men to secure their opposition to some evil minded' old warriors — Two barrels of powder, each fifty pounds at Montreal price, valued at the sum of 1.50 Uv. One hundred pounds of lead and balls making the simi of .50 liv. Fom- pounds of vermillion, at 12 francs the poiuid 48 fr. Four coats, braided, at twenty francs. . . 80 fr. Six dozen knives at foiu- francs the dozen 24 fr. Four hinidred flints, one hundred gim- worms, two hundred ramnids and one hundred and fifty files, the total at the maker's prices 90 liv. After the Kickapoos refused to deliver them to the Renards [Foxes] they wished some favors, and I was obliged to give them the following which would allow them to weep over and cover their dead: Two braided coats (« 20 fr. each. . .- 40fr. Two woolen blankets (n 1.5 fr 30 One hundred pounds of powder @ 30 sous 75 One hundred pounds of lead (^ 10 sous. . 25 liOUVHEBVILLE'S PRESENTS WHILE IN CAPTIVITY. 65 Two pounds of vermillion @ 12 fr 24f r. Moreover, given to- the Eenards to cover their dead and prepare tliem for peace, fifty pounds of powder, making 7o One hundred pounds of lead @ 10 sous . 50 Two pounds of vermillion (a) 12 fr 24 During the winter a considerable party was sent to strike hands with the Illinois. Given at that time : Two blue blankets @ 15 fr 30 Four men's shirts @ 6 f r 2-1 Four pairs of long-necked bottles @ 6 f r 24 Four dozen of knives @ 4 f r 16 Gun-worms, files, ramrods, and flints, es- timated 40 Given to engage the Kickapoos to establish themselves upon a neighboring isle, to protect fj'om the treachery of the Kenards — Four- blankets, @ 15f 60f Two pairs of bottles, 6f 24 Two pomids of vermillion, 12f 24 Four dozen butcher knives, 6f 24 Two woolen blankets, @ 15f 30 Four pairs of bottles, @ 6f 24 Four shirts, @ 6f 24 Four dozen of knives, @ 4f 16 The Kenards having betrayed and killed their brothers, the Kickapoos, I seized the favorable opportunity, and to encourage the latter to avenge themselves, I gave — Twenty-five poundsof powder, @ 30sous 37f.l()s. Twenty-five pounds of lead, @ 10s I2f.l0s. Two guns at 30 livres each 60f One half pound of vermillion 6f Flints, gims, worms and knives 20f The Illinois coming to the Kikapoos vil- lage, I supported them at my expense, and gave them powder, balls and shirts valued at oOf In departing from tlie Kikapoos \illage, I gave them the rest of the goods for their good treatment, estimated at ... . SOf In a letter, written by a priest, at Xew Orleans, on July 12, 1730, is the followmg exaggerated ac- count of the capture of Father Guignas: " We always felt a distrust of the Fox Indians, although they did not longer dare to undertake anything, since Father Guignas has detached from their al- liance the tribes of the Kikapous and Maskoutins. You luiow, my Reverend Father, that, being in Canada, he had the courage to penetrate even to the Sioux near the sources of the Mississippi, at the distance of eight hundred leagues from New Orleans and five hundi'ed from Quebec. Obliged to abandon this important mission by the unfor- tunate result of the enterprise against the Foxes, he descended the river to repair to the Illinois. On the 15th of October in the year 1728 he was arrested when half way by the Kickapous and Maskoutins. For four months he was a captive among the Indians, where he had much to suffer and everything to fear. The time at last came when he was to be burned alive, when he was adopted by an old man whose family saved his life and procured his liberty. " Our missionaries who are among the Illinois were no sooner acquainted with the situation than they procured him all the alleviation they were able. Everything which he received he em- ployed to conciUate the Indians, and succeeded to the extent of engaging them to conduct him to the ininois to make peace with the French and Indians of this region. Seven or eight months after this peace was concluded, the Maskoutins and Kikapous returned again to the Illinois coim- try, and took back Father Guignas to spend the winter, from whence, in all probability, he will return to Canada." In dispatches sent to France, in October, 1729, by the Canadian government, the following refer- ence is made to Fort Beauharnois : " They agree that the fort built among the Scioux, on the bor- der of Lake Pepin, appears to be badly situated on account of the freshets, but the Indians assure that the waters rose higher in 1728 than it ever did before. When Sieur de Laperriere located it ■ at that place it was on the assurance of the In- dians that the waters did not rise so high." In reference to the absence of Indians, is the fol- lowing : " It is very true that these Indians did leave shortly after on a hunting excursion, as they are in the hal)it of doing, for their own support and that of their families, who have only that means of livelihood, as they do not cultivate the soil at all. M. de Beauharnois has just been informed that their absence was occasioned only by having fallen in while hunting with a number of prairie Scioux, by whom they were invited to occompany them on a war expedition against the MahaSj 66 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. which invitation they accepted, and returned only in the month of July following. " The interests of religion, of the service, and of the colony, are involved in the maintenance of this establishment, which has been the more nec- essary as there is no doubt but the Foxes, when routed, would have found an asylum among the Scicux had not the French been settled there, and the docility and submission manifested by the Foxes can not be attributed to any cause ex- cept the attention entertained by the Scioux for the French, and the offers which the former made the latter, of which the Foxes were fully cognisant. " It is necessary to retain the Scioux in these favoraVile dispositions, in order to keep the Foxes in check and counteract the measures they might adopt to gain over the Scioux, who will invaria- bly reject their propositions so long as the French remain in the country, and their trading post shall continue there. But, despite all these ad- vantages and the importance of preserving that establishment, JI. de Beauharnois cannot take any steps imtil he has news of the French who asked his permission this summer to go up there with a canoe load of goods, and until assm-ed that those who wintered there lia\e not dismantled the fort, and that the Scioux continue in the same sentiments. Besides, it does not seem very easy, in the present conjuncture, to maintain that post unless there is a solid peace with the Foxes; on the other hand, the greatest portion of the tra- ders, who applied in 1727 for the establishment of that post, have wthdrawn, and will not send thither any more, as the rupture with the Foxes, through whose country it is necessary to pass in order to reach tlie Scioux in canoe, has led them to abandon the idea. But the one and the other case might be remedied. The Foxes will, in all probability, come or send next year to sue for peace; therefore, if it be granted to them on ad- vantageous conditions, there need be no appre- hension when going to the Sioux, and another company could be formed, less numerous than the first, through whom, or some responsilile mer- chants able to afford the outfit, a new treaty could be made, whereby these difficulties woidd be .soon obviated. One only trouble remains, and that is, to send a commanding and sul>officer, and some soldiers, up there, which are absolutely necessary for the maintenance of good order at that post; the missionaries would not go there without a commandant. This article, which re- gards the service, and the expense of which must be on his majesty's accoimt, obliges them to ap- ply for orders. They will, as far as lies in their power, induce the traders to meet that expense, which will possibly amount to lOoo livres or 1500 livres a year for the commandant, and in proportion for the officer luider him; but, as in the beginning of an establishment the exi)enses exceed the profits, it is improbable that any com- pany of merchants will assume the outlay, and in this case they demand orders on this point, as well as his majesty's opinion as to the necessity of preserving so useful a post, and a nation which has already afEorded proofs of its fidelity and at- tachment. " These orders could be sent them by the way of lie Royale, or by the first merchantmen that wiU sail for Quebec. The time required to re- ceive intelUgence of the occurrences in the Scioux country, will admit of their waitmg for these orders before douig anything."' Sieur de la Jemeraye, a relative of Sieur de la Periiere Boucher, with a few French, during the troubles remained in the Sioux country. After peace was established with the Foxes, Legardeur Saint Pierre was in comman' l^kc. — Father Messayera Companion.— Furt St. Pierre Established.— Lake of the Wootis Keachcd and Fort St, Charles Built.— De la Jeinorayo's Map.— Fort on the Assinnhoine River.— Verendrye's Son, Father Ouneau and Associates Killed by Sioux, on Ma.ss,-icre Isle, in l>'e furious, and took one hundred and fourteen scalps in return. 'When the French returned, they supposed that Captain Rogers was among the killed. At Quebec, when Montcalm and AVolfe fell, there were Ojibways present assisting the French The Indians, returning from the expeditious against the English, were attacked with small- pox, and many died at Mackinaw. On tlie eightli of September, 1760, the French delivered up all their posts in Canada. A few days after the capitulation at Montreal, ^Major Rogers was sent with English troops, to garrison the posts of the distant Northwest. On the eighth of September. 1761, a year after the suiTender, Captani Balfour, of the eightieth regiment of tlie British army, left Detroit, with a detachment to take possession of tlie French forts at Mackinaw and Green Bay. Twenty-five soldiers were left at Mackinaw, in command of Lieutenant Leslie, and tlie rest sailed to Grten Bay, under Lieutenant Gorrell of the Royal PENNENSHA WRITES A LETTER FOR THE SIOUX. 63 Americans, where they arrived on the twelfth of October. The fort had been abandoned for sev- eral years, and was in a dilapidated condition. In charge of it there was left a lieutenant, a cor- poral, and fifteen soldiers. Two EngUsli traders arrived at the same time, McKay from Albany, and Goddard from Montreal. Gorrell in his journal alludes to the Minnesota Sioux. He writes — " On March 1, 1763, twelve warriors of the Sous came here. It is certainly the greatest nation of Indians ever yet found. Not above two thousand of them were ever armed with firearms ; the rest depending entirely on bows and arrows, wliich they use with more skill than any other Indian nation in America. They can shoot the wildest and largest beasts in the woods at seventy or one hundred yards distant. They are remarkable for their dancing, and tlie other nations take the fashions from them. ***** Tliis nation is always at war with the Chippewas, those who destroyed Mishamakinak. Tliey told me with warmth that if ever the Chippewas or any other Indians wished to obstruct the passage of the traders coming up, to send them word, and they would come and cut them oft' from the face of the earth ; as all Indians were their slaves or dogs. I told them I was glad to see them, and hoped to have a lasting peace with them. Tliey tlien gave me a letter wrote in French, and two belts of wampum from their lung, in which he expressed great joy on hearing of there being English at his post. The letter was written by a French trader whom I had allowed to go among them last fall, witli a promise of his behaving well ; which he did, better than any Canadian I ever knew. ***** With regard to traders, I would not allow any to go amongst them, as I then understood they lay out of the government of Canada, hut made no doulit they would have traders from the ^lississippi in the spring. They went away extremely well pleased. June 14th, 1763, the traders came dowii from the Sack coim- try, and confirmed the news of Landsmg and his son being killed by the French. There came with the traders some Puans, and four young men with one chief of the Avoy [loway] nation, to demand traders. ***** " On the nineteenth, a deputation of Winneba- goes, Sacs, Foxes and Menominees arrived with a Frenchman named Pennensha. This Pennen- sha is the same man who wrote the letter the Sous brouglit with them in French, and at the same time held council with that great nation in favour of the English, by which he much promo- ted the interest of the latter, as appeared by the behaviour of the Sous. He brought with him a pipe from tlie Sous, desiring that as the road is now clear, they would by no means allow the Chippewas to obstruct it, or 'give the English any disturbance, or prevent the traders from coming up to them. If they did so they would send all their warriors and cut them off." In July, 1763, there arrived at Green Bay, Bruce, Fisher; and Eoseboom of Albany, to en- gage in the Indian trade. By the treaty of Paris of 1763, France ceded to Great Britain all of the country east of tlie ilis- sissippi, and to Spain the whole of Louisiana, so that the latter power for a time held the whole region between the Mississippi River and the Pa- cific Ocean, and that portion of the city of Jilin- neapolis known as the East Division was then governed by the British, while the West Division was subject to the Spanish code. 64 EXPLOBEPS AXD PIOXEERS OF ^fIy^'ESO^ A. CHAPTER XI. JONATHAN CARVER, THE FIllST BKITISU TRAVELER AT FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY. Carver's Early Life.— In the Battle near Lake George.— Arrives at Mackinaw.— 01(1 Fort at Green Bay.— WinneUgo Village.— Description of Prairie du Cliicu. Earthworks on Banks of Lake Peiiin.— Sioux Bands Described. — Cave and Burial Place in Suburbs of St. Paul.— The Falls of Saint Anthony.— Burial Rites of tLe Sioux. — Sjieech of a Sioux Chief.— Schiller's Poem ol the Death Soug. — Sir John Herschel's Translation.— Sir K. Buhver Lytton's Version. •-• Correspondence of Sir William Johnson.— Carver's Project lor Oiieuinga Route to the Pacific.— Supposed Origin of the Sioux.— Carver's Claim to I-inds Ex- atniucd.— Alleged Deed.—Testiniony of Rev. Samuel Peters.— Communication from Gen. Leavenworth. •••Report of U. S. Setiate Committee. Jonatliaii Carver was a native of Connecticut His grandfatlier, "Williaia Carverj was a native of AVigan, Lancashire, England, and a captain in King William's army during the campaign in Ireland, and for meritorious services received an appointment as an oilicer of the colony of Con- necticut. His father was a justice of the peace ■in the new world, and in 1732, the subject of this sketch was born. At the early age of fifteen he was called to mourn the death of his father. He then commenced the study of medicine, but his roving disposition could not l)ear the confines of a doc- tor's office, and feeling, perhaps, that his genius woidd be cramped by pestle and mortar, at the ago of eighteen he purchased an ensign's commis- sion m one of the regiments raised during the French war. He was of medium stature, and of strong mind and quick perceptions. In llie year 1757, he was captain mider Colonel Williiuns in the battle near Lake George, where Samt Pierre was killed, and narrowly escaped with his life. After the peace of 1763, between France and England was declared, Carver conceived the pro- ject of exploring the Northwest. Leaving Boston in the month of June, 1766, he arrived at Macki- naw, then the most distant British iiost, in the month of August. Having obtained a credit on some French and English traders from Major Rogers, the ofllcer in command, he started with them on the third day of Seiiteiiiher. Pursuing the iMoal route to Cireen Bay, they arrived tliere on the eighteenth. Tlie Frencli fort at that time was standing, though much decayed. It was, some years pre- vious to his arrival, garrisoned for a short time by an officer and thirty English soldiers, but they having been captured by the Menominees, it ■was abandoned. In company with the trailers, he left Green Bay on tlie twentietli. and ascending Fox river, arrived on the tweiity-fifth at an island at the east end of Lake Winnebago, containing about fifty acres. Here he found a 'Winnebago village of fifty houses. He asserts tliat a woman was in author- ity. In the month of October the party was at the portage of the "Wisconsin, and descending that stream, they arrived, on tlie ninth at a town of the Sauks. While here he visited some lead mines about fifteen miles distant. An abundance of lead was also seen in the village, that had been brought from the mines. On the tenth they arrived at the first village of the " Ottigaumies" [Foxes] about five miles be- fore the AVisconsin joins the ^lississippi, he per- ceived the remnants of another village, and learned that it had lieen deserted about thirty years before, and tluit the inhabitants soon after their removal, built a town on the Mississipjii. near the mouth of the " Ouisconsin," at a i>lace called by the French La Prairie les Chiens, which signified the Dog Plains. It was a large town, and contained about three hundred families. The houses were built after the Indian manner, and pleasantly situated on a dry rich soil. He saw here ni;iny houses of a good size and shape. This town was the great mart where all the aiijacent tribes, and where those who inliabit the most remote branches of the Mississippi, an- nually assemble about the latter end of May, bringing with them their furs to dispose of to the traders. But it is not always that they conclude their sale here. This was determined by a gen SUPPOSED FORTIFICATIONS NEAR LAKE PEPIN. 65 eral council of the chiefs, who consulted whether it would be more conducive to their interest to seU their goods at this place, or to carry them on to Louisiana or Macliinaw. At a small stream called Yellow River, oppo- site Prairie du Chien, the traders who had thus far accompanied Carver took up their residence for the winter. From this point he proceeded in a canoe, with a Canadian voyageur and a Mohawk Indian as companions. Just before reaching Lake Pepin, while his attendants were one day preparing din- ner, he walked out and was struck with the pecu- liar appearance of the surface of the country, and thought it was the site of some vast artificial earth-work. It is a fact worthy of remembrance, that lie was the first to call the atteution of the civilized world to the existence of ancient monu- ments m the Mississippi valley. We give his own description : " On the first of November I reached Lake Pepin, a few miles below which I landed, and, whilst the servants were preparing my dinner, I ascended the bank to view the country. I had not proceeded far before I came to a fine, level, open plain, on which I perceived, at a little dis- tance, a partial elevation that had the appearance of entrenchment. On a nearer inspection I had greater reason to suppose that it had really been intended for this many centuries ago. Notwith- standing it was now covered with grass, I could plainly see that it had once been a breastwork of about four feet in height, extending the best part of a mile, and sutfieiently capacious to cover five thousand men. Its form was somewhat circular and its flanks reached to the river. " Tliough much defaced by time, every angle was distinguishable, and appeared as regular and fashioned with as much miUtary skill as if planned by Vauban himself. The ditch was not visible, but I thought, on examining more curiously, that I could perceive there certainly had been one. From its situation, also, I am convinced that it must have been designed for that purpose. It fronted the country, and the rear was covered by the river, nor was there any rising ground for a considerable way that commanded it; a few straggling lakes were alone to be seen near it. In many places small tracks were worn across it by the feet of the elks or deer, and from the depth of the bed of earth by which it was covered, I was able to draw certain conclusions of its great anti- quity. I examined all the angles, and every part with great attention, and liave often blamed my- self since, for not encamping on the spot, and drawing an exact plan of it. To show that this description is not the offspring of a heated imag- ination, or the chimerical tale of a mistaken trav- eler, I find, on inquiry suice my return, that Mons. St. Pierre, and several traders have at dif- ferent times, taken notice of similar appearances, upon which they liave formed the same conjec- tures, but without examining them so minutely as I did. How a work of this kind could exist in a country that has hitherto (according to the gen- erally received opinion) been the seat of war to untutored Indians alone, whose whole stock of military knowledge has only, till withm two cen- turies, amomited to drawing the bow, and whose only breastwork even at present is the thicket, I know not. I have given as exact an account as possible of this singular appearance, and leave to future explorers of those distant regions, to dis- cover whether it is a production of nature or art. Perhaps the hints I liave here given migtit lead to a more perfect mvestigation of It, and give us very different ideas of the ancient state of realms that we at present believe to have been, from the earliest period, only tlie habitations of savages." Lake Pepin excited his admiration, as it has that of every traveler since his day, and here he remarks : " I observed the ruins of a French fac- tory, where it is said Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on a very great trade with the Nau- dowessies, before the reduction of Canada." Carver's first acquaintance with the Dahkotahs commenced near the river St. Croix. It would seem that the erection of trading posts on Lake Pepin had enticed them from their old residence on Rum river and MUle Lacs. He says : " Near the river St. Croix reside bands of the Naudowessie Indians, called the River Bands. This nation is composed at pres- ent of eleven bands. They were originally twelve, but the Assinipoils, some years ago, re- volting and separating themselves from the oth- ers, there remain at this time eleven. Those I met here are termed the River Bands, because they chiefly dwell near the banks of this river; the other eight are generally distinguished by the . 66 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. title of >"adowessies of the Plains, and inhabit a country more to the westward. The names of the former are Nehogatawonahs, the Mawtaw- bauntowahs, and Sliashweentowahs. Arriving at what is now a suburb of the cap- ital of Minnesota, he continues: "About thir- teen miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, at which I arrived the tenth day after I left Lake Pepin, is a rcmarl gay thorn's perpetual bloom Decks all the field around. AVliere wild birds sing from every spray, AVhere deer come sweeping by, AVhere fish from every lake afford A plentiful supply. AVith spirits now he feasts above, And leaves us here alone. To ce!el)rate his valiant deeds. And round his grave to moan. Sound the death song, bring forth the gifts, . The last gifts of the dead,— Let all which yet may yield him joy AVithhi his grave be laid. The hatchet place beneath his bra I Still red with hostile blood; And add, because tlie way is long. The bear's fat limbs for food. The scalping-knife beside him lay, AVlth paints of gorgeous dye. That in the land of souls his form May shine triumphantly. It appears from other sources that Carver's visit to the Dahkotahs was of some effect in bruig- ing about fiieiidly intercourse between them and the commander of the English force at Mackinaw. CARVEB'S PROJECT FOB A ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC. The earliest mention of the Dahkotahs, in any public British documents that we know of, is in the correspondence between Sir "William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Colony of New York, and General Gage, in command of 11 le forces. On the eleventh of September, less than six months after Carver's speech at Dayton's Bluff, and the departure of a number of chiefs to the English fort at Mackinaw, Johnson writes to General Gage: "Though I wrote to you some days ago, yet I would not mind saying something again on the score of the vast expenses incurred, and, as I understand, still incurring at Michili- mackinac, chiefly on pretense of making a peace between the Sioux and Chippeweighs, with which I think we have very little to do, in good policy or otherwise." Sir William Johnson, in a letter to Lord Hills- borough, one of his Majesty's ministers, dated August seventeenth, 1768, again refers to the subject : "]SIuch greater part of those who go a trading are men of such circumstances and disposition as to venture their persons everywhere for extrava- gant gains, yet the consequences to the public aie not to be slighted, as we may be led into a general quarrel through their means. The In- dians in the part adjacent to Michillmackinac have been treated with at a very great expense for some time previous. "Major Kodgers brings a considerable charge against the former for mediating a peace between some tribes of the Sioux and some of the Chippe- weighs, which, had it been attended with success, would only have been interesting to a very few French, and others that had goods in that part of the Indian country, but the contrary has hap- pened, and they are now more violent, and war against one another." Though a wilderness of over one thousand miles intervened between the Falls of St. An- thony and the white settlements of the English, Carver was fully impressed with the idea that the State now organized under the name of Minne- sota, on account of its beauty and fertility, would attract settlers. Speakmg of the advantages of the counti-y, he says that the future population will be "able to convey their produce to the seaports vsdth great facility, the current of the river from its source to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico being ex- tremely favorable for doing this in small craft. Ihis might also in time be facilitated by canal.-- or shorter cuts, and a communication opened by water vnth New York by way of the Lakes." The subject of this sketch was also confident that a route would be discovered by way of the Minnesota river, which would open a passage to China and the English settlements in the East Indies." Carver having returned to England, interested Whitworth, a member of parUament, in the northern route. Had not the American Revolu- tion commenced, they proposed to have built a fort at Lake Pepin, to have proceeded up the Minnesota imtil they found, as they supposed they could, a branch of the Missouri, and from thence, journeying over the summit of lands un- til they came to a river which they called Ore- gon, they expected to descend to the Pacific. Carver, in common with other travelers, had his theory in relation to the origin of the Dahko- tahs. He supposed that they came from Asia. He remarks: "But this might have been at dif- ferent times and from various parts — from Tar- tary, China, Japan, for the inhabitants of these places resemble each other. * * * "It is very evident that some of the names and customs of the American Indians resemble those of the Tartars, and I make no doubt but that in some future era, and this not far distant, it will be reduced to certainty that during some of the wars between the Tartars and Chinese a part of the inhabitants of the northern provinces were driven from their native country, and took refuge in some of the isles before mentioned, and from thence found their way into America. * » * "Many words are used both by the Chinese and the Indians which have a resemblance to each other, not only in their sound, but in their signi- fication. The Chinese call a slave Shungo; and the Noudowessie Indians, whose language, from their little intercom'se with the Europeans, is least corrupted, term a dog Shimgush [Shoan- kah.J The former denominate one species of their tea Shoushong; the latter call their tobacco Shou- sas-sau fChanshasha.] Many other of the words used by the Indians contain the syllables che, chaw, and chu, after the dialect of the Chinese." 70 EXPLOBERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. The comparison of languages has become a rich source of liistorical Imovvledge, yet many of the analogies traced are fanciftil. The remarlj of Humbolt in " Cosmos" is worthy of remembrance. "As tlie structure of American idioms appears remarkably strange to nations speaking the mod- ern languages of Western Europe, and who readily suffer themselves to be led away by some acci- dental analogies of sound, theologians have gen- erally believed that they could trace an affinity with the Ileljrew, Spanish colonists with the Basque and the English, or French settlers with Gaelic, Erse, or the Bas Breton. I one day met on the coast of Peru, a Spanish naval officer and an English whaling captain, the fontjcr of whom declared that he had heard Basque spoken at Ta- hiti; the other, Gaelic or Erse at the Sandmch Islands." Carver became very poor while in England, and was a clerk in a lottery-office. He died in . 1780, and left a widow, two sons, and five daught- ers, in Xew England, and also a child by another wife that he had married in (ireat Britain After his death a claim was urged for the land upon which the capital of IMinnesota now stands' and for many miles adjacent. As there are still many persons who believe that they have some right through certain deeds purporting to be from tlie lieirs of Carver, it is a matter worthy of an investigation. Carver says nothing in his book of travels in re- lation to a grant from the Dahkotahs, but after he was buried, it was asserted that there was a deed belonging to him m existence, conveying valuable lands, and that said deed was executed at the cave now in the eastern suburbs of Saint Paul. DEED PURPORTING TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN AT THE CAVE IN THE BLUFF BELOW ST. PAUL. " To Jonathan Carver, c chief under the most mighty and potent George the Third, King of the English and other nations, the fame of whose warriors has reached our ears, and has now been fully told us by our g(Jod brother Jonathan, afore- said, whom we rejoice to have come among us, and bring us good news from his country. " We, chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have hereunto set our seals, do by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the aid and other good services done by the said Jona- tlian to ourselves and allies, give grant and con- vey to him, the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract or territory of land, bounded as follows, viz: from the Falls of St. Anthony, numing on the east bank of the Jlississippi, nearly southeast, as far as Lake Pepin, wiiere the Chippewa joins the Mississippi, and from thence eastward five days travel, accomiting twenty EngUsh miles per day; and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, on a direct straight line. AVe do for om-selves, heirs, and assigns, forever give inito the said Jo- nathan, his heirs and assigns, with all the trees, rocks, ami rivers therein, reserving the sole lib- erty of hunting and fishing on land not jjlanted or improved by the said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed our respective seals. " At the Great Cave, May 1st. 1767. "Signed, HAWXOPAWJATIX. OTOIITGNGOOMLISHEAW. " The original deed was never exhibited by the assignees of the heirs. By his English wife Car- ver had one child, a daughter Martha, who was cared for by Sir Richard and Lady Pearson. In time she eloped and married a sailor. A mercan- tile firm in London, thinking that money could be made, induced the newly married couple, the day after the wedding, to convey the grant to them, w'ith the miderstandiug that they were to have a tenth of the profits. The merchants despatched an agent by the name of Clarke to go to the I)ahkotahs. and ob- tain a new deed; but on his way he was murdered in the state of New York. In the year 1794, the heirs of Carver's Ameri- can wife, in consideration of fifty thousand pounds sterling, conveyed their interest in the Carver grant to Edward Houghton of Vermont. In the year 1806, Samuel Peters, who had been a toiy and an Episcopal minister dui'ing the Revolu- tionary war, alleges, in a petition to Congress, that he had also purchased of the heirs of Carver their rights to tlie grant. Before the Senate committee, the sanic year, he testified as follows: "In the year 1774, I arrived there (London), and met Captain Carver. In 1775, Carver had a hearing before the king, prayhig his majesty's approval of a deed of land dated May first, 1767, UNITED STATES REJECT CABVERS CLAIM. 71 and sold and granted to him by the Naudowissies. The result was his majesty approved of the exer- tions and bravery of Captain Carver among the Indian nations, near the Falls of St. ^Vnthony, in the Mississippi, gave to said Carver 1371L 13.s. 8(?. sterling, and ordered a frigate to be prepared, and a transport ship to carry one hundred and fifty men, under command of Captain Carver, with four others as a committee, to sail the next June to New Orleans, and then to ascend the Missis- sippi, to take possession of said territory conveyed to Captain Carver ; but the battle of Bunker Hill prevented." In 1821, General Leavenworth, having made inquiries of the Dahkotahs, m relation to the alleged claim, addressed the following to the commissioner of the land office : " Sir: — Agreeably to your request, I have the honour to inform you what I have understood from the Indians of the Sioux Nation, as well Jis some facts within my own knowledge, as to what Is commonly termed Carver's Grant. The grant purports to be made by the chiefs of the Sioux of the Flams, and one of the chiefs uses the sign of a serpent, and the other of a turtle, purport- ing that their names are derived from those ani- mals. "The land lies on the east side of the Mississ- ippi. The Indians do not recognize or acknowl edge the grant to be valid, and they among others assign the followuig reasons: "1. The Sioux of the Plains never owned a foot of land on the east side of the Mississippi. The Sioux Nation is divided into two grand di- visions, viz: The Sioux of the Lake; or perhaps more literally Sioux of the River, and Sioux of the Plain. The former subsists by hunting and fishing, and usually move from place to place by water, in canoes, during the summer season, and travel on the ice in the winter, when not on their huntmg excursions. The latter subsist en- tirely by huntmg, and have no canoes, nor do they know but little about the use of them. They reside in the large prairies west of the Mississippi, and follow the buffalo, ui)on which they entirely subsist; these are called Sioux of the Plain, and never owned land east of the Mississippi. " 2. The Indians say they have no knowledge of any such chiefs as those who have signed the grant to Carver, either amongst the Sioux of the River or the Sioux of the Plain. They say that if Captam Carver did ever obtain a deed or grant, it was signed by some foolish yomig men who were not chiefs and who were not author- ized to make a grant. Among the Sioux of the River there are no such names. " 3. They say the Indians never received any- thing for the land, and they have no intention to part with it witliout a consideration. From my knowledge of the Indians, I am induced to think they would not make so considerable a grant, and have it to go into full effect without receiving a substantial consideration. '• 4. They have, and ever have had, the pos- session of the land, and intend to keep it. I know that they are very particular in making every person who wishes to cut timber on that tract obtain their permission to do so, and to ob- tain payment for it. In the month of May last, some Frenchmen brought a large raft of red cedar timber out of the Chippewa River, which timber was cut on the tract before mentioned. The In- dians at one of the villages on the Mississippi, where the principal chief resided, compelled the Frenchmen to land the raft, and would not per- mit them to pass until they had received pay for the timber, and the Frenchmen were compelled to leave their raft with the Indians until they went to Prairie du Chien, and obtained the nec- essary articles, and made the payment required." On the twenty-third of January, 1823, the Com- mittee of Public Lands made a report on the claim to the Senate, which, to every disintere.sted person, is entirely satisfactory. After stating the facts of the petition, the report continues: " The Rev. Samuel Peters, in his petition, fiu-- ther states that Lefei, the present Emperor of the Sioux and Naudowessies, and Red Wing, a sachem, the heirs and successors of the two grand chiefs who signed the said deed to Captam Car- ver, have given satisfactory and positive proof that they allowed their ancestors' deed to be gen- uine, good, and valid, and that Captain Carver's heirs and assigns are the owners of said territory, and may occupy it free of all molestation. The committee have examined and considered the claims thus exhibited by the petitioners, and remark that the original deed is not produced, nor any competent legal evidence offered of its execu- tion ; nor is there any proof that the persons, who 72 EXFLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. it is alleged made the deed, were the chiefs of said tribe, nor that (if chiefs) they had authority to grant and give away the laud belonging to their tribe. The paper annexed to the petition, as a copy of said deed, has no subscribing witnesses ; and it would seem impossil)le, at this remote pe- riod, to ascertain the important fact, that tlie per- sons who signed the deed comprehended and imderstooA the meaning and effect of their act. " The want of proof as to these facts, would interpose in the way of the claimants insuperable difficulties. But, in the opinion of the committee, the claim is not such as the United States are under any obligation to allow, even if the deed were proved in legal form. " The British government, before the time when the alleged deed bears date, had deemed it pru- dent and necessary for the preservation of peace with the Indian tribes under their sovereignty, protection and dominion, to prevent British sub- jects from purchasing lands from the Indians, and this rule of policy was made known and en- forced by the proclamation of the king of Great Britam, of seventh October, 1763, which contains an express prohibition. " Captain Carver, aware of the law, and know- uig that such a contract could not vest the legal title in him, applied to the British govenunent to ratify and confirm the Indian grant, and, though it was competent for that government then to confirm the grant, and vest the title of said laud in him. yet. from some cause, that government did not think proper to do it. " The territory has since become the property of the United States, and an Indian grant not good against the British goverumeut, would ap- pear to be not binding unon the United States government. " What benefit the British government derived from the ser\ices of Captain Carver, by his trav- els and residence among the Indians, that gov- ernment alone could determine, and alone could judge what remuneration those services desened. " One fact appears from the declaration of Mr. Peters, in his statement in writing, among the papers exhibited, namely, that the British gov- ernment did give Captain Carver the sum of one thousand three hundred and seventy-five pounds six shillings and eight pence sterling. To the United States, liowever. Captain Carver rendered no services wliich could be assumed as any equit- able ground for the support of the petitioners' claim. . " The committee being of opinion that the United States are nfit bound in law and equity to confirm the said alleged Indian grant, recom- mend the adoption of the resolution: " ' Bcsolvcd, That the prayer of the petitioners ought not to be granted." ' Lord Palmerston stated in 1839, that no trace could be foimd in the records of the British oflice of state papers, showing any ratification of the Carver grant. EXPLOBATIOKS JiV LIEUTENANT Z. 3£. PIKE. 73 CHAPTEK XII. EXPLORATION BY THE FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICER, LTETTTENANT Z. M. PIKE. "raffjiB Posts at the beginuing of Nineteenth Century.— Sandy Lake Fort.— Lteun Lake Fort.— Williftm Morrison, before Schoolcraft at Ita.sca Lake.— Divi- sion of Northwest Territory.- Organization of Indiana, Michigan and Upper Louisiana.— Notices of Wooc!, Frazer, Fisher, Cameron, Faribault.— Early Trade.-*. —Pike's Council at Mouth of Minnesota River.— Grant for Mihtary Posts.— encampment at Falls of St. Anthony.— Block House near Swan River. —Visit to Sandy and Leech Lakes.— British Flag Shot at and Lowered.— TbompBon, Topographer of Northwest Company.— Pike at Dickson's Trading Post.— Returns to Mendota.— Fails to find Carver's Cave.— Conference with Little Crow. —Cameron sells Liquor to Indians. At the beginning of the present century, the region now known as Minnesota, contained no white men, except a few engaged in the f lu- trade. In the treaty effected by Hon. Jolni Jay, Great Britain agreed to witlidraw her troops from all posts and places within certain boimdary lines, on or before the first of June, 1796, but all Brit- ish settlers and traders might remain for one year, and enjoy all their former privileges, with- out being obliged to be citizens of the United States of America. In the year ISOO, the trading posts of Mimiesota were chiefly held by the 2^orthwest Company, and their chief traders resided at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, and Fon du Lac, on St. Louis River. In the year 1794, this company built a stockade one hundred feet square, on the southeast end of Sandy Lake. There were bastions pierced for small arms, in the southeast and in the northwest corner. The pickets which surroiuided the post were thirteen feet high. On the north side there was a gate ten by nine feet ; on the west side, one six by five feet, and on the east side a third gate six by five feet. Travelers entering the main gate, saw on the left a one story building twenty feet square, the residence of the superintendent, and on the left of tlie east gate, a building twenty- five by fifteen, the quarters of the voyagenis. Entering the western gate, on the left was a stone house, twenty by thirty feet, and a house twenty by forty feet, used as a store, and a workshop, and a residence for clerks. On the south shore of Leech Lake there was another establishment, I little larger. The stockade was one hundred and fifty feet square. The main building was sixty by twenty-five feet, and one and a half story in height, where resided the Director of the fur trade of the Fond du Lac department of the North- west Company. In the centre was a small store, twelve and a half feet square, and near the main gate was flagstaff fifty feet in height, from which used to float the flag of Great Britain. William ilorrison was, in 1802, the trader at Leech Lake, and in 1804 he was at Elk Lake, the source of the Mississippi, thirty-two years after- wards named by Schoolcraft, Lake Itasca. The entire force of the Northwest Company, west of Lake Superior, in 1805, consisted of three accountants, nineteen clerks, two interpreters, eighty-five canoe men, and with them were twenty-nine Indian or half-breed women, and about fifty cliildren. On the seventh of May, 1800, the Northwest Territory, which included all of the western country east of the Mississippi, was divided. The portion not designated as Ohio, was organ- ized as the Territory of Indiana. On the twentieth of December, 1803, the province of Louisiana, of which that portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi was a part, was officially delivered up by the French, who had just obtained it from the Spaniards, accord- ing to treaty stipulations. To the transfer of Louisiana by France, after twenty days' possession, Spain at first objected; but in 1804 withdrew all opposition. President Jefferson now deemed it an object of paramount importance for the United States to explore the country so recently acquired, and make the acquaintance of the tribes residing therein ; and steps were taken for an expedition to the upper Mississiiapi. Early in March, 1804, Captain Stoddard, of the United States army, arrived at St. Louis, the agent of the French Eepublic, to receive from 74 EXPLOltEliS Al^D I'lOJSEJiUS OF MINNESOTA. the Spanish authorities tlie possession of the countiy, wliicli he immediately trausferred to tlie United States. As tlie old settlers, on the tenth of March, saw the ancient flag of Spain displaced by that of the United States, the tears coursed down their cheeks. On the twentieth of the same month, the terri- tory of Upper Louisiana was constituted, com- prising the present states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and a large portion of Minnesota. On the eleventh of January, 1805, the terri- tory of Michigan was organized. The first American officer who visited ]SIinne- sota, on business of a public nature, was one who was an ornament to his profession, and in energy and endurance a true representative of the citi- zens of the United States. We refer to the gallant Zefculon Montgomery Pike, a native of New Jersey, wl)o afterwards fell in battle at York, Upper Canada, and whose loss was justly mourned by the whole nation. When a young lieutenant, he was ordered l)y General Wilkinson to visit the region now known as Minnesota, and expel the British traders who were found violating the laws of the United States, and form alliances with the Indians. With only a few common soldiers, he was obliged to do the work of several men. At times he would precede his party for miles to reconnoitre, and then he would do the duty of hunter. During the day he would perform the part of surveyor, geologist, and astronomer, and at night, though hungry and fatigued, his lofty enthu- siasm kept him awake until he copied the notes, and ])lotted the courses of the day. On the 4th day of September, 180.5, Pike ar- rived at Prairii^ /. — Brought my barge over, and put her Ln the river above the Falls. "Wliile ■we were engaged vrith her three -fourths miles from camp, seven Indians painted black, appeared on the heights. We had left our gims at the camp and were entirely defenceless. It occurred to me that they were the small party of Sioux who were obstinate, and would go to war, when the other part of the bands came in ; these they proved to be ; they were better armed than any I had ever seen ; having guns, liows, arrows, clubs, spears, and some of them even a case of pistols. I w^as at that time gi\ Ing my men a dram ; and giving the cup of liquor to the iirst, he di'ank it off ; but I was more cautious with the remainder. I sent my Interpreter to camp with them, to wait my coming ; w^ishiug to purchase one ol theu- w-ar clubs, it being made of elk horn, and decorated with inlaid work. Tliis and a set of bows and arrows I wished to get as a curiosity. But the liquor I had given him began to operate, he came back for me, but refusing to go till I brought my boat, he returned, and (I suppose being offended) borrowed a canoe and crossed the river. In the afternoon got the other boat near the top of the hill, when the projis gave way, and she slid all the way down to the bottom, but fortunately without injuring any person. It raining very hard, we left her. Killed one goose and a racoon. Sept. 29th, Sunda!/.-~l killed a reniarka'jly large racoon. Got our large boat over the port- age, and put her in the river, at the upper land- ing; this night the men gave sufficient proof of their fatigue. l)y all tlirowing themselves down to sleep, preferring rest to supper. Tliis day 1 had but fifteen men out of twenty-two ; the others were sick. This voyage could have been per- formed with great convenience, if we had taken our departure in Jime. But the proper time would be to leave the IlUnois as soon as the ice would permit, when the river would be of a good height. Sept. 30th, Monday.— hoaded my boat, moved over aTid encamped on the Island. The large Iwats loading Likewise, we went over and put on board. In the mean time, I took a sm-vey of the Falls, Portage, etc. If it be possible to pass the Falls in high water, of which I am doubtful, it must be on the East side, about thirty yards from shore ; as there are three layers of rocks, one be- low the other. The pitch off of either, is not more than five feet ; but of this I can say more on my ret\mi. On the tenth of October, the expedition readied some 'arge island below Sauk Rapids, where ui 1797, Porlier and Joseph Renville had wintered. Six days after this, he reached the Rapids m Morrison county, which still bears his name, and he writes : ' • When we arose in the morning, found that snow had fallen during the night, the ground was covered and it continued to snow. This, indeed, was but poor encourage- ment for attacking the Rapids, in which we were certain to wade to our necks. I was determined, however, if possible to make la riviere de Cor- beau, [Crow Wing River], the highest point was made by traders in their bark canoes. We em- l)arked, and after four hours work, became so benumbed with cold that our limbs were perfectly useless. We put to shore on the opposite side of the river, about two-thirds of the way up the rapids. Built a large fire ; and then discovered that our boats were nearly half full of water; both having sprung large leaks so as to oblige me to keep three hands bailing. My sergeant (Ken- nerman) one of the stoutest men I ever knew, broke a blood-vessel and vomited nearly two quarts of blood. One of my corporals (Bradley) also evacuated nearly a pint of blood, when he attempted to void his urine. These unhappy circiunstances, in addition to the inability of four other men whom we were obliged to leave on shore, con^^n(■pd me, that if I had no regard for my own health and constitution, I should ha\e some for those poor fellows, who were kill- PIKE'S BLOCK MOUSE NEAB SWAN BIYEB. 77 iug themselves to obey my orders. After we 1 lad breakfast and refreshed ourselves, we went down to our boats on the rocks, where I was obliged to leave them. I then informed my men that we would return to the camp and there leave some of the party and oiu- large boats. This informa- tion was pleasing, and the attempt to reach the camp soon accomplished. My reasons for this step have partly been already stated. The nec- essity of unloadmg and refitting my boats, the beauty and convenience of the spot for buildmg huts, the fine pme trees for peroques, and the quantity of game, were additional inducements. We immediately imloaded our boats and secured their cargoes. In the evening I went out upon a small, but beautiful creek, which emptied mto the Falls, for the purpose of selecting puie tiees to make canoes. Saw five deer, and killed one buck weighing one himdi-ed and thirty-seven pounds. By my leaving men at this place, and from the great quantities of game in its vicinity, I was ensured plenty of provision for my return voyage. In the party left behuid was one hunter, to be continually employed, who would keep our stock of salt provisions good. Distance two hundred and thirty-three and a half miles above the Falls of St. Anthony. Having left his large boats and some sohliers at this point, he proceeded to the vicinity of Swan River where he erected a block house, and on the tliirty-flrst of October he writes: "En- closed my little work completely with pickets. Hauled up my two boats and turned them over on each side of the gateways; by wliich means a defence was made to the river, and had it not been for various poUtical reasons, I would have laughed at the attack of eight hundred or a thousand savages, if all my party were within. For. except accidents, it would only have afford- ed amusement, the Indians having no idea of taking a place by storm. Found myself power- fully attacked with the fantastics of the brain, called ennui, at the mention of which I had hitherto scoffed ; but my books being packed up, I was like a person entranced, and could easily conceive why so many persons who have been confined to remote places, acquire the habit of drinking to excess, and many other vicious prac- tices, which have been adopted merely to pass time. Dm-ing the next month he hunted the buffalo which were then in that vicinity. On the third of December he received a visit from Bobert Dickson, afterwards noted m the history of the country, who was then trading about sixty miles below, on the Mississippi. On the tenth of December with some sleds he continued his journey northward, and on the last day of the year passed Pine River. On the thud of .January, 1806, he reached the trading post at Red Cedar, now Cass Lake, and was quite indig- nant at finding the British flag floatmg from the staff. The night after this his tent caught on fire, and he lost some valuable and necessary ck thing. On the evening of the eighth he reach- ed Sandy Lake and was hospitably received by Grant, the trader hi charge. He writes . " Jan. 9th, r/w«>da2/.— Marched the corporal early, m order that our men should receive assurance of our safety and success. He carried with him a small keg of spirits, a present from Mr. Grant. The establishment of this place was formed twelve years since, by the North-west Company, and was fonnerly imder the charge of a Mr. Charles Brusky. It has attained at present such regularity, as to permit the superintendent to Uve tolerably comfortable. They have horses they procured from Red River, of the Indians; raise plenty of Irish potatoes, catch pike, suckers, pickerel, and white fish in abundance. They have also beaver, deer, and moose; but the pro- vision they chiefly depend upon is wild oats, of which they purchase great quantities from the savages, giving at the rate of about one dollar and a half per bushel. But flour, pork, and salt, are almost interdicted to persons not principals in the trade. Flour sells at half a dollar ; salt a dollar; pork eiglity cents; sugar half a dollar ; and tea four doUars and fifty cents per pound. The sugar is obtained from the IncUans, aud is made from the maple tree." He remained at Sandy Lake ten days, and on the last day two men of the Northwest Company arrived with letters from Fon du Lac Superior, one of which was from Athapuscow, and had been since May on the route. On the twentieth of January began his journey to Leech Lake, which he reached on the first of February, and was hospitably received by Hugh EXPLOliERS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. McGillis, the head of the Northwest Company at this post. A Mr. Anderson, in the employ of Robert Dick-son, was residing at the west end of the lake. While here he hoisted the American flag in the fort. The English yacht still flying at tlie top of the flagstaff, he directed the Indians and his sol- diers to shoot at it. They soon broke the iron pin to wliich it was fastened, and it fell to the ground. lie was informed by a venerable old Ojibw'ay chief, called Sweet, that the Sioux dwelt there when he was a youth. On the tenth of February, at ten o'clock, he left Leecli I>ake with Corponil ISradley, the trader McGillis and two of his men, and at sunset arrived at Hed Cedar, now Cass Lake. At this place, in 1798, Tliompson, employed by the Northwest Company for three years, in topograjHucal surveys, made some ob- servations. He believed that a line from the Lake of the Woods would touch the sources of the ^lississippi. Pike, at this point, was very kindly treated by a Canadian named IJoy, and liis Ojibway squaw. On his return home, he reached Clear Kiver on the seventh of April, where he foimd his canoe and men, and at night \\as at ( Jrand Uapids, Dickson's trading post. He talked until four o'clock the next morning with tliis person and another trader named Porlier. lie forbade while there, the traders (Jreignor [Grig- non] and La Jemiesse, to sell any more liquor to Indians, who had become very drunken and un- ruly. On the tenth he again readied the Falls of Saint Anthony. He writes in his journal as follows : Aphtt. nth, Fridn;/. — Although it snowed very hard \\e brought over both V)oats, and descended the river to the island at the entrance of the St. Peter's. I sent to the chiefs and informed them I had something to communicate to them. The Fils de Pincho innnediately waited on me, and informed me that he would i)rovide a place for the purpose. About sundown I was sent for and introduced into the council-house, where I found a great many chiefs of the Sussitongs, (iens de Feuilles, and the (iens du Lac. The Yanctongs had not yet come down. They were all awaiting for my arrival. There were about one hundred lodges, or six hundred people; we were saluted on our crossing the river with ball as usual. The council-house was two large lodges, capable of containing three hundred men. In the upper were forty chiefs, and as many pipes set against the poles, alongside of wliich I had the Santeur's pipes arranged. I then infcjrmed them in short detail, of my transactions with tin; Santeurs; but my interpreters were not capable of making them- selves tniderstood. I was therefore obliged to omit mentioning every particular relative to the rascal who fired on my sentinel, and of the scoun- drel who broke the Fols Avoins' canoes, and threatened my life; the interpreters, however, in- ■ formed them that I wanted some of their princi- pal chiefs to go to St. Louis; and that those who thought proper might descend to the prairie, wliere we would give them more explicit in • < r mation. They all smoked out of the Santeur's pipe, excepting three, who were painted black, and were some of those who lost their relations last winter. I invited the Fils de Pinchow, and the son of tlie Killeur Eouge, to come over and sup with me; when Mr. Dickson and myself en- deavored to explain what I intended to have said to them, could I have made myself understood; that at the prairie wc would have all things ex- plained; that I was desirous of making a better report of them than Captain Lewis could do from their treatment of him. The former of those savages was the jierson who remained around my post all last winter, and treated m.\' men so well; they endeavored to excuse their people. "Apuil 12th, Saturday. — Embarked early. Al- though my interiireter liad been frecpiently u)) the river, he could not tell me wliere the cave (spoken of by Carver) could be fomid ; we carefully sought for it, but in vain. At the Indian village, a few miles below St. Peter's, we were about to pass a few lodges, but on receiving a very partic- ular invitation to come on shore, we landed, and were received in a lodge kindly; they presented us sugar. I gave the proprietor a dram, and was about to depart when he demanded a kettle of liquor; on being refused, and after I had left the shore, he told me he did not like the arrange- ments, and that he would go to war this suiiiiiicr. I directed the interpreter to tell liiinthalif 1 returned to St. Peter's with the troops, 1 would settle that affair with him. On our arrival at tlie St. Croix, I found the Pettit Corbeau w ilh his people, and Messrs. Frazer and Wood, ^\'e had a conference, when the Pettit Corbeau made CAMERON SELLS LIQUOR TO INDIANS. many apologies for the misconduct of his people; he i-epreseiited to us the different manners in •which tlie young warriors liad been inducing him to go to war; that he had been much blamed for dismissing his party last fall; but that he was de- termined to adhere as far as lay in his power to our instructions; that he thouglit it most prudent to remain here and restrain the warriors. lie then presented me with a l)eaver robe and pipe, and his message to the general. That he was determined to preserve peace, and make the road clear; also a remembrance of his promised medal. I made a reply, calculated to confirm him in his good intentions, and assured him that he should not be the less remembered by his father, although not present. I was informed that, notwithstand- ing the instruction of his license, and my par- ticular request, Murdoch Cameron had taken liquor and sold it to the Indians on the river St. Peter's, and that his partner below had been equally imprudent. I pledged myself to prose- cute them according to law; for they have been the occasion of great confusion, and of much injury to the other traders. This day met a canoe of Mr. Dickson's loaded with provisions, under the charge of Mr. Anderson, brother of the Mr. Anderson at Leech Lake. He politely offered me any provision he had on board (for which Mr. Dickson had given me an order), but not now being in want, I did not accept of any. This day, for the first time, I observed the trees beginning to bud, and indeed the climate seemed to have changed very materially since we passed the Falls of St. Anthony." The strife of political parties growmg out of the French Eevoliition, and the declaration of war against Great Britain in the year 1812, post- poned the military occupation of the Upper Mississippi by the United States of America, for several years. 80 EXPLOBEBS AMJ PlOJS'EEIiS OF MlXSEtiOTA. cnAPTEE xni. THE TAI^LKY OF TICK XJFPER MISSISSU*ri DL'lilXU SEC0:N'D AVAK -WITH GRKAT 15KITAIX. Dickson and other tra'lors liostilf, — American slockado at Prairie tlu Chi^n — Fort Shelby siuTcnders to Lt. Col. William McKay— I,>yal tra«l«rs l*rovencaUc and Faribault— Rising Moose or Ono-eyed Sioux— Capt. Bulger evacuates Port McKay — ^Intellii'aiifO of Peace. Notwithstanding tlie professions of f riendsliip made to Pike, in tlie second war with Great Brit- ain, Dickson and others were found bearmg arms agahist tlie Republic. A year after Pike left Praiiie du Wiien, it was evident, that under some secret influence, the Indian tril les were combining agauist tlie United States. In the year 1809, Nicholas Jarrot declared that the British traders were f urnishmg the sav- ages with guns for hostile pui-poses. On the first of Ma)', 1H12, two Indians were apprehended at Chicago, who were on theu- way to meet Dickson at Green Bay. They had taken the precaution to hide letters in their moccasms, and bury them in the ground, and were allowed to proceed after a brief detention. Frazer, of Prairie du Cliien, who had been with Pike at the Council at the mouth of the Minnesota River, was at the port- age of the A\'isconsiu when the Indians deUvered these letters, which stated that the British flag would soon be flying again at Mackinaw. At Green Bay, the celebrated warrior. Black Hawk, was placed in charge of the Indians \\\\o were to aid the British. The American troops at ilacki- naw were obUged, on the seventeenth of July, 1812, to capitulate without firing a single gun. One who was made prisoner, writes from Detroit to the Secretary of War : " The persons who commanded the Indians are Robert Dickson, Indian trader, and John Askin, Jr., Indian agent, and his son. The latter two were painted and dressed after the manner of the Indians. Those who commanded tliu Canadians are John Johnson, Crawford, Pothier, Annitinger, La Croix, Rolette, Franks, Living- ston, and Dther traders, some of whom were lately concerned in smuggUng British goods into the Indian eoimtry, and, in conjunction with others, have been using their utmost efforts, several months before the declaration of war, to excite the Indians to take up arms. The least resist- ance from the fort would have been attended with the destruction of all the persons who fell hito the hands of the British, as I have been as- sured by some of the British traders," On the first of May, 1814, Governor Clark, wiX\\ two luuidred men, left St. Louis, to build a fort at the junction of the 'Wisconsin and ilissis- sippi. Twenty days before he arrived at Prairie du Chien, Dickson had started for Mackinaw with a band of Dahkotalis and 'Winnebagoes. The place was left in command of Captain Deace and the Mackinaw Fencibles. The Dahkotahs refusing to co-operate, when the Americans made their appearance they fled. The Americans took possession of the old ilackinaw house, in which they foimd nine or ten trunks of papers belong- ing to Dickson. From one they took the follow- ing extract : " ' Arrived, from below, a few AViimebagoes with scalps. Gave them tobacco, six pomids powder and six pounds ball.' " A fort was immediately commenced on the site of the old residence of the late H. L. Dous- man, which was composed of two block-houses in the angles, and another on the bank of tlie river, with a subterranean communication. In honor of the governor of Kentucky it was named " Shelby." The fort was in charge of Lieutenant Perkuis, and sixty rank and file, and two gunboats, each of which carried a six-pounder; and several howitzers were cummaiided by Captains Yeiser, Sullivan, and Aid-de-camp Kennerly. The traders at Mackinaw, learning that the Americans had built a fort at the Prairie, and knowing that as long as they held possession i\w\ would be cut oil from the trade with the LOYALTY OF FARIBAVLT AND THE ONE-EYED SIOUX. 81 Dahkotalis, immediately raised an expedition to capture the garrison. Tlie captain was an old trader by the name of McKay, and imder him was a sergeant of ar- tillery, with a brass six-poimder, and tlu-ee or four volunteer companies of Canadian voyageurs, officered by Captains Griguon, Rolette and An- derson, ■with Lieutenants Brisbois and Duncan Graham, all dressed in red coats, with a niunber of Indians. The Americans had scarcely completed their rude fortification, before the British force, guid- ed by Joseph Kolette, Sr., descended m canoes to a point on the "Wisconsin, several miles from the Prairie, to which they marched in battle array. McKay sent a flag to the Fort demanding a surrender. Lieutenant Perkins replied that he would defend it to the last. A fierce encounter took place, in which the Americans were worsted. The officer was wounded, several men were killed and one of their boats captured, so that it became necessary to retreat to St. Louis. Port Shelby after its eaptiu-e, was called Fort McKay. Among the traders a few remained loyal, es- pecially Provencalle and J. B. Faribault, traders among the Sioux. Faribault was a prisoner among the British at the time Lieut. Col. Wm. McKay was preparing to attack For*" Shelby, and he refused to perform any seiTice, Faribault's wife, who was at Prairie du Chien, not Isnowing that her husband was a prisoner in the hands of the advancing foe, fled with others to the Sioirx village, where is now the city of Winona. Fari- bault was at length released on parole and re- turned to his trading post. Pike writes of his flag, that "being in doubt whether it had been stolen by the Indians, or had fallen overboai d and floated away, I sent for my friend the Orignal Leve." He also call« the Chief, Eising JNIoose, and gives his Sioux name Tahamie. He was one of those, who in 1805, signed the agreement, to surrender land at the jimction of the Muuiesota and Mississippi Eivers to the United States. He had but one eye, having lost the other when a boy, belonged to the Wapasha band of the Sioux, and proved true to the flag wliich had waved on the day he sat in council with Pike. In the fall of 1814, vrtth another of the same 6 nation, he ascended the Missouri under the pro- tection of the distinguished trader, Manual Lisa, as far as the An Jacques or James Eiver, and from thence struck across the country, enlisting the Sioux in favour of the United States, and at length arrived at Prairie du Cliien. On his arri- val, Dickson accosted him, and inquured from whence he came, and what was his business ; at the same time rudely snatching his bundle from his shoulder, and searching for letters, The "one-eyed warrior" told him that he was from St. Louis, and that he had promised the white chiefs there that he would go to Prairie du Ghien, and that he had kept his promise Dickson then placed him in confinement in Fort McKay, as the garrison was called by the British, and ordered him to divulge what infor- mation he possessed, or he wo aid put him to death. But the faithful fellow said he would impart nothing, and that he was ready for death if he wished to kill him. Findmg that confine- ment had no effect, Dickson at last'liberatedhim. He then left, and visited tlie bands of Sioux on the Upper ilississippi, with which he passed the winter. When he returned in the sprmg, Dick- son had gone to Mackinaw, and Capt. A. Bulger, of the Eoyal Xew Fouudland Eegiment, was in command of the fort. On the twenty-third ot May, 1815, Capt. Bul- ger, wrote from Fort JMcKay to Gov. Clark at St. Louis : " Official intelligence of peace reached me yesterday. I propose evacuatmg the fort, taking with me the gims captured in the fort. * * * * I have not the smallest hesitation in declaring my decided opinion, that the presence of a detachment of British and United States troops at the same time, would be the means of embroiling one party or the other in a fresh rup- ture with the Indians, which I presiune it is the wish of both governments to avoid." The next month the " One-Eyed Sioux," with three other Indians and a squaw, visited St. Louis, and he informed Gov. Clark, that the British commander left the cannons in the fort when he evacuated, but in a day or two came back, took the cannons, and fired the fort with the American flag flying, but that he rushed in and saved it fi-om being burned. From this time, the British flag ceased to float in the Valley of the Missis- sippi. 