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 \ M 
 
 BECAME PART OF A COM- 
 PREHENSIVE SYSTEM 
 FOR THE PROTECTION 
 OF THE FRONTIER. IT 
 WAS FOR THE *UPPER. 
 COUNTRY" THAT TH/S . 
 FORT WAS BUILT... 
 A COUNTRY STRETCH- 
 /NO FROM THE GREAT 
 LAKBS ACROSS THE 
 WOODED HEADWATERS 
 OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND 
 MINNESOTA RIVBRS 
 TO THE PLAINS OF 
 THE MISSOURI. 
 
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LI B RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVE.R5ITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 977.C 
 HI9o 
 I9S8 
 
 ii. HIST. SURVE? 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/oldfortsnellinOOhans 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
In the preparation of this volume, we 
 owe special thanks to the Minnesota His- 
 torical Society for making available their 
 extensive file of photographic material. 
 
 This edition is limited to fifteen hundred 
 copies of which this is 
 
 N2 305 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 1819-1858 
 
 BY 
 MARCUS L. HANSEN 
 
 Introduction by 
 Russell W. Fridley, Director, Minnesota Historical Society 
 
 rgis 
 
 ROSS & HAINES, INC. 
 
 Minneapolis, Minnesota 
 1958 
 
?77.£ 
 
 H/fc 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 It is appropriate that a new edition of Marcus Hansen's 
 Old Fort Snelling should appear in 1958. That year marks 
 two significant centennials — Minnesota's admission to the 
 Union and the abandonment of old Fort Snelling as a 
 military post. Though the disestablishment of the post proved 
 to be brief and temporary, its role as a frontier fort ended 
 in 1858. The new Fort Snelling that began to emerge during 
 and after the Civil War extended beyond the physical con- 
 fines of the first fortress and was organized to meet rapidly 
 changing conditions in the Northwest. A brilliant historian, 
 
 K Hansen captured the tremendous and many-sided role played 
 
 vby the venerable post as the hub of activity in the region. 
 
 "He depicts the development of Fort Snelling against both 
 ? national and regional backgrounds. And the story, as he 
 
 .. demonstrates, is not a commonplace one. This volume, first 
 published forty years ago, enabled thousands to understand 
 and appreciate the story of old Fort Snelling. The four 
 decades that have elapsed since Hansen wrote have witnessed 
 a heightened interest in the post by later generations. 
 ^n» Fort Snelling is perhaps the most significant landmark in 
 the entire history of Minnesota and the Northwest. Its origin 
 in 1819 at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi 
 
 r rivers radically changed the course of events in the upper 
 Mississippi Valley. Before its erection, the Minnesota country 
 had been a vast wilderness inhabited by Sioux and Chippewa 
 Indians and claimed at various times by Spain, France, and 
 
 N Great Britain. The establishment of the post effectively 
 extended for the first time the authority of the young Ameri- 
 
viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 can nation over the region, paved the way for white settle- 
 ment, and set in motion the transformation of a vast Indian 
 territory into an American state. The rugged military life at 
 this western fort helped develop and shape the careers of 
 men destined to achieve fame in later years: young officers 
 fresh from the War of 1812 like Henry Leavenworth and 
 Josiah Snelling, who were among the builders of the Ameri- 
 can army in the West; seasoned commanders like Zachary 
 Taylor and Martin Scott, who distinguished themselves for 
 outstanding bravery in the Mexican War; and Civil War 
 generals like Winfield Scott Hancock, T. W. Sherman, Ed- 
 ward R. S. Canby, and Charles F. Smith, who played key 
 roles in that great conflict. Intimately associated with the 
 Fort, and strongly influencing its life during its first twenty 
 years, was Lawrence Taliaferro, one of the nation's truly 
 great Indian agents. In 1836, Dr. John Emerson arrived at 
 Fort Snelling to begin his duties as post surgeon. Accom- 
 panying him was his slave, Dred Scott, around whom evolved 
 one of the most celebrated and fateful court cases in Ameri- 
 can history. Personalities and events like these enriched the 
 post's traditions and dramatized its importance as a trading 
 ground for a host of the nation's leaders. As a military out- 
 post on the remote American frontier, Fort Snelling served 
 as the nucleus from which stemmed much of the settlement 
 of Minnesota and the Northwest. 
 
 Yet it is curious that a spot so rich in history should not 
 have been adequately preserved at some point in its one- 
 hundred-and-thirty-nine-year existence. Time and progress 
 have made serious inroads into what once seemed an almost 
 indestructible military installation. Today, two sturdy stone 
 buildings — the Round and Hexagonal towers — constitute 
 the principal remains of the original fort. Portions of two 
 other buildings, the officers' quarters and the commandant's 
 house, also exist. A considerable portion of the former has 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 been destroyed and the latter has been considerably altered, 
 but certain interior features in each of the original buildings 
 may still be discerned. Although the walls and the other 
 buildings have long since disappeared, the idea of preserving 
 the old fort is neither new nor peculiar to our day. For almost 
 a century Americans, and particularly Minnesotans, have 
 lamented the gradual decay and disappearance of this famous 
 landmark. Since the Civil War there has been an unmistak- 
 able growth in appreciation of the site's historical importance. 
 Various plans for developing the area that either endangered 
 the stone towers or substantially altered the landscape have 
 periodically revived interest in the fort's heritage. From 
 time to time, threats to the integrity of the site have set 
 historically minded people to thinking about how it might 
 be safeguarded. 
 
 While the dominant theme in the story of preserving the 
 old fort has been one of neglect and disappointment, it has 
 been broken at various times by individuals and organiza- 
 tions that have come forward to advance bold and imagina- 
 tive plans for its preservation. Though none of these plans 
 has been fully realized, they reflect a continuing desire on 
 the part of an increasing number of people to save what 
 remains of old Fort Snelling for future generations. The site 
 of Fort Snelling was acquired from the Sioux Indians in 
 1805 by Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike and was included in 
 the general area that he suggested for an American military 
 post. Before that time, an Indian village occupied the pic- 
 turesque spot overlooking the two river valleys. In 1819 
 troops under the command of Colonel Henry Leavenworth 
 arrived to start construction of a fort. But it did not really 
 begin to take shape until the following year when Colonel 
 Josiah Snelling succeeded Leavenworth as commandant. 
 
 The fort built under Snelling' s direction was laid out in 
 the shape of a diamond, outlined by a wall made of limestone 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 quarried from the banks of the river. Two blockhouses, 
 hexagonal and pentagonal in shape, overlooked the Min- 
 nesota and Mississippi rivers. At the point of the bluff above 
 the junction of the two rivers stood a round watchtower. 
 Opposite it at the point of the diamond exposed to the open, 
 prairie stood a lookout, the structure we know as the Round 
 Tower. Within the walls were barracks, quarters, and store- 
 houses. Many of the early buildings were made of hewn logs; 
 these were largely replaced by stone structures by 1830. The 
 boat landing for the fort was directly below the end of the 
 bluff. In later years a stairway ran up the steep slope, and 
 a wagon road climbed the bank of the Minnesota River along 
 the stone wall to enter the fort between the two towers that 
 still survive. 
 
 From the stone fortress atop the bluff overlooking the 
 confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, early 
 visitors viewed a majestic and compelling scene, and they 
 were quick to call attention to it and to the vacation possibili- 
 ties of the surrounding area. George Catlin, the famous 
 painter of American Indian life who visited the fort in 1835, 
 is credited with suggesting a "Fashionable Tour," a trip by 
 steamer up the Mississippi from Rock Island or Galena to 
 the Falls of St. Anthony. The idea caught on quickly, and in 
 the next twenty-five years a stream of visitors made the novel 
 pilgrimage up the river to Ft. Snelling. 
 
 Before the Civil War, the Falls of St. Anthony, climax of 
 the popular excursion up the Mississippi, was the chief 
 tourist attraction in the Minnesota country. Accounts of visit- 
 ors reveal that Minnehaha Falls ranked second and Fort 
 Snelling third in capturing the tourists' attention. While the 
 two famous Minnesota cascades definitely overshadowed 
 Fort Snelling in tourist literature issued before the Civil 
 War, the scenically located outpost frequently elicited en- 
 thusiastic comment from the newcomer to Minnesota. 
 
INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 Visitors of a century ago were understandably more in- 
 terested in Fort Snelling's scenic and commanding location 
 than they were in its brief history. Mrs. Elizabeth F. Ellet, 
 a discerning observer who took the "Fashionable Tour" in 
 1852, gave her readers a detailed description of the post and 
 its strategic site in her book, Summer Rambles in The West. 
 "The distant view of Fort Snelling," she wrote, "it's flag 
 gleaming in relief against the sky is startingly fine; but the 
 nearer one ... is yet more imposing. Its white walls and 
 barracks are clearly defined, with other neat buildings in 
 the vicinity; and all around and beyond lies spread the most 
 magnificent panoramic display on which the eye ever rested. 
 ... A situation more commanding than that of Fort Snelling 
 as seen from the Mississippi, can hardly be imagined," said 
 Mrs. Ellet. "Its. solid walls rise from the summit of nature's 
 rampart of perpendicular rock, more than a hundred feet 
 above the river." 
 
 Two years later the strong appeal of the upper Mississippi 
 country was amply demonstrated when approximately a 
 thousand members of the Rock Island excursion, celebrating 
 the completion of the first railroad to reach the Mississippi, 
 arrived at the St. Paul levee in a flotilla of steamboats. "No 
 sooner had the boats landed," reported the St. Anthony Ex- 
 press of June 10, 1854, "than every vehicle of every kind, 
 description, shape or age . . . was at once seized by the im- 
 patient crowd, anxious to visit the great points of interest 
 and attraction, the Falls, Minnehaha, and the Fort." The 
 same issue of the Express carried a letter, signed "Sentinel," 
 from an anonymous member of the excursion who described 
 the fort as "a Rhine-looking fortress." The writer felt, how- 
 ever, that the post was not in good order. There were, he said, 
 "old hats in the windows and other appearances of neglect." 
 
 Further evidence of the growing awareness of the fort as 
 a major scenic site on the western frontier was the attention 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 it received in The United States Illustrated, an elaborate 
 volume edited by Charles A. Dana and published in 1855. 
 In it, the scenic and romantic qualities that most impressed 
 early visitors to Fort Snelling are aptly summarized. The 
 writer said that the "scenery around Fort Snelling" was "of 
 a sublime and impressive character." Then he continued, 
 "About fifty years ago, an Indian camp stood on the bluff, 
 now occupied by Fort Snelling; bare-headed squaws, in 
 deer-skin garments, with papooses cradled on their backs, 
 were paddling their light bark canoes across the river .... 
 The Indian wigwams are now replaced by a well-built fort . . 
 . . The whistle of the steamboat, as she passes from Mendota 
 to the Fort, is heard instead of the cry of the painted 
 warrior." 
 
 Guides published during the 1850's lured the immigrant 
 as well as the tourist to Minnesota, and gave special attention 
 to Fort Snelling. J. H. Colton's Guide, published in 1852, 
 commented that from the river the fort appeared "imposing 
 and seemingly impregnable." Although it was "within the 
 reach of cannon from higher ground," the writer thought 
 that "the object for which the site was selected — the pro- 
 tection of the frontier from savage incursion is well attained 
 by its situation." A Guide for Emigrants to Minnesota, pub- 
 lished in 1857, portrayed Fort Snelling as a "castle-like struc- 
 ture, of time-defying materials," and said that it had long 
 been "the point from where the Indians of the Northwest 
 received their annuities, and were held in check." 
 
 Important also in popularizing the scenic features of the 
 fort were the men and women who painted and sketched it. 
 It is doubtful that any site in Minnesota attracted so dis- 
 tinguished and talented an array of artists as did Fort Snell- 
 ing between 1830 and 1860. During the 1840s Charles 
 Deas, J. C. Wild, and Henry Lewis were among those who 
 depicted the fort, and in the 1850s it attracted the attention 
 
INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 of such St. Paul artists as James McClellan Boal and Robert 
 O. Sweeny. Officers and men who served there also pictured 
 the post — Sergeant E. K. Thomas in the 1850s and Captain 
 Seth Eastman, commandant of the fort at various times, who 
 sketched the frontier post as early as 1830 and painted 
 several views of it in the 1840s. Daguerreotypes made by 
 men like Alex Hesler also supplied lasting and accurate 
 views of the site. As these likenesses of Fort Snelling mul- 
 tiplied and were distributed about the nation, they undoubt- 
 edly acquainted many people with the military post at the 
 junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. 
 
 By the 1850s Fort Snelling's scenic values had been amply 
 recognized. But while its commanding view received in- 
 creasing notice during that decade, its importance as a fron- 
 tier military post rapidly declined. Once the center of activity 
 in the Northwest, where it reigned supreme over a vast wil- 
 derness, Fort Snelling's influence diminished as settlement 
 spread beyond it. New treaties signed with the Indians pushed 
 the frontier farther west, and the performance of the fort's 
 principal function — the protection of the frontier — was 
 no longer required. 
 
 In 1849 a new post, Fort Gaines, was established near 
 the junction of the Crow Wing and Mississippi rivers. Soon 
 to be renamed Fort Ripley, it superseded Fort Snelling as 
 the nation's northwesternmost military outpost. In that year, 
 too, the seat of authority for the area passed from Fort 
 Snelling to St. Paul, capital of newly created Minnesota Ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 C. K. Smith, the secretary of the new territory, suggested 
 in 1849 that the fort be made a branch of West Point, and 
 that it serve as a western military academy. In the Minnesota 
 Pioneer of May 1, 1851, James M. Goodhue speculated on 
 the fate of the fort and made another proposal for its future 
 use. He believed it would "soon be evacuated." If so, he 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 said, the "solid walls of the fort and out-buildings, with their 
 decaying roofs, will remain for a while to tell our children 
 the history of these times ... A sergeant of the guard, with 
 men enough to make a melancholy whist party, will remain 
 for a time." But, Goodhue asked, "within those walls will 
 there never again be heard the reveille, the tatto(o)s, the 
 retreat, the clatter of musketry, the sweet music of the band, 
 and the ringing, joyous laugh of smart officers, with bevies 
 of gay girls and wives." 
 
 Goodhue then went on to say that there was a movement 
 afoot to establish a national military asylum and that a board 
 of commissioners would probably be sent around the coun- 
 try to select a suitable site. "It seems impossible," he con- 
 tinued, "that disinterested commissioners can overlook the 
 many and manifest advantages of Fort Snelling . . . over any 
 other place in the United States, no matter where it may be." 
 And he concluded, "We look with the most sanguine confi- 
 dence, to see Fort Snelling* selected for that purpose." 
 
 Instead, in 1852 the Fort Snelling military reservation was 
 substantially reduced by Congress. A New Haven newspaper 
 editor, James F. Babcock, who accompanied the Rock Island 
 excursion of 1854, echoed the often expressed sentiment that 
 "The march of civilization has rendered Fort Snelling nearly 
 useless." 
 
 In 1857 troops were withdrawn, and the entire military 
 reservation was sold by the war department to Franklin 
 Steele, a former sutler at the post and one of Minnesota's 
 earliest and most successful businessmen. This transaction 
 created such a furor that a Congressional investigation into 
 the circumstances surrounding the sale was conducted. It 
 also prompted an inquiry by the war department to deter- 
 mine whether a garrison of soldiers should remain at the 
 post. The whole matter, however, was laid aside by Con- 
 gress in 1858, and the buildings and land were turned over 
 
INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 to Steele. For a time he used the fort as a sheep ranch. The 
 animals grazed about the stone walls that had enclosed an 
 active frontier army post, and at night they were herded in- 
 side for protection. Thus, the fort that had served the Min- 
 nesota frontier for thirty-seven years was temporarily aban- 
 doned. Many people believed it should be preserved and 
 used, but no one expressed the opinion that it should be saved 
 for historical reasons. 
 
 The temporary evacuation of the fort by United States 
 troops came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the Civil 
 War in 1861. At that time, Governor Alexander Ramsey 
 designated it an induction and training station for Minnesota 
 volunteers. After the war, Fort Snelling was re-established 
 as a permanent post although Steele retained technical own- 
 ership of the reservation until 1871, when the government 
 officially reacquired a portion of the land for military pur- 
 poses. 
 
 Among the distinguished visitors to the fort during the 
 war years were Henry Thoreau and Count Ferdinand Zep- 
 pelin. Thoreau, who went west in 1861 in search of health, 
 commented in his journal on the post's "tawny or butterish" 
 limestone walls. Zeppelin, a German military observer with 
 the Union army, visited Fort Snelling in 1863. While there 
 he became intensely interested in a captive balloon that had 
 been used for observation purposes by the Union forces. He 
 secured permission to make a flight in the balloon, his first 
 such ascent and one that significantly influenced his later 
 career in the development of lighter-than-air craft. 
 
 By the close of the Civil War several forces were at work 
 that would affect the future development of Fort Snelling. 
 The outlines of a larger military installation with a different 
 purpose began to appear as the disappearance of the frontier 
 and changing army policy outmoded the old post. At the 
 same time, its buildings and walls began to show signs of age 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 and decay. More and more the old fort was becoming a 
 symbol of the past. 
 
 In 1864 officers of the Minnesota Historical Society asked 
 the eminent local historian Edward D. Neill to write a paper 
 on the fort's history. Neill responded with a sketch entitled 
 "Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 
 1840." It seems to be the first study of the post as a historic 
 site. "For nearly fifty years," he wrote, "Fort Snelling has 
 been well known for the beauty and prominence of its situa- 
 tion." He feared, however, that "under the advancing and 
 resistless pressure of modern civilization, it may be, that 
 within a generation, not one stone will be left on another." 
 Therefore, said Neill, "In anticipation of its disappearance, 
 it is the object of this article to narrate some of the incidents 
 connected with the Fort and the vicinity, previous to the or- 
 ganization of Minnesota." 
 
 Travel literature issued during the late 1860s and early 
 1870s also reflects a growing awareness of the fort's historic 
 backgrounds. In a Minnesota guide published in 1868, three 
 times as much space is devoted to a sketch of the fort's his- 
 tory as is given to a description of its scenic qualities. This 
 booklet interestingly enough appeared under the editorship 
 of J. Fletcher Williams, secretary of the Minnesota Historical 
 Society. A similar work, the Minnesota's Tourist's and Trav- 
 eller's Guide, issued in 1872 gives about equal space to the 
 post's history and to its scenic features, noting that its chief 
 use "now is as a supply post, whence are sent men and sup- 
 plies to the frontier torts now hundreds of miles further on." 
 
 A description of the fort published in 1870 reveals that 
 it looked much as it had thirty years eariler: "A stone wall 
 about nine feet high incloses the fort, and rests on the east 
 side nearly on the edge of the bluff . . . The quarters for 
 officers and men are built of stone . . . The hospital is a 
 stone building, two stories high . . . The stable, workshops, 
 
INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 ice-house, and other necessary buildings are outside the wall 
 on the bank of the Mississippi." During the Civil War, "a 
 number of wooden barracks, store-houses, and stables were 
 erected a short distance above the post, which still remain." 
 The report notes that the garrison obtained drinking water 
 from the spring at the site of Camp Coldwater, on the 
 Mississippi a half mile upstream from the fort. 
 
 During the thirty-five years that elapsed between the end 
 of the Civil War and the turn of the century, however, the 
 appearance of the old fort was altered as a result of drastic 
 changes in army policy. With the virtually complete removal 
 of the Indians from the Great Plains by 1890, the era of 
 small posts in that area ended, and the army adopted a new 
 system of establishing fewer but larger garrisons. 
 
 Fort Snelling was chosen as the site for a major army 
 post, and in 1881 it became the headquarters for the De- 
 partment of the Dakota. In a letter requesting funds for the 
 construction of new quarters and other buildings, the army's 
 deputy quartermaster-general, Charles H. Tomkins, reflected 
 the growing interest in the fort's historic backgrounds. Tom- 
 kins wrote that "The site selected for the headquarters build- 
 ings, the associations and surroundings of the neighborhood, 
 combine to invest Fort Snelling with a peculiar charm. This 
 old post, the pride and strength of a generation of pioneers 
 in this country, is midway between the cities of Saint Paul 
 and Minneapolis, and is a central point of interest to residents 
 of both, as well as to all tourists in this country." 
 
 As a result of the army's increased use of the fort, new 
 officers' quarters were erected west of the old post between 
 1879 and 1881, and in 1889 additional barracks for sol- 
 diers were built outside of the confines of the original area. 
 Construction of a bridge over the Mississippi between St. 
 Paul and Fort Snelling in 1880 further altered the appearance 
 of the fort site, and soon a road to Minneapolis from the 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 new bridge led past the Round Tower, just as a paved 
 road does today. The decades following the Civil War also 
 saw a marked deterioration in the walls surrounding the 
 fort. Grading for the track of the Minnesota Central, now a 
 part of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, along 
 the Mississippi bank in 1864 had destroyed much of the wall 
 joining the pentagonal tower and the lookout at the point 
 of the bluff. Other sections of the original walls cracked 
 and crumbled in the 1870s and 1880s, and during the latter 
 decade the lookout, the pentagonal tower, and significant 
 portions of the walls were torn down. By the 1890s only 
 traces remained of the original walls enclosing the fort. 
 
 It was natural that the disappearance of these features 
 should give rise to a wave of nostalgia over the old fort. 
 The concern felt by many Minnesotans was expressed in 
 1895 by General E. C. Mason, the post's commandant, who 
 advanced a most ambitious plan for the preservation of old 
 Fort Snelling. Intimately acquainted with its history and tra- 
 ditions, Mason was dedicated to the cause of preserving what 
 remained of the fort and to restoring and reconstructing por- 
 tions that had been removed. 
 
 At a celebration on September 10, 1895, commemorating 
 the seventy-fifth anniversary of the laying of the fort's corner- 
 stone, Mason warned that "If the people of Minnesota would 
 preserve Old Fort Snelling for coming generations, they 
 should make haste; for sooner or later the buildings so dear 
 to every Minnesotan will be torne down to make room for 
 needed improvements. In the War Department," he said, 
 "there is neither romance nor sympathy." 
 
 Then he outlined his plan. "In this old fort we have one 
 of the most interesting places in the frontier history of our 
 country," Mason stated. "I suggest that either the historical 
 society or the Twin Cities secure from the general govern- 
 ment the control of this place; having done this, restore the 
 
INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 old wall and the demolished bastions . . . convert these build- 
 ings into storehouses for the display of such articles as may 
 yet be collected, illustrating the way in which the Indians 
 and the white men lived and traveled when this beautiful 
 state was a wilderness. The lodge of the Chippewas and the 
 Sioux, the cart of the Red river trader, the travois and the 
 birch bark canoe and the thousand and one articles used by 
 the Indians or the settlers in war and in peace, in the chase 
 or the cultivation of the soil or in domestic life." Mason 
 pointed out that "Every year these things become more valua- 
 ble and interesting; they should be collected now. In a few 
 years it will be impossible to find them. Such a museum in 
 the old fort, restored to its former state, would give us a 
 place unique in its character," he concluded. "There would 
 be nothing like it in the United States." 
 
 Among those who shared the platform with General Mason 
 was Mrs. Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve. As the oldest 
 surviving resident of the fort, it was fitting that she should 
 be the guest of honor at the celebration. Mrs. Van Cleve 
 had been brought to Fort Snelling by her parents in 1820 
 as an infant and had spent her first winter there at Camp 
 Coldwater. In a trembling voice and in melodramatic fashion 
 she told the audience of her long association with the old 
 post. "I can remember, as a child," she said, "the walls 
 around the old Fort, and how, as a child, I played about 
 them ... I remember when the first steamboat came up the 
 river, and how one of the officers lifted me up to the walls 
 of the parapet so that I could look at it. And I remember 
 that old tower there — oh, long may it stand; don't pull it 
 down, I beg of you . . . Oh, I hope this old fort will never 
 be taken away; that it will always remain." 
 
 An editorial in the St. Paul Pioneer Press of September 11, 
 1895 commented that "The celebration ... is a reminder that 
 although we are in the habit of regarding Minnesota as a 
 
xx INTRODUCTION 
 
 young state, she already begins to have a history in a really 
 remote past. When we begin to celebrate the anniversaries 
 of an event of which there are no living eyewitnesses, we 
 may indeed feel ourselves a historic locality. The history of 
 Fort Snelling, moreover, is by no means a commonplace one 
 .... In Gen. Mason's address he made a suggestion . . . 
 which is worthy of the attention of the people of the state, 
 or at least of the two cities. The restoration of the old fort 
 and its preservation as a museum . . . would be a most excel- 
 lent beginning towards conserving what we have of histori- 
 cal interest . . . Few American cities are in possession of a 
 spot at once so historic, so beautiful and so accessible. The 
 advantages of securing it as an object of local interest would 
 be incalculable." 
 
 The press paid tribute to General Mason as the architect 
 and eloquent spokesman of an imaginative plan, and for a 
 moment the attention of Minnesotans focused on the old fort. 
 Enthusiasm for its preservation quickly subsided, however, 
 and General Mason and his cherished idea of a museum 
 were soon largely forgotten. 
 
 Interest in preserving the old fort, however, was kept 
 alive by a few Minnesotans during the early years of the 
 twentieth century. In 1901 razing of the original officers' 
 quarters was begun, and their complete destruction was pre- 
 vented only after considerable damage had been done. Por- 
 tions of the first story of this structure are now enclosed in 
 the row of buildings situated along the Minnesota River 
 bank. 
 
 When plans for remodeling the post were announced in 
 1903, many people feared that what remained of the old 
 fort would be completely obliterated. Some comfort was 
 offered by an article in the Pioneer Press of July 19, 1903, 
 which reported that many improvements would be undertak- 
 en at the post, but that "Everything is being done to retain 
 
INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 the historic view rather than emphasize what is new. With 
 this in mind the new buildings are to be plastered on the 
 exterior with a color suggestive of age — probably light 
 yellow." 
 
 The paper stated that the Round Tower would be "chang- 
 ed little, and those alterations which will be made are expect- 
 ed to make it look as it did in days gone by. This effect will 
 be produced by restoring the parapets. Its exterior will be 
 strengthened to make it better able to withstand the ravages 
 of time, and its interior will be fitted up for the adjutant as 
 his office. The hexagonal tower, overlooking the Minnesota 
 river, will be treated in the same way for its preservation, and 
 its interior will be used as a store house." Apparently, most 
 of these alterations were carried out. At least one, however, 
 proved abortive. In 1904 a quartermaster at the fort had the 
 Round Tower covered with cement, but such an outcry 
 arose against this disfiguring of the historic tower that the 
 cement was soon removed. 
 
 Edward A. Bromley, a Minneapolis newspaper photo- 
 grapher who had been one of the leading advocates ol 
 General Mason's plan in 1895, was among those who cherish- 
 ed the tiope that it was not too late to save the old post. 
 Writing in a 1904 issue of The Home Magazine, Bromley 
 noted the great regret with which Minnesotans had viewed 
 the removal of substantial portions of the fort in previous 
 years. He called attention to the many "improvements" then 
 under way at Fort Snelling and spoke out energetically for 
 preservation of the Round and Hexagonal towers. 
 
 Interest in old Fort Snelling declined after 1905. The 
 bridge from St. Paul to the post was replaced in 1909 by 
 the present Fort Snelling Highway Bridge. During World 
 War I, the post played its part, for the army used it as an 
 induction center and for training and garrisoning thousands 
 of soldiers. In 1926 the Mendota Bridge was constructed, a 
 
xxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 development that was to have a decisive effect on the net- 
 work of roads which later cut up the site. A road, built to 
 connect the Mendota Bridge with another span across the 
 Mississippi to St. Paul, traversed the site between the two 
 surviving stone towers, passing very near the former location 
 of the pentagonal tower. Later this road became the busy 
 highway that today moves a steadily increasing stream of 
 traffic through the Fort Snelling area. 
 
 In the succeeding two decades historical interest in the 
 fort centered largely in the Round Tower. In 1928 Willough- 
 by M. Babcock, then curator of the Minnesota Historical 
 Society's museum, voiced the hope that the tower would 
 be used as a museum. With funds obtained from the federal 
 Works Progress Administration and others, this hope became 
 a reality in the late 1930s. 
 
 The tower, which long had been used as a residence, was 
 completely renovated. Its two-story interior was converted 
 into a single circular room, with plastered walls, a skylight, 
 and a stone floor. A map, inlaid in the floor, located the 
 fort at the junction of the two rivers and showed the build- 
 ings and the parade ground within the walled post as they 
 were about 1840. A mural more than six feet high and a hun- 
 dred and seven feet long, depicting appropriate scenes in 
 the fort's history, was painted by Richard Haines around 
 the entire tower just below the ceiling. Wall and floor cases, 
 specially designed for the display of exhibits illuminating 
 the history of Fort Snelling, were arranged along the circular 
 walls. 
 
 The museum was administered under a joint agreement 
 between the post command and the Minnesota Historical So- 
 ciety, the former maintaining the building and furnishing a 
 custodian to keep it open daily, and the latter being respon- 
 sible for the installation and maintenance of suitable exhibits. 
 This system worked well for six years. On a single Sunday 
 
INTRODUCTION xxiii 
 
 in 1942, for example, three hundred persons visited the 
 tower. At long last a museum at the fort had been achieved, 
 and hopes for the historical development of the area glowed 
 brighter. 
 
 On October 14, 1946, Fort Snelling was discontinued as 
 an American military post after a hundred and twenty-six 
 years of service to the nation, and once again the cause of 
 historical preservation received a setback. Along with the 
 rest of the post, the old fort site was turned over to the 
 Veterans' Administration, which was unable to furnish a 
 custodian tor the tower. As a result, the museum was closed. 
 It remains in this unsatisfactory state today, virtually inac- 
 cessible to visitors except on special occasions. 
 
 From 1946 through 1948 it was a rare meeting of the 
 executive committee and the council of the Minnesota His- 
 torical Society that did not devote considerable time to the 
 problem of the Round Tower and to plans for the permanent 
 preservation of the old lort site. The threatened expansion of 
 Woid Chamoerlain Airport into the area added to the ur- 
 gency ol the situation. Officers of the society explored the 
 possibility of having the area designated a national monu- 
 ment or a state park, but in spite of their earnest efforts no 
 solution to the problem or preserving the old post was found. 
 Seldom had the luture of the lort seemed more uncertain. 
 
 Interest in preserving the site of old Fort Snelling from 
 the encroachments of modern civilization was suddenly re- 
 vived in 1956. The prospect of a new highway through the 
 area raised a serious threat. At the same time, it atiorded 
 an opportunity to plan for the permanent preservation of 
 this historic spot. Eventually the problem was resolved with 
 a plan to tunnel through the area adjacent to the Round 
 Tower so as not to impair the immediate setting of the site. 
 
 In 1957, the Minnesota Statehood Centennial Commission, 
 recognizing the historical importance of the post, granted 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 twenty-five thousand dollars to the Minnesota Historical So- 
 ciety to be used for archaeological exploration of the site to 
 determine the extent, location, and nature of the remaining 
 original buildings and wall foundations. The work, which 
 is under the immediate supervision of archaeologist John 
 Callender, made excellent progress during the fall of 1957. 
 The project is a necessary prelude to any reconstruction of 
 the historic fort. Dating from the early 1 820s, the ruins un- 
 covered thus far have been found to be extensive and in an 
 excellent state of preservation. 
 
 The search for the foundations of the fortress wall and 
 guardhouse was almost immediately successful. Of special in- 
 terest are the outlines of a room, within the guardhouse, be- 
 lieved to be the infamous "black hole" — or solitary con- 
 finement chamber. After the formal dedication of the project 
 on October 18, excavations were continued along the fortress 
 wall between the guardhouse and the Round Tower. Atten- 
 tion next turned to the area of the magazine, chapel, and 
 pump. Although every surface indication of these structures 
 had long since disappeared, the foundations of all three were 
 found. In the first seven weeks of excavation many interest- 
 ing items were unearthed, among them gunflints, musket 
 balls, portions of uniforms, a cavalry scabbard, white clay 
 pipes, glass and china, and numerous other artifacts that 
 shed light on life in the early fort. 
 
 The snow storm of Monday, November 18, 1957, brought 
 the archaeological explorations at old Fort Snelling to an 
 end for the season. Plans for the 1958 season include a 
 more extensive exploration of the area already probed, dig- 
 ging in other areas, and a reconstruction of the foundations 
 already uncovered. It is also hoped that explorations can be 
 conducted in the area outside the actual confines of the fort. 
 
 Marcus Hansen illuminated the story of old Fort Snelling 
 with penetrating insight, exhaustive research, and a vivid 
 
INTRODUCTION xxv 
 
 style. This volume, his first published work, is marked by a 
 brilliance that matured in his later works on American im- 
 migration, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book entitled 
 The Atlantic Migration. Old Fort Snelling remains remark- 
 ably up-to-date. To be sure, interesting materials have come 
 to light since 1918, including a diary kept by Josiah Snell- 
 ing. The archaeological explorations, now under way at the 
 fort site, will enrich our knowledge of the post. Yet, these 
 discoveries, important as they are, supplement rather than 
 replace this splendid volume, which remains the definitive 
 work on early Fort Snelling. Its reappearance in a new edi- 
 tion is most welcome at a time when the long-cherished 
 dream of a restoration of Minnesota's primary historic site 
 shows signs of coming true. 
 
 Russell Fridley, Director 
 Minnesota Historical Society 
 St. Paul, 1958 
 
COMMANDING OFFICERS OF OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 1819-1858 
 
 Lt.-Col. Henry Leavenworth, Aug. 24, 1819, when the troops arrived, 
 
 to Aug., 1820 
 Col. Josiah Snelling, 5th Infantry, Aug., 1820, to May, 1825 
 Capt. Thomas Hamilton, 5th Infantry, May to June, 1825 
 Lt.-Col. Willoughby Morgan, 5th Infantry, June to Dec, 1825 
 Col. Josiah Snelling, 5th Infantry, Dec, 1825, to Nov., 1827 
 Maj. J. H. Vose, 5th Infantry, Nov., 1827, to May 24, 1828 
 Lt.-Col. Zachary Taylor, 1st Infantry, May 24, 1828, to July 12, 1829 
 Capt. J. H. Gale, 1st Infantry, July 12, 1829, to May 28, 1831 
 Capt. W. R. Jouett, 1st Infantry, May 28, 1831, to Oct. 1, 1832 
 Lt. Jefferson Vail, 1st Infantry, Oct. 1, 1832, to May 30, 1833 
 Maj. John Bliss, 1st Infantry, May 30, 1833, to May 9, 1836 
 Lt.-Col. William Davenport, 1st Infantry, May 9, 1836, to July 
 
 15, 1837 
 Capt. Martin Scott, 5th Infantry, July 15 to Aug. 20, 1837 
 Capt. Joseph Plympton, 5th Infantry, Aug. 20, 1837, to Jan. 26, 1841 
 Capt. C. S. Sibley, 5th Infantry, Jan. 26 to Sept. 30, 1841 
 Capt. Seth Eastman, 1st Infantry, Sept. 30 to Nov. 22, 1841 
 Maj. Greenleaf Dearborn, 1st Infantry, Nov. 22, 1841, to June 8, 1843 
 Capt. Electus Backus, 1st Infantry, June 8 to Oct. 24, 1843 
 Lt.-Col. Henry Wilson, 1st Infantry, Oct. 24, 1843, to May 7, 1844 
 Capt. Electus Backus, 1st Infantry, May 7 to Aug. 21, 1844 
 Lt.-Col. Henry Wilson, 1st Infantry, Aug. 21 to Sept. 18, 1844 
 Capt Seth Eastman, 1st Infantry, Sept. 18 to Oct. 26, 1844 
 Capt. Electus Backus, 1st Infantry, Oct. 26, 1844, to Sept. 21, 1845 
 Maj. G. Dearborn, 1st Infantry, Sept. 21, 1845, to April 24, 1846 
 Capt. Seth Eastman, 1st Infantry, April 24 to May 14, 1846 
 Maj. J. B. Clark, 1st Infantry, May 14, 1846, to March 31, 1847 
 Capt. Seth Eastman, 1st Infantry, March 31, 1847, to Sept. 30, 1848 
 Capt. J. B. S. Todd, 6th Infantry, Sept. 30 to Nov. 16, 1848 
 Capt. Samuel Woods, 6th Infantry, Nov. 16, 1848, to June 21, 1849 
 Lt.-Col. Gustavus Loomis, 6th Infantry, June 21, 1849 to Feb. 22, 1850 
 Capt. Samuel Woods, 6th Infantry, Feb. 22 to May 20, 1850 
 Capt. James Monroe, 6th Infantry, May 20 to June 29, 1850 
 Lt. R. W. Kirkham, 6th Infantry, June 29 to Sept. 25, 1850 
 Lt. Thomas Hendrickson, 6th Infantry, Sept. 25, 1850, to May 31, 1851 
 Lt.-Col. Francis Lee, 6th Infantry, May 31, 1851, to May 4, 1853 
 
Lt. W. T. Magruder, 1st Dragoons, May 4 to June 27, 1853 
 Lt.-Col. Francis Lee, 6th Infantry, June 27 to July 4, 1853 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, July 4 to October 19, 1853 
 Lt.-Col. Francis Lee, 6th Infantry, Oct. 19, 1853, to June 23, 1854 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, June 23 to Nov. 1, 1854 
 Lt. Joseph Stewart, 3rd Artillary, Nov. 1, 1854, to April 30, 1855 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, April 30 to Oct. 20, 1855 
 Col. E. B. Alexander, 10th Infantry, Oct. 20, 1855, to June 24, 1856 
 Lt.-Col. C. F. Smith, 10th Infantry, June 24 to July 13, 1856 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, July 13 to July 24, 1856 
 Maj. E. R. S. Canby, 10th Infantry, July 24 to Sept. 10, 1856 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, Sept. 10 to Sept. 23, 1856 
 Maj. E. R. S. Canby, 10th Infantry, Sept. 23 to Nov. 28, 1856 
 Lt.-Col. C. F. Smith, 10th Infantry, Nov. 28, 1856, to June 17, 1857 
 Capt. T. W. Sherman, 3rd Artillary, June 17 to June 29, 1857 
 Capt. J. G. Martin, A. Q. M., June 29 to July 31, 1857 
 Capt. Martin Burke, 2nd Artillary, July 31 to Oct. 7, 1857 
 Capt. H. C. Pratt, 2nd Artillary, Oct. 7, 1857, to May 27, 1858, when 
 the troops were withdrawn. 
 
 Compiled by the Minnesota Historical Society 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 
 Editor's Introduction 
 
 V 
 
 
 A uthor's Preface . 
 
 vii 
 
 I. 
 
 A Century and a Half of Foreign 
 
 
 
 Rule 
 
 1 
 
 II. 
 
 The Evolution of Fort Snelling 
 
 18 
 
 III. 
 
 Forty Years of Frontier Duty 
 
 31 
 
 IV. 
 
 Lords of the North . 
 
 54 
 
 V. 
 
 A Soldier's World . 
 
 73 
 
 VI. 
 
 Glimpses of Garrison Life 
 
 84 
 
 VII. 
 
 The Fort and Indian Life 
 
 103 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The Sioux-Chippewa Feuds 
 
 119 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Fur Trade .... 
 
 135 
 
 X. 
 
 Soldiers of the Cross 
 
 146 
 
 XI. 
 
 The Fashionable Tour 
 
 159 
 
 XII. 
 
 The Chippewa Treaty of 1837 
 
 176 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Citizens and Soldiers 
 
 187 
 
 
 Notes and References 
 
 205 
 
 
 Index 
 
 251 
 
A CENTURY AND A HALF OF FOREIGN RULE 
 
 On an autumn day in 1766 Captain Jonathan Car- 
 ver stood upon the bluff which rises at the junction 
 of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers and viewed 
 the wonderful landscape of prairie and wooded val- 
 leys that lay before him. As a captain in the colonial 
 troops of Connecticut he had served his king faith- 
 fully in the late war with France; and now in the 
 days of peace which followed the glorious victory he 
 sought to continue his usefulness by exploring the 
 vast regions which had been added to the domains 
 of Great Britain and Spain. Three years of travel 
 in the wilderness taught him that those wild lands 
 would not always be the haunt of savage animals 
 and wandering tribes. 
 
 "To what power or authority this new world will 
 become dependent, after it has arisen from its pres- 
 ent uncultivated state, time alone can discover", he 
 later wrote. "But as the seat of Empire, from time 
 immemorial has been gradually progressive towards 
 the West, there is no doubt but that at some future 
 period, mighty kingdoms will emerge from these wil- 
 dernesses, and stately palaces and solemn temples, 
 with gilded spires reaching the skies, supplant the 
 
 l 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Indian huts, whose only decorations are the barbar- 
 ous trophies of their vanquished enemies." 1 
 
 Not until the twenty-fourth day of August, 1819, 
 when less than a hundred soldiers of the Fifth 
 United States Infantry disembarked opposite the 
 towering height where a few years later rose the 
 white walls of Fort Snelling, did the nation which 
 was to rule assert its power. The event was, indeed, 
 epochal. It not only marked a change in the sover- 
 eignty over the vast region, but it also made possible 
 the development of those factors which were to bring 
 about the great transformation. 
 
 It was for the " upper country" that this fort was 
 built — a country stretching from the Great Lakes 
 across the wooded headwaters of the Mississippi and 
 Minnesota rivers to the plains of the Missouri. The 
 history of this region is marked by several distinct 
 periods: the coming of the French traders, the 
 supremacy of the English companies, the establish- 
 ment of military posts of the United States, and the 
 building of American communities. 
 
 Although at the opening of the second decade of 
 the nineteenth century the' American troops quar- 
 tered on the west banks of the Mississippi Eiver 
 were on soil that, in name, had been American for 
 sixteen years, and although they looked over the 
 river to land that had since 1783 belonged to their 
 country, yet they had in fact taken possession of a 
 foreign land. English, French, and Spanish flags 
 had at various times waved over certain parts of it. 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 
 
 Foreign influence, during a century and a half, had 
 become widespread and deeply rooted. 
 
 When in 1634 Jean Nicollet visited the Wisconsin 
 country the French advance into the upper North- 
 west had begun. 2 From 1658 to 1660 Kadisson and 
 Groseilliers wandered among the tribes and brought 
 the first canoe loads of furs to Canada from the far 
 West. Then along with the missionaries, Hennepin 
 and Marquette, came the coureurs des bois, Nicholas 
 Perrot and Daniel Greyloson Duluth. It is unneces- 
 sary to recite in detail the exploits of these French- 
 men and their successors. 3 For a century the songs 
 of unknown boatmen rose from the waters of the 
 western rivers; unknown traders smoked in the 
 lodges of Sioux and Chippewas ; and hardy wander- 
 ers whose feats of discovery are unrecorded, leaving 
 behind the Missouri River, saw from afar the won- 
 ders of the ' ' Shining Mountains ' \ 4 But if no record 
 of them remains, their influence was lasting. Living 
 with the natives, supplying their needs by barter, 
 and marrying the Indian girls, the French gained a 
 remarkable power over the northwestern tribes, 
 which caused them to consider whoever came from 
 Canada their friend, even after the English govern- 
 ment had supplanted the French in power. 
 
 West of the lakes the transition from the French 
 to the English rule created no disturbances, such as 
 Pontiac's conspiracy which so completely disrupted 
 the trade in the East. 5 Continuing the French pol- 
 icy and also their posts and voyageurs, the Scottish 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 merchants of Montreal, organized in 1784 as the 
 North West Company, pushed westward from Green 
 Bay and southward from Lake Winnipeg. This ad- 
 vance was continued until the opening years of the 
 next century. Although on nominally Spanish terri- 
 tory, the tribes on the upper Missouri were won from 
 the Spanish traders at St. Louis by such severe cut- 
 ting in prices that the latter could not compete. The 
 posts of the North West Company on the Ked River 
 of the North became the resort for many of the west- 
 ern tribes. 6 
 
 The diverting of the trade of these natives, who 
 would naturally have come down the Missouri where 
 American traders could meet them and be benefited, 
 was noticed by President Jefferson, who, on January 
 18, 1803, wrote to Congress : "It is, however, under- 
 stood, that the country on that river is inhabited by 
 numerous tribes, who furnish great supplies of furs 
 and peltry to the trade of another nation, carried on 
 in a high latitude, through an infinite number of 
 portages and lakes, shut up by ice through a long 
 season/ ' In this same message was included a rec- 
 ommendation that a small expedition be sent up to 
 confer with the tribes with respect to the admission 
 of American traders. 7 
 
 But the purchase of Louisiana altered matters. 
 It was not only a matter of trade, but one of sover- 
 eignty. A double movement was initiated: one to 
 ascend the Mississippi under Zebulon M. Pike, and 
 the other the Missouri under Captain Meriwether 
 Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark. The reports 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 
 
 of these two expeditions indicate how firm a grip the 
 English traders had upon the Indians of the upper 
 Northwest. 
 
 The expedition of Lewis and Clark ascended the 
 Missouri and passed over the mountains to the Col- 
 umbia River which was followed to the coast. The 
 first winter, from late in October, 1804, to early in 
 April, 1805, was spent in a fort which was con- 
 structed in the village of the Mandans, near the loca- 
 tion of the present city of Mandan in North Dakota. 
 Here was abundant opportunity to investigate the 
 fur trade. Nor had they long to wait. On the 27th 
 of November, seven British traders arrived from the 
 North West Company's post on the Assiniboine 
 River to barter with the river tribes. The next day, 
 in council with the Mandan chiefs, the Americans 
 warned the Indians not to receive medals or flags 
 from the foreigners if they wished to be friends with 
 the " Great American Father". A day later this 
 warning w T as communicated to the traders them- 
 selves who promised to refrain from any such acts. 8 
 How well they kept their promises later events 
 showed. The Lewis and Clark expedition was only 
 a passing pageant; for by the time of the War of 
 1812, the only American traders who ventured to do 
 business on the upper waters were practically driven 
 off by the foreign companies. 
 
 The report of Zebulon M. Pike indicates that con- 
 ditions were much worse on the upper Mississippi. 
 Leaving St. Louis on August 9, 1805, he returned to 
 that place on April 30, 1806. About two months 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 were spent at a fort erected near the site of Little 
 Falls, where he left a few men and pushed on with 
 the rest of the company to Leech Lake. Conversa- 
 tion with the fur traders and councils with the In- 
 dians revealed the extent of the commerce of the 
 North West Company. He heard of permanent 
 trading posts on the south side of Lake Superior and 
 at the headwaters of the St. Croix River ; and he saw 
 at Lower Red Cedar Lake, Sandy Lake, and Leech 
 Lake the rude stockades and log buildings which 
 were called forts. 10 These three posts were included 
 in the "Department of Fond du Lac" and were the 
 centers from which in the year 1805, trade with the 
 Indians was carried on by one hundred and nine 
 men. 11 By means of the rivers and portages of the 
 wilderness the furs were brought to Canada without 
 passing a custom house, and thus the United States 
 was defrauded of duties which, it was estimated, 
 would amount to $26,000 annually. 12 
 
 Pike objected to many of the evident signs of Brit- 
 ish sovereignty: the British flag flying above the 
 headquarters of the department of Fond du Lac was 
 shot down; 13 many of the Indians were induced to 
 give up their British medals and flags; 14 and Hugh 
 M'Gillis, agent of the company for the district, in 
 response to Pike's letter of complaint, promised in 
 the future to refrain from displaying the British 
 flag, presenting medals, or talking politics to the In- 
 dians. 15 But his promises were no more seriously 
 given than those of his brethren on the Missouri. 
 
 Little of permanent value would have been accom- 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 
 
 plished if the acts of the explorer on September 23, 
 1805, had been omitted. The instructions issued to 
 Pike on July 30, 1805, stated : " You will be pleased 
 to obtain permission from the Indians who claim the 
 ground, for the erection of military posts and trad- 
 ing-houses at the mouth of the river St. Pierre [the 
 Minnesota River], the falls of St. Anthony, and 
 every other critical point which may fall under your 
 observation ; these permissions to be granted in for- 
 mal conferences, regularly recorded, and the ground 
 marked off." 16 
 
 When Pike reached the mouth of the Minnesota 
 River, the natural features of the locality convinced 
 him of the advantages which would arise from a fort 
 located at that point. From the high bluff lying 
 between the Minnesota and the Mississippi rivers 
 the course of both streams would be under the sweep 
 of the guns. Sheer walls of stone rising from the 
 Mississippi could prevent invasion ; and the fur trad- 
 ing business could be regulated, as all boats entering 
 or leaving the Indian country must use one or the 
 other of the two rivers. 
 
 A " bower" was constructed of sails, and on Sep- 
 tember 23rd Pike spoke to the Sioux Indians there 
 assembled concerning the transfer of Louisiana, the 
 futility of their wars with the Chippewas, and the 
 evils of rum. He asked them to cede to the United 
 States lands for military posts, and dwelt on the 
 value of these posts to the Indians. To this the 
 chiefs assented, receiving in return presents valued 
 at $200 and sixty gallons of liquor. The terms of 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the treaty provided that the Sioux should cede to the 
 United States tracts "for the purpose of establish- 
 ment of military posts,' ' at the mouth of the Minne- 
 sota and at the mouth of the St. Croix. A money 
 consideration was also mentioned, but a blank was 
 left which was later filled in by the Senate with 
 $2000. 17 
 
 The government, busy with distressing foreign 
 affairs, neglected to make a permanent occupation 
 of the explored region. A struggle between the 
 American and British governments was arising over 
 events far remote from the northern lakes and 
 woods. But the Canadian authorities saw the neces- 
 sity of having Indian allies for the approaching 
 struggle. As early as 1807 reports from the West 
 indicated hostile feelings on the part of the Indians 
 toward the Americans, and an official at Mackinac 
 wrote on August 30, 1807, that this condition "is 
 principally to be attributed to the influence of for- 
 eigners trading in the country.'" 8 Captain A. Gray, 
 who was sent to inquire into the aid which the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company and the North West Company 
 could furnish, reported to Sir George Prevost, com- 
 mander of the British forces in Canada, on January 
 12, 1812 : "By means of these Companies, we might 
 let loose the Indians upon them throughout the whole 
 extent of their Western frontier, as they have a most 
 commanding influence over them." In a memoran- 
 dum of plans for the defence of Canada, General 
 Brock noted that "the Co-operation of the Indians 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 
 
 will be attended with great expence in presents pro- 
 visions &c." 19 
 
 To this alliance the Indians gave willing ears. 
 Their interests lay with the British rather than with 
 the Americans. The economic stability of Canada 
 rested upon the fur trade, which in turn could sur- 
 vive only if the free life of the hunt and the chase, 
 which the Indians loved so well, was left them. But 
 with the Americans were associated the making of 
 treaties and the ceding of land. The Indians pre- 
 ferred to see upon their rivers the canoe of the trad- 
 er rather than the flatboat of the pioneer. 20 
 
 The coming of hostilities was received joyfully by 
 all the inhabitants of the Northwest. To the Indian 
 it meant an opportunity to avenge past wrongs ; the 
 Canadian hoped to make secure his present condi- 
 tion ; and the American settler saw a chance to drive 
 out both enemies — Indians and foreign traders 
 alike. The news of the declaration of war reached 
 the great rendezvous of the North West Company at 
 Fort William on the northern shore of Lake Supe- 
 rior on the sixteenth of July, 1812, and the next day 
 one of the traders left for the interior to rouse the 
 natives. The agent of the company at this post 
 wrote enthusiastically : i * I have not the least doubt 
 but our force, will in ten days hence, amount to at 
 least five thousand effective men." 21 
 
 But already a sufficient number of Indians had 
 come to the aid of the English to render service. 
 On the very next day the English flag replaced the 
 
10 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 American above the fort at Mackinac. No sooner 
 had the news of the beginning of hostilities be- 
 come known at the neighboring British post at St. 
 Joseph's than immediate preparations were made. 
 The Indians were marshalled for the attack, and a 
 vessel belonging to the North West Company was 
 requisitioned. The morning of July 17th revealed 
 the American fort surrounded by Indians and com- 
 manded by a cannon which had been dragged upon 
 a height of land. Seeing the futility of resistance 
 the garrison surrendered and marched out before 
 noon. Of the total attacking force of 1021 there 
 were Indians to the number of 715, of whom the 
 British leader wrote, "although these people's minds 
 were much heated, yet as soon as they heard the 
 Capitulation was signed they all returned to their 
 Canoes, and not one drop either of Man's or Ani- 
 mal's Blood was Spilt, till I gave an Order for a cer- 
 tain number of Bullocks to be purchased for them". 22 
 The ease with which the capture was made had the 
 effect of bringing to the English standards all the 
 Indians of the Northwest, except a part of the Mi- 
 amis and Delawares, in spite of the fact that they 
 had earlier made promises of neutrality. 23 
 
 Although the capture of the fort at Mackinac was 
 accomplished without any Indian atrocities, the suc- 
 cess of that day was to precipitate a massacre, long 
 to rankle in the minds of the pioneers of the West. 
 Immediately upon hearing of the capture of the fort, 
 General Hull wrote to Captain Heald in command at 
 Fort Dearborn ordering the evacuation of that post. 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 11 
 
 On the morning of August 15th, as the small garri- 
 son of fifty-five regulars and twelve militia were 
 leaving the fort with their women and children, they 
 were fallen upon by a force of five hundred Indians. 
 Twenty-six regulars, all the militiamen, two women, 
 and twelve children were murdered on the spot. An 
 unknown number of wounded prisoners were that 
 evening victims at what the Indians termed a "gen- 
 eral frolic". 24 
 
 In the meantime Robert Dickson, who for many 
 years had been a Prairie du Chien fur trader, was 
 continuing his activities as recruiter of Indians for 
 British service. This was the same Dickson who 
 had in 1802 received an American commission as a 
 justice of the peace, 25 and had later entertained Pike 
 and his men "with a supper and a dram", impress- 
 ing the American explorer as a man of ' ' open, frank 
 manners." 26 Now, in January, 1813, he was ap- 
 pointed by Great Britain "agent for the Indians of 
 the several Nations to the Westward of Lake Hu- 
 ron". 27 
 
 By June 23, 1813, he had already sent eight 
 hundred Indians to Detroit and had collected six 
 hundred at Mackinac. 28 The summer of 1813 was 
 spent in operations about Detroit, but in the winter 
 he was again active in the West. 29 Great alarm was 
 felt at St. Louis when rumors came telling of the 
 great force he was collecting. 30 Accordingly, late in 
 the spring of 1814, Governor William Clark of Mis- 
 souri Territory proceeded up the Mississippi and at 
 Prairie du Chien built a stockade named Fort Shelby. 
 
12 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 It was garrisoned by about sixty men. 31 News of 
 this movement soon came to Mackinac, and prompted 
 the British commandant to prepare a counter-expe- 
 dition. On the seventeenth of July the force com- 
 posed of five hundred and fifty men, of whom four 
 hundred were Indians, arrived outside the post. 
 Immediately a summons to surrender was sent. 
 The American commander at first refused, but two 
 days later agreed to capitulate providing the Indians 
 would be kept in check. The surrender took place 
 on July 20th, and the captor christened the stockade 
 Fort McKay in honor of himself. 32 
 
 Thus, the Indians about the Mississippi had been 
 present at the surrender of two posts and had par- 
 ticipated in a massacre. British arms had been 
 successful, and the close of the war found British 
 prestige very high. 
 
 The Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1914, closed 
 the war ; and Article IX of that treaty provided that 
 the United States should make peace with the Indian 
 tribes and restore to them the " possessions, rights 
 and privileges' ' which they had enjoyed before hos- 
 tilities. 33 President Madison accordingly appointed 
 William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Chou- 
 teau as commissioners to enter into treaties of peace 
 with the warring tribes of the upper Mississippi and 
 the upper Missouri. Only with .extreme difficulty 
 was word of the negotiations sent to the tribes. The 
 hostility of the Indians living about the mouth of the 
 Rock River made it necessary that the messenger 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 13 
 
 proceed to Prairie du Chien by way of the Missouri 
 River, and then across country. 34 
 
 Although treaties were concluded with those who 
 did come to the council, none were eager to negotiate. 
 The Chippewas, Menominees, and Winnebagoes even 
 refused to send delegations; and the Sacs of Eock 
 River not only refused to attend, but also showed 
 their contempt by continually harassing the frontier 
 settlements during the time of the negotiations. 35 
 This opposition, the commissioners reported, was 
 due to the presence of an unusual number of British 
 traders among the Indians. The report closed with 
 the opinion that i l the exertion of the military power 
 of the Government will be necessary to secure the 
 peace and safety of this country. ' ' 36 
 
 For some years it had been customary for the 
 British authorities to send presents to the Indians 
 on the Mississippi, and Robert Dickson had promised 
 the natives that the practice would be continued. 
 But with the coming of peace this custom was not 
 allowed by the Americans. Accordingly, in June, 
 1815, word was sent to the river tribes, that all who 
 came to the British headquarters at Drummond 
 Island in Lake Huron, would be supplied. By June 
 19th of the next year four hundred Indians had ar- 
 rived at the post — mainly Sioux. To sympathetic 
 ears they reported that they feared that the Amer- 
 icans were planning their extinction, and a confed- 
 eration was being formed to resist the building of 
 American forts on the Indian lands. As late as 
 
14 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 1825, of the four thousand Indians in the habit of 
 visiting Drummond Island, three thousand came 
 from the region west and southwest of Lake Hu- 
 ron — that is from American territory. 37 These mot- 
 ley processions which trailed through the American 
 woods, stopping to beg at the American posts, were 
 not slow in being reported. It did not take a vivid 
 imagination to see that the renewal of border war- 
 fare was inevitable. 38 
 
 This danger was increased by the rapid develop- 
 ment of the West following the war. Just as over 
 the mountain trails and down the rivers, Kentucky 
 and Tennessee had been settled before the war, now 
 the States of the Old Northwest received their pio- 
 neers. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who made his first 
 trip down the Ohio at this time (1818), remarked: 
 ' * I mingled in this crowd, and, while listening to the 
 anticipations indulged in, it seemed to me that the 
 war had not, in reality, been fought for 'free trade 
 and sailors' rights' where it had commenced, but to 
 gain a knowledge of the world beyond the Allegha- 
 nies. ... To judge by the tone of general con- 
 versation, they meant, in their generation, to plow 
 the Mississippi Valley from its head to its foot. ' ' 39 
 
 The flatboats on the rivers, the crowded ferries, 
 and the caravans crossing the prairies were familiar 
 scenes. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which ap- 
 peared in 1819, Washington Irving puts this fondest 
 dream into the mind of his hero, Ichabod: ''Nay, 
 his busy fancy already realized his hopes, and pre- 
 sented to him the blooming Katrina with a whole 
 family of children, mounted on the top of a wagon 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 15 
 
 loaded with household trumpery, with pots and 
 kettles dangling beneath ; and he beheld himself be- 
 striding a pacing mare, with a colt at her heels, set- 
 ting out for Kentucky, Tennessee, or the Lord knows 
 where/ ' When he wrote this the author was not 
 using his imagination: it was a picture he saw 
 daily. 40 
 
 The extent of this westward movement is indicated 
 by the provisions made for the political organization 
 of these growing settlements. Indiana achieved 
 statehood in 1816 and Illinois in 1818. Across the 
 river in Missouri the population had grown from 
 20,000 in 1810 to 66,000 in 1820, 41 and the weighty 
 questions concerning her admission were being dis- 
 cussed in Washington. 
 
