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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of the
+Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier
+
+Author: Charles E. Flandrau
+
+Release Date: June 2, 2008 [EBook #25677]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Sigal Alon, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA
+  AND
+  TALES OF THE FRONTIER
+
+  [Illustration: State Seal of Minnesota, ca. 1900]
+
+  [Illustration: Chas E Flandrau]
+
+
+
+
+  The History of Minnesota
+  AND
+  Tales of the Frontier.
+
+  BY
+
+  JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU
+
+
+  PUBLISHED BY
+  E. W. PORTER,
+  ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.
+  1900.
+
+
+  'A MA PUISSANCE'
+  THE PIONEER
+  PRESS
+  SAINT PAUL
+  MDCCCXLIX
+
+
+
+
+Dedication.
+
+
+To the Old Settlers of Minnesota, who so wisely laid the foundation of
+our state upon the broad and enduring basis of freedom and toleration,
+and who have so gallantly defended and maintained it, this history is
+most gratefully and affectionately dedicated by the author.
+
+      Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+The original design of this history was, that it should accompany and
+form part of a book called the "Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota."
+It was so published, and as that work was very large and expensive, it
+was confined almost exclusively to its subscribers, and did not reach
+the general public. Many requests were made to the author to present it
+to the public in a more popular and readable form, and he decided to
+publish it in a book of the usual library size, and dispose of it at a
+price which would place it within the reach of everyone desirous of
+reading it. As the history is written in the most compendious form
+consistent with a full presentation and discussion of all the facts
+concerning the creation and growth of the state, it was estimated that
+it would not occupy sufficient space in print to make a volume of the
+usual and proper size. The author therefore decided to accompany it with
+a series of "Frontier Stories," written by himself at different times
+during his long residence in the Northwest, which embrace historical
+events, personal adventures, and amusing incidents. He believes these
+stories will lend interest and pleasure to the volume.
+
+      THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS.
+
+
+  HISTORY.
+
+
+                                                                   Page.
+
+  Opening Statement                                                    2
+
+  Legendary and Aboriginal Era                                         3
+
+  Fort Snelling                                                       14
+
+  The Selkirk Settlement                                              20
+
+  George Catlin                                                       25
+
+  Featherstonehaugh                                                   25
+
+  Schoolcraft and the Source of Mississippi                           26
+
+  Elevations in Minnesota                                             28
+
+  Nicollet                                                            28
+
+  Missions                                                            30
+
+  The Indians                                                         36
+
+  Territorial Period                                                  43
+
+  Education                                                           49
+
+  The First Territorial Government                                    52
+
+  Courts                                                              54
+
+  First Territorial Legislature                                       58
+
+  Immigration                                                         62
+
+  The Panic of 1857                                                   68
+
+  Land Titles                                                         69
+
+  The First Newspaper                                                 70
+
+  Banks                                                               73
+
+  The Fur Trade                                                       75
+
+  Pemmican                                                            80
+
+  Transportation and Express                                          81
+
+  Lumber                                                              83
+
+  Religion                                                            85
+
+  Railroads                                                           91
+
+  The First Railroad Actually Built                                  101
+
+  The Spirit Lake Massacre                                           102
+
+  The Constitutional Convention                                      109
+
+  Attempt to Remove the Capital                                      115
+
+  Census                                                             117
+
+  Grasshoppers                                                       117
+
+  Militia                                                            120
+
+  The Wright County War                                              122
+
+  The Civil War                                                      123
+
+  The Third Regiment                                                 128
+
+  The Indian War of 1862 and following years                         135
+
+  The Attack on Fort Ridgely                                         148
+
+  Battle of New Ulm                                                  150
+
+  Battle of Birch Coulie                                             159
+
+  Occurrences in Meeker County and Vicinity                          161
+
+  Protection of the Southern Frontier                                162
+
+  Colonel Sibley Moves upon the Enemy                                166
+
+  The Battle of Wood Lake                                            169
+
+  Fort Abercrombie                                                   171
+
+  Camp Release                                                       174
+
+  Trial of the Indians                                               175
+
+  Execution of the Thirty-Eight Condemned Indians                    180
+
+  The Campaign of 1863                                               182
+
+  Battle of Big Mound                                                184
+
+  Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake                                        185
+
+  Battle of Stony Lake                                               186
+
+  Campaign of 1864                                                   187
+
+  A Long Period of Peace and Prosperity                              193
+
+  Introduction of New Process of Milling Wheat                       193
+
+  The Discovery of Iron                                              196
+
+  Commerce Through St. Mary's Falls Canal                            199
+
+  Agriculture                                                        200
+
+  Dairying                                                           201
+
+  The University of Minnesota and School of Agriculture              203
+
+  The Minnesota State Agricultural Society                           205
+
+  The Minnesota Soldiers' Home                                       207
+
+  Other State Institutions                                           208
+
+  Minnesota Institute for Defectives                                 209
+
+  State School for Dependent and Neglected Children                  210
+
+  The Minnesota State Training School                                211
+
+  The Minnesota State Reformatory                                    212
+
+  The Minnesota State Prison                                         213
+
+  The Minnesota Historical Society                                   213
+
+  State Institutions Miscellaneous in Character                      215
+
+  State Finances                                                     217
+
+  The Monetary and Business Flurry of 1873 and Panic of 1893         218
+
+  Minor Happenings                                                   221
+
+  The War with Spain                                                 225
+
+  The Indian Battle of Leech Lake                                    229
+
+  Population                                                        234
+
+  The State Flag                                                     236
+
+  The Official Flower of the State, and the Method of its Selection  237
+
+  Origin of the Name "Gopher State"                                  242
+
+  State Parks                                                        245
+
+  Politics                                                           248
+
+  Bibliography                                                       253
+
+
+
+
+  FRONTIER TALES.
+
+
+  Hunting Wolves in Bed                                              269
+
+  The Poisoned Whisky                                                275
+
+  Fun in a Blizzard                                                  281
+
+  Law and Latin                                                      288
+
+  Indian Strategy                                                    291
+
+  The First Election Returns from Pembina                            296
+
+  A Frontier Story, which contains a Robbery, Two Desertions,
+  a Capture and a Suicide                                            303
+
+  The Pony Express                                                   310
+
+  Kissing Day                                                        316
+
+  A Political Ruse                                                   320
+
+  The Hardships of Early Law Practice                                324
+
+  Temperance at Traverse                                             329
+
+  Win-ne-muc-ca's Gold Mine                                          333
+
+  A Unique Political Career                                          340
+
+  La Crosse                                                          345
+
+  Making a Post Office                                               350
+
+  The Courage of Conviction                                          354
+
+  How the Capital was Saved                                          358
+
+  An Editor Incog                                                    365
+
+  The Ink-pa-du-ta War                                               370
+
+  Muscular Legislation                                               378
+
+  The Virgin Feast                                                   383
+
+  The Aboriginal War Correspondent                                   387
+
+  Bred in the Bone                                                   391
+
+  An Accomplished Rascal                                             396
+
+  An Advocate's Opinion of His Own Eloquence is Not Always Reliable  400
+
+  A Momentous Meeting                                                402
+
+  Primitive Justice                                                  406
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
+
+BY JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU.
+
+
+It has been a little over fifty years since the organization of the
+Territory of Minnesota, which at its birth was a very small and
+unimportant creation, but which in its half century of growth has
+expanded into one of the most brilliant and promising stars upon the
+union of our flag; so that its history must cover every subject, moral,
+physical and social, that enters into the composition of a first-class
+progressive Western state, which presents a pretty extensive field; but
+there is also to be considered a period anterior to civilization, which
+may be called the aboriginal and legendary era, which abounds with
+interesting matter, and to the general reader is much more attractive
+than the prosy subjects of agriculture, finance and commerce.
+
+Having lived in the state through nearly the whole period of Minnesota's
+political existence, and having taken part in most of the leading events
+in her history, both savage and civilized, I propose to treat the
+various subjects that compose her history in a narrative and colloquial
+manner that may not rise to the dignity of history, but which, I think,
+while giving facts, will not detract from the interest or pleasure of
+the reader. If I should in the course of my narrative so far forget
+myself as to indulge in a joke, or relate an illustrative anecdote, the
+reader must put up with it.
+
+Nature has been lavishly generous with Minnesota,--more so, perhaps,
+than with any state in the Union. Its surface is beautifully diversified
+between rolling prairies and immense forests of valuable timber. Rivers
+and lakes abound, and the soil is marvelous in its productive fertility.
+Its climate, taken the year round, surpasses in all attractive features
+that of any part of the North American continent. There are more
+enjoyable days in the three hundred and sixty-five that compose the year
+than in any other country I have ever visited or resided in, and that
+embraces a good part of the world's surface. The salubrity of Minnesota
+is phenomenal. There are absolutely no diseases indigenous to the state.
+The universally accepted truth of this fact is found in a saying, which
+used to be general among the old settlers, "that there is no excuse for
+anyone dying in Minnesota, and that only two men ever did die there, one
+of whom was hanged for killing the other."
+
+The resources of Minnesota principally consist of the products of the
+farm, the mine, the dairy, the quarry and the forest, and its industries
+of a vast variety of manufactures of all kinds and characters, both
+great and small, the leading ones being flour and lumber; to which, of
+course, must be added the enormous carrying trade which grows out of,
+and is necessary to the successful conduct of such resources and
+industries,--all of which subjects will be treated of in their
+appropriate places.
+
+With these prefatory suggestions I will proceed to the history,
+beginning with the
+
+
+
+
+LEGENDARY AND ABORIGINAL ERA.
+
+
+Until a very few years ago it has been generally accepted as a fact that
+Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest of the Recollect Order, was the
+first white man who entered the present boundaries of Minnesota; but a
+recent discovery has developed the fact that there has reposed in the
+archives of the Bodleian Library and British Museum for more than two
+hundred years manuscript accounts of voyages made as far back as 1652 by
+two Frenchmen, named respectively Radison and Groselliers, proving that
+they traveled among the North American Indians from the last named date
+to the year 1684, during which time they visited what is now Minnesota.
+It is also a well authenticated fact that Du Luth anticipated Hennepin
+at least one year, and visited Mille Lacs in 1679, and there, on the
+southwest side of the lake, found a large Sioux town, called Kathio,
+from which point he wrote to Frontenac, on the second day of July, 1679,
+that he had caused his majesty's arms to be planted in Kathio, where no
+Frenchman had ever been. Hennepin did not arrive until 1680. But as the
+exploits of these earlier travelers left no trace that can in any
+important way influence the history of our state beyond challenging the
+claim of priority so long enjoyed by Hennepin, I will simply mention the
+fact of their advent without comment, referring the curious reader for
+the proof of these matters to the library of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, where the details can be found.
+
+Hennepin was with La Salle at Fort Creve-Coeur, near Lake Peoria, in
+what is now Illinois, in 1680. La Salle was the superior of the
+exploring party of which young Hennepin was a member, and in February,
+1680, he selected Hennepin and two traders for the arduous and
+dangerous undertaking of exploring the unknown regions of the Upper
+Mississippi. Hennepin was very ambitious to become a great explorer, and
+was filled with the idea that by following the water courses he would
+find a passage to the sea and Japan.
+
+On the 29th of February, 1680, he, with two voyageurs, in a canoe, set
+out on his voyage of discovery. When he reached the junction of the
+Illinois river with the Mississippi in March, he was detained by
+floating ice until near the middle of that month. He then commenced to
+ascend the Mississippi, which was the first time it was ever attempted
+by a civilized man. On the 11th of April they were met by a large war
+party of Dakotas, which filled thirty-three canoes, who opened fire on
+them with arrows; but hostilities were soon stopped, and Hennepin and
+his party were taken prisoners, and made to return with their captors to
+their villages.
+
+Hennepin, in his narrative, tells a long story of the difficulties he
+encountered in saying his prayers, as the Indians thought he was working
+some magic on them, and they followed him into the woods, and never let
+him out of their sight. Judging from many things that appear in his
+narrative, which have created great doubt about his veracity, it
+probably would not have been very much of a hardship if he had failed
+altogether in the performance of this pious duty. Many of the Indians,
+who had lost friends and relatives in their fights with the Miamis, were
+in favor of killing the white men, but better counsels prevailed, and
+they were spared. The hope of opening up a trade intercourse with the
+French largely entered into the decision.
+
+While traveling up the river one of the white men shot a wild turkey
+with his gun, which produced a great sensation among the Indians, and
+was the first time a Dakota ever heard the discharge of firearms. They
+called the gun Maza wakan, or spirit iron.
+
+The party camped at Lake Pepin, and on the nineteenth day of their
+captivity they arrived in the vicinity of where St. Paul now stands.
+From this point they proceeded by land to Mille Lacs, where they
+were taken by the Indians to their several villages, and were
+kindly treated. These Indians were part of the band of Dakotas, called
+M'day-wa-kon-ton-wans, or the Lake Villagers. I spell the Indian names
+as they are now known, and not as they are given in Hennepin's
+narrative, although it is quite remarkable how well he preserved them
+with sound as his only guide.
+
+While at this village the Indians gave Hennepin some steam baths, which
+he says were very effective in removing all traces of soreness and
+fatigue, and in a short time made him feel as well and strong as he ever
+was. I have often witnessed this medical process among the Dakotas. They
+make a small lodge of poles covered with a buffalo skin, or something
+similar, and place in it several large boulders heated to a high degree.
+The patient then enters naked, and pours water over the stones,
+producing a dense steam, which envelopes him and nearly boils him. He
+stands it as long as he can, and then undergoes a thorough rubbing. The
+effect is to remove stiffness and soreness produced by long journeys on
+foot, or other serious labor.
+
+Hennepin tells in a very agreeable way many things that occurred during
+his captivity: how astonished the Indians were at all the articles he
+had. A mariner's compass created much wonder, and an iron pot with feet
+like lions' paws they would not touch with the naked hand; but their
+astonishment knew no bounds when he told them that the whites only
+allowed a man one wife, and that his religious office did not permit
+him to have any.
+
+I might say here that the Dakotas are polygamous, as savage people
+generally are, and that my experience proves to me that missionaries who
+go among these people make a great mistake in attacking this institution
+until after they have ingratiated themselves with them, and then, by
+attempting any reform beyond teaching monogamy in the future. Nothing
+will assure the enmity of a savage more than to ask him to discard any
+of his wives, and especially the mother of his children. While I would
+be the last man on earth to advocate polygamy, I can truthfully say that
+one of the happiest and most harmonious families I ever knew was that of
+the celebrated Little Crow (who, during all my official residence among
+the Dakotas, was my principal advisor and ambassador, and who led the
+massacre in 1862), who had four wives; but there was a point in his
+favor, as they were all sisters.
+
+Hennepin passed the time he spent in Minnesota in baptizing Indian
+babies and picking up all the information he could find. His principal
+exploit was the naming of the Falls of St. Anthony, which he called
+after his patron saint, Saint Anthony of Padua.
+
+That Hennepin was thoroughly convinced that there was a northern passage
+to the sea which could be reached by ships, is proven by the following
+extract from his work:
+
+    "For example, we may be transported into the Pacific sea by
+    rivers, which are large and capable of carrying great vessels,
+    and from thence it is very easy to go to China and Japan without
+    crossing the equinoctial line, and in all probability Japan is
+    on the same continent as America."
+
+Our early visitor evidently had very confused ideas on matters of
+geography.
+
+The first account of his adventures was published by him in 1683, and
+was quite trustworthy, and it is much to be regretted that he was
+afterwards induced to publish another edition in Utrecht, in 1689, which
+was filled with falsehoods and exaggerations, which brought upon him the
+censure of the king of France. He died in obscurity, unregretted. The
+county of Hennepin is named for him.
+
+Other Frenchmen visited Minnesota shortly after Hennepin for the purpose
+of trade with the Indians and the extension of the territory of New
+France. In 1689 Nicholas Perot was established at Lake Pepin, with quite
+a large body of men, engaged in trade with the Indians. On the 8th of
+May, 1689, Perot issued a proclamation from his post on Lake Pepin, in
+which he formally took possession in the name of the king of all the
+countries inhabited by the Dakotas, "and of which they are proprietors."
+
+This post was the first French establishment in Minnesota. It was called
+Fort Bon Secours, afterwards Fort Le Sueur, but on later maps Fort
+Perot.
+
+In 1695 Le Sueur built the second post in Minnesota, between the head of
+Lake Pepin and the mouth of the St. Croix. In July of that year he took
+a party of Ojibways and one Dakota to Montreal, for the purpose of
+impressing upon them the importance and strength of France. Here large
+bodies of troops were maneuvered in their presence, and many speeches
+made by both the French and the Indians. Friendly and commercial
+relations were established.
+
+Le Sueur, some time after, returned to Minnesota and explored St.
+Peter's river (now the Minnesota) as far as the mouth of the Blue
+Earth. Here he built a log fort, and called it L'Hullier, and made some
+excavations in search of copper ore. He sent several tons of a green
+substance which he found, and supposed to be copper, to France, but it
+was undoubtedly a colored clay that is found in that region, and is
+sometimes used as a rough paint. He is supposed to be the first man who
+supplied the Indians with guns. Le Sueur kept a journal in which he gave
+the best description of the Dakotas written in those early times, and
+was a very reliable man. Minnesota has a county and a city named for
+him.
+
+Many other Frenchmen visited Minnesota in early days, among whom was Du
+Luth; but as they were simply traders, explorers and priests, among the
+Indians, it is hardly necessary in a work of this character to trace
+their exploits in detail. While they blazed the trail for others, they
+did not, to any great extent, influence the future of the country,
+except by supplying a convenient nomenclature with which to designate
+localities, which has largely been drawn upon. Many of them, however,
+were good and devoted men, and earnest in their endeavors to spread the
+gospel among the Indians. How well they succeeded, I will discuss when I
+speak of these savage men more particularly.
+
+The next arrival of sufficient importance to particularize was Jonathan
+Carver. He was born in Connecticut in 1732. His father was a justice of
+the peace, which in those days was a more important position than it is
+now regarded. They tried to make a doctor of him, and he studied
+medicine just long enough to discover that the profession was
+uncongenial, and abandoned it. At the age of eighteen he purchased an
+ensign's commission in a Connecticut regiment, raised during the French
+war. He came very near losing his life at the massacre of Fort William
+Henry, but escaped, and after the declaration of peace between France
+and England, in 1763, he conceived the project of making an exploration
+of the Northwest.
+
+It should be remembered that the French sovereignty over the Northwest
+ceased in 1763, when, by a treaty made in Versailles, between the French
+and the English, all the lands embraced in what is now Minnesota were
+ceded by the French to England, so Carver came as an Englishman into
+English territory.
+
+Carver left Boston in the month of June, 1766, and proceeded to
+Mackinaw, then the most distant British post, where he arrived in the
+month of August. He then took the usual route to Green Bay. He proceeded
+by the way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi. He found
+a considerable town on the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Wisconsin,
+called by the French "La Prairie les Chiens," which is now Prairie du
+Chien, or the Dog Prairie, named after an Indian chief who went by the
+dignified name of "The Dog." He speaks of this town as one where a great
+central fur trade was carried on by the Indians. From this point he
+commenced his voyage up the Mississippi in a canoe, and when he reached
+Lake Pepin he claims to have discovered a system of earthworks, which he
+describes as of the most scientific military construction, and inferred
+that they had been at some time the intrenchments of a people well
+versed in the arts of war. It takes very little to excite an
+enthusiastic imagination into the belief that it has found what it has
+been looking for.
+
+He found a cave in what is now known as Dayton's Bluff in St. Paul, and
+describes it as immense in extent, and covered with Indian
+hieroglyphics, and speaks of a burying place at a little distance from
+the cavern,--Indian Mound park evidently,--and made a short voyage up
+the Minnesota river, which he says the Indians called "Wadapaw
+Mennesotor." This probably is as near as he could catch the name by
+sound; it should be, Wak-pa Minnesota.
+
+After his voyage to the falls and up the Minnesota, he returned to his
+cave, where he says there were assembled a great council of Indians, to
+which he was admitted, and witnessed the burial ceremonies, which he
+describes as follows:
+
+    "After the breath is departed, the body is dressed in the same
+    attire it usually wore, his face is painted, and he is seated in
+    an erect posture on a mat or skin, placed in the middle of the
+    hut, with his weapons by his side. His relatives, seated around,
+    each harangues the deceased; and if he has been a great warrior,
+    recounts his heroic actions nearly to the following purport,
+    which in the Indian language is extremely poetical and pleasing:
+
+    "'You still sit among us, brother; your person retains its usual
+    resemblance, and continues similar to ours, without any visible
+    deficiency except it has lost the power of action. But whither
+    is that breath flown which a few hours ago sent up smoke to the
+    Great Spirit? Why are those lips silent that lately delivered to
+    us expressions and pleasing language? Why are those feet
+    motionless that a short time ago were fleeter than the deer on
+    yonder mountains? Why useless hang those arms that could climb
+    the tallest tree or draw the toughest bow? Alas! Every part of
+    that frame which we lately beheld with admiration and wonder is
+    now become as inanimate as it was three hundred years ago! We
+    will not, however, bemoan thee as if thou wast forever lost to
+    us, or that thy name would be buried in oblivion. Thy soul yet
+    lives in the great country of spirits with those of thy nation
+    that have gone before thee, and though we are left behind to
+    perpetuate thy fame, we shall one day join thee.
+
+    "'Actuated by the respect we bore thee whilst living, we now
+    come to tender thee the last act of kindness in our power; that
+    thy body might not lie neglected on the plain and become a prey
+    to the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, we will
+    take care to lay it with those of thy ancestors who have gone
+    before thee, hoping at the same time that thy spirit will feed
+    with their spirits, and be ready to receive ours when we shall
+    also arrive at the great country of souls.'"
+
+I have heard many speeches made by the descendants of these same
+Indians, and have many times addressed them on all manner of subjects,
+but I never heard anything quite so elegant as the oration put into
+their mouths by Carver. I have always discovered that a good interpreter
+makes a good speech. On one occasion, when a delegation of Pillager
+Chippewas was in Washington to settle some matters with the government,
+they wanted a certain concession which the Indian commissioner would not
+allow, and they appealed to the president, who was then Franklin Pierce.
+Old Flat-mouth, the chief, presented the case. Paul Beaulieu interpreted
+it so feelingly that the president surrendered without a contest. After
+informing him as to the disputed point, he added:
+
+    "Father, you are great and powerful. You live in a beautiful
+    home where the bleak winds never penetrate. Your hunger is
+    always appeased with the choicest foods. Your heart is kept warm
+    by all these blessings, and would bleed at the sight of distress
+    among your red children. Father, we are poor and weak. We live
+    far away in the cheerless north, in bark lodges. We are often
+    cold and hungry. Father, what we ask is to you as nothing, while
+    to us it is comfort and happiness. Give it to us, and when you
+    stand upon your grand portico some bright winter night, and see
+    the northern lights dancing in the heavens, it will be the
+    thanks of your red children ascending to the Great Spirit for
+    your goodness to them."
+
+Carver seems to have been a sagacious observer and a man of great
+foresight. In speaking of the advantages of the country, he says that
+the future population will be "able to convey their produce to the
+seaports with great facility, the current of the river from its source
+to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico being extremely favorable for
+doing this in small craft. This might also in time be facilitated by
+canals, or short cuts, and a communication opened with New York by way
+of the Lakes."
+
+He was also impressed with the idea that a route could be discovered by
+way of the Minnesota river, which "would open a passage for conveying
+intelligence to China and the English settlements in the East Indies."
+
+The nearest to a realization of this theory that I have known was the
+sending of the stern-wheeled steamer "Freighter" on a voyage up the
+Minnesota to Winnipeg some time in the early fifties. She took freight
+and passengers for that destination, but never reached the Red River of
+the North.
+
+After the death of Carver his heirs claimed that, while at the great
+cave on the 1st of May, 1767, the Indians made him a large grant of
+land, which would cover St. Paul and a large part of Wisconsin, and
+several attempts were made to have it ratified by both the British and
+American governments, but without success. Carver does not mention this
+grant in his book, nor has the original deed ever been found. A copy,
+however, was produced, and as it was the first real estate transaction
+ever had in Minnesota, I will set it out in full.
+
+    "To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the Most Mighty and Potent
+    George the Third, King of the English and other nations, the
+    fame of whose warriors has reached our ears, and has been fully
+    told us by our _good brother Jonathan_ aforesaid, whom we all
+    rejoice to have come among us and bring us good news from his
+    country:
+
+    "WE, Chiefs of the Nandowessies, who have hereunto set our
+    seals, do, by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever,
+    in return for the aid and good services done by the said
+    Jonathan to ourselves and allies, give, grant and convey to him,
+    the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the
+    whole of a certain Territory or tract of land, bounded as
+    follows, viz.: From the Falls of St. Anthony, running on east
+    bank of the Mississippi, nearly southeast as far as Lake Pepin,
+    where the Chippewa joins the Mississippi, and from thence
+    eastward five days' travel accounting twenty English miles per
+    day, and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony on a
+    direct straight line. We do for ourselves, heirs and assigns,
+    forever give unto said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, with all
+    the trees, rocks and rivers therein, reserving the sole liberty
+    of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the
+    said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed
+    our respective seals.
+
+    "At the Great Cave, May 1st, 1767.
+          (Signed) "HAWNOPAWJATIN,
+                   "OTOHTONGOONLISHEAW."
+
+This alleged instrument bears upon its face many marks of suspicion, and
+was very properly rejected by General Leavenworth, who, in 1821, made a
+report of his investigations in regard to it to the commissioner of the
+general land office.
+
+The war between the Chippewas and the Dakotas continued to rage with
+varied success, as it has since time immemorial. It was a bitter, cruel
+war, waged against the race and blood, and each successive slaughter
+only increased the hatred and heaped fuel upon the fire. As an Indian
+never forgives the killing of a relative, and as the particular
+murderer, as a general thing, was not known on either side, each death
+was charged up to the tribe. These wars, although constant, had very
+little influence on the standing or progress of the country, except so
+far as they may have proved detrimental or beneficial to the fur trade
+prosecuted by the whites. The first event after the appearance of
+Jonathan Carver that can be considered as materially affecting the
+history of Minnesota was the location and erection of Fort Snelling, of
+which event I will give a brief account.
+
+
+
+
+FORT SNELLING.
+
+
+In 1805 the government decided to procure a site on which to build a
+fort somewhere on the waters of the upper Mississippi, and sent Lieut.
+Zebulon Montgomery Pike of the army to explore the country, expel
+British traders who might be violating the laws of the United States,
+and to make treaties with the Indians.
+
+On the 21st of September, 1805, he encamped on what is now known as Pike
+Island, at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota, then St.
+Peter's river. Two days later he obtained, by treaty with the Dakota
+nation, a tract of land for a military reservation, with the following
+boundaries, extending from "below the confluence of the Mississippi and
+St. Peter's, up the Mississippi, to include the Falls of St. Anthony,
+extending nine miles on each side of the river." The United States paid
+two thousand dollars for this land.
+
+The reserve thus purchased was not used for military purposes until Feb.
+10, 1819, at which time the government gave the following reasons for
+erecting a fort at this point: "To cause the power of the United States
+government to be fully acknowledged by the Indians and settlers of the
+Northwest, to prevent Lord Selkirk, the Hudson Bay Company and others
+from establishing trading posts on United States territory, to better
+the conditions of the Indians, and to develop the resources of the
+country." Part of the Fifth United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel
+Henry Leavenworth, was dispatched to select a site and erect a post.
+They arrived at the St. Peter's river in September, 1819, and camped on
+or near the spot where now stands Mendota. During the winter of 1819-20
+the troops were terribly afflicted with scurvy. General Sibley, in an
+address before the Minnesota Historical Society, in speaking of it,
+says: "So sudden was the attack that soldiers apparently in good health
+when they retired at night were found dead in the morning. One man who
+was relieved from his tour of sentinel duty, and had stretched himself
+upon a bench; when he was called four hours later to resume his duties,
+he was found lifeless."
+
+In May, 1820, the command left their cantonment, crossed the St. Peter's
+and went into summer camp at a spring near the old Baker trading house,
+and about two miles above the present site of Fort Snelling. This was
+called "Camp Coldwater."
+
+During the summer the men were busy in procuring logs and other material
+necessary for the work. The first site selected was where the present
+military cemetery stands, and the post was called "Fort St. Anthony;"
+but in August, 1820, Colonel Joshua Snelling of the Fifth United States
+Infantry arrived, and, on taking command, changed the site to where Fort
+Snelling now stands. Work steadily progressed until Sept. 10, 1820, when
+the corner stone of Fort St. Anthony was laid with all due ceremony. The
+first measured distance that was given between this new post and the
+next one down the river, Fort Crawford, where Prairie du Chien now
+stands, was 204 miles. The work was steadily pushed forward. The
+buildings were made of logs, and were first occupied in October, 1822.
+
+The first steamboat to arrive at the post was the "Virginia," in 1823.
+
+The first saw-mill in Minnesota was constructed by the troops in 1822,
+and the first lumber sawed on Rum river was for use in building the
+post. The mill site is now included within the corporate limits of
+Minneapolis.
+
+The post continued to be called Fort St. Anthony until 1824, when, upon
+the recommendation of General Scott, who inspected the fort, it was
+named Fort Snelling, in honor of its founder.
+
+In 1830 stone buildings were erected for a four-company post; also, a
+stone hospital and a stone wall, nine feet high, surrounding the whole
+post; but these improvements were not actually completed until after the
+Mexican War.
+
+The Indian title to the military reservation does not seem to have been
+effectually acquired, notwithstanding the treaty of Lieutenant Pike,
+made with the Indians in 1805, until the treaty with the Dakotas, in
+1837, by which the Indian claim to all the lands east of the
+Mississippi, including the reservation, ceased.
+
+In 1836, before the Indian title was finally acquired, quite a number
+of settlers located on the reservation on the left bank of the
+Mississippi.
+
+On Oct. 21, 1839, the president issued an order for their removal, and
+on the sixth day of May, 1840, some of the settlers were forcibly
+removed.
+
+In 1837 Mr. Alexander Faribault presented a claim for Pike Island, which
+was based upon a treaty made by him with the Dakotas in 1820. Whether
+his claim was allowed the records do not disclose, and it is
+unimportant.
+
+On May 25, 1853, a military reservation for the fort was set off, by the
+president, of seven thousand acres, which in the following November was
+reduced to six thousand.
+
+In 1857 the secretary of war, pursuant to the authority vested in him by
+act of congress, of March 3, 1857, sold the Fort Snelling reservation,
+excepting two small tracts, to Mr. Franklin Steele, who had long been
+sutler of the post, for the sum of ninety thousand dollars, which was to
+be paid in three installments. The first one of thirty thousand dollars
+was paid by Steele on July 25, 1857, and he took possession, the troops
+being withdrawn.
+
+The fort was sold at private sale, and the price paid was, in my
+opinion, vastly more than it was worth; but Mr. Steele had great hopes
+for the future of that locality as a site for a town, and was willing to
+risk the payment. The sale was made by private contract by Secretary
+Floyd, who adopted this manner because other reservations had been sold
+at public auction, after full publication of notice to the world, and
+had brought only a few cents per acre. The whole transaction was in
+perfect good faith, but it was attacked in congress, and an
+investigation ordered, which resulted in suspending its consummation,
+and Mr. Steele did not pay the balance due. In 1860 the Civil War broke
+out, and the fort was taken possession of by the government for use in
+fitting out Minnesota troops, and was held until the war ended. In 1868
+Mr. Steele presented a claim against the government for rent of the fort
+and other matters relating to it, which amounted to more than the price
+he agreed to pay for it.
+
+An act of congress was passed on May 7, 1870, authorizing the secretary
+of war to settle the whole matter on principles of equity, keeping such
+reservation as was necessary for the fort. In pursuance of this act, a
+military board was appointed, and the whole controversy was arranged to
+the satisfaction of Mr. Steele and the government. The reservation was
+reduced to a little more than fifteen hundred acres. A grant of ten
+acres was made to the little Catholic church at Mendota, for a cemetery,
+and other small tracts were reserved about the Falls of Minnehaha and
+elsewhere, and all the balance was conveyed to Mr. Steele, he releasing
+the government from all claims and demands. The action of the secretary
+of war in carrying out this settlement was approved by the president in
+1871.
+
+The fort was one of the best structures of the kind ever erected in the
+West. It was capable of accommodating five or six companies of infantry,
+was surrounded by a high stone wall, and protected at the only exposed
+approaches by stone bastions guarded by cannon and musketry. Its supply
+of water was obtained from a well in the parade ground, near the
+sutler's store, which was sunk below the surface of the river. It was
+perfectly impregnable to any savage enemy, and in consequence was never
+called upon to stand a siege.
+
+Perched upon a prominent bluff at the confluence of the Mississippi and
+Minnesota rivers, it has witnessed the changes that have gone on around
+it for three-quarters of a century, and seen the most extraordinary
+transformations that have occurred in any similar period in the history
+of our country. When its corner stone was laid it formed the extreme
+frontier of the Northwest, with nothing but wild animals and wilder men
+within hundreds of miles in any direction. The frontier has receded to
+the westward until it has lost itself in the corresponding one being
+pushed from the Pacific to the east. The Indians have lost their
+splendid freedom as lords of a continent, and are prisoners, cribbed
+upon narrow reservations. The magnificent herds of buffalo that ranged
+from the British possessions to Texas have disappeared from the face of
+the earth, and nothing remains but the white man bearing his burden,
+which is constantly being made more irksome. To those who have played
+both parts in the moving drama, there is much food for thought.
+
+I devote so much space to Fort Snelling because it has always sustained
+the position of a pivotal center to Minnesota. In the infancy of
+society, it radiated the refinement and elegance that leavened the
+country around. In hospitality its officers were never surpassed, and
+when danger threatened, its protecting arm assured safety. For many long
+years it was the first to welcome the incomer to the country, and will
+ever be remembered by the old settlers as a friend.
+
+After the headquarters of the Department of Dakota was established at
+St. Paul, and when General Sherman was in command of the army, he
+thought that the offices should be at the fort, and removed them there.
+This caused the erection of the new administration building and the
+beautiful line of officers' quarters about a mile above the old walled
+structure, and led to its practical abandonment; but the change was soon
+found to be inconvenient in a business way, and the department
+headquarters were restored to the city, where they still remain.
+
+Since the fort was built nearly every officer in the old army, and many
+of those who have followed them, has been stationed at Snelling, and it
+was beloved by them all.
+
+The situation of the fort, now that the railroads have become the
+reliance of all transportation, both for speed and safety, is a most
+advantageous one from a military point of view. It is at the center of a
+railroad system that reaches all parts of the continent, and troops and
+munitions of war can be deposited at any point with the utmost dispatch.
+It is believed that it will not only be retained but enlarged.
+
+
+
+
+THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT.
+
+
+Lord Selkirk, the checking of whose operations was among the reasons
+given for the erection of Fort Snelling, was a Scotch earl who was very
+wealthy and enthusiastic on the subject of founding colonies in the
+Northwestern British possessions. He was a kind hearted but visionary
+man, and had no practical knowledge whatever on the subject of
+colonization in uncivilized countries. About the beginning of the
+nineteenth century he wrote several pamphlets, urging the importance of
+colonizing British emigrants on British soil to prevent them settling in
+the United States. In 1811 he obtained a grant of land from the Hudson
+Bay Company in the region of Lake Winnipeg, the Red River of the North
+and the Assinaboine, in what is now Manitoba.
+
+Previous to this time the inhabitants of this region, besides the
+Indians, were Canadians, who had intermingled with the savages, learning
+all their vices and none of their good traits. They were called "Gens
+Libre," free people, and were very proud of the title. Mr. Neill, in his
+history of Minnesota, in describing them, says they were fond of
+
+    "Vast and sudden deeds of violence,
+    Adventures wild and wonders of the moment."
+
+The offspring of their intercourse with the Indian women were numerous,
+and called "Bois Brules." They were a fine race of hunters, horsemen and
+boatmen, and possessed all the accomplishments of the voyageur. They
+spoke the language of both father and mother.
+
+In 1812 a small advance party of colonists arrived at the Red River of
+the North, in about latitude fifty degrees north. They were, however,
+frightened away by a party of men of the Northwest Fur Company, dressed
+as Indians, and induced to take refuge at Pembina, in what is now
+Minnesota, where they spent the winter, suffering the greatest
+hardships. Many died, but the survivors returned in the spring to the
+colony, and made an effort to raise a crop; but it was a failure, and
+they again passed the winter at Pembina. This was the winter of 1813-14.
+They again returned to the colony, in a very distressed and dilapidated
+condition, in the spring.
+
+By September, 1815, the colony, which then numbered about two hundred,
+was getting along quite prosperously, and its future seemed auspicious.
+It was called "Kildonan," after a parish in Scotland in which the
+colonists were born.
+
+The employes of the Northwest Fur Company were, however, very restive
+under anything that looked like improvement, and regarded it as a ruse
+of their rival, the Hudson Bay Company, to break up the lucrative
+business they were enjoying in the Indian trade. They resorted to all
+kinds of measures to get rid of the colonists, even to attempting to
+incite the Indians against them, and on one occasion, by a trick,
+disarmed them of their brass field pieces and other small artillery.
+Many of the disaffected Selkirkers deserted to the quarters of the
+Northwest Company. These annoyances were carried to the extent of an
+attack on the house of the governor, where four of the inmates were
+wounded, one of whom died. They finally agreed to leave, and were
+escorted to Lake Winnipeg, where they embarked in boats. Their
+improvements were all destroyed by the Northwest people.
+
+They were again induced to return to their colony lands by the Hudson
+Bay people, and did so in 1816, when they were reinforced by new
+colonists. Part of them wintered at Pembina in 1816, but returned to the
+Kildonan settlement in the spring.
+
+Lord Selkirk, hearing of the distressed condition of his colonists,
+sailed for New York, where he arrived in the fall of 1815, and learned
+they had been compelled to leave the settlement. He proceeded to
+Montreal, where he found some of the settlers in the greatest poverty;
+but learning that some of them still remained in the colony, he sent an
+express to announce his arrival, and say that he would be with them in
+the spring. The news was sent by a colonist named Laquimonier, but he
+was waylaid, near Fond du Lac, and brutally beaten and robbed of his
+dispatches. Subsequent investigation proved that this was the work of
+the Northwest Company.
+
+Selkirk tried to obtain military aid from the British authorities, but
+failed. He then engaged four officers and over one hundred privates who
+had served in the late War with the United States to accompany him to
+the Red river. He was to pay them, give them lands, and send them home
+if they wished to return.
+
+When he reached Sault Ste. Marie he heard that his colony had again been
+destroyed.
+
+War was raging between the Hudson Bay people and the Northwest Company,
+in which Governor Semple, chief governor of the factories and
+territories of the Hudson Bay Company was killed. Selkirk proceeded to
+Fort William, on Lake Superior, and finally reached his settlement on
+the Red river.
+
+The colonists were compelled to pass the winter of 1817 in hunting in
+Minnesota, and had a hard time of it, but in the spring they once more
+found their way home, and planted crops, but they were destroyed by
+grasshoppers, which remained during the next year and ate up every
+growing thing, rendering it necessary that the colonists should again
+resort to the buffalo for subsistence.
+
+During the winter of 1819-20 a deputation of these Scotchmen came all
+the way to Prairie du Chien on snowshoes for seed wheat, a distance of a
+thousand miles, and on the fifteenth day of April, 1820, left for the
+colony in three Mackinaw boats, carrying three hundred bushels of wheat,
+one hundred bushels of oats, and thirty bushels of peas. Being stopped
+by ice in Lake Pepin, they planted a May pole and celebrated May day on
+the ice. They reached home by way of the Minnesota river, with a short
+portage to Lake Traverse, the boats being moved on rollers, and thence
+down the Red River to Pembina, where they arrived in safety on the third
+day of June. This trip cost Lord Selkirk about six thousand dollars.
+
+Nothing daunted by the terrible sufferings of his colonists, and the
+immense expense attendant upon his enterprise, in 1820 he engaged Capt.
+R. May, who was a citizen of Berne, in Switzerland, but in the British
+service, to visit Switzerland and get recruits for his colony. The
+captain made the most exaggerated representations of the advantages to
+be gained by emigrating to the colony, and induced many Swiss to leave
+their happy and peaceful homes to try their fortunes in the distant,
+dangerous and inhospitable regions of Lake Winnipeg. They knew nothing
+of the hardships in store for them, and were the least adapted to
+encounter them of any people in the world, as they were mechanics, whose
+business had been the delicate work of making watches and clocks. They
+arrived in 1821, and from year to year, after undergoing hardships that
+might have appalled the hardiest pioneer, their spirits drooped, they
+pined for home, and left for the south. At one time a party of two
+hundred and forty-three of them departed for the United States, and
+found homes at different points on the banks of the Mississippi.
+
+Before the eastern wave of immigration had ascended above Prairie du
+Chien, many Swiss had opened farms at and near St. Paul, and became the
+first actual settlers of the country. Mr. Stevens, in an address on the
+early history of Hennepin county, says that they were driven from their
+homes in 1836 and 1837 by the military at Fort Snelling, and is very
+severe on the autocratic conduct of the officers of the fort, saying
+that the commanding officers were lords of the North, and the
+subordinates were princes. I have no doubt they did not underrate their
+authority, but I think Mr. Stevens must refer to the removals that were
+made of settlers on the military reservation of which I have before
+spoken.
+
+The subject of the Selkirk colony cannot fail to interest the reader,
+as it was the first attempt to introduce into the great Northwest
+settlers for the purposes of peaceful agriculture, everybody else who
+had preceded them having been connected with the half-savage business of
+the Indian trade; and the reason I have dwelt so long upon the subject
+is, because these people, on their second emigration, furnished
+Minnesota with her first settlers, and curiously enough, they came from
+the north.
+
+Abraham Perry was one of these Swiss refugees from the Selkirk
+settlement. With his wife and two children, he first settled at Fort
+Snelling, then at St. Paul, and finally at Lake Johanna. His son
+Charles, who came with him, has, while I am writing, on the twenty-ninth
+day of July, 1899, just celebrated his golden wedding at the old
+homestead, at Lake Johanna, where they have ever since lived. They were
+married by the Right Reverend A. Ravoux, who is still living in St.
+Paul. Charles Perry is the only survivor of that ill-fated band of
+Selkirkers.
+
+
+
+
+GEORGE CATLIN.
+
+In 1835 George Catlin, an artist of merit, visited Minnesota, and made
+many sketches and portraits of Indians. His published statements after
+his departure about his adventures elicited much adverse criticism from
+the old settlers.
+
+
+
+
+FEATHERSTONEHAUGH.
+
+
+Featherstonehaugh, an Englishman, about the same time, under the
+direction of the United States government, made a slight geological
+survey of the Minnesota valley, and on his return to England he wrote a
+book which reflected unjustly upon the gentlemen he met in Minnesota;
+but not much was thought of it, because until recently such has been the
+English custom.
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOLCRAFT AND THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+In 1832 the United States sent an embassy, composed of thirty men, under
+Henry R. Schoolcraft, then Indian Agent at Sault Ste. Marie, to visit
+the Indians of the Northwest, and, when advisable, to make treaties with
+them. They had a guard of soldiers, a physician, an interpreter, and the
+Rev. William T. Boutwell, a missionary at Leech Lake. They were supplied
+with a large outfit of provisions, tobacco and trinkets, which were
+conveyed in a bateau. They travelled in several large bark canoes. They
+went to Fond du Lac, thence up the St. Louis river, portaged round the
+falls, thence to the nearest point to Sandy lake, thence up the
+Mississippi to Leech lake. While there, they learned from the Indians
+that Cass lake, which for some time had been reputed to be the source of
+the Mississippi, was not the real source, and they determined to solve
+the problem of where the real source was to be found, and what it was.
+
+I may say here that, in 1819, Gen. Lewis Cass, then governor of the
+Territory of Michigan, had led an exploring party to the upper waters of
+the Mississippi, somewhat similar to the one I am now speaking of, Mr.
+Henry R. Schoolcraft being one of them. When they reached what is now
+Cass lake, in the Mississippi river, they decided that it was the source
+of the great river, and it was named Cass lake, in honor of the
+governor, and was believed to be such source until the arrival of
+Schoolcraft's party in 1832.
+
+After a search, an inlet was found into Cass lake, flowing from the
+west, and they pursued it until the lake now called "Itasca" was
+reached. Five of the party, Lieutenant Allen, Schoolcraft, Dr.
+Houghton, Interpreter Johnson and Mr. Boutwell, explored the lake
+thoroughly, and finding no inlet, decided it must be the true source of
+the river. Mr. Schoolcraft, being desirous of giving the lake a name
+that would indicate its position as the true head of the river, and at
+the same time be euphonious in sound, endeavored to produce one, but
+being unable to satisfy himself, turned it over to Mr. Boutwell, who,
+being a good Latin scholar, wrote down two Latin words, "veritas,"
+truth, and "caput," head, and suggested that a word might be coined out
+of the combination that would answer the purpose. He then cut off the
+last two syllables of veritas, making "Itas," and the first syllable of
+caput, making "ca," and, putting them together, he gave the word
+"Itasca," which, in my judgment, is a sufficiently skillful and
+beautiful literary feat to immortalize the inventor. Mr. Boutwell died
+within a few years at Stillwater, in Minnesota.
+
+Presumptuous attempts have been made to deprive Schoolcraft of the honor
+of having discovered the true source of the river, but their transparent
+absurdity has prevented their having obtained any credence, and to put a
+quietus on such unscrupulous pretenses, Mr. J. V. Brower, a scientific
+surveyor, under the auspices of the Minnesota Historical Society, has
+recently made exhaustive researches, surveys and maps of the region, and
+established beyond doubt or cavil the entire authenticity of
+Schoolcraft's discovery. Gen. James H. Baker, once surveyor general of
+the State of Minnesota, and a distinguished member of the same society,
+under its appointment, prepared an elaborate paper on the subject, in
+which is collected and presented all the facts, history and knowledge
+that exists relating to the discovery, and conclusively destroys all
+efforts to deprive Schoolcraft of his laurels.
+
+
+
+
+ELEVATIONS IN MINNESOTA.
+
+
+While on the subject of the source of the Mississippi river, I may as
+well speak of the elevations of the state above the level of the sea. It
+can be truthfully said that Minnesota occupies the summit of the North
+American continent. In its most northern third rises the Mississippi,
+which, in its general course, flows due south to the Gulf of Mexico. In
+about its center division, from north to south, rises the Red River of
+the North, and takes a general northerly direction until it empties into
+Lake Winnipeg, while the St. Louis and other rivers take their rise in
+the same region and flow eastwardly into Lake Superior, which is the
+real source of the St. Lawrence, which empties into the Atlantic.
+
+The elevation at the source of the Mississippi is 1,600 feet, and at the
+point where it leaves the southern boundary of the state, 620 feet. The
+elevation at the source of the Red River of the North is the same as
+that of the Mississippi, 1,600 feet, and where it leaves the state at
+its northern boundary 767 feet. The average elevation of the state is
+given at 1,275 feet, its highest elevation, in the Mesaba range, 2,200
+feet, and its lowest, at Duluth, 602 feet.
+
+
+
+
+NICOLLET.
+
+
+In 1836 a French savant, M. Jean N. Nicollet, visited Minnesota for the
+purpose of exploration. He was an astronomer of note, and had received a
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, and had also been attached as
+professor to the Royal College of "Louis Le Grande." He arrived in
+Minnesota on July 26, 1836, bearing letters of introduction, and visited
+Fort Snelling, whence he left with a French trader, named Fronchet, to
+explore the sources of the Mississippi. He entered the Crow Wing river,
+and by the way of Gull river and Gull lake he entered Leech lake. The
+Indians were disappointed when they found he had no presents for them
+and spent most of his time looking at the heavens through a tube, and
+they became unruly and troublesome. The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, whose mission
+house was on the lake, learning of the difficulty, came to the rescue,
+and a very warm friendship sprang up between the men. No educated man
+who has not experienced the desolation of having been shut up among
+savages and rough, unlettered voyageurs for a long time can appreciate
+the pleasure of meeting a cultured and refined gentleman so unexpectedly
+as Mr. Boutwell encountered Nicollet, and especially when he was able to
+render him valuable aid.
+
+From Leech lake Nicollet went to Lake Itasca with guides and packers. He
+pitched his tent on Schoolcraft island in the lake, where he occupied
+himself for some time in making astronomical observations. He continued
+his explorations beyond those of Schoolcraft and Lieutenant Allen, and
+followed up the rivulets that entered the lake, thoroughly exploring its
+basin or watershed.
+
+He returned to Fort Snelling in October, and remained there for some
+time, studying Dakota. He became the guest of Mr. Henry H. Sibley at his
+home in Mendota for the winter. General Sibley, in speaking of him,
+says:
+
+    "A portion of the winter following was spent by him at my house,
+    and it is hardly necessary to state that I found in him a most
+    instructive companion. His devotion to his studies was intense
+    and unremitting, and I frequently expostulated with him upon his
+    imprudence in thus overtasking the strength of his delicate
+    frame, but without effect."
+
+Nicollet went to Washington after his tour of 1836-37, and was honored
+with a commission from the United States government to make further
+explorations, and John C. Fremont was detailed as his assistant.
+
+Under his new appointment, Nicollet and his assistant went up the
+Missouri in a steamboat to Fort Pierre; thence he traveled through the
+interior of Minnesota, visiting the Red Pipestone quarry, Devil's lake,
+and other important localities. On this tour he made a map of the
+country, which was the first reliable and accurate one made, which,
+together with his astronomical observations, were invaluable to the
+country. His name has been perpetuated by giving it to one of
+Minnesota's principal counties.
+
+
+
+
+MISSIONS.
+
+
+The missionary period is one full of interest in the history of the
+State of Minnesota. The devoted people who sacrifice all the pleasures
+and luxuries of life to spread the gospel of Christianity among the
+Indians are deserving of all praise, no matter whether success or
+failure attends their efforts. The Dakotas and Chippewas were not
+neglected in this respect. The Catholics were among them at a very early
+day, and strove to convert them to Christianity. These worthy men were
+generally French priests and daring explorers, but for some reason,
+whether it was want of permanent support or an individual desire to
+rove, I am unable to say, they did not succeed in founding any missions
+of a lasting character among the Dakotas before the advent of white
+settlement. The devout Romanist, Shea, in his interesting history of
+Catholic missions, speaking of the Dakotas, remarks that "Father Menard
+had projected a Sioux mission, Marquette, Allouez, Druillettes, all
+entertained hopes of realizing it, and had some intercourse with that
+nation, but none of them ever succeeded in establishing a mission."
+Their work, however, was only postponed, for at a later date they gained
+and maintained a lasting foothold.
+
+The Protestants, however, in and after 1820, made permanent and
+successful ventures in this direction. After the formation of the
+American Fur Company, Mackinaw became the chief point of that
+organization. In June, 1820, the Rev. Mr. Morse, father of the inventor
+of the telegraph, came to Mackinaw, and preached the first sermon that
+was delivered in the Northwest. He made a report of his visit to the
+Presbyterian Missionary Society in New York, which sent out parties to
+explore the field. The Rev. W. M. Terry, with his wife, commenced a
+school at Mackinaw in 1823, and had great success. There were sometimes
+as many as two hundred pupils at the school, representing many tribes of
+Indians. There are descendants of the children who were educated at this
+school now in Minnesota, who are citizens of high standing, who are
+indebted to this institution for their education and position.
+
+In the year 1830 a Mr. Warren, who was then living at La Pointe, visited
+Mackinaw to obtain a missionary for his place, and not being able to
+secure an ordained minister, he took back with him Mr. Frederick Ayre, a
+teacher, who, being pleased with the place and prospect, returned to
+Mackinaw, and in 1831, with the Rev. Sherman Hall and wife, started for
+La Pointe, where they arrived on August 30th, and established themselves
+as missionaries, with a school.
+
+The next year Mr. Ayre went to Sandy lake, and opened another school for
+the children of voyageurs and Indians. In 1832 Mr. Boutwell, after his
+tour with Schoolcraft, took charge of the school at La Pointe, and in
+1833 he removed to Leech lake, and there established the first mission
+in Minnesota west of the Mississippi.
+
+From his Leech lake mission he writes a letter in which he gives such a
+realistic account of his school and mission that one can see everything
+that is taking place, as if a panorama was passing before his eyes. He
+takes a cheerful view of his prospects, and gives a comprehensive
+statement of the resources of the country in their natural state. If
+space allowed, I would like to copy the whole letter; but as he speaks
+of the wild rice in referring to the food supply, I will say a word
+about it, as I deem it one of Minnesota's most important natural
+resources.
+
+In 1857 I visited the source of the Mississippi with the then Indian
+agent for the Chippewas, and traveled hundreds of miles in the upper
+river. We passed through endless fields of wild rice, and witnessed its
+harvest by the Chippewas, which is a most interesting and picturesque
+scene. They tie it in sheaves with a straw before it is ripe enough to
+gather to prevent the wind from shaking out the grains, and when it has
+matured, they thresh it with sticks into their canoes. We estimated that
+there were about 1,000 families of the Chippewas, and that they gathered
+about twenty-five bushels for each family, and we saw that in so doing
+they did not make any impression whatever on the crop, leaving thousands
+of acres of the rice to the geese and ducks. Our calculations then were
+that more rice grew in Minnesota each year, without any cultivation,
+than was produced in South Carolina as one of the principal products of
+that state, and I may add that it is much more palatable and nutritious
+as a food than the white rice of the Orient or the South. There is no
+doubt that at some future time it will be utilized to the great
+advantage of the state.
+
+Mr. Boutwell's Leech lake mission was in all things a success.
+
+In 1834 the Rev. Samuel W. Pond and his brother, Gideon H. Pond, full of
+missionary enthusiasm, arrived at Fort Snelling, in the month of May.
+They consulted with the Indian agent, Major Taliaferro, about the best
+place to establish a mission, and decided upon Lake Calhoun, where dwelt
+small bands of Dakotas, and with their own hands erected a house and
+located.
+
+About the same time came the Rev. T. H. Williamson, M. D., under
+appointment from the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign
+Missions, to visit the Dakotas, to ascertain what could be done to
+introduce Christian instruction among them. He was reinforced by Rev. J.
+D. Stevens, missionary, Alexander Huggins, farmer, and their wives, and
+Miss Sarah Poage and Miss Lucy Stevens, teachers. They arrived at Fort
+Snelling in May, 1835, and were hospitably received by the officers of
+the garrison, the Indian agent, and Mr. Sibley, then a young man who had
+recently taken charge of the trading post at Mendota.
+
+From this point Rev. Mr. Stevens and family proceeded to Lake Harriet,
+in Hennepin county, and built a suitable house, and Dr. Williamson and
+wife, Mr. Huggins and wife, and Miss Poage, went to Lac qui Parle, where
+they were welcomed by Mr. Renville, a trader at that point, after whom
+the county of Renville is named.
+
+The Rev. J. D. Stevens acted as chaplain of Fort Snelling, in the
+absence of a regularly appointed officer in that position.
+
+In 1837 the mission was strengthened by the arrival of the Rev. Stephen
+R. Riggs, a graduate of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and his wife.
+After remaining a short time at Lake Harriet, Mr. and Mrs. Riggs went to
+Lac qui Parle.
+
+In 1837 missionaries sent out by the Evangelical Society of Lausanne,
+Switzerland, arrived, and located at Red Wing and Wapashaw's villages,
+on the Mississippi, and about the same time a Methodist mission was
+commenced at Kaposia, but they were of brief duration and soon
+abandoned.
+
+In 1836 a mission was established at Pokegama, among the Chippewas,
+which was quite successful, and afterwards, in 1842 or 1843, missions
+were opened at Red Lake, Shakopee, and other places in Minnesota. During
+the summer of 1843 Mr. Riggs commenced a mission station at Traverse des
+Sioux, which attained considerable proportions, and remained until
+overtaken by white settlement, about 1854.
+
+Mr. Riggs and Dr. Williamson also established a Mission at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the Sioux, in the year 1852, which was about the best
+equipped of any of them. It consisted of a good house for the
+missionaries, a large boarding and school house for Indian pupils, a
+neat little church, with a steeple and a bell, and all the other
+buildings necessary to a complete mission outfit.
+
+These good men adopted a new scheme of education and civilization, which
+promised to be very successful. They organized a government among the
+Indians, which they called the Hazelwood Republic. To become a member of
+this civic body, it was necessary that the applicant should cut off his
+long hair, and put on white men's clothes, and it was also expected that
+he should become a member of the church. The republic had a written
+constitution, a president and other officers. It was in 1856 when I
+first became acquainted with this institution, and I afterwards used its
+members to great advantage, in the rescue of captive women and the
+punishment of one of the leaders of the Spirit Lake massacre, which
+occurred in the northwestern portion of Iowa, in the year 1857, the
+particulars of which I will relate hereafter. The name of the president
+was Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-ni, or "The man who shoots metal as he walks,"
+and one of its prominent members was John Otherday, called in Sioux,
+An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, both of whom were the best friends the whites had
+in the hour of their great danger in the outbreak of 1862. It was these
+two men who informed the missionaries and other whites at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the impending massacre, and assisted sixty-two of
+them to escape before the fatal blow was struck.
+
+What I have said proves that much good attended the work of the
+missionaries in the way of civilizing some of the Indians, but it has
+always been open to question in my mind if any Sioux Indian ever fully
+comprehended the basic doctrines of Christianity. I will give an example
+which had great weight in forming my judgment. There were among the
+pillars of the mission church at the Yellow Medicine Agency (or as it
+was called in Sioux, Pajutazee) an Indian named Ana-wang-mani, to which
+the missionaries had prefixed the name of Simon. He was an exceptionally
+good man, and prominent in all church matters. He prayed and exhorted,
+and was looked upon by all interested as a fulfillment of the success of
+both the church and the republic. Imagine the consternation of the
+worthy missionaries when one day he announced that a man who had killed
+his cousin some eight years ago had returned from the Missouri, and was
+then in a neighboring camp, and that it was his duty to kill him to
+avenge his cousin. The missionaries argued with him, quoted the Bible to
+him, prayed with him,--in fact, exhausted every possible means to
+prevent him carrying out his purpose; but all to no effect. He would
+admit all they said, assured them that he believed everything they
+contended for, but he would always end with the assertion that, "He
+killed my cousin, and I must kill him." This savage instinct was too
+deeply imbedded in his nature to be overcome by any teaching of the
+white man, and the result was that he got a double-barreled shotgun and
+carried out his purpose, the consequence of which was to nearly destroy
+the church and the republic. He was, however, true to the whites all
+through the outbreak of 1862.
+
+When the Indians rebelled, the entire mission outfit at Pajutazee was
+destroyed, which practically put an end to missionary effort in
+Minnesota, but did not in the least lessen the ardor of the
+missionaries. I remember meeting Dr. Williamson soon after the Sioux
+were driven out of the state, and supposing, of course, that he had
+given up all hope of Christianizing them, I asked him where he would
+settle, and what he would do. He did not hesitate a moment, and said
+that he would hunt up the remnant of his people and attend to their
+spiritual wants.
+
+Having given a general idea of the missionary efforts that were made in
+Minnesota, I will say a word about
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIANS.
+
+
+The Dakotas (or as they were afterwards called, the Sioux) and the
+Chippewas were splendid races of aboriginal men. The Sioux that occupied
+Minnesota were about eight thousand strong,--men, women and children.
+They were divided into four principal bands, known as the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, or Spirit Lake Villagers; the Wak-pay-ku-tays, or
+Leaf Shooters, from their living in the timber; the Si-si-tons, and
+Wak-pay-tons. There was also a considerable band, known as the Upper
+Si-si-tons, who occupied the extreme upper waters of the Minnesota
+river. The Chippewas numbered about 7,800, divided as follows: At Lake
+Superior, whose agency was at La Pointe, Wis., about 1,600; on the Upper
+Mississippi, on the east side, about 3,450; of Pillagers, 1,550; and at
+Red lake, 1,130. The Sioux and Chippewas had been deadly enemies as far
+back as anything was known of them, and kept up continual warfare. The
+Winnebagoes, numbering about 1,500, were removed from the neutral
+ground, in Iowa, to Long Prairie, in Minnesota, in 1848, and in 1854
+were again removed to Blue Earth county, near the present site of
+Mankato. While Minnesota was a territory its western boundary extended
+to the Missouri river, and on that river, both east and west of it, were
+numerous wild and warlike bands of Sioux, numbering many thousands,
+although no accurate census of them had ever been taken. They were the
+Tetons, Yanktons, Cut-heads, Yanktonais, and others. These Missouri
+Indians frequently visited Minnesota.
+
+The proper name of these Indians is Dakota, and they know themselves
+only by that name, but the Chippewas of Lake Superior, in speaking of
+them, always called them, "Nadowessioux," which in their language
+signifies "enemy." The traders had a habit, when speaking of any tribe
+in the presence of another, and especially of an enemy, to designate
+them by some name that would not be understood by the listeners, as
+they were very suspicious. When speaking of the Dakotas, they used the
+last syllable of Nadowessioux,--"Sioux," until the name attached itself
+to them, and they have always since been so called.
+
+Charlevoix, who visited Minnesota in 1721, in his history of New France,
+says: "The name 'Sioux,' that we give these Indians, is entirely of our
+own making; or, rather, it is the last two syllables of the name of
+'Nadowessioux,' as many nations call them."
+
+The Sioux live in tepees, or circular conical tents, supported by poles,
+so arranged as to leave an opening in the top for ventilation and for
+the escape of smoke. These were, before the advent of the whites,
+covered with dressed buffalo skins, but more recently with a coarse
+cotton tent cloth, which is preferable on account of its being much
+lighter to transport from place to place, as they are almost constantly
+on the move, the tents being carried by the squaws. There is no more
+comfortable habitation than the Sioux tepee to be found among the
+dwellers in tents anywhere. A fire is made in the center for either
+warmth or cooking purposes. The camp kettle is suspended over it, making
+cooking easy and cleanly. In the winter, when the Indian family settles
+down to remain any considerable time, they select a river bottom where
+there is timber or chaparral, and set up the tepee; then they cut the
+long grass or bottom cane, and stand it up against the outside of the
+lodge to the thickness of about twenty inches, and you have a very warm
+and cozy habitation.
+
+The wealth of the Sioux consists very largely in his horses, and his
+subsistence is the game of the forest and plains and the fish and wild
+rice of the lakes. Minnesota was an Indian paradise. It abounded in
+buffalo, elk, moose, deer, beaver, wolves, and, in fact, nearly all
+wild animals found in North America. It held upon its surface eight
+thousand beautiful lakes, alive with the finest of edible fish. It was
+dotted over with beautiful groves of the sugar maple, yielding
+quantities of delicious sugar, and wild rice swamps were abundant. An
+inhabitant of this region, with absolute liberty, and nothing to do but
+defend it against the encroachments of enemies, certainly had very
+little more to ask of his Creator. But he was not allowed to enjoy it in
+peace. A stronger race was on his trail, and there was nothing left for
+him but to surrender his country on the best terms he could make. Such
+has ever been the case from the beginning of recorded events, and
+judging from current operations, there has been no cessation of the
+movement. Why was not the world made big enough for homes for all kinds
+and colors of men, and all characters of civilization?
+
+As the white man progressed towards the West, and came in contact with
+the Indians, it became necessary to define the territories of the
+different tribes to avoid collision between them and the newcomers as
+much as possible. To accomplish this end, Governor Clark of Missouri and
+Governor Cass of Michigan, on the nineteenth day of August, 1825,
+convened, at Prairie du Chien, a grand congress of Indians, representing
+the Dakotas, Chippewas (then called Ojibways), Sauks, Foxes, Menomonies,
+Iowas, Winnebagoes, Pottaiwatomies and Ottawas, and it was determined by
+treaties among them where the dividing lines between their countries
+should be. This partition gave the Chippewas a large part of what is now
+Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Dakotas lands to the west of them; but
+it soon became apparent that these boundary lines between the Dakotas
+and the Chippewas would not be adhered to, and Governor Cass and Mr. T.
+L. McKenney were appointed commissioners to again convene the Chippewas,
+but this time at Fond du Lac, and there, on the fifth day of August,
+1826, another treaty was entered into, which, with the exception of the
+Fort Snelling treaty, was the first one ever made on the soil of
+Minnesota. By this treaty the Chippewas, among other things, renounced
+all allegiance to or connection with Great Britain, and acknowledged the
+authority of the United States. These treaties were, however, rather of
+a preliminary character, being intended more for the purpose of
+arranging matters between the tribes than making concessions to the
+whites, although the whites were permitted to mine and carry away metals
+and ores from the Chippewa country by the treaty of Fond du Lac.
+
+The first important treaty made with the Sioux, by which the white men
+began to obtain concessions of lands from them, was on Aug. 29, 1837.
+This treaty was made at Washington, through Joel R. Poinsette, and to
+give an idea of how little time and few words were spent in
+accomplishing important ends, I will quote the first article of this
+treaty:
+
+    "Article I.--The chiefs and braves representing the parties
+    having an interest therein cede to the United States all their
+    land east of the Mississippi river, and all their islands in
+    said river."
+
+The rest of the treaty is confined to the consideration to be paid, and
+matters of that nature.
+
+This treaty extinguished all the Dakota title in lands east of the
+Mississippi river, in Minnesota, and opened the way for immigration on
+all that side of the Mississippi; and immigration was not long in
+accepting the invitation, for between the making of the treaty, in
+1837, and the admission of the State of Wisconsin into the Union, in
+1848, there had sprung into existence in that state, west of the St.
+Croix, the towns of Stillwater, St. Anthony, St. Paul, Marine, Arcola,
+and other lesser settlements, which were all left in Minnesota when
+Wisconsin adopted the St. Croix as its western boundary.
+
+Most important, however, of all the treaties that opened up the lands of
+Minnesota to settlement were those of 1851, made at Traverse des Sioux
+and Mendota, by which the Sioux ceded to the United States all their
+lands in Minnesota and Iowa, except a small reservation for their
+habitation, situated on the upper waters of the Minnesota river.
+
+The Territory of Minnesota was organized in 1849, and immediately
+presented to the world a very attractive field for immigration. The most
+desirable lands in the new territory were on the west side of the
+Mississippi, but the title to them was still in the Indians. The whites
+could not wait until this was extinguished, but at once began to settle
+on the land lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, north of the
+north line of Iowa, and in the new territory. These settlements extended
+up the Mississippi river as far as St. Cloud, in what is now Stearns
+county, and extended up the Minnesota river as far as the mouth of the
+Blue Earth river, in the neighborhood of Mankato. These settlers were
+all trespassers on the lands of the Indians, but a little thing like
+that never deterred a white American from pushing his fortunes towards
+the setting sun. It soon became apparent that the Indians must yield to
+the approaching tidal wave of settlement, and measures were taken to
+acquire their lands by the United States. In 1851, Luke Lea, then
+commissioner of Indian affairs, and Alexander Ramsey, then governor of
+the Territory of Minnesota and ex-officio superintendent of Indian
+affairs, were appointed commissioners to treat with the Indians at
+Traverse des Sioux, and, after much feasting and talking, a treaty was
+completed and signed, on the twenty-third day of July, 1851, between the
+United States and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Sioux, whereby
+these bands ceded to the United States a vast tract of land lying in
+Minnesota and Iowa, and reserved for their future occupation a strip of
+land on the upper Minnesota, ten miles wide on each side of the center
+line of the river. For this cession they were to be paid $1,665,000,
+which was to be paid, a part in cash to liquidate debts, etc., and five
+per cent per annum on the balance for fifty years, the interest to be
+paid annually, partly in cash and partly in funds for agriculture,
+civilization, education, and in goods of various kinds; which payments,
+when completed, were to satisfy both principal and interest, the policy
+and expectation of the government being that at the end of fifty years
+the Indians would be civilized and self-sustaining.
+
+Amendments were made to this treaty in the senate, and it was not fully
+completed and proclaimed until Feb. 24, 1853.
+
+Almost instantly after the execution of this treaty, and on Aug. 5,
+1851, another treaty was negotiated by the same commissioners with two
+other bands of Sioux in Minnesota, the M'day-wa-kon-tons and
+Wak-pay-koo-tays. By this treaty these bands ceded to the United States
+all their lands in the Territory of Minnesota or State of Iowa, for
+which they were to be paid $1,410,000, very much in the same way that
+was provided in the last-named treaty with the Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. This treaty, also, was amended by the senate, and not
+fully perfected until Feb. 24, 1853.
+
+Both of these treaties contained the provision that "The laws of the
+United States, prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous
+liquors in the Indian country, shall be in full force and effect
+throughout the territory hereby ceded and lying in Minnesota until
+otherwise directed by congress or the president of the United States." I
+mention this feature of the treaty because it gave rise to much
+litigation as to whether the treaty making power had authority to
+legislate for settlers on the ceded lands of the United States. The
+power was sustained. These treaties practically obliterated the Indian
+title from the lands composing Minnesota, and its extinction brings us
+to the
+
+
+
+
+TERRITORIAL PERIOD.
+
+
+It must be kept in mind that, during the period which we have been
+attempting to review, the people who inhabited what is now Minnesota
+were subject to a great many different governmental jurisdictions. This,
+however, did not in any way concern them, as they did not, as a general
+thing, know or care anything about such matters; but as it may be
+interesting to the retrospective explorer to be informed on the subject,
+I will briefly present it. Minnesota has two sources of parentage. The
+part of it lying west of the Mississippi was part of the Louisiana
+purchase, made by President Jefferson from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803,
+and the part east of that river was part of the Northwest Territory,
+ceded by Virginia, in 1784, to the United States. I will give the
+successive changes of political jurisdiction, beginning on the west side
+of the river.
+
+First, it was part of New Spain, and Spanish. It was then purchased from
+Spain by France, and became French. On June 30, 1803, it became
+American, by purchase from France, and was part of the Province of
+Louisiana, and so remained until March 26, 1804, when an act was passed
+by congress, creating the Territory of Orleans, which included all of
+the Louisiana purchase south of the thirty-third degree of north
+latitude. This act gave the Territory of Louisiana a government, and
+called all the country north of it the District of Louisiana, which was
+to be governed by the Territory of Indiana, which had been created in
+1800 out of the Northwest Territory, and had its seat of government at
+Vincennes, on the Wabash.
+
+On June 4, 1812, the District of Louisiana was erected into the
+Territory of Missouri, where we remained until June 28, 1834, when all
+the public lands of the United States lying west of the Mississippi,
+north of the State of Missouri, and south of the British line, were, by
+act of congress, attached to the Territory of Michigan, under whose
+jurisdiction we remained until April 10, 1836, when the Territory of
+Wisconsin was created. This law went into effect July 3, 1836, and
+Wisconsin took in our territory lying west of the Mississippi, and there
+it remained until June 12, 1838, when the Territory of Iowa was created,
+taking us in and holding us until the State of Iowa was admitted into
+the Union, on March 3, 1845, which left us without any government west
+of the Mississippi.
+
+The part of Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi was originally part
+of the Northwest Territory. On May 7, 1800, it became part of the
+Indiana Territory, and remained so until April 26, 1836, when it became
+part of the Wisconsin Territory; and so continued until May 29, 1848,
+when Wisconsin entered the Union as a state, with the St. Croix river
+for its western boundary. By this arrangement of the western boundary of
+Wisconsin all the territory west of the St. Croix and east of the
+Mississippi, like that west of the river, was left without any
+government at all.
+
+One of the curious results of the many governmental changes which the
+western part of Minnesota underwent is illustrated in the residence of
+Gen. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota. In 1834, at the age of twenty-two, Mr.
+Sibley commenced his residence at Mendota, as the agent of the American
+Fur Company's establishment. At this point Mr. Sibley built the first
+private residence that was erected in Minnesota. It was a large,
+comfortable dwelling, constructed of the blue limestone found in the
+vicinity, with commodious porticos on the river front. The house was
+built in 1835-36, and was then in the Territory of Michigan. Mr. Sibley
+lived in it successively in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Territory
+and State of Minnesota. He removed to St. Paul in the year 1862. Every
+distinguished visitor who came to Minnesota in the early days was
+entertained by Mr. Sibley in this hospitable old mansion, and, together
+with its genial, generous and refined proprietor, it contributed much
+towards planting the seeds of those aesthetic amenities of social life
+that have so generally flourished in the later days of Minnesota's
+history and given it its deserved prominence among the states of the
+West. The house still stands, and has been occupied at different times
+since its founder abandoned it as a Catholic institution of some kind
+and an artists' summer school. The word Mendota is Sioux, and means "The
+meeting of the waters."
+
+It was the admission of Wisconsin into the Union in 1848 that brought
+about the organization of the Territory of Minnesota. The peculiar
+situation in which all the people residing west of the St. Croix found
+themselves set them to devising ways and means to obtain some kind of
+government to live under. It was a debatable question whether the
+remnant of Wisconsin which was left over when the state was admitted
+carried with it the territorial government, or whether it was a "no
+man's land," and different views were entertained on the subject. The
+question was somewhat embarrassed by the fact that the territorial
+governor, Governor Dodge, had been elected to the senate of the United
+States from the new state, and the territorial secretary, Mr. John
+Catlin, who would have become governor ex-officio when a vacancy
+occurred in the office of governor, resided in Madison, and the delegate
+to congress, Mr. John H. Tweedy, had resigned; so, even if the
+territorial government had, in law, survived, there seemed to be no one
+to represent and administer it.
+
+There was no lack of ability among the inhabitants of the abandoned
+remnant of Wisconsin. In St. Paul dwelt Henry M. Rice, Louis Roberts, J.
+W. Simpson, A. L. Larpenteur, David Lambert, Henry Jackson, Vetal
+Guerin, David Herbert, Oliver Rosseau, Andre Godfrey, Joseph Rondo,
+James R. Clewell, Edward Phalen, William G. Carter, and many others. In
+Stillwater and on the St. Croix were Morton S. Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss,
+John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, etc. In Mendota resided Henry H. Sibley.
+In St. Anthony, William R. Marshall; at Fort Snelling, Franklin Steele.
+I could name many others, but the above is a representative list. It
+will be observed that many of them were French.
+
+An initial meeting was held in St. Paul, in July of 1848, at Henry
+Jackson's trading house, to consider the matter, which was undoubtedly
+the first public meeting ever held in Minnesota. On the fifth day of
+August, in the same year, a similar meeting was held in Stillwater, and
+out of these meetings grew a call for a convention, to be held at
+Stillwater, on August 26th, which was held accordingly. There were
+present about sixty delegates.
+
+At this meeting a letter from Hon. John Catlin, the secretary of
+Wisconsin Territory, was read, giving it as his opinion that the
+territorial government of Wisconsin still existed, and that if a
+delegate to congress was elected he would be admitted to a seat.
+
+A memorial to congress was prepared, setting forth the peculiar
+situation in which the people of the remnant found themselves, and
+praying relief in the organization of a territorial government.
+
+During the session of this convention there was a verbal agreement
+entered into between the members, to the effect that when the new
+territory was organized the capital should be at St. Paul, the
+penitentiary at Stillwater, the university at St. Anthony, and the
+delegate to congress should be taken from Mendota. I have had reason to
+assert publicly this fact on former occasions, and so far as it relates
+to the university and the penitentiary, my statement was questioned by
+Minnesota's greatest historian, Rev. Edward D. Neill, in a published
+article, signed "Iconoclast;" but I sustained my position by letters
+from surviving members of the convention, which I published, and to
+which no answer was ever made. The same statement can be found in
+Williams' "History of St. Paul," published in 1876, at page 182.
+
+The result of this convention was the selection of Henry H. Sibley as
+its agent or delegate, to proceed to Washington and present the memorial
+and resolutions to the United States authorities. It was curiously
+enough stipulated that the delegate should pay his own expenses.
+
+Shortly after this event the Hon. John H. Tweedy, who was the regularly
+elected delegate to congress from the Territory of Wisconsin, no doubt
+supposing his official career was terminated, resigned his position, and
+Mr. John Catlin, claiming to be the governor of the territory, came to
+Stillwater, and issued a proclamation on Oct. 9, 1848, ordering a
+special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
+Delegate Tweedy. The election was held on the thirtieth day of October.
+Mr. Henry H. Sibley and Mr. Henry M. Rice became candidates, neither
+caring very much about the result, and Mr. Sibley was elected. There was
+much doubt entertained as to the delegate being allowed to take his
+seat, but in November he proceeded to Washington, and was admitted,
+after considerable discussion.
+
+On the 3d of March, 1849, the delegate succeeded in passing an act
+organizing the Territory of Minnesota, the boundaries of which embraced
+all the territory between the western boundary of Wisconsin and the
+Mississippi river, and also all that was left unappropriated on the
+admission of the State of Iowa, which carried our western boundary to
+the Missouri river, and included within our limits a large part of what
+is now North and South Dakota.
+
+The passage of this act was the first step in the creation of Minnesota.
+No part of the country had ever before borne that name. The word is
+composed of two Sioux words, "Minne," which means water, and "Sota,"
+which means the condition of the sky when fleecy white clouds are seen
+floating slowly and quietly over it. It has been translated, "sky
+tinted," giving to the word Minnesota the meaning of sky-tinted water.
+The name originated in the fact that, in the early days, the river now
+called Minnesota used to rise very rapidly in the spring, and there was
+constantly a caving in of the banks, which disturbed its otherwise
+pellucid waters, and gave them the appearance of the sky when covered
+with the light clouds I have mentioned. The similarity was heightened by
+the current keeping the disturbing element constantly in motion. There
+is a town just above St. Peter, called Kasota, which means "cloudy sky;"
+not stormy or threatening, but a sky dotted with fleecy white clouds.
+The best conception of this word can be found by pouring a few drops of
+milk into a glass of clear water, and observing the cloudy disturbance.
+
+The principal river in the territory was then called the St. Peters
+river, but the name was changed to the Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+EDUCATION.
+
+
+An act organizing a territory simply creates a government for its
+inhabitants, limiting and regulating its powers, executive, legislative
+and judicial, and in our country they generally resemble each other in
+all essential features. But the organic act of Minnesota contained one
+provision never before found in any that preceded it. It had been
+customary to donate to the territory and future state, one section of
+land in each surveyed township for school purposes, and section 16 had
+been selected as the one, but in the Minnesota act, the donation was
+doubled, and sections 16 and 36 in each township were reserved for the
+schools, which amounted to one-eighteenth of all the lands in the
+territory; and when it is understood that the state as now constituted
+contains 84,287 square miles, or about 53,943,379 acres of land, it will
+be seen that the grant was princely in extent and incalculable in value.
+No other state in the Union has been endowed with such a magnificent
+educational foundation. I may except Texas, which came into the Union,
+not as a part of the United States' public domain, but as an
+independent republic, owning all its lands, amounting to 237,504 square
+miles, or 152,002,560 acres, a vast empire in itself. I remember hearing
+a distinguished senator, in the course of the debate on its admission
+into the Union, describe its immensity by saying, "A pigeon could not
+fly across it in a week."
+
+It affords every citizen of Minnesota great pride to know that, under
+all phases and conditions of our territory and state, whether in
+prosperity or adversity, the school fund has always been held sacred,
+and neither extravagance, neglect nor peculation has ever assailed it,
+but it has been husbanded with jealous care from time to time since the
+first dollar was realized from it until the present, and has accumulated
+until the principal is estimated at $20,000,000. The state auditor, in
+his last report of it, says:
+
+    "The extent of the school land grant should ultimately be about
+    three million acres, and as the average price of this land
+    heretofore sold is $5.96 per acre, the amount of principal alone
+    should yield the school fund not less than $17,000,000. To this
+    must be added the amount received from sales of timber, and for
+    lease and royalty of mineral lands, which will not be less than
+    $3,000,000 more. It is not probable that the average sale price
+    of this land will be reduced in the future, but it may increase,
+    especially in view of the improved method of sale inaugurated by
+    the new land law."
+
+The general method of administering the school fund is to invest the
+proceeds arising from the sale of the lands, and distribute the interest
+among the counties of the state according to the number of children
+attending school; the principal always to remain untouched and
+inviolate.
+
+Generous grants of land have also been made for a state university,
+amounting to 92,558 acres; also, for an agricultural college to the
+extent of one hundred thousand acres, which two funds have been
+consolidated, and together they have accumulated to the sum of
+$1,159,790.73, all of which is securely invested.
+
+The state has also been endowed with five hundred thousand acres of land
+for internal improvements, and all its lands falling within the
+designation of swamp lands. An act of congress, of Feb. 26, 1857, also
+gave it ten sections of land for the purpose of completing public
+buildings at the seat of government, and all the salt springs, not to
+exceed twelve, in the state, with six sections of land to each spring,
+in all seventy-two sections. The twelve salt springs have all been
+discovered and located, and the lands selected. The salt spring lands
+have been transferred to the regents of the university, to be held in
+trust to pay the cost of a geological and natural history survey of the
+state. It is estimated that the salt spring lands will produce, on the
+same valuation as the school lands, the sum of $300,000. Large sums will
+also be gained by the state from the sale of timber stumpage, and the
+products of its mineral lands. Some idea of the magnitude of the fund to
+be derived from the mineral lands of the state may be learned from the
+report of the state auditor for the year 1896, in which he says that
+during the years 1895-96 there was received from and under all mineral
+leases, contracts and royalties, $170,128.83.
+
+It will be seen from this statement that the educational interests of
+Minnesota are largely provided for without resort to direct taxation,
+although up to the present time that means of revenue has to some extent
+been utilized to meet the expenses of the grand system prevailing
+throughout the state.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
+
+
+The organization of the territory was completed by the appointment of
+Alexander Ramsey of Pennsylvania as governor, Aaron Goodrich as chief
+justice, and David Cooper and Bradley B. Meeker as associate justices,
+C. K. Smith as secretary, Joshua L. Taylor as marshal, and Henry L. Moss
+as district attorney.
+
+On the 27th of May, 1849, the governor and his family arrived in St.
+Paul; but there being no suitable accommodations for them, they became
+the guests of Hon. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota, whose hospitality, as
+usual, was never failing, and for several weeks there resided the four
+men who have been perhaps more prominent in the development of the state
+than any others,--Henry H. Sibley, Alexander Ramsey, Henry M. Rice and
+Franklin Steele, all of whom have been honored by having important
+counties named after them and by being chosen to fill high places of
+honor and trust.
+
+The governor soon returned to the capital, and on the 1st of June, 1849,
+issued a proclamation, declaring the territory duly organized. On the
+11th of June he issued a second proclamation, dividing the territory
+into three judicial districts. The county of St. Croix, which was one of
+the discarded counties of Wisconsin, and embraced the present county of
+Ramsey, was made the first district. The second was composed of the
+county of La Pointe (another of the Wisconsin counties), and the region
+north and west of the Mississippi river, and north of the Minnesota, and
+of a line running due west from the head waters of the Minnesota to the
+Missouri. The country west of the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota
+formed the third district. The chief justice was assigned to the first,
+Meeker to the second and Cooper to the third, and courts were ordered
+held in each district as follows: At Stillwater, in the first district,
+on the second Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the third Monday,
+and at Mendota on the fourth Monday, in August.
+
+A census was taken of the inhabitants of the territory, in pursuance of
+the requirements of the organic act, with the following result. I give
+here the details of the census, as it is interesting to know what
+inhabited places there were in the territory at this time, as well as
+the number of inhabitants:
+
+                                             Total
+                                          Inhabitants.
+
+    Stillwater                                     609
+    Lake St. Croix                                 211
+    Marine Mills                                   173
+    St. Paul                                       840
+    Little Canada and St. Anthony                  571
+    Crow Wing and Long Prairie                     350
+    Osakis Rapids                                  133
+    Falls of St. Croix                              16
+    Snake River                                     82
+    La Pointe County                                22
+    Crow Wing                                      174
+    Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle                68
+    Little Rock                                     35
+    Prairieville                                    22
+    Oak Grove                                       23
+    Black Dog Village                               18
+    Crow Wing (east side)                           70
+    Mendota                                        122
+    Red Wing Village                                33
+    Wabasha and Root River                         114
+    Fort Snelling                                   38
+    Soldiers, women and children in forts          317
+    Pembina                                        637
+    Missouri River                                  85
+                                                ------
+    Total                                        4,764
+
+On the seventh day of July the governor issued a proclamation, dividing
+the territory into seven council districts, and ordering an election
+for a delegate to congress, nine councillors, and eighteen
+representatives, to constitute the first territorial legislature, to be
+held on the first day of August. At this election Henry H. Sibley was
+again chosen delegate to congress.
+
+
+
+
+COURTS.
+
+
+The courts were held in pursuance of the governor's proclamation, the
+first one convening at Stillwater. But before I relate what there
+occurred, I will mention an attempt that was made by Judge Irwin, one of
+the territorial judges of Wisconsin, to hold a term in St. Croix county,
+in 1842. Joseph R. Brown, of whom I shall speak hereafter as one of the
+brightest of Minnesota's early settlers, came to Fort Snelling as a
+fifer boy in the regiment that founded and built the fort in 1819. He
+was discharged from the army about 1826, and had become clerk of the
+courts in St. Croix county. He had procured from the legislature of
+Wisconsin an order for a court in his county for some reason only known
+to himself, and in 1842 Judge Irwin came up to hold it. He arrived at
+Fort Snelling, and found himself in a country which indicated that
+disputes were more frequently settled with tomahawks than by the
+principles of the common law. The officers of the fort could give him no
+information, but in his wanderings he found Mr. Norman W. Kittson, who
+had a trading house near the Falls of Minnehaha. Kittson knew Clerk
+Brown, who was then living on the St. Croix, near where Stillwater now
+stands, and furnishing the judge a horse, directed him how to find his
+clerk. After a ride of more than twenty miles, Brown was discovered, but
+no preparations had been made for a court. The judge took the first boat
+down the river, a disgusted and angry man.
+
+After the lapse of five years from this futile attempt the first court
+actually held within the bounds of Minnesota was presided over by Judge
+Dunn, then chief justice of the Territory of Wisconsin. The court
+convened at Stillwater in June, 1847, and is remembered not only as the
+first court ever held in Minnesota, but on account of the trial of an
+Indian chief, named "Wind," who was indicted for murder. Samuel J.
+Crawford of Mineral Point was appointed prosecuting attorney for the
+term, and Ben C. Eastman of Plattville defended the prisoner. "Wind" was
+acquitted. This was the first jury trial in Minnesota.
+
+It should be stated that Henry H. Sibley was in fact the first judicial
+officer who ever exercised the functions of a court in Minnesota. While
+living at St. Peters (Mendota), he was commissioned a justice of the
+peace in 1835 or 1836 by Governor Chambers of Iowa, with a jurisdiction
+extending from twenty miles south of Prairie du Chien to the British
+boundary on the north, to the White river on the west and the
+Mississippi on the east. His prisoners could only be committed to
+Prairie du Chien. Boundary lines were very dimly defined in those days,
+and minor magistrates were in no danger of being overruled by superior
+courts, and tradition asserts that the writs of Sibley's court often
+extended far over into Wisconsin and other jurisdictions. One case is
+recalled which will serve as an illustration. A man named Phalen was
+charged with having murdered a sergeant in the United States army in
+Wisconsin. He was arrested under a warrant from Justice Sibley's Iowa
+court, examined and committed to Prairie du Chien, and no questions
+asked. Lake Phalen, from which the city of St. Paul derives part of its
+water supply, is named after this prisoner. Whatever jurisdictional
+irregularities Justice Sibley may have indulged in, it is safe to say
+that no injustice ever resulted from any decision of his.
+
+The first court-house that was erected within the present limits of
+Minnesota was at Stillwater, in the year 1847. A private subscription
+was taken up, and $1,200 was contributed. This sum was supplemented by a
+sufficient amount to complete the structure, from the treasury of St.
+Croix county. It was perched on the top of one of the high bluffs in
+that town, and much private and judicial blasphemy has been expended by
+exhausted litigants and judges in climbing to its lofty pinnacle. I held
+a term in it ten years after its completion.
+
+This court-house fell within the first judicial district of the
+Territory of Minnesota, under the division made by Governor Ramsey, and
+the first court under his proclamation was held within its walls,
+beginning the second Monday of August, 1849. It was presided over by
+Chief Justice Goodrich, assisted by Judge Cooper, the term lasting one
+week. There were thirty-five cases on the calendar. The grand jury
+returned thirty indictments, one for assault with intent to maim, one
+for perjury, four for selling liquor to Indians, and four for keeping
+gambling houses. Only one of these indictments was tried at this term,
+and the accused, Mr. William D. Phillips, being a prominent member of
+the bar, and there being a good deal of fun in it, I will give a brief
+history of the trial and the defendant.
+
+Mr. Phillips was a native of Maryland, and came to St. Paul in 1848. He
+was the first district attorney of the county of Ramsey. He became quite
+prominent as a lawyer and politician, and tradition has handed down many
+interesting anecdotes concerning him. The indictment charged him with
+assault with intent to maim. In an altercation with a man, he had drawn
+a pistol on him, and his defense was that the pistol was not loaded.
+The witness for the prosecution swore that it was, and added that he
+could see the load. The prisoner, as the law then was, was not allowed
+to testify in his own behalf. He was convicted and fined $25. He was
+very indignant at the result, and explained the assertion of the
+witness, that he could see the load, in this way. He said he had been
+electioneering for Mr. Henry M. Rice, and from the uncertainty of
+getting his meals in such an unsettled country, he carried crackers and
+cheese in the same pocket with his pistol, a crumb of which had gotten
+into the pistol, and the fellow was so scared when he looked at it, that
+he thought it was loaded to the muzzle.
+
+Another anecdote which is related of him shows that he fully understood
+the fundamental principle which underlies success in the practice of
+law--that of always charging for services performed. Mr. Henry M. Rice
+had presented him with a lot in St. Paul, upon which to build an office,
+and when he presented his next bill to Mr. Rice there was in it a charge
+of four dollars for drawing the deed.
+
+The territorial courts as originally constituted, being composed of only
+three judges, the trial terms were held by single judges, and the
+supreme court by all three sitting in bank, where they would review each
+others decisions on appeal.
+
+When the state was admitted into the Union the judiciary was made to
+consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, who constituted
+the supreme court, with a jurisdiction exclusively appellate, and a
+district judge for each district. As the state has grown in population
+and business, the supreme court judges have been increased to five and
+the judicial districts to eighteen in number, two of which, the second
+and the fourth, have six judges each, the eleventh three, the first and
+seventh two each, and the remainder one each.
+
+The practice adopted by the territorial legislature was generally
+similar to that of the New York code, with such differences as were
+necessary to conform it to a very new country. From a residence in the
+territory and state of forty-seven years, nearly all of which has been
+spent either in practice at the bar or as a judge on the bench, I take
+pride in saying that the judiciary of Minnesota, in all its branches,
+both territorial and state, has, during its fifty years of existence,
+equalled in ability, learning and integrity that of any state in the
+West, which is well attested by the seventy-seven well filled volumes of
+its reported decisions.
+
+Nearly all of the old lawyers of Minnesota were admitted to practice at
+the first term held at Stillwater, among whom were Morton S. Wilkinson,
+Henry L. Moss, Edmund Rice, Lorenzo A. Babcock, Alexander Wilkin,
+Bushrod W. Lott, and many others. Of the whole list, Mr. Moss is the
+sole survivor.
+
+
+
+
+FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.
+
+
+The first legislature convened at St. Paul on Monday, the 3d of
+September, 1849, in the Central House, which for the occasion served for
+both capitol and hotel. The quarters were limited, but the legislature
+was small. The council had nine members and the house of representatives
+eighteen. The usual officers were elected, and on Tuesday afternoon both
+houses assembled in the dining-room of the hotel. Prayer was offered by
+the Rev. E. D. Neill, and Governor Ramsey delivered his message, which
+was well received both at home and abroad.
+
+It may be interesting to give the names of the men constituting this
+body, and the places of their nativity. The councillors were:
+
+    James S. Norris,            Maine.
+    Samuel Burkleo,             Delaware.
+    William H. Forbes,          Montreal.
+    James McBoal,               Pennsylvania.
+    David B. Loomis,            Connecticut.
+    John Rollins,               Maine.
+    David Olmsted,              Vermont.
+    William Sturgis,            Upper Canada.
+    Martin McLeod,              Montreal.
+
+The members of the House were:
+
+    Joseph W. Furber,           New Hampshire.
+    James Wells,                New Jersey.
+    M. S. Wilkinson,            New York.
+    Sylvanus Trask,             New York.
+    Mahlon Black,               Ohio.
+    Benjamin W. Bronson,        Michigan.
+    Henry Jackson,              Virginia.
+    John J. Duvey,              New York.
+    Parsons K. Johnson,         Vermont.
+    Henry F. Stetzer,           Missouri.
+    William R. Marshall,        Missouri.
+    William Dugas,              Lower Canada.
+    Jeremiah Russell,           Lower Canada.
+    L. A. Babcock,              Vermont.
+    Thomas A. Holmes,           Pennsylvania.
+    Allen Morrison,             Pennsylvania.
+    Alexis Bailly,              Michigan.
+    Gideon H. Pond,             Connecticut.
+
+David Olmsted was elected president of the council, with Joseph R. Brown
+as secretary. In the House, Joseph W. Furber was elected speaker, and
+W. D. Phillips clerk.
+
+Many of these men became very prominent in the subsequent history of the
+state, and it is both curious and interesting to note the varied
+sources of their nativity, which shows that they were all of that
+peculiar and picturesque class known as the American pioneer.
+
+The work of the first legislature was not extensive, yet it performed
+some acts of historical interest. It created eight counties, named as
+follows: Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakota, Wahnahtah, Mankato, Pembina,
+Washington, Ramsey and Benton. The spelling of some of these names has
+since been changed.
+
+A very deep interest was manifested in the school system. A joint
+resolution was passed ordering a slab of red pipestone from the famous
+quarry to be sent to the Washington monument association, which was
+done, and now represents Minnesota in that lofty monument at the
+national capital.
+
+This was done at the suggestion of Henry H. Sibley, who furnished the
+stone. It will be remembered that I have referred to the visit of George
+Catlin, the artist, to Minnesota, in 1835, and that his report was
+unreliable. Among other things, he said that he was the first white man
+who had visited this quarry, and induced geologists to name the
+pipestone "Catlinite." Mr. Sibley, in his communication to the
+legislature presenting this slab, in answer to this pretension, says:
+
+    "In conclusion, I would beg leave to state, that a late
+    geological work of high authority by Dr. Jackson, designates
+    this formation as Catlinite, upon the erroneous supposition that
+    Mr. George Catlin was the first white man who had ever visited
+    that region; whereas it is notorious that many whites had been
+    there and examined the quarry long before he came to the
+    country. The designation, therefore, is clearly improper and
+    unjust. The Sioux term for the stone is Eyan-Sha (red stone), by
+    which, I conceive, it should be known and classified."
+
+In my opinion, the greatest achievement of the first legislature was the
+incorporation of the Historical Society of Minnesota. It established
+beyond question that we had citizens, at that early day, of thought and
+culture. One would naturally suppose that the first legislative body of
+an extreme frontier territory would be engaged principally with saw
+logs, peltries, town sites, and other things material; but in this
+instance we find an expression of the highest intellectual prevision,
+the desire to record historical events for posterity, even before their
+happening. And what affords even greater satisfaction to the present
+citizens of Minnesota is, that from the time of the conception of this
+grand idea there have never been men wanting to appreciate its
+advantages, and carry it out, until now our state possesses its greatest
+intellectual and moral treasure in a library of historical knowledge of
+sixty-three thousand volumes, which is steadily increasing, a valuable
+museum of curiosities, and a gallery of historical paintings.
+
+This legislature recommended a device for a great seal. It represented
+an Indian family with lodge and canoe, encamped; a single white man
+visiting them, and receiving from them the calumet of peace. The design
+did not meet with general approval, and nothing came of it. The next
+winter Governor Ramsey and the delegate to congress prepared a seal for
+the territory, the design of which was the Falls of St. Anthony in the
+distance, a farmer plowing land, his gun and powder horn leaning against
+a newly cut stump, a mounted Indian, surprised at the sight of the plow,
+lance in hand, fleeing toward the setting sun, with the Latin motto,
+"Quae sursum volo videre," ("I wish to see what is above"). A blunder
+was made by the engraver, in substituting the word "Quo" for "Quae," in
+the motto, which destroyed its meaning. Some time after, it was changed
+to the French motto, "L'Etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North"), and thus
+remains until the present time.
+
+While speaking of seals, I will state that the seal of the supreme court
+was established when the first term of the court convened, in 1858. The
+design adopted was a female figure, representing the goddess of liberty,
+holding the evenly-balanced scales of justice in one hand and a sword in
+the other, with the somewhat hackneyed motto, "Fiat justitia ruat
+coelum" ("Let justice be done if the heavens fall"). I remember that,
+soon after it appeared, some one asked one of the judges what the new
+motto meant, and he jocularly answered, "Those who fy at justice will
+rue it when we seal 'em."
+
+The seal was changed to the same device as that of the state, with the
+same motto and the words, "Seal of the Supreme Court, State of
+Minnesota."
+
+
+
+
+IMMIGRATION.
+
+
+When the first legislature convened, the governor, on the second day of
+the session (Sept. 4, 1849), delivered his message. It was a well-timed
+document, and admirably expressed to attract attention to the new
+territory. After congratulating the members upon the enviable position
+they occupied as pioneers of a great prospective civilization, which
+would carry the American name and American institutions, by the force of
+superior intelligence, labor and energy, to untold results, he among
+other things said:
+
+    "I would advise you, therefore, that your legislation should be
+    such as will guard equally the rights of labor and the rights of
+    property, without running into ultraisms on either hand; as will
+    recognize no social distinctions except those which merit and
+    knowledge, religion and morals unavoidably create; as will
+    suppress crime, encourage virtue, give free scope to enterprise
+    and industry; as will promptly and without delay administer to
+    and supply all the legitimate wants of the people--laws, in a
+    word, in the proclamation of which will be kept steadily in view
+    the truth that this territory is designed to be a great state,
+    rivalling in population, wealth and energy her sisters of the
+    Union, and that consequently all laws not merely local in their
+    objects should be framed for the future as well as the
+    present....
+
+    "Our territory, judging from the experience of the few months
+    since public attention was called to its many advantages, will
+    settle rapidly. Nature has done much for us. Our productive soil
+    and salubrious climate will bring thousands of immigrants within
+    our borders; it is of the utmost moment that the foundation of
+    our legislation should be healthful and solid. A knowledge of
+    this fact will encourage tens of thousands of others to settle
+    in our midst, and it may not be long ere we may with truth be
+    recognized throughout the political and the moral world as
+    indeed the "Polar Star" of the republican galaxy....
+
+    "No portion of the earth's surface perhaps combines so many
+    favorable features for the settler as this territory,--watered
+    by the two greatest rivers of our continent, the Missouri
+    sweeping its entire western border, the Mississippi and Lake
+    Superior making its eastern frontier, and whilst the States of
+    Wisconsin and Iowa limit us on the south, the possessions of the
+    Hudson Bay Company present the only barrier to our domain on the
+    extreme north; in all embracing an area of 166,000 square miles,
+    a country sufficiently extensive to admit of the erection of
+    four states of the largest class, each enjoying in abundance
+    most of the elements of future greatness. Its soil is of the
+    most productive character, yet our northern latitude saves us
+    from malaria and death, which in other climes are so often
+    attendant on a liberal soil. Our people, under the healthful and
+    bracing influences of this northern climate, will never sink
+    into littleness, but continue to possess the vigor and the
+    energy to make the most of their natural advantages."
+
+This message, while not in the least exaggerating the actual situation,
+was well calculated to attract immigration to this region. It was
+written in a year of great activity in that line. Gold had been
+discovered in California, and the thoughts of the pioneer were attracted
+in that direction, and it needed extraordinary inducements to divert the
+stream to any other point. It was extensively quoted in the eastern
+papers, and much commented upon, and succeeded beyond all expectations
+in awakening interest in the Northwest. It was particularly attractive
+in Maine, where the people were experienced in lumbering, and many of
+them flocked to the Valley of the St. Croix and the Falls of St.
+Anthony, and inaugurated the lumbering business, which has since grown
+to such immense proportions. The valleys of the St. Croix, the Rum, and
+the Upper Mississippi rivers, with their tributaries, soon resounded
+with the music of the woodman's axe. Saw mills were erected, and
+Minnesota was recognized among the great lumber producing regions.
+
+Although immigration continued to be quite rapid during the years
+1850-54, it was not until about the year 1855 that it acquired a volume
+that was particularly noticeable. The reader must remember that
+Minnesota was on the extreme border of America, and that it represented
+to the immigrant only those attractions incident to a new territory
+possessing the general advantages of good climate, good soil and good
+government as far as developed. There was no gold, no silver, nor other
+special inducements. The only way of reaching it was by land on wheels,
+or by the navigable rivers. There was not a railroad west of Chicago. To
+give an idea of the rush that came in 1855, I quote from the "History of
+St. Paul," by J. Fletcher Williams, for many years secretary of the
+Minnesota Historical Society, published in 1876. Speaking of the
+immigration of 1855, he says:
+
+    "Navigation opened on April 17th, the old favorite, 'War Eagle,'
+    leading the van with 814 passengers. The papers chronicled the
+    immigration that spring as unprecedented. Seven boats arrived in
+    one day, each having brought to Minnesota two hundred to six
+    hundred passengers. Most of these came through St. Paul and
+    diverged hence to other parts of the territory. It was estimated
+    by the packet company that they brought thirty thousand
+    immigrants into Minnesota that season. Certainly 1855, 1856 and
+    1857 were the three great years of immigration in our
+    territorial days. Nothing like it has ever been seen."
+
+In the early fifties, the Mississippi up to, and even for a long
+distance above, the Falls of St. Anthony was navigable for steamboats. A
+fine boat, the "Ans. Northrup," once penetrated as far as the Falls of
+Pokegama, where she was dismantled and her machinery transported to the
+Red River of the North, and four or five boats regularly navigated the
+stream above the falls.
+
+The Minnesota river, during all the period of our early history, and far
+into the sixties, was navigable for large steamers up to Mankato, and in
+one instance, a steamboat carrying a large cargo of Indian goods was
+taken by Culver and Farrington, Indian traders, as far as the Yellow
+Medicine river, and into that river, so that the goods were delivered at
+the agency, situated a few miles above its mouth. I mention this fact
+because a wonderful change has taken place in the watercourses and lakes
+of the state in the past twenty odd years, which I propose to account
+for on the only theory that seems to me to meet the conditions. Up to
+about twenty years ago, as soon as the ice went out of the Minnesota
+river in the spring, it would rise until it overran its banks and
+covered its bottoms for miles on each side of its channel, and would
+continue capable of carrying large steamers until late in August. Since
+that time it has rarely been out of its banks, and navigation of its
+waters has entirely ceased. The same phenomenon is observable in
+relation to many of our lakes. Hundreds of the smaller ones have
+entirely dried up, and most of the larger ones have become reduced in
+depth several feet. The rainfall has not been lessened, but, if
+anything, has increased. My explanation of the change is, that in the
+advance of civilization, the water sheds or basins of these rivers and
+lakes having been plowed up, the rainfall which formerly found its way
+quickly into the streams and lakes over the hard natural surface is now
+absorbed into the soft and receptive ground, and is returned by
+evaporation. This change is generally attributed to the destruction of
+forests, but in this case that cause has not progressed sufficiently to
+have produced the result, and our streams do not rise in mountains.
+
+The trend of immigration toward Minnesota encouraged the organization of
+transportation companies, by boat and stage, for passengers and freight,
+and by 1856 it was one of the liveliest communities to be found
+anywhere, and, curious as it may seem, this era of prosperity was the
+cause of Minnesota's first great calamity.
+
+The object of the immigrant is, always, the betterment of his condition.
+He leaves old communities, where competition in all branches of industry
+is great, in the hope of "getting in on the ground floor," as we used to
+say, when he arrived in a new country, and every American, and, in fact,
+everybody else, wants to get rich by head work instead of hand work, if
+he can. The bulk of the immigration that first came to Minnesota
+remained in the cities; there was no agriculture worthy of the name. I
+may say that we had nothing at all to sell, and everything we needed to
+buy. I can remember that as late as 1853, and even after, we imported
+hay in bales from Dubuque to feed the horses of St. Paul, when there
+were millions of tons of it growing in the Minnesota valley, within a
+few miles of the city.
+
+In the progress of emigration to the West, the territories have always
+presented the greatest attractions. The settler expects to have a better
+choice of lands, and at original government prices. Society and politics
+are both in the formative condition, and very few emigrants omit the
+latter consideration from their hopes and expectations. In fact,
+political preferment is a leading motive with many of them.
+
+Under the influence of this great rush of immigration it is very natural
+that the prevailing idea should be that lands would greatly increase in
+value in the near future, and everybody became a speculator. Towns and
+cities sprang into existence like mushrooms in a night. Scarcely anyone
+was to be seen without a town-site map in his hands, the advantages and
+beauties of which fictitious metropolis he was ready to present in the
+most eloquent terms. Everything useful was neglected, and speculation
+was rampant. There were no banks of issue, and all the money that was in
+the country was borrowed in the East. In order to make borrowing easy,
+the law placed no restrictions on the rate of interest, and the usual
+terms were three per cent per month, with the condition that if the
+principal was not paid at maturity, the interest should be increased to
+five per cent per month. Everybody was in debt on these ruinous terms;
+which, of course, could not last long before the inevitable explosion.
+The price of lands, and especially town lots, increased rapidly, and
+attained fabulous rates; in fact, some real property in St. Paul sold in
+1856 for more money than it has ever since brought.
+
+
+
+
+THE PANIC OF 1857.
+
+
+The bubble burst by the announcement of the failure of the Ohio Life
+Insurance and Trust Company, which reached St. Paul on Aug. 24, 1857.
+The failure of this financial institution precipitated a panic all over
+the country. It happened just on the recurrence of the twenty year
+period which has marked the pecuniary disasters of the country,
+beginning with 1837. Its effects on Minnesota were extremely disastrous.
+The eastern creditors demanded their money, and the Minnesota debtors
+paid as long as a dollar remained in the country, and all means of
+borrowing more being cut off, a most remarkable condition of things
+resulted. Cities like St. Paul and St. Anthony, having a population of
+several thousands each, were absolutely without money to carry on the
+necessary commercial functions. A temporary remedy was soon discovered,
+by every merchant and shopkeeper issuing tickets marked "Good for one
+dollar at my store," and every fractional part of a dollar, down to five
+cents. This device tided the people for a while, but scarcely any
+business establishment in the territory weathered the storm, and many
+people who had considered themselves beyond the chance of disaster were
+left without resources of any kind and hopelessly bankrupt. The distress
+was great and universal, but it was bravely met, and finally overcome.
+
+Dreadful as this affliction was to almost everyone in the territory, it
+turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It compelled the people to
+abandon speculation, and seek honest labor in the cultivation of the
+soil and the development of the splendid resources that generous nature
+had bestowed upon the country. Farms were opened by the thousands,
+everybody went to work, and in ten or a dozen years, Minnesota had a
+surplus of forty millions of bushels of wheat with which to supply the
+hungry world.
+
+
+
+
+LAND TITLES.
+
+
+All the lands of Minnesota were the property of the United States, and
+title to them could only be obtained through the regular methods of
+preëmption, town-site entry, public sales, or private entries. One event
+occurred on Aug. 14, 1848, which illustrates so clearly the way in which
+western men protect their rights that I will relate it. The recognized
+price of public lands was one dollar and a quarter per acre, and all
+pioneer settlers were willing to pay that sum, but when a public sale
+was made, any one could bid whatever he was willing to pay. Under the
+administration of President Polk, a public sale of lands was ordered to
+be made at the land office at St. Croix Falls, of lands lying partly in
+Minnesota and partly in Wisconsin. The lands advertised for sale
+included those embraced in St. Paul and St. Anthony. The settlers
+selected Henry H. Sibley as their trustee, to buy their lands for them,
+to be conveyed to them subsequently. It was a high offense under the
+United States laws to do any act that would tend to prevent persons
+bidding at the sales. Mr. Sibley appeared at the sale, and bid off every
+tract of land that was occupied by an actual settler at the price of
+$1.25 per acre. The general, in a paper he read before the Historical
+Society, says of this affair:
+
+    "I was selected by the actual settlers to bid off portions of
+    the land for them, and when the hour for business arrived, my
+    seat was universally surrounded by a number of men with huge
+    bludgeons. What was meant by the proceeding, I could, of course,
+    only surmise, but I would not have envied the fate of the
+    individual who would have ventured to bid against me."
+
+It has always been assumed in the far West, and I think justly, that the
+pioneers who first settle the land and give it value should enjoy every
+advantage that flows from such priority, and the violation of laws that
+impede such opportunity is a very venial offense. So universal was the
+confidence reposed in Mr. Sibley, that many of the French settlers, the
+title to whose lands became vested in him, by his purchase at this sale,
+insisted that it should remain in him, and he found it quite difficult
+in many cases to get them to accept deeds from him.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.
+
+
+Although the first message of the governor went a great way in
+introducing Minnesota to the world, she was particularly fortunate in
+the establishment of her first newspapers. The Stillwater convention of
+1848, of which I have spoken, first suggested to Dr. A. Randall, who was
+an attache of Dr. Owen's geological corps, then engaged in a survey of
+this region by order of the government, the necessity of a newspaper for
+the new territory. He was possessed of the means and enterprise to
+accomplish the then rather difficult undertaking, and was promised
+ample support by leading men of the territory. He returned to his home
+in Cincinnati in the fall of 1848, intending to purchase the plant and
+start the paper that year, but the navigation of the rivers closed
+earlier than usual, and he was foiled in his attempt. He, however, set
+up his press in Cincinnati, and got out a number or two of his paper
+there. It was then called the "_Minnesota Register_," and appeared as of
+the date of April 27, 1849, and as printed in St. Paul. It was in fact
+printed in Cincinnati about two weeks earlier. It contained valuable
+articles from the pens of H. H. Sibley and Henry M. Rice. These
+articles, added to Mr. Randall's extensive knowledge of the country,
+made the first issue a great local success. It was the first Minnesota
+paper ever published, and bears date just one day ahead of the
+_Pioneer_, subsequently published by James M. Goodhue, which was
+actually printed in the territory. Dr. Randall did not carry out his
+intention, but was caught in the California vortex, and did not return
+to Minnesota.
+
+James M. Goodhue of Lancaster, Wis., who was editing the _Wisconsin
+Herald_, when he heard of the organization of the new territory,
+immediately decided to start a paper in St. Paul, and as soon as
+navigation opened in the spring of 1849, he came up with his press and
+type. He met with many difficulties and obstructions, necessarily
+incident to a new place in a venture such as was his, but he succeeded
+in issuing the first number of his paper on the twenty-eighth day of
+April, 1849. His first inclination was to call his paper the "_Epistle
+of St. Paul_," but on sober reflection he was convinced that the name
+might shock the religious sensibilities of the community, especially as
+he did not possess many of the attributes of our patron saint, and he
+decided to call his paper "_The Minnesota Pioneer_."
+
+In his first issue he speaks of his establishment of that day, as
+follows:
+
+    "We print and issue this number of the _Pioneer_ in a building
+    through which out-of-doors is visible by more than five hundred
+    apertures; and as for our type, it is not safe from being _pied_
+    on the galleys by the wind." The rest can be imagined.
+
+Mr. Goodhue was just the man to be the editor of the first paper of a
+frontier territory. He was energetic, enterprising, brilliant, bold and
+belligerent. He conducted the _Pioneer_ with great success and advantage
+to the territory until the year 1851, when he published an article on
+Judge Cooper, censuring him for absenteeism, which is a very good
+specimen of the editorial style of that day. He called the judge "a
+sot," "a brute," "an ass," "a profligate vagabond," and closed his
+article in the following language:
+
+    "Feeling some resentment for the wrongs our territory has so
+    long suffered by these men, pressing upon us like a dispensation
+    of wrath,--a judgment--a curse--a plague, unequalled since Egypt
+    went lousy,--we sat down to write this article with some
+    bitterness, but our very gall is honey to what they deserve."
+
+In those fighting days, such an article could not fail to produce a
+personal collision. A brother of Judge Cooper resented the attack, and
+in the encounter between them, Goodhue was badly stabbed and Cooper was
+shot. Neither wound proved fatal at the time, but it was always asserted
+by the friends of each combatant, and generally believed, that they both
+died from the effects of these wounds.
+
+The original _Minnesota Pioneer_ still lives in the _Pioneer Press_ of
+to-day, which is published in St. Paul. It has been continued under
+several names and edited by different men, but has never been
+extinguished or lost its relation of lineal descendant from the original
+_Pioneer_.
+
+Nothing tends to show the phenomenal growth of Minnesota more than the
+fact that this first newspaper, issued in 1849, has been followed by the
+publication of 579 papers, which is the number now issued in the state
+according to the last official list obtainable. They appear daily,
+weekly and monthly, in nearly all written languages, English, French,
+German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Bohemian, and one in Icelandic,
+published in Lyon county.
+
+
+
+
+BANKS.
+
+
+With the first great increase in immigration business was necessarily
+enlarged, and banking facilities became a necessity. Dr. Charles W.
+Borup, a Danish gentleman, who was engaged in the fur trade at Lake
+Superior as an agent for the American Fur Company, and Mr. Charles H.
+Oakes, a native of Vermont, came to St. Paul, and established a bank in
+1853. They were brothers-in-law, having married sisters. They did a
+private banking business, under the name of Borup & Oakes, which adapted
+itself to the needs of the community, including real estate, and almost
+any other kind of venture that offered. The house of Borup & Oakes was
+the first banking establishment in Minnesota, and weathered all the
+financial storms that swept over the territory in its early history.
+
+They were followed by Truman M. Smith, but he went down in the panic of
+1857-58. Then came Bidwell's Exchange Bank, followed by C. H. Parker and
+A. Vance Brown. Mackubin & Edgerton opened a bank in 1854, which was the
+ancestor of the present Second National Bank, and always legitimate. I
+think Erastus S. Edgerton may justly be said to have been the most
+successful banker of all that were early engaged in the business. An
+enumeration of the banks and bankers which succeeded each other in these
+early times would be more appropriate in a narrative of the localities
+where they operated than in a general history of the state. It is
+sufficient to say that nearly all, if not all, of them succumbed to the
+financial disasters in 1857-58, and there was no banking worthy of the
+name until the passage of the banking law of July 26, 1858. But this act
+was a mere makeshift to meet a financial emergency, and it was not based
+upon sound financial principles. It allowed the organization of banks
+and the issue of circulating bank notes upon securities that were
+capable of being fraudulently overvalued by misrepresentation, and, as a
+matter of course, advantage was taken of the laxity of the provisions of
+the law, and securities which had no intrinsic value in fact were made
+available as the foundation of bank issues, with the inevitable result
+of disaster.
+
+Another method of furnishing the community with a circulating medium was
+resorted to by a law of July 23, 1858. The state auditor was authorized
+to issue his warrants for any indebtedness which the state owed to any
+person in small sums, and the warrants were made to resemble bank notes,
+and bore twelve per cent interest. The credit of the state was not
+sufficiently well established in the public confidence to make these
+warrants, which were known as "state scrip," worth much over sixty-five
+or seventy cents on the dollar. They were taken by the money changers at
+that valuation, and when the state made its first loan of $250,000, they
+were all redeemed in gold at par, with interest at twelve per cent.
+
+In this uncertain way, the financial interests of the territory were
+cared for until the breaking out of the Civil War, and the establishment
+of the national and state systems which still exist.
+
+Another evidence of the growth of the state may be found in the fact
+that at the present time the state has within its limits banks in good
+standing as follows: State banks, 172 in number, with a paid-in capital
+stock of $6,736,800, and sixty-seven national banks, with a capital
+stock paid in of $11,220,000. This statement does not include either the
+surplus or the undivided profits of these banks, nor the capital
+employed by private banking concerns which do not fall under the
+supervision of the state, which latter item can safely be estimated at
+$2,000,000.
+
+
+
+
+THE FUR TRADE.
+
+
+The first legitimate business of the territory was the fur trade, and
+the carrying business resulting therefrom. Prior to the year 1842 the
+Northwestern Fur Company occupied the territory which is now Minnesota.
+In 1842 it sold out to, and was merged into, the American Fur Company,
+which was owned by P. Choteau & Company. This company had trading
+stations at Prairie du Chien and Mendota, Henry H. Sibley being their
+chief factor at the latter. The goods imported into the Red river
+settlements and the furs exported therefrom all came and went through
+the difficult and circuitous route by way of Hudson Bay. This route was
+only navigable for about two months in the year, on account of the ice.
+The catch of furs and buffalo robes in that region was practically
+monopolized by the Hudson Bay Company. The American Fur Company soon
+became well established in the Northwest. In 1844 this company sent Mr.
+Norman W. Kittson from the Mendota outfit to establish a trading post at
+Pembina, just south of the British possessions, with the design of
+diverting some of the fur trade of that region in the direction of the
+navigable waters of the Mississippi. The company, through Mr. Kittson,
+invested some $2,000 in furs at Pembina, and had them transported to
+Mendota in six Pembina carts, which returned loaded with merchandise of
+the character needed by the people of that distant region. This venture
+was the beginning of the fur trade with the Red river country, but did
+not prove a financial success. It entailed a loss of about $600, and
+similar results attended the next two years' operations, but the trade
+increased, notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the Hudson Bay
+Company to obstruct it. This company had enjoyed a monopoly of the trade
+without any outside interference for so long that it looked upon this
+new enterprise as a direct attack on its vested rights. But Mr. Kittson
+had faith in being able in the near future to work up a paying trade,
+and he persevered. By the year 1850 the business had so far increased as
+to involve a consumption of goods to the extent of $10,000, with a
+return of furs to the amount of $15,000. Five years later the goods sent
+to Pembina amounted in value to $24,000, and the return of furs to
+$40,000. In 1851 the firm of Forbes & Kittson was organized, and also
+"The St. Paul Outfit," to carry on the supply business. When St. Paul
+became of some importance in 1849 the terminus and supply depot was
+removed to that point, and the trade rapidly increased in magnitude, and
+made St. Paul one of the largest fur markets in America, second only to
+St. Louis, the trade of which city consisted mostly of buffalo robes,
+which was always regarded as a distinct branch of the business, in
+contrast with that of fine furs. In the early days the Indians and a
+few professional trappers were about all who caught fur animals, but as
+the country became more settled the squatters added to their incomes by
+such trapping as their environments afforded, which increased the market
+at St. Paul by the addition of all Minnesota, which then included both
+of the Dakotas, and northern Wisconsin.
+
+The extent and value of this trade can better be understood by a
+statement of the increase of the number of carts engaged in it between
+1844 and 1858. In the first year mentioned six carts performed all the
+required service, and in 1858 six hundred carts came from Pembina to St.
+Paul. After the year 1858 the number of carts engaged in the traffic
+fell off, as a steamer had been put in operation on the Red river, which
+reduced the land transportation to 216 miles, which had formerly been
+448 miles, J. C. & H. C. Burbank having established a line of freight
+trains connecting with the steamer. In 1867, when the St. Paul & Pacific
+Railroad reached St. Cloud, the caravans of carts ceased their annual
+visits to St. Paul. St. Cloud then became the terminus of the traffic,
+until the increase of freight lines and the completion of the Northern
+Pacific Railroad to the Red river drove these most primitive of all
+transportation vehicles out of business. Another cause of the decrease
+in the fur trade was the imposition of a duty of twenty-five per cent on
+all dressed skins, which included buffalo robes, and from that time on
+robes that formerly came to St. Paul from the British possessions were
+diverted to Montreal.
+
+The extent and value of this trade to Minnesota, which was then in its
+infancy, can easily be judged by a brief statement of its growth. In
+1844 it amounted to $1,400 and in 1863 to $250,000. All the money paid
+out for these furs, and large sums besides, would be expended in St.
+Paul for merchandise, in the shape of groceries, liquors, dry goods,
+blankets, household utensils, guns and ammunition, and, in fact every
+article demanded by the needs of a primitive people. Even threshers and
+mowers were included, which were taken apart and loaded on the return
+carts. This trade was the pioneer of the great commercial activity which
+now prevails.
+
+I cannot permit this opportunity to pass without describing the Red
+river cart, and the picturesque people who used it, as their like will
+never be seen again. The inhabitants of the Pembina country were
+principally Chippewa half breeds, with an occasional white man,
+prominently Joseph Rolette, of whom I shall hereafter speak as the man
+who vetoed the capital removal bill, by running away with it, in 1857.
+Their principal business was hunting the buffalo, in connection with
+small farming, and defending themselves against the invasions of their
+hereditary enemies, the Sioux. They were a bold, free race, skilled in
+the arts of Indian war, fine horsemen, and good fighters.
+
+The Red river cart was a home invention. It was made entirely of wood
+and rawhide. It moved upon two wheels, of about a diameter of five feet
+six inches, with shafts for one animal, horse or ox,--generally the
+latter. The wheels were without tires, and their tread about three and a
+half or four inches wide. They would carry a load of six to eight
+hundred pounds, which would be protected by canvas covers. They were
+especially adapted to the condition of the country, which was largely
+interspersed with swamps and sloughs, which were impassable for any
+other character of vehicle. Their lightness, the width of the surface
+presented by the tread of the wheel and the careful steps of the
+educated animal which drew them, enabled them to go where anything else
+would flounder. The trail which they left upon the prairie was deeply
+cut, and remained for many years after they were disused.
+
+When a brigade of them was ready to leave from Pembina for St. Paul, it
+would be manned by one driver for four carts, the train being arranged
+in single file with the animals hitched to the cart before them, so that
+one driver could attend to that number of carts. Their speed was about
+fifteen miles a day, which made the voyage last about a month. When
+night overtook them they formed a circular corral with their carts, the
+shafts pointing inward, with the camp in the center, which made a strong
+fort in case of attack. The animals were allowed to graze on the
+outside, but were carefully watched to prevent a stampede. When they
+reached St. Paul they went into camp near some lake, and were a great
+source of interest to all the newcomers. During their stay the town
+would be thronged with the men, who were dressed in vari-colored
+costumes, always including the sash of Pembina, a beautiful girdle,
+giving them a most picturesque appearance. The only truthful
+representation of these curious people that has been preserved is found
+in two full length portraits of Joe Rollette, one in the gallery of the
+Minnesota Historical Society and the other on the walls of the Minnesota
+Club, in St. Paul, both of which are the gift of a very dear friend of
+the original.
+
+During the progress of this peculiar traffic many people not connected
+with the established fur companies, engaged in the Indian trade,
+prominently Culver and Farrington, Louis Roberts, and Nathan Myrick. I
+remember that Mr. John Farrington made an improvement in the
+construction of the Red river cart, by putting an iron box in the hub of
+the wheel, which prevented the loud squeaking noise they formerly made,
+and so facilitated their movements that they carried a thousand pounds
+as easily as they had before carried eight hundred.
+
+The early fur trade in the Northwest, carried on by canoes and these
+carts, was very appropriately called by one of our first historians of
+Minnesota, "The heroic age of American commerce."
+
+
+
+
+PEMMICAN.
+
+
+One of the principal sources of subsistence of these frontier people in
+their long journeys through uninhabited regions was pemmican. This food
+was especially adapted to extreme northern countries, where in the
+winter it was sometimes impossible to make fires to cook with, and the
+means of transportation was by dog-trains, as it was equally good for
+man and beast. It was invented among the Hudson Bay people, many years
+ago, and undoubtedly from necessity. It was made in this way: The meat
+of the buffalo, without the fat, was thoroughly boiled, and then picked
+into shreds or very small pieces. A sack was made of buffalo skin, with
+the hair on the outside, which would hold about ninety pounds of meat. A
+hole was then dug in the ground of sufficient size to hold the sack. It
+was filled with the meat thus prepared, which was packed and pounded
+until it was as hard as it could be made. A kettle of boiling hot
+buffalo fat, in a fluid state, was then poured into it, until it was
+thoroughly permeated, every interstice from center to circumference
+being filled, until it became a solid mass, perfectly impervious to the
+air, and as well preserved against decomposition as if it had been
+enclosed in an hermetically sealed glass jar. Here you had a most
+nutritious preparation of animal food, all ready for use for both man
+and dog. An analysis of this compound proved it to possess more
+nutriment to the pound weight than any other substance ever
+manufactured, and with a winter camp appetite, it was a very palatable
+dish. Its great superiority over any other kind of food was its not
+requiring preparation and its portability.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSPORTATION AND EXPRESS.
+
+
+With the increase of trade and business naturally came the need of
+greater transportation facilities, and the men to furnish them were not
+wanting. John C. Burbank of St. Paul may be said to have been the
+pioneer in that line, although several minor lines of stages and
+ventures in the livery business preceded his efforts. Willoughby &
+Powers, Allen & Chase, M. O. Walker & Company of Chicago, and others,
+were early engaged in this work. In 1854 the Northwestern Express
+Company was organized by Burbank & Whitney, and in 1856 Captain Russell
+Blakeley succeeded Mr. Whitney, and the express business became well
+established in Minnesota. In 1858-59 Mr. Burbank got the mail contract
+down the river, and established an express line from St. Paul to Galena,
+in connection with the American Express Company, whose lines extended to
+Galena as its western terminus. Steamboats were used in summer and
+stages in winter. In the fall of 1859 the Minnesota Stage Company was
+formed by a consolidation of the Burbank interests with those of Allen &
+Chase, and the line extended up the Mississippi to St. Anthony and Crow
+Wing. Other lines and interests were purchased and united, and in the
+spring of 1860 Col. John L. Merriam became a member of the firm, and
+for more than seven years Messrs. Burbank, Blakeley & Merriam
+constituted the firm and carried on the express and stage business in
+Minnesota. This business increased rapidly, and in 1865 this firm worked
+over seven hundred horses, and employed two hundred men.
+
+During this staging period the railroads from the East centered in
+Chicago, and gradually reached the Mississippi river from that point;
+first at Rock Island, next at Dunleith, opposite Dubuque, then at
+Prairie du Chien, next at Prairie La Crosse,--each advance carrying them
+nearer Minnesota. The Prairie du Chien extension was continued across
+the river at McGregor in Iowa, and thence up through Iowa and Southern
+Minnesota to Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 1872 the St. Paul & Chicago
+Railroad was finished from St. Paul down the west bank of the
+Mississippi to Winona and was purchased by the Milwaukee & St. Paul
+Company, and by that company was, in 1873, extended still further down
+the river to La Crescent, opposite to La Crosse, which completed the
+connection with the eastern trains. This road was popularly known as the
+"River Road." Various other railroads were soon completed, covering the
+needs of the settled part of the state, and the principal stage lines
+either withdrew to the westward, or gave up their business.
+
+The growth in the carrying line has since become immense throughout the
+state, and may be judged when I say that there are now five strong daily
+lines to Chicago, the Burlington, the Omaha, the Milwaukee, the
+Wisconsin Central and the Chicago Great Western, and three
+transcontinental lines departing daily for the Pacific Coast, the
+Northern Pacific, the Great Northern and the Sault Ste. Marie
+(connecting with the Canadian Pacific). Besides these prominent trains,
+there are innumerable lesser ones connecting with nearly every part of
+the state. More passenger trains arrive at, and depart from, the St.
+Paul Union Depot than at any other point in the state. They aggregate
+104 in, and the same number out every day. Many--perhaps the most--of
+these trains go to Minneapolis. The freight trains passing these points
+are, of course, less regular in their movements than the scheduled
+passenger trains, but their number is great, and their cargoes of
+incalculable value.
+
+
+
+
+LUMBER.
+
+
+A large portion of Minnesota is covered with exceptionally fine timber.
+The northern section, traversed by the Mississippi and its numerous
+branches, the St. Croix, the St. Louis, and other streams, was covered
+with a growth of white and Norway pine of great value, and a large area
+of its central western portion with hard timber. At a very early day in
+the history of our state these forests attracted the attention of
+lumbermen from different parts of the country, principally from Maine,
+who erected sawmills at the Falls of St. Anthony, Stillwater and other
+points, and began the cutting of logs to supply them. Nearly all the
+streams were navigable for logs, or were easily made so, and thus one of
+the great industries of the state had its beginning. Quite an amount of
+lumber was manufactured at Minneapolis in the fifties, but no official
+record of the amounts were kept until 1870. An estimate of the standing
+pine in the state was made by the United States government for the
+census of 1880, which was designed to include all the standing pine on
+the streams leading into the Mississippi, the Rainy Lake river, the St.
+Croix, and the head of Lake Superior; in fact, the whole state. The
+estimate was 10,000,000,000 feet. When this estimate was made, it was
+accepted by the best informed lumbermen as approximately correct. The
+mills at Minneapolis and above, in the St. Croix valley, and in what was
+called the Duluth district, were cutting about 500,000,000 feet a year.
+It was expected that there would be a gradual increase in the
+consumption of lumber made by Minnesota mills, and it was therefore
+estimated that in about fifteen years, all the white pine in the state
+would be cut into lumber and sold; but such has not proved to be the
+case, although the production has rapidly increased as was expected. But
+this difference between the estimate and the result is not of much
+consequence, as there is nothing more unreliable than an estimate of
+standing timber, and especially is such the case when covering a large
+area of country. Since 1880 the production of lumber in the state has
+increased from year to year, until it is at the present time fully
+1,629,110,000 feet of pine logs every year. The cut made by the
+Minneapolis mills alone in 1898 was 469,701,000 feet, with a
+corresponding amount of laths and shingles. But this pace cannot be kept
+up much longer, and apprehensions of the entire destruction of the
+forests of the state are becoming quite prevalent among the people.
+These fears are taking the shape of associations for the promotion of
+scientific forestry, and the establishment of large forest reserves near
+the headwaters of our streams, which are to serve also the purpose of
+national parks. In assigning a cause for the lowering of our streams,
+and the drying up of many of our lakes, in a former part of this work, I
+attribute it to the plowing up of their valleys and watersheds, and not
+to the destruction of the forests, because I do not think that the
+latter reason has sufficiently progressed to produce the result,
+although it is well known that the destruction of growing timber about
+the head waters of streams operates disastrously upon the volume of
+their waters and the regularity of its flow. Minnesota is the best
+watered state in the Union, and every precaution should be taken to
+maintain this advantage. From the extent of the interest displayed in
+the direction of forest reserves and their scientific administration, we
+have every reason to hope for speedy and final success. The state and
+interstate parks already established will be noticed hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+RELIGION.
+
+
+The growth of the religious element of a new country is always one of
+its interesting features, and I will endeavor to give a short account of
+the progress made in this line in Minnesota from the mission period,
+which was directed more particularly to the Christianizing of the
+Indians. I will begin with the first structure ever erected in the
+state, designed for religious purposes. It was a very small beginning
+for the prodigious results that have followed it. I speak of the little
+log "Chapel of Saint Paul," built by the Rev. Lucian Galtier, in
+October, 1841, in what is now the city of St. Paul.
+
+Father Galtier was a French priest of the Church of Rome. He was sent by
+the ecclesiastic authorities of Dubuque to the Upper Mississippi
+country, and arrived at Fort Snelling in April, 1840, and settled at St.
+Peters (now Mendota), where he soon tired of inaction, and sought a
+larger field among the settlers who had found homes further down the
+river, in the neighborhood of the present St. Paul. He decided that he
+could facilitate his labors by erecting a church at some point
+accessible to his parishioners. Here he found Joseph Rondo, Edward
+Phalen, Vetal Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais Brothers, and a few
+others. The settlers encouraged the idea of building a church, and a
+question of much importance arose as to where it should be placed. I
+will let the good father tell his own story as to the selection of a
+site. In an account of this matter, which he prepared for Bishop Grace
+in 1864, he says:
+
+    "Three different points were offered, one called La Pointe
+    Basse, or Pointe La Claire (now Pig's Eye); but I objected
+    because that locality was the very extreme end of the new
+    settlement, and in high water, was exposed to inundation. The
+    idea of building a church which might at any day be swept down
+    the river to St. Louis did not please me. Two miles and a half
+    further up, on his elevated claim (now the southern point of
+    Dayton's Bluff), Mr. Charles Mouseau offered me an acre of his
+    ground, but the place did not suit my purpose. I was truly
+    looking ahead, thinking of the future as well as the present.
+    Steamboats could not stop there; the bank was too steep, the
+    place on the summit of the hill too restricted, and
+    communication difficult with the other parts of the settlement
+    up and down the river.
+
+    "After mature reflection, I resolved to put up the church at the
+    nearest possible point to the cave, because it would be more
+    convenient for me to cross the river there when coming from St.
+    Peters, and because it would be also the nearest point to the
+    head of navigation, outside of the reservation line. Mr. B.
+    Gervais and Mr. Vetal Guerin, two good, quiet farmers, had the
+    only spot which appeared likely to answer the purpose. They
+    consented jointly to give me the ground necessary for a church
+    site, a garden and a small graveyard. I accepted the extreme
+    eastern part of Mr. Vetal's claim, and the extreme west of Mr.
+    Gervais'. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1841, logs were
+    prepared and a church erected, so poor that it well reminded one
+    of the stable of Bethlehem. It was destined, however, to be the
+    nucleus of a great city. On the first day of November, in the
+    same year, I blessed the new _basilica_, and dedicated it to
+    Saint Paul, the apostle of nations. I expressed a wish, at the
+    same time, that the settlement would be known by the same name,
+    and my desire was obtained. I had, previously to this time,
+    fixed my residence at St. Peters, and as the name of _Paul_ is
+    generally connected with that of _Peter_, and the Gentiles being
+    well represented at the new place in the persons of Indians, I
+    called it St. Paul. The name "Saint Paul," applied to a town or
+    city seemed appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well,
+    and is understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr.
+    Vetal was married, I published the banns as those of a resident
+    of St. Paul. A Mr. Jackson put up a store, and a grocery was
+    opened at the foot of Gervais' claim. This soon brought
+    steamboats to land there. Thenceforth the place was known as
+    'Saint Paul Landing,' and later on as Saint Paul."
+
+The chapel was a small log structure--one story high, one door, and no
+windows in front, with two windows on each side, and one in the rear
+end. It had on the front gable end a large wooden cross, which projected
+above the peak of the roof some six or eight feet. It occupied a
+conspicuous position, on the top of the high bluff overlooking the
+Mississippi, some six or eight hundred feet below the point where the
+Wabasha street bridge now spans the river, I think, between Minnesota
+and Cedar streets.
+
+The region thus named was formerly known by the appellation of "Pig's
+Eye." The state owes Father Galtier a debt of gratitude for having
+changed it, as it seems impossible that the capital city could ever have
+attained its present majestic proportions, numerous and cultivated
+population, and many other advantages and attractions, under the
+handicap of such a name.
+
+In the first New Year's address ever printed in Minnesota, on Jan. 1,
+1850, supposed to be by Editor Goodhue, the following lines appeared:
+
+    "Pig's Eye, converted thou shall be, like Saul:
+    Arise, and be, henceforth, SAINT PAUL."
+
+Father Galtier died Feb. 21, 1866.
+
+The chapel of Saint Paul, after having been the first to greet all
+newcomers by way of the Mississippi for fifteen years, was taken down in
+1856.
+
+The next representative of the Catholic church to come to Minnesota was
+the Rev. Augustin Ravoux, who arrived in the fall of 1841. He went up
+the St. Peter's river to Traverse des Sioux, where he commenced the
+study of the Sioux language. Soon after he went to Little Rock, on the
+St. Peters, and thence to Lac qui Parle. After the removal of Father
+Galtier to Keokuk, in Iowa, he had under his charge, Mendota, St. Paul,
+Lake Pepin and St. Croix, until the second day of July, 1851, when the
+Right Reverend Bishop Cretin came to St. Paul, and assumed charge of
+church matters in Minnesota. Father Ravoux is still living in St. Paul
+at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His venerable and priestly
+form may often be seen upon the streets, in excellent health.
+
+At the time of the coming of Father Galtier the country on the east side
+of the Mississippi, in what is now Minnesota, was under the direct
+jurisdiction of the Bishop of Milwaukee, and the part lying west of the
+river was in the diocese of Dubuque.
+
+The growth of the church kept up with the rapid settlement of the
+country. In August, 1859, the Right Reverend Thomas L. Grace succeeded
+Bishop Cretin as bishop of St. Paul, and was himself succeeded by the
+Right Reverend John Ireland, in July, 1884. So important had Minnesota
+become to the Catholic Church in America that, in May of 1888, the see
+of St. Paul was raised to metropolitan dignity and Archbishop Ireland
+was made its first Archbishop, which high office he now holds.
+
+I will not attempt even a short biography of Archbishop Ireland. His
+fame is world-wide; he is a churchman, statesman, diplomat, orator,
+citizen and patriot,--in each of which capacities he excels. He has
+carried the fame of Minnesota to all parts of the world where the Church
+is known, and has demonstrated to the Pope in Rome, to the Catholics in
+France, and to the Protestants in America that there can be perfect
+consistency and harmony between Catholicism and republican government. A
+history of Minnesota without a fitting tribute to Archbishop John
+Ireland would be incomplete indeed.
+
+The representatives of the Protestant faith have not been behind their
+Catholic brethren in providing religious facilities for their
+adherents. They followed immigration closely, and sometimes accompanied
+it. Scarcely would an aggregation of people congregate at any one
+point in sufficient numbers to gain the name of a village, or a
+settlement, before a minister would be called and a church erected.
+The church went hand in hand with the schoolhouse, and in many instances
+one building answered for both purposes. There came Lutherans from
+Germany and Scandinavia, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians,
+Congregationalists, Calvinists, Universalists, Unitarians, and every
+sect into which Protestantism is divided, from New England and other
+Eastern States. They all found room and encouragement, and dwelt in
+harmony. I can safely say, that few Western States have been peopled by
+such law-abiding, industrious, moral and religious inhabitants as were
+the first settlers of Minnesota. There was nothing to attract the
+ruffianly element,--no gold, silver, or other mines; the chief industry
+being peaceful agriculture. So free from all disturbing or dangerous
+elements did we consider our territory that I have on several occasions
+taken a wagon loaded with specie, amounting to nearly one hundred
+thousand dollars, from St. Paul to the Indian agencies at the Redwood
+and Yellow Medicine rivers, a distance of two hundred miles, through a
+very sparsely settled country, without any guard except myself and
+driver, with possibly an Indian picked up on the road, when I was
+entitled to a squad of dragoons for the asking.
+
+In the early days the Episcopal Church in Minnesota was within the
+diocese of Wisconsin, and its functions administered by the venerable
+Bishop Kemper, who occasionally made us a visit, but in 1859 the church
+had expanded to such an extent that the state was organized into a
+separate diocese, and the Rev. Henry B. Whipple, then rector of a church
+in Chicago, was elected bishop of Minnesota, and still retains that high
+office. Bishop Whipple, by his energy, learning, goodness and universal
+popularity, has built up his church in this state to a standard
+surpassed by none in the respect in which it is held and the influence
+for good which it exerts. The official duties of the bishop have been so
+enlarged by the growth of his church as to necessitate the appointment
+of a bishop coadjutor to assist him in their performance, which latter
+office is filled by the Rev. Mahlon N. Gilbert, who is especially well
+qualified for the position.[1]
+
+It would be impossible in a brief history like this to go very deeply or
+particularly into the growth of the religious element of the state. A
+general presentation of the subject in two grand divisions, Catholic and
+Protestant, is enough. Suffice it to say, that every sect and
+subdivision of the latter has its representative in the state, with the
+one exception of Mormonism, if that can be classified as a Protestant
+church. There are enough of them to recall the answer of the French
+traveler in America, when asked of his opinion of the Americans. He
+said: "They are a most remarkable people; they have invented three
+hundred religions and only one sauce." No matter how their creeds may be
+criticised, their joint efforts, Catholic and Protestant, have filled
+the state with religious, charitable, benevolent and educational
+institutions to an extent rarely witnessed out of it, so that if a
+Minnesotan goes wrong, he can blame no one but himself.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.
+
+
+
+
+RAILROADS.
+
+
+In the year 1857, on the third day of March, the congress of the United
+States made an extensive grant of lands to the territory to aid in the
+construction of railroads. It consisted of every alternate section of
+land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width, on each side
+of the roads specified, and their branches. The grant mapped out a
+complete system of roads for the territory, and provided that the land
+granted for each road should be applied exclusively to such road, and no
+other purpose whatever. The lines designated in the granting act were as
+follows:
+
+From Stillwater, by the way of St. Paul and St. Anthony to a point
+between the foot of Big Stone lake and the mouth of the Sioux Wood
+river, with a branch via St. Cloud and Crow Wing to the navigable waters
+of the Red River of the North, at such point as the legislature of the
+territory may determine.
+
+From St. Paul and from St. Anthony via Minneapolis to a convenient point
+of junction west of the Mississippi to the southern boundary of the
+territory, in the direction of the mouth of the Big Sioux river, with a
+branch via Faribault to the north line of the state of Iowa, west of
+range 16.
+
+From Winona via St. Peter to a point on the Big Sioux river, south of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude.
+
+Also from La Crescent via Target lake up the valley of the Root river,
+to a point east of range 17.
+
+The territory or future state was authorized to sell one hundred and
+twenty sections of this land whenever twenty continuous miles of any of
+the roads or branches was completed,--the land so sold to be contiguous
+to the completed road. The right of way or road bed of any of the
+subsidized roads was also granted through any of the government lands.
+The roads were all to be completed within ten years, and if any of them
+were not finished by that time the lands applicable to the unfinished
+portions were to revert to the government. The lands granted by this act
+amounted to about 4,500,000 acres. An act was subsequently passed on
+March 2, 1865, increasing the grant to ten sections to the mile. Various
+other grants were made at different times, but they do not bear upon the
+subject I am about to present.
+
+This grant came at a time of great financial depression, and when the
+territory was about to change its dependent condition for that of a
+sovereign state in the Union. It was greeted as a means of relief that
+might lift the territory out of its financial troubles, and insure its
+immediate prosperity. The people did not take into consideration the
+fact that the lands embraced in the grant, although as good as any in
+the world, were remote from the habitation of man, lying in a country
+absolutely bankrupt, and possessing no present value whatever. Nor did
+they consider that the whole country was laboring under such financial
+depression that all public enterprises were paralyzed; but such was,
+unfortunately, the monetary and business condition.
+
+On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act had passed the congress of
+the United States authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a
+constitution preparatory to becoming a state in the Union. Gen. Willis
+A. Gorman, who was then governor of the territory, called a special
+session of the legislature to take into consideration measures to carry
+out the land grant and enabling acts. The extra session convened on
+April 27th. In the meantime Governor Gorman's term of office had
+expired, and Samuel Medary of Ohio had been appointed as his successor,
+and had assumed the duties of his office. He opened the extra session
+with an appropriate message. The extra session adjourned on the 23d of
+May, and in accordance with the provisions of the enabling act of
+congress, an election was held on the first Monday in June for delegates
+to a constitutional convention, which was to assemble at the capitol on
+the second Monday in July. The constitutional convention is an event in
+the history of Minnesota sufficiently important and unique to entitle it
+to special treatment, which will be given hereafter.
+
+An act was passed at the extra session, on the 19th day of May, 1857, by
+which the grant of lands made to the territory was formally accepted,
+"upon the terms, conditions and restrictions" contained in the granting
+act.
+
+On the twenty-second day of May, at the extra session, an act was passed
+to execute the trust created by the land grant act, by which a number of
+railroad companies were incorporated to construct roads on the lines
+indicated by the act of congress, and to aid in the building of these
+roads, and the lands applicable to each were granted to it. The
+companies were to receive title to the lands as the construction
+progressed, as provided in the granting act. They also had conferred
+upon them powers to issue bonds, in the discretion of the directors, and
+to mortgage their roads and franchise to secure them.
+
+These railroad companies were organized upon the hope that the aid
+extended to them by the grants of land would enable them to raise money
+sufficient to build their several roads. They had nothing of their own,
+and no security but the roads and lands upon which to negotiate loans.
+The times, and the novel idea of building railroads in unpeopled
+countries, were all against them, and, of course, nothing could be done.
+
+The constitutional convention met and framed an instrument for the
+fundamental law of the new state which was very conservative, and, among
+other things, contained the following clause, which was enacted in
+section 5 of article IX.:
+
+"For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses the state may
+contract debts, but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed two
+hundred and fifty thousand dollars." And another clause found in section
+10, which is as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given
+or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation."
+
+It was the intention of the framers of the constitution to prevent the
+legislature from ever using the credit or funds of the state in aid of
+any private enterprise, and these provisions effectually accomplished
+that end.
+
+The people were deeply disappointed when they became convinced that the
+roads could not be built with the aid that congress had extended, and as
+this work was also looked upon as the only hope of financial relief, the
+case became a desperate one, which could only be remedied by the most
+extreme measures. The promoters of the railroads soon discovered one, in
+an amendment of the section of the constitution which prohibited the
+credit of the state being given or loaned to anyone, and at the first
+session of the first legislature, which convened on Dec. 3, 1857, an act
+was passed proposing such amendment, to be submitted to the people for
+ratification. The importance of this amendment, and its effect and
+consequences upon the future of the state, demands that I give it nearly
+in full. It changed section 10 as it was originally passed, and made it
+read as follows:
+
+    "Section 10. The credit of that state shall never be given or
+    loaned in aid of any individual association or corporation,
+    except that, for the purpose of expediting the construction of
+    the lines of railroads, in aid of which the congress of the
+    United States has granted lands to the Territory of Minnesota,
+    the governor shall cause to be issued and delivered to each of
+    the companies in which said grants are vested by the legislative
+    assembly of Minnesota the special bonds of the state, bearing an
+    interest of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in
+    the city of New York, as a loan of public credit, to an amount
+    not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or an
+    aggregate amount to all of said companies not exceeding five
+    millions of dollars, in manner following, to-wit:"
+
+The amendment then prescribes that, whenever ten miles of railroad was
+graded so as to be ready for the superstructure, it should receive
+$100,000 of the bonds, and when ten miles should be completed with the
+cars running, the company so completing should receive another $100,000
+of the bonds until each company had received its quota. The bonds were
+to be denominated "State Railroad Bonds," for the payment of which the
+faith and credit of the state was to be pledged. The railroad companies
+were to pay the principal and interest of the bonds, and to secure such
+payment they were to pledge the net profits of their respective roads,
+and to convey to the state the first two hundred and forty sections of
+land they received, and to deliver to the state treasurer an amount of
+their first mortgage bonds equal to the amount of bonds received by them
+from the state, and mortgage to the state their roads and franchises.
+This was all the security the companies could give, but the underlying
+difficulty was that it had no value whatever. There were no roads, no
+net or other profits. The lands had no value whatever except such as lay
+in the future, which was dependent on the construction of the roads and
+the settlement of the country. The bonds of the companies, of course,
+possessed only such value as the property they represented, which was
+nothing, and the mortgages were of the same character. The whole scheme
+was based upon hopes, which the slightest application of sober reasoning
+would have pronounced impossible of fulfillment. But the country was
+hungry, and willing to seize upon anything that offered a semblance or
+shadow of relief.
+
+The proposed amendment was to be submitted to the people for adoption
+or rejection, at an election to be held on the fifteenth day of April,
+1858. In order to fully comprehend the condition of the public mind, it
+should be known that the constitution, with all the safeguards that I
+have mentioned, had only been in force since Oct. 13, 1857, a period of
+about six months, and had been carried by a vote of 30,055 for to 571
+against its adoption.
+
+The campaign preceding the election was a very active one. The railroad
+people flooded the state with speakers, documents, pictures, glee clubs
+singing songs of the delights of "Riding on the Rail," and every
+conceivable artifice was resorted to to carry the amendment. It was
+carried by a vote of 25,023 in favor of its passage, to 6,733 against.
+
+To give an idea of the intense feeling that was exhibited in this
+election, it is only necessary to state that at the city of Winona there
+were 1,102 votes cast in favor of the amendment and only one vote
+against it. This negative vote, to his eternal honor be it said, was
+cast by Thomas Wilson, afterwards chief justice of the state, and now a
+citizen of St. Paul.
+
+In the execution of the requirements of the amendment, the railroad
+companies claimed that they could issue first mortgage bonds on their
+properties to an indefinite amount and exchange them with the state for
+its bonds, bond for bond, but the governor, who was Hon. Henry H.
+Sibley, construed the amendment to mean that the first mortgage bonds of
+the companies which the state was to receive must be an exclusive first
+lien on the lands and franchises of the company. He therefore declined
+to issue the bonds of the state unless his views were adopted. The
+Minnesota & Pacific Railroad Company, one of the land grant
+corporations, applied to the supreme court of the state for a writ of
+mandamus, to compel the governor to issue the bonds. The case was heard,
+and two members of the court holding the views of the applicants, the
+writ was issued. I was a member of the court at that time, but
+entertaining opposite views from the majority, I filed a dissenting
+opinion. Anyone sufficiently interested in the question can find the
+case reported in Volume II. of the Minnesota Reports, at page 13. This
+decision was only to be advisory, as the courts have no power to coerce
+the executive.
+
+The railroad companies entered into contracts for grading their roads,
+and a sufficient amount of grading was done to entitle them to about
+$2,300,000 of the bonds, which were issued accordingly, and went into
+the hands of the contractors to pay for the work done. It, however, soon
+became apparent that no completed railroad would ever result from this
+scheme, even if the whole five millions of bonds were issued. What
+should have been known before was made clear when any of these state
+bonds were put on the market. The credit of the state was worthless, and
+the bonds were valueless. The people became as anxious to shake off the
+incubus of debt they had imposed upon their infant state as they had
+been to rush into it.
+
+Governor Sibley, in his message, delivered to the second legislature in
+December, 1859, said, in speaking of this issue of bonds:
+
+"I regret to be obliged to state that the measure has proved a failure,
+and has by no means accomplished what was hoped for it, either in
+providing means for the issue of a safe currency, or of aiding the
+companies in the completion of the roads."
+
+At the election, held on Nov. 6, 1860, the constitution was again
+amended, by expunging from it the amendment of 1858 authorizing the
+issue of the state railroad bonds, and prohibiting any further issue of
+them. An amendment was also made to section 2 of Article IX. of the
+constitution at the same time, by providing that no law levying a tax,
+or making any other provisions for the payment of interest or principal
+of the bonds already issued, should take effect or be in force until it
+had been submitted to the people, and adopted by a majority of the
+electors.
+
+It was very proper to prohibit the issuance of any more of the bonds,
+but the provision requiring a vote of the people before those already
+out could be paid was practically repudiation, and the state labored
+under that damaging stigma for over twenty years. Attempts were made to
+obtain the sanction of the people for the payment of these bonds, but
+they were defeated, until it became unpleasant to admit that one was a
+resident of Minnesota. Whenever the name of Minnesota was heard on the
+floor of congress as an applicant for favors, or even for justice, it
+was met by the charge of repudiation. This was an era in our history
+very much to be regretted, but the state grew steadily in material
+wealth.
+
+On March 2, 1881, the legislature passed an act, the general purpose of
+which was to adjust, with the consent of the holders, the outstanding
+bonds, at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and contained the
+curious provision that the supreme court should decide whether it must
+first be submitted to the people in order to be valid or not, and if the
+supreme court should not so decide, then an equal number of the judges
+of the district court should act. The supreme court judges declined to
+act, and the governor called upon the district court judges to assume
+the duty. Before any action was taken by the latter, the attorney
+general applied to the supreme court for a writ of prohibition to
+prevent them from taking any action. The case was most elaborately
+discussed, and the opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Chief
+Justice Gilfillan, which is most exhaustive and convincing. The court
+holds that the act of 1881 is void, by conferring upon the judiciary
+legislative power, and that the amendment to the constitution providing
+that no bonds should be paid unless the law authorizing such payment was
+first submitted to and adopted by the people was void, as being
+repugnant to the clause in the constitution of the United States, that
+no state shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. With
+these impediments to a just settlement of this question removed, the
+state was at liberty to make such arrangements with its bond creditors
+as was satisfactory. John S. Pillsbury was governor at that time. He had
+always been in favor of paying the bonds, and removing the stain from
+the honor of the state, and finding his hands free, it did not take him
+long to arrange the whole matter satisfactorily, and to the approval of
+all the parties. The debt was paid by the issue of new bonds, at the
+rate of fifty per cent of the principal and interest of the outstanding
+ones and the surrender of the latter. This adjustment ended a
+transaction that was conceived and executed in folly, and was only
+prevented from eventuating in crime by the persistent efforts of our
+most honorable and thoughtful citizens throughout the state. The
+transaction has often been called by those who advocated repudiation,
+"An old Territorial fraud," but there was nothing in it but a bad
+bargain, made under the extraordinary pressure of financial
+difficulties.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST RAILROAD ACTUALLY BUILT.
+
+
+The state was restored to all the lands and franchises of the various
+companies by means of foreclosure, and on March 8, 1861, passed an act
+to facilitate the construction of the Minnesota & Pacific Railroad, by
+which act the old railroad was rehabilitated, and required to construct
+and put in operation its road from St. Paul to St. Anthony on or before
+the first day of January, 1862. The company was required to deposit with
+the governor $10,000 as an earnest of good faith. Work was soon
+commenced, and the first ten miles constructed as required. This was the
+first railroad ever built and operated in Minnesota. The first
+locomotive engine was brought up the river on a barge, and landed at the
+St. Paul end of the track in the latter part of October, 1861. This
+pioneer locomotive was called the "William Crooks," after an engineer of
+that name who was very active and instrumental in the building of the
+road. This first ten miles of road cost more energy and brain work than
+all the rest of the vast system that has succeeded it. It was the
+initial step in what is now known as the Great Northern Railway, a road
+that spans the continent from St. Paul to the Pacific, and reflects upon
+its enterprising builders all the credit due to the pioneer.
+
+It was not long before the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was
+incorporated by act of congress, passed on July 2, 1864. This road was
+to extend from the head of Lake Superior to Puget Sound, on a line north
+of the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, with a branch via the
+valley of the Columbia river to Portland, Ore. The company had a grant
+of land of twenty alternate sections through the states. It was
+commenced shortly after its incorporation, but met with financial
+disaster, and was sold under foreclosure of a mortgage, and underwent
+many trials and tribulations, until it was finally completed on the
+eighth day of September, in the year 1883, and has been in successful
+operation ever since. As the Northern Pacific has its eastern terminus
+and general offices in St. Paul, it is essentially a Minnesota road. The
+same may be said of the Great Northern, although both are
+transcontinental roads.
+
+From the small beginning of railroad construction in 1862 have grown
+thirty-seven distinct railroad corporations, operating in the state of
+Minnesota 6,062.69 miles of main tracks, according to the official
+reports of 1898, with quite a substantial addition in course of
+construction. These various lines cover and render accessible nearly
+every city, town and village in the state.
+
+The method of taxation of railroad property adopted by the state is a
+very wise and just one. It imposes a tax of three per cent upon the
+gross earnings of the roads, which, in 1896, yielded the comfortable sum
+of $1,037,194.40, the gross earnings of all amounting to $36,918,741.71.
+This plan of taxation gives the state a direct interest in the
+prosperity of the roads, as its taxes are increased when business is
+good and the roads are relieved from oppressive taxation in time of
+business depression.
+
+The grading which was done and for which the bonds of the state were
+issued was, as a general thing, utilized in the final construction of
+the roads.
+
+
+
+
+THE SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE.
+
+
+In 1842 the country north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi as far
+north as the Little Rapids, on the Minnesota river, was occupied by the
+M'day-wa-kon-ton and Wak-pe-ku-ta bands of Sioux. The Wak-pe-ku-ta band
+was at war with the Sacs and Foxes, and was under the leadership of two
+principal chiefs, named Wam-di-sapa (the "Black Eagle") and Ta-sa-gi.
+Wam-di-sapa and his band were a lawless, predatory set, whose
+depredations prolonged the war with the Sacs and Foxes, and finally
+separated him and his band from the Wak-pe-ku-tas. They moved west
+towards the Missouri, and occupied the valley of the Vermillion river,
+and so thorough was the separation that the band was not regarded as
+part of the Wak-pe-ku-ta when the latter, together with the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, made their treaty with the government at Mendota in
+1851.
+
+By 1857 all that remained of Wam-di-sapa's straggling band was about ten
+or fifteen lodges under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the
+"Scarlet Point," or the "Red End." They had planted near Spirit lake,
+which lies partly in Dickinson county, Iowa, and partly in Jackson
+county, Minnesota, prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to
+the Missouri, and were considered a bad lot of vagabonds.
+
+Between 1855 and 1857 a small settlement had sprung up about forty miles
+south of Spirit lake, on the In-yan-yan-ke or Rock river.
+
+In the spring of 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing (after whom the
+county of Freeborn in this state is called) had projected a settlement
+at Spirit lake, which, by the next spring, contained six or seven
+houses, with as many families.
+
+About the same time another settlement was started some ten or fifteen
+miles north of Spirit lake, on the head waters of the Des Moines, and a
+town laid out which was called Springfield. In the spring of 1857 there
+were two stores and several families at this place.
+
+These settlements were on the extreme frontier, and very much isolated.
+There was nothing to the west of them until you reached the Rocky
+Mountains, and the nearest settlements on the north and northeast were
+on the Minnesota and Watonwan rivers, while to the south lay the small
+settlement on the Rock river, about forty miles distant. All these
+settlements, although on ceded lands, were actually in the heart of the
+Indian country, and absolutely unprotected and defenseless.
+
+In 1857 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux of the
+Mississippi, but had lived on the frontier long enough before to have
+acquired a general knowledge of Ink-pa-du-ta's reputation and his
+whereabouts. I was stationed on the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers,
+near where they empty into the Minnesota, and about eighty miles from
+Spirit lake.
+
+Early in March, 1857, Ink-pa-du-ta's band was hunting in the
+neighborhood of the settlement on the Rock river, and one of them was
+bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The Indian killed the dog. The
+owner of the dog assaulted the Indian, and beat him severely. The white
+men then went in a body to the camp of the Indians and disarmed them.
+The arms were either returned to them or they obtained others, I
+have never ascertained which. They were probably given back to them on
+condition that they should leave, as they at once came north to Spirit
+lake, where they must have arrived about the 6th or 7th of March. They
+proceeded at once to massacre the settlers, and killed all the men they
+found there, together with some women, and carried into captivity four
+women, three of whom were married and one single. Their names were Mrs.
+Noble, Mrs. Marble, Mrs. Thatcher and Miss Gardner. They came north to
+the Springfield settlement, where they killed all the people they found.
+The total number killed at both places was forty-two.
+
+I was the first person to receive notice of this affair. On the 9th of
+March a Mr. Morris Markham, who had been absent from the Spirit lake
+settlement for some time, returned, and found all the people dead or
+missing. Seeing signs of Indians, he took it for granted that they had
+perpetrated the outrage. He at once went to Springfield, and reported
+what he had seen. Some of the people fled, but others remained, and lost
+their lives in consequence. It has always been my opinion that, being in
+the habit of trading with these Indians occasionally, they did not
+believe they stood in any danger; and, what is equally probable, they
+may not have believed the report. Everyone who has lived in an Indian
+country knows how frequently startling rumors are in circulation, and
+how often they prove unfounded.
+
+The people of Springfield sent the news to me by two young men, who came
+on foot through the deep snow. The story was corroborated in a way that
+convinced me that it was true. They arrived on the 18th of March,
+completely worn out and snow-blind. I at once made a requisition on
+Colonel Alexander, commanding at Fort Ridgely, for troops. There were at
+the fort five or six companies of the Tenth United States Infantry, and
+the colonel promptly ordered Capt. Barnard E. Bee of Company "A" to
+proceed with his company to the scene of the trouble. The country
+between the fort and Spirit lake was uninhabited, and the distance from
+eighty to one hundred miles. I furnished two experienced guides from
+among my Sioux half-breeds. They took a pony and a light traineau, put
+on their snowshoes, and were ready to go anywhere. Not so with the
+soldiers, however. They were equipped in about the same manner as they
+would have been in campaigning in Florida, their only transportation
+being heavy wheeled army wagons, drawn by six mules. It soon became
+apparent that the outfit could not move straight to the objective point,
+and it became necessary to follow a trail down the Minnesota to Mankato
+and up the Watonwan in the direction of the lake, which was reached
+after one of the most arduous marches ever made by troops, on which for
+many miles the soldiers had to march ahead of the mules to break a road
+for them. The Indians, as we expected, were gone. A short pursuit was
+made, but the guides pronounced the camp fires of the Indians several
+days old, and it was abandoned. The dead were buried, and after a short
+stay, the soldiers returned to the fort.
+
+When this affair became known throughout the territory it caused great
+consternation and apprehension, most of the settlers supposing it was
+the work of the Sioux nation. Many of the most exposed abandoned their
+homes temporarily. Their fears, however, were allayed by an explanation
+which I published in the newspapers.
+
+I at once began to devise plans for the rescue of the white women. I
+knew that any hostile demonstration would result in their murder. While
+thinking the matter out an event occurred that opened the way to a
+solution. A party of my Indians had been hunting on the Big Sioux river,
+and having learned that Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Lake
+Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, and that he had some white women prisoners, two
+young brothers visited the camp and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble,
+and brought her into the Yellow Medicine agency, and delivered her to
+the missionaries, who turned her over to me. I received her on the 21st
+of March, and learned that two of the other captives were still alive.
+Of course, my first object was to rescue the survivors, and to encourage
+the Indians to make the attempt, I paid the brothers who had brought in
+Mrs. Marble $500 each. I could raise only $500 at the agency in money,
+and to make up the deficiency I resorted to a method, then novel, but
+which has since become quite general. I issued a bond, which, although
+done without authority, met with a better fate than many that followed
+it,--it was paid at maturity.
+
+As it was the first bond ever issued in what is now Minnesota, the two
+Dakotas, Montana, and, I may add, the whole Northwest; it may be
+interesting to give it in full:
+
+    "I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
+    CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
+    being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
+    Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
+    Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
+    Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent,
+    and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining
+    white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band
+    of Indians depends very much on the liberality shown towards the
+    said Indians who have rescued Mrs. Marble, and having full
+    confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territory of
+    Minnesota, through its government and citizens, have this day
+    paid to said two above named Indians, the sum of five hundred
+    dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that
+    the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by
+    the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months
+    from date hereof.
+
+    "Dated, May 22, 1857, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T.
+          "STEPHEN R. RIGGS,
+            "Missionary, A. B. C. F. M.
+          "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+        "U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux."
+
+I immediately called for volunteers to rescue the remaining two women,
+and soon had my choice. I selected Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president
+of the Hazelwood Republic, An-pe-tu-tok-cha, or John Otherday, and
+Che-tan-ma-za, or the Iron Hawk. I gave them a large outfit of horses,
+wagons, calicos, trinkets of all kinds, and a general assortment of
+things that tempt the savage. They started on the twenty-third day of
+May, from the Yellow Medicine agency, on their important and dangerous
+mission. I did not expect them to return before the middle of June, and
+immediately commenced preparations to punish the marauders. I went to
+the fort, and together with Colonel Alexander, we laid a plan to attack
+Ink-pa-du-ta's camp, with the entire garrison, and utterly annihilate
+them, which we would undoubtedly have accomplished had not an unexpected
+event frustrated our plans. Of course, we could not move on the Indians
+until my expedition had returned with the captives, as that would have
+been certain death to them; but just about the time we were anxiously
+expecting them, a couple of steamboats arrived at the fort with
+peremptory orders for the whole garrison to embark for Utah to join Gen.
+Albert Sydney Johnson's expedition against the Mormons, and that was the
+last I saw of the Tenth for ten years.
+
+My expedition found that Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Noble had been killed,
+but succeeded in bringing in Miss Gardner, who was forwarded to me at
+St. Paul, and by me formally delivered to Governor Medary on June 23,
+1857. She was afterwards married, and is now a widow, Mrs. Abbie Gardner
+Sharpe, and resides in the house from which she was abducted by the
+savages, forty-three years ago. I paid the Indians who rescued her $400
+each for their services. The territory made an appropriation on the
+fifteenth day of May, 1857, of $10,000 to rescue the captives, but as
+there were no telegraphs or other speedy means of communication, the
+work was all done before the news of the appropriation reached the
+border. My outlay, however, was all refunded from this appropriation. I
+afterwards succeeded, with a squad of soldiers and citizens, in killing
+one of Ink-pa-du-ta's sons, who had taken an active part in the
+massacre, and that ended the first serious Indian trouble that Minnesota
+was afflicted with.
+
+
+
+
+THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
+
+
+By the end of the year 1856 the Territory of Minnesota had attained such
+growth and wealth that the question of becoming a state within the Union
+began to attract attention. It was urged by the government at Washington
+that we were amply capable of taking care of ourselves, and sufficiently
+wealthy to pay our expenses, and statehood was pressed upon us from that
+quarter. There was another potent influence at work at home. We had
+several prominent gentlemen who were convinced that their services were
+needed in the senate of the United States, and that their presence there
+would strengthen and adorn that body, and as no positive opposition was
+developed, the congress of the United States, on the 26th of February,
+1857, passed an act, authorizing the territory to form a state
+government. It prescribed the same boundaries for the state as we now
+have, although there had been a large number of people who had advocated
+an east and west division of the territory, on a line a little north of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It provided for a convention
+to frame the constitution of the new state, which was to be composed of
+two delegates for each member of the territorial legislature, to be
+elected in the representative districts on the first Monday in June,
+1857. The convention was to be held at the capital of the territory, on
+the second Monday of July following. It submitted to the convention five
+propositions to be answered, which, if accepted, were to become
+obligatory on the United States and the State of Minnesota. They were in
+substance as follows:
+
+1. Whether sections 16 and 36 in each township should be granted to the
+state for the use of schools.
+
+2. Whether seventy-two sections of land should be set aside for the use
+and support of a state university.
+
+3. Whether ten sections should be granted to the state in aid of public
+buildings.
+
+4. Whether all salt springs in the state, not exceeding twelve, with six
+sections of land to each, should be granted to the state.
+
+5. Whether five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of all the
+public lands lying within the state, which should be sold after its
+admission, should be paid to the state for the purpose of roads, and
+internal improvements.
+
+All the five propositions, if accepted, were to be on the condition, to
+be expressed in the constitution or an irrevocable ordinance, that the
+state should never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil
+within the state by the United States, or with any regulations congress
+should make for securing title to said lands in bona fide purchases
+thereof, and that no tax should be imposed on lands belonging to the
+United States, and that non-resident proprietors should never be taxed
+higher than residents.
+
+These propositions were all accepted, ratified and confirmed by section
+3 of Article II. of the constitution.
+
+The election for delegates took place as provided for, and on the day
+set for the convention to meet, nearly all of them had assembled at the
+capital. Great anxiety was manifested by both the Democrats and the
+Republicans to capture the organization of the convention. Neither party
+had a majority of all the members present, but there were a number of
+contested seats on both sides, of which both contestant and contestee
+were present, and these duplicates being counted, were sufficient to
+give each party an apparent majority. It was obvious that a determined
+fight for the organization was imminent. The convention was to meet in
+the house of representatives, and to gain an advantage, the Republicans
+took possession of the hall the night before the opening day, so as to
+be the first on hand in the morning. The Democrats, on learning of this
+move, held a caucus to decide upon a plan of action. Precedents and
+authorities were looked up, and two fundamental points decided upon. It
+was discovered that the secretary of the territory was the proper party
+to call the convention to order, and as Mr. Charles L. Chase was the
+secretary, and also a Democratic delegate, he was chosen to make the
+call. It was further found that when no hour was designated for the
+meeting of a parliamentary body, that noon of the day appointed was the
+time. Being armed with these points, the Democrats decided to wait until
+noon, and then march into the hall in a body with Delegate Chase at
+their head, and as soon as he reached the chair he was to spring into it
+and call the convention to order. General Gorman was immediately to move
+an adjournment until the next day at 12 o'clock M., which motion was to
+be put by the chair, the Democrats feeling sure that the Republicans
+being taken by surprise would vote no, while the Democrats would all
+vote aye, and thus commit more than a majority of the whole to the
+organization under Mr. Chase. On reaching the chair, Mr. Chase
+immediately sprang into it, and called the convention to order. General
+Gorman moved the adjournment, which was put by the chair. All the
+Democrats loudly voted in the affirmative and the Republicans in the
+negative. The motion was declared carried, and the Democrats solemnly
+marched out of the hall.
+
+The above is the Democratic version of the event. The Republicans,
+however, claim that John W. North reached the chair first, and called
+the convention to order, and that as the Republicans had a majority of
+the members present, the organization made under his call was the only
+regular one. Nothing can be determined as to which is the true story
+from the records kept of the two bodies, because they are each made up
+to show strict regularity, and as it is utterly immaterial in any
+substantial point of view, I will not venture any opinion, although I
+was one of the actors in the drama,--or farce,--as the reader may see
+fit to regard it.
+
+The Republicans remained in the hall, and formed a constitution to suit
+themselves, sitting until August 29th, just forty-seven days. The
+Democrats on the next day after their adjournment, at 12 o'clock M.,
+went in a body to the door of the house of representatives, where they
+were met by Secretary and Delegate Chase, who said to them: "Gentlemen,
+the hall to which the delegates adjourned yesterday is now occupied by a
+meeting of citizens of the territory, who refuse to give possession to
+the constitutional convention."
+
+General Gorman then said: "I move the convention adjourn to the council
+chamber." The motion was carried, and the delegates accordingly repaired
+to the council chamber, in the west wing of the capitol, where Mr.
+Chase called the convention to order. Each branch of the convention
+elected its officers. The Republicans chose St. A. D. Balcombe for their
+president, and the Democrats selected Hon. Henry H. Sibley. Both bodies
+worked diligently on a constitution, and each succeeded in making one so
+much like the other that, after sober reflection, it was decided that
+the state could be admitted under either, and if both were sent to
+congress that body would reject them for irregularity. So towards the
+end of the long session a compromise was arrived at, by the formation of
+a joint committee from each convention, who were to evolve a
+constitution out of the two for submission to the people; the result of
+which, after many sessions, and some fisticuffs, was the instrument
+under which the state was finally admitted.
+
+A very curious complication resulted from two provisions in the
+constitution. In section 5 of the schedule it was provided that "All
+territorial officers, civil and military, now holding their offices
+under the authority of the United States or of the Territory of
+Minnesota shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices
+until they shall be superseded by the authority of the state," and
+section 6 provided that "The first session of the legislature of the
+State of Minnesota shall commence on the first Wednesday of December
+next," etc.
+
+These provisions were made under the supposition that the state would be
+admitted as soon as the constitution would be laid before congress,
+which it was presumed would be long before the date fixed for the
+holding of the first state legislature; but such did not turn out to be
+the case. The election was held as provided for on the thirteenth day of
+October, 1857, for the adoption or rejection of the constitution, and
+for the election of all the state officers, members of congress and of
+the legislature. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 36,240 for,
+and 700 against, and the whole Democratic state ticket was also chosen;
+and to be sure not to lose full representation in congress, three
+members of the house of representatives were also chosen, who were all
+Democrats.
+
+The constitution was duly presented to congress, and admission for the
+state demanded. Much to the disappointment of our people, all kinds and
+characters of objections were raised to our admission; one of which I
+remember was, that as the term of office of the state senators was fixed
+at two years, and as there was nothing said about the term of the
+members of the house they were elected for life, and consequently the
+government created was not republican. Alexander Stevens of Georgia
+seriously combatted this position, in a learned constitutional argument,
+in which he proved that a state had absolute control of the subject, and
+could fix the term of all its officers for life if it so preferred, and
+that congress had no right to interfere. Many other equally frivolous
+points were made against our admission, which were debated until the
+eleventh day of May, 1858, when the federal doors were opened and
+Minnesota became a state. The act admitting the state cut down the
+congressional representation to two. The three gentlemen who had been
+elected to these positions were compelled to determine who would remain
+and who should surrender. History has not recorded how the decision was
+made, whether by cutting cards, tossing a coin, or in some other way,
+but the result was that George L. Becker was counted out, and W. W.
+Phelps and James M. Cavanaugh took the prizes.
+
+It was always thought at home that the long delay in our admission was
+not from any disinclination to let us in, but because the house was
+quite evenly divided politically between the Democrats and the
+Republicans, and there being a contested seat from Ohio, between Mr.
+Valandingham and Mr. Lew Campbell, it was feared by the Republicans
+that, if Minnesota came in with three Democratic members, it might turn
+the scale in favor of Valandingham.
+
+This delay created a very perplexing condition of things. The state
+legislature elected under the constitution met on the first Wednesday of
+December, before the constitution was recognized by congress, and while
+the territorial government was in full force. It passed a book full of
+laws, all of which were state laws, approved by a territorial governor.
+Perhaps in some countries it would have been difficult to harmonize such
+irregularities, but our courts were quite up to the emergency, and
+straightened them all out the first time the question was raised, and
+the laws so passed have served their purpose up to the present time.
+
+The first governor of the state was Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat. He
+served his term of two years, and the state has never elected a Democrat
+to that office since, unless the choice of Hon. John Lind, in 1898, may
+be so classified.
+
+
+
+
+ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE CAPITAL.
+
+
+At the eighth session of the legislative assembly of the territory,
+which convened on Jan. 7, 1857, a bill was introduced, the purpose of
+which was the removal of the seat of government from St. Paul to St.
+Peter, a small village which had recently come into existence on the
+Minnesota river about one hundred miles above its mouth. There could be
+no reason for such action except interested speculation, as the capitol
+was already built in St. Paul, and it was much more accessible, and in
+every way more convenient than it would be at St. Peter; but the
+movement had sufficient personal and political force behind it to insure
+its success, and an act was passed making such removal. But it was
+destined to meet with unexpected obstacles before it became a law. When
+it passed the house it was sent to the council, where it only received
+one majority, eight voting for and seven against it. It was, on the 27th
+of February, sent to the enrolling committee for final enrollment. It
+happened that Councillor Joseph Rolette, from Pembina, was chairman of
+this committee, and a great friend of St. Paul. Mr. Rolette decided he
+would veto the bill in a way not known to parliamentary law, so he put
+it in his pocket and disappeared. On the 28th, not being in his seat,
+and the bill being missing, a councillor offered a resolution that a
+copy of it be obtained from Mr. Wales, the second in order on the
+committee. A call of the council was then ordered and Mr. Rolette not
+being in his seat, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to bring him in,
+but not being able to find him, he so reported. A motion was then made
+to dispense with the call, but by the rules it required a two-third vote
+of fifteen members, and in the absence of Mr. Rolette only fourteen were
+present. It takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as it does to
+make two-thirds of fifteen, and the bill had only nine friends. During
+the pendency of a call no business could be transacted, and a serious
+dilemma confronted the capital removers; but, nothing daunted, Mr.
+Balcombe made a long argument to prove that nine was two-thirds of
+fourteen. Mr. Brisbin, who was president of the council and a graduate
+of Yale, pronounced the motion lost, saying to the mover, who was also a
+graduate of Yale, "Mr. Balcombe, we never figured that way at Yale."
+This situation produced a deadlock, and no business could be transacted.
+The session terminated on the fifth day of March by its own limitation.
+The sergeant-at-arms made daily reports concerning the whereabouts of
+the absentee, sometimes locating him on a dog-train, rapidly moving
+towards Pembina, sometimes giving a rumor of his assassination, but
+never producing him. Matters remained in this condition until the end of
+the term, and the bill was lost.
+
+It was disclosed afterwards that Rolette had carefully deposited the
+bill in the vault of Truman M. Smith's bank, and had passed the time in
+the upper story of the Fuller House, where his friends made him very
+comfortable. Some ineffectual efforts have been made since to remove the
+capital to Minneapolis and elsewhere, but the treaty, made by the
+pioneers in 1849, locating it at St. Paul, is still in force.
+
+
+
+
+CENSUS.
+
+
+One of the provisions of the enabling act was that in the event of the
+constitutional convention deciding in favor of the immediate admission
+of the proposed state into the Union, a census should be taken with a
+view of ascertaining the number of representatives in congress to which
+the state would be entitled. This was accordingly done in September,
+1857, and the population was found to be 150,037.
+
+
+
+
+GRASSHOPPERS.
+
+
+The first visitation of grasshoppers came in 1857, and did considerable
+damage to the crops in Stearns and other counties. Relief was asked from
+St. Paul for the suffering poor, and notwithstanding the people of the
+capital city were in the depths of poverty, from the financial panic
+produced by over-speculation, they responded liberally. The grasshoppers
+of this year did not deposit their eggs, but disappeared after eating up
+everything that came within their reach. The state was not troubled with
+them again until the year 1873, when they came in large flights, and
+settled down in the western part of the state. They did much damage to
+the crops, and deposited their eggs in the soil, where they hatched out
+in the spring, and greatly increased their number. They made sad havoc
+with the crops of 1874, and occupied a larger part of the state than in
+the previous year. They again deposited their eggs, and appeared in the
+spring of 1875 in increased numbers. This was continued in 1876, when
+the situation became so alarming that Gov. John S. Pillsbury issued a
+proclamation, addressed to the states and territories which had suffered
+most from the insects, to meet him by delegates at Omaha, to concert
+measures for united protection. A convention was held, and Governor
+Pillsbury was made its president. The subject was thoroughly discussed,
+and a memorial to congress was prepared and adopted, asking for
+scientific investigation of the subject, and a suggestion of preventive
+measures.
+
+Many appeals for relief came from the afflicted regions, and much aid
+was extended. Governor Pillsbury was a big-hearted, sympathetic man, and
+fearing the sufferers might not be well cared for, he travelled among
+them personally, incognito, and dispensed large sums from his private
+funds.
+
+In 1877 the governor, in his message to the legislature, treated the
+subject exhaustively, and appropriations were made to relieve the
+settlers in the devastated regions. In the early spring of 1877, the
+religious bodies and people of the state asked the governor to issue a
+proclamation appointing a day of fasting and prayer, asking Divine
+protection, and exhorting the people to greater humility and a new
+consecration in the service of a merciful Father. The governor, being of
+Puritan origin, and a faithful believer in Divine agencies in this
+world's affairs, issued an eloquent appeal to the people to observe a
+day named as one of fasting and prayer for deliverance from the
+grasshoppers. The suggestion was quite generally approved, but the
+proclamation naturally excited much criticism and some ridicule, but,
+curious as it may seem, the grasshoppers, even before the day appointed
+for prayer arrived, began to disappear, and in a short time not one
+remained to show they had ever been in the state. They left in a body;
+no one seemed to know exactly when they went, and no one knew anything
+about where they went, as they were never heard of again on any part of
+the continent. The only news we ever had from them came from ships
+crossing the Atlantic westward bound, which reported having passed
+through large areas of floating insects. They must have met a western
+gale when well up in air, and have been blown out into the sea and
+destroyed. The people of Minnesota did not expend much trouble or time
+to find out what had become of them.
+
+The crop of 1877 was abundant, and particularly so in the region which
+had been most seriously blighted by the pests.
+
+Before the final proclamation of Governor Pillsbury every source of
+ingenuity had been exhausted in devising plans for the destruction of
+the grasshoppers. Ditches were dug around the fields of grain, and ropes
+drawn over the grain to drive the hoppers into them, with the purpose of
+covering them with earth. Instruments called "hopperdozers" were
+invented, which had receptacles filled with hot tar, and were driven
+over the ground to catch them as flies are caught with tanglefoot paper,
+and many millions of them were destroyed in this way, but it was about
+as effectual as fighting a Northwestern blizzard with a lady's fan, and
+they were all abandoned as useless and powerless to cope with the
+scourge. Nothing proved effectual but the governor's proclamation, and
+all the old settlers called it "Pillsbury's Best," which was the name of
+the celebrated brand of flour made at the governor's mills.
+
+Prof. N. H. Winchell, the state geologist, in his geological and natural
+history report, presents a map which, by red lines, shows the
+encroachments of the grasshoppers for the years 1873-76. To gain an idea
+of the extent of the country covered by them up to 1877, draw a line on
+a state map from the Red River of the North about six miles north of
+Moorhead, in Clay county, in a southeasterly direction, through Becker,
+Wadena, Todd and Morrison counties, crossing the Mississippi river near
+the northern line of Benton county, continuing down the east side of the
+Mississippi, through Benton, Sherburne and Anoka counties, there
+recrossing the Mississippi, and proceeding south, on the west side of
+the river, to the south line of the state in Mower county. All the
+country lying south and west of this line was for several years
+devastated by the grasshoppers to the extent that no crops could be
+raised. It became for a time a question whether the people or the
+insects would conquer the state.
+
+
+
+
+MILITIA.
+
+
+During the territorial times there were a few volunteer militia
+companies in St. Paul, conspicuously the "Pioneer Guard," an infantry
+company, which, from its excellent organization and discipline, became
+a source of supply of officers when regiments were being raised for the
+Civil War. To have been a member of that company was worth at least a
+captain's commission in the volunteer army, and many officers of much
+higher rank were chosen from its members.
+
+There was also a company of cavalry at St. Paul, commanded by Capt.
+James Starkey, called the "St. Paul Light Cavalry"; also, the "Shields
+Guards," commanded by Capt. John O'Gorman. There may have been others,
+but I do not remember them. The services of the pioneer guards and the
+cavalry company were called into requisition on two occasions, once in
+1857 and again in 1859. During the summer of 1857 the settlers near
+Cambridge and Sunrise complained that the Chippewas were very
+troublesome. Governor Medary ordered Captain Starkey to take part of his
+company and arrest the Indians who were committing depredations, and
+send the remainder of them to their reservation. The captain took twenty
+men, and, on Aug. 24, 1857, started for the scene of the trouble. On the
+28th he overtook some six or seven Indians, and in their attempt to
+escape a collision occurred, in which a young man, a member of Starkey's
+company, named Frank Donnelly, was instantly killed. The troops
+succeeded in killing one of the Indians, wounding another, and capturing
+four more, when they returned to St. Paul, bringing with them the dead,
+wounded, and prisoners. The dead were buried, the wounded healed, and
+the prisoners discharged by Judge Nelson on a writ of habeas corpus.
+
+The general sentiment of the community was that the expedition was
+unnecessary, and should never have been made. This affair was
+facetiously called the "Cornstalk War."
+
+
+
+
+THE WRIGHT COUNTRY WAR.
+
+
+In the fall of 1858 a man named Wallace was killed in Wright county.
+Oscar F. Jackson was tried for the murder in the spring of 1859, and
+acquitted by a jury. Public sentiment was against him, and he was warned
+to leave the county. He did not heed the admonition, and on April 25th a
+mob assembled, and hung Jackson to the gable end of Wallace's cabin.
+Governor Sibley offered a reward for the conviction of any of the
+lynchers. Shortly afterwards one, Emery Moore, was arrested as being
+implicated in the affair. He was taken to Wright county for trial, and
+at once rescued by a mob. The governor sent three companies of the
+militia to Monticello to arrest the offenders and preserve order, the
+Pioneer Guards being among them. This force, aided by a few special
+officers of the law, arrested eleven of the lynchers and rescuers, and
+turned them over to the civil authorities, and on the 11th of August,
+1859, having completed their mission, returned to St. Paul. As there was
+no war or bloodshed of any kind connected with this expedition, it was
+called the "Wright County War."
+
+Gov. Sibley, having somewhat of a military tendency, appointed as his
+adjutant general, Alexander C. Jones, who was a graduate of the Virginia
+Military Academy, and captain of the Pioneer Guards. Under this
+administration a very complete militia bill was passed, on the twelfth
+day of August, 1858. Minnesota from that time on had a very efficient
+militia system, until the establishment of the national guard, which
+made some changes in its general character, supposed to be for the
+better.
+
+
+
+
+THE CIVIL WAR.
+
+
+Nothing of any special importance occurred during the years 1859 and
+1860 in Minnesota. The state continued to grow in population and wealth
+at an extraordinary pace, but in a quiet and unobtrusive way. The
+politics of the nation had been for some time much disturbed between the
+North and the South, on the question of slavery, and threats of
+secession from the Union made by the slave-holding states. The election
+of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States, in 1860,
+precipitated the impending revolution, and on the fourteenth day of
+April, 1861, Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina,
+was fired upon by the revolutionists, which meant war between the two
+sections of the country. I will only relate such events in connection
+with the Civil War which followed as are especially connected with
+Minnesota.
+
+When the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter reached Washington,
+Alexander Ramsey, then governor of Minnesota, was in that city. He
+immediately called on the president of the United States, and tendered
+the services of the people of Minnesota in defense of the republic, thus
+giving to the state the enviable position of being the first to come to
+the front. The offer of a regiment was accepted, and the governor sent a
+dispatch to Lieut. Gov. Ignatius Donnelly, who, on the 16th of April,
+issued a proclamation, giving notice that volunteers would be received
+at St. Paul for one regiment of infantry composed of ten companies, each
+of sixty-four privates, one captain, two lieutenants, four sergeants,
+four corporals and one bugler, and that the volunteer companies already
+organized, upon complying with these requirements as to the numbers and
+officers, would be entitled to be first received.
+
+Immediately following this announcement, which, of course, meant war,
+great enthusiasm was manifested all over the state. Public meetings were
+held in all the cities; almost every man capable of doing soldier duty
+wanted to go, and those who were unable, for any reason, to go in
+person, subscribed funds for the support of the families of those who
+volunteered. The only difficulty the authorities met with was an excess
+of men over those needed. There were a good many Southerners residing in
+the state, who were naturally controlled in their sentiments by their
+geographical affinities, but they behaved very well, and caused no
+trouble. They either entered the service of the South or held their
+peace. I can recall but one instance of a Northern man who had breathed
+the free air of Minnesota going over to the South, and the atrocity of
+his case was aggravated by the fact that he was an officer in the United
+States army. I speak of Major Pemberton, who at the breaking out of the
+war was stationed at Fort Ridgely in this state, in command of a battery
+of artillery. He was ordered to Washington to aid in the defense of the
+capital, but before reaching his destination resigned his commission,
+and tendered his sword to the enemy. I think he was a citizen of
+Pennsylvania. It was he who surrendered Vicksburg to the United States
+army on July 4, 1863.
+
+The first company raised under the call of the state was made up of
+young men of St. Paul, and commanded by William H. Acker, who had been
+adjutant general of the state. He was wounded at the first battle of
+Bull Run, and killed at the battle of Shiloh, as captain of a company of
+the Sixteenth Regular Infantry. Other companies quickly followed in
+tendering their services.
+
+On the last Monday in April a camp for the First Regiment was opened at
+Fort Snelling, and Capt. Anderson D. Nelson of the United States army
+mustered the regiment into the service. On the 27th of April John B.
+Sanborn, then adjutant general of the state, in behalf of the governor,
+issued the following order:
+
+"The commander-in-chief expresses his gratification at the prompt
+response to the call of the president of the United States upon the
+militia of Minnesota, and his regret that, under the present requisition
+for only ten companies, it is not possible to accept the services of all
+the companies offered."
+
+The order then enumerates the ten companies which had been accepted, and
+instructs them to report at Fort Snelling, and recommends that the
+companies not accepted maintain their organization and perfect their
+drill, and that patriotic citizens throughout the state continue to
+enroll themselves, and be ready for any emergency.
+
+The governor, on May 3d, sent a telegram to the president, offering a
+second regiment.
+
+The magnitude of the rebellion becoming rapidly manifest at Washington,
+the secretary of war, Mr. Cameron, on the 7th of May, sent the following
+telegram to Governor Ramsey:
+
+"It is decidedly preferable that all the regiments from your state not
+already actually sent forward should be mustered into the service for
+three years, or during the war. If any persons belonging to the
+regiments already mustered for three months, but not yet actually sent
+forward, should be unwilling to serve for three years, or during the
+war, could not their places be filled by others willing to serve?"
+
+A great deal of correspondence passed between Lieutenant Governor
+Donnelly at St. Paul and Governor Ramsey at Washington over the matter,
+which resulted in the First Minnesota Regiment being mustered into the
+service of the United States for three years, or during the war, on the
+eleventh day of May, 1861. Willis A. Gorman, second governor of the
+territory, was appointed colonel of the First. The colonel was a veteran
+of the Mexican War. The regiment when first mustered in was without
+uniform, except that some of the companies had red shirts and some blue,
+but there was no regularity whatever. This was of small consequence, as
+the material of the regiment was probably the best ever collected into
+one body. It included companies of lumbermen, accustomed to camp life,
+and inured to hardships; men of splendid physique, experts with the axe;
+men who could make a road through a forest or swamp, build a bridge over
+a stream, run a steamboat, repair a railroad, or perform any of the
+duties that are thrust upon an army on the march and in the field. There
+are no men in the world so well equipped naturally and without special
+preparation for the life of a soldier as the American of the West. He is
+perfectly familiar with the use of firearms. From his varied experience,
+he possesses more than an average intelligence. His courage goes without
+saying, and, to sum him up, he is the most all-around handy man on
+earth.
+
+On May 25th the ladies of St. Paul presented the regiment with a
+handsome set of silk colors. The presentation was made at the state
+capitol by Mrs. Ramsey, the wife of the governor. The speech was made on
+behalf of the ladies by Captain Stansbury of the United States army, and
+responded to by Colonel Gorman in a manner fitting the occasion.
+
+On the 21st of June the regiment, having been ordered to Washington,
+embarked on the steamers, Northern Belle and War Eagle, at Fort
+Snelling, for their journey. Before leaving the fort the chaplain, Rev.
+Edward D. Neill, delivered a most impressive address, concluding as
+follows:
+
+"Soldiers: If you would be obedient to God, you must honor him who has
+been ordained to lead you forth. Your colonel's will must be your will.
+If, like the Roman centurion, he says 'Go,' you must go. If he says
+'Come,' come you must. God grant you all the Hebrew's enduring faith,
+and you will be sure to have the Hebrew's valor. Now, with the Hebrew's
+benediction, I close: 'The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make
+his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his
+countenance upon you, and given you peace.' Amen."
+
+The peace the good chaplain asked the Lord to give to the regiment was
+that peace which flows from duty well performed and a conscience free
+from self-censure. Judging from the excellent record made by that
+regiment, it enjoyed this kind of peace to the fullest extent, but it
+had as little of the other kind of peace as any regiment in the service.
+
+The regiment reached Washington early in July, and went into camp near
+Alexandria, in Virginia. It took part in the first battle of the war, at
+Bull Run, and from there to the end of the war was engaged in many
+battles, always with credit to itself and honor to its state. It was
+conspicuously brave and useful at the great conflict at Gettysburg, and
+the service it there performed made its fame world-wide. In what I say
+of the first regiment, I must not be understood to lessen the fame of
+the other ten regiments and other organizations that Minnesota sent to
+the war, all of which, with the exception of the Third, made for
+themselves records of gallantry and soldierly conduct, which Minnesota
+will ever hold in the highest esteem. But the First, probably because it
+was the first, and certainly because of its superb career, will always
+be the pet and especial pride of the state.
+
+The misfortunes of the Third regiment will be spoken of separately.
+
+The first conception of the rebellion by the authorities in Washington
+was that it could be suppressed in a short time; but they had left out
+of the estimate the fact that they had to deal with Americans, who can
+always be counted on for a stubborn fight when they decide to have one.
+And as the magnitude of the war impressed itself upon the government,
+continuous calls for troops were made, to all of which Minnesota
+responded promptly, until she had in the field the following military
+organizations: Eleven full regiments of infantry; the first and second
+companies of sharpshooters; one regiment of mounted rangers, recruited
+for the Indian war; the Second Regiment of cavalry; Hatche's Independent
+Battalion of Cavalry for Indian war; Brackett's battalion of cavalry;
+one regiment of heavy artillery; and the First, Second and Third
+Batteries of Light Artillery.
+
+There were embraced in these twenty-one military organizations, 22,970
+officers and men, who were withdrawn from the forces of civil industry,
+and remained away for several years. Yet notwithstanding this abnormal
+drain on the industrial resources of so young a state, to which must be
+added the exhaustive effects of the Indian war which broke out within
+her borders in 1862, and lasted several years, Minnesota continued to
+grow in population and wealth throughout it all, and came out of these
+war afflictions strengthened and invigorated.
+
+
+
+
+THE THIRD REGIMENT.
+
+
+Recruiting for the Third Regiment commenced early in the fall of 1861,
+and was completed by the 15th of November, on which day it consisted of
+901 men all told, including officers. On the 17th of November, 1861, it
+embarked at Fort Snelling for its destination in the South, on the
+steamboats Northern Belle, City Belle, and Frank Steele. It landed at
+St. Paul and marched through the city, exciting the admiration of the
+people, it being an unusually fine aggregation of men. It embarked on
+the same day, and departed for the South, carrying with it the good
+wishes and hopes of every citizen of the state. It was then commanded by
+Lieutenant Colonel Smith, and afterwards by Col. Henry C. Lester, who
+was promoted to its command from a captaincy in the First, and joined
+his regiment at Shepardsville. Colonel Lester was a man of prepossessing
+appearance, handsome, well informed, modest and attractive. He soon
+brought his regiment up to a high standard of drill and discipline, and
+especially devoted himself to its appearance for cleanliness and
+deportment, so that his regiment became remarkable in these particulars.
+By the twelfth day of July, the Third became brigaded with the Ninth
+Michigan, the Eighth and Twenty-third Kentucky, forming the Twenty-third
+Brigade, under Col. W. W. Duffield of the Ninth Michigan, and was
+stationed at Murfeesboro, in Tennessee. For two months Colonel Duffield
+had been absent, and the brigade and other forces at Murfreesboro had
+been commanded by Colonel Lester. A day or two before the 13th Colonel
+Duffield had returned and resumed command of the brigade, and Lester was
+again in direct command of his regiment. In describing the situation at
+Murfreesboro on the thirteenth day of July, 1861, Gen. C. C. Andrews,
+the author of the "History of the Third Regiment," in the state war
+book, at page 152, says:
+
+    "The force of enlisted men fit for duty at Murfreesboro was
+    fully one thousand. Forest reported that the whole number of
+    enlisted men captured, taken to McMinnville and paroled was
+    between 1,100 and 1,200. Our forces, however, were separated.
+    There were five companies, 250 strong, of the Ninth Michigan in
+    camp three-fourths of a mile east of the town, on the Liberty
+    turnpike (another company of the Ninth Michigan, forty-two
+    strong, occupied the court-house as a provost guard). Near the
+    camp of the Ninth Michigan were eighty men of the Seventh
+    Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Major Seibert; also, eighty-one men
+    of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, under Captain Chilson. More than
+    a mile distant, on the other side of the town, on undulating,
+    rocky and shaded ground, near Stone river, were nine companies
+    of the Third Minnesota, five hundred strong. Near it, also, were
+    two sections (four guns) of Hewitt's Kentucky Field Artillery,
+    with sixty-four men for duty. Forty-five men of Company C, Third
+    Regiment, under Lieutenant Grummons, had gone the afternoon of
+    July 12th, as the guard on a supply train, to Shelbyville, and
+    had not returned the thirteenth."
+
+Murfreesboro was on the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad. It was a well
+built town, around a square, in the center of which was the court-house.
+There were in the town valuable military stores.
+
+On July 13th, at daybreak, news arrived at Murfreesboro that the rebel
+general, Forest, was about to make an attack on the place, which news
+was verified by General Forest capturing the picket guard and dashing
+into the town soon after the news arrived, with a mounted force of 1,500
+men. A part of this force charged upon the camp of the Seventh
+Pennsylvania, then reformed, and charged upon the Ninth Michigan
+Infantry, which made a gallant defense and repulsed the enemy's
+repeated charges, suffering a loss of eleven killed and eighty-nine
+wounded. The enemy suffered considerable loss, including a colonel
+killed, up to about noon, when the Ninth Michigan surrendered. General
+Crittenden was captured in his quarters, about eight o'clock. Almost
+simultaneous with the first attack, a part of Forest's force moved
+toward the Third Minnesota, which had sprung up at the first sound of
+the firing, formed into line, Colonel Lester in command, and with two
+guns of Hewitt's Battery on each flank, marched in the direction of
+Murfreesboro. It had not gone more than an eighth of a mile when about
+three hundred of the enemy appeared approaching on a gallop. They were
+moving in some disorder, and appeared to fall back when the Third
+Regiment came in sight. The latter was at once brought forward into line
+and the guns of Hewitt's Battery opened fire. The enemy retired out of
+sight, and the Third advanced to a commanding position in the edge of
+some timber. A continuous fire was kept up by the guns of Hewitt's
+Battery, with considerable effect upon the enemy. Up to this time the
+only ground of discontent that had ever existed in this regiment was
+that it had never had an opportunity to fight. Probably no regiment was
+ever more eager to fight in battle than this one. Yet while it was there
+in line of battle from daylight until about noon, impatiently waiting
+for the approach of the enemy, or what was better, to be led against
+him, he was assailing an inferior force of our troops, and destroying
+valuable commissary and quartermaster's stores in town, which our troops
+were, of course, in honor bound to protect. The regiment was kept
+standing or lying motionless hour after hour, even while plainly seeing
+the smoke rising from the burning depot of the United States supplies.
+While this was going on, Colonel Lester sat upon his horse, and
+different officers went to him and entreated him to march the regiment
+into town. The only response he gave was, "We will see." The enemy made
+several ineffectual attempts to charge the line held by the Third, but
+were driven off with loss, which only increased the ardor of the men to
+get at them. The enemy attacked the camp of the Third, which was guarded
+by only a few convalescents, teamsters and cooks, and met with a
+stubborn resistance, but finally succeeded in taking it, and burning the
+tents and property of the officers, after which they hastily abandoned
+it. The firing at the camp was distinctly heard by the Third Regiment,
+and Captain Hoyt of Company B asked permission to take his company to
+protect the camp, but was refused. While the regiment was in this
+waiting position, having at least five hundred effective men, plenty of
+ammunition, and burning with anxiety to get at the enemy, a white flag
+appeared over the crest of a hill which proved to be a request for
+Colonel Lester to go into Murfreesboro for a consultation with Colonel
+Duffield. General Forest carefully displayed his men along the path by
+which Colonel Lester was to go in a manner so as to impress the colonel
+with the idea that he had a much larger force than really existed, and
+in his demand for surrender he stated that, if not acceded to, the whole
+command would be put to the sword, as he could not control his men. This
+was an old trick of Forest's, which he played successfully on other
+occasions. From what is known, he had not over one thousand men with
+which he could have engaged the Third that day.
+
+When Colonel Lester returned to his regiment his mind was fully made up
+to surrender. A consultation was held with the officers of the regiment,
+and a vote taken on the question, which resulted in a majority being in
+favor of fighting and against surrender, but the matter was reopened and
+reargued by the colonel, and after some of the officers who opposed
+surrender had left the council and gone to their companies, another vote
+was taken, which resulted in favor of the surrender. The officers who,
+on this final vote, were against surrender, were Lieutenant Colonel
+Griggs and Captains Andrews and Hoyt. Those who voted in favor of
+surrender were Captains Webster, Gurnee, Preston, Clay and Mills of the
+Third Regiment, and Captain Hewitt of the Kentucky Battery.
+
+On December 1st an order was made, dismissing from the service the five
+captains of the Third who voted to surrender the regiment, which order
+was subsequently revoked as to Captain Webster.