62 EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTEE XIV. long's expedition, a. D. i817, in a SIX-OAUED skiff, to the falls of saint ANTHONY. Carver a Grandsons.— Roque, Sioux Intcrpretcr.—Waposhaw's Village and Its Vicinity.— A Sacred Dance.— Indian Villus" Below Da)-ton's Bluff.— Carver's Cave-— Fountain Cave.— Falls of St. Anthony Described,— Site or a Fort. Major Stephen II. Long, of the Engineer Corps of tlie United States Army, learning that there was little or no danger to be apprehended from the Indians, determined to ascend to the Falls of Saint Anthony, in a six-oared skiff presented to him hy Governor Clark, of Saint Louis. His party consisted of a Mr. Hempstead, a native of New London, Connecticut, whc had been living at Prairie du Chien, seven soldiers, and a half- breed interpreter, named Iloque. A bark canoe accompanied them, containing Messrs. Gun and King, grandsons of the celebrated traveler, Jona- than Carver. On the ninth ot July, 1817, the expedition left Prairie du Chien, and on the twelfth arrived at " Trempe a I'eau." lie writes : " When we stopped for breakfast, Mr. Ilemp- stead and myself ascended a high peak to take a view of the country. It is laio\\'n by the name of the Kettle Hill, having obtained this appella- tion from the circumstance of its having numer- ous piles of stone on its top, most of them fragments of the rocky stratifications which constitute the principal part of the hill, but some of them small piles made by the Indians. These at a distance have some similitude of kettle: arranged along upon the ridge and sides of the hill. Prom this, or almost any other eminence in its neighborhood, the beauty and grandeur of the prospect would bailie the skill of the most inge- 'nious pencil to depict, and that of the most ac- complished pen to describe. Hills marshaled into a variety of agreeable shapes, some of them towering into lofty peaks, while others present broad summits embellished with contours and slopes in the most pleasing manner ; champaigns and waving valleys; forests, lawns, and parks alternating with each other; the humble Missis- sippi meandering far below, and occasionally losing itsel' in numberless islands, give variety and beauty to the picture, while rugged cliffs and stupendous precipices here and there present themselves as if to add bolilness and majesty to the scene. In the midst of this beautiful scenery is situated a village of the Sioux Indians, on an extensive lawn called the Aux Aisle I'rairie ; at which we lay by for a short time. On our amval the Indians hoisted two American flags, and we returned the comrliment by discharging our blunderbuss and pistols. They then fired several guns ahead of us by way of a salute, after which we landed and were received with much friend- ship. The name of their chief is Wauppaushaw, or the Leaf, commonly called by a name of the same import in French, La Feuille, or La Fye, as it is pronounced in English. He is considered one of the most honest and honorable of any of the Indians, and endeavors to inculcate into the minds of his people the sentiments and principles adopted by himself. He was not at home at the time I called, and I had no opportunity of seeuig him. The Indians, as I suppose, with the ex- pectation that I had something to communicate to them, assembled themselves at the place where I lauded and seated themselves upon the grass. I inquired if their chief was at home, and was answered in the negative. I then told them I should be very glad to see him, but as he w".s absent I would call on him again in a few days when I should return. I further told them that cur father, the new President, wished to ob- tain some more information relative to his red children, and that I was on a tour to acquire any intelligence he might stand in need of. With this they appeared well satisfied, and permitted Mr. Hempstead and myself to go through their village. While I was in the wigwam, one of the subordinate chiefs, whose name was Wazzecoota, or Shooter from the I'ine Tree, vobniteered to INITIATION OF A WARRIOR B7 A SAO RED DANGE. 83 accompany me np the river. I accepted of his Bervioes, and he was ready to attend me on the tour in a very short time. When we hove in sight the Indians were engaged in a ceremony called the Be^r Dance; a ceremony which they are in the habit of performing when any young man is desirous of bringing himself into partic- ular notice, and is considered a kind of initiation into the state of manhood. I went on to the ground where they had theii- performances, which were ended sooner than usual on account of our arrival. There was a kind of a flag made of fawn akin dressed with the hair on, suspended on a pole. Upon the flesh side of it were drawn certain rude figures indicative of the dream which it is necessary the young man should have dreamed, before he can be considered a proper candidate for this kind of initiation; with this a pipe was suspended by way of sacrifice. Two arrows were stuck up at the foot of the pole, and frrigments of painted feathers, etc., were strewed about the ground near to it. The.se per- tained to the religious rites attending the cere- mony, which consists in bewailing and self-mor- tiflcation, that the Good Spirit may be induced to pity them and succor their undertaking. "At the distance of two or three hundred yards from the flag, is an excavation which they call the bear's hole, prepared for the occasion. It is about two feet deep, and has two ditches, about one foot deep, leading across it at right an- gles. The young hero of the farce places himself in this hole, to be hunted by the rest of the young men, all of whom on this occasion are dressed in their best attire and painted in their neatest style. The hunters approach the hole in the direction of one of the ditches, and discharge their guns, which were previously loaded for the purpose with blank cartridges, at the one who acts the part of the bear; whereupon he leaps from his den, having a hoop in each hand, and a wooden lance; the hoops serving as forefeet to aid him in characterizing his part, and his lance to defend him from his assailants. Thus accoutred he dances round the place, exhibiting various feats of activity, while the other Indians pursue him and endeavor to trap him as he attempts to re- turn to his den, to eflfect which he is privileged to use any violence he pleases with impunity against his assailants, even to taking the life of any of them. " This part of the ceremony is performed three times, that the bear may escape from his den and retiirn to it again through three of the ave- nues communicating with it. On being hunted from the fourth or last avenue, the bear must make his escape through all his pursuers, if pos- sible, and flee to the woods, where he is to remain through the day. This, however, is seldom or never accomplished, as all the young men exert themselves to the utmost in order to trap him. When caught, he must retire to a lodge erected for his reception in the field, where he is to be se- cluded from all society through the day, except one of his particular friends whom he is allowed to take with him as an attendant. Here he smokes and performs various other rites which superstition has led the Indians to believe are sa- cred. After this ceremony is ended, the young Indian is considered qualified to act any part as an efficient member of their community. The Indian, who has the good fortune to catch the bear and overcome him when endeavoring to make his escape to the wood, is considered a candidate for preferment, and is, on the first suit- able occasion, appointed the leader of a small war party, in order that he may further have an op- portunity to test his prowess and perform more essential service in behalf of his nation. It is accordingly expected that he will kill some of their enemies and return with their scalps. I re- gretted very much that I had missed the oppor- tunity of witnessing this ceremony, which is never performed except when prompted by the particular dreams of one or other of the young men, who is never complimented twice in the same manner on account of his dreams." On the sixteenth he approached the vicinity of where is now the capital of Minnesota, and writes: "Set sail at half past four tliis morning with a favorable breeze. Pased an Indian bury- ing ground on our left, the first that I have seen surrounded by a fence. In the center a pole is erected, at the foot of whic'- religious rites are performed at the burial of an Indian, by the particular friends and relatives of the deceased. Upon the pole a flag is suspended when any per- son of extraordinary merit, or «ne who is very much beloved, is buried. In the inclosure were 84 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOJA. two scaffolds erected also, about six feet high and six feet square. Upon one of them were two coflins containing dead bodies. Passed a Sioux village on our right conlaining fourteen cabins. The name of the chief is tlie Petit Corbeau, or Little Raven. The Indians were all absent on a hunting party up tlio Hiver St. Croix, whicli is but a little distance across tlie country from the village. Of this we were very glad, as this band are said to be the most notorious beggars of all the Sioux on tlie Mississippi. One of their cabms is furnished with loop holes, and is sit- uated so near tlie water that the opposite side of the river is within musket-shot range from the building. By tliis means the Petit Corbeau is enabled to exercise a command over the pass- age of the river and has in some instances com- pelled traders to land witli their goods, and in- duced them, probably tlirough fear of offending him, to bestow presents to a considerable amount, before he would suffer them to pass. The cabins are a kind of stockade buildings, and of a better appearance than any Indian dwellings I have before met with. " Two miles above the village, on the same side of the river, is Carver's Cave, at which we stopped to breakfast. However interesting it may have been, it does not possess that character in a very high degree at present. "\\'e descend- ed it witli lighted candles to its lower extremity. The entrance is very low and about eight feet broad, so that a man in order to enter it must be completely prostrate. Tlie angle of descent within the cave is about 25 deg. The flooring is an inclined plane of quicksand, formed of the rock in wliich the cavern is formed. The dist- ance from its entrance to its inner extremity is twenty-four paces, and the width in the broadest part about nine, and its greatest height about seven feet. In shape it resembles a bakers's oven. Tiie cavern was once probably much more ex- tensive. My mterpreter informed me that, since his remeniliiance, tlie entrance was not less than ten feet high and its lengtli far greater than at present. The rock in which it is formed is a very white sandstone, so friable that the frag- ments of it will almost crumble to sand when taken into the hand. A few yards below the mouth of the ciwern is a very copious spring of flue water issuing from the bottom of the cliff. " Five miles above this is the Fountain Cave, on the same side of the river, formed in the same kind of sandstone but of a more pure and line quality. It is far more curious and interesting than the former. The entrance of the cave is a large winding hall about one hundred and fifty feet in length, fifteen feet in width, and from eight to sixteen feet in height, finely arched overhead, and nearly perpendicular. Xext suc- ceeds a narrow passage and dilliciilt of entrancCj which opens into a most beautiful circular room, finely arched above, and about forty feet in di- ameter. The cavern then contiiuies a meander- uig course, expanding occasionally into small rooms of a circular form. We penetrated about one hundred and fifty yards, till our candles began to fail us, when we retmiied. To beauti- fy and emliellisli the scene, a fine crystal stre:ira Hows through the cavern, and cheers the lone- some dark retreat with its enlivening murmurs. The temperature of the water in the cave was 40 deg., and that of the air 60 deg. Entering this cold retreat from an atmosphere of 89 deg., I thought it not prudent to remain in it long enough to take its several dimensions and me- ander its courses ; particularly as we had to w ade in water to our knees in many places in order to penetrate as far as we went. The fountam sup- plies an abundance of water as fine as I ever drank. This cavern I was informed by my interpreter, has been discovered but a few years. That the Indians formerly liraig in its neiglibor- hood knew nothing of it till witlun six years past. That it is not the same as that described by Carver is evident, not only from this circum- stance, but also from the circumstance that in- stead of a stagnant pool, and only one accessible room of a very different form, this cavern has a brook running through it, and at least four rooms in succession, one after the other. Car- ver's Cave is fast filling up with sand, so that no water is now found in it, whereas this, from the very nature of the place, must be enlarging as the fountain will carry along with its current all the sand that falls into it from the roof and sides of the cavern." On the night of the sixteenth, he arrived at tlie Falls of 8aint Anthony and encamped on the east sliore just below the cataract. He writes in '.lis journal : DESCBIPTION OF FALLS OF SAINT ANTHONY. 85 "Tiie place where we encamped last night need- ed no embellishment to render it romantic in the highest degree. The banks on both sides of the river are about one hundred feet high, decorated with trees and shrubbery of various kinds. The post oak, hickory, walnut, linden, sugar tree, white birch, and the American box ; also various evergreens, such as the pine, cedar, juniper, etc., added their embellishments to the scene. Amongst the shrubery were the prickly ash, plum, and cherry tree, the gooseberry, the black and red raspberry, the chokeberry, grape vine, etc. There were also various kinds of herbage and (lowers, among which were the wild parsley, rue, spikenard, etc., red and white roses, morning glory and various other handsome flowers. A few yards below us was a beautiful cascade of fine spring water, pouring down from a project- ing precipice about one hundred feet hight. On our left was the Mississippi hurrying through its channel with great velocity, and about three quarters of a mile above us, in plain view, was the majestic cataract of the Falls of St. Anthony. The murmuring of the cascade, the roaring of the river, and the thunder of the cataract, all contrib- uted to render the scene the most interesting and magnificient of any I ever before witnessed." "Tlie perpendicular fall of the water at the cataract, was stated by Pike in his journal, as six- teen and a half feet, which I found to be true by actual measurement. To this height, however, four or five feet may be added for the rapid des- cent which immediately succeeds to the perpen- dicular fall within a few yards below. Immedi- ately at the cataract the river is divided into two parts by an island which extends considerably above and below the cataract, and is about five hundred yards long. The channel on the right side of the Island is about three times the width of that on the left. The quanity of water pass- ins through them is not, however, in the same proportion, as about oue-tliird part of the whole passes through the left channel. In the broadest channel, just below the cataract, is a small island also, about fifty yards in length and thirty in breadth. Both of these islands contain the same kind of rocky formation as the banks of the river, and are nearly as high. Besides these, there are immediately at the foot of the cataract, two islands of very inconsiderable size, situated in the right channel also. The rapids commence several hundred yards above the cataract and continue about eight miles below. The fall of the water, beginning at the head of the rapids, and extending two hundred and sixtj' rods down tlie river to where the portage road commences, below the cataract is, according to Pike, fifty- eight feet. If this estimate be correct the whole fall from the head to the foot of the rapids, is not probably much less than one hundred feet. But as I had no instrument sutBciently accurate to level, where the view must necessarily be pretty extensive, I took no pains to ascertain the extent of the fall. The mode I adopted to ascertain the height of a cataract, was to suspend a line and plummet from tlie table rock on the south side of the river, which at the same time had very little water passing over it as tlie river was unusually low. The rocky formations at this place were arranged in the following order, from the surface downward. A coarse kind of lime- stone in thin strata containing considerable silex; a kind of soft friable stone of a greenish color and slaty fracture, probably containing lime, aluminum and silex ; a very beautiful satratifica- tton of shell limestone, in thin plates, extremely regular in its formation and containing a vast number of shells, all apparently of the same kind. This formation constitutes the Table Rock of the cataract. The next in order is a white or yellowish sandstone, so easily crumbled that it deserves the name of a sandbank rather than that of a rock. It is of various depths, from ten to fifty or seventy-five feet, and is of the sa^ie char- acter with that found at the caves before des- cribed. The next in order is a soft friable sand- stone, of a greenish color, similar to that resting upon the shell limestone. These stratifications occupied the whole space from the lovv' water mark nearly to the top of the blulfs. On the east, or rather north side of the river, at the Falls, are high grounds, at the distance of half a mile from the ri\'er, considerably more elevated than the bluffs, and of a hilly aspect. Speaking of the bluff at the confluence Ox Jie Mississippi and Minnesota, he writes: "A military work of considerable magnitude might be con- structed on the pomt, and might be rendered suflSciently secure by occupying the commanding height in the rear in a siutable manner, as the 86 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. latter would control not only the point, but all the neighboring heights, to the fuU extent of a tw'elve pounder's range. The work on the point would be necessary to control the navigation of the two rivers. But without the commandmg work in the rear, would be liable to be greatly annoyed from a height situated directly opposite on the other side of the Mississippi, which is here no more than about two hundred and fifty yards wide. This latter height, however, would not be eligible for a permanent past, on account of the niunerous ridges and ravines situated im- mediately in its rear." EABLY HISTOBY OF RED BIYEB VALLEY, 87 CHAPTER XV. THOMAS DOUGLAS, EARL OF SKLKIRK, AND THE RED BIVER VALLEY. Early travelers to Lake Winnipeg — Earliest Map by tlie Indian Otchaga— Bcllin's allusion to it — Verendrye's Map— De la Jemeraye's Map — Fort La Heine— Fort on Red River abandoned — Origin of name Red Lake — Earl of Selkirk— Ossini- boia described— Scotch immifn-ants at Pembina- Strife of trading companies- Earl of Selkirk \-isits America- Governor Semple Killed— Romantic life of John Tanner, and his son James — Letter relative to Selkirk's tour through Minne- sota. The valley of the Red Biver of the North is not only an important portion of Minnesota, but has a most interesting history. While there is no evidence that Groselliers, the iirst white man who explored Minnesota, ever visited Lake Winnipeg and the Eed River, yet he met the Assineboines at the head of Lake Supe- rior and at Lake Nepigon, while on his way by a northeasterly trail to Hudson's Bay, and learned something of this region from them. Tlie first person, of whom we have an account, who visited the region, was an Englishman, who came in 1692, by way of York River, to Winni- peg. Ochagaclis, or Otchaga, an intelligent Indian, in 1728, assured Pierre C4ualtier de Varenne, known in history as the Sieur Verendrye, wliile he was stationed at Lake Nepigon, that there was a communication, largely by water, west of Lake Superior, to the Great Sea or Pacific Ocean. The rude map, drawn by this Indian, was sent to Prance, and is still preserved. Upon it is marked Kamanistigouia, the fort first established by Du Luth. Pigeon River is called Mantohavagane. Lac Sasakanaga is marked, and Rainy Lake is named Tecamemiouen. The river St. Louis, of Minnesota, is R. fond du L. Superior. The French geographer, BelUn, in his " Remarks upon the map of North America," published in 1755, at Paris, alludes to this sketch of Ochagachs, aftd says it is the earliest drawing of the region west of Lake Superior, in the Depot de la Marine. After this Verendrye, in 1737, drew a map, which remains unpublished, which shows Red Lake in Northern Minnesota, and the point of the Big AVoods in the Red River Valley. There is another sketch in the archives of Prance, drawn by De la -Jemeraye. He was a nephew of Verendrye, and, under ins uncle's orders, he was in 1731, the first to advance from the Grand Portage of Lake Superior, by way of the Nalao- uagan or Groselliers, now Pigeon River, to Ramy Lake. On this appears Fort Rouge, on the south bank of the Assineboine at its junction with the Red River, and on the Assineboine, a post estab- lished on October 3, 1738, and called Fort La Reine. BelUn describes the fort on Red River, but asserts that it was abandoned because of its vicinity to Fort La Reme, on the north side of the Assinneboine, and only about nuie miles by a portage, from Swan Lake. Red Lake and Red River were so called by the early French explo- rers, on account of the reddish tint of the waters after a storm. Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, a wealthy, kind-hearted but %isionary Scotch nobleman, at the commencement of the present century formed the design of planting a colony of agriculturists west of Lake Superior. In the year 1811 he obtained a grant of land from the Hudson Bay Company called Ossiniboia, which it seems strange has been given up by the people of Man- itoba. In the autumn of 1812 a few Scotchmen with their families arrived at Pembina, in the Red River Valley, by way of Hudson Bay, where they passed the winter. In the winter of 1813-14 they were again at Fort Daer or Pembina. The colonists of Red River were rendered very un- happy by the strife of rival trading companies. In the spring of 1815, McKenzie and Morrison, traders of the Northwest company, at Sandy Lake, told the Ojibway chief there, that they would give him and his band all the goods and rum at Leech or Sandy Lakes, if they would an- noy the Red River settlers. The Earl of Selkirk hearing of the distressed condition of his colony, sailed for America, and 88 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. in the fall of 1815, arrived at New York City. Proceftling to Monti-eal he found a messenger who had traveled on foot in mid-wmter from the Bed Hirer by M&y of Ked Lake and Ton du Lac, of Lake Superior. He sent back by this man, kind messages to the dispirited settlers, but one night he was way-laid near Fou du Lac, and robbed of his canoe and dispatches. \n Ojib- way chief at Sandy Lake, aftera-ards testified that a trader named Grant offered him nun and tobacco, to send persons to uitercept a bearer of dispatches to Red River, and soon the messenger was brought in by a negro and some Indians. Failing to obtain military aid fmrn the British authorities in Canada, Selkirk made an engagement with four officers and eighty privates, of the discharged Meuron regiment, twenty of the De WattevLUe, and a few of the Glengary Fencibles, which had served in the late war with the United States, to accompany him to Bed Biver. They were to receive monthly wages for navigating the boats to Red River, to have lands assigned them, and a fiee passage if they wished to return. "\\1ien he reached Sault St. ^Nlaiie. he received the intelUgeuce that the colony had again been destroyed, and that Semple, a mild, amiable, but not altogether judicious man, the chief governor of the factories and territories of the Hudson Bay company, residing at Red River, had been kiUed. Schoolcraft, in 1832, says he saw at Leech Lake, Majegabowi, the man who had killed Gov. Semple, after he fell woimded from his horse. Before he heard of the death of Semple, the Earl of Selkirk had made arrangements to visit his colony by way of Fon du Lac, on the St. Louis Biver, and Red Lake of ilinnesota, but he now changed his mind, and proceedeod in 1S26. African slaves at the Fort — Steamboat Arrivals — Duels— Notice of William Joseph Snelling — Indian fight at the Fort- Attack upon keel boats — (icneral Gaines* report — Removal of Fifth Regiment — Death of Colonel Snelling. The nimor that Lord Selkirk was founding a colony on the borders of the United States, and that the British trading companies within the boundaries of what became the territory of ^lin- nesota, convinced the authorities at Washington of the importance of a military occupation of the valley of the Upper ^lississippi. By direction of ilajor General Brown, the fol- lowing order, on the tenth of February, 1819, was issued : " Major General Macomb, commander of the Fifth Military department, will without delay, concentrate at Detroit the Fifth Regiment of In- fantry, excepting the recruits otlierwisu directed by the general order herewith transmitted. As soon as the navigation of the lakes will admit, he will cause the regiment to be transported to Fort Howard ; from thence, by the way of tlie Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, to Prairie du Chien, and, after detaching a sufDcient number of companies to garrison Forts Crawford and ^Vnnstrong, the remainder will proceed to the mouth of the River St. Peter's, where they will establish a post, at whicli the headquarters of the regiment will be located. The regiment, previous to its depar- ture, will receive the necessary suppUes of cloth- ing, provisions, arms, and ammunition. Imme- diate application will be made to Brigadier Gen- eral Jesup, Quartermaster General, for funds necessary to execute the movements required by this order." On the thiiteenth of April, this additional order was issued, at Detroit : " The season having now an-ived when the lakes may be navigated with safety, a detach- ment of the Fifth Regiment, to consist of Major ilarston's and Captain Fowle's companies, under the command of Major Muhlenburg, will proceed to Green Bay. Surgeon's ^Mate, R. ^I. Byrne, of the Fifth Regiment, will accompany the detach- ment. The Assistant Deputy Quartermaster General will furnish the necessary transport, and will send by the same opportunity two hundred barrels of provisions, which he will draw from the contractor at tliis post. The provisions must be examined ami inspected, and properly put up for transportation. Colonel Leavenworth will, with- out delay, prepare his regiment to move to the post on the Mississippi, agreeable to the Divi- sion order of tlie tenth of Febniary. The Assist- ant Deputy Quartermaster General will furnish the necessary transportation, to be ready by the first of jSIay next. The Colonel will make requi- sition for such stores, ammunition, tools and implements as may be required, and he be able to take with him on the expedition. Particular in- stnietions will be given to the Colonel, explaining the objects of his expedition." EVENTS OF THE YEAK 1819. On Wednesday, the last day of June, Col. Leav- enworth and troops arrived from Green Bay, at Prairie du Chien. Scarcely had they reached this point when Charlotte Seymour, the wife of Lt. Nathan Clark, a native of Hartford, Ct., gave buth to a daugliter, whose first baptismal name was Charlotte, after her mother, and the second Oiusconsin, given by the ofHcers in view of tlie fact that she was born at the junction of that stream with the Mississippi. In time Charlotte Ouisconsin married a young Lieutenant, a native of Princeton. Xew Jersey, and a graduate of West Point, and still resides with her husband, General II. P. Van Cleve, in COL. LEAVENWORTH ABBIVES AT MENDOTA 91 the city of Miui ^sapolis, living to do good as slie has opportunity. In June, luifler instnictions from the AVar Department, Major Tliomas Forsyth, connected with the office of Indian affairs, left St. Louis with two thousand dollars worth of goods to be distributed among the Sioux Indians, m accor- dance with the agreement of 1805, already re- ferred to, by the late General Pike. About nine o'clock of the morning of the fifth of July, he joined Leavenworth and his conunand at Prairie du Cliien. Some time was occupied by Leavenworth awaiting the arrival of ordnance, provisions and recruits, but on Sunday morning, the eightli of August, aljout eight o'clock, the expedition set out for the point now known as Mendota. The flotilla was quite imposing ; there were the C'oloners barge, fourteen batteaux with ninety-eight soldiers and officers, two large canal or ]SIackinaw boats, filled with various stores, and Forsyth'rj keel boat, containing goods and pres- ents fov the Indians. On the twenty-third of Angus*", Forsyth reached the mouth of the Min- nesota with his boat, and the next monring Col. Leave iworth arrived, and selecting a place at Mendota, near the present railroad bridge, he ordered the soldiers to cut down trees and make a clearing. On the next Saturday Col. Leaven- worth, Iilajor Vose, Surgeon Purcell, Lieutenant Clark and the wife of Captain Gooding ivited the Falls of Saint Anthony with Forsyth, in his keel boat. Early in September two more boats and a bat- teaux, with officers and one hundred and twenty recruits, arrived. During the winter of 18:20, Laidlow and others, in behalf of Lord Selkirk's Scotch settlers at Pembina, whose crops had been destroyed by grasshoppers, passed the Cantonment, on their way to Prairie du Chien, to purchase wheat. Upon the fifteenth of April they began their return with their Mackinaw boats, each loaded with two himdred bushels of wheat, one himdred of oats, and thirty of peas, and reached the mouth of the ^Minnesota early in JIay. Ascending this stream to Big Stone Lake, the boats were drawn on rollers a mile and a half to Lake Traverse, and on the third of June arrived at Pemliinaand cheered the desponding and needy settlers of the Selkirk colony. The first sutler of the post was a Mr. Devotion. He brought with him a young man named Phi- lander Prescott, who was born in 1801 , at Phelps- town, Ontario county, New York. At first they stopped at Mud Hen Island, in the Mississippi below the mouth of the St. Croix Kiver. Coming up late in the year 1819, at the site of the pres- ent town of Hastings they found a keel-boat loaded with supplies for the cantonment, m charge of Lieut. OUver, detained by the ice. Amid all the changes of the troops, Mr. Pres- cott remained nearly all his life in the vicinity of the post, to which he came when a mere lad, and was at length killed in the Sioux Massacre. EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1820 In the spring of 1820, Jean Baptiste Faribault brought up Leavenworth's horses from Prairie du Cliien. The first Indian Agent at the post was a former army officer, LawTence Taliaferro, pronounced Toliver. As he had the confidence of the Gov- ernment for twenty-one successive years, he is deserving of notice. His family was of Italian origin, and among the early settlers of Virgmia. He was born in 1794, in King WilUam county in that State, and when, in 1812, war was declared against Great Britain, with four brothers, he entered the army, and was commissioned as Lieutenant of the Thirty-fifth Infantry. He behaved gallantly at Fort Erie and Sackett's Harbor, and after peace was declared, he was retained as a First Lieuten- ant of the Third Infantry. In 1816 he was sta- tioned at Fort Dearborn, now the site of Chicago. AVTiile on a furlough, he called one day upon President Monroe, who told him that a fort would be built near the Falls of Saint Anthony, and an Indian Agency estalilished, to which he offered to appoint him. His commission was dated March 27th, 1819, and he proceeded in due time to his post. On the fifth day of May, 1820, Leavenworth left his winter quarters at Mendota, crossed the stream and made a summer camp near the present miUtary grave yard, which in consequence of a fine spring has been called " Camp Cold Water." The Indian agency, under Taliaferro, remained for a tune at the old cantonment. The commanding officer estabUshed a fine 92 EXPLOREBS AND PIONEEBH OF JiUJ^NESOTA. guiilen in the bottom lands of the iliniiesota, and on tlie flfteenth of June the earliest garden peas were eaten. The first distinguished visitors at the new encampment were (iovcrnor Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and Henry Schoolcraft, who arrived in July, by way of Lake Superior and Sandy Lake. The relations between Col. Leavenworth and Indian Agent Taliaferro were not entirely har- monious, growing out of a disagreement of views relative to the treatment of the Indians, and on the day of the arrival of Governor Cass, Tal- iaferro writes to Leavenworth : " As it is now imderstood that I am agent for Indian affairs in this country, and you are about to leave the upper Mississippi, in all probability in the course of a month or two, I beg leave to suggest, for the sake of a general luiderstanding with the Indian tribes in this country, that any medals, you may possess, would by being turned over to me, cease to be a topic of remark among the different Indian tribes under my direction. I will pass to you any voucher that may be re- quired, and I beg leave to observe that any pro- gress in influence is much impeded in conse- quence of this frequent intercourse with the gar- rison." In a few days, the disastrous effect of Indians mingling with the soldiers was exhibited. On the third of August, the agent wrote to Leaven- worth: " His Excellency Governor Cass during his visit to this post remarked to me that the Indians jn this quarter were spoiled, and at the same time said they should not be permitted to enter the camp. An unpleasant affair has lately taken place ; I mean the stabbing of the old chief Mahgossau l>y his comrade. This was caused, doubtless, by an anxiety to obtain the chief's whiskey. I beg, therefore, that no whiskey whatever be given to any Indians, unless it be through their proper agent. "While an overplus of whiskey thwarts the benificent and humane poUcy of the government, it entails misery upon the Indians, and endangers their lives." A few days after this note was v.ritten Josiah Snelling, who had been recently promoted to the Colonelcy of the Fifth Regiment, arrived with his family, relieved Leavenworth, and infused new life and energy. A little while before his arrival, the daughter of Captain Gooding was married to Lieutenant Green, the Adjutant of the regiment, the first maniage of white persons in ^ILunesota. Mrs. Snelling, a few days after her an-ival, gave birth to a daughter, the first white child born in Minnesota, and after a brief existence of thirteen months, she died and was the first interred in the military grave yard, and for years the stone which marked its resting place, was visible. The earUest manuscript in Minnesota, written at the Cantonment, is dated October 4, 1820, and is in the handwriting of Colonel Snelling. It reads : " In justice to Lawrence Taliaferro, Esq., Indian Agent at this post, we, tlie midersigned, officers of the Fiftli Regiment here stationed, have presented him this paper, as a token, not only of our individual respect and esteem, but as an entire approval of his conduct and deportment as a public agent in this quarter. Given at St. Peter, this 4th day of October, 1820. J. Snellixg, N. Clark, Col. 5th Inf. Lieutenant. S. BuEBANK, Jos. Hare, Br. Major. Lieutenant. David Perut, Ed. Purcell, Captain. Surgeon, D. Gooding, P. R. Green, Brevet Captain. Lieut, and Adjt. J. Plyjii'ton, ^y. G. Cajip, Lieutenant. Lt. and Q. M. E. A. McCabe, H. Wilkins, Lieutenant. Lieutenant." During the summer of 1820, a party of the Sisseton Sioux killed on the Missoiu:i, Isadore Poupon, a half-breed, and Joseph Andrews, a Canadian engaged in the fur trade. The Indian Agent, through Colin Campbell, as interpreter, notified the Sissetons that trade would cease with tliein, until the murderers were delivered. At a council held at Big Stone Lake, one of the murderers, and the aged father of another, agreed to surrender themselves to the commanding oflicer. On the twelfth of November, accompanied by their friends, they approached the encampment in solemn procession, and marched to the centre of the parade. First appeared a Sisseton bear- ing a British flag ; then the murderer and the de- voted father of another, their arms i)inioned,and ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 93 large wooden splinters thrust througb the flesh above the elbows indicating their contempt for pain and death ; in the rear followed friends and relatives, with them chanting the death dirge. Having arrived in front of the guard, fire was kindled, and tlie British flag burned ; then the murderer delivered up his medal, and both prison- ers were surrounded. Col. Snelling detained t'.;e old cliief, while the murderer was sent to St. Louis for trial. EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1S21. Col. Snelling built the fort in the shape of a lozenge, in view of the projection between the two rivers. The first row of barracks was of liewu logs, obtained from the pine forests of Rum River, but the other buildings were of stone. JNIrs. Van Cleve, the daughter of Lieutenant, afterwards Captain Clark, writes : " In 1821 the fort, although not complete, was fit fur occupancy. JNIy father had assigned to him the quarters next beyond the steps leading to tlie Commissary's stores, and during the year my little sister Juliet was bom there. At a later period my father and Major Garland obtained permission to build more commodious quarters outside the walls, and the result was the two stone houses afterwards occupied by the Indian Agent and interpreter, lately destroyed." Early in August, a young and intelligent mixed blood, Alexis Bailly, in after years a member of the legislature of ^Minnesota, left the cantonment with the first drove of cattle for the Selkirk Set- tlement, and the next winter returned with Col. Robert Dickson and Messrs. Laidlow and Mac- kenzie. The next montli, a party of Sissetons visited the Indian Agent, and told him that they had started with another of the murderers, to which reference has been made, but that on the way he had, through fear of being hung, killed himself. This fall, a mill was constructed for the use of the garrison, on the west side of St. Anthony Falls, under the supervision of LieutenantMeCabe. During the fall, George Gooding, Captain by brevet, resigned, and became Sutler at Prairie du Chien. He was a native of Massachusetts, and entered the army as ensign in 1808. In 1810 he became a Second Lieutenant, and the next year was wounded at Tippecanoe. In the middle of October, there embarked on the keel-boat " Saucy Jack," for Prairie du Chien, Col. Snelling, Lieut. Baxley, Major Taliaferro, and Mrs. Gooding, EVENTS OF 1822 AND 1823. Early in January, 1822, there came to the Fort from the Red River of the North, Col. Robert Dickson, Laidlow, a Scotch farmer, the superin- tendent of Lord Selkirk's experimental farm, and one Mackenzie, on their way to Prairie du Chien. Dickson returned with a drove of cattle, but ( iwing to the hostility of the Sioux his cattle were scattered, and never reached Pembina. During the winter of 1823, Agent Taliaferro was in Washington. While returning in March, lie was at a hotel in Pittsburg, when he received a note signed G. C. Beltrami, who was an Italian exile, asking permission to accompany him to the Indian territory. He was tall and commanding in appearance, and gentlemanly in bearing, and Taliaferro was so forcibly impressed as to acced.; to the request. After reaching St. Louis tliey embarked on the first steamboat for the Upper Mississippi. It was named tlie Virginia, and was built in Pittsburg, twentj'-two feet in width, and one hundred and eigliteen feet in lengtli, in charge of a Captain Crawford. It reached the Fort on the tenth of May, and was saluted by the discharge of cannon. Among the passengers, besides the Agent and the Italian, were Jtlajor Biddle, Lieut. Russell, and others. The arrival of the "\''irginia is an era in the history of the Dahkotah nation, and will proba- bly be transmitted to their posterity as long as they exist as a people. They say their sacred men, the night before, dreamed of seeing some monster of the waters, which frightened them very much. As the boat neared the shore, men, women, and children beheld with silent astonishment, supposing that it was some enormous water-spirit, coughing, puffing out hot breath, and splashing water in every direction. When it touched the landing their fears prevailed, and they retreated some distance ; but when the blowing off of steam commenced they were com}iletely im- nerved : mothers forgetting tlieir children, wth streaming hair, sought hidmg-places ; chiefs, re- 94 EXPLOREBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. nouncliig their stoicism, scampered away like affrighted animals. Tlie peace agreement beteen tlie Ojibways and Dahkotahs, made througli the infhience of Gov- ernor Cass, was of brief duration, tlie latter be- ing the first to violate the provisions. On the foiutli of Jinie, Taliaferro, the Indian agent among the Dahkotahs, took advantage of the presence of a large number of Ojibways to renew the agreement for the cessation of hostili- ties. The council hall of the agent was a large room of logs, in which waved conspicuously the flag of the United States, surrounded by British colors and medals that had been delivered up from time to time by Indian chiefs. Among the Dalikotah chiefs present were Wapashaw, Little Crow, and Penueshaw ; of the Ojibways there were Kendouswa. iloshomene. and Pasheskonoepe. After mutual accusations and excuses concerning the infraction of the pre- vious treaty, the Dahkotahs lighted the calumet, they having been the first to infringe upon tlie agreement of 1820. After smoking and passing the pipe of peace to the Ojibways, who passed through the same formalities, they all shook hands as a pledge of renewed amity. The morning after the council. Flat Mouth, the distinguished Ojibway chief, arrived, who had left his lodge vowing that he would never be at peace with the Dahkotahs. As he stepped from his canoe, Penneshaw held out his hand, but was repulsed with scorn. The Dahkotah warrior immeiliately gave the alarm, and in a moment runners were on their way to the neighboring villages to raise a war party. On the sixth of June, the Dahkotahs had assem- bled, stripped for a fight, and surrounded the Ojibways. The latter, fearhig the worst, con- cealed their women and children behind the old barracks which had been used by the troops while the fort was being erected. At the solicitation of the agent and commander of the fort, the Dahko- tahs desisted trom an attack and retired. On the seventh, the Ojibways left for their homes; but, in a few hours, while they were making a portage at Falls of St. Anthony, they were again approached by the Dahkotahs, who would have attacked them, if a detachment of troops had not arrived from the fort. A rumor reaching Penneshaw's village that he had been killed at the falls, liis mother seized an Ojibway maiden, who had been a captive from infancy, and, with a tomahawk, cut her in two. Upon (lie return of the son in safety he was much gratified at what he considered the prowess of his parent. On the third of -Ttily, 1S2.3. Major Long, of the engineers, arrived at the fort in command of an expedition to explore the Minnesota Eiver, and the region along the northern lioundary line of the United States. Beltrami, at the request of Col. Snelling. was permitted to be of the party, and ilajor Taliaferro kindly gave him a horse and equipments. The relations of the Italian to Major Long were not pleasant, and at Pembina Beltrami left the expedition, and with a " bois brule ", and two Ojibways proceeded and discovered the northern sources of the Mississippi, and suggested where the western sources would be found ; wliich was verified by Schoolcraft nine years later. About the second week in September Beltrami returned to the fort by way of the Mississipjii, escorted by forty or fifty Ojibways, and on the 2oth departed for Kew Orleans, where he published his discov- eries in the French language. The mill which was constructed in 1821, for sawing lumber, at the Falls of St. Anthony, stood upon the site of the Holmes and Sidle ilill, in MinneapoUs. and in 1S23 was fitted up for grind- ing flour. The following extracts ft'om corres- pondence addressed to Lieut. Clark, Commissary at Fort Snelling, will be read with interest. Under the date of August 5th, 1823, General Gibson writes : " From a letter addressed by Col. Snelling to the Quartermaster General, dated the 2d of April, I leani that a large quan- tity of wheat would be raised this summer. The assistant Commissary of Subsistence at St. Louis has been instructed to forward sickles and a pair of millstones to St. Peters. If any flour is manu- factured from the wheat raised, be pleased to let me know as early as practicable, that I may deduct the quantity manufactured at the post from the quantity advertised to be contracted for." In another letter, General Gibson writes : '• Below you will find the amount charged on the books against the garrison at Ft. St. Anthony, feu- certain articles, and forwarded for the use of the troops at that post, which yoii will deduct FIEST FLOUR MILL IN MINNESOTA. 9,5 from the payments to be made for flour raised and turned over to you for issue : One pair buhr millstones $250 1 1 337 pounds plaster of Paris 20 22 Two dozen sickles IS 00 Total $288 33 Upon tbe lOtli of January, 1824, the General writes: " The mode suggested by Col. Snelling, of fixing the price to be paid to the troops for the flour furnished l)y them is deemed equitable and just. You wUl accordingly pay for the flour $3.33 per barrel." Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve. now the oldest person living who was connected with the cau- toimient in 1819, in a paper read before the De- partment of American History of the Mimiesota Historical Society in January, 1880, wrote : " In 1823, Mrs. Snelling and my mother estab- lished the first Sunday School in the Northwest. It was held in the basement of the commanding officer's quarters, and was productive of much good. Many of the soldiers, with their families, attended. Joe. Brown, since so well know in this countrj', then a drummer boy, was one of the pupils. A Bible class, for the officers and their wives, was formed, and all became so inter- ested in the history of the patriarchs, that it fur- nished topics of conversation for the week. One day after the Sunday School lesson on the death of Moses, a member of the class meeting my mother on the parade, after exchanging the usual greet- ings, said, in saddened tones, ' But don't you feel sorry that Moses is dead ? " Early in the spring of 1824, tlie Tully boys were rescued from the Sioux and brought to the fort. They were children of one of the settlers of Lord Selkirk's colony, and with their parents and others, were on their way from Red River Valley to settle near Fort SneUing. The party was attacked by Indians, and the parents of these children murdered, and the boys captured. Through the influence of Col. Snell- ing the children were ransomed and brought to the fort. Col. Snelling took John and my father Andrew, the younger of the two. Everyone became interested in the orphans, and we loved Andrew as if he had been our o^\^l lit- tle brother. John died some two years after his arrival at the fort, and ]Mrs. Snelling asked me when I last saw her if a tomb stone had been placed at his grave, she as requested, during a visit to the old home some years ago. She said she received a promise that it should be done, and seemed quite disappointed when I told her it had not been attended to." Andrew Tully, after being educated at an Orphan Asylum in New York City, became a carriage maker, and died a few years ago in that vicinity. EVENTS OF THE YEAK A. D. 1824. In the year 1824 the Fort was visited by Gen. Scott, on a tour of inspection, and at his sug- gestion, its name was changed from Fort St. Anthony to Fort Snelling. The following is an extract from his report to the War Department : " This work, of which the AVar Department is in possession of a plan, reflects the highest credit on Col. Snelling, his otticers and men. The de- fenses, and for the most part, the public store- houses, shops and quarters being constructed of stone, the whole is Ukely to endure as long as the post shall remam a frontier one. The cost of erection to the government has been the amount paid for tools and iron, and the per diem paid to sokliers employed as mechanics. I wish to suggest to the General in Chief, and through him to the War Department, the propriety of calling this work Fort Snelling, as a just compliment to the meritorious officer under whom it has been erected. The present name, (Fort St. jVn- thony), is foreign to all our associations, and is, besides, geographically incorrect, as the work stands at the junction of the Mississippi and St. Peter's [Minnesota] Rivers, eight miles be- low the great falls of the Jilississippi, called after St. Anthony." In 1824, Major Taliaferro proceeded to Wash- ington with a delegation of Chippeways and Dah- kotahs, headed by Little Crow, the grand father of the chief of the same name, who was engaged in tlie late horrible massacre of defenceless women and children. The object of the visit, was to secure a convocation of all the tribes of the Upper Mississippi, at Prairie du Chein, to define theirboundary Unes and establish friendly rela- tions. When they reached Prairie du Chein, Wahnatah, a Yankton chief, and also Wapashaw, by the whisperuigs of mean traders, became dis- 96 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF ^HNNESOTA. afEected, and wished to turn back. Little Crow, perceiving tliis, stopped all hesitancy by the foL lowing speech: '-^ly friends, you can do as you please. I am no coward, nor can my ears be pulled about by evil counsels. We are here and should go on, and do sotne good for our nation. I have taken our Father here (Taliaferro) by tlie coat tail, and will follow him until I take by the hand, our great American Father." While on board of a steamer on the Ohio Kiver, Marcpee or tlie Cloud, in (•onse(iuence of a bad dream, jumped from the stern of the boat, and was shpposed to be drowTied, but he swam ashore and made his way to St. Charles, ilo.. there to be murdered by some Sacs. The re- mainder safely arrived in Washington and ac- complished the object of the visit. The Dahko- tahs returned by way of Xew York, and while there were anxious to jiay a visit to certain par- ties Willi ^Vm. Dickson, a half-breed son of Col Robert Dickson, the trader, wlio in the war of 1812-15 led the Indians of the Xorthwest iigainst the United States. After this visit Little Crow carried a new double-barreled gun, and said that a medicine man by the name of I'eters gave it to him for signing a certain paper, and that he also prom- ised he would send a keel-boat full of goods to them. The medicine man referred to was tlie Eev. Samuel Peters, an Episcopal clerg>7uan, who had made himself olmoxious during the Revolution by his tory sentiments, and was sub- sequently nominated as Bishop of Vermont. Peters asserted that in 1806 he had pm-chased of the heirs of Jonathan Carver the right to a tract of land on the upper Mississippi, embracing St. Paul, alleged to have been given to Carver by the Dahkotahs, in 1767. The next year there arrived, in one of tlie keel- boats from Prairie du Chien, at Fort Snelling a box marked C let it be. But tell me, Xatty 1 Had I hunteil thee. Had not my time been thiowu away, young sir. And eke my powder ? Puppies have no ftir. Our tails ? Thou ownest thee to a taU, I've scanned thee o"er and o'er But. though I guessed the species right. I was not sure before. Our savages, authentic tr^veierj say. To natural fools, religious homage pay, Zadst thou been bom in wig^vam's smoke, and died in. 2fat ; thine apotheosis had been certain." Snelling died at Chelsea. Mass.. December ax- teenth. l!i*>. a victim to the appetite which en- enslaved Robert Bums- In the year 1S26. a small party of Ojibway-¥n w.irriors aud s«.>me womeji and children, in all amoimtiug to twenty-four, arrived about sunrise at Fort Snelling. Walking to the gates of the garrL5<>u. they aske^l the pn.>tection of Colonel SneUing and Taiiafenv>, the Inilian agent. They wtre told, that as long as they remaineil under the luiteil States flag, they were secure, and were ordered to encamp within musket shot of the high stone walls of the fort. During the afternoon, a Dahkotah. Toopiuikah Zeze. from a viUage near the first rapids of the Minnesota, visited the Ojib'^y camp. They were cordially receivevl, and a feast of meat and com and sugar, was soon made ready. The wooden plates emptied of their contents, they ' engaged iu conversation, sjnd whiffed the peace pipe. i That night, some officers and their f rientls were spending a pleasant evening at the head-quarters of Captain Clark, which was in one of the stone houses which used to stand outside of the walls of the fort. As Captain Cruger was walking on the porch, a ballet whizzed by. and rapid firing was heard. As the Dahkotahs. or Sioux, left the Qjibway camp, notwithsianding their friendly talk, they tuFned and discharged their guns with deadly aim upon their entertainers, and ran off with a shout of satisfaction. The report was heard by the , sentinel of the fort, and he cried, repeatedly. " Corporal of the guard '." and soon at the gates, were the Ojibways. vrith their women and the wounded, telling their tale of woe in wild and in- coherent language. Two had been killed and six woonded. Among others, was a little girl about seven years old. who was pierced through Kuh thighs with .-. buUet. Surgeon McMahon made every effort to save her life, but wittout avail. Flat Mouth, the chief, reminded Colonel Snel- ling that he had been attacked while tmder the protection of the United States flag, and early the next morning. Captain Clark, with oae hundred soldier-. ' " \rds Land's End. a tra- ding-pos: La Fur Company, on the 2tIiimesota. a mile above the former residemee cf TRAGIC SCENE UNDER THE WALL.S OF THE FORT. S9 Franklin Steele, where the Dahkotahs were sup- posed to be. The soldiers had just left the large gale of the fort, when a i)arty of Dahkotahs, in battle array, appeared on one of the jnairie hills. After some parleying they turned their backs, and being pursued, thirty-two were cap- tured near the tradnii;-post. Colonel Snelling onlered the prisoners to be brouf^ht before the Ojihways, and two bemg pointed out as participants in the slaughter of the preceding uight, they were delivered tt) the aggrieved party to deal with in accordance with their customs. They were led out to the plain in front of the gate of the fort, and when placed nearly without tlie range of the Ojibway guns, they were told to run for their lives. AVith the rajHdity of deer they boundeil away, but the Ojib- way Ijullet lli'W faster, and after a few steps, they fell gasping on the ground, and were soon lifeless. Then the savage nature tlisplayed itself in all its hideousness. Women and children danced for joy, and placing their fingers in tlie bullet holes, from wliich -the blood oozed, tliey licked them with delight. The men tore the scalps from the dead, and seemed to luxuriate in the privilege of plunging their knives through the corjjses. After the execution, the Ojibways returned to the fort, and were met by the Colonel. He had prevented all over whom his authority extended from wit- nessing the scene, and had done his best to con- fine the excitement to the Indians. The same day a deputation of Dalikotah warriors received audience, regretting the violence that had been done by their young men, and agreeing to deliver up the ringleaders. At the time appointed, a son of Flat Mouth, with those of the Ojibwa party that were not wounded, escorted by United States troops, marched forth to meet the Dahkirtah deputation, on the prairie just beyond the old residence of the Indian agent. With much solemnity two more of the guilty were handed over to the assaulted. One was fearless, and with firmness stripped himself of his clothing and ornaments, and distributed them. The other could not face death with composure. He was noted tor a hid- eous hare-lip, and had a bad reinitation among his fellows. In the spirit of a coward he prayed for life, to the mortification of his tribe. The same oppoiiunity was presented to them as to the first, of running for their lives. At the first fire the coward fell a corpse; but his brave compan- ion, though wounded, ran on, and had nearly reached tlie goal of safety, when a seciHid bullet killed him. The body of the coward now became a common object of loathing for both Dahkotahs and Ojibways. Colonel Snelling told the Ojibways that the bodies must be removed, and then they took the scalped Dahkotahs, and dragging them by the heels, threw them off the blufE into the river, a hundred and fifty feet beneath. The dreadful scene was now over ; and a detachment of troops was sent with the old chief Flat Mouth, to escort him out of the reach of Dahkotah vengeance. An eyewitness wrote : " After this catastrophe, all the Dahkotahs quitted the vicinity of Fort Snel- liug, and did not return to it for .some months. It was said that they formed a conspiracy to de- mand a council, and kill the Indian Agent and the commanding officer. If this was a fact, they had no opportimity, or wanted the spirit, to exe- cute their purpose. " The Flat Mouth's band Ungered in the fort till their wounded comrade died. He was sensi- ble of hLs condition, and bore his pains with great fortitude. When he felt his end approach, he desired that his horse might be gaily caparisoned, and brought to the hospital window, so that he might touch the animal. He then took from his medicine bag a large cake of maple sugar, and held it forth. It may seem strange, but it is true, that the beast ate it from his hand. His features were radiant with deUght as he fell back on the pillow exhausted. His horse had eaten the sugar, he said, and he was sure of a favorable reception and comfortable quarters in the other world. Half an hour after, he breathed his last. We tried to discover the debiUs of his superstition, but could not succeed. It is a subject on which Indians imwiUiugly discourse." In the fall of 1826, all the troops at Prairie du Chien had been removed to Fort Snelling, the commander taking with liim two Witmebagoes that had been confined in. Fort Crawford. After the soldiers left the Prairie, the Indians in the Nicinity were quite insolent. In June, 1827, two keel-boats passed Prairie du Chien on the way to Fort SneUing with provis- ions. When they reached Wapashaw village, on 100 EXPLOBEES AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA.. the site of the present town of Winona, the crew were ordered to come ashore by the Dalikotahs. Complying, they found themselves surrounded by Indians with hostile intentions. The boatmen had no fire-arms, but assuming a bold mien and a defiant voice, the captain of the keel-boats ordered the savages to leave the decks ; which was suc- cessful, The boats pushed on, and at Red Whig and Kaposia the Indians showed that they were not friendly, though they did not molest the boats. Before they started on their return from Fort Snelling, the men on board, amounting to thirty-two, were all provided with muskets and a barrel of ball cartridges. When the descending keel-boats passed Wapa- shaw, the Dahkotas were engaged m the war dance, and menaced them, but made no attack. Below this point one of the boats moved in ad- vance of the other, and when near the mouth of the Bad Axe, the half-breeds on board descried hostile Indians on the banks. As the channel neared the shore, the sixteen men on the first boat were greeted with the war whoop and a vol- ley of rifle balls from tlie excited Winnebagoes, killing two of the crew. Rushing into their ca- noes, the Indians made the attempt to board the boat, and two were successful. One of these stationed himself at the bow of the boat, and fired with killing effect on the men below deck. An old soldier of the last war with Great Britain, called Saucy Jack, at last despatched him, and began to rally the fainting spirits on board. Du- ring the fight the boat had stuck on a sand-bar. With four companions, amid a shower of balls from the savages, he plunged into the water and pushed off the boat, and tlius moved out of reacli of the galling shots of the Winnebagoes. As they floated down the river during the night, they heard a wail in a canoe behind them, the voice of a fatlier mouniiug the death of the son who had scaled the deck, and was now a corpse in possession of the white men. The rear boat passed the Bad Axe river late in the night, and escaped an attack. The first keel-boat arrived at Prairie du Chein, ■with t«-o of their crew dead, four wounded, and the Indian that had been killed on the boat. The two dead men had been residents of the Prairie, and now the panic was increased. On the morn- ing of the twenty-eighth of June the second keel -boat appeared, and among her passengers was Joseph Snelling, the talented son of the colonel, who wrote a story of deep interest, based on the facts narrated. At a meeting of the citizens it was resolved to repair old Fort Crawford, and Thomas McXair was aiipiiinted captain. Dirt was thrown around the bottem logs of the foitiflcation to prevent its being fired, and young Snelling was put in com- mand of one of the block-houses. On the next day a voyageur named Lover, and the well-known trader Duncan Graham, started through the in- terior, west of the Mississippi, with intelligence of the murders, to Fort Snelling. Intelligence of this attack was received at the fort, on the evening of the ninth of July, and Col. Snelling started in keel boats with four companies to Fort Crawford, and on the seventeenth four more companies left under Major Fowle. After an absence of six weeks, the soldiers, without firing a gun at the enemy, returned. A few weeks after the attack upon the keel boats General Gaines inspected the Fort, and, subsequently in a communication to the War Department wrote as follows ; " The main points of defence against an enemy appear to have been in some respects sacrificed, in the effort to secure the comfort and conven- ience of troops in peace. These are important considerations, but on an exposed frontier the primary object ought to be security against the attack of an enemy. " The buildings are too laige, too numerous, and extending over a space entirely too great, enclosing a large parade, five times greater than is at all desireable in that climate. The build- ings for the most part seem well constructed, of good stone and other materials, and they contain every desirable convenience, comfort and securi- ty as barracks and store houses. " The work may be rendered very strong and adapted to a garrison of two himdred men by re- moving one-lialf the buildings, and with the ma- terials of which they are constructed, building a tower sufficiently high to command the hill be- tween the Mississippi and St. Peter's [Minnesota], and by a block hou.se on the extreme point, or brow of the cliff, near the commandanfs quarters, to secure most effectually the banks of the river, and the boats at the landing. BEATH OF COL. JOSIAH SNELLING. 101 "^Much cret'.it i; due to Colonel Snelliiig, his officers and men, for their immense labors and excellent workmanship exhiliited in the construc- tion of these barracks and store houses, but this has been effected too much at the expense of the discipline of the regiment." From reports made from 1823 to 1826, the health of the troops was good. In the year ending Sep- tember thirty, 1823, there were but two deaths ; HI 1824 only six, and in 1825 but seven. In 182 J tliere were three desertions, in 1824 twenty-two, and in 1825 twenty-nine. Most of the deserters were fresh recruits and natives of America, Ten of the deserters were foreigners, and five of these were born in Ireland. In 182(3 there were eight companies numbering two hun- dred and fourteen soldiers quartered in the Fort- During the fall of 1827 the Fifth Regiment was relieved by a part of the First, and the next year Colonel Snelling proceeded to Washington on bus- iness, where he died with inflammation of the brain. JNIajor General Macomb announcing his death in an order, wrote : " Colonel Snelling joined the army in early youth. In the battle of Tippecanoe, he was distinguished for gallantry and good conduct. Subsequently and during the whole late war with Great Britain, from the battle of Brownstown to the termination of the contest, he was actively employed in ttie field, with credit to himself, and honor to his country." 102 EXFLOIiERS AXl) PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTER XYII. OCCTTEREXCES IlSr THE TICrNlTT OF FORT SNELLrNG, CONTINTJED. Arrival of J. N. NicoUei— Marriage of James Wells— Nicollet's letter from Falls- of St. Anthouy— Perils of Martin MfU-od— Chippeivay trcacherj-— Sioux Re vcnge — Rum River and Stillwater batllrs— tlrog shops lu-iir the Fort. Oil the second of July 1836, the steamboat Sauit Peter landed siippUes, and among its passengers was the distinguished French as- tronomer, Jeau X. Xicollet (Xicokiy). ^Major Taliaferro on the twelfth of July, wrote; " Mr. Nicollet, on a visit to the post for scientilic research, and at present in my family, has shown me the late work of Henry R. Schoolcraft on the discovery of the source of the Mississippi ; which claim is ridiculous in the extreme." On the twenty-seventh, Nicollet ascended the Mississippi on a tour of observation. James Wells, a trader, who afterwards was a member of the legislature, at the house of Oliver Cratte, near the fort, was married on the twelfth of September, by Agent Taliaferro, to Jane, a daughter of Duncan (Jraham. Wells was killed in 1862, by the Sioux, at the time of the massacre in the IMinnesota Valley. Nicollet in September returned from his trip to Leech Lake, and on the twenty-seventh wrote the following to Major TaUaferro the Indian Agent at the fort, which is supposed to be the earliest letter extant written from the site of the city of Minneapolis. As the principal hotel and one of the finest avenues of that city bears his name it is worthy of preservation. He spelled his name sometimes Nicoley. and the pronuncia- tion in English, would be Nicolay, the same as if written Nicollet in French. The letter shows that he had not mastered the English language": " St. Anthony's Falls, 27th September, 183(i. Dear Frieni) :— I anived last evening about dark; all well, nothing lost, nothing broken, happy and a veiy successful journey. But I done exhausted, and nothing can relieve me, but the pleasure of meeting you again under your hospitable roof, and to see all the friends of th" garrisou who have been so kind to me. " This letter is more particularly to give you a very extraordinary tide. Flat ilouth, the chief of Leech Lake and suite, ten in number are with me. The day before yesterday I met them again at Swan river where they detained me one day. I had to bear a new harangue and gave answer. All termhiated by tlieu" own resolution that they ought to give you the hand, as well as to the Guinas of the Fort (Colonel Da.enport.) I thought it my duty to acquaint you with it be- forehand. Peace or war are at stake of the visit they p;iy you. Please give them a good welcome until I liave reported to you and Colonel Daven- port all that has taken place dui'iug my stay among the Pillagers. But be assured I have not trespassed and that I have behaved as would have done a good citizen of tlie U. S. As to Schoolcraft's statement alluding to you, you will have full and complete satisfaction from Flat Mouth himself. In haste, your friend, J. N. Nicoley.'" events of a. d. 1837. On the seventeenth of March, 1837, there ar- rived ilartin !McLcod, who became a prominent citizen of Minnesota, and the legislature has given his name to a county. He left the Red River country on snow shoes, with two companions, one a Polander and the other an Irishman named Ilays, and Pierre Bot~ tiueau as interpreter. Being lost in a violent snow storm the Pole and Irishman perished. He and his guide, Bottineau, lived for a time on the llesh of one of their dogs. After being twenty- six days without seeing any one, the sm'vivors reached the trading post of Joseph R. Brown, at Lake Tra\erse, and from thence they came to the fort. events of a. d. 1838. In the month of April, eleven Sioux were slain in a dastanlly manner, by a party of Ojibways, INDIAN BATTLES AT RUM PdVER AND STILLWATER. 