 With an expanding frontier brought into contact 
 with hostile Indians, trouble was bound to result. 
 Various plans were proposed to deal with the prob- 
 lem. It was reported that General Jackson would 
 take charge of active military operations against the 
 Indians of the upper Mississippi. 42 One agent sug- 
 gested that " three or four months' full feeding on 
 meat and bread, even without ardent spirit, will 
 bring on disease, and, in six or eight months, great 
 mortality. ... I believe more Indians might be 
 killed with the expense of $100,000 in this way, than 
 $1,000,000 expended in the support of armies to go 
 against them." 43 
 
 Fortunately, wiser counsels than either of these 
 prevailed to control the Indians : the control of the 
 fur trade was necessary. It was felt, and rightly, 
 that much of the trouble in the West was due to the 
 
16 OLD FORT SNELL1NG 
 
 power of the British traders. Accordingly, by an 
 act of Congress of April 29, 1816, it was provided 
 that "licenses to trade with the Indians within the 
 territorial limits of the United States shall not be 
 granted to any but citizens of the United States, un- 
 less by the express direction of the President of the 
 United States, and upon such terms and conditions 
 as the public interest may, in his opinion, require.' ' 
 To carry this act into effect the president was au- 
 thorized to call upon the military force. 44 
 
 This legislation was most opportune, since by the 
 commercial convention of October 20, 1818, the 
 northern boundary was definitely agreed upon as the 
 forty-ninth parallel westward from the Lake of the 
 Woods to the Eocky Mountains. 45 Ever since the 
 negotiators of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 had in- 
 serted a geographical impossibility by declaring that 
 the boundary should extend due west from the Lake 
 of the Woods to the Mississippi, there had existed a 
 vagueness as to where the actual line should be 
 drawn. 46 In 1806 the British traders thought it 
 would be run from the lake to the source of the 
 river; 47 and as late as 1818 Benjamin O 'Fallon 
 wrote from Prairie du Chien that Eobert Dickson 
 "is directed to build a fort on the highest land be- 
 tween Lac du Travers and Red river, which he sup- 
 poses will be the established line between the two 
 countries." 48 But with the boundary now defined, 
 the area where the trade laws were to be enforced 
 was evident. 
 
 The method of Indian trade by foreigners was to 
 
PERIOD OF FOREIGN RULE 17 
 
 be supplanted by an extension of the United States 
 trading bouse system. This was a group of trading 
 houses, conducted by the government, where the In- 
 dians could exchange their furs for goods at cost 
 price and thus avoid both the deceit and whiskey of 
 the private merchant, although they were often will- 
 ing to submit to the one for the sake of the other. 49 
 As early as 1805 Pike had promised the Indians, in 
 council assembled, that the government intended to 
 build a trading house at the mouth of the Minnesota 
 River. 50 The commissioners at Portage des Sioux, in 
 1815, had been instructed to inform the tribes that 
 "it is intended to establish strong posts very high 
 up the Mississippi, and from the Mississippi to Lake 
 Michigan, and to open trading-houses at those posts, 
 or other suitable places for their accommodation/' 51 
 In 1818 T. L. McKenny, Superintendent of Indian 
 Trade, recommended the building of seven addi- 
 tional trading houses, one of which was to be located 
 on the "River St. Peters, at or about its junction 
 with the Mississippi." 52 
 
 Thus, through the Indian department steps were 
 being taken to inaugurate a new regime in the upper 
 Northwest. But Indian agents and trading houses 
 needed the protection and administrative arm of the 
 military department in order to be effective. The 
 forward movement of the military frontier during 
 the years succeeding the war is significant as mark- 
 ing a trend towards the Americanization of a great 
 region. 
 
II 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 
 
 When the War of 1812 broke out in the Northwest, 
 the Americans had only two advanced posts — Mack- 
 inac and Fort Dearborn. Of these, one was cap- 
 tured during the hostilities, and the other was evac- 
 uated. An attempt was made to build a post at 
 Prairie du Chien, but it quickly passed into English 
 hands and remained in their possession until the 
 news of peace had reached that frontier station. 
 But after the Treaty of Ghent was signed the line of 
 the military frontier was quickly advanced in order 
 to safeguard the Indian agents, the trading houses, 
 and the advancing settlements. 
 
 Fort Dearborn was re-occupied on July 4, 1815. 
 Mackinac was transferred to American hands on 
 July 18, 1815. In the fall of the same year Colonel 
 R. C. Nichols of the Eighth United States Infantry 
 attempted to ascend the Mississippi to Rock Island, 
 but was compelled to pass the winter in the vicinity 
 of the mouth of the Des Moines River. On May 10, 
 1816, however, he reached Rock Island, where the 
 construction of Fort Armstrong was undertaken. 
 June 21st of the same year saw the re-occupation of 
 the site of Fort McKay at Prairie du Chien; and 
 Fort Crawford soon protected this important point 
 
 18 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 19 
 
 at the junction of the Mississippi and Wisconsin 
 rivers. One other point, vital in all western trans- 
 portation was at the head of Green Bay at the mouth 
 of the Fox River. Colonel John Miller of the Third 
 Infantry arrived at this place on August 7, 1816, and 
 soon began the erection of Fort Howard. 53 
 
 But the government was not content with these 
 movements. In a report dated December 22, 1817, 
 the Secretary of War, J. C. Calhoun, wrote to the 
 House of Representatives that "a board of the most 
 skilful officers in our service has been constituted to 
 examine the whole line of our frontier, and to deter- 
 mine on the position and extent of works that may 
 be necessary to the defence of the country. ' ' 54 Plans 
 had already been made. During the summer of 1817 
 Major Stephen H. Long, a topographical engineer in 
 the United States Army, had made a journey to the 
 Falls of St. Anthony in a six-oared skiff and had 
 approved the position at the mouth of the Minnesota 
 River as a location for a fort. 55 Other plans were 
 soon announced. In the spring of 1818 The Wash- 
 ington City Gazette stated that a fort would be built 
 on the Missouri River at the mouth of the Yellow- 
 stone River ; 56 and a second report of the Secretary 
 of War on December 11, 1818, indicated that the site 
 at the mouth of the Minnesota would soon be occu- 
 pied. 57 
 
 On the tenth of February, 1819, the War Depart- 
 ment ordered the Fifth Infantry to concentrate at 
 Detroit, after which it would be transported across 
 Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, up the Fox River, 
 
20 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 and down the Wisconsin River to Prairie du Chien, 
 where a part would garrison Fort Crawford, a part 
 would proceed to Fort Armstrong, and the remain- 
 der would ascend the Mississippi and near the Falls 
 of St. Anthony erect a post which would be the head- 
 quarters of the regiment. 58 This movement was 
 closely associated with that on the Missouri River 
 called the Yellowstone Expedition. Both move- 
 ments were part of one system — a comprehensive 
 attempt to possess the northwestern frontier. The 
 thoroughness of the plan is shown by the program 
 outlined for the troops for the year 1820: three 
 forts were to be built on the Missouri River ; the nav- 
 igation of that river was to be improved ; roads were 
 to be opened between the two diverging lines of 
 posts (those on the Missouri and those on the Missis- 
 sippi) ; and the Fox and Wisconsin rivers were to 
 be connected by a canal. Thus the transportation 
 of supplies would be facilitated, and in case of hos- 
 tilities the forts could cooperate in the military oper- 
 ations. 59 
 
 The western part of this general movement was a 
 failure. Indeed, the only result was the construc- 
 tion of a post at the point then known as Council 
 Bluff (now Fort Calhoun, Nebraska), which after an 
 existence of eight years was abandoned. Congress, 
 disgusted with the management of the undertaking, 
 refused to vote the funds necessary for the complete 
 fulfillment of the project. 60 Accordingly, no perma- 
 nent military post existed upon the upper Missouri 
 until 1855, when the United States government pur- 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 21 
 
 chased from the American Fur Company their sta- 
 tion called Fort Pierre and transformed it into a 
 military establishment. 61 The failure. of the Yellow- 
 stone Expedition made more difficult the work of 
 Fort Snelling. The range of its influence extended 
 to the Missouri, and for forty years it was of more 
 importance than even its originators had planned. 
 
 The Fifth Infantry, to which the difficult task of 
 establishing a fort at the junction of the Mississippi 
 and Minnesota rivers was .assigned was stationed at 
 various places. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leaven- 
 worth, who was the commanding officer of the regi- 
 ment, had been located at Prairie du Chien as Super- 
 intendent of Indian Affairs. 62 Lieutenant Nathan 
 Clark was living at Hartford, Connecticut. 63 But by 
 May 14th the main part of the regiment was ready to 
 leave Detroit. Schooners brought them through 
 Lake Huron, the Straits of Mackinac, and across 
 Lake Michigan to Fort Howard on Green Bay. Cap- 
 tain Whistler of the Third United States Infantry, 
 then stationed at this post, had prepared bateaux 
 for the use of the troops, and on June 7th the ascent 
 of the Fox River was commenced. 64 The Winnebago 
 chief "Four Legs", whose village was at the outlet 
 of Lake Winnebago, had the custom of exacting 
 tribute from travellers using the Fox- Wisconsin 
 route. When the troops of the Fifth Infantry came 
 to the site, "Four Legs" sent the message, "The 
 Lake is locked/ ' Whereupon Colonel Leavenworth, 
 showing the messenger his rifle, replied: "tell him, 
 that this is the key, and I shall unlock it and go on. ' ' 
 
22 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Upon receiving this belligerent reply, the chief al- 
 lowed the troops to pass; and finally on June 30th 
 the bateaux were moored near Fort Crawford and 
 Prairie du Chien. 65 
 
 At Fort Crawford there was a tedious wait. Pro- 
 visions, ordnance, ammunition, and recruits were ex- 
 pected from St. Louis. On July 5th Major Thomas 
 Forsyth arrived from St. Louis. He had been or- 
 dered by the War Department to bring two thousand 
 dollars worth of goods to the Sioux Indians in pay- 
 ment for the reservation ceded by them to Pike. 66 
 Day after day passed. Finally, on July 17th a cer- 
 tain Mr. Shaw came with news that the recruits could 
 be expected soon. On July 31st this curt entry is 
 made in Forsyth's journal: "no boats, no recruits, 
 no news, nor anything else from St. Louis." The 
 next day Major Marston was sent with twenty-seven 
 troops to garrison Fort Armstrong at Eock Island ; 
 and on August 2nd Forsyth recorded : ' i Thank God 
 a boat loaded with ordnance and stores of different 
 kinds arrived to-day, and said a provision boat would 
 arrive to-morrow, but no news of the recruits. ' ' 67 
 
 Colonel Leavenworth at once made preparations 
 to ascend the river. The two large boats that had 
 brought up supplies were engaged, and at eight 
 o'clock on the morning of Sunday, August 8th, the 
 flotilla set out — the two large boats, fourteen bat- 
 eaux, the boat of Major Forsyth, and the barge of 
 Colonel Leavenworth. In the party were ninety- 
 eight soldiers and twenty boatmen. There were 
 others also whose presence in that wild region would 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 23 
 
 not be expected: Mrs. Gooding, the wife of one of 
 the captains; Mrs. Nathan Clark, the wife of the 
 commissary; and little Charlotte Ouisconsin Clark, 
 who had been born scarcely an hour after the regi- 
 ment reached Fort Crawford. The knowledge that 
 they were upon the last stage of their journey caused 
 a feeling of cheerfulness among the soldiers, and the 
 first day they proceeded a distance of eighteen 
 miles. 68 
 
 For sixteen days the boatmen poled their bateaux 
 up the river. Once when there was a " Great ap- 
 pearance of wind" the sails were hoisted. At other 
 times the heavily loaded boats were moved with dif- 
 ficulty through the shallow water. Occasionally fog 
 and rain impeded their progress. Bad water made 
 half of the soldiers sick before the journey was 
 ended ; and to avoid the mosquitoes on the river, the 
 men preferred to sleep on the banks, although every 
 morning there was a heavy dew. On August 17th 
 the lower end of Lake Pepin was reached and here 
 a delay of several hours occurred while the men 
 drew provisions from the supply boats, and washed 
 their dirty linen. 69 
 
 Major Forsyth stopped at the Indian villages to 
 distribute presents and to announce to the natives 
 the object of the coming of the troops, and the value 
 they would derive from having a fort in their midst. 
 On Sunday, August 22nd, he encamped a few miles 
 ahead of the main body of the expedition, but by 
 eight o 'clock the next morning all the boats had come 
 up. Impatient to reach the end of the journey, 
 
24 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Major Forsyth again pushed forward and at four 
 o'clock in the afternoon reached the mouth of the 
 Minnesota River. On the morning of Tuesday, 
 August 24, 1819, Colonel Leavenworth arrived in his 
 barge ahead of the troops and spent almost the en- 
 tire day in looking over the sites available for a 
 camp. Finally, he decided upon a spot on the right 
 bank of the Minnesota River, just above its mouth. 
 There was no rest for the troops when their boats 
 reached the chosen place. ' ' They were immediately 
 set to work in making roads, up the bank of the river, 
 cutting down trees, etc. ' ' 70 
 
 If the soldiers had any spare time in their labors 
 in which to become interested in their surroundings, 
 there was novelty in everything about them. Dur- 
 ing the next few days all the nearby chiefs came to 
 call upon their new neighbors: they left satisfied 
 with the presents and the whiskey which they had 
 received. On Saturday a party ascended to the 
 Falls of St. Anthony; and on Sunday a visit was 
 made to the Indian villages up the Minnesota River. 
 It was on Monday that Major Forsyth began his 
 return trip, and as the supplies in store were few 
 and the long-expected recruits were needed for the 
 erection of the camp buildings, Colonel Leavenworth 
 set out with him for Prairie du Chien. On Septem- 
 ber 1st they met on Lake Pepin two boats and a 
 bateau with one hundred and twenty soldiers on 
 board. But Colonel Leavenworth continued to 
 Prairie du Chien, where he remained some time to 
 urge on any boats which might arrive. On Septem- 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 25 
 
 ber 5th the one hundred and twenty recruits landed 
 at the new camp. 71 
 
 Log cabins and a stockade were erected while the 
 party still lived in the boats on the river. By No- 
 vember the temporary barracks were ready for occu- 
 pation. Looking forward to a pleasant winter, the 
 name "Cantonment New Hope" was applied to the 
 embryo fort. The more scientific among the men 
 examined the country round about, and saw in the 
 hills visions of mines of precious metals. "Would 
 not the employment of the troops in the manufacture 
 of Copper and Iron be advantageous to the govern- 
 ment !", wrote one of these energetic soldiers. But 
 the succeeding months were not to give an oppor- 
 tunity for such occupations. 72 
 
 Added to the natural monotony of a wilderness 
 post, there was homesickness and suffering during 
 the first winter. The quarters that had been built 
 were inadequate for protection from the cold of 
 that climate. "Once during that memorable six 
 months ,, , runs the account of one of the inhabitants 
 of Cantonment New Hope, "the roof of our cabin 
 blew off, and the walls seemed about to fall in. My 
 father, sending my mother and brother to a place of 
 safety, held up the chimney to prevent a total down- 
 fall ; while the baby, who had been pushed under the 
 bed in her cradle, lay there .... until the 
 wind subsided, when, upon being drawn out from her 
 hiding-place, she evinced great pleasure at the com- 
 motion, and seemed to take it all as something de- 
 signed especially for her amusement." That baby 
 
26 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 lived to recall the incident almost seventy years 
 later. 73 
 
 Toward the close of the winter there came sick- 
 ness, chiefly on account of a lack of proper provi- 
 sions. Late in the fall Lieutenant Oliver had left 
 Prairie du Chien with supplies in a keel boat. But 
 the river froze and the boat was unable to progress 
 farther than the vicinity of Hastings, Minnesota. 
 Here it was necessary to keep a guard all winter to 
 protect the food from the Indians and the wolves. 
 The Indians refused to sell them game ; no vegetables 
 could be purchased; and the bread was "two inches 
 in the barrels thick with mould". 74 With such food 
 it is no wonder that scurvy, the dreaded disease of 
 all frontier posts, broke out among the troops. 
 Forty soldiers died before the progress of the dis- 
 ease was arrested by home-made remedies and gro- 
 ceries brought up by the sutler. 75 
 
 This visitation of disease left a profound impres- 
 sion upon the survivors. Henry H. Sibley, who had 
 often spoken with those who passed through the 
 weary months of suffering and sickness, wrote that 
 "scurvy broke out in a most malignant form, and 
 raged so violently that, for a few days, garrison duty 
 was suspended, there being barely well men enough 
 in the command to attend to the sick, and to the in- 
 terment of the dead. So sudden were the attacks, 
 that soldiers in apparent good health when they went 
 to bed, were found dead in the morning. One man 
 who was relieved from his tour of sentinel duty, and 
 stretched himself upon the bench of the guard room, 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 27 
 
 four hours after, when he was called upon to resume 
 his post, was discovered to be lifeless." 76 
 
 Thinking that much of the sickness was caused by 
 the unhealthful location, Colonel Leavenworth, on 
 May 5, 1820, moved the soldiers to a place on the 
 west bank of the Mississippi north of the Minnesota 
 where there was a great spring of cold water. Here 
 the troops were quartered in tents — naming their 
 community "Camp Cold Water". 77 The immediate 
 need was the erection of the permanent post. Col- 
 onel Leavenworth chose for the site a position three 
 hundred yards west of the crest of the cliff. Some 
 material was brought to this place, but no building 
 was done. In August Colonel Leavenworth was 
 superseded in command by Colonel Josiah Snelling, 
 who located the position at the extreme point of land 
 between the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. 78 The 
 work of erecting the buildings was done by the sol- 
 diers, it being customary at that time to pay the 
 soldiers fifteen cents a day in addition to their reg- 
 ular pay for this extra work. 79 
 
 Steps were taken during the summer of 1820 to 
 obtain the necessary material. A saw mill was 
 needed to make the lumber with which the interior of 
 the buildings would be finished and the furniture 
 constructed. As the water in Minnehaha Creek was 
 very low that year, it was decided to erect the mill 
 at the Falls of St. Anthony. Some men were sent 
 up the Mississippi River to Rum River to examine 
 the timber, and during the winter of 1820-1821 a 
 party of soldiers was employed in cutting logs and 
 
28 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 dragging them to the river bank. With the coming 
 of spring the logs were floated down to the Falls of 
 St. Anthony, where they were sawed into lumber 
 and then hauled to the fort by teams. 80 
 
 The progress made on the building was slow. On 
 the tenth of September, 1820, the cornerstone was 
 laid. 81 More than a year later, on November 7, 1821, 
 Colonel Snelling wrote to the Indian agent, Law- 
 rence Taliaferro, that "nothing new has occurred 
 since my return excepting that the other stone bar- 
 rack is up & the rafters on. ' ' 82 The fort was par- 
 tially occupied, probably in the fall of 1822, before 
 all the surrounding wall had been completed. 83 But 
 it is evident that most of the fort was finished by 
 July, 1823, for at that time the troops erected the 
 Indian Council House. 84 
 
 In the meantime other events had been occurring. 
 On July 31, 1820, Governor Cass of Michigan Terri- 
 tory, who had been on an exploring expedition to the 
 upper Mississippi, passed down the river and re- 
 mained with the troops until the morning of August 
 2nd. A council was held with the Indians, during 
 which a peace was made between the Sioux and the 
 Chippewas. That the garrison had been busy at 
 duties other than erecting buildings is evident from 
 the fact that Governor Cass found ninety acres 
 planted with corn and potatoes and wheat. From 
 the garden green peas had been obtained as early as 
 June 15th, and green corn on July 20th. 85 
 
 In accordance with the plans outlined for the year 
 1820 it was proposed to open a road between Council 
 
EVOLUTION OF FORT SNELLING 29 
 
 Bluff and the new post on the upper Mississippi. 
 To survey the route Captain Stephen Watts Kearny 
 led a party which consisted of four other officers, 
 fifteen soldiers, four servants, an Indian guide and 
 his wife and papoose, eight mules, and seven horses. 
 The route led from Council Bluff across what is now 
 the northern and northwestern part of the State of 
 Iowa to Lake Pepin, and then along the Mississippi 
 to the new post. From July 25th to July 29th they 
 remained with Leavenworth *s men, visiting the Falls 
 of St. Anthony, examining the country, and on July 
 26th going with Lieutenant Green and Miss Gooding 
 to the east side of the Mississippi. Here Lieutenant 
 Green and Miss Gooding were married by Colonel 
 Leavenworth, who as Indian agent for the " North- 
 west Territory' ' could perform his duties on the east 
 bank of the river, but not on the west, which was in 
 the Missouri Territory. 86 
 
 The fact that the Falls of St. Anthony constituted 
 the most noticeable landmark of the vicinity led to 
 the application of its name to the military works. 
 The first official inspection of Fort St. Anthony oc- 
 curred some time between May 13, 1824, and June 
 13, 1824. General Winfield Scott, as the inspector, 
 was received with all the honor and entertainment 
 that the frontier post could provide. He left favor- 
 ably impressed with the work that had been done. 
 
 "I wish to suggest to the general-in-chief , ' ' wrote 
 General Scott in his report, "and through him to the 
 War Department, the propriety of calling this work 
 Fort Snelling, as a just compliment to the meritori- 
 
30 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ous officer under whom it has been erected. The 
 present name is foreign to all our associations, and 
 is, besides, geographically incorrect, as the work 
 stands at the junction of the Mississippi and Saint 
 Peter's rivers, eight miles below the great falls of 
 the Mississippi, called after Saint Anthony. Some 
 few years since the Secretary of War directed that 
 the work at the Council Bluffs should be called Fort 
 Atkinson in compliment to the valuable services of 
 General Atkinson on the upper Missouri. The above 
 proposition is made on the same principle. ' ' 
 
 A general order on January 7, 1825, directed that 
 the suggested change should be made. Thereupon 
 Fort Snelling began its career as the guardian of the 
 Northwest. 87 
 
Ill 
 
 FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 
 
 It was not the intention of the War Department 
 that the influence of the frontier military post should 
 be limited by the range of the guns mounted upon its 
 walls. The post was to be the center of the Indian 
 life for those tribes that dwelt in the vicinity. At 
 the same time expeditions, the base of which was to 
 be at the fort, were to carry the authority of the 
 government out upon the wild Indian lands, and the 
 frontier settlements were to look to the soldiers for 
 protection. 88 
 
 How, in its origin, Fort Snelling became part of 
 a comprehensive system for the protection of the 
 frontier, has been detailed. The events of the forty 
 years that followed indicate very clearly the wisdom 
 of the men who chose the site. Every phase of 
 frontier duty was performed by the troops stationed 
 at the mouth of the Minnesota River ; and although 
 these tasks often took them hundreds of miles from 
 the post, and although they often cooperated with 
 men from other forts, yet these expeditions may well 
 be considered as part of the history of Fort Snelling. 
 They were a test of the training received on the 
 parade ground, and the successful accomplishment 
 
 31 
 
32 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 of many a difficult duty shows that the post was ful- 
 filling the objects of those who built it. 
 
 Prior to 1848 the governmental organization in 
 the jurisdiction of which Fort Snelling was located 
 was very weak. When first erected in 1819 the fort 
 was in the Territory of Missouri ( 1812-1821 ) . Then 
 followed a number of years in which it was in unor- 
 ganized territory (1821-1834). The Territory of 
 Michigan (1834-1836), the Territory of Wisconsin 
 (1836-1838), and the Territory of Iowa (1838-1846) 
 successively had jurisdiction over it; while in 1849 
 it fell within the newly-organized Territory of Min- 
 nesota. Lying far from the seats of government, in 
 a region of wandering traders and red men, the fort 
 became the exponent of the government — the only 
 symbol of governmental restriction in a region al- 
 most entirely without law. 
 
 During the first years of its existence while the 
 buildings were being erected and the fort was mak- 
 ing its place in the Indian life and the fur trade of 
 the surrounding region, the frontier was compara- 
 tively quiet. The first outbreak occurred in Illinois 
 and Wisconsin, where the Winnebagoes were con- 
 stantly coming into contact with the lead miners 
 about Galena. During the summer of 1826 rumors 
 came to Fort Snelling of the hostility of this tribe, 
 and Colonel Snelling thought it prudent to reenforce 
 the garrison of Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. 
 Three companies of the Fifth Infantry were sent 
 away from Fort Snelling on the afternoon of August 
 18th under the command of Captain Wilcox. 89 Al- 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 33 
 
 though no actual conflict occurred, the continued 
 uneasiness felt because of the presence of the Win- 
 nebagoes led the authorities to remove all the troops 
 from Fort Crawford to the upper post in the fall of 
 that year. 90 
 
 The lack of soldiers among them intensified the 
 unruly spirit in the Winnebagoes. In June of the 
 next year two keel boats, the " General Ashley" and 
 the "0. H. Perry", which were carrying supplies to 
 Fort Snelling noticed an unfriendly feeling among 
 the Sioux at Wabasha's village. Fifty warriors 
 with their faces painted black and with black streaks 
 on their blankets visited the "0. H. Perry", but 
 refused to shake hands. Apprehensive of danger 
 on the return journey, Colonel Snelling furnished 
 the crews with guns and cartridges before the de- 
 scent was commenced. 91 
 
 There soon arrived at Fort Snelling a letter from 
 John Marsh, the sub-agent at Prairie du Chien. It 
 stated that rumors were current that Prairie du 
 Chien was to be attacked and that the Sioux and 
 Winnebagoes threatened to kill Taliaferro ' * and any 
 American that they can find at a distance from the 
 Fort". The letter closed with the request that steps 
 be taken for the defense of Prairie du Chien. 92 No 
 doubt preparations were commenced immediately; 
 but they were hastened by news which soon came up 
 the river. On June 26th the Winnebago chief, Red 
 Bird, with three of his men had attacked a farm 
 house near Prairie du Chien and obtained the scalp 
 of a child. Returning to their village, they had seen 
 
34 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the keel boats coming down the river. With their 
 fighting blood up they attacked the "0. H. Perry", 
 and in a battle which lasted several hours they killed 
 two of the crew and lost seven of their own warriors. 
 The report of this attack, together with the murder 
 near Prairie du Chien, spread consternation among 
 the white men. 93 
 
 Without delay Colonel Snelling with four com- 
 panies started down the river. 94 A few days after 
 reaching Prairie du Chien, he was reenforced by 
 troops brought up from St. Louis by Colonel Atkin- 
 son. It was thought necessary that Fort Snelling 
 should be maintained during the critical period, and 
 as it was short of provisions, Colonel Snelling was 
 ordered back to his post with a supply of flour, and 
 directed to procure boats which could be used in the 
 pursuit of the Winnebagoes up the Wisconsin River. 
 On the 16th of August Colonel Snelling arrived at 
 his post, and on the following day Major Fowle 
 started downstream with four other companies of 
 the Fifth Infantry in two keel boats and nine mack- 
 inac boats, arriving at Fort Crawford on August 
 21st. The Indians, overawed by the rapidity of 
 these military movements and the size of the force 
 sent against them, immediately became peaceable. 
 As a precaution, however, Major Fowle was kept at 
 Fort Crawford, and the post was provisioned for a 
 year. 95 
 
 During the next twenty years the force maintained 
 at Fort Snelling was small, and the garrison was 
 occupied in routine tasks, the regulation of Indian 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 35 
 
 affairs, and the fur trade. At the time of the Black 
 Hawk War there was quiet about Fort Snelling, and 
 Major Taliaferro offered his services and those of 
 the Sioux warriors in the campaign against the Sacs 
 and Foxes. But the government did not think it 
 advisable to formally accept the proffered help, al- 
 though a number of the Sioux did take part in pur- 
 suing the remnants of Sacs who succeeded in cross- 
 ing the river. 96 
 
 In June, 1848, the company of infantry stationed 
 at Fort Snelling received an urgent call to come to 
 Wabasha's Prairie — near Winona, Minnesota. The 
 Winnebago Indians were being transferred from 
 their former home in the Turkey Valley region in 
 Iowa to a new reservation obtained for them from 
 the Chippewas. But when the Prairie was reached, 
 the Winnebagoes visited with Wabasha and he sold 
 it to them for a home. When Captain Seth Eastman 
 arrived from Fort Snelling he was put in charge of 
 the military forces which had been hastily brought 
 together to force the Winnebagoes to continue their 
 march. There were volunteers from Crawford 
 County, Wisconsin, dragoons from Fort Atkinson, 
 Iowa, and the infantry from Fort Snelling, besides 
 sixty armed teamsters. 
 
 These military forces lay encamped, separated 
 from the Indians by a slough. In the morning a 
 deputation of Indians came to ask the meaning of 
 the martial appearance of the whites when all they 
 desired was a council. This suggestion of a council 
 was quickly assented to, but the Indians approached 
 
36 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 with such a rush and with such blood-curdling yells 
 that the cannon were loaded and the soldiers stood 
 ready to fire. During the council the Winnebagoes 
 refused to move until one small band gave in to the 
 entreaties of the agent and were taken up to Fort 
 Snelling. This was an opening wedge, for when the 
 steamboat returned 1700 were ready to move. The 
 total journey of three hundred and ten miles from 
 the old to the new home occupied the time from June 
 8th to July .30th, 1848. 97 
 
 By the next summer they were ready to return — 
 anywhere, but especially to Wisconsin, their earliest 
 home. 08 In July the whole tribe, stimulated by 
 whiskey, started; but Governor Ramsey called on 
 Colonel Loomis of Fort Snelling for aid, and a force 
 under Captain Monroe proceeded to the north where 
 their presence aided in quieting the disturbers. 
 Again, on September 9th about a hundred had ap- 
 proached within sixteen miles of St. Paul, when Cap- 
 tain Page and forty men from Fort Snelling fright- 
 ened them so much that they fled into the swamps 
 and returned home quietly. Smaller parties were 
 captured on the river and sent back under a military 
 guard." Not all the efforts, however, were success- 
 ful. It was reported that one evening in November 
 over a hundred red men floated down quietly under 
 the very guns of Fort Snelling, and two weeks later 
 the newspaper accounts tell of three hundred Winne- 
 bagoes in camp near the mouth of the Black Eiver. 100 
 The need for a company of dragoons at Fort Snell- 
 ing was imperative. The next summer it was ob- 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 37 
 
 tained, and in 1851 this military force was described 
 as being "an indispensable and invaluable auxil- 
 iary. ' ' 101 Not until 1855 was the Winnebago spirit 
 of migration broken, and then only after a new res- 
 ervation had been obtained for them at the mouth 
 of the Blue Earth Kiver. 102 
 
 In his report of November 25, 1844, the Commis- 
 sioner of Indian Affairs called attention to the fact 
 that no longer was there any need of entertaining 
 fears on account of the visits made by American 
 Indians to the Canadian posts, as these pilgrimages 
 were indulged in only by a few "worthless va- 
 grants". But an evil of a different character was 
 imminent. Twice a year hundreds of Red River 
 half-breeds — bois b rules -*- left their homes on the 
 British side of the international boundary to hunt 
 buffalo on the American plains which bordered on 
 the Missouri River. Here they came into contact 
 with Indians who naturally resented this intrusion 
 upon their hunting grounds. During the summer of 
 1844 a half-breed had been killed by a party of Yank- 
 ton Sioux, and the invaders had retaliated by killing 
 eight Sioux of another band. This so inflamed the 
 Indians that they went upon the war path and with- 
 out stopping to reason about the matter, they at- 
 tacked a party of whites whom they met on Otter 
 Tail Lake. 103 
 
 To hunt the buffalo freely, even on foreign soil, 
 seemed to the bois brules to be their natural right. 
 On the pemmican which they made from these buf- 
 faloes they depended for their winter's food. Five 
 
38 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 hundred and forty carts trailed out of Pembina on 
 the summer hunt of 1820, and from year to year the 
 number increased until in 1840 there were 1210 carts, 
 accompanied by 1630 people. Nowhere else in the 
 new world at least, was there such a hunting party. 
 Thirteen hundred and seventy-five buffalo tongues 
 were counted as the result of one day's hunt in 
 1840. 104 It was estimated that every year these Eed 
 River hunters killed twenty thousand buffaloes on 
 American soil. 105 
 
 In this there was a real grievance. Though small 
 in itself the incident could easily develop into a war 
 when there were other factors urging in the same 
 direction. 106 The exact condition of affairs on the 
 border was so confused that the United States made 
 occasional military displays in order to impress the 
 invaders and also to satisfy its own curiosity. The 
 first of these expeditions occurred in 1845. Captain 
 Edwin V. Sumner, then in command at Fort Atkin- 
 son, in the IoWa country, visited the Red River of 
 the North during the summer of that year with Com- 
 panies B and I of the First Regiment of Dragoons. 
 But the difficulty was that while the invaders would 
 promise to remain off American soil and would retire 
 as soon as a military force appeared, yet no sooner 
 would the troops depart than they would be back 
 again on the hunting grounds. 107 
 
 When complaints continued to come in the Adju- 
 tant General proposed to establish a post on the Red 
 River. As a preliminary movement Brevet Major 
 Samuel Woods, Captain of the Sixth Infantry lo- 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 39 
 
 cated at Fort Snelling, was ordered to proceed with 
 Company D of the dragoons to the border and make 
 recommendations to the War Department in regard 
 to a suitable site. On June 6, 1849, the start was 
 made from Fort Snelling, and the weary march 
 directed to the northwest over the swollen rivers and 
 the marshy swamps with the mosquitoes a constant 
 torment, until on August 1st the soldiers reached the 
 collection of Indian lodges and the trading establish- 
 ment that was known as Pembina. During the 
 twenty-five days spent at this point observations 
 were made of the topographical features of the land, 
 the character of the Indians, and the pursuits of the 
 half-breeds. 
 
 Major Woods urged the American Indians and 
 half-breeds to prevent by force the invasions, prom- 
 ising that the United States would support them. 
 But it would be useless, he reported, to build a fort 
 at Pembina unless at least two hundred fifty men 
 were stationed there. It would be better to concen- 
 trate a large force at Fort Snelling, from whence 
 expeditions could be made into the Indian country 
 in all directions as necessity might arise. The re- 
 turn to the fort occupied twenty-three and a half 
 days, and on September 18th the total journey of 
 almost a thousand miles was completed with the loss 
 of only one horse and one mule. 108 
 
 During the next few years conditions remained 
 unchanged, and as the settlement of the Minnesota 
 and Mississippi valleys was pushing the Indian 
 tribes farther to the westward, more and bitter con- 
 
40 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 flicts with the half-breeds would be liable to occur. 
 In order to give a final warning to the foreign hunt- 
 ers and to select a site for a post which could serve 
 the double purpose of protecting the frontier settle- 
 ments from the Indians and the Indians from the 
 foreigners, Lieutenant Colonel C. F. Smith of the 
 Tenth Infantry was ordered on June 9, 1856, to tour 
 the region with Companies B and F. As far as the 
 Goose River, in the North Dakota country, the route 
 followed from Fort Snelling was practically the 
 same as that of Major Woods; but instead of pro- 
 ceeding by the usual route northward to Pembina, 
 a detour was made to Lake Mini- Waken (Devil's 
 Lake). On the return the less travelled and more 
 difficult road on the east side of the Red River was 
 followed. 
 
 On August 19th the trail of the annual hunting 
 party was crossed; but the nine hundred men, 
 women, and children who had made the trip had 
 returned to their homes three weeks before, and kept 
 away from the military party. Since no warning 
 could be given to them in person, a notice written in 
 both English and French was circulated in Pembina 
 and in the British settlements to the north. But the 
 natives obtained sweet revenge when Colonel Smith 
 attempted to buy from the farmers in the vicinity of 
 the principal trading post — Fort Garry — a suffi- 
 cient supply of oats for his troops. The half-breeds 
 declined to bring the grain, giving as their excuse 
 that they did not desire to trespass on American soil 
 when warned to keep off. 109 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 41 
 
 Not only to the north did the troops from Fort 
 Snelling make expeditions. The wide range of its 
 influence is illustrated by the task which occupied 
 the attention of its soldiers during the summer of 
 1850. On August 8, 1849, Governor Ansel Briggs of 
 Iowa forwarded to the Secretary of War a petition, 
 signed by over a hundred citizens of Iowa County, 
 in which they complained of the presence of a great 
 number of Indians who were destroying the timber, 
 removing the section corners, and even demanding 
 rent from some of the settlers — claiming that they 
 owned the land on the Iowa River. 110 
 
 To investigate conditions and to report upon what 
 steps would be necessary to remove the cause of 
 complaint, Brevet Major Samuel Woods, stationed 
 at Fort Snelling, was ordered to proceed to the State 
 of Iowa. On the twenty-fifth of September he left 
 for Prairie du Chien, and arriving here set out for 
 Fort Atkinson, thinking that probably the Winne- 
 bagoes were the Indians causing the trouble. But 
 he discovered that many of them had just set out for 
 the upper Mississippi, and those remaining behind 
 were so few in number that they could cause little 
 inconvenience to the frontier. From Fort Atkinson 
 Major Woods passed southward through Fayette, 
 Buchanan, Linn, and Johnson counties to Iowa City. 
 At this time the region traversed was sparsely set- 
 tled. For a hundred miles south of Fort Atkinson 
 there were only two settlements — one, consisting of 
 a few families, high upon the Volga River, and the 
 other larger in numbers clustered about some mills 
 
42 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 on the Wapsipinicon River. About fifteen miles 
 north of Marion the inhabitants became more numer- 
 ous. Here were found Indians — Sacs and Foxes, 
 Pottawattomies, and Winnebagoes — but they were 
 not hostile and their presence caused no objection. 
 
 It was at Iowa City that Major Woods heard that 
 the inhabitants on the Iowa, English, and Skunk 
 Rivers had been making the loudest complaints. 
 Accordingly he started up the Iowa River to the 
 vicinity of Marengo. Here he learned that a few 
 days before the settlers near the town, becoming 
 tired of having Indians about them, armed them- 
 selves and by force broke up the Indian encampment. 
 Only one lodge remained, that on the lands of a 
 farmer who gave permission to three of the red men 
 to live under his protection. 
 
 The total number of Indians, Major Woods re- 
 ported, consisted of five or six hundred Sacs and 
 Foxes, Pottawattomies, and Winnebagoes. Among 
 these the Sacs and Foxes were the most numerous. 
 They had by treaty sold their lands some years ear- 
 lier and hstd been removed to the Missouri River; 
 but they preferred their old home, and so had re- 
 turned in straggling bands, sometimes going back 
 to the Missouri to get their annuities. The Winne- 
 bagoes were those who had escaped when the tribe 
 was being transferred to the new reservation north 
 of Fort Snelling. 
 
 The complaints against these Indians were that 
 they destroyed a great deal of timber, removed the 
 surveyors ' landmarks, killed the game, annoyed the 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 43 
 
 settlers, and that when intoxicated they were an 
 actual source of danger. Believing that these rea- 
 sons were well founded, Major Woods advised that 
 the Indians be removed as soon as possible. Condi- 
 tions did not demand a winter campaign, but prep- 
 arations should be made for the removal during the 
 early summer. 111 
 
 In the early part of April of the next year it was 
 known that two companies of infantry from Fort 
 Snelling, and one company of dragoons from Fort 
 Gaines had been detailed for this task. 112 On the 
 twelfth of May the "Highland Mary" left Fort 
 Snelling, having on board the infantry and cavalry 
 and part of the equipment, while in tow was a barge 
 full of horses and mules. 113 The soldiers were dis- 
 embarked at Dubuque, whence they followed the trail 
 to Iowa City, along which they ' ' saw nothing except 
 the ravages of California emigration. ' ' Proceeding 
 to the vicinity of Marengo, a council was held with 
 the Indians. But the latter marched into the council 
 ten abreast carrying their war clubs and manifesting 
 such a hostile disposition that it was impossible for 
 Major Woods to accomplish anything. 114 
 
 For a while it seemed that active military opera- 
 tions would be necessary. The Indians becoming 
 convinced that this would be the result, and fearing 
 that all the expenses of the campaign would be de- 
 ducted from the annuities of the tribe, suggested to 
 two men of the neighborhood — a Mr. Steen and a 
 Mr. Greenly — that they would go back to their 
 homes if these two men could be appointed their 
 
44 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 guides. When Mr. Steen and Mr. Greenly broached 
 the subject to Major Woods he considered it thought- 
 fully, and finally an arrangement was made. For 
 every Indian who left the Iowa River and was turned 
 over to their agent west of the Missouri River, the 
 government was to pay three dollars and fifty cents. 
 Five hundred dollars was to be advanced to pay for 
 the provisions of the party. Upon June 6th a sec- 
 ond council was held with the Indians, during which 
 Major Woods impressed upon Chief Poweshiek and 
 his men the necessity of their returning and the ad- 
 visability of their doing it peaceably. 115 
 
 During the month of July the Indians started upon 
 their journey. For several days they encamped 
 near Fort Des Moines, and on July 16th seventy of 
 the warriors, armed and painted, paraded on horse- 
 back through the streets of the town to the public 
 square where for an hour they danced for the amuse- 
 ment of the two or three hundred interested spec- 
 tators in the frontier town. 116 
 
 These events made necessary a change in the plans 
 of the troops. Company E of the Sixth Infantry 
 remained at their camp on the Iowa River for some 
 time, but upon the last day of July set out under the 
 command of Major Woods for a site on the Des 
 Moines River which had been chosen by the War 
 Department as the location of a new military post. 
 On August 23, 1850, the troops arrived at the desig- 
 nated place and began the erection of a fort which 
 they named Fort Clarke in honor of Colonel Clarke 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 45 
 
 the commanding officer of the Sixth Infantry. The 
 name, however, was soon changed to Fort Dodge. 
 
 The company of dragoons was occupied during 
 August and September in making a tour of the west- 
 ern part of the State of Iowa, and it was not until 
 October that the cavalry company and the other in- 
 fantry company returned to their station at Fort 
 Snelling. 117 
 
 Occupation for the company of dragoons was fur- 
 nished during the next summer when Governor Ram- 
 sey was sent to Pembina to draw up a treaty with 
 the Pillager band of Chippewa Indians. On August 
 18, 1851, the party set out from Fort Snelling. Be- 
 sides the Governor and a number of gentlemen who 
 accompanied him, the party consisted of twenty-five 
 dragoons, and eight French-Canadian and half-breed 
 drivers who had charge of six baggage wagons and 
 several light Red River carts. The march was very 
 difficult and the dragoons were kept busy repairing 
 the roads over the swamp lands and dragging with 
 ropes the heavy wagons over the quickly made cause- 
 ways. The treaty which was made after this diffi- 
 cult journey was not ratified by the Senate. 118 
 
 The wonderful expansion of the Nation, which 
 occurred in the latter half of the fifth decade of the 
 century, turned all eyes toward the fertile valleys 
 and the mountains of fabulous wealth on the Pacific 
 Coast. Even before the acquisition of this territory 
 some visionary minds had pictured it bound to the 
 United States, if not by political ties, at least by 
 
46 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 bonds of steel. 119 The Oregon treaty of 1846 brought 
 part of the coveted land under the jurisdiction of the 
 United States, and the necessity of a railroad to the 
 Pacific was soon realized. But sectional interests 
 prevented agreement upon any certain route, and 
 it was decided to survey the most promising and 
 choose the one agreed upon by the engineers. Ac- 
 cordingly, the army appropriation bill of 1853 pro- 
 vided $150,000 for this purpose. 120 
 
 Isaac I. Stevens, the newly appointed Governor 
 of Washington Territory, led the party which exam- 
 ined the country between the parallels of forty-seven 
 and forty-nine degrees north latitude — called the 
 Northern Pacific Survey. He left Washington, 
 D. C, on May 9, 1853, and reached St. Paul on May 
 27th. According to his instructions he was author- 
 ized to call upon one sergeant, two corporals, one 
 musician, and sixteen privates of Company D First 
 Dragoons, who were still stationed at Fort Snell- 
 ing. 121 Captain Gardiner, who had preceded his lead- 
 er up the river, had selected the escort and collected 
 the party on May 24th in Camp Pierce — a temporary 
 encampment located three miles northwest of the 
 fort. 122 Early in June camp was broken and the 
 start for the far West was made, at first, over the 
 Red River Trail, and then across the prairies to Fort 
 Union, where on August 1st they were joined by 
 others who had been sent up the Missouri with sup- 
 plies. Fort Benton was reached on September 1st. 
 There they remained until the twelfth of the month 
 when Lieutenant Saxton, leading a similar party 
 
FORTY YEARS OP FRONTIER DUTY 47 
 
 eastward from Vancouver, arrived. Thus a survey 
 from the Mississippi to the Pacific had been com- 
 pleted. 123 
 
 On the journey the entire party had been divided 
 into small groups, who conducted surveys and ex- 
 plorations in various directions. To each of these 
 groups were detailed a few of the dragoons, who 
 were in all respects an integral part of the expedi- 
 tion and not merely a guard for protection. Accord- 
 ingly, no special mention of their work was made in 
 the report. 124 
 
 After thirty years, the distinction of being the 
 most northwestern post in the upper Mississippi 
 region was lost by Fort Snelling. Other military 
 stations were erected, and thereafter many of its 
 former activities were conducted from these stations 
 on the extreme frontier. Yet in everything contrib- 
 uted by these newer posts, the older had a part ; ac- 
 counts of them reveal their dependence on Fort 
 Snelling, the parent post. 
 
 As early as 1844 the Secretary of War had re- 
 ported that plans were being made to erect two new 
 forts between Lake Superior and the Kiver St. 
 Peter's. 125 But nothing was done at this time. By 
 a treaty of October 13, 1846, the Winnebagoes living 
 on the "Neutral Ground' ' in the Turkey River Val- 
 ley of the Iowa country agreed to exchange this 
 reservation for one "north of St. Peter's and west 
 of the Mississippi Rivers". 126 By treaties in the fol- 
 lowing August, the Chippewas ceded to the govern- 
 ment a tract lying south of the Crow Wing River 
 
48 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 and west of the Mississippi River, and north and 
 east of the so-called Sioux-Chippewa boundary 
 line. 127 This was the area agreed on by the govern- 
 ment as being suitable for the Winnebagoes. In 
 view of the reputation of unruliness possessed by 
 this tribe, and the fact that they were to be placed 
 between the warring tribes — the Sioux and the 
 Chippewas — the establishment of a post on the res- 
 ervation was thought desirable. 
 
 The transfer of the tribe took place during the 
 summer of 1848; and in the same fall Brigadier Gen- 
 eral George M. Brooke of St. Louis, accompanied by 
 a squadron of dragoons, chose a point opposite the 
 Nokay River as a desirable location. 128 This com- 
 pany and a company of the Sixth Infantry from 
 Fort Snelling were employed in building the fort, 
 and when cold weather prevented further opera- 
 tions, they were withdrawn to Fort Snelling, where 
 the winter was passed. 129 In the spring the troops 
 returned, and Fort Gaines — rechristened Fort Rip- 
 ley — was occupied on the thirteenth of April, 1849. 130 
 
 But this post alone was unable to keep the Winne- 
 bagoes in check. They celebrated the first fourth of 
 July by attacking a frontier store and "causing one 
 gentleman to escape en dishabille to the woods, 
 where he danced to the tune of the mosquitoes dur- 
 ing some three days and nights." 131 Again and 
 again reports of riotous revels and rumors of im- 
 pending outbreaks caused help to be sent from Fort 
 Snelling to assist the troops higher up the river. 132 
 In the spring of 1857 the fort was abandoned, but 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 49 
 
 Indian disturbances during the summer caused a 
 detachment to be sent from the older post. These 
 troops remained at that point until in the summer of 
 1858 they were transferred to the newly founded 
 Fort Abercrombie. 133 
 
 The treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota, 
 concluded in 1851, concentrated the Sioux Indians 
 on a long irregular reservation along the upper Min- 
 nesota Kiver. 134 The Indians were not transferred 
 until the summer of 1853, but in the fall of the previ- 
 ous year the need of a post among so many half 
 civilized people, placed in a small territory, was 
 obvious. Accordingly, Colonel Francis Lee, com- 
 mandant at Fort Snelling, and Captain Dana of the 
 quartermaster's department, escorted by a troop of 
 dragoons, selected a suitable site on the north side 
 of the Minnesota Eiver, a dozen miles upstream from 
 the town of New Ulm. 
 
 On February 24, 1853, seven privates of Company 
 D of the First Dragoons, and two sergeants and thir- 
 teen privates of the Sixth Infantry were sent to the 
 location to begin the erection of the fort. In April 
 the dragoons were ordered to return to Fort Snelling 
 and Companies C and K of the Sixth Infantry went 
 up the river under the command of Captain James 
 Monroe and became part of the permanent garrison 
 of newly-founded Fort Ridgely. One other com- 
 pany came up from Fort Dodge — the post in Iowa 
 which was abandoned with this withdrawal. 135 
 
 Colonel C. F. Smith, who led the expedition from 
 Fort Snelling to the Red River during the summer 
 
50 OLD FORT KNELLING 
 
 of 1856, was instructed to recommend a site for a 
 post. His choice of Graham's Point on the Red 
 River was accepted; and here, in the fall of 1857, 
 Colonel John J. Abercrombie constructed the fort 
 which was named in his honor. Colonel Smith, writ- 
 ing from Fort Snelling, gave among his reasons for 
 the choice of Graham's Point "the additional ad- 
 vantage of greater facility for receiving stores from 
 the depot here". 130 
 
 With the building of these jjosts, F rt Snelling 
 lost much of its importance. The garrison was 
 small and the fort was almost nothing more than 
 a depot for supplying the more advanced forts with 
 food, clothing, and ammunition. 137 With the decline 
 of its military position, the idea became prevalent 
 that some day it would be abandoned entirely, and 
 the land thrown open to settlement. 
 
 The neighboring cities of St. Paul, Minneapolis, 
 and St. Anthony were in the throes of real estate 
 speculation. There were some who saw in - Fort 
 Snelling a site more advantageous than any of these. 
 "It is a position which has attracted also a good 
 deal of attention on account of its superior beauty 
 of location, its agricultural advantages, and its more 
 notable advantages for a town site", said Mr. Mor- 
 rill during a debate on the floor of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. "Whatever witnesses in this case may 
 have differed upon as to other matters, they nearly 
 all agree that, as a point for a town site, it possesses 
 superior advantages over any other in that part of 
 the country." 138 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 51 
 
 Successful efforts were made to secure this site. 
 On June 6, 1857, Mr. William King Heiskell, a com- 
 missioner appointed by the Secretary of War, sold 
 to Mr. Franklin Steele, who was acting for himself 
 and three others, the entire reservation for $90,000. 
 The President approved the act on the second of 
 July. Other parties who were interested in securing 
 the site were not aware that the sale was to be made 
 until everything had been accomplished. 139 
 
 Immediately there arose the cry of graft: the 
 Republicans saw in the transaction the corruption 
 of the existing Democratic regime. A committee 
 was appointed by the House of Representatives to 
 investigate the matter, and the testimony which they 
 took covers three hundred and seven pages. Some 
 witnesses said that the post should have been re- 
 tained for military purposes; others insisted that 
 there was no such need. Some said that the site was 
 admirable for a city ; a few stated that it possessed 
 no such advantages. Some said that it was neces- 
 sary as a supply station for the upper posts ; others 
 insisted that these posts could be supplied more 
 cheaply by a direct route. 140 
 
 Bitter debates marked the consideration of the 
 report. The objects, character, and ability of the 
 witnesses were questioned. One member of the 
 House said that "Fort Snelling is a very elegant 
 appanage to very elegant gentlemen, who have a 
 very elegant place for parade and show." 141 An- 
 other remarked that "the officers at Fort Snelling 
 were opposed to the sale and it was natural that 
 
52 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 they should be. They had a beautiful place of resi- 
 dence, they had the most comfortable quarters, and 
 a superabundance of stores for their subsistence. 
 There they were living upon the fat of the land, with- 
 out anything under God's heaven to do. Society 
 was near at hand in a city populous, and furnishing 
 all the luxuries of life. They of course did not want 
 to surrender such quarters and such comforts for 
 the hardships and trials of a frontier station. ' ' 142 
 
 Finally, on June second the whole matter was laid 
 on the table. On May 27, 1858, the troops had been 
 withdrawn, 143 and on July 19, 1858, the quartermas- 
 ter turned the buildings over to Mr. Steele. But 
 with the opening of the Civil War Fort Snelling was 
 used by the government as a training station, and 
 after the war it was continued as a permanent post. 
 Mr. Steele had been unable to pay the entire $90,000, 
 and as he claimed rent at the rate of $2000 a month 
 for the time it had been used by the government, the 
 matter was again taken up. It was finally adjusted 
 in an agreement whereby Mr. Steele retained the 
 greater part of the land, and the government kept 
 the buildings and 1521.20 acres surrounding the 
 fort. Later some of the land was re-purchased 
 from Mr. Steele. 144 
 
 The history of Old Fort Snelling closes with the 
 removal of the troops in 1858. The story of its use 
 during the Civil War, of the part it played during 
 the Sioux massacre of 1862, of its influence through- 
 out the West during the years when the headquar- 
 ters of the Department of Dakota were located within 
 
FORTY YEARS OF FRONTIER DUTY 53 
 
 its walls, of the Officers ' Training Camp established 
 during the summer of 1917, lies outside the scope of 
 this volume. The life of the new Fort Snelling re- 
 vives the traditions of patriotism, loyalty, and sacri- 
 fice, which have centered about the post since that 
 day in August, 1819, which witnessed its beginning. 
 
IV 
 
 LORDS OF THE NORTH 
 
 An old settler, speaking of the expulsion of the 
 squatters on the military reservation remarked : 
 "At that time, and both before and since, the com- 
 manding officers of the fort were the lords of the 
 north. They ruled supreme. The citizens in the 
 neighborhood of the fort were liable at any time to 
 be thrust into the guard-house. While the chief of 
 the fort was the king, the subordinate officers were 
 the princes, and persons have been deprived of their 
 liberty and imprisoned by those tyrants for the most 
 trivial wrong, or some imaginary offense." 145 This 
 statement is doubtless rather extreme ; but the fact 
 remains that the fort was the only agency of govern- 
 ment in the region, and so the commanding officer 
 was indeed the supreme ruler in so far as he directed 
 the policy and activities of the post. 
 
 Interest in Old Fort Snelling is not primarily in 
 the logs and stones which made up its building, but 
 in the men and women who lived within its walls. 
 Many were the lives influenced by a residence in its 
 barracks. Characters were formed by the stern 
 rigors of frontier service. Far from busy cities, in 
 the tiresome routine of army life, men were being 
 trained who were to be leaders in the political and 
 
 54 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 55 
 
 military life of the Nation. Others never rose to a 
 higher position; but they command attention be- 
 cause in their faithful performance of daily duties, 
 year after year, they were quietly helping to make 
 the history of the Northwest. It is impossible to 
 consider every man who might be classed among the 
 1 ' Lords of the North", but a review of the careers 
 of a few of them indicates the type of men whose 
 natural ability was supplemented by the self-con- 
 fidence and the grim determination which are the 
 products of frontier service. 146 
 
 The memory of the man who led the troops to the 
 mouth of the Minnesota River in 1819 is commem- 
 orated by a fort and a city in another State. The 
 trials which he endured during that first winter at 
 Cantonment New Hope were only harbingers of 
 greater difficulties which were to bring to him the 
 death of a frontier martyr. Although he had been 
 educated for the lawyer's profession, Henry Leaven- 
 worth raised a company of volunteers in Delaware 
 County, New York, in 1812, and was elected its cap- 
 tain. He served under General Winfield Scott and 
 won honors for distinguished service at the Battle of 
 Chippewa and at Niagara Falls. After the war he 
 continued in the army, being appointed lieutenant 
 colonel of the Fifth United States Infantry on Feb- 
 ruary 10, 1818. After conducting the troops up the 
 Mississippi River in 1819 and remaining through the 
 winter, he was superseded by Colonel Snelling. 
 
 Expeditions and Indian duties occupied his atten- 
 
56 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 tion during the next few years, and in May, 1827, he 
 established "Cantonment Leavenworth" on the west 
 bank of the Missouri River. On February 8, 1832, 
 the name was changed to Fort Leavenworth. Dur- 
 ing a campaign against the Pawnee Indians, who 
 were harassing the caravans of the Santa Fe trad- 
 ers, Colonel Leavenworth was taken sick with fever 
 and died on July 21, 1834, in a hospital wagon at 
 Cross Timbers in Indian Territory. The body was 
 wrapped in spices and sent by way of St. Louis, New 
 Orleans, and New York City, to Delhi, New York, 
 where it remained until in 1902 it was reinterred in 
 the national cemetery at Fort Leavenworth. A 
 granite shaft some twelve feet high marks his rest- 
 ing-place. 1 * 7 
 
 The monument to the man under whose direction 
 the fort was built is the modern military establish- 
 ment named Fort Snelling. The erection of this 
 fort was the last achievement of a life which, though 
 comparatively brief, had already accomplished 
 much. Josiah Snelling was born in Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, in 1782. His first commission was as a 
 first lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry and bears the 
 date of May 3, 1808. In the Battle of Tippecanoe 
 on November 7, 1811, he commanded one of the com- 
 panies that were attacked in their camp in the early 
 morning. An attempt was made by a company of 
 dragoons to drive off the groups of Indians whose 
 fire was the heaviest, but the officer who was leading 
 was wounded and the attempt failed. "The In- 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 57 
 
 dians", reported General Harrison, "were, how- 
 ever, immediately and gallantly dislodged from their 
 advantageous position by Captain Snelling, at the 
 head of his company. ' ' 148 During the War of 1812 
 he served with Hull's army about Detroit, and when 
 the fort was surrendered he was taken a prisoner 
 and brought to Canada. But he was exchanged and 
 ordered to Plattsburg, and later was sent to Fort 
 Erie on the staff of General George Izard. At the 
 close of the war he was retained as lieutenant col- 
 onel of the Sixth Infantry and was stationed at 
 Plattsburg for four years. 149 
 
 Bravery and impetuosity were two of Colonel 
 Snelling 's traits. During the campaign about De- 
 troit he was married to Abigail Hunt by the chaplain 
 of General Hull's army. The general and other of- 
 ficers were present. An account of the life of his 
 wife states that "the ceremony had been performed 
 but a few moments when the drum beat to arms ; and 
 Capt. Snelling instantly started up to go in search 
 of his sword. All rushed to the door except Gen. 
 Hull, who laying his hand on the young officer's 
 shoulder as he was about leaving the house, said, 
 1 Snelling, you need not go, I will excuse you.' 'By 
 no means,' was the reply, 'I feel more like doing my 
 duty now than ever.' 'Stay, it is a false alarm by 
 my order,' said the General." 150 The ignoble sur- 
 render of Detroit by General Hull was deplored by 
 many of the men under him. The story is told that 
 while General Hull's aid was trying to place the 
 white flag in position he called, ' ' Snelling, come and 
 
58 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 help me fix this flag." Whereupon that officer re- 
 plied, "No, sir; I will not soil my hands with that 
 flag." 151 
 
 On June 1, 1819, he was appointed colonel of the 
 Fifth Infantry, and ordered to St. Louis, where the 
 following winter was passed. In the summer he 
 started up the Mississippi, but was detained at 
 Prairie du Chien by a court-martial of which he was 
 the president, and it was not until August that he 
 reached the troops at Camp Cold Water. From that 
 time until the fall of 1827 Colonel Snelling was in 
 command of the post, when not absent on official 
 business. Except when he had been drinking too 
 much, he was a favorite with the troops, and as he 
 had red hair and was somewhat bald, they nick- 
 named him the "prairie-hen". 152 
 
 In the fall of 1827 the Fifth Infantry was with- 
 drawn from the post and was succeeded by the First 
 Infantry. The Snelling family located at St. Louis, 
 while Colonel Snelling proceeded to Washington to 
 settle some accounts. While here he was suddenly 
 taken sick and died on August 20, 1828. 153 
 
 The man whose name was applied to the post 
 which has become so historic was a typical soldier of 
 his day. Along with the bravery and zeal of the 
 army, he possessed also its failings. "Of myself I 
 have little to say", he wrote on one occasion. "I 
 entered the army a subaltern, almost eighteen years 
 ago. From obscurity I have passed through every 
 grade to the command of a regiment. I owe nothing 
 to executive patronage, for I have neither friend or 
 
LORDS OP THE NORTH 59 
 
 relation connected with the government : I have ob- 
 tained my rank in the ordinary course of promotion, 
 and have retained it by doing my duty ; and I really 
 flatter myself that I still possess the confidence of 
 the government, and the respect of those who serve 
 with and under me. ' ' 154 
 
 Daniel Webster, speaking in the Senate on July 9, 
 1850, remarked that it was not in Indian wars that 
 heroes were celebrated, but it was there that they 
 were formed. 155 The occasion of this speech was the 
 death of the President, Zachary Taylor, who had 
 served for many years upon the Indian frontier. 
 As lieutenant colonel of the First Infantry, he came 
 to Fort Snelling during the summer of 1828 and 
 remained there for a year, when he established his 
 headquarters at Fort Crawford. His achievements 
 on the frontier and in the Mexican War, which finally 
 brought him to the presidency are a familiar story, 
 and the training which he received in Old Fort Snell- 
 ing was only a part of that which gave him the name 
 of " Rough and Ready". It is a remarkable fact 
 that at Fort Snelling he was remembered less for his 
 own actions than for those of his four pretty daugh- 
 ters whose presence spread commotion in the hearts 
 of the homesick young officers. 156 
 
 In 1837 the First Infantry was withdrawn and 
 part of the Fifth Infantry returned to its former 
 station. Among the familiar faces seen about the 
 garrison again was that of a man whose eccentrici- 
 
60 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ties and personality are closely associated with the 
 life of the fort. 157 In reporting the casualties of the 
 battle of Molino del Rey, September 8, 1847, the gen- 
 eral commanding the American forces applied an 
 adjective to only one of the dead. The report reads, 
 "the service mourns the high-souled Scott, brevet 
 lieutenant colonel 5th infantry ' \ 158 This was Martin 
 Scott, one of the most human, most lovable, and most 
 energetic men who ever reviewed troops on the pa- 
 rade ground of Old Fort Snelling. Only from July 
 15, 1837, until August 20, 1837, was he in command, 
 but for many years he was a familiar figure around 
 the barracks and in the surrounding country. 
 