+
+The conduct of Colonel Lester on this occasion has been accounted for on
+various theories. Before this he had been immensely popular with his
+regiment, and also at home in Minnesota, and his prospects were most
+brilliant. It is hard to believe that he was actuated by cowardice, and
+harder to conceive him guilty of disloyalty to his country. An
+explanation of his actions which obtained circulation in Minnesota was,
+that he had fallen in love with a rebel woman, who exercised such
+influence and control over him as to completely hypnotize his will. I
+have always been a convert to that theory, knowing the man as well as I
+did, and have settled the question as the French would, by saying
+"Cherchez la femme."
+
+General Buell characterized the surrender in general orders as one of
+the most disgraceful examples in the history of war.
+
+What a magnificent opportunity was presented to some officer of that
+regiment to immortalize himself by shooting the colonel through the head
+while he was ignominously dallying with the question of surrender, and
+calling upon the men to follow him against the enemy. There can be very
+little doubt that such a movement would have resulted in victory, as the
+men were in splendid condition physically, thoroughly well armed, and
+dying to wipe out the disgrace their colonel had inflicted upon them. Of
+course, the man who should inaugurate such a movement must win, or die
+in the attempt, but in America death with honor is infinitely preferable
+to life with a suspicion of cowardice, as all who participated in this
+surrender were well aware.
+
+The officers were all held as prisoners of war, and the men paroled on
+condition of not fighting against the Confederacy during the continuance
+of the war. The Indian war of 1862 broke out in Minnesota very shortly
+after the surrender, and the men of the Third were brought to the state
+for service against the Indians. They participated in the campaign of
+1862 and following expeditions. For a full and detailed account of the
+surrender of the Third, consult the history of that regiment in the
+volume issued by the state, called "Minnesota in the Civil and Indian
+Wars."
+
+It would please the historian to omit this subject entirely, did truth
+permit; but he finds ample solace in the fact that this is the only blot
+to be found in the long record of brilliant and glorious deeds that
+compose the military history of Minnesota.
+
+A general summary will show that Minnesota did her whole duty in the
+Civil War, and that her extreme youth was in no way a drawback to her
+performance. She furnished to the war, in all her military
+organizations, a grand total of 22,970 men. Of this number, 607 were
+killed in battle and 1,647 died of disease, making a contribution of
+2,254 lives to the cause of the Union on the part of Minnesota.
+
+Our state was honored by the promotion from her various organizations of
+the following officers:
+
+    C. P. Adams, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    C. C. Andrews, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    John T. Averill, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    James H. Baker, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Theodore E. Barret, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Judson W. Bishop, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William Colville, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Napoleon J. T. Dana, Major General.
+    Alonzo J. Edgerton, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Willis A. Gorman, Brigadier General.
+    Lucius F. Hubbard, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Samuel P. Jennison, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William G. Le Duc, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William R. Marshall, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Robert B. McLaren, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Stephen Miller, Brigadier General.
+    John B. Sanborn, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    Henry H. Sibley, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    Minor T. Thomas, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    John E. Tourtellotte, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Horatio P. Van Cleve, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    George N. Morgan, Brevet Brigadier General.
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIAN WAR OF 1862 AND FOLLOWING YEARS.
+
+
+In 1862 there were in the State of Minnesota four principal bands of
+Sioux Indians--the M'day-wa-kon-tons, Wak-pa-koo-tas, Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. The first two bands were known as the Lower Sioux and the
+last two bands as the Upper Sioux. These designations arose from the
+fact that, in the sale of their lands to the United States by the
+treaties of 1851, the lands of the Lower Sioux were situate in the
+southern part of the state, and those of the upper bands in the more
+northern part, and when a reservation was set apart for their future
+occupation on the upper waters of the Minnesota river they were
+similarly located thereon. Their reservation consisted of a strip of
+land, ten miles wide, on each side of the Minnesota river, beginning at
+a point a few miles below Fort Ridgely and extending to the headwaters
+of the river. The reservation of the lower bands extended up to the
+Yellow Medicine river; that of the upper bands included all above the
+last named river. An agent was appointed to administer the affairs of
+these Indians, whose agencies were established at Redwood for the lower
+and at Yellow Medicine for the upper bands. At these agencies the
+annuities were paid to the Indians, and so continued from the making of
+the treaties to the year 1862. These bands were wild, very little
+progress having been made in their civilization, the very nature of the
+situation preventing very much advance in that line. The whole country
+to the north and west of their reservation was an open, wild region,
+extending to the Rocky Mountains, inhabited only by the buffalo, which
+animals ranged in vast herds from British Columbia to Texas. The buffalo
+was the chief subsistence of the Indians, who naturally frequented their
+ranges, and only came to the agencies when expecting their payments.
+When they did come, and the money and goods were not ready for them,
+which was frequently the case, they suffered great inconvenience, and
+were forced to incur debt with the white traders for their subsistence,
+all of which tended to create bad feelings between them and the whites.
+The Indian saw that he had yielded a splendid domain to the whites, and
+that they were rapidly occupying it. They could not help seeing that the
+whites were pushing them gradually--I may say rapidly--out of their
+ancestral possessions and towards the West, which knowledge naturally
+created a hostile feeling towards them. The Sioux were a brave people,
+and the young fighting men were always making comparisons between
+themselves and the whites, and bantering each other as to whether they
+were or were not afraid of them. I made a study of these people for
+several years, having had them in charge as their agent, and I think
+understood their feelings and standing towards the whites as well as any
+one. Much has been said and written about the immediate cause of the
+outbreak of 1862, but I do not believe that anything can be assigned out
+of the general course of events that will account for the trouble.
+Delay, as usual, had occurred in the arrival of the money for the
+payment, which was due in July, 1862. The war was in full force with the
+South, and the Indians saw that Minnesota was sending thousands of men
+out of the state to fight the battles of the Union. Major Thomas
+Galbraith was their agent in the summer of 1862, and being desirous of
+contributing to the volunteer forces of the government, he raised a
+company of half-breeds on the reservation and started with them for Fort
+Snelling, the general rendezvous, to have them mustered into service. It
+was very natural that the Indians who were seeking for trouble should
+look upon this movement as a sign of weakness on the part of the
+government, and reason that, if the United States could not conquer its
+enemy without their assistance, it must be in serious difficulties.
+Various things of similar character contributed to create a feeling
+among the Indians that it was a good time to recover their country,
+redress all their grievances, and reestablish themselves as lords of the
+land. They had ambitious leaders. Little Crow was the principal
+instigator of war on the whites. He was a man of greater parts than any
+Indian in the tribe. I had used him on many trying occasions, as the
+captain of my bodyguard, and my ambassador to negotiate with other
+tribes, and always found him equal to any emergency; but on this
+occasion his ambition ran away with his judgment, and led him to fatal
+results. With all these influences at work, it took but a spark to fire
+the magazine, and that spark was struck on the seventeenth day of
+August, 1862.
+
+A small party of Indians were at Acton, on August 17th, and got into a
+petty controversy about some eggs with a settler, which created a
+difference of opinion among them as to what they should do, some
+advocating one course and some another. The controversy led to one
+Indian saying that the other was afraid of the white man, to resent
+which, and to prove his bravery, he killed the settler, and the whole
+family was massacred. When these Indians reached the agency, and related
+their bloody work, those who wanted trouble seized upon the opportunity,
+and insisted that the only way out of the difficulty was to kill all the
+whites, and on the morning of the 18th of August the bloody work began.
+
+It is proper to say here that some of the Indians who were connected
+with the missionaries, conspicuously An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John
+Otherday, and Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president of the Hazelwood
+Republic, of which I have spoken, having learned of the intention of the
+Indians, informed the missionaries on the night of the 17th, who, to
+the number of about sixty, fled eastward to Hutchinson, in McLeod
+county, and escaped. The next morning, being the 18th of August, the
+Indians commenced the massacre of the whites, and made clean work of all
+at the agencies. They then separated into small squads of from five to
+ten and spread over the country to the south, east and southeast,
+attacking the settlers in detail at their homes and continued this work
+during all of the 18th and part of the 19th of August, until they had
+murdered in cold blood quite one thousand people--men, women and
+children. The way the work was conducted, was as follows: The party of
+Indians would call at the house, and, being well known, would cause no
+alarm. They would await a good opportunity, and shoot the man of the
+family; then butcher the women and children, and, after carrying off
+everything that they thought valuable to them, they would burn the house
+and proceed to the next homestead and repeat the performance.
+Occasionally some one would escape, and spread the news of the massacre
+to the neighbors, and all who could would escape to some place of
+refuge.
+
+The news of the outbreak reached Fort Ridgely (which was situated about
+thirteen miles down the Minnesota river) from the agencies about eight
+o'clock on the morning of the 18th, by means of the arrival of a team
+from the Lower Agency, bringing a badly wounded man; but no details
+could be obtained. The fort was in command of Capt. John Marsh, of
+Company "B," Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He had eighty-five men
+in his company, from which he selected forty-five, leaving the balance,
+under Lieut. T. F. Gere, to defend the fort. This little squad, under
+command of Captain Marsh, with a full supply of ammunition, provisions,
+blankets, etc., accompanied by a six-mule team, left the fort at
+9:00 a. m., on the 18th of August, for the Lower Sioux Agency, which
+was on the west side of the Minnesota river, the fort being on the east,
+which necessitated the crossing of the river by a ferry near the agency.
+On the march up the command passed nine or ten dead bodies, all bearing
+evidence of having been murdered by the Indians, one of which was Dr.
+Humphrey, surgeon at the agency. On reaching the vicinity of the ferry
+no Indians were in sight, except one on the opposite side of the river,
+who tried to induce them to cross over. A dense chaparral bordered the
+river on the agency side, and tall grass covered the bottom on the side
+where the troops were. Suspicion of the presence of Indians was aroused
+by the disturbed condition of the water of the river, which was muddy
+and contained floating grass. Then a group of ponies was seen. At this
+point, and without any notice whatever, Indians in great numbers sprang
+up on all sides of the troops, and opened upon them a deadly fire. About
+half of the men were killed instantly. Finding themselves surrounded, it
+became with the survivors a question of _sauve qui peut_. Several
+desperate hand-to-hand encounters occurred, with varying results, when
+the remnant of the command made a point down the river, about two miles
+from the ferry, Captain Marsh being of the number. Here they attempted
+to cross, but the captain was drowned in the effort. Only from thirteen
+to fifteen of the command reached the fort alive. Among those killed was
+Peter Quinn, the United States interpreter, an Irishman, who had been in
+the Indian territory for many years. He had married into the Chippewa
+tribe. He was a man much esteemed by the army and all old settlers.
+
+Much criticism has been indulged in as to whether Captain Marsh, when he
+became convinced of the general outbreak, should not have retreated to
+the fort. Of course, forty-five men could do nothing against five or six
+hundred warriors, who were known to be at or about the agency. The Duke
+of Wellington, when asked as to what was the best test of a general,
+said, "To know when to retreat, and to dare to do it." Captain Marsh
+cannot be justly judged by any such criterion. He was not an experienced
+general. He was a young, brave, and enthusiastic soldier. He knew little
+of Indians. The country knows that he thought he was doing his duty in
+advancing. I am confident, whether this judgment is intelligent or not,
+posterity will hold in warmer esteem the memory of Captain Marsh and his
+gallant little band than if he had adopted the more prudent course of
+retracing his steps. Gen. George Custer was led into an ambush of almost
+the exact character, which was prepared for him by many of the same
+Indians who attacked Marsh, and he lost five companies of the Seventh
+United States Cavalry, one of the best fighting regiments in the
+service, not a man escaping.
+
+Immediately previous to the outbreak Lieut. Timothy J. Sheehan, of
+Company "C," Fifth Minnesota, had been sent, with about fifty men of his
+company, to the Yellow Medicine Agency, on account of some disorder
+prevailing among the Indians; but having performed his duty, he had been
+ordered to Fort Ripley, and had on the 17th left Fort Ridgley, and on
+the 18th had reached a point near Glencoe, distant from Fort Ridgley
+about forty miles. As soon as Captain Marsh became aware of the
+outbreak, he sent the following dispatch to Lieutenant Sheehan, which
+reached him on the evening of the 18th:
+
+    "_Lieutenant Sheehan:_
+
+    "It is absolutely necessary that you should return with your
+    command immediately to this post. The Indians are raising hell
+    at the Lower Agency. Return as soon as possible."
+
+Lieutenant Sheehan was then a young Irishman, of about the age of
+twenty-five years, with immense physical vigor, and corresponding
+enthusiasm. He immediately broke camp and returned to the fort, arriving
+there on the 19th of August, having made a forced march of forty-two
+miles in nine and one-half hours. He did not arrive a moment too soon.
+Being the ranking officer after the death of Captain Marsh, he took
+command of the post. The garrison then consisted of the remnant of
+Marsh's Company "B," fifty-one men, Sheehan's Company "C," fifty men,
+and the Renville Rangers, fifty men. This latter company was the one
+raised by Major Galbraith, the Sioux agent at the agencies, and was
+composed principally of half-breeds. It was commanded by Capt. James
+Gorman. On reaching St. Peter, on its way down to Snelling to be
+mustered into the service of the United States, it learned of the
+outbreak, and at once returned to Ridgley, having appropriated the arms
+of a militia company at St. Peter. There was also at Ridgley, Sergeant
+Jones of the regular artillery, who had been left there in charge of the
+military stores. He was quite an expert gunner, and there were several
+field-pieces at the fort. Besides this garrison, a large number of
+people from the surrounding country had sought safety at the fort, and
+there was also a party of gentlemen, who had brought up the annuity
+money to pay the Indians, who, learning of the troubles, had stopped
+with the money, amounting to some $70,000 in specie. I will here leave
+the fort for the present, and turn to other points that became prominent
+in the approaching war.
+
+On the night of the 18th of August, the day of the outbreak, the news
+reached St. Peter, and, as I have before stated, induced the Renville
+Rangers to retrace their steps. Great excitement prevailed, as no one
+could tell at what moment the Indians might dash into the town, and
+massacre the inhabitants.
+
+The people at New Ulm, which was situated about sixteen miles below Fort
+Ridgely, on the Minnesota river, dispatched a courier to St. Peter as
+soon as they became aware of the trouble. He arrived at 4 o'clock a. m.
+on the 19th, and came immediately to my house, which was about one mile
+below the town, and informed me that the Indians were killing people all
+over the country. Having lived among the Indians for several years, and
+at one time had charge of them as their agent, I thoroughly understood
+the danger of the situation, and knowing that, whether the story was
+true or false, the frontier was no place at such a time for women and
+children, I told him to wake up the people at St. Peter, and that I
+would be there quickly. I immediately placed my family in a wagon, and
+told them to flee down the river, and taking all the guns, powder and
+lead I could find in my house, I arrived at St. Peter about 6 a. m. The
+men of the town were soon assembled at the court-house, and in a very
+short time a company was formed of 116 men, of which I was chosen as
+captain, William B. Dodd as first, and Wolf H. Meyer as second
+lieutenant. Before noon two men, Henry A. Swift, afterwards governor of
+the state, and William C. Hayden, were dispatched to the front in a
+buggy to scout, and locate the enemy if he was near, and about noon
+sixteen mounted men under L. M. Boardman, sheriff of the county, were
+started on a similar errand. Both these squads kept moving until they
+reached New Ulm, at about 5 p. m.
+
+Great activity was displayed in equipping the main body of the company
+for service. All the guns of the place were seized, and put into the
+hands of the men. There not being any large game in this part of the
+country, rifles were scarce, but shot-guns were abundant. All the
+blacksmith shops and gun shops were set at work moulding bullets, and we
+soon had a gun in every man's hand, and he was supplied with a powder
+horn or a whiskey flask full of powder, a box of caps and a pocket-full
+of bullets. We impressed all the wagons we needed for transportation,
+and all the blankets and provisions that were necessary for subsistence
+and comfort. While these preparations were going on a large squad from
+Le Sueur, ten miles further down the river, under the command of Captain
+Tousley, sheriff of Le Sueur county, joined us. Early in the day a squad
+from Swan lake, under an old settler named Samuel Coffin, had gone to
+New Ulm to see what was the matter.
+
+Our advance guard reached New Ulm just in time to participate in its
+defense against an attack of about one hundred Indians who had been
+murdering the settlers on the west side of the river, between the town
+and Fort Ridgely. The inhabitants of New Ulm were almost exclusively
+German, there being only a few English-speaking citizens among them, and
+they were not familiar with the character of the Indians, but the
+instinct of self-preservation had impelled them to fortify the town with
+barricades to keep the enemy out. The town was built in the usual way of
+western towns, the principal settlement being along the main street, and
+the largest and best houses occupying a space of about three blocks.
+Some of these houses were of brick and stone, so with a strong barricade
+around them, the town was quite defensible. Several of the people were
+killed in this first attack, but the Indians, knowing of the coming
+reinforcements, withdrew, after firing five or six buildings.
+
+The main body of my company, together with the squad from Le Sueur,
+reached the ferry about two miles below the settled part of New Ulm,
+about 8 p. m., having made thirty-two miles in seven hours, in a
+drenching rainstorm. The blazing houses in the distance gave a very
+threatening aspect to the situation, but we crossed the ferry
+successfully, and made the town without accident. The next day we were
+reinforced by a full company from Mankato under Capt. William Bierbauer.
+Several companies were formed from the citizens of the town. A full
+company from South Bend arrived on the 20th or 21st, and various other
+squads, greater or less in numbers, came in during the week, before
+Saturday, the 23d, swelling our forces to about three hundred men, but
+nearly all very poorly armed. We improved the barricades and sent out
+daily scouting parties who succeeded in bringing in many people who were
+in hiding in swamps, and who would have undoubtedly been lost without
+this succor. It soon became apparent that, to maintain any discipline or
+order in the town, some one man must be placed in command of the entire
+force. The officers of the various companies assembled to choose a
+commander-in-chief, and the selection fell to me. A provost guard was at
+once established, order inaugurated, and we awaited events.
+
+I have been thus particular in my description of the movements at this
+point because it gives an idea of the defenseless condition in which the
+outbreak found the people of the country, and also because it shows the
+intense energy with which the settlers met the emergency, at its very
+inception, from which I will deduce the conclusion at the proper time
+that this prompt initial action saved the state from a calamity, the
+magnitude of which is unrecorded in the history of Indian wars.
+
+Having described the defensive condition of Fort Ridgely and New Ulm,
+the two extreme frontier posts, the former being on the Indian
+reservation and the latter only a few miles southeast of it, I will take
+up the subject at the capital of the state. The news reached Governor
+Ramsey, at St. Paul, on the 19th of August, the second day of the
+outbreak. He at once hastened to Mendota, at the mouth of the Minnesota
+river, and requested ex-Governor Sibley to accept the command of such
+forces as could be put in the field, to check the advance of and punish
+the Indians. Governor Sibley had a large experience with the Sioux,
+perhaps more than any man in the state, having traded and lived with
+them since 1834, and besides that, was a distinguished citizen of the
+state, having been its first governor. He accepted the position, with
+the rank of colonel in the state militia. The Sixth Regiment was being
+recruited at Fort Snelling for the Civil War, and, on the 20th of
+August, Colonel Sibley started up the valley of the Minnesota with four
+companies of that regiment, and arrived at St. Peter on Friday, the 22d.
+Capt. A. D. Nelson of the regular army had been appointed colonel of the
+Sixth, and William Crooks had been appointed lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh. Colonel Crooks conveyed the orders of the governor to Colonel
+Nelson, overtaking him at Bloomington Ferry. On receipt of his orders,
+finding he was to report to Colonel Sibley, he made the point of
+military etiquette, that an officer of the regular army could not report
+to an officer of militia of the same rank, and turning over his command
+to Colonel Crooks, he returned to St. Paul and handed in his
+resignation. It was accepted, and Colonel Crooks was appointed colonel
+of the Sixth. Not knowing much about military etiquette, I will not
+venture an opinion on the action of Colonel Nelson in this instance, but
+it always seemed to me that, in the face of the enemy, and especially
+considering the high standing of Colonel Sibley, and the intimate
+friendship that existed between the two men, it would have been better
+to have waived this point, and unitedly fought the enemy, settling all
+such matters afterwards.
+
+On Sunday, the 24th, Colonel Sibley's force at St. Peter, was augmented
+by the arrival of about two hundred mounted men, under the command of
+William J. Cullen, formerly superintendent of Indian affairs, called the
+Cullen Guard. On the same day six more companies of the Sixth arrived,
+making up the full regiment, and also about one hundred more mounted
+men, and several squads of volunteer militia. The mounted men were
+placed under the command of Col. Samuel McPhail. By these acquisitions
+Colonel Sibley's command numbered about 1,400 men. Although the
+numerical strength was considerable, the command was practically
+useless. The ammunition did not fit the guns of the Sixth Regiment, and
+had to be all made over. The horses of the mounted men, were raw and
+undisciplined, and the men themselves were inexperienced and practically
+unarmed. It was the best the country afforded, but was probably about as
+poorly equipped an army as ever entered the field--and to face what I
+regard as the best warriors to be found on the North American continent;
+but fortunately the officers and men were all that could be desired. The
+leaders of this army were the best of men, and being seconded by
+intelligent and enthusiastic subordinates, they soon overcame their
+physical difficulties; but they knew nothing of the strength, position
+or previous movements of the enemy, no news having reached them from
+either Fort Ridgely or New Ulm. Any mistake made by this force,
+resulting in defeat, would have been fatal. No such mistake was made.
+Having now shown the principal forces in the field, we will turn to the
+movements of the enemy. The Indians felt that it would be necessary to
+carry Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, before they extended their depredations
+further down the valley of the Minnesota, and concentrated their forces
+for an attack on the fort. Ridgely was in no sense a fort. It was simply
+a collection of buildings, principally frame structures, facing in
+towards the parade ground. On one side was a long stone barrack and a
+stone commissary building, which was the only defensible part of it.
+
+
+
+
+THE ATTACK ON FORT RIDGELY.
+
+
+On the 20th of August, at about 3 p. m., an attack was made upon the
+fort by a large body of Indians. The first intimation the garrison had
+of the assault was a volley poured through one of the openings between
+the buildings. Considerable confusion ensued, but order was soon
+restored. Sergeant Jones attempted to use his cannon, but to his utter
+dismay, he found them disabled. This was the work of some of the
+half-breeds belonging to the Renville Rangers, who had deserted to the
+enemy. They had been spiked by ramming old rags into them. The sergeant
+soon rectified this difficulty, and brought his pieces into action. The
+attack lasted three hours, when it ceased, with a loss to the garrison
+of three killed and eight wounded.
+
+On Thursday, the 21st, two further attacks were made on the fort, one in
+the morning and one in the afternoon, but with a reduced force, less
+earnestness, and little damage. On Friday, the 22d, the savages seemed
+determined to carry the fort. About eight hundred or more, under the
+leadership of Little Crow, came down from the agency. Concentrating
+themselves in the ravines which lay on several sides of the fort, they
+made a feint, by sending about twenty warriors out on the prairie for
+the purpose of drawing out the garrison from the fort, and cutting them
+off. Such a movement, if successful, would have been fatal to the
+defenders; but fortunately there were men among them of much experience
+in Indian warfare, who saw through the scheme, and prevented the success
+of the maneuver. Then followed a shower of bullets on the fort from all
+directions. The attack was continued for nearly five hours. It was
+bitterly fought, and courageously and intelligently resisted. Sergeant
+Jones and other artillerists handled the guns with effective skill,
+exploding shells in the outlying buildings, and burning them over the
+heads of the Indians, while the enemy endeavored to burn the wooden
+buildings composing the fort, by shooting fire arrows on their roofs.
+One of the most exposed and dangerous duties to be performed was
+covering the wooden roofs with earth to prevent fire. One white man was
+killed and seven wounded in this engagement. Lieutenant Sheehan, who
+commanded the post through all these trying occurrences, Lieutenant
+Gorman, of the Renville Rangers, Lieutenant Whipple, and Sergeants Jones
+and McGrew, all did their duty in a manner becoming veterans, and the
+men seconded their efforts handsomely. The Indians, after this effort,
+being convinced that they could not take the fort, and anticipating the
+coming of reinforcements, withdrew, and, concentrating all their
+available forces, descended upon New Ulm the next morning, August 23d,
+for a final struggle. In the official history (written for the state)
+of this battle at Fort Ridgely, I place the force of the Indians as 450,
+but have learned since from reliable sources that it was as above
+stated.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF NEW ULM.
+
+
+We left New Ulm, after the arrival of the various companies which I have
+named on the 21st of August, strengthening its barricades and awaiting
+events. I had placed a good glass on the top of one of the stone
+buildings within the barricades for the purpose of observation, and
+always kept a sentinel there to report any movement he should discover
+in any direction throughout the surrounding country. We had heard
+distinctly the cannonading at the fort for the past two days, but knew
+nothing of the result of the fight at that point. I was perfectly
+familiar, as were many of my command, with the country between New Ulm
+and the fort, on both sides of the river, knowing the house of every
+settler on the roads.
+
+Saturday, the 23d of August, opened bright and beautiful, and early in
+the morning we saw column after column of smoke rise in the direction of
+the fort, each smoke being nearer than the last. We knew to a certainty
+that the Indians were approaching in force, burning every building and
+grain or hay stack they passed. The settlers had either all been killed,
+or had taken refuge at the fort or New Ulm, so we had no anxiety about
+them. About 9:30 a. m. the enemy appeared in great force, on both sides
+of the river. Those on the east side, when they reached the neighborhood
+of the ferry, burned some stacks as a signal of their arrival, which was
+responded to by a similar fire in the edge of the timber, about two
+miles and a half from the town on the west side. Between this timber
+and the town, was a beautiful open prairie, with considerable descent
+towards the town. Immediately on seeing the smoke from the ferry the
+enemy advanced rapidly, some six hundred strong, many mounted and the
+rest on foot. I had determined to meet them on the open prairie, and had
+formed my men by companies in a long line of battle, with intervals
+between them, on the first level plateau on the west side of the town,
+thus covering its whole west front. There were not over twenty or thirty
+rifles in the whole command, and a man with a shotgun, knowing his
+antagonist carries a rifle, has very little confidence in his fighting
+ability. Down came the Indians in the bright sunlight, galloping,
+running, yelling, and gesticulating in the most fiendish manner. If we
+had had good rifles they never would have got near enough to do much
+harm, but as it was we could not check them before their fire began to
+tell on our line. They deployed to the right and left until they covered
+our entire front, and then charged. My men, appreciating the inferiority
+of their armament, after seeing several of their comrades fall, and
+having fired a few ineffectual volleys, fell back on the town, passing
+some buildings without taking possession of them, which mistake was
+instantly taken advantage of by the Indians, who at once occupied them,
+but they did not follow us into the town proper, no doubt thinking our
+retreat was a feint to draw them among the buildings, and thus gain an
+advantage. I think if they had boldly charged into the town and set it
+on fire, they would have won the fight; but, instead, they surrounded it
+on all sides, the main body taking possession of the lower end of the
+main street below the barricades, from which direction a strong wind was
+blowing towards the center of the town. From this point they began
+firing the houses on both sides of the street. We soon rallied the men,
+and kept the enemy well in the outskirts of the town, and the fighting
+became general on all sides. Just about this time, my first lieutenant,
+William B. Dodd, galloped down the main street, and as he passed a cross
+street the Indians put three or four bullets through him. He died during
+the afternoon, after having been removed several times from house to
+house as the enemy crowded in upon us.
+
+On the second plateau, there was an old Don Quixote windmill, with an
+immense tower and sail-arms about seventy-five feet long, which occupied
+a commanding position, and had been taken possession of by a company of
+about thirty men, who called themselves the Le Sueur Tigers, most of
+whom had rifles. They barricaded themselves with sacks of flour and
+wheat, loopholed the building and kept the savages at a respectful
+distance from the west side of the town. A rifle ball will bury itself
+in a sack of flour or wheat, but will not penetrate it. During the
+battle the men dug out several of them, and brought them to me because
+they were the regulation Minie bullet, and there had been rumors that
+the Confederates from Missouri had stirred up the revolt and supplied
+the Indians with guns and ammunition. I confess I was astonished when I
+saw the bullets, as I knew the Indians had no such arms, but I soon
+decided that they were using against us the guns and ammunition they had
+taken from the dead soldiers of Captain Marsh's company. I do not
+believe the Confederates had any hand in the revolt of these Indians.
+
+We held several other outposts, being brick buildings outside the
+barricades, which we loopholed, and found very effective in holding the
+Indians aloof. The battle raged generally all around the town, every
+man doing his best in his own way. It was a very interesting fight on
+account of the stake we were contending for. We had in the place about
+twelve or fifteen hundred women and children, the lives of all of whom,
+and of ourselves, depended upon victory perching on our banners; for in
+a fight like this, no quarter is ever asked or given. The desperation
+with which the conflict was conducted can be judged from the fact that I
+lost sixty men in the first hour and a half, ten killed and fifty
+wounded, out of less than 250, as my force had been depleted by the
+number of about seventy-five by Lieutenant Huey taking that number to
+guard the approach to the ferry. Crossing to the other side of the river
+he was cut off, and forced to retreat toward St. Peter. It was simply a
+mistake of judgment to put the river between himself and the main force,
+but in his retreat he met Capt. E. St. Julian Cox, with reinforcements
+for New Ulm, joined them, and returned the next day. He was a brave and
+willing officer. The company I mentioned as having arrived from South
+Bend, having heard that the Winnebagoes had joined in the outbreak, left
+us before the final attack on Saturday, the 23d of August, claiming that
+their presence at home was necessary to protect their families, and on
+the morning of the 23d, when the enemy was in sight, a wagon load of
+others left us and went down the river. I doubt if we could have
+mustered over two hundred guns at any time during the fight.
+
+The enemy, seeing his advantage in firing the buildings in the lower
+part of the main street, and thus gradually nearing our barricades with
+the intention of burning us out, kept up his work as continuously as he
+could with the interruptions we made for him by occasionally driving him
+out; but his approach was constant, and about 2 o'clock a roaring
+conflagration was raging on both sides of the street, and the prospect
+looked discouraging. At this juncture Asa White, an old frontiersman,
+connected with the Winnebagoes, whom I had known for a long time, and
+whose judgment and experience I appreciated and valued, came to me and
+said: "Judge, if this goes on, the Indians will bag us in about two
+hours." I said: "It looks that way; what remedy have you to suggest."
+His answer was, "We must make for the cottonwood timber." Two miles and
+a half lay between us and the timber referred to, which, of course,
+rendered his suggestion utterly impracticable with two thousand
+noncombatants to move, and I said: "White, they would slaughter us like
+sheep should we undertake such a movement. Our strongest hold is in this
+town, and if you will get together fifty volunteers, I will drive the
+Indians out of the lower town and the greatest danger will be passed."
+He saw at once the propriety of my proposition, and in a short time we
+had a squad ready, and sallied out, cheering and yelling in a manner
+that would have done credit to the wildest Comanches. We knew the
+Indians were congregated in force down the street, and expected to find
+them in a sunken road, about three blocks from where we started, but
+they had worked their way up much nearer to us, and were in a deep swale
+about a block and a half from our barricades. There was a large number
+of them, estimated at about seventy-five to one hundred, some on ponies
+and some on foot. When the conformation of the ground disclosed their
+whereabouts, we were within one hundred feet of them. They opened a
+rapid fire on us, which we returned, while keeping up our rushing
+advance. When we were within fifty feet of them, they turned and fled
+down the street. We followed them for at least half a mile, firing as
+well as we could. This took us beyond the burning houses, and finding a
+large collection of saw logs, I called a halt and we took cover among
+them, lying flat on the ground. The Indians stopped when we ceased to
+chase them, and took cover behind anything that afforded protection, and
+kept up an incessant fire upon us whenever a head or hand showed itself
+above the logs. We held them, however, in this position, and prevented
+their return toward the town by way of the street. I at once sent a
+party back with instructions to burn every building, fence, stack or
+other object that would afford cover between us and the barricades. This
+order was strictly carried out, and by six or seven o'clock there was
+not a structure standing outside of the barricades in that part of the
+town. We then abandoned our saw logs and returned to the town, and the
+day was won, the Indians not daring to charge us over an open country. I
+lost four men killed in this exploit, one of whom was especially to be
+regretted. I speak of Newell Houghton. In ordinary warfare, all men
+stand for the same value as a general thing; but in an Indian fight, a
+man of cool head, an exceptionally fine shot, and armed with a reliable
+rifle, is a loss doubly to be regretted. Houghton was famous as being
+the best shot and deer hunter in all the Northwest, and had with him his
+choice rifle. He had built a small steamboat with the proceeds of his
+gun, and we all held him in high respect as a fine type of frontiersman.
+We had hardly got back to the town before a man brought me a rifle which
+he had found on the ground near a clump of brush, and handing it to me
+said, "Some Indian lost a good gun in that run." It happened that White
+was with me, and saw the gun. He recognized it in an instant, and said:
+"Newell Houghton is dead. He never let that gun out of his hands while
+he could hold it." We looked where the gun was picked up, and found
+Houghton dead in the brush. He had been scalped by some Indian who had
+seen him fall, and had sneaked back and scalped him.
+
+That night we dug a system of rifle pits all along the barricades on the
+outside, and manned them with three or four men each, but the firing was
+desultory through the night, and nothing much was accomplished on either
+side.
+
+The next morning (Sunday) opened bright and beautiful, but scarcely an
+Indian was to be seen. They had given up the contest, and were rapidly
+retreating northward up the river. We got an occasional shot at one, but
+without effect except to hasten the retreat. And so ended the second and
+decisive battle of New Ulm.
+
+In this fight between ourselves and the enemy we burned one hundred and
+ninety buildings, many of them substantial and valuable structures. The
+whites lost some fourteen killed and fifty or sixty wounded. The loss of
+the enemy is uncertain, but after the fight we found ten dead Indians in
+burned houses, and in chaparral where they escaped the notice of their
+friends. As to their wounded we knew nothing, but judging from the
+length and character of the engagement, and the number of their dead
+found, their casualties must have equalled, if not exceeded ours.
+
+About noon of Sunday, the 24th, Capt. E. St. Julien Cox arrived with a
+company from St. Peter, which had been sent by Colonel Sibley to
+reinforce us. Lieutenant Huey, who had been cut off at the ferry on the
+previous day, accompanied him with a portion of his command. They were
+welcome visitors.
+
+There were in the town at the time of the attack on the 23d, as near as
+can be learned, from 1,200 to 1,500 noncombatants, consisting of women
+and children, refugees and unarmed citizens, all of whose lives
+depended upon our success. It is difficult to conceive a much more
+exciting stake to play for, and the men seemed fully to appreciate it,
+and made no mistakes.
+
+On the 25th we found that provisions and ammunition were becoming
+scarce, and pestilence being feared from stench and exposure, we decided
+to evacuate the town and try to reach Mankato. This destination was
+chosen to avoid the Minnesota river, the crossing of which we deemed
+impracticable. The only obstacle between us and Mankato was the Big
+Cottonwood river, which was fordable. We made up a train of 153 wagons,
+which had largely composed our barricades, loaded them with women and
+children, and about eighty wounded men, and started. A more
+heart-rending procession was never witnessed in America. Here was the
+population of one of the most flourishing towns in the state abandoning
+their homes and property, starting on a journey of thirty odd miles,
+through a hostile country, with a possibility of being massacred on the
+way, and no hope or prospect but the hospitality of strangers and
+ultimate beggary. The disposition of the guard was confided to Captain
+Cox. The march was successful; no Indians were encountered. We reached
+Crisp's farm, which was about half way between New Ulm and Mankato,
+about evening. I pushed the main column on, fearing danger from various
+sources, but camped at this point with about 150 men, intending to
+return to New Ulm, or hold this point as a defensive measure for the
+exposed settlements further down the river. On the morning of the 26th
+we broke camp, and I endeavored to make the command return to New Ulm or
+remain where they were--my object, of course, being to keep an armed
+force between the enemy and the settlements. The men had not heard a
+word from their families for more than a week, and declined to return or
+remain. I did not blame them. They had demonstrated their willingness to
+fight when necessary, but held the protection of their families as
+paramount to mere military possibilities. I would not do justice to
+history did I not record, that, when I called for volunteers to return,
+Captain Cox and his whole squad stepped to the front, ready to go where
+I commanded. Although I had not then heard of Captain Marsh's disaster,
+I declined to allow so small a command as that of Captain Cox to attempt
+the reoccupation of New Ulm. My staff stood by me in this effort, and a
+gentleman from Le Sueur county, Mr. Freeman Talbott, made an impressive
+speech to the men, to induce them to return. The train arrived safely at
+Mankato on the 25th, and the balance of the command on the following
+day, whence the men generally sought their homes.
+
+I immediately, on arriving at Mankato, went to St. Peter, to inform
+Colonel Sibley of the condition of things in the Indian country. I found
+him, on the night of August 26th, in camp about six miles out of St.
+Peter, and put him in possession of everything that had happened to the
+westward. His mounted men arrived at Fort Ridgely on the 27th of August,
+and were the first relief that reached that fort after its long siege.
+Sibley reached the fort on the 28th of August. Intrenchments were thrown
+up about the fort, cannon properly placed, and a strong guard
+maintained. All but ninety men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain
+Anderson, returned home as soon as they found the fort was safe. The
+garrison was soon increased by the arrival of forty-seven men under
+Captain Sterritt, and on the 1st of September, Lieut. Col. William R.
+Marshall of the Seventh Regiment arrived, with a portion of his
+command. This force could not make a forward movement on account of a
+lack of ammunition and provisions, which were long delayed.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF BIRCH COULIE.
+
+
+On the 31st of August a detail of Captain Grant's company of infantry,
+seventy men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain Anderson, and some
+citizens and other soldiers, in all about 150 men, under command of
+Major Joseph R. Brown, with seventeen teams and teamsters, were sent
+from Fort Ridgely to the Lower Agency, to feel the enemy, bury the dead,
+and perform any other service that might arise. They went as far as
+Little Crow's village, but not finding any signs of Indians, they
+returned; and on the 1st of September they reached Birch Coulie, and
+encamped at the head of it. Birch Coulie is a ravine extending from the
+upper plateau to the river bottom, nearly opposite the ferry where
+Captain Marsh's company was ambushed.
+
+The Indians, after their defeat at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, had
+concentrated at the Yellow Medicine river, and decided to make one more
+desperate effort to carry their point of driving the whites out of the
+country. Their plan of operation was, to come down the Minnesota valley
+in force, stealthily, passing Sibley's command at Ridgely, and attacking
+St. Peter and Mankato simultaneously. They congregated all their forces
+for this attempt, and started down the river. When they reached the foot
+of Birch Coulie they saw the last of Major Brown's command going up the
+coulie. They decided to wait and see where they encamped, and attack
+them early in the morning. The whites went to the upper end of the
+Coulie, and camped on the open prairie, about 250 feet from the brush
+in the coulie. On the other side of their camp there was a roll in the
+prairie, about four or five feet high, which they probably did not
+notice. This gave the enemy cover on both sides of the camp, and they
+did not fail to see it and take advantage of it. The moment daylight
+came sufficiently to disclose the camp, the Indians opened fire from
+both sides. The whites had ninety horses hitched to a picket rope and
+their wagons formed in a circular corral, with their camp in the center.
+The Indians soon killed all the horses but one, and the men used their
+carcasses as breastworks, behind which to fight. The battle raged from
+the morning of September 2d to September 3d, when they were relieved by
+Colonel Sibley's whole command, and the Indians fled to the west.
+
+Major Joseph R. Brown was one of the most experienced Indian men in the
+country, and would never have made the mistake of locating his camp in a
+place that gave the enemy such an advantage. He did not arrive until the
+camp was selected, and should have removed it at once. I have always
+supposed that he was lulled into a sense of security by not having seen
+any signs of Indians in his march; but the result proved that, when in a
+hostile Indian country, no one is ever justified in omitting any
+precautions. The firing at Birch Coulie was heard at Fort Ridgely, and a
+relief was sent, under Colonel McPhail, which was checked by the Indians
+a few miles before it reached its destination. The colonel sent a
+courier to the fort for reinforcements, and it fell to Lieutenant
+Sheehan to carry the message. With his usual energy he succeeded in
+getting through, his horse dying under him on his arrival. Colonel
+Sibley at once started with his whole command, and when he reached the
+battle ground the Indians left the field.
+
+This was one of the most disastrous battles of the war. Twenty-three
+were killed outright or mortally wounded, and forty-five were severely
+wounded, while many others received slight injuries. The tents were, by
+the shower of bullets, made to resemble lace work, so completely were
+they perforated. One hundred and four bullet holes were counted in one
+tent. Besides the continual shower of bullets that was kept up by the
+Indians, the men suffered terribly from thirst, as it was impossible to
+get water into the camp. This fight forms a very important feature in
+the Indian war, as, notwithstanding its horrors, it probably prevented
+awful massacres at St. Peter and Mankato, the former being absolutely
+defenseless, and the latter only protected by a small squad of about
+eighty men, which formed my headquarters guard at South Bend, about four
+miles distant.
+
+
+
+
+OCCURRENCES IN MEEKER COUNTY AND VICINITY.
+
+
+While these events were passing, other portions of the state were being
+prepared for defense. In the region of Forest City in Meeker county, and
+also at Hutchinson and Glencoe, the excitement was intense. Capt. George
+C. Whitcomb obtained in St. Paul seventy-five stand of arms and some
+ammunition. He left a part of the arms at Hutchinson, and with the rest
+armed a company at Forest City, of fifty-three men, twenty-five of-whom
+were mounted. Capt. Richard Strout, of Company "B," Ninth Regiment, was
+ordered to Forest City, and went there with his company. Gen. John H.
+Stevens of Glencoe was commander of the state militia for the counties
+of McLeod, Carver, Sibley and Renville. As soon as he learned of the
+outbreak he erected a very substantial fortification of saw-logs at
+Glencoe, and that place was not disturbed by the savages. A company of
+volunteers was formed at Glencoe, under Capt. A. H. Rouse. Company "F"
+of the Ninth Regiment, under Lieut. O. P. Stearns, and Company "H" of
+the same regiment (Capt. W. R. Baxter), an independent company from
+Excelsior, and the Goodhue County Rangers (Capt. David L. Davis), all
+did duty at and about Glencoe during the continuance of the trouble.
+Captains Whitcomb and Strout, with their companies, made extensive
+reconnoisances into the surrounding counties, rescuing many refugees,
+and having several brisk and sharp encounters with the Indians, in which
+they lost several in killed and wounded. The presence of these troops in
+this region of country, and their active operations, prevented its
+depopulation, and saved the towns and much valuable property from
+destruction.
+
+
+
+
+PROTECTION OF THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER.
+
+
+On the 29th of August I received a commission from the governor of the
+state, instructing and directing me to take command of the Blue Earth
+country, extending from New Ulm to the north line of Iowa, embracing the
+then western and southwestern frontier of the state. My powers were
+general--to raise troops, commission officers, subsist upon the country,
+and generally to do what in my judgment was best for the protection of
+this frontier. Under these powers I located my headquarters at South
+Bend, being the extreme southern point of the Minnesota river, thirty
+miles below New Ulm, four from Mankato, and about fifty from the Iowa
+line. Here I maintained a guard of about eighty men. We threw up some
+small intrenchments, but nothing worthy of mention. Enough citizens of
+New Ulm had returned home to form two companies at that point. Company
+"E," of the Ninth Regiment, under Capt. Jerome E. Dane, was stationed
+at Crisp's farm, about half way between New Ulm and South Bend. Col.
+John R. Jones of Chatfield collected about three hundred men, and
+reported to me at Garden City. They were organized into companies under
+Captains N. P. Colburn and Post, and many of them were stationed at
+Garden City, where they erected a serviceable fort of saw-logs. Others
+of this command were stationed at points along the Blue Earth river.
+Capt. Cornelius F. Buck of Winona raised a company of fifty-three men,
+all mounted, and started west. They reached Winnebago City, in the
+county of Faribault, on the 7th of September, where they reported to me,
+and were stationed at Chain Lakes, about twenty miles west of Winnebago
+City, and twenty of this company were afterwards sent to Madelia. A
+stockade was erected by this company at Martin Lake. In the latter part
+of August Capt. A. J. Edgerton of Company "B," Tenth Regiment, arrived
+at South Bend, and having made his report, was stationed at the
+Winnebago agency, to keep watch on those Indians and cover Mankato from
+that direction. About the same time Company "F," of the Eighth Regiment,
+under Capt. L. Aldrich, reported, and was stationed at New Ulm. E. St.
+Julien Cox, who had previously reinforced me at New Ulm, was
+commissioned a captain, and put in command of a force which was
+stationed at Madelia, in Watonwan county, where they erected quite an
+artistic fortification of logs, with bastions. While there an attack was
+made upon some citizens who had ventured beyond the safe limits, and
+several whites were killed.
+
+It will be seen by the above statement that almost immediately after the
+evacuation of New Ulm, on the 25th of August, the most exposed part of
+the southern frontier was occupied by quite a strong force. I did not
+expect that any serious incursions would be made along this line, but
+the state of alarm and panic that prevailed among the people rendered it
+necessary to establish this cordon of military posts to prevent an
+exodus of the inhabitants. No one who has not gone through the ordeal of
+an Indian insurrection can form any idea of the terrible apprehension
+that takes possession of a defenseless and noncombatant population under
+such circumstances. There is an element of mystery and uncertainty about
+the magnitude and movements of this enemy, and a certainty of his
+brutality, that inspires terror. The first notice of his approach is the
+crack of his rifle, and no one with experience of such struggles ever
+blames the timidity of citizens in exposed positions when assailed by
+these savages. I think, all things being considered, the people
+generally behaved very well. If a map of the state is consulted, taking
+New Ulm as the most northern point on the Minnesota river, it will be
+seen that the line of my posts covered the frontier from that point down
+the river to South Bend, and up the Blue Earth, southerly, to Winnebago
+City, and thence to the Iowa line. These stations were about sixteen
+miles apart, with two advanced posts, at Madelia and Chain Lakes, to the
+westward. A system of couriers was established, starting from each end
+of the cordon every morning, with dispatches from the commanding officer
+to headquarters, stopping at every station for an indorsement of what
+was going on, so I knew every day what had happened at every point on my
+line. By this means, the frontier population was pacified, and no
+general exodus took place.
+
+In September Major General Pope was ordered to Minnesota to conduct the
+Indian war. He made his headquarters at St. Paul, and by his high rank
+took command of all operations, though not exerting any visible
+influence on them, the fact being that all imminent danger had been
+overcome by the state and its citizens before his arrival. In the latter
+part of September the citizen troops under my command were anxious to
+return to their homes, and on presentation of the situation to General
+Pope, he ordered into the state a new regiment just mustered into the
+service in Wisconsin--the Twenty-fifth--commanded by Col. M. Montgomery,
+who was ordered to relieve me. He appeared at South Bend on the 1st of
+October, and after having fully informed him of what had transpired, and
+given him my views as to the future, I turned my command over to him in
+the following order: I give it, as it succinctly presents the situation
+of affairs at the time.
+
+
+    "HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION
+    SOUTHERN FRONTIER,
+
+    "SOUTH BEND, October 5, 1862.
+
+    "_To the Soldiers and Citizens who have been, and are now engaged
+    in the defense of the Southern Frontier:_
+
+    "On the eighteenth day of August last your frontier was invaded
+    by the Indians. You promptly rallied for its defense. You
+    checked the advance of the enemy and defeated him in two severe
+    battles at New Ulm. You have held a line of frontier posts
+    extending over a distance of one hundred miles. You have erected
+    six substantial fortifications, and other defensive works of
+    less magnitude. You have dispersed marauding bands of savages
+    that have hung upon your lines. You have been uniformly brave,
+    vigilant and obedient to orders. By your efforts, the war has
+    been confined to the border; without them, it would have
+    penetrated into the heart of the state.
+
+    "Major General Pope has assumed command of the Northwest, and
+    will control future operations. He promises a vigorous
+    prosecution of the war. Five companies of the Twenty-fifth
+    Wisconsin Regiment and five hundred cavalry from Iowa are
+    ordered into the region now held by you, and will supply the
+    places of those whose terms of enlistment shortly expire. The
+    department of the southern frontier, which I have had the honor
+    to command, will, from the date of this order, be under the
+    command of Colonel M. Montgomery of the Twenty-fifth Wisconsin,
+    whom I take pleasure in introducing to the troops and citizens
+    of that department as a soldier and a man to whom they may
+    confide their interests and the safety of their country, with
+    every assurance that they will be protected and defended.
+
+    "Pressing public duties of a civil nature demand my absence
+    temporarily from the border. The intimate and agreeable
+    relations we have sustained toward each other, our union in
+    danger and adventure, cause me regret in leaving you, but will
+    hasten my return.
+
+                "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+          "_Colonel Commanding Southern Frontier._"
+
+This practically terminated my connection with the war. All matters yet
+to be related took place in other parts of the state, under the command
+of Colonel Sibley and others.
+
+
+
+
+COLONEL SIBLEY MOVES UPON THE ENEMY.
+
+
+We left Colonel Sibley, on the 4th of September, at Fort Ridgely, having
+just relieved the unfortunate command of Major Joseph R. Brown, after
+the fight at Birch Coulie. Knowing that the Indians had in their
+possession many white captives, and having their rescue alive uppermost
+in his mind, the colonel left on the battlefield at Birch Coulie the
+following communication, attached to a stake driven in the ground,
+feeling assured that it would fall into the hands of Little Crow, the
+leader of the Indians.
+
+    "If Little Crow has any proposition to make, let him send a
+    half-breed to me, and he shall be protected in and out of camp.
+
+                "H. H. SIBLEY,
+          "_Colonel Commanding Military Expedition._"
+
+The note was found, and answered by Little Crow in a manner rather
+irrelevant to the subject most desired by Colonel Sibley. It was dated
+at Yellow Medicine, September 7th, and delivered by two half-breeds.
+
+Colonel Sibley returned the following answer by the bearers:
+
+    "Little Crow, you have murdered many of our people without any
+    sufficient cause. Return me the prisoners under a flag of truce,
+    and I will talk with you like a man."
+
+No response was received to this letter until September 12th, when
+Little Crow sent another, saying that he had 155 prisoners, not
+including those held by the Si-si-tons and Wak-pay-tons, who were at Lac
+qui Parle, and were coming down. He also gave assurances that the
+prisoners were faring well. Colonel Sibley, on the 12th of September,
+sent a reply by Little Crow's messengers, saying that no peace could be
+made without a surrender of the prisoners, but not promising peace on
+any terms, and charging the commission of nine murders since the receipt
+of Little Crow's last letter. The same messenger that brought this
+letter from Little Crow also delivered, quite a long one from Wabasha
+and Taopee, two lower chiefs who claimed to be friendly, and desired a
+meeting with Colonel Sibley, suggesting two places where it could be
+held. The Colonel replied that he would march in three days, and was
+powerful enough to crush all the Indians; that they might approach his
+column in open day with a flag of truce, and place themselves under his
+protection. On the receipt of this note a large council was held, at
+which nearly all the annuity Indians were present. Several speeches were
+made by the Upper and Lower Sioux, some in favor of continuance of the
+war and "dying in the last ditch," and some in favor of surrendering the
+prisoners. I quote from a speech made by Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, who
+will be remembered as one of the Indians who volunteered to rescue the
+white captives from Ink-pa-du-ta's band, in 1857, and who was always
+true to the whites. He said among other things:
+
+    "In fighting the whites, you are fighting the thunder and
+    lightning. You say you can make a treaty with the British
+    government. That is not possible. Have you not yet come to your
+    senses? They are also white men, and neighbors and friends to
+    the soldiers. They are ruled by a petticoat, and she has the
+    tender heart of a squaw. What will she do for the men who have
+    committed the murders you have?"
+
+This correspondence was kept up for several days, quite a number of
+letters coming from the Indians to Colonel Sibley, but with no
+satisfactory results. On the 18th of September, Colonel Sibley
+determined to move upon the enemy, and on that day camp was broken at
+the fort, a boat constructed, and a crossing of the Minnesota river
+effected near the fort, to prevent the possibility of an ambuscade.
+Colonel Sibley's force consisted of the Sixth Regiment under Colonel
+Crooks, about three hundred men of the Third under Major Welch, several
+companies of the Seventh under Col. William R. Marshall, a small number
+of mounted men under Colonel McPhail, and a battery under the command of
+Capt. Mark Hendricks. The expedition moved up the river without
+encountering any opposition until the morning of the twenty-third of
+September. Indians had been in sight during all the march, carefully
+watching the movements of the troops, and several messages of defiance
+were found attached to fences and houses.
+
+
+
+
+THE BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE.
+
+
+On the evening of the 22d the expedition camped at Lone Tree lake, about
+two miles from the Yellow Medicine river, and about three miles east
+from Wood lake. Early next morning several foraging teams belonging to
+the Third Regiment were fired upon. They returned the fire, and
+retreated toward the camp. At this juncture the Third Regiment without
+orders, sallied out, crossed a deep ravine and soon engaged the enemy.
+They were ordered back by the commander, and had not reached camp before
+Indians appeared on all sides in great numbers, many of them in the
+ravine between the Third Regiment and the camp. Thus began the battle of
+Wood Lake. Captain Hendricks opened with his cannon and the howitzer
+under the direct command of Colonel Sibley, and poured in shot and
+shell. It has since been learned that Little Crow had appointed ten of
+his best men to kill Colonel Sibley at all hazards, and that the shells
+directed by the colonel's own hand fell into this special squad and
+dispersed them. Captain Hendricks pushed his cannon to the head of the
+ravine, and raked it with great effect, and Colonel Marshall, with
+three companies of the Seventh and Captain Grant's company of the Sixth,
+charged down the ravine on a double quick, and routed the Indians. About
+eight hundred of the command were engaged in the conflict, and met about
+an equal number of Indians. Our loss was about nine killed and between
+forty and fifty wounded. Major Welch of the Third was shot in the leg,
+but not fatally. The Third and the Renville Rangers under Capt. James
+Gorman bore the brunt of the fight, which lasted about an hour and a
+half, and sustained the most of the losses. Colonel Sibley, in his
+official report of the encounter, gives great credit to his staff and
+all of his command. An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John Otherday, was with the
+whites, and took a conspicuous part in the fray.
+
+Thus ended the battle of Wood Lake. It was an important factor in the
+war, as it was about the first time the Indians engaged large forces of
+well organized troops in the open country, and their utter discomfiture
+put them on the run. It will be noticed that I have not in any of my
+narratives of battles, used the stereotyped expression, "Our losses were
+so many, but the losses of the enemy were much greater, but as they
+always carry off their dead and wounded, it is impossible to give exact
+figures." The reason I have not made use of this common expression is,
+because I don't believe it. The philosophy of Indian warfare is, to kill
+your enemy and not get killed yourself, and they can take cover more
+skillfully than any other people. In all our Indian wars, from the
+Atlantic westward, with regulars or militia, I believe it would not be
+an exaggeration to say that the whites have lost ten to one in killed
+and wounded. But the battle of Wood Lake was quite an open fight, and so
+rapidly conducted and concluded that we have a very accurate account of
+the loss of the enemy. He had no time or opportunity to withdraw his
+dead. Fifteen dead were found upon the field, and one wounded prisoner
+was taken. No doubt many others were wounded who were able to escape.
+After this fight Colonel Sibley retired to the vicinity of an Indian
+camp, located nearly opposite the mouth of the Chippewa river, where it
+empties into the Minnesota, and there encamped. This point was
+afterwards called "Camp Release," from the fact that the white prisoners
+held by the enemy were here delivered to Colonel Sibley's command. We
+will leave Colonel Sibley and his troops at Camp Release, and narrate
+the important events that occurred on the Red River of the North, at and
+about
+
+
+
+
+FORT ABERCROMBIE.
+
+
+The United States government, about the year 1858, erected a military
+post on the west side of the Red River of the North, at a place then
+known as Graham's Point, between what are now known as the cities of
+Breckenridge and Fargo. Like most of the frontier posts of that day, it
+was not constructed with reference to defense, but more as a depot for
+troops and military stores. It was then in the midst of the Indian
+country, and is now in Richland county, North Dakota. The troops that
+had garrisoned the fort had been sent south to aid in suppressing the
+Southern rebellion, and their places had been supplied by one company of
+the Fifth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, which was commanded by Capt.
+John Van der Horck. There was a place down the river, and north of the
+fort, about fifty miles, called Georgetown, at which there were some
+settlers, and a depot of stores for the company engaged in the
+navigation of the river. At the commencement of the outbreak Captain
+Van der Horck had detached about one-half of his company, and sent them
+to Georgetown, to protect the interests centered at that point.
+
+About the 20th of August news reached Abercrombie from the Yellow
+Medicine agency that trouble was expected from the Indians. An
+expedition was on the way to Red lake to make a treaty with the Chippewa
+Indians, consisting of the government commissioners and party,
+accompanied by a train of thirty loaded wagons and a herd of two hundred
+cattle. On the 23d of August, news reached Fort Abercrombie that a large
+body of Indians were on the way to capture this party. A courier was at
+once dispatched to the train, and it sought refuge in the fort. Runners
+were also sent to all the settlements in the vicinity, and the warning
+spread of the approaching danger. Happily nearly all of the surrounding
+people reached the fort before the arrival of the enemy. The detachment
+stationed at Georgetown was also called in. A mail coach that left the
+fort on the 22d, fell into the hands of the Indians, who killed the
+driver and destroyed the mail.
+
+The garrison had been strengthened by about fifty men capable of duty
+from the refugees, but they were unarmed. Captain Van der Horck
+strengthened his post by all means in his power, and endeavored to
+obtained reinforcements. Captain Freeman, with about sixty men, started
+from St. Cloud, on the Mississippi, to relieve the garrison at
+Abercrombie, but on reaching Sauk Center the situation appeared so
+alarming that it was deemed imprudent to proceed with so small a force,
+and no addition could be made to it at Sauk Center. Attempts were made
+to reinforce the fort from other points. Two companies were sent from
+Fort Snelling, and got as far as Sauk Center, but the force was even
+then deemed inadequate to proceed to Abercrombie. Part of the Third
+Regiment was also dispatched from Snelling to its relief on September
+6th. Another expedition, consisting of companies under command of
+Captains George Atkinson and Rollo Banks, with a small squad of about
+sixty men of the Third Regiment, under command of Sergeant Dearborn,
+together with a field piece under Lieutenant Robert J. McHenry, was
+formed, and placed under the command of Capt. Emil A. Burger. This
+command started on September 10th, and after a long and arduous march,
+reached the fort on the 23d of September, finding the weaned and anxious
+garrison still in possession. Captain Burger had been reinforced at
+Wyman's station, on the Alexandria road, on the 19th of September, by
+the companies under Captains Freeman and Barrett, who had united their
+men on the 14th, and started for the fort. The relief force amounted to
+quite four hundred men by the time it reached its destination.
+
+While this long delayed force was on its way the little garrison at the
+fort had its hands full to maintain its position. On the 30th of August
+a large body of Indians made a bold raid on the post, and succeeded in
+stampeding and running off nearly two hundred head of cattle and one
+hundred head of horses and mules which were grazing on the prairie. Some
+fifty of the cattle afterwards escaped, and were restored to the post by
+a scouting party. This band of marauders did not, however, attack the
+fort. No one who has not experienced it can appreciate the mortification
+of seeing an enemy despoil you of your property when you are powerless
+to resist. An attack was made on the fort on the 3d of September, and
+some stacks burned and a few horses captured. Several men were killed on
+both sides, and Captain Van der Horck was wounded in the right arm from
+an accidental shot from one of his own men. On September 6th a second
+attack was made by a large force of Indians, which lasted nearly all
+day, in which we lost two men and had several wounded. No further attack
+was made until the 26th of September, when Captain Freeman's company was
+fired on while watering their horses in the river. These Indians were
+routed and pursued by Captain Freeman's company, and a squad of the
+Third Regiment men, with a howitzer. Their camp was captured, which
+contained quite an amount of plunder. A light skirmish took place on the
+29th of September, in which the enemy was routed, and this affair ended
+the siege of Fort Abercrombie.
+
+
+
+
+CAMP RELEASE.
+
+
+Colonel Sibley's command made Camp Release on the 26th of September.
+This camp was in the near vicinity of a large Indian camp of about 150
+lodges. These Indians were composed of Upper and Lower Sioux, and had
+generally been engaged in all the massacres that had taken place since
+the outbreak. They had with them some 250 prisoners, composed of women
+and children, whites and half-breeds. Only one white man was found in
+the camp, George Spencer, who had been desperately wounded at the Lower
+Agency, and saved from death by an Indian friend of his.
+
+The desire of the troops to attack and punish these savages was intense,
+but Colonel Sibley kept steadily in mind that the rescue of the
+prisoners was his first duty, and he well knew that any demonstration of
+violence would immediately result in the destruction of the captives. He
+therefore wisely overruled all hostile inclinations. The result was a
+general surrender of the whole camp, together with all the prisoners.
+As soon as the safety of the captives was assured, inquiry was
+instituted as to the participation of these Indians in the massacres and
+outrages which had been so recently perpetrated. Many cases were soon
+developed of particular Indians, who had been guilty of the grossest
+atrocities, and the commander decided to form a military tribunal to try
+the offenders.
+
+
+
+
+TRIAL OF THE INDIANS.
+
+
+The state has reason to congratulate itself on two things in this
+connection. First, that it had so wise and just a man as Colonel Sibley
+to select this important tribunal, and, second, that he had at his
+command such admirable material from which to make his selection. It
+must be remembered that this court entered upon its duties with the
+lives of hundreds of men at its absolute disposal. Whether they were
+Indians or any other kind of people, the fact must not be overlooked
+that they were human beings, and the responsibility of the tribunal was
+correspondingly great. Colonel Sibley at this date sent me a dispatch,
+declaring his intention in the matter of the result of the trials. It is
+as follows:
+
+    "CAMP RELEASE, NINE MILES BELOW LAC QUI PARLE,
+    Sept. 25, 1862.
+
+    "Colonel: [After speaking of a variety of matters concerning the
+    disposition of troops who were in my command, the battle of Wood
+    Lake (which he characterized as "A smart conflict we had with
+    the Indians"), the rescue of the prisoners and other matters, he
+    adds:]
+
+    "N. B.--I am encamped near a camp of 150 lodges of friendly
+    Indians and half-breeds, but have had to purge it of suspected
+    characters. I have apprehended sixteen supposed to have been
+    connected with the late outrages, and have appointed a military
+    commission of five officers to try them. If found guilty they
+    will be forthwith executed, although it will perhaps be a
+    stretch of my authority. If so, necessity must be my
+    justification.
+
+          "Yours,
+                "H. H. SIBLEY."
+
+On the 28th of September an order was issued convening this court
+martial. It was composed of William Crooks, colonel of the Sixth
+Regiment, president; William R. Marshall, lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh Regiment; Captains Grant and Baily of the Sixth, and Lieutenant
+Olin of the Third. Others were subsequently added as necessity required.
+All these men were of mature years, prominent in their social and
+general standing as citizens, and as well equipped as any persons could
+be to engage in such work. What I regard as the most important feature
+in the composition of this most extraordinary court is the fact that the
+Hon. Isaac V. D. Heard, an experienced lawyer of St. Paul, who had been
+for many years the prosecuting attorney of Ramsey county, and who was
+thoroughly versed in criminal law, was on the staff of Colonel Sibley,
+and was by him appointed recorder of the court. Mr. Heard, in the
+performance of his duty, was above prejudice or passion, and could treat
+a case of this nature as if it was a mere misdemeanor. Lieutenant Olin
+was judge advocate of this court, but as the trials progressed the
+evidence was all put in and the records kept by Mr. Heard. Some changes
+were made in the personnel of the court from time to time as the
+officers were needed elsewhere, but none of the changes lessened the
+dignity or character of the tribunal. I make these comments because the
+trials took place at a period of intense excitement, and persons
+unacquainted with the facts may be led to believe that the court was
+"organized to convict," and was unfair in its decisions.
+
+The court sat some time at Camp Release, then at the Lower Agency, and
+Mankato, where it investigated the question whether the Winnebagoes had
+participated in the outbreak; but none of that tribe were implicated,
+which proves that the court acted judicially, and not upon unreliable
+evidence, as the country was full of rumors and charges that the
+Winnebagoes were implicated. The court terminated its sittings at Fort
+Snelling, after a series of sessions lasting from Sept. 30 to Nov. 5,
+1862, during which 425 prisoners were arraigned and tried. Of these 321
+were found guilty of the offenses charged, of whom 303 were sentenced to
+death, and the rest to various terms of imprisonment according to the
+nature of their crimes. The condemned prisoners were removed to Mankato,
+where they were confined in a large guardhouse, constructed of logs for
+the purpose, and were guarded by a strong force of soldiers. On the way
+down, as the party having charge of the prisoners passed through New Ulm
+they found the inhabitants disinterring the dead, who had been hastily
+buried in the streets where they fell during the fights at that place.
+The sight of the Indians so enraged the people that a general attack was
+made on the wagons in which they were chained together. The attacking
+force was principally composed of women, armed with clubs, stones,
+knives, hot water and similar weapons. Of course, the guard could not
+shoot or bayonet a woman, and they got the prisoners through the town
+with the loss of one killed and many battered and bruised.
+
+While this court martial was in session the news of its proceedings
+reached the eastern cities, and a great outcry was raised, that
+Minnesota was contemplating a dreadful massacre of Indians. Many
+influential bodies of well-intentioned but ill-informed people beseeched
+President Lincoln to put a stop to the proposed executions. The
+president sent for the records of the trials, and turned them over to
+his legal and military advisors to decide which were the more flagrant
+cases. On the sixth day of December, 1862, the president made the
+following order:
+
+    "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
+    "Dec. 6, 1862.
+
+    "_Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley, St. Paul, Minn._:
+
+    "Ordered, that of the Indians and half-breeds sentenced to be
+    hanged by the military commission, composed of Colonel Crooks,
+    Lieutenant Colonel Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey and
+    Lieutenant Olin, and lately sitting in Minnesota, you cause to
+    be executed on Friday, the nineteenth day of December, instant,
+    the following named, to-wit:
+
+    (Here follow the names of thirty-nine Indians, and their numbers
+    on the record of conviction.)
+
+    "The other condemned prisoners you will hold, subject to further
+    orders, taking care that they neither escape nor are subjected
+    to any unlawful violence.
+
+                "ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
+          "_President of the United States._"
+
+Colonel Sibley had been appointed, by President Lincoln, a brigadier
+general, on the 29th of September, 1862, on account of his success at
+the battle of Wood Lake, the announcement of his promotion being in a
+telegram, as follows:
+
+    "Washington, D. C., Sept. 29, 1862.
+    "_Major General Pope, St. Paul, Minn._,
+
+    "Colonel Henry H. Sibley is made a brigadier general for his
+    judicious fight at Yellow Medicine. He should be kept in command
+    of that column, and every possible assistance sent to him.
+
+          "H. W. HALLECK,
+                "_General in Chief_."
+
+His commission as brigadier general was not issued until March 26, 1864,
+but, of course, this telegram amounted to an appointment to the
+position, and if accepted, as it was, made him subject to the orders of
+the president; so, notwithstanding his dispatch to me, stating that the
+Indians, if convicted, would be forthwith executed, he could not very
+well carry out such an extreme duty without first submitting it to the
+federal authorities, of which he had become a part.
+
+My view of the question has always been that, when the court martial was
+organized, Colonel Sibley had no idea that more than twenty or
+twenty-five of the Indians would be convicted, which is partly
+inferrable from his dispatch to me, in which he said he had "apprehended
+sixteen supposed to have been connected with the late outrages." But
+when the matter assumed the proportions it did, and he found on his
+hands some three hundred men to kill, he was glad to shift the
+responsibility to higher authority. Any humane man would have been of
+the same mind. I have my own views, also, of the reasons of the general
+government in eliminating from the list of the condemned all but
+thirty-nine. It was not because these thirty-nine were more guilty than
+the rest, but because we were engaged in a great civil war, and the eyes
+of the world were upon us. Had these three hundred men been executed,
+the charge would have undoubtedly been made by the South, that the
+North was murdering prisoners of war, and the authorities at Washington,
+knowing full well that the other nations were not capable of making the
+proper discrimination, and perhaps not anxious to do so if they were,
+deemed it safer not to incur the odium which might follow from such an
+accusation.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTION OF THE THIRTY-EIGHT CONDEMNED INDIANS.
+
+
+The result of the matter was that the order of the president was obeyed,
+and on the 26th of December, 1862, thirty-eight of the condemned Indians
+were executed, by hanging, at Mankato, one having been pardoned by the
+president. Contemporaneous history, or, rather, general public
+knowledge, of what actually occurred, says that the pardoned Indian was
+hanged, and one of the others liberated by mistake. As an historian, I
+do not assert this to be true, but as a citizen, thoroughly well
+informed of current events at the time of this execution, I believe it
+to be a fact. The hanging of the thirty-eight was done on one gallows,
+constructed in a square form, capable of sustaining ten men on each
+side. They were placed upon a platform facing inwards, and dropped all
+at once by the cutting of a rope. The execution was successful in all
+its details, and reflects credit on the ingenuity and engineering skill
+of Captain Burt of Stillwater, who was intrusted with the construction
+of the deadly machine. The rest of the condemned Indians were, after
+some time, taken down to Davenport in Iowa, and held in confinement
+until the excitement had generally subsided, when they were sent west of
+the Missouri and set free. An Indian never forgets what he regards as an
+injury, and never forgives an enemy. It is my opinion that all the
+troubles that have taken place since the liberation of these Indians,
+with the tribes inhabiting the western plains and mountains, up to a
+recent date, have grown out of the evil counsels of these savages. The
+only proper course to have pursued with them, when it was decided not to
+hang them, was to have exiled them to some remote post,--say, the Dry
+Tortugas,--where communication with their people would have been
+impossible, set them to work on fortifications or other public works,
+and allowed them to pass out by life limitation.
+
+The execution of these Indians practically terminated the campaign for
+the year 1862, no other event worthy of detailed record having occurred;
+but the Indian war was far from being over, and it was deemed prudent to
+keep within the state a sufficient force of troops to successfully
+resist all further attacks, and to inaugurate an aggressive campaign in
+the coming year. The whole of the Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Regiments,
+the Mounted Rangers, some artillery organizations, scouts and other
+troops were wintered in the state at various points along the more
+exposed frontier, and in 1863 a formidable expedition, under command of
+General Sibley, was sent from Minnesota to crush the enemy, which was to
+be aided and cooperated with, by another expedition, under Gen. Alfred
+Sully, of equal proportions, which was to start from Sioux City, on the
+Missouri. After the attack at Birch Coulie and its relief, Little Crow,
+with a large part of his followers, branched off, and went to the
+vicinity of Acton, and there attacked the command under Capt. Richard
+Strout, where a severe battle was fought, in which several of Captain
+Strout's men were killed. On the 3d of July, 1863, Crow ventured down to
+the neighborhood of Hutchinson, with his young son, probably to get
+something which he had hidden, or to steal horses, and while he was
+picking berries, a farmer named Lamson, who was in search of his cows,
+saw him and shot him dead. His scalp now decorates the walls of the
+Minnesota Historical Society.
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863.
+
+
+The remnant of Little Crow's followers were supposed to be rendezvoused
+at Devil's lake, in Dakota Territory, and reinforced by a large body of
+the Upper Sioux. An expedition against them was devised by General Pope,
+to be commanded by General Sibley. It was to assemble at a point near
+the mouth of the Redwood river, some twenty-five miles above Fort
+Ridgely. On the 7th of June, 1863, General Sibley arrived at the point
+of departure, which was named Camp Pope, in honor of the commanding
+general. The force composing the expedition was as follows: One company
+of pioneers, under Captain Chase; ten companies of the Sixth Regiment,
+under Colonel Crooks; eight companies of the Tenth Regiment, under
+Colonel Baker; nine companies of the Seventh, under Lieutenant Colonel
+Marshall; eight pieces of artillery, under Captain Jones; nine companies
+of Minnesota Mounted Rangers, under Colonel McPhail; seventy-five Indian
+scouts under Major Brown, George McLeod and Major Dooley; in all 3,052
+infantry, 800 cavalry and 148 artillerymen. The command, from the nature
+of the country it had to traverse, was compelled to depend upon its own
+supply train, which was composed of 225 six-mule wagons. The staff was
+complete, consisting of Adjutant General Olin, Brigade Commissary
+Forbes, Assistant Commissary and Ordnance Officer Atchison, Commissary
+Clerk Spencer, Quartermaster Corning, Assistant Quartermaster Kimball,
+Aides-de-camp Lieutenants Pope, Beever, Hawthorne and A. St. Clair
+Flandrau, Chaplain, Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+The column moved from Camp Pope on June 16, 1863. The weather was
+intensely hot, and the country over which the army had to march was wild
+and uninhabited. At first the Indians retreated in the direction of the
+British line, but it was discovered that their course had been changed
+to the direction of the Missouri river. They had probably heard that
+General Sully had been delayed by low water and hoped to be able to
+cross to the west bank of that stream before his arrival to intercept
+them, with the future hope that they would, no doubt, be reenforced by
+the Sioux inhabiting the country west of the Missouri. On the 4th of
+July the expedition reached the Big Bend of the Cheyenne river. On the
+17th of July Colonel Sibley received reliable information that the main
+body of the Indians was moving toward the Missouri, which was on the
+20th of July confirmed by a visit at Camp Atchison of about three
+hundred Chippewa half-breeds, led by a Catholic priest named Father
+Andre. On becoming satisfied that the best fruits of the march could be
+attained by bending towards the Missouri, the general decided to relieve
+his command of as much impedimenta as was consistent with comfort and
+safety and would increase the rapidity of its movements. He therefore
+established a permanent post at Camp Atchison, about fifty miles
+southeasterly from Devil's lake, where he left all the sick and disabled
+men, and a large portion of his ponderous train, with a sufficient guard
+to defend them if attacked. He then immediately started for the
+Missouri, with 1,436 infantry, 520 cavalry, 100 pioneers and
+artillerymen, and twenty-five days' rations. On the 22nd he crossed the
+James river, forty-eight miles west of Camp Atchison, and on the 24th
+reached the vicinity of Big Mound, beyond the second ridge of the
+Missouri coteau. Here the scouts reported large bodies of Indians, with
+Red Plume and Standing Buffalo among them.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF BIG MOUND.
+
+
+The general, expecting an attack on the 24th, corralled his train, and
+threw up some earthworks to enable a smaller force to defend it. The
+Indians soon appeared. Dr. Weiser, surgeon of the First Rangers,
+supposing he saw some old friends among them, approached too close and
+was instantly killed. Lieutenant Freeman, who had wandered some distance
+from the camp, was also killed. The battle opened at three p. m., in the
+midst of a terrific thunderstorm, and after some sharp fighting, the
+Indians, numbering about fifteen hundred, fled in the direction of their
+camp, and were closely pursued. A general panic ensued, the Indian camp
+was abandoned, and the whole throng, men, women and children, fled
+before the advancing forces. Numerous charges were made upon them,
+amidst the roaring of the thunder and the flashing of the lightning. One
+private was killed by lightning, and Colonel McPhail's saber was knocked
+out of his grasp by the same force.
+
+The Indians are reported to have lost in this fight, eighty killed and
+wounded. They also lost nearly all their camp equipment. They were
+pursued about fifteen miles, and had it not been for a mistake in the
+delivery of an order by Lieutenant Beever, they would undoubtedly have
+been overtaken and destroyed. The order was to bivouac where night
+caught the pursuing troops, but was misunderstood to return. This
+unfortunate error gave the Indians two days' start, and they put a wide
+gap between themselves and the troops. The battle of Big Mound, as this
+engagement was called, was a decided victory, and counted heavily in the
+scale of advantage, as it put the savages on the run and disabled them
+from prosecuting further hostilities.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF DEAD BUFFALO LAKE.
+
+
+On the 26th the command again moved in the direction of the fleeing
+Indians. Their abandoned camp was passed on that day early in the
+morning. About noon large bodies of the enemy were discovered, and a
+brisk fight ensued. Attacks and counter attacks were made, and a
+determined fight kept up until about three p. m., when a bold dash was
+made by the Indians to stampede the animals which were herded on the
+banks of a lake, but the attempt was promptly met and defeated. The
+Indians, foiled at all points, and having lost heavily in killed and
+wounded, retired from the field. At night earthworks were thrown up to
+prevent a surprise, but none was attempted, and this ended the battle of
+Dead Buffalo Lake.
+
+The general was now convinced that the Indians were going toward the
+Missouri, with the intention of putting the river between them and his
+command, and, expecting General Sully's force to be there to intercept
+them, he determined to push them on as rapidly as possible, inflicting
+all the damage he could in their flight. The campaign was well
+conceived, and had Sully arrived in time, the result would undoubtedly
+have been the complete destruction or capture of the Indians. But low
+water delayed Sully to such an extent that he failed to arrive in time,
+and the enemy succeeded in crossing the river before General Sibley
+could overtake them.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF STONY LAKE.
+
+
+On the 28th of July Indians were again seen in large numbers. They
+endeavored to encircle the troops. They certainly presented a force of
+two thousand fighting men, and must have been reinforced by friends from
+the west side of the Missouri. They were undoubtedly fighting to keep
+the soldiers back until their families could cross the river. The troops
+were well handled. A tremendous effort was made to break our lines, but
+the enemy was repulsed at all points. The artillery was effective, and
+the Indians finally fled in a panic and rout towards the Missouri. They
+were hotly pursued, and, on the 29th, the troops crossed Apple creek, a
+small stream a few miles from the present site of Bismarck, the capital
+of North Dakota, and pushing on, struck the Missouri at a point about
+four miles above Burnt Boat Island. The Indians had succeeded in
+crossing the river with their families, but in a very demoralized
+condition as to supplies and camp equipage. They were plainly visible on
+the bluffs on the opposite side. It was here that Lieutenant Beever lost
+his life while carrying an order. He missed the trail and was ambushed
+and killed. He was a young Englishman who had volunteered to accompany
+the expedition, and whom General Sibley had placed upon his staff as an
+aide.
+
+Large quantities of wagons and other material, abandoned by the Indians
+in their haste to cross the river, were destroyed. The bodies of
+Lieutenant Beever and a private of the Sixth Regiment, who was killed in
+the same way, were recovered and buried. It was clear that the Indians,
+on learning of the magnitude of the expedition, never contemplated
+overcoming it in battle, and made their movements with reference to
+delaying its progress, while they pushed their women and children
+toward and across the river, knowing there was no resting place for them
+on this side. They succeeded admirably, but their success was solely
+attributed to the failure of General Sully to arrive in time. General
+Sibley's part of the campaign was carried out to the letter, and every
+man in it, from the commander to the private, is entitled to the highest
+praise.
+
+On August 1st the command broke camp for home. As was learned
+afterwards, General Sully was then distant down the river 160 miles. His
+delay was no fault of his, as it was occasioned by insurmountable
+obstacles. The march home was a weary but uneventful one. The campaign
+of 1863 may be summed up as follows: The troops marched nearly 1,200
+miles. They fought three well-contested battles. They drove from eight
+to ten thousand Indians out of the state, and across the Missouri river.
+They lost only seven killed and three wounded, and inflicted upon the
+enemy so severe a loss that he never again returned to his old haunts.
+For his meritorious services General Sibley was appointed a major
+general by brevet on Nov. 29, 1865, which appointment was duly confirmed
+by the senate, and he was commissioned on April 7, 1866.
+
+In July, 1863, a regiment of cavalry was authorized by the secretary of
+war to be raised by Major E. A. C. Hatch, for duty on the northern
+frontier. Several companies were recruited and marched to Pembina, on
+the extreme northern border, where they performed valuable services, and
+suffered incredible hardships. The regiment was called Hatch's
+Battalion.
+
+
+
+
+CAMPAIGN OF 1864.
+
+
+The government very wisely decided not to allow the Indian question to
+rest upon the results of the campaign of 1863, which left the Indians
+in possession of the country west of the Missouri, rightly supposing
+that they might construe their escape from General Sibley the previous
+year into a victory. It therefore sent out another expedition in 1864,
+to pursue and attack them beyond the Missouri. The plan and outfit were
+very similar to those of 1863. General Sully was again to proceed up the
+Missouri with a large command, and meet a force sent out from Minnesota,
+which forces when combined were to march westward, and find and punish
+the savages if possible. The expedition, as a whole, was under the
+command of General Sully. It consisted of two brigades, the first
+composed of Iowa and Kansas infantry and cavalry, and Brackett's
+Battalion, to the number of several thousand, which was to start from
+Sioux City and proceed up the Missouri in steamboats. The second
+embraced the Eighth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under
+Colonel Thomas, mounted on ponies; the Second Minnesota Cavalry, under
+Colonel MacLaren; the Third Minnesota Battery, under Captain Jones. The
+Second Brigade was commanded by Colonel Thomas. This brigade left Fort
+Snelling on June 1st, and marched westward. General Sibley and staff
+accompanied it as far as Fort Ridgely. On the 9th of June it passed Wood
+Lake, the scene of the fight in 1862. About this point it overtook a
+large train of emigrants on their way to Idaho, who had with them 160
+wagon loads of supplies. This train was escorted to the Missouri river
+safely. The march was wearisome in the extreme, with intensely hot
+weather and very bad water, and was only enlivened by the appearance
+occasionally of a herd of buffalo, a band of antelope, or a straggling
+elk. The movements of the command were carefully watched by flying bands
+of Indians during its whole march. On July 1st the Missouri was reached
+at a point where now stands Fort Rice. General Sully and the First
+Brigade had arrived there the day before. The crossing was made by the
+boats that brought up the First Brigade. The column was immediately
+directed toward Cannon Ball river, where 1,800 lodges of Indians were
+reported to be camped. The Indians fled before the approaching troops.
+On the last of July the Heart river was reached, where a camp was
+formed, and the tents and teams left behind. Thus relieved, the command
+pressed forward for an Indian camp eighty miles northward. On the 2d of
+August the Indians were found in large numbers on the Big Knife river,
+in the Bad lands. These were Unca-Papa Sioux, who had murdered a party
+of miners from Idaho the year before, and had given aid and comfort to
+the Minnesota refugee Indians. They were attacked, and a very spirited
+engagement ensued in which the enemy was badly beaten and suffered
+severe losses. The place where this battle was fought was called
+Ta-ka-ho-ku-tay, or "The bluff where the man shot the deer."
+
+On the next day, August 3d, the command moved west through the Bad
+Lands, and just as it emerged from this terribly ragged country it was
+sharply attacked by a large body of Indians. The fight lasted through
+two days and nights, when the enemy retired in haste. They were very
+roughly handled in this engagement.
+
+General Sully then crossed to the west side of the Yellowstone river,
+where the weary soldiers found two steamboats awaiting them, with ample
+supplies. In crossing this rapid river the command lost three men and
+about twenty horses. From this point they came home by the way of Forts
+Union, Berthold and Stevenson, reaching Fort Rice on the 9th of
+September.
+
+On this trip General Sully located Forts Rice, Stevenson and Berthold.
+
+On reaching Fort Rice, considerable anxiety was felt for Colonel Fisk,
+who, with a squad of fifty troops, had left the fort as an escort for a
+train of Idaho immigrants, and had been attacked 180 miles west of the
+fort, and had been compelled to intrench. He had sent for
+reenforcements, and General Sully sent him three hundred men, who
+extricated him from his perilous position.
+
+The Minnesota brigade returned home by way of Fort Wadsworth, where they
+arrived on September 27th. Here Major Rose, with six companies of the
+Second Cavalry, was left to garrison the post, the balance of the
+command reaching Fort Snelling on the 12th of October.
+
+In June, 1865, another expedition left Minnesota for the west, under
+Colonel Callahan of Wisconsin, which went as far as Devil's lake. The
+first, second and fourth sections of the Third Minnesota battery
+accompanied it. Again, in 1866, an expedition started from Fort
+Abercrombie, which included the first section of the Third Battery,
+under Lieutenant Whipple. As no important results followed from these
+two latter expeditions, I only mention them as being parts of the Indian
+war.
+
+The numbers of Indians engaged in this war, together with their superior
+fighting qualities, their armament, and the country occupied by them
+gives it rank among the most important of the Indian wars fought since
+the first settlement of the country on the Atlantic coast. But when
+viewed in the light of the number of settlers massacred, the amount of
+property destroyed, and the horrible atrocities committed by the
+savages, it far surpasses them all.
+
+I have dwelt upon this war to such an extent because I regard it as the
+most important event in the history of our state, and desire to
+perpetuate the facts more especially connected with the gallant
+resistance offered by the settlers in its inception. Not an instance of
+timidity is recorded. The inhabitants engaged in the peaceful pursuits
+of agriculture, utterly unprepared for war, sprang to the front on the
+first indication of danger, and checked the advance of the savage enemy
+in his initial efforts. The importance of battles should never be
+measured by the number engaged, or the lists of killed and wounded, but
+by the consequences of their results. I think the repulse of the Indians
+at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm saved the State of Minnesota from a disaster
+the magnitude of which cannot be estimated. Their advance was checked at
+the very frontier, and they were compelled to retreat, thus affording
+time and opportunity for the whites to organize for systematic action.
+Had they not met with this early check, it is more than probable that
+the Chippewas on the Upper Mississippi and the Winnebagoes in the Lower
+Minnesota valley would have joined them, and the war have been carried
+into the heart of the state. Instances of a similar character have
+occurred in our early wars which illustrate my position. The battle of
+Oriscany, which was fought in the Revolutionary War in the valley of the
+Mohawk, between Rome and Utica, was not more of an encounter than
+Ridgely or New Ulm, yet it has been characterized as one of the decisive
+battles of the world, because it prevented a junction of the British
+forces under St. Ledger in the west and Burgoyne in the east, and made
+American independence possible. The State of New York recognized the
+value of Oriscany just one hundred years after the battle was fought, by
+the erection of a monument to commemorate it. The State of Minnesota
+has done better, by erecting imposing monuments on both the battlefields
+of Ridgely and New Ulm, the inscriptions on which give a succinct
+history of the respective events.
+
+The state also presented each of the defenders of Fort Ridgely with a
+handsome bronze medal, especially struck for the purpose, the
+presentation of which took place at the time of the dedication of the
+monument, on the twentieth day of August, 1896.
+
+The medal has a picture of the fort on its obverse side, surrounded
+by the words, "Defender of Fort Ridgely, August 18-27, 1862." Just
+over the flag staff, in a scroll, is the legend, in Sioux,
+"Ti-yo-pa-na-ta-ka-pi," which means, "It shut the door against us,"
+referring to the battle having obstructed the further advance of the
+Indians. This was said by one of the Indians in the attacking party in
+giving his view of the effect of the repulse, and adopted by the
+committee having charge of the preparation of the medal as being
+appropriate and true. On the reverse side are the words, "Presented by
+the State of Minnesota to----," encircled by a wreath of moccasin
+flowers, which is the flower of the state.
+
+The state has also placed monuments at Birch Coulie, Camp Release and
+Acton. I regret to be compelled to say that a majority of the committee
+having charge of the building of the Birch Coulie monument so far failed
+in the performance of their duties as to the location of the monument
+and formulating its inscriptions that the legislature felt compelled to
+pass an act to correct their errors. The correction has not yet been
+made, but in the cause of true history it is to be hoped that it will be
+in the near future. The state also erected a handsome monument, in the
+cemetery of Fort Ridgely, to Captain Marsh and the twenty-three men of
+his company that were killed at the ferry, near the Lower Sioux Agency,
+on Aug. 18, 1862, and, by special act, passed long after at the request
+of old settlers, added the name of Peter Quinn, the interpreter, who was
+killed at the same time and place. The state also built a monument in
+the same cemetery in remembrance of the wife of Dr. Muller, the post
+surgeon at Ridgely during the siege, on account of the valuable services
+rendered by her in nursing the wounded soldiers.
+
+
+
+
+A LONG PERIOD OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
+
+
+After the stirring events of the Civil and Indian wars Minnesota resumed
+its peaceful ways, and continued to grow and prosper for a long series
+of years, excepting the period from 1873 to 1876, when it was afflicted
+with the plague of grasshoppers. Possessed of the many advantages that
+nature has bestowed upon it, there was nothing else for it to do. The
+state, as far as it was then developed, was exclusively agricultural,
+and wheat was its staple production, although almost every character of
+grain and vegetable can be produced in exceptional abundance. Potatoes
+of the first quality were among its earliest exports, but that crop is
+not sufficiently valuable or portable to enter extensively into the
+catalogue of its productions, beyond the needs of domestic use.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW PROCESS OF MILLING WHEAT.
+
+
+The wheat raised in Minnesota was, and always has been, of the spring
+variety, and up to about the year 1874 was regarded in the markets of
+the world as an inferior article of grain, when compared with the winter
+wheat of states further south, and the flour made from it was also
+looked upon as much less valuable than its competitor, made from winter
+wheat. The state labored under this disability in realizing upon its
+chief product for many years, both in the wheat, and the flour made from
+it. Many mills were erected at the Falls of St. Anthony, with a very
+great output of flour, which, with the lumber manufactured at that
+point, composed the chief export of the state. The process of grinding
+wheat was the old style, of an upper and nether millstone, which left
+the flour of darker color, less nutritious, and less desirable than that
+from the winter wheat made in the same way. About the year 1871 it was
+discovered that a new process of manufacturing flour was in operation on
+the Danube and at Budapest. Mr. George H. Christian, a partner of Gov.
+C. C. Washburn in the milling business at Minneapolis, studied the
+invention, which consisted of crushing the wheat by means of rollers
+made of steel and porcelain, instead of grinding it, as of old, to which
+the French had added a new process of eliminating the bran specs from
+the crushed product, by means of a flat oscillating screen or bolt with
+an upward blast of air through it, upon which the crushed product was
+placed and cleansed of all bran impurities. In 1871 Gen. C. C. Washburn
+and Mr. Christian introduced this French invention into their mills in
+Minneapolis, and derived from it great advantage in the appearance and
+value of their flour. This was called a "middlings purifier." In 1874
+they introduced the roller crushing process, and the result was, that
+the hard spring wheat returned a flour superior to the product of the
+winter wheat, and placed Minnesota upon more than an equality with the
+best flour-producing states in the Union. This process has been
+universally adopted throughout the United States in all milling
+localities, with great advantage to that industry.
+
+It is a rather curious fact that, as all our milling knowledge was
+originally inherited from England, which country is very sluggish in the
+adoption of new methods, it was not until our improved flour reached
+that country that the English millers accepted the new method, and have
+since acted upon it. It is a case of the pupil instructing his
+preceptor.
+
+I regard the introduction of these improvements in the manufacture of
+flour into this state as of prime importance to its growth and increase
+of wealth and strength. It is estimated by the best judges that the
+value of our spring wheat was increased at least twenty per cent by
+their adoption, and when we consider that the state produced, in 1898,
+78,418,000 bushels of wheat, its magnitude can be better appreciated. It
+formerly required five bushels of wheat to make a barrel of flour; under
+the new process it only takes four bushels and seven pounds to make a
+barrel of the same weight--196 pounds.
+
+The only record that is kept of flour in Minnesota is for the two points
+of Minneapolis and the head of the lakes; the latter including Duluth,
+and Superior, in Wisconsin. The output of Minneapolis for the crop year
+of 1898-99 was 15,164,881 barrels, and for Duluth-Superior for the same
+period 2,637,035 barrels. The estimate for the whole state is 25,000,000
+barrels. These figures are taken from the _Northwestern Miller_, a
+reliable publication in Minneapolis.
+
+The credit of having introduced the Hungarian and French processes into
+Minnesota is due primarily to the late Gov. C. C. Washburn of La Crosse,
+Wis., who was greatly aided by his partner at the time, Mr. George H.
+Christian of Minneapolis.
+
+While I am convinced that the credit of first having introduced these
+valuable inventions into Minnesota belongs to Gov. C. C. Washburn and
+his partner Mr. George H. Christian, I am in justice bound to add that
+Gov. John S. Pillsbury and the late Mr. Charles A. Pillsbury, who were
+large and enterprising millers at Minneapolis, owning the Excelsior
+Mills, immediately after its introduction adopted the process, and put
+it into their mills, and by employing American skilled artizans and
+millers to set up and operate their machinery, succeeded in securing the
+first absolutely perfect automatic mill of the new kind in the country.
+General Washburn, having imported Hungarian millers to start and operate
+his experimental mills, found himself somewhat handicapped by their
+inefficiency and sluggishness in adopting American ways and customs.
+
+
+
+
+THE DISCOVERY OF IRON.
+
+
+From the earliest days of the territory the people had predicted the
+growth of cities at several points. At St. Paul, because it was the head
+of navigation of the Mississippi river; at St. Anthony, on account of
+its great water power; at Superior, as being the head of navigation of
+the Great Lakes system; and at Mankato, from its location at the great
+bend of the Minnesota river. It must be remembered that when these
+prophesies were made Minneapolis and Duluth had no existence, and
+Superior was the natural outlet of the St. Louis river into Lake
+Superior, and had its land titles not been so complicated when the
+railroad from St. Paul to the head of the lakes was projected, there is
+no doubt Superior would have been the terminus of the road; but it was
+found to be almost impossible to procure title to any land in Superior,
+on account of its having been sold by the proprietors in undivided
+interests to parties all over the country, and it was situated in
+Wisconsin, so the railroad people procured the charter of the company to
+make its northern terminus on the Minnesota side of the harbor, where
+Duluth now stands, and founded that town as the terminus of the road.
+Some years after Minnesota Point was cut by a canal at its base, or
+shore end, and the entrance to the harbor changed from its natural
+inlet, around the end of the point, to this canal. This improvement has
+proved to be of vast importance to the city of Duluth and to the
+shipping interests of the state, as the natural entrance was difficult
+and dangerous.
+
+Duluth increased in importance from year to year by reason of the
+natural advantages of its situation, as the outlet of much of the
+exports of the state and the inlet of a large portion of its imports. As
+railroads progressed, it became connected with the wheat producing areas
+of the state, which resulted in the erection of elevators for the
+shipment of wheat and mills to grind it. As nearly all the coal consumed
+in the state came in by the gateway of Duluth, immense coal docks were
+constructed, with all the modern inventions for unloading it from ships
+and loading it on cars for distribution. Duluth soon attained
+metropolitan proportions. About the year 1870 Mr. George C. Stone became
+a resident of the city, and engaged in business.
+
+In 1873 Jay Cooke, who had been an important factor in the construction
+of the Northern Pacific Railroad, failed, which was a serious blow to
+Duluth. Mr. Stone had given his attention largely to the investigation
+of the mineral resources of the Lake Superior region in Minnesota, and
+had become convinced of the presence of large beds of iron ore in its
+northeastern portion, now known as the Vermillion Range. When he first
+made known his discovery, the location of the ore was so remote from
+civilization that he found it difficult to interest any one in his
+enterprise. Few shared his faith, but undismayed by lack of support, he
+undertook, with steady persistence, the task of securing the capital
+necessary to develop what he was convinced was a great natural
+wealth-producing field. Comparatively alone, and with little
+encouragement at home, he visited the money centers of the country, and
+assiduously labored to induce men of capital to embark in the
+enterprise, but found it to be uphill work.
+
+The first men whose support he secured were Charlemagne Tower of
+Pottsville, Pa., and Samuel A. Munson of Utica, N. Y., both men of
+education and great wealth. They became sufficiently interested to
+secure a proper test of the matter. Professor Chester of Hamilton
+College was sent out on two occasions. Mr. Munson died, and after the
+lapse of a few years Charlemagne Tower, then a resident of Philadelphia,
+undertook to furnish the necessary funds to make the development, which
+involved the expense of $4,000,000 in building a railroad eighty miles
+in length, with docks and other operating facilities.
+
+The railroad was opened in July, 1884, and there was shipped that season
+62,124 tons of ore, and in 1885 the shipment reached 225,000 tons. In
+1886 304,000 tons were shipped; in 1887, 394,000 tons; in 1888, 512,000.
+The output of the iron mines at and about the head of the lakes had, by
+1898, grown to the enormous quantity of 5,871,801 tons. The grade of the
+ore is the highest in the market. This product is one of the most
+important in the state, and seems destined to expand indefinitely.
+
+No better idea of the growth and importance of Duluth, and, in the same
+connection, the advance of the state, since the war, can be presented
+than by a statement of a few aggregates of different industries centered
+at the head of the lakes. The most recent record obtainable is for the
+year 1898. For example:
+
+    Lumber cut                               544,318,000 feet.
+    Coal received                              2,500,000 tons.
+    Number of vessels arrived and cleared         12,150
+    Wheat received, and flour as wheat        82,118,129 bushels.
+    Other grain                               19,428,622 bushels.
+    Flour manufactured                         2,460,025 barrels.
+    Capacity of elevators                     24,650,000 bushels.
+    Capacity of flour mills per day               22,000 barrels.
+
+Many other statistics could be given, but the above are sufficient to
+show the unexampled growth of the state in that vicinity.
+
+
+COMMERCE THROUGH THE ST. MARY'S FALLS CANAL.
+
+Another very interesting and instructing element in considering the
+growth of Minnesota is the commerce passing through the St. Mary's
+Canal, which connects Lake Superior with Lakes Huron and Michigan, the
+greater part of which is supplied by Minnesota. No record of the number
+of sailing vessels or steamers passing through the canal was kept until
+the year 1864. During that year there were 1,045 sailing vessels, and
+366 steamers. The last report for the year 1898 shows an increase of
+sailing vessels to 4,449 and of steamers to 12,461. The first record of
+the net tons of freight passing the canal was opened in 1881, which
+showed an aggregate of 1,567,741 net tons of all kinds of freight. In
+1898 it had grown to the enormous sum of 21,234,664 tons. These figures,
+like distances in astronomical calculations, require a special mental
+effort to fully comprehend them. An incident occurred in September,
+1899, in connection with this canal traffic, that assists in
+understanding its immense proportions. By an accident to a steamer, the
+channel of the river was blocked for a short time, until she could be
+removed, during which time a procession of waiting steamers was formed
+forty miles in length.
+
+I have been unable to obtain any reliable figures with which to present
+a contrast between the commerce of this canal and that of the Suez,
+connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, but it is generally
+estimated that the St. Mary's largely exceeds the Suez, although the
+commerce of the world with the Orient and Australia largely passes
+through the latter.
+
+
+
+
+AGRICULTURE.
+
+
+In the early days of Minnesota its agricultural population was largely
+centered in the southeastern portion of the state. The soil was
+exceptionally fertile, and produced wheat in unusual abundance. The
+Western farmer of early days was a careless cultivator, thinking more of
+the immediate results than permanent preservation of his land. Even if
+he was of the conservative old New England stock, the generous soil of
+the West, the freedom from social restraint, and the lessened labors of
+the farm, led him into more happy-go-lucky methods than he had been
+accustomed to in the East. It was Mark Twain who once said that if you
+plant a New England deacon in Texas, you will find him in about a year
+with a game chicken under his arm, riding a mule on Sunday to a
+cock-fight. When farms were opened in the southeastern counties of
+Minnesota it was not an unusual thing to be rewarded with a crop of from
+thirty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre. The process of
+cultivation was simple, and required scarcely any capital, so it was
+natural that the first comers should confine their efforts to the one
+product of wheat. They did so, regardless of the fact that the best soil
+will become exhausted unless reenforced. They became accustomed to think
+that land could always be had for the taking, and in twenty or
+twenty-five years, the goose that laid the golden eggs died, and six or
+eight bushels was all they could extract from their lands. About 1877 or
+1878 they practically abandoned the culture of wheat and tried corn and
+hogs. This was an improvement, but not a great success. Many of the
+farmers of the pioneering and roving class sold out, and went west for
+fresh lands.
+
+
+
+
+DAIRYING.
+
+
+About this time the dairy business had become quite profitable in Iowa,
+and the Minnesota farmers turned their attention to that branch of
+industry. Their lands were excellent for pasturing purposes and hay
+raising. They began in a small way, with cows and butter-making, but
+from lack of experience and knowledge of the business their progress was
+slow; but it improved from year to year, and now, in the year 1899, it
+has become one of the most important, successful and profitable
+industries in the state, and the farmers of southern Minnesota
+constitute the most independent and well-to-do class of all our
+citizens. It was not very long ago when a mortgage was an essential
+feature of a Minnesota farm, but they have nearly all been paid off, and
+the farmer of southern Minnesota is found in the ranks of the
+stockholders and depositors of the banks, and if he has anything to do
+with mortgages, he is found on the winning side of that dangerous
+instrument. A brief statement of the facts connected with the dairy
+business will demonstrate its magnitude. There are in the state:
+
+    Creameries, about                              700
+    Creamery patrons                            55,000
+    Capital invested                        $3,000,000
+    Cows supplying milk                        410,000
+    Pounds of milk received in 1898      1,400,000,000
+    Pounds of butter made, 1898             63,000,000
+    Pounds of butter exported               50,000,000
+    Gross receipts, 1898                   $10,400,000
+    Operating expenses, 1898                $1,100,000
+    Paid to patrons                         $8,600,000
+
+Since 1884 Minnesota butter has been exhibited, in competition with
+similar products from all the states in the Union and the butter-making
+countries of the world, at all the principal fairs and expositions that
+have been held in the United States, and has taken more prizes than any
+other state or country. Its cheese has kept pace with its butter. There
+are in the state, in active operation, ninety-four cheese factories.
+This industry is constantly on the increase, and Minnesota is certainly
+destined to surpass every other state in the Union in this department of
+agriculture.
+
+While this new and valuable branch of industry was gradually superseding
+that of wheat in southern Minnesota, the latter was not being
+extinguished by any means, but simply changing its habitat. About the
+time that wheat culture became unprofitable in southern Minnesota, the
+valley of the Red River of the North began to attract attention, and it
+was at once discovered that it was the garden of the world for wheat
+culture. An intelligent and experienced farmer, Mr. Oliver Dalrymple,
+may be said to have been the pioneer of that enterprise. Lands in the
+valley were cheap, and he succeeded in gaining control of immense
+tracts, and unlimited capital for their development. He opened these
+lands up to wheat culture, and gave to the world a new feature in
+agriculture, which acquired the name of the "Bonanza Farm." Some of
+these farms embraced sixty and seventy thousand acres of land, and were
+divided by roads on the section lines. They were supplied with all the
+buildings necessary for the accommodation of the army of superintendents
+and employes that operated them; also, granaries and buildings for
+housing machinery, slaughter houses to provision the operatives,
+telephone systems to facilitate communication between distant points,
+and every other auxiliary to perfect an economic management. These great
+farms, of course, produced wheat at much lower rates than could the
+lesser ones, but did not materially interfere with wheat production by
+the smaller farmers, as the output of 1898 of nearly 79,000,000 bushels
+sufficiently proves. There seems to be no need of apprehension about the
+lands of the Red River Valley becoming exhausted, as they appear to be
+as enduring as those in the valley of the Nile.
+
+
+
+
+THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND ITS SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE.
+
+
+The University of Minnesota, for the establishment of which the United
+States donated to the state nearly 100,000 acres of land, and the
+agricultural college, which was similarly endowed, have been
+consolidated, and both have long been in successful operation. The
+university proper opened its doors for the admission of students about
+the year 1869, and has since attained such proportions as to entitle it
+to a place among the leading educational institutions of the United
+States, its roll of students for the last college year numbering over
+three thousand. Its curriculum embraces all studies generally taught in
+the colleges of this country, professional and otherwise. The state of
+efficiency and high standing of the University of Minnesota is largely
+attributable to the work of its president, Hon. Cyrus Northrop, a
+graduate of Yale, who had attained eminence in the educational world
+before being called to the university.
+
+The school of agriculture is of the highest importance to the welfare of
+the state, the influence of which will soon remove its chief industry
+from dependence on the crude methods of the uneducated Western farmer,
+and place it upon a basis of scientific operation and management. Every
+branch of the art of farming is taught in this institution, from a
+knowledge of the chemical properties of the soil and its adaptation to
+the different vegetable growths, to the scientific breeding and
+economical feeding of stock. Much of the success in the dairy branch of
+farming is the direct result of knowledge gained at this school. It is
+well patronized by the young men of the state who intend to devote
+themselves to agriculture as a profession. Quite recently a new
+department has been added to the institution, for the instruction of
+women in all that pertains to the proper education of the mistress of
+the farm. It goes without saying that when Minnesota farming is brought
+under the management and control of men and women of scientific and
+practical education in that particular line there will be a revolution
+for the better.
+
+The methods of instruction in this school are not merely theoretical. It
+possesses three experimental farms for the practical illustration and
+application of its teachings, the principal one of which is situated at
+St. Anthony Park, and the other two respectively at Crookston and Grand
+Rapids. Work is also done in an experimental way in Lyon county, but the
+state does not own the station.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
+
+
+This society dates its corporate existence from the year 1868, although
+for many years previous to that date, even back to the territorial days,
+a society had been in existence covering the main features of this
+organization. In 1867 the state recognized this society by appropriating
+$1,000 for its encouragement. Its object was the promotion of
+agriculture, horticulture and the mechanic arts. The society held annual
+fairs in different localities in the state, with varying success, until
+1885, when the county of Ramsey offered to convey to the State of
+Minnesota, forever, two hundred acres of land adjoining the city limits
+of St. Paul, for the purpose of holding annual exhibitions thereon,
+under the management of the society, of all matters pertaining to
+agriculture, human art, industry or skill. The state met this munificent
+donation with the same liberal spirit that characterized the offer, and
+appropriated $100,000 for permanent improvements.
+
+The board of managers proceeded immediately to erect the necessary
+buildings for the first exhibition, but found the appropriation
+inadequate by about $32,000, which was readily supplied by public
+spirited citizens of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The state being again
+appealed to in 1887, made a further appropriation of $50,000.
+
+In 1887 the society was reorganized by act of the legislature, and its
+membership designated and made to consist of the following persons:
+
+First--Three delegates from each of the county and district agricultural
+societies.
+
+Second--Honorary life members, prominent by reason of eminent services
+in agriculture, or in the arts and sciences connected therewith, or of
+long and faithful services in the society, or of benefits conferred upon
+it.
+
+Third--The presidents ex-officio of the Horticultural Society, the Amber
+Cane Society, the State Dairymen's Association, the Southern Minnesota
+Fair Association, the State Poultry Association, the State Bee-Keepers'
+Association, and the president and secretary of the Farmer's Alliance.
+
+Fourth--The president of any society having for its object the promotion
+of any branch of agriculture, stock raising or improving, or mechanics
+relating to agriculture.
+
+By this selection of membership it will be seen that the society is
+composed of the leading agriculturists of the state. It holds annual
+meetings in St. Paul for the transaction of its business. The state
+appropriates $4,000 annually to aid in the payment of premiums to
+exhibitors.
+
+The society is in a prosperous condition, and holds annual fairs, in the
+month of September, on its grounds, which have been extensively
+improved. Each year there is a marked increase in the magnitude and
+variety of exhibits, and extended interest and attendance. Its financial
+statement for the year 1898 was: Receipts, $62,523.70; expenditures,
+$56,850.83. It has just closed its fair for the year 1899, which in
+extent and perfection of its exhibits and financial results surpassed
+any of its previous attempts.
+
+There are in the state the following named societies, all more or less
+connected with agriculture, and all in flourishing condition: The State
+Horticultural Society, the State Forestry Association, the Dairymen's
+Association, the State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association, the State
+Farmers' Institute, the State Poultry Association, the State
+Bee-Keepers' Association, and perhaps others. These associations have
+done much in the promotion of the agricultural interests of the state,
+and by their intelligent guidance will, no doubt, soon make it the
+leading agricultural state in the Union.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA SOLDIERS' HOME.
+
+
+In the year 1887 it became apparent that the Civil War and the Minnesota
+Indian War had left a large number of soldiers of the state in dependent
+circumstances from old age, wounds and other disabling causes. The
+state, recognizing its obligation to these men, determined to provide a
+home for their comfort and maintenance. By an act of the legislature,
+passed March 2d of that year, provision was made for the purchase of a
+site and the erection of suitable buildings for that purpose. The act
+provided for bids for the purpose of a site, and also authorized the
+acceptance of donations for that purpose. Minneapolis responded
+handsomely, by offering fifty-one acres of its beautiful Minnehaha park
+as a donation. It was accepted, and is one of the most beautiful and
+picturesque locations that could have been found in the state, being
+near the Mississippi river and the Falls of Minnehaha. The beginning of
+the home was small, one old house being used for the first six months,
+and then, from year to year, handsome and commodious brick houses were
+erected, until the home became adequate to accommodate all those who
+were entitled to its hospitality. The conditions of admission are:
+Residence in Minnesota, service in the Mexican War, or in some Minnesota
+organization in the Civil or Indian Wars, honorable discharge, and
+indigent circumstances. As there are no accommodations for the wives
+and families of the old soldiers and sailors at the home, provision is
+made for relief being furnished to married soldiers at their own homes,
+so as to prevent the separation of families. There were in the home at
+the date of the last report (August 3, 1899) 362 beneficiaries. The home
+is conducted by a board of trustees, consisting of seven members, whose
+election is so arranged that they serve for six years. This beneficent
+establishment is to be commended as an evidence of the generosity and
+patriotism of the state.
+
+
+
+
+OTHER STATE INSTITUTIONS.
+
+
+I have been somewhat explicit in mentioning the institutions of the
+state which are connected with its prominent and permanent
+industry--agriculture; but it must not be supposed that it has not
+provided for the many other interests that require regulation and
+control to constitute a perfectly organized state government. There are,
+besides those I have mentioned, four normal schools (located at Winona,
+Mankato, St. Cloud and Moorhead), all devoted to the education of
+teachers, state high and graded schools scattered all over the state, a
+state board of corrections and charities, and state hospitals for the
+insane (of which there are three), located as follows: One at St. Peter,
+one at Rochester, and one at Fergus Falls, and a fourth in
+contemplation. According to the latest report, these hospitals contained
+3,302 patients, as follows: St. Peter, 1,045; Rochester, 1,196; and
+Fergus Falls, 1,061. For a small, new state, this showing would seem
+alarming, and indicate that a very large percentage of the population
+was insane, and that the rest were preparing to become so. The truth is
+that a case of insanity originating in Minnesota is quite as
+exceptional and rare as other diseases, and can usually be accounted for
+by some self-abuse of the patient. The population is drawn from such
+diverse sources, and the intermarriages are crossed upon so many
+different nationalities that hereditary insanity ought to be almost
+unknown. The climate and the general pursuits of the people all militate
+against the prevalence of the malady.
+
+The explanation of the existence of the numerous cases is, as I am
+informed by the very highest authority on the subject, that in nearly
+all European countries it has become the habit of families afflicted
+with insanity to export their unfortunates to America as soon as any
+symptoms appear, and thus provide for them for the rest of their lives.
+I cannot say that the governments whence these people emigrate
+participate in the fraud, but it is not reasonable to suppose that they
+would interpose any serious objections even should they have knowledge
+of the fact. A comparison of the nationalities of the patients found in
+these hospitals with the American element, given by the census of the
+state, proves my statement, and an inquiry of the medical authorities of
+these institutions will place the question beyond doubt.
+
+
+
+
+MINNESOTA INSTITUTES FOR DEFECTIVES.
+
+
+There are also state schools for the deaf, dumb, blind, and the
+feeble-minded. These institutions are all located at Faribault, in Rice
+county, and each has a very handsome, commodious, and in every way
+suitable building, where these unfortunates are instructed in every
+branch of learning and industry of which they are capable. During the
+last two years there have been enrolled 275 deaf and dumb children in
+the school especially devoted to them, where they receive the best
+education that science and experience can provide. This school has
+already been instrumental in preparing hundreds of deaf and mute youth
+to be useful and intelligent citizens of the state, and year by year a
+few are graduated, well prepared to take their places beside the hearing
+and speaking youth who leave the public schools. About one-third of the
+time is devoted to manual training.
+
+The school for the blind is entirely separate from that of the deaf and
+dumb, and is equipped with all the appliances of a modern special school
+of this character. It makes a specialty of musical instruction and
+industrial training, such as broom-making, hammock weaving, bead work
+and sewing. The course of study embraces a period of seven years,
+beginning with the kindergarten, and ending with the ordinary studies of
+English classes in the high schools. The school is free to all blind
+children in the state between the ages of eight and twenty-six, to whom
+board, care and tuition are furnished. The average number of pupils at
+this school for the past few years is between seventy and one hundred.
+
+
+
+
+There is also a
+
+STATE SCHOOL FOR DEPENDENT AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN.
+
+
+This school is located at Owatonna, in Steele county, and is one of the
+most valuable of all the many establishments which the state has
+provided for the encouragement of good citizenship. There are eleven
+buildings, which comprise all the agencies that tend to make abandoned
+children useful citizens and rescue them from a life of vagrancy and
+crime.
+
+The object of this institution is to provide a temporary home and school
+for the dependent and neglected children of the state. No child in
+Minnesota need go without a home if the officers of the several counties
+do their duty. There is not a semblance of any degrading or criminal
+feature in the manner of obtaining admittance to this school. Under the
+law, it is the duty of every county commissioner, when he finds any
+child dependent, or in danger of becoming so, to take steps to send him
+to this school. The process of admission wisely guards against the
+separation of parent and child, but keeps in view the ultimate good of
+the latter. Once admitted it becomes the child of the state, all other
+authority over it being canceled. Every child old enough to work has
+some fitting task assigned to it, to the end of training it mentally,
+morally and physically for useful citizenship. They are sent from the
+school into families wanting them, but this does not deprive them of the
+watchful care of the state, which, through its agents, visits them in
+their adopted homes, and sees that they are well cared for.
+
+On Jan. 1, 1899, there had been received into the school, from
+seventy-two counties, 1,824 children, of whom 1,131 were boys and 693
+were girls. Of these 233 were then in the school, the others having been
+placed in good homes. It is known that eighty-three per cent of these
+children develope into young men and women of good character.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE TRAINING SCHOOL.
+
+
+This institution was formerly "The Minnesota State Reform School," and
+was located in St. Paul. In 1895 the legislature changed its name to
+"The Minnesota State Training School for Boys and Girls," and its
+location has been changed to Red Wing, in the county of Goodhue. This
+institution has to do with criminals, and the statute provides, "That
+whenever an infant over the age of eight years and under the age of
+sixteen years shall have been duly convicted of any crime punishable
+with imprisonment, except the crime of murder, or shall be convicted of
+vagrancy or of incorrigibly vicious conduct," the sentence shall be to
+the guardianship of the board of managers of this school. Here they are
+given a good common school education and instructed in the trades of
+cabinet making, carpenter work, tailoring, shoemaking, blacksmithing,
+printing, farming, gardening, etc.
+
+The inmates are furloughed under proper conditions, but the state
+watches over them through an agent, who provides homes for the homeless
+and employment for those who need help.
+
+
+
+
+MINNESOTA STATE REFORMATORY.
+
+
+This institution was established in 1887, and is located at St. Cloud.
+It is designed as an intermediate correctional school between the
+training school and the state prison, the object being to provide a
+place for young men and boys from sixteen to thirty years of age, never
+before convicted of crime, where they may, under as favorable
+circumstances as possible, by discipline and education best adapted to
+that end, form such habits and character as will prevent their
+continuing in crime, fit them for self-support, and accomplish their
+reformation.
+
+The law provides for an indeterminate sentence, allowing of parole when
+earned by continuous good conduct, and final release when reformation is
+strongly probable.
+
+Honest labor is required every day of each inmate. Almost every
+occupation and employment is carried on in a practical way, and each
+inmate is learning to fill some honest place and to do useful work. The
+workings of this reformatory have been very satisfactory, and have
+undoubtedly rescued many young people from a life of crime.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE PRISON.
+
+
+All prisons where criminals are sent to work out sentences for crimes
+committed are alike on general principles, and the Minnesota prison,
+situated at Stillwater, differs only in the fact that it combines in its
+administration all the modern discoveries of sociological research which
+tend to ameliorate the condition of the prisoner and fit him for the
+duties of good citizenship when discharged.
+
+The plant is extensive and thorough. The labor of the prisoners is now
+devoted to three industries: the manufacture of binding twine, high
+school scientific apparatus on state account, and the manufacture of
+boots and shoes.
+
+The discipline and management of the prison are the best. The most
+advanced principles of penology are in force. Sentences are reduced by
+good conduct, and everything is done to reform as well as punish the
+prisoner. A newspaper is published by the convicts, and a library of
+five thousand volumes is furnished for their mental improvement. Nothing
+known to modern social and penal science is omitted from the management.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
+
+
+This society, as I have said before in speaking of the work of the first
+territorial legislature, was organized by that body in 1849, and has
+been of incalculable value to the state. The officers of the society are
+a president, two vice presidents, a treasurer and a secretary, and it
+is governed by an executive council of thirty-six members, which
+embraces the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, auditor,
+treasurer of state and attorney general as ex-officio members. The state
+makes an annual appropriation in aid of the society. The executive
+council meets once a month for the transaction of its business, at which
+meetings, and at its annual meetings, interesting papers and essays are
+delivered on historical subjects, which are preserved, and with other
+matter are published in handsomely bound volumes when sufficient
+material is accumulated.
+
+The society, in the manner prescribed in its by-laws, may establish the
+following separate departments:
+
+    Department of Annals and General History of Minnesota.
+    Department of Geology of Minnesota.
+    Department of Zoölogy of Minnesota.
+    Department of Botany of Minnesota.
+    Department of Meteorology of Minnesota.
+    Department of Northwestern Geography and Chartology.
+    Department of American History.
+    Department of Oriental History.
+    Department of European History.
+    Department of Genealogy and Heraldry.
+    Department of Ethnology and Anthropology.
+
+It has corresponding members all over the world, and official
+connections with nearly all the historical and learned societies of
+Europe and America, with which it interchanges publications. It has a
+membership of 142 life and 37 annual members. It may receive donations
+from any source.
+
+Its property, real and personal, is exempt from taxation of any kind. It
+has accumulated a splendid library of about 63,000 volumes of all kinds
+of historical, genealogical, scientific and general knowledge, all of
+which are open and free to the public. It also has a gallery of pictures
+of historical scenes in Minnesota, and portraits of men and women who
+have been prominent in, or who have contributed to, the history or
+growth of the state, together with an extensive museum of Indian and
+other curiosities having some relation to Minnesota. One of its most
+valuable attractions is a newspaper department, in which are complete
+files of all newspapers which have been and are published in the state,
+except a very few unimportant ones. The number of our state papers,
+daily, weekly and monthly, received at the beginning of the year 1899 is
+421. These papers are all bound in substantial volumes, for preservation
+for the use of future generations. On Sept. 1, 1899, the society had on
+the shelves of its fire-proof vault 4,250 of these volumes. Its rooms
+are in the capitol at St. Paul, and are entirely inadequate for its
+accommodation, but ample space has been allowed it in the new capitol
+now in the course of construction.
+
+
+
+
+STATE INSTITUTIONS MISCELLANEOUS IN THEIR CHARACTER.
+
+
+Besides the general state boards and associations having special
+reference to the leading products of the state, and those of a
+reformatory and educational character, there are many others, regulating
+business of various kinds among the inhabitants, all of which are
+important in their special spheres, but to name them is all I can say
+about them in my limited space. Their number and the subjects which they
+regulate shows the care with which the state watches over the welfare
+of its citizens. I present the following catalogue of the state
+departments:
+
+    The Insurance Commission.
+    The Public Examiner.
+    The Dairy Food Commission.
+    The Bureau of Labor.
+    The Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners.
+    The Board of Game and Fish Commissioners.
+    The State Law Library.
+    The State Department of Oil Inspection.
+    The State Horticultural Society.
+    The State Forestry Association.
+    The Minnesota Dairymen's Association.
+    The State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association.
+    The State Farmers' Institutes.
+    The Red River Valley Drainage Commission.
+    The State Drainage Commission.
+    The Commission of Statistics.
+    The State Board of Health and Vital Statistics.
+    The State Board of Medical Examiners.
+    The State Board of Pharmacy.
+    The State Board of Dental Examiners.
+    The State Board of Examiners in Law.
+    The Bureau of Public Printing.
+    The Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Cruelty.
+    The Geological and Natural History Survey.
+    The State Board of Equalization.
+    Surveyors of Logs and Lumber.
+    The Board of Pardons.
+    The State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation.
+    The State Board of Investment.
+    The State Board of Examiners of Barbers.
+    The State Board of Examiners of Practical Plumbing.
+    The Horseshoers' Board of Examiners.
+    The Inspection of Steam Boilers.
+
+It is difficult to conceive of any other subject over which the state
+could assume jurisdiction, and the great number which are embraced
+already within its supervision would lead one who is not in touch with
+our state administration to believe that state paternalism dominated the
+business industries of the people; but nothing is further from the
+truth, and no state in the Union is freer from governmental interference
+in the ordinary channels of industry than Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+STATE FINANCES.
+
+
+Since the settlement of the debt created by the old railroad bonds that
+I have heretofore mentioned, the finances of the state have always been
+in excellent condition. When the receipts of an individual or a state
+exceed expenditures the situation is both satisfactory and safe. At the
+last report, up to July 31, 1898, the receipts of the state from all
+sources were $5,429,240.32, and the expenditures were $5,208,942.05,
+leaving a balance on the right side of the ledger of $220,298.27. To the
+receipts must be added the balance in the treasury at the beginning of
+the year of $2,054,314.26, which left in the treasury on July 31, 1898,
+the large sum of $2,184,612.53.
+
+The original indebtedness arising from the adjustment of the state
+railroad bonds was $1,659,000; other bonds, $300,000.00. This
+indebtedness has been reduced by payments to the sum of $1,475,647.22,
+on July 31, 1898, the date of the last report. If this debt had
+matured, it could at once be paid by the funds on hand, leaving the
+state entirely free from all indebtedness.
+
+The taxable property of the state by last assessment, in 1897, including
+real and personal property, was $570,598,813.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONETARY AND BUSINESS FLURRY OF 1873 AND PANIC OF 1893.
+
+
+It has been customary in the United States to expect a disturbance in
+monetary and business affairs about once in every twenty years, and the
+expectation has not been disappointed since the panic of 1837. I have
+described the effect of the panic of 1857 on the Territory and State of
+Minnesota, and the difficulties of recuperating from the shock. The next
+similar event was not due until 1877, but there is always some special
+disaster to precipitate such occurrences. In 1857 it was the failure of
+the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, and in 1873 it was the
+failure of Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia. This house had been very
+prominent in placing the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
+and in the construction of the road, and was relied upon by many classes
+of people to invest their money for them, and when their failure was
+announced, its effect in the East was disastrous, but here in Minnesota
+it only affected us in a secondary or indirect way, in stopping railroad
+building and creating general alarm in business circles. We had been
+diligently at work for sixteen years, endeavoring to recuperate from the
+disaster of 1857, and had to a great extent succeeded. Real estate had
+partially revived, but had not reached the boom feature, and the state
+was on a sound financial basis. Fortunately we had not recovered
+sufficiently to become investors in railroad securities to any great
+extent, and land speculation had not reached its usual twenty years'
+mark. We had, also, on hand a local affliction, in the presence of
+grasshoppers, so that, although it disturbed business generally, it did
+not succeed in producing bankruptcy, and we soon shook it off.
+
+This periodical financial disturbance has been attributed to various
+causes. From the regularity of its appearance, it must be the result of
+some impelling force of a generally similar character. My opinion is,
+that the period of twenty years being the average time of man's active
+business life, the actors of the second period have not the benefit of
+the experience gained by those of the previous one, and they repeat the
+same errors that produced the former disasters; but be that as it may,
+when the period extending from 1873 to 1893 had passed, the same result
+had occurred, and with quite as much force as any of its predecessors.
+Land speculation had reached the point of absolute insanity. Everybody
+thought he could become rich if he only bought. Values, already
+ridiculously expanded, continued to increase with every sale. Anyone who
+had money enough to pay down a small amount as earnest and intelligence
+enough to sign a note and mortgage for the balance of the purchase price
+became purchasers to the limit of their credit. When a party whose
+credit was questioned needed an indorser, he found many requiring the
+same assistance who were ready to swap indorsements with him. Everyone
+became deeply in debt. The country was flooded with paper, which was
+secured on the impossibility of values continuing. The banks became
+loaded with alleged securities, and when the bubble was strained to the
+bursting point, and some one of supposed financial soundness was
+compelled to succumb to the pressure, the veil was lifted, which opened
+the eyes of the community and produced a rush for safety, which
+induced, and was necessarily followed, by a general collapse. In 1888
+and 1889 banks suspended, money disappeared, and in 1893, in the
+expressive language of the West, everybody who was in debt, and all
+stockholders and depositors in defunct banks "went broke." Had the
+cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis been captured by an enemy and a
+ransom of ten million dollars been demanded from each, paid and carried
+away, the consequences upon business would not have been worse. It was
+much the same in all the large cities of the state, as land speculation
+was more active there than in the rural districts, and no matter what
+may happen, some value always remains to farm lands, while under such a
+collapse as that of 1893 the greater part of city property becomes
+utterly valueless for the present, and much of it forever.
+
+There was, however, a great difference between the consequences of 1893
+and the previous disasters of 1857 and 1873. Although the disturbance
+was great, we were better prepared to meet it. Population had increased
+immensely. The area of civilization and production had kept pace with
+immigration. Manufactures of many kinds had been introduced, and
+although we were seriously wounded, our hopes of recovery had solid
+grounds to rest upon, and we were not dismayed. The only remedy in such
+cases--industry and economy--was applied, through necessity if not from
+choice, and recovery has been slowly progressing up to the present time
+(1900), when we may be classed as convalescent.
+
+Will this experience serve to prevent a recurrence of the follies of the
+past? Most assuredly not. Those who have reaped wisdom will have
+surrendered the speculative arena to others before the financial cycle
+rolls around, and history will repeat itself, notwithstanding the state
+never had a better future outlook than at present. It does not follow
+that the panic due about 1913 will be caused by over speculation in real
+estate. It is more likely to be produced by the excessive and fraudulent
+capitalization of all sorts of corporations, called trusts, which will,
+of course, succumb to the first serious blow.
+
+With the exception of the events I have narrated, including the
+financial troubles of 1873 and 1893, nothing of special importance to
+the state has happened, except a few occurrences of minor moment.
+
+
+
+
+MINOR HAPPENINGS.
+
+
+Sept. 5, 1878, President Hayes made a short visit to the state, and
+delivered an address at the state agricultural fair.
+
+On the 7th of September, 1876, an organized gang of bandits, which had
+been terrorizing the State of Missouri and surrounding states with
+impunity, entered this state, and attacked a bank in the town of
+Northfield, in Rice county, with the intent of looting it. The cashier,
+Mr. Haywood, resisted, and they shot him dead. The people of the town,
+hearing of the raid, turned out, and opened fire on the robbers, who
+fled, with the loss of one killed. In their flight they killed a Swede
+before they got out of the town. The people of the counties through
+which their flight led them, turned out, and before any of them passed
+the border of the state, two more of them were killed and three
+captured. Two escaped. The captured were three brothers named Younger,
+and those who escaped were supposed to be the notorious James Brothers
+of Missouri. The three Younger Brothers pleaded guilty to a charge of
+murder, and on account of a peculiarity in the law, that only allowed
+the death sentence to be imposed by a jury, they were all sentenced to
+imprisonment for life. One of them has since died, and the other two
+remain in prison.
+
+The manner in which this raid was handled by our citizens was of immense
+value to the state, as it proved a warning to all such desperadoes that
+Minnesota was a bad field for their operations, and we have had no more
+trouble from that class of offenders.
+
+In 1877 the constitution was amended by providing for biennial, instead
+of annual, sessions of the legislature.
+
+On May 2, 1878, a very singular and disastrous event took place at
+Minneapolis. Three large flouring mills were blown up by a dust
+explosion, and eighteen men killed. It was inexplicable for a time, but
+it was afterwards discovered that such explosions had occurred before,
+and prompt measures were taken to prevent a repetition of the trouble.
+
+On the 15th day of November, 1880, a portion of the large insane asylum
+at St. Peter was destroyed by fire, and eighteen of the inmates were
+burned, others dying of injuries received. The pecuniary loss amounted
+to $150,000.
+
+On the first day of March, 1881, the old capitol burned, while the
+legislature was in session. That body moved their sittings to the St.
+Paul market house, which had just been finished, where they remained
+until the present capitol building was erected upon the site of the one
+destroyed.
+
+On the twenty-fifth day of January, 1884, the state prison at Stillwater
+was partially burned.
+
+On the fourteenth day of September, 1886, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids were
+struck by a cyclone. Scores of buildings were destroyed, and about
+seventy of the inhabitants killed.
+
+In the year 1889 the Australian system of voting at elections was
+introduced in cities of ten thousand inhabitants and over, and in 1892
+the system was made general throughout the state.
+
+On the seventh day of April, 1893, the legislature passed an act for the
+building of a new state capitol in the city of St. Paul, and appointed
+commissioners to carry out the object. They selected an eligible and
+conspicuous site between University avenue, Cedar and Wabasha streets,
+near the head of Wabasha. They adopted for the materials which were to
+enter into it--granite for the lower and Georgia white marble for the
+upper stories. The whole cost was not to exceed $2,000,000. The corner
+stone of the building was laid on the twenty-seventh day of July, 1898,
+with appropriate and very imposing ceremonies, in the presence of an
+immense throng of citizens from all parts of the state. Senator Davis
+delivered the oration, and ex-Gov. Alexander Ramsey laid the corner
+stone. The building has reached the base of the dome, and will be a very
+beautiful and serviceable structure.
+
+On Sept. 1, 1894, there was a most extensive and disastrous fire in Pine
+county. Four hundred square miles of territory were burned over by a
+forest fire, the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone were totally destroyed,
+and four hundred people burned. The money loss was estimated at
+$1,000,000. This disaster was exactly what was needed to awaken the
+people of the state to the necessity of providing means for the
+prevention of forest and prairie fires and the preservation of our
+forests. Shortly after the Hinckley fire a state convention was held at
+the Commercial Club in St. Paul, to devise legislation to accomplish
+this desirable end, which resulted in the passage of an act, at the
+session of the legislature in 1895, entitled, "An act for the
+preservation of forests of this state, and for the prevention and
+suppression of forest and prairie fires." Under this act the state
+auditor was made the forest commissioner of the state, with authority to
+appoint a chief fire warden. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities
+and presidents of village councils are made fire wardens of their
+respective local jurisdictions, and the machinery for the prevention of
+fires is put in motion that is of immense value to the state. The forest
+commissioner appointed Gen. C. C. Andrews chief fire warden, one of the
+best equipped men in the state for the position, and no serious trouble
+has since occurred in the way of fires.
+
+On the ninth day of February, 1887, the Minnesota Historical Society
+passed a resolution, declaring that the pretenses made by Capt. Willard
+Glazier to having been the discoverer of the source of the Mississippi
+river were false, and very little has been heard from him since.
+
+On the tenth day of October, 1887, President Cleveland visited the
+state, and made a short stay.
+
+This enumeration of passing events looks a little like a catalogue of
+disasters (except the building of the new capitol and the visits of
+Presidents Hayes and Cleveland), but it must be remembered that
+Minnesota is such an empire in itself, that such happenings scarcely
+produce a ripple on the surface of its steady and continuous progress.
+It is because these events can be particularized and described that they
+assume proportions beyond their real importance, but when compared with
+the colossal advances made by the state during the period covering them,
+they dwindle into mere points of educational experience, to be guarded
+against in the future, while the many blessings showered upon the
+state, consisting of the health and wealth imparting sunshine, the
+refreshing and fructifying rains and dews of heaven, which, like the
+smiles of providence and the life-sustaining air that surrounds us, are
+too intangible and indefinable for more than thankful recognition. Our
+tribulations were really blessings in disguise. The bold invasion of the
+robbers proved our courage; the storms and fires proved our generosity
+to the distressed, and taught us lessons in the wisdom of prevention.
+Minnesota has as much to be thankful for and as little to regret as any
+state in the West, and our troubles only prove that we have a very
+robust vitality, difficult to permanently impair.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
+
+
+For many years there has been a growing sentiment in the United States
+that Spain was governing Cuba and her other West Indian colonies in an
+oppressive and unjust manner, and the desire to interfere in behalf of
+the Cuban people received a good deal of encouragement, and its general
+expression succeeded in creating very strained relations between Spain
+and the United States. It is a well known fact that the Spanish people,
+from the north line of Mexico to Cape Horn, as well as the inhabitants
+of the Spanish Islands, hate the Americans most heartily. Why, I do not
+know; except that our social, governmental and religious habits, customs
+and beliefs are radically different from their own; but that such is the
+case no one doubts who knows these people. In 1897 some effort at
+conciliation was made, and Spain sent one of her warships to New York on
+a friendly visit; but she did not stay long, and got away as soon as she
+decently could. The United States sent the battleship Maine to Havana
+on the same friendly mission, where she was officially conveyed to her
+anchorage. She had been there but a short time when she was blown up, on
+Feb. 15, 1898, and 260 American seamen murdered. There was an official
+investigation to determine the cause of the explosion, but it found no
+solution of the disaster. Various theories were advanced of internal
+spontaneous explosion, but no one was misled. The general sentiment of
+Americans was that the Spanish in Cuba deliberately exploded a submarine
+torpedo under her, to accomplish the result that followed. Previous to
+this cowardly act there was much difference of opinion among the people
+of all sections of the country as to the propriety of declaring war
+against Spain, but public sentiment was at once unified in favor of war
+on the announcement of this outrage. On the 25th of April, 1898,
+congress passed an act declaring that war against Spain had existed
+since the 21st of the same month. A requisition was made on Minnesota
+for its quota of troops immediately after war was declared, and late in
+the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of April the governor issued an
+order to the adjutant general to assemble the state troops at St. Paul.
+The adjutant general, on the 29th, issued the following order, by
+telegraph, to the different commands:
+
+    "The First, Second and Third Regiments of infantry are hereby
+    ordered to report at St. Paul on Friday morning, April 29, 1898,
+    not later than eleven o'clock, with one day's cooked rations in
+    their haversacks."
+
+The order was promptly obeyed, and all the field, staff and company
+officers, with their commands, reported before the time appointed, and
+on the afternoon of that day went into camp at the state fair grounds,
+which was named Camp Ramsey. Such promptness on the part of the state
+militia was remarkable, but it will be seen that they had been prepared
+for the order of the adjutant general before its final issue, who had
+anticipated the declaration of war.
+
+On April 18th he had issued the following order:
+
+    "The commanding officers of the infantry companies and artillery
+    batteries composing the national guard will immediately take
+    steps to recruit their commands up to one hundred men each. All
+    recruits above the maximum peace footing of seventy-six men will
+    be carried upon the muster roll as provisional recruits, to be
+    discharged in case their services are not needed for field
+    service."
+
+On the 25th of April the adjutant general issued the following order:
+
+    "In obedience to orders this day received from the honorable
+    secretary of war, calling upon the State of Minnesota for three
+    regiments of infantry as volunteers of the United States, to
+    serve two years or less, and as the three national guard
+    regiments have signified their desire of entering the service of
+    the United States as volunteers, the First, Second, and Third
+    Regiments of Infantry of the national guard of the State of
+    Minnesota will immediately make preparations to report to these
+    headquarters upon receipt of telegraphic orders, which will be
+    issued later."
+
+This commendable action on the part of our military authorities resulted
+in the Minnesota troops being the first to be mustered into the service
+of the United States in the war with Spain, thus repeating the proud
+distinction gained by the state in 1861, when Minnesota was the first
+state to offer troops for the defense of the Union in the Civil War. It
+is a curious as well as interesting coincidence, that the First
+Minnesota Regiment for the Civil War was mustered in on April 29, 1861,
+and the first three regiments for the Spanish War were mobilized at St.
+Paul on April 29, 1898.
+
+The mustering in of the three regiments was completed on the eighth day
+of May, 1898, and they were designated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and
+Fourteenth Regiments of Infantry, Minnesota Volunteers. This
+classification was made because the state had furnished eleven full
+regiments of infantry for the Civil War, and it was decided to number
+them consecutively.
+
+The Twelfth and Fourteenth left Camp Ramsey on the sixteenth day of May
+for Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia, and the Thirteenth departed for
+San Francisco on the same day. The Thirteenth was afterwards ordered to
+Manila. The others did not leave the country, and were subsequently
+mustered out. The Thirteenth did gallant service in the Philippines, in
+many battles, was mustered out in San Francisco, and, on Oct. 12, 1899,
+returned to our state. A warm welcome was given it in Minnesota, where
+it will always be regarded with the same pride and affection formerly
+bestowed upon the old First, of patriotic memory.
+
+President McKinley and several of his cabinet arrived in St. Paul at the
+time of the arrival of the Thirteenth, and assisted in welcoming them to
+their homes.
+
+There was a second call for troops, under which the Fifteenth Regiment
+was mustered in, but was not called upon for active duty of any kind. It
+is to be hoped that the war may be ended without the need of more
+volunteers from Minnesota, but should another call be made on our people
+no doubt can be entertained of their prompt response. Having given the
+part taken in the war against Spain and the Philippines by Minnesota,
+its further prosecution against the latter becomes purely a federal
+matter, unless we shall be called into it in the future.
+
+When Spain sued for peace, soon after the destruction of her second
+fleet off Santiago de Cuba, a commission to negotiate a treaty of peace
+with her was appointed by the president, and Minnesota was honored by
+the selection of its senior senator, Hon. Cushman K. Davis, chairman of
+the senate committee on foreign relations, as one of its members. The
+commission consisted of William R. Day, secretary of state of the United
+States, Cushman K. Davis of Minnesota, William P. Frye of Maine, George
+Gray of Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid of New York. It met at Paris, and
+concluded its labors the tenth day of December, 1898, when the treaty
+was signed by the commissioners of both contracting parties. It is
+hardly necessary to add that the influence exerted on the result by the
+distinguished and learned representative from Minnesota was controlling.
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIAN BATTLE OF LEECH LAKE.
+
+
+Early in October, 1898, there was an Indian battle fought at Leech lake,
+in this state, the magnitude of the result of which gives it a place in
+the history of Minnesota, although it was strictly a matter of United
+States cognizance and jurisdiction. In Cass county there is a Chippewa
+Indian reservation, and like all other Indian reservations, there are to
+be found there turbulent people, both white and red. There is a large
+island out in Leech lake, called Bear island, which is inhabited by the
+Indians. On Oct. 1, 1897, one Indian shot another on this island. A
+prominent member of the tribe named Pug-on-a-ke-shig was present, and
+witnessed the shooting. An indictment was found in the United States
+district court against the Indian who did the shooting, but before any
+trial could be had the matter was settled among the Indians in their own
+way, and they thought that was the last of it. A subpoena was issued for
+Pug-on-a-ke-shig and a deputy marshal served it. He disregarded the
+subpoena. An attachment was then issued to arrest him and bring him into
+court. A deputy United States marshal tried to serve it, and was
+resisted by the Indian and his friends on three different occasions, and
+once when the Indian was arrested he was rescued from the custody of the
+marshal. Warrants were then issued for the arrest of twenty-one of the
+rescuers. This was in the latter part of August, 1898. Troops were asked
+for to aid the marshal in making his arrests, and a lieutenant and
+twenty men were sent from Fort Snelling for that purpose. This was
+simply a repetition of the many mistakes made by the military
+authorities in such matters. If troops were necessary for any purpose,
+twenty men were simply useless, and worse than none, and when the time
+came for the application of military force would, of course, have been
+annihilated. The United States marshal, with a squad of deputies,
+accompanied the troops. It soon became apparent that there would be
+trouble before the Indians could be brought to terms, and General Bacon,
+the officer in command of the Department of Dakota, with headquarters at
+St. Paul, ordered Major Wilkinson of Company "E," of the Third Regiment
+of United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Snelling, with his company
+of eighty men, to the scene of the troubles. General Bacon accompanied
+these troops as far as Walker, on the west bank of Leech lake, more in
+the capacity of an observer of events and to gain proper knowledge of
+the situation than as part of the force. On the 5th of October, 1898,
+the whole force left Walker in boats for a place on the east bank of the
+lake, called Sugar Point, where there was a clearing of several acres
+and a log house, occupied by Pug-on-a-ke-shig. They were accompanied by
+R. T. O'Connor, the United States marshal of Minnesota, and several of
+his deputies, among whom was Col. Timothy J. Sheehan, who knew the
+Indians who were subject to arrest. This officer was the same man who,
+as Lieutenant Sheehan, had so successfully commanded the forces at Fort
+Ridgely, during the Indian War of 1862, since when he had fought his way
+through the Civil War with distinction. When the command landed, only a
+few squaws and Indians were visible. The deputy marshals landed, and
+with the interpreters went at once to the house, and while there
+discovered an Indian whom Colonel Sheehan recognized as one for whom a
+warrant was out, and immediately attempted to arrest and handcuff him.
+The Indian resisted vigorously, and it was only with the aid of three or
+four soldiers that they succeeded in arresting him. He was put on board
+of the boat. The whole force then skirmished through the timber in
+search of Indians, but found none, and about noon returned to the
+clearing and were ordered to stack arms preparatory to getting dinner.
+They had scouted the surrounding country and had seen no Indians or
+signs of Indians, and did not believe there were any in the vicinity,
+when in fact the Indians had carefully watched their every movement, and
+were close to their trail, waiting for the most advantageous moment to
+strike. It was the same tactics which the Indians had so often adopted
+with much success in their warfare with the whites. While stacking arms,
+a new recruit allowed his gun to fall to the ground, and it was
+discharged accidentally. The Indians who were silently awaiting their
+opportunity, supposing it was the signal of attack, opened fire on the
+troops, and a vicious battle began. The soldiers seized their arms, and
+returned the fire as best they could, directing it at the points whence
+came the shots from the invisible enemy, concealed in the dense thicket.
+The battle raged for several hours. General Bacon, with a gun in his
+hands, was everywhere, encouraging the men. Major Wilkinson, as cool as
+if he had been in a drawing room, cheered his men on, but was thrice
+wounded, the last hit proving fatal. Colonel Sheehan instinctively
+entered the fight, and took charge of the right wing of the line,
+charging the enemy with a few followers and keeping up a rapid fire. The
+colonel was hit three times, two bullets passing through his clothes,
+grazing the skin, without serious injury, and one cutting a painful but
+not dangerous wound across his stomach. The result of the fight was six
+killed and nine wounded on the part of the troops. One of the Indian
+police was also killed, and seven citizens wounded, some seriously. No
+estimate has ever been satisfactorily obtained of the loss of the enemy.
+The most reliable account of the number of his forces engaged is from
+nineteen to thirty, and if I should venture an estimate of his losses,
+based upon my experience of his ability to select a vantage ground, and
+take care of himself, I would put it at practically nothing.
+
+The killed and wounded were brought to Fort Snelling, the killed buried
+with military honors, and the wounded properly cared for. This event
+adds one more to the long list of fatal errors committed by our military
+forces in dealing with the Indians of the Northwest. They should never
+be attacked without a force sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of
+the whites in all cases and under all circumstances. Many a valuable
+life has been thus unnecessarily lost.
+
+Major Wilkinson, who lost his life in this encounter, was a man who had
+earned an enviable record in the army, and was much beloved by his many
+friends and acquaintances in Minnesota.
+
+The principal Indian engaged in this fight has been called, in every
+newspaper and other reports of it, Bug-a-ma-ge-shig; but I have
+succeeded in obtaining his real name from the highest authority. The
+name, Pug-on-a-ke-shig, is the Chippewa for "Hole-in-the-day."
+
+Shortly after the return of the troops to Fort Snelling the settlers
+about Cass and Leech lakes became uneasy, and deluged the governor with
+telegrams for protection. The national guard or state troops had nearly
+all been mustered into the United States service for duty in the war
+with Spain, but the Fourteenth Regiment was in St. Paul, awaiting muster
+out, and the governor telegraphed to the war department at Washington to
+send enough of them to the front to quiet the fears of the settlers.
+This was declined, and the governor at once ordered out two batteries of
+artillery, all the state troops that were available, and sent them to
+the scene of the troubles, and then sent his celebrated telegram to the
+war department, which may be called the "Minnesota Declaration of
+Independence." It ran as follows:
+
+    "Oct. 8, 1898.
+    "_H. C. Corbin, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C.:_
+
+    "No one claims that reinforcements are needed at Walker. I have
+    not been asked for assistance from that quarter. Although I do
+    not think General Bacon has won the victory he claims, other
+    people do not say so. The Indians claim to have won, and that is
+    my opinion. The people all along the Fosston branch of railroad
+    are very much alarmed, and asking for protection, which I have
+    asked of the war department. The soldiers are here, and ready
+    and willing to go, but as you have revoked your order of
+    yesterday, you can do what you like with your soldiers. The
+    State of Minnesota will try to get along without any assistance
+    from the war department in the future.
+
+          "D. M. CLOUGH,
+                "_Governor._"
+
+Rumor says that the telegram which was forwarded is very much modified
+from that originally dictated by the governor.
+
+The United States government concluded to withdraw its refusal, and send
+troops to the front, and several companies of the Fourteenth were
+dispatched to the line of the Fosston branch railroad, and distributed
+along the line of that road.
+
+In the meantime the commissioner of Indian affairs had arrived at
+Walker, and was negotiating with the Indians, and when it became known
+that matters were arranged to the satisfaction of the government and the
+Indians and no outbreak was expected the soldiers were all withdrawn,
+and the incident, so far as military operations were concerned, was
+closed. There were some surrenders of the Indians to the officers of the
+court, but nothing further of consequence occurred.
+
+
+
+
+POPULATION.
+
+
+One of the most interesting features of a new country is the character
+and the nativity of its population. The old frontiersman who has watched
+the growth of new states, and fully comprehended the effect produced
+upon their civilization and character by the nativity of their
+immigrants, is the only person competent to judge of the influences
+exerted in this line. It is a well known fact that the immigration from
+Europe into America is generally governed by climatic influences. These
+people usually follow the line of latitude to which they have been
+accustomed. The Norseman from Russia, Sweden, Germany and Norway comes
+to the extreme Northwestern States, while the emigrants from southern
+Europe seek the more southern latitudes. Of course, these are very
+general comments, and only relate to emigration in its usual directions,
+as the people of all parts of Europe are found in all parts of America.
+It is generally believed that the emigrants from northern Europe are
+more desirable than those from further south, and a presentation of the
+status of our population in point of nativity will afford a basis from
+which to judge of their general attributes for good or bad. There is no
+nation on earth that has not sent us some representative. The following
+table, while it will prove that we have a most heterogeneous, polyglot
+population, will also prove that we possess vast powers of assimilation,
+as we are about as harmonious a people as can be found in all the Union.
+Our governor is a Swede, one of our United States senators is a
+Norwegian, and our other state officers are pretty generally distributed
+among the various nationalities. Of course, in the minor political
+subdivisions, such as counties, cities and towns, the office holding is
+generally governed by the same considerations.
+
+I give the various countries from which our population is drawn, with
+the numbers from each country, and the number of native born and foreign
+born, which, aggregated, constitute our entire population. These figures
+are taken from the state census of 1895:
+
+    England                     12,941
+    Scotland                     5,344
+    Germany                    133,768
+    Denmark                     16,143
+    Norway                     107,319
+    Canada                      49,231
+    Poland                       8,464
+    Iceland                        454
+    Ireland                     26,106
+    Wales                        1,246
+    France                       1,492
+    Sweden                     119,554
+    Russia                       6,286
+    Bohemia                     10,327
+    Finland                      7,652
+    All other countries         11,205
+                             ---------
+    Total native born        1,057,084
+    Total foreign born         517,535
+                             ---------
+    Total population         1,674,619
+
+The total native born of our population is very largely composed of the
+descendants of foreign emigrants. These figures afford a large field for
+thought and future consideration, when emigration problems are under
+legislative investigation.
+
+The census from which these figures are taken being five years old, I
+think it is safe to add a sufficient number of increase to bring our
+population up to two millions. The census of 1900 will demonstrate
+whether or not my estimate is correct.
+
+
+
+
+THE STATE FLAG.
+
+
+Up to the year 1893 the State of Minnesota had no distinctive state
+flag. On April 4, 1893, an act was passed by the legislature entitled,
+"An act providing for the adoption of a state flag." This act appointed
+by name a commission of six ladies, to adopt a design for a state flag.
+Section 2 of the act provided that the design adopted should embody, as
+near as may be, the following facts:
+
+    "There shall be a white ground with reverse side of blue. The
+    center of the white ground shall be occupied by a design
+    substantially embodying the form of the seal employed as the
+    state seal of Minnesota at the time of its admission into the
+    Union.... The said design of the state seal shall be surrounded
+    by appropriate representations of the moccasin flower,
+    indigenous to Minnesota, surrounding said central design, and
+    appropriately arranged on the said white ground shall be
+    nineteen stars, emblematic of the fact that Minnesota was the
+    nineteenth state to be admitted into the Union after its
+    formation by the thirteen original states. There shall also
+    appear at the bottom of the flag, in the white ground, so as to
+    be plainly visible, the word 'Minnesota.'"
+
+The commission prepared a very beautiful design for the flag, following
+closely the instructions given by the legislature, which was adopted,
+and is now the authorized flag of the state. The flag-staff is
+surmounted by a golden gopher rampant, in harmony with the popular name
+given to our state. May it ever represent the principles of liberty and
+justice, and never be lowered to an enemy! The original flag,
+artistically embroidered in silk, can be seen at the office of the
+governor at the state capitol.
+
+
+
+
+THE OFFICIAL FLOWER OF THE STATE, AND THE METHOD OF ITS SELECTION.
+
+
+On the twentieth day of April, 1891, the legislature of the state passed
+an act entitled "An act to provide for the collection, arrangement and
+display of the products of the State of Minnesota at the World's
+Columbian Exposition of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, and
+to make an appropriation therefor." This act created a commission of six
+citizens of the state, to be appointed by the governor, and called "The
+Board of World's Fair Managers of Minnesota." The women of the state
+determined that there should be an opportunity for them to participate
+in the exposition on the part of Minnesota, and a convention of
+delegates from each county of the state was called, and held at the
+People's Church, in St. Paul, on Feb. 14, 1892. This convention elected
+one woman delegate and one alternate, from each of the seven
+congressional districts of the state. There were also two national lady
+managers from Minnesota, nominated by the two national representatives
+from Minnesota and appointed by the president of the United States, who
+were added to the seven delegates so chosen, and the whole was called
+"The Woman's Auxiliary to the State Commission." The women so chosen
+took charge of all the matters properly pertaining to the women's
+department of the fair.
+
+At one of the meetings of the ladies, held in St. Paul, the question of
+the selection of an official flower for the state was presented, and the
+sentiment generally prevailed that it should at once be decided by the
+assemblage; but Mrs. L. P. Hunt, the delegate from Mankato, in the
+second congressional district, wisely suggested that the selection
+should be made by all the ladies of the state, and they should be given
+an opportunity to vote upon the proposition. This suggestion was
+approved, and the following plan was adopted: Mrs. Hunt was authorized
+to appoint a committee, of which she was to be chairman, to select a
+list of flowers to be voted on. Accordingly she appointed a
+subcommittee, who were to consult the state botanist, Mr. Conway
+MacMillan, who was to name a number of Minnesota flowers from which the
+ladies were to choose. He presented the following:
+
+    Lady Slipper (Moccasin Flower--_Cypripedium Spectabile_).
+    Silky Aster.
+    Indian Pink.
+    Cone Flower (Brown-eyed Susan).
+    Wild Rose.
+
+The plan was to send out printed tickets, to all the women's
+organizations in the state, with these names on them, to be voted upon,
+which was done, with the result that the moccasin flower received an
+overwhelming majority, and has ever since been accepted as the official
+flower of the state. That the contest was a very spirited one can be
+judged from the fact that Mrs. Hunt sent out in her district at least
+ten thousand tickets, with indications of her choice of the moccasin
+flower. She also maintained lengthy newspaper controversies with parties
+in Manitoba, who claimed the prior right of that province to the
+moccasin flower, all of whom she vanquished.
+
+The choice was a very wise and appropriate one. The flower itself is
+very beautiful, and peculiarly adapted to the purposes of artistic
+decoration. It has already been utilized in three instances of an
+official character, with success and approval. The Minnesota state
+building at the Columbian Exposition was beautifully decorated with it.
+It is prominently incorporated into the state flag, and adorns the medal
+conferred by the state upon the defenders of Fort Ridgely.
+
+The botanical name of the flower is _Cypripedium_, taken from Greek
+words meaning the shoe of Venus. It is popularly called "Lady's
+Slipper," "Moccasin Flower" and "Indian Shoe."
+
+About twenty-five species of _cypripedium_ are known, belonging to the
+north temperate zone and reaching south into Mexico and northern India.
+Six species occur in the northern United States and Canada, east of the
+Rocky Mountains, all of these being found in Minnesota, and about a
+dozen species occur on this continent. They are perennial herbs, with
+irregular flowers, which grow singly or in small clusters, the colors of
+some of which are strikingly beautiful. The species adopted by the women
+of the State of Minnesota is the _Cypripedium Spectabile_, or the showy
+lady slipper.
+
+The ladies naturally desired that their choice should be ratified by the
+state legislature, and one of their number prepared a report of their
+doings, in a petition to that body, asking its approval. Whoever drew
+the petition named the flower chosen by the ladies as "_Cypripedium
+Calceolous_," a species which does not grow in Minnesota, but is purely
+of European production. The petition was presented to the senate on the
+fourth day of February, 1893. The journal of the senate shows the
+following record, which is found on page 167:
+
+    "Mr. Dean asked the unanimous consent to present a petition from
+    the Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair, relative to the
+    adoption of a state flower and emblem, which was read.
+
+    "Mr. Dean offered the following concurrent resolution, and moved
+    its adoption:
+
+    "'Be it resolved by the senate, the house of representatives
+    concurring, that the wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower
+    ('_Cypripedium Calceolous_'), be, and the same is hereby,
+    designated and adopted as the state flower or emblem of the
+    State of Minnesota,' which was adopted."
+
+In the Legislative Manual of 1893 appears, on page 606, the following:
+
+    "THE STATE FLOWER.
+
+    "On April 4, 1893 [should be February], a petition from the
+    Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair was presented to the
+    senate, relative to the adoption of a state flower. By
+    resolution of the senate, concurred in by the house (?), the
+    Wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower (_Cypripedium_) was
+    designated as the state flower or floral emblem of the State of
+    Minnesota."
+
+The word "_Calceolous_" means a little shoe or slipper; but, as I said
+before, the species so designated in botany is not indigenous to
+Minnesota, and is purely a foreigner. As we have in the course of our
+growth assimilated so many foreigners successfully, we will have no
+trouble in swallowing this small shoe, especially as the house did not
+concur in the resolution, and while the mistake will in no way militate
+against the progress or prosperity of Minnesota, it should be a warning
+to all committees and Western legislators to go slow when dealing with
+the dead languages.
+
+We now have the whole body of cypripediums to choose from, and may
+reject the calceolous.
+
+If the house of representatives ever concurred in the senate resolution,
+it left no trace of its action, either in its journal or published laws,
+that I have been able to find.
+
+Among the many valuable achievements of the Women's Auxiliary one
+deserves special mention. Mrs. H. F. Brown, one of the delegates at
+large, suggested a statue for the Woman's Building, to be the production
+of Minnesota's artistic conception and execution. The architect of the
+state building had disallowed this feature, and there was no public fund
+to meet the expense, which would be considerable. The ladies, however,
+decided to procure the statue, and rely on private subscription to
+defray the cost. Mrs. L. P. Hunt thought that sufficient funds might be
+raised from the school children of the state, through a penny
+subscription. Enough was raised, however, to secure a plaster cast of
+great beauty, representing Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha across a stream
+in his arms, illustrating the lines in Longfellow's poem:
+
+    "Over wide and rushing rivers
+    In his arms he bore the maiden."
+
+
+This statue adorned the porch of the Minnesota building during the fair.
+It was designed and made by a very talented young Norwegian sculptor,
+then residing in Minneapolis--the late Jakob Fjelde. It is proposed to
+cast the statue in bronze and place it in Minnehaha park, Minneapolis,
+at some future day.
+
+
+
+
+ORIGIN OF THE NAME "GOPHER STATE."
+
+
+Most of the states in the Union have a popular name. New York is called
+the "Empire State," Pennsylvania the "Keystone State," etc. As you come
+west they seem to have taken the names of animals. Michigan is called
+the "Wolverine State," Wisconsin the "Badger State," and it is not at
+all singular that Minnesota should have been christened the "Gopher
+State." These names never originate by any recognized authority. They
+arise from some event that suggests them, or from some important
+utterance that makes an impression on the public mind. In the very early
+days of the territory--say, as early as 1854 or 1855,--the question was
+discussed among the settlers as to what name should be adopted by
+Minnesota, and for a time it was called by some the "Beaver State." That
+name seemed to have the greatest number of advocates, but it was always
+met with the objection that the beaver, although quite numerous in some
+of our streams, was not sufficiently so to entitle him to characterize
+the territory by giving it his name. While this debate was in progress
+the advocates of the beaver spoke of the territory as the beaver
+territory, but it never reached a point of universal adoption. It was
+well known that the gopher abounded, and his name was introduced as a
+competitor with the beaver; but being a rather insignificant animal, and
+his nature being destructive, and in no way useful, he was objected to
+by many, as too useless and undignified to become an emblem of the
+coming great state,--for we all had, at that early day, full confidence
+that Minnesota was destined to be a great and prominent state. Nothing
+was ever settled on this subject until after the year 1857. As I have
+before stated, in that year an attempt was made to amend the
+constitution by allowing the state to issue bonds in the sum of
+$5,000,000 to aid in the construction of the railroads which the United
+States had subsidized with land grants, and the campaign which involved
+this amendment was most bitterly fought. The opponents of the measure
+published a cartoon to bring the subject into ridicule, which was very
+generally circulated throughout the state, but failed to check the
+enthusiasm in favor of the proposition. This cartoon represented ten men
+in a line, with heads bowed down with the weight of a bag of gold hung
+about their necks, marked "$10,000." They were supposed to represent the
+members of the legislature who had been bribed to pass the act, and were
+called "Primary Directors." On their backs was a railroad track, upon
+which was a train of cars drawn by nine gophers, the three gophers in
+the lead proclaiming, "We have no cash, but will give you our drafts."
+Attached to the rear of the train was a wheelbarrow, with a barrel on
+it, marked "Gin," followed by the devil, in great glee, with his thumb
+at his nose. In the train were the advocates of the bill, flying a flag
+bearing these words: "Gopher train; excursion train; members of extra
+session of legislature, free. We develop the resources of the country."
+Over this was a smaller flag, with the words: "The $5,000,000 Loan
+Bill."
+
+In another part of the picture is a rostrum, from which a gopher is
+addressing the people with the legend: "I am right; Gorman is wrong." In
+the right hand corner of the cartoon is a round ball, with a gopher in
+it, coming rapidly down, with the legend: "A _Ball come_ from Winona."
+This was a pun on the name of Mr. St. A. D. Balcombe from Winona, who
+was a strong advocate of the measure. Under the whole group was a dark
+pit, with the words, "A mine of corruption."
+
+The bill was passed, and the state was saddled with a debt of
+$5,000,000, under which it staggered for over twenty years, and we never
+even got a gopher train out of it.
+
+This cartoon, coming just at the time the name of the state was under
+consideration, fastened upon it the nickname of "Gopher," which it has
+ever since retained. The name is not at all inappropriate, as the
+animal has always abounded in the state. In a work on the mammals
+of Minnesota, by C. L. Herrick, 1892, he gives the scientific name
+of our most common species of gopher, "_Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus_,"
+or thirteen-striped gopher, and says: "The species ranges from the
+Saskatchawan to Texas, and from Ohio to Utah. Minnesota is the peculiar
+home of the typical form, and thus deserves the name of the 'Gopher
+State.'"
+
+Although the name originated in ridicule and contempt, it has not in any
+way handicapped the commonwealth, partly because very few people know
+its origin, but for the greater reason, that it would take much more
+than a name to check its predestined progress.
+
+
+
+
+STATE PARKS.
+
+
+ITASCA STATE PARK.
+
+In a previous part of this work, under the head of "Lumber," I have
+referred to the fact that a great national park and forest reserve is in
+contemplation by the United States at the headwaters of the Mississippi,
+and made reference to the state park already established at that point.
+I will now relate what has been done by the state in this regard. In
+1875 an official survey of the land in and about Lake Itasca was made by
+the surveyor general of the United States for Minnesota, which brought
+these lands under the operation of the United States laws, and part of
+them were entered. A portion of them went to the Northern Pacific
+Railroad Company under its land grant. The swamp and school lands went
+to the state, and much to private individuals under the various methods
+of making title to government lands.
+
+On the 20th of April, 1891, the legislature passed an act entitled, "An
+act to establish and create a public park, to be known and designated as
+the Itasca State Park, and authorizing the condemnation of lands for
+park purposes." This act sets apart for park purposes 19,702 acres of
+land, and dedicates them to the perpetual use of the people. It places
+the same under the care and supervision of the state auditor, as land
+commissioner. It prohibits the destruction of trees, or hunting within
+its limits. It provides for a commission to obtain title to such of the
+lands as belong to private individuals, either by purchase or
+condemnation.
+
+On the third day of August, 1892, the United States granted to the state
+all the unappropriated lands within the limits of the park, upon this
+condition:
+
+"Provided, the land hereby granted shall revert to the United States,
+together with all the improvements thereon, if at any time it shall
+cease to be exclusively used for a public state park, or if the state
+shall not pass a law or laws to protect the timber thereon."
+
+The state, at the session of the legislature in 1893, accepted the
+grant, but as yet has made no provision for the extinguishment of the
+title of private owners, of which there are 8,823 acres. This divided
+ownership of the lands within the limits of the park endangers the whole
+region by lumbering operations, and consequent forest fires after the
+timber is cut. Fires are not to be feared in natural forests until they
+are cut over. The acquisition of title to all these lands by the state
+should not be delayed any longer than is necessary to perfect it, no
+matter at what cost. The state has already erected a house on the bank
+of Itasca lake, and has a resident commissioner in charge of the park.
+
+The effect of the law prohibiting hunting in the park has already
+greatly increased the numbers of animals and fowls that find in it a
+safe refuge.
+
+The extent of the park is seven miles long by five miles wide, and is
+covered with a dense forest of pine, oak, maple, basswood, aspen, balsam
+fir, cedar and spruce, which is nearly in a state of nature. It is much
+to be hoped that in the near future this park will be enlarged to many
+times its present size by additional grants.
+
+
+INTERSTATE PARK--THE DALLES OF THE ST. CROIX.
+
+One of the most, if not the most, beautiful and picturesque points in
+the Northwest is the Dalles of the St. Croix river. Here the state has
+acquired the title to about 150 acres of land on the Minnesota side of
+the river, and dedicated it for park purposes. This was done under the
+authority of chapter 169 of the Laws of 1895. The point on the Minnesota
+side is called Taylor's Falls, and on the Wisconsin side St. Croix
+Falls. Between these two towns the St. Croix river rushes rapidly,
+forming a cataract of great beauty. The bluffs are precipitate and
+rocky, forming a narrow gorge through which the river plunges. The name
+of the river is French, "Sainte Croix," meaning "The holy cross," and
+the name of this particular point, the "Dalles," was given on account of
+the curious formation of the rocky banks, which assume wonderful shapes.
+One, looking down stream, presents a perfect likeness of a man, and is
+called "The Old Man of the Dalles." Another curious rock formation is
+called the "Devil's Chair." There are many others equally interesting.
+It is generally supposed that the word "Dalles" has the same meaning as
+the English word "Dell" or "Dale" signifying a narrow secluded vale or
+valley, but such is not the case as applied to this peculiar locality.
+The word "Dalles" is French, and means a slab, a flag or a flagstone,
+and is appropriate to the peculiar character of the general rock
+formation of the river banks at this point and vicinity.
+
+The State of Minnesota has already done a good deal of work towards
+making it attractive, and it has become quite a resort for pleasure
+seekers in the summer time. Wisconsin has acquired title to a larger
+tract on the east side of the river than is embraced in the Minnesota
+park on the west side, but as yet has not done much in the way of
+improvement. The two tracts are united by a graceful bridge which spans
+the river between them. The Minnesota park is under the charge of a
+state custodian, who cares for and protects it from despoilment.
+
+
+
+
+POLITICS.
+
+
+In writing the history of a state, no matter how short or limited such
+history may be, its politics seem to be an essential element of
+presentation, and, on this assumption alone, I will say a very few words
+concerning that subject. I do not believe that the question of which
+political party has been dominant in the state has exerted any
+considerable influence on its material prosperity. The great "First
+Cause" of its creation was so generous in its award of substantial
+blessings that it placed the state beyond the ability of man or his
+politics to seriously injure or impede its advance towards material
+success in any of the channels that promote greatness. Soil, climate,
+minerals, facilities for commerce and transportation, consisting of
+great rivers, lakes and harbors,--all these combine to defy the
+destructive tendencies so often exerted by the ignorance and passions of
+man. It has resisted every folly of its people, and they have been many;
+every onslaught of its savage inhabitants, and they have been more
+formidable than those experienced by any other state; and even the
+cataclysms with which it has occasionally been visited arising from
+natural causes. The fact is, Minnesota is so rock-rooted in all the
+elements of material greatness that it must advance, regardless of all
+known obstructions.
+
+When the territory was organized in 1849, Gen. Zachary Taylor, a Whig,
+was the president of the United States, and he appointed Alexander
+Ramsey, also a Whig, as governor, to set its political machinery in
+motion. He remained in office until the national administration changed
+in 1853, and Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, was chosen president. He
+appointed Gen. Willis A. Gorman, a Democrat, as governor to succeed
+Governor Ramsey. On the 4th of March, 1857, James Buchanan, a Democrat,
+succeeded President Pierce, and appointed Samuel Medary, a Democrat, as
+governor of Minnesota. He held this position until the state was
+admitted into the Union, in May, 1858, when Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat,
+was elected governor for the term of two years, and served it out.
+
+On the admission of the state into the Union, two Democratic United
+States senators were elected, Henry M. Rice and Gen. James Shields.
+General Shields served from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859, and Mr. Rice
+from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863, he having drawn the long term. The
+state also elected three members to the United States house of
+representatives, all Democrats, James M. Cavanaugh, W. W. Phelps and
+George L. Becker, but it was determined that we were only entitled to
+two, and Mr. Phelps and Mr. Cavanaugh were admitted to seats. With this
+state and federal representation we entered upon our political career.
+At the next election for governor, in the fall of 1859, Alexander
+Ramsey, Republican, was chosen, and there has never been a governor of
+the state of any but Republican politics since, until John Lind was
+elected in the fall of 1898. Mr. Lind was chosen as a Democrat, with the
+aid of other political organizations, which united with the Democracy.
+Mr. Lind now fills the office of governor. It will be seen that for
+thirty-nine years the state has been wholly in the hands of the
+Republicans. During the interval between the administration of Governor
+Sibley and Governor Lind the state has had twelve governors, all
+Republican.
+
+In its federal representation, however, the Democrats have fared a
+trifle better. The growth of population has increased our membership in
+the federal house of representatives to seven, and occasionally a
+Democrat, or member of some other party, has succeeded in breaking into
+congress. From the first district W. H. Harries, a Democrat, was elected
+in 1890. From the Third district Eugene M. Wilson, Democrat, was elected
+in 1868; Henry Poeler, Democrat, in 1878; John L. McDonald, Democrat, in
+1886; and O. M. Hall, Democrat, in 1890, and again in 1892. From the
+Fourth district Edmund Rice, Democrat, was elected in 1886, and James N.
+Castle, Democrat, in 1890. From the Sixth district M. R. Baldwin,
+Democrat, was elected in 1892. From the Fifth district Kittle Halverson,
+Alliance, was elected in 1890. From the Seventh district Haldor E. Boen,
+People's Party, was elected in 1892.
+
+Since Henry M. Rice and James Shields, all the United States Senators
+have been Republican. They were Morton S. Wilkinson, Alexander Ramsey,
+Daniel S. Norton, William Windom, O. P. Stearns, S. J. R. McMillin, A.
+J. Edgerton, D. M. Sabin, C. K. Davis, W. D. Washburn and Knute Nelson.
+Some of these have served two terms, and some very short terms, to fill
+vacancies.
+
+Of course, the state had its compliment of other officers, but as their
+duties are more of a clerical and business character than political, it
+is unnecessary to particularize them.
+
+It is a subject of congratulation to all citizens of Minnesota that, out
+of all the state officers that have come and gone in the forty years of
+its life, there has been but one impeachment, which was of a state
+treasurer, Mr. William Seeger, who was elected in 1871. Although he was
+convicted, I have always believed, and do now, that he was personally
+innocent, and suffered for the sins of others.
+
+The State of Minnesota has always, since the adjustment of its old
+railroad bond debt, held a conservative position in the
+Union,--financially, socially, patriotically and commercially. Its
+credit is the best, its prospects the brightest, and it makes very
+little difference which political party dominates its future so long as
+it is free from the taint of anarchy and is guided by the principles of
+honor and justice. The only thing to be feared is that some political
+party may gain control of the government of the nation, and either
+degrade its currency, involve it in disastrous complications and wars
+with other nations, or commit some similar folly which may reflectively
+or secondarily act injuriously on Minnesota as a member of the national
+family of states. Otherwise Minnesota can defy the vagaries of politics
+and politicians. She has very little to fear from this remote
+apprehension, because the American people, as they ever have been, will
+no doubt continue to be, on second thought, true to the teachings and
+traditions of the founders of the republic.
+
+Minnesota, for so young a state, has been quite liberally remembered in
+the way of diplomatic appointments. Gen. C. C. Andrews represented the
+United States as minister to Sweden and Norway, and the Hon. Samuel R.
+Thayer and Hon. Stanford Newell at The Hague, the latter of whom now
+fills the position. Mr. Newell was also a member of the World's Peace
+Commission recently held at The Hague. Lewis Baker represented the
+United States as minister to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and San Salvador.
+
+The state has also been honored by the appointment of the following
+named gentlemen from among its citizens as consuls general to various
+countries: Gen. C. C. Andrews to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hon. Hans
+Mattson to Calcutta, India; Dr. J. A. Leonard to Calcutta, and also to
+Shanghai, China; and Hon. John Goodenow to Shanghai, China.
+
+We have had a full complement of consuls to all parts of the world, the
+particulars of which are unnecessary in this connection.
+
+The state has also had three cabinet officers. On Dec. 10, 1879,
+Alexander Ramsey was appointed secretary of war by President Hayes, and
+again on Dec. 20, 1880, he was made secretary of the navy. The latter
+office he held only about ten days, until it was filled by a permanent
+appointee.
+
+William Windom was appointed secretary of the treasury by President
+Garfield, and again to the same position by President Harrison. He died
+in the office.
+
+Gen. William G. Le Duc was appointed commissioner of agriculture by
+President Hayes, which was a _quasi_ cabinet position, and was
+afterwards made a full and regular one. The general was afterwards made
+a member of the National Agricultural Society of France, of which
+Washington, Jefferson and Marshall were members.
+
+Senator Cushman K. Davis, who was chairman of the committee on foreign
+relations of the senate, was appointed by President McKinley one of the
+commissioners on the part of the United States to negotiate the treaty
+of peace with Spain after the recent Spanish war.
+
+Gov. William R. Merriam was appointed by President McKinley as director
+of the census of 1900, and is now busily engaged in the performance of
+the arduous duties of that office. They are not diplomatic, but
+exceedingly important.
+
+President Cleveland appointed John W. Riddle as secretary of legation to
+the embassy at Constantinople, where he has remained to the present
+time.
+
+
+
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHY.
+
+
+Necessity has compelled me, in the preparation of this history, to be
+brief, not only in the subjects treated of, but also in the manner of
+such treatment. Details have usually been avoided, and comprehensive
+generalities indulged in. Those who read it may find many things
+wanting, and in order that they may have an opportunity to supply my
+deficiencies without too much research and labor, I have prepared a list
+of all the works which have ever been written on Minnesota, or any
+particular subject pertaining thereto, and append them hereto for
+convenience of reference. Any and all of them can be found in the
+library of the Minnesota Historical Society in the state capitol.
+
+So much of what I have said consists of personal experiences and
+observations that it more resembles a narrative than a history, but I
+think I can safely vouch for the accuracy and truthfulness of all I have
+thus related.
+
+BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED RELATING TO MINNESOTA.
+
+The following will be found in "Collections of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, volume I, St. Paul, 1872:"
+
+     1. The French Voyageurs to Minnesota during the Seventeenth
+        Century, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+     2. Description of Minnesota (1850), by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+     3. Our Field of Historical Research, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
+
+     4. Early Courts of Minnesota, by Hon. Aaron Goodrich.
+
+     5. Early Schools of Minnesota, by D. A. J. Baker.
+
+     6. Religious Movements in Minnesota, by Rev. C. Hobart.
+
+     7. The Dakota Language, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+     8. History and Physical Geography of Minnesota, by H. R.
+        Schoolcraft.
+
+     9. Letter of Mesnard, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    10. The Saint Louis River, by T. M. Fullerton.
+
+    11. Ancient Mounds and Memorials, by Messrs. Pond, Aiton and
+        Riggs.
+
+    12. Schoolcraft's Exploring Tour of 1832, by Rev. W. T.
+        Boutwell.
+
+    13. Battle of Lake Pokegama, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    14. Memoir of Jean Nicollet, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    15. Sketch of Joseph Renville, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    16. Department of Hudson's Bay, by Rev. G. A. Belcourt.
+
+    17. Obituary of James M. Goodhue, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    18. Dakota Land and Dakota Life, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    19. Who were the First Men, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    20. Louis Hennepin, the Franciscan, and Du Luth, the Explorer.
+
+    21. Le Sueur, the Explorer of the Minnesota River.
+
+    22. D'Iberville; An Abstract of his Memorial.
+
+    23. The Fox and Ojibway War.
+
+    24. Captain Jonathan Carver and his Explorations.
+
+    25. Pike's Explorations in Minnesota.
+
+    26. Who Discovered Itasca Lake, by William Morrison.
+
+    27. Early Days at Fort Snelling.
+
+    28. Running the Gauntlet, by William T. Snelling.
+
+    29. Reminiscences, Historical and Personal.
+
+
+Volume 2:
+
+    30. Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony in
+        1817, by Major Stephen H. Long.
+
+    31. Early French Forts and Footprints of the Valley of the Upper
+        Mississippi, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    32. Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 1840,
+        by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    33. Religion of the Dakotas (Chapter VI. of James W. Lynd's
+        Manuscripts).
+
+    34. Mineral Regions of Lake Superior, from Their First Discovery
+        in 1865, by Hon. Henry M. Rice.
+
+    35. Constantine Beltrami, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    36. Historical Notes on the U. S. Land Office, by Hon. Henry M.
+        Rice.
+
+    37. The Geography of Perrot, so far as it relates to Minnesota,
+        by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    38. Dakota Superstitions, by Rev. Gideon H. Pond.
+
+    39. The Carver Centenary; an account of the Celebration, May 1,
+        1867, of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Council and
+        Treaty of Capt. Jonathan Carver with the Nadowessioux, at
+        Carver's Cave in St. Paul, with an address by the Rev. John
+        Mattocks.
+
+    40. Relation of M. Penticant, translated by Alfred J. Hill, with
+        an introductory note by the Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    41. Bibliography of Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams.
+
+    42. A Reminiscence of Fort Snelling, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van
+        Cleve.
+
+    43. Narrative of Paul Ma-za-koo-to-ma-ne. Translated by Rev. S.
+        R. Riggs.
+
+    44. Memoir of Ex-Governor Henry A. Swift, by J. Fletcher
+        Williams.
+
+    45. Sketch of John Otherday, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    46. A Coincidence, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve
+
+    47. Memoir of Hon. James W. Lynd, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+    48. The Dakota Mission, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+    49. Indian Warfare in Minnesota, by Rev. S. W. Pond.
+
+    50. Colonel Leavenworth's Expedition to Establish Fort Snelling
+        in 1819, by Major Thomas Forsyth.
+
+    51. Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault, by Gen. H. H. Sibley.
+
+    52. Memoir of Captain Martin Scott, by J. Fletcher Williams.
+
+    53. Na-peh-shnee-doo-ta, a Dakota Christian, by Rev. T. S.
+        Williamson.
+
+    54. Memoir of Hercules L. Dousman, by Gen. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    55. Memoir of Joseph R. Brown, by J. F. Williams, E. S.
+        Goodrich, and J. A. Wheelock.
+
+    56. Memoir of Hon. Cyrus Aldrich, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    57. Memoir of Rev. Lucian Galtier, by Bishop John Ireland.
+
+    58. Memoir of Hon. David Olmsted, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    59. Reminiscences of the Early Days of Minnesota, by Hon. H. H.
+        Sibley.
+
+    60. The Sioux or Dakotas of the Missouri River, by Rev. T. S.
+        Williamson.
+
+    61. Memoir of Rev. S. Y. McMasters, by Earle S. Goodrich.
+
+    62. Tributes to the Memory of Rev. John Mattocks, by J. F.
+        Williams, Hon. Henry H. Sibley, John B. Sanborn and Bishop
+        Ireland.
+
+    63. Memoir of Ex-Governor Willis A. Gorman, compiled from press
+        notices, and eulogy by Hon. C. K. Davis.
+
+    64. Lake Superior, Historical and Descriptive, by Hon. James H.
+        Baker.
+
+    65. Memorial Notices of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, by Rev. S. R.
+        Riggs, Hon. H. H. Sibley and Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    66. In Memory of Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, by Rev. S. R. Riggs
+        and A. W. Williamson.
+
+    67. The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857, by Hon. Charles E.
+        Flandrau.
+
+
+Volume 4:
+
+    68. History of the City of St. Paul and County of Ramsey,
+        Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams, containing a very full
+        sketch of the first settlement and early days of St. Paul, in
+        1838, 1839 and 1840, and of the territory from 1849 to 1858;
+        lists of the early settlers and claim owners; amusing events
+        of pioneer days; biographical sketches of over two hundred
+        prominent men of early times; three steel portraits and
+        forty-seven woodcuts (portraits and views); lists of federal,
+        county and city officers since 1849.
+
+Volume 5:
+
+    69. History of the Ojibway Nation, by William W. Warren (deceased);
+        a valuable work, containing the legends and traditions of the
+        Ojibways, their origin, history, costumes, religion, daily
+        life and habits, ideas, biographies of leading chieftains and,
+        orators, vivid descriptions of battles, etc. The work was
+        carefully edited by Rev. Edward D. Neill, who added an
+        appendix of 116 pages, giving an account of the Ojibways
+        from official and other records. It also contains a portrait
+        of Warren, a memoir of him by J. Fletcher Williams, and a
+        copious index.
+
+Volume 6:
+
+    70. The Sources of the Mississippi; their Discovery, Real and
+        Pretended, by Hon. James H. Baker.
+
+    71. The Hennepin Bicentenary; Celebration by the Minnesota
+        Historical Society of the 200th anniversary of the Discovery of
+        the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680, by Louis Hennepin.
+
+    72. Early Days at Red River Settlement and Fort Snelling;
+        reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams.
+
+    73. Protestant Missions in the Northwest, by Rev. Stephen R.
+        Riggs, with a memoir of the author, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    74. Autobiography of Major Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at
+        Fort Snelling, 1820 to 1840.
+
+    75. Memoir of General Henry Hastings Sibley, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    76. Mounds in Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    77. Columbian Address, delivered by Hon. H. W. Childs before the
+        Minnesota Historical Society, Oct. 21, 1892.
+
+    78. Reminiscences of Fort Snelling, by Col. John Bliss.
+
+    79. Sioux Outbreak of 1862; Mrs. J. E. DeCamp's Narrative of her
+        Captivity.
+
+    80. A Sioux Story of the War; Chief Big Eagle's Story of the
+        Sioux Outbreak of 1862.
+
+    81. Incidents of the Threatened Outbreak of Hole-in-the-day and
+        other Ojibways at the time of the Sioux Massacre in 1862, by
+        George W. Sweet.
+
+    82. Dakota Scalp Dances, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    83. Earliest Schools in Minnesota Valley, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    84. Traditions of Sioux Indians, by Major William H. Forbes.
+
+    85. Death of a Remarkable Man; Gabriel Franchere, by Hon.
+        Benjamin P. Avery.
+
+    86. First Settlement on the Red River of the North in 1812, and
+        its Condition in 1847, by Mrs. Elizabeth T. Ayres.
+
+    87. Frederick Ayer, Teacher and Missionary to the Ojibway
+        Indians, 1829 to 1850.
+
+    88. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Nancy McClure.
+
+    89. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Mary Schwandt.
+
+    90. Autobiography and Reminiscences of Philander Prescott.
+
+    91. Recollections of James M. Goodhue, by Colonel John H. Stevens.
+
+    92. History of the Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre, by Abbie Gardner Sharp.
+
+Volume 7:
+
+    93. The Mississippi River and Its Source; a narrative and critical
+        history of the river and its headwaters, accompanied by the
+        results of detailed hydrographic and topographic surveys;
+        illustrated with many maps, portraits and views of the scenery;
+        by Hon. J. V. Brower, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park,
+        representing also the State Historical Society. With an
+        appendix: How the Mississippi River and the Lake of the Woods
+        became instrumental in the establishment of the northwestern
+        boundary of the United States, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+Volume 8:
+
+    94. The International Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake
+        of the Woods, by Ulysses Sherman Grant.
+
+    95. The Settlement and Development of the Red River Valley, by
+        Warren Upham.
+
+    96. The Discovery and Development of the Iron Ores of Minnesota, by
+        N. H. Winchell, State Geologist.
+
+    97. The Origin and Growth of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+        the President, Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
+
+    98. Opening of the Red River of the North to Commerce and
+        Civilization, with plates, by Capt. Russell Blakeley.
+
+    99. Last days of Wisconsin Territory, and Early Days of Minnesota
+        Territory, by Hon. Henry L. Moss.
+
+   100. Lawyers and Courts of Minnesota, Prior to and During its
+        Territorial Period, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+   101. Homes and Habitations of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+        Charles E. Mayo.
+
+   102. The Historical Value of Newspapers, by J. B. Chaney.
+
+   103. The United States Government Publications, by D. L. Kingsbury.
+
+   104. The First Organized Government of Dakota, by Gov. Samuel J.
+        Albright, with a preface by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+   105. How Minnesota became a State, by Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
+
+   106. Minnesota's Northern Boundary, by Alexander N. Winchell.
+
+   107. The Question of the Sources of the Mississippi River, by Prof.
+        E. Lavasseur. (Translated by Col. W. P. Clough.)
+
+   108. The Source of the Mississippi, by Prof. N. H. Winchell.
+
+   109. Prehistoric Man at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River
+        (with plates), and an addendum relating to the early visits
+        of Mr. Julius Chambers and the Rev. J. A. Gilfillan to Itasca
+        Lake, by Hon. J. V. Brower.
+
+   110. History of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill. First Edition, 1858;
+        has gone through four editions.
+
+   111. Concise History of the State of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill,
+        1887.
+
+   112. Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, prepared
+        under the supervision of a committee appointed by the
+        legislature, 1890-1893, in two volumes.
+
+   113. History of the Sioux War and Massacres of 1862-1863, by Isaac
+        V. D. Heard, 1865.
+
+   114. A History of the Great Massacre by the Sioux Indians in
+        Minnesota, by Charles S. Bryant and Abel B. Murch, 1872.
+
+   115. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, in eight volumes,
+        1850 to 1898, containing many of the above named works and
+        papers.
+
+   116. History of St. Paul, Minnesota, by Gen. Christopher C.
+        Andrews, 1890.
+
+   117. History of the City of Minneapolis, by Isaac Atwater, in two
+        volumes.
+
+   118. Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches
+        of Old Settlers, by T. M. Newson.
+
+   119. Fifty Years in the Northwest, by W. H. C. Folsom, 1888.
+
+   120. The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery
+        of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Minnesota Volume by Jeremiah
+        Clemmens, assisted by J. Fletcher Williams, 1879.
+
+   121. Progressive Men of Minnesota, Biographical Sketches and
+        Portraits, together with an historical and descriptive sketch
+        of the state, by Marion D. Shutter and J. S. McLain, 1897.
+
+   122. Biographical History of the Northwest, by Alonzo Phelps, 1890.
+
+   123. A History of the Republican Party, to which is added a
+        political history of Minnesota from a Republican point of
+        view, and biographical sketches of leading Minnesota
+        Republicans, by Eugene V. Smalley.
+
+   124. There are also many quarto histories of counties in Minnesota
+        and of larger districts of the state, mostly published during
+        the years 1880 to 1890, including twenty counties, namely,
+        Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue,
+        Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Meeker, Olmsted, Pope, Ramsey,
+        Rice, Steele, Stevens, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, and
+        Winona, and five districts, namely, The St. Croix Valley, the
+        Upper Mississippi Valley, the Minnesota Valley, the Red River
+        Valley and Park Region, and Southern Minnesota.
+
+   125. Winona and its Environs, by L. H. Bunnell, 1897, with maps and
+        portraits.
+
+Among the Earliest Publications are:
+
+   126. Minnesota and its Resources, by J. Wesley Bond, 1853.
+
+   127. Minnesota Year Books, 1851, 1852, 1853, by William G. Le Duc.
+
+   128. Floral Home, or First Years of Minnesota, 1857, by Harriet
+        E. Bishop.
+
+   129. Narratives and Reports of Travels and Explorations, by
+        Hennepin, Carver, Long and Keating, Beltrami, Featherstonhaugh,
+        Schoolcraft, Nicollet, Owen, Oliphant, Andrews, Seymour and
+        others.
+
+   130. For Geographic and Geologic descriptions of Minnesota, the
+        reports of the geological and natural history survey are the
+        most complete sources of information, by Prof. N. H. Winchell,
+        State Geologist, assisted by Warren Upham, Ulysses Sherman
+        Grant, and others. The annual reports comprise twenty-three
+        volumes, 1872 to 1894, with another to be published. Several
+        other volumes have been issued as bulletins of the survey, on
+        iron, mining, birds, mammals, and fishes.
+
+   131. Four thousand two hundred and fifty bound volumes of Minnesota
+        newspapers, embracing complete files of nearly all the
+        newspapers ever published in Minnesota from first to last.
+
+   132. One thousand seven hundred and two books and about fifteen
+        hundred pamphlets relating in some way to Minnesota history.
+        All these books can be found in the library of the Minnesota
+        Historical Society, which is always open to the public, free.
+
+   133. Much historical and other information is contained in the
+        messages of the governors and reports of the various state
+        officers, and especially in the Legislative Manuals prepared
+        for the use of the members of the legislature by the secretary
+        of state, under chapter 122 of the General Laws of 1893, and
+        former laws. These Manuals, and especially that of 1899, are
+        replete with valuable statistics concerning the state, its
+        history and resources.
+
+   134. Illustrated History of Minnesota, by T. H. Kirk, M. L., 1887.
+
+   135. Ancestry, Life and Times of Henry Hastings Sibley, by Nathaniel
+        West, D. D., 1889.
+
+   136. Minnesota and Dacotah in Letters descriptive of a Tour
+        through the Northwest in the Autumn of 1856, with information
+        relative to public lands and a table of statistics, by General
+        C. C. Andrews.
+
+   137. Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate by the Rt. Rev.
+        Henry Benjamin Whipple, D. D., L. L. D., Bishop of Minnesota.
+
+   138. Reminiscences, Memoirs and Lectures of Monsignor A. Ravoux,
+        V. G. 1890.
+
+   139. Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota, with a History of
+        Minnesota, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+TALES OF THE FRONTIER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+HUNTING WOLVES IN BED.
+
+
+Forty-six years ago, almost immediately after my arrival in St. Paul, I
+accepted an offer to explore the valley of the Minnesota river and its
+tributaries, with reference to finding out the character of its soil,
+timber, steamboat landings and other natural features, bearing upon the
+founding of a city. My attention was particularly directed to the point
+where St. Peter now stands, which had then acquired the name of Rock
+Bend, from a turn in the river in front of the prairie, with a rocky
+wall which presented a fine landing for steamboats. Of course, the
+valley was not a _terra incognito_ when I entered it, but settlement was
+very sparse, and very little was known about it. Town-site speculation
+was rife, and any place that looked as if it would ever be settled was
+being pounced upon for a future city. There was not a railroad west of
+Chicago, and every town location was, of course, governed by the rivers.
+As strange as it may seem to the residents of the present day, the
+Minnesota was then a navigable stream, capable of carrying large side
+wheel steamers several hundred miles above its mouth, and afterwards
+bore an immense commerce. As soon as the ice broke up in the spring,
+the river would rise and overflow its banks clear to the bluffs on each
+side, making a stream of from five to six miles wide, and deep enough to
+float boats anywhere within its limits.
+
+A man by the name of William B. Dodd, better known as Captain Dodd in
+those days, had selected a claim at Rock Bend, covering the landing, and
+had laid out a road from the Mississippi to this point. He wanted to
+interest capitalists to start a town on his claim, and had succeeded in
+gaining the attention of Willis A. Gorman, then governor of the
+territory, and several other gentlemen, but none of them had ever been
+up the valley, and reliable information was difficult to obtain. It was
+true that Tom Holmes had laid out Shakopee, and Henry Jackson and P. K.
+Johnson, with a syndicate behind them, had selected Mankato, and I think
+there was a settler or two at Le Sueur, but the whole valley may be said
+to have been at that time in the possession of Indians, Indian traders
+and missionaries.
+
+The St. Paul gentlemen who had been approached by Captain Dodd engaged
+me to go up the valley of the Minnesota river, and follow out all its
+tributaries, with the idea of reporting upon its general characteristics
+and prospects, with reference to the founding of a city at Rock Bend. I
+was delighted to do anything, or go anywhere, that promised work or
+adventure. It was to me what the Klondike has been to thousands
+recently. They furnished me with a good team, and away I went. It was in
+the winter, but I succeeded in reaching Traverse des Sioux, where I
+found a collection of Indian trading houses, where flourished Louis
+Roberts, Major Forbes, Nathan Myrick, Madison Sweetzer and others, who
+drove a trade with the Sioux. There was also at this point a missionary
+station, with a schoolhouse, a church, and a substantial dwelling house,
+occupied by the Rev. Moses N. Adams, who had been a missionary among the
+Sioux, having been transferred from the station at Lac qui Parle, where
+he had lived for many years, to this point. But the best find that I
+made was a young Scotchman by the name of Stuart B. Garvie, who had a
+shanty on the prairie about midway between Traverse des Sioux and my
+objective point, Rock Bend. I think that Garvie went up there from St.
+Anthony, under some kind of a promise from Judge Chatfield, that if ever
+the courts were organized in that region he would be made clerk. Garvie
+was delighted to discover me, and I being in search of information, we
+soon fraternized, and he agreed to go with me on my tour of exploration.
+We went up the Blue Earth, the Le Sueur, the Watonwan, and, in fact,
+visited all the country that was necessary to convince me that it was,
+by and large, a splendid agricultural region, and I decided so to report
+to my principals.
+
+When I was about to leave for down the river, Garvie insisted that I
+should return and take up my abode at Traverse des Sioux. The
+proposition seemed too absurd to me to be seriously entertained, and I
+said: "I am destitute of funds, and how can a lawyer subsist where there
+are no people? How can I get a living?" This dilemma, which seemed to me
+to be insuperable, was easily answered by my new found friend. "Why," he
+said, "That is the easiest part of it. We can hunt a living, and I have
+a shack and a bed." The proposition was catching, having a spice of
+adventure in it, and I promised to consider it.
+
+After making my report, in which I recommended Rock Bend as a promising
+place for a great city, I told the parties who proposed to purchase
+Captain Dodd's claim that I would confirm my faith in the success of the
+enterprise by returning and living at the point. I did so, and found
+myself farther west than any lawyer in the United States east of the
+Rocky Mountains, unless he was in the panhandle of Texas. And now comes
+the singular way in which I made my first fee, if I may call it by that
+name. It was my first financial raise, no matter what you call it.
+
+Garvie and I had gotten quietly settled in our shanty on the prairie,
+when one excessively cold night an Indian boy, about thirteen years of
+age, saw our light, and came to the door, giving us to understand that
+his people were encamped about four or five miles up the river, and that
+he was afraid to go any further lest he should freeze to death. He was
+mounted on a pony, had a pack of furs with him, and asked us to take him
+in for the night. We of course did so, and made him as comfortable as we
+could by giving him a buffalo robe on the floor. But we had no shelter
+for his pony, and all we could do was to hitch him on the lee side of
+the shanty, and strap a blanket on him. When morning came he was frozen
+to death. We got the poor little boy safely off on the way to his
+people's camp, and decided to utilize the carcass of the pony for a wolf
+bait.
+
+In order to present an intelligent idea of the situation, I will say
+that the river made an immense detour in front of the future town,
+having a large extent of bottom land, covered with a dense chaparral,
+which was the home of thousands of wolves, and as soon as night came
+they would start out in droves in search of prey.
+
+We hauled the dead pony out to the back of the shanty, and left it about
+two rods distant from the window. The moment night set in the wolves in
+packs would attack the carcass. At first we would step outside and fire
+into them with buck shot from double-barrelled shotguns, but we found
+they were so wary that the mere movement of opening the door to get out
+would frighten them, and we had very limited success for the first few
+nights. Another difficulty we encountered was shooting in the dark. If
+you have never tried it, and ever do, you will find it exceedingly
+difficult to get any kind of an aim, and you have to fire promiscuously
+at the sound rather than the object.
+
+We remedied this trouble, however, by taking out a light of glass from
+the back window, and building a rest that bore directly on the carcass,
+so that we could poke our guns through the opening, settle them on the
+rest, and blaze away into the gloom. We brought our bed up to the
+window, so that we could shoot without getting out of it, while snugly
+wrapped up in our blankets. After this our luck improved, and after each
+discharge we would rush out, armed with a tomahawk, dispatch the wounded
+wolves, and collect the dead ones, until we had slaughtered forty-two of
+them. We skinned them, and sold the pelts to the traders for
+seventy-five cents a piece, which money was the first of our earnings.
+
+It was not long before we ceased to depend on wolf hunting for a living,
+as immigration soon poured in, and money became plenty. I remember soon
+after of having seventeen hundred dollars in gold buried in an oyster
+can under the shanty.
+
+I lived on this prairie for eleven years, and never was happier at any
+period of my life, and feel assured that I can safely say that no other
+man ever enjoyed the luxury of hunting wolves in bed.
+
+The pleasure of narrating such adventures for the present generation is,
+in this instance, marred by the reflection that both Captain Dodd and my
+old friend Garvie were killed by the Indians in 1862, the former while
+gallantly fighting at the battle of New Ulm, and the latter at the
+Yellow Medicine Agency, on the first day of the outbreak.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE POISONED WHISKY.
+
+
+I was told by a gentleman at my club the other day that he had read in
+some magazine that the British army had blown open the tomb of the Mahdi
+in upper Africa, and had mutilated the body, cutting off the head and
+sending it to England in a kerosene can. I could hardly believe the
+story, but he vouched for having read it in a reputable publication, and
+being a strong hater of the English, affirmed his unqualified faith in
+the statement. Notwithstanding his position, it seemed to me incredible
+that such an act of barbarism could be perpetrated by the disciplined
+soldiery of a civilized nation in the nineteenth century. The
+conversation so impressed me that I could not drive it out of my mind,
+and I kept revolving it and making comparisons with events in my own
+experience, until I concluded that it is more than probable that it took
+place as related, and have since learned that it actually occurred.
+
+I have seen a good deal of ferocity and savagism, and it was not at all
+confined to people acknowledged to be barbarians. I remember an instance
+where I came very near being a party to a scheme, the brutality of which
+would have made the mutilation of the dead Mahdi commendable in
+comparison; but fortunately my better nature and second thought overcame
+my passions, and I was spared the perpetration of the awful crime, the
+remembrance of which, had it been committed, would undoubtedly have
+haunted me through life.
+
+Many of the older settlers of Minnesota will remember the horrors of the
+Indian massacre and war of 1862, when the Sioux attacked our exposed
+frontiers, and in a day and a half massacred quite a thousand people.
+They spared neither age nor sex. It was like all such savage
+outbreaks,--a war against the race and the blood. These atrocities
+extended over a large and sparsely inhabited area of country, and were
+usually perpetrated at the houses of the settlers by the slaughter of
+the entire family, sometimes varied by the seizure of the women, and
+carrying them off into captivity, which in most instances was worse than
+death. Every character of mutilation and outrage that could be suggested
+by the inflamed passions of a savage were resorted to, and so horrible
+were they that it would shock and disgust the reader should I attempt to
+describe them. This condition of things was no surprise to me, because
+it was to be expected from savages; but the more we saw and heard of it,
+the more exasperated and angered we became, and the more we vowed
+vengeance should the opportunity come.
+
+I resided on the frontier at the time the outbreak occurred, and murders
+were committed within eight miles of my home before I heard of it, which
+was on the morning of the second day. I, of course, immediately, after
+disposing of my impedimenta in the shape of women and children, took the
+field against the enemy, and by nine o'clock in the evening of the same
+day that I heard of the trouble I found myself at the town of New Ulm, a
+German settlement on the frontier, the extreme outpost of civilization,
+in command of over one hundred men, armed and ready for battle. We had
+raised and equipped the company and travelled thirty-two miles since the
+morning.
+
+When we entered the town it was being attacked by a squad of Indians,
+about one hundred strong, who had already burned a number of houses and
+were firing upon the inhabitants, having already killed several. We soon
+dislodged the enemy, put out the fires, and settled down to await
+events. This was on Tuesday, the 19th of August. We strengthened the
+barricades about the town, and did all we could to prepare for a second
+attack, which we knew would certainly come, and from the combined forces
+of the enemy, and which did come on the following Saturday. While
+waiting, numerous squads of whites from the surrounding country
+reenforced us, and it soon became apparent that someone must be put in
+command of the whole force, to prevent disorders on the part of the men,
+as whisky was abundant and free. The honor of the command fell upon me
+by election of the officers of the various companies, and in the choice
+of a rank for myself my modesty restrained me to that of colonel. I have
+often thought since that I lost the opportunity of my life, as I might
+just as easily have assumed the title of major general.
+
+Every day we sent out scouting expeditions, and brought in refugees,
+men, women and children, who were in hiding or wounded, and in the most
+pitiable condition. From these we learned of many additional atrocities,
+which kept our passions and desire for revenge at fever heat. On
+Saturday, the 23d, the Indians who had been all the week besieging Fort
+Ridgely, abandoned that quest, and came down upon us in full force. The
+attack commenced about half-past nine o'clock on Saturday morning, and
+the fight raged hotly and viciously for about thirty hours without
+cessation. I lost in the first hour and a half ten killed and fifty
+wounded, out of a command of not more than 250 guns. On the afternoon of
+the next day the Indians gradually disappeared toward the north, and
+gave us a breathing spell, and then a relief company arrived and the
+fighting ceased.
+
+On Monday ammunition and provisions were getting short, and fearing a
+renewal of the attack, I decided to evacuate the town, and go down the
+Minnesota river to Mankato, a distance of about thirty miles over an
+open prairie. We had nearly fifteen hundred women and children to take
+care of, and about eighty wounded men. The caravan consisted of 153
+wagons, drawn by horses and oxen; the troops being on foot, and so
+disposed as to make a good defense if attacked.
+
+Everything being ready for a start, some one suggested to me to set a
+trap for the Indians, when they should enter the town after our
+departure, as we all supposed they would, there being an immense amount
+of loot left behind,--stores full of goods of all kinds, and many other
+things of value to the savage.