103 under the noted and elder Hole-in-the-Day. The Chippeways feigned the warmest friendship, and at dark lay down in the teuts by the side of the Sioux, and in the night sUeutly arose and killed them. The oceirrrence took place at the Chippe- way River, about thirty miles from Lac qui Parle, and the next day tlie Eev. G. H. Pond, the Indian missionary, accompanied by a Sioux, \.ent out and buried the mutilated and scalpless bodies. Ou the second of August old IIole-in-the-Day, and some Ojil)ways, came to the fort. They stopped first at the cabin of Peter Quinn, whose wife was a half-breed Chippeway, about a mile from the fort. The missiouary, Samuel W. Pond, told tlie agent that tlie Sioux, of Lake Callioun were aroused, and on their way to attack the Chippe- ways. The agent quieted them for a time, but two of the relatives of those slain at Lac qui Parle m April, hid tliemselves nearQuimi's house, and as Hole-iu-the-Day and his associates were pass- ing, they fired and killed one Chippeway and wounded another. Obequette, a Cliippeway from Bed Lake, succeded, however, in shooting a Sioux while he was in the act of scalping his comrade. The Chippeways were brought within the fort as soon as possible, and at nine o'clock a Sioux was confined in the guard-house as a hostage. Notwithstanding the murdered Chippeway had been buried m the graveyard of the fort for safety, an attempt was made on the part of some of the Sioux, to dig it up. On the evening of the sbctli. Major Plympton sent the Chippeways across the river to the east side, and ordered them to go home as soon as possible. EVENTS OF A. r>. 1839. On the twentieth day of June the elder IIole- in-the-Day arrived from tlie Upper Mississippi with several hundred Chippeways. Upon their return homeward tlie ^Mississippi and Mille Lacs band encamped the first night at the F.alls of Sauit Anthony, and some of the Sioux visited them and smoked the pipe of peace. On the second of July, aljout simrise, a son-in- law of the chief of the Sioux band, at Lake Cal- houn, named Meekaw or Badger, was killed and scalped by two Chippeways of the Pillager band, relatives of him who lost liis lifp near Patrick QiuHn's the year before. The excitement was intense among the Sioux, and immediately war parties started in pursuit. IIole-in-the-Day's band was not sought, but the Mille Lacs and Saint Croix Chippeways. The Lake Callioun Sioux, with those from the villages on the ^Minnesota, assembled at the i'alls of Saint Anthony, and on the morning of the fourth of July, came up with the Mille Lacs Chippeways on Rum Kiver, before sunrise. Not long after the war whoop was raised and the Sioux attacked, killing and woimding ninety. The Kaposia band of Sioux piu'sued the Saint Croix Chippeways, and on the third of July found them in tlie Penitentiary ravine at Stillwater, under the influence of whisky. Aitkin, the old trader, was with them. The sight of the Sioux tended to make them sober, but in the fight twenty-one were killed and twenty-nine were wounded. Whisky, during the year 1839, was freely in- troduced, m the face of tlie law prohibiting it. The first boat of the season, the Ariel, came to the fort on the fourteenth of April, and brought twenty barrels of whisky for Joseph R. Brown, and on the twenty-first of May, the Glaucus brought six barrels of liquor for David Faribault. On the thirtieth of June, some soldiers went to Joseph R. Brov^i's groggery on the opposite side of the Mississippi, and that night forty - seven were in the guard-house for drunkenness. The demoralization then existing, led to a letter by Smgeon Emerson on duty at the fort, to the Sur- geon General of the United States army, in which he writes : " Tlie whisky is brought here by citizens who are pourmg m upon us and settling themselves on the opposite shore of the Mississippi river, in defiance of our worthy commanding officer. Major J. Plympton, whose authority they set at nauglit. At this moment there is a citizen named Brown, once a soldier in the Fifth Infantry, who was discharged at this post, while Colonel Siielling commanded, and wiio has been since employed by the Ameri- can Fur Company, actually buUdmg on the land marked out by the land officers as the reserve, and mthm gunshot distance of the fort, a very expensive whisky shop." 104 EXPLORBBS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTER XVIII. IKDIAN TKIBES IX MINNESOTA AT THE TIME OF ITS OUQANIZATION. Sioux or Dahkot;ih pcoplo— Meaning' of words Sioux and Daliki't;ili— IvJirly villages — Residcuce of Sioux in Z84&-Tiie Winnelmgoes— The Ojibways or Chippeways. The three Indian nations who dwelt in tliis region after the organization of ilinnesota, were the Sioux or Dalil-cotalis; the Ojibways or Chip- peways ; and the Ho-tchun-graws or Winneba- gees. SIOUX on DAHKOTAHS. Tliey are an entirely different gronp from tlie Algonquin and Iroquois, who were found by the early settlers of the Atlantic States, on the banks of the Connecticut, Mohawk, and Susquehanna Rivers. A\'hen the Dahkotahs were first noticed by the European adventurers, large numbers were occu- pying the Mille Lacs region of country, and appro- priately called by the voyageur, "People of the Lake," "Gens du Lac." And tradition asserts that here was the ancient centre of this tribe. Though we have traces of their warring and hunting on the shores of Lake Superior, there is no satisfactory evidence of their residence, east of the Mille Lacs region, as they have no name for Lake Superior. The word Dahkotah, by which they love to be designated, signifies allied or joined together in friendly compact, and is equivalent to " E pluri- bus unum," the motto on the seal of the United States. In the liistory of the mission at La Pointe, Wisconsin, published nearly two centuries ago, a a writer; referring to the Dahkotahs, remarks : "For sixty leagues from the extremity of the Upper Lake, toward sunset ; and, as it were in the centre of the western nations, they have all unilcd their force by a general league.'' The Dahkotahs in the earliest documents, and even until the present day, are called Sioux, Scioux, or Soos. The name originated with the early voy- ageurs. For centuries the Ojibways of Lake Superior waged war against the Dahkotahs; and, whenever they spoke of them, ciiUed them Xado- waysioux, which signifies enemies. The French traders, to avoid exciting the atten- tion of Indians, while conversing in their pres- ence, were accustomed to designate them by names, which would not be recognized. The Dahkotahs were nicknamed Sioux, a word composed of the two last syllables of the O jib way word for foes Under the influence of the French traders, the eastern Sioux began to wander from the Mille Lacs region. A trading post at 0-ton-we-kpa- dan, or Rice Creek, above the Falls of Saint Anthony, induced some to erect their summer dwellings and plant corn there, which took the place of wild rice. Those who dwelt here were called Wa-kpa-a-ton-we-dan Those v/ho dwell on the creek. Another division was known as the lila-tan-ton-wan. Less than a hundred years ago, it is said that the eastern Sioux, pressed by the Chippeways, and influenced by traders, moved seven miles above Fort SnelUng on the Minnesota River. JIED-DAY-WAII-KAWX-TWAWXS. In IS-tO there were seven villages of Med-day- wah-kawn-twawn Sioux. (1) Below Lake Pepin, where the city of Winona is, was the village of Wapashaw. This band was called Kee-yu-ksa, because with them blood. relations intermariied. Bounding or Whipping Wind was the chief. (2) At the head of Lake Pepin, under a lofty bluff, was the Red \Ving village, called Ghay-mui-chan Hill, wood and water. Shooter was the name of the chief. (3) Opposite, and a little below the Pig's Eye Marsh, was the Kaposia band. The word, Kapoja means light, given Vieeause these people are quick travelers. His Scarlet People, better known as Little Crow, was the chief, and isnotoi'ious as the leader in the massacre of 1862. On the Minnesota River, on the south side NOTICE OF THE HOTCHUNGIiA IFS, OR WINNEBAGOES. 105 a few miles above Fort Snelling, was Black Dog village. The inhabitants were called, Ma-ga-yu- tay-shnee. People who do not a geese, be- cause they touud it profitable to sell game at Fort Snelling. Grey Iron was the chief, also known as Pa-ma-ya-yaw, My head aches. At Oak Grove, on the north side of the river, eight miles above the fort, was (5) Hay-ya-ta-o- ton-wan, or Inland Village, so called because they formerly lived at Lake Calkoun. Contigu- ous was (6) 0-ya-tay-shee-ka, or Bad People, Known as Good Roads Band and (7) the largest village was Tin-ta-ton-wan, Prairie Village ; Shokpay, or Six, was tlie chief, and is now the &ite of the to^\'n of Shakopee. West of this division of the Sioux were— WAR-PAY-KU-TAY. The War-pay-ku-tay, or leaf shooters, who occupied the country south of the ^linnesota around the sources of the Cannon and Blue Earth Kivers. WAH-PAY-TWAWNS. North and west of the last were the War-pay- tw'awns, or People of the Leaf, and their princi- pal village was Lac qui Parle. They numbered about fifteen hundred. SB-SEE-TWAWNS. To the west and southwest of these bands of Sioux were the Se-see-twawns (Sissetoans), or Swamp Dwellers. This band claimed the land west of the Blue Earth to the James River, and the guardianship of the Sacred Red Pipestone Quarry. Their principal village was at Traverse, and the number of the band was estimated at thirty-eight hundred. HO-TCHXIN-GRAWS, OR WINNEBAGOES. The Ho-tchun-graws, or Wiunebagoes, belong to the Dahkotah family of aljorigines. Cham- plain, although he never visited them, mentions them. Nicollet, who had been in his employ, visited Green Bay about the year 1635, and an early Relation mentifins that he saw the Ouiiii- pegous, a people called so, because they came from a distant sea, which some French erron- eously called Puants. Another writer speak- ing of these people says: "This people are called ' Les Puants ' not because of any bad odor peculiar to them, but because they claim to have come from the shores of a far distant lake, towards the north, whose waters are salt. They call themselves the people ' de Teau puants,' of the putrid or bad water." By the treaty of 1«37 they were removed to Iowa, and by another treaty in October, 1846, they came to Minnesota in the spring of 1848, to the country between the Long Prairie, and Crow Wing Rivers. The agency was located on Long Prairie River, forty miles from the Mississippi, and in 1849 the tribe numbered about twenty-five hundred souls. In February 1855, another treaty was made with them, and that spring they removed to lands on the Blue Earth River. Owing to the panic caused by the outbreak of the Sioux in 1862, Con gress, by a special act, without consulting them, in 1863, removed them from their fields in Min- nesota to the Missouri River, and in the words of a missionary, "they were, like the Sioux, diunped in the desert, one hundred miles above Fort Randall" OJIBWAY OR CHIPPEWAY NATION. The Ojibways or Leapers, when the French came to Lake Superior, had their chief settlement at Sault St. Marie, and were called by the French Saulteurs, and by the Sioux, Hah-ha-tonwan, Dwellers at the Falls or Leaping Waters. When Du Luth erected his trading post at the western extremity of Lake Superior, they had not obtained any foothold in Minnesota, and were constantly at war with their hereditary enemes, the Nadouaysioux. By the middle of the eighteenth century, they had pushed in and occu- pied Sandy, Leech, Mille Lacs and other points between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, which had been dwelling places of the Sioux. In 1S20 the principal villages of Ojibways in Minnesota were at Fond du Lac, Leech Lake and Sandy Lake. In 1837 they ceded most of their lands. Since then, other treaties have been made, until in the year 1881, they are confined to a few res- ervations, in northern Minnesota and vicinity. lOti EXrLOUERS AKD PIOKEEBS OF MINXESOTA. CHAPTER XIX. EAKLY BIISSIONS AMONG THE OJIBWAYS AND DARKOTAHS OF JtlNlfESOTA. jMuit Minions not jwrmantnt— Presbjrterian Minion at Mackinaw— Visit of Rev A. Coc an*teri;mChiircl> at Fort Sneliing- Mission at Lake Harriet— Mourn. ing for the Dead— Church at Lac-qui parte— Father lUvoux— Mission at Uke PokeRunia — Attack by the Sioux — Chippewoy att.ick at Pig's Eye— Death of Rev. Sherman Hall — Methodist Missions Rev. S. W. Pond prepares a Sioux Grammar and Dictionary Swiss Presbyterian Ui&sion. Bancroft the distinguished historian, catching the enthusiasm of the narratives of the early Jesuits, depicts, in language which glows, tiieir missions to the Xortlnvest; yet it is erroneous to suppose that the Jesuits exercised any perma- nent influence on the Aborigines. Shea, a devoted memlter of the Koman Catho- lic Clnirch. in his History of American CatlioUc Missions writes : " In 1680 Father Engalrau was apparently alone at Green Bay, and Pierson at Mackinaw. Of the other missions neither Le- Clerq nor Ilenuepin, the Recollect writers of the West at this time, make any mention, or in any way allude to their existence." lie also says that "Father .Menard had projected a Sioux mission ; Marqiiette, Allouez, Druilletes, all en- tertained hopes of lealizing it, and had some intercourse with that nation, but none of them ever succeeded in establishing a mission." Father Hemiejiin wrote: " Can it be possible, that, that pretended prodigious amount of savage converts could escape the sight of a multitude of French Canadians who travel every year? * * * * How comes it to pass that these churches so devout and so mimerous, should be invisible, when I passed through so many countries and nations V " After the American Fur Company was formed, the island of Mackinaw became the residence of the princijial agent for the Northwest, Robert Stuart a Scotchman, and devoted Presbyterian. In the month of June, 1820, the Rev. Dr. Morse, father of the distinguished inventor of the telegraph, visited and pi-eached at Mackinaw, and in consequence of statements published by j him, upon his return, a Presbyterian ^Missionary Society in the state of Xew York sent a graduate of Union College, the Rev. W. M. Ferry, father of the present United States Senator from Michi- gan, to explore the field. In 1823 he had estab- lished a large boarding school composed of children of various tribes, and here some were educated who became wives of men of intelli- gence and influence at the capital of Minnesota. After a few years, it was determined by the Mission Board to modify its plans, and in the place of a great central station, to send mission- aries among the several tribes to teach and to preach. In pursuance of this ])olicy, the Rev. Alvan Coe, and J. D. Stevens, then a licentiate who had been engaged in the Mackinaw- ilission, made a tour of exploration, and arrived on September 1, 1829, at Fort Snelling. In the journal of Major Lawrence Taliafeno, wliich is in possession of the Jliiniesota Historical Society, is the following entry : " The Rev. Mr. Coe and Steveus reported to he on their way to this post, members of the Presbyterian church looking out for suitable places to make mission- ary establishment for the Sioux and Chippeways, found scliools, and instruct in the arts and agri- cultTU'e.'' The agent, although not at that time a commu- nicant of the Church, welcomed these visitors, and afforded them every facility in visiting the " Indians. Oii Sunday, the Gth of Septemlier, the Rev. Mr. Coe preached twice in the fort, and the next night hcUl a prayer meeting at the quartere of the commimiling oilicer. On the next Sunday he preached again, and on the 14th, with Mr. Stevens and a hired guide, returned to Mackinaw by way of the St. Croix river. Duruig this visit the agent offered for a Presbyterian mission the mill which then stood on the site of Minneapolis, and had been erected by the government, as well as FORMATION OF THE WORD ITA8KA. 107 the farm at Lake Callioiin, which was begun to teach the Sioiix agriculture. CHIPPEWAT MISSIONS. In 1830, r. Ayer, one of the teachers at ilack- iiiaw, made an exploration as far as La Pointe, and returned. Upon the 30th day of August, 1831, a Macki- naw boat about forty feet long arrived at La Pointe, bringing from INIackinaw the principal trader, Mr. Warren, Rev. Sherman Hall and wife, and !Mr. Frederick Ayer, a catechist and teacher. Mrs. Hall attracted great attention, as she was the first white woman who had visited that region. Sherman Hall was born on April 30, 1801, at "Wethersfield, Vermont, and in 1828 graduated at Dartmouth College, and completed his theological studies at Andover, Massachu- setts, a few weeks before he journeyed to the Indian country. His classmate at Dartmouth and Andover, the Eev W. T. Boutwell still living near Stillwater, became his yoke-fellow-, but remained for a time at Mackinaw, which they reached about the mid- dle of July. In June, 1832, Henry E. School- craft, the head of an explorhig expedition. Invited ilr. Boutwell to accompany him to the sources of the Mississippi. Wlien the expedition reached Lac la Biche or Elk Lake, on 5\\\y 13, 1832, ilr. Schoolcraft, who was not a Latin scholar, asked the Latin word for > sixtli of May, 1834, happened to be on a visit to Fort SnelUng. While there a steamboat arrived, and among the passengers were two young men, brothers, natives of Waslungtoii, Connecticut, Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond, who had come, constrained by the love of Christ, and without con- ferring with flesh and blood, to try to improve the Sioux. Samuel, the older brother, the year before, had talked with a liquor seller in Galena, Illinois, who had come from the Red River country, and the desire was awakened to help the Sioux ; and he wrote to his brother to go with him. The Rev. Samuel AV. Pond still lives at Shako- pee, in the old mission house, the first building of sawed lumber erected in the vaUey of the Minne- sota, above Fort Suelling. MISSIONS AMONG THE SIOUX A. D. 1835. About this period, a native of South Carolina, a graduate of .Jeilerson CoUege, Pennsylvania, the Rev. T. S. Williamson, M. D., who previous to his ordination had been a respectaljle physi- cian in Ohio, was appointed by the American Board of Foreign Missions to \dsit the Dahkotahs with the view of ascertaining what could be done to introduce Christian instruction. Having made inquiries at Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling, he reported tlie field was favorable. The Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, through their joint Missionary Society, appointed the following persons to labor in Minnesota : Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, M. D., missionary and physician ; Rev. J. D. Stevens, missionary ; ^Vlexander Huggins, farmer ; and their wives ; Miss Sarah Poage, and Lucy Stevens, teacliers; who were prevented during the year 1834, by the state of navigation, from entering upon their W'Ork. During the winter of 1834-3.5, a pious oflicer of the army exercised a good influence on his fellow oflicers and soldiers under his command. In the absence of a chaplain of ordained minis- ter, he, like General Ilavelock, of the British army in India, was accustomed not only to drill the soldiers, but to meet them in bis own quar- ters, and reason with them " of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." In the month of May, 1835, Dr. AVilliamson and mission band arrived at Fort Snelling, and 108 EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA. were hospitably received by tlie ollicers of tlie garrison, tlie Indian Agent, and Mr. Sibley, Agent of the Company at Mendota, who had been in the country a few mnnlbs. On tlie twenty-seventh of this month the T?ev. Dr. AN'illiamson united in marriage at the Fort Lieutenant Edward A. Ogden to Eliza Edna, the daughter of Captain G. A. Looniis, the tirst marriage service in which a clergyman officiated in the present State of Minnesota. On the eleventh of June a meeting was held at the Fort to organize a Presbj'terian Church, sixteen persons who had been communicants, and six who made a i)rofcssion of faith, one of whom was Lieutenant Ogden, were enrolled as members. Four elders were elected, among whom were Capt. Gustavus Loomis and Samuel W. Pond. The next day a lecture preparatory to administer- ing the communion, was delivered, and on Sun- day, the 14th, the first organized church in the Valley of the Upper Mississippi assembled for the first time in one of the Comi>any rooms of the Fort. Theservicesin the morning were conducted by Dr. AVilliamson. The afternoon service com- menced at 2 o'clock. The sermon of Mr. Stevens was upon a most appropriate text, 1st Peter, ii:2o ; "For ye were as slveep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." Afterthediscourse, the sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered. At a meeting of the Session on the thirty-first of July, Rev. J. D. Stevens, missionary, was in- vited to preach to the church, " so long as the duties of his mission will permit, and also to pre- side at all the meetings of the Session." Captain Gustavus Loomis was elected Stated Clerk of the Session, and they resolved to observe the monthly concert of prayer on the first Monday of each month, for the conversion of the world. Two points were selected by the missionaries as proper spheres of labor. Mr. Stevens and family proceeded to Lake Harriet, and Dr. \\'i\- liamson and family, in June, proceeded to Lac qui Parle. As there had never been a chaplain at Fort Snelhng, the Rev. J. D. Stevens, the missionary at Lake Harriet, preaclied on Sundays to tlie Presbyterian chiirch, there, recently organized. Writing on Jainiary twenty-seventh, 1836, he says, in relation to his field of labor: " Yesterday a portion of this band of Indians, who had been some time absent from this village, returneil. One of the niiinber (a woman) was informed that a brollier nl' liers had died during her absence. lie was not at this village, but with another band, and the information had just reached here. In the evening they set up a most piteous crying, or rather wailing, which con- tinued, with some little cessations, during the night. The sister of the deceased brotlierwould repeat, times Vi'ithout number, words which may be thus translated into English : ' Come, my brother, I shall see you no more for ever.' The night was extremely cold, the thermometer standing from ten to twenty below zero. About sunrise, next morning, preparation was made for lierfonniiig the ceremony of cutting their llesh, in (uder to give relief to their grief of mind. The snow was removed from the frozen ground over about as large a space as would lie recjuired to place a small Indian lodge or wigwam. In the centre a very small fire was kindled up, not to give warmth, apparently, but to cause a smoke. The sister of the deceased, who was the chief mourner, came out of her lodge followed by three other women, \\ho repaired to the place jirepared. They were all b.irefooted, and nearly naked. Here they set up a most bitter lamentii- tion and crying, mingling their waitings with the words before mentioned. The principal mourner commenced gashing or cutting her ankles and legs up to the knees with a sharp stone, until her legs were covered with gore and tlowuig blood ; then in like manner her arms, shoulders, and breast. The others cut themselves in the same way, but not so severely. On this poor infatuated A\-oman I presume there were more than a hun- dred long deep gashes in the flesh. I saw the operation, and the blood instantly followed the instrument, and flowed down upon the fiesh. She ajijieared frantic with grief. Through the pain of her wounds, the loss of blood, exhaustion of strength by fasting, loud and long-continued and bitter groans, or the extreme cold upon her al- most naked and lacerated body, she soon sunk ujion the frozen ground, shaking as with a violent fit of the ague, and writhing in apparent agony. 'Surely,' I exclaimed, as I beheld the bloody A ROMAN CATHOLIC .UIS.-^IONARY. 109 scene, 'the tender mercies of the heathen are cruelty!' '■ The Uttle church at the fort hegms to mani- fest sometliing of a missionary spirit Their con- tributions are considerable for so small a number. I hope they wiW not only be willmg to contribute liberally of their substance, but will give them- selves, at least some of them, to the missionary work. " The surgeon of the military post, Dr. Jarvis, has been very assiiluous in his attentions to )is in our sickness, and has very generously made a do- nation to our board of twenty-five dollars, being the amount of his medical services in our family. "On the nineteenth instant we commenced a school with six full Indian children, at least so m all their habits, dress, etc.; not one could speak a word of any language but Sioux. The school has since increased to the number of twenty-tive. I am now collecting and arranging words for a dic- tionary. Mr. Pond is assiduously employed in preparing a small spelling-book, which we may forward next mail for printing. On the fifteenth of September, 1836, a Presby- terian church was organized at Lac-qui-Parle, a branch of that in and near Fort Snelling, and Joseph Renville, a mixed blood of great influ- ence, became a communicant. He had been trained in Canada by a Roman Catholic priest, liut claimed the right of private judgment. Mr. Renville's wife was the lirst pure Dahkotiih of whom we have any record that ever joined the Church of Christ. This church has never become extinct, although its menibei's have been neces- sarily nomadic. After the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, it was removed to Ilazlewood. Driven from thence by the outln'eak of ISiii;, it has be- came the parent of other churches, in the valley of the upper Missouri, over one of which John Renville, a descendant of the elder at Lac-qui- Parle, is the T)astor. EOMAN CATHOLIC HIPSION ATTE3IPTED. Father Ravoux, recently from France, a sin- cere and earnest priest of the Church of Rome, came to Mendota in the autumn of 1841, and after a brief sojourn with the Rev. L. Galtier, who iiad erected Saint Paul's chapel, which has given the name of Saint Paul to the capital of Mimiesota, he ascended the Minnesota River and visited Lac-qui-Parle. Bishop Loras, of Dubuque, wrote the next year of his visit as follows : " Our yomig missionary, M. Ravoux, passed the winter on the banks of Lac-qui-Parle, vslthout any other support than Providence, without any other means of conver- sion than a burning zeal, he has wrought in the space of six months, a happy revolution among the Sioux. From the time of his arrival he has been occupied night and day in tlie study of tlieir language. ***** "When he instructs the savages, he speaks to them with so much fire whilst showing them a large copper crucifix which he carries on his breast, that he makes the strong- est impression upon them." The impression, however was evanescent, and he soon retired from the field, and no more efforts were made in this direction by the Churcli of Rome. This young Mr. Ravoux is now the highly respected vicar of the Roman Catholic diocese of JMinnesota, and justly esteemed for his simpUcity and unobtrusiveness. CHIPPEWAY MISSIONS AT POKEGTTMA. Pokegnma is one of the " ISIille Lacs," or thou- sand beautiful lakes for which Minnesota is re- markable. It is about four or five miles In extent , and a mile or more in width. This lake is situated on Snake River, about twenty miles above the junction of that stream vrith the St. Croix. In the year 1836, missionaries came to reside among the Ojibways and Pokeguma, to promote their temporal and spiritual welfare. Their mis- sion house was biult on the east side of the lake ; but the Indian village was on an island not far from the shore. In a letter written in 1837, we find the fol- lowing: "The young women and girls now make, mend, wash, and iron after our man- ner. The men have learned to build log houses, drive team, plough, hoe, and handle an American axe with some skill ui cutting large trees, the size of which, two years ago, W(jnld have afforded them a sufficient reason why they should not med- dle with them." In May, 1841, Jeremiah Russell, who was In- dian farmer, sent two Chippeways, accompanied by Elam Greeley, of Stillwater, to the Falls of Saint Croix for supplies. On Saturday, the fifteenth of the month they arrived there, and no £!X-J'LUliEliS A XI) PIOKEEIiS OF MIXXESOTA. the next day a steamboat came up with the goods. The captain said a war party of Sioux, headed by Little Crow, was advancinj;, and the two Chippeways prepared to go back and were their friends. They had hardly left the Falls, on their re- turn, before they saw a party of Dalikotahs. The sentinel of the enemy liad not noticed the ai> proach of tlie young men. lu the twinkling of an eye, these two young Ojibways raised their guns, fired, and killed two of Little t'row"s sons. The discharge of the guns revealed to a sentinel, that an enemy was near, and as the Ojibways were retreating, he fired, and mortally wounded one of the two. According to custom, the corpses of the chiefs sons were dressed, and then set up with their faces towards the coimtry of their ancient ene- mies. Tlie woiuided Ojibway was horribly mangled by the infuriated party, and his limbs strewn about in every direction. His scalped head was placed in a kettle, and suspended in front of the two Dahkotah corpses. Little Crow, disheartened by the loss of his two boys, returned with liis party to Kaposia. But other parties were in the field. It was not till Friday, the twenty-first of May, that the death of one of the young Ojiliways sent by Mr. Russell, to the Falls oi Saint Croix. was knowni at Pokeguma. Mr. Russell on the next Sunday, accompanied by Captain AVilliam Ilolcoml) and a half-breed, went to the mission station to attend a religious service, and while crossing the lake in returning, the half-breed said that it was rumored that tlie Sioux were approaching. On jSIonday, the twen- ty-fourth, three young men left in a canoe to go to the west shore of the lake, and from tlience to Mille l^acs, to give intelligence to the Ojibways there, of the .skirmish that had already occm-red. They took with them two Indian girls, about twelve years of age, who were pupils of the mis- sion school, for the purpose of bringing the canoe back to the island. Just as the three were land- ing, twenty or thirty Dahkotah warriors, with a war whoop emerged from their concealment be- liiud the trees, and fired into the canoe. The young men instantly siirang into the water, which was shallow, returned the fire, and ran into the woods, escaping without material injury. The little girls, in their fright, waded into the lake ; but- were pursued. Tlieir i)arents upon the i.sland, heard the death cries of their children. Some of tlie Indians around the mission-house jumped into their canoes and gained the islaml. Others went into some fortified log huts. The attack upon the canoe, it was afterwards learned, was premature. The party upon that side of the lake were ordered not to fire, until the party stationed in the woods near the mission began. There were in all one hundred and eleven Dahkotah warriors, and all the fight was in the vicinity of tlie mission-house, and the Ojibways mostly engaged in it were those who had been under religious uistniction. The rest were upon the island. Tlie fiUhers of the nuuxlered girls, burning for revenge, left the island in a canoe, and drawing it up on the shore, hid behind it, and fired upon the Dalikotahs and killed one. The Dalikotahs advancing upon them, they were obliged to escape. The canoe was now launched. One lay on his back in the bottom; the other plunged into the water, and, holding the canoe with one hand, and swimming with the other, he towed his friend out of danger. The Dalikotahs, in- furiated at their escajie, fired volley after volley at the swimmer, but he escaped tlie balls by putting his head under water whenever he Siiw them take aim, and waiting till he heard the discharge, he would then look up and breathe. After a fight of two hours, the Dalikotahs re- treated, with a loss of two men. At the request of the parents, ^Ir. E. F. Ely, from whose notes the writer ha? obtained these facts, be- ing at that time a teaclier at the mission, went across the lake, with two of his friends, to gather the remains of his murdered pupils. lie found the corpses on the shore. The heads cut off and scalped, with a tomahawk buried in the brains of each, were set up in the sand near the bodies. The bodies were pierced in the breast, and tUe right arm of one was taken away. Re- moving the tomahawks, the bodies were brought back to the i.sland, and in the afternoon were buried in accordance with the simple but solemn riles of the Church of Christ, by members of the SIOUX MISSIONABIES BEFOBE THE TBEATIES. Ill The sequel to this stoiy is soon told. The In- dians of Pokeguma, after the fight, deserted their vilhige, and went to reside with their coimtrymen near Lake Superior. In July of tlie following year, 1842, a war party was formed at Fond du Lac, about forty in num- ber, and proceeded towards the Dahkotah country. Sneaking, as none but Indians can, they arrived luuioticed at the httle settlement below Saint Paul, commonly called "Pig's Eye," which is opposite to what was Kaposia, or Little Crow's village. Finding an Indian woman at work in the garden of her husband, a Canadian, by the name of Gamelle, they killed her ; also another woman, with her infant, whose head was cut off. The Dahkotalis, on the opposite side, were mostly intoxicated ; and, flying across in their canoes but half prepared, they were worsted in the en- coimter. They lost thirteen warriors, and one of their number, known as the Dancer, the O jib- ways are said to have skinned. Soon after this the Chippeway missions of the St. Croix Valley were abandoned. In a little while Rev. Mr. Boutwell removed to the vicinity of Stillwater, and the missionaries, Ayer and Spencer, went to Bed Lake and other points in ^linnesota. In 1853 the Rev. Sherman Hall left the Indians and became pastor of a Congregational church at Sauk Rapids, where he recently died. METHODIST MISSIONS. la 1837 the Rev. A. Bnmson commenced a Methodist mission at Kaposia, about four miles below, and opposite Saint Paul. It was afterwards removed across the river to Red Rock. He was assisted by the Rev. Thomas W. Pope, and the latter was succeeded by the Rev. J. Ilolton. The Rev. ]\Ir. Spates and others also labored for a brief period among the Ojibways. fRESBYTEKIAN inSSIONS CONTINTJBD. At ihe stations the Dahkotah language was dil- igently studied. Rev. S. W. Pond had prepared a dictionary of three thousand words, and also a small grammar. The Rev. S. R. Riggs, who joined the mission in 1837, in a letter dated February 24, 1841, wiites : " Last summer after returnuig from Fort SneUtng, 1 spent five weeks in copying again the Sioux vocabulary which \vc had collected and arranged at this sta- tion. It contained then about 5500 words, not includmg the various forms of the verbs. Since that time, the words collected by Dr. Williamson and myself, have, I presume, increased the num- ber to sis thousand. ***** In this con- nection, I may mention that during the winter of 1839-40, Mrs. Riggs, with some assistance, wrote an English and Sioux vocabulary containing about three thousand words. One of Mr. Ren- ville's sons and three of his daughters are en- gaged in copying. In committing the grammati- cal principles of the language to ■WTiting, we have done something at this station, but more has been done by Mr. S. W. Pond." Steadily the numlier of Indian missionaries increased, and in 1851, before the lands of the Dahkotahs west of the Mississippi were ceded to the whites, they were disposed as follows by the Dahkotah Presbytery. Lac-qid-parle, Rev. S. R. Riggs, Rev. M. N. Adams, Missionaries, Jonas Pettijohn, Mrs. Fanny Pettijohn, Mrs. ilary Ann Riggs, Mrs. Mary A. M. Adams, Miss Sarah Rankin, .!.•?- sistants. Traverse cks Sioux, Rev. Robert Hopkins, J/(.s- sionary; Mrs. Agnes Hopkins, Alexander G. Huggins, Mrs. Lydia P. Huggins, Assistants. Shttl-paij, or Shokjxty, Rev. Samuel W. Pond, Missionary ; Mrs. Sarah P. Pond, Assistant. Oak Grove, Rev. Gideon H. Pond and wife. Kaposia, Rev. Thomas "Williamson, M. D., Missionary and Physician; Mrs. Margaret P. Williamson, Miss Jane S. Williamson, Assistants. Bed Wing, Rev. John F. Alton, Rev. Joseph W. Hancock, Missionaries; Mrs. Nancy H. Alton, Mrs. Hancock, Assistants. The Rev. Daniel Gavin, the Swiss Presbyte- rian Missionary, spent the winter of 1839 in Lac- qui-Parle and was afterwards married to a niece of the Rev. J. D. Stevens, of the Lake Harriet Mission. Mr. Stevens became the farmer and teacher of the Wapashaw band, and the tirtt white man who lived where the city of Winona has been built. Another missionary from Switz- erland, the Rev. Mr. Denton, manied a iliss Skiinier, formerly of the Mackinaw mission. During a portion of the year 1839 these Swiss missionaries lived wth the American mission- aries at camp Cold Water near Fort Snelling, but their chief field of labor was at Red Wing. UJ EXl'LOliEIta ASD riUNEEUa OF MINNESOTA. CnAPTER XX. TKEAD OF PIONEERS IN THE SAINT CIIOIX VALLEY AND ELSEWnSllE. Oriifiu of the name Saint Croix— Dii Luth, (Iret Explorer— Frendi Post on the Si. Croix— Pitt, un cm-iy pioneer— Early Kettlent at Saint Croix Falli— First women there— Marine Settlement — Joseph R. Brown's town site— Saint Croix County orKanized— Proprietors of Stillwater— A dead Negro woman— Pig's Eye. orintn of name -Kise of Saint Paul -Dr. Williamson seeures llr^t school leather for Saint Paul— Detcription of first sehool r>K>m— Saint Croix County re.organized — Rev. W. T. Boutwell, pioneer clergyman. The Saint Croix river, according to Le Sueur, named after a Frencliman who was drowned at its mouth, was one of tlie earliest throughfares from Lake Superior to tlie ^Mississippi. The first wliite man who directed canoes upon its waters was Du Lutli, who had in 1679 explored Minne- sota. He thus describes liis tour in a letter, first published by Harrisse : " In June, 1680, not be- ing satisfied, with having made my discovery by land, I took two canoes, with an Indian who was my inteiiJieter, and four Frenelimen, to seek means to make it by water. With this view I entered a river which empties eight leagues from the extremity of Lake Superior, on the south side, where, after having cut some trees and broken about a hundred beaver dams, I reached the upper waters of the said river, r.nd then I made a portage of half a league to reach a lake, the outlet which fell into a very fine river, which took l e down into the Mississippi. Tliere I learned from eight cabins of Xadouecioux that the Kev. Father Louis lleiine))iu, Uecollect, now at the convent of Saint (Jermain, with two other Frenchmen had been robbed, and carried off as slaves for' more than three hundred leagues by the I>radouecioux themselves." He then relates how he left two Frenchmen with his goods, and went with his interpreter and two Frenchmen in a canoe down the Mississippi, and after two days and two nights, found Henne- pin, Accault and Augelle. He told Hennepin that he must return with him through the country of the Fox tribe, and writes : "I preferred to re- trace my steps, manifesting to them [the Sioux] the just indignation I felt against them, rather than to remain after the violence they had done to the Rev. Father and the other two Frenchmen with him, whom I put in my canoes and brought them to Michiliraackinack." After this, the Saint Croix river became a chan nel for commerce, and ]5ellin writes, that lieforo 17.5-5, the French had erected a fort forty leagues from its mouth and twenty from Lake Superior. The pine forests between the Saint Croix and Minnesota had been for several years a tempta- tion to energetic men. As early as November, 1836, a >Ir. Pitt went with a boat and a party of men to the Falls of Saint Croix to cut pine tim- ber, with the consent of the Chippeways but the dissent of the United States authorities. In 1837 while the treaty was being made by Com- missioners Dodge and Smith at Fort Snelling, on one Sunday Franklin Steele, Dr. Fitch, Jeremiah Russell, and.a Mr. Maginnis left Fort Snelling f(U' the Falls of Saint Croix in a birch bark canoe paddled by eight men, and reached that point about noon on Monday aud comincuced a log cabin. Steele and Jlajfiunis remained here, while the others, dividing into two parties, one under Fitch, and the other under Russell, search- ed for pine land. The first stopped at Sun Rise, while Russel went on to the Snake Iliver. About the same time Rol)binet and Jesse B. Taylor came to the Falls in the interest of B. F. Baker who had a stone trading house near Fort Snelling, since destro) ed by fire. On the fifteenth of July, 1838, the Palmyra, Capt. Holland, arrived at the Fort, with the official notice of the ratifica- tion of the treaties ceding the lands between the Saint Croix and Mississippi. She had on board C. A. Tuttle, L. AV. Stratton and others, with the machinery for the projected mills of the Northwest Lumlier Company at the Falls of Saint Croix, and reached that point on the seventeenth, the first steamboat to disturb the waters above Lake Saint Croix. The steamer Gypsy came to the fort on the twenty-first of WOuM£N I]}i THE VALLEY OF THE SAINT CROIX. 113 October, with goods for the Chippeways, and was chartered for four hundred and fifty dollars, to carry them up to the Falls of Saint Croix. In passuig througli the lake, the boat grounded near a projected town called Stambaughville, after S. C. Stambaugh, the sutler at the fort. On the afternoon of the 26th, the goods were landed, as stipulated. Tlie agent of the Improvement Company at the falls was Washington Libbey, who left in the fall of 1838, and was succeeded by Jeremiah Russell, Stiatton acting as millwright in place of Calvin Tuttle. On the twelfth of December, Eussell and Strattoii walked down the river, cut the first tree and built a cabin at ilariue, and sold their claim. The first women at the Falls of Saint Croix were a Mrs. Orr, Mrs. Sackett, and the daughter of a Mr. Yoimg. During the winter of ls:'>.S-9, Jere- miah Russell married a daughter of a respectable and gentlemanly trader, Charles II. Oakes. Among the first preachers were the Rev. W. T. Boutwell and ilr. Seymour, of the Chippeway Mission at Pokeguma. The Rev. A. Brunson, of Prairie du Chieu, who visited this region in 1838, wrote that at the mouth of Snake River he four.d Franklin Steele, with twenty-five or thirty men, cutting timber for a mill, and when he offered to preach Mr. Steele gave a cordial assent. On the sixteenth of August, ^Ir. Steele, Living- ston, and others, left the Falls of Saint Croix m a barge, and went around to Fort Snelling. The steamboat Fayette about the middle of May, 1839, lauded sutlers' stores at i^ort Snell- 'ng and then proceeded with several persons of intelligence to the Saint Croix river, who S-4tled at Marine. The place was called after Marine in Madison county, Illinois, where the company, consisting of Judd, Hone and others, was formed to build a saw mill m the Saint Croix Valley. The mUl at Marine commenced to saw lumber, on August 24, 1839, the first in Minnesota. Joseph R. Brown, who since 1838, had lived at Chan Wakan, on the west side of Grey Cloud Island, this year made a claim near the upper end of the city of Stillwater, which he called Dahkotah, and was the first to raft lumber down the Saint Croix, as well as the first to represent the citizens of the valley in the legislature of Wisconsin. 8 Until the year 1841, the jurisdiction of Craw- ford county, Wiscousm, extended over the delta of country between the Saint Croix and JMissis- sippi. Joseph R. Brown having been elected as representative of the comity, in the territorial legislature of Wisconsin, succeeded in obtaining the passage of an act on Novemljer twentieth, 1841, organizing the county of Saint Croix, with Dahkotah designated as the comity seat. At the time prescribed for holding a court in the new county, it is said that the judge of the district arrived, and to his surprise, found a claim cabin occupied by a Frenchman. Speedily retreating, he never came again, and judicial proceedings for Saint Croix county ended for several years. Phineas Lawrence was the first sheriff of tliis county. On the tenth of October, 1843, was commenced a settlement which has become the town of Still- water. The names of the proprietors were John McKusick from Maine, Calvin Leach from Ver- mont, Elam Greeley from Maine, and Elias McKean from Pennsylvania. They immediately commenced the erection of a sawmill. John IT. Fonda, elected on the twenty-second of September, as coroner of Crawford county, Wisconsin, asserts that he was once notified that a dead body was lying in the water opposite Pig's Eye slough, and immediately jjroceeded to the spot, and on taking it out, recognized it as the body of a negro woman belonging to a certain captain of the United States army then at Fort Crawford. The body was cruelly cut and bruised, but no one appearing to recognise it, a verdict of " Found dead," was rendered, and the corpse was buried. Soon after, it came to light that the woman was whipped to death, and thrown into the river during the night. The year that the Dahkotahs ceded their lands east of the Mississippi, a Canadian Frenchman by the name of Parrant, the ideal of an Indian whisky seller, erected a shanty in what is now the city of Saint Paul. Ignorant and overbear- ing he loved money more than his own soul. Destitute of one eye, and the other resembling that of a pig, he was a good representative of Caliban. Some one writing from his groggery designated it as " Pig's Eye." The reply to the letter was directed in good faith to" Pig's Eye" 114 EXPLOREBS AND PIOHEERS OF MINNESOTA. Some years ago the editor of the Samt Paul Press described the occasion in these words: " Edmiuid Brisette, a clerkly Frenchman for those days, who lives, or did live a Uttle while ago, on Lake Harriet, was one day seated at a table in Parranfs cabin, V!\i\\ pen and paper about to write a letter for Parrant (for Parrant, like Charlemagre, could not write) to a friend' of the latter in Canada. The question of geog- raphy puzzled Brissette at the outset of the epistle ; where should he date a letter from a place without a name ? He looked up inquir- ingly to PaiTant, and met the dead, cold glare of the Pig's Eye lixed upon him, with an irresist- ible suggestiveuess that was inspiration to Brisette." In 1842, the late Henry Jackson, of Mahkahto, settled at the same spot, and erected the first store on the height just above the lower landing, Eoberts and Simpson followed, and opened small Indian trading shops. In 1846. the site of Saint I'aul was chielly occupied liy a few shanties owned by '' certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," who sold rum to the soldier and Indian. It was despised by all decent white men, and known to the Dahkotahs by an expression in their tongue which means, the place where they sell mimie-wakan [superna;;ural water]. The chief of the Kaposiabaud in 1846, was shot by his own brother in a drunken revel, but sur- viving the wound, and apparently alarmed at the deterioration under the influence of the modern harpies at Saint Paul, went to Mr. Bmce, Indian Agent, at Port Snelling, and requested a mis- sionary. The Indian Agent in his report to gov- ernment, says : " The chief of the Little ("row's band, who re- sides below this place (Fort Snelling) about nine miles, in the immediate neighbourhood of the wluskey dealers, has requested to have a school established at his village. He says they are de- termined to reform, and for the future, will try to do better. I wrote to Doctor WilUamson soon after the request was made, desiring him to take charge of the school. He has had charge of the mission school at Lac qui Parle for some years ; is well qualified, and is an excellent physician." In November, 1846, Dr. "Williamson came from Lac qui Parle, as requested, and became a resi- dent of Kaposia. "While disapproving of their practices, he felt a kindly interest in the wliites of Pig's Eye, which place was now beginning to be called, after a little log chapel which had been erected at the suggestion of Rev. L. Galtier, and called Sauit Paul's. Though a missionary among the Dahkotahs, he was the first to take steps to promote the education of the whites and half- breeds of Minnesota. In the year 1847, he wrote to ex-Governor Slade, President of the Xational Popular Education Society, in relation to the condition of what has subseipiently becc)me the capital of the state. In accordance with liis request, Miss II. E. Bishop came to his mission-house at Kaposia, and, after a short time, was introduced by him to the citizens of Saint Paul. The first school- house in Minnesota besides those connected with the Indian missions, stood near the site of the old Briik Presbyterian church, corner of Saint Peter and Third street, and is thus described by the teacher : •'The school was commenced in a little log hovel, covered with bark, and chinked with mud, previously used as a blacksmith shop. On three sides of the interior of this humble log cabin, pegs were driven into the logs, upon which boards were laid for seats. Another seat was made by placing one end of a plank between the cracks of the logs, and the other upon a chair. Tliis was for visitors. A rickety cross-legged table in the centre, and a hen's nest in one corner, com- pleted the furniture." Saint Croix county, in the year 1847, was de- tached from Crawford county, Wisconsin, and reorganized for judicial purposes, and Stillwater made the county seat. In the month of Jime the United States District Court held its session in the store-room of Mr. John McKusick ; Judge Charles' Dunn presiding. A large nuuilier of lumbermen had been attracted by the pineries in the up|)er portion of the valley of Saint Croix, and Stillwater was looked upon as the center of the lumbering interest. The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, feeling that he could be more useful, left the Ojibways. and took up his residence near Stillwater, preaching to the lumbermen at the Falls of Saint Croix. Marine Mills, Stillwater, and Cottage Grove. In a letter speaking of Stillwater, he says, " Here is a little village sprung up like a gourd, but whether it is to perish as soon, God only knows." NA3IES PROPOSED FOR MINNESOTA TERRITORY. 115 CHAPTER XXI. EVENTS PEELIMINARY TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MINNESOTA TEKKITOEY. ffUconsin State Boundaries — First Bill for the Organization of Minnesota Terri' tory, A, D, 1846 — Change of Wisconsin Boundary — Memorial of Saint Croix Valley citizens — Various names proposed for the New Territory — Convention at Stillwater— H. H. Sibley elected Delegate to Congress.— Derivation of word Minnesota. Three years elapsed from the time that the territory of iliiiuesota was proposed in Congress, to the final passage of the organic act. On the sixth of August, 1846, an act was passed by Con- gress authorizing the citizens of Wisconsin Ter- ritory to frame a constitution and form a state government. Tlie act fixed tlie Saint Louis river to the rapids, from thence south to the Saint Croix, and thence down that river to its junction with the Mississippi, as the western boundary. On the twenty -third of December, 1846, the delegate from Wisconsin, Morgan L. Martin, in- troduced a bill in Congress for the organization of a territory of Minnesota. This bill made its western boundary the Sioux and Red River of the North. On the third of ^March, 1847, per- mission was granted to Wisconsin to change her boundary, so that the western limit would pro- ceed due south from the first rapids of the Saint Louis river, and fifteen miles east of the most easterly point of Lake Saint Croix, thence to the Mississippi. A number in the constitutional convention of Wisconsin, were anxious that Rum river should be a part of her western boundary, while citizens of the valley of the Saint Croix were desirous that the Chippeway river should be the l imi t of Wisconsin. The citizens of Wisconsin Territory, in the valley of the Saint Croix, and about Fort Snelliug, wished to be included in the projected new territory, and on the twenty-eighth of March, 1848, a memorial signed by II. H. Sibley, Henry M. Rice, Franklin Steele, William R. Marshall, and others, was presented to Congress, remon- strating against the proposition before the con- vention to make Rum river a part of the bound- ary line of the contemplated state of Wisconsin. On the twenty-ninth of May, 1848, the act to admit Wisconsin changed the boundary line to the present, and as first defined in the enabling act of 1846. After the bill of Mr. Martin was introduced into the House of Representatives in 1846 it was referred to the Committee on Terri- tories, of which Mr. Douglas was chairman. On the twentieth of January, 1847, he reported in favor of the proposed territory with the name of Itasca. On the seventeenth of February, be- fore the bill passed the House, a discussion arose in relation to the proposed name. Mr. Win- throp of Massachusetts proposed Chippewa as a substitute, alleging that this tribe was the prin- cipal in the proposed territory, which was not correct. Mr. J. Thompson of Mississippi disliked all Indian names, and hoped the territory would be called Jackson. Mr. Houston of Delaware thought that there ought to be one territory named after the " Father of his country," and proposed Washington. All of the names pro- posed were rejected, and the name in the original bill inserted. On the last day of the session, ilarch third, the bill was called up in the Senate and laid on the table. When Wisconsin became a state the query arose whether tlie old territorial government did not continue in force w^est of the Saint Croix river. The first meeting on the subject of claim- ing teiTitoricil privileges was held In the building at Saint Paul, known as Jackson's store, near the corner of Bench and Jackson streets, on the bluff. Tills meeting was held in July, and a convention was proposed to consider their posi- tion. The first public meeting was held at Still- water on August fourth, and Messrs. Steele and Sibley were the only persons present from the west side of the Mississii.pi. This meeting is- sued a call foi a general convention to take steps to secure an early territorial organization, to assemble on the twenty-sixth of the month at 116 EXPLOBEBS AND PIONEEBS OF MINJ^ESOTA. the same place. Sixty-two delegates answered tlie call, and among those ]ires(nt, were W. D. Pliillips, J. V,'. Bass, A. Lar[ientenr, J. M. Boal, and othere from Saint Paul. To the convention a letter was presented from Jlr. f'atlin, who claimed to be acting governor, giving his opinion that the Wisconsin territorial organization was still in force. The meeting also appointed Mr. Sibley to visit Washington and rei>resent their vaews; but the Hon. .lolm 11. Tweedy having resigned his ollice of delegate to Congress on September eighteenth, 1848, Mr. Catlin, who had made Stillwater a temi)or;iry residence, on the ninth of October issued a proclamation ordering a special election at Stillwater on the tliirtieth, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation. At this election Henry II. Sibley was elected as delegate of the citizens of the remaming portion of Wisconsui Territory. His credentials were presented to the House of Representatives, and the committee to whom the matter was referred presented a majority and minority report ; but the resolution introduced by the majority passed and Mr. Sibley took his seat as a delegate from Wisconsin Territory on the lifteenth of January, 1849. Mr. H. M. Kice, and other gentlemen, visited Washington during the winter, and, uniting with Mr. Sibley, used all their energies to obtain the organization of a new territory. Mr. Sibley, in an interesting commimication to the Minnesota Historical Society, writes : " When my credentials as Delegate, were presented by Hon. James Wilson, of Xew Hampshire, to the House of Representatives, there was some curi- osity manifested among the memljers, to see what kind of a person liad been elected to represent the distant and wild territory claiming representation in Congress. I was told by a New England mem- ber with whom I became suljsequently quite inti- mate, tliat there was some disappointment when I made my appearance, for it was expected that the delegate from this remote region would make his debut, if not in full Indian costume, at least, with some peculiarities of dress an. 1S49 — Arrival of first Editor — Governor Ramsey an'ives — Guest of H. H. Sihley — Froclnination issued — Governor Ramsey and H. M. Rice move to Saint Paul— ^Fourtli of July Celebration — First election — Early newspape'rs — First Courts— Kirst Legislature — Pioneer News Carrier's Address — Wedding at Fort Snelling — Territorial Seal — Scalp Dance at Stillwater — First Steamboat at Falls of Saint Antliony — Presbyterian Chapel burned — Indian council at Fort Snelling — First Steamboat above Saint Anthony — First boat at the Blue Earth River — Congressional election — Visit.of Frcdrika Bremer — Indian newspaper — Otlier newspapers— Second Legislature — University of Minnesota — Teamster killed by Indians — Sioux Treaties — Third Legislature— Land slide at Stillwater — Death of first Editor — Fourth Legislature Baldwin School, now Macalester College — Indian fight in Saint Paul. On the third of March, 1849, tlie bill was passed by Congress for organizing the territory of Minnesota, wbose boimdary ou the west, extended to the ilissonri River. At this time, the region was little more than a wilderness. The west bank of the Slississippi, from the Iowa line to Lake Itasca, was unceded by the Indians. At "Wapashaw, was a trading post in charge of Alexis Biiilly, and here also resided the ancient voyageur, of fourscore years, A. Rocque. At the foot of Lake Pepin was a store house kept by ilr. F. S. Richards. On the west shore of the lake lived the eccentric Wells, whose wife was a bois brule, a daughter of the deceased trader, Duncan Graham. The two unfinished buildings of stone, on the beautiful bank opposite the renowned Maiden's Rock, and the surrounding skin lodges of his wife's relatives and friends, presented a rude but pictiuesque scene. Above the lake was a cluster of bark wigwams, the Dahkotah village of Raymneecha, now Red AVing, at which was a Presbyterian mission house. The next settlement was Kaposia, also au In- dian village, and the residence of a Presbyterian missionary, the Rev. T. S. Williamson, M. D. On the east side of the Mississippi, the first set- tlement, at the mouth of the St. Croix, was Point Douglas, then as now, a small hamlet. At Red Rock, thesite of a former Methodist mission station, there were a few ftirmers. Saint Paul was just emerging from a collection of In- dian whisky shops and birch roofed cabins of half-breed voyageurs. Here and there a frame tenement was erected, and, under the auspices of the Hon. H. il. Rice, who had obtained an inter- est in the town, some warehouses were con- structed, and the foundations of the American House, a frame hotel, which stood at Third and Exchange street, were laid. In 1849, the popu- lation had increased to two hundred and fifty or three hundred inhabitants, for rumors had gone abroad that it might be mentioned in the act, creating the territory, as the capital of ilinnesota. More than a month after the adjournment of Congress, just at eve, on the ninth of April, amid terrific peals of thunder and torrents of rain, the weekly steam packet, the first to force its way through the icy barrier of Lake Pepin, rounded tlie rocky point whistling loud and long, as if the bearer of glad tidings. Before she was safely moored to the landing, the shouts of the excited villagers were he;ird announcing that there was a territory of Minnesota, and that Saint Paul was the seat of government. Every successive steamboat anival poured out on the landing men big with hope, and anxious to do something to mould the future of the new state. Nine days after the news of the existence of the territory of Minnesota was received, there arrived James M. Goodhue with press, type, and printing apparatus. A graduate of Amherst college, and a lawyer by profession, he wielded a sharp pen, and wrote editorials, which, more than anj-thing else, perhaps, induced immigration. Though a man of some faults, one of the counties properly bears his name. On the twenty-eighth of April, he issued from his press the first number of the Pioneer. On the twenty - seventh of May, Alexander Ramsey, the Governor, and family, arrived at Saint Paul, butowiug to the crowded state of pub- 118 HXPLGJiERS AAB PlONEMMii OF 3f/iViV£,«01'vl. lie houses, immediately proceeded in the steamer to the establishmetit of the Far Company, kuowii as Meudota, at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi, and became the guest of the lion. H. U. Sibley. On the first of June, Gtovemor Ramsey, by pro- clamation, declared the territory duly organized, with the followiiif; oflicers : Alexander Kamsey, of Pennsylvania, Governor ; C. K. Smith, of Ohio, Secretary ; A. Goodrich, of Tennessee, Chief Justice ; D. Cooper, of Pennsylvania, and B. B. Meeker, of Kentucky, Associate Judges ; Josliua L. Taylor, Marshal ; II. L. Moss, attorney of the United States. On the eleventh of June, a second proclama- tion was issued, dividing tlie territory into three temporary judicial disti'icts. The first comprised the county of St. Croix ; the county of La Pouite and the region north and west of the ilississippi. and north of the ]Minnesota and of a Une rumiing due west from the headwaters of the Minnesota to the ilissouri river, constituted the second : and the country w^stof the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota, formed the third district. Judge Goodrich was assigned to the first, Meeker to the second, and Cooper to the tliird. A court was ordered to be held at Stillwater on the second Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the thii-d, and at Mendota on the fourth Monday of August. Until the twenty -sixth of June, Governor Ramsey and family had been guests of Hon. H. If. Sibley, at Mendota. On the afternoon of that day they arrived at St. Paul, in a birch-bark canoe, and became permanent residents at the capital. The house first occupied as a guber- natorial mansion, was a small frame building that stood on Third, between Robert and Jackson streets, formerly known as the Xew England House. A few days after, the Hon. II. M. Rice and family moved from Mendota to St. Paul, and oc- cupied the house he had erected on St. Anthony street, near the corner of Market. On the first of July, a land office was estab- lished at Stillwater, and A. "Van Vorhes, after a few weeks, became the register. The anniversary of our J^ ational Indepenaence was celebrated in a becoming manner at the cap- ital. The place selected for the address, was a grove that stood on the sites of the City HaU and the Baldwin School buikUng, and the late Frank- lin Steele was the marshal of the day. On the seventh of July, a proclamation was is- sued, dividing the territory into seven council districts, and ordering an election to be held on the first day of August, for one delegate to rep- resent tlie people in tlie House of Representatives of the United Stales, for nine councillors and eighteen representatives, to constitute the Legis- lative Assembly of Miimesota. Ill this month, the Hon. H. M. Rice despatch- ed a boat laded with Indian goods from the the Falls of St. Anthony to Crow Wing, wliich was towed by horses after the maimer of a canal boat. Tlie election on the first of August, passed off with little excitement, lion. 11, II. Sibley being elected delegate to Congress without opposition. David Lambert, on what might, perhaps, be termed the old settlers" ticket, was defeated in St. Paul, by James M. Boal. The latter, on the night of the election, was honored wth a ride through town on the axle and fore-wheels fif an old wagon, which w^as drawn by his admiring but somewhat undisciplined friends. J. L. Taylor having declined the office of United States Marshal; A. M. Mitchell, of Ohio, a graduate of West Point, and colonel of a regi- ment of Ohio volunteers in the Mexican war, was appointed and arrived at the capital early in August. There were three papers published in the ter- ritory soon after its organization. The first was the Pioneer, issued on April twenty-eighth, 1849, imder most discom'aging circumstances. It w^as at first the intention of the witty and reckless editor to have called his paper " The Epistle of St. Paul." About the same time there was issued in Cincinnati, mider the auspices of the late Dr. A. RandaU, of California, the first number of the Register. The second number of the paper was printed at St. Paul, in July, and the office was on St. Anthony, between Washington and Market Streets, About the first of June, James Hughes, afterward of Hudson, Wisconsin, arrived with a press and materials, and established the Minnesota Chronicle. After an existence of a few weeks two papers were cUscontinued ; and, in theii' place, was issued the " Cluonicle and DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPORARY CAPITOL. lUi Register," edited by Nathaiel McLean and John P. Owens. The first courts, pursuant to proclamation of the governor, w ere lield in tlie month of August. At Stillwater, the court was organized on the thirteenth of the month. Judge Goodrich pre- siding, and Judge Cooper by courtesy, sitting on the bencli. On the twentieth, the second iudi- cial district held a court. The room used was the old government mill at Minneapolis. The presiding judge was B. 13. Sleeker; the foreman of the grand jury, Franklin Steele. On the last Monday of the month, the court for the third judicial district was organized in the large stone warehouse of the fur company at Mendota. Tlie presiding judge was David Cooper. Governor Eamsey sat on the right, and Judge Goodrich on the left. Hon. H. II. Sibley was the foreman of the grand jury. As some of the jurors could not speak the English language, W. II. Forbes acted as interpreter. The charge of Judge Cooper was lucid, scholarly, and dignified. At tlie request of the grand jury it was afterwards published. On Monday, the third of September, the first Legislative Assembly convened in the " Central House,'" in Saint Paul, a building at the corner of Mimiesota and Bench streets, facing the Mississippi river which answered the double purpose of capitol and hotel. On the first floor of the main biulding was the Secreta- ry's oflBce and Representative chamber, and in the second stoiy was the library and Council chandler. As the flag was run up the stafl; ui front of the house, a number of Indians sat on a rocky bluff in the vicinity, and gazed at what to them was a novel and perhaps saddenuig scene ; for if the tide of