 Hunting was his favorite pastime, and many a 
 time the prairie rang with the yelping of the twenty 
 or twenty-five dogs which he kept under the care of 
 a special negro servant at the fort. His deadly aim 
 was known to all. An army officer who insulted him 
 was severely wounded in a duel ; he often played the 
 part of William Tell by shooting with his pistol 
 through an apple placed upon the head of his negro ; 
 and if credence is to be given to the stories which 
 are told, even the animals were aware that from him 
 there was no escape. A coon sitting high on a tree 
 was shot at by several hunters in succession, but 
 still remained in its position. Captain Scott came 
 along and took aim, whereupon the coon asked, 
 "Who is that?" The reply was, "My name is 
 Scott.' ' "Scott? what Scott ?" continued the coon. 
 "Captain Martin Scott.' ' "Are you Captain Mar- 
 tin Scott?" There was a pause before the voice in 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 61 
 
 the tree-top continued, "Then hold on — don't shoot; 
 I may as well come down. ' ' 159 
 
 Martin Scott was born in Bennington, Vermont, 
 on January 17, 1788. His family was extremely 
 poor, but because of his freedom from army vices — 
 gambling and drinking — he was able in later years 
 to do them many favors. His kindness was equalled 
 only by his bravery. For gallant conduct during 
 the Mexican War he received several promotions, 
 and held a commission as lieutenant colonel when he 
 met death leading his regiment in the battle of Mo- 
 lino del Rey. 160 
 
 A newspaper correspondent who went over the 
 field of battle, saw a gray-headed soldier spreading 
 the blanket over the corpse of a fallen comrade. * 1 1 
 rode up to him", wrote the reporter to his news- 
 paper, "and asked him whether that was an officer. 
 He looked up, and every lineament of his face be- 
 tokening the greatest grief, replied, 'you never asked 
 a question sir, more easily answered, it is an officer. ' 
 I then asked him who he was. He again replied, 
 'The best soldier of the 5th infantry, sir.* I then 
 alighted from my horse and uncovering the face, 
 found it was Col. Martin Scott. As I again covered 
 the face, the soldier continued, without apparently 
 addressing himself to any person in particular — 
 1 They have killed him — they will be paid for this — 
 if it had only been me — I have served with him al- 
 most four enlistments but what will his poor family 
 say?' And as he concluded thus the tears coursed 
 down his furrowed cheeks, and the swelling of his 
 
62 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 bosom showed how deeply he was affected by the 
 death of his veteran and gallant commander. ' ' 161 
 
 When the Fifth Infantry was transferred in 1840 
 there was a second home-coming at Fort Snelling in 
 that it was succeeded by parts of the First Infantry 
 which remained until the year 1848. Captain Seth 
 Eastman was in command at four different times 
 during this period, and it was through his eyes that 
 we can see Old Fort Snelling as it was, 162 After his 
 graduation from the Military Academy he was an 
 assistant teacher of drawing at West Point. Fol- 
 lowing this he served in the Florida War and on the 
 frontier until 1850, when he was called to Washing- 
 ton to illustrate the History, Condition, and Future 
 Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States. 
 Active service on the frontier and in the Civil War 
 followed, and in 1866 he was breveted a brigadier 
 general. 163 
 
 Mary Henderson Eastman, his wife, also com- 
 mands attention. The intimate association of the 
 fort with the surrounding Indians brought to her 
 knowledge many incidents connected with their life 
 which she embodied in a volume published in 1849 
 and entitled: Dahcotah: or, Life and Legends of 
 the Sioux around Fort Snelling. In this volume 
 Longfellow read of the Falls of Minnehaha, which 
 he describes so picturesquely in Hiawatha. 164 Other 
 literary work was done by Mrs. Eastman, one of her 
 volumes being Aunt Phyllis' s Cabin, a reply to Mrs. 
 Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. 165 
 
LORDS OP THE NORTH 63 
 
 Parts of the Sixth Infantry were garrisoned in 
 Fort Snelling from 1848 to 1852, and beginning in 
 1850 there was also a company of the First Dragoons 
 who engaged in many of the expeditions narrated in 
 the preceding chapter. Among the officers who com- 
 manded during this period was Lieutenant William 
 T. Magruder, who was killed on July 3, 1863, at the 
 Battle of Gettysburg while serving in the ranks of 
 the Confederate army. 166 One company of the Third 
 Artillery was located at the post from 1853 to 1856. 
 At the head of this company was Captain T. W. 
 Sherman who, after serving in the Indian wars and 
 the Mexican War, rose to prominence in the Civil 
 War during which he was breve tted a major general. 
 After the Civil War he was appointed commander of 
 the Department of the East. 167 
 
 Among the last troops which occupied Fort Snell- 
 ing before it was abandoned in 1858 was a part of 
 the Tenth Infantry. Major E. E. S. Canby of this 
 regiment was in command of the fort during the 
 summer and autumn of 1856. His was a wonderful 
 record of achievement upon the frontier and in the 
 Civil War, and like Colonel Leavenworth he met his 
 death in service. Born in Kentucky the year that 
 Fort Snelling was founded, he moved to Indiana as 
 a boy. He was appointed to the Military Academy 
 at West Point in 1835 and graduated in 1839. For 
 the next three years he was engaged as a second 
 lieutenant in the Second Infantry in the Florida 
 War, and upon the successful termination of the 
 campaigns he was emploj^ed in removing the Chero- 
 
64 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 kees, Choctaws, and Creeks to Indian Territory. 
 After a few years in garrison duty and the recruit- 
 ing service he participated in the Mexican War, 
 being promoted "for gallant and meritorious ser- 
 vice ' ' at Contreras, Cherubusco, and the Belen Gate 
 of the City of Mexico. On March 3, 1855, a promo- 
 tion made him major in the Tenth Infantry; and it 
 was while holding this position that he served at 
 Fort Snelling. 
 
 In 1858 Major Canby was transferred to Fort 
 Bridger, Utah, where he commanded an expedition 
 against the Navajo Indians. While stationed at 
 Fort Defiance, New Mexico, during the early years 
 of the Civil War, he repelled the Confederate gen- 
 eral, Sibley, who left one-half of his force behind 
 him in killed, wounded, and prisoners. On March 
 31, 1862, he was made a brigadier general of volun- 
 teers and summoned to Washington to assist Secre- 
 tary of War Stanton. While here General Canby 
 was called upon to take charge of a difficult position. 
 Draft riots in New York City from July 13th to July 
 16th resulted in the killing and wounding of about a 
 thousand people and the destruction of about one 
 and a half million dollars worth of property. 168 On 
 July 17th General Canby was put in charge of the 
 Federal troops in the city, and he was later able to 
 enforce the provisions of the draft without difficul- 
 ties. 169 Following this came an appointment as com- 
 mander of the military division of West Mississippi, 
 where he was wounded by Confederate guerrillas. 
 
 At the close of the war, Edward Canby, then a 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 65 
 
 major general of volunteers was sent to the far West 
 as commander of the Department of the Columbia. 
 Here the United States was engaged in a war with 
 the Modoc Indians led by their chief "Captain 
 Jack". On April 11, 1873, General Canby held a 
 peace parley with the Indians. It had been agreed 
 that both parties should be unarmed, but in the 
 middle of the negotiations " Captain Jack" suddenly 
 drew a revolver from his breast, and shot Canby 
 through the head killing him instantly. 170 
 
 Other officers at the post who had real power were 
 the garrison physicians. One of these, Dr. John 
 Emerson was a giant in body and impulsive in spirit. 
 On a certain day in early winter when the quarter- 
 master was distributing stoves to the officers, Dr. 
 Emerson asked for one for his negro servant. This 
 the quartermaster refused, saying that there were 
 not enough in store; whereupon the doctor insinu- 
 ated that the statement was a lie. Upon being in- 
 sulted thus the quartermaster struck his companion 
 between the eyes, Emerson turned on his heels im- 
 mediately, but he returned in a few minutes with a 
 brace of pistols which he pointed at his assailant. 
 The fighting spirit of the quartermaster fell at the 
 appearance of these weapons, and he started across 
 the parade ground on a run followed by the doctor. 
 A third character appeared in the person of Major 
 Plympton, the commanding officer, who arrested Dr. 
 Emerson. This episode gave rise to a great commo- 
 tion in the garrison. One group who wanted some 
 
66 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 excitement urged that only in blood could the quarrel 
 be settled; while the other group sought for peace, 
 knowing that there was no other physician nearer 
 than Prairie du Chien. Not for several days was 
 the quarrel patched up, and then the terms were 
 never made public. 171 
 
 The cause of all this trouble was Dred Scott, man 
 of color, and the slave of Dr. Emerson. He had been 
 brought to Fort Snelling by his master in 1836, and 
 here he was married to Harriet, also colored, who 
 had been sold by Major Taliaferro to the doctor. 
 When Dr. Emerson was transferred to Missouri, he 
 took Dred Scott with him. After the death of his 
 master, Scott began proceedings in the courts for 
 his freedom on the ground that his residence at the 
 military post made him free — Fort Snelling being 
 located on soil where slavery was prohibited by the 
 Missouri Compromise of 1820. Mrs. Emerson, who 
 wanted to avoid an appearance in the courts, made 
 over the control of Scott to John F. A. Sanford, and 
 the case was finally brought to the Supreme Court 
 of the United States. Thus Old Fort Snelling was 
 connected with the case of Scott vs. Sanford, which 
 was so important among the events leading up to the 
 Civil War. 172 
 
 Were battles and military operations alone con- 
 sidered, the annals of Fort Snelling would comprise 
 few pages ; and were only military men characterized 
 one of the most potent factors in the life of the fort 
 would be omitted. The influence of the fort on the 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 67 
 
 Indians was felt more through the quiet daily work 
 of the Indian agent who was their official friend. 
 Although he was an officer entirely distinct from the 
 military organization at the fort, his work may legit- 
 imately be accredited among the other activities of 
 the post. He was, in fact, an army official. The act 
 of August 7, 1789, which organized the War Depart- 
 ment, placed Indian affairs in the hands of the Sec- 
 retary ; 173 on July 9, 1832, a commissioner of Indian 
 affairs was authorized ; 174 and on June 30, 1834, the 
 relations of the Indian agents to the military depart- 
 ment were more clearly defined. The Superintend- 
 ent of Indian Affairs, the Indian agents, and the sub- 
 agents were given the right to call upon the military 
 forces to remove all trespassers in the Indian coun- 
 try, to procure the arrest and trial of all Indians 
 accused of committing any crime, and to break up 
 any distillery set up in the Indian country. 175 
 
 By the act of March 3, 1849, the Department of 
 the Interior was organized. Section Five of the act 
 stipulated that "the Secretary of the Interior shall 
 exercise the supervisory and appellate powers now 
 exercised by the Secretary of the War Department, 
 in relation to all the acts of the Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs". 176 On the whole this law did not 
 disturb the cooperation between the two branches of 
 the government service, although the commander at 
 Fort Snelling intimated to the agent that his priv- 
 ileges were "not of right but by courtesy". 177 
 
 One name more than any other is associated with 
 the agency at Fort Snelling — usually called the 
 
68 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 agency of St. Peter , s. From 1820 to 1840 regiments 
 came and went, and the officers who ruled as " Lords 
 of the North" were soon transferred to other posts. 
 The military establishment was itself known by sev- 
 eral different names in succession, but the Indian 
 agent remained the same — Lawrence Taliaferro. 
 His was a lasting influence — lasting because of the 
 position he held in the memories of his wards and 
 his associates, and lasting because of the records 
 that he left. 
 
 To the Indians he was a real "Father". Amer- 
 icans, Scotch, Sioux, and French could all find within 
 his breast, they said, a kindred spirit, and they be- 
 stowed upon him the name of "Four Hearts" 'be- 
 cause of the impartiality of his actions to all nation- 
 alities. 178 In June, 1858, a number of Sioux chiefs 
 were in Washington and came to see him. "My old 
 Father," said Little Crow, "we have called upon 
 you; we love you; we respect you. . . . Since 
 you left us a dark cloud has hung over our nation. 
 We have lost confidence in the promises of our Great 
 Father, and his people; bad men have nearly de- 
 stroyed us. . . . We failed to get a friend in 
 anyone like you; they all joined the traders. We 
 know your heart, it feels for your old children." 179 
 
 Those who were associated with him at the fort 
 also had kind words for him. "He belonged to a 
 class more common then than now", remarked the 
 son of Colonel Bliss. "He imagined it to be his im- 
 perative duty to see that every Indian under his 
 charge had the enjoyment of all his rights, and never 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 69 
 
 seemed to realize his opportunities for arranging 
 with contractors for the supply of inferior goods and 
 for dividing the profits. ' ' 180 Of this honesty Talia- 
 ferro wrote: "I have the Sad Consolation of leav- 
 ing after twenty Seven years — the public Service as 
 poor as when first I entered — The only evidence of 
 my integrity ' \ 181 
 
 No one can write of Fort Snelling without using 
 the papers which Lawrence Taliaferro left. The 
 diary kept by him during these twenty years shows 
 the meager pleasures and grim duties of his task. 
 Of this diary only a few fragmentary pages are ex- 
 tant — three roughly bound collections of sheets, 
 many of them torn, many of them half-burned, and 
 their writing faded. But from almost every page 
 that is legible some information is gleaned, concern- 
 ing the life of the soldiers, the visits of the Indians, 
 the state of the weather, and reflections on Indian 
 relations and the best time for planting potatoes. 182 
 His wide acquaintance and the great extent of terri- 
 tory which his agency covered led to correspondence 
 with many men. These letters also passed through 
 a fire, and those that were rescued are now bound in 
 four volumes. 183 
 
 His reports to General William Clark, Superin- 
 tendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, were for- 
 warded to Washington where they are now kept in 
 the files of the Indian office. 184 With methodical care 
 Governor Clark copied the letters which he received 
 into letter books. The existence of these letter 
 books was not known until a few years ago, when 
 
70 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 some of them were found in the hands of a junk 
 dealer in Lawrence, Kansas, and were rescued — a 
 great gain to the history of the West. 185 
 
 Many years after he closed his connection with the 
 agency Lawrence Taliaferro wrote an " Autobiog- 
 raphy' ' — a narrative that shows all the quaintness 
 and egotism of the man. "Not until after the year 
 1840", he wrote "did the government become unfor- 
 tunate in the selection of their agents for Indian 
 affairs. " 186 From this account can be gleaned in- 
 formation to supplement the bare facts usually given 
 about his life. His ancestors had come to England 
 from Genoa, Italy, and later they emigrated to Vir- 
 ginia. Here Lawrence Taliaferro was born on Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1794. At the age of eighteen he joined the 
 army and served through the War of 1812, being a 
 first lieutenant when it closed. Although he received 
 no other promotion he was always known among his 
 associates as "Major". 187 
 
 He was appointed Indian agent for St. Peter's on 
 March 27, 1819, and on April 1, 1819, he accepted — 
 resigning the same day from the army. 188 He 
 reached his new station probably in the summer of 
 1820, and was immediately engaged in the duties 
 connected with Indian affairs. 189 During his term of 
 office he was continually troubled by ill-health which 
 resulted from his campaigns in the late war. In 
 1824 he resigned because of this ill-health, and al- 
 though he continued in service, Governor Clark at 
 one time wrote to the Secretary of War that "his 
 fate is considered as verv doubtful." 190 
 
LORDS OF THE NORTH 71 
 
 As early as 1831 he confided to his diary that 
 " there is something of a Combination of Persons at 
 work day after day to pick at my Actions both public 
 and private ' V 91 His resignation finally came in 
 1839, and he closed his connection with the Depart- 
 ment on January 1, 1840, because he could no longer 
 endure the machinations of the traders. 192 There- 
 after he made his home at Bedford, Pennsylvania, 
 serving as a military storekeeper from 1857 to 1863, 
 when he was put on the retired list. Mr. Taliaferro 
 visited his old home at Fort Snelling in 1856 and 
 wrote characteristically: "We were in St. Paul on 
 the twenty-fourth of June, the 'widow's son' was 
 Irving's Rip Van Winkle; after a nap of fifteen 
 years, we awoke in the midst of fast times. We 
 truly felt bewildered when we found all the haunts 
 and resting-places of the once noble sons of the for- 
 est, covered by cities, towns, and hamlets. We 
 asked but few questions, being to our mind received 
 as a strange animal ; if nothing worse. ' ' 193 
 
 Among the others who served before 1858 as In- 
 dian agent were Amos J. Bruce, R. G. Murphy, and 
 Nathaniel McLean. The influx of whites had greatly 
 increased the difficulties of their position, and the 
 memory of their former agent made the Indians sus- 
 picious of their new advisers. The Governor of the 
 Territory became the Superintendent of Indian Af- 
 fairs, and his presence so near the agency took from 
 the agent much of his power. 194 
 
 Scott Campbell, the interpreter at Fort Snelling, 
 
72 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 was the intermediary between the Indians and their 
 lords. He was a half-breed whom Meriwether Lewis 
 had met on his expedition up the Missouri River. 
 He took the boy with him back to St. Louis; and 
 when Lewis died, Campbell returned to his Sioux 
 relatives and finally drifted to the agency at Fort 
 Snelling. 195 Having a knowledge of four languages, 
 and possessing the confidence of all the tribes within 
 four hundred miles of the post, he was indispensable. 
 From August, 1825, to April, 1826, he was engaged 
 in the fur trade, but was lured back into service by 
 a salary of thirty-four dollars per month and one 
 ration per day. By 1843, however, he had become 
 such a drunkard that he had to be dismissed. 196 
 
 The veteran missionary, S. W. Pond, in recalling 
 early days wrote that ' ' Scott Campbell no longer sits 
 smoking his long pipe, and conversing in low tones 
 with the listless loungers around the old Agency 
 House; but who that resided in this country thirty 
 or forty years ago can pass by the old stone houses 
 near Fort Snelling and not think of Major Talia- 
 ferro and of his interpreter V 9197 
 
 And who can pass the Old Round Tower without 
 thinking of those men who as officers at Fort Snell- 
 ing ruled supreme over a vast region, and who left 
 the fort for places of greater trust and greater in- 
 fluence 1 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 
 
 Instead of a world of city streets and country 
 towns, of tilled fields and rivers busy with commerce, 
 the raw recruit at Old Fort Snelling entered upon a 
 world of stone barracks and Indian tepees, of 
 tangled prairies and rushing rivers. 198 The landing 
 was directly under the cliff which towered above to 
 a height which to many a wanderer in a frail canoe 
 seemed twice the one hundred and six feet which the 
 scientist's instruments ascribed to it. 199 In later 
 years a stairway led to the quarters of the command- 
 ing officer, but the wagon road which crept upwards 
 along the sandstone wall — "nearly as white as loaf- 
 sugar" 200 — where the swallows flew in and out from 
 their holes, gained the summit at the rear of the fort. 
 
 Following the road through the gate, and passing 
 between the buildings to the center of the parade 
 ground, the recruit probably paused to look about 
 him. 201 Visible in the openings between the buildings 
 was the stone wall about ten feet high which sur- 
 rounded the barracks, quarters, and storehouses. 
 This wall took the place of the picket-stockade which 
 was so prominent a feature in earlier and ruder 
 fortifications. Conforming to the arrangement of 
 the buildings which it enclosed, the wall was dia- 
 
 73 
 
74 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 mond-shaped, one point being at the, edge of the pro- 
 montory where the valley of the Minnesota River 
 met that of the Mississippi River. A second point 
 was on the edge of the steep bluff which rose from 
 the Mississippi. A third point, at a distance of 
 about four hundred and fifty feet directly opposite 
 the second, was on the summit of the Minnesota 
 bluff. The fourth point was situated on the level 
 ground of the plateau, at a distance of about seven 
 hundred feet from the first point. 
 
 As he stood in the middle of the parade ground 
 and gazed beyond the pump and the magazine at the 
 western or fourth point, the recruit saw rising to a 
 height twice that of the wall, the Old Round Tower. 
 To-day this tower is a vine-clad relic — a vestige 
 remaining from the days of the past. But to the 
 soldier of Old Fort Snelling it was a more practical 
 structure — a place of lookout from which he was 
 often to scan the swells of the prairie for approach- 
 ing Indians or returning comrades. At the second 
 and third points were blockhouses — buildings of 
 stone, each giving a view of the river below it. At 
 the first point there was also a tower — a wooden 
 lookout platform at the very edge of the precipice 
 from which was visible the landscape surrounding 
 the fort. 
 
 But the soldier was doubtless more interested in 
 the buildings in which he was to live. The barracks 
 for the men were under the north wall and consisted 
 of two buildings one story in height. The larger of 
 these, which was intended to accommodate two com- 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 75 
 
 panies was divided into sets, each set having on the 
 main floor an orderly-room and three squad-rooms, 
 while below in the basement were a mess-room and 
 a kitchen. The other barrack was intended to be 
 occupied by one company only; and the orderly- 
 room, squad-rooms, mess-rooms, and a kitchen were 
 on the same floor. The cellars below were damp and 
 were used only for storage purposes. 
 
 Occupying the same position under the south wall, 
 and facing the barracks, were two other buildings, 
 similar in appearance. In one of these the officers ' 
 quarters were located. It was divided into twelve 
 sets, each consisting of two rooms, the front one 
 sixteen by fourteen feet, and the back one, eight by 
 fifteen and a half feet. In the basement were located 
 kitchens for each set. The other building contained 
 the offices of the commanding officer, the paymaster, 
 the quartermaster, and the commissary. Here was a 
 room used by the post school, and another filled with 
 harness. An ordnance sergeant and five laundresses 
 found quarters in the same structure. 
 
 The quarters of the commanding officer with the 
 flag staff directly in front, faced the parade ground 
 and the Old Eound Tower. There were four rooms 
 on the main floor and in the basement were kitchens 
 and pantries. Other buildings were also included 
 within the fort. The storehouse of the commissary 
 department was located near the southern block- 
 house ; and on either side of the gate were two build- 
 ings, shunned by all — the guardhouse and the hos- 
 pital. 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Such was the plan of the fort, convenient in ar- 
 rangement and beautiful in appearance ; but the re- 
 port of an official inspection in 1827 complained that 
 "the main points of defence against an enemy ap- 
 pear to have been in some respects sacrificed in the 
 effort to secure the comfort and convenience of the 
 troops in peace. These are important considera- 
 tions; but at an exposed frontier post the primary 
 object must be security against the attack of an 
 enemy. Health and comfort come next. The build- 
 ings are too large, too numerous, and extending over 
 a space entirely too great; enclosing a uselessly 
 large parade, five times greater than is at all desir- 
 able in that climate. ' ' 202 
 
 A traveller who at a later day was entertained 
 within the fort wrote of it facetiously in these words : 
 * ' The idea is further suggested, that the strong stone 
 wall was rather erected to keep the garrison in, than 
 the enemy out. Though adapted for mounting can- 
 non if needful, the walls were unprovided with those 
 weapons ; and the only piece of ordnance that I de- 
 tected out of the magazine, was an old churn thrust 
 gallantly through one of the embrasures. We were 
 however far from complaining of the extra expense 
 and taste which the worthy officer whose name it 
 bears had expended on the erection of Fort Snelling, 
 as it is in every way an addition to the sublime land- 
 scape in which it is situated. ' ' 203 
 
 But an examination of the contents of the mag- 
 azine would have revealed weapons more formidable 
 than churns. Among the equipment reported in 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 77 
 
 1834 one reads of two iron twelve-pounder cannon 
 of the garrison type ; three six-pounder iron cannon 
 of the field type ; and two five and eight-tenths inch 
 iron howitzers. There was also equipment for these 
 pieces of artillery — carriages, sponges and ram- 
 mers, lead aprons, dark lanterns, gunners ' belts, 
 gunners ' haversacks, and tarpaulins. There were 
 stored ready for service, 440 balls for the twelve- 
 pounders, 1255 balls for the six-pounders, 546 
 pounds of mixed loose grapeshot, and many other 
 sizes of strapped and canister shot. For the use of 
 the infantry there were 7749 musket flints, 1825 
 pounds of musket powder, 1513 pounds of rifle pow- 
 der, 31,390 cartridges, and 2047 blank cartridges. 204 
 
 Other structures closely connected with the work 
 of the fort were located outside the wall. The build- 
 ings of the Indian agency were situated a quarter of 
 a mile west, on the prairie. 205 These consisted of a 
 council house, the agent's house, and an armorer's 
 shop. The original council house was built by the 
 troops in 1823, but Agent Taliaferro claimed that 
 most of the inside work was done at his own expense. 
 The building was of logs and stone, eighty-two feet 
 long, eighteen feet wide, and presenting in the front 
 a piazza of seventy feet. Within, there were six 
 rooms, lined with pine planking and separated from 
 each other by panel doors. 206 
 
 At one o 'clock on the morning of August 14, 1830, 
 the sentinels at the fort discovered that the council 
 house was on fire. But the flames had gained so 
 much headway that it was impossible to save any of 
 
78 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the contents. The interpreter and his family who 
 lived in this building barely escaped with their lives. 
 In reporting the loss to the superintendent, Major 
 Taliaferro wrote that "the general impression here 
 is that fire was put to the house by Some drunken 
 Indians & circumstances are strong in justifying 
 such a conclusion. ' ' 207 This surmise was right, for 
 on April 7, 1831, the Indians delivered at the fort 
 one of their number who they claimed was guilty of 
 the act. 208 
 
 That steps were taken to build a new council house 
 is evident from the record in Taliaferro's diary 
 under date of March 8, 1831, that four men had been 
 hired i \ at $12 per Month to cut & carry timber out of 
 the pine Swamp for the Agency Council House. ' ' 209 
 But in 1839 Taliaferro recommended that the agency 
 be moved to a point seven miles up the river ; and in 
 1841 there was a movement on foot to buy Baker's 
 stone trading house for the same purpose. 210 
 
 Near the location of the old council house were two 
 other buildings. One of these was the agent's house. 
 This was made entirely of stone, and was one and a 
 half stories high. It contained four rooms and a 
 passage on the lower floor and two rooms above. 211 
 Hastily built by troops at an early day, its comforts 
 were few. "Since the Eainy Season Set in", com- 
 plained the agent in 1834, "both the hired Men and 
 Myself have not had a Spot in our houses that Could 
 be called dry, Not even our beds". 212 An armorer's 
 shop, where blacksmith work was done for the In- 
 dians, was made of logs and measured sixteen by 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 79 
 
 eighteen feet. Nearer the fort was. the home of 
 Franklin Steele, the sutler of the post. 213 
 
 At Camp Cold Water, B. F. Baker had erected a 
 large stone trading house, which in 1841 was valued 
 at six thousand dollars. While he had no legal title 
 to the land on which this house was built, the officers 
 at the post allowed him to remain. Later it was sold 
 to Kenneth McKenzie, who in 1853 built an addition, 
 renovated the entire building, and used it as a hotel. 
 In the vicinity of this structure were several small 
 huts which had been the homes of some squatters on 
 the reservation. But after their expulsion these 
 huts rapidly fell into decay. 214 
 
 In his duties and recreations the soldier was often 
 brought into touch with other features of the world 
 about him — the points of scenic interest and the 
 Indian villages. From the wooden lookout tower 
 near the commanding officer's quarters a glimpse of 
 the surrounding land was revealed. 
 
 "The view from the angle of the wall at the ex- 
 treme point, is highly romantic", wrote one who saw 
 the wild scene before civilization had left its traces 
 on the landscape. "To your left lies the broad deep 
 valley of the Mississippi, with the opposite heights 
 descending precipitously to the water's edge; and to 
 the right and in front, the St. Peter's, a broad 
 stream, worthy from its size, length of course, and 
 the number of tributaries which it receives, to be 
 called the Western Fork of the Great River itself. 
 It is seen flowing through a comparatively open vale, 
 with swelling hills and intermingling forest and 
 
80 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 prairie, for many miles above the point of junction. 
 As it approaches the Mississippi, the volume of 
 water divides into two branches; that on the right 
 pursues the general course of the river above, and 
 enters the Mississippi, at an angle of perhaps fifty 
 degrees, directly under the walls of the fort; while 
 the other, keeping to the base of the high prairie 
 lands which rise above it to a notable summit called 
 the Pilot Knob, enters the Mississippi lower down. 
 The triangular island thus formed between the rivers 
 lies immediately under the fort. Its level surface 
 is partially cultivated, but towards the lower extrem- 
 ity thickly covered with wood. Beyond their junc- 
 tion, the united streams are seen gliding at the base 
 of high cliffs into the narrowing valley below. For- 
 ests, and those of the most picturesque character, 
 interspersed with strips of prairie, clothe a great 
 portion of the distant view. 
 
 "A little cluster of trading houses is situated on 
 the right branch of the St. Peter's, and here and 
 there on the shores, and on the island, you saw the 
 dark conical tents of the wandering Sioux. A more 
 striking scene we had not met with in the United 
 States, and hardly any that could vie with it for pic- 
 turesque beauty, even at this unfavourable season. 
 What must it be in spring, when the forests put forth 
 their young leaves, and the prairies are clothed in 
 verdure!" 215 
 
 This "little cluster of trading houses" was the 
 town of Mendota. Here was the stone house of 
 Henrv H. Siblev, and that of J. B. Faribault. Near 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 81 
 
 the river was the ferry house and the home of Mr. 
 Finley the ferryman. 216 Upon the hillside lay the 
 little Catholic chapel, surrounded by the graves in 
 the cemetery. But the center of interest was in the 
 warehouse and store of the American Fur Company, 
 where the skins of buffalo, elk, deer, fox, beaver, 
 otter, muskrat, mink, martin, raccoon, and other an- 
 imals were sorted and divided into packs weighing 
 about a hundred pounds. Indians, Frenchmen, half- 
 breeds, and restless wanderers from the East were 
 always loitering about the establishment. 217 
 
 From the fort a road led along the Mississippi to 
 the Falls of St. Anthony, on the way crossing Minne- 
 haha Creek on the bridge built in early days by the 
 soldiers. Here a stop was made to view the beauty 
 of the cascade then known as Little Falls or Brown 's 
 Falls. It was the common practice for travellers to 
 descend to the foot of the falls, clinging to the shrubs 
 along the slippery pathway, and then go behind the 
 sheet of falling water. 218 Continuing, at a distance 
 of eight miles up the Mississippi from the fort, the 
 Falls of St. Anthony was reached. Although only 
 sixteen feet high, the breadth of almost six hundred 
 yards, broken in the middle by a rocky island gave 
 to it an impressive majesty, and the thick vegetation 
 on the island and banks returned a gloomy reflection 
 from the whirling waters. 219 
 
 It is no wonder that in that wild and picturesque 
 locality the Indians saw things ghostly and super- 
 natural. "They tell you that here a young Dacota 
 mother, goaded by jealousy, — the husband [sic] of 
 
82 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 her children having taken another wife, — unmoored 
 her canoe above the Great Fall, and seating herself 
 and her children in it, — sang her death song, and 
 went over the foaming acclivity in the face and amid 
 the shrieks of her tribe. And often, the Indian be- 
 lieves, when the nights are calm, and the sky se- 
 rene, — and the dew-drops are hanging motionless 
 on the sprays of the weeping birch on the island, — 
 and the country far and wide is vibrating to the mur- 
 mur of the cataract, — that then the misty form of 
 the young mother may be seen moving down the 
 deceitful current above, while her song is heard 
 mingling its sad notes with the lulling sound of 'the 
 Laughing Water ! ,,,22 ° 
 
 Here at the Falls, on the west bank of the river, 
 were three buildings : a saw mill, a grist mill, and 
 a one-story frame dwelling, where a detachment of 
 soldiers always remained to guard the property. 
 The saw mill had provided much of the lumber used 
 in the construction of the fort, and in the grist mill 
 the corn was cracked that was fed during the winter 
 to the cattle — a drove being delivered every fall for 
 the use of the garrison. These buildings were still 
 standing in 1858, although they were then in a bad 
 state of decay. 221 
 
 Among the lakes on the prairie the most important 
 were the Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, and Lake 
 Harriet. These were favorite picnic and hunting 
 grounds for the men and women of the garrison. An 
 old map made in 1823 shows " Green 's Villa" on 
 Lake Calhoun — probably a hunting lodge or shelter 
 
A SOLDIER'S WORLD 83 
 
 built by Lieutenant Piatt Rogers Green. 222 Here on 
 Lake Calhoun was located the missionary establish- 
 ment which was so closely connected with the life of 
 the fort. 223 
 
 There were other Indian villages near the fort. 
 Nine miles below, on the bank of the Mississippi was 
 the Sioux village of Kaposia. Here Wakinyantanka, 
 or Big Thunder, reigned over his band which num- 
 bered one hundred and eighty-three in 1834. Two 
 or three miles upstream from its mouth on the banks 
 of the Minnesota was the group of wigwams called 
 Black Dog's village, although the chief was Wamdi- 
 tanka or Big Eagle. About nine miles from Fort 
 Snelling was Pinisha, reported as having one hun- 
 dred and forty-eight inhabitants ruled over by Good 
 Road. The largest group, three hundred and sixty- 
 eight souls, was that of the Tintatonwan band, lo- 
 cated twenty-four miles from Fort Snelling and near 
 the present town of Shakopee. Shapaydan or Shak- 
 pay was the chief, the father of the warrior of the 
 same name who was executed at Fort Snelling for 
 participating in the Sioux massacre of 1862. 224 
 
 These villages were very much the same in appear- 
 ance, large bark lodges being occupied by the Indians 
 in the summer. The villages swarmed with chil- 
 dren, squaws, painted warriors, and yelping dogs. 
 About the lodges were the corn fields, the scaffolds 
 where the corn was dried, and the more mournful 
 scaffolds where, wrapped in buffalo skins, reposed 
 the bones of the hunters who had followed the milky 
 wav to the "Land of the Ghosts". 225 
 
VI 
 GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 
 
 What sort of a life did the soldier live in the bar- 
 racks and on the parade ground, and in the world 
 of prairies, rivers, and woods that lay about him? 
 No person who was ever quartered within the walls 
 of Old Fort Snelling seems to have left an account 
 of what was included in the tasks and recreations of 
 a day. Doubtless the routine duties repeated day 
 after day were thought too ordinary to be worth re- 
 cording. The pleasures were so simple and came 
 so much as a matter of course that they also receive 
 scant mention in the annals of the fort. It is from 
 the General Regulations for the Army that one gets 
 the daily program of a military post; and the few 
 fragmentary pages of Taliaferro 's diary and letters, 
 together with the stray remarks of travellers and 
 pioneers, indicate the joys and sorrows of a very 
 human garrison. 226 
 
 No sooner was dawn visible over the Mississippi 
 bluffs than the musicians of the post were summoned 
 to the parade ground and five minutes later the 
 reveille was sounded. At the signal both officers 
 and men arose. Soon the rolls of the companies 
 were called in front of the quarters; the quarters 
 were put in order; the ground in front swept; and 
 
 84 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 85 
 
 the horses fed and watered. At eight-thirty the sick 
 in the barracks were taken to the hospital, and at 
 nine o'clock breakfast was served, preceded by a 
 second roll-call. Then the various tasks of the day 
 were performed under the direction of a captain or 
 subaltern daily detailed as the "officer of the day". 
 
 A party termed the ' ' General Fatigue ' ' swept the 
 entire parade ground — unless there were enough 
 prisoners in the guard house to perform this un- 
 pleasant duty. A police guard furnished sentinels 
 to watch over the prisoners, the colors, the quarters 
 of the commanding officer, and the arms of the regi- 
 ment. Other soldiers were posted at the front and 
 the rear of the fort. Certain detachments were 
 formed for reconnoitering and foraging — the nature 
 of the tasks depending on the season of the year and 
 the needs of the garrison. 
 
 At three o'clock in the afternoon the third roll-call 
 was followed by dinner; and thirty minutes before 
 sunset the music called out the regiment for dress 
 parade, where various maneuvers were gone through 
 and orders were read. After the parade, when the 
 regiment was again in its quarters, the arms were 
 placed in the arm-racks, the horses attended to, a 
 fifth roll-call endured, and tattoo sounded. Then 
 the lights were extinguished and all were expected 
 to be quiet for the night. 
 
 This monotony of the daily program Avas equalled 
 only by the monotony of the meals. The regulation 
 diet prescribed by Congress in 1802 consisted of a 
 pound and a quarter of beef, or three-quarters of a 
 
86 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 pound of pork; eighteen ounces of bread or flour; 
 one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy; and for every 
 hundred rations were supplied two quarts of salt, 
 four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one 
 pound and a half of candles. In 1832 coffee and 
 sugar were substituted for the liquor. 227 
 
 During the early years of Fort Snelling these sup- 
 plies were brought from St. Louis in flatboats. With 
 the development of steamboat traffic, the steamboat 
 was utilized, but it did not entirely displace the ear- 
 lier method. Difficulties often hindered the trans- 
 portation of supplies. The summer of 1829 was ex- 
 tremely dry. The average monthly rainfall was less 
 than an inch, and steamboat navigation was impos- 
 sible. Even keelboats found difficulty in ascending 
 the river ; sixty days were spent by Lieutenant Rey- 
 nolds in bringing up a load of supplies. A sand bar 
 at Pine Bend was impassable, so half of the load was 
 taken off and the rest hurried up the river. When 
 the crew arrived the garrison was upon its last 
 barrel of flour. 228 
 
 " Bread and soup", runs a clause in the General 
 Regulations for the Army, "are the great items of a 
 soldier's diet, in every situation ' \ 229 The bread was 
 made from the wheat grown by the soldiers, and was 
 ground in the mill at the Falls of St. Anthony. For 
 some reason the crop of 1823 had become mouldy 
 and the bread was black and bitter. When forced 
 to eat it, the troops almost mutinied, bringing it out 
 upon the parade ground and throwing it down. 230 
 Nor does it seem likely that the soup was more appe- 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 87 
 
 tizing when one reads the following recipe which 
 guided the company cooks: "To make soup, put 
 into the vessel at the rate of five pints of water to a 
 pound of fresh meat ; apply a quick heat to make it 
 boil promptly ; skim off the foam, and then moderate 
 the fire ; salt is then put in, according to the palate. 
 Add the vegetables of the season one or two hours, 
 and sliced bread some minutes, before the simmer- 
 ing is ended. When the broth is sensibly reduced in 
 quantity, that is, after five or six hours cooking, the 
 process will be complete. " 231 
 
 Fortunately the soldier did not have to depend 
 entirely on these rations. Out of his modest cash 
 income of six dollars per month he could buy at the 
 sutler's store small necessities and some luxuries. 
 The sutler was the authorized merchant of the post, 
 and in order that his monopoly might not lead him 
 to demand unreasonable sums for his wares, the 
 prices were fixed by a "council of administration' ' 
 composed of three officers. For every officer and 
 enlisted soldier serving at the post the sutler paid 
 into the "post fund", from ten to fifteen cents per 
 month. This sum was to be used for the relief of 
 the widows or orphans of soldiers, the maintenance 
 of a post school and band, and the purchase of books 
 for a library. 232 
 
 The books of Franklin Steele, who was the sutler 
 at Fort Snelling from 1838 to 1858, may still be ex- 
 amined ; and from their dreary lists of accounts, the 
 human wants of a soldier at Old Fort Snelling are 
 clearly indicated. 230 * On March 12, 1849, Private 
 
OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Brown bought a pound of currants and a pound of 
 raisins for fifty cents. Shoes, soap, and currants 
 totalled $1.50 on April 7th ; and on March 20th, two 
 pounds of butter sold for thirty cents and a pound of 
 cheese for forty-two cents. Private Ryerson had 
 more varied needs. On March 7th, 1849, he pur- 
 chased indigo; on March 16th, paper; on April 9th, 
 alcohol and suspenders ; five days later, needles and 
 sugar; and on April 23rd, apples, butter, and a tin 
 cup. The quiet waters in the neighboring lakes 
 tempted Eli Petti John on a spring day in 1855 to 
 invest $2.50 in " Fishing Tackel". 
 
 That the officers did not live upon the same fare as 
 the soldiers is indicated by the entries under the title 
 "Officers Mess". On July 31, 1855, there was pur- 
 chased ten cents worth of cloves, ten cents worth of 
 pepper, and ninety-five cents worth of cheese. Un- 
 der the date of August 8th "Bread tickets" were 
 purchased to the amount of one dollar; and on 
 August 30th, fifty cents worth of "Yeast Powd'r" 
 was charged to their account. 
 
 Saint and sinner both patronized this store. The 
 Reverend Ezekiel Gear, who was the chaplain at 
 the fort, evidently believed that cleanliness was next 
 to godliness, for on July 31, 1855, he paid thirty 
 cents for a scrub brush; on August 4th, he bought 
 a broom for fifty cents; on August 30th, he pur- 
 chased twenty-five cents worth of starch, and on 
 October 19th, a large broom. Indulging in some 
 luxuries, on August 2nd, 1855, he bought five cents 
 worth of candy. Probably this was a treat for those 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 89 
 
 two boys, his son and his grandson, whom a visitor 
 two years later found sleeping in the little cemetery 
 at Morgan's Bluff near the fort, their resting place 
 marked by a rude slab with a Latin inscription : 
 " Lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death not 
 divided.'' 234 
 
 None the less clearly is the character of Sergeant 
 Mahoney portrayed in these accounts. On July 31, 
 1855, it is recorded under his name : "1 Flask $.75 ' '. 
 On August 20th, the same officer paid seventy-five 
 cents for a bottle of cider. And the chaplain would 
 have had an excellent illustration for his next ser- 
 mon on intemperance if he could have read, as we 
 can to-day, this melancholy note made in the sutler's 
 book on October 17th: " Sergeant Mahoney, Cash 
 Loaned 20.00". 
 
 There was need for sermons on intemperance. 
 During the early years whiskey was issued as a part 
 of the soldier's ration, and this only served to stim- 
 ulate the desire for more. The class of men in the 
 army was not always of the highest, and there were 
 enough civilians who were willing to pander to their 
 appetites. The following extract from Taliaferro's 
 diary for March 22, 1831, is undoubtedly character- 
 istic of many a forgotten episode : "Nothing of im- 
 portance transpired this day Two drunken Soldiers 
 in crossing the SPeters broke through the Ice & were 
 near being drowned. They were exceeding alarmed 
 & made a hedious Noise & yelling for Assistance — 
 the men from the Fort relieved them although late 
 at night." Not always was assistance on hand in 
 
90 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 such circumstances. A report was made in March, 
 1840, of a certain officer who "disappeared on the 
 evening of the 5th of March, supposed to have been 
 drowned by falling through the ice. ' ' 235 
 
 Drunkenness and absence from roll-call were 
 among the infractions of rules for which punishment 
 was most often inflicted. The character and sever- 
 ity of the punishment depended upon the mood of 
 the commanding officer. Colonel Snelling, who was 
 usually a very gentle man, was particularly severe 
 in his treatment of offenders. "He would take them 
 to his room ,, , wrote one who spent several years in 
 the Snelling household, "and compel them to strip, 
 when he would flog them unmercifully. I have heard 
 them beg him to spare them, 'for God's sake.' " 236 
 This punishment by flogging was often performed 
 with a "cat" — an instrument made of nine thongs 
 about eighteen inches long, knotted in every inch, 
 and attached to a small stick. When the culprit was 
 stripped to the waist and tied to the flagstaff, the 
 drummers took turns in applying the "cat" to the 
 bare back. 237 
 
 Other officers used less painful methods. Thus, 
 Major Loomis was known as "Old Ring", since his 
 favorite punishment was to place a log of wood upon 
 the prisoner's shoulder and compel him to walk 
 around and around in a circle under the vigilant eye 
 of a sentinel. To Major John Bliss, who was in 
 command at Fort Snelling from 1833 to 1836, the 
 name "Black Starvation" might well have been ap- 
 plied. The negro servant, Hannibal, who clandes- 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 91 
 
 tinely sold spruce beer to the soldiers was confined 
 in the Black Hole for forty-eight hours ; and Private 
 Kelly, who refused to do his part in the fatigue 
 party spent more than seventy-two hours in the 
 Black Hole before the pangs of starvation persuaded 
 him to promise Major Bliss to be good in the 
 future. 238 On one occasion, which may be taken as 
 typical of usual conditions, out of a total garrison 
 of three hundred and twenty-nine, twenty-six were 
 confined in prison. But -at another time the com- 
 manding officer could report: "No Convicts at this 
 Post". 239 
 
 The severity of the military rules and the monot- 
 ony of the life led to two undesirable consequences — 
 mutinies and desertions. Of the former there is 
 apparently no description, and the brief entry in 
 Taliaferro's diary for February 3, 1831, leaves much 
 to the imagination : ' ' Mutiny of Most of the Troops 
 of the 1st Infantry, Stationed at Fort Snelling this 
 Morning". 240 What grievances led to the uprising 
 on that wintry day, and by what diplomacy or by 
 what punishments it was put down, are unrecorded. 
 
 Concerning the extent of desertions there is spe- 
 cific information regarding three years. Desertion 
 was prevalent in the army at this time, and in order 
 to provide methods of combating it the Secretary of 
 War presented to Congress a great deal of informa- 
 tion covering the years from 1823 to 1825. 241 During 
 these three years there were stationed at Fort Snell- 
 ing an aggregate of two hundred and fifty-one sol- 
 diers in 1823; three hundred and thirty-five in 1824; 
 
92 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 and two hundred and forty-six in 1825. 242 Of these, 
 six deserted in 1823, eight in 1824, and twenty-nine 
 in 1825. In this total of forty-three desertions, fif- 
 teen left in their first year of service, seventeen in 
 the second, eighteen in the third, one in the fourth, 
 and two in the fifth. Interesting facts regarding the 
 kind of men who lived at the old frontier post can be 
 gleaned from the data presented. Most of them 
 were between the ages of twenty-one and thirty. In 
 occupation there were 'laborers, farmers, painters, 
 shoemakers, papermakers, wheelwrights, jewellers, 
 and brewers. Among these forty-three, twenty-six 
 were born in the United States, five in Ireland, two 
 in Scotland, one in France, one in Holland, and one 
 in Canada. 
 
 The soldier who sought freedom by stealthily 
 climbing over the stone wall of Fort Snelling and 
 appropriating some canoe drawn up on the river 
 bank, left monotony and discipline behind him; but 
 in doing so he faced many dangers. There was no 
 settlement nearer than Prairie du Chien — a mili- 
 tary establishment. Indians were not afraid to in- 
 jure those whom they knew to be deserters. A cer- 
 tain man by the name of Dixon who deserted was 
 captured by Indians who brought him back to Fort 
 Snelling and received a reward of twenty dollars. 
 Dixon was court-martialed and sentenced to receive 
 fifty lashes from the "cat" and then to be drummed 
 out of the Fort. 243 Four soldiers who escaped were 
 killed by the Indians of Red Wing's band, and their 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 93 
 
 bodies were left on the shores of Lake Pepin, where 
 they were later found half-eaten by the birds. 244 
 
 Sickness and death reduced the number on duty 
 at the post. From the doctor the sick received pro- 
 fessional aid. In 1826 when the force at Fort Snell- 
 ing amounted to three hundred and twenty-nine men 
 there were in the hospital one subaltern, one non- 
 commissioned officer, one musician, and fifteen pri- 
 vates. That Fort Snelling was at a healthful loca- 
 tion is indicated by the fact that during the same 
 period at Fort Atkinson, with a force of only one 
 hundred more, there was a total of one hundred and 
 twenty-five sick persons. 245 
 
 The number of deaths was proportionately small. 
 In the year ending on September 30, 1823, there was 
 only one death ; the next year the toll was the same ; 
 and in 1825 it amounted to five. 246 On the occasion 
 of a funeral six men, detailed from those of the same 
 rank as the deceased, carried the coffin to the little 
 cemetery outside the fort. A salute was fired over 
 the grave and the band played solemn music, the 
 drums being covered with black crepe. The mounds 
 in the cemetery, unmarked by any stones, were soon 
 obliterated; but if the departed soldier had been a 
 cheerful companion his barrack-songs were missed 
 by his comrades, and many friends, half-way across 
 a continent, would mourn for one who was lying in 
 an unknown grave, "somewhere in the West". 247 
 
 On account of monotonous drills and tedious rou- 
 tine, any pretext to go into the Indian country was 
 
94 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 hailed with delight. The bustle, excitement, and 
 troubles connected with the departure of these ex- 
 peditions are best described by Mrs. Seth Eastman, 
 who as the wife of the commanding officer had often 
 waved farewell to the departing company. 248 
 
 "Now for excitement, the charm of garrison life. 
 Officers are of course always ready to 'go where 
 glory waits' them, but who ever heard of one being 
 ready to go when the order came? 
 
 "Alas! for the young officer who has a wife to 
 leave; it will be weeks before he meets again her 
 gentle smile ! 
 
 ' ' Still more — alas for him who has no wife at all ! 
 for he has not a shirt with buttons on it, and most 
 of what he has are in the wash. He will have to 
 borrow of Selden; but here's the difficulty, Selden is 
 going too, and is worse off than himself. But no 
 matter ! What with pins and twine and trusting to 
 chance, they will get along. 
 
 "Then the married men are inquiring for tin re- 
 flectors, for hard bread, though healthy, is never 
 tempting. India rubber cloaks are in requisition 
 too. 
 
 "Those who are going, claim the doctor in case of 
 accidents. Those who stay, their wives at least, 
 want him for fear of measles ; while the disciple of 
 Esculapius, though he knows there will be better 
 cooking if he remain at home, is certain there will be 
 food for fun if he go. It is soon decided — the doc- 
 tor goes. 
 
 "Then the privates share in the pleasure of the 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 95 
 
 day. How should a soldier be employed but in 
 active service? besides, what a capital chance to 
 desert! One, who is tired of calling 'All's well' 
 through the long night, with only the rocks and trees 
 to hear him, hopes that it will be his happy fate to 
 find out there is danger near, and to give the alarm. 
 Another vows, that if trouble wont come, why he will 
 bring it by quarrelling with the first rascally Indian 
 he meets. All is ready. Rations are put up for the 
 men; — hams, buffalo tongues, pies and cake for the 
 officers. The batallion marches out to the sound of 
 the drum and fife; — they are soon down the hill — 
 they enter their boats; handkerchiefs are waved 
 from the fort, caps are raised and flourished over 
 the water — they are almost out of sight — they are 
 gone. ' ' 
 
 Apart from these trips abroad and the stated 
 drills and terms of guard duty the tasks which occu- 
 pied the time of the soldiers depended upon the sea- 
 son of the year. A general order of September 11, 
 1818, had commanded the making of gardens at all 
 the military posts. 249 In the fall of 1819 when the 
 temporary cabins at New Hope Cantonment had 
 been built, the soldiers began ploughing for the crop 
 of the next summer. 250 Major Long, in 1823, found 
 two hundred and ten acres under cultivation — one 
 hundred of wheat, sixty of maize, fifteen of oats, 
 fourteen of potatoes, and twenty acres in gardens. 231 
 All through the history of Old Fort Snelling the 
 soldiers were employed as farmers. A visitor in 
 1852 observed that "its garrison is rather deficient 
 
96 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 in active employment, and we noticed a number of 
 the rank and file taking exercise in a large corn and 
 vegetable field attached to the Fort. It was cer- 
 tainly not exactly soldierly employment, but it was 
 more manly, to our mind, than shooting and stabbing 
 at $8 a month, and no question asked." 252 
 
 For the horses and cattle kept at the fort a great 
 deal of hay was necessary for the winter months. 
 This was obtained from the broad prairies of the 
 military reservation. A group of men called the 
 "Hay Party" were employed during the summer in 
 cutting and stacking the long grass. But one officer 
 was of the opinion that this task caused discontent — 
 the enlisted man was no more than a common laborer 
 and hence he lost the pride of a soldier. 
 
 The diverse tasks at which a soldier might be 
 called to labor are indicated by a summary of the 
 employment of the troops in 1827. Seven soldiers 
 were acting as teamsters, five were performing car- 
 penters ' duties, two were quarrying stone, two men 
 and a sergeant composed the party guarding the 
 mills at the Falls of St. Anthony, and eight others 
 were "Procuring forage by order of Col. Snell- 
 ing". 253 
 
 Summer brought its own pleasures as well as 
 duties. At Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, Lake of the 
 Isles, and Minnehaha Falls, many were the picnics 
 held when visitors came to the garrison. 254 Swan, 
 geese, and ducks were numerous about the lakes and 
 swamps, and with the famous hunter H. H. Sibley 
 as a guide, the game bags were soon filled. During 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 97 
 
 a period of three years, Mr. Sibley, alone, shot 1798 
 ducks — a fact which indicates what success a sol- 
 dier-sportsman could have in his few hours of recre- 
 ation. 255 
 
 But it was when the prairies were impassable be- 
 cause of drifts of snow from six to fifteen feet 
 high, 256 and when the course of the river could be 
 traced only by a streak of white between the gray 
 of its wooded banks that there appeared those feat- 
 ures which are peculiar to the life of a remote gar- 
 rison. The isolation was almost complete. There 
 was no traffic upon the frozen river, and the traders 
 were wintering in the Indian villages. Only through 
 the mail was communication with the outside world 
 possible. It was planned to have a monthly mail 
 service, soldiers being sent to Prairie du Chien with 
 the letters. Here they delivered about two-thirds of 
 the mail to the persons to whom it was addressed 
 and the rest was deposited in the post office. 257 
 
 In summer the mail was carried by the soldiers in 
 canoes, but in winter the journey had to be made on 
 foot. In summer the labor was lightened when a 
 passing steamer overtook the rowing soldiers and 
 picked up the canoe with its crew. In winter no 
 such aid was possible. A hard day's tramp was fol- 
 lowed by a night among the drifts, unless the tepee 
 of some friendly Indian gave a temporary respite 
 for a few hours. 258 
 
 Nor was this task free from perils. A system was 
 arranged whereby a courier from Fort Snelling and 
 one from Prairie du Chien set out at about the same 
 
98 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 time, meeting at Wabasha's village where the packs 
 were exchanged and each returned to his own post. 
 On one occasion a spring thaw overtook the carrier 
 from Prairie du Chien, who had proceeded beyond 
 the meeting place because the messenger from the 
 north was late. Suddenly the ice groaned and 
 cracked, and the postman with difficulty found safety 
 on a small island where, to his great surprise, he 
 found the postman from Fort Snelling who had been 
 caught in the same manner. Their provisions soon 
 gave out; for a while they had only rose-apples to 
 eat. It was not until almost two weeks later that 
 the two half-starved messengers were picked up by 
 the canoes of some friendly Sioux. 259 
 
 Such accidents rendered the mail service uncer- 
 tain, and it was with impatience that the watchers 
 at the fort looked down the river for the coming of 
 the news-carriers. On April 2, 1831, Taliaferro 
 wrote : ' * The Express departed — 4 men in a Skiff — 
 to convey the Mail to the Post Office at Prairie dn 
 Chiens — our return Express daily expected." But 
 they hoped too early and on April 5th it was record- 
 ed that "Our Express — 1st which left for Prairie 
 du Chiens on the 2d of March — has now been Ab- 
 sent more than a Month & progressing in the Sec- 
 cond. We have not had inteligence from Washing- 
 ton City — since the 6th of December last". Not 
 until April 10th did the mail arrive. But even when 
 the messengers were safe in the fort it was not cer- 
 tain that they brought what w^as so eagerly looked 
 for, as the entry on February 27th clearly shows: 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 99 
 
 ' ' Lieut Williams & Mr Bailly returned this eveng 
 from Prairie du Chiens but brought no Mail there 
 having been no arrival since December. ' ' 26 ° It was 
 during this winter that even Prairie du Chien was 
 shut off from the outside, the amount of snow be- 
 tween Peoria and Prairie du Chien stopping the mail 
 service for two months. Again and again during 
 the winter months the commanding officer com- 
 plained to headquarters that "no Orders have been 
 received within the Month". 261 
 
 The duties of the soldiers during the winter were 
 few. From the time it was built up to 1833 the 
 quarters at Fort Snelling were heated by fireplaces. 
 At that time, however, stoves were substituted. 262 
 Wood was used for fuel — to obtain which was a 
 never-ending task in winter. When Captain Seth 
 Eastman was in command at various periods from 
 1844 to 1848 the garrison had to go from eight to 
 ten miles for wood. The banks of the Minnesota 
 River were bordered by a forest varying from one 
 hundred to three hundred yards wide; but by 1858 
 all of this for a distance of twelve miles had been 
 cleared off. 263 
 
 Colonel John H. Bliss, who was a boy at Fort 
 Snelling when his father was in Command during the 
 thirties, wrote that the winters "were undeniably 
 tedious, but had their uses ; we had a good library, 
 and I read a great deal, which has stood by me well ; 
 then there was of course much sociability among the 
 officers, and a great deal of playing of cards, dom- 
 inoes, checkers, and chess. The soldiers, too, would 
 
100 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 get up theatrical performances every fortnight or so, 
 those taking female parts borrowing dresses from 
 the soldiers ' wives, and making a generous sacri- 
 fice to art of their cherished whiskers and mus- 
 taches." 264 
 
 During October, 1836, Inspector General George 
 Croghan visited Fort Snelling, and on the evening 
 of the seventh of the month the Thespian Players 
 presented Monsieur Tonson in his honor. And here, 
 far from city streets and French barbers, on a rude 
 stage, Jack Ardourly fell in love with the beautiful 
 Adolphine de Courcy — who probably only a few 
 hours before had been hurrying to finish a task of 
 cleaning guns so that she could call on the generous 
 women of the garrison and beg from them capes and 
 bonnets and hoops skirts ! 265 
 
 Many of the officers were graduates of "West Point, 
 and their wives were from the best families of the 
 East and South. On January 20, 1831, the ladies 
 and gentlemen of the garrison had a party at the 
 fort. "The room was tastefully decorated — and 
 the evening passed pleasantly". On February 22nd 
 of the same year the quarters of the commanding 
 officer were the scene of another party in commemo- 
 ration of Washington 's birthday. 266 
 
 Efforts were made to provide for the education of 
 the children of the fort. Mrs. Snelling at first taught 
 her own children; but it is evident that there was 
 soon a tutor, as the correspondence of Colonel Snell- 
 ing shows that John Marsh received his board and 
 seventy-five dollars for acting as tutor during the 
 
GLIMPSES OF GARRISON LIFE 101 
 
 winter of 1823-1824. This schoolmaster also carried 
 the mail to Prairie du Chien in return for forty dol- 
 lars. 267 Soon after the appointment of a regular 
 chaplain in 1838 the post school was more thoroughly 
 organized. 268 
 
 Occasionally there was some excitement at the 
 fort. During the month of February in 1831 there 
 was an epidemic of fires. First, the officers row of 
 buildings caught on fire in the room of Lieutenant 
 Greenough on February 10th. On the next day a 
 second fire broke out; and on February 24th the 
 agency house took fire both from the inside and the 
 outside in such a manner that it was evident that an 
 incendiary had been at work. 269 
 
 But such events were of unusual occurrence. A 
 letter written at Fort Snelling on February 11, 1842, 
 pictures the usual winter life. "We of the garrison 
 are as usual at this season rather dull, stale & un- 
 profitable — small parties for Tea are a good deal 
 the fashion, & tattle is used as formerly. Indian Ball 
 plays are coming in season. One comes off today in 
 which stacks of property are to be invested. The 
 Sioux have been hunting about Rum River this win- 
 ter and have killed great numbers of Dear — Our 
 winter has been mild, one day only 30 below zero, 
 and the rest comfortable. . . Tonight Mumford 
 gives a Soiree to the good folks of the garrison and 
 this is the most exciting event of the week. What is 
 the use of writing to you as I cannot find enough 
 wherewith to fill two pages." 27 ° 
 
 Such close confinement was tolerable when the 
 
102 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 garrison was composed of congenial spirits, but oc- 
 casionally it brought about dissensions and quarrels. 
 Taliaferro on one occasion wrote that the "Society 
 here is not in the most pleasant State from a System 
 of tatling which has been reduced to a Science — not 
 to be envied." 271 Occasionally open encounters 
 took place. One soldier stabbed another with a 
 butcher's knife, and the victim died. 272 In February, 
 1826, two officers of the garrison engaged in a duel. 273 
 Even those in authority were not free from partici- 
 pation in these ' ' affairs of honor ' '. A certain young 
 officer challenged Colonel Snelling, and upon his re- 
 fusing, his son, William Joseph Snelling, accepted 
 and was slightly wounded. When the officer was 
 court-martialed he accused one of the witnesses of 
 being an infidel. Whereupon the latter challenged 
 the officer in his turn, and a second duel was fought — 
 which was bloodless. 274 
 
 With such conditions prevailing during the win- 
 ter months it is no wonder that from day to day 
 spring was eagerly looked for. Undoubtedly it was 
 a happy occasion when the agent could record on the 
 evening of Sunday, March 27, 1831, that the weather 
 was "more pleasant — Wild geese seen this day — 
 gentlemen generally [illegible] out and Walking — 
 The Ladies also". 275 It meant a speedy return of 
 summer pleasures and summer visitors. For when, 
 even at a remote military post did these fail as three 
 sure signs of spring — pleasant weather, flocks of 
 geese, and ladies and gentlemen out walking together ? 
 