+
+I had, the day before, put a stop to some of the younger men scalping
+the eight or ten dead Indians who had been dragged into the town from
+where they had been killed, regarding it as barbarous. The boys would
+take off a small piece of scalp, and with its long black hair, tie it
+into their button-holes, as a souvenir to take home with them.
+
+What do you think was the nature of the trap that was proposed to catch
+the Indians? It makes my blood run cold to think of it, and so
+disgraceful and diabolical was it that, in all I have said and written
+about this war in the last thirty-six years, I have never had courage to
+mention it. Yet as awful as it was, so incensed was I at all the
+devilish cruelty that had been perpetrated on our people that I at first
+consented to it, and we went so far as actually to set the trap.
+
+It was proposed to expose a barrel of whisky in a conspicuous place,
+and put enough strychnine in it to destroy the whole Sioux nation, and
+then label it "poison" in all the languages spoken in our polyglot
+country, so that should the first comers be whites they would avoid it,
+but if Indians, we might have the satisfaction of exterminating them. We
+actually went so far as to place the barrel where it would attract
+anyone who should be looking about the main street, which was all that
+was left of the town, and labelled it in French, English, German,
+Italian, Swedish and Norwegian, and then put into it eight or ten
+bottles of strychnine, prepared for destroying wolves, and were about
+leaving when the thought flashed through my mind: "Suppose a relief
+squad should be sent to us, and should think the whole matter a joke to
+cheat them out of a drink, and should sample it and die, as they
+certainly would, we never could forgive ourselves, and would be really
+their murderers." My knowledge of the fact that a soldier who had made a
+long march on a hot day would take big chances for a drink, heightened
+my apprehension on this view of the subject, and the more I thought the
+matter over, the more devilish it appeared to me, even if we caught only
+Indians. I actually felt as though I would be ashamed to meet the spirit
+of even a savage enemy whom I had disposed of in such a cowardly manner,
+should we finally be consigned to the same happy hunting grounds, so I
+took an axe and knocked the head of the barrel in, and let the contents
+into the street. While I deeply regretted the loss of so much good
+whisky, I have never thought of the occurrence since without inwardly
+rejoicing that my better nature and judgment prevented me from
+committing such an offense against all the laws of honor, humanity and
+civilization. It turned out that the first arrival was a squad sent by
+General Sibley to our relief, and from what I know of some of the men
+composing it, I am quite certain that the warning would have been
+disregarded. The circumstance, however, proves how deeply the savage
+instinct is imbedded in human nature, whatever the color of the skin.
+"Give us strength to resist temptation," has been my prayer ever since.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+FUN IN A BLIZZARD.
+
+
+The winter of 1856, in Minnesota, was characterized by the usual amount
+of cold weather, snow and storms, and people operating on the frontier
+were compelled to exercise great care and caution to prevent disasters.
+All old timers who have had occasion to live beyond the settlements and
+travel long distances in an open prairie country well know that the
+danger of being overtaken by storms is one of the most terrible that one
+can be exposed to. Most of the casualties, however, that result from
+being caught in these storms may be attributed to want of experience,
+and consequent lack of preparation to meet and contend with them. I have
+employed many men of all nationalities in teaming long distances on the
+prairie frontier in the winter season, and while the American is always
+reliable and dexterous in emergencies, I have found the French Canadian
+always the best equipped for winter prairie work, in his knowledge in
+this line that can only be gained by experience. His ancestors served
+the early fur companies from Montreal to McKenzie's river, from Hudson's
+bay to the Pacific, and knew how to take care of themselves with the
+unerring instinct of the cariboo and the moose, and the generation of
+them that I came in contact with had inherited all these
+characteristics.
+
+I have known a brigade of teams, manned by Germans, Englishmen and
+Irishmen (the Scandinavians had then just begun to make their appearance
+in the Northwest) to be caught in a winter storm, and result in the
+amputation of fingers, toes, feet and hands from freezing, but I cannot
+remember ever losing a Canadian Frenchman. I recall one instance, where
+a train was overtaken by a severe storm just about evening, where no
+timber was in sight. The men built barricades with their sleds and
+loads, and took refuge to the leeward of them, where they passed quite a
+comfortable night for themselves and their teams. With the coming of the
+morning light they discovered a timber island not very far off, and
+started for it with their horses, to make fires, feed the teams, and get
+breakfast. The storm had abated, and the sun shone brilliantly. One
+young American lad shouldered a sack of oats, and not realizing that it
+was very cold, did not put on his mittens, but seized the neck of the
+sack with his bare hand. When he arrived at the timber all his fingers
+were frozen, and had to be amputated. It was merely one of the cases of
+serious injury I have known arising from ignorance.
+
+No one who has not encountered a blizzard on the open prairie can form
+an adequate idea of the almost hopelessness of the situation. The air
+becomes filled with driving, whirling snow to such an extent that it is
+with difficulty you can see your horses, and the effect is the same as
+absolute darkness in destroying all conception of direction. You may
+think you are going straight forward when in fact you are moving in a
+small circle; the only safety is to stop and battle it out.
+
+I remember a case which happened in this region before it became
+Minnesota which fully proves the dangers of a blizzard to a traveler on
+the open prairie. Martin McLeod and Pierre Bottineau, together with an
+Englishman and a Pole, started from Fort Garry for the headwaters of the
+Minnesota river. They were well equipped in all respects, having a good
+dog train, and, in Bottineau, one of the most experienced guides in the
+Northwest. While the party was in sight of timber it was suddenly
+enveloped in a blizzard, and, of course, wanted to reach the timber for
+safety. Here a controversy arose as to the direction to be taken to find
+it, the Englishman and the Pole insisting on one line, and McLeod and
+Bottineau on another. They separated. McLeod took the dogs, and he and
+they soon fell over a precipice and were covered up in a deep snow
+drift, where they remained quite comfortably through the night.
+Bottineau through his instincts reached the timber, and was safe, where
+he was joined the next morning by McLeod. The Englishman was afterwards
+discovered so badly frozen that he died, while the Pole was lost. The
+only trace of him that was ever discovered was his pistols, which were
+found on the prairie the next spring, the wolves having undoubtedly
+disposed of his remains.
+
+The remedy for these dangers is to avoid them by a close scrutiny of the
+weather, and by never venturing on a big prairie if you can by any means
+avoid it, and always being abundantly supplied with food for yourself
+and animals, whether horses or dogs, besides fuel, matches, blankets,
+robes, and all the paraphernalia of a snow camp, should you have to make
+one. No people are more careful in these particulars than the Indians
+themselves, from whom the French voyageurs undoubtedly learned their
+lessons.
+
+To give an idea of how treacherous the weather may be, and of what
+dangers frontier people are subjected to, I will relate an adventure in
+which I participated when living in the Indian country, which, however,
+turned out pleasantly. I had been at my Redwood agency for several days,
+and it became important that I should visit my upper agency, situated on
+the Yellow Medicine river, about thirty miles distant, up the Minnesota
+river. After crossing the Redwood river, the road led over a thirty-mile
+prairie, without a shrub on it as big as a walking stick. The day was
+bright and beautiful, and the ride promised to be a pleasant one, so I
+invited my surgeon, Dr. Daniels, and his wife to accompany me. They
+gladly accepted, and Mrs. Daniels took her baby along. (By the way, this
+baby is now the elder sister of the wife of one of our most
+distinguished attorneys, Mr. John V. I. Dodd.) Mr. Andrew Myrick, a
+trader at the agency, learning that we were going, decided to accompany
+us, and got up his team for the purpose, taking some young friends with
+him, and off we went.
+
+I had early taken the precaution to construct a sleigh especially
+adapted to winter travel in this exposed region. It had recesses where
+were stowed away provisions, fuel, tools, and many things to meet
+possible emergencies. The cushions were made of twelve pairs of
+four-point Mackinaw blankets, and the side rails were capable of
+carrying two carcasses of venison or mutton, so I felt quite capable of
+conquering a blizzard.
+
+I may say here that I had a surgeon at each agency, who were brothers,
+Dr. Asa W. Daniels at the lower agency and Dr. Jared Daniels at the
+upper, and this excursion presented a pleasant opportunity for the
+families to meet. The upper agency was in charge of my chief farmer, a
+Scotch gentleman by the name of Robertson. He was a mystery which I
+never unravelled,--a handsome, aristocratic, highly educated man about
+seventy years of age, with the manners of a Chesterfield. He had been in
+the Indian country for many years, had married a squaw, and raised a
+numerous family of children, and had been in the employment of the
+government ever since the making of the treaties. I always thought he
+once was a man of fortune, who had dissipated it in some way, after
+travelling the world over, and had sought oblivion in the wilds of
+America.
+
+There was a large comfortable log house at the Yellow Medicine agency,
+occupied by Robertson, which answered for all his purposes, both
+business and domestic, and furnished a home and office for me when I
+happened to be there; and on one occasion, during the Ink-pa-du-ta
+excitement, I found it made a very efficient fort for defense against
+the Indians.
+
+Our trip was uneventful, and we arrived in the evening. That night a
+blizzard sprang up that exceeded in severity anything of the kind in my
+experience, and I have had nearly half a century of Minnesota winters.
+It raged and rampaged. It piled the snow on the prairie in drifts of ten
+and twenty feet in height. It filled the river bottoms to the height of
+about three feet on the level. It lasted about ten days, during which
+time, we of course, did not dream of getting out, but amused ourselves
+as best we could. It was what the French called a _poudre de riz_, where
+there is more snow in the air than on the ground. Although I have been
+entertained in many parts of the world, and by many various kinds of
+people, I can say that I never enjoyed a few weeks more satisfactorily
+than those we spent under compulsion at the Yellow Medicine river on
+that occasion.
+
+Personal association with Mr. Robertson was not only a delight, but an
+education. He had been everywhere, and knew everything. He was charming
+in conversation and magnificent in hospitality, and the unique nature of
+his entertainment under his savage environments lent an additional charm
+to the situation. He soon became aware that we needed something
+exciting to sustain us in our enforced imprisonment, and he produced
+fiddlers and half-breed women for dancing. He gave us every day a dinner
+party composed of viands unknown outside of the frontier of North
+America. One day we would have the tail of the beaver, always regarded
+as a great delicacy on the border; the next, the paws of the bear
+soused, which, when served on a white dish, very much resembled the foot
+of a negro, but were good; then, again, roasted muskrat, which in the
+winter is as delicate as a young chicken; then fricasseed skunk, which,
+in season, is free from all offensive odor, and extremely delicate,--all
+served with _le riz sauvage_. In fact, he exhausted the resources of the
+country to make us happy.
+
+But Robertson's menu was the least part of it. Every evening he would
+assemble us, and read Shakespeare and the poetry of Burns to us. I never
+understood or enjoyed Burns until I heard it read and expounded by
+Robertson.
+
+The time passed in this pleasant fashion until we commenced to think we
+were "snowed in" for the winter, and I began to devise ways and means
+for getting out. I had to get out; but how, was the question. To cross
+the prairie was not to be thought of; we could not get an Indian to
+venture over it on snowshoes, let alone driving over it. Nothing had
+been heard of us below, and, as we learned afterwards, the St. Paul
+papers had published an account of our all being frozen to death, with
+full details of Andrew Myrick being found dead in his sleigh, with the
+lines in his hands and his horses standing stiff before him.
+
+I decided that an expedition might work its way through on the river
+bottoms, and we could follow in its trail. So I sent out a party with
+several heavy sleds, loaded with hay, and each drawn by four or five
+yoke of oxen to beat a track. They returned after several days' absence,
+and reported that the thing was impossible, and they could not get
+through. I then called for volunteers, and the French Canadians came to
+the front. I allowed them to organize their own expedition. They took
+their fiddles with them, and the agreement was, that if we didn't hear
+from them in five days, we were to consider that they were through, and
+we could follow. The days passed one after the other, and at the
+expiration of the time, we all started, and laboriously followed the
+trail they had beaten. We noticed their camps from day to day, and saw
+that they had not been distressed, and found them, at the end of the
+journey, as jolly as such people always are, whether in sunshine or
+storm.
+
+It is much more agreeable to write about blizzards than to encounter
+them.
+
+
+
+
+LAW AND LATIN.
+
+
+In the beginning of the settlement of the Minnesota valley, in the early
+fifties, a man named Tom Cowan located at Traverse des Sioux. His name
+will be at once recognized by all the old settlers. He was a Scotchman,
+and had been in business in Baltimore. Financial difficulties had driven
+him to the West, to begin life anew and grow up with the country. He was
+a very well read and companionable man, and exceedingly bright by
+nature, and at once became very popular with the people. His first
+venture was in the fur trade, but not knowing anything about it, his
+success was not brilliant. I remember that he once paid an immense price
+for a very large black bearskin, thinking he had struck a bonanza. He
+kept it on exhibition, until one day John S. Prince, who was an
+experienced fur buyer, dropped in, and after listening to Cowan's eulogy
+on his bear skin, quietly remarked: "He bear; not worth a d--n," which
+decision induced Tom to abandon the fur trade.
+
+There being no lawyer but one at Traverse des Sioux, and I having been
+elected to the supreme bench, Mr. Cowan decided to study law, and open
+an office for the practice of that profession. He accordingly proposed
+that he should study with me, which idea I strongly encouraged, and
+after about six weeks of diligent reading, principally devoted to the
+statutes, I admitted him to the bar, and he fearlessly announced himself
+as an attorney and counselor at law. In this venture he was phenomenally
+successful. He was a fine speaker, made an excellent argument on facts,
+and soon stood high in the profession. He took a leading part in
+politics, was made register of deeds of his county, went to the
+legislature, and was nominated for lieutenant governor of the state
+after its admission into the Union; but, of course, in all his practice
+he was never quite certain about the law of his cases. This deficiency
+was made up by dash and brilliancy, and he got along swimmingly.
+
+One day he came to my office and said: "Judgey, I am going to try a suit
+at Le Sueur to-morrow that involves $2,500. It is the biggest suit we
+have ever had in the valley, and I think it ought to have some Latin in
+it, and I want you to furnish me with that ingredient." I said: "Tom,
+what is it all about? I must know what kind of a suit it is before I can
+supply the Latin appropriately, and especially as I am not very much up
+in Latin myself."
+
+He said the suit was on an insurance policy; that he was defending on
+the ground of misrepresentations made by the insured on the making of
+the policy, and he must have some Latin to illustrate and strengthen his
+point.
+
+I mulled over the proposition, looked up some books on maxims, and
+finally gave him this, "_Non haec in federe veni_," which I translated
+to mean, "I did not enter into this contract." He was delighted, and
+said there ought to be no doubt of success with the aid of this
+formidable weapon, and made me promise to ride down with him to hear him
+get it off. So the next day we started, and in crossing the Le Sueur
+prairie, Cowan was hailed by a man who said he was under arrest for
+having kicked a man out of his house for insulting his family, and he
+wanted Tom to defend him. The justice's court was about a mile from the
+road, in a carpenter shop, the proprietor of which was the justice. Tom
+told him to demand a jury, and he would stop on his way back and help
+him out.
+
+When we arrived at Le Sueur we found that the case could not be heard
+that day, and, starting homeward, about four o'clock we reached the
+carpenter shop. There we found the jury awaiting us. We hitched the
+team, and I spread myself comfortably on a pile of shavings to witness
+the legal encounter. The complaining party proved his case. Cowan put
+his client on the witness stand, and showed the provocation. Then he
+addressed the jury. His defense was, want of criminal intent. He dwelt
+eloquently on the point that the gist of the offense was the intent with
+which the act was committed, and when it appeared that the act was
+justified, there could be no crime. Then, casting a quizzical glance at
+me, he struck a tragic attitude, and thundered out: "Gentlemen of the
+jury, it is indelibly recorded in all the works of Roman jurisprudence,
+'_Non haec in federe veni_,' which means there can be no crime without
+criminal intent." The effect was electrical; the jury acquitted the
+prisoner, and we drove home fully convinced that the law was not an
+exact science. With what effect Tom utilized his Latin in the insurance
+suit I have forgotten, or was never advised.
+
+
+
+
+INDIAN STRATEGY.
+
+
+In the summer of 1856 I had the celebrated battery commanded by Major T.
+W. Sherman of the United States Army (better known as the Buena Vista
+Battery, from the good work it did in the Mexican war) on duty in the
+Indian country, on account of a great excitement which prevailed among
+the Indians. The officers of the battery were Major Sherman, First
+Lieutenant Ayer, and Second Lieutenant Du Barry. Its force of men was
+about sixty, including noncommissioned officers. I think it had four
+guns, but of this I am not certain.
+
+One day, after skirmishing about over considerable country, we made a
+camp on the Yellow Medicine river, near a fine spring, and everything
+seemed comfortable. The formation of the camp was a square, with the
+guns and tents inside, and a sort of a picket line on all sides about a
+hundred yards from the center, on which the sentinels marched day and
+night. I tented with the major, and seeing that the Indians were allowed
+to come inside of the picket lines with their guns in their hands, I
+took the liberty of saying to him that I did not consider such a policy
+safe, because the Indians could, at a concerted signal, each pick out
+his man and shoot him down, and then where would the battery be? But the
+major's answer was, "Oh, we must not show any timidity." So I said no
+more, but it was just such misplaced confidence that afterwards cost
+General Canby his life among the Modocs, when he was shot down by
+Captain Jack. Things went on quietly, until one day a young soldier
+went down to the spring with his bucket and dipper for water, and an
+Indian who desired to make a name for himself among his fellows followed
+him stealthily, and when he was in a stooping posture, filling his
+bucket, came up behind him, and plunged a long knife into his neck,
+intending, of course, to kill him; but as luck would have it, the knife
+struck his collarbone and doubled up, so the Indian could not withdraw
+it. The shock nearly prostrated the soldier, but he succeeded in
+reaching camp. The major immediately demanded the surrender of the
+guilty party, and he was given up by the Indians. I noticed one thing,
+however; no more Indians were allowed inside the lines with their guns
+in their hands.
+
+When the prisoner was brought into camp a guard tent was established,
+and he was confined in it, with ten men to stand guard over him. These
+men were each armed with the minie rifle which was first introduced into
+the army, and which was quite an effective weapon.
+
+While all this was going on, we were holding pow-pows every day with the
+Indians, endeavoring to straighten out and clear up all the vexed
+questions between us. The manner of holding a council was to select a
+place on the prairie, plant an American flag in the center, and all
+hands squat down in a circle around it. Then the speechifying would
+commence, and last for hours without any satisfactory results. Anyone
+who has had much experience in Indian councils is aware of the
+hopelessness of arriving at a termination of the discussion. It very
+much resembles Turkish diplomacy. But the weather was pleasant, and
+everybody was patient.
+
+The Indians, however, were concocting plans all this time to effect the
+escape of the prisoner in the guardhouse. So one day they suggested a
+certain place for the holding of the council, giving some plausible
+reason for the change of location, and when the time arrived, everybody
+assembled, and the ring was formed. Those present consisted of all the
+traders, Superintendent Cullen, Major Sherman, Lieutenant Ayer,--in
+fact, all the white men at the agency,--and about one hundred Indians,
+everyone of whom had a gun in his hands. I had warned the major
+frequently not to allow an Indian to come into council with a gun, but
+he deemed it better not to show any timidity, and they were not
+prohibited. The council on this occasion was held about four hundred
+yards from the battery camp, and on lower ground, but with no
+obstruction between them. The scheme of the savages was to spring to
+their feet on a concerted signal and begin firing their guns all around
+the council circle, so as to create a great excitement and bring
+everyone to his feet, and just at this moment the prisoner in the
+guardhouse was to make a run in the direction of the council, keeping
+exactly between the guard and the whites in the council ring, believing
+that the soldiers would not fire for fear of killing their own people.
+When the time arrived every Indian in the ring jumped to his feet and
+fired in the air, creating a tremendous fusilade, and as had been
+expected, the most frightful panic followed, and everyone thinking that
+a general massacre of the whites had begun, they scattered in all
+directions. Instantly the prisoner ran for the crowd, and an Indian can
+sprint like a deer. Contrary to expectations, every one of the ten
+guards opened fire on him, and seven of them hit him, but curiously not
+one of the wounds stopped his progress, and he got away; but the bullets
+went over and among the whites, one ricocheting through the coat of
+Major Cullen. The prisoner never was caught, but I heard a great deal
+about him afterwards. His exploit of stabbing the soldier and his almost
+miraculous escape made him one of the most celebrated medicine men of
+his band, and he continued to work wonders thenceforth.
+
+After the return of the battery I was informed by my close friends among
+the Indians that they had sat on the hills overlooking the camp and
+concocted all kinds of schemes to take it, the principal one of which
+was to fill bladders with water, and pour them over the touch-holes of
+the guns, and, as they supposed, render them useless, and then open fire
+on the men. Fortunately nothing of the kind was tried, but I was
+convinced that no one can be too cautious when in the country of a
+savage enemy. A good lesson can be learned from this narrative by the
+people now occupying the country of the Filipinos.
+
+One pleasing circumstance resulted from the presence of this battery in
+the Indian country. About thirty years after the occurrences I have been
+narrating I had occasion to transact some business with the adjutant
+general of our state at his office in the capitol, and after completing
+it I was about to retire, when the general said to me: "Judge, you don't
+seem to remember me." I replied: "General, did I ever have the pleasure
+of your acquaintance?" "Not exactly," he said, "but don't you remember
+the time when you had the old Sherman Battery in the field, with its
+tall first sergeant?" I said: "I recall the event quite clearly, but not
+the sergeant." He said: "One day, after a long, hot march, I was laying
+out the camp, and you were sitting on your horse observing the
+operation, when you noticed me and called me to you, and pulling a flask
+from your pocket or holster, you asked me to take a drink. That is a
+long time ago, but I remember it as the best drink I ever had, and I
+always associate you pleasantly with it." The tall sergeant had matured
+into a most dignified and charming gentleman, with whom I have ever
+since enjoyed the most agreeable relations.
+
+The moral of this story is, that when you are in the country of hostile
+savages, never accept any confidences or take any chances, and when you
+have more drinks than you can conveniently absorb, divide with your
+neighbor.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST STATE ELECTION RETURNS FROM PEMBINA.
+
+
+The State of Wisconsin was admitted into the Union in the year 1848,
+with the St. Croix river as its western boundary. This arrangement left
+St. Paul, St. Anthony, Stillwater, Marine, Taylor's Falls and other
+settlements, which had sprung up in Wisconsin west of the St. Croix,
+without any government. The inhabitants of these communities immediately
+sought ways and means to extricate themselves from the dilemma in which
+they were placed. There were a great many men among them of marked
+ability and influence--Henry M. Rice, Henry H. Sibley, Morton S.
+Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss, John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, Martin McLeod,
+Wm. R. Marshall and others. Differences of opinion existed as to whether
+the remnant of Wisconsin on the west side of the St. Croix still
+remained the Territory of Wisconsin or whether it was a kind of "no
+man's land," without a government of any kind. Governor Dodge of the
+territory had been elected to the senate of the United States for the
+new state. The delegate to congress had resigned, and the government of
+the territory had been cast upon the secretary, Mr. John Catlin, who
+became governor ex-officio on the vacancy happening in the office of
+governor. He lived in Madison, in the new state, and would have to move
+over the line into the deserted section if he proposed to exercise the
+functions of his office. A correspondence was opened with him, and he
+was invited to come to Stillwater, and proclaim the existence of the
+territory by calling an election for a delegate to congress from
+Wisconsin Territory. He accepted the call, moved to Stillwater, and in
+the month of September, 1848, issued his proclamation. An election was
+held in November following, and Henry H. Sibley was chosen delegate from
+Wisconsin Territory to the congress of the United States.
+
+Sibley procured the passage of an act, on March 3, 1849, organizing the
+Territory of Minnesota, and we have had regular elections ever since.
+
+There is a little unwritten history connected with the transaction above
+related. The principal citizens west of the St. Croix fixed things up
+among the settlements in a manner entirely satisfactory to themselves.
+They divided the prospective spoils about as follows: Sibley lived at
+Mendota, and that place was to have the delegate to congress, St. Paul
+was to have the capital, Stillwater the penitentiary, and St. Anthony
+the university, which comprised all there was to divide. The program was
+faithfully carried out, and has been maintained ever since, although
+various attempts have been made to violate the treaty by the removal of
+the capital from St. Paul; but I am glad to be able to say, in behalf of
+honesty and fair dealing, none of them have been successful.
+
+The existence of this unwritten treaty has been denied, but there are
+men yet living in the state who took part in it, and have publicly
+affirmed its authenticity. Judge Douglas of Illinois, when chairman of
+the senate committee on territories, insisted on placing the capital at
+Mendota, with the building on the top of Pilot Knob, and had it not been
+for the stern integrity of Sibley, he would have succeeded, to the
+everlasting inconvenience and discomfort of our people.
+
+There were really no politics worthy of the name during the years of the
+territory. All the principal offices were filled by appointment by the
+general government, and the rest of them determined by personal
+rivalries. The main business of the territory was the fur trade, carried
+on by warring companies, whose chief factors sought office more for the
+sake of its influence on their business than for the principles they
+represented.
+
+I remember one year the legislature, in a spasm of virtue, passed a
+prohibitory liquor law, which the supreme court, under the influence of
+a counter spasm, immediately set aside as unconstitutional. Outside of
+the cities, where the missionaries exerted a strong influence, the
+contention was usually whisky or no whisky; in fact, there was very
+little else to fight about.
+
+The first government was appointed by the Whigs (the Republican party
+being yet unborn), and as Governor Ramsey was from Pennsylvania, we had
+a great influx of immigration from that state. The second governor
+(Gorman) was appointed by the Democrats, and came from Indiana, and the
+people of that state being much more migratory than the Pennsylvanians,
+we were flooded with Hoosiers. These various influences caused
+differences of opinion and interests sufficient to keep the political
+pot boiling quite lively, but on lines that were necessarily personal
+and temporary in their bearing. We soon, however, approached the more
+important subject of statehood, and, strange as it may seem to the
+present generation, the question of slavery was a strong factor. The
+Republican party was born about 1854, and as its principal creed was
+opposition to the extension of slavery, its followers naturally forced
+the subject into the politics of the day. I can, however, positively
+affirm that no one of any political faith had the slightest idea of
+introducing slavery into Minnesota. A constitution for the proposed
+state was framed in 1857, and in the fall of that year the election for
+the officers of the first state government was held, and, of course,
+great interest was manifested as to the result. The general election was
+fixed by law for November in all of the counties of the territory except
+one. The county of Pembina was so distant from the capital that it was
+found to be difficult to get the returns in so as to be counted with
+those of the rest of the state. The only transportation between the two
+places was by Red River carts, drawn by oxen in the summer, and by dog
+trains in the winter; the distance to be travelled was about four
+hundred miles, and the time necessary to compass it nearly or quite a
+month. The legislature had, in 1853, in order to remedy this difficulty,
+and because the population was on its annual buffalo hunt in November,
+passed an act fixing the time for holding elections in the county of
+Pembina on the second Tuesday in September in each year, thus giving
+ample opportunity to get the returns to the authorities in St. Paul in
+time to be counted with those from the other districts. The result of
+this was that no one outside of Pembina ever knew how many votes had
+been polled in that district until long after the rest of the territory
+had been heard from, and it became a common saying among the Whigs that
+the Pembina returns were held back until it became known how many votes
+were necessary to carry the election for the Democrats, and that they
+were fixed accordingly, which the Democrats denounced as a Whig lie.
+
+About all that was known of Pembina was that it was inhabited by a
+savage looking race of Chippewa half-breeds, and that Joe Rolette lived
+there, and Norman W. Kittson went there occasionally. It carried on an
+immense trade in furs with St. Paul, by means of brigades of Red River
+carts each summer and by dog trains in the winter, and the more you saw
+of these people the more you were impressed with their savage appearance
+and bearing.
+
+The first state election, curious as it may appear, was held in 1857,
+before the state was admitted into the Union, which latter event was
+postponed until May 11, 1858, and when the votes from all the counties
+except Pembina had been returned to the proper officer the result, as
+far as could be ascertained before the official count was made, was
+somewhat in doubt, which circumstance naturally excited great interest
+in the Pembina election, as it was well known that all the votes from
+that district would be Democratic, so the great question was, "How
+many?"
+
+While the country was holding its breath in suspense and expectancy, a
+man in the Indian trade, named Madison Sweetzer, came to me about two
+o'clock one night, or rather morning, and told me that Nat. Tyson, who
+was a merchant in St. Paul and an enthusiastic Republican, had just
+started for the north with a fast team and an outfit that looked as if
+he contemplated a long journey, and his belief was that he intended to
+capture Joe Rolette and the Pembina returns. I thought such might be the
+case, and we immediately began to devise ways and means to circumvent
+him. We hastened to the house of Henry M. Rice, who knew every trader
+and half-breed between here and Pembina, and laid our suspicions before
+him. He diagnosed the case in an instant, and sent us to Norman W.
+Kittson, who lived in a stone house well up on Jackson street, with
+instructions to him to send a mounted courier after Tyson, who was to
+pass him on the road, and either find Rolette or Major Clitheral, who
+was an Alabama man and one of the United States land officers in the
+neighborhood of Crow Wing (and, of course, a reliable Democrat), and to
+deliver a letter to the one first found, putting him on guard against
+the supposed enemy. I prepared the letter, and Kittson in a few moments
+had summoned a reliable Chippewa half-breed, mounted him on a fine
+horse, fully explained his mission, and impressed upon him that he was
+to reach Clitheral or Rolette ahead of Tyson, if he had to kill a dozen
+horses in so doing. There is nothing a fine, active young half-breed
+enjoys so much as an adventure of this kind; a ride of four hundred
+miles had no terrors for him, and to serve his employer, no matter what
+the duty or the danger, was his delight. When he was ready to start,
+Kittson gave him a send-off in about the following words: "_Va, va,
+vite, et ne t'arrette pas, même pour sauver la vie_" ("Go; go quick; and
+don't stop even to save your life"), and giving his horse a vigorous
+slap, he was off like the wind.
+
+The result was that he passed Tyson before he had gone twenty miles,
+found Clitheral a day and a half before Tyson reached Crow Wing, if he
+ever did get there, delivered his letter, and the major immediately
+started to find Rolette, which he succeeded in doing, took the returns
+and put them in a belt around his person, and having relieved Joe of all
+his responsibility, left him to his own devices, which meant painting
+all the towns red that he visited on his way. We well knew that Joe
+could no more resist the temptations of civilization than an old sailor
+returning from a long voyage, and what we apprehended was that he might,
+while in a too-convivial mood, either lose the returns, or have them
+stolen from him.
+
+The tone of the letter was so urgent that the major did not know but
+that half the Republicans in St. Paul might be lying in wait to capture
+him, so he did not enter the town directly, but went to Fort Snelling,
+and left the returns with an officer of the army, and then proceeded to
+St. Paul. When we explained to him that no one but Rice, Kittson,
+Sweetzer and myself knew anything about the matter, he was relieved, but
+still cautious. He waited for a few days, and then proposed to a lady to
+take a ride with him to Fort Snelling. When they started home, he gave
+her a bundle and asked her to care for it while he drove, which she
+unsuspectingly did, and that is the way the Pembina returns of
+Minnesota's first state election reached the capital. It is needless to
+say how many votes they represented, but only to announce that the
+election went Democratic.
+
+Whether Tyson had any idea of doing what we suspected him of, I never
+discovered, but if that was his purpose, he had a long ride for nothing,
+and as our scheme terminated so successfully, I am willing to acquit him
+of the charge.
+
+
+
+
+A FRONTIER STORY WHICH CONTAINS A ROBBERY, TWO DESERTIONS,
+A CAPTURE AND A SUICIDE.
+
+
+In 1856 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux. My agencies were
+at Redwood, about thirteen miles above Fort Ridgely, and at Yellow
+Medicine, on a river of that name, emptying into the Minnesota about
+fifty miles above the fort. Under the treaties with these Indians the
+government paid them large sums of money and great quantities of goods,
+semi-annually, at the agencies. Up to a short time before the event
+which I am about to relate these payments were made by the agent, but,
+for some reason best known to the government, the making of the payment
+was turned over to the superintendent of Indian affairs having charge of
+the tribes. The manner of making these payments before the change was
+this: I would receive from the superintendent, at St. Paul, the money,
+in silver and gold (this being long before the days of greenbacks),
+amounting to a full wagon load, and take it up to the agencies, while
+the goods would be delivered by the contractors in steamboats, a census
+of the Indians would be taken, and the money and goods equally divided
+among them.
+
+After this duty was withdrawn from the agents and imposed upon the
+superintendents, of course all responsibility for the money and goods
+was shifted from the former and laid upon the latter, which was to me a
+great relief, as I had transported many wagon loads of specie from St.
+Paul to the agencies without guard, and at great personal and financial
+risk. A payment was due early in July, 1857, and the superintendent had
+brought the money as far as Fort Ridgely. Arriving at that point, news
+came of much excitement among the Indians at the agencies, which was not
+at all unusual, as thousands of savage fellows used to come in from the
+Missouri river country, and make trouble for our tribes about payment
+time, and the superintendent decided it was prudent to leave the money
+at Fort Ridgely until matters quieted down. There was no vault or other
+safe place in which to deposit the money at the fort, so it was placed
+in a room occupied by the quartermaster's clerk, a Frenchman, an
+enlisted man, and he, with another soldier, a German, who was the post
+baker, were put in charge of it. This Frenchman had been selected from
+the ranks of Captain Sully's company and made quartermaster's clerk on
+account of his superior education, his excellent penmanship and his good
+character. I always have thought he was some unfortunate young
+gentleman, serving under an assumed name. The money was all in stout
+wooden mint boxes, holding each $1,000 in silver, and in gold about
+$25,000 or more, there being usually one or two boxes of gold. The boxes
+were spread on the floor of the room, and the men slept on them.
+
+The constitutional convention to frame the organic law for the proposed
+State of Minnesota had been called to convene in St. Paul, on the
+thirteenth day of July, 1857, and the people of the Minnesota valley had
+done me the honor to elect me a member of it. I had delayed starting for
+St. Paul until a day or two before the meeting of the convention, and
+having heard rumors that there would be trouble in organizing it, I felt
+very anxious to be there on the opening day. The only mode of
+transportation, except the river, in those days, was the little
+canvas-covered stages of Messrs. M. O. Walker & Co., which would hold
+four inside comfortably, and six on a pinch. When the down stage reached
+Traverse des Sioux, on the morning of the 11th of July, it was full;
+that is, there were five inside, three on the back seat, and two on the
+front, and one man on the seat with the driver. I insisted strenuously
+on going, and said I would ride in the boot rather than not go at all,
+my insistence, of course, having reference to my desire to be at the
+opening of the convention. I was admitted, and took my place on the
+front seat, with my back to the driver, and my knees interlocked with
+those of the passenger on the back seat who faced me. At this time I had
+heard nothing of what had happened at the fort. The fact was that the
+two men who had been placed in charge of the money had opened one of the
+boxes of gold, taken out a bag containing $5,000 in quarter eagles, and
+sealed it up again. When the superintendent sent down for his money, and
+it was loaded into the wagon, the two soldiers immediately deserted,
+which, of course, excited the suspicions of the officers. A courier was
+at once dispatched to the agency to see if the money was all right, and
+the theft was soon discovered. The superintendent, who was then Major
+Cullen, had handbills struck off, giving the description of the
+deserters, and offering $600 for their capture and the return of the
+money. Couriers were dispatched in all directions to effect their
+arrest, and one of the handbills reached Henderson, which was the county
+seat of Sibley county, some twenty miles down the river from the point
+at which I took the stage. A deputy sheriff of that county had started
+out to hunt the thieves and secure the reward, carrying one of the
+handbills with him, and had proceeded up the river as far as Le Sueur,
+about half way between Traverse des Sioux and Henderson.
+
+It is well to state here that the stages carried the mails, and always
+stopped at the post towns long enough to deliver the incoming and
+receive the outgoing mails, which afforded time for a bit of gossip, a
+drink, and a stretch of the legs. There were two postoffices in Le
+Sueur, in upper town and lower town, about a mile and a half apart. As
+soon as the stage stopped at upper town, the deputy sheriff handed me
+the handbill through the window, announcing the theft and describing the
+thieves. I read it right in the face of my vis-a-vis, and after
+congratulating myself that I had no responsibility for the lost money, I
+remarked to the sheriff: "Of course, you don't expect to find these
+fellows on the main thoroughfare. They are probably now going down the
+Missouri in a canoe." Nothing more occurred until we arrived at the
+lower town postoffice, where we again stopped to change the mails.
+
+Let me here state that the man in front of me was the Frenchman, and the
+man on the front seat with the driver was the German, the deserting
+thieves. The Frenchman was slight of build, but the German was a
+powerful fellow, and had in his hand a double-barrelled shotgun. I, of
+course, had no idea of their identity at this time; but they, and
+especially the Frenchman, knew me perfectly well, having frequently seen
+me about the garrison. They had construed my anxiety to go on the stage
+into the belief that I knew them, and was after them, and had made my
+remark to the sheriff as a mere blind connected with some other scheme
+for their capture. It must have been a trying ordeal for the man in
+front of me, who was evidently watching my every move, and feeling the
+weight of his guilt, supposed I knew all about it.
+
+While we were waiting the change of mail at Lower Le Sueur, the deputy
+sheriff asked me to get out of the stage, and said to me: "Major [I was
+called major in those days], had we not better take another look at
+those fellows in the stage? They are going out of the country when
+everybody is coming in. It looks to me suspicious." I agreed with him,
+and took another look. I at once discovered that they were both dressed
+from head to foot in new slop-shop clothes, indicating the necessity for
+an entire change of costume, and I concluded from this clue there were
+sufficient grounds to suspect them. So the deputy sheriff said: "You
+hold the stage ten or fifteen minutes, and I'll go to Henderson, and
+take out a warrant, and arrest them on the arrival of the stage; so
+that, if we are mistaken, no particular harm will be done." He started
+on. I got my hand-bag out of the boot, and buckled on my six-shooter,
+all of which was seen by the thieves, who must have fully understood the
+program; at least, such must have been the case with the Frenchman, as
+subsequent events led me to doubt whether the German was a participant
+in the theft, or more than a mere deserter. I had a sense of uneasiness
+about the double-barrelled shotgun carried by the German, but I thought
+I could handle the other man. We started, and, much to my relief, when
+we reached the ferry over the river, the German fired one barrel of his
+gun at a pigeon, and snapped several caps on the other, which refused to
+go off. As we approached Henderson, quite a crowd had gathered at the
+hotel to see the arrest, and just as the stage swung up to the sidewalk,
+the Frenchman took out of his pocket a small penknife, the largest blade
+of which could not have been over four inches long. He opened it so
+quietly that it did not excite my apprehensions in the least, although I
+had my right hand on my six-shooter, intending to draw and cover him the
+moment the stage stopped. He made a desperate lunge at his breast with
+the knife, and handing me a carpetbag which lay on his lap, he said,
+"The money is all in this bag, sir," just as if we had been talking the
+whole matter over. I, fearing that he might strike at me with the knife,
+drew my revolver and struck him sharply over the knuckles, making the
+knife fly out of the window, and seizing him by the throat with my left
+hand, I covered him with my pistol. The stage stopped. Retaining my hold
+on him, and still covering him with my pistol, we got out of the stage,
+on the sidewalk. He wavered for a second, and fell dead. He had put the
+knife an inch into his heart. I found in a belt on his body, and in the
+bag $5,320 in gold, which I deposited in the United States land office,
+at Henderson, subject to the order of Major Cullen, who got it all in
+good time. The Frenchman had in his pocket some letters from a lady in
+Strasburg, written in French, conveying some very tender sentiments. I
+never thought he was a bad man, but had yielded, as many do, to a strong
+temptation, and had decided to die rather than be captured. It was not
+more than twenty minutes before we were on our way to St. Paul. As no
+evidence connected the German with the theft, he was sent back simply as
+a deserter.
+
+A curious question arose as to the reward. Major Cullen insisted on
+giving it to me. I knew very well that, had it not been for the superior
+detective sagacity of the deputy, the thieves would never have been
+caught, so I refused it, as I would have done under any circumstances.
+Then the sheriff claimed it, and finally the major left its disposition
+to me, and I divided it between the sheriff and the deputy, partly
+because I thought it just, and partly to keep the peace in the sheriff's
+official family. Where the extra $320 came from, or where it went, I
+never knew nor cared.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE PONY EXPRESS.
+
+
+As western settlement progressed after the purchase of the Louisiana
+territory from France in 1803, it gradually extended up the west side of
+the Mississippi, until the State of Missouri was admitted into the
+Union, in 1820, which was followed by the States of Iowa and Minnesota,
+along the line of the Mississippi, and Kansas and Nebraska, on the
+Missouri. The Mexican War occurred in 1846, and as one of its fruits
+California was ceded to the United States, and was admitted to the Union
+in 1850. The territory which now composes the States of Washington,
+Oregon and Idaho was finally determined to belong to our country by the
+treaty with Great Britain, which was signed July 17, 1846, fixing the
+boundary line between us and the British possessions at the forty-ninth
+parallel of north latitude. These extreme western acquisitions gave us
+an immense coast line on the Pacific Ocean, leaving a stretch of country
+between our Pacific and central possessions, on the Missouri, of
+considerably over two thousand miles in extent, which was uninhabited by
+whites, and composed the hunting grounds of many savage tribes of
+Indians and the pasture ranges of countless herds of buffalo. This vast
+area of country was practically unknown and unexplored, although it had
+been crossed by the expeditions of Lewis and Clark, in 1805-1806, John
+Jacob Astor in 1811, Captain Bonneville in 1832, Marcus Whitman in 1836,
+and John C. Fremont in 1843, to which sources of information may be
+added the prejudiced reports of the Hudson Bay Company.
+
+When California was ceded to us by Mexico, very little was thought of it
+as an acquisition to our possessions. It was looked upon as a country
+out of which a small trade in hides and tallow might grow, but nothing
+more. I have heard it denounced on the floor of the house of
+representatives, in Washington, by some of the wisest statesmen of the
+day, as a bear garden, unfit for the use of civilized man; but prophets
+usually make bad work of matters about which they know absolutely
+nothing, which was the case with California in 1848. However,
+adventurous spirits soon found their way there, as they have always done
+in Western America, and in 1848 or 1849 gold was found accidentally by
+Captain Sutter, in digging a mill-race on his ranch, which discovery at
+once settled the status and fortunes of California. The news soon
+reached the States, and spread like a prairie fire on a windy day. All
+the subsequent gold excitements of Frazier river, down to and including
+the Klondike, have been insignificant in comparison. I was in New York
+at the time, and used to sit on the East river wharves, and see the
+ships sailing away for distant California with an insatiable boyish
+longing to join in the procession.
+
+There was no way of reaching the promised land except by a voyage around
+Cape Horn or an overland trip from western Missouri across the great
+American desert, the Rocky and Sierra Nevada ranges of mountains, either
+of which routes necessitated a weary and dangerous trip of nine months'
+duration. The usual plan adopted in the East was to form a company of
+about one hundred or more men, calculate the probable expense to each,
+and divide it, purchase an old whaling ship, fit her up with bunks and
+cooking appliances, and get an outfit and sail. Of course, there was
+nothing involved in the enterprise but the departure, the voyage and the
+arrival at San Francisco. No steamer had ever crossed the ocean at this
+time, and all navigation was done in sailing ships. So great was the
+rush that a scarcity of ships was soon felt. I remember distinctly on
+one occasion, when an old played-out vessel, purchased by a party which
+proposed to take out a printing press and start the first newspaper, was
+seized by the maritime authorities and condemned as unseaworthy just as
+she was leaving port. The next morning she was gone, and made one of the
+quickest and most successful voyages of the emigration. It is a curious
+fact that, out of all the ships that enlisted in this hazardous
+enterprise, not one was lost or seriously damaged.
+
+The overland route involved more dangers and hardships than the one by
+sea. Many people died on the way from exhaustion and disease, and many
+were killed by the Indians, but the emigration never ceased, or even
+lessened, from these reasons. I have followed the trails made by these
+emigrants in the Sierra Nevadas, and it seemed almost impossible that
+animals could have climbed the precipitous mountain slopes they
+encountered. These hardships, however, did not go unrewarded, because to
+enjoy the distinction of being a "Forty-niner" was ever afterwards a
+badge of nobility on the Pacific Coast.
+
+It was not long, under this vast influx of immigration, before
+California became a well settled state, and its business relations with
+the rest of the country, or as it was then called, "The States," became
+very extensive and important, and the difficulty of intercommunication
+was seriously felt. There were no telegraphs and no railroads, and no
+way for business men to correspond with each other except across a
+continent on wheels or around a continent by sea. What was to be done?
+It did not take the genius of American enterprise long to solve the
+problem. The overland immigration and its incidents had developed a
+class of men skilled in horsemanship, Indian fighting, and all the
+accomplishments that attend the latter, such as courage, wary
+intelligence, and a peculiar sagacity in trailing and scouting, only
+learned by intercourse with wild animals and wild men. Such men, for
+instance, as Col. Wm. Cody, now celebrated as "Buffalo Bill," and Robert
+Haslam, distinguished as "Pony Bob," are its best representatives. This
+class of men much resembled the rough riders of to-day, and could be
+relied upon for any enterprise that involved adventure, courage and
+endurance. At the same time, the country was not lacking in a higher
+degree of intellect which could conceive a project that would call into
+play the utmost ability of this class of men.
+
+California had been, and I think was, in 1860, represented in the senate
+of the United States by Senator Guin, who was associated with Alexander
+Majors and Daniel E. Phelps in transportation matters. They conceived
+the project of reducing the time between the Pacific Coast and the
+States by the establishment of an express, from St. Joseph, on the
+Missouri river, to Sacramento in California, a distance of about two
+thousand miles, which was to carry special business mails, together with
+light and valuable express matter, by means of ponies, ridden by young
+men rapidly for short distances, between the two points. Of course, this
+scheme involved an immense expenditure for stations all along the route,
+horses and men to ride them, and all other elements that would
+necessarily enter into the scheme. The matter was discussed fully at
+both ends of the route, and found many advocates and much opposition.
+The most experienced plainsmen and mountaineers pronounced it
+impracticable, on account of the dangers to be met with, and the
+opinion was expressed that no package risked on this line would ever
+reach its destination, and that all the riders would be murdered before
+a test could be made. Sense and experience seemed to uphold these views.
+It must be remembered that the whole distance was a wilderness of desert
+and mountain ranges, little known, and infested with the most savage
+Indian tribes on the continent, the relations of which with the whites
+were either unsettled or hostile. But, nothing daunted, the projectors
+decided to carry out their design, win or lose. They purchased six
+hundred Texas bronchos, built all the necessary stations, employed all
+the men required to operate and defend them, and secured seventy-five
+riders from the adventurous men found on the borders. The wages paid the
+riders were from $125 to $150 a month, with rations, and singular as it
+may seem to people of to-day, these positions were much sought for.
+Danger among this class of men has an irresistible fascination, and
+writing about it recalls an incident which verifies the assertion fully.
+When I lived in Carson City, Nev., the office of sheriff of Ormsby
+county, in which Carson was situated, was the most coveted position in
+the gift of the people, and it was well known that there never was an
+incumbent of it who had not died in his boots.
+
+The whole arrangement was perfected with western rapidity, and the first
+pony started from St. Joseph in Missouri on the third day of April,
+1860. On the same day and hour the western pony started from Sacramento
+in California. The distance between the stations was about forty miles,
+and was ridden in the shortest time possible. Two minutes were allowed
+for refreshments and change of horses. Each rider carried about ten
+pounds, and the freight charged for the full distance was five dollars
+an ounce. The line was maintained successfully for about two years,
+without any interruption more serious than the occasional killing of a
+rider by the Indians, when, in June, 1862, the first transcontinental
+telegraph went into operation, and the pony express, being no longer
+profitable, yielded, as many other things have since, to the
+all-conquering invader, electricity.
+
+The first pony carried from the president of the United States a
+congratulatory message to the governor of California. The best time ever
+made between the two extreme points was when the last message of
+President Buchanan reached Sacramento in eight and one-half days from
+Washington. It seems almost incredible that such time could have been
+made with animals, when we reflect that the first expedition sent out by
+Mr. Astor, was eleven months in crossing the continent.
+
+The pony express was a success financially to its projectors, and
+satisfied the hungering of the people for news from points so distant
+from each other, and immensely facilitated the transaction of business;
+but, in my opinion, it was most important in demonstrating that the
+western American never shrinks from encountering and overcoming
+obstacles that to most people would seem insurmountable.
+
+
+
+
+KISSING DAY.
+
+
+The Sioux Indian is an exceptionally fine specimen of physical manhood.
+His whole method of life tends to this result. He lives in the open air.
+He may be said to be born with arms in his hands. From the moment he is
+old enough to draw a bowstring, he commences warfare on birds and small
+animals. As he advances to manhood, he becomes familiar with the use of
+firearms, and extends his warfare to the buffalo and the larger animals.
+He rides on horseback from infancy, and excels as a daring horseman. He
+goes on the warpath when half-grown, and learns strategy from the wolf
+and the panther. He is a meat eater, which diet conduces to the growth
+of a lean, muscular, athletic frame, and a bold and highly spirited
+temperament. He is taught to spurn labor of any kind as unmanly, and
+only fit for women. His life occupation is, in the language of the old
+school histories and geographies, "hunting, fishing and war," in each
+and all of which accomplishments he becomes surpassingly expert.
+
+I attribute the superiority of the Sioux over many other tribes to their
+meat diet and their method of transportation--the horse. This
+peculiarity has been noticed by travellers and historians for many
+years. There is an old and true adage which says, "We are what we eat."
+Washington Irving, in his story of "Astoria," says in regard to this
+subject:
+
+    "The effect of different modes of life upon the human frame and
+    human character is strikingly instanced in the contrast between
+    the hunting Indians of the prairies and the piscatory Indians of
+    the sea coast. The former, continually on horseback, scouring
+    the plains, gaining their food by hardy exercise, and subsisting
+    chiefly on flesh, are generally sinewy, tall, meagre, but well
+    formed and of bold and fierce deportment. The latter, lounging
+    about the river banks, or squatting or curved up in their
+    canoes, are generally low in stature, ill-shaped, with crooked
+    legs, thick ankles, and broad flat feet. They are inferior also
+    in muscular power and activity, and in game qualities and
+    appearance, to their hard-riding brethren of the prairies."
+
+The general habits of the Sioux warrior tend to make him lordly, proud,
+and somewhat taciturn and morose, although he is not without a strong
+sense of humor. He is a good husband and indulgent father, but not at
+all demonstrative in his affections. Very little billing and cooing is
+noticeable among the nearest relations, and none between lovers. A kiss
+is regarded more as a ceremony than an endearment.
+
+In the natural and savage state of these people, they counted time by
+moons and seasons, having no division of years, and, of course, knew
+nothing of our red letter days of Christmas or New Year's,--but after
+the advent of the Christian missionaries among them, they were taught to
+understand the meaning of New Year's day, and to recognize its arrival,
+and to distinguish it they called it "Kissing Day," everybody being
+expected to bestow a kiss upon his or her friends in honor of the day.
+
+In 1857 I lived among the Sioux, having them in charge as their agent,
+appointed by the United States government, and when New Year's day came
+around, I found myself at the Yellow Medicine Agency, but was ignorant
+of their peculiar ceremonies for the occasion. I proposed to make the
+best of my isolation from my kind, and spend the day as pleasantly as
+circumstances would permit. While debating the subject of what to do, I
+was informed of the way the Indians celebrated the event, and told that
+I would probably be called upon by a numerous delegation of squaws, and
+that it would be expected that I should receive them by the bestowal of
+some sort of present. Not wishing to be ungallant, and desiring to gain
+information of the customs and manners of my savage wards, I ordered my
+baker to prepare several barrels of ginger bread, and purchased many
+yards of gaily colored calico, which I had cut into proper pieces for
+women's dresses, and with this outfit, prepared to meet the enemy.
+
+At this point I will say a word about the Sioux girl and woman. As a
+general thing, the very young girl is by nature pretty and attractive. I
+have seen many at the age of thirteen and fourteen who had graceful
+figures, good carriage, and very beautiful faces; but they marry very
+young, and as soon as married become pack-horses for their husbands,
+carrying loads on their backs, by means of a head strap across the
+forehead, that it takes two men to lift from the ground, and very often
+when thus loaded babies, puppies, and many other things, will be put on
+top of the pack. They will trudge fifteen or twenty miles a day with
+this burden, bending forward, and staggering under its weight. The
+result is to spoil the figure and gait, and deprive them of every
+semblance of beauty. The awkward walk produced by this hard labor we
+used to call "The Dakota shamble." Under this treatment they soon look
+old, and become wrinkled, and are called "Wakonkas," which might be
+translated to mean old witches.
+
+With this visitation in prospect, I awaited quietly their coming. About
+ten in the morning they began to assemble about the agency in groups of
+all sizes and ages. I could hear a great deal of giggling among the
+girls, and scolding by the elder women. They were apparently selecting
+someone to break the ice by making the first assault. Presently a
+venerable dame opened the door, and sidled in like a crab. She
+approached me and kissed me on both cheeks, and received her presents.
+Then they followed in a line, old and young, pretty and ugly, each
+giving me a hearty kiss, which, in some cases, I returned with interest.
+The ceremony continued with great hilarity and much frolicksome
+tittering and fun, until forty-eight squaws had kissed and been kissed
+by me. They all carried off their presents and seemed very happy.
+Whether it was all caused by the presents or not, I am unable to say,
+but I was not the grizzled old fellow then that I have since become. I
+have celebrated a good many New Year's days, both before and since, but
+none have left a more agreeable impression than the one I have
+described. I have never known the exact figures of Hobson's Kansas
+experience, nor can I make a just comparison between the Sioux and the
+Kansas article, but from the general reputation of that state, I would
+recommend the caress of the untutored aborigines.
+
+If Hobson ever reads this story he will have to admit that there were
+others.
+
+
+
+
+A POLITICAL RUSE.
+
+
+All people who keep the run of politics will remember that the
+Republican party, now called the "Grand Old Party" (I suppose on account
+of its extreme youth), had its birth in the year 1854, after the death
+of the Whig party, and succeeded to the position in American politics
+formerly occupied by the Whigs, with a strong tinge of abolition added.
+It was, of course, largely recruited from the Whigs, but had quite
+formidable acquisitions from the Free-soil Democrats. It sprang into
+prominence and power with phenomenal rapidity, coming very near to
+electing a president in 1856, and succeeding in 1860. Minnesota resisted
+the attractions of the new party, and remained Democratic until 1857,
+when the first state election occurred, and the whole Democratic state
+ticket was elected. Since then the Democrats have never succeeded in our
+state, unless the election of Governor Lind in 1898 may be called a
+Democratic victory.
+
+It was very natural that the politicians who had joined the new party
+should be exceedingly zealous and enthusiastic for its success. Such is
+usually the case, and verifies the old proverb, that "A converted Turk
+makes the best Christian." This phase of political tendencies was fully
+illustrated by the conduct of my old friend, Mr. James W. Lynd of
+Henderson, more familiarly known by us as "Jim Lynd," which occurred at
+the election of 1856, and forms the text for the present story.
+
+In the early days of the territory much had been said, and generally
+believed, about frauds being perpetrated by the Democrats in the
+elections on the frontier. For instance, it was asserted that, at
+Pembina and the Indian agencies, one pair of pantaloons would suffice
+to civilize several hundred Indians, as, by putting them on, and thus
+adopting the customs and habits of civilization, they would be entitled
+to vote. There never was much truth about these rumors, and being on the
+border, and having charge of an Indian agency, where hundreds of men
+were employed, I knew a good deal about how these matters were
+conducted, and I can conscientiously say that there never was much truth
+in them. The nearest approach to a violation of the election laws that I
+ever discovered was at Pembina, and that was free from any intention of
+fraud. It would come about in this way: Election day would arrive, the
+polls would open, and everybody who was at home would vote. It would
+then occur to some one that Baptiste La Cour or Alexis La Tour had not
+voted, and the question would be asked, why? It would be discovered that
+they were out on a buffalo hunt, and the judges would say, "We all know
+how they would vote if they were here," and they would be put down as
+voting the Democratic ticket. Of course, this would be a violation of
+the election laws, but who can say that it was not the expression of an
+honest intention by a simple people. While I cannot approve such methods
+in an election where the law and the necessities of civilization require
+the voter to be present, I cannot avoid the wish that we were all honest
+enough to make such a course possible as the one adopted by these simple
+border people.
+
+The Republicans being the "outs" and the Democrats being the "ins," of
+course all the frauds were charged to the latter, and every movement of
+either party was watched with zealous scrutiny. The law governing the
+qualification of voters provided that soldiers enlisted in other states
+or territories, coming into Minnesota under military orders, did not
+gain a residence, and citizens of Minnesota enlisting in the army did
+not lose their residence or right to vote as long as they remained in
+the territory. It so happened, in 1856 or 1857, that there were at Fort
+Ridgely a number of recruits who had enlisted in the territory, and had
+not lost their right to vote; but there was no precinct or place to vote
+where they could exercise their privilege. Knowing that they were
+Democrats, we had a polling place established at the "Lone Cottonwood
+Tree," a point about three miles above Fort Ridgely, for the purpose of
+saving these votes.
+
+Of course, it soon became known throughout the valley, and my friend Jim
+Lynd, who resided at Henderson, about fifty miles down the river,
+conceived the idea that it was the intention to vote the whole garrison
+for the Democrats, and he determined to checkmate it by challenging
+every soldier who cast his vote, laboring, as he did, under the
+erroneous impression that an enlistment in the army disqualified the
+soldiers as voters. So when the election day arrived, Jim, who had
+walked all the way from Henderson, was on the ground early, fully
+determined to exclude all soldiers from voting.
+
+It so happened that I was at my Indian agency, at Redwood, and on the
+morning of the election was to start for St. Paul. The agency was about
+ten miles up the river from the "Lone Tree," and, starting early in the
+morning, brought me to the voting place about the time the polls were
+opened. I knew everybody in the valley and everybody knew me, and we
+never passed each other on the road without a stop and a chat. When I
+arrived at the polls all hands came out to greet me, and after the usual
+inquiries as to how the election was progressing, the judges told me
+that Lynd had challenged the first soldier who offered his vote, and
+they, being in doubt as to the law, had agreed to leave it to me. I
+gave my version of it, but Lynd still disputed it, and insisted that an
+enlistment in the army disqualified the man as a voter. Being unable to
+convince him, I, with a significant wink to the judges, suggested that
+he should get into my wagon and go down to the post (where I knew the
+sutler had a copy of the statutes), and we could readily settle the
+controversy. He consented willingly to this proposition, and we started
+for the post. When we arrived, I gave my team to the quartermaster's
+sergeant, and we looked up the law in the sutler's store. I then began a
+game of billiards with some of the officers, and accepted an invitation
+to lunch. As noon approached, Lynd began to show signs of impatience,
+and he asked me when I proposed to take him back to the polls. I quietly
+informed him that my route lay in the opposite direction, and that I
+would not go back at all. Instantly it flashed upon him that I had taken
+him away from the polls for a purpose, and he fled like a scared deer
+over the road we had just travelled, leaving me to pursue my journey
+alone in the other direction. I afterwards learned that in the interval
+between Lynd's departure and return, all the soldiers had voted the
+Democratic ticket without challenge or obstruction. Whether my friend
+Lynd walked back to Henderson or not, I never certainly ascertained. I
+was sufficiently satisfied with the success of my ruse not to desire to
+inflict any discomfort on my dear enemy.
+
+This was the only political trick I remember of having perpetrated on
+the enemy during my long participation in active politics, and I don't
+believe any of my readers will regard it as transgressing the proverb
+that "all is fair in love or war."
+
+My friend Lynd was, like most of the characters in my frontier
+experience, killed by the Indians in the outbreak of 1862.
+
+
+
+
+THE HARDSHIPS OF EARLY LAW PRACTICE.
+
+
+Prior to 1855 the public lands of Minnesota were unsurveyed, and no
+title could be acquired to them. About that time, however, four United
+States land districts were established, with a land office in each of
+them. The districts were straight tracts of country extending from the
+Mississippi due west to the Missouri, the exterior lines of which were
+parallel to each other. The offices were at Brownsville, Winona, Red
+Wing and Minneapolis. I was then living in Traverse des Sioux, which
+place, together with Mankato, fell within the Winona district, so that
+any land business we had in our region of the country compelled a trip
+to Winona, a distance of nearly three hundred miles by water, or one
+hundred and fifty by land. After the closing of the rivers by winter
+there was no other way of getting there except to journey across the
+country.
+
+At the time I refer to there was little or no settlement between
+Traverse des Sioux and Winona, and no roads. I remember that there were
+one or two settlers on the Straight river, where now stands Owatonna,
+and about the same number on the Zumbro, where now is Rochester, and one
+house at a point called Utica, about fifty miles west of Winona, and a
+small settlement at Stockton, on a trout stream which flows through the
+bluffs a few miles west of Winona. The latter place, being on the
+Mississippi and easy of access, was quite a flourishing town.
+
+That fall I had been elected to the upper house of the territorial
+legislature, called the council, and the news reached us that there
+would be a contested seat in the council from some district in the
+southern part of the territory, but we had no particulars as to the
+locality or the person, and gave the matter very little attention.
+
+A controversy had arisen between parties at Mankato as to the right to
+enter a quarter section of land which was part of the town site, and
+ultimately became a very valuable part of the city. I represented one
+side of the fight, but cannot recall the name of my adversary. It was
+customary in those days to lump matters by making up a party of those
+who had claims to prove up before the land office, and act as witnesses
+for each other. On the occasion of this Mankato contest we formed two
+parties, one from Mankato and one from Traverse, and started with two
+teams, on wheels, there being no snow, and the first day we reached a
+point in the woods, somewhere near the present town of Elysian, and
+there camped. When morning opened on us we found the ground covered with
+from twelve to fifteen inches of snow, which made it impossible to
+proceed further with our wagons. We did not hesitate, but accepted the
+only alternative that presented itself, and decided to foot it to
+Winona. We travelled light in those days, carrying only some blankets
+and a change of clothes. We _cached_ our wagons in the timber, packed
+our animals with our impedimenta, and started. Such a tramp would seem
+appalling at the present time, but we were all accustomed to hardships,
+and were equipped with good Red River winter moccasins, two or three
+stout flannel shirts, and thought very little of the undertaking. We
+drove the horses ahead of us to aid in making a trail, and made pretty
+good progress. I think it took us about five days to accomplish the
+journey, which we did without suffering, or even being seriously
+incommoded, as we found shelter at the Straight river, the Zumbro,
+Utica, and Stockton.
+
+An amusing and interesting incident happened the night we arrived at
+Utica which, as I have said, consisted of one small log house. Our march
+that day had been a long and tiresome one, and I felt as if a good drink
+of whisky would be very supporting and acceptable, our supplies in that
+line having become exhausted by reason of the unexpected length of time
+consumed in our journey; but the prospect of getting one was anything
+but promising. While revolving the subject in my mind, and having all my
+faculties concentrated on the much desired end, I, by some accident,
+learned that the proprietor of the shanty was a doctor. At this
+discovery my hopes went up several degrees, and I determined to test his
+medicine chest. Putting on a look of utter exhaustion, with both my
+hands on my abdomen, and assuming the most plaintive voice I could
+muster, I said: "Doctor, I have made a long march to-day, and feel
+utterly broken up; have you not some spirits in your medicine chest that
+you could prescribe for me? I am sure it would be a great relief." He
+looked me over with suspicion, and said: "No, I am an herb doctor." I
+felt that my fate was sealed for the night, and prepared to seek my
+couch on the softest plank I could find, between the two men who looked
+the warmest of the party. While thus preparing my _toilette de nuit_, in
+a state of mind bordering on desperation, I heard the jingling of
+sleigh-bells, and a team dash up to the door, from which debarked two
+men, each comfortably full, followed by hand-bags, blankets and a
+two-gallon demijohn. They said they had driven from Winona that day, and
+would stay all night. They ordered supper, and while it was in course of
+preparation, indulged in a good deal of banter back and forth. Of
+course, I had formed the determination of becoming acquainted with the
+contents of that demijohn in some way, by fair means or foul, and became
+deeply interested in their conversation, looking for a favorable chance
+to carry my point. I noticed that one of them was very boastful about
+what he was going to do when the legislature met, and the other saying
+to him that "he would not be there three days before they would kick him
+out and send him home." At these words, it flashed across my mind that
+this must be the man whose seat was contested, and, waiting for a proper
+opportunity, when his friend was loudest in his assertions that he would
+not remain long in the legislature, I put in my oar, and said: "Maybe I
+will have something to say about that." In an instant the legislator
+gave me a most scrutinizing look, and said: "Are you in the
+legislature?" I said "Yes." "In which house?" he inquired. "In the
+council," I answered. I saw the man was bright and intelligent, and it
+was a study to watch the workings of his mind while debating to himself
+how I would be affected by his condition, whether favorably or
+otherwise. Having weighed the matter carefully, he showed his experience
+and good judgment of character by saying: "My friend, won't you take a
+drink?" From what I have said, it is unnecessary to record my answer. We
+spent the greater part of the night in pleasant social intercourse,
+drawing inspiration from the depths of the demijohn, which had seemed so
+far removed from my grasp but a short time before.
+
+The man was the famous Bill Lowry, from the Rochester district. This
+incident made us sworn friends for life, and singular as it may seem,
+when the legislature convened, I found myself chairman of the committee
+on contested elections in the council. It is unnecessary to go into the
+details of the contest. Suffice it to say that the contestant had a very
+weak case, and Lowry performed all he had boasted that he would do on
+that eventful night in Utica.
+
+We were engaged in trying our suit at Winona for several days. Captain
+Upman was the register of the land office, and presided at the trial.
+The captain was a jolly old German from Milwaukee, and a fairly good
+drinker. There was a building in the town which had been a church, but
+by the intervention of the evil one, had been turned into a saloon, and
+was popularly known as "The Church." This was the captain's favorite
+resort when thirsty, which physical condition occurred quite frequently,
+and he would always say on such occasions: "The bells are ringing; come,
+boys, we must go to church. It is unlawful to try cases on Sunday."
+
+What influences dominated, I don't pretend to say, but I won for my
+client three forties of the quarter section in dispute. We returned home
+the way we went down,--on foot,--with the exception that at Stockton we
+constructed a small sleigh, sufficient to carry our baggage, which much
+relieved the animals. My client offered me one of the forty-acre tracts
+for my fee, but I declined, and accepted a twenty dollar gold piece for
+my services. The land which I refused became worth a quarter of a
+million of dollars a few years afterwards, but I had a good deal of fun
+out of the adventure, and never regretted the outcome.
+
+
+
+
+TEMPERANCE AT TRAVERSE.
+
+
+The first members of the judiciary of the Territory of Minnesota were
+Aaron Goodrich, chief justice; Bradley B. Meeker and David Cooper,
+associates, who were appointed in 1849. They were Whigs, and held their
+positions until a change of administration gave the Democrats the power,
+when William H. Welch became chief justice, with Andrew G. Chatfield and
+Moses Sherburne as associates. The last named judges were in office when
+I arrived in the territory, in 1853. Judge Chatfield presided mostly
+over the courts held on the west side of the Mississippi. I made my
+residence at Traverse des Sioux, in Nicollet county, which was within
+the territory purchased from the Sioux Indians by the treaty of 1851,
+proclaimed in 1853. The fifth article of this treaty kept in force,
+within the territory ceded, all the laws of the United States
+prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous liquors in the
+Indian country, commonly known as the trade and intercourse laws. Of
+course, this inhibition was intended to prevent liquor getting to the
+Indians, but as the country began to be inhabited by whites, many of the
+new comers regarded it as infringing upon their rights and privileges,
+and serious questions arose as to whether the treaty-making power had
+any jurisdiction of such questions after the country was opened to white
+settlement. The courts, however, held the exclusion valid, and
+indictments were occasionally found against the violators of these laws.
+Traverse des Sioux was a missionary center, and the feeling against the
+liquor traffic was very strong, but, as it always has been, and
+probably always will be, men were found ready to invade the sacred
+precincts for the expected profits, and a saloon or two were established
+in defiance of law and public sentiment.
+
+The judges were empowered to appoint the terms of court where and when
+there was any probable necessity for them, and the sheriff would summon
+a grand or petit jury as the business seemed to require. The United
+States marshal was Colonel Irwin, and the United States district
+attorney was Colonel Dustin, both of whom lived in St. Paul, and, as a
+general thing, there were no county attorneys in the different counties.
+When a term of court was to be held in my county, or any of the adjacent
+ones, the marshal would send me a deputation to represent him, and a bag
+of gold to pay the jurors and witnesses; the United States attorney
+would empower me to appear for him, and on the opening of the court, the
+judge would enter an order appointing me prosecuting attorney for the
+county so the judge and I would constitute the entire force, federal and
+territorial, judicial and administrative. If I procured an indictment
+against a party at one term, in my capacity of prosecutor, and the
+regular attorney should appear at the next term, it was more than likely
+that I would be retained to defend; which would look a little irregular
+at the present time, but as there was no other attorney but me, as a
+usual thing, no questions were asked.
+
+At a very early day, a party not having the fear of the law or public
+opinion before him opened a saloon at Traverse des Sioux, much to the
+dismay and indignation of the religious element of the community, and
+went to selling whisky to the other element. The next grand jury
+indicted him, but, before a court convened that could try him, a squad
+composed of the temperance people headed by the sheriff, attacked his
+place, and demolished his contraband stores. Being determined to test
+the question of his rights, he sued the attacking party, and I was
+retained to defend them. I devised the plea that the country was full of
+savage Indians, whose passions became inflamed by whisky, which made
+them dangerous to the lives of the whites, and that saloons were
+consequently a nuisance which anyone had a right to abate. The case was
+tried before Judge Chatfield, and my clients were vindicated. Of course,
+the suit created a great sensation, not only on account of the feeling
+engendered, but because of the novel questions involved, and in due
+course of time the temperance ladies of the county sent to New York and
+purchased a handsome combination gold pen and pencil, with a jewelled
+head, and had it inscribed, "Charles E. Flandrau: Defender of the
+Right." They also procured a handsome family Bible for the sheriff. When
+all was ready, they held a public meeting, and made the presentations,
+which were accompanied by the usual speeches. These ceremonies occurred
+in the latter part of the year 1854, or early in 1855, and in the
+meantime a small newspaper, called the _St. Peter Courier_, had been
+established to boom the city, which contained an elaborate account of
+the proceedings, together with all the speeches, and diligently
+circulated them throughout the East, where they were caught up by Horace
+Greely, in his _Tribune_, and many other papers, and repeated under the
+head of "Moral Suasion in Minnesota," and came back to us enlarged and
+improved.
+
+Should I end the story here, it would leave me in the possession and
+enjoyment of virtues which I cannot conscientiously claim as my own, and
+would deprive the tale of its best and only amusing point; so as a
+faithful narrator, I feel in duty bound to tell the other side of it.
+
+In due course of events the trial of the indictment against the
+saloonkeeper came on to be heard, and I was acting as prosecuting
+attorney. Of course, I had to prove that the prisoner had introduced
+liquor into the Indian country, and, to do so, I called a French
+half-breed who I knew frequented the place, and after the preliminary
+questions, this examination followed:
+
+    "Q. Joe, were you ever in this saloon?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Did you ever buy and drink any liquor in there?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Did you see anyone else buy and drink liquor in there?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Who was it?
+
+    "A. I have seen you do it lots of times."
+
+Of course, the laugh was heavily against me, but I sat, as stoical as an
+Indian, and quietly asked him: "Anyone else, Joe?"
+
+I have forgotten whether the suit terminated in conviction or acquittal,
+but I never think of it without a good laugh at the way the witness
+turned the tables on me, and am also reminded of what my old friend, Van
+Lowry, from the Winnebago country, once said of me: "That Flandrau is
+one of the most singular men I ever knew. He invariably makes a
+temperance speech over his whisky."
+
+The gold pen with the jewelled head reposes among my frontier treasures,
+carefully wrapped up in several editorials cut from eastern papers,
+extolling my virtues as an apostle of temperance.
+
+Moral: Don't believe everything you read in the papers.
+
+
+
+
+WIN-NE-MUC-CA'S GOLD MINE.
+
+
+Every one who has lived in a mining country in its early periods, before
+its resources had been prospected and pretty well defined, will recall
+the fact that stories and rumors of a mysterious mine of great richness,
+which exists somewhere, are always in circulation. The discoverer of
+this mine is either dead, without having revealed its exact location, or
+it is known only to the Indians, who are compelled to secrecy by awful
+oaths, or fear of death from their chief or members of their band. At
+any rate, there is always a profound mystery connected with the hidden
+treasure, that envelops it with a tinge of romance and a spice of danger
+to those who seek to break the spell and lift the veil. There is also
+just enough known about it, which has leaked out through some obscure
+channel, to lend some slight probability to the story, and many have
+been the attempts to discover the bonanza by credulous and adventurous
+miners, but ever without success.
+
+When I was living in Nevada, in 1864, I became closely associated with
+an old Mormon by the name of Rose. He had been a settler in the Washoe
+valley long before the discovery of the rich silver mines at Virginia
+City, known as the Comstock lode, and necessarily at a time when no one
+inhabited the country but Mormons and Indians. The principal tribe of
+Indians were the Piutes, whose head chief was Win-ne-muc-ca. These
+Indians inhabited the country around Pyramid lake, about a hundred miles
+to the northeast of Carson City, where I resided. Rose was known to have
+been an intimate friend of Win-ne-muc-ca in times past, and to have
+performed some important service for him, which had placed the chief
+under lasting obligations to him, and rumor said that in compensation he
+had disclosed to Rose the whereabouts of the most valuable gold mine on
+all the Pacific Coast, and that Rose was the only white man who knew
+anything about it. The truth of these rumors was fortified by the
+existence of three old and abandoned arrastras and a twenty-five foot
+overshot waterwheel, which had evidently been erected to drive the
+arrastras, that stood on one of the back streets of Carson City, and
+were known to have been constructed by Rose, and as there was no stream
+in the neighborhood to propel the arrastras, it was generally believed
+that, when Rose built these works, he had a mine, the ore of which was
+so rich that he could bring it on pack animals, crush it with these
+machines, and divert a stream to propel them. As quite a large sum had
+been expended on these works, it was evident that they were intended to
+carry out some such purpose, which had been interrupted for sufficient
+reasons. At any rate, I caught the mine fever, and after many
+conferences with Rose, I and my associates, William S. Chapman and Judge
+Atwater, got far enough into his confidence to obtain an admission from
+him that he knew the exact location of the mysterious mine, the secret
+of which he had learned from Win-ne-muc-ca, and dare not disclose
+without the consent of that chieftain, but he assured us that it was
+fabulously rich. It was then learned that the mine was within the limits
+of the Piute reservation, and even if we had the consent of the Indians
+to work it, we would not be allowed to do so by the United States
+government. Here were presented two formidable obstacles, but we were so
+well satisfied that we had a fortune within call that we determined to
+remove them both.
+
+Our first operations were upon Win-ne-muc-ca, whom we proposed to
+conquer by presents and flattery, and succeeded to the extent of
+eliciting from him a promise that, if we could obtain permission from
+the United States government to enter upon the reservation and work the
+mine, he would disclose its whereabouts. All I can say about this branch
+of the case is, that with a great deal of delicate and masterly
+diplomacy, in which the interests of the Indians formed the principal
+argument used, we secured the desired permission, and prepared for an
+expedition to the mine.
+
+It is as well here to say, for the benefit of the uninitiated, that all
+such operations are conducted with the greatest secrecy and mystery,
+because should it be discovered that any such enterprise was on foot its
+projectors would be watched day and night, and followed to their
+destination by half the community.
+
+The government sent out a representative to see that the interests of
+the Indians were properly protected, and we got ready to start. The
+agent of the government was also charged to look up and report upon the
+progress of a mill for the Piutes, for which large appropriations had
+been made, and which was supposed to be situated on the rapids of the
+Truckey river, which is the outlet of Lake Tahoe, and runs about
+northeast in the direction of the Piute reservation, along the course to
+be followed by us. I mention this fact only in order to bring into the
+story the terse and witty report of the agent, said to have been made
+about his discoveries regarding the mill. He said: "He found a dam by a
+mill site, but he didn't find any mill by a damn sight."
+
+Our outfit consisted of a light farm wagon with a four mule team, which
+we procured from two Mormon brothers, who lived in the Washoe valley,
+and were skilled guides all over Nevada, both of whom we took along as
+guides, cooks, and to drive and care for the team. Rose took along a
+pony, which we led, and the government agent, old Rose and myself formed
+the passenger list. We were supplied with eatables and drinkables for a
+long campaign, but as it rains but once a year in that country, we never
+encumbered ourselves on a march with tents, except in the rainy season.
+In fact, the ground between the sage bushes and grease-wood trees is so
+dry and clean that you don't need even blankets or robes to sleep on,
+but they are usually carried.
+
+Our course lay down the valley of the Truckey river to its big bend,
+where Rose was to leave us and go to Pyramid lake for Win-ne-muc-ca. We
+accomplished this part of the journey, a distance of about one hundred
+miles, in three days, without any special incident, except on one
+occasion, when we were rounding a projecting point in the river, on a
+ledge of rocks, some driftwood got entangled with the legs of our
+leading mules, and came very near dumping us all into the boiling and
+rushing current, which would inevitably have drowned the whole party;
+but we reached our destination safely. At the big bend, which is now one
+of the principal stations on the Central Pacific Railroad, we found a
+spacious piece of bottom land, well supplied with grass for our animals,
+and a clump of six tall stately cottonwood trees, presenting an inviting
+place to camp, which we accepted as our resting place.
+
+The next morning Rose mounted his pony and started for the lake, saying
+he would return in a couple of days with the chief, who would guide us
+to the mine--and fortune. The government agent was an old friend of
+mine, a California forty-niner, and a most companionable fellow. The
+Mormons were excellent cooks, and most efficient camp men. We had
+abundant camp supplies, supplemented with fine fish brought to us by the
+Indians, so we settled down for a delightful rest. Every night the men
+would make a cheerful crackling fire of dry driftwood from the river,
+hobble the mules, and fall asleep for the night, leaving us to enjoy the
+soft summer air and brilliant moonlight, while discussing our future
+plans when possessed of the boundless wealth that only awaited the
+coming of Rose and the chief. Before retiring for the night, which only
+meant lying down on a blanket, we usually reclined each against a tree,
+with a demijohn between us, and by the time sleep overcame us the
+fortunes of Croesus, Astor and Vanderbilt combined were mere trifles
+compared with our anticipated wealth, for were we not to be soon endowed
+with the magic touch of Midas!
+
+We revelled in our repose, seasoned with the exaltation of hope and the
+demijohn, until about four days had glided away, when even such delights
+began to pall, and became a little monotonous, and still no Rose and no
+Win-ne-muc-ca. The fifth, and even the sixth day passed, and yet they
+came not, and we were driven to the conclusion that either Rose had been
+victimized by the Piutes, or we had been victimized by Rose. So nothing
+was left for us but to pull up stakes and wend our weary way back to
+Carson. Here we found Rose, with the excuse that Win-ne-muc-ca had told
+him that he dared not give up the secret of the mine for fear his band
+would kill both Rose and himself, and that he had not dared to return to
+the camp for fear the Indians would follow him and destroy us all. And
+so ended our venture.
+
+We came out of the enterprise wiser and poorer men, to the amount of
+about one thousand dollars. As we had left town at midnight, and
+returned at the same quiet hour, we were able to keep our adventure to
+ourselves, and escape the ridicule of more experienced miners, many of
+whom, however, had passed through similar experiences under varying
+circumstances.
+
+I have never been able fully to satisfy myself whether Rose acted in
+good faith or not, but as he had no hope of gain outside of the mine I
+am inclined to believe his story.
+
+My next mining experience resulted much the same way. Rich finds were
+reported in the Walker river country, and a small syndicate of us
+outfitted a party of old and experienced miners to visit the locality
+and see what they could pick up. They started in the usual mysterious
+manner, at the dead of night, and in about two weeks returned, and
+brought to my office a gunny bag full of ore, which they left, and we
+appointed a meeting the next night at one o'clock, when the town was
+supposed to be asleep, to examine the bag and pass upon the contents.
+One of the prospectors tapped the sack affectionately, and, winking at
+me in the most significant manner, said: "Judge, we've got the world by
+the tail. It's all pure silver, and there are a million tons of it lying
+on the top of the ground." Of course, my curiosity and expectations were
+aroused to the highest pitch, and I awaited the appointed hour with
+impatience. Before the party arrived, all the windows were darkened with
+sheets and blankets, refreshments were prepared, and they dropped in one
+at a time to avoid notice. The bag was opened and its contents displayed
+upon the table. It was a pure white and brilliant metal, about the
+weight of silver, and with the assistance of the refreshments we had
+convinced ourselves before daylight that it was all pure silver.
+
+I took a chunk of it about the size of an orange, and, with one of the
+miners, went down to the Mexican mill, to have it assayed. The assayer
+took it, looked it over, and asked if we wanted it assayed for iron. My
+companion immediately answered, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars there's
+no iron in it." The assayer replied: "We don't bet on such things, but I
+will soon tell you all about it," and, after putting it to the test, he
+reported: "Magnetic iron, ninety-five per cent; no trace of gold or
+silver."
+
+We let the world's tail go, put our own between our legs, and went home,
+two of the worst disappointed men in all Nevada, and that was the last
+of my mining efforts.
+
+
+
+
+A UNIQUE POLITICAL CAREER.
+
+
+Gen. James Shields had a most extraordinary career. I remember no man in
+the history of our country who equals him in the diversity and extent of
+his public services and office-holding. He was a general in the Mexican
+War, and for a long time enjoyed the unique reputation of being the only
+man who was ever shot through the lungs and survived. This, however, was
+not true. Many others, no doubt, underwent the same experience, and I
+remember a young Chippewa Indian who, while on a war party into the
+Sioux country, was wounded in exactly the same manner, and lived to a
+good old age as a very robust savage.
+
+When the general returned from the Mexican War to Illinois, he was
+exceedingly popular. He was made commissioner of the general land office
+of the United States and judge of the supreme court of the State of
+Illinois, and was subsequently elected to the senate of the United
+States; but when he was about to take his seat he ran up against the
+snag that is found in section 3 of article I of the constitution of the
+United States, which provides that a senator must have been a citizen of
+the United States for nine years before election, and it appeared that
+the general fell short of the requisite period. The consequence was that
+he was rejected, and he had to return to his state. But the citizens of
+Illinois wanted him to represent them in the senate, and as soon as he
+attained the proper citizenship they returned him, and he was admitted
+and served his full term. The general found out that his chances for
+reelection were not flattering, and as Minnesota was about applying for
+admission as a state in the Union, he decided to emigrate to that
+territory. What his motives were I, of course, cannot say, but as I was
+watching closely political events, I concluded that he had in view an
+election to the senate from the new State of Minnesota, and I kept my
+eye on his movements.
+
+It was soon announced that the general had located the land warrant
+awarded to him for his services in the Mexican War, on a quarter section
+of land in the neighborhood of Faribault, in Rice county, in this
+territory, and that he intended to settle upon it. There was a little
+buncombe added to this announcement, to the effect that this was the
+first case in the history of America where a general officer had settled
+in person upon the land donated to him as a reward for the services he
+had rendered and the blood he had shed for his adopted country. We
+always called the general's home "The blood-bought farm."
+
+There was an election in our territory in 1856 or 1857, I forget which,
+for delegate to Congress. Henry M. Rice had received the nomination of
+the regular Democratic convention for the position, and General Gorman
+(then territorial governor), Henry H. Sibley and many other leading
+Democrats had deliberately bolted the judgment of the convention, and
+nominated David Olmsted for delegate. The fight was on hot. I, of
+course, was for Rice, the regular nominee. I then lived well up in the
+Minnesota valley, at Traverse des Sioux, and we were becoming a power in
+the territory in a political sense, and I looked forward to the arrival
+of such a prominent Democrat as General Shields in our midst as an event
+of major political importance. He soon landed at Hastings, on the
+Mississippi, with a complete outfit for a permanent settlement. A good
+story is told of his advent at Hastings. In those days of steamboating,
+all the belongings of an immigrant would be landed on the levee and his
+freight bill would be presented to him by what we called the mud clerk,
+and he would take an account of his stock and pay the freight. Legend
+reports that the general had five barrels of whisky among his
+paraphernalia, and when the first one was rolled ashore he seated
+himself upon it to watch the debarkation, and when the bill was
+presented he refused to pay it because he could see only four barrels,
+and demanded the fifth. The clerks got on to the joke, and pretended to
+search for the missing barrel until the last whistle blew, when they
+suggested to the general that he was occupying the disturbing element.
+Whether the contents of the barrel ever caused any other
+misunderstandings history fails to record.
+
+As soon as the general was comfortably settled on the blood-bought farm
+I dispatched a courier across the country to him, informing him of the
+political situation, and imploring him to come out for the regular
+Democratic ticket; but he replied in a very diplomatic way that he was
+too new a comer to take any active part in the election, and declined.
+Tom Cowan, George Magruder and I, a trio which composed the leadership
+of the Democracy of the Minnesota valley, decided that the general
+should never go to the senate if we could prevent it, and it so happened
+that when the first legislature of the state assembled Tom Cowan was in
+the senate, but all our efforts to beat him failed, and Henry M. Rice
+and the general were elected to the United States Senate. It was hard to
+beat a man in those days who was a Democrat, an Irishman and a wounded
+soldier.
+
+The only unlucky thing that the general ever encountered was the fact
+that he drew the short term when the lots were cast for the positions
+the new senators were to assume.
+
+The general served out his term in the senate just about the time the
+Civil War broke out, and he tendered his services to the country, and
+became a general of volunteers. He was wounded in some battle, and I
+remember reading a general order announcing that he had sufficiently
+recovered to ride at the head of his brigade in a buggy. I took
+advantage of this singular position for a military commander, and
+impressed into the service of the state a splendid $2,000 team of
+trotters belonging to Harry Lamberton, with his buggy, and himself as
+driver, and rode comfortably in it until the end of the Indian war, at
+the head of my brigade.
+
+The general was not long in discovering that the political wind had
+taken a Republican direction in Minnesota, which boded him no good. So
+he pulled up stakes and emigrated to Texas. There he felt the public
+pulse, and not finding any immediate indications that he would be chosen
+senator, and not having any pressing business in any other line, he
+emigrated to California. There he found a more favorable outlook, and
+almost as soon as he gained a residence in the state he was nominated
+for the United States Senate by the Democrats, and came within one or
+two votes of an election.
+
+The general had always been a bachelor before going to California, but
+he surrendered to the charms of a lady of that state, and married. Not
+being willing to remain until the next senatorial election, he migrated
+to the State of Missouri, where he was very soon elected to congress by
+a substantial majority of about 3,000; but, it being in the
+reconstruction period, and he being a Democrat, the state board found no
+difficulty in counting him out, after which event very little was heard
+of the general for some years, when he appeared on the lecture platform,
+discoursing on Mexico. This venture was not much of a success, and the
+general was reputed to be quite broken up financially.
+
+His next appearance was at Washington as a candidate for doorkeeper of
+the senate, which office, I believe, is one of both dignity and profit;
+but he did not succeed in getting it, and returned to Missouri, broken
+in fortune and spirit. It was just at this critical period in his career
+that his luck returned, and he became famous in a direction that no
+other man in the United States has ever reached. A vacancy occurred in
+the office of United States senator from Missouri, either by death or
+some other reason, and the governor bestowed the position upon the
+general, thus making him a member of the body of which he had so
+recently sought to become the doorkeeper, and conferring upon him the
+peculiar and conspicuous distinction of being the only man in the
+republic who ever represented three states in the senate of the United
+States.
+
+The general died some years ago, and the state of his original adoption,
+Illinois, conferred the additional immortal honor upon his memory by
+placing his full-length statue in bronze in the old house of
+representatives at the capitol in Washington, which has become the
+American Pantheon, in which each state is permitted to commemorate in
+this way two of its most honored sons.
+
+Truly a most extraordinary and enviable career.
+
+
+
+
+LA CROSSE.
+
+
+There is nothing remarkable in the fact that places should be named for
+something that has happened in or about their locality, and nothing is
+more natural than that places on the upper Mississippi river should be
+named after Indians and Indian occurrences. For instance, we have
+Prairie du Chien, which is the French for the Dog prairie. In early days
+an Indian chief, who sailed under the dignified name of "The Dog," had
+his headquarters at this prairie, and thus the name. It will be observed
+that it has maintained its name in full, "Prairie du Chien," and was, in
+days past, a military post, called Fort Crawford, and is now quite an
+important town in Wisconsin.
+
+A little way up the river, and we have "Prairie La Crosse," but the
+first part of the name is generally dropped now, and it is known as La
+Crosse simply. No old settler, however, who dates back of the fifties,
+ever calls it anything but "Prairie La Crosse." This place got its name
+from the fact that the Indians selected it as a favorite point at which
+to play their game, known to them as "Ta-kap-si-ka-pi," but called by
+the French, "La Crosse." Anyone who has been there, and is familiar with
+the prairie on which the city of La Crosse is built, will recognize at
+once its superior advantages for a game of ball of any kind. It is long,
+wide and level. This game has always been a great favorite with the
+Sioux Indians. It originated with them, and became what might be called
+their national game. From its spirited character, it was very much liked
+by the Canadian-French, and they adopted it to such an extent that it
+is called their national game, but under an entirely different name.
+They called it "La Crosse," and are still devoted to it. In fact, it is
+played very generally throughout the northern half of North America. In
+playing the game, the Indians used a stick made of ash about the length
+of a walking cane with a circular bend at the end most distant from the
+hand, in which curve was a network of buckskin strings, forming a
+pocket, about four inches in diameter and two inches deep. With this
+stick, which is called a "Ta-ki-cap-si-cha," the ball is manipulated.
+The ball is of wood, round, and about the size of a hen's egg, and in
+the game must never be touched by the hand. The Canadians have changed
+the form of stick used by them, by making it longer, and forming the end
+that takes the ball something like half of a tennis racquette.
+
+The site of La Crosse was in early years the favorite ball ground of the
+Indians, and from this circumstance acquired its present name. The game
+is too well known to need a description. Suffice it to say that the main
+object is to get the ball to certain goals by two contending parties
+struggling in different directions. In its main features it resembles
+hockey, polo, football, and similar games; but with the Indians differs
+in point of the numbers who play, the whites being limited to eleven or
+twelve on a side, while with the Indians a whole band may play on each
+side.
+
+When the Sioux were moved west of the Mississippi they selected the
+beautiful prairie on which now stands St. Peter, in this state, as one
+of their most favored ball grounds, and many a time I have enjoyed
+witnessing the game at that locality, and a most brilliant and exciting
+scene it presented. The Sioux, like most savages, are great gamblers,
+and the first thing in the game is to put up the stakes, which is done
+in this way: A committee is appointed by each contesting party as
+stakeholders. They assemble at a designated point on the prairie, and
+await results. Presently up will come an Indian, and put up a pony. He
+will soon be followed by a competitor, who will cover his pony with
+another, decided to be of the same value. Then up will come another, and
+put up a rifle, or a feather head-dress or a knife, all which will be
+matched from the other side, until all the bets are made. If the players
+are numerous, the stakes will accumulate until almost everything known
+as property in Indian life will be ventured. It sometimes takes several
+days to arrange these preliminaries. A pleasant afternoon is selected,
+and the contestants appear. They are usually very nearly naked, having
+on only moccasins, a breech-clout and a head-dress; the two latter
+articles, being susceptible of ornamentation, are usually adorned with
+eagle feathers, foxtails, or a string of sleigh-bells about the player's
+waist. The men are painted in the most grotesque and fantastic manner.
+It is not unusual to see some of them painted blue or yellow all over
+their persons, and before the paint has dried it is streaked with their
+fingers in zig-zag fashion from head to foot, sometimes up and down and
+sometimes zebra fashion. A yellow face with the imprint of a black or
+blue open hand diagonally upon it is much affected; in fact, the greater
+the ingenuity displayed in savage design and glaring colors, the more
+satisfied the subject seems to be with himself and the more admired by
+others.
+
+When the players are all lined up they present a striking appearance.
+About six on each side take the center from which the ball is to be
+started, and the rest scatter themselves over the prairie for half a
+mile in each direction, to speed the ball, should it come their way.
+
+All ready: one, two, three, and up goes the ball into the air, and as it
+falls, up goes each Ta-ki-cap-si-cha in an endeavor to catch it, and so
+skillful are the men that it is very often caught in the little pocket
+while in the air, which is a great advantage, as the party catching it
+has the right if he can to throw it in the direction of his friends,
+and, with a free chance, it is like throwing a ball out of a sling. I
+have seen one sent nearly a quarter of a mile. If the game opens in this
+way, there is, of course, a great rush by the partisans to capture the
+ball and keep it moving one way or the other; but if at the first toss
+up it falls to the ground, there is a tussle of all the middle men to
+see which one shall get it with his stick that puts civilized football
+in the shade. Shins are whacked, men are tripped and piled onto each
+other in the utmost confusion, until some lucky fellow extricates the
+ball from the mass, and sends it flying towards a group of his friends.
+The Sioux are splendid runners, and sometimes when twenty or thirty of
+them will be in full chase of the ball, a leading man will tumble, and
+the whole line will pile over him; but no matter how rough or boisterous
+the sport may be, I have never known a quarrel to grow out of it. There
+must be rules to this effect governing the game, such as they have in a
+Japanese wrestling match, where the parties, before tackling each other,
+sprinkle salt between them, which is a pledge that even a broken neck
+will not interrupt friendship. I think I have seen more feats of
+wonderful skill in running, jumping and catching in a game of this kind
+than in any play of a similar nature I have ever witnessed.
+
+No one who has seen the Indians play a good game of Ta-kap-si-ka-pi has
+ever forgotten it. Major Eastman of the old army, who was quite an
+artist, attempted to depict the scene on canvas, and while he made an
+excellent picture which would please the eye of anyone who had not seen
+the real thing, he found it impossible to convey an adequate idea of its
+best points. The picture, I think, is now either in the rooms of the
+Wisconsin Historical Society, or in the Cochran gallery of Washington.
+
+One of the noticeable results of a game of this kind, played on a virgin
+prairie, was the great number of huge snakes the players would kill. I
+have seen as many as would load a wagon piled up after a game, some of
+them ten or twelve feet long. They were called in those days bull
+snakes, and were considered of the constrictor species, but not
+venomous.
+
+
+
+
+MAKING A POST OFFICE.
+
+
+I had settled on the frontier, where Traverse des Sioux and Mankato were
+the extreme border towns in southwestern Minnesota. About the year 1854
+or 1855 a German settlement was commenced at New Ulm. It originated in
+Cincinnati, with an association which sent out parties to find a site
+for a town, and they selected the present site of New Ulm. The lands had
+not been surveyed by the general government, but our delegate in
+congress, Henry M. Rice, had anticipated that by obtaining the passage
+of the law allowing settlement and preëmption on unsurveyed lands. Under
+the law a town site could only embrace 320 acres, but the projectors of
+New Ulm laid out an immense tract, comprising thousands of acres. Many
+of the settlers had not taken any steps toward becoming American
+citizens, which was a necessary preliminary to preëmption, and
+everything among them was held in a kind of common interest, the
+Cincinnati society furnishing the funds.
+
+It was not long before they discovered that they needed legal advice in
+their venture, and called on me to regulate their matters for them. I
+was deputy clerk of the court, and always carried the seal and
+naturalization papers with me, so that I could take the declaration of
+intention of anyone who desired to become an American citizen anywhere I
+happened to find him, on the prairie or elsewhere. In this way I
+qualified many of the Germans for preëmption, and took them by the
+steamboat load down to Winona to enter their lands. I would be furnished
+with a large bag of gold to pay for the lands, and sometimes, with the
+special conveniences furnished by the land office, I would work off
+forty or fifty preëmptions in a day. I became such a necessary factor in
+the building of the town that, if any difficulty occurred, even in the
+running of a mill which they erected and ran by the accumulated water of
+many large springs, I was immediately sent for to remedy the evil.
+
+The nearest postoffice was at Fort Ridgely, about sixteen miles away,
+and it soon became apparent that one ought to be established in the
+town. I was, of course, sent for to see if it could be accomplished. It
+was a very easy thing to do with the very efficient and influential
+delegate we had in congress, Hon. Henry M. Rice. Having agreed upon a
+Mr. Anton Kouse as postmaster, I at once wrote to Mr. Rice to give the
+new settlement a postoffice. It was not long before I received an
+answer, which contained the postmaster's commission, his bond for
+execution, a key for the mail bags, and all the requisites for a going
+postoffice.
+
+The New Ulm people were a very social lot, and my visits to the town
+always included a good deal of fun, so I concluded to make a special
+event of the establishment of the new postoffice, and, as the weather
+was fine, I invited half a dozen friends to accompany me in a drive to
+New Ulm, to participate in the opening ceremonies.
+
+One of the earliest settlers in the town was Francis Baasen, who became
+Minnesota's first secretary of state, and was a gallant officer in the
+First Minnesota Regiment, so celebrated in the War of the Rebellion, and
+has recently been appointed by Governor Lind as assistant adjutant
+general of the state. He had a claim about two miles below the town,
+just where the ferry crossed the Minnesota river, at Red Stone, and had
+erected a log shanty there, in which he lived. Of course, we always
+called on Baasen on our way up, and also on our way back, when we
+visited New Ulm. Baasen was a charming gentleman, and while his shack
+was destitute of any of the luxuries or elegancies of life, there was a
+door, or hatchway, in the middle of the floor, which led to a kind of
+cellar, the contents of which supplied all the deficiencies of the
+house, and, flavored with the generous hospitality of the proprietor,
+made everybody happy.
+
+On this occasion we stopped to take Baasen into the party, and while
+discussing the great event which brought us up, I decided to add some
+new features to the inauguration of the new postmaster. Baasen had been
+appointed a notary public, and was provided with large business-like
+envelopes and formidable red seals, so I wrote a letter to Mr. Kouse in
+about the following language:
+
+    "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
+
+    "July 20, 1855.
+
+    "_Hon. Anton Kouse, Postmaster at New Ulm, Territory of
+    Minnesota_,
+
+    "SIR: We have been informed that a flourishing settlement has
+    been founded on the waters of the upper Minnesota river, in
+    Minnesota Territory, which has been named New Ulm, and that the
+    inhabitants are sufficiently numerous and intelligent to need a
+    postoffice. It has also been represented to us that you are a
+    good and true Democrat, and the choice of the people for the
+    office of postmaster. It is therefore our duty and pleasure to
+    appoint you to that office. It is our desire that you locate the
+    office in a part of the town which will accommodate its
+    inhabitants, and see to it that they always vote the Democratic
+    ticket at all elections. I am,
+
+            "Yours very truly,
+    (Seal)      "FRANKLIN PIERCE,
+            "_President of the United States of America._"
+
+I inclosed this letter in one of Baasen's large envelopes, and we all
+drove up to the house of Mr. Kouse, and called him out. I stood up in
+the wagon, and made him a speech, informing him of the creation of the
+office, and that I had his bond and commission and a letter to him from
+the president of the United States, which I was instructed to deliver to
+him in person, and I added that it was customary on such important
+occasions for the newly appointed postmaster to propose the health of
+the postmaster general.
+
+Kouse rushed into his house, and appeared with a brown jug and a tin
+cup, from which we all drank a bumper to the health and prosperity of
+the postmaster general, the town of New Ulm, and its postmaster. I then
+handed him his credentials, including the letter from the president, and
+the postoffice at New Ulm was a reality.
+
+I have never learned whether my friend Kouse caught on to the joke, or
+whether he has cherished the executive letter as an heirloom for his
+posterity.
+
+
+
+
+THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION.
+
+
+In 1864-65 I was living in Carson City, in the State of Nevada, where, from
+the abnormal condition of the inhabitants, it was nothing remarkable that
+some event should happen almost daily that otherwise would have been
+startling. Many such events did take place, but, from their frequency, were
+soon forgotten. There was one, however, that impressed itself upon my
+memory because of the cool daring that characterized it, and it must be
+understood that bravery was not an uncommon trait in the inhabitants of
+Carson. Men carried their lives in their hands, and quite frequently lost
+them.
+
+In order to appreciate the situation fully, you must know that the
+population of Carson City was composed of about the roughest and most
+disorderly agglomeration of the refuse of California that was ever
+assembled at any one time or place,--gamblers, murderers, road agents,
+and all sorts of unclassified toughs. They were about evenly divided
+between the North and the South,--the only politics being pronounced
+Unionism on one side and outspoken rebellion on the other; but, as any
+discussion between representatives of such views during the hottest
+period of the war was generally concluded with six-shooters, all parties
+kept pretty quiet on the subject, and politics was about the least
+exciting cause of murder, there being others sufficiently numerous to
+give us a "man for breakfast" nearly every morning.
+
+Like all Pacific Coast mining towns, Carson had an immense saloon, with
+all the sporting attachments, such as billiards, roulette, faro, poker,
+etc., and at all times of the day and night it was frequented by
+hundreds of men, who amused themselves talking, drinking, gambling and
+reading their letters, as most of them received their correspondence at
+these headquarters. It was called the "Magnolia," and was kept by Pete
+Hopkins, who, I believe, still flourishes in San Francisco.
+
+The telegraph had reached us in 1862, and we kept pretty well posted on
+what was going on in the States. On the 14th of April, 1865, it was
+flashed over the wires that President Lincoln had been assassinated, and
+the excitement was intense. Men studiously avoided the subject, for fear
+of being misunderstood and being drawn into deadly conflict. The news
+was not credited at first, but soon became confirmed, and generally
+accepted as true. The Union men determined that some public
+demonstration should be made to recognize the event. A meeting was held,
+and a committee appointed to formulate a program. It was decided to put
+the town in mourning, have a procession and mock funeral, an oration and
+appropriate resolutions,--all of which was the correct thing. An evening
+or two before the ceremony was to take place the committee came down to
+the Magnolia, to announce publicly what it had decided upon. The
+chairman mounted the bar and made his proclamation, adding that anyone
+who failed to hang out some emblem of mourning on his house or place of
+business might expect to be roughly handled.
+
+The room was crowded, and with the most inflammable material. Had a
+bomb been exploded on one of the billiard tables the effect would not
+have stirred the rebels to greater depths. Among them was an old
+Virginian, whom we will call Captain Jones. He almost immediately
+accepted the challenge, and speaking up loudly, he said: "I am damned
+glad Lincoln was killed, and if any man attempts to put mourning on my
+house, or interfere with me for not doing so, there will be a good many
+more killed."
+
+Everybody knew that the old man meant just what he said, and was always
+equipped to make good his promises. The effect was remarkable. Instead
+of precipitating a fight, it seemed to paralyze the crowd, and nothing
+came of it that night; the captain was wise enough quietly to disappear.
+
+Captain Jones had a small brick building on the main street of the town,
+a block or two from the Magnolia, where he had his office, and lived in
+a back room.
+
+At the proper time the procession formed on the plaza. Bands of music
+were interspersed through the line. The orator and distinguished
+citizens were in carriages, every vehicle in town being brought into
+requisition. There was a large cavalcade of horsemen. I rode in a
+handsome buggy, with the principal gambler of the town, and many hundred
+footmen followed, the Chinamen bringing up the rear. It was a beautiful
+day, the sun shining brightly. The procession moved off majestically
+down a back street, off the main thoroughfare, and then turned into the
+principal street. Every house on the line of march displayed signs of
+mourning on both sides of the street. Soon appeared in the distance
+Captain Jones, sitting just outside the line of the sidewalk, in the
+street, exactly in front of his house. His head was bare, and his long
+white hair glistened in the sunshine. He sat in an arm-chair, with an
+immense double-barrelled shotgun poised quietly across his knees. He was
+carelessly reading a newspaper, and not a semblance of mourning was to
+be seen anywhere on his premises. As the head of the procession reached
+him hundreds of hands involuntarily sought their revolvers, and every
+man held his breath; even the music ceased, and the expectation was
+intense. There were many in the line who would have shot him if they had
+dared, but they knew he had hosts of friends in the line who would have
+resented it instantly, and to the death, and they also knew the
+captain's eye was coursing down the line and the first shot would be
+answered by the contents of both barrels of his big gun. So no one
+fired; no one spoke; hardly anyone looked. The captain never moved a
+muscle, and the column passed.
+
+I remember once of reading an incident in connection with the French
+army. While marching in Africa it encountered a splendid African lion,
+lying in the road, who did not seem disposed to give the right of way.
+The army halted. The circumstance was reported to the commanding officer
+and instructions asked whether they should kill the royal beast or march
+round him. The orders were to march round him. I have never thought of
+the incident here related without recalling the cool bravery of the king
+of beasts; but I always award the superiority to my friend, Captain
+Jones.
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE CAPITAL WAS SAVED.
+
+
+The ancestors of Joe Rolette, the leading character in the story which I
+am about to relate, emigrated at a very early day from Normandy, in
+France, to Canada. It is believed that the celebrated Montcalm was one
+of this party. Many of these emigrants became disheartened by the
+hardships they encountered, and returned to France; but not so the
+Rolettes. Jean Joseph Rolette, the father of our Joseph, was born in
+Quebec, on Sept. 24, 1781. He was originally designed for the
+priesthood, but fortunately for that holy order his inclinations led him
+in another direction, and he became an Indian trader. His first venture
+in business was at Montreal, next at Windsor opposite Detroit, finally
+winding up at Prairie du Chien, about the year 1801 or 1802.
+
+In the war of 1812, with Great Britain, the Americans captured Prairie
+du Chien in 1814, and built a stockade there, which was called Fort
+Shelby. The British, under Colonel McKay, besieged it, Rolette having
+some rank in the attacking party. He was offered a captaincy in the
+British army for his good behavior in this affair, but declined it. He
+continued his Indian trade successfully up to 1820, when John Jacob
+Astor offered him a leading position in the American Fur Company, which
+he accepted, and held until 1836, when he was succeeded by Hercules L.
+Dousman. He died at Prairie du Chien, Dec. 1, 1842, leaving a widow and
+two children, a son and daughter. His daughter married Captain Hood of
+the United States army, and was a very superior woman. His son was the
+hero of this story. Rolette senior was called by the Indians, "Sheyo"
+("The Prairie Chicken"), from the rapidity with which he travelled. Joe
+was called "Sheyo chehint Ku" ("The Prairie Chicken's Son").
+
+Joe Rolette was born on Oct. 23, 1820, at Prairie du Chien. He received
+a commercial education in New York, but having inherited the free and
+easy, half-savage characteristics of his father, he soon gravitated to
+the border, and settled at Pembina, on the Red River of the North, near
+the dividing line between the United States and Canada. At this point an
+extensive trade in furs had sprung up, in opposition to the Hudson Bay
+people, who had monopolized the trade for British interests for many
+long years. The catch of furs was brought down to the Mississippi every
+year by brigades of carts, constructed entirely of wood and rawhide,
+which were drawn by a single horse or ox, and carried a load of from 800
+to 1,000 pounds. These vehicles were admirably adapted to the country,
+which was in a perfectly natural state, without roads of any kind,
+except the trail worn by the carts. They could easily pass over a slough
+that would obstruct any other forms of wheeled carriage, and one man
+could drive four or five of them, each being hitched behind the other.
+They were readily constructed on the border, by the unskilled
+half-breeds, where iron was unobtainable. This trade, with an occasional
+arrival of dog trains in the winter, was the only connecting link
+between far away Pembina and St. Paul.
+
+When the Territory of Minnesota was organized, in 1849, St. Paul was
+designated as the capital, and a plain but suitable building was erected
+by the United States for the purpose of the local government, and when
+finished the territorial legislature convened there annually.
+
+Joe Rolette, being the leading citizen of Pembina, and naturally
+desirous of spending his winters at the capital, had himself elected to
+the legislature, first to the house of representatives in 1853, and
+again in 1854 and 1855. In 1856 and 1857 he was returned to the council,
+which was the upper house, corresponding to the senate as the
+legislature is now composed. This body consisted of fifteen members. The
+sessions were limited by the organic act to sixty days.
+
+That the capital should be located and remain at St. Paul had been
+determined by the leading citizens of this region, as far as they could
+decide this question, before the organization of the territory, but
+there were from the beginning manifestations of a desire to remove it
+exhibited in several localities. Wm. R. Marshall resided at St. Anthony,
+and at the first session in 1849 worked hard to have it removed to that
+point, but failed, and no serious attempt was again made until 1857,
+when, on February 6th, a bill was introduced by a councillor from St.
+Cloud, to remove it to St. Peter, a town on the Minnesota river, which
+had grown into considerable importance. General Gorman was the governor,
+and largely interested in St. Peter. He gave the scheme the weight of
+his influence. Winona, through its councillor, St. A. D. Balcombe, was a
+warm advocate of the change, and enough influence was secured to carry
+the bill in both houses. It, however, only passed the council by one
+majority, eight voting in its favor, and seven against it.
+
+It was at this point in the fight that Rolette proved himself a bold and
+successful strategist. He was a friend of St. Paul, and was determined
+that the plan should not succeed if it was possible for him to prevent
+it. He never calculated chances or hesitated at responsibilities, but
+would undertake any desperate measure to carry a point with the same
+unreflecting dash and heedlessness of danger that he would plunge his
+horse into a herd of buffalo, shooting right and left, trusting to luck
+to extricate him. It happened that Joe was chairman of the committee on
+enrolled bills of the council, and all bills had to pass through his
+hands for enrollment and comparison. On the 27th of February the removal
+bill reached him, and he instantly decided that the legislature should
+never see it again, so he put it in his pocket and disappeared. He had,
+however, foresight enough carefully to deposit the bill in the vault of
+Truman M. Smith's bank, in the Fuller House, on the corner of Seventh
+and Jackson streets, before his vanishment.
+
+On the 28th Joe did not appear in his seat, and no one seemed to know
+anything of his whereabouts. As his absence was prolonged, some of the
+advocates of the removal became uneasy, and sent to the enrollment
+committee for the bill, but none of them knew anything about it. At this
+point Mr. Balcombe offered a resolution, calling on Rolette to report
+the bill forthwith, and on his failure to do so, that the next member of
+the committee, Mr. Wales, procure another enrolled copy and report it.
+He then moved the previous question on his resolution. At this point,
+Mr. Setzer, a friend of St. Paul, moved a call of the council, and Mr.
+Rolette, being reported absent, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to
+find him, and bring him in.
+
+To comprehend the full bearings of the situation, it should be known
+that, under the rules, no business could be transacted while the council
+was under a call, and that it required a two-thirds vote to dispense
+with the call. As I have said before, the bill was passed in the council
+by a vote of eight for and seven against, which was the full vote of the
+body; but in the absence of Rolette there were only fourteen present.
+Luckily for St. Paul, it takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as
+it does to make two-thirds of fifteen, and the friends of the bill could
+only muster nine on the motion to dispense with the call. Mr. John B.
+Brisbin was president of the council, and a strong friend of St. Paul,
+so no relaxation of the rules could be hoped for from him. In this
+dilemma, the friends of removal were forced to desperate extremes, and
+Mr. Balcombe actually made an extended argument to prove to the chair
+that nine was two-thirds of fourteen. Both gentlemen were graduates of
+Yale, and, on the completion of his argument, Mr. Brisbin said,
+"Balcombe, we never figured that way at Yale; the motion is lost," and
+the council found itself at a deadlock, with the call pending, and no
+hope of transacting any business, unless some member of the five
+yielded. They were all steadfast, however, and there was nothing to do
+but to receive the daily report of the sergeant-at-arms that Mr. Rolette
+could not be found. Sometimes he would report a rumor that Rolette had
+been seen at some town up the river, making for Pembina with a dog
+train, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour; again, that he had been
+assassinated,--in fact, everything but the truth, which was that he was
+luxuriously quartered in the upper story of the Fuller House, having the
+jolliest time of his life, surrounded by friends, male and female, and
+supplied with the best the town afforded, including buckets of
+champagne.
+
+The 5th of March was the last day of the session, and the council camped
+in its chamber, theoretically handcuffed and hobbled, until midnight of
+that day, when President Brisbin took the chair, and pronounced the
+council adjourned _sine die_.
+
+The sergeant-at-arms was John Lamb, well known to all old settlers. He
+was a resident of St. Paul, and true to her interests, as his conduct
+proved. I don't suppose any man ever spent five days and nights trying
+harder how not to find his man than he did on this occasion. Whether his
+fidelity was ever rewarded I am unable to say.
+
+During the deadlock the friends of removal got a copy of the bill
+through, but neither the speaker of the house nor the president of the
+council would sign it. The governor, however, did approve it, but the
+first time it was tested in court it was pronounced invalid, and set
+aside. Other attempts at capital removal were made, but none of them
+proved successful.
+
+Rolette and I were close friends. We had served together in the council
+at its preceding session, and afterwards in the constitutional
+convention, and always roomed together when in St. Paul. I lived at
+Traverse des Sioux, which is next door to St. Peter, at the time of this
+attempt to remove the capital there, but vigorously opposed the measure.
+Rolette's life was threatened by the friends of removal, and many is the
+night I have played the part of bodyguard to him, armed to the teeth;
+but fortunately he was not assailed.
+
+As I rather admired the plucky manner in which my friend had stood by
+St. Paul in this, the hour of her danger, I conceived the idea of
+preserving the event to history by presenting his portrait to the
+Historical Society of the state, which I did, in April, 1890, and also
+hung one in the Minnesota Club. It is a capital likeness, representing
+him, full life size, in the wild and picturesque costume of the border.
+A brass tablet on the frame is inscribed with the following legend: "The
+Hon. Joe Rolette, who saved the capital to St. Paul, by running away
+with the bill removing it to St. Peter, in 1857."
+
+Joe died at Pembina, and is buried in the graveyard of the old Catholic
+church of Belencourt, under a cross of oak, which once bore the words:
+
+    "Here reposes Joseph Rolette.
+        "Born Oct. 23, 1820.
+         "Died May 16, 1871."
+
+The simple chronicle is long since effaced.
+
+"_Requiescat in pace!_" is the wish and hope of his historian and
+friend.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+AN EDITOR INCOG.
+
+
+In the years 1864 and 1865 I lived in Carson City, the capital of
+Nevada, which recently became famous as the place where the great prize
+fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Gentleman Jim Corbett occurred. The
+racecourse which became the arena on that occasion was during all the
+time of my residence there used by me daily as a gymnasium for exercise.
+I had very little to do with the actual politics of the country, because
+I was, and had always been, a Democrat of the most uncompromising
+character, and the party divisions out in that country were between the
+Republicans and men from the Southern States, who were generally
+outspoken rebels; and as it was in the midst of the Civil War, the
+feeling was intense between them. I was a warm supporter of the war for
+the Union, and found myself in the position of a man without a party.
+The situation did not incommode me, however, as I was fully occupied
+outside the realm of politics.
+
+There were two daily newspapers published in the town,--one Republican,
+which was called the _Carson Daily Appeal_, and the other Democratic,
+called the _Evening Post_. There were no associated press dispatches,
+although the telegraph had reached the Pacific Coast and the San
+Francisco papers had the benefit of that great purveyor of news.
+
+The proprietor of the plant of the Republican paper was an old Minnesota
+man, and a friend of mine, with whom I frequently came in contact, both
+in a business and social way. Under this condition of things, you may
+imagine my surprise and consternation when I tell you that one day he
+rushed into my office in a great state of excitement, and told me that
+his editor had left him and gone to San Francisco, and that he could not
+keep his paper going unless I would run it until he could arrange for
+another editor, adding that a failure to publish it for a single day
+would ruin him. At first I looked upon the proposition as utterly out of
+the question, and said: "How can I edit a Republican newspaper, when I
+am at swords' points with everything they believe and advocate?" It was
+with him, however, "a groundhog case," as we used to call such
+imperative occasions. He _had_ to get him, as he was out of meat. He was
+persistent in his demands, and as the negotiations progressed, I began
+to look upon the matter as a good joke, and finally promised that I
+would undertake to keep the paper going if he would swear that he would
+never disclose my identity, which condition he promised faithfully to
+observe.
+
+It was a matter that admitted of no delay. I had to prepare a column and
+a half of editorial that night for the next morning's issue. What I
+wrote about, I don't pretend to remember, but it was well received, and
+its Republican orthodoxy was never questioned, and I repeated the dose
+daily for some time with the same success, growing more and more violent
+in my attacks on the Democracy in each successive issue. Carson was a
+small town, and, as the old editor was missed by his friends, public
+curiosity increased as to who had succeeded him, and I enrolled myself
+among the guessers, and improved every occasion to criticise publicly
+the editorials. It soon became very tiresome and difficult to maintain
+my ground, with politics as the sole text for my editorials, and as news
+was very scarce, I sought relief in any channel that opened a way. A
+great race took place in San Francisco between Charley Brian's ever
+victorious horse, Lodi, and a colt of the celebrated stallion Lexington,
+named Norfolk, for which Joe Winters of Carson had paid fifteen thousand
+and _one_ dollars to the owner of Lexington,--Lord Bob Alexander of
+Kentucky,--especially to make the race with Lodi. The $15,001 was
+exacted by the owner of Lexington, because he had been laughed at for
+paying $15,000 for Lexington when he was old and blind, and had said he
+would sell his colts for more than he had paid for their sire. This
+race, of course, created an immense excitement. At least twenty thousand
+people went to see it, and everybody on the Pacific Coast from the
+forty-ninth parallel to the Mexican line had a bet on the result. Lodi
+was beaten, and as Nevada was the victor, and I knew all about
+Lexington, I wrote several essays on race horses in general and Norfolk
+in particular.
+
+The office of sheriff of our county was a very hazardous one, every
+incumbent of it prior to the then holder having "died with his boots
+on." Tim Smith, who filled the office when I was there, and had shown
+desperate courage on several occasions in the performance of his duties,
+had gained my admiration and friendship, and afforded me a good text,
+and I wrote him up.
+
+There was an ex-governor of California residing in Carson with whom I
+became intimate, and on one occasion I wrote him up; and last, but not
+least, I made the acquaintance of a beautiful and accomplished lady
+living in the town, and as such a person was a phenomenon in that rude
+land, I was inspired to write her up, and did so in the following poem:
+
+    "This descriptive epigram is dedicated to the most beautiful
+    woman in Carson City, by the editor:
+
+    "Gorgeous tresses, exquisitely arrayed;
+    Noble brow where intellect's displayed;
+    Liquid eyes that penetrate the heart;
+    Teeth of pearl, whose brilliancy impart
+    To the whole expression of the face
+    A ray of love, a fascinating sense of grace.
+    A bust--but here presumptuous mortal stay:
+    Let artist gods this beauteous bust portray;
+    Splendor, royalty, magnificence combined,
+    A Venus in Diana's arms entwined.
+    The tiny hand, so soft, so pure, so white,
+    Robs its emerald gem of half its light.
+    The secret charms beneath her robe-folds hidden,
+    Like heavens' joys to mortal eyes forbidden,
+    Are dimly outlined to our rapturous gaze,
+    Like veiled statues through a marble haze.
+    Her fairy foot, as in the graceful waltz it glides,
+    Our admiration equally divides.
+    And proves, that of her many charms of form and voice,
+    If one you had to choose, you could not make the choice.
+    Their perfect harmony is like the arch's span;
+    Displace one stone, you destroy the noble plan."
+
+My political attacks did not seem to make much impression on my
+Democratic contemporary, and he paid very little attention to what I
+said, feeling, no doubt, indifferent in the overwhelming majority of the
+Republican party, but when I branched out in the line I have indicated,
+he opened on me savagely in several editorials. He said the _Appeal_ had
+discovered a soft-soap mine, and had used it lavishly to lather
+governors, sheriffs, ladies, and a great many other people, for the
+purpose of gaining their support and patronage, all of which afforded me
+a fine opportunity of getting back at him in a humorous, and at the same
+time effective manner, so I shot at him in verse, which I will repeat;
+but to a full understanding of it, I will explain that all mining claims
+are measured by the number of feet the claimant owns on the ledge, and
+the word "feet" became synonymous with the mine itself. This was my
+answer:
+
+    "SOAP."
+
+    "Great renovator of the human race!
+    Great cleanser of the human face!
+    Thy potent art removes each stain
+    From dirtiest mortal on this sphere mundane.
+    'Tis sad to think thy mystic spell
+    Can't penetrate within the shell,
+    And to a soiled, perverted heart
+    Cleanliness and purity impart.
+    Thy subtle essence, heretofore confined
+    In bars of Windsor toilet cakes refined;
+    In Colgate's honey for the barber's brush,
+    And shapeless masses much resembling slush,
+    Has now, according to our evening sheet,
+    Been found in ledges, known as "_feet_."
+    To use the language of the _Post_, in fine,
+    The great _Appeal_ has found a mine;
+    And having now much soap to spare,
+    Soaps governors--sheriffs--ladies fair.
+    How sad it is, with all this soap,
+    To know there's not the slightest hope
+    If all the Chinamen in town
+    Should wash it up and wash it down,
+    And scrub 'till it gave up the ghost,
+    Of making clean the _Evening Post_."
+
+The effect of my shot was equal to a thirteen-inch shell in the camp of
+the enemy. The whole community laughed, and the _Post_ left me
+studiously alone until the new editor came and relieved me. I had lots
+of fun out of the experiment, besides getting the magnificent
+compensation of twenty dollars a week for my services. I also had the
+gratification of knowing that the exciting question of "Who edits the
+_Appeal_?" remained unanswered until I answered it myself.
+
+
+
+
+THE INK-PA-DU-TA WAR.
+
+
+All old settlers will remember what in the history of Minnesota is known
+as "The Ink-pa-du-ta War." It occurred in 1857, and, briefly described,
+was something like the following: Near the northwest corner of the State
+of Iowa, in the county of Dickinson, and near the southwest corner of
+the State of Minnesota, in the county of Jackson, there are two large
+and very beautiful lakes, called Spirit lake and Lake Okoboji. The
+country about these lakes is surpassingly beautiful and fruitful, and
+naturally attracted settlers in a very early day. In 1855 and 1857 a few
+families settled on a small river which heads in Minnesota and flows
+southward into Iowa, called in English Rock river, and in Sioux
+In-yan-yan-ke. In 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing, Minn., started
+a settlement at Spirit lake, and near the same time another location was
+made about ten or fifteen miles north of Spirit lake, and called
+Springfield.
+
+There was a small band of Indians, numbering ten or fifteen lodges,
+under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the "Scarlet Point," which
+had for long years frequented the region of the Vermillion river, and
+although Sioux, they had become separated from the bands that made
+treaties with the United States in 1851, and were regarded as outlaws
+and vagabonds. This band had planted in the neighborhood of Spirit lake
+prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to the Missouri.
+
+Early in March, 1857, these Indians were hunting in the neighborhood of
+Rock river settlement, and got into a row with the white people from
+some trivial cause, and the treatment they received greatly angered
+them. They proceeded north and massacred all the people at the Spirit
+lake and Okoboji settlements, except four women, whom they captured and
+carried off with them. They then attacked the settlers at Springfield,
+and killed most of them. The result of the massacre was forty-two white
+people killed and four white women taken as captives.
+
+I was then United States agent for the Sioux, and the news of the
+trouble reached me at my agency, on the Minnesota river, early in March,
+1857, by two young men, who had escaped, and had travelled all the way
+on foot through the deep snow, a distance of nearly one hundred miles.
+Although the air was always full of rumors of Indian troubles in those
+days, I was convinced that the news brought by these boys was true, so I
+made a requisition on Colonel Alexander of the Tenth United States
+Infantry, stationed at Fort Ridgely, for troops, and he sent me Company
+"A," commanded by Captain Barnard E. Bee and Lieutenant Murray. I
+supplied guides and interpreters from my Indians, and after a most
+laborious and painful roundabout march of many days, we reached the
+scene of the troubles, only to find, as I fully expected, the Indians
+gone. The dead were buried, and the troops, after remaining for some
+time, returned to the fort.
+
+Now comes the most interesting part of the incident. The captured women
+were Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Thatcher, Mrs. Marble and Miss Gardner. The
+legislature of the territory was in session, and the news of the event
+soon reached St. Paul, and, as might be expected, created great
+excitement, and, of course, the principal interest centered in the
+rescue of the prisoners. All the legislature could do was to appropriate
+money to defray the expenses of the undertaking, and as nobody knew
+what to do or how to do it, they appropriated $10,000 and wisely left
+the whole matter to Governor Medary, who was then the governor of the
+territory, with full power to do what he thought best about it. He,
+being a practical man, and having no idea at all of how to proceed in
+the matter, very sensibly turned the whole business over to me, with
+_carte blanche_ to do whatever I thought best.
+
+An accident controlled the situation, and shaped future events. Two of
+my Indians, who had been hunting on the Big Sioux river, heard that
+Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Skunk lake, about seventy-five miles west
+of Spirit lake, and had some white captives in his camp; so they went to
+see him, and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble, for whom they paid
+horses and rifles, and whatever they had, and brought her into the
+Yellow Medicine agency and delivered her to me. I paid them $500 each
+for their services, and immediately sent out another expedition to try
+to rescue the other captives. I say I paid these two Indians $500 each.
+The fact is, I could raise but $500 in money on the reservation, which I
+gave them, and resorted to a financial scheme to get the rest, which has
+since become quite the fashion when people or communities are short. I
+issued a territorial bond, and as it is the first government bond that
+ever was issued in all the country that lies between the Mississippi to
+the Rocky Mountains, I give it in full.
+
+    "I, Stephen R. Riggs, missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
+    Charles E. Flandrau, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
+    being satisfied that Mak-pi-ya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
+    Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
+    Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
+    Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux
+    agent, and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two
+    remaining white women who are now in captivity among
+    Ink-pa-du-ta's band of Indians depends much upon the liberality
+    shown towards the said Indians who have recovered Mrs. Marble,
+    and having full confidence in the humanity and liberality of the
+    Territory of Minnesota, through its government and citizens,
+    have this day paid to the two said above named Indians, the sum
+    of five hundred dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said
+    two Indians that the further sum of five hundred dollars will be
+    paid to them by the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens
+    within three months from the date hereof.
+
+    "Dated May 22nd, 1857, at Pa-Ku-ta Zi-zi, M. T.
+        "STEPHEN R. RIGGS,
+        "_Missionary A. B. C. F. M_.
+
+        "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+        "_U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux._"
+
+This bond differed materially from some that were issued by Minnesota
+afterwards, in being paid promptly at maturity.
+
+My expedition brought in Miss Gardner, but Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher
+were killed before relief reached them.
+
+All this occurred before I heard of the action of the legislature, and
+was done wholly on my individual responsibility. I, however, reimbursed
+myself for the outlay from the state funds, and covered the balance of
+the appropriation into the treasury.
+
+Very shortly after the rescue of Miss Gardner, while at the Redwood
+agency, I received a note from Sam Brown, a trader at Yellow Medicine,
+by an Indian courier, which informed me that Ink-pa-du-ta and several
+of his band were at the Yellow Medicine river. I at once determined to
+kill or capture them, and sent word back that I would be on hand with a
+proper force on the morning of the second day, and that he must send an
+Indian who knew where to find them, who would meet me at midnight on the
+top of a butte half way between the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers,
+and guide me in.
+
+I then made a requisition for troops on the commander of the post at
+Ridgely, who sent me a lieutenant and fifteen men. It chanced to be
+Lieutenant Murray, who had accompanied the expedition to Spirit lake.
+While waiting for the soldiers, I raised a volunteer force of about
+twenty men, among whom was a son of the celebrated electrician,
+Professor Morse, and some other young gentlemen who were visiting the
+agency, all of whom insisted on going for the fun of the thing. The
+balance consisted of employes, most of whom were half-breeds. The
+soldiers arrived about five o'clock in the afternoon, and I put them in
+wagons. I mounted my squad on good horses, and every man was furnished
+with a double-barrelled shotgun and a revolver. We started about dark,
+and at midnight arrived at the butte. I galloped to the top of it, and
+found sitting there in the most composed manner possible smoking his
+pipe, An-pe-tu-toka-sha, or John Otherday, who had been deputed by Brown
+to guide us in. He said he knew where we could find the enemy, and
+indicated six lodges standing together about four miles above the Yellow
+Medicine Agency, on the open prairie. He left the road, and guided us
+through the open country to a point on the river about a mile below the
+lodges, they being on the other side of the river. We arrived at about
+four o'clock in the morning, just as the light of day was breaking. It
+was an engrossing study to observe how skillfully he kept us concealed
+from view of the enemy, by keeping rolls of the prairie between us. All
+his movements were like those of a wary animal, stealthy and noiseless.
+The fact is, the education of a savage is learned from the wild animals
+on which he lives, and that is what makes him such a good hunter and
+fighter.
+
+The river, with a narrow stretch of bottom land and a bluff of about
+thirty feet in height, lay between us and the plateau on which was the
+camp where Ink-pa-du-ta was supposed to be. Here we formed our plan of
+attack. As soon as we crossed and attained the high prairie, and located
+the enemy, we were to divide our force into two squads, one of which was
+to be the soldiers and the other the mounted men. The soldiers were to
+double-quick up the edge of the bluff, to intercept a retreat into the
+river bottom, while the mounted men took the open prairie to cut off
+escape in the other direction. Lieutenant Murray was to lead the
+soldiers and I the horsemen. I said to Otherday and my interpreter: "How
+are we to know the guilty parties?" The answer was: "Whoever runs from
+the camp you may be sure of."
+
+The scene presented when we reached the high land was beautiful,
+inspiring, and frightfully alarming. As far as the eye could reach there
+was an unbroken camp of savages, not less than eight or ten thousand of
+them, representing all the Indians of my upper bands, and those from the
+Missouri who always visited us at payment time. I knew many of them were
+relatives of Ink-pa-du-ta and his people, and most of them his friends,
+but there was no time for balancing chances, and, at the word, away we
+went for the enemy's camp, which was the farthest up the river of them
+all. The night had been very hot, and, as is the custom, the tepees had
+been rolled up at the bottom, to allow a free circulation of air, which,
+of course, allowed the inmates an open view of the prairie. When my
+squad got within about two or three hundred yards of the lodges a young
+Indian, holding the hand of a squaw and carrying a double-barrelled
+shotgun, sprang out, and made for the river bluff as fast as his legs
+would carry him. All the soldiers fired at him, but he did not seem to
+be hit, and disappeared among the chaparral in the bottom. We surrounded
+him. He fired four shots, and each time I looked to see a man fall, but
+only one shot was effective, and that struck the cartridge box of a
+young soldier, turning it completely inside out, but without injuring
+the wearer. Whenever he shot, we poured a volley into the place
+indicated by the smoke, and succeeded in killing him. We took his squaw
+and put her into one of the wagons, more for the purpose of identifying
+the man than anything else, and started down the river towards the
+agency. We had to pass through the heart of all these camps, and the
+squaw yelled as only a scared squaw can. The savages swarmed about our
+party by the hundreds and thousands, threatening vengeance, and
+flourishing their guns in a blood-curdling manner. A shot from one of
+them, or from one of us, would have sent us all into heaven in less than
+a moment. The shot was not fired, and we succeeded in reaching the
+agency in safety. I have always attributed our escape to the moral force
+of the government that was behind us.
+
+At the agency there were great log buildings, in which we fortified
+ourselves. I sent a courier to Fort Ridgely for reenforcements. The
+commanding-officer sent us the old Sherman Buena Vista Battery, which
+assisted us in letting go and getting out.
+
+The Indian we killed turned out to be the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta,
+who was one of the head devils in the Spirit lake massacre. He had
+ventured in to see his sweetheart, and was the only one of the gang that
+was present when we made our attack.
+
+The question has often been asked, why the government allowed the
+massacre to go unpunished. Colonel Alexander of the Tenth and I had a
+plan by which we would have destroyed Ink-pa-du-ta and his band without
+a doubt, but just at the moment of putting it into execution an order
+came for all the companies of the Tenth at Ridgely to leave at once for
+Fort Bridger, in Utah, to join the expedition under General Albert
+Sydney Johnson, against the Mormons, and that was the end of it.
+
+Our raid was about as foolhardy and reckless a one as ever was
+undertaken, and our escape can only be credited to providence or good
+luck.
+
+
+
+
+MUSCULAR LEGISLATION.
+
+
+My attention was once arrested by a short editorial, under the caption
+of "Gold Lace Lawmaking," which recalled an amusing incident in my
+experience that occurred in 1856. The editorial said: "When the
+lawmakers of the province of Manitoba met at Winnipeg, the occasion was
+something to impress the voter. The Royal Canadian Dragoons paraded, and
+the Thirteenth field battery roared a salute. Mark the contrast. On one
+side of the line, ceremony, gold lace and honor. On the other, nothing
+but a few clean collars and a camp-fire of the bobby."
+
+It is not my intention to discuss the question of which is the better
+method, but to relate an incident which will cast some light on the
+views people of the two sections take of legislative etiquette and
+ceremony, and the slight effect such ideas have on the practical subject
+of legislation and the conduct of the legislators.
+
+In the year 1856 I was elected by the people of the Minnesota valley to
+the territorial council, which corresponds to the state senate under our
+present political organization. At the same election a neighbor of mine,
+George McLeod, was elected to the house of representatives from the same
+district. George was a Scotch Canadian, who had passed his life in that
+part of Canada where French is the dominant language, and it had become
+his most familiar tongue. He was a giant in build, being much over six
+feet in height, and correspondingly powerful. He was red headed, and
+although well educated, preferred his fists to any other weapons in
+argument, and generally carried his points. He was fond of good horses,
+boasted of his skill as a hunter, and possessed all the requisites of a
+successful frontiersman. He added to these accomplishments an extensive
+knowledge of Scotch poetry and a varied repertoire of choice songs,
+which he sang on all appropriate occasions. On the whole, George might
+be classified as an all around good fellow. Another attribute which I
+must not forget to mention was, that he was the brother of one of our
+most distinguished first settlers, Martin McLeod, who was a member of
+the first territorial council, which convened in 1849, and also the
+brother of Rev. Norman McLeod, a plucky Presbyterian preacher, who
+settled in Salt Lake City in the fifties, and preached the Gentile
+religion when Mormonism was at its height and its disciples were in the
+habit of killing people who differed from them.
+
+After the excitement of the election was over, George naturally began to
+reflect upon his exalted position, and, of course, all his conclusions
+were reached from a Canadian point of view. Feeling a little doubt on
+some questions, he decided to consult me, supposing I was more familiar
+with the American way of doing things than he possibly could be; so one
+day he came to see me on the all-engrossing subject. We found each other
+in the regulation costume of the country, which consisted of blue
+flannel shirts, cheap slop-shop trowsers, Red River moccasins, and the
+whole finished off with a scarlet Hudson's Bay or a variegated Pembina
+sash, all of which was picturesque, but carried with it no semblance of
+pretentious aristocracy. I welcomed George with great cordiality, and he
+at once opened his budget. He said: "Flaundreau," giving my name the
+full French pronunciation, "when we get down to parliament, we will have
+to set up a coach." My surprise may be well imagined, when I tell you a
+journey of a hundred miles on foot was to either of us no unusual event,
+and that neither McLeod nor I had been the owner of a boot or a shoe for
+several years. I, however, restrained my astonishment, and asked: "What
+makes you think so?" His reply was, that it was entirely inadmissible
+for a member of parliament to walk from his hotel to the parliament
+house or to ride in a public conveyance. The question of British or
+Canadian etiquette flashed upon me, and explained McLeod's meaning; but
+it required an immense effort on my part to control my laughter, when I
+had fully taken in the ludicrous features of the proposition. I would no
+more have given way to my inclinations, however, than I would have
+yielded to the same desire when some ridiculous event happens at an
+official Indian council. The picture of a coach with liveried coachman
+and footman driving up to the door of the old American House in St.
+Paul, and two half-savage looking men, shod in moccasins, climbing into
+it, to be transported three or four blocks to the old capitol, with a
+gaping crowd of half-breeds and ruffianly spectators looking on in
+amazement, passed before my mind, and made me wonder what would be the
+result of such a phenomenal spectacle; but I simply said: "We had better
+wait until we get there, and see what the other fellows do; but there is
+one thing I can promise you, and that is, that our district shall not
+fall behind any of the rest of them if it takes a coach and six to hold
+it up."
+
+When we arrived at the parliament, of course McLeod's ideas of etiquette
+and good form met with a rude check, and that was the last I ever heard
+of the subject.
+
+But it was not the last I heard of my colleague. His convivial and
+belligerent characteristics led him into all sorts of scrapes. He was,
+however, usually quite competent to take care of himself, and we each
+followed our own trails without interference, until some political
+question of more than ordinary interest came up in the house, and an
+evening session was agreed upon for its discussion. McLeod was to speak
+on the subject, and he spent nearly all day in preparation, which
+consisted in dropping in at old Caulder's, a brother Scotchman, about
+every hour and taking a drink, so when the time arrived he was loaded to
+the guards with inspiration.
+
+In the old capitol the halls of legislation were on the second floor,
+the house on one side and the council on the other, with an open hall
+between them and a stairway leading up from below. The height between
+the floors was about sixteen feet. It had been arranged that a keg of
+whisky should be put into the council chamber, to be presided over by
+the sergeant-at-arms of the council, who was an enormous man, larger
+even than McLeod.
+
+The hour arrived, a large party attended the debate, among whom were Joe
+Rolette and I, many ladies also gracing the occasion. McLeod spoke, and
+after he had finished, he sauntered over to the council chamber to
+refresh himself. While the custodian of the keg was getting him a drink,
+McLeod asked if he had heard his speech, and how he liked it. The
+sergeant ventured a not very flattering criticism on some remark he had
+made, when George slapped him viciously across the face with a pair of
+buckskin gauntlets he held in his hand. He had hardly struck the blow,
+when the sergeant seized him, and rushed him across the hall to the
+railing around the staircase, reaching which, over McLeod went backwards
+to the bottom, sixteen feet below, with a crash that could be heard all
+over the building. In a moment or two, my friend, Joe Rolette, came
+running breathlessly to me, and gasped out, "Hiawatha, Hiawatha" [the
+name he always called me], "McLeod is dead." I sprang to my feet, and
+rushed down stairs, where I found McLeod laid out on a lounge in the
+office of the secretary of the territory, with Doctor Le Boutillier, a
+French member from St. Anthony, endeavoring to pacify him. The
+conversation ran as follows:
+
+    Doctor: "Georges, mon ami; ne bouge pas, tu a le bras cassé."
+
+    McLeod: "Fiche-Moi la paix, on peut courber le bras à un
+    Ecossais; on ne peut pas le lui casser."
+
+    Which translated would read:
+
+    "George, my friend, be quiet, your arm is broken."
+
+    "Stand aside, you may bend a Scotchman's arms, but you can't
+    break them."
+
+Poor McLeod's right arm was broken badly, which laid him up until the
+end of the session.
+
+A short time after the legislature had dissolved George was standing in
+a saloon on Third street, with his right arm in a sling, and a glass of
+whisky in his left hand, which he was about to drink, when who should
+walk in but the big sergeant. Without a word George discharged the
+contents of his glass into the face of the sergeant, and prepared for
+battle, crippled as he was; but the interruption of friends and the
+chivalry of the sergeant prevented an encounter, and so ended the
+legislative career of the gentleman from Canada. Whether it would have
+terminated otherwise had we set up our coach and livery and changed our
+moccasins for patent leather boots I leave to the decision of the
+reader.
+
+He went with General Sibley's command to the Missouri, where I believe
+he remained.
+
+
+
+
+THE VIRGIN FEAST.
+
+
+In all ages, and among all people who had progressed beyond absolute
+individualism and gained any kind of government or community interests,
+there must have been some kind of law to settle disputes and
+controversies, whether of a public or private nature, and I remember
+once, in the very early days of Minnesota, of witnessing a test which
+bore a close resemblance to a trial by jury, and involved an important
+question of individual character which would have been classified under
+our jurisprudence as an action of slander. It occurred among the Sioux
+Indians, and presented many features of much interest that made an
+impression on me which I have never forgotten. The whole proceeding was
+absolutely natural and aboriginal in its character and conduct, and free
+from the technicalities which sometimes obstruct the progress of the
+administration of justice in modern times.
+
+It is well known that the value of the testimony of a witness depends
+very much upon his demeanor and manner of delivering it in court, and
+that the judge usually tells the jury that they must take these matters
+into consideration in giving it its true weight; but in the case I am
+about to relate there was nothing but the appearance and manner of the
+witnesses testifying upon which to base a judgment of their truth or
+falsity, and it was this novel feature that lent additional and peculiar
+interest to the controversy.
+
+The Sioux Indians have a rude kind of jurisprudence which gets at the
+truth by a sort of natural intuition, and the case I witnessed convinced
+me that justice had been reached with more certainty than in nine out of
+ten of our jury trials. We have all heard of trial by battle, under the
+old English law, and the trial of witches by water, where, if they sank
+and drowned they were innocent, and if they floated they were guilty and
+were hanged. But this trial was based on public sentiment or the ability
+of bystanders to detect guilt or innocence from the appearance and
+conduct of the litigants during the trial, which, although a crude
+method, is, in my judgment, much safer than some of those practised by
+our ancestors at no very remote date.
+
+The trial I refer to is called the "Virgin Feast." It is brought about
+in this way: Some gossip or scandal is started in a band about one of
+the young women. It reaches the ears of her mother. In order to test its
+truth or falsity, the mother commands her daughter to give a "Virgin
+Feast." The accused cooks some rice, and invites all the maidens of the
+band to come and partake. They appear, each with a red spot painted on
+each cheek, as an emblem of virginity. They seat themselves in a
+semi-circle on the prairie, and the hostess supplies each of them with a
+bowl of rice which is set before her. A boulder, painted red, is placed
+in front of them, about ten feet distant, and a large knife is thrust
+into the ground in front of, and close up to, the stone. All the young
+men attend as spectators. This ceremony is, on the part of the accused
+and any girl who takes a place in the ring, a challenge to the world,
+that, if any one has aught to say against her, he has the privilege of
+saying it. If nothing is said, and the feast is eaten uninterruptedly,
+the maiden who gave the feast is vindicated, and the gossip disbelieved;
+but if the challenge is taken up by any young buck, he steps forward and
+seizes the girl he accuses by the hand, pulls her out of the ring, and
+makes his charges. She has the right of swearing on the stone and knife
+to her innocence, which goes a great way in her vindication, but is not
+conclusive. If she swears, and he persists, an altercation ensues, and
+public sentiment is formed on view of the contestants' actions.
+
+I remember once, at one of these trials, of seeing a young fellow of
+about twenty-five, step forward and rudely grasp the hand of a girl of
+about sixteen, jerk her to her feet, and make some scandalous charge
+against her. The look she gave him was so full of righteous indignation,
+scorn and offended virtue that no one could see it without being at once
+enlisted in her favor. She glared on him for a moment, with a look that
+only outraged innocence can assume, when shouts went up from the crowd,
+"Swear! Swear!" She approached the stone with the bearing of a princess,
+and placed her hand upon it with an air that could not be mistaken; then
+throwing a look of triumph at the spectators, she strode back to face
+her accuser with the confidence that bespeaks innocence. The fellow
+began to weaken, and in less than a moment was in full flight with a
+howling mob after him, hurling sticks and stones at him with no gentle
+intent. He disappeared, and the girl took her place in the ring as fully
+vindicated as if the lord chief justice of England had decided her case.
+I recollect very distinctly that my convictions of her innocence induced
+by the general features of the trial and conduct of the litigants were
+as strong as any member of the court.
+
+It probably would not do to depend upon such evidence in the more
+complicated affairs of civilized life, and with a people educated in
+dissimulation and the control of the emotions, but with a simple and
+natural people I don't believe many mistakes were made in arriving at
+just judgments.
+
+                        "Innocence unmoved
+    At a false accusation doth the more
+    Confirm itself; and guilt is best discover'd
+    By its own fears."
+
+
+
+
+THE ABORIGINAL WAR CORRESPONDENT.
+
+
+From the earliest days of recorded history man has regarded his prowess
+in war as the most valuable of his exploits, and success in war has
+generally been measured by the number of slain on the battle-field. I
+don't know how the facts were arrived at in ancient times, and whether
+or not they had war correspondents who followed the armies and reported
+their doings I can't say, but as the art of printing was unknown, and
+the means of communication were very limited, it seems doubtful if the
+results were arrived at in that way. From what I know of human nature
+and character, I am convinced that, if the reports were made through the
+commanders in the field, the lists of the enemy slain may fairly be
+discounted about seventy-five per cent. Have we not had reports of the
+most exaggerated character as to the number of prisoners captured and
+enemies killed so recently as our Civil War? And have we ever read of a
+battle with the Indians or other uncivilized people where, after giving
+our own losses, we have not met with the old stereotyped report, "that
+the loss of the enemy was far greater, but as they always remove their
+dead and wounded, it is impossible to ascertain the exact number?" The
+wars now raging in the Philippines and Samoa form no exception to this
+familiar report. So far as our fights with the American Indians are
+concerned, I feel quite confident that, where we have killed one Indian,
+we have lost ten whites, take it through from the Atlantic to the
+Pacific; but you can't figure out any such results from the reports
+which have made up history. The temptation to exaggerate for the
+purpose of hero-making and future political preferment is too great to
+be resisted, and the consequence is that truth suffers amazingly.
+Perhaps it is better for mankind that the slaughter should be on paper,
+rather than in fact.
+
+Modern warfare has introduced the new element of the war correspondent.
+He is generally either a creature of the commander, or desirous of
+flattering him for personal advantage or some other consideration, and
+he piles on the praises of the side he represents, diminishes the credit
+due the enemy, and resolves every doubt against him.
+
+Now the Indian has a way of arriving at the truth of such matters which
+is infinitely more satisfactory than that of his white brother. He knows
+just as well as any one what boasters all men are on matters relating to
+their own exploits, and especially those relating to war, and in order
+that there shall be no humbug about such matters, he will give no
+credence to any statement that is not accompanied by the most
+irrefragable proof. When a warrior comes home and says, "I killed six
+enemies on my last raid," he is confronted with the demand to produce
+his evidence, and the only evidence admissible is the scalps of the dead
+enemies. Should he make such an assertion without the proof, he would be
+laughed out of the camp as a silly boaster.
+
+Most people think the practice of scalping an enemy, generally indulged
+in by the Sioux, is a wanton desire cruelly to mutilate the foe. Such is
+not the case at all; he is prompted solely by the desire of procuring
+proof of his success, and he will take more chances to get a scalp than
+he would for any other object in life. Among the Sioux, and I believe
+most of the tribes of North America, for every enemy killed a warrior
+is entitled to wear a head-dress with an eagle feather in it, which to
+him fills the same place in his character and reputation as the Victoria
+cross or the medal of the legion of honor, or any other of the numerous
+decorations bestowed upon white men for deeds of bravery and honor; and
+to gain this distinction he is moved by the same impulse that actuated
+Hobson in sinking the Merrimac in the harbor of Santiago, or the actors
+in the thousand and one daring deeds in which men in all ages have
+freely risked their lives.
+
+Scalping is an art, and the manner in which it is done, depends wholly
+upon the circumstances of the occasion. A complete and perfect scalp
+embraces the whole hair of the head, with a margin of skin all round it
+about two and a half inches in width, including both ears with all their
+ornaments. This can only be obtained when the victor has abundant time
+to operate leisurely. When he is beset by the enemy, all he can do, as a
+general thing, is to seize the hair with the left hand and hold up the
+scalp with it and then give a quick cut with his knife, and get as big a
+piece as he can. By this hurried process he rarely gets a piece larger
+than a small saucer, and generally not bigger than a silver dollar; but
+no matter how small it may be, it entitles him to his feather. Among the
+Sioux the killing of a full grown grizzly bear is equivalent to the
+killing of an enemy, and entitles the victor to the same decoration. I
+have known Indians who wore as many as sixteen feathers.
+
+It is not alone the importance that these decorations give the wearer
+which enters into their value. When he returns from the war path,
+bearing scalps, he is received by all his band with demonstrations of
+the greatest pride and honor. If you can imagine Dewey landing at New
+York from the Philippines, you can form some idea of the honors that
+would be heaped upon a victorious savage. If the weather is pleasant, he
+strips to the waist, and paints his body jet black. He places on the top
+of his head a round ball of pure white swan's down, about the size of a
+large orange, and takes in his hand a staff, about five feet long, with
+a buckskin fringe tacked on to the upper three feet of it. On the end of
+each shred of the fringe is a piece of a deer's hoof, forming a rattle,
+by striking together when shaken up and down. When arrayed in this
+manner he marches up and down the village, recounting in a sort of a
+chant the entire history of the events of the raid on the enemy, going
+into the most minute details, and indulging in much imagination and
+superstition. He tells what he dreamed, what animals he saw, and how all
+these things influenced his conduct. He continues this ceremony for days
+and days, and is the admiration of all his people. I have seen four or
+five of them together promenading in this way, and have taken an
+interpreter and marched with them by the hour listening to their
+stories.
+
+When this part of the performance is over, the scalps are tanned by the
+women, as they would tan a buffalo-skin, the inside painted red, and the
+whole stretched on a circular hoop, about the size of a barrel hoop, to
+which is attached a straight handle, about four feet long, so that it
+can be carried in the air above the heads of the people. It is also
+decorated with all the trinkets found on the person of the slain.
+
+Then begins the dancing. When night comes the men arrange themselves in
+two lines, about fifteen feet apart, facing each other, all provided
+with tom-toms, and musical instruments of all kinds known to the savage.
+When everything is ready, they sing a kind of a weird chant, keeping
+time with the instruments and their feet. Then the squaws, with the
+scalps held aloft, dance in between the lines of men from opposite
+directions, until they meet, when they chassé to the right and left,
+then dance back and forward again, every once in a while emitting a
+sharp little screech which I have never known to be successfully
+imitated. During the dance, the men join in a kind of shuffle from right
+to left, and back again, keeping the music going all the time. The whole
+performance is one of the most savage and weird ceremonies I have ever
+witnessed. It is kept up for weeks.
+
+It was a frequent amusement for half a dozen of us to throw blankets
+over our heads, and join in the dance for half an hour or so. I have
+been lulled to sleep many times by this wild music, heard from a
+distance of half a mile, on a still night.
+
+It was supposed that when the scalp was taken while the leaves were on
+the trees, it was danced over until they fell, and then buried, and when
+taken in winter it was buried when the leaves came in the spring, but I
+never was quite sure about this. I wanted one very much once, and a
+party of us went in the night just back of St. Peter, where we supposed
+they had been buried, and dug for them, and to our horror struck the
+toes of a dead Indian. That cured my desire in this direction.
+
+
+
+
+BRED IN THE BONE.
+
+
+In the early days of what is now Minnesota there were two families of
+missionaries living among the Sioux of the Mississippi, who, like many
+of their profession, devoted their whole lives to spreading the gospel
+of Christ among the savages. They were those of Dr. Williamson and the
+Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, both of whom had lived with these Indians long
+before I came among them. When I first became connected with these
+Indians I found the missionaries comfortably installed at the Yellow
+Medicine agency, with quite a village around them. They had dwelling
+houses, and a commodious schoolhouse, where they took Indian children at
+a very early age, with a view of civilizing and Christianizing them.
+They had also a very pretty church, with a steeple on it, and a bell in
+the steeple, and all the other buildings necessary for the complete and
+efficient operation of their laudable undertaking. They were full of
+zeal and enthusiasm in the cause, and had progressed to a point where it
+looked to an outsider as if success was only a question of a short time,
+if it was not already an accomplished fact. The Bible had been
+translated into the Sioux language, and they had hymn books and
+catechisms in the same language. They had learned to speak Sioux
+thoroughly, and could preach and sing in that language. Many is the time
+I have attended church at the little meeting house, and heard the simple
+old Presbyterian hymns sung to the tunes that have resounded for
+generations through the meeting houses of New England. It was a most
+solemn and impressive spectacle, in the heart of the Indian country, to
+see a Christian church filled with devout worshippers all in the costume
+of savagery, and to listen to the oft-told story of the Saviour who died
+that man might live. Such a scene carries with it a much more convincing
+proof of the universality of the Christian religion than a church full
+of fashionably dressed people in a great city. It suggests its limitless
+application to all the human race, even if dwelling in the remotest part
+of the earth.
+
+The experience of these good missionaries had taught them that
+civilization was the most potent auxiliary to religion, and, for the
+success of either, the other was a necessary aid and adjunct when
+dealing with these primitive people. So they set themselves to work to
+devise plans to instill into the Indians the elemental principles of
+government based on law. They organized a little state or community
+among them, through which they endeavored to prove to them the
+advantages of civilized rule through the agency of officers of their own
+choice and laws of their own making. They called their state "The
+Hazelwood Republic," which embraced all the missionary establishment,
+and all the Indians they could induce to unite in the enterprise. They
+drew a written constitution, the provisions of which were to govern and
+direct the conduct of the members and the workings of the community. Of
+course, the fundamental principles upon which the whole fabric rested
+were similar to those taught by the ten commandments. The Indians, with
+the advice of the missionaries, elected a president for the young
+republic, and the choice fell upon a wise and upright man, about fifty
+years of age, whose name was Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, or "The man who shoots
+metal as he walks," and to give the matter a more pronounced
+ecclesiastical aspect, they added a scriptural name by way of a prefix
+to the names of all the officers. For instance, they called the
+president, Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, and one of the deacons, Simon
+Ana-wang-ma-ni, which means "The man who can keep up with any moving
+object;" or, as things turned out in the end, it could well have been
+translated into the "Fast Man."
+
+The first act necessary for initiation as a citizen of the republic was
+cutting off the long hair universally worn by the Sioux, and if any act
+could be taken as indicative of sincerity, this one seemed to be
+conclusive. It is quite as much of a sacrifice for an Indian to cut off
+his hair as it would be for a young lady in society possessed of a
+splendid suit of hair to cut it off short and appear at a grand ball
+with her head thus denuded.
+
+The next step was to wear a hat, and exchange the breech-clout for
+pantaloons, and the blanket for a shirt or coat. Notwithstanding this
+terrible ordeal of naturalization, the population of the republic
+increased, and the church was well attended. The praying and singing was
+participated in quite generally by the members, and the future republic
+looked promising. One of the most exemplary citizens and devout
+worshippers was deacon Simon Ana-wang-ma-ni. He led in prayer, and
+labored heart and soul for the good of the republic and the church. He
+was the last man that anyone would have expected to fall from grace, and
+no one ever thought of such a thing; but, strange as it may appear, he
+one day sought an interview with the missionaries, and announced the
+astounding fact that an Indian who had killed his cousin some eight
+years before had returned from the Missouri river country, and he
+thought it was his duty to kill him in retaliation. The astonishment of
+the missionaries may be well imagined. They cited to him the
+commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," and dwelt upon the awful sinfulness
+of such an act, and he would say, "I know what the Bible says, and I
+believe in Sundays, but he killed my cousin." Then they would attack him
+on the laws of the republic of which he was a high official, and dwell
+upon the dreadful example such an act would set before the brethren of
+the church, and he would reply, "Oh, yes; I know all that; but he killed
+my cousin." Then, in despair, they would tell him that he was no longer
+an Indian; that he had become a white man, and the laws of the white man
+forbid such revenge. "I know all that," he would say, "but he killed my
+cousin." As a final resort, the faithful and believing missionaries
+concluded to call in the aid of heaven to assist them, and they prayed
+with Simon for hours, days and nights, in all of which he joined with
+fervor and unction; but he could not divest himself of the all-pervading
+idea that his cousin had been killed, and the sacred duty had devolved
+upon him to avenge his death. This belief had been born in him, and no
+religion of the white man could eradicate it. True to the creed of his
+ancestors, he got a double-barrelled shotgun and went out and killed his
+enemy.
+
+Of course, this murder opened up a new feud, arraying relative against
+relative, and destroyed Simon's influence as a deacon in the church and
+an officer of the republic to such a degree as almost to destroy all the
+good that both had accomplished. I mention this incident to show what
+uncertain ground the missionaries find to sow the seeds of Christianity
+in when working among savages.
+
+Notwithstanding such discouragements as the above, I believe much good
+was done through the efforts of the missionaries. In times of great
+trouble and excitement I always found the best friends of the whites
+among the Indians who had felt the enlightening influences of the
+missionaries, not excepting Simon, who with Paul, John Otherday, and
+many others, performed heroic services for the whites when friends were
+most needed; but I have never been able to settle the question in my
+mind as to whether any of them ever grasped the principles of the
+Christian religion.
+
+In 1862 the Sioux openly rebelled against the whites, and it was solely
+through the good offices of Otherday and Paul that these missionaries
+escaped massacre. All their buildings and their labor of long years were
+destroyed, and they were driven out of the country. Most people would
+have thought that they would have had enough of such a life. I know I
+thought so, but not so with these devoted people. Shortly after the
+suppression of the outbreak I met Dr. Williamson, and asked him what
+were his future intentions. Without the least hesitation he answered
+that he would look up the remnant of his tribe, and continue his work.
+
+All the heroes are not found in the ranks of the fighters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     NOTE.--The reader of both the history and the frontier stories
+     will notice that many of the facts stated in the history are
+     repeated in the stories. I decided to insert both because the
+     different way in which they are related led me to believe that
+     the elimination of either would detract from the interest of
+     the work.
+
+         THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+AN ACCOMPLISHED RASCAL.
+
+
+In the late fifties a young man of very attractive manners and
+extraordinary accomplishments appeared in St. Peter. His name was La
+Croix, or at least he said it was, and no questions were asked. We had
+not at that time acquired the habit of asking newcomers what names they
+went by in the States, as was the usual practice in the early settlement
+of Texas and California. We were an unsuspicious people, and accepted
+those who settled among us for what they said they were and appeared to
+be.
+
+It was soon discovered that La Croix spoke French fluently; nearly all
+our first settlers were French. He said he learned it while living in
+New Orleans. He soon developed a large acquaintance with military
+matters, and we made him captain of our militia company (now the
+national guard), and he drilled us up to a high state of discipline and
+skill in company tactics and movements. I had the honor of being second
+lieutenant of the company. This art, he said, he acquired as sergeant of
+a company in the crack New York Seventh.
+
+He was a graceful and adroit fencer, and could explain the difference
+between the French system and the American plan as taught at West Point.
+I learned both from him. His conversational powers and the extent of his
+general knowledge surpassed anything that ever graced the border. In a
+word, he possessed all the qualities, including personal beauty, that
+were necessary to make him a general favorite with both men and women.
+He did not fail to improve all his advantages.
+
+He soon became the trusted bookkeeper for one of our business concerns,
+courted and married a lovely young girl from a neighboring town, and
+settled down to a life of domestic felicity, esteemed by all, questioned
+by none.
+
+Shortly after his marriage the Civil War began, and in due course of
+time a baby was born to his house. Shortly after the latter event he
+announced that news had arrived that certain stock of the Chemical Bank,
+in New York, which he had inherited from his father, who had died in New
+Orleans, was in danger of confiscation by the federal government as
+rebel property, and he was obliged to go East and take care of it. He
+made the most elaborate preparations for the comfort of his wife and
+child during his absence, and departed. We gave him a splendid send-off,
+and several of us, I among the rest, entrusted him with commissions to
+perform for us in New York, and for a long time that was the last we
+heard of La Croix.
+
+Of course, there were many who said, "I told you so," but they had not
+done anything of the kind; we were all taken in without exception. His
+wife was the last to lose confidence in his return. I followed up every
+clue she could give me, but without results. He had disappeared as
+completely as if the ground had opened and swallowed him up, and we
+forgot him.
+
+The war was fought out, and peace returned. A Connecticut regiment,
+commanded by Colonel Brevet Brigadier General Thompson (I will call him
+that for certain reasons) was mustered out in one of the chief cities of
+that state, and nothing was too good for its gallant commander. He was
+sought after socially, and by the business community, and soon became as
+popular as La Croix had been in St. Peter. He married one of the most
+beautiful and aristocratic young ladies of the state, and was appointed
+to the position of general inspector of agencies of one of the great
+insurance companies of Connecticut, and he decided to improve the
+opportunity of his first tour as a pleasant way of passing his
+honeymoon. So he started west with his confiding wife.
+
+I forgot to mention that, when La Croix reached St. Paul, after leaving
+St. Peter, he drew and cashed a small draft of a few hundred dollars on
+his employer, and appropriated the proceeds.
+
+Thompson's luck seemed to have deserted him on his wedding trip, as, on
+arriving at Cleveland, Ohio, a citizen of St. Peter met and recognized
+him as his old friend La Croix, and not knowing he was a brigadier
+general slapped him familiarly on the shoulder and said: "Hello, La
+Croix; I am glad to see you." The general was immensely indignant, and
+spurned his new found friend, which angered the latter exceedingly, and
+he at once telegraphed to St. Peter, and received a reply to have the
+party arrested and held, which he did. The general wired to his
+principals, setting forth his difficulty, saying it was all a case of
+mistaken identity. They instructed their agent in Cleveland to go
+General Thompson's bail for any amount required, which was done, and he
+at once started for home to procure evidence, leaving his wife to await
+his return, and that was the last seen of General Thompson for many
+years. I believe, however, he was once recognized in Vienna.
+
+Time passed; the West grew and expanded; many new states were added to
+the Union; many immigrants were attracted to its fertile fields and
+booming cities, very few of their number hailing from either Minnesota
+or Connecticut. Among them, however, was a gentleman of most attractive
+mien. He went into the real estate business, and greatly prospered. His
+varied accomplishments soon made him the most popular man in his state.
+He united with the political party which held the power. He married an
+attractive young woman, and settled down to a quiet and respectable
+domesticity. In the course of events a United States senator was to be
+elected, and what was more natural than that this intelligent,
+respectable and popular citizen should be considered a worthy candidate.
+The legislature convened, his prospects of election were more than
+promising, and he would undoubtedly have been chosen had not some
+meddlesome fellow recognized him as the long lost La Croix. Of course,
+he disappeared, and this time, permanently.
+
+The moral of this story is, that it is better, as a general thing, to
+find out what name people went by in the States before you either marry
+them or elect them to the United States senate.
+
+
+
+
+AN ADVOCATE'S OPINION OF HIS OWN ELOQUENCE IS NOT ALWAYS RELIABLE.
+
+
+In the early days of the territory a large part of the legal business
+arose out of misunderstandings about claim lines and the attempts of
+settlers to jump the claims of other people. These suits usually took
+the shape of trespass and forcible entry and detainer. In some instances
+they ripened into assaults and batteries, and were generally tried
+before justices of the peace. Nearly all the people were French, and
+that language was quite as usually spoken as English. The town of
+Mendota was almost exclusively French and half-breed Sioux, the latter
+speaking French if they deviated from their native tongue. One of our
+earliest lawyers was Jacob J. Noah, from New York. He was the son of a
+very celebrated journalist of that city, and was a very cultured and
+accomplished gentleman. He spoke French like a native, which, no doubt,
+had a good deal to do with his living at Mendota. That town boasted of a
+justice of the peace, who occupied an exalted position in the estimation
+of the French inhabitants, on account of his learning and established
+character for justice and fair dealing. He was a handsome old gentleman,
+with white hair and beard and impressive judicial manner. About the year
+1855, among the new arrivals in the legal fraternity, was Mr. John B.
+Brisbin, also from New York. He was a graduate of Yale, and acquainted
+with some of the leading lawyers in St. Paul, so his advent was
+announced with a good many flourishes, and he soon took a leading stand
+in the profession. Mr. Brisbin was a cultured and eloquent lawyer, and
+no one knew it better than himself. He settled in St. Paul. Soon after
+his arrival a controversy arose between a couple of settlers in Dakota
+county about their claim boundaries, and a suit was brought before the
+French justice at Mendota. Major Noah represented the plaintiff and the
+defendant employed Mr. Brisbin. It being Brisbin's first appearance in
+court, he made extraordinary preparations, intending to create a
+favorable impression. He discovered some fault in the law of the
+plaintiff's case, and when the parties met in court, he demurred to the
+plaintiff's complaint, and made an exhaustive argument in support of his
+position. He was fortified with numerous citations from English and New
+York cases, all of which he read to the court. When he would become
+particularly impressive, the court would evince signs of deep interest,
+which convinced the speaker that he was carrying everything before him.
+When he finished his argument, he looked at his adversary with a
+confident and somewhat exultant expression, as if to say, "Answer that
+if you can."
+
+The major opened his case to the court in French, and had hardly begun
+before Mr. Brisbin interposed an objection, that he did not understand
+French, and that legal proceedings in this country had to be conducted
+in English. The major answered by saying: "I am only interpreting to the
+court what you have been saying." Mr. Brisbin indignantly replied: "I
+don't want any interpretation of my argument; I made myself perfectly
+clear in what I said." "Oh, yes," said the major, "you made a very clear
+and strong argument; but his honor, the judge, does not understand a
+single word of English," which was literally true. Tradition adds that
+when the court adjourned, the judge was heard to ask the major: "Est ce
+qu'il y a une femme dans cette cause la?" Whether the court decided the
+case on the theory of there being a woman in it or not, history has
+failed to record.
+
+
+
+
+A MOMENTOUS MEETING.
+
+
+The people of St. Paul have often been proud of a remark which was made
+by Hon. Wm. H. Seward, in a speech delivered by him in 1860, at the old
+capitol on Wabasha street, where he said he believed that the center of
+power on the North American continent would be very near the spot where
+he stood. Everybody, while they liked the prediction, looked upon it as
+a pleasant way the speaker had of giving his hosts and St. Paul a little
+"taffy," and nothing more. Such, however, was not the case, and Mr.
+Seward, when he uttered the prophecy, was thoroughly impressed with the
+truth of what he said, as I will prove further on.
+
+This speech was delivered on the 18th of September, 1860. If I remember
+correctly, Mr. Seward was on an electioneering tour in support of
+Lincoln's candidacy for the presidency, and that Hon. James W. Ney of
+New York, afterwards governor of Nevada, was of the party; but I am not
+very sure of these facts, and they are not at all material to the point
+I am about to make. Mr. Seward stayed at the Merchant's Hotel, at the
+foot of Jackson street, kept by our well known host, Colonel Allen,
+while he remained in St. Paul.
+
+Many of the older settlers will remember James W. Taylor of St. Paul,
+who, for many years, represented the United States as consul at
+Winnipeg. Mr. Taylor was the most popular man in that city. He was not
+only esteemed for his superior ability as an official, but was beloved
+by all classes of the people for his gentle and genial manners. He was a
+great friend of Bishop Anderson of Rupert's Land, who, for twenty years,
+had performed the duties of missionary bishop of that far away country.
+He had travelled the McKenzie river to its mouth in the Arctic ocean. He
+had been all over Alaska, up and down the Yukon, and, in fact, knew more
+about the vast country that lies north and northwest of the United
+States than any living man at the date we are speaking of. It so
+happened that the bishop and Consul Taylor were on a visit to St. Paul
+at the time of the arrival of Mr. Seward, and were also guests at the
+Merchant's Hotel. They, of course, called on the distinguished American,
+Mr. Seward, who became deeply interested in the conversation of the
+bishop about his travels through this vast upper region, and was so
+impressed with the immensity and future possibilities of the country
+that he forgot all about his appointment to speak at the capitol, and
+kept his audience waiting for nearly an hour before he could tear
+himself away from the fascination of the bishop's conversation.
+
+The topic Mr. Seward had selected for his speech was one in which he was
+profoundly interested. It was, "The Duty, Responsibility, and Future
+Power of the Northwest," which was a magnificent subject for discussion
+by such a thoughtful statesman. Before meeting Bishop Anderson, Mr.
+Seward had conceived certain theories on the question, as the quotation
+which I shall make from his speech clearly establishes, and that these
+preconceived ideas had been, by his intercourse with the bishop,
+radically changed, if not thoroughly overthrown, seems equally clear. It
+must be remembered that, in 1860, very little was known about Alaska and
+the British possessions in the far northern regions, and it is quite
+possible that even a man of Mr. Seward's learning may not have included
+them in his calculations for the future. Of course, what he said about
+his preconceived conclusions, and the subsequent changes made in them,
+involved the fact of the absorption into the United States of the whole
+continent, which in all probability will happen at some future time.
+
+When Mr. Seward arrived at the capitol, he was introduced by John W.
+North, and, among other things, said:
+
+    "In other days, studying what might perhaps have seemed to
+    others a visionary subject, I have cast about for the
+    future--the ultimate central power of the North American people.
+    I have looked at Quebec and New Orleans, at Washington and at
+    San Francisco, at Cincinnati and St. Louis, and it has been the
+    result of my last conjecture that the seat of power of North
+    America would yet be found in the Valley of Mexico,--that the
+    glories of the Aztec capital would be renewed, and that city
+    would become ultimately the capital of the United States of
+    America. But I have corrected that view, and I now believe that
+    the last seat of power on this great continent will be found
+    somewhere within a radius of not very far from the very spot
+    where I now stand, at the head of navigation on the Mississippi
+    river and on the great Mediterranean lakes."
+
+When and where had this correction been made? Doubtless an hour before,
+at the Merchant's Hotel, through the influence of the interview with
+Bishop Anderson. While at the capitol they visited the rooms of the
+Historical Society, where the bishop made a short address to Mr. Seward,
+to which Mr. Seward responded. Now, all this might have happened, and
+been of no particular interest to the world, except as a pleasant
+episode between two distinguished men. But in this instance it turned
+out to be of vital importance to three of the greatest nations of the
+world. Mr. Seward was so deeply impressed with the St. Paul incident
+that, immediately after his return to Washington, he opened negotiations
+with the Russian government for the purchase of Alaska, and persistently
+carried them on, until he succeeded in acquiring that vast empire for a
+mere bagatelle of seven or eight millions of dollars. This remarkable
+prevision of Mr. Seward has stamped its effect on our present and future
+destiny and relations with England, Canada, Russia and perhaps all the
+nations of the Orient. Had not Mr. Seward visited St. Paul on that exact
+day, would this great change have been made in the map of North America?
+It certainly would not after the discovery of gold in Alaska. So I claim
+that Minnesota played an all-important role in the purchase of Alaska.
+
+Having spoken of my dear old friend, James W. Taylor, I cannot omit to
+mention a most touching tribute paid to his memory by the people of
+Winnipeg. The municipality has placed upon the walls of its city hall a
+fine portrait of the faithful consul, under which hangs a basket for the
+reception of flowers. Every spring each farmer entering the city plucks
+a wild flower, and puts it in the basket. The great love of a people
+could not be expressed in a more beautiful and pathetic manner, and no
+man was more worthy of it than Consul Taylor.
+
+
+
+
+A PRIMITIVE JUSTICE.
+
+
+The lands west of the Mississippi river, in Minnesota, were the property
+of the Sioux Indians until treaties were made with them in 1851, by
+which they ceded them to the United States, but these treaties were not
+fully ratified until 1853, on account of amendments which deferred final
+action. But immigration was pouring into the territory, and it naturally
+found a lodgment on the west side of the river, from the Iowa line up to
+Fort Snelling, and gradually extended up the Minnesota river to Mankato.
+Of course, all the settlers on the Indian lands were trespassers, and as
+the lands were unsurveyed, no claim rights could be acquired, but the
+settlers did the best they could to mark their claims, and gain what
+right they could by possession. The usual and best way of marking claim
+lines, was by running a plow furrow around the land. When the prairie
+was once broken, the line was indelible, because an entirely new growth
+would spring up in the furrow that never could be eradicated.
+
+In 1854 a law of congress was passed, by which settlers in Minnesota
+were given rights in unsurveyed lands, their claims to be adjusted to
+the surveyed lines, when they were run, "as near as may be."
+
+Of course, this condition of things gave rise to many disputes about
+claim lines and rights, and as there were no legal tribunals to appeal
+to, we organized claim associations to protect our rights. In my part of
+the territory we had an association that covered what is now Blue Earth,
+Nicollet and Le Sueur counties, and most of the actual settlers were
+members, and all were pledged to support each other against any one
+attempting to jump the claim of any member. Protection, of course, meant
+driving out the intruder and restoring the rightful owner to his
+possession. The means of reaching the object were not defined, but were
+understood to be adequate to the necessities of the occasion.
+
+I had made a claim on the second plateau, back of what afterwards became
+the town site of St. Peter, and Gibson Patch, the sheriff of Nicollet
+county, had settled on the adjoining quarter section. These claims
+covered the ground where the Scandinavian college now stands, called, I
+think, "Gustavus Adolphus."
+
+I was the president of the Nicollet county branch of the claim
+association.
+
+About 1855 the government survey lines were extended over our lands, and
+we had to adjust our lines to those of the official surveys as best we
+could. It so happened that the established lines left the shanty of my
+neighbor, the sheriff, outside of the quarter section he had always
+claimed, and before he discovered this fact, a man designing to take
+advantage of the sheriff's peculiar situation, and intending to jump his
+claim, erected a shanty on his land and moved his family into it. It was
+soon discovered, and Patch notified the claim association, which
+immediately assembled and decided that the jumper must be ejected and
+banished from the county. It was winter time. A committee of one hundred
+and fifty was delegated to perform the work at a certain day and hour.
+The jumper heard of it, and in the morning of the day fixed, he
+prudently fled down the river. Being president of the association, it
+devolved upon me to lead the party. We arrived at the house, and finding
+no opposition, we politely informed the family of our mission, and
+offered them comfortable transportation to any point they would name for
+themselves and their portable belongings, which they accepted. We then
+burned the house, and appointed two committees of ten each to chase the
+jumper down each side of the river, with full discretion to punish him
+as they saw fit. They pursued him for about forty miles, and it was
+fortunate for the fugitive that they did not overtake him, because had
+they caught him after two p. m., I think they would have been in a
+condition of mind that would have resulted in his summary execution.
+
+Of course, we thought no more about it, as matters of that kind were of
+frequent occurrence; but that was not the last of it. It turned out that
+the jumper was a Mason of high degree, and when he got to St. Paul he
+made a most pitiable complaint, charging me with destroying his home,
+and with attempting to murder him. I was a small Mason, and was cited
+before the lodge to defend myself. I simply denied the jurisdiction, and
+did not appear. I was tried, and triumphantly acquitted.
+
+On another occasion a claim was jumped in Le Sueur, just between upper
+and lower town, and the jumper had a great many friends who rallied to
+his defense. The associations of all three counties were called out, and
+when we appeared at Le Sueur, we found about seventy-five Irishmen, all
+well armed, camped on the contested claim ready to defend it to the
+death. We camped at a short distance, and negotiations were opened
+between the hostile armies, which finally resulted in some sort of a
+compromise, satisfactory to the contesting parties, one of whom (the
+original claimant) was K. K. Peck, who was left in possession of the
+disputed territory. Mr. Peck laid his claim out into lots, and gave each
+one of the members of the association that had come to his rescue a deed
+for a lot, which we called a "land warrant," on account of services in
+the Peck war; but before we could realize on our warrants, the
+government surveys located a school section on the battle-field, and
+destroyed all our hopes.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of
+the Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of the
+Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier
+
+Author: Charles E. Flandrau
+
+Release Date: June 2, 2008 [EBook #25677]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Sigal Alon, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="box"><a name="top" id="top"></a>
+<table summary="Section heads">
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">The History of Minnesota</td>
+<td class="tdb"><a href="#open">2</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">Tales of the Frontier</td>
+<td class="tdb"><a href="#front">269</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+
+ <div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="600" height="598" alt="The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier" title="State Seal of Minnesota" />
+</div>
+
+  <h1>THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA<br />
+  <small>AND</small><br />
+  TALES OF THE FRONTIER</h1>
+
+
+
+  <div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/i-000c.png" width="300" height="453" alt="Chas E Flandrau" title="" />
+<p class="center"><small>Chas E Flandrau</small></p>
+</div>
+
+
+  <p class="title center"><big>The History of Minnesota</big><br /><br />
+  <small>AND</small><br /><br />
+  <big>Tales of the Frontier.</big><br /><br /><br /><br />
+
+  <small>BY</small><br /><br /><br /><br />
+
+  <span class="author">JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU</span></p>
+
+
+  <p class="pub center"><small>PUBLISHED BY</small><br />
+  <big>E. W. PORTER,</big><br />
+  <small>ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.</small><br />
+  <small>1900.</small></p>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/i-000e.png" width="150" height="273" alt="A MA PUISSANCE THE PIONEER PRESS SAINT PAUL MDCCCXLIX" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<h2>Dedication.</h2>
+
+
+<p>To the Old Settlers of Minnesota, who so wisely laid the foundation of
+our state upon the broad and enduring basis of freedom and toleration,
+and who have so gallantly defended and maintained it, this history is
+most gratefully and affectionately dedicated by the author.</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">Charles E. Flandrau.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%" />
+
+<h2>AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>The original design of this history was, that it should accompany and
+form part of a book called the "Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota."
+It was so published, and as that work was very large and expensive, it
+was confined almost exclusively to its subscribers, and did not reach
+the general public. Many requests were made to the author to present it
+to the public in a more popular and readable form, and he decided to
+publish it in a book of the usual library size, and dispose of it at a
+price which would place it within the reach of everyone desirous of
+reading it. As the history is written in the most compendious form
+consistent with a full presentation and discussion of all the facts
+concerning the creation and growth of the state, it was estimated that
+it would not occupy sufficient space in print to make a volume of the
+usual and proper size. The author therefore decided to accompany it with
+a series of "Frontier Stories," written by himself at different times
+during his long residence in the Northwest, which embrace historical
+events, personal adventures, and amusing incidents. He believes these
+stories will lend interest and pleasure to the volume.</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">THE AUTHOR.</p>
+
+
+
+
+  <h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+  <h3>HISTORY.</h3>
+
+
+   <ul>
+        <li class="right"><span class="smcap">Page.</span></li>
+   </ul>
+
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Opening Statement</span> <span class="right"><a href="#open">2</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Legendary and Aboriginal Era</span> <span class="right"><a href="#LEGENDARY_AND_ABORIGINAL_ERA">3</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Fort Snelling</span> <span class="right"><a href="#FORT_SNELLING">14</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Selkirk Settlement</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_SELKIRK_SETTLEMENT">20</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">George Catlin</span> <span class="right"><a href="#GEORGE_CATLIN">25</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Featherstonehaugh</span> <span class="right"><a href="#FEATHERSTONEHAUGH">25</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Schoolcraft and the Source of the Mississippi</span> <span class="right"><a href="#SCHOOLCRAFT_AND_THE_SOURCE_OF_THE_MISSISSIPPI">26</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Elevations in Minnesota</span> <span class="right"><a href="#ELEVATIONS_IN_MINNESOTA">28</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Nicollet</span> <span class="right"><a href="#NICOLLET">28</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Missions</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MISSIONS">30</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Indians</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_INDIANS">36</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Territorial Period</span> <span class="right"><a href="#TERRITORIAL_PERIOD">43</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Education</span> <span class="right"><a href="#EDUCATION">49</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The First Territorial Government</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_FIRST_TERRITORIAL_GOVERNMENT">52</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Courts</span> <span class="right"><a href="#COURTS">54</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">First Territorial Legislature</span> <span class="right"><a href="#FIRST_TERRITORIAL_LEGISLATURE">58</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Immigration</span> <span class="right"><a href="#IMMIGRATION">62</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Panic of 1857</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_PANIC_OF_1857">68</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Land Titles</span> <span class="right"><a href="#LAND_TITLES">69</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The First Newspaper</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_FIRST_NEWSPAPER">70</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Banks</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BANKS">73</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Fur Trade</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_FUR_TRADE">75</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Pemmican</span> <span class="right"><a href="#PEMMICAN">80</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Transportation and Express</span> <span class="right"><a href="#TRANSPORTATION_AND_EXPRESS">81</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Lumber</span> <span class="right"><a href="#LUMBER">83</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Religion</span> <span class="right"><a href="#RELIGION">85</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Railroads</span> <span class="right"><a href="#RAILROADS">91</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The First Railroad Actually Built</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_FIRST_RAILROAD_ACTUALLY_BUILT">101</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Spirit Lake Massacre</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_SPIRIT_LAKE_MASSACRE">102</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Constitutional Convention</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_CONSTITUTIONAL_CONVENTION">109</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Attempt to Remove the Capital</span> <span class="right"><a href="#ATTEMPT_TO_REMOVE_THE_CAPITAL">115</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Census</span> <span class="right"><a href="#CENSUS">117</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Grasshoppers</span> <span class="right"><a href="#GRASSHOPPERS">117</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Militia</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MILITIA">120</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Wright Country War</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_WRIGHT_COUNTRY_WAR">122</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Civil War</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_CIVIL_WAR">123</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Third Regiment</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_THIRD_REGIMENT">128</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Indian War of 1862 and Following Years</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_INDIAN_WAR_OF_1862_AND_FOLLOWING_YEARS">135</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Attack on Fort Ridgely</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_ATTACK_ON_FORT_RIDGELY">148</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Battle of New Ulm</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BATTLE_OF_NEW_ULM">150</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Battle of Birch Coulie</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BATTLE_OF_BIRCH_COULIE">159</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Occurrences in Meeker County and Vicinity</span> <span class="right"><a href="#OCCURRENCES_IN_MEEKER_COUNTY_AND_VICINITY">161</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Protection of the Southern Frontier</span> <span class="right"><a href="#PROTECTION_OF_THE_SOUTHERN_FRONTIER">162</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Colonel Sibley Move upon the Enemy</span> <span class="right"><a href="#COLONEL_SIBLEY_MOVES_UPON_THE_ENEMY">166</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Battle of Wood Lake</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_BATTLE_OF_WOOD_LAKE">169</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Fort Abercrombie</span> <span class="right"><a href="#FORT_ABERCROMBIE">171</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Camp Release</span> <span class="right"><a href="#CAMP_RELEASE">174</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Trial of the Indians</span> <span class="right"><a href="#TRIAL_OF_THE_INDIANS">175</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Execution of the Thirty-Eight Condemned Indians</span> <span class="right"><a href="#EXECUTION_OF_THE_THIRTY-EIGHT_CONDEMNED_INDIANS">180</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Campaign of 1863</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1863">182</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Battle of Big Mound</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BATTLE_OF_BIG_MOUND">184</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BATTLE_OF_DEAD_BUFFALO_LAKE">185</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Battle of Stony Lake</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BATTLE_OF_STONY_LAKE">186</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Campaign of 1864</span> <span class="right"><a href="#CAMPAIGN_OF_1864">187</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">A Long Period of Peace and Prosperity</span> <span class="right"><a href="#A_LONG_PERIOD_OF_PEACE_AND_PROSPERITY">193</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Introduction of the New Process of Milling Wheat</span> <span class="right"><a href="#INTRODUCTION_OF_THE_NEW_PROCESS_OF_MILLING_WHEAT">193</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Discovery of Iron</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_DISCOVERY_OF_IRON">196</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Commerce Through the St. Mary's Falls Canal</span> <span class="right"><a href="#COMMERCE">199</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Agriculture</span> <span class="right"><a href="#AGRICULTURE">200</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Dairying</span> <span class="right"><a href="#DAIRYING">201</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The University of Minnesota and its School of Agriculture</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_UNIVERSITY_OF_MINNESOTA_AND_ITS_SCHOOL_OF_AGRICULTURE">203</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Minnesota State Agricultural Society</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_AGRICULTURAL_SOCIETY">205</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Minnesota Soldiers Home</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MINNESOTA_SOLDIERS_HOME">207</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Other State Institutions</span> <span class="right"><a href="#OTHER_STATE_INSTITUTIONS">208</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Minnesota Institutes for Defectives</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MINNESOTA_INSTITUTES_FOR_DEFECTIVES">209</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">State School for Dependent and Neglected Children</span> <span class="right"><a href="#STATE_SCHOOL_FOR_DEPENDENT_AND_NEGLECTED_CHILDREN">210</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Minnesota State Training School</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_TRAINING_SCHOOL">211</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Minnesota State Reformatory</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MINNESOTA_STATE_REFORMATORY">212</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Minnesota State Prison</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_PRISON">213</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Minnesota Historical Society</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MINNESOTA_HISTORICAL_SOCIETY">213</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">State Institutions Miscellaneous in their Cahracter</span> <span class="right"><a href="#STATE_INSTITUTIONS_MISCELLANEOUS_IN_THEIR_CHARACTER">215</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">State Finances</span> <span class="right"><a href="#STATE_FINANCES">217</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Monetary and Business Flurry of 1873 and Panic of 1893</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_MONETARY_AND_BUSINESS_FLURRY_OF_1873_AND_PANIC_OF_1893">218</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Minor Happenings</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MINOR_HAPPENINGS">221</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The War with Spain</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_WAR_WITH_SPAIN">225</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Indian Battle of Leech Lake</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_INDIAN_BATTLE_OF_LEECH_LAKE">229</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Population</span> <span class="right"><a href="#POPULATION">234</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The State Flag</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_STATE_FLAG">236</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Official Flower of the State and the Method of its Selection</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_OFFICIAL_FLOWER_OF_THE_STATE_AND_THE_METHOD_OF_ITS_SELECTION">237</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Origin of the Name Gopher State</span> <span class="right"><a href="#ORIGIN_OF_THE_NAME_GOPHER_STATE">242</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">State Parks</span> <span class="right"><a href="#STATE_PARKS">245</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Politics</span> <span class="right"><a href="#POLITICS">248</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Bibliography</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BIBLIOGRAPHY">253</a></span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span>
+<a name="open" id="open"></a>
+HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.<br /><br />
+<small>BY JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU.</small>
+</h2>
+
+ <hr />
+
+<p>It has been a little over fifty years since the organization of the
+Territory of Minnesota, which at its birth was a very small and
+unimportant creation, but which in its half century of growth has
+expanded into one of the most brilliant and promising stars upon the
+union of our flag; so that its history must cover every subject, moral,
+physical and social, that enters into the composition of a first-class
+progressive Western state, which presents a pretty extensive field; but
+there is also to be considered a period anterior to civilization, which
+may be called the aboriginal and legendary era, which abounds with
+interesting matter, and to the general reader is much more attractive
+than the prosy subjects of agriculture, finance and commerce.</p>
+
+<p>Having lived in the state through nearly the whole period of Minnesota's
+political existence, and having taken part in most of the leading events
+in her history, both savage and civilized, I propose to treat the
+various subjects that compose her history in a narrative and colloquial
+manner that may not rise to the dignity of history, but which, I think,
+while giving facts, will not detract <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>from the interest or pleasure of
+the reader. If I should in the course of my narrative so far forget
+myself as to indulge in a joke, or relate an illustrative anecdote, the
+reader must put up with it.</p>
+
+<p>Nature has been lavishly generous with Minnesota,&mdash;more so, perhaps,
+than with any state in the Union. Its surface is beautifully diversified
+between rolling prairies and immense forests of valuable timber. Rivers
+and lakes abound, and the soil is marvelous in its productive fertility.
+Its climate, taken the year round, surpasses in all attractive features
+that of any part of the North American continent. There are more
+enjoyable days in the three hundred and sixty-five that compose the year
+than in any other country I have ever visited or resided in, and that
+embraces a good part of the world's surface. The salubrity of Minnesota
+is phenomenal. There are absolutely no diseases indigenous to the state.
+The universally accepted truth of this fact is found in a saying, which
+used to be general among the old settlers, "that there is no excuse for
+anyone dying in Minnesota, and that only two men ever did die there, one
+of whom was hanged for killing the other."</p>
+
+<p>The resources of Minnesota principally consist of the products of the
+farm, the mine, the dairy, the quarry and the forest, and its industries
+of a vast variety of manufactures of all kinds and characters, both
+great and small, the leading ones being flour and lumber; to which, of
+course, must be added the enormous carrying trade which grows out of,
+and is necessary to the successful conduct of such resources and
+industries,&mdash;all of which subjects will be treated of in their
+appropriate places.</p>
+
+<p>With these prefatory suggestions I will proceed to the history,
+beginning with the</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span><a name="LEGENDARY_AND_ABORIGINAL_ERA" id="LEGENDARY_AND_ABORIGINAL_ERA"></a>LEGENDARY AND ABORIGINAL ERA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Until a very few years ago it has been generally accepted as a fact that
+Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest of the Recollect Order, was the
+first white man who entered the present boundaries of Minnesota; but a
+recent discovery has developed the fact that there has reposed in the
+archives of the Bodleian Library and British Museum for more than two
+hundred years manuscript accounts of voyages made as far back as 1652 by
+two Frenchmen, named respectively Radison and Groselliers, proving that
+they traveled among the North American Indians from the last named date
+to the year 1684, during which time they visited what is now Minnesota.
+It is also a well authenticated fact that Du Luth anticipated Hennepin
+at least one year, and visited Mille Lacs in 1679, and there, on the
+southwest side of the lake, found a large Sioux town, called Kathio,
+from which point he wrote to Frontenac, on the second day of July, 1679,
+that he had caused his majesty's arms to be planted in Kathio, where no
+Frenchman had ever been. Hennepin did not arrive until 1680. But as the
+exploits of these earlier travelers left no trace that can in any
+important way influence the history of our state beyond challenging the
+claim of priority so long enjoyed by Hennepin, I will simply mention the
+fact of their advent without comment, referring the curious reader for
+the proof of these matters to the library of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, where the details can be found.</p>
+
+<p>Hennepin was with La Salle at Fort Creve-Coeur, near Lake Peoria, in
+what is now Illinois, in 1680. La Salle was the superior of the
+exploring party of which young Hennepin was a member, and in February,
+1680, he selected Hennepin and two traders for the arduous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> and
+dangerous undertaking of exploring the unknown regions of the Upper
+Mississippi. Hennepin was very ambitious to become a great explorer, and
+was filled with the idea that by following the water courses he would
+find a passage to the sea and Japan.</p>
+
+<p>On the 29th of February, 1680, he, with two voyageurs, in a canoe, set
+out on his voyage of discovery. When he reached the junction of the
+Illinois river with the Mississippi in March, he was detained by
+floating ice until near the middle of that month. He then commenced to
+ascend the Mississippi, which was the first time it was ever attempted
+by a civilized man. On the 11th of April they were met by a large war
+party of Dakotas, which filled thirty-three canoes, who opened fire on
+them with arrows; but hostilities were soon stopped, and Hennepin and
+his party were taken prisoners, and made to return with their captors to
+their villages.</p>
+
+<p>Hennepin, in his narrative, tells a long story of the difficulties he
+encountered in saying his prayers, as the Indians thought he was working
+some magic on them, and they followed him into the woods, and never let
+him out of their sight. Judging from many things that appear in his
+narrative, which have created great doubt about his veracity, it
+probably would not have been very much of a hardship if he had failed
+altogether in the performance of this pious duty. Many of the Indians,
+who had lost friends and relatives in their fights with the Miamis, were
+in favor of killing the white men, but better counsels prevailed, and
+they were spared. The hope of opening up a trade intercourse with the
+French largely entered into the decision.</p>
+
+<p>While traveling up the river one of the white men shot a wild turkey
+with his gun, which produced a great sensation among the Indians, and
+was the first time a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> Dakota ever heard the discharge of firearms. They
+called the gun Maza wakan, or spirit iron.</p>
+
+<p>The party camped at Lake Pepin, and on the nineteenth day of their
+captivity they arrived in the vicinity of where St. Paul now stands.
+From this point they proceeded by land to Mille Lacs, where they
+were taken by the Indians to their several villages, and were
+kindly treated. These Indians were part of the band of Dakotas, called
+M'day-wa-kon-ton-wans, or the Lake Villagers. I spell the Indian names
+as they are now known, and not as they are given in Hennepin's
+narrative, although it is quite remarkable how well he preserved them
+with sound as his only guide.</p>
+
+<p>While at this village the Indians gave Hennepin some steam baths, which
+he says were very effective in removing all traces of soreness and
+fatigue, and in a short time made him feel as well and strong as he ever
+was. I have often witnessed this medical process among the Dakotas. They
+make a small lodge of poles covered with a buffalo skin, or something
+similar, and place in it several large boulders heated to a high degree.
+The patient then enters naked, and pours water over the stones,
+producing a dense steam, which envelopes him and nearly boils him. He
+stands it as long as he can, and then undergoes a thorough rubbing. The
+effect is to remove stiffness and soreness produced by long journeys on
+foot, or other serious labor.</p>
+
+<p>Hennepin tells in a very agreeable way many things that occurred during
+his captivity: how astonished the Indians were at all the articles he
+had. A mariner's compass created much wonder, and an iron pot with feet
+like lions' paws they would not touch with the naked hand; but their
+astonishment knew no bounds when he told them that the whites only
+allowed a man one wife, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> that his religious office did not permit
+him to have any.</p>
+
+<p>I might say here that the Dakotas are polygamous, as savage people
+generally are, and that my experience proves to me that missionaries who
+go among these people make a great mistake in attacking this institution
+until after they have ingratiated themselves with them, and then, by
+attempting any reform beyond teaching monogamy in the future. Nothing
+will assure the enmity of a savage more than to ask him to discard any
+of his wives, and especially the mother of his children. While I would
+be the last man on earth to advocate polygamy, I can truthfully say that
+one of the happiest and most harmonious families I ever knew was that of
+the celebrated Little Crow (who, during all my official residence among
+the Dakotas, was my principal advisor and ambassador, and who led the
+massacre in 1862), who had four wives; but there was a point in his
+favor, as they were all sisters.</p>
+
+<p>Hennepin passed the time he spent in Minnesota in baptizing Indian
+babies and picking up all the information he could find. His principal
+exploit was the naming of the Falls of St. Anthony, which he called
+after his patron saint, Saint Anthony of Padua.</p>
+
+<p>That Hennepin was thoroughly convinced that there was a northern passage
+to the sea which could be reached by ships, is proven by the following
+extract from his work:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"For example, we may be transported into the Pacific sea by
+rivers, which are large and capable of carrying great vessels,
+and from thence it is very easy to go to China and Japan without
+crossing the equinoctial line, and in all probability Japan is
+on the same continent as America."</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>Our early visitor evidently had very confused ideas on matters of
+geography.</p>
+
+<p>The first account of his adventures was published by him in 1683, and
+was quite trustworthy, and it is much to be regretted that he was
+afterwards induced to publish another edition in Utrecht, in 1689, which
+was filled with falsehoods and exaggerations, which brought upon him the
+censure of the king of France. He died in obscurity, unregretted. The
+county of Hennepin is named for him.</p>
+
+<p>Other Frenchmen visited Minnesota shortly after Hennepin for the purpose
+of trade with the Indians and the extension of the territory of New
+France. In 1689 Nicholas Perot was established at Lake Pepin, with quite
+a large body of men, engaged in trade with the Indians. On the 8th of
+May, 1689, Perot issued a proclamation from his post on Lake Pepin, in
+which he formally took possession in the name of the king of all the
+countries inhabited by the Dakotas, "and of which they are proprietors."</p>
+
+<p>This post was the first French establishment in Minnesota. It was called
+Fort Bon Secours, afterwards Fort Le Sueur, but on later maps Fort
+Perot.</p>
+
+<p>In 1695 Le Sueur built the second post in Minnesota, between the head of
+Lake Pepin and the mouth of the St. Croix. In July of that year he took
+a party of Ojibways and one Dakota to Montreal, for the purpose of
+impressing upon them the importance and strength of France. Here large
+bodies of troops were maneuvered in their presence, and many speeches
+made by both the French and the Indians. Friendly and commercial
+relations were established.</p>
+
+<p>Le Sueur, some time after, returned to Minnesota and explored St.
+Peter's river (now the Minnesota) as <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>far as the mouth of the Blue
+Earth. Here he built a log fort, and called it L'Hullier, and made some
+excavations in search of copper ore. He sent several tons of a green
+substance which he found, and supposed to be copper, to France, but it
+was undoubtedly a colored clay that is found in that region, and is
+sometimes used as a rough paint. He is supposed to be the first man who
+supplied the Indians with guns. Le Sueur kept a journal in which he gave
+the best description of the Dakotas written in those early times, and
+was a very reliable man. Minnesota has a county and a city named for
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Many other Frenchmen visited Minnesota in early days, among whom was Du
+Luth; but as they were simply traders, explorers and priests, among the
+Indians, it is hardly necessary in a work of this character to trace
+their exploits in detail. While they blazed the trail for others, they
+did not, to any great extent, influence the future of the country,
+except by supplying a convenient nomenclature with which to designate
+localities, which has largely been drawn upon. Many of them, however,
+were good and devoted men, and earnest in their endeavors to spread the
+gospel among the Indians. How well they succeeded, I will discuss when I
+speak of these savage men more particularly.</p>
+
+<p>The next arrival of sufficient importance to particularize was Jonathan
+Carver. He was born in Connecticut in 1732. His father was a justice of
+the peace, which in those days was a more important position than it is
+now regarded. They tried to make a doctor of him, and he studied
+medicine just long enough to discover that the profession was
+uncongenial, and abandoned it. At the age of eighteen he purchased an
+ensign's commission in a Connecticut regiment, raised during the French
+war. He came very near losing his life at the massacre <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>of Fort William
+Henry, but escaped, and after the declaration of peace between France
+and England, in 1763, he conceived the project of making an exploration
+of the Northwest.</p>
+
+<p>It should be remembered that the French sovereignty over the Northwest
+ceased in 1763, when, by a treaty made in Versailles, between the French
+and the English, all the lands embraced in what is now Minnesota were
+ceded by the French to England, so Carver came as an Englishman into
+English territory.</p>
+
+<p>Carver left Boston in the month of June, 1766, and proceeded to
+Mackinaw, then the most distant British post, where he arrived in the
+month of August. He then took the usual route to Green Bay. He proceeded
+by the way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi. He found
+a considerable town on the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Wisconsin,
+called by the French "La Prairie les Chiens," which is now Prairie du
+Chien, or the Dog Prairie, named after an Indian chief who went by the
+dignified name of "The Dog." He speaks of this town as one where a great
+central fur trade was carried on by the Indians. From this point he
+commenced his voyage up the Mississippi in a canoe, and when he reached
+Lake Pepin he claims to have discovered a system of earthworks, which he
+describes as of the most scientific military construction, and inferred
+that they had been at some time the intrenchments of a people well
+versed in the arts of war. It takes very little to excite an
+enthusiastic imagination into the belief that it has found what it has
+been looking for.</p>
+
+<p>He found a cave in what is now known as Dayton's Bluff in St. Paul, and
+describes it as immense in extent, and covered with Indian
+hieroglyphics, and speaks of a burying place at a little distance from
+the cavern,&mdash;Indian <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>Mound park evidently,&mdash;and made a short voyage up
+the Minnesota river, which he says the Indians called "Wadapaw
+Mennesotor." This probably is as near as he could catch the name by
+sound; it should be, Wak-pa Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>After his voyage to the falls and up the Minnesota, he returned to his
+cave, where he says there were assembled a great council of Indians, to
+which he was admitted, and witnessed the burial ceremonies, which he
+describes as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"After the breath is departed, the body is dressed in the same
+attire it usually wore, his face is painted, and he is seated in
+an erect posture on a mat or skin, placed in the middle of the
+hut, with his weapons by his side. His relatives, seated around,
+each harangues the deceased; and if he has been a great warrior,
+recounts his heroic actions nearly to the following purport,
+which in the Indian language is extremely poetical and pleasing:</p>
+
+<p>"'You still sit among us, brother; your person retains its usual
+resemblance, and continues similar to ours, without any visible
+deficiency except it has lost the power of action. But whither
+is that breath flown which a few hours ago sent up smoke to the
+Great Spirit? Why are those lips silent that lately delivered to
+us expressions and pleasing language? Why are those feet
+motionless that a short time ago were fleeter than the deer on
+yonder mountains? Why useless hang those arms that could climb
+the tallest tree or draw the toughest bow? Alas! Every part of
+that frame which we lately beheld with admiration and wonder is
+now become as inanimate as it was three hundred years ago! We
+will not, however, bemoan thee as if thou wast forever lost to
+us, or that thy name would be buried in oblivion. Thy soul yet
+lives in the great country of spirits with those <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>of thy nation
+that have gone before thee, and though we are left behind to
+perpetuate thy fame, we shall one day join thee.</p>
+
+<p>"'Actuated by the respect we bore thee whilst living, we now
+come to tender thee the last act of kindness in our power; that
+thy body might not lie neglected on the plain and become a prey
+to the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, we will
+take care to lay it with those of thy ancestors who have gone
+before thee, hoping at the same time that thy spirit will feed
+with their spirits, and be ready to receive ours when we shall
+also arrive at the great country of souls.'"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I have heard many speeches made by the descendants of these same
+Indians, and have many times addressed them on all manner of subjects,
+but I never heard anything quite so elegant as the oration put into
+their mouths by Carver. I have always discovered that a good interpreter
+makes a good speech. On one occasion, when a delegation of Pillager
+Chippewas was in Washington to settle some matters with the government,
+they wanted a certain concession which the Indian commissioner would not
+allow, and they appealed to the president, who was then Franklin Pierce.