immigration sweeps in from the Pacific as it has from the Atlantic coast, they must soon dwindle. The legislatiue having organized, elected the following permanent officers: David Olmsted, President of Council ; Joseph R. Brown, Secre- ary ; H. A'. Lambert, Assistant. In the House of Representatives. Joseph ^V. Furber was elect- ed Speaker ; W. D. Phillips, Clerk ; L. B. Wait, Assistant. On Tuesday afternoon, both houses assembled m the dining hall of the hotel, and after prayer was offered by Rev. E. D. NeUl, Governor Ram- sey delivered his message. The message was alily written, and its perusal afforded satisfaction at home and abroad. The first session of the legislature adjourned on the first of November. Among other proceed- ings of interest, was the creation of the following counties: Itasca, Wapashaw, Dalikotah, "\Vah- nahtah, Mahkahto, Pembina Washington, Ram- sev and Benton. Tlie three latter counties com- prised the country tliat up to that time had been ceded by the Indians on the east side of the Mis- sissippi, Stil.'water was decla'.'cd the county seat of Washington, Sahit Paul, of Ramsey, and '• the seat of justice of the county of Benton was to be within one-quarter of a mile of a poinLoii the east side of the Mississippi, directly opposite the moutb of Sauk river." EVENTS OF A. D 1850. By the active exertions of the secretary of th» territory, C. K. Smith, Esq., the Historical Society of Minnesota was incorporated at the first session of the legislature. Tlie opening an- nual addi-ess was deUvered in the then Metliodist (now Swedenborgian) church at Saint Paul, on the first of January, 1850. The follo\\ing account of the proceedings is fi-om the Chronicle and Register. "The first public exercises of the Minnesota Historical Society, took place at the Methodist church. Saint Paul, on the first inst., and passed off higlily creditable to all concerned. The day was pleasant and the attendance large. At the appointed hour, the President and both Vice-Presidents of the society being absent ; on motion of Hon. C. K. Smith, Hon. Chief Justice Goodrich was .called to the chair. The same gentleman then moved that a committee, consistmg of Messrs. Parsons K. Jolmson, John A. Wakefield, and B. W. Brunson, be appointed to wait upon the Orator of the day. Rev. Mr. Neill, and inform him that the audience was waiting to hear his address. "Mr. Neill was shortly conducted to the pulpit; and after an eloquent and approriate prayer by the Rev. Mr. Parsons, and music by the band, he proceeded to deliver his discourse upon the early French missionaries and Voyageurs into ilinne- sota. We hope the society wUl provide for its liublication at an early day. ■'After some brief remarks by Rev. Mr, 120 Exi'Luumta AM) riosjujaus OJf mixnehota. Hobart, upon the objects and ends of histoi y. the ceremonies were concluded witli a prayer by that gentleman. The audience dispersed highly delighted with all that occurred.' At this early period the Minnesota Pioneer issued a Carrier's New Year's .Vddress, which was amusing doggerel. The reference to the future greatness and ignoble origin of the capital of Minnesota was as follows : — The cities on this river must be three, Two that are bu: t and one that is to be. One, is the mart of all the tropics yield, The cane, the orange, and the cotton-fleld, And sends her ships abroad and boasts Her trade extended to a thousand coasts; Thb other, central for the temperate zone, Garners the stores that on the plains are grown, A place where steamboats from all quarters, range, To meet and speculate, as 'twere on 'change. Tlie third will ht, where rivers confluent How From the wide spreading north through plains of snow ; The mart of all that boundless forests give To make mankiiul more comfortably live, The land of manufacturing industry, The workshop of the nation it shall be. Propelled by this wide .stream, you'll see A thousand factories at Saint Anthony : And the Saint Croix a hundred mills shall drive, And all its smiling villages shall thrive ; IJut theii mij town— remember that high bench With cabins scattered over it, of French ? A man named Henry Jackson's living there. Also a man— why eveiy one knows L. Kobair, Below Fort Snelling, seven mi'.es or so, And three above the village of Old Crow 'i* Pig's Eye 'i* Yes ; Pig's Eye I That's the spot I A very funny name ; is't not y I'ig's I<;ye's the spot, to plant my city on. To be remembered by, when 1 am gone. I'ig's Eye converted thou shalt be, like Saul : Thy name henceforth shall be Saint Paul. On the evening of New Year's day, at Fort Snelling, there was an assemblage which is only seen on the outposts of civilization. In one of the stone edifices, outside of the wall, belonging to the United Slates, there resided a gentleman who had dwelt in Minnesota suice the year 1819, and for maii> years had been in the employ of the govenmient, as Indian interpreter. In youth he had been a member of the Columbia Fur Com- pany, and conforming to the habits of traders, liad purchased a Dahk<»tah wife who was wholly ignorant of the English language. As a family of children gathered around him he recognised the relation of husband and father, and consci- entiously discharged his duties as a parent. His daughter at a proper age was sent to a boarding school of some celebrity, and on the night re- ferred to was married to an intelligent young American farmer. Among the guests luesent were the ofllcers of the garrison in full uniform, with their wives, the United States Agent for the Dahkotahs, and family, the bois bndes of the neighborhood, and the Indian relatives of the mother. The mother did not make her appear- ance, but, as the minister proceeded with the ceremony, the Dahkotah relatives, wia|)ped in their blankets, gathered in the hall and looked in through the door. The marriage feast was wortliy of the occa- sion. In consequence of the numbers, tiie ofTicers and those of Eui^pean extraction partook first ; then the bois brules of Ojibway pi began to rise, and on the thirteenth, the lower floor of tlie wai'elioiise, tlien occupied by William Constans, at the foot of Jackson street, St. Paul, was submerged. Taking advantage of the freshet, the steamboat Antliouy Wayne, for a purse of two hundred dollars, ventured through the swift current above i^'ort Snelling, and reached the Falls of St. Anthony. The boat loft the fort after dinner, with Governor Ramsey and other guests, also the band of the Sixth Regiment on board, and reached the falls between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. The wliole town, men, women and chihlren, lined the shore as the boat approached, and welcomed this first arrival, wnth shouts and waving handkerchiefs. On the afternoon of May fifteenth, there might have been seen, huiTying through the streets of Sahit Paul, a number of naked and painted braves of the Kaposia band of Uahkfitahs, ornamented with all the attire of war, and panting for the scalps of their enemies. A few hours before, the warlike head chief of the Ojibways, young Ilole- in-the-Day, having secreted his canoe in tlie retired gorge which leads to the cave in the upper sulj- urbs, with two or three associates had crossed the river, and, almost in sight of the citizens of tho town, had attacked a small iiaity of Dahkotahs, and murdered and scalped one man. On receipt of the news, (iovernor Ramsey granted a parole to the thirteen Dahkotahs confined in Fort Snell- ing, for participating in tlie Apple river massacre. On the morning of the sixteenth of May, tlu^ first Protestant church edifice completed in tlie white settlements, a snii'll frame building, built for the Presbyterian church, at Saint Paul, was destroyed by fire, it being the first conflagi-ation that had occurred since the organization of the teiritory. One of the most interesting events of the year 1850, was the Indian council, at Fort Snelling. Governor Ramsey had sent runners to the diifer- ent bands of the Ojibways and Dahkotahs, to meet him at the fort, for the purpose of en- deavouring to adjust their diniculti(^s. On Wednesday, the twelfth of June, after much talking, as is customary at Indian councils, the two tribes agreed as they had frequently done before, to be friendly, and Governor Ramsey presenting to each party an ox. the council was dissolved. On Thursday, the Ojibways visited St. Paul for the first time, young lIole-m-the-Day being dressed in a coat of a captain of United States infantry, which had been iiresented to him at the fort. On Friday, they left hi the steamer (gov- ernor Ramsey, which had been built at St. An- thony, and just commenced running between }22 EXPLOIiERU AND I'lUMlEliii OF MINNESOTA. that point and Sauk Rapids, for their homes in the wilderness of the Upper ^Mississippi. Tlie summer of ISoO was the commencement of the navigation of the Minnesota River by steamboats. With the exception of a steamer tliat made a pleasure e.xciirsion as far as Shokpay, in 1841, no large vessels had ever disturbed the waters of this stream. In June, the '-Anthony Wayne," which a few weeks before had ascended to the Falls of St. Anthony, made a trip. On the eighteenth of Juiy she made a second trip, going almost to Mahkahto. The " Nominee " also navigated the stieam for some distance. On the twenty-second of July the o(lici?rs of the " Yankee," taking advantage of the high water, determined to navigate the stream as far as possible. The boat ascended to near the (liit- touwood river. As the time for the general election in Septem- ber approached, considi-ialile e,\citement was manifested. As there were no political Issues before the people, parties were formed based on personal preferences. Among tlio.se nominated for delegate to Congress, by various meetings, were 11, II. Sibley, the former delegate to- Con- gress, David Olmsted, at that time engaged in the Indian trade, and A. M. Mitchell, the United States marshal. Mr. Olmsted williilrew his name before election day, and the contest was between those interested in Sibley and jMitchell. The friends of each betrayed the greatest zeal, and neither pains nor money were spared to in- sure success. Mr. Sibley was elected by a small majority. For the first time in the territory, soldiers at the garrisons voted at tliis election, and there was considerable discussion as to the propriety of such a course. Miss Fredrika Bremer, the well known Swedish novelist, visited Minnesota in the month of October, and was the guest of Governor Ramsey. During November, the Dahkotah Tawaxitku Kin, or the Dahkotah Friend, a monthly paper, was commenced, one-half in the Dalikotah and one-half in the English language. Its editor was the Rev. Gideon II. Pond, a Presbyterian mis- sionary, and its place of publication at Saint Paul. It was published for nearly two years, and, though it failed to attract the attention of the Indian mind, it conveyed to the English reader nmcli correct information in relation to the habits, the belief, and superstitions, of the Dahkotahs. On the tenth of December, a new paper, owned and edited by Daniel A. Roliertson, late United I States marshal, of Ohio, and called the Minne- sota Democrat, made its appearance. During the summer there had been changes in the editorial suiicrvision of the "Chronicle and Register." For a brief period it was edited by L. A. Babcock, Esq., who was succeeded by \Y. a. Le Dr.c. About the time of the issuing of the Demo- crat, C. J. Ilenniss, formerly reporter for the Ignited States (ia/.ette, Philadelphia, became the editor of t!ie Chronicle. The lirst proclamation for a thauksKiving day was issued in IS.jO by the governor, and the tweuty-sixtli of December was the time appointed and it was generally observed. EVENTS OF A. D. 1851. On AVednesday, January first, 1851, the second Legislative Assembly assembled in a three-story brick building, since desti'oyed by fire, tliat stood on St. Anthony street, between Washington and Franklin. D. 15. Loonus was chosen Speaker of the Council, and M. E. Ames Speaker of the House. This assembly was characterized by more bitterness of feeling than any that has since convened. The preceding delegate election had been based on personal preferences, and cliques and factions manifested themselves at an early i)eriod of tlie session. The locating of the iienitentiary at Still\\ater, and the capitol building at St. Paul gave some dissatisfaction. By the efforts of J. W. North, Esq., a bill creating the University of ^Minnesota at or near the Falls of St. Anthony, was passed, and signed by the Governor. This institution, by the State Constitution, is now the State Uni- versity. During the session of this Legislature, the pub- lication of the " Chronicle and Register" ceased. ,\bout the middle erf May, a war party of Dah- kotahs discovered near Swan River, an Ojibway with a keg of whisky. The latter escaped, with the loss of his keg. The war party, drinking the contents, became intoxicated, and, firing upon some tcamrters they met driving their wagons \\ ith goods to tlie Indian Agency, killed one of LANDS WEST OF TUB MrSSISSIPPI CEDED. 323 them, Andrew Swartz, a resident of St. Paul. The news was conveyed to Fort Kipley, and a party of soldiers, with Hole-ia-the-day as a guide, started in pursuit of the murderers, but did not succeed in capturing them. Through tlie influ- ence of Little Six, the Dahkotah chief, whose vil- lage was at (and named after him) Shok- pay, five of the oflfenders were arrested and placed in the guard house at Port Suelliug. On Monday, June ninth, they left the fort in a wagon, guarded by twenty-five dragoons, destined for Sauk Rapid.s for trial. As they departed they all sang their death eong, and the coarse soldiers amused themselves by making signs that they were going to be hung. On the first evening of the journey the five culprits encamped with the twenty-five dragoons. Handcuffed, they were placed in the tent, and yet at midnight they all escaped, only one being wounded by the guard- What was more remarkable, the wounded man was the first to bring the news to St. Paul. Pro- ceeding to Koposia, his wound was examined by the missionary and physician. Dr. Williamson; and then, fearing an arrest, he took a oanoe and paddled up the Minnesota. The excuses offered by the dragoons was, that all the guard but one fell asleep. The first paper published in Minnesota, beyond the capital, was the St. Anthony Express, which made its appearance during the last week of April or May. The most important event of the year 1851 was the treaty with the Dahkotahs, by which the west side of the Mississippi and the valley of the Minunesota River were opened to the hardy immi- grant. The commissioners on the part of the United States were Luke Lea, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Governor Eamsey. The . place of meeting for the upper bands was Trav- erse des Sioux. The commission arrived there on the last of June, but were obliged to wait many days for the assembling of the various bands of Dahkotahs. Oa the eighteenth of July, all those expected having arrived, the Sissetons and Wahpayton Dahkotahs assembled in grand council with the United States commissioners. After the usual feastings and speeches, a treaty was concluded on Wednesday, July twenty-third. The pipe having been smoked by the commissioners, Lea and Eamsey, it was passed to the chiefs. The paper containing the treaty was then read in English and translated into the Dahkotah by tlie Kev. S. E. Kiggs, Presbyterian Missioaary among this people. This finished, the chiefs came up to the secretary's table and touched the pen; the white men present then witnessed the document^ and nothing remained but the ratification of the United States Senate to open that vast country for the residence of the hardy immigrant. During the first week in August, a treaty was also concluded beneath an oak bower, on Pilot Knob, Mendota, with the M'dewakantonwan and WaUpaykootay bands of Dahkotahs. About sixty of the chiefs and principal men touched the pen, and Little Crow, who had beeen in the rnisssion- school at Lac qui Parle, signed his own name. Before they separated Colonel Ijea and Governor Eamsey gave them a few words of advice on various subjects connected with their future well- being, but particularly on the subject of educa- tion and temperance. The treaty was interpret- ed to them by the Eev. G. H. Pond, a gentleman who was conceded to be a most correct speaker of the Dahkotah tongue. The- day after the treaty these lower bands received thirty thousand dollars, which, by the treaty of 1837, was set apart for education; but, by the misrepresentations of interested half- breeds, the Indians were made to believe that it ought to be given to them to be employed as they pleased. The next week, with their sacks filled with money, they thronged the streets of St. Paul, purchasing whatever pleased their fancy. On the seventeenth of September, a new paper was commenced iu St. Paul, under the auspices of the "Whigs," and John P. Owens became editor, which relation he sustained until the fall of 1857. The election for members of the Legislature and county officers occurred on the fourteenth of October; and, for the first time, a regular Demo- cratic ticket was placed before the people. The parties called themselves Democratic and Anti- organization, or Coalition, In the month of November Jerome Fuller ar- rived, and took the place of Judge Goodricli as Chief Justice of Minnesota, who was removed; and, about the same time, Alexander Wilkin was 121 BXPLOBKliS AJUD l'10JSJcp, cussions. Among otl>pr le^isljition of interest was the creation of Ileiir.epin county. On Saturday, the .fc-irtoenth of February, a dog-traui arrived at S' Vaid from the north, with the distinguished Arctic explorer, Dr. Rae. He had been in search of the long-missing Sir John Franklin, by ^\■ay of the Mackenzie river, and was now on liis way to Europe. Ou the fourteentli of ilay, an interesting lusus natura3 occurred at Stillwater. On the prairies, beyond the elevated blulTs wliicli encircle the business portion of the town , tliere is a lake which discharges its waters through a ravine, and sup- pUcd McKusick's mill. Owing to heavy rairis, the hills became saturated with water, and the lake very fuU. Before daylight tlie citizens heard the " voice of many waters," and looking out, saw rushing down through the ravine, trees, gi^avel and dUnvium. Xothing impeded its course, and as it issued from the ravine it spread over th.e town site, covering up barns and small tenements, and, continuing to the lake shore, it materially improved the landing, by a deposit of many tons of earth. One of the editors of the day, alluding to the fact, quauitly remarked, that "it was a very extraordinary movement of real estate." During the summer, EUjah Terry, a young man Mho had left St. Paul the premuis March, and went to Pembina, to act as teacher to the mixed bloods in that vicinity, was murdered m\- der distressing circumstances. "With a bois bnile he had started to the woods on the morning of his death, to hew timber. A^^lile there he was fired upon by a small party of Dahkotahs ; a ball broke liis arm, and he was ]>ierced witli anows. His scalp was wrenched from his head, and was afterwards seen among Sissetoii Dalikotahs, near Big Stone Lake. About tlie last of August, the pioneer editor of Mimiesota, James M. Goodhue, died. At the November Term of the United States District Court, of Ramsey county, a Dalikotah, named Yu-ha-zee, was tried for the murder of a German woman. "\\'ith others she was travel- ing al>ove Shokpay, when a party of Indians, of whom the prisoner was one, met them ; and, gathering about the wagon, were much excited. The prisoner punched the woman firet with ids gun, and. being tlueatened by one of the party, loaded and fired, killing the woman and wound- ing one of the men. On the day of his trial he was escorted from Fort Suelling by a company of mounted dragoons in full dress. It was an impressive scene to witness the poor Indian half hid in his blanket, in a buggy with the civil oflicer, surrounded with all the pomi> and circumsUmee of war. Tlie jury found him guilty. Ou being asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed, he replied, through the uiterpreter, that the band to which he belonged would remit their amuiities if he could be released. To tlus Judge Hayner, the successor of Judge Fuller, replied, that he had no authority to release Lini : and, ordering him to rise, after some appropriate and impressive remarks, he pro- nounced the first sentence of death ever pro- nounced by a judicial officer in ilinnesota. The prisoner treml)led while the judge spoke, and was a piteous spectacle. By the statute of Min- nesota, then, one con%icted of murder could not be exicutcd until twelve months had elapsed, and he was confined until the governor of the ter- orrity should by waiTant order his execution. K VENTS OF A. D. 1S53. The fourtli Legislative Assembly convened on the fifth of January. 1853, in the two story brick edifice at the corner of Tliird and Minnesota streets. The Council chose Martin McLeod as presiding officer, and the House Dr. David Day, INDIAN FIGHT IN STREEIS OF ST. PAUL. 125 Speaker. Governor Ramsey's message was an interesting document. The Baldwin school, now known asMacalester College, was incorporated at this session of the legislature, and was opened the following Jime. On the ninth of April, a party of Ojibways killed a Dalikotah. at the village of Shokpay. A war party, from Kaposia, then proceeded up the valley of the St. Croix, and killed an Ojibway. On the morning of the twenty-seventh, a band of Ojibway warriors, naked, decked, and fiercely gesticulatmg, might have been seen in the busiest street of the capital, in search of their enemies. Just at that time a small party of women, and one man, who had lost a leg in the battle of Still- water, arrived in a canoe from Kaposia, at the Jackson street landing. Perceiving the Ojib- ways, they retreated to the building then known as the " Pioneer " office, and the Ojibways dis- charging a volley through the windows, wounded a Dahkotaji woman who soon died. For a short time, the infant capital presented a sight ■ similar to that witnessed in ancient days in Hadley or Deerfleld, the then frontier towns of Massachusetts. jSiessengers were despatched to Fort Snelling for the dragoons, and a party of citizens mounted on horseback, were quickly in pursuit of those who with so much boldness had sought the streets of St. Paul, as a place to avenge their wrongs. The dragoons soon fol- lowed, with Indian guides scenting the track of the Ojibways, like bloodliounds. The next day they discovered the transgressors, near the Falls of St. Croix. The Ojibways manifesting what was supposed to be an insolent spirit, the order was given by the lieutenant in command, to lire, and he whose scalp was afterwards dagueireo typed, and which was engraved for Graham's Magazine, wallowed in gore. During the summer, the passenger, as he stood on the hurricane deck of any of the steamboats, might have seen, on a scaffold on the bluffs in the rear of Kaposia, a square box covered with a coarsely fringed red cloth. Above it was sus- pended a piece of the Ojibway's scalp, whose death had caused the affray in the streets of St. Paul. Within, was the body of the woman who had been shot in the " Pioneer " buildmg, while seeking refuge. A scalp suspended over the corpse is supposed to be a consolation to the soul, and a great protection in the journey to the spirit land. On the accession of Pierce to the presidency of the United States, the ofHcers appointed under the Taylor and Fillmore administrations were removed, and the foUowmg gentlemen substitu- ted : Governor, W. A. Gorman, of Indiana ; Sec- retary, J. T. Kosser, of Yirguiia ; Chief Justice, W. 11. Welch, of Minnesota ; Associates, Moses Sherburne, of Maine, and A. G. Chatfield, of Wisconsin. One of the first official acts of the second Governor, was the making of a treaty with the Winnebago Indians at AVatab. Benton county, for an exchange of country. On the twenty-ninth of June, D. A. Robei-tson, who by his enthusiasm and earnest advocacy of its principles had done much to organize the Democratic party of Alinnesota, retired from the editorial chair and was succeeded by David Olm- sted. At the election held in October, Henry M. Rice and Alexander Wilkin were candidates for deligate to Congress. Tlie former was elect- ed by a decisive majority. 126 EXPLOREIiS AND PIONEEBS OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTER XXIII. EVENTS FROM A. D. 1854 TO THE ADMISSION OF MINNESOTA TO THE I'NtON. Fifth LesiBlnture— Execution of Yuhnzee— Sixth Lceialaturc- First i»ridge over the Mississippi— Arctic Explorcir— Seventh I^Bislature — Indian girl killed near BIn*>iiiiiiptun Ferry— Eintitli l^trislatiire — Attrmpt to Remove the Capital- Special Session of the Letn^lature — Convention to frame a State Constitution- Admission of Minnesota to the Union. The fifth session of the legislature was com- menced in the buikling just completed as the Capitol, on January fourth, 1854. The President of the Council was S. 13. Olmstead, and the Speak- er of the Uouse of Kepresent^itives was N. C. D. Taylor. Governor Gorman delivered his first annual message on the tenth, and as his predecessor, urged the importance of railway communications, and dwelt upon the necessity of fostering the in- terests of education, and of the lumbermen. The exciting bill of the session was the act in- corporating the Alimiesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, introduced by Joseph K. Brown. It was passed after the hour of midnight on the last day of the session. Contrary to the expectation of his friends, the Governor signed the bill. On the afternoon of December twenty-seventh, the first public execution in Minnesota, in accord- ance with tlie forms of law, took place. Yu-ha- zee, the Dahkotah who had been convicted in November, 1852, for the murder of a German woman, above Shokpay, was the mdividual. Tlie scaffold was erected on t)ie open space be- tween an inn called the Franklin House and the rear of the late Mr. J. W. Selby's enclosru'e in St. Paul. About two o'clock, the prisoner, dressed in a white shroud, left the old log pris- on, near the court house, and entered a carriage with the officers of the law. Being assisted up the steps that led to the scaffold, he made a few- remarks in his own language, and was then exe- cuted. Numerous ladies sent in a petition to tlie governor, asking tlie pardon of the Indian, to which tliat officer in decUnuig made an appro- priate reply. EVENTS OF A. D. 1855. The sixth session of the legislature convened on the tliird of January, 1855. \V. P. ^lurray was elected President of the Council, and James S. Norris Speaker of the House. About the last of January, the two houses ad- journed one day, to attend the exercises occa- sioned by the opening of tlie first bridge of any kind, over tlie mighty Mississippi, from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. It was at Falls of Saint Anthony, and made of wire, and at the time of its opening, tlie patent for the land on which the west piers were built, had not been issued from the Land Office, a striking evi- dence of the rapidity with whicli tlie city of JIinne;ipolis, which now surrounds the Falls, has developed. On the twenty-ninth of March, a convention was held at Saint Anthony, which led to the formation of the Republican party of ^Minnesota. This body took measures for the holding of a territorial convention at St. Paul, wliich con- vened on the twenty-fifth of July, and William R. Marshall was nominated as delegate to Con- gress. Shortly after tlie friends of Mr. Sibley nominated David Olmsted and Henry M. Rice, tlie former delegate was also a candidate. The contest was animated, aud resulted in the elec- tion of Mr. Rice. About noon of December twelfth, 1855, a fonr- horse vehicle was seen driving rapidly through St. Paul, and deep was the mterest when it was announced that one of the Arctic exploring party, Mr. James Stewart, was on his way to Canada with relics of the world - renowiied and woiid- mounied Sir John Frankhn. Gathering together the precious fragments found on ^Montreal Island and vicinity, the party had left the region of ice- bergs on the ninth of August, and after a con- tinued land journey from that time, had reached PBOrOSEU liEMOVAL OF TJIE fiKAT OF UOVFUyMFJ^T. 127 Saint Paul on that clay, en route to the Hudson Bay Company's quarters in Canada. EVENTS OF A. D. 1856. The seventh session of the Legislative Assem- bly was begun on the second of January, 1856, and again the exciting question was tlie ]Sliime- sota and Xorthwestern Railroad Company. Jolm B. Brisbm was elected President of the Council, and Charles Gardner, Speaker of the House. This year was comparatively devoid of interest. The citizens of the tenitory were busily engaged in making claims in newly organized coimties, and in enlarging the area of civilization. On the twelfth of June, several Ojibways entered the farm house of Mr. WhaUon, who re- sided in Hennepin county, on the banks of the Minnesota, a mile below the Bloomington ferr>-. The wife of the farmer, a friend, and three cliild- ren, besides a little Dahkotah girl, who had been brought up in tlie mission-house at Kaposia, and so changed in manners that her origin was scarcely perceptible, were sitting in the room when the Indians came in. Instantly seizing the little Indian maiden, they threw her out of the door, killed and scalped her, and fled before the men who were near by, in the field, could reach the house. EVENTS OF A. D. 1857. The procurement of a state organization, and a grant of lauds for railroad purposes, were the topics of political interest during the year 1857. The eighth Legislative Assembly convened at the rapitol on the seventh of January, and J. B. Brisbin was elected President of the Council, and J. W. Furber, Speaker of the House. A bill changing the seat of government to Saint Peter, on the Minnesota River, caused much discussion. On Saturday, February twenty -eighth, Mr. Balcombe offered a resolution to report the bUl for the removal of the seat of government, and shoiUd Mr. Rolette, chairman of the committee, fail, that W. W. Wales, of said committee, report a copy of said bill. Mr. Setzer, after the reading of the resolution, moved a call of the Council, and Mr. Rolette was foimd to be absent. The chair ordered the ser- geant at arms to report Mr Eolette in his seat. >Ir. Balcombe moved that further proceedings imder tlie call be dispensed with; which did not prevail. From that time untU the next Thursday afternoon, March the fiftli, a period of one hun- dred and twenty-three liours, the Council re- mained in their chamber without recess. At that time a motion to adjourn prevailed. On Friday another motion was made to dispense with the call of the Coimcil, which did not prevail. On Saturday, the Council met, the president declared the call still pending. At seven and a half p. m., a committee of the House was announced. The chair ruled, that no commimication from tlie House could be received wliile a call of the Coun- cil was pending, and the committee withdi'ew. A motion was agam made during the last night of the session, to dispense with all fiurther pro- ceedings under the call, which prevailed, with one vote only in tlie negative. Mr. Ludden then moved that a committee be appointed to wait on the Governor, and inquire if he had any further communication to make to the Council. Mr. Lowry moved a call of the Council, which was ordered, and the roll being called, Messrs. Rolette, Thompson and Tillotson were absent. At twelve o'clock at night the president re- sumed the chair, and announced that the time limited by law for the continuation of the session of the territorial legislature had expired, and he therefore declared the Council adjomned and the seat of government remained at Saint Paul. The excitement on the capital question was in- tense, and it was a strange scene to see members of the Comicil, eating and sleeping in the hall of legislation for days, waiting for the sergeant-at- arms to report an absent member in his seiit. On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act passed the United States Senate, to authorize the people of Minnesota to foiTa a constitution, preparatory to their admission into the Union on an equal footing with the original states. Governor Gorman called a special session of the legislattu'e, to take iuto consideration • measures that would give efficiency to the act. The extra session convened on April twenty- seventh, and a m-essage was transmitted by Sam- uel Aledary, who had been appointed governor in place of W. A. Gorman, whose term of office 1:28 .EXPLORERS ANl) riUSEERU OF 21INJSES0TA. had exi)iied. The extra session adjourned on the twenty-third of May ; and in accordance with tne provisions of the enal ill ng act of Con- gress, an election was lield on the lirst Monday in June, for delegates to a convention wliicli was to assemble at the capitol on the second ^Monday in July. The election resulted, as was tlioii!,'ht. in giving a majority of delegates to tlie Itepiihli- cau party. At nii(hiight previous to the day fixed for the meeting of the convention, tlie Kcpublicans pro- ceeded to the capitol, because the enabling act had not fixed at what hour on tlie second -Mon- day the convention should asscnil)le, and fear- ing that the Democratic delegates might antici- pate them, and elect the oflicers of the liody. A little before twelve, A. Jl., on Monday, the . secretary of the territory entered the si)eaker"s rostrum, and began to call t!ie body to order ; and at the same time a delegate, J. "\V. Xorth. who had in his ]iossession a written request from the majority of the delegates pi;.;(:nt, proceeded to do tlie same tiling. The secretary of the ter- ritory put a motion to adjourn, aiul the Demo- cratic members present voting in the alih-mative, they left the hall. The Republicans, feeling that they were in the majority, remained, and in due time organized, and proceeded with the busiues;; specified in the enabling act, to form a constitu- tion, and-take all necessary steps for the est^ib- iishment of a state goverimient, in conformity with the Federal Constitution, subject to the approval and ratification of the people of the proposed state. After several days the Democratic wing also organized in tlie Senate chamber at the capitol, and, claiming to be the true body, also proceeded to form a constitution. Botli parties were re- markably orderly and intelligent, and everything w'as marked by perfect decorum. After they had been in session some weeks, moderate counsels prevailed, and a committee of conference was appointed from each body, which resulted in both adopting the constitution framed by the Democratic wing, on tlie twenty-ninth of Ang- gust. According to the provision of the consti- tution, an election was lield for state ofBcere and the adoption of the constitution, on tlie second Tuesday, the thirteenth of October. The constitution was adopted by almost a unanimous vote. It provided that the territorial officers should retain their ollices until the stale was ad- mitted into the Union, not anticipating the long delay which was experienced. The first session of the stale legislature com- menced on the first 'Wednesday of December, at the capitol, in the city of Saint Paul ; and during the month elected Henry M. Kice and .James Shields as their Representatives in the United States Senate. EVENTS OK A. I>. 18.5S. On the twenty-ninth of .January, I808, Mr. Douglas submitted a bill to the United States Senate, for the admission of ^liimesota into the Uiiiim. On the first of February, a discussion arose on the bill, in wliich Senators Douglas, Wilson, Gwiu, Hale, ]\Iasoii, (Jreen, Brown, and Crittenden participated. Brown, of Mississijipi, was opposed to the admission of Minnesota, un- til the Kansas question was settled. Mr. Crit- tenden, as a Southern man, could not endorse i'.ll that was said liy the Senator from Mississipji; and his words of wisdom and moderation during this day's discussion, were worthy of remeji- brance. Oil April the scveiilli, the bill passed the Senate with only three dissenting votes ; and in a short time tlie House of Representatives concurred, and on !May the eleventh, the Presi- dent approved, and .Minnesota was fully rec- ognized as one of the I'nited States of America. FIRST STATE LEGISLATURE. 129 OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. CHAPTEB XXIV. PIItST STATE LEGISDATUKE STATE BAHWAT BONDS MINNESOTA DURING THE CIVIL WAB-BEGIMENTS - — THE SIOUX ODTBEEAK. The transition of Minnesota from a territorial to a state organization occurred at the period when the whole republic was suffering from financial em- barrassments. By an act of congress approved by the president on the 5th of March, 1857, lands had been granted to Minnesota to aid in the construction of railways. During an extra session of the legislature of Min- nesota, an act was passed in May, 1857, giving the congressional grant to certain corporations to build railroads. A few months after, it was discovered that the corporators had neither the money nor the credit to begin and complete these internal improve- ments. In the winter of 1858 the legislature again listened to the siren voices of the railway corpora- tions, until their words to some members seemed like "apples of gold in pictures of silver," and an additional act was passed submitting to the people an amendment to the constitution which provided for the loan of the public credit to the land grant railroad companies to the amount of $5,000,000, upon condition that a certain amount of labor on the roads was performed. Some of the citizens saw in the proposed meas- ure "a cloud no larger than a man's hand," which would lead to a terrific storm, and a large public meeting was convened at the capitol in St. Paul, and addressed by ex-Governor Gorman, D. A. Robertson, William E. Marshall and others depre- 9 elating the engrafting of such a peculiar amend- ment into the constitution; but tlie people were poor and needy and deluded and would not lis- ten; their hopes and happiness seemed to depend upon the pHghted faith of railway corporators, and on April the 15th, the appointed election day, 25,023 votes were deposited for, while only 6,733 votes were cast against the amendment. FIRST STATE LEGISLATURE. The election of October, 1857, was carried on with much partisan feeling by democrats and re- publicans. The returns from wilderness precincts were unusually large, and in the counting of votes for governor, Alexander Kamsey appeared to have received 17,550, and Henry H. Sibley 17,796 bal- lots. Governor Sibley was declared elected by a majority of 246, and duly recognized. The first legislature assembled on the 2d of December, 1857, before the formal admission of Minnesota into the Union, and on the 25th of March, 1858, adjourned until June the 2d, when it again met. The next day Governor Sibley delivered his mes- sage. His term of office was arduous. On the 4th of August, 1858, he expressed his determina- tion not to deliver any state bonds to the railway companies unless they would give first mortgages, with priority of lien, upon their lands, roads and franchises, in favor of the state. One of the com- panies applied for a mandamus from the supreme court of the state, to compel the issue of the bonds without the restrictions demanded by the governor. In November the court. Judge Flandrau dis- senting, directed the governor to issue state bonds as soon as a railway company delivered their fh-st 130 OUTLINE UISTOUr QF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. mortgage bonds, as provided by the amendment to the constitution. But, as was to be expected, bonds sent out under such peculiar circumstances were not sought after by capitalists. Moreover, after over two million dollars in bonds had been issued, not an iron rail had been laid, and only about two hundred and fifty miles of grading had been completed. In his last message Governor Sibley in refer- ence to the law in regard to state credit to railways, says: "I regret to be obliged to state that the measure has proved a failure, and has by no means accomplished what was hoped from it, either in providing means for the issue of a safe currency or of aiding the companies in the completion of the work upon the roads." ACT FOB NOnMAIi SCHOOLSi Notwithstanding the pecuniary complications of the state, during Governor Sibley's administra- tion, the legislature did not entirely forget that there were some interests of more importance than railway construction, and on the 2d of August, 1858, largely through the influence of the late John D. Ford, M. D., a public spirited citizen of Winona, an act was passed for the estabhshment of three training schools for teachers. FIRST STEAMBOAT "ON TUE KED BIVER OP THE NORTH. In the month of June, 1859 an important route was opened between the Mississippi and the Eed Elver of the North. The then enterprising firm of J. C. Burbank & Co., of St. Paul, having se- cured from the Hudson Bay Company the trans- portation of their supjjlies by way of the Missis- sippi, in place of the tedious and treacherous routes through Hudson's Bay or Lake Superior, they purchased a bttle steamboat on the Red River of the North which had been built by Anson North- rup, and commenced the carrying of freight and passengers by land to Breckenridge and by water to Pembina. This boat had been the first steamboat which moved on the Mississippi above the falls of St. Anthony, to which there is a reference made upon the 121st page. Mr. Nortbrup, after he purchased the boat, with a large number of wagons carried the boat and machinery from Crow Wing on the Mississippi and on the 8th of April, 1859, reached the Red River not far from the site of Fargo. SECOND STATE LEGISLATUBB. At an election held in October, 21,335 votes were deposited for Alexander Ramsey as governor, and 17,532 for George L. Becker. Gkivernor Ramsey, in an inaugural delivered on the second ot Jan- •uary, 1860, devoted a large space to the discus- sion of the difficulties arising from the issue of the railroad bonds. He said: "It is extremely desuable to remove as speedily as possible so vex- ing a question from our state politics, and not al- low it to remain for years to disturb our elections, possibly to divide our people into bond and anti- bond parties, and introduce, annually, into our legislative halls an element of discord and possi- bly of corruption, all to end justas similar compli- cations in other states have ended. The men who wiU have gradually engrossed the poscssion of all the bonds, at the cost of a few cents on the dollar, wOl knock year after year at the door of the legisla- turo for their payment in full, the press will be subsidized; the cry of repudiation will be raised; all the ordinary and extraordinary means of pro- curing legislation in doubtful cases will be freely resorted to, until finally the bondholders will pile up almost fabulous fortunes. * * * * It is assuredly true that the present time is, of all others, aUke for the present bondholder and the people of the state, the very time to arrange, ad- just and settle these uufortimate and deplorable raih'oad and loan comjjhcations." The legislature of this year passed a law sub- mitting an amendment to the constitution which would prevent the issue of any more railroad bonds. At an election in November, 18G0, it was voted on, and reads as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given on bonds in aid of any in- dividual, association or corporation; nor shall there be any further issue of bonds denominated Min- nesota state railroad bonds, under what purports to be an amendment to section ten, of article nine, of the constitution, adopted April 14, 1858, which is liereby expunged from the constitution, saving, excepting, and reserving to the state, nevertheless, all rights, remedies and forfeitures accruing under said amendment." FIRST WHITE PERSON EXECUTED. On p'.ige 126 there is a notice of the first In- dian hung under the laws of Minnesota. On March 23, 1860 the first white person was executed and attracted considerable attention from the fact, the one who suffered the penalty of the law was a woman. Michael Bilansky died on the 11th of March, 1859, and upon examination, he was found to have TUE FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY. 131 been poisoned. Anna, his fourth wife, was tried for the offence, found guilty, and on the 3d of De- cember, 1859, sentenced to be hung. The oppo- nents to capital punishment secured the passage of an act, by the legislature, to meet her case, but it was vetoed by the governor, as unconstitutional. Two days before the execution, the unhappy wo- man asked her spiritual adviser to write to her parents in North Carolina, but not to state the cause of her death. Her scafifold was erected within the square of the Bamsey county jaU. THIKD STATE LEGISLATnEE. The third state legislature assembled on the 8th of January, 1861, and adjourned on the 8th of March. As Minnesota was the first state which received 1,280 acres of land in each township, for school purposes. Governor Ramsey in his annual message occupied several pages, in an able and elaborate argument as to the best methods of guarding and sfelUng the school lands, and of protecting the school fund. His predecessor in ofiice, while a member of the convention to frame the constitution, had spoken in favor of dividing the school funds among the townships of the state, subject to the control of the local officers. MINNESOTA DUEING THE CIVtL WAR. The people of Minnesota had not been as excited as the citizens of the Atlantic states on the ques- tion which was discussed before the presidential election of November, 1860, and a majoiity had calmly declared their preference for Abraham Lin- coln, as president of the republic. But the blood of her quiet and intelligent popu- lation was stirred on the morning of April 14, 1861, by the intelligence in the daily newspapers that the day before, the insurgents of South Caro- lina had bombarded Fort Sumter, and that after a gallant resistance of thirty-four hours General Eobert Anderson and the few soldiers of his com- mand had evacuated the fort. Governor Bamsey was in Washington at this period, and called upon the president of the repub- lic with two other citizens from Minnesota, and was the first of the state governors to tender the services of his fellow citizens. The offer of a regi- ment was accepted. The first company raised un- der the call of Minnesota was composed of ener- getic young men of St. Paul, and its captain was the esteemed William H. Acker, who afterwards fell in battle. On the last Monday of April a camp for the First regiment was opened at Fort Snelling. More companies having offered than were necessary on the 30th of May Governor Bamsey sent a tele- gram to the secretary of war, offering another regiment. THE FIRST EEGIMENT. On the 14th of June the First regiment was or- dered to Washington, and on the 21st it embarked at St. Paul on the steamboats War Eagle and Northern Belle, with the foUowiug officers: Will's A. Gorman, Colonel — Promoted to be brigadier general October 7, 1861, by the advice of Major General Winfield Scott. Stephen MiUer, Lt. Colonel — Made colonel of 7th regiment August, 1862. WUliam H. Dike, Major — Besigned October 22, 1861. WiUiam B. Leach, Adjutant — Made captain and A. A. G. February 23, 1862. Mark W. Downie, Quartermaster — Captain Company B, July 16, 1861. Jacob H. Stewart, Surgeon — Prisoner at Bull Bun, July 21, 1861. Paroled at Richmond, Vir- ginia. Charles W. Le BoutUlier, Assistant Surgeon — Prisoner at Bull Run. Surgeon 9th regiment. Died April, 1863. Edward D. Neill, Chaplain — Commissioned July 13, 1862, hospital chaplain U. S. A., resigned in 1864, and ajjpointed by President Lincoln, one of his secretaries. After a few days in Washington, the regi- iment was sent to Alexandria, Virginia, where until the 16th of July it remained. On the morning of that day it began with other troops of Franklin's brigade to movetoward the enemy, and that night encamped in the val- ley of Pohick creek, and the next day marched to Sangster's station on the Orange & Alexandria railroad. The third day Centreville was reached. Before daylight on Sunday, the 21st of July, the soldiers of the First regiment rose for a march to battle. About three o'clock in the morning they left camp, and after passing through the hamlet of Centreville, halted for General Hunter's column to pass. At daylight the regiment again began to move, and after crossing a bridge on the Warren- ton turnpike, turned into the woods, from which at about ten o'clock it emerged into an open coun- try, from which could be seen an artiUery engage- ment on the left between the Union troops under Hunter, and the insurgents commanded by Evans. 132 OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. An hour after this the regiment reached a branch of Bull Bun, and, as the men were thirsty, began to fill their empty canteens. While thus occu- pied, and as the St. Paul company under Captain Wilkins was crossing the creek, an order came for Colonel Gorman to hurry up the regiment. The men now moved rapidly through the wood- laud of a hillside, stopping over some of the dead of Burnside's command, and hearing the cheers of victory caused by the pressing back of the in- surgent troops. At length the regiment, passing Sudley church, reached a clearing in the woods, and halted, while other troops of Franklin's brig- ado passed up the Sudley church road. Next they passed through a narrow strip of woods and occupied the cultivated field from which Evans and Bee of the rebel army had been driven by the troops of Bumside, Sykes and others of Himter's division. Crossing the Sudley road, Eiekett's battery un- limbered and began to fire at the enemy, whose batteries were between the Kobinson and Henry house on the south side of the Warrenton turn- pike, while the First Minnesota passed to the right. After firing about twenty minutes the battery was ordered to go down the Sudley road nearer the enemy, where it was soon disabled. The First Minnesota was soon met by rebel troops advancing under cover of the woods, who supposed the reg- iment was a part of the confederate army. Javan B. Irvine, then a private citizen af St. Paul, on a visit to the regiment, now a captain in the United States army, wrote to his wife : "We had just formed when we were ordered to kneel and fire upon the rebels who were advancing under the cover of the woods. We fired two volleys through the woods, when we were ordered to rally in the woods in our rear, which all did except the first platoon of our own company, which did not hear the order and stood their ground. The rebels soon came out from their shelter between us and their battery. Colonel Gorman mistook them for friends and told the men to cease firing upon them, although they had three secession tiags directly in front of their advancing columns. This threw our men into confusion, some declaring they are friends; others that they are enemies. I called to our boys to give it to them, and fired away myself as rapidly as possible. The rebels themselves mistook us for Georgia troops, and waved their hands at us to cease firing. I had just loaded to give them another charge, when a lieutenant-colonel of a Mississippi regiment rode out between us, waving his hand for us to stop firing. I rushed up to him and asked 'If he was a secessionist?' He said 'He was a Mississippian.' I presented my bayonet to his breast and com- manded him to surrender, which he did after some hesitation. I ordered him to dismount, and led him and his horse from the field, in the meantime disarming him of his sword and pistols. I led him oflf about two miles and placed him in charge of a lieutenant with an escort of cavalry, to be taken to General McDowell. He requested the officer to allow me to accompany him, as he desired my pro- tection. The officer assured him that ho would be safe in their hands, and he rode off. I retained his pistol, but sent his sword with him." In an- other letter, dated the 25th of July, Mr. Irvine writes from Washington : "I have just returned from a visit to Lieutenant-Colonel Boone, who is confined in the old Capitol. I found him in a pleasant room on the third story, surrounded by several southern gentlemen, among whom was Senator Breckenridge. He was glad to see me, and appeared quite well after the fatigue of the battle of Sunday. There were with mo Chaplain Neill, Captains Wilkin and Colville, and Lieuten- ant Coates, who were introduced." The mistake of several regiments of the Union troops in supposing that the rebels were friendly regiments led to confusion and disaster, which was followed by panic. SECOND REGIMENT. The Second Minnesota Regiment which had been organized in July, 1861, left Fort Snelling on the eleventh of October, and proceeding to Louisville, was incorporated with the Army of the Ohio. Its officers were: Horatio P. Van Cleve, Colonel. Promoted Brigader General March 21, 1862. James George, Lt. Colonel. Promoted Colonel; resigned June 29, 1864. Simeon Smith, Major. Appointed Paymaster U. S. A., Septem- ber, 1861. Alexander Wilkin, Major. Colonel 9th Minnesota, August, 1862. Reginald Bingham, Surgeon. Dismissed May 27, 1862. M. C. Toll- man, AssH Surgeon. Promoted Surgeon. Timothy Cressey, CJuiplain. Resigned October, 10, 1863. Daniel D. Heaney, Adjutant. Promoted Captain Company C. William S. Grow, Q uarler Master. Resigned, January, 1863. SHARP SHOOTERS. A company of Sharp Shooters under Captain F. Peteler, proceeding to Washington, on the 11th, MINNESOTA DURING THE REBELLION. 133 of October was assigned as Co., A, 2d Kegiment U. S. Sharp Sbootera. THIRD REGIMENT. On the 16th of November, 1861, the Third Keg- iment left the State and went to Tennessee. Its officers were: Henry C. Lester, Cofoft^?. Dismissed Decmber 1, 1862. Benjamin F. Smith, Lt. Colond. Resigned May 9, 1862. John A. Hadley, Major. Resigned May 1, 1862. R. C. Olin, Adjutant.— Resigned. O. H, Blakely, Adjutant. Levi Butler. ISuffjeon. — Resigned September 30, 1863. Francis Millipan, AssH Surgeon. — Resigned April 8, 1862. Chaunoey Hobart, Chaplain,. — Resigned June 2, 1863. AETIIjLEBY. In December, the First Battery of Light Artil- lery left the State, and reported for duty at St. Louis, Missouri CAVAI-RY. During the fall, three companies of cavalry were organized, and proceeded to Benton Barracks, Missouri. Ultimately they were incorporated with the Fifth Iowa Cavalry. MOVEMENTS OP MINNESOTA TROOPS IN 1862. On Sunday the 19th of January, 1862, not far from Somerset and about forty miles from Danville, Kentucky, about 7 o'clock in the morning. Col. Van Cleve was ordered to meet the enemy. In ten minutes the Second Minnesota regiment was in line of battle. After supporting a battery for some time it continued the march, and pro- ceeding half a mile found the enemy behind the fences, and a hand to hand fight of thirty minutes ensued, resulting in the flight of the rebels. Gen. ZollicofFer and Lieut. Peyton, of the insurgents were of the killed. BATTLE OF PITTSBUEQ LANDINO. On Sunday, the 6th of April occurred the battle of Pittsburg Landing, in Tennessee. Minnesota was there represented by the First Minnesota bat- tery, Captain Emil Munch, which was attached to the division of General Prentiss. Captain Munch was severely wounded. One of the soldiers of his command wrote as follows: "Sunday morning, just after breakfast, an officer rode up to our Cap- tain's tent and told him to prepare for action. * * * * * We wheeled into battery and opened upon them. * * * The first time we wheeled one of our drivers was killed; his name was Colby Stinson. Haywood's horse was shot at almost the same time. The second time we came into bat- tery, the captain was wounded in the leg, and his horse shot under him. They charged on our gims and on the sixth platoon howitzer, but they got hold of the wrong end of the gun. We then lim- bered up and retreated within the line of battle. While we were retreating they shot one of our horses, when we had to stop and take him out, which let the rebels come vqy rather close. When within about sis rods they fired and woimded Corporal Davis, breaking his leg above the ankle." As the artillery driver was picked up, after be- ing fatally wounded, at the beginning of the fight he said, 'Don't stop with me. Stand to your guns like men,' and expired. FIRST REGIMENT AT YORKTOWN SIEGE. Early in April the First regiment as a part of Sedgwick's division of the Army of the Potomac arrived near Yorktown, Virginia, and was stationed between the Warwick and York rivers, near Wynnes' mill. Dur- ing the night of the 30th of May, there was a con- tinual discharge of cannon by the enemy, but just before daylight the next day, which was Sunday, it ceased and the pickets cautiously approaching discovered that the rebels had abandoned their works. The next day the regiment was encamped on the field where Cornwallis surrendered to Wash- ington. BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS. While Gorman's brigade was encamped at Goodly Hole oreek, Hanover county, Virginia, an order came about three o'clock of the afternoon of Saturday, the tliirty-first day of May to to cross the Chicahominy and engage in the battle which had been going on for a few hours. In a few minutes the First Minnesota was on the march, by a road which had been cut through the swamp, and crossed the Chicahominy by a rude bridge of logs, with both ends com- pletely submerged by the stream swollen by re- cent rains, and rising every hour. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon the First Min- nesota as the advance of Gorman's brigade reached the scene of action, and soon the whole brigade with Kii'by's battery held the enemy in check at that point. The next day ^ley were in line of battle but not attacked. Upon the field around a country farm house they encamped. BATTLE OF SAVAGE STATION. Just before daylight on Sunday, Jime the 29th, Sedgwick's, to which the First Minnesota belonged, left the position that had been held since the bat- 134 OUTLINE n I STORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. tie of Fair Oaks, and had not proceeded more than two miles before they met the enemy in a peach orchard, and after a sharp conflict compelled them to retire. At about 5 c' clock the afternoon of the same day they again met the enemy at Savage Station, and a battle lasted till dark. Bur- gess, the color sergeant who brought ofl' the flag from the Bull Kuu battle, a man much respected, ^?as killed instantly. On Monday, between Wliite Oak swamp and Willis' church, the regiment had a skirmish, and Captain Colville was sliglitly wounded. Tuesday ivas the 1st of July, and the regiment was drawn up at the dividing line of Henrico and Charles City county , in sight of James river, and although much exposed to the enemy's batteries, was not actually engaged. At midnight the order was given to move, and on the morning of the 2d of July they tramped upon the wheat fields at Har- rison's Landing, and in a violent rain encamped. MOVEMENTS OP OTHEB TROOPS. The Fourth regiment left Fort Snelling for Ben- ton barracks, Missouri, on the 2l8t of April, 1862, with the following officers: John B. Sanborn, Colonel — Promoted brigadier general. Minor T. Thomas, Lt. Colond — Made colonel of 8th regiment August 24, 1862. A. Edward Welch, Major — Died at Nashville February 1, 1864. John M. Thompson, Adjtitant — Captain Com- pany E, November 20, 1862. Thomas B. Hunt, Qaaricrmasier — Made captain and A. Q. M. April 9, 1863. John H. Murphy, Surf/eon — Eesigned July 9, 1863. Elisha W. Cross, Assistant Surgeon — Promoted July 9, 1863. Asa S. Fiske, Chaplain — Eesigned Oct. 3, 1864. FIFTH BEQIMENT. The Second Minnesota Battery, Captain W. A. Hotchkiss, left the same day as the Fourth regi- ment. On the 13th of May the Fifth regiment departed from Fort Snelling with the following officers: Eudolph Borgesrode, colonel, resigned August 31, 1862; Lucius F. Hubbard, heutenant- colonel, promoted colonel August 31, 1862, elected governor of Minnesota 1881; William B. Gere, major, promoted lieutenant-colonel; Alpheus R. French, adjutant, resigned March 19, 1863; W. B. McGrorty, quartermaster, resigned September 15, 1864; F. B. Etheridge, surgeon, resigned Sep- tember 3, 1862 ; V. B. Kennedy, assistant surgeon, promoted surgeon; J. F. Chaffee, chaplain, re- signed June 23, 1862; John Ireland, chaplain, re- signed April, 1863. Before the close of May the Second, Fourth and Fifth regiments were in conflict with the insur- gents, near Corinth, Mississippi. BATTLE OF ItTKA. On the 18th of September, Colonel Sanborn, acting as brigade commander in the Third divis- ion of the Army of the Mississippi, moved his troops, including the Fourth Minnesota regiment, to a position on the Tuscumbia road, and formed a line of battle. BATTLE OF COBINTH. In a few days the contest Viegan at luka, culmi- nated at Corinth, and the Fourth and Fifth regi- ments and First INIiunesota battery were engaged. On the 3d of October, about five o'clock. Colo- nel Sanborn advanced his troops and received a severe fire from the enemy. Captain Mowers beckoned with his sword during the firing, as if he wished to make an important communication, but before Colonel Sanborn reached his side he fell, having been shot through the head. Before (hiylight on the 4th of October the Fifth regiment, under command of Colonel L. F. Hubbard, was aroused by the discharge of artillery. Later in the day it became engaged with the enemy, and drove the rebels out of the streets of Corinth. A private writes: "When we charged on the enemy General Rosecrans asked what little regiment that was, and on being told said 'The Fifth Minnesota had saved the town.' Major Coleman, General Stanley's assistant adjutant-general, was with us when he received his bullet-wound, and his last words were, "Tell the general that the Fifth Min- nesota fought nobly. God bless the Fifth.' " OTHEB MOVEMENTS. A few days after the fight at Corinth the Sec- ond Minnesota battery. Captain Hotchkiss, did good service with Buell's army at PerryviUe, Ky. In the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., on the 13th of December, the First Minnesota regiment supported Kirbey's battery as it had done at Fair Oaks. THntD EEGIMBNT HUMILIATED. On the morning of the 13th of July, nearMur- f reesboro, Ky.; the Third regiment was in the pres- ence of the enemy. The colonel called a council of officers to decide whether they should fight, and the first vote was in the affirmative, but an- THE SIOUX OUTBREAK. 