 They were very human, these men and women of 
 Old Fort Snelling. 
 
VII 
 THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 
 
 It was a humane but visionary plan which Rever- 
 end Jedidiah Morse in 1822 presented to the Secre- 
 tary of War as the correct method of procedure in 
 the task of civilizing the Indians. At various cen- 
 ters in the Indian country were to be established 
 "Education Families" — groups of honest, indus- 
 trious whites who were to have houses and farms, 
 where the natives could observe their activities. And 
 without any forcing it was expected that the red men, 
 seeing the superior advantages of civilization, would 
 be themselves gradually transformed. 276 
 
 To the north and east of Fort Snelling was the 
 home of the Chippewa or Ojibway Indians — ex- 
 tending from the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. To 
 the west, on the great prairies, the Dakota or Sioux 
 Indians lived and hunted. The veteran missionary, 
 S. W. Pond, estimated that the five bands of Sioux, 
 which most often came into direct touch with the gov- 
 ernment at Fort Snelling, numbered in 1834, seven 
 thousand, and wandered over southern Minnesota 
 and South Dakota, near the lakes of Big Stone and 
 Traverse. 277 Major Taliaferro reported in 1834 that 
 the number of Indians in his agency was 6721, and 
 that they extended as far as the Sheyenne fork of the 
 Red River. 278 To one man, the agent, was given the 
 
 103 
 
104 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 task of civilizing these thousands of Sioux. While 
 it was for this tribe that the agency at Fort Snelling 
 was established, yet the Chippewas often frequented 
 its headquarters. One hundred and seventy war- 
 riors of these northern Indians arrived at the 
 agents house on the evening of August 4, 1830. 27<) 
 The presence of these red men more than doubled 
 the work of the agent, because there was now the 
 difficulty of keeping peace between two warring- 
 tribes. 
 
 Indian life was not so worthless as sometimes pic- 
 tured. It is true that one could see laziness and 
 poverty during the months of January and Febru- 
 ary, if he came upon an Indian village pitched near 
 a wooded slope and above a frozen stream. There 
 could be seen the smoke curling from the dingy 
 tepee, the women dragging home wood for the ever- 
 diminishing pile outside the door, and a few of the 
 hardier men fishing through holes in the ice. About 
 the tepee the snow was banked, and within the air 
 was warm and heavy from the open fire and the long 
 pipes of the reclining braves, who gambled with their 
 neighbors at the game of ' ' the shot and the mitten ' \ 
 
 Thus through the two stormy months the Indians 
 frittered away the time, eating their corn and wild 
 rice seasoned with tallow. But when the first thaws 
 of spring caused the sap in the maple trees to run, 
 and when some of the more venturesome came back 
 from a winter visit to the trading house with the 
 word that the trader was waiting for skins in return 
 for the blankets and ammunition he had given them 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 105 
 
 the preceding fall, the village divided — part going 
 to the sugar bush, and part going to the prairie lakes 
 and swamps for muskrats. In May they returned 
 on the swollen streams with heavily freighted canoes 
 to their villages of bark houses. During the summer 
 there were many tasks — blue berries to be gathered 
 in the woods, canoes to be built, tepees to be re- 
 paired, turnips to be dug, and pipestone to be 
 brought from the far distant quarry. All through 
 the hot months the women toiled in the corn fields; 
 and when the corn was in the milk, all the village 
 children screamed and waved their arms to frighten 
 away the blackbirds. When the harvest had been 
 carefully placed in bark barrels and buried, part of 
 the village had already left to hunt the fox or gather 
 wild rice along the lakes and cranberries in the 
 marshes. 
 
 And now came October and the deer hunt. There 
 were only the extremely old people and the invalids 
 to wave good-bye as the procession set out over the 
 prairie — old men who could scarcely walk, bands of 
 shouting children, hunters already on the alert, wo- 
 men with their bundles, and horses and dogs drag- 
 ging on two poles the provisions and the skins of the 
 tepees. For more than two months the program 
 was the same : the march through the drifts and 
 across the icy rivers, the morning council about a 
 blazing fire before scattering over the prairie, and 
 the triumphal return of the successful hunter at 
 evening with the carcass of a bear, deer, or elk, 
 across his shoulders and his name shouted through 
 
106 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the camp by the children gathered to welcome him. 
 By January they were all back again at their vil- 
 lages. 280 
 
 It was this scheme of life which was to be gradu- 
 ally transformed. There were, of course, variations 
 when war parties crept against the Chippewas, when 
 drunken debaucheries resulted from a keg of whiskey 
 that had escaped the vigilant eyes of the soldiers, 
 and when migrations to the Canadian posts were 
 prompted by the hope that there they could obtain 
 enough supplies to support them without work and 
 that there they could enjoy some ceremony to break 
 the monotony of life. But these migrations were 
 few on the part of the Sioux: they could enjoy coun- 
 cils just as good near home. 
 
 On the occasion of a visit to Old Fort Snelling and 
 the agency near by, the authorities were careful to 
 see that there was a due amount of ceremony. Prob- 
 ably a whole band of Indians would come down from 
 the headwaters of the Minnesota River. Their 
 chiefs and braves gathered in the log Council Hall, 
 and there took place the scene so picturesquely des- 
 cribed by the eccentric traveller, J. C. Beltrami. 
 
 "The council-hall is, as it ought to be, a great 
 room built of trunks of trees. The flag of the United 
 States waves in the centre, surrounded by English 
 colours, and medals hung to the walls. They are 
 presented by the Indians to their Father, the agent, 
 as a proof that they abjure all cabal or alliance with 
 the English. Pipes, or calumets and other little In- 
 dian presents, offered by the various tribes as pled- 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 107 
 
 ges of their friendship, decorate the walls and give 
 a remarkable and characteristic air to the room. ,, 
 The dignitaries of the post are seated about a table 
 and the braves recline upon the ground during the 
 council. 
 
 ' i The seance opens with a speech of the chief, who 
 rises and addresses the agent. He generally begins 
 with the Great Spirit, or the sun, or the moon 'whose 
 purity is equalled by that of his own heart,' &c. &c. 
 always finishing with a petition for presents; — 
 ivhiskey is sure to find honourable mention : these are 
 what English lawyers call the common counts." 2 * 1 
 
 After the reply of the agent the peace pipe was 
 solemnly passed from one to another, and the coun- 
 cil ended with the distribution of presents. These 
 presents were of tobacco, gunpowder, vermilion, 
 pipes, kettles, blankets, snuff-boxes, armbands, look- 
 ing-glasses, horse bells, jews '-harps, ivory combs, 
 and shawls. 282 Not the least popular of these were 
 the jews'-harps, which had their uses — in spite of 
 the sarcastic invective delivered against them by 
 Senator Benton in 1822 when the abolition of the 
 Factory System was being considered. ' ' They were 
 innocent", observed the Senator, "and on that ac- 
 count precisely adapted to the purposes of the su- 
 perintendent, in reclaiming the savage from the 
 hunter state. The first state after that, in the road 
 to refined life, is the pastoral, and without music the 
 tawny-colored Corydons and the red-skinned Ama- 
 ryllises, ' recubans sub tegmine fagi, ' upon the banks 
 of the Missouri and Mississippi, could make no 
 
108 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 progress in the delightful business of love and senti- 
 ment. ' ' 283 
 
 These councils were frequent occurrences, and 
 their importance lies in the fact that through them 
 certain principles could be instilled into the minds 
 of the natives under the most favorable circum- 
 stances. The words spoken by the agent on these 
 occasions had probably as much effect in con- 
 trolling the Indians as a like number of bullets 
 would have had. Major Taliaferro has recorded 
 one of the orations which he delivered to his listen- 
 ing wards. He referred to the presence of the Great 
 Spirit, told of his long service among them, eulogized 
 their departed elders — "the old branches which 
 have fallen from the Trunk of the old oak of your 
 Nation" — and then inserted a few wise admonitions 
 as to the futility of their wars with the Chippewas. 
 
 "Your Great Father", he said, "has had much to 
 do with war — but his heart is changed for peace & 
 he wishes all his red children as well as his white 
 ones to follow his good example — he knows this 
 course to be best for all — we should endeavor to 
 please him — for by doing so we shall please the 
 Great Spirit also — You will see your children grow- 
 ing up around you and your wives smiling as you 
 approach from your days hunt. , ' 
 
 The speech ended with the announcement of the 
 coming of i i something good from below ' ' and an ap- 
 proaching visit to the village of the Bed Head. 284 
 
 During these meetings at the agency the sound of 
 the fort's cannon and the sight of the well-uniformed 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 109 
 
 guards impressed the Indians even more than did 
 the words of the agent. There they became ac- 
 quainted with white men other than, traders, and 
 when exploring and scientific expeditions came over 
 the plains with a guard of soldiers, they were wise 
 enough not to interfere. These visits in themselves 
 were pleasant, and the rations of bread and pork 
 offered an agreeable respite from their usual fare. 285 
 
 At the time of the treaty of Prairie du Chien in 
 1825 one ration consisted of one pound of bread or 
 one pint of corn and either one pound of beef or 
 three-quarters of a pound of pork. This may be 
 taken as a fair standard of the kind of rations issued 
 at the agency. 286 It was during the winter months 
 especially when starvation or suffering would other- 
 wise result that this aid was given to the Indians. 
 During the summer when other means of subsistence 
 were present, all appeals for food were refused. 287 
 This custom of granting rations was formally incor- 
 porated in the law of June 30, 1834, with the only 
 restriction that they were to be given only if "they 
 can be spared from the army provisions without in- 
 jury to the service". 288 
 
 The condition of the tribes was often appalling, 
 and many deaths would have occurred without this 
 aid. At one time Taliaferro wrote that "400 In- 
 dians encamped near the Agency — many from a dis- 
 tance and in a starving condition. ' ' 289 Often he had 
 to take from his own private funds, after he had 
 drawn all he could from the public stores. 290 The 
 winter of 1842-1843 was particularly severe. On the 
 
110 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 first of November the ground was covered with snow 
 which as late as April still lay from two to two and 
 a half feet deep. No hunting was possible because 
 of the drifts, and fishing through the ice was imprac- 
 ticable, the wind blowing the holes full of snow as 
 soon as they were cut. The Indians living about 
 Lac qui Parle, about two hundred miles up the Min- 
 nesota River, came with the missionary Dr. Thomas 
 Williamson to winter on {he site of old Camp Cold 
 Water, knowing that only from the fort could they 
 obtain relief. 
 
 Everything that was possible w T as done. Blankets, 
 guns, and ammunition to the value of $2500 were 
 granted the Indians. Indeed, so many provisions 
 were distributed that on April 3rd it was computed 
 that there was only enough left to supply the garri- 
 son until the opening of navigation. The officers 
 and soldiers saved all the remains from the tables 
 and once a day the squaws and children were allowed 
 to enter and receive these crumbs. The Indians who 
 were away from the post were not neglected. Sixty 
 bushels of corn and several barrels of pork were fur- 
 nished by Major Dearborn to Mr. H. H. Sibley who 
 sent them to destitute Indians on the Minnesota 
 River. Still there was much suffering, for not 
 enough food could be spared to satisfy all. Before 
 spring arrived many of the Indians lived upon a 
 syrup made of hickory chips and the boiled bark of 
 the bitter sweet. All became greatly emaciated and 
 some were unable to walk. 291 
 
 From time to time a solitarv Indian on a business 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 111 
 
 visit to the trader would drop in to chat with the 
 "Father". Here he could make any complaints 
 which he had to offer and he sure of a sympathetic 
 if not satisfactory answer. "I have had more than 
 fourteen hundred Indians on visits from all Sections 
 of this Agency during the Month past — and all with 
 Grieveances of Some Sort to redress", wrote Talia- 
 ferro on June 30, 1838. 292 In all matters concerning 
 lands, hunting, treaties, annuities, and the like, the 
 Indian looked only to the agent for advice or ex- 
 planation. Instigated by the traders, many of whom 
 were hostile to him, the Indians considered him re- 
 sponsible for the acts of the soldiers. 293 If a pro- 
 vision of a treaty was not carried out, the Indians 
 thought it was Taliaferro's fault "for they know 
 nothing of Congress or of their Multifarious and 
 protracted debates, and proceedings." 294 
 
 A personal present was due the visitor at these 
 * ' shake hands ' ' occasions. If he were a headman or 
 a brave he received a pound of powder, two pounds 
 of lead, a fish line, a knife, four fish hooks, and six 
 plugs of tobacco. If he were "any respectable In- 
 dividual" he was sure of a knife, four fish hooks, and 
 six plugs of tobacco. 295 These individual visits did 
 much to acquaint the natives personally with the 
 agent, in the same way that the council impressed 
 them with the agent's great power. 
 
 But even more appreciated was the help offered in 
 time of sickness. On December 25, 1830, Taliaferro 
 records in his diary: "I rode up the SPeters to 
 See an Indian .... Doctor Wood went up 
 
112 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 also — I dressed her wound — I Sent my Interpreter 
 up with other restoratives — she being delerious." 29G 
 On Saturday, June 28, 1834, there came to him a 
 brave saying that both his son and daughter were ill. 
 "Sent a message to Doct Jarvis to call & see the 
 girl." The Sioux boy died two days later. But 
 there the ministration did not end. To the mourn- 
 ers were given cotton and calico, or a blanket in 
 order that the body might be decently covered. 297 
 
 The dread scourge of smallpox raged in the 
 vicinity of Fort Snelling during the summer of 1832. 
 Two Indians coming from the Missouri River were 
 suffering from violent attacks. Immediately the dis- 
 ease spread. But Dr. Wood, the post's physician, 
 was called upon by Major Taliaferro and at the end 
 of five days three hundred and thirty Sioux had been 
 vaccinated. It is interesting to notice that in case 
 the Indians came to the agency Dr. Wood received 
 six dollars for every hundred he treated, but if he 
 went to their villages he received six dollars per 
 day. 298 
 
 Besides these services the visits to the fort offered 
 direct opportunity for the giving of tangible evi- 
 dence of American supremacy. The English gov- 
 ernment had lavishly distributed signs of authority. 
 During the first two years of his term of service, 
 Taliaferro collected no less than thirty-six medals of 
 George the Third, twenty-eight British flags, and 
 eighteen gorgets. 299 Some of these were presented 
 to the agent as direct evidence of submission to 
 American authority. In 1820 two employees of the 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 113 
 
 Missouri Fur Company were murdered on the Mis- 
 souri River. The surrender of the murderers was 
 demanded by Taliaferro, and while he was away the 
 tribe came to Fort Snelling with one of the culprits 
 and a hostage. Colonel Snelling, then acting as 
 agent, described the scene in a letter. 
 
 " These unfortunate wretches were delivered up 
 last evening with a great deal of ceremony, & I as- 
 sure you with affecting solemnity ; the guards being 
 first put under arms, they formed a procession in 
 the road beyond the bake house ; in front marched a 
 Sussitong bearing a British flag, next came the Mur- 
 derer & the devoted chief, their arms pinioned & 
 large splinters of wood thrust through them above 
 the elbows, intended as I understood to show us that 
 they did not fear pain & were not afraid to die. the 
 Murderer wore a large British medal suspended to 
 his neck & both of the prisoners bore offerings of 
 skins, &c. in their hands, last came the chiefs of the 
 Sussitongs, in this order they moved, the prisoners 
 singing their death song & the Sussitongs joining in 
 chorus until they arrived in front of the guard house 
 where a fire being previously prepared, the British 
 flag was burnt, and the medal worn by the murderer 
 given up. ' ' 30 ° 
 
 In return for these greatly coveted signs of re- 
 spect the agent delivered to the most prominent 
 chiefs the medals and certificates of the United 
 States. And thus by flattering the leaders control 
 over the Indians was assured. What chief was not 
 proud to carry with him this certificate, even if he 
 
114 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 could not read it himself? "The bearer The Whole 
 in the day is a respectable Man, and wears a Seccond 
 Size Monroe Medal Presented to him for his uniform 
 Good Conduct and great attachment to the United 
 States — His Residence is at Sandy Lake Law Talia- 
 ferro Indian Agent at St. Peters". 301 
 
 But the memory of the days of English rule was 
 still alive, the suggestion being made to the govern- 
 ment that "the gordgets would be More Acceptable 
 were they to be fashioned after those introduced 
 formerly by the British Government — with the dif- 
 ference only of the Eagle engraved upon each." 302 
 To counteract this feeling it was necessary that the 
 government should be lavish in the distribution of 
 presents. British influence and example, wrote 
 Taliaferro to Clark in 1831, were not yet "fairly 
 purged of their baneful effects ' , . 303 Even as late as 
 
 1834 a few extracts from the reports of Major Bliss 
 indicate that this feeling was still noticeable. "The 
 Sioux Indians expecting and favourable to an Eng- 
 lish war with the U. States", he wrote in April. 
 The next month he reported l ' Sioux and Chippewas 
 pacific but dissatisfied with U. States ' ', and in July 
 
 1835 he informed headquarters that "the Chippewas 
 & Sioux are dissatisfied & both exhibit symptoms of 
 hostility to the U. States & to each other. The 
 Sioux the most decided." 304 
 
 English visitors at a much later period congratu- 
 lated their government because the Indians, as they 
 said, still had a greater fondness for the British than 
 for the Americans. 305 Except, however, along the 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 115 
 
 border, among the tribes outside of the sphere of the 
 agent at Fort Snelling, this feeling manifested itself 
 only as a sentiment which could lead to trouble if a 
 break between the two nations should occur. 
 
 To emphasize the power of the Nation, the agent 
 brought to Washington in 1824, and again in 1837, 
 delegations of chiefs. 306 On these occasions they 
 were taken to the largest and busiest cities, enter- 
 tained in the most delightful manner, and shown the 
 most impressive sights. As crowds were always 
 drawn together to see the Indians, the latter received 
 a lasting opinion as to the numbers of the Amer- 
 icans. 307 Previously the Sioux bands had thought 
 that if ever they should unite their forces, they 
 would be able to win in a war against all the whites ; 
 but now they were disillusioned. 308 
 
 Undoubtedly the Indians were pleased with their 
 journey. " Since the treaty was signed", stated a 
 contemporary newspaper, "each of them has re- 
 ceived a coat, hat, blanket, leggins, epaulettes, bands, 
 and scarfs, and when dressed in full uniform, they 
 exhibit more lively pleasure than would have been 
 expected from the apathy of Indian character. ' ' 309 
 The magnificence which they had seen was described 
 amid the squalor of their home villages. "The ef- 
 fect produced by the visit of their chiefs to Wash- 
 ington is wonderful, since their return, the power, 
 wealth, and numbers of the American people have 
 been their constant themes, many of their stories 
 approach so near the marvellous as to be discredited, 
 such for example is the account of casting a cannon 
 
116 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 which they witnessed, and the magnitude of our 
 ships. Old black dog shakes his head & says 'all 
 travellers are liars \ ' ' 31 ° The memory of these trips 
 lingered long. Little Crow came to call upon the 
 agent in 1831. "The old chief left much delighted 
 with his reception and my Talk — he departed sing- 
 ing the song which was often repeated when on his 
 trip to Washington City in 1824." 311 
 
 The Indians touched by these relations with the 
 fort were not only its immediate neighbors. The 
 surrender of murderers from the tribes on the Mis- 
 souri has been noted. On March 11, 1831, Talia- 
 ferro wrote that "I observe Indians from the Mis- 
 souri & various sections of the Sioux country." 312 
 During the entire winter of 1831, a party of Missouri 
 River Indians encamped about Fort Snelling. 313 
 The Indians on the prairies were wide travellers. 
 "There are a good many Indians about here", says 
 a letter from Lac qui Parle. "There have arrived 
 120 lodges of Missouri at Lake Traverse and 200 
 lodges at James River." 314 By this continual 
 movement, the influence of Fort Snelling was en- 
 larged. 
 
 How great was this influence? No one has con- 
 tradicted the statement of Mr. Taliaferro that "it 
 is due the Sioux of your territory to record one fact 
 as to them, and that is, from the commencement of 
 our agency to its close, our frontier pioneers were 
 never even molested in their homes, nor did they 
 shed one drop of American blood". 315 It was when 
 this frontier encroached on their lands that hostilitv 
 
THE FORT AND INDIAN LIFE 117 
 
 broke out. If the Indians had been left in peace by 
 covetous land-seekers, their civilization might in 
 time have been accomplished. 
 
 There was practically no hostility manifested 
 against the garrison by the surrounding Indians. 
 In January, 1822, Colonel McNeil, who was in com- 
 mand at Fort Dearborn, received word from John 
 Kinzie, the pioneer Chicago trader, that the Sioux 
 and Fox Indians were planning an attack on Fort 
 Snelling. Lieutenant James Webb immediately vol- 
 unteered to bring the news to Fort Armstrong on 
 Eock Island, from whence it could be sent to the 
 upper post. After a journey rendered terrible by 
 the extreme cold and the danger from hostile In- 
 dians, he was successful in reaching Fort Arm- 
 strong. 316 
 
 In due time the letter was delivered to Colonel 
 Snelling. "When I first received Col McNeils let- 
 ter," he wrote later, "I was disposed to smile at the 
 absurdity of connecting the Sioux & Foxes, in a de- 
 sign to attack this post". But he later found out 
 that the Foxes had sent wampum and tobacco to the 
 bands of Wabasha and Little Crow, asking them not 
 to stand in the way of any movements they might 
 make. Wabasha accepted the wampum but Little 
 Crow came to the fort to make known the danger. 
 The vagueness of the rumors, however, made it im- 
 possible to act, and later developments showed that 
 there was no truth in the report — at least no vio- 
 lence was attempted. 317 
 
 Fear of the strength of the fort prevented hostil- 
 
118 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ities. It was the Indian fashion to attack by am- 
 bush. They did not have the patience to endure a 
 protracted siege. The Americans did not belittle 
 the strength of the military works. Little Thunder 
 and White Head, two Indians who had escaped from 
 the jail at Mackinac by cutting through the log walls, 
 met an American, George Johnson, at Lac du Flam- 
 beau. They were very inquisitive about the strength 
 of Fort Snelling and the number of Americans sta- 
 tioned there. Eegarding this incident the white man 
 wrote : "I answered saying, that the fort at River 
 St. Peters was as strong as Quebec, and more Amer- 
 icans there than in any other post." 318 
 
 The government did not adopt Dr. Morse's plan 
 for civilizing the Indians, but the agent tried to 
 carry out the policy therein suggested. The colony 
 at Eatonville, located on Lake Calhoun, and the In- 
 dian schools soon passed into the hands of the mis- 
 sionaries. After the making of treaties a black- 
 smith shop was added to the agency. In line with 
 his policy of providing for all classes of Indians, 
 Taliaferro urged the erection of an orphan asylum 
 where "all poor blind, and helpless women" would 
 also be accommodated. 319 
 
 If time had been given doubtless a new form of 
 Indian life would have arisen about the fort ; but the 
 coming of the land-seekers destroyed the plan. The 
 failure was to result in a great massacre in 1862. 
 This much at least can be said for Old Fort Snelling ; 
 it kept the Indians friendly while the foundations of 
 American life were being laid in the Northwest. 
 
VIII 
 THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FEUDS 
 
 One of the reasons given for the building of Fort 
 Snelling was that it would prevent the disastrous 
 wars existing between the Sioux and Chippewa In- 
 dians. 320 Beginning so far in the past that no cause 
 could be ascribed for the hostility, each encounter 
 was in itself both the result of preceding conflicts and 
 the excuse for further warfare. Pierre Esprit de 
 Radisson, who was the first writer to leave an 
 account of the Chippewas, said that even at the 
 time of his visit in about 1660 they were carrying 
 on "a cruell warre against the Nadoueseronoras 
 [Sioux]." 321 
 
 Lurking in the bushes to waylay their enemies on 
 the woodland paths, hiding on the river banks to 
 intercept hostile canoes, pretending peace and enjoy- 
 ing hospitality in order to have an opportunity for 
 treachery were the military tactics of the Sioux and 
 Chippewa warriors. To prevent such warfare, a 
 military post was almost powerless. In fact, so in- 
 sidious was the hostility that even the very grounds 
 of Fort Snelling were the scene of bloody encounters. 
 
 Attempts were made to keep the Chippewas away 
 from Fort Snelling by attaching them to the agency 
 of H. R. Schoolcraft at Sault Ste. Marie. 322 But the 
 
 119 
 
120 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 distance was so great and the route so difficult that 
 the Chippewas did not make the journey to consult 
 that agent. On the other hand, Fort Snelling was so 
 close, and the Mississippi such a natural outlet from 
 their country, that a trader declared that "you 
 might as well try to Stop the Water in the Missis- 
 sippi from going to St Louis, as attempt to keep the 
 Chippeway Indians from St Peters. ' ' 323 
 
 During the last days of the month of May, 1827, 
 Flat Mouth, chief of the Sandy Lake band of Chip- 
 pewa Indians was encamped near Fort Snelling. A 
 number of men, women, and children were with him, 
 bringing maple sugar, which they had gathered in 
 the northern woods during the winter, and other 
 articles to sell to the garrison. Major Taliaferro 
 was away at the time, but on May 24th the steamboat 
 "Pilot" landed him safely at Fort Snelling. To 
 welcome their "Father" home, and perchance to see 
 if he had any presents or promises for them, a large 
 number of Sioux came from their villages to the fort, 
 as was usual on such occasions. The agent took the 
 opportunity presented by the presence of both Sioux 
 and Chippewas to deliberate with them in regard to 
 peace, and also to request the Chippewas not to visit 
 Fort Snelling again, in accordance with instructions 
 which he had received from the Indian Department. 
 To this Flat Mouth replied sorrowfully: "I feel 
 myself now like a Dog driven away from your door 
 to find another — I am ashamed of this — but I know 
 you are doing this not by your wish. " 324 
 
 The twenty-eighth day of the month proved the 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 121 
 
 value of the advice Major Taliaferro had given. 
 Several Sioux came to visit at a Chippewa lodge 
 pitched directly under and in front of the agency 
 house on the flats that border the Minnesota River. 
 The guns of the fort could easily have been trained 
 upon the spot. There was feasting and friendly 
 revelry at the lodge that afternoon and evening. 
 Meat, corn, and sugar were served in wooden plat- 
 ters ; a dog was roasted and eaten. The peace pipe 
 was smoked, and the conversation was peaceful re- 
 garding exploits in the hunt and the chase. 
 
 At nine o'clock when the party broke up, as the 
 Chippewas were calling friendly good-byes to the 
 departing Sioux who had advanced a few steps, the 
 latter turned and fired into the midst of the unsus- 
 pecting inhabitants of the tepee. There was instant 
 confusion. With a shout of triumph the Sioux ran 
 off. The sentinel on the hill above heard the shots 
 and cries and called for the guard. In a few mo- 
 ments there was at the gate of the fort a crowd of 
 panic-stricken Chippewas carrying their wounded 
 and crying for protection. Six men, one woman, 
 and a girl about eight years old were handed over to 
 the surgeon of the post, Doctor McMahon. 
 
 Immediately Major Taliaferro notified the Sioux 
 that they had insulted the flag that waved over the 
 land, and that ample satisfaction must be made to 
 the Chippewas who had been treated in such a cow- 
 ardly manner. In council with the agent, Strong 
 Earth, a chief of the Chippewas, complained of the 
 lack of protection: "Father: You know that two 
 
122 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Summers ago we attended a Great Council at Prairie 
 du Chien, when by the advice of Our White Friends, 
 we made Peace with the Sioux — We were then told, 
 that the Americans would Guarantee our Safety 
 under their Flags — We have Come here under that 
 Assurance. But Father, look at Your Floor it is 
 stained with the blood of our people shed while un- 
 der Your Walls. If you are great and powerful why 
 do You not protect us? // Not, of what use are 
 Your Soldiers ?" 325 
 
 On the morning following the massacre a large 
 body of Sioux — estimated at about three hundred 
 and fifty — appeared on the prairie west of the fort. 
 Brevet Major Fowle was ordered to march against 
 them with two companies. Upon his appearance 
 they fled, but he followed and was successful in cap- 
 turing some of them. Nine Sioux — one of whom 
 Major Taliaferro reports was given up volun- 
 tarily — were delivered up to the Chippewas. Iden- 
 tifying two of these as being among the murderers, 
 they requested permission to execute them immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 Upon the broad prairie the two prisoners were 
 given their freedom. They were told to run, and 
 when a few paces away the Chippewa warriors fired, 
 and the Sioux fell dead. Then followed a hideous 
 scene which a spectator described many years later. 
 ' i The bodies, all warm and limp, are dragged to the 
 brow of the hill. Men who at the sight of blood, 
 become almost fiends, tear off the reeking scalps and 
 hand them to the chief, who hangs them around his 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 123 
 
 neck. Women and children with tomahawks and 
 knives cnt deep gashes in the poor dead bodies, and 
 scooping up the hot blood with their hands, eagerly 
 drink it; then, grown frantic, they dance, and yell, 
 and sing their horrid scalp songs, recounting deeds of 
 valor on the part of their brave men, and telling of! 
 the Sioux scalps, taken in different battles, until 
 tired and satiated at last with their horrid feast, 
 they leave the mutilated bodies — festering in the 
 sun." 326 At evening the bodies were thrown over 
 the cliff into the river below. 
 
 On the morning of the thirty-first the Sioux deliv- 
 ered up to the Chippewas two others who, they 
 claimed, had been the principal men in the affair. 
 If the Chippewas did not shoot them, they said, they 
 would do it themselves, as trouble had come to their 
 nation on their account. But the Chippewas were 
 willing. 
 
 About this second execution there has grown up 
 an interesting story. One of the offenders, Toopun- 
 kah Zeze, was a favorite among the children of the 
 fort. Tall and handsome and athletic and brave, he 
 was the ideal of Indian manhood. The other, called 
 the Split Upper Lip, was well known as a thief, and 
 was as much detested as his companion was re- 
 spected. He cried and begged for his life, saying 
 that his gun had missed fire — he had killed no one. 
 The other calmly distributed his clothes among his 
 friends, upbraiding his companion for his cowardice. 
 "You lie, dog. Coward, old woman, you know that 
 you lie. You know that you are as guilty as I am. 
 
124 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Hold your peace and die like a man — die like me." 
 The two were brought out upon the prairie. 
 Again the thirty yards were allowed ; again the Chip- 
 pewa guns were fired. For once it seemed that this 
 Indian punishment of "running the gantlet" would 
 lose a victim. For Toopunkah Zeze was still run- 
 ning. The bullet had cut the rope that bound him to 
 his falling companion. With new hope he leaped 
 forward. There was a shout of triumph from a 
 group of Sioux hidden in the bushes; and the chil- 
 dren of the fort, who had climbed upon the buildings 
 to view the bloody scene from afar, clapped their 
 hands. But the Chippewas were cool in their ven- 
 geance. Guns were reloaded and deliberate aim 
 taken. The flints struck, and Toopunkah Zeze, now 
 a hundred and fifty yards away and a second's dis- 
 tance from a place where the straggling groves of 
 the prairie offered life, fell dead. Two more bodies 
 were thrown over the precipice into the river. 327 
 
 For ten years the hostility continued, but the en- 
 virons of the fort were sacred places. An effective 
 lesson had been taught in 1827. But on August 2, 
 1838, Hole-in-the-Day, a Chippewa chief, and five of 
 his band came to Fort Snelling on a visit. That 
 spring there had been a treacherous massacre by 
 Hole-in-the-Day at a Sioux camp. It was true, as 
 he said in the poetic simplicity of Indian style: 
 "You See I cannot keep my face Clean — as fast as 
 it is Washed — I am Compelled to black it Again. — 
 but My heart towards you is the Same. — My 
 Fathers Bones Sleep by your house — My Daughter 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 125 
 
 at the Falls Near the Grave of my Uncle — My Wife 
 lies at the Mouth of Sauk River — and a few days 
 past I buried My Son." 328 
 
 On the following evening some Sioux of Mud Lake, 
 hearing of the presence of the Chippewas, rode over 
 to Baker 's trading house where the Chippewas were 
 encamped. Major Taliaferro had heard of the de- 
 parture of the war party and had hurried to the 
 scene. Just as he arrived the Sioux fired upon their 
 enemies, killing one outright and wounding another 
 in the knee. All but one of the Chippewas had laid 
 aside their guns, thinking that they were upon neu- 
 tral ground. This one, seeing a Sioux in the act of 
 scalping the fallen Chippewa, fired upon him and 
 wounded him mortally. But aided by the dusk the 
 wounded Sioux was able to run more than a mile be- 
 fore he fell from loss of blood. 
 
 The Chippewas were immediately brought into the 
 fort for protection. On the next day Major Plymp- 
 ton and the Indian agent called together the chiefs 
 of the neighboring villages. There was a long coun- 
 cil until Major Plympton broke it up by saying per- 
 emptorily: "It is unnecessary to talk much. I 
 have demanded the guilty — they must be brought.' ' 
 
 At half past five that evening the Sioux were 
 delivered up. Three brothers had been accused of 
 being guilty of the murder. One of them could not 
 be brought because he was dying of the wound re- 
 ceived the evening before. Much ceremony attended 
 the proceedings as the Indian mother led her sons to 
 the officers saying: "Of seven sons three only are 
 
126 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 left ; one of them is wounded, and soon will die, and 
 if the two now given up are shot, my all is gone. 
 I called on the head men to follow me to the Fort. I 
 started with the prisoners, singing their death song, 
 and have delivered them at the gate of the Fort. 
 Have mercy on them for their youth and folly. ' ' 329 
 
 Because of the attack which Hole-in-the-Day had 
 made on the Sioux a short time before, Major 
 Plympton decided not to execute the prisoners. 
 They were turned over to their own people to be 
 flogged in the presence of the officers. More humil- 
 iating than death was their punishment. Their 
 blankets, leggins, and breech-cloths were cut into 
 small pieces, and finally the braves whipped them 
 with long sticks while the women stood about cry- 
 ing. 330 
 
 Although there was now a deep desire for revenge 
 in each of the tribes, they manifested outward 
 friendliness when they met at the fort. During the 
 month of June, 1839, there came to Fort Snelling 
 over twelve hundred Chippewas thinking that there 
 they would be paid their annuities for the land they 
 had ceded in 1837. There were two main groups — 
 one which came down from the headwaters of the 
 Mississippi, and the other which came up the river 
 from the vicinity of the St. Croix. At the same time 
 Sioux numbering eight hundred and seventy were 
 encamped near the agency. This was considered an 
 opportune time to conclude a peace, and so the long 
 calumet with its mixture of tobacco and bark of the 
 willow tree was smoked while friendly athletic con- 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 127 
 
 tests were held on the prairie. On July 1st the two 
 parties of Chippewas started for home. But in one 
 of the bands were the two sons of the man who had 
 been murdered the year before. In the evening be- 
 fore beginning their homeward journey, they visited 
 the graveyard of the fort to cry over the grave of 
 their father. Here the thought of vengeance came 
 to them, and morning found them hidden in the 
 bushes near the trail that skirted the shore of Lake 
 Harriet. The Badger, a Sioux warrior, was the first 
 to pass that way as he went out in the early morning 
 to hunt pigeons. A moment later he was shot and 
 scalped. The murderers then hurried away and hid 
 behind the water at Minnehaha Falls. 
 
 A few hours later, when the news had spread 
 throughout all the Sioux villages, two bands set out 
 to take revenge upon the departing Chippewas. The 
 old men, the women, and the children remained at 
 home, eagerly awaiting the result of the coming 
 battle and cutting their arms and legs with their 
 knives in grief over the losses which they knew their 
 bands would have to undergo. 
 
 It happened that at that time the Eight Eeverend 
 Mathias Loras, the first Bishop of Dubuque, was at 
 Fort Snelling. He had been an interested spectator 
 at the Sioux-Chippewa peace parleys, had watched 
 the departure of the determined avengers, and now 
 was anxiously awaiting the result of the conflict. 
 On the morning of July 4th as he was praying at his 
 altar for the prosperity of his country he was 
 startled by the shrill notes of the Sioux death-song, 
 
128 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 and gazing through the window saw a bloody throng, 
 dancing about the long poles from which dangled 
 scalps with parts of the skulls still attached. Two 
 terrible struggles had taken place the day before. 
 On the Rum River seventy Chippewa scalps had 
 been taken, and on the banks of Lake St. Croix twen- 
 ty-five more were obtained. In both cases the losses 
 of the Sioux were smaller. These trophies were 
 brought to the villages, where they were danced 
 about nightly until the leaves began to fall in the 
 autumn, when they were buried. 331 
 
 These incidents which centered about Fort Snell- 
 ing have led to the charge made against it, that in- 
 stead of preventing the conflicts the fort intensified 
 them. The fort was a convenient meeting place, it 
 is argued, whither both parties resorted only to be- 
 come involved in altercations and disputes which 
 resulted in a flaring-up of old flames. 332 But it must 
 be remembered that the murders away from the fort 
 were more numerous ; 333 and it is easier to recall the 
 spectacular encounters which occurred at the fort, 
 than the many occasions when the two tribes met 
 peacefully as the guests of the officials. 
 
 A military officer who was stationed there wrote : 
 "At Fort Snelling I have seen the Sioux and Chip- 
 peways in friendly converse, and passing their pipes 
 in the most amicable manner when if they had met 
 away from the post each would have been striving 
 for the other's scalp." 334 The Indian agent, whose 
 success depended upon the continuation of peace, 
 noted with pleasure these friendly gatherings. 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 129 
 
 "The Crane and the Hole in the Day — and other 
 Chippeways at the Agency this day — Several Sissi- 
 ton Sioux also at the Agency. ' ' 335 These visits were 
 often protracted for several weeks without trouble. 
 1 ' Chippeways — a number of these people also at the 
 agency — some have been here for nearly 30 days — 
 fishing & liveing better & more independently than 
 the Sioux." 336 On the 29th and 30th of June, 1831, 
 Chippewas to the number of one hundred and fifty 
 met five villages of Sioux. 337 
 
 Efforts to combat the evil were made in council 
 with the Indians. i ' Your wars with the Chippeways 
 can never be of service to anyone", reasoned their 
 "Father", "for as fast as you destroy one — two or 
 three more young men are ready to take the track 
 of their deceased friends — The old people among 
 you ought to know this — after the long wars be- 
 tween you". 338 Most of the encounters took place 
 either when the warriors were emboldened by liquor, 
 or when the rival hunting parties met on the plains. 
 The strict enforcement of the law of 1832 prohibiting 
 the introduction of spirits had a tranquilizing effect 
 in the country of the Chippewas. Indeed, the prin- 
 cipal object of all efforts to suppress the liquor 
 traffic was the prevention of inter-tribal wars. 339 
 
 Constant watching of the hunting parties and ad- 
 monition as to their conduct were ajnong the duties 
 of the agent. "Sent my interpreter up the Missis- 
 sippi among the Indians", he writes, "to see how 
 they are progressing in their hunts and as to the 
 present hunting grounds of the Chippeways." 
 
130 OLD FORT SXELLING 
 
 Eight days later record is made of the fact that ' * the 
 Rum River Chippeways left for their camp this 
 morning — Sent word to their people to hunt on 
 their own Lands & not by any Means to intrude upon 
 the Soil of the Sioux." When the interpreter re- 
 turned he reported that everything was quiet be- 
 tween the two tribes. 340 The sending of " runners" 
 to the camps was a frequent occurrence during the 
 winter of 1831, the region covered being eighty miles 
 to the east and two hundred miles to the north. 341 
 
 In the treaty of Prairie du Chien of 1825 a divid- 
 ing line between the two tribes, beyond which neither 
 should pass, was agreed upon. 342 But this provision 
 was for many years a dead letter. As long as the 
 line was unsurveyed the natives could urge indef- 
 initeness of territory as an excuse for murder and 
 depredations — claiming that the other party was 
 the trespasser. When Schoolcraft met the chiefs of 
 the Chippewas in council at Leech Lake in 1832, the 
 latter complained that the provisions of the treaty 
 had not been carried out. ' ' The words of the Long- 
 knives have passed through our forests as a rushing 
 wind, but they have been words merely. They have 
 only shaken the trees, but have not stopped to break 
 them down, nor even to make the rough places 
 smooth. ' ' 343 As a result Mr. Schoolcraft urged upon 
 the Secretary of War the necessity of marking the 
 line. 344 
 
 Seven thousand dollars were appropriated by the 
 act of June 26, 1834, for the purpose of running this 
 line, 345 and the next spring Major J. L. Bean, accom- 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 131 
 
 panied by Duncan Campbell, the Sioux interpreter 
 of the agency, commenced the survey. 346 Later an 
 escort of troops from Fort Snelling was sent him 
 under the command of Lieutenant William Storer, 
 with the result that the reduced garrison was unable 
 to enforce order. 347 When the survey had been com- 
 pleted from the Chippewa River to Otter Tail Lake 
 the return of the military escort put an end to the 
 work, but the agent was of the opinion that the most 
 important part had been marked. 348 
 
 Efforts were made by the government to keep 
 down the warlike spirit of the tribes. Thus, when 
 Captain Gale allowed the Indians to come into the 
 fort and dance the scalp dance in June, 1830, his act 
 was disapproved of, and he had to stand trial. 349 
 Likewise peace conferences were fostered in order 
 to put the seal of the authority of the government 
 upon the transactions. During the winter of 1831 
 truces were made between several of the bands 
 through the efforts of Agent Taliaferro. 350 On 
 August 2, 1843, a great gathering of the two nations 
 was held at the fort, where a treaty of peace was 
 drawn up under the auspices of the civil and military 
 authorities. 351 During the first year it was kept in- 
 violate, "if we except two or three individual cases 
 of outrage." 352 
 
 Even as late as June, 1850, an assemblage of both 
 tribes was called together by Governor Ramsey. 
 The Chippewas were encamped north of the fort on 
 the bluff above the Mississippi. In front of them a 
 detachment of infantry was drawn up. Within the 
 
132 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 fort the artillery was in readiness. When word was 
 sent to the Sioux that all things were ready, they 
 approached, about three hundred strong, on horse- 
 back, all armed and painted, their whoops mingling 
 with the jingling of their arms, ornaments, and the 
 bells of their horses. Making a feint as if to rush 
 around the soldiers, they suddenly wheeled to one 
 side and became quiet; while the Chippewas on the 
 other side of the line of infantry continued to dance 
 and wave their weapons. It was amid such stirring 
 war-like scenes that attempts for peace were made. 353 
 
 The earliest policy of the government had been to 
 interfere as little as possible, and to allow retribu- 
 tion to be made by one tribe on another. But such 
 inactivity did not appeal to a red-blooded officer like 
 Colonel Snelling, who wrote after the trouble in 
 1827 : "I have no hesitation in Saying that the Mil- 
 itary on this frontier are useless for want of discre- 
 tionary power, and that if it is not intrusted to the 
 Commander, Men of Straw with Wooden Guns and 
 Swords will answer the purpose as well as a Regt 
 of Infantry." 354 
 
 But later the policy was adopted of confining in 
 the ' * Black Hole ' ' of the fort any culprits who were 
 captured. Thirteen of the Sioux who participated 
 in a massacre at Apple River were imprisoned ; 355 
 and on one occasion Little Crow's band performed 
 the scalp dance near Fort Snelling in commemora- 
 tion of the murder of two Chippewas, while the mur- 
 derers themselves languished in the fort. 356 Prob- 
 ably this method of dealing with the problem would 
 
THE SIOUX-CHIPPEWA FUEDS 133 
 
 have been adopted earlier; but "the force at this 
 point", wrote an officer, "has been too small to send 
 a sufficient force to take the offenders, even should 
 an order to that effect be issued." 357 
 
 To determine how influential Fort Snelling was in 
 maintaining order is impossible. As was the case 
 with the liquor traffic, conditions were bad but could 
 have been worse. From time to time there were 
 events that indicated some success. After a peace 
 had been concluded on the fourth of June, 1823, a 
 small quarrel almost precipitated a general conflict 
 on the sixth. Much to the chagrin of the Italian 
 traveller, J. C. Beltrami, who was then a guest at the 
 fort, the officers were successful in preventing blood- 
 shed. "Everything conspired against my poor 
 notes", he wrote, "I had already perched myself on 
 an eminence for the purpose of enriching them with 
 an Indian battle, and behold I have nothing to write 
 but this miserable article ! .... I almost sus- 
 pected that the savages were in a league with the 
 gentlemen of the fort to disappoint me." 358 
 
 Peace was maintained during the winter of 1831 
 on a line of three hundred and forty miles above and 
 below Fort Snelling, and on one occasion there oc- 
 curred the pleasant sight of Sioux and Chippewas 
 departing in company for their hunting grounds on 
 the Sauk Eiver. 359 Man-of-the-sky, who was chief 
 of the Lake Calhoun band of Sioux, boasted that 
 although he was only twenty-five years old at the 
 time, he had already killed six Chippewas when Fort 
 Snelling was erected, and added : "Had it not been 
 
134 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 for that I should have killed many more, or have 
 been myself killed ere this." 360 It is interesting to 
 note in connection with the sacredness of these 
 treaties the comment of Major Taliaferro that 
 "much more reliance is to be placed in the good faith 
 of the Chippeways than in that of the Sioux. ' ' 361 
 
 These spasmodic successes at least acquainted the 
 Indians with governmental restraint. A paragraph 
 from the manuscript diary of the agent refutes the 
 argument that Fort Snelling intensified rather than 
 alleviated these struggles. "From January 1833 up 
 to this day", wrote Taliaferro, "there has been no 
 difficulty between the Sioux and Chippeways — I 
 once kept these tribes at peace for two years and Six 
 Months lacking 15 days. And this between the years 
 1821 & 1825 till June 8th of the latter year. Colonel 
 Robert Dickson remarked to me that Such a thing 
 had never occurred before even when he headed the 
 tribes against Us in the War of 1812. " 362 
 
IX 
 
 THE FUR TRADE 
 
 The Indian trading-house which had been planned 
 for the agency at Fort Snelling never materialized. 
 Failure of the houses in operation to pay expenses 
 and the opposition of the private traders led to their 
 abolition in 1822. Thereafter, whatever attention 
 the government directed toward the trade was influ- 
 enced by the desire to prevent tampering with the 
 allegiance of the Indians on the part of foreigners 
 and to control this traffic which could contribute so 
 much good or so much evil to the lives of the govern- 
 ment J s wards. 363 
 
 With the Indian trade left to the private traders, 
 great trading companies developed, since the fur 
 trade easily lent itself to the corporation system. 
 Cooperation in the marketing of furs and in the buy- 
 ing of goods eliminated many of the difficulties which 
 a single individual would meet. The American Fur 
 Company, so long guided by John Jacob Astor, had 
 a practical monopoly of the trade during the time 
 that Old Fort Snelling was in existence. Mendota 
 was the headquarters of a vast region which ex- 
 tended from the Mississippi to the headwaters of 
 the streams flowing into the Missouri. At various 
 places throughout this territory were trading posts 
 
 185 
 
136 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 called "forts", although they consisted of no more 
 than a few huts within a stockade. These were all 
 subsidiary to the post at Mendota. 
 
 Goods for the Indian trade were much the same as 
 those given as presents by the government officials — 
 blankets, trinkets, tobacco, knives, and the like. 
 These goods were sent in great Mackinac boats from 
 the East to be distributed among the posts. Each 
 Indian hunter received on credit goods valued at 
 forty or fifty dollars in payment for which he 
 pledged the spoils of his winter's hunt. If the trad- 
 er did not go with his band, he visited them occasion- 
 ally or sent his engages to see that they were hunting 
 and that no other trader was tampering with them to 
 secure their furs. In the spring the Indian would 
 deliver furs valued at twice the amount of the goods 
 received. The trading company's profit was, ac- 
 cordingly, about one hundred per cent. To carry 
 out the details of the traffic there grew up within the 
 company a complicated system of factors, clerks, 
 voyageurs, and hivernants. 364 
 
 With the entire system of the fur trade the mili- 
 tary officials had little to do except in the matter of 
 regulation. Not much military protection was nec- 
 essary as the Indian looked upon the trader more as 
 a friend than an enemy. 305 Care in respect to the 
 character of the men engaged and supervision of the 
 method of carrying on trade were the two things nec- 
 essary. According to the act of March 30, 1802, 
 which was supplemented by the acts of April 29, 
 1816, and June 30, 1834, no one could carry on trade 
 
THE FUR TRADE 137 
 
 with the Indians without obtaining a license from an 
 Indian agent, which was subject to revocation by the 
 superintendent of the district. 366 
 
 Many were the problems which Major Taliaferro 
 was obliged to consider when he granted a license. 
 A license was valid for trade only at a certain place 
 and among a certain tribe. The trader must be an 
 American citizen. He was not allowed to carry with 
 him any insignia of a foreign power. An invoice of 
 his goods was presented to the agent, who had to 
 certify to its correctness. Liquor was prohibited, 
 and the trader was responsible for the conduct of all 
 the members of his party in this matter. To guar- 
 antee the fulfillment of all these requirements, bond 
 had to be given at the time of obtaining the per- 
 mit. 367 
 
 To examine all the applicants, to keep in touch 
 with them in the field, and to obtain the truth in re- 
 gard to their conduct was enough to keep both agent 
 and officers at Fort Snelling busy. In 1826 twenty- 
 five licenses were granted; in 1827, eleven; in 1830, 
 thirteen; and in 1831, fourteen. 868 The amount of 
 this trade was very large, as is indicated by the case 
 of Mr. Faribault who traded on the Cannon Eiver. 
 One year he marketed 50 buffalo-robes, 39,080 musk- 
 rats, 2050 pounds of deer skins, 125 pounds of bea- 
 ver, 130 martin, 1100 mink, 663 raccoons, 331 otter, 
 25 lynx, and 5 foxes. 869 
 
 There was a great deal of vagueness as to the ap- 
 plication of the trade laws — " a mist of uncertainty' ' 
 as Taliaferro called it. 370 Governor Cass of Mich- 
 
138 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 igan Territory allowed foreigners to enter into ex- 
 peditions as interpreters or boatmen, who upon 
 entering the wilderness took active charge of the 
 crew and all operations. 371 As far as Fort Snelling 
 was concerned there was little call for the ejection 
 of foreigners by force. In 1833 it was rumored that 
 a foreigner was trading on the Sheyenne River — a 
 tributary of the Red River. But with the despatch 
 of a company of troops and the rumor of their ap- 
 proach, the culprit immediately decamped. 372 
 
 The building of the fort was in itself enough to 
 impress British subjects with the firmness of the 
 United States government. Joseph Renville, Ken- 
 neth McKenzie, and William Laidlaw r , former em- 
 ployees of the English companies, in 1822 organized 
 the Columbia Fur Company, and obtained a license 
 from Major Taliaferro. In five years they had posts 
 from Green Bay to the Missouri River, with their 
 headquarters at Land's End, a short distance up the 
 Minnesota River from Fort Snelling. But in 1827 a 
 union with the American Fur Company was brought 
 about. 373 
 
 Traders licensed by the agent at Fort Snelling 
 covered the territory as far west as the Missouri 
 River. No post could be established without his ap- 
 proval ; and he even attempted to regulate the form 
 in which the establishment should be built. 374 On 
 the whole, cooperation between the factors of the fur 
 companies and the officials at the post was desired 
 by both parties. The most notable disagreement is 
 that which existed between Alexis Bailly, the chief 
 
THE FUR TRADE 139 
 
 factor at Mendota, and Major Taliaferro. This dis- 
 agreement continued until September 15, 1834, when 
 the agent reported that he had refused to allow 
 Bailly to hold further intercourse with the natives, 
 "not only in Consequence of his bad tongue, but on 
 account also of his frequent Violations of the inter- 
 course laws ' \ In this action he was seconded by the 
 authorities of the fur company, who sent Mr. H. H. 
 Sibley to fill Mr. Bailly 's place. 375 The pleasant rela- 
 tions which existed between Mr. Sibley and all the 
 government officials — civil and military — is one of 
 the charming chapters in the history of the fort. 376 
 
 Intimately connected with the fur trade was the 
 liquor traffic. Not that the traders were always re- 
 sponsible for the introduction of the tabooed com- 
 modity, but they were connected with it to such an 
 extent as to be always under suspicion. Nor was the 
 attitude of the government consistent. When Pike 
 ascended the Mississippi he spoke of the evil effects 
 of rum to the chiefs who ceded to the United States 
 the military reservation; but the explorer closed 
 with the words: "before my departure I will give 
 you some liquor to clear your throats." 377 Even 
 Taliaferro, foe that he was of liquor, knew its power. 
 When a neighboring chief and thirty of his men vis- 
 ited the agency, he recorded: "After council — 
 gave him 30 Rats Bread — 50 Rats Pork — 10 lbs 
 Tobacco — 3 gallons of whiskey — the last for good 
 Conduct towards the Chippeways. ' ' 378 
 
 Liquor was an important asset in carrying on the 
 fur trade. The object was to please the red man, 
 
140 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 not to stupefy him to such an extent that he could be 
 swindled. With the growth of the great companies 
 and the influx of numbers of private traders there 
 were many bidders for each Indian's furs. Com- 
 plaint was continual that the British traders about 
 the Lake of the Woods successfully offered whiskey 
 as an inducement to get the trade of the American 
 Indians. 379 Governor Cass, thinking it would be 
 worse to lose the trade than admit the liquor, allowed 
 its introduction, in "limited quantities", by those 
 engaged in business along the boundary. 380 But the 
 act of July 9, 1832, provided, that "no ardent spirits 
 shall be hereafter introduced, under any pretence, 
 into the Indian country. ' ' 3S1 This put an end to the 
 stock excuse. At the same time Americans suffered 
 to such an extent that Mr. Norman W. Kittson at 
 Pembina wanted permission to destroy all liquor and 
 punish all offenders, promising "that very little 
 would be introduced after a short time ' \ 382 So acute 
 was the difficulty that it became the subject of diplo- 
 matic correspondence with Great Britain ; but the 
 authorities of the Hudson's Bay Company retorted 
 that "spirits are even clandestinely introduced into 
 the Company's territories by citizens of the United 
 States." 383 ' 
 
 During the first years stringent measures were in 
 force at the mouth of the Minnesota River. At 
 Prairie du Chien, Taliaferro had seen the barrels 
 rolled out from the river vessels and they foretold to 
 him coming murders and depredations. His cooper- 
 ating friend, Colonel Snelling, graphically described 
 
THE FUR TRADE 141 
 
 its evil effects. " Herds of Indians", he said, "are 
 drawn together by the fascinations of whisky, and 
 they exhibit the most degraded picture of human 
 nature I ever witnessed. " 384 The drunken Indian 
 did not molest the trader ; his peaceful fellow-tribes- 
 man suffered more. "An Indian killed at Al [?] 
 Faribault's Trading house — whiskey was given the 
 Indian for his furs — by Mr. F. — The deceased then 
 invited one of his friends to drink with him — the 
 invitation was accepted — when this friend becoming 
 inflamed with the Liquor very inhospitably sunk his 
 Tomahawk into the head of his host — whiskey it is 
 said does no harm in the Trade by persons inter- 
 ested — but the foregoing is only one of the many 
 hundred fatal occurrences from its use in procuring 
 furs unlawfully. ' ' 385 
 
 In fact, the Indians were continually agitated. If 
 they received the spirits they naturally revelled. 
 When their supply was exhausted they raged and 
 fumed until they secured more. Sometimes the dis- 
 ease was more desirable than the cure. "I have 
 thus far seen but few of the Indians of this place and 
 I am in hopes of passing on North without much 
 trouble there has just arrived a fresh supply of 
 whiskey which will keep them busy for a few days 
 and by that time my carts will be almost out of their 
 reach. ' ' 386 
 
 The eagerness for liquor on the part of the Indians 
 made its introduction all the more easy. For it they 
 were willing to pay much : eight horses were at one 
 time exchanged for eight kegs of whiskey, 387 and the 
 
142 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 current rate at which it sold is indicated by the com- 
 plaint which a Chippewa chief poured into the ears 
 of the agent: "My Father — Is it right for our 
 traders to make us pay 200 Musk Rats, and 3 otters 
 for a 3 gallon keg of mixed whiskey f " 388 They 
 would undergo extreme physical suffering, lying out 
 in the rain and wading rivers and swamps, to bring 
 the precious liquid to their villages. 389 
 
 The officers were never successful in entirely ban- 
 ishing the prohibited article. Conditions depended 
 upon the eagerness of the military and civil agents, 
 on the number of soldiers stationed at the fort, and 
 on the wiliness of the culprits. On one occasion 
 liquor "was found secreted in barrels of corn, buried 
 on the beach and in other secret places, and de- 
 stroyed." 390 
 
 Major Taliaferro was not lax in enforcing the 
 laws. Every boat passing Fort Snelling was 
 searched, and no liquor was allowed to enter the 
 Indian country. 391 A few stray references seem to 
 indicate what was a usual occupation of the troops. 
 "The Sub Agent Mr. Grooms left with 10 men on his 
 2d expedition below Lake Pepin in quest of whiskey 
 Smuglers — as our Indians even entering the coun- 
 try with it from Prairie du Chiens- and the Traders 
 of the Am Fur Cpy are geting whiskey over the 
 country by land and water". 392 During May, 1827, 
 the agent called the attention of Colonel Josiah 
 Snelling to the fact that in Mr. Bailly's store at Men- 
 dota there was whiskey which had been introduced 
 into the Indian countrv contrarv to law. Accord- 
 
THE FUR TRADE 143 
 
 ingly a detachment of soldiers was sent under the 
 command of Lieutenant J. B. F. Rupel, who suc- 
 ceeded in finding two barrels which were taken away 
 and stored in the fort. 393 
 
 The year 1832 saw especial activity in the destruc- 
 tion of liquor. The boat of one trader passed up the 
 Mississippi during April, having on board eighteen 
 barrels of whiskey. 394 Later in the season the vig- 
 ilance of the officers had direct results. In July 
 eleven kegs of high wines, very strong in quality, and 
 in quantity amounting to one hundred and ten gal- 
 lons, were taken from the boat of Hazen Moores by 
 Captain J. Vail. The value of this liquor was $330. 
 In October of the same year, five kegs of high wines 
 and one keg of whiskey were found by Lieutenant 
 I. K. Greenough in the boat of Louis Provencalle. 
 These confiscated kegs were stored in the fort, and 
 an interesting side-light on their ultimate fate is 
 contained in the report of Major Taliaferro "I am 
 of opinion", he wrote, "from what I hear that the 
 High Wines, and Whiskey Seized by Lieuts Vail and 
 Greenough, and in Store here will soon be of little 
 account in Consequence of loss by leakage, and the 
 property Not in charge of any responsible person — 
 Other than its mere deposite in the public store.' ' 
 Whether any efforts were made to stop the leaks is 
 not mentioned. 395 
 
 These energetic movements caused "consternation 
 among those natives who have not yet joined the 
 temperance Societties". 396 But they also caused vio- 
 lent opposition from the men whose goods had been 
 
144 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 seized. These traders commenced a suit in the 
 courts at Prairie du Chien against the commanding 
 officer at Fort Snelling, arguing that while the law 
 prohibited the introduction of liquor into the Indian 
 country, this seizure had been made on the Missis- 
 sippi River — "a common highway open to all the 
 Citizens of the United States". 397 
 
 It is impossible to follow the course of the whiskey 
 traffic through its ups and downs. Numerous cases 
 are recorded where the soldiers "knocked in the 
 head" the whiskey barrels. 398 But it was probably 
 true, as the missionary S. R. Riggs wrote from Lac 
 qui Parle on June 15, 1847, to the Indian agent: 
 "The whiskey destroyed by the efforts of yourself 
 and the commanding officer at Fort Snelling forms 
 the glorious exception, and not the rule. ' ' 399 
 
 Under the regulations existing in 1830 the traders 
 were allowed to take with them into the Indian coun- 
 try one gallon per month for every person engaged 
 in the party. Under plea of this they brought in 
 high "wines which were later diluted with water and 
 distributed among the Indians. Of the amount 
 brought in, the employees actually saw only one- 
 third, and this they paid for at the rate of from eight 
 to sixteen dollars per gallon. 400 Accordingly, Major 
 Taliaferro issued a circular letter in which he stated 
 that high wines and whiskey would be allowed to be 
 brought in "in no case whatever' \ 401 Actions such 
 as these by the agent, who was still a young man, 
 brought about the remark which Mr. Aitkin, a trader 
 among the Chippewas, is reported to have made to 
 
THE FUR TRADE 145 
 
 some chiefs : ' i The Medals and Flags which you 
 received at St Peters are nothing more than pewter 
 and dish rags, and were given to you by a boy, and 
 with a boys paw. ' ' 402 
 
 Much of the good which should have resulted from 
 the activities of the officers was lost because the 
 Indian could not be punished. If liquor was found 
 in his possession and seized there was nothing to 
 prevent his going back and obtaining more, taking 
 the chance of being more successful in evading the 
 authorities the second time. 403 Accordingly preven- 
 tion as well as cure was tried, and Captain Eastman, 
 Mr. Sibley, and others sought, with some success, to 
 persuade the Indians to refuse to accept liquor. 404 
 Two years later the Indian agent, R. G. Murphy, 
 organized a temperance society among the Sioux, 
 who, an observer stated, were careful in living up to 
 the pledge when once taken; and added, "One such 
 man as Major Murphy does more real, practical 
 good than all the missionary societies of New York 
 and Boston." 405 
 
SOLDIERS OF THE CEOSS 
 
 Since the days of Father Marquette the Missis- 
 sippi Valley has owed much to the missionaries. 
 Parkman has recounted their sufferings and their 
 glorious achievements in discovery, in exploration, 
 and in inspiring others with their stories of the won- 
 derful West. But when the black-robed Jesuit 
 departed, and mass was no longer said in the log 
 chapels about the lakes and tributary streams, the 
 influence of Christianity still abided. There came a 
 new generation of soldiers of the cross who served 
 the great valley in a later stage of development as 
 unselfishly and as thoroughly as their predecessors 
 had done in the earlier days. 
 