+Old Flat-mouth, the chief, presented the case. Paul Beaulieu interpreted
+it so feelingly that the president surrendered without a contest. After
+informing him as to the disputed point, he added:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Father, you are great and powerful. You live in a beautiful
+home where the bleak winds never penetrate. Your hunger is
+always appeased with the choicest foods. Your heart is kept warm
+by all these blessings, and would bleed at the sight of distress
+among your red children. Father, we are poor and weak. We live
+far away in the cheerless north, in bark lodges. We are often
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>cold and hungry. Father, what we ask is to you as nothing, while
+to us it is comfort and happiness. Give it to us, and when you
+stand upon your grand portico some bright winter night, and see
+the northern lights dancing in the heavens, it will be the
+thanks of your red children ascending to the Great Spirit for
+your goodness to them."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Carver seems to have been a sagacious observer and a man of great
+foresight. In speaking of the advantages of the country, he says that
+the future population will be "able to convey their produce to the
+seaports with great facility, the current of the river from its source
+to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico being extremely favorable for
+doing this in small craft. This might also in time be facilitated by
+canals, or short cuts, and a communication opened with New York by way
+of the Lakes."</p>
+
+<p>He was also impressed with the idea that a route could be discovered by
+way of the Minnesota river, which "would open a passage for conveying
+intelligence to China and the English settlements in the East Indies."</p>
+
+<p>The nearest to a realization of this theory that I have known was the
+sending of the stern-wheeled steamer "Freighter" on a voyage up the
+Minnesota to Winnipeg some time in the early fifties. She took freight
+and passengers for that destination, but never reached the Red River of
+the North.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Carver his heirs claimed that, while at the great
+cave on the 1st of May, 1767, the Indians made him a large grant of
+land, which would cover St. Paul and a large part of Wisconsin, and
+several attempts were made to have it ratified by both the British and
+American governments, but without success. Carver does not mention this
+grant in his book, nor has the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>original deed ever been found. A copy,
+however, was produced, and as it was the first real estate transaction
+ever had in Minnesota, I will set it out in full.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the Most Mighty and Potent
+George the Third, King of the English and other nations, the
+fame of whose warriors has reached our ears, and has been fully
+told us by our <i>good brother Jonathan</i> aforesaid, whom we all
+rejoice to have come among us and bring us good news from his
+country:</p>
+
+<p>"WE, Chiefs of the Nandowessies, who have hereunto set our
+seals, do, by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever,
+in return for the aid and good services done by the said
+Jonathan to ourselves and allies, give, grant and convey to him,
+the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the
+whole of a certain Territory or tract of land, bounded as
+follows, viz.: From the Falls of St. Anthony, running on east
+bank of the Mississippi, nearly southeast as far as Lake Pepin,
+where the Chippewa joins the Mississippi, and from thence
+eastward five days' travel accounting twenty English miles per
+day, and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony on a
+direct straight line. We do for ourselves, heirs and assigns,
+forever give unto said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, with all
+the trees, rocks and rivers therein, reserving the sole liberty
+of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the
+said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed
+our respective seals.</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 3em;">"At the Great Cave, May 1st, 1767.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em">(Signed)</span> "<span class="smcap">Hawnopawjatin</span>,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7.1em">"</span><span class="smcap">Otohtongoonlisheaw</span>."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This alleged instrument bears upon its face many marks of suspicion, and
+was very properly rejected by <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>General Leavenworth, who, in 1821, made a
+report of his investigations in regard to it to the commissioner of the
+general land office.</p>
+
+<p>The war between the Chippewas and the Dakotas continued to rage with
+varied success, as it has since time immemorial. It was a bitter, cruel
+war, waged against the race and blood, and each successive slaughter
+only increased the hatred and heaped fuel upon the fire. As an Indian
+never forgives the killing of a relative, and as the particular
+murderer, as a general thing, was not known on either side, each death
+was charged up to the tribe. These wars, although constant, had very
+little influence on the standing or progress of the country, except so
+far as they may have proved detrimental or beneficial to the fur trade
+prosecuted by the whites. The first event after the appearance of
+Jonathan Carver that can be considered as materially affecting the
+history of Minnesota was the location and erection of Fort Snelling, of
+which event I will give a brief account.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="FORT_SNELLING" id="FORT_SNELLING"></a>FORT SNELLING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1805 the government decided to procure a site on which to build a
+fort somewhere on the waters of the upper Mississippi, and sent Lieut.
+Zebulon Montgomery Pike of the army to explore the country, expel
+British traders who might be violating the laws of the United States,
+and to make treaties with the Indians.</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st of September, 1805, he encamped on what is now known as Pike
+Island, at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota, then St.
+Peter's river. Two days later he obtained, by treaty with the Dakota
+nation, a tract of land for a military reservation, with the following
+boundaries, extending from "below the confluence of the Mississippi and
+St. Peter's, up the Mississippi, to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>include the Falls of St. Anthony,
+extending nine miles on each side of the river." The United States paid
+two thousand dollars for this land.</p>
+
+<p>The reserve thus purchased was not used for military purposes until Feb.
+10, 1819, at which time the government gave the following reasons for
+erecting a fort at this point: "To cause the power of the United States
+government to be fully acknowledged by the Indians and settlers of the
+Northwest, to prevent Lord Selkirk, the Hudson Bay Company and others
+from establishing trading posts on United States territory, to better
+the conditions of the Indians, and to develop the resources of the
+country." Part of the Fifth United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel
+Henry Leavenworth, was dispatched to select a site and erect a post.
+They arrived at the St. Peter's river in September, 1819, and camped on
+or near the spot where now stands Mendota. During the winter of 1819-20
+the troops were terribly afflicted with scurvy. General Sibley, in an
+address before the Minnesota Historical Society, in speaking of it,
+says: "So sudden was the attack that soldiers apparently in good health
+when they retired at night were found dead in the morning. One man who
+was relieved from his tour of sentinel duty, and had stretched himself
+upon a bench; when he was called four hours later to resume his duties,
+he was found lifeless."</p>
+
+<p>In May, 1820, the command left their cantonment, crossed the St. Peter's
+and went into summer camp at a spring near the old Baker trading house,
+and about two miles above the present site of Fort Snelling. This was
+called "Camp Coldwater."</p>
+
+<p>During the summer the men were busy in procuring logs and other material
+necessary for the work. The first site selected was where the present
+military cemetery <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>stands, and the post was called "Fort St. Anthony;"
+but in August, 1820, Colonel Joshua Snelling of the Fifth United States
+Infantry arrived, and, on taking command, changed the site to where Fort
+Snelling now stands. Work steadily progressed until Sept. 10, 1820, when
+the corner stone of Fort St. Anthony was laid with all due ceremony. The
+first measured distance that was given between this new post and the
+next one down the river, Fort Crawford, where Prairie du Chien now
+stands, was 204 miles. The work was steadily pushed forward. The
+buildings were made of logs, and were first occupied in October, 1822.</p>
+
+<p>The first steamboat to arrive at the post was the "Virginia," in 1823.</p>
+
+<p>The first saw-mill in Minnesota was constructed by the troops in 1822,
+and the first lumber sawed on Rum river was for use in building the
+post. The mill site is now included within the corporate limits of
+Minneapolis.</p>
+
+<p>The post continued to be called Fort St. Anthony until 1824, when, upon
+the recommendation of General Scott, who inspected the fort, it was
+named Fort Snelling, in honor of its founder.</p>
+
+<p>In 1830 stone buildings were erected for a four-company post; also, a
+stone hospital and a stone wall, nine feet high, surrounding the whole
+post; but these improvements were not actually completed until after the
+Mexican War.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian title to the military reservation does not seem to have been
+effectually acquired, notwithstanding the treaty of Lieutenant Pike,
+made with the Indians in 1805, until the treaty with the Dakotas, in
+1837, by which the Indian claim to all the lands east of the
+Mississippi, including the reservation, ceased.</p>
+
+<p>In 1836, before the Indian title was finally acquired, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>quite a number
+of settlers located on the reservation on the left bank of the
+Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>On Oct. 21, 1839, the president issued an order for their removal, and
+on the sixth day of May, 1840, some of the settlers were forcibly
+removed.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837 Mr. Alexander Faribault presented a claim for Pike Island, which
+was based upon a treaty made by him with the Dakotas in 1820. Whether
+his claim was allowed the records do not disclose, and it is
+unimportant.</p>
+
+<p>On May 25, 1853, a military reservation for the fort was set off, by the
+president, of seven thousand acres, which in the following November was
+reduced to six thousand.</p>
+
+<p>In 1857 the secretary of war, pursuant to the authority vested in him by
+act of congress, of March 3, 1857, sold the Fort Snelling reservation,
+excepting two small tracts, to Mr. Franklin Steele, who had long been
+sutler of the post, for the sum of ninety thousand dollars, which was to
+be paid in three installments. The first one of thirty thousand dollars
+was paid by Steele on July 25, 1857, and he took possession, the troops
+being withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>The fort was sold at private sale, and the price paid was, in my
+opinion, vastly more than it was worth; but Mr. Steele had great hopes
+for the future of that locality as a site for a town, and was willing to
+risk the payment. The sale was made by private contract by Secretary
+Floyd, who adopted this manner because other reservations had been sold
+at public auction, after full publication of notice to the world, and
+had brought only a few cents per acre. The whole transaction was in
+perfect good faith, but it was attacked in congress, and an
+investigation ordered, which resulted in suspending its consummation,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>and Mr. Steele did not pay the balance due. In 1860 the Civil War broke
+out, and the fort was taken possession of by the government for use in
+fitting out Minnesota troops, and was held until the war ended. In 1868
+Mr. Steele presented a claim against the government for rent of the fort
+and other matters relating to it, which amounted to more than the price
+he agreed to pay for it.</p>
+
+<p>An act of congress was passed on May 7, 1870, authorizing the secretary
+of war to settle the whole matter on principles of equity, keeping such
+reservation as was necessary for the fort. In pursuance of this act, a
+military board was appointed, and the whole controversy was arranged to
+the satisfaction of Mr. Steele and the government. The reservation was
+reduced to a little more than fifteen hundred acres. A grant of ten
+acres was made to the little Catholic church at Mendota, for a cemetery,
+and other small tracts were reserved about the Falls of Minnehaha and
+elsewhere, and all the balance was conveyed to Mr. Steele, he releasing
+the government from all claims and demands. The action of the secretary
+of war in carrying out this settlement was approved by the president in
+1871.</p>
+
+<p>The fort was one of the best structures of the kind ever erected in the
+West. It was capable of accommodating five or six companies of infantry,
+was surrounded by a high stone wall, and protected at the only exposed
+approaches by stone bastions guarded by cannon and musketry. Its supply
+of water was obtained from a well in the parade ground, near the
+sutler's store, which was sunk below the surface of the river. It was
+perfectly impregnable to any savage enemy, and in consequence was never
+called upon to stand a siege.</p>
+
+<p>Perched upon a prominent bluff at the confluence of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>the Mississippi and
+Minnesota rivers, it has witnessed the changes that have gone on around
+it for three-quarters of a century, and seen the most extraordinary
+transformations that have occurred in any similar period in the history
+of our country. When its corner stone was laid it formed the extreme
+frontier of the Northwest, with nothing but wild animals and wilder men
+within hundreds of miles in any direction. The frontier has receded to
+the westward until it has lost itself in the corresponding one being
+pushed from the Pacific to the east. The Indians have lost their
+splendid freedom as lords of a continent, and are prisoners, cribbed
+upon narrow reservations. The magnificent herds of buffalo that ranged
+from the British possessions to Texas have disappeared from the face of
+the earth, and nothing remains but the white man bearing his burden,
+which is constantly being made more irksome. To those who have played
+both parts in the moving drama, there is much food for thought.</p>
+
+<p>I devote so much space to Fort Snelling because it has always sustained
+the position of a pivotal center to Minnesota. In the infancy of
+society, it radiated the refinement and elegance that leavened the
+country around. In hospitality its officers were never surpassed, and
+when danger threatened, its protecting arm assured safety. For many long
+years it was the first to welcome the incomer to the country, and will
+ever be remembered by the old settlers as a friend.</p>
+
+<p>After the headquarters of the Department of Dakota was established at
+St. Paul, and when General Sherman was in command of the army, he
+thought that the offices should be at the fort, and removed them there.
+This caused the erection of the new administration building and the
+beautiful line of officers' quarters about a mile <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>above the old walled
+structure, and led to its practical abandonment; but the change was soon
+found to be inconvenient in a business way, and the department
+headquarters were restored to the city, where they still remain.</p>
+
+<p>Since the fort was built nearly every officer in the old army, and many
+of those who have followed them, has been stationed at Snelling, and it
+was beloved by them all.</p>
+
+<p>The situation of the fort, now that the railroads have become the
+reliance of all transportation, both for speed and safety, is a most
+advantageous one from a military point of view. It is at the center of a
+railroad system that reaches all parts of the continent, and troops and
+munitions of war can be deposited at any point with the utmost dispatch.
+It is believed that it will not only be retained but enlarged.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_SELKIRK_SETTLEMENT" id="THE_SELKIRK_SETTLEMENT"></a>THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Lord Selkirk, the checking of whose operations was among the reasons
+given for the erection of Fort Snelling, was a Scotch earl who was very
+wealthy and enthusiastic on the subject of founding colonies in the
+Northwestern British possessions. He was a kind hearted but visionary
+man, and had no practical knowledge whatever on the subject of
+colonization in uncivilized countries. About the beginning of the
+nineteenth century he wrote several pamphlets, urging the importance of
+colonizing British emigrants on British soil to prevent them settling in
+the United States. In 1811 he obtained a grant of land from the Hudson
+Bay Company in the region of Lake Winnipeg, the Red River of the North
+and the Assinaboine, in what is now Manitoba.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to this time the inhabitants of this region, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>besides the
+Indians, were Canadians, who had intermingled with the savages, learning
+all their vices and none of their good traits. They were called "Gens
+Libre," free people, and were very proud of the title. Mr. Neill, in his
+history of Minnesota, in describing them, says they were fond of</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+"Vast and sudden deeds of violence,<br />
+Adventures wild and wonders of the moment."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The offspring of their intercourse with the Indian women were numerous,
+and called "Bois Brules." They were a fine race of hunters, horsemen and
+boatmen, and possessed all the accomplishments of the voyageur. They
+spoke the language of both father and mother.</p>
+
+<p>In 1812 a small advance party of colonists arrived at the Red River of
+the North, in about latitude fifty degrees north. They were, however,
+frightened away by a party of men of the Northwest Fur Company, dressed
+as Indians, and induced to take refuge at Pembina, in what is now
+Minnesota, where they spent the winter, suffering the greatest
+hardships. Many died, but the survivors returned in the spring to the
+colony, and made an effort to raise a crop; but it was a failure, and
+they again passed the winter at Pembina. This was the winter of 1813-14.
+They again returned to the colony, in a very distressed and dilapidated
+condition, in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>By September, 1815, the colony, which then numbered about two hundred,
+was getting along quite prosperously, and its future seemed auspicious.
+It was called "Kildonan," after a parish in Scotland in which the
+colonists were born.</p>
+
+<p>The employes of the Northwest Fur Company were, however, very restive
+under anything that looked like improvement, and regarded it as a ruse
+of their rival, the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>Hudson Bay Company, to break up the lucrative
+business they were enjoying in the Indian trade. They resorted to all
+kinds of measures to get rid of the colonists, even to attempting to
+incite the Indians against them, and on one occasion, by a trick,
+disarmed them of their brass field pieces and other small artillery.
+Many of the disaffected Selkirkers deserted to the quarters of the
+Northwest Company. These annoyances were carried to the extent of an
+attack on the house of the governor, where four of the inmates were
+wounded, one of whom died. They finally agreed to leave, and were
+escorted to Lake Winnipeg, where they embarked in boats. Their
+improvements were all destroyed by the Northwest people.</p>
+
+<p>They were again induced to return to their colony lands by the Hudson
+Bay people, and did so in 1816, when they were reinforced by new
+colonists. Part of them wintered at Pembina in 1816, but returned to the
+Kildonan settlement in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Selkirk, hearing of the distressed condition of his colonists,
+sailed for New York, where he arrived in the fall of 1815, and learned
+they had been compelled to leave the settlement. He proceeded to
+Montreal, where he found some of the settlers in the greatest poverty;
+but learning that some of them still remained in the colony, he sent an
+express to announce his arrival, and say that he would be with them in
+the spring. The news was sent by a colonist named Laquimonier, but he
+was waylaid, near Fond du Lac, and brutally beaten and robbed of his
+dispatches. Subsequent investigation proved that this was the work of
+the Northwest Company.</p>
+
+<p>Selkirk tried to obtain military aid from the British authorities, but
+failed. He then engaged four officers <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>and over one hundred privates who
+had served in the late War with the United States to accompany him to
+the Red river. He was to pay them, give them lands, and send them home
+if they wished to return.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached Sault Ste. Marie he heard that his colony had again been
+destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>War was raging between the Hudson Bay people and the Northwest Company,
+in which Governor Semple, chief governor of the factories and
+territories of the Hudson Bay Company was killed. Selkirk proceeded to
+Fort William, on Lake Superior, and finally reached his settlement on
+the Red river.</p>
+
+<p>The colonists were compelled to pass the winter of 1817 in hunting in
+Minnesota, and had a hard time of it, but in the spring they once more
+found their way home, and planted crops, but they were destroyed by
+grasshoppers, which remained during the next year and ate up every
+growing thing, rendering it necessary that the colonists should again
+resort to the buffalo for subsistence.</p>
+
+<p>During the winter of 1819-20 a deputation of these Scotchmen came all
+the way to Prairie du Chien on snowshoes for seed wheat, a distance of a
+thousand miles, and on the fifteenth day of April, 1820, left for the
+colony in three Mackinaw boats, carrying three hundred bushels of wheat,
+one hundred bushels of oats, and thirty bushels of peas. Being stopped
+by ice in Lake Pepin, they planted a May pole and celebrated May day on
+the ice. They reached home by way of the Minnesota river, with a short
+portage to Lake Traverse, the boats being moved on rollers, and thence
+down the Red River to Pembina, where they arrived in safety on the third
+day of June. This trip cost Lord Selkirk about six thousand dollars.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing daunted by the terrible sufferings of his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>colonists, and the
+immense expense attendant upon his enterprise, in 1820 he engaged Capt.
+R. May, who was a citizen of Berne, in Switzerland, but in the British
+service, to visit Switzerland and get recruits for his colony. The
+captain made the most exaggerated representations of the advantages to
+be gained by emigrating to the colony, and induced many Swiss to leave
+their happy and peaceful homes to try their fortunes in the distant,
+dangerous and inhospitable regions of Lake Winnipeg. They knew nothing
+of the hardships in store for them, and were the least adapted to
+encounter them of any people in the world, as they were mechanics, whose
+business had been the delicate work of making watches and clocks. They
+arrived in 1821, and from year to year, after undergoing hardships that
+might have appalled the hardiest pioneer, their spirits drooped, they
+pined for home, and left for the south. At one time a party of two
+hundred and forty-three of them departed for the United States, and
+found homes at different points on the banks of the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>Before the eastern wave of immigration had ascended above Prairie du
+Chien, many Swiss had opened farms at and near St. Paul, and became the
+first actual settlers of the country. Mr. Stevens, in an address on the
+early history of Hennepin county, says that they were driven from their
+homes in 1836 and 1837 by the military at Fort Snelling, and is very
+severe on the autocratic conduct of the officers of the fort, saying
+that the commanding officers were lords of the North, and the
+subordinates were princes. I have no doubt they did not underrate their
+authority, but I think Mr. Stevens must refer to the removals that were
+made of settlers on the military reservation of which I have before
+spoken.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of the Selkirk colony cannot fail to interest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>the reader,
+as it was the first attempt to introduce into the great Northwest
+settlers for the purposes of peaceful agriculture, everybody else who
+had preceded them having been connected with the half-savage business of
+the Indian trade; and the reason I have dwelt so long upon the subject
+is, because these people, on their second emigration, furnished
+Minnesota with her first settlers, and curiously enough, they came from
+the north.</p>
+
+<p>Abraham Perry was one of these Swiss refugees from the Selkirk
+settlement. With his wife and two children, he first settled at Fort
+Snelling, then at St. Paul, and finally at Lake Johanna. His son
+Charles, who came with him, has, while I am writing, on the twenty-ninth
+day of July, 1899, just celebrated his golden wedding at the old
+homestead, at Lake Johanna, where they have ever since lived. They were
+married by the Right Reverend A. Ravoux, who is still living in St.
+Paul. Charles Perry is the only survivor of that ill-fated band of
+Selkirkers.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="GEORGE_CATLIN" id="GEORGE_CATLIN"></a>GEORGE CATLIN.</h2>
+
+<p>In 1835 George Catlin, an artist of merit, visited Minnesota, and made
+many sketches and portraits of Indians. His published statements after
+his departure about his adventures elicited much adverse criticism from
+the old settlers.</p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="FEATHERSTONEHAUGH" id="FEATHERSTONEHAUGH"></a>FEATHERSTONEHAUGH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Featherstonehaugh, an Englishman, about the same time, under the
+direction of the United States government, made a slight geological
+survey of the Minnesota valley, and on his return to England he wrote a
+book which reflected unjustly upon the gentlemen he met in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>Minnesota;
+but not much was thought of it, because until recently such has been the
+English custom.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="SCHOOLCRAFT_AND_THE_SOURCE_OF_THE_MISSISSIPPI" id="SCHOOLCRAFT_AND_THE_SOURCE_OF_THE_MISSISSIPPI"></a>SCHOOLCRAFT AND THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1832 the United States sent an embassy, composed of thirty men, under
+Henry R. Schoolcraft, then Indian Agent at Sault Ste. Marie, to visit
+the Indians of the Northwest, and, when advisable, to make treaties with
+them. They had a guard of soldiers, a physician, an interpreter, and the
+Rev. William T. Boutwell, a missionary at Leech Lake. They were supplied
+with a large outfit of provisions, tobacco and trinkets, which were
+conveyed in a bateau. They travelled in several large bark canoes. They
+went to Fond du Lac, thence up the St. Louis river, portaged round the
+falls, thence to the nearest point to Sandy lake, thence up the
+Mississippi to Leech lake. While there, they learned from the Indians
+that Cass lake, which for some time had been reputed to be the source of
+the Mississippi, was not the real source, and they determined to solve
+the problem of where the real source was to be found, and what it was.</p>
+
+<p>I may say here that, in 1819, Gen. Lewis Cass, then governor of the
+Territory of Michigan, had led an exploring party to the upper waters of
+the Mississippi, somewhat similar to the one I am now speaking of, Mr.
+Henry R. Schoolcraft being one of them. When they reached what is now
+Cass lake, in the Mississippi river, they decided that it was the source
+of the great river, and it was named Cass lake, in honor of the
+governor, and was believed to be such source until the arrival of
+Schoolcraft's party in 1832.</p>
+
+<p>After a search, an inlet was found into Cass lake, flowing from the
+west, and they pursued it until the lake now called "Itasca" was
+reached. Five of the party, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>Lieutenant Allen, Schoolcraft, Dr.
+Houghton, Interpreter Johnson and Mr. Boutwell, explored the lake
+thoroughly, and finding no inlet, decided it must be the true source of
+the river. Mr. Schoolcraft, being desirous of giving the lake a name
+that would indicate its position as the true head of the river, and at
+the same time be euphonious in sound, endeavored to produce one, but
+being unable to satisfy himself, turned it over to Mr. Boutwell, who,
+being a good Latin scholar, wrote down two Latin words, "veritas,"
+truth, and "caput," head, and suggested that a word might be coined out
+of the combination that would answer the purpose. He then cut off the
+last two syllables of veritas, making "Itas," and the first syllable of
+caput, making "ca," and, putting them together, he gave the word
+"Itasca," which, in my judgment, is a sufficiently skillful and
+beautiful literary feat to immortalize the inventor. Mr. Boutwell died
+within a few years at Stillwater, in Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>Presumptuous attempts have been made to deprive Schoolcraft of the honor
+of having discovered the true source of the river, but their transparent
+absurdity has prevented their having obtained any credence, and to put a
+quietus on such unscrupulous pretenses, Mr. J. V. Brower, a scientific
+surveyor, under the auspices of the Minnesota Historical Society, has
+recently made exhaustive researches, surveys and maps of the region, and
+established beyond doubt or cavil the entire authenticity of
+Schoolcraft's discovery. Gen. James H. Baker, once surveyor general of
+the State of Minnesota, and a distinguished member of the same society,
+under its appointment, prepared an elaborate paper on the subject, in
+which is collected and presented all the facts, history and knowledge
+that exists relating to the discovery, and conclusively destroys all
+efforts to deprive Schoolcraft of his laurels.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span><a name="ELEVATIONS_IN_MINNESOTA" id="ELEVATIONS_IN_MINNESOTA"></a>ELEVATIONS IN MINNESOTA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>While on the subject of the source of the Mississippi river, I may as
+well speak of the elevations of the state above the level of the sea. It
+can be truthfully said that Minnesota occupies the summit of the North
+American continent. In its most northern third rises the Mississippi,
+which, in its general course, flows due south to the Gulf of Mexico. In
+about its center division, from north to south, rises the Red River of
+the North, and takes a general northerly direction until it empties into
+Lake Winnipeg, while the St. Louis and other rivers take their rise in
+the same region and flow eastwardly into Lake Superior, which is the
+real source of the St. Lawrence, which empties into the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>The elevation at the source of the Mississippi is 1,600 feet, and at the
+point where it leaves the southern boundary of the state, 620 feet. The
+elevation at the source of the Red River of the North is the same as
+that of the Mississippi, 1,600 feet, and where it leaves the state at
+its northern boundary 767 feet. The average elevation of the state is
+given at 1,275 feet, its highest elevation, in the Mesaba range, 2,200
+feet, and its lowest, at Duluth, 602 feet.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="NICOLLET" id="NICOLLET"></a>NICOLLET.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1836 a French savant, M. Jean N. Nicollet, visited Minnesota for the
+purpose of exploration. He was an astronomer of note, and had received a
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, and had also been attached as
+professor to the Royal College of "Louis Le Grande." He arrived in
+Minnesota on July 26, 1836, bearing letters of introduction, and visited
+Fort Snelling, whence he left with a French trader, named Fronchet, to
+explore the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>sources of the Mississippi. He entered the Crow Wing river,
+and by the way of Gull river and Gull lake he entered Leech lake. The
+Indians were disappointed when they found he had no presents for them
+and spent most of his time looking at the heavens through a tube, and
+they became unruly and troublesome. The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, whose mission
+house was on the lake, learning of the difficulty, came to the rescue,
+and a very warm friendship sprang up between the men. No educated man
+who has not experienced the desolation of having been shut up among
+savages and rough, unlettered voyageurs for a long time can appreciate
+the pleasure of meeting a cultured and refined gentleman so unexpectedly
+as Mr. Boutwell encountered Nicollet, and especially when he was able to
+render him valuable aid.</p>
+
+<p>From Leech lake Nicollet went to Lake Itasca with guides and packers. He
+pitched his tent on Schoolcraft island in the lake, where he occupied
+himself for some time in making astronomical observations. He continued
+his explorations beyond those of Schoolcraft and Lieutenant Allen, and
+followed up the rivulets that entered the lake, thoroughly exploring its
+basin or watershed.</p>
+
+<p>He returned to Fort Snelling in October, and remained there for some
+time, studying Dakota. He became the guest of Mr. Henry H. Sibley at his
+home in Mendota for the winter. General Sibley, in speaking of him,
+says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"A portion of the winter following was spent by him at my house,
+and it is hardly necessary to state that I found in him a most
+instructive companion. His devotion to his studies was intense
+and unremitting, and I frequently expostulated with him upon his
+imprudence in thus overtasking the strength of his delicate
+frame, but without effect."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>Nicollet went to Washington after his tour of 1836-37, and was honored
+with a commission from the United States government to make further
+explorations, and John C. Fremont was detailed as his assistant.</p>
+
+<p>Under his new appointment, Nicollet and his assistant went up the
+Missouri in a steamboat to Fort Pierre; thence he traveled through the
+interior of Minnesota, visiting the Red Pipestone quarry, Devil's lake,
+and other important localities. On this tour he made a map of the
+country, which was the first reliable and accurate one made, which,
+together with his astronomical observations, were invaluable to the
+country. His name has been perpetuated by giving it to one of
+Minnesota's principal counties.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="MISSIONS" id="MISSIONS"></a>MISSIONS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The missionary period is one full of interest in the history of the
+State of Minnesota. The devoted people who sacrifice all the pleasures
+and luxuries of life to spread the gospel of Christianity among the
+Indians are deserving of all praise, no matter whether success or
+failure attends their efforts. The Dakotas and Chippewas were not
+neglected in this respect. The Catholics were among them at a very early
+day, and strove to convert them to Christianity. These worthy men were
+generally French priests and daring explorers, but for some reason,
+whether it was want of permanent support or an individual desire to
+rove, I am unable to say, they did not succeed in founding any missions
+of a lasting character among the Dakotas before the advent of white
+settlement. The devout Romanist, Shea, in his interesting history of
+Catholic missions, speaking of the Dakotas, remarks that "Father Menard
+had projected a Sioux mission, Marquette, Allouez, Druillettes, all
+entertained <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>hopes of realizing it, and had some intercourse with that
+nation, but none of them ever succeeded in establishing a mission."
+Their work, however, was only postponed, for at a later date they gained
+and maintained a lasting foothold.</p>
+
+<p>The Protestants, however, in and after 1820, made permanent and
+successful ventures in this direction. After the formation of the
+American Fur Company, Mackinaw became the chief point of that
+organization. In June, 1820, the Rev. Mr. Morse, father of the inventor
+of the telegraph, came to Mackinaw, and preached the first sermon that
+was delivered in the Northwest. He made a report of his visit to the
+Presbyterian Missionary Society in New York, which sent out parties to
+explore the field. The Rev. W. M. Terry, with his wife, commenced a
+school at Mackinaw in 1823, and had great success. There were sometimes
+as many as two hundred pupils at the school, representing many tribes of
+Indians. There are descendants of the children who were educated at this
+school now in Minnesota, who are citizens of high standing, who are
+indebted to this institution for their education and position.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1830 a Mr. Warren, who was then living at La Pointe, visited
+Mackinaw to obtain a missionary for his place, and not being able to
+secure an ordained minister, he took back with him Mr. Frederick Ayre, a
+teacher, who, being pleased with the place and prospect, returned to
+Mackinaw, and in 1831, with the Rev. Sherman Hall and wife, started for
+La Pointe, where they arrived on August 30th, and established themselves
+as missionaries, with a school.</p>
+
+<p>The next year Mr. Ayre went to Sandy lake, and opened another school for
+the children of voyageurs and Indians. In 1832 Mr. Boutwell, after his
+tour with <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>Schoolcraft, took charge of the school at La Pointe, and in
+1833 he removed to Leech lake, and there established the first mission
+in Minnesota west of the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>From his Leech lake mission he writes a letter in which he gives such a
+realistic account of his school and mission that one can see everything
+that is taking place, as if a panorama was passing before his eyes. He
+takes a cheerful view of his prospects, and gives a comprehensive
+statement of the resources of the country in their natural state. If
+space allowed, I would like to copy the whole letter; but as he speaks
+of the wild rice in referring to the food supply, I will say a word
+about it, as I deem it one of Minnesota's most important natural
+resources.</p>
+
+<p>In 1857 I visited the source of the Mississippi with the then Indian
+agent for the Chippewas, and traveled hundreds of miles in the upper
+river. We passed through endless fields of wild rice, and witnessed its
+harvest by the Chippewas, which is a most interesting and picturesque
+scene. They tie it in sheaves with a straw before it is ripe enough to
+gather to prevent the wind from shaking out the grains, and when it has
+matured, they thresh it with sticks into their canoes. We estimated that
+there were about 1,000 families of the Chippewas, and that they gathered
+about twenty-five bushels for each family, and we saw that in so doing
+they did not make any impression whatever on the crop, leaving thousands
+of acres of the rice to the geese and ducks. Our calculations then were
+that more rice grew in Minnesota each year, without any cultivation,
+than was produced in South Carolina as one of the principal products of
+that state, and I may add that it is much more palatable and nutritious
+as a food than the white rice of the Orient or the South. There is no
+doubt that at some <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>future time it will be utilized to the great
+advantage of the state.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Boutwell's Leech lake mission was in all things a success.</p>
+
+<p>In 1834 the Rev. Samuel W. Pond and his brother, Gideon H. Pond, full of
+missionary enthusiasm, arrived at Fort Snelling, in the month of May.
+They consulted with the Indian agent, Major Taliaferro, about the best
+place to establish a mission, and decided upon Lake Calhoun, where dwelt
+small bands of Dakotas, and with their own hands erected a house and
+located.</p>
+
+<p>About the same time came the Rev. T. H. Williamson, M. D., under
+appointment from the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign
+Missions, to visit the Dakotas, to ascertain what could be done to
+introduce Christian instruction among them. He was reinforced by Rev. J.
+D. Stevens, missionary, Alexander Huggins, farmer, and their wives, and
+Miss Sarah Poage and Miss Lucy Stevens, teachers. They arrived at Fort
+Snelling in May, 1835, and were hospitably received by the officers of
+the garrison, the Indian agent, and Mr. Sibley, then a young man who had
+recently taken charge of the trading post at Mendota.</p>
+
+<p>From this point Rev. Mr. Stevens and family proceeded to Lake Harriet,
+in Hennepin county, and built a suitable house, and Dr. Williamson and
+wife, Mr. Huggins and wife, and Miss Poage, went to Lac qui Parle, where
+they were welcomed by Mr. Renville, a trader at that point, after whom
+the county of Renville is named.</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. J. D. Stevens acted as chaplain of Fort Snelling, in the
+absence of a regularly appointed officer in that position.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837 the mission was strengthened by the arrival <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>of the Rev. Stephen
+R. Riggs, a graduate of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and his wife.
+After remaining a short time at Lake Harriet, Mr. and Mrs. Riggs went to
+Lac qui Parle.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837 missionaries sent out by the Evangelical Society of Lausanne,
+Switzerland, arrived, and located at Red Wing and Wapashaw's villages,
+on the Mississippi, and about the same time a Methodist mission was
+commenced at Kaposia, but they were of brief duration and soon
+abandoned.</p>
+
+<p>In 1836 a mission was established at Pokegama, among the Chippewas,
+which was quite successful, and afterwards, in 1842 or 1843, missions
+were opened at Red Lake, Shakopee, and other places in Minnesota. During
+the summer of 1843 Mr. Riggs commenced a mission station at Traverse des
+Sioux, which attained considerable proportions, and remained until
+overtaken by white settlement, about 1854.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Riggs and Dr. Williamson also established a Mission at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the Sioux, in the year 1852, which was about the best
+equipped of any of them. It consisted of a good house for the
+missionaries, a large boarding and school house for Indian pupils, a
+neat little church, with a steeple and a bell, and all the other
+buildings necessary to a complete mission outfit.</p>
+
+<p>These good men adopted a new scheme of education and civilization, which
+promised to be very successful. They organized a government among the
+Indians, which they called the Hazelwood Republic. To become a member of
+this civic body, it was necessary that the applicant should cut off his
+long hair, and put on white men's clothes, and it was also expected that
+he should become a member of the church. The republic had a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>written
+constitution, a president and other officers. It was in 1856 when I
+first became acquainted with this institution, and I afterwards used its
+members to great advantage, in the rescue of captive women and the
+punishment of one of the leaders of the Spirit Lake massacre, which
+occurred in the northwestern portion of Iowa, in the year 1857, the
+particulars of which I will relate hereafter. The name of the president
+was Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-ni, or "The man who shoots metal as he walks,"
+and one of its prominent members was John Otherday, called in Sioux,
+An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, both of whom were the best friends the whites had
+in the hour of their great danger in the outbreak of 1862. It was these
+two men who informed the missionaries and other whites at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the impending massacre, and assisted sixty-two of
+them to escape before the fatal blow was struck.</p>
+
+<p>What I have said proves that much good attended the work of the
+missionaries in the way of civilizing some of the Indians, but it has
+always been open to question in my mind if any Sioux Indian ever fully
+comprehended the basic doctrines of Christianity. I will give an example
+which had great weight in forming my judgment. There were among the
+pillars of the mission church at the Yellow Medicine Agency (or as it
+was called in Sioux, Pajutazee) an Indian named Ana-wang-mani, to which
+the missionaries had prefixed the name of Simon. He was an exceptionally
+good man, and prominent in all church matters. He prayed and exhorted,
+and was looked upon by all interested as a fulfillment of the success of
+both the church and the republic. Imagine the consternation of the
+worthy missionaries when one day he announced that a man who had killed
+his cousin some eight years ago had returned <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>from the Missouri, and was
+then in a neighboring camp, and that it was his duty to kill him to
+avenge his cousin. The missionaries argued with him, quoted the Bible to
+him, prayed with him,&mdash;in fact, exhausted every possible means to
+prevent him carrying out his purpose; but all to no effect. He would
+admit all they said, assured them that he believed everything they
+contended for, but he would always end with the assertion that, "He
+killed my cousin, and I must kill him." This savage instinct was too
+deeply imbedded in his nature to be overcome by any teaching of the
+white man, and the result was that he got a double-barreled shotgun and
+carried out his purpose, the consequence of which was to nearly destroy
+the church and the republic. He was, however, true to the whites all
+through the outbreak of 1862.</p>
+
+<p>When the Indians rebelled, the entire mission outfit at Pajutazee was
+destroyed, which practically put an end to missionary effort in
+Minnesota, but did not in the least lessen the ardor of the
+missionaries. I remember meeting Dr. Williamson soon after the Sioux
+were driven out of the state, and supposing, of course, that he had
+given up all hope of Christianizing them, I asked him where he would
+settle, and what he would do. He did not hesitate a moment, and said
+that he would hunt up the remnant of his people and attend to their
+spiritual wants.</p>
+
+<p>Having given a general idea of the missionary efforts that were made in
+Minnesota, I will say a word about</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_INDIANS" id="THE_INDIANS"></a>THE INDIANS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Dakotas (or as they were afterwards called, the Sioux) and the
+Chippewas were splendid races of aboriginal men. The Sioux that occupied
+Minnesota were <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>about eight thousand strong,&mdash;men, women and children.
+They were divided into four principal bands, known as the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, or Spirit Lake Villagers; the Wak-pay-ku-tays, or
+Leaf Shooters, from their living in the timber; the Si-si-tons, and
+Wak-pay-tons. There was also a considerable band, known as the Upper
+Si-si-tons, who occupied the extreme upper waters of the Minnesota
+river. The Chippewas numbered about 7,800, divided as follows: At Lake
+Superior, whose agency was at La Pointe, Wis., about 1,600; on the Upper
+Mississippi, on the east side, about 3,450; of Pillagers, 1,550; and at
+Red lake, 1,130. The Sioux and Chippewas had been deadly enemies as far
+back as anything was known of them, and kept up continual warfare. The
+Winnebagoes, numbering about 1,500, were removed from the neutral
+ground, in Iowa, to Long Prairie, in Minnesota, in 1848, and in 1854
+were again removed to Blue Earth county, near the present site of
+Mankato. While Minnesota was a territory its western boundary extended
+to the Missouri river, and on that river, both east and west of it, were
+numerous wild and warlike bands of Sioux, numbering many thousands,
+although no accurate census of them had ever been taken. They were the
+Tetons, Yanktons, Cut-heads, Yanktonais, and others. These Missouri
+Indians frequently visited Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>The proper name of these Indians is Dakota, and they know themselves
+only by that name, but the Chippewas of Lake Superior, in speaking of
+them, always called them, "Nadowessioux," which in their language
+signifies "enemy." The traders had a habit, when speaking of any tribe
+in the presence of another, and especially of an enemy, to designate
+them by some name that would not be understood by the listeners, as
+they <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>were very suspicious. When speaking of the Dakotas, they used the
+last syllable of Nadowessioux,&mdash;"Sioux," until the name attached itself
+to them, and they have always since been so called.</p>
+
+<p>Charlevoix, who visited Minnesota in 1721, in his history of New France,
+says: "The name 'Sioux,' that we give these Indians, is entirely of our
+own making; or, rather, it is the last two syllables of the name of
+'Nadowessioux,' as many nations call them."</p>
+
+<p>The Sioux live in tepees, or circular conical tents, supported by poles,
+so arranged as to leave an opening in the top for ventilation and for
+the escape of smoke. These were, before the advent of the whites,
+covered with dressed buffalo skins, but more recently with a coarse
+cotton tent cloth, which is preferable on account of its being much
+lighter to transport from place to place, as they are almost constantly
+on the move, the tents being carried by the squaws. There is no more
+comfortable habitation than the Sioux tepee to be found among the
+dwellers in tents anywhere. A fire is made in the center for either
+warmth or cooking purposes. The camp kettle is suspended over it, making
+cooking easy and cleanly. In the winter, when the Indian family settles
+down to remain any considerable time, they select a river bottom where
+there is timber or chaparral, and set up the tepee; then they cut the
+long grass or bottom cane, and stand it up against the outside of the
+lodge to the thickness of about twenty inches, and you have a very warm
+and cozy habitation.</p>
+
+<p>The wealth of the Sioux consists very largely in his horses, and his
+subsistence is the game of the forest and plains and the fish and wild
+rice of the lakes. Minnesota was an Indian paradise. It abounded in
+buffalo, elk, moose, deer, beaver, wolves, and, in fact, nearly all
+wild <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>animals found in North America. It held upon its surface eight
+thousand beautiful lakes, alive with the finest of edible fish. It was
+dotted over with beautiful groves of the sugar maple, yielding
+quantities of delicious sugar, and wild rice swamps were abundant. An
+inhabitant of this region, with absolute liberty, and nothing to do but
+defend it against the encroachments of enemies, certainly had very
+little more to ask of his Creator. But he was not allowed to enjoy it in
+peace. A stronger race was on his trail, and there was nothing left for
+him but to surrender his country on the best terms he could make. Such
+has ever been the case from the beginning of recorded events, and
+judging from current operations, there has been no cessation of the
+movement. Why was not the world made big enough for homes for all kinds
+and colors of men, and all characters of civilization?</p>
+
+<p>As the white man progressed towards the West, and came in contact with
+the Indians, it became necessary to define the territories of the
+different tribes to avoid collision between them and the newcomers as
+much as possible. To accomplish this end, Governor Clark of Missouri and
+Governor Cass of Michigan, on the nineteenth day of August, 1825,
+convened, at Prairie du Chien, a grand congress of Indians, representing
+the Dakotas, Chippewas (then called Ojibways), Sauks, Foxes, Menomonies,
+Iowas, Winnebagoes, Pottaiwatomies and Ottawas, and it was determined by
+treaties among them where the dividing lines between their countries
+should be. This partition gave the Chippewas a large part of what is now
+Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Dakotas lands to the west of them; but
+it soon became apparent that these boundary lines between the Dakotas
+and the Chippewas would not be adhered <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>to, and Governor Cass and Mr. T.
+L. McKenney were appointed commissioners to again convene the Chippewas,
+but this time at Fond du Lac, and there, on the fifth day of August,
+1826, another treaty was entered into, which, with the exception of the
+Fort Snelling treaty, was the first one ever made on the soil of
+Minnesota. By this treaty the Chippewas, among other things, renounced
+all allegiance to or connection with Great Britain, and acknowledged the
+authority of the United States. These treaties were, however, rather of
+a preliminary character, being intended more for the purpose of
+arranging matters between the tribes than making concessions to the
+whites, although the whites were permitted to mine and carry away metals
+and ores from the Chippewa country by the treaty of Fond du Lac.</p>
+
+<p>The first important treaty made with the Sioux, by which the white men
+began to obtain concessions of lands from them, was on Aug. 29, 1837.
+This treaty was made at Washington, through Joel R. Poinsette, and to
+give an idea of how little time and few words were spent in
+accomplishing important ends, I will quote the first article of this
+treaty:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Article I.&mdash;The chiefs and braves representing the parties
+having an interest therein cede to the United States all their
+land east of the Mississippi river, and all their islands in
+said river."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The rest of the treaty is confined to the consideration to be paid, and
+matters of that nature.</p>
+
+<p>This treaty extinguished all the Dakota title in lands east of the
+Mississippi river, in Minnesota, and opened the way for immigration on
+all that side of the Mississippi; and immigration was not long in
+accepting the invitation, for between the making of the treaty, in
+1837, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>and the admission of the State of Wisconsin into the Union, in
+1848, there had sprung into existence in that state, west of the St.
+Croix, the towns of Stillwater, St. Anthony, St. Paul, Marine, Arcola,
+and other lesser settlements, which were all left in Minnesota when
+Wisconsin adopted the St. Croix as its western boundary.</p>
+
+<p>Most important, however, of all the treaties that opened up the lands of
+Minnesota to settlement were those of 1851, made at Traverse des Sioux
+and Mendota, by which the Sioux ceded to the United States all their
+lands in Minnesota and Iowa, except a small reservation for their
+habitation, situated on the upper waters of the Minnesota river.</p>
+
+<p>The Territory of Minnesota was organized in 1849, and immediately
+presented to the world a very attractive field for immigration. The most
+desirable lands in the new territory were on the west side of the
+Mississippi, but the title to them was still in the Indians. The whites
+could not wait until this was extinguished, but at once began to settle
+on the land lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, north of the
+north line of Iowa, and in the new territory. These settlements extended
+up the Mississippi river as far as St. Cloud, in what is now Stearns
+county, and extended up the Minnesota river as far as the mouth of the
+Blue Earth river, in the neighborhood of Mankato. These settlers were
+all trespassers on the lands of the Indians, but a little thing like
+that never deterred a white American from pushing his fortunes towards
+the setting sun. It soon became apparent that the Indians must yield to
+the approaching tidal wave of settlement, and measures were taken to
+acquire their lands by the United States. In 1851, Luke Lea, then
+commissioner of Indian affairs, and Alexander Ramsey, then governor of
+the Territory of Minnesota <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>and ex-officio superintendent of Indian
+affairs, were appointed commissioners to treat with the Indians at
+Traverse des Sioux, and, after much feasting and talking, a treaty was
+completed and signed, on the twenty-third day of July, 1851, between the
+United States and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Sioux, whereby
+these bands ceded to the United States a vast tract of land lying in
+Minnesota and Iowa, and reserved for their future occupation a strip of
+land on the upper Minnesota, ten miles wide on each side of the center
+line of the river. For this cession they were to be paid $1,665,000,
+which was to be paid, a part in cash to liquidate debts, etc., and five
+per cent per annum on the balance for fifty years, the interest to be
+paid annually, partly in cash and partly in funds for agriculture,
+civilization, education, and in goods of various kinds; which payments,
+when completed, were to satisfy both principal and interest, the policy
+and expectation of the government being that at the end of fifty years
+the Indians would be civilized and self-sustaining.</p>
+
+<p>Amendments were made to this treaty in the senate, and it was not fully
+completed and proclaimed until Feb. 24, 1853.</p>
+
+<p>Almost instantly after the execution of this treaty, and on Aug. 5,
+1851, another treaty was negotiated by the same commissioners with two
+other bands of Sioux in Minnesota, the M'day-wa-kon-tons and
+Wak-pay-koo-tays. By this treaty these bands ceded to the United States
+all their lands in the Territory of Minnesota or State of Iowa, for
+which they were to be paid $1,410,000, very much in the same way that
+was provided in the last-named treaty with the Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. This treaty, also, was amended by the senate, and not
+fully perfected until Feb. 24, 1853.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>Both of these treaties contained the provision that "The laws of the
+United States, prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous
+liquors in the Indian country, shall be in full force and effect
+throughout the territory hereby ceded and lying in Minnesota until
+otherwise directed by congress or the president of the United States." I
+mention this feature of the treaty because it gave rise to much
+litigation as to whether the treaty making power had authority to
+legislate for settlers on the ceded lands of the United States. The
+power was sustained. These treaties practically obliterated the Indian
+title from the lands composing Minnesota, and its extinction brings us
+to the</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="TERRITORIAL_PERIOD" id="TERRITORIAL_PERIOD"></a>TERRITORIAL PERIOD.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It must be kept in mind that, during the period which we have been
+attempting to review, the people who inhabited what is now Minnesota
+were subject to a great many different governmental jurisdictions. This,
+however, did not in any way concern them, as they did not, as a general
+thing, know or care anything about such matters; but as it may be
+interesting to the retrospective explorer to be informed on the subject,
+I will briefly present it. Minnesota has two sources of parentage. The
+part of it lying west of the Mississippi was part of the Louisiana
+purchase, made by President Jefferson from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803,
+and the part east of that river was part of the Northwest Territory,
+ceded by Virginia, in 1784, to the United States. I will give the
+successive changes of political jurisdiction, beginning on the west side
+of the river.</p>
+
+<p>First, it was part of New Spain, and Spanish. It was then purchased from
+Spain by France, and became French. On June 30, 1803, it became
+American, by <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>purchase from France, and was part of the Province of
+Louisiana, and so remained until March 26, 1804, when an act was passed
+by congress, creating the Territory of Orleans, which included all of
+the Louisiana purchase south of the thirty-third degree of north
+latitude. This act gave the Territory of Louisiana a government, and
+called all the country north of it the District of Louisiana, which was
+to be governed by the Territory of Indiana, which had been created in
+1800 out of the Northwest Territory, and had its seat of government at
+Vincennes, on the Wabash.</p>
+
+<p>On June 4, 1812, the District of Louisiana was erected into the
+Territory of Missouri, where we remained until June 28, 1834, when all
+the public lands of the United States lying west of the Mississippi,
+north of the State of Missouri, and south of the British line, were, by
+act of congress, attached to the Territory of Michigan, under whose
+jurisdiction we remained until April 10, 1836, when the Territory of
+Wisconsin was created. This law went into effect July 3, 1836, and
+Wisconsin took in our territory lying west of the Mississippi, and there
+it remained until June 12, 1838, when the Territory of Iowa was created,
+taking us in and holding us until the State of Iowa was admitted into
+the Union, on March 3, 1845, which left us without any government west
+of the Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>The part of Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi was originally part
+of the Northwest Territory. On May 7, 1800, it became part of the
+Indiana Territory, and remained so until April 26, 1836, when it became
+part of the Wisconsin Territory; and so continued until May 29, 1848,
+when Wisconsin entered the Union as a state, with the St. Croix river
+for its western boundary. By this arrangement of the western boundary of
+Wisconsin <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>all the territory west of the St. Croix and east of the
+Mississippi, like that west of the river, was left without any
+government at all.</p>
+
+<p>One of the curious results of the many governmental changes which the
+western part of Minnesota underwent is illustrated in the residence of
+Gen. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota. In 1834, at the age of twenty-two, Mr.
+Sibley commenced his residence at Mendota, as the agent of the American
+Fur Company's establishment. At this point Mr. Sibley built the first
+private residence that was erected in Minnesota. It was a large,
+comfortable dwelling, constructed of the blue limestone found in the
+vicinity, with commodious porticos on the river front. The house was
+built in 1835-36, and was then in the Territory of Michigan. Mr. Sibley
+lived in it successively in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Territory
+and State of Minnesota. He removed to St. Paul in the year 1862. Every
+distinguished visitor who came to Minnesota in the early days was
+entertained by Mr. Sibley in this hospitable old mansion, and, together
+with its genial, generous and refined proprietor, it contributed much
+towards planting the seeds of those aesthetic amenities of social life
+that have so generally flourished in the later days of Minnesota's
+history and given it its deserved prominence among the states of the
+West. The house still stands, and has been occupied at different times
+since its founder abandoned it as a Catholic institution of some kind
+and an artists' summer school. The word Mendota is Sioux, and means "The
+meeting of the waters."</p>
+
+<p>It was the admission of Wisconsin into the Union in 1848 that brought
+about the organization of the Territory of Minnesota. The peculiar
+situation in which all the people residing west of the St. Croix found
+themselves <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>set them to devising ways and means to obtain some kind of
+government to live under. It was a debatable question whether the
+remnant of Wisconsin which was left over when the state was admitted
+carried with it the territorial government, or whether it was a "no
+man's land," and different views were entertained on the subject. The
+question was somewhat embarrassed by the fact that the territorial
+governor, Governor Dodge, had been elected to the senate of the United
+States from the new state, and the territorial secretary, Mr. John
+Catlin, who would have become governor ex-officio when a vacancy
+occurred in the office of governor, resided in Madison, and the delegate
+to congress, Mr. John H. Tweedy, had resigned; so, even if the
+territorial government had, in law, survived, there seemed to be no one
+to represent and administer it.</p>
+
+<p>There was no lack of ability among the inhabitants of the abandoned
+remnant of Wisconsin. In St. Paul dwelt Henry M. Rice, Louis Roberts, J.
+W. Simpson, A. L. Larpenteur, David Lambert, Henry Jackson, Vetal
+Guerin, David Herbert, Oliver Rosseau, Andre Godfrey, Joseph Rondo,
+James R. Clewell, Edward Phalen, William G. Carter, and many others. In
+Stillwater and on the St. Croix were Morton S. Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss,
+John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, etc. In Mendota resided Henry H. Sibley.
+In St. Anthony, William R. Marshall; at Fort Snelling, Franklin Steele.
+I could name many others, but the above is a representative list. It
+will be observed that many of them were French.</p>
+
+<p>An initial meeting was held in St. Paul, in July of 1848, at Henry
+Jackson's trading house, to consider the matter, which was undoubtedly
+the first public meeting ever held in Minnesota. On the fifth day of
+August, in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>the same year, a similar meeting was held in Stillwater, and
+out of these meetings grew a call for a convention, to be held at
+Stillwater, on August 26th, which was held accordingly. There were
+present about sixty delegates.</p>
+
+<p>At this meeting a letter from Hon. John Catlin, the secretary of
+Wisconsin Territory, was read, giving it as his opinion that the
+territorial government of Wisconsin still existed, and that if a
+delegate to congress was elected he would be admitted to a seat.</p>
+
+<p>A memorial to congress was prepared, setting forth the peculiar
+situation in which the people of the remnant found themselves, and
+praying relief in the organization of a territorial government.</p>
+
+<p>During the session of this convention there was a verbal agreement
+entered into between the members, to the effect that when the new
+territory was organized the capital should be at St. Paul, the
+penitentiary at Stillwater, the university at St. Anthony, and the
+delegate to congress should be taken from Mendota. I have had reason to
+assert publicly this fact on former occasions, and so far as it relates
+to the university and the penitentiary, my statement was questioned by
+Minnesota's greatest historian, Rev. Edward D. Neill, in a published
+article, signed "Iconoclast;" but I sustained my position by letters
+from surviving members of the convention, which I published, and to
+which no answer was ever made. The same statement can be found in
+Williams' "History of St. Paul," published in 1876, at page 182.</p>
+
+<p>The result of this convention was the selection of Henry H. Sibley as
+its agent or delegate, to proceed to Washington and present the memorial
+and resolutions to the United States authorities. It was curiously
+enough stipulated that the delegate should pay his own expenses.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after this event the Hon. John H. Tweedy, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>who was the regularly
+elected delegate to congress from the Territory of Wisconsin, no doubt
+supposing his official career was terminated, resigned his position, and
+Mr. John Catlin, claiming to be the governor of the territory, came to
+Stillwater, and issued a proclamation on Oct. 9, 1848, ordering a
+special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
+Delegate Tweedy. The election was held on the thirtieth day of October.
+Mr. Henry H. Sibley and Mr. Henry M. Rice became candidates, neither
+caring very much about the result, and Mr. Sibley was elected. There was
+much doubt entertained as to the delegate being allowed to take his
+seat, but in November he proceeded to Washington, and was admitted,
+after considerable discussion.</p>
+
+<p>On the 3d of March, 1849, the delegate succeeded in passing an act
+organizing the Territory of Minnesota, the boundaries of which embraced
+all the territory between the western boundary of Wisconsin and the
+Mississippi river, and also all that was left unappropriated on the
+admission of the State of Iowa, which carried our western boundary to
+the Missouri river, and included within our limits a large part of what
+is now North and South Dakota.</p>
+
+<p>The passage of this act was the first step in the creation of Minnesota.
+No part of the country had ever before borne that name. The word is
+composed of two Sioux words, "Minne," which means water, and "Sota,"
+which means the condition of the sky when fleecy white clouds are seen
+floating slowly and quietly over it. It has been translated, "sky
+tinted," giving to the word Minnesota the meaning of sky-tinted water.
+The name originated in the fact that, in the early days, the river now
+called Minnesota used to rise very rapidly in the spring, and there was
+constantly a caving in of the banks, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>which disturbed its otherwise
+pellucid waters, and gave them the appearance of the sky when covered
+with the light clouds I have mentioned. The similarity was heightened by
+the current keeping the disturbing element constantly in motion. There
+is a town just above St. Peter, called Kasota, which means "cloudy sky;"
+not stormy or threatening, but a sky dotted with fleecy white clouds.
+The best conception of this word can be found by pouring a few drops of
+milk into a glass of clear water, and observing the cloudy disturbance.</p>
+
+<p>The principal river in the territory was then called the St. Peters
+river, but the name was changed to the Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="EDUCATION" id="EDUCATION"></a>EDUCATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>An act organizing a territory simply creates a government for its
+inhabitants, limiting and regulating its powers, executive, legislative
+and judicial, and in our country they generally resemble each other in
+all essential features. But the organic act of Minnesota contained one
+provision never before found in any that preceded it. It had been
+customary to donate to the territory and future state, one section of
+land in each surveyed township for school purposes, and section 16 had
+been selected as the one, but in the Minnesota act, the donation was
+doubled, and sections 16 and 36 in each township were reserved for the
+schools, which amounted to one-eighteenth of all the lands in the
+territory; and when it is understood that the state as now constituted
+contains 84,287 square miles, or about 53,943,379 acres of land, it will
+be seen that the grant was princely in extent and incalculable in value.
+No other state in the Union has been endowed with such a magnificent
+educational foundation. I may except Texas, which came into the Union,
+not as a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>part of the United States' public domain, but as an
+independent republic, owning all its lands, amounting to 237,504 square
+miles, or 152,002,560 acres, a vast empire in itself. I remember hearing
+a distinguished senator, in the course of the debate on its admission
+into the Union, describe its immensity by saying, "A pigeon could not
+fly across it in a week."</p>
+
+<p>It affords every citizen of Minnesota great pride to know that, under
+all phases and conditions of our territory and state, whether in
+prosperity or adversity, the school fund has always been held sacred,
+and neither extravagance, neglect nor peculation has ever assailed it,
+but it has been husbanded with jealous care from time to time since the
+first dollar was realized from it until the present, and has accumulated
+until the principal is estimated at $20,000,000. The state auditor, in
+his last report of it, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"The extent of the school land grant should ultimately be about
+three million acres, and as the average price of this land
+heretofore sold is $5.96 per acre, the amount of principal alone
+should yield the school fund not less than $17,000,000. To this
+must be added the amount received from sales of timber, and for
+lease and royalty of mineral lands, which will not be less than
+$3,000,000 more. It is not probable that the average sale price
+of this land will be reduced in the future, but it may increase,
+especially in view of the improved method of sale inaugurated by
+the new land law."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The general method of administering the school fund is to invest the
+proceeds arising from the sale of the lands, and distribute the interest
+among the counties of the state according to the number of children
+attending school; the principal always to remain untouched and
+inviolate.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>Generous grants of land have also been made for a state university,
+amounting to 92,558 acres; also, for an agricultural college to the
+extent of one hundred thousand acres, which two funds have been
+consolidated, and together they have accumulated to the sum of
+$1,159,790.73, all of which is securely invested.</p>
+
+<p>The state has also been endowed with five hundred thousand acres of land
+for internal improvements, and all its lands falling within the
+designation of swamp lands. An act of congress, of Feb. 26, 1857, also
+gave it ten sections of land for the purpose of completing public
+buildings at the seat of government, and all the salt springs, not to
+exceed twelve, in the state, with six sections of land to each spring,
+in all seventy-two sections. The twelve salt springs have all been
+discovered and located, and the lands selected. The salt spring lands
+have been transferred to the regents of the university, to be held in
+trust to pay the cost of a geological and natural history survey of the
+state. It is estimated that the salt spring lands will produce, on the
+same valuation as the school lands, the sum of $300,000. Large sums will
+also be gained by the state from the sale of timber stumpage, and the
+products of its mineral lands. Some idea of the magnitude of the fund to
+be derived from the mineral lands of the state may be learned from the
+report of the state auditor for the year 1896, in which he says that
+during the years 1895-96 there was received from and under all mineral
+leases, contracts and royalties, $170,128.83.</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen from this statement that the educational interests of
+Minnesota are largely provided for without resort to direct taxation,
+although up to the present time that means of revenue has to some extent
+been utilized to meet the expenses of the grand system prevailing
+throughout the state.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span><a name="THE_FIRST_TERRITORIAL_GOVERNMENT" id="THE_FIRST_TERRITORIAL_GOVERNMENT"></a>THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT</h2>
+
+
+<p>The organization of the territory was completed by the appointment of
+Alexander Ramsey of Pennsylvania as governor, Aaron Goodrich as chief
+justice, and David Cooper and Bradley B. Meeker as associate justices,
+C. K. Smith as secretary, Joshua L. Taylor as marshal, and Henry L. Moss
+as district attorney.</p>
+
+<p>On the 27th of May, 1849, the governor and his family arrived in St.
+Paul; but there being no suitable accommodations for them, they became
+the guests of Hon. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota, whose hospitality, as
+usual, was never failing, and for several weeks there resided the four
+men who have been perhaps more prominent in the development of the state
+than any others,&mdash;Henry H. Sibley, Alexander Ramsey, Henry M. Rice and
+Franklin Steele, all of whom have been honored by having important
+counties named after them and by being chosen to fill high places of
+honor and trust.</p>
+
+<p>The governor soon returned to the capital, and on the 1st of June, 1849,
+issued a proclamation, declaring the territory duly organized. On the
+11th of June he issued a second proclamation, dividing the territory
+into three judicial districts. The county of St. Croix, which was one of
+the discarded counties of Wisconsin, and embraced the present county of
+Ramsey, was made the first district. The second was composed of the
+county of La Pointe (another of the Wisconsin counties), and the region
+north and west of the Mississippi river, and north of the Minnesota, and
+of a line running due west from the head waters of the Minnesota to the
+Missouri. The country west of the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota
+formed the third district. The chief justice was assigned to the first,
+Meeker to the second and Cooper to the third, and courts were ordered
+held in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>each district as follows: At Stillwater, in the first district,
+on the second Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the third Monday,
+and at Mendota on the fourth Monday, in August.</p>
+
+<p>A census was taken of the inhabitants of the territory, in pursuance of
+the requirements of the organic act, with the following result. I give
+here the details of the census, as it is interesting to know what
+inhabited places there were in the territory at this time, as well as
+the number of inhabitants:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+   <ul>
+           <li class="right">Total<br />Inhabitants.</li>
+   </ul>
+
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Stillwater</span> <span class="right">609</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Lake St. Croix</span> <span class="right">211</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Marine Mills</span> <span class="right">173</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">St. Paul</span> <span class="right">840</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Little Canada and St. Anthony</span> <span class="right">571</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Crow Wing and Long Prairie</span> <span class="right">350</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Osakis Rapids</span> <span class="right">133</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Falls of St. Croix</span> <span class="right">16</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Snake River</span> <span class="right">82</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">La Pointe County</span> <span class="right">22</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Crow Wing</span> <span class="right">174</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle</span> <span class="right">68</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Little Rock</span> <span class="right">35</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Prairieville</span> <span class="right">22</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Oak Grove </span> <span class="right">23</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Black Dog Village</span> <span class="right">18</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Crow Wing (east side)</span> <span class="right">70</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Mendota</span> <span class="right">122</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Red Wing Village</span> <span class="right">33</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Wabasha and Root River</span> <span class="right">114</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Fort Snelling</span> <span class="right">38</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Soldiers, women and children in forts</span> <span class="right">317</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Pembina</span> <span class="right"> 637</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Missouri River</span> <span class="right">85</span><br /></li>
+   </ul>
+   <ul>
+        <li class="right">________</li>
+   </ul>
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Total</span> <span class="right">4,764</span><br /></li>
+  </ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the seventh day of July the governor issued a proclamation, dividing
+the territory into seven council <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>districts, and ordering an election
+for a delegate to congress, nine councillors, and eighteen
+representatives, to constitute the first territorial legislature, to be
+held on the first day of August. At this election Henry H. Sibley was
+again chosen delegate to congress.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="COURTS" id="COURTS"></a>COURTS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The courts were held in pursuance of the governor's proclamation, the
+first one convening at Stillwater. But before I relate what there
+occurred, I will mention an attempt that was made by Judge Irwin, one of
+the territorial judges of Wisconsin, to hold a term in St. Croix county,
+in 1842. Joseph R. Brown, of whom I shall speak hereafter as one of the
+brightest of Minnesota's early settlers, came to Fort Snelling as a
+fifer boy in the regiment that founded and built the fort in 1819. He
+was discharged from the army about 1826, and had become clerk of the
+courts in St. Croix county. He had procured from the legislature of
+Wisconsin an order for a court in his county for some reason only known
+to himself, and in 1842 Judge Irwin came up to hold it. He arrived at
+Fort Snelling, and found himself in a country which indicated that
+disputes were more frequently settled with tomahawks than by the
+principles of the common law. The officers of the fort could give him no
+information, but in his wanderings he found Mr. Norman W. Kittson, who
+had a trading house near the Falls of Minnehaha. Kittson knew Clerk
+Brown, who was then living on the St. Croix, near where Stillwater now
+stands, and furnishing the judge a horse, directed him how to find his
+clerk. After a ride of more than twenty miles, Brown was discovered, but
+no preparations had been made for a court. The judge took the first boat
+down the river, a disgusted and angry man.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>After the lapse of five years from this futile attempt the first court
+actually held within the bounds of Minnesota was presided over by Judge
+Dunn, then chief justice of the Territory of Wisconsin. The court
+convened at Stillwater in June, 1847, and is remembered not only as the
+first court ever held in Minnesota, but on account of the trial of an
+Indian chief, named "Wind," who was indicted for murder. Samuel J.
+Crawford of Mineral Point was appointed prosecuting attorney for the
+term, and Ben C. Eastman of Plattville defended the prisoner. "Wind" was
+acquitted. This was the first jury trial in Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>It should be stated that Henry H. Sibley was in fact the first judicial
+officer who ever exercised the functions of a court in Minnesota. While
+living at St. Peters (Mendota), he was commissioned a justice of the
+peace in 1835 or 1836 by Governor Chambers of Iowa, with a jurisdiction
+extending from twenty miles south of Prairie du Chien to the British
+boundary on the north, to the White river on the west and the
+Mississippi on the east. His prisoners could only be committed to
+Prairie du Chien. Boundary lines were very dimly defined in those days,
+and minor magistrates were in no danger of being overruled by superior
+courts, and tradition asserts that the writs of Sibley's court often
+extended far over into Wisconsin and other jurisdictions. One case is
+recalled which will serve as an illustration. A man named Phalen was
+charged with having murdered a sergeant in the United States army in
+Wisconsin. He was arrested under a warrant from Justice Sibley's Iowa
+court, examined and committed to Prairie du Chien, and no questions
+asked. Lake Phalen, from which the city of St. Paul derives part of its
+water supply, is named after this prisoner. Whatever jurisdictional
+irregularities <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>Justice Sibley may have indulged in, it is safe to say
+that no injustice ever resulted from any decision of his.</p>
+
+<p>The first court-house that was erected within the present limits of
+Minnesota was at Stillwater, in the year 1847. A private subscription
+was taken up, and $1,200 was contributed. This sum was supplemented by a
+sufficient amount to complete the structure, from the treasury of St.
+Croix county. It was perched on the top of one of the high bluffs in
+that town, and much private and judicial blasphemy has been expended by
+exhausted litigants and judges in climbing to its lofty pinnacle. I held
+a term in it ten years after its completion.</p>
+
+<p>This court-house fell within the first judicial district of the
+Territory of Minnesota, under the division made by Governor Ramsey, and
+the first court under his proclamation was held within its walls,
+beginning the second Monday of August, 1849. It was presided over by
+Chief Justice Goodrich, assisted by Judge Cooper, the term lasting one
+week. There were thirty-five cases on the calendar. The grand jury
+returned thirty indictments, one for assault with intent to maim, one
+for perjury, four for selling liquor to Indians, and four for keeping
+gambling houses. Only one of these indictments was tried at this term,
+and the accused, Mr. William D. Phillips, being a prominent member of
+the bar, and there being a good deal of fun in it, I will give a brief
+history of the trial and the defendant.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Phillips was a native of Maryland, and came to St. Paul in 1848. He
+was the first district attorney of the county of Ramsey. He became quite
+prominent as a lawyer and politician, and tradition has handed down many
+interesting anecdotes concerning him. The indictment charged him with
+assault with intent to maim. In an altercation with a man, he had drawn
+a pistol on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>him, and his defense was that the pistol was not loaded.
+The witness for the prosecution swore that it was, and added that he
+could see the load. The prisoner, as the law then was, was not allowed
+to testify in his own behalf. He was convicted and fined $25. He was
+very indignant at the result, and explained the assertion of the
+witness, that he could see the load, in this way. He said he had been
+electioneering for Mr. Henry M. Rice, and from the uncertainty of
+getting his meals in such an unsettled country, he carried crackers and
+cheese in the same pocket with his pistol, a crumb of which had gotten
+into the pistol, and the fellow was so scared when he looked at it, that
+he thought it was loaded to the muzzle.</p>
+
+<p>Another anecdote which is related of him shows that he fully understood
+the fundamental principle which underlies success in the practice of
+law&mdash;that of always charging for services performed. Mr. Henry M. Rice
+had presented him with a lot in St. Paul, upon which to build an office,
+and when he presented his next bill to Mr. Rice there was in it a charge
+of four dollars for drawing the deed.</p>
+
+<p>The territorial courts as originally constituted, being composed of only
+three judges, the trial terms were held by single judges, and the
+supreme court by all three sitting in bank, where they would review each
+others decisions on appeal.</p>
+
+<p>When the state was admitted into the Union the judiciary was made to
+consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, who constituted
+the supreme court, with a jurisdiction exclusively appellate, and a
+district judge for each district. As the state has grown in population
+and business, the supreme court judges have been increased to five and
+the judicial districts to eighteen <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>in number, two of which, the second
+and the fourth, have six judges each, the eleventh three, the first and
+seventh two each, and the remainder one each.</p>
+
+<p>The practice adopted by the territorial legislature was generally
+similar to that of the New York code, with such differences as were
+necessary to conform it to a very new country. From a residence in the
+territory and state of forty-seven years, nearly all of which has been
+spent either in practice at the bar or as a judge on the bench, I take
+pride in saying that the judiciary of Minnesota, in all its branches,
+both territorial and state, has, during its fifty years of existence,
+equalled in ability, learning and integrity that of any state in the
+West, which is well attested by the seventy-seven well filled volumes of
+its reported decisions.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all of the old lawyers of Minnesota were admitted to practice at
+the first term held at Stillwater, among whom were Morton S. Wilkinson,
+Henry L. Moss, Edmund Rice, Lorenzo A. Babcock, Alexander Wilkin,
+Bushrod W. Lott, and many others. Of the whole list, Mr. Moss is the
+sole survivor.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="FIRST_TERRITORIAL_LEGISLATURE" id="FIRST_TERRITORIAL_LEGISLATURE"></a>FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The first legislature convened at St. Paul on Monday, the 3d of
+September, 1849, in the Central House, which for the occasion served for
+both capitol and hotel. The quarters were limited, but the legislature
+was small. The council had nine members and the house of representatives
+eighteen. The usual officers were elected, and on Tuesday afternoon both
+houses assembled in the dining-room of the hotel. Prayer was offered by
+the Rev. E. D. Neill, and Governor Ramsey delivered his message, which
+was well received both at home and abroad.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>It may be interesting to give the names of the men constituting this
+body, and the places of their nativity. The councillors were:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">James S. Norris,</span> <span class="right">Maine.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Samuel Burkleo,</span> <span class="right">Delaware.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">William H. Forbes,</span> <span class="right">Montreal.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">James McBoal,</span> <span class="right">Pennsylvania.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">David B. Loomis,</span> <span class="right">Connecticut.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">John Rollins,</span> <span class="right">Maine.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">David Olmsted,</span> <span class="right">Vermont.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">William Sturgis,</span> <span class="right">Upper Canada.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Martin McLeod,</span> <span class="right">Montreal.</span><br /></li>
+   </ul>
+</div>
+<p>The members of the House were:</p>
+<div class="blockquot">
+  <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Joseph W. Furber,</span> <span class="right">New Hampshire.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">James Wells,</span> <span class="right">New Jersey.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">M. S. Wilkinson,</span> <span class="right">New York.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Sylvanus Trask,</span> <span class="right">New York.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Mahlon Black,</span> <span class="right">Ohio.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Benjamin W. Bronson,</span> <span class="right">Michigan.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Henry Jackson,</span> <span class="right"> Virginia.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">John J. Duvey,</span> <span class="right">New York.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Parsons K. Johnson, </span> <span class="right">Vermont.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Henry F. Stetzer,</span> <span class="right">Missouri.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">William R. Marshall, </span> <span class="right">Missouri.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">William Dugas,</span> <span class="right"> Lower Canada.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Jeremiah Russell,</span> <span class="right">Lower Canada.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">L. A. Babcock,</span> <span class="right">Vermont.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Thomas A. Holmes,</span> <span class="right">Pennsylvania.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Allen Morrison,</span> <span class="right">Pennsylvania.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Alexis Bailly,</span> <span class="right">Michigan.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Gideon H. Pond,</span> <span class="right">Connecticut.</span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>David Olmsted was elected president of the council, with Joseph R. Brown
+as secretary. In the House, Joseph W. Furber was elected speaker, and W.
+D. Phillips clerk.</p>
+
+<p>Many of these men became very prominent in the subsequent history of the
+state, and it is both curious and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>interesting to note the varied
+sources of their nativity, which shows that they were all of that
+peculiar and picturesque class known as the American pioneer.</p>
+
+<p>The work of the first legislature was not extensive, yet it performed
+some acts of historical interest. It created eight counties, named as
+follows: Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakota, Wahnahtah, Mankato, Pembina,
+Washington, Ramsey and Benton. The spelling of some of these names has
+since been changed.</p>
+
+<p>A very deep interest was manifested in the school system. A joint
+resolution was passed ordering a slab of red pipestone from the famous
+quarry to be sent to the Washington monument association, which was
+done, and now represents Minnesota in that lofty monument at the
+national capital.</p>
+
+<p>This was done at the suggestion of Henry H. Sibley, who furnished the
+stone. It will be remembered that I have referred to the visit of George
+Catlin, the artist, to Minnesota, in 1835, and that his report was
+unreliable. Among other things, he said that he was the first white man
+who had visited this quarry, and induced geologists to name the
+pipestone "Catlinite." Mr. Sibley, in his communication to the
+legislature presenting this slab, in answer to this pretension, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"In conclusion, I would beg leave to state, that a late
+geological work of high authority by Dr. Jackson, designates
+this formation as Catlinite, upon the erroneous supposition that
+Mr. George Catlin was the first white man who had ever visited
+that region; whereas it is notorious that many whites had been
+there and examined the quarry long before he came to the
+country. The designation, therefore, is clearly improper and
+unjust. The Sioux term for the stone is Eyan-Sha (red stone), by
+which, I conceive, it should be known and classified."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>In my opinion, the greatest achievement of the first legislature was the
+incorporation of the Historical Society of Minnesota. It established
+beyond question that we had citizens, at that early day, of thought and
+culture. One would naturally suppose that the first legislative body of
+an extreme frontier territory would be engaged principally with saw
+logs, peltries, town sites, and other things material; but in this
+instance we find an expression of the highest intellectual prevision,
+the desire to record historical events for posterity, even before their
+happening. And what affords even greater satisfaction to the present
+citizens of Minnesota is, that from the time of the conception of this
+grand idea there have never been men wanting to appreciate its
+advantages, and carry it out, until now our state possesses its greatest
+intellectual and moral treasure in a library of historical knowledge of
+sixty-three thousand volumes, which is steadily increasing, a valuable
+museum of curiosities, and a gallery of historical paintings.</p>
+
+<p>This legislature recommended a device for a great seal. It represented
+an Indian family with lodge and canoe, encamped; a single white man
+visiting them, and receiving from them the calumet of peace. The design
+did not meet with general approval, and nothing came of it. The next
+winter Governor Ramsey and the delegate to congress prepared a seal for
+the territory, the design of which was the Falls of St. Anthony in the
+distance, a farmer plowing land, his gun and powder horn leaning against
+a newly cut stump, a mounted Indian, surprised at the sight of the plow,
+lance in hand, fleeing toward the setting sun, with the Latin motto,
+"Quae sursum volo videre," ("I wish to see what is above"). A blunder
+was made by the engraver, in substituting the word "Quo" for "Quae," in
+the motto, which destroyed its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>meaning. Some time after, it was changed
+to the French motto, "L'Etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North"), and thus
+remains until the present time.</p>
+
+<p>While speaking of seals, I will state that the seal of the supreme court
+was established when the first term of the court convened, in 1858. The
+design adopted was a female figure, representing the goddess of liberty,
+holding the evenly-balanced scales of justice in one hand and a sword in
+the other, with the somewhat hackneyed motto, "Fiat justitia ruat
+coelum" ("Let justice be done if the heavens fall"). I remember that,
+soon after it appeared, some one asked one of the judges what the new
+motto meant, and he jocularly answered, "Those who fy at justice will
+rue it when we seal 'em."</p>
+
+<p>The seal was changed to the same device as that of the state, with the
+same motto and the words, "Seal of the Supreme Court, State of
+Minnesota."</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="IMMIGRATION" id="IMMIGRATION"></a>IMMIGRATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When the first legislature convened, the governor, on the second day of
+the session (Sept. 4, 1849), delivered his message. It was a well-timed
+document, and admirably expressed to attract attention to the new
+territory. After congratulating the members upon the enviable position
+they occupied as pioneers of a great prospective civilization, which
+would carry the American name and American institutions, by the force of
+superior intelligence, labor and energy, to untold results, he among
+other things said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"I would advise you, therefore, that your legislation should be
+such as will guard equally the rights of labor and the rights of
+property, without running into ultraisms on either hand; as will
+recognize no social distinctions except those which merit and
+knowledge, religion <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>and morals unavoidably create; as will
+suppress crime, encourage virtue, give free scope to enterprise
+and industry; as will promptly and without delay administer to
+and supply all the legitimate wants of the people&mdash;laws, in a
+word, in the proclamation of which will be kept steadily in view
+the truth that this territory is designed to be a great state,
+rivalling in population, wealth and energy her sisters of the
+Union, and that consequently all laws not merely local in their
+objects should be framed for the future as well as the
+present....</p>
+
+<p>"Our territory, judging from the experience of the few months
+since public attention was called to its many advantages, will
+settle rapidly. Nature has done much for us. Our productive soil
+and salubrious climate will bring thousands of immigrants within
+our borders; it is of the utmost moment that the foundation of
+our legislation should be healthful and solid. A knowledge of
+this fact will encourage tens of thousands of others to settle
+in our midst, and it may not be long ere we may with truth be
+recognized throughout the political and the moral world as
+indeed the "Polar Star" of the republican galaxy....</p>
+
+<p>"No portion of the earth's surface perhaps combines so many
+favorable features for the settler as this territory,&mdash;watered
+by the two greatest rivers of our continent, the Missouri
+sweeping its entire western border, the Mississippi and Lake
+Superior making its eastern frontier, and whilst the States of
+Wisconsin and Iowa limit us on the south, the possessions of the
+Hudson Bay Company present the only barrier to our domain on the
+extreme north; in all embracing an area of 166,000 square miles,
+a country sufficiently extensive to admit of the erection of
+four states of the largest class, each enjoying in abundance
+most of the elements of future <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>greatness. Its soil is of the
+most productive character, yet our northern latitude saves us
+from malaria and death, which in other climes are so often
+attendant on a liberal soil. Our people, under the healthful and
+bracing influences of this northern climate, will never sink
+into littleness, but continue to possess the vigor and the
+energy to make the most of their natural advantages."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This message, while not in the least exaggerating the actual situation,
+was well calculated to attract immigration to this region. It was
+written in a year of great activity in that line. Gold had been
+discovered in California, and the thoughts of the pioneer were attracted
+in that direction, and it needed extraordinary inducements to divert the
+stream to any other point. It was extensively quoted in the eastern
+papers, and much commented upon, and succeeded beyond all expectations
+in awakening interest in the Northwest. It was particularly attractive
+in Maine, where the people were experienced in lumbering, and many of
+them flocked to the Valley of the St. Croix and the Falls of St.
+Anthony, and inaugurated the lumbering business, which has since grown
+to such immense proportions. The valleys of the St. Croix, the Rum, and
+the Upper Mississippi rivers, with their tributaries, soon resounded
+with the music of the woodman's axe. Saw mills were erected, and
+Minnesota was recognized among the great lumber producing regions.</p>
+
+<p>Although immigration continued to be quite rapid during the years
+1850-54, it was not until about the year 1855 that it acquired a volume
+that was particularly noticeable. The reader must remember that
+Minnesota was on the extreme border of America, and that it represented
+to the immigrant only those attractions incident to a new territory
+possessing the general advantages <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>of good climate, good soil and good
+government as far as developed. There was no gold, no silver, nor other
+special inducements. The only way of reaching it was by land on wheels,
+or by the navigable rivers. There was not a railroad west of Chicago. To
+give an idea of the rush that came in 1855, I quote from the "History of
+St. Paul," by J. Fletcher Williams, for many years secretary of the
+Minnesota Historical Society, published in 1876. Speaking of the
+immigration of 1855, he says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Navigation opened on April 17th, the old favorite, 'War Eagle,'
+leading the van with 814 passengers. The papers chronicled the
+immigration that spring as unprecedented. Seven boats arrived in
+one day, each having brought to Minnesota two hundred to six
+hundred passengers. Most of these came through St. Paul and
+diverged hence to other parts of the territory. It was estimated
+by the packet company that they brought thirty thousand
+immigrants into Minnesota that season. Certainly 1855, 1856 and
+1857 were the three great years of immigration in our
+territorial days. Nothing like it has ever been seen."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the early fifties, the Mississippi up to, and even for a long
+distance above, the Falls of St. Anthony was navigable for steamboats. A
+fine boat, the "Ans. Northrup," once penetrated as far <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>as the Falls of
+Pokegama, where she was dismantled and her machinery transported to the
+Red River of the North, and four or five boats regularly navigated the
+stream above the falls.</p>
+
+<p>The Minnesota river, during all the period of our early history, and far
+into the sixties, was navigable for large steamers up to Mankato, and in
+one instance, a steamboat carrying a large cargo of Indian goods was
+taken by Culver and Farrington, Indian traders, as far as the Yellow
+Medicine river, and into that river, so that the goods were delivered at
+the agency, situated a few miles above its mouth. I mention this fact
+because a wonderful change has taken place in the watercourses and lakes
+of the state in the past twenty odd years, which I propose to account
+for on the only theory that seems to me to meet the conditions. Up to
+about twenty years ago, as soon as the ice went out of the Minnesota
+river in the spring, it would rise until it overran its banks and
+covered its bottoms for miles on each side of its channel, and would
+continue capable of carrying large steamers until late in August. Since
+that time it has rarely been out of its banks, and navigation of its
+waters has entirely ceased. The same phenomenon is observable in
+relation to many of our lakes. Hundreds of the smaller ones have
+entirely dried up, and most of the larger ones have become reduced in
+depth several feet. The rainfall has not been lessened, but, if
+anything, has increased. My explanation of the change is, that in the
+advance of civilization, the water sheds or basins of these rivers and
+lakes having been plowed up, the rainfall which formerly found its way
+quickly into the streams and lakes over the hard natural surface is now
+absorbed into the soft and receptive ground, and is returned by
+evaporation. This change is generally attributed to the destruction of
+forests, but in this case that cause has not progressed sufficiently to
+have produced the result, and our streams do not rise in mountains.</p>
+
+<p>The trend of immigration toward Minnesota encouraged the organization of
+transportation companies, by boat and stage, for passengers and freight,
+and by 1856 it was one of the liveliest communities to be found
+anywhere, and, curious as it may seem, this era of prosperity was the
+cause of Minnesota's first great calamity.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>The object of the immigrant is, always, the betterment of his condition.
+He leaves old communities, where competition in all branches of industry
+is great, in the hope of "getting in on the ground floor," as we used to
+say, when he arrived in a new country, and every American, and, in fact,
+everybody else, wants to get rich by head work instead of hand work, if
+he can. The bulk of the immigration that first came to Minnesota
+remained in the cities; there was no agriculture worthy of the name. I
+may say that we had nothing at all to sell, and everything we needed to
+buy. I can remember that as late as 1853, and even after, we imported
+hay in bales from Dubuque to feed the horses of St. Paul, when there
+were millions of tons of it growing in the Minnesota valley, within a
+few miles of the city.</p>
+
+<p>In the progress of emigration to the West, the territories have always
+presented the greatest attractions. The settler expects to have a better
+choice of lands, and at original government prices. Society and politics
+are both in the formative condition, and very few emigrants omit the
+latter consideration from their hopes and expectations. In fact,
+political preferment is a leading motive with many of them.</p>
+
+<p>Under the influence of this great rush of immigration it is very natural
+that the prevailing idea should be that lands would greatly increase in
+value in the near future, and everybody became a speculator. Towns and
+cities sprang into existence like mushrooms in a night. Scarcely anyone
+was to be seen without a town-site map in his hands, the advantages and
+beauties of which fictitious metropolis he was ready to present in the
+most eloquent terms. Everything useful was neglected, and speculation
+was rampant. There were no banks of issue, and all the money that was in
+the country was borrowed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>in the East. In order to make borrowing easy,
+the law placed no restrictions on the rate of interest, and the usual
+terms were three per cent per month, with the condition that if the
+principal was not paid at maturity, the interest should be increased to
+five per cent per month. Everybody was in debt on these ruinous terms;
+which, of course, could not last long before the inevitable explosion.
+The price of lands, and especially town lots, increased rapidly, and
+attained fabulous rates; in fact, some real property in St. Paul sold in
+1856 for more money than it has ever since brought.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_PANIC_OF_1857" id="THE_PANIC_OF_1857"></a>THE PANIC OF 1857.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The bubble burst by the announcement of the failure of the Ohio Life
+Insurance and Trust Company, which reached St. Paul on Aug. 24, 1857.
+The failure of this financial institution precipitated a panic all over
+the country. It happened just on the recurrence of the twenty year
+period which has marked the pecuniary disasters of the country,
+beginning with 1837. Its effects on Minnesota were extremely disastrous.
+The eastern creditors demanded their money, and the Minnesota debtors
+paid as long as a dollar remained in the country, and all means of
+borrowing more being cut off, a most remarkable condition of things
+resulted. Cities like St. Paul and St. Anthony, having a population of
+several thousands each, were absolutely without money to carry on the
+necessary commercial functions. A temporary remedy was soon discovered,
+by every merchant and shopkeeper issuing tickets marked "Good for one
+dollar at my store," and every fractional part of a dollar, down to five
+cents. This device tided the people for a while, but scarcely any
+business establishment in the territory weathered the storm, and many
+people who had considered themselves beyond the chance of disaster were
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>left without resources of any kind and hopelessly bankrupt. The distress
+was great and universal, but it was bravely met, and finally overcome.</p>
+
+<p>Dreadful as this affliction was to almost everyone in the territory, it
+turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It compelled the people to
+abandon speculation, and seek honest labor in the cultivation of the
+soil and the development of the splendid resources that generous nature
+had bestowed upon the country. Farms were opened by the thousands,
+everybody went to work, and in ten or a dozen years, Minnesota had a
+surplus of forty millions of bushels of wheat with which to supply the
+hungry world.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="LAND_TITLES" id="LAND_TITLES"></a>LAND TITLES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>All the lands of Minnesota were the property of the United States, and
+title to them could only be obtained through the regular methods of
+pre&euml;mption, town-site entry, public sales, or private entries. One event
+occurred on Aug. 14, 1848, which illustrates so clearly the way in which
+western men protect their rights that I will relate it. The recognized
+price of public lands was one dollar and a quarter per acre, and all
+pioneer settlers were willing to pay that sum, but when a public sale
+was made, any one could bid whatever he was willing to pay. Under the
+administration of President Polk, a public sale of lands was ordered to
+be made at the land office at St. Croix Falls, of lands lying partly in
+Minnesota and partly in Wisconsin. The lands advertised for sale
+included those embraced in St. Paul and St. Anthony. The settlers
+selected Henry H. Sibley as their trustee, to buy their lands for them,
+to be conveyed to them subsequently. It was a high offense under the
+United States laws to do any act that would tend <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>to prevent persons
+bidding at the sales. Mr. Sibley appeared at the sale, and bid off every
+tract of land that was occupied by an actual settler at the price of
+$1.25 per acre. The general, in a paper he read before the Historical
+Society, says of this affair:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"I was selected by the actual settlers to bid off portions of
+the land for them, and when the hour for business arrived, my
+seat was universally surrounded by a number of men with huge
+bludgeons. What was meant by the proceeding, I could, of course,
+only surmise, but I would not have envied the fate of the
+individual who would have ventured to bid against me."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It has always been assumed in the far West, and I think justly, that the
+pioneers who first settle the land and give it value should enjoy every
+advantage that flows from such priority, and the violation of laws that
+impede such opportunity is a very venial offense. So universal was the
+confidence reposed in Mr. Sibley, that many of the French settlers, the
+title to whose lands became vested in him, by his purchase at this sale,
+insisted that it should remain in him, and he found it quite difficult
+in many cases to get them to accept deeds from him.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_FIRST_NEWSPAPER" id="THE_FIRST_NEWSPAPER"></a>THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Although the first message of the governor went a great way in
+introducing Minnesota to the world, she was particularly fortunate in
+the establishment of her first newspapers. The Stillwater convention of
+1848, of which I have spoken, first suggested to Dr. A. Randall, who was
+an attache of Dr. Owen's geological corps, then engaged in a survey of
+this region by order of the government, the necessity of a newspaper for
+the new territory. He was possessed of the means and enterprise to
+accomplish the then rather difficult undertaking, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>and was promised
+ample support by leading men of the territory. He returned to his home
+in Cincinnati in the fall of 1848, intending to purchase the plant and
+start the paper that year, but the navigation of the rivers closed
+earlier than usual, and he was foiled in his attempt. He, however, set
+up his press in Cincinnati, and got out a number or two of his paper
+there. It was then called the "<i>Minnesota Register</i>," and appeared as of
+the date of April 27, 1849, and as printed in St. Paul. It was in fact
+printed in Cincinnati about two weeks earlier. It contained valuable
+articles from the pens of H. H. Sibley and Henry M. Rice. These
+articles, added to Mr. Randall's extensive knowledge of the country,
+made the first issue a great local success. It was the first Minnesota
+paper ever published, and bears date just one day ahead of the
+<i>Pioneer</i>, subsequently published by James M. Goodhue, which was
+actually printed in the territory. Dr. Randall did not carry out his
+intention, but was caught in the California vortex, and did not return
+to Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>James M. Goodhue of Lancaster, Wis., who was editing the <i>Wisconsin
+Herald</i>, when he heard of the organization of the new territory,
+immediately decided to start a paper in St. Paul, and as soon as
+navigation opened in the spring of 1849, he came up with his press and
+type. He met with many difficulties and obstructions, necessarily
+incident to a new place in a venture such as was his, but he succeeded
+in issuing the first number of his paper on the twenty-eighth day of
+April, 1849. His first inclination was to call his paper the "<i>Epistle
+of St. Paul</i>," but on sober reflection he was convinced that the name
+might shock the religious sensibilities of the community, especially as
+he did not possess many of the attributes of our patron saint, and he
+decided to call his paper "<i>The Minnesota Pioneer</i>."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>In his first issue he speaks of his establishment of that day, as
+follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"We print and issue this number of the <i>Pioneer</i> in a building
+through which out-of-doors is visible by more than five hundred
+apertures; and as for our type, it is not safe from being <i>pied</i>
+on the galleys by the wind." The rest can be imagined.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Goodhue was just the man to be the editor of the first paper of a
+frontier territory. He was energetic, enterprising, brilliant, bold and
+belligerent. He conducted the <i>Pioneer</i> with great success and advantage
+to the territory until the year 1851, when he published an article on
+Judge Cooper, censuring him for absenteeism, which is a very good
+specimen of the editorial style of that day. He called the judge "a
+sot," "a brute," "an ass," "a profligate vagabond," and closed his
+article in the following language:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Feeling some resentment for the wrongs our territory has so
+long suffered by these men, pressing upon us like a dispensation
+of wrath,&mdash;a judgment&mdash;a curse&mdash;a plague, unequalled since Egypt
+went lousy,&mdash;we sat down to write this article with some
+bitterness, but our very gall is honey to what they deserve."</p></div>
+
+<p>In those fighting days, such an article could not fail to produce a
+personal collision. A brother of Judge Cooper resented the attack, and
+in the encounter between them, Goodhue was badly stabbed and Cooper was
+shot. Neither wound proved fatal at the time, but it was always asserted
+by the friends of each combatant, and generally believed, that they both
+died from the effects of these wounds.</p>
+
+<p>The original <i>Minnesota Pioneer</i> still lives in the <i>Pioneer Press</i> of
+to-day, which is published in St. Paul. It has been continued under
+several names and edited by <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>different men, but has never been
+extinguished or lost its relation of lineal descendant from the original
+<i>Pioneer</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing tends to show the phenomenal growth of Minnesota more than the
+fact that this first newspaper, issued in 1849, has been followed by the
+publication of 579 papers, which is the number now issued in the state
+according to the last official list obtainable. They appear daily,
+weekly and monthly, in nearly all written languages, English, French,
+German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Bohemian, and one in Icelandic,
+published in Lyon county.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BANKS" id="BANKS"></a>BANKS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>With the first great increase in immigration business was necessarily
+enlarged, and banking facilities became a necessity. Dr. Charles W.
+Borup, a Danish gentleman, who was engaged in the fur trade at Lake
+Superior as an agent for the American Fur Company, and Mr. Charles H.
+Oakes, a native of Vermont, came to St. Paul, and established a bank in
+1853. They were brothers-in-law, having married sisters. They did a
+private banking business, under the name of Borup &amp; Oakes, which adapted
+itself to the needs of the community, including real estate, and almost
+any other kind of venture that offered. The house of Borup &amp; Oakes was
+the first banking establishment in Minnesota, and weathered all the
+financial storms that swept over the territory in its early history.</p>
+
+<p>They were followed by Truman M. Smith, but he went down in the panic of
+1857-58. Then came Bidwell's Exchange Bank, followed by C. H. Parker and
+A. Vance Brown. Mackubin &amp; Edgerton opened a bank in 1854, which was the
+ancestor of the present Second <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>National Bank, and always legitimate. I
+think Erastus S. Edgerton may justly be said to have been the most
+successful banker of all that were early engaged in the business. An
+enumeration of the banks and bankers which succeeded each other in these
+early times would be more appropriate in a narrative of the localities
+where they operated than in a general history of the state. It is
+sufficient to say that nearly all, if not all, of them succumbed to the
+financial disasters in 1857-58, and there was no banking worthy of the
+name until the passage of the banking law of July 26, 1858. But this act
+was a mere makeshift to meet a financial emergency, and it was not based
+upon sound financial principles. It allowed the organization of banks
+and the issue of circulating bank notes upon securities that were
+capable of being fraudulently overvalued by misrepresentation, and, as a
+matter of course, advantage was taken of the laxity of the provisions of
+the law, and securities which had no intrinsic value in fact were made
+available as the foundation of bank issues, with the inevitable result
+of disaster.</p>
+
+<p>Another method of furnishing the community with a circulating medium was
+resorted to by a law of July 23, 1858. The state auditor was authorized
+to issue his warrants for any indebtedness which the state owed to any
+person in small sums, and the warrants were made to resemble bank notes,
+and bore twelve per cent interest. The credit of the state was not
+sufficiently well established in the public confidence to make these
+warrants, which were known as "state scrip," worth much over sixty-five
+or seventy cents on the dollar. They were taken by the money changers at
+that valuation, and when the state made its first loan of $250,000, they
+were all redeemed in gold at par, with interest at twelve per cent.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>In this uncertain way, the financial interests of the territory were
+cared for until the breaking out of the Civil War, and the establishment
+of the national and state systems which still exist.</p>
+
+<p>Another evidence of the growth of the state may be found in the fact
+that at the present time the state has within its limits banks in good
+standing as follows: State banks, 172 in number, with a paid-in capital
+stock of $6,736,800, and sixty-seven national banks, with a capital
+stock paid in of $11,220,000. This statement does not include either the
+surplus or the undivided profits of these banks, nor the capital
+employed by private banking concerns which do not fall under the
+supervision of the state, which latter item can safely be estimated at
+$2,000,000.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_FUR_TRADE" id="THE_FUR_TRADE"></a>THE FUR TRADE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The first legitimate business of the territory was the fur trade, and
+the carrying business resulting therefrom. Prior to the year 1842 the
+Northwestern Fur Company occupied the territory which is now Minnesota.
+In 1842 it sold out to, and was merged into, the American Fur Company,
+which was owned by P. Choteau &amp; Company. This company had trading
+stations at Prairie du Chien and Mendota, Henry H. Sibley being their
+chief factor at the latter. The goods imported into the Red river
+settlements and the furs exported therefrom all came and went through
+the difficult and circuitous route by way of Hudson Bay. This route was
+only navigable for about two months in the year, on account of the ice.
+The catch of furs and buffalo robes in that region was practically
+monopolized by the Hudson Bay Company. The American Fur Company soon
+became well established in the Northwest. In 1844 this company<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> sent Mr.
+Norman W. Kittson from the Mendota outfit to establish a trading post at
+Pembina, just south of the British possessions, with the design of
+diverting some of the fur trade of that region in the direction of the
+navigable waters of the Mississippi. The company, through Mr. Kittson,
+invested some $2,000 in furs at Pembina, and had them transported to
+Mendota in six Pembina carts, which returned loaded with merchandise of
+the character needed by the people of that distant region. This venture
+was the beginning of the fur trade with the Red river country, but did
+not prove a financial success. It entailed a loss of about $600, and
+similar results attended the next two years' operations, but the trade
+increased, notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the Hudson Bay
+Company to obstruct it. This company had enjoyed a monopoly of the trade
+without any outside interference for so long that it looked upon this
+new enterprise as a direct attack on its vested rights. But Mr. Kittson
+had faith in being able in the near future to work up a paying trade,
+and he persevered. By the year 1850 the business had so far increased as
+to involve a consumption of goods to the extent of $10,000, with a
+return of furs to the amount of $15,000. Five years later the goods sent
+to Pembina amounted in value to $24,000, and the return of furs to
+$40,000. In 1851 the firm of Forbes &amp; Kittson was organized, and also
+"The St. Paul Outfit," to carry on the supply business. When St. Paul
+became of some importance in 1849 the terminus and supply depot was
+removed to that point, and the trade rapidly increased in magnitude, and
+made St. Paul one of the largest fur markets in America, second only to
+St. Louis, the trade of which city consisted mostly of buffalo robes,
+which was always regarded as a distinct branch of the business, in
+contrast with that of fine furs. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>In the early days the Indians and a
+few professional trappers were about all who caught fur animals, but as
+the country became more settled the squatters added to their incomes by
+such trapping as their environments afforded, which increased the market
+at St. Paul by the addition of all Minnesota, which then included both
+of the Dakotas, and northern Wisconsin.</p>
+
+<p>The extent and value of this trade can better be understood by a
+statement of the increase of the number of carts engaged in it between
+1844 and 1858. In the first year mentioned six carts performed all the
+required service, and in 1858 six hundred carts came from Pembina to St.
+Paul. After the year 1858 the number of carts engaged in the traffic
+fell off, as a steamer had been put in operation on the Red river, which
+reduced the land transportation to 216 miles, which had formerly been
+448 miles, J. C. &amp; H. C. Burbank having established a line of freight
+trains connecting with the steamer. In 1867, when the St. Paul &amp; Pacific
+Railroad reached St. Cloud, the caravans of carts ceased their annual
+visits to St. Paul. St. Cloud then became the terminus of the traffic,
+until the increase of freight lines and the completion of the Northern
+Pacific Railroad to the Red river drove these most primitive of all
+transportation vehicles out of business. Another cause of the decrease
+in the fur trade was the imposition of a duty of twenty-five per cent on
+all dressed skins, which included buffalo robes, and from that time on
+robes that formerly came to St. Paul from the British possessions were
+diverted to Montreal.</p>
+
+<p>The extent and value of this trade to Minnesota, which was then in its
+infancy, can easily be judged by a brief statement of its growth. In
+1844 it amounted to $1,400 and in 1863 to $250,000. All the money paid
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>out for these furs, and large sums besides, would be expended in St.
+Paul for merchandise, in the shape of groceries, liquors, dry goods,
+blankets, household utensils, guns and ammunition, and, in fact every
+article demanded by the needs of a primitive people. Even threshers and
+mowers were included, which were taken apart and loaded on the return
+carts. This trade was the pioneer of the great commercial activity which
+now prevails.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot permit this opportunity to pass without describing the Red
+river cart, and the picturesque people who used it, as their like will
+never be seen again. The inhabitants of the Pembina country were
+principally Chippewa half breeds, with an occasional white man,
+prominently Joseph Rolette, of whom I shall hereafter speak as the man
+who vetoed the capital removal bill, by running away with it, in 1857.
+Their principal business was hunting the buffalo, in connection with
+small farming, and defending themselves against the invasions of their
+hereditary enemies, the Sioux. They were a bold, free race, skilled in
+the arts of Indian war, fine horsemen, and good fighters.</p>
+
+<p>The Red river cart was a home invention. It was made entirely of wood
+and rawhide. It moved upon two wheels, of about a diameter of five feet
+six inches, with shafts for one animal, horse or ox,&mdash;generally the
+latter. The wheels were without tires, and their tread about three and a
+half or four inches wide. They would carry a load of six to eight
+hundred pounds, which would be protected by canvas covers. They were
+especially adapted to the condition of the country, which was largely
+interspersed with swamps and sloughs, which were impassable for any
+other character of vehicle. Their lightness, the width of the surface
+presented by <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>the tread of the wheel and the careful steps of the
+educated animal which drew them, enabled them to go where anything else
+would flounder. The trail which they left upon the prairie was deeply
+cut, and remained for many years after they were disused.</p>
+
+<p>When a brigade of them was ready to leave from Pembina for St. Paul, it
+would be manned by one driver for four carts, the train being arranged
+in single file with the animals hitched to the cart before them, so that
+one driver could attend to that number of carts. Their speed was about
+fifteen miles a day, which made the voyage last about a month. When
+night overtook them they formed a circular corral with their carts, the
+shafts pointing inward, with the camp in the center, which made a strong
+fort in case of attack. The animals were allowed to graze on the
+outside, but were carefully watched to prevent a stampede. When they
+reached St. Paul they went into camp near some lake, and were a great
+source of interest to all the newcomers. During their stay the town
+would be thronged with the men, who were dressed in vari-colored
+costumes, always including the sash of Pembina, a beautiful girdle,
+giving them a most picturesque appearance. The only truthful
+representation of these curious people that has been preserved is found
+in two full length portraits of Joe Rollette, one in the gallery of the
+Minnesota Historical Society and the other on the walls of the Minnesota
+Club, in St. Paul, both of which are the gift of a very dear friend of
+the original.</p>
+
+<p>During the progress of this peculiar traffic many people not connected
+with the established fur companies, engaged in the Indian trade,
+prominently Culver and Farrington, Louis Roberts, and Nathan Myrick. I
+remember that Mr. John Farrington made an improvement <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>in the
+construction of the Red river cart, by putting an iron box in the hub of
+the wheel, which prevented the loud squeaking noise they formerly made,
+and so facilitated their movements that they carried a thousand pounds
+as easily as they had before carried eight hundred.</p>
+
+<p>The early fur trade in the Northwest, carried on by canoes and these
+carts, was very appropriately called by one of our first historians of
+Minnesota, "The heroic age of American commerce."</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="PEMMICAN" id="PEMMICAN"></a>PEMMICAN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>One of the principal sources of subsistence of these frontier people in
+their long journeys through uninhabited regions was pemmican. This food
+was especially adapted to extreme northern countries, where in the
+winter it was sometimes impossible to make fires to cook with, and the
+means of transportation was by dog-trains, as it was equally good for
+man and beast. It was invented among the Hudson Bay people, many years
+ago, and undoubtedly from necessity. It was made in this way: The meat
+of the buffalo, without the fat, was thoroughly boiled, and then picked
+into shreds or very small pieces. A sack was made of buffalo skin, with
+the hair on the outside, which would hold about ninety pounds of meat. A
+hole was then dug in the ground of sufficient size to hold the sack. It
+was filled with the meat thus prepared, which was packed and pounded
+until it was as hard as it could be made. A kettle of boiling hot
+buffalo fat, in a fluid state, was then poured into it, until it was
+thoroughly permeated, every interstice from center to circumference
+being filled, until it became a solid mass, perfectly impervious to the
+air, and as well preserved against decomposition as if it had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>been
+enclosed in an hermetically sealed glass jar. Here you had a most
+nutritious preparation of animal food, all ready for use for both man
+and dog. An analysis of this compound proved it to possess more
+nutriment to the pound weight than any other substance ever
+manufactured, and with a winter camp appetite, it was a very palatable
+dish. Its great superiority over any other kind of food was its not
+requiring preparation and its portability.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="TRANSPORTATION_AND_EXPRESS" id="TRANSPORTATION_AND_EXPRESS"></a>TRANSPORTATION AND EXPRESS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>With the increase of trade and business naturally came the need of
+greater transportation facilities, and the men to furnish them were not
+wanting. John C. Burbank of St. Paul may be said to have been the
+pioneer in that line, although several minor lines of stages and
+ventures in the livery business preceded his efforts. Willoughby &amp;
+Powers, Allen &amp; Chase, M. O. Walker &amp; Company of Chicago, and others,
+were early engaged in this work. In 1854 the Northwestern Express
+Company was organized by Burbank &amp; Whitney, and in 1856 Captain Russell
+Blakeley succeeded Mr. Whitney, and the express business became well
+established in Minnesota. In 1858-59 Mr. Burbank got the mail contract
+down the river, and established an express line from St. Paul to Galena,
+in connection with the American Express Company, whose lines extended to
+Galena as its western terminus. Steamboats were used in summer and
+stages in winter. In the fall of 1859 the Minnesota Stage Company was
+formed by a consolidation of the Burbank interests with those of Allen &amp;
+Chase, and the line extended up the Mississippi to St. Anthony and Crow
+Wing. Other lines and interests were purchased and united, and in the
+spring of 1860 Col. John <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>L. Merriam became a member of the firm, and
+for more than seven years Messrs. Burbank, Blakeley &amp; Merriam
+constituted the firm and carried on the express and stage business in
+Minnesota. This business increased rapidly, and in 1865 this firm worked
+over seven hundred horses, and employed two hundred men.</p>
+
+<p>During this staging period the railroads from the East centered in
+Chicago, and gradually reached the Mississippi river from that point;
+first at Rock Island, next at Dunleith, opposite Dubuque, then at
+Prairie du Chien, next at Prairie La Crosse,&mdash;each advance carrying them
+nearer Minnesota. The Prairie du Chien extension was continued across
+the river at McGregor in Iowa, and thence up through Iowa and Southern
+Minnesota to Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 1872 the St. Paul &amp; Chicago
+Railroad was finished from St. Paul down the west bank of the
+Mississippi to Winona and was purchased by the Milwaukee &amp; St. Paul
+Company, and by that company was, in 1873, extended still further down
+the river to La Crescent, opposite to La Crosse, which completed the
+connection with the eastern trains. This road was popularly known as the
+"River Road." Various other railroads were soon completed, covering the
+needs of the settled part of the state, and the principal stage lines
+either withdrew to the westward, or gave up their business.</p>
+
+<p>The growth in the carrying line has since become immense throughout the
+state, and may be judged when I say that there are now five strong daily
+lines to Chicago, the Burlington, the Omaha, the Milwaukee, the
+Wisconsin Central and the Chicago Great Western, and three
+transcontinental lines departing daily for the Pacific Coast, the
+Northern Pacific, the Great Northern and the Sault Ste. Marie
+(connecting with the Canadian <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>Pacific). Besides these prominent trains,
+there are innumerable lesser ones connecting with nearly every part of
+the state. More passenger trains arrive at, and depart from, the St.
+Paul Union Depot than at any other point in the state. They aggregate
+104 in, and the same number out every day. Many&mdash;perhaps the most&mdash;of
+these trains go to Minneapolis. The freight trains passing these points
+are, of course, less regular in their movements than the scheduled
+passenger trains, but their number is great, and their cargoes of
+incalculable value.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="LUMBER" id="LUMBER"></a>LUMBER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A large portion of Minnesota is covered with exceptionally fine timber.
+The northern section, traversed by the Mississippi and its numerous
+branches, the St. Croix, the St. Louis, and other streams, was covered
+with a growth of white and Norway pine of great value, and a large area
+of its central western portion with hard timber. At a very early day in
+the history of our state these forests attracted the attention of
+lumbermen from different parts of the country, principally from Maine,
+who erected sawmills at the Falls of St. Anthony, Stillwater and other
+points, and began the cutting of logs to supply them. Nearly all the
+streams were navigable for logs, or were easily made so, and thus one of
+the great industries of the state had its beginning. Quite an amount of
+lumber was manufactured at Minneapolis in the fifties, but no official
+record of the amounts were kept until 1870. An estimate of the standing
+pine in the state was made by the United States government for the
+census of 1880, which was designed to include all the standing pine on
+the streams leading into the Mississippi, the Rainy Lake river, the St.
+Croix, and the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>head of Lake Superior; in fact, the whole state. The
+estimate was 10,000,000,000 feet. When this estimate was made, it was
+accepted by the best informed lumbermen as approximately correct. The
+mills at Minneapolis and above, in the St. Croix valley, and in what was
+called the Duluth district, were cutting about 500,000,000 feet a year.
+It was expected that there would be a gradual increase in the
+consumption of lumber made by Minnesota mills, and it was therefore
+estimated that in about fifteen years, all the white pine in the state
+would be cut into lumber and sold; but such has not proved to be the
+case, although the production has rapidly increased as was expected. But
+this difference between the estimate and the result is not of much
+consequence, as there is nothing more unreliable than an estimate of
+standing timber, and especially is such the case when covering a large
+area of country. Since 1880 the production of lumber in the state has
+increased from year to year, until it is at the present time fully
+1,629,110,000 feet of pine logs every year. The cut made by the
+Minneapolis mills alone in 1898 was 469,701,000 feet, with a
+corresponding amount of laths and shingles. But this pace cannot be kept
+up much longer, and apprehensions of the entire destruction of the
+forests of the state are becoming quite prevalent among the people.
+These fears are taking the shape of associations for the promotion of
+scientific forestry, and the establishment of large forest reserves near
+the headwaters of our streams, which are to serve also the purpose of
+national parks. In assigning a cause for the lowering of our streams,
+and the drying up of many of our lakes, in a former part of this work, I
+attribute it to the plowing up of their valleys and watersheds, and not
+to the destruction of the forests, because I do not think that the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>latter reason has sufficiently progressed to produce the result,
+although it is well known that the destruction of growing timber about
+the head waters of streams operates disastrously upon the volume of
+their waters and the regularity of its flow. Minnesota is the best
+watered state in the Union, and every precaution should be taken to
+maintain this advantage. From the extent of the interest displayed in
+the direction of forest reserves and their scientific administration, we
+have every reason to hope for speedy and final success. The state and
+interstate parks already established will be noticed hereafter.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="RELIGION" id="RELIGION"></a>RELIGION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The growth of the religious element of a new country is always one of
+its interesting features, and I will endeavor to give a short account of
+the progress made in this line in Minnesota from the mission period,
+which was directed more particularly to the Christianizing of the
+Indians. I will begin with the first structure ever erected in the
+state, designed for religious purposes. It was a very small beginning
+for the prodigious results that have followed it. I speak of the little
+log "Chapel of Saint Paul," built by the Rev. Lucian Galtier, in
+October, 1841, in what is now the city of St. Paul.</p>
+
+<p>Father Galtier was a French priest of the Church of Rome. He was sent by
+the ecclesiastic authorities of Dubuque to the Upper Mississippi
+country, and arrived at Fort Snelling in April, 1840, and settled at St.
+Peters (now Mendota), where he soon tired of inaction, and sought a
+larger field among the settlers who had found homes further down the
+river, in the neighborhood of the present St. Paul. He decided that he
+could facilitate his labors by erecting a church at some point
+accessible to his parishioners. Here he found Joseph Rondo, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>Edward
+Phalen, Vetal Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais Brothers, and a few
+others. The settlers encouraged the idea of building a church, and a
+question of much importance arose as to where it should be placed. I
+will let the good father tell his own story as to the selection of a
+site. In an account of this matter, which he prepared for Bishop Grace
+in 1864, he says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Three different points were offered, one called La Pointe
+Basse, or Pointe La Claire (now Pig's Eye); but I objected
+because that locality was the very extreme end of the new
+settlement, and in high water, was exposed to inundation. The
+idea of building a church which might at any day be swept down
+the river to St. Louis did not please me. Two miles and a half
+further up, on his elevated claim (now the southern point of
+Dayton's Bluff), Mr. Charles Mouseau offered me an acre of his
+ground, but the place did not suit my purpose. I was truly
+looking ahead, thinking of the future as well as the present.
+Steamboats could not stop there; the bank was too steep, the
+place on the summit of the hill too restricted, and
+communication difficult with the other parts of the settlement
+up and down the river.</p>
+
+<p>"After mature reflection, I resolved to put up the church at the
+nearest possible point to the cave, because it would be more
+convenient for me to cross the river there when coming from St.
+Peters, and because it would be also the nearest point to the
+head of navigation, outside of the reservation line. Mr. B.
+Gervais and Mr. Vetal Guerin, two good, quiet farmers, had the
+only spot which appeared likely to answer the purpose. They
+consented jointly to give me the ground necessary for a church
+site, a garden and a small graveyard. I accepted the extreme
+eastern part of Mr. Vetal's claim, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>and the extreme west of Mr.
+Gervais'. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1841, logs were
+prepared and a church erected, so poor that it well reminded one
+of the stable of Bethlehem. It was destined, however, to be the
+nucleus of a great city. On the first day of November, in the
+same year, I blessed the new <i>basilica</i>, and dedicated it to
+Saint Paul, the apostle of nations. I expressed a wish, at the
+same time, that the settlement would be known by the same name,
+and my desire was obtained. I had, previously to this time,
+fixed my residence at St. Peters, and as the name of <i>Paul</i> is
+generally connected with that of <i>Peter</i>, and the Gentiles being
+well represented at the new place in the persons of Indians, I
+called it St. Paul. The name "Saint Paul," applied to a town or
+city seemed appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well,
+and is understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr.
+Vetal was married, I published the banns as those of a resident
+of St. Paul. A Mr. Jackson put up a store, and a grocery was
+opened at the foot of Gervais' claim. This soon brought
+steamboats to land there. Thenceforth the place was known as
+'Saint Paul Landing,' and later on as Saint Paul."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The chapel was a small log structure&mdash;one story high, one door, and no
+windows in front, with two windows on each side, and one in the rear
+end. It had on the front gable end a large wooden cross, which projected
+above the peak of the roof some six or eight feet. It occupied a
+conspicuous position, on the top of the high bluff overlooking the
+Mississippi, some six or eight hundred feet below the point where the
+Wabasha street bridge now spans the river, I think, between Minnesota
+and Cedar streets.</p>
+
+<p>The region thus named was formerly known by the appellation of "Pig's
+Eye." The state owes Father <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>Galtier a debt of gratitude for having
+changed it, as it seems impossible that the capital city could ever have
+attained its present majestic proportions, numerous and cultivated
+population, and many other advantages and attractions, under the
+handicap of such a name.</p>
+
+<p>In the first New Year's address ever printed in Minnesota, on Jan. 1,
+1850, supposed to be by Editor Goodhue, the following lines appeared:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+"Pig's Eye, converted thou shall be, like Saul:<br />
+Arise, and be, henceforth, SAINT PAUL."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Father Galtier died Feb. 21, 1866.</p>
+
+<p>The chapel of Saint Paul, after having been the first to greet all
+newcomers by way of the Mississippi for fifteen years, was taken down in
+1856.</p>
+
+<p>The next representative of the Catholic church to come to Minnesota was
+the Rev. Augustin Ravoux, who arrived in the fall of 1841. He went up
+the St. Peter's river to Traverse des Sioux, where he commenced the
+study of the Sioux language. Soon after he went to Little Rock, on the
+St. Peters, and thence to Lac qui Parle. After the removal of Father
+Galtier to Keokuk, in Iowa, he had under his charge, Mendota, St. Paul,
+Lake Pepin and St. Croix, until the second day of July, 1851, when the
+Right Reverend Bishop Cretin came to St. Paul, and assumed charge of
+church matters in Minnesota. Father Ravoux is still living in St. Paul
+at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His venerable and priestly
+form may often be seen upon the streets, in excellent health.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of the coming of Father Galtier the country on the east side
+of the Mississippi, in what is now Minnesota, was under the direct
+jurisdiction of the Bishop of Milwaukee, and the part lying west of the
+river was in the diocese of Dubuque.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>The growth of the church kept up with the rapid settlement of the
+country. In August, 1859, the Right Reverend Thomas L. Grace succeeded
+Bishop Cretin as bishop of St. Paul, and was himself succeeded by the
+Right Reverend John Ireland, in July, 1884. So important had Minnesota
+become to the Catholic Church in America that, in May of 1888, the see
+of St. Paul was raised to metropolitan dignity and Archbishop Ireland
+was made its first Archbishop, which high office he now holds.</p>
+
+<p>I will not attempt even a short biography of Archbishop Ireland. His
+fame is world-wide; he is a churchman, statesman, diplomat, orator,
+citizen and patriot,&mdash;in each of which capacities he excels. He has
+carried the fame of Minnesota to all parts of the world where the Church
+is known, and has demonstrated to the Pope in Rome, to the Catholics in
+France, and to the Protestants in America that there can be perfect
+consistency and harmony between Catholicism and republican government. A
+history of Minnesota without a fitting tribute to Archbishop John
+Ireland would be incomplete indeed.</p>
+
+<p>The representatives of the Protestant faith have not been behind their
+Catholic brethren in providing religious facilities for their
+adherents. They followed immigration closely, and sometimes accompanied
+it. Scarcely would an aggregation of people congregate at any one
+point in sufficient numbers to gain the name of a village, or a
+settlement, before a minister would be called and a church erected.
+The church went hand in hand with the schoolhouse, and in many instances
+one building answered for both purposes. There came Lutherans from
+Germany and Scandinavia, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians,
+Congregationalists, Calvinists, Universalists, Unitarians, and every
+sect into <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>which Protestantism is divided, from New England and other
+Eastern States. They all found room and encouragement, and dwelt in
+harmony. I can safely say, that few Western States have been peopled by
+such law-abiding, industrious, moral and religious inhabitants as were
+the first settlers of Minnesota. There was nothing to attract the
+ruffianly element,&mdash;no gold, silver, or other mines; the chief industry
+being peaceful agriculture. So free from all disturbing or dangerous
+elements did we consider our territory that I have on several occasions
+taken a wagon loaded with specie, amounting to nearly one hundred
+thousand dollars, from St. Paul to the Indian agencies at the Redwood
+and Yellow Medicine rivers, a distance of two hundred miles, through a
+very sparsely settled country, without any guard except myself and
+driver, with possibly an Indian picked up on the road, when I was
+entitled to a squad of dragoons for the asking.</p>
+
+<p>In the early days the Episcopal Church in Minnesota was within the
+diocese of Wisconsin, and its functions administered by the venerable
+Bishop Kemper, who occasionally made us a visit, but in 1859 the church
+had expanded to such an extent that the state was organized into a
+separate diocese, and the Rev. Henry B. Whipple, then rector of a church
+in Chicago, was elected bishop of Minnesota, and still retains that high
+office. Bishop Whipple, by his energy, learning, goodness and universal
+popularity, has built up his church in this state to a standard
+surpassed by none in the respect in which it is held and the influence
+for good which it exerts. The official duties of the bishop have been so
+enlarged by the growth of his church as to necessitate the appointment
+of a bishop coadjutor to assist him in their performance, which latter
+office is filled by the Rev. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>Mahlon N. Gilbert, who is especially well
+qualified for the position.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>It would be impossible in a brief history like this to go very deeply or
+particularly into the growth of the religious element of the state. A
+general presentation of the subject in two grand divisions, Catholic and
+Protestant, is enough. Suffice it to say, that every sect and
+subdivision of the latter has its representative in the state, with the
+one exception of Mormonism, if that can be classified as a Protestant
+church. There are enough of them to recall the answer of the French
+traveler in America, when asked of his opinion of the Americans. He
+said: "They are a most remarkable people; they have invented three
+hundred religions and only one sauce." No matter how their creeds may be
+criticised, their joint efforts, Catholic and Protestant, have filled
+the state with religious, charitable, benevolent and educational
+institutions to an extent rarely witnessed out of it, so that if a
+Minnesotan goes wrong, he can blame no one but himself.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="RAILROADS" id="RAILROADS"></a>RAILROADS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the year 1857, on the third day of March, the congress of the United
+States made an extensive grant of lands to the territory to aid in the
+construction of railroads. It consisted of every alternate section of
+land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width, on each side
+of the roads specified, and their branches. The grant mapped out a
+complete system of roads for the territory, and provided that the land
+granted for each road should be applied exclusively to such road, and no
+other purpose whatever. The lines designated in the granting act were as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>From Stillwater, by the way of St. Paul and St. Anthony to a point
+between the foot of Big Stone lake and the mouth of the Sioux Wood
+river, with a branch via St. Cloud and Crow Wing to the navigable waters
+of the Red River of the North, at such point as the legislature of the
+territory may determine.</p>
+
+<p>From St. Paul and from St. Anthony via Minneapolis to a convenient point
+of junction west of the Mississippi to the southern boundary of the
+territory, in the direction of the mouth of the Big Sioux river, with a
+branch via Faribault to the north line of the state of Iowa, west of
+range 16.</p>
+
+<p>From Winona via St. Peter to a point on the Big Sioux river, south of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude.</p>
+
+<p>Also from La Crescent via Target lake up the valley of the Root river,
+to a point east of range 17.</p>
+
+<p>The territory or future state was authorized to sell one hundred and
+twenty sections of this land whenever twenty continuous miles of any of
+the roads or branches was completed,&mdash;the land so sold to be contiguous
+to the completed road. The right of way or road bed of any of the
+subsidized roads was also granted through any of the government lands.
+The roads were all to be completed within ten years, and if any of them
+were not finished by that time the lands applicable to the unfinished
+portions were to revert to the government. The lands granted by this act
+amounted to about 4,500,000 acres. An act was subsequently passed on
+March 2, 1865, increasing the grant to ten sections to the mile. Various
+other grants were made at different times, but they do not bear upon the
+subject I am about to present.</p>
+
+<p>This grant came at a time of great financial depression, and when the
+territory was about to change its dependent condition for that of a
+sovereign state in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>Union. It was greeted as a means of relief that
+might lift the territory out of its financial troubles, and insure its
+immediate prosperity. The people did not take into consideration the
+fact that the lands embraced in the grant, although as good as any in
+the world, were remote from the habitation of man, lying in a country
+absolutely bankrupt, and possessing no present value whatever. Nor did
+they consider that the whole country was laboring under such financial
+depression that all public enterprises were paralyzed; but such was,
+unfortunately, the monetary and business condition.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act had passed the congress of
+the United States authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a
+constitution preparatory to becoming a state in the Union. Gen. Willis
+A. Gorman, who was then governor of the territory, called a special
+session of the legislature to take into consideration measures to carry
+out the land grant and enabling acts. The extra session convened on
+April 27th. In the meantime Governor Gorman's term of office had
+expired, and Samuel Medary of Ohio had been appointed as his successor,
+and had assumed the duties of his office. He opened the extra session
+with an appropriate message. The extra session adjourned on the 23d of
+May, and in accordance with the provisions of the enabling act of
+congress, an election was held on the first Monday in June for delegates
+to a constitutional convention, which was to assemble at the capitol on
+the second Monday in July. The constitutional convention is an event in
+the history of Minnesota sufficiently important and unique to entitle it
+to special treatment, which will be given hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>An act was passed at the extra session, on the 19th day of May, 1857, by
+which the grant of lands made to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>the territory was formally accepted,
+"upon the terms, conditions and restrictions" contained in the granting
+act.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-second day of May, at the extra session, an act was passed
+to execute the trust created by the land grant act, by which a number of
+railroad companies were incorporated to construct roads on the lines
+indicated by the act of congress, and to aid in the building of these
+roads, and the lands applicable to each were granted to it. The
+companies were to receive title to the lands as the construction
+progressed, as provided in the granting act. They also had conferred
+upon them powers to issue bonds, in the discretion of the directors, and
+to mortgage their roads and franchise to secure them.</p>
+
+<p>These railroad companies were organized upon the hope that the aid
+extended to them by the grants of land would enable them to raise money
+sufficient to build their several roads. They had nothing of their own,
+and no security but the roads and lands upon which to negotiate loans.
+The times, and the novel idea of building railroads in unpeopled
+countries, were all against them, and, of course, nothing could be done.</p>
+
+<p>The constitutional convention met and framed an instrument for the
+fundamental law of the new state which was very conservative, and, among
+other things, contained the following clause, which was enacted in
+section 5 of article IX.:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses the state may
+contract debts, but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed two
+hundred and fifty thousand dollars." And another clause found in section
+10, which is as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given
+or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>It was the intention of the framers of the constitution to prevent the
+legislature from ever using the credit or funds of the state in aid of
+any private enterprise, and these provisions effectually accomplished
+that end.</p>
+
+<p>The people were deeply disappointed when they became convinced that the
+roads could not be built with the aid that congress had extended, and as
+this work was also looked upon as the only hope of financial relief, the
+case became a desperate one, which could only be remedied by the most
+extreme measures. The promoters of the railroads soon discovered one, in
+an amendment of the section of the constitution which prohibited the
+credit of the state being given or loaned to anyone, and at the first
+session of the first legislature, which convened on Dec. 3, 1857, an act
+was passed proposing such amendment, to be submitted to the people for
+ratification. The importance of this amendment, and its effect and
+consequences upon the future of the state, demands that I give it nearly
+in full. It changed section 10 as it was originally passed, and made it
+read as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Section 10. The credit of that state shall never be given or
+loaned in aid of any individual association or corporation,
+except that, for the purpose of expediting the construction of
+the lines of railroads, in aid of which the congress of the
+United States has granted lands to the Territory of Minnesota,
+the governor shall cause to be issued and delivered to each of
+the companies in which said grants are vested by the legislative
+assembly of Minnesota the special bonds of the state, bearing an
+interest of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in
+the city of New York, as a loan of public credit, to an amount
+not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or an
+aggregate amount to all of said <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>companies not exceeding five
+millions of dollars, in manner following, to-wit:"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The amendment then prescribes that, whenever ten miles of railroad was
+graded so as to be ready for the superstructure, it should receive
+$100,000 of the bonds, and when ten miles should be completed with the
+cars running, the company so completing should receive another $100,000
+of the bonds until each company had received its quota. The bonds were
+to be denominated "State Railroad Bonds," for the payment of which the
+faith and credit of the state was to be pledged. The railroad companies
+were to pay the principal and interest of the bonds, and to secure such
+payment they were to pledge the net profits of their respective roads,
+and to convey to the state the first two hundred and forty sections of
+land they received, and to deliver to the state treasurer an amount of
+their first mortgage bonds equal to the amount of bonds received by them
+from the state, and mortgage to the state their roads and franchises.
+This was all the security the companies could give, but the underlying
+difficulty was that it had no value whatever. There were no roads, no
+net or other profits. The lands had no value whatever except such as lay
+in the future, which was dependent on the construction of the roads and
+the settlement of the country. The bonds of the companies, of course,
+possessed only such value as the property they represented, which was
+nothing, and the mortgages were of the same character. The whole scheme
+was based upon hopes, which the slightest application of sober reasoning
+would have pronounced impossible of fulfillment. But the country was
+hungry, and willing to seize upon anything that offered a semblance or
+shadow of relief.</p>
+
+<p>The proposed amendment was to be submitted to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>the people for adoption
+or rejection, at an election to be held on the fifteenth day of April,
+1858. In order to fully comprehend the condition of the public mind, it
+should be known that the constitution, with all the safeguards that I
+have mentioned, had only been in force since Oct. 13, 1857, a period of
+about six months, and had been carried by a vote of 30,055 for to 571
+against its adoption.</p>
+
+<p>The campaign preceding the election was a very active one. The railroad
+people flooded the state with speakers, documents, pictures, glee clubs
+singing songs of the delights of "Riding on the Rail," and every
+conceivable artifice was resorted to to carry the amendment. It was
+carried by a vote of 25,023 in favor of its passage, to 6,733 against.</p>
+
+<p>To give an idea of the intense feeling that was exhibited in this
+election, it is only necessary to state that at the city of Winona there
+were 1,102 votes cast in favor of the amendment and only one vote
+against it. This negative vote, to his eternal honor be it said, was
+cast by Thomas Wilson, afterwards chief justice of the state, and now a
+citizen of St. Paul.</p>
+
+<p>In the execution of the requirements of the amendment, the railroad
+companies claimed that they could issue first mortgage bonds on their
+properties to an indefinite amount and exchange them with the state for
+its bonds, bond for bond, but the governor, who was Hon. Henry H.
+Sibley, construed the amendment to mean that the first mortgage bonds of
+the companies which the state was to receive must be an exclusive first
+lien on the lands and franchises of the company. He therefore declined
+to issue the bonds of the state unless his views were adopted. The
+Minnesota &amp; Pacific Railroad Company, one of the land grant
+corporations, applied to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>the supreme court of the state for a writ of
+mandamus, to compel the governor to issue the bonds. The case was heard,
+and two members of the court holding the views of the applicants, the
+writ was issued. I was a member of the court at that time, but
+entertaining opposite views from the majority, I filed a dissenting
+opinion. Anyone sufficiently interested in the question can find the
+case reported in Volume II. of the Minnesota Reports, at page 13. This
+decision was only to be advisory, as the courts have no power to coerce
+the executive.</p>
+
+<p>The railroad companies entered into contracts for grading their roads,
+and a sufficient amount of grading was done to entitle them to about
+$2,300,000 of the bonds, which were issued accordingly, and went into
+the hands of the contractors to pay for the work done. It, however, soon
+became apparent that no completed railroad would ever result from this
+scheme, even if the whole five millions of bonds were issued. What
+should have been known before was made clear when any of these state
+bonds were put on the market. The credit of the state was worthless, and
+the bonds were valueless. The people became as anxious to shake off the
+incubus of debt they had imposed upon their infant state as they had
+been to rush into it.</p>
+
+<p>Governor Sibley, in his message, delivered to the second legislature in
+December, 1859, said, in speaking of this issue of bonds:</p>
+
+<p>"I regret to be obliged to state that the measure has proved a failure,
+and has by no means accomplished what was hoped for it, either in
+providing means for the issue of a safe currency, or of aiding the
+companies in the completion of the roads."</p>
+
+<p>At the election, held on Nov. 6, 1860, the constitution <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>was again
+amended, by expunging from it the amendment of 1858 authorizing the
+issue of the state railroad bonds, and prohibiting any further issue of
+them. An amendment was also made to section 2 of Article IX. of the
+constitution at the same time, by providing that no law levying a tax,
+or making any other provisions for the payment of interest or principal
+of the bonds already issued, should take effect or be in force until it
+had been submitted to the people, and adopted by a majority of the
+electors.</p>
+
+<p>It was very proper to prohibit the issuance of any more of the bonds,
+but the provision requiring a vote of the people before those already
+out could be paid was practically repudiation, and the state labored
+under that damaging stigma for over twenty years. Attempts were made to
+obtain the sanction of the people for the payment of these bonds, but
+they were defeated, until it became unpleasant to admit that one was a
+resident of Minnesota. Whenever the name of Minnesota was heard on the
+floor of congress as an applicant for favors, or even for justice, it
+was met by the charge of repudiation. This was an era in our history
+very much to be regretted, but the state grew steadily in material
+wealth.</p>
+
+<p>On March 2, 1881, the legislature passed an act, the general purpose of
+which was to adjust, with the consent of the holders, the outstanding
+bonds, at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and contained the
+curious provision that the supreme court should decide whether it must
+first be submitted to the people in order to be valid or not, and if the
+supreme court should not so decide, then an equal number of the judges
+of the district court should act. The supreme court judges declined to
+act, and the governor called upon the district court judges to assume
+the duty. Before any action was taken <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>by the latter, the attorney
+general applied to the supreme court for a writ of prohibition to
+prevent them from taking any action. The case was most elaborately
+discussed, and the opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Chief
+Justice Gilfillan, which is most exhaustive and convincing. The court
+holds that the act of 1881 is void, by conferring upon the judiciary
+legislative power, and that the amendment to the constitution providing
+that no bonds should be paid unless the law authorizing such payment was
+first submitted to and adopted by the people was void, as being
+repugnant to the clause in the constitution of the United States, that
+no state shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. With
+these impediments to a just settlement of this question removed, the
+state was at liberty to make such arrangements with its bond creditors
+as was satisfactory. John S. Pillsbury was governor at that time. He had
+always been in favor of paying the bonds, and removing the stain from
+the honor of the state, and finding his hands free, it did not take him
+long to arrange the whole matter satisfactorily, and to the approval of
+all the parties. The debt was paid by the issue of new bonds, at the
+rate of fifty per cent of the principal and interest of the outstanding
+ones and the surrender of the latter. This adjustment ended a
+transaction that was conceived and executed in folly, and was only
+prevented from eventuating in crime by the persistent efforts of our
+most honorable and thoughtful citizens throughout the state. The
+transaction has often been called by those who advocated repudiation,
+"An old Territorial fraud," but there was nothing in it but a bad
+bargain, made under the extraordinary pressure of financial
+difficulties.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span><a name="THE_FIRST_RAILROAD_ACTUALLY_BUILT" id="THE_FIRST_RAILROAD_ACTUALLY_BUILT"></a>THE FIRST RAILROAD ACTUALLY BUILT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The state was restored to all the lands and franchises of the various
+companies by means of foreclosure, and on March 8, 1861, passed an act
+to facilitate the construction of the Minnesota &amp; Pacific Railroad, by
+which act the old railroad was rehabilitated, and required to construct
+and put in operation its road from St. Paul to St. Anthony on or before
+the first day of January, 1862. The company was required to deposit with
+the governor $10,000 as an earnest of good faith. Work was soon
+commenced, and the first ten miles constructed as required. This was the
+first railroad ever built and operated in Minnesota. The first
+locomotive engine was brought up the river on a barge, and landed at the
+St. Paul end of the track in the latter part of October, 1861. This
+pioneer locomotive was called the "William Crooks," after an engineer of
+that name who was very active and instrumental in the building of the
+road. This first ten miles of road cost more energy and brain work than
+all the rest of the vast system that has succeeded it. It was the
+initial step in what is now known as the Great Northern Railway, a road
+that spans the continent from St. Paul to the Pacific, and reflects upon
+its enterprising builders all the credit due to the pioneer.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was
+incorporated by act of congress, passed on July 2, 1864. This road was
+to extend from the head of Lake Superior to Puget Sound, on a line north
+of the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, with a branch via the
+valley of the Columbia river to Portland, Ore. The company had a grant
+of land of twenty alternate sections through the states. It was
+commenced shortly after its incorporation, but met with financial
+disaster, and was sold under foreclosure of a mortgage, and underwent
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>many trials and tribulations, until it was finally completed on the
+eighth day of September, in the year 1883, and has been in successful
+operation ever since. As the Northern Pacific has its eastern terminus
+and general offices in St. Paul, it is essentially a Minnesota road. The
+same may be said of the Great Northern, although both are
+transcontinental roads.</p>
+
+<p>From the small beginning of railroad construction in 1862 have grown
+thirty-seven distinct railroad corporations, operating in the state of
+Minnesota 6,062.69 miles of main tracks, according to the official
+reports of 1898, with quite a substantial addition in course of
+construction. These various lines cover and render accessible nearly
+every city, town and village in the state.</p>
+
+<p>The method of taxation of railroad property adopted by the state is a
+very wise and just one. It imposes a tax of three per cent upon the
+gross earnings of the roads, which, in 1896, yielded the comfortable sum
+of $1,037,194.40, the gross earnings of all amounting to $36,918,741.71.
+This plan of taxation gives the state a direct interest in the
+prosperity of the roads, as its taxes are increased when business is
+good and the roads are relieved from oppressive taxation in time of
+business depression.</p>
+
+<p>The grading which was done and for which the bonds of the state were
+issued was, as a general thing, utilized in the final construction of
+the roads.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_SPIRIT_LAKE_MASSACRE" id="THE_SPIRIT_LAKE_MASSACRE"></a>THE SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1842 the country north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi as far
+north as the Little Rapids, on the Minnesota river, was occupied by the
+M'day-wa-kon-ton and Wak-pe-ku-ta bands of Sioux. The Wak-pe-ku-ta band
+was at war with the Sacs and Foxes, and was under the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>leadership of two
+principal chiefs, named Wam-di-sapa (the "Black Eagle") and Ta-sa-gi.
+Wam-di-sapa and his band were a lawless, predatory set, whose
+depredations prolonged the war with the Sacs and Foxes, and finally
+separated him and his band from the Wak-pe-ku-tas. They moved west
+towards the Missouri, and occupied the valley of the Vermillion river,
+and so thorough was the separation that the band was not regarded as
+part of the Wak-pe-ku-ta when the latter, together with the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, made their treaty with the government at Mendota in
+1851.</p>
+
+<p>By 1857 all that remained of Wam-di-sapa's straggling band was about ten
+or fifteen lodges under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the
+"Scarlet Point," or the "Red End." They had planted near Spirit lake,
+which lies partly in Dickinson county, Iowa, and partly in Jackson
+county, Minnesota, prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to
+the Missouri, and were considered a bad lot of vagabonds.</p>
+
+<p>Between 1855 and 1857 a small settlement had sprung up about forty miles
+south of Spirit lake, on the In-yan-yan-ke or Rock river.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring of 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing (after whom the
+county of Freeborn in this state is called) had projected a settlement
+at Spirit lake, which, by the next spring, contained six or seven
+houses, with as many families.</p>
+
+<p>About the same time another settlement was started some ten or fifteen
+miles north of Spirit lake, on the head waters of the Des Moines, and a
+town laid out which was called Springfield. In the spring of 1857 there
+were two stores and several families at this place.</p>
+
+<p>These settlements were on the extreme frontier, and very much isolated.
+There was nothing to the west of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>them until you reached the Rocky
+Mountains, and the nearest settlements on the north and northeast were
+on the Minnesota and Watonwan rivers, while to the south lay the small
+settlement on the Rock river, about forty miles distant. All these
+settlements, although on ceded lands, were actually in the heart of the
+Indian country, and absolutely unprotected and defenseless.</p>
+
+<p>In 1857 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux of the
+Mississippi, but had lived on the frontier long enough before to have
+acquired a general knowledge of Ink-pa-du-ta's reputation and his
+whereabouts. I was stationed on the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers,
+near where they empty into the Minnesota, and about eighty miles from
+Spirit lake.</p>
+
+<p>Early in March, 1857, Ink-pa-du-ta's band was hunting in the
+neighborhood of the settlement on the Rock river, and one of them was
+bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The Indian killed the dog. The
+owner of the dog assaulted the Indian, and beat him severely. The white
+men then went in a body to the camp of the Indians and disarmed them.
+The arms were either returned to them or they obtained others, I
+have never ascertained which. They were probably given back to them on
+condition that they should leave, as they at once came north to Spirit
+lake, where they must have arrived about the 6th or 7th of March. They
+proceeded at once to massacre the settlers, and killed all the men they
+found there, together with some women, and carried into captivity four
+women, three of whom were married and one single. Their names were Mrs.
+Noble, Mrs. Marble, Mrs. Thatcher and Miss Gardner. They came north to
+the Springfield settlement, where they killed all the people they found.
+The total number killed at both places was forty-two.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>I was the first person to receive notice of this affair. On the 9th of
+March a Mr. Morris Markham, who had been absent from the Spirit lake
+settlement for some time, returned, and found all the people dead or
+missing. Seeing signs of Indians, he took it for granted that they had
+perpetrated the outrage. He at once went to Springfield, and reported
+what he had seen. Some of the people fled, but others remained, and lost
+their lives in consequence. It has always been my opinion that, being in
+the habit of trading with these Indians occasionally, they did not
+believe they stood in any danger; and, what is equally probable, they
+may not have believed the report. Everyone who has lived in an Indian
+country knows how frequently startling rumors are in circulation, and
+how often they prove unfounded.</p>
+
+<p>The people of Springfield sent the news to me by two young men, who came
+on foot through the deep snow. The story was corroborated in a way that
+convinced me that it was true. They arrived on the 18th of March,
+completely worn out and snow-blind. I at once made a requisition on
+Colonel Alexander, commanding at Fort Ridgely, for troops. There were at
+the fort five or six companies of the Tenth United States Infantry, and
+the colonel promptly ordered Capt. Barnard E. Bee of Company "A" to
+proceed with his company to the scene of the trouble. The country
+between the fort and Spirit lake was uninhabited, and the distance from
+eighty to one hundred miles. I furnished two experienced guides from
+among my Sioux half-breeds. They took a pony and a light traineau, put
+on their snowshoes, and were ready to go anywhere. Not so with the
+soldiers, however. They were equipped in about the same manner as they
+would have been in campaigning in Florida, their only transportation
+being <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>heavy wheeled army wagons, drawn by six mules. It soon became
+apparent that the outfit could not move straight to the objective point,
+and it became necessary to follow a trail down the Minnesota to Mankato
+and up the Watonwan in the direction of the lake, which was reached
+after one of the most arduous marches ever made by troops, on which for
+many miles the soldiers had to march ahead of the mules to break a road
+for them. The Indians, as we expected, were gone. A short pursuit was
+made, but the guides pronounced the camp fires of the Indians several
+days old, and it was abandoned. The dead were buried, and after a short
+stay, the soldiers returned to the fort.</p>
+
+<p>When this affair became known throughout the territory it caused great
+consternation and apprehension, most of the settlers supposing it was
+the work of the Sioux nation. Many of the most exposed abandoned their
+homes temporarily. Their fears, however, were allayed by an explanation
+which I published in the newspapers.</p>
+
+<p>I at once began to devise plans for the rescue of the white women. I
+knew that any hostile demonstration would result in their murder. While
+thinking the matter out an event occurred that opened the way to a
+solution. A party of my Indians had been hunting on the Big Sioux river,
+and having learned that Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Lake
+Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, and that he had some white women prisoners, two
+young brothers visited the camp and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble,
+and brought her into the Yellow Medicine agency, and delivered her to
+the missionaries, who turned her over to me. I received her on the 21st
+of March, and learned that two of the other captives were still alive.
+Of course, my first object was to rescue the survivors, and to encourage
+the Indians to make the attempt, I <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>paid the brothers who had brought in
+Mrs. Marble $500 each. I could raise only $500 at the agency in money,
+and to make up the deficiency I resorted to a method, then novel, but
+which has since become quite general. I issued a bond, which, although
+done without authority, met with a better fate than many that followed
+it,&mdash;it was paid at maturity.</p>
+
+<p>As it was the first bond ever issued in what is now Minnesota, the two
+Dakotas, Montana, and, I may add, the whole Northwest; it may be
+interesting to give it in full:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
+CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
+being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
+Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
+Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
+Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent,
+and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining
+white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band
+of Indians depends very much on the liberality shown towards the
+said Indians who have rescued Mrs. Marble, and having full
+confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territory of
+Minnesota, through its government and citizens, have this day
+paid to said two above named Indians, the sum of five hundred
+dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that
+the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by
+the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months
+from date hereof.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"Dated, May 22, 1857, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T.<br />
+"STEPHEN R. RIGGS,<br />
+"Missionary, A. B. C. F. M.<br /><br />
+"CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,<br />
+"U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>I immediately called for volunteers to rescue the remaining two women,
+and soon had my choice. I selected Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president
+of the Hazelwood Republic, An-pe-tu-tok-cha, or John Otherday, and
+Che-tan-ma-za, or the Iron Hawk. I gave them a large outfit of horses,
+wagons, calicos, trinkets of all kinds, and a general assortment of
+things that tempt the savage. They started on the twenty-third day of
+May, from the Yellow Medicine agency, on their important and dangerous
+mission. I did not expect them to return before the middle of June, and
+immediately commenced preparations to punish the marauders. I went to
+the fort, and together with Colonel Alexander, we laid a plan to attack
+Ink-pa-du-ta's camp, with the entire garrison, and utterly annihilate
+them, which we would undoubtedly have accomplished had not an unexpected
+event frustrated our plans. Of course, we could not move on the Indians
+until my expedition had returned with the captives, as that would have
+been certain death to them; but just about the time we were anxiously
+expecting them, a couple of steamboats arrived at the fort with
+peremptory orders for the whole garrison to embark for Utah to join Gen.
+Albert Sydney Johnson's expedition against the Mormons, and that was the
+last I saw of the Tenth for ten years.</p>
+
+<p>My expedition found that Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Noble had been killed,
+but succeeded in bringing in Miss Gardner, who was forwarded to me at
+St. Paul, and by me formally delivered to Governor Medary on June 23,
+1857. She was afterwards married, and is now a widow, Mrs. Abbie Gardner
+Sharpe, and resides in the house from which she was abducted by the
+savages, forty-three years ago. I paid the Indians who rescued her $400
+each for their services. The territory made an appropriation <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>on the
+fifteenth day of May, 1857, of $10,000 to rescue the captives, but as
+there were no telegraphs or other speedy means of communication, the
+work was all done before the news of the appropriation reached the
+border. My outlay, however, was all refunded from this appropriation. I
+afterwards succeeded, with a squad of soldiers and citizens, in killing
+one of Ink-pa-du-ta's sons, who had taken an active part in the
+massacre, and that ended the first serious Indian trouble that Minnesota
+was afflicted with.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_CONSTITUTIONAL_CONVENTION" id="THE_CONSTITUTIONAL_CONVENTION"></a>THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>By the end of the year 1856 the Territory of Minnesota had attained such
+growth and wealth that the question of becoming a state within the Union
+began to attract attention. It was urged by the government at Washington
+that we were amply capable of taking care of ourselves, and sufficiently
+wealthy to pay our expenses, and statehood was pressed upon us from that
+quarter. There was another potent influence at work at home. We had
+several prominent gentlemen who were convinced that their services were
+needed in the senate of the United States, and that their presence there
+would strengthen and adorn that body, and as no positive opposition was
+developed, the congress of the United States, on the 26th of February,
+1857, passed an act, authorizing the territory to form a state
+government. It prescribed the same boundaries for the state as we now
+have, although there had been a large number of people who had advocated
+an east and west division of the territory, on a line a little north of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It provided for a convention
+to frame the constitution of the new state, which was to be composed of
+two delegates for each member <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>of the territorial legislature, to be
+elected in the representative districts on the first Monday in June,
+1857. The convention was to be held at the capital of the territory, on
+the second Monday of July following. It submitted to the convention five
+propositions to be answered, which, if accepted, were to become
+obligatory on the United States and the State of Minnesota. They were in
+substance as follows:</p>
+
+<p>1. Whether sections 16 and 36 in each township should be granted to the
+state for the use of schools.</p>
+
+<p>2. Whether seventy-two sections of land should be set aside for the use
+and support of a state university.</p>
+
+<p>3. Whether ten sections should be granted to the state in aid of public
+buildings.</p>
+
+<p>4. Whether all salt springs in the state, not exceeding twelve, with six
+sections of land to each, should be granted to the state.</p>
+
+<p>5. Whether five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of all the
+public lands lying within the state, which should be sold after its
+admission, should be paid to the state for the purpose of roads, and
+internal improvements.</p>
+
+<p>All the five propositions, if accepted, were to be on the condition, to
+be expressed in the constitution or an irrevocable ordinance, that the
+state should never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil
+within the state by the United States, or with any regulations congress
+should make for securing title to said lands in bona fide purchases
+thereof, and that no tax should be imposed on lands belonging to the
+United States, and that non-resident proprietors should never be taxed
+higher than residents.</p>
+
+<p>These propositions were all accepted, ratified and confirmed by section
+3 of Article II. of the constitution.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>The election for delegates took
+place as provided for, and on the day set for the convention to meet,
+nearly all of them had assembled at the capital. Great anxiety was
+manifested by both the Democrats and the Republicans to capture the
+organization of the convention. Neither party had a majority of all the
+members present, but there were a number of contested seats on both
+sides, of which both contestant and contestee were present, and these
+duplicates being counted, were sufficient to give each party an apparent
+majority. It was obvious that a determined fight for the organization
+was imminent. The convention was to meet in the house of
+representatives, and to gain an advantage, the Republicans took
+possession of the hall the night before the opening day, so as to be the
+first on hand in the morning. The Democrats, on learning of this move,
+held a caucus to decide upon a plan of action. Precedents and
+authorities were looked up, and two fundamental points decided upon. It
+was discovered that the secretary of the territory was the proper party
+to call the convention to order, and as Mr. Charles L. Chase was the
+secretary, and also a Democratic delegate, he was chosen to make the
+call. It was further found that when no hour was designated for the
+meeting of a parliamentary body, that noon of the day appointed was the
+time. Being armed with these points, the Democrats decided to wait until
+noon, and then march into the hall in a body with Delegate Chase at
+their head, and as soon as he reached the chair he was to spring into it
+and call the convention to order. General Gorman was immediately to move
+an adjournment until the next day at 12 o'clock M., which motion was to
+be put by the chair, the Democrats feeling sure that the Republicans
+being taken by surprise would vote no, while the Democrats would all
+vote aye, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>and thus commit more than a majority of the whole to the
+organization under Mr. Chase. On reaching the chair, Mr. Chase
+immediately sprang into it, and called the convention to order. General
+Gorman moved the adjournment, which was put by the chair. All the
+Democrats loudly voted in the affirmative and the Republicans in the
+negative. The motion was declared carried, and the Democrats solemnly
+marched out of the hall.</p>
+
+<p>The above is the Democratic version of the event. The Republicans,
+however, claim that John W. North reached the chair first, and called
+the convention to order, and that as the Republicans had a majority of
+the members present, the organization made under his call was the only
+regular one. Nothing can be determined as to which is the true story
+from the records kept of the two bodies, because they are each made up
+to show strict regularity, and as it is utterly immaterial in any
+substantial point of view, I will not venture any opinion, although I
+was one of the actors in the drama,&mdash;or farce,&mdash;as the reader may see
+fit to regard it.</p>
+
+<p>The Republicans remained in the hall, and formed a constitution to suit
+themselves, sitting until August 29th, just forty-seven days. The
+Democrats on the next day after their adjournment, at 12 o'clock M.,
+went in a body to the door of the house of representatives, where they
+were met by Secretary and Delegate Chase, who said to them: "Gentlemen,
+the hall to which the delegates adjourned yesterday is now occupied by a
+meeting of citizens of the territory, who refuse to give possession to
+the constitutional convention."</p>
+
+<p>General Gorman then said: "I move the convention adjourn to the council
+chamber." The motion was carried, and the delegates accordingly repaired
+to the council chamber, in the west wing of the capitol, where Mr.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>Chase called the convention to order. Each branch of the convention
+elected its officers. The Republicans chose St. A. D. Balcombe for their
+president, and the Democrats selected Hon. Henry H. Sibley. Both bodies
+worked diligently on a constitution, and each succeeded in making one so
+much like the other that, after sober reflection, it was decided that
+the state could be admitted under either, and if both were sent to
+congress that body would reject them for irregularity. So towards the
+end of the long session a compromise was arrived at, by the formation of
+a joint committee from each convention, who were to evolve a
+constitution out of the two for submission to the people; the result of
+which, after many sessions, and some fisticuffs, was the instrument
+under which the state was finally admitted.</p>
+
+<p>A very curious complication resulted from two provisions in the
+constitution. In section 5 of the schedule it was provided that "All
+territorial officers, civil and military, now holding their offices
+under the authority of the United States or of the Territory of
+Minnesota shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices
+until they shall be superseded by the authority of the state," and
+section 6 provided that "The first session of the legislature of the
+State of Minnesota shall commence on the first Wednesday of December
+next," etc.</p>
+
+<p>These provisions were made under the supposition that the state would be
+admitted as soon as the constitution would be laid before congress,
+which it was presumed would be long before the date fixed for the
+holding of the first state legislature; but such did not turn out to be
+the case. The election was held as provided for on the thirteenth day of
+October, 1857, for the adoption or rejection of the constitution, and
+for the election of all the state officers, members of congress and of
+the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>legislature. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 36,240 for,
+and 700 against, and the whole Democratic state ticket was also chosen;
+and to be sure not to lose full representation in congress, three
+members of the house of representatives were also chosen, who were all
+Democrats.</p>
+
+<p>The constitution was duly presented to congress, and admission for the
+state demanded. Much to the disappointment of our people, all kinds and
+characters of objections were raised to our admission; one of which I
+remember was, that as the term of office of the state senators was fixed
+at two years, and as there was nothing said about the term of the
+members of the house they were elected for life, and consequently the
+government created was not republican. Alexander Stevens of Georgia
+seriously combatted this position, in a learned constitutional argument,
+in which he proved that a state had absolute control of the subject, and
+could fix the term of all its officers for life if it so preferred, and
+that congress had no right to interfere. Many other equally frivolous
+points were made against our admission, which were debated until the
+eleventh day of May, 1858, when the federal doors were opened and
+Minnesota became a state. The act admitting the state cut down the
+congressional representation to two. The three gentlemen who had been
+elected to these positions were compelled to determine who would remain
+and who should surrender. History has not recorded how the decision was
+made, whether by cutting cards, tossing a coin, or in some other way,
+but the result was that George L. Becker was counted out, and W. W.
+Phelps and James M. Cavanaugh took the prizes.</p>
+
+<p>It was always thought at home that the long delay in our admission was
+not from any disinclination to let <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>us in, but because the house was
+quite evenly divided politically between the Democrats and the
+Republicans, and there being a contested seat from Ohio, between Mr.
+Valandingham and Mr. Lew Campbell, it was feared by the Republicans
+that, if Minnesota came in with three Democratic members, it might turn
+the scale in favor of Valandingham.</p>
+
+<p>This delay created a very perplexing condition of things. The state
+legislature elected under the constitution met on the first Wednesday of
+December, before the constitution was recognized by congress, and while
+the territorial government was in full force. It passed a book full of
+laws, all of which were state laws, approved by a territorial governor.
+Perhaps in some countries it would have been difficult to harmonize such
+irregularities, but our courts were quite up to the emergency, and
+straightened them all out the first time the question was raised, and
+the laws so passed have served their purpose up to the present time.</p>
+
+<p>The first governor of the state was Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat. He
+served his term of two years, and the state has never elected a Democrat
+to that office since, unless the choice of Hon. John Lind, in 1898, may
+be so classified.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="ATTEMPT_TO_REMOVE_THE_CAPITAL" id="ATTEMPT_TO_REMOVE_THE_CAPITAL"></a>ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE CAPITAL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>At the eighth session of the legislative assembly of the territory,
+which convened on Jan. 7, 1857, a bill was introduced, the purpose of
+which was the removal of the seat of government from St. Paul to St.
+Peter, a small village which had recently come into existence on the
+Minnesota river about one hundred miles above its mouth. There could be
+no reason for such action except interested speculation, as the capitol
+was already <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>built in St. Paul, and it was much more accessible, and in
+every way more convenient than it would be at St. Peter; but the
+movement had sufficient personal and political force behind it to insure
+its success, and an act was passed making such removal. But it was
+destined to meet with unexpected obstacles before it became a law. When
+it passed the house it was sent to the council, where it only received
+one majority, eight voting for and seven against it. It was, on the 27th
+of February, sent to the enrolling committee for final enrollment. It
+happened that Councillor Joseph Rolette, from Pembina, was chairman of
+this committee, and a great friend of St. Paul. Mr. Rolette decided he
+would veto the bill in a way not known to parliamentary law, so he put
+it in his pocket and disappeared. On the 28th, not being in his seat,
+and the bill being missing, a councillor offered a resolution that a
+copy of it be obtained from Mr. Wales, the second in order on the
+committee. A call of the council was then ordered and Mr. Rolette not
+being in his seat, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to bring him in,
+but not being able to find him, he so reported. A motion was then made
+to dispense with the call, but by the rules it required a two-third vote
+of fifteen members, and in the absence of Mr. Rolette only fourteen were
+present. It takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as it does to
+make two-thirds of fifteen, and the bill had only nine friends. During
+the pendency of a call no business could be transacted, and a serious
+dilemma confronted the capital removers; but, nothing daunted, Mr.
+Balcombe made a long argument to prove that nine was two-thirds of
+fourteen. Mr. Brisbin, who was president of the council and a graduate
+of Yale, pronounced the motion lost, saying to the mover, who was also a
+graduate of Yale, "Mr. Balcombe, we never figured <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>that way at Yale."
+This situation produced a deadlock, and no business could be transacted.
+The session terminated on the fifth day of March by its own limitation.
+The sergeant-at-arms made daily reports concerning the whereabouts of
+the absentee, sometimes locating him on a dog-train, rapidly moving
+towards Pembina, sometimes giving a rumor of his assassination, but
+never producing him. Matters remained in this condition until the end of
+the term, and the bill was lost.</p>
+
+<p>It was disclosed afterwards that Rolette had carefully deposited the
+bill in the vault of Truman M. Smith's bank, and had passed the time in
+the upper story of the Fuller House, where his friends made him very
+comfortable. Some ineffectual efforts have been made since to remove the
+capital to Minneapolis and elsewhere, but the treaty, made by the
+pioneers in 1849, locating it at St. Paul, is still in force.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="CENSUS" id="CENSUS"></a>CENSUS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>One of the provisions of the enabling act was that in the event of the
+constitutional convention deciding in favor of the immediate admission
+of the proposed state into the Union, a census should be taken with a
+view of ascertaining the number of representatives in congress to which
+the state would be entitled. This was accordingly done in September,
+1857, and the population was found to be 150,037.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="GRASSHOPPERS" id="GRASSHOPPERS"></a>GRASSHOPPERS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The first visitation of grasshoppers came in 1857, and did considerable
+damage to the crops in Stearns and other counties. Relief was asked from
+St. Paul for the suffering poor, and notwithstanding the people of the
+capital city were in the depths of poverty, from the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>financial panic
+produced by over-speculation, they responded liberally. The grasshoppers
+of this year did not deposit their eggs, but disappeared after eating up
+everything that came within their reach. The state was not troubled with
+them again until the year 1873, when they came in large flights, and
+settled down in the western part of the state. They did much damage to
+the crops, and deposited their eggs in the soil, where they hatched out
+in the spring, and greatly increased their number. They made sad havoc
+with the crops of 1874, and occupied a larger part of the state than in
+the previous year. They again deposited their eggs, and appeared in the
+spring of 1875 in increased numbers. This was continued in 1876, when
+the situation became so alarming that Gov. John S. Pillsbury issued a
+proclamation, addressed to the states and territories which had suffered
+most from the insects, to meet him by delegates at Omaha, to concert
+measures for united protection. A convention was held, and Governor
+Pillsbury was made its president. The subject was thoroughly discussed,
+and a memorial to congress was prepared and adopted, asking for
+scientific investigation of the subject, and a suggestion of preventive
+measures.</p>
+
+<p>Many appeals for relief came from the afflicted regions, and much aid
+was extended. Governor Pillsbury was a big-hearted, sympathetic man, and
+fearing the sufferers might not be well cared for, he travelled among
+them personally, incognito, and dispensed large sums from his private
+funds.</p>
+
+<p>In 1877 the governor, in his message to the legislature, treated the
+subject exhaustively, and appropriations were made to relieve the
+settlers in the devastated regions. In the early spring of 1877, the
+religious bodies and people of the state asked the governor to issue a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>proclamation appointing a day of fasting and prayer, asking Divine
+protection, and exhorting the people to greater humility and a new
+consecration in the service of a merciful Father. The governor, being of
+Puritan origin, and a faithful believer in Divine agencies in this
+world's affairs, issued an eloquent appeal to the people to observe a
+day named as one of fasting and prayer for deliverance from the
+grasshoppers. The suggestion was quite generally approved, but the
+proclamation naturally excited much criticism and some ridicule, but,
+curious as it may seem, the grasshoppers, even before the day appointed
+for prayer arrived, began to disappear, and in a short time not one
+remained to show they had ever been in the state. They left in a body;
+no one seemed to know exactly when they went, and no one knew anything
+about where they went, as they were never heard of again on any part of
+the continent. The only news we ever had from them came from ships
+crossing the Atlantic westward bound, which reported having passed
+through large areas of floating insects. They must have met a western
+gale when well up in air, and have been blown out into the sea and
+destroyed. The people of Minnesota did not expend much trouble or time
+to find out what had become of them.</p>
+
+<p>The crop of 1877 was abundant, and particularly so in the region which
+had been most seriously blighted by the pests.</p>
+
+<p>Before the final proclamation of Governor Pillsbury every source of
+ingenuity had been exhausted in devising plans for the destruction of
+the grasshoppers. Ditches were dug around the fields of grain, and ropes
+drawn over the grain to drive the hoppers into them, with the purpose of
+covering them with earth. Instruments called "hopperdozers" were
+invented, which had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>receptacles filled with hot tar, and were driven
+over the ground to catch them as flies are caught with tanglefoot paper,
+and many millions of them were destroyed in this way, but it was about
+as effectual as fighting a Northwestern blizzard with a lady's fan, and
+they were all abandoned as useless and powerless to cope with the
+scourge. Nothing proved effectual but the governor's proclamation, and
+all the old settlers called it "Pillsbury's Best," which was the name of
+the celebrated brand of flour made at the governor's mills.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. N. H. Winchell, the state geologist, in his geological and natural
+history report, presents a map which, by red lines, shows the
+encroachments of the grasshoppers for the years 1873-76. To gain an idea
+of the extent of the country covered by them up to 1877, draw a line on
+a state map from the Red River of the North about six miles north of
+Moorhead, in Clay county, in a southeasterly direction, through Becker,
+Wadena, Todd and Morrison counties, crossing the Mississippi river near
+the northern line of Benton county, continuing down the east side of the
+Mississippi, through Benton, Sherburne and Anoka counties, there
+recrossing the Mississippi, and proceeding south, on the west side of
+the river, to the south line of the state in Mower county. All the
+country lying south and west of this line was for several years
+devastated by the grasshoppers to the extent that no crops could be
+raised. It became for a time a question whether the people or the
+insects would conquer the state.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="MILITIA" id="MILITIA"></a>MILITIA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>During the territorial times there were a few volunteer militia
+companies in St. Paul, conspicuously the "Pioneer Guard," an infantry
+company, which, from its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>excellent organization and discipline, became
+a source of supply of officers when regiments were being raised for the
+Civil War. To have been a member of that company was worth at least a
+captain's commission in the volunteer army, and many officers of much
+higher rank were chosen from its members.</p>
+
+<p>There was also a company of cavalry at St. Paul, commanded by Capt.
+James Starkey, called the "St. Paul Light Cavalry"; also, the "Shields
+Guards," commanded by Capt. John O'Gorman. There may have been others,
+but I do not remember them. The services of the pioneer guards and the
+cavalry company were called into requisition on two occasions, once in
+1857 and again in 1859. During the summer of 1857 the settlers near
+Cambridge and Sunrise complained that the Chippewas were very
+troublesome. Governor Medary ordered Captain Starkey to take part of his
+company and arrest the Indians who were committing depredations, and
+send the remainder of them to their reservation. The captain took twenty
+men, and, on Aug. 24, 1857, started for the scene of the trouble. On the
+28th he overtook some six or seven Indians, and in their attempt to
+escape a collision occurred, in which a young man, a member of Starkey's
+company, named Frank Donnelly, was instantly killed. The troops
+succeeded in killing one of the Indians, wounding another, and capturing
+four more, when they returned to St. Paul, bringing with them the dead,
+wounded, and prisoners. The dead were buried, the wounded healed, and
+the prisoners discharged by Judge Nelson on a writ of habeas corpus.</p>
+
+<p>The general sentiment of the community was that the expedition was
+unnecessary, and should never have been made. This affair was
+facetiously called the "Cornstalk War."</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span><a name="THE_WRIGHT_COUNTRY_WAR" id="THE_WRIGHT_COUNTRY_WAR"></a>THE WRIGHT COUNTRY WAR.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the fall of 1858 a man named Wallace was killed in Wright county.
+Oscar F. Jackson was tried for the murder in the spring of 1859, and
+acquitted by a jury. Public sentiment was against him, and he was warned
+to leave the county. He did not heed the admonition, and on April 25th a
+mob assembled, and hung Jackson to the gable end of Wallace's cabin.
+Governor Sibley offered a reward for the conviction of any of the
+lynchers. Shortly afterwards one, Emery Moore, was arrested as being
+implicated in the affair. He was taken to Wright county for trial, and
+at once rescued by a mob. The governor sent three companies of the
+militia to Monticello to arrest the offenders and preserve order, the
+Pioneer Guards being among them. This force, aided by a few special
+officers of the law, arrested eleven of the lynchers and rescuers, and
+turned them over to the civil authorities, and on the 11th of August,
+1859, having completed their mission, returned to St. Paul. As there was
+no war or bloodshed of any kind connected with this expedition, it was
+called the "Wright County War."</p>
+
+<p>Gov. Sibley, having somewhat of a military tendency, appointed as his
+adjutant general, Alexander C. Jones, who was a graduate of the Virginia
+Military Academy, and captain of the Pioneer Guards. Under this
+administration a very complete militia bill was passed, on the twelfth
+day of August, 1858. Minnesota from that time on had a very efficient
+militia system, until the establishment of the national guard, which
+made some changes in its general character, supposed to be for the
+better.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span><a name="THE_CIVIL_WAR" id="THE_CIVIL_WAR"></a>THE CIVIL WAR.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Nothing of any special importance occurred during the years 1859 and
+1860 in Minnesota. The state continued to grow in population and wealth
+at an extraordinary pace, but in a quiet and unobtrusive way. The
+politics of the nation had been for some time much disturbed between the
+North and the South, on the question of slavery, and threats of
+secession from the Union made by the slave-holding states. The election
+of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States, in 1860,
+precipitated the impending revolution, and on the fourteenth day of
+April, 1861, Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina,
+was fired upon by the revolutionists, which meant war between the two
+sections of the country. I will only relate such events in connection
+with the Civil War which followed as are especially connected with
+Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>When the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter reached Washington,
+Alexander Ramsey, then governor of Minnesota, was in that city. He
+immediately called on the president of the United States, and tendered
+the services of the people of Minnesota in defense of the republic, thus
+giving to the state the enviable position of being the first to come to
+the front. The offer of a regiment was accepted, and the governor sent a
+dispatch to Lieut. Gov. Ignatius Donnelly, who, on the 16th of April,
+issued a proclamation, giving notice that volunteers would be received
+at St. Paul for one regiment of infantry composed of ten companies, each
+of sixty-four privates, one captain, two lieutenants, four sergeants,
+four corporals and one bugler, and that the volunteer companies already
+organized, upon complying with these requirements as to the numbers and
+officers, would be entitled to be first received.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>Immediately following this announcement, which, of course, meant war,
+great enthusiasm was manifested all over the state. Public meetings were
+held in all the cities; almost every man capable of doing soldier duty
+wanted to go, and those who were unable, for any reason, to go in
+person, subscribed funds for the support of the families of those who
+volunteered. The only difficulty the authorities met with was an excess
+of men over those needed. There were a good many Southerners residing in
+the state, who were naturally controlled in their sentiments by their
+geographical affinities, but they behaved very well, and caused no
+trouble. They either entered the service of the South or held their
+peace. I can recall but one instance of a Northern man who had breathed
+the free air of Minnesota going over to the South, and the atrocity of
+his case was aggravated by the fact that he was an officer in the United
+States army. I speak of Major Pemberton, who at the breaking out of the
+war was stationed at Fort Ridgely in this state, in command of a battery
+of artillery. He was ordered to Washington to aid in the defense of the
+capital, but before reaching his destination resigned his commission,
+and tendered his sword to the enemy. I think he was a citizen of
+Pennsylvania. It was he who surrendered Vicksburg to the United States
+army on July 4, 1863.</p>
+
+<p>The first company raised under the call of the state was made up of
+young men of St. Paul, and commanded by William H. Acker, who had been
+adjutant general of the state. He was wounded at the first battle of
+Bull Run, and killed at the battle of Shiloh, as captain of a company of
+the Sixteenth Regular Infantry. Other companies quickly followed in
+tendering their services.</p>
+
+<p>On the last Monday in April a camp for the First Regiment was opened at
+Fort Snelling, and Capt. Anderson D<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>. Nelson of the United States army
+mustered the regiment into the service. On the 27th of April John B.
+Sanborn, then adjutant general of the state, in behalf of the governor,
+issued the following order:</p>
+
+<p>"The commander-in-chief expresses his gratification at the prompt
+response to the call of the president of the United States upon the
+militia of Minnesota, and his regret that, under the present requisition
+for only ten companies, it is not possible to accept the services of all
+the companies offered."</p>
+
+<p>The order then enumerates the ten companies which had been accepted, and
+instructs them to report at Fort Snelling, and recommends that the
+companies not accepted maintain their organization and perfect their
+drill, and that patriotic citizens throughout the state continue to
+enroll themselves, and be ready for any emergency.</p>
+
+<p>The governor, on May 3d, sent a telegram to the president, offering a
+second regiment.</p>
+
+<p>The magnitude of the rebellion becoming rapidly manifest at Washington,
+the secretary of war, Mr. Cameron, on the 7th of May, sent the following
+telegram to Governor Ramsey:</p>
+
+<p>"It is decidedly preferable that all the regiments from your state not
+already actually sent forward should be mustered into the service for
+three years, or during the war. If any persons belonging to the
+regiments already mustered for three months, but not yet actually sent
+forward, should be unwilling to serve for three years, or during the
+war, could not their places be filled by others willing to serve?"</p>
+
+<p>A great deal of correspondence passed between Lieutenant Governor
+Donnelly at St. Paul and Governor Ramsey at Washington over the matter,
+which resulted in the First Minnesota Regiment being mustered into <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>the
+service of the United States for three years, or during the war, on the
+eleventh day of May, 1861. Willis A. Gorman, second governor of the
+territory, was appointed colonel of the First. The colonel was a veteran
+of the Mexican War. The regiment when first mustered in was without
+uniform, except that some of the companies had red shirts and some blue,
+but there was no regularity whatever. This was of small consequence, as
+the material of the regiment was probably the best ever collected into
+one body. It included companies of lumbermen, accustomed to camp life,
+and inured to hardships; men of splendid physique, experts with the axe;
+men who could make a road through a forest or swamp, build a bridge over
+a stream, run a steamboat, repair a railroad, or perform any of the
+duties that are thrust upon an army on the march and in the field. There
+are no men in the world so well equipped naturally and without special
+preparation for the life of a soldier as the American of the West. He is
+perfectly familiar with the use of firearms. From his varied experience,
+he possesses more than an average intelligence. His courage goes without
+saying, and, to sum him up, he is the most all-around handy man on
+earth.</p>
+
+<p>On May 25th the ladies of St. Paul presented the regiment with a
+handsome set of silk colors. The presentation was made at the state
+capitol by Mrs. Ramsey, the wife of the governor. The speech was made on
+behalf of the ladies by Captain Stansbury of the United States army, and
+responded to by Colonel Gorman in a manner fitting the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>On the 21st of June the regiment, having been ordered to Washington,
+embarked on the steamers, Northern Belle and War Eagle, at Fort
+Snelling, for their journey. Before leaving the fort the chaplain, Rev.
+Edward <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>D. Neill, delivered a most impressive address, concluding as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>"Soldiers: If you would be obedient to God, you must honor him who has
+been ordained to lead you forth. Your colonel's will must be your will.
+If, like the Roman centurion, he says 'Go,' you must go. If he says
+'Come,' come you must. God grant you all the Hebrew's enduring faith,
+and you will be sure to have the Hebrew's valor. Now, with the Hebrew's
+benediction, I close: 'The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make
+his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his
+countenance upon you, and given you peace.' Amen."</p>
+
+<p>The peace the good chaplain asked the Lord to give to the regiment was
+that peace which flows from duty well performed and a conscience free
+from self-censure. Judging from the excellent record made by that
+regiment, it enjoyed this kind of peace to the fullest extent, but it
+had as little of the other kind of peace as any regiment in the service.</p>
+
+<p>The regiment reached Washington early in July, and went into camp near
+Alexandria, in Virginia. It took part in the first battle of the war, at
+Bull Run, and from there to the end of the war was engaged in many
+battles, always with credit to itself and honor to its state. It was
+conspicuously brave and useful at the great conflict at Gettysburg, and
+the service it there performed made its fame world-wide. In what I say
+of the first regiment, I must not be understood to lessen the fame of
+the other ten regiments and other organizations that Minnesota sent to
+the war, all of which, with the exception of the Third, made for
+themselves records of gallantry and soldierly conduct, which Minnesota
+will ever hold in the highest esteem. But the First, probably because it
+was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>the first, and certainly because of its superb career, will always
+be the pet and especial pride of the state.</p>
+
+<p>The misfortunes of the Third regiment will be spoken of separately.</p>
+
+<p>The first conception of the rebellion by the authorities in Washington
+was that it could be suppressed in a short time; but they had left out
+of the estimate the fact that they had to deal with Americans, who can
+always be counted on for a stubborn fight when they decide to have one.
+And as the magnitude of the war impressed itself upon the government,
+continuous calls for troops were made, to all of which Minnesota
+responded promptly, until she had in the field the following military
+organizations: Eleven full regiments of infantry; the first and second
+companies of sharpshooters; one regiment of mounted rangers, recruited
+for the Indian war; the Second Regiment of cavalry; Hatche's Independent
+Battalion of Cavalry for Indian war; Brackett's battalion of cavalry;
+one regiment of heavy artillery; and the First, Second and Third
+Batteries of Light Artillery.</p>
+
+<p>There were embraced in these twenty-one military organizations, 22,970
+officers and men, who were withdrawn from the forces of civil industry,
+and remained away for several years. Yet notwithstanding this abnormal
+drain on the industrial resources of so young a state, to which must be
+added the exhaustive effects of the Indian war which broke out within
+her borders in 1862, and lasted several years, Minnesota continued to
+grow in population and wealth throughout it all, and came out of these
+war afflictions strengthened and invigorated.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_THIRD_REGIMENT" id="THE_THIRD_REGIMENT"></a>THE THIRD REGIMENT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Recruiting for the Third Regiment commenced early in the fall of 1861,
+and was completed by the 15th of November, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>on which day it consisted of
+901 men all told, including officers. On the 17th of November, 1861, it
+embarked at Fort Snelling for its destination in the South, on the
+steamboats Northern Belle, City Belle, and Frank Steele. It landed at
+St. Paul and marched through the city, exciting the admiration of the
+people, it being an unusually fine aggregation of men. It embarked on
+the same day, and departed for the South, carrying with it the good
+wishes and hopes of every citizen of the state. It was then commanded by
+Lieutenant Colonel Smith, and afterwards by Col. Henry C. Lester, who
+was promoted to its command from a captaincy in the First, and joined
+his regiment at Shepardsville. Colonel Lester was a man of prepossessing
+appearance, handsome, well informed, modest and attractive. He soon
+brought his regiment up to a high standard of drill and discipline, and
+especially devoted himself to its appearance for cleanliness and
+deportment, so that his regiment became remarkable in these particulars.
+By the twelfth day of July, the Third became brigaded with the Ninth
+Michigan, the Eighth and Twenty-third Kentucky, forming the Twenty-third
+Brigade, under Col. W. W. Duffield of the Ninth Michigan, and was
+stationed at Murfeesboro, in Tennessee. For two months Colonel Duffield
+had been absent, and the brigade and other forces at Murfreesboro had
+been commanded by Colonel Lester. A day or two before the 13th Colonel
+Duffield had returned and resumed command of the brigade, and Lester was
+again in direct command of his regiment. In describing the situation at
+Murfreesboro on the thirteenth day of July, 1861, Gen. C. C. Andrews,
+the author of the "History of the Third Regiment," in the state war
+book, at page 152, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"The force of enlisted men fit for duty at Murfreesboro was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>fully one thousand. Forest reported that the whole number of
+enlisted men captured, taken to McMinnville and paroled was
+between 1,100 and 1,200. Our forces, however, were separated.
+There were five companies, 250 strong, of the Ninth Michigan in
+camp three-fourths of a mile east of the town, on the Liberty
+turnpike (another company of the Ninth Michigan, forty-two
+strong, occupied the court-house as a provost guard). Near the
+camp of the Ninth Michigan were eighty men of the Seventh
+Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Major Seibert; also, eighty-one men
+of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, under Captain Chilson. More than
+a mile distant, on the other side of the town, on undulating,
+rocky and shaded ground, near Stone river, were nine companies
+of the Third Minnesota, five hundred strong. Near it, also, were
+two sections (four guns) of Hewitt's Kentucky Field Artillery,
+with sixty-four men for duty. Forty-five men of Company C, Third
+Regiment, under Lieutenant Grummons, had gone the afternoon of
+July 12th, as the guard on a supply train, to Shelbyville, and
+had not returned the thirteenth."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Murfreesboro was on the Nashville &amp; Chattanooga railroad. It was a well
+built town, around a square, in the center of which was the court-house.
+There were in the town valuable military stores.</p>
+
+<p>On July 13th, at daybreak, news arrived at Murfreesboro that the rebel
+general, Forest, was about to make an attack on the place, which news
+was verified by General Forest capturing the picket guard and dashing
+into the town soon after the news arrived, with a mounted force of 1,500
+men. A part of this force charged upon the camp of the Seventh
+Pennsylvania, then reformed, and charged upon the Ninth Michigan
+Infantry, which made a gallant defense and repulsed the enemy's
+repeated <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>charges, suffering a loss of eleven killed and eighty-nine
+wounded. The enemy suffered considerable loss, including a colonel
+killed, up to about noon, when the Ninth Michigan surrendered. General
+Crittenden was captured in his quarters, about eight o'clock. Almost
+simultaneous with the first attack, a part of Forest's force moved
+toward the Third Minnesota, which had sprung up at the first sound of
+the firing, formed into line, Colonel Lester in command, and with two
+guns of Hewitt's Battery on each flank, marched in the direction of
+Murfreesboro. It had not gone more than an eighth of a mile when about
+three hundred of the enemy appeared approaching on a gallop. They were
+moving in some disorder, and appeared to fall back when the Third
+Regiment came in sight. The latter was at once brought forward into line
+and the guns of Hewitt's Battery opened fire. The enemy retired out of
+sight, and the Third advanced to a commanding position in the edge of
+some timber. A continuous fire was kept up by the guns of Hewitt's
+Battery, with considerable effect upon the enemy. Up to this time the
+only ground of discontent that had ever existed in this regiment was
+that it had never had an opportunity to fight. Probably no regiment was
+ever more eager to fight in battle than this one. Yet while it was there
+in line of battle from daylight until about noon, impatiently waiting
+for the approach of the enemy, or what was better, to be led against
+him, he was assailing an inferior force of our troops, and destroying
+valuable commissary and quartermaster's stores in town, which our troops
+were, of course, in honor bound to protect. The regiment was kept
+standing or lying motionless hour after hour, even while plainly seeing
+the smoke rising from the burning depot of the United States supplies.
+While this <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>was going on, Colonel Lester sat upon his horse, and
+different officers went to him and entreated him to march the regiment
+into town. The only response he gave was, "We will see." The enemy made
+several ineffectual attempts to charge the line held by the Third, but
+were driven off with loss, which only increased the ardor of the men to
+get at them. The enemy attacked the camp of the Third, which was guarded
+by only a few convalescents, teamsters and cooks, and met with a
+stubborn resistance, but finally succeeded in taking it, and burning the
+tents and property of the officers, after which they hastily abandoned
+it. The firing at the camp was distinctly heard by the Third Regiment,
+and Captain Hoyt of Company B asked permission to take his company to
+protect the camp, but was refused. While the regiment was in this
+waiting position, having at least five hundred effective men, plenty of
+ammunition, and burning with anxiety to get at the enemy, a white flag
+appeared over the crest of a hill which proved to be a request for
+Colonel Lester to go into Murfreesboro for a consultation with Colonel
+Duffield. General Forest carefully displayed his men along the path by
+which Colonel Lester was to go in a manner so as to impress the colonel
+with the idea that he had a much larger force than really existed, and
+in his demand for surrender he stated that, if not acceded to, the whole
+command would be put to the sword, as he could not control his men. This
+was an old trick of Forest's, which he played successfully on other
+occasions. From what is known, he had not over one thousand men with
+which he could have engaged the Third that day.</p>
+
+<p>When Colonel Lester returned to his regiment his mind was fully made up
+to surrender. A consultation was held with the officers of the regiment,
+and a vote <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>taken on the question, which resulted in a majority being in
+favor of fighting and against surrender, but the matter was reopened and
+reargued by the colonel, and after some of the officers who opposed
+surrender had left the council and gone to their companies, another vote
+was taken, which resulted in favor of the surrender. The officers who,
+on this final vote, were against surrender, were Lieutenant Colonel
+Griggs and Captains Andrews and Hoyt. Those who voted in favor of
+surrender were Captains Webster, Gurnee, Preston, Clay and Mills of the
+Third Regiment, and Captain Hewitt of the Kentucky Battery.</p>
+
+<p>On December 1st an order was made, dismissing from the service the five
+captains of the Third who voted to surrender the regiment, which order
+was subsequently revoked as to Captain Webster.</p>
+
+<p>The conduct of Colonel Lester on this occasion has been accounted for on
+various theories. Before this he had been immensely popular with his
+regiment, and also at home in Minnesota, and his prospects were most
+brilliant. It is hard to believe that he was actuated by cowardice, and
+harder to conceive him guilty of disloyalty to his country. An
+explanation of his actions which obtained circulation in Minnesota was,
+that he had fallen in love with a rebel woman, who exercised such
+influence and control over him as to completely hypnotize his will. I
+have always been a convert to that theory, knowing the man as well as I
+did, and have settled the question as the French would, by saying
+"Cherchez la femme."</p>
+
+<p>General Buell characterized the surrender in general orders as one of
+the most disgraceful examples in the history of war.</p>
+
+<p>What a magnificent opportunity was presented to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>some officer of that
+regiment to immortalize himself by shooting the colonel through the head
+while he was ignominously dallying with the question of surrender, and
+calling upon the men to follow him against the enemy. There can be very
+little doubt that such a movement would have resulted in victory, as the
+men were in splendid condition physically, thoroughly well armed, and
+dying to wipe out the disgrace their colonel had inflicted upon them. Of
+course, the man who should inaugurate such a movement must win, or die
+in the attempt, but in America death with honor is infinitely preferable
+to life with a suspicion of cowardice, as all who participated in this
+surrender were well aware.</p>
+
+<p>The officers were all held as prisoners of war, and the men paroled on
+condition of not fighting against the Confederacy during the continuance
+of the war. The Indian war of 1862 broke out in Minnesota very shortly
+after the surrender, and the men of the Third were brought to the state
+for service against the Indians. They participated in the campaign of
+1862 and following expeditions. For a full and detailed account of the
+surrender of the Third, consult the history of that regiment in the
+volume issued by the state, called "Minnesota in the Civil and Indian
+Wars."</p>
+
+<p>It would please the historian to omit this subject entirely, did truth
+permit; but he finds ample solace in the fact that this is the only blot
+to be found in the long record of brilliant and glorious deeds that
+compose the military history of Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>A general summary will show that Minnesota did her whole duty in the
+Civil War, and that her extreme youth was in no way a drawback to her
+performance. She furnished to the war, in all her military
+organizations, a grand total of 22,970 men. Of this number, 607 <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>were
+killed in battle and 1,647 died of disease, making a contribution of
+2,254 lives to the cause of the Union on the part of Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>Our state was honored by the promotion from her various organizations of
+the following officers:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+C. P. Adams, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+C. C. Andrews, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.<br />
+John T. Averill, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+James H. Baker, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Theodore E. Barret, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Judson W. Bishop, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+William Colville, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Napoleon J. T. Dana, Major General.<br />
+Alonzo J. Edgerton, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Willis A. Gorman, Brigadier General.<br />
+Lucius F. Hubbard, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Samuel P. Jennison, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+William G. Le Duc, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+William R. Marshall, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Robert B. McLaren, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Stephen Miller, Brigadier General.<br />
+John B. Sanborn, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.<br />
+Henry H. Sibley, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.<br />
+Minor T. Thomas, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+John E. Tourtellotte, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+Horatio P. Van Cleve, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+George N. Morgan, Brevet Brigadier General.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_INDIAN_WAR_OF_1862_AND_FOLLOWING_YEARS" id="THE_INDIAN_WAR_OF_1862_AND_FOLLOWING_YEARS"></a>THE INDIAN WAR OF 1862 AND FOLLOWING YEARS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1862 there were in the State of Minnesota four principal bands of
+Sioux Indians&mdash;the M'day-wa-kon-tons, Wak-pa-koo-tas, Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. The first two bands were known <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>as the Lower Sioux and the
+last two bands as the Upper Sioux. These designations arose from the
+fact that, in the sale of their lands to the United States by the
+treaties of 1851, the lands of the Lower Sioux were situate in the
+southern part of the state, and those of the upper bands in the more
+northern part, and when a reservation was set apart for their future
+occupation on the upper waters of the Minnesota river they were
+similarly located thereon. Their reservation consisted of a strip of
+land, ten miles wide, on each side of the Minnesota river, beginning at
+a point a few miles below Fort Ridgely and extending to the headwaters
+of the river. The reservation of the lower bands extended up to the
+Yellow Medicine river; that of the upper bands included all above the
+last named river. An agent was appointed to administer the affairs of
+these Indians, whose agencies were established at Redwood for the lower
+and at Yellow Medicine for the upper bands. At these agencies the
+annuities were paid to the Indians, and so continued from the making of
+the treaties to the year 1862. These bands were wild, very little
+progress having been made in their civilization, the very nature of the
+situation preventing very much advance in that line. The whole country
+to the north and west of their reservation was an open, wild region,
+extending to the Rocky Mountains, inhabited only by the buffalo, which
+animals ranged in vast herds from British Columbia to Texas. The buffalo
+was the chief subsistence of the Indians, who naturally frequented their
+ranges, and only came to the agencies when expecting their payments.
+When they did come, and the money and goods were not ready for them,
+which was frequently the case, they suffered great inconvenience, and
+were forced to incur debt with the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>white traders for their subsistence,
+all of which tended to create bad feelings between them and the whites.
+The Indian saw that he had yielded a splendid domain to the whites, and
+that they were rapidly occupying it. They could not help seeing that the
+whites were pushing them gradually&mdash;I may say rapidly&mdash;out of their
+ancestral possessions and towards the West, which knowledge naturally
+created a hostile feeling towards them. The Sioux were a brave people,
+and the young fighting men were always making comparisons between
+themselves and the whites, and bantering each other as to whether they
+were or were not afraid of them. I made a study of these people for
+several years, having had them in charge as their agent, and I think
+understood their feelings and standing towards the whites as well as any
+one. Much has been said and written about the immediate cause of the
+outbreak of 1862, but I do not believe that anything can be assigned out
+of the general course of events that will account for the trouble.
+Delay, as usual, had occurred in the arrival of the money for the
+payment, which was due in July, 1862. The war was in full force with the
+South, and the Indians saw that Minnesota was sending thousands of men
+out of the state to fight the battles of the Union. Major Thomas
+Galbraith was their agent in the summer of 1862, and being desirous of
+contributing to the volunteer forces of the government, he raised a
+company of half-breeds on the reservation and started with them for Fort
+Snelling, the general rendezvous, to have them mustered into service. It
+was very natural that the Indians who were seeking for trouble should
+look upon this movement as a sign of weakness on the part of the
+government, and reason that, if the United States could not conquer its
+enemy without their assistance, it must be in serious difficulties.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>Various things of similar character contributed to create a feeling
+among the Indians that it was a good time to recover their country,
+redress all their grievances, and reestablish themselves as lords of the
+land. They had ambitious leaders. Little Crow was the principal
+instigator of war on the whites. He was a man of greater parts than any
+Indian in the tribe. I had used him on many trying occasions, as the
+captain of my bodyguard, and my ambassador to negotiate with other
+tribes, and always found him equal to any emergency; but on this
+occasion his ambition ran away with his judgment, and led him to fatal
+results. With all these influences at work, it took but a spark to fire
+the magazine, and that spark was struck on the seventeenth day of
+August, 1862.</p>
+
+<p>A small party of Indians were at Acton, on August 17th, and got into a
+petty controversy about some eggs with a settler, which created a
+difference of opinion among them as to what they should do, some
+advocating one course and some another. The controversy led to one
+Indian saying that the other was afraid of the white man, to resent
+which, and to prove his bravery, he killed the settler, and the whole
+family was massacred. When these Indians reached the agency, and related
+their bloody work, those who wanted trouble seized upon the opportunity,
+and insisted that the only way out of the difficulty was to kill all the
+whites, and on the morning of the 18th of August the bloody work began.</p>
+
+<p>It is proper to say here that some of the Indians who were connected
+with the missionaries, conspicuously An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John
+Otherday, and Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president of the Hazelwood
+Republic, of which I have spoken, having learned of the intention of the
+Indians, informed the missionaries on the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>night of the 17th, who, to
+the number of about sixty, fled eastward to Hutchinson, in McLeod
+county, and escaped. The next morning, being the 18th of August, the
+Indians commenced the massacre of the whites, and made clean work of all
+at the agencies. They then separated into small squads of from five to
+ten and spread over the country to the south, east and southeast,
+attacking the settlers in detail at their homes and continued this work
+during all of the 18th and part of the 19th of August, until they had
+murdered in cold blood quite one thousand people&mdash;men, women and
+children. The way the work was conducted, was as follows: The party of
+Indians would call at the house, and, being well known, would cause no
+alarm. They would await a good opportunity, and shoot the man of the
+family; then butcher the women and children, and, after carrying off
+everything that they thought valuable to them, they would burn the house
+and proceed to the next homestead and repeat the performance.
+Occasionally some one would escape, and spread the news of the massacre
+to the neighbors, and all who could would escape to some place of
+refuge.</p>
+
+<p>The news of the outbreak reached Fort Ridgely (which was situated about
+thirteen miles down the Minnesota river) from the agencies about eight
+o'clock on the morning of the 18th, by means of the arrival of a team
+from the Lower Agency, bringing a badly wounded man; but no details
+could be obtained. The fort was in command of Capt. John Marsh, of
+Company "B," Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He had eighty-five men
+in his company, from which he selected forty-five, leaving the balance,
+under Lieut. T. F. Gere, to defend the fort. This little squad, under
+command of Captain Marsh, with a full supply of ammunition, provisions,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>blankets, etc., accompanied by a six-mule team, left the fort at
+9:00 a. m., on the 18th of August, for the Lower Sioux Agency, which
+was on the west side of the Minnesota river, the fort being on the east,
+which necessitated the crossing of the river by a ferry near the agency.
+On the march up the command passed nine or ten dead bodies, all bearing
+evidence of having been murdered by the Indians, one of which was Dr.
+Humphrey, surgeon at the agency. On reaching the vicinity of the ferry
+no Indians were in sight, except one on the opposite side of the river,
+who tried to induce them to cross over. A dense chaparral bordered the
+river on the agency side, and tall grass covered the bottom on the side
+where the troops were. Suspicion of the presence of Indians was aroused
+by the disturbed condition of the water of the river, which was muddy
+and contained floating grass. Then a group of ponies was seen. At this
+point, and without any notice whatever, Indians in great numbers sprang
+up on all sides of the troops, and opened upon them a deadly fire. About
+half of the men were killed instantly. Finding themselves surrounded, it
+became with the survivors a question of <i>sauve qui peut</i>. Several
+desperate hand-to-hand encounters occurred, with varying results, when
+the remnant of the command made a point down the river, about two miles
+from the ferry, Captain Marsh being of the number. Here they attempted
+to cross, but the captain was drowned in the effort. Only from thirteen
+to fifteen of the command reached the fort alive. Among those killed was
+Peter Quinn, the United States interpreter, an Irishman, who had been in
+the Indian territory for many years. He had married into the Chippewa
+tribe. He was a man much esteemed by the army and all old settlers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>Much criticism has been indulged in as to whether Captain Marsh, when he
+became convinced of the general outbreak, should not have retreated to
+the fort. Of course, forty-five men could do nothing against five or six
+hundred warriors, who were known to be at or about the agency. The Duke
+of Wellington, when asked as to what was the best test of a general,
+said, "To know when to retreat, and to dare to do it." Captain Marsh
+cannot be justly judged by any such criterion. He was not an experienced
+general. He was a young, brave, and enthusiastic soldier. He knew little
+of Indians. The country knows that he thought he was doing his duty in
+advancing. I am confident, whether this judgment is intelligent or not,
+posterity will hold in warmer esteem the memory of Captain Marsh and his
+gallant little band than if he had adopted the more prudent course of
+retracing his steps. Gen. George Custer was led into an ambush of almost
+the exact character, which was prepared for him by many of the same
+Indians who attacked Marsh, and he lost five companies of the Seventh
+United States Cavalry, one of the best fighting regiments in the
+service, not a man escaping.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately previous to the outbreak Lieut. Timothy J. Sheehan, of
+Company "C," Fifth Minnesota, had been sent, with about fifty men of his
+company, to the Yellow Medicine Agency, on account of some disorder
+prevailing among the Indians; but having performed his duty, he had been
+ordered to Fort Ripley, and had on the 17th left Fort Ridgley, and on
+the 18th had reached a point near Glencoe, distant from Fort Ridgley
+about forty miles. As soon as Captain Marsh became aware of the
+outbreak, he sent the following dispatch to Lieutenant Sheehan, which
+reached him on the evening of the 18th:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"<i>Lieutenant Sheehan:</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>"It is absolutely necessary that you should return with your
+command immediately to this post. The Indians are raising hell
+at the Lower Agency. Return as soon as possible."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Sheehan was then a young Irishman, of about the age of
+twenty-five years, with immense physical vigor, and corresponding
+enthusiasm. He immediately broke camp and returned to the fort, arriving
+there on the 19th of August, having made a forced march of forty-two
+miles in nine and one-half hours. He did not arrive a moment too soon.
+Being the ranking officer after the death of Captain Marsh, he took
+command of the post. The garrison then consisted of the remnant of
+Marsh's Company "B," fifty-one men, Sheehan's Company "C," fifty men,
+and the Renville Rangers, fifty men. This latter company was the one
+raised by Major Galbraith, the Sioux agent at the agencies, and was
+composed principally of half-breeds. It was commanded by Capt. James
+Gorman. On reaching St. Peter, on its way down to Snelling to be
+mustered into the service of the United States, it learned of the
+outbreak, and at once returned to Ridgley, having appropriated the arms
+of a militia company at St. Peter. There was also at Ridgley, Sergeant
+Jones of the regular artillery, who had been left there in charge of the
+military stores. He was quite an expert gunner, and there were several
+field-pieces at the fort. Besides this garrison, a large number of
+people from the surrounding country had sought safety at the fort, and
+there was also a party of gentlemen, who had brought up the annuity
+money to pay the Indians, who, learning of the troubles, had stopped
+with the money, amounting to some $70,000 in specie. I will here leave
+the fort for the present, and turn to other points that became prominent
+in the approaching war.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>On the night of the 18th of August, the day of the outbreak, the news
+reached St. Peter, and, as I have before stated, induced the Renville
+Rangers to retrace their steps. Great excitement prevailed, as no one
+could tell at what moment the Indians might dash into the town, and
+massacre the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>The people at New Ulm, which was situated about sixteen miles below Fort
+Ridgely, on the Minnesota river, dispatched a courier to St. Peter as
+soon as they became aware of the trouble. He arrived at 4 o'clock a. m.