135 other vote being taken it was decided to surrender. Lieutenant-Colonel O. W. Griggs, Captains An- drews and Hoyt voted each time to fight. In September the regiment returned to Minnesota, humiliated by the want of good judgment upon the part of their colonel, and was assigned to duty in the Indian country. THE SIODX OUTBREAK. The year 1862 will always be remembered as the period of the uprising of the Sioux, and the slaughter of the unsuspecting inhabitants of the scattered settlements in the Minnesota valley. Elsewhere in this work will be found a detailed ac- count of the savage cruelties. In this place we only give the narrativfe of the events as related by Alexander Kamsey, then the governor of Min- nesota. "My surprise may therefore be judged, when, on August 19th, while busy in my office, Mr. Wm. H. Shelley, one of our citizens who had been at the agency just before the outbreak, came in, dusty and exhausted with a fifteen hours' ride on horse- back, bearing dispatches to me of the most start- ling character from Agent Galbraith, dated Au- gust 18th, stating that the same day the Sioux at the lower agency had risen, murdered the settlers, and were plundering and burning all the build- ings in that vicinity. As I beUeve no particulars regarding the manner in which the news were first conveyed to me has been published, it might be mentioned here. Mr. Shelley had been at Eed- Vood agency, and other places in that vicinity, with the concurrence of the agent, recruiting men for a company, which was afterwards mustered into the Tenth regiment under Captain James O'Gor- nran, formerly a clerk of Nathan Myriok, Esq., a trader at Eedwood, and known as the Renville Eangers. He (Shelley) left Eedwood, he states, on Saturday, August 16th, with forty-five men, bound for Fort Snelling. Everything was quiet there theu. It may be well to note here that one of the supposed causes of the outbreak was the fact that the Indians had been told that the gov- ernment needed soldiers very badly, that many white men had been killed, and that all those in that locality were to be marched south, leaving the state unprotected. Seeing the men leave on Saturday may have strengthened this behef. Stop- ping at Fort Ridgely that night, the Eenville Eangers the next day continued their march, and on Monday afternoon arrived at St. Peter. Gal- braith was with them. Here, he was overtaken by a messenger who had ridden down from Eed- wood that day, hearing the news of the terrible occurrences of that morhing. This messenger was Mr. — Dickinson, who formerly kept a hotel at Henderson, but was living on the reservation at that time. He was in great distress aboiit the safety of his family, and returning at once was killed by the Indians. "When Agent Galbraith received the news, Mr. Shelley states, no one would at first believe it, as such rumors are frequent in the Indian country. Mr. Dickinson assured him of the truth with such earnestness, however, that his account was finally credited and the Eenville Rangers were at once armed and sent back to Fort Ridgely, where they did good semce in protecting the post. "Agent Galbraith at once prepared the dispatches to me, giving the terrible news and calHng for aid. No one could be found who would volunteer to carry the message, and Mr. Shelley offered to come himself. He had great difficulty in getting a horse; but finally secured one, and started for St. Paul, a distance of about ninety miles, about dark. He had not ridden a horse for some years, and as may be well supposed by those who have had expei'ience in amateur horseback-riding, suf- fered very much from soreness; but rode all night at as fast a gate as his horse could carry him, . Spreading the startling news as he went down the Minnesota valley. Reaching St. Paul about 9 A. M., much exhausted he made his way to the oapitol, and laid before me his message. The news soon spread through the city and created intense ex- citement. "At that time, of course, the full extent and threatening nature of the outbreak could not be determined. It seemed serious, it is true, but in view of the riotous conduct of the Indians at Yellow Medicine a few days before, was deemed a repetition of the emeuie, which would be simply local in its character, and easily quelled by a small force and good management on the part of the authorities at the agency. "But these hopes, (that the outbreak was a local one) were soon rudely dispelled by the arrival, an hour or two later, of another courier, George C. Whitcomb, of Forest City, bearing the news of the murders at Acton. Mr. Whitcomb had ridden to Chaska or Carver on Monday, and came down from there on the small steamer Antelope, reaching the city an hour or two after Mr. Shelley. "It now became evident that the outbreak was 136 OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. more general than had at first been credited, and that prompt and vigorous measures would be re- quired for its suppression and the protection of the inhabitants on the frontier. I at once pro- ceeded to Fort Snelling and consulted with the authorities there (who had already received dis- patches from Fort Ridgely) regarding the out- break and the best means to be used to meet the danger. "A serious difficulty met us at the outstart. The only troops at Fort Snelling were the raw recruits who had been hastQy gathered for the five regi- ments. Most of them were without arms or suit- able clothing as yet; some not mustered in or properly oflBcered, and those who had arms had no fixed ammunition of the proper calibre. We were without transportation, quartermaster's or commissary stores, and, in fact, devoid of anything with which to commence a campaign against two or three thousand Indians, well mounted and armed, with an abundance of ammunition and provisions captured at the agency, and flushed with the easy victories they had just won over the unarmed settlers. Finally four companies were fully organized, armed and uniformed, and late at night were got off on two small steamers, the An- telope and Pomeroy, for Shakopee, from which point they would proceed overland. It was ar- ranged that others should follow as fast as they could be got ready. "This expedition was placed under the manage- ment of H. H. Sibley, whose long residence in the country of the Sioux had given him great influ" ence with that people, and it was hoped that the chiefs and older men were stiU sensible to reason, and that with his diplomatic ability he could bring the powers of these to check the mad and reck- less disposition of the "young men," and that if an opportunity for this failed that his knowledge of Indian war and tactics would enable him to overcome them in battle. And I think the result indicated the wisdom of my choice. •'I at once telegraphed all the facts to President Lincoln, and also telegraphed to Governor Solo- mon, of Wisconsin, for one hundred thousand cart- ridges, of a calibre to fit our rifles, and the requi- sition was kindly honored by that patriotic officer, and the ammunition was on its way next day. The governors of Iowa, Illinois and Michigan were also asked for arms and ammimition. During the day other messengers arrived from Fort Kidgely, St. Peter and other points on the upper Minnesota, with intelhgence of the most painfid character, regarding the extent and ferocity of the massacre. The messages all pleaded earnestly for aid, and intimated that without speedy reinforcements or a supjjly of arms. Fort Kidgely, New Ulm, St. Peter and other points would undoubtedly fall into the hands of the savages, and thousands of persons be butchered The principal danger seemed to be to the settle- ments in that region, as they were in the vicinity of the main body of Indians congregated to await the payments. Comers arrived from various points every few hours, and I spent the whole night answering their calls as I could. "Late that night, probably after midnight, Mr. J. Y. Branham, Sr., arrived from Forest City, after a forced ride on horseback of 100 miles, bearing the following message: ***** *»♦ "Forest City, Aug. 20, 1862, 6 o'clock a. m. His Excellency, Alexander Kamsey, Governor, etc. — Sir: In advance of the news from the Min- nesota river, the Indians have opened on us in Meeker. It is warl A few propose to make a stand here. Send us, forthwith, some good guns and ammunition to match. Yours truly, A. C. Smith. Seventy-five stands of Springfield rifles and sev- eral thousand roimds of ball cartridges were at once issued to George C. Whitcomb, to be used in arming a company which I directed to be raised and enrolled to use these arms; and Gen. Sibley gave Mr. Whitcomb a captain's commission for the company. Transportation was furnished him, and the rifles were in Forest City by the morning of the 23d, a portion having been issued to a company at Hutchinson on the way up. A com- pany was organized and the arms placed in their hands, and I am glad to say they did good service in defending the towns of Forest City and Hutch- inson on more than one occasion, and many of the Indians are known to have been killed with them. The conduct and bravery of the courageous men who guarded those towns, and resisted the assaults of the red savages, are worthy of being commemo- rated on the pages of our state history." MOVEMENT OF MINNESOTA BEGIMENTS 1863. On the 3d of April, 1863, the Fourth regiment was opposite Grand Gulf, Mississippi, and in a few days they entered Port Gibson, and here Col. Sanborn resumed the command of a brigade. On the 14th of May the regiment was at the batUe BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 137 of Kayraond, and on the 14th participated in the battle of Jackson. A newspaper correspondent writes: "Captain L. B. Martin, of the Fourth Minnesota, A. A. G. to Colonel Sanborn, seized the flag of the 59th Indiana infantry, rode rapidly be- yond the skirmishers, (Co. H, Fourth Minnesota, Lt. Geo. A. Clark) and raised it over the dome of the Capitol" of Mississippi. On the 16th the regi- ment was in the battle of Champion Hill, and four days later in the siege of Vicksburg. FIFTH KBQIUENT. The Fifth regiment reached Grand Gulf on the 7th of May and was in the battles of Kaymond and Jackson, and at the rear of Vicksburg. BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. The First regiment reached Gettysburg, Pa., on the 1st of July, and the nest morning Han- cock's corps, to which it was attached, moved to a ridge, the right resting on Cemetery HiU, the left near Sugar Loaf Mountain. The line of battle was a semi-ellipse, and Gibbon's division, to which the regiment belonged occupied the center of the curve nearest the enemy. On the 2d of July, about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Gen- eral Hancock rode up to Colonel Colville, and ordered him to charge upon the advancing foe. The muzzles of the opposing muskets were not far distant and the conflict was terrific. When the sun set Captain Muller and Lieutenant Farrer were kiUed; Captain Periam mortally wounded; Colonel ColviUe, Lieut-Colonel Adams, Major Downie, Adjutant Peller, Lieutenants Sinclair, Demerest, DeGray and Boyd, severely -wounded. On the 3d of July, about 10 o'clock in the morn- ing, the rebels opened a terrible artUlery fire, which lasted until 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and then the infantry was suddenly advanced, and there was a fearful cotflict, resulting in the defeat of the enemy. The loss on this day was also very severe. Captain Messick, in command of the First regiment, after the wounding of Colville, and Adams and Downie, was killed. Captain FarreU was mortally wounded, and Lieutenants Harmon, Heffelfinger, and May were wounded. Color-Ser- geant E. P. Perkins was wounded on the 2d of July. On the 3d of July Corporal Dehn, of the color guard was shot through the hand and the flag staff cut in two. Corporal H. D. O'Brien seized the flag with the broken staff and waving it over his head rushed up to the muzzles of the enemy's muskets and was wounded in the hand, but Corporal W. N. Irvine instantly grasped the flag and held it up. Marshall Sherman of com- pany E, captured the flag of the 28th Virginia regiment. THE SECOND EEGIMBNT. The Second regiment, under Colonel George, on the 19th of September fought at Chicamauga, and in the first day's fight, eight were killed and forty-one wounded. On the 25th of November, Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop in command, it moved against the enemy at Mission Bidge, and of the seven non-commissioned officers in the color guard, six were killed or wounded. The Fourth regiment was also in the vicinity of Chattanooga, but did not suffer any loss. EVENTS OF 1864. The Third regiment, which after the Indian ex- pedition had been ordered to Little Bock, Arkan- sas, on the 30th of March, 1864, had an engage- ment near Augusta, at Fitzhugh's Woods. Seven men were killed and sixteen wounded. General C. C. Andrews, in command of the force, had his horse killed by a bullet. FIRST REGIMENT. The First regiment after three year's service was mustered out at Fort SneUing, and on the 28th of April, 1864, held its last dress parade, in the presence of Governor Miller, who had once been their lieutenant-colonel and commander. In May some of its members re-enlisted as a battal- ion, and again joined the Army of the Potomac. SIXTH, SEVENTH, NINTH AND TENTH REGIMENTS. The Sixth regir-'^nt, which had been in the ex- pedition against the Sioux, in Jrme, 1864, was as- signed to the 16th army corps, as was the Seventh, Ninth and Tenth, and on the 13th of July, near Tupelo, Mississippi, the Seventh, Ninth and Tenth, with portions of the Fifth, were in battle. Dur- ing the first day's fight Surgeon Smith, of the Seventh, was fatally wounded through the neck. On the morning of the 14th the battle began in earnest, and the Seventh, under Colonel W. E. Marshall, made a successful charge. Colonel Al- exander Wilkin, of the Ninth, was shot, and fell dead from his horse. THE FOITRTH REGIMENT. On the 15th of October the Fourth regiment were engaged near Altoona, Georgia. THE EIGHTH REGIMENT. On the 7th of December the Eighth was in bat- tle near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and fourteen were killed and seventy -six wounded. 138 OUTLINE HISTOBT OF TEE STATE OF SIINNESOTA. BATTLE Of NASHVILLE. During the month o[ Decemljer the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and Tenth regiments did good ser- vice before Nashville. Colonel L. F. Hubbard, of the Fifth, commanding a brigade, after he had been knocked off his horse by a ball, rose, and on foot 'led his command over the enemy's works. Colonel W. R. Marshall, of the Seventh, in com- mand of a brigade, made a gallant charge, and Lieutenant-colonel S. P. Jennison, of the Tenth, one of the first on the enemy's parapet, received a severe wound. MINNESOTA TKOOrS IN 1865. In the spring of 1865 the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth and Tenth regiments were engaged in the siege of Mobile. The Second and Fourth regi- ments and First battery were with General Sher- man in his wonderful campaign, and the Eighth in the month of March was ordered to North Car- olina. The battalion, the remnant of the First, was with the Army of the Potomac until Lee's sur- render. Arrangements were soon perfected for disband- ing the Union army, and before the close of the summer all the Minnesota regiments that had been on duty were discharged. LIST OP MINNESOTA REGIMENTS AND TROOPS. First, Organized April 18IU, Discharged May .5, 136J Second '* July " " July n, 1865 Third Oct. " " Sept. " Fourth Deo. " " Aug. '* Fifth May, 1862, " Sept. Sixth Aug. *' " Aug. Seventh " ■* " ,1 " Eighth " " " " Ninth " " " • 1 ,. Tenth " " *' " " Eleventh ** " 18G1 " •' " ARTILLERY. First Regiment, Heavy, May, 1861. Discharged Sept. 1865. BATTERIES. First, October, 1831. Discharged June, 1885. Second, Dec. " " July " Third, Feb. 1863 " Feb. 1886. CAVALRY. Rangers, March, 1883. Discharged Dec. 1863. Brackctt's, Oct. 1861. " June 1868. 2dReg't, July, 1883. SHARPSHOOTERS. Company A, organized ia 1861, B, " " 1682. CHAPTER XXV. STATE APFAntS FROM A. D. 1862 to A. D. 1882. In consequence of the Sioux outbreak, Grov- emor Ramsey called an extra ses.sion of the legis- lature, -which on the 9th of September, 1862, as- sembled. As long as Indian hostilities continued, the flow of immigration was checked, and the agricultural interests suffered; but notwithstanding the dis- turbed condition of affairs, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company laid ten miles of rail, to the FaUs of St. Anthony. FIFTH STATE LEGISLATURE. During the fall of 1862 Alexander Ramsey had again been elected governor, and on the 7th of January, 1863, delivered the annu.al message before the Fifth state legislature. During this session he was elected to fill the vacancy that would take place in the United States senate by the expira- tion of the term of Henry M. Kice, who had been a senator from the time that Minnesota was organ- ized as a state. After Alexander Ramsey became a senator, the lieutenant-governor, Henry A. Swift, became governor by constitutional provision. GOVERNOR STEPHEN A. MILLER At the election during the fall of 1863, Stephen A. Miller, colonel of the Seventh regiment, was elected governor by a majority of- about seven thousand votes, Henry T. Welles being his com- petitor, and representative of the democratic party. During Governor Miller's administration, on the 10th of November, 1865, two Sioux chiefs, Little Six and Medicine Bottle, were hung at Fort Snel- ling, for participation in the 1862 massacre. GOVERNOR W. R. MARSHALL. In the fall of 1865 William R. Marshall, who had succeeded his predecessor as colonel of the Seventh regiment, was nominated by the republi- can party for governor, and Henry M. Rice by the democratic party. The former was elected by about five thousand majority. In 1867 Governor Marshall was again nominated for the oiBce, and Charles E. Flandrau -was the democratic candidate, and he was again elected by about the same major- ity as before. GOVERNOR HORACE AUSTIN. Horace Austin, the judge of the Sixth judicial district, was in 1869 the republican candidate for governor, and received 27,238 votes, and George L. Otis, the democratic candidate, 25,401 votes. In 1871 Governor Austin was again nominated, ROCET MOUNTAIN LOCUST. 139 and received 45,883 votes, while 30,092 ballots were cast for Winthrop Young, the democratic candidate. The important event of his adminis- tration was the veto of an act of the legislature giving the internal improvement lands to certain railway corporations. Toward the close of Governor Austin's adminis- tration, William Seeger, the state treasurer, was im- peached for a wrong use of public funds. He plead guilty and was disqualified from holding any ofiBce of honor, trust or profit in the state. GOVERNOR OUSHMAN K. DAVIS. The republicans in the fall of 1873 nominated Oushman K. Davis for governor, who received 40,741 votes, while 35,245 ballots were thrown for the democratic candidate, Ara Barton. The summer that he was elected the locust made its appearance in the land, and in certain regions devoured every green thing. One of the first acts of Governor Davis was to relieve the farmers who had sufifered from the visitation of locusts. The legislature of 1874 voted relief, and the people of the state voluntarily contributed clothing and provisions. During the administration of Governor Davis the principle was settled that there was nothing in the charter of a railroad company limiting the power of Minnesota to regulate the charges for freight and travel. WOMEN ALLOWED TO VOTE FOB SCHOOL OFFICERS. At the election in November, 1875, the people sanctioned the following amendment to the con- stitution: "The legislature may, notwithstanding anything in this article, [Article 7, section 8] pro- vide by law that any woman at the age of twenty-one years and upwards, may vote at any election held for the jiurpose of chosing any officer of schools, or upon any measure relating to schools, and may also provide that any such woman shall be eligible to hold any office solely pertaining to the management of schools." GOVERNOR J. S. PILLSBURT. John S. Pillsbury, the republican nominee, at the election of November, 1875, received 47,073 for governor while his democratic competitor, D. L. Buell obtained 35,275 votes. Governor PiUsbury in his inaugural message, delivered on the 7th of January, 1876, urged upon the legislature, as his predecessors had done, the importance of provid- ing for the payment of the state railroad bonds. RAID ON NORTHFIELD BANK. On the 6th of September, 1876, the quiet citi- zens of Minnesota were excited by a telegraphic announcement that a band of outlaws from Mis- souri had, at mid-day, ridden into the town of Northfield, recklessly discharging firearms, and proceeding to the bank, killed the acting cashier in an attempt to secure its funds. Two of the desperadoes were shot in the streets, by firm resi- dents, 'and in a brief period, parties from the neighboring towns were in pursuit of the assassins. After a long and weary search four were sur- rounded in a swamp in Watonwan county, and one was killed, and the others captured. At the November term of the fifth district court held at Faribault, the criminals were arraigned, and imder an objebtionable statute, by pleading guilty, received an imjjrisonment for lite, instead of the merrited death of the gallows. THE BOOKT MOUNTAIN LOCUST. As early as 1874 in some of the counties of Minnesota, the Kocky Mountain locust, of the same genus, but a different species from the Eu- rope and Arctic locust, driven eastward by the failure of the succulent grasses of the upper Mis- souri valley appeared as a short, stout-legged, dj- vouring army, and in 1875 the myriad of eggs deposited were hatched out, and the insects bom within the state, flew to new camping grounds, to begin their devastations. In the spriug the locust appeared in some coun- ties, but by an ingenious contrivance of sheet iron, covered with tar, their numbers were speedily reduced. It was soon discovered that usually but one hatching of eggs took place in the same district, and it was evident that the crop of 1877 would be remunerative. When the national Thanksgiving was observed on the 26th of No- vember nearly 40,000,000 bushels of wheat had been garnered, and many who had sown in tears, devoutly thanked Him who had given plenty, and meditated upon the words of the Hebrew Psalm- ist, "He maketh peace within thy borders and fiUeth thee with the finest of the wheat." GOVEBNOE PILLSBDBT'S SECOND TERM. At the election in November, 1877, Governor Pillsbury was elected a second time, receiving 59,701, while 39,247 votes were cast for William L. Banning, the nominee of the democratic party. At this election the people voted to adopt two im- portant amendments to the constitution. BIENNIAL SESSION OP THE LEGISLATURE, One provided for a biennial, in place of the an- nual session of the legislature, in these words: uo OUTLINE niSTORr OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. "The legisluture of the state shall consist of a senate and house of representatives, ■who shall meet biennially, at the seat of goyemment of the state, at such time as shall be prescribed by law, but no session shall exceed the term of sixty days." CHRISTIAN INSTRCCTIOK EXCLUDED FEOM SCHOOLS. The other amendment excludes Christian and other religious instructions from all of the edu- cational institutions of Minnesota in these words: "But in no case, shall the moneys derived as afore- said, or any portion thereof, or any public moneys, or property be appropriated or used for the sup- port of schools wherein the distinctive doctrines, or creeds or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect, are promulgated or taught." IMPEACHSTENT OP JUDGE PAGE. The personal unpopularity of Sherman Page, judge of the Tenth judicial district, culminated by the house of rej^resentatives of the legislature of 1878, presenting articles, impeaching him, for con- duet unbecoming a judge: the senate sitting as a court, examined the charges, and on the 22d of June, he was ac quitted. aOVERNOK PILLSBUEX'S THIBD TERM. The republican party nominated John S. Pills- bury for a third term as governor, and at the elec- tion in November, 1879, he received 57,-171 votes, wliile 42,444 were given for Edmund Kice, the rep- resentative of the democrats. With a persistence which won the respect of the opponents of the measure. Governor Pillsbury con- tin ued to advocate the payment of the state rail- road bonds. The legislature of 1870 submitted an amendment to the constitution, by which the "in- ternal improvement lands" were to be sold and the proceeds to be used in cancelling the bonds, by the bondholders agreeing to purchase the lands at a certain sum per acre. The amendment was adopted by a vote of the people, but few of the bondholders accepted the provisions, and it failed to effect the proposed end. The legislature of 1871 passed an act for a commis.sion to make an equitable adjustment of the bonds, but at a sjiecial election in May it was rejected. The legislature of 1877 passed an act for calling m the railroad bonds, and issueing new bonds, which was submitted to the people at a special election on the 12th of June, and not accepted. The legislature of 1878 proposed a constitu- tional amendment offering the internal imj)rove- meut lands in exchange for railroad bonds, and the people at the November election disapproved of the proposition. Against the proposed amendment 45,669 votes were given, and only '26,311 in favor. FIRST BIENNLAL SESSION. The first biennial session of the legislature con- vened in January, 1881, and Governor Pillsbury again, in his message of the 6th of January, held up to the view of the legislators the dishonored railroad bonds, and the duty of providing for their settlement. In his argument he said:* "Tlje liability having been voluntarily incurred, whetlier it was wisely created or not is foreign to the present question. It is certain that the obli- gations were fairly given for which consideration was fairly received; and the state having chosen foreclosure as her remedy, and disposed of the property thus acquired unconditionally as her own, the conclusion seems to me irresistible that she assumed the payment of the debt resting upon such property by every principle of law and equity. And, moreover, as the state promptly siezed the railroad property and franchises, ex- pressly to indemnify her for payment of the bonds, it is difficult to see what possible justification there can be for her refusal to make that payment." The legislature in March passed an act for the adjustment of these bonds, which being brought before the supreme court of the state was declared void. The court at the same time declared the amendment to the state constitution, which pro- hibited the settlement of these bonds, without the assent of a popular vote, to be a violation of the clause in the constitution of the United States of America prohibiting the impairment of the obliga- tion of contracts. This decision cleared the way for final action. Governor Pillsbury called an extra session of the legislature in October, 1881, which accepted the offer of the bondholders, to be satisfied with a partial payment, and made pro\-is- ions for cancelling bonds, the existence of which for more than twenty years had been a humiliation to a large majority of the thoughtful and intelli- gent citizens of Minnesota, and a blot upon the otherwise fair name of the commonwealth. GOVERNOR HUBBARD. Lucius F. Hubbard, who had been colonel of the Fifth Eegiment, was nominated by the repub- lican party, and elected in November, 1881, by a large majority over the democratic nominee, E. W. Johnson. He entered upon his duties in Jan- uary, 1882, about the time of the present chapter going to press. HISTORY OF STATE IlfSTITU'TIOA^. lil CHAPTER XXVI. OAPITOIi PENITENTIARY — UNIVERSITY — DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION SCHOOL FOR BLIND AND IMBEOILES INSANE ASYLUMS STATE REFORM SCHOOL NORMAL SCHOOLS. Among the public buildings of Minnesota, the capitol is entitled to priority of notice. TEMPORARY CAPITOLS. In the absence of a capitol the first legislature of the territory of Minnesota convened on Mon- day, the 3d of September, 184.9, at St. Paul, in a log building covered with pine boards painted white, two stories high, which was at the time a public inn, afterward known as the Central Hous3, and kept by Robert Kennedy. It was situated on the high bank of the river. The main portion of the building was used for the library, secretary's office, council chamber and house of representa- tiyes' h.ill, while the annex was occupied as the dining-room of the hotel, with rooms for travelers in the story above. Both houses of the legisla- ture met in the dining-hall to listen to the first message of Governor Ramsey. The permanent location of the capital was not settled by the first legislature, and nothing could be done toward the erection of a capitol with the $20,000 appropriated by congress, as Jhe perma- nent seat of government had not been designated. William R. Marshall, since governor, at that time a member of the house of rejjresentatives from St. Anthony, with others, -svished that point to be designated as the capital. Twenty years after, in some remarks before tho Old Settlers' Association of Hennepin county, Ex- Governor Marshall alluded to this desire. He said: "The original act [of congress] made St. Paul the temporary capital, but provided that the legislature might determine the permanent capital. A bill was introduced by the St. Paul delegation to fix the permanent capital there. I opposed it, endeavoring to have St. Anthony made the seat of government. We succeeded in defeat- ing the bill which sought to make St. Paul the permanent capital, but we could not get through the bill fixing it at St. Anthony. So the question remained open in regard to the permanent capital until the next session in 1851, when a compromise was effected by which the capitol was to be at St. Paul, the State University at St. Anthony, and the Penitentiary at Stillwater. At an early day, as well as now, caricatures and burlesques were in vogue. Young William Randall, of St. Paul, now deceased, who had some talent in the graphic line, drew a picture of the efforts at capitol re- moval. It was a building on wheels, with ropes attached, at which I was pictured tugging, while Brunson, Jackson, and the other St. Paul mem- bers, were holding and checking the wheels, to prevent my moving it, with humorous speeches proceeding from the mouths of the parties to the contest." The second territorial legislature assembled on the 2d of January, 1871, in a brick building three stories in height, which stood on Third street in St. Paul, on a portion of the site now occupied by the Metropolitan Hotel, and before the session closed it was enacted that St. Paul should be the permanent capital, and commissioners were ap- pointed to expend the congressional appropriation for a capitol. When the Third legislature assembled, in Jan- uary, 18.52, it was still necessary to occupy a hired building known as Goodrich's block, which stood on Third street just below the entrance of the Merchants' Hotel. In 1853, the capitol not being finished, the fourth legislature was obliged to meet in a two-story brick building at the corner of Third and Minnesota streets, and directly in the rear of the wooden edifice where the first legisla- ture in 1849 had met. THE CAPITOL. After it was decided, in 1851, that St. Paul was to be the capital of the territory, Charles Bazille gave the square bounded by Tenth, Eleventh, Wabasha, and Cedar streets for the capitol. A plan was adopted by the building commission- ers, and the contract was taken by Joseph Daniels, a builder, who now resides in Washington as a lawyer and claim agent. The building was of brick, and at first had a front jjortico, supported by four Ionic columns. It was two stories above the basement, 139 feet long and nearly 54 feet in width, with an extension in the rear 44x52 feet. In July, 1858, it was so far completed as to allow the governor to occupy the executive ofBce. SPEECHES OF EX-PBESIDENT FILLMORE AND GEORGE BANCROFT. Before the war it was used not only by the legis- lature, and for the offices of state, but was granted 142 OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINyESOT^l. for important meetings. On the 8th of June a large excursion party, under the auspices of the builders of the Ciiicago & Kock Island railway, arrived at St. Paul from the latter point, in five large steamboats, and among the passengers were some of the most distinguished scholars, statesmen and divines of the republic. At night the popu- lation of St. Paul filled the capitol, and the more sedate listened in the senate chamber to the stir- ring speeches of Ex-President Fillmore, and the historian, George Bancroft, who had been secre- tary of the navy, and minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, while at a later period of the night the youthful portion of the throng danced in the reom then used by the supreme court. The "Pioneer" of the next day thus alludes to the occasion: "The ball in honor of the guests of the excursion came off, in fine style. At an early hour, the assembly having been called to or- der, by the Hon. H. H. Sibley, a welcoming speech was delivered by Governor Gorman, and replies were made by Ex-President Fillmore and the learned historian Bancroft. ****** The dancing then commenced and was kept up till a late hour, when the party broke up, the guests returning to the steamers, and our town's people to their homes, all delighted with the rare enter- tainment." HON. W. H. SEWABD'S SrEEOH. On the 8th of S^itember, 18G0, the capitol was visited by Hon. William H. Seward. At mid-Jay he met by invitation the memljers of the Histori- cal Society in their rooms at the Capitol, and an address of welcome was made by the Kt. Rev. Bishop Anderson, of Rupert's Land, to which he made a brief response. In the afternoon, crowds assembled in the grounds to listen to an expected speech, and every window of the capitol was occupied with eager faces. Standing upon the front steps, he ad- dressed the audience in the language of a patriot and a statesman, and among bis eloquent utter- ances, was the following prediction. " Every step of my progress since I reached the northern Misissippi has been attended by a great and agreeable surprise. I had, early, read the works in which tlie geographers had described the scenes upon which I was entering, and I had studied them in the finest productions of art, but still the grandeur and luxuriance of this region had not been conceived. Those sentinel walls that look down upon the Mississippi, seen as I beheld them, in their abundant verdure, just wlien the earhest tinge of the fall gave luxuriance to the forests, made me think how much of taste and genius had been wasted in celebrating the high- lands of Scotland, before the civilized man had reached the banks of the Mississippi; and the beautiful Lake Pepin, seen at sunset, when the autumnal green of the hills was lost in the deep blue, and the genial atmosphere reflected the rays of the sun, and the skies above seemed to move down and spread their gorgeous drapery on the scene, was a piece of upholstery, such as none but the hand of nature could have made, and it was liut the vestibule of the capitol of the state of Minnesota. ***** ***** * * * Here is the place, the central place where the agriculture of the richest region of North America must pour its tribute. On the east, all along the shore of Lake Sujierior, and west, stretching in one broad plain, in a belt quite across the continent, is a country where State after State is to arise, and where the productions for the support of humanity, in old and crowded States, must be brought forth. "This is then a commanding field, but it is as coraiiiaudiug in regard to the destiny of this coim- try and of this continent, as it is, in regard to the commercial future, for power is not permanently to reside on the eastern slope of the Alleghany Mountains, nor in the sea-ports. Sea-ports have always been overrun and controlled by the people of the interior, and the power that shall communi- cate and express the will of men on this continent is to be located in the Mississippi valley and at the sources of the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence. "In our day, studying, perhaps what might seem to others trilling or visionary, I had cast about for the future and ultimate central seat of power of North American people. I had looked at Quebec, New Orleans, Washington,' Cincinnati, St. LouLs, and San Francisco, and it had been tlje result of my last conjecture, that the seat of power in North America could be found in the valley of Mexico, and that the glories of the Aztec capital would be surrendered, at its becoming at last the capital of the United States of America, but I have corrected that view. I now believe that the ultimate seat of government in this great Conti- nent, will be found somewhere within the circle or HISTORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 143 radius not very far from the spot where I now stand." BTiAG PRESENTATION. In a few months after this speech, Mr. Seward was chosen by President Lincoln, inaugurated March 4, 1861, as secretary of slate, and the next great crowd in front of the capitol was collected by the presentation of a flag by the ladies of St. Paul to tlie First Minnesota regiment which had been raised for the suppression of the slave-holders rebeUion. On May the 25th, 1861, the regiment came down from their rendezvous at Port Snelling, and marched to the capital grounds. The wife of Governor Ramsey, -with the flag in hand, aj)peared on .the front steps, surrounded by a committee of ladies, and presenting it to Colonel Gorman, made a brief address in which she said: "Prom this capitol, to the most remote frontier cottage, no heart but shall send up a prayer for your safety; no eye but shall follow with affection the flutter- ings of your banner, and no one but shall feel pride, when you crown the banner as you will crown it, with glory." As the State increased in population it was nec- essary to alter and enlarge the building, and in 1873, a wing was added fronting on Exchange street, and the cupola was improved. The legis- lature of 1878 provided for the erection of another wing, at an expense of $14,000, fronting on Waba- sha street. The building, by successive additions, was in length 204 feet, and in width 150 feet, and the top of the dome was more than 100 feet from the ground. THE OAPITOIj in FLAMES. On the morning of the 1st of March, 1881, it was destroyed by fire. About 9 o'clock in the the evening two gentlemen, who lived opposite, discovered the capitol was on fire, and immedia- tely, by the telegraph, an alarm notified the firemen of the city, and the occupants of the capitol. The flames rapidly covered the cupola and licked the flag flying from the staff on top. One of the reporters of the Pioneer Press, who was in the senate chamber at the time, graphically describes the scene within. He writes: "The senate was at work on third reading of house bills ; Lieutenant Governor GU- man in his seat, and Secretary Jennison reading something about restraining cattle in Rice county ; the senators were lying back listening carelessly, when the door opened and Hon. Michael Doran announced that the building was on fire. All eyes were at once turned in that direction, and the flash of the flames was visible from the top of the gallery, as well as from the hall, which is on a level with the floor of the senate. The panic that ensued had a different effect upon the differ- ent persons, and those occupying places nearest the entrance, pushing open the door, and rushing pell mell through the blinding smoke. Two or three ladies happened to be in the vicinity of the doors, and happily escaped uninjured. But the opening of the door produced a draft which drew into the senate chamber clouds of smoke, the fire in the meantime having made its appearance over the center and rear of the gallery. All this occurred so suddenly that senators standing near the re- porter's table and the secretary's desk, which were on the opposite side of the chamber from the en- trance, stood as if paralyzed, gazing in mute as- tonishment at the smoke that passed in through the open doors, at the flames over the gallery, and the rushing crowd that blocked the door-ways. The senate suddenly and foi-maUy adjourned. President GkUman, however stood in his place, gavel in hand, and as he rapped his desk, loud and often he yelled: "Shut that door! Shut that doorl" "The cry was taken up by Colonel Crooks and other senators, and the order was fiually obeyed, after which, the smoke clearing away, the senators were enabled to collect their senses and decide what was best to be done. President Gilman, still standing up in his place, calm and collected as if nothing unusual had happened, was encour- aging the senators to keep cool. Colonel Crooks was giving orders as if a battle was raging around him. "Other senators were giving such advice as oc- curred to them, but unfortunately no advice was pertinent except to keep cool and that was aU. Some were importuning the secretary and his as- sistants to save the records, and General Jennison, his hands full of papers, was waiting a chance to walk out with them. But that chance looked re- mote, indeed, for there, locked in the senate cham- ber, were at least fifty men walking around, some looking at each other in a dazed sort of a way; others at the windows looking out at the snow-cov- ered yard, now Ulumiaated from the flames, that were heard roaring and crackUng overhead. 144 OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. From some windows men were yelling to the lim- ited crowd below: "Get some ladders! Send for ladders!" Other windows were occupied. About this time terror actually siezed the members, when Senator Buck remarked that the fire was raging overhead, and at the same moment bummg brands began to drop through the large ventilators upon the desks and floor beneath. "Then, for a moment, it seemed as it all hopes of escape were out off. * * * * * But happily the flames having made their way through the dome, a draught was created strong enough to clear the halls of smoke. The dome was almost directly over the entrance of the senate chamber, and burning brands and timbers had fallen down through the glass ceiling in front of the door, rendering escape in that director im- possible. "But a small window leading from the cloak room of the senate chamber to the first landing of the main stairway furnished an avenue of escape, and through this little opening every man in the sen- ate chamber managed to get out. "The windows were about ten feet high, but Mr. Michael Doran and several other gentlemen stood at the bottom, and uobly rendered assistance to those who came tumbling out, some headlong, some sidewaj'-s and some feet foremost. " As the reporter of the Pioneer-Press came out and landed on his feet, he paused for a moment to survey the scene overhead, where the flames were lashing themselves into fury as they played under- neath the dome, and saw the flag-staff burning, and coals dropping down like fiery hail. "It took but a few minutes for the senators to get out, after which they assembled on the outside, and they had no sooner gaiued the street than the ceiling of the seaate chamber fell in, and in ten minutes that whole wing was a mass of flames." Similar scenes took place in the hall of the house of representatives. A young lawyer, with a friend, as soon as the fire was noticed, riin into the law library and began to throw books out of the wmdows, but in a few minutes the density of the smoke and the approach of the flames com- pelled them to desist, and a large portion of the library was burned. The portraits of Generals Sherman and Ihomas which were hung over the stairway were saved. The books of the Histori- cal Society, in the basement, were removed, but were considerably damaged. In three hours the bare walls alone remained of the capitol which for nearly thirty years had been familiar to the law-makers and public men of Minnesota. Steps were immediately taken to remove the debris and build a new capitol, upon the old site. The foundation walls have been laid, and in the course of a year the superstructure will be com- pleted. THE PENrrENTIABT. • Before the penitentiary was built, those charged or convicted of crime were placed in charge of the commandants of Fort Snelling or Eipley, and kept at useful employment under military supervision. At the same time it was decided to erect a capitol at St. Paul,it was also determined that the territorial prison should be buUt at or within half a mile of Stillwater. A small lot was secured in 1851 in what was called the Battle ravine, in consequence of the conflict between the Sioux and Chippeways de- scribed on the 103d page. Within a stone wall was erected ofBces of the prison, with an annex con- taining six ceUs. A warden's house was built on the outside of the wall. In 1853, an addition of six cells was made and on the 5th of March, 1853, F. R. Delano entered upon his duties as warden. His reports to the legislature show that for several years there was little use for the cells. The prison was opened for criminals on the 1st of .Septcmber,1853,auduntilJanuary, 1858 there had been received onlj' five convicts, and forty-one county and thirty city prisoners awaiting trial. The use of the prison by the counties and city as a temporary place of confinement led to some misunderstanding between the warden and Wash- ington county, and the grand jury of that county in November, 1857, complained that the wai'den was careless in discharge of his duties. The jury, among other complaints sent the following ironi- cal statement: "It was also found in such exami- uution that one Maria Roffin, committed on charge of selling spirituous hquors to the Indians within the territory of the United States escaped in the words of the record, 'by leaving the prison' and it is a matter of astonishment to this grand jury that she so magnanimously consented to leave the penitentiary behind her." Francis O. J. Smith acted as warden for a brief l)eriod after Delano, and then H. N. Setzer. In 1859, the number of cells had increased to sixteen, iiul among the inmates was a hitherto respectable HISrORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 145 citizen sentenced for fifteen years for robbing a post-office. In 1860 John S. Proctor became warden, and after eight years of efBoieut service, was succeeded by Joshua L. Taylor. By successive additions in 1869 nearly ten acres were enclosed by prison walls, and during this year extensive shops were built. The State in 1870 erected a costly prison at an expense of about $80,000, which, besides a chapel and necessary offices, contained two hun- dred and ninety-nine cells. A. 0. Webber succeeded Taylor as Warden in March, 1870, and the following October, Henry A. Jackman took his place, and continued in office until August, 1874, when the present incumbent, J. A. Keed, was appointed. It has been the policy of the State to hire the convicts to labor for contractors, in workshops within the walls. At present the inmates are largely engaged in the making of agricultural machines for the firm of Seymour, Sabin & Co. THE UNIVBKSITY OP MINNESOTA. The Territorial Legislature of 18.51, passed an act establishing the University of Minnesota at or near the Falls of St. Anthony, and memorialized Congress for a grant of lands for the Institution. Soon after, Congress ordered seventy-two sections of land to be selected and reserved for the use of said University. As the Kegents had no funds, Franklin Steele gave the site now the public square, on Second Street in the East Division, oj^posite the Minnesota Medical College. Mr. Steele and others at their own expense erected a wooden building thereon, for a Preparatory Department, and the Eev. E. W. Merrill was engiiged as Principal. At the close of the year 1853, the Eegents reported that there was ninety- four students in attendance, but that the site selected being too near the Falls, they had purchased of Joshtia L. Taylor and Paul B. George about twenty-five acres, a mile eastward, on the heigth overlooking the Falls of St. Anthony. Governor Gorman, in his message in 1854 to the Legislature said : "The University of IMinne- sota exists as yet only in name, but the time has comewjien a substantial reality may and should be created." But the Eegents could not find any patent which would compress a myth into reality, for not an acre of the land grant of Congress was available. The Governor in his message therefore ■'idded: "It would not embarrass our resources, 10 in my judgment, if a small loan was effected to erect a building, and establish one or two profes- sorships, and a preparatory department, such loau to be based upon the townships of land appropri- ated for the sole use of the University." While it was pleasing to loc; 1 pride to have e building in prospect which could be seen from afar, the friends of education shook their heads, and declared the prospect of borrowing money to build a University building before the common school system was organized was visionary, and would be unsuccessful. The idea, however, con- tinued to be agitated, and the Begents at length were authorized by the Legislature of 1856, to issue lionds in the name of the University, under its corporate seal, for fifteen thousand dollars, to be secured by the mortgage of the University building which had been erected on the new site, and forty thousand dollars more were authorized to be issued by the Legislature of 1858, to be secured by a lien on the lands devoted for a Ter- ritorial University. With the aid of these loans a costly and inconvenient stone edifice was con- structed, but when finished there was no demand for it, and no means for the payment of interest or professors. In the fall of 1858, in the hope that the Uni- versity might be saved from its desperate condi- tion, the Regents elected the Rev. Edward D. Neill as Chancellor. He accepted the position without any salary being pledged, and insisted that a University must necessarily be of slow de- velopment, and must succeed, not precede, the common schools, and contended that five years might elapse before anything could be done for a University which would be tangible and visible. He also expressed the belief that in time, with strict watchfulness, the heavy load of debt could be hf ted. The Legislature of 1860 abolished the old board of Regents of the Territorial University by pass- ing an act for a State University, which had been prepared by the Chancellor, and met the, approval of Chancellor Tappan, of Michigan University. Its first section declared "that the object of the State University established by the Constitution of the State, at or near the Falls of St. Anthony, shall be to provide the best and most efficient means of imparting to the youth of the State an education more advanced than that given in the public schools, and a thorough knowledge of the 146 OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. branches of literature, the arts and Boiences, with their various applications." This charter also provided for the appointment of five Regents, to be appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate, iu place of the twelve who had before been elected by the Legis- lature. The Legislature of 1860 also enacted that the Chancellor shoiild be ex-officio State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction. The first meeting of the Regents of the State University was held on the fifth of April, 1860, and steps were taken to secure the then useless edi- fice from further dilapidation. The Chancellor urged at this meeting that a large portion of the territorial land grant would be absorbed in pay- ment of the moneys used in the erection of a building in advance of the times, and that the only way to secure the existence of a State University was by asking Congress for an addi- tional two townshi^js, or seventy-two sections of land, which he contended could be done under the phraseology of the enabUug act, which said: "That seventy-two sections of land shall be set apart and reserved for the use and support of a State Univer- sity to be selected by the Governor of said State,'" etc. The Regents requested the Governor to suggest to the authorities that it was not the intention of Congress to turn over the debts and prospectively encumbered lands of an old and badly managed Territorial institution, but to give the State that was to be, a grant for a State University, free from all connection with tlie Territorial organiza- tion. The Governor communicated these views to the authorities at Washington, but it was not tUl after years of patient waiting that the land was obtained by an act of Congress. At the breaking out of the civil war in 1861, the Chancellor became Chaplain of the First Regi- ment of Minnesota Volunteers, and went to the seat of war, and the University affairs continued to grow worse, and the University building was a by-word and hissing among the passers by. Dur- ing the year 1863, some of the citizens of St. An- thony determined to make another effort to extri- cate the institution from its difficulties, and the legislature of 1864 passed an act abolishing the board of Regents, and creating three persons sole regents, with power to liquidate the debts of the institution. The Regeuts under this law were John S. Pillsbury and O. C. Merriman, of St. An- thony, and John Nicols, of St. Paul. The increased demand for pine lands, of which the University owned many acres, and the sound discretion of these gentlemen co-operated in pro- curing happy results. In two years Governor Marshall, in his message to the legislature, was able to say: "The very able and successful man- agement of the affairs of the institution, imder the piesent board of Regents, relieving it of over one hundred thousand dollars of debt, and saving over thirty thousand acres of land that was at one time supposed to be lost, entitles Messrs. Pillsbury, Merriman, and Nicols to the lasting gratitude of the State." The legislature of 1867 appropriated $5,000 for a preparatory and Normal department, and the Regents this year chose as principal of the school, the Rev. W. W. Washburn, a graduate of the Uni- versity of Michigan, and Gabriel Campbell, of the same institution, and Ira Moore as assistants. The legislature of 1868 passed an act to reorganize the University, and to establish an Agricultural Col- lege therein. Departing from the policy of the University of Michigan, it established what the Regents wished,a department of Elementary instruction. It also pro- vided for a OoUege of Science, Literature and the Arts; a College of Agriculture and MecUaniiis with Military Tactics; a college of Law, and a College of Medicine. The provision of the act of 1860, for the appoint- ment of Regents was retained, and the number to be confirmed by the Senate, was increased from five to seven. The new board of Regents was organized in March, 1868. John S. Pillsbury, of St. Anthony, President; O. C. Merriman, of St. Anthony, Sec- retary, and John Nicils, of St. Paul, Treasurer. At a meeting of the Regents in August, 1869, arrangements were made for collegiate work by electing as President and Professor of mathematics ^^■illiam W. FolweU. President FohveU was bom in 1835, in Seneca county. New York, and graduated with distinction in 1827, at Hobart College in Geneva, New York. For two years lie was a tutor at Hobart, and then went to Europe. Upon his return the civil war was raging, and he entered the 50th New Y'ork Volun- teers. After the army was disbanded he engaged in business in Ohio, but at the time of his election to the presidency of the University, was Professor oE mathematics, astronomy, and German at Ken- yon College. HISTORY OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 147 THE FACULir. The present faculty of the institution is as fol- lows: William W. Folwell, instructor, political science. Jabez Brooks, D. D., professor, Greek, and in charge o£ Latin. Newton H. WincheU, professor, State geologist, C: N. Hewitt, M. D., professor, Public Health. JohnG. Moore, professor, German. Moses Marston, Ph. D., professor, English lit- erature. C. W. Hall, professor, geology and biology. John 0. Hutchinson, assistant professor, Greek and mathematics. Johu S. Clark, assistant professor, Latin. Matilda J. Campbell, instructor, German and English. Maria L. Sanford, professor, rhetoric, and elocu- tion. William A. Pike, 0. E., professor, engineering and physics. John F. Downey, professor, mathematics and astronomy. James A. Dodge, Ph. D., professor, chemistry. Alexander T. Ormond, professor, mental and moral philosophy and history. Charles W. Benton, professor, French.- Edward D. Porter, professor, agriculture. William H. Leib, instructor, vocal music. William F. Decker, instructor, shop work and drawing. Edgar C. Brown, U. S. A., professor, military science. James Bowen, instructor, practical horticulture. THE CAMPUS AND BUILDINGS. The campus of the university since it was orig- inally acquired, has been somewhat enlarged, and now consists of about fifty acres in extent, undu- lating in surface, and well wooded with native trees. The buildings are thus far but two in number, the plan of the original building, which in outline was not unlike the insane asylum build- ing at St. Peter, having been changed by the erection in 1876, of a large four-story structure built of stone and surmounted by a tower. This building is 186 feet in length and ninety in breadth, exclusive of porches, having three stories above the basement in the old part- The walls are of blue limestone and the roof of tin. The rooms, fifty -three in number, as well as all the corridors are heated by an efficient steam appara- tus, and are thoroughly ventilated. Water is sup- plied from the city mains, and there is a stand- pipe running from the basement through the roof with hose attached on all the floors for protection against fire. The assembly hall, in the third story, is 87x55 feet, 24 feet high, and wiU seat with comfort 700 people, and 1,200 can be accom- modated. THE AGRICULTUKAL BUILDING is the first of the special buildings for the separ- ate colleges, and was built in 1876. It is of brick, on a basement of blue stone, 146x54 feet. The central portion is two stories in height. The south wing, 46x25 feet, is a plant house of double sash and glass. The north wing contains the chemical laboratory. There are class rooms for chemistry, physics and agriculture, and private laboratories for the professors. A large room in the second story is occupied by the museum of technology and agriculture, and the basement is filled up with a carpenter shop, a room with vises and tools at which eight can work, and another room fitted with eight forges and a blower — the commencement of the faciUties for practical in- struction. DEAF AND DUMB INSTITUTION. Of all the public institutions of Minnesota, no one has had a more joleasing history, and more symmetrical development than the Institution for the education of the deaf and dumb and the blind at Faribault. The legislature of 1858, passed an act for the establishment of "The Minnesota State Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb," within two miles of Faribault, in Rice county, upon con- dition that the town or county, should within one year from the passage of the law give forty acres of land for its use. The condition was comj^lied with, but the financial condition of the country and the breaking out of the civil war, with other causes retarded the progress of the Institution for five years. The legislature of 1863 made the first appro- priation of fifteen himdred dollars for the opening of the Institution. Mr. E. A. Mott, of Faribault, who has to this time been an efiicient director, at the request of the other two directors, visited the East for teachers, and secured Prof. Kinney and wife of Columbus, Ohio. A store on Front Street was tfien rented, and adapted for the temporary 148 OUTLINE niSTORT OF THE STATE OP MINNESOTA. use of the Institution, which opened on the 9th of September, 1863, with live pupils, which soon in- creased to ten. On February 13th, 1864, the State appropriated about four thousand dollars for the supiiert of the Institution, and the directors expended about one thousand dollars in the erection of small additional building, eighteen by twenty feet in dimensions, as s boys' dormitory. After laboring faithfully for three years and se- curing the respect of his associates, on July 1st, 1866, Prof. Kinney resigned on account of ill health. The directors the nest month elected as Super- intendent Jonathan L. Noyes, A. M. On the 7th of SejJtember Professor Noyes an-ived at Faribault with Miss A. L. Steele as an assistant teacher and Henrietta Watson as matron. NOBTH WINO OF EDIFICE COMPLETED. Upon the 17th of March, 1863, the Institution was removed to a wing of the new building upon a site of fifty-two acres beautifully situated upon the brow of the hills east of Faribault. The edi- fice of the French louvre style, and was designed by Monroe Sheire, a St. Paul architect, and cost about fifty-three thousand dollars, and water was introduced from si^rings in the vicinity. WOEK SHOPS. In 1869, the Superintendent was cheered by the completion of the first work shop, and soon eight mutes imder the direction of a mute foreman be- gan to make flour barrels, and in less than a year had sent out more than one thousand, and in 1873 4,054 barrels were made. SOUTH WDfG BEGAN. The completed wing was not intended to accom- modate more than sixty pupils and soon there was a demand for more room. During the year 1869 the foundation of the south wing was completed, and on the 10th of September 1873 the building was occupied by boys, the other wing being used for the girls. By the time the building was ready ■■itudents were waiting to occupy. MAUI BniLDlNQ COMPLETED. In 1879 the design was completed by the finith- ing of the centre building. The whole edifice is thus described by the architect, Monroe Sheire: "The plan of the building is rectangular, and con- sists of a central portion one hundred feet north and south, and one hundred and eight feet east and west, exclusive of piazzas, and two wings, one on the north, and the other on the south side, each of those being eighty by forty-five. This makes the extreme length two hundred and sixty feet, and the width one hundred and eight feet. The entire building is four stories above the base- ment." The exterior walls are built of blue Ume stone from this vicinity, and the style Franco Roman- esque. Over the center is a graceful cupola, and the top of the same is one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. The entire cost to the State of all the improve- ments was about $175,000, and the building wdl accommodate about two hundred pupils. The rooms are lighted by gas from the Faribault Gas Works. INDTTSTBIAL SCHOOLS. Tlie first shop opened was for making barrels. To this cooper shop has been added a shoe shop, a tailor shop and a printing office. MAGAZINE. The pupils established in March, 1876, a little paper called the Gopher. It was printed on a small press, and second-hand* type was used. In June, 1877, it was more than doubled in size, and changed its name to "The Mutes' Com- piiuion." Printed with good type, and filled with pleasant articles it still exists, and adds to the in- terest in the institution. EDUCATION OF THE BLIND. In 1863 a law was passed by the legislature re- quiring blind chOdren to be educated under the sir- pervision of the Deaf and Dumb Institutior.. Early in July, 1866, a school for the blind was opened in a separate building, rented for the pur- \,ox, under the care of Miss H. N. Tucker. Dur- ing the first term there were three pupils. In May, 1863, the blind pupils were brought into the deal and dumb institution, but the experiment of in strufting these two classes together was not satis- factory, and in 1874 the blind were removed to the old Faribault House, half a mile south of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, which had been fitted up for their accommodation, and where a large new brick building, for the use of the blind, has since been erected. In 1875, Profes- sor James J. Dow was made prineiiml of the schooL UliiTOliT OF STATE INSTITUTIONS. 149 SOHOOI; 3?0K THE FEEBLE MINDED. From time to time, iu his report to the Legisla- ture, Siiperiutendent Noyes alhided to the fact that Bome children appeared deaf aud dumb because of their feeble mental development, and in 1879, the state appropriated S5,000 for a school for imbecile children. The institution was started in July of that year by Dr. Henry M. Knight, now deceased, then Superintendent and founder of the Connecticut school of the same description, who was on a visit to Faribault. He superintended the school until the arrival, in September, of his son, Dr. George H. Knight, who had been trained imder his father. For the use of the school the Fairview House was rented, and fourteen feeble children were sent from the Insane Asylum at St. Peter. In eigh- teen months the number had increased to twenty - five. The site of the new building for the school is about forty rods south of the Blind School. The dimensions are 44x80 feet, with a tower projection 20x18 feet. It is of limestone, and three stories above the basement, covered with an iron hip-roof, and cost about $25,000. SUPEEINTENDENT J. L. NOTES. The growth of the Minnesota institution for the education of the deaf and dumb and the blind, has been so symmetrical, and indicative of one ' moulding mind, that c sketch of the institution would be incomplete without some notice of the Superintendent, who has guided it for the last sixteen years. On the 13th of June, 1827, Jonathan Lovejoy Noyes was born in Windham, Kockingham county. New Hampshire. At the age of fourteen years he was sent to Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachu- setts, not only one of the oldest, but among the best schools in the United States. At Andover he had the advantage of the instruction of the thorough Greek scholar. Dr. Samuel H. Taylor, the eminent author, Lyman H. Coleman, D. D., afterwards Professor of Latin in Lafayette Col- lege, Pennsylvania, and William H. Wells, whose English grammar has been used in many insti- tutions. After completing his preparatory studies, in 1848, he entered Yale College, and in four years received the diploma of Bachelor of Arts. After graduation he received an appointment in the Pennsylvania Institution of the Deaf and Dumb, on Broad Street, Philadelphia, and found instructing deaf mutes was a pleasant occupation. After six years of important work in Philadelphia, he was employed two years in a similar institution at Baton Bouge, Louisiana, and then received an ap- pointment in the well known American Asylum so long presided over by Thomas H. Gallandet, at Hartford, Connecticut. While laboring here he was invited to take charge of the "Minnesota In- stitution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind," and in September, 1866, he ar- rived at Faribault. With wisdom and patience, gentleness and energy, and an unfaltering trust in a superintending Providence, he has there contin- ued his work with the approbation of his fellow citizens, and the affection of the pupils of the institution. At the time that he was relieved of the care of the blind and imbecile, the directors entered upon their minutes the following testimonial: "■Resolved, That upon the retirement of Prof. J. L. Noyes from the superintendency of the dej)art- ments of the blind and imbecile, the board of Directors, of the Minnesota Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and Blind and Idiots, and Imbe- ciles, desire to testify to his deejD interest in these several departments; his efficient and timely ser- vices in their establishment; and his wise direction of their early progress, until they have become full-fledged and independent departments of our noble State charitable institutions. ' "For his cordial and courteous co-operation with the directors in their work, and for his timely counsel and advice, never withheld when needed, the board by this testimonial, render to him their hearty recognition and warm acknowledgement." On the 2l8tof July, 1862, Professor Noyes mar- ried Eliza H. Wadsworth, of Hartford, Connecti- cut, a descendent of the Colonel Wadsworth, who in the old colony time, hid the charter of Connecti- cut in an oak, which for generations has been known in history as the "Charter Oak." They have but one child, a daughter. INSANE HOSPITAL AT ST. PETER. Until the year 1866, the insane of Minnesota were sent to the Iowa Asylum for treatment, but in January of that year the Legislature passed an act appointing Wm. K. Marshall, John M. Berry, Thomas Wilson, Charles Mclhath, and S. J. K. McMillan to select a proper place for the Minne- 160 OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. sota Hospital for the Insane. The vicinity of St. Peter was chosen, the citizens presenting to the State two hundred and ten acres one mile south of the city, and on the Minnesota River, directly op- posite to Kasota. In October, 1866, temporary buildings were erected, and the Trustees elected Samuel E. Shantz. of Utica, N. Y., as the Superintendent. A plan submitted by Samuel Sloan, a Philadelphia architect, consisting of a central building, with sections and wings for the accommodation of at least five hundred patients, in 1867, was adopted, and in 1876 the great structure was completed. • It is built of Kasota limestone, the walls lined with brick, and the roof covered with slates. The central building is four stories in height, sur- mounted ■with a fine cupola, and therein are the chapel and offices. Each wing is three stories high, with nine separate lialls. The expenses of construction of the Asylum, with the outbuildings, has been more than half a million of dollars. Dr. Shantz having died, Cyrus K. Bartlett, M. D., of Northampton, Massachu- setts, was appointed Superintedent. In January, 1880, in the old temporary build- ings and in the Asylum proper there were six hun- dred and sixty patients. On the 15th of Novem- ber, 1880, about half past eight in the evening, the Superintendent and assistants were shocked by the announcement that the north wing was on fire. It began in the northwest comer of the basement, and is supposed to liave been kindled by a patient employed about the kitchen who was not violent. The flames rapidly ascended to the dif- ferent stories, through the holes for the hot air pipes, and the openings for the dumb waiters. The wing at the time contained two himdred and seventy patients, and as they were Uberated by their nurses and told to make their escape, ex- hibited various emotions. Some clapped their hands with glee, others trembled with fear. Many, barefooted and with bare heads, rushed for the neighboring hills and sat on the cold snow. A few remained inside. One patient was noticed in a window of the third story, with his knees drawn up to his chin, and his face in his hands, a cool and interested looker on, and with an expres- sion of cynical contempt for the flames as they ap- proached his seat. When a tongue of fire would shoot toward him, he would lower his head, and after it passed would resume his position with more than the indifierence of a stoic. At last the brick work beneath him gave way with a loud crash, and as he was precijiitated into the cauldron of fire soon to be burned to ashes, his maniacal laugh was heard above the roar of the flames. The remains of eighteen patients were found in the ruins, and seven died in a few days after the fire, in consequence of injuries and exposure. Immediate steps were taken by the Governor to repair the damages by the fire. INSANE HOSPITAL AT ROCHESTER. In 1878, the Legislature enacted a law by which an inebriate asylum commenced at Koches- ter could be used for an Insane Asylum. With the ai^propriation, alterations and additions were made, Dr. J. E. Bowers elected Superintendent, and on the Ist of January, 1879, it was opened for patients. Twenty thonsatld dollars have since been appro- priated for a wing for female patients. STATE REFORM SCHOOIi. During the year 1865, I. V. D. Heard, Esq., a lawyer of Saint Paul, and at that time City At- torney sent a communication to one of the daily papers urging the importance of separating child ren arrested for petty crimes, from the depraved adults found in the station house or county jail, and also called the attention of the City Council to the need for a Reform School. The next Legislature, in 1866, under the influ- ence created by the discussion passed a law creat- ing a House of Eefuge, and appropriated $5,000 for its xise on condition that the city of Saint Paul would give the same amount. In November, 1867; the managers purchased thirty acres with a stone farm house and Ijam thereon, for S10,000, situated in Rose township, in Saint Anthony near Snelling Avenue, in the west- em suburbs of Saint Paul. In 1868 the House of Refuge was ready to re- ceive wayward youths, and this year the Legis- lature changed the name to the Minnesota State Reform School, and accepted it as a state institu- tion. The Rev. J. G. Riheldaflbr D. D., who had for years been pastor of one of the Saint Paul Presbyterian churclies was elected superintendent In 1869 the main budding of light colored brick, 40x60 feet was erected, and occupied in December. In February, 1879, the laundry, a separate building was burned, and-^n appropriation of the SKETCHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 151 Legislature was made soon after of $15,000 for the rebuilding of the laundry and the ei'ection of a work shop. This shop is 50x100 and three stories high. The boys besides receiving a good English education, are taught to be tailors, tinners, carjsenters and gardeners. The sale of bouquets from the green house, of sleds and toys, and of tin ware has been one of the sources of revenue. Doctor Riheldaffer continues as superintendent and by his judicious management has prepared many of the inmates to lead useful and honorable lives, after their discharge from the Institution. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. By the influence of Lieut. Gov. Holcomb and others the first State Legislature in 1858 passed an Act by -which three Normal schools might be erected, but made no proper provision for their support. WINONA NOKMAL SCHOOL. Dr. Ford, a graduate of Dartmouth college, and a respectable physician in Winona, \vith sev- eral residents of the same place secured to the amount of $5,512 subscriptions for the establish- ment of a Normal School at that point, and a small appropriation was secured in 1880 from the Legislature. John Ogden, af Ohio, was elected Principal, and in September, 1860, the school was opened in a temporary building. Soon after the civil war be- gan the school was suspended, and Mr. Ogden entered the army. In 1864 the Legislature made an appropriation of $3,000, and and WiUiam F. Phelps, who had been in charge of the New Jersey Normal School at Trenton, was chosen principal. In 1865 the State appropriated S5,000 annually for the school and the citizens of Winona gave over |20,000 to- ward the securing of a site and the erection of a permanent edifice. One of the best and most ornamental education- al buildings in the Northwest was commenced and in September, 1869, was so far finished as to ac- commodate pupils. To complete it nearly $150,- 000 was given by the State. In 1876 Prof. W. F. Phelps resigned and was succeeded by Charles A. Morey who in May, 1879 retired. The present principal is Irwin Shepard. MANKATO NOBMAL SCHOOL. In 1866, Mankato having offered a site for a second Normal School, the Legislature give $5,000 for its support. George M. Gage was elected Principal and on the 1st of September, 1868 the school was opened, It occupied the basement of, the Methodist church for a few weeks, and then moved into a room over a store at the corner of Front and Main streets. In April 1870, the State building was first occupied. Prof. Gage resgned in June, 1872, and his suc- cessor was Miss J. A. Sears who remained one year. In July 1873, the Eev. D. 0. John was elected principal, and in the spring of 1880, he retired. The present Principal is Professor Edward Sear- ing, formerly State Superintendent of Public In- struction in Wisconsin, a fine Latin scholar, and editor of an edition of Virgil. ST. CLOUD NORMAL SCHOOL. In 1809, the citizens of St. Cloud gave $5,000 for the establishment in that city of the third Normal School, and a buildiug was fitted up for its use. The legislature in 1869, appropriated $3,000 for current expenses. In 1870, a new build- ing was begun, the legislature having appropriated .1;10,000, and in 1873, $30,000; this building in 1875 was first occupied. In 1875, the Rev. D. L. Kiehle was elected Principal, Prof. Ira Moore, the first Principal having resigned. In 1881, Prof. Kiehle was appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Jerome Allen, late of New York, was elected his successor. CHAPTER XXVIL MINNESOTA GOVBRNOBS UNITED STATES SENATOHS ■ — MEMBERS OP UNITED STATES HOUSE OP KEPEE- SENTATIVES. GOVERNOR BAMSEI A. D. 1849 TO A. D. 1853. Alexander Ramsey, the first Governor of the Territory of Minnesota, was born on the 8th of September, 1815, near Harrisburg, in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a descendent of one of the many colonists who came from the north of Ireland before the war of the Revolution, and his father about the time of the first treaty of peace with Great Britain, was boru in York county, Pennsylvania. His mother Elizabeth Kelker, was of German descent, a woman of en- ergy, industry and religious principle. His father dying, when the subject of this sketch 152 OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OP MINNESOTA. was ten years of age, he went into the store of his maternal uncle in Harrisburg, and remained two years. Then he was emplojed as a copyist in the ofiBee of Register of Deeds. For several years he was engaged in such business as would give sup- port. Thoughtful, persevering and studious, at the age of eighteen he was able to enter Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania. After he left College he entered a lawyer's ofBce in Harrisburg, and subsequently attended lecture j at the Law Sohool at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. At the age of twenty-four, in 1839, he was ad- mitted to the bar of Dauphin county. His execu- tive ability was immediately noticed, and the nest year he took an active part in the political cam- paign, advocating the claims of William H. Harri- son, and he was complimented by being made Secretary of the Pennsylvania Presidential Elec- tors. After the electoral vote was delivered in Washington, in a few weeks, in January 18il, he was elected chief clerk of the House of Represen- tatives of Pennsylvania. Here his ability in dis- patching business, and his great discretion made a most favorable impression, and in ISiS, the Whigs of Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties nominated him, as their candidate for Congress. Popular among the young men of Harrisburg, that city wliich had hitherto given a democratic majority, voted for the Whig ticket which he represented, and the whole district gave him a majority of votes. At the expiration of his term, in 18-15 he was again elected to Congress. Strong in his political preferences, without man- ifesting political rancor, and of large perceptive power, he was in 1818 chosen by the Whig party Pensylvania, as the secretary of the Central Com- mittee, and he directed the movements in his na- tive State, which led to the electoral votes being thrown for General Zachary Taylor for President. On the 4th of March, 1849, President Taylor took the oath of office, and in less than a month he signed the commission of Alexander Ramsey as Governor of the Territory of Minnesota, which had been created by a law approved the day before his inauguration. By the way of Buffalo, and from thence by lake to Chicago, and from thence to Galena, where he took a steamboat, he traveled to Minnesota and arrived at St. Paul early in the morning of the 27th of May, with his wife, children and nurse, but went with the boat up to Mendota, where he was cordially mot by the Territorial delegate, Hon. H. H. Sibley, and with his family was his guest for several weeks. He then came to St, Paul, occupied a small housa on Ttiird street near the comer of Robert. On the Ist of Jane he issued his first proclama- mation declaring the organization of the Territorial government, and on the 11th, he issued another creating judicial districts and providing for the election of members of a legislature to assemble in September. To his duties as Governor was added the superintendency of Indian affairs and during the first summer he held frequent confer- ences with the Indians, and his first report to the Conmaissioner of Indian Affairs is still valuable for its information relative to the Indian tribes at that time hunting in the valleys of the Minnesota and the Mississippi. During the Governor's term of office he visited the Indians at their villages, and made himself familiar with their needs, and in the summer of 1851, made treaties with the Sioux by which the country between the Mississippi Rivers, north of the State of Iowa, w.is ojjened for occupation by the whites. His term of office as Governor expired in April, 1853, and in 1855 his fellow townsmen elected him Mayor of St. Paul. In 1857, after Minnesota had adopted a State Constitution, the Republican party nominated Alexander Ramsey for Governor, and the Democrats nominated Henry H. Sibley. The election in October was close and exciting, and Mr. Sibley was at length de- clared Governor by a majority of about two hun- dred votes. The Rejjublicans were dissatisfied with the result, and contended that more Demo- cratic votes were thrown in the Otter Tail Lake region than there were citizens residing in the northern district. In 1859, Mr. Ramsey was again nominated by the Republicans for Governor, and elected by four thousand majority. Before the expiration of his term of office, the Republic was darkened by civil war. Governor Ramsey happened to be in Wash- ington when the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter was received, and was among the fii-st of the State Governors to call upon the President and tender a regiment of volunteers in defense of the EepubUc. Returning to the State, he dis- played energy and wisdom in the organization of regiments. In the fall of 1861, he was again nominated and elected as Governor, but before the expiration of this term, on July 10th, 1863, he was elected by SKETallES OF PUBLIC MEN. 163 the Legislature, United States Senator. Upon en- tering the Senate, he was placed on the Commit- tees on Naval Affairs, Post-offices, Patents, Pacific Railroad, and Chairman of the Committee on Rev- olutionary Pensions and Revolutionary Claims. He was also one of the Committee appointed by Congress to accompany the remains of President Lincoln to Springfield Cemetery, Illinois. The Legislature of 1869 re-elected him for the term ending in March, 1875. In 1880, he was ap- pointed Secretary of War by President Hayes, and for a time also acted as Secretary of the Navy. He was married in 1845 to Anna Earl, daughter of Michael H. Jenks, a member of Congress from Bucks county. He has had three children; his two sons died in early youth; his daughter Marion, the wife of Charles Eliot Furness, resides with her family, with her parents in St. Paul. GOVEENOB GOBM.\N A. D. 1853 TO A. D. 1857. At the expiration of Governor Ramsey's tenn of office, President Pierce appointed Willis Arnold Gorman as his successor. Gevernor Gorman was the only son of David L. Gorman and born in January, 1866 near Flemingsburgh, Kentucky- After receiving a good academic education he went to Bloomington, Indiana, and in 1836 graduated in the law department of the State University. He imediately entered upon the practice of law with few friends and no money, in Bloomington, and in a year was called upon to defend a man charged with murder, and obtained his acquittal. That one so young should have engaged in such a case excited the attention of thepubHo, and two years afterwards was elected a member of the Indiana legislature. His popularity was so great that he was re-elected a number of times. When war was declared against Mexico he enlisted as a private in a company of volunteers, which with others at New Albany was mustered into the ser- vice for one year, as the Third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, with James H. Lane, after- wards U. S. Senator for Kansas, as Colonel, while he was commissioned as Major. It is said that under the orders of General Taylor with a de- tachment of riflemen he oi^ened the battle of Buena Vista. In this engagement his horse was shot and fell into a deep ravine carrying the Major with, him and severely bruising him. In August, 1847, he returned to Indiana and by his enthusiasm helped to raise the Fourth Regi- ment and was elected its Colonel, and went back to the seat of war, and was present in several bat- tles, and when peace was declared returned with the reputation of being a dashing officer. Resuming the practice of law, in the fall of 1848 he was elected to Congress and served two terms, his last expiring on the 4th of March, 1853, the day when his fellow officer in the Mexican War, Gen. Franlvlin Pierce took the oath of office as President of the United States. With a commis- sion bearing the signature of President Pierce he arrived in Saint Paul, in May, 1853, as the second Territorial Governor of Minnesota. His term of Governor expired in the spring of 1857, and he was elected a member of the Com- mittee to frame a State Constitution, which on the second Monday in July of that year, convened at the Capitol. After the committee adjourned he again entered upon the practice of law but when the news of the firing of Fort Sumter reached Saint Paul he realized that the nation's life was endangered, and that there would be a civil war. He offered his services to Governor Ram- sey and when the First Regiment of Minnesota volunteers was organized he was commissioned as Colonel. He entered with ardor upon his work of drilling the raw troops in camp at Fort Snelling, and the privates soon caught his enthusiasm. No officer ever had more pride in his regiment and his soldiers were faithful to his orders. His regiment was the advance regiment of FrankUn's Brigade, in Heintzelman's Division at the first Bat- tle of Bull Run, and there made a reputation which it increased at every battle, especially at Gettysburg. Upon the recommendation of Gen- eral Winfield Scott who had known him in Mex- ico after the battle of Bull Run he was aj)pointed Brigadier General by President Lincoln, After three years of service as Brigadier General he was mustered out and returning to St. Paul resumed his profession. From that time he held several positions under the city government. He died on the afternoon of the 25th of May, 1876. GOVEBNOB SIBLET, A. D. 1858 to A. D. 1860. No one is more intimately asssociated with the development of the Northwest than Henry Hast- ings Sibley, the first Governor of Minnesota under the State constitution. By the treaty of Peace of 1783, Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America, and the land east of the Mississippi, 154 OUTLINE HISTORY OP TUB STATE OF MINNESOTA. and northwest of the Ohio river was open to set- tlement by American citizens. la 1786, while Congress was in session in New York City, Dr. Manasseh Cutler, a graduate of Yale, a Puritan divine of a considerable scientific attainments, visited that place, and had frequent conferences with Dane of Massachusetts, and Jef- ferson, of Virginia, relative to the colonization of the Oliio valley, and he secured certain provisions in the celebrated "ordinance of 1787," among others, the grant of land in each to\vnship for the supi^ort of common schools, and also two townships for the use of a University. Under the auspices of Dr. Cutler, and a few others, the first colony, in December, 1787, left Massachusetts, and after a wearisome Journey, on April 7, 1788, reached Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum River. Among the families of this settlement was the maternal grandfather of Governor Sibley, Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, a gallant officer of Ehode Island, in the war of the Eebellion, and a friend of Kos- ciusko. Governor Sibley's mother, Sarah Sproat, was sent to school to the then celebrated Moravian Seminary at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and subse- quently finished her education at Philadelphia. In 1797 she returned to her wilderness home and her father purchased for her pleasure a piano, said to have been the first transported over the Alle- ghany Mountains. Soon after this Solomon Sibley, a young lawyer, a native of Sutton, Massachusetts, visited Marietta, and become acquainted and at- tached to Sarah Sproat, and in 1802, they were married. The next year Mrs. Siljley went to De- troit where her husband had settled, and she com- menced housekeeping opposite where the Biddle House is situated in that city. In 1799, Gover- nor Sibley's father was a representative from the region now known as Michigan, in the first Ter- ritorial Legislature of Northwest, which met at Cincinnati. From 1820 to 1823 he was delegate to Congress from Michigan, and in 1824 he became judge of the supreme court, and in 1836 resigned. Respected by all, on the 4th of April he died. His son, Henry Hastings Sibley, was born in February, 1811, in the city of Detroit. At the age of seventeen, relinquishing the study of law, he became a clerk at Sault St. Marie and then was employed by Eobeit Stuart, of the American Fur Company at Mackinaw. In 1834 he was placed in charge of the Indian trade above Lake Pepin with his new quarters at the mouth of the Minnesota River. In 1836, he built the first stone residence in Minnesota, without the military reservation, at Mendota, and here he was given to hospitality. The missionary of the cross, and the man of sci- ence, the officer of the army, and the tourist from a foreign land, were received with a friendliness that caused them to forget while under his roof that they were strangers in a strange land. In 1843, he was married to Sarah J. Steele, the sister of Franklin Steele, at Fort Snelling. On August Gth, 1846, Congress authorized the people of Wisconsin to organize a State govern- ment with the St. Croi.\ River as a part of its west- em boundary, thus leaving that portion of Wis- consin territory between the St. Croix and Missis- sijipi Rivers s( 11 under the direct supervison of Congress, and the Hon. M. L. Martin, the dele- gate of Wisconsin territory in Congress, intro- duced a bill to organize the territory of Minnesota including portions of Wisconsin and Iowa. It was not until the 29th of May, 1848, how- ever, that Wisconsin territory east of the Saint Croix, was reorganized as a State. On the 30th of October, Mr. Sibley, who was a resident of Iowa territory, was elected delegate to Congress, and after encountering many difficulties, was at length admitted to a seat. On the 3d of March, 1849, a law was approved by the President for the organization of Minne- sota teritory, and in the fall of that year he was elected the first delegate of the new Territory, as his father had been at an early period elected a delegate from the then new Michigan territory. In 1851, he was elected for another term of two years. In 1857, he was a member of the convention to frame a State constitution for Minnesota, and was elected presiding officer by the democrats. By the same party he was nominated for Governor and elected by a smiU majority over the republican candidate, Alexander Rm sey. Minnesota was admitted as a State on the 11th of May, 1858, and on the 28th Governor Sibley delivered his inaugural message. After a residence of twenty -eight yeara at Men- dota, in 1862, he became a resident of Saint Paul. At the beginning of the Sioux outbreak. Governor Ramsey appointed him Colonel, and placed him at the head of the forces employed against the In- dians. On the 23d of September, 1862, he fought SKETCHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 155 the severe and decisive battle of Wood Lake. In March, 1863, he was confirmed by the senate as Brigadier General, and on the 29th o£ November, 1865, he was appointed Brevet Major General for efficient and meritorious services. Since the war he has taken an active interest in every enterprise formed for the advancement of Minnesota, and for the benefit of St. Paul, the city of his residence. His sympathetic nature leads him to open Lis ear, and also his purse to those in distress, and among his chief mourners when he leaves this world will be the many poor he has be- friended, and the faint-hearted who took courage from his words of kindness. His beloved wife, in May, 1869, departed this life, leaving four chil- dren, two daughters and two sons. GOVERNOR RAMSET, JANUARY 1860 TO APRtL 1863. Alexander Ramsey, the first Territorial Gov- ernor, was elected the second State Governor, as has already been mentioned on another page. Be- fore his last term of oifice expired he was elected United States Senator by the Legislature, and Lieutenant Governor Swift became Governor, for the unexpired term. GOVERNOR SWIFT, APRHi, 1863 TO JANUARY, 1864. Henry A. Swift was the son of a physician. Dr. -John Swift, and on the 23d of March, 1823, was born at Ravenna, Ohio. In 1842, he graduated at Western Reserve College, at Hudson, in the same State, and in 1845 was admitted to the practice of the law. During the winter of 1846-7, he was an assistant clerk of the lower house of the Ohio Legislature, and his quiet manner and methodic method of business made a favorable impression. The ijext year he was elected the Chief Clerk, and continued in oifice for two years. For two or three years he was Secretary of the Portage Farm- ers' Insurance Company. In April, 1853, he came to St. Paul, and engaged in merchandise and other occupations, and in 1856, became one of ttie founders of St. Peter. At the election of 1861, he was elected a State Senator for two years. In March, 1863, by the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Donnelly, who had been elected to the United States House of Representatives, he was chosen temporary President of the Senate, and when Governor Ramsey, in April, 1863, left the gubernatorial chair, for a seat in the United States Senate he became the acting Governor. When he ceased to act as Governor, he was again elected to the State Senate, and served during the years 1864 and 1865, and was then appointed by the President, Register of the Land Office at St. Pe1;pr. On the 25th of February, 1869 he died. GOVEBNOR MILLER A. D. 1864 TO A. D. 1866. Stephen A. Miller was the grandson of a Ger- man immigrant who about the year 1785 settled in Pennsylvania. His parents were David and Rosanna Miller, and on the 7th of January, 1816, he was born in what is now Perry county in that State. He was like many of our best citizens, obliged to bear the yoke in his youth. At one time he was a canal boy and when quite a youth was in charge of a canal boat. Fond of reading he ac- quired much information, and of pleasing address he made friends, so that in 1837 he became a for- warding and commission merchant in Harrisburg. He always felt an interest in public affairs, and was an efficient speaker at political meetings. In 1849 he was elected Prothonatary of Dauphin county. Pa., and from 1853 to 1855 was editor of the Harrisburg Telegraph; then Governor Pol- lock, of Pennsylvania, appointed him Flour In- spector for Philadelphia, which office he held until 1858, when he removed to Minnesota on account of his health, and opened a store at Saint Cloud. In 1861, Governor Ramsey who had known him in Pennsylvania, appointed him Lieutenant Colo nel of the First Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, and was present with his regiment on July 2l8t of that year in the eventful battle of Bull Run. Gorman in his report of the return of the First Minnesota Regiment on that occasion wrote: "Be- fore leaving the field, a portion of the right wing, owing to the configuration of the ground and in- tervening woods, became detached, under the com- mand of Lt. Col. Miller whose gallantry was con- spicuous throughout the entire battle, and who contended every inch of the ground with his for- ces thrown out as skirmishers in the woods, and succeeded in occupying the original ground on the right, after the repulse of a body of cavalry." After this engagement, his friend Simon Cam- eron, the Secretary of War, tendered him a posi- tion in the regular army which he declined. Although in ill health he continued with the regiment, and was present at Fair Oaks and Mal- vern Hill. In September, 1862, he was made Colonel of the Seventh Regiment, and proceeded against the 156 OUTLINE UISrOllY OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. Sioux Indians who had massacred so many set- tlers in the Upper Minnesota Valley, and in De- cember he was the Colonel commanding at Man- kato, and imder bis supervision, thirty -eight Siox, condemned for participation in the killing of white persons, on the 26th of February, 18G3, were executed by hanging from gallows, upon one scaffold, at the same time. This year he was made Brigadier General, and also nominated by the re- pubhcans for Governor, to which office he was elected for two years, and in January, 1864, en- entered upon its duties. In 1873, he was elected to the Legislature for a district in the southwestern portion of the State, and in 1876, was a Presidential elector, and bore the electoral vote to Wasliuigton. During the latter years of his life he was em- ployed as a land agent by the St. Paul & Sioiix City Railroad Company. In 1881 he died. He was married in 1839 to Margaret Funk, and they had three sons, and a daughter who died in early childhood. His son Wesley, a Lieutenant in the United States Army, fell in battle at Gettysburg; his second son was a Commissary of Subsistence, but is now a private; and his youngest son is in the service of a Pennsylvania railroad. GOVEKNOB MAKSHAlj, A. D. 1866 to A. D. 1870. William Rainey Marshall is the son of Joseph Marshall, a farmer and native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, whose wife was Abigail Shaw, of Penn- sylvania. He was born on the 17th of October, 1825, in Boone county, Missouri. His boyhood was passed in Quincy, Illinois, and before he at- tained to manhood he went to the lead mine dis- trict of Wisconsin, and engaged in mining and surveying. In September, 1847, when twenty-two years of age, he came to the Falls of St. Croix, and iu a few mouths visited the Falls of St. Anthony, staked out a claim and returned. In the spring of 1848, he was elected to the Wisconsin legislature, but his seat was contested on the ground that he lived beyond the boundaries of the state of Wis- consin. In 1849, he again visited the Falls of St. Anthony, perfected his claim, opened a store, and represented that district in the lower house of the first Territorial legislature. In 1851, he came to St. Paul and established an iron and heavy hard- ware business. In 1852, he held the office of County Surveyor, and the next year, with his brother Joseph and N. P. Langford, he went into the banking busi- ness. In January, 1861, he became the editor of the Daily Press, which succeeded the Daily Times. In August, 1862, he was commissioned Lieut. Colonel of the Seventh Minnesota Regiment of In- fantry and proceeded to meet the Sioux wlio had been eugaged in the massacre of the settlers of the Minnesota valley. In a few weeks, on the 23d of September, 1862, he was in the battle of Wood Lake, and led a charge of five companies of his own regiment, and two of the Sixth, which routed the Sioux, sheltered in a ravine. In November, 1863, he became Colonel of the Seventh Regiment. After the campaign in the Indian country the regiment was ordered south, and he gallantly led his command, on the 14th of July, 1864, at the battle near Tupelo, Mississippi. In the conflict before Nashville, in December, he acted as a Brigade commander, and in April, 1865, he was present at the surrender of Mobile. In 1865, he was nominated by the Republican party, and elected Governor of Minnesota, and in 1867, he was again nominated and elected. He entered ujion his duties as Governor, in January, 1866, and retired in 1870, after four years of service. In 1870, he became vice-president of the bank which was known as the Marine National, which has ceased to exist, and was engaged in other en- terprises. In 1874, he was appointed one of the board of Railroad Commissioners, and in 1875, by a change of the law, he was elected Railroad Commissioner, and until January, 1882, discharged its duties. He has always been ready to help in any move- ment which would tend to promote the hapjjiness and intelligence of humanity. On the 22d of March, 1854, he was married to Abby Langford, of Utioa, and has had one child, a son. GOVEBNOB AUSTIN A. D. 1870 TO A. D. 1874. Horace Austin, about the year 1831, was bom in Connecticut. His father was a blacksmith, and for a time he was engaged in the same occupation. Determined to be something in the world, for sev- eral years, during the winter, he taught school. He then entered the office of a well known law firm at Augusta, Maine, and in 1854 came west. For a brief period he had charge of a school at the Falls of Saint Anthony. In 1856, he became a resident of St. Peter, on SKUTOHES OF PUBLIC MEN. 157 the Minnesota Biver. In 1863, in the expedition against the Sioux Indians, he served as captain in the volunteer cavalry. In 1869, he was elected Governor, and in 1871 he was re-elected. Soon after the termination of his second gubernatorial term, he was appointed Auditor of the United States Treasury at Washington. He has since been a United States Laud Officer in Dakota ter- ritory, but at present is residing at Fergus Falls, Minnesota. GOVEBNOB DAVIS A. D. 1874 TO A. D. 1876. Cuahman Kellog Davis, the son of Horatio JJ. and Clarissa F. Davis, on the 16th of June, 1838, was born at Henderson, Jefferson county. New York. "When he was a babe but a few months old, his father moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and opened a farm. At Waukesha, Carroll College had been commenced, and in this institution Gov- ernor Davis was partly educated, but in 1857 grad- uated at the University of Michigan. He read law at Waukesha with Alexander Kan- dall, who was Governor of Wisconsin, and at a later period Postmaster General of the United States, and in 1859 was admitted to the bar. In 1862, he was commissioned as first lieuten- ant of the 28th Wisconsin Infantry, and in time became the adjutant general of Brigadier General Willis A. Gorman, ex-Governor of Minnesota, but in 1864, owing to ill health he left the army. Coming to Saint Paul in August, 1864, he en- tered ujjon the practice of his profession, and formed a partnership with ex-Governor Gorman. Gifted with a vigorous mind, a fine voice, and an impressive speaker, he soon took high rank in his profession. In 1867, he was elected to the lower house of the legislature, and the next year was commisioned Unit-ed States District Attorney, which position he occupied for five years. In 1863, he was nominated by the republicans, and elected Governor. Entering upon the duties of the office in 1874, he served two years. Since his retirement he has had a large legal practice, and is frequently asked to lecture upon literary subjects, always interesting the audience. GOVERNOK PILLSBURY — A. D. 1876 TO 1882. John Sargent Pillsbury is of Puritan ancestry. He is the son of John and Susan Pillsbury, and on the 29th of July, 1828, was bom at Sutton, New Hampshire, where his father and grandfather Uved. Like the sons of many New Hampshire farmers, he was obliged, at an early age, to work for a sup- port. He commenced to learn house painting, but at the age of sixteen was a boy in a country store. When he was twenty-one yea'rs of age, he formed a partnership with Walter Harriman, subsequently Governor of New Hampshire. After two years he removed to Concord, and for four years was a tailor and dealer in cloths. In 1853, he came to Michigan, and in 1855, visited Minnesota, and was so pleased that he settled at St. Anthony, now the East Divi- sion of the city of Minneapolis, and opened a hardware store. Soon a fire destroyed his store and stock upon which there was no insurance, but by perseverance and hopefulness, he in time re- covered from the loss, with the increased confldenct of his fellow men. For six years he was an efficient member of the St. Anthony council. In 1863, he was one of three appointed sole Ee- gents of the University of Minnesota, with powel to liquidate a large indebtedness which had been unwisely created in Territorial days. By his carefiilness, after two or three years the debt was canceled, and a large partion of the land granted to the University saved. In 1863, he was elected a State Senator, and served for seven terms. In 1875, lie was nomi- nated by the republicans and elected Governor; in 1877, he was again elected, and in 1879 for the third time he was chosen, the only person who has served three successive terms as the Governor of Minnesota. By his courage and persistence he succeeded in obtaining the settlement of the railroad bonds which had been issued under the seal of the State, and had for years been ignored, and thus injured the credit of the State. In 1872, with his nephew he engaged in the manufacture of flour, and the firm owns several mills. Lately they have erected a mill in the East Division, one of the best and largest in the world. GOVEBNOB HUBBARD, A. D. 1882. LiiL^ius Frederick Hubbard was born on the 26th of January, 1836, at Troy, New York. His father, Charles Frederick, at the time of his death was Sheriff of Rensselaer county. At the age of six- teen, Governor Hubbard left the North Granville Academy, New York, and went to Poultney, Ver- 158 OUTLINE BISTORT OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. mont, to learn the tinner's trade, and after a short period hs moved to Chicago, where he worked for four years. In 1857, he came to Minnesota, and established a paper called tlie "Republican," which he con- ducted until 1861, when in December of that year he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Minnesota Regiment, and by his efficiency so commended himself that in less than one year he became its Colonel. At the battle of Nashville, after he had been knocked ofiF his horse by a ball, he rose, and on foot led his command over the enemy's works. "For gallant and meritorious service in the battle of NashwUe, Tennessee, on the 15th and 16th of December, 1864," he received the brevet rank of Brigadier General. After the war he returned to Red Wing, and has been engaged in the grain and flour business. He was State Senator from 1871 to 1875, and iu 1881 was elected Governor. He married in May, 1868, Amelia Thomas, of Red Wing, and has three children. mirsesota's kepbesextatives ts conghess of the united states of ameeica. From Maroli, 1849, to May, 1858, Minnesota was a Territory, and entitled to send to the con- gress of the United States, one delegate, with the privilege of representing the interests of his con- stituents, but not allowed to vote. TEBBITOBIAL DELEGATES. Before the recognition of Minnesota as a sepa- rate Territory, Henry H. Sibley sat in Congress, from January, 1849, as a delegate of the portion Wisconsin territory which was beyond the boun- daries of the state of Wisconsin, in 1848 admit- ted to the Union. In September, 1850 he was elected delegate by the citizens of Minnesota ter- ritory, to Congress. Henry M. Rice succeeded Mr. Sibley as delegate, and took his seat in the thirty-third congress, which convened on December 5th 1853, at Washington. He was re-elected to the thirty-fourth Congress, which ase granted by the United States, for the use of schools in each towuship in this State, shall remain a perpetual school fund to the State. * * * * The principal of aU funds arising from sales or other disposition of lands or other property, granted or entrusted to this State, sliall forever be preserved inviolate and undimin- ished; and tlie income arising from the lease or sale of said school land shall be distributed to the dif- ferent townships throughout the State in propor- tion to the number of scholars in each township, between the ages of five and tweuty-one years; and shall be faitlifully applied to the specific object of the original grant or appropriation." Section 3. The legislature shall make such pro- vision by taxation or otherwise, as, with the in- come arising from the school fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools in each township in the State. But in no case shall the moneys derived as afore- siiid, or any portion thereof, or any public moneys or property, be njipropriated or used for the sup- port of schools wherein the destinctive doctrines, creeds, or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect are promulgated or taught." THE DNIVBRSITT. "Section 4. Tlie location of the University of Minnesota, as established by existing laws, [Sept. 1851] is hereby confirmed, and said institution is hereby declared to be tie University of Minnesota. All the rights, immunities, franchises, and endow- ments heretofore granted or conferred, are hereby perpetuated unto the said University; and all lands which may be granted hereafter by Congress, or other donations for said University purposes, shall rest in the institution referred to in this section. The State constitution is in full harmony with the National government in the distinctive outlines laid down in the extracts above made. .\nd the Territorial and State governments, within these Umits, have consecutively appropriated by legis- lation, sufficient to carry forward the State school system. In the Territorial act, establishing the University, the peojile of the State announced in advance of the establishment of a State govern- ment, " that the proceeds of the land that may hereafter be granted by the United States to the Territory for the sujjport of the University, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, to be called "the University Fund," the interest of which shall be appropriated to the support of a University, and no sectarian instruction sliall be allowed in such University! "' This organization of the University was confirmed by the State constitution, and the congressional land grants severally passed to that corporation, and the use of the funds arising there- from were subjected to the restrictions named. So that both the common school and University were dedicated to State school purposes, and exjirossly excluded from sectarian control or sectarian in- struction. In this respect the State organization corres- ponds with the demands of the general govern- ment; and has organized the school system reach- ing from the common school to the university, so that it may be said, the State student may, if he choose, in the state of Minnesota pass from grade to grade, through common school, high school, and State University free of charge tor tuition. With- out referring f.pecially to the progressive legisla- tive enactments, the united system may be referred to as made up of units ot diflerent order.i, and suc- cessively in its ascending grades, governed by separate boards, rising in the scale of importance from the local trustee, directors, and treasurer, in common school, to the higher board of education, of six members ip the independent school district, and more or less than that number in districts and large cities under special charter, until we reach the climax in the dignified Board of Regents; a board created by law and known as the Regents of the State University. This honorable body con- sists of seven men nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the senate of the State legislature, each holding his office for three years; and besides these there are three ex-officio members, consisting of the President ot the State University, the' Superintendent ot Public Instruction, and the Gov- ernor of the State. This body of ten men are in reality the legal head of the State University, and indirectly the effective liead ot the State school system of Minnesota, and are themselves subject only to the control of the State Legislature. These various officers, throughout this series, are severally trustees ot legal duties which cannot be delegated. They fall under the legal maxim "that a trustee cannot make a trustee." These are the legal bodies to whom the several series of employes and servitors owe obedience. These various trustees determine the courae of studv MINNESOTA STATE SYSTEM. 169 and the rules of transfer from grade to grade until the last grade is reached at the head of the State system, or the scholar has perhaps completed a post-graduate course in a polytechnic school, in- augurated by the State for greater perfection, it may be in chemistry, agriculture, the mechanic arts, or other specialty, required by the State or national government. This system, let it be understood, differs from all private, parocliial, denominational, or sectarian schools. The State organism and all the sectarian elements of the church are, in this department of labor, entirely distinct. The State protects and encourages, but does not control either the schools or the faith of the church. The church supports and approves, but does not yield its tenets or its creed to the curriculum of the schools of the State. The State and the Church are in this respect en- tirely distinct and diflferent organizations. State education, however, and the education of the ad- herents of the church are in harmony throughout a great portion of the State curriculum. Indeed, there seems to be no reason why the greater por- tion of denominational teaching, so far as the same is in ha'mony with the schools of the State, should not be relegated to the State, that the church throughout all its sectarian element might be the better able to direct its energies and economize its benevolence in the cultivation of its own fields of chosen labor. But, however this may be, and wherever these two organizations choose to divide their labors, they are still harmonious even in their rivalry. The organism as a State system has, in Minne- sota, so matured that through all the grades to the University, the steps are defined and the gradients passed without any conflict of authority. The only check to the regular order of ascend- ing grades was first met in the State Uni- versity. These schools, in older countries, had at one time an independent position, and in their origin had their own scholars of all grades, from the preparatory department to the Senior Class in the finished course; but in our State system, when the common schools became graded, and the High School had grown up as a part of the organism of a completed system, the University naturally took its place at the head of the State system, having the same relation to the High School as the High School has to the Common School. There was no longer any reason why the same rule should not apply in the transfer from the High School to the University, that applied' in the transfer from the Common School to the High School, and to this conclusion the people of the State have already fully arrived. The rules of the board of Regents of the State University now allow students, with the Principal's certificate of qualification, to enter the Freshman class, on examination in sub-Fresh- man studies only. But even this is not satisfac- tory to the friends of the State school system. They demand for High School graduates an en- trance into the University, when the grade below is passed, on the examination of the school below for graduation therein. If, on the one hand, the High schools of the State, under the law for the encouragement of higher education, are required to prepare students so that they shall be qualified to enter some one of the classes of the University, on the other hand the University should be re- quired to admit the students thus qualified with- out further examination. The rule should work in either direction. The rights of students under the law are as sacred, and should be as inalienable, as the rights of teachers or faculties in State in- stitutions. The day of unlimited, irresjionsible discretion, a relic of absolute autocracy, a des- potic power, has no place in systems of free schools under constitutional and statutory limita- tions, and these presidents and faculties \\ ho con- tinue to exercise this power in the absence of right, should be reminded by Boards of Regents at the head of American State systems that their resignation would be acceptable. They belong to an antiquated system, outgrown by the age in which we live. The spirit of the people of our State was fully intimated in the legislature of 1881, in the House bill introduced as an amendment to the law of 1878-79, for the encouragement of higher educa- tion, but finally laid aside for the law then in force, slightly amended, and quite in harmony with the House bill. Sections two and five alluded to read as follows; ".\ny public, graded or high school in any city or incorporated village or township organized into a district under the s(<-called township system, which shall have regular cla.sses and courses of study, articulating with some course of study, op- tional or required, in the State University, and shall raise annually for the expense of said school doiible the amoiuit of State aid allowed by this 170 STATE EDUCATION. act, and shall admit students of either sex into the higlier classes thereof from any part of the State, without charge for tuition, shall receive State aid, as specified in section four of this act. Provided, that non-resident pupils shall in all cases be qual- ified to enter the highest department of said school at the entrance examination for resident pupils." "The High School Board shall have power, and it is hereby made their duty to provide uniform questions to test the qualifications of the scholars of said graded or high schools for entrance and graduation, and especially conduct the examina- tions of scholars in said schools, when desired and notified, and award diplomas to graduates who shall upon examination be found to have completed any course of study, either optional or required, entitling the holder to enter any class in the Uni- versity of Minnesota named therein, any time within one year from the date thereof, without further examination; said dijiloma to be executed by the several members of the High School Board." THE KELATED SYSTEM. We have now seen the position of the University in our syst«m of public schools. In its position only at the head of the series it differs from the grades below. The rights of the scholar follow him throughout the series. When he has com- pleted and received the certificate or diploma in tlic prescribed course in the High School, articu- lating with any course, optional or required, in the University, he has the same right, unconditioned, to pass to the higher class in that course, as he had to pass on examination, from one class to the other in any of the grades beiow. So it follows, that the University faculty or teacher who as- snmes the right to reject, condition, or re-examine such student, would exercise an abuse of power, unwarranted in law, arbitrary in spirit, and not republican in character. This rule is better and better understood in all State Universities, as free State educational organisms are more crystalized into forms, analogous to our State and national governments. The arbitrary will of the interme- diate, or head master, no longer prevails. His will niust yield to more certain legal rights, as the learner passes on, midcr prescribed rules, from in- fancy \o manhood through all the grades of school life. And no legislation framed on any other theory of educational promotion in republican States can stand against this American conscious- ness of equality existing between all the members of the body politic. In this consciousness is em- braced the inalienable rights of the child or the youth to an education free in all our public schools. In Minnesota it is guaranteed in the constitution that the legislature shall make such provisions, by taxation or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school fund, will secure a thorough and cllicient system of public schools in each township in tlie State. Who shall say that the people have no right to secure such thorough and efficient system, even should that "thorough and efficient system" extend to direct taxation for a course extending to graduation from a Univer- sity? Should such a course exceed the constitu- tional limitation of a thorough and eflicient sys- tem of public schools? INTERPKETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. The people, through the medium of the law- making power, have given on three several occa- sions, in 1878, 1879, and 1881, an intimation of the scope and measuring of our State constitution 'on educational extension to higher education than the common school. In the first section of the act of 1881, the legislature created a High School Board, consisting of the Governor of the State, Superintendent of Public lustniction, and the President of the University of Minnesota, who are charged with certain duties and granted certain powers contained in the act. And this High School Board are required to grant State aid to the amount of .f 400 diiring the school year to any public graded school, in any city or incorporated village, or township organized into a district, which shall give preparatory instruction, extend- ing to and articulating with the University course in some one of its classes, and shall admit stu- dents of either sex, from any part of the State, without charge for tuition. Provided only that non-resident pupils shall be qualified to enter some one of the organized classes of such graded or high school. To carry out this act, giving State aid directly out of the State treasury to a course of education reaching upward from the common school, through the high school to the University, the legislature appropriated the entire sum of #20,000. In this manner we have the in- terpretation of the people of Minnesota lis to the RESULTS OF THE RELATED SYSTEM. 171 meaning of "a thorough and efficient system of public schools, operative alike in each township in the State." And this interpretation of our legis- lature is in harmony witli the several acts of Con- gress, and particularly the act of July the second, 1862, granting lands to the several States of the Union, known as the Agricultural College Grant. The States receiving said lands are required, in their colleges or universities, to "teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the Mechanic arts, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including mil- itary tactics, in such manner as the legislatures of (he States may respectively prescribe, in order to jMomote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and pro- fessions of life."' And the Legislature of Minnesota has already established in' its University, optional or required courses of study fully meeting the limitations in the congressional act of 1862. In its elementary department it has three courses, known as classi- cal, scientific, and modern. In the College of Science, Literature, and the Arts, the courses of study are an extension of those of the elementary departments, and lead directly to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bach- elor of Literature. In the College of Mechanic Arts the several courses of studies are principally limited to Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engi- neering, and Architecture. In the College of Ag- riculture are : (1 ) The regular University course, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture. (2) The elementary course, in part coinciding with the Scientific course of the Elementary Depart- ment. (3) A Farmers' Lecture course. (4) Three special courses for the year 1880-81. Law and Medicine have not yet been opened in the State University for want of means to carry forward these departments, now so much needed. Our State constitution has therefore been prac- tically interpreted by the people, by a test that caimot be misconstrued. They have fortified their opinion by the payment of the necessary tax to insure the success of a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the State. This proof of the people's interest in these schools appears in the amounts paid for expenses and in- struction. From the school fund the State of Minnesota received, in 1879, the full sum of $232,187.43 The State paid out the same year, the sum of $394,737.71. The difference is $162,- 550.28, which was paid out by the State more than was derived from the government endowment fund. And it is not at all likely that the endowment fund, generous as it is, will ever produce an amount equal to the cost of instruction. The ratio of the increase of scholars it is believeil will always be in advance of the endowment fund. The cost of in- struction cannot fall much below an average, for all grades of scholars, of eight dollars per annum to each pupil. Our present 180,000 scholars en- rolled would, at this rate require $1,440,000, and in ten years and long before the sale of the school lands of the State shall have been made, this 180,- 000 will have increased a hundred per cent., amounting to 360,000 scholars. These, at $8.00 per scholar for tuition, would equal $2,880,000 per annum, while the interest from the school fund in the same time cannot exceed $2,000,000, even should the land average the price of $6.00 per acre, and the interest realized be always equal to per cent. SOME OF THE RESULTS In these infant steps taken by our State, we can discern the tendency of our organism towards a completed State system, as an element of a still wider union embracing the nation. To know what is yet to be done in this direction we must know what has already been done. We have, in the twenty years of our State history, built 3,693 schoolhouses, varying in cost from $400 to $90,- 000; total value of all, $3,156,210; three Normal school buildings at a cost of (1872) $215,231.52; a State University at an expenditure for buildings alone of $70,000, and an allowance by a late ack of the legislature of an additional $100,000, in three yearly appropriations, for additional build- ings to be erected, in all $170,000, allowed by the State for the University. Add these to the cost of common school structures, and we have already expended in school buildings over $4,800,000 for the simple purpose of housing the infant oi-gan- ism, our common school system here planted. We have seen a movement in cities like St. Paul, Minneapolis, Stillwater, and Winona, towards the local organization of a completed system of home schools, carrying instruction free to the University course, with a total enrollment of 13,500 scholars and 265 teachers, daily seated in buildings, all in the modem style of school architecture and school 172 STATE EDUCATION. furniture, costing to these cities the sum of 8850,- 000 for buildings, and for instruction the sum of 8118,000 annually. We have, in addition to these schools in the cities named, other home and fitting schools, to whom have been paid iji'lOO eaeh, under the law for the "Enoouragemont of Higher Education," passed in 1878, and amended in 1870, as follows: Anoka, Austin, Blue Earth City, Chatfield, Cannon Falls, Crookstou, Duluth, Detroit, Eyota, Fari- bault, Garden City, Glenooc, Howard Tiake, Hast- ings, Henderson, Kasson, Litchfield, Lancbboro, Le Sueur, Lake City, Monticello, Moorhead, Man- kato, Northfield, Owatonna, Osseo, Plainview, Eed Wing, Rushford, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Peter, Sauk Centre, Spring Valley, Wells, Waterville, Waseca, Wabasha. Wilmar, Winnebago City, Zum- brota, and Mantorville. These forty-two Stat* aid schools have paid in all for buildings and furniture the gross sum of 8042,700; some of these buildings are superior in all that constitutes superiority in school architect- ure. The Rochester buildings and grounds cost the sum of $90,000. Several others, such as the Austin, Owatonna, Faribault, Hastings, Red Wing, Rushford, St. Cloud, and St. Peter schoolhouses, exceed in value the sum of 825,000; and others of these buildings arc estimated at «G,000, 88,000, .$10,000, and 815,000. In all they have an enroll- ment of scholars in attendance on classes graded up to the University course, numbering 13,000, under 301 teachers, at an annual salary amounting in all to $123,509, and having in tlieir A, B, C, D classes 1704 scholars, of whom 120 were prepared to enter the sub-freshman class of the State Univer- sity in 1880, and the number entering these grades in the year 1879-80 was 934, of whom 400 were non-residents of the districts. And in all these forty-two home schools of the people, the fitting schools of the State University, one uniform course of study, articulating with some course in the Univenrity, was observed. As many other courses as the local boards desired were also carried on in these schools. This, in short, is a part of what we have done. The organic elements that regularly combine to form governments, are similar to tho.sc organic ele- ments that combine to form systems of mental culture. The primitive type of government is the family. This is the lowest organic form. If no improvement is ever made upon this primitive ele- ment, by other combinations of an artificial na- ture, human governments would never rise higher than the family. If society is to advance, this organism widens into the clan, and in like manner the clan into the village, and the village into the more dignified ])rovince, and the province into the State. All these artificial conditions above tho family are the evidences of growth in pursuance of the laws of artificial life. In like manner the growth of intellectual organisms proceeds from the family instruction to the common school. Here the artificial organism would cease to ad- vance, and would remain stationary, as the clan in the organism of government, unless the common school should pass on to the wider and still higher unit of a grad(>d system reaching upward to the high school. Now this was the condition of the common school in America during the Colonial state, and even down to the national organization. Soon after this period, the intellectual life of the nation began to be aroused, and within the hujt fifty years the Stata common school has culmi- nated in the higher organism of the high school, and it is of very recent date that the high school has reached up to and articuhitod in any State with the State University. On this continent, both government and State schools started inlo life, freed from the domination of institutions grown effete from age and loss of vital energy. Hero, both entered into wider combinations, reaching higher results than the ages of the past. And yet, in educational organization we are far below the standard of perfection we shall attain in the rapidly advancing future. Not until our eystem of education has attained a national character as complete in its related articulation as the civil or- ganization of towns, counties, and States in the national Union, can our educational institutions do the work required of this age. And in Minnesota, one of the leading States in connected school or- ganic relations, we have, as yet, some 4,000 com- mon school districts, with an enrollment of some 100,000 scholars of different ages, from five to twenty -one years; no higher in the scale than the common school, prior to the first high school on the American continent. These chaotic elements, outside of the system of graded schools now aided by the State, must be reduced to the same organ- ized graded system as those that now articulate in their course with the State University. Our complete organization as a State svstem for DIVISION UF LABOR A CAUSE OF GROWTH. 173 educational purposes, equal to the demands of the State, and required by the spirit of the age, will not be consummated until our four thousand school districts shall reap the full benefits of a graded system reaching to the high school course^ articulating with some course in the State Uni- versity and a course in commen with every other high school in the State. The system thus or- ganized might be required to report to the Board of Begents, as the legal head of the organization of the State School system, not only the numerical statistics, but the number and standing of the classes in each of the high schools in the several studies of the uniform course, established by the Board of Eegents, under the direction of the State Legislature. To this system must finally belong the certificate of standing and graduation, en- titling the holder to enter the designated class in any grade of the State schools named therein, whether High School or University. But this system is not and can never be a skeleton merely, made up of lifeless materials, as an anatomical specimen in the office of the student of the practice of the healing art. Within this organism there must preside the living teacher, bringing into this organic structure, not the debris of the effete systems of the past, not the mental esuvia of dwarfed intellectual powers of this or any for- mer age, but the teacher inspired by nature to feel and appreciate her methods, and ever moved by her divine afflatus. Every living organism has its own laws of growth; and the one we have under consideration may, in its most important feature, be compared to the growth of the forest tree. In its earlier years the forest tree strikes its roots deep into the earth aud matures its growing rootlets, the support of its future trunk, to stand against the storms and winds to which it is at all times exposed. When fully rooted in the groimd, with a trunk matured by the growth of years, it puts forth its infant branches and leaflets, suited to its immature but maturing nature; finally it gives evidence of stal- wart powers, and now its widespreading top tow- ers aloft among its compeers rearing its head high among the loftiest denizens of the woods. In like manner is the growth of the maturing State school organism. In the common school, the foundation is laid for the rising structure, but here are no branches, no fruitage. It seems in its earliest in- fancy to put forth no branches, but is simjjly tak- ing hold of the elements below on which its inner life and growth depend. As the system rises, the underlaying laws of life come forth in the princi- ples of invention, manufacturing, engraving, and designing, enriching every branch of intellectual and professional industry, and beautifying every field of human culture. These varied results are all in the law of growth in the organism of State schools carried on above the common schools to the University course. The higher the course the more beneficial the results to the industries of the world, whether those industries are intellectual or purely physical, cater only to the demands of wealth, or tend to suljserve the modi st demands of the humblest citizen. The only criticism that can reach the question now under consideration, is whether the graded organization tends to produce the results to which we have referred. The law relating to the division of .labor has esiJCcially operated in the graded sys- tem of State schools. Under its operation, it is claimed, by good judges, that eight years of school life, from five to twenty-one, has been saved to the pupils of the present generation, over those of the imgraded schools ante-dating the last fifty years. By the operation of this law, in one gen- eration, the saving of time, on the enrollments of State schools in the graded systems of the north- ern States of the American Union, would be enormous. For the State of Minnesota alone, on the enrollment of 180,000, the aggregate years of time saved would exceed a million! The time saved on the enrollment of the schools of the dif- ferent States, under the operation of this law would exceed over twenty million years! To the division of labor is due the wonderful facility with which modern business associations have laid their hands ui^on every branch of indus- trial pursuits, and bestowed upon the world the comforts of life. Introduced into our system of education it produces results as astonishing as the advent of the Spinning Jenny in the manufacture of cloth. As the raw material from the cotton field of the planter, passing, by gradation, through the unskilled hands of the ordinary laborer to the more perfect process of improved machinery, se- cure additional value in a constantly increasing ratio; so the graded system of intellectual culture, from the Primary to the High school, and thence to the University, adds increased lustre and value to the mental development in a ratio commen- 174 STATE EDUCATION. surate with the increased skill of the meutal ope- rator. The law of growth in State schools was clearly aniidunced by Horace Mann, when he applied to this system the law governing hydraulics, that no stream could rise above its fountain. The com- mon school could not jjroduce a scholarship above its own curriculum. The high school was a grade above, and as important in the State system as the elevated fountain head of the living stream. This law of growth makes the system at once the most natural, the most economical, and certainly the most pojnilar. These several elements might be illustrated, but the reader can easily imagine them at his leisure. As to the last, however, suffer an illustration. In Minnesota, for the school year ending August 21st, 1880, according to the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, there were enrolled, one hundred and eighty thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight scholars in the State schools, while all others, embracing kindergartens, private schools, parochial schools, of all sects and all denominations, had an attendance at the same time of only two thousand four hundred and tweuty-eight; and to meet all possible omissions, it M'O allow double this number, there is lyss than three per cent, of the enrollment in the State school. This ratio will be found to hold good, at least throughout all the Northern States of the American Union. These State schools, then, are not unpopular in comparison with the schools of a private and opposite character. Nor is it owing altogether to the important fact, that State schools are free, that they are more popu'ir than schools of an 0])posit€ character; for these State schools are a tax upon the property of the people, and yet a tax most cheerfully borne, in consequence of their superior excellence and importance. The State school, if not already, can be so graded that each scholar can have the advantage of superior special instruction far better adaptsd to the studies through which he desires to pass, than similar instruction can be had in ungraded schools of any character whatever. In this re- spect the State system is without a rival. It has the power to introduce such changes as may meet all the demands of the State and all the claims of the learner. The State school knows no sect, no party, no privileged class, and no special favorites; the high, the low, the rich, and the poor, the home and for- eign-boru, black or white, are all equal at this altar. The child of the ruler and the ruled are here equal. The son of the Governor, the wood- sawyer, and tlie hod-carrier, here meet on one level, and alike contend for ranks, and alike expect the honors due to superior merit, the reward of intellectual culture. But, aside from the republi- can character of the State school system, the sys- tem is a State necessity. Without the required State culture under its control, the State must cease to exist as an organism for the promotion of human hapjriness or the protection of human rights, and its people, though once cultured and refined, must certainly return to barbarism and savage life. There can be no compromise in the warfare against inherited ignorance. Under all governments tha statute of limitations closes over the subject at twenty-one years; so that during the minority of the race must this warfare be waged by the government without truce. No peace can ever be proclaimed in this war, until the child shall inherit the matured wisdom, instead of the primal ignorance of the ancestor. The State school system, in our government, is from the necessity of the case, national. No State can enforce its system beyond the limits of its own territory. And unless the nation enforce its own uniform system, the conflict between juris- dictions could never be determined. No homo- geneous system could ever be enforced. As the graded system of State schools has now reached the period in its history which corresponds to the colonial history of the national organization, it m\ist here fail, as did the colonial system of gov- ernment, to fully meet the demands of the people. And what was it, let us consider, that led the peo- ple in the organization of the national government "to form a more perfect union?" Had it then be- come necessary to take this step, that "justice" might be established, domestic tranquility insured, the common defense made more efficient, the gen- eral welfare promoted, and the blessings of liberty better secured to themselves and their posterity, that the fathers of the government should think it necessary to form a more perfect union?" Why the necessity of a more perfect union? Were our fathers in fear of a domestic or foreign foe, that had manifested his power in their immediate jjres- cnce, threatening to jeopardize or destroy their do- mestic tranquility? Was this foe an hereditary enemy, who mi_L'ht at long intervals of time invade CONCLUSION. 