 The Indian in the Northwest in 1830 was not unac- 
 quainted with or hostile to the whites; he did not 
 fall down in awe to worship one of a different color. 
 His grandfather had traded with the wandering 
 traveller who often lived a whole winter in the vil- 
 lage, and with his tribe had visited the great com- 
 mercial center at Mackinac. His father remembered 
 the day when the second class of strangers entered — 
 the uniformed soldiers led by Pike — and now the 
 sound of the big gun in the fort at the mouth of the 
 Minnesota was no longer a dread portent. 
 
 146 
 
SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS 147 
 
 But the missionary was a novelty. His purpose 
 was unknown. He did not ask for furs ; he did not 
 stealthily give them whiskey; he did not come to 
 summon them to councils at the agent 's house ; and 
 he did not ask for cessions of land. If they would 
 respect the white man's "medicine day" 406 and let 
 their boys and girls attend the school, if they would 
 listen patiently while he talked to them of things 
 they did not understand, this newcomer was content. 
 Out in the woods he cleared a patch of ground and 
 grew corn. If the red men wanted to help he was 
 very glad. When the winter storms came, and game 
 was scarce, and the small supply of corn that the 
 squaws had safely cached in the fall was eaten, then 
 the missionary helped them in their difficulty. He 
 often went with them on their hunts, shared all their 
 privations, and eased their pain if accident or sick- 
 ness befell them. As the activities of the mission 
 broadened and its personnel enlarged, the Indian 
 became more and more acquainted with whites who 
 lived on farms and tilled the soil. So when at last 
 the land was opened to settlement, the transition 
 from the missionary's establishment to that of the 
 American farmer was not sudden. 
 
 Much has been written of the degeneration which 
 came to the Indians about a fort through their asso- 
 ciation with the soldiers. That such degeneration 
 did result is true, but it came about in spite of the 
 efforts of the officers. On the other hand, distinct 
 steps were taken to improve the condition of the 
 neighboring tribes ; and although these efforts were 
 
148 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 soon transferred to the missionaries, yet these mis- 
 sionaries depended so much on support and encour- 
 agement from the soldiers that their enterprises may 
 be considered as part of the history of Fort Snelling. 
 The freedom from annoyance enjoyed by the mis- 
 sionaries living near the fort as compared with those 
 at a distance indicates the influence of the post. 407 
 
 Soon after Fort Snelling was established, Talia- 
 ferro attempted to persuade some Indians to under- 
 take farming in order to supplement .their hunting. 
 But they preferred leaving this work to the rather 
 desultory efforts of the squaws. One chief, how- 
 ever, remembered the advice during the next winter. 
 Far out on the plains that border on the Missouri 
 Eiver he and his party were overtaken by a blizzard. 
 Each one wrapped himself in his blanket and let the 
 snow drift about and over him. With a little dried 
 buffalo meat which they divided among them, they 
 kept alive until the storm was over. While lying 
 here, knowing not whether his companions were 
 dead or alive, expecting himself to be a victim of 
 either the cold or hunger or both, Chief Cloud Man 
 resolved that if he ever returned to the vicinity of 
 Fort Snelling he would not depend entirely upon the 
 hunt for his living, but would also engage in farming 
 under the direction of the Indian agent. This was 
 no mere death-bed conversion. Many of his com- 
 panions refused to follow him in the movement; 
 other chiefs openly opposed him; but in the spring 
 eight Indians settled upon the shores of Lake Cal- 
 houn to begin the life of agriculturists. This com- 
 
SOLDIERS OP THE CROSS 149 
 
 munity was named Eatonville in honor of Secretary 
 of War John H. Eaton. 408 
 
 On September 1, 1829, there arrived at the fort, 
 the Reverend Alvan Coe and the Reverend Jedediah 
 I. Stevens, two missionaries on a religious exploring 
 expedition to locate a site for an establishment. 
 They bore with them letters of introduction from 
 Joseph M. Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, who 
 commended them to Taliaferro's care with a con- 
 vincing array of scriptural quotations. 409 The agent 
 offered them the use of the buildings connected with 
 the grist mill and the saw mill at the Falls and his 
 own colony at Eatonville. After preaching a few 
 times to the garrison, the ministers left. It was not 
 until 1835 that Mr. Stevens located permanently near 
 the post. 410 
 
 Major Taliaferro was left alone to carry on the 
 difficult enterprise of civilizing the natives. In 1830 
 he wrote to the Secretary of War telling of the prog- 
 ress he had made and of his plans for a log village 
 in which the Indians could live, instead of in the 
 flimsy bark houses, and a log house for the protec- 
 tion of the Indians ' property. He begged for finan- 
 cial aid, saying that "Six or eight hundred dollars 
 would mature what has happily been begun, and this 
 sum from the Civilization fund would enable me to 
 progress with great efficiency, and without further 
 tax on the Government." 411 The need for his super- 
 vision was constant. From his diary can be seen 
 how continual was his interest in the experiment. 
 On April 18, 1831, he ordered the hoes and plows 
 
150 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 repaired, and on May 1 he went to the colony taking 
 the implements with him. Here he found "most of 
 them at work — Cuting down trees, Grubbing out the 
 roots &c — What was more encouraging some few of 
 the Men were at this unusual kind of labour for 
 them — they laughed when they saw Me — I praised 
 them, in every agreable way that could be conveyed 
 to them in their language.' ' Again on June 8th he 
 was pleased to see the Indians all at work hoeing 
 their corn and potatoes. 412 
 
 The success of the colony was gratifying. In 1833 
 they raised from eight hundred to a thousand 
 bushels of corn, and the population of the village 
 was one hundred and twenty-five. Only one death 
 had occurred in three years. 413 There was much to 
 contend with, however, since the traders were ' ' vio- 
 lently opposed to Indians commencing to seek a liv- 
 ing in this way. ' ' 414 One trader stated that it was a 
 loss to him of five hundred dollars whenever an In- 
 dian learned to read and write. 415 
 
 With all his duties it is no wonder that the agent 
 was anxious to receive the help of the missionaries, 
 and although he was himself * ' a Deacon in the l Old 
 School Presbyterian Church' ", 416 his basis for aid- 
 ing the red men, as he expressed it in a report, was 
 that he had "endeavored to impress all missionaries 
 with the true fact that Christianity must be preceded 
 by civilization among the wild tribes. I hazard 
 nothing in this, for an Indian must be taught all the 
 temporal benefits of this life first, before you ask 
 him to seek for eternal happiness ; teach him to wor- 
 
SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS 151 
 
 ship the true and living God through the self-evident 
 developments of his mother earth. In fine, let agri- 
 culture and the arts precede the preaching of the 
 gospel, after which, Christianity inculcate if prac- 
 ticable. " 417 
 
 The men who were to be Taliaferro 's first helpers 
 were living in the little village of Washington, Con- 
 necticut — two brothers, one twenty-three years old 
 and the other twenty-one. Here a great revival oc- 
 curred and among those whose lives were changed 
 were Samuel Pond and Gideon Pond. The next 
 year the older of the two went to the West and 
 drifted into the frontier town of Galena. Hearing 
 from a traveller from Red River of the Sioux about 
 Fort Snelling he decided to dedicate his life to up- 
 lifting them. Upon broaching the subject to his 
 brother the latter agreed, and on May 1, 1834, they 
 left Galena on the "Warrior". No missionary soci- 
 ety was supporting them; they had only a little 
 money ; they did not know a word of the i i Dakota ' ' 
 tongue ; they were uneducated for missionary work. 
 Living the roving life of the Indians as members of 
 the tribe, they hoped to be able to gradually influence 
 their lives and religion. 418 
 
 On May 6, 1834, the " Warrior' ' reached Fort 
 Snelling. At the agency house, Mr. Grooms, who was 
 the acting agent in the absence of Major Taliaferro, 
 rented them a room. Major Bliss, then in command 
 at the fort, immediately summoned them to appear 
 before him and explain their presence in the Indian 
 country without permission. 419 When he heard of 
 
152 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 their plans, they fitted immediately into a problem 
 that had been puzzling him. Big Thunder, chief of 
 the Kaposia village, wanted to raise more corn. But 
 by using the customary Indian method of hoeing up 
 the ground before planting, it was impossible to get 
 much land under cultivation. At Fort Snelling were 
 oxen and a plow, but there was no one to do the plow- 
 ing or teach the art to the Indians. Accordingly 
 Samuel Pond volunteered to take charge of the prop- 
 osition. 
 
 The plow was taken down the river in a canoe, 
 while the oxen were driven by land. But the war- 
 riors were reluctant about touching the plow until 
 Big Thunder, chief of the band, had seized the han- 
 dles himself. For a week Samuel Pond continued 
 the work. But the dogs had stolen the provisions he 
 had taken from the fort, and so he was obliged not 
 only to sleep in the Indian tepee, but also to live 
 upon the ordinary Indian fare. 420 
 
 This task of plowing had just been performed 
 when Major Taliaferro returned from the East. 
 The success of the work done by Big Thunder led 
 him to ask the Ponds to take charge of the Eaton- 
 ville colony. As this would give them an opportu- 
 nity of carrying out their plans, the brothers ac- 
 cepted. Their position is indicated by the following 
 entry in Taliaferro 's diary : "I am to furnish out of 
 my private funds — Hay for the Oxen — belonging to 
 the Indians, & these young men are to have Charge 
 of them for the Winter — They will plough some this 
 fall and again in the Spring for the Indians, & go on 
 
SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS 153 
 
 thereafter to instruct them in the arts & habits of 
 civilized life." 421 
 
 Cloud Man, chief of the Calhoun band of Indians, 
 chose a site near the lake, where a cabin was erected 
 which cost a shilling — for nails. The walls were of 
 tamarack logs from a neighboring grove; slabs ob- 
 tained at the mill at the Falls of St. Anthony fur- 
 nished a roof; and Major Taliaferro presented the 
 missionaries with a window. Major Bliss gave 
 them some potatoes, and Mrs. Bliss presented them 
 with a ham. Knowing the thievishness of the na- 
 tives, the Indian agent also added a padlock to the 
 newly-finished cabin. 422 
 
 Near the house about four acres of land were 
 cleared and fenced with logs. A quarter of a mile 
 distant was the Indian village of fourteen bark 
 lodges, each containing two or three families. This 
 village was surrounded by corn fields and was 
 reached through a narrow lane made by putting up 
 posts and tying poles to them with strips of bark. 423 
 According to Featherstonhaugh, who visited the 
 establishment a year later, thirty acres were under 
 cultivation and the yield of corn amounted to eight 
 hundred bushels. It is interesting to note that this 
 critical traveller found only one thing about Fort 
 Snelling to commend and that was the self-sacrifice 
 of the two Pond brothers. 424 
 
 They entered immediately into the life of the In- 
 dians. An extract from a letter written by one of 
 the brothers shows the wide variety of their duties. 
 "One Indian,' ' he said, "has been here to borrow my 
 
154 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 axe, another to have me help him split a stick; an- 
 other now interrupts me to borrow my hatchet; 
 another has been here after a trap which he left with 
 me ; another is now before my window at work with 
 his axe, while the women and children are screaming 
 to drive the black-birds from their corn. Again I 
 am interrupted by one who tells me that the Indians 
 are going to play ball near our house to-day. Hun- 
 dreds assemble on such occasions." 425 
 
 The work that was thus started soon expanded. 
 In the spring of 1835 Rev. Thomas Smith William- 
 son arrived at Fort Snelling with his wife, a child, 
 Miss Sarah Poage, and Alexander G. Huggins. At 
 about the same time Rev. Jedediah I. Stevens re- 
 turned to the post he had visited in 1829, and with 
 the help of the Pond brothers built a mission school 
 at Lake Harriet. Dr. Williamson went up the Min- 
 nesota River to Lac qui Parle, where another station 
 was established. On May 19, 1837, Rev. Alfred 
 Brunson came to Fort Snelling for a similar pur- 
 pose, and after consulting with the agent and the 
 commandant he chose the village of Kaposia for his 
 headquarters. But these mission stations and their 
 personnel were not permanent. The work of the 
 Ponds was soon amalgamated with that of Mr. Stev- 
 ens. In 1839 when the Sioux-Chippewa feuds were 
 at their height and the Indians were afraid to remain 
 at Lake Calhoun, Mr. Stevens tore down the little 
 cabin the Ponds had built and used the material for 
 breastworks and moved down the river to Wabasha \s 
 village — outside the influence of Fort Snelling. At 
 
SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS 155 
 
 the same time the Ponds moved nearer the fort, 
 where they remained until in 1842 they established 
 a mission at Oak Grove, eight miles up the Minnesota 
 River. This same war spirit and the hostility to the 
 missionaries who preached against it led to the aban- 
 donment of the Kaposia enterprise in 1841. In 1846, 
 however, Little Crow asked for a school, and Dr. 
 Williamson came from Lac qui Parle to take charge 
 of it. These missions remained in existence through- 
 out the period of Old Fort Snelling. 426 
 
 The activities of the missions took on two forms — 
 industrial and educational. By the treaty of 1837 a 
 farmer was provided for the Sioux about the fort. 
 This position was offered to Gideon Pond who in 
 1838 accepted. In return for his salary of six hun- 
 dred dollars he had to plow the cornfields, cut hay 
 for the cattle and feed them during the winter, and 
 build such shelters as the animals might need. As 
 he could not do all this work alone — and he wanted 
 it thoroughly done — much of his salary was spent 
 in hiring others to help him. His services were 
 offered in the same spirit of sacrifice which first 
 brought him to the region. 427 
 
 Blacksmiths were maintained at some of the vil- 
 lages. In 1849 Mr. Chatel, blacksmith for Good 
 Road's village, made among other things, 73 chains 
 to hang kettles on for cooking, 23 traps, 230 axes, 
 50 rat spears, 208 pairs of fish spears, 24 pairs of 
 stirrups, 63 crooked knives, and 199 hoes. During 
 the same year, Mr. Robertson, the farmer for Little 
 Crow's village, ploughed 75 acres of land, made 500 
 
156 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 yards of fence, put up 20 tons of hay, and hauled 
 corn for seventeen days. To be sure, Robertson and 
 Chatel were not missionaries, but they were part of 
 the movement for civilizing the Indians which was 
 fostered and encouraged by the officers of the fort. 428 
 
 In 1837 at Lake Harriet there was an Indian 
 boarding-school, where some half dozen half-breed 
 girls were learning to read, write, and sew. 429 The 
 Pond brothers had made the beginnings of an alpha- 
 bet of the Sioux language, and books and primers 
 for the use of the scholars were soon printed. 430 At 
 all the stations surrounding Fort Snelling schools 
 were maintained, but here as elsewhere "the chil- 
 dren in pleasant weather prefer playing to read- 
 ing". 431 Some progress was made, however, as is 
 indicated by the school reports. In 1851 at the 
 school maintained at Kaposia it is reported that 
 Daniel Renville, Gustavus A. Robertson, Rosalie 
 Renville, and Fat Duty Win can spell and read in 
 English in McGuffy's Eclectic Primer, and can spell 
 and read in the Sioux language in Wowape Me- 
 tawa. 4S2 
 
 The success of these pioneer efforts depended 
 much on the encouragement received at the begin- 
 ning; and by a coincidence this encouragement was 
 brought about the second summer that the Ponds 
 were in the vicinity. During the winter Major Gus- 
 tavus Loomis initiated ' * a red-hot revival among the 
 the soldiers ,, , and although many of the converts 
 backslid with the simultaneous appearance of spring 
 and whiskey, 433 yet there were so many that remained 
 
SOLDIERS OP THE CROSS 157 
 
 faithful that on June 11, 1835, when Dr. Williamson 
 arrived, a church was organized in one of the com- 
 pany rooms at Fort Snelling. This church was com- 
 posed of soldiers, missionaries, and fur traders and 
 was a basis of support in the difficult task of civiliz- 
 ing the Indians. 434 The officers protected and en- 
 couraged the workers under all circumstances, the 
 post doctor gave his services to them free, and once 
 a month Mr. Stevens preached at the fort. 435 
 
 In 1838 the church was strengthened by the ap- 
 pointment of a chaplain, Rev. Ezekiel Gear of Ga- 
 lena. But on December 11, 1838, as he was leaving 
 Fort Crawford in a sleigh, the horse started up 
 sooner than was expected and he was thrown out, 
 breaking his right thigh bone. He was kept at the 
 hospital at Fort Crawford for some months and did 
 not arrive at Fort Snelling until April 28, 1839. 436 
 As there was no room large enough to hold all the 
 soldiers, they were at first not compelled to attend 
 the services. In 1841, however, the chaplain re- 
 ported that all the soldiers attended regularly, but 
 answered feebly to the responses, although the chap- 
 lain believed they were attentive to what was said. 
 These movements, which were undertaken to elevate 
 the character of the soldiers, could not but have an 
 effect upon the success of the missionaries. 437 
 
 Under the protection of Fort Snelling efforts were 
 also made to do religious work among the fur trad- 
 ers. The inhabitants of Mendota were old voy- 
 ageurs and traders, French and half-breeds, and 
 most of them, having lived long without the minis- 
 trations of the church, remembered the faith of their 
 
158 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 childhood days in Canada. When in 1838 the Min- 
 nesota country west of the Mississippi was made a 
 part of the Territory of Iowa, the Diocese of Du- 
 buque was extended to correspond with the political 
 area. In the following summer Bishop Loras of Du- 
 buque visited the upper Mississippi and was enter- 
 tained at the fort and by the faithful Catholics at 
 Mendota. These amounted in number to one hun- 
 dred and eighty-five, fifty-six of whom were baptized, 
 eight were confirmed, and four couples were given 
 the nuptial benediction. The need for permanent 
 work was great. Plans were made to bring one or 
 two Sioux to Dubuque to pass the winter and teach 
 the language to some worker. In the spring of 1840 
 Rev. Lucian Galtier was sent up to be the pastor of 
 this flock. 438 
 
 It was often with despair that the missionaries 
 saw the Indians still clinging to their heathen rites, 
 and the few additions to the churches do not indicate 
 any great transformation of an Indian nation. But 
 if the lives of the natives were not elevated by their 
 contact with the whites it was not because they had 
 no opportunity. The forces which led to their de- 
 generation had the start of the civilizing forces, and 
 they also appealed more to the Indian's nature. At 
 the same time both romance and lustre is added to 
 the relations of Old Fort Snelling with the surround- 
 ing Indians by the story of the attempts of the men 
 who had a vision of what Indian life could be, and 
 who unselfishly tried to make that vision a reality, 
 encouraged and supported by the military men at 
 the fort. 
 
XI 
 THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 
 
 George Catlin, whose wanderings in the West had 
 acquainted him with the most beautiful and the most 
 accessible scenic spots of the country, urged upon 
 his readers the adoption of a trip to the Falls of St. 
 Anthony as the "Fashionable Tour". 439 Primitive 
 life and unspoiled landscapes could be seen from the 
 comfortable decks of the steamboat. The objective 
 point of these trips was the Falls of St. Anthony, but 
 it was at Fort Snelling that the passengers were 
 dropped. Only because of the necessity of bring- 
 ing supplies to the troops at the post did the steam- 
 boats make the journey. It is in the writings of 
 these visitors that there have been preserved many 
 pictures of life in and about Fort Snelling. More- 
 over, these visits from the outside world brought 
 pleasure and satisfaction to the smaller world about 
 the fort. 
 
 In the month of May, 1823, occurred an event 
 which was epochal, not only in regard to the com- 
 mercial development of the Northwest, but also in 
 respect to the growth of the upper Mississippi as a 
 Mecca for travellers. The steamboat ' ' Virginia ' \ 
 one hundred and twenty feet long with a twenty foot 
 beam, commanded by Captain Crawford, left St. 
 Louis with supplies for Fort Snelling; on the tenth 
 
 159 
 
160 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 of May it was received by the sojdiers at the fort 
 with a salute of cannon and by the assembled In- 
 dians with awe and consternation. 440 "I know not 
 what impression the first sight of the Phoenician 
 vessels might make on the inhabitants of the coasts 
 of Greece, " wrote one who was a passenger on that 
 eventful voyage, "or the Triremi of the Romans on 
 the natives of Iberia, Gaul, or Britain ; but I am sure 
 it could not be stronger than that which I saw on the 
 countenances of these savages at the arrival of our 
 steam-boat. ' ' 441 
 
 The man who wrote these words was J. C. Bel- 
 trami, an Italian refugee, who for political reasons 
 had fled from his native land. In 1823 he met Major 
 Taliaferro at Pittsburgh and requested permission 
 to accompany him to the Falls of St. Anthony. This 
 was granted, and in company with the Indian agent 
 he arrived at Fort Snelling on the first steamboat to 
 brave the current of the upper Mississippi. 442 Here 
 for almost two months he was entertained by the 
 officials at the post, visiting the Indian bands, attend- 
 ing their councils, writing letters to "My Dear 
 Countess", 443 and conversing with Mrs. Snelling who 
 alone could speak French with him. 444 He was on 
 the point of setting out overland for Council Bluffs 
 when another party arrived at the post. 
 
 In the list of the exploring expeditions which trav- 
 ersed the region about the head of Lake Superior, by 
 far the most important was the one led by Stephen 
 H. Long and conducted under the auspices of the 
 War Department. The permanent members of the 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 161 
 
 party were Major Long of the Topographical En- 
 gineers, Thomas Say, zoologist and antiquary, Wil- 
 liam H. Keating, mineralogist and geologist, Samuel 
 Seymour, landscape painter and designer, and James 
 E. Colhoun, astronomer and assistant topographer. 
 The start was made at Philadelphia on April 30, 
 1823, and the route led by way of Wheeling and Chi- 
 cago to Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. From 
 this point Major Long and Mr. Colhoun travelled 
 by land and the others by water, the two parties 
 arriving at the fort on July 2nd and July 3rd re- 
 spectively. After a few days wait the journey was 
 again resumed late on the afternoon of July 9th. 445 
 
 In the meantime much had been done. The orders 
 issued to Major Long had authorized him to call 
 upon the commanding officer at any post for men, 
 horses, camp equipage, provisions, boats, clothing, 
 medicines, and goods to the value of three hundred 
 dollars to be distributed among the Indians. 446 Bis- 
 cuits were baked in the ovens of the fort; Joseph 
 Renville was engaged as an interpreter; and the 
 detachment of troops which had accompanied them 
 from Prairie du Chien was exchanged for a new 
 guard, consisting of a sergeant, two corporals, and 
 eighteen soldiers under the command of Lieutenant 
 St. Clair Denny. 447 
 
 But these preparations did not prevent them from 
 enjoying the scenic views about Fort Snelling. On 
 the sixth of July a walk was taken to the Falls of 
 St. Anthony. An island in the river which divided 
 the falls into two parts tempted Mr. Say, Mr. Col- 
 
162 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 houn, and Mr. Keating to cross, the water being only- 
 two feet deep. But the ford was located only a few 
 feet above the ledge of the rock, and the slippery 
 footing rendered the exploit extremely dangerous. 
 When this had been safely accomplished, Mr. Say 
 and Mr. Colhoun crossed in the same way the eastern 
 half of the falls, while Mr. Keating with great dif- 
 ficulty returned to the western bank. Later when 
 the others were crossing the dangerous passage, they 
 were seen to be in great difficulties whereupon one of 
 the soldiers went out and aided them to the shore. 
 Only after they had been strengthened by a dinner, 
 prepared by the old sergeant who was in charge of 
 the government mills, were they able to return to the 
 fort. 448 
 
 The expedition went up the Minnesota Eiver to its 
 source, then down the Ked River to Lake Winnipeg 
 and returned to the East by way of the fur trader's 
 route along the international boundary and Lake 
 Superior. Fear of the Indians living about the 
 mouth of the Blue Earth River, one of whose number 
 had been arrested and sent to St. Louis for murder, 
 had suggested the necessity of the military escort. 
 But when the place was reached no trouble resulted, 
 as the Indians had gone on their summer hunt. Ac- 
 cordingly nine of the soldiers were sent back with 
 canoes — some of the supplies having been destroyed 
 by accidents. Those who remained had no easy task. 
 There were only nine horses, and these were reserved 
 for the officers and i i gentlemen ' ' of the company, so 
 that the privates were obliged to walk. 449 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 163 
 
 On August 9th when the party left Pembina be- 
 hind, their number had dwindled. Joseph Snelling, 
 son of Colonel Snelling, who had gone with them thus 
 far, returned by the same route with three soldiers. 
 J. C. Beltrami, who had been allowed to cast his lot 
 with theirs, and who had been equipped and supplied 
 by the Indian agent, who had presented him with the 
 " noble steed ' Cadmus ' ", 450 also left them. In com- 
 pany with two Chippewas and a bois-brule of Red 
 River, he set out for the southeast with the purpose 
 of there finding the source of the Mississippi. Upon 
 a small lake, which he named Lake Julia, he con- 
 ferred the honor of being the head of the great river, 
 while it seemed to him that the "shades of Marco 
 Polo, of Columbus, of Americus Vespucius, of the 
 Cabots, of Verazani, of the Zenos, and various 
 others, appeared present, and joyfully assisting at 
 this high and solemn ceremony". 451 After a journey 
 of great suffering he was welcomed at Fort Snell- 
 ing — wearing a hat made of the bark of a tree, and 
 clothes of skins. 452 
 
 Not until late in the fall did the connection of Fort 
 Snelling with this expedition cease, when the soldiers 
 who had accompanied the party as far as Sault Ste. 
 Marie returned to their post by the Fox- Wisconsin 
 route after a journey rendered exceedingly disagree- 
 able by the cold. 453 
 
 In the summer of 1835 George Catlin and his wife 
 spent several months at Fort Snelling. Mr. Catlin 
 was an artist who made a specialty of Indian scenes, 
 and his time was occupied in painting scenes of In- 
 
164 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 dian life and portraits of Indian chiefs. His studio 
 was a room in the officers ' quarters, and his models 
 were the natives who lingered about the agency. 
 
 Mr. Catlin was extremely desirous of painting 
 some pictures of Indian dances and ball-plays. In 
 order to persuade the Indians to do their part, 
 Lawrence Taliaferro told them on July 3rd that if 
 they would come the next day and entertain the vis- 
 itors, the great gun at the fort would be fired twenty- 
 one times for their amusement. As this was the 
 salute for the national holiday, he was safe in making 
 the prophecy. Accordingly, on the fourth of July 
 the prairie near the fort, for two hours, rang with 
 the excited shouts of the ball-players ; and when this 
 pastime was finished the " beggar 's-dance", the 
 "buffalo-dance", the "bear-dance", the "eagle- 
 dance", and the "dance-of-the-braves" furnished 
 entertainment for three hours more. 454 
 
 On the sixteenth of July General Robert Patterson 
 of Philadelphia with his sister and daughter arrived 
 on the steamboat "Warrior". For their amusement 
 the Indians staged the "dog-dance", using for their 
 victims two dogs which were presented to them by 
 the officers of the garrison. Accompanied by a sol- 
 dier G-eorge Catlin left for Prairie du Chien on July 
 27th. "About this lovely spot", he wrote, "I have 
 whiled away a few months with great pleasure, and 
 having visited all the curiosities, and all the different 
 villages of Indians in the vicinity, I close my note- 
 book and start in a few days for Prairie du Chien, 
 which is three hundred miles below this; where I 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 165 
 
 shall have new subjects for my brush and new themes 
 for my pen, when I may continue my epistles. ' ' 455 
 
 In the thirties began that series of geological sur- 
 veys which has continued ever since, under both the 
 national and State governments. In the fall of 1835 
 George William Featherstonhaugh and William 
 Williams Mather, geologists in the service of the 
 government, made a survey of the Minnesota Valley. 
 The detailed scientific report of the survey was pub- 
 lished by the government ; 456 while a popular de- 
 scription of the trip, written by Mr. Featherston- 
 haugh, appeared in London in 1847 entitled, "A 
 Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor". 
 
 From September 12th to September 15th on the 
 up-journey and from October 16th to October 22nd 
 on the return, the scientist was entertained at the 
 fort. The reception which he received did not im- 
 press him with its cordiality. "I could not but re- 
 flect upon the contrast betwixt the very kind atten- 
 tions I had received at the other American posts, and 
 the want of them I experienced here." 457 But the 
 feeling was mutual. The keen Indian agent char- 
 acterized him by saying: "He attempted to pass 
 current for that which he possessed not — superior 
 talent and modesty in his profession. ' ,458 Mr. 
 Featherstonhaugh was an Englishman in whose nar- 
 rative American institutions were not praised. 
 Even the presence of his American co-laborer, Mr. 
 Mather, is not suspected by reading the entertaining 
 story, for his name is not mentioned once. 
 
 It is difficult, therefore, to judge how accurate the 
 
166 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 account of his stay at Fort Snelling really is. The 
 room which was given to him for his use was ' * an old 
 dirty, ill-smelling, comfortless store-room", and 
 
 Major L (Loomis?) who was asked by the 
 
 commandant to provide accommodations for the 
 visitor bored him with his psalm-singing and ex- 
 hortations, being "a living rod in soak to tickle up 
 sluggish Christians ' \ But, probably unwittingly, 
 Featherstonhaugh admitted that Fort Snelling was 
 of some service to him." For the supplies and veg- 
 etables taken from the post gardens brought the 
 gunwale of the canoe to within four inches of the 
 water ! 459 
 
 Further exploration of the upper Mississippi was 
 made by Joseph N. Nicollet during the summer of 
 the next year. This French scientist was aided in 
 part by the War Department, and in part by the fur 
 traders, P. Chouteau, Jr., & Co., of St. Louis. 460 
 While at Fort Snelling he determined to visit the 
 sources of the great river, and in his enterprises he 
 was greatly assisted by Lawrence Taliaferro, H. H. 
 Sibley, and the officers at the fort. Some of the 
 soldiers wished to accompany him, but the absence 
 of many of the garrison at Prairie du Chien made 
 their presence at the post necessary. Some Chip- 
 pewa Indians, some half-breeds, and a Frenchman, 
 Desire Fronchet, were his only companions when the 
 ascent of the river was commenced. But at the first 
 stopping place, near the Falls of St. Anthony, a band 
 of thieving Sioux robbed him of many of his sup- 
 plies, and the attempt would have been given up had 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 167 
 
 not Major Taliaferro made good the loss from his 
 own means. 461 Nicollet visited Lake Itasca and in- 
 dicated its principal tributary, so that some' authors 
 have credited him with being the discoverer of the 
 true source of the Mississippi. 462 
 
 After the return from this perilous journey, the 
 winter was spent at Fort Snelling in working over 
 the notes and a map. For the kindness shown him 
 Mr. Nicollet expressed great appreciation, though 
 the rude hospitality of the frontier post could pro- 
 vide no supper better than wild rice, mush, and milk, 
 and no sleeping quarters better than the storehouse. 
 But here he was entertained, as the agent wrote, in 
 Virginia fashion where a call lasts six months and a 
 visit one year ; and the nights were made merry with 
 the music of the violin and piano, and with the ani- 
 mated conversation of Taliaferro and Nicollet. For 
 many hours on cold winter nights he studied through 
 his telescope the stars in the clear heavens. 463 
 
 Mr. Nicollet devoted two more seasons to examin- 
 ing the country between the Mississippi and Missouri 
 rivers in company with John C. Fremont. In 1838 
 a trip was made from Fort Snelling to the pipestone 
 quarry ; and in 1839 his party ascended the Missouri 
 Eiver to Fort Pierre, and then passed over the 
 prairies to the Mississippi. 464 The accounts of these 
 journeys were widely read, and coming from the pen 
 of such an able scientist and pleasing writer, the in- 
 terest of the country was turned to the rich possibil- 
 ities of this new Northwest. 465 
 
 In addition to these well-known travellers there 
 
168 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 was a host of people who made the trip as a vacation 
 jaunt. On June 1, 1836, the "Palmyra" arrived 
 with thirty passengers. The steamboat "Burling- 
 ton" tied up at Fort Snelling on June 13, 1838, hav- 
 ing among its many passengers Captain Frederick 
 Marry at, the popular English novelist. Only two 
 days later the " Brazil' ' was moored near the "Bur- 
 lington", the presence of two boats at the same time 
 being considered a novel sight. The family of Gov- 
 ernor Henry Dodge was on this second boat. 466 
 
 On June 26, 1838, the "Burlington" was again at 
 Fort Snelling. Among the tourists on this trip was 
 Mrs. Alexander Hamilton who had embarked at Ga- 
 lena where she had been visiting her son, W. S. 
 Hamilton, who was connected with lead mining en- 
 terprises in Wisconsin. The fact that Mrs. Hamil- 
 ton had been a belle in society during the time of 
 George Washington, and the general sympathy felt 
 for her ever since the tragic death of her husband in 
 1804, caused her to be received with more attention 
 than was usually bestowed on tourists. At nine 
 o'clock she was taken in a carriage to the Falls of 
 St. Anthony, and when she returned to the fort in 
 the afternoon the officers met her at the gate and led 
 her to a chair placed upon a carpet in the. center 
 of the parade ground. After the troops had been 
 reviewed she was entertained at the headquarters 
 of the fort until the "Burlington" left that same 
 evening. 467 
 
 The extent of this tourist traffic is well illustrated 
 in the newspapers of the time. Advertisements tell 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 169 
 
 of the interesting features to be seen on a trip to the 
 upper Mississippi, of the pleasures of steamboat 
 travel, and promise that "A first rate band of music 
 will be on board. ' ' 468 An editor paused long enough 
 in the exciting presidential "Log Cabin" campaign 
 of 1840 to remark that "Pleasure trips to these Falls 
 appear to be quite the go. Large parties of ladies 
 and gentlemen have passed up on the steamboats 
 Loyal Hanna and Malta. And we noticed in a late 
 St. Louis paper, the advertisements of the Valley 
 Forge, lone, Brazil and Monsoon, all for ' pleasure 
 excursions to St. Peters'. We see also in the same 
 paper, that the steamboat Fayette is advertised ' for 
 Harrison and Reform' — rather an extensive coun- 
 try we should think, at the present time. ' ' 469 Even 
 as far away as Louisville, Kentucky, steamboats 
 were chartered for trips to the upper waters of the 
 Mississippi River. 470 
 
 The pleasures of such a journey, the scenery en- 
 joyed, the people met, the events of the day spent at 
 Fort Snelling are well illustrated by two letters writ- 
 ten by the Right Reverend Jackson Kemper, who 
 was the missionary bishop of the Northwest of the 
 Episcopal Church. 471 In the month of August, 1843, 
 he was the guest of Captain Throckmorton on the 
 steamboat "General Brooke"; and he made the trip 
 to Fort Snelling to confer with Rev. JHzekiel Gear 
 who was the chaplain at the post. The first letter 
 was dated August 25, 1843, and was written to his 
 daughter. 
 
 "Here we are snug and almost dry on a sand bar 
 
170 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 and not more than 13 miles below St. Peters", he 
 wrote. " While the Captain and his men are using 
 all kinds of methods to get us off — the chief of which 
 is to put our freight into a large barge aside of us — 
 I will write you a few lines. It is now past 8 o'c. 
 P. M. We still hope to get to the fort before night 
 (mid-night I mean) Then the Captain says he will 
 give us an early breakfast tomorrow and send us off 
 to see the falls (5 Miles distant) and we must return 
 so as to start down the river by noon. This is too 
 bad in many respects ; but what can we do ? I have 
 not time to stay with Mr. Gear until the next boat 
 arrives ; that may not be for a week or two ; so I will 
 say to Mr. G. when I see him : Here I am, & I have 
 come not to see the falls but you, and I am at your 
 disposal as long as I am here. If you choose to take 
 me to the falls, it is well ; if you prefer that I should 
 remain in your house I am content. — It is still prob- 
 able that I shall be at Potosi next tuesday Morning. 
 To travel on Sunday, and particularly to do so with- 
 out an opportunity of preaching, will be very hard. 
 There will probably be only 4 passengers besides my- 
 self on the return. There was a little boat the other 
 [day?] a-head of us, and I hoped she might be de- 
 tained at the fort until Monday — but that prospect 
 has vanished, for she has just past u£ descending to 
 Galena. 
 
 "It is supposed to be 500 miles from St. Louis to 
 Prairie du Chien and 300 from there to St. Peters. 
 We stopt at Prairie du Chien for some hours and a 
 Judge Lockwood came on board who with his wife is 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 171 
 
 an Episcopalian. He told me there are several in 
 and about the town & he thought the prospect of 
 organizing a church a fair one if a Missionary could 
 be obtained (We are off the sand bar). From the 
 prairie our voyage has been delightful. At the dis- 
 tance of a mile or two from the river on each side 
 are ranges of lofty hills, in a great variety of shapes. 
 Many of them appeared as if the river had flowed for 
 ages near to their tops. Some of them looked as if 
 they had been cut in two ; and on the peaks of several 
 were large blocks of rock. As we were woodding I 
 spoke of going up to one of them but was told it was 
 dangerous on account of rattle-snakes. There is a 
 curious fact connected with that reptile. Cannon 
 river flows into the Mis 1 from the west — it is a long 
 & narrow stream — nine miles above Lake Pepin. 
 They are never found north of that stream, although 
 they abound below it. One of the hills we saw yes- 
 terday had 3 or 4 large blocks of rock upon it, called 
 the pot and kettles from their resemblance to those 
 useful utensils. The prairies were frequent & some 
 peculiarly attractive. On Wabasa's we saw a Sioux 
 village — and a farmer's establishment — he being 
 sent there by the U. S. to civilize the Indians. This 
 morning we passed another village called Red Wings 
 but saw very few of the inhabitants. The corn field 
 was very .... [illegible] and there were in it 
 elevated frames where the boys are kept to scare 
 away the blackbirds. I saw smoke near the frames, 
 the boys having kindled a fire to roast ears of corn 
 for their comfort. The Sioux have winter & summer 
 
172 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 houses. The latter are conical made of buffalo robes 
 covering poles. The summer lodges looked some- 
 thing like poor log huts & are made of poles & elm 
 bark. Near Red Wings village there is a Miss y 
 establishment from Switzerland. — Lake Pepin is a 
 beautiful sheet of water thro wh the M. flows or is an 
 expanse of the M. & is 25 miles by 3. It apparently 
 abounded in large fish, for they were constantly 
 jumping out of the water. Its banks you know are 
 celebrated for agates — but we have not time to stop 
 a moment. — The settlements above P. du Chien are 
 very few — now and then a solitary dwelling & a 
 wood yard. At one of these places the man told me 
 his nearest neighbor was 20 miles off. In winter 
 there is a good deal of travelling on the river in 
 sleighs. About half way up Lake Pepin is the lov- 
 er's rock of which you have heard, the Chippeway 
 river enters from the East just below the commence- 
 ment of the Lake, & its Mouth is 100 Miles below St. 
 Peters. Up it & like wise up the St. Croix are saw 
 mills, as that country abounds with Pine. The 
 Mouth of the St. Croix is 30 miles below St. Peters. 
 Here is a beautiful lake as large as L. Pepin thro' 
 which the St. C. flows just before it joins the M. — 
 We have a Mr. Akin on board whose trading estab- 
 lishment is 300 Miles north of the St. Peters & 60 
 west of Lake Superior. Then he has been among 
 the Chippeways 33 yrs. He has been thro' Lake 
 Superior 30 times to New York for goods & returned 
 as often; and now for the first time he has traded 
 with St. Louis. He knows perfectly all the Ian- 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 173 
 
 guages around him. The most copious is the Chip- 
 peway. He says they have some what of a written 
 language, and he has frequently seen an Indian write 
 off a ... . [illegible] for another on a piece 
 of bark. He thinks the characters are something 
 like those of the Mexicans. — Now I suppose you 
 would like to receive a letter with the S. Peter's post 
 Mark ; and if I ascertain it will not take more than 
 a Month on its journey you shall receive this thro 
 that channel ; otherwise I will reserve it for the p. o. 
 of P. du Chien". 472 
 
 The narrative is continued in a letter of August 
 29, 1843, written from Potosi, Wisconsin, to his son : 
 
 "Although you may not have a very high opinion 
 of the West, yet I think you would have liked to be 
 with me in my late trip to St. Peters. The weather 
 was delightful and the scenery grand and very novel. 
 You have probably seen my letter to your sister; I 
 will therefore say, we arrived at the end of our voy- 
 age last f riday night, and as the fog was very thick 
 the next morning we could not see where we were 
 until 8 oclock. Then the fort on a high hill, with its 
 flag flying, had a fine appearance. Mr. Gear the 
 chaplain soon called at the boat and appeared great- 
 ly rejoiced to see me. I accompanied him to his 
 quarters and saw his family and some of the officers 
 and ladies of the garrison, and then he and I rode 
 out 8 miles to the falls of St. Anthony. Though very 
 inferior to those of Niagara, they are still well worth 
 seeing. The scenery is wild — there are many im- 
 mense rocks in the river, evidently broken off from 
 
174 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the precipice over which the water is dashed with 
 considerable noise — the water in its fall is frequent- 
 ly broken — but even when it is not so, the height is 
 not more than 17|- feet. Returning we went to a hill 
 from whence we could see the whole of the fall for 
 there is an island in the middle of the river which 
 hides one half of it when you are near. A mile or 
 two further brought us to a most beautiful and lofty 
 cascade on Nine Mile river. The quantity of water 
 was not large, but it fell amidst the wildest scene, 
 unbroken, over a ledge of rock which extended far 
 beyond its foundation. — There were not many In- 
 dians. The few I saw were Sioux who looked much 
 degenerated by their contact with the Whites. The 
 families of the officers appeared very happy; the 
 ladies told me they were like sisters. For months 
 they have no visitors but wild Indians — Sioux or 
 Chippeways. An old Scotchman who had been in 
 this country 50 years told me that all the tribes to 
 the North and West speak the Chippeway language 
 or its dialects ; that the Sioux is entirely different 
 from it, but that a dialect of it is spoken by the Win- 
 nebagoes, with this difference that the Sioux lan- 
 guage has not the sound of the letter R in it while 
 almost every word of the Winnebago abounds with 
 Rs. He thinks that a person knowing the two lan- 
 guages — the C. and S. could travel through the in- 
 dian country from Mexico to the N. Pole and make 
 himself understood. — We had to return to the boat 
 by one oclock, and soon after we started down the 
 river. Near the Mouth of the St. Croix — about 45 
 
THE FASHIONABLE TOUR 175 
 
 miles below St. Peters, I saw on a prairie a large 
 stone painted a bright red, to which the Indians offer 
 sacrifices of tobacco &c. and consider a Wa-Kon or 
 Spirit. — As we were on our journey Sunday after- 
 noon I saw a bark canoe paddling towards us with 
 great rapidity containing as I first thought an Indian 
 and a white Man. The steamer was stopt, and soon 
 the chattels (kettle, coffee-pot, &c) then the men 
 afterwards the boat itself were on board. They 
 proved to be a miner who had gone from Galena and 
 a stout lad. Eight months ago a number of persons 
 were induced by offers of land from Government to 
 go to Lake Superior in search of copper ; and a large 
 party had lately been occupied in removing an im- 
 mense block of copper from the bed of a river which 
 empties into the Lake. This miner had been thus 
 occupied; and he informed me that the task was 
 done — that the block weighed three tons — that it 
 was to be taken to New York &c as an object of curi- 
 osity. A fortnight ago he had started from the 
 spot — skirted the Lake to a certain river, ascended 
 that to its source, then carried the canoe with its 
 contents 2 or 3 miles on their shoulders until they 
 met the head waters of the St. Croix, and descended 
 that river to the Mississippi." 473 
 
XII 
 
 THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 
 
 The relations of the United States government to 
 the Indians prior to 1871 shows a dual attitude. On 
 the one hand, the Indians were the government's 
 wards. By the ninth of the Articles of Confedera- 
 tion, Congress was given the right of " regulating 
 the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians 
 who were not members of any of the states" ; 474 and 
 by the act regulating Indian trade no cession of land 
 could be valid unless made by treaty or convention. 475 
 On the other hand, these treaties were negotiated 
 and proclaimed with all the pomp and ceremony 
 which would appeal to the Indian's mind and impress 
 him with his importance as a member of a sovereign 
 nation. This was distinctly a ' ' legal fiction ' ', but it 
 continued as the customary method of procedure 
 until the act of March 3, 1871, abolished the practice 
 of considering the tribes as independent nations. 470 
 
 As the nation increased in strength and the agri- 
 cultural and commercial forces of the country were 
 pushing westward and coming into contact with the 
 distant tribes, the treaties increased in number and 
 importance. Urged by the cries of hungry land- 
 seekers the cession of land by the natives gradually 
 became the most important phase of all treaties ; and 
 
 176 
 
THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 177 
 
 in order that the new settlements might be protected 
 from vengeful Indians the title to the land rested on 
 legal cession rather than on conquest. It is stated 
 on the authority of the Commissioner of Indian Af- 
 fairs that 1 1 Except only in the case of the Sioux In- 
 dians in Minnesota, after the outbreak of 1862, the 
 Government has never extinguished an Indian title 
 as by right of conquest ; and in this case the Indians 
 were provided with another reservation, and subse- 
 quently were paid the net proceeds arising from the 
 sale of the land vacated. ' ' 477 
 
 The negotiation of a treaty was not an easy affair. 
 There were no recognized representatives of the 
 tribe. In order that a treaty might be satisfactory 
 it was necessary that all factions be consulted ; and 
 the braves who gathered often numbered into the 
 hundreds. Thus, in planning the negotiations a 
 satisfactory place and an opportune time must be 
 selected, while the red men must be supported while 
 away from home and protected from lurking en- 
 emies. It was in these phases of treaty-making that 
 the military posts showed their importance. 
 
 The first important treaty with which the tribes 
 living about Fort Snelling were concerned was that 
 made at Prairie du Chien in 1825. The little fron- 
 tier village presented a gala appearance during the 
 month of August when the great convocation was 
 held. There were Chippewas, Sioux, Sacs and 
 Foxes, Menomonies, Iowas, Winnebagoes, and a por- 
 tion of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Pottawattomie 
 tribes living on the Illinois River gathered to consult 
 
178 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 with Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan and General 
 William Clark, the government's commissioners. 
 Of the 1054 drawing rations on the last day, 386 were 
 of the delegation of Sioux and Chippewas gathered 
 by Major Taliaferro at Fort Snelling and brought 
 down in safety to make a triumphal entry in true 
 Indian style with flags flying, drums beating, and 
 guns firing. 478 
 
 Although there was no cession of land, distinct 
 progress was made in that the territories of the vari- 
 ous tribes were defined, thus making negotiations 
 easier for the future. Of especial importance was 
 the Sioux- Chippewa boundary line, which made clear 
 the territory of each tribe, so that when the year 
 1837 arrived and treaties were made to obtain the 
 lands east of the Mississippi, the areas with which 
 each was concerned were clearly understood. 479 
 
 By the year 1837 many conditions called for the 
 cession of these lands. The forests, the water- 
 power, the mines of lead and other ores aroused the 
 desires of speculators. Settlers were thronging to 
 Wisconsin, and it was felt that if the land could be 
 purchased and the Indians removed, the people 
 would be safe from any attacks, and the Indians 
 would be removed from the contaminating influence 
 of many of the undesirable whites. 480 There were 
 also the traders who for years past had given credit 
 to many worthless Indians who had never brought 
 back from the hunt furs sufficient to pay for the 
 goods advanced them; and they hoped that in the 
 
THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 179 
 
 payment for the lands certain sums would be re- 
 served for the liquidation of these debts. 481 
 
 In the early summer of 1837 Major Taliaferro was 
 ordered to organize a delegation of Sioux Indians 
 who could be taken to Washington, where the Sioux 
 negotiations would take place. At the same time 
 orders were issued to summon the Chippewas of the 
 upper Mississippi to a council to be held at Fort 
 Snelling. To both of these groups the subject of the 
 purchase of the Indian lands east of the Mississippi 
 would be broached. 482 
 
 Miles Vineyard, who was the sub-agent at Fort 
 Snelling, was immediately sent to the villages of the 
 Chippewas. Early in July the red men began to 
 arrive, and by July 20th about a thousand men, wo- 
 men, and children had pitched their tepees near the 
 fort. Many were the notable chiefs gathered there 
 with their warriors. With the Pillager band from 
 Leech Lake was Chief Flat Mouth, who had twenty- 
 five times been on the warpath without receiving a 
 wound, who had delivered his English medal to Pike 
 in 1806, and whose band had been attacked by the 
 Sioux under the walls of Fort Snelling in 1827. The 
 most famous of the Chippewa chiefs, he was still liv- 
 ing in 1852, being then seventy-eight years old. 483 
 
 The chief of the bands from Gull Lake and Swan 
 River was Hole-in-the-Day. Energetic, brave, and 
 intelligent, he gained a great influence over the Chip- 
 pewas of the upper Mississippi. His name, which 
 literally meant a bright spot in the sky, is often writ- 
 
180 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ten Hole-in-the-Sky. He was a frequent visitor at 
 Fort Snelling and came to his death at that place in 
 1847 when he fell from a wagon, breaking his neck 
 and dying instantly. 484 His brother Strong Ground 
 or Strong Earth was also present at the council. He 
 had been a member of Flat Mouth's band at the time 
 of the massacre in 1827. Thirty-six eagle plumes 
 waved from his head-dress at the time of his death, 
 each of them representing the scalp of an enemy. 
 The first of these he obtained when as a small boy 
 he dashed into the ranks of the Sioux during a con- 
 flict and scalped a fallen warrior. 485 Chiefs and 
 warriors from the St. Croix Eiver, Mille Lac, and 
 Sandy Lake, with their followers, were also en- 
 camped near the fort. 
 
 There were also notables among the white men 
 gathered there. The United States commissioner 
 was Henry Dodge, known as an Indian fighter, and 
 at that time Governor of Wisconsin Territory. Gen- 
 eral William R. Smith of Pennsylvania, who had 
 been appointed by the President to serve as a com- 
 missioner with Governor Dodge, was unable to come. 
 Lawrence Taliaferro, the Indian agent, was busied 
 with many duties connected with the safety of the 
 visitors. Four hundred Sioux hovered about, and 
 these had to be kept at a safe distance to avoid con- 
 flicts. Verplanck Van Antwerp, the secretary of 
 the commission; J. N. Nicollet, the explorer; H. H. 
 Sibley; and many other fur traders watched the 
 negotiations and put their names to the treaty as 
 witnesses. 486 
 
THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 181 
 
 The council began on July 20th. It was with the 
 chiefs that Governor Dodge parleyed, but the war- 
 riors and braves felt that they also should have some 
 part in the proceedings. On one occasion several 
 hundred of them, streaked with their brightest paint, 
 waving their tomahawks and spears and carrying 
 the war flag of the Chippewas, together with the flag 
 of the United States, interrupted the council with 
 their whoops and drums; and when they had ap- 
 proached the chair of the Governor, paused while 
 two of the warriors harangued the crowd on the 
 kindness of the traders and the debts owed them. 487 
 
 The negotiations were carried on in a bower near 
 the house of the agent. The chiefs were assembled 
 daily ; the peace pipe was smoked ; and the red men, 
 dressed only in leggings and breech cloths, with their 
 long hair hanging over their shoulders under the 
 eagle feathers upon their heads, and medals dangling 
 from their necks, spoke of lands, of the traders, and 
 of wars. The speeches of the Indians seemed inter- 
 minable. From day to day action was postponed as 
 they were waiting for other bands to arrive. 
 
 To prolong the council as long as possible was 
 satisfying to the appetite of the Indian. The rations 
 issued by the commissary at Fort Snelling were not 
 to be eagerly exchanged for the fare of a Chippewa 
 lodge in the northern woods. But at first the menu 
 was not satisfactory. Nadin (the Wind) complained 
 on July 24th: "You have everything around you, 
 and can give us some of the cattle that are around us 
 on the prairie. At the treaty of Prairie du Chien, 
 
182 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the case was as difficult as this. The great Chief 
 then fed us well with cattle." 488 Evidently this hint 
 was acted upon, as the old records show that by July 
 30th ten beeves weighing 6123 pounds had been fur- 
 nished the Chippewas who were assembled to the 
 number of 1400. 489 The amount of supplies used on 
 such an occasion is indicated by instructions given to 
 Alexander Ramsey and John Chambers who in 1849 
 were commissioned to treat with the Sioux Indians 
 at Fort Snelling. They were authorized to obtain 
 from the commissary at Fort Snelling 15,000 rations 
 of flour, 10,000 of pork, 10,000 of salt, 10,000 of beans, 
 and 5000 of soap. 490 
 
 At the first meeting Governor Dodge spoke to the 
 Chippewas of the purpose of the council. Their 
 lands east of the Mississippi, he informed them, were 
 not valuable in game and were not suited for agri- 
 cultural purposes. They were said to be covered 
 with pine trees, which the white men were eager to 
 obtain, and accordingly the government was willing 
 to pay the Chippewa nation for them. Thus, by sell- 
 ing the land they could obtain money for that which 
 actually was of little value to them. 491 
 
 There evidently was no intention on the part of the 
 Indians not to sell the lands, but the council was pro- 
 tracted, pending the arrival of other bands. Not 
 until July 27th did they make any movement to close 
 the deal. On that day, Ma-ghe-ga-bo, a warrior of 
 the Pillager band, dressed in his most fantastic cos- 
 tume, covered a map of the land in question with a 
 piece of paper, remarking that when the paper was 
 
THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 183 
 
 removed the land would be considered sold. He 
 added a final request: "My father, in all the coun- 
 try we sell you, we wish to hold on to that which 
 gives us life — the streams and lakes where we fish, 
 and the trees from which we make sugar." 
 
 Finally he asked all the chiefs who agreed to sell 
 the land to rise. About thirty arose at his word. 
 Immediately Ma-ghe-ga-bo raised the paper from the 
 map and seized the hand of Governor Dodge. The 
 sale was made. There remained only to agree upon 
 the terms of the cession. 492 
 
 During the negotiations, reference had been made 
 continually by the Indians to the traders and the 
 payment of the debts owed them. Pe-she-ke said: 
 "I have been supported by the trader, and without 
 his aid, could not get through the winter with naked 
 skin. The grounds where your children have to 
 hunt are as bare as that on which I now stand, and 
 have no game upon them. . . . We have not 
 much to give the traders, as our lands and hunting 
 grounds are so destitute. Do us a kindness by pay- 
 ing our old debts." That he was coached to make 
 the remark is evident from his statement that "No- 
 body — no trader has instructed me what to say to 
 you." 403 
 
 On July 29th the terms were finally agreed upon, 
 and while the secretary was writing out the treaty 
 the braves of the Chippewas held a dance under the 
 walls of Fort Snelling. This indicated not only 
 their satisfaction at the successful conclusion of the 
 council, but was also intended as a compliment to 
 
184 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 the commissioner. Three hundred warriors circled 
 about in their gaudy costumes, recounting during 
 the pauses of the dance the deeds of bravery they 
 had done and the number of Sioux scalps they had 
 obtained. At a distance a great number of Sioux 
 looked upon the scene, not daring to interfere when 
 the troops of the fort were so near. 494 
 
 By this treaty the Chippewas ceded an immense 
 tract of land east of the Mississippi. In return the 
 United States agreed to pay annually for twenty 
 years $9500 in money, $19,000 in goods, $3000 for 
 blacksmiths, $1000 for farmers, $2000 in provisions, 
 and $500 in tobacco. One hundred thousand dollars 
 was to be paid to the half-breeds, and $70,000 was 
 set aside to pay the claims of the fur traders. The 
 privilege of hunting, fishing, and gathering wild rice 
 along the lakes and rivers of the ceded territory was 
 reserved for the Indians. 495 
 
 This cession of land by the Chippewas had its 
 counterpart in a treaty concluded by Sioux chiefs on 
 September 29, 1837, in Washington, whither they 
 had been taken by Major Taliaferro. All their lands 
 east of the Mississippi — the land between the Black 
 River and the Mississippi River as far north as the 
 Sioux- Chippewa boundary line was given up for 
 various considerations amounting in total to almost 
 one million dollars. 496 
 
 By these two treaties all the lands east of Fort 
 Snelling were opened to settlement and commercial 
 exploitation. As soon as the news of their ratifica- 
 tion came, developments immediately began — de- 
 
THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837 185 
 
 velopments which had an important bearing upon 
 the future history of Old Fort Snelling. The days 
 when the Chippewa treaty was being drawn up are 
 important, not only because they present an interest- 
 ing sight of the picturesque features of an Indian 
 council, but also because they show how Fort Snell- 
 ing was assisting in the opening up of the rich timber 
 lands and fertile prairies that border the Mississippi 
 River. 
 