+on the 19th, and came immediately to my house, which was about one mile
+below the town, and informed me that the Indians were killing people all
+over the country. Having lived among the Indians for several years, and
+at one time had charge of them as their agent, I thoroughly understood
+the danger of the situation, and knowing that, whether the story was
+true or false, the frontier was no place at such a time for women and
+children, I told him to wake up the people at St. Peter, and that I
+would be there quickly. I immediately placed my family in a wagon, and
+told them to flee down the river, and taking all the guns, powder and
+lead I could find in my house, I arrived at St. Peter about 6 a. m. The
+men of the town were soon assembled at the court-house, and in a very
+short time a company was formed of 116 men, of which I was chosen as
+captain, William B. Dodd as first, and Wolf H. Meyer as second
+lieutenant. Before noon two men, Henry A. Swift, afterwards governor of
+the state, and William C. Hayden, were dispatched to the front in a
+buggy to scout, and locate the enemy if he was near, and about noon
+sixteen mounted men under L. M. Boardman, sheriff of the county, were
+started on a similar errand. Both these squads kept moving until they
+reached New Ulm, at about 5 p. m.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>Great activity was displayed in equipping the main body of the company
+for service. All the guns of the place were seized, and put into the
+hands of the men. There not being any large game in this part of the
+country, rifles were scarce, but shot-guns were abundant. All the
+blacksmith shops and gun shops were set at work moulding bullets, and we
+soon had a gun in every man's hand, and he was supplied with a powder
+horn or a whiskey flask full of powder, a box of caps and a pocket-full
+of bullets. We impressed all the wagons we needed for transportation,
+and all the blankets and provisions that were necessary for subsistence
+and comfort. While these preparations were going on a large squad from
+Le Sueur, ten miles further down the river, under the command of Captain
+Tousley, sheriff of Le Sueur county, joined us. Early in the day a squad
+from Swan lake, under an old settler named Samuel Coffin, had gone to
+New Ulm to see what was the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Our advance guard reached New Ulm just in time to participate in its
+defense against an attack of about one hundred Indians who had been
+murdering the settlers on the west side of the river, between the town
+and Fort Ridgely. The inhabitants of New Ulm were almost exclusively
+German, there being only a few English-speaking citizens among them, and
+they were not familiar with the character of the Indians, but the
+instinct of self-preservation had impelled them to fortify the town with
+barricades to keep the enemy out. The town was built in the usual way of
+western towns, the principal settlement being along the main street, and
+the largest and best houses occupying a space of about three blocks.
+Some of these houses were of brick and stone, so with a strong barricade
+around them, the town was quite defensible. Several of the people were
+killed in this first attack, but <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>the Indians, knowing of the coming
+reinforcements, withdrew, after firing five or six buildings.</p>
+
+<p>The main body of my company, together with the squad from Le Sueur,
+reached the ferry about two miles below the settled part of New Ulm,
+about 8 p. m., having made thirty-two miles in seven hours, in a
+drenching rainstorm. The blazing houses in the distance gave a very
+threatening aspect to the situation, but we crossed the ferry
+successfully, and made the town without accident. The next day we were
+reinforced by a full company from Mankato under Capt. William Bierbauer.
+Several companies were formed from the citizens of the town. A full
+company from South Bend arrived on the 20th or 21st, and various other
+squads, greater or less in numbers, came in during the week, before
+Saturday, the 23d, swelling our forces to about three hundred men, but
+nearly all very poorly armed. We improved the barricades and sent out
+daily scouting parties who succeeded in bringing in many people who were
+in hiding in swamps, and who would have undoubtedly been lost without
+this succor. It soon became apparent that, to maintain any discipline or
+order in the town, some one man must be placed in command of the entire
+force. The officers of the various companies assembled to choose a
+commander-in-chief, and the selection fell to me. A provost guard was at
+once established, order inaugurated, and we awaited events.</p>
+
+<p>I have been thus particular in my description of the movements at this
+point because it gives an idea of the defenseless condition in which the
+outbreak found the people of the country, and also because it shows the
+intense energy with which the settlers met the emergency, at its very
+inception, from which I will deduce the conclusion at the proper time
+that this prompt initial action <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>saved the state from a calamity, the
+magnitude of which is unrecorded in the history of Indian wars.</p>
+
+<p>Having described the defensive condition of Fort Ridgely and New Ulm,
+the two extreme frontier posts, the former being on the Indian
+reservation and the latter only a few miles southeast of it, I will take
+up the subject at the capital of the state. The news reached Governor
+Ramsey, at St. Paul, on the 19th of August, the second day of the
+outbreak. He at once hastened to Mendota, at the mouth of the Minnesota
+river, and requested ex-Governor Sibley to accept the command of such
+forces as could be put in the field, to check the advance of and punish
+the Indians. Governor Sibley had a large experience with the Sioux,
+perhaps more than any man in the state, having traded and lived with
+them since 1834, and besides that, was a distinguished citizen of the
+state, having been its first governor. He accepted the position, with
+the rank of colonel in the state militia. The Sixth Regiment was being
+recruited at Fort Snelling for the Civil War, and, on the 20th of
+August, Colonel Sibley started up the valley of the Minnesota with four
+companies of that regiment, and arrived at St. Peter on Friday, the 22d.
+Capt. A. D. Nelson of the regular army had been appointed colonel of the
+Sixth, and William Crooks had been appointed lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh. Colonel Crooks conveyed the orders of the governor to Colonel
+Nelson, overtaking him at Bloomington Ferry. On receipt of his orders,
+finding he was to report to Colonel Sibley, he made the point of
+military etiquette, that an officer of the regular army could not report
+to an officer of militia of the same rank, and turning over his command
+to Colonel Crooks, he returned to St. Paul and handed in his
+resignation. It was accepted, and Colonel Crooks was appointed colonel
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>of the Sixth. Not knowing much about military etiquette, I will not
+venture an opinion on the action of Colonel Nelson in this instance, but
+it always seemed to me that, in the face of the enemy, and especially
+considering the high standing of Colonel Sibley, and the intimate
+friendship that existed between the two men, it would have been better
+to have waived this point, and unitedly fought the enemy, settling all
+such matters afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday, the 24th, Colonel Sibley's force at St. Peter, was augmented
+by the arrival of about two hundred mounted men, under the command of
+William J. Cullen, formerly superintendent of Indian affairs, called the
+Cullen Guard. On the same day six more companies of the Sixth arrived,
+making up the full regiment, and also about one hundred more mounted
+men, and several squads of volunteer militia. The mounted men were
+placed under the command of Col. Samuel McPhail. By these acquisitions
+Colonel Sibley's command numbered about 1,400 men. Although the
+numerical strength was considerable, the command was practically
+useless. The ammunition did not fit the guns of the Sixth Regiment, and
+had to be all made over. The horses of the mounted men, were raw and
+undisciplined, and the men themselves were inexperienced and practically
+unarmed. It was the best the country afforded, but was probably about as
+poorly equipped an army as ever entered the field&mdash;and to face what I
+regard as the best warriors to be found on the North American continent;
+but fortunately the officers and men were all that could be desired. The
+leaders of this army were the best of men, and being seconded by
+intelligent and enthusiastic subordinates, they soon overcame their
+physical difficulties; but they knew nothing of the strength, position
+or <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>previous movements of the enemy, no news having reached them from
+either Fort Ridgely or New Ulm. Any mistake made by this force,
+resulting in defeat, would have been fatal. No such mistake was made.
+Having now shown the principal forces in the field, we will turn to the
+movements of the enemy. The Indians felt that it would be necessary to
+carry Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, before they extended their depredations
+further down the valley of the Minnesota, and concentrated their forces
+for an attack on the fort. Ridgely was in no sense a fort. It was simply
+a collection of buildings, principally frame structures, facing in
+towards the parade ground. On one side was a long stone barrack and a
+stone commissary building, which was the only defensible part of it.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_ATTACK_ON_FORT_RIDGELY" id="THE_ATTACK_ON_FORT_RIDGELY"></a>THE ATTACK ON FORT RIDGELY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the 20th of August, at about 3 p. m., an attack was made upon the
+fort by a large body of Indians. The first intimation the garrison had
+of the assault was a volley poured through one of the openings between
+the buildings. Considerable confusion ensued, but order was soon
+restored. Sergeant Jones attempted to use his cannon, but to his utter
+dismay, he found them disabled. This was the work of some of the
+half-breeds belonging to the Renville Rangers, who had deserted to the
+enemy. They had been spiked by ramming old rags into them. The sergeant
+soon rectified this difficulty, and brought his pieces into action. The
+attack lasted three hours, when it ceased, with a loss to the garrison
+of three killed and eight wounded.</p>
+
+<p>On Thursday, the 21st, two further attacks were made on the fort, one in
+the morning and one in the afternoon, but with a reduced force, less
+earnestness, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>little damage. On Friday, the 22d, the savages seemed
+determined to carry the fort. About eight hundred or more, under the
+leadership of Little Crow, came down from the agency. Concentrating
+themselves in the ravines which lay on several sides of the fort, they
+made a feint, by sending about twenty warriors out on the prairie for
+the purpose of drawing out the garrison from the fort, and cutting them
+off. Such a movement, if successful, would have been fatal to the
+defenders; but fortunately there were men among them of much experience
+in Indian warfare, who saw through the scheme, and prevented the success
+of the maneuver. Then followed a shower of bullets on the fort from all
+directions. The attack was continued for nearly five hours. It was
+bitterly fought, and courageously and intelligently resisted. Sergeant
+Jones and other artillerists handled the guns with effective skill,
+exploding shells in the outlying buildings, and burning them over the
+heads of the Indians, while the enemy endeavored to burn the wooden
+buildings composing the fort, by shooting fire arrows on their roofs.
+One of the most exposed and dangerous duties to be performed was
+covering the wooden roofs with earth to prevent fire. One white man was
+killed and seven wounded in this engagement. Lieutenant Sheehan, who
+commanded the post through all these trying occurrences, Lieutenant
+Gorman, of the Renville Rangers, Lieutenant Whipple, and Sergeants Jones
+and McGrew, all did their duty in a manner becoming veterans, and the
+men seconded their efforts handsomely. The Indians, after this effort,
+being convinced that they could not take the fort, and anticipating the
+coming of reinforcements, withdrew, and, concentrating all their
+available forces, descended upon New Ulm the next morning, August 23d,
+for a final struggle. In the official <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>history (written for the state)
+of this battle at Fort Ridgely, I place the force of the Indians as 450,
+but have learned since from reliable sources that it was as above
+stated.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BATTLE_OF_NEW_ULM" id="BATTLE_OF_NEW_ULM"></a>BATTLE OF NEW ULM.</h2>
+
+
+<p>We left New Ulm, after the arrival of the various companies which I have
+named on the 21st of August, strengthening its barricades and awaiting
+events. I had placed a good glass on the top of one of the stone
+buildings within the barricades for the purpose of observation, and
+always kept a sentinel there to report any movement he should discover
+in any direction throughout the surrounding country. We had heard
+distinctly the cannonading at the fort for the past two days, but knew
+nothing of the result of the fight at that point. I was perfectly
+familiar, as were many of my command, with the country between New Ulm
+and the fort, on both sides of the river, knowing the house of every
+settler on the roads.</p>
+
+<p>Saturday, the 23d of August, opened bright and beautiful, and early in
+the morning we saw column after column of smoke rise in the direction of
+the fort, each smoke being nearer than the last. We knew to a certainty
+that the Indians were approaching in force, burning every building and
+grain or hay stack they passed. The settlers had either all been killed,
+or had taken refuge at the fort or New Ulm, so we had no anxiety about
+them. About 9:30 a. m. the enemy appeared in great force, on both sides
+of the river. Those on the east side, when they reached the neighborhood
+of the ferry, burned some stacks as a signal of their arrival, which was
+responded to by a similar fire in the edge of the timber, about two
+miles and a half from the town on the west <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>side. Between this timber
+and the town, was a beautiful open prairie, with considerable descent
+towards the town. Immediately on seeing the smoke from the ferry the
+enemy advanced rapidly, some six hundred strong, many mounted and the
+rest on foot. I had determined to meet them on the open prairie, and had
+formed my men by companies in a long line of battle, with intervals
+between them, on the first level plateau on the west side of the town,
+thus covering its whole west front. There were not over twenty or thirty
+rifles in the whole command, and a man with a shotgun, knowing his
+antagonist carries a rifle, has very little confidence in his fighting
+ability. Down came the Indians in the bright sunlight, galloping,
+running, yelling, and gesticulating in the most fiendish manner. If we
+had had good rifles they never would have got near enough to do much
+harm, but as it was we could not check them before their fire began to
+tell on our line. They deployed to the right and left until they covered
+our entire front, and then charged. My men, appreciating the inferiority
+of their armament, after seeing several of their comrades fall, and
+having fired a few ineffectual volleys, fell back on the town, passing
+some buildings without taking possession of them, which mistake was
+instantly taken advantage of by the Indians, who at once occupied them,
+but they did not follow us into the town proper, no doubt thinking our
+retreat was a feint to draw them among the buildings, and thus gain an
+advantage. I think if they had boldly charged into the town and set it
+on fire, they would have won the fight; but, instead, they surrounded it
+on all sides, the main body taking possession of the lower end of the
+main street below the barricades, from which direction a strong wind was
+blowing towards the center of the town. From this point they began
+firing <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>the houses on both sides of the street. We soon rallied the men,
+and kept the enemy well in the outskirts of the town, and the fighting
+became general on all sides. Just about this time, my first lieutenant,
+William B. Dodd, galloped down the main street, and as he passed a cross
+street the Indians put three or four bullets through him. He died during
+the afternoon, after having been removed several times from house to
+house as the enemy crowded in upon us.</p>
+
+<p>On the second plateau, there was an old Don Quixote windmill, with an
+immense tower and sail-arms about seventy-five feet long, which occupied
+a commanding position, and had been taken possession of by a company of
+about thirty men, who called themselves the Le Sueur Tigers, most of
+whom had rifles. They barricaded themselves with sacks of flour and
+wheat, loopholed the building and kept the savages at a respectful
+distance from the west side of the town. A rifle ball will bury itself
+in a sack of flour or wheat, but will not penetrate it. During the
+battle the men dug out several of them, and brought them to me because
+they were the regulation Minie bullet, and there had been rumors that
+the Confederates from Missouri had stirred up the revolt and supplied
+the Indians with guns and ammunition. I confess I was astonished when I
+saw the bullets, as I knew the Indians had no such arms, but I soon
+decided that they were using against us the guns and ammunition they had
+taken from the dead soldiers of Captain Marsh's company. I do not
+believe the Confederates had any hand in the revolt of these Indians.</p>
+
+<p>We held several other outposts, being brick buildings outside the
+barricades, which we loopholed, and found very effective in holding the
+Indians aloof. The battle raged generally all around the town, every
+man <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>doing his best in his own way. It was a very interesting fight on
+account of the stake we were contending for. We had in the place about
+twelve or fifteen hundred women and children, the lives of all of whom,
+and of ourselves, depended upon victory perching on our banners; for in
+a fight like this, no quarter is ever asked or given. The desperation
+with which the conflict was conducted can be judged from the fact that I
+lost sixty men in the first hour and a half, ten killed and fifty
+wounded, out of less than 250, as my force had been depleted by the
+number of about seventy-five by Lieutenant Huey taking that number to
+guard the approach to the ferry. Crossing to the other side of the river
+he was cut off, and forced to retreat toward St. Peter. It was simply a
+mistake of judgment to put the river between himself and the main force,
+but in his retreat he met Capt. E. St. Julian Cox, with reinforcements
+for New Ulm, joined them, and returned the next day. He was a brave and
+willing officer. The company I mentioned as having arrived from South
+Bend, having heard that the Winnebagoes had joined in the outbreak, left
+us before the final attack on Saturday, the 23d of August, claiming that
+their presence at home was necessary to protect their families, and on
+the morning of the 23d, when the enemy was in sight, a wagon load of
+others left us and went down the river. I doubt if we could have
+mustered over two hundred guns at any time during the fight.</p>
+
+<p>The enemy, seeing his advantage in firing the buildings in the lower
+part of the main street, and thus gradually nearing our barricades with
+the intention of burning us out, kept up his work as continuously as he
+could with the interruptions we made for him by occasionally driving him
+out; but his approach was constant, and about 2 o'clock a roaring
+conflagration was raging on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>both sides of the street, and the prospect
+looked discouraging. At this juncture Asa White, an old frontiersman,
+connected with the Winnebagoes, whom I had known for a long time, and
+whose judgment and experience I appreciated and valued, came to me and
+said: "Judge, if this goes on, the Indians will bag us in about two
+hours." I said: "It looks that way; what remedy have you to suggest."
+His answer was, "We must make for the cottonwood timber." Two miles and
+a half lay between us and the timber referred to, which, of course,
+rendered his suggestion utterly impracticable with two thousand
+noncombatants to move, and I said: "White, they would slaughter us like
+sheep should we undertake such a movement. Our strongest hold is in this
+town, and if you will get together fifty volunteers, I will drive the
+Indians out of the lower town and the greatest danger will be passed."
+He saw at once the propriety of my proposition, and in a short time we
+had a squad ready, and sallied out, cheering and yelling in a manner
+that would have done credit to the wildest Comanches. We knew the
+Indians were congregated in force down the street, and expected to find
+them in a sunken road, about three blocks from where we started, but
+they had worked their way up much nearer to us, and were in a deep swale
+about a block and a half from our barricades. There was a large number
+of them, estimated at about seventy-five to one hundred, some on ponies
+and some on foot. When the conformation of the ground disclosed their
+whereabouts, we were within one hundred feet of them. They opened a
+rapid fire on us, which we returned, while keeping up our rushing
+advance. When we were within fifty feet of them, they turned and fled
+down the street. We followed them for at least half a mile, firing as
+well as we could. This took us beyond <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>the burning houses, and finding a
+large collection of saw logs, I called a halt and we took cover among
+them, lying flat on the ground. The Indians stopped when we ceased to
+chase them, and took cover behind anything that afforded protection, and
+kept up an incessant fire upon us whenever a head or hand showed itself
+above the logs. We held them, however, in this position, and prevented
+their return toward the town by way of the street. I at once sent a
+party back with instructions to burn every building, fence, stack or
+other object that would afford cover between us and the barricades. This
+order was strictly carried out, and by six or seven o'clock there was
+not a structure standing outside of the barricades in that part of the
+town. We then abandoned our saw logs and returned to the town, and the
+day was won, the Indians not daring to charge us over an open country. I
+lost four men killed in this exploit, one of whom was especially to be
+regretted. I speak of Newell Houghton. In ordinary warfare, all men
+stand for the same value as a general thing; but in an Indian fight, a
+man of cool head, an exceptionally fine shot, and armed with a reliable
+rifle, is a loss doubly to be regretted. Houghton was famous as being
+the best shot and deer hunter in all the Northwest, and had with him his
+choice rifle. He had built a small steamboat with the proceeds of his
+gun, and we all held him in high respect as a fine type of frontiersman.
+We had hardly got back to the town before a man brought me a rifle which
+he had found on the ground near a clump of brush, and handing it to me
+said, "Some Indian lost a good gun in that run." It happened that White
+was with me, and saw the gun. He recognized it in an instant, and said:
+"Newell Houghton is dead. He never let that gun out of his hands while
+he could hold it." We looked where the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>gun was picked up, and found
+Houghton dead in the brush. He had been scalped by some Indian who had
+seen him fall, and had sneaked back and scalped him.</p>
+
+<p>That night we dug a system of rifle pits all along the barricades on the
+outside, and manned them with three or four men each, but the firing was
+desultory through the night, and nothing much was accomplished on either
+side.</p>
+
+
+<p>The next morning (Sunday) opened bright and beautiful, but scarcely an
+Indian was to be seen. They had given up the contest, and were rapidly
+retreating northward up the river. We got an occasional shot at one, but
+without effect except to hasten the retreat. And so ended the second and
+decisive battle of New Ulm.</p>
+
+<p>In this fight between ourselves and the enemy we burned one hundred and
+ninety buildings, many of them substantial and valuable structures. The
+whites lost some fourteen killed and fifty or sixty wounded. The loss of
+the enemy is uncertain, but after the fight we found ten dead Indians in
+burned houses, and in chaparral where they escaped the notice of their
+friends. As to their wounded we knew nothing, but judging from the
+length and character of the engagement, and the number of their dead
+found, their casualties must have equalled, if not exceeded ours.</p>
+
+<p>About noon of Sunday, the 24th, Capt. E. St. Julien Cox arrived with a
+company from St. Peter, which had been sent by Colonel Sibley to
+reinforce us. Lieutenant Huey, who had been cut off at the ferry on the
+previous day, accompanied him with a portion of his command. They were
+welcome visitors.</p>
+
+<p>There were in the town at the time of the attack on the 23d, as near as
+can be learned, from 1,200 to 1,500 noncombatants, consisting of women
+and children, refugees <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>and unarmed citizens, all of whose lives
+depended upon our success. It is difficult to conceive a much more
+exciting stake to play for, and the men seemed fully to appreciate it,
+and made no mistakes.</p>
+
+<p>On the 25th we found that provisions and ammunition were becoming
+scarce, and pestilence being feared from stench and exposure, we decided
+to evacuate the town and try to reach Mankato. This destination was
+chosen to avoid the Minnesota river, the crossing of which we deemed
+impracticable. The only obstacle between us and Mankato was the Big
+Cottonwood river, which was fordable. We made up a train of 153 wagons,
+which had largely composed our barricades, loaded them with women and
+children, and about eighty wounded men, and started. A more
+heart-rending procession was never witnessed in America. Here was the
+population of one of the most flourishing towns in the state abandoning
+their homes and property, starting on a journey of thirty odd miles,
+through a hostile country, with a possibility of being massacred on the
+way, and no hope or prospect but the hospitality of strangers and
+ultimate beggary. The disposition of the guard was confided to Captain
+Cox. The march was successful; no Indians were encountered. We reached
+Crisp's farm, which was about half way between New Ulm and Mankato,
+about evening. I pushed the main column on, fearing danger from various
+sources, but camped at this point with about 150 men, intending to
+return to New Ulm, or hold this point as a defensive measure for the
+exposed settlements further down the river. On the morning of the 26th
+we broke camp, and I endeavored to make the command return to New Ulm or
+remain where they were&mdash;my object, of course, being to keep an armed
+force between the enemy and the settlements. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>The men had not heard a
+word from their families for more than a week, and declined to return or
+remain. I did not blame them. They had demonstrated their willingness to
+fight when necessary, but held the protection of their families as
+paramount to mere military possibilities. I would not do justice to
+history did I not record, that, when I called for volunteers to return,
+Captain Cox and his whole squad stepped to the front, ready to go where
+I commanded. Although I had not then heard of Captain Marsh's disaster,
+I declined to allow so small a command as that of Captain Cox to attempt
+the reoccupation of New Ulm. My staff stood by me in this effort, and a
+gentleman from Le Sueur county, Mr. Freeman Talbott, made an impressive
+speech to the men, to induce them to return. The train arrived safely at
+Mankato on the 25th, and the balance of the command on the following
+day, whence the men generally sought their homes.</p>
+
+<p>I immediately, on arriving at Mankato, went to St. Peter, to inform
+Colonel Sibley of the condition of things in the Indian country. I found
+him, on the night of August 26th, in camp about six miles out of St.
+Peter, and put him in possession of everything that had happened to the
+westward. His mounted men arrived at Fort Ridgely on the 27th of August,
+and were the first relief that reached that fort after its long siege.
+Sibley reached the fort on the 28th of August. Intrenchments were thrown
+up about the fort, cannon properly placed, and a strong guard
+maintained. All but ninety men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain
+Anderson, returned home as soon as they found the fort was safe. The
+garrison was soon increased by the arrival of forty-seven men under
+Captain Sterritt, and on the 1st of September, Lieut. Col. William R.
+Marshall of the Seventh Regiment <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>arrived, with a portion of his
+command. This force could not make a forward movement on account of a
+lack of ammunition and provisions, which were long delayed.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BATTLE_OF_BIRCH_COULIE" id="BATTLE_OF_BIRCH_COULIE"></a>BATTLE OF BIRCH COULIE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the 31st of August a detail of Captain Grant's company of infantry,
+seventy men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain Anderson, and some
+citizens and other soldiers, in all about 150 men, under command of
+Major Joseph R. Brown, with seventeen teams and teamsters, were sent
+from Fort Ridgely to the Lower Agency, to feel the enemy, bury the dead,
+and perform any other service that might arise. They went as far as
+Little Crow's village, but not finding any signs of Indians, they
+returned; and on the 1st of September they reached Birch Coulie, and
+encamped at the head of it. Birch Coulie is a ravine extending from the
+upper plateau to the river bottom, nearly opposite the ferry where
+Captain Marsh's company was ambushed.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians, after their defeat at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, had
+concentrated at the Yellow Medicine river, and decided to make one more
+desperate effort to carry their point of driving the whites out of the
+country. Their plan of operation was, to come down the Minnesota valley
+in force, stealthily, passing Sibley's command at Ridgely, and attacking
+St. Peter and Mankato simultaneously. They congregated all their forces
+for this attempt, and started down the river. When they reached the foot
+of Birch Coulie they saw the last of Major Brown's command going up the
+coulie. They decided to wait and see where they encamped, and attack
+them early in the morning. The whites went to the upper end of the
+Coulie, and camped on the open prairie, about <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>250 feet from the brush
+in the coulie. On the other side of their camp there was a roll in the
+prairie, about four or five feet high, which they probably did not
+notice. This gave the enemy cover on both sides of the camp, and they
+did not fail to see it and take advantage of it. The moment daylight
+came sufficiently to disclose the camp, the Indians opened fire from
+both sides. The whites had ninety horses hitched to a picket rope and
+their wagons formed in a circular corral, with their camp in the center.
+The Indians soon killed all the horses but one, and the men used their
+carcasses as breastworks, behind which to fight. The battle raged from
+the morning of September 2d to September 3d, when they were relieved by
+Colonel Sibley's whole command, and the Indians fled to the west.</p>
+
+<p>Major Joseph R. Brown was one of the most experienced Indian men in the
+country, and would never have made the mistake of locating his camp in a
+place that gave the enemy such an advantage. He did not arrive until the
+camp was selected, and should have removed it at once. I have always
+supposed that he was lulled into a sense of security by not having seen
+any signs of Indians in his march; but the result proved that, when in a
+hostile Indian country, no one is ever justified in omitting any
+precautions. The firing at Birch Coulie was heard at Fort Ridgely, and a
+relief was sent, under Colonel McPhail, which was checked by the Indians
+a few miles before it reached its destination. The colonel sent a
+courier to the fort for reinforcements, and it fell to Lieutenant
+Sheehan to carry the message. With his usual energy he succeeded in
+getting through, his horse dying under him on his arrival. Colonel
+Sibley at once started with his whole command, and when he reached the
+battle ground the Indians left the field.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>This was one of the most disastrous battles of the war. Twenty-three
+were killed outright or mortally wounded, and forty-five were severely
+wounded, while many others received slight injuries. The tents were, by
+the shower of bullets, made to resemble lace work, so completely were
+they perforated. One hundred and four bullet holes were counted in one
+tent. Besides the continual shower of bullets that was kept up by the
+Indians, the men suffered terribly from thirst, as it was impossible to
+get water into the camp. This fight forms a very important feature in
+the Indian war, as, notwithstanding its horrors, it probably prevented
+awful massacres at St. Peter and Mankato, the former being absolutely
+defenseless, and the latter only protected by a small squad of about
+eighty men, which formed my headquarters guard at South Bend, about four
+miles distant.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="OCCURRENCES_IN_MEEKER_COUNTY_AND_VICINITY" id="OCCURRENCES_IN_MEEKER_COUNTY_AND_VICINITY"></a>OCCURRENCES IN MEEKER COUNTY AND VICINITY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>While these events were passing, other portions of the state were being
+prepared for defense. In the region of Forest City in Meeker county, and
+also at Hutchinson and Glencoe, the excitement was intense. Capt. George
+C. Whitcomb obtained in St. Paul seventy-five stand of arms and some
+ammunition. He left a part of the arms at Hutchinson, and with the rest
+armed a company at Forest City, of fifty-three men, twenty-five of-whom
+were mounted. Capt. Richard Strout, of Company "B," Ninth Regiment, was
+ordered to Forest City, and went there with his company. Gen. John H.
+Stevens of Glencoe was commander of the state militia for the counties
+of McLeod, Carver, Sibley and Renville. As soon as he learned of the
+outbreak he erected a very substantial fortification of saw-logs at
+Glencoe, and that <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>place was not disturbed by the savages. A company of
+volunteers was formed at Glencoe, under Capt. A. H. Rouse. Company "F"
+of the Ninth Regiment, under Lieut. O. P. Stearns, and Company "H" of
+the same regiment (Capt. W. R. Baxter), an independent company from
+Excelsior, and the Goodhue County Rangers (Capt. David L. Davis), all
+did duty at and about Glencoe during the continuance of the trouble.
+Captains Whitcomb and Strout, with their companies, made extensive
+reconnoisances into the surrounding counties, rescuing many refugees,
+and having several brisk and sharp encounters with the Indians, in which
+they lost several in killed and wounded. The presence of these troops in
+this region of country, and their active operations, prevented its
+depopulation, and saved the towns and much valuable property from
+destruction.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="PROTECTION_OF_THE_SOUTHERN_FRONTIER" id="PROTECTION_OF_THE_SOUTHERN_FRONTIER"></a>PROTECTION OF THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the 29th of August I received a commission from the governor of the
+state, instructing and directing me to take command of the Blue Earth
+country, extending from New Ulm to the north line of Iowa, embracing the
+then western and southwestern frontier of the state. My powers were
+general&mdash;to raise troops, commission officers, subsist upon the country,
+and generally to do what in my judgment was best for the protection of
+this frontier. Under these powers I located my headquarters at South
+Bend, being the extreme southern point of the Minnesota river, thirty
+miles below New Ulm, four from Mankato, and about fifty from the Iowa
+line. Here I maintained a guard of about eighty men. We threw up some
+small intrenchments, but nothing worthy of mention. Enough citizens of
+New Ulm had returned home to form two companies at that point. Company
+"E," of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>the Ninth Regiment, under Capt. Jerome E. Dane, was stationed
+at Crisp's farm, about half way between New Ulm and South Bend. Col.
+John R. Jones of Chatfield collected about three hundred men, and
+reported to me at Garden City. They were organized into companies under
+Captains N. P. Colburn and Post, and many of them were stationed at
+Garden City, where they erected a serviceable fort of saw-logs. Others
+of this command were stationed at points along the Blue Earth river.
+Capt. Cornelius F. Buck of Winona raised a company of fifty-three men,
+all mounted, and started west. They reached Winnebago City, in the
+county of Faribault, on the 7th of September, where they reported to me,
+and were stationed at Chain Lakes, about twenty miles west of Winnebago
+City, and twenty of this company were afterwards sent to Madelia. A
+stockade was erected by this company at Martin Lake. In the latter part
+of August Capt. A. J. Edgerton of Company "B," Tenth Regiment, arrived
+at South Bend, and having made his report, was stationed at the
+Winnebago agency, to keep watch on those Indians and cover Mankato from
+that direction. About the same time Company "F," of the Eighth Regiment,
+under Capt. L. Aldrich, reported, and was stationed at New Ulm. E. St.
+Julien Cox, who had previously reinforced me at New Ulm, was
+commissioned a captain, and put in command of a force which was
+stationed at Madelia, in Watonwan county, where they erected quite an
+artistic fortification of logs, with bastions. While there an attack was
+made upon some citizens who had ventured beyond the safe limits, and
+several whites were killed.</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen by the above statement that almost immediately after the
+evacuation of New Ulm, on the 25th of August, the most exposed part of
+the southern <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>frontier was occupied by quite a strong force. I did not
+expect that any serious incursions would be made along this line, but
+the state of alarm and panic that prevailed among the people rendered it
+necessary to establish this cordon of military posts to prevent an
+exodus of the inhabitants. No one who has not gone through the ordeal of
+an Indian insurrection can form any idea of the terrible apprehension
+that takes possession of a defenseless and noncombatant population under
+such circumstances. There is an element of mystery and uncertainty about
+the magnitude and movements of this enemy, and a certainty of his
+brutality, that inspires terror. The first notice of his approach is the
+crack of his rifle, and no one with experience of such struggles ever
+blames the timidity of citizens in exposed positions when assailed by
+these savages. I think, all things being considered, the people
+generally behaved very well. If a map of the state is consulted, taking
+New Ulm as the most northern point on the Minnesota river, it will be
+seen that the line of my posts covered the frontier from that point down
+the river to South Bend, and up the Blue Earth, southerly, to Winnebago
+City, and thence to the Iowa line. These stations were about sixteen
+miles apart, with two advanced posts, at Madelia and Chain Lakes, to the
+westward. A system of couriers was established, starting from each end
+of the cordon every morning, with dispatches from the commanding officer
+to headquarters, stopping at every station for an indorsement of what
+was going on, so I knew every day what had happened at every point on my
+line. By this means, the frontier population was pacified, and no
+general exodus took place.</p>
+
+<p>In September Major General Pope was ordered to Minnesota to conduct the
+Indian war. He made his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>headquarters at St. Paul, and by his high rank
+took command of all operations, though not exerting any visible
+influence on them, the fact being that all imminent danger had been
+overcome by the state and its citizens before his arrival. In the latter
+part of September the citizen troops under my command were anxious to
+return to their homes, and on presentation of the situation to General
+Pope, he ordered into the state a new regiment just mustered into the
+service in Wisconsin&mdash;the Twenty-fifth&mdash;commanded by Col. M. Montgomery,
+who was ordered to relieve me. He appeared at South Bend on the 1st of
+October, and after having fully informed him of what had transpired, and
+given him my views as to the future, I turned my command over to him in
+the following order: I give it, as it succinctly presents the situation
+of affairs at the time.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+"HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION<br />
+SOUTHERN FRONTIER,<br />
+<span style="text-align: right;">"SOUTH BEND, October 5, 1862.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p><i>To the Soldiers and Citizens who have been, and are now engaged
+in the defense of the Southern Frontier:</i></p>
+
+<p>"On the eighteenth day of August last your frontier was invaded
+by the Indians. You promptly rallied for its defense. You
+checked the advance of the enemy and defeated him in two severe
+battles at New Ulm. You have held a line of frontier posts
+extending over a distance of one hundred miles. You have erected
+six substantial fortifications, and other defensive works of
+less magnitude. You have dispersed marauding bands of savages
+that have hung upon your lines. You have been uniformly brave,
+vigilant and obedient to orders. By your efforts, the war has
+been confined to the border; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>without them, it would have
+penetrated into the heart of the state.</p>
+
+<p>"Major General Pope has assumed command of the Northwest, and
+will control future operations. He promises a vigorous
+prosecution of the war. Five companies of the Twenty-fifth
+Wisconsin Regiment and five hundred cavalry from Iowa are
+ordered into the region now held by you, and will supply the
+places of those whose terms of enlistment shortly expire. The
+department of the southern frontier, which I have had the honor
+to command, will, from the date of this order, be under the
+command of Colonel M. Montgomery of the Twenty-fifth Wisconsin,
+whom I take pleasure in introducing to the troops and citizens
+of that department as a soldier and a man to whom they may
+confide their interests and the safety of their country, with
+every assurance that they will be protected and defended.</p>
+
+<p>"Pressing public duties of a civil nature demand my absence
+temporarily from the border. The intimate and agreeable
+relations we have sustained toward each other, our union in
+danger and adventure, cause me regret in leaving you, but will
+hasten my return.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,<br />
+"<i>Colonel Commanding Southern Frontier.</i>"<br />
+</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>This practically terminated my connection with the war. All matters yet
+to be related took place in other parts of the state, under the command
+of Colonel Sibley and others.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="COLONEL_SIBLEY_MOVES_UPON_THE_ENEMY" id="COLONEL_SIBLEY_MOVES_UPON_THE_ENEMY"></a>COLONEL SIBLEY MOVES UPON THE ENEMY,</h2>
+
+
+<p>We left Colonel Sibley, on the 4th of September, at Fort Ridgely, having
+just relieved the unfortunate command of Major Joseph R. Brown, after
+the fight at Birch <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>Coulie. Knowing that the Indians had in their
+possession many white captives, and having their rescue alive uppermost
+in his mind, the colonel left on the battlefield at Birch Coulie the
+following communication, attached to a stake driven in the ground,
+feeling assured that it would fall into the hands of Little Crow, the
+leader of the Indians.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"If Little Crow has any proposition to make, let him send a
+half-breed to me, and he shall be protected in and out of camp.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"H. H. SIBLEY,<br />
+"<i>Colonel Commanding Military Expedition.</i>"<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The note was found, and answered by Little Crow in a manner rather
+irrelevant to the subject most desired by Colonel Sibley. It was dated
+at Yellow Medicine, September 7th, and delivered by two half-breeds.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Sibley returned the following answer by the bearers:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Little Crow, you have murdered many of our people without any
+sufficient cause. Return me the prisoners under a flag of truce,
+and I will talk with you like a man."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>No response was received to this letter until September 12th, when
+Little Crow sent another, saying that he had 155 prisoners, not
+including those held by the Si-si-tons and Wak-pay-tons, who were at Lac
+qui Parle, and were coming down. He also gave assurances that the
+prisoners were faring well. Colonel Sibley, on the 12th of September,
+sent a reply by Little Crow's messengers, saying that no peace could be
+made without a surrender of the prisoners, but not promising peace on
+any terms, and charging the commission of nine murders since the receipt
+of Little Crow's last letter. The same messenger that brought this
+letter from Little Crow also delivered, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>quite a long one from Wabasha
+and Taopee, two lower chiefs who claimed to be friendly, and desired a
+meeting with Colonel Sibley, suggesting two places where it could be
+held. The Colonel replied that he would march in three days, and was
+powerful enough to crush all the Indians; that they might approach his
+column in open day with a flag of truce, and place themselves under his
+protection. On the receipt of this note a large council was held, at
+which nearly all the annuity Indians were present. Several speeches were
+made by the Upper and Lower Sioux, some in favor of continuance of the
+war and "dying in the last ditch," and some in favor of surrendering the
+prisoners. I quote from a speech made by Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, who
+will be remembered as one of the Indians who volunteered to rescue the
+white captives from Ink-pa-du-ta's band, in 1857, and who was always
+true to the whites. He said among other things:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"In fighting the whites, you are fighting the thunder and
+lightning. You say you can make a treaty with the British
+government. That is not possible. Have you not yet come to your
+senses? They are also white men, and neighbors and friends to
+the soldiers. They are ruled by a petticoat, and she has the
+tender heart of a squaw. What will she do for the men who have
+committed the murders you have?"</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>This correspondence was kept up for several days, quite a number of
+letters coming from the Indians to Colonel Sibley, but with no
+satisfactory results. On the 18th of September, Colonel Sibley
+determined to move upon the enemy, and on that day camp was broken at
+the fort, a boat constructed, and a crossing of the Minnesota river
+effected near the fort, to prevent the possibility of an ambuscade.
+Colonel Sibley's force consisted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>of the Sixth Regiment under Colonel
+Crooks, about three hundred men of the Third under Major Welch, several
+companies of the Seventh under Col. William R. Marshall, a small number
+of mounted men under Colonel McPhail, and a battery under the command of
+Capt. Mark Hendricks. The expedition moved up the river without
+encountering any opposition until the morning of the twenty-third of
+September. Indians had been in sight during all the march, carefully
+watching the movements of the troops, and several messages of defiance
+were found attached to fences and houses.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_BATTLE_OF_WOOD_LAKE" id="THE_BATTLE_OF_WOOD_LAKE"></a>THE BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the evening of the 22d the expedition camped at Lone Tree lake, about
+two miles from the Yellow Medicine river, and about three miles east
+from Wood lake. Early next morning several foraging teams belonging to
+the Third Regiment were fired upon. They returned the fire, and
+retreated toward the camp. At this juncture the Third Regiment without
+orders, sallied out, crossed a deep ravine and soon engaged the enemy.
+They were ordered back by the commander, and had not reached camp before
+Indians appeared on all sides in great numbers, many of them in the
+ravine between the Third Regiment and the camp. Thus began the battle of
+Wood Lake. Captain Hendricks opened with his cannon and the howitzer
+under the direct command of Colonel Sibley, and poured in shot and
+shell. It has since been learned that Little Crow had appointed ten of
+his best men to kill Colonel Sibley at all hazards, and that the shells
+directed by the colonel's own hand fell into this special squad and
+dispersed them. Captain Hendricks pushed his cannon to the head of the
+ravine, and raked it with great effect, and Colonel Marshall, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>with
+three companies of the Seventh and Captain Grant's company of the Sixth,
+charged down the ravine on a double quick, and routed the Indians. About
+eight hundred of the command were engaged in the conflict, and met about
+an equal number of Indians. Our loss was about nine killed and between
+forty and fifty wounded. Major Welch of the Third was shot in the leg,
+but not fatally. The Third and the Renville Rangers under Capt. James
+Gorman bore the brunt of the fight, which lasted about an hour and a
+half, and sustained the most of the losses. Colonel Sibley, in his
+official report of the encounter, gives great credit to his staff and
+all of his command. An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John Otherday, was with the
+whites, and took a conspicuous part in the fray.</p>
+
+<p>Thus ended the battle of Wood Lake. It was an important factor in the
+war, as it was about the first time the Indians engaged large forces of
+well organized troops in the open country, and their utter discomfiture
+put them on the run. It will be noticed that I have not in any of my
+narratives of battles, used the stereotyped expression, "Our losses were
+so many, but the losses of the enemy were much greater, but as they
+always carry off their dead and wounded, it is impossible to give exact
+figures." The reason I have not made use of this common expression is,
+because I don't believe it. The philosophy of Indian warfare is, to kill
+your enemy and not get killed yourself, and they can take cover more
+skillfully than any other people. In all our Indian wars, from the
+Atlantic westward, with regulars or militia, I believe it would not be
+an exaggeration to say that the whites have lost ten to one in killed
+and wounded. But the battle of Wood Lake was quite an open fight, and so
+rapidly conducted and concluded that we have a very accurate <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>account of
+the loss of the enemy. He had no time or opportunity to withdraw his
+dead. Fifteen dead were found upon the field, and one wounded prisoner
+was taken. No doubt many others were wounded who were able to escape.
+After this fight Colonel Sibley retired to the vicinity of an Indian
+camp, located nearly opposite the mouth of the Chippewa river, where it
+empties into the Minnesota, and there encamped. This point was
+afterwards called "Camp Release," from the fact that the white prisoners
+held by the enemy were here delivered to Colonel Sibley's command. We
+will leave Colonel Sibley and his troops at Camp Release, and narrate
+the important events that occurred on the Red River of the North, at and
+about</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="FORT_ABERCROMBIE" id="FORT_ABERCROMBIE"></a>FORT ABERCROMBIE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The United States government, about the year 1858, erected a military
+post on the west side of the Red River of the North, at a place then
+known as Graham's Point, between what are now known as the cities of
+Breckenridge and Fargo. Like most of the frontier posts of that day, it
+was not constructed with reference to defense, but more as a depot for
+troops and military stores. It was then in the midst of the Indian
+country, and is now in Richland county, North Dakota. The troops that
+had garrisoned the fort had been sent south to aid in suppressing the
+Southern rebellion, and their places had been supplied by one company of
+the Fifth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, which was commanded by Capt.
+John <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>Van der Horck. There was a place down the river, and north of the
+fort, about fifty miles, called Georgetown, at which there were some
+settlers, and a depot of stores for the company engaged in the
+navigation of the river. At the commencement of the outbreak Captain
+Van der Horck had detached about one-half of his company, and sent them
+to Georgetown, to protect the interests centered at that point.</p>
+
+<p>About the 20th of August news reached Abercrombie from the Yellow
+Medicine agency that trouble was expected from the Indians. An
+expedition was on the way to Red lake to make a treaty with the Chippewa
+Indians, consisting of the government commissioners and party,
+accompanied by a train of thirty loaded wagons and a herd of two hundred
+cattle. On the 23d of August, news reached Fort Abercrombie that a large
+body of Indians were on the way to capture this party. A courier was at
+once dispatched to the train, and it sought refuge in the fort. Runners
+were also sent to all the settlements in the vicinity, and the warning
+spread of the approaching danger. Happily nearly all of the surrounding
+people reached the fort before the arrival of the enemy. The detachment
+stationed at Georgetown was also called in. A mail coach that left the
+fort on the 22d, fell into the hands of the Indians, who killed the
+driver and destroyed the mail.</p>
+
+<p>The garrison had been strengthened by about fifty men capable of duty
+from the refugees, but they were unarmed. Captain Van der Horck
+strengthened his post by all means in his power, and endeavored to
+obtained reinforcements. Captain Freeman, with about sixty men, started
+from St. Cloud, on the Mississippi, to relieve the garrison at
+Abercrombie, but on reaching Sauk Center the situation appeared so
+alarming that it was deemed imprudent to proceed with so small a force,
+and no addition could be made to it at Sauk Center. Attempts were made
+to reinforce the fort from other points. Two companies were sent from
+Fort Snelling, and got as far as Sauk Center, but the force was even
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>then deemed inadequate to proceed to Abercrombie. Part of the Third
+Regiment was also dispatched from Snelling to its relief on September
+6th. Another expedition, consisting of companies under command of
+Captains George Atkinson and Rollo Banks, with a small squad of about
+sixty men of the Third Regiment, under command of Sergeant Dearborn,
+together with a field piece under Lieutenant Robert J. McHenry, was
+formed, and placed under the command of Capt. Emil A. Burger. This
+command started on September 10th, and after a long and arduous march,
+reached the fort on the 23d of September, finding the weaned and anxious
+garrison still in possession. Captain Burger had been reinforced at
+Wyman's station, on the Alexandria road, on the 19th of September, by
+the companies under Captains Freeman and Barrett, who had united their
+men on the 14th, and started for the fort. The relief force amounted to
+quite four hundred men by the time it reached its destination.</p>
+
+<p>While this long delayed force was on its way the little garrison at the
+fort had its hands full to maintain its position. On the 30th of August
+a large body of Indians made a bold raid on the post, and succeeded in
+stampeding and running off nearly two hundred head of cattle and one
+hundred head of horses and mules which were grazing on the prairie. Some
+fifty of the cattle afterwards escaped, and were restored to the post by
+a scouting party. This band of marauders did not, however, attack the
+fort. No one who has not experienced it can appreciate the mortification
+of seeing an enemy despoil you of your property when you are powerless
+to resist. An attack was made on the fort on the 3d of September, and
+some stacks burned and a few horses captured. Several men were killed on
+both sides, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>Captain Van der Horck was wounded in the right arm from
+an accidental shot from one of his own men. On September 6th a second
+attack was made by a large force of Indians, which lasted nearly all
+day, in which we lost two men and had several wounded. No further attack
+was made until the 26th of September, when Captain Freeman's company was
+fired on while watering their horses in the river. These Indians were
+routed and pursued by Captain Freeman's company, and a squad of the
+Third Regiment men, with a howitzer. Their camp was captured, which
+contained quite an amount of plunder. A light skirmish took place on the
+29th of September, in which the enemy was routed, and this affair ended
+the siege of Fort Abercrombie.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="CAMP_RELEASE" id="CAMP_RELEASE"></a>CAMP RELEASE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Colonel Sibley's command made Camp Release on the 26th of September.
+This camp was in the near vicinity of a large Indian camp of about 150
+lodges. These Indians were composed of Upper and Lower Sioux, and had
+generally been engaged in all the massacres that had taken place since
+the outbreak. They had with them some 250 prisoners, composed of women
+and children, whites and half-breeds. Only one white man was found in
+the camp, George Spencer, who had been desperately wounded at the Lower
+Agency, and saved from death by an Indian friend of his.</p>
+
+<p>The desire of the troops to attack and punish these savages was intense,
+but Colonel Sibley kept steadily in mind that the rescue of the
+prisoners was his first duty, and he well knew that any demonstration of
+violence would immediately result in the destruction of the captives. He
+therefore wisely overruled all hostile inclinations. The result was a
+general surrender of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>whole camp, together with all the prisoners.
+As soon as the safety of the captives was assured, inquiry was
+instituted as to the participation of these Indians in the massacres and
+outrages which had been so recently perpetrated. Many cases were soon
+developed of particular Indians, who had been guilty of the grossest
+atrocities, and the commander decided to form a military tribunal to try
+the offenders.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="TRIAL_OF_THE_INDIANS" id="TRIAL_OF_THE_INDIANS"></a>TRIAL OF THE INDIANS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The state has reason to congratulate itself on two things in this
+connection. First, that it had so wise and just a man as Colonel Sibley
+to select this important tribunal, and, second, that he had at his
+command such admirable material from which to make his selection. It
+must be remembered that this court entered upon its duties with the
+lives of hundreds of men at its absolute disposal. Whether they were
+Indians or any other kind of people, the fact must not be overlooked
+that they were human beings, and the responsibility of the tribunal was
+correspondingly great. Colonel Sibley at this date sent me a dispatch,
+declaring his intention in the matter of the result of the trials. It is
+as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">"<span class="smcap">Camp Release, nine miles below Lac qui Parle</span>,</p>
+<p style="text-align: right;">Sept. 25, 1862.
+</p>
+
+<p>"Colonel: [After speaking of a variety of matters concerning the
+disposition of troops who were in my command, the battle of Wood
+Lake (which he characterized as "A smart conflict we had with
+the Indians"), the rescue of the prisoners and other matters, he
+adds:]</p>
+
+<p>"N. B.&mdash;I am encamped near a camp of 150 lodges of friendly
+Indians and half-breeds, but have had to p<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>urge it of suspected
+characters. I have apprehended sixteen supposed to have been
+connected with the late outrages, and have appointed a military
+commission of five officers to try them. If found guilty they
+will be forthwith executed, although it will perhaps be a
+stretch of my authority. If so, necessity must be my
+justification.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"Yours,<br />
+"H. H. SIBLEY."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the 28th of September an order was issued convening this court
+martial. It was composed of William Crooks, colonel of the Sixth
+Regiment, president; William R. Marshall, lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh Regiment; Captains Grant and Baily of the Sixth, and Lieutenant
+Olin of the Third. Others were subsequently added as necessity required.
+All these men were of mature years, prominent in their social and
+general standing as citizens, and as well equipped as any persons could
+be to engage in such work. What I regard as the most important feature
+in the composition of this most extraordinary court is the fact that the
+Hon. Isaac V. D. Heard, an experienced lawyer of St. Paul, who had been
+for many years the prosecuting attorney of Ramsey county, and who was
+thoroughly versed in criminal law, was on the staff of Colonel Sibley,
+and was by him appointed recorder of the court. Mr. Heard, in the
+performance of his duty, was above prejudice or passion, and could treat
+a case of this nature as if it was a mere misdemeanor. Lieutenant Olin
+was judge advocate of this court, but as the trials progressed the
+evidence was all put in and the records kept by Mr. Heard. Some changes
+were made in the personnel of the court from time to time as the
+officers were needed elsewhere, but <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>none of the changes lessened the
+dignity or character of the tribunal. I make these comments because the
+trials took place at a period of intense excitement, and persons
+unacquainted with the facts may be led to believe that the court was
+"organized to convict," and was unfair in its decisions.</p>
+
+<p>The court sat some time at Camp Release, then at the Lower Agency, and
+Mankato, where it investigated the question whether the Winnebagoes had
+participated in the outbreak; but none of that tribe were implicated,
+which proves that the court acted judicially, and not upon unreliable
+evidence, as the country was full of rumors and charges that the
+Winnebagoes were implicated. The court terminated its sittings at Fort
+Snelling, after a series of sessions lasting from Sept. 30 to Nov. 5,
+1862, during which 425 prisoners were arraigned and tried. Of these 321
+were found guilty of the offenses charged, of whom 303 were sentenced to
+death, and the rest to various terms of imprisonment according to the
+nature of their crimes. The condemned prisoners were removed to Mankato,
+where they were confined in a large guardhouse, constructed of logs for
+the purpose, and were guarded by a strong force of soldiers. On the way
+down, as the party having charge of the prisoners passed through New Ulm
+they found the inhabitants disinterring the dead, who had been hastily
+buried in the streets where they fell during the fights at that place.
+The sight of the Indians so enraged the people that a general attack was
+made on the wagons in which they were chained together. The attacking
+force was principally composed of women, armed with clubs, stones,
+knives, hot water and similar weapons. Of course, the guard could not
+shoot or bayonet a woman, and they got the prisoners through the town
+with the loss of one killed and many battered and bruised.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>While this court martial was in session the news of its proceedings
+reached the eastern cities, and a great outcry was raised, that
+Minnesota was contemplating a dreadful massacre of Indians. Many
+influential bodies of well-intentioned but ill-informed people beseeched
+President Lincoln to put a stop to the proposed executions. The
+president sent for the records of the trials, and turned them over to
+his legal and military advisors to decide which were the more flagrant
+cases. On the sixth day of December, 1862, the president made the
+following order:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"<span class="smcap">Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C.,</span><br />
+"Dec. 6, 1862.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley, St. Paul, Minn.</i>:</p>
+
+<p>"Ordered, that of the Indians and half-breeds sentenced to be
+hanged by the military commission, composed of Colonel Crooks,
+Lieutenant Colonel Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey and
+Lieutenant Olin, and lately sitting in Minnesota, you cause to
+be executed on Friday, the nineteenth day of December, instant,
+the following named, to-wit:</p>
+
+<p>(Here follow the names of thirty-nine Indians, and their numbers
+on the record of conviction.)</p>
+
+<p>"The other condemned prisoners you will hold, subject to further
+orders, taking care that they neither escape nor are subjected
+to any unlawful violence.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"ABRAHAM LINCOLN,<br />
+"<i>President of the United States.</i>"
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Colonel Sibley had been appointed, by President Lincoln, a brigadier
+general, on the 29th of September, 1862, on account of his success at
+the battle of Wood Lake, the announcement of his promotion being in a
+telegram, as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"Washington, D. C., Sept. 29, 1862.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>"<i>Major General Pope, St. Paul, Minn.</i>,</p>
+
+<p>"Colonel Henry H. Sibley is made a brigadier general for his
+judicious fight at Yellow Medicine. He should be kept in command
+of that column, and every possible assistance sent to him.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"H. W. HALLECK,<br />
+"<i>General in Chief</i>."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>His commission as brigadier general was not issued until March 26, 1864,
+but, of course, this telegram amounted to an appointment to the
+position, and if accepted, as it was, made him subject to the orders of
+the president; so, notwithstanding his dispatch to me, stating that the
+Indians, if convicted, would be forthwith executed, he could not very
+well carry out such an extreme duty without first submitting it to the
+federal authorities, of which he had become a part.</p>
+
+<p>My view of the question has always been that, when the court martial was
+organized, Colonel Sibley had no idea that more than twenty or
+twenty-five of the Indians would be convicted, which is partly
+inferrable from his dispatch to me, in which he said he had "apprehended
+sixteen supposed to have been connected with the late outrages." But
+when the matter assumed the proportions it did, and he found on his
+hands some three hundred men to kill, he was glad to shift the
+responsibility to higher authority. Any humane man would have been of
+the same mind. I have my own views, also, of the reasons of the general
+government in eliminating from the list of the condemned all but
+thirty-nine. It was not because these thirty-nine were more guilty than
+the rest, but because we were engaged in a great civil war, and the eyes
+of the world were upon us. Had these three hundred men been executed,
+the charge <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>would have undoubtedly been made by the South, that the
+North was murdering prisoners of war, and the authorities at Washington,
+knowing full well that the other nations were not capable of making the
+proper discrimination, and perhaps not anxious to do so if they were,
+deemed it safer not to incur the odium which might follow from such an
+accusation.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="EXECUTION_OF_THE_THIRTY-EIGHT_CONDEMNED_INDIANS" id="EXECUTION_OF_THE_THIRTY-EIGHT_CONDEMNED_INDIANS"></a>EXECUTION OF THE THIRTY-EIGHT CONDEMNED INDIANS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The result of the matter was that the order of the president was obeyed,
+and on the 26th of December, 1862, thirty-eight of the condemned Indians
+were executed, by hanging, at Mankato, one having been pardoned by the
+president. Contemporaneous history, or, rather, general public
+knowledge, of what actually occurred, says that the pardoned Indian was
+hanged, and one of the others liberated by mistake. As an historian, I
+do not assert this to be true, but as a citizen, thoroughly well
+informed of current events at the time of this execution, I believe it
+to be a fact. The hanging of the thirty-eight was done on one gallows,
+constructed in a square form, capable of sustaining ten men on each
+side. They were placed upon a platform facing inwards, and dropped all
+at once by the cutting of a rope. The execution was successful in all
+its details, and reflects credit on the ingenuity and engineering skill
+of Captain Burt of Stillwater, who was intrusted with the construction
+of the deadly machine. The rest of the condemned Indians were, after
+some time, taken down to Davenport in Iowa, and held in confinement
+until the excitement had generally subsided, when they were sent west of
+the Missouri and set free. An Indian never forgets what he regards as an
+injury, and never forgives an enemy. It is my opinion that all the
+troubles that have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>taken place since the liberation of these Indians,
+with the tribes inhabiting the western plains and mountains, up to a
+recent date, have grown out of the evil counsels of these savages. The
+only proper course to have pursued with them, when it was decided not to
+hang them, was to have exiled them to some remote post,&mdash;say, the Dry
+Tortugas,&mdash;where communication with their people would have been
+impossible, set them to work on fortifications or other public works,
+and allowed them to pass out by life limitation.</p>
+
+<p>The execution of these Indians practically terminated the campaign for
+the year 1862, no other event worthy of detailed record having occurred;
+but the Indian war was far from being over, and it was deemed prudent to
+keep within the state a sufficient force of troops to successfully
+resist all further attacks, and to inaugurate an aggressive campaign in
+the coming year. The whole of the Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Regiments,
+the Mounted Rangers, some artillery organizations, scouts and other
+troops were wintered in the state at various points along the more
+exposed frontier, and in 1863 a formidable expedition, under command of
+General Sibley, was sent from Minnesota to crush the enemy, which was to
+be aided and cooperated with, by another expedition, under Gen. Alfred
+Sully, of equal proportions, which was to start from Sioux City, on the
+Missouri. After the attack at Birch Coulie and its relief, Little Crow,
+with a large part of his followers, branched off, and went to the
+vicinity of Acton, and there attacked the command under Capt. Richard
+Strout, where a severe battle was fought, in which several of Captain
+Strout's men were killed. On the 3d of July, 1863, Crow ventured down to
+the neighborhood of Hutchinson, with his young son, probably to get
+something which he had hidden, or to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>steal horses, and while he was
+picking berries, a farmer named Lamson, who was in search of his cows,
+saw him and shot him dead. His scalp now decorates the walls of the
+Minnesota Historical Society.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1863" id="THE_CAMPAIGN_OF_1863"></a>THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The remnant of Little Crow's followers were supposed to be rendezvoused
+at Devil's lake, in Dakota Territory, and reinforced by a large body of
+the Upper Sioux. An expedition against them was devised by General Pope,
+to be commanded by General Sibley. It was to assemble at a point near
+the mouth of the Redwood river, some twenty-five miles above Fort
+Ridgely. On the 7th of June, 1863, General Sibley arrived at the point
+of departure, which was named Camp Pope, in honor of the commanding
+general. The force composing the expedition was as follows: One company
+of pioneers, under Captain Chase; ten companies of the Sixth Regiment,
+under Colonel Crooks; eight companies of the Tenth Regiment, under
+Colonel Baker; nine companies of the Seventh, under Lieutenant Colonel
+Marshall; eight pieces of artillery, under Captain Jones; nine companies
+of Minnesota Mounted Rangers, under Colonel McPhail; seventy-five Indian
+scouts under Major Brown, George McLeod and Major Dooley; in all 3,052
+infantry, 800 cavalry and 148 artillerymen. The command, from the nature
+of the country it had to traverse, was compelled to depend upon its own
+supply train, which was composed of 225 six-mule wagons. The staff was
+complete, consisting of Adjutant General Olin, Brigade Commissary
+Forbes, Assistant Commissary and Ordnance Officer Atchison, Commissary
+Clerk Spencer, Quartermaster Corning, Assistant Quartermaster Kimball,
+Aides-de-camp Lieutenants <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>Pope, Beever, Hawthorne and A. St. Clair
+Flandrau, Chaplain, Rev. S. R. Riggs.</p>
+
+<p>The column moved from Camp Pope on June 16, 1863. The weather was
+intensely hot, and the country over which the army had to march was wild
+and uninhabited. At first the Indians retreated in the direction of the
+British line, but it was discovered that their course had been changed
+to the direction of the Missouri river. They had probably heard that
+General Sully had been delayed by low water and hoped to be able to
+cross to the west bank of that stream before his arrival to intercept
+them, with the future hope that they would, no doubt, be reenforced by
+the Sioux inhabiting the country west of the Missouri. On the 4th of
+July the expedition reached the Big Bend of the Cheyenne river. On the
+17th of July Colonel Sibley received reliable information that the main
+body of the Indians was moving toward the Missouri, which was on the
+20th of July confirmed by a visit at Camp Atchison of about three
+hundred Chippewa half-breeds, led by a Catholic priest named Father
+Andre. On becoming satisfied that the best fruits of the march could be
+attained by bending towards the Missouri, the general decided to relieve
+his command of as much impedimenta as was consistent with comfort and
+safety and would increase the rapidity of its movements. He therefore
+established a permanent post at Camp Atchison, about fifty miles
+southeasterly from Devil's lake, where he left all the sick and disabled
+men, and a large portion of his ponderous train, with a sufficient guard
+to defend them if attacked. He then immediately started for the
+Missouri, with 1,436 infantry, 520 cavalry, 100 pioneers and
+artillerymen, and twenty-five days' rations. On the 22nd he crossed the
+James river, forty-eight miles west of Camp Atchison, and on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>the 24th
+reached the vicinity of Big Mound, beyond the second ridge of the
+Missouri coteau. Here the scouts reported large bodies of Indians, with
+Red Plume and Standing Buffalo among them.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BATTLE_OF_BIG_MOUND" id="BATTLE_OF_BIG_MOUND"></a>BATTLE OF BIG MOUND.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The general, expecting an attack on the 24th, corralled his train, and
+threw up some earthworks to enable a smaller force to defend it. The
+Indians soon appeared. Dr. Weiser, surgeon of the First Rangers,
+supposing he saw some old friends among them, approached too close and
+was instantly killed. Lieutenant Freeman, who had wandered some distance
+from the camp, was also killed. The battle opened at three p. m., in the
+midst of a terrific thunderstorm, and after some sharp fighting, the
+Indians, numbering about fifteen hundred, fled in the direction of their
+camp, and were closely pursued. A general panic ensued, the Indian camp
+was abandoned, and the whole throng, men, women and children, fled
+before the advancing forces. Numerous charges were made upon them,
+amidst the roaring of the thunder and the flashing of the lightning. One
+private was killed by lightning, and Colonel McPhail's saber was knocked
+out of his grasp by the same force.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians are reported to have lost in this fight, eighty killed and
+wounded. They also lost nearly all their camp equipment. They were
+pursued about fifteen miles, and had it not been for a mistake in the
+delivery of an order by Lieutenant Beever, they would undoubtedly have
+been overtaken and destroyed. The order was to bivouac where night
+caught the pursuing troops, but was misunderstood to return. This
+unfortunate error gave the Indians two days' start, and they put a wide
+gap between themselves and the troops. The <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>battle of Big Mound, as this
+engagement was called, was a decided victory, and counted heavily in the
+scale of advantage, as it put the savages on the run and disabled them
+from prosecuting further hostilities.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BATTLE_OF_DEAD_BUFFALO_LAKE" id="BATTLE_OF_DEAD_BUFFALO_LAKE"></a>BATTLE OF DEAD BUFFALO LAKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the 26th the command again moved in the direction of the fleeing
+Indians. Their abandoned camp was passed on that day early in the
+morning. About noon large bodies of the enemy were discovered, and a
+brisk fight ensued. Attacks and counter attacks were made, and a
+determined fight kept up until about three p. m., when a bold dash was
+made by the Indians to stampede the animals which were herded on the
+banks of a lake, but the attempt was promptly met and defeated. The
+Indians, foiled at all points, and having lost heavily in killed and
+wounded, retired from the field. At night earthworks were thrown up to
+prevent a surprise, but none was attempted, and this ended the battle of
+Dead Buffalo Lake.</p>
+
+<p>The general was now convinced that the Indians were going toward the
+Missouri, with the intention of putting the river between them and his
+command, and, expecting General Sully's force to be there to intercept
+them, he determined to push them on as rapidly as possible, inflicting
+all the damage he could in their flight. The campaign was well
+conceived, and had Sully arrived in time, the result would undoubtedly
+have been the complete destruction or capture of the Indians. But low
+water delayed Sully to such an extent that he failed to arrive in time,
+and the enemy succeeded in crossing the river before General Sibley
+could overtake them.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span><a name="BATTLE_OF_STONY_LAKE" id="BATTLE_OF_STONY_LAKE"></a>BATTLE OF STONY LAKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the 28th of July Indians were again seen in large numbers. They
+endeavored to encircle the troops. They certainly presented a force of
+two thousand fighting men, and must have been reinforced by friends from
+the west side of the Missouri. They were undoubtedly fighting to keep
+the soldiers back until their families could cross the river. The troops
+were well handled. A tremendous effort was made to break our lines, but
+the enemy was repulsed at all points. The artillery was effective, and
+the Indians finally fled in a panic and rout towards the Missouri. They
+were hotly pursued, and, on the 29th, the troops crossed Apple creek, a
+small stream a few miles from the present site of Bismarck, the capital
+of North Dakota, and pushing on, struck the Missouri at a point about
+four miles above Burnt Boat Island. The Indians had succeeded in
+crossing the river with their families, but in a very demoralized
+condition as to supplies and camp equipage. They were plainly visible on
+the bluffs on the opposite side. It was here that Lieutenant Beever lost
+his life while carrying an order. He missed the trail and was ambushed
+and killed. He was a young Englishman who had volunteered to accompany
+the expedition, and whom General Sibley had placed upon his staff as an
+aide.</p>
+
+<p>Large quantities of wagons and other material, abandoned by the Indians
+in their haste to cross the river, were destroyed. The bodies of
+Lieutenant Beever and a private of the Sixth Regiment, who was killed in
+the same way, were recovered and buried. It was clear that the Indians,
+on learning of the magnitude of the expedition, never contemplated
+overcoming it in battle, and made their movements with reference to
+delaying its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>progress, while they pushed their women and children
+toward and across the river, knowing there was no resting place for them
+on this side. They succeeded admirably, but their success was solely
+attributed to the failure of General Sully to arrive in time. General
+Sibley's part of the campaign was carried out to the letter, and every
+man in it, from the commander to the private, is entitled to the highest
+praise.</p>
+
+<p>On August 1st the command broke camp for home. As was learned
+afterwards, General Sully was then distant down the river 160 miles. His
+delay was no fault of his, as it was occasioned by insurmountable
+obstacles. The march home was a weary but uneventful one. The campaign
+of 1863 may be summed up as follows: The troops marched nearly 1,200
+miles. They fought three well-contested battles. They drove from eight
+to ten thousand Indians out of the state, and across the Missouri river.
+They lost only seven killed and three wounded, and inflicted upon the
+enemy so severe a loss that he never again returned to his old haunts.
+For his meritorious services General Sibley was appointed a major
+general by brevet on Nov. 29, 1865, which appointment was duly confirmed
+by the senate, and he was commissioned on April 7, 1866.</p>
+
+<p>In July, 1863, a regiment of cavalry was authorized by the secretary of
+war to be raised by Major E. A. C. Hatch, for duty on the northern
+frontier. Several companies were recruited and marched to Pembina, on
+the extreme northern border, where they performed valuable services, and
+suffered incredible hardships. The regiment was called Hatch's
+Battalion.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="CAMPAIGN_OF_1864" id="CAMPAIGN_OF_1864"></a>CAMPAIGN OF 1864.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The government very wisely decided not to allow the Indian question to
+rest upon the results of the campaign <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>of 1863, which left the Indians
+in possession of the country west of the Missouri, rightly supposing
+that they might construe their escape from General Sibley the previous
+year into a victory. It therefore sent out another expedition in 1864,
+to pursue and attack them beyond the Missouri. The plan and outfit were
+very similar to those of 1863. General Sully was again to proceed up the
+Missouri with a large command, and meet a force sent out from Minnesota,
+which forces when combined were to march westward, and find and punish
+the savages if possible. The expedition, as a whole, was under the
+command of General Sully. It consisted of two brigades, the first
+composed of Iowa and Kansas infantry and cavalry, and Brackett's
+Battalion, to the number of several thousand, which was to start from
+Sioux City and proceed up the Missouri in steamboats. The second
+embraced the Eighth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under
+Colonel Thomas, mounted on ponies; the Second Minnesota Cavalry, under
+Colonel MacLaren; the Third Minnesota Battery, under Captain Jones. The
+Second Brigade was commanded by Colonel Thomas. This brigade left Fort
+Snelling on June 1st, and marched westward. General Sibley and staff
+accompanied it as far as Fort Ridgely. On the 9th of June it passed Wood
+Lake, the scene of the fight in 1862. About this point it overtook a
+large train of emigrants on their way to Idaho, who had with them 160
+wagon loads of supplies. This train was escorted to the Missouri river
+safely. The march was wearisome in the extreme, with intensely hot
+weather and very bad water, and was only enlivened by the appearance
+occasionally of a herd of buffalo, a band of antelope, or a straggling
+elk. The movements of the command were carefully watched by flying bands
+of Indians during its whole march. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>On July 1st the Missouri was reached
+at a point where now stands Fort Rice. General Sully and the First
+Brigade had arrived there the day before. The crossing was made by the
+boats that brought up the First Brigade. The column was immediately
+directed toward Cannon Ball river, where 1,800 lodges of Indians were
+reported to be camped. The Indians fled before the approaching troops.
+On the last of July the Heart river was reached, where a camp was
+formed, and the tents and teams left behind. Thus relieved, the command
+pressed forward for an Indian camp eighty miles northward. On the 2d of
+August the Indians were found in large numbers on the Big Knife river,
+in the Bad lands. These were Unca-Papa Sioux, who had murdered a party
+of miners from Idaho the year before, and had given aid and comfort to
+the Minnesota refugee Indians. They were attacked, and a very spirited
+engagement ensued in which the enemy was badly beaten and suffered
+severe losses. The place where this battle was fought was called
+Ta-ka-ho-ku-tay, or "The bluff where the man shot the deer."</p>
+
+<p>On the next day, August 3d, the command moved west through the Bad
+Lands, and just as it emerged from this terribly ragged country it was
+sharply attacked by a large body of Indians. The fight lasted through
+two days and nights, when the enemy retired in haste. They were very
+roughly handled in this engagement.</p>
+
+<p>General Sully then crossed to the west side of the Yellowstone river,
+where the weary soldiers found two steamboats awaiting them, with ample
+supplies. In crossing this rapid river the command lost three men and
+about twenty horses. From this point they came home by the way of Forts
+Union, Berthold and Stevenson, reaching Fort Rice on the 9th of
+September.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>On this trip General Sully located Forts Rice, Stevenson and Berthold.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching Fort Rice, considerable anxiety was felt for Colonel Fisk,
+who, with a squad of fifty troops, had left the fort as an escort for a
+train of Idaho immigrants, and had been attacked 180 miles west of the
+fort, and had been compelled to intrench. He had sent for
+reenforcements, and General Sully sent him three hundred men, who
+extricated him from his perilous position.</p>
+
+<p>The Minnesota brigade returned home by way of Fort Wadsworth, where they
+arrived on September 27th. Here Major Rose, with six companies of the
+Second Cavalry, was left to garrison the post, the balance of the
+command reaching Fort Snelling on the 12th of October.</p>
+
+<p>In June, 1865, another expedition left Minnesota for the west, under
+Colonel Callahan of Wisconsin, which went as far as Devil's lake. The
+first, second and fourth sections of the Third Minnesota battery
+accompanied it. Again, in 1866, an expedition started from Fort
+Abercrombie, which included the first section of the Third Battery,
+under Lieutenant Whipple. As no important results followed from these
+two latter expeditions, I only mention them as being parts of the Indian
+war.</p>
+
+<p>The numbers of Indians engaged in this war, together with their superior
+fighting qualities, their armament, and the country occupied by them
+gives it rank among the most important of the Indian wars fought since
+the first settlement of the country on the Atlantic coast. But when
+viewed in the light of the number of settlers massacred, the amount of
+property destroyed, and the horrible atrocities committed by the
+savages, it far surpasses them all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>I have dwelt upon this war to such an extent because I regard it as the
+most important event in the history of our state, and desire to
+perpetuate the facts more especially connected with the gallant
+resistance offered by the settlers in its inception. Not an instance of
+timidity is recorded. The inhabitants engaged in the peaceful pursuits
+of agriculture, utterly unprepared for war, sprang to the front on the
+first indication of danger, and checked the advance of the savage enemy
+in his initial efforts. The importance of battles should never be
+measured by the number engaged, or the lists of killed and wounded, but
+by the consequences of their results. I think the repulse of the Indians
+at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm saved the State of Minnesota from a disaster
+the magnitude of which cannot be estimated. Their advance was checked at
+the very frontier, and they were compelled to retreat, thus affording
+time and opportunity for the whites to organize for systematic action.
+Had they not met with this early check, it is more than probable that
+the Chippewas on the Upper Mississippi and the Winnebagoes in the Lower
+Minnesota valley would have joined them, and the war have been carried
+into the heart of the state. Instances of a similar character have
+occurred in our early wars which illustrate my position. The battle of
+Oriscany, which was fought in the Revolutionary War in the valley of the
+Mohawk, between Rome and Utica, was not more of an encounter than
+Ridgely or New Ulm, yet it has been characterized as one of the decisive
+battles of the world, because it prevented a junction of the British
+forces under St. Ledger in the west and Burgoyne in the east, and made
+American independence possible. The State of New York recognized the
+value of Oriscany just one hundred years after the battle was fought, by
+the erection of a monument to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>commemorate it. The State of Minnesota
+has done better, by erecting imposing monuments on both the battlefields
+of Ridgely and New Ulm, the inscriptions on which give a succinct
+history of the respective events.</p>
+
+<p>The state also presented each of the defenders of Fort Ridgely with a
+handsome bronze medal, especially struck for the purpose, the
+presentation of which took place at the time of the dedication of the
+monument, on the twentieth day of August, 1896.</p>
+
+<p>The medal has a picture of the fort on its obverse side, surrounded
+by the words, "Defender of Fort Ridgely, August 18-27, 1862." Just
+over the flag staff, in a scroll, is the legend, in Sioux,
+"Ti-yo-pa-na-ta-ka-pi," which means, "It shut the door against us,"
+referring to the battle having obstructed the further advance of the
+Indians. This was said by one of the Indians in the attacking party in
+giving his view of the effect of the repulse, and adopted by the
+committee having charge of the preparation of the medal as being
+appropriate and true. On the reverse side are the words, "Presented by
+the State of Minnesota to&mdash;&mdash;," encircled by a wreath of moccasin
+flowers, which is the flower of the state.</p>
+
+<p>The state has also placed monuments at Birch Coulie, Camp Release and
+Acton. I regret to be compelled to say that a majority of the committee
+having charge of the building of the Birch Coulie monument so far failed
+in the performance of their duties as to the location of the monument
+and formulating its inscriptions that the legislature felt compelled to
+pass an act to correct their errors. The correction has not yet been
+made, but in the cause of true history it is to be hoped that it will be
+in the near future. The state also erected a handsome monument, in the
+cemetery of Fort Ridgely, to Captain <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>Marsh and the twenty-three men of
+his company that were killed at the ferry, near the Lower Sioux Agency,
+on Aug. 18, 1862, and, by special act, passed long after at the request
+of old settlers, added the name of Peter Quinn, the interpreter, who was
+killed at the same time and place. The state also built a monument in
+the same cemetery in remembrance of the wife of Dr. Muller, the post
+surgeon at Ridgely during the siege, on account of the valuable services
+rendered by her in nursing the wounded soldiers.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="A_LONG_PERIOD_OF_PEACE_AND_PROSPERITY" id="A_LONG_PERIOD_OF_PEACE_AND_PROSPERITY"></a>A LONG PERIOD OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>After the stirring events of the Civil and Indian wars Minnesota resumed
+its peaceful ways, and continued to grow and prosper for a long series
+of years, excepting the period from 1873 to 1876, when it was afflicted
+with the plague of grasshoppers. Possessed of the many advantages that
+nature has bestowed upon it, there was nothing else for it to do. The
+state, as far as it was then developed, was exclusively agricultural,
+and wheat was its staple production, although almost every character of
+grain and vegetable can be produced in exceptional abundance. Potatoes
+of the first quality were among its earliest exports, but that crop is
+not sufficiently valuable or portable to enter extensively into the
+catalogue of its productions, beyond the needs of domestic use.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION_OF_THE_NEW_PROCESS_OF_MILLING_WHEAT" id="INTRODUCTION_OF_THE_NEW_PROCESS_OF_MILLING_WHEAT"></a>INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW PROCESS OF MILLING WHEAT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The wheat raised in Minnesota was, and always has been, of the spring
+variety, and up to about the year 1874 was regarded in the markets of
+the world as an inferior article of grain, when compared with the winter
+wheat of states further south, and the flour made from it was also
+looked upon as much less valuable than its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>competitor, made from winter
+wheat. The state labored under this disability in realizing upon its
+chief product for many years, both in the wheat, and the flour made from
+it. Many mills were erected at the Falls of St. Anthony, with a very
+great output of flour, which, with the lumber manufactured at that
+point, composed the chief export of the state. The process of grinding
+wheat was the old style, of an upper and nether millstone, which left
+the flour of darker color, less nutritious, and less desirable than that
+from the winter wheat made in the same way. About the year 1871 it was
+discovered that a new process of manufacturing flour was in operation on
+the Danube and at Budapest. Mr. George H. Christian, a partner of Gov.
+C. C. Washburn in the milling business at Minneapolis, studied the
+invention, which consisted of crushing the wheat by means of rollers
+made of steel and porcelain, instead of grinding it, as of old, to which
+the French had added a new process of eliminating the bran specs from
+the crushed product, by means of a flat oscillating screen or bolt with
+an upward blast of air through it, upon which the crushed product was
+placed and cleansed of all bran impurities. In 1871 Gen. C. C. Washburn
+and Mr. Christian introduced this French invention into their mills in
+Minneapolis, and derived from it great advantage in the appearance and
+value of their flour. This was called a "middlings purifier." In 1874
+they introduced the roller crushing process, and the result was, that
+the hard spring wheat returned a flour superior to the product of the
+winter wheat, and placed Minnesota upon more than an equality with the
+best flour-producing states in the Union. This process has been
+universally adopted throughout the United States in all milling
+localities, with great advantage to that industry.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>It is a rather curious fact that, as all our milling knowledge was
+originally inherited from England, which country is very sluggish in the
+adoption of new methods, it was not until our improved flour reached
+that country that the English millers accepted the new method, and have
+since acted upon it. It is a case of the pupil instructing his
+preceptor.</p>
+
+<p>I regard the introduction of these improvements in the manufacture of
+flour into this state as of prime importance to its growth and increase
+of wealth and strength. It is estimated by the best judges that the
+value of our spring wheat was increased at least twenty per cent by
+their adoption, and when we consider that the state produced, in 1898,
+78,418,000 bushels of wheat, its magnitude can be better appreciated. It
+formerly required five bushels of wheat to make a barrel of flour; under
+the new process it only takes four bushels and seven pounds to make a
+barrel of the same weight&mdash;196 pounds.</p>
+
+<p>The only record that is kept of flour in Minnesota is for the two points
+of Minneapolis and the head of the lakes; the latter including Duluth,
+and Superior, in Wisconsin. The output of Minneapolis for the crop year
+of 1898-99 was 15,164,881 barrels, and for Duluth-Superior for the same
+period 2,637,035 barrels. The estimate for the whole state is 25,000,000
+barrels. These figures are taken from the <i>Northwestern Miller</i>, a
+reliable publication in Minneapolis.</p>
+
+<p>The credit of having introduced the Hungarian and French processes into
+Minnesota is due primarily to the late Gov. C. C. Washburn of La Crosse,
+Wis., who was greatly aided by his partner at the time, Mr. George H.
+Christian of Minneapolis.</p>
+
+<p>While I am convinced that the credit of first having <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>introduced these
+valuable inventions into Minnesota belongs to Gov. C. C. Washburn and
+his partner Mr. George H. Christian, I am in justice bound to add that
+Gov. John S. Pillsbury and the late Mr. Charles A. Pillsbury, who were
+large and enterprising millers at Minneapolis, owning the Excelsior
+Mills, immediately after its introduction adopted the process, and put
+it into their mills, and by employing American skilled artizans and
+millers to set up and operate their machinery, succeeded in securing the
+first absolutely perfect automatic mill of the new kind in the country.
+General Washburn, having imported Hungarian millers to start and operate
+his experimental mills, found himself somewhat handicapped by their
+inefficiency and sluggishness in adopting American ways and customs.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_DISCOVERY_OF_IRON" id="THE_DISCOVERY_OF_IRON"></a>THE DISCOVERY OF IRON.</h2>
+
+
+<p>From the earliest days of the territory the people had predicted the
+growth of cities at several points. At St. Paul, because it was the head
+of navigation of the Mississippi river; at St. Anthony, on account of
+its great water power; at Superior, as being the head of navigation of
+the Great Lakes system; and at Mankato, from its location at the great
+bend of the Minnesota river. It must be remembered that when these
+prophesies were made Minneapolis and Duluth had no existence, and
+Superior was the natural outlet of the St. Louis river into Lake
+Superior, and had its land titles not been so complicated when the
+railroad from St. Paul to the head of the lakes was projected, there is
+no doubt Superior would have been the terminus of the road; but it was
+found to be almost impossible to procure title to any land in Superior,
+on account of its having been sold by the proprietors in undivided
+interests to parties all over <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>the country, and it was situated in
+Wisconsin, so the railroad people procured the charter of the company to
+make its northern terminus on the Minnesota side of the harbor, where
+Duluth now stands, and founded that town as the terminus of the road.
+Some years after Minnesota Point was cut by a canal at its base, or
+shore end, and the entrance to the harbor changed from its natural
+inlet, around the end of the point, to this canal. This improvement has
+proved to be of vast importance to the city of Duluth and to the
+shipping interests of the state, as the natural entrance was difficult
+and dangerous.</p>
+
+
+<p>Duluth increased in importance from year to year by reason of the
+natural advantages of its situation, as the outlet of much of the
+exports of the state and the inlet of a large portion of its imports. As
+railroads progressed, it became connected with the wheat producing areas
+of the state, which resulted in the erection of elevators for the
+shipment of wheat and mills to grind it. As nearly all the coal consumed
+in the state came in by the gateway of Duluth, immense coal docks were
+constructed, with all the modern inventions for unloading it from ships
+and loading it on cars for distribution. Duluth soon attained
+metropolitan proportions. About the year 1870 Mr. George C. Stone became
+a resident of the city, and engaged in business.</p>
+
+<p>In 1873 Jay Cooke, who had been an important factor in the construction
+of the Northern Pacific Railroad, failed, which was a serious blow to
+Duluth. Mr. Stone had given his attention largely to the investigation
+of the mineral resources of the Lake Superior region in Minnesota, and
+had become convinced of the presence of large beds of iron ore in its
+northeastern portion, now known as the Vermillion Range. When <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>he first
+made known his discovery, the location of the ore was so remote from
+civilization that he found it difficult to interest any one in his
+enterprise. Few shared his faith, but undismayed by lack of support, he
+undertook, with steady persistence, the task of securing the capital
+necessary to develop what he was convinced was a great natural
+wealth-producing field. Comparatively alone, and with little
+encouragement at home, he visited the money centers of the country, and
+assiduously labored to induce men of capital to embark in the
+enterprise, but found it to be uphill work.</p>
+
+<p>The first men whose support he secured were Charlemagne Tower of
+Pottsville, Pa., and Samuel A. Munson of Utica, N. Y., both men of
+education and great wealth. They became sufficiently interested to
+secure a proper test of the matter. Professor Chester of Hamilton
+College was sent out on two occasions. Mr. Munson died, and after the
+lapse of a few years Charlemagne Tower, then a resident of Philadelphia,
+undertook to furnish the necessary funds to make the development, which
+involved the expense of $4,000,000 in building a railroad eighty miles
+in length, with docks and other operating facilities.</p>
+
+<p>The railroad was opened in July, 1884, and there was shipped that season
+62,124 tons of ore, and in 1885 the shipment reached 225,000 tons. In
+1886 304,000 tons were shipped; in 1887, 394,000 tons; in 1888, 512,000.
+The output of the iron mines at and about the head of the lakes had, by
+1898, grown to the enormous quantity of 5,871,801 tons. The grade of the
+ore is the highest in the market. This product is one of the most
+important in the state, and seems destined to expand indefinitely.</p>
+
+<p>No better idea of the growth and importance of Duluth, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>and, in the same
+connection, the advance of the state, since the war, can be presented
+than by a statement of a few aggregates of different industries centered
+at the head of the lakes. The most recent record obtainable is for the
+year 1898. For example:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Lumber cut</span> <span class="right">544,318,000 feet.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Coal received </span> <span class="right">2,500,000 tons.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Number of vessels arrived and cleared</span> <span class="right">12,150</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Wheat received, and flour as wheat</span> <span class="right">82,118,129 bushels.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Other grain</span> <span class="right">19,428,622 bushels.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Flour manufactured</span> <span class="right">2,460,025 barrels.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Capacity of elevators</span> <span class="right">24,650,000 bushels.</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Capacity of flour mills per day</span> <span class="right"> 22,000 barrels.</span><br /></li>
+ </ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>Many other statistics could be given, but the above are sufficient to
+show the unexampled growth of the state in that vicinity.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="COMMERCE" id="COMMERCE"></a>COMMERCE THROUGH THE ST. MARY'S FALLS CANAL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Another very interesting and instructing element in considering the
+growth of Minnesota is the commerce passing through the St. Mary's
+Canal, which connects Lake Superior with Lakes Huron and Michigan, the
+greater part of which is supplied by Minnesota. No record of the number
+of sailing vessels or steamers passing through the canal was kept until
+the year 1864. During that year there were 1,045 sailing vessels, and
+366 steamers. The last report for the year 1898 shows an increase of
+sailing vessels to 4,449 and of steamers to 12,461. The first record of
+the net tons of freight passing the canal was opened in 1881, which
+showed an aggregate of 1,567,741 net tons of all kinds of freight. In
+1898 it had grown to the enormous sum of 21,234,664 tons. These figures,
+like distances in astronomical calculations, require a special mental
+effort to fully comprehend <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>them. An incident occurred in September,
+1899, in connection with this canal traffic, that assists in
+understanding its immense proportions. By an accident to a steamer, the
+channel of the river was blocked for a short time, until she could be
+removed, during which time a procession of waiting steamers was formed
+forty miles in length.</p>
+
+<p>I have been unable to obtain any reliable figures with which to present
+a contrast between the commerce of this canal and that of the Suez,
+connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, but it is generally
+estimated that the St. Mary's largely exceeds the Suez, although the
+commerce of the world with the Orient and Australia largely passes
+through the latter.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="AGRICULTURE" id="AGRICULTURE"></a>AGRICULTURE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the early days of Minnesota its agricultural population was largely
+centered in the southeastern portion of the state. The soil was
+exceptionally fertile, and produced wheat in unusual abundance. The
+Western farmer of early days was a careless cultivator, thinking more of
+the immediate results than permanent preservation of his land. Even if
+he was of the conservative old New England stock, the generous soil of
+the West, the freedom from social restraint, and the lessened labors of
+the farm, led him into more happy-go-lucky methods than he had been
+accustomed to in the East. It was Mark Twain who once said that if you
+plant a New England deacon in Texas, you will find him in about a year
+with a game chicken under his arm, riding a mule on Sunday to a
+cock-fight. When farms were opened in the southeastern counties of
+Minnesota it was not an unusual thing to be rewarded with a crop of from
+thirty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre. The process of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>cultivation was simple, and required scarcely any capital, so it was
+natural that the first comers should confine their efforts to the one
+product of wheat. They did so, regardless of the fact that the best soil
+will become exhausted unless reenforced. They became accustomed to think
+that land could always be had for the taking, and in twenty or
+twenty-five years, the goose that laid the golden eggs died, and six or
+eight bushels was all they could extract from their lands. About 1877 or
+1878 they practically abandoned the culture of wheat and tried corn and
+hogs. This was an improvement, but not a great success. Many of the
+farmers of the pioneering and roving class sold out, and went west for
+fresh lands.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="DAIRYING" id="DAIRYING"></a>DAIRYING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>About this time the dairy business had become quite profitable in Iowa,
+and the Minnesota farmers turned their attention to that branch of
+industry. Their lands were excellent for pasturing purposes and hay
+raising. They began in a small way, with cows and butter-making, but
+from lack of experience and knowledge of the business their progress was
+slow; but it improved from year to year, and now, in the year 1899, it
+has become one of the most important, successful and profitable
+industries in the state, and the farmers of southern Minnesota
+constitute the most independent and well-to-do class of all our
+citizens. It was not very long ago when a mortgage was an essential
+feature of a Minnesota farm, but they have nearly all been paid off, and
+the farmer of southern Minnesota is found in the ranks of the
+stockholders and depositors of the banks, and if he has anything to do
+with mortgages, he is found on the winning side of that dangerous
+instrument. A brief statement <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>of the facts connected with the dairy
+business will demonstrate its magnitude. There are in the state:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Creameries, about </span> <span class="right">700</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Creamery patrons</span> <span class="right">55,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Capital invested</span> <span class="right"> $3,000,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Cows supplying milk</span> <span class="right">410,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Pounds of milk received in 1898</span> <span class="right">1,400,000,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Pounds of butter exported</span> <span class="right">63,000,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Pounds of butter made, 1898</span> <span class="right">50,000,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Gross receipts, 1898</span> <span class="right">$10,400,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Operating expenses, 1898</span> <span class="right">$1,100,000</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Paid to patrons</span> <span class="right">$8,600,000</span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>Since 1884 Minnesota butter has been exhibited, in competition with
+similar products from all the states in the Union and the butter-making
+countries of the world, at all the principal fairs and expositions that
+have been held in the United States, and has taken more prizes than any
+other state or country. Its cheese has kept pace with its butter. There
+are in the state, in active operation, ninety-four cheese factories.
+This industry is constantly on the increase, and Minnesota is certainly
+destined to surpass every other state in the Union in this department of
+agriculture.</p>
+
+<p>While this new and valuable branch of industry was gradually superseding
+that of wheat in southern Minnesota, the latter was not being
+extinguished by any means, but simply changing its habitat. About the
+time that wheat culture became unprofitable in southern Minnesota, the
+valley of the Red River of the North began to attract attention, and it
+was at once discovered that it was the garden of the world for wheat
+culture. An intelligent and experienced farmer, Mr. Oliver Dalrymple,
+may be said to have been the pioneer of that enterprise. Lands in the
+valley were cheap, and he <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>succeeded in gaining control of immense
+tracts, and unlimited capital for their development. He opened these
+lands up to wheat culture, and gave to the world a new feature in
+agriculture, which acquired the name of the "Bonanza Farm." Some of
+these farms embraced sixty and seventy thousand acres of land, and were
+divided by roads on the section lines. They were supplied with all the
+buildings necessary for the accommodation of the army of superintendents
+and employes that operated them; also, granaries and buildings for
+housing machinery, slaughter houses to provision the operatives,
+telephone systems to facilitate communication between distant points,
+and every other auxiliary to perfect an economic management. These great
+farms, of course, produced wheat at much lower rates than could the
+lesser ones, but did not materially interfere with wheat production by
+the smaller farmers, as the output of 1898 of nearly 79,000,000 bushels
+sufficiently proves. There seems to be no need of apprehension about the
+lands of the Red River Valley becoming exhausted, as they appear to be
+as enduring as those in the valley of the Nile.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_UNIVERSITY_OF_MINNESOTA_AND_ITS_SCHOOL_OF_AGRICULTURE" id="THE_UNIVERSITY_OF_MINNESOTA_AND_ITS_SCHOOL_OF_AGRICULTURE"></a>THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND ITS SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The University of Minnesota, for the establishment of which the United
+States donated to the state nearly 100,000 acres of land, and the
+agricultural college, which was similarly endowed, have been
+consolidated, and both have long been in successful operation. The
+university proper opened its doors for the admission of students about
+the year 1869, and has since attained such proportions as to entitle it
+to a place among the leading educational institutions of the United
+States, its roll of students <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>for the last college year numbering over
+three thousand. Its curriculum embraces all studies generally taught in
+the colleges of this country, professional and otherwise. The state of
+efficiency and high standing of the University of Minnesota is largely
+attributable to the work of its president, Hon. Cyrus Northrop, a
+graduate of Yale, who had attained eminence in the educational world
+before being called to the university.</p>
+
+<p>The school of agriculture is of the highest importance to the welfare of
+the state, the influence of which will soon remove its chief industry
+from dependence on the crude methods of the uneducated Western farmer,
+and place it upon a basis of scientific operation and management. Every
+branch of the art of farming is taught in this institution, from a
+knowledge of the chemical properties of the soil and its adaptation to
+the different vegetable growths, to the scientific breeding and
+economical feeding of stock. Much of the success in the dairy branch of
+farming is the direct result of knowledge gained at this school. It is
+well patronized by the young men of the state who intend to devote
+themselves to agriculture as a profession. Quite recently a new
+department has been added to the institution, for the instruction of
+women in all that pertains to the proper education of the mistress of
+the farm. It goes without saying that when Minnesota farming is brought
+under the management and control of men and women of scientific and
+practical education in that particular line there will be a revolution
+for the better.</p>
+
+<p>The methods of instruction in this school are not merely theoretical. It
+possesses three experimental farms for the practical illustration and
+application of its teachings, the principal one of which is situated at
+St. Anthony Park, and the other two respectively at Crookston <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>and Grand
+Rapids. Work is also done in an experimental way in Lyon county, but the
+state does not own the station.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_AGRICULTURAL_SOCIETY" id="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_AGRICULTURAL_SOCIETY"></a>THE MINNESOTA STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This society dates its corporate existence from the year 1868, although
+for many years previous to that date, even back to the territorial days,
+a society had been in existence covering the main features of this
+organization. In 1867 the state recognized this society by appropriating
+$1,000 for its encouragement. Its object was the promotion of
+agriculture, horticulture and the mechanic arts. The society held annual
+fairs in different localities in the state, with varying success, until
+1885, when the county of Ramsey offered to convey to the State of
+Minnesota, forever, two hundred acres of land adjoining the city limits
+of St. Paul, for the purpose of holding annual exhibitions thereon,
+under the management of the society, of all matters pertaining to
+agriculture, human art, industry or skill. The state met this munificent
+donation with the same liberal spirit that characterized the offer, and
+appropriated $100,000 for permanent improvements.</p>
+
+<p>The board of managers proceeded immediately to erect the necessary
+buildings for the first exhibition, but found the appropriation
+inadequate by about $32,000, which was readily supplied by public
+spirited citizens of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The state being again
+appealed to in 1887, made a further appropriation of $50,000.</p>
+
+<p>In 1887 the society was reorganized by act of the legislature, and its
+membership designated and made to consist of the following persons:</p>
+
+<p>First&mdash;Three delegates from each of the county and district agricultural
+societies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>Second&mdash;Honorary life members, prominent by reason of eminent services
+in agriculture, or in the arts and sciences connected therewith, or of
+long and faithful services in the society, or of benefits conferred upon
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Third&mdash;The presidents ex-officio of the Horticultural Society, the Amber
+Cane Society, the State Dairymen's Association, the Southern Minnesota
+Fair Association, the State Poultry Association, the State Bee-Keepers'
+Association, and the president and secretary of the Farmer's Alliance.</p>
+
+<p>Fourth&mdash;The president of any society having for its object the promotion
+of any branch of agriculture, stock raising or improving, or mechanics
+relating to agriculture.</p>
+
+<p>By this selection of membership it will be seen that the society is
+composed of the leading agriculturists of the state. It holds annual
+meetings in St. Paul for the transaction of its business. The state
+appropriates $4,000 annually to aid in the payment of premiums to
+exhibitors.</p>
+
+<p>The society is in a prosperous condition, and holds annual fairs, in the
+month of September, on its grounds, which have been extensively
+improved. Each year there is a marked increase in the magnitude and
+variety of exhibits, and extended interest and attendance. Its financial
+statement for the year 1898 was: Receipts, $62,523.70; expenditures,
+$56,850.83. It has just closed its fair for the year 1899, which in
+extent and perfection of its exhibits and financial results surpassed
+any of its previous attempts.</p>
+
+<p>There are in the state the following named societies, all more or less
+connected with agriculture, and all in flourishing condition: The State
+Horticultural Society, the State Forestry Association, the Dairymen's
+Association, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>the State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association, the State
+Farmers' Institute, the State Poultry Association, the State
+Bee-Keepers' Association, and perhaps others. These associations have
+done much in the promotion of the agricultural interests of the state,
+and by their intelligent guidance will, no doubt, soon make it the
+leading agricultural state in the Union.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MINNESOTA_SOLDIERS_HOME" id="THE_MINNESOTA_SOLDIERS_HOME"></a>THE MINNESOTA SOLDIERS' HOME.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the year 1887 it became apparent that the Civil War and the Minnesota
+Indian War had left a large number of soldiers of the state in dependent
+circumstances from old age, wounds and other disabling causes. The
+state, recognizing its obligation to these men, determined to provide a
+home for their comfort and maintenance. By an act of the legislature,
+passed March 2d of that year, provision was made for the purchase of a
+site and the erection of suitable buildings for that purpose. The act
+provided for bids for the purpose of a site, and also authorized the
+acceptance of donations for that purpose. Minneapolis responded
+handsomely, by offering fifty-one acres of its beautiful Minnehaha park
+as a donation. It was accepted, and is one of the most beautiful and
+picturesque locations that could have been found in the state, being
+near the Mississippi river and the Falls of Minnehaha. The beginning of
+the home was small, one old house being used for the first six months,
+and then, from year to year, handsome and commodious brick houses were
+erected, until the home became adequate to accommodate all those who
+were entitled to its hospitality. The conditions of admission are:
+Residence in Minnesota, service in the Mexican War, or in some Minnesota
+organization in the Civil or Indian Wars, honorable discharge, and
+indigent circumstances. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>As there are no accommodations for the wives
+and families of the old soldiers and sailors at the home, provision is
+made for relief being furnished to married soldiers at their own homes,
+so as to prevent the separation of families. There were in the home at
+the date of the last report (August 3, 1899) 362 beneficiaries. The home
+is conducted by a board of trustees, consisting of seven members, whose
+election is so arranged that they serve for six years. This beneficent
+establishment is to be commended as an evidence of the generosity and
+patriotism of the state.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="OTHER_STATE_INSTITUTIONS" id="OTHER_STATE_INSTITUTIONS"></a>OTHER STATE INSTITUTIONS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have been somewhat explicit in mentioning the institutions of the
+state which are connected with its prominent and permanent
+industry&mdash;agriculture; but it must not be supposed that it has not
+provided for the many other interests that require regulation and
+control to constitute a perfectly organized state government. There are,
+besides those I have mentioned, four normal schools (located at Winona,
+Mankato, St. Cloud and Moorhead), all devoted to the education of
+teachers, state high and graded schools scattered all over the state, a
+state board of corrections and charities, and state hospitals for the
+insane (of which there are three), located as follows: One at St. Peter,
+one at Rochester, and one at Fergus Falls, and a fourth in
+contemplation. According to the latest report, these hospitals contained
+3,302 patients, as follows: St. Peter, 1,045; Rochester, 1,196; and
+Fergus Falls, 1,061. For a small, new state, this showing would seem
+alarming, and indicate that a very large percentage of the population
+was insane, and that the rest were preparing to become so. The truth is
+that a case of insanity originating in Minnesota is <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>quite as
+exceptional and rare as other diseases, and can usually be accounted for
+by some self-abuse of the patient. The population is drawn from such
+diverse sources, and the intermarriages are crossed upon so many
+different nationalities that hereditary insanity ought to be almost
+unknown. The climate and the general pursuits of the people all militate
+against the prevalence of the malady.</p>
+
+<p>The explanation of the existence of the numerous cases is, as I am
+informed by the very highest authority on the subject, that in nearly
+all European countries it has become the habit of families afflicted
+with insanity to export their unfortunates to America as soon as any
+symptoms appear, and thus provide for them for the rest of their lives.
+I cannot say that the governments whence these people emigrate
+participate in the fraud, but it is not reasonable to suppose that they
+would interpose any serious objections even should they have knowledge
+of the fact. A comparison of the nationalities of the patients found in
+these hospitals with the American element, given by the census of the
+state, proves my statement, and an inquiry of the medical authorities of
+these institutions will place the question beyond doubt.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="MINNESOTA_INSTITUTES_FOR_DEFECTIVES" id="MINNESOTA_INSTITUTES_FOR_DEFECTIVES"></a>MINNESOTA INSTITUTES FOR DEFECTIVES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There are also state schools for the deaf, dumb, blind, and the
+feeble-minded. These institutions are all located at Faribault, in Rice
+county, and each has a very handsome, commodious, and in every way
+suitable building, where these unfortunates are instructed in every
+branch of learning and industry of which they are capable. During the
+last two years there have been enrolled 275 deaf and dumb children in
+the school especially devoted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>to them, where they receive the best
+education that science and experience can provide. This school has
+already been instrumental in preparing hundreds of deaf and mute youth
+to be useful and intelligent citizens of the state, and year by year a
+few are graduated, well prepared to take their places beside the hearing
+and speaking youth who leave the public schools. About one-third of the
+time is devoted to manual training.</p>
+
+<p>The school for the blind is entirely separate from that of the deaf and
+dumb, and is equipped with all the appliances of a modern special school
+of this character. It makes a specialty of musical instruction and
+industrial training, such as broom-making, hammock weaving, bead work
+and sewing. The course of study embraces a period of seven years,
+beginning with the kindergarten, and ending with the ordinary studies of
+English classes in the high schools. The school is free to all blind
+children in the state between the ages of eight and twenty-six, to whom
+board, care and tuition are furnished. The average number of pupils at
+this school for the past few years is between seventy and one hundred.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<p>There is also a</p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="STATE_SCHOOL_FOR_DEPENDENT_AND_NEGLECTED_CHILDREN" id="STATE_SCHOOL_FOR_DEPENDENT_AND_NEGLECTED_CHILDREN"></a>STATE SCHOOL FOR DEPENDENT AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This school is located at Owatonna, in Steele county, and is one of the
+most valuable of all the many establishments which the state has
+provided for the encouragement of good citizenship. There are eleven
+buildings, which comprise all the agencies that tend to make abandoned
+children useful citizens and rescue them from a life of vagrancy and
+crime.</p>
+
+<p>The object of this institution is to provide a temporary home and school
+for the dependent and neglected <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>children of the state. No child in
+Minnesota need go without a home if the officers of the several counties
+do their duty. There is not a semblance of any degrading or criminal
+feature in the manner of obtaining admittance to this school. Under the
+law, it is the duty of every county commissioner, when he finds any
+child dependent, or in danger of becoming so, to take steps to send him
+to this school. The process of admission wisely guards against the
+separation of parent and child, but keeps in view the ultimate good of
+the latter. Once admitted it becomes the child of the state, all other
+authority over it being canceled. Every child old enough to work has
+some fitting task assigned to it, to the end of training it mentally,
+morally and physically for useful citizenship. They are sent from the
+school into families wanting them, but this does not deprive them of the
+watchful care of the state, which, through its agents, visits them in
+their adopted homes, and sees that they are well cared for.</p>
+
+<p>On Jan. 1, 1899, there had been received into the school, from
+seventy-two counties, 1,824 children, of whom 1,131 were boys and 693
+were girls. Of these 233 were then in the school, the others having been
+placed in good homes. It is known that eighty-three per cent of these
+children develope into young men and women of good character.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_TRAINING_SCHOOL" id="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_TRAINING_SCHOOL"></a>THE MINNESOTA STATE TRAINING SCHOOL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This institution was formerly "The Minnesota State Reform School," and
+was located in St. Paul. In 1895 the legislature changed its name to
+"The Minnesota State Training School for Boys and Girls," and its
+location has been changed to Red Wing, in the county of Goodhue. This
+institution has to do with criminals, and the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>statute provides, "That
+whenever an infant over the age of eight years and under the age of
+sixteen years shall have been duly convicted of any crime punishable
+with imprisonment, except the crime of murder, or shall be convicted of
+vagrancy or of incorrigibly vicious conduct," the sentence shall be to
+the guardianship of the board of managers of this school. Here they are
+given a good common school education and instructed in the trades of
+cabinet making, carpenter work, tailoring, shoemaking, blacksmithing,
+printing, farming, gardening, etc.</p>
+
+<p>The inmates are furloughed under proper conditions, but the state
+watches over them through an agent, who provides homes for the homeless
+and employment for those who need help.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="MINNESOTA_STATE_REFORMATORY" id="MINNESOTA_STATE_REFORMATORY"></a>MINNESOTA STATE REFORMATORY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This institution was established in 1887, and is located at St. Cloud.
+It is designed as an intermediate correctional school between the
+training school and the state prison, the object being to provide a
+place for young men and boys from sixteen to thirty years of age, never
+before convicted of crime, where they may, under as favorable
+circumstances as possible, by discipline and education best adapted to
+that end, form such habits and character as will prevent their
+continuing in crime, fit them for self-support, and accomplish their
+reformation.</p>
+
+<p>The law provides for an indeterminate sentence, allowing of parole when
+earned by continuous good conduct, and final release when reformation is
+strongly probable.</p>
+
+<p>Honest labor is required every day of each inmate. Almost every
+occupation and employment is carried on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>in a practical way, and each
+inmate is learning to fill some honest place and to do useful work. The
+workings of this reformatory have been very satisfactory, and have
+undoubtedly rescued many young people from a life of crime.</p>
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_PRISON" id="THE_MINNESOTA_STATE_PRISON"></a>THE MINNESOTA STATE PRISON.</h2>
+
+
+<p>All prisons where criminals are sent to work out sentences for crimes
+committed are alike on general principles, and the Minnesota prison,
+situated at Stillwater, differs only in the fact that it combines in its
+administration all the modern discoveries of sociological research which
+tend to ameliorate the condition of the prisoner and fit him for the
+duties of good citizenship when discharged.</p>
+
+<p>The plant is extensive and thorough. The labor of the prisoners is now
+devoted to three industries: the manufacture of binding twine, high
+school scientific apparatus on state account, and the manufacture of
+boots and shoes.</p>
+
+<p>The discipline and management of the prison are the best. The most
+advanced principles of penology are in force. Sentences are reduced by
+good conduct, and everything is done to reform as well as punish the
+prisoner. A newspaper is published by the convicts, and a library of
+five thousand volumes is furnished for their mental improvement. Nothing
+known to modern social and penal science is omitted from the management.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MINNESOTA_HISTORICAL_SOCIETY" id="THE_MINNESOTA_HISTORICAL_SOCIETY"></a>THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This society, as I have said before in speaking of the work of the first
+territorial legislature, was organized by that body in 1849, and has
+been of incalculable value to the state. The officers of the society are
+a president, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>two vice presidents, a treasurer and a secretary, and it
+is governed by an executive council of thirty-six members, which
+embraces the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, auditor,
+treasurer of state and attorney general as ex-officio members. The state
+makes an annual appropriation in aid of the society. The executive
+council meets once a month for the transaction of its business, at which
+meetings, and at its annual meetings, interesting papers and essays are
+delivered on historical subjects, which are preserved, and with other
+matter are published in handsomely bound volumes when sufficient
+material is accumulated.</p>
+
+<p>The society, in the manner prescribed in its by-laws, may establish the
+following separate departments:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Department of Annals and General History of Minnesota.<br />
+Department of Geology of Minnesota.<br />
+Department of Zo&ouml;logy of Minnesota.<br />
+Department of Botany of Minnesota.<br />
+Department of Meteorology of Minnesota.<br />
+Department of Northwestern Geography and Chartology.<br />
+Department of American History.<br />
+Department of Oriental History.<br />
+Department of European History.<br />
+Department of Genealogy and Heraldry.<br />
+Department of Ethnology and Anthropology.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It has corresponding members all over the world, and official
+connections with nearly all the historical and learned societies of
+Europe and America, with which it interchanges publications. It has a
+membership of 142 life and 37 annual members. It may receive donations
+from any source.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>Its property, real and personal, is exempt from taxation of any kind. It
+has accumulated a splendid library of about 63,000 volumes of all kinds
+of historical, genealogical, scientific and general knowledge, all of
+which are open and free to the public. It also has a gallery of pictures
+of historical scenes in Minnesota, and portraits of men and women who
+have been prominent in, or who have contributed to, the history or
+growth of the state, together with an extensive museum of Indian and
+other curiosities having some relation to Minnesota. One of its most
+valuable attractions is a newspaper department, in which are complete
+files of all newspapers which have been and are published in the state,
+except a very few unimportant ones. The number of our state papers,
+daily, weekly and monthly, received at the beginning of the year 1899 is
+421. These papers are all bound in substantial volumes, for preservation
+for the use of future generations. On Sept. 1, 1899, the society had on
+the shelves of its fire-proof vault 4,250 of these volumes. Its rooms
+are in the capitol at St. Paul, and are entirely inadequate for its
+accommodation, but ample space has been allowed it in the new capitol
+now in the course of construction.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="STATE_INSTITUTIONS_MISCELLANEOUS_IN_THEIR_CHARACTER" id="STATE_INSTITUTIONS_MISCELLANEOUS_IN_THEIR_CHARACTER"></a>STATE INSTITUTIONS MISCELLANEOUS IN THEIR CHARACTER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Besides the general state boards and associations having special
+reference to the leading products of the state, and those of a
+reformatory and educational character, there are many others, regulating
+business of various kinds among the inhabitants, all of which are
+important in their special spheres, but to name them is all I can say
+about them in my limited space. Their number and the subjects which they
+regulate shows the care <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>with which the state watches over the welfare
+of its citizens. I present the following catalogue of the state
+departments:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+The Insurance Commission.<br />
+The Public Examiner.<br />
+The Dairy Food Commission.<br />
+The Bureau of Labor.<br />
+The Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners.<br />
+The Board of Game and Fish Commissioners.<br />
+The State Law Library.<br />
+The State Department of Oil Inspection.<br />
+The State Horticultural Society.<br />
+The State Forestry Association.<br />
+The Minnesota Dairymen's Association.<br />
+The State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association.<br />
+The State Farmers' Institutes.<br />
+The Red River Valley Drainage Commission.<br />
+The State Drainage Commission.<br />
+The Commission of Statistics.<br />
+The State Board of Health and Vital Statistics.<br />
+The State Board of Medical Examiners.<br />
+The State Board of Pharmacy.<br />
+The State Board of Dental Examiners.<br />
+The State Board of Examiners in Law.<br />
+The Bureau of Public Printing.<br />
+The Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Cruelty.<br />
+The Geological and Natural History Survey.<br />
+The State Board of Equalization.<br />
+Surveyors of Logs and Lumber.<br />
+The Board of Pardons.<br />
+The State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation.<br />
+The State Board of Investment.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>The State Board of Examiners of Barbers.<br />
+The State Board of Examiners of Practical Plumbing.<br />
+The Horseshoers' Board of Examiners.<br />
+The Inspection of Steam Boilers.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is difficult to conceive of any other subject over which the state
+could assume jurisdiction, and the great number which are embraced
+already within its supervision would lead one who is not in touch with
+our state administration to believe that state paternalism dominated the
+business industries of the people; but nothing is further from the
+truth, and no state in the Union is freer from governmental interference
+in the ordinary channels of industry than Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="STATE_FINANCES" id="STATE_FINANCES"></a>STATE FINANCES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Since the settlement of the debt created by the old railroad bonds that
+I have heretofore mentioned, the finances of the state have always been
+in excellent condition. When the receipts of an individual or a state
+exceed expenditures the situation is both satisfactory and safe. At the
+last report, up to July 31, 1898, the receipts of the state from all
+sources were $5,429,240.32, and the expenditures were $5,208,942.05,
+leaving a balance on the right side of the ledger of $220,298.27. To the
+receipts must be added the balance in the treasury at the beginning of
+the year of $2,054,314.26, which left in the treasury on July 31, 1898,
+the large sum of $2,184,612.53.</p>
+
+<p>The original indebtedness arising from the adjustment of the state
+railroad bonds was $1,659,000; other bonds, $300,000.00. This
+indebtedness has been reduced by payments to the sum of $1,475,647.22,
+on July 31, 1898, the date of the last report. If this debt had
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>matured, it could at once be paid by the funds on hand, leaving the
+state entirely free from all indebtedness.</p>
+
+<p>The taxable property of the state by last assessment, in 1897, including
+real and personal property, was $570,598,813.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MONETARY_AND_BUSINESS_FLURRY_OF_1873_AND_PANIC_OF_1893" id="THE_MONETARY_AND_BUSINESS_FLURRY_OF_1873_AND_PANIC_OF_1893"></a>THE MONETARY AND BUSINESS FLURRY OF 1873 AND PANIC OF 1893.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It has been customary in the United States to expect a disturbance in
+monetary and business affairs about once in every twenty years, and the
+expectation has not been disappointed since the panic of 1837. I have
+described the effect of the panic of 1857 on the Territory and State of
+Minnesota, and the difficulties of recuperating from the shock. The next
+similar event was not due until 1877, but there is always some special
+disaster to precipitate such occurrences. In 1857 it was the failure of
+the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, and in 1873 it was the
+failure of Jay Cooke &amp; Co., of Philadelphia. This house had been very
+prominent in placing the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
+and in the construction of the road, and was relied upon by many classes
+of people to invest their money for them, and when their failure was
+announced, its effect in the East was disastrous, but here in Minnesota
+it only affected us in a secondary or indirect way, in stopping railroad
+building and creating general alarm in business circles. We had been
+diligently at work for sixteen years, endeavoring to recuperate from the
+disaster of 1857, and had to a great extent succeeded. Real estate had
+partially revived, but had not reached the boom feature, and the state
+was on a sound financial basis. Fortunately we had not recovered
+sufficiently to become investors in railroad securities to any great
+extent, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>land speculation had not reached its usual twenty years'
+mark. We had, also, on hand a local affliction, in the presence of
+grasshoppers, so that, although it disturbed business generally, it did
+not succeed in producing bankruptcy, and we soon shook it off.</p>
+
+<p>This periodical financial disturbance has been attributed to various
+causes. From the regularity of its appearance, it must be the result of
+some impelling force of a generally similar character. My opinion is,
+that the period of twenty years being the average time of man's active
+business life, the actors of the second period have not the benefit of
+the experience gained by those of the previous one, and they repeat the
+same errors that produced the former disasters; but be that as it may,
+when the period extending from 1873 to 1893 had passed, the same result
+had occurred, and with quite as much force as any of its predecessors.
+Land speculation had reached the point of absolute insanity. Everybody
+thought he could become rich if he only bought. Values, already
+ridiculously expanded, continued to increase with every sale. Anyone who
+had money enough to pay down a small amount as earnest and intelligence
+enough to sign a note and mortgage for the balance of the purchase price
+became purchasers to the limit of their credit. When a party whose
+credit was questioned needed an indorser, he found many requiring the
+same assistance who were ready to swap indorsements with him. Everyone
+became deeply in debt. The country was flooded with paper, which was
+secured on the impossibility of values continuing. The banks became
+loaded with alleged securities, and when the bubble was strained to the
+bursting point, and some one of supposed financial soundness was
+compelled to succumb to the pressure, the veil was lifted, which opened
+the eyes of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>the community and produced a rush for safety, which
+induced, and was necessarily followed, by a general collapse. In 1888
+and 1889 banks suspended, money disappeared, and in 1893, in the
+expressive language of the West, everybody who was in debt, and all
+stockholders and depositors in defunct banks "went broke." Had the
+cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis been captured by an enemy and a
+ransom of ten million dollars been demanded from each, paid and carried
+away, the consequences upon business would not have been worse. It was
+much the same in all the large cities of the state, as land speculation
+was more active there than in the rural districts, and no matter what
+may happen, some value always remains to farm lands, while under such a
+collapse as that of 1893 the greater part of city property becomes
+utterly valueless for the present, and much of it forever.</p>
+
+<p>There was, however, a great difference between the consequences of 1893
+and the previous disasters of 1857 and 1873. Although the disturbance
+was great, we were better prepared to meet it. Population had increased
+immensely. The area of civilization and production had kept pace with
+immigration. Manufactures of many kinds had been introduced, and
+although we were seriously wounded, our hopes of recovery had solid
+grounds to rest upon, and we were not dismayed. The only remedy in such
+cases&mdash;industry and economy&mdash;was applied, through necessity if not from
+choice, and recovery has been slowly progressing up to the present time
+(1900), when we may be classed as convalescent.</p>
+
+<p>Will this experience serve to prevent a recurrence of the follies of the
+past? Most assuredly not. Those who have reaped wisdom will have
+surrendered the speculative arena to others before the financial cycle
+rolls <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>around, and history will repeat itself, notwithstanding the state
+never had a better future outlook than at present. It does not follow
+that the panic due about 1913 will be caused by over speculation in real
+estate. It is more likely to be produced by the excessive and fraudulent
+capitalization of all sorts of corporations, called trusts, which will,
+of course, succumb to the first serious blow.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of the events I have narrated, including the
+financial troubles of 1873 and 1893, nothing of special importance to
+the state has happened, except a few occurrences of minor moment.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="MINOR_HAPPENINGS" id="MINOR_HAPPENINGS"></a>MINOR HAPPENINGS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Sept. 5, 1878, President Hayes made a short visit to the state, and
+delivered an address at the state agricultural fair.</p>
+
+<p>On the 7th of September, 1876, an organized gang of bandits, which had
+been terrorizing the State of Missouri and surrounding states with
+impunity, entered this state, and attacked a bank in the town of
+Northfield, in Rice county, with the intent of looting it. The cashier,
+Mr. Haywood, resisted, and they shot him dead. The people of the town,
+hearing of the raid, turned out, and opened fire on the robbers, who
+fled, with the loss of one killed. In their flight they killed a Swede
+before they got out of the town. The people of the counties through
+which their flight led them, turned out, and before any of them passed
+the border of the state, two more of them were killed and three
+captured. Two escaped. The captured were three brothers named Younger,
+and those who escaped were supposed to be the notorious James Brothers
+of Missouri. The three Younger Brothers pleaded guilty to a charge of
+murder, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>and on account of a peculiarity in the law, that only allowed
+the death sentence to be imposed by a jury, they were all sentenced to
+imprisonment for life. One of them has since died, and the other two
+remain in prison.</p>
+
+<p>The manner in which this raid was handled by our citizens was of immense
+value to the state, as it proved a warning to all such desperadoes that
+Minnesota was a bad field for their operations, and we have had no more
+trouble from that class of offenders.</p>
+
+<p>In 1877 the constitution was amended by providing for biennial, instead
+of annual, sessions of the legislature.</p>
+
+<p>On May 2, 1878, a very singular and disastrous event took place at
+Minneapolis. Three large flouring mills were blown up by a dust
+explosion, and eighteen men killed. It was inexplicable for a time, but
+it was afterwards discovered that such explosions had occurred before,
+and prompt measures were taken to prevent a repetition of the trouble.</p>
+
+<p>On the 15th day of November, 1880, a portion of the large insane asylum
+at St. Peter was destroyed by fire, and eighteen of the inmates were
+burned, others dying of injuries received. The pecuniary loss amounted
+to $150,000.</p>
+
+<p>On the first day of March, 1881, the old capitol burned, while the
+legislature was in session. That body moved their sittings to the St.
+Paul market house, which had just been finished, where they remained
+until the present capitol building was erected upon the site of the one
+destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>On the twenty-fifth day of January, 1884, the state prison at Stillwater
+was partially burned.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourteenth day of September, 1886, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids were
+struck by a cyclone. Scores of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>buildings were destroyed, and about
+seventy of the inhabitants killed.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1889 the Australian system of voting at elections was
+introduced in cities of ten thousand inhabitants and over, and in 1892
+the system was made general throughout the state.</p>
+
+<p>On the seventh day of April, 1893, the legislature passed an act for the
+building of a new state capitol in the city of St. Paul, and appointed
+commissioners to carry out the object. They selected an eligible and
+conspicuous site between University avenue, Cedar and Wabasha streets,
+near the head of Wabasha. They adopted for the materials which were to
+enter into it&mdash;granite for the lower and Georgia white marble for the
+upper stories. The whole cost was not to exceed $2,000,000. The corner
+stone of the building was laid on the twenty-seventh day of July, 1898,
+with appropriate and very imposing ceremonies, in the presence of an
+immense throng of citizens from all parts of the state. Senator Davis
+delivered the oration, and ex-Gov. Alexander Ramsey laid the corner
+stone. The building has reached the base of the dome, and will be a very
+beautiful and serviceable structure.</p>
+
+<p>On Sept. 1, 1894, there was a most extensive and disastrous fire in Pine
+county. Four hundred square miles of territory were burned over by a
+forest fire, the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone were totally destroyed,
+and four hundred people burned. The money loss was estimated at
+$1,000,000. This disaster was exactly what was needed to awaken the
+people of the state to the necessity of providing means for the
+prevention of forest and prairie fires and the preservation of our
+forests. Shortly after the Hinckley fire a state convention was held at
+the Commercial Club in St. Paul, to devise <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>legislation to accomplish
+this desirable end, which resulted in the passage of an act, at the
+session of the legislature in 1895, entitled, "An act for the
+preservation of forests of this state, and for the prevention and
+suppression of forest and prairie fires." Under this act the state
+auditor was made the forest commissioner of the state, with authority to
+appoint a chief fire warden. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities
+and presidents of village councils are made fire wardens of their
+respective local jurisdictions, and the machinery for the prevention of
+fires is put in motion that is of immense value to the state. The forest
+commissioner appointed Gen. C. C. Andrews chief fire warden, one of the
+best equipped men in the state for the position, and no serious trouble
+has since occurred in the way of fires.</p>
+
+<p>On the ninth day of February, 1887, the Minnesota Historical Society
+passed a resolution, declaring that the pretenses made by Capt. Willard
+Glazier to having been the discoverer of the source of the Mississippi
+river were false, and very little has been heard from him since.</p>
+
+<p>On the tenth day of October, 1887, President Cleveland visited the
+state, and made a short stay.</p>
+
+<p>This enumeration of passing events looks a little like a catalogue of
+disasters (except the building of the new capitol and the visits of
+Presidents Hayes and Cleveland), but it must be remembered that
+Minnesota is such an empire in itself, that such happenings scarcely
+produce a ripple on the surface of its steady and continuous progress.
+It is because these events can be particularized and described that they
+assume proportions beyond their real importance, but when compared with
+the colossal advances made by the state during the period covering them,
+they dwindle into mere points of educational experience, to be guarded
+against in the future, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>while the many blessings showered upon the
+state, consisting of the health and wealth imparting sunshine, the
+refreshing and fructifying rains and dews of heaven, which, like the
+smiles of providence and the life-sustaining air that surrounds us, are
+too intangible and indefinable for more than thankful recognition. Our
+tribulations were really blessings in disguise. The bold invasion of the
+robbers proved our courage; the storms and fires proved our generosity
+to the distressed, and taught us lessons in the wisdom of prevention.
+Minnesota has as much to be thankful for and as little to regret as any
+state in the West, and our troubles only prove that we have a very
+robust vitality, difficult to permanently impair.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_WAR_WITH_SPAIN" id="THE_WAR_WITH_SPAIN"></a>THE WAR WITH SPAIN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>For many years there has been a growing sentiment in the United States
+that Spain was governing Cuba and her other West Indian colonies in an
+oppressive and unjust manner, and the desire to interfere in behalf of
+the Cuban people received a good deal of encouragement, and its general
+expression succeeded in creating very strained relations between Spain
+and the United States. It is a well known fact that the Spanish people,
+from the north line of Mexico to Cape Horn, as well as the inhabitants
+of the Spanish Islands, hate the Americans most heartily. Why, I do not
+know; except that our social, governmental and religious habits, customs
+and beliefs are radically different from their own; but that such is the
+case no one doubts who knows these people. In 1897 some effort at
+conciliation was made, and Spain sent one of her warships to New York on
+a friendly visit; but she did not stay long, and got away as soon as she
+decently could. The United States sent <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>the battleship Maine to Havana
+on the same friendly mission, where she was officially conveyed to her
+anchorage. She had been there but a short time when she was blown up, on
+Feb. 15, 1898, and 260 American seamen murdered. There was an official
+investigation to determine the cause of the explosion, but it found no
+solution of the disaster. Various theories were advanced of internal
+spontaneous explosion, but no one was misled. The general sentiment of
+Americans was that the Spanish in Cuba deliberately exploded a submarine
+torpedo under her, to accomplish the result that followed. Previous to
+this cowardly act there was much difference of opinion among the people
+of all sections of the country as to the propriety of declaring war
+against Spain, but public sentiment was at once unified in favor of war
+on the announcement of this outrage. On the 25th of April, 1898,
+congress passed an act declaring that war against Spain had existed
+since the 21st of the same month. A requisition was made on Minnesota
+for its quota of troops immediately after war was declared, and late in
+the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of April the governor issued an
+order to the adjutant general to assemble the state troops at St. Paul.
+The adjutant general, on the 29th, issued the following order, by
+telegraph, to the different commands:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"The First, Second and Third Regiments of infantry are hereby
+ordered to report at St. Paul on Friday morning, April 29, 1898,
+not later than eleven o'clock, with one day's cooked rations in
+their haversacks."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The order was promptly obeyed, and all the field, staff and company
+officers, with their commands, reported before the time appointed, and
+on the afternoon of that day went into camp at the state fair grounds,
+which was named Camp Ramsey. Such promptness on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>the part of the state
+militia was remarkable, but it will be seen that they had been prepared
+for the order of the adjutant general before its final issue, who had
+anticipated the declaration of war.</p>
+
+<p>On April 18th he had issued the following order:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"The commanding officers of the infantry companies and artillery
+batteries composing the national guard will immediately take
+steps to recruit their commands up to one hundred men each. All
+recruits above the maximum peace footing of seventy-six men will
+be carried upon the muster roll as provisional recruits, to be
+discharged in case their services are not needed for field
+service."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the 25th of April the adjutant general issued the following order:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"In obedience to orders this day received from the honorable
+secretary of war, calling upon the State of Minnesota for three
+regiments of infantry as volunteers of the United States, to
+serve two years or less, and as the three national guard
+regiments have signified their desire of entering the service of
+the United States as volunteers, the First, Second, and Third
+Regiments of Infantry of the national guard of the State of
+Minnesota will immediately make preparations to report to these
+headquarters upon receipt of telegraphic orders, which will be
+issued later."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This commendable action on the part of our military authorities resulted
+in the Minnesota troops being the first to be mustered into the service
+of the United States in the war with Spain, thus repeating the proud
+distinction gained by the state in 1861, when Minnesota was the first
+state to offer troops for the defense of the Union in the Civil War. It
+is a curious as well as interesting coincidence, that the First
+Minnesota Regiment for the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>Civil War was mustered in on April 29, 1861,
+and the first three regiments for the Spanish War were mobilized at St.
+Paul on April 29, 1898.</p>
+
+<p>The mustering in of the three regiments was completed on the eighth day
+of May, 1898, and they were designated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and
+Fourteenth Regiments of Infantry, Minnesota Volunteers. This
+classification was made because the state had furnished eleven full
+regiments of infantry for the Civil War, and it was decided to number
+them consecutively.</p>
+
+<p>The Twelfth and Fourteenth left Camp Ramsey on the sixteenth day of May
+for Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia, and the Thirteenth departed for
+San Francisco on the same day. The Thirteenth was afterwards ordered to
+Manila. The others did not leave the country, and were subsequently
+mustered out. The Thirteenth did gallant service in the Philippines, in
+many battles, was mustered out in San Francisco, and, on Oct. 12, 1899,
+returned to our state. A warm welcome was given it in Minnesota, where
+it will always be regarded with the same pride and affection formerly
+bestowed upon the old First, of patriotic memory.</p>
+
+<p>President McKinley and several of his cabinet arrived in St. Paul at the
+time of the arrival of the Thirteenth, and assisted in welcoming them to
+their homes.</p>
+
+<p>There was a second call for troops, under which the Fifteenth Regiment
+was mustered in, but was not called upon for active duty of any kind. It
+is to be hoped that the war may be ended without the need of more
+volunteers from Minnesota, but should another call be made on our people
+no doubt can be entertained of their prompt response. Having given the
+part taken in the war against Spain and the Philippines by Minnesota,
+its <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>further prosecution against the latter becomes purely a federal
+matter, unless we shall be called into it in the future.</p>
+
+<p>When Spain sued for peace, soon after the destruction of her second
+fleet off Santiago de Cuba, a commission to negotiate a treaty of peace
+with her was appointed by the president, and Minnesota was honored by
+the selection of its senior senator, Hon. Cushman K. Davis, chairman of
+the senate committee on foreign relations, as one of its members. The
+commission consisted of William R. Day, secretary of state of the United
+States, Cushman K. Davis of Minnesota, William P. Frye of Maine, George
+Gray of Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid of New York. It met at Paris, and
+concluded its labors the tenth day of December, 1898, when the treaty
+was signed by the commissioners of both contracting parties. It is
+hardly necessary to add that the influence exerted on the result by the
+distinguished and learned representative from Minnesota was controlling.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_INDIAN_BATTLE_OF_LEECH_LAKE" id="THE_INDIAN_BATTLE_OF_LEECH_LAKE"></a>THE INDIAN BATTLE OF LEECH LAKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Early in October, 1898, there was an Indian battle fought at Leech lake,
+in this state, the magnitude of the result of which gives it a place in
+the history of Minnesota, although it was strictly a matter of United
+States cognizance and jurisdiction. In Cass county there is a Chippewa
+Indian reservation, and like all other Indian reservations, there are to
+be found there turbulent people, both white and red. There is a large
+island out in Leech lake, called Bear island, which is inhabited by the
+Indians. On Oct. 1, 1897, one Indian shot another on this island. A
+prominent member of the tribe named Pug-on-a-ke-shig was present, and
+witnessed the shooting. An indictment was found in the United States
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>district court against the Indian who did the shooting, but before any
+trial could be had the matter was settled among the Indians in their own
+way, and they thought that was the last of it. A subpoena was issued for
+Pug-on-a-ke-shig and a deputy marshal served it. He disregarded the
+subpoena. An attachment was then issued to arrest him and bring him into
+court. A deputy United States marshal tried to serve it, and was
+resisted by the Indian and his friends on three different occasions, and
+once when the Indian was arrested he was rescued from the custody of the
+marshal. Warrants were then issued for the arrest of twenty-one of the
+rescuers. This was in the latter part of August, 1898. Troops were asked
+for to aid the marshal in making his arrests, and a lieutenant and
+twenty men were sent from Fort Snelling for that purpose. This was
+simply a repetition of the many mistakes made by the military
+authorities in such matters. If troops were necessary for any purpose,
+twenty men were simply useless, and worse than none, and when the time
+came for the application of military force would, of course, have been
+annihilated. The United States marshal, with a squad of deputies,
+accompanied the troops. It soon became apparent that there would be
+trouble before the Indians could be brought to terms, and General Bacon,
+the officer in command of the Department of Dakota, with headquarters at
+St. Paul, ordered Major Wilkinson of Company "E," of the Third Regiment
+of United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Snelling, with his company
+of eighty men, to the scene of the troubles. General Bacon accompanied
+these troops as far as Walker, on the west bank of Leech lake, more in
+the capacity of an observer of events and to gain proper knowledge of
+the situation than as part of the force. On the 5th of October, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>1898,
+the whole force left Walker in boats for a place on the east bank of the
+lake, called Sugar Point, where there was a clearing of several acres
+and a log house, occupied by Pug-on-a-ke-shig. They were accompanied by
+R. T. O'Connor, the United States marshal of Minnesota, and several of
+his deputies, among whom was Col. Timothy J. Sheehan, who knew the
+Indians who were subject to arrest. This officer was the same man who,
+as Lieutenant Sheehan, had so successfully commanded the forces at Fort
+Ridgely, during the Indian War of 1862, since when he had fought his way
+through the Civil War with distinction. When the command landed, only a
+few squaws and Indians were visible. The deputy marshals landed, and
+with the interpreters went at once to the house, and while there
+discovered an Indian whom Colonel Sheehan recognized as one for whom a
+warrant was out, and immediately attempted to arrest and handcuff him.
+The Indian resisted vigorously, and it was only with the aid of three or
+four soldiers that they succeeded in arresting him. He was put on board
+of the boat. The whole force then skirmished through the timber in
+search of Indians, but found none, and about noon returned to the
+clearing and were ordered to stack arms preparatory to getting dinner.
+They had scouted the surrounding country and had seen no Indians or
+signs of Indians, and did not believe there were any in the vicinity,
+when in fact the Indians had carefully watched their every movement, and
+were close to their trail, waiting for the most advantageous moment to
+strike. It was the same tactics which the Indians had so often adopted
+with much success in their warfare with the whites. While stacking arms,
+a new recruit allowed his gun to fall to the ground, and it was
+discharged accidentally. The Indians who were silently <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>awaiting their
+opportunity, supposing it was the signal of attack, opened fire on the
+troops, and a vicious battle began. The soldiers seized their arms, and
+returned the fire as best they could, directing it at the points whence
+came the shots from the invisible enemy, concealed in the dense thicket.
+The battle raged for several hours. General Bacon, with a gun in his
+hands, was everywhere, encouraging the men. Major Wilkinson, as cool as
+if he had been in a drawing room, cheered his men on, but was thrice
+wounded, the last hit proving fatal. Colonel Sheehan instinctively
+entered the fight, and took charge of the right wing of the line,
+charging the enemy with a few followers and keeping up a rapid fire. The
+colonel was hit three times, two bullets passing through his clothes,
+grazing the skin, without serious injury, and one cutting a painful but
+not dangerous wound across his stomach. The result of the fight was six
+killed and nine wounded on the part of the troops. One of the Indian
+police was also killed, and seven citizens wounded, some seriously. No
+estimate has ever been satisfactorily obtained of the loss of the enemy.
+The most reliable account of the number of his forces engaged is from
+nineteen to thirty, and if I should venture an estimate of his losses,
+based upon my experience of his ability to select a vantage ground, and
+take care of himself, I would put it at practically nothing.</p>
+
+<p>The killed and wounded were brought to Fort Snelling, the killed buried
+with military honors, and the wounded properly cared for. This event
+adds one more to the long list of fatal errors committed by our military
+forces in dealing with the Indians of the Northwest. They should never
+be attacked without a force sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of
+the whites in all cases and under all circumstances. Many a valuable
+life has been thus unnecessarily lost.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>Major Wilkinson, who lost his life in this encounter, was a man who had
+earned an enviable record in the army, and was much beloved by his many
+friends and acquaintances in Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p>The principal Indian engaged in this fight has been called, in every
+newspaper and other reports of it, Bug-a-ma-ge-shig; but I have
+succeeded in obtaining his real name from the highest authority. The
+name, Pug-on-a-ke-shig, is the Chippewa for "Hole-in-the-day."</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the return of the troops to Fort Snelling the settlers
+about Cass and Leech lakes became uneasy, and deluged the governor with
+telegrams for protection. The national guard or state troops had nearly
+all been mustered into the United States service for duty in the war
+with Spain, but the Fourteenth Regiment was in St. Paul, awaiting muster
+out, and the governor telegraphed to the war department at Washington to
+send enough of them to the front to quiet the fears of the settlers.
+This was declined, and the governor at once ordered out two batteries of
+artillery, all the state troops that were available, and sent them to
+the scene of the troubles, and then sent his celebrated telegram to the
+war department, which may be called the "Minnesota Declaration of
+Independence." It ran as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"Oct. 8, 1898.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>H. C. Corbin, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C.:</i></p>
+
+<p>"No one claims that reinforcements are needed at Walker. I have
+not been asked for assistance from that quarter. Although I do
+not think General Bacon has won the victory he claims, other
+people do not say so. The Indians claim to have won, and that is
+my opinion. The people all along the Fosston branch of railroad
+are very much alarmed, and asking for protection, which I <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>have
+asked of the war department. The soldiers are here, and ready
+and willing to go, but as you have revoked your order of
+yesterday, you can do what you like with your soldiers. The
+State of Minnesota will try to get along without any assistance
+from the war department in the future.</p>
+
+<p style="text-align: right;">
+"D. M. CLOUGH,<br />
+"<i>Governor.</i>"<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Rumor says that the telegram which was forwarded is very much modified
+from that originally dictated by the governor.</p>
+
+<p>The United States government concluded to withdraw its refusal, and send
+troops to the front, and several companies of the Fourteenth were
+dispatched to the line of the Fosston branch railroad, and distributed
+along the line of that road.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime the commissioner of Indian affairs had arrived at
+Walker, and was negotiating with the Indians, and when it became known
+that matters were arranged to the satisfaction of the government and the
+Indians and no outbreak was expected the soldiers were all withdrawn,
+and the incident, so far as military operations were concerned, was
+closed. There were some surrenders of the Indians to the officers of the
+court, but nothing further of consequence occurred.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="POPULATION" id="POPULATION"></a>POPULATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>One of the most interesting features of a new country is the character
+and the nativity of its population. The old frontiersman who has watched
+the growth of new states, and fully comprehended the effect produced
+upon their civilization and character by the nativity of their
+immigrants, is the only person competent to judge <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>of the influences
+exerted in this line. It is a well known fact that the immigration from
+Europe into America is generally governed by climatic influences. These
+people usually follow the line of latitude to which they have been
+accustomed. The Norseman from Russia, Sweden, Germany and Norway comes
+to the extreme Northwestern States, while the emigrants from southern
+Europe seek the more southern latitudes. Of course, these are very
+general comments, and only relate to emigration in its usual directions,
+as the people of all parts of Europe are found in all parts of America.
+It is generally believed that the emigrants from northern Europe are
+more desirable than those from further south, and a presentation of the
+status of our population in point of nativity will afford a basis from
+which to judge of their general attributes for good or bad. There is no
+nation on earth that has not sent us some representative. The following
+table, while it will prove that we have a most heterogeneous, polyglot
+population, will also prove that we possess vast powers of assimilation,
+as we are about as harmonious a people as can be found in all the Union.
+Our governor is a Swede, one of our United States senators is a
+Norwegian, and our other state officers are pretty generally distributed
+among the various nationalities. Of course, in the minor political
+subdivisions, such as counties, cities and towns, the office holding is
+generally governed by the same considerations.</p>
+
+<p>I give the various countries from which our population is drawn, with
+the numbers from each country, and the number of native born and foreign
+born, which, aggregated, constitute our entire population. These figures
+are taken from the state census of 1895:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
+<ul>
+        <li><span class="left">England</span> <span class="right">12,941</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Scotland </span> <span class="right">5,344</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Germany</span> <span class="right">133,768</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Norway</span> <span class="right">107,319</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Denmark</span> <span class="right">16,143</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Canada</span> <span class="right">49,231</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Poland</span> <span class="right">8,464</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Iceland</span> <span class="right">454</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Ireland</span> <span class="right">26,106</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Wales</span> <span class="right">1,246</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">France</span> <span class="right">1,492</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Sweden</span> <span class="right">119,554</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Russia</span> <span class="right">6,286</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Bohemia</span> <span class="right">10,327</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Finland</span> <span class="right"> 7,652</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">All other countries</span> <span class="right">11,205</span><br /></li>
+   </ul>
+
+   <ul>
+        <li class="right"><span class="smcap">____________</span></li>
+   </ul>
+
+<ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Total native born</span> <span class="right">1,057,084</span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Total foreign born</span> <span class="right">517,535</span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+        <li class="right"><span class="smcap">____________</span></li>
+   </ul>
+ <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Total population</span> <span class="right">1,674,619</span><br /></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>The total native born of our population is very largely composed of the
+descendants of foreign emigrants. These figures afford a large field for
+thought and future consideration, when emigration problems are under
+legislative investigation.</p>
+
+<p>The census from which these figures are taken being five years old, I
+think it is safe to add a sufficient number of increase to bring our
+population up to two millions. The census of 1900 will demonstrate
+whether or not my estimate is correct.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_STATE_FLAG" id="THE_STATE_FLAG"></a>THE STATE FLAG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Up to the year 1893 the State of Minnesota had no distinctive state
+flag. On April 4, 1893, an act was passed by the legislature entitled,
+"An act providing for the adoption of a state flag." This act appointed
+by name a commission of six ladies, to adopt a design for a state flag.
+Section 2 of the act provided that the design adopted should embody, as
+near as may be, the following facts:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There shall be a white ground with reverse side of blue. The
+center of the white ground shall be occupied by a design
+substantially embodying the form of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>seal employed as the
+state seal of Minnesota at the time of its admission into the
+Union.... The said design of the state seal shall be surrounded
+by appropriate representations of the moccasin flower,
+indigenous to Minnesota, surrounding said central design, and
+appropriately arranged on the said white ground shall be
+nineteen stars, emblematic of the fact that Minnesota was the
+nineteenth state to be admitted into the Union after its
+formation by the thirteen original states. There shall also
+appear at the bottom of the flag, in the white ground, so as to
+be plainly visible, the word 'Minnesota.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>The commission prepared a very beautiful design for the flag, following
+closely the instructions given by the legislature, which was adopted,
+and is now the authorized flag of the state. The flag-staff is
+surmounted by a golden gopher rampant, in harmony with the popular name
+given to our state. May it ever represent the principles of liberty and
+justice, and never be lowered to an enemy! The original flag,
+artistically embroidered in silk, can be seen at the office of the
+governor at the state capitol.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_OFFICIAL_FLOWER_OF_THE_STATE_AND_THE_METHOD_OF_ITS_SELECTION" id="THE_OFFICIAL_FLOWER_OF_THE_STATE_AND_THE_METHOD_OF_ITS_SELECTION"></a>THE OFFICIAL FLOWER OF THE STATE, AND THE METHOD OF ITS SELECTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the twentieth day of April, 1891, the legislature of the state passed
+an act entitled "An act to provide for the collection, arrangement and
+display of the products of the State of Minnesota at the World's
+Columbian Exposition of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, and
+to make an appropriation therefor." This act created a commission of six
+citizens of the state, to be appointed by the governor, and called "The
+Board of World's Fair Managers of Minnesota." The women of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>the state
+determined that there should be an opportunity for them to participate
+in the exposition on the part of Minnesota, and a convention of
+delegates from each county of the state was called, and held at the
+People's Church, in St. Paul, on Feb. 14, 1892. This convention elected
+one woman delegate and one alternate, from each of the seven
+congressional districts of the state. There were also two national lady
+managers from Minnesota, nominated by the two national representatives
+from Minnesota and appointed by the president of the United States, who
+were added to the seven delegates so chosen, and the whole was called
+"The Woman's Auxiliary to the State Commission." The women so chosen
+took charge of all the matters properly pertaining to the women's
+department of the fair.</p>
+
+<p>At one of the meetings of the ladies, held in St. Paul, the question of
+the selection of an official flower for the state was presented, and the
+sentiment generally prevailed that it should at once be decided by the
+assemblage; but Mrs. L. P. Hunt, the delegate from Mankato, in the
+second congressional district, wisely suggested that the selection
+should be made by all the ladies of the state, and they should be given
+an opportunity to vote upon the proposition. This suggestion was
+approved, and the following plan was adopted: Mrs. Hunt was authorized
+to appoint a committee, of which she was to be chairman, to select a
+list of flowers to be voted on. Accordingly she appointed a
+subcommittee, who were to consult the state botanist, Mr. Conway
+MacMillan, who was to name a number of Minnesota flowers from which the
+ladies were to choose. He presented the following:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+Lady Slipper (Moccasin Flower&mdash;<i>Cypripedium Spectabile</i>).<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>Silky Aster.<br />
+Indian Pink.<br />
+Cone Flower (Brown-eyed Susan).<br />
+Wild Rose.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The plan was to send out printed tickets, to all the women's
+organizations in the state, with these names on them, to be voted upon,
+which was done, with the result that the moccasin flower received an
+overwhelming majority, and has ever since been accepted as the official
+flower of the state. That the contest was a very spirited one can be
+judged from the fact that Mrs. Hunt sent out in her district at least
+ten thousand tickets, with indications of her choice of the moccasin
+flower. She also maintained lengthy newspaper controversies with parties
+in Manitoba, who claimed the prior right of that province to the
+moccasin flower, all of whom she vanquished.</p>
+
+<p>The choice was a very wise and appropriate one. The flower itself is
+very beautiful, and peculiarly adapted to the purposes of artistic
+decoration. It has already been utilized in three instances of an
+official character, with success and approval. The Minnesota state
+building at the Columbian Exposition was beautifully decorated with it.
+It is prominently incorporated into the state flag, and adorns the medal
+conferred by the state upon the defenders of Fort Ridgely.</p>
+
+<p>The botanical name of the flower is <i>Cypripedium</i>, taken from Greek
+words meaning the shoe of Venus. It is popularly called "Lady's
+Slipper," "Moccasin Flower" and "Indian Shoe."</p>
+
+<p>About twenty-five species of <i>cypripedium</i> are known, belonging to the
+north temperate zone and reaching south into Mexico and northern India.
+Six species occur in the northern United States and Canada, east of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>the
+Rocky Mountains, all of these being found in Minnesota, and about a
+dozen species occur on this continent. They are perennial herbs, with
+irregular flowers, which grow singly or in small clusters, the colors of
+some of which are strikingly beautiful. The species adopted by the women
+of the State of Minnesota is the <i>Cypripedium Spectabile</i>, or the showy
+lady slipper.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies naturally desired that their choice should be ratified by the
+state legislature, and one of their number prepared a report of their
+doings, in a petition to that body, asking its approval. Whoever drew
+the petition named the flower chosen by the ladies as "<i>Cypripedium
+Calceolous</i>," a species which does not grow in Minnesota, but is purely
+of European production. The petition was presented to the senate on the
+fourth day of February, 1893. The journal of the senate shows the
+following record, which is found on page 167:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Mr. Dean asked the unanimous consent to present a petition from
+the Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair, relative to the
+adoption of a state flower and emblem, which was read.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Dean offered the following concurrent resolution, and moved
+its adoption:</p>
+
+<p>"'Be it resolved by the senate, the house of representatives
+concurring, that the wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower
+('<i>Cypripedium Calceolous</i>'), be, and the same is hereby,
+designated and adopted as the state flower or emblem of the
+State of Minnesota,' which was adopted."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the Legislative Manual of 1893 appears, on page 606, the following:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>"THE STATE FLOWER.</p>
+
+<p>"On April 4, 1893 [should be February], a petition from the
+Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair was presented to the
+senate, relative to the adoption of a state flower. By
+resolution of the senate, concurred in by the house (?), the
+Wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower (<i>Cypripedium</i>) was
+designated as the state flower or floral emblem of the State of
+Minnesota."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The word "<i>Calceolous</i>" means a little shoe or slipper; but, as I said
+before, the species so designated in botany is not indigenous to
+Minnesota, and is purely a foreigner. As we have in the course of our
+growth assimilated so many foreigners successfully, we will have no
+trouble in swallowing this small shoe, especially as the house did not
+concur in the resolution, and while the mistake will in no way militate
+against the progress or prosperity of Minnesota, it should be a warning
+to all committees and Western legislators to go slow when dealing with
+the dead languages.</p>
+
+<p>We now have the whole body of cypripediums to choose from, and may
+reject the calceolous.</p>
+
+<p>If the house of representatives ever concurred in the senate resolution,
+it left no trace of its action, either in its journal or published laws,
+that I have been able to find.</p>
+
+<p>Among the many valuable achievements of the Women's Auxiliary one
+deserves special mention. Mrs. H. F. Brown, one of the delegates at
+large, suggested a statue for the Woman's Building, to be the production
+of Minnesota's artistic conception and execution. The architect of the
+state building had disallowed this feature, and there was no public fund
+to meet the expense, which would be considerable. The ladies, however,
+decided <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>to procure the statue, and rely on private subscription to
+defray the cost. Mrs. L. P. Hunt thought that sufficient funds might be
+raised from the school children of the state, through a penny
+subscription. Enough was raised, however, to secure a plaster cast of
+great beauty, representing Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha across a stream
+in his arms, illustrating the lines in Longfellow's poem:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+"Over wide and rushing rivers<br />
+In his arms he bore the maiden."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This statue adorned the porch of the Minnesota building during the fair.
+It was designed and made by a very talented young Norwegian sculptor,
+then residing in Minneapolis&mdash;the late Jakob Fjelde. It is proposed to
+cast the statue in bronze and place it in Minnehaha park, Minneapolis,
+at some future day.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="ORIGIN_OF_THE_NAME_GOPHER_STATE" id="ORIGIN_OF_THE_NAME_GOPHER_STATE"></a>ORIGIN OF THE NAME "GOPHER STATE."</h2>
+
+
+<p>Most of the states in the Union have a popular name. New York is called
+the "Empire State," Pennsylvania the "Keystone State," etc. As you come
+west they seem to have taken the names of animals. Michigan is called
+the "Wolverine State," Wisconsin the "Badger State," and it is not at
+all singular that Minnesota should have been christened the "Gopher
+State." These names never originate by any recognized authority. They
+arise from some event that suggests them, or from some important
+utterance that makes an impression on the public mind. In the very early
+days of the territory&mdash;say, as early as 1854 or 1855,&mdash;the question was
+discussed among the settlers as to what name should be adopted by
+Minnesota, and for a time it was called by some the "Beaver State." That
+name seemed to have the greatest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>number of advocates, but it was always
+met with the objection that the beaver, although quite numerous in some
+of our streams, was not sufficiently so to entitle him to characterize
+the territory by giving it his name. While this debate was in progress
+the advocates of the beaver spoke of the territory as the beaver
+territory, but it never reached a point of universal adoption. It was
+well known that the gopher abounded, and his name was introduced as a
+competitor with the beaver; but being a rather insignificant animal, and
+his nature being destructive, and in no way useful, he was objected to
+by many, as too useless and undignified to become an emblem of the
+coming great state,&mdash;for we all had, at that early day, full confidence
+that Minnesota was destined to be a great and prominent state. Nothing
+was ever settled on this subject until after the year 1857. As I have
+before stated, in that year an attempt was made to amend the
+constitution by allowing the state to issue bonds in the sum of
+$5,000,000 to aid in the construction of the railroads which the United
+States had subsidized with land grants, and the campaign which involved
+this amendment was most bitterly fought. The opponents of the measure
+published a cartoon to bring the subject into ridicule, which was very
+generally circulated throughout the state, but failed to check the
+enthusiasm in favor of the proposition. This cartoon represented ten men
+in a line, with heads bowed down with the weight of a bag of gold hung
+about their necks, marked "$10,000." They were supposed to represent the
+members of the legislature who had been bribed to pass the act, and were
+called "Primary Directors." On their backs was a railroad track, upon
+which was a train of cars drawn by nine gophers, the three gophers in
+the lead proclaiming, "We have no cash, but will give you <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>our drafts."
+Attached to the rear of the train was a wheelbarrow, with a barrel on
+it, marked "Gin," followed by the devil, in great glee, with his thumb
+at his nose. In the train were the advocates of the bill, flying a flag
+bearing these words: "Gopher train; excursion train; members of extra
+session of legislature, free. We develop the resources of the country."
+Over this was a smaller flag, with the words: "The $5,000,000 Loan
+Bill."</p>
+
+<p>In another part of the picture is a rostrum, from which a gopher is
+addressing the people with the legend: "I am right; Gorman is wrong." In
+the right hand corner of the cartoon is a round ball, with a gopher in
+it, coming rapidly down, with the legend: "A <i>Ball come</i> from Winona."
+This was a pun on the name of Mr. St. A. D. Balcombe from Winona, who
+was a strong advocate of the measure. Under the whole group was a dark
+pit, with the words, "A mine of corruption."</p>
+
+<p>The bill was passed, and the state was saddled with a debt of
+$5,000,000, under which it staggered for over twenty years, and we never
+even got a gopher train out of it.</p>
+
+<p>This cartoon, coming just at the time the name of the state was under
+consideration, fastened upon it the nickname of "Gopher," which it has
+ever since retained. The name is not at all inappropriate, as the
+animal has always abounded in the state. In a work on the mammals
+of Minnesota, by C. L. Herrick, 1892, he gives the scientific name
+of our most common species of gopher, "<i>Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus</i>,"
+or thirteen-striped gopher, and says: "The species ranges from the
+Saskatchawan to Texas, and from Ohio to Utah. Minnesota is the peculiar
+home of the typical form, and thus deserves the name of the 'Gopher
+State.'"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>Although the name originated in ridicule and contempt, it has not in any
+way handicapped the commonwealth, partly because very few people know
+its origin, but for the greater reason, that it would take much more
+than a name to check its predestined progress.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="STATE_PARKS" id="STATE_PARKS"></a>STATE PARKS.</h2>
+
+
+<h3>ITASCA STATE PARK.</h3>
+
+<p>In a previous part of this work, under the head of "Lumber," I have
+referred to the fact that a great national park and forest reserve is in
+contemplation by the United States at the headwaters of the Mississippi,
+and made reference to the state park already established at that point.
+I will now relate what has been done by the state in this regard. In
+1875 an official survey of the land in and about Lake Itasca was made by
+the surveyor general of the United States for Minnesota, which brought
+these lands under the operation of the United States laws, and part of
+them were entered. A portion of them went to the Northern Pacific
+Railroad Company under its land grant. The swamp and school lands went
+to the state, and much to private individuals under the various methods
+of making title to government lands.</p>
+
+<p>On the 20th of April, 1891, the legislature passed an act entitled, "An
+act to establish and create a public park, to be known and designated as
+the Itasca State Park, and authorizing the condemnation of lands for
+park purposes." This act sets apart for park purposes 19,702 acres of
+land, and dedicates them to the perpetual use of the people. It places
+the same under the care and supervision of the state auditor, as land
+commissioner. It prohibits the destruction of trees, or hunting <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>within
+its limits. It provides for a commission to obtain title to such of the
+lands as belong to private individuals, either by purchase or
+condemnation.</p>
+
+<p>On the third day of August, 1892, the United States granted to the state
+all the unappropriated lands within the limits of the park, upon this
+condition:</p>
+
+<p>"Provided, the land hereby granted shall revert to the United States,
+together with all the improvements thereon, if at any time it shall
+cease to be exclusively used for a public state park, or if the state
+shall not pass a law or laws to protect the timber thereon."</p>
+
+<p>The state, at the session of the legislature in 1893, accepted the
+grant, but as yet has made no provision for the extinguishment of the
+title of private owners, of which there are 8,823 acres. This divided
+ownership of the lands within the limits of the park endangers the whole
+region by lumbering operations, and consequent forest fires after the
+timber is cut. Fires are not to be feared in natural forests until they
+are cut over. The acquisition of title to all these lands by the state
+should not be delayed any longer than is necessary to perfect it, no
+matter at what cost. The state has already erected a house on the bank
+of Itasca lake, and has a resident commissioner in charge of the park.</p>
+
+<p>The effect of the law prohibiting hunting in the park has already
+greatly increased the numbers of animals and fowls that find in it a
+safe refuge.</p>
+
+<p>The extent of the park is seven miles long by five miles wide, and is
+covered with a dense forest of pine, oak, maple, basswood, aspen, balsam
+fir, cedar and spruce, which is nearly in a state of nature. It is much
+to be hoped that in the near future this park will be enlarged to many
+times its present size by additional grants.</p>
+
+
+<h3><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>INTERSTATE PARK&mdash;THE DALLES OF THE ST. CROIX.</h3>
+
+<p>One of the most, if not the most, beautiful and picturesque points in
+the Northwest is the Dalles of the St. Croix river. Here the state has
+acquired the title to about 150 acres of land on the Minnesota side of
+the river, and dedicated it for park purposes. This was done under the
+authority of chapter 169 of the Laws of 1895. The point on the Minnesota
+side is called Taylor's Falls, and on the Wisconsin side St. Croix
+Falls. Between these two towns the St. Croix river rushes rapidly,
+forming a cataract of great beauty. The bluffs are precipitate and
+rocky, forming a narrow gorge through which the river plunges. The name
+of the river is French, "Sainte Croix," meaning "The holy cross," and
+the name of this particular point, the "Dalles," was given on account of
+the curious formation of the rocky banks, which assume wonderful shapes.
+One, looking down stream, presents a perfect likeness of a man, and is
+called "The Old Man of the Dalles." Another curious rock formation is
+called the "Devil's Chair." There are many others equally interesting.
+It is generally supposed that the word "Dalles" has the same meaning as
+the English word "Dell" or "Dale" signifying a narrow secluded vale or
+valley, but such is not the case as applied to this peculiar locality.
+The word "Dalles" is French, and means a slab, a flag or a flagstone,
+and is appropriate to the peculiar character of the general rock
+formation of the river banks at this point and vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>The State of Minnesota has already done a good deal of work towards
+making it attractive, and it has become quite a resort for pleasure
+seekers in the summer time. Wisconsin has acquired title to a larger
+tract on the east side of the river than is embraced in the Minnesota
+park <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>on the west side, but as yet has not done much in the way of
+improvement. The two tracts are united by a graceful bridge which spans
+the river between them. The Minnesota park is under the charge of a
+state custodian, who cares for and protects it from despoilment.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="POLITICS" id="POLITICS"></a>POLITICS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In writing the history of a state, no matter how short or limited such
+history may be, its politics seem to be an essential element of
+presentation, and, on this assumption alone, I will say a very few words
+concerning that subject. I do not believe that the question of which
+political party has been dominant in the state has exerted any
+considerable influence on its material prosperity. The great "First
+Cause" of its creation was so generous in its award of substantial
+blessings that it placed the state beyond the ability of man or his
+politics to seriously injure or impede its advance towards material
+success in any of the channels that promote greatness. Soil, climate,
+minerals, facilities for commerce and transportation, consisting of
+great rivers, lakes and harbors,&mdash;all these combine to defy the
+destructive tendencies so often exerted by the ignorance and passions of
+man. It has resisted every folly of its people, and they have been many;
+every onslaught of its savage inhabitants, and they have been more
+formidable than those experienced by any other state; and even the
+cataclysms with which it has occasionally been visited arising from
+natural causes. The fact is, Minnesota is so rock-rooted in all the
+elements of material greatness that it must advance, regardless of all
+known obstructions.</p>
+
+<p>When the territory was organized in 1849, Gen. Zachary Taylor, a Whig,
+was the president of the United <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>States, and he appointed Alexander
+Ramsey, also a Whig, as governor, to set its political machinery in
+motion. He remained in office until the national administration changed
+in 1853, and Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, was chosen president. He
+appointed Gen. Willis A. Gorman, a Democrat, as governor to succeed
+Governor Ramsey. On the 4th of March, 1857, James Buchanan, a Democrat,
+succeeded President Pierce, and appointed Samuel Medary, a Democrat, as
+governor of Minnesota. He held this position until the state was
+admitted into the Union, in May, 1858, when Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat,
+was elected governor for the term of two years, and served it out.</p>
+
+<p>On the admission of the state into the Union, two Democratic United
+States senators were elected, Henry M. Rice and Gen. James Shields.
+General Shields served from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859, and Mr. Rice
+from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863, he having drawn the long term. The
+state also elected three members to the United States house of
+representatives, all Democrats, James M. Cavanaugh, W. W. Phelps and
+George L. Becker, but it was determined that we were only entitled to
+two, and Mr. Phelps and Mr. Cavanaugh were admitted to seats. With this
+state and federal representation we entered upon our political career.
+At the next election for governor, in the fall of 1859, Alexander
+Ramsey, Republican, was chosen, and there has never been a governor of
+the state of any but Republican politics since, until John Lind was
+elected in the fall of 1898. Mr. Lind was chosen as a Democrat, with the
+aid of other political organizations, which united with the Democracy.
+Mr. Lind now fills the office of governor. It will be seen that for
+thirty-nine years the state has been wholly in the hands of the
+Republicans. During the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>interval between the administration of Governor
+Sibley and Governor Lind the state has had twelve governors, all
+Republican.</p>
+
+<p>In its federal representation, however, the Democrats have fared a
+trifle better. The growth of population has increased our membership in
+the federal house of representatives to seven, and occasionally a
+Democrat, or member of some other party, has succeeded in breaking into
+congress. From the first district W. H. Harries, a Democrat, was elected
+in 1890. From the Third district Eugene M. Wilson, Democrat, was elected
+in 1868; Henry Poeler, Democrat, in 1878; John L. McDonald, Democrat, in
+1886; and O. M. Hall, Democrat, in 1890, and again in 1892. From the
+Fourth district Edmund Rice, Democrat, was elected in 1886, and James N.
+Castle, Democrat, in 1890. From the Sixth district M. R. Baldwin,
+Democrat, was elected in 1892. From the Fifth district Kittle Halverson,
+Alliance, was elected in 1890. From the Seventh district Haldor E. Boen,
+People's Party, was elected in 1892.</p>
+
+<p>Since Henry M. Rice and James Shields, all the United States Senators
+have been Republican. They were Morton S. Wilkinson, Alexander Ramsey,
+Daniel S. Norton, William Windom, O. P. Stearns, S. J. R. McMillin, A.
+J. Edgerton, D. M. Sabin, C. K. Davis, W. D. Washburn and Knute Nelson.
+Some of these have served two terms, and some very short terms, to fill
+vacancies.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, the state had its compliment of other officers, but as their
+duties are more of a clerical and business character than political, it
+is unnecessary to particularize them.</p>
+
+<p>It is a subject of congratulation to all citizens of Minnesota that, out
+of all the state officers that have come <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>and gone in the forty years of
+its life, there has been but one impeachment, which was of a state
+treasurer, Mr. William Seeger, who was elected in 1871. Although he was
+convicted, I have always believed, and do now, that he was personally
+innocent, and suffered for the sins of others.</p>
+
+<p>The State of Minnesota has always, since the adjustment of its old
+railroad bond debt, held a conservative position in the
+Union,&mdash;financially, socially, patriotically and commercially. Its
+credit is the best, its prospects the brightest, and it makes very
+little difference which political party dominates its future so long as
+it is free from the taint of anarchy and is guided by the principles of
+honor and justice. The only thing to be feared is that some political
+party may gain control of the government of the nation, and either
+degrade its currency, involve it in disastrous complications and wars
+with other nations, or commit some similar folly which may reflectively
+or secondarily act injuriously on Minnesota as a member of the national
+family of states. Otherwise Minnesota can defy the vagaries of politics
+and politicians. She has very little to fear from this remote
+apprehension, because the American people, as they ever have been, will
+no doubt continue to be, on second thought, true to the teachings and
+traditions of the founders of the republic.</p>
+
+<p>Minnesota, for so young a state, has been quite liberally remembered in
+the way of diplomatic appointments. Gen. C. C. Andrews represented the
+United States as minister to Sweden and Norway, and the Hon. Samuel R.
+Thayer and Hon. Stanford Newell at The Hague, the latter of whom now
+fills the position. Mr. Newell was also a member of the World's Peace
+Commission recently held at The Hague. Lewis Baker represented <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>the
+United States as minister to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and San Salvador.</p>
+
+<p>The state has also been honored by the appointment of the following
+named gentlemen from among its citizens as consuls general to various
+countries: Gen. C. C. Andrews to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hon. Hans
+Mattson to Calcutta, India; Dr. J. A. Leonard to Calcutta, and also to
+Shanghai, China; and Hon. John Goodenow to Shanghai, China.</p>
+
+<p>We have had a full complement of consuls to all parts of the world, the
+particulars of which are unnecessary in this connection.</p>
+
+<p>The state has also had three cabinet officers. On Dec. 10, 1879,
+Alexander Ramsey was appointed secretary of war by President Hayes, and
+again on Dec. 20, 1880, he was made secretary of the navy. The latter
+office he held only about ten days, until it was filled by a permanent
+appointee.</p>
+
+<p>William Windom was appointed secretary of the treasury by President
+Garfield, and again to the same position by President Harrison. He died
+in the office.</p>
+
+<p>Gen. William G. Le Duc was appointed commissioner of agriculture by
+President Hayes, which was a <i>quasi</i> cabinet position, and was
+afterwards made a full and regular one. The general was afterwards made
+a member of the National Agricultural Society of France, of which
+Washington, Jefferson and Marshall were members.</p>
+
+<p>Senator Cushman K. Davis, who was chairman of the committee on foreign
+relations of the senate, was appointed by President McKinley one of the
+commissioners on the part of the United States to negotiate the treaty
+of peace with Spain after the recent Spanish war.</p>
+
+<p>Gov. William R. Merriam was appointed by President <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>McKinley as director
+of the census of 1900, and is now busily engaged in the performance of
+the arduous duties of that office. They are not diplomatic, but
+exceedingly important.</p>
+
+<p>President Cleveland appointed John W. Riddle as secretary of legation to
+the embassy at Constantinople, where he has remained to the present
+time.</p>
+
+<p><small><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></small></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><a name="BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>BIBLIOGRAPHY.</h2>
+
+<p>Necessity has compelled me, in the preparation of this history, to be
+brief, not only in the subjects treated of, but also in the manner of
+such treatment. Details have usually been avoided, and comprehensive
+generalities indulged in. Those who read it may find many things
+wanting, and in order that they may have an opportunity to supply my
+deficiencies without too much research and labor, I have prepared a list
+of all the works which have ever been written on Minnesota, or any
+particular subject pertaining thereto, and append them hereto for
+convenience of reference. Any and all of them can be found in the
+library of the Minnesota Historical Society in the state capitol.</p>
+
+<p>So much of what I have said consists of personal experiences and
+observations that it more resembles a narrative than a history, but I
+think I can safely vouch for the accuracy and truthfulness of all I have
+thus related.</p>
+
+
+<h3>BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED RELATING TO MINNESOTA.</h3>
+
+<p>The following will be found in "Collections of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, volume I, St. Paul, 1872:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;1. The French Voyageurs to Minnesota during the Seventeenth
+Century, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;2. Description of Minnesota (1850), by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;3. Our Field of Historical Research, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;4. Early Courts of Minnesota, by Hon. Aaron Goodrich.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;5. Early Schools of Minnesota, by D. A. J. Baker.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;6. Religious Movements in Minnesota, by Rev. C. Hobart.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;7. The Dakota Language, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;8. History and Physical Geography of Minnesota, by H. R.
+Schoolcraft.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;&ensp;9. Letter of Mesnard, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;10. The Saint Louis River, by T. M. Fullerton.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;11. Ancient Mounds and Memorials, by Messrs. Pond, Aiton and
+Riggs.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;12. Schoolcraft's Exploring Tour of 1832, by Rev. W. T.
+Boutwell.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;13. Battle of Lake Pokegama, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;14. Memoir of Jean Nicollet, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;15. Sketch of Joseph Renville, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;16. Department of Hudson's Bay, by Rev. G. A. Belcourt.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;17. Obituary of James M. Goodhue, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;18. Dakota Land and Dakota Life, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;19. Who were the First Men, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;20. Louis Hennepin, the Franciscan, and Du Luth, the Explorer.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;21. Le Sueur, the Explorer of the Minnesota River.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;22. D'Iberville; An Abstract of his Memorial.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;23. The Fox and Ojibway War.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;24. Captain Jonathan Carver and his Explorations.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;25. Pike's Explorations in Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;26. Who Discovered Itasca Lake, by William Morrison.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;27. Early Days at Fort Snelling.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;28. Running the Gauntlet, by William T. Snelling.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;29. Reminiscences, Historical and Personal.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Volume 2:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;30. Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony in
+1817, by Major Stephen H. Long.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;31. Early French Forts and Footprints of the Valley of the Upper
+Mississippi, by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;32. Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 1840,
+by Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;33. Religion of the Dakotas (Chapter VI. of James W. Lynd's
+Manuscripts).</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;34. Mineral Regions of Lake Superior, from Their First Discovery
+in 1865, by Hon. Henry M. Rice.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;35. Constantine Beltrami, by Alfred J. Hill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;36. Historical Notes on the U. S. Land Office, by Hon. Henry M.
+Rice.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;37. The Geography of Perrot, so far as it relates to Minnesota,
+by Alfred J. Hill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;38. Dakota Superstitions, by Rev. Gideon H. Pond.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;39. The Carver Centenary; an account of the Celebration, May 1,
+1867, of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Council and
+Treaty of Capt. Jonathan Carver with the Nadowessioux, at
+Carver's Cave in St. Paul, with an address by the Rev. John
+Mattocks.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;40. Relation of M. Penticant, translated by Alfred J. Hill, with
+an introductory note by the Rev. E. D. Neill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;41. Bibliography of Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;42. A Reminiscence of Fort Snelling, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van
+Cleve.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;43. Narrative of Paul Ma-za-koo-to-ma-ne. Translated by Rev. S.
+R. Riggs.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;44. Memoir of Ex-Governor Henry A. Swift, by J. Fletcher
+Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;45. Sketch of John Otherday, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;46. A Coincidence, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;47. Memoir of Hon. James W. Lynd, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;48. The Dakota Mission, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;49. Indian Warfare in Minnesota, by Rev. S. W. Pond.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;50. Colonel Leavenworth's Expedition to Establish Fort Snelling
+in 1819, by Major Thomas Forsyth.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;51. Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault, by Gen. H. H. Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;52. Memoir of Captain Martin Scott, by J. Fletcher Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;53. Na-peh-shnee-doo-ta, a Dakota Christian, by Rev. T. S.
+Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;54. Memoir of Hercules L. Dousman, by Gen. Henry H. Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;55. Memoir of Joseph R. Brown, by J. F. Williams, E. S.
+Goodrich, and J. A. Wheelock.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;56. Memoir of Hon. Cyrus Aldrich, by J. F. Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;57. Memoir of Rev. Lucian Galtier, by Bishop John Ireland.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;58. Memoir of Hon. David Olmsted, by J. F. Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;59. Reminiscences of the Early Days of Minnesota, by Hon. H. H.
+Sibley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;60. The Sioux or Dakotas of the Missouri River, by Rev. T. S.
+Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;61. Memoir of Rev. S. Y. McMasters, by Earle S. Goodrich.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;62. Tributes to the Memory of Rev. John Mattocks, by J. F.
+Williams, Hon. Henry H. Sibley, John B. Sanborn and Bishop
+Ireland.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;63. Memoir of Ex-Governor Willis A. Gorman, compiled from press
+notices, and eulogy by Hon. C. K. Davis.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;64. Lake Superior, Historical and Descriptive, by Hon. James H.
+Baker.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;65. Memorial Notices of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, by Rev. S. R.
+Riggs, Hon. H. H. Sibley and Rev. T. S. Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;66. In Memory of Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, by Rev. S. R. Riggs
+and A. W. Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;67. The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857, by Hon. Charles E.
+Flandrau.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Volume 4:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;68. History of the City of St. Paul and County of Ramsey,
+Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams, containing a very full
+sketch of the first settlement and early days of St. Paul, in
+1838, 1839 and 1840, and of the territory from 1849 to 1858;
+lists of the early settlers and claim owners; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>amusing events
+of pioneer days; biographical sketches of over two hundred
+prominent men of early times; three steel portraits and
+forty-seven woodcuts (portraits and views); lists of federal,
+county and city officers since 1849.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Volume 5:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;69. History of the Ojibway Nation, by William W. Warren (deceased);
+a valuable work, containing the legends and traditions of the
+Ojibways, their origin, history, costumes, religion, daily
+life and habits, ideas, biographies of leading chieftains and,
+orators, vivid descriptions of battles, etc. The work was
+carefully edited by Rev. Edward D. Neill, who added an
+appendix of 116 pages, giving an account of the Ojibways
+from official and other records. It also contains a portrait
+of Warren, a memoir of him by J. Fletcher Williams, and a
+copious index.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Volume 6:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;70. The Sources of the Mississippi; their Discovery, Real and
+Pretended, by Hon. James H. Baker.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;71. The Hennepin Bicentenary; Celebration by the Minnesota
+Historical Society of the 200th anniversary of the Discovery of
+the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680, by Louis Hennepin.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;72. Early Days at Red River Settlement and Fort Snelling;
+reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;73. Protestant Missions in the Northwest, by Rev. Stephen R.
+Riggs, with a memoir of the author, by J. F. Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;74. Autobiography of Major Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at
+Fort Snelling, 1820 to 1840.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;75. Memoir of General Henry Hastings Sibley, by J. F. Williams.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;76. Mounds in Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, by Alfred J. Hill.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;77. Columbian Address, delivered by Hon. H. W. Childs before the
+Minnesota Historical Society, Oct. 21, 1892.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;78. Reminiscences of Fort Snelling, by Col. John Bliss.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;79. Sioux Outbreak of 1862; Mrs. J. E. DeCamp's Narrative of her
+Captivity.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;80. A Sioux Story of the War; Chief Big Eagle's Story of the
+Sioux Outbreak of 1862.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;81. Incidents of the Threatened Outbreak of Hole-in-the-day and
+other Ojibways at the time of the Sioux Massacre in 1862, by
+George W. Sweet.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;82. Dakota Scalp Dances, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;83. Earliest Schools in Minnesota Valley, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;84. Traditions of Sioux Indians, by Major William H. Forbes.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;85. Death of a Remarkable Man; Gabriel Franchere, by Hon.
+Benjamin P. Avery.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;86. First Settlement on the Red River of the North in 1812, and
+its Condition in 1847, by Mrs. Elizabeth T. Ayres.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;87. Frederick Ayer, Teacher and Missionary to the Ojibway
+Indians, 1829 to 1850.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;88. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Nancy McClure.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;89. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Mary Schwandt.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;90. Autobiography and Reminiscences of Philander Prescott.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;91. Recollections of James M. Goodhue, by Colonel John H. Stevens.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;92. History of the Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre, by Abbie Gardner Sharp.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Volume 7:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;93. The Mississippi River and Its Source; a narrative and critical
+history of the river and its headwaters, accompanied by the
+results of detailed hydrographic and topographic surveys;
+illustrated with many maps, portraits and views of the scenery;
+by Hon. J. V. Brower, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park,
+representing also the State Historical Society. With an
+appendix: How the Mississippi River and the Lake of the Woods
+became instrumental in the establishment of the northwestern
+boundary of the United States, by Alfred J. Hill.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Volume 8:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;94. The International Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake
+of the Woods, by Ulysses Sherman Grant.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;95. The Settlement and Development of the Red River Valley, by
+Warren Upham.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;96. The Discovery and Development of the Iron Ores of Minnesota, by
+N. H. Winchell, State Geologist.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;97. The Origin and Growth of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+the President, Hon. Alexander Ramsey.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>&emsp;&emsp;98. Opening of the Red River of the North to Commerce and
+Civilization, with plates, by Capt. Russell Blakeley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;99. Last days of Wisconsin Territory, and Early Days of Minnesota
+Territory, by Hon. Henry L. Moss.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;100. Lawyers and Courts of Minnesota, Prior to and During its
+Territorial Period, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;101. Homes and Habitations of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+Charles E. Mayo.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;102. The Historical Value of Newspapers, by J. B. Chaney.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;103. The United States Government Publications, by D. L. Kingsbury.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;104. The First Organized Government of Dakota, by Gov. Samuel J.
+Albright, with a preface by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;105. How Minnesota became a State, by Prof. Thomas F. Moran.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;106. Minnesota's Northern Boundary, by Alexander N. Winchell.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;107. The Question of the Sources of the Mississippi River, by Prof.
+E. Lavasseur. (Translated by Col. W. P. Clough.)</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;108. The Source of the Mississippi, by Prof. N. H. Winchell.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;109. Prehistoric Man at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River
+(with plates), and an addendum relating to the early visits
+of Mr. Julius Chambers and the Rev. J. A. Gilfillan to Itasca
+Lake, by Hon. J. V. Brower.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;110. History of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill. First Edition, 1858;
+has gone through four editions.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;111. Concise History of the State of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill,
+1887.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;112. Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, prepared
+under the supervision of a committee appointed by the
+legislature, 1890-1893, in two volumes.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;113. History of the Sioux War and Massacres of 1862-1863, by Isaac
+V. D. Heard, 1865.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;114. A History of the Great Massacre by the Sioux Indians in
+Minnesota, by Charles S. Bryant and Abel B. Murch, 1872.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;115. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, in eight volumes,
+1850 to 1898, containing many of the above named works and
+papers.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;116. History of St. Paul, Minnesota, by Gen. Christopher C.
+Andrews, 1890.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;117. History of the City of Minneapolis, by Isaac Atwater, in two
+volumes.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;118. Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches
+of Old Settlers, by T. M. Newson.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;119. Fifty Years in the Northwest, by W. H. C. Folsom, 1888.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;120. The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery
+of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Minnesota Volume by Jeremiah
+Clemmens, assisted by J. Fletcher Williams, 1879.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;121. Progressive Men of Minnesota, Biographical Sketches and
+Portraits, together with an historical and descriptive sketch
+of the state, by Marion D. Shutter and J. S. McLain, 1897.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;122. Biographical History of the Northwest, by Alonzo Phelps, 1890.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;123. A History of the Republican Party, to which is added a
+political history of Minnesota from a Republican point of
+view, and biographical sketches of leading Minnesota
+Republicans, by Eugene V. Smalley.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;124. There are also many quarto histories of counties in Minnesota
+and of larger districts of the state, mostly published during
+the years 1880 to 1890, including twenty counties, namely,
+Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue,
+Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Meeker, Olmsted, Pope, Ramsey,
+Rice, Steele, Stevens, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, and
+Winona, and five districts, namely, The St. Croix Valley, the
+Upper Mississippi Valley, the Minnesota Valley, the Red River
+Valley and Park Region, and Southern Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&emsp;125. Winona and its Environs, by L. H. Bunnell, 1897, with maps and
+portraits.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among the Earliest Publications are:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;126. Minnesota and its Resources, by J. Wesley Bond, 1853.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;127. Minnesota Year Books, 1851, 1852, 1853, by William G. Le Duc.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;128. Floral Home, or First Years of Minnesota, 1857, by Harriet
+E. Bishop.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;129. Narratives and Reports of Travels and Explorations, by
+Hennepin, Carver, Long and Keating, Beltrami, Featherstonhaugh,
+Schoolcraft, Nicollet, Owen, Oliphant, Andrews, Seymour and
+others.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;130. For Geographic and Geologic descriptions of Minnesota, the
+reports of the geological and natural history survey are the
+most complete sources of information, by Prof. N. H. Winchell,
+State Geologist, assisted by Warren Upham, Ulysses Sherman
+Grant, and others. The annual reports comprise twenty-three
+volumes, 1872 to 1894, with another to be published. Several
+other volumes have been issued as bulletins of the survey, on
+iron, mining, birds, mammals, and fishes.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;131. Four thousand two hundred and fifty bound volumes of Minnesota
+newspapers, embracing complete files of nearly all the
+newspapers ever published in Minnesota from first to last.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;132. One thousand seven hundred and two books and about fifteen
+hundred pamphlets relating in some way to Minnesota history.
+All these books can be found in the library of the Minnesota
+Historical Society, which is always open to the public, free.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;133. Much historical and other information is contained in the
+messages of the governors and reports of the various state
+officers, and especially in the Legislative Manuals prepared
+for the use of the members of the legislature by the secretary
+of state, under chapter 122 of the General Laws of 1893, and
+former laws. These Manuals, and especially that of 1899, are
+replete with valuable statistics concerning the state, its
+history and resources.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;134. Illustrated History of Minnesota, by T. H. Kirk, M. L., 1887.</p>
+
+<p class="hang"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;135. Ancestry, Life and Times of Henry Hastings Sibley, by Nathaniel
+West, D. D., 1889.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;136. Minnesota and Dacotah in Letters descriptive of a Tour
+through the Northwest in the Autumn of 1856, with information
+relative to public lands and a table of statistics, by General
+C. C. Andrews.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;137. Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate by the Rt. Rev.
+Henry Benjamin Whipple, D. D., L. L. D., Bishop of Minnesota.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;138. Reminiscences, Memoirs and Lectures of Monsignor A. Ravoux,
+V. G. 1890.</p>
+
+<p class="hang">&emsp;&ensp;&nbsp;139. Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota, with a History of
+Minnesota, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.</p></div>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Finis.</span></h4>
+
+<p><small><a href="#top">Back to start of book</a></small></p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+
+<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="tales" id="tales"></a>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+TALES OF THE FRONTIER.</h2>
+
+
+<h3 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="front" id="front"></a>FRONTIER TALES.</h3>
+
+   <ul>
+        <li><span class="left">Hunting Wolves in Bed</span> <span class="right"><a href="#HUNTING_WOLVES_IN_BED">269</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Poisoned Whisky</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_POISONED_WHISKY">275</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Fun in a Blizzard</span> <span class="right"><a href="#FUN_IN_A_BLIZZARD">281</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Law and Latin</span> <span class="right"><a href="#LAW_AND_LATIN">288</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Indian Strategy</span> <span class="right"><a href="#INDIAN_STRATEGY">291</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The First State Election Returns from Pembina</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_FIRST_STATE_ELECTION_RETURNS_FROM_PEMBINA">296</a></span><br /></li>
+    </ul>
+    <ul>
+        <li class="li1" style="margin-top: -.5em;"><span class="left">A Frontier Story which contains a Robbery, Two Desertions,</span> <span class="right">&nbsp;</span><br /></li>
+    </ul>
+    <ul>
+        <li class="li2"><span class="left" style="padding-left: 2em;">a Capture and a Suicide</span> <span class="right"><a href="#A_FRONTIER_STORY_WHICH_CONTAINS_A_ROBBERY_TWO_DESERTIONS_A_CAPTURE_AND_A_SUICIDE">303</a></span><br /></li>
+
+        <li><span class="left">The Pony Express</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_PONY_EXPRESS">310</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Kissing Day</span> <span class="right"><a href="#KISSING_DAY">316</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">A Political Ruse</span> <span class="right"><a href="#A_POLITICAL_RUSE">320</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Hardships of Early Law Practice</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_HARDSHIPS_OF_EARLY_LAW_PRACTICE">324</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Temperance at Traverse</span> <span class="right"><a href="#TEMPERANCE_AT_TRAVERSE">329</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Win-ne-muc-ca's Gold Mine</span> <span class="right"><a href="#WIN-NE-MUC-CAS_GOLD_MINE">333</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">A Unique Political Career</span> <span class="right"><a href="#A_UNIQUE_POLITICAL_CAREER">340</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">La Crosse</span> <span class="right"><a href="#LA_CROSSE">345</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Making a Postoffice</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MAKING_A_POST_OFFICE">350</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Courage of Conviction</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_COURAGE_OF_CONVICTION">354</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">How the Capital was Saved</span> <span class="right"><a href="#HOW_THE_CAPITAL_WAS_SAVED">358</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">An Editor Incog</span> <span class="right"><a href="#AN_EDITOR_INCOG">365</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Ink-pa-du-ta War</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_INK-PA-DU-TA_WAR">370</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Muscular Legislation</span> <span class="right"><a href="#MUSCULAR_LEGISLATION">378</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Virgin Feast</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_VIRGIN_FEAST">383</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">The Aboriginal War Correspondent</span> <span class="right"><a href="#THE_ABORIGINAL_WAR_CORRESPONDENT">387</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">Bred in the Bone</span> <span class="right"><a href="#BRED_IN_THE_BONE">391</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">An Accomplished Rascal</span> <span class="right"><a href="#AN_ACCOMPLISHED_RASCAL">396</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">An Advocate's Opinion of His Own Eloquence is Not Always Reliable</span> <span class="right"><a href="#AN_ADVOCATES_OPINION_OF_HIS_OWN_ELOQUENCE_IS_NOT_ALWAYS_RELIABLE">400</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">A Momentous Meeting</span> <span class="right"><a href="#A_MOMENTOUS_MEETING">402</a></span><br /></li>
+        <li><span class="left">A Primitive Justice</span> <span class="right"><a href="#PRIMITIVE_JUSTICE">406</a></span><br /></li>
+    </ul>
+
+
+<hr class="hr3" />
+
+<h2><a name="HUNTING_WOLVES_IN_BED" id="HUNTING_WOLVES_IN_BED"></a>
+HUNTING WOLVES IN BED.</h2>
+
+
+
+<p>Forty-six years ago, almost immediately after my arrival in St. Paul, I
+accepted an offer to explore the valley of the Minnesota river and its
+tributaries, with reference to finding out the character of its soil,
+timber, steamboat landings and other natural features, bearing upon the
+founding of a city. My attention was particularly directed to the point
+where St. Peter now stands, which had then acquired the name of Rock Bend,
+from a turn in the river in front of the prairie, with a rocky wall which
+presented a fine landing for steamboats. Of course, the valley was not a
+<i>terra incognito</i> when I entered it, but settlement was very sparse, and
+very little was known about it. Town-site speculation was rife, and any
+place that looked as if it would ever be settled was being pounced upon for
+a future city. There was not a railroad west of Chicago, and every town
+location was, of course, governed by the rivers. As strange as it may seem
+to the residents of the present day, the Minnesota was then a navigable
+stream, capable of carrying large side wheel steamers several hundred miles
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>above its mouth, and afterwards bore an immense commerce. As soon as the
+ice broke up in the spring, the river would rise and overflow its banks
+clear to the bluffs on each side, making a stream of from five to six miles
+wide, and deep enough to float boats anywhere within its limits.</p>
+
+<p>A man by the name of William B. Dodd, better known as Captain Dodd in those
+days, had selected a claim at Rock Bend, covering the landing, and had laid
+out a road from the Mississippi to this point. He wanted to interest
+capitalists to start a town on his claim, and had succeeded in gaining the
+attention of Willis A. Gorman, then governor of the territory, and several
+other gentlemen, but none of them had ever been up the valley, and reliable
+information was difficult to obtain. It was true that Tom Holmes had laid
+out Shakopee, and Henry Jackson and P. K. Johnson, with a syndicate behind
+them, had selected Mankato, and I think there was a settler or two at Le
+Sueur, but the whole valley may be said to have been at that time in the
+possession of Indians, Indian traders and missionaries.</p>
+
+<p>The St. Paul gentlemen who had been approached by Captain Dodd engaged me
+to go up the valley of the Minnesota river, and follow out all its
+tributaries, with the idea of reporting upon its general characteristics
+and prospects, with reference to the founding of a city at Rock Bend. I was
+delighted to do anything, or go anywhere, that promised work or adventure.
+It was to me what the Klondike has been to thousands recently. They
+furnished me with a good team, and away I went. It was in the winter, but I
+succeeded in reaching Traverse des Sioux, where I found a collection of
+Indian trading houses, where flourished Louis Roberts, Major Forbes, Nathan
+Myrick, Madison Sweetzer and others, who drove a trade with the Sioux.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>There was also at this point a missionary station, with a schoolhouse, a
+church, and a substantial dwelling house, occupied by the Rev. Moses N.
+Adams, who had been a missionary among the Sioux, having been transferred
+from the station at Lac qui Parle, where he had lived for many years, to
+this point. But the best find that I made was a young Scotchman by the name
+of Stuart B. Garvie, who had a shanty on the prairie about midway between
+Traverse des Sioux and my objective point, Rock Bend. I think that Garvie
+went up there from St. Anthony, under some kind of a promise from Judge
+Chatfield, that if ever the courts were organized in that region he would
+be made clerk. Garvie was delighted to discover me, and I being in search
+of information, we soon fraternized, and he agreed to go with me on my tour
+of exploration. We went up the Blue Earth, the Le Sueur, the Watonwan, and,
+in fact, visited all the country that was necessary to convince me that it
+was, by and large, a splendid agricultural region, and I decided so to
+report to my principals.</p>
+
+<p>When I was about to leave for down the river, Garvie insisted that I should
+return and take up my abode at Traverse des Sioux. The proposition seemed
+too absurd to me to be seriously entertained, and I said: "I am destitute
+of funds, and how can a lawyer subsist where there are no people? How can I
+get a living?" This dilemma, which seemed to me to be insuperable, was
+easily answered by my new found friend. "Why," he said, "That is the
+easiest part of it. We can hunt a living, and I have a shack and a bed."
+The proposition was catching, having a spice of adventure in it, and I
+promised to consider it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p><p>After making my report, in which I recommended Rock Bend as a promising
+place for a great city, I told the parties who proposed to purchase Captain
+Dodd's claim that I would confirm my faith in the success of the enterprise
+by returning and living at the point. I did so, and found myself farther
+west than any lawyer in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains,
+unless he was in the panhandle of Texas. And now comes the singular way in
+which I made my first fee, if I may call it by that name. It was my first
+financial raise, no matter what you call it.</p>
+
+<p>Garvie and I had gotten quietly settled in our shanty on the prairie, when
+one excessively cold night an Indian boy, about thirteen years of age, saw
+our light, and came to the door, giving us to understand that his people
+were encamped about four or five miles up the river, and that he was afraid
+to go any further lest he should freeze to death. He was mounted on a pony,
+had a pack of furs with him, and asked us to take him in for the night. We
+of course did so, and made him as comfortable as we could by giving him a
+buffalo robe on the floor. But we had no shelter for his pony, and all we
+could do was to hitch him on the lee side of the shanty, and strap a
+blanket on him. When morning came he was frozen to death. We got the poor
+little boy safely off on the way to his people's camp, and decided to
+utilize the carcass of the pony for a wolf bait.</p>
+
+<p>In order to present an intelligent idea of the situation, I will say that
+the river made an immense detour in front of the future town, having a
+large extent of bottom land, covered with a dense chaparral, which was the
+home of thousands of wolves, and as soon as night came they would start out
+in droves in search of prey.</p>
+
+<p>We hauled the dead pony out to the back of the shanty, and left it about
+two rods distant from the win<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>dow. The moment night set in the wolves in
+packs would attack the carcass. At first we would step outside and fire
+into them with buck shot from double-barrelled shotguns, but we found they
+were so wary that the mere movement of opening the door to get out would
+frighten them, and we had very limited success for the first few nights.
+Another difficulty we encountered was shooting in the dark. If you have
+never tried it, and ever do, you will find it exceedingly difficult to get
+any kind of an aim, and you have to fire promiscuously at the sound rather
+than the object.</p>
+
+<p>We remedied this trouble, however, by taking out a light of glass from the
+back window, and building a rest that bore directly on the carcass, so that
+we could poke our guns through the opening, settle them on the rest, and
+blaze away into the gloom. We brought our bed up to the window, so that we
+could shoot without getting out of it, while snugly wrapped up in our
+blankets. After this our luck improved, and after each discharge we would
+rush out, armed with a tomahawk, dispatch the wounded wolves, and collect
+the dead ones, until we had slaughtered forty-two of them. We skinned them,
+and sold the pelts to the traders for seventy-five cents a piece, which
+money was the first of our earnings.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before we ceased to depend on wolf hunting for a living, as
+immigration soon poured in, and money became plenty. I remember soon after
+of having seventeen hundred dollars in gold buried in an oyster can under
+the shanty.</p>
+
+<p>I lived on this prairie for eleven years, and never was happier at any
+period of my life, and feel assured that I can safely say that no other man
+ever enjoyed the luxury of hunting wolves in bed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>The pleasure of narrating such adventures for the present generation is, in
+this instance, marred by the reflection that both Captain Dodd and my old
+friend Garvie were killed by the Indians in 1862, the former while
+gallantly fighting at the battle of New Ulm, and the latter at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency, on the first day of the outbreak.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 166px;">
+<img src="images/i-274.png" width="166" height="300" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span><a name="THE_POISONED_WHISKY" id="THE_POISONED_WHISKY"></a>THE POISONED WHISKY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>I was told by a gentleman at my club the other day that he had read in some
+magazine that the British army had blown open the tomb of the Mahdi in
+upper Africa, and had mutilated the body, cutting off the head and sending
+it to England in a kerosene can. I could hardly believe the story, but he
+vouched for having read it in a reputable publication, and being a strong
+hater of the English, affirmed his unqualified faith in the statement.
+Notwithstanding his position, it seemed to me incredible that such an act
+of barbarism could be perpetrated by the disciplined soldiery of a
+civilized nation in the nineteenth century. The conversation so impressed
+me that I could not drive it out of my mind, and I kept revolving it and
+making comparisons with events in my own experience, until I concluded that
+it is more than probable that it took place as related, and have since
+learned that it actually occurred.</p>
+
+<p>I have seen a good deal of ferocity and savagism, and it was not at all
+confined to people acknowledged to be barbarians. I remember an instance
+where I came very near being a party to a scheme, the brutality of which
+would have made the mutilation of the dead Mahdi commendable in comparison;
+but fortunately my better nature and second thought overcame my passions,
+and I was spared the perpetration of the awful crime, the remembrance of
+which, had it been committed, would undoubtedly have haunted me through
+life.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the older settlers of Minnesota will remember the horrors of the
+Indian massacre and war of 1862,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> when the Sioux attacked our exposed
+frontiers, and in a day and a half massacred quite a thousand people. They
+spared neither age nor sex. It was like all such savage outbreaks,&mdash;a war
+against the race and the blood. These atrocities extended over a large and
+sparsely inhabited area of country, and were usually perpetrated at the
+houses of the settlers by the slaughter of the entire family, sometimes
+varied by the seizure of the women, and carrying them off into captivity,
+which in most instances was worse than death. Every character of mutilation
+and outrage that could be suggested by the inflamed passions of a savage
+were resorted to, and so horrible were they that it would shock and disgust
+the reader should I attempt to describe them. This condition of things was
+no surprise to me, because it was to be expected from savages; but the more
+we saw and heard of it, the more exasperated and angered we became, and the
+more we vowed vengeance should the opportunity come.</p>
+
+<p>I resided on the frontier at the time the outbreak occurred, and murders
+were committed within eight miles of my home before I heard of it, which
+was on the morning of the second day. I, of course, immediately, after
+disposing of my impedimenta in the shape of women and children, took the
+field against the enemy, and by nine o'clock in the evening of the same day
+that I heard of the trouble I found myself at the town of New Ulm, a German
+settlement on the frontier, the extreme outpost of civilization, in command
+of over one hundred men, armed and ready for battle. We had raised and
+equipped the company and travelled thirty-two miles since the morning.</p>
+
+<p>When we entered the town it was being attacked by a squad of Indians, about
+one hundred strong, who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> already burned a number of houses and were
+firing upon the inhabitants, having already killed several. We soon
+dislodged the enemy, put out the fires, and settled down to await events.
+This was on Tuesday, the 19th of August. We strengthened the barricades
+about the town, and did all we could to prepare for a second attack, which
+we knew would certainly come, and from the combined forces of the enemy,
+and which did come on the following Saturday. While waiting, numerous
+squads of whites from the surrounding country reenforced us, and it soon
+became apparent that someone must be put in command of the whole force, to
+prevent disorders on the part of the men, as whisky was abundant and free.
+The honor of the command fell upon me by election of the officers of the
+various companies, and in the choice of a rank for myself my modesty
+restrained me to that of colonel. I have often thought since that I lost
+the opportunity of my life, as I might just as easily have assumed the
+title of major general.</p>
+
+<p>Every day we sent out scouting expeditions, and brought in refugees, men,
+women and children, who were in hiding or wounded, and in the most pitiable
+condition. From these we learned of many additional atrocities, which kept
+our passions and desire for revenge at fever heat. On Saturday, the 23d,
+the Indians who had been all the week besieging Fort Ridgely, abandoned
+that quest, and came down upon us in full force. The attack commenced about
+half-past nine o'clock on Saturday morning, and the fight raged hotly and
+viciously for about thirty hours without cessation. I lost in the first
+hour and a half ten killed and fifty wounded, out of a command of not more
+than 250 guns. On the afternoon of the next day the Indians gradually
+disappeared toward the north, and gave us a breathing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> spell, and then a
+relief company arrived and the fighting ceased.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday ammunition and provisions were getting short, and fearing a
+renewal of the attack, I decided to evacuate the town, and go down the
+Minnesota river to Mankato, a distance of about thirty miles over an open
+prairie. We had nearly fifteen hundred women and children to take care of,
+and about eighty wounded men. The caravan consisted of 153 wagons, drawn by
+horses and oxen; the troops being on foot, and so disposed as to make a
+good defense if attacked.</p>
+
+<p>Everything being ready for a start, some one suggested to me to set a trap
+for the Indians, when they should enter the town after our departure, as we
+all supposed they would, there being an immense amount of loot left
+behind,&mdash;stores full of goods of all kinds, and many other things of value
+to the savage.</p>
+
+<p>I had, the day before, put a stop to some of the younger men scalping the
+eight or ten dead Indians who had been dragged into the town from where
+they had been killed, regarding it as barbarous. The boys would take off a
+small piece of scalp, and with its long black hair, tie it into their
+button-holes, as a souvenir to take home with them.</p>
+
+<p>What do you think was the nature of the trap that was proposed to catch the
+Indians? It makes my blood run cold to think of it, and so disgraceful and
+diabolical was it that, in all I have said and written about this war in
+the last thirty-six years, I have never had courage to mention it. Yet as
+awful as it was, so incensed was I at all the devilish cruelty that had
+been perpetrated on our people that I at first consented to it, and we went
+so far as actually to set the trap.</p>
+
+<p>It was proposed to expose a barrel of whisky in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> conspicuous place, and
+put enough strychnine in it to destroy the whole Sioux nation, and then
+label it "poison" in all the languages spoken in our polyglot country, so
+that should the first comers be whites they would avoid it, but if Indians,
+we might have the satisfaction of exterminating them. We actually went so
+far as to place the barrel where it would attract anyone who should be
+looking about the main street, which was all that was left of the town, and
+labelled it in French, English, German, Italian, Swedish and Norwegian, and
+then put into it eight or ten bottles of strychnine, prepared for
+destroying wolves, and were about leaving when the thought flashed through
+my mind: "Suppose a relief squad should be sent to us, and should think the
+whole matter a joke to cheat them out of a drink, and should sample it and
+die, as they certainly would, we never could forgive ourselves, and would
+be really their murderers." My knowledge of the fact that a soldier who had
+made a long march on a hot day would take big chances for a drink,
+heightened my apprehension on this view of the subject, and the more I
+thought the matter over, the more devilish it appeared to me, even if we
+caught only Indians. I actually felt as though I would be ashamed to meet
+the spirit of even a savage enemy whom I had disposed of in such a cowardly
+manner, should we finally be consigned to the same happy hunting grounds,
+so I took an axe and knocked the head of the barrel in, and let the
+contents into the street. While I deeply regretted the loss of so much good
+whisky, I have never thought of the occurrence since without inwardly
+rejoicing that my better nature and judgment prevented me from committing
+such an offense against all the laws of honor, humanity and civilization.
+It turned out that the first arrival was a squad sent by Gen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>eral Sibley to
+our relief, and from what I know of some of the men composing it, I am
+quite certain that the warning would have been disregarded. The
+circumstance, however, proves how deeply the savage instinct is imbedded in
+human nature, whatever the color of the skin. "Give us strength to resist
+temptation," has been my prayer ever since.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;">
+<img src="images/i-280.png" width="250" height="300" alt="Page decoration" title="Page decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span><a name="FUN_IN_A_BLIZZARD" id="FUN_IN_A_BLIZZARD"></a>FUN IN A BLIZZARD.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The winter of 1856, in Minnesota, was characterized by the usual amount of
+cold weather, snow and storms, and people operating on the frontier were
+compelled to exercise great care and caution to prevent disasters. All old
+timers who have had occasion to live beyond the settlements and travel long
+distances in an open prairie country well know that the danger of being
+overtaken by storms is one of the most terrible that one can be exposed to.