175 their territory, and endanger the liberties of this people ? And tor this reason did they demand a more perfect imion? And does not this reason now exist in still greater force fur the formation of » still more perfect union in our system of State schools? Our fathers were moved by the most natural of all reasons, by this law of self-defense. They were attacked by a power too great to be successfully resisted in their colonial or unorgan- ized state. The fear of a destruction of the sev- eral colonies without a more perfect union drove them to this alternative. It was union and the hope of freedom, against disunion and the fear of death, that cemented the national government. And this was an external organism, the temple in which the spirit of freedom should preside, and in which her worshippers should enjoy not only do- mestic but national tranquility. Now, should it be manifested to the world that the soul and spirit, the very life of this temple, erected to freedom, is similarly threatened, should not be the same cause that operated in the erection of the temple itself, operate in the protection of its sacred fires, its soul and spirit? It would seem to require no admoni- tion to move a nation in the direction of its highest hopes, the protection of its inner life. And what is this enemy, and where is the power able to destroy both the temple and the spirit of freedom? And why should State Education take upon itself any advanced position other than its present indej)endent organic elements? In the face of what enemy should it now be claimed we should attempt to change front, and "form a more perfect union to insure domestic tranquility, and promote the {.eneral welfare," to the end that we may the better secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity ? That potent foe to our free institutions, to which we are now brought face to face, is human ignornuce, the natural hered- itary foe to every form of enlightened free gov- ernment. This hereditary enemy is now home- steaded upon our soil. This enemy, in the lan- guage of the declaration made by the colonies against their hereditary foe, this enemy to our government, has kept among us a standing army of illiterates, who can neither read nor write, but are armed with the ballot, more powerful than the sword, ready to strike the most deadly blow at human freedom; he has cut off and almost en- tirely destroyed our trade between States of the same government; has imposed a tax upon us without our consent, most grievous to be borne; he has quite abolished the free system of United States laws in several of our States; he has estab- lished, in many sections, arbitrary tribunals, ex- cluding the subject from the right of trial by jury, and enlarged the powers of his despotic rule, en- dangered the lives of peaceable citizens; he has alienated government of one section, by declaring the inhabitants aliens and enemies to his supposed hereditary right; he has excited domestic insur- rections amongst us; he has endeavored to destroy the peace and harmony of our people by bringing his despotic ignorance of our institutions into con- flict with the freedom and purity of our elections; he has raised up advocates to his cause who have openly declared that our system of State Educa- tion, on which our government rests, is a failure;* he has spared no age, no sex, no portion of our country, but has, with his ignominious minions, afflicted the North and the South, the East and the West, the rich and the poor, the black and the white; an enemy alike to the people of every sec- tion of the government, from Maine to California, from Minnesota to Louisiana. Such an inexora- ble enemy to government and the domestic tran- quility of all good citizens deserves the oppro- brium due only to the Prince of Darkness, against whom eternal war should be waged ; and for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we should, as did our fathers, mutually pledge to each other, as citizens of the free States of America, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. We have thus far considered the State school system in some of its organic elements, and the nature, tendency, and neceseary union of these elements; first in States, and finally for the forma- tion of a more perfect union, that they may be united ia one national organization under the con- trol of one sovereign will. The mode in which these unorganized elements shall come into union and harmony with themselves, and constitute the true inner life and soul of the American Union, is left for the consideration of those whose special duty it is to devote their best energies to the pro- motion of the welfare of the Nation, and by .statesman-like forethought provide for the domes- tic, social, civil, intellectual, and industrial pro- gress of the rapidly accumulating millions who 'Richard Grant White in North American Kevicw 176 UTAl'E EDUCATION. are soon to swarm upou tbo American continent. We see truly that "The rudiments of empire here Are plastic yet and warm; The ehaos nf a miyhty world Is rounding into form! "Each rude and jostling fragment sof)n Its fitting plaee shall find— The raw material of a State, Its muscle and its mind." But we must be allowed, in a word, to state the results which we hope to see accomplished^ before the jostling fragments which are yet plastic and warm, shall have attained a temperament not easily fused and "rounded" into one homogenous national system, rising in the several States from the kindergarten to the University, and from the State Universities through all orders of specialties demanded by the widening industries and growing demands of a progressive age. And in this direc- tion we cannot fail to see that the national govern- ment must so mould its intellectual systems that the State and national curricula shall be uniform throughout the States and territories, so that a class standing of every pupil, jji'operly certified, shall be equally good for a like class standing in every portion of the government to which he may desire to remove. America will then be ready to celebrate her liual indejjendeuce, the inalienable right of American youth, as ha\'ing a standing limited by law in her State and national systems of education, entitling them to rank everywhere with associates and compeers on the same plain; when in no case, shall these rights be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State or authority thereof, on account of race, color, or previous condition of scholarship, secular or secfarian, till the same shall forever find'the most ample protection under the broad banner of NATIONAL and NATURAL rights, common alike to all in the ever widening uia-unLic of i.eiters. HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE OF 1862. CHAPTEE XXX. LO0IS HEN • ■spin's visit TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI IN 1680 • -CAPTAIN JONATHAN CABVEE VISITS THE COUNTRY TS 1766 THE NAMES OF THE TRIBES TREATIES WITH SIOUX INDIANS FROM 1812 TO 1859 THEIR RESERVATIONS CIVILIZATION EF- FORTS — SETTLEMENTS OF THE WHITES CONTIGU- OUS TO THE RESERVATIONS. The first authentic knowledge of the country upon the waters of the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries, was given to the world by Louis Hen- nepin, a native of France. In 1680 he visited the FaUs of St. Anthony, and gave them the name of his patron saint, the name they still bear. Hennepin foimd the country occupied by wild tribes of Indians, by whom he and his compan- ions were detained as prisoners, but kindly treated, and finally released. In 1766, this same country was again visited by a white man, this time by Jonathan Carver, a British subject, and an officer in the British army. Jonathan Carver spent some three -years among different tribes of Indians in the Upper Missis- sippi country. He knew the Sioux or Dakota Indians as the Naudowessies, who were then occu- pying the country along the Mississippi, from Iowa to the Falls of St. .'Vntliony, and along the Minnesota river, then called St. Peter's, from its 6ource to its mouth at Mendota. To the north of these tribes the country was then occupied by the Ojibwas, commonly called Chippewas, the heredi- tary enemies of the Sioux. Carver found these Indian nations at war, and by Ms commanding influence finally succeeded in making peace between them. As a reward for his good offices in this regard, it is claimed that two chiefs of the Naudowessies, acting for their nation, at a council held with Carver, at the great cave, 12 now in the corporate limits of St. Paul, deeded to Carver a vast tract of land on the Mississippi river, extending from the FaUs of St. Anthony to the foot of Lake Pepin, on the Mississippi; thence east one hundred English miles; thence north one hundred and twenty miles; thence west to the place of beginning. But this pretended grant has been examined by our government and entirely ignored as a pure invention of parties in interest, after Carver's death, to profit by his Indian ser- vice in Minnesota. There can be no doubt that these same Indians, known to Captain Carver as the Naudowessies, in 1767, were the same who inhabited the country upon the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries when the treaty of Traverse des Sioux was made, in 1851, between the United States and the Sisse- 'ton and Wapaton bands of Dakota or Sioux Indi- ans. The name Sioux is said to have been bestowed upon these tribes by the French; and that it is a corruption of the last syllable of their more an- cient name, which in the peculiar guttural of the Dakota tongue, has the sound of the last syllable of the old name NaudowesszVs, Sioux. The tribes inhabiting the Territory of Minne- sota at the date of the massacre, 1862, were the following: Medawakontons (or VUlage of the Spirit Lake); WajDatons (or Village of the Leaves); Sissetons (or Village of the Marsh); and Wajjakutas (or Leaf Shooters). All these were Sioux Indians, connected intimately with other wild bands scattered over a vast region of country, including Dakota Territory, and the country west of the Missouri, even to the base of the Eocky Mountains. Over all this vast region roamed these wild bands of Dakotas, a powerful and warlike nation, holding by their tenure the country north to the British Possessions. (177) 178 UISTORY OF THE STOUX M.iSSACliE. The Sissetons had a hereditary chief, Ta-tanka Mazin, or Standing Bufialo; and at the date of the massacre his father, "Star Face," or the "Or- phan," was yet aUve, but superannuated, and all the duties of the chief were vested in the sou. Standing Buffalo, who remained friendly to the whites and took no part in the terrible massiicre on our border in 1862. The four tribes named, the Medawakontons, Wa- patons, Sissetons and Wapakutas, comprised the entire "annuity Sioux" of Miune-ota; and in 18C2 these tribes numbered about six thousand and two hundred persons. All these Indians had from time to time, from the 19th day of July, 1815, to the date of the massacre of 1SC2, received pres- ents from the Government, by virtue of various treaties of amity and friendship between us and their accredited chiefs and heads of tribes. Soon after the close of the last war with Great Britain, on the first day of June, 1816, a treaty was concluded at St. Louis between the United States and the chiefs and warriors representing eight bands of the Sioux, composing the three tribes then called the "Sioux of the Leaf," the "Sioux of the Broad Leaf," and the "Sioux who Shoot in the Pine Tops," by the terms of which these tribes confirmed to the United States all cessions or grants of lands previously made by them to the British, French, or Spanish govern- ments, within the limits of the United States or its Territories. For these cessions no annuities were paid, for the reason that they were mere con- firmations of grants made by them to powers from whom we had acquired the territory. From the treaty of St. Louis, in 1816, to the treaty ratified by the United States Senate in 1859, these tribes liad remained friendly to the whites, and had by treaty stipulations parted with all the lands to which they claimed title in Iowa; all on the east side of the Mississippi river, and all on the Minnesota river, in Minnesota Territory, ex- cept certain reservations. One of these reserva- tions lay upon both sides of the Minnesota, ten miles on either side of that stream, from Hawk river on the north, and Yellow Medicine river on the south side, thence westerly to the head of Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse, a distance of about one hundred miles. Another of these reser- vations commenced at Little Kock river on the east, and a line running due south from opjjosite its mouth, and extending up tlie river westerly to the easterly line of the first-named reservation, at the Hawk and Yellow Medicine rivers. This last resers-ation had also a width of ten miles on each side of the Minnesota river. The Indians west of the Missouri, in referring to those of their nation east of the river, called them Isanties, which seems to have been applied to them from the fact that, at some remote period, they had lived at Isantamde, or "Knife Lake," one of the Mille Lacs, in Minnesota. These Indian treaties inaugurated and contrib- uted greatly to strengthen a custom of granting, to the pretended owners of lands occupied for purposes of hunting the wild game thereon, and living upon the natural products thereof, a con- sideration for the cession of their lands to the Government of the United States. This custom culminated ia a vast annuity fund, in the aggre- gate to over three million dollars, owing to these tribes, before named, in Minnesota. This annuity system was one of the causes of the massacre of 1862. Indian Litb. — Before the whites came in con- tact with the natives, they dressed in the skins o' animals which they killed for food, such as the buffalo, wolf, elk, deer, beaver, otter, as well as the small fur-bearing animals, which they trapped on lakes and streams. In later years, as the settle- ments of the white race approached their borders, they exchanged these peltries and furs for blankets, cloths, iind other articles of necessity or ornament. The Sioux of the plains, those who inhabited the Cuteau and beyond, and, indeed, some of the Sisseton tribes, dress in skins to this day. Even among those who are now called "civilized," the style of costume is often unique. It is no picture of the imagination to portray to the reader a "stal- WAKT Indian" in breech-cloth and leggins, with y. calico shirt, all "fluttering in the wind," and hia head surmouuted with a stove-pipe hat of most surprising altitude, carrying in his hand a pipe of exquisite workmanship, on a stem not unlike a cane, sported as an ornament by some city dandy. His appearance is somewhat varied, as the seas(ms come and go. He may be seen in summer or in winter dressed in a heavy cloth coat of poarse fab- ric, often turned inside out with all his civilized and savage toggery, from head to foot, in the most bewildering juxtaposition. On beholding him, the dullest imagination cannot refrain from the poetic exclamtion of Alexander Pope, "Lol the poor Indian, whose untutored mind>" EFFORTS OF CfVILTZATION. 179 Efforts to Civilize these Ankuity Indians. — The treaty of 1858, made at Washingtou, elabo- rated a scheme for the civihzation of these annnity Indians. A civilization fund was proxdded, to be taken from their annuities, and expended in im- provements on the lands of such of them as should abandon their tribal relations, and ;:dopt the habits and modes of life of the -n-hite race. To aU such, - lands were to be assigned in severalty, eighty acres to each head of a family. On these farms were to be erected the necessary farm-buildings, and farming implements and cattle were to be furnished them. In addition to these favors the government offered them pay for such labors of value as were performed, in addition to the crops they raised. Indian farmers now augmented rapidily, until the appalling outbreak in 1862, at which time about one hundred and sixty had taken advantage of the munificent provisions of the treaty. A number of farms, some 160, had good, snug brick houses erected upon them. Among these cisj7z>cfZ savages was Little Crow, and many of these farmer- Indians belonged to his own band. The Indians disliked the idea of taking any por- tion of the general fund belonging to the tribe for the purpose of carrying out the civilization scheme- Thos6 Indians who retained the "blanket," and hence called "blanket Indians," denounced the measure as a fraud upon their rights. The chase was then a God-given right; this scheme forfeited that ancient natural right, as it pointed unmistaka- bly to the destruction of the chase. But to the friends of Indian races, the course inaugurated seemed to be, step by step, lifting these rude children of the plains to a higher level. This scheme, however, was to a great degree thwarted by the helpless. condition of the "blanket Indians" during a great portion of the year, and their persistent determination to remain followers of the chase, and a desire to continue on the war- path. When the chase fails, the "blanket Indians" re- sort to their relatives, the farmers, pitch their tepees around their houses, and then commence the process of eating them out of house and home. When the ruin is complete, the farmer Indians, driven by the law of self-preservation, with their wives and children, leave their homes to seek such subsistence as the uncertain fortunes of the chase may yield. In the absence of the family from the house and fields, thu5 deserted, the wandering "blanket In- dians" commit whatever destruction of fences or tenements their desires or necessities may suggest. This perennial process go2s on; so that in the spring Allien the disheartened farmer Indian re- turns to his desolate home, to prepare again for another crop, he looks forward with no different results for the coming winter. It will be seen, from this one illustration, drawn from the actual results of the civilizing process, how hopeless was the prospect of elevf/ting one class of related savages without at the same time protecting them from the incursions of their own relatives, against whom the class attempted to be favored, had no redress. In this attempt to civil- ize these Dakota Indians the forty years, less or more, of missionary and other efforts have been measurably lost, and the money spent in that di- rection, if not wasted, sadly misapplied. The treaty of 1858 lu-d opened for settlement a vast frontier country of the most attractive char- acter, in the Valley of the Minnesota, and the streams putting into the Minnesota, on either side, such as Beaver creek. Sacred Heart, Hawk and Chippewa rivers and some other small streams, were flourishing settlemelits of white families. Within this ceded tract, ten miles wide, were the scattered settlements of Birch Coolie, Patterson Eapids, on the Sacred Heart, and others as far up as the Upper Agency at Yellow Medicine, in Een- ville county. The county of Brown adjoined the reservation, and was, at the time of which we are now writing, settled mostly by Germans. In this county was the flourishing town of New Ulm, and a thriving settlement on the Big Cottonwood and Watonwan, consisting of German and American pioneers, who had -selected this lovely and fertUe valley for their future homes. Other counties. Blue Earth, Nicollet, Sibley, Meeker, McLeod, Kandiyohi, Monongalia and Murray, were all situated in the finest portions of the state. Some of the valleys along the streams, such as Butternut valley and others of similar character, were lovely as Wyoming and as fertile as the Gardaa of Edeu. These counties, with others somewhat removed from the direct attack of the Indians in the massacre, as Wright, Stearns and Jackson, and even reaching on the north to Fort Abercrombie, thus extending from Iowa to the Valley of the Bed Eiver of the North, were severally involved in the consequences of the war- 180 HISTORY OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. fare of 18G2. This extended area had at the time a population of over fifty thousand people, princi- pally in the pursuit of agriculture; and although the settlements were in their infancy, the people were happy and contented, and as prosperous as any similar community in any new country on the American continent, since the landing of the Pil- grim Fathers. We have in short, traced the Dakota tribes of Minnesota from an early day, when the white man first visited and explored these then unknown re- gions, to the time of the massacre. We have also given a synopsis of all the most important treaties between them and the government, with an allu- sion to the country adjacent to the reservations, and the probable number of people residing in the portions of the state ravaged by the savages. CHAPTER XXXI. COMPLAINTS OP THE INDIANS — TKEATIES OF TEA- VEKSE DBS SIOUX AND MENDOTA OBJECTIONS TO THE MODE OP PAYMENT INKPADUTA MASSACRE AT SPIKIT LAKE PUOOP OP CONSPIKAOV IN- DIAN OOTJNCILS. In a former chapter the reader has had some account of the location of the several bands of Sioux Indians in Minnesota, and their relation to the white settlements on the western border of the state. It is now proposed to state in brief some of the antecedents of the massacre. PBOMINENT CAUSES. 1. By the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, dated July 23, 1851, between the United States and the Sissetons and Wapatons, $275,000 were to be paid their chiefs, and a further sum of .§30,000 was to be expended for their benefit in Indian improve- ments. By the treaty of Mendota, dated August 5, 1851, the Medawakantons and Wapakutas were to receive the sum of $200,000, to be paid to their chief, and for an improvement fund the further sum of $30,000. These several sums, amounting in the aggregate to .$555,000, these Indians, to whom they were payable, claim they were never paid, except, perhaps, a small portion expended in improvements on the reservations. Thej became dissatisfied, and expressed theii- views in councO freely with the agent of the govei'nment. In 1857, the Indian department at Washington sent out Major Kintzing Prichette, a man of great experience, to inquire into the cause of this disaf- fection towards the government. In his report of that year, made to the Indian department, JNIajor Prichette says: "The complaint which runs through all their coun- cils points to the imperfect performance, or non-ful fillment of treaty stipulations. Whether these were well or ill founded, it is not my promise tc discuss. That such a behcf prevails among them, uupairing their coufideuce and good faith in the government, cannot be questioned." In one of these councils Jagmani said : "The Indians sold their lands at Traverse des Sioux. 1 say what we were told. For fifty years they were to be paid 850,000 per annum. We were also promised $300,000, and that we have not seen." Mapipa Wicasta (Cloud Man), second chief of Jagmani's baud, said: "At the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, $275,000 were to be paid them when they came upon their reservation; they desired to know what had be- come of it. Every white man knows that they have been five years upon their reservation, and have yet heard nothing of it." In this abridged form we can only refer in brief to these complaints; but the history would seem to lack completeness without the presentation of this feature. As the fact of the dissatisfaction ex- isted, the government thought it worth while to appoint Judge Yoimg to investigate the charges made against the governor, of the then Minnesota territory, then acting, ex-officio, as superintendent of Indian affairs for that locahty. Some short extracts from Judge Young's report are here pre- sented : "The governor is next charged -n-ith having paid over the greater part of the money, appropriated under the fourth article of the treaty of July 23 and August 5, 1851, to one Hugh Tyler, for pay- ment or distribution to the 'traders' and 'half- breeds,' contrary to the wishes and remonstrances of the Indians, and in violation of law and the stipulations contained in said treaties; and also in violation of his own solemn pledges, personally made to them, in regard to said payments. "Of $275,000 stipulated to be paid under the first clause of the fourth article of the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, of July 24, 1851, the sum of .§250,000, was dcUvered over to Hugh Tyler, by the governor, for distribution omong the 'traders" and 'half-breeds,' according to the arrangement made by the schedule of the Traders^ Papr.r, dated at Traverse des Sioux, July 23, 1851." CAUSES OF IRRITATION. 181 " For this large sum of money, Hugh Tyler ex- ecuted two receipts to the Governor, as the attor- ney for the 'traders' and 'halt breeds;' the one for $210,000 on account of the 'traders,' and the other for .^40,000 on account of the 'half-breeds;' the first dated at St. Paul, December 8, 1852, and the second at Meudota, December 11, 1852." "And of the sum of $110,000, stipulated to be paid to the Medawakantons, under the fourth ar- ticle of the treaty of August 5, 1851, the sum of $70,000 was in like manner paid over to the said Tyler, on a power of attorney executed to him by the traders and claimants, under the said treaty, on December 11, 1852. The receipts of the said Tyler to the Governor for this money, $70,000, is dated at St. Paul, December 13, 1852, making to- gether the sum of $320,000. This has been shown to have been contrary to the wishes and remon- strances of a large majority of the Indians." And Judge Young adds: "It is also believed to be in violation of the treaty stipulations, as well as the law making the appropriations under them." These several sums of money were to be paid to these Indians in open council, and soon after they were on their reservations provided tor them by the treaties. In these matters the report shows they were not consulted at all, in open coimcil; but on the contrary, that arbitrary divisions and distributions were made of the entire fund, and their right denied to direct the manner in which they should be appropriated. See Ads of Con- gress, August 30, 1852. The Indians claimed, also, that the third section of the act was violated, as by that section the ap- propriations therein referred to, should, in every instance, be paid directly to the Indians them- selves, to whom it should be due, or to the tribe, or part of the tribe, per capita, " unless otherwise the imperious interest of the Indians or some treaty stipulation should require the payment to be made otherwise, under the direction of the president." This money was never so paid. The report further states that a large sum, " $55,000, was deducted by Hugh Tyler by way of discount and percentage on gross amount of payments, and that these exactions were made both from tra- ders and half-breeds, without any previous agree- ment, in many instances, and in such a way, in some, as to make the impression that unless they were submitted to, no payments would be made to such claimants at all." And, finally the report says, that from the testi- mony it was evident that the money was not paid to the chiefs, either to the Sisseton, Wapaton, or Medawakanton bands, as they in open council re- quested; but that they were compelled to submit to this mode of payment to the traders, otherwise no payment would be made, and the money would be returned to Washington; so that in violation of law they were compelled to comply with the Gov- ernor's terms of payment, according to Hugh Ty- ler's power of attorney. The examination of this complaint, on the part of the Indians, by the Senate of the United States, resulted in exculpating the Governor of "Minnesota (Governor Ramsey) from any censure, yet the In- dians "were not satisfied with the treatment they had received in this matter by the accredited agents of the Government. 2. Another cause of irritation among these In- dians arose out of the massacre of 1857, at Spirit Lake, known as the Inkpaduta massacre. Inkpa- data was an outlaw of the Wapakuta band of Sioux Indians, and his acts in the murders at Spirit Lake were entirely disclaimed by the "annu- ity Sioux." He had slain Tasagi, a Wapakuta chief, and several of his relatives, some twenty years previous, and had thereafter led a wandering and marauding life about the head waters of the Des Moines river. Inkpaduta was connected with several of the bands of annuity Sioux Indians, and similar rela- tions with other bands existed among his followers. These ties extended even to the Yanktons west of the James river, and even over the Missouri. He was himself an outlaw for the murder of Tasagi and others as stated, and followed a predatory and lawless life iu the neighborhood of his related tribes, for which the Sioux were themselves blamed. The depredations of these Indians becoming in- suCferable, and the settlers finding themselves suf- ficiently strong, deprived them of their gims and drove them from the neighborhood. Eecovering some of their guns, or, by other accounts, digging up a few old ones which they had buried, they proceeded to the settlement of Spirit Lake and demanded food. This appears to have been given to a portion of the band which had first arrived, to the extent of the means of those applied to. Soon after, Inkpaduta, with the remainder of his followers, who, in all, numbered twelve men and two boys, with some women who had hngered be- hind, came in and demanded food also. The set- tler gave him to understand that he had no more 182 niSrORT OF THE SIOVX MASSACRE. to give; wbereupon Inkpaduta Bpoke to his eldest Bon to the effect that it was disgracerul to ask these people for food which they ought to take themselves, and not to have it thrown to them like dogs. Thus assured, the son immediately shot the man, and the murder of the whole family fol- lowed. From thence they proceeded from house, to house, until every family in the settlement, without warning of those previously slain, were all massacred, except four women, whom they bore away prisoners, and afterward violated, with cir- cumstances of brutality so abhorrent as to find uo parallel in the annals of savage barbarity, unless we except the massacre of 1862, whicli occurred a few years later. From Spirit Lake the murderers proceeded to Springfield, at the outlet of Shetek, or Pelican lake, near the head waters of the Des Moines river; where they remained encamped for some days, trading with Mr. William Wood from Man- kato, and his brothers. Here .tbey succeeded in killing seventeen, including the Woods, making, in all, forty-seven persons, when the men rallied, and tiring upon them, tbey retreated and deserted that part of the country. Of tba four women taken captives by Inkpaduta, Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Noble were killed by the Indians, and Mrs. Marble and Miss Gardner were rescued by the Wapaton Sioux, under a promisa of reward from the Government, and for which the three Indians who brought in these captives received each one thousand dollars. The Government liad required of the Sioux the delivery of Inkpaduta and bis band as the condi- tion for the payment of their annuities. This was regarded by certain of the bauds as a great wrong visited upon the innocent for the crimes of the guilty. One of their speakers (Mazakuti Mani), in a council held with the Sissetons and Wapatous, August 10, 1S57, at Yellow Medicine, said: "The soldiers have appointed me to speak for them. The men who killed the white people did not belong to us, and we did not expect to be called upon to account for the deeds of another band. We have always tried to do as our Great Father tells us. One of our young men brought in a captive woman. I went out and brought in the other. The soldiers came up here and our men assisted to Jdll one of Inkpaduta's sons at this place. The lower Indians did not get ujd the war- party for you; it was our Indians, the Wapatons and Sissetons. The soldiers here say that they were told by you that a thousand dollars would be paid for killing each of the murderers. We, with the men who went out, want to be paid for what we have done. Three men were killed, as we know. ***** AH of us want our money very much. A man of another band has done wrong, and we are to suffer for it. Our old women and children are hungry for this. I have seen S10,000 sent here to pay for our going out. I wish our soldiers were paid for it. I suppo.se our Great Father has more money than this." Major PritcUette, the special government agent, thought it necessary to answer some points made by Mazakuti Mani, and spoke, in council, as fol- lows: "Your Great Father has sent me to see Suppr- intendent Cullen, and to say to him he was well satisfied with bis conduct, because he had acted ac- cording to his instructions. Your Great Father bad heard that some of his white children had been cruelly and brutally murdered by some of the Sioux nation. The news was sent on the wings of the lightning, from the extreme north to the land of eternal summer, throughout which his children dwell. His young men wished to make war on the whole Sioux nation, and revenge the deaths of their brethren. But your Great Father is a just father and wishes to treat all his children alike Avith justice. He wants no innocent man punished for the guilty. He punishes the guilty alone. Ho expects that those missionaries who have been here teac! iag you the laws of the Great Spirit had taught you this. Whenever a Sioux is injured by a wliite man your Great Father will punish him, and expecis from the chiefs and warriors of the gi'eat Sioux nation that they will punish those In- dians who injure the whites. He considers the Si mx as a part of his family; and as friends and brothers he expeots them to do as the whites do to tham. He kuow.s that the Sioux nation is divided into bands; but he knows also how they can all band together for common protection. Ho expects the nation to punish these m;irJerers, or to deliver them up. He expects this because they are his friends. As long as these murderers remain un- punished or not delivered up, they are not acting as friends of their Great Father. It is for this reason that ho has witheld the annuity. Y''our (i.eat Father will have his white children p.o- teoted; by the express command of Little Crow and thi. other chiefs, to get permission to dance; and when all suspicion should be completely lulled, in the midst of the dance, to seize their weapons, kill every person in the fort, seize the big guns, open the magazine, and secure the ammuuifion, when they should be joined by all the remaining war- riors of the lower bands. Thus armed, and in- creased by numbers, they were to proceed together 188 HISTOHr OF TUB SIOUX MASSACRE. down the valley of the Minnesota. With this force and these weapons they were assured they could drive every white man beyond the Missis- sippi.' "All this, the Frenchman informed Sergeant Jones, he had learned by being present at a coun- cU, and from conversations had with other Indians, who bad told him that they had gone to the gar- rison for that very purpose. When he had con- cluded this revelation, Sergeant Jones inquired, 'Why did they not execute their purpose? Why did they not take the fort?' The Frenchman re- phed: -Because they saw, during all their dance, and then stay at the fort, that big gun constantly pointed at them.' " Interpreter Quinn, now dead, told the narrator of the foregoing incidents that Little Crow had said, repeatedly, in their councils, that the Indians could kiU all the white men in the Minnesota Val- ley. In this way, he said, we can get all our lands back; that the whites would again want these lands, and that they could get double annuities. Some of the councils at which these suggestions of Lit- tle Crow were made, dated, he said, as far back as the summer of 1857, immediately after the Ink- paduta war. On the 17th day of August, 1862, Little Crow, Inkpaduta, and Little Priest, the latter one of the Winnebago chiefs, attended church at the Lower Agency, and seemed to listen attentively to the services, conducted by the Eev. J. D. Hinman. On the afternoon ot that day Little Crow invited these Indians to his house, a short distance above the Agency. On the same day an Indian council was held at Eice Creek, sixteen miles above the Lower Agency, attended by the Soldiers' Lodge. Inkpaduta, it ia believed, and Little Priest, with some thirteen Winnebago warriors, attended this council. Why this council was held, and what was its object, can easily be imagined. The de- crees of the one held two weeks before had not been executed. The reason why the fort was not taken has been narrated. The other part of the same sclieme, the taking of the agency at the Yellow Medicine, on the same day the fort was to have fallen, will be alluded to in another chapter. It then became necessary for the conspirators to hold another council, to devise new plans for the exe- cution of their nefarious designs upon the whites. The Acton tragedy, forty miles distant, had taken place but a few hours before this council was con- vened. On Monday, the 18th of August, these Acton murderers were seen at the miU on Crow river, six miles from Hutchinson, with the team taken from Acton; so that these Indians did not go to the Lower Agency, but remained in th( country about Hutchinson. One of the number only returned to the Agency by the next morning after the council at Rice Creek had been held. AU that followed in the bloody drama, originated at this council of Death, over which Little Crow presided, on Sunday afternoon, the 17th day of August, 1862, on the evening of the same day of the Acton murders. The general massacre of all white men was by order ot this council, to com- mence at the Agency, on the morning of the 18th, and at as many other points, simultaneously, as could be reached by the dawn of day, radiating from that point as a center. The advantage gained by the suddenness of the attack, and the known panic that would result, was to be followed up until every settlement was massacred, Fort Ridgely taken, both Agencies burned. New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, and all the towns on the river destroyed, the whole country plundered and devas- tated, and as many of the inhabitants as were left alive were to be driven beyond the Mississippi river. The decree of this savage council, matured on a Christian Sabbath, by Indians, who were sup- posed to be civilized, so immediately after atten- tively listening to the gospel of peace, filled the measure of the long-cherished conspiracy matured by Little Crow, until it was full of the most hope- ful results to his polluted and brutal nature. "Once an Indian, always an Indian," seems in this instance to have been horribly demonstrated. CHAPTER XSXn. Change of Indian officials — patsient of 1861 — bepokt or agent galbbaith — tjppeb and lower bands — supplies attack on the ware- house renville kangeks return to fort EIDGELT. The change in the administration of the Grov- ernment in 1861, resulting, as it did, in a general change in the minor offices throughout the coun- try, carried into retirement Major William J. Cul- len. Superintendent ot Indian Affairs for the Northern Superintendency, and Major Joseph K. Brown, Agent for the Sioux, whose places were filled respectively by Colonel Clark W. Thomp- son and Major Thomas J. Galbraith. Colonel MAJOR GALBRAITWS REPORT. 189 Thompson entered upon the duties of his office in May of that year, and Major Galbraith on the first day of June. In that month the new agent and many of the new employes, with their fami- lies, took up their residence on the reservations. These employes, save a few young men who were employed as laborers, were, with two excep- tions, men of families, it being the policy of the agent to employ among the Indians as few un- married men as possible. During that year nothing occurred on the res- ervations of an unusual character more than the trouble with which the Agents had always to deal at every semi-annual gathering at the Agencies. We say "semi-annual," because they came in the summer to draw their annuities, and again in the autumn tor their winter supply of goods. It has been usual at the payment of annuities to have a small force of troops to guard against any xintoward event which might otherwise occur. The payment to the lower bands, in 1861, was made in the latter part of June, and to the upper bands about the middle of July. These pay- ments were made by Superintendent Thompson in person. The Sisseton bands came down to the Agency at a very early day, as had always been their habit, long before the arrival of the money, bringing with them a large body of Yanktonais (not annuity Sioux), who always came to the payments, claiming a right to a share of the an nuities issued to the Indians, These wild hunters of the plains were an un- failing element of trouble at the payments to the upper bands. At this last payment they were in force, and by their troublesome conduct, caused a delay of some days in the making of the payments. Tlus was, however, no unusual occurrence, as they always came with a budget of grievances, upon which they were wont to dilate in council. This remark is equally true of the annuity Indians. Indeed, it would be very strange if a payment could be made without a demand, on the part of the "yoimg men," for three or four times the amount of their annual dues. These demands were usually accompanied by overt acts of violence; yet the j^aymentwas made; and this time, after the payment, all departed to their village at Big Stone Laka They came again in the fall, drew their supply of goods, and went quietly away. It so turned out, however, that the new agent, Galbraith, came into office too late to insure a large crop that year. He says: "The autumn of 1861 closed upon us rather un- favorably. The crojjs were light; especially was this the case with the Upper Sioux ; they had little or nothing. As heretofore communicated to the Department, the cut-worms destroyed aU the Sisetons, and greatly injured the crop of the Wapatons, Medawakantons, Wapakutas. For these latter I purchased on credit, in anticipation of the Agricultural and Civilization Funds, large quantities of pork and flour, ut current rates, to support them during the winter. "Early in the autumn, in view of the necessitous situation of the Sisetons, I made a requisition on the department for the sum of $5,000, out of the special fund for the relief of 'poor and destitute Indians;' and, in anticipation of receiving this money, made arrangements to fe:d the old and in- firm men, and the women and children of these people. I directed the Rev. S. R. Riggs to make the selection, and furnish me a list. "He carefully did this, and we fed, in an econ- omical, yea, even parsimonious way, about 1,500 of these people from the middle of December until nearly the first of April. We had hoped to get them off on their spring hunt earlier, but a tre- mendous and unprecedented snow-storm during the last days of February prevented. "In response to my requisition, I received $3,000, and expended very nearly $5,000, leaving a deficiency not properly chargable to the regular funds, of about $2,000. ' "These people, it is believed, must have per- ished had it not been for this scanty assistance. In addition to this, the regular issues were made to the farmer Indians in payment for their labor. **** * m ^ * Hi "In the month of August, 1861, the superinten- dents of farms were directed to have ploughed 'in the fall,' in the old public and neglected private fields, a sufficient quantity of land to provide 'plantings' for such Indians as could not be pro- vided with oxen and implements. In jmrsuance of this direction, there were ploughed, at rates ranging from $1.50 to $2,00 per acre, ac- cording to the nature of the work, by teams and men hired for the purpose, for the Lower Sioux, about 500 acres, and for the Upper Sioux, about 475 acres. There were, also, at the same time, ploughed by the farmer Indians and the depart- ment teams, about 250 acres for the Lower, and 190 BI STORY OF rUE SIOUX MASSACRE. nbout 325 acres for the Upper Sioux. This fall ploughing was continued until the frost prevented its further prosecution. It was done to facilitate the work of the agrionltural department, and to kill the worms which had proved so injurious the previous year. * * * "The carp?nter-shops at both Agencies were Bupphed with lumber for the manufacture and re- pair of sleds, wagons, and other farming utensils. Sheds were erected for the ])rotectioii of the cattle and utensils of the depertment, and the farmer Indians, assisted by the department carpenters, erected stables, pens, and out-houses for the pro- tection of their catt-'e, hoi-ses and utensils. * '' Hay, grain, and other supplies were provided, and, in short, every thing was done which the means at command of the agent would justify. "The work of the autiunn bc>ing thus closed, I set about making preparations for the work of the next spring and summer, and in du'ectiug the work of the winter. I made calculations to erect, during the summer and autumn of 1862, at least lit'ty dwelling-houses for Indian families, at an estimated average cost of S'300 each; and also to aid the farmer Indians in erecting as many ad- ditional dwellings as possible, not to exceed thirty or forty; and to have planted for the Lower Sioux, at least 1,200 acres, and for the Upper Sioux, at least 1 ,300 acres of crops, and to have all the land planted, exsept that at Big Stone L;ike, inclosed by a fence. "To carry out these calculations, early in the the winter the superintendents of farms, the black- smiths, the carpenters, and the superintendents of schools wore directed to furnish estimates for the amount of agricultural implem^nt^, hor.ses, oxen, wagons, carts, bnilJiug material, iron, steel, tools, and supplies needed to carry on successfully their several departments for one year from the open- ing of navigation in the sjiring of 1SG2. "These estimates were prepared and furnished me about the 1st of February. In accordance with these estimates, I proceeded to purchase, in open market, the articles and supplies recommend- ed. "I made the estimates for one year, and pur- chases accordingly, in order to secure the benefit of transportation by water in the spring, and thus avoid the delays, vexations, and extra expense of transportation by land in the fall. Tlie bulk of purchases were made with the distinct undenstand- ind that payment would be made out of the funds belonging to the quarter in which the goods, im- plements, or supplies, were expended." "Thus it will be seen that, in the spring of 1862, there was on hand supplies and material sufficient to carry us through the coming year. * * * Thu."!, to all appearance, the spring season opened propitiously. * * * To carry out my original design of having as much as possible planted for the Indians at Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle as early in the month of May, 1862, as the condi- tion of the swollen streams would permit, I visited Lac qui Parle and Big Stone Lake, going as far as North Island, in Lake Traverse, having with me Antoine Freniere, United States Interpreter, Dr. J. L. Wakefield, physician of the Upper Sio>ix, and Nelson Givens, assistant Agent. At Lac qui Parle I found the Indians wiDing and anxious to plant. I inquired into their condition and wants, and made arrangements to have them supplied with seeds and imj)lements, and directed Amos W. Huggins, the school teacher there, to aid and in- struct them in their work, and to make proper distribulion of the seeds and implements furnished, and placed at his disposal an ox-team and wagon and two breaking-teams, with instructions to de- vote his whole time and attention to the superin- tendence and instruction of the resident Indians during the planting season, and until the crops were cultivated and safely harvested. "I also found the Indians at Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse very anxious to plant, but without any means whatever so to do. I looked over their tields in order to see what coiild be done. After having inquired into the whole matter, I instructed Mr. Givens to remain at Big Stone Lake and su- perintend and direct the agricultural operations of the season, and to remain there imtil it was too late to plant any more. I placed at his di'>posal ten double plough teams, with men to operate them, and ordered forward at once one hundred Ijushels of seed corn and five hundred bushels of seed potatoes, with pumpkin, squash, turnip, and other seeds, in reasonable proportion, together with a sufficient supply of ploughs, hoes, and other imj)lemcuts for the Indians, and a black- smith to repair breakages; and directed him to see tha* every Indian, and every Indian horse or pony, did as much work as was poesible. * * ' "On my way down to the agency, I visited the plantings of Tahampih'da, (Rattling Moccasin), Alazasha, (Bed Iron), Mahpiya Wicasta, (Cloud xMan), and Battling Cloud, and found that the MAJOR GALDEAITWa REPORT. 191 Superintendent of Farms for the Upper Sioux had, in accordance with my instructions, been faithfully attending to the ivants of these bands. He had supplied them with implements and seeds, and I left them at work. On my arrival at the Agency, I found that the farmer Indians residing there- abouts had, in my absence, been industriously at «ork, and had not only completed their plowing, but had planted very extensively. The next day after my arrival at the Agency, I visited each farmer Indian at the Yellow Medicine, and con- gratulated him on his prosjject for a good crop, and spoke to him such words of encouragement ■IS occurred to me. "The next day I proceeded to the Lower Agency, and then taking with me Mr. A. H. Wagner, the Suiwrintendent of Farms for the Lower Sioux, I weut around each planting, and, for the second time, visited each farmer Indian, and found that, in general, my instructions had been carried out. The plowing was generally completed in good order, and the planting neai'ly all done, and many of the farmer Indians were engaged in repairing old and making new fences. I was pleased and gratified, and so told the Indians — the prospect was so encouraging. "About the first of July I visited gll the plant- ings of both the Upper and Lower Sioux, except those at Big Stone Lake, and found, in nearly every instance, the prospects for good crops very hoj^eful indeed. The superintendents of farms, the male school teachers, and all the employes assisting them, had done their duty. About this ■ time Mr. Givens returned from Big Stone Lake, and reports 1 to me his success there. From all I knew and aU I thus learned, I was led to believe that we would have no 'starving Indians' to feed the next winter, and little did I dream of the un- fortunate and terrible outbreak which, m a short time, biirst upon us, * * * "In the fall of 1861, a good and substantial school- room and dwelling, a store-house and black- smith-shop, were completed at Lac qui Parle, and, about the first of November, Mr. Amos W. Hug- gins and his family occupied the dwelling, and, assisted by Miss Julia LaFrambois, prepared the school-room, and devoted their whole time to teaching such Indian children as they could in- duce to attend the school. "The storehouse was supplied with provisions, which Mr. Huggins was instructed to issue to the fhildren and their parents at his discretion. Here it may be permitted me to remark to Mr. Hug- gins, who was born and raised among the Sioux, and Miss LaFrambois, who was a Sioux mixed- blood, were two persons entirely capable and in every respect qualified for the discharge of the duties of their situation, than whom the Indians had no more devoted friends. They lived amor,; the Indians of choice, because they thought they could be beneficial to them. Mr. Huggins exer- cised nothing but kindness toward them. He fed them when hungry, clothed them when naked, attended them when sick, and advised and cheered them in all their difficulties. He was intelligent, entrgetic, industrious, and good, and yet he was one of the first 'victims of the outbreak, shot down like a dog by the very Indians whom he had so long and so well served. * ^ * * * * * "In the month of June, 1862, being well aware of the influence exerted by Little Crow over the blanket Indians, and, by his plausibility, led to believe that he intended to act in good faith, I promised to build him a good brick house pro- vided that he would agree to aid me in bringing around the idle young men to habits of industry and civilization, and that he would abandon the leader.-hip of the blanket Indians and become a 'wliite man.' "This being well understood, as I thought, I directed Mr. Nairn, the carpenter of the Lower Sioux, to make out the plan and estimates for Crow's house, and to jjroceed at once to make the window and door frames, and to prepare the lum- ber necessary for the building, and ordered the teamsters to deliver the necessary amount of brick as soon ;.s possible. Little Crow agreed to dig the cellar and haul the necessary lumber, both of which he had commenced. The carpenter had nearly completed his part of the work, and the brick was being promjatly delivered at the time of the outbreak. "On the 15th of August, only three days pre- vious to the outbreak, I had an interview with Little Crow, and he seemed to be well pleased and satisfied. Little indeed did I susj^ect, at that time, that he would be the leader in the terrible outbreak of the 18th." There were planted, according to the statement of Agent Galbraith in his report, on the lower reservation, one thousand and twenty-five acres of corn, two hundred and sixty acres of potatoes, sixty acres of turnips and ruta-bagas, and twelve acres of wheat, besides a large quantity of field 192 HISTORY OF TUE SIOUX MAS8A0US. and garden vegetables. These crops, at a low estimate, would have hai-vested, in the fall, 74,865 bushels. There were, on the lower reservation, less than three thousand Indians, all told. This crop, therefore, would have yielded full twenty- tive bushels to each man, woman and child, in- cluding the blanket as weU as the farmer Indians There were, also, of growing crops, in fitne con- dition, on the upper reservation, one thousand one hundred and ten acres of com, three hundred acres of potatoes, ninety acres of turnips and nita-bagas, and twelve acres of wheat, and field and garden vegetables in due proportion. These, at a low estimate, would have harvested 85,740 bushels. There were, on the upper reservation, a little over four thousand annuity Sioux. This crop, therefore, would have harvested them about twenty-one bushels for each man, woman and child, including, also, the blanket Indians. Thus, under the beneficent workings of the hu- mane policy of the Government inaugurated in 1858, they were fast becoming an independent people. Let it be borne ia mmd, however, that these results, so beneficial to the Indian, were ac- complished only through the sleepless vigilance and untiring energy of those who had the welfare of these rude, savage beings in their care. Major Galbraith, after giving these statistics of the crops on the reservations, and the arrange- ments made for gathering hay, by the Indians, for their winter's use, says: "I need hardly say tliat our Lopes were high at the prospects before us, nor need I relate my chagrin and mortification when, in a moment, I found these high hopes blasted forever." Such, then, was the condition, present and pros- pective, of the "Annuity Sioux Indians," in the summer of 1862. No equal number of pioneer settlers on the border could, at that time, make a better showing than was exhibited on these reser- vations. They had in fair prospect a surplus over and above the wants of the entire tribes for the coming year. This had never before occurred in their history. The sagacity and wise forethought of their agent, and the unusually favorable season, had amply provided against the possibility of recurring want. The coming winter would have found their granaries full to overflowing. Add to this the fact that they had a large cash annuity coming to them from the Government, as well as large amounts of goods, consisting of blankets, cloths. groceries, flour and meats, powder, shot, lead, etc., and we confidently submit to the enlightened reader the whole question of their alleged griev- ances, confident that there can be but one verdict at their hands, and that the paternal care of the Government over them was good and just; nay, generous, and that those having the immediate su- pervision of their interests were perfornung their whole duty, honestly and nobly. The hopes of the philanthropist and Christian beat high. They believed the day was not far distant when it could be said that the Sioux Indi- ans, as a race, not only could be civilized, but that here were whole tribes who tccrc civilized, and had abandoned the chase and the war-jjuth for the cul- tivation of the soil and the arts of peace, and that the juggleries and sorcery of the medicine-men had been abandoned ior the milder teachings of the missionaries of the Cross. How these high hopes were dashed to the earth, extinguished in an ocean of blood, and their own bright prospects utterly destroyed, by their horri- ble and monstrous perfidy and unheard of atroci- ties, it will be our work, in these pages, to sliow. We are now rapidly approaching the fatal and bloody denouement, the terrible 18th of August, the memory of which will linger in the minds of the survivors of its tragic scenes, and the succeed- ing days and weeks of horror and blood, till rea- son kindly ceases to perform its oifice, and blots out the fearfiil record in the oblivion of the grave. Again we quote from the able report of Major Galbraith : "About the 25th of June, 1862, a number of the chiefs and head men of the Sissetons and Wapa- tons visited the Agency and inquired about the payments; whether they were going to get any ( as they had been told, as they alleged, that they would not be paid,) and if so, how much, and when? I answered them that they woiild cer- tainly be paid; exactly how much I could not say, but that it would be nearly, it not quite, ;i full payment; that I did not know when the pay- ment would be made, but that I felt sure it could not be made befoi-e the 20th of July. I advised them to go home, and admonished them not to come back again until I sent for them. I issued pro- visions, powder and shot and tobacco to them, and they departed. " In a few days after I went to the Lower Agency, and sjjoke to the lower Indians in regard to their payments. As thev all lived within a few miks of ATTACK ON UPPEB AGE NOT. 193 the Agency, little was said, as, when the money came, (liey could be called together in a day. I remained about one week there, visiting the farms and plantings, and issued to the Indians a good supply of pork, flour, powder, shot, and tobacco, and urged upon them the necessity of cutting and securing hay for the winter, and of watching and keeping the birds from their corn. " I left them apparently satisfied, and arrived at Yellow Medicine on the 14th of July, and found, to my surprise, that nearly all the Upper Indians had arrived, and were encamped about the Agency. I inquired of them why they had come, and they answered, that they were afraid something was wrong; they feared they would not get their money, because white men had been telling them so. "Being in daily expectation of the arrival of the money, I determined to make the best of it^ and notified the Sujjerintendent of Indian Affairs accordingly. "How were over 4,000 Annuity, and over 1,000 Tanktonais Sioux, with nothing to eat, and entirely dependent on me for supplies, to be provided for? I supplied them as best I could. Our stock was nearly used iip, and still, on the 1st day of Au- gust, no money had come. " The Indians complained of starvation. I held back, in order to save the provisions to the last moment. On the 4th of August, early in the morning, the young men and soldiers, to the num- ber of not less than four hundred mounted, and one hundred and fifty on foot, surprised and de- ceived the commander of the troops on guard, and surrounded the camp, and proceeded to the warehouse in a boisterous manner, and in sight of, and within one hundred and fifty yards of one hundred armed men, with two twelve-pound mountain howitzers, out down the door of the warehouse, shot down the American flag, and entered the building, and before they could be stopped had carried over one himdred sacks of flour from the warehouse, and were evi- dently bent on a general 'clearing out.' "The soldiers, now recovered from their panic, came gallantly to our aid, entered the warehouse and took possession. The Indians all stood around with their guns loaded, cooked and leveled. I spoke to them, and they consented to a talk. The result was, that they agreed, if I would give them plenty of pork and flour, and issue to them the annuity yoods the next day, they would go .away. I told them to go away with enough to eat for two 13 days, and to send the chiefs and head men for a council the nest day, unarmed and peaceably and I would answer them. They assented and went to their camp. In the meantime I had sent for Captain Blar.sh, the commandant of Fort Eidgely, who promptly arrived early in the morning of the next day. "I laid the whole case before him, and stated my plan. He agreed with me, and, in the after- noon, the Indians, unarmed, and apparently peaceably disposed, came in, and we had a 'talk,' and, in the presence of Captain Marsh, Eev. Mr. Eiggs and others, I agreed to issue the annuity goods and a Qxed amount of provisions, provided the Indians would go home and watch their corn, and wait for the payment until they were sent for. They assented. I made, on the 6th, 7th and 8th of August the issues as agreed upon, assisted by Captain Marsh, and, on the 9th of August the In- dians were all gone, and on the 12th I had defi- nite information that the Sissetons, who had started on the 7th, had all arrived at Big Stone Lake, and that the men were preparing to go on a buffalo hunt, and that the women and children were to stay and guard the crops. Thus this threatening and disagreeable event passed off, but, as usual, without the punishment of a single Indian who had been engaged in the attack on the warehouse. They should have been punished, but they were not, and simply because we had not the power to punish them. And hence we had to adopt the same 'sugar-plum' policy which had been so often adopted before with the Indians, and especially at the time of the Spirit Lake massacre, in 1857." On the 12th day of August, thirty men enlisted at Yellow Medicine; and, on the 13th, accompa- nied by the agent, proceeded to the Lower Agency, where, on the 14th, they were joined by twenty more, making about fifty in all. On the afternoon of the 15th they proceeded to Fort Kidgely, where they remained imtil the morning of the 17tb, when, having been furnished by Captain Marsh with transportation, accompanied by Lieutenant N. K. Culver, Sergeant McGrew, and four men of Company B, Fifth Minnesota Volunteers,- they started for Fort Snelling by the way of New Ulm and St. Peter, little dreaming of the terrible mes- sage, the news of which would reach them at the latter place next day, and turn them back to the defense of that jaost and the border. On Monday morning, the 18th, at about 8 o'clock, they left New Ulm, and reached St. Peter 194 iiii^rony OF THE aioux massacre. at about 4 o'clock P. M. About 6 o'clock, Mr. J. C. Dickinson arrived from the Lower Agency, bringing the startling news that the Lidians Lad broken out, and, before he left, had conunenced murdering the whites. They at once set about making preparations to return. There were in St. Peter some fifty old Harper's Ferry muskets ; these they obtained, and, ])rocuring ammunition, set about preparing cart- ridges, at which many of them worked all night, and, at sunrise on Tuesday morning were on their way back, with heavy hearts and dark forebodings, toward the scene of trouble. In the night Sergeant Sturgis, of Captain Marsh's company, had arrived, on his way to St. Paul, with dispatches to Governor Ramsey, from Lieutenant Thomas Gere, then in command of Fort Ridgely, bringing the sad news of the des- truction of Captain Marsh and the most of his command at the ferry, at the Lower Agency, on Monday afternoon. Tbey had but a slender chance of reaching the fort in safety, and still less of saving it from destruction, for they knew that there were not over twentj--five men left in it, Lieutenant Sheehan, with his company, having left for Fort Eipley on the 17th, at the same time that the "Kenville Rangers" (the company from the Agencies) left for Fort Snelling. Their friends, too, were in the very heart of the Indian country. Some of them had left their wives and little ones at Yellow Medicine, midway between the Lower Agency and the wild bands of the Sissetons and Yanktonais, who made the attack upon the ware- house at that Agency only two weeks before. Their hearts almost died within them as they thought of the dreadful fate awaiting them at the hands of those savage and blood-thirsty monstera. But they turned their faces toward the West, de- termined, if Fort Ridgely was yet imtaken, to enter it, or die in the attempt, and at about siuidown entered the fort, and found all within it as yet safe. A messenger had been sent to Lieutenant Shee- han, who immediately turned back and had enter- ed the fort a few hours before Dhem. There were in the fort, on their arrival, over two hundred and fifty refugees, principally women and children, and they continued to come in, until there were nearly three hundred. Here they remained on duty, night and day, uutil the morning of the 28th, when reinforce- ments, under Colonel McPhail and Captain Anson Northrup and R. H. Chittenden arrived. The annuity money by Superintendent Thomp- son had been dispatched to the Agency in charge of his clerk, accompanied by E. A. C. Hatch, J. C. Ramsey, M. A. Daily, and two or three others. On their arrival at the fort, on Tuesday night. Major Galbraith found these gentlemen there, they having arrived at the post Monday noon, the very day of the outbreak. Had they been one day sooner they would have been at the Lower Agency, and their names would have been added, in all probability, to the long roll of the victims, at that devoted point of Indian barbarity, and about $10,000 in gold would have fallen into the hands of the savages. These gentlemen were in the fort during the siege which followed, and were among the bravest of its brave defenders. Major Hatch, afterwards of "Hatcli's Battalion" (cavalry), was particu- lary conspicuous for his cool courage and undaunt- ed bravery. Thus it will be seen how utterly false was the information which the Indians said they had re- ceived that they were to get no money. And notwithstanding all that has been said as to the cause of the outbreak, it may be remarked that the removal of the agent from Yellow Medi- cine, with the troops raised by him for the South- ern Rebellion, at the critical period when the In- dians were exasperated and excited, and ready at any moment to arm for warfare upon the whites, was one of the causes acting directly upon the In- dians to precipitate the blow that afterwards fell upon the border settlements of Minnesota on the 18th of August, 1862. Had he remained with his family at Yellow Medicine, as did the Winnebago agent, with his family, at the agency, the strong probability is that the attack at Yellow Medicine might have been delayed, if not entirely pre- vented. CHAPTER XXXin. MUBDEB AT AOTON MASSACRE AT THE LOWEB AGENCY CAPTURE OF MATTIE WILLIAMS, MARY ANDERSON AND MAUY SCHWANDT MURDER OP GEORGE OLEASON — CAPTURE OF MES. WAKEFIELD AND CHILDREN. We come now to the massacre itself, the terrible blow which fell, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, with such appalling force and suddenness, MURDEI18 AT ACTON. 195 upon the unarmed and defenceless border, crim- soning its fair iielda with the blood of its murdered people, and lighting up the midnight sky with the lurid blaze of burning dwellings, by the light of which the affrighted survivors fled from the nameless terrors that beset their path, before the advancing gleam of the uplifted tomahawk, many of them only to fall victims to the Indian bullet, while vainly seeking a place of security. The first blow fell upon the town of Acton, thirty-five miles north-east of the Lower Sioux agency, in the county of Meeker. -On Sunday, August 17, 18C2, at 1 o'clock P. M., six Sioux In- dians, said to be of Shakopee's band of Lower An- nuity Sioux, came to the house of Jones and de- manded food. It was refused them, as Mrs. Jones was away from home, at the house of Mr. Howard Baker, a son-in-law, three fourths of a mile dis- tant. They became angry and boisterous, and fearing violence at their hands, Mr. Jones took his children, a boy and a girl, and went himself to Baker's, leaving at the house a girl from fourteen to sixteen years of age, and a boy of twelve — brother and sister — who lived with him. The In- dians soon followed on to Baker's. At Howard Baker's were a Mr. Webster and his wife. Baker and wife and infant child, and Jones and his wife and two children. Soon after reaching the house, the Indians pro- posed to the three men to join them in target- shooting. They consented, and all discharged their guns at the target. Mr. Baker then traded guns with an Indian, the savage giving him $3 as the difference in the value of the guns. Then all commenced loading again. The Indians got the charges into their guns first, and immediately turned and shot Jones. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Baker were standing in the door. When one of the savages leveled his gun at Mrs. Baker, her husband saw the movement, and sprang between them, receiving the bullet intended for his wife in his own body. At the same time they shot Webster and Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Baker, who had her infant in her arms, seeing her husband fall, fainted, and fell backward into the cellar (a trap- door being open), and thus escaped. Mrs. Web- ster was lying in their wagon, from which the goods were not yet unloaded, and escaped unhurt. The children of Mr. Jones were in the house, and were not molested. They then returned to the house of Mr. Jones, and killed and scalped the girl. The boy was lying ou the bed and was undiscov- ered, but was a silent witness of the tragic fate of his sister. After killing the girl the savages left without disturbing anything, and going directly to the hoiise of a settler, took from his stable a span of horses already in the harness, and while the fam- ily was at dinner, hitched them to a wagon stand- ing near, and without molesting any one, drove off in the direction of Beaver Creek settlement and the Lower Agency, leaving Acton at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. This span of horses, har- ness and wagon were the only property taken from the neighborhood by them. The boy at Jones's who escaped massacre at their hands, and who was at the house during the entire time that they were there, avers that they obtained no liquor there that day, but even that when they came back and murdered his sister, the bottles upon the shelf were untouched by them. They had obtained none on their first visit before going over to Baker's. It would seem, therefore, that the very general belief that these first mur- ders at Acton, on the 17th, were the result of drunkenness, is a mistake. Mrs. Baker, who was unhurt by the fall, re- mained in the cellar until after the Indians were gone, when, taking the children, she started for a neighboring settlement, to give the alarm. Before she left, an Irishman, calling himself Cox, came to the house, whom she asked to go with her, and carry her child. Cox laughed, saying, "the men were not dead, but drunk, and that, falling down, they had hurt their noses and made them bleed," and refusing to go with Mrs. Baker, went off in the direction taken by the Indians. This man Cox had frequently been seen at the Lower Agen- cy, and was generally supposed to be an insane man, wanderiQg friendless over the country. It has been supposed by many that he was in league with the Indians. We have only to say, if he was, he coimterfeited insanity remarkably well. Mrs. Baker reached the settlement in safety, and on the next day (Monday) a company of citizens of Forest City, the county seat of Meeker county, went out to Acton to bury the dead. Forest City is twelve mUes north of that place. The party who went out on Monday saw Indians on horse- back, and chased them, but failed to get near enough to get a shot, and they escaped. As related in -a preceding chapter, a council was held at Kice Creek on Sunday, at which it was de- cided that the fearful tragedy should commence 196 mSTORr OF THE SIOUX MAiiSAORE. on the next morning. It is doubtful whether the Acton murders were then known to these con- spirators, as this council assembled in the after- noon, and the savages who committed those mur- ders had some forty miles to travel, after 3 o'clock in the afternoon, to reach the place of this coun- cil. It would seem, therefore, that those murders could have had no influence in precif>itating this council, as they could not, at that time, have been known to Little Crow and his conspirators. The final decision of these fiends must luive been made as early as sundown; for by early dawn al- most the entu'e force of warriors, of the Lower tribes, were ready for the work of slaughter. They were already armed and painted, and dispersed through the scattered settlements, over a region at least forty miles in extent, and were rapidly gath- ering in the vicinity of the Lower Agency, until some 250 were collected at that point, and sur- rounded the houses and stores of the traders, while yet the inmates were at their morning meal, or asleep in their beds in fancied security, all un- conscious of the dreadful fate that awaited them. The action was concerted, and the time fixed. The blow was unexpected, and unparalleled! In the language af Adjutent-General Malniros: "Since the formation of our general Govern- ment, no State or Territory of the Republic has received so severe a blow at the hands of the sav- ages, or witnessed within its borders a parallel scene of murder, butchery, and rapine." Philander Presoott, the aged Government In- terpreter at that Agency, who had resided among the Sioux for forty-five years, having a wife and children alhed to them by ties of blood, and who knew their language and spoke it better than any man of their own race, and who seemed to under- stand every Indian impulse, had not the sUghtest intimation or conception of such a catastrophe as was about to fall upon the country. The Kev. S. R. Riggs, in a letter to a St. Paul paper, under date of August 13, writes that "all is quiet and orderly at the place of the forthcoming payment." This gentleman had been a missionary among these people for over a quarter of a century. His, intimate acquaintance with their character and language were of such a nature as to enable him to know and detect the first symptoms of any in- tention of committing any depredations upon the whites, and had not the greatest secrecy been ob- served by them, the knowledge of their designs would undoubtedly have been communicated to either Mr. Prosoott, Mr. Riggs, or Dr. Williamson, who had also been among them almost thirty years. Such was the position of these gentlemen that, had they discovered or suspected any lurking signs of a conspiracy, such as after developments satisfy us actually existed, and had failed to com- municate it to the authorities and the jjeople, they would have laid themselves open to the horrible charge of complicity with the murderers. But whatever may be the public judgement upon the course afterward pursued by the two last-named gentlemen, in their etTorts to shield the guilty wretches from that punishment their awful crimes so justly merited, no one who knows them would for a moment harbor a belief that they had any suspicion of the coming storm until it burst upon them. A still stronger proof of the feeling of security of these upon the reservation, and the belief thai the recent demonstrations were only such as wer4> of yearly occurrence, and that all danger was passed, is to be found in the fact that, as late au, the 15th of August, the substance of a dispatcb. was published in the daily papers of St. Paul, from Major Galbraith, agreeing fully with thy views of Mr. Riggs, as to the quiet and orderlj^ conduct of the Indians. This opinion is accom. panied by the very highest evidence of humau sincerity. Under the belief of their peaceabli, disposition, he had, on the 16th day of August, sent his wife and children from Fort Ridgely tj- Yellow Medicine, where they arrived on Sunday, the 17th, the very day of the murda/o at Acton,, and on the very day, also, that the o^inncil at Rico Creek had decided that the white ioce in Minn&- sota must either perish or be drivfcu back east o/ the Mississippi. But early on tiis fatal Monday morning Mr. Prescott and Re/. J. D. Hinmaw learned from Little Crow that the storm of ss.vagt( wrath was gathering, and abowt to break upoj, their devoted heads, and that their only safety was in instant flight. The first crack of the Indian, guns that fell o/. his ear, a moment afterward, round Presoott auU Hinman, and his household fleeing for their hves, "While on the billowy bosom jf the air Rolled the dread notes of anguish and despair." Mrs. Hinman was, fortunately, then at Fari- bault. All the other members of the family es- caped with Mr. Hinman co Fort Ridgely. The slaughter at the Agency now commenced. John Lamb, a teamster, was shot down, near the house MASSACRE AT LOWER AGENCY. 197 of Mr. Hinman, just as that gentleman and his family were starting on their perilous journey of escape. At the same time some Indians entered the stable, and were taking therefrom the horses belonging to the Government. Mr. A. H. Wag- ner, Superintendent oE Farms at that Agency, en- tered the stable to prevent them, and was, by order of Little Crow, instantly shot down. Mr. Hin- man waited to see and hear no more, but fled toward the ferry, and soon put the Minnesota river between himself and the terrible tragedy enact- ing behind him. At about the same time, Mr. J. C. Dickinson, who kept the Government boarding-house, with all his family, including several girls who were working for him, also succeeded in crossing the river with a span of horses and a wagon; these, with some others, mostly women and children, who had reached the ferry, escaped to the fort. Very soon after. Dr. Philander P. Humphrey, physician to the Lower Sioux, with his sick wife, and three children, also succeeded in crossing the river, but never reached the fort. All but one, the eldest, a boy of about twelve years of age, were killed upon the road. They had gone about four miles, when Mrs. Humphrey became so much exhausted as to be unable to pro- ceed further, and they went into the house of a Mr. Magner, deserted by its inmates. Mrs. Hum- phrey was placed on the bed; the son was sent to the spring for water for his mother. * * The boy heard the wild war-whoop of the savage break upon the stillness of the air, and, in the nest moment, the ominous crack of their guns, which told the fate of his family, and left him its sole survivor. Fleeing hastily toward Fort Eidge- ly, about eight miles distant, he met the com- mand of Captain Marsh on their way toward the Agency. The young hero turned back with them to the ferry. As they passed Magner's house, they saw the Doctor lying near the door, dead, but the house itself was a heap of smouldering ruins; and this brave boy was thus compelled to look upon the funeral pyre of his mother, and his little brother and sister. A burial party afterward found their charred remains amid the blackened ruins, and gave them Christian sepulture. In the charred hands of the little girl was foimd her china doU, with which she refused to part even in death. The boy went on to the ferry, and in that disas- trous conflict escaped unharmed, and finally made liis way into the fort. In the mean time the work of death went on. The whites, taken by surprise, were utterly de- fenseless, and so great had been the feeling of se- curity, that many of them were actually unai-med, although living in the very midst of the savages. At the store of Nathan Myrick, Hon. James W. Lynd, formerly a member of the State Senate, Andrew J. Myrick, and G. W. Divoll were among the first victims. * * * In the store of Wil- liam H. Forbes were some five or six persons, among them Mr. George H. Spencer, jr. Hearing the yelling of the savages outside, these men ran to the door to ascertain its cause, when they were instantly fired upon, kilUng four of their number, and severely wounding Mr. Spencer. Spencer and his uninjured companion hastily sought a tempo- rary place of safety in the chamber of the build- ing. Mr. Spencer, in giving an accoiint of this open- ing scene of the awful tragedy, says: " When I reached the foot of the stairs, I turned and beheld the store filling with Indians. One had followed me nearly to the stairs, when he took deliberate aim at my body, but, providentially, both barrels of his gun missed fire, and I succeeded in getting above without further injury. Not ex- pecting to live a great while, I threw myself upon a bed, and, while lying there, could hear them opening cases of goods, and carrying them out, and threatening to burn the building. I did not relish the idea of being burned to death very well, so I arose very quietly, and taking a bed-cord, I made fast one end to the bed-post, and carried the other to a window, which I raised. I intended, in case they fired the building, to let myself down from the window, and take the chances of being shot again, rather than to remain where I was and bum. The man who went up-stairs with me, see- ing good opportunity to escape, rushed down through the crowd and ran for life; he was fired upon, and two charges of buckshot struck him, but he succeeded in making his escape. I had been up-stairs probably an hour, when I heard the voice of an Indian inquiring for me. I recognized his voice, and felt that I was safe. Upon being told that I was up-stairs, he rushed up, followed by ten or a dozen others, and approaching my bed, asked if I was mortally wounded. I told him that I did not know, but that I was badly hurt. Some of the others came up and took me by the hand, and appeared to be sorry that I had been hurt. ! Ih&s then asked me where the guns were. I 198 niSTORT OF THE SIOUX M.iSSACIiE. pointed to them, when my comrade assisted me in getting down stairs. " The name of this Indian is Wakinyatawa, or, in English, 'His Thunder.' He was, up to the time of the outbreak, the head soldier of Little Crow, and, some four or five years ago, went to Wash- ington with that chief to see their Great Father. He is a fine-looking Indian, and has always* been noted for his bravery in fighting the Chippewas. When we reached the foot of the stairs, some of the Indians cried out, 'Kill him!' 'Spare no Americans!' 'Show mercy to none!' My friend, who was unarmed, seized a hatchet that was lying near by, and declared that he would cut down the first one that should attempt to do me any further harm. Said he, 'If you had killed him before I saw him, it would have been all right; bu"; we have been friends and comrades for ten years, and now that I have seen him, I will protect him or die with him.' They then made way for us, and we passed out; he procured a wagon, and gave me over to a couple of squaws to take me to his lodge. On the ■way we were stopped two or three times by armed Indians on horseback, who inquired of the squaws 'What that meant?' Upon being answered that ' This is Wakinyatawa's friend, and he has saved his life,' they suffered us to pass on. His lodge was about four miles above the Agency, at Little Crow's village. My friend soon came home and washed me, and dressed my wounds with roots. Some few white men succeeded in making their escape to the fort. There were no other white men taken prisoners." The relation of "comrade," which existed be- tween Mr. Spencer and this Indian, is a species of Freemasonry which is in existence among the Sioux, and is jDrobably also common to other In- dian tribes. The store of Louis Robert was, in like manner, attacked. Patrick McClellan, one of the clerks in charge of the store, was killed, There were at the store several other persons; some of them were killed and some made their escape. Mr. John Nairn, the Government carpenter at the Lower Sioux Agency, seeing the attack upon the stores and other places, seized his children, four in num- ber, and, with his wife, started out on the prairie, making their way toward the fort. They were accompanied by Mr. Alexander Hunter, an at- tached personal friend, and his young wife. Mr. Nairn had been among them in the employ of the Government, some eight years, and had, by his urbane manners and strict attention to their in- terests, secured the personal friendship of many of the tribe. Mr. Nairn and his family reached the fort in safety that artemoon. Mr. Hunter had, some years before, frozen his feet so badly as to lose the toes, and, being lame, walked with great difficulty. When near an Indian village below the Agency, they were met by an Indian, who urged Hunter to go to the village, promising to get them a horse and wagon with which to make their es- cape. Mr. Hunter and his wife went to the Indian village, believing their Indian friend would re- deem his promises, but from inabiUty, or some other reason, he did not do so. They went to the woods, where they remained all night, and in the morning started for Fort Ridgely on foot. They had gone but a short distance, however, when they met an Indian, who, without a word of warning, shot poor Hunter dead, and led his distracted young wife away into captivity. We now return once more to the scene of blood and conflagration at the Agency. The white- haired interpreter, Philander Prescott (now verg- ing upon seventy years of age), hastily left his house soon after his meeting with Little Crow, and fled toward Fort Eidgely. The other members of his family remained behind, knowing that their relation to the tribe would save them. Mr. Pres- cott had gone several miles, when he was overtaken. His murderers came and talked with him. He reasoned with them, saying: "I am an old man: I have lived with you now forty-tive years, almost half a century. My wife and children are among you, of your own blood; I have never done you any harm, and have been your true friend in all your troubles; why should you wish to kill me?" Their only reply was: "We would save your life if we could, but the white manmust die; we cannot spare your life; our orders are to kill all white men; we cannot spare you." Seeing that all remonstrance was vain and hope- less, and that his time had come, the aged man with a firm step and noble bearing, sadly turned away from the deaf ear and iron heart of the sav- age, and with dignity and composure received the fatal messenger. Thus perished Philander Prescott, the true, tried, and faithful friend of the Indian, by the hands of that perfidious race, whom he had so long and so faithfully labored to benefit to so little purpose. The number of persons who reached Fort Ridge- ly from the agency was forty-one. Some are AT It ED WOOD lilVER. 199 known to have reached other places of safety. All suffered incredible hardships; many hiding by day in the tall prairie grass, in bogs and sloughs, or under the trunks of prostrate trees, crawling stealthily by night to avoid the lurking and wily foe, who, with the keen scent of the blood-hound and ferocity of the tiger, followed on their trail, thirsting for blood. Among those who escaped into the fort were BIr. J. O. Whipple, of Faribault; Mr. Charles B. Hewitt, of New Jersey. The services of Mr. Whipple were recognized and rewarded by the Government with a first lieutenant's commis- sion in the volunteer artillery service. James Powell, a young man residing at St. Peter, was at the Agency herding cattle. He had just turned the cattle out of the yard, saddled and mounted his mule, as the work of death com- menced. Seeing Lamb and Wagner shot down near him he turned to flee, when Lamb called to him for help; but, at that moment two shots were fired at him, and, putting spurs to his mule he turned toward the ferry, passing close to an In- dian who leveled his gun to fire at him ; biit the caps exploded, when the savage, evidently sur- prised that he had failed to kill him, waved his hand toward the river, and exclaimed, "Packachee! Puckachee!" Pcwell did not wait for a second warning, which might come in a more unwelcome form, but slipped at once from the back of his an- imal, dashed down the bluff through the brush, and I'eached the ferry just as the boat was leaving the shore. Looking over his shoulder as he ran, he saw an Indian in full pursuit on the very mule he had a moment before abandoned. All that day the work of sack and plunder went on; and when the stores and dwellings and the warehouses of the Government had been emptied of their contents, the torch was applied to the var- ious buddings, and the little village was soon a heap of smouldering ruins. The bodies of their slain victims were left to fes- ter in the sun where they fell, or were consumed in the buildings from which they had been unable to effect their escape. So complete was the surprise, and so sudden and unexpected the terrible blow, that not a sin- gle one of all that host of naked savages was slain. In thirty minutes from the time the first gun was fired, not a white person was left alive. All were either weltering in their gore or had fled in fear and terror from that place of death. BEDWOOD BrVEE. At the Bedwood river, ten miles above the Agency, on the road to Yellow Medicine, resided Mr. Joseph B. Reynolds, in the employment of the Government as a teacher. His house was within one mile of Shakopee's village. His family consisted of his wife, a niece — Miss Mattie Wil- liams, of Painesville, Ohio — Mary Anderson and Mary Sohwandt, hired girls. William Landmeier, a hired man, and Legrand Davis, a yoimg man from Shakopee, was also stoppmg with them tem- porarily. On the morning of the 18th of August, at about 6 o'clock, John Moore, a half-breed trader, resid- ing near them, came to the house and informed them that there was an outbreak among the In- dians, and that they had better leave at once. Mr. Reynolds immediately got out his buggy, and, taking his wife, started off across the prairie in such a direction as to avoid the Agency. At the same time Davis and the three girls got into the wagon of a Mr. Patoile, a trader at Yellow Medi- cine, who had just arrived there on his way to New Ulm, and they also started out on the prairie. WiUiam, the hired man, would not leave until he had been twice warned by Moore that his life was in danger. He then went down to the river bot- tom, and following the Minnesota river, started for the fort. When some distance on his way he came ujDon some Indians who were gathering up cattle. They saw him and there was no way of escape. They came to him and told him that if he would assist them in driving the cattle they would not kiU him. Making a merit of necessity he complied, and went on with them tUl they were near the Lower Agency, when the Indians, hear- ing the firing at the ferry, suddenly left him and hastened on to take part in the battle then pro- gressing between Captain Marsh and their friends. William fled in an opposite direction, and that night entered Fort Ridgely. We return now to Patoile and his party. After crossing the Redwaod near its mouth, he drove some distance up that stream, and, turning to the left, struck across the prairie toward New Ulm, keeping behind a swell in the prairie which ran parallel with the Minnesota, some three miles south of that stream. They had, unpursued, and apparently unob- served, reached a point within about ten miles of New Uhn, and nearly opposite Fort Ridgely, when they were suddenly assailed by Indians, who 200 niSTORT OF THE SIOUX MASSACRE. killed Patoile and Davis, and severely wounded Mary Anderson. Miss Williams and Mary Sehwandt were captured unhurt, aud were taken back to Waucouta's village. The poor, injured young woman survived her ■wounds and the brutal and fiendish violation of her person to which she was subjected by these dej)ils incarnate, but a few days, when death, in mercy, came to her relief and ended her sufferings in the quiet of the grave! Mattie Williams and Mary Sehwandt were af- terwards restored to their friends by General Sib- ley's expedition, at Camp Eelease. We say, res- stored to their friends; this was hardly true of Mary Sehwandt, who, when release came, found alive, of all her father's family, only one, a little brother; and he had witnessed the fiendish slaugh- ter of all the rest, accompanied by circumstances of infernal barbarity, without a parallel in the his- tory of savage brutality. On Sunday, the 17th, George Gleason, Govern- ment stoie-keeper at the Lower Agency, accomjsa- nied by the family of Agent Galbraith, to Yellow Medicine, and on Monday afternoon, ignorant of the terrible tragedy enacted below, started to re- turn. He had with him the wife and two children of Dr. J. S. Wakefield, physician to the Upper Sioux. When about two miles above the mouth of the Eedwood, they met two armed Indians on the road. Gleason greeted them with the usual salutation of "Ho !" accompanied with the inquiry, in Sioux, as he passed, "Where are you going ?" They returned the salutation, but Gleason had gone but a very short distance, when the sharp crack of a gun behind him bore to his ear the first iutimntion of the death in store for him. The bullet passed through his body and he fell to the ground. At the same moment Chaska, the Indian who had not fired, sprang into the wagon, by the side of Mrs. Wakefield, and driving a short dis- tance, returned. Poor Gleason was lying upon the groimd, still alive, writhing in mortal agony, when the savage moniter completed his hellish work, by placing his gun at his breast, and shoot- ing him again. Such was the sad end of the life of George Gleason; gay, jocund, genial and gen- erous, he was the life of every circle. His pleas- ant face was seen, and his mellow voice was heard in song, at almost every social gathering on that rude frontier. He had a smile and pleasant woi-d for all; and yet he fell, in his manly strength, by the hands of these bloody monsters, whom he had never wronged in word or deed. Some weeks af- terward, his mutilated remains were found by the troops imder Colonel Sibley, and buried where he fell. They were subsequently removed by hia friends to Shakopee, where they received the rites of Christian sepulture. Mrs. Wakefield and children were held as pris- oners, and were reclaimed with the other captives at Camp Eelease. CHAPTEB XXXIV. JU.SSACBE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MINNESOTA BUIINING OF MKS. HENDERSON AND TWO CHILDREN ESCAPE OF J. W. EARLE AND OTHERS^ — THE SET- TLERS ENDEAVOR TO ESCAPE MCIiDER OF THE SCHWANDT FAMTLT WHOLESALE MASSACRE UP- PER AGENCY THE PEOPLE WARNED BY JOSEPH LAFKAMBOIS AND OTHER DAT — ESCAPE OF THE WHITES FROM YELLOW MEDICINE SETTLEMENT ON THE CHIPPEWA MURDER OF JAMES W, LIND- SAY AND HIS COMRADE. Early on the morning of the 18th, the settlers on the north side of the Minnesota river, adjoining the reservation, were surprised to see a large num- ber of Indians in their immediate neighborhood. They were seen soon after the people arose, simul- taneously, all along the river from Birch Coolie to Beaver Creek, and beyond, on the west, apparent- ly intent on gathering up the horses and cattle. When interrogated, they said they were after Chippewas. At about 6 or 7 o'clock they sudden- ly began to repair to the various houses of the set- tlers, and then the flight of the inhabitants and the work of death began. In the immediate vicinity of Beaver Creek, the neighbors, to the number of about twenty-eight, men, women, and children, assembled at the house of Jonathan W. Earle, and, with several teams, started for Fort Ridgely, having with them the sick wife of S. K. Henderson, her children, and the family of N. D. White, and the wife and two children of James Carrothers. There were, also, David Carrothers and family, Earle and family, Henderson, and a German named Wedge, besides four sons of White and Earle; the rest were women and children. They had gone but a short distance when they were surrounded by Indians. When asked, by some of the party who could speak their language, what they wanted, the Indians answered, "We are going to kiU you." MASSACRE AT OERMAN SETTLEMENT. 201 When asked why they were to be killed, the In- dians consented to let them go, with one team and the buggy with Mrs. Henderson, on giving up the rest. They had gone but a short distance when they were again stopped by the savages, and the remaining team taken. Again they moved on, drawing the buggy and the sick woman by hand but had gone but a few rods further, when the In- dians began to fire upon them. The men were with the buggy ; the women and children had gone on ahead, as well as the boys and Carrothers. Mr. Earle, seeing the savages were determined to kill them, and knowing that they could not now save Mrs. Henderson, hastened on and came up with the fleeing fugitives ahead. Mr. Henderson waved a white cloth as a flag of truce, when they shot off his fingers, and, at the same time, killed Wedge. Henderson then ran, seeing that he could not save his wife and children, and made his es- cape. They came up with his buggy, and, taking out the helpless woman and children, threw them on the prairie, and placing the bed over them, set it on fire, and hastened on after the fleeing fugi- tives. The burned and blackened remains of both the mother and her two children were afterward found by a burial party, and interred. Coming up with the escaping women and chil- dren, they were all captured but two children of David Carrothers. These they had shot in the chase after Carrothers, Earle, and the sons of Earle and White. They killed, also, during this chase and running fight, Eugene White, a son of N. D. AVhite, and Eadner, son of Jonathan W. Earle. Carrothers escaped to Crow Kiver, and thence to St. Paul. Mr. Earle and two of his sons, and one son of Mr. White, after incredible hardships, es- caped to Cedar City, and subsequently made their way back to St. Peter and Fort Ridgely. All the captives taken at this time were carried to Crow's village, and, with the exception of Mrs. James Carrothers and her children, were recovered at Camp Eelease. After they had captured the women and children, they returned to the houses of the settlers, and plundered them of their contents, carrying off what they could, and breaking up and destroying the balance. They then gathered up the stock and drove it to their village, taking their captives with them. Some two or three miles above the neighborhood of Earle and White was a settlement of German emigrants, numbering some forty persons, quiet, industrious, and enterprising. Early on the morning of the 18th these had all assembled al the house of John Meyer. Very soon after they had assembled here, some fifty Indians, led by Shakopee, appeared in sight. The people all fled, except Meyer and his family, going into the grass and bushes. Peter Bjorkman ran toward his own house. Shakopee, whom he knew, saw him, and exclaimed, "There is Bjorkman; kill him!" but, keeping the building between him and the sav- ages, he plunged into a slough and concealed himself, even removing his shirt, fearing it might be the means of revealing his whereabouts to the lurking savages. Here he lay from early morning until the darkness of night enabled him to leave with safety — suffering unutterable torments, mos- quitoes literally swarming upon his naked person, and the hot sim scorching him to the bone. They immediately attacked the house of Meyer, killing his wife and all his children. Seeing his family butchered, and having no means of de- tense, Meyer effected his escape, and reached Fort Eidgely. In the meantime the affrighted people had got together again at the house of a Mr. Sitzton, near Bjorkman's, to the number of about thirty, men, women, and children. In the after- noon the savages returned to the house of Sitzton, kiUing every person there but one woman, Mrs. Wilhelmina Eindeutield, and her child. These ware captured, and afterward found at Camp Ee- lease, but the husband and father was among the slain. From his place of concealment Mr. Bjork- man witnessed this attack and wholesale massacre of almost an entire neighborhood. After dark he came out of the slough, and, going to his house, obtained some food and a bundle of clothing, as his house was not yet plundered; fed his dog and calf, and jvent over to the house of Meyer; here he foimd the windows all broken in, but did not enter the house. He then went to the house of Sitzton ; his nerves were not equal to the task of entering that charnel-house of death. As he passed the yard, he turned out some cattle that the Indians had not taken away, and hastened toward Fort Ridgely. On the road he overtook a woman and two children, one an infant of six months, the wife and children of John Sateau, who had been killed. Taking one of the children in his arms, these companions in misfortune and suffer- ing hurried on together. Mrs. Sateau was nearly naked, and without either shoes or stockings. 2oa niHTOItT OF THE SIOUX MASSACME. The rough prairie grass lacerated her naked feet and limbs terribly, and she was about giWng out in despair. Bjorkman took from his bundle a shirt, and tearing it in parts, she woimd it about her feet, and proceeded on. At daylight they came in sight of the house of Maguer, eight miles above the fort. Here they saw some eight or ten Indians, and, turning aside from the road, dropped down into the grass, where they remained until noon, when the Indians disap- peared. They again moved toward the fort, but slowly and cautiously, as they did not reach it until about midnight. Upon reaching the fort Mrs. Sateau found two sons, aged ten and twelve years respectively, who had efl'ected their escape and reached there before her. Mrs. Mary, widow of Patrick Hay den, who re- sided about one and a half miles from the house of J. W. Earle, near Beaver Creek, in Kenville county, says : "On the morning of the 18th of August, Mr. Hayden started to go over to the house of Mr. J. B. Keynolds, at the Redwood river, on the reser- vation, and met Thomas Kobinson, a half-breed, who told him to go home, get his family, and leave as soon as possible, for the Indians were coming over to kill all the whites. He came im- mediately home, and we commenced to make preparations to leave, but in a few minutes we saw some three or four Indians coming on horse- back. We then went over to the house of a neighbor, Benedict June, and found them all ready to leave. I started off with June's people, and my husband went back home, still thinking the Indians would not kiU any one, and intending to give them some provisions if they wanted them. I never saw him again. "We had gone about four miles, when jje saw a man lying dead in the road and his faithful dog watching by his side. "We drove on tiU we came to the house of David Faribault, at the foot of the hill, about one and a half miles from the Agency ferry. When we got here two Indians came out of Faribault's house, and stopping the teams, shot Mr. Zimmerman, who was driving, and his two boys. I sprang out of the wagon, and, with my child, one year old, in my arms, ran into the bushes, and went up the hill toward the fort. When I came near the house of Mr. ISIaguer, I saw Indians throwing furniture out of the door, and I went down into the bushes again, on the lower side of the road, and staid there until sundown. "While I lay here concealed, I saw the Indians taking the roof off the warehouse, and saw the buildings burning at the Agency. I also heard the firing during the battle at the ferry, when Marsh and his men were killed. "I then went up near the fort road, and sitting down under a tree, waited till dark, and then started for Fort Ridgely, carrying my child all the way. I arrived at the fort at about 1 o'clock A. M. The distance from our place to Eidgley was seventeen miles. "On Tuesday morning I saw John Magner, who told me that, when the soldiers went up to the Agen- cy the day before, he taw my husband lying in the road, near David Faribault's house, dead. John Hayden, his brother, who lived with us, was found dead near La Croix creek. They had got up the oxen, and were bringing the family of Mr. Eisen- rich to the fort, when they were overtaken by In- dians. Eisenrich was killed and his wife and five children were taken prisoners. "Mrs. Zimmerman, who was blind, and her re- maining children, and Mrs. Jime and her children, five in number, were captured and taken to the house of David Faribault, where they were kept till night, the savages torturing them by teUing them that they were going to fasten them in the house and bum them alive, but for some inexpli- cable reason let them go, and they, too, reached the fort in safety. Mr. Jime, who with one of his boys, eleven years old, remained behind to drive in his cattle, was met by them on the road and killed. The boy was captured, and, with the other prisoners, recovered at Camp Release." The neighborhoods in the vicinity of La Croix creek, and between that and Fort Ridgely, were visited on Monday forenoon, and the people either massacred, driven away or made prisoners. Ed- ward Magner, living eight miles above the fort, was killed. His wife and children had gone to the fort. He had returned to look after his cat- tle when he was shot. Patrick Kelley and David O'Coimor, both single men, were killed near Mag- nor's. Kearn Horan makes the followbig statement. "I lived four miles from the Lower Sioux Agency, on the fort road. On the 18th of August Patrick Horan, my brother, came early from the Agency and told us that the Indians were murder- ing the whites. He had escaped alone and crossed STATEMENT OF KEARN KORAN. 203 the ferry, and with some Frenchmen was on bis waj to the fort. My brothers and Wilham and Thomas Smith went with me. We saw Indians in the road near Magner's. Thomas Smith went to them, thinking they were white men, and I saw them kill him. We then turned to flee, and saw men escaping with teams along the road. All fled towards the fort together, the Indians firing ujjon us as we ran. The teams were oxen, and the In- dians were gaining upon us, when one of men in his excitement dropped his gun. The savages came up to it and picked it up. All stopped to examine it, and the men in the wagons whipped the oxen into a run. This delay enabled us to elude them. "As we passed the house of Ole Sampson, Mrs. Sampson was crying at the door for help. Her three children were with her. We told her to go into the bush and hide, for we could not help her. We ran into a ravine and hid in the grass. After the Indians had hunted some time for us, they came along the side of the ravine, and called to us in good English, saying, 'Come out, boys; what are you afraid of? We don't want to hurt you.' After they left us we crawled out and made our way to the fort, where we arrived at about 4 o'clock P. M. My family had gone there before me. Mrs. Sampson did not go to the bush, but hid in the wagon from which they had_ recently come from Waseca county. It was what we call a prairie schooner, covered with cloth, a genuine emigrant wagon. They took her babe from her, and throwing it down upon the grass, put hay im- der the wagon, set fire to it and went away. Mrs. Sampson got out of the wagon, badly burned, and taking her infant from the ground made he, w y to the fort. Two of her children were burned to death in the wagon. Mr. Sampson had been pre- viously killed about eighty rods from the house. In the neighborhood of La Croix creek, or Birch CooUe, Peter Pereau, Frederick Closen, Piguar, Andrew Bahlke, Henry Keartner, old Mr. Closen and Mrs. WiUiam Vitt, and several others were killed. Mrs. Maria Frorip, an aged Ger-v man woman, was wounded fom- different times with small shot, but escaped to the fort. The wife of Henry Keartner also escajied and reached the fort. The wife and child of a Mr. Cardenelle were taken prisoners, as were also the wife and child of Frederick Closen. William Vitt came into Fort Kidgely, but not until he had, with his own hands, buried his mur- dered wife and also a Mr. Piguar. A flourishing German settlement had sprung up near Patterson's Eapids, on the Sacred Heart, twelve miles below YeUow Medicine. Word came to this neighborhood about sun- down of the 18th, that the Indians were murder- ing the whites. This news was brought to them by two men who had started from the Lower Agency, and had seen the lifeless and mutilated remains of the murdered victims lying upon the road and in their plundered dwellings towards Beaver Creek. The whole neighborhood, with the exception of one family, that of Mr. Schwandt, soon assembled at the house of Paul Kitzman, with their oxen and wagons, and prejjared to start for Fort Eidgely. A messenger was sent to the house of Schwandt but the Indian rifle and the tomahawk had done their fearful work. Of all that family but two sui-vived; one a boy, a witness of the awful scene of butchery, and he then on his way, covered with blood, towards Fort Kidgely. The other, a young girl of about seventeen years of age, then residing at Redwood, who was captured as previously stated. This boy saw his sister, a young married wo- man, ripped open, while ahve, and her unborn babe taken, yet struggling, from her person and nailed to a tree before the eyes of the dying mother. This party started in the evening to make their escape, going so as to avoid the settlements and the traveled roads, striking across the country to- ward the head of Beaver creek. They traveled this way all night, and in the morning changed their course towards Fort Eidge- ly. They continued in this direction until the sun was some two hours high, when they were met by eight Sioux Indians, who told them that the murders were committed by Chippewas, and that they had come over to protect them and punish the murderers; and thus induced them to turn back toward their homes. One of the savages spoke Enghsh well. He was acquainted with some of the company, having often hunted with Paul Kitzman. He kissed Kitzman, telling him he was a good man; and they shook hands with all of the party. The simple hearted Germans believed them, gave them food, distributed money among them, and, gratefully receiving their assurances of friendship and j)rot€Ction, turned back. 201 uisronr of tub sioux massacre. They traveled on toward their deserted homes till noon, when they again halted, and gave their pretended protectors food. The Indians went away by themselves to eat. The suspicions of the fugitives were now somewhat aroused, but they felt that they were, to a great extent, in the power of the wretches. They soon came back, and or- dered them to go on, taking their position on each side of the train. Soon after t)i ey went on and disappeared. The train kept on toward home; and when within a few rods of u house, where they thought they could defend themselves, as they had guns with them, they were suddenly surrounded by fourteen Indians, who instf ntly fired upon them, killing eight (all but three of the men) at the first discharge. At the next fire tJiey killed two of the remaining men and six of the women, leaving only one man, Frederick Kreiger, alive. His wife was also, as yet, unliurt. They soon dispatched Kreiger, and, at the same time, began boating out the brains of the screaming children \\ith the butts of their guns. Mrs. Kreiger was standing in the wagon, and, when her husband fell, attempted to spring from it to the grouisd, but was shot from behind, and fell back in the wagon-box, although not dead, or tntirely unconscious. She was roughly seized and dragged to the ground, and the teams were driven off. She now became insensible. A few of the children, during this awful scene, escaped to the timber near by ; and a few also, maimed and mangled by these horrible monsters, and left for dead, survived, and, after enduring incredible hardships, got to Fort Ridgely. Mrs. Zable, and five children, were horribly mangled, and almost naked, entered the fort eleven days afterward- Mrs. Kreiger also survived her unheard-of suffer- ings. Some forty odd bodies were afterward found and buried on that fatal field of slaughter. Thus per- ished, by the hands of these terrible scourges of the border, almost an entire neighborhood. Quiet, sober, and industrious, they had come hither from the vine-clad hills of their fatherland, by the green shores and gliding waters of the enchanting Rhine, and had built for themselves homes, where they had fondly hoped, in peace and quiet, to spend yet long years, under the fair, bluo sky, and in the sunny clirae of Miimosota, when suddenly, and in one short hour, by the hand of the savage, they were doomed to one common annihilation. During all the fatal 18th of August, the people at the Upper Agency pursued their usual avoca- tions. As night approached, however, an unusual gathering of Indians was observed on the hill just wejit of the Agency, and between it and the house of John Other Day. Judge Givens and Charles Crawford, then acting as interpreters in the ab- sence of Freniere, went out to them, and sought to learn why they were there in coimcil, but coidd get no satisfactory reply. Soon after this. Other Day came to them witli the news of the outbreak below, as did also Joseph Laframbois, a half- breed Sious. The families there were soon all gathered together in the warehouse and dwelling of the agent, who resided in the same building, and with the guns they had, prepared themselves as best they could, and awaited the attack, deter- mined to sell their lives as dearly as possible. There were gathered here sixty-two persons, men, women, and children. Other Day, and several other Indians, who came to them, told them they would stand by them to the last. These men visited the council outside, several times during the night; but when they were most needed, one only, the noble and heroic Other Day, remained faithful. AH the others dis- appeared, one after another, during the night. About one or two o'clock in the morning, Stewart B. Garvie, connected with the traders' store, known as Myrick's, came to the warehouse, and was ad- mitted, badly wounded, a charge of buckshot hav- ing entered his bowels. Garvie was standing in the door or his store when he was fired upon and wounded. He ran up stairs, and jumping from the window into the garden, crawled away, and reached the Agency without further molestation. At about this time Joseph Laframbois went to the store of Daily & Pratt, and awakened the two men in charge there, Duncan R. Kennedy and J, D. Boardman, and told them to flee for their lives. They hastily dressed and left the store, but had not gone ten rods when they saw in the path be- fore them three Indians. They stepped down from the jiath, which ran along the edge of a rise in the ground of some feet, and crouching in the grass, the Indians passed within eight feet of them. Kennedy went on toward Fort Ridgely, determined to reach that post if possible, and Boardman went to the warehouse. At the store of William H. Forbes, Constans, book-keeper, a na- tive of France, was killed. At the store of Pa- toile, Peter Patoile, clerk, and a nephew of the proprietor, was shot just outside the store, the ball entering at the back and coming ont near the nip- WHITES RESCUED Br OTUER DAT. 205 pie, passing througli bis lungs. An Indian came to him after be fell, turned bim over, and saying, "He is dead," left bim. Tbey then turned their attention to the stores. The clerlis in the store of Louis Koliert had effect- ed their escape, so that there were now no white men left, and when they had become absorbed in the work of plunder, Patoile crawled off into the bushes on the banks of the Yellow Medicine, and secreted himself. Here he remained all day. After dark he got up and started for a place of safety; ascending the bluflf, outof the YeUow Med- icine bottom, he dragged himself a mile and a haK further, to the Minnesota, at the mouth of the Yellow Medicine. Wading the Minnesota, be entered the house of Louis Labelle, on the oppo- site side, at the ford. It was deserted. Finding a bed in the house he lay down upon it and was soon fast asleejj, and did not awake until morning. Joseph Laframbois and Narces Freniere, and an Indian, Makacago, entered the house, and finding him there, awoke him, telUng bim there were hos- tile Indians about; that he must bide. They gave him a blanket to disguise himself, and going with him to the ravine, concealed bim in the grass and left him, promising to return, as soon as it was safe to do so, to bring him food, and guide him away to the prairie. He lay in this ravine until toward night, when his friends, true to their promise, returned, bringing some crackers, tripe, and onions. They went with him some distance out on the prairie, and enjoined upon him not to attempt to go to Fort Ridgely, and giving him the best directions they could as to the course he should take, shook hands with him and left him. Their names should be inscribed upon tablets more enduring than brass. That night he slept on the prairie, and the nest day resumed his wanderings, over an unknown region, without an inhabitant. After wandering for days without food or drink, bis little stock of crackers and tripe being exhaust- ed, he came to a deserted bouse, which he did not know. Here he remained all night, and obtained two raw potatoes and three ears of green corn. These he ate raw. It was all the food he had for eight days. Wandering, and unknowing whither to go, on the twelfth day out from Labelle's house, he heard the barking of dogs, and creeping nearer to them, still fearing there might be Indians about, he was overjoyed at seeing white men. Soon making himself and his condition known, he was h'keu and kindly cared for by these men, who had some days before deserted their farms, and had now returned to look after their crops and cattle. He now learned for the first time where he was. He bad struck a settlement far up the Sauk Val- ley, some forty miles above St. Cloud. He must have wandered, in these twelve days of sufifering, not less than two hundred miles, including devia- tions from a direct course. He was taken by these men, in a wagon, to St. Cloud, where his wound was dressed for the first time. From St. Cloud the stage took bim to St. Anthony, where he took the cars to St. Paul. A case of equal suffering and equal endurance is scarcely to be found on record. With a bullet wound through the lungs, he walked twelve days, not over a smooth and easy road, but across a trackless prairie, covered with rank grass, wading sleighs and streams on his way, almost without food, and for days without water, before he saw the face of a man; and traveled by wagon, stage, and cars, over one hundred miles. His recovery was rapid, and he soon enlisted in the First Regiment Minnesota Mounted Rangers under General Sibley, in the expedition against the Siovix. Patoile was in the battles on the Mis- souri in the summer of 1863, where his company, that of Captain Joseph Anderson, is mentioned as having fought with great bravery. We now return to the warehouse at Yellow Med- icine, which we left to follow the strange fortunes of young Patoile. Matters began to wear a seri- ous aspect, when Garvie came to them mortally wounded. Other Day was constantly on the watch outside, and reported the progress of aifairs to those within. Toward daylight every friendly Indian had deserted save Other Day; the yells of the savages came distinctly to their ears from the trading-post, half a mile distant. They were ab- sorbed in the work of plunder. The chances of escape were sadly against them, yet they decided to make the attempt. Other Day knew every foot of the country over which they must pass, and would be their guide. The wagons were driven to the door. A bed was placed in one of them; Garvie was laid upon it. The women and children provided a few loaves of bread, and just as day dawned, the cortege started on its perilous way. This party consisted of the family of Major Galbraith, wife and three children; Nelson Givens, wife, and wife's mother, and three children ; Noah Sinks, wife, and two chil- dren; Henry EscheUe, wife, and five children; John 206 HISTORY OP TUB SIOUX MASSACRE. Fadden, wife, and three cliildren; Mr. German and wife; Frederick Patoile, wife, and two children; Mrs. Jane K. Murch, Miss IMaiy Charles, Miss Lizzie Sawyer, Miss Mary Daly, Miss Mary Hays, Mrs. Eleanor Warner, Mrs. John Other Day and one child, Mrs. Haurahan, N. A. Miller, Edward Cramsie, 'Zi. Hawkins, Oscar Canfil, Mr. Hill, an artist from St. Paul, J. D. Boardman, Parker Pierce, Dr. J. L. Wakefield, and several others. They crossed the Minnesota at Labelle's farm, and soon turned into the timber on the Hawk river, crossed that stream at some distance above its mouth, and ascended from the narrow valley through which it runs to the open prairie beyond, and followed down the Minnesota, keeping back on the prairie as far as the farm of Major J. K. Bro^^■n, eight miles below the Yellow Medicine. Mr. Fadden and Other Day visited the house and found it deserted. A consultation th'en took place, for the purpose of deciding where they should go. Some of them wished to go to Fort Kidgely; oth- ers to some town away from the frontier. Other Day told them that if they attempted to go to the fort they would all be killed, as the Indians would either be lying in ambush on that road for them, or would follow them, believing they would at- tempt to go there. His counsel prevailed, and they turned to the left, across the prairie, in the direction of Kandiyohi Lakes and Glencoe. At night one of the pnrty mounted a horse and rode forward, and found a house about a mile ahead. They hastened forward and reached it in time to escape a furious storm. They were kindly re- ceived by the only person about the premises, a man, whose family were away. The next morn- ing, soon after crossing Hawk river, they were joined by Louis Labelle and Gertong, his son-in- law, who remained with them all that day. On Wednesday morning they left the house of the friendly settler, and that night reached Cedar City, eleven miles from Hutchinson, in the county of McLeod. The inhabitants had deserted the town, and gone to an island, in Cedar Lake, and had erected a rude shelter. From the main land the island was reached through shallow water. Through this water our escaping party drove, guided by one of the citizens of Cedar City, and were cordially welcomed by the people assembled there. That night it rained, and all were drenched to the skin. Poor Garvie was laid under a rude shed, upon his bed, and all was done for him that man could do; but, in the morning, it was evident that he could go no further, and he was taken to the house of a Mr. Peek, and left. He died there, a day or two afterward. Some of the company, who were so worn out as to be unable to go on be- yond Hutchinson, returned to Cedar City and saw that he was decently interred. On Thursday they went on, by way of Hutchin- son and Glencoe, to Carver, and thence to Shako- pee and St. Paul. Major Galbraith, in a report to the department, says of this escape: "Led by the Noble Other Day, they struck out on the naked prairie, literally placing their lives in this faithful creature's hands, and guided by him, and him alone. After intense suffering and jirivation, they reached Shakopee, on Friday, the 22d of August, Other Day never leaving them for an instant; and thia Other Day is a pure, full- blooded Indian, and was, not long since, one of the wildest and fiercest of his race. Poor, nolile fel- low! must he, too, be ostracized for the sins of his nation ? i commend him to the care of a just God and a Uberal government ; and not only him, but all others who did Ukewise." [Government gave John Other Day a farm in Minnesota. He died several years since univer- sally esteemed by the white people.] After a knowledge of the designs of the Indians reached the people at the Agency, it was impossi- ble for them to more than merely communicate with the two families at the saw-miU, three miles above, and with the families at the Mission. They were, therefore, reluctantly left to their fate. Early in the evening of Monday, two civilized In- dians, Chaskada and Tankanxaceye, went to the house of Dr. Williamson, and warned them of their danger, informing them of what had occurred be- low; and two halt-breeds, Michael and Gabriel Renville, and two Christian Indians, Paul Maxa- kuta Mani and Simon Anaga Mani, went to the house of Mr. Kiggs, the missionary, at Hazel- wood, and gave them warning of the danger im- pending over them. There were at this place, at that time, the family of the Eev. Stephen R. Eiggs, Mr. H. D. Cun- ningham and family, Mr. D. W. Moore and his wife (who reside in New Jersey), and Jonas Petti- john and family. Mr. Pettijohn and wife were in charge of the Government school at Red Iron's village, and were now at Mr. Eiggs'. They got up a team, and these friendly Indians went with them to an Island in the Minnesota, about tliree ESCAPE OF REV. S. li. RIGGS AJfD OTHERS. 207 miles from the Mission. Here they remained till Tuesday evening. In the afternoon of Tuesday, Andrew Hunter, a son-in-law of Dr. Williamsou, came to him with the information that the family of himself and the Doctor were secreted below. The families at the saw-mill had been informed by the Eenvilles, and were with the party of Dr. Wil- liamson. At night they formed a junction on the north side of the Minnesota, and commenced their perilous journey. A thunder-storm effectually ob- Uterated their tracks, so that the savages could not follow them. They started out on the prairie in a northeasterly direction, and, on Wednesday morn- ing, changed their course south-easterly, till they struck the Lac qui Parle road, and then made di- rectly for Fort Eidgely. On Wednesday they were joined by three Germans, who had escaped from YeUow Medicine. On Wednesday night tliey found themselves in the vicinity of the Upper Agency, and turned to the north again, keeping out on the prairie. On Friday they were in the neighborhood of Beaver Creek, when Dr. Wil- liamson, who, with his wife and sister, had re- mained behind, overtook them in an ox-cart, hav- ing left about twenty -four hours later. They now determined to go to Fort Bidgelj. When within a few miles of that post, just at night, they were discovered by two Indians on horseback, who rode along parallel with the train for awhile, and then turned and galloped away, and the fugitives has- tened on, momentarily expecting an attack. Near the Three-Mile creek they passed a dead body lying by the road-side. They drove on, passing the creek, and, turning to the left, passed out on to the prairie, and halted a mile and a half from the fort. It was now late at night; they had heard firing, and had seen Indians in the vicinity. They were in doubt what to do. It was at length decided that Andrew Hunter should endeavor to enter the fort and ascertain its condition, and learn, if possible, whether they could get in. Hunter went, and, although it was well-nigh sur- rounded by savages (they had been besieging it all the afternoon), succeeded in crawling by on his hands and knees. He was told that it would be impossible for so large a party, forty-odd, to get through the Indian lines, and that he had better return and tell them to push on toward the to\vns below. He left as he had entered, crawling out into the prairie, and reached his friends in safety. It seemed very hard, to be so near a place of fan- cied security, and obliged to turn away from it, and, weary and hungry, press on. Perils beset their path on every hand; dangers, seen and un- seen, were around them ; but commending them- selves to the care of Him who "suffereth not a sparrow to fall to the ground without His notice," they resumed their weary march. They knew that all around them the work of death and deso- lation was going on, for the midnight sky, on every side, was red with the lurid flame of burn- ing habitations. They heard fiom out the gloom the tramp of horses' feet, hurrying past them in the darkness; but they still pressed on. Soon their wearied animals gave out, and again they encamped for the night. With the early dawn they were upon the move, some eight miles from the fort, in the direction of Henderson. Here, four men, the three Germans who had joined them on AVeJuesday, and a young man named Gilligan, left them, and went off in the direction of New Ulm. The bodies of these unfortunate men were afterward found, scarcely a mile from the place where they had left the guidance of Other Day. They traveled on in the direction of Henderson, slowly and painfully, for their teams, as well as themselves, were nearly exhausted. That day the savages were beleaguering New Ulm, and the sounds of the conflict were borne faintly to their ears upon the breeze. They had flour with them, but no means of cooking it, and were, consequently, much of the time without proper food. On the afternoon of this day they came to a deserted house, on the road from Fort Ridgley to Hender- son, the house of Michael Cummings, where they found a stove, cooking utensils, and a jar of cream. Obtaining some ears of corn from the field or gar- den near by, and " confiscating" the cream, they prepared themselves the first good meal they had had since leaving their homes so hastily on Mon- day night. After refreshing themselves and their worn ani- mals at tliis place for some hours, their journey was again resumed. That night they slept in a forsaken house on the prairie, and, on Sabbath morning early, were again on their way. As they proceeded, they met some of the settlers returning to their deserted farms, and calh'ng a halt at a de- serted house, where they found a large company of jjeople, they concluded to remain until Monday, and recuperate themselves and teams, as well as to observe in a proper manner the holy Sabbath. On Monday morning they separated, part going to Henderson and part to St. Peter, all feeling thai 208 HISTORY OF THE SIOUX SI ASS AG RE. the All-seeing Eye that never slumbers or sleeps had watched over them, and that the loving hand of God had guided them siifely through the dan- gers, seen and unseen, that had beset their path. In the region of the State above the Upper Agency there were but few white inhabitants. Of all those residing on the Cliippewa river, near its mouth, we can hear of but one who escaped, and he was wounded, while his comrade, who lived with him was killed. This man joined the party of the missionaries, and got away with them. On the Yellow Medicine, above the Agency about twelve mUes, was a settler named James W. Lindsay. He was unmarried, and another single man was "baching it" with liim. They were both killed. Their nearest white neighbors were at the Agency, and they could not be warned of their danger, and knew nothing of it until the savages were upon them. CHAPTER XXXV. LEOPOLD WOHIiER AND WIPE^LEAVENWORTH STATEMENT OF MRS. MAKY 3. COVIl,Ij STOKY OF MRS. LAURA WHTTON MILFORD — NICOLLET COUN- TY WEST NEWTON LAFAYETTE — OOUETLAUD SWAN LAKE PARTIAL LIST OF THE KILLED IN NICOLLET COUNTY INDIANS SCOURING THE COUN- TRY — A SCOUTING PARTY SEEN AT ST. PETER. The news of the murders below reached Leo- pold Wohler at the "lime-kUn," three miles be- low Yellow Medicine, on Monday afternoon. Taking his wife, he crossed the Minnesota river, and went to the house of Major Joseph E. Brown. Major Brown's family consisted of his wife and nine children; Angus Brown and wife, and Charles Blair, a son-in-law, his wife, and two children. The Major himself was away from home. Includ- ing Wohler and his wife, there were then at their house, on the evening of the 18th of August, eighteen persons. They started, early on the morning of the 19th, to make their escape, with one or two others of their neighbors, Charles Holmes, a single man, re- siding on the claim above them, being of the party. They were overtaken near Beaver Creek by Indi- ans, and all of the Browns, Mr. Blair and family, and Mrs. Wohler, were captured, and taken at once to Little Crow's village. Messrs. Wohler and Holmes escaped. Major Brown's family were of mixed Indian blood. This fact, probably, accounts for their saving the lite of Blair, who was a white man. Crow told him to go away, as his young men were going to kill him ; and he made his escape to Fort Kidgely, being out some five days and nights without food. Mr. Blair was in poor health. The hardships he endured were too much for his al- ready shattered constitution; and although he es- caped the tomahawk and scalping-knife, he was soon numbered among the victims of the massacre. J. H. Ingalls, a Scotchman, who resided in this neighborhood, and his wife, were killed, and their four children were taken into captivity. Two of them, young girls, aged twelve and fourteen years, were rescued at Camp Release, and the two httle boys were taken away by Little Crow. Poor httle fellows! their fate is still shrouded in mystery. A Mr. Frace, residing near Brown's place, was also killed. His wife and two children were foimd at Camp Release. The town of Leavenworth was situated on the Cottonwood, in the county of Brown. Word was brought to some of the settlers in that town, on Monday afternoon, that the Indians had broken out and were killing the inhabitants on the Min- nesota. They immediately began to make prepa- rations to leave. Mr. Wilham Carroll started at once for New Ulm alone, to learn the facts of the rumored outbreak. The most of the inhal)itants, alarmed by these rumors, fled that night toward New Ulm. Some of them reached that town in safety, and others were waylaid and massa:Ted upon the road. The family of a Mr. Blum, a worthy German citizen, were all, except a small boy, killed while endeavoring to escape. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Philetus Jackson was killed, while on the way to town with his wife and son. Mrs. Jackson and the young man escaped. We insert here the statements of two ladies, who escaped from this neighborhood, as they detail very fully the events of several days in that local- ity. Mrs. Mary J. Covill, wife of George W. OoviU, says: "On Monday, the 18th of August, messengers came to the house of Luther Whiton, from both above and below, with a rejjort of an outbreak of the Indians. My husband was at Mr. Wliiton's, stacking grain. He came home about four o'clock P. M., and t;)ld me about it, and then went back to Whiton" s, about half a mile away, to get a Mr. Biaut, who had recently come there from the State STATEMENT OP MRS. COVILL. 209 of Maine, to take his team aud esnap^. I packed a triiuk with clothing, and hid it in the grass, and then went myself to Whitou's, as I was afraid to remain at home. Mr. Kiant got up his team, and taking bis two trunks — one of them containing over two thousand dollars in gold — took us all with him. There was a family at Mr. Whiton's from Tennessee, and a young child of theirs had died that day. The poor woman took her dead, child in her arms, and we all started across the prairie, avoiding the road, for Mankato. We camped that night about three miles from home, on the prairie; and seeing no fires, as of burning buildings, returned to the house of our neighbor, Van Guilder, and found that tlie settlers had nearly all left. Mr. Van Guilder and family, Edward Allen and wife, Charles Smith and family and Mrs. Carroll, were all we knew of that re- mained. " We started on, thinking that we would over- take the Leavenworth party, who had J;)een gone about an hour. We had gone about two and a half miles, when we saw, ahead of us, a team, with two men in the wagon, who drove toward us until they got into a hollow, and then got out and went behind a knoU. We drove quite near them, when Mr. Covin discovered -them to be Indians. Kiant turned his horses round and fled, when they jumped up out of the grass, whooped, and fired at us. They then jumped into their wagon and followed. Mr. Covin had the only gun in the party that could be used, and kept it pjinted at the Indians as we retreated. They fired at us some half-dozen times, but, fortunately, without injuring any one. " We drove hastily back to the house of Van Guilder, and entered it as quickly as possible, the savages firing upon us all the time. Mr. Van Guilder had just started away, with bis family, as we came back, and returned to the house with us. A shot from the Indians broke the arm of his mo- ther, an aged lady, soon after we got into the house, as she was passing a window. In our haste, we had not stopped to hitch the horses, and they soon started off, aud the Indians followed. As they were going over a hill near the house, they shook a white cloth at us, and, whooping, disap- peared. There were in this comj^any — after Riant was gone, who left us, and hid in a slough — fifteen persons. We immediately started out on the prai- rie again. We had now only the ox-team of Van Guilder, and the most of us were compelled to ivalk. His mother, some small children, and some trunks, made a wagon-load. The dead child, which the mother had brought back to the h