 For many years the payment of annuities that had 
 been promised the Sioux was an annual reminder of 
 these treaties. It was necessary that each Indian 
 receive his portion of the goods and money in person 
 in order to prevent fraud. In the late summer of 
 each year all the warriors of Red Wing's and Waba- 
 sha's villages would leave their homes for the fort. 
 In the agency building the United States officers, 
 with the roll of the Sioux nation before them, called 
 the names of the individuals, who one by one stepped 
 up, touched the pen of the secretary, received the 
 money, and deposited it in the box of his band. Out- 
 side was the typical Indian group — squaws, chil- 
 dren, dogs, and braves smoking their pipes and talk- 
 ing of past achievements. And in order that the In- 
 dians might always be conscious of the presence of 
 the soldiers of the " Great Father", the band of the 
 fort played patriotic and thrilling airs. 497 
 
 With the transfer of the Indians to reservations 
 higher up on the Minnesota River the payment of 
 these annuities became a task which could no longer 
 be performed at the fort. But the guarding of the 
 
186 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 funds was a necessity. Captain James Monroe 
 spent the latter half of the month of November, 1852, 
 at Traverse des Sioux with one subaltern and forty- 
 seven men of the dragoons and infantry, protecting 
 the money from bandits and Indians. William T. 
 Magruder was ordered on October 23, 1853, to pro- 
 ceed in command of a detachment of troops to escort 
 the money being sent to Fort Ridgely ; and exactly a 
 year later, an officer and thirteen men were detailed 
 to perform a similar task. 498 
 
XIII 
 
 CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 
 
 "The frontier army post," writes Professor F. J. 
 Turner, "serving to protect the settlers from the 
 Indians, has also acted as a wedge to open the Indian 
 country, and has been a nucleus for settlement." 499 
 When the Fifth Infantry built its cantonment on the 
 Minnesota River there were no other habitations in 
 the neighborhood. Traders yearly frequented the 
 region and wintered on the banks of the Mississippi 
 and Minnesota rivers, but their headquarters were 
 located at Prairie du Chien. Immediately after the 
 beginning of the military establishment, however, the 
 movement mentioned by Professor Turner was in- 
 itiated. 
 
 In the spring of 1820 J. B. Faribault came up with 
 cattle for the garrison and decided to locate in the 
 vicinity as a fur trader. On August 9th the Indians 
 granted Pike's Island to his wife, Pelagi Faribault, 
 who was the daughter of a Frenchman and a Sioux 
 woman. Faribault immediately built houses upon 
 the island, but high water washed them away. 
 Thereupon he removed to the east side of the Missis- 
 sippi. It is probably to this establishment that Bel- 
 trami referred in 1823 when he wrote that "there are 
 no buildings round the fort, except three or four log- 
 
 187 
 
188 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 houses on the banks of the river, in which some sub- 
 altern agents of the Southwest Company live among 
 the frogs. ' ' 50 ° This position was also upon low land, 
 and on April 21, 1826, when the ice began to move, 
 Faribault's houses were carried away, while he and 
 his family escaped in canoes. 501 After this second 
 disaster Faribault's establishment was erected at 
 Mendota, where Alexis Bailly had already located. 502 
 The growth of this village was very slow. But grad- 
 ually old fur traders settled about it with their fam- 
 ilies; voyageurs, when not employed on the rivers, 
 lounged about the trading house ; and the agents and 
 clerks of the American Fur Company had their per- 
 manent homes in the rude log cabins which were 
 clustered about. 
 
 In the meantime a new element had been added to 
 the surroundings of the fort. It was already three- 
 quarters of a century since the traders had erected 
 the first trading post upon the Bed Biver of the 
 North. The early French voyageurs had left a race 
 of half-breeds, popularly called bois-brules, who 
 were the vassals of the two great companies. When 
 their strength had been spent in the labors of hunt- 
 ing and trapping, they retired to the vicinity of some 
 post — the largest of these settlements being Fort 
 Garry, the germ of the modern city of Winnipeg, 
 which as early as 1823 boasted of a population of 
 about six hundred. 503 
 
 But not all of these half-breeds were traders. 
 Thomas Douglas, the fifth Lord Selkirk had secured 
 from the Hudson's Bay Company the grant of an 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 189 
 
 immense tract of land on the Red River, and in 1811 
 he began the colonization of the region with poor 
 immigrants from Scotland and Ireland.* But the 
 knowledge of the internal troubles of the company 
 put an end to the immigration from these two coun- 
 tries, and Lord Selkirk turned to Switzerland for 
 new recruits. In 1821 a ship full of Swiss sailed for 
 Fort York on Hudson's Bay, and late in the fall the 
 party reached the Red River after a toilsome jour- 
 ney up the Nelson River and across Lake Winnipeg. 
 Being artisans and city-dwellers they were unable to 
 endure the rough agricultural labors in the bleak 
 north. Cold, floods, grasshoppers, and uncongenial 
 neighbors rendered the location unpleasant. 504 
 
 Travellers from the south brought news of a bet- 
 ter locality, and towards this place there soon began 
 a movement which, while not great in any one year, 
 was long continued. In 1821 five families made the 
 journey to Fort Snelling, and their success inspired 
 others. In 1823 thirteen families made the perilous 
 journey of four hundred miles. From year to year, 
 as families became discouraged they left the colony. 
 Four hundred and eighty-nine persons had arrived 
 at Fort Snelling up to 1835. 505 
 
 The many hardships endured by these travellers, 
 and their pitiful condition, appealed to the sympathy 
 of the Americans, 506 and they were welcomed and 
 aided by the officers at Fort Snelling. During their 
 stay one party was granted the use of the old bar- 
 racks at Camp Cold Water. Employment was given 
 the men upon the reservation, and those who pre- 
 
190 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ferred to remain were allowed to settle upon the mil- 
 itary grounds. Comparatively few, however, made 
 their homes here, the greater number proceeding to 
 Galena, Illinois, and Vevay, Indiana. On one occa- 
 sion provisions for the down-river journey in gov- 
 ernment keel-boats were issued by Colonel Snell- 
 ing. 507 
 
 A third class of settlers around the fort was com- 
 posed of discharged soldiers. Men stationed at Fort 
 Snelling saw the agricultural value of the surround- 
 ing lands, or the possibility of riches in the fur 
 trade. Joseph R. Brown, who came as a drummer 
 boy with Colonel Leavenworth in 1819, entered the 
 employ of the post sutler when he ceased his connec- 
 tion with the army, and later he became an Indian 
 trader. 508 Edward Phelan, John Hays, and William 
 Evans, whose terms of service at Fort Snelling ex- 
 pired about this time were among the first settlers 
 on the land ceded in the treaty of 1837. 509 
 
 In the fall of 1837 it was revealed by a survey that 
 there were one hundred and fifty-seven white per- 
 sons, not connected with the fort, living on the reser- 
 vation. Of these, eighty-two had their homes in the 
 vicinity of Camp Cold Water and seventy-five at the 
 fur trading establishments. Approximately two 
 hundred horses and cattle were owned by these per- 
 sons. 510 
 
 For many years pleasant relations existed between 
 the officers at the post and the civilians. The physi- 
 cian of the garrison willingly responded to calls for 
 his aid made by the people living outside the fort. 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 191 
 
 "I am compelled ' ', wrote Joseph Renville to H. H. 
 Sibley, "to ask you for some assistance in regard to 
 a disease which is very bad here — the whooping 
 cough. I pray you to ask the doctor for some medi- 
 cine, particularly for some camphor." 511 Many a 
 time Lawrence Taliaferro presided at a frontier 
 wedding, when in one of the rude huts on the reser- 
 vation the picturesque figure of the fur trader 
 mingled with the glittering uniform of the officer, 
 and dusky faces peered in at the windows awaiting 
 the end of the ceremony when they also could par- 
 take of such a feast as only the prairies, lakes, and 
 sutler's store could provide. 512 
 
 In the troubles which naturally arose between the 
 settlers and the Indians, the agent was the mediator. 
 Thirty of Peter Musick's cattle were killed by In- 
 dians who, wanting only powder horns, left the car- 
 casses to the wolves. 513 On July 13, 1834, Jacob Fal- 
 strom came to the agency bringing the feet and hams 
 of an ox which he claimed had been shot by a Sioux 
 Indian at Mud Lake. He claimed thirty-five dollars 
 from the Indian Department for the loss which he 
 had sustained. As he was a poor man and had a 
 large family to support Major Taliaferro was moved 
 to make an effort to aid him. "I proposed", he 
 wrote in his diary the same evening, "to contribute 
 $5 for the benefit of J. Faustram to Several of the 
 Gentlemen of the Post — but not meeting with a cor- 
 responding Sentiment — the poor fellow must be in- 
 formed of my bad success in his behalf ". 514 
 
 Only a week later Joseph R. Brown asked to be 
 
192 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 paid for a hog which the Indians had killed. 515 Dur- 
 ing the summer of 1837 Louis Massy claimed $150 ; 
 Abraham Perry $50; and Benjamin F. Baker $750 
 for similar damages. 516 Many years later the agent 
 wrote of these unpleasant duties: "The traders 
 would make a detective of the agent if practicable. 
 All thefts on each other were reported to the agent 
 for justice. Deserting boatmen (fed on corn and 
 tallow) must be forced to proceed up the St. Peter's 
 with their outfits for the trade, right or wrong. 
 Every ox, cow, calf or hog lost by persons on the In- 
 dian lands, the agents were expected to find the cul- 
 prits or pay for these often fictitious losses. ' ' 51T 
 
 A new era in the history of these settlers began 
 when the treaties of 1837 opened the lands east of 
 the Mississippi to settlement. Some time before 
 they had heard rumors of the coming negotiations at 
 Washington, and those living west of the Mississippi 
 sent a memorial to the President stating that they 
 had settled upon the land thinking it was part of the 
 public domain and believing that they would have 
 the right of preemption upon their claims. But now, 
 if a new treaty was made and the land west of the 
 Mississippi purchased for a military reservation, 
 they asked that they be allowed reasonable compen- 
 sation for the improvements they had made. How- 
 ever, in the treaty no mention was made of a military 
 reservation, the title to the land around the fort 
 being allowed to rest upon Pike's treaty of 1805. 518 
 
 But to Major J. Plympton, who became the com- 
 manding officer at Fort Snelling during the summer 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 193 
 
 of 1837, the presence of these people was undesir- 
 able, and so in a letter written to the Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral he called attention to the settlement and com- 
 plained of the difficulty of obtaining fuel for the 
 garrison when the squatters were also engaged in 
 the same task. In his reply on November 17, 1837, 
 the Adjutant-General directed that a reservation be 
 marked off — the extent of Pike's purchase being 
 indefinite. 519 
 
 On March 26, 1838, Major Plympton sent a map of 
 the territory which he chose to have considered as 
 a military reservation. This reservation, contrary 
 to the expectations of many, included land on the 
 east side of the Mississippi. Thus there were many 
 who thought that they had been using their legal 
 rights of preemption when in reality they were only 
 squatters. Order No. 65 issued at the post on July 
 26, 1838, forbade the erection of any buildings or 
 fences upon the reservation, and prohibited the cut- 
 ting of timber except for public use. 520 During this 
 same time there seems to have been, on the part of 
 those living on the west bank of the Mississippi, a 
 movement to the east side. Mrs. Abraham Perry 
 came to Agent Taliaferro on October 18, 1838, and 
 complained that the Indians had killed three of her 
 cattle "just below the stone cave" — that is, Foun- 
 tain Cave which was on the east bank of the river. 521 
 Yet her husband was among those who had signed 
 the petition of August 16, 1837, as residents on the 
 west side. 
 
 Within these lands were also a number of shacks 
 
194 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 along the river bank a few miles below Fort Snelling. 
 Here whiskey was clandestinely transferred from 
 the boats before they proceeded upstream. During 
 the winter of 1839 the presence of these resorts had 
 a deteriorating effect upon the garrison. Surgeon 
 Emerson wrote to the Surgeon General of the United 
 States on April 23, 1839 : < ' Since the middle of win- 
 ter we have been completely inundated with ardent 
 spirits, and consequently the most beastly scenes of 
 intoxication among the soldiers of this garrison and 
 the Indians in its vicinity, which no doubt will add 
 many cases to our sick-list .... I feel grieved 
 to witness such scenes of drunkenness and dissipa- 
 tion where I have spent many days of happiness, 
 when we had no ardent spirits among us, and con- 
 sequently sobriety and good conduct among the com- 
 mand." 522 
 
 Brigadier General John E. Wool inspected Fort 
 Snelling on June 2nd, and in a letter on June 28th 
 he urged that the settlers be driven off the reserva- 
 tion. "Such is the character of the white inhab- 
 itants of that country", he wrote, "that if they can- 
 not be permitted to carry on their nefarious traffic 
 with the Indians, it will sooner or later involve them 
 in a war with the United States." 523 
 
 Influenced by these letters and reports Secretary 
 of War J. R. Poinsett determined to compel all the 
 settlers to leave. It is, however, wrong to suppose 
 that all were guilty of whiskey-peddling. In a letter 
 in which he commented on the number of persons 
 present at the Sunday services in the fort the chap- 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 195 
 
 lain wrote that ' ' Some of the inhabitants also in the 
 vicinity who were regular in their attendance have 
 removed. ' ' 524 
 
 The instructions for the removal were made out 
 on October 21, 1839, and sent to Edward James, Mar- 
 shal of the Territory of Wisconsin. They stated 
 that if force should prove necessary to compel the 
 people to leave, the Marshal should call upon the 
 commanding officer at Fort Snelling for such aid. 
 In that case he was instructed to act "with as much 
 forbearance, consideration, and delicacy as may be 
 consistent with the prompt and faithful perform- 
 ance of the duties hereby assigned to you". 525 
 
 The orders were not received by Marshal James 
 until February 18, 1840, and he immediately for- 
 warded them to his deputy, Ira B. Brunson of 
 Prairie du Chien. As soon as navigation opened in 
 the spring he left for Fort Snelling. Notice was at 
 once given to the settlers to move, and when they 
 refused a detachment of soldiers was called out on 
 May 6th and under the direction of a lieutenant and 
 Marshal Brunson the household goods of the settlers 
 were carried out and their cabins destroyed. 526 
 
 These ejected settlers found new homes a few 
 miles down the river. In the midst of their rude 
 homes a log chapel was dedicated in November, 1841, 
 to the Apostle St. Paul by the Eeverend Lucian Gal- 
 tier. 527 As the ceded lands were more and more oc- 
 cupied, the little village enjoyed a corresponding 
 growth. Gradually the name of the chapel was 
 adopted as the name of the settlement. In 1849 the 
 
196 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Territory of Minnesota was organized with the seat 
 of the legislature at St. Paul. The new community 
 prospered, and the town swarmed with settlers, In- 
 dians, travellers, and adventurers who lived in tents 
 or slept in barns in lieu of better accommodations. 
 There were also capitalists, tradesmen, and officials 
 who here made their homes. 528 
 
 It was inevitable that between this new community 
 and Fort Snelling close relations should exist. The 
 Territorial government was weak; to enforce order 
 it was necessary for the Governor to make requisi- 
 tion on the fort for troops. 529 The jail at Fort Snell- 
 ing was also utilized for the punishment of many 
 undesirable characters always drawn to a new re- 
 gion. James Higby who sold a promissory note 
 which had already been paid, and Jacob Shipler who 
 was arrested on a charge of assault and battery were 
 both given terms in the jail at the fort. John R. 
 McGregor, who became angry and threw his wife 
 against a cooking stove, was separated from his help- 
 meet for a period of three months while he lan- 
 guished in the fort. 530 
 
 The soldiers, in return, visited the frontier town, 
 conducting themselves in the eyes of one observer 
 "with much dignity and sobriety , \ 531 Not always, 
 however, could their actions be thus described. Two 
 soldiers who had just returned from an expedition 
 to the Indian country, started for St. Paul on the 
 evening of their return, carrying with them their 
 blankets which they meant to sell for "refresh- 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 197 
 
 merit". But their birch canoe upset and before aid 
 could reach them they were drowned. 532 
 
 But relations of a more innocent and more desir- 
 able sort also existed. In the officials of the Terri- 
 tory the officers at the fort found congenial spirits. 
 One of the popular pastimes of the little city was to 
 ride out upon the frozen Mississippi in sleighs to 
 Fort Snelling. "This command", narrates an offi- 
 cial report, "had the honor of receiving His Excel- 
 lency W. A. Gorman Gov. of Minnesota and the Hon. 
 James Shields late of the U. S. Senate, on the 9th 
 inst. by whom the Command was reviewed &c. in 
 presence of a large concourse of Citizens." 533 The 
 band of the Sixth Regiment which had paraded 
 through the streets of Mexico City playing i i Yankee 
 Doodle" now found occupation in playing for the 
 balls and parties of the frontier town. Even the 
 inhabitants of Stillwater, twenty-five miles distant, 
 called on the fort to furnish the music for the Valen- 
 tine Ball on February 14, 1850. 534 During the same 
 month a concert was given, the proceeds going to the 
 Washington Monument Association. A year later 
 the ladies who had arranged to give a tea party to 
 raise money for the benefit of the poor children of 
 the community changed their plans and accepted the 
 offer of the band who volunteered to give a concert 
 for the purpose. 535 The value of this association of 
 citizens with the soldiers led to the remark of an 
 editor that "We consider this band as well as the 
 whole garrison, with its high intelligence — but espe- 
 
198 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 cially the band, of infinite value to St. Paul — in fact, 
 it is the most powerful element of influence amongst 
 us, for our good, next to the pulpit and the press. ' ' 536 
 
 The tourists who for many years had been fre- 
 quenting the upper Mississippi now increased in 
 numbers. In the " Drive of All Visitors' ' were in- 
 cluded the Falls of St. Anthony, Lake Harriet, Min- 
 nehaha Falls, and Fort Snelling. 537 From the look- 
 out tower of the fort on the edge of the cliff, could 
 be viewed the same scenery which had charmed 
 Carver a hundred years before. Undoubtedly many 
 thought as did the newspaper man who wrote : "In 
 the contemplation of this scene from Ft. Snelling, 
 one is ravished with a desire to get upon it ; and to 
 appropriate a little domain for his home. It has 
 the look of home. How can the Sioux ever consent 
 to part with these lands ?" 538 
 
 But two years later they did part with them. The 
 two treaties in which the cession was acknowledged 
 were brought about without military aid. 539 This 
 was in itself prophetic of the new status of the fort. 
 With the growth of the Territorial organization, one 
 by one the duties connected with Indian affairs, 
 liquor troubles, and the protection of life and prop- 
 erty were taken over by the civil officers, with the 
 military men as the executors of their laws only 
 when the regular forces of administration were un- 
 able to handle the difficulties. 
 
 And now the fort which had so long looked down 
 upon the canoes of the Indians and traders saw on 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 199 
 
 its two rivers a new procession. Flatboats, steam- 
 boats, and canoes bore upstream the hardy pioneers 
 and their families, and returned loaded with the 
 products of the farm and the forest. The post which 
 could have successfully resisted the attack of Indian 
 warriors, or even the siege of a civilized enemy was 
 to fall before the invasion of the pioneers. The 
 frontier had suddenly leaped far to the westward. 
 In 1858, when the troops were withdrawn, there was 
 no need of an establishment such as had existed dur- 
 ing the first forty years. It was the passing of Old 
 Fort Snelling which for so many years had been the 
 remotest outpost of American law. 
 
 The development of the Northwest was not 
 brought about by the spectacular and romantic inci- 
 dents which the chroniclers loved to record. So 
 gradual was its progress that the factors contribut- 
 ing to it can be seen only in the perspective of fifty 
 years. It was the result of the monotonous details 
 of the life of the fur trader who was the unwitting 
 explorer of the Northwest, and the forerunner of the 
 permanent resident. The routine duties of garrison 
 life and expeditions to the Indian country, often bar- 
 ren of any visible result, added to its progress, as 
 also did the weary marches of the explorer and the 
 minute notations of the scientist who accompanied 
 him. The patient sacrifices of the missionary who 
 toiled at unaccustomed labors in the half-cleared 
 cornfield and taught his primitive pupils in the log 
 mission-house, introduced a new civilization. The 
 
200 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 daily contact of the Indian and the white man at the 
 fort and agency were prophetic of a new relationship 
 between the two races. 
 
 But because these events were so commonplace the 
 contemporary chroniclers have bequeathed only a 
 brief though eloquent epitome of this old Mississippi 
 River post. It was the exception and not the rule to 
 note that a company of soldiers was up the river 
 watching the movements of the Indians, that a mis- 
 sionary had been presented with a ham, or that an 
 explorer took with him so many vegetables from the 
 gardens of the fort that the gunwale of his boat was 
 brought within four inches of the water. But such 
 are the stray references which indicate the almost 
 complete dependence upon the fort of all the factors 
 in the development of the Northwest. 
 
 In the preceding pages an attempt has been made 
 to gather together from all sources the references 
 which bear upon each particular phase of the pro- 
 cess. In most cases they are few, not because the 
 military men were not concerned with them, but be- 
 cause at every post in the Mississippi Valley condi- 
 tions were practically the same and the public, being 
 acquainted with these routine duties, was more inter- 
 ested in the picturesque Indian legends or in the 
 duels between the officers. Of these latter incidents 
 the pages of the history of Fort Snelling are full and 
 in this respect it was typical of the American army 
 post. But it is also an example of that which is of 
 
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS 201 
 
 more importance — the contribution of the army to 
 the transformation of the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 In many ways Fort Snelling is unique in the list of 
 American forts. The British flag was borne in tri- 
 umph to wave from the flagstaff of Fort Ticonderoga 
 after it had been evacuated by the colonial patriots 
 during the dark days of 1777 ; but never was a for- 
 eign flag borne into Fort Snelling except to be burned 
 in the sight of awestruck Indians. The guns of Fort 
 Sumter announced the opening of the Civil War; 
 never were the cannon at Fort Snelling fired at a foe. 
 Mackinac was successively garrisoned by French, 
 English, and American soldiers; whenever occupied 
 by troops Fort Snelling flew the stars and stripes. 
 The stockades at Boonesborough and Harrodstown 
 were besieged by hundreds of savages who fought to 
 gain entrance and obtain the scalps of the pioneer 
 men and women there gathered for safety; no hostile 
 demonstration was ever staged near Fort Snelling. 
 Its history was not made by the rifles and sabers of 
 the soldiers ; the axe and the plow of the pioneer who 
 worked in safety beneath its potential protection 
 have left their history upon the landscape of the 
 great Northwest. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 
 
NOTES AND EEFERENCES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 i Carver 's Travels through the Interior Parts of North- America, 
 pp. vii, viii. 
 
 2 To the region lying on the upper waters of three great river 
 systems — the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the Red River of 
 the North — the writer has applied the name "Upper Northwest" to 
 distinguish it from the "Old Northwest" and the "Pacific North- 
 west". 
 
 3 For a summary of the French explorations see Folwell 's Minne- 
 sota, pp. 1-29. Thwaites's France in America, p. 74, contains an 
 excellent map of the French operations in the West. 
 
 * The report of Louis Antoine Bougainville, written in 1757 and 
 based on the reports of Canadian officials, shows the extent of French 
 commerce at the close of the period of French control. At Green 
 Bay (La Baye) trade was carried on with the Folles-Avoines, Sacs, 
 Foxes, Sioux, and other tribes, the annual output being from five to 
 six hundred packages of furs. In the North, extending westward 
 along what is now the international boundary to the Lake of the 
 Woods and then along the lakes and rivers of the Lake Winnipeg 
 system, was the territory of the post known as ' ' The Sea of the 
 West". This included seven forts and produced a yearly supply of 
 from three to four hundred packages. ' ' These regions are every- 
 where vast prairies ; this is the route to take for the upper Missouri. ' ' 
 — Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, pp. 167-195. A pic- 
 turesque account of the life of the French traders is given in NeilPs 
 The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), pp. 115-119. 
 
 s Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XVIII, p. 251; Turner's 
 The Character and Influence of the Indian Trade in Wisconsin in the 
 Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, 
 Vol. IX, pp. 584, 585. 
 
 205 
 
206 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 6 Thwaites 's Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 
 Vol. VII, p. 373. In 1792, Peter Grant built a trading house on the 
 site of St. Vincent, Minnesota, on the east bank of the Red Eiver, 
 and in 1800-1801 the fort of Pembina was erected by the great trav- 
 eller, Alexander Henry, the younger. — South Dakota Historical Col- 
 lections, Vol. I, p. 138. 
 
 t American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 684. 
 
 s Thwaites's Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 
 Vol. I, pp. 227, 228. Traders of the Hudson's Bay Company also 
 frequented the spot. Sergeant John Ordway records in his journal for 
 December 1, 1804, that ' ' a Scotsman who is tradeing at the Mandens 
 came to visit us. he belonged to the hudson bay company. . . . 
 he brought over Tobacco Beeds & other kinds of Goods. & traded with 
 the Mandens for their furs & buffalow Robes, they bring Some Guns 
 to trade for horses &. C. this hudsons bay compy lay Garrisoned near 
 the N. W. Compy .... Eight or 10 days travel by land a North 
 course from this. ' ' — Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XXII, 
 p. 169. 
 
 9 Chittenden's The History of the American Fur Trade of the Far 
 West, Vol. II, p. 556. 
 
 io Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, pp. 279, 280. 
 
 ii Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 286. 
 
 12 Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 280. 
 
 is Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 156. 
 
 i* Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 171. 
 
 is Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 252. 
 
 16 Wilkinson's instructions to Pike are printed in Coues's The Ex- 
 peditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. II, pp. 842-844. Before the found- 
 ing of Fort Snelling the Minnesota River was called by the French 
 voyageurs the "St. Pierre". When the Americans were established 
 on its banks they anglicized this name into "St. Peter's". The fort, 
 the agency, and the fur traders' establishment are commonly referred 
 to in early literature as "St. Peter's". By a joint resolution of 
 Congress on June 19, 1852, the name Minnesota was ordered to be used 
 in all public documents in which the river was mentioned. This was 
 the Indian name for the river. — United States Statutes at Large, 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 207 
 
 Vol. X, p. 147. In mentioning this river use is made in this volume 
 of the modern name, except when quoting. 
 
 17 The account of the treaty is given in Coues's The Expeditions 
 of Zebulon M. Pilce, Vol. I, pp. 83, 84. The treaty itself is printed 
 on page 231 and Pike's speech on pages 226-230. Article I contains 
 the land cession: "That the Sioux nation grant unto the United 
 States, for the purpose of establishment of military posts, nine miles 
 square at the mouth of the St. Croix, also from below the confluence 
 of the Mississippi and St. Peters up the Mississippi to include the 
 falls of St. Anthony, extending nine miles on each side of the river, 
 that the Sioux nation grants to the United States the full sovereignty 
 and power over said district forever." The meaning of all this is 
 extremely vague. 
 
 is American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 798. 
 
 !9 Publications of the Canadian Archives, No. 7, Documents Relat- 
 ing to the Invasion of Canada and the Surrender of Detroit, 1812, 
 pp. 11, 13. 
 
 20 A petition of the London merchants to the English government 
 stated that before the war the annual export of furs from Canada 
 amounted to £250,000. Updyke 's The Diplomacy of the War of 1812, 
 p. 204. 
 
 si Publications of the Canadian Archives, No. 7, Documents Relat- 
 ing to the Invasion of Canada and the Surrender of Detroit, 1812, 
 pp. 72, 73. 
 
 22 Publications of the Canadian Archives, No. 7, Documents Relat- 
 ing to the Invasion of Canada and the Surrender of Detroit, 1812, 
 pp. 66-69. The figures are given on page 69. 
 
 23 Publications of the Canadian Archives, No. 7, Documents Relat- 
 ing to the Invasion of Canada and the Surrender of Detroit, 1812, 
 p. 184. 
 
 24 The best account of the massacre at Fort Dearborn is given in 
 Quaife's Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835, pp. 211-231. 
 
 25 Wisconsin Bisiorwal Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 323. 
 
 26 Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, pp. 120, 
 194. 
 
208 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 27 Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. XV, p. 219. 
 It must be stated that the British in no way sought intentionally to 
 use the Indians for the purpose of massacreing the whites. The in- 
 structions to Dickson declared that he "should restrain them by all 
 the means in your power from acts of Cruelty and inhumanity". On 
 March 16, 1813, Dickson reported to the military secretary at Quebec 
 that he had taken steps to redeem the soldiers, women, and children 
 of the ill-fated Fort Dearborn garrison, who were still captives. — 
 Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. XV, pp. 258, 259. 
 
 28 Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. XV, pp. 321, 
 322. 
 
 29 There is a summary of Dickson 's activities in the Wisconsin 
 Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 133-153. 
 
 so NUes' Register, Vol. VI, p. 176. 
 
 si Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XIII, p. 10; NUes' Reg- 
 ister, Vol. VI, p. 242. 
 
 32 Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XI, pp. 254-270. 
 
 33 Treaties and Conventions concluded between the United States of 
 America and other powers since July 4, 1776, pp. 404, 405. 
 
 34 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 10, 11 ; 
 Chittenden's The History of the American Fur Trade of the Far 
 West, Vol. II, p. 561. 
 
 35 These treaties were concluded: on July 18th with the Potta- 
 wattomies and Piankashaws; on July 19th with the Tetons and Sioux 
 of the Lakes, Sioux of St. Peter 's Eiver, and Yankton Sioux ; Septem- 
 ber 2nd with the Kickapoos; September 8th with the Wyandots; Sep- 
 tember 12th with the Osages; September 13th with the Sacs of the 
 Missouri; September 14th with the Foxes; September 16th with the 
 Iowas. The treaties are published in Kappler 's Indian Affairs, Laws 
 and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 110-123. The reports of the commissioners 
 and also the treaties are printed in the American State Papers, Indian 
 Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 1-11. 
 
 36 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 9. 
 
 37 For these migrations see the Michigan Pioneer and Historical 
 Collections, Vol. XXIII, pp. 97, 443; Kingsford's The History of 
 Canada, Vol. IX, p. 69 ; Report on Canadian Archives, 1896, p. 157. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 209 
 
 During the negotiations at Ghent the British commissioners had 
 sought to have established a permanent Indian territory to be a bar- 
 rier state between the two powers. — Updyke's The Diplomacy of the 
 War of 18118, p. 204. 
 
 The Indians felt they had been abandoned by the English. Hence 
 the liberality in gift distribution was an attempt to appease them. 
 
 ss See the reports of W. H. Puthuff in the Wisconsin Historical 
 Collections, Vol. XIX, pp. 430-433, 472-474. 
 
 sa Schoolcraft 's Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years 
 with the Indian Tribes, p. 19. 
 
 40 Irving 's The Sketch-Book (Hudson Edition), p. 489. 
 
 4i Carr's Missouri, p. 121. 
 
 ^Niles' Register, Vol. VIII, p. 436, August 19, 1815. 
 
 43 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 86. 
 
 44 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. Ill, p. 332. John Jacob 
 Astor of the American Fur Company has received the credit for the 
 passage of this law. — Folwell 's Minnesota, p. 54 ; Coman 's Economic 
 Beginnings of the Far West, Vol. I, pp. 344, 345. This is neglecting 
 the fact that there was a unanimous outcry against foreign traders — 
 one of the signs that the War of 1812 marks the rise of American 
 nationality. The legislation of April 29, 1816, was not wholly satis- 
 factory to Astor. ' ' I have seen a letter ' ', wrote William H. Puthuff, 
 Indian agent at Mackinac, ' ' addressed by J. J. Astor to a Mr. Franks 
 a British trader now at this place in which Mr. Astor expresses sur- 
 prise and regret at the passage of a law forbidding British subjects 
 from trading with Indians, within the American limits etc. ' ' — Wis- 
 consin Historical Collections, Vol. XIX, p. 423. What Mr. Astor 
 wanted was the prohibition of trade by American private citizens 
 as well as by British private citizens. If his American Fur 
 Company were given a monopoly as he desired, he also wanted to be 
 free to employ such persons — American or British — as he needed. 
 
 45 Or, more correctly from the point where a north and south line 
 drawn through the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods 
 would intersect this parallel. — Treaties and Conventions concluded 
 between the United States of America and other powers since July 4, 
 1776, p. 416. 
 
210 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 *6 Treaties and Conventions concluded between the United States 
 of America and other powers since July 4, 1776, p. 377. 
 
 « Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 279. 
 
 **Niles' Register, Vol. XIV, pp. 387-389. 
 
 *8 There is an excellent account of the United States trading house 
 system in Quaife's Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1678-1885, pp. 
 289-309. 
 
 eo Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 228. 
 
 si American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. II, p. 6. 
 
 52 Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, p. 39. 
 
 CHAPTEB II 
 
 53 For the erection of these posts see Quaife's Chicago and the Old 
 Northwest, 1678-1885, p. 265; Thwaites's Wisconsin, pp. 180-182; 
 Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 137, 138. 
 
 «4 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. I, p. 669. 
 
 55 Major Long's journal is printed in the Minnesota Historical Col- 
 lections, Vol. II, pp. 9-88. 
 
 56 Niles' Register, Vol. XIV, p. 192. 
 
 57 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. I, p. 779. 
 ssNeill's The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), p. 319. 
 
 59 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, p. 32. 
 
 60 The story of the Yellowstone Expedition is narrated in detail in 
 Chittenden's The History of the American Fur Trade of the Far 
 West, Vol. II, pp. 562-587. See also the preface to James's Account 
 of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains in 
 Thwaites's Early Western Travels, Vol. XIV, pp. 9-26. For the site 
 of this fort see Thwaites's Early Western Travels, Vol. XXII, p. 275, 
 note 231. 
 
 6i Executive Documents, 1st Session, 34th Congress, Vol. I, Pt. 2, 
 Document No. 1, p. 21. 
 
 62 Leavenworth 's A Genealogy of the Leavenworth Family in the 
 United States, p. 152. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 211 
 
 os Van dove's "Three Score Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories 
 of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, p. 7. 
 
 04 In the Detroit Gazette, February 18, 1820, Vol. Ill, No. 135, 
 there is reprinted from the National Intelligencer an ' ' Extract of a 
 letter from a gentleman of the expedition to the Falls of St. Anthony, 
 to his friend in Washington, dated Cantonment of the 5th regt. U. S. 
 Infantry, St. Peter's River, Nov. 10, 1819." It is from this letter 
 that the dates of arriving at and leaving the various places are taken. 
 The Adjutant General in an order praised the garrison at Fort How- 
 ard "for the economy and expedition with which the command con- 
 structed transport boats for the accommodation of the 5th regiment 
 in its passage to the Mississippi." — Detroit Gazette, September 10, 
 1819. 
 
 05 Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. V, p. 96, note. Mrs. Van 
 Cleve gives another version of this affair : ' ' When all was in order, 
 Colonel Leavenworth stepped forth, and, through an interpreter, for- 
 mally requested of the Chief permission to pass peaceably through 
 their country. The Chief, a very handsome young brave, advanced, 
 and, with his right arm uncovered, said, with most expressive gestures: 
 'My brother, do you see the calm, blue sky above us? Do you see the 
 lake that lies so peacefully at our feet? So calm, so peaceful are 
 our hearts towards you. Pass on ! ' " — Van Cleve 's ' ' Three Score 
 Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 
 p. 11. 
 
 That these Indians were not so friendly as this account would indi- 
 cate is apparent from the statement in Major Forsyth's narrative 
 that Captain Whistler of Fort Howard had been fired at, at different 
 times during the summer of 1819 by these Winnebagoes. — Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, p. 167. 
 
 so Major Forsyth's narrative, covering the time from his depart- 
 ure from St. Louis on June 7th until his arrival there again on Sep- 
 tember 17th, is published in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. 
 Ill, pp. 139-167; also in the Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. 
 VI, pp. 188-219. It is from this narrative that the facts regarding 
 the progress of the expedition were obtained. 
 
 67 Major Forsyth 's narrative in the Minnesota Historical Collec- 
 tions, Vol. Ill, pp. 147, 148, 149. 
 
 68 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, p. 149 ; Van Cleve 's 
 
212 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 "Three Score Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, 
 Minnesota, p. 15. 
 
 69 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 149-153, 159. 
 Mrs. Van Cleve says that a few days were spent on the shores of Lake 
 Pepin. — Van Cleve 's "Three Score Years and Ten," Life-Long 
 Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, p. 16. Mrs. Ellet in her sketch 
 of Mrs. Clark says a week was spent at this place. — Ellet 'a Pioneer 
 Women of the West, p. 350. 
 
 to Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 153, 154. Neill 
 records that the troops did not reach the Minnesota Eiver ''until 
 September". — Neill 's The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), 
 p. 320. But in Appendix L., p. 891, he gives the same dates as For- 
 syth. In Folwell 's Minnesota, p. 55, the statement is made that ' * the 
 command arrived at Mendota August 23". As the main body of 
 soldiers did not arrive until August 24th, this latter date should be 
 taken as the birthday of Fort Snelling. 
 
 7i Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 154-157; Detroit 
 Gazette, October 22, 1819, February 18, 1820. 
 
 72 Detroit Gazette, February 18, 1820. 
 
 73 Van Cleve 's " Three Score Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories 
 of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, pp. 18, 19. The baby was Charlotte 
 Ouisconsin Clark who married General Horatio P. Van Cleve. In 
 1888 she published a book of reminiscences. It possesses all the 
 merits and defects of a book of reminiscences — vividness of pic- 
 tures — inaccuracy in regard to specific facts. 
 
 74 Ellet 's Pioneer Women of the West, p. 351; Minnesota Historical 
 Collections, Vol. VI, p. 48. 
 
 75 Mrs. Van Cleve, who received her information from her father, 
 gives the number as forty. — Van Cleve 's ' ' Three Score Years and 
 Ten," Life-Long ^Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, p. 19. James 
 Doty, who kept the official journal of the Cass Expedition of 1820, 
 and who received his information from the officers at Camp Cold 
 Water, gives the number as forty. — Wisconsin Historical Collections, 
 Vol. XIII, p. 214. Philander Prescott in his reminiscences states 
 that ' ' Some fifty or sixty had died, and some ten men died after I 
 arrived ' '. — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 478. L. 
 Grignon wrote on April 3, 1820, that "They tell me that fifty Sol- 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 213 
 
 diers of the river St. Pierre have died of Scurvy ' \ — Wisconsin His- 
 torical Collections, Vol. XX, p. 161. 
 
 In writing of the attack of scurvy Mr. H. H. Sibley remarks: 
 ' ' It was doubtless caused by the bad quality of the provisions, espe- 
 cially of the pork, which was spoiled by the villany of the contractors, 
 or their agents, in drawing the brine from the barrels that contained 
 it, after leaving St. Louis, in order to lighten the load, and causing 
 the barrels to be refilled with river water, before their delivery at the 
 post, to avoid detection. The troops were compelled to live on this 
 unwholesome fare for two successive seasons, before the fraud was 
 discovered. ' ' — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, pp. 473, 474. 
 Nowhere else is this explanation given. Sickness could easily come 
 at a frontier post without such villainy. During the same winter at 
 Camp Missouri over half of the garrison of seven hundred men were 
 sick, and nearly one hundred of them died. At Council Bluff there 
 was also a great deal of sickness. — Detroit Gazette, July 21, Septem- 
 ber 1, 1820. 
 
 76 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 473. 
 
 77 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 103 
 
 78 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 478, 479. 
 
 79 Eeports of Committees, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Re- 
 port No. 351, p. 136. 
 
 so These facts are from the reminiscences of Philander Prescott in 
 the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 478, 479. 
 
 si Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 105. 
 
 82 Snelling to Taliaferro, November 7, 1821. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. I, No. 30. 
 
 83 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 107. Mrs. Van 
 Cleve states that the fort was occupied in the fall of 1821. — Van 
 Cleve's "Three Score Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories of Fort 
 Snelling, Minnesota, p. 32. 
 
 s* Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 153. 
 
 85 Schoolcraft 's Narrative Journal of Travels from Detroit North- 
 west through the Great Chain of American Lakes to the sources of 
 the Mississippi River, pp. 292-315. The official journal was kept by 
 James Doty. The time spent with Leavenworth's troops is described 
 in the Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XIII, pp. 212-216. 
 
214 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 86 Captain Kearny's journal is printed in the Missouri Historical 
 Society Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 8-29, 99-131. Pages 104-110 are 
 devoted to the time spent at Camp Cold Water. 
 
 87 These facts regarding the change of the name are taken from 
 Upham's The Women and Children of Fort St. Anthony, Later named 
 Fort Snelling in the Magazine of History, Vol. XXI, pp. 38, 39. Dr. 
 Upham received his information from a letter from the Adjutant Gen- 
 eral of the United States. 
 
 CHAPTEB III 
 
 88 See Miss Gallaher 's article on The Military -Indian Frontier 
 1830-1835 in The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. XV, pp. 
 393-428. 
 
 89 Langham to Taliaferro, August 19, 1820. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. I, No. 62. 
 
 so Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 117. 
 
 9i NeilFs The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), p. 901. 
 
 92 Marsh to Taliaferro, June 26, 1827. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. 
 I, No. 76. 
 
 93 This was the opening of the Winnebago War, often called the 
 1 ' Bed Bird War ' \ Accounts of it are given in William Joseph Snell- 
 ing 's Early Bays at Prairie du Chien in the Wisconsin Historical 
 Collections, Vol. V, pp. 144-153; and State Papers, 1st Session, 20th 
 Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 1, pp. 150-163. 
 
 94 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 118. 
 
 95 For the movement of troops see State Papers, 1st Session, 20th 
 Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 1, pp. 150-163. 
 
 96 Taliaferro to Cass, October 4, 1832. — Indian Office Files, 1832, 
 No. 226. 
 
 97 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, pp. 439, 440, 459; Neill's The History of Minnesota 
 (Fourth Edition), pp. 483-487. 
 
 98 For an account of the Winnebagoes and their many migrations 
 see Jackson's A Century of Dishonor, pp. 218-256. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 215 
 
 99 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. Ill, Pt. 2, 
 Document No. 5, pp. 1028, 1029; The Minnesota Pioneer, September 
 13, 1849. 
 
 ioo The Minnesota Pioneer, November 28, December 12, 1849. 
 
 ioi Executive Documents, 1st Session, 32nd Congress, Vol. II, Pt. 3, 
 Document No. 2, p. 421. "The recent arrival at Fort Snelling of a 
 company of dragoons, so long wanted, will greatly assist in intercept- 
 ing the migration southward of this discontented people. ' ' — Report 
 of Alexander Ramsey, October 21, 1850, in Senate Documents, 2nd 
 Session, 31st Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 1, p. 81. 
 
 102 This reservation was agreed upon by the treaty concluded at 
 Washington, D. C, on February 27, 1855; Kappler's Indian Affairs, 
 Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 690-693. 
 
 io3 Senate Documents, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, pp. 316, 423. 
 
 io*Bryce's The Bemarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, pp. 365-372. A description of a hunt, written in French by 
 Rev. M. Belcourt, is given in Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st 
 Congress, Vol. VIII, Document No. 51, pp. 44-52. 
 
 los Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. VIII, 
 Document No. 51, p. 4. 
 
 100 This was during the period that Professor William A. Dunning 
 describes as "The Roaring Forties". "And the far flung interests 
 of the British Empire need no more striking illustration than the fact 
 that in whatever direction the Americans sought to expand their 
 bounds, whether on the Atlantic or on the Pacific, in the Gulf of the 
 tropics or under the Arctic circle, they found subjects of the Queen, 
 with vested rights, opposing the movement." — Dunning 's The Brit- 
 ish Empire and the United States, pp. 96, 97. 
 
 i°7 Captain Sumner's report is printed in the Executive Docu- 
 ments, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 2, pp. 217- 
 220. It is reprinted with explanatory notes in The Iowa Journal of 
 History and Politics, Vol. XI, pp. 258-267. 
 
 108 The report of Major Woods is printed in Executive Documents, 
 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. VIII, Document No. 51. It contains 
 fifty-five pages. Accompanying the expedition was John Pope, Brevet 
 
216 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Captain of the Topographical Engineers. His report is published in 
 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. X, Document No. 
 42. There is an excellent map attached to the report. 
 
 109 Colonel Smith 's report is printed in the Executive Documents, 
 2nd Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. II, Document No. 1, pp. 
 426-454. 
 
 no Ansel Briggs to the Secretary of War. — Indian Office Files, 
 1849, No. 206. The petition was dated Washington, Iowa, July 31, 
 
 1849. — Indian Office Files, 1849, No. 208. 
 
 in Major Woods's report is found in the Indian Office Files, 1849, 
 No. 174. 
 
 112 The Minnesota Pioneer, April 3, 1850. 
 
 us The Minnesota Pioneer, May 16, 1850. 
 
 ii* See the letter of William Hutchinson, who was one of the party. 
 It is published in The Minnesota Pioneer, June 13, 1850. ' ' Iowa City 
 looks as it did five years ago", he wrote. "A few houses were built 
 since that time; but evidently were not the capitol located at this 
 place, it would be no great shakes, though in time it is bound to 
 come out. Some years since, Uncle Sam erected expensive bridges 
 for the good citizens of Iowa, betwixt Dubuque and Iowa City; and 
 strange to say the people are suffering them to rot down without cov- 
 ering them. Iowa City has grown in ten years as large as Saint Paul, 
 which is not 2 years old. Steamboats often get up to this place, but 
 all will not suffice.' ' 
 
 us Report of Major Woods. — Indian Office Files, 1850, No. 363. 
 
 no The Iowa Star (Fort Des Moines), July 18, 1850. 
 
 H7 The Annals of Iowa (First Series), Vol. VII, pp. 284, 285. 
 
 ' ' Part of Company D. 1st regiment of U. S. Dragoons under 
 command of Lieut. Gardner passed through here on their way to the 
 Missouri river. We understand they intend to pay a visit to the In- 
 dian tribes on the upper Missouri and from thence across Minnesota 
 Territory to their quarters at Ft. Snelling. ' ' — Quoted from the Fort 
 Des Moines Gazette in the Miners' Express (Dubuque), September 4, 
 
 1850. The return of the troops to Fort Snelling is noted in The 
 Minnesota Pioneer, October 3, 1850. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 217 
 
 us Executive Documents, 1st Session, 32nd Congress, Vol. II, Pt. 
 3, Document No. 2, p. 284. An account of the journey is printed in 
 The Minnesota Pioneer, February 12, 1852. 
 
 n9 Asa Whitney, a New York merchant, petitioned Congress in 
 January, 1845, for a franchise and a grant of land to make this dream 
 a reality. — Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, pp. 218, 
 219. 
 
 120 Act of March 3, 1853. — United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 
 X, p. 219. 
 
 121 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, Document 
 No. 91, pp. 1, 13, 74. 
 
 122 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 36th Congress, Document No. 
 56, p. 36; Post Returns, May, 1853, in the archives of the War De- 
 partment, Washington, D. C. 
 
 123 A brief account of the expedition is given in Paxson's The Last 
 American Frontier, pp. 197-203. The reports of all the surveys were 
 published by the government. That of Governor Stevens consists of 
 651 pages, added to the report of the Secretary of War, published in 
 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, Document No. 91. 
 In 1859 Governor Stevens submitted a Narrative and Final Report, 
 published in two parts in the Executive Documents, 1st Session, 36th 
 Congress, Document No. 56. The various reports of all the explorers 
 are bound in a set of twelve volumes, in which Governor Stevens's 
 first account may be found in Vol. I, and the later narrative in Vol. 
 XII, Pts. I and II. 
 
 12* Order No. 7 stated: "It is considered of great consequence 
 that the several trains should not be intermingled; and the dragoons 
 attached to the several parties will continue with them, camping and 
 working with them, receiving their orders only from their particular 
 chiefs, even when the whole force is brought together. ' ' — Executive 
 Documents, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, Document No. 91, p. 46. 
 
 125 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 2, p. 112. 
 
 126 Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, p. 566. 
 
 i27Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 567- 
 570. 
 
218 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 128 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. X, Pt. I, p. 181. 
 
 129 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, p. 161. 
 
 iso Senate Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. I, Document 
 No. 1, pp. 180-183. 
 
 131 The Minnesota Pioneer, July 19, 1849. 
 
 132 The Minnesota Pioneer, September 6, 1849, July 11, November 
 21, 1850. 
 
 133 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. X, Pt. I, pp. 193, 199. 
 
 i34Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 588- 
 593. 
 
 135 Holcombe's Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. II, pp. 327, 328; 
 Annals of Iowa (First Series), Vol. VII, p. 290; Post Returns, March, 
 April, 1853, in the archives of the War Department, Washington, 
 D. C. 
 
 136 For Colonel Smith's expedition see above, Note 109. For the 
 building of Fort Abercrombie see the Collections of the State His- 
 torical Society of North Dakota, Vol. II, Pt. II, p. 7. 
 
 i3T Reports of Committees, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Re- 
 port No. 351, pp. 10-12. 
 
 138 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Pt. Ill, p. 2595. 
 
 139 For the sale of Fort Snelling see Dr. Folwell's paper on The 
 Sale of Fort Snelling, 1857, in the Minnesota Historical Collections, 
 Vol. XV, pp. 393-410. 
 
 140 The report of the committee may be found in Reports of Com- 
 mittees, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Report No. 351. 
 
 i4i Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Pt. Ill, p. 2614. 
 
 1*2 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Pt. Ill, p. 2618. 
 
 143 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 431. 
 
 144 For papers relating to the readjustment see Executive Docu- 
 ments, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, Document No. 9. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 219 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ' 45 Quoted in Williams's A History of the City of Saint Paul, pp. 
 58, 59. 
 
 146 in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, pp. 430, 431, 
 there is a list of the commanding officers from September, 1819 to 
 May, 1858. 
 
 147 For the life of Henry Leavenworth see the Kansas Historical 
 Collections, Vol. VII, pp. 577, 578, Vol. IX, p. 569, Vol. XI, p. xxi; 
 Powell's List of Officers of the Army of the United States, from 1779 
 to 1900, p. 428; Chittenden's The History of the American Fur Trade 
 of the Far West, Vol. II, pp. 630-632; Leavenworth's A Genealogy 
 of the Leavenworth Family in the United States, pp. 150-154. 
 
 !*8 American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Vol. I, p. 777. 
 
 i49Ellet's Pioneer Women of the West, pp. 310-323, contains a 
 sketch of the activities of Captain Snelling during the war. 
 
 isoEllet's Pioneer Women of the West, pp. 313, 314. 
 
 isi Ellet's Pioneer Women of the West, p. 316. 
 
 152 From the reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 96, 97. Mrs. Adams, as a child, 
 lived several years in the Snelling household. 
 
 153 Powell's List of Officers of the Army of the United States, from 
 1779 to 1900, p. 599; Ellet's Pioneer Women of the West, p. 334.* 
 
 is* From a manuscript entitled "Remarks on General Wm. Hull's 
 Memoirs of the Campaign of the Northwestern Army, 1812", by 
 Josiah Snelling. — Draper Collection, 8 U. 114, pp. 42, 43. 
 
 155 Tlie Worlcs of Daniel Webster, Vol. V, p. 410. 
 
 156 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, pp. 440, 441. 
 
 157 See the sketch of Captain Scott in Van Cleve's "Three Score 
 Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 
 pp. 28, 29. 
 
 !58 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Document 
 No. 1, p. 367. 
 
 159 There is a sketch of Martin Scott in the Minnesota Historical 
 Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 180-187, from which this story is taken. 
 
220 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 ieo Powell's List of Officers of the Army of the United States, 
 from 1779 to 1900, p. 577. 
 
 i6i Niles' Register, Vol. 73, p. 130. 
 
 i«2 The frontispiece of Mrs. Eastman's Dahcotah; or, Life and 
 Legends of the Sioux around Fort Snelling was painted by Captain 
 Eastman. 
 
 163 Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II, p. 292. 
 
 164 In his notes to Hiawatha Longfellow quotes from the introduc- 
 tion of Mrs. Eastman 's book, p. ii. — Longfellow 's Complete Poetical 
 Works (Cambridge Edition), p. 666. 
 
 165 Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II, p. 292. 
 
 lee Powell's List of Officers of the Army of the United States, from 
 1779 to 1900, p. 449; Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 
 441. 
 
 167 The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. VIII, 
 pp. 89, 90. 
 
 168 Rhodes 's History of the United States, Vol. IV, p. 328. 
 
 169 The American Annual Cyclopaedia, 1863, p. 816. 
 
 170 Bancroft's History of Oregon, Vol. II, pp. 611, 612. For the 
 career of General Canby see Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American 
 Biography, Vol. I, pp. 517, 518. 
 
 171 This incident is taken from Folsom's Fifty Years in the North- 
 west, pp. 755, 756. Mr. Folsom says he took it "from a St. Paul 
 paper of 1887". 
 
 172 For the Dred Scott case see McMaster's A History of the 
 People of the United States, Vol. VIII, pp. 278, 279. 
 
 173 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 50. 
 17* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 564. 
 
 175 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, pp. 729-739. 
 
 176 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 395. 
 
 177 Quoted from the complaint of the agent, Nathaniel McLean, 
 September 25, 1850, in Senate Documents, 2nd Session, 31st Congress, 
 Vol. I, Document No. 1, p. 106> 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 221 
 
 its Auto-biograplvy of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 249. 
 
 179 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 253, 254. 
 
 so Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 353. 
 
 isi Taliaferro to Crawford, July 15, 1839. — Indian Office Files, 
 1839, No. 512. 
 
 182 These papers are in the possession of the Minnesota Historical 
 Society. The dates covered in these diaries are from December, 1830, 
 to June, 1831; May 25 to September 21, 1833; May 23 to August 
 28, 1834. 
 
 iss These letters are in the possession of the Minnesota Historical 
 Society. In Volume I of these letters is the following notice: 
 1 ' These 326 letters, are part of the great mass of correspondence re- 
 ceived by Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at Fort Snelling, 
 1819-1840. They constitute but a small part of his accumulations in 
 twenty years. The rest were burned in his house at Bedford, Pa., 
 in 18 It was a great loss to us, as, had they been spared, we would 
 have received all of them. But even these 326 contain a large amount 
 of valuable material for Minnesota history. Even as autographs they 
 are valuable, [see autobiography of Taliaferro, Vol. 6, Coll.] These 
 letters were given by Maj. T. in March, 1868. Arranged, bound and 
 indexed (by J. F. W.) 1891." 
 
 184 Photostatic copies of many of these letters were taken and are 
 to be found in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, where 
 they were consulted. 
 
 185 These letter books are now in the possession of the Kansas 
 State Historical Society at Topeka, where they were consulted. The 
 only volume containing letters from Major Taliaferro is referred to 
 as the William Clark Papers, Correspondence, 1830-1832. 
 
 186 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 253. 
 
 187 Powell's List of Officers of the Army of the United States, from 
 1779 to 1900, p. 620. In the Taliaferro Letters are many letters 
 from William Clark and Elbert Herring in which they address Mr. 
 
222 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 188 Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, No. 11. A note on this letter gives 
 these dates. 
 
 189 Nowhere is the date of his arrival at Fort Snelling given. In 
 his autobiography he writes of his journey': "Jean Baptiste Fari- 
 bault and family, had gone through by land, in charge of Colonel 
 Leavenworth's horses and cows". — Minnesota Historical Collections, 
 Vol. VI, p. 198. It was in the spring of 1820 that Faribault per- 
 formed this service. — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 
 103. 
 
 190 Clark to the Secretary of War, August 20, 1832. — Indian 
 Office Files, 1832, No. 285. For his resignation see Indian Office 
 Files, 1824, No. 39. 
 
 i9i Taliaferro 's Diary, March 24, 1831. 
 
 192 Taliaferro to Crawford, December 12, 1839. — Indian Office 
 Files, 1839, No. 516. 
 
 i93Neiirs The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), pp. 337- 
 339. 
 
 194 In the report for 1850 the agency at St. Peter's is designated a 
 " Sub- Agency ' '. — Senate Documents, 2nd Session, 31st Congress, 
 Vol. I, Document No. 1, p. 103. 
 
 195 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 339, 340. 
 
 196 Indian Office Files, 1834, No. 213, 1827, No. 54, 1843, No. 222. 
 
 197 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, p. 341. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 198 See Notes on Canada and the North-West States of America in 
 Blackwood's Magazine, Vol. LXXVIII, p. 323, September, 1855. 
 These articles by Laurence Oliphant were later published in book form 
 under the title of Minnesota and the Far West. 
 
 199 This is the height given in Nicollet's Report intended to illus- 
 trate a Map of the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi 
 Biver, p. 69. 
 
 200 Seymour 's Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the 
 West, p. 103. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 223 
 
 201 This sketch of the fort is obtained from the map of Fort Snell- 
 ing in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 431 ; and 
 from a Report of the capacity and condition of the barracks, quarters, 
 hospital, storehouses, fyc, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory, made 
 to the Quartermaster General. This report was made on August 23, 
 1856. It is printed in Reports of Committees, 1st Session, 35th Con- 
 gress, Vol. II, Eeport No. 351, pp. 407-409. 
 
 202 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. IV, p. 122. 
 
 203 Latrobe's The Rambler in North America, Vol. II, p. 295. 
 
 204 A statement of the equipment at the various posts during the 
 fourth quarter of 1834 is printed in the American State Papers, Mil- 
 itary Affairs, Vol. V, p. 853-900. 
 
 205 Taliaferro to Lucas, September 30, 1839. — Indian Office FUes, 
 1839, No. 492. 
 
 206 Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 153. 
 
 207 Taliaferro to William Clark, August 17, 1830. — Indian Office 
 Files, 1830, No. 139. 
 
 208 Taliaferro's Diary, April 7, 1831. 
 
 209 Taliaferro's Diary, March 8, 1831. 
 
 210 Taliaferro to Lucas, September 30, 1839. — Indian Office Files, 
 1839, No. 492 ; Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. 
 VII, Document No. 9, p. 19. 
 
 2ii Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 153. 
 
 212 Indian Office Files, 1834, No. 207. 
 
 213 Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 153. In the Sibley House at 
 Mendota is hung an oil painting of Fort Snelling made by Sergeant 
 Thomas who was stationed at Fort Snelling sometime between 1836 
 and 1842. This painting, which was made from the hill behind Sibley 
 House, shows the location of these various buildings. 
 
 2i4 For Baker's house see Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th 
 Congress, Vol. VII, Document No. 9, pp. 19, 33, 34; also Reports of 
 Committees, 1st session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Eeport No. 351, p. 
 400. 
 
 2i5 Latrobe's The Rambler in North America, Vol. II, pp. 295, 296. 
 Charles Joseph Latrobe visited the post in the fall of 1833. 
 
224 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 216 These buildings are shown in the picture mentioned in note 
 213, above. 
 
 217 There is a description of Mendota given in Seymour's Sketches 
 of Minnesota, the New England of the West, pp. 101, 102. 
 
 2 i8 Seymour 's Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the 
 West, p. 117; Bishop's Floral Home; or, First Years of Minnesota, 
 pp. 156, 157. 
 
 219 These figures are taken from Keating 's Narrative of an Ex- 
 pedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Vol. I, p. 309. 
 
 220Latrobe , s The Bambler in North America, Vol. II, p. 302. 
 
 221 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 37, 38; Eeports of Committees, 1st Session, 35th 
 Congress, Vol. II, Report No. 351, p. 148. 
 
 222"Upham , s The Women and Children of Fort St. Anthony, later 
 named Fort Snelling in The Magazine of History, Vol. XXI, p. 37. 
 