+Most of the casualties, however, that result from being caught in these
+storms may be attributed to want of experience, and consequent lack of
+preparation to meet and contend with them. I have employed many men of all
+nationalities in teaming long distances on the prairie frontier in the
+winter season, and while the American is always reliable and dexterous in
+emergencies, I have found the French Canadian always the best equipped for
+winter prairie work, in his knowledge in this line that can only be gained
+by experience. His ancestors served the early fur companies from Montreal
+to McKenzie's river, from Hudson's bay to the Pacific, and knew how to take
+care of themselves with the unerring instinct of the cariboo and the moose,
+and the generation of them that I came in contact with had inherited all
+these characteristics.</p>
+
+<p>I have known a brigade of teams, manned by Germans, Englishmen and Irishmen
+(the Scandinavians had then just begun to make their appearance in the
+Northwest) to be caught in a winter storm, and result in the amputation of
+fingers, toes, feet and hands from freez<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>ing, but I cannot remember ever
+losing a Canadian Frenchman. I recall one instance, where a train was
+overtaken by a severe storm just about evening, where no timber was in
+sight. The men built barricades with their sleds and loads, and took refuge
+to the leeward of them, where they passed quite a comfortable night for
+themselves and their teams. With the coming of the morning light they
+discovered a timber island not very far off, and started for it with their
+horses, to make fires, feed the teams, and get breakfast. The storm had
+abated, and the sun shone brilliantly. One young American lad shouldered a
+sack of oats, and not realizing that it was very cold, did not put on his
+mittens, but seized the neck of the sack with his bare hand. When he
+arrived at the timber all his fingers were frozen, and had to be amputated.
+It was merely one of the cases of serious injury I have known arising from
+ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>No one who has not encountered a blizzard on the open prairie can form an
+adequate idea of the almost hopelessness of the situation. The air becomes
+filled with driving, whirling snow to such an extent that it is with
+difficulty you can see your horses, and the effect is the same as absolute
+darkness in destroying all conception of direction. You may think you are
+going straight forward when in fact you are moving in a small circle; the
+only safety is to stop and battle it out.</p>
+
+<p>I remember a case which happened in this region before it became Minnesota
+which fully proves the dangers of a blizzard to a traveler on the open
+prairie. Martin McLeod and Pierre Bottineau, together with an Englishman
+and a Pole, started from Fort Garry for the headwaters of the Minnesota
+river. They were well equipped in all respects, having a good dog train,
+and, in Bottineau, one of the most experienced guides in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> Northwest.
+While the party was in sight of timber it was suddenly enveloped in a
+blizzard, and, of course, wanted to reach the timber for safety. Here a
+controversy arose as to the direction to be taken to find it, the
+Englishman and the Pole insisting on one line, and McLeod and Bottineau on
+another. They separated. McLeod took the dogs, and he and they soon fell
+over a precipice and were covered up in a deep snow drift, where they
+remained quite comfortably through the night. Bottineau through his
+instincts reached the timber, and was safe, where he was joined the next
+morning by McLeod. The Englishman was afterwards discovered so badly frozen
+that he died, while the Pole was lost. The only trace of him that was ever
+discovered was his pistols, which were found on the prairie the next
+spring, the wolves having undoubtedly disposed of his remains.</p>
+
+<p>The remedy for these dangers is to avoid them by a close scrutiny of the
+weather, and by never venturing on a big prairie if you can by any means
+avoid it, and always being abundantly supplied with food for yourself and
+animals, whether horses or dogs, besides fuel, matches, blankets, robes,
+and all the paraphernalia of a snow camp, should you have to make one. No
+people are more careful in these particulars than the Indians themselves,
+from whom the French voyageurs undoubtedly learned their lessons.</p>
+
+<p>To give an idea of how treacherous the weather may be, and of what dangers
+frontier people are subjected to, I will relate an adventure in which I
+participated when living in the Indian country, which, however, turned out
+pleasantly. I had been at my Redwood agency for several days, and it became
+important that I should visit my upper agency, situated on the Yellow
+Medicine river,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> about thirty miles distant, up the Minnesota river. After
+crossing the Redwood river, the road led over a thirty-mile prairie,
+without a shrub on it as big as a walking stick. The day was bright and
+beautiful, and the ride promised to be a pleasant one, so I invited my
+surgeon, Dr. Daniels, and his wife to accompany me. They gladly accepted,
+and Mrs. Daniels took her baby along. (By the way, this baby is now the
+elder sister of the wife of one of our most distinguished attorneys, Mr.
+John V. I. Dodd.) Mr. Andrew Myrick, a trader at the agency, learning that
+we were going, decided to accompany us, and got up his team for the
+purpose, taking some young friends with him, and off we went.</p>
+
+<p>I had early taken the precaution to construct a sleigh especially adapted
+to winter travel in this exposed region. It had recesses where were stowed
+away provisions, fuel, tools, and many things to meet possible emergencies.
+The cushions were made of twelve pairs of four-point Mackinaw blankets, and
+the side rails were capable of carrying two carcasses of venison or mutton,
+so I felt quite capable of conquering a blizzard.</p>
+
+<p>I may say here that I had a surgeon at each agency, who were brothers, Dr.
+Asa W. Daniels at the lower agency and Dr. Jared Daniels at the upper, and
+this excursion presented a pleasant opportunity for the families to meet.
+The upper agency was in charge of my chief farmer, a Scotch gentleman by
+the name of Robertson. He was a mystery which I never unravelled,&mdash;a
+handsome, aristocratic, highly educated man about seventy years of age,
+with the manners of a Chesterfield. He had been in the Indian country for
+many years, had married a squaw, and raised a numerous family of children,
+and had been in the employment of the govern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>ment ever since the making of
+the treaties. I always thought he once was a man of fortune, who had
+dissipated it in some way, after travelling the world over, and had sought
+oblivion in the wilds of America.</p>
+
+<p>There was a large comfortable log house at the Yellow Medicine agency,
+occupied by Robertson, which answered for all his purposes, both business
+and domestic, and furnished a home and office for me when I happened to be
+there; and on one occasion, during the Ink-pa-du-ta excitement, I found it
+made a very efficient fort for defense against the Indians.</p>
+
+<p>Our trip was uneventful, and we arrived in the evening. That night a
+blizzard sprang up that exceeded in severity anything of the kind in my
+experience, and I have had nearly half a century of Minnesota winters. It
+raged and rampaged. It piled the snow on the prairie in drifts of ten and
+twenty feet in height. It filled the river bottoms to the height of about
+three feet on the level. It lasted about ten days, during which time, we of
+course, did not dream of getting out, but amused ourselves as best we
+could. It was what the French called a <i>poudre de riz</i>, where there is more
+snow in the air than on the ground. Although I have been entertained in
+many parts of the world, and by many various kinds of people, I can say
+that I never enjoyed a few weeks more satisfactorily than those we spent
+under compulsion at the Yellow Medicine river on that occasion.</p>
+
+<p>Personal association with Mr. Robertson was not only a delight, but an
+education. He had been everywhere, and knew everything. He was charming in
+conversation and magnificent in hospitality, and the unique nature of his
+entertainment under his savage environments lent an additional charm to the
+situation. He soon became aware that we needed something exciting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> to
+sustain us in our enforced imprisonment, and he produced fiddlers and
+half-breed women for dancing. He gave us every day a dinner party composed
+of viands unknown outside of the frontier of North America. One day we
+would have the tail of the beaver, always regarded as a great delicacy on
+the border; the next, the paws of the bear soused, which, when served on a
+white dish, very much resembled the foot of a negro, but were good; then,
+again, roasted muskrat, which in the winter is as delicate as a young
+chicken; then fricasseed skunk, which, in season, is free from all
+offensive odor, and extremely delicate,&mdash;all served with <i>le riz sauvage</i>.
+In fact, he exhausted the resources of the country to make us happy.</p>
+
+<p>But Robertson's menu was the least part of it. Every evening he would
+assemble us, and read Shakespeare and the poetry of Burns to us. I never
+understood or enjoyed Burns until I heard it read and expounded by
+Robertson.</p>
+
+<p>The time passed in this pleasant fashion until we commenced to think we
+were "snowed in" for the winter, and I began to devise ways and means for
+getting out. I had to get out; but how, was the question. To cross the
+prairie was not to be thought of; we could not get an Indian to venture
+over it on snowshoes, let alone driving over it. Nothing had been heard of
+us below, and, as we learned afterwards, the St. Paul papers had published
+an account of our all being frozen to death, with full details of Andrew
+Myrick being found dead in his sleigh, with the lines in his hands and his
+horses standing stiff before him.</p>
+
+<p>I decided that an expedition might work its way through on the river
+bottoms, and we could follow in its trail. So I sent out a party with
+several heavy sleds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> loaded with hay, and each drawn by four or five yoke
+of oxen to beat a track. They returned after several days' absence, and
+reported that the thing was impossible, and they could not get through. I
+then called for volunteers, and the French Canadians came to the front. I
+allowed them to organize their own expedition. They took their fiddles with
+them, and the agreement was, that if we didn't hear from them in five days,
+we were to consider that they were through, and we could follow. The days
+passed one after the other, and at the expiration of the time, we all
+started, and laboriously followed the trail they had beaten. We noticed
+their camps from day to day, and saw that they had not been distressed, and
+found them, at the end of the journey, as jolly as such people always are,
+whether in sunshine or storm.</p>
+
+<p>It is much more agreeable to write about blizzards than to encounter them.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span><a name="LAW_AND_LATIN" id="LAW_AND_LATIN"></a>LAW AND LATIN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the beginning of the settlement of the Minnesota valley, in the early
+fifties, a man named Tom Cowan located at Traverse des Sioux. His name will
+be at once recognized by all the old settlers. He was a Scotchman, and had
+been in business in Baltimore. Financial difficulties had driven him to the
+West, to begin life anew and grow up with the country. He was a very well
+read and companionable man, and exceedingly bright by nature, and at once
+became very popular with the people. His first venture was in the fur
+trade, but not knowing anything about it, his success was not brilliant. I
+remember that he once paid an immense price for a very large black
+bearskin, thinking he had struck a bonanza. He kept it on exhibition, until
+one day John S. Prince, who was an experienced fur buyer, dropped in, and
+after listening to Cowan's eulogy on his bear skin, quietly remarked: "He
+bear; not worth a d&mdash;n," which decision induced Tom to abandon the fur
+trade.</p>
+
+<p>There being no lawyer but one at Traverse des Sioux, and I having been
+elected to the supreme bench, Mr. Cowan decided to study law, and open an
+office for the practice of that profession. He accordingly proposed that he
+should study with me, which idea I strongly encouraged, and after about six
+weeks of diligent reading, principally devoted to the statutes, I admitted
+him to the bar, and he fearlessly announced himself as an attorney and
+counselor at law. In this venture he was phenomenally successful. He was a
+fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> speaker, made an excellent argument on facts, and soon stood high in
+the profession. He took a leading part in politics, was made register of
+deeds of his county, went to the legislature, and was nominated for
+lieutenant governor of the state after its admission into the Union; but,
+of course, in all his practice he was never quite certain about the law of
+his cases. This deficiency was made up by dash and brilliancy, and he got
+along swimmingly.</p>
+
+<p>One day he came to my office and said: "Judgey, I am going to try a suit at
+Le Sueur to-morrow that involves $2,500. It is the biggest suit we have
+ever had in the valley, and I think it ought to have some Latin in it, and
+I want you to furnish me with that ingredient." I said: "Tom, what is it
+all about? I must know what kind of a suit it is before I can supply the
+Latin appropriately, and especially as I am not very much up in Latin
+myself."</p>
+
+<p>He said the suit was on an insurance policy; that he was defending on the
+ground of misrepresentations made by the insured on the making of the
+policy, and he must have some Latin to illustrate and strengthen his point.</p>
+
+<p>I mulled over the proposition, looked up some books on maxims, and finally
+gave him this, "<i>Non haec in federe veni</i>," which I translated to mean, "I
+did not enter into this contract." He was delighted, and said there ought
+to be no doubt of success with the aid of this formidable weapon, and made
+me promise to ride down with him to hear him get it off. So the next day we
+started, and in crossing the Le Sueur prairie, Cowan was hailed by a man
+who said he was under arrest for having kicked a man out of his house for
+insulting his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> family, and he wanted Tom to defend him. The justice's court
+was about a mile from the road, in a carpenter shop, the proprietor of
+which was the justice. Tom told him to demand a jury, and he would stop on
+his way back and help him out.</p>
+
+<p>When we arrived at Le Sueur we found that the case could not be heard that
+day, and, starting homeward, about four o'clock we reached the carpenter
+shop. There we found the jury awaiting us. We hitched the team, and I
+spread myself comfortably on a pile of shavings to witness the legal
+encounter. The complaining party proved his case. Cowan put his client on
+the witness stand, and showed the provocation. Then he addressed the jury.
+His defense was, want of criminal intent. He dwelt eloquently on the point
+that the gist of the offense was the intent with which the act was
+committed, and when it appeared that the act was justified, there could be
+no crime. Then, casting a quizzical glance at me, he struck a tragic
+attitude, and thundered out: "Gentlemen of the jury, it is indelibly
+recorded in all the works of Roman jurisprudence, '<i>Non haec in federe
+veni</i>,' which means there can be no crime without criminal intent." The
+effect was electrical; the jury acquitted the prisoner, and we drove home
+fully convinced that the law was not an exact science. With what effect Tom
+utilized his Latin in the insurance suit I have forgotten, or was never
+advised.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span><a name="INDIAN_STRATEGY" id="INDIAN_STRATEGY"></a>INDIAN STRATEGY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the summer of 1856 I had the celebrated battery commanded by Major T. W.
+Sherman of the United States Army (better known as the Buena Vista Battery,
+from the good work it did in the Mexican war) on duty in the Indian
+country, on account of a great excitement which prevailed among the
+Indians. The officers of the battery were Major Sherman, First Lieutenant
+Ayer, and Second Lieutenant Du Barry. Its force of men was about sixty,
+including noncommissioned officers. I think it had four guns, but of this I
+am not certain.</p>
+
+<p>One day, after skirmishing about over considerable country, we made a camp
+on the Yellow Medicine river, near a fine spring, and everything seemed
+comfortable. The formation of the camp was a square, with the guns and
+tents inside, and a sort of a picket line on all sides about a hundred
+yards from the center, on which the sentinels marched day and night. I
+tented with the major, and seeing that the Indians were allowed to come
+inside of the picket lines with their guns in their hands, I took the
+liberty of saying to him that I did not consider such a policy safe,
+because the Indians could, at a concerted signal, each pick out his man and
+shoot him down, and then where would the battery be? But the major's answer
+was, "Oh, we must not show any timidity." So I said no more, but it was
+just such misplaced confidence that afterwards cost General Canby his life
+among the Modocs, when he was shot down by Captain Jack. Things went on
+quietly, until one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> day a young soldier went down to the spring with his
+bucket and dipper for water, and an Indian who desired to make a name for
+himself among his fellows followed him stealthily, and when he was in a
+stooping posture, filling his bucket, came up behind him, and plunged a
+long knife into his neck, intending, of course, to kill him; but as luck
+would have it, the knife struck his collarbone and doubled up, so the
+Indian could not withdraw it. The shock nearly prostrated the soldier, but
+he succeeded in reaching camp. The major immediately demanded the surrender
+of the guilty party, and he was given up by the Indians. I noticed one
+thing, however; no more Indians were allowed inside the lines with their
+guns in their hands.</p>
+
+<p>When the prisoner was brought into camp a guard tent was established, and
+he was confined in it, with ten men to stand guard over him. These men were
+each armed with the minie rifle which was first introduced into the army,
+and which was quite an effective weapon.</p>
+
+<p>While all this was going on, we were holding pow-pows every day with the
+Indians, endeavoring to straighten out and clear up all the vexed questions
+between us. The manner of holding a council was to select a place on the
+prairie, plant an American flag in the center, and all hands squat down in
+a circle around it. Then the speechifying would commence, and last for
+hours without any satisfactory results. Anyone who has had much experience
+in Indian councils is aware of the hopelessness of arriving at a
+termination of the discussion. It very much resembles Turkish diplomacy.
+But the weather was pleasant, and everybody was patient.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians, however, were concocting plans all this time to effect the
+escape of the prisoner in the guard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>house. So one day they suggested a
+certain place for the holding of the council, giving some plausible reason
+for the change of location, and when the time arrived, everybody assembled,
+and the ring was formed. Those present consisted of all the traders,
+Superintendent Cullen, Major Sherman, Lieutenant Ayer,&mdash;in fact, all the
+white men at the agency,&mdash;and about one hundred Indians, everyone of whom
+had a gun in his hands. I had warned the major frequently not to allow an
+Indian to come into council with a gun, but he deemed it better not to show
+any timidity, and they were not prohibited. The council on this occasion
+was held about four hundred yards from the battery camp, and on lower
+ground, but with no obstruction between them. The scheme of the savages was
+to spring to their feet on a concerted signal and begin firing their guns
+all around the council circle, so as to create a great excitement and bring
+everyone to his feet, and just at this moment the prisoner in the
+guardhouse was to make a run in the direction of the council, keeping
+exactly between the guard and the whites in the council ring, believing
+that the soldiers would not fire for fear of killing their own people. When
+the time arrived every Indian in the ring jumped to his feet and fired in
+the air, creating a tremendous fusilade, and as had been expected, the most
+frightful panic followed, and everyone thinking that a general massacre of
+the whites had begun, they scattered in all directions. Instantly the
+prisoner ran for the crowd, and an Indian can sprint like a deer. Contrary
+to expectations, every one of the ten guards opened fire on him, and seven
+of them hit him, but curiously not one of the wounds stopped his progress,
+and he got away; but the bullets went over and among the whites, one
+ricocheting through the coat of Major Cullen. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> prisoner never was
+caught, but I heard a great deal about him afterwards. His exploit of
+stabbing the soldier and his almost miraculous escape made him one of the
+most celebrated medicine men of his band, and he continued to work wonders
+thenceforth.</p>
+
+<p>After the return of the battery I was informed by my close friends among
+the Indians that they had sat on the hills overlooking the camp and
+concocted all kinds of schemes to take it, the principal one of which was
+to fill bladders with water, and pour them over the touch-holes of the
+guns, and, as they supposed, render them useless, and then open fire on the
+men. Fortunately nothing of the kind was tried, but I was convinced that no
+one can be too cautious when in the country of a savage enemy. A good
+lesson can be learned from this narrative by the people now occupying the
+country of the Filipinos.</p>
+
+<p>One pleasing circumstance resulted from the presence of this battery in the
+Indian country. About thirty years after the occurrences I have been
+narrating I had occasion to transact some business with the adjutant
+general of our state at his office in the capitol, and after completing it
+I was about to retire, when the general said to me: "Judge, you don't seem
+to remember me." I replied: "General, did I ever have the pleasure of your
+acquaintance?" "Not exactly," he said, "but don't you remember the time
+when you had the old Sherman Battery in the field, with its tall first
+sergeant?" I said: "I recall the event quite clearly, but not the
+sergeant." He said: "One day, after a long, hot march, I was laying out the
+camp, and you were sitting on your horse observing the operation, when you
+noticed me and called me to you, and pulling a flask from your pocket or
+holster, you asked me to take a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> drink. That is a long time ago, but I
+remember it as the best drink I ever had, and I always associate you
+pleasantly with it." The tall sergeant had matured into a most dignified
+and charming gentleman, with whom I have ever since enjoyed the most
+agreeable relations.</p>
+
+<p>The moral of this story is, that when you are in the country of hostile
+savages, never accept any confidences or take any chances, and when you
+have more drinks than you can conveniently absorb, divide with your
+neighbor.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/i-295.png" width="297" height="300" alt="Page decoration" title="Page decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span><a name="THE_FIRST_STATE_ELECTION_RETURNS_FROM_PEMBINA" id="THE_FIRST_STATE_ELECTION_RETURNS_FROM_PEMBINA"></a>THE FIRST STATE ELECTION RETURNS FROM PEMBINA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The State of Wisconsin was admitted into the Union in the year 1848, with
+the St. Croix river as its western boundary. This arrangement left St.
+Paul, St. Anthony, Stillwater, Marine, Taylor's Falls and other
+settlements, which had sprung up in Wisconsin west of the St. Croix,
+without any government. The inhabitants of these communities immediately
+sought ways and means to extricate themselves from the dilemma in which
+they were placed. There were a great many men among them of marked ability
+and influence&mdash;Henry M. Rice, Henry H. Sibley, Morton S. Wilkinson, Henry
+L. Moss, John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, Martin McLeod, Wm. R. Marshall and
+others. Differences of opinion existed as to whether the remnant of
+Wisconsin on the west side of the St. Croix still remained the Territory of
+Wisconsin or whether it was a kind of "no man's land," without a government
+of any kind. Governor Dodge of the territory had been elected to the senate
+of the United States for the new state. The delegate to congress had
+resigned, and the government of the territory had been cast upon the
+secretary, Mr. John Catlin, who became governor ex-officio on the vacancy
+happening in the office of governor. He lived in Madison, in the new state,
+and would have to move over the line into the deserted section if he
+proposed to exercise the functions of his office. A correspondence was
+opened with him, and he was invited to come to Stillwater, and proclaim the
+existence of the territory by calling an elec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>tion for a delegate to
+congress from Wisconsin Territory. He accepted the call, moved to
+Stillwater, and in the month of September, 1848, issued his proclamation.
+An election was held in November following, and Henry H. Sibley was chosen
+delegate from Wisconsin Territory to the congress of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Sibley procured the passage of an act, on March 3, 1849, organizing the
+Territory of Minnesota, and we have had regular elections ever since.</p>
+
+<p>There is a little unwritten history connected with the transaction above
+related. The principal citizens west of the St. Croix fixed things up among
+the settlements in a manner entirely satisfactory to themselves. They
+divided the prospective spoils about as follows: Sibley lived at Mendota,
+and that place was to have the delegate to congress, St. Paul was to have
+the capital, Stillwater the penitentiary, and St. Anthony the university,
+which comprised all there was to divide. The program was faithfully carried
+out, and has been maintained ever since, although various attempts have
+been made to violate the treaty by the removal of the capital from St.
+Paul; but I am glad to be able to say, in behalf of honesty and fair
+dealing, none of them have been successful.</p>
+
+<p>The existence of this unwritten treaty has been denied, but there are men
+yet living in the state who took part in it, and have publicly affirmed its
+authenticity. Judge Douglas of Illinois, when chairman of the senate
+committee on territories, insisted on placing the capital at Mendota, with
+the building on the top of Pilot Knob, and had it not been for the stern
+integrity of Sibley, he would have succeeded, to the everlasting
+inconvenience and discomfort of our people.</p>
+
+<p>There were really no politics worthy of the name during the years of the
+territory. All the principal of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>fices were filled by appointment by the
+general government, and the rest of them determined by personal rivalries.
+The main business of the territory was the fur trade, carried on by warring
+companies, whose chief factors sought office more for the sake of its
+influence on their business than for the principles they represented.</p>
+
+<p>I remember one year the legislature, in a spasm of virtue, passed a
+prohibitory liquor law, which the supreme court, under the influence of a
+counter spasm, immediately set aside as unconstitutional. Outside of the
+cities, where the missionaries exerted a strong influence, the contention
+was usually whisky or no whisky; in fact, there was very little else to
+fight about.</p>
+
+<p>The first government was appointed by the Whigs (the Republican party being
+yet unborn), and as Governor Ramsey was from Pennsylvania, we had a great
+influx of immigration from that state. The second governor (Gorman) was
+appointed by the Democrats, and came from Indiana, and the people of that
+state being much more migratory than the Pennsylvanians, we were flooded
+with Hoosiers. These various influences caused differences of opinion and
+interests sufficient to keep the political pot boiling quite lively, but on
+lines that were necessarily personal and temporary in their bearing. We
+soon, however, approached the more important subject of statehood, and,
+strange as it may seem to the present generation, the question of slavery
+was a strong factor. The Republican party was born about 1854, and as its
+principal creed was opposition to the extension of slavery, its followers
+naturally forced the subject into the politics of the day. I can, however,
+positively affirm that no one of any political faith had the slightest idea
+of introducing slavery into Minnesota. A constitution for the pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>posed
+state was framed in 1857, and in the fall of that year the election for the
+officers of the first state government was held, and, of course, great
+interest was manifested as to the result. The general election was fixed by
+law for November in all of the counties of the territory except one. The
+county of Pembina was so distant from the capital that it was found to be
+difficult to get the returns in so as to be counted with those of the rest
+of the state. The only transportation between the two places was by Red
+River carts, drawn by oxen in the summer, and by dog trains in the winter;
+the distance to be travelled was about four hundred miles, and the time
+necessary to compass it nearly or quite a month. The legislature had, in
+1853, in order to remedy this difficulty, and because the population was on
+its annual buffalo hunt in November, passed an act fixing the time for
+holding elections in the county of Pembina on the second Tuesday in
+September in each year, thus giving ample opportunity to get the returns to
+the authorities in St. Paul in time to be counted with those from the other
+districts. The result of this was that no one outside of Pembina ever knew
+how many votes had been polled in that district until long after the rest
+of the territory had been heard from, and it became a common saying among
+the Whigs that the Pembina returns were held back until it became known how
+many votes were necessary to carry the election for the Democrats, and that
+they were fixed accordingly, which the Democrats denounced as a Whig lie.</p>
+
+<p>About all that was known of Pembina was that it was inhabited by a savage
+looking race of Chippewa half-breeds, and that Joe Rolette lived there, and
+Norman W. Kittson went there occasionally. It carried on an immense trade
+in furs with St. Paul, by means of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> brigades of Red River carts each summer
+and by dog trains in the winter, and the more you saw of these people the
+more you were impressed with their savage appearance and bearing.</p>
+
+<p>The first state election, curious as it may appear, was held in 1857,
+before the state was admitted into the Union, which latter event was
+postponed until May 11, 1858, and when the votes from all the counties
+except Pembina had been returned to the proper officer the result, as far
+as could be ascertained before the official count was made, was somewhat in
+doubt, which circumstance naturally excited great interest in the Pembina
+election, as it was well known that all the votes from that district would
+be Democratic, so the great question was, "How many?"</p>
+
+<p>While the country was holding its breath in suspense and expectancy, a man
+in the Indian trade, named Madison Sweetzer, came to me about two o'clock
+one night, or rather morning, and told me that Nat. Tyson, who was a
+merchant in St. Paul and an enthusiastic Republican, had just started for
+the north with a fast team and an outfit that looked as if he contemplated
+a long journey, and his belief was that he intended to capture Joe Rolette
+and the Pembina returns. I thought such might be the case, and we
+immediately began to devise ways and means to circumvent him. We hastened
+to the house of Henry M. Rice, who knew every trader and half-breed between
+here and Pembina, and laid our suspicions before him. He diagnosed the case
+in an instant, and sent us to Norman W. Kittson, who lived in a stone house
+well up on Jackson street, with instructions to him to send a mounted
+courier after Tyson, who was to pass him on the road, and either find
+Rolette or Major Clitheral, who was an Alabama man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> and one of the United
+States land officers in the neighborhood of Crow Wing (and, of course, a
+reliable Democrat), and to deliver a letter to the one first found, putting
+him on guard against the supposed enemy. I prepared the letter, and Kittson
+in a few moments had summoned a reliable Chippewa half-breed, mounted him
+on a fine horse, fully explained his mission, and impressed upon him that
+he was to reach Clitheral or Rolette ahead of Tyson, if he had to kill a
+dozen horses in so doing. There is nothing a fine, active young half-breed
+enjoys so much as an adventure of this kind; a ride of four hundred miles
+had no terrors for him, and to serve his employer, no matter what the duty
+or the danger, was his delight. When he was ready to start, Kittson gave
+him a send-off in about the following words: "<i>Va, va, vite, et ne
+t'arrette pas, m&ecirc;me pour sauver la vie</i>" ("Go; go quick; and don't stop
+even to save your life"), and giving his horse a vigorous slap, he was off
+like the wind.</p>
+
+<p>The result was that he passed Tyson before he had gone twenty miles, found
+Clitheral a day and a half before Tyson reached Crow Wing, if he ever did
+get there, delivered his letter, and the major immediately started to find
+Rolette, which he succeeded in doing, took the returns and put them in a
+belt around his person, and having relieved Joe of all his responsibility,
+left him to his own devices, which meant painting all the towns red that he
+visited on his way. We well knew that Joe could no more resist the
+temptations of civilization than an old sailor returning from a long
+voyage, and what we apprehended was that he might, while in a too-convivial
+mood, either lose the returns, or have them stolen from him.</p>
+
+<p>The tone of the letter was so urgent that the major<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> did not know but that
+half the Republicans in St. Paul might be lying in wait to capture him, so
+he did not enter the town directly, but went to Fort Snelling, and left the
+returns with an officer of the army, and then proceeded to St. Paul. When
+we explained to him that no one but Rice, Kittson, Sweetzer and myself knew
+anything about the matter, he was relieved, but still cautious. He waited
+for a few days, and then proposed to a lady to take a ride with him to Fort
+Snelling. When they started home, he gave her a bundle and asked her to
+care for it while he drove, which she unsuspectingly did, and that is the
+way the Pembina returns of Minnesota's first state election reached the
+capital. It is needless to say how many votes they represented, but only to
+announce that the election went Democratic.</p>
+
+<p>Whether Tyson had any idea of doing what we suspected him of, I never
+discovered, but if that was his purpose, he had a long ride for nothing,
+and as our scheme terminated so successfully, I am willing to acquit him of
+the charge.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span><a name="A_FRONTIER_STORY_WHICH_CONTAINS_A_ROBBERY_TWO_DESERTIONS_A_CAPTURE_AND_A_SUICIDE" id="A_FRONTIER_STORY_WHICH_CONTAINS_A_ROBBERY_TWO_DESERTIONS_A_CAPTURE_AND_A_SUICIDE"></a>A FRONTIER STORY WHICH CONTAINS A ROBBERY, TWO DESERTIONS, A CAPTURE AND A SUICIDE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1856 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux. My agencies were at
+Redwood, about thirteen miles above Fort Ridgely, and at Yellow Medicine,
+on a river of that name, emptying into the Minnesota about fifty miles
+above the fort. Under the treaties with these Indians the government paid
+them large sums of money and great quantities of goods, semi-annually, at
+the agencies. Up to a short time before the event which I am about to
+relate these payments were made by the agent, but, for some reason best
+known to the government, the making of the payment was turned over to the
+superintendent of Indian affairs having charge of the tribes. The manner of
+making these payments before the change was this: I would receive from the
+superintendent, at St. Paul, the money, in silver and gold (this being long
+before the days of greenbacks), amounting to a full wagon load, and take it
+up to the agencies, while the goods would be delivered by the contractors
+in steamboats, a census of the Indians would be taken, and the money and
+goods equally divided among them.</p>
+
+<p>After this duty was withdrawn from the agents and imposed upon the
+superintendents, of course all responsibility for the money and goods was
+shifted from the former and laid upon the latter, which was to me a great
+relief, as I had transported many wagon loads of specie from St. Paul to
+the agencies without guard, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> at great personal and financial risk. A
+payment was due early in July, 1857, and the superintendent had brought the
+money as far as Fort Ridgely. Arriving at that point, news came of much
+excitement among the Indians at the agencies, which was not at all unusual,
+as thousands of savage fellows used to come in from the Missouri river
+country, and make trouble for our tribes about payment time, and the
+superintendent decided it was prudent to leave the money at Fort Ridgely
+until matters quieted down. There was no vault or other safe place in which
+to deposit the money at the fort, so it was placed in a room occupied by
+the quartermaster's clerk, a Frenchman, an enlisted man, and he, with
+another soldier, a German, who was the post baker, were put in charge of
+it. This Frenchman had been selected from the ranks of Captain Sully's
+company and made quartermaster's clerk on account of his superior
+education, his excellent penmanship and his good character. I always have
+thought he was some unfortunate young gentleman, serving under an assumed
+name. The money was all in stout wooden mint boxes, holding each $1,000 in
+silver, and in gold about $25,000 or more, there being usually one or two
+boxes of gold. The boxes were spread on the floor of the room, and the men
+slept on them.</p>
+
+<p>The constitutional convention to frame the organic law for the proposed
+State of Minnesota had been called to convene in St. Paul, on the
+thirteenth day of July, 1857, and the people of the Minnesota valley had
+done me the honor to elect me a member of it. I had delayed starting for
+St. Paul until a day or two before the meeting of the convention, and
+having heard rumors that there would be trouble in organizing it, I felt
+very anxious to be there on the opening day. The only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> mode of
+transportation, except the river, in those days, was the little
+canvas-covered stages of Messrs. M. O. Walker &amp; Co., which would hold four
+inside comfortably, and six on a pinch. When the down stage reached
+Traverse des Sioux, on the morning of the 11th of July, it was full; that
+is, there were five inside, three on the back seat, and two on the front,
+and one man on the seat with the driver. I insisted strenuously on going,
+and said I would ride in the boot rather than not go at all, my insistence,
+of course, having reference to my desire to be at the opening of the
+convention. I was admitted, and took my place on the front seat, with my
+back to the driver, and my knees interlocked with those of the passenger on
+the back seat who faced me. At this time I had heard nothing of what had
+happened at the fort. The fact was that the two men who had been placed in
+charge of the money had opened one of the boxes of gold, taken out a bag
+containing $5,000 in quarter eagles, and sealed it up again. When the
+superintendent sent down for his money, and it was loaded into the wagon,
+the two soldiers immediately deserted, which, of course, excited the
+suspicions of the officers. A courier was at once dispatched to the agency
+to see if the money was all right, and the theft was soon discovered. The
+superintendent, who was then Major Cullen, had handbills struck off, giving
+the description of the deserters, and offering $600 for their capture and
+the return of the money. Couriers were dispatched in all directions to
+effect their arrest, and one of the handbills reached Henderson, which was
+the county seat of Sibley county, some twenty miles down the river from the
+point at which I took the stage. A deputy sheriff of that county had
+started out to hunt the thieves and secure the reward, carrying one of the
+handbills with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> him, and had proceeded up the river as far as Le Sueur,
+about half way between Traverse des Sioux and Henderson.</p>
+
+<p>It is well to state here that the stages carried the mails, and always
+stopped at the post towns long enough to deliver the incoming and receive
+the outgoing mails, which afforded time for a bit of gossip, a drink, and a
+stretch of the legs. There were two postoffices in Le Sueur, in upper town
+and lower town, about a mile and a half apart. As soon as the stage stopped
+at upper town, the deputy sheriff handed me the handbill through the
+window, announcing the theft and describing the thieves. I read it right in
+the face of my vis-a-vis, and after congratulating myself that I had no
+responsibility for the lost money, I remarked to the sheriff: "Of course,
+you don't expect to find these fellows on the main thoroughfare. They are
+probably now going down the Missouri in a canoe." Nothing more occurred
+until we arrived at the lower town postoffice, where we again stopped to
+change the mails.</p>
+
+<p>Let me here state that the man in front of me was the Frenchman, and the
+man on the front seat with the driver was the German, the deserting
+thieves. The Frenchman was slight of build, but the German was a powerful
+fellow, and had in his hand a double-barrelled shotgun. I, of course, had
+no idea of their identity at this time; but they, and especially the
+Frenchman, knew me perfectly well, having frequently seen me about the
+garrison. They had construed my anxiety to go on the stage into the belief
+that I knew them, and was after them, and had made my remark to the sheriff
+as a mere blind connected with some other scheme for their capture. It must
+have been a trying ordeal for the man in front of me, who was evidently
+watching my every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> move, and feeling the weight of his guilt, supposed I
+knew all about it.</p>
+
+<p>While we were waiting the change of mail at Lower Le Sueur, the deputy
+sheriff asked me to get out of the stage, and said to me: "Major [I was
+called major in those days], had we not better take another look at those
+fellows in the stage? They are going out of the country when everybody is
+coming in. It looks to me suspicious." I agreed with him, and took another
+look. I at once discovered that they were both dressed from head to foot in
+new slop-shop clothes, indicating the necessity for an entire change of
+costume, and I concluded from this clue there were sufficient grounds to
+suspect them. So the deputy sheriff said: "You hold the stage ten or
+fifteen minutes, and I'll go to Henderson, and take out a warrant, and
+arrest them on the arrival of the stage; so that, if we are mistaken, no
+particular harm will be done." He started on. I got my hand-bag out of the
+boot, and buckled on my six-shooter, all of which was seen by the thieves,
+who must have fully understood the program; at least, such must have been
+the case with the Frenchman, as subsequent events led me to doubt whether
+the German was a participant in the theft, or more than a mere deserter. I
+had a sense of uneasiness about the double-barrelled shotgun carried by the
+German, but I thought I could handle the other man. We started, and, much
+to my relief, when we reached the ferry over the river, the German fired
+one barrel of his gun at a pigeon, and snapped several caps on the other,
+which refused to go off. As we approached Henderson, quite a crowd had
+gathered at the hotel to see the arrest, and just as the stage swung up to
+the sidewalk, the Frenchman took out of his pocket a small penknife, the
+largest blade of which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> could not have been over four inches long. He
+opened it so quietly that it did not excite my apprehensions in the least,
+although I had my right hand on my six-shooter, intending to draw and cover
+him the moment the stage stopped. He made a desperate lunge at his breast
+with the knife, and handing me a carpetbag which lay on his lap, he said,
+"The money is all in this bag, sir," just as if we had been talking the
+whole matter over. I, fearing that he might strike at me with the knife,
+drew my revolver and struck him sharply over the knuckles, making the knife
+fly out of the window, and seizing him by the throat with my left hand, I
+covered him with my pistol. The stage stopped. Retaining my hold on him,
+and still covering him with my pistol, we got out of the stage, on the
+sidewalk. He wavered for a second, and fell dead. He had put the knife an
+inch into his heart. I found in a belt on his body, and in the bag $5,320
+in gold, which I deposited in the United States land office, at Henderson,
+subject to the order of Major Cullen, who got it all in good time. The
+Frenchman had in his pocket some letters from a lady in Strasburg, written
+in French, conveying some very tender sentiments. I never thought he was a
+bad man, but had yielded, as many do, to a strong temptation, and had
+decided to die rather than be captured. It was not more than twenty minutes
+before we were on our way to St. Paul. As no evidence connected the German
+with the theft, he was sent back simply as a deserter.</p>
+
+<p>A curious question arose as to the reward. Major Cullen insisted on giving
+it to me. I knew very well that, had it not been for the superior detective
+sagacity of the deputy, the thieves would never have been caught, so I
+refused it, as I would have done under any circum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>stances. Then the sheriff
+claimed it, and finally the major left its disposition to me, and I divided
+it between the sheriff and the deputy, partly because I thought it just,
+and partly to keep the peace in the sheriff's official family. Where the
+extra $320 came from, or where it went, I never knew nor cared.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 163px;">
+<img src="images/i-309.png" width="163" height="300" alt="Page decoration" title="Page decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span><a name="THE_PONY_EXPRESS" id="THE_PONY_EXPRESS"></a>THE PONY EXPRESS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>As western settlement progressed after the purchase of the Louisiana
+territory from France in 1803, it gradually extended up the west side of
+the Mississippi, until the State of Missouri was admitted into the Union,
+in 1820, which was followed by the States of Iowa and Minnesota, along the
+line of the Mississippi, and Kansas and Nebraska, on the Missouri. The
+Mexican War occurred in 1846, and as one of its fruits California was ceded
+to the United States, and was admitted to the Union in 1850. The territory
+which now composes the States of Washington, Oregon and Idaho was finally
+determined to belong to our country by the treaty with Great Britain, which
+was signed July 17, 1846, fixing the boundary line between us and the
+British possessions at the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude. These
+extreme western acquisitions gave us an immense coast line on the Pacific
+Ocean, leaving a stretch of country between our Pacific and central
+possessions, on the Missouri, of considerably over two thousand miles in
+extent, which was uninhabited by whites, and composed the hunting grounds
+of many savage tribes of Indians and the pasture ranges of countless herds
+of buffalo. This vast area of country was practically unknown and
+unexplored, although it had been crossed by the expeditions of Lewis and
+Clark, in 1805-1806, John Jacob Astor in 1811, Captain Bonneville in 1832,
+Marcus Whitman in 1836, and John C. Fremont in 1843, to which sources of
+information may be added the prejudiced reports of the Hudson Bay Company.</p>
+
+<p>When California was ceded to us by Mexico, very little was thought of it as
+an acquisition to our posses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>sions. It was looked upon as a country out of
+which a small trade in hides and tallow might grow, but nothing more. I
+have heard it denounced on the floor of the house of representatives, in
+Washington, by some of the wisest statesmen of the day, as a bear garden,
+unfit for the use of civilized man; but prophets usually make bad work of
+matters about which they know absolutely nothing, which was the case with
+California in 1848. However, adventurous spirits soon found their way
+there, as they have always done in Western America, and in 1848 or 1849
+gold was found accidentally by Captain Sutter, in digging a mill-race on
+his ranch, which discovery at once settled the status and fortunes of
+California. The news soon reached the States, and spread like a prairie
+fire on a windy day. All the subsequent gold excitements of Frazier river,
+down to and including the Klondike, have been insignificant in comparison.
+I was in New York at the time, and used to sit on the East river wharves,
+and see the ships sailing away for distant California with an insatiable
+boyish longing to join in the procession.</p>
+
+<p>There was no way of reaching the promised land except by a voyage around
+Cape Horn or an overland trip from western Missouri across the great
+American desert, the Rocky and Sierra Nevada ranges of mountains, either of
+which routes necessitated a weary and dangerous trip of nine months'
+duration. The usual plan adopted in the East was to form a company of about
+one hundred or more men, calculate the probable expense to each, and divide
+it, purchase an old whaling ship, fit her up with bunks and cooking
+appliances, and get an outfit and sail. Of course, there was nothing
+involved in the enterprise but the departure, the voyage and the arrival at
+San Francisco. No steamer had ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> crossed the ocean at this time, and all
+navigation was done in sailing ships. So great was the rush that a scarcity
+of ships was soon felt. I remember distinctly on one occasion, when an old
+played-out vessel, purchased by a party which proposed to take out a
+printing press and start the first newspaper, was seized by the maritime
+authorities and condemned as unseaworthy just as she was leaving port. The
+next morning she was gone, and made one of the quickest and most successful
+voyages of the emigration. It is a curious fact that, out of all the ships
+that enlisted in this hazardous enterprise, not one was lost or seriously
+damaged.</p>
+
+<p>The overland route involved more dangers and hardships than the one by sea.
+Many people died on the way from exhaustion and disease, and many were
+killed by the Indians, but the emigration never ceased, or even lessened,
+from these reasons. I have followed the trails made by these emigrants in
+the Sierra Nevadas, and it seemed almost impossible that animals could have
+climbed the precipitous mountain slopes they encountered. These hardships,
+however, did not go unrewarded, because to enjoy the distinction of being a
+"Forty-niner" was ever afterwards a badge of nobility on the Pacific Coast.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long, under this vast influx of immigration, before California
+became a well settled state, and its business relations with the rest of
+the country, or as it was then called, "The States," became very extensive
+and important, and the difficulty of intercommunication was seriously felt.
+There were no telegraphs and no railroads, and no way for business men to
+correspond with each other except across a continent on wheels or around a
+continent by sea. What was to be done? It did not take the genius of
+American enterprise long to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> solve the problem. The overland immigration
+and its incidents had developed a class of men skilled in horsemanship,
+Indian fighting, and all the accomplishments that attend the latter, such
+as courage, wary intelligence, and a peculiar sagacity in trailing and
+scouting, only learned by intercourse with wild animals and wild men. Such
+men, for instance, as Col. Wm. Cody, now celebrated as "Buffalo Bill," and
+Robert Haslam, distinguished as "Pony Bob," are its best representatives.
+This class of men much resembled the rough riders of to-day, and could be
+relied upon for any enterprise that involved adventure, courage and
+endurance. At the same time, the country was not lacking in a higher degree
+of intellect which could conceive a project that would call into play the
+utmost ability of this class of men.</p>
+
+<p>California had been, and I think was, in 1860, represented in the senate of
+the United States by Senator Guin, who was associated with Alexander Majors
+and Daniel E. Phelps in transportation matters. They conceived the project
+of reducing the time between the Pacific Coast and the States by the
+establishment of an express, from St. Joseph, on the Missouri river, to
+Sacramento in California, a distance of about two thousand miles, which was
+to carry special business mails, together with light and valuable express
+matter, by means of ponies, ridden by young men rapidly for short
+distances, between the two points. Of course, this scheme involved an
+immense expenditure for stations all along the route, horses and men to
+ride them, and all other elements that would necessarily enter into the
+scheme. The matter was discussed fully at both ends of the route, and found
+many advocates and much opposition. The most experienced plainsmen and
+mountaineers pronounced it impracticable, on account of the dangers to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> be
+met with, and the opinion was expressed that no package risked on this line
+would ever reach its destination, and that all the riders would be murdered
+before a test could be made. Sense and experience seemed to uphold these
+views. It must be remembered that the whole distance was a wilderness of
+desert and mountain ranges, little known, and infested with the most savage
+Indian tribes on the continent, the relations of which with the whites were
+either unsettled or hostile. But, nothing daunted, the projectors decided
+to carry out their design, win or lose. They purchased six hundred Texas
+bronchos, built all the necessary stations, employed all the men required
+to operate and defend them, and secured seventy-five riders from the
+adventurous men found on the borders. The wages paid the riders were from
+$125 to $150 a month, with rations, and singular as it may seem to people
+of to-day, these positions were much sought for. Danger among this class of
+men has an irresistible fascination, and writing about it recalls an
+incident which verifies the assertion fully. When I lived in Carson City,
+Nev., the office of sheriff of Ormsby county, in which Carson was situated,
+was the most coveted position in the gift of the people, and it was well
+known that there never was an incumbent of it who had not died in his
+boots.</p>
+
+<p>The whole arrangement was perfected with western rapidity, and the first
+pony started from St. Joseph in Missouri on the third day of April, 1860.
+On the same day and hour the western pony started from Sacramento in
+California. The distance between the stations was about forty miles, and
+was ridden in the shortest time possible. Two minutes were allowed for
+refreshments and change of horses. Each rider carried about ten pounds, and
+the freight charged for the full distance was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> five dollars an ounce. The
+line was maintained successfully for about two years, without any
+interruption more serious than the occasional killing of a rider by the
+Indians, when, in June, 1862, the first transcontinental telegraph went
+into operation, and the pony express, being no longer profitable, yielded,
+as many other things have since, to the all-conquering invader,
+electricity.</p>
+
+<p>The first pony carried from the president of the United States a
+congratulatory message to the governor of California. The best time ever
+made between the two extreme points was when the last message of President
+Buchanan reached Sacramento in eight and one-half days from Washington. It
+seems almost incredible that such time could have been made with animals,
+when we reflect that the first expedition sent out by Mr. Astor, was eleven
+months in crossing the continent.</p>
+
+<p>The pony express was a success financially to its projectors, and satisfied
+the hungering of the people for news from points so distant from each
+other, and immensely facilitated the transaction of business; but, in my
+opinion, it was most important in demonstrating that the western American
+never shrinks from encountering and overcoming obstacles that to most
+people would seem insurmountable.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span><a name="KISSING_DAY" id="KISSING_DAY"></a>KISSING DAY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Sioux Indian is an exceptionally fine specimen of physical manhood. His
+whole method of life tends to this result. He lives in the open air. He may
+be said to be born with arms in his hands. From the moment he is old enough
+to draw a bowstring, he commences warfare on birds and small animals. As he
+advances to manhood, he becomes familiar with the use of firearms, and
+extends his warfare to the buffalo and the larger animals. He rides on
+horseback from infancy, and excels as a daring horseman. He goes on the
+warpath when half-grown, and learns strategy from the wolf and the panther.
+He is a meat eater, which diet conduces to the growth of a lean, muscular,
+athletic frame, and a bold and highly spirited temperament. He is taught to
+spurn labor of any kind as unmanly, and only fit for women. His life
+occupation is, in the language of the old school histories and geographies,
+"hunting, fishing and war," in each and all of which accomplishments he
+becomes surpassingly expert.</p>
+
+<p>I attribute the superiority of the Sioux over many other tribes to their
+meat diet and their method of transportation&mdash;the horse. This peculiarity
+has been noticed by travellers and historians for many years. There is an
+old and true adage which says, "We are what we eat." Washington Irving, in
+his story of "Astoria," says in regard to this subject:</p>
+
+<p>"The effect of different modes of life upon the human frame and human
+character is strikingly instanced in the contrast between the hunting
+Indians of the prairies and the piscatory Indians of the sea coast. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>
+former, continually on horseback, scouring the plains, gaining their food
+by hardy exercise, and subsisting chiefly on flesh, are generally sinewy,
+tall, meagre, but well formed and of bold and fierce deportment. The
+latter, lounging about the river banks, or squatting or curved up in their
+canoes, are generally low in stature, ill-shaped, with crooked legs, thick
+ankles, and broad flat feet. They are inferior also in muscular power and
+activity, and in game qualities and appearance, to their hard-riding
+brethren of the prairies."</p>
+
+<p>The general habits of the Sioux warrior tend to make him lordly, proud, and
+somewhat taciturn and morose, although he is not without a strong sense of
+humor. He is a good husband and indulgent father, but not at all
+demonstrative in his affections. Very little billing and cooing is
+noticeable among the nearest relations, and none between lovers. A kiss is
+regarded more as a ceremony than an endearment.</p>
+
+<p>In the natural and savage state of these people, they counted time by moons
+and seasons, having no division of years, and, of course, knew nothing of
+our red letter days of Christmas or New Year's,&mdash;but after the advent of
+the Christian missionaries among them, they were taught to understand the
+meaning of New Year's day, and to recognize its arrival, and to distinguish
+it they called it "Kissing Day," everybody being expected to bestow a kiss
+upon his or her friends in honor of the day.</p>
+
+<p>In 1857 I lived among the Sioux, having them in charge as their agent,
+appointed by the United States government, and when New Year's day came
+around, I found myself at the Yellow Medicine Agency, but was ignorant of
+their peculiar ceremonies for the occasion. I proposed to make the best of
+my isolation from my kind, and spend the day as pleasantly as
+circumstances<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> would permit. While debating the subject of what to do, I
+was informed of the way the Indians celebrated the event, and told that I
+would probably be called upon by a numerous delegation of squaws, and that
+it would be expected that I should receive them by the bestowal of some
+sort of present. Not wishing to be ungallant, and desiring to gain
+information of the customs and manners of my savage wards, I ordered my
+baker to prepare several barrels of ginger bread, and purchased many yards
+of gaily colored calico, which I had cut into proper pieces for women's
+dresses, and with this outfit, prepared to meet the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>At this point I will say a word about the Sioux girl and woman. As a
+general thing, the very young girl is by nature pretty and attractive. I
+have seen many at the age of thirteen and fourteen who had graceful
+figures, good carriage, and very beautiful faces; but they marry very
+young, and as soon as married become pack-horses for their husbands,
+carrying loads on their backs, by means of a head strap across the
+forehead, that it takes two men to lift from the ground, and very often
+when thus loaded babies, puppies, and many other things, will be put on top
+of the pack. They will trudge fifteen or twenty miles a day with this
+burden, bending forward, and staggering under its weight. The result is to
+spoil the figure and gait, and deprive them of every semblance of beauty.
+The awkward walk produced by this hard labor we used to call "The Dakota
+shamble." Under this treatment they soon look old, and become wrinkled, and
+are called "Wakonkas," which might be translated to mean old witches.</p>
+
+<p>With this visitation in prospect, I awaited quietly their coming. About ten
+in the morning they began to assemble about the agency in groups of all
+sizes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> ages. I could hear a great deal of giggling among the girls, and
+scolding by the elder women. They were apparently selecting someone to
+break the ice by making the first assault. Presently a venerable dame
+opened the door, and sidled in like a crab. She approached me and kissed me
+on both cheeks, and received her presents. Then they followed in a line,
+old and young, pretty and ugly, each giving me a hearty kiss, which, in
+some cases, I returned with interest. The ceremony continued with great
+hilarity and much frolicksome tittering and fun, until forty-eight squaws
+had kissed and been kissed by me. They all carried off their presents and
+seemed very happy. Whether it was all caused by the presents or not, I am
+unable to say, but I was not the grizzled old fellow then that I have since
+become. I have celebrated a good many New Year's days, both before and
+since, but none have left a more agreeable impression than the one I have
+described. I have never known the exact figures of Hobson's Kansas
+experience, nor can I make a just comparison between the Sioux and the
+Kansas article, but from the general reputation of that state, I would
+recommend the caress of the untutored aborigines.</p>
+
+<p>If Hobson ever reads this story he will have to admit that there were
+others.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span><a name="A_POLITICAL_RUSE" id="A_POLITICAL_RUSE"></a>A POLITICAL RUSE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>All people who keep the run of politics will remember that the Republican
+party, now called the "Grand Old Party" (I suppose on account of its
+extreme youth), had its birth in the year 1854, after the death of the Whig
+party, and succeeded to the position in American politics formerly occupied
+by the Whigs, with a strong tinge of abolition added. It was, of course,
+largely recruited from the Whigs, but had quite formidable acquisitions
+from the Free-soil Democrats. It sprang into prominence and power with
+phenomenal rapidity, coming very near to electing a president in 1856, and
+succeeding in 1860. Minnesota resisted the attractions of the new party,
+and remained Democratic until 1857, when the first state election occurred,
+and the whole Democratic state ticket was elected. Since then the Democrats
+have never succeeded in our state, unless the election of Governor Lind in
+1898 may be called a Democratic victory.</p>
+
+<p>It was very natural that the politicians who had joined the new party
+should be exceedingly zealous and enthusiastic for its success. Such is
+usually the case, and verifies the old proverb, that "A converted Turk
+makes the best Christian." This phase of political tendencies was fully
+illustrated by the conduct of my old friend, Mr. James W. Lynd of
+Henderson, more familiarly known by us as "Jim Lynd," which occurred at the
+election of 1856, and forms the text for the present story.</p>
+
+<p>In the early days of the territory much had been said, and generally
+believed, about frauds being perpetrated by the Democrats in the elections
+on the frontier. For instance, it was asserted that, at Pembina and the
+Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> agencies, one pair of pantaloons would suffice to civilize several
+hundred Indians, as, by putting them on, and thus adopting the customs and
+habits of civilization, they would be entitled to vote. There never was
+much truth about these rumors, and being on the border, and having charge
+of an Indian agency, where hundreds of men were employed, I knew a good
+deal about how these matters were conducted, and I can conscientiously say
+that there never was much truth in them. The nearest approach to a
+violation of the election laws that I ever discovered was at Pembina, and
+that was free from any intention of fraud. It would come about in this way:
+Election day would arrive, the polls would open, and everybody who was at
+home would vote. It would then occur to some one that Baptiste La Cour or
+Alexis La Tour had not voted, and the question would be asked, why? It
+would be discovered that they were out on a buffalo hunt, and the judges
+would say, "We all know how they would vote if they were here," and they
+would be put down as voting the Democratic ticket. Of course, this would be
+a violation of the election laws, but who can say that it was not the
+expression of an honest intention by a simple people. While I cannot
+approve such methods in an election where the law and the necessities of
+civilization require the voter to be present, I cannot avoid the wish that
+we were all honest enough to make such a course possible as the one adopted
+by these simple border people.</p>
+
+<p>The Republicans being the "outs" and the Democrats being the "ins," of
+course all the frauds were charged to the latter, and every movement of
+either party was watched with zealous scrutiny. The law governing the
+qualification of voters provided that soldiers enlisted in other states or
+territories, coming into Minnesota under military orders, did not gain a
+residence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> and citizens of Minnesota enlisting in the army did not lose
+their residence or right to vote as long as they remained in the territory.
+It so happened, in 1856 or 1857, that there were at Fort Ridgely a number
+of recruits who had enlisted in the territory, and had not lost their right
+to vote; but there was no precinct or place to vote where they could
+exercise their privilege. Knowing that they were Democrats, we had a
+polling place established at the "Lone Cottonwood Tree," a point about
+three miles above Fort Ridgely, for the purpose of saving these votes.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, it soon became known throughout the valley, and my friend Jim
+Lynd, who resided at Henderson, about fifty miles down the river, conceived
+the idea that it was the intention to vote the whole garrison for the
+Democrats, and he determined to checkmate it by challenging every soldier
+who cast his vote, laboring, as he did, under the erroneous impression that
+an enlistment in the army disqualified the soldiers as voters. So when the
+election day arrived, Jim, who had walked all the way from Henderson, was
+on the ground early, fully determined to exclude all soldiers from voting.</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that I was at my Indian agency, at Redwood, and on the
+morning of the election was to start for St. Paul. The agency was about ten
+miles up the river from the "Lone Tree," and, starting early in the
+morning, brought me to the voting place about the time the polls were
+opened. I knew everybody in the valley and everybody knew me, and we never
+passed each other on the road without a stop and a chat. When I arrived at
+the polls all hands came out to greet me, and after the usual inquiries as
+to how the election was progressing, the judges told me that Lynd had
+challenged the first soldier who offered his vote, and they, being in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>
+doubt as to the law, had agreed to leave it to me. I gave my version of it,
+but Lynd still disputed it, and insisted that an enlistment in the army
+disqualified the man as a voter. Being unable to convince him, I, with a
+significant wink to the judges, suggested that he should get into my wagon
+and go down to the post (where I knew the sutler had a copy of the
+statutes), and we could readily settle the controversy. He consented
+willingly to this proposition, and we started for the post. When we
+arrived, I gave my team to the quartermaster's sergeant, and we looked up
+the law in the sutler's store. I then began a game of billiards with some
+of the officers, and accepted an invitation to lunch. As noon approached,
+Lynd began to show signs of impatience, and he asked me when I proposed to
+take him back to the polls. I quietly informed him that my route lay in the
+opposite direction, and that I would not go back at all. Instantly it
+flashed upon him that I had taken him away from the polls for a purpose,
+and he fled like a scared deer over the road we had just travelled, leaving
+me to pursue my journey alone in the other direction. I afterwards learned
+that in the interval between Lynd's departure and return, all the soldiers
+had voted the Democratic ticket without challenge or obstruction. Whether
+my friend Lynd walked back to Henderson or not, I never certainly
+ascertained. I was sufficiently satisfied with the success of my ruse not
+to desire to inflict any discomfort on my dear enemy.</p>
+
+<p>This was the only political trick I remember of having perpetrated on the
+enemy during my long participation in active politics, and I don't believe
+any of my readers will regard it as transgressing the proverb that "all is
+fair in love or war."</p>
+
+<p>My friend Lynd was, like most of the characters in my frontier experience,
+killed by the Indians in the outbreak of 1862.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span><a name="THE_HARDSHIPS_OF_EARLY_LAW_PRACTICE" id="THE_HARDSHIPS_OF_EARLY_LAW_PRACTICE"></a>THE HARDSHIPS OF EARLY LAW PRACTICE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Prior to 1855 the public lands of Minnesota were unsurveyed, and no title
+could be acquired to them. About that time, however, four United States
+land districts were established, with a land office in each of them. The
+districts were straight tracts of country extending from the Mississippi
+due west to the Missouri, the exterior lines of which were parallel to each
+other. The offices were at Brownsville, Winona, Red Wing and Minneapolis. I
+was then living in Traverse des Sioux, which place, together with Mankato,
+fell within the Winona district, so that any land business we had in our
+region of the country compelled a trip to Winona, a distance of nearly
+three hundred miles by water, or one hundred and fifty by land. After the
+closing of the rivers by winter there was no other way of getting there
+except to journey across the country.</p>
+
+<p>At the time I refer to there was little or no settlement between Traverse
+des Sioux and Winona, and no roads. I remember that there were one or two
+settlers on the Straight river, where now stands Owatonna, and about the
+same number on the Zumbro, where now is Rochester, and one house at a point
+called Utica, about fifty miles west of Winona, and a small settlement at
+Stockton, on a trout stream which flows through the bluffs a few miles west
+of Winona. The latter place, being on the Mississippi and easy of access,
+was quite a flourishing town.</p>
+
+<p>That fall I had been elected to the upper house of the territorial
+legislature, called the council, and the news<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> reached us that there would
+be a contested seat in the council from some district in the southern part
+of the territory, but we had no particulars as to the locality or the
+person, and gave the matter very little attention.</p>
+
+<p>A controversy had arisen between parties at Mankato as to the right to
+enter a quarter section of land which was part of the town site, and
+ultimately became a very valuable part of the city. I represented one side
+of the fight, but cannot recall the name of my adversary. It was customary
+in those days to lump matters by making up a party of those who had claims
+to prove up before the land office, and act as witnesses for each other. On
+the occasion of this Mankato contest we formed two parties, one from
+Mankato and one from Traverse, and started with two teams, on wheels, there
+being no snow, and the first day we reached a point in the woods, somewhere
+near the present town of Elysian, and there camped. When morning opened on
+us we found the ground covered with from twelve to fifteen inches of snow,
+which made it impossible to proceed further with our wagons. We did not
+hesitate, but accepted the only alternative that presented itself, and
+decided to foot it to Winona. We travelled light in those days, carrying
+only some blankets and a change of clothes. We <i>cached</i> our wagons in the
+timber, packed our animals with our impedimenta, and started. Such a tramp
+would seem appalling at the present time, but we were all accustomed to
+hardships, and were equipped with good Red River winter moccasins, two or
+three stout flannel shirts, and thought very little of the undertaking. We
+drove the horses ahead of us to aid in making a trail, and made pretty good
+progress. I think it took us about five days to accomplish the journey,
+which we did without suffering, or even being seriously incommoded, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> we
+found shelter at the Straight river, the Zumbro, Utica, and Stockton.</p>
+
+<p>An amusing and interesting incident happened the night we arrived at Utica
+which, as I have said, consisted of one small log house. Our march that day
+had been a long and tiresome one, and I felt as if a good drink of whisky
+would be very supporting and acceptable, our supplies in that line having
+become exhausted by reason of the unexpected length of time consumed in our
+journey; but the prospect of getting one was anything but promising. While
+revolving the subject in my mind, and having all my faculties concentrated
+on the much desired end, I, by some accident, learned that the proprietor
+of the shanty was a doctor. At this discovery my hopes went up several
+degrees, and I determined to test his medicine chest. Putting on a look of
+utter exhaustion, with both my hands on my abdomen, and assuming the most
+plaintive voice I could muster, I said: "Doctor, I have made a long march
+to-day, and feel utterly broken up; have you not some spirits in your
+medicine chest that you could prescribe for me? I am sure it would be a
+great relief." He looked me over with suspicion, and said: "No, I am an
+herb doctor." I felt that my fate was sealed for the night, and prepared to
+seek my couch on the softest plank I could find, between the two men who
+looked the warmest of the party. While thus preparing my <i>toilette de
+nuit</i>, in a state of mind bordering on desperation, I heard the jingling of
+sleigh-bells, and a team dash up to the door, from which debarked two men,
+each comfortably full, followed by hand-bags, blankets and a two-gallon
+demijohn. They said they had driven from Winona that day, and would stay
+all night. They ordered supper, and while it was in course of preparation,
+indulged in a good deal of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> banter back and forth. Of course, I had formed
+the determination of becoming acquainted with the contents of that demijohn
+in some way, by fair means or foul, and became deeply interested in their
+conversation, looking for a favorable chance to carry my point. I noticed
+that one of them was very boastful about what he was going to do when the
+legislature met, and the other saying to him that "he would not be there
+three days before they would kick him out and send him home." At these
+words, it flashed across my mind that this must be the man whose seat was
+contested, and, waiting for a proper opportunity, when his friend was
+loudest in his assertions that he would not remain long in the legislature,
+I put in my oar, and said: "Maybe I will have something to say about that."
+In an instant the legislator gave me a most scrutinizing look, and said:
+"Are you in the legislature?" I said "Yes." "In which house?" he inquired.
+"In the council," I answered. I saw the man was bright and intelligent, and
+it was a study to watch the workings of his mind while debating to himself
+how I would be affected by his condition, whether favorably or otherwise.
+Having weighed the matter carefully, he showed his experience and good
+judgment of character by saying: "My friend, won't you take a drink?" From
+what I have said, it is unnecessary to record my answer. We spent the
+greater part of the night in pleasant social intercourse, drawing
+inspiration from the depths of the demijohn, which had seemed so far
+removed from my grasp but a short time before.</p>
+
+<p>The man was the famous Bill Lowry, from the Rochester district. This
+incident made us sworn friends for life, and singular as it may seem, when
+the legislature convened, I found myself chairman of the committee on
+contested elections in the council. It is unnecessary to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span> go into the
+details of the contest. Suffice it to say that the contestant had a very
+weak case, and Lowry performed all he had boasted that he would do on that
+eventful night in Utica.</p>
+
+<p>We were engaged in trying our suit at Winona for several days. Captain
+Upman was the register of the land office, and presided at the trial. The
+captain was a jolly old German from Milwaukee, and a fairly good drinker.
+There was a building in the town which had been a church, but by the
+intervention of the evil one, had been turned into a saloon, and was
+popularly known as "The Church." This was the captain's favorite resort
+when thirsty, which physical condition occurred quite frequently, and he
+would always say on such occasions: "The bells are ringing; come, boys, we
+must go to church. It is unlawful to try cases on Sunday."</p>
+
+<p>What influences dominated, I don't pretend to say, but I won for my client
+three forties of the quarter section in dispute. We returned home the way
+we went down,&mdash;on foot,&mdash;with the exception that at Stockton we constructed
+a small sleigh, sufficient to carry our baggage, which much relieved the
+animals. My client offered me one of the forty-acre tracts for my fee, but
+I declined, and accepted a twenty dollar gold piece for my services. The
+land which I refused became worth a quarter of a million of dollars a few
+years afterwards, but I had a good deal of fun out of the adventure, and
+never regretted the outcome.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span><a name="TEMPERANCE_AT_TRAVERSE" id="TEMPERANCE_AT_TRAVERSE"></a>TEMPERANCE AT TRAVERSE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The first members of the judiciary of the Territory of Minnesota were Aaron
+Goodrich, chief justice; Bradley B. Meeker and David Cooper, associates,
+who were appointed in 1849. They were Whigs, and held their positions until
+a change of administration gave the Democrats the power, when William H.
+Welch became chief justice, with Andrew G. Chatfield and Moses Sherburne as
+associates. The last named judges were in office when I arrived in the
+territory, in 1853. Judge Chatfield presided mostly over the courts held on
+the west side of the Mississippi. I made my residence at Traverse des
+Sioux, in Nicollet county, which was within the territory purchased from
+the Sioux Indians by the treaty of 1851, proclaimed in 1853. The fifth
+article of this treaty kept in force, within the territory ceded, all the
+laws of the United States prohibiting the introduction and sale of
+spirituous liquors in the Indian country, commonly known as the trade and
+intercourse laws. Of course, this inhibition was intended to prevent liquor
+getting to the Indians, but as the country began to be inhabited by whites,
+many of the new comers regarded it as infringing upon their rights and
+privileges, and serious questions arose as to whether the treaty-making
+power had any jurisdiction of such questions after the country was opened
+to white settlement. The courts, however, held the exclusion valid, and
+indictments were occasionally found against the violators of these laws.
+Traverse des Sioux was a missionary center, and the feeling against the
+liquor traffic was very strong, but, as it always has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> been, and probably
+always will be, men were found ready to invade the sacred precincts for the
+expected profits, and a saloon or two were established in defiance of law
+and public sentiment.</p>
+
+<p>The judges were empowered to appoint the terms of court where and when
+there was any probable necessity for them, and the sheriff would summon a
+grand or petit jury as the business seemed to require. The United States
+marshal was Colonel Irwin, and the United States district attorney was
+Colonel Dustin, both of whom lived in St. Paul, and, as a general thing,
+there were no county attorneys in the different counties. When a term of
+court was to be held in my county, or any of the adjacent ones, the marshal
+would send me a deputation to represent him, and a bag of gold to pay the
+jurors and witnesses; the United States attorney would empower me to appear
+for him, and on the opening of the court, the judge would enter an order
+appointing me prosecuting attorney for the county so the judge and I would
+constitute the entire force, federal and territorial, judicial and
+administrative. If I procured an indictment against a party at one term, in
+my capacity of prosecutor, and the regular attorney should appear at the
+next term, it was more than likely that I would be retained to defend;
+which would look a little irregular at the present time, but as there was
+no other attorney but me, as a usual thing, no questions were asked.</p>
+
+<p>At a very early day, a party not having the fear of the law or public
+opinion before him opened a saloon at Traverse des Sioux, much to the
+dismay and indignation of the religious element of the community, and went
+to selling whisky to the other element. The next grand jury indicted him,
+but, before a court convened that could try him, a squad composed of the
+temperance peo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>ple headed by the sheriff, attacked his place, and
+demolished his contraband stores. Being determined to test the question of
+his rights, he sued the attacking party, and I was retained to defend them.
+I devised the plea that the country was full of savage Indians, whose
+passions became inflamed by whisky, which made them dangerous to the lives
+of the whites, and that saloons were consequently a nuisance which anyone
+had a right to abate. The case was tried before Judge Chatfield, and my
+clients were vindicated. Of course, the suit created a great sensation, not
+only on account of the feeling engendered, but because of the novel
+questions involved, and in due course of time the temperance ladies of the
+county sent to New York and purchased a handsome combination gold pen and
+pencil, with a jewelled head, and had it inscribed, "Charles E. Flandrau:
+Defender of the Right." They also procured a handsome family Bible for the
+sheriff. When all was ready, they held a public meeting, and made the
+presentations, which were accompanied by the usual speeches. These
+ceremonies occurred in the latter part of the year 1854, or early in 1855,
+and in the meantime a small newspaper, called the <i>St. Peter Courier</i>, had
+been established to boom the city, which contained an elaborate account of
+the proceedings, together with all the speeches, and diligently circulated
+them throughout the East, where they were caught up by Horace Greely, in
+his <i>Tribune</i>, and many other papers, and repeated under the head of "Moral
+Suasion in Minnesota," and came back to us enlarged and improved.</p>
+
+<p>Should I end the story here, it would leave me in the possession and
+enjoyment of virtues which I cannot conscientiously claim as my own, and
+would deprive the tale of its best and only amusing point; so as a faithful
+nar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>rator, I feel in duty bound to tell the other side of it.</p>
+
+<p>In due course of events the trial of the indictment against the
+saloonkeeper came on to be heard, and I was acting as prosecuting attorney.
+Of course, I had to prove that the prisoner had introduced liquor into the
+Indian country, and, to do so, I called a French half-breed who I knew
+frequented the place, and after the preliminary questions, this examination
+followed:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"Q. Joe, were you ever in this saloon?</p>
+
+<p>"A. Yes, many a time.</p>
+
+<p>"Q. Did you ever buy and drink any liquor in there?</p>
+
+<p>"A. Yes, many a time.</p>
+
+<p>"Q. Did you see anyone else buy and drink liquor in there?</p>
+
+<p>"A. Yes, many a time.</p>
+
+<p>"Q. Who was it?</p>
+
+<p>"A. I have seen you do it lots of times."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of course, the laugh was heavily against me, but I sat, as stoical as an
+Indian, and quietly asked him: "Anyone else, Joe?"</p>
+
+<p>I have forgotten whether the suit terminated in conviction or acquittal,
+but I never think of it without a good laugh at the way the witness turned
+the tables on me, and am also reminded of what my old friend, Van Lowry,
+from the Winnebago country, once said of me: "That Flandrau is one of the
+most singular men I ever knew. He invariably makes a temperance speech over
+his whisky."</p>
+
+<p>The gold pen with the jewelled head reposes among my frontier treasures,
+carefully wrapped up in several editorials cut from eastern papers,
+extolling my virtues as an apostle of temperance.</p>
+
+<p>Moral: Don't believe everything you read in the papers.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span><a name="WIN-NE-MUC-CAS_GOLD_MINE" id="WIN-NE-MUC-CAS_GOLD_MINE"></a>WIN-NE-MUC-CA'S GOLD MINE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Every one who has lived in a mining country in its early periods, before
+its resources had been prospected and pretty well defined, will recall the
+fact that stories and rumors of a mysterious mine of great richness, which
+exists somewhere, are always in circulation. The discoverer of this mine is
+either dead, without having revealed its exact location, or it is known
+only to the Indians, who are compelled to secrecy by awful oaths, or fear
+of death from their chief or members of their band. At any rate, there is
+always a profound mystery connected with the hidden treasure, that envelops
+it with a tinge of romance and a spice of danger to those who seek to break
+the spell and lift the veil. There is also just enough known about it,
+which has leaked out through some obscure channel, to lend some slight
+probability to the story, and many have been the attempts to discover the
+bonanza by credulous and adventurous miners, but ever without success.</p>
+
+<p>When I was living in Nevada, in 1864, I became closely associated with an
+old Mormon by the name of Rose. He had been a settler in the Washoe valley
+long before the discovery of the rich silver mines at Virginia City, known
+as the Comstock lode, and necessarily at a time when no one inhabited the
+country but Mormons and Indians. The principal tribe of Indians were the
+Piutes, whose head chief was Win-ne-muc-ca. These Indians inhabited the
+country around Pyramid lake, about a hundred miles to the northeast of
+Carson City, where I resided. Rose was known to have been an in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>timate
+friend of Win-ne-muc-ca in times past, and to have performed some important
+service for him, which had placed the chief under lasting obligations to
+him, and rumor said that in compensation he had disclosed to Rose the
+whereabouts of the most valuable gold mine on all the Pacific Coast, and
+that Rose was the only white man who knew anything about it. The truth of
+these rumors was fortified by the existence of three old and abandoned
+arrastras and a twenty-five foot overshot waterwheel, which had evidently
+been erected to drive the arrastras, that stood on one of the back streets
+of Carson City, and were known to have been constructed by Rose, and as
+there was no stream in the neighborhood to propel the arrastras, it was
+generally believed that, when Rose built these works, he had a mine, the
+ore of which was so rich that he could bring it on pack animals, crush it
+with these machines, and divert a stream to propel them. As quite a large
+sum had been expended on these works, it was evident that they were
+intended to carry out some such purpose, which had been interrupted for
+sufficient reasons. At any rate, I caught the mine fever, and after many
+conferences with Rose, I and my associates, William S. Chapman and Judge
+Atwater, got far enough into his confidence to obtain an admission from him
+that he knew the exact location of the mysterious mine, the secret of which
+he had learned from Win-ne-muc-ca, and dare not disclose without the
+consent of that chieftain, but he assured us that it was fabulously rich.
+It was then learned that the mine was within the limits of the Piute
+reservation, and even if we had the consent of the Indians to work it, we
+would not be allowed to do so by the United States government. Here were
+presented two formidable obstacles, but we were so well satisfied that we
+had a fortune within call that we determined to remove them both.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>Our first operations were upon Win-ne-muc-ca, whom we proposed to conquer
+by presents and flattery, and succeeded to the extent of eliciting from him
+a promise that, if we could obtain permission from the United States
+government to enter upon the reservation and work the mine, he would
+disclose its whereabouts. All I can say about this branch of the case is,
+that with a great deal of delicate and masterly diplomacy, in which the
+interests of the Indians formed the principal argument used, we secured the
+desired permission, and prepared for an expedition to the mine.</p>
+
+<p>It is as well here to say, for the benefit of the uninitiated, that all
+such operations are conducted with the greatest secrecy and mystery,
+because should it be discovered that any such enterprise was on foot its
+projectors would be watched day and night, and followed to their
+destination by half the community.</p>
+
+<p>The government sent out a representative to see that the interests of the
+Indians were properly protected, and we got ready to start. The agent of
+the government was also charged to look up and report upon the progress of
+a mill for the Piutes, for which large appropriations had been made, and
+which was supposed to be situated on the rapids of the Truckey river, which
+is the outlet of Lake Tahoe, and runs about northeast in the direction of
+the Piute reservation, along the course to be followed by us. I mention
+this fact only in order to bring into the story the terse and witty report
+of the agent, said to have been made about his discoveries regarding the
+mill. He said: "He found a dam by a mill site, but he didn't find any mill
+by a damn sight."</p>
+
+<p>Our outfit consisted of a light farm wagon with a four mule team, which we
+procured from two Mormon brothers, who lived in the Washoe valley, and
+were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> skilled guides all over Nevada, both of whom we took along as guides,
+cooks, and to drive and care for the team. Rose took along a pony, which we
+led, and the government agent, old Rose and myself formed the passenger
+list. We were supplied with eatables and drinkables for a long campaign,
+but as it rains but once a year in that country, we never encumbered
+ourselves on a march with tents, except in the rainy season. In fact, the
+ground between the sage bushes and grease-wood trees is so dry and clean
+that you don't need even blankets or robes to sleep on, but they are
+usually carried.</p>
+
+<p>Our course lay down the valley of the Truckey river to its big bend, where
+Rose was to leave us and go to Pyramid lake for Win-ne-muc-ca. We
+accomplished this part of the journey, a distance of about one hundred
+miles, in three days, without any special incident, except on one occasion,
+when we were rounding a projecting point in the river, on a ledge of rocks,
+some driftwood got entangled with the legs of our leading mules, and came
+very near dumping us all into the boiling and rushing current, which would
+inevitably have drowned the whole party; but we reached our destination
+safely. At the big bend, which is now one of the principal stations on the
+Central Pacific Railroad, we found a spacious piece of bottom land, well
+supplied with grass for our animals, and a clump of six tall stately
+cottonwood trees, presenting an inviting place to camp, which we accepted
+as our resting place.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning Rose mounted his pony and started for the lake, saying he
+would return in a couple of days with the chief, who would guide us to the
+mine&mdash;and fortune. The government agent was an old friend of mine, a
+California forty-niner, and a most companionable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> fellow. The Mormons were
+excellent cooks, and most efficient camp men. We had abundant camp
+supplies, supplemented with fine fish brought to us by the Indians, so we
+settled down for a delightful rest. Every night the men would make a
+cheerful crackling fire of dry driftwood from the river, hobble the mules,
+and fall asleep for the night, leaving us to enjoy the soft summer air and
+brilliant moonlight, while discussing our future plans when possessed of
+the boundless wealth that only awaited the coming of Rose and the chief.
+Before retiring for the night, which only meant lying down on a blanket, we
+usually reclined each against a tree, with a demijohn between us, and by
+the time sleep overcame us the fortunes of Cr[oe]sus, Astor and Vanderbilt
+combined were mere trifles compared with our anticipated wealth, for were
+we not to be soon endowed with the magic touch of Midas!</p>
+
+<p>We revelled in our repose, seasoned with the exaltation of hope and the
+demijohn, until about four days had glided away, when even such delights
+began to pall, and became a little monotonous, and still no Rose and no
+Win-ne-muc-ca. The fifth, and even the sixth day passed, and yet they came
+not, and we were driven to the conclusion that either Rose had been
+victimized by the Piutes, or we had been victimized by Rose. So nothing was
+left for us but to pull up stakes and wend our weary way back to Carson.
+Here we found Rose, with the excuse that Win-ne-muc-ca had told him that he
+dared not give up the secret of the mine for fear his band would kill both
+Rose and himself, and that he had not dared to return to the camp for fear
+the Indians would follow him and destroy us all. And so ended our venture.</p>
+
+<p>We came out of the enterprise wiser and poorer men, to the amount of about
+one thousand dollars. As we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> had left town at midnight, and returned at the
+same quiet hour, we were able to keep our adventure to ourselves, and
+escape the ridicule of more experienced miners, many of whom, however, had
+passed through similar experiences under varying circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>I have never been able fully to satisfy myself whether Rose acted in good
+faith or not, but as he had no hope of gain outside of the mine I am
+inclined to believe his story.</p>
+
+<p>My next mining experience resulted much the same way. Rich finds were
+reported in the Walker river country, and a small syndicate of us outfitted
+a party of old and experienced miners to visit the locality and see what
+they could pick up. They started in the usual mysterious manner, at the
+dead of night, and in about two weeks returned, and brought to my office a
+gunny bag full of ore, which they left, and we appointed a meeting the next
+night at one o'clock, when the town was supposed to be asleep, to examine
+the bag and pass upon the contents. One of the prospectors tapped the sack
+affectionately, and, winking at me in the most significant manner, said:
+"Judge, we've got the world by the tail. It's all pure silver, and there
+are a million tons of it lying on the top of the ground." Of course, my
+curiosity and expectations were aroused to the highest pitch, and I awaited
+the appointed hour with impatience. Before the party arrived, all the
+windows were darkened with sheets and blankets, refreshments were prepared,
+and they dropped in one at a time to avoid notice. The bag was opened and
+its contents displayed upon the table. It was a pure white and brilliant
+metal, about the weight of silver, and with the assistance of the
+refreshments we had convinced ourselves before daylight that it was all
+pure silver.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>I took a chunk of it about the size of an orange, and, with one of the
+miners, went down to the Mexican mill, to have it assayed. The assayer took
+it, looked it over, and asked if we wanted it assayed for iron. My
+companion immediately answered, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars there's no
+iron in it." The assayer replied: "We don't bet on such things, but I will
+soon tell you all about it," and, after putting it to the test, he
+reported: "Magnetic iron, ninety-five per cent; no trace of gold or
+silver."</p>
+
+<p>We let the world's tail go, put our own between our legs, and went home,
+two of the worst disappointed men in all Nevada, and that was the last of
+my mining efforts.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span><a name="A_UNIQUE_POLITICAL_CAREER" id="A_UNIQUE_POLITICAL_CAREER"></a>A UNIQUE POLITICAL CAREER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Gen. James Shields had a most extraordinary career. I remember no man in
+the history of our country who equals him in the diversity and extent of
+his public services and office-holding. He was a general in the Mexican
+War, and for a long time enjoyed the unique reputation of being the only
+man who was ever shot through the lungs and survived. This, however, was
+not true. Many others, no doubt, underwent the same experience, and I
+remember a young Chippewa Indian who, while on a war party into the Sioux
+country, was wounded in exactly the same manner, and lived to a good old
+age as a very robust savage.</p>
+
+<p>When the general returned from the Mexican War to Illinois, he was
+exceedingly popular. He was made commissioner of the general land office of
+the United States and judge of the supreme court of the State of Illinois,
+and was subsequently elected to the senate of the United States; but when
+he was about to take his seat he ran up against the snag that is found in
+section 3 of article I of the constitution of the United States, which
+provides that a senator must have been a citizen of the United States for
+nine years before election, and it appeared that the general fell short of
+the requisite period. The consequence was that he was rejected, and he had
+to return to his state. But the citizens of Illinois wanted him to
+represent them in the senate, and as soon as he attained the proper
+citizenship they returned him, and he was admitted and served his full
+term. The general found out that his chances for reelection were not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span>
+flattering, and as Minnesota was about applying for admission as a state in
+the Union, he decided to emigrate to that territory. What his motives were
+I, of course, cannot say, but as I was watching closely political events, I
+concluded that he had in view an election to the senate from the new State
+of Minnesota, and I kept my eye on his movements.</p>
+
+<p>It was soon announced that the general had located the land warrant awarded
+to him for his services in the Mexican War, on a quarter section of land in
+the neighborhood of Faribault, in Rice county, in this territory, and that
+he intended to settle upon it. There was a little buncombe added to this
+announcement, to the effect that this was the first case in the history of
+America where a general officer had settled in person upon the land donated
+to him as a reward for the services he had rendered and the blood he had
+shed for his adopted country. We always called the general's home "The
+blood-bought farm."</p>
+
+<p>There was an election in our territory in 1856 or 1857, I forget which, for
+delegate to Congress. Henry M. Rice had received the nomination of the
+regular Democratic convention for the position, and General Gorman (then
+territorial governor), Henry H. Sibley and many other leading Democrats had
+deliberately bolted the judgment of the convention, and nominated David
+Olmsted for delegate. The fight was on hot. I, of course, was for Rice, the
+regular nominee. I then lived well up in the Minnesota valley, at Traverse
+des Sioux, and we were becoming a power in the territory in a political
+sense, and I looked forward to the arrival of such a prominent Democrat as
+General Shields in our midst as an event of major political importance. He
+soon landed at Hastings, on the Mississippi, with a com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>plete outfit for a
+permanent settlement. A good story is told of his advent at Hastings. In
+those days of steamboating, all the belongings of an immigrant would be
+landed on the levee and his freight bill would be presented to him by what
+we called the mud clerk, and he would take an account of his stock and pay
+the freight. Legend reports that the general had five barrels of whisky
+among his paraphernalia, and when the first one was rolled ashore he seated
+himself upon it to watch the debarkation, and when the bill was presented
+he refused to pay it because he could see only four barrels, and demanded
+the fifth. The clerks got on to the joke, and pretended to search for the
+missing barrel until the last whistle blew, when they suggested to the
+general that he was occupying the disturbing element. Whether the contents
+of the barrel ever caused any other misunderstandings history fails to
+record.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the general was comfortably settled on the blood-bought farm I
+dispatched a courier across the country to him, informing him of the
+political situation, and imploring him to come out for the regular
+Democratic ticket; but he replied in a very diplomatic way that he was too
+new a comer to take any active part in the election, and declined. Tom
+Cowan, George Magruder and I, a trio which composed the leadership of the
+Democracy of the Minnesota valley, decided that the general should never go
+to the senate if we could prevent it, and it so happened that when the
+first legislature of the state assembled Tom Cowan was in the senate, but
+all our efforts to beat him failed, and Henry M. Rice and the general were
+elected to the United States Senate. It was hard to beat a man in those
+days who was a Democrat, an Irishman and a wounded soldier.</p>
+
+<p>The only unlucky thing that the general ever en<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>countered was the fact that
+he drew the short term when the lots were cast for the positions the new
+senators were to assume.</p>
+
+<p>The general served out his term in the senate just about the time the Civil
+War broke out, and he tendered his services to the country, and became a
+general of volunteers. He was wounded in some battle, and I remember
+reading a general order announcing that he had sufficiently recovered to
+ride at the head of his brigade in a buggy. I took advantage of this
+singular position for a military commander, and impressed into the service
+of the state a splendid $2,000 team of trotters belonging to Harry
+Lamberton, with his buggy, and himself as driver, and rode comfortably in
+it until the end of the Indian war, at the head of my brigade.</p>
+
+<p>The general was not long in discovering that the political wind had taken a
+Republican direction in Minnesota, which boded him no good. So he pulled up
+stakes and emigrated to Texas. There he felt the public pulse, and not
+finding any immediate indications that he would be chosen senator, and not
+having any pressing business in any other line, he emigrated to California.
+There he found a more favorable outlook, and almost as soon as he gained a
+residence in the state he was nominated for the United States Senate by the
+Democrats, and came within one or two votes of an election.</p>
+
+<p>The general had always been a bachelor before going to California, but he
+surrendered to the charms of a lady of that state, and married. Not being
+willing to remain until the next senatorial election, he migrated to the
+State of Missouri, where he was very soon elected to congress by a
+substantial majority of about 3,000; but, it being in the reconstruction
+period, and he being a Democrat, the state board found no difficulty in
+counting him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> out, after which event very little was heard of the general
+for some years, when he appeared on the lecture platform, discoursing on
+Mexico. This venture was not much of a success, and the general was reputed
+to be quite broken up financially.</p>
+
+<p>His next appearance was at Washington as a candidate for doorkeeper of the
+senate, which office, I believe, is one of both dignity and profit; but he
+did not succeed in getting it, and returned to Missouri, broken in fortune
+and spirit. It was just at this critical period in his career that his luck
+returned, and he became famous in a direction that no other man in the
+United States has ever reached. A vacancy occurred in the office of United
+States senator from Missouri, either by death or some other reason, and the
+governor bestowed the position upon the general, thus making him a member
+of the body of which he had so recently sought to become the doorkeeper,
+and conferring upon him the peculiar and conspicuous distinction of being
+the only man in the republic who ever represented three states in the
+senate of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>The general died some years ago, and the state of his original adoption,
+Illinois, conferred the additional immortal honor upon his memory by
+placing his full-length statue in bronze in the old house of
+representatives at the capitol in Washington, which has become the American
+Pantheon, in which each state is permitted to commemorate in this way two
+of its most honored sons.</p>
+
+<p>Truly a most extraordinary and enviable career.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span><a name="LA_CROSSE" id="LA_CROSSE"></a>LA CROSSE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There is nothing remarkable in the fact that places should be named for
+something that has happened in or about their locality, and nothing is more
+natural than that places on the upper Mississippi river should be named
+after Indians and Indian occurrences. For instance, we have Prairie du
+Chien, which is the French for the Dog prairie. In early days an Indian
+chief, who sailed under the dignified name of "The Dog," had his
+headquarters at this prairie, and thus the name. It will be observed that
+it has maintained its name in full, "Prairie du Chien," and was, in days
+past, a military post, called Fort Crawford, and is now quite an important
+town in Wisconsin.</p>
+
+<p>A little way up the river, and we have "Prairie La Crosse," but the first
+part of the name is generally dropped now, and it is known as La Crosse
+simply. No old settler, however, who dates back of the fifties, ever calls
+it anything but "Prairie La Crosse." This place got its name from the fact
+that the Indians selected it as a favorite point at which to play their
+game, known to them as "Ta-kap-si-ka-pi," but called by the French, "La
+Crosse." Anyone who has been there, and is familiar with the prairie on
+which the city of La Crosse is built, will recognize at once its superior
+advantages for a game of ball of any kind. It is long, wide and level. This
+game has always been a great favorite with the Sioux Indians. It originated
+with them, and became what might be called their national game. From its
+spirited character, it was very much liked by the Canadian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>-French, and
+they adopted it to such an extent that it is called their national game,
+but under an entirely different name. They called it "La Crosse," and are
+still devoted to it. In fact, it is played very generally throughout the
+northern half of North America. In playing the game, the Indians used a
+stick made of ash about the length of a walking cane with a circular bend
+at the end most distant from the hand, in which curve was a network of
+buckskin strings, forming a pocket, about four inches in diameter and two
+inches deep. With this stick, which is called a "Ta-ki-cap-si-cha," the
+ball is manipulated. The ball is of wood, round, and about the size of a
+hen's egg, and in the game must never be touched by the hand. The Canadians
+have changed the form of stick used by them, by making it longer, and
+forming the end that takes the ball something like half of a tennis
+racquette.</p>
+
+<p>The site of La Crosse was in early years the favorite ball ground of the
+Indians, and from this circumstance acquired its present name. The game is
+too well known to need a description. Suffice it to say that the main
+object is to get the ball to certain goals by two contending parties
+struggling in different directions. In its main features it resembles
+hockey, polo, football, and similar games; but with the Indians differs in
+point of the numbers who play, the whites being limited to eleven or twelve
+on a side, while with the Indians a whole band may play on each side.</p>
+
+<p>When the Sioux were moved west of the Mississippi they selected the
+beautiful prairie on which now stands St. Peter, in this state, as one of
+their most favored ball grounds, and many a time I have enjoyed witnessing
+the game at that locality, and a most brilliant and exciting scene it
+presented. The Sioux, like most savages, are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> great gamblers, and the first
+thing in the game is to put up the stakes, which is done in this way: A
+committee is appointed by each contesting party as stakeholders. They
+assemble at a designated point on the prairie, and await results. Presently
+up will come an Indian, and put up a pony. He will soon be followed by a
+competitor, who will cover his pony with another, decided to be of the same
+value. Then up will come another, and put up a rifle, or a feather
+head-dress or a knife, all which will be matched from the other side, until
+all the bets are made. If the players are numerous, the stakes will
+accumulate until almost everything known as property in Indian life will be
+ventured. It sometimes takes several days to arrange these preliminaries. A
+pleasant afternoon is selected, and the contestants appear. They are
+usually very nearly naked, having on only moccasins, a breech-clout and a
+head-dress; the two latter articles, being susceptible of ornamentation,
+are usually adorned with eagle feathers, foxtails, or a string of
+sleigh-bells about the player's waist. The men are painted in the most
+grotesque and fantastic manner. It is not unusual to see some of them
+painted blue or yellow all over their persons, and before the paint has
+dried it is streaked with their fingers in zig-zag fashion from head to
+foot, sometimes up and down and sometimes zebra fashion. A yellow face with
+the imprint of a black or blue open hand diagonally upon it is much
+affected; in fact, the greater the ingenuity displayed in savage design and
+glaring colors, the more satisfied the subject seems to be with himself and
+the more admired by others.</p>
+
+<p>When the players are all lined up they present a striking appearance. About
+six on each side take the center from which the ball is to be started, and
+the rest scat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span>ter themselves over the prairie for half a mile in each
+direction, to speed the ball, should it come their way.</p>
+
+<p>All ready: one, two, three, and up goes the ball into the air, and as it
+falls, up goes each Ta-ki-cap-si-cha in an endeavor to catch it, and so
+skillful are the men that it is very often caught in the little pocket
+while in the air, which is a great advantage, as the party catching it has
+the right if he can to throw it in the direction of his friends, and, with
+a free chance, it is like throwing a ball out of a sling. I have seen one
+sent nearly a quarter of a mile. If the game opens in this way, there is,
+of course, a great rush by the partisans to capture the ball and keep it
+moving one way or the other; but if at the first toss up it falls to the
+ground, there is a tussle of all the middle men to see which one shall get
+it with his stick that puts civilized football in the shade. Shins are
+whacked, men are tripped and piled onto each other in the utmost confusion,
+until some lucky fellow extricates the ball from the mass, and sends it
+flying towards a group of his friends. The Sioux are splendid runners, and
+sometimes when twenty or thirty of them will be in full chase of the ball,
+a leading man will tumble, and the whole line will pile over him; but no
+matter how rough or boisterous the sport may be, I have never known a
+quarrel to grow out of it. There must be rules to this effect governing the
+game, such as they have in a Japanese wrestling match, where the parties,
+before tackling each other, sprinkle salt between them, which is a pledge
+that even a broken neck will not interrupt friendship. I think I have seen
+more feats of wonderful skill in running, jumping and catching in a game of
+this kind than in any play of a similar nature I have ever witnessed.</p>
+
+<p>No one who has seen the Indians play a good game of Ta-kap-si-ka-pi has
+ever forgotten it. Major East<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span>man of the old army, who was quite an artist,
+attempted to depict the scene on canvas, and while he made an excellent
+picture which would please the eye of anyone who had not seen the real
+thing, he found it impossible to convey an adequate idea of its best
+points. The picture, I think, is now either in the rooms of the Wisconsin
+Historical Society, or in the Cochran gallery of Washington.</p>
+
+<p>One of the noticeable results of a game of this kind, played on a virgin
+prairie, was the great number of huge snakes the players would kill. I have
+seen as many as would load a wagon piled up after a game, some of them ten
+or twelve feet long. They were called in those days bull snakes, and were
+considered of the constrictor species, but not venomous.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span><a name="MAKING_A_POST_OFFICE" id="MAKING_A_POST_OFFICE"></a>MAKING A POSTOFFICE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>I had settled on the frontier, where Traverse des Sioux and Mankato were
+the extreme border towns in southwestern Minnesota. About the year 1854 or
+1855 a German settlement was commenced at New Ulm. It originated in
+Cincinnati, with an association which sent out parties to find a site for a
+town, and they selected the present site of New Ulm. The lands had not been
+surveyed by the general government, but our delegate in congress, Henry M.
+Rice, had anticipated that by obtaining the passage of the law allowing
+settlement and pre&euml;mption on unsurveyed lands. Under the law a town site
+could only embrace 320 acres, but the projectors of New Ulm laid out an
+immense tract, comprising thousands of acres. Many of the settlers had not
+taken any steps toward becoming American citizens, which was a necessary
+preliminary to pre&euml;mption, and everything among them was held in a kind of
+common interest, the Cincinnati society furnishing the funds.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before they discovered that they needed legal advice in
+their venture, and called on me to regulate their matters for them. I was
+deputy clerk of the court, and always carried the seal and naturalization
+papers with me, so that I could take the declaration of intention of anyone
+who desired to become an American citizen anywhere I happened to find him,
+on the prairie or elsewhere. In this way I qualified many of the Germans
+for pre&euml;mption, and took them by the steamboat load down to Winona to enter
+their lands. I would be furnished with a large bag of gold to pay for the
+lands,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> and sometimes, with the special conveniences furnished by the land
+office, I would work off forty or fifty pre&euml;mptions in a day. I became such
+a necessary factor in the building of the town that, if any difficulty
+occurred, even in the running of a mill which they erected and ran by the
+accumulated water of many large springs, I was immediately sent for to
+remedy the evil.</p>
+
+<p>The nearest postoffice was at Fort Ridgely, about sixteen miles away, and
+it soon became apparent that one ought to be established in the town. I
+was, of course, sent for to see if it could be accomplished. It was a very
+easy thing to do with the very efficient and influential delegate we had in
+congress, Hon. Henry M. Rice. Having agreed upon a Mr. Anton Kouse as
+postmaster, I at once wrote to Mr. Rice to give the new settlement a
+postoffice. It was not long before I received an answer, which contained
+the postmaster's commission, his bond for execution, a key for the mail
+bags, and all the requisites for a going postoffice.</p>
+
+<p>The New Ulm people were a very social lot, and my visits to the town always
+included a good deal of fun, so I concluded to make a special event of the
+establishment of the new postoffice, and, as the weather was fine, I
+invited half a dozen friends to accompany me in a drive to New Ulm, to
+participate in the opening ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>One of the earliest settlers in the town was Francis Baasen, who became
+Minnesota's first secretary of state, and was a gallant officer in the
+First Minnesota Regiment, so celebrated in the War of the Rebellion, and
+has recently been appointed by Governor Lind as assistant adjutant general
+of the state. He had a claim about two miles below the town, just where the
+ferry crossed the Minnesota river, at Red Stone, and had erected a log
+shanty there, in which he lived. Of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> course, we always called on Baasen on
+our way up, and also on our way back, when we visited New Ulm. Baasen was a
+charming gentleman, and while his shack was destitute of any of the
+luxuries or elegancies of life, there was a door, or hatchway, in the
+middle of the floor, which led to a kind of cellar, the contents of which
+supplied all the deficiencies of the house, and, flavored with the generous
+hospitality of the proprietor, made everybody happy.</p>
+
+<p>On this occasion we stopped to take Baasen into the party, and while
+discussing the great event which brought us up, I decided to add some new
+features to the inauguration of the new postmaster. Baasen had been
+appointed a notary public, and was provided with large business-like
+envelopes and formidable red seals, so I wrote a letter to Mr. Kouse in
+about the following language:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p style= "text-align: right"><span class="smcap">Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C.</span><br />
+"July 20, 1855.<br />
+"<i>Hon. Anton Kouse, Postmaster at New Ulm, Territory of</i><br />
+<i>Minnesota</i>,<br /></p>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>: We have been informed that a flourishing settlement has been founded
+on the waters of the upper Minnesota river, in Minnesota Territory, which
+has been named New Ulm, and that the inhabitants are sufficiently numerous
+and intelligent to need a postoffice. It has also been represented to us
+that you are a good and true Democrat, and the choice of the people for the
+office of postmaster. It is therefore our duty and pleasure to appoint you
+to that office. It is our desire that you locate the office in a part of
+the town which will ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>commodate its inhabitants, and see to it that they
+always vote the Democratic ticket at all elections. I am,</p>
+
+
+<p style= "text-align: right">"Yours very truly,<br />
+(Seal)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "FRANKLIN PIERCE,<br />
+"<i>President of the United States of America.</i>"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>I inclosed this letter in one of Baasen's large envelopes, and we all drove
+up to the house of Mr. Kouse, and called him out. I stood up in the wagon,
+and made him a speech, informing him of the creation of the office, and
+that I had his bond and commission and a letter to him from the president
+of the United States, which I was instructed to deliver to him in person,
+and I added that it was customary on such important occasions for the newly
+appointed postmaster to propose the health of the postmaster general.</p>
+
+<p>Kouse rushed into his house, and appeared with a brown jug and a tin cup,
+from which we all drank a bumper to the health and prosperity of the
+postmaster general, the town of New Ulm, and its postmaster. I then handed
+him his credentials, including the letter from the president, and the
+postoffice at New Ulm was a reality.</p>
+
+<p>I have never learned whether my friend Kouse caught on to the joke, or
+whether he has cherished the executive letter as an heirloom for his
+posterity.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span><a name="THE_COURAGE_OF_CONVICTION" id="THE_COURAGE_OF_CONVICTION"></a>THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In 1864-65 I was living in Carson City, in the State of Nevada, where, from
+the abnormal condition of the inhabitants, it was nothing remarkable that
+some event should happen almost daily that otherwise would have been
+startling. Many such events did take place, but, from their frequency, were
+soon forgotten. There was one, however, that impressed itself upon my
+memory because of the cool daring that characterized it, and it must be
+understood that bravery was not an uncommon trait in the inhabitants of
+Carson. Men carried their lives in their hands, and quite frequently lost
+them.</p>
+
+<p>In order to appreciate the situation fully, you must know that the
+population of Carson City was composed of about the roughest and most
+disorderly agglomeration of the refuse of California that was ever
+assembled at any one time or place,&mdash;gamblers, murderers, road agents, and
+all sorts of unclassified toughs. They were about evenly divided between
+the North and the South,&mdash;the only politics being pronounced Unionism on
+one side and outspoken rebellion on the other; but, as any discussion
+between representatives of such views during the hottest period of the war
+was generally concluded with six-shooters, all parties kept pretty quiet on
+the subject, and politics was about the least exciting cause of murder,
+there being others sufficiently numerous to give us a "man for breakfast"
+nearly every morning.</p>
+
+<p>Like all Pacific Coast mining towns, Carson had an immense saloon, with all
+the sporting attachments, such as billiards, roulette, faro, poker, etc.,
+and at all times<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> of the day and night it was frequented by hundreds of
+men, who amused themselves talking, drinking, gambling and reading their
+letters, as most of them received their correspondence at these
+headquarters. It was called the "Magnolia," and was kept by Pete Hopkins,
+who, I believe, still flourishes in San Francisco.</p>
+
+<p>The telegraph had reached us in 1862, and we kept pretty well posted on
+what was going on in the States. On the 14th of April, 1865, it was flashed
+over the wires that President Lincoln had been assassinated, and the
+excitement was intense. Men studiously avoided the subject, for fear of
+being misunderstood and being drawn into deadly conflict. The news was not
+credited at first, but soon became confirmed, and generally accepted as
+true. The Union men determined that some public demonstration should be
+made to recognize the event. A meeting was held, and a committee appointed
+to formulate a program. It was decided to put the town in mourning, have a
+procession and mock funeral, an oration and appropriate resolutions,&mdash;all
+of which was the correct thing. An evening or two before the ceremony was
+to take place the committee came down to the Magnolia, to announce publicly
+what it had decided upon. The chairman mounted the bar and made his
+proclamation, adding that anyone who failed to hang out some emblem of
+mourning on his house or place of business might expect to be roughly
+handled.</p>
+
+<p>The room was crowded, and with the most inflammable material. Had a bomb
+been exploded on one of the billiard tables the effect would not have
+stirred the rebels to greater depths. Among them was an old Virginian, whom
+we will call Captain Jones. He almost immediately accepted the challenge,
+and speaking up loudly, he said: "I am damned glad Lincoln was killed, and
+if any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> man attempts to put mourning on my house, or interfere with me for
+not doing so, there will be a good many more killed."</p>
+
+<p>Everybody knew that the old man meant just what he said, and was always
+equipped to make good his promises. The effect was remarkable. Instead of
+precipitating a fight, it seemed to paralyze the crowd, and nothing came of
+it that night; the captain was wise enough quietly to disappear.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Jones had a small brick building on the main street of the town, a
+block or two from the Magnolia, where he had his office, and lived in a
+back room.</p>
+
+<p>At the proper time the procession formed on the plaza. Bands of music were
+interspersed through the line. The orator and distinguished citizens were
+in carriages, every vehicle in town being brought into requisition. There
+was a large cavalcade of horsemen. I rode in a handsome buggy, with the
+principal gambler of the town, and many hundred footmen followed, the
+Chinamen bringing up the rear. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining
+brightly. The procession moved off majestically down a back street, off the
+main thoroughfare, and then turned into the principal street. Every house
+on the line of march displayed signs of mourning on both sides of the
+street. Soon appeared in the distance Captain Jones, sitting just outside
+the line of the sidewalk, in the street, exactly in front of his house. His
+head was bare, and his long white hair glistened in the sunshine. He sat in
+an arm-chair, with an immense double-barrelled shotgun poised quietly
+across his knees. He was carelessly reading a newspaper, and not a
+semblance of mourning was to be seen anywhere on his premises. As the head
+of the procession reached him hundreds of hands involuntarily sought their
+revolvers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span> and every man held his breath; even the music ceased, and the
+expectation was intense. There were many in the line who would have shot
+him if they had dared, but they knew he had hosts of friends in the line
+who would have resented it instantly, and to the death, and they also knew
+the captain's eye was coursing down the line and the first shot would be
+answered by the contents of both barrels of his big gun. So no one fired;
+no one spoke; hardly anyone looked. The captain never moved a muscle, and
+the column passed.</p>
+
+<p>I remember once of reading an incident in connection with the French army.
+While marching in Africa it encountered a splendid African lion, lying in
+the road, who did not seem disposed to give the right of way. The army
+halted. The circumstance was reported to the commanding officer and
+instructions asked whether they should kill the royal beast or march round
+him. The orders were to march round him. I have never thought of the
+incident here related without recalling the cool bravery of the king of
+beasts; but I always award the superiority to my friend, Captain Jones.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span><a name="HOW_THE_CAPITAL_WAS_SAVED" id="HOW_THE_CAPITAL_WAS_SAVED"></a>HOW THE CAPITAL WAS SAVED.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The ancestors of Joe Rolette, the leading character in the story which I am
+about to relate, emigrated at a very early day from Normandy, in France, to
+Canada. It is believed that the celebrated Montcalm was one of this party.
+Many of these emigrants became disheartened by the hardships they
+encountered, and returned to France; but not so the Rolettes. Jean Joseph
+Rolette, the father of our Joseph, was born in Quebec, on Sept. 24, 1781.
+He was originally designed for the priesthood, but fortunately for that
+holy order his inclinations led him in another direction, and he became an
+Indian trader. His first venture in business was at Montreal, next at
+Windsor opposite Detroit, finally winding up at Prairie du Chien, about the
+year 1801 or 1802.</p>
+
+<p>In the war of 1812, with Great Britain, the Americans captured Prairie du
+Chien in 1814, and built a stockade there, which was called Fort Shelby.
+The British, under Colonel McKay, besieged it, Rolette having some rank in
+the attacking party. He was offered a captaincy in the British army for his
+good behavior in this affair, but declined it. He continued his Indian
+trade successfully up to 1820, when John Jacob Astor offered him a leading
+position in the American Fur Company, which he accepted, and held until
+1836, when he was succeeded by Hercules L. Dousman. He died at Prairie du
+Chien, Dec. 1, 1842, leaving a widow and two children, a son and daughter.
+His daughter married Captain Hood of the United States army, and was a very
+superior woman. His son was the hero of this story.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> Rolette senior was
+called by the Indians, "Sheyo" ("The Prairie Chicken"), from the rapidity
+with which he travelled. Joe was called "Sheyo chehint Ku" ("The Prairie
+Chicken's Son").</p>
+
+<p>Joe Rolette was born on Oct. 23, 1820, at Prairie du Chien. He received a
+commercial education in New York, but having inherited the free and easy,
+half-savage characteristics of his father, he soon gravitated to the
+border, and settled at Pembina, on the Red River of the North, near the
+dividing line between the United States and Canada. At this point an
+extensive trade in furs had sprung up, in opposition to the Hudson Bay
+people, who had monopolized the trade for British interests for many long
+years. The catch of furs was brought down to the Mississippi every year by
+brigades of carts, constructed entirely of wood and rawhide, which were
+drawn by a single horse or ox, and carried a load of from 800 to 1,000
+pounds. These vehicles were admirably adapted to the country, which was in
+a perfectly natural state, without roads of any kind, except the trail worn
+by the carts. They could easily pass over a slough that would obstruct any
+other forms of wheeled carriage, and one man could drive four or five of
+them, each being hitched behind the other. They were readily constructed on
+the border, by the unskilled half-breeds, where iron was unobtainable. This
+trade, with an occasional arrival of dog trains in the winter, was the only
+connecting link between far away Pembina and St. Paul.</p>
+
+<p>When the Territory of Minnesota was organized, in 1849, St. Paul was
+designated as the capital, and a plain but suitable building was erected by
+the United States for the purpose of the local government, and when
+finished the territorial legislature convened there annually.</p>
+
+<p>Joe Rolette, being the leading citizen of Pembina,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> and naturally desirous
+of spending his winters at the capital, had himself elected to the
+legislature, first to the house of representatives in 1853, and again in
+1854 and 1855. In 1856 and 1857 he was returned to the council, which was
+the upper house, corresponding to the senate as the legislature is now
+composed. This body consisted of fifteen members. The sessions were limited
+by the organic act to sixty days.</p>
+
+<p>That the capital should be located and remain at St. Paul had been
+determined by the leading citizens of this region, as far as they could
+decide this question, before the organization of the territory, but there
+were from the beginning manifestations of a desire to remove it exhibited
+in several localities. Wm. R. Marshall resided at St. Anthony, and at the
+first session in 1849 worked hard to have it removed to that point, but
+failed, and no serious attempt was again made until 1857, when, on February
+6th, a bill was introduced by a councillor from St. Cloud, to remove it to
+St. Peter, a town on the Minnesota river, which had grown into considerable
+importance. General Gorman was the governor, and largely interested in St.
+Peter. He gave the scheme the weight of his influence. Winona, through its
+councillor, St. A. D. Balcombe, was a warm advocate of the change, and
+enough influence was secured to carry the bill in both houses. It, however,
+only passed the council by one majority, eight voting in its favor, and
+seven against it.</p>
+
+<p>It was at this point in the fight that Rolette proved himself a bold and
+successful strategist. He was a friend of St. Paul, and was determined that
+the plan should not succeed if it was possible for him to prevent it. He
+never calculated chances or hesitated at responsibilities, but would
+undertake any desperate measure to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> carry a point with the same
+unreflecting dash and heedlessness of danger that he would plunge his horse
+into a herd of buffalo, shooting right and left, trusting to luck to
+extricate him. It happened that Joe was chairman of the committee on
+enrolled bills of the council, and all bills had to pass through his hands
+for enrollment and comparison. On the 27th of February the removal bill
+reached him, and he instantly decided that the legislature should never see
+it again, so he put it in his pocket and disappeared. He had, however,
+foresight enough carefully to deposit the bill in the vault of Truman M.
+Smith's bank, in the Fuller House, on the corner of Seventh and Jackson
+streets, before his vanishment.</p>
+
+<p>On the 28th Joe did not appear in his seat, and no one seemed to know
+anything of his whereabouts. As his absence was prolonged, some of the
+advocates of the removal became uneasy, and sent to the enrollment
+committee for the bill, but none of them knew anything about it. At this
+point Mr. Balcombe offered a resolution, calling on Rolette to report the
+bill forthwith, and on his failure to do so, that the next member of the
+committee, Mr. Wales, procure another enrolled copy and report it. He then
+moved the previous question on his resolution. At this point, Mr. Setzer, a
+friend of St. Paul, moved a call of the council, and Mr. Rolette, being
+reported absent, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to find him, and bring
+him in.</p>
+
+<p>To comprehend the full bearings of the situation, it should be known that,
+under the rules, no business could be transacted while the council was
+under a call, and that it required a two-thirds vote to dispense with the
+call. As I have said before, the bill was passed in the council by a vote
+of eight for and seven against, which was the full vote of the body; but in
+the absence of Ro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span>lette there were only fourteen present. Luckily for St.
+Paul, it takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as it does to make
+two-thirds of fifteen, and the friends of the bill could only muster nine
+on the motion to dispense with the call. Mr. John B. Brisbin was president
+of the council, and a strong friend of St. Paul, so no relaxation of the
+rules could be hoped for from him. In this dilemma, the friends of removal
+were forced to desperate extremes, and Mr. Balcombe actually made an
+extended argument to prove to the chair that nine was two-thirds of
+fourteen. Both gentlemen were graduates of Yale, and, on the completion of
+his argument, Mr. Brisbin said, "Balcombe, we never figured that way at
+Yale; the motion is lost," and the council found itself at a deadlock, with
+the call pending, and no hope of transacting any business, unless some
+member of the five yielded. They were all steadfast, however, and there was
+nothing to do but to receive the daily report of the sergeant-at-arms that
+Mr. Rolette could not be found. Sometimes he would report a rumor that
+Rolette had been seen at some town up the river, making for Pembina with a
+dog train, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour; again, that he had been
+assassinated,&mdash;in fact, everything but the truth, which was that he was
+luxuriously quartered in the upper story of the Fuller House, having the
+jolliest time of his life, surrounded by friends, male and female, and
+supplied with the best the town afforded, including buckets of champagne.</p>
+
+<p>The 5th of March was the last day of the session, and the council camped in
+its chamber, theoretically handcuffed and hobbled, until midnight of that
+day, when President Brisbin took the chair, and pronounced the council
+adjourned <i>sine die</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The sergeant-at-arms was John Lamb, well known<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> to all old settlers. He was
+a resident of St. Paul, and true to her interests, as his conduct proved. I
+don't suppose any man ever spent five days and nights trying harder how not
+to find his man than he did on this occasion. Whether his fidelity was ever
+rewarded I am unable to say.</p>
+
+<p>During the deadlock the friends of removal got a copy of the bill through,
+but neither the speaker of the house nor the president of the council would
+sign it. The governor, however, did approve it, but the first time it was
+tested in court it was pronounced invalid, and set aside. Other attempts at
+capital removal were made, but none of them proved successful.</p>
+
+<p>Rolette and I were close friends. We had served together in the council at
+its preceding session, and afterwards in the constitutional convention, and
+always roomed together when in St. Paul. I lived at Traverse des Sioux,
+which is next door to St. Peter, at the time of this attempt to remove the
+capital there, but vigorously opposed the measure. Rolette's life was
+threatened by the friends of removal, and many is the night I have played
+the part of bodyguard to him, armed to the teeth; but fortunately he was
+not assailed.</p>
+
+<p>As I rather admired the plucky manner in which my friend had stood by St.
+Paul in this, the hour of her danger, I conceived the idea of preserving
+the event to history by presenting his portrait to the Historical Society
+of the state, which I did, in April, 1890, and also hung one in the
+Minnesota Club. It is a capital likeness, representing him, full life size,
+in the wild and picturesque costume of the border. A brass tablet on the
+frame is inscribed with the following legend: "The Hon. Joe Rolette, who
+saved the capital to St. Paul, by running away with the bill removing it to
+St. Peter, in 1857."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span>Joe died at Pembina, and is buried in the graveyard of the old Catholic
+church of Belencourt, under a cross of oak, which once bore the words:</p>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='center'>"Here reposes Joseph Rolette.<br /> "Born Oct. 23, 1820.<br /> "Died May 16, 1871."</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>The simple chronicle is long since effaced.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Requiescat in pace!</i>" is the wish and hope of his historian and friend.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 163px;">
+<img src="images/i-364.png" width="163" height="300" alt="Page decoration" title="Page decoration" />
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span><a name="AN_EDITOR_INCOG" id="AN_EDITOR_INCOG"></a>AN EDITOR INCOG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the years 1864 and 1865 I lived in Carson City, the capital of Nevada,
+which recently became famous as the place where the great prize fight
+between Bob Fitzsimmons and Gentleman Jim Corbett occurred. The racecourse
+which became the arena on that occasion was during all the time of my
+residence there used by me daily as a gymnasium for exercise. I had very
+little to do with the actual politics of the country, because I was, and
+had always been, a Democrat of the most uncompromising character, and the
+party divisions out in that country were between the Republicans and men
+from the Southern States, who were generally outspoken rebels; and as it
+was in the midst of the Civil War, the feeling was intense between them. I
+was a warm supporter of the war for the Union, and found myself in the
+position of a man without a party. The situation did not incommode me,
+however, as I was fully occupied outside the realm of politics.</p>
+
+<p>There were two daily newspapers published in the town,&mdash;one Republican,
+which was called the <i>Carson Daily Appeal</i>, and the other Democratic,
+called the <i>Evening Post</i>. There were no associated press dispatches,
+although the telegraph had reached the Pacific Coast and the San Francisco
+papers had the benefit of that great purveyor of news.</p>
+
+<p>The proprietor of the plant of the Republican paper was an old Minnesota
+man, and a friend of mine, with whom I frequently came in contact, both in
+a business and social way. Under this condition of things, you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span> may imagine
+my surprise and consternation when I tell you that one day he rushed into
+my office in a great state of excitement, and told me that his editor had
+left him and gone to San Francisco, and that he could not keep his paper
+going unless I would run it until he could arrange for another editor,
+adding that a failure to publish it for a single day would ruin him. At
+first I looked upon the proposition as utterly out of the question, and
+said: "How can I edit a Republican newspaper, when I am at swords' points
+with everything they believe and advocate?" It was with him, however, "a
+groundhog case," as we used to call such imperative occasions. He <i>had</i> to
+get him, as he was out of meat. He was persistent in his demands, and as
+the negotiations progressed, I began to look upon the matter as a good
+joke, and finally promised that I would undertake to keep the paper going
+if he would swear that he would never disclose my identity, which condition
+he promised faithfully to observe.</p>
+
+<p>It was a matter that admitted of no delay. I had to prepare a column and a
+half of editorial that night for the next morning's issue. What I wrote
+about, I don't pretend to remember, but it was well received, and its
+Republican orthodoxy was never questioned, and I repeated the dose daily
+for some time with the same success, growing more and more violent in my
+attacks on the Democracy in each successive issue. Carson was a small town,
+and, as the old editor was missed by his friends, public curiosity
+increased as to who had succeeded him, and I enrolled myself among the
+guessers, and improved every occasion to criticise publicly the editorials.
+It soon became very tiresome and difficult to maintain my ground, with
+politics as the sole text for my editorials, and as news was very scarce, I
+sought relief in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> any channel that opened a way. A great race took place in
+San Francisco between Charley Brian's ever victorious horse, Lodi, and a
+colt of the celebrated stallion Lexington, named Norfolk, for which Joe
+Winters of Carson had paid fifteen thousand and <i>one</i> dollars to the owner
+of Lexington,&mdash;Lord Bob Alexander of Kentucky,&mdash;especially to make the race
+with Lodi. The $15,001 was exacted by the owner of Lexington, because he
+had been laughed at for paying $15,000 for Lexington when he was old and
+blind, and had said he would sell his colts for more than he had paid for
+their sire. This race, of course, created an immense excitement. At least
+twenty thousand people went to see it, and everybody on the Pacific Coast
+from the forty-ninth parallel to the Mexican line had a bet on the result.
+Lodi was beaten, and as Nevada was the victor, and I knew all about
+Lexington, I wrote several essays on race horses in general and Norfolk in
+particular.</p>
+
+<p>The office of sheriff of our county was a very hazardous one, every
+incumbent of it prior to the then holder having "died with his boots on."
+Tim Smith, who filled the office when I was there, and had shown desperate
+courage on several occasions in the performance of his duties, had gained
+my admiration and friendship, and afforded me a good text, and I wrote him
+up.</p>
+
+<p>There was an ex-governor of California residing in Carson with whom I
+became intimate, and on one occasion I wrote him up; and last, but not
+least, I made the acquaintance of a beautiful and accomplished lady living
+in the town, and as such a person was a phenomenon in that rude land, I was
+inspired to write her up, and did so in the following poem:</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="poem stanza">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span>"This descriptive epigram is dedicated to the most beautiful woman in
+Carson City, by the editor:</p>
+<span class="i0">"Gorgeous tresses, exquisitely arrayed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Noble brow where intellect's displayed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Liquid eyes that penetrate the heart;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Teeth of pearl, whose brilliancy impart<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the whole expression of the face<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A ray of love, a fascinating sense of grace.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A bust&mdash;but here presumptuous mortal stay:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let artist gods this beauteous bust portray;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Splendor, royalty, magnificence combined,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Venus in Diana's arms entwined.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The tiny hand, so soft, so pure, so white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Robs its emerald gem of half its light.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The secret charms beneath her robe-folds hidden,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like heavens' joys to mortal eyes forbidden,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are dimly outlined to our rapturous gaze,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like veiled statues through a marble haze.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her fairy foot, as in the graceful waltz it glides,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our admiration equally divides.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And proves, that of her many charms of form and voice,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If one you had to choose, you could not make the choice.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their perfect harmony is like the arch's span;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Displace one stone, you destroy the noble plan."<br /></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>My political attacks did not seem to make much impression on my Democratic
+contemporary, and he paid very little attention to what I said, feeling, no
+doubt, indifferent in the overwhelming majority of the Republican party,
+but when I branched out in the line I have indicated, he opened on me
+savagely in several editorials. He said the <i>Appeal</i> had discovered a
+soft-soap mine, and had used it lavishly to lather governors, sheriffs,
+ladies, and a great many other people, for the purpose of gaining their
+support and patronage, all of which afforded me a fine opportunity of
+getting back at him in a humorous, and at the same time effective manner,
+so I shot at him in verse, which I will repeat; but to a full understanding
+of it, I will explain that all mining claims are measured by the number of
+feet the claimant owns on the ledge, and the word "feet" became synonymous
+with the mine itself. This was my answer:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span>
+"SOAP."<br />
+<br />
+"Great renovator of the human race!<br />
+Great cleanser of the human face!<br />
+Thy potent art removes each stain<br />
+From dirtiest mortal on this sphere mundane.<br />
+'Tis sad to think thy mystic spell<br />
+Can't penetrate within the shell,<br />
+And to a soiled, perverted heart<br />
+Cleanliness and purity impart.<br />
+Thy subtle essence, heretofore confined<br />
+In bars of Windsor toilet cakes refined;<br />
+In Colgate's honey for the barber's brush,<br />
+And shapeless masses much resembling slush,<br />
+Has now, according to our evening sheet,<br />
+Been found in ledges, known as "<i>feet</i>."<br />
+To use the language of the <i>Post</i>, in fine,<br />
+The great <i>Appeal</i> has found a mine;<br />
+And having now much soap to spare,<br />
+Soaps governors&mdash;sheriffs&mdash;ladies fair.<br />
+How sad it is, with all this soap,<br />
+To know there's not the slightest hope<br />
+If all the Chinamen in town<br />
+Should wash it up and wash it down,<br />
+And scrub 'till it gave up the ghost,<br />
+Of making clean the <i>Evening Post</i>."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The effect of my shot was equal to a thirteen-inch shell in the camp of the
+enemy. The whole community laughed, and the <i>Post</i> left me studiously alone
+until the new editor came and relieved me. I had lots of fun out of the
+experiment, besides getting the magnificent compensation of twenty dollars
+a week for my services. I also had the gratification of knowing that the
+exciting question of "Who edits the <i>Appeal</i>?" remained unanswered until I
+answered it myself.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span><a name="THE_INK-PA-DU-TA_WAR" id="THE_INK-PA-DU-TA_WAR"></a>THE INK-PA-DU-TA WAR.</h2>
+
+
+<p>All old settlers will remember what in the history of Minnesota is known as
+"The Ink-pa-du-ta War." It occurred in 1857, and, briefly described, was
+something like the following: Near the northwest corner of the State of
+Iowa, in the county of Dickinson, and near the southwest corner of the
+State of Minnesota, in the county of Jackson, there are two large and very
+beautiful lakes, called Spirit lake and Lake Okoboji. The country about
+these lakes is surpassingly beautiful and fruitful, and naturally attracted
+settlers in a very early day. In 1855 and 1857 a few families settled on a
+small river which heads in Minnesota and flows southward into Iowa, called
+in English Rock river, and in Sioux In-yan-yan-ke. In 1856 Hon. William
+Freeborn of Red Wing, Minn., started a settlement at Spirit lake, and near
+the same time another location was made about ten or fifteen miles north of
+Spirit lake, and called Springfield.</p>
+
+<p>There was a small band of Indians, numbering ten or fifteen lodges, under
+the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the "Scarlet Point," which had for
+long years frequented the region of the Vermillion river, and although
+Sioux, they had become separated from the bands that made treaties with the
+United States in 1851, and were regarded as outlaws and vagabonds. This
+band had planted in the neighborhood of Spirit lake prior to 1857, and
+ranged the country from there to the Missouri.</p>
+
+<p>Early in March, 1857, these Indians were hunting in the neighborhood of
+Rock river settlement, and got into a row with the white people from some
+trivial cause,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> and the treatment they received greatly angered them. They
+proceeded north and massacred all the people at the Spirit lake and Okoboji
+settlements, except four women, whom they captured and carried off with
+them. They then attacked the settlers at Springfield, and killed most of
+them. The result of the massacre was forty-two white people killed and four
+white women taken as captives.</p>
+
+<p>I was then United States agent for the Sioux, and the news of the trouble
+reached me at my agency, on the Minnesota river, early in March, 1857, by
+two young men, who had escaped, and had travelled all the way on foot
+through the deep snow, a distance of nearly one hundred miles. Although the
+air was always full of rumors of Indian troubles in those days, I was
+convinced that the news brought by these boys was true, so I made a
+requisition on Colonel Alexander of the Tenth United States Infantry,
+stationed at Fort Ridgely, for troops, and he sent me Company "A,"
+commanded by Captain Barnard E. Bee and Lieutenant Murray. I supplied
+guides and interpreters from my Indians, and after a most laborious and
+painful roundabout march of many days, we reached the scene of the
+troubles, only to find, as I fully expected, the Indians gone. The dead
+were buried, and the troops, after remaining for some time, returned to the
+fort.</p>
+
+<p>Now comes the most interesting part of the incident. The captured women
+were Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Thatcher, Mrs. Marble and Miss Gardner. The
+legislature of the territory was in session, and the news of the event soon
+reached St. Paul, and, as might be expected, created great excitement, and,
+of course, the principal interest centered in the rescue of the prisoners.
+All the legislature could do was to appropriate money to defray the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span>
+expenses of the undertaking, and as nobody knew what to do or how to do it,
+they appropriated $10,000 and wisely left the whole matter to Governor
+Medary, who was then the governor of the territory, with full power to do
+what he thought best about it. He, being a practical man, and having no
+idea at all of how to proceed in the matter, very sensibly turned the whole
+business over to me, with <i>carte blanche</i> to do whatever I thought best.</p>
+
+<p>An accident controlled the situation, and shaped future events. Two of my
+Indians, who had been hunting on the Big Sioux river, heard that
+Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Skunk lake, about seventy-five miles west of
+Spirit lake, and had some white captives in his camp; so they went to see
+him, and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble, for whom they paid horses and
+rifles, and whatever they had, and brought her into the Yellow Medicine
+agency and delivered her to me. I paid them $500 each for their services,
+and immediately sent out another expedition to try to rescue the other
+captives. I say I paid these two Indians $500 each. The fact is, I could
+raise but $500 in money on the reservation, which I gave them, and resorted
+to a financial scheme to get the rest, which has since become quite the
+fashion when people or communities are short. I issued a territorial bond,
+and as it is the first government bond that ever was issued in all the
+country that lies between the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, I give it
+in full.</p>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>"I, Stephen R. Riggs, missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I, Charles E.
+Flandrau, United States Indian agent for the Sioux, being satisfied that
+Mak-pi-ya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two Sioux Indians, have performed a
+valuable service to the Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing
+from captivity Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux
+agent, and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining
+white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band of Indians
+depends much upon the liberality shown towards the said Indians who have
+recovered Mrs. Marble, and having full confidence in the humanity and
+liberality of the Territory of Minnesota, through its government and
+citizens, have this day paid to the two said above named Indians, the sum
+of five hundred dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians
+that the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by the
+Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months from the date
+hereof.</p>
+
+
+<p style="text-align: right">"Dated May 22nd, 1857, at Pa-Ku-ta Zi-zi, M. T.<br />
+"STEPHEN R. RIGGS,<br />
+<i>Missionary A. B. C. F. M</i>.<br /><br />
+"CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,<br />
+"<i>U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux.</i>"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This bond differed materially from some that were issued by Minnesota
+afterwards, in being paid promptly at maturity.</p>
+
+<p>My expedition brought in Miss Gardner, but Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher
+were killed before relief reached them.</p>
+
+<p>All this occurred before I heard of the action of the legislature, and was
+done wholly on my individual responsibility. I, however, reimbursed myself
+for the outlay from the state funds, and covered the balance of the
+appropriation into the treasury.</p>
+
+<p>Very shortly after the rescue of Miss Gardner, while at the Redwood agency,
+I received a note from Sam Brown, a trader at Yellow Medicine, by an
+Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> courier, which informed me that Ink-pa-du-ta and several of his
+band were at the Yellow Medicine river. I at once determined to kill or
+capture them, and sent word back that I would be on hand with a proper
+force on the morning of the second day, and that he must send an Indian who
+knew where to find them, who would meet me at midnight on the top of a
+butte half way between the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers, and guide me
+in.</p>
+
+<p>I then made a requisition for troops on the commander of the post at
+Ridgely, who sent me a lieutenant and fifteen men. It chanced to be
+Lieutenant Murray, who had accompanied the expedition to Spirit lake. While
+waiting for the soldiers, I raised a volunteer force of about twenty men,
+among whom was a son of the celebrated electrician, Professor Morse, and
+some other young gentlemen who were visiting the agency, all of whom
+insisted on going for the fun of the thing. The balance consisted of
+employes, most of whom were half-breeds. The soldiers arrived about five
+o'clock in the afternoon, and I put them in wagons. I mounted my squad on
+good horses, and every man was furnished with a double-barrelled shotgun
+and a revolver. We started about dark, and at midnight arrived at the
+butte. I galloped to the top of it, and found sitting there in the most
+composed manner possible smoking his pipe, An-pe-tu-toka-sha, or John
+Otherday, who had been deputed by Brown to guide us in. He said he knew
+where we could find the enemy, and indicated six lodges standing together
+about four miles above the Yellow Medicine Agency, on the open prairie. He
+left the road, and guided us through the open country to a point on the
+river about a mile below the lodges, they being on the other side of the
+river. We arrived at about four o'clock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> in the morning, just as the light
+of day was breaking. It was an engrossing study to observe how skillfully
+he kept us concealed from view of the enemy, by keeping rolls of the
+prairie between us. All his movements were like those of a wary animal,
+stealthy and noiseless. The fact is, the education of a savage is learned
+from the wild animals on which he lives, and that is what makes him such a
+good hunter and fighter.</p>
+
+<p>The river, with a narrow stretch of bottom land and a bluff of about thirty
+feet in height, lay between us and the plateau on which was the camp where
+Ink-pa-du-ta was supposed to be. Here we formed our plan of attack. As soon
+as we crossed and attained the high prairie, and located the enemy, we were
+to divide our force into two squads, one of which was to be the soldiers
+and the other the mounted men. The soldiers were to double-quick up the
+edge of the bluff, to intercept a retreat into the river bottom, while the
+mounted men took the open prairie to cut off escape in the other direction.
+Lieutenant Murray was to lead the soldiers and I the horsemen. I said to
+Otherday and my interpreter: "How are we to know the guilty parties?" The
+answer was: "Whoever runs from the camp you may be sure of."</p>
+
+<p>The scene presented when we reached the high land was beautiful, inspiring,
+and frightfully alarming. As far as the eye could reach there was an
+unbroken camp of savages, not less than eight or ten thousand of them,
+representing all the Indians of my upper bands, and those from the Missouri
+who always visited us at payment time. I knew many of them were relatives
+of Ink-pa-du-ta and his people, and most of them his friends, but there was
+no time for balancing chances, and, at the word, away we went for the
+enemy's camp, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> the farthest up the river of them all. The night
+had been very hot, and, as is the custom, the tepees had been rolled up at
+the bottom, to allow a free circulation of air, which, of course, allowed
+the inmates an open view of the prairie. When my squad got within about two
+or three hundred yards of the lodges a young Indian, holding the hand of a
+squaw and carrying a double-barrelled shotgun, sprang out, and made for the
+river bluff as fast as his legs would carry him. All the soldiers fired at
+him, but he did not seem to be hit, and disappeared among the chaparral in
+the bottom. We surrounded him. He fired four shots, and each time I looked
+to see a man fall, but only one shot was effective, and that struck the
+cartridge box of a young soldier, turning it completely inside out, but
+without injuring the wearer. Whenever he shot, we poured a volley into the
+place indicated by the smoke, and succeeded in killing him. We took his
+squaw and put her into one of the wagons, more for the purpose of
+identifying the man than anything else, and started down the river towards
+the agency. We had to pass through the heart of all these camps, and the
+squaw yelled as only a scared squaw can. The savages swarmed about our
+party by the hundreds and thousands, threatening vengeance, and flourishing
+their guns in a blood-curdling manner. A shot from one of them, or from one
+of us, would have sent us all into heaven in less than a moment. The shot
+was not fired, and we succeeded in reaching the agency in safety. I have
+always attributed our escape to the moral force of the government that was
+behind us.</p>
+
+<p>At the agency there were great log buildings, in which we fortified
+ourselves. I sent a courier to Fort Ridgely for reenforcements. The
+commanding-officer sent us the old Sherman Buena Vista Battery, which
+assisted us in letting go and getting out.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span>The Indian we killed turned out to be the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta, who
+was one of the head devils in the Spirit lake massacre. He had ventured in
+to see his sweetheart, and was the only one of the gang that was present
+when we made our attack.</p>
+
+<p>The question has often been asked, why the government allowed the massacre
+to go unpunished. Colonel Alexander of the Tenth and I had a plan by which
+we would have destroyed Ink-pa-du-ta and his band without a doubt, but just
+at the moment of putting it into execution an order came for all the
+companies of the Tenth at Ridgely to leave at once for Fort Bridger, in
+Utah, to join the expedition under General Albert Sydney Johnson, against
+the Mormons, and that was the end of it.</p>
+
+<p>Our raid was about as foolhardy and reckless a one as ever was undertaken,
+and our escape can only be credited to providence or good luck.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span><a name="MUSCULAR_LEGISLATION" id="MUSCULAR_LEGISLATION"></a>MUSCULAR LEGISLATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>My attention was once arrested by a short editorial, under the caption of
+"Gold Lace Lawmaking," which recalled an amusing incident in my experience
+that occurred in 1856. The editorial said: "When the lawmakers of the
+province of Manitoba met at Winnipeg, the occasion was something to impress
+the voter. The Royal Canadian Dragoons paraded, and the Thirteenth field
+battery roared a salute. Mark the contrast. On one side of the line,
+ceremony, gold lace and honor. On the other, nothing but a few clean
+collars and a camp-fire of the bobby."</p>
+
+<p>It is not my intention to discuss the question of which is the better
+method, but to relate an incident which will cast some light on the views
+people of the two sections take of legislative etiquette and ceremony, and
+the slight effect such ideas have on the practical subject of legislation
+and the conduct of the legislators.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1856 I was elected by the people of the Minnesota valley to the
+territorial council, which corresponds to the state senate under our
+present political organization. At the same election a neighbor of mine,
+George McLeod, was elected to the house of representatives from the same
+district. George was a Scotch Canadian, who had passed his life in that
+part of Canada where French is the dominant language, and it had become his
+most familiar tongue. He was a giant in build, being much over six feet in
+height, and correspondingly powerful. He was red headed, and although well
+educated, preferred his fists to any other weapons in argu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span>ment, and
+generally carried his points. He was fond of good horses, boasted of his
+skill as a hunter, and possessed all the requisites of a successful
+frontiersman. He added to these accomplishments an extensive knowledge of
+Scotch poetry and a varied repertoire of choice songs, which he sang on all
+appropriate occasions. On the whole, George might be classified as an all
+around good fellow. Another attribute which I must not forget to mention
+was, that he was the brother of one of our most distinguished first
+settlers, Martin McLeod, who was a member of the first territorial council,
+which convened in 1849, and also the brother of Rev. Norman McLeod, a
+plucky Presbyterian preacher, who settled in Salt Lake City in the fifties,
+and preached the Gentile religion when Mormonism was at its height and its
+disciples were in the habit of killing people who differed from them.</p>
+
+<p>After the excitement of the election was over, George naturally began to
+reflect upon his exalted position, and, of course, all his conclusions were
+reached from a Canadian point of view. Feeling a little doubt on some
+questions, he decided to consult me, supposing I was more familiar with the
+American way of doing things than he possibly could be; so one day he came
+to see me on the all-engrossing subject. We found each other in the
+regulation costume of the country, which consisted of blue flannel shirts,
+cheap slop-shop trowsers, Red River moccasins, and the whole finished off
+with a scarlet Hudson's Bay or a variegated Pembina sash, all of which was
+picturesque, but carried with it no semblance of pretentious aristocracy. I
+welcomed George with great cordiality, and he at once opened his budget. He
+said: "Flaundreau," giving my name the full French pronunciation, "when we
+get down to parliament, we will have to set up a coach." My surprise may be
+well imagined,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> when I tell you a journey of a hundred miles on foot was to
+either of us no unusual event, and that neither McLeod nor I had been the
+owner of a boot or a shoe for several years. I, however, restrained my
+astonishment, and asked: "What makes you think so?" His reply was, that it
+was entirely inadmissible for a member of parliament to walk from his hotel
+to the parliament house or to ride in a public conveyance. The question of
+British or Canadian etiquette flashed upon me, and explained McLeod's
+meaning; but it required an immense effort on my part to control my
+laughter, when I had fully taken in the ludicrous features of the
+proposition. I would no more have given way to my inclinations, however,
+than I would have yielded to the same desire when some ridiculous event
+happens at an official Indian council. The picture of a coach with liveried
+coachman and footman driving up to the door of the old American House in
+St. Paul, and two half-savage looking men, shod in moccasins, climbing into
+it, to be transported three or four blocks to the old capitol, with a
+gaping crowd of half-breeds and ruffianly spectators looking on in
+amazement, passed before my mind, and made me wonder what would be the
+result of such a phenomenal spectacle; but I simply said: "We had better
+wait until we get there, and see what the other fellows do; but there is
+one thing I can promise you, and that is, that our district shall not fall
+behind any of the rest of them if it takes a coach and six to hold it up."</p>
+
+<p>When we arrived at the parliament, of course McLeod's ideas of etiquette
+and good form met with a rude check, and that was the last I ever heard of
+the subject.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not the last I heard of my colleague. His convivial and
+belligerent characteristics led him into all sorts of scrapes. He was,
+however, usually quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> competent to take care of himself, and we each
+followed our own trails without interference, until some political question
+of more than ordinary interest came up in the house, and an evening session
+was agreed upon for its discussion. McLeod was to speak on the subject, and
+he spent nearly all day in preparation, which consisted in dropping in at
+old Caulder's, a brother Scotchman, about every hour and taking a drink, so
+when the time arrived he was loaded to the guards with inspiration.</p>
+
+<p>In the old capitol the halls of legislation were on the second floor, the
+house on one side and the council on the other, with an open hall between
+them and a stairway leading up from below. The height between the floors
+was about sixteen feet. It had been arranged that a keg of whisky should be
+put into the council chamber, to be presided over by the sergeant-at-arms
+of the council, who was an enormous man, larger even than McLeod.</p>
+
+<p>The hour arrived, a large party attended the debate, among whom were Joe
+Rolette and I, many ladies also gracing the occasion. McLeod spoke, and
+after he had finished, he sauntered over to the council chamber to refresh
+himself. While the custodian of the keg was getting him a drink, McLeod
+asked if he had heard his speech, and how he liked it. The sergeant
+ventured a not very flattering criticism on some remark he had made, when
+George slapped him viciously across the face with a pair of buckskin
+gauntlets he held in his hand. He had hardly struck the blow, when the
+sergeant seized him, and rushed him across the hall to the railing around
+the staircase, reaching which, over McLeod went backwards to the bottom,
+sixteen feet below, with a crash that could be heard all over the building.
+In a moment or two, my friend, Joe Rolette, came running breath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span>lessly to
+me, and gasped out, "Hiawatha, Hiawatha" [the name he always called me],
+"McLeod is dead." I sprang to my feet, and rushed down stairs, where I
+found McLeod laid out on a lounge in the office of the secretary of the
+territory, with Doctor Le Boutillier, a French member from St. Anthony,
+endeavoring to pacify him. The conversation ran as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>Doctor: "Georges, mon ami; ne bouge pas, tu a le bras cass&eacute;."</p>
+
+<p>McLeod: "Fiche-Moi la paix, on peut courber le bras &agrave; un Ecossais; on ne
+peut pas le lui casser."</p>
+
+<p>Which translated would read:</p>
+
+<p>"George, my friend, be quiet, your arm is broken."</p>
+
+<p>"Stand aside, you may bend a Scotchman's arms, but you can't break them."</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Poor McLeod's right arm was broken badly, which laid him up until the end
+of the session.</p>
+
+<p>A short time after the legislature had dissolved George was standing in a
+saloon on Third street, with his right arm in a sling, and a glass of
+whisky in his left hand, which he was about to drink, when who should walk
+in but the big sergeant. Without a word George discharged the contents of
+his glass into the face of the sergeant, and prepared for battle, crippled
+as he was; but the interruption of friends and the chivalry of the sergeant
+prevented an encounter, and so ended the legislative career of the
+gentleman from Canada. Whether it would have terminated otherwise had we
+set up our coach and livery and changed our moccasins for patent leather
+boots I leave to the decision of the reader.</p>
+
+<p>He went with General Sibley's command to the Missouri, where I believe he
+remained.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span><a name="THE_VIRGIN_FEAST" id="THE_VIRGIN_FEAST"></a>THE VIRGIN FEAST.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In all ages, and among all people who had progressed beyond absolute
+individualism and gained any kind of government or community interests,
+there must have been some kind of law to settle disputes and controversies,
+whether of a public or private nature, and I remember once, in the very
+early days of Minnesota, of witnessing a test which bore a close
+resemblance to a trial by jury, and involved an important question of
+individual character which would have been classified under our
+jurisprudence as an action of slander. It occurred among the Sioux Indians,
+and presented many features of much interest that made an impression on me
+which I have never forgotten. The whole proceeding was absolutely natural
+and aboriginal in its character and conduct, and free from the
+technicalities which sometimes obstruct the progress of the administration
+of justice in modern times.</p>
+
+<p>It is well known that the value of the testimony of a witness depends very
+much upon his demeanor and manner of delivering it in court, and that the
+judge usually tells the jury that they must take these matters into
+consideration in giving it its true weight; but in the case I am about to
+relate there was nothing but the appearance and manner of the witnesses
+testifying upon which to base a judgment of their truth or falsity, and it
+was this novel feature that lent additional and peculiar interest to the
+controversy.</p>
+
+<p>The Sioux Indians have a rude kind of jurisprudence which gets at the truth
+by a sort of natural intuition, and the case I witnessed convinced me that
+justice had been reached with more certainty than in nine out of ten of our
+jury trials. We have all heard of trial by battle, un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span>der the old English
+law, and the trial of witches by water, where, if they sank and drowned
+they were innocent, and if they floated they were guilty and were hanged.
+But this trial was based on public sentiment or the ability of bystanders
+to detect guilt or innocence from the appearance and conduct of the
+litigants during the trial, which, although a crude method, is, in my
+judgment, much safer than some of those practised by our ancestors at no
+very remote date.</p>
+
+<p>The trial I refer to is called the "Virgin Feast." It is brought about in
+this way: Some gossip or scandal is started in a band about one of the
+young women. It reaches the ears of her mother. In order to test its truth
+or falsity, the mother commands her daughter to give a "Virgin Feast." The
+accused cooks some rice, and invites all the maidens of the band to come
+and partake. They appear, each with a red spot painted on each cheek, as an
+emblem of virginity. They seat themselves in a semi-circle on the prairie,
+and the hostess supplies each of them with a bowl of rice which is set
+before her. A boulder, painted red, is placed in front of them, about ten
+feet distant, and a large knife is thrust into the ground in front of, and
+close up to, the stone. All the young men attend as spectators. This
+ceremony is, on the part of the accused and any girl who takes a place in
+the ring, a challenge to the world, that, if any one has aught to say
+against her, he has the privilege of saying it. If nothing is said, and the
+feast is eaten uninterruptedly, the maiden who gave the feast is
+vindicated, and the gossip disbelieved; but if the challenge is taken up by
+any young buck, he steps forward and seizes the girl he accuses by the
+hand, pulls her out of the ring, and makes his charges. She has the right
+of swearing on the stone and knife to her innocence, which goes a great way
+in her vindication, but is not conclusive. If she swears,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> and he persists,
+an altercation ensues, and public sentiment is formed on view of the
+contestants' actions.</p>
+
+<p>I remember once, at one of these trials, of seeing a young fellow of about
+twenty-five, step forward and rudely grasp the hand of a girl of about
+sixteen, jerk her to her feet, and make some scandalous charge against her.
+The look she gave him was so full of righteous indignation, scorn and
+offended virtue that no one could see it without being at once enlisted in
+her favor. She glared on him for a moment, with a look that only outraged
+innocence can assume, when shouts went up from the crowd, "Swear! Swear!"
+She approached the stone with the bearing of a princess, and placed her
+hand upon it with an air that could not be mistaken; then throwing a look
+of triumph at the spectators, she strode back to face her accuser with the
+confidence that bespeaks innocence. The fellow began to weaken, and in less
+than a moment was in full flight with a howling mob after him, hurling
+sticks and stones at him with no gentle intent. He disappeared, and the
+girl took her place in the ring as fully vindicated as if the lord chief
+justice of England had decided her case. I recollect very distinctly that
+my convictions of her innocence induced by the general features of the
+trial and conduct of the litigants were as strong as any member of the
+court.</p>
+
+<p>It probably would not do to depend upon such evidence in the more
+complicated affairs of civilized life, and with a people educated in
+dissimulation and the control of the emotions, but with a simple and
+natural people I don't believe many mistakes were made in arriving at just
+judgments.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">"Innocence unmoved</span><br />
+At a false accusation doth the more<br />
+Confirm itself; and guilt is best discover'd<br />
+By its own fears."<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span><a name="THE_ABORIGINAL_WAR_CORRESPONDENT" id="THE_ABORIGINAL_WAR_CORRESPONDENT"></a>THE ABORIGINAL WAR CORRESPONDENT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>From the earliest days of recorded history man has regarded his prowess in
+war as the most valuable of his exploits, and success in war has generally
+been measured by the number of slain on the battle-field. I don't know how
+the facts were arrived at in ancient times, and whether or not they had war
+correspondents who followed the armies and reported their doings I can't
+say, but as the art of printing was unknown, and the means of communication
+were very limited, it seems doubtful if the results were arrived at in that
+way. From what I know of human nature and character, I am convinced that,
+if the reports were made through the commanders in the field, the lists of
+the enemy slain may fairly be discounted about seventy-five per cent. Have
+we not had reports of the most exaggerated character as to the number of
+prisoners captured and enemies killed so recently as our Civil War? And
+have we ever read of a battle with the Indians or other uncivilized people
+where, after giving our own losses, we have not met with the old
+stereotyped report, "that the loss of the enemy was far greater, but as
+they always remove their dead and wounded, it is impossible to ascertain
+the exact number?" The wars now raging in the Philippines and Samoa form no
+exception to this familiar report. So far as our fights with the American
+Indians are concerned, I feel quite confident that, where we have killed
+one Indian, we have lost ten whites, take it through from the Atlantic to
+the Pacific; but you can't figure out any such results from the reports
+which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> have made up history. The temptation to exaggerate for the purpose
+of hero-making and future political preferment is too great to be resisted,
+and the consequence is that truth suffers amazingly. Perhaps it is better
+for mankind that the slaughter should be on paper, rather than in fact.</p>
+
+<p>Modern warfare has introduced the new element of the war correspondent. He
+is generally either a creature of the commander, or desirous of flattering
+him for personal advantage or some other consideration, and he piles on the
+praises of the side he represents, diminishes the credit due the enemy, and
+resolves every doubt against him.</p>
+
+<p>Now the Indian has a way of arriving at the truth of such matters which is
+infinitely more satisfactory than that of his white brother. He knows just
+as well as any one what boasters all men are on matters relating to their
+own exploits, and especially those relating to war, and in order that there
+shall be no humbug about such matters, he will give no credence to any
+statement that is not accompanied by the most irrefragable proof. When a
+warrior comes home and says, "I killed six enemies on my last raid," he is
+confronted with the demand to produce his evidence, and the only evidence
+admissible is the scalps of the dead enemies. Should he make such an
+assertion without the proof, he would be laughed out of the camp as a silly
+boaster.</p>
+
+<p>Most people think the practice of scalping an enemy, generally indulged in
+by the Sioux, is a wanton desire cruelly to mutilate the foe. Such is not
+the case at all; he is prompted solely by the desire of procuring proof of
+his success, and he will take more chances to get a scalp than he would for
+any other object in life. Among the Sioux, and I believe most of the tribes
+of North Ameri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span>ca, for every enemy killed a warrior is entitled to wear a
+head-dress with an eagle feather in it, which to him fills the same place
+in his character and reputation as the Victoria cross or the medal of the
+legion of honor, or any other of the numerous decorations bestowed upon
+white men for deeds of bravery and honor; and to gain this distinction he
+is moved by the same impulse that actuated Hobson in sinking the Merrimac
+in the harbor of Santiago, or the actors in the thousand and one daring
+deeds in which men in all ages have freely risked their lives.</p>
+
+<p>Scalping is an art, and the manner in which it is done, depends wholly upon
+the circumstances of the occasion. A complete and perfect scalp embraces
+the whole hair of the head, with a margin of skin all round it about two
+and a half inches in width, including both ears with all their ornaments.
+This can only be obtained when the victor has abundant time to operate
+leisurely. When he is beset by the enemy, all he can do, as a general
+thing, is to seize the hair with the left hand and hold up the scalp with
+it and then give a quick cut with his knife, and get as big a piece as he
+can. By this hurried process he rarely gets a piece larger than a small
+saucer, and generally not bigger than a silver dollar; but no matter how
+small it may be, it entitles him to his feather. Among the Sioux the
+killing of a full grown grizzly bear is equivalent to the killing of an
+enemy, and entitles the victor to the same decoration. I have known Indians
+who wore as many as sixteen feathers.</p>
+
+<p>It is not alone the importance that these decorations give the wearer which
+enters into their value. When he returns from the war path, bearing scalps,
+he is received by all his band with demonstrations of the greatest pride
+and honor. If you can imagine Dewey landing at New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> York from the
+Philippines, you can form some idea of the honors that would be heaped upon
+a victorious savage. If the weather is pleasant, he strips to the waist,
+and paints his body jet black. He places on the top of his head a round
+ball of pure white swan's down, about the size of a large orange, and takes
+in his hand a staff, about five feet long, with a buckskin fringe tacked on
+to the upper three feet of it. On the end of each shred of the fringe is a
+piece of a deer's hoof, forming a rattle, by striking together when shaken
+up and down. When arrayed in this manner he marches up and down the
+village, recounting in a sort of a chant the entire history of the events
+of the raid on the enemy, going into the most minute details, and indulging
+in much imagination and superstition. He tells what he dreamed, what
+animals he saw, and how all these things influenced his conduct. He
+continues this ceremony for days and days, and is the admiration of all his
+people. I have seen four or five of them together promenading in this way,
+and have taken an interpreter and marched with them by the hour listening
+to their stories.</p>
+
+<p>When this part of the performance is over, the scalps are tanned by the
+women, as they would tan a buffalo-skin, the inside painted red, and the
+whole stretched on a circular hoop, about the size of a barrel hoop, to
+which is attached a straight handle, about four feet long, so that it can
+be carried in the air above the heads of the people. It is also decorated
+with all the trinkets found on the person of the slain.</p>
+
+<p>Then begins the dancing. When night comes the men arrange themselves in two
+lines, about fifteen feet apart, facing each other, all provided with
+tom-toms, and musical instruments of all kinds known to the savage. When
+everything is ready, they sing a kind of a weird<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span> chant, keeping time with
+the instruments and their feet. Then the squaws, with the scalps held
+aloft, dance in between the lines of men from opposite directions, until
+they meet, when they chass&eacute; to the right and left, then dance back and
+forward again, every once in a while emitting a sharp little screech which
+I have never known to be successfully imitated. During the dance, the men
+join in a kind of shuffle from right to left, and back again, keeping the
+music going all the time. The whole performance is one of the most savage
+and weird ceremonies I have ever witnessed. It is kept up for weeks.</p>
+
+<p>It was a frequent amusement for half a dozen of us to throw blankets over
+our heads, and join in the dance for half an hour or so. I have been lulled
+to sleep many times by this wild music, heard from a distance of half a
+mile, on a still night.</p>
+
+<p>It was supposed that when the scalp was taken while the leaves were on the
+trees, it was danced over until they fell, and then buried, and when taken
+in winter it was buried when the leaves came in the spring, but I never was
+quite sure about this. I wanted one very much once, and a party of us went
+in the night just back of St. Peter, where we supposed they had been
+buried, and dug for them, and to our horror struck the toes of a dead
+Indian. That cured my desire in this direction.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span><a name="BRED_IN_THE_BONE" id="BRED_IN_THE_BONE"></a>BRED IN THE BONE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the early days of what is now Minnesota there were two families of
+missionaries living among the Sioux of the Mississippi, who, like many of
+their profession, devoted their whole lives to spreading the gospel of
+Christ among the savages. They were those of Dr. Williamson and the Rev.
+Stephen R. Riggs, both of whom had lived with these Indians long before I
+came among them. When I first became connected with these Indians I found
+the missionaries comfortably installed at the Yellow Medicine agency, with
+quite a village around them. They had dwelling houses, and a commodious
+schoolhouse, where they took Indian children at a very early age, with a
+view of civilizing and Christianizing them. They had also a very pretty
+church, with a steeple on it, and a bell in the steeple, and all the other
+buildings necessary for the complete and efficient operation of their
+laudable undertaking. They were full of zeal and enthusiasm in the cause,
+and had progressed to a point where it looked to an outsider as if success
+was only a question of a short time, if it was not already an accomplished
+fact. The Bible had been translated into the Sioux language, and they had
+hymn books and catechisms in the same language. They had learned to speak
+Sioux thoroughly, and could preach and sing in that language. Many is the
+time I have attended church at the little meeting house, and heard the
+simple old Presbyterian hymns sung to the tunes that have resounded for
+generations through the meeting houses of New England. It was a most solemn
+and impressive spectacle, in the heart of the Indian country, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> see a
+Christian church filled with devout worshippers all in the costume of
+savagery, and to listen to the oft-told story of the Saviour who died that
+man might live. Such a scene carries with it a much more convincing proof
+of the universality of the Christian religion than a church full of
+fashionably dressed people in a great city. It suggests its limitless
+application to all the human race, even if dwelling in the remotest part of
+the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The experience of these good missionaries had taught them that civilization
+was the most potent auxiliary to religion, and, for the success of either,
+the other was a necessary aid and adjunct when dealing with these primitive
+people. So they set themselves to work to devise plans to instill into the
+Indians the elemental principles of government based on law. They organized
+a little state or community among them, through which they endeavored to
+prove to them the advantages of civilized rule through the agency of
+officers of their own choice and laws of their own making. They called
+their state "The Hazelwood Republic," which embraced all the missionary
+establishment, and all the Indians they could induce to unite in the
+enterprise. They drew a written constitution, the provisions of which were
+to govern and direct the conduct of the members and the workings of the
+community. Of course, the fundamental principles upon which the whole
+fabric rested were similar to those taught by the ten commandments. The
+Indians, with the advice of the missionaries, elected a president for the
+young republic, and the choice fell upon a wise and upright man, about
+fifty years of age, whose name was Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, or "The man who
+shoots metal as he walks," and to give the matter a more pronounced
+ecclesiastical aspect, they added a scriptural name by way of a prefix to
+the names of all the officers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> For instance, they called the president,
+Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, and one of the deacons, Simon Ana-wang-ma-ni, which
+means "The man who can keep up with any moving object;" or, as things
+turned out in the end, it could well have been translated into the "Fast
+Man."</p>
+
+<p>The first act necessary for initiation as a citizen of the republic was
+cutting off the long hair universally worn by the Sioux, and if any act
+could be taken as indicative of sincerity, this one seemed to be
+conclusive. It is quite as much of a sacrifice for an Indian to cut off his
+hair as it would be for a young lady in society possessed of a splendid
+suit of hair to cut it off short and appear at a grand ball with her head
+thus denuded.</p>
+
+<p>The next step was to wear a hat, and exchange the breech-clout for
+pantaloons, and the blanket for a shirt or coat. Notwithstanding this
+terrible ordeal of naturalization, the population of the republic
+increased, and the church was well attended. The praying and singing was
+participated in quite generally by the members, and the future republic
+looked promising. One of the most exemplary citizens and devout worshippers
+was deacon Simon Ana-wang-ma-ni. He led in prayer, and labored heart and
+soul for the good of the republic and the church. He was the last man that
+anyone would have expected to fall from grace, and no one ever thought of
+such a thing; but, strange as it may appear, he one day sought an interview
+with the missionaries, and announced the astounding fact that an Indian who
+had killed his cousin some eight years before had returned from the
+Missouri river country, and he thought it was his duty to kill him in
+retaliation. The astonishment of the missionaries may be well imagined.
+They cited to him the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," and dwelt upon
+the awful sinfulness of such an act, and he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span> say, "I know what the
+Bible says, and I believe in Sundays, but he killed my cousin." Then they
+would attack him on the laws of the republic of which he was a high
+official, and dwell upon the dreadful example such an act would set before
+the brethren of the church, and he would reply, "Oh, yes; I know all that;
+but he killed my cousin." Then, in despair, they would tell him that he was
+no longer an Indian; that he had become a white man, and the laws of the
+white man forbid such revenge. "I know all that," he would say, "but he
+killed my cousin." As a final resort, the faithful and believing
+missionaries concluded to call in the aid of heaven to assist them, and
+they prayed with Simon for hours, days and nights, in all of which he
+joined with fervor and unction; but he could not divest himself of the
+all-pervading idea that his cousin had been killed, and the sacred duty had
+devolved upon him to avenge his death. This belief had been born in him,
+and no religion of the white man could eradicate it. True to the creed of
+his ancestors, he got a double-barrelled shotgun and went out and killed
+his enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, this murder opened up a new feud, arraying relative against
+relative, and destroyed Simon's influence as a deacon in the church and an
+officer of the republic to such a degree as almost to destroy all the good
+that both had accomplished. I mention this incident to show what uncertain
+ground the missionaries find to sow the seeds of Christianity in when
+working among savages.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding such discouragements as the above, I believe much good was
+done through the efforts of the missionaries. In times of great trouble and
+excitement I always found the best friends of the whites among the Indians
+who had felt the enlightening influences of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span> missionaries, not
+excepting Simon, who with Paul, John Otherday, and many others, performed
+heroic services for the whites when friends were most needed; but I have
+never been able to settle the question in my mind as to whether any of them
+ever grasped the principles of the Christian religion.</p>
+
+<p>In 1862 the Sioux openly rebelled against the whites, and it was solely
+through the good offices of Otherday and Paul that these missionaries
+escaped massacre. All their buildings and their labor of long years were
+destroyed, and they were driven out of the country. Most people would have
+thought that they would have had enough of such a life. I know I thought
+so, but not so with these devoted people. Shortly after the suppression of
+the outbreak I met Dr. Williamson, and asked him what were his future
+intentions. Without the least hesitation he answered that he would look up
+the remnant of his tribe, and continue his work.</p>
+
+<p>All the heroes are not found in the ranks of the fighters.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>NOTE.&mdash;The reader of both the history and the frontier stories will
+notice that many of the facts stated in the history are repeated in
+the stories. I decided to insert both because the different way in
+which they are related led me to believe that the elimination of
+either would detract from the interest of the work.</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">THE AUTHOR.</span><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span><a name="AN_ACCOMPLISHED_RASCAL" id="AN_ACCOMPLISHED_RASCAL"></a>AN ACCOMPLISHED RASCAL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the late fifties a young man of very attractive manners and
+extraordinary accomplishments appeared in St. Peter. His name was La Croix,
+or at least he said it was, and no questions were asked. We had not at that
+time acquired the habit of asking newcomers what names they went by in the
+States, as was the usual practice in the early settlement of Texas and
+California. We were an unsuspicious people, and accepted those who settled
+among us for what they said they were and appeared to be.</p>
+
+<p>It was soon discovered that La Croix spoke French fluently; nearly all our
+first settlers were French. He said he learned it while living in New
+Orleans. He soon developed a large acquaintance with military matters, and
+we made him captain of our militia company (now the national guard), and he
+drilled us up to a high state of discipline and skill in company tactics
+and movements. I had the honor of being second lieutenant of the company.
+This art, he said, he acquired as sergeant of a company in the crack New
+York Seventh.</p>
+
+<p>He was a graceful and adroit fencer, and could explain the difference
+between the French system and the American plan as taught at West Point. I
+learned both from him. His conversational powers and the extent of his
+general knowledge surpassed anything that ever graced the border. In a
+word, he possessed all the qualities, including personal beauty, that were
+necessary to make him a general favorite with both men and women. He did
+not fail to improve all his advantages.</p>
+
+<p>He soon became the trusted bookkeeper for one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span> our business concerns,
+courted and married a lovely young girl from a neighboring town, and
+settled down to a life of domestic felicity, esteemed by all, questioned by
+none.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after his marriage the Civil War began, and in due course of time a
+baby was born to his house. Shortly after the latter event he announced
+that news had arrived that certain stock of the Chemical Bank, in New York,
+which he had inherited from his father, who had died in New Orleans, was in
+danger of confiscation by the federal government as rebel property, and he
+was obliged to go East and take care of it. He made the most elaborate
+preparations for the comfort of his wife and child during his absence, and
+departed. We gave him a splendid send-off, and several of us, I among the
+rest, entrusted him with commissions to perform for us in New York, and for
+a long time that was the last we heard of La Croix.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, there were many who said, "I told you so," but they had not done
+anything of the kind; we were all taken in without exception. His wife was
+the last to lose confidence in his return. I followed up every clue she
+could give me, but without results. He had disappeared as completely as if
+the ground had opened and swallowed him up, and we forgot him.</p>
+
+<p>The war was fought out, and peace returned. A Connecticut regiment,
+commanded by Colonel Brevet Brigadier General Thompson (I will call him
+that for certain reasons) was mustered out in one of the chief cities of
+that state, and nothing was too good for its gallant commander. He was
+sought after socially, and by the business community, and soon became as
+popular as La Croix had been in St. Peter. He married one of the most
+beautiful and aristocratic young ladies of the state,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span> and was appointed to
+the position of general inspector of agencies of one of the great insurance
+companies of Connecticut, and he decided to improve the opportunity of his
+first tour as a pleasant way of passing his honeymoon. So he started west
+with his confiding wife.</p>
+
+<p>I forgot to mention that, when La Croix reached St. Paul, after leaving St.
+Peter, he drew and cashed a small draft of a few hundred dollars on his
+employer, and appropriated the proceeds.</p>
+
+<p>Thompson's luck seemed to have deserted him on his wedding trip, as, on
+arriving at Cleveland, Ohio, a citizen of St. Peter met and recognized him
+as his old friend La Croix, and not knowing he was a brigadier general
+slapped him familiarly on the shoulder and said: "Hello, La Croix; I am
+glad to see you." The general was immensely indignant, and spurned his new
+found friend, which angered the latter exceedingly, and he at once
+telegraphed to St. Peter, and received a reply to have the party arrested
+and held, which he did. The general wired to his principals, setting forth
+his difficulty, saying it was all a case of mistaken identity. They
+instructed their agent in Cleveland to go General Thompson's bail for any
+amount required, which was done, and he at once started for home to procure
+evidence, leaving his wife to await his return, and that was the last seen
+of General Thompson for many years. I believe, however, he was once
+recognized in Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>Time passed; the West grew and expanded; many new states were added to the
+Union; many immigrants were attracted to its fertile fields and booming
+cities, very few of their number hailing from either Minnesota or
+Connecticut. Among them, however, was a gentleman of most attractive mien.
+He went into the real estate business, and greatly prospered. His varied
+ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span>complishments soon made him the most popular man in his state. He united
+with the political party which held the power. He married an attractive
+young woman, and settled down to a quiet and respectable domesticity. In
+the course of events a United States senator was to be elected, and what
+was more natural than that this intelligent, respectable and popular
+citizen should be considered a worthy candidate. The legislature convened,
+his prospects of election were more than promising, and he would
+undoubtedly have been chosen had not some meddlesome fellow recognized him
+as the long lost La Croix. Of course, he disappeared, and this time,
+permanently.</p>
+
+<p>The moral of this story is, that it is better, as a general thing, to find
+out what name people went by in the States before you either marry them or
+elect them to the United States senate.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span><a name="AN_ADVOCATES_OPINION_OF_HIS_OWN_ELOQUENCE_IS_NOT_ALWAYS_RELIABLE" id="AN_ADVOCATES_OPINION_OF_HIS_OWN_ELOQUENCE_IS_NOT_ALWAYS_RELIABLE"></a>AN ADVOCATE'S OPINION OF HIS OWN ELOQUENCE IS NOT ALWAYS RELIABLE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the early days of the territory a large part of the legal business arose
+out of misunderstandings about claim lines and the attempts of settlers to
+jump the claims of other people. These suits usually took the shape of
+trespass and forcible entry and detainer. In some instances they ripened
+into assaults and batteries, and were generally tried before justices of
+the peace. Nearly all the people were French, and that language was quite
+as usually spoken as English. The town of Mendota was almost exclusively
+French and half-breed Sioux, the latter speaking French if they deviated
+from their native tongue. One of our earliest lawyers was Jacob J. Noah,
+from New York. He was the son of a very celebrated journalist of that city,
+and was a very cultured and accomplished gentleman. He spoke French like a
+native, which, no doubt, had a good deal to do with his living at Mendota.
+That town boasted of a justice of the peace, who occupied an exalted
+position in the estimation of the French inhabitants, on account of his
+learning and established character for justice and fair dealing. He was a
+handsome old gentleman, with white hair and beard and impressive judicial
+manner. About the year 1855, among the new arrivals in the legal
+fraternity, was Mr. John B. Brisbin, also from New York. He was a graduate
+of Yale, and acquainted with some of the leading lawyers in St. Paul, so
+his advent was announced with a good many flourishes, and he soon took a
+leading stand in the profession. Mr. Brisbin was a cultured and eloquent
+lawyer, and no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span> one knew it better than himself. He settled in St. Paul.
+Soon after his arrival a controversy arose between a couple of settlers in
+Dakota county about their claim boundaries, and a suit was brought before
+the French justice at Mendota. Major Noah represented the plaintiff and the
+defendant employed Mr. Brisbin. It being Brisbin's first appearance in
+court, he made extraordinary preparations, intending to create a favorable
+impression. He discovered some fault in the law of the plaintiff's case,
+and when the parties met in court, he demurred to the plaintiff's
+complaint, and made an exhaustive argument in support of his position. He
+was fortified with numerous citations from English and New York cases, all
+of which he read to the court. When he would become particularly
+impressive, the court would evince signs of deep interest, which convinced
+the speaker that he was carrying everything before him. When he finished
+his argument, he looked at his adversary with a confident and somewhat
+exultant expression, as if to say, "Answer that if you can."</p>
+
+<p>The major opened his case to the court in French, and had hardly begun
+before Mr. Brisbin interposed an objection, that he did not understand
+French, and that legal proceedings in this country had to be conducted in
+English. The major answered by saying: "I am only interpreting to the court
+what you have been saying." Mr. Brisbin indignantly replied: "I don't want
+any interpretation of my argument; I made myself perfectly clear in what I
+said." "Oh, yes," said the major, "you made a very clear and strong
+argument; but his honor, the judge, does not understand a single word of
+English," which was literally true. Tradition adds that when the court
+adjourned, the judge was heard to ask the major: "Est ce qu'il y a une
+femme dans cette cause la?" Whether the court decided the case on the
+theory of there being a woman in it or not, history has failed to record.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span><a name="A_MOMENTOUS_MEETING" id="A_MOMENTOUS_MEETING"></a>A MOMENTOUS MEETING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The people of St. Paul have often been proud of a remark which was made by
+Hon. Wm. H. Seward, in a speech delivered by him in 1860, at the old
+capitol on Wabasha street, where he said he believed that the center of
+power on the North American continent would be very near the spot where he
+stood. Everybody, while they liked the prediction, looked upon it as a
+pleasant way the speaker had of giving his hosts and St. Paul a little
+"taffy," and nothing more. Such, however, was not the case, and Mr. Seward,
+when he uttered the prophecy, was thoroughly impressed with the truth of
+what he said, as I will prove further on.</p>
+
+<p>This speech was delivered on the 18th of September, 1860. If I remember
+correctly, Mr. Seward was on an electioneering tour in support of Lincoln's
+candidacy for the presidency, and that Hon. James W. Ney of New York,
+afterwards governor of Nevada, was of the party; but I am not very sure of
+these facts, and they are not at all material to the point I am about to
+make. Mr. Seward stayed at the Merchant's Hotel, at the foot of Jackson
+street, kept by our well known host, Colonel Allen, while he remained in
+St. Paul.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the older settlers will remember James W. Taylor of St. Paul, who,
+for many years, represented the United States as consul at Winnipeg. Mr.
+Taylor was the most popular man in that city. He was not only esteemed for
+his superior ability as an official, but was beloved by all classes of the
+people for his gentle and genial manners. He was a great friend of Bishop
+Anderson of Rupert's Land, who, for twenty years, had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> performed the duties
+of missionary bishop of that far away country. He had travelled the
+McKenzie river to its mouth in the Arctic ocean. He had been all over
+Alaska, up and down the Yukon, and, in fact, knew more about the vast
+country that lies north and northwest of the United States than any living
+man at the date we are speaking of. It so happened that the bishop and
+Consul Taylor were on a visit to St. Paul at the time of the arrival of Mr.
+Seward, and were also guests at the Merchant's Hotel. They, of course,
+called on the distinguished American, Mr. Seward, who became deeply
+interested in the conversation of the bishop about his travels through this
+vast upper region, and was so impressed with the immensity and future
+possibilities of the country that he forgot all about his appointment to
+speak at the capitol, and kept his audience waiting for nearly an hour
+before he could tear himself away from the fascination of the bishop's
+conversation.</p>
+
+<p>The topic Mr. Seward had selected for his speech was one in which he was
+profoundly interested. It was, "The Duty, Responsibility, and Future Power
+of the Northwest," which was a magnificent subject for discussion by such a
+thoughtful statesman. Before meeting Bishop Anderson, Mr. Seward had
+conceived certain theories on the question, as the quotation which I shall
+make from his speech clearly establishes, and that these preconceived ideas
+had been, by his intercourse with the bishop, radically changed, if not
+thoroughly overthrown, seems equally clear. It must be remembered that, in
+1860, very little was known about Alaska and the British possessions in the
+far northern regions, and it is quite possible that even a man of Mr.
+Seward's learning may not have included them in his calculations for the
+future. Of course, what he said about his preconceived<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span> conclusions, and
+the subsequent changes made in them, involved the fact of the absorption
+into the United States of the whole continent, which in all probability
+will happen at some future time.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Seward arrived at the capitol, he was introduced by John W. North,
+and, among other things, said:</p>
+
+<p>"In other days, studying what might perhaps have seemed to others a
+visionary subject, I have cast about for the future&mdash;the ultimate central
+power of the North American people. I have looked at Quebec and New
+Orleans, at Washington and at San Francisco, at Cincinnati and St. Louis,
+and it has been the result of my last conjecture that the seat of power of
+North America would yet be found in the Valley of Mexico,&mdash;that the glories
+of the Aztec capital would be renewed, and that city would become
+ultimately the capital of the United States of America. But I have
+corrected that view, and I now believe that the last seat of power on this
+great continent will be found somewhere within a radius of not very far
+from the very spot where I now stand, at the head of navigation on the
+Mississippi river and on the great Mediterranean lakes."</p>
+
+<p>When and where had this correction been made? Doubtless an hour before, at
+the Merchant's Hotel, through the influence of the interview with Bishop
+Anderson. While at the capitol they visited the rooms of the Historical
+Society, where the bishop made a short address to Mr. Seward, to which Mr.
+Seward responded. Now, all this might have happened, and been of no
+particular interest to the world, except as a pleasant episode between two
+distinguished men. But in this instance it turned out to be of vital
+importance to three of the greatest nations of the world. Mr. Seward was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span>
+so deeply impressed with the St. Paul incident that, immediately after his
+return to Washington, he opened negotiations with the Russian government
+for the purchase of Alaska, and persistently carried them on, until he
+succeeded in acquiring that vast empire for a mere bagatelle of seven or
+eight millions of dollars. This remarkable prevision of Mr. Seward has
+stamped its effect on our present and future destiny and relations with
+England, Canada, Russia and perhaps all the nations of the Orient. Had not
+Mr. Seward visited St. Paul on that exact day, would this great change have
+been made in the map of North America? It certainly would not after the
+discovery of gold in Alaska. So I claim that Minnesota played an
+all-important role in the purchase of Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>Having spoken of my dear old friend, James W. Taylor, I cannot omit to
+mention a most touching tribute paid to his memory by the people of
+Winnipeg. The municipality has placed upon the walls of its city hall a
+fine portrait of the faithful consul, under which hangs a basket for the
+reception of flowers. Every spring each farmer entering the city plucks a
+wild flower, and puts it in the basket. The great love of a people could
+not be expressed in a more beautiful and pathetic manner, and no man was
+more worthy of it than Consul Taylor.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#front"><small>Back to contents</small></a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span><a name="PRIMITIVE_JUSTICE" id="PRIMITIVE_JUSTICE"></a>A PRIMITIVE JUSTICE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The lands west of the Mississippi river, in Minnesota, were the property of
+the Sioux Indians until treaties were made with them in 1851, by which they
+ceded them to the United States, but these treaties were not fully ratified
+until 1853, on account of amendments which deferred final action. But
+immigration was pouring into the territory, and it naturally found a
+lodgment on the west side of the river, from the Iowa line up to Fort
+Snelling, and gradually extended up the Minnesota river to Mankato. Of
+course, all the settlers on the Indian lands were trespassers, and as the
+lands were unsurveyed, no claim rights could be acquired, but the settlers
+did the best they could to mark their claims, and gain what right they
+could by possession. The usual and best way of marking claim lines, was by
+running a plow furrow around the land. When the prairie was once broken,
+the line was indelible, because an entirely new growth would spring up in
+the furrow that never could be eradicated.</p>
+
+<p>In 1854 a law of congress was passed, by which settlers in Minnesota were
+given rights in unsurveyed lands, their claims to be adjusted to the
+surveyed lines, when they were run, "as near as may be."</p>
+
+<p>Of course, this condition of things gave rise to many disputes about claim
+lines and rights, and as there were no legal tribunals to appeal to, we
+organized claim associations to protect our rights. In my part of the
+territory we had an association that covered what is now Blue Earth,
+Nicollet and Le Sueur counties, and most of the actual settlers were
+members, and all were pledged to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> support each other against any one
+attempting to jump the claim of any member. Protection, of course, meant
+driving out the intruder and restoring the rightful owner to his
+possession. The means of reaching the object were not defined, but were
+understood to be adequate to the necessities of the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>I had made a claim on the second plateau, back of what afterwards became
+the town site of St. Peter, and Gibson Patch, the sheriff of Nicollet
+county, had settled on the adjoining quarter section. These claims covered
+the ground where the Scandinavian college now stands, called, I think,
+"Gustavus Adolphus."</p>
+
+<p>I was the president of the Nicollet county branch of the claim association.</p>
+
+<p>About 1855 the government survey lines were extended over our lands, and we
+had to adjust our lines to those of the official surveys as best we could.
+It so happened that the established lines left the shanty of my neighbor,
+the sheriff, outside of the quarter section he had always claimed, and
+before he discovered this fact, a man designing to take advantage of the
+sheriff's peculiar situation, and intending to jump his claim, erected a
+shanty on his land and moved his family into it. It was soon discovered,
+and Patch notified the claim association, which immediately assembled and
+decided that the jumper must be ejected and banished from the county. It
+was winter time. A committee of one hundred and fifty was delegated to
+perform the work at a certain day and hour. The jumper heard of it, and in
+the morning of the day fixed, he prudently fled down the river. Being
+president of the association, it devolved upon me to lead the party. We
+arrived at the house, and finding no opposition, we politely informed the
+family of our mission, and offered them comfortable transportation to any
+point they would name for themselves and their portable belongings, which
+they ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span>cepted. We then burned the house, and appointed two committees of
+ten each to chase the jumper down each side of the river, with full
+discretion to punish him as they saw fit. They pursued him for about forty
+miles, and it was fortunate for the fugitive that they did not overtake
+him, because had they caught him after two p. m., I think they would have
+been in a condition of mind that would have resulted in his summary
+execution.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, we thought no more about it, as matters of that kind were of
+frequent occurrence; but that was not the last of it. It turned out that
+the jumper was a Mason of high degree, and when he got to St. Paul he made
+a most pitiable complaint, charging me with destroying his home, and with
+attempting to murder him. I was a small Mason, and was cited before the
+lodge to defend myself. I simply denied the jurisdiction, and did not
+appear. I was tried, and triumphantly acquitted.</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion a claim was jumped in Le Sueur, just between upper and
+lower town, and the jumper had a great many friends who rallied to his
+defense. The associations of all three counties were called out, and when
+we appeared at Le Sueur, we found about seventy-five Irishmen, all well
+armed, camped on the contested claim ready to defend it to the death. We
+camped at a short distance, and negotiations were opened between the
+hostile armies, which finally resulted in some sort of a compromise,
+satisfactory to the contesting parties, one of whom (the original claimant)
+was K. K. Peck, who was left in possession of the disputed territory. Mr.
+Peck laid his claim out into lots, and gave each one of the members of the
+association that had come to his rescue a deed for a lot, which we called a
+"land warrant," on account of services in the Peck war; but before we could
+realize on our warrants, the government surveys located a school section on
+the battle-field, and destroyed all our hopes.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of
+the Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of the
+Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier
+
+Author: Charles E. Flandrau
+
+Release Date: June 2, 2008 [EBook #25677]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Sigal Alon, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA
+  AND
+  TALES OF THE FRONTIER
+
+  [Illustration: State Seal of Minnesota, ca. 1900]
+
+  [Illustration: Chas E Flandrau]
+
+
+
+
+  The History of Minnesota
+  AND
+  Tales of the Frontier.
+
+  BY
+
+  JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU
+
+
+  PUBLISHED BY
+  E. W. PORTER,
+  ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.
+  1900.
+
+
+  'A MA PUISSANCE'
+  THE PIONEER
+  PRESS
+  SAINT PAUL
+  MDCCCXLIX
+
+
+
+
+Dedication.
+
+
+To the Old Settlers of Minnesota, who so wisely laid the foundation of
+our state upon the broad and enduring basis of freedom and toleration,
+and who have so gallantly defended and maintained it, this history is
+most gratefully and affectionately dedicated by the author.
+
+      Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+The original design of this history was, that it should accompany and
+form part of a book called the "Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota."
+It was so published, and as that work was very large and expensive, it
+was confined almost exclusively to its subscribers, and did not reach
+the general public. Many requests were made to the author to present it
+to the public in a more popular and readable form, and he decided to
+publish it in a book of the usual library size, and dispose of it at a
+price which would place it within the reach of everyone desirous of
+reading it. As the history is written in the most compendious form
+consistent with a full presentation and discussion of all the facts
+concerning the creation and growth of the state, it was estimated that
+it would not occupy sufficient space in print to make a volume of the
+usual and proper size. The author therefore decided to accompany it with
+a series of "Frontier Stories," written by himself at different times
+during his long residence in the Northwest, which embrace historical
+events, personal adventures, and amusing incidents. He believes these
+stories will lend interest and pleasure to the volume.
+
+      THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS.
+
+
+  HISTORY.
+
+
+                                                                   Page.
+
+  Opening Statement                                                    2
+
+  Legendary and Aboriginal Era                                         3
+
+  Fort Snelling                                                       14
+
+  The Selkirk Settlement                                              20
+
+  George Catlin                                                       25
+
+  Featherstonehaugh                                                   25
+
+  Schoolcraft and the Source of Mississippi                           26
+
+  Elevations in Minnesota                                             28
+
+  Nicollet                                                            28
+
+  Missions                                                            30
+
+  The Indians                                                         36
+
+  Territorial Period                                                  43
+
+  Education                                                           49
+
+  The First Territorial Government                                    52
+
+  Courts                                                              54
+
+  First Territorial Legislature                                       58
+
+  Immigration                                                         62
+
+  The Panic of 1857                                                   68
+
+  Land Titles                                                         69
+
+  The First Newspaper                                                 70
+
+  Banks                                                               73
+
+  The Fur Trade                                                       75
+
+  Pemmican                                                            80
+
+  Transportation and Express                                          81
+
+  Lumber                                                              83
+
+  Religion                                                            85
+
+  Railroads                                                           91
+
+  The First Railroad Actually Built                                  101
+
+  The Spirit Lake Massacre                                           102
+
+  The Constitutional Convention                                      109
+
+  Attempt to Remove the Capital                                      115
+
+  Census                                                             117
+
+  Grasshoppers                                                       117
+
+  Militia                                                            120
+
+  The Wright County War                                              122
+
+  The Civil War                                                      123
+
+  The Third Regiment                                                 128
+
+  The Indian War of 1862 and following years                         135
+
+  The Attack on Fort Ridgely                                         148
+
+  Battle of New Ulm                                                  150
+
+  Battle of Birch Coulie                                             159
+
+  Occurrences in Meeker County and Vicinity                          161
+
+  Protection of the Southern Frontier                                162
+
+  Colonel Sibley Moves upon the Enemy                                166
+
+  The Battle of Wood Lake                                            169
+
+  Fort Abercrombie                                                   171
+
+  Camp Release                                                       174
+
+  Trial of the Indians                                               175
+
+  Execution of the Thirty-Eight Condemned Indians                    180
+
+  The Campaign of 1863                                               182
+
+  Battle of Big Mound                                                184
+
+  Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake                                        185
+
+  Battle of Stony Lake                                               186
+
+  Campaign of 1864                                                   187
+
+  A Long Period of Peace and Prosperity                              193
+
+  Introduction of New Process of Milling Wheat                       193
+
+  The Discovery of Iron                                              196
+
+  Commerce Through St. Mary's Falls Canal                            199
+
+  Agriculture                                                        200
+
+  Dairying                                                           201
+
+  The University of Minnesota and School of Agriculture              203
+
+  The Minnesota State Agricultural Society                           205
+
+  The Minnesota Soldiers' Home                                       207
+
+  Other State Institutions                                           208
+
+  Minnesota Institute for Defectives                                 209
+
+  State School for Dependent and Neglected Children                  210
+
+  The Minnesota State Training School                                211
+
+  The Minnesota State Reformatory                                    212
+
+  The Minnesota State Prison                                         213
+
+  The Minnesota Historical Society                                   213
+
+  State Institutions Miscellaneous in Character                      215
+
+  State Finances                                                     217
+
+  The Monetary and Business Flurry of 1873 and Panic of 1893         218
+
+  Minor Happenings                                                   221
+
+  The War with Spain                                                 225
+
+  The Indian Battle of Leech Lake                                    229
+
+  Population                                                        234
+
+  The State Flag                                                     236
+
+  The Official Flower of the State, and the Method of its Selection  237
+
+  Origin of the Name "Gopher State"                                  242
+
+  State Parks                                                        245
+
+  Politics                                                           248
+
+  Bibliography                                                       253
+
+
+
+
+  FRONTIER TALES.
+
+
+  Hunting Wolves in Bed                                              269
+
+  The Poisoned Whisky                                                275
+
+  Fun in a Blizzard                                                  281
+
+  Law and Latin                                                      288
+
+  Indian Strategy                                                    291
+
+  The First Election Returns from Pembina                            296
+
+  A Frontier Story, which contains a Robbery, Two Desertions,
+  a Capture and a Suicide                                            303
+
+  The Pony Express                                                   310
+
+  Kissing Day                                                        316
+
+  A Political Ruse                                                   320
+
+  The Hardships of Early Law Practice                                324
+
+  Temperance at Traverse                                             329
+
+  Win-ne-muc-ca's Gold Mine                                          333
+
+  A Unique Political Career                                          340
+
+  La Crosse                                                          345
+
+  Making a Post Office                                               350
+
+  The Courage of Conviction                                          354
+
+  How the Capital was Saved                                          358
+
+  An Editor Incog                                                    365
+
+  The Ink-pa-du-ta War                                               370
+
+  Muscular Legislation                                               378
+
+  The Virgin Feast                                                   383
+
+  The Aboriginal War Correspondent                                   387
+
+  Bred in the Bone                                                   391
+
+  An Accomplished Rascal                                             396
+
+  An Advocate's Opinion of His Own Eloquence is Not Always Reliable  400
+
+  A Momentous Meeting                                                402
+
+  Primitive Justice                                                  406
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
+
+BY JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU.
+
+
+It has been a little over fifty years since the organization of the
+Territory of Minnesota, which at its birth was a very small and
+unimportant creation, but which in its half century of growth has
+expanded into one of the most brilliant and promising stars upon the
+union of our flag; so that its history must cover every subject, moral,
+physical and social, that enters into the composition of a first-class
+progressive Western state, which presents a pretty extensive field; but
+there is also to be considered a period anterior to civilization, which
+may be called the aboriginal and legendary era, which abounds with
+interesting matter, and to the general reader is much more attractive
+than the prosy subjects of agriculture, finance and commerce.
+
+Having lived in the state through nearly the whole period of Minnesota's
+political existence, and having taken part in most of the leading events
+in her history, both savage and civilized, I propose to treat the
+various subjects that compose her history in a narrative and colloquial
+manner that may not rise to the dignity of history, but which, I think,
+while giving facts, will not detract from the interest or pleasure of
+the reader. If I should in the course of my narrative so far forget
+myself as to indulge in a joke, or relate an illustrative anecdote, the
+reader must put up with it.
+
+Nature has been lavishly generous with Minnesota,--more so, perhaps,
+than with any state in the Union. Its surface is beautifully diversified
+between rolling prairies and immense forests of valuable timber. Rivers
+and lakes abound, and the soil is marvelous in its productive fertility.
+Its climate, taken the year round, surpasses in all attractive features
+that of any part of the North American continent. There are more
+enjoyable days in the three hundred and sixty-five that compose the year
+than in any other country I have ever visited or resided in, and that
+embraces a good part of the world's surface. The salubrity of Minnesota
+is phenomenal. There are absolutely no diseases indigenous to the state.
+The universally accepted truth of this fact is found in a saying, which
+used to be general among the old settlers, "that there is no excuse for
+anyone dying in Minnesota, and that only two men ever did die there, one
+of whom was hanged for killing the other."
+
+The resources of Minnesota principally consist of the products of the
+farm, the mine, the dairy, the quarry and the forest, and its industries
+of a vast variety of manufactures of all kinds and characters, both
+great and small, the leading ones being flour and lumber; to which, of
+course, must be added the enormous carrying trade which grows out of,
+and is necessary to the successful conduct of such resources and
+industries,--all of which subjects will be treated of in their
+appropriate places.
+
+With these prefatory suggestions I will proceed to the history,
+beginning with the
+
+
+
+
+LEGENDARY AND ABORIGINAL ERA.
+
+
+Until a very few years ago it has been generally accepted as a fact that
+Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest of the Recollect Order, was the
+first white man who entered the present boundaries of Minnesota; but a
+recent discovery has developed the fact that there has reposed in the
+archives of the Bodleian Library and British Museum for more than two
+hundred years manuscript accounts of voyages made as far back as 1652 by
+two Frenchmen, named respectively Radison and Groselliers, proving that
+they traveled among the North American Indians from the last named date
+to the year 1684, during which time they visited what is now Minnesota.
+It is also a well authenticated fact that Du Luth anticipated Hennepin
+at least one year, and visited Mille Lacs in 1679, and there, on the
+southwest side of the lake, found a large Sioux town, called Kathio,
+from which point he wrote to Frontenac, on the second day of July, 1679,
+that he had caused his majesty's arms to be planted in Kathio, where no
+Frenchman had ever been. Hennepin did not arrive until 1680. But as the
+exploits of these earlier travelers left no trace that can in any
+important way influence the history of our state beyond challenging the
+claim of priority so long enjoyed by Hennepin, I will simply mention the
+fact of their advent without comment, referring the curious reader for
+the proof of these matters to the library of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, where the details can be found.
+
+Hennepin was with La Salle at Fort Creve-Coeur, near Lake Peoria, in
+what is now Illinois, in 1680. La Salle was the superior of the
+exploring party of which young Hennepin was a member, and in February,
+1680, he selected Hennepin and two traders for the arduous and
+dangerous undertaking of exploring the unknown regions of the Upper
+Mississippi. Hennepin was very ambitious to become a great explorer, and
+was filled with the idea that by following the water courses he would
+find a passage to the sea and Japan.
+
+On the 29th of February, 1680, he, with two voyageurs, in a canoe, set
+out on his voyage of discovery. When he reached the junction of the
+Illinois river with the Mississippi in March, he was detained by
+floating ice until near the middle of that month. He then commenced to
+ascend the Mississippi, which was the first time it was ever attempted
+by a civilized man. On the 11th of April they were met by a large war
+party of Dakotas, which filled thirty-three canoes, who opened fire on
+them with arrows; but hostilities were soon stopped, and Hennepin and
+his party were taken prisoners, and made to return with their captors to
+their villages.
+
+Hennepin, in his narrative, tells a long story of the difficulties he
+encountered in saying his prayers, as the Indians thought he was working
+some magic on them, and they followed him into the woods, and never let
+him out of their sight. Judging from many things that appear in his
+narrative, which have created great doubt about his veracity, it
+probably would not have been very much of a hardship if he had failed
+altogether in the performance of this pious duty. Many of the Indians,
+who had lost friends and relatives in their fights with the Miamis, were
+in favor of killing the white men, but better counsels prevailed, and
+they were spared. The hope of opening up a trade intercourse with the
+French largely entered into the decision.
+
+While traveling up the river one of the white men shot a wild turkey
+with his gun, which produced a great sensation among the Indians, and
+was the first time a Dakota ever heard the discharge of firearms. They
+called the gun Maza wakan, or spirit iron.
+
+The party camped at Lake Pepin, and on the nineteenth day of their
+captivity they arrived in the vicinity of where St. Paul now stands.
+From this point they proceeded by land to Mille Lacs, where they
+were taken by the Indians to their several villages, and were
+kindly treated. These Indians were part of the band of Dakotas, called
+M'day-wa-kon-ton-wans, or the Lake Villagers. I spell the Indian names
+as they are now known, and not as they are given in Hennepin's
+narrative, although it is quite remarkable how well he preserved them
+with sound as his only guide.
+
+While at this village the Indians gave Hennepin some steam baths, which
+he says were very effective in removing all traces of soreness and
+fatigue, and in a short time made him feel as well and strong as he ever
+was. I have often witnessed this medical process among the Dakotas. They
+make a small lodge of poles covered with a buffalo skin, or something
+similar, and place in it several large boulders heated to a high degree.
+The patient then enters naked, and pours water over the stones,
+producing a dense steam, which envelopes him and nearly boils him. He
+stands it as long as he can, and then undergoes a thorough rubbing. The
+effect is to remove stiffness and soreness produced by long journeys on
+foot, or other serious labor.
+
+Hennepin tells in a very agreeable way many things that occurred during
+his captivity: how astonished the Indians were at all the articles he
+had. A mariner's compass created much wonder, and an iron pot with feet
+like lions' paws they would not touch with the naked hand; but their
+astonishment knew no bounds when he told them that the whites only
+allowed a man one wife, and that his religious office did not permit
+him to have any.
+
+I might say here that the Dakotas are polygamous, as savage people
+generally are, and that my experience proves to me that missionaries who
+go among these people make a great mistake in attacking this institution
+until after they have ingratiated themselves with them, and then, by
+attempting any reform beyond teaching monogamy in the future. Nothing
+will assure the enmity of a savage more than to ask him to discard any
+of his wives, and especially the mother of his children. While I would
+be the last man on earth to advocate polygamy, I can truthfully say that
+one of the happiest and most harmonious families I ever knew was that of
+the celebrated Little Crow (who, during all my official residence among
+the Dakotas, was my principal advisor and ambassador, and who led the
+massacre in 1862), who had four wives; but there was a point in his
+favor, as they were all sisters.
+
+Hennepin passed the time he spent in Minnesota in baptizing Indian
+babies and picking up all the information he could find. His principal
+exploit was the naming of the Falls of St. Anthony, which he called
+after his patron saint, Saint Anthony of Padua.
+
+That Hennepin was thoroughly convinced that there was a northern passage
+to the sea which could be reached by ships, is proven by the following
+extract from his work:
+
+    "For example, we may be transported into the Pacific sea by
+    rivers, which are large and capable of carrying great vessels,
+    and from thence it is very easy to go to China and Japan without
+    crossing the equinoctial line, and in all probability Japan is
+    on the same continent as America."
+
+Our early visitor evidently had very confused ideas on matters of
+geography.
+
+The first account of his adventures was published by him in 1683, and
+was quite trustworthy, and it is much to be regretted that he was
+afterwards induced to publish another edition in Utrecht, in 1689, which
+was filled with falsehoods and exaggerations, which brought upon him the
+censure of the king of France. He died in obscurity, unregretted. The
+county of Hennepin is named for him.
+
+Other Frenchmen visited Minnesota shortly after Hennepin for the purpose
+of trade with the Indians and the extension of the territory of New
+France. In 1689 Nicholas Perot was established at Lake Pepin, with quite
+a large body of men, engaged in trade with the Indians. On the 8th of
+May, 1689, Perot issued a proclamation from his post on Lake Pepin, in
+which he formally took possession in the name of the king of all the
+countries inhabited by the Dakotas, "and of which they are proprietors."
+
+This post was the first French establishment in Minnesota. It was called
+Fort Bon Secours, afterwards Fort Le Sueur, but on later maps Fort
+Perot.
+
+In 1695 Le Sueur built the second post in Minnesota, between the head of
+Lake Pepin and the mouth of the St. Croix. In July of that year he took
+a party of Ojibways and one Dakota to Montreal, for the purpose of
+impressing upon them the importance and strength of France. Here large
+bodies of troops were maneuvered in their presence, and many speeches
+made by both the French and the Indians. Friendly and commercial
+relations were established.
+
+Le Sueur, some time after, returned to Minnesota and explored St.
+Peter's river (now the Minnesota) as far as the mouth of the Blue
+Earth. Here he built a log fort, and called it L'Hullier, and made some
+excavations in search of copper ore. He sent several tons of a green
+substance which he found, and supposed to be copper, to France, but it
+was undoubtedly a colored clay that is found in that region, and is
+sometimes used as a rough paint. He is supposed to be the first man who
+supplied the Indians with guns. Le Sueur kept a journal in which he gave
+the best description of the Dakotas written in those early times, and
+was a very reliable man. Minnesota has a county and a city named for
+him.
+
+Many other Frenchmen visited Minnesota in early days, among whom was Du
+Luth; but as they were simply traders, explorers and priests, among the
+Indians, it is hardly necessary in a work of this character to trace
+their exploits in detail. While they blazed the trail for others, they
+did not, to any great extent, influence the future of the country,
+except by supplying a convenient nomenclature with which to designate
+localities, which has largely been drawn upon. Many of them, however,
+were good and devoted men, and earnest in their endeavors to spread the
+gospel among the Indians. How well they succeeded, I will discuss when I
+speak of these savage men more particularly.
+
+The next arrival of sufficient importance to particularize was Jonathan
+Carver. He was born in Connecticut in 1732. His father was a justice of
+the peace, which in those days was a more important position than it is
+now regarded. They tried to make a doctor of him, and he studied
+medicine just long enough to discover that the profession was
+uncongenial, and abandoned it. At the age of eighteen he purchased an
+ensign's commission in a Connecticut regiment, raised during the French
+war. He came very near losing his life at the massacre of Fort William
+Henry, but escaped, and after the declaration of peace between France
+and England, in 1763, he conceived the project of making an exploration
+of the Northwest.
+
+It should be remembered that the French sovereignty over the Northwest
+ceased in 1763, when, by a treaty made in Versailles, between the French
+and the English, all the lands embraced in what is now Minnesota were
+ceded by the French to England, so Carver came as an Englishman into
+English territory.
+
+Carver left Boston in the month of June, 1766, and proceeded to
+Mackinaw, then the most distant British post, where he arrived in the
+month of August. He then took the usual route to Green Bay. He proceeded
+by the way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi. He found
+a considerable town on the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Wisconsin,
+called by the French "La Prairie les Chiens," which is now Prairie du
+Chien, or the Dog Prairie, named after an Indian chief who went by the
+dignified name of "The Dog." He speaks of this town as one where a great
+central fur trade was carried on by the Indians. From this point he
+commenced his voyage up the Mississippi in a canoe, and when he reached
+Lake Pepin he claims to have discovered a system of earthworks, which he
+describes as of the most scientific military construction, and inferred
+that they had been at some time the intrenchments of a people well
+versed in the arts of war. It takes very little to excite an
+enthusiastic imagination into the belief that it has found what it has
+been looking for.
+
+He found a cave in what is now known as Dayton's Bluff in St. Paul, and
+describes it as immense in extent, and covered with Indian
+hieroglyphics, and speaks of a burying place at a little distance from
+the cavern,--Indian Mound park evidently,--and made a short voyage up
+the Minnesota river, which he says the Indians called "Wadapaw
+Mennesotor." This probably is as near as he could catch the name by
+sound; it should be, Wak-pa Minnesota.
+
+After his voyage to the falls and up the Minnesota, he returned to his
+cave, where he says there were assembled a great council of Indians, to
+which he was admitted, and witnessed the burial ceremonies, which he
+describes as follows:
+
+    "After the breath is departed, the body is dressed in the same
+    attire it usually wore, his face is painted, and he is seated in
+    an erect posture on a mat or skin, placed in the middle of the
+    hut, with his weapons by his side. His relatives, seated around,
+    each harangues the deceased; and if he has been a great warrior,
+    recounts his heroic actions nearly to the following purport,
+    which in the Indian language is extremely poetical and pleasing:
+
+    "'You still sit among us, brother; your person retains its usual
+    resemblance, and continues similar to ours, without any visible
+    deficiency except it has lost the power of action. But whither
+    is that breath flown which a few hours ago sent up smoke to the
+    Great Spirit? Why are those lips silent that lately delivered to
+    us expressions and pleasing language? Why are those feet
+    motionless that a short time ago were fleeter than the deer on
+    yonder mountains? Why useless hang those arms that could climb
+    the tallest tree or draw the toughest bow? Alas! Every part of
+    that frame which we lately beheld with admiration and wonder is
+    now become as inanimate as it was three hundred years ago! We
+    will not, however, bemoan thee as if thou wast forever lost to
+    us, or that thy name would be buried in oblivion. Thy soul yet
+    lives in the great country of spirits with those of thy nation
+    that have gone before thee, and though we are left behind to
+    perpetuate thy fame, we shall one day join thee.
+
+    "'Actuated by the respect we bore thee whilst living, we now
+    come to tender thee the last act of kindness in our power; that
+    thy body might not lie neglected on the plain and become a prey
+    to the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, we will
+    take care to lay it with those of thy ancestors who have gone
+    before thee, hoping at the same time that thy spirit will feed
+    with their spirits, and be ready to receive ours when we shall
+    also arrive at the great country of souls.'"
+
+I have heard many speeches made by the descendants of these same
+Indians, and have many times addressed them on all manner of subjects,
+but I never heard anything quite so elegant as the oration put into
+their mouths by Carver. I have always discovered that a good interpreter
+makes a good speech. On one occasion, when a delegation of Pillager
+Chippewas was in Washington to settle some matters with the government,
+they wanted a certain concession which the Indian commissioner would not
+allow, and they appealed to the president, who was then Franklin Pierce.
+Old Flat-mouth, the chief, presented the case. Paul Beaulieu interpreted
+it so feelingly that the president surrendered without a contest. After
+informing him as to the disputed point, he added:
+
+    "Father, you are great and powerful. You live in a beautiful
+    home where the bleak winds never penetrate. Your hunger is
+    always appeased with the choicest foods. Your heart is kept warm
+    by all these blessings, and would bleed at the sight of distress
+    among your red children. Father, we are poor and weak. We live
+    far away in the cheerless north, in bark lodges. We are often
+    cold and hungry. Father, what we ask is to you as nothing, while
+    to us it is comfort and happiness. Give it to us, and when you
+    stand upon your grand portico some bright winter night, and see
+    the northern lights dancing in the heavens, it will be the
+    thanks of your red children ascending to the Great Spirit for
+    your goodness to them."
+
+Carver seems to have been a sagacious observer and a man of great
+foresight. In speaking of the advantages of the country, he says that
+the future population will be "able to convey their produce to the
+seaports with great facility, the current of the river from its source
+to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico being extremely favorable for
+doing this in small craft. This might also in time be facilitated by
+canals, or short cuts, and a communication opened with New York by way
+of the Lakes."
+
+He was also impressed with the idea that a route could be discovered by
+way of the Minnesota river, which "would open a passage for conveying
+intelligence to China and the English settlements in the East Indies."
+
+The nearest to a realization of this theory that I have known was the
+sending of the stern-wheeled steamer "Freighter" on a voyage up the
+Minnesota to Winnipeg some time in the early fifties. She took freight
+and passengers for that destination, but never reached the Red River of
+the North.
+
+After the death of Carver his heirs claimed that, while at the great
+cave on the 1st of May, 1767, the Indians made him a large grant of
+land, which would cover St. Paul and a large part of Wisconsin, and
+several attempts were made to have it ratified by both the British and
+American governments, but without success. Carver does not mention this
+grant in his book, nor has the original deed ever been found. A copy,
+however, was produced, and as it was the first real estate transaction
+ever had in Minnesota, I will set it out in full.
+
+    "To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the Most Mighty and Potent
+    George the Third, King of the English and other nations, the
+    fame of whose warriors has reached our ears, and has been fully
+    told us by our _good brother Jonathan_ aforesaid, whom we all
+    rejoice to have come among us and bring us good news from his
+    country:
+
+    "WE, Chiefs of the Nandowessies, who have hereunto set our
+    seals, do, by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever,
+    in return for the aid and good services done by the said
+    Jonathan to ourselves and allies, give, grant and convey to him,
+    the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the
+    whole of a certain Territory or tract of land, bounded as
+    follows, viz.: From the Falls of St. Anthony, running on east
+    bank of the Mississippi, nearly southeast as far as Lake Pepin,
+    where the Chippewa joins the Mississippi, and from thence
+    eastward five days' travel accounting twenty English miles per
+    day, and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony on a
+    direct straight line. We do for ourselves, heirs and assigns,
+    forever give unto said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, with all
+    the trees, rocks and rivers therein, reserving the sole liberty
+    of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the
+    said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed
+    our respective seals.
+
+    "At the Great Cave, May 1st, 1767.
+          (Signed) "HAWNOPAWJATIN,
+                   "OTOHTONGOONLISHEAW."
+
+This alleged instrument bears upon its face many marks of suspicion, and
+was very properly rejected by General Leavenworth, who, in 1821, made a
+report of his investigations in regard to it to the commissioner of the
+general land office.
+
+The war between the Chippewas and the Dakotas continued to rage with
+varied success, as it has since time immemorial. It was a bitter, cruel
+war, waged against the race and blood, and each successive slaughter
+only increased the hatred and heaped fuel upon the fire. As an Indian
+never forgives the killing of a relative, and as the particular
+murderer, as a general thing, was not known on either side, each death
+was charged up to the tribe. These wars, although constant, had very
+little influence on the standing or progress of the country, except so
+far as they may have proved detrimental or beneficial to the fur trade
+prosecuted by the whites. The first event after the appearance of
+Jonathan Carver that can be considered as materially affecting the
+history of Minnesota was the location and erection of Fort Snelling, of
+which event I will give a brief account.
+
+
+
+
+FORT SNELLING.
+
+
+In 1805 the government decided to procure a site on which to build a
+fort somewhere on the waters of the upper Mississippi, and sent Lieut.
+Zebulon Montgomery Pike of the army to explore the country, expel
+British traders who might be violating the laws of the United States,
+and to make treaties with the Indians.
+
+On the 21st of September, 1805, he encamped on what is now known as Pike
+Island, at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota, then St.
+Peter's river. Two days later he obtained, by treaty with the Dakota
+nation, a tract of land for a military reservation, with the following
+boundaries, extending from "below the confluence of the Mississippi and
+St. Peter's, up the Mississippi, to include the Falls of St. Anthony,
+extending nine miles on each side of the river." The United States paid
+two thousand dollars for this land.
+
+The reserve thus purchased was not used for military purposes until Feb.
+10, 1819, at which time the government gave the following reasons for
+erecting a fort at this point: "To cause the power of the United States
+government to be fully acknowledged by the Indians and settlers of the
+Northwest, to prevent Lord Selkirk, the Hudson Bay Company and others
+from establishing trading posts on United States territory, to better
+the conditions of the Indians, and to develop the resources of the
+country." Part of the Fifth United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel
+Henry Leavenworth, was dispatched to select a site and erect a post.
+They arrived at the St. Peter's river in September, 1819, and camped on
+or near the spot where now stands Mendota. During the winter of 1819-20
+the troops were terribly afflicted with scurvy. General Sibley, in an
+address before the Minnesota Historical Society, in speaking of it,
+says: "So sudden was the attack that soldiers apparently in good health
+when they retired at night were found dead in the morning. One man who
+was relieved from his tour of sentinel duty, and had stretched himself
+upon a bench; when he was called four hours later to resume his duties,
+he was found lifeless."
+
+In May, 1820, the command left their cantonment, crossed the St. Peter's
+and went into summer camp at a spring near the old Baker trading house,
+and about two miles above the present site of Fort Snelling. This was
+called "Camp Coldwater."
+
+During the summer the men were busy in procuring logs and other material
+necessary for the work. The first site selected was where the present
+military cemetery stands, and the post was called "Fort St. Anthony;"
+but in August, 1820, Colonel Joshua Snelling of the Fifth United States
+Infantry arrived, and, on taking command, changed the site to where Fort
+Snelling now stands. Work steadily progressed until Sept. 10, 1820, when
+the corner stone of Fort St. Anthony was laid with all due ceremony. The
+first measured distance that was given between this new post and the
+next one down the river, Fort Crawford, where Prairie du Chien now
+stands, was 204 miles. The work was steadily pushed forward. The
+buildings were made of logs, and were first occupied in October, 1822.
+
+The first steamboat to arrive at the post was the "Virginia," in 1823.
+
+The first saw-mill in Minnesota was constructed by the troops in 1822,
+and the first lumber sawed on Rum river was for use in building the
+post. The mill site is now included within the corporate limits of
+Minneapolis.
+
+The post continued to be called Fort St. Anthony until 1824, when, upon
+the recommendation of General Scott, who inspected the fort, it was
+named Fort Snelling, in honor of its founder.
+
+In 1830 stone buildings were erected for a four-company post; also, a
+stone hospital and a stone wall, nine feet high, surrounding the whole
+post; but these improvements were not actually completed until after the
+Mexican War.
+
+The Indian title to the military reservation does not seem to have been
+effectually acquired, notwithstanding the treaty of Lieutenant Pike,
+made with the Indians in 1805, until the treaty with the Dakotas, in
+1837, by which the Indian claim to all the lands east of the
+Mississippi, including the reservation, ceased.
+
+In 1836, before the Indian title was finally acquired, quite a number
+of settlers located on the reservation on the left bank of the
+Mississippi.
+
+On Oct. 21, 1839, the president issued an order for their removal, and
+on the sixth day of May, 1840, some of the settlers were forcibly
+removed.
+
+In 1837 Mr. Alexander Faribault presented a claim for Pike Island, which
+was based upon a treaty made by him with the Dakotas in 1820. Whether
+his claim was allowed the records do not disclose, and it is
+unimportant.
+
+On May 25, 1853, a military reservation for the fort was set off, by the
+president, of seven thousand acres, which in the following November was
+reduced to six thousand.
+
+In 1857 the secretary of war, pursuant to the authority vested in him by
+act of congress, of March 3, 1857, sold the Fort Snelling reservation,
+excepting two small tracts, to Mr. Franklin Steele, who had long been
+sutler of the post, for the sum of ninety thousand dollars, which was to
+be paid in three installments. The first one of thirty thousand dollars
+was paid by Steele on July 25, 1857, and he took possession, the troops
+being withdrawn.
+
+The fort was sold at private sale, and the price paid was, in my
+opinion, vastly more than it was worth; but Mr. Steele had great hopes
+for the future of that locality as a site for a town, and was willing to
+risk the payment. The sale was made by private contract by Secretary
+Floyd, who adopted this manner because other reservations had been sold
+at public auction, after full publication of notice to the world, and
+had brought only a few cents per acre. The whole transaction was in
+perfect good faith, but it was attacked in congress, and an
+investigation ordered, which resulted in suspending its consummation,
+and Mr. Steele did not pay the balance due. In 1860 the Civil War broke
+out, and the fort was taken possession of by the government for use in
+fitting out Minnesota troops, and was held until the war ended. In 1868
+Mr. Steele presented a claim against the government for rent of the fort
+and other matters relating to it, which amounted to more than the price
+he agreed to pay for it.
+
+An act of congress was passed on May 7, 1870, authorizing the secretary
+of war to settle the whole matter on principles of equity, keeping such
+reservation as was necessary for the fort. In pursuance of this act, a
+military board was appointed, and the whole controversy was arranged to
+the satisfaction of Mr. Steele and the government. The reservation was
+reduced to a little more than fifteen hundred acres. A grant of ten
+acres was made to the little Catholic church at Mendota, for a cemetery,
+and other small tracts were reserved about the Falls of Minnehaha and
+elsewhere, and all the balance was conveyed to Mr. Steele, he releasing
+the government from all claims and demands. The action of the secretary
+of war in carrying out this settlement was approved by the president in
+1871.
+
+The fort was one of the best structures of the kind ever erected in the
+West. It was capable of accommodating five or six companies of infantry,
+was surrounded by a high stone wall, and protected at the only exposed
+approaches by stone bastions guarded by cannon and musketry. Its supply
+of water was obtained from a well in the parade ground, near the
+sutler's store, which was sunk below the surface of the river. It was
+perfectly impregnable to any savage enemy, and in consequence was never
+called upon to stand a siege.
+
+Perched upon a prominent bluff at the confluence of the Mississippi and
+Minnesota rivers, it has witnessed the changes that have gone on around
+it for three-quarters of a century, and seen the most extraordinary
+transformations that have occurred in any similar period in the history
+of our country. When its corner stone was laid it formed the extreme
+frontier of the Northwest, with nothing but wild animals and wilder men
+within hundreds of miles in any direction. The frontier has receded to
+the westward until it has lost itself in the corresponding one being
+pushed from the Pacific to the east. The Indians have lost their
+splendid freedom as lords of a continent, and are prisoners, cribbed
+upon narrow reservations. The magnificent herds of buffalo that ranged
+from the British possessions to Texas have disappeared from the face of
+the earth, and nothing remains but the white man bearing his burden,
+which is constantly being made more irksome. To those who have played
+both parts in the moving drama, there is much food for thought.
+
+I devote so much space to Fort Snelling because it has always sustained
+the position of a pivotal center to Minnesota. In the infancy of
+society, it radiated the refinement and elegance that leavened the
+country around. In hospitality its officers were never surpassed, and
+when danger threatened, its protecting arm assured safety. For many long
+years it was the first to welcome the incomer to the country, and will
+ever be remembered by the old settlers as a friend.
+
+After the headquarters of the Department of Dakota was established at
+St. Paul, and when General Sherman was in command of the army, he
+thought that the offices should be at the fort, and removed them there.
+This caused the erection of the new administration building and the
+beautiful line of officers' quarters about a mile above the old walled
+structure, and led to its practical abandonment; but the change was soon
+found to be inconvenient in a business way, and the department
+headquarters were restored to the city, where they still remain.
+
+Since the fort was built nearly every officer in the old army, and many
+of those who have followed them, has been stationed at Snelling, and it
+was beloved by them all.
+
+The situation of the fort, now that the railroads have become the
+reliance of all transportation, both for speed and safety, is a most
+advantageous one from a military point of view. It is at the center of a
+railroad system that reaches all parts of the continent, and troops and
+munitions of war can be deposited at any point with the utmost dispatch.
+It is believed that it will not only be retained but enlarged.
+
+
+
+
+THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT.
+
+
+Lord Selkirk, the checking of whose operations was among the reasons
+given for the erection of Fort Snelling, was a Scotch earl who was very
+wealthy and enthusiastic on the subject of founding colonies in the
+Northwestern British possessions. He was a kind hearted but visionary
+man, and had no practical knowledge whatever on the subject of
+colonization in uncivilized countries. About the beginning of the
+nineteenth century he wrote several pamphlets, urging the importance of
+colonizing British emigrants on British soil to prevent them settling in
+the United States. In 1811 he obtained a grant of land from the Hudson
+Bay Company in the region of Lake Winnipeg, the Red River of the North
+and the Assinaboine, in what is now Manitoba.
+
+Previous to this time the inhabitants of this region, besides the
+Indians, were Canadians, who had intermingled with the savages, learning
+all their vices and none of their good traits. They were called "Gens
+Libre," free people, and were very proud of the title. Mr. Neill, in his
+history of Minnesota, in describing them, says they were fond of
+
+    "Vast and sudden deeds of violence,
+    Adventures wild and wonders of the moment."
+
+The offspring of their intercourse with the Indian women were numerous,
+and called "Bois Brules." They were a fine race of hunters, horsemen and
+boatmen, and possessed all the accomplishments of the voyageur. They
+spoke the language of both father and mother.
+
+In 1812 a small advance party of colonists arrived at the Red River of
+the North, in about latitude fifty degrees north. They were, however,
+frightened away by a party of men of the Northwest Fur Company, dressed
+as Indians, and induced to take refuge at Pembina, in what is now
+Minnesota, where they spent the winter, suffering the greatest
+hardships. Many died, but the survivors returned in the spring to the
+colony, and made an effort to raise a crop; but it was a failure, and
+they again passed the winter at Pembina. This was the winter of 1813-14.
+They again returned to the colony, in a very distressed and dilapidated
+condition, in the spring.
+
+By September, 1815, the colony, which then numbered about two hundred,
+was getting along quite prosperously, and its future seemed auspicious.
+It was called "Kildonan," after a parish in Scotland in which the
+colonists were born.
+
+The employes of the Northwest Fur Company were, however, very restive
+under anything that looked like improvement, and regarded it as a ruse
+of their rival, the Hudson Bay Company, to break up the lucrative
+business they were enjoying in the Indian trade. They resorted to all
+kinds of measures to get rid of the colonists, even to attempting to
+incite the Indians against them, and on one occasion, by a trick,
+disarmed them of their brass field pieces and other small artillery.
+Many of the disaffected Selkirkers deserted to the quarters of the
+Northwest Company. These annoyances were carried to the extent of an
+attack on the house of the governor, where four of the inmates were
+wounded, one of whom died. They finally agreed to leave, and were
+escorted to Lake Winnipeg, where they embarked in boats. Their
+improvements were all destroyed by the Northwest people.
+
+They were again induced to return to their colony lands by the Hudson
+Bay people, and did so in 1816, when they were reinforced by new
+colonists. Part of them wintered at Pembina in 1816, but returned to the
+Kildonan settlement in the spring.
+
+Lord Selkirk, hearing of the distressed condition of his colonists,
+sailed for New York, where he arrived in the fall of 1815, and learned
+they had been compelled to leave the settlement. He proceeded to
+Montreal, where he found some of the settlers in the greatest poverty;
+but learning that some of them still remained in the colony, he sent an
+express to announce his arrival, and say that he would be with them in
+the spring. The news was sent by a colonist named Laquimonier, but he
+was waylaid, near Fond du Lac, and brutally beaten and robbed of his
+dispatches. Subsequent investigation proved that this was the work of
+the Northwest Company.
+
+Selkirk tried to obtain military aid from the British authorities, but
+failed. He then engaged four officers and over one hundred privates who
+had served in the late War with the United States to accompany him to
+the Red river. He was to pay them, give them lands, and send them home
+if they wished to return.
+
+When he reached Sault Ste. Marie he heard that his colony had again been
+destroyed.
+
+War was raging between the Hudson Bay people and the Northwest Company,
+in which Governor Semple, chief governor of the factories and
+territories of the Hudson Bay Company was killed. Selkirk proceeded to
+Fort William, on Lake Superior, and finally reached his settlement on
+the Red river.
+
+The colonists were compelled to pass the winter of 1817 in hunting in
+Minnesota, and had a hard time of it, but in the spring they once more
+found their way home, and planted crops, but they were destroyed by
+grasshoppers, which remained during the next year and ate up every
+growing thing, rendering it necessary that the colonists should again
+resort to the buffalo for subsistence.
+
+During the winter of 1819-20 a deputation of these Scotchmen came all
+the way to Prairie du Chien on snowshoes for seed wheat, a distance of a
+thousand miles, and on the fifteenth day of April, 1820, left for the
+colony in three Mackinaw boats, carrying three hundred bushels of wheat,
+one hundred bushels of oats, and thirty bushels of peas. Being stopped
+by ice in Lake Pepin, they planted a May pole and celebrated May day on
+the ice. They reached home by way of the Minnesota river, with a short
+portage to Lake Traverse, the boats being moved on rollers, and thence
+down the Red River to Pembina, where they arrived in safety on the third
+day of June. This trip cost Lord Selkirk about six thousand dollars.
+
+Nothing daunted by the terrible sufferings of his colonists, and the
+immense expense attendant upon his enterprise, in 1820 he engaged Capt.
+R. May, who was a citizen of Berne, in Switzerland, but in the British
+service, to visit Switzerland and get recruits for his colony. The
+captain made the most exaggerated representations of the advantages to
+be gained by emigrating to the colony, and induced many Swiss to leave
+their happy and peaceful homes to try their fortunes in the distant,
+dangerous and inhospitable regions of Lake Winnipeg. They knew nothing
+of the hardships in store for them, and were the least adapted to
+encounter them of any people in the world, as they were mechanics, whose
+business had been the delicate work of making watches and clocks. They
+arrived in 1821, and from year to year, after undergoing hardships that
+might have appalled the hardiest pioneer, their spirits drooped, they
+pined for home, and left for the south. At one time a party of two
+hundred and forty-three of them departed for the United States, and
+found homes at different points on the banks of the Mississippi.
+
+Before the eastern wave of immigration had ascended above Prairie du
+Chien, many Swiss had opened farms at and near St. Paul, and became the
+first actual settlers of the country. Mr. Stevens, in an address on the
+early history of Hennepin county, says that they were driven from their
+homes in 1836 and 1837 by the military at Fort Snelling, and is very
+severe on the autocratic conduct of the officers of the fort, saying
+that the commanding officers were lords of the North, and the
+subordinates were princes. I have no doubt they did not underrate their
+authority, but I think Mr. Stevens must refer to the removals that were
+made of settlers on the military reservation of which I have before
+spoken.
+
+The subject of the Selkirk colony cannot fail to interest the reader,
+as it was the first attempt to introduce into the great Northwest
+settlers for the purposes of peaceful agriculture, everybody else who
+had preceded them having been connected with the half-savage business of
+the Indian trade; and the reason I have dwelt so long upon the subject
+is, because these people, on their second emigration, furnished
+Minnesota with her first settlers, and curiously enough, they came from
+the north.
+
+Abraham Perry was one of these Swiss refugees from the Selkirk
+settlement. With his wife and two children, he first settled at Fort
+Snelling, then at St. Paul, and finally at Lake Johanna. His son
+Charles, who came with him, has, while I am writing, on the twenty-ninth
+day of July, 1899, just celebrated his golden wedding at the old
+homestead, at Lake Johanna, where they have ever since lived. They were
+married by the Right Reverend A. Ravoux, who is still living in St.
+Paul. Charles Perry is the only survivor of that ill-fated band of
+Selkirkers.
+
+
+
+
+GEORGE CATLIN.
+
+In 1835 George Catlin, an artist of merit, visited Minnesota, and made
+many sketches and portraits of Indians. His published statements after
+his departure about his adventures elicited much adverse criticism from
+the old settlers.
+
+
+
+
+FEATHERSTONEHAUGH.
+
+
+Featherstonehaugh, an Englishman, about the same time, under the
+direction of the United States government, made a slight geological
+survey of the Minnesota valley, and on his return to England he wrote a
+book which reflected unjustly upon the gentlemen he met in Minnesota;
+but not much was thought of it, because until recently such has been the
+English custom.
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOLCRAFT AND THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
+
+
+In 1832 the United States sent an embassy, composed of thirty men, under
+Henry R. Schoolcraft, then Indian Agent at Sault Ste. Marie, to visit
+the Indians of the Northwest, and, when advisable, to make treaties with
+them. They had a guard of soldiers, a physician, an interpreter, and the
+Rev. William T. Boutwell, a missionary at Leech Lake. They were supplied
+with a large outfit of provisions, tobacco and trinkets, which were
+conveyed in a bateau. They travelled in several large bark canoes. They
+went to Fond du Lac, thence up the St. Louis river, portaged round the
+falls, thence to the nearest point to Sandy lake, thence up the
+Mississippi to Leech lake. While there, they learned from the Indians
+that Cass lake, which for some time had been reputed to be the source of
+the Mississippi, was not the real source, and they determined to solve
+the problem of where the real source was to be found, and what it was.
+
+I may say here that, in 1819, Gen. Lewis Cass, then governor of the
+Territory of Michigan, had led an exploring party to the upper waters of
+the Mississippi, somewhat similar to the one I am now speaking of, Mr.
+Henry R. Schoolcraft being one of them. When they reached what is now
+Cass lake, in the Mississippi river, they decided that it was the source
+of the great river, and it was named Cass lake, in honor of the
+governor, and was believed to be such source until the arrival of
+Schoolcraft's party in 1832.
+
+After a search, an inlet was found into Cass lake, flowing from the
+west, and they pursued it until the lake now called "Itasca" was
+reached. Five of the party, Lieutenant Allen, Schoolcraft, Dr.
+Houghton, Interpreter Johnson and Mr. Boutwell, explored the lake
+thoroughly, and finding no inlet, decided it must be the true source of
+the river. Mr. Schoolcraft, being desirous of giving the lake a name
+that would indicate its position as the true head of the river, and at
+the same time be euphonious in sound, endeavored to produce one, but
+being unable to satisfy himself, turned it over to Mr. Boutwell, who,
+being a good Latin scholar, wrote down two Latin words, "veritas,"
+truth, and "caput," head, and suggested that a word might be coined out
+of the combination that would answer the purpose. He then cut off the
+last two syllables of veritas, making "Itas," and the first syllable of
+caput, making "ca," and, putting them together, he gave the word
+"Itasca," which, in my judgment, is a sufficiently skillful and
+beautiful literary feat to immortalize the inventor. Mr. Boutwell died
+within a few years at Stillwater, in Minnesota.
+
+Presumptuous attempts have been made to deprive Schoolcraft of the honor
+of having discovered the true source of the river, but their transparent
+absurdity has prevented their having obtained any credence, and to put a
+quietus on such unscrupulous pretenses, Mr. J. V. Brower, a scientific
+surveyor, under the auspices of the Minnesota Historical Society, has
+recently made exhaustive researches, surveys and maps of the region, and
+established beyond doubt or cavil the entire authenticity of
+Schoolcraft's discovery. Gen. James H. Baker, once surveyor general of
+the State of Minnesota, and a distinguished member of the same society,
+under its appointment, prepared an elaborate paper on the subject, in
+which is collected and presented all the facts, history and knowledge
+that exists relating to the discovery, and conclusively destroys all
+efforts to deprive Schoolcraft of his laurels.
+
+
+
+
+ELEVATIONS IN MINNESOTA.
+
+
+While on the subject of the source of the Mississippi river, I may as
+well speak of the elevations of the state above the level of the sea. It
+can be truthfully said that Minnesota occupies the summit of the North
+American continent. In its most northern third rises the Mississippi,
+which, in its general course, flows due south to the Gulf of Mexico. In
+about its center division, from north to south, rises the Red River of
+the North, and takes a general northerly direction until it empties into
+Lake Winnipeg, while the St. Louis and other rivers take their rise in
+the same region and flow eastwardly into Lake Superior, which is the
+real source of the St. Lawrence, which empties into the Atlantic.
+
+The elevation at the source of the Mississippi is 1,600 feet, and at the
+point where it leaves the southern boundary of the state, 620 feet. The
+elevation at the source of the Red River of the North is the same as
+that of the Mississippi, 1,600 feet, and where it leaves the state at
+its northern boundary 767 feet. The average elevation of the state is
+given at 1,275 feet, its highest elevation, in the Mesaba range, 2,200
+feet, and its lowest, at Duluth, 602 feet.
+
+
+
+
+NICOLLET.
+
+
+In 1836 a French savant, M. Jean N. Nicollet, visited Minnesota for the
+purpose of exploration. He was an astronomer of note, and had received a
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, and had also been attached as
+professor to the Royal College of "Louis Le Grande." He arrived in
+Minnesota on July 26, 1836, bearing letters of introduction, and visited
+Fort Snelling, whence he left with a French trader, named Fronchet, to
+explore the sources of the Mississippi. He entered the Crow Wing river,
+and by the way of Gull river and Gull lake he entered Leech lake. The
+Indians were disappointed when they found he had no presents for them
+and spent most of his time looking at the heavens through a tube, and
+they became unruly and troublesome. The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, whose mission
+house was on the lake, learning of the difficulty, came to the rescue,
+and a very warm friendship sprang up between the men. No educated man
+who has not experienced the desolation of having been shut up among
+savages and rough, unlettered voyageurs for a long time can appreciate
+the pleasure of meeting a cultured and refined gentleman so unexpectedly
+as Mr. Boutwell encountered Nicollet, and especially when he was able to
+render him valuable aid.
+
+From Leech lake Nicollet went to Lake Itasca with guides and packers. He
+pitched his tent on Schoolcraft island in the lake, where he occupied
+himself for some time in making astronomical observations. He continued
+his explorations beyond those of Schoolcraft and Lieutenant Allen, and
+followed up the rivulets that entered the lake, thoroughly exploring its
+basin or watershed.
+
+He returned to Fort Snelling in October, and remained there for some
+time, studying Dakota. He became the guest of Mr. Henry H. Sibley at his
+home in Mendota for the winter. General Sibley, in speaking of him,
+says:
+
+    "A portion of the winter following was spent by him at my house,
+    and it is hardly necessary to state that I found in him a most
+    instructive companion. His devotion to his studies was intense
+    and unremitting, and I frequently expostulated with him upon his
+    imprudence in thus overtasking the strength of his delicate
+    frame, but without effect."
+
+Nicollet went to Washington after his tour of 1836-37, and was honored
+with a commission from the United States government to make further
+explorations, and John C. Fremont was detailed as his assistant.
+
+Under his new appointment, Nicollet and his assistant went up the
+Missouri in a steamboat to Fort Pierre; thence he traveled through the
+interior of Minnesota, visiting the Red Pipestone quarry, Devil's lake,
+and other important localities. On this tour he made a map of the
+country, which was the first reliable and accurate one made, which,
+together with his astronomical observations, were invaluable to the
+country. His name has been perpetuated by giving it to one of
+Minnesota's principal counties.
+
+
+
+
+MISSIONS.
+
+
+The missionary period is one full of interest in the history of the
+State of Minnesota. The devoted people who sacrifice all the pleasures
+and luxuries of life to spread the gospel of Christianity among the
+Indians are deserving of all praise, no matter whether success or
+failure attends their efforts. The Dakotas and Chippewas were not
+neglected in this respect. The Catholics were among them at a very early
+day, and strove to convert them to Christianity. These worthy men were
+generally French priests and daring explorers, but for some reason,
+whether it was want of permanent support or an individual desire to
+rove, I am unable to say, they did not succeed in founding any missions
+of a lasting character among the Dakotas before the advent of white
+settlement. The devout Romanist, Shea, in his interesting history of
+Catholic missions, speaking of the Dakotas, remarks that "Father Menard
+had projected a Sioux mission, Marquette, Allouez, Druillettes, all
+entertained hopes of realizing it, and had some intercourse with that
+nation, but none of them ever succeeded in establishing a mission."
+Their work, however, was only postponed, for at a later date they gained
+and maintained a lasting foothold.
+
+The Protestants, however, in and after 1820, made permanent and
+successful ventures in this direction. After the formation of the
+American Fur Company, Mackinaw became the chief point of that
+organization. In June, 1820, the Rev. Mr. Morse, father of the inventor
+of the telegraph, came to Mackinaw, and preached the first sermon that
+was delivered in the Northwest. He made a report of his visit to the
+Presbyterian Missionary Society in New York, which sent out parties to
+explore the field. The Rev. W. M. Terry, with his wife, commenced a
+school at Mackinaw in 1823, and had great success. There were sometimes
+as many as two hundred pupils at the school, representing many tribes of
+Indians. There are descendants of the children who were educated at this
+school now in Minnesota, who are citizens of high standing, who are
+indebted to this institution for their education and position.
+
+In the year 1830 a Mr. Warren, who was then living at La Pointe, visited
+Mackinaw to obtain a missionary for his place, and not being able to
+secure an ordained minister, he took back with him Mr. Frederick Ayre, a
+teacher, who, being pleased with the place and prospect, returned to
+Mackinaw, and in 1831, with the Rev. Sherman Hall and wife, started for
+La Pointe, where they arrived on August 30th, and established themselves
+as missionaries, with a school.
+
+The next year Mr. Ayre went to Sandy lake, and opened another school for
+the children of voyageurs and Indians. In 1832 Mr. Boutwell, after his
+tour with Schoolcraft, took charge of the school at La Pointe, and in
+1833 he removed to Leech lake, and there established the first mission
+in Minnesota west of the Mississippi.
+
+From his Leech lake mission he writes a letter in which he gives such a
+realistic account of his school and mission that one can see everything
+that is taking place, as if a panorama was passing before his eyes. He
+takes a cheerful view of his prospects, and gives a comprehensive
+statement of the resources of the country in their natural state. If
+space allowed, I would like to copy the whole letter; but as he speaks
+of the wild rice in referring to the food supply, I will say a word
+about it, as I deem it one of Minnesota's most important natural
+resources.
+
+In 1857 I visited the source of the Mississippi with the then Indian
+agent for the Chippewas, and traveled hundreds of miles in the upper
+river. We passed through endless fields of wild rice, and witnessed its
+harvest by the Chippewas, which is a most interesting and picturesque
+scene. They tie it in sheaves with a straw before it is ripe enough to
+gather to prevent the wind from shaking out the grains, and when it has
+matured, they thresh it with sticks into their canoes. We estimated that
+there were about 1,000 families of the Chippewas, and that they gathered
+about twenty-five bushels for each family, and we saw that in so doing
+they did not make any impression whatever on the crop, leaving thousands
+of acres of the rice to the geese and ducks. Our calculations then were
+that more rice grew in Minnesota each year, without any cultivation,
+than was produced in South Carolina as one of the principal products of
+that state, and I may add that it is much more palatable and nutritious
+as a food than the white rice of the Orient or the South. There is no
+doubt that at some future time it will be utilized to the great
+advantage of the state.
+
+Mr. Boutwell's Leech lake mission was in all things a success.
+
+In 1834 the Rev. Samuel W. Pond and his brother, Gideon H. Pond, full of
+missionary enthusiasm, arrived at Fort Snelling, in the month of May.
+They consulted with the Indian agent, Major Taliaferro, about the best
+place to establish a mission, and decided upon Lake Calhoun, where dwelt
+small bands of Dakotas, and with their own hands erected a house and
+located.
+
+About the same time came the Rev. T. H. Williamson, M. D., under
+appointment from the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign
+Missions, to visit the Dakotas, to ascertain what could be done to
+introduce Christian instruction among them. He was reinforced by Rev. J.
+D. Stevens, missionary, Alexander Huggins, farmer, and their wives, and
+Miss Sarah Poage and Miss Lucy Stevens, teachers. They arrived at Fort
+Snelling in May, 1835, and were hospitably received by the officers of
+the garrison, the Indian agent, and Mr. Sibley, then a young man who had
+recently taken charge of the trading post at Mendota.
+
+From this point Rev. Mr. Stevens and family proceeded to Lake Harriet,
+in Hennepin county, and built a suitable house, and Dr. Williamson and
+wife, Mr. Huggins and wife, and Miss Poage, went to Lac qui Parle, where
+they were welcomed by Mr. Renville, a trader at that point, after whom
+the county of Renville is named.
+
+The Rev. J. D. Stevens acted as chaplain of Fort Snelling, in the
+absence of a regularly appointed officer in that position.
+
+In 1837 the mission was strengthened by the arrival of the Rev. Stephen
+R. Riggs, a graduate of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and his wife.
+After remaining a short time at Lake Harriet, Mr. and Mrs. Riggs went to
+Lac qui Parle.
+
+In 1837 missionaries sent out by the Evangelical Society of Lausanne,
+Switzerland, arrived, and located at Red Wing and Wapashaw's villages,
+on the Mississippi, and about the same time a Methodist mission was
+commenced at Kaposia, but they were of brief duration and soon
+abandoned.
+
+In 1836 a mission was established at Pokegama, among the Chippewas,
+which was quite successful, and afterwards, in 1842 or 1843, missions
+were opened at Red Lake, Shakopee, and other places in Minnesota. During
+the summer of 1843 Mr. Riggs commenced a mission station at Traverse des
+Sioux, which attained considerable proportions, and remained until
+overtaken by white settlement, about 1854.
+
+Mr. Riggs and Dr. Williamson also established a Mission at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the Sioux, in the year 1852, which was about the best
+equipped of any of them. It consisted of a good house for the
+missionaries, a large boarding and school house for Indian pupils, a
+neat little church, with a steeple and a bell, and all the other
+buildings necessary to a complete mission outfit.
+
+These good men adopted a new scheme of education and civilization, which
+promised to be very successful. They organized a government among the
+Indians, which they called the Hazelwood Republic. To become a member of
+this civic body, it was necessary that the applicant should cut off his
+long hair, and put on white men's clothes, and it was also expected that
+he should become a member of the church. The republic had a written
+constitution, a president and other officers. It was in 1856 when I
+first became acquainted with this institution, and I afterwards used its
+members to great advantage, in the rescue of captive women and the
+punishment of one of the leaders of the Spirit Lake massacre, which
+occurred in the northwestern portion of Iowa, in the year 1857, the
+particulars of which I will relate hereafter. The name of the president
+was Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-ni, or "The man who shoots metal as he walks,"
+and one of its prominent members was John Otherday, called in Sioux,
+An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, both of whom were the best friends the whites had
+in the hour of their great danger in the outbreak of 1862. It was these
+two men who informed the missionaries and other whites at the Yellow
+Medicine Agency of the impending massacre, and assisted sixty-two of
+them to escape before the fatal blow was struck.
+
+What I have said proves that much good attended the work of the
+missionaries in the way of civilizing some of the Indians, but it has
+always been open to question in my mind if any Sioux Indian ever fully
+comprehended the basic doctrines of Christianity. I will give an example
+which had great weight in forming my judgment. There were among the
+pillars of the mission church at the Yellow Medicine Agency (or as it
+was called in Sioux, Pajutazee) an Indian named Ana-wang-mani, to which
+the missionaries had prefixed the name of Simon. He was an exceptionally
+good man, and prominent in all church matters. He prayed and exhorted,
+and was looked upon by all interested as a fulfillment of the success of
+both the church and the republic. Imagine the consternation of the
+worthy missionaries when one day he announced that a man who had killed
+his cousin some eight years ago had returned from the Missouri, and was
+then in a neighboring camp, and that it was his duty to kill him to
+avenge his cousin. The missionaries argued with him, quoted the Bible to
+him, prayed with him,--in fact, exhausted every possible means to
+prevent him carrying out his purpose; but all to no effect. He would
+admit all they said, assured them that he believed everything they
+contended for, but he would always end with the assertion that, "He
+killed my cousin, and I must kill him." This savage instinct was too
+deeply imbedded in his nature to be overcome by any teaching of the
+white man, and the result was that he got a double-barreled shotgun and
+carried out his purpose, the consequence of which was to nearly destroy
+the church and the republic. He was, however, true to the whites all
+through the outbreak of 1862.
+
+When the Indians rebelled, the entire mission outfit at Pajutazee was
+destroyed, which practically put an end to missionary effort in
+Minnesota, but did not in the least lessen the ardor of the
+missionaries. I remember meeting Dr. Williamson soon after the Sioux
+were driven out of the state, and supposing, of course, that he had
+given up all hope of Christianizing them, I asked him where he would
+settle, and what he would do. He did not hesitate a moment, and said
+that he would hunt up the remnant of his people and attend to their
+spiritual wants.
+
+Having given a general idea of the missionary efforts that were made in
+Minnesota, I will say a word about
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIANS.
+
+
+The Dakotas (or as they were afterwards called, the Sioux) and the
+Chippewas were splendid races of aboriginal men. The Sioux that occupied
+Minnesota were about eight thousand strong,--men, women and children.
+They were divided into four principal bands, known as the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, or Spirit Lake Villagers; the Wak-pay-ku-tays, or
+Leaf Shooters, from their living in the timber; the Si-si-tons, and
+Wak-pay-tons. There was also a considerable band, known as the Upper
+Si-si-tons, who occupied the extreme upper waters of the Minnesota
+river. The Chippewas numbered about 7,800, divided as follows: At Lake
+Superior, whose agency was at La Pointe, Wis., about 1,600; on the Upper
+Mississippi, on the east side, about 3,450; of Pillagers, 1,550; and at
+Red lake, 1,130. The Sioux and Chippewas had been deadly enemies as far
+back as anything was known of them, and kept up continual warfare. The
+Winnebagoes, numbering about 1,500, were removed from the neutral
+ground, in Iowa, to Long Prairie, in Minnesota, in 1848, and in 1854
+were again removed to Blue Earth county, near the present site of
+Mankato. While Minnesota was a territory its western boundary extended
+to the Missouri river, and on that river, both east and west of it, were
+numerous wild and warlike bands of Sioux, numbering many thousands,
+although no accurate census of them had ever been taken. They were the
+Tetons, Yanktons, Cut-heads, Yanktonais, and others. These Missouri
+Indians frequently visited Minnesota.
+
+The proper name of these Indians is Dakota, and they know themselves
+only by that name, but the Chippewas of Lake Superior, in speaking of
+them, always called them, "Nadowessioux," which in their language
+signifies "enemy." The traders had a habit, when speaking of any tribe
+in the presence of another, and especially of an enemy, to designate
+them by some name that would not be understood by the listeners, as
+they were very suspicious. When speaking of the Dakotas, they used the
+last syllable of Nadowessioux,--"Sioux," until the name attached itself
+to them, and they have always since been so called.
+
+Charlevoix, who visited Minnesota in 1721, in his history of New France,
+says: "The name 'Sioux,' that we give these Indians, is entirely of our
+own making; or, rather, it is the last two syllables of the name of
+'Nadowessioux,' as many nations call them."
+
+The Sioux live in tepees, or circular conical tents, supported by poles,
+so arranged as to leave an opening in the top for ventilation and for
+the escape of smoke. These were, before the advent of the whites,
+covered with dressed buffalo skins, but more recently with a coarse
+cotton tent cloth, which is preferable on account of its being much
+lighter to transport from place to place, as they are almost constantly
+on the move, the tents being carried by the squaws. There is no more
+comfortable habitation than the Sioux tepee to be found among the
+dwellers in tents anywhere. A fire is made in the center for either
+warmth or cooking purposes. The camp kettle is suspended over it, making
+cooking easy and cleanly. In the winter, when the Indian family settles
+down to remain any considerable time, they select a river bottom where
+there is timber or chaparral, and set up the tepee; then they cut the
+long grass or bottom cane, and stand it up against the outside of the
+lodge to the thickness of about twenty inches, and you have a very warm
+and cozy habitation.
+
+The wealth of the Sioux consists very largely in his horses, and his
+subsistence is the game of the forest and plains and the fish and wild
+rice of the lakes. Minnesota was an Indian paradise. It abounded in
+buffalo, elk, moose, deer, beaver, wolves, and, in fact, nearly all
+wild animals found in North America. It held upon its surface eight
+thousand beautiful lakes, alive with the finest of edible fish. It was
+dotted over with beautiful groves of the sugar maple, yielding
+quantities of delicious sugar, and wild rice swamps were abundant. An
+inhabitant of this region, with absolute liberty, and nothing to do but
+defend it against the encroachments of enemies, certainly had very
+little more to ask of his Creator. But he was not allowed to enjoy it in
+peace. A stronger race was on his trail, and there was nothing left for
+him but to surrender his country on the best terms he could make. Such
+has ever been the case from the beginning of recorded events, and
+judging from current operations, there has been no cessation of the
+movement. Why was not the world made big enough for homes for all kinds
+and colors of men, and all characters of civilization?
+
+As the white man progressed towards the West, and came in contact with
+the Indians, it became necessary to define the territories of the
+different tribes to avoid collision between them and the newcomers as
+much as possible. To accomplish this end, Governor Clark of Missouri and
+Governor Cass of Michigan, on the nineteenth day of August, 1825,
+convened, at Prairie du Chien, a grand congress of Indians, representing
+the Dakotas, Chippewas (then called Ojibways), Sauks, Foxes, Menomonies,
+Iowas, Winnebagoes, Pottaiwatomies and Ottawas, and it was determined by
+treaties among them where the dividing lines between their countries
+should be. This partition gave the Chippewas a large part of what is now
+Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the Dakotas lands to the west of them; but
+it soon became apparent that these boundary lines between the Dakotas
+and the Chippewas would not be adhered to, and Governor Cass and Mr. T.
+L. McKenney were appointed commissioners to again convene the Chippewas,
+but this time at Fond du Lac, and there, on the fifth day of August,
+1826, another treaty was entered into, which, with the exception of the
+Fort Snelling treaty, was the first one ever made on the soil of
+Minnesota. By this treaty the Chippewas, among other things, renounced
+all allegiance to or connection with Great Britain, and acknowledged the
+authority of the United States. These treaties were, however, rather of
+a preliminary character, being intended more for the purpose of
+arranging matters between the tribes than making concessions to the
+whites, although the whites were permitted to mine and carry away metals
+and ores from the Chippewa country by the treaty of Fond du Lac.
+
+The first important treaty made with the Sioux, by which the white men
+began to obtain concessions of lands from them, was on Aug. 29, 1837.
+This treaty was made at Washington, through Joel R. Poinsette, and to
+give an idea of how little time and few words were spent in
+accomplishing important ends, I will quote the first article of this
+treaty:
+
+    "Article I.--The chiefs and braves representing the parties
+    having an interest therein cede to the United States all their
+    land east of the Mississippi river, and all their islands in
+    said river."
+
+The rest of the treaty is confined to the consideration to be paid, and
+matters of that nature.
+
+This treaty extinguished all the Dakota title in lands east of the
+Mississippi river, in Minnesota, and opened the way for immigration on
+all that side of the Mississippi; and immigration was not long in
+accepting the invitation, for between the making of the treaty, in
+1837, and the admission of the State of Wisconsin into the Union, in
+1848, there had sprung into existence in that state, west of the St.
+Croix, the towns of Stillwater, St. Anthony, St. Paul, Marine, Arcola,
+and other lesser settlements, which were all left in Minnesota when
+Wisconsin adopted the St. Croix as its western boundary.
+
+Most important, however, of all the treaties that opened up the lands of
+Minnesota to settlement were those of 1851, made at Traverse des Sioux
+and Mendota, by which the Sioux ceded to the United States all their
+lands in Minnesota and Iowa, except a small reservation for their
+habitation, situated on the upper waters of the Minnesota river.
+
+The Territory of Minnesota was organized in 1849, and immediately
+presented to the world a very attractive field for immigration. The most
+desirable lands in the new territory were on the west side of the
+Mississippi, but the title to them was still in the Indians. The whites
+could not wait until this was extinguished, but at once began to settle
+on the land lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, north of the
+north line of Iowa, and in the new territory. These settlements extended
+up the Mississippi river as far as St. Cloud, in what is now Stearns
+county, and extended up the Minnesota river as far as the mouth of the
+Blue Earth river, in the neighborhood of Mankato. These settlers were
+all trespassers on the lands of the Indians, but a little thing like
+that never deterred a white American from pushing his fortunes towards
+the setting sun. It soon became apparent that the Indians must yield to
+the approaching tidal wave of settlement, and measures were taken to
+acquire their lands by the United States. In 1851, Luke Lea, then
+commissioner of Indian affairs, and Alexander Ramsey, then governor of
+the Territory of Minnesota and ex-officio superintendent of Indian
+affairs, were appointed commissioners to treat with the Indians at
+Traverse des Sioux, and, after much feasting and talking, a treaty was
+completed and signed, on the twenty-third day of July, 1851, between the
+United States and the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Sioux, whereby
+these bands ceded to the United States a vast tract of land lying in
+Minnesota and Iowa, and reserved for their future occupation a strip of
+land on the upper Minnesota, ten miles wide on each side of the center
+line of the river. For this cession they were to be paid $1,665,000,
+which was to be paid, a part in cash to liquidate debts, etc., and five
+per cent per annum on the balance for fifty years, the interest to be
+paid annually, partly in cash and partly in funds for agriculture,
+civilization, education, and in goods of various kinds; which payments,
+when completed, were to satisfy both principal and interest, the policy
+and expectation of the government being that at the end of fifty years
+the Indians would be civilized and self-sustaining.
+
+Amendments were made to this treaty in the senate, and it was not fully
+completed and proclaimed until Feb. 24, 1853.
+
+Almost instantly after the execution of this treaty, and on Aug. 5,
+1851, another treaty was negotiated by the same commissioners with two
+other bands of Sioux in Minnesota, the M'day-wa-kon-tons and
+Wak-pay-koo-tays. By this treaty these bands ceded to the United States
+all their lands in the Territory of Minnesota or State of Iowa, for
+which they were to be paid $1,410,000, very much in the same way that
+was provided in the last-named treaty with the Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. This treaty, also, was amended by the senate, and not
+fully perfected until Feb. 24, 1853.
+
+Both of these treaties contained the provision that "The laws of the
+United States, prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous
+liquors in the Indian country, shall be in full force and effect
+throughout the territory hereby ceded and lying in Minnesota until
+otherwise directed by congress or the president of the United States." I
+mention this feature of the treaty because it gave rise to much
+litigation as to whether the treaty making power had authority to
+legislate for settlers on the ceded lands of the United States. The
+power was sustained. These treaties practically obliterated the Indian
+title from the lands composing Minnesota, and its extinction brings us
+to the
+
+
+
+
+TERRITORIAL PERIOD.
+
+
+It must be kept in mind that, during the period which we have been
+attempting to review, the people who inhabited what is now Minnesota
+were subject to a great many different governmental jurisdictions. This,
+however, did not in any way concern them, as they did not, as a general
+thing, know or care anything about such matters; but as it may be
+interesting to the retrospective explorer to be informed on the subject,
+I will briefly present it. Minnesota has two sources of parentage. The
+part of it lying west of the Mississippi was part of the Louisiana
+purchase, made by President Jefferson from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803,
+and the part east of that river was part of the Northwest Territory,
+ceded by Virginia, in 1784, to the United States. I will give the
+successive changes of political jurisdiction, beginning on the west side
+of the river.
+
+First, it was part of New Spain, and Spanish. It was then purchased from
+Spain by France, and became French. On June 30, 1803, it became
+American, by purchase from France, and was part of the Province of
+Louisiana, and so remained until March 26, 1804, when an act was passed
+by congress, creating the Territory of Orleans, which included all of
+the Louisiana purchase south of the thirty-third degree of north
+latitude. This act gave the Territory of Louisiana a government, and
+called all the country north of it the District of Louisiana, which was
+to be governed by the Territory of Indiana, which had been created in
+1800 out of the Northwest Territory, and had its seat of government at
+Vincennes, on the Wabash.
+
+On June 4, 1812, the District of Louisiana was erected into the
+Territory of Missouri, where we remained until June 28, 1834, when all
+the public lands of the United States lying west of the Mississippi,
+north of the State of Missouri, and south of the British line, were, by
+act of congress, attached to the Territory of Michigan, under whose
+jurisdiction we remained until April 10, 1836, when the Territory of
+Wisconsin was created. This law went into effect July 3, 1836, and
+Wisconsin took in our territory lying west of the Mississippi, and there
+it remained until June 12, 1838, when the Territory of Iowa was created,
+taking us in and holding us until the State of Iowa was admitted into
+the Union, on March 3, 1845, which left us without any government west
+of the Mississippi.
+
+The part of Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi was originally part
+of the Northwest Territory. On May 7, 1800, it became part of the
+Indiana Territory, and remained so until April 26, 1836, when it became
+part of the Wisconsin Territory; and so continued until May 29, 1848,
+when Wisconsin entered the Union as a state, with the St. Croix river
+for its western boundary. By this arrangement of the western boundary of
+Wisconsin all the territory west of the St. Croix and east of the
+Mississippi, like that west of the river, was left without any
+government at all.
+
+One of the curious results of the many governmental changes which the
+western part of Minnesota underwent is illustrated in the residence of
+Gen. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota. In 1834, at the age of twenty-two, Mr.
+Sibley commenced his residence at Mendota, as the agent of the American
+Fur Company's establishment. At this point Mr. Sibley built the first
+private residence that was erected in Minnesota. It was a large,
+comfortable dwelling, constructed of the blue limestone found in the
+vicinity, with commodious porticos on the river front. The house was
+built in 1835-36, and was then in the Territory of Michigan. Mr. Sibley
+lived in it successively in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Territory
+and State of Minnesota. He removed to St. Paul in the year 1862. Every
+distinguished visitor who came to Minnesota in the early days was
+entertained by Mr. Sibley in this hospitable old mansion, and, together
+with its genial, generous and refined proprietor, it contributed much
+towards planting the seeds of those aesthetic amenities of social life
+that have so generally flourished in the later days of Minnesota's
+history and given it its deserved prominence among the states of the
+West. The house still stands, and has been occupied at different times
+since its founder abandoned it as a Catholic institution of some kind
+and an artists' summer school. The word Mendota is Sioux, and means "The
+meeting of the waters."
+
+It was the admission of Wisconsin into the Union in 1848 that brought
+about the organization of the Territory of Minnesota. The peculiar
+situation in which all the people residing west of the St. Croix found
+themselves set them to devising ways and means to obtain some kind of
+government to live under. It was a debatable question whether the
+remnant of Wisconsin which was left over when the state was admitted
+carried with it the territorial government, or whether it was a "no
+man's land," and different views were entertained on the subject. The
+question was somewhat embarrassed by the fact that the territorial
+governor, Governor Dodge, had been elected to the senate of the United
+States from the new state, and the territorial secretary, Mr. John
+Catlin, who would have become governor ex-officio when a vacancy
+occurred in the office of governor, resided in Madison, and the delegate
+to congress, Mr. John H. Tweedy, had resigned; so, even if the
+territorial government had, in law, survived, there seemed to be no one
+to represent and administer it.
+
+There was no lack of ability among the inhabitants of the abandoned
+remnant of Wisconsin. In St. Paul dwelt Henry M. Rice, Louis Roberts, J.
+W. Simpson, A. L. Larpenteur, David Lambert, Henry Jackson, Vetal
+Guerin, David Herbert, Oliver Rosseau, Andre Godfrey, Joseph Rondo,
+James R. Clewell, Edward Phalen, William G. Carter, and many others. In
+Stillwater and on the St. Croix were Morton S. Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss,
+John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, etc. In Mendota resided Henry H. Sibley.
+In St. Anthony, William R. Marshall; at Fort Snelling, Franklin Steele.
+I could name many others, but the above is a representative list. It
+will be observed that many of them were French.
+
+An initial meeting was held in St. Paul, in July of 1848, at Henry
+Jackson's trading house, to consider the matter, which was undoubtedly
+the first public meeting ever held in Minnesota. On the fifth day of
+August, in the same year, a similar meeting was held in Stillwater, and
+out of these meetings grew a call for a convention, to be held at
+Stillwater, on August 26th, which was held accordingly. There were
+present about sixty delegates.
+
+At this meeting a letter from Hon. John Catlin, the secretary of
+Wisconsin Territory, was read, giving it as his opinion that the
+territorial government of Wisconsin still existed, and that if a
+delegate to congress was elected he would be admitted to a seat.
+
+A memorial to congress was prepared, setting forth the peculiar
+situation in which the people of the remnant found themselves, and
+praying relief in the organization of a territorial government.
+
+During the session of this convention there was a verbal agreement
+entered into between the members, to the effect that when the new
+territory was organized the capital should be at St. Paul, the
+penitentiary at Stillwater, the university at St. Anthony, and the
+delegate to congress should be taken from Mendota. I have had reason to
+assert publicly this fact on former occasions, and so far as it relates
+to the university and the penitentiary, my statement was questioned by
+Minnesota's greatest historian, Rev. Edward D. Neill, in a published
+article, signed "Iconoclast;" but I sustained my position by letters
+from surviving members of the convention, which I published, and to
+which no answer was ever made. The same statement can be found in
+Williams' "History of St. Paul," published in 1876, at page 182.
+
+The result of this convention was the selection of Henry H. Sibley as
+its agent or delegate, to proceed to Washington and present the memorial
+and resolutions to the United States authorities. It was curiously
+enough stipulated that the delegate should pay his own expenses.
+
+Shortly after this event the Hon. John H. Tweedy, who was the regularly
+elected delegate to congress from the Territory of Wisconsin, no doubt
+supposing his official career was terminated, resigned his position, and
+Mr. John Catlin, claiming to be the governor of the territory, came to
+Stillwater, and issued a proclamation on Oct. 9, 1848, ordering a
+special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
+Delegate Tweedy. The election was held on the thirtieth day of October.
+Mr. Henry H. Sibley and Mr. Henry M. Rice became candidates, neither
+caring very much about the result, and Mr. Sibley was elected. There was
+much doubt entertained as to the delegate being allowed to take his
+seat, but in November he proceeded to Washington, and was admitted,
+after considerable discussion.
+
+On the 3d of March, 1849, the delegate succeeded in passing an act
+organizing the Territory of Minnesota, the boundaries of which embraced
+all the territory between the western boundary of Wisconsin and the
+Mississippi river, and also all that was left unappropriated on the
+admission of the State of Iowa, which carried our western boundary to
+the Missouri river, and included within our limits a large part of what
+is now North and South Dakota.
+
+The passage of this act was the first step in the creation of Minnesota.
+No part of the country had ever before borne that name. The word is
+composed of two Sioux words, "Minne," which means water, and "Sota,"
+which means the condition of the sky when fleecy white clouds are seen
+floating slowly and quietly over it. It has been translated, "sky
+tinted," giving to the word Minnesota the meaning of sky-tinted water.
+The name originated in the fact that, in the early days, the river now
+called Minnesota used to rise very rapidly in the spring, and there was
+constantly a caving in of the banks, which disturbed its otherwise
+pellucid waters, and gave them the appearance of the sky when covered
+with the light clouds I have mentioned. The similarity was heightened by
+the current keeping the disturbing element constantly in motion. There
+is a town just above St. Peter, called Kasota, which means "cloudy sky;"
+not stormy or threatening, but a sky dotted with fleecy white clouds.
+The best conception of this word can be found by pouring a few drops of
+milk into a glass of clear water, and observing the cloudy disturbance.
+
+The principal river in the territory was then called the St. Peters
+river, but the name was changed to the Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+EDUCATION.
+
+
+An act organizing a territory simply creates a government for its
+inhabitants, limiting and regulating its powers, executive, legislative
+and judicial, and in our country they generally resemble each other in
+all essential features. But the organic act of Minnesota contained one
+provision never before found in any that preceded it. It had been
+customary to donate to the territory and future state, one section of
+land in each surveyed township for school purposes, and section 16 had
+been selected as the one, but in the Minnesota act, the donation was
+doubled, and sections 16 and 36 in each township were reserved for the
+schools, which amounted to one-eighteenth of all the lands in the
+territory; and when it is understood that the state as now constituted
+contains 84,287 square miles, or about 53,943,379 acres of land, it will
+be seen that the grant was princely in extent and incalculable in value.
+No other state in the Union has been endowed with such a magnificent
+educational foundation. I may except Texas, which came into the Union,
+not as a part of the United States' public domain, but as an
+independent republic, owning all its lands, amounting to 237,504 square
+miles, or 152,002,560 acres, a vast empire in itself. I remember hearing
+a distinguished senator, in the course of the debate on its admission
+into the Union, describe its immensity by saying, "A pigeon could not
+fly across it in a week."
+
+It affords every citizen of Minnesota great pride to know that, under
+all phases and conditions of our territory and state, whether in
+prosperity or adversity, the school fund has always been held sacred,
+and neither extravagance, neglect nor peculation has ever assailed it,
+but it has been husbanded with jealous care from time to time since the
+first dollar was realized from it until the present, and has accumulated
+until the principal is estimated at $20,000,000. The state auditor, in
+his last report of it, says:
+
+    "The extent of the school land grant should ultimately be about
+    three million acres, and as the average price of this land
+    heretofore sold is $5.96 per acre, the amount of principal alone
+    should yield the school fund not less than $17,000,000. To this
+    must be added the amount received from sales of timber, and for
+    lease and royalty of mineral lands, which will not be less than
+    $3,000,000 more. It is not probable that the average sale price
+    of this land will be reduced in the future, but it may increase,
+    especially in view of the improved method of sale inaugurated by
+    the new land law."
+
+The general method of administering the school fund is to invest the
+proceeds arising from the sale of the lands, and distribute the interest
+among the counties of the state according to the number of children
+attending school; the principal always to remain untouched and
+inviolate.
+
+Generous grants of land have also been made for a state university,
+amounting to 92,558 acres; also, for an agricultural college to the
+extent of one hundred thousand acres, which two funds have been
+consolidated, and together they have accumulated to the sum of
+$1,159,790.73, all of which is securely invested.
+
+The state has also been endowed with five hundred thousand acres of land
+for internal improvements, and all its lands falling within the
+designation of swamp lands. An act of congress, of Feb. 26, 1857, also
+gave it ten sections of land for the purpose of completing public
+buildings at the seat of government, and all the salt springs, not to
+exceed twelve, in the state, with six sections of land to each spring,
+in all seventy-two sections. The twelve salt springs have all been
+discovered and located, and the lands selected. The salt spring lands
+have been transferred to the regents of the university, to be held in
+trust to pay the cost of a geological and natural history survey of the
+state. It is estimated that the salt spring lands will produce, on the
+same valuation as the school lands, the sum of $300,000. Large sums will
+also be gained by the state from the sale of timber stumpage, and the
+products of its mineral lands. Some idea of the magnitude of the fund to
+be derived from the mineral lands of the state may be learned from the
+report of the state auditor for the year 1896, in which he says that
+during the years 1895-96 there was received from and under all mineral
+leases, contracts and royalties, $170,128.83.
+
+It will be seen from this statement that the educational interests of
+Minnesota are largely provided for without resort to direct taxation,
+although up to the present time that means of revenue has to some extent
+been utilized to meet the expenses of the grand system prevailing
+throughout the state.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
+
+
+The organization of the territory was completed by the appointment of
+Alexander Ramsey of Pennsylvania as governor, Aaron Goodrich as chief
+justice, and David Cooper and Bradley B. Meeker as associate justices,
+C. K. Smith as secretary, Joshua L. Taylor as marshal, and Henry L. Moss
+as district attorney.
+
+On the 27th of May, 1849, the governor and his family arrived in St.
+Paul; but there being no suitable accommodations for them, they became
+the guests of Hon. Henry H. Sibley, at Mendota, whose hospitality, as
+usual, was never failing, and for several weeks there resided the four
+men who have been perhaps more prominent in the development of the state
+than any others,--Henry H. Sibley, Alexander Ramsey, Henry M. Rice and
+Franklin Steele, all of whom have been honored by having important
+counties named after them and by being chosen to fill high places of
+honor and trust.
+
+The governor soon returned to the capital, and on the 1st of June, 1849,
+issued a proclamation, declaring the territory duly organized. On the
+11th of June he issued a second proclamation, dividing the territory
+into three judicial districts. The county of St. Croix, which was one of
+the discarded counties of Wisconsin, and embraced the present county of
+Ramsey, was made the first district. The second was composed of the
+county of La Pointe (another of the Wisconsin counties), and the region
+north and west of the Mississippi river, and north of the Minnesota, and
+of a line running due west from the head waters of the Minnesota to the
+Missouri. The country west of the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota
+formed the third district. The chief justice was assigned to the first,
+Meeker to the second and Cooper to the third, and courts were ordered
+held in each district as follows: At Stillwater, in the first district,
+on the second Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the third Monday,
+and at Mendota on the fourth Monday, in August.
+
+A census was taken of the inhabitants of the territory, in pursuance of
+the requirements of the organic act, with the following result. I give
+here the details of the census, as it is interesting to know what
+inhabited places there were in the territory at this time, as well as
+the number of inhabitants:
+
+                                             Total
+                                          Inhabitants.
+
+    Stillwater                                     609
+    Lake St. Croix                                 211
+    Marine Mills                                   173
+    St. Paul                                       840
+    Little Canada and St. Anthony                  571
+    Crow Wing and Long Prairie                     350
+    Osakis Rapids                                  133
+    Falls of St. Croix                              16
+    Snake River                                     82
+    La Pointe County                                22
+    Crow Wing                                      174
+    Big Stone Lake and Lac qui Parle                68
+    Little Rock                                     35
+    Prairieville                                    22
+    Oak Grove                                       23
+    Black Dog Village                               18
+    Crow Wing (east side)                           70
+    Mendota                                        122
+    Red Wing Village                                33
+    Wabasha and Root River                         114
+    Fort Snelling                                   38
+    Soldiers, women and children in forts          317
+    Pembina                                        637
+    Missouri River                                  85
+                                                ------
+    Total                                        4,764
+
+On the seventh day of July the governor issued a proclamation, dividing
+the territory into seven council districts, and ordering an election
+for a delegate to congress, nine councillors, and eighteen
+representatives, to constitute the first territorial legislature, to be
+held on the first day of August. At this election Henry H. Sibley was
+again chosen delegate to congress.
+
+
+
+
+COURTS.
+
+
+The courts were held in pursuance of the governor's proclamation, the
+first one convening at Stillwater. But before I relate what there
+occurred, I will mention an attempt that was made by Judge Irwin, one of
+the territorial judges of Wisconsin, to hold a term in St. Croix county,
+in 1842. Joseph R. Brown, of whom I shall speak hereafter as one of the
+brightest of Minnesota's early settlers, came to Fort Snelling as a
+fifer boy in the regiment that founded and built the fort in 1819. He
+was discharged from the army about 1826, and had become clerk of the
+courts in St. Croix county. He had procured from the legislature of
+Wisconsin an order for a court in his county for some reason only known
+to himself, and in 1842 Judge Irwin came up to hold it. He arrived at
+Fort Snelling, and found himself in a country which indicated that
+disputes were more frequently settled with tomahawks than by the
+principles of the common law. The officers of the fort could give him no
+information, but in his wanderings he found Mr. Norman W. Kittson, who
+had a trading house near the Falls of Minnehaha. Kittson knew Clerk
+Brown, who was then living on the St. Croix, near where Stillwater now
+stands, and furnishing the judge a horse, directed him how to find his
+clerk. After a ride of more than twenty miles, Brown was discovered, but
+no preparations had been made for a court. The judge took the first boat
+down the river, a disgusted and angry man.
+
+After the lapse of five years from this futile attempt the first court
+actually held within the bounds of Minnesota was presided over by Judge
+Dunn, then chief justice of the Territory of Wisconsin. The court
+convened at Stillwater in June, 1847, and is remembered not only as the
+first court ever held in Minnesota, but on account of the trial of an
+Indian chief, named "Wind," who was indicted for murder. Samuel J.
+Crawford of Mineral Point was appointed prosecuting attorney for the
+term, and Ben C. Eastman of Plattville defended the prisoner. "Wind" was
+acquitted. This was the first jury trial in Minnesota.
+
+It should be stated that Henry H. Sibley was in fact the first judicial
+officer who ever exercised the functions of a court in Minnesota. While
+living at St. Peters (Mendota), he was commissioned a justice of the
+peace in 1835 or 1836 by Governor Chambers of Iowa, with a jurisdiction
+extending from twenty miles south of Prairie du Chien to the British
+boundary on the north, to the White river on the west and the
+Mississippi on the east. His prisoners could only be committed to
+Prairie du Chien. Boundary lines were very dimly defined in those days,
+and minor magistrates were in no danger of being overruled by superior
+courts, and tradition asserts that the writs of Sibley's court often
+extended far over into Wisconsin and other jurisdictions. One case is
+recalled which will serve as an illustration. A man named Phalen was
+charged with having murdered a sergeant in the United States army in
+Wisconsin. He was arrested under a warrant from Justice Sibley's Iowa
+court, examined and committed to Prairie du Chien, and no questions
+asked. Lake Phalen, from which the city of St. Paul derives part of its
+water supply, is named after this prisoner. Whatever jurisdictional
+irregularities Justice Sibley may have indulged in, it is safe to say
+that no injustice ever resulted from any decision of his.
+
+The first court-house that was erected within the present limits of
+Minnesota was at Stillwater, in the year 1847. A private subscription
+was taken up, and $1,200 was contributed. This sum was supplemented by a
+sufficient amount to complete the structure, from the treasury of St.
+Croix county. It was perched on the top of one of the high bluffs in
+that town, and much private and judicial blasphemy has been expended by
+exhausted litigants and judges in climbing to its lofty pinnacle. I held
+a term in it ten years after its completion.
+
+This court-house fell within the first judicial district of the
+Territory of Minnesota, under the division made by Governor Ramsey, and
+the first court under his proclamation was held within its walls,
+beginning the second Monday of August, 1849. It was presided over by
+Chief Justice Goodrich, assisted by Judge Cooper, the term lasting one
+week. There were thirty-five cases on the calendar. The grand jury
+returned thirty indictments, one for assault with intent to maim, one
+for perjury, four for selling liquor to Indians, and four for keeping
+gambling houses. Only one of these indictments was tried at this term,
+and the accused, Mr. William D. Phillips, being a prominent member of
+the bar, and there being a good deal of fun in it, I will give a brief
+history of the trial and the defendant.
+
+Mr. Phillips was a native of Maryland, and came to St. Paul in 1848. He
+was the first district attorney of the county of Ramsey. He became quite
+prominent as a lawyer and politician, and tradition has handed down many
+interesting anecdotes concerning him. The indictment charged him with
+assault with intent to maim. In an altercation with a man, he had drawn
+a pistol on him, and his defense was that the pistol was not loaded.
+The witness for the prosecution swore that it was, and added that he
+could see the load. The prisoner, as the law then was, was not allowed
+to testify in his own behalf. He was convicted and fined $25. He was
+very indignant at the result, and explained the assertion of the
+witness, that he could see the load, in this way. He said he had been
+electioneering for Mr. Henry M. Rice, and from the uncertainty of
+getting his meals in such an unsettled country, he carried crackers and
+cheese in the same pocket with his pistol, a crumb of which had gotten
+into the pistol, and the fellow was so scared when he looked at it, that
+he thought it was loaded to the muzzle.
+
+Another anecdote which is related of him shows that he fully understood
+the fundamental principle which underlies success in the practice of
+law--that of always charging for services performed. Mr. Henry M. Rice
+had presented him with a lot in St. Paul, upon which to build an office,
+and when he presented his next bill to Mr. Rice there was in it a charge
+of four dollars for drawing the deed.
+
+The territorial courts as originally constituted, being composed of only
+three judges, the trial terms were held by single judges, and the
+supreme court by all three sitting in bank, where they would review each
+others decisions on appeal.
+
+When the state was admitted into the Union the judiciary was made to
+consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, who constituted
+the supreme court, with a jurisdiction exclusively appellate, and a
+district judge for each district. As the state has grown in population
+and business, the supreme court judges have been increased to five and
+the judicial districts to eighteen in number, two of which, the second
+and the fourth, have six judges each, the eleventh three, the first and
+seventh two each, and the remainder one each.
+
+The practice adopted by the territorial legislature was generally
+similar to that of the New York code, with such differences as were
+necessary to conform it to a very new country. From a residence in the
+territory and state of forty-seven years, nearly all of which has been
+spent either in practice at the bar or as a judge on the bench, I take
+pride in saying that the judiciary of Minnesota, in all its branches,
+both territorial and state, has, during its fifty years of existence,
+equalled in ability, learning and integrity that of any state in the
+West, which is well attested by the seventy-seven well filled volumes of
+its reported decisions.
+
+Nearly all of the old lawyers of Minnesota were admitted to practice at
+the first term held at Stillwater, among whom were Morton S. Wilkinson,
+Henry L. Moss, Edmund Rice, Lorenzo A. Babcock, Alexander Wilkin,
+Bushrod W. Lott, and many others. Of the whole list, Mr. Moss is the
+sole survivor.
+
+
+
+
+FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.
+
+
+The first legislature convened at St. Paul on Monday, the 3d of
+September, 1849, in the Central House, which for the occasion served for
+both capitol and hotel. The quarters were limited, but the legislature
+was small. The council had nine members and the house of representatives
+eighteen. The usual officers were elected, and on Tuesday afternoon both
+houses assembled in the dining-room of the hotel. Prayer was offered by
+the Rev. E. D. Neill, and Governor Ramsey delivered his message, which
+was well received both at home and abroad.
+
+It may be interesting to give the names of the men constituting this
+body, and the places of their nativity. The councillors were:
+
+    James S. Norris,            Maine.
+    Samuel Burkleo,             Delaware.
+    William H. Forbes,          Montreal.
+    James McBoal,               Pennsylvania.
+    David B. Loomis,            Connecticut.
+    John Rollins,               Maine.
+    David Olmsted,              Vermont.
+    William Sturgis,            Upper Canada.
+    Martin McLeod,              Montreal.
+
+The members of the House were:
+
+    Joseph W. Furber,           New Hampshire.
+    James Wells,                New Jersey.
+    M. S. Wilkinson,            New York.
+    Sylvanus Trask,             New York.
+    Mahlon Black,               Ohio.
+    Benjamin W. Bronson,        Michigan.
+    Henry Jackson,              Virginia.
+    John J. Duvey,              New York.
+    Parsons K. Johnson,         Vermont.
+    Henry F. Stetzer,           Missouri.
+    William R. Marshall,        Missouri.
+    William Dugas,              Lower Canada.
+    Jeremiah Russell,           Lower Canada.
+    L. A. Babcock,              Vermont.
+    Thomas A. Holmes,           Pennsylvania.
+    Allen Morrison,             Pennsylvania.
+    Alexis Bailly,              Michigan.
+    Gideon H. Pond,             Connecticut.
+
+David Olmsted was elected president of the council, with Joseph R. Brown
+as secretary. In the House, Joseph W. Furber was elected speaker, and
+W. D. Phillips clerk.
+
+Many of these men became very prominent in the subsequent history of the
+state, and it is both curious and interesting to note the varied
+sources of their nativity, which shows that they were all of that
+peculiar and picturesque class known as the American pioneer.
+
+The work of the first legislature was not extensive, yet it performed
+some acts of historical interest. It created eight counties, named as
+follows: Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakota, Wahnahtah, Mankato, Pembina,
+Washington, Ramsey and Benton. The spelling of some of these names has
+since been changed.
+
+A very deep interest was manifested in the school system. A joint
+resolution was passed ordering a slab of red pipestone from the famous
+quarry to be sent to the Washington monument association, which was
+done, and now represents Minnesota in that lofty monument at the
+national capital.
+
+This was done at the suggestion of Henry H. Sibley, who furnished the
+stone. It will be remembered that I have referred to the visit of George
+Catlin, the artist, to Minnesota, in 1835, and that his report was
+unreliable. Among other things, he said that he was the first white man
+who had visited this quarry, and induced geologists to name the
+pipestone "Catlinite." Mr. Sibley, in his communication to the
+legislature presenting this slab, in answer to this pretension, says:
+
+    "In conclusion, I would beg leave to state, that a late
+    geological work of high authority by Dr. Jackson, designates
+    this formation as Catlinite, upon the erroneous supposition that
+    Mr. George Catlin was the first white man who had ever visited
+    that region; whereas it is notorious that many whites had been
+    there and examined the quarry long before he came to the
+    country. The designation, therefore, is clearly improper and
+    unjust. The Sioux term for the stone is Eyan-Sha (red stone), by
+    which, I conceive, it should be known and classified."
+
+In my opinion, the greatest achievement of the first legislature was the
+incorporation of the Historical Society of Minnesota. It established
+beyond question that we had citizens, at that early day, of thought and
+culture. One would naturally suppose that the first legislative body of
+an extreme frontier territory would be engaged principally with saw
+logs, peltries, town sites, and other things material; but in this
+instance we find an expression of the highest intellectual prevision,
+the desire to record historical events for posterity, even before their
+happening. And what affords even greater satisfaction to the present
+citizens of Minnesota is, that from the time of the conception of this
+grand idea there have never been men wanting to appreciate its
+advantages, and carry it out, until now our state possesses its greatest
+intellectual and moral treasure in a library of historical knowledge of
+sixty-three thousand volumes, which is steadily increasing, a valuable
+museum of curiosities, and a gallery of historical paintings.
+
+This legislature recommended a device for a great seal. It represented
+an Indian family with lodge and canoe, encamped; a single white man
+visiting them, and receiving from them the calumet of peace. The design
+did not meet with general approval, and nothing came of it. The next
+winter Governor Ramsey and the delegate to congress prepared a seal for
+the territory, the design of which was the Falls of St. Anthony in the
+distance, a farmer plowing land, his gun and powder horn leaning against
+a newly cut stump, a mounted Indian, surprised at the sight of the plow,
+lance in hand, fleeing toward the setting sun, with the Latin motto,
+"Quae sursum volo videre," ("I wish to see what is above"). A blunder
+was made by the engraver, in substituting the word "Quo" for "Quae," in
+the motto, which destroyed its meaning. Some time after, it was changed
+to the French motto, "L'Etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North"), and thus
+remains until the present time.
+
+While speaking of seals, I will state that the seal of the supreme court
+was established when the first term of the court convened, in 1858. The
+design adopted was a female figure, representing the goddess of liberty,
+holding the evenly-balanced scales of justice in one hand and a sword in
+the other, with the somewhat hackneyed motto, "Fiat justitia ruat
+coelum" ("Let justice be done if the heavens fall"). I remember that,
+soon after it appeared, some one asked one of the judges what the new
+motto meant, and he jocularly answered, "Those who fy at justice will
+rue it when we seal 'em."
+
+The seal was changed to the same device as that of the state, with the
+same motto and the words, "Seal of the Supreme Court, State of
+Minnesota."
+
+
+
+
+IMMIGRATION.
+
+
+When the first legislature convened, the governor, on the second day of
+the session (Sept. 4, 1849), delivered his message. It was a well-timed
+document, and admirably expressed to attract attention to the new
+territory. After congratulating the members upon the enviable position
+they occupied as pioneers of a great prospective civilization, which
+would carry the American name and American institutions, by the force of
+superior intelligence, labor and energy, to untold results, he among
+other things said:
+
+    "I would advise you, therefore, that your legislation should be
+    such as will guard equally the rights of labor and the rights of
+    property, without running into ultraisms on either hand; as will
+    recognize no social distinctions except those which merit and
+    knowledge, religion and morals unavoidably create; as will
+    suppress crime, encourage virtue, give free scope to enterprise
+    and industry; as will promptly and without delay administer to
+    and supply all the legitimate wants of the people--laws, in a
+    word, in the proclamation of which will be kept steadily in view
+    the truth that this territory is designed to be a great state,
+    rivalling in population, wealth and energy her sisters of the
+    Union, and that consequently all laws not merely local in their
+    objects should be framed for the future as well as the
+    present....
+
+    "Our territory, judging from the experience of the few months
+    since public attention was called to its many advantages, will
+    settle rapidly. Nature has done much for us. Our productive soil
+    and salubrious climate will bring thousands of immigrants within
+    our borders; it is of the utmost moment that the foundation of
+    our legislation should be healthful and solid. A knowledge of
+    this fact will encourage tens of thousands of others to settle
+    in our midst, and it may not be long ere we may with truth be
+    recognized throughout the political and the moral world as
+    indeed the "Polar Star" of the republican galaxy....
+
+    "No portion of the earth's surface perhaps combines so many
+    favorable features for the settler as this territory,--watered
+    by the two greatest rivers of our continent, the Missouri
+    sweeping its entire western border, the Mississippi and Lake
+    Superior making its eastern frontier, and whilst the States of
+    Wisconsin and Iowa limit us on the south, the possessions of the
+    Hudson Bay Company present the only barrier to our domain on the
+    extreme north; in all embracing an area of 166,000 square miles,
+    a country sufficiently extensive to admit of the erection of
+    four states of the largest class, each enjoying in abundance
+    most of the elements of future greatness. Its soil is of the
+    most productive character, yet our northern latitude saves us
+    from malaria and death, which in other climes are so often
+    attendant on a liberal soil. Our people, under the healthful and
+    bracing influences of this northern climate, will never sink
+    into littleness, but continue to possess the vigor and the
+    energy to make the most of their natural advantages."
+
+This message, while not in the least exaggerating the actual situation,
+was well calculated to attract immigration to this region. It was
+written in a year of great activity in that line. Gold had been
+discovered in California, and the thoughts of the pioneer were attracted
+in that direction, and it needed extraordinary inducements to divert the
+stream to any other point. It was extensively quoted in the eastern
+papers, and much commented upon, and succeeded beyond all expectations
+in awakening interest in the Northwest. It was particularly attractive
+in Maine, where the people were experienced in lumbering, and many of
+them flocked to the Valley of the St. Croix and the Falls of St.
+Anthony, and inaugurated the lumbering business, which has since grown
+to such immense proportions. The valleys of the St. Croix, the Rum, and
+the Upper Mississippi rivers, with their tributaries, soon resounded
+with the music of the woodman's axe. Saw mills were erected, and
+Minnesota was recognized among the great lumber producing regions.
+
+Although immigration continued to be quite rapid during the years
+1850-54, it was not until about the year 1855 that it acquired a volume
+that was particularly noticeable. The reader must remember that
+Minnesota was on the extreme border of America, and that it represented
+to the immigrant only those attractions incident to a new territory
+possessing the general advantages of good climate, good soil and good
+government as far as developed. There was no gold, no silver, nor other
+special inducements. The only way of reaching it was by land on wheels,
+or by the navigable rivers. There was not a railroad west of Chicago. To
+give an idea of the rush that came in 1855, I quote from the "History of
+St. Paul," by J. Fletcher Williams, for many years secretary of the
+Minnesota Historical Society, published in 1876. Speaking of the
+immigration of 1855, he says:
+
+    "Navigation opened on April 17th, the old favorite, 'War Eagle,'
+    leading the van with 814 passengers. The papers chronicled the
+    immigration that spring as unprecedented. Seven boats arrived in
+    one day, each having brought to Minnesota two hundred to six
+    hundred passengers. Most of these came through St. Paul and
+    diverged hence to other parts of the territory. It was estimated
+    by the packet company that they brought thirty thousand
+    immigrants into Minnesota that season. Certainly 1855, 1856 and
+    1857 were the three great years of immigration in our
+    territorial days. Nothing like it has ever been seen."
+
+In the early fifties, the Mississippi up to, and even for a long
+distance above, the Falls of St. Anthony was navigable for steamboats. A
+fine boat, the "Ans. Northrup," once penetrated as far as the Falls of
+Pokegama, where she was dismantled and her machinery transported to the
+Red River of the North, and four or five boats regularly navigated the
+stream above the falls.
+
+The Minnesota river, during all the period of our early history, and far
+into the sixties, was navigable for large steamers up to Mankato, and in
+one instance, a steamboat carrying a large cargo of Indian goods was
+taken by Culver and Farrington, Indian traders, as far as the Yellow
+Medicine river, and into that river, so that the goods were delivered at
+the agency, situated a few miles above its mouth. I mention this fact
+because a wonderful change has taken place in the watercourses and lakes
+of the state in the past twenty odd years, which I propose to account
+for on the only theory that seems to me to meet the conditions. Up to
+about twenty years ago, as soon as the ice went out of the Minnesota
+river in the spring, it would rise until it overran its banks and
+covered its bottoms for miles on each side of its channel, and would
+continue capable of carrying large steamers until late in August. Since
+that time it has rarely been out of its banks, and navigation of its
+waters has entirely ceased. The same phenomenon is observable in
+relation to many of our lakes. Hundreds of the smaller ones have
+entirely dried up, and most of the larger ones have become reduced in
+depth several feet. The rainfall has not been lessened, but, if
+anything, has increased. My explanation of the change is, that in the
+advance of civilization, the water sheds or basins of these rivers and
+lakes having been plowed up, the rainfall which formerly found its way
+quickly into the streams and lakes over the hard natural surface is now
+absorbed into the soft and receptive ground, and is returned by
+evaporation. This change is generally attributed to the destruction of
+forests, but in this case that cause has not progressed sufficiently to
+have produced the result, and our streams do not rise in mountains.
+
+The trend of immigration toward Minnesota encouraged the organization of
+transportation companies, by boat and stage, for passengers and freight,
+and by 1856 it was one of the liveliest communities to be found
+anywhere, and, curious as it may seem, this era of prosperity was the
+cause of Minnesota's first great calamity.
+
+The object of the immigrant is, always, the betterment of his condition.
+He leaves old communities, where competition in all branches of industry
+is great, in the hope of "getting in on the ground floor," as we used to
+say, when he arrived in a new country, and every American, and, in fact,
+everybody else, wants to get rich by head work instead of hand work, if
+he can. The bulk of the immigration that first came to Minnesota
+remained in the cities; there was no agriculture worthy of the name. I
+may say that we had nothing at all to sell, and everything we needed to
+buy. I can remember that as late as 1853, and even after, we imported
+hay in bales from Dubuque to feed the horses of St. Paul, when there
+were millions of tons of it growing in the Minnesota valley, within a
+few miles of the city.
+
+In the progress of emigration to the West, the territories have always
+presented the greatest attractions. The settler expects to have a better
+choice of lands, and at original government prices. Society and politics
+are both in the formative condition, and very few emigrants omit the
+latter consideration from their hopes and expectations. In fact,
+political preferment is a leading motive with many of them.
+
+Under the influence of this great rush of immigration it is very natural
+that the prevailing idea should be that lands would greatly increase in
+value in the near future, and everybody became a speculator. Towns and
+cities sprang into existence like mushrooms in a night. Scarcely anyone
+was to be seen without a town-site map in his hands, the advantages and
+beauties of which fictitious metropolis he was ready to present in the
+most eloquent terms. Everything useful was neglected, and speculation
+was rampant. There were no banks of issue, and all the money that was in
+the country was borrowed in the East. In order to make borrowing easy,
+the law placed no restrictions on the rate of interest, and the usual
+terms were three per cent per month, with the condition that if the
+principal was not paid at maturity, the interest should be increased to
+five per cent per month. Everybody was in debt on these ruinous terms;
+which, of course, could not last long before the inevitable explosion.
+The price of lands, and especially town lots, increased rapidly, and
+attained fabulous rates; in fact, some real property in St. Paul sold in
+1856 for more money than it has ever since brought.
+
+
+
+
+THE PANIC OF 1857.
+
+
+The bubble burst by the announcement of the failure of the Ohio Life
+Insurance and Trust Company, which reached St. Paul on Aug. 24, 1857.
+The failure of this financial institution precipitated a panic all over
+the country. It happened just on the recurrence of the twenty year
+period which has marked the pecuniary disasters of the country,
+beginning with 1837. Its effects on Minnesota were extremely disastrous.
+The eastern creditors demanded their money, and the Minnesota debtors
+paid as long as a dollar remained in the country, and all means of
+borrowing more being cut off, a most remarkable condition of things
+resulted. Cities like St. Paul and St. Anthony, having a population of
+several thousands each, were absolutely without money to carry on the
+necessary commercial functions. A temporary remedy was soon discovered,
+by every merchant and shopkeeper issuing tickets marked "Good for one
+dollar at my store," and every fractional part of a dollar, down to five
+cents. This device tided the people for a while, but scarcely any
+business establishment in the territory weathered the storm, and many
+people who had considered themselves beyond the chance of disaster were
+left without resources of any kind and hopelessly bankrupt. The distress
+was great and universal, but it was bravely met, and finally overcome.
+
+Dreadful as this affliction was to almost everyone in the territory, it
+turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It compelled the people to
+abandon speculation, and seek honest labor in the cultivation of the
+soil and the development of the splendid resources that generous nature
+had bestowed upon the country. Farms were opened by the thousands,
+everybody went to work, and in ten or a dozen years, Minnesota had a
+surplus of forty millions of bushels of wheat with which to supply the
+hungry world.
+
+
+
+
+LAND TITLES.
+
+
+All the lands of Minnesota were the property of the United States, and
+title to them could only be obtained through the regular methods of
+preemption, town-site entry, public sales, or private entries. One event
+occurred on Aug. 14, 1848, which illustrates so clearly the way in which
+western men protect their rights that I will relate it. The recognized
+price of public lands was one dollar and a quarter per acre, and all
+pioneer settlers were willing to pay that sum, but when a public sale
+was made, any one could bid whatever he was willing to pay. Under the
+administration of President Polk, a public sale of lands was ordered to
+be made at the land office at St. Croix Falls, of lands lying partly in
+Minnesota and partly in Wisconsin. The lands advertised for sale
+included those embraced in St. Paul and St. Anthony. The settlers
+selected Henry H. Sibley as their trustee, to buy their lands for them,
+to be conveyed to them subsequently. It was a high offense under the
+United States laws to do any act that would tend to prevent persons
+bidding at the sales. Mr. Sibley appeared at the sale, and bid off every
+tract of land that was occupied by an actual settler at the price of
+$1.25 per acre. The general, in a paper he read before the Historical
+Society, says of this affair:
+
+    "I was selected by the actual settlers to bid off portions of
+    the land for them, and when the hour for business arrived, my
+    seat was universally surrounded by a number of men with huge
+    bludgeons. What was meant by the proceeding, I could, of course,
+    only surmise, but I would not have envied the fate of the
+    individual who would have ventured to bid against me."
+
+It has always been assumed in the far West, and I think justly, that the
+pioneers who first settle the land and give it value should enjoy every
+advantage that flows from such priority, and the violation of laws that
+impede such opportunity is a very venial offense. So universal was the
+confidence reposed in Mr. Sibley, that many of the French settlers, the
+title to whose lands became vested in him, by his purchase at this sale,
+insisted that it should remain in him, and he found it quite difficult
+in many cases to get them to accept deeds from him.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.
+
+
+Although the first message of the governor went a great way in
+introducing Minnesota to the world, she was particularly fortunate in
+the establishment of her first newspapers. The Stillwater convention of
+1848, of which I have spoken, first suggested to Dr. A. Randall, who was
+an attache of Dr. Owen's geological corps, then engaged in a survey of
+this region by order of the government, the necessity of a newspaper for
+the new territory. He was possessed of the means and enterprise to
+accomplish the then rather difficult undertaking, and was promised
+ample support by leading men of the territory. He returned to his home
+in Cincinnati in the fall of 1848, intending to purchase the plant and
+start the paper that year, but the navigation of the rivers closed
+earlier than usual, and he was foiled in his attempt. He, however, set
+up his press in Cincinnati, and got out a number or two of his paper
+there. It was then called the "_Minnesota Register_," and appeared as of
+the date of April 27, 1849, and as printed in St. Paul. It was in fact
+printed in Cincinnati about two weeks earlier. It contained valuable
+articles from the pens of H. H. Sibley and Henry M. Rice. These
+articles, added to Mr. Randall's extensive knowledge of the country,
+made the first issue a great local success. It was the first Minnesota
+paper ever published, and bears date just one day ahead of the
+_Pioneer_, subsequently published by James M. Goodhue, which was
+actually printed in the territory. Dr. Randall did not carry out his
+intention, but was caught in the California vortex, and did not return
+to Minnesota.
+
+James M. Goodhue of Lancaster, Wis., who was editing the _Wisconsin
+Herald_, when he heard of the organization of the new territory,
+immediately decided to start a paper in St. Paul, and as soon as
+navigation opened in the spring of 1849, he came up with his press and
+type. He met with many difficulties and obstructions, necessarily
+incident to a new place in a venture such as was his, but he succeeded
+in issuing the first number of his paper on the twenty-eighth day of
+April, 1849. His first inclination was to call his paper the "_Epistle
+of St. Paul_," but on sober reflection he was convinced that the name
+might shock the religious sensibilities of the community, especially as
+he did not possess many of the attributes of our patron saint, and he
+decided to call his paper "_The Minnesota Pioneer_."
+
+In his first issue he speaks of his establishment of that day, as
+follows:
+
+    "We print and issue this number of the _Pioneer_ in a building
+    through which out-of-doors is visible by more than five hundred
+    apertures; and as for our type, it is not safe from being _pied_
+    on the galleys by the wind." The rest can be imagined.
+
+Mr. Goodhue was just the man to be the editor of the first paper of a
+frontier territory. He was energetic, enterprising, brilliant, bold and
+belligerent. He conducted the _Pioneer_ with great success and advantage
+to the territory until the year 1851, when he published an article on
+Judge Cooper, censuring him for absenteeism, which is a very good
+specimen of the editorial style of that day. He called the judge "a
+sot," "a brute," "an ass," "a profligate vagabond," and closed his
+article in the following language:
+
+    "Feeling some resentment for the wrongs our territory has so
+    long suffered by these men, pressing upon us like a dispensation
+    of wrath,--a judgment--a curse--a plague, unequalled since Egypt
+    went lousy,--we sat down to write this article with some
+    bitterness, but our very gall is honey to what they deserve."
+
+In those fighting days, such an article could not fail to produce a
+personal collision. A brother of Judge Cooper resented the attack, and
+in the encounter between them, Goodhue was badly stabbed and Cooper was
+shot. Neither wound proved fatal at the time, but it was always asserted
+by the friends of each combatant, and generally believed, that they both
+died from the effects of these wounds.
+
+The original _Minnesota Pioneer_ still lives in the _Pioneer Press_ of
+to-day, which is published in St. Paul. It has been continued under
+several names and edited by different men, but has never been
+extinguished or lost its relation of lineal descendant from the original
+_Pioneer_.
+
+Nothing tends to show the phenomenal growth of Minnesota more than the
+fact that this first newspaper, issued in 1849, has been followed by the
+publication of 579 papers, which is the number now issued in the state
+according to the last official list obtainable. They appear daily,
+weekly and monthly, in nearly all written languages, English, French,
+German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Bohemian, and one in Icelandic,
+published in Lyon county.
+
+
+
+
+BANKS.
+
+
+With the first great increase in immigration business was necessarily
+enlarged, and banking facilities became a necessity. Dr. Charles W.
+Borup, a Danish gentleman, who was engaged in the fur trade at Lake
+Superior as an agent for the American Fur Company, and Mr. Charles H.
+Oakes, a native of Vermont, came to St. Paul, and established a bank in
+1853. They were brothers-in-law, having married sisters. They did a
+private banking business, under the name of Borup & Oakes, which adapted
+itself to the needs of the community, including real estate, and almost
+any other kind of venture that offered. The house of Borup & Oakes was
+the first banking establishment in Minnesota, and weathered all the
+financial storms that swept over the territory in its early history.
+
+They were followed by Truman M. Smith, but he went down in the panic of
+1857-58. Then came Bidwell's Exchange Bank, followed by C. H. Parker and
+A. Vance Brown. Mackubin & Edgerton opened a bank in 1854, which was the
+ancestor of the present Second National Bank, and always legitimate. I
+think Erastus S. Edgerton may justly be said to have been the most
+successful banker of all that were early engaged in the business. An
+enumeration of the banks and bankers which succeeded each other in these
+early times would be more appropriate in a narrative of the localities
+where they operated than in a general history of the state. It is
+sufficient to say that nearly all, if not all, of them succumbed to the
+financial disasters in 1857-58, and there was no banking worthy of the
+name until the passage of the banking law of July 26, 1858. But this act
+was a mere makeshift to meet a financial emergency, and it was not based
+upon sound financial principles. It allowed the organization of banks
+and the issue of circulating bank notes upon securities that were
+capable of being fraudulently overvalued by misrepresentation, and, as a
+matter of course, advantage was taken of the laxity of the provisions of
+the law, and securities which had no intrinsic value in fact were made
+available as the foundation of bank issues, with the inevitable result
+of disaster.
+
+Another method of furnishing the community with a circulating medium was
+resorted to by a law of July 23, 1858. The state auditor was authorized
+to issue his warrants for any indebtedness which the state owed to any
+person in small sums, and the warrants were made to resemble bank notes,
+and bore twelve per cent interest. The credit of the state was not
+sufficiently well established in the public confidence to make these
+warrants, which were known as "state scrip," worth much over sixty-five
+or seventy cents on the dollar. They were taken by the money changers at
+that valuation, and when the state made its first loan of $250,000, they
+were all redeemed in gold at par, with interest at twelve per cent.
+
+In this uncertain way, the financial interests of the territory were
+cared for until the breaking out of the Civil War, and the establishment
+of the national and state systems which still exist.
+
+Another evidence of the growth of the state may be found in the fact
+that at the present time the state has within its limits banks in good
+standing as follows: State banks, 172 in number, with a paid-in capital
+stock of $6,736,800, and sixty-seven national banks, with a capital
+stock paid in of $11,220,000. This statement does not include either the
+surplus or the undivided profits of these banks, nor the capital
+employed by private banking concerns which do not fall under the
+supervision of the state, which latter item can safely be estimated at
+$2,000,000.
+
+
+
+
+THE FUR TRADE.
+
+
+The first legitimate business of the territory was the fur trade, and
+the carrying business resulting therefrom. Prior to the year 1842 the
+Northwestern Fur Company occupied the territory which is now Minnesota.
+In 1842 it sold out to, and was merged into, the American Fur Company,
+which was owned by P. Choteau & Company. This company had trading
+stations at Prairie du Chien and Mendota, Henry H. Sibley being their
+chief factor at the latter. The goods imported into the Red river
+settlements and the furs exported therefrom all came and went through
+the difficult and circuitous route by way of Hudson Bay. This route was
+only navigable for about two months in the year, on account of the ice.
+The catch of furs and buffalo robes in that region was practically
+monopolized by the Hudson Bay Company. The American Fur Company soon
+became well established in the Northwest. In 1844 this company sent Mr.
+Norman W. Kittson from the Mendota outfit to establish a trading post at
+Pembina, just south of the British possessions, with the design of
+diverting some of the fur trade of that region in the direction of the
+navigable waters of the Mississippi. The company, through Mr. Kittson,
+invested some $2,000 in furs at Pembina, and had them transported to
+Mendota in six Pembina carts, which returned loaded with merchandise of
+the character needed by the people of that distant region. This venture
+was the beginning of the fur trade with the Red river country, but did
+not prove a financial success. It entailed a loss of about $600, and
+similar results attended the next two years' operations, but the trade
+increased, notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the Hudson Bay
+Company to obstruct it. This company had enjoyed a monopoly of the trade
+without any outside interference for so long that it looked upon this
+new enterprise as a direct attack on its vested rights. But Mr. Kittson
+had faith in being able in the near future to work up a paying trade,
+and he persevered. By the year 1850 the business had so far increased as
+to involve a consumption of goods to the extent of $10,000, with a
+return of furs to the amount of $15,000. Five years later the goods sent
+to Pembina amounted in value to $24,000, and the return of furs to
+$40,000. In 1851 the firm of Forbes & Kittson was organized, and also
+"The St. Paul Outfit," to carry on the supply business. When St. Paul
+became of some importance in 1849 the terminus and supply depot was
+removed to that point, and the trade rapidly increased in magnitude, and
+made St. Paul one of the largest fur markets in America, second only to
+St. Louis, the trade of which city consisted mostly of buffalo robes,
+which was always regarded as a distinct branch of the business, in
+contrast with that of fine furs. In the early days the Indians and a
+few professional trappers were about all who caught fur animals, but as
+the country became more settled the squatters added to their incomes by
+such trapping as their environments afforded, which increased the market
+at St. Paul by the addition of all Minnesota, which then included both
+of the Dakotas, and northern Wisconsin.
+
+The extent and value of this trade can better be understood by a
+statement of the increase of the number of carts engaged in it between
+1844 and 1858. In the first year mentioned six carts performed all the
+required service, and in 1858 six hundred carts came from Pembina to St.
+Paul. After the year 1858 the number of carts engaged in the traffic
+fell off, as a steamer had been put in operation on the Red river, which
+reduced the land transportation to 216 miles, which had formerly been
+448 miles, J. C. & H. C. Burbank having established a line of freight
+trains connecting with the steamer. In 1867, when the St. Paul & Pacific
+Railroad reached St. Cloud, the caravans of carts ceased their annual
+visits to St. Paul. St. Cloud then became the terminus of the traffic,
+until the increase of freight lines and the completion of the Northern
+Pacific Railroad to the Red river drove these most primitive of all
+transportation vehicles out of business. Another cause of the decrease
+in the fur trade was the imposition of a duty of twenty-five per cent on
+all dressed skins, which included buffalo robes, and from that time on
+robes that formerly came to St. Paul from the British possessions were
+diverted to Montreal.
+
+The extent and value of this trade to Minnesota, which was then in its
+infancy, can easily be judged by a brief statement of its growth. In
+1844 it amounted to $1,400 and in 1863 to $250,000. All the money paid
+out for these furs, and large sums besides, would be expended in St.
+Paul for merchandise, in the shape of groceries, liquors, dry goods,
+blankets, household utensils, guns and ammunition, and, in fact every
+article demanded by the needs of a primitive people. Even threshers and
+mowers were included, which were taken apart and loaded on the return
+carts. This trade was the pioneer of the great commercial activity which
+now prevails.
+
+I cannot permit this opportunity to pass without describing the Red
+river cart, and the picturesque people who used it, as their like will
+never be seen again. The inhabitants of the Pembina country were
+principally Chippewa half breeds, with an occasional white man,
+prominently Joseph Rolette, of whom I shall hereafter speak as the man
+who vetoed the capital removal bill, by running away with it, in 1857.
+Their principal business was hunting the buffalo, in connection with
+small farming, and defending themselves against the invasions of their
+hereditary enemies, the Sioux. They were a bold, free race, skilled in
+the arts of Indian war, fine horsemen, and good fighters.
+
+The Red river cart was a home invention. It was made entirely of wood
+and rawhide. It moved upon two wheels, of about a diameter of five feet
+six inches, with shafts for one animal, horse or ox,--generally the
+latter. The wheels were without tires, and their tread about three and a
+half or four inches wide. They would carry a load of six to eight
+hundred pounds, which would be protected by canvas covers. They were
+especially adapted to the condition of the country, which was largely
+interspersed with swamps and sloughs, which were impassable for any
+other character of vehicle. Their lightness, the width of the surface
+presented by the tread of the wheel and the careful steps of the
+educated animal which drew them, enabled them to go where anything else
+would flounder. The trail which they left upon the prairie was deeply
+cut, and remained for many years after they were disused.
+
+When a brigade of them was ready to leave from Pembina for St. Paul, it
+would be manned by one driver for four carts, the train being arranged
+in single file with the animals hitched to the cart before them, so that
+one driver could attend to that number of carts. Their speed was about
+fifteen miles a day, which made the voyage last about a month. When
+night overtook them they formed a circular corral with their carts, the
+shafts pointing inward, with the camp in the center, which made a strong
+fort in case of attack. The animals were allowed to graze on the
+outside, but were carefully watched to prevent a stampede. When they
+reached St. Paul they went into camp near some lake, and were a great
+source of interest to all the newcomers. During their stay the town
+would be thronged with the men, who were dressed in vari-colored
+costumes, always including the sash of Pembina, a beautiful girdle,
+giving them a most picturesque appearance. The only truthful
+representation of these curious people that has been preserved is found
+in two full length portraits of Joe Rollette, one in the gallery of the
+Minnesota Historical Society and the other on the walls of the Minnesota
+Club, in St. Paul, both of which are the gift of a very dear friend of
+the original.
+
+During the progress of this peculiar traffic many people not connected
+with the established fur companies, engaged in the Indian trade,
+prominently Culver and Farrington, Louis Roberts, and Nathan Myrick. I
+remember that Mr. John Farrington made an improvement in the
+construction of the Red river cart, by putting an iron box in the hub of
+the wheel, which prevented the loud squeaking noise they formerly made,
+and so facilitated their movements that they carried a thousand pounds
+as easily as they had before carried eight hundred.
+
+The early fur trade in the Northwest, carried on by canoes and these
+carts, was very appropriately called by one of our first historians of
+Minnesota, "The heroic age of American commerce."
+
+
+
+
+PEMMICAN.
+
+
+One of the principal sources of subsistence of these frontier people in
+their long journeys through uninhabited regions was pemmican. This food
+was especially adapted to extreme northern countries, where in the
+winter it was sometimes impossible to make fires to cook with, and the
+means of transportation was by dog-trains, as it was equally good for
+man and beast. It was invented among the Hudson Bay people, many years
+ago, and undoubtedly from necessity. It was made in this way: The meat
+of the buffalo, without the fat, was thoroughly boiled, and then picked
+into shreds or very small pieces. A sack was made of buffalo skin, with
+the hair on the outside, which would hold about ninety pounds of meat. A
+hole was then dug in the ground of sufficient size to hold the sack. It
+was filled with the meat thus prepared, which was packed and pounded
+until it was as hard as it could be made. A kettle of boiling hot
+buffalo fat, in a fluid state, was then poured into it, until it was
+thoroughly permeated, every interstice from center to circumference
+being filled, until it became a solid mass, perfectly impervious to the
+air, and as well preserved against decomposition as if it had been
+enclosed in an hermetically sealed glass jar. Here you had a most
+nutritious preparation of animal food, all ready for use for both man
+and dog. An analysis of this compound proved it to possess more
+nutriment to the pound weight than any other substance ever
+manufactured, and with a winter camp appetite, it was a very palatable
+dish. Its great superiority over any other kind of food was its not
+requiring preparation and its portability.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSPORTATION AND EXPRESS.
+
+
+With the increase of trade and business naturally came the need of
+greater transportation facilities, and the men to furnish them were not
+wanting. John C. Burbank of St. Paul may be said to have been the
+pioneer in that line, although several minor lines of stages and
+ventures in the livery business preceded his efforts. Willoughby &
+Powers, Allen & Chase, M. O. Walker & Company of Chicago, and others,
+were early engaged in this work. In 1854 the Northwestern Express
+Company was organized by Burbank & Whitney, and in 1856 Captain Russell
+Blakeley succeeded Mr. Whitney, and the express business became well
+established in Minnesota. In 1858-59 Mr. Burbank got the mail contract
+down the river, and established an express line from St. Paul to Galena,
+in connection with the American Express Company, whose lines extended to
+Galena as its western terminus. Steamboats were used in summer and
+stages in winter. In the fall of 1859 the Minnesota Stage Company was
+formed by a consolidation of the Burbank interests with those of Allen &
+Chase, and the line extended up the Mississippi to St. Anthony and Crow
+Wing. Other lines and interests were purchased and united, and in the
+spring of 1860 Col. John L. Merriam became a member of the firm, and
+for more than seven years Messrs. Burbank, Blakeley & Merriam
+constituted the firm and carried on the express and stage business in
+Minnesota. This business increased rapidly, and in 1865 this firm worked
+over seven hundred horses, and employed two hundred men.
+
+During this staging period the railroads from the East centered in
+Chicago, and gradually reached the Mississippi river from that point;
+first at Rock Island, next at Dunleith, opposite Dubuque, then at
+Prairie du Chien, next at Prairie La Crosse,--each advance carrying them
+nearer Minnesota. The Prairie du Chien extension was continued across
+the river at McGregor in Iowa, and thence up through Iowa and Southern
+Minnesota to Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 1872 the St. Paul & Chicago
+Railroad was finished from St. Paul down the west bank of the
+Mississippi to Winona and was purchased by the Milwaukee & St. Paul
+Company, and by that company was, in 1873, extended still further down
+the river to La Crescent, opposite to La Crosse, which completed the
+connection with the eastern trains. This road was popularly known as the
+"River Road." Various other railroads were soon completed, covering the
+needs of the settled part of the state, and the principal stage lines
+either withdrew to the westward, or gave up their business.
+
+The growth in the carrying line has since become immense throughout the
+state, and may be judged when I say that there are now five strong daily
+lines to Chicago, the Burlington, the Omaha, the Milwaukee, the
+Wisconsin Central and the Chicago Great Western, and three
+transcontinental lines departing daily for the Pacific Coast, the
+Northern Pacific, the Great Northern and the Sault Ste. Marie
+(connecting with the Canadian Pacific). Besides these prominent trains,
+there are innumerable lesser ones connecting with nearly every part of
+the state. More passenger trains arrive at, and depart from, the St.
+Paul Union Depot than at any other point in the state. They aggregate
+104 in, and the same number out every day. Many--perhaps the most--of
+these trains go to Minneapolis. The freight trains passing these points
+are, of course, less regular in their movements than the scheduled
+passenger trains, but their number is great, and their cargoes of
+incalculable value.
+
+
+
+
+LUMBER.
+
+
+A large portion of Minnesota is covered with exceptionally fine timber.
+The northern section, traversed by the Mississippi and its numerous
+branches, the St. Croix, the St. Louis, and other streams, was covered
+with a growth of white and Norway pine of great value, and a large area
+of its central western portion with hard timber. At a very early day in
+the history of our state these forests attracted the attention of
+lumbermen from different parts of the country, principally from Maine,
+who erected sawmills at the Falls of St. Anthony, Stillwater and other
+points, and began the cutting of logs to supply them. Nearly all the
+streams were navigable for logs, or were easily made so, and thus one of
+the great industries of the state had its beginning. Quite an amount of
+lumber was manufactured at Minneapolis in the fifties, but no official
+record of the amounts were kept until 1870. An estimate of the standing
+pine in the state was made by the United States government for the
+census of 1880, which was designed to include all the standing pine on
+the streams leading into the Mississippi, the Rainy Lake river, the St.
+Croix, and the head of Lake Superior; in fact, the whole state. The
+estimate was 10,000,000,000 feet. When this estimate was made, it was
+accepted by the best informed lumbermen as approximately correct. The
+mills at Minneapolis and above, in the St. Croix valley, and in what was
+called the Duluth district, were cutting about 500,000,000 feet a year.
+It was expected that there would be a gradual increase in the
+consumption of lumber made by Minnesota mills, and it was therefore
+estimated that in about fifteen years, all the white pine in the state
+would be cut into lumber and sold; but such has not proved to be the
+case, although the production has rapidly increased as was expected. But
+this difference between the estimate and the result is not of much
+consequence, as there is nothing more unreliable than an estimate of
+standing timber, and especially is such the case when covering a large
+area of country. Since 1880 the production of lumber in the state has
+increased from year to year, until it is at the present time fully
+1,629,110,000 feet of pine logs every year. The cut made by the
+Minneapolis mills alone in 1898 was 469,701,000 feet, with a
+corresponding amount of laths and shingles. But this pace cannot be kept
+up much longer, and apprehensions of the entire destruction of the
+forests of the state are becoming quite prevalent among the people.
+These fears are taking the shape of associations for the promotion of
+scientific forestry, and the establishment of large forest reserves near
+the headwaters of our streams, which are to serve also the purpose of
+national parks. In assigning a cause for the lowering of our streams,
+and the drying up of many of our lakes, in a former part of this work, I
+attribute it to the plowing up of their valleys and watersheds, and not
+to the destruction of the forests, because I do not think that the
+latter reason has sufficiently progressed to produce the result,
+although it is well known that the destruction of growing timber about
+the head waters of streams operates disastrously upon the volume of
+their waters and the regularity of its flow. Minnesota is the best
+watered state in the Union, and every precaution should be taken to
+maintain this advantage. From the extent of the interest displayed in
+the direction of forest reserves and their scientific administration, we
+have every reason to hope for speedy and final success. The state and
+interstate parks already established will be noticed hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+RELIGION.
+
+
+The growth of the religious element of a new country is always one of
+its interesting features, and I will endeavor to give a short account of
+the progress made in this line in Minnesota from the mission period,
+which was directed more particularly to the Christianizing of the
+Indians. I will begin with the first structure ever erected in the
+state, designed for religious purposes. It was a very small beginning
+for the prodigious results that have followed it. I speak of the little
+log "Chapel of Saint Paul," built by the Rev. Lucian Galtier, in
+October, 1841, in what is now the city of St. Paul.
+
+Father Galtier was a French priest of the Church of Rome. He was sent by
+the ecclesiastic authorities of Dubuque to the Upper Mississippi
+country, and arrived at Fort Snelling in April, 1840, and settled at St.
+Peters (now Mendota), where he soon tired of inaction, and sought a
+larger field among the settlers who had found homes further down the
+river, in the neighborhood of the present St. Paul. He decided that he
+could facilitate his labors by erecting a church at some point
+accessible to his parishioners. Here he found Joseph Rondo, Edward
+Phalen, Vetal Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais Brothers, and a few
+others. The settlers encouraged the idea of building a church, and a
+question of much importance arose as to where it should be placed. I
+will let the good father tell his own story as to the selection of a
+site. In an account of this matter, which he prepared for Bishop Grace
+in 1864, he says:
+
+    "Three different points were offered, one called La Pointe
+    Basse, or Pointe La Claire (now Pig's Eye); but I objected
+    because that locality was the very extreme end of the new
+    settlement, and in high water, was exposed to inundation. The
+    idea of building a church which might at any day be swept down
+    the river to St. Louis did not please me. Two miles and a half
+    further up, on his elevated claim (now the southern point of
+    Dayton's Bluff), Mr. Charles Mouseau offered me an acre of his
+    ground, but the place did not suit my purpose. I was truly
+    looking ahead, thinking of the future as well as the present.
+    Steamboats could not stop there; the bank was too steep, the
+    place on the summit of the hill too restricted, and
+    communication difficult with the other parts of the settlement
+    up and down the river.
+
+    "After mature reflection, I resolved to put up the church at the
+    nearest possible point to the cave, because it would be more
+    convenient for me to cross the river there when coming from St.
+    Peters, and because it would be also the nearest point to the
+    head of navigation, outside of the reservation line. Mr. B.
+    Gervais and Mr. Vetal Guerin, two good, quiet farmers, had the
+    only spot which appeared likely to answer the purpose. They
+    consented jointly to give me the ground necessary for a church
+    site, a garden and a small graveyard. I accepted the extreme
+    eastern part of Mr. Vetal's claim, and the extreme west of Mr.
+    Gervais'. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1841, logs were
+    prepared and a church erected, so poor that it well reminded one
+    of the stable of Bethlehem. It was destined, however, to be the
+    nucleus of a great city. On the first day of November, in the
+    same year, I blessed the new _basilica_, and dedicated it to
+    Saint Paul, the apostle of nations. I expressed a wish, at the
+    same time, that the settlement would be known by the same name,
+    and my desire was obtained. I had, previously to this time,
+    fixed my residence at St. Peters, and as the name of _Paul_ is
+    generally connected with that of _Peter_, and the Gentiles being
+    well represented at the new place in the persons of Indians, I
+    called it St. Paul. The name "Saint Paul," applied to a town or
+    city seemed appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well,
+    and is understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr.
+    Vetal was married, I published the banns as those of a resident
+    of St. Paul. A Mr. Jackson put up a store, and a grocery was
+    opened at the foot of Gervais' claim. This soon brought
+    steamboats to land there. Thenceforth the place was known as
+    'Saint Paul Landing,' and later on as Saint Paul."
+
+The chapel was a small log structure--one story high, one door, and no
+windows in front, with two windows on each side, and one in the rear
+end. It had on the front gable end a large wooden cross, which projected
+above the peak of the roof some six or eight feet. It occupied a
+conspicuous position, on the top of the high bluff overlooking the
+Mississippi, some six or eight hundred feet below the point where the
+Wabasha street bridge now spans the river, I think, between Minnesota
+and Cedar streets.
+
+The region thus named was formerly known by the appellation of "Pig's
+Eye." The state owes Father Galtier a debt of gratitude for having
+changed it, as it seems impossible that the capital city could ever have
+attained its present majestic proportions, numerous and cultivated
+population, and many other advantages and attractions, under the
+handicap of such a name.
+
+In the first New Year's address ever printed in Minnesota, on Jan. 1,
+1850, supposed to be by Editor Goodhue, the following lines appeared:
+
+    "Pig's Eye, converted thou shall be, like Saul:
+    Arise, and be, henceforth, SAINT PAUL."
+
+Father Galtier died Feb. 21, 1866.
+
+The chapel of Saint Paul, after having been the first to greet all
+newcomers by way of the Mississippi for fifteen years, was taken down in
+1856.
+
+The next representative of the Catholic church to come to Minnesota was
+the Rev. Augustin Ravoux, who arrived in the fall of 1841. He went up
+the St. Peter's river to Traverse des Sioux, where he commenced the
+study of the Sioux language. Soon after he went to Little Rock, on the
+St. Peters, and thence to Lac qui Parle. After the removal of Father
+Galtier to Keokuk, in Iowa, he had under his charge, Mendota, St. Paul,
+Lake Pepin and St. Croix, until the second day of July, 1851, when the
+Right Reverend Bishop Cretin came to St. Paul, and assumed charge of
+church matters in Minnesota. Father Ravoux is still living in St. Paul
+at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His venerable and priestly
+form may often be seen upon the streets, in excellent health.
+
+At the time of the coming of Father Galtier the country on the east side
+of the Mississippi, in what is now Minnesota, was under the direct
+jurisdiction of the Bishop of Milwaukee, and the part lying west of the
+river was in the diocese of Dubuque.
+
+The growth of the church kept up with the rapid settlement of the
+country. In August, 1859, the Right Reverend Thomas L. Grace succeeded
+Bishop Cretin as bishop of St. Paul, and was himself succeeded by the
+Right Reverend John Ireland, in July, 1884. So important had Minnesota
+become to the Catholic Church in America that, in May of 1888, the see
+of St. Paul was raised to metropolitan dignity and Archbishop Ireland
+was made its first Archbishop, which high office he now holds.
+
+I will not attempt even a short biography of Archbishop Ireland. His
+fame is world-wide; he is a churchman, statesman, diplomat, orator,
+citizen and patriot,--in each of which capacities he excels. He has
+carried the fame of Minnesota to all parts of the world where the Church
+is known, and has demonstrated to the Pope in Rome, to the Catholics in
+France, and to the Protestants in America that there can be perfect
+consistency and harmony between Catholicism and republican government. A
+history of Minnesota without a fitting tribute to Archbishop John
+Ireland would be incomplete indeed.
+
+The representatives of the Protestant faith have not been behind their
+Catholic brethren in providing religious facilities for their
+adherents. They followed immigration closely, and sometimes accompanied
+it. Scarcely would an aggregation of people congregate at any one
+point in sufficient numbers to gain the name of a village, or a
+settlement, before a minister would be called and a church erected.
+The church went hand in hand with the schoolhouse, and in many instances
+one building answered for both purposes. There came Lutherans from
+Germany and Scandinavia, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians,
+Congregationalists, Calvinists, Universalists, Unitarians, and every
+sect into which Protestantism is divided, from New England and other
+Eastern States. They all found room and encouragement, and dwelt in
+harmony. I can safely say, that few Western States have been peopled by
+such law-abiding, industrious, moral and religious inhabitants as were
+the first settlers of Minnesota. There was nothing to attract the
+ruffianly element,--no gold, silver, or other mines; the chief industry
+being peaceful agriculture. So free from all disturbing or dangerous
+elements did we consider our territory that I have on several occasions
+taken a wagon loaded with specie, amounting to nearly one hundred
+thousand dollars, from St. Paul to the Indian agencies at the Redwood
+and Yellow Medicine rivers, a distance of two hundred miles, through a
+very sparsely settled country, without any guard except myself and
+driver, with possibly an Indian picked up on the road, when I was
+entitled to a squad of dragoons for the asking.
+
+In the early days the Episcopal Church in Minnesota was within the
+diocese of Wisconsin, and its functions administered by the venerable
+Bishop Kemper, who occasionally made us a visit, but in 1859 the church
+had expanded to such an extent that the state was organized into a
+separate diocese, and the Rev. Henry B. Whipple, then rector of a church
+in Chicago, was elected bishop of Minnesota, and still retains that high
+office. Bishop Whipple, by his energy, learning, goodness and universal
+popularity, has built up his church in this state to a standard
+surpassed by none in the respect in which it is held and the influence
+for good which it exerts. The official duties of the bishop have been so
+enlarged by the growth of his church as to necessitate the appointment
+of a bishop coadjutor to assist him in their performance, which latter
+office is filled by the Rev. Mahlon N. Gilbert, who is especially well
+qualified for the position.[1]
+
+It would be impossible in a brief history like this to go very deeply or
+particularly into the growth of the religious element of the state. A
+general presentation of the subject in two grand divisions, Catholic and
+Protestant, is enough. Suffice it to say, that every sect and
+subdivision of the latter has its representative in the state, with the
+one exception of Mormonism, if that can be classified as a Protestant
+church. There are enough of them to recall the answer of the French
+traveler in America, when asked of his opinion of the Americans. He
+said: "They are a most remarkable people; they have invented three
+hundred religions and only one sauce." No matter how their creeds may be
+criticised, their joint efforts, Catholic and Protestant, have filled
+the state with religious, charitable, benevolent and educational
+institutions to an extent rarely witnessed out of it, so that if a
+Minnesotan goes wrong, he can blame no one but himself.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.
+
+
+
+
+RAILROADS.
+
+
+In the year 1857, on the third day of March, the congress of the United
+States made an extensive grant of lands to the territory to aid in the
+construction of railroads. It consisted of every alternate section of
+land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width, on each side
+of the roads specified, and their branches. The grant mapped out a
+complete system of roads for the territory, and provided that the land
+granted for each road should be applied exclusively to such road, and no
+other purpose whatever. The lines designated in the granting act were as
+follows:
+
+From Stillwater, by the way of St. Paul and St. Anthony to a point
+between the foot of Big Stone lake and the mouth of the Sioux Wood
+river, with a branch via St. Cloud and Crow Wing to the navigable waters
+of the Red River of the North, at such point as the legislature of the
+territory may determine.
+
+From St. Paul and from St. Anthony via Minneapolis to a convenient point
+of junction west of the Mississippi to the southern boundary of the
+territory, in the direction of the mouth of the Big Sioux river, with a
+branch via Faribault to the north line of the state of Iowa, west of
+range 16.
+
+From Winona via St. Peter to a point on the Big Sioux river, south of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude.
+
+Also from La Crescent via Target lake up the valley of the Root river,
+to a point east of range 17.
+
+The territory or future state was authorized to sell one hundred and
+twenty sections of this land whenever twenty continuous miles of any of
+the roads or branches was completed,--the land so sold to be contiguous
+to the completed road. The right of way or road bed of any of the
+subsidized roads was also granted through any of the government lands.
+The roads were all to be completed within ten years, and if any of them
+were not finished by that time the lands applicable to the unfinished
+portions were to revert to the government. The lands granted by this act
+amounted to about 4,500,000 acres. An act was subsequently passed on
+March 2, 1865, increasing the grant to ten sections to the mile. Various
+other grants were made at different times, but they do not bear upon the
+subject I am about to present.
+
+This grant came at a time of great financial depression, and when the
+territory was about to change its dependent condition for that of a
+sovereign state in the Union. It was greeted as a means of relief that
+might lift the territory out of its financial troubles, and insure its
+immediate prosperity. The people did not take into consideration the
+fact that the lands embraced in the grant, although as good as any in
+the world, were remote from the habitation of man, lying in a country
+absolutely bankrupt, and possessing no present value whatever. Nor did
+they consider that the whole country was laboring under such financial
+depression that all public enterprises were paralyzed; but such was,
+unfortunately, the monetary and business condition.
+
+On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act had passed the congress of
+the United States authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a
+constitution preparatory to becoming a state in the Union. Gen. Willis
+A. Gorman, who was then governor of the territory, called a special
+session of the legislature to take into consideration measures to carry
+out the land grant and enabling acts. The extra session convened on
+April 27th. In the meantime Governor Gorman's term of office had
+expired, and Samuel Medary of Ohio had been appointed as his successor,
+and had assumed the duties of his office. He opened the extra session
+with an appropriate message. The extra session adjourned on the 23d of
+May, and in accordance with the provisions of the enabling act of
+congress, an election was held on the first Monday in June for delegates
+to a constitutional convention, which was to assemble at the capitol on
+the second Monday in July. The constitutional convention is an event in
+the history of Minnesota sufficiently important and unique to entitle it
+to special treatment, which will be given hereafter.
+
+An act was passed at the extra session, on the 19th day of May, 1857, by
+which the grant of lands made to the territory was formally accepted,
+"upon the terms, conditions and restrictions" contained in the granting
+act.
+
+On the twenty-second day of May, at the extra session, an act was passed
+to execute the trust created by the land grant act, by which a number of
+railroad companies were incorporated to construct roads on the lines
+indicated by the act of congress, and to aid in the building of these
+roads, and the lands applicable to each were granted to it. The
+companies were to receive title to the lands as the construction
+progressed, as provided in the granting act. They also had conferred
+upon them powers to issue bonds, in the discretion of the directors, and
+to mortgage their roads and franchise to secure them.
+
+These railroad companies were organized upon the hope that the aid
+extended to them by the grants of land would enable them to raise money
+sufficient to build their several roads. They had nothing of their own,
+and no security but the roads and lands upon which to negotiate loans.
+The times, and the novel idea of building railroads in unpeopled
+countries, were all against them, and, of course, nothing could be done.
+
+The constitutional convention met and framed an instrument for the
+fundamental law of the new state which was very conservative, and, among
+other things, contained the following clause, which was enacted in
+section 5 of article IX.:
+
+"For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses the state may
+contract debts, but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed two
+hundred and fifty thousand dollars." And another clause found in section
+10, which is as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given
+or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation."
+
+It was the intention of the framers of the constitution to prevent the
+legislature from ever using the credit or funds of the state in aid of
+any private enterprise, and these provisions effectually accomplished
+that end.
+
+The people were deeply disappointed when they became convinced that the
+roads could not be built with the aid that congress had extended, and as
+this work was also looked upon as the only hope of financial relief, the
+case became a desperate one, which could only be remedied by the most
+extreme measures. The promoters of the railroads soon discovered one, in
+an amendment of the section of the constitution which prohibited the
+credit of the state being given or loaned to anyone, and at the first
+session of the first legislature, which convened on Dec. 3, 1857, an act
+was passed proposing such amendment, to be submitted to the people for
+ratification. The importance of this amendment, and its effect and
+consequences upon the future of the state, demands that I give it nearly
+in full. It changed section 10 as it was originally passed, and made it
+read as follows:
+
+    "Section 10. The credit of that state shall never be given or
+    loaned in aid of any individual association or corporation,
+    except that, for the purpose of expediting the construction of
+    the lines of railroads, in aid of which the congress of the
+    United States has granted lands to the Territory of Minnesota,
+    the governor shall cause to be issued and delivered to each of
+    the companies in which said grants are vested by the legislative
+    assembly of Minnesota the special bonds of the state, bearing an
+    interest of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in
+    the city of New York, as a loan of public credit, to an amount
+    not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or an
+    aggregate amount to all of said companies not exceeding five
+    millions of dollars, in manner following, to-wit:"
+
+The amendment then prescribes that, whenever ten miles of railroad was
+graded so as to be ready for the superstructure, it should receive
+$100,000 of the bonds, and when ten miles should be completed with the
+cars running, the company so completing should receive another $100,000
+of the bonds until each company had received its quota. The bonds were
+to be denominated "State Railroad Bonds," for the payment of which the
+faith and credit of the state was to be pledged. The railroad companies
+were to pay the principal and interest of the bonds, and to secure such
+payment they were to pledge the net profits of their respective roads,
+and to convey to the state the first two hundred and forty sections of
+land they received, and to deliver to the state treasurer an amount of
+their first mortgage bonds equal to the amount of bonds received by them
+from the state, and mortgage to the state their roads and franchises.
+This was all the security the companies could give, but the underlying
+difficulty was that it had no value whatever. There were no roads, no
+net or other profits. The lands had no value whatever except such as lay
+in the future, which was dependent on the construction of the roads and
+the settlement of the country. The bonds of the companies, of course,
+possessed only such value as the property they represented, which was
+nothing, and the mortgages were of the same character. The whole scheme
+was based upon hopes, which the slightest application of sober reasoning
+would have pronounced impossible of fulfillment. But the country was
+hungry, and willing to seize upon anything that offered a semblance or
+shadow of relief.
+
+The proposed amendment was to be submitted to the people for adoption
+or rejection, at an election to be held on the fifteenth day of April,
+1858. In order to fully comprehend the condition of the public mind, it
+should be known that the constitution, with all the safeguards that I
+have mentioned, had only been in force since Oct. 13, 1857, a period of
+about six months, and had been carried by a vote of 30,055 for to 571
+against its adoption.
+
+The campaign preceding the election was a very active one. The railroad
+people flooded the state with speakers, documents, pictures, glee clubs
+singing songs of the delights of "Riding on the Rail," and every
+conceivable artifice was resorted to to carry the amendment. It was
+carried by a vote of 25,023 in favor of its passage, to 6,733 against.
+
+To give an idea of the intense feeling that was exhibited in this
+election, it is only necessary to state that at the city of Winona there
+were 1,102 votes cast in favor of the amendment and only one vote
+against it. This negative vote, to his eternal honor be it said, was
+cast by Thomas Wilson, afterwards chief justice of the state, and now a
+citizen of St. Paul.
+
+In the execution of the requirements of the amendment, the railroad
+companies claimed that they could issue first mortgage bonds on their
+properties to an indefinite amount and exchange them with the state for
+its bonds, bond for bond, but the governor, who was Hon. Henry H.
+Sibley, construed the amendment to mean that the first mortgage bonds of
+the companies which the state was to receive must be an exclusive first
+lien on the lands and franchises of the company. He therefore declined
+to issue the bonds of the state unless his views were adopted. The
+Minnesota & Pacific Railroad Company, one of the land grant
+corporations, applied to the supreme court of the state for a writ of
+mandamus, to compel the governor to issue the bonds. The case was heard,
+and two members of the court holding the views of the applicants, the
+writ was issued. I was a member of the court at that time, but
+entertaining opposite views from the majority, I filed a dissenting
+opinion. Anyone sufficiently interested in the question can find the
+case reported in Volume II. of the Minnesota Reports, at page 13. This
+decision was only to be advisory, as the courts have no power to coerce
+the executive.
+
+The railroad companies entered into contracts for grading their roads,
+and a sufficient amount of grading was done to entitle them to about
+$2,300,000 of the bonds, which were issued accordingly, and went into
+the hands of the contractors to pay for the work done. It, however, soon
+became apparent that no completed railroad would ever result from this
+scheme, even if the whole five millions of bonds were issued. What
+should have been known before was made clear when any of these state
+bonds were put on the market. The credit of the state was worthless, and
+the bonds were valueless. The people became as anxious to shake off the
+incubus of debt they had imposed upon their infant state as they had
+been to rush into it.
+
+Governor Sibley, in his message, delivered to the second legislature in
+December, 1859, said, in speaking of this issue of bonds:
+
+"I regret to be obliged to state that the measure has proved a failure,
+and has by no means accomplished what was hoped for it, either in
+providing means for the issue of a safe currency, or of aiding the
+companies in the completion of the roads."
+
+At the election, held on Nov. 6, 1860, the constitution was again
+amended, by expunging from it the amendment of 1858 authorizing the
+issue of the state railroad bonds, and prohibiting any further issue of
+them. An amendment was also made to section 2 of Article IX. of the
+constitution at the same time, by providing that no law levying a tax,
+or making any other provisions for the payment of interest or principal
+of the bonds already issued, should take effect or be in force until it
+had been submitted to the people, and adopted by a majority of the
+electors.
+
+It was very proper to prohibit the issuance of any more of the bonds,
+but the provision requiring a vote of the people before those already
+out could be paid was practically repudiation, and the state labored
+under that damaging stigma for over twenty years. Attempts were made to
+obtain the sanction of the people for the payment of these bonds, but
+they were defeated, until it became unpleasant to admit that one was a
+resident of Minnesota. Whenever the name of Minnesota was heard on the
+floor of congress as an applicant for favors, or even for justice, it
+was met by the charge of repudiation. This was an era in our history
+very much to be regretted, but the state grew steadily in material
+wealth.
+
+On March 2, 1881, the legislature passed an act, the general purpose of
+which was to adjust, with the consent of the holders, the outstanding
+bonds, at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and contained the
+curious provision that the supreme court should decide whether it must
+first be submitted to the people in order to be valid or not, and if the
+supreme court should not so decide, then an equal number of the judges
+of the district court should act. The supreme court judges declined to
+act, and the governor called upon the district court judges to assume
+the duty. Before any action was taken by the latter, the attorney
+general applied to the supreme court for a writ of prohibition to
+prevent them from taking any action. The case was most elaborately
+discussed, and the opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Chief
+Justice Gilfillan, which is most exhaustive and convincing. The court
+holds that the act of 1881 is void, by conferring upon the judiciary
+legislative power, and that the amendment to the constitution providing
+that no bonds should be paid unless the law authorizing such payment was
+first submitted to and adopted by the people was void, as being
+repugnant to the clause in the constitution of the United States, that
+no state shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. With
+these impediments to a just settlement of this question removed, the
+state was at liberty to make such arrangements with its bond creditors
+as was satisfactory. John S. Pillsbury was governor at that time. He had
+always been in favor of paying the bonds, and removing the stain from
+the honor of the state, and finding his hands free, it did not take him
+long to arrange the whole matter satisfactorily, and to the approval of
+all the parties. The debt was paid by the issue of new bonds, at the
+rate of fifty per cent of the principal and interest of the outstanding
+ones and the surrender of the latter. This adjustment ended a
+transaction that was conceived and executed in folly, and was only
+prevented from eventuating in crime by the persistent efforts of our
+most honorable and thoughtful citizens throughout the state. The
+transaction has often been called by those who advocated repudiation,
+"An old Territorial fraud," but there was nothing in it but a bad
+bargain, made under the extraordinary pressure of financial
+difficulties.
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST RAILROAD ACTUALLY BUILT.
+
+
+The state was restored to all the lands and franchises of the various
+companies by means of foreclosure, and on March 8, 1861, passed an act
+to facilitate the construction of the Minnesota & Pacific Railroad, by
+which act the old railroad was rehabilitated, and required to construct
+and put in operation its road from St. Paul to St. Anthony on or before
+the first day of January, 1862. The company was required to deposit with
+the governor $10,000 as an earnest of good faith. Work was soon
+commenced, and the first ten miles constructed as required. This was the
+first railroad ever built and operated in Minnesota. The first
+locomotive engine was brought up the river on a barge, and landed at the
+St. Paul end of the track in the latter part of October, 1861. This
+pioneer locomotive was called the "William Crooks," after an engineer of
+that name who was very active and instrumental in the building of the
+road. This first ten miles of road cost more energy and brain work than
+all the rest of the vast system that has succeeded it. It was the
+initial step in what is now known as the Great Northern Railway, a road
+that spans the continent from St. Paul to the Pacific, and reflects upon
+its enterprising builders all the credit due to the pioneer.
+
+It was not long before the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was
+incorporated by act of congress, passed on July 2, 1864. This road was
+to extend from the head of Lake Superior to Puget Sound, on a line north
+of the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, with a branch via the
+valley of the Columbia river to Portland, Ore. The company had a grant
+of land of twenty alternate sections through the states. It was
+commenced shortly after its incorporation, but met with financial
+disaster, and was sold under foreclosure of a mortgage, and underwent
+many trials and tribulations, until it was finally completed on the
+eighth day of September, in the year 1883, and has been in successful
+operation ever since. As the Northern Pacific has its eastern terminus
+and general offices in St. Paul, it is essentially a Minnesota road. The
+same may be said of the Great Northern, although both are
+transcontinental roads.
+
+From the small beginning of railroad construction in 1862 have grown
+thirty-seven distinct railroad corporations, operating in the state of
+Minnesota 6,062.69 miles of main tracks, according to the official
+reports of 1898, with quite a substantial addition in course of
+construction. These various lines cover and render accessible nearly
+every city, town and village in the state.
+
+The method of taxation of railroad property adopted by the state is a
+very wise and just one. It imposes a tax of three per cent upon the
+gross earnings of the roads, which, in 1896, yielded the comfortable sum
+of $1,037,194.40, the gross earnings of all amounting to $36,918,741.71.
+This plan of taxation gives the state a direct interest in the
+prosperity of the roads, as its taxes are increased when business is
+good and the roads are relieved from oppressive taxation in time of
+business depression.
+
+The grading which was done and for which the bonds of the state were
+issued was, as a general thing, utilized in the final construction of
+the roads.
+
+
+
+
+THE SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE.
+
+
+In 1842 the country north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi as far
+north as the Little Rapids, on the Minnesota river, was occupied by the
+M'day-wa-kon-ton and Wak-pe-ku-ta bands of Sioux. The Wak-pe-ku-ta band
+was at war with the Sacs and Foxes, and was under the leadership of two
+principal chiefs, named Wam-di-sapa (the "Black Eagle") and Ta-sa-gi.
+Wam-di-sapa and his band were a lawless, predatory set, whose
+depredations prolonged the war with the Sacs and Foxes, and finally
+separated him and his band from the Wak-pe-ku-tas. They moved west
+towards the Missouri, and occupied the valley of the Vermillion river,
+and so thorough was the separation that the band was not regarded as
+part of the Wak-pe-ku-ta when the latter, together with the
+M'day-wa-kon-tons, made their treaty with the government at Mendota in
+1851.
+
+By 1857 all that remained of Wam-di-sapa's straggling band was about ten
+or fifteen lodges under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the
+"Scarlet Point," or the "Red End." They had planted near Spirit lake,
+which lies partly in Dickinson county, Iowa, and partly in Jackson
+county, Minnesota, prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to
+the Missouri, and were considered a bad lot of vagabonds.
+
+Between 1855 and 1857 a small settlement had sprung up about forty miles
+south of Spirit lake, on the In-yan-yan-ke or Rock river.
+
+In the spring of 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing (after whom the
+county of Freeborn in this state is called) had projected a settlement
+at Spirit lake, which, by the next spring, contained six or seven
+houses, with as many families.
+
+About the same time another settlement was started some ten or fifteen
+miles north of Spirit lake, on the head waters of the Des Moines, and a
+town laid out which was called Springfield. In the spring of 1857 there
+were two stores and several families at this place.
+
+These settlements were on the extreme frontier, and very much isolated.
+There was nothing to the west of them until you reached the Rocky
+Mountains, and the nearest settlements on the north and northeast were
+on the Minnesota and Watonwan rivers, while to the south lay the small
+settlement on the Rock river, about forty miles distant. All these
+settlements, although on ceded lands, were actually in the heart of the
+Indian country, and absolutely unprotected and defenseless.
+
+In 1857 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux of the
+Mississippi, but had lived on the frontier long enough before to have
+acquired a general knowledge of Ink-pa-du-ta's reputation and his
+whereabouts. I was stationed on the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers,
+near where they empty into the Minnesota, and about eighty miles from
+Spirit lake.
+
+Early in March, 1857, Ink-pa-du-ta's band was hunting in the
+neighborhood of the settlement on the Rock river, and one of them was
+bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The Indian killed the dog. The
+owner of the dog assaulted the Indian, and beat him severely. The white
+men then went in a body to the camp of the Indians and disarmed them.
+The arms were either returned to them or they obtained others, I
+have never ascertained which. They were probably given back to them on
+condition that they should leave, as they at once came north to Spirit
+lake, where they must have arrived about the 6th or 7th of March. They
+proceeded at once to massacre the settlers, and killed all the men they
+found there, together with some women, and carried into captivity four
+women, three of whom were married and one single. Their names were Mrs.
+Noble, Mrs. Marble, Mrs. Thatcher and Miss Gardner. They came north to
+the Springfield settlement, where they killed all the people they found.
+The total number killed at both places was forty-two.
+
+I was the first person to receive notice of this affair. On the 9th of
+March a Mr. Morris Markham, who had been absent from the Spirit lake
+settlement for some time, returned, and found all the people dead or
+missing. Seeing signs of Indians, he took it for granted that they had
+perpetrated the outrage. He at once went to Springfield, and reported
+what he had seen. Some of the people fled, but others remained, and lost
+their lives in consequence. It has always been my opinion that, being in
+the habit of trading with these Indians occasionally, they did not
+believe they stood in any danger; and, what is equally probable, they
+may not have believed the report. Everyone who has lived in an Indian
+country knows how frequently startling rumors are in circulation, and
+how often they prove unfounded.
+
+The people of Springfield sent the news to me by two young men, who came
+on foot through the deep snow. The story was corroborated in a way that
+convinced me that it was true. They arrived on the 18th of March,
+completely worn out and snow-blind. I at once made a requisition on
+Colonel Alexander, commanding at Fort Ridgely, for troops. There were at
+the fort five or six companies of the Tenth United States Infantry, and
+the colonel promptly ordered Capt. Barnard E. Bee of Company "A" to
+proceed with his company to the scene of the trouble. The country
+between the fort and Spirit lake was uninhabited, and the distance from
+eighty to one hundred miles. I furnished two experienced guides from
+among my Sioux half-breeds. They took a pony and a light traineau, put
+on their snowshoes, and were ready to go anywhere. Not so with the
+soldiers, however. They were equipped in about the same manner as they
+would have been in campaigning in Florida, their only transportation
+being heavy wheeled army wagons, drawn by six mules. It soon became
+apparent that the outfit could not move straight to the objective point,
+and it became necessary to follow a trail down the Minnesota to Mankato
+and up the Watonwan in the direction of the lake, which was reached
+after one of the most arduous marches ever made by troops, on which for
+many miles the soldiers had to march ahead of the mules to break a road
+for them. The Indians, as we expected, were gone. A short pursuit was
+made, but the guides pronounced the camp fires of the Indians several
+days old, and it was abandoned. The dead were buried, and after a short
+stay, the soldiers returned to the fort.
+
+When this affair became known throughout the territory it caused great
+consternation and apprehension, most of the settlers supposing it was
+the work of the Sioux nation. Many of the most exposed abandoned their
+homes temporarily. Their fears, however, were allayed by an explanation
+which I published in the newspapers.
+
+I at once began to devise plans for the rescue of the white women. I
+knew that any hostile demonstration would result in their murder. While
+thinking the matter out an event occurred that opened the way to a
+solution. A party of my Indians had been hunting on the Big Sioux river,
+and having learned that Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Lake
+Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, and that he had some white women prisoners, two
+young brothers visited the camp and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble,
+and brought her into the Yellow Medicine agency, and delivered her to
+the missionaries, who turned her over to me. I received her on the 21st
+of March, and learned that two of the other captives were still alive.
+Of course, my first object was to rescue the survivors, and to encourage
+the Indians to make the attempt, I paid the brothers who had brought in
+Mrs. Marble $500 each. I could raise only $500 at the agency in money,
+and to make up the deficiency I resorted to a method, then novel, but
+which has since become quite general. I issued a bond, which, although
+done without authority, met with a better fate than many that followed
+it,--it was paid at maturity.
+
+As it was the first bond ever issued in what is now Minnesota, the two
+Dakotas, Montana, and, I may add, the whole Northwest; it may be
+interesting to give it in full:
+
+    "I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
+    CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
+    being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
+    Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
+    Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
+    Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent,
+    and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining
+    white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band
+    of Indians depends very much on the liberality shown towards the
+    said Indians who have rescued Mrs. Marble, and having full
+    confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territory of
+    Minnesota, through its government and citizens, have this day
+    paid to said two above named Indians, the sum of five hundred
+    dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that
+    the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by
+    the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months
+    from date hereof.
+
+    "Dated, May 22, 1857, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T.
+          "STEPHEN R. RIGGS,
+            "Missionary, A. B. C. F. M.
+          "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+        "U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux."
+
+I immediately called for volunteers to rescue the remaining two women,
+and soon had my choice. I selected Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president
+of the Hazelwood Republic, An-pe-tu-tok-cha, or John Otherday, and
+Che-tan-ma-za, or the Iron Hawk. I gave them a large outfit of horses,
+wagons, calicos, trinkets of all kinds, and a general assortment of
+things that tempt the savage. They started on the twenty-third day of
+May, from the Yellow Medicine agency, on their important and dangerous
+mission. I did not expect them to return before the middle of June, and
+immediately commenced preparations to punish the marauders. I went to
+the fort, and together with Colonel Alexander, we laid a plan to attack
+Ink-pa-du-ta's camp, with the entire garrison, and utterly annihilate
+them, which we would undoubtedly have accomplished had not an unexpected
+event frustrated our plans. Of course, we could not move on the Indians
+until my expedition had returned with the captives, as that would have
+been certain death to them; but just about the time we were anxiously
+expecting them, a couple of steamboats arrived at the fort with
+peremptory orders for the whole garrison to embark for Utah to join Gen.
+Albert Sydney Johnson's expedition against the Mormons, and that was the
+last I saw of the Tenth for ten years.
+
+My expedition found that Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Noble had been killed,
+but succeeded in bringing in Miss Gardner, who was forwarded to me at
+St. Paul, and by me formally delivered to Governor Medary on June 23,
+1857. She was afterwards married, and is now a widow, Mrs. Abbie Gardner
+Sharpe, and resides in the house from which she was abducted by the
+savages, forty-three years ago. I paid the Indians who rescued her $400
+each for their services. The territory made an appropriation on the
+fifteenth day of May, 1857, of $10,000 to rescue the captives, but as
+there were no telegraphs or other speedy means of communication, the
+work was all done before the news of the appropriation reached the
+border. My outlay, however, was all refunded from this appropriation. I
+afterwards succeeded, with a squad of soldiers and citizens, in killing
+one of Ink-pa-du-ta's sons, who had taken an active part in the
+massacre, and that ended the first serious Indian trouble that Minnesota
+was afflicted with.
+
+
+
+
+THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
+
+
+By the end of the year 1856 the Territory of Minnesota had attained such
+growth and wealth that the question of becoming a state within the Union
+began to attract attention. It was urged by the government at Washington
+that we were amply capable of taking care of ourselves, and sufficiently
+wealthy to pay our expenses, and statehood was pressed upon us from that
+quarter. There was another potent influence at work at home. We had
+several prominent gentlemen who were convinced that their services were
+needed in the senate of the United States, and that their presence there
+would strengthen and adorn that body, and as no positive opposition was
+developed, the congress of the United States, on the 26th of February,
+1857, passed an act, authorizing the territory to form a state
+government. It prescribed the same boundaries for the state as we now
+have, although there had been a large number of people who had advocated
+an east and west division of the territory, on a line a little north of
+the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It provided for a convention
+to frame the constitution of the new state, which was to be composed of
+two delegates for each member of the territorial legislature, to be
+elected in the representative districts on the first Monday in June,
+1857. The convention was to be held at the capital of the territory, on
+the second Monday of July following. It submitted to the convention five
+propositions to be answered, which, if accepted, were to become
+obligatory on the United States and the State of Minnesota. They were in
+substance as follows:
+
+1. Whether sections 16 and 36 in each township should be granted to the
+state for the use of schools.
+
+2. Whether seventy-two sections of land should be set aside for the use
+and support of a state university.
+
+3. Whether ten sections should be granted to the state in aid of public
+buildings.
+
+4. Whether all salt springs in the state, not exceeding twelve, with six
+sections of land to each, should be granted to the state.
+
+5. Whether five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of all the
+public lands lying within the state, which should be sold after its
+admission, should be paid to the state for the purpose of roads, and
+internal improvements.
+
+All the five propositions, if accepted, were to be on the condition, to
+be expressed in the constitution or an irrevocable ordinance, that the
+state should never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil
+within the state by the United States, or with any regulations congress
+should make for securing title to said lands in bona fide purchases
+thereof, and that no tax should be imposed on lands belonging to the
+United States, and that non-resident proprietors should never be taxed
+higher than residents.
+
+These propositions were all accepted, ratified and confirmed by section
+3 of Article II. of the constitution.
+
+The election for delegates took place as provided for, and on the day
+set for the convention to meet, nearly all of them had assembled at the
+capital. Great anxiety was manifested by both the Democrats and the
+Republicans to capture the organization of the convention. Neither party
+had a majority of all the members present, but there were a number of
+contested seats on both sides, of which both contestant and contestee
+were present, and these duplicates being counted, were sufficient to
+give each party an apparent majority. It was obvious that a determined
+fight for the organization was imminent. The convention was to meet in
+the house of representatives, and to gain an advantage, the Republicans
+took possession of the hall the night before the opening day, so as to
+be the first on hand in the morning. The Democrats, on learning of this
+move, held a caucus to decide upon a plan of action. Precedents and
+authorities were looked up, and two fundamental points decided upon. It
+was discovered that the secretary of the territory was the proper party
+to call the convention to order, and as Mr. Charles L. Chase was the
+secretary, and also a Democratic delegate, he was chosen to make the
+call. It was further found that when no hour was designated for the
+meeting of a parliamentary body, that noon of the day appointed was the
+time. Being armed with these points, the Democrats decided to wait until
+noon, and then march into the hall in a body with Delegate Chase at
+their head, and as soon as he reached the chair he was to spring into it
+and call the convention to order. General Gorman was immediately to move
+an adjournment until the next day at 12 o'clock M., which motion was to
+be put by the chair, the Democrats feeling sure that the Republicans
+being taken by surprise would vote no, while the Democrats would all
+vote aye, and thus commit more than a majority of the whole to the
+organization under Mr. Chase. On reaching the chair, Mr. Chase
+immediately sprang into it, and called the convention to order. General
+Gorman moved the adjournment, which was put by the chair. All the
+Democrats loudly voted in the affirmative and the Republicans in the
+negative. The motion was declared carried, and the Democrats solemnly
+marched out of the hall.
+
+The above is the Democratic version of the event. The Republicans,
+however, claim that John W. North reached the chair first, and called
+the convention to order, and that as the Republicans had a majority of
+the members present, the organization made under his call was the only
+regular one. Nothing can be determined as to which is the true story
+from the records kept of the two bodies, because they are each made up
+to show strict regularity, and as it is utterly immaterial in any
+substantial point of view, I will not venture any opinion, although I
+was one of the actors in the drama,--or farce,--as the reader may see
+fit to regard it.
+
+The Republicans remained in the hall, and formed a constitution to suit
+themselves, sitting until August 29th, just forty-seven days. The
+Democrats on the next day after their adjournment, at 12 o'clock M.,
+went in a body to the door of the house of representatives, where they
+were met by Secretary and Delegate Chase, who said to them: "Gentlemen,
+the hall to which the delegates adjourned yesterday is now occupied by a
+meeting of citizens of the territory, who refuse to give possession to
+the constitutional convention."
+
+General Gorman then said: "I move the convention adjourn to the council
+chamber." The motion was carried, and the delegates accordingly repaired
+to the council chamber, in the west wing of the capitol, where Mr.
+Chase called the convention to order. Each branch of the convention
+elected its officers. The Republicans chose St. A. D. Balcombe for their
+president, and the Democrats selected Hon. Henry H. Sibley. Both bodies
+worked diligently on a constitution, and each succeeded in making one so
+much like the other that, after sober reflection, it was decided that
+the state could be admitted under either, and if both were sent to
+congress that body would reject them for irregularity. So towards the
+end of the long session a compromise was arrived at, by the formation of
+a joint committee from each convention, who were to evolve a
+constitution out of the two for submission to the people; the result of
+which, after many sessions, and some fisticuffs, was the instrument
+under which the state was finally admitted.
+
+A very curious complication resulted from two provisions in the
+constitution. In section 5 of the schedule it was provided that "All
+territorial officers, civil and military, now holding their offices
+under the authority of the United States or of the Territory of
+Minnesota shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices
+until they shall be superseded by the authority of the state," and
+section 6 provided that "The first session of the legislature of the
+State of Minnesota shall commence on the first Wednesday of December
+next," etc.
+
+These provisions were made under the supposition that the state would be
+admitted as soon as the constitution would be laid before congress,
+which it was presumed would be long before the date fixed for the
+holding of the first state legislature; but such did not turn out to be
+the case. The election was held as provided for on the thirteenth day of
+October, 1857, for the adoption or rejection of the constitution, and
+for the election of all the state officers, members of congress and of
+the legislature. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 36,240 for,
+and 700 against, and the whole Democratic state ticket was also chosen;
+and to be sure not to lose full representation in congress, three
+members of the house of representatives were also chosen, who were all
+Democrats.
+
+The constitution was duly presented to congress, and admission for the
+state demanded. Much to the disappointment of our people, all kinds and
+characters of objections were raised to our admission; one of which I
+remember was, that as the term of office of the state senators was fixed
+at two years, and as there was nothing said about the term of the
+members of the house they were elected for life, and consequently the
+government created was not republican. Alexander Stevens of Georgia
+seriously combatted this position, in a learned constitutional argument,
+in which he proved that a state had absolute control of the subject, and
+could fix the term of all its officers for life if it so preferred, and
+that congress had no right to interfere. Many other equally frivolous
+points were made against our admission, which were debated until the
+eleventh day of May, 1858, when the federal doors were opened and
+Minnesota became a state. The act admitting the state cut down the
+congressional representation to two. The three gentlemen who had been
+elected to these positions were compelled to determine who would remain
+and who should surrender. History has not recorded how the decision was
+made, whether by cutting cards, tossing a coin, or in some other way,
+but the result was that George L. Becker was counted out, and W. W.
+Phelps and James M. Cavanaugh took the prizes.
+
+It was always thought at home that the long delay in our admission was
+not from any disinclination to let us in, but because the house was
+quite evenly divided politically between the Democrats and the
+Republicans, and there being a contested seat from Ohio, between Mr.
+Valandingham and Mr. Lew Campbell, it was feared by the Republicans
+that, if Minnesota came in with three Democratic members, it might turn
+the scale in favor of Valandingham.
+
+This delay created a very perplexing condition of things. The state
+legislature elected under the constitution met on the first Wednesday of
+December, before the constitution was recognized by congress, and while
+the territorial government was in full force. It passed a book full of
+laws, all of which were state laws, approved by a territorial governor.
+Perhaps in some countries it would have been difficult to harmonize such
+irregularities, but our courts were quite up to the emergency, and
+straightened them all out the first time the question was raised, and
+the laws so passed have served their purpose up to the present time.
+
+The first governor of the state was Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat. He
+served his term of two years, and the state has never elected a Democrat
+to that office since, unless the choice of Hon. John Lind, in 1898, may
+be so classified.
+
+
+
+
+ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE CAPITAL.
+
+
+At the eighth session of the legislative assembly of the territory,
+which convened on Jan. 7, 1857, a bill was introduced, the purpose of
+which was the removal of the seat of government from St. Paul to St.
+Peter, a small village which had recently come into existence on the
+Minnesota river about one hundred miles above its mouth. There could be
+no reason for such action except interested speculation, as the capitol
+was already built in St. Paul, and it was much more accessible, and in
+every way more convenient than it would be at St. Peter; but the
+movement had sufficient personal and political force behind it to insure
+its success, and an act was passed making such removal. But it was
+destined to meet with unexpected obstacles before it became a law. When
+it passed the house it was sent to the council, where it only received
+one majority, eight voting for and seven against it. It was, on the 27th
+of February, sent to the enrolling committee for final enrollment. It
+happened that Councillor Joseph Rolette, from Pembina, was chairman of
+this committee, and a great friend of St. Paul. Mr. Rolette decided he
+would veto the bill in a way not known to parliamentary law, so he put
+it in his pocket and disappeared. On the 28th, not being in his seat,
+and the bill being missing, a councillor offered a resolution that a
+copy of it be obtained from Mr. Wales, the second in order on the
+committee. A call of the council was then ordered and Mr. Rolette not
+being in his seat, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to bring him in,
+but not being able to find him, he so reported. A motion was then made
+to dispense with the call, but by the rules it required a two-third vote
+of fifteen members, and in the absence of Mr. Rolette only fourteen were
+present. It takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as it does to
+make two-thirds of fifteen, and the bill had only nine friends. During
+the pendency of a call no business could be transacted, and a serious
+dilemma confronted the capital removers; but, nothing daunted, Mr.
+Balcombe made a long argument to prove that nine was two-thirds of
+fourteen. Mr. Brisbin, who was president of the council and a graduate
+of Yale, pronounced the motion lost, saying to the mover, who was also a
+graduate of Yale, "Mr. Balcombe, we never figured that way at Yale."
+This situation produced a deadlock, and no business could be transacted.
+The session terminated on the fifth day of March by its own limitation.
+The sergeant-at-arms made daily reports concerning the whereabouts of
+the absentee, sometimes locating him on a dog-train, rapidly moving
+towards Pembina, sometimes giving a rumor of his assassination, but
+never producing him. Matters remained in this condition until the end of
+the term, and the bill was lost.
+
+It was disclosed afterwards that Rolette had carefully deposited the
+bill in the vault of Truman M. Smith's bank, and had passed the time in
+the upper story of the Fuller House, where his friends made him very
+comfortable. Some ineffectual efforts have been made since to remove the
+capital to Minneapolis and elsewhere, but the treaty, made by the
+pioneers in 1849, locating it at St. Paul, is still in force.
+
+
+
+
+CENSUS.
+
+
+One of the provisions of the enabling act was that in the event of the
+constitutional convention deciding in favor of the immediate admission
+of the proposed state into the Union, a census should be taken with a
+view of ascertaining the number of representatives in congress to which
+the state would be entitled. This was accordingly done in September,
+1857, and the population was found to be 150,037.
+
+
+
+
+GRASSHOPPERS.
+
+
+The first visitation of grasshoppers came in 1857, and did considerable
+damage to the crops in Stearns and other counties. Relief was asked from
+St. Paul for the suffering poor, and notwithstanding the people of the
+capital city were in the depths of poverty, from the financial panic
+produced by over-speculation, they responded liberally. The grasshoppers
+of this year did not deposit their eggs, but disappeared after eating up
+everything that came within their reach. The state was not troubled with
+them again until the year 1873, when they came in large flights, and
+settled down in the western part of the state. They did much damage to
+the crops, and deposited their eggs in the soil, where they hatched out
+in the spring, and greatly increased their number. They made sad havoc
+with the crops of 1874, and occupied a larger part of the state than in
+the previous year. They again deposited their eggs, and appeared in the
+spring of 1875 in increased numbers. This was continued in 1876, when
+the situation became so alarming that Gov. John S. Pillsbury issued a
+proclamation, addressed to the states and territories which had suffered
+most from the insects, to meet him by delegates at Omaha, to concert
+measures for united protection. A convention was held, and Governor
+Pillsbury was made its president. The subject was thoroughly discussed,
+and a memorial to congress was prepared and adopted, asking for
+scientific investigation of the subject, and a suggestion of preventive
+measures.
+
+Many appeals for relief came from the afflicted regions, and much aid
+was extended. Governor Pillsbury was a big-hearted, sympathetic man, and
+fearing the sufferers might not be well cared for, he travelled among
+them personally, incognito, and dispensed large sums from his private
+funds.
+
+In 1877 the governor, in his message to the legislature, treated the
+subject exhaustively, and appropriations were made to relieve the
+settlers in the devastated regions. In the early spring of 1877, the
+religious bodies and people of the state asked the governor to issue a
+proclamation appointing a day of fasting and prayer, asking Divine
+protection, and exhorting the people to greater humility and a new
+consecration in the service of a merciful Father. The governor, being of
+Puritan origin, and a faithful believer in Divine agencies in this
+world's affairs, issued an eloquent appeal to the people to observe a
+day named as one of fasting and prayer for deliverance from the
+grasshoppers. The suggestion was quite generally approved, but the
+proclamation naturally excited much criticism and some ridicule, but,
+curious as it may seem, the grasshoppers, even before the day appointed
+for prayer arrived, began to disappear, and in a short time not one
+remained to show they had ever been in the state. They left in a body;
+no one seemed to know exactly when they went, and no one knew anything
+about where they went, as they were never heard of again on any part of
+the continent. The only news we ever had from them came from ships
+crossing the Atlantic westward bound, which reported having passed
+through large areas of floating insects. They must have met a western
+gale when well up in air, and have been blown out into the sea and
+destroyed. The people of Minnesota did not expend much trouble or time
+to find out what had become of them.
+
+The crop of 1877 was abundant, and particularly so in the region which
+had been most seriously blighted by the pests.
+
+Before the final proclamation of Governor Pillsbury every source of
+ingenuity had been exhausted in devising plans for the destruction of
+the grasshoppers. Ditches were dug around the fields of grain, and ropes
+drawn over the grain to drive the hoppers into them, with the purpose of
+covering them with earth. Instruments called "hopperdozers" were
+invented, which had receptacles filled with hot tar, and were driven
+over the ground to catch them as flies are caught with tanglefoot paper,
+and many millions of them were destroyed in this way, but it was about
+as effectual as fighting a Northwestern blizzard with a lady's fan, and
+they were all abandoned as useless and powerless to cope with the
+scourge. Nothing proved effectual but the governor's proclamation, and
+all the old settlers called it "Pillsbury's Best," which was the name of
+the celebrated brand of flour made at the governor's mills.
+
+Prof. N. H. Winchell, the state geologist, in his geological and natural
+history report, presents a map which, by red lines, shows the
+encroachments of the grasshoppers for the years 1873-76. To gain an idea
+of the extent of the country covered by them up to 1877, draw a line on
+a state map from the Red River of the North about six miles north of
+Moorhead, in Clay county, in a southeasterly direction, through Becker,
+Wadena, Todd and Morrison counties, crossing the Mississippi river near
+the northern line of Benton county, continuing down the east side of the
+Mississippi, through Benton, Sherburne and Anoka counties, there
+recrossing the Mississippi, and proceeding south, on the west side of
+the river, to the south line of the state in Mower county. All the
+country lying south and west of this line was for several years
+devastated by the grasshoppers to the extent that no crops could be
+raised. It became for a time a question whether the people or the
+insects would conquer the state.
+
+
+
+
+MILITIA.
+
+
+During the territorial times there were a few volunteer militia
+companies in St. Paul, conspicuously the "Pioneer Guard," an infantry
+company, which, from its excellent organization and discipline, became
+a source of supply of officers when regiments were being raised for the
+Civil War. To have been a member of that company was worth at least a
+captain's commission in the volunteer army, and many officers of much
+higher rank were chosen from its members.
+
+There was also a company of cavalry at St. Paul, commanded by Capt.
+James Starkey, called the "St. Paul Light Cavalry"; also, the "Shields
+Guards," commanded by Capt. John O'Gorman. There may have been others,
+but I do not remember them. The services of the pioneer guards and the
+cavalry company were called into requisition on two occasions, once in
+1857 and again in 1859. During the summer of 1857 the settlers near
+Cambridge and Sunrise complained that the Chippewas were very
+troublesome. Governor Medary ordered Captain Starkey to take part of his
+company and arrest the Indians who were committing depredations, and
+send the remainder of them to their reservation. The captain took twenty
+men, and, on Aug. 24, 1857, started for the scene of the trouble. On the
+28th he overtook some six or seven Indians, and in their attempt to
+escape a collision occurred, in which a young man, a member of Starkey's
+company, named Frank Donnelly, was instantly killed. The troops
+succeeded in killing one of the Indians, wounding another, and capturing
+four more, when they returned to St. Paul, bringing with them the dead,
+wounded, and prisoners. The dead were buried, the wounded healed, and
+the prisoners discharged by Judge Nelson on a writ of habeas corpus.
+
+The general sentiment of the community was that the expedition was
+unnecessary, and should never have been made. This affair was
+facetiously called the "Cornstalk War."
+
+
+
+
+THE WRIGHT COUNTRY WAR.
+
+
+In the fall of 1858 a man named Wallace was killed in Wright county.
+Oscar F. Jackson was tried for the murder in the spring of 1859, and
+acquitted by a jury. Public sentiment was against him, and he was warned
+to leave the county. He did not heed the admonition, and on April 25th a
+mob assembled, and hung Jackson to the gable end of Wallace's cabin.
+Governor Sibley offered a reward for the conviction of any of the
+lynchers. Shortly afterwards one, Emery Moore, was arrested as being
+implicated in the affair. He was taken to Wright county for trial, and
+at once rescued by a mob. The governor sent three companies of the
+militia to Monticello to arrest the offenders and preserve order, the
+Pioneer Guards being among them. This force, aided by a few special
+officers of the law, arrested eleven of the lynchers and rescuers, and
+turned them over to the civil authorities, and on the 11th of August,
+1859, having completed their mission, returned to St. Paul. As there was
+no war or bloodshed of any kind connected with this expedition, it was
+called the "Wright County War."
+
+Gov. Sibley, having somewhat of a military tendency, appointed as his
+adjutant general, Alexander C. Jones, who was a graduate of the Virginia
+Military Academy, and captain of the Pioneer Guards. Under this
+administration a very complete militia bill was passed, on the twelfth
+day of August, 1858. Minnesota from that time on had a very efficient
+militia system, until the establishment of the national guard, which
+made some changes in its general character, supposed to be for the
+better.
+
+
+
+
+THE CIVIL WAR.
+
+
+Nothing of any special importance occurred during the years 1859 and
+1860 in Minnesota. The state continued to grow in population and wealth
+at an extraordinary pace, but in a quiet and unobtrusive way. The
+politics of the nation had been for some time much disturbed between the
+North and the South, on the question of slavery, and threats of
+secession from the Union made by the slave-holding states. The election
+of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States, in 1860,
+precipitated the impending revolution, and on the fourteenth day of
+April, 1861, Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina,
+was fired upon by the revolutionists, which meant war between the two
+sections of the country. I will only relate such events in connection
+with the Civil War which followed as are especially connected with
+Minnesota.
+
+When the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter reached Washington,
+Alexander Ramsey, then governor of Minnesota, was in that city. He
+immediately called on the president of the United States, and tendered
+the services of the people of Minnesota in defense of the republic, thus
+giving to the state the enviable position of being the first to come to
+the front. The offer of a regiment was accepted, and the governor sent a
+dispatch to Lieut. Gov. Ignatius Donnelly, who, on the 16th of April,
+issued a proclamation, giving notice that volunteers would be received
+at St. Paul for one regiment of infantry composed of ten companies, each
+of sixty-four privates, one captain, two lieutenants, four sergeants,
+four corporals and one bugler, and that the volunteer companies already
+organized, upon complying with these requirements as to the numbers and
+officers, would be entitled to be first received.
+
+Immediately following this announcement, which, of course, meant war,
+great enthusiasm was manifested all over the state. Public meetings were
+held in all the cities; almost every man capable of doing soldier duty
+wanted to go, and those who were unable, for any reason, to go in
+person, subscribed funds for the support of the families of those who
+volunteered. The only difficulty the authorities met with was an excess
+of men over those needed. There were a good many Southerners residing in
+the state, who were naturally controlled in their sentiments by their
+geographical affinities, but they behaved very well, and caused no
+trouble. They either entered the service of the South or held their
+peace. I can recall but one instance of a Northern man who had breathed
+the free air of Minnesota going over to the South, and the atrocity of
+his case was aggravated by the fact that he was an officer in the United
+States army. I speak of Major Pemberton, who at the breaking out of the
+war was stationed at Fort Ridgely in this state, in command of a battery
+of artillery. He was ordered to Washington to aid in the defense of the
+capital, but before reaching his destination resigned his commission,
+and tendered his sword to the enemy. I think he was a citizen of
+Pennsylvania. It was he who surrendered Vicksburg to the United States
+army on July 4, 1863.
+
+The first company raised under the call of the state was made up of
+young men of St. Paul, and commanded by William H. Acker, who had been
+adjutant general of the state. He was wounded at the first battle of
+Bull Run, and killed at the battle of Shiloh, as captain of a company of
+the Sixteenth Regular Infantry. Other companies quickly followed in
+tendering their services.
+
+On the last Monday in April a camp for the First Regiment was opened at
+Fort Snelling, and Capt. Anderson D. Nelson of the United States army
+mustered the regiment into the service. On the 27th of April John B.
+Sanborn, then adjutant general of the state, in behalf of the governor,
+issued the following order:
+
+"The commander-in-chief expresses his gratification at the prompt
+response to the call of the president of the United States upon the
+militia of Minnesota, and his regret that, under the present requisition
+for only ten companies, it is not possible to accept the services of all
+the companies offered."
+
+The order then enumerates the ten companies which had been accepted, and
+instructs them to report at Fort Snelling, and recommends that the
+companies not accepted maintain their organization and perfect their
+drill, and that patriotic citizens throughout the state continue to
+enroll themselves, and be ready for any emergency.
+
+The governor, on May 3d, sent a telegram to the president, offering a
+second regiment.
+
+The magnitude of the rebellion becoming rapidly manifest at Washington,
+the secretary of war, Mr. Cameron, on the 7th of May, sent the following
+telegram to Governor Ramsey:
+
+"It is decidedly preferable that all the regiments from your state not
+already actually sent forward should be mustered into the service for
+three years, or during the war. If any persons belonging to the
+regiments already mustered for three months, but not yet actually sent
+forward, should be unwilling to serve for three years, or during the
+war, could not their places be filled by others willing to serve?"
+
+A great deal of correspondence passed between Lieutenant Governor
+Donnelly at St. Paul and Governor Ramsey at Washington over the matter,
+which resulted in the First Minnesota Regiment being mustered into the
+service of the United States for three years, or during the war, on the
+eleventh day of May, 1861. Willis A. Gorman, second governor of the
+territory, was appointed colonel of the First. The colonel was a veteran
+of the Mexican War. The regiment when first mustered in was without
+uniform, except that some of the companies had red shirts and some blue,
+but there was no regularity whatever. This was of small consequence, as
+the material of the regiment was probably the best ever collected into
+one body. It included companies of lumbermen, accustomed to camp life,
+and inured to hardships; men of splendid physique, experts with the axe;
+men who could make a road through a forest or swamp, build a bridge over
+a stream, run a steamboat, repair a railroad, or perform any of the
+duties that are thrust upon an army on the march and in the field. There
+are no men in the world so well equipped naturally and without special
+preparation for the life of a soldier as the American of the West. He is
+perfectly familiar with the use of firearms. From his varied experience,
+he possesses more than an average intelligence. His courage goes without
+saying, and, to sum him up, he is the most all-around handy man on
+earth.
+
+On May 25th the ladies of St. Paul presented the regiment with a
+handsome set of silk colors. The presentation was made at the state
+capitol by Mrs. Ramsey, the wife of the governor. The speech was made on
+behalf of the ladies by Captain Stansbury of the United States army, and
+responded to by Colonel Gorman in a manner fitting the occasion.
+
+On the 21st of June the regiment, having been ordered to Washington,
+embarked on the steamers, Northern Belle and War Eagle, at Fort
+Snelling, for their journey. Before leaving the fort the chaplain, Rev.
+Edward D. Neill, delivered a most impressive address, concluding as
+follows:
+
+"Soldiers: If you would be obedient to God, you must honor him who has
+been ordained to lead you forth. Your colonel's will must be your will.
+If, like the Roman centurion, he says 'Go,' you must go. If he says
+'Come,' come you must. God grant you all the Hebrew's enduring faith,
+and you will be sure to have the Hebrew's valor. Now, with the Hebrew's
+benediction, I close: 'The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make
+his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his
+countenance upon you, and given you peace.' Amen."
+
+The peace the good chaplain asked the Lord to give to the regiment was
+that peace which flows from duty well performed and a conscience free
+from self-censure. Judging from the excellent record made by that
+regiment, it enjoyed this kind of peace to the fullest extent, but it
+had as little of the other kind of peace as any regiment in the service.
+
+The regiment reached Washington early in July, and went into camp near
+Alexandria, in Virginia. It took part in the first battle of the war, at
+Bull Run, and from there to the end of the war was engaged in many
+battles, always with credit to itself and honor to its state. It was
+conspicuously brave and useful at the great conflict at Gettysburg, and
+the service it there performed made its fame world-wide. In what I say
+of the first regiment, I must not be understood to lessen the fame of
+the other ten regiments and other organizations that Minnesota sent to
+the war, all of which, with the exception of the Third, made for
+themselves records of gallantry and soldierly conduct, which Minnesota
+will ever hold in the highest esteem. But the First, probably because it
+was the first, and certainly because of its superb career, will always
+be the pet and especial pride of the state.
+
+The misfortunes of the Third regiment will be spoken of separately.
+
+The first conception of the rebellion by the authorities in Washington
+was that it could be suppressed in a short time; but they had left out
+of the estimate the fact that they had to deal with Americans, who can
+always be counted on for a stubborn fight when they decide to have one.
+And as the magnitude of the war impressed itself upon the government,
+continuous calls for troops were made, to all of which Minnesota
+responded promptly, until she had in the field the following military
+organizations: Eleven full regiments of infantry; the first and second
+companies of sharpshooters; one regiment of mounted rangers, recruited
+for the Indian war; the Second Regiment of cavalry; Hatche's Independent
+Battalion of Cavalry for Indian war; Brackett's battalion of cavalry;
+one regiment of heavy artillery; and the First, Second and Third
+Batteries of Light Artillery.
+
+There were embraced in these twenty-one military organizations, 22,970
+officers and men, who were withdrawn from the forces of civil industry,
+and remained away for several years. Yet notwithstanding this abnormal
+drain on the industrial resources of so young a state, to which must be
+added the exhaustive effects of the Indian war which broke out within
+her borders in 1862, and lasted several years, Minnesota continued to
+grow in population and wealth throughout it all, and came out of these
+war afflictions strengthened and invigorated.
+
+
+
+
+THE THIRD REGIMENT.
+
+
+Recruiting for the Third Regiment commenced early in the fall of 1861,
+and was completed by the 15th of November, on which day it consisted of
+901 men all told, including officers. On the 17th of November, 1861, it
+embarked at Fort Snelling for its destination in the South, on the
+steamboats Northern Belle, City Belle, and Frank Steele. It landed at
+St. Paul and marched through the city, exciting the admiration of the
+people, it being an unusually fine aggregation of men. It embarked on
+the same day, and departed for the South, carrying with it the good
+wishes and hopes of every citizen of the state. It was then commanded by
+Lieutenant Colonel Smith, and afterwards by Col. Henry C. Lester, who
+was promoted to its command from a captaincy in the First, and joined
+his regiment at Shepardsville. Colonel Lester was a man of prepossessing
+appearance, handsome, well informed, modest and attractive. He soon
+brought his regiment up to a high standard of drill and discipline, and
+especially devoted himself to its appearance for cleanliness and
+deportment, so that his regiment became remarkable in these particulars.
+By the twelfth day of July, the Third became brigaded with the Ninth
+Michigan, the Eighth and Twenty-third Kentucky, forming the Twenty-third
+Brigade, under Col. W. W. Duffield of the Ninth Michigan, and was
+stationed at Murfeesboro, in Tennessee. For two months Colonel Duffield
+had been absent, and the brigade and other forces at Murfreesboro had
+been commanded by Colonel Lester. A day or two before the 13th Colonel
+Duffield had returned and resumed command of the brigade, and Lester was
+again in direct command of his regiment. In describing the situation at
+Murfreesboro on the thirteenth day of July, 1861, Gen. C. C. Andrews,
+the author of the "History of the Third Regiment," in the state war
+book, at page 152, says:
+
+    "The force of enlisted men fit for duty at Murfreesboro was
+    fully one thousand. Forest reported that the whole number of
+    enlisted men captured, taken to McMinnville and paroled was
+    between 1,100 and 1,200. Our forces, however, were separated.
+    There were five companies, 250 strong, of the Ninth Michigan in
+    camp three-fourths of a mile east of the town, on the Liberty
+    turnpike (another company of the Ninth Michigan, forty-two
+    strong, occupied the court-house as a provost guard). Near the
+    camp of the Ninth Michigan were eighty men of the Seventh
+    Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Major Seibert; also, eighty-one men
+    of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, under Captain Chilson. More than
+    a mile distant, on the other side of the town, on undulating,
+    rocky and shaded ground, near Stone river, were nine companies
+    of the Third Minnesota, five hundred strong. Near it, also, were
+    two sections (four guns) of Hewitt's Kentucky Field Artillery,
+    with sixty-four men for duty. Forty-five men of Company C, Third
+    Regiment, under Lieutenant Grummons, had gone the afternoon of
+    July 12th, as the guard on a supply train, to Shelbyville, and
+    had not returned the thirteenth."
+
+Murfreesboro was on the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad. It was a well
+built town, around a square, in the center of which was the court-house.
+There were in the town valuable military stores.
+
+On July 13th, at daybreak, news arrived at Murfreesboro that the rebel
+general, Forest, was about to make an attack on the place, which news
+was verified by General Forest capturing the picket guard and dashing
+into the town soon after the news arrived, with a mounted force of 1,500
+men. A part of this force charged upon the camp of the Seventh
+Pennsylvania, then reformed, and charged upon the Ninth Michigan
+Infantry, which made a gallant defense and repulsed the enemy's
+repeated charges, suffering a loss of eleven killed and eighty-nine
+wounded. The enemy suffered considerable loss, including a colonel
+killed, up to about noon, when the Ninth Michigan surrendered. General
+Crittenden was captured in his quarters, about eight o'clock. Almost
+simultaneous with the first attack, a part of Forest's force moved
+toward the Third Minnesota, which had sprung up at the first sound of
+the firing, formed into line, Colonel Lester in command, and with two
+guns of Hewitt's Battery on each flank, marched in the direction of
+Murfreesboro. It had not gone more than an eighth of a mile when about
+three hundred of the enemy appeared approaching on a gallop. They were
+moving in some disorder, and appeared to fall back when the Third
+Regiment came in sight. The latter was at once brought forward into line
+and the guns of Hewitt's Battery opened fire. The enemy retired out of
+sight, and the Third advanced to a commanding position in the edge of
+some timber. A continuous fire was kept up by the guns of Hewitt's
+Battery, with considerable effect upon the enemy. Up to this time the
+only ground of discontent that had ever existed in this regiment was
+that it had never had an opportunity to fight. Probably no regiment was
+ever more eager to fight in battle than this one. Yet while it was there
+in line of battle from daylight until about noon, impatiently waiting
+for the approach of the enemy, or what was better, to be led against
+him, he was assailing an inferior force of our troops, and destroying
+valuable commissary and quartermaster's stores in town, which our troops
+were, of course, in honor bound to protect. The regiment was kept
+standing or lying motionless hour after hour, even while plainly seeing
+the smoke rising from the burning depot of the United States supplies.
+While this was going on, Colonel Lester sat upon his horse, and
+different officers went to him and entreated him to march the regiment
+into town. The only response he gave was, "We will see." The enemy made
+several ineffectual attempts to charge the line held by the Third, but
+were driven off with loss, which only increased the ardor of the men to
+get at them. The enemy attacked the camp of the Third, which was guarded
+by only a few convalescents, teamsters and cooks, and met with a
+stubborn resistance, but finally succeeded in taking it, and burning the
+tents and property of the officers, after which they hastily abandoned
+it. The firing at the camp was distinctly heard by the Third Regiment,
+and Captain Hoyt of Company B asked permission to take his company to
+protect the camp, but was refused. While the regiment was in this
+waiting position, having at least five hundred effective men, plenty of
+ammunition, and burning with anxiety to get at the enemy, a white flag
+appeared over the crest of a hill which proved to be a request for
+Colonel Lester to go into Murfreesboro for a consultation with Colonel
+Duffield. General Forest carefully displayed his men along the path by
+which Colonel Lester was to go in a manner so as to impress the colonel
+with the idea that he had a much larger force than really existed, and
+in his demand for surrender he stated that, if not acceded to, the whole
+command would be put to the sword, as he could not control his men. This
+was an old trick of Forest's, which he played successfully on other
+occasions. From what is known, he had not over one thousand men with
+which he could have engaged the Third that day.
+
+When Colonel Lester returned to his regiment his mind was fully made up
+to surrender. A consultation was held with the officers of the regiment,
+and a vote taken on the question, which resulted in a majority being in
+favor of fighting and against surrender, but the matter was reopened and
+reargued by the colonel, and after some of the officers who opposed
+surrender had left the council and gone to their companies, another vote
+was taken, which resulted in favor of the surrender. The officers who,
+on this final vote, were against surrender, were Lieutenant Colonel
+Griggs and Captains Andrews and Hoyt. Those who voted in favor of
+surrender were Captains Webster, Gurnee, Preston, Clay and Mills of the
+Third Regiment, and Captain Hewitt of the Kentucky Battery.
+
+On December 1st an order was made, dismissing from the service the five
+captains of the Third who voted to surrender the regiment, which order
+was subsequently revoked as to Captain Webster.
+
+The conduct of Colonel Lester on this occasion has been accounted for on
+various theories. Before this he had been immensely popular with his
+regiment, and also at home in Minnesota, and his prospects were most
+brilliant. It is hard to believe that he was actuated by cowardice, and
+harder to conceive him guilty of disloyalty to his country. An
+explanation of his actions which obtained circulation in Minnesota was,
+that he had fallen in love with a rebel woman, who exercised such
+influence and control over him as to completely hypnotize his will. I
+have always been a convert to that theory, knowing the man as well as I
+did, and have settled the question as the French would, by saying
+"Cherchez la femme."
+
+General Buell characterized the surrender in general orders as one of
+the most disgraceful examples in the history of war.
+
+What a magnificent opportunity was presented to some officer of that
+regiment to immortalize himself by shooting the colonel through the head
+while he was ignominously dallying with the question of surrender, and
+calling upon the men to follow him against the enemy. There can be very
+little doubt that such a movement would have resulted in victory, as the
+men were in splendid condition physically, thoroughly well armed, and
+dying to wipe out the disgrace their colonel had inflicted upon them. Of
+course, the man who should inaugurate such a movement must win, or die
+in the attempt, but in America death with honor is infinitely preferable
+to life with a suspicion of cowardice, as all who participated in this
+surrender were well aware.
+
+The officers were all held as prisoners of war, and the men paroled on
+condition of not fighting against the Confederacy during the continuance
+of the war. The Indian war of 1862 broke out in Minnesota very shortly
+after the surrender, and the men of the Third were brought to the state
+for service against the Indians. They participated in the campaign of
+1862 and following expeditions. For a full and detailed account of the
+surrender of the Third, consult the history of that regiment in the
+volume issued by the state, called "Minnesota in the Civil and Indian
+Wars."
+
+It would please the historian to omit this subject entirely, did truth
+permit; but he finds ample solace in the fact that this is the only blot
+to be found in the long record of brilliant and glorious deeds that
+compose the military history of Minnesota.
+
+A general summary will show that Minnesota did her whole duty in the
+Civil War, and that her extreme youth was in no way a drawback to her
+performance. She furnished to the war, in all her military
+organizations, a grand total of 22,970 men. Of this number, 607 were
+killed in battle and 1,647 died of disease, making a contribution of
+2,254 lives to the cause of the Union on the part of Minnesota.
+
+Our state was honored by the promotion from her various organizations of
+the following officers:
+
+    C. P. Adams, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    C. C. Andrews, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    John T. Averill, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    James H. Baker, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Theodore E. Barret, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Judson W. Bishop, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William Colville, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Napoleon J. T. Dana, Major General.
+    Alonzo J. Edgerton, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Willis A. Gorman, Brigadier General.
+    Lucius F. Hubbard, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Samuel P. Jennison, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William G. Le Duc, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    William R. Marshall, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Robert B. McLaren, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Stephen Miller, Brigadier General.
+    John B. Sanborn, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    Henry H. Sibley, Brigadier and Brevet Major General.
+    Minor T. Thomas, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    John E. Tourtellotte, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    Horatio P. Van Cleve, Brevet Brigadier General.
+    George N. Morgan, Brevet Brigadier General.
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIAN WAR OF 1862 AND FOLLOWING YEARS.
+
+
+In 1862 there were in the State of Minnesota four principal bands of
+Sioux Indians--the M'day-wa-kon-tons, Wak-pa-koo-tas, Si-si-tons and
+Wak-pay-tons. The first two bands were known as the Lower Sioux and the
+last two bands as the Upper Sioux. These designations arose from the
+fact that, in the sale of their lands to the United States by the
+treaties of 1851, the lands of the Lower Sioux were situate in the
+southern part of the state, and those of the upper bands in the more
+northern part, and when a reservation was set apart for their future
+occupation on the upper waters of the Minnesota river they were
+similarly located thereon. Their reservation consisted of a strip of
+land, ten miles wide, on each side of the Minnesota river, beginning at
+a point a few miles below Fort Ridgely and extending to the headwaters
+of the river. The reservation of the lower bands extended up to the
+Yellow Medicine river; that of the upper bands included all above the
+last named river. An agent was appointed to administer the affairs of
+these Indians, whose agencies were established at Redwood for the lower
+and at Yellow Medicine for the upper bands. At these agencies the
+annuities were paid to the Indians, and so continued from the making of
+the treaties to the year 1862. These bands were wild, very little
+progress having been made in their civilization, the very nature of the
+situation preventing very much advance in that line. The whole country
+to the north and west of their reservation was an open, wild region,
+extending to the Rocky Mountains, inhabited only by the buffalo, which
+animals ranged in vast herds from British Columbia to Texas. The buffalo
+was the chief subsistence of the Indians, who naturally frequented their
+ranges, and only came to the agencies when expecting their payments.
+When they did come, and the money and goods were not ready for them,
+which was frequently the case, they suffered great inconvenience, and
+were forced to incur debt with the white traders for their subsistence,
+all of which tended to create bad feelings between them and the whites.
+The Indian saw that he had yielded a splendid domain to the whites, and
+that they were rapidly occupying it. They could not help seeing that the
+whites were pushing them gradually--I may say rapidly--out of their
+ancestral possessions and towards the West, which knowledge naturally
+created a hostile feeling towards them. The Sioux were a brave people,
+and the young fighting men were always making comparisons between
+themselves and the whites, and bantering each other as to whether they
+were or were not afraid of them. I made a study of these people for
+several years, having had them in charge as their agent, and I think
+understood their feelings and standing towards the whites as well as any
+one. Much has been said and written about the immediate cause of the
+outbreak of 1862, but I do not believe that anything can be assigned out
+of the general course of events that will account for the trouble.
+Delay, as usual, had occurred in the arrival of the money for the
+payment, which was due in July, 1862. The war was in full force with the
+South, and the Indians saw that Minnesota was sending thousands of men
+out of the state to fight the battles of the Union. Major Thomas
+Galbraith was their agent in the summer of 1862, and being desirous of
+contributing to the volunteer forces of the government, he raised a
+company of half-breeds on the reservation and started with them for Fort
+Snelling, the general rendezvous, to have them mustered into service. It
+was very natural that the Indians who were seeking for trouble should
+look upon this movement as a sign of weakness on the part of the
+government, and reason that, if the United States could not conquer its
+enemy without their assistance, it must be in serious difficulties.
+Various things of similar character contributed to create a feeling
+among the Indians that it was a good time to recover their country,
+redress all their grievances, and reestablish themselves as lords of the
+land. They had ambitious leaders. Little Crow was the principal
+instigator of war on the whites. He was a man of greater parts than any
+Indian in the tribe. I had used him on many trying occasions, as the
+captain of my bodyguard, and my ambassador to negotiate with other
+tribes, and always found him equal to any emergency; but on this
+occasion his ambition ran away with his judgment, and led him to fatal
+results. With all these influences at work, it took but a spark to fire
+the magazine, and that spark was struck on the seventeenth day of
+August, 1862.
+
+A small party of Indians were at Acton, on August 17th, and got into a
+petty controversy about some eggs with a settler, which created a
+difference of opinion among them as to what they should do, some
+advocating one course and some another. The controversy led to one
+Indian saying that the other was afraid of the white man, to resent
+which, and to prove his bravery, he killed the settler, and the whole
+family was massacred. When these Indians reached the agency, and related
+their bloody work, those who wanted trouble seized upon the opportunity,
+and insisted that the only way out of the difficulty was to kill all the
+whites, and on the morning of the 18th of August the bloody work began.
+
+It is proper to say here that some of the Indians who were connected
+with the missionaries, conspicuously An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John
+Otherday, and Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president of the Hazelwood
+Republic, of which I have spoken, having learned of the intention of the
+Indians, informed the missionaries on the night of the 17th, who, to
+the number of about sixty, fled eastward to Hutchinson, in McLeod
+county, and escaped. The next morning, being the 18th of August, the
+Indians commenced the massacre of the whites, and made clean work of all
+at the agencies. They then separated into small squads of from five to
+ten and spread over the country to the south, east and southeast,
+attacking the settlers in detail at their homes and continued this work
+during all of the 18th and part of the 19th of August, until they had
+murdered in cold blood quite one thousand people--men, women and
+children. The way the work was conducted, was as follows: The party of
+Indians would call at the house, and, being well known, would cause no
+alarm. They would await a good opportunity, and shoot the man of the
+family; then butcher the women and children, and, after carrying off
+everything that they thought valuable to them, they would burn the house
+and proceed to the next homestead and repeat the performance.
+Occasionally some one would escape, and spread the news of the massacre
+to the neighbors, and all who could would escape to some place of
+refuge.
+
+The news of the outbreak reached Fort Ridgely (which was situated about
+thirteen miles down the Minnesota river) from the agencies about eight
+o'clock on the morning of the 18th, by means of the arrival of a team
+from the Lower Agency, bringing a badly wounded man; but no details
+could be obtained. The fort was in command of Capt. John Marsh, of
+Company "B," Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He had eighty-five men
+in his company, from which he selected forty-five, leaving the balance,
+under Lieut. T. F. Gere, to defend the fort. This little squad, under
+command of Captain Marsh, with a full supply of ammunition, provisions,
+blankets, etc., accompanied by a six-mule team, left the fort at
+9:00 a. m., on the 18th of August, for the Lower Sioux Agency, which
+was on the west side of the Minnesota river, the fort being on the east,
+which necessitated the crossing of the river by a ferry near the agency.
+On the march up the command passed nine or ten dead bodies, all bearing
+evidence of having been murdered by the Indians, one of which was Dr.
+Humphrey, surgeon at the agency. On reaching the vicinity of the ferry
+no Indians were in sight, except one on the opposite side of the river,
+who tried to induce them to cross over. A dense chaparral bordered the
+river on the agency side, and tall grass covered the bottom on the side
+where the troops were. Suspicion of the presence of Indians was aroused
+by the disturbed condition of the water of the river, which was muddy
+and contained floating grass. Then a group of ponies was seen. At this
+point, and without any notice whatever, Indians in great numbers sprang
+up on all sides of the troops, and opened upon them a deadly fire. About
+half of the men were killed instantly. Finding themselves surrounded, it
+became with the survivors a question of _sauve qui peut_. Several
+desperate hand-to-hand encounters occurred, with varying results, when
+the remnant of the command made a point down the river, about two miles
+from the ferry, Captain Marsh being of the number. Here they attempted
+to cross, but the captain was drowned in the effort. Only from thirteen
+to fifteen of the command reached the fort alive. Among those killed was
+Peter Quinn, the United States interpreter, an Irishman, who had been in
+the Indian territory for many years. He had married into the Chippewa
+tribe. He was a man much esteemed by the army and all old settlers.
+
+Much criticism has been indulged in as to whether Captain Marsh, when he
+became convinced of the general outbreak, should not have retreated to
+the fort. Of course, forty-five men could do nothing against five or six
+hundred warriors, who were known to be at or about the agency. The Duke
+of Wellington, when asked as to what was the best test of a general,
+said, "To know when to retreat, and to dare to do it." Captain Marsh
+cannot be justly judged by any such criterion. He was not an experienced
+general. He was a young, brave, and enthusiastic soldier. He knew little
+of Indians. The country knows that he thought he was doing his duty in
+advancing. I am confident, whether this judgment is intelligent or not,
+posterity will hold in warmer esteem the memory of Captain Marsh and his
+gallant little band than if he had adopted the more prudent course of
+retracing his steps. Gen. George Custer was led into an ambush of almost
+the exact character, which was prepared for him by many of the same
+Indians who attacked Marsh, and he lost five companies of the Seventh
+United States Cavalry, one of the best fighting regiments in the
+service, not a man escaping.
+
+Immediately previous to the outbreak Lieut. Timothy J. Sheehan, of
+Company "C," Fifth Minnesota, had been sent, with about fifty men of his
+company, to the Yellow Medicine Agency, on account of some disorder
+prevailing among the Indians; but having performed his duty, he had been
+ordered to Fort Ripley, and had on the 17th left Fort Ridgley, and on
+the 18th had reached a point near Glencoe, distant from Fort Ridgley
+about forty miles. As soon as Captain Marsh became aware of the
+outbreak, he sent the following dispatch to Lieutenant Sheehan, which
+reached him on the evening of the 18th:
+
+    "_Lieutenant Sheehan:_
+
+    "It is absolutely necessary that you should return with your
+    command immediately to this post. The Indians are raising hell
+    at the Lower Agency. Return as soon as possible."
+
+Lieutenant Sheehan was then a young Irishman, of about the age of
+twenty-five years, with immense physical vigor, and corresponding
+enthusiasm. He immediately broke camp and returned to the fort, arriving
+there on the 19th of August, having made a forced march of forty-two
+miles in nine and one-half hours. He did not arrive a moment too soon.
+Being the ranking officer after the death of Captain Marsh, he took
+command of the post. The garrison then consisted of the remnant of
+Marsh's Company "B," fifty-one men, Sheehan's Company "C," fifty men,
+and the Renville Rangers, fifty men. This latter company was the one
+raised by Major Galbraith, the Sioux agent at the agencies, and was
+composed principally of half-breeds. It was commanded by Capt. James
+Gorman. On reaching St. Peter, on its way down to Snelling to be
+mustered into the service of the United States, it learned of the
+outbreak, and at once returned to Ridgley, having appropriated the arms
+of a militia company at St. Peter. There was also at Ridgley, Sergeant
+Jones of the regular artillery, who had been left there in charge of the
+military stores. He was quite an expert gunner, and there were several
+field-pieces at the fort. Besides this garrison, a large number of
+people from the surrounding country had sought safety at the fort, and
+there was also a party of gentlemen, who had brought up the annuity
+money to pay the Indians, who, learning of the troubles, had stopped
+with the money, amounting to some $70,000 in specie. I will here leave
+the fort for the present, and turn to other points that became prominent
+in the approaching war.
+
+On the night of the 18th of August, the day of the outbreak, the news
+reached St. Peter, and, as I have before stated, induced the Renville
+Rangers to retrace their steps. Great excitement prevailed, as no one
+could tell at what moment the Indians might dash into the town, and
+massacre the inhabitants.
+
+The people at New Ulm, which was situated about sixteen miles below Fort
+Ridgely, on the Minnesota river, dispatched a courier to St. Peter as
+soon as they became aware of the trouble. He arrived at 4 o'clock a. m.
+on the 19th, and came immediately to my house, which was about one mile
+below the town, and informed me that the Indians were killing people all
+over the country. Having lived among the Indians for several years, and
+at one time had charge of them as their agent, I thoroughly understood
+the danger of the situation, and knowing that, whether the story was
+true or false, the frontier was no place at such a time for women and
+children, I told him to wake up the people at St. Peter, and that I
+would be there quickly. I immediately placed my family in a wagon, and
+told them to flee down the river, and taking all the guns, powder and
+lead I could find in my house, I arrived at St. Peter about 6 a. m. The
+men of the town were soon assembled at the court-house, and in a very
+short time a company was formed of 116 men, of which I was chosen as
+captain, William B. Dodd as first, and Wolf H. Meyer as second
+lieutenant. Before noon two men, Henry A. Swift, afterwards governor of
+the state, and William C. Hayden, were dispatched to the front in a
+buggy to scout, and locate the enemy if he was near, and about noon
+sixteen mounted men under L. M. Boardman, sheriff of the county, were
+started on a similar errand. Both these squads kept moving until they
+reached New Ulm, at about 5 p. m.
+
+Great activity was displayed in equipping the main body of the company
+for service. All the guns of the place were seized, and put into the
+hands of the men. There not being any large game in this part of the
+country, rifles were scarce, but shot-guns were abundant. All the
+blacksmith shops and gun shops were set at work moulding bullets, and we
+soon had a gun in every man's hand, and he was supplied with a powder
+horn or a whiskey flask full of powder, a box of caps and a pocket-full
+of bullets. We impressed all the wagons we needed for transportation,
+and all the blankets and provisions that were necessary for subsistence
+and comfort. While these preparations were going on a large squad from
+Le Sueur, ten miles further down the river, under the command of Captain
+Tousley, sheriff of Le Sueur county, joined us. Early in the day a squad
+from Swan lake, under an old settler named Samuel Coffin, had gone to
+New Ulm to see what was the matter.
+
+Our advance guard reached New Ulm just in time to participate in its
+defense against an attack of about one hundred Indians who had been
+murdering the settlers on the west side of the river, between the town
+and Fort Ridgely. The inhabitants of New Ulm were almost exclusively
+German, there being only a few English-speaking citizens among them, and
+they were not familiar with the character of the Indians, but the
+instinct of self-preservation had impelled them to fortify the town with
+barricades to keep the enemy out. The town was built in the usual way of
+western towns, the principal settlement being along the main street, and
+the largest and best houses occupying a space of about three blocks.
+Some of these houses were of brick and stone, so with a strong barricade
+around them, the town was quite defensible. Several of the people were
+killed in this first attack, but the Indians, knowing of the coming
+reinforcements, withdrew, after firing five or six buildings.
+
+The main body of my company, together with the squad from Le Sueur,
+reached the ferry about two miles below the settled part of New Ulm,
+about 8 p. m., having made thirty-two miles in seven hours, in a
+drenching rainstorm. The blazing houses in the distance gave a very
+threatening aspect to the situation, but we crossed the ferry
+successfully, and made the town without accident. The next day we were
+reinforced by a full company from Mankato under Capt. William Bierbauer.
+Several companies were formed from the citizens of the town. A full
+company from South Bend arrived on the 20th or 21st, and various other
+squads, greater or less in numbers, came in during the week, before
+Saturday, the 23d, swelling our forces to about three hundred men, but
+nearly all very poorly armed. We improved the barricades and sent out
+daily scouting parties who succeeded in bringing in many people who were
+in hiding in swamps, and who would have undoubtedly been lost without
+this succor. It soon became apparent that, to maintain any discipline or
+order in the town, some one man must be placed in command of the entire
+force. The officers of the various companies assembled to choose a
+commander-in-chief, and the selection fell to me. A provost guard was at
+once established, order inaugurated, and we awaited events.
+
+I have been thus particular in my description of the movements at this
+point because it gives an idea of the defenseless condition in which the
+outbreak found the people of the country, and also because it shows the
+intense energy with which the settlers met the emergency, at its very
+inception, from which I will deduce the conclusion at the proper time
+that this prompt initial action saved the state from a calamity, the
+magnitude of which is unrecorded in the history of Indian wars.
+
+Having described the defensive condition of Fort Ridgely and New Ulm,
+the two extreme frontier posts, the former being on the Indian
+reservation and the latter only a few miles southeast of it, I will take
+up the subject at the capital of the state. The news reached Governor
+Ramsey, at St. Paul, on the 19th of August, the second day of the
+outbreak. He at once hastened to Mendota, at the mouth of the Minnesota
+river, and requested ex-Governor Sibley to accept the command of such
+forces as could be put in the field, to check the advance of and punish
+the Indians. Governor Sibley had a large experience with the Sioux,
+perhaps more than any man in the state, having traded and lived with
+them since 1834, and besides that, was a distinguished citizen of the
+state, having been its first governor. He accepted the position, with
+the rank of colonel in the state militia. The Sixth Regiment was being
+recruited at Fort Snelling for the Civil War, and, on the 20th of
+August, Colonel Sibley started up the valley of the Minnesota with four
+companies of that regiment, and arrived at St. Peter on Friday, the 22d.
+Capt. A. D. Nelson of the regular army had been appointed colonel of the
+Sixth, and William Crooks had been appointed lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh. Colonel Crooks conveyed the orders of the governor to Colonel
+Nelson, overtaking him at Bloomington Ferry. On receipt of his orders,
+finding he was to report to Colonel Sibley, he made the point of
+military etiquette, that an officer of the regular army could not report
+to an officer of militia of the same rank, and turning over his command
+to Colonel Crooks, he returned to St. Paul and handed in his
+resignation. It was accepted, and Colonel Crooks was appointed colonel
+of the Sixth. Not knowing much about military etiquette, I will not
+venture an opinion on the action of Colonel Nelson in this instance, but
+it always seemed to me that, in the face of the enemy, and especially
+considering the high standing of Colonel Sibley, and the intimate
+friendship that existed between the two men, it would have been better
+to have waived this point, and unitedly fought the enemy, settling all
+such matters afterwards.
+
+On Sunday, the 24th, Colonel Sibley's force at St. Peter, was augmented
+by the arrival of about two hundred mounted men, under the command of
+William J. Cullen, formerly superintendent of Indian affairs, called the
+Cullen Guard. On the same day six more companies of the Sixth arrived,
+making up the full regiment, and also about one hundred more mounted
+men, and several squads of volunteer militia. The mounted men were
+placed under the command of Col. Samuel McPhail. By these acquisitions
+Colonel Sibley's command numbered about 1,400 men. Although the
+numerical strength was considerable, the command was practically
+useless. The ammunition did not fit the guns of the Sixth Regiment, and
+had to be all made over. The horses of the mounted men, were raw and
+undisciplined, and the men themselves were inexperienced and practically
+unarmed. It was the best the country afforded, but was probably about as
+poorly equipped an army as ever entered the field--and to face what I
+regard as the best warriors to be found on the North American continent;
+but fortunately the officers and men were all that could be desired. The
+leaders of this army were the best of men, and being seconded by
+intelligent and enthusiastic subordinates, they soon overcame their
+physical difficulties; but they knew nothing of the strength, position
+or previous movements of the enemy, no news having reached them from
+either Fort Ridgely or New Ulm. Any mistake made by this force,
+resulting in defeat, would have been fatal. No such mistake was made.
+Having now shown the principal forces in the field, we will turn to the
+movements of the enemy. The Indians felt that it would be necessary to
+carry Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, before they extended their depredations
+further down the valley of the Minnesota, and concentrated their forces
+for an attack on the fort. Ridgely was in no sense a fort. It was simply
+a collection of buildings, principally frame structures, facing in
+towards the parade ground. On one side was a long stone barrack and a
+stone commissary building, which was the only defensible part of it.
+
+
+
+
+THE ATTACK ON FORT RIDGELY.
+
+
+On the 20th of August, at about 3 p. m., an attack was made upon the
+fort by a large body of Indians. The first intimation the garrison had
+of the assault was a volley poured through one of the openings between
+the buildings. Considerable confusion ensued, but order was soon
+restored. Sergeant Jones attempted to use his cannon, but to his utter
+dismay, he found them disabled. This was the work of some of the
+half-breeds belonging to the Renville Rangers, who had deserted to the
+enemy. They had been spiked by ramming old rags into them. The sergeant
+soon rectified this difficulty, and brought his pieces into action. The
+attack lasted three hours, when it ceased, with a loss to the garrison
+of three killed and eight wounded.
+
+On Thursday, the 21st, two further attacks were made on the fort, one in
+the morning and one in the afternoon, but with a reduced force, less
+earnestness, and little damage. On Friday, the 22d, the savages seemed
+determined to carry the fort. About eight hundred or more, under the
+leadership of Little Crow, came down from the agency. Concentrating
+themselves in the ravines which lay on several sides of the fort, they
+made a feint, by sending about twenty warriors out on the prairie for
+the purpose of drawing out the garrison from the fort, and cutting them
+off. Such a movement, if successful, would have been fatal to the
+defenders; but fortunately there were men among them of much experience
+in Indian warfare, who saw through the scheme, and prevented the success
+of the maneuver. Then followed a shower of bullets on the fort from all
+directions. The attack was continued for nearly five hours. It was
+bitterly fought, and courageously and intelligently resisted. Sergeant
+Jones and other artillerists handled the guns with effective skill,
+exploding shells in the outlying buildings, and burning them over the
+heads of the Indians, while the enemy endeavored to burn the wooden
+buildings composing the fort, by shooting fire arrows on their roofs.
+One of the most exposed and dangerous duties to be performed was
+covering the wooden roofs with earth to prevent fire. One white man was
+killed and seven wounded in this engagement. Lieutenant Sheehan, who
+commanded the post through all these trying occurrences, Lieutenant
+Gorman, of the Renville Rangers, Lieutenant Whipple, and Sergeants Jones
+and McGrew, all did their duty in a manner becoming veterans, and the
+men seconded their efforts handsomely. The Indians, after this effort,
+being convinced that they could not take the fort, and anticipating the
+coming of reinforcements, withdrew, and, concentrating all their
+available forces, descended upon New Ulm the next morning, August 23d,
+for a final struggle. In the official history (written for the state)
+of this battle at Fort Ridgely, I place the force of the Indians as 450,
+but have learned since from reliable sources that it was as above
+stated.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF NEW ULM.
+
+
+We left New Ulm, after the arrival of the various companies which I have
+named on the 21st of August, strengthening its barricades and awaiting
+events. I had placed a good glass on the top of one of the stone
+buildings within the barricades for the purpose of observation, and
+always kept a sentinel there to report any movement he should discover
+in any direction throughout the surrounding country. We had heard
+distinctly the cannonading at the fort for the past two days, but knew
+nothing of the result of the fight at that point. I was perfectly
+familiar, as were many of my command, with the country between New Ulm
+and the fort, on both sides of the river, knowing the house of every
+settler on the roads.
+
+Saturday, the 23d of August, opened bright and beautiful, and early in
+the morning we saw column after column of smoke rise in the direction of
+the fort, each smoke being nearer than the last. We knew to a certainty
+that the Indians were approaching in force, burning every building and
+grain or hay stack they passed. The settlers had either all been killed,
+or had taken refuge at the fort or New Ulm, so we had no anxiety about
+them. About 9:30 a. m. the enemy appeared in great force, on both sides
+of the river. Those on the east side, when they reached the neighborhood
+of the ferry, burned some stacks as a signal of their arrival, which was
+responded to by a similar fire in the edge of the timber, about two
+miles and a half from the town on the west side. Between this timber
+and the town, was a beautiful open prairie, with considerable descent
+towards the town. Immediately on seeing the smoke from the ferry the
+enemy advanced rapidly, some six hundred strong, many mounted and the
+rest on foot. I had determined to meet them on the open prairie, and had
+formed my men by companies in a long line of battle, with intervals
+between them, on the first level plateau on the west side of the town,
+thus covering its whole west front. There were not over twenty or thirty
+rifles in the whole command, and a man with a shotgun, knowing his
+antagonist carries a rifle, has very little confidence in his fighting
+ability. Down came the Indians in the bright sunlight, galloping,
+running, yelling, and gesticulating in the most fiendish manner. If we
+had had good rifles they never would have got near enough to do much
+harm, but as it was we could not check them before their fire began to
+tell on our line. They deployed to the right and left until they covered
+our entire front, and then charged. My men, appreciating the inferiority
+of their armament, after seeing several of their comrades fall, and
+having fired a few ineffectual volleys, fell back on the town, passing
+some buildings without taking possession of them, which mistake was
+instantly taken advantage of by the Indians, who at once occupied them,
+but they did not follow us into the town proper, no doubt thinking our
+retreat was a feint to draw them among the buildings, and thus gain an
+advantage. I think if they had boldly charged into the town and set it
+on fire, they would have won the fight; but, instead, they surrounded it
+on all sides, the main body taking possession of the lower end of the
+main street below the barricades, from which direction a strong wind was
+blowing towards the center of the town. From this point they began
+firing the houses on both sides of the street. We soon rallied the men,
+and kept the enemy well in the outskirts of the town, and the fighting
+became general on all sides. Just about this time, my first lieutenant,
+William B. Dodd, galloped down the main street, and as he passed a cross
+street the Indians put three or four bullets through him. He died during
+the afternoon, after having been removed several times from house to
+house as the enemy crowded in upon us.
+
+On the second plateau, there was an old Don Quixote windmill, with an
+immense tower and sail-arms about seventy-five feet long, which occupied
+a commanding position, and had been taken possession of by a company of
+about thirty men, who called themselves the Le Sueur Tigers, most of
+whom had rifles. They barricaded themselves with sacks of flour and
+wheat, loopholed the building and kept the savages at a respectful
+distance from the west side of the town. A rifle ball will bury itself
+in a sack of flour or wheat, but will not penetrate it. During the
+battle the men dug out several of them, and brought them to me because
+they were the regulation Minie bullet, and there had been rumors that
+the Confederates from Missouri had stirred up the revolt and supplied
+the Indians with guns and ammunition. I confess I was astonished when I
+saw the bullets, as I knew the Indians had no such arms, but I soon
+decided that they were using against us the guns and ammunition they had
+taken from the dead soldiers of Captain Marsh's company. I do not
+believe the Confederates had any hand in the revolt of these Indians.
+
+We held several other outposts, being brick buildings outside the
+barricades, which we loopholed, and found very effective in holding the
+Indians aloof. The battle raged generally all around the town, every
+man doing his best in his own way. It was a very interesting fight on
+account of the stake we were contending for. We had in the place about
+twelve or fifteen hundred women and children, the lives of all of whom,
+and of ourselves, depended upon victory perching on our banners; for in
+a fight like this, no quarter is ever asked or given. The desperation
+with which the conflict was conducted can be judged from the fact that I
+lost sixty men in the first hour and a half, ten killed and fifty
+wounded, out of less than 250, as my force had been depleted by the
+number of about seventy-five by Lieutenant Huey taking that number to
+guard the approach to the ferry. Crossing to the other side of the river
+he was cut off, and forced to retreat toward St. Peter. It was simply a
+mistake of judgment to put the river between himself and the main force,
+but in his retreat he met Capt. E. St. Julian Cox, with reinforcements
+for New Ulm, joined them, and returned the next day. He was a brave and
+willing officer. The company I mentioned as having arrived from South
+Bend, having heard that the Winnebagoes had joined in the outbreak, left
+us before the final attack on Saturday, the 23d of August, claiming that
+their presence at home was necessary to protect their families, and on
+the morning of the 23d, when the enemy was in sight, a wagon load of
+others left us and went down the river. I doubt if we could have
+mustered over two hundred guns at any time during the fight.
+
+The enemy, seeing his advantage in firing the buildings in the lower
+part of the main street, and thus gradually nearing our barricades with
+the intention of burning us out, kept up his work as continuously as he
+could with the interruptions we made for him by occasionally driving him
+out; but his approach was constant, and about 2 o'clock a roaring
+conflagration was raging on both sides of the street, and the prospect
+looked discouraging. At this juncture Asa White, an old frontiersman,
+connected with the Winnebagoes, whom I had known for a long time, and
+whose judgment and experience I appreciated and valued, came to me and
+said: "Judge, if this goes on, the Indians will bag us in about two
+hours." I said: "It looks that way; what remedy have you to suggest."
+His answer was, "We must make for the cottonwood timber." Two miles and
+a half lay between us and the timber referred to, which, of course,
+rendered his suggestion utterly impracticable with two thousand
+noncombatants to move, and I said: "White, they would slaughter us like
+sheep should we undertake such a movement. Our strongest hold is in this
+town, and if you will get together fifty volunteers, I will drive the
+Indians out of the lower town and the greatest danger will be passed."
+He saw at once the propriety of my proposition, and in a short time we
+had a squad ready, and sallied out, cheering and yelling in a manner
+that would have done credit to the wildest Comanches. We knew the
+Indians were congregated in force down the street, and expected to find
+them in a sunken road, about three blocks from where we started, but
+they had worked their way up much nearer to us, and were in a deep swale
+about a block and a half from our barricades. There was a large number
+of them, estimated at about seventy-five to one hundred, some on ponies
+and some on foot. When the conformation of the ground disclosed their
+whereabouts, we were within one hundred feet of them. They opened a
+rapid fire on us, which we returned, while keeping up our rushing
+advance. When we were within fifty feet of them, they turned and fled
+down the street. We followed them for at least half a mile, firing as
+well as we could. This took us beyond the burning houses, and finding a
+large collection of saw logs, I called a halt and we took cover among
+them, lying flat on the ground. The Indians stopped when we ceased to
+chase them, and took cover behind anything that afforded protection, and
+kept up an incessant fire upon us whenever a head or hand showed itself
+above the logs. We held them, however, in this position, and prevented
+their return toward the town by way of the street. I at once sent a
+party back with instructions to burn every building, fence, stack or
+other object that would afford cover between us and the barricades. This
+order was strictly carried out, and by six or seven o'clock there was
+not a structure standing outside of the barricades in that part of the
+town. We then abandoned our saw logs and returned to the town, and the
+day was won, the Indians not daring to charge us over an open country. I
+lost four men killed in this exploit, one of whom was especially to be
+regretted. I speak of Newell Houghton. In ordinary warfare, all men
+stand for the same value as a general thing; but in an Indian fight, a
+man of cool head, an exceptionally fine shot, and armed with a reliable
+rifle, is a loss doubly to be regretted. Houghton was famous as being
+the best shot and deer hunter in all the Northwest, and had with him his
+choice rifle. He had built a small steamboat with the proceeds of his
+gun, and we all held him in high respect as a fine type of frontiersman.
+We had hardly got back to the town before a man brought me a rifle which
+he had found on the ground near a clump of brush, and handing it to me
+said, "Some Indian lost a good gun in that run." It happened that White
+was with me, and saw the gun. He recognized it in an instant, and said:
+"Newell Houghton is dead. He never let that gun out of his hands while
+he could hold it." We looked where the gun was picked up, and found
+Houghton dead in the brush. He had been scalped by some Indian who had
+seen him fall, and had sneaked back and scalped him.
+
+That night we dug a system of rifle pits all along the barricades on the
+outside, and manned them with three or four men each, but the firing was
+desultory through the night, and nothing much was accomplished on either
+side.
+
+The next morning (Sunday) opened bright and beautiful, but scarcely an
+Indian was to be seen. They had given up the contest, and were rapidly
+retreating northward up the river. We got an occasional shot at one, but
+without effect except to hasten the retreat. And so ended the second and
+decisive battle of New Ulm.
+
+In this fight between ourselves and the enemy we burned one hundred and
+ninety buildings, many of them substantial and valuable structures. The
+whites lost some fourteen killed and fifty or sixty wounded. The loss of
+the enemy is uncertain, but after the fight we found ten dead Indians in
+burned houses, and in chaparral where they escaped the notice of their
+friends. As to their wounded we knew nothing, but judging from the
+length and character of the engagement, and the number of their dead
+found, their casualties must have equalled, if not exceeded ours.
+
+About noon of Sunday, the 24th, Capt. E. St. Julien Cox arrived with a
+company from St. Peter, which had been sent by Colonel Sibley to
+reinforce us. Lieutenant Huey, who had been cut off at the ferry on the
+previous day, accompanied him with a portion of his command. They were
+welcome visitors.
+
+There were in the town at the time of the attack on the 23d, as near as
+can be learned, from 1,200 to 1,500 noncombatants, consisting of women
+and children, refugees and unarmed citizens, all of whose lives
+depended upon our success. It is difficult to conceive a much more
+exciting stake to play for, and the men seemed fully to appreciate it,
+and made no mistakes.
+
+On the 25th we found that provisions and ammunition were becoming
+scarce, and pestilence being feared from stench and exposure, we decided
+to evacuate the town and try to reach Mankato. This destination was
+chosen to avoid the Minnesota river, the crossing of which we deemed
+impracticable. The only obstacle between us and Mankato was the Big
+Cottonwood river, which was fordable. We made up a train of 153 wagons,
+which had largely composed our barricades, loaded them with women and
+children, and about eighty wounded men, and started. A more
+heart-rending procession was never witnessed in America. Here was the
+population of one of the most flourishing towns in the state abandoning
+their homes and property, starting on a journey of thirty odd miles,
+through a hostile country, with a possibility of being massacred on the
+way, and no hope or prospect but the hospitality of strangers and
+ultimate beggary. The disposition of the guard was confided to Captain
+Cox. The march was successful; no Indians were encountered. We reached
+Crisp's farm, which was about half way between New Ulm and Mankato,
+about evening. I pushed the main column on, fearing danger from various
+sources, but camped at this point with about 150 men, intending to
+return to New Ulm, or hold this point as a defensive measure for the
+exposed settlements further down the river. On the morning of the 26th
+we broke camp, and I endeavored to make the command return to New Ulm or
+remain where they were--my object, of course, being to keep an armed
+force between the enemy and the settlements. The men had not heard a
+word from their families for more than a week, and declined to return or
+remain. I did not blame them. They had demonstrated their willingness to
+fight when necessary, but held the protection of their families as
+paramount to mere military possibilities. I would not do justice to
+history did I not record, that, when I called for volunteers to return,
+Captain Cox and his whole squad stepped to the front, ready to go where
+I commanded. Although I had not then heard of Captain Marsh's disaster,
+I declined to allow so small a command as that of Captain Cox to attempt
+the reoccupation of New Ulm. My staff stood by me in this effort, and a
+gentleman from Le Sueur county, Mr. Freeman Talbott, made an impressive
+speech to the men, to induce them to return. The train arrived safely at
+Mankato on the 25th, and the balance of the command on the following
+day, whence the men generally sought their homes.
+
+I immediately, on arriving at Mankato, went to St. Peter, to inform
+Colonel Sibley of the condition of things in the Indian country. I found
+him, on the night of August 26th, in camp about six miles out of St.
+Peter, and put him in possession of everything that had happened to the
+westward. His mounted men arrived at Fort Ridgely on the 27th of August,
+and were the first relief that reached that fort after its long siege.
+Sibley reached the fort on the 28th of August. Intrenchments were thrown
+up about the fort, cannon properly placed, and a strong guard
+maintained. All but ninety men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain
+Anderson, returned home as soon as they found the fort was safe. The
+garrison was soon increased by the arrival of forty-seven men under
+Captain Sterritt, and on the 1st of September, Lieut. Col. William R.
+Marshall of the Seventh Regiment arrived, with a portion of his
+command. This force could not make a forward movement on account of a
+lack of ammunition and provisions, which were long delayed.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF BIRCH COULIE.
+
+
+On the 31st of August a detail of Captain Grant's company of infantry,
+seventy men of the Cullen Guard, under Captain Anderson, and some
+citizens and other soldiers, in all about 150 men, under command of
+Major Joseph R. Brown, with seventeen teams and teamsters, were sent
+from Fort Ridgely to the Lower Agency, to feel the enemy, bury the dead,
+and perform any other service that might arise. They went as far as
+Little Crow's village, but not finding any signs of Indians, they
+returned; and on the 1st of September they reached Birch Coulie, and
+encamped at the head of it. Birch Coulie is a ravine extending from the
+upper plateau to the river bottom, nearly opposite the ferry where
+Captain Marsh's company was ambushed.
+
+The Indians, after their defeat at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm, had
+concentrated at the Yellow Medicine river, and decided to make one more
+desperate effort to carry their point of driving the whites out of the
+country. Their plan of operation was, to come down the Minnesota valley
+in force, stealthily, passing Sibley's command at Ridgely, and attacking
+St. Peter and Mankato simultaneously. They congregated all their forces
+for this attempt, and started down the river. When they reached the foot
+of Birch Coulie they saw the last of Major Brown's command going up the
+coulie. They decided to wait and see where they encamped, and attack
+them early in the morning. The whites went to the upper end of the
+Coulie, and camped on the open prairie, about 250 feet from the brush
+in the coulie. On the other side of their camp there was a roll in the
+prairie, about four or five feet high, which they probably did not
+notice. This gave the enemy cover on both sides of the camp, and they
+did not fail to see it and take advantage of it. The moment daylight
+came sufficiently to disclose the camp, the Indians opened fire from
+both sides. The whites had ninety horses hitched to a picket rope and
+their wagons formed in a circular corral, with their camp in the center.
+The Indians soon killed all the horses but one, and the men used their
+carcasses as breastworks, behind which to fight. The battle raged from
+the morning of September 2d to September 3d, when they were relieved by
+Colonel Sibley's whole command, and the Indians fled to the west.
+
+Major Joseph R. Brown was one of the most experienced Indian men in the
+country, and would never have made the mistake of locating his camp in a
+place that gave the enemy such an advantage. He did not arrive until the
+camp was selected, and should have removed it at once. I have always
+supposed that he was lulled into a sense of security by not having seen
+any signs of Indians in his march; but the result proved that, when in a
+hostile Indian country, no one is ever justified in omitting any
+precautions. The firing at Birch Coulie was heard at Fort Ridgely, and a
+relief was sent, under Colonel McPhail, which was checked by the Indians
+a few miles before it reached its destination. The colonel sent a
+courier to the fort for reinforcements, and it fell to Lieutenant
+Sheehan to carry the message. With his usual energy he succeeded in
+getting through, his horse dying under him on his arrival. Colonel
+Sibley at once started with his whole command, and when he reached the
+battle ground the Indians left the field.
+
+This was one of the most disastrous battles of the war. Twenty-three
+were killed outright or mortally wounded, and forty-five were severely
+wounded, while many others received slight injuries. The tents were, by
+the shower of bullets, made to resemble lace work, so completely were
+they perforated. One hundred and four bullet holes were counted in one
+tent. Besides the continual shower of bullets that was kept up by the
+Indians, the men suffered terribly from thirst, as it was impossible to
+get water into the camp. This fight forms a very important feature in
+the Indian war, as, notwithstanding its horrors, it probably prevented
+awful massacres at St. Peter and Mankato, the former being absolutely
+defenseless, and the latter only protected by a small squad of about
+eighty men, which formed my headquarters guard at South Bend, about four
+miles distant.
+
+
+
+
+OCCURRENCES IN MEEKER COUNTY AND VICINITY.
+
+
+While these events were passing, other portions of the state were being
+prepared for defense. In the region of Forest City in Meeker county, and
+also at Hutchinson and Glencoe, the excitement was intense. Capt. George
+C. Whitcomb obtained in St. Paul seventy-five stand of arms and some
+ammunition. He left a part of the arms at Hutchinson, and with the rest
+armed a company at Forest City, of fifty-three men, twenty-five of-whom
+were mounted. Capt. Richard Strout, of Company "B," Ninth Regiment, was
+ordered to Forest City, and went there with his company. Gen. John H.
+Stevens of Glencoe was commander of the state militia for the counties
+of McLeod, Carver, Sibley and Renville. As soon as he learned of the
+outbreak he erected a very substantial fortification of saw-logs at
+Glencoe, and that place was not disturbed by the savages. A company of
+volunteers was formed at Glencoe, under Capt. A. H. Rouse. Company "F"
+of the Ninth Regiment, under Lieut. O. P. Stearns, and Company "H" of
+the same regiment (Capt. W. R. Baxter), an independent company from
+Excelsior, and the Goodhue County Rangers (Capt. David L. Davis), all
+did duty at and about Glencoe during the continuance of the trouble.
+Captains Whitcomb and Strout, with their companies, made extensive
+reconnoisances into the surrounding counties, rescuing many refugees,
+and having several brisk and sharp encounters with the Indians, in which
+they lost several in killed and wounded. The presence of these troops in
+this region of country, and their active operations, prevented its
+depopulation, and saved the towns and much valuable property from
+destruction.
+
+
+
+
+PROTECTION OF THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER.
+
+
+On the 29th of August I received a commission from the governor of the
+state, instructing and directing me to take command of the Blue Earth
+country, extending from New Ulm to the north line of Iowa, embracing the
+then western and southwestern frontier of the state. My powers were
+general--to raise troops, commission officers, subsist upon the country,
+and generally to do what in my judgment was best for the protection of
+this frontier. Under these powers I located my headquarters at South
+Bend, being the extreme southern point of the Minnesota river, thirty
+miles below New Ulm, four from Mankato, and about fifty from the Iowa
+line. Here I maintained a guard of about eighty men. We threw up some
+small intrenchments, but nothing worthy of mention. Enough citizens of
+New Ulm had returned home to form two companies at that point. Company
+"E," of the Ninth Regiment, under Capt. Jerome E. Dane, was stationed
+at Crisp's farm, about half way between New Ulm and South Bend. Col.
+John R. Jones of Chatfield collected about three hundred men, and
+reported to me at Garden City. They were organized into companies under
+Captains N. P. Colburn and Post, and many of them were stationed at
+Garden City, where they erected a serviceable fort of saw-logs. Others
+of this command were stationed at points along the Blue Earth river.
+Capt. Cornelius F. Buck of Winona raised a company of fifty-three men,
+all mounted, and started west. They reached Winnebago City, in the
+county of Faribault, on the 7th of September, where they reported to me,
+and were stationed at Chain Lakes, about twenty miles west of Winnebago
+City, and twenty of this company were afterwards sent to Madelia. A
+stockade was erected by this company at Martin Lake. In the latter part
+of August Capt. A. J. Edgerton of Company "B," Tenth Regiment, arrived
+at South Bend, and having made his report, was stationed at the
+Winnebago agency, to keep watch on those Indians and cover Mankato from
+that direction. About the same time Company "F," of the Eighth Regiment,
+under Capt. L. Aldrich, reported, and was stationed at New Ulm. E. St.
+Julien Cox, who had previously reinforced me at New Ulm, was
+commissioned a captain, and put in command of a force which was
+stationed at Madelia, in Watonwan county, where they erected quite an
+artistic fortification of logs, with bastions. While there an attack was
+made upon some citizens who had ventured beyond the safe limits, and
+several whites were killed.
+
+It will be seen by the above statement that almost immediately after the
+evacuation of New Ulm, on the 25th of August, the most exposed part of
+the southern frontier was occupied by quite a strong force. I did not
+expect that any serious incursions would be made along this line, but
+the state of alarm and panic that prevailed among the people rendered it
+necessary to establish this cordon of military posts to prevent an
+exodus of the inhabitants. No one who has not gone through the ordeal of
+an Indian insurrection can form any idea of the terrible apprehension
+that takes possession of a defenseless and noncombatant population under
+such circumstances. There is an element of mystery and uncertainty about
+the magnitude and movements of this enemy, and a certainty of his
+brutality, that inspires terror. The first notice of his approach is the
+crack of his rifle, and no one with experience of such struggles ever
+blames the timidity of citizens in exposed positions when assailed by
+these savages. I think, all things being considered, the people
+generally behaved very well. If a map of the state is consulted, taking
+New Ulm as the most northern point on the Minnesota river, it will be
+seen that the line of my posts covered the frontier from that point down
+the river to South Bend, and up the Blue Earth, southerly, to Winnebago
+City, and thence to the Iowa line. These stations were about sixteen
+miles apart, with two advanced posts, at Madelia and Chain Lakes, to the
+westward. A system of couriers was established, starting from each end
+of the cordon every morning, with dispatches from the commanding officer
+to headquarters, stopping at every station for an indorsement of what
+was going on, so I knew every day what had happened at every point on my
+line. By this means, the frontier population was pacified, and no
+general exodus took place.
+
+In September Major General Pope was ordered to Minnesota to conduct the
+Indian war. He made his headquarters at St. Paul, and by his high rank
+took command of all operations, though not exerting any visible
+influence on them, the fact being that all imminent danger had been
+overcome by the state and its citizens before his arrival. In the latter
+part of September the citizen troops under my command were anxious to
+return to their homes, and on presentation of the situation to General
+Pope, he ordered into the state a new regiment just mustered into the
+service in Wisconsin--the Twenty-fifth--commanded by Col. M. Montgomery,
+who was ordered to relieve me. He appeared at South Bend on the 1st of
+October, and after having fully informed him of what had transpired, and
+given him my views as to the future, I turned my command over to him in
+the following order: I give it, as it succinctly presents the situation
+of affairs at the time.
+
+
+    "HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION
+    SOUTHERN FRONTIER,
+
+    "SOUTH BEND, October 5, 1862.
+
+    "_To the Soldiers and Citizens who have been, and are now engaged
+    in the defense of the Southern Frontier:_
+
+    "On the eighteenth day of August last your frontier was invaded
+    by the Indians. You promptly rallied for its defense. You
+    checked the advance of the enemy and defeated him in two severe
+    battles at New Ulm. You have held a line of frontier posts
+    extending over a distance of one hundred miles. You have erected
+    six substantial fortifications, and other defensive works of
+    less magnitude. You have dispersed marauding bands of savages
+    that have hung upon your lines. You have been uniformly brave,
+    vigilant and obedient to orders. By your efforts, the war has
+    been confined to the border; without them, it would have
+    penetrated into the heart of the state.
+
+    "Major General Pope has assumed command of the Northwest, and
+    will control future operations. He promises a vigorous
+    prosecution of the war. Five companies of the Twenty-fifth
+    Wisconsin Regiment and five hundred cavalry from Iowa are
+    ordered into the region now held by you, and will supply the
+    places of those whose terms of enlistment shortly expire. The
+    department of the southern frontier, which I have had the honor
+    to command, will, from the date of this order, be under the
+    command of Colonel M. Montgomery of the Twenty-fifth Wisconsin,
+    whom I take pleasure in introducing to the troops and citizens
+    of that department as a soldier and a man to whom they may
+    confide their interests and the safety of their country, with
+    every assurance that they will be protected and defended.
+
+    "Pressing public duties of a civil nature demand my absence
+    temporarily from the border. The intimate and agreeable
+    relations we have sustained toward each other, our union in
+    danger and adventure, cause me regret in leaving you, but will
+    hasten my return.
+
+                "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+          "_Colonel Commanding Southern Frontier._"
+
+This practically terminated my connection with the war. All matters yet
+to be related took place in other parts of the state, under the command
+of Colonel Sibley and others.
+
+
+
+
+COLONEL SIBLEY MOVES UPON THE ENEMY.
+
+
+We left Colonel Sibley, on the 4th of September, at Fort Ridgely, having
+just relieved the unfortunate command of Major Joseph R. Brown, after
+the fight at Birch Coulie. Knowing that the Indians had in their
+possession many white captives, and having their rescue alive uppermost
+in his mind, the colonel left on the battlefield at Birch Coulie the
+following communication, attached to a stake driven in the ground,
+feeling assured that it would fall into the hands of Little Crow, the
+leader of the Indians.
+
+    "If Little Crow has any proposition to make, let him send a
+    half-breed to me, and he shall be protected in and out of camp.
+
+                "H. H. SIBLEY,
+          "_Colonel Commanding Military Expedition._"
+
+The note was found, and answered by Little Crow in a manner rather
+irrelevant to the subject most desired by Colonel Sibley. It was dated
+at Yellow Medicine, September 7th, and delivered by two half-breeds.
+
+Colonel Sibley returned the following answer by the bearers:
+
+    "Little Crow, you have murdered many of our people without any
+    sufficient cause. Return me the prisoners under a flag of truce,
+    and I will talk with you like a man."
+
+No response was received to this letter until September 12th, when
+Little Crow sent another, saying that he had 155 prisoners, not
+including those held by the Si-si-tons and Wak-pay-tons, who were at Lac
+qui Parle, and were coming down. He also gave assurances that the
+prisoners were faring well. Colonel Sibley, on the 12th of September,
+sent a reply by Little Crow's messengers, saying that no peace could be
+made without a surrender of the prisoners, but not promising peace on
+any terms, and charging the commission of nine murders since the receipt
+of Little Crow's last letter. The same messenger that brought this
+letter from Little Crow also delivered, quite a long one from Wabasha
+and Taopee, two lower chiefs who claimed to be friendly, and desired a
+meeting with Colonel Sibley, suggesting two places where it could be
+held. The Colonel replied that he would march in three days, and was
+powerful enough to crush all the Indians; that they might approach his
+column in open day with a flag of truce, and place themselves under his
+protection. On the receipt of this note a large council was held, at
+which nearly all the annuity Indians were present. Several speeches were
+made by the Upper and Lower Sioux, some in favor of continuance of the
+war and "dying in the last ditch," and some in favor of surrendering the
+prisoners. I quote from a speech made by Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, who
+will be remembered as one of the Indians who volunteered to rescue the
+white captives from Ink-pa-du-ta's band, in 1857, and who was always
+true to the whites. He said among other things:
+
+    "In fighting the whites, you are fighting the thunder and
+    lightning. You say you can make a treaty with the British
+    government. That is not possible. Have you not yet come to your
+    senses? They are also white men, and neighbors and friends to
+    the soldiers. They are ruled by a petticoat, and she has the
+    tender heart of a squaw. What will she do for the men who have
+    committed the murders you have?"
+
+This correspondence was kept up for several days, quite a number of
+letters coming from the Indians to Colonel Sibley, but with no
+satisfactory results. On the 18th of September, Colonel Sibley
+determined to move upon the enemy, and on that day camp was broken at
+the fort, a boat constructed, and a crossing of the Minnesota river
+effected near the fort, to prevent the possibility of an ambuscade.
+Colonel Sibley's force consisted of the Sixth Regiment under Colonel
+Crooks, about three hundred men of the Third under Major Welch, several
+companies of the Seventh under Col. William R. Marshall, a small number
+of mounted men under Colonel McPhail, and a battery under the command of
+Capt. Mark Hendricks. The expedition moved up the river without
+encountering any opposition until the morning of the twenty-third of
+September. Indians had been in sight during all the march, carefully
+watching the movements of the troops, and several messages of defiance
+were found attached to fences and houses.
+
+
+
+
+THE BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE.
+
+
+On the evening of the 22d the expedition camped at Lone Tree lake, about
+two miles from the Yellow Medicine river, and about three miles east
+from Wood lake. Early next morning several foraging teams belonging to
+the Third Regiment were fired upon. They returned the fire, and
+retreated toward the camp. At this juncture the Third Regiment without
+orders, sallied out, crossed a deep ravine and soon engaged the enemy.
+They were ordered back by the commander, and had not reached camp before
+Indians appeared on all sides in great numbers, many of them in the
+ravine between the Third Regiment and the camp. Thus began the battle of
+Wood Lake. Captain Hendricks opened with his cannon and the howitzer
+under the direct command of Colonel Sibley, and poured in shot and
+shell. It has since been learned that Little Crow had appointed ten of
+his best men to kill Colonel Sibley at all hazards, and that the shells
+directed by the colonel's own hand fell into this special squad and
+dispersed them. Captain Hendricks pushed his cannon to the head of the
+ravine, and raked it with great effect, and Colonel Marshall, with
+three companies of the Seventh and Captain Grant's company of the Sixth,
+charged down the ravine on a double quick, and routed the Indians. About
+eight hundred of the command were engaged in the conflict, and met about
+an equal number of Indians. Our loss was about nine killed and between
+forty and fifty wounded. Major Welch of the Third was shot in the leg,
+but not fatally. The Third and the Renville Rangers under Capt. James
+Gorman bore the brunt of the fight, which lasted about an hour and a
+half, and sustained the most of the losses. Colonel Sibley, in his
+official report of the encounter, gives great credit to his staff and
+all of his command. An-pay-tu-tok-a-cha, or John Otherday, was with the
+whites, and took a conspicuous part in the fray.
+
+Thus ended the battle of Wood Lake. It was an important factor in the
+war, as it was about the first time the Indians engaged large forces of
+well organized troops in the open country, and their utter discomfiture
+put them on the run. It will be noticed that I have not in any of my
+narratives of battles, used the stereotyped expression, "Our losses were
+so many, but the losses of the enemy were much greater, but as they
+always carry off their dead and wounded, it is impossible to give exact
+figures." The reason I have not made use of this common expression is,
+because I don't believe it. The philosophy of Indian warfare is, to kill
+your enemy and not get killed yourself, and they can take cover more
+skillfully than any other people. In all our Indian wars, from the
+Atlantic westward, with regulars or militia, I believe it would not be
+an exaggeration to say that the whites have lost ten to one in killed
+and wounded. But the battle of Wood Lake was quite an open fight, and so
+rapidly conducted and concluded that we have a very accurate account of
+the loss of the enemy. He had no time or opportunity to withdraw his
+dead. Fifteen dead were found upon the field, and one wounded prisoner
+was taken. No doubt many others were wounded who were able to escape.
+After this fight Colonel Sibley retired to the vicinity of an Indian
+camp, located nearly opposite the mouth of the Chippewa river, where it
+empties into the Minnesota, and there encamped. This point was
+afterwards called "Camp Release," from the fact that the white prisoners
+held by the enemy were here delivered to Colonel Sibley's command. We
+will leave Colonel Sibley and his troops at Camp Release, and narrate
+the important events that occurred on the Red River of the North, at and
+about
+
+
+
+
+FORT ABERCROMBIE.
+
+
+The United States government, about the year 1858, erected a military
+post on the west side of the Red River of the North, at a place then
+known as Graham's Point, between what are now known as the cities of
+Breckenridge and Fargo. Like most of the frontier posts of that day, it
+was not constructed with reference to defense, but more as a depot for
+troops and military stores. It was then in the midst of the Indian
+country, and is now in Richland county, North Dakota. The troops that
+had garrisoned the fort had been sent south to aid in suppressing the
+Southern rebellion, and their places had been supplied by one company of
+the Fifth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, which was commanded by Capt.
+John Van der Horck. There was a place down the river, and north of the
+fort, about fifty miles, called Georgetown, at which there were some
+settlers, and a depot of stores for the company engaged in the
+navigation of the river. At the commencement of the outbreak Captain
+Van der Horck had detached about one-half of his company, and sent them
+to Georgetown, to protect the interests centered at that point.
+
+About the 20th of August news reached Abercrombie from the Yellow
+Medicine agency that trouble was expected from the Indians. An
+expedition was on the way to Red lake to make a treaty with the Chippewa
+Indians, consisting of the government commissioners and party,
+accompanied by a train of thirty loaded wagons and a herd of two hundred
+cattle. On the 23d of August, news reached Fort Abercrombie that a large
+body of Indians were on the way to capture this party. A courier was at
+once dispatched to the train, and it sought refuge in the fort. Runners
+were also sent to all the settlements in the vicinity, and the warning
+spread of the approaching danger. Happily nearly all of the surrounding
+people reached the fort before the arrival of the enemy. The detachment
+stationed at Georgetown was also called in. A mail coach that left the
+fort on the 22d, fell into the hands of the Indians, who killed the
+driver and destroyed the mail.
+
+The garrison had been strengthened by about fifty men capable of duty
+from the refugees, but they were unarmed. Captain Van der Horck
+strengthened his post by all means in his power, and endeavored to
+obtained reinforcements. Captain Freeman, with about sixty men, started
+from St. Cloud, on the Mississippi, to relieve the garrison at
+Abercrombie, but on reaching Sauk Center the situation appeared so
+alarming that it was deemed imprudent to proceed with so small a force,
+and no addition could be made to it at Sauk Center. Attempts were made
+to reinforce the fort from other points. Two companies were sent from
+Fort Snelling, and got as far as Sauk Center, but the force was even
+then deemed inadequate to proceed to Abercrombie. Part of the Third
+Regiment was also dispatched from Snelling to its relief on September
+6th. Another expedition, consisting of companies under command of
+Captains George Atkinson and Rollo Banks, with a small squad of about
+sixty men of the Third Regiment, under command of Sergeant Dearborn,
+together with a field piece under Lieutenant Robert J. McHenry, was
+formed, and placed under the command of Capt. Emil A. Burger. This
+command started on September 10th, and after a long and arduous march,
+reached the fort on the 23d of September, finding the weaned and anxious
+garrison still in possession. Captain Burger had been reinforced at
+Wyman's station, on the Alexandria road, on the 19th of September, by
+the companies under Captains Freeman and Barrett, who had united their
+men on the 14th, and started for the fort. The relief force amounted to
+quite four hundred men by the time it reached its destination.
+
+While this long delayed force was on its way the little garrison at the
+fort had its hands full to maintain its position. On the 30th of August
+a large body of Indians made a bold raid on the post, and succeeded in
+stampeding and running off nearly two hundred head of cattle and one
+hundred head of horses and mules which were grazing on the prairie. Some
+fifty of the cattle afterwards escaped, and were restored to the post by
+a scouting party. This band of marauders did not, however, attack the
+fort. No one who has not experienced it can appreciate the mortification
+of seeing an enemy despoil you of your property when you are powerless
+to resist. An attack was made on the fort on the 3d of September, and
+some stacks burned and a few horses captured. Several men were killed on
+both sides, and Captain Van der Horck was wounded in the right arm from
+an accidental shot from one of his own men. On September 6th a second
+attack was made by a large force of Indians, which lasted nearly all
+day, in which we lost two men and had several wounded. No further attack
+was made until the 26th of September, when Captain Freeman's company was
+fired on while watering their horses in the river. These Indians were
+routed and pursued by Captain Freeman's company, and a squad of the
+Third Regiment men, with a howitzer. Their camp was captured, which
+contained quite an amount of plunder. A light skirmish took place on the
+29th of September, in which the enemy was routed, and this affair ended
+the siege of Fort Abercrombie.
+
+
+
+
+CAMP RELEASE.
+
+
+Colonel Sibley's command made Camp Release on the 26th of September.
+This camp was in the near vicinity of a large Indian camp of about 150
+lodges. These Indians were composed of Upper and Lower Sioux, and had
+generally been engaged in all the massacres that had taken place since
+the outbreak. They had with them some 250 prisoners, composed of women
+and children, whites and half-breeds. Only one white man was found in
+the camp, George Spencer, who had been desperately wounded at the Lower
+Agency, and saved from death by an Indian friend of his.
+
+The desire of the troops to attack and punish these savages was intense,
+but Colonel Sibley kept steadily in mind that the rescue of the
+prisoners was his first duty, and he well knew that any demonstration of
+violence would immediately result in the destruction of the captives. He
+therefore wisely overruled all hostile inclinations. The result was a
+general surrender of the whole camp, together with all the prisoners.
+As soon as the safety of the captives was assured, inquiry was
+instituted as to the participation of these Indians in the massacres and
+outrages which had been so recently perpetrated. Many cases were soon
+developed of particular Indians, who had been guilty of the grossest
+atrocities, and the commander decided to form a military tribunal to try
+the offenders.
+
+
+
+
+TRIAL OF THE INDIANS.
+
+
+The state has reason to congratulate itself on two things in this
+connection. First, that it had so wise and just a man as Colonel Sibley
+to select this important tribunal, and, second, that he had at his
+command such admirable material from which to make his selection. It
+must be remembered that this court entered upon its duties with the
+lives of hundreds of men at its absolute disposal. Whether they were
+Indians or any other kind of people, the fact must not be overlooked
+that they were human beings, and the responsibility of the tribunal was
+correspondingly great. Colonel Sibley at this date sent me a dispatch,
+declaring his intention in the matter of the result of the trials. It is
+as follows:
+
+    "CAMP RELEASE, NINE MILES BELOW LAC QUI PARLE,
+    Sept. 25, 1862.
+
+    "Colonel: [After speaking of a variety of matters concerning the
+    disposition of troops who were in my command, the battle of Wood
+    Lake (which he characterized as "A smart conflict we had with
+    the Indians"), the rescue of the prisoners and other matters, he
+    adds:]
+
+    "N. B.--I am encamped near a camp of 150 lodges of friendly
+    Indians and half-breeds, but have had to purge it of suspected
+    characters. I have apprehended sixteen supposed to have been
+    connected with the late outrages, and have appointed a military
+    commission of five officers to try them. If found guilty they
+    will be forthwith executed, although it will perhaps be a
+    stretch of my authority. If so, necessity must be my
+    justification.
+
+          "Yours,
+                "H. H. SIBLEY."
+
+On the 28th of September an order was issued convening this court
+martial. It was composed of William Crooks, colonel of the Sixth
+Regiment, president; William R. Marshall, lieutenant colonel of the
+Seventh Regiment; Captains Grant and Baily of the Sixth, and Lieutenant
+Olin of the Third. Others were subsequently added as necessity required.
+All these men were of mature years, prominent in their social and
+general standing as citizens, and as well equipped as any persons could
+be to engage in such work. What I regard as the most important feature
+in the composition of this most extraordinary court is the fact that the
+Hon. Isaac V. D. Heard, an experienced lawyer of St. Paul, who had been
+for many years the prosecuting attorney of Ramsey county, and who was
+thoroughly versed in criminal law, was on the staff of Colonel Sibley,
+and was by him appointed recorder of the court. Mr. Heard, in the
+performance of his duty, was above prejudice or passion, and could treat
+a case of this nature as if it was a mere misdemeanor. Lieutenant Olin
+was judge advocate of this court, but as the trials progressed the
+evidence was all put in and the records kept by Mr. Heard. Some changes
+were made in the personnel of the court from time to time as the
+officers were needed elsewhere, but none of the changes lessened the
+dignity or character of the tribunal. I make these comments because the
+trials took place at a period of intense excitement, and persons
+unacquainted with the facts may be led to believe that the court was
+"organized to convict," and was unfair in its decisions.
+
+The court sat some time at Camp Release, then at the Lower Agency, and
+Mankato, where it investigated the question whether the Winnebagoes had
+participated in the outbreak; but none of that tribe were implicated,
+which proves that the court acted judicially, and not upon unreliable
+evidence, as the country was full of rumors and charges that the
+Winnebagoes were implicated. The court terminated its sittings at Fort
+Snelling, after a series of sessions lasting from Sept. 30 to Nov. 5,
+1862, during which 425 prisoners were arraigned and tried. Of these 321
+were found guilty of the offenses charged, of whom 303 were sentenced to
+death, and the rest to various terms of imprisonment according to the
+nature of their crimes. The condemned prisoners were removed to Mankato,
+where they were confined in a large guardhouse, constructed of logs for
+the purpose, and were guarded by a strong force of soldiers. On the way
+down, as the party having charge of the prisoners passed through New Ulm
+they found the inhabitants disinterring the dead, who had been hastily
+buried in the streets where they fell during the fights at that place.
+The sight of the Indians so enraged the people that a general attack was
+made on the wagons in which they were chained together. The attacking
+force was principally composed of women, armed with clubs, stones,
+knives, hot water and similar weapons. Of course, the guard could not
+shoot or bayonet a woman, and they got the prisoners through the town
+with the loss of one killed and many battered and bruised.
+
+While this court martial was in session the news of its proceedings
+reached the eastern cities, and a great outcry was raised, that
+Minnesota was contemplating a dreadful massacre of Indians. Many
+influential bodies of well-intentioned but ill-informed people beseeched
+President Lincoln to put a stop to the proposed executions. The
+president sent for the records of the trials, and turned them over to
+his legal and military advisors to decide which were the more flagrant
+cases. On the sixth day of December, 1862, the president made the
+following order:
+
+    "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
+    "Dec. 6, 1862.
+
+    "_Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley, St. Paul, Minn._:
+
+    "Ordered, that of the Indians and half-breeds sentenced to be
+    hanged by the military commission, composed of Colonel Crooks,
+    Lieutenant Colonel Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey and
+    Lieutenant Olin, and lately sitting in Minnesota, you cause to
+    be executed on Friday, the nineteenth day of December, instant,
+    the following named, to-wit:
+
+    (Here follow the names of thirty-nine Indians, and their numbers
+    on the record of conviction.)
+
+    "The other condemned prisoners you will hold, subject to further
+    orders, taking care that they neither escape nor are subjected
+    to any unlawful violence.
+
+                "ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
+          "_President of the United States._"
+
+Colonel Sibley had been appointed, by President Lincoln, a brigadier
+general, on the 29th of September, 1862, on account of his success at
+the battle of Wood Lake, the announcement of his promotion being in a
+telegram, as follows:
+
+    "Washington, D. C., Sept. 29, 1862.
+    "_Major General Pope, St. Paul, Minn._,
+
+    "Colonel Henry H. Sibley is made a brigadier general for his
+    judicious fight at Yellow Medicine. He should be kept in command
+    of that column, and every possible assistance sent to him.
+
+          "H. W. HALLECK,
+                "_General in Chief_."
+
+His commission as brigadier general was not issued until March 26, 1864,
+but, of course, this telegram amounted to an appointment to the
+position, and if accepted, as it was, made him subject to the orders of
+the president; so, notwithstanding his dispatch to me, stating that the
+Indians, if convicted, would be forthwith executed, he could not very
+well carry out such an extreme duty without first submitting it to the
+federal authorities, of which he had become a part.
+
+My view of the question has always been that, when the court martial was
+organized, Colonel Sibley had no idea that more than twenty or
+twenty-five of the Indians would be convicted, which is partly
+inferrable from his dispatch to me, in which he said he had "apprehended
+sixteen supposed to have been connected with the late outrages." But
+when the matter assumed the proportions it did, and he found on his
+hands some three hundred men to kill, he was glad to shift the
+responsibility to higher authority. Any humane man would have been of
+the same mind. I have my own views, also, of the reasons of the general
+government in eliminating from the list of the condemned all but
+thirty-nine. It was not because these thirty-nine were more guilty than
+the rest, but because we were engaged in a great civil war, and the eyes
+of the world were upon us. Had these three hundred men been executed,
+the charge would have undoubtedly been made by the South, that the
+North was murdering prisoners of war, and the authorities at Washington,
+knowing full well that the other nations were not capable of making the
+proper discrimination, and perhaps not anxious to do so if they were,
+deemed it safer not to incur the odium which might follow from such an
+accusation.
+
+
+
+
+EXECUTION OF THE THIRTY-EIGHT CONDEMNED INDIANS.
+
+
+The result of the matter was that the order of the president was obeyed,
+and on the 26th of December, 1862, thirty-eight of the condemned Indians
+were executed, by hanging, at Mankato, one having been pardoned by the
+president. Contemporaneous history, or, rather, general public
+knowledge, of what actually occurred, says that the pardoned Indian was
+hanged, and one of the others liberated by mistake. As an historian, I
+do not assert this to be true, but as a citizen, thoroughly well
+informed of current events at the time of this execution, I believe it
+to be a fact. The hanging of the thirty-eight was done on one gallows,
+constructed in a square form, capable of sustaining ten men on each
+side. They were placed upon a platform facing inwards, and dropped all
+at once by the cutting of a rope. The execution was successful in all
+its details, and reflects credit on the ingenuity and engineering skill
+of Captain Burt of Stillwater, who was intrusted with the construction
+of the deadly machine. The rest of the condemned Indians were, after
+some time, taken down to Davenport in Iowa, and held in confinement
+until the excitement had generally subsided, when they were sent west of
+the Missouri and set free. An Indian never forgets what he regards as an
+injury, and never forgives an enemy. It is my opinion that all the
+troubles that have taken place since the liberation of these Indians,
+with the tribes inhabiting the western plains and mountains, up to a
+recent date, have grown out of the evil counsels of these savages. The
+only proper course to have pursued with them, when it was decided not to
+hang them, was to have exiled them to some remote post,--say, the Dry
+Tortugas,--where communication with their people would have been
+impossible, set them to work on fortifications or other public works,
+and allowed them to pass out by life limitation.
+
+The execution of these Indians practically terminated the campaign for
+the year 1862, no other event worthy of detailed record having occurred;
+but the Indian war was far from being over, and it was deemed prudent to
+keep within the state a sufficient force of troops to successfully
+resist all further attacks, and to inaugurate an aggressive campaign in
+the coming year. The whole of the Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Regiments,
+the Mounted Rangers, some artillery organizations, scouts and other
+troops were wintered in the state at various points along the more
+exposed frontier, and in 1863 a formidable expedition, under command of
+General Sibley, was sent from Minnesota to crush the enemy, which was to
+be aided and cooperated with, by another expedition, under Gen. Alfred
+Sully, of equal proportions, which was to start from Sioux City, on the
+Missouri. After the attack at Birch Coulie and its relief, Little Crow,
+with a large part of his followers, branched off, and went to the
+vicinity of Acton, and there attacked the command under Capt. Richard
+Strout, where a severe battle was fought, in which several of Captain
+Strout's men were killed. On the 3d of July, 1863, Crow ventured down to
+the neighborhood of Hutchinson, with his young son, probably to get
+something which he had hidden, or to steal horses, and while he was
+picking berries, a farmer named Lamson, who was in search of his cows,
+saw him and shot him dead. His scalp now decorates the walls of the
+Minnesota Historical Society.
+
+
+
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863.
+
+
+The remnant of Little Crow's followers were supposed to be rendezvoused
+at Devil's lake, in Dakota Territory, and reinforced by a large body of
+the Upper Sioux. An expedition against them was devised by General Pope,
+to be commanded by General Sibley. It was to assemble at a point near
+the mouth of the Redwood river, some twenty-five miles above Fort
+Ridgely. On the 7th of June, 1863, General Sibley arrived at the point
+of departure, which was named Camp Pope, in honor of the commanding
+general. The force composing the expedition was as follows: One company
+of pioneers, under Captain Chase; ten companies of the Sixth Regiment,
+under Colonel Crooks; eight companies of the Tenth Regiment, under
+Colonel Baker; nine companies of the Seventh, under Lieutenant Colonel
+Marshall; eight pieces of artillery, under Captain Jones; nine companies
+of Minnesota Mounted Rangers, under Colonel McPhail; seventy-five Indian
+scouts under Major Brown, George McLeod and Major Dooley; in all 3,052
+infantry, 800 cavalry and 148 artillerymen. The command, from the nature
+of the country it had to traverse, was compelled to depend upon its own
+supply train, which was composed of 225 six-mule wagons. The staff was
+complete, consisting of Adjutant General Olin, Brigade Commissary
+Forbes, Assistant Commissary and Ordnance Officer Atchison, Commissary
+Clerk Spencer, Quartermaster Corning, Assistant Quartermaster Kimball,
+Aides-de-camp Lieutenants Pope, Beever, Hawthorne and A. St. Clair
+Flandrau, Chaplain, Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+The column moved from Camp Pope on June 16, 1863. The weather was
+intensely hot, and the country over which the army had to march was wild
+and uninhabited. At first the Indians retreated in the direction of the
+British line, but it was discovered that their course had been changed
+to the direction of the Missouri river. They had probably heard that
+General Sully had been delayed by low water and hoped to be able to
+cross to the west bank of that stream before his arrival to intercept
+them, with the future hope that they would, no doubt, be reenforced by
+the Sioux inhabiting the country west of the Missouri. On the 4th of
+July the expedition reached the Big Bend of the Cheyenne river. On the
+17th of July Colonel Sibley received reliable information that the main
+body of the Indians was moving toward the Missouri, which was on the
+20th of July confirmed by a visit at Camp Atchison of about three
+hundred Chippewa half-breeds, led by a Catholic priest named Father
+Andre. On becoming satisfied that the best fruits of the march could be
+attained by bending towards the Missouri, the general decided to relieve
+his command of as much impedimenta as was consistent with comfort and
+safety and would increase the rapidity of its movements. He therefore
+established a permanent post at Camp Atchison, about fifty miles
+southeasterly from Devil's lake, where he left all the sick and disabled
+men, and a large portion of his ponderous train, with a sufficient guard
+to defend them if attacked. He then immediately started for the
+Missouri, with 1,436 infantry, 520 cavalry, 100 pioneers and
+artillerymen, and twenty-five days' rations. On the 22nd he crossed the
+James river, forty-eight miles west of Camp Atchison, and on the 24th
+reached the vicinity of Big Mound, beyond the second ridge of the
+Missouri coteau. Here the scouts reported large bodies of Indians, with
+Red Plume and Standing Buffalo among them.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF BIG MOUND.
+
+
+The general, expecting an attack on the 24th, corralled his train, and
+threw up some earthworks to enable a smaller force to defend it. The
+Indians soon appeared. Dr. Weiser, surgeon of the First Rangers,
+supposing he saw some old friends among them, approached too close and
+was instantly killed. Lieutenant Freeman, who had wandered some distance
+from the camp, was also killed. The battle opened at three p. m., in the
+midst of a terrific thunderstorm, and after some sharp fighting, the
+Indians, numbering about fifteen hundred, fled in the direction of their
+camp, and were closely pursued. A general panic ensued, the Indian camp
+was abandoned, and the whole throng, men, women and children, fled
+before the advancing forces. Numerous charges were made upon them,
+amidst the roaring of the thunder and the flashing of the lightning. One
+private was killed by lightning, and Colonel McPhail's saber was knocked
+out of his grasp by the same force.
+
+The Indians are reported to have lost in this fight, eighty killed and
+wounded. They also lost nearly all their camp equipment. They were
+pursued about fifteen miles, and had it not been for a mistake in the
+delivery of an order by Lieutenant Beever, they would undoubtedly have
+been overtaken and destroyed. The order was to bivouac where night
+caught the pursuing troops, but was misunderstood to return. This
+unfortunate error gave the Indians two days' start, and they put a wide
+gap between themselves and the troops. The battle of Big Mound, as this
+engagement was called, was a decided victory, and counted heavily in the
+scale of advantage, as it put the savages on the run and disabled them
+from prosecuting further hostilities.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF DEAD BUFFALO LAKE.
+
+
+On the 26th the command again moved in the direction of the fleeing
+Indians. Their abandoned camp was passed on that day early in the
+morning. About noon large bodies of the enemy were discovered, and a
+brisk fight ensued. Attacks and counter attacks were made, and a
+determined fight kept up until about three p. m., when a bold dash was
+made by the Indians to stampede the animals which were herded on the
+banks of a lake, but the attempt was promptly met and defeated. The
+Indians, foiled at all points, and having lost heavily in killed and
+wounded, retired from the field. At night earthworks were thrown up to
+prevent a surprise, but none was attempted, and this ended the battle of
+Dead Buffalo Lake.
+
+The general was now convinced that the Indians were going toward the
+Missouri, with the intention of putting the river between them and his
+command, and, expecting General Sully's force to be there to intercept
+them, he determined to push them on as rapidly as possible, inflicting
+all the damage he could in their flight. The campaign was well
+conceived, and had Sully arrived in time, the result would undoubtedly
+have been the complete destruction or capture of the Indians. But low
+water delayed Sully to such an extent that he failed to arrive in time,
+and the enemy succeeded in crossing the river before General Sibley
+could overtake them.
+
+
+
+
+BATTLE OF STONY LAKE.
+
+
+On the 28th of July Indians were again seen in large numbers. They
+endeavored to encircle the troops. They certainly presented a force of
+two thousand fighting men, and must have been reinforced by friends from
+the west side of the Missouri. They were undoubtedly fighting to keep
+the soldiers back until their families could cross the river. The troops
+were well handled. A tremendous effort was made to break our lines, but
+the enemy was repulsed at all points. The artillery was effective, and
+the Indians finally fled in a panic and rout towards the Missouri. They
+were hotly pursued, and, on the 29th, the troops crossed Apple creek, a
+small stream a few miles from the present site of Bismarck, the capital
+of North Dakota, and pushing on, struck the Missouri at a point about
+four miles above Burnt Boat Island. The Indians had succeeded in
+crossing the river with their families, but in a very demoralized
+condition as to supplies and camp equipage. They were plainly visible on
+the bluffs on the opposite side. It was here that Lieutenant Beever lost
+his life while carrying an order. He missed the trail and was ambushed
+and killed. He was a young Englishman who had volunteered to accompany
+the expedition, and whom General Sibley had placed upon his staff as an
+aide.
+
+Large quantities of wagons and other material, abandoned by the Indians
+in their haste to cross the river, were destroyed. The bodies of
+Lieutenant Beever and a private of the Sixth Regiment, who was killed in
+the same way, were recovered and buried. It was clear that the Indians,
+on learning of the magnitude of the expedition, never contemplated
+overcoming it in battle, and made their movements with reference to
+delaying its progress, while they pushed their women and children
+toward and across the river, knowing there was no resting place for them
+on this side. They succeeded admirably, but their success was solely
+attributed to the failure of General Sully to arrive in time. General
+Sibley's part of the campaign was carried out to the letter, and every
+man in it, from the commander to the private, is entitled to the highest
+praise.
+
+On August 1st the command broke camp for home. As was learned
+afterwards, General Sully was then distant down the river 160 miles. His
+delay was no fault of his, as it was occasioned by insurmountable
+obstacles. The march home was a weary but uneventful one. The campaign
+of 1863 may be summed up as follows: The troops marched nearly 1,200
+miles. They fought three well-contested battles. They drove from eight
+to ten thousand Indians out of the state, and across the Missouri river.
+They lost only seven killed and three wounded, and inflicted upon the
+enemy so severe a loss that he never again returned to his old haunts.
+For his meritorious services General Sibley was appointed a major
+general by brevet on Nov. 29, 1865, which appointment was duly confirmed
+by the senate, and he was commissioned on April 7, 1866.
+
+In July, 1863, a regiment of cavalry was authorized by the secretary of
+war to be raised by Major E. A. C. Hatch, for duty on the northern
+frontier. Several companies were recruited and marched to Pembina, on
+the extreme northern border, where they performed valuable services, and
+suffered incredible hardships. The regiment was called Hatch's
+Battalion.
+
+
+
+
+CAMPAIGN OF 1864.
+
+
+The government very wisely decided not to allow the Indian question to
+rest upon the results of the campaign of 1863, which left the Indians
+in possession of the country west of the Missouri, rightly supposing
+that they might construe their escape from General Sibley the previous
+year into a victory. It therefore sent out another expedition in 1864,
+to pursue and attack them beyond the Missouri. The plan and outfit were
+very similar to those of 1863. General Sully was again to proceed up the
+Missouri with a large command, and meet a force sent out from Minnesota,
+which forces when combined were to march westward, and find and punish
+the savages if possible. The expedition, as a whole, was under the
+command of General Sully. It consisted of two brigades, the first
+composed of Iowa and Kansas infantry and cavalry, and Brackett's
+Battalion, to the number of several thousand, which was to start from
+Sioux City and proceed up the Missouri in steamboats. The second
+embraced the Eighth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, under
+Colonel Thomas, mounted on ponies; the Second Minnesota Cavalry, under
+Colonel MacLaren; the Third Minnesota Battery, under Captain Jones. The
+Second Brigade was commanded by Colonel Thomas. This brigade left Fort
+Snelling on June 1st, and marched westward. General Sibley and staff
+accompanied it as far as Fort Ridgely. On the 9th of June it passed Wood
+Lake, the scene of the fight in 1862. About this point it overtook a
+large train of emigrants on their way to Idaho, who had with them 160
+wagon loads of supplies. This train was escorted to the Missouri river
+safely. The march was wearisome in the extreme, with intensely hot
+weather and very bad water, and was only enlivened by the appearance
+occasionally of a herd of buffalo, a band of antelope, or a straggling
+elk. The movements of the command were carefully watched by flying bands
+of Indians during its whole march. On July 1st the Missouri was reached
+at a point where now stands Fort Rice. General Sully and the First
+Brigade had arrived there the day before. The crossing was made by the
+boats that brought up the First Brigade. The column was immediately
+directed toward Cannon Ball river, where 1,800 lodges of Indians were
+reported to be camped. The Indians fled before the approaching troops.
+On the last of July the Heart river was reached, where a camp was
+formed, and the tents and teams left behind. Thus relieved, the command
+pressed forward for an Indian camp eighty miles northward. On the 2d of
+August the Indians were found in large numbers on the Big Knife river,
+in the Bad lands. These were Unca-Papa Sioux, who had murdered a party
+of miners from Idaho the year before, and had given aid and comfort to
+the Minnesota refugee Indians. They were attacked, and a very spirited
+engagement ensued in which the enemy was badly beaten and suffered
+severe losses. The place where this battle was fought was called
+Ta-ka-ho-ku-tay, or "The bluff where the man shot the deer."
+
+On the next day, August 3d, the command moved west through the Bad
+Lands, and just as it emerged from this terribly ragged country it was
+sharply attacked by a large body of Indians. The fight lasted through
+two days and nights, when the enemy retired in haste. They were very
+roughly handled in this engagement.
+
+General Sully then crossed to the west side of the Yellowstone river,
+where the weary soldiers found two steamboats awaiting them, with ample
+supplies. In crossing this rapid river the command lost three men and
+about twenty horses. From this point they came home by the way of Forts
+Union, Berthold and Stevenson, reaching Fort Rice on the 9th of
+September.
+
+On this trip General Sully located Forts Rice, Stevenson and Berthold.
+
+On reaching Fort Rice, considerable anxiety was felt for Colonel Fisk,
+who, with a squad of fifty troops, had left the fort as an escort for a
+train of Idaho immigrants, and had been attacked 180 miles west of the
+fort, and had been compelled to intrench. He had sent for
+reenforcements, and General Sully sent him three hundred men, who
+extricated him from his perilous position.
+
+The Minnesota brigade returned home by way of Fort Wadsworth, where they
+arrived on September 27th. Here Major Rose, with six companies of the
+Second Cavalry, was left to garrison the post, the balance of the
+command reaching Fort Snelling on the 12th of October.
+
+In June, 1865, another expedition left Minnesota for the west, under
+Colonel Callahan of Wisconsin, which went as far as Devil's lake. The
+first, second and fourth sections of the Third Minnesota battery
+accompanied it. Again, in 1866, an expedition started from Fort
+Abercrombie, which included the first section of the Third Battery,
+under Lieutenant Whipple. As no important results followed from these
+two latter expeditions, I only mention them as being parts of the Indian
+war.
+
+The numbers of Indians engaged in this war, together with their superior
+fighting qualities, their armament, and the country occupied by them
+gives it rank among the most important of the Indian wars fought since
+the first settlement of the country on the Atlantic coast. But when
+viewed in the light of the number of settlers massacred, the amount of
+property destroyed, and the horrible atrocities committed by the
+savages, it far surpasses them all.
+
+I have dwelt upon this war to such an extent because I regard it as the
+most important event in the history of our state, and desire to
+perpetuate the facts more especially connected with the gallant
+resistance offered by the settlers in its inception. Not an instance of
+timidity is recorded. The inhabitants engaged in the peaceful pursuits
+of agriculture, utterly unprepared for war, sprang to the front on the
+first indication of danger, and checked the advance of the savage enemy
+in his initial efforts. The importance of battles should never be
+measured by the number engaged, or the lists of killed and wounded, but
+by the consequences of their results. I think the repulse of the Indians
+at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm saved the State of Minnesota from a disaster
+the magnitude of which cannot be estimated. Their advance was checked at
+the very frontier, and they were compelled to retreat, thus affording
+time and opportunity for the whites to organize for systematic action.
+Had they not met with this early check, it is more than probable that
+the Chippewas on the Upper Mississippi and the Winnebagoes in the Lower
+Minnesota valley would have joined them, and the war have been carried
+into the heart of the state. Instances of a similar character have
+occurred in our early wars which illustrate my position. The battle of
+Oriscany, which was fought in the Revolutionary War in the valley of the
+Mohawk, between Rome and Utica, was not more of an encounter than
+Ridgely or New Ulm, yet it has been characterized as one of the decisive
+battles of the world, because it prevented a junction of the British
+forces under St. Ledger in the west and Burgoyne in the east, and made
+American independence possible. The State of New York recognized the
+value of Oriscany just one hundred years after the battle was fought, by
+the erection of a monument to commemorate it. The State of Minnesota
+has done better, by erecting imposing monuments on both the battlefields
+of Ridgely and New Ulm, the inscriptions on which give a succinct
+history of the respective events.
+
+The state also presented each of the defenders of Fort Ridgely with a
+handsome bronze medal, especially struck for the purpose, the
+presentation of which took place at the time of the dedication of the
+monument, on the twentieth day of August, 1896.
+
+The medal has a picture of the fort on its obverse side, surrounded
+by the words, "Defender of Fort Ridgely, August 18-27, 1862." Just
+over the flag staff, in a scroll, is the legend, in Sioux,
+"Ti-yo-pa-na-ta-ka-pi," which means, "It shut the door against us,"
+referring to the battle having obstructed the further advance of the
+Indians. This was said by one of the Indians in the attacking party in
+giving his view of the effect of the repulse, and adopted by the
+committee having charge of the preparation of the medal as being
+appropriate and true. On the reverse side are the words, "Presented by
+the State of Minnesota to----," encircled by a wreath of moccasin
+flowers, which is the flower of the state.
+
+The state has also placed monuments at Birch Coulie, Camp Release and
+Acton. I regret to be compelled to say that a majority of the committee
+having charge of the building of the Birch Coulie monument so far failed
+in the performance of their duties as to the location of the monument
+and formulating its inscriptions that the legislature felt compelled to
+pass an act to correct their errors. The correction has not yet been
+made, but in the cause of true history it is to be hoped that it will be
+in the near future. The state also erected a handsome monument, in the
+cemetery of Fort Ridgely, to Captain Marsh and the twenty-three men of
+his company that were killed at the ferry, near the Lower Sioux Agency,
+on Aug. 18, 1862, and, by special act, passed long after at the request
+of old settlers, added the name of Peter Quinn, the interpreter, who was
+killed at the same time and place. The state also built a monument in
+the same cemetery in remembrance of the wife of Dr. Muller, the post
+surgeon at Ridgely during the siege, on account of the valuable services
+rendered by her in nursing the wounded soldiers.
+
+
+
+
+A LONG PERIOD OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
+
+
+After the stirring events of the Civil and Indian wars Minnesota resumed
+its peaceful ways, and continued to grow and prosper for a long series
+of years, excepting the period from 1873 to 1876, when it was afflicted
+with the plague of grasshoppers. Possessed of the many advantages that
+nature has bestowed upon it, there was nothing else for it to do. The
+state, as far as it was then developed, was exclusively agricultural,
+and wheat was its staple production, although almost every character of
+grain and vegetable can be produced in exceptional abundance. Potatoes
+of the first quality were among its earliest exports, but that crop is
+not sufficiently valuable or portable to enter extensively into the
+catalogue of its productions, beyond the needs of domestic use.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW PROCESS OF MILLING WHEAT.
+
+
+The wheat raised in Minnesota was, and always has been, of the spring
+variety, and up to about the year 1874 was regarded in the markets of
+the world as an inferior article of grain, when compared with the winter
+wheat of states further south, and the flour made from it was also
+looked upon as much less valuable than its competitor, made from winter
+wheat. The state labored under this disability in realizing upon its
+chief product for many years, both in the wheat, and the flour made from
+it. Many mills were erected at the Falls of St. Anthony, with a very
+great output of flour, which, with the lumber manufactured at that
+point, composed the chief export of the state. The process of grinding
+wheat was the old style, of an upper and nether millstone, which left
+the flour of darker color, less nutritious, and less desirable than that
+from the winter wheat made in the same way. About the year 1871 it was
+discovered that a new process of manufacturing flour was in operation on
+the Danube and at Budapest. Mr. George H. Christian, a partner of Gov.
+C. C. Washburn in the milling business at Minneapolis, studied the
+invention, which consisted of crushing the wheat by means of rollers
+made of steel and porcelain, instead of grinding it, as of old, to which
+the French had added a new process of eliminating the bran specs from
+the crushed product, by means of a flat oscillating screen or bolt with
+an upward blast of air through it, upon which the crushed product was
+placed and cleansed of all bran impurities. In 1871 Gen. C. C. Washburn
+and Mr. Christian introduced this French invention into their mills in
+Minneapolis, and derived from it great advantage in the appearance and
+value of their flour. This was called a "middlings purifier." In 1874
+they introduced the roller crushing process, and the result was, that
+the hard spring wheat returned a flour superior to the product of the
+winter wheat, and placed Minnesota upon more than an equality with the
+best flour-producing states in the Union. This process has been
+universally adopted throughout the United States in all milling
+localities, with great advantage to that industry.
+
+It is a rather curious fact that, as all our milling knowledge was
+originally inherited from England, which country is very sluggish in the
+adoption of new methods, it was not until our improved flour reached
+that country that the English millers accepted the new method, and have
+since acted upon it. It is a case of the pupil instructing his
+preceptor.
+
+I regard the introduction of these improvements in the manufacture of
+flour into this state as of prime importance to its growth and increase
+of wealth and strength. It is estimated by the best judges that the
+value of our spring wheat was increased at least twenty per cent by
+their adoption, and when we consider that the state produced, in 1898,
+78,418,000 bushels of wheat, its magnitude can be better appreciated. It
+formerly required five bushels of wheat to make a barrel of flour; under
+the new process it only takes four bushels and seven pounds to make a
+barrel of the same weight--196 pounds.
+
+The only record that is kept of flour in Minnesota is for the two points
+of Minneapolis and the head of the lakes; the latter including Duluth,
+and Superior, in Wisconsin. The output of Minneapolis for the crop year
+of 1898-99 was 15,164,881 barrels, and for Duluth-Superior for the same
+period 2,637,035 barrels. The estimate for the whole state is 25,000,000
+barrels. These figures are taken from the _Northwestern Miller_, a
+reliable publication in Minneapolis.
+
+The credit of having introduced the Hungarian and French processes into
+Minnesota is due primarily to the late Gov. C. C. Washburn of La Crosse,
+Wis., who was greatly aided by his partner at the time, Mr. George H.
+Christian of Minneapolis.
+
+While I am convinced that the credit of first having introduced these
+valuable inventions into Minnesota belongs to Gov. C. C. Washburn and
+his partner Mr. George H. Christian, I am in justice bound to add that
+Gov. John S. Pillsbury and the late Mr. Charles A. Pillsbury, who were
+large and enterprising millers at Minneapolis, owning the Excelsior
+Mills, immediately after its introduction adopted the process, and put
+it into their mills, and by employing American skilled artizans and
+millers to set up and operate their machinery, succeeded in securing the
+first absolutely perfect automatic mill of the new kind in the country.
+General Washburn, having imported Hungarian millers to start and operate
+his experimental mills, found himself somewhat handicapped by their
+inefficiency and sluggishness in adopting American ways and customs.
+
+
+
+
+THE DISCOVERY OF IRON.
+
+
+From the earliest days of the territory the people had predicted the
+growth of cities at several points. At St. Paul, because it was the head
+of navigation of the Mississippi river; at St. Anthony, on account of
+its great water power; at Superior, as being the head of navigation of
+the Great Lakes system; and at Mankato, from its location at the great
+bend of the Minnesota river. It must be remembered that when these
+prophesies were made Minneapolis and Duluth had no existence, and
+Superior was the natural outlet of the St. Louis river into Lake
+Superior, and had its land titles not been so complicated when the
+railroad from St. Paul to the head of the lakes was projected, there is
+no doubt Superior would have been the terminus of the road; but it was
+found to be almost impossible to procure title to any land in Superior,
+on account of its having been sold by the proprietors in undivided
+interests to parties all over the country, and it was situated in
+Wisconsin, so the railroad people procured the charter of the company to
+make its northern terminus on the Minnesota side of the harbor, where
+Duluth now stands, and founded that town as the terminus of the road.
+Some years after Minnesota Point was cut by a canal at its base, or
+shore end, and the entrance to the harbor changed from its natural
+inlet, around the end of the point, to this canal. This improvement has
+proved to be of vast importance to the city of Duluth and to the
+shipping interests of the state, as the natural entrance was difficult
+and dangerous.
+
+Duluth increased in importance from year to year by reason of the
+natural advantages of its situation, as the outlet of much of the
+exports of the state and the inlet of a large portion of its imports. As
+railroads progressed, it became connected with the wheat producing areas
+of the state, which resulted in the erection of elevators for the
+shipment of wheat and mills to grind it. As nearly all the coal consumed
+in the state came in by the gateway of Duluth, immense coal docks were
+constructed, with all the modern inventions for unloading it from ships
+and loading it on cars for distribution. Duluth soon attained
+metropolitan proportions. About the year 1870 Mr. George C. Stone became
+a resident of the city, and engaged in business.
+
+In 1873 Jay Cooke, who had been an important factor in the construction
+of the Northern Pacific Railroad, failed, which was a serious blow to
+Duluth. Mr. Stone had given his attention largely to the investigation
+of the mineral resources of the Lake Superior region in Minnesota, and
+had become convinced of the presence of large beds of iron ore in its
+northeastern portion, now known as the Vermillion Range. When he first
+made known his discovery, the location of the ore was so remote from
+civilization that he found it difficult to interest any one in his
+enterprise. Few shared his faith, but undismayed by lack of support, he
+undertook, with steady persistence, the task of securing the capital
+necessary to develop what he was convinced was a great natural
+wealth-producing field. Comparatively alone, and with little
+encouragement at home, he visited the money centers of the country, and
+assiduously labored to induce men of capital to embark in the
+enterprise, but found it to be uphill work.
+
+The first men whose support he secured were Charlemagne Tower of
+Pottsville, Pa., and Samuel A. Munson of Utica, N. Y., both men of
+education and great wealth. They became sufficiently interested to
+secure a proper test of the matter. Professor Chester of Hamilton
+College was sent out on two occasions. Mr. Munson died, and after the
+lapse of a few years Charlemagne Tower, then a resident of Philadelphia,
+undertook to furnish the necessary funds to make the development, which
+involved the expense of $4,000,000 in building a railroad eighty miles
+in length, with docks and other operating facilities.
+
+The railroad was opened in July, 1884, and there was shipped that season
+62,124 tons of ore, and in 1885 the shipment reached 225,000 tons. In
+1886 304,000 tons were shipped; in 1887, 394,000 tons; in 1888, 512,000.
+The output of the iron mines at and about the head of the lakes had, by
+1898, grown to the enormous quantity of 5,871,801 tons. The grade of the
+ore is the highest in the market. This product is one of the most
+important in the state, and seems destined to expand indefinitely.
+
+No better idea of the growth and importance of Duluth, and, in the same
+connection, the advance of the state, since the war, can be presented
+than by a statement of a few aggregates of different industries centered
+at the head of the lakes. The most recent record obtainable is for the
+year 1898. For example:
+
+    Lumber cut                               544,318,000 feet.
+    Coal received                              2,500,000 tons.
+    Number of vessels arrived and cleared         12,150
+    Wheat received, and flour as wheat        82,118,129 bushels.
+    Other grain                               19,428,622 bushels.
+    Flour manufactured                         2,460,025 barrels.
+    Capacity of elevators                     24,650,000 bushels.
+    Capacity of flour mills per day               22,000 barrels.
+
+Many other statistics could be given, but the above are sufficient to
+show the unexampled growth of the state in that vicinity.
+
+
+COMMERCE THROUGH THE ST. MARY'S FALLS CANAL.
+
+Another very interesting and instructing element in considering the
+growth of Minnesota is the commerce passing through the St. Mary's
+Canal, which connects Lake Superior with Lakes Huron and Michigan, the
+greater part of which is supplied by Minnesota. No record of the number
+of sailing vessels or steamers passing through the canal was kept until
+the year 1864. During that year there were 1,045 sailing vessels, and
+366 steamers. The last report for the year 1898 shows an increase of
+sailing vessels to 4,449 and of steamers to 12,461. The first record of
+the net tons of freight passing the canal was opened in 1881, which
+showed an aggregate of 1,567,741 net tons of all kinds of freight. In
+1898 it had grown to the enormous sum of 21,234,664 tons. These figures,
+like distances in astronomical calculations, require a special mental
+effort to fully comprehend them. An incident occurred in September,
+1899, in connection with this canal traffic, that assists in
+understanding its immense proportions. By an accident to a steamer, the
+channel of the river was blocked for a short time, until she could be
+removed, during which time a procession of waiting steamers was formed
+forty miles in length.
+
+I have been unable to obtain any reliable figures with which to present
+a contrast between the commerce of this canal and that of the Suez,
+connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, but it is generally
+estimated that the St. Mary's largely exceeds the Suez, although the
+commerce of the world with the Orient and Australia largely passes
+through the latter.
+
+
+
+
+AGRICULTURE.
+
+
+In the early days of Minnesota its agricultural population was largely
+centered in the southeastern portion of the state. The soil was
+exceptionally fertile, and produced wheat in unusual abundance. The
+Western farmer of early days was a careless cultivator, thinking more of
+the immediate results than permanent preservation of his land. Even if
+he was of the conservative old New England stock, the generous soil of
+the West, the freedom from social restraint, and the lessened labors of
+the farm, led him into more happy-go-lucky methods than he had been
+accustomed to in the East. It was Mark Twain who once said that if you
+plant a New England deacon in Texas, you will find him in about a year
+with a game chicken under his arm, riding a mule on Sunday to a
+cock-fight. When farms were opened in the southeastern counties of
+Minnesota it was not an unusual thing to be rewarded with a crop of from
+thirty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre. The process of
+cultivation was simple, and required scarcely any capital, so it was
+natural that the first comers should confine their efforts to the one
+product of wheat. They did so, regardless of the fact that the best soil
+will become exhausted unless reenforced. They became accustomed to think
+that land could always be had for the taking, and in twenty or
+twenty-five years, the goose that laid the golden eggs died, and six or
+eight bushels was all they could extract from their lands. About 1877 or
+1878 they practically abandoned the culture of wheat and tried corn and
+hogs. This was an improvement, but not a great success. Many of the
+farmers of the pioneering and roving class sold out, and went west for
+fresh lands.
+
+
+
+
+DAIRYING.
+
+
+About this time the dairy business had become quite profitable in Iowa,
+and the Minnesota farmers turned their attention to that branch of
+industry. Their lands were excellent for pasturing purposes and hay
+raising. They began in a small way, with cows and butter-making, but
+from lack of experience and knowledge of the business their progress was
+slow; but it improved from year to year, and now, in the year 1899, it
+has become one of the most important, successful and profitable
+industries in the state, and the farmers of southern Minnesota
+constitute the most independent and well-to-do class of all our
+citizens. It was not very long ago when a mortgage was an essential
+feature of a Minnesota farm, but they have nearly all been paid off, and
+the farmer of southern Minnesota is found in the ranks of the
+stockholders and depositors of the banks, and if he has anything to do
+with mortgages, he is found on the winning side of that dangerous
+instrument. A brief statement of the facts connected with the dairy
+business will demonstrate its magnitude. There are in the state:
+
+    Creameries, about                              700
+    Creamery patrons                            55,000
+    Capital invested                        $3,000,000
+    Cows supplying milk                        410,000
+    Pounds of milk received in 1898      1,400,000,000
+    Pounds of butter made, 1898             63,000,000
+    Pounds of butter exported               50,000,000
+    Gross receipts, 1898                   $10,400,000
+    Operating expenses, 1898                $1,100,000
+    Paid to patrons                         $8,600,000
+
+Since 1884 Minnesota butter has been exhibited, in competition with
+similar products from all the states in the Union and the butter-making
+countries of the world, at all the principal fairs and expositions that
+have been held in the United States, and has taken more prizes than any
+other state or country. Its cheese has kept pace with its butter. There
+are in the state, in active operation, ninety-four cheese factories.
+This industry is constantly on the increase, and Minnesota is certainly
+destined to surpass every other state in the Union in this department of
+agriculture.
+
+While this new and valuable branch of industry was gradually superseding
+that of wheat in southern Minnesota, the latter was not being
+extinguished by any means, but simply changing its habitat. About the
+time that wheat culture became unprofitable in southern Minnesota, the
+valley of the Red River of the North began to attract attention, and it
+was at once discovered that it was the garden of the world for wheat
+culture. An intelligent and experienced farmer, Mr. Oliver Dalrymple,
+may be said to have been the pioneer of that enterprise. Lands in the
+valley were cheap, and he succeeded in gaining control of immense
+tracts, and unlimited capital for their development. He opened these
+lands up to wheat culture, and gave to the world a new feature in
+agriculture, which acquired the name of the "Bonanza Farm." Some of
+these farms embraced sixty and seventy thousand acres of land, and were
+divided by roads on the section lines. They were supplied with all the
+buildings necessary for the accommodation of the army of superintendents
+and employes that operated them; also, granaries and buildings for
+housing machinery, slaughter houses to provision the operatives,
+telephone systems to facilitate communication between distant points,
+and every other auxiliary to perfect an economic management. These great
+farms, of course, produced wheat at much lower rates than could the
+lesser ones, but did not materially interfere with wheat production by
+the smaller farmers, as the output of 1898 of nearly 79,000,000 bushels
+sufficiently proves. There seems to be no need of apprehension about the
+lands of the Red River Valley becoming exhausted, as they appear to be
+as enduring as those in the valley of the Nile.
+
+
+
+
+THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND ITS SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE.
+
+
+The University of Minnesota, for the establishment of which the United
+States donated to the state nearly 100,000 acres of land, and the
+agricultural college, which was similarly endowed, have been
+consolidated, and both have long been in successful operation. The
+university proper opened its doors for the admission of students about
+the year 1869, and has since attained such proportions as to entitle it
+to a place among the leading educational institutions of the United
+States, its roll of students for the last college year numbering over
+three thousand. Its curriculum embraces all studies generally taught in
+the colleges of this country, professional and otherwise. The state of
+efficiency and high standing of the University of Minnesota is largely
+attributable to the work of its president, Hon. Cyrus Northrop, a
+graduate of Yale, who had attained eminence in the educational world
+before being called to the university.
+
+The school of agriculture is of the highest importance to the welfare of
+the state, the influence of which will soon remove its chief industry
+from dependence on the crude methods of the uneducated Western farmer,
+and place it upon a basis of scientific operation and management. Every
+branch of the art of farming is taught in this institution, from a
+knowledge of the chemical properties of the soil and its adaptation to
+the different vegetable growths, to the scientific breeding and
+economical feeding of stock. Much of the success in the dairy branch of
+farming is the direct result of knowledge gained at this school. It is
+well patronized by the young men of the state who intend to devote
+themselves to agriculture as a profession. Quite recently a new
+department has been added to the institution, for the instruction of
+women in all that pertains to the proper education of the mistress of
+the farm. It goes without saying that when Minnesota farming is brought
+under the management and control of men and women of scientific and
+practical education in that particular line there will be a revolution
+for the better.
+
+The methods of instruction in this school are not merely theoretical. It
+possesses three experimental farms for the practical illustration and
+application of its teachings, the principal one of which is situated at
+St. Anthony Park, and the other two respectively at Crookston and Grand
+Rapids. Work is also done in an experimental way in Lyon county, but the
+state does not own the station.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
+
+
+This society dates its corporate existence from the year 1868, although
+for many years previous to that date, even back to the territorial days,
+a society had been in existence covering the main features of this
+organization. In 1867 the state recognized this society by appropriating
+$1,000 for its encouragement. Its object was the promotion of
+agriculture, horticulture and the mechanic arts. The society held annual
+fairs in different localities in the state, with varying success, until
+1885, when the county of Ramsey offered to convey to the State of
+Minnesota, forever, two hundred acres of land adjoining the city limits
+of St. Paul, for the purpose of holding annual exhibitions thereon,
+under the management of the society, of all matters pertaining to
+agriculture, human art, industry or skill. The state met this munificent
+donation with the same liberal spirit that characterized the offer, and
+appropriated $100,000 for permanent improvements.
+
+The board of managers proceeded immediately to erect the necessary
+buildings for the first exhibition, but found the appropriation
+inadequate by about $32,000, which was readily supplied by public
+spirited citizens of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The state being again
+appealed to in 1887, made a further appropriation of $50,000.
+
+In 1887 the society was reorganized by act of the legislature, and its
+membership designated and made to consist of the following persons:
+
+First--Three delegates from each of the county and district agricultural
+societies.
+
+Second--Honorary life members, prominent by reason of eminent services
+in agriculture, or in the arts and sciences connected therewith, or of
+long and faithful services in the society, or of benefits conferred upon
+it.
+
+Third--The presidents ex-officio of the Horticultural Society, the Amber
+Cane Society, the State Dairymen's Association, the Southern Minnesota
+Fair Association, the State Poultry Association, the State Bee-Keepers'
+Association, and the president and secretary of the Farmer's Alliance.
+
+Fourth--The president of any society having for its object the promotion
+of any branch of agriculture, stock raising or improving, or mechanics
+relating to agriculture.
+
+By this selection of membership it will be seen that the society is
+composed of the leading agriculturists of the state. It holds annual
+meetings in St. Paul for the transaction of its business. The state
+appropriates $4,000 annually to aid in the payment of premiums to
+exhibitors.
+
+The society is in a prosperous condition, and holds annual fairs, in the
+month of September, on its grounds, which have been extensively
+improved. Each year there is a marked increase in the magnitude and
+variety of exhibits, and extended interest and attendance. Its financial
+statement for the year 1898 was: Receipts, $62,523.70; expenditures,
+$56,850.83. It has just closed its fair for the year 1899, which in
+extent and perfection of its exhibits and financial results surpassed
+any of its previous attempts.
+
+There are in the state the following named societies, all more or less
+connected with agriculture, and all in flourishing condition: The State
+Horticultural Society, the State Forestry Association, the Dairymen's
+Association, the State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association, the State
+Farmers' Institute, the State Poultry Association, the State
+Bee-Keepers' Association, and perhaps others. These associations have
+done much in the promotion of the agricultural interests of the state,
+and by their intelligent guidance will, no doubt, soon make it the
+leading agricultural state in the Union.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA SOLDIERS' HOME.
+
+
+In the year 1887 it became apparent that the Civil War and the Minnesota
+Indian War had left a large number of soldiers of the state in dependent
+circumstances from old age, wounds and other disabling causes. The
+state, recognizing its obligation to these men, determined to provide a
+home for their comfort and maintenance. By an act of the legislature,
+passed March 2d of that year, provision was made for the purchase of a
+site and the erection of suitable buildings for that purpose. The act
+provided for bids for the purpose of a site, and also authorized the
+acceptance of donations for that purpose. Minneapolis responded
+handsomely, by offering fifty-one acres of its beautiful Minnehaha park
+as a donation. It was accepted, and is one of the most beautiful and
+picturesque locations that could have been found in the state, being
+near the Mississippi river and the Falls of Minnehaha. The beginning of
+the home was small, one old house being used for the first six months,
+and then, from year to year, handsome and commodious brick houses were
+erected, until the home became adequate to accommodate all those who
+were entitled to its hospitality. The conditions of admission are:
+Residence in Minnesota, service in the Mexican War, or in some Minnesota
+organization in the Civil or Indian Wars, honorable discharge, and
+indigent circumstances. As there are no accommodations for the wives
+and families of the old soldiers and sailors at the home, provision is
+made for relief being furnished to married soldiers at their own homes,
+so as to prevent the separation of families. There were in the home at
+the date of the last report (August 3, 1899) 362 beneficiaries. The home
+is conducted by a board of trustees, consisting of seven members, whose
+election is so arranged that they serve for six years. This beneficent
+establishment is to be commended as an evidence of the generosity and
+patriotism of the state.
+
+
+
+
+OTHER STATE INSTITUTIONS.
+
+
+I have been somewhat explicit in mentioning the institutions of the
+state which are connected with its prominent and permanent
+industry--agriculture; but it must not be supposed that it has not
+provided for the many other interests that require regulation and
+control to constitute a perfectly organized state government. There are,
+besides those I have mentioned, four normal schools (located at Winona,
+Mankato, St. Cloud and Moorhead), all devoted to the education of
+teachers, state high and graded schools scattered all over the state, a
+state board of corrections and charities, and state hospitals for the
+insane (of which there are three), located as follows: One at St. Peter,
+one at Rochester, and one at Fergus Falls, and a fourth in
+contemplation. According to the latest report, these hospitals contained
+3,302 patients, as follows: St. Peter, 1,045; Rochester, 1,196; and
+Fergus Falls, 1,061. For a small, new state, this showing would seem
+alarming, and indicate that a very large percentage of the population
+was insane, and that the rest were preparing to become so. The truth is
+that a case of insanity originating in Minnesota is quite as
+exceptional and rare as other diseases, and can usually be accounted for
+by some self-abuse of the patient. The population is drawn from such
+diverse sources, and the intermarriages are crossed upon so many
+different nationalities that hereditary insanity ought to be almost
+unknown. The climate and the general pursuits of the people all militate
+against the prevalence of the malady.
+
+The explanation of the existence of the numerous cases is, as I am
+informed by the very highest authority on the subject, that in nearly
+all European countries it has become the habit of families afflicted
+with insanity to export their unfortunates to America as soon as any
+symptoms appear, and thus provide for them for the rest of their lives.
+I cannot say that the governments whence these people emigrate
+participate in the fraud, but it is not reasonable to suppose that they
+would interpose any serious objections even should they have knowledge
+of the fact. A comparison of the nationalities of the patients found in
+these hospitals with the American element, given by the census of the
+state, proves my statement, and an inquiry of the medical authorities of
+these institutions will place the question beyond doubt.
+
+
+
+
+MINNESOTA INSTITUTES FOR DEFECTIVES.
+
+
+There are also state schools for the deaf, dumb, blind, and the
+feeble-minded. These institutions are all located at Faribault, in Rice
+county, and each has a very handsome, commodious, and in every way
+suitable building, where these unfortunates are instructed in every
+branch of learning and industry of which they are capable. During the
+last two years there have been enrolled 275 deaf and dumb children in
+the school especially devoted to them, where they receive the best
+education that science and experience can provide. This school has
+already been instrumental in preparing hundreds of deaf and mute youth
+to be useful and intelligent citizens of the state, and year by year a
+few are graduated, well prepared to take their places beside the hearing
+and speaking youth who leave the public schools. About one-third of the
+time is devoted to manual training.
+
+The school for the blind is entirely separate from that of the deaf and
+dumb, and is equipped with all the appliances of a modern special school
+of this character. It makes a specialty of musical instruction and
+industrial training, such as broom-making, hammock weaving, bead work
+and sewing. The course of study embraces a period of seven years,
+beginning with the kindergarten, and ending with the ordinary studies of
+English classes in the high schools. The school is free to all blind
+children in the state between the ages of eight and twenty-six, to whom
+board, care and tuition are furnished. The average number of pupils at
+this school for the past few years is between seventy and one hundred.
+
+
+
+
+There is also a
+
+STATE SCHOOL FOR DEPENDENT AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN.
+
+
+This school is located at Owatonna, in Steele county, and is one of the
+most valuable of all the many establishments which the state has
+provided for the encouragement of good citizenship. There are eleven
+buildings, which comprise all the agencies that tend to make abandoned
+children useful citizens and rescue them from a life of vagrancy and
+crime.
+
+The object of this institution is to provide a temporary home and school
+for the dependent and neglected children of the state. No child in
+Minnesota need go without a home if the officers of the several counties
+do their duty. There is not a semblance of any degrading or criminal
+feature in the manner of obtaining admittance to this school. Under the
+law, it is the duty of every county commissioner, when he finds any
+child dependent, or in danger of becoming so, to take steps to send him
+to this school. The process of admission wisely guards against the
+separation of parent and child, but keeps in view the ultimate good of
+the latter. Once admitted it becomes the child of the state, all other
+authority over it being canceled. Every child old enough to work has
+some fitting task assigned to it, to the end of training it mentally,
+morally and physically for useful citizenship. They are sent from the
+school into families wanting them, but this does not deprive them of the
+watchful care of the state, which, through its agents, visits them in
+their adopted homes, and sees that they are well cared for.
+
+On Jan. 1, 1899, there had been received into the school, from
+seventy-two counties, 1,824 children, of whom 1,131 were boys and 693
+were girls. Of these 233 were then in the school, the others having been
+placed in good homes. It is known that eighty-three per cent of these
+children develope into young men and women of good character.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE TRAINING SCHOOL.
+
+
+This institution was formerly "The Minnesota State Reform School," and
+was located in St. Paul. In 1895 the legislature changed its name to
+"The Minnesota State Training School for Boys and Girls," and its
+location has been changed to Red Wing, in the county of Goodhue. This
+institution has to do with criminals, and the statute provides, "That
+whenever an infant over the age of eight years and under the age of
+sixteen years shall have been duly convicted of any crime punishable
+with imprisonment, except the crime of murder, or shall be convicted of
+vagrancy or of incorrigibly vicious conduct," the sentence shall be to
+the guardianship of the board of managers of this school. Here they are
+given a good common school education and instructed in the trades of
+cabinet making, carpenter work, tailoring, shoemaking, blacksmithing,
+printing, farming, gardening, etc.
+
+The inmates are furloughed under proper conditions, but the state
+watches over them through an agent, who provides homes for the homeless
+and employment for those who need help.
+
+
+
+
+MINNESOTA STATE REFORMATORY.
+
+
+This institution was established in 1887, and is located at St. Cloud.
+It is designed as an intermediate correctional school between the
+training school and the state prison, the object being to provide a
+place for young men and boys from sixteen to thirty years of age, never
+before convicted of crime, where they may, under as favorable
+circumstances as possible, by discipline and education best adapted to
+that end, form such habits and character as will prevent their
+continuing in crime, fit them for self-support, and accomplish their
+reformation.
+
+The law provides for an indeterminate sentence, allowing of parole when
+earned by continuous good conduct, and final release when reformation is
+strongly probable.
+
+Honest labor is required every day of each inmate. Almost every
+occupation and employment is carried on in a practical way, and each
+inmate is learning to fill some honest place and to do useful work. The
+workings of this reformatory have been very satisfactory, and have
+undoubtedly rescued many young people from a life of crime.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA STATE PRISON.
+
+
+All prisons where criminals are sent to work out sentences for crimes
+committed are alike on general principles, and the Minnesota prison,
+situated at Stillwater, differs only in the fact that it combines in its
+administration all the modern discoveries of sociological research which
+tend to ameliorate the condition of the prisoner and fit him for the
+duties of good citizenship when discharged.
+
+The plant is extensive and thorough. The labor of the prisoners is now
+devoted to three industries: the manufacture of binding twine, high
+school scientific apparatus on state account, and the manufacture of
+boots and shoes.
+
+The discipline and management of the prison are the best. The most
+advanced principles of penology are in force. Sentences are reduced by
+good conduct, and everything is done to reform as well as punish the
+prisoner. A newspaper is published by the convicts, and a library of
+five thousand volumes is furnished for their mental improvement. Nothing
+known to modern social and penal science is omitted from the management.
+
+
+
+
+THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
+
+
+This society, as I have said before in speaking of the work of the first
+territorial legislature, was organized by that body in 1849, and has
+been of incalculable value to the state. The officers of the society are
+a president, two vice presidents, a treasurer and a secretary, and it
+is governed by an executive council of thirty-six members, which
+embraces the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, auditor,
+treasurer of state and attorney general as ex-officio members. The state
+makes an annual appropriation in aid of the society. The executive
+council meets once a month for the transaction of its business, at which
+meetings, and at its annual meetings, interesting papers and essays are
+delivered on historical subjects, which are preserved, and with other
+matter are published in handsomely bound volumes when sufficient
+material is accumulated.
+
+The society, in the manner prescribed in its by-laws, may establish the
+following separate departments:
+
+    Department of Annals and General History of Minnesota.
+    Department of Geology of Minnesota.
+    Department of Zooelogy of Minnesota.
+    Department of Botany of Minnesota.
+    Department of Meteorology of Minnesota.
+    Department of Northwestern Geography and Chartology.
+    Department of American History.
+    Department of Oriental History.
+    Department of European History.
+    Department of Genealogy and Heraldry.
+    Department of Ethnology and Anthropology.
+
+It has corresponding members all over the world, and official
+connections with nearly all the historical and learned societies of
+Europe and America, with which it interchanges publications. It has a
+membership of 142 life and 37 annual members. It may receive donations
+from any source.
+
+Its property, real and personal, is exempt from taxation of any kind. It
+has accumulated a splendid library of about 63,000 volumes of all kinds
+of historical, genealogical, scientific and general knowledge, all of
+which are open and free to the public. It also has a gallery of pictures
+of historical scenes in Minnesota, and portraits of men and women who
+have been prominent in, or who have contributed to, the history or
+growth of the state, together with an extensive museum of Indian and
+other curiosities having some relation to Minnesota. One of its most
+valuable attractions is a newspaper department, in which are complete
+files of all newspapers which have been and are published in the state,
+except a very few unimportant ones. The number of our state papers,
+daily, weekly and monthly, received at the beginning of the year 1899 is
+421. These papers are all bound in substantial volumes, for preservation
+for the use of future generations. On Sept. 1, 1899, the society had on
+the shelves of its fire-proof vault 4,250 of these volumes. Its rooms
+are in the capitol at St. Paul, and are entirely inadequate for its
+accommodation, but ample space has been allowed it in the new capitol
+now in the course of construction.
+
+
+
+
+STATE INSTITUTIONS MISCELLANEOUS IN THEIR CHARACTER.
+
+
+Besides the general state boards and associations having special
+reference to the leading products of the state, and those of a
+reformatory and educational character, there are many others, regulating
+business of various kinds among the inhabitants, all of which are
+important in their special spheres, but to name them is all I can say
+about them in my limited space. Their number and the subjects which they
+regulate shows the care with which the state watches over the welfare
+of its citizens. I present the following catalogue of the state
+departments:
+
+    The Insurance Commission.
+    The Public Examiner.
+    The Dairy Food Commission.
+    The Bureau of Labor.
+    The Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners.
+    The Board of Game and Fish Commissioners.
+    The State Law Library.
+    The State Department of Oil Inspection.
+    The State Horticultural Society.
+    The State Forestry Association.
+    The Minnesota Dairymen's Association.
+    The State Butter and Cheese Makers' Association.
+    The State Farmers' Institutes.
+    The Red River Valley Drainage Commission.
+    The State Drainage Commission.
+    The Commission of Statistics.
+    The State Board of Health and Vital Statistics.
+    The State Board of Medical Examiners.
+    The State Board of Pharmacy.
+    The State Board of Dental Examiners.
+    The State Board of Examiners in Law.
+    The Bureau of Public Printing.
+    The Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Cruelty.
+    The Geological and Natural History Survey.
+    The State Board of Equalization.
+    Surveyors of Logs and Lumber.
+    The Board of Pardons.
+    The State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation.
+    The State Board of Investment.
+    The State Board of Examiners of Barbers.
+    The State Board of Examiners of Practical Plumbing.
+    The Horseshoers' Board of Examiners.
+    The Inspection of Steam Boilers.
+
+It is difficult to conceive of any other subject over which the state
+could assume jurisdiction, and the great number which are embraced
+already within its supervision would lead one who is not in touch with
+our state administration to believe that state paternalism dominated the
+business industries of the people; but nothing is further from the
+truth, and no state in the Union is freer from governmental interference
+in the ordinary channels of industry than Minnesota.
+
+
+
+
+STATE FINANCES.
+
+
+Since the settlement of the debt created by the old railroad bonds that
+I have heretofore mentioned, the finances of the state have always been
+in excellent condition. When the receipts of an individual or a state
+exceed expenditures the situation is both satisfactory and safe. At the
+last report, up to July 31, 1898, the receipts of the state from all
+sources were $5,429,240.32, and the expenditures were $5,208,942.05,
+leaving a balance on the right side of the ledger of $220,298.27. To the
+receipts must be added the balance in the treasury at the beginning of
+the year of $2,054,314.26, which left in the treasury on July 31, 1898,
+the large sum of $2,184,612.53.
+
+The original indebtedness arising from the adjustment of the state
+railroad bonds was $1,659,000; other bonds, $300,000.00. This
+indebtedness has been reduced by payments to the sum of $1,475,647.22,
+on July 31, 1898, the date of the last report. If this debt had
+matured, it could at once be paid by the funds on hand, leaving the
+state entirely free from all indebtedness.
+
+The taxable property of the state by last assessment, in 1897, including
+real and personal property, was $570,598,813.
+
+
+
+
+THE MONETARY AND BUSINESS FLURRY OF 1873 AND PANIC OF 1893.
+
+
+It has been customary in the United States to expect a disturbance in
+monetary and business affairs about once in every twenty years, and the
+expectation has not been disappointed since the panic of 1837. I have
+described the effect of the panic of 1857 on the Territory and State of
+Minnesota, and the difficulties of recuperating from the shock. The next
+similar event was not due until 1877, but there is always some special
+disaster to precipitate such occurrences. In 1857 it was the failure of
+the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, and in 1873 it was the
+failure of Jay Cooke & Co., of Philadelphia. This house had been very
+prominent in placing the bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
+and in the construction of the road, and was relied upon by many classes
+of people to invest their money for them, and when their failure was
+announced, its effect in the East was disastrous, but here in Minnesota
+it only affected us in a secondary or indirect way, in stopping railroad
+building and creating general alarm in business circles. We had been
+diligently at work for sixteen years, endeavoring to recuperate from the
+disaster of 1857, and had to a great extent succeeded. Real estate had
+partially revived, but had not reached the boom feature, and the state
+was on a sound financial basis. Fortunately we had not recovered
+sufficiently to become investors in railroad securities to any great
+extent, and land speculation had not reached its usual twenty years'
+mark. We had, also, on hand a local affliction, in the presence of
+grasshoppers, so that, although it disturbed business generally, it did
+not succeed in producing bankruptcy, and we soon shook it off.
+
+This periodical financial disturbance has been attributed to various
+causes. From the regularity of its appearance, it must be the result of
+some impelling force of a generally similar character. My opinion is,
+that the period of twenty years being the average time of man's active
+business life, the actors of the second period have not the benefit of
+the experience gained by those of the previous one, and they repeat the
+same errors that produced the former disasters; but be that as it may,
+when the period extending from 1873 to 1893 had passed, the same result
+had occurred, and with quite as much force as any of its predecessors.
+Land speculation had reached the point of absolute insanity. Everybody
+thought he could become rich if he only bought. Values, already
+ridiculously expanded, continued to increase with every sale. Anyone who
+had money enough to pay down a small amount as earnest and intelligence
+enough to sign a note and mortgage for the balance of the purchase price
+became purchasers to the limit of their credit. When a party whose
+credit was questioned needed an indorser, he found many requiring the
+same assistance who were ready to swap indorsements with him. Everyone
+became deeply in debt. The country was flooded with paper, which was
+secured on the impossibility of values continuing. The banks became
+loaded with alleged securities, and when the bubble was strained to the
+bursting point, and some one of supposed financial soundness was
+compelled to succumb to the pressure, the veil was lifted, which opened
+the eyes of the community and produced a rush for safety, which
+induced, and was necessarily followed, by a general collapse. In 1888
+and 1889 banks suspended, money disappeared, and in 1893, in the
+expressive language of the West, everybody who was in debt, and all
+stockholders and depositors in defunct banks "went broke." Had the
+cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis been captured by an enemy and a
+ransom of ten million dollars been demanded from each, paid and carried
+away, the consequences upon business would not have been worse. It was
+much the same in all the large cities of the state, as land speculation
+was more active there than in the rural districts, and no matter what
+may happen, some value always remains to farm lands, while under such a
+collapse as that of 1893 the greater part of city property becomes
+utterly valueless for the present, and much of it forever.
+
+There was, however, a great difference between the consequences of 1893
+and the previous disasters of 1857 and 1873. Although the disturbance
+was great, we were better prepared to meet it. Population had increased
+immensely. The area of civilization and production had kept pace with
+immigration. Manufactures of many kinds had been introduced, and
+although we were seriously wounded, our hopes of recovery had solid
+grounds to rest upon, and we were not dismayed. The only remedy in such
+cases--industry and economy--was applied, through necessity if not from
+choice, and recovery has been slowly progressing up to the present time
+(1900), when we may be classed as convalescent.
+
+Will this experience serve to prevent a recurrence of the follies of the
+past? Most assuredly not. Those who have reaped wisdom will have
+surrendered the speculative arena to others before the financial cycle
+rolls around, and history will repeat itself, notwithstanding the state
+never had a better future outlook than at present. It does not follow
+that the panic due about 1913 will be caused by over speculation in real
+estate. It is more likely to be produced by the excessive and fraudulent
+capitalization of all sorts of corporations, called trusts, which will,
+of course, succumb to the first serious blow.
+
+With the exception of the events I have narrated, including the
+financial troubles of 1873 and 1893, nothing of special importance to
+the state has happened, except a few occurrences of minor moment.
+
+
+
+
+MINOR HAPPENINGS.
+
+
+Sept. 5, 1878, President Hayes made a short visit to the state, and
+delivered an address at the state agricultural fair.
+
+On the 7th of September, 1876, an organized gang of bandits, which had
+been terrorizing the State of Missouri and surrounding states with
+impunity, entered this state, and attacked a bank in the town of
+Northfield, in Rice county, with the intent of looting it. The cashier,
+Mr. Haywood, resisted, and they shot him dead. The people of the town,
+hearing of the raid, turned out, and opened fire on the robbers, who
+fled, with the loss of one killed. In their flight they killed a Swede
+before they got out of the town. The people of the counties through
+which their flight led them, turned out, and before any of them passed
+the border of the state, two more of them were killed and three
+captured. Two escaped. The captured were three brothers named Younger,
+and those who escaped were supposed to be the notorious James Brothers
+of Missouri. The three Younger Brothers pleaded guilty to a charge of
+murder, and on account of a peculiarity in the law, that only allowed
+the death sentence to be imposed by a jury, they were all sentenced to
+imprisonment for life. One of them has since died, and the other two
+remain in prison.
+
+The manner in which this raid was handled by our citizens was of immense
+value to the state, as it proved a warning to all such desperadoes that
+Minnesota was a bad field for their operations, and we have had no more
+trouble from that class of offenders.
+
+In 1877 the constitution was amended by providing for biennial, instead
+of annual, sessions of the legislature.
+
+On May 2, 1878, a very singular and disastrous event took place at
+Minneapolis. Three large flouring mills were blown up by a dust
+explosion, and eighteen men killed. It was inexplicable for a time, but
+it was afterwards discovered that such explosions had occurred before,
+and prompt measures were taken to prevent a repetition of the trouble.
+
+On the 15th day of November, 1880, a portion of the large insane asylum
+at St. Peter was destroyed by fire, and eighteen of the inmates were
+burned, others dying of injuries received. The pecuniary loss amounted
+to $150,000.
+
+On the first day of March, 1881, the old capitol burned, while the
+legislature was in session. That body moved their sittings to the St.
+Paul market house, which had just been finished, where they remained
+until the present capitol building was erected upon the site of the one
+destroyed.
+
+On the twenty-fifth day of January, 1884, the state prison at Stillwater
+was partially burned.
+
+On the fourteenth day of September, 1886, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids were
+struck by a cyclone. Scores of buildings were destroyed, and about
+seventy of the inhabitants killed.
+
+In the year 1889 the Australian system of voting at elections was
+introduced in cities of ten thousand inhabitants and over, and in 1892
+the system was made general throughout the state.
+
+On the seventh day of April, 1893, the legislature passed an act for the
+building of a new state capitol in the city of St. Paul, and appointed
+commissioners to carry out the object. They selected an eligible and
+conspicuous site between University avenue, Cedar and Wabasha streets,
+near the head of Wabasha. They adopted for the materials which were to
+enter into it--granite for the lower and Georgia white marble for the
+upper stories. The whole cost was not to exceed $2,000,000. The corner
+stone of the building was laid on the twenty-seventh day of July, 1898,
+with appropriate and very imposing ceremonies, in the presence of an
+immense throng of citizens from all parts of the state. Senator Davis
+delivered the oration, and ex-Gov. Alexander Ramsey laid the corner
+stone. The building has reached the base of the dome, and will be a very
+beautiful and serviceable structure.
+
+On Sept. 1, 1894, there was a most extensive and disastrous fire in Pine
+county. Four hundred square miles of territory were burned over by a
+forest fire, the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone were totally destroyed,
+and four hundred people burned. The money loss was estimated at
+$1,000,000. This disaster was exactly what was needed to awaken the
+people of the state to the necessity of providing means for the
+prevention of forest and prairie fires and the preservation of our
+forests. Shortly after the Hinckley fire a state convention was held at
+the Commercial Club in St. Paul, to devise legislation to accomplish
+this desirable end, which resulted in the passage of an act, at the
+session of the legislature in 1895, entitled, "An act for the
+preservation of forests of this state, and for the prevention and
+suppression of forest and prairie fires." Under this act the state
+auditor was made the forest commissioner of the state, with authority to
+appoint a chief fire warden. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities
+and presidents of village councils are made fire wardens of their
+respective local jurisdictions, and the machinery for the prevention of
+fires is put in motion that is of immense value to the state. The forest
+commissioner appointed Gen. C. C. Andrews chief fire warden, one of the
+best equipped men in the state for the position, and no serious trouble
+has since occurred in the way of fires.
+
+On the ninth day of February, 1887, the Minnesota Historical Society
+passed a resolution, declaring that the pretenses made by Capt. Willard
+Glazier to having been the discoverer of the source of the Mississippi
+river were false, and very little has been heard from him since.
+
+On the tenth day of October, 1887, President Cleveland visited the
+state, and made a short stay.
+
+This enumeration of passing events looks a little like a catalogue of
+disasters (except the building of the new capitol and the visits of
+Presidents Hayes and Cleveland), but it must be remembered that
+Minnesota is such an empire in itself, that such happenings scarcely
+produce a ripple on the surface of its steady and continuous progress.
+It is because these events can be particularized and described that they
+assume proportions beyond their real importance, but when compared with
+the colossal advances made by the state during the period covering them,
+they dwindle into mere points of educational experience, to be guarded
+against in the future, while the many blessings showered upon the
+state, consisting of the health and wealth imparting sunshine, the
+refreshing and fructifying rains and dews of heaven, which, like the
+smiles of providence and the life-sustaining air that surrounds us, are
+too intangible and indefinable for more than thankful recognition. Our
+tribulations were really blessings in disguise. The bold invasion of the
+robbers proved our courage; the storms and fires proved our generosity
+to the distressed, and taught us lessons in the wisdom of prevention.
+Minnesota has as much to be thankful for and as little to regret as any
+state in the West, and our troubles only prove that we have a very
+robust vitality, difficult to permanently impair.
+
+
+
+
+THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
+
+
+For many years there has been a growing sentiment in the United States
+that Spain was governing Cuba and her other West Indian colonies in an
+oppressive and unjust manner, and the desire to interfere in behalf of
+the Cuban people received a good deal of encouragement, and its general
+expression succeeded in creating very strained relations between Spain
+and the United States. It is a well known fact that the Spanish people,
+from the north line of Mexico to Cape Horn, as well as the inhabitants
+of the Spanish Islands, hate the Americans most heartily. Why, I do not
+know; except that our social, governmental and religious habits, customs
+and beliefs are radically different from their own; but that such is the
+case no one doubts who knows these people. In 1897 some effort at
+conciliation was made, and Spain sent one of her warships to New York on
+a friendly visit; but she did not stay long, and got away as soon as she
+decently could. The United States sent the battleship Maine to Havana
+on the same friendly mission, where she was officially conveyed to her
+anchorage. She had been there but a short time when she was blown up, on
+Feb. 15, 1898, and 260 American seamen murdered. There was an official
+investigation to determine the cause of the explosion, but it found no
+solution of the disaster. Various theories were advanced of internal
+spontaneous explosion, but no one was misled. The general sentiment of
+Americans was that the Spanish in Cuba deliberately exploded a submarine
+torpedo under her, to accomplish the result that followed. Previous to
+this cowardly act there was much difference of opinion among the people
+of all sections of the country as to the propriety of declaring war
+against Spain, but public sentiment was at once unified in favor of war
+on the announcement of this outrage. On the 25th of April, 1898,
+congress passed an act declaring that war against Spain had existed
+since the 21st of the same month. A requisition was made on Minnesota
+for its quota of troops immediately after war was declared, and late in
+the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of April the governor issued an
+order to the adjutant general to assemble the state troops at St. Paul.
+The adjutant general, on the 29th, issued the following order, by
+telegraph, to the different commands:
+
+    "The First, Second and Third Regiments of infantry are hereby
+    ordered to report at St. Paul on Friday morning, April 29, 1898,
+    not later than eleven o'clock, with one day's cooked rations in
+    their haversacks."
+
+The order was promptly obeyed, and all the field, staff and company
+officers, with their commands, reported before the time appointed, and
+on the afternoon of that day went into camp at the state fair grounds,
+which was named Camp Ramsey. Such promptness on the part of the state
+militia was remarkable, but it will be seen that they had been prepared
+for the order of the adjutant general before its final issue, who had
+anticipated the declaration of war.
+
+On April 18th he had issued the following order:
+
+    "The commanding officers of the infantry companies and artillery
+    batteries composing the national guard will immediately take
+    steps to recruit their commands up to one hundred men each. All
+    recruits above the maximum peace footing of seventy-six men will
+    be carried upon the muster roll as provisional recruits, to be
+    discharged in case their services are not needed for field
+    service."
+
+On the 25th of April the adjutant general issued the following order:
+
+    "In obedience to orders this day received from the honorable
+    secretary of war, calling upon the State of Minnesota for three
+    regiments of infantry as volunteers of the United States, to
+    serve two years or less, and as the three national guard
+    regiments have signified their desire of entering the service of
+    the United States as volunteers, the First, Second, and Third
+    Regiments of Infantry of the national guard of the State of
+    Minnesota will immediately make preparations to report to these
+    headquarters upon receipt of telegraphic orders, which will be
+    issued later."
+
+This commendable action on the part of our military authorities resulted
+in the Minnesota troops being the first to be mustered into the service
+of the United States in the war with Spain, thus repeating the proud
+distinction gained by the state in 1861, when Minnesota was the first
+state to offer troops for the defense of the Union in the Civil War. It
+is a curious as well as interesting coincidence, that the First
+Minnesota Regiment for the Civil War was mustered in on April 29, 1861,
+and the first three regiments for the Spanish War were mobilized at St.
+Paul on April 29, 1898.
+
+The mustering in of the three regiments was completed on the eighth day
+of May, 1898, and they were designated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and
+Fourteenth Regiments of Infantry, Minnesota Volunteers. This
+classification was made because the state had furnished eleven full
+regiments of infantry for the Civil War, and it was decided to number
+them consecutively.
+
+The Twelfth and Fourteenth left Camp Ramsey on the sixteenth day of May
+for Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia, and the Thirteenth departed for
+San Francisco on the same day. The Thirteenth was afterwards ordered to
+Manila. The others did not leave the country, and were subsequently
+mustered out. The Thirteenth did gallant service in the Philippines, in
+many battles, was mustered out in San Francisco, and, on Oct. 12, 1899,
+returned to our state. A warm welcome was given it in Minnesota, where
+it will always be regarded with the same pride and affection formerly
+bestowed upon the old First, of patriotic memory.
+
+President McKinley and several of his cabinet arrived in St. Paul at the
+time of the arrival of the Thirteenth, and assisted in welcoming them to
+their homes.
+
+There was a second call for troops, under which the Fifteenth Regiment
+was mustered in, but was not called upon for active duty of any kind. It
+is to be hoped that the war may be ended without the need of more
+volunteers from Minnesota, but should another call be made on our people
+no doubt can be entertained of their prompt response. Having given the
+part taken in the war against Spain and the Philippines by Minnesota,
+its further prosecution against the latter becomes purely a federal
+matter, unless we shall be called into it in the future.
+
+When Spain sued for peace, soon after the destruction of her second
+fleet off Santiago de Cuba, a commission to negotiate a treaty of peace
+with her was appointed by the president, and Minnesota was honored by
+the selection of its senior senator, Hon. Cushman K. Davis, chairman of
+the senate committee on foreign relations, as one of its members. The
+commission consisted of William R. Day, secretary of state of the United
+States, Cushman K. Davis of Minnesota, William P. Frye of Maine, George
+Gray of Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid of New York. It met at Paris, and
+concluded its labors the tenth day of December, 1898, when the treaty
+was signed by the commissioners of both contracting parties. It is
+hardly necessary to add that the influence exerted on the result by the
+distinguished and learned representative from Minnesota was controlling.
+
+
+
+
+THE INDIAN BATTLE OF LEECH LAKE.
+
+
+Early in October, 1898, there was an Indian battle fought at Leech lake,
+in this state, the magnitude of the result of which gives it a place in
+the history of Minnesota, although it was strictly a matter of United
+States cognizance and jurisdiction. In Cass county there is a Chippewa
+Indian reservation, and like all other Indian reservations, there are to
+be found there turbulent people, both white and red. There is a large
+island out in Leech lake, called Bear island, which is inhabited by the
+Indians. On Oct. 1, 1897, one Indian shot another on this island. A
+prominent member of the tribe named Pug-on-a-ke-shig was present, and
+witnessed the shooting. An indictment was found in the United States
+district court against the Indian who did the shooting, but before any
+trial could be had the matter was settled among the Indians in their own
+way, and they thought that was the last of it. A subpoena was issued for
+Pug-on-a-ke-shig and a deputy marshal served it. He disregarded the
+subpoena. An attachment was then issued to arrest him and bring him into
+court. A deputy United States marshal tried to serve it, and was
+resisted by the Indian and his friends on three different occasions, and
+once when the Indian was arrested he was rescued from the custody of the
+marshal. Warrants were then issued for the arrest of twenty-one of the
+rescuers. This was in the latter part of August, 1898. Troops were asked
+for to aid the marshal in making his arrests, and a lieutenant and
+twenty men were sent from Fort Snelling for that purpose. This was
+simply a repetition of the many mistakes made by the military
+authorities in such matters. If troops were necessary for any purpose,
+twenty men were simply useless, and worse than none, and when the time
+came for the application of military force would, of course, have been
+annihilated. The United States marshal, with a squad of deputies,
+accompanied the troops. It soon became apparent that there would be
+trouble before the Indians could be brought to terms, and General Bacon,
+the officer in command of the Department of Dakota, with headquarters at
+St. Paul, ordered Major Wilkinson of Company "E," of the Third Regiment
+of United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Snelling, with his company
+of eighty men, to the scene of the troubles. General Bacon accompanied
+these troops as far as Walker, on the west bank of Leech lake, more in
+the capacity of an observer of events and to gain proper knowledge of
+the situation than as part of the force. On the 5th of October, 1898,
+the whole force left Walker in boats for a place on the east bank of the
+lake, called Sugar Point, where there was a clearing of several acres
+and a log house, occupied by Pug-on-a-ke-shig. They were accompanied by
+R. T. O'Connor, the United States marshal of Minnesota, and several of
+his deputies, among whom was Col. Timothy J. Sheehan, who knew the
+Indians who were subject to arrest. This officer was the same man who,
+as Lieutenant Sheehan, had so successfully commanded the forces at Fort
+Ridgely, during the Indian War of 1862, since when he had fought his way
+through the Civil War with distinction. When the command landed, only a
+few squaws and Indians were visible. The deputy marshals landed, and
+with the interpreters went at once to the house, and while there
+discovered an Indian whom Colonel Sheehan recognized as one for whom a
+warrant was out, and immediately attempted to arrest and handcuff him.
+The Indian resisted vigorously, and it was only with the aid of three or
+four soldiers that they succeeded in arresting him. He was put on board
+of the boat. The whole force then skirmished through the timber in
+search of Indians, but found none, and about noon returned to the
+clearing and were ordered to stack arms preparatory to getting dinner.
+They had scouted the surrounding country and had seen no Indians or
+signs of Indians, and did not believe there were any in the vicinity,
+when in fact the Indians had carefully watched their every movement, and
+were close to their trail, waiting for the most advantageous moment to
+strike. It was the same tactics which the Indians had so often adopted
+with much success in their warfare with the whites. While stacking arms,
+a new recruit allowed his gun to fall to the ground, and it was
+discharged accidentally. The Indians who were silently awaiting their
+opportunity, supposing it was the signal of attack, opened fire on the
+troops, and a vicious battle began. The soldiers seized their arms, and
+returned the fire as best they could, directing it at the points whence
+came the shots from the invisible enemy, concealed in the dense thicket.
+The battle raged for several hours. General Bacon, with a gun in his
+hands, was everywhere, encouraging the men. Major Wilkinson, as cool as
+if he had been in a drawing room, cheered his men on, but was thrice
+wounded, the last hit proving fatal. Colonel Sheehan instinctively
+entered the fight, and took charge of the right wing of the line,
+charging the enemy with a few followers and keeping up a rapid fire. The
+colonel was hit three times, two bullets passing through his clothes,
+grazing the skin, without serious injury, and one cutting a painful but
+not dangerous wound across his stomach. The result of the fight was six
+killed and nine wounded on the part of the troops. One of the Indian
+police was also killed, and seven citizens wounded, some seriously. No
+estimate has ever been satisfactorily obtained of the loss of the enemy.
+The most reliable account of the number of his forces engaged is from
+nineteen to thirty, and if I should venture an estimate of his losses,
+based upon my experience of his ability to select a vantage ground, and
+take care of himself, I would put it at practically nothing.
+
+The killed and wounded were brought to Fort Snelling, the killed buried
+with military honors, and the wounded properly cared for. This event
+adds one more to the long list of fatal errors committed by our military
+forces in dealing with the Indians of the Northwest. They should never
+be attacked without a force sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of
+the whites in all cases and under all circumstances. Many a valuable
+life has been thus unnecessarily lost.
+
+Major Wilkinson, who lost his life in this encounter, was a man who had
+earned an enviable record in the army, and was much beloved by his many
+friends and acquaintances in Minnesota.
+
+The principal Indian engaged in this fight has been called, in every
+newspaper and other reports of it, Bug-a-ma-ge-shig; but I have
+succeeded in obtaining his real name from the highest authority. The
+name, Pug-on-a-ke-shig, is the Chippewa for "Hole-in-the-day."
+
+Shortly after the return of the troops to Fort Snelling the settlers
+about Cass and Leech lakes became uneasy, and deluged the governor with
+telegrams for protection. The national guard or state troops had nearly
+all been mustered into the United States service for duty in the war
+with Spain, but the Fourteenth Regiment was in St. Paul, awaiting muster
+out, and the governor telegraphed to the war department at Washington to
+send enough of them to the front to quiet the fears of the settlers.
+This was declined, and the governor at once ordered out two batteries of
+artillery, all the state troops that were available, and sent them to
+the scene of the troubles, and then sent his celebrated telegram to the
+war department, which may be called the "Minnesota Declaration of
+Independence." It ran as follows:
+
+    "Oct. 8, 1898.
+    "_H. C. Corbin, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C.:_
+
+    "No one claims that reinforcements are needed at Walker. I have
+    not been asked for assistance from that quarter. Although I do
+    not think General Bacon has won the victory he claims, other
+    people do not say so. The Indians claim to have won, and that is
+    my opinion. The people all along the Fosston branch of railroad
+    are very much alarmed, and asking for protection, which I have
+    asked of the war department. The soldiers are here, and ready
+    and willing to go, but as you have revoked your order of
+    yesterday, you can do what you like with your soldiers. The
+    State of Minnesota will try to get along without any assistance
+    from the war department in the future.
+
+          "D. M. CLOUGH,
+                "_Governor._"
+
+Rumor says that the telegram which was forwarded is very much modified
+from that originally dictated by the governor.
+
+The United States government concluded to withdraw its refusal, and send
+troops to the front, and several companies of the Fourteenth were
+dispatched to the line of the Fosston branch railroad, and distributed
+along the line of that road.
+
+In the meantime the commissioner of Indian affairs had arrived at
+Walker, and was negotiating with the Indians, and when it became known
+that matters were arranged to the satisfaction of the government and the
+Indians and no outbreak was expected the soldiers were all withdrawn,
+and the incident, so far as military operations were concerned, was
+closed. There were some surrenders of the Indians to the officers of the
+court, but nothing further of consequence occurred.
+
+
+
+
+POPULATION.
+
+
+One of the most interesting features of a new country is the character
+and the nativity of its population. The old frontiersman who has watched
+the growth of new states, and fully comprehended the effect produced
+upon their civilization and character by the nativity of their
+immigrants, is the only person competent to judge of the influences
+exerted in this line. It is a well known fact that the immigration from
+Europe into America is generally governed by climatic influences. These
+people usually follow the line of latitude to which they have been
+accustomed. The Norseman from Russia, Sweden, Germany and Norway comes
+to the extreme Northwestern States, while the emigrants from southern
+Europe seek the more southern latitudes. Of course, these are very
+general comments, and only relate to emigration in its usual directions,
+as the people of all parts of Europe are found in all parts of America.
+It is generally believed that the emigrants from northern Europe are
+more desirable than those from further south, and a presentation of the
+status of our population in point of nativity will afford a basis from
+which to judge of their general attributes for good or bad. There is no
+nation on earth that has not sent us some representative. The following
+table, while it will prove that we have a most heterogeneous, polyglot
+population, will also prove that we possess vast powers of assimilation,
+as we are about as harmonious a people as can be found in all the Union.
+Our governor is a Swede, one of our United States senators is a
+Norwegian, and our other state officers are pretty generally distributed
+among the various nationalities. Of course, in the minor political
+subdivisions, such as counties, cities and towns, the office holding is
+generally governed by the same considerations.
+
+I give the various countries from which our population is drawn, with
+the numbers from each country, and the number of native born and foreign
+born, which, aggregated, constitute our entire population. These figures
+are taken from the state census of 1895:
+
+    England                     12,941
+    Scotland                     5,344
+    Germany                    133,768
+    Denmark                     16,143
+    Norway                     107,319
+    Canada                      49,231
+    Poland                       8,464
+    Iceland                        454
+    Ireland                     26,106
+    Wales                        1,246
+    France                       1,492
+    Sweden                     119,554
+    Russia                       6,286
+    Bohemia                     10,327
+    Finland                      7,652
+    All other countries         11,205
+                             ---------
+    Total native born        1,057,084
+    Total foreign born         517,535
+                             ---------
+    Total population         1,674,619
+
+The total native born of our population is very largely composed of the
+descendants of foreign emigrants. These figures afford a large field for
+thought and future consideration, when emigration problems are under
+legislative investigation.
+
+The census from which these figures are taken being five years old, I
+think it is safe to add a sufficient number of increase to bring our
+population up to two millions. The census of 1900 will demonstrate
+whether or not my estimate is correct.
+
+
+
+
+THE STATE FLAG.
+
+
+Up to the year 1893 the State of Minnesota had no distinctive state
+flag. On April 4, 1893, an act was passed by the legislature entitled,
+"An act providing for the adoption of a state flag." This act appointed
+by name a commission of six ladies, to adopt a design for a state flag.
+Section 2 of the act provided that the design adopted should embody, as
+near as may be, the following facts:
+
+    "There shall be a white ground with reverse side of blue. The
+    center of the white ground shall be occupied by a design
+    substantially embodying the form of the seal employed as the
+    state seal of Minnesota at the time of its admission into the
+    Union.... The said design of the state seal shall be surrounded
+    by appropriate representations of the moccasin flower,
+    indigenous to Minnesota, surrounding said central design, and
+    appropriately arranged on the said white ground shall be
+    nineteen stars, emblematic of the fact that Minnesota was the
+    nineteenth state to be admitted into the Union after its
+    formation by the thirteen original states. There shall also
+    appear at the bottom of the flag, in the white ground, so as to
+    be plainly visible, the word 'Minnesota.'"
+
+The commission prepared a very beautiful design for the flag, following
+closely the instructions given by the legislature, which was adopted,
+and is now the authorized flag of the state. The flag-staff is
+surmounted by a golden gopher rampant, in harmony with the popular name
+given to our state. May it ever represent the principles of liberty and
+justice, and never be lowered to an enemy! The original flag,
+artistically embroidered in silk, can be seen at the office of the
+governor at the state capitol.
+
+
+
+
+THE OFFICIAL FLOWER OF THE STATE, AND THE METHOD OF ITS SELECTION.
+
+
+On the twentieth day of April, 1891, the legislature of the state passed
+an act entitled "An act to provide for the collection, arrangement and
+display of the products of the State of Minnesota at the World's
+Columbian Exposition of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, and
+to make an appropriation therefor." This act created a commission of six
+citizens of the state, to be appointed by the governor, and called "The
+Board of World's Fair Managers of Minnesota." The women of the state
+determined that there should be an opportunity for them to participate
+in the exposition on the part of Minnesota, and a convention of
+delegates from each county of the state was called, and held at the
+People's Church, in St. Paul, on Feb. 14, 1892. This convention elected
+one woman delegate and one alternate, from each of the seven
+congressional districts of the state. There were also two national lady
+managers from Minnesota, nominated by the two national representatives
+from Minnesota and appointed by the president of the United States, who
+were added to the seven delegates so chosen, and the whole was called
+"The Woman's Auxiliary to the State Commission." The women so chosen
+took charge of all the matters properly pertaining to the women's
+department of the fair.
+
+At one of the meetings of the ladies, held in St. Paul, the question of
+the selection of an official flower for the state was presented, and the
+sentiment generally prevailed that it should at once be decided by the
+assemblage; but Mrs. L. P. Hunt, the delegate from Mankato, in the
+second congressional district, wisely suggested that the selection
+should be made by all the ladies of the state, and they should be given
+an opportunity to vote upon the proposition. This suggestion was
+approved, and the following plan was adopted: Mrs. Hunt was authorized
+to appoint a committee, of which she was to be chairman, to select a
+list of flowers to be voted on. Accordingly she appointed a
+subcommittee, who were to consult the state botanist, Mr. Conway
+MacMillan, who was to name a number of Minnesota flowers from which the
+ladies were to choose. He presented the following:
+
+    Lady Slipper (Moccasin Flower--_Cypripedium Spectabile_).
+    Silky Aster.
+    Indian Pink.
+    Cone Flower (Brown-eyed Susan).
+    Wild Rose.
+
+The plan was to send out printed tickets, to all the women's
+organizations in the state, with these names on them, to be voted upon,
+which was done, with the result that the moccasin flower received an
+overwhelming majority, and has ever since been accepted as the official
+flower of the state. That the contest was a very spirited one can be
+judged from the fact that Mrs. Hunt sent out in her district at least
+ten thousand tickets, with indications of her choice of the moccasin
+flower. She also maintained lengthy newspaper controversies with parties
+in Manitoba, who claimed the prior right of that province to the
+moccasin flower, all of whom she vanquished.
+
+The choice was a very wise and appropriate one. The flower itself is
+very beautiful, and peculiarly adapted to the purposes of artistic
+decoration. It has already been utilized in three instances of an
+official character, with success and approval. The Minnesota state
+building at the Columbian Exposition was beautifully decorated with it.
+It is prominently incorporated into the state flag, and adorns the medal
+conferred by the state upon the defenders of Fort Ridgely.
+
+The botanical name of the flower is _Cypripedium_, taken from Greek
+words meaning the shoe of Venus. It is popularly called "Lady's
+Slipper," "Moccasin Flower" and "Indian Shoe."
+
+About twenty-five species of _cypripedium_ are known, belonging to the
+north temperate zone and reaching south into Mexico and northern India.
+Six species occur in the northern United States and Canada, east of the
+Rocky Mountains, all of these being found in Minnesota, and about a
+dozen species occur on this continent. They are perennial herbs, with
+irregular flowers, which grow singly or in small clusters, the colors of
+some of which are strikingly beautiful. The species adopted by the women
+of the State of Minnesota is the _Cypripedium Spectabile_, or the showy
+lady slipper.
+
+The ladies naturally desired that their choice should be ratified by the
+state legislature, and one of their number prepared a report of their
+doings, in a petition to that body, asking its approval. Whoever drew
+the petition named the flower chosen by the ladies as "_Cypripedium
+Calceolous_," a species which does not grow in Minnesota, but is purely
+of European production. The petition was presented to the senate on the
+fourth day of February, 1893. The journal of the senate shows the
+following record, which is found on page 167:
+
+    "Mr. Dean asked the unanimous consent to present a petition from
+    the Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair, relative to the
+    adoption of a state flower and emblem, which was read.
+
+    "Mr. Dean offered the following concurrent resolution, and moved
+    its adoption:
+
+    "'Be it resolved by the senate, the house of representatives
+    concurring, that the wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower
+    ('_Cypripedium Calceolous_'), be, and the same is hereby,
+    designated and adopted as the state flower or emblem of the
+    State of Minnesota,' which was adopted."
+
+In the Legislative Manual of 1893 appears, on page 606, the following:
+
+    "THE STATE FLOWER.
+
+    "On April 4, 1893 [should be February], a petition from the
+    Women's Auxiliary to the World's Fair was presented to the
+    senate, relative to the adoption of a state flower. By
+    resolution of the senate, concurred in by the house (?), the
+    Wild Lady Slipper, or Moccasin Flower (_Cypripedium_) was
+    designated as the state flower or floral emblem of the State of
+    Minnesota."
+
+The word "_Calceolous_" means a little shoe or slipper; but, as I said
+before, the species so designated in botany is not indigenous to
+Minnesota, and is purely a foreigner. As we have in the course of our
+growth assimilated so many foreigners successfully, we will have no
+trouble in swallowing this small shoe, especially as the house did not
+concur in the resolution, and while the mistake will in no way militate
+against the progress or prosperity of Minnesota, it should be a warning
+to all committees and Western legislators to go slow when dealing with
+the dead languages.
+
+We now have the whole body of cypripediums to choose from, and may
+reject the calceolous.
+
+If the house of representatives ever concurred in the senate resolution,
+it left no trace of its action, either in its journal or published laws,
+that I have been able to find.
+
+Among the many valuable achievements of the Women's Auxiliary one
+deserves special mention. Mrs. H. F. Brown, one of the delegates at
+large, suggested a statue for the Woman's Building, to be the production
+of Minnesota's artistic conception and execution. The architect of the
+state building had disallowed this feature, and there was no public fund
+to meet the expense, which would be considerable. The ladies, however,
+decided to procure the statue, and rely on private subscription to
+defray the cost. Mrs. L. P. Hunt thought that sufficient funds might be
+raised from the school children of the state, through a penny
+subscription. Enough was raised, however, to secure a plaster cast of
+great beauty, representing Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha across a stream
+in his arms, illustrating the lines in Longfellow's poem:
+
+    "Over wide and rushing rivers
+    In his arms he bore the maiden."
+
+
+This statue adorned the porch of the Minnesota building during the fair.
+It was designed and made by a very talented young Norwegian sculptor,
+then residing in Minneapolis--the late Jakob Fjelde. It is proposed to
+cast the statue in bronze and place it in Minnehaha park, Minneapolis,
+at some future day.
+
+
+
+
+ORIGIN OF THE NAME "GOPHER STATE."
+
+
+Most of the states in the Union have a popular name. New York is called
+the "Empire State," Pennsylvania the "Keystone State," etc. As you come
+west they seem to have taken the names of animals. Michigan is called
+the "Wolverine State," Wisconsin the "Badger State," and it is not at
+all singular that Minnesota should have been christened the "Gopher
+State." These names never originate by any recognized authority. They
+arise from some event that suggests them, or from some important
+utterance that makes an impression on the public mind. In the very early
+days of the territory--say, as early as 1854 or 1855,--the question was
+discussed among the settlers as to what name should be adopted by
+Minnesota, and for a time it was called by some the "Beaver State." That
+name seemed to have the greatest number of advocates, but it was always
+met with the objection that the beaver, although quite numerous in some
+of our streams, was not sufficiently so to entitle him to characterize
+the territory by giving it his name. While this debate was in progress
+the advocates of the beaver spoke of the territory as the beaver
+territory, but it never reached a point of universal adoption. It was
+well known that the gopher abounded, and his name was introduced as a
+competitor with the beaver; but being a rather insignificant animal, and
+his nature being destructive, and in no way useful, he was objected to
+by many, as too useless and undignified to become an emblem of the
+coming great state,--for we all had, at that early day, full confidence
+that Minnesota was destined to be a great and prominent state. Nothing
+was ever settled on this subject until after the year 1857. As I have
+before stated, in that year an attempt was made to amend the
+constitution by allowing the state to issue bonds in the sum of
+$5,000,000 to aid in the construction of the railroads which the United
+States had subsidized with land grants, and the campaign which involved
+this amendment was most bitterly fought. The opponents of the measure
+published a cartoon to bring the subject into ridicule, which was very
+generally circulated throughout the state, but failed to check the
+enthusiasm in favor of the proposition. This cartoon represented ten men
+in a line, with heads bowed down with the weight of a bag of gold hung
+about their necks, marked "$10,000." They were supposed to represent the
+members of the legislature who had been bribed to pass the act, and were
+called "Primary Directors." On their backs was a railroad track, upon
+which was a train of cars drawn by nine gophers, the three gophers in
+the lead proclaiming, "We have no cash, but will give you our drafts."
+Attached to the rear of the train was a wheelbarrow, with a barrel on
+it, marked "Gin," followed by the devil, in great glee, with his thumb
+at his nose. In the train were the advocates of the bill, flying a flag
+bearing these words: "Gopher train; excursion train; members of extra
+session of legislature, free. We develop the resources of the country."
+Over this was a smaller flag, with the words: "The $5,000,000 Loan
+Bill."
+
+In another part of the picture is a rostrum, from which a gopher is
+addressing the people with the legend: "I am right; Gorman is wrong." In
+the right hand corner of the cartoon is a round ball, with a gopher in
+it, coming rapidly down, with the legend: "A _Ball come_ from Winona."
+This was a pun on the name of Mr. St. A. D. Balcombe from Winona, who
+was a strong advocate of the measure. Under the whole group was a dark
+pit, with the words, "A mine of corruption."
+
+The bill was passed, and the state was saddled with a debt of
+$5,000,000, under which it staggered for over twenty years, and we never
+even got a gopher train out of it.
+
+This cartoon, coming just at the time the name of the state was under
+consideration, fastened upon it the nickname of "Gopher," which it has
+ever since retained. The name is not at all inappropriate, as the
+animal has always abounded in the state. In a work on the mammals
+of Minnesota, by C. L. Herrick, 1892, he gives the scientific name
+of our most common species of gopher, "_Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus_,"
+or thirteen-striped gopher, and says: "The species ranges from the
+Saskatchawan to Texas, and from Ohio to Utah. Minnesota is the peculiar
+home of the typical form, and thus deserves the name of the 'Gopher
+State.'"
+
+Although the name originated in ridicule and contempt, it has not in any
+way handicapped the commonwealth, partly because very few people know
+its origin, but for the greater reason, that it would take much more
+than a name to check its predestined progress.
+
+
+
+
+STATE PARKS.
+
+
+ITASCA STATE PARK.
+
+In a previous part of this work, under the head of "Lumber," I have
+referred to the fact that a great national park and forest reserve is in
+contemplation by the United States at the headwaters of the Mississippi,
+and made reference to the state park already established at that point.
+I will now relate what has been done by the state in this regard. In
+1875 an official survey of the land in and about Lake Itasca was made by
+the surveyor general of the United States for Minnesota, which brought
+these lands under the operation of the United States laws, and part of
+them were entered. A portion of them went to the Northern Pacific
+Railroad Company under its land grant. The swamp and school lands went
+to the state, and much to private individuals under the various methods
+of making title to government lands.
+
+On the 20th of April, 1891, the legislature passed an act entitled, "An
+act to establish and create a public park, to be known and designated as
+the Itasca State Park, and authorizing the condemnation of lands for
+park purposes." This act sets apart for park purposes 19,702 acres of
+land, and dedicates them to the perpetual use of the people. It places
+the same under the care and supervision of the state auditor, as land
+commissioner. It prohibits the destruction of trees, or hunting within
+its limits. It provides for a commission to obtain title to such of the
+lands as belong to private individuals, either by purchase or
+condemnation.
+
+On the third day of August, 1892, the United States granted to the state
+all the unappropriated lands within the limits of the park, upon this
+condition:
+
+"Provided, the land hereby granted shall revert to the United States,
+together with all the improvements thereon, if at any time it shall
+cease to be exclusively used for a public state park, or if the state
+shall not pass a law or laws to protect the timber thereon."
+
+The state, at the session of the legislature in 1893, accepted the
+grant, but as yet has made no provision for the extinguishment of the
+title of private owners, of which there are 8,823 acres. This divided
+ownership of the lands within the limits of the park endangers the whole
+region by lumbering operations, and consequent forest fires after the
+timber is cut. Fires are not to be feared in natural forests until they
+are cut over. The acquisition of title to all these lands by the state
+should not be delayed any longer than is necessary to perfect it, no
+matter at what cost. The state has already erected a house on the bank
+of Itasca lake, and has a resident commissioner in charge of the park.
+
+The effect of the law prohibiting hunting in the park has already
+greatly increased the numbers of animals and fowls that find in it a
+safe refuge.
+
+The extent of the park is seven miles long by five miles wide, and is
+covered with a dense forest of pine, oak, maple, basswood, aspen, balsam
+fir, cedar and spruce, which is nearly in a state of nature. It is much
+to be hoped that in the near future this park will be enlarged to many
+times its present size by additional grants.
+
+
+INTERSTATE PARK--THE DALLES OF THE ST. CROIX.
+
+One of the most, if not the most, beautiful and picturesque points in
+the Northwest is the Dalles of the St. Croix river. Here the state has
+acquired the title to about 150 acres of land on the Minnesota side of
+the river, and dedicated it for park purposes. This was done under the
+authority of chapter 169 of the Laws of 1895. The point on the Minnesota
+side is called Taylor's Falls, and on the Wisconsin side St. Croix
+Falls. Between these two towns the St. Croix river rushes rapidly,
+forming a cataract of great beauty. The bluffs are precipitate and
+rocky, forming a narrow gorge through which the river plunges. The name
+of the river is French, "Sainte Croix," meaning "The holy cross," and
+the name of this particular point, the "Dalles," was given on account of
+the curious formation of the rocky banks, which assume wonderful shapes.
+One, looking down stream, presents a perfect likeness of a man, and is
+called "The Old Man of the Dalles." Another curious rock formation is
+called the "Devil's Chair." There are many others equally interesting.
+It is generally supposed that the word "Dalles" has the same meaning as
+the English word "Dell" or "Dale" signifying a narrow secluded vale or
+valley, but such is not the case as applied to this peculiar locality.
+The word "Dalles" is French, and means a slab, a flag or a flagstone,
+and is appropriate to the peculiar character of the general rock
+formation of the river banks at this point and vicinity.
+
+The State of Minnesota has already done a good deal of work towards
+making it attractive, and it has become quite a resort for pleasure
+seekers in the summer time. Wisconsin has acquired title to a larger
+tract on the east side of the river than is embraced in the Minnesota
+park on the west side, but as yet has not done much in the way of
+improvement. The two tracts are united by a graceful bridge which spans
+the river between them. The Minnesota park is under the charge of a
+state custodian, who cares for and protects it from despoilment.
+
+
+
+
+POLITICS.
+
+
+In writing the history of a state, no matter how short or limited such
+history may be, its politics seem to be an essential element of
+presentation, and, on this assumption alone, I will say a very few words
+concerning that subject. I do not believe that the question of which
+political party has been dominant in the state has exerted any
+considerable influence on its material prosperity. The great "First
+Cause" of its creation was so generous in its award of substantial
+blessings that it placed the state beyond the ability of man or his
+politics to seriously injure or impede its advance towards material
+success in any of the channels that promote greatness. Soil, climate,
+minerals, facilities for commerce and transportation, consisting of
+great rivers, lakes and harbors,--all these combine to defy the
+destructive tendencies so often exerted by the ignorance and passions of
+man. It has resisted every folly of its people, and they have been many;
+every onslaught of its savage inhabitants, and they have been more
+formidable than those experienced by any other state; and even the
+cataclysms with which it has occasionally been visited arising from
+natural causes. The fact is, Minnesota is so rock-rooted in all the
+elements of material greatness that it must advance, regardless of all
+known obstructions.
+
+When the territory was organized in 1849, Gen. Zachary Taylor, a Whig,
+was the president of the United States, and he appointed Alexander
+Ramsey, also a Whig, as governor, to set its political machinery in
+motion. He remained in office until the national administration changed
+in 1853, and Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, was chosen president. He
+appointed Gen. Willis A. Gorman, a Democrat, as governor to succeed
+Governor Ramsey. On the 4th of March, 1857, James Buchanan, a Democrat,
+succeeded President Pierce, and appointed Samuel Medary, a Democrat, as
+governor of Minnesota. He held this position until the state was
+admitted into the Union, in May, 1858, when Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat,
+was elected governor for the term of two years, and served it out.
+
+On the admission of the state into the Union, two Democratic United
+States senators were elected, Henry M. Rice and Gen. James Shields.
+General Shields served from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859, and Mr. Rice
+from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863, he having drawn the long term. The
+state also elected three members to the United States house of
+representatives, all Democrats, James M. Cavanaugh, W. W. Phelps and
+George L. Becker, but it was determined that we were only entitled to
+two, and Mr. Phelps and Mr. Cavanaugh were admitted to seats. With this
+state and federal representation we entered upon our political career.
+At the next election for governor, in the fall of 1859, Alexander
+Ramsey, Republican, was chosen, and there has never been a governor of
+the state of any but Republican politics since, until John Lind was
+elected in the fall of 1898. Mr. Lind was chosen as a Democrat, with the
+aid of other political organizations, which united with the Democracy.
+Mr. Lind now fills the office of governor. It will be seen that for
+thirty-nine years the state has been wholly in the hands of the
+Republicans. During the interval between the administration of Governor
+Sibley and Governor Lind the state has had twelve governors, all
+Republican.
+
+In its federal representation, however, the Democrats have fared a
+trifle better. The growth of population has increased our membership in
+the federal house of representatives to seven, and occasionally a
+Democrat, or member of some other party, has succeeded in breaking into
+congress. From the first district W. H. Harries, a Democrat, was elected
+in 1890. From the Third district Eugene M. Wilson, Democrat, was elected
+in 1868; Henry Poeler, Democrat, in 1878; John L. McDonald, Democrat, in
+1886; and O. M. Hall, Democrat, in 1890, and again in 1892. From the
+Fourth district Edmund Rice, Democrat, was elected in 1886, and James N.
+Castle, Democrat, in 1890. From the Sixth district M. R. Baldwin,
+Democrat, was elected in 1892. From the Fifth district Kittle Halverson,
+Alliance, was elected in 1890. From the Seventh district Haldor E. Boen,
+People's Party, was elected in 1892.
+
+Since Henry M. Rice and James Shields, all the United States Senators
+have been Republican. They were Morton S. Wilkinson, Alexander Ramsey,
+Daniel S. Norton, William Windom, O. P. Stearns, S. J. R. McMillin, A.
+J. Edgerton, D. M. Sabin, C. K. Davis, W. D. Washburn and Knute Nelson.
+Some of these have served two terms, and some very short terms, to fill
+vacancies.
+
+Of course, the state had its compliment of other officers, but as their
+duties are more of a clerical and business character than political, it
+is unnecessary to particularize them.
+
+It is a subject of congratulation to all citizens of Minnesota that, out
+of all the state officers that have come and gone in the forty years of
+its life, there has been but one impeachment, which was of a state
+treasurer, Mr. William Seeger, who was elected in 1871. Although he was
+convicted, I have always believed, and do now, that he was personally
+innocent, and suffered for the sins of others.
+
+The State of Minnesota has always, since the adjustment of its old
+railroad bond debt, held a conservative position in the
+Union,--financially, socially, patriotically and commercially. Its
+credit is the best, its prospects the brightest, and it makes very
+little difference which political party dominates its future so long as
+it is free from the taint of anarchy and is guided by the principles of
+honor and justice. The only thing to be feared is that some political
+party may gain control of the government of the nation, and either
+degrade its currency, involve it in disastrous complications and wars
+with other nations, or commit some similar folly which may reflectively
+or secondarily act injuriously on Minnesota as a member of the national
+family of states. Otherwise Minnesota can defy the vagaries of politics
+and politicians. She has very little to fear from this remote
+apprehension, because the American people, as they ever have been, will
+no doubt continue to be, on second thought, true to the teachings and
+traditions of the founders of the republic.
+
+Minnesota, for so young a state, has been quite liberally remembered in
+the way of diplomatic appointments. Gen. C. C. Andrews represented the
+United States as minister to Sweden and Norway, and the Hon. Samuel R.
+Thayer and Hon. Stanford Newell at The Hague, the latter of whom now
+fills the position. Mr. Newell was also a member of the World's Peace
+Commission recently held at The Hague. Lewis Baker represented the
+United States as minister to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and San Salvador.
+
+The state has also been honored by the appointment of the following
+named gentlemen from among its citizens as consuls general to various
+countries: Gen. C. C. Andrews to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hon. Hans
+Mattson to Calcutta, India; Dr. J. A. Leonard to Calcutta, and also to
+Shanghai, China; and Hon. John Goodenow to Shanghai, China.
+
+We have had a full complement of consuls to all parts of the world, the
+particulars of which are unnecessary in this connection.
+
+The state has also had three cabinet officers. On Dec. 10, 1879,
+Alexander Ramsey was appointed secretary of war by President Hayes, and
+again on Dec. 20, 1880, he was made secretary of the navy. The latter
+office he held only about ten days, until it was filled by a permanent
+appointee.
+
+William Windom was appointed secretary of the treasury by President
+Garfield, and again to the same position by President Harrison. He died
+in the office.
+
+Gen. William G. Le Duc was appointed commissioner of agriculture by
+President Hayes, which was a _quasi_ cabinet position, and was
+afterwards made a full and regular one. The general was afterwards made
+a member of the National Agricultural Society of France, of which
+Washington, Jefferson and Marshall were members.
+
+Senator Cushman K. Davis, who was chairman of the committee on foreign
+relations of the senate, was appointed by President McKinley one of the
+commissioners on the part of the United States to negotiate the treaty
+of peace with Spain after the recent Spanish war.
+
+Gov. William R. Merriam was appointed by President McKinley as director
+of the census of 1900, and is now busily engaged in the performance of
+the arduous duties of that office. They are not diplomatic, but
+exceedingly important.
+
+President Cleveland appointed John W. Riddle as secretary of legation to
+the embassy at Constantinople, where he has remained to the present
+time.
+
+
+
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHY.
+
+
+Necessity has compelled me, in the preparation of this history, to be
+brief, not only in the subjects treated of, but also in the manner of
+such treatment. Details have usually been avoided, and comprehensive
+generalities indulged in. Those who read it may find many things
+wanting, and in order that they may have an opportunity to supply my
+deficiencies without too much research and labor, I have prepared a list
+of all the works which have ever been written on Minnesota, or any
+particular subject pertaining thereto, and append them hereto for
+convenience of reference. Any and all of them can be found in the
+library of the Minnesota Historical Society in the state capitol.
+
+So much of what I have said consists of personal experiences and
+observations that it more resembles a narrative than a history, but I
+think I can safely vouch for the accuracy and truthfulness of all I have
+thus related.
+
+BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED RELATING TO MINNESOTA.
+
+The following will be found in "Collections of the Minnesota Historical
+Society, volume I, St. Paul, 1872:"
+
+     1. The French Voyageurs to Minnesota during the Seventeenth
+        Century, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+     2. Description of Minnesota (1850), by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+     3. Our Field of Historical Research, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
+
+     4. Early Courts of Minnesota, by Hon. Aaron Goodrich.
+
+     5. Early Schools of Minnesota, by D. A. J. Baker.
+
+     6. Religious Movements in Minnesota, by Rev. C. Hobart.
+
+     7. The Dakota Language, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+     8. History and Physical Geography of Minnesota, by H. R.
+        Schoolcraft.
+
+     9. Letter of Mesnard, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    10. The Saint Louis River, by T. M. Fullerton.
+
+    11. Ancient Mounds and Memorials, by Messrs. Pond, Aiton and
+        Riggs.
+
+    12. Schoolcraft's Exploring Tour of 1832, by Rev. W. T.
+        Boutwell.
+
+    13. Battle of Lake Pokegama, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    14. Memoir of Jean Nicollet, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    15. Sketch of Joseph Renville, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    16. Department of Hudson's Bay, by Rev. G. A. Belcourt.
+
+    17. Obituary of James M. Goodhue, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    18. Dakota Land and Dakota Life, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    19. Who were the First Men, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    20. Louis Hennepin, the Franciscan, and Du Luth, the Explorer.
+
+    21. Le Sueur, the Explorer of the Minnesota River.
+
+    22. D'Iberville; An Abstract of his Memorial.
+
+    23. The Fox and Ojibway War.
+
+    24. Captain Jonathan Carver and his Explorations.
+
+    25. Pike's Explorations in Minnesota.
+
+    26. Who Discovered Itasca Lake, by William Morrison.
+
+    27. Early Days at Fort Snelling.
+
+    28. Running the Gauntlet, by William T. Snelling.
+
+    29. Reminiscences, Historical and Personal.
+
+
+Volume 2:
+
+    30. Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony in
+        1817, by Major Stephen H. Long.
+
+    31. Early French Forts and Footprints of the Valley of the Upper
+        Mississippi, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    32. Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 1840,
+        by Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    33. Religion of the Dakotas (Chapter VI. of James W. Lynd's
+        Manuscripts).
+
+    34. Mineral Regions of Lake Superior, from Their First Discovery
+        in 1865, by Hon. Henry M. Rice.
+
+    35. Constantine Beltrami, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    36. Historical Notes on the U. S. Land Office, by Hon. Henry M.
+        Rice.
+
+    37. The Geography of Perrot, so far as it relates to Minnesota,
+        by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    38. Dakota Superstitions, by Rev. Gideon H. Pond.
+
+    39. The Carver Centenary; an account of the Celebration, May 1,
+        1867, of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Council and
+        Treaty of Capt. Jonathan Carver with the Nadowessioux, at
+        Carver's Cave in St. Paul, with an address by the Rev. John
+        Mattocks.
+
+    40. Relation of M. Penticant, translated by Alfred J. Hill, with
+        an introductory note by the Rev. E. D. Neill.
+
+    41. Bibliography of Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams.
+
+    42. A Reminiscence of Fort Snelling, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van
+        Cleve.
+
+    43. Narrative of Paul Ma-za-koo-to-ma-ne. Translated by Rev. S.
+        R. Riggs.
+
+    44. Memoir of Ex-Governor Henry A. Swift, by J. Fletcher
+        Williams.
+
+    45. Sketch of John Otherday, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    46. A Coincidence, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve
+
+    47. Memoir of Hon. James W. Lynd, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+    48. The Dakota Mission, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
+
+    49. Indian Warfare in Minnesota, by Rev. S. W. Pond.
+
+    50. Colonel Leavenworth's Expedition to Establish Fort Snelling
+        in 1819, by Major Thomas Forsyth.
+
+    51. Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault, by Gen. H. H. Sibley.
+
+    52. Memoir of Captain Martin Scott, by J. Fletcher Williams.
+
+    53. Na-peh-shnee-doo-ta, a Dakota Christian, by Rev. T. S.
+        Williamson.
+
+    54. Memoir of Hercules L. Dousman, by Gen. Henry H. Sibley.
+
+    55. Memoir of Joseph R. Brown, by J. F. Williams, E. S.
+        Goodrich, and J. A. Wheelock.
+
+    56. Memoir of Hon. Cyrus Aldrich, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    57. Memoir of Rev. Lucian Galtier, by Bishop John Ireland.
+
+    58. Memoir of Hon. David Olmsted, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    59. Reminiscences of the Early Days of Minnesota, by Hon. H. H.
+        Sibley.
+
+    60. The Sioux or Dakotas of the Missouri River, by Rev. T. S.
+        Williamson.
+
+    61. Memoir of Rev. S. Y. McMasters, by Earle S. Goodrich.
+
+    62. Tributes to the Memory of Rev. John Mattocks, by J. F.
+        Williams, Hon. Henry H. Sibley, John B. Sanborn and Bishop
+        Ireland.
+
+    63. Memoir of Ex-Governor Willis A. Gorman, compiled from press
+        notices, and eulogy by Hon. C. K. Davis.
+
+    64. Lake Superior, Historical and Descriptive, by Hon. James H.
+        Baker.
+
+    65. Memorial Notices of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, by Rev. S. R.
+        Riggs, Hon. H. H. Sibley and Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    66. In Memory of Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, by Rev. S. R. Riggs
+        and A. W. Williamson.
+
+    67. The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857, by Hon. Charles E.
+        Flandrau.
+
+
+Volume 4:
+
+    68. History of the City of St. Paul and County of Ramsey,
+        Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams, containing a very full
+        sketch of the first settlement and early days of St. Paul, in
+        1838, 1839 and 1840, and of the territory from 1849 to 1858;
+        lists of the early settlers and claim owners; amusing events
+        of pioneer days; biographical sketches of over two hundred
+        prominent men of early times; three steel portraits and
+        forty-seven woodcuts (portraits and views); lists of federal,
+        county and city officers since 1849.
+
+Volume 5:
+
+    69. History of the Ojibway Nation, by William W. Warren (deceased);
+        a valuable work, containing the legends and traditions of the
+        Ojibways, their origin, history, costumes, religion, daily
+        life and habits, ideas, biographies of leading chieftains and,
+        orators, vivid descriptions of battles, etc. The work was
+        carefully edited by Rev. Edward D. Neill, who added an
+        appendix of 116 pages, giving an account of the Ojibways
+        from official and other records. It also contains a portrait
+        of Warren, a memoir of him by J. Fletcher Williams, and a
+        copious index.
+
+Volume 6:
+
+    70. The Sources of the Mississippi; their Discovery, Real and
+        Pretended, by Hon. James H. Baker.
+
+    71. The Hennepin Bicentenary; Celebration by the Minnesota
+        Historical Society of the 200th anniversary of the Discovery of
+        the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680, by Louis Hennepin.
+
+    72. Early Days at Red River Settlement and Fort Snelling;
+        reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams.
+
+    73. Protestant Missions in the Northwest, by Rev. Stephen R.
+        Riggs, with a memoir of the author, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    74. Autobiography of Major Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at
+        Fort Snelling, 1820 to 1840.
+
+    75. Memoir of General Henry Hastings Sibley, by J. F. Williams.
+
+    76. Mounds in Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+    77. Columbian Address, delivered by Hon. H. W. Childs before the
+        Minnesota Historical Society, Oct. 21, 1892.
+
+    78. Reminiscences of Fort Snelling, by Col. John Bliss.
+
+    79. Sioux Outbreak of 1862; Mrs. J. E. DeCamp's Narrative of her
+        Captivity.
+
+    80. A Sioux Story of the War; Chief Big Eagle's Story of the
+        Sioux Outbreak of 1862.
+
+    81. Incidents of the Threatened Outbreak of Hole-in-the-day and
+        other Ojibways at the time of the Sioux Massacre in 1862, by
+        George W. Sweet.
+
+    82. Dakota Scalp Dances, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    83. Earliest Schools in Minnesota Valley, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
+
+    84. Traditions of Sioux Indians, by Major William H. Forbes.
+
+    85. Death of a Remarkable Man; Gabriel Franchere, by Hon.
+        Benjamin P. Avery.
+
+    86. First Settlement on the Red River of the North in 1812, and
+        its Condition in 1847, by Mrs. Elizabeth T. Ayres.
+
+    87. Frederick Ayer, Teacher and Missionary to the Ojibway
+        Indians, 1829 to 1850.
+
+    88. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Nancy McClure.
+
+    89. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Mary Schwandt.
+
+    90. Autobiography and Reminiscences of Philander Prescott.
+
+    91. Recollections of James M. Goodhue, by Colonel John H. Stevens.
+
+    92. History of the Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre, by Abbie Gardner Sharp.
+
+Volume 7:
+
+    93. The Mississippi River and Its Source; a narrative and critical
+        history of the river and its headwaters, accompanied by the
+        results of detailed hydrographic and topographic surveys;
+        illustrated with many maps, portraits and views of the scenery;
+        by Hon. J. V. Brower, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park,
+        representing also the State Historical Society. With an
+        appendix: How the Mississippi River and the Lake of the Woods
+        became instrumental in the establishment of the northwestern
+        boundary of the United States, by Alfred J. Hill.
+
+Volume 8:
+
+    94. The International Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake
+        of the Woods, by Ulysses Sherman Grant.
+
+    95. The Settlement and Development of the Red River Valley, by
+        Warren Upham.
+
+    96. The Discovery and Development of the Iron Ores of Minnesota, by
+        N. H. Winchell, State Geologist.
+
+    97. The Origin and Growth of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+        the President, Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
+
+    98. Opening of the Red River of the North to Commerce and
+        Civilization, with plates, by Capt. Russell Blakeley.
+
+    99. Last days of Wisconsin Territory, and Early Days of Minnesota
+        Territory, by Hon. Henry L. Moss.
+
+   100. Lawyers and Courts of Minnesota, Prior to and During its
+        Territorial Period, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+   101. Homes and Habitations of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
+        Charles E. Mayo.
+
+   102. The Historical Value of Newspapers, by J. B. Chaney.
+
+   103. The United States Government Publications, by D. L. Kingsbury.
+
+   104. The First Organized Government of Dakota, by Gov. Samuel J.
+        Albright, with a preface by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+   105. How Minnesota became a State, by Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
+
+   106. Minnesota's Northern Boundary, by Alexander N. Winchell.
+
+   107. The Question of the Sources of the Mississippi River, by Prof.
+        E. Lavasseur. (Translated by Col. W. P. Clough.)
+
+   108. The Source of the Mississippi, by Prof. N. H. Winchell.
+
+   109. Prehistoric Man at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River
+        (with plates), and an addendum relating to the early visits
+        of Mr. Julius Chambers and the Rev. J. A. Gilfillan to Itasca
+        Lake, by Hon. J. V. Brower.
+
+   110. History of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill. First Edition, 1858;
+        has gone through four editions.
+
+   111. Concise History of the State of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill,
+        1887.
+
+   112. Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, prepared
+        under the supervision of a committee appointed by the
+        legislature, 1890-1893, in two volumes.
+
+   113. History of the Sioux War and Massacres of 1862-1863, by Isaac
+        V. D. Heard, 1865.
+
+   114. A History of the Great Massacre by the Sioux Indians in
+        Minnesota, by Charles S. Bryant and Abel B. Murch, 1872.
+
+   115. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, in eight volumes,
+        1850 to 1898, containing many of the above named works and
+        papers.
+
+   116. History of St. Paul, Minnesota, by Gen. Christopher C.
+        Andrews, 1890.
+
+   117. History of the City of Minneapolis, by Isaac Atwater, in two
+        volumes.
+
+   118. Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches
+        of Old Settlers, by T. M. Newson.
+
+   119. Fifty Years in the Northwest, by W. H. C. Folsom, 1888.
+
+   120. The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery
+        of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Minnesota Volume by Jeremiah
+        Clemmens, assisted by J. Fletcher Williams, 1879.
+
+   121. Progressive Men of Minnesota, Biographical Sketches and
+        Portraits, together with an historical and descriptive sketch
+        of the state, by Marion D. Shutter and J. S. McLain, 1897.
+
+   122. Biographical History of the Northwest, by Alonzo Phelps, 1890.
+
+   123. A History of the Republican Party, to which is added a
+        political history of Minnesota from a Republican point of
+        view, and biographical sketches of leading Minnesota
+        Republicans, by Eugene V. Smalley.
+
+   124. There are also many quarto histories of counties in Minnesota
+        and of larger districts of the state, mostly published during
+        the years 1880 to 1890, including twenty counties, namely,
+        Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue,
+        Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Meeker, Olmsted, Pope, Ramsey,
+        Rice, Steele, Stevens, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, and
+        Winona, and five districts, namely, The St. Croix Valley, the
+        Upper Mississippi Valley, the Minnesota Valley, the Red River
+        Valley and Park Region, and Southern Minnesota.
+
+   125. Winona and its Environs, by L. H. Bunnell, 1897, with maps and
+        portraits.
+
+Among the Earliest Publications are:
+
+   126. Minnesota and its Resources, by J. Wesley Bond, 1853.
+
+   127. Minnesota Year Books, 1851, 1852, 1853, by William G. Le Duc.
+
+   128. Floral Home, or First Years of Minnesota, 1857, by Harriet
+        E. Bishop.
+
+   129. Narratives and Reports of Travels and Explorations, by
+        Hennepin, Carver, Long and Keating, Beltrami, Featherstonhaugh,
+        Schoolcraft, Nicollet, Owen, Oliphant, Andrews, Seymour and
+        others.
+
+   130. For Geographic and Geologic descriptions of Minnesota, the
+        reports of the geological and natural history survey are the
+        most complete sources of information, by Prof. N. H. Winchell,
+        State Geologist, assisted by Warren Upham, Ulysses Sherman
+        Grant, and others. The annual reports comprise twenty-three
+        volumes, 1872 to 1894, with another to be published. Several
+        other volumes have been issued as bulletins of the survey, on
+        iron, mining, birds, mammals, and fishes.
+
+   131. Four thousand two hundred and fifty bound volumes of Minnesota
+        newspapers, embracing complete files of nearly all the
+        newspapers ever published in Minnesota from first to last.
+
+   132. One thousand seven hundred and two books and about fifteen
+        hundred pamphlets relating in some way to Minnesota history.
+        All these books can be found in the library of the Minnesota
+        Historical Society, which is always open to the public, free.
+
+   133. Much historical and other information is contained in the
+        messages of the governors and reports of the various state
+        officers, and especially in the Legislative Manuals prepared
+        for the use of the members of the legislature by the secretary
+        of state, under chapter 122 of the General Laws of 1893, and
+        former laws. These Manuals, and especially that of 1899, are
+        replete with valuable statistics concerning the state, its
+        history and resources.
+
+   134. Illustrated History of Minnesota, by T. H. Kirk, M. L., 1887.
+
+   135. Ancestry, Life and Times of Henry Hastings Sibley, by Nathaniel
+        West, D. D., 1889.
+
+   136. Minnesota and Dacotah in Letters descriptive of a Tour
+        through the Northwest in the Autumn of 1856, with information
+        relative to public lands and a table of statistics, by General
+        C. C. Andrews.
+
+   137. Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate by the Rt. Rev.
+        Henry Benjamin Whipple, D. D., L. L. D., Bishop of Minnesota.
+
+   138. Reminiscences, Memoirs and Lectures of Monsignor A. Ravoux,
+        V. G. 1890.
+
+   139. Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota, with a History of
+        Minnesota, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+TALES OF THE FRONTIER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+HUNTING WOLVES IN BED.
+
+
+Forty-six years ago, almost immediately after my arrival in St. Paul, I
+accepted an offer to explore the valley of the Minnesota river and its
+tributaries, with reference to finding out the character of its soil,
+timber, steamboat landings and other natural features, bearing upon the
+founding of a city. My attention was particularly directed to the point
+where St. Peter now stands, which had then acquired the name of Rock
+Bend, from a turn in the river in front of the prairie, with a rocky
+wall which presented a fine landing for steamboats. Of course, the
+valley was not a _terra incognito_ when I entered it, but settlement was
+very sparse, and very little was known about it. Town-site speculation
+was rife, and any place that looked as if it would ever be settled was
+being pounced upon for a future city. There was not a railroad west of
+Chicago, and every town location was, of course, governed by the rivers.
+As strange as it may seem to the residents of the present day, the
+Minnesota was then a navigable stream, capable of carrying large side
+wheel steamers several hundred miles above its mouth, and afterwards
+bore an immense commerce. As soon as the ice broke up in the spring,
+the river would rise and overflow its banks clear to the bluffs on each
+side, making a stream of from five to six miles wide, and deep enough to
+float boats anywhere within its limits.
+
+A man by the name of William B. Dodd, better known as Captain Dodd in
+those days, had selected a claim at Rock Bend, covering the landing, and
+had laid out a road from the Mississippi to this point. He wanted to
+interest capitalists to start a town on his claim, and had succeeded in
+gaining the attention of Willis A. Gorman, then governor of the
+territory, and several other gentlemen, but none of them had ever been
+up the valley, and reliable information was difficult to obtain. It was
+true that Tom Holmes had laid out Shakopee, and Henry Jackson and P. K.
+Johnson, with a syndicate behind them, had selected Mankato, and I think
+there was a settler or two at Le Sueur, but the whole valley may be said
+to have been at that time in the possession of Indians, Indian traders
+and missionaries.
+
+The St. Paul gentlemen who had been approached by Captain Dodd engaged
+me to go up the valley of the Minnesota river, and follow out all its
+tributaries, with the idea of reporting upon its general characteristics
+and prospects, with reference to the founding of a city at Rock Bend. I
+was delighted to do anything, or go anywhere, that promised work or
+adventure. It was to me what the Klondike has been to thousands
+recently. They furnished me with a good team, and away I went. It was in
+the winter, but I succeeded in reaching Traverse des Sioux, where I
+found a collection of Indian trading houses, where flourished Louis
+Roberts, Major Forbes, Nathan Myrick, Madison Sweetzer and others, who
+drove a trade with the Sioux. There was also at this point a missionary
+station, with a schoolhouse, a church, and a substantial dwelling house,
+occupied by the Rev. Moses N. Adams, who had been a missionary among the
+Sioux, having been transferred from the station at Lac qui Parle, where
+he had lived for many years, to this point. But the best find that I
+made was a young Scotchman by the name of Stuart B. Garvie, who had a
+shanty on the prairie about midway between Traverse des Sioux and my
+objective point, Rock Bend. I think that Garvie went up there from St.
+Anthony, under some kind of a promise from Judge Chatfield, that if ever
+the courts were organized in that region he would be made clerk. Garvie
+was delighted to discover me, and I being in search of information, we
+soon fraternized, and he agreed to go with me on my tour of exploration.
+We went up the Blue Earth, the Le Sueur, the Watonwan, and, in fact,
+visited all the country that was necessary to convince me that it was,
+by and large, a splendid agricultural region, and I decided so to report
+to my principals.
+
+When I was about to leave for down the river, Garvie insisted that I
+should return and take up my abode at Traverse des Sioux. The
+proposition seemed too absurd to me to be seriously entertained, and I
+said: "I am destitute of funds, and how can a lawyer subsist where there
+are no people? How can I get a living?" This dilemma, which seemed to me
+to be insuperable, was easily answered by my new found friend. "Why," he
+said, "That is the easiest part of it. We can hunt a living, and I have
+a shack and a bed." The proposition was catching, having a spice of
+adventure in it, and I promised to consider it.
+
+After making my report, in which I recommended Rock Bend as a promising
+place for a great city, I told the parties who proposed to purchase
+Captain Dodd's claim that I would confirm my faith in the success of the
+enterprise by returning and living at the point. I did so, and found
+myself farther west than any lawyer in the United States east of the
+Rocky Mountains, unless he was in the panhandle of Texas. And now comes
+the singular way in which I made my first fee, if I may call it by that
+name. It was my first financial raise, no matter what you call it.
+
+Garvie and I had gotten quietly settled in our shanty on the prairie,
+when one excessively cold night an Indian boy, about thirteen years of
+age, saw our light, and came to the door, giving us to understand that
+his people were encamped about four or five miles up the river, and that
+he was afraid to go any further lest he should freeze to death. He was
+mounted on a pony, had a pack of furs with him, and asked us to take him
+in for the night. We of course did so, and made him as comfortable as we
+could by giving him a buffalo robe on the floor. But we had no shelter
+for his pony, and all we could do was to hitch him on the lee side of
+the shanty, and strap a blanket on him. When morning came he was frozen
+to death. We got the poor little boy safely off on the way to his
+people's camp, and decided to utilize the carcass of the pony for a wolf
+bait.
+
+In order to present an intelligent idea of the situation, I will say
+that the river made an immense detour in front of the future town,
+having a large extent of bottom land, covered with a dense chaparral,
+which was the home of thousands of wolves, and as soon as night came
+they would start out in droves in search of prey.
+
+We hauled the dead pony out to the back of the shanty, and left it about
+two rods distant from the window. The moment night set in the wolves in
+packs would attack the carcass. At first we would step outside and fire
+into them with buck shot from double-barrelled shotguns, but we found
+they were so wary that the mere movement of opening the door to get out
+would frighten them, and we had very limited success for the first few
+nights. Another difficulty we encountered was shooting in the dark. If
+you have never tried it, and ever do, you will find it exceedingly
+difficult to get any kind of an aim, and you have to fire promiscuously
+at the sound rather than the object.
+
+We remedied this trouble, however, by taking out a light of glass from
+the back window, and building a rest that bore directly on the carcass,
+so that we could poke our guns through the opening, settle them on the
+rest, and blaze away into the gloom. We brought our bed up to the
+window, so that we could shoot without getting out of it, while snugly
+wrapped up in our blankets. After this our luck improved, and after each
+discharge we would rush out, armed with a tomahawk, dispatch the wounded
+wolves, and collect the dead ones, until we had slaughtered forty-two of
+them. We skinned them, and sold the pelts to the traders for
+seventy-five cents a piece, which money was the first of our earnings.
+
+It was not long before we ceased to depend on wolf hunting for a living,
+as immigration soon poured in, and money became plenty. I remember soon
+after of having seventeen hundred dollars in gold buried in an oyster
+can under the shanty.
+
+I lived on this prairie for eleven years, and never was happier at any
+period of my life, and feel assured that I can safely say that no other
+man ever enjoyed the luxury of hunting wolves in bed.
+
+The pleasure of narrating such adventures for the present generation is,
+in this instance, marred by the reflection that both Captain Dodd and my
+old friend Garvie were killed by the Indians in 1862, the former while
+gallantly fighting at the battle of New Ulm, and the latter at the
+Yellow Medicine Agency, on the first day of the outbreak.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE POISONED WHISKY.
+
+
+I was told by a gentleman at my club the other day that he had read in
+some magazine that the British army had blown open the tomb of the Mahdi
+in upper Africa, and had mutilated the body, cutting off the head and
+sending it to England in a kerosene can. I could hardly believe the
+story, but he vouched for having read it in a reputable publication, and
+being a strong hater of the English, affirmed his unqualified faith in
+the statement. Notwithstanding his position, it seemed to me incredible
+that such an act of barbarism could be perpetrated by the disciplined
+soldiery of a civilized nation in the nineteenth century. The
+conversation so impressed me that I could not drive it out of my mind,
+and I kept revolving it and making comparisons with events in my own
+experience, until I concluded that it is more than probable that it took
+place as related, and have since learned that it actually occurred.
+
+I have seen a good deal of ferocity and savagism, and it was not at all
+confined to people acknowledged to be barbarians. I remember an instance
+where I came very near being a party to a scheme, the brutality of which
+would have made the mutilation of the dead Mahdi commendable in
+comparison; but fortunately my better nature and second thought overcame
+my passions, and I was spared the perpetration of the awful crime, the
+remembrance of which, had it been committed, would undoubtedly have
+haunted me through life.
+
+Many of the older settlers of Minnesota will remember the horrors of the
+Indian massacre and war of 1862, when the Sioux attacked our exposed
+frontiers, and in a day and a half massacred quite a thousand people.
+They spared neither age nor sex. It was like all such savage
+outbreaks,--a war against the race and the blood. These atrocities
+extended over a large and sparsely inhabited area of country, and were
+usually perpetrated at the houses of the settlers by the slaughter of
+the entire family, sometimes varied by the seizure of the women, and
+carrying them off into captivity, which in most instances was worse than
+death. Every character of mutilation and outrage that could be suggested
+by the inflamed passions of a savage were resorted to, and so horrible
+were they that it would shock and disgust the reader should I attempt to
+describe them. This condition of things was no surprise to me, because
+it was to be expected from savages; but the more we saw and heard of it,
+the more exasperated and angered we became, and the more we vowed
+vengeance should the opportunity come.
+
+I resided on the frontier at the time the outbreak occurred, and murders
+were committed within eight miles of my home before I heard of it, which
+was on the morning of the second day. I, of course, immediately, after
+disposing of my impedimenta in the shape of women and children, took the
+field against the enemy, and by nine o'clock in the evening of the same
+day that I heard of the trouble I found myself at the town of New Ulm, a
+German settlement on the frontier, the extreme outpost of civilization,
+in command of over one hundred men, armed and ready for battle. We had
+raised and equipped the company and travelled thirty-two miles since the
+morning.
+
+When we entered the town it was being attacked by a squad of Indians,
+about one hundred strong, who had already burned a number of houses and
+were firing upon the inhabitants, having already killed several. We soon
+dislodged the enemy, put out the fires, and settled down to await
+events. This was on Tuesday, the 19th of August. We strengthened the
+barricades about the town, and did all we could to prepare for a second
+attack, which we knew would certainly come, and from the combined forces
+of the enemy, and which did come on the following Saturday. While
+waiting, numerous squads of whites from the surrounding country
+reenforced us, and it soon became apparent that someone must be put in
+command of the whole force, to prevent disorders on the part of the men,
+as whisky was abundant and free. The honor of the command fell upon me
+by election of the officers of the various companies, and in the choice
+of a rank for myself my modesty restrained me to that of colonel. I have
+often thought since that I lost the opportunity of my life, as I might
+just as easily have assumed the title of major general.
+
+Every day we sent out scouting expeditions, and brought in refugees,
+men, women and children, who were in hiding or wounded, and in the most
+pitiable condition. From these we learned of many additional atrocities,
+which kept our passions and desire for revenge at fever heat. On
+Saturday, the 23d, the Indians who had been all the week besieging Fort
+Ridgely, abandoned that quest, and came down upon us in full force. The
+attack commenced about half-past nine o'clock on Saturday morning, and
+the fight raged hotly and viciously for about thirty hours without
+cessation. I lost in the first hour and a half ten killed and fifty
+wounded, out of a command of not more than 250 guns. On the afternoon of
+the next day the Indians gradually disappeared toward the north, and
+gave us a breathing spell, and then a relief company arrived and the
+fighting ceased.
+
+On Monday ammunition and provisions were getting short, and fearing a
+renewal of the attack, I decided to evacuate the town, and go down the
+Minnesota river to Mankato, a distance of about thirty miles over an
+open prairie. We had nearly fifteen hundred women and children to take
+care of, and about eighty wounded men. The caravan consisted of 153
+wagons, drawn by horses and oxen; the troops being on foot, and so
+disposed as to make a good defense if attacked.
+
+Everything being ready for a start, some one suggested to me to set a
+trap for the Indians, when they should enter the town after our
+departure, as we all supposed they would, there being an immense amount
+of loot left behind,--stores full of goods of all kinds, and many other
+things of value to the savage.
+
+I had, the day before, put a stop to some of the younger men scalping
+the eight or ten dead Indians who had been dragged into the town from
+where they had been killed, regarding it as barbarous. The boys would
+take off a small piece of scalp, and with its long black hair, tie it
+into their button-holes, as a souvenir to take home with them.
+
+What do you think was the nature of the trap that was proposed to catch
+the Indians? It makes my blood run cold to think of it, and so
+disgraceful and diabolical was it that, in all I have said and written
+about this war in the last thirty-six years, I have never had courage to
+mention it. Yet as awful as it was, so incensed was I at all the
+devilish cruelty that had been perpetrated on our people that I at first
+consented to it, and we went so far as actually to set the trap.
+
+It was proposed to expose a barrel of whisky in a conspicuous place,
+and put enough strychnine in it to destroy the whole Sioux nation, and
+then label it "poison" in all the languages spoken in our polyglot
+country, so that should the first comers be whites they would avoid it,
+but if Indians, we might have the satisfaction of exterminating them. We
+actually went so far as to place the barrel where it would attract
+anyone who should be looking about the main street, which was all that
+was left of the town, and labelled it in French, English, German,
+Italian, Swedish and Norwegian, and then put into it eight or ten
+bottles of strychnine, prepared for destroying wolves, and were about
+leaving when the thought flashed through my mind: "Suppose a relief
+squad should be sent to us, and should think the whole matter a joke to
+cheat them out of a drink, and should sample it and die, as they
+certainly would, we never could forgive ourselves, and would be really
+their murderers." My knowledge of the fact that a soldier who had made a
+long march on a hot day would take big chances for a drink, heightened
+my apprehension on this view of the subject, and the more I thought the
+matter over, the more devilish it appeared to me, even if we caught only
+Indians. I actually felt as though I would be ashamed to meet the spirit
+of even a savage enemy whom I had disposed of in such a cowardly manner,
+should we finally be consigned to the same happy hunting grounds, so I
+took an axe and knocked the head of the barrel in, and let the contents
+into the street. While I deeply regretted the loss of so much good
+whisky, I have never thought of the occurrence since without inwardly
+rejoicing that my better nature and judgment prevented me from
+committing such an offense against all the laws of honor, humanity and
+civilization. It turned out that the first arrival was a squad sent by
+General Sibley to our relief, and from what I know of some of the men
+composing it, I am quite certain that the warning would have been
+disregarded. The circumstance, however, proves how deeply the savage
+instinct is imbedded in human nature, whatever the color of the skin.
+"Give us strength to resist temptation," has been my prayer ever since.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+FUN IN A BLIZZARD.
+
+
+The winter of 1856, in Minnesota, was characterized by the usual amount
+of cold weather, snow and storms, and people operating on the frontier
+were compelled to exercise great care and caution to prevent disasters.
+All old timers who have had occasion to live beyond the settlements and
+travel long distances in an open prairie country well know that the
+danger of being overtaken by storms is one of the most terrible that one
+can be exposed to. Most of the casualties, however, that result from
+being caught in these storms may be attributed to want of experience,
+and consequent lack of preparation to meet and contend with them. I have
+employed many men of all nationalities in teaming long distances on the
+prairie frontier in the winter season, and while the American is always
+reliable and dexterous in emergencies, I have found the French Canadian
+always the best equipped for winter prairie work, in his knowledge in
+this line that can only be gained by experience. His ancestors served
+the early fur companies from Montreal to McKenzie's river, from Hudson's
+bay to the Pacific, and knew how to take care of themselves with the
+unerring instinct of the cariboo and the moose, and the generation of
+them that I came in contact with had inherited all these
+characteristics.
+
+I have known a brigade of teams, manned by Germans, Englishmen and
+Irishmen (the Scandinavians had then just begun to make their appearance
+in the Northwest) to be caught in a winter storm, and result in the
+amputation of fingers, toes, feet and hands from freezing, but I cannot
+remember ever losing a Canadian Frenchman. I recall one instance, where
+a train was overtaken by a severe storm just about evening, where no
+timber was in sight. The men built barricades with their sleds and
+loads, and took refuge to the leeward of them, where they passed quite a
+comfortable night for themselves and their teams. With the coming of the
+morning light they discovered a timber island not very far off, and
+started for it with their horses, to make fires, feed the teams, and get
+breakfast. The storm had abated, and the sun shone brilliantly. One
+young American lad shouldered a sack of oats, and not realizing that it
+was very cold, did not put on his mittens, but seized the neck of the
+sack with his bare hand. When he arrived at the timber all his fingers
+were frozen, and had to be amputated. It was merely one of the cases of
+serious injury I have known arising from ignorance.
+
+No one who has not encountered a blizzard on the open prairie can form
+an adequate idea of the almost hopelessness of the situation. The air
+becomes filled with driving, whirling snow to such an extent that it is
+with difficulty you can see your horses, and the effect is the same as
+absolute darkness in destroying all conception of direction. You may
+think you are going straight forward when in fact you are moving in a
+small circle; the only safety is to stop and battle it out.
+
+I remember a case which happened in this region before it became
+Minnesota which fully proves the dangers of a blizzard to a traveler on
+the open prairie. Martin McLeod and Pierre Bottineau, together with an
+Englishman and a Pole, started from Fort Garry for the headwaters of the
+Minnesota river. They were well equipped in all respects, having a good
+dog train, and, in Bottineau, one of the most experienced guides in the
+Northwest. While the party was in sight of timber it was suddenly
+enveloped in a blizzard, and, of course, wanted to reach the timber for
+safety. Here a controversy arose as to the direction to be taken to find
+it, the Englishman and the Pole insisting on one line, and McLeod and
+Bottineau on another. They separated. McLeod took the dogs, and he and
+they soon fell over a precipice and were covered up in a deep snow
+drift, where they remained quite comfortably through the night.
+Bottineau through his instincts reached the timber, and was safe, where
+he was joined the next morning by McLeod. The Englishman was afterwards
+discovered so badly frozen that he died, while the Pole was lost. The
+only trace of him that was ever discovered was his pistols, which were
+found on the prairie the next spring, the wolves having undoubtedly
+disposed of his remains.
+
+The remedy for these dangers is to avoid them by a close scrutiny of the
+weather, and by never venturing on a big prairie if you can by any means
+avoid it, and always being abundantly supplied with food for yourself
+and animals, whether horses or dogs, besides fuel, matches, blankets,
+robes, and all the paraphernalia of a snow camp, should you have to make
+one. No people are more careful in these particulars than the Indians
+themselves, from whom the French voyageurs undoubtedly learned their
+lessons.
+
+To give an idea of how treacherous the weather may be, and of what
+dangers frontier people are subjected to, I will relate an adventure in
+which I participated when living in the Indian country, which, however,
+turned out pleasantly. I had been at my Redwood agency for several days,
+and it became important that I should visit my upper agency, situated on
+the Yellow Medicine river, about thirty miles distant, up the Minnesota
+river. After crossing the Redwood river, the road led over a thirty-mile
+prairie, without a shrub on it as big as a walking stick. The day was
+bright and beautiful, and the ride promised to be a pleasant one, so I
+invited my surgeon, Dr. Daniels, and his wife to accompany me. They
+gladly accepted, and Mrs. Daniels took her baby along. (By the way, this
+baby is now the elder sister of the wife of one of our most
+distinguished attorneys, Mr. John V. I. Dodd.) Mr. Andrew Myrick, a
+trader at the agency, learning that we were going, decided to accompany
+us, and got up his team for the purpose, taking some young friends with
+him, and off we went.
+
+I had early taken the precaution to construct a sleigh especially
+adapted to winter travel in this exposed region. It had recesses where
+were stowed away provisions, fuel, tools, and many things to meet
+possible emergencies. The cushions were made of twelve pairs of
+four-point Mackinaw blankets, and the side rails were capable of
+carrying two carcasses of venison or mutton, so I felt quite capable of
+conquering a blizzard.
+
+I may say here that I had a surgeon at each agency, who were brothers,
+Dr. Asa W. Daniels at the lower agency and Dr. Jared Daniels at the
+upper, and this excursion presented a pleasant opportunity for the
+families to meet. The upper agency was in charge of my chief farmer, a
+Scotch gentleman by the name of Robertson. He was a mystery which I
+never unravelled,--a handsome, aristocratic, highly educated man about
+seventy years of age, with the manners of a Chesterfield. He had been in
+the Indian country for many years, had married a squaw, and raised a
+numerous family of children, and had been in the employment of the
+government ever since the making of the treaties. I always thought he
+once was a man of fortune, who had dissipated it in some way, after
+travelling the world over, and had sought oblivion in the wilds of
+America.
+
+There was a large comfortable log house at the Yellow Medicine agency,
+occupied by Robertson, which answered for all his purposes, both
+business and domestic, and furnished a home and office for me when I
+happened to be there; and on one occasion, during the Ink-pa-du-ta
+excitement, I found it made a very efficient fort for defense against
+the Indians.
+
+Our trip was uneventful, and we arrived in the evening. That night a
+blizzard sprang up that exceeded in severity anything of the kind in my
+experience, and I have had nearly half a century of Minnesota winters.
+It raged and rampaged. It piled the snow on the prairie in drifts of ten
+and twenty feet in height. It filled the river bottoms to the height of
+about three feet on the level. It lasted about ten days, during which
+time, we of course, did not dream of getting out, but amused ourselves
+as best we could. It was what the French called a _poudre de riz_, where
+there is more snow in the air than on the ground. Although I have been
+entertained in many parts of the world, and by many various kinds of
+people, I can say that I never enjoyed a few weeks more satisfactorily
+than those we spent under compulsion at the Yellow Medicine river on
+that occasion.
+
+Personal association with Mr. Robertson was not only a delight, but an
+education. He had been everywhere, and knew everything. He was charming
+in conversation and magnificent in hospitality, and the unique nature of
+his entertainment under his savage environments lent an additional charm
+to the situation. He soon became aware that we needed something
+exciting to sustain us in our enforced imprisonment, and he produced
+fiddlers and half-breed women for dancing. He gave us every day a dinner
+party composed of viands unknown outside of the frontier of North
+America. One day we would have the tail of the beaver, always regarded
+as a great delicacy on the border; the next, the paws of the bear
+soused, which, when served on a white dish, very much resembled the foot
+of a negro, but were good; then, again, roasted muskrat, which in the
+winter is as delicate as a young chicken; then fricasseed skunk, which,
+in season, is free from all offensive odor, and extremely delicate,--all
+served with _le riz sauvage_. In fact, he exhausted the resources of the
+country to make us happy.
+
+But Robertson's menu was the least part of it. Every evening he would
+assemble us, and read Shakespeare and the poetry of Burns to us. I never
+understood or enjoyed Burns until I heard it read and expounded by
+Robertson.
+
+The time passed in this pleasant fashion until we commenced to think we
+were "snowed in" for the winter, and I began to devise ways and means
+for getting out. I had to get out; but how, was the question. To cross
+the prairie was not to be thought of; we could not get an Indian to
+venture over it on snowshoes, let alone driving over it. Nothing had
+been heard of us below, and, as we learned afterwards, the St. Paul
+papers had published an account of our all being frozen to death, with
+full details of Andrew Myrick being found dead in his sleigh, with the
+lines in his hands and his horses standing stiff before him.
+
+I decided that an expedition might work its way through on the river
+bottoms, and we could follow in its trail. So I sent out a party with
+several heavy sleds, loaded with hay, and each drawn by four or five
+yoke of oxen to beat a track. They returned after several days' absence,
+and reported that the thing was impossible, and they could not get
+through. I then called for volunteers, and the French Canadians came to
+the front. I allowed them to organize their own expedition. They took
+their fiddles with them, and the agreement was, that if we didn't hear
+from them in five days, we were to consider that they were through, and
+we could follow. The days passed one after the other, and at the
+expiration of the time, we all started, and laboriously followed the
+trail they had beaten. We noticed their camps from day to day, and saw
+that they had not been distressed, and found them, at the end of the
+journey, as jolly as such people always are, whether in sunshine or
+storm.
+
+It is much more agreeable to write about blizzards than to encounter
+them.
+
+
+
+
+LAW AND LATIN.
+
+
+In the beginning of the settlement of the Minnesota valley, in the early
+fifties, a man named Tom Cowan located at Traverse des Sioux. His name
+will be at once recognized by all the old settlers. He was a Scotchman,
+and had been in business in Baltimore. Financial difficulties had driven
+him to the West, to begin life anew and grow up with the country. He was
+a very well read and companionable man, and exceedingly bright by
+nature, and at once became very popular with the people. His first
+venture was in the fur trade, but not knowing anything about it, his
+success was not brilliant. I remember that he once paid an immense price
+for a very large black bearskin, thinking he had struck a bonanza. He
+kept it on exhibition, until one day John S. Prince, who was an
+experienced fur buyer, dropped in, and after listening to Cowan's eulogy
+on his bear skin, quietly remarked: "He bear; not worth a d--n," which
+decision induced Tom to abandon the fur trade.
+
+There being no lawyer but one at Traverse des Sioux, and I having been
+elected to the supreme bench, Mr. Cowan decided to study law, and open
+an office for the practice of that profession. He accordingly proposed
+that he should study with me, which idea I strongly encouraged, and
+after about six weeks of diligent reading, principally devoted to the
+statutes, I admitted him to the bar, and he fearlessly announced himself
+as an attorney and counselor at law. In this venture he was phenomenally
+successful. He was a fine speaker, made an excellent argument on facts,
+and soon stood high in the profession. He took a leading part in
+politics, was made register of deeds of his county, went to the
+legislature, and was nominated for lieutenant governor of the state
+after its admission into the Union; but, of course, in all his practice
+he was never quite certain about the law of his cases. This deficiency
+was made up by dash and brilliancy, and he got along swimmingly.
+
+One day he came to my office and said: "Judgey, I am going to try a suit
+at Le Sueur to-morrow that involves $2,500. It is the biggest suit we
+have ever had in the valley, and I think it ought to have some Latin in
+it, and I want you to furnish me with that ingredient." I said: "Tom,
+what is it all about? I must know what kind of a suit it is before I can
+supply the Latin appropriately, and especially as I am not very much up
+in Latin myself."
+
+He said the suit was on an insurance policy; that he was defending on
+the ground of misrepresentations made by the insured on the making of
+the policy, and he must have some Latin to illustrate and strengthen his
+point.
+
+I mulled over the proposition, looked up some books on maxims, and
+finally gave him this, "_Non haec in federe veni_," which I translated
+to mean, "I did not enter into this contract." He was delighted, and
+said there ought to be no doubt of success with the aid of this
+formidable weapon, and made me promise to ride down with him to hear him
+get it off. So the next day we started, and in crossing the Le Sueur
+prairie, Cowan was hailed by a man who said he was under arrest for
+having kicked a man out of his house for insulting his family, and he
+wanted Tom to defend him. The justice's court was about a mile from the
+road, in a carpenter shop, the proprietor of which was the justice. Tom
+told him to demand a jury, and he would stop on his way back and help
+him out.
+
+When we arrived at Le Sueur we found that the case could not be heard
+that day, and, starting homeward, about four o'clock we reached the
+carpenter shop. There we found the jury awaiting us. We hitched the
+team, and I spread myself comfortably on a pile of shavings to witness
+the legal encounter. The complaining party proved his case. Cowan put
+his client on the witness stand, and showed the provocation. Then he
+addressed the jury. His defense was, want of criminal intent. He dwelt
+eloquently on the point that the gist of the offense was the intent with
+which the act was committed, and when it appeared that the act was
+justified, there could be no crime. Then, casting a quizzical glance at
+me, he struck a tragic attitude, and thundered out: "Gentlemen of the
+jury, it is indelibly recorded in all the works of Roman jurisprudence,
+'_Non haec in federe veni_,' which means there can be no crime without
+criminal intent." The effect was electrical; the jury acquitted the
+prisoner, and we drove home fully convinced that the law was not an
+exact science. With what effect Tom utilized his Latin in the insurance
+suit I have forgotten, or was never advised.
+
+
+
+
+INDIAN STRATEGY.
+
+
+In the summer of 1856 I had the celebrated battery commanded by Major T.
+W. Sherman of the United States Army (better known as the Buena Vista
+Battery, from the good work it did in the Mexican war) on duty in the
+Indian country, on account of a great excitement which prevailed among
+the Indians. The officers of the battery were Major Sherman, First
+Lieutenant Ayer, and Second Lieutenant Du Barry. Its force of men was
+about sixty, including noncommissioned officers. I think it had four
+guns, but of this I am not certain.
+
+One day, after skirmishing about over considerable country, we made a
+camp on the Yellow Medicine river, near a fine spring, and everything
+seemed comfortable. The formation of the camp was a square, with the
+guns and tents inside, and a sort of a picket line on all sides about a
+hundred yards from the center, on which the sentinels marched day and
+night. I tented with the major, and seeing that the Indians were allowed
+to come inside of the picket lines with their guns in their hands, I
+took the liberty of saying to him that I did not consider such a policy
+safe, because the Indians could, at a concerted signal, each pick out
+his man and shoot him down, and then where would the battery be? But the
+major's answer was, "Oh, we must not show any timidity." So I said no
+more, but it was just such misplaced confidence that afterwards cost
+General Canby his life among the Modocs, when he was shot down by
+Captain Jack. Things went on quietly, until one day a young soldier
+went down to the spring with his bucket and dipper for water, and an
+Indian who desired to make a name for himself among his fellows followed
+him stealthily, and when he was in a stooping posture, filling his
+bucket, came up behind him, and plunged a long knife into his neck,
+intending, of course, to kill him; but as luck would have it, the knife
+struck his collarbone and doubled up, so the Indian could not withdraw
+it. The shock nearly prostrated the soldier, but he succeeded in
+reaching camp. The major immediately demanded the surrender of the
+guilty party, and he was given up by the Indians. I noticed one thing,
+however; no more Indians were allowed inside the lines with their guns
+in their hands.
+
+When the prisoner was brought into camp a guard tent was established,
+and he was confined in it, with ten men to stand guard over him. These
+men were each armed with the minie rifle which was first introduced into
+the army, and which was quite an effective weapon.
+
+While all this was going on, we were holding pow-pows every day with the
+Indians, endeavoring to straighten out and clear up all the vexed
+questions between us. The manner of holding a council was to select a
+place on the prairie, plant an American flag in the center, and all
+hands squat down in a circle around it. Then the speechifying would
+commence, and last for hours without any satisfactory results. Anyone
+who has had much experience in Indian councils is aware of the
+hopelessness of arriving at a termination of the discussion. It very
+much resembles Turkish diplomacy. But the weather was pleasant, and
+everybody was patient.
+
+The Indians, however, were concocting plans all this time to effect the
+escape of the prisoner in the guardhouse. So one day they suggested a
+certain place for the holding of the council, giving some plausible
+reason for the change of location, and when the time arrived, everybody
+assembled, and the ring was formed. Those present consisted of all the
+traders, Superintendent Cullen, Major Sherman, Lieutenant Ayer,--in
+fact, all the white men at the agency,--and about one hundred Indians,
+everyone of whom had a gun in his hands. I had warned the major
+frequently not to allow an Indian to come into council with a gun, but
+he deemed it better not to show any timidity, and they were not
+prohibited. The council on this occasion was held about four hundred
+yards from the battery camp, and on lower ground, but with no
+obstruction between them. The scheme of the savages was to spring to
+their feet on a concerted signal and begin firing their guns all around
+the council circle, so as to create a great excitement and bring
+everyone to his feet, and just at this moment the prisoner in the
+guardhouse was to make a run in the direction of the council, keeping
+exactly between the guard and the whites in the council ring, believing
+that the soldiers would not fire for fear of killing their own people.
+When the time arrived every Indian in the ring jumped to his feet and
+fired in the air, creating a tremendous fusilade, and as had been
+expected, the most frightful panic followed, and everyone thinking that
+a general massacre of the whites had begun, they scattered in all
+directions. Instantly the prisoner ran for the crowd, and an Indian can
+sprint like a deer. Contrary to expectations, every one of the ten
+guards opened fire on him, and seven of them hit him, but curiously not
+one of the wounds stopped his progress, and he got away; but the bullets
+went over and among the whites, one ricocheting through the coat of
+Major Cullen. The prisoner never was caught, but I heard a great deal
+about him afterwards. His exploit of stabbing the soldier and his almost
+miraculous escape made him one of the most celebrated medicine men of
+his band, and he continued to work wonders thenceforth.
+
+After the return of the battery I was informed by my close friends among
+the Indians that they had sat on the hills overlooking the camp and
+concocted all kinds of schemes to take it, the principal one of which
+was to fill bladders with water, and pour them over the touch-holes of
+the guns, and, as they supposed, render them useless, and then open fire
+on the men. Fortunately nothing of the kind was tried, but I was
+convinced that no one can be too cautious when in the country of a
+savage enemy. A good lesson can be learned from this narrative by the
+people now occupying the country of the Filipinos.
+
+One pleasing circumstance resulted from the presence of this battery in
+the Indian country. About thirty years after the occurrences I have been
+narrating I had occasion to transact some business with the adjutant
+general of our state at his office in the capitol, and after completing
+it I was about to retire, when the general said