 223 See below, the chapter entitled Soldiers of the Cross. 
 
 224 This enumeration of the Indian villages is from Pond 's The 
 Dakotas or Sioux in Minnesota as they were in 1S34 in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 320-330. The spelling of the 
 names follows that used by Pond, although they were all written in 
 many ways. The population figures are from Taliaferro's report in 
 1834, found in Indian Office Files, 1834, No. 203. 
 
 225 See the description of an Indian village in Latrobe 's The 
 Bambler in North America, Vol. II, pp. 288, 289; also, Keating 's 
 Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Vol. 
 I, pp. 342, 343. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 226 On December 22, 1819, the House of Representatives passed a 
 resolution directing the Secretary of War, J. C. Calhoun, to prepare 
 a system of martial law and field service. His report was communi- 
 cated to the House on December 26, 1820, and was entitled Systems 
 of Martial Law, and Field Service, and Police. It is composed of 
 two parts, namely, General Regulations for the Army, and A System 
 of Martial Law. It is from these regulations that the following 
 sketch of the routine life at a military post is built up. The report 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 225 
 
 is published in the American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, 
 pp. 201-274. 
 
 227 Ingersoll 's A History of the War Department of the United 
 States, pp. 205, 206. 
 
 228 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 119. 
 
 229 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, p. 210. 
 
 230 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 95. 
 
 231 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, p. 210. 
 
 232 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 217, 218. 
 
 233 These account books are in the possession of the Minnesota His- 
 torical Society. 
 
 234 Bishop 's Floral Home; or, First Years of Minnesota, p. 161. 
 
 235 Taliaferro's Diary, March 22, 1831; Post Returns, March, 1840, 
 in the archives of the War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 236 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 97. 
 
 237 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 345. 
 
 238 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 336, 344. 
 
 239 a merican State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. Ill, pp. 341, 
 342; Post Returns, September, 1828, in the archives of the War De- 
 partment, Washington, D. C. 
 
 240 Taliaferro's Diary, February 3, 1831. 
 
 241 This report is published in the American State Papers, Military 
 Affairs, Vol. Ill, pp. 273-277. 
 
 242 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 558, 706, 
 Vol. Ill, p. 115. 
 
 243 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 345. 
 
 244 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 476. 
 
 245 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. Ill, pp. 341, 342. 
 
 246 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. Ill, p. 277. 
 
 247 American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. II, p. 205; Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 101. 
 
226 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 2*8 Eastman 's Dahootah; or, Life and Legends of the Sioux around 
 Fort Snelling, pp. 144, 145. 
 
 2*9 American State Papers, Military A fairs, Vol. II, p. 265. 
 
 250 Detroit Gazette, February 18, 1820. 
 
 25i Keating's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's Biver, Vol. I, p. 305. 
 
 252 The Minnesota Pioneer, July 15, 1852. 
 
 253 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, p. 26; Post Returns, July, 1827, in the archives of 
 the War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 254 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 340. 
 
 255 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 432. 
 
 256 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 115. 
 
 257 Joseph M. Street to Postmaster General Barry, April 27, 1831. 
 — ■ Street Papers, No. 15, Historical Department, Des Moines, Iowa. 
 
 258 Williams's A History of the City of Saint Paul, p. 44. 
 
 259 Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1913, 
 pp. 116, 117. 
 
 260 Taliaferro's Diary, April 2, 5, 10, February 27, 1831. 
 
 2d Street to Clark, March 10, 1831. — William ClarTc Papers, Cor- 
 respondence, 1830-1832, p. 132 ; Post Returiis, March, 1830. See also 
 Post Returns, December, 1829, December, 1830, in the archives of the 
 War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 262 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 342. 
 
 263 Reports of Committees, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Re- 
 port No. 351, p. 131. 
 
 264 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 342. 
 
 265 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 130. ' ' Monsieur 
 Tonson" was a very popular farce written by W. T. Moncrief in 
 1821. The French barber, Morbleu, is greatly troubled by a steady 
 stream of visitors who come to make inquiries regarding a certain 
 fictitious Mr. Thompson, hoping thereby to gain information regard- 
 ing Adolphine de Courcy who has been traced to his door. — Walsh 's 
 Heroes and Heroines of Fiction, p. 360. 
 
■v 
 
 ZEBULON M. PIKE 
 
 As a young lieutenant, he led a government expedition up the Mississippi 
 in 1805. He first recommended that a military post be built at the mouth 
 of the Minnesota river. 
 
* - - y : 
 
 STEPHEN H. LONG 
 
 In 1817, Major Long ascended the Mississippi in a six-oar skiff and recom- 
 mended the same site for a fort chosen by Pike. 
 
HENRY LEAVENWORTH 
 
 As a lieutenant colonel he led the Fifth United States Infantry from Detroit 
 to Minnesota in 1819 to build a fort in the area selected by Pike and Long. 
 During a campaign against the Pawnee Indians in 1834, he died of fever. 
 
JOSIAH SNELLING 
 
 As an infantry colonel he succeeded Leavenworth in 1820. He selected the 
 exact site and directed the building of Fort Snelling which began to take 
 shape in 1821. The post was renamed for him in 1825. 
 
LAWRENCE TALIAFERRO 
 
 Indian agent at the fort between 1819 and 1839. His career was marked 
 by his great ability and remarkable integrity. 
 
'J^WirW^A 
 
 .*>•'■ 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR 
 
 He served at Fort Snelling as a lieutenant colonel in the infantry and com- 
 mandant in 1828-29. After winning fame for bravery and the nickname 
 "Old Rough and Ready" in the Mexican War, he was elected twelfth 
 president of the United States in 1848. 
 
WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 
 
 He served as a second lieutenant at the fort in 1849. He became a famous 
 general in the Civil War and lost the presidential election of 1880 by the 
 closest popular vote in American history. 
 
" 
 
 . 
 
 vipi 
 
 SETH EASTMAN 
 As an infantry captain he also served as commandant of Fort Snelling four 
 different times during the 1840s. His sketches and paintings of the fort and 
 the surrounding area are well known. He saw action in the Civil War. 
 
THOMAS WEST SHERMAN 
 
 As an artillery captain at Fort Snelling in the 1850s, he served six different 
 times as commandant. He served in the Indian and Maxican Wars and 
 rose to prominence as a major general in the Civil War. 
 
EDWARD R. S. CANBY 
 
 As an infantry major he twice commanded Fort Snelling in 1856. He saw 
 service in the Indian and Mexican Wars and won fame as a major general 
 in the Civil War. He was killed in the far west by the Modoc Indian chief 
 "Captain Jack" in 1873. 
 
E. C. MASON 
 
 A major general in the infantry, he served as commandant of the later 
 post of Fort Snelling between 1888-1895. In 1895, he advanced a bold and 
 imaginative plan to restore old Fort Snelling but it met with no success. 
 
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NOTES AND REFERENCES 227 
 
 260 Taliaferro's Diary, January 20,aFebruary 22, 1831. 
 
 267 Snelling to Taliaferro, October 19, July 25, 1824. — Taliaferro 
 Letters, Vol. I, Nos. 50, 56. 
 
 268 Tlie Minnesota Pioneer, November 28, 1849. 
 
 269 Taliaferro's Diary, February 10, 11, 24, 1831. 
 
 2to George F. Turner to H. H. Sibley, February 11, 1842. — Sibley 
 Papers, 1840-1850. 
 
 27i Taliaferro to Street, March 30, 1831. — Street Papers, No. 12. 
 
 272 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 100. 
 
 273 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 112. 
 
 274 Neill's The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), p. 920. 
 General Edmund P. Gaines inspected the post shortly afterwards and 
 reported: "From a conversation with the colonel, I can have no 
 doubt that he has erred in the course pursued by him in reference to 
 some of those controversies, inasmuch as he has intimated to his offi- 
 cers his willingness to sanction, in certain cases, and even to par- 
 ticipate in personal conflicts, contrary to the twenty-fifth article of 
 war." — American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. IV, p. 123. 
 
 27 Taliaferro's Diary, March 27, 1831. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 270 Morse's A JReport to the Secretary of War of the United States 
 on Indian Affairs, pp. 78, 79. 
 
 277 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 321, 322. 
 
 its Indian Office Files, 1834, No. 203. 
 
 279 Taliaferro to Clark, August 5, 1830. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-1832, p. 2. 
 
 2so This description of Indian life is based on Pond 's The Dalotas 
 or Sioux in Minnesota- as they were in 1834 in the Minnesota His- 
 torical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 319-501. 
 
 2si The quotations are taken from Beltrami 's description of an 
 Indian council which he attended at Fort Snelling in 1823. — Bel- 
 trami 's A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, Vol. II, pp. 217-219. 
 
228 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 282 These are taken from a list which is typical of the character of 
 the presents, among the papers of Thomas Forsyth. — Draper Manu- 
 scripts, 2T2. 
 
 283 Annals of Congress, 1st session, 17th Congress, Vol. I, pp. 319, 
 320. 
 
 284 Taliaferro's Diary, February 19, 1831. The speech of the chief 
 closes thus : ' ' We know you have nothing on hand for your children, 
 but we hope you will give us some Pork & Bread & a little Tobacco — 
 as our pipes are out & have been for some time our old men will be 
 pleased. ' ' The village of the Eed Head was St* Louis, the Red Head 
 being General William Clark, the superintendent of Indian affairs. 
 
 285 ' * The Crane and the Hole in the Day — and other Chippeways 
 at the Agency this day — Several Sissiton Sioux also at the Agency. 
 Issued 24 Rats Bread 20 pounds of Pork — 15 lbs. of tobacco. ' ' — 
 Taliaferro's Diary, January 23, 1831. See also the diary under the 
 dates of December 24, 1830, January 13, 17, 1831. 
 
 286 Cass to Taliaferro, July 28, 1825. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, 
 No. 57. 
 
 287 Taliaferro 's Diary, July 19, 1834. 
 
 288 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 738. 
 
 289 Taliaferro's Diary, March 4, 1831. 
 
 290 Taliaferro to Harris, February 21, 1838. — Indian Office Files, 
 1838, No. 631. 
 
 291 For the suffering during the winter of 1842-1843 and the steps 
 taken to relieve it see the letter from Dr. Williamson in the Mission- 
 ary Herald, Vol. 39, p. 355, September, 1843 ; and Bruce to Chambers, 
 April 3, 1843, in Indian Office Files, 1843, No. 222. 
 
 292 Taliaferro to Dodge, June 30, 1838. — Indian Office Files, 1838, 
 No. 690. 
 
 293 Taliaferro to Clark, March 3, 1831. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-1882, p. 129. 
 
 294 Taliaferro to Clark, September 14, 1834. — Indian Office Files, 
 1834, No. 206. 
 
 295 Taliaferro 's Diary, July 7, 1834. 
 
 296 Taliaferro 's Diary, December 25, 1830. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 229 
 
 297 Taliaferro's Diary, June 28, 30, 1834. On January 17, 1831, he 
 gave a blanket in which to bury a woman. 
 
 298 Indian Office Files, 1832, Nos. 287, 294, 295, 296. 
 
 299 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 236. 
 
 300 Snelling to Taliaferro, November 13, 1820. — Taliaferro Let- 
 ters, Vol. I, No. 21. 
 
 301 Found among the Sibley Papers, 1830-1840. 
 
 302 Taliaferro to Cass, March 3, 1832. — Indian Office Files, 1832, 
 No. 289. 
 
 303 Taliaferro to Clark, July 15, 1831. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-1832, p. 235. 
 
 304 Post Returns, April, May, 1834, July, 1835, in the archives of 
 the War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 305' 'These warriors of Mr. Eainville's were constantly with me, 
 for they knew that I was an English warrior, as they called me, and 
 they are very partial to the English." — Marryat's A Diary in Amer- 
 ica, Vol. II, p. 91. Captain Marryat, the English novelist, visited the 
 upper Mississippi region in 1837. 
 
 ' ' Many and strong are the recollections of the Sioux and other 
 tribes, of their alliance with the British in the last and revolutionary 
 wars, of which I have met many curious instances ' '. — Catlin 's Let- 
 ters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of tlie North 
 American Indians, Vol. II, p. 657, footnote. 
 
 amies' Register, Vol. XXVI, p. 363, July 31, 1824; Vol. LIII, 
 p. 33, September 16, 1837. 
 
 307 Marryat's A Diary in America, Vol. Ill, pp. 221, 222. 
 
 308 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, p. 320. 
 
 309 Niles' Register, Vol. LIII, p. 82, October 7, 1837. 
 
 3io Snelling to Taliaferro, October 19, 1824. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. I, No. 50. 
 
 3ii Taliaferro's Diary, March 18, 1831. 
 
 312 Taliaferro's Diary, March 11, 1831. 
 
230 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 3i3 Taliaferro to Clark, April 3, 1831. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-1882, p. 161. 
 
 3i4 Renville to Sibley, August 21, 1840. — Sibley Papers, 1830-1840. 
 
 3i5 Quoted in NeilPs The History of Minnesota, pp. 338, 339. The 
 two men murdered on the Missouri River in 1820 were Isadore Pou- 
 pon, a French half-breed, and Joseph F. Andrews, a Canadian. 
 
 sis Quaife's Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835, p. 283. 
 
 317 Snelling to Taliaferro, March 19, 1822. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. I, No. 32. The quotation is taken from this letter. See also 
 Calhoun to Snelling, September 18, 1822. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. 
 I, No. 40. 
 
 3i8 Letter of George Johnson, November 2, 1825. — Indian Office 
 Files, 1825-1826, No. 4. 
 
 319 Taliaferro to Harris, September 10, 1838. — Indian Office Files, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 320 Morse's A Report to the Secretary of War of the United States 
 on Indian Affairs, p. 28. 
 
 321 Kellogg 's Early Narratives of the Northwest, 1634-1699, p. 50. 
 
 322 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 209. 
 
 323 Baker to Taliaferro, May 19, 1829. — Indian Office Files, 1829, 
 No. 64. 
 
 324 Speech of Flat Mouth, May 27, 1827. — Indian Office Files, 
 1827, No. 14. 
 
 325 Indian Office Files, 1827, No. 9. 
 
 326 From Mrs. Van Cleve's reminiscences in the Minnesota His- 
 torical Collections, Vol. Ill, p. 80. 
 
 327 The information upon which the entire incident is built is con- 
 tained in the letter of Snelling to Atkinson, May 31, 1827, in Indian 
 Office Files, 1827, No. 10; the letter of Taliaferro to Clark, May 31, 
 1827, in Indian Office Files, 1827, No. 12; NeilPs The History of Min- 
 nesota, pp. 391-394; Reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams in the Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 107-110; A Reminiscence 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 231 
 
 of Ft. Snelling, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve, in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 76-81; Running the Gantlet by 
 William J. Snelling (the son of Colonel Snelling) in the Minnesota- 
 Historical Collections, Vol. I, pp. 439-456. 
 
 The last mentioned account was originally published as a magazine 
 article, and much of it is undoubtedly the product of the author's 
 imagination. It is from this that the writer drew the story of Too- 
 punkah Zeze. The article by Mrs. Van Cleve is full of errors and 
 there are some mistakes in Mrs. Adams's reminiscences. For the 
 facts of the attack the writer depended upon the two reports in the 
 Indian Office Files. In a letter written from Prairie du Chien the 
 next winter Joseph Street says that a hostage, an innocent man, was 
 among the Sioux who were executed. — Street to Dr. Alexander Posey, 
 December 11, 1827, in the Street Papers, No. 7. 
 
 Of those who were shot, says Sibley in his reminiscences, all re- 
 covered. — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 475. On the 
 other hand Flat Mouth complained to Schoolcraft in 1832 that four 
 of the number died. — Schoolcraft's Narrative of an Expedition 
 through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake, p. 85. 
 
 328 Indian Office Files, 1829, No. 63. 
 
 329 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 135. As here given 
 the mother's speech is partly direct, and partly indirect discourse. 
 The writer has changed it all to the direct discourse. 
 
 330 The attack on Hole-in-the-Day 's band is narrated in the letter 
 of Plympton to General Jones, August 13, 1838. — Indian Office Files. 
 1838, No. 618. See also Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 
 134-136; Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the DaJcotas, pp. 
 136, 137. 
 
 33i The particulars of the encounter in 1839 are given in a letter 
 written by the Right Reverend Mathias Loras in July 1839, and pub- 
 lished in Acta et Dicta: A Collection of historical data regarding 
 the origin and growth of the Catlwlic Church in the Northwest, Vol. 
 I, No. 1, pp. 18-21; and Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among 
 the DaJcotas, pp. 139-147. 
 
 332 "Instead of lessening the disasters of Indian warfare, the 
 building of Fort Snelling in the heart of the Indian country and 
 upon the line dividing the ranges of the Dakotas and the Chippewas, 
 had the direct effect of vastly increasing the horrors of that warfare. 
 
232 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 Depending upon the protection of the military, both tribes brought 
 their women and children into the disputed territory, where before 
 the coming of the soldiers they would never have dared to expose 
 them, and it soon developed that the fort afforded no protection to the 
 children of the forest against the savagery of their hereditary en- 
 emies, who made treaties of peace only to thereby gain better oppor- 
 tunity for butchery. ' ' — Eobinson 's A History of the Dakota or 
 Sioux Indians, p. 154. This is Part II of the South Dakota Historical 
 Collections, Vol. II. 
 
 333 At the forks of the Chippewa River in 1838, eleven Sioux were 
 killed while asleep, by Chippewas whom they were entertaining. The 
 mission at Lake Pokegama was attacked in 1840. In 1842, a battle 
 was fought at Pine Coulie near the Indian village of Kaposia. In 
 1850, on Apple River in Wisconsin, fourteen Chippewas were scalped. 
 See the article by Rev. S. W. Pond on Indian Warfare in Minnesota 
 in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 129-138. As 
 late as 1854, D. B. Herriman, the Chippewa agent, reported that 
 during the preceding year nearly one hundred Chippewas had been 
 killed and scalped by the Sioux. But none of these massacres took 
 place at the fort. — Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 33rd Congress, 
 Vol. I, Pt. 1, Document No. 1, p. 260. 
 
 334 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. VIII, 
 Document No. 51, p. 31. 
 
 335 Taliaferro's Diary, January 23, 1831. 
 
 336 Taliaferro's Diary, June 4, 1831. For other occasions during 
 the winter and spring of 1831 when the agent records the presence 
 of both Sioux and Chippewas see the diary under date of January 31, 
 March 5, May 2, June 15. 
 
 337 Taliaferro to Clark, July 6, 1831. — William Clark Tapers, Cor- 
 respondence, 1830-1832, p. 231. 
 
 338 Speech of Taliaferro to the Sioux. — Taliaferro's Diary, Feb- 
 ruary 19, 1831. 
 
 339 Report of J. N. Nicollet in Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 
 28th Congress, Vol. II, Document No. 52, p. 66. 
 
 340 Taliaferro's Diary, January 10, 18, 26, 1831. 
 
 34i Taliaferro to Clark, February 8, 1831. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-1832, p. 121. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 233 
 
 342 The text of the treaty is printed in Kappler's Indian Affairs, 
 Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 250-255. The treaty was signed on 
 August 19, 1825. 
 
 343 Missionary Herald, Vol. XXX, p. 22.3, June, 1834. Reverend 
 W. T. Boutwell accompanied Mr. Schoolcraft on this journey, and his 
 account of it is published in the religious paper. 
 
 344 Schoolcraft's Narrative of an Expedition through the Upper 
 Mississippi to Itasea Lake, p. 265. 
 
 345 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 684. 
 
 34c Taliaferro to William Clark, May 31, 1835. — Taliaferro Let- 
 ters, Vol. Ill, No. 234. 
 
 347 Taliaferro to Herring, July 16, 1835. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. 
 Ill, No. 238. 
 
 348 Taliaferro to William Clark, September 2, 1835; Taliaferro to 
 E. Herring, September 20, 1835. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. Ill, Nos. 
 251, 252. 
 
 340 Taliaferro to William Clark, May 26, 1831. — William Clark 
 Tapers, Correspondence, 1830-1832, p. 195. 
 
 3go Taliaferro's Diary, .January 25, 1831. 
 
 351 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 28th Congress, Vol. I, Document 
 No. 1, p. 269. 
 
 352 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, p. 490. 
 
 353 The Minnesota Pioneer, January 2, 1851. 
 
 354 Snelling to Atkinson, May 31, 1827. — Indian Office Files, 1827, 
 No. 10. 
 
 355 The Minnesota Pioneer, May 16, 1850. Other occasions when 
 Indians were imprisoned for similar causes are mentioned in The 
 Minnesota Pioneer, September 23, 1852, April 20, 1854. 
 
 35G The Minnesota Pioneer, October 14, 1852. 
 
 357 Report of Agent A. J. Bruce, September 1, 1846. — Executive 
 Documents, 2nd Session, 29th Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 4, p. 
 246. 
 
234 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 358 Beltrami 's A 'Pilgrimage in Europe and America, Vol. II, pp. 
 233, 234. 
 
 359 Taliaferro 's Diary, January 31, 1831; Taliaferro to Captain 
 W. R. Lovett, June 30, 1831, in Taliaferro Letters, Vol. II, No. 150. 
 
 360 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Ddkotas, p. 138. 
 
 36i Taliaferro to Clark, October 4, 1830. — William Clark Papers, 
 Correspondence, 1830-183%, p. 68. 
 
 362 Taliaferro's Diary, June 29, 1834. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 363 For an account of the attack on the trading house system see 
 Quaife's Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835, pp. 301-309; 
 also Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, pp. xiii-xviii. 
 
 364 This account of the fur trade is based upon the reminiscences 
 of Mr. H. H. Sibley in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, 
 pp. 245-247; and Turner's The Character and Influence of the In- 
 dian Trade in Wisconsin in the Johns Hopkins University Studies in 
 Historical and Political Science, Vol. IX, pp. 601-607. 
 
 365 if an Indian failed continually in paying up his credits, the 
 trader would refuse him any more goods. This would bring on the 
 enmity of the hunter and his whole family. Such was the case of 
 Joseph R. Brown mentioned in the Minnesota Historical Collections, 
 Vol. Ill, p. 247. 
 
 366 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. II, pp. 139-146, Vol. Ill, 
 pp. 332, 333, Vol. IV, pp. 729-735. 
 
 367 A copy of an American trading license is published in the 
 Report from the Select Committee on the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 p. 282. 
 
 368 Indian Office Files, 1831, No. 70. 
 
 369 Indian Office Files, 1831, No. 82. 
 
 370 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 200. 
 
 371 Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, p. 43 
 
 372 Sibley to Feather stonhaugh. — Sibley Papers. This letter is 
 printed in Holcombe's Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. II, p. 57. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 235 
 
 373 Chittenden's The History of the American Fur Trade of the 
 Far West, Vol. I, p. 323. 
 
 374 A list of the posts in the agency in 1826 is given in the Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 113, 114. 
 
 "The Secretary of War directs that the traders in the St Peters 
 Agency, who have been directed by you to build their houses in a 
 particular form, as^esignated by you, be informed that they are at 
 liberty to adapt the shape of their building to their own convenience. 
 He moreover directs that the term of Forts, by which they are desig- 
 nated, be changed into Posts. ' ' — William Clark to Taliaferro, March 
 26, 1827, in Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, No. 72. 
 
 375 Taliaferro to Herring, September 15, 1834, in Indian Office 
 Files, 1834, No. 210; Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, No. 74. 
 
 376 See Sibley's story of a tea party given to a number of traders 
 at Fort Snelling. — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 
 248, 249. 
 
 377 Coues's The Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 230. 
 
 378 Taliaferro's Diary, February 22, 1831. 
 
 379 Schoolcraft 's Narrative of an Expedition through the Upper 
 Mississippi to Itasca Lake, p. 44. 
 
 ago Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, pp. 306, 307. 
 
 38i United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 564. 
 
 382 Norman W. Kittson to Sibley, March 2, 1846. — Sibley Papers, 
 1840-1850. Mr. Kittson was the manager of the American Fur Com- 
 pany's business along the international boundary, with his headquar- 
 ters at Pembina. He, with the late James J. Hill, was one of the 
 promoters of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad Com- 
 pany. 
 
 383 Report from the Select Committee on the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, p. 370. 
 
 384 Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, p. 383. 
 
 sss Taliaferro's Diary, January 30, 1831. 
 
 386 Kittson to Sibley, August 7, 1846. — Sibley Papers, 1840-1850. 
 
 Mr. Kittson was the organizer of the picturesque caravans of Red 
 
 River carts (at one time called "Kittson's carts") which carried 
 
236 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 on the extensive commerce between the Canadian and American settle- 
 ments. At an early date this trade assumed large proportions. l ' The 
 van of the Red River train numbering from an hundred to two hun- 
 dred carts made entirely of wood and green hides and drawn by oxen 
 and ponies in harness, reached St. Paul on Sunday with furs, hides, 
 buffalo robes, dried buffalo tongues, pemmican, etc. They have been 
 forty days on the route. ' ' — The Minnesota Pioneer, July 26, 1849. 
 
 387 Missionary Herald, Vol. 38, p. 58, February, 1842. 
 
 388 Indian Office FUes, 1839, No. 62. 
 
 389 Missionary Herald, Vol. 40, p. 281, August, 1844. 
 
 390 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, p. 563. 
 
 39i Wisconsin Historical Collections, Vol. XX, p. 383. 
 
 392 Taliaferro's Diary, July 23, 1834. 
 
 393 Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, No. 74. 
 
 894 Marsh to Street, April 28, 1832. — Street Papers, No. 20. 
 
 395 Indian Office Files, 1835, No. 326. 
 
 396 Bailly to Street, August 3, 1832. — Street Papers, No. 28. 
 
 397 Street to Cass, October 3, 1832. — Street Papers, No. 69. 
 
 398 ' * Several persons have been arrested near Crow Wing for sell- 
 ing whiskey to the Winnebago Indians; and twelve or fifteen barrels 
 of whiskey have been overtaken and knocked in the head, by Capt. 
 Monroe's troops." — The Minnesota Pioneer, August 9, 1849. 
 
 399 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Document 
 No. 1, p. 922. 
 
 400 Taliaferro to Clark, August 17, 1830. — Indian Office Files, 
 1830, No. 143. 
 
 401 Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 140. 
 
 402 Taliaferro to Clark, August 2, 1829. — Indian Office Files, 
 1829, No. 65. 
 
 403 Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, p. 444. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 237 
 
 404 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 30th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 1, p. 919. 
 
 405 The Minnesota Pioneer, May 12, 1849. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 406 Taliaferro writes: "It was some length of time before he 
 could induce the Indians to respect the Sabbath-day — all .days being 
 alike to them. It so happened that hundreds of important peace con- 
 ventions were made and confirmed by the hostile tribes on the Lord's 
 day. But time and patience brought them to reason, and for many 
 years they respected the white man's great 'medicine day.' The sign 
 given for the day of rest was the agency flag floating from the flag- 
 staff, at the agency council house. ' ' — Auto-biography of Maj. Law- 
 rence Taliaferro in the Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, 
 p. 236. 
 
 407 Missionary Herald, Vol. 45, p. 429, December, 1849. 
 
 *08 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 326, 327; Talia- 
 ferro's Diary, August 14, 1833. 
 
 409 Street to Taliaferro, August 12, 1829. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. II, No. 108. 
 
 410 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 119-121. 
 
 4ii Taliaferro to Eaton. — Indian Office Files, 1830, No. 151. 
 
 412 Taliaferro's Diary, April 18, May 1, June 8, 1831. 
 
 413 Taliaferro's Diary, August 14, 1833. 
 4i4 Taliaferro's Diary, April 18, 1831. 
 
 4i5 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, p. iv. 
 
 4i6 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 255. 
 
 4i7 Senate Documents, 3rd Session, 25th Congress, Vol. I, Document 
 No. 1, p. 523. 
 
 4i8 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, pp. 12- 
 30. This volume, written by the son of Samuel Pond, tells of the 
 work of his father and uncle. 
 
238 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 419 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, p. 30. 
 Among the Kemper Papers (Vol. XX, No. 34) the writer found the 
 following permit to enter the Indian country: 
 
 "The Right Reverend, Jackson Kemper, Missionary Bishop of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, having signified to this Department, his 
 desire to visit and remain sometime in the Indian country, and re- 
 quested the permission required by law to enable him to do so, such 
 permission is hereby granted; and he is commended to the friendly 
 attention of civil and military officers and agents, and of citizens, 
 and if at any time it shall be necessary to their protection. 
 
 Given under my hand and 
 the Seal of the War Department 
 this 1st day of October 1838. 
 S. Cooper. 
 Acting Secretary of War." 
 
 420 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, pp. 31, 
 32 ; Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XII, pp. 324, 325. 
 
 421 Taliaferro 's Diary, July 7, 1834. 
 
 422 Pond 's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, pp. 
 38-42. 
 
 423 Pond 's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, p. 47. 
 
 424 Featherstonhaugh 's A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor, Vol. 
 II, p. 11. 
 
 425 Pond 's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, p. 43. 
 
 426 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 127-146. 
 
 427 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, pp. 
 127, 133. 
 
 428 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. Ill, Pt. 
 II, Document No. 5, pp. 1054, 1055. 
 
 429 Riggs's Mary and I, Forty Years with the Sioux, pp. 41, 42. 
 
 430 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas, pp. 
 49-59. 
 
 43i Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 29th Congress, Vol. I, Docu- 
 ment No. 4, p. 315. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 239 
 
 432 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 32nd Congress, Vol. II, Pt. 
 Ill, p. 439. 
 
 433 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 343. 
 
 434 Pond's Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Ddkotas, pp. 63, 
 64. 
 
 ^Missionary Herald, Vol. 41, p. 281, August, 1845; Vol. 32, pp. 
 188, 189, May, 1836. 
 
 436 27^ Spirit of Missions, Vol. IV, p. 61, February, 1839; Tan- 
 ner's History of the Diocese of Minnesota, p. 24; Post Returns, April, 
 1839, in the archives of the War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 437 Gear to Kemper, Nov. 29, 1841. — Kemper Letters, Vol. 25, No. 
 103. See also The Spirit of Missions, Vol. 5, p. 68, March, 1840. 
 
 438^4^ e t Dicta, Vol. I, No. 1, July, 1907, pp. 14-21; Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, pp. 222-230. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 439 Catlin 's Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Con- 
 dition of the North American Indians, Vol. II, p. 592. 
 
 440 Merrick's Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, p. 187. The 
 following description was given by Philander Prescott, a fur trader: 
 
 "The Indians say they had dreamed of seeing some monster of 
 the deep the night before, which frightened them very much. It 
 appears they did not discover the boat until it had got into the mouth 
 of the St. Peter's, below Mr. Sibley's. They stood and gazed with 
 astonishment at what they saw approaching, taking the boat to be 
 some angry god of the water, coughing and spouting water upwards, 
 sideways and forward. They had not courage enough to stand until 
 the boat came near them. The women and children took to the woods, 
 with their hair floating behind them in the breeze, from the speed 
 they were going, in running from supposed danger. Some of the men 
 had a little more courage, and only moved off to a short distance from 
 the shore, and the boat passed along and landed. Everything being 
 quiet for a moment, the Indians came up to the boat again, and stood 
 looking at the monster of the deep. All at once the boat began to 
 blow off steam, and the bravest warriors could not stand this awful 
 roaring, but took to the woods, men, women and children, with their 
 
240 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 blankets flying in the wind; some tumbling in the brush which en- 
 tangled their feet as they ran away — some hallooing, some crying, 
 to the great amusement of the people on board the steamboat. ' ' — 
 Quoted in the Minnesota Historical Collections, "Vol. Ill, p. 104, 
 note 1. 
 
 4*1 Beltrami 's A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, Vol. II, p. 
 199. 
 
 442 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 191-193. 
 
 443 Beltrami published an account of his travels in French in New 
 Orleans in 1824. The English version is entitled A Pilgrimage in 
 Europe and America, leading to the Discovery of the Sources of the 
 Mississippi and Bloody Biver, and was published in London in two 
 volumes in 1828. It is composed of twenty-two letters addressed to 
 "My Dear Countess" and dedicated "to the Fair Sex". 
 
 444 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 101. 
 
 445 The story of this exploration was published under the title of 
 Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's Biver, Lake 
 WinnepeeTc, Lake of the Woods, Etc. performed in the year 1823, by 
 order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, under the com- 
 mand of Stephen H. Long, U. S. T. E. It was written by Professor 
 Keating from the notes of the party. An English edition appeared 
 in London in 1825. The references given are to this publication. 
 
 446 J. C. Calhoun to Major Long. — Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, 
 No. 41. 
 
 447 Keating 's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's Biver, Vol. I, p. 324, Vol. II, p. 112. 
 
 448 Keating 's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's Biver, Vol. I, pp. 306-310. 
 
 449 Keating 's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's Biver, Vol. I, p. 356. 
 
 450 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 241. 
 
 451 Beltrami's A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, Vol. II, p. 
 414. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 241 
 
 452 * * My head was covered with the bark of a tree, formed into 
 the shape of a hat and sewed with threads of bark; and shoes, a coat, 
 and pantaloons, such as are used by Canadians in the Indian terri- 
 tories, and formed of original skins sewed together by thread made of 
 the muscles of that animal, completed the grotesque appearance of 
 my person. ' ' — Beltrami 's A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, 
 Vol. II, p. 481. For a short summary of Beltrami's work see the 
 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 183-196. 
 
 453 Keating 'a Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's River, Vol. II, p. 200. 
 
 45* Catlin 's North American Indians, Vol. II, pp. 599-602. 
 
 455 Catlin 's North American Indians, Vol. II, pp. 602-607. This 
 quotation is from page 607. 
 
 456 Senate Documents, 1st Session, 24th Congress, Vol. IV, Docu- 
 ment No. 333. 
 
 457 Featherstonhaugh 's A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor, 
 Vol. I, p. 262. 
 
 458 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 246. 
 
 459 Featherstonhaugh 's A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor, 
 Vol. I, pp. 261, 266, 288. 
 
 460 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, pp. 187, 188. 
 
 46i Executive Documents, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, Vol. II, Doc- 
 ument No. 52, p. 53. 
 
 462 Brower 's The Mississippi River and its Source which comprises 
 Vol. VII of the Minnesota Historical Collections. See p. 162. 
 
 463 Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota 
 Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 242-245; Minnesota Historical 
 Collections, Vol. I, p. 189. 
 
 464 In his reminiscences John C. Fremont has left a very interest- 
 ing account of these two expeditions. — Fremont's Memoirs of My 
 Life, Vol. I, pp. 30-54. 
 
 465 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 183. 
 
 466 M inn esota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 129, 133, 134. 
 
242 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 467Neill's The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), pp. 914, 
 915. 
 
 468 North Western Gazette and Galena Advertiser, June 26, 1840. 
 
 46» North Western Gazette and Galena Advertiser, June 5, 1840. 
 
 470 Louisville Journal quoted in the North Western Gazette and 
 Galena Advertiser, June 14, 1838. 
 
 47i Jackson Kemper was appointed missionary bishop of the North- 
 west in 1835 and held the position until 1859 when he accepted the 
 bishopric of Wisconsin. His papers and diaries are in the archives 
 of the Wisconsin Historical Society. For an account of his work see 
 Tiffany's A History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
 United States, pp. 448, 493. 
 
 472 Kemper Papers, Vol. XXVII, No. 113. 
 
 473 Kemper Papers, Vol. XXVII, No. 116. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 474 Journals of Congress, Vol. Ill, p. 589. 
 
 475 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 138. 
 
 476 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI, p. 566. 
 
 477 Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1890, p. xxix. 
 
 478 These figures are taken from an account of the proceedings of 
 the council published in Niles' Register, Vol. XXIX, pp. 187-192. 
 Taliaferro gives the number of his party as being 385 ' ' Sioux and 
 Chippewas, including the interpreters and attendants. ' ' — Auto-biog- 
 raphy of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Minnesota Historical Col- 
 lections, Vol. VI, p. 206. 
 
 479 The text of the treaty is printed in Kappler 's Indian Affairs, 
 Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 250-255. 
 
 480 These are the reasons given by the Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs in his report on December 1, 1837. — Senate Documents, 2nd 
 Session, 25th Congress, Vol. I, Document No. 1, pp. 526, 527. 
 
 48i Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 129. 
 
 482 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 131 ; Vol. VI, p. 214. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 243 
 
 483 For an account of the life of Flat Mouth see Coues's The Ex- 
 peditions of Zebulon M. Pike, Vol. I, p. 169, note 10. 
 
 *84 Sketches of the life of Hole-in-the-Day are given in The Spirit 
 of Missions, Vol. VIII, p. 461, December, 1843; North Western 
 Gazette and Galena Advertiser, August 3, 1839; Prairie du Chien 
 Patriot, June 8, 1847. 
 
 485 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. V, p. 353. 
 
 486 The names of the witnesses of the treaty are given in Kappler 's 
 Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, p. 493. 
 
 487 A contemporary account of the proceedings of the council pub- 
 lished in the Iowa News (Dubuque), Vol. I, Nos. 11 and 14, is re- 
 printed in The Iowa Journal of History and Polities, Vol. IX, pp. 
 408-433. 
 
 488 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. IX, p. 420. 
 
 489 Dodge to Harris, July 30, 1837. — Indian Office Files, 1837, 
 No. 226. 
 
 490 Executive Documents, 1st Session, 31st Congress, Vol. Ill, Pt 
 2, Document No. 5, p. 985. The Indians desired whiskey at the coun- 
 cils. In order to prove that it was not refused because of stinginess, 
 two barrels were opened at Prairie du Chien and the whiskey allowed 
 to run on the ground. The old Indian Wakh-pa-koo-tay mourned the 
 loss : "It was a great pity, there was enough wasted to have kept me 
 drunk all the days of my life. ' ' — Wisconsin Historical Collections, 
 Vol. V, p. 124. 
 
 49i The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. IX, pp. 409, 
 410. 
 
 492 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. IX, pp. 424- 
 426. 
 
 493 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. IX, pp. 416, 
 417. 
 
 Taliaferro was violently opposed to granting any funds to the 
 traders. — Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 215, 216. 
 
 494 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. IX, pp. 431, 
 432. 
 
244 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 495 The text of the treaty is to be found in Kappler 's Indian 
 Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 491-493. 
 
 MQNUes' Register, Vol. LIII, pp. 81, 82; Kappler 's Indian Affairs, 
 Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, pp. 493, 494. 
 
 497 See an account of the payment in 1849 at Fort Snelling in The 
 Minnesota Pioneer, September 27, 1849. 
 
 498 Post Returns, November, 1852, October, 1853, October, 1854, in 
 the archives of the War Department, Washington, D. C. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 499 Turner 's The Significance of tlie Frontier in American History 
 in the Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1893, 
 p. 211. 
 
 500 Beltrami's A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, Vol. II, p. 202. 
 
 soiNeill's The History of Minnesota (Fourth Edition), p. 453; 
 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 468. 
 
 502 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. Ill, p. 319. 
 
 503 Keating 's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. 
 Peter's River, Vol. II, p. 60. 
 
 504 Much has been written on the founding of this colony and the 
 romantic events connected with the struggle between the Hudson's 
 Bay Company and the North West Company, in which many of the 
 colonists were the innocent victims. Interesting accounts are given 
 in Kingsford's The History of Canada, Vol. IX, pp. 108-150; Bryce's 
 The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company, pp. 202- 
 257; Bryce's Lord Selkirk in The Makers of Canada, Vol. V, pp. 115- 
 206; Laut's The Conquest of tlie Great Northwest, pp. 113-202; Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, pp. 75-89. 
 
 505 There is a summary of the early trading relations of the Red 
 River Colony with the American settlements in the Collections of the 
 State Historical Society of North Dakota, Vol. IV, pp. 251, 252. 
 The arrival of these people at Fort Snelling is noted in the Minne- 
 sota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 124, 127; VI, p. 350. 
 
 506 « < Two families of Swiss emigrants who arrived here yesterday 
 were robbed of almost everything they possessed ' '. — Snelling to 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 245 
 
 Taliaferro, October 19, 1824, in Taliaferro Letters, Vol. I, No. 50. 
 See also the story of the Tully children in Van Cleve 's ' ' Three Score 
 Years and Ten," Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 
 pp. 49-61. 
 
 507 The facts concerning the migrations of these Red River ref- 
 ugees are taken from the reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams who was 
 herself one of the travellers. — Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. 
 VI, pp. 75-95. See also Chetlain's The Red River Colony. This is a 
 small pamphlet written by the son of one of the refugees. 
 
 508 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XIV, p. 84. 
 
 500 Williams's A History of the City of Saint Paul, pp. 70, 71. 
 
 5io Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, p. 16. 
 
 5u Renville to Sibley, February 22, 1835. — Sibley Papers, 1830- 
 1840. A story is told of a certain ' ' Simple-hearted, honest fellow" 
 named Sinclair. "One time he was sick, at Mendota, and Surgeon 
 Emerson, at the fort, sent by some one, a box of pills, for him to 
 take a dose from. N. W. Kittson called on him a little while after 
 this, and found that Sinclair had not only swallowed all the pills, but 
 was then chewing up the box ! ' ' — Williams 's A History of the City 
 of Saint Paul, p. 123. 
 
 512 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 127, 129. 
 
 5i3 Snelling to Taliaferro, October 19, 1824. — Taliaferro Letters, 
 Vol. I, No. 50. 
 
 514 Taliaferro's Diary, July 13, 14, 1834; Indian Office Files, 1834, 
 No. 239. 
 
 sis Taliaferro's Diary, July 21, 1834. 
 
 sis Indian Office Files, 1837, Nos. 448, 447, 445. 
 
 5i7 The Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro in the Min- 
 nesota Historical Collections, Vol. VI, p. 231. 
 
 5i8 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 14, 15. 
 
 5i9 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 16, 17. 
 
246 OLD FORT SNELLING 
 
 520 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 18, 23. 
 
 521 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 136; Williams's 
 A History of the City of Saint Paul, pp. 66, 67. 
 
 522 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 23, 24. 
 
 523 Executive Documents, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, 
 Document No. 9, pp. 26, 27. 
 
 52* The Spirit of Missions, Vol. V, p. 335, November, 1840. A 
 recent sketch of Fort Snelling states that there were ' ' no white 
 neighbors except traders, agents of fur companies, refugees from civ- 
 ilization and disreputable hangers-on. ' ' — Hammond 's Quaint and 
 Historic Eorts of North America, p. 272. Many of the evicted set- 
 tlers can not be classed among these. 
 
 525 This order is published in Williams 's A History of the City of 
 Saint Paul, p. 94. 
 
 526 For the expulsion of the settlers see Williams's A History of 
 the City of Saint Paul, pp. 99, 100; also, Neill's The History of 
 Minnesota (Fourth Edition), p. 459. Williams (p. 100) says that in 
 1849 and 1852 memorials were presented to Congress by those who 
 had been expelled, in which they stated that "the soldiery fell upon 
 them without warning, treated them with unjustifiable rudeness, 
 broke and destroyed furniture wantonly, insulted the women, and, in 
 one or two instances, fired at and killed cattle. ' ' 
 
 Father Galtier, who was there at the time, wrote: "Consequently 
 a deputy marshall from Prairie du Chien was ordered to remove the 
 houses. He went to work, assisted by some soldiers, and, one after 
 another, unroofed the cottages, extending about five miles along the 
 river. The settlers were forced to seek new homes." He makes no 
 mention of personal violence. — Acta et Dicta, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 64. 
 
 527 Williams's A History of the City of Saint Paul, p. 111. 
 
 528 See the description of St. Paul in 1849 in Seymour's Sketches 
 of Minnesota, the New England of the West, pp. 94-100. 
 
 529 The Minnesota Pioneer, January 30, 1850. 
 
 530 The Minnesota Pioneer, January 23, February 27, June 27, 
 1850. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 247 
 
 531 The Minnesota Pioneer, November 27, 1851. 
 
 532 The Minnesota Pioneer, April 17, 1851. 
 
 533 Minnesota Historical Collections, Vol. XV, p. 534; Post Re- 
 turns, July, 1855, in the archives of the War Department, Washing- 
 ton, D. C. 
 
 534 The Minnesota Pioneer, February 20, 27, 1850. 
 
 535 The Minnesota Pioneer, February 6, 13, 1850 ; Minnesota Chron- 
 icle and Register, February 10, 1851. 
 
 536 The Minnesota Pioneer, February 13, 1850. 
 
 537 Bishop 's Floral Home; or, First Years of Minnesota, pp. 152- 
 163. 
 
 538 The Minnesota Pioneer, August 23, 1849. 
 
 539 These two treaties were the treaty with the Sisseton and Wah- 
 peton bands of Sioux at Traverse des Sioux, July 23, 1851 ; and with 
 the Mdewakanton and Wahpakoota bands of Sioux at Mendota on 
 August 5, 1851. — Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, Vol. 
 II, pp. 588-593. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abercrombie, John J., fort built by, 50 
 
 Adams, Mrs. Ann, 245 
 
 Agency house, fire in, 101 
 
 Agriculture (see Fanning) 
 
 Aitkin, Mr., 144 
 
 Akin, Mr., information furnished by, 
 172 
 
 Alcohol, purchase of, 88 
 
 American Fur Company, fort pur- 
 chased from, 21 ; warehouse and 
 store of, 81; monopoly of, 135 
 reference to, 138, 142, 188, 209 
 
 Americans, hostility of Indians to 
 during "War of 1812, 8-12; In 
 dians impressed by supremacy of 
 112-118; protection promised by, 
 122 
 
 Ammunition, giving of, to Indians, 
 110 
 
 Andrews, Joseph F., 230 
 
 Annuities, 42, 43, 111, 126; pay- 
 ment of, to Indians, 184, 185 
 
 Apple River, massacre on, 132, 232 
 
 Apples, purchase of, 88 
 
 Ardourly, Jack, 100 
 
 Armorer's shop, 77, 78, 79 
 
 Articles of Confederation, 176 
 
 Assiniboine River, 5 
 
 Astor, John Jacob, 135, 209 
 
 Atkinson, Henry, fort named in hon- 
 or of, 30; reference to, 34 
 
 Aunt Phyllis' s Cabin, 62 
 
 Badger, The, murder of, 127 
 
 Bailly, Alexis, 99, 188; disagreement 
 
 between Taliaferro and, 138, 139; 
 
 whiskey in store of, 142, 143 
 Baker, Benjamin, trading house of, 
 
 78, 79, 125, 192 
 Ball-plays, 101 ; holding of, for Cat- 
 
 lin, 164 
 Balls, music for, 197 
 
 Band, fund for maintenance of, 87; 
 music by, 197 
 
 Barracks, building of, 25; reference 
 to, 73 ; description of, 74, 75 ; tak- 
 ing of sick soldiers from, 85 
 
 Bean, J. L., boundary line surveyed 
 by, 130, 131 
 
 Bear, hunting of, 105 
 
 Bear dance, 164 
 
 Bedford (Pennsylvania), 71 
 
 Beef, 85; ration of, 109 
 
 Beggars' dance, 164 
 
 Belen Gate of City of Mexico, 64 
 
 Beltrami, J. C, description of coun- 
 cil by, 106, 107; reference to, 133, 
 187; visit of, to Fort Snelling, 160- 
 163 
 
 Bennington (Vermont), 61 
 
 Benton, Thomas H., 107 
 
 Berries, gathering of, 105 
 
 Big Eagle, 83 
 
 Big Stone Lake, 103 
 
 Big Thunder, 83 ; desire of, to raise 
 corn, 152 
 
 Birthplace of soldiers, 92 
 
 Black Dog, village of, 83 
 
 Black Hawk War, position of Fort 
 Snelling during, 35 
 
 Black Hole, confinement of offenders 
 in, 91, 132 
 
 Black River, 36, 184 
 
 Blacksmith shop, 118 
 
 Blacksmiths, work of, 78, 155 
 
 Blankets, giving of, to Indians, 110; 
 reference to, 136 
 
 Bliss, John H., 68, 114, 151, 153; 
 punishment inflicted by, 90, 91; 
 statement by, 99, 100 
 
 Bliss, Mrs. John H., 153 
 
 Blockhouses, 74 
 
 Blue Earth River, Winnebago reser- 
 vation on, 37; reference to, 162 
 
 251 
 
252 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Boarding-school, success of, among 
 Indians, 156 
 
 Boatmen, foreigners as, 138 
 
 Bois bruits, difficulties with, 37-40; 
 location of, around fort, 188, 189 
 
 Books, fund for purchase of, 87 
 
 Boonesborough (Kentucky), 201 
 
 Boston, 56, 145 
 
 Bougainville, Louis Antoine, report 
 of, 205 
 
 Boundary line of 1825, 130, 131, 
 178, 184 
 
 Brandy, 86 
 
 Braves, desire of, to take part in 
 council, 181 
 
 "Brazil" (steamboat), 168, 169 
 
 Bread, character of, 86 
 
 Bread tickets, 88 
 
 Breakfast, 85 
 
 Brewers, 92 
 
 Briggs, Ansel, 41 
 
 Brock, General, 8 
 
 Brooke, George M., site for fort chos- 
 en by, 48 
 
 Broom, purchase of, 88 
 
 Brown, Joseph R., 190, 191 
 
 Brown, Private, purchases by, 88 
 
 Brown's Falls, 81 
 
 Bruce, Amos J., 71 
 
 Brunson, Alfred, work of, among In- 
 dians, 154 
 
 Brunson, Ira B., 195 
 
 Buchanan County (Iowa), 41 
 
 Buck, Solon J., acknowledgments to, 
 ix 
 
 Buffalo, hunting of, by half-breeds, 
 37, 38, 40 
 
 Buffalo dance, 164 
 
 "Burlington" (steamboat), 168 
 
 Butter, purchase of, 88 
 
 Calhoun, John C, 19, 224 
 
 California, emigration to, 43 
 
 Camp Cold Water, establishment of, 
 
 27; reference to, 58, 110, 189, 190, 
 
 212 
 Camp Missouri, sickness at, 213 
 Camp Pierce, 46 
 Campbell, Duncan, 131 
 
 Campbell, Scott, service of, as inter- 
 preter, 71, 72 
 
 Canada, 3, 8, 57, 92, 158; taking of 
 furs to, 6 ; importance of fur trade 
 to, 9; visits of Indians to, 37, 106; 
 difficulties with half-breeds from, 
 37-40; export of furs from, 207 
 
 Canal, 20 
 
 Canby, Edward R. S., sketch of life 
 of, 63-65 
 
 Candles, 86 
 
 Candy, purchase of, 88 
 
 Canister shot, 77 
 
 Cannon, description of, 77 
 
 Cannon River, 137 
 
 Canoes, 199 
 
 Cantonment Leavenworth, establish- 
 ment of, 56 
 
 Cantonment New Hope, establishment 
 of, 25; removal of troops from, 27; 
 reference to, 55 
 
 Cards, playing of, 99 
 
 Carpenters, employment of soldiers 
 as, 96 
 
 Cartridges, stock of, 77 
 
 Carver, Jonathan, exploration by, 1 ; 
 statement by, 1, 2 ; reference to, 
 198 
 
 Cass, Lewis, visit of, at Fort Snell- 
 ing, 28; reference to, 137, 140, 
 178; expedition of, 212 
 
 Cat'o'nine tails, 90 
 
 Catholic chapel, 81 
 
 Catholics, religious work among, 158 
 
 Catlin, George, visit of, at Fort Snell- 
 ing, 163, 164 
 
 Catlin, Mrs. George, visit of, to Fort 
 Snelling, 163, 164 
 
 Cattle, feeding of, 82, 96 
 
 Cellars, 75 
 
 Cemetery, 81, 89, 93 
 
 Certificates, giving of, to Indians, 
 113, 114 
 
 Chambers, John, 182 
 
 Chapel, 81, 195 
 
 Chaplain, 88, 101, 194, 195; service 
 of Gear as, 157 
 
 Chatel, Mr., work of, 155, 156 
 
 Checkers, playing of, 99 
 
INDEX 
 
 253 
 
 Cheese, purchase of, 88 
 
 Cherokee Indians, removal of, 63, 64 
 
 Cherubusco, Battle of, 64 
 
 Chess, playing of, 99 
 
 Chicago, 161 
 
 Chiefs, giving of certificates to, 113, 
 114; visit of, to Washington, 115, 
 116; council with, 181 
 
 Children, education of, at fort, 100, 
 101 
 
 Chippewa, Battle of, 55 
 
 Chippewa Indians, early traders 
 among, 3 ; reference to, 7, 48, 104, 
 108, 139, 142, 144, 163, 177, 178, 
 228, 231, 242; unwillingness of, 
 to make treaty, 13 ; treaty between 
 Sioux and, 28 ; treaty with, 45, 
 176-186; land ceded by, 47, 48; 
 home of, 103 ; war parties against, 
 106; hostility of, 114; feuds be- 
 tween Sioux and, 119-134; killing 
 of, by Sioux, 121, 125; murderers 
 killed by, 122-124; murder of 
 Sioux warrior by, 127; battle be- 
 tween Sioux and, 127, 128, 232; 
 boundary line between Sioux and, 
 130, 131, 178; trustworthiness of, 
 134; language of, 172, 173, 174; 
 summoning of, to council, 179 
 
 Chippewa River, 131, 172; murder 
 of Sioux on, 232 
 
 Choctaw Indians, removal of, 63, 64 
 
 Chouteau, Auguste, activities of, as 
 commissioner, 12, 13 
 
 Christianity, influence of, 146 ; meth- 
 od of preaching, 150, 151 
 
 Church, organization of, at Fort 
 Snelling, 157; attendance at, 194, 
 195 
 
 Churns, 76 
 
 Civil War, use of Fort Snelling dur- 
 ing, 52 ; service of Eastman in, 62 ; 
 reference to, 63, 201 ; service of 
 Canby in, 64 
 
 Clark, Charlotte Ouisconsin, 23, 212 
 
 Clark, Dan E., acknowledgments to, x 
 
 Clark, Nathan, 21 
 
 Clark, Mrs. Nathan, 23 
 
 Clark, William, expedition under, 4, 
 
 5; Fort Shelby established by, 11; 
 activities of, as commissioner, 12, 
 13 ; reference to, 69, 70, 114, 178, 
 221, 228 
 
 Clarke, Colonel, 44 
 
 Clerks, 136 
 
 Cloud Man, resolution of, to become 
 farmer, 148; reference to, 153 
 
 Cloves, purchase of, 88 
 
 Coe, Alvan, coming of, to Fort Snell- 
 ing, 149 
 
 Coffee, 86 
 
 Colhoun, James E., 161, 162 
 
 Colors, guarding of, 85 
 
 Columbia, Department of, 65 
 
 Columbia Fur Company, 138 
 
 Columbia River, 5 
 
 Commanders of Fort Snelling, influ- 
 ence of, 54; sketches of lives of, 
 54-65 
 
 Commanding officer, quarters of, 75 
 
 Commerce, extent of, 205 
 
 Commissary, office of, 75 
 
 Commissary department, storehouse 
 of, 75 
 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, re- 
 port of, 37; reference to, 67, 177 
 
 Confederation, forming of, among In- 
 dians, 13 
 
 Congress, right of, to regulate Indian 
 affairs, 176; memorials to, 246 
 
 Connecticut, 1 
 
 Contreras, Battle of, 64 
 
 Coon, story about Scott and, 60, 61 
 
 Cooper, S., 238 
 
 Cooperation in fur trade, 135 
 
 Copper, mining of, 25; block of, 175 
 
 Corn, feeding of, to cattle, 82; rais- 
 ing of, by Indians, 105; giving of, 
 to Indians, 110 
 
 Council, holding of, with Indians, 35, 
 36, 43, 106-109, 129, 179-183 
 
 Council Bluff (Nebraska), fort at, 
 20; route of road to Fort Snelling 
 from, 28, 29; naming of fort at, 
 30; reference to, 160; sickness at, 
 213 
 
 Council Hall, description of, 106, 107 
 
 Council House, erection of, 28; de- 
 
254 
 
 INDEX 
 
 scription of, 77; burning of, 77, 
 78; rebuilding of, 78 
 
 Coureurs des bois, activities of, 3 
 
 Court-martial, 102 
 
 Crane, The, 129, 228 
 
 Crawford, Captain, 159 
 
 Crawford County (Wisconsin) volun- 
 teers from, 35 
 
 Credit, fur trade carried on by means 
 of, 136 
 
 Creek Indians, removal of, 63, 64 
 
 Croghan, George, visit of, to Fort 
 Snelling, 100 
 
 Cross Timbers (Indian Territory), 56 
 
 Crow Wing, 236 
 
 Crow Wing River, 47 
 
 Currants, purchase of, 88 
 
 Dahcotah: or, Life and Legends of 
 the Sioux around Fort Snelling, 62 
 
 Dana, Captain, 49 
 
 Dance of the braves, 164 
 
 Dances, holding of, by Indians, 164 
 
 Dakota, Department of, 52 
 
 Dakota Indians (see Sioux Indians) 
 
 Dearborn, Major, 110 
 
 Deaths, number of, at Fort Snelling, 
 93 
 
 Debts, payment of, to traders, 183, 
 184 
 
 De Courcy, Adolphine, 100 
 
 Deer, hunting of, 105 
 
 Delaware County (New York), 55 
 
 Delhi (New York), 56 
 
 Democrats, charges of graft against, 
 51 
 
 Denny, St. Clair, 161 
 
 Des Moines River, 18, 44 
 
 Deserters, dangers faced by, 92 
 
 Desertions, causes of, 91 ; prevalence 
 of, 91, 92 
 
 Details, duties of, 85 
 
 Detroit, 11, 19; departure of troops 
 from, 21 ; surrender of, 57 
 
 Devil's Lake, 40 
 
 Dickson, Robert, activities of, in be- 
 half of English, 11; reference to, 
 13, 16, 134; instructions to, 208 
 
 Diet, description of, 85 
 
 Dinner, 85 
 
 Dixon, Private, desertion of, 92 
 
 Dodge, Henry, visit of, to Fort Snell- 
 ing, 168 ; council of, with Indians, 
 180-183 
 
 Dog dance, 164 
 
 Dominoes, playing of, 99 
 
 Doty, James D., 212 
 
 Douglas, Thomas, settlement of, 188, 
 189 
 
 Draft riots, 64 
 
 Dragoons, expedition of, 38, 39, 45, 
 216; activities of, in Iowa, 44, 45; 
 service of, on survey, 46, 47; ref- 
 erence to, 48, 56, 63, 186, 217; 
 frontier service of, 49 ; arrival of, 
 215 
 
 Dress parade, 85 
 
 Drummond Island, visits of Indians 
 to, 13, 14 
 
 Drunkenness, prevalence of, in gar- 
 rison, 89, 90, 194; punishment for, 
 90 
 
 Dubuque, 43, 158, 216 
 
 Dubuque, Diocese of, 158 
 
 Ducks, 96, 97 
 
 Dueling, 102 
 
 Duluth, Daniel Greyloson, 3 
 
 Dunning, William A., 215 
 
 Eagle dance, 164 
 
 Eastman, Mary Henderson, writings 
 
 of, 62 
 Eastman, Seth, 35, 99, 145; sketch 
 
 of life of, 62 
 Eastman, Mrs. Seth, description by, 
 
 94 
 Eaton, John H., 149 
 Eatonville (Minnesota), colony at, 
 
 118, 149; success of colony at, 
 
 150; Pond brothers in charge of, 
 
 152 
 Education, work of, among Indians, 
 
 156 
 "Education Families", 103 
 Education of children, 100, 101 
 Edwards, Ninian, activities of, as 
 
 commissioner, 12, 13 
 Eighth United States Infantry, 18 
 
INDEX 
 
 255 
 
 Elk, hunting of, 105 
 
 Emerson, John, sketch of life of, 65, 
 66; reference to, 194, 245 
 
 Emerson, Mrs. John, 66 
 
 Emigration, 14, 15 
 
 England, 70 
 
 English, rule of, in West, 2, 3; ac- 
 tivities of, in fur trade, 3, 4, 140; 
 power of, over Indians, 5-17; sup- 
 port of, by Indians in War of 
 1812, 8-12; medals given by, 112; 
 persistence of influence of, 114, 
 115; use of Indians by, 208 
 
 English River, 42 
 
 English trading companies, 2 
 
 Episcopal Church, 169 
 
 Evans, William, 190 
 
 Exploring expeditions, 109 
 
 Factors, 136; relations of, with of- 
 ficers of fort, 138, 139 
 
 Factory System, 107 
 
 Fall, activities of Indians during, 
 105, 106 
 
 Falls of St. Anthony, 7, 24, 29, 30, 
 86, 96, 149, 153, 198, 207; jour- 
 ney of Long to, 19; plan to es- 
 tablish fort near, 20; saw mill at, 
 27, 28; fort named for, 29; road 
 to, 81; description of, 81, 173, 
 174; legend concerning, 81, 82; 
 visits of travelers to, 159-175; at- 
 tempt to cross, 161, 162 
 
 Falstrom, Jacob, 191 
 
 Faribault, Jean Baptiste, house of, 
 80; reference to, 137, 141, 222; 
 trading post of, 187, 188 
 
 Faribault, Pelagi, 187 
 
 Farmers, 92; employment of soldiers 
 as, 95 ; work of, among Indians, 
 155, 156 
 
 Farming, efforts to introduce, among 
 Indians, 148-150; work of Indians 
 at, 150; assistance to Indians in, 
 152, 153; instruction of Indians 
 in, 155 
 
 "Fashionable Tour", 159-175 
 
 Fat Duty Win (Indian), 156 
 
 "Fayette" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Fayette County (Iowa), 41 
 
 Featherstonhaugh, George William, 
 visit of, to Fort Snelling, 153, 165, 
 166 
 
 Ferries, 14 
 
 Ferry house, 81 
 
 Ferryman, 81 
 
 Fifth United States Infantry, disem- 
 barkment of, 2; orders to, 19, 20; 
 location of parts of, .21; journey 
 of, to mouth of Minnesota River, 
 21-24; companies of, taken to Fort 
 Crawford, 32 ; reference to, 55, 58, 
 59, 62, 187 
 
 Finley, Mr., home of, 81 
 
 Fireplaces, heating by means of, 99 
 
 Fires, epidemic of, 101 
 
 First United States Infantry, 58, 59, 
 62 
 
 Fishing tackle, purchase of, 88 
 
 Flag staff, 75 
 
 Flags, giving up of, by Indians, 6; 
 reference to, 112; slur against, 145 
 
 Flat Mouth, 120; career of, 179 
 
 Flatboats, 14, 86, 199 
 
 Flogging, 90 
 
 Florida War, service of Eastman in, 
 62 ; service of Canby in, 63 
 
 Flour, 86 
 
 Food, character of, 26, 85-87 
 
 Folles-Avoine Indians, 205 
 
 Fond du Lac, Department of, 6 
 
 Foraging, 85, 96 
 
 Foreigners, permission to, to engage 
 in fur trade, 138 
 
 Forests, 178 
 
 Forsyth, Thomas, journey of, up Mis- 
 sissippi, 22 ; presents distributed 
 by, 23 ; arrival of, at mouth of Min- 
 nesota River, 24 ; return trip of, 
 24; reference to, 211, 228 
 
 Fort Abercrombie, facts concerning 
 early history of, 49, 50 
 
 Fort Armstrong, construction of, 18; 
 reference to, 20; garrison for, 22; 
 journey of Webb to, 117 
 
 Fort Atkinson (Iowa), dragoons from, 
 35; expedition from, 38; Major 
 Woods at, 41 
 
256 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Fort Atkinson (Nebraska), naming 
 of, 30; sickness at, 93 
 
 Fort Benton, 46 
 
 Fort Bridger, 64 
 
 Fort Calhoun (Nebraska), 20 
 
 Fort Clarke, establishment of, 44, 45 
 
 Fort Crawford, establishment of, 18; 
 reference to, 20, 23, 59, 157, 161; 
 arrival of troops at, 22 ; reinforce- 
 ment of garrison of, 32, 34; re- 
 moval of troops from, 33 
 
 Fort Dearborn, massacre at, 10, 11, 
 208; reference to, 18, 117; re-oc- 
 cupation of, 18 
 
 Fort Defiance, 64 
 
 Fort Des Moines, 44 
 
 Fort Dodge, establishment of, 44, 45; 
 reference to, 49 
 
 Fort Erie, 57 
 
 Fort Gaines, 43, 48 
 
 Fort Garry, 40, 188 
 
 Fort Howard, erection of, 19; refer- 
 ence to, 21, 211 
 
 Fort Leavenworth, establishment of, 
 56 
 
 Fort McKay, name of Fort Shelby 
 changed to, 12; re-occupation of 
 site of, 18 
 
 Fort Pierre, purchase of, 21; refer- 
 ence to, 167 
 
 Fort Ridgely, 49, 186 
 
 Fort Ripley, 48 
 
 Fort St. Anthony, 29 
 
 Fort Shelby, establishment of, 11, 
 12; capture of, by English, 12 
 
 Fort Snelling, significance of estab- 
 lishment of, 2 ; establishment and 
 early history of, 18-30; range of 
 influence of, 21 ; erection of, 27, 
 28; garden at, 28; route of road 
 to, 28, 29; naming of, 29, 30; ser- 
 vice of, in protection of frontier, 
 31-53; attitude of War Department 
 toward, 31; Territorial jurisdic- 
 tions over site of, 32; activities of 
 troops at, during Winnebago out- 
 break, 32-34; character and duties 
 of garrison of, 34, 35; service of 
 troops from, in removal of Winne- 
 
 bagoes, 35-37; expeditions from, 
 39-45; surveying party escorted by 
 dragoons from, 46, 47; relation of, 
 to other forts, 47; fort built by 
 troops from, 48, 49, 50; history of 
 later years of, 50-53 ; desire to lo- 
 cate town on site of, 50-52 ; officers' 
 training camp at, 53 ; biographical 
 sketches of men connected with, 
 54-72; Dred Scott at, 66; service 
 of Indian agent at, 66-72; descrip- 
 tion of, 73-83; view from, 79, 80; 
 glimpses of garrison life at, 84- 
 102; relation of, to Indian affairs, 
 103-118; efforts of authorities at, 
 to keep peace between Sioux and 
 Chippewas, 119-134; regulation of 
 fur trade by officers at, 135-139; 
 regulation of liquor traffic by of- 
 ficers at, 139-145; work of mission- 
 aries at, 146-158; religious activi- 
 ties at, 156-158; visits of travelers 
 to, 159-175, 198; Indian treaty 
 made at, 176-186; part of, in open 
 ing country to settlement, 184 
 185; part of, in settlement of West 
 187-201; settlements around, 187 
 190; removal of settlers from vi 
 cinity of, 192-195 ; relations be 
 tween St. Paul and, 196-198; with 
 drawal of troops from, 199; unique 
 facts concerning, 201 ; arrival of 
 troops at, 212, 215; oil painting 
 of, 223 ; effect of, on Indian af- 
 fairs, 231, 232 
 
 Fort Sumter, 201 
 
 Fort Ticonderoga, 201 
 
 Fort Union, 46 
 
 Fort William, 9 
 
 Fort York, 189 
 
 Forts, resistance to building of, 13 ; 
 location of, 18; building of, 18-20, 
 47; reference to, 136; degenera- 
 tion of Indians in vicinity of, 147 
 
 "Four Hearts", 68 
 
 Four Legs, attempt of, to delay troops, 
 21 
 
 Fourth United States Infantry, 56 
 
 Fowle, Major, 34, 122 
 
INDEX 
 
 257 
 
 Fox Indians, rumor of attack by, 117; 
 reference to, 205 ; treaty with, 208 
 (see Sac and Fox Indians) 
 
 Fox River, 19, 163; canal between 
 Wisconsin River and, 20; ascent 
 of, by troops, 21, 22 
 
 France, 1, 92 
 
 Franks, Mr., 209 
 
 Fremont, John C, 167, 241 
 
 French, rule of, in West, 2, 3 ; influ- 
 ence of, over Indians, 3 ; extent of 
 trade during control of, 205 
 
 French traders, 2 
 
 Frontier, difficulties on, 15; plan for 
 protection of, 19; service of Fort 
 Snelling in protection of, 31-53; 
 service of Taylor on, 59 
 
 Fuel, use of wood for, 99 
 
 Funerals, conduct of, 93 
 
 Fur trade, 2, 3, 35; activities of 
 English in, 3, 4, 5-17; importance 
 of, to Canada, 9 ; regulation of, 
 15-17, 135-139; quantity of furs 
 secured in, 137; use of liquor in, 
 139, 140; extent of, 205 
 
 Fur traders (see Traders) 
 
 Furs, taking of, to Canada, 6 ; sort- 
 ing and packing of, 81; quantity 
 and kind of, secured by traders, 
 137; annual export of, from Can- 
 ada, 207 
 
 Gaines, Edmund P., 227 
 
 Gale, Captain, 131 
 
 Galena (Illinois), 32, 151, 168, 170, 
 
 175, 190 
 Galtier, Lucian, 158, 195 
 Game, killing of, 42 
 Garden, products of, 28 ; making of, 
 
 95, 96 
 Gardiner, Captain, 46 
 Gardner, Lieutenant, 216 
 Garrison, life of, at Fort Snelling, 84- 
 
 102 
 Gear, Ezekiel, purchases made by, 88, 
 
 89; service of, as chaplain, 157; 
 
 reference to, 169, 170, 173 
 Geese, 96 
 "General Ashley" (keel boat), 33 
 
 "General Brooke" (steamboat), 169 
 
 "General Fatigue", 85 
 
 Genoa (Italy), 70 
 
 Geological surveys, beginning of, 165 
 
 George the Third, medals of, 112 
 
 Gettysburg, Battle of, 63 
 
 Ghent, negotiations at, 209 
 
 Good Road (Chief), 83; village of, 
 155 
 
 Gooding, Mrs., 23 
 
 Gooding, Miss, 29 
 
 Goods for Indian trade, 136 
 
 Goose River, 40 
 
 Gorgets, 112, 114 
 
 Gorman, W. A., 197 
 
 Graft, charges of, 51 
 
 Graham's Point, 50 
 
 Grant, Peter, trading post of, 206 
 
 Grapeshot, 77 
 
 Gray, A., report by, 8 
 
 Great Britain, exploration of domain 
 of, 1 ; diplomatic correspondence 
 with, 140 
 
 Great Lakes, 2, 103 
 
 Green, Piatt Rogers, marriage of, 29; 
 reference to, 83 
 
 Green Bay, 4, 21, 138; fort on, 19; 
 fur trade at, 205 
 
 Greenly, Mr., 43, 44 
 
 Greenough, I. K., 101, 143 
 
 Green's Villa, 82 
 
 Grist mill, 82 
 
 Grooms, Mr., 142, 151 
 
 Groseilliers, Medard Chuart, explora- 
 tion by, 3 
 
 Guardhouse, 75 
 
 Gull Lake, 179 
 
 Guns, giving of, to Indians, 110 
 
 Half-breeds, difficulties with, 37-40; 
 
 reference to, 157, 184; location of, 
 
 around fort, 188, 189 
 Hamilton, Mrs. Alexander, visit of, 
 
 to Fort Snelling, 168 
 Hannibal (negro servant), 90 
 Harness, 75 
 
 Harriet (negro woman), 66 
 Harriman, D. B., 232 
 Harrison, William H., 57 
 
258 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Harrodstown (Kentucky), 201 
 
 Hartford (Connecticut), 21 
 
 Hastings (Minnesota), 26 
 
 Hay, raising of, 96 
 
 Hays, John, 190 
 
 Heald, Nathan, 10 
 
 Heiskell, William King, Fort Snelling 
 reservation sold by, 51 
 
 Hennepin, Louis, 3 
 
 Henry, Alexander, 206 
 
 Herring, Elbert, 221 
 
 Hiawatha, 62 
 
 Higby, James, 196 
 
 "Highland Mary", 43 
 
 Hill, James J., 235 
 
 Hivernants, 136 
 
 Hole-in-the-Day, 124, 126, 129, 228, 
 231; career of, 179, 180 
 
 Holland, 92 
 
 Homesickness, 25 
 
 Horses, feeding of, 85; raising of 
 hay for, 96; exchange of, for liquor, 
 141 
 
 Hospital, 75 ; taking of sick soldiers 
 to, 85; number of soldiers in, 93 
 
 Howitzers, 77 
 
 Hudson's Bay, 189 
 
 Hudson's Bay Company, 8, 140, 188, 
 206, 244 
 
 Huggins, Alexander G., 154 
 
 Hull, William, 10, 57; surrender of 
 Detroit by, 57, 58 
 
 Hunt, Abigail, marriage of, 57 
 
 Hunting, skill of Scott in, 60, 61; 
 success of soldiers in, 96, 97; ac- 
 tivities of Indians in, 105, 106; 
 reference to, 111, 188; efforts to 
 supplement, by farming, 148 
 
 Hunting grounds, 82 
 
 Hunting parties, size of, 38 ; encoun- 
 ters by, 129; watching of, by In- 
 dian agent, 129, 130 
 
 Illinois, admission of, 15; Indian out- 
 break in, 32-34 
 
 Illinois River, 177 
 
 Indian affairs, regulation of, 34, 35, 
 67; relation of Fort Snelling to, 
 103-118, 231 
 
 Indian agency, buildings of, 77; pro- 
 posed removal of, 78; councils with 
 Indians at, 106-109 
 
 Indian agent, protection for, 18; ser- 
 vice of Taliaferro as, 66-71 ; re- 
 lation between military authorities 
 and, 67; house of, 77, 78; task of, 
 103, 104; visit of Indians to, 111; 
 aid given to sick Indians by, 111, 
 112; efforts of, to promote peace 
 between Sioux and Chippewas, 119- 
 134; service of, as mediator, 191, 
 192; reference to, 220 
 
 Indian ball, 101 
 
 Indian country, preparations for 
 march into, 93-95 
 
 Indian dances, holding of, for Cat- 
 lin, 164 
 
 Indian schools, 118 
 
 Indian Territory, removal of Indians 
 to, 63, 64 
 
 Indian Tribes of the United States, 
 History, Conditions, and Future 
 Prospects of the, 62 
 
 Indian villages, 83 
 
 Indiana, admission of, 15; reference 
 to, 63 
 
 Indians, influence of French traders 
 over, 3 ; trade of English with, 4 ; 
 power of English over, 5-17, 114, 
 115; support of British by, in War 
 of 1812, 8-12; treaties with, 12, 
 13; sending of presents to, 13, 23; 
 visits of, to Drummond Island, 13, 
 14; proposals for dealing with, 15; 
 regulation of trade with, 15-17; re- 
 fusal of, to supply troops with 
 food, 26; relation of Fort Snell- 
 ing to, 31; hostility of, 32-34; op- 
 position of, to half-breeds, 37; 
 power of agents over, 67; tepees 
 of, 73 ; blacksmith work for, 78 ; 
 legend of, concerning Falls of St. 
 Anthony, 81, 82 ; treatment of de- 
 serters by, 92, 93 ; plan for civili- 
 zation of, 103; number of, around 
 Fort Snelling, 103, 104; character 
 of life among, 104-106; councils 
 with, at Fort Snelling, 106-109; 
 
INDEX 
 
 259 
 
 effect of military display on, 108, 
 109; relief of sufferings of, 109, 
 110; visit of, to agent, 111; help 
 to, in sickness, 111, 112; vaccina- 
 tion of, 112; evidence of power .cf 
 government given to, by Fort Snell- 
 ing, 112-118; medals and certifi- 
 cates given to, 113, 114; influence 
 of Fort Snelling over, 116-118; reg- 
 ulation of fur trade with, 135-139; 
 goods used in trade with, 136; ef- 
 forts to suppress liquor traffic Avith, 
 139-145 ; evil effects of liquor on, 
 141 ; work of missionaries among, 
 146-158; degeneration among, 147; 
 log village for, 149 ; work of, at 
 farming, 150; assistance to, in 
 farming, 152, 153; boarding-school 
 for, 156; effect of religious work 
 among, 158; paintings of, by Cat- 
 lin, 163, 164; relations of United 
 States with, 176-178; speeches by, 
 181, 182; disputes between settlers 
 and, 191, 192; drunkenness among, 
 194; use of, by British, 208; plans 
 for permanent territory for, 209 ; 
 respect of, for Sabbath, 237; steam- 
 boats feared by, 239, 240 
 
 Indigo, purchase of, 88 
 
 Intemperance, prevalence of, in gar- 
 rison, 89, 90 
 
 Interior, Department of, Indian af- 
 fairs placed under control of, 67 
 
 Interpreter, service of Campbell as, 
 71, 72; danger to, from fire, 78; 
 activities of, 129, 130, 131; ser- 
 vice of Renville as, 161 
 
 Interpreters, foreigners as, 138 
 
 "lone" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Iowa, journey of Kearny across, 29; 
 removal of Winnebagoes from, 35, 
 36, 47; expeditions from Fort 
 Snelling into, 41-45 
 
 Iowa, Territory of, 32, 158 
 
 Iowa City, Major Woods at, 41, 42; 
 reference to, 43 ; description of, 216 
 
 Iowa County, petition from, 41 
 
 Iowa Indians, 177; treaty with, 208 
 
 Iowa River, difficulties with Indians 
 
 along, 41, 42-44; departure of In- 
 dians from, 44 
 
 Ireland, 92; immigrants from, 189 
 
 Iron, mining of, 25 
 
 Irving, Washington, 14 
 
 Izard, George, 57 
 
 Jack, Captain, war with, 65 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, 15 
 
 Jail, use of, 196 
 
 James, Edward, settlers removed by, 
 195 
 
 James River, 116 
 
 Jarvis, Doctor, 112 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, statement of, con- 
 cerning trade, 4 
 
 Jesuits, work of, 146 
 
 Jewellers, 92 
 
 Jews' harps, giving of, to Indians, 
 107 
 
 Johnson, George, 118 
 
 Johnson County (Iowa), 41 
 
 Kansas State Historical Society, 221 
 
 Kaposia, 83, 152; missionary at, 154; 
 abandonment of mission at, 155; 
 school at, 156; battle near, 232 
 
 Kearny, Stephen Watts, survey of 
 route for military road by, 29 
 
 Keating, William H., 161, 162 
 
 Keelboats, 86 
 
 Kemper, Jackson, letters describing 
 visit of, to Fort Snelling, 169-175; 
 reference to, 238, 242 
 
 Kentucky, settlement of, 14; refer- 
 ence to, 15, 63 
 
 Kickapoo Indians, treaty with, 208 
 
 Kinzie, John, 117 
 
 Kitchens, 75 
 
 Kittson, Norman W., 140, 235, 245 
 
 Knives, 136 
 
 La Baye, 205 
 
 Laborers, 92 
 
 Lac du Flambeau, 118 
 
 Lac du Traverse, 16 
 
 Lac qui Parle, 110, 116, 144, 154, 
 
 155 
 Laidlaw, William, 138 
 
260 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Lake Calhoun, 82, 96, 118, 133, 148, 
 153, 154; mission on, 83 
 
 Lake Harriet, 82, 96, 127, 154, 198; 
 Indian boarding-school at, 156 
 
 Lake Huron, 13, 14, 19, 21 
 
 Lake Itasca, 167 
 
 Lake Julia, 163 
 
 Lake Michigan, 17, 19, 21 
 
 Lake Mini-Waken, 40 
 
 Lake of the Isles, 82, 96 
 
 Lake of the Woods, 16, 140, 209 
 
 Lake Pepin, 23, 24, 29, 93, 142, 171, 
 172, 212 
 
 Lake Pokegama, 232 
 
 Lake St. Croix, 128 
 
 Lake Superior, trading posts on, 6; 
 reference to, 9, 47, 160, 162, 172 
 
 Lake Traverse, 103, 116 
 
 Lake Winnebago, 21 
 
 Lake Winnipeg, 4, 162, 189, 205 
 
 Lakes, hunting in region of, 82, 83 
 
 Landing at Fort Snelling, description 
 of, 73 
 
 Lands, questions concerning, 111 
 
 Land's End, 138 
 
 Land-seekers, effect of coming of, 117, 
 118; land cessions urged by, 176 
 
 Latrobe, Charles Joseph, 223 
 
 "Laughing Water," 82 
 
 Laundresses, quarters of, 75 
 
 Lead mines, 178 
 
 Leavenworth, Henry, 21, 29, 63, 190, 
 211; message of, to Indian chief, 
 21, 22; journey of, to mouth of 
 Minnesota River, 22-24; arrival of, 
 at mouth of Minnesota River, 24 ; 
 return of, to Prairie du Chien, 24 ; 
 camp moved by, 27; successor to, 
 27; sketch of life of, 55, 56 
 
 Lee, Francis, 49 
 
 Leech Lake, Pike at, 6; trading post 
 on, 6; reference to, 130, 179 
 
 Legend concerning Falls of St. An- 
 thony, 81, 82 
 
 Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The, 14 
 
 Lewis, Meriwether, expedition under, 
 4, 5 ; reference to, 72 
 
 Library, purchase of books for, 87; 
 reference to, 99 
 
 Licenses, granting of, to traders, 16, 
 137, 138 
 
 Linn County (Iowa), 41 
 
 Liquor, 86 ; effect of, on Indians, 
 129, 141; suppression of traffic in, 
 129; power of, among Indians, 139, 
 140; prices charged for, 141, 142; 
 destruction of, 143, 144 
 
 Liquor traffic, regulation of, 139-145 
 
 Little Crow, 68, 116, 117, 132, 155 
 
 Little Falls (Minnesota), 6, 81 
 
 Little Thunder, 118 
 
 Lockwood, Judge, 170 
 
 Log cabins, erection of, 25 
 
 Log village for Indians, 149 
 
 Long, Stephen H., site for fort ap- 
 proved by, 19; reference to, 95; 
 expedition of, to upper Mississippi, 
 160-163 
 
 Longfellow, Henry W., 62 
 
 Lookout platform, 74 
 
 Loomis, Gustavus, 36, 156, 166; pun- 
 ishment inflicted by, 90 
 
 Loras, Mathias, 127, 231; activities 
 of, at Mendota, 158 
 
 Lords of the North, 54-72 
 
 Louisiana, transfer of, 7 
 
 Louisiana Purchase, effect of, 4 
 
 Louisville (Kentucky), 169 
 
 Lover's rock, 172 
 
 Lower Red Cedar Lake, trading post 
 on, 6 
 
 "Loyal Hanna" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Lumber, making of, 27, 28, 82 
 
 McCain, H. P., acknowledgments to, ix 
 
 M'Gillis, Hugh, 6 
 
 McGregor, John R., 196 
 
 McKenny, T. L., 17 
 
 McKerizie, Kenneth, trading house 
 
 bought by, 79; reference to, 138 
 McLean, Nathaniel, 71, 220 
 McMahon, Doctor, 121 
 McNeil, Colonel, 117 
 Mackinac, capture of, by British, 9, 
 
 10; reference to, 11, 12, 18, 118, 
 
 146, 201, 209; transfer of, to 
 
 Americans, 18 
 Madison, James, 12 
 
INDEX 
 
 261 
 
 Magazine, 74; contents of, 76, 77 
 
 Ma-ghe-ga-bo, 182, 183 
 
 Magruder, William T., 63, 186 
 
 Mahoney, Sergeant, purchases made 
 by, 89 
 
 Mail, carrying of, to Fort Snelling, 
 97-99, 101 
 
 Maize, raising of, 95 
 
 "Malta" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Man-of-the-sky, 133 
 
 Mandan (North Dakota), 5 
 
 Mandan Indians, Lewis and Clark 
 among, 5 ; reference to, 206 
 
 Maple sugar, 120 
 
 March, preparations for, 93-95 
 
 Marengo (Iowa), difficulties with In- 
 dians near, 42, 43 
 
 Marion (Iowa), 42 
 
 Marquette, Jacques, 3, 146 
 
 Marryat, Frederick, visit of, to Fort 
 Snelling, 168, 229 
 
 Marsh, John, letter from, 33; ser- 
 vice of, as tutor, 100, 101 
 
 Marston, Major, 22 
 
 Massacre of 1862, 118 
 
 Massy, Louis, 192 
 
 Mather, William Williams, visit of, 
 to Fort Snelling, 165 
 
 Mdewakanton Sioux Indians, treaty 
 with, 247 
 
 Meals, character of, 85-87 
 
 Medals, giving up of, by Indians, 6; 
 giving of, by English, 112; giving 
 of, by United States, 113, 114; 
 slur against, 145 
 
 Mendota, treaty of, 49, 247; settle- 
 ment at, 80, 81; headquarters of 
 fur trade at, 135, 136; factor at, 
 139; reference to, 142, 212, 223, 
 245; religious activities at, 157, 
 158; traders at, 188 
 
 Menominee Indians, unwillingness of, 
 to make treaty, 13 ; reference to, 
 177 
 
 Mess-rooms, 75 
 
 Mexican War, services of Taylor in, 
 59; services of Scott in, 61; ref- 
 erence to, 63; service of Canby in, 
 64 
 
 Mexico, City of, 64, 197 
 
 Michigan, Territory of, 32 
 
 Military frontier, forward movement 
 of, 17, 18 
 
 Military posts, establishment of, 2 ; 
 permission for establishment of, 7 
 
 Military reservation, 192 ; removal of 
 settlers from, 192-195 
 
 Military road, survey of route for, 
 28, 29 
 
 Military rules, severity of, 91 
 
 Mille Lac, 180 
 
 Miller, John, 19 
 
 Mills, 82, 149; guarding of, 96 
 
 Minneapolis, real estate speculation 
 at, 50 
 
 Minnehaha Creek, 27 
 
 Minnehaha Falls, 62, 96, 127, 198 
 
 Minnesota, Indians in, 103 ; diocese 
 of Dubuque extended over, 158; 
 reference to, 177 
 
 Minnesota, Territory of, 32, 216; or- 
 ganization of, 196 
 
 Minnesota River, Carver on, 1; ref- 
 erence to, 2, 21, 30, 31, 47, 55, 
 74, 106, 110, 111, 118, 121, 138, 
 140, 146, 154, 155, 185, 187, 207; 
 cession of land at mouth of, se- 
 cured by Pike, 7, 8; promise of 
 trading house at mouth of, 17; se- 
 lection of site for fort at mouth of, 
 19; arrival of troops at mouth of, 
 24, 212; fort located at junction 
 of Mississippi River and, 27; con- 
 centration of Sioux Indians along, 
 49; scenery at mouth of, 79, 80; 
 Indian villages on, 83; clearing of 
 timber from banks of, 99 ; expedi- 
 tion up, 162; name of, 206 
 
 Minnesota Valley, settlement of, 39; 
 geological survey in, 165 
 
 Mission, 83 
 
 Missionaries, 3, 118, 146-158; meth- 
 ods of, suggested by Taliaferro, 
 150, 151; service of, 199 
 
 Missionary societies, 145 
 
 Missions, activities at, 155 
 
 Mississippi River, Carver on, 1 ; ref- 
 erence to, 2, 13, 15, 21, 30, 48, 
 
262 
 
 INDEX 
 
 55, 58, 74, 103, 107, 120, 126, 
 129, 131, 135, 143, 158, 167, 179, 
 187, 205, 207; foreign jurisdictions 
 over country west of, 2, 3 ; expedi- 
 tion of Pike up, 4; activities of 
 British traders on, 5-8 ; cession of 
 land on, secured by Pike, 7, 8 ; 
 treaties with Indians on, 12, 13; 
 proposed trading posts on, 17; 
 forts on, 18, 19; fort located at 
 junction of Minnesota River and, 
 27; exploration of, by Cass, 28; 
 scenery along, 79, 80; road along, 
 81; Indian villages on, 83; low 
 water in, 86; seizure of liquor on, 
 144; first steamboat on upper, 159, 
 160; attempt to find source of, 
 163; discovery of source of, 167; 
 advertisements of trip on, 168, 
 169; description of journey up, 
 169-175; reasons for cession of 
 land east of, 178, 179; cession of 
 land east of, 182-185, 192; mili- 
 tary reservation on, 193 
 
 Mississippi Valley, settlement of, 39; 
 erection of military posts in, 47; 
 work of missionaries in, 146; open- 
 ing of, to settlement, 185; refer- 
 ence to, 200 
 
 Missouri, increase in population of, 
 15; reference to, 66 
 
 Missouri, Territory of, 29, 32 
 
 Missouri Compromise, 66 
 
 Missouri Fur Company, murder of 
 employees of, 113 
 
 Missouri Indians, 116 
 
 Missouri River, 2, 3, 6, 13, 21, 30, 
 37, 46, 56, 72, 107, 112, 113, 116, 
 135, 138, 148, 167, 205, 216, 230; 
 English traders on, 4; Lewis and 
 Clark expedition on, 4, 5; treaties 
 with Indians on, 12, 13 ; forts on, 
 19, 20; return of Sacs and Foxes 
 from, 42 ; removal of Indians to, 44 
 
 Modoc Indians, war with, 65 
 
 Molino del Rey, Battle of, death of 
 Scott in, 60, 61, 62 
 
 Moncrief, W. T., 226 
 
 Monroe, James, 36, 49, 186, 236 
 
 Monsieur Tonson, 100 
 
 "Monsoon" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Montreal, activities of merchants of, 4 
 
 Moores, Hazen, 143 
 
 Morgan's Bluff, 89 
 
 Morrill, Mr., 50 
 
 Morse, Jedidiah, plan of, for civilizing 
 
 Indians, 103, 118 
 Mud Lake, 125, 191 
 Mumford, Mr., 101 
 Murderers, surrender of, by Indians, 
 
 113; killing of, by Chippewas, 122- 
 
 124; punishment of, 125, 126, 132 
 Murphy, R. G., 71, 145 
 Musick, Peter, killing of cattle of, 
 
 191 
 Musket flints, 77 
 Muskrat furs, exchange of, for liquor, 
 
 142 
 Muskrats, trapping of, 105 
 Mutinies, causes of, 91 
 
 Nadin, complaint of, 181 
 
 Nadoueseronoms, 119 
 
 Navajo Indians, expedition against, 
 64 
 
 Needles, purchase of, 88 
 
 Nelson River, 189 
 
 Neutral Ground, removal of Winne- 
 bagoes from, 47 
 
 New Mexico, 64 
 
 New Orleans, 56 
 
 New Ulm (Minnesota), 49 
 
 New York City, 56, 145, 172, 175; 
 draft riots in, 64 
 
 Niagara Falls, 55, 173 
 
 Nichols, R. C, building of Fort Arm- 
 strong by, 18 
 
 Nicollet, Jean, exploration by, 3 
 
 Nicollet, Joseph N., explorations by, 
 166, 167; reference to, 180 
 
 Nine Mile River, 174 
 
 Nokay River, 48 
 
 North, Lords of, 54-72 
 
 North Dakota, 40 
 
 North West Company, activities of, 
 4 ; traders of, 5 ; extent of com- 
 merce of, 6; reference to, 8, 9, 10, 
 244 
 
INDEX 
 
 263 
 
 Northern Pacific Survey, 46 
 Northwest, period of foreign rule in, 
 1-17; reference to, 18; importance 
 of Fort Snelling in, 55, 118; 
 guardian of, 30; work of mission- 
 aries in, 146-158; coming of first 
 steamboat to, 159, 160; missionary 
 bishop of, 169, 242; part of Fort 
 Snelling in development of, 199, 
 200; meaning of term, 205 
 
 Oak Grove, mission at, 155 
 
 Oats, raising of, 95 
 
 O'Fallon, Benjamin, 16 
 
 Officer of the day, 85 
 
 Officers' Mess, 88 
 
 Officers' quarters, description* of, 75; 
 fire in, 101 
 
 Officers' Training Camp, 53 
 
 "O. H. Perry" (keelboat), 33, 34 
 
 Ojibway Indians, home of, 103 
 
 Old Northwest, settlement of, 14; ref- 
 erence to, 205 
 
 Oliphant, Laurence, 222 
 
 Oliver, Lieutenant, experiences of, 26 
 
 Orderly-room, 75 
 
 Ordnance, alleged lack of, 76; stock 
 of, 76, 77 
 
 Ordnance sergeant, quarters of, 75 
 
 Ordway, John, 206 
 
 Oregon treaty, 46 
 
 Orphan asylum, 118 
 
 Orphans, fund for relief of, 87 
 
 Osage Indians, treaty with, 208 
 
 Ottawa Indians, 177 
 
 Otter furs, exchange of, foT liquor, 
 142 
 
 Otter Tail Lake, 37, 131 
 
 Otto, Helen, acknowledgments to, x 
 
 Pacific Coast, emigration to, 45 ; ne- 
 cessity of railroad to, 46 ; survey 
 of route for railroad to, 46, 47 
 
 Pacific Northwest, 205 
 
 Page, Captain, 36 
 
 Painted rock, 175 
 
 Painters, 92 
 
 "Palmyra" (steamboat), 168 
 
 Paper, purchase of, 88 
 
 Papermakers, 92 
 
 Parade ground, 73 ; sweeping of, 85 
 
 Parkman, Francis, 146 
 
 Parties, holding of, 100, 101 
 
 Pattern farms, 103 
 
 Patterson, Robert, visit of, to Fort 
 Snelling, 164 
 
 Pawnee Indians, campaign against, 
 56 
 
 Paymaster, office of, 75 
 
 Peace conferences between Indians, 
 131 
 
 Peace pipe, 107; smoking of, 126 
 
 Pelzer, Louis, vii 
 
 Pembina, hunting party from, 38; 
 expedition to, 39, 40, 45 ; refer- 
 ence to, 140, 163 
 
 Pemmican, making of, 37 
 
 Peoria (Illinois), 99 
 
 Pepper, purchase of, 88 
 
 Perrot, Nicholas, 3 
 
 Perry, Abraham, 192 
 
 Perry, Mrs. Abraham, 193 
 
 Pe-she-ke, speech by, 183 
 
 Pettijohn, Eli, purchase made by, 88 
 
 Phelan, Edward, 190 
 
 Philadelphia, 161, 164 
 
 Physician at Fort Snelling, sketch of 
 life of, 65, 66 ; service of, to set- 
 tlers, 190, 191 
 
 Piankashaw Indians, treaty with, 208 
 
 Picnic grounds, 82 
 
 Picnics, 96 
 
 Pike, Zebulon M., expedition under, 
 4 ; activities of English traders in- 
 vestigated by, 5-8 ; cession of land 
 secured by, 7, 8; reference to, 11, 
 22, 139, 146, 179, 192, 193; 
 promise made by, 17 
 
 Pike's Island, 187 
 
 Pillager band of Chippewas, treaty 
 with, 45; reference to, 179, 182 
 
 Pilot Knob, 80 
 
 Pine Bend, 86 
 
 Pine Coulie, 232 
 
 Pine timber, 172 
 
 Pinisha, 83 
 
 Pipestone quarry, trip to, 167 
 
 Pioneers, protection of, against In- 
 
264 
 
 INDEX 
 
 dians, 116; coining: of, 199 (see 
 Settlers) 
 
 Pittsburgh, 160 
 
 Plattsburg, 57 
 
 Pleasures of soldiers, 96, 97 
 
 Plympton, J., 65, 125, 126, 192, 193 
 
 Poage, Sarah, 154 
 
 Poinsett, J. R., 194 
 
 Police guard, 85 
 
 Pond, Gideon, coming of, to Fort 
 Snelling, 151; work of, among In- 
 dians, 152-156 
 
 Pond, S. W., 72, 103; coming of, to 
 Fort Snelling, 151; work of, among 
 Indians, 152-156 
 
 Pontiac's conspiracy, 3 
 
 Pope, John, 215 
 
 Pork, 86; ration of, 109; giving of, 
 to Indians, 110 
 
 Portage des Sioux, 17 
 
 Post fund, 87 
 
 Post school, 75; fund for mainten- 
 ance of, 87; organization of, 101 
 
 Potatoes, raising of, 95 
 
 Potosi (Wisconsin), 170, 173 
 
 Pottawattamie Indians, 42, 177; 
 treaty with, 208 
 
 Poupon, Isadore, 230 
 
 Powder, stock of, 77 
 
 Poweshiek (Chief), 44 
 
 Prairie du Chien, 11, 16, 20, 21, 26, 
 32, 33, 34, 41, 58, 66, 92, 122, 
 140, 142, 149, 161, 164, 170, 172, 
 173, 181, 187 195, 243, 246; es- 
 tablishment of Fort Shelby at, 11, 
 12; capture of, by British, 12; 
 round-about route to, 13 ; Fort 
 Crawford at, 18; arrival of troops 
 at, 22 ; return of Leavenworth to, 
 24 ; carrying of mail between Fort 
 Snelling and, 97-99, 101; treaty 
 made at, in 1825, 130, 177, 178 
 
 Preemption, 192 
 
 Prescott, Philander, 212 
 
 Presents, giving of, to Indians, 13, 
 23, 107, 111 
 
 President of United States, 16 
 
 Prevost, George, 8 
 
 Prices, fixing of, 87 
 
 Prison, number of soldiers in, 91 
 Prisoners, guarding of, 85 
 Provencalle, Louis, 143 
 Provisions, distribution of, to In- 
 dians, 110; character of, 213 
 Pump, 74 
 
 Punishments, character of, 90, 91 
 Puthuff, William H., 209 
 
 Quaife, Milo M., acknowledgments to, 
 ix 
 
 Quarrels in garrison, 102 
 
 Quarrying, employment of soldiers at, 
 96 
 
 Quartermaster, trouble between physi- 
 cian and, 65, 66; office of, 75 
 
 Quebec, 118, 208 
 
 Radisson, Pierre Esprit, exploration 
 
 by, 3; reference to, 119 
 Railroad, survey of route for, 46, 47 
 Rainville, Mr., 229 
 Raisins, purchase of, 88 
 Ramsey, Alexander, 36, 182; treaty 
 
 made by, 45 ; council called by, 
 
 131, 132 
 Rations, character of, 85-87, 109; 
 
 reference to, 95 ; issuance of, to 
 
 Indians, 181, 182 
 Real estate speculation, 50 
 Reconnoitering, 85 
 Red Bird, hostility of Indians under, 
 
 33, 34 
 Red Bird War, 214 
 "Red Head," 108, 228 
 Red River carts, caravans of, 235, 
 
 236 
 Red River of the North, trading posts 
 
 on, 4, 206; reference to, 16, 49, 
 
 50, 103, 138, 151, 188, 205, 236; 
 
 difficulties with half-breeds from, 
 
 37-40; expeditions to, 38-40, 162; 
 
 Lord Selkirk's colony on, 188 
 Red River Trail, 46 
 Red Wing (Chief), 92; village of, 
 
 171, 172; payment of annuities to 
 
 Indians under, 185 
 Regulations for the Army, General, 
 
 84, 86 
 
INDEX 
 
 265 
 
 Renville, Daniel, 156 
 
 Renville, Joseph, 138, 191 ; service 
 
 of, as interpreter, 161 
 Renville, Rosalie, 156 
 Republicans, charges of graft made 
 
 by, 51 
 Reveille, 84 
 
 Revival, success of, 156 
 Reynolds, Lieutenant, 86 
 Riggs, S. R., 144 
 Road to Fort Snelling, 73, 81 
 Robertson, Mr., work of, 155, 156 
 Robertson, Gustavus A., 156 
 Rock Island, building of fort on, 18; 
 
 garrison for fort on, 22 ; reference 
 
 to, 117 
 Rock River, hostility of Indians on, 
 
 12, 13 
 Rocky Mountains, 16 
 Roll call, 84, 85; punishment for ab- 
 sence from, 90 
 Round Tower, Old, 72 ; description 
 
 of, 74 
 Routine duties, description of, 84, 85 
 Rum, 86; evil effect of, 139 
 Rum River, 27, 101, 130; battle on, 
 
 128 
 Runners, sending of, to Indian 
 
 camps, 130 
 Rupel, J. B. F., 143 
 Ryerson, Private, purchases by, 88 
 
 Sabbath, respect of Indians for, 237 
 Sac Indians, hostility of, 13; pursuit 
 
 of, 35; reference to, 205; treaty 
 
 with, 208 
 Sac and Fox Indians, 35, 42, 177; 
 
 return of, to Iowa, 42 
 St. Anthony (Minnesota), real estate 
 
 speculation at, 50 
 St. Croix River, trading posts on, 6; 
 
 cession of land at mouth of, 8 ; 
 
 reference to, 126, 172, 174, 175, 
 
 180, 207 
 St. Joseph's, 10 
 St. Lawrence River, 205 
 St. Louis, 4, 5, 11, 22, 48, 56, 58, 
 
 69, 72, 120, 159, 162, 169, 170, 
 
 172, 213, 228; troops from, 34; 
 
 bringing of supplies from, 86 
 
 St. Paul, 36, 46, 71, 216, 236; real 
 estate speculation at, 50 ; founding 
 of, 195, 196; relations between 
 fort and, 196-198 
 
 St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba 
 Railroad Company, 235 
 
 St. Peter's, 170, 172, 173, 175, 206 
 
 St. Peter's agency, service of Talia- 
 ferro at, 68-71 
 
 St. Peter's River (see Minnesota 
 River) 
 
 St. Vincent (Minnesota), 206 
 
 Salt, 86 
 
 Sandy Lake, trading post on, 6; ref- 
 erence to, 114, 120, 180 
 
 Sanford, John F. A., Dred Scott 
 bought by, 66 
 
 Santa Fe Trail, dangers on, 56 
 
 Sauk River, 133 
 
 Sault Ste. Marie, 119, 163 
 
 Saw mill, erection of, 27; reference 
 to, 82, 172 
 
 Saxton, Lieutenant, 46 
 
 Say, Thomas, 161, 162 
 
 Scalp dance, 123, 128, 131, 132 
 
 Scalps, taking of, 128 
 
 Scenery, description of, around Fort 
 Snelling, 79, 80 
 
 School, organization of, 101 
 
 Schoolcraft, Henry R., statement by, 
 14; reference to, 119, 130 
 
 Schools, success of, among Indians, 
 156 
 
 Scientific expeditions, 109 
 
 Scotland, 92; immigrants from, 189 
 
 Scott, Dred, fugitive slave case of, 66 
 
 Scott, Martin, sketch of life of, 59-62 
 
 Scott, Winfield, naming of Fort Snel- 
 ling suggested by, 29, 30; refer- 
 ence to, 55 
 
 Scott vs. Sanford, 66 
 
 Scrub brush, purchase of, 88 
 
 Scurvy, ravages of, 26, 213 
 
 Second United States Infantry, 63 
 
 Secretary of War, 19, 10'3, 130, 149 
 
 Selkirk, Lord, colony of, 188, 189 
 
 Settlement, opening up country to, 
 184, 185 
 
266 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Settlements, protection for, 18 
 
 Settlers, annoyance of, by Indians, 
 42, 43; desire of, for land cession, 
 178; service of Fort Snelling to, 
 187-201; disputes between Indians 
 and, 191, 192; memorial of, 192; 
 efforts to exclude from reservation, 
 192-195; ejection of, 195, 246 
 
 Seymour, Samuel, 161 
 
 Shakopee (Minnesota), 83 
 
 Shakpay, 83 
 
 Shambaugh, Benj. F., introduction by, 
 v ; acknowledgments to, vii, ix 
 
 Shapaydan, 83 
 
 Shaw, Mr., 22 
 
 Sherman, T. W., military career of, 
 63 
 
 Sheyenne River, 103, 138 
 
 Shields, James, 197 
 
 Shining Mountains, 3 
 
 Shipler, Jacob, 196 
 
 Shoemakers, 92 
 
 Shoes, purchase of, 88 
 
 Shot, stock of, 77 
 
 Sibley, General, 64 
 
 Sibley, Henry H., description by, 26, 
 27; house of, 80: hunting by, 96, 
 97; reference to, 110. 145, 180, 
 213, 231, 239; relations between 
 officers of fort and, 139 
 
 Sibley House, 223 
 
 Sick, taking of, to hospital, 85 
 
 Sickness, prevalence of, among troops, 
 26, 213; losses because of, 93; help 
 to Indians in case of, 111, 112 
 
 Sinclair, Mr., 245 
 
 Sioux Indians, early traders among, 
 3 ; land at mouth of Minnesota 
 ceded by, 7, 8 ; visits of, to Drum- 
 mond Island, 13, 14; goods sent 
 to, 22 ; treaty between Chippewas 
 and, 28; unfriendliness of, 33; 
 part of, in Black Hawk War, 35; 
 hostility between half-breeds and, 
 37; reference to, 48, 98, 101, 151, 
 158, 171, 177, 178, 179, 180, 
 184, 198, 205, 229, 231, 242; 
 concentration of, 49 ; massacre by, 
 52, 83; visit of, to Washington, 
 
 68; villages of, 83; home of, 103; 
 number of, 103, 104; migrations 
 of, to Canada, 106; vaccination of, 
 112; hostility of, 114; disillusion- 
 ment of, 115; influence of Fort 
 Snelling over, 116-118; rumor of 
 attack by, 117; feuds between 
 Chippewas and, 119-134; killing of 
 Chippewas by, 121, 125; surrender 
 of murderers by, 122, 125, 126; 
 battle between Chippewas and, 127, 
 128, 232; boundary line between 
 Chippewas and, 130, 131, 178; 
 imprisonment of, 132; untrust- 
 worthiness of, 134; temperance 
 society among, 145 ; farmer for, 
 155; language of, 174; delegation 
 of, to Washington, 179; treaty 
 made by, 184, 247; payment of 
 annuities to, 185, 186; amount of 
 land ceded by, in 1805, 207 
 Sioux of the Lakes, treaty with, 208 
 Sioux of St. Peter's River, treaty 
 
 with, 208 
 Sioux-Chippewa boundary line, 48 
 Sioux language, school books in, 156 
 Sisseton Sioux Indians, 113, 129, 
 
 228; treaty with, 247 
 Sixth United States Infantry, com- 
 pany of, in Iowa, 44 ; reference to, 
 48, 57, 63, 197; frontier service 
 of, 49 
 Skunk River, 42 
 Smallpox, efforts to check, 112 
 Smith, C. F., expedition under, 40 ; 
 site for fort recommended by, 49, 
 50 
 Smith, William R., 180 
 Smuggling of whiskey, 142, 143 
 Snelling, Josiah, building of fort by, 
 27, 28; letter by, 28; activities of, 
 during Winnebago outbreak, 32-34 ; 
 reference to, 55, 96, 100, 102, 117, 
 132, 142, 163, 190; sketch of life 
 of, 56-59; punishments inflicted 
 by, 90; description by, 113; evil 
 effects of liquor described by, 140, 
 141 
 Snelling, Mrs. Josiah, 100, 160 
 
INDEX 
 
 267 
 
 Snelling, William J., 102, 163 
 
 Soap, 86 ; purchase of, 88 
 
 Social life, 99-102 
 
 Soiree, 101 
 
 Soldiers, building of fort by, 27; 
 surroundings of, at Fort Snelling, 
 73-83; life of, at Fort Snelling, 
 84-102; occupation of, 92; birth- 
 place of, 92; journeys into Indian 
 country enjoyed by, 93-95 ; em- 
 ployments of, 95, 96; pleasures of, 
 96, 97; carrying of mail by, 97, 
 98; social life among, 100-102; 
 quarrels among, 102; dependence 
 of missionaries on, 148; revival 
 among, 156; church services for, 
 157; expedition escorted by, 162, 
 163; drunkenness among, 194; ar- 
 rival of, at Fort Snelling, 212; 
 ejection of settlers by, 246 
 
 Soup, character of, 86, 87 
 
 South Dakota, Indians in, 103 
 
 Southwest Company, 188 
 
 Spain, exploration of domain of, 1 
 
 Spanish, rule of, in West, 2, 3; In- 
 dian trade won from, by English, 4 
 
 Speculators, desire of, for land ces- 
 sion, 178 
 
 Speeches, making of, by Indians, 181, 
 182 
 
 Split Upper Lip, 123 
 
 Spring, eagerness for coming of, 102; 
 activities of Indians in, 104, 105 
 
 Squad-rooms, 75 
 
 Squatters, huts of, 79 (see Settlers) 
 
 Starch, purchase of, 88 
 
 Stairway, 73 
 
 Stanton, Edwin M., 64 
 
 Steamboating, beginning of, on Tipper 
 Mississippi, 159, 160 
 
 Steamboats, use of, to bring supplies, 
 86; mail carried by, 97; reference 
 to, 159, 199; advertisements of, 
 169; attitude of Indians toward, 
 239, 240 
 
 Steele, Franklin, Fort Snelling reser- 
 vation sold to, 51, 52; adjustment 
 with, 52 ; home of, 79 ; account 
 books of, 87 
 
 Steen, Mr., 43, 44 
 
 Stevens, Isaac I., survey of route for 
 
 railroad by, 46; reference to, 217 
 Stevens, Jedediah I., coming of, to 
 
 Fort Snelling, 149; work of, 
 
 among Indians, 154; preaching by, 
 
 157 
 Stillwater (Minnesota), 197 
 Stockade, erection of, 25 ; reference 
 
 to, 73, 136 
 Store, purchase of goods at, 87-89 
 Storehouse, 75 
 Storer, William, 131 
 Stoves, use of, for heating, 99 
 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 62 
 Straits of Mackinac, 21 
 Street, Joseph M., 149, *231 
 Strong Earth, complaint of, 121 ; 
 
 career of, 180 
 Strong Ground, career of, 180 
 Sugar, 86; purchase of, 88 
 Sugar bush, 105 
 Summer, activities of Indians during, 
 
 105 
 Sumner, Edwin V., expedition under, 
 
 38 
 Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 67, 
 
 71 
 Supplies, character of, 26; bringing 
 
 of, to Fort Snelling, 86; amount 
 
 of, furnished to Indians, 182 
 Supreme Court of United States, 66 
 Surveyors, destruction of landmarks 
 
 of, 42 
 Suspenders, purchase of, 88 
 Sutler, home of, 79 ; purchase of 
 
 goods from, 87-89; service cf 
 
 Brown as, 190 
 Swan, 96 
 Swan River, 179 
 Switzerland, immigrants from, 172, 
 
 189 
 
 Taliaferro, Lawrence, 28, 35, 66, 72, 
 77, 78, 84, 89, 91, 98, 102, 103, 
 114, 116, 139, 140, 160, 167, 178, 
 179, 180, 184, 193, 221; threat 
 against, 33 ; service of, as Indian 
 agent, 68-71 ; letters and papers of, 
 
268 
 
 INDEX 
 
 69, 70; speech by, 108; suffering 
 of Indians relieved by, 109, 110; 
 visit of Indians to, 111; aid given 
 to sick Indians by, 111, 112; mur- 
 derers demanded by, 113; efforts 
 of, to civilize Indians, 118; diffi- 
 culties of, with Sioux and Chip- 
 pewas, 120-134; traders' licenses 
 granted by, 137, 138; disagree- 
 ment between Bailly and, 138, 139; 
 liouor laws enforced by, 142-144; 
 efforts of, to induce Indians to 
 farm, 148-150; cooperation of, 
 ■with missionaries, 149-158; wed- 
 ding ceremony performed by, 191 ; 
 service of, as mediator, 191, 192 
 
 Tatling, results of, 102 
 
 Tattoo, 85 
 
 Taylor, Zachary, service of, at Fort 
 Snelling, 59 
 
 Tea party, 197 
 
 Teamsters, employment of soldiers as, 
 96 
 
 Temperance societies, 143, 145 
 
 Tennessee, settlement of, 14 ; refer- 
 ence to, 15 
 
 Tenth United States Infantry, expe- 
 dition of companies of, 40; refer- 
 ence to, 63, 64 
 
 Tepees, repairing of, 105 
 
 Teton Sioux Indians, treaty with, 208 
 
 Theatrical performances, 100 
 
 Thespian Players, 100 
 
 Third Artillery, 63 
 
 Third United States Infantry, 19, 21 
 
 Thomas, Sergeant, 223 
 
 Throckmorton, Captain, 169 
 
 Timber, destruction of, 42 
 
 Timber lands, opening up of, 185 
 
 Tintatonwan village, 83 
 
 Tippecanoe, Battle of, 56 
 
 Toopunkah Zeze, killing of, 123, 124, 
 231 
 
 Tourist traffic, extent of, 168, 169 
 
 Tourists, increase in number of, 198 
 (see Travelers) 
 
 Traders, activities of, 3, 4; regula- 
 tion of activities of, 135-145; 
 granting of licenses to, 137, 138; 
 
 law suit begun by, 144; opposition 
 of, to farming, 150; religious work 
 among, 157, 158; desire of, for 
 treaty, 178, 179; presence of, at 
 council, 180; speeches of Indians 
 concerning, 181; payment of debts 
 to, 183, 184; reference to, 187, 
 192; location of, at Mendota, 188; 
 service of, 199 
 
 Trading companies, development of, 
 135; profit of, 136 
 
 Trading house, 78, 79, 135 
 
 Trading houses, establishment of, 17; 
 protection for, 18; cluster of, 80 
 
 Trading posts, location of, 6, 135, 
 136, 138; permission for estab- 
 lishment of, 7; reference to, 187, 
 188 
 
 Training camp, use of Fort Snelling 
 as, 52, 53 
 
 Travelers, visits of, to Fort Snelling, 
 159-175 
 
 Traverse des Sioux, treaty of, 49, 
 247 
 
 Treaties, making of, with Indians, 
 12, 13, 28, 47, 48, 176-186, 208, 
 247; making of, between tribes, 
 131, 132 
 
 Treaty of Ghent, terms of, 12, 18 
 
 Treaty of Paris (1783), 16 
 
 Trinkets, 136 
 
 Troops, proposed employment of, in 
 mining, 25; troubles of, during 
 first winter, 25-27; ravages of 
 scurvy among, 26 ; new camp for, 
 27; service of, in protection of 
 frontier, 31-53; withdrawal of, 
 from Fort Snelling, 52, 199 (also 
 see Soldiers) 
 
 Truces, making of, between tribes, 
 131 
 
 Turkey River, removal of Winne- 
 bagoes from, 35, 36; reference to, 
 47 
 
 Turner, F. J., 187 
 
 Tutor, service of Marsh as, 100, 101 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin, 62 
 
 United States, establishment of mili- 
 
INDEX 
 
 269 
 
 tary posts by, 2 ; agreement of, to 
 make peace with Indians, 12 ; 
 northern boundary of, 16; expan- 
 sion of, 45, 46; hostility of In- 
 dians to, 114; relations of, with 
 Indians, 176-178; agreement of, 
 with Chippewas, 184; land ceded 
 to, by Sioux in 1805, 207 
 
 Upper country, extent of, 2 
 
 Utah, 64 
 
 Vaccination of Indians, 112 
 
 Vail, J., 143 
 
 Valentine Ball, 197 
 
 "Valley Forge" (steamboat), 169 
 
 Van Antwerp, Ver Planck, 180 
 
 Van Cleve, Horatio P., 212 
 
 Van Cleve, Mrs., 231 
 
 Vancouver (Washington), 47 
 
 Vevay (Indiana), 190 
 
 Vinegar, 86 
 
 Vineyard, Miles, 179 
 
 Virginia, 70 
 
 "Virginia" (steamboat), trip of, up 
 
 Mississippi River, 159, 160 
 Volga River, 41 
 Voyageurs, 136, 157, 188 
 
 Wabasha (Chief), 33, 117; land sold 
 by, 35; meeting of couriers at vil- 
 lage of, 98; missionary at village 
 of, 154; village of, 171; payment 
 of annuities to Indians under, 185 
 
 Wabasha's Prairie, 35 
 
 Wahpakoota Sioux Indians, treaty 
 with, 247 
 
 Wahpeton Sioux Indians, treaty with, 
 247 
 
 Wall around Fort Snelling, descrip- 
 tion of, 73, 74, 76 
 
 Wakh-pa-koo-tay, 243 
 
 Wakinyantanka, 83 
 
 Wamditanka, 83 
 
 Wapsipinicon River, 42 
 
 War Department, 19, 22, 39, 44, 
 160; naming of Fort Snelling by, 
 29, 30; attitude of, toward Fort 
 Snelling, 31 ; Indian affairs placed 
 under control of, 67 
 
 War of 1812, English supported by 
 Indians during, 8-12; reference to, 
 18, 209; service of Snelling during, 
 57; service of Taliaferro in, 70 
 War parties, 106 
 
 Warfare, history of, between Siuox 
 and Chippewas, 119-134 
 
 "Warrior" (steamboat), 151, 164 
 
 Warriors, desire of, to take part in 
 council, 181 
 
 Washington, George, 168 
 
 Washington (Connecticut), 151 
 
 Washington, D. C, 46, 58, 62, 64, 
 98, 192; visit of Indians to, 68, 
 115, 116, 179; treaty with Sioux 
 at, 184 
 
 Washington Monument Association, 
 197 
 
 Washington Territory, 46 
 
 Washington's birthday, celebration of, 
 100 
 
 Water power, 178 
 
 Weapons, stock of, 76, 77 
 
 Webb, James, journey of, to Fort 
 Armstrong, 117 
 
 Webster, Daniel, statement by, 59 
 
 Weddings, 191 
 
 West, prediction of Carver concern- 
 ing, 1, 2; foreign jurisdictions in, 
 2, 3; English supported by In- 
 dians in, 8-12; rapid development 
 of, 14; cause of trouble in, 15; 
 influence of Fort Snelling in, 52 ; 
 service of Canby in, 65; work of 
 missionaries in, 146 
 
 West Point Military Academy, 62, 63, 
 100 
 
 Westward movement, 14, 15 
 
 Wheat, spoiling of, 86; raising of, 95 
 
 Wheeling (West Virginia), 161 
 
 Wheelwrights, 92 
 
 Whiskey, 86 ; drinking of, by sol- 
 diers, 89 ; efforts to suppress traffic 
 in, 139-145; smuggling of, 142, 
 143 ; destruction of, 143, 144, 243 ; 
 traffic in, 194, 236 
 
 Whistler, Captain, 21, 211 
 
 White Head, 118 
 
 Whitney, Asa, 217 
 
270 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Whooping cough, epidemic of, 191 
 
 Widows, fund for relief of, 87 
 
 Wilcox, Captain, 32 
 
 Williams, Lieutenant, 99 
 
 Williamson, Thomas S., 110; work 
 of, among Indians, 154-157 
 
 Williamson, Mrs. Thomas S., 1 T>4 
 
 Wines, seizure of, 143; giving of, to 
 Indians, 144 
 
 Winnebago Indians, unwillingness of, 
 to make treaty, 13; attempt of, to 
 delay troops, 21, 22; outbreak of, 
 32-34 ; removal of, to new reserva- 
 tion, 35-37, 48; reference to, 41, 
 42, 177, 211, 236; treaty with, 
 47 ; new reservation for, 48 ; dis- 
 turbances among, 48, 49; language 
 of, 174 
 
 Winnebago War, 214 
 
 Winnipeg, 188 
 
 Winona (Minnesota), 35 
 
 Winter, difficulty in securing mail 
 during, 97-99; Iffe at Fort Snell- 
 ing during, 99-102; life among 
 Indians during, 104, 109, 110 
 
 Wisconsin, Nicollet in, 3; Indian out- 
 
 break in, 32-34; desire of Winne- 
 bagoes to return to, 36; reference 
 to, 168; desire for land cession in, 
 178; bishop of, 242 
 
 Wisconsin, Territory of, 32, 180; 
 marshal of, 195 
 
 Wisconsin Historical Society, 242 
 
 Wisconsin River, 19, 20, 34; canal 
 between Fox River and, 20 
 
 Women, social life of, at fort, 100- 
 102 
 
 Wood, Doctor, aid given to sick In- 
 dians by, 111, 112 
 
 Wood, securing of, for fuel, 99 
 
 Woods, Samuel, expedition under, 3«, 
 41-45; reference to, 40; fort estab- 
 lished by, 44, 45 
 
 Wool, John E., 194 
 
 Wyandot Indians, treaty with, 208 
 
 Yankton Sioux Indians, half-breed 
 killed by, 37; treaty with, 203 
 
 Yeast powder, purchase of, 88 
 
 Yellowstone Expedition, 20; failure 
 of, 21 
 
 Yellowstone River, fort at mouth of, 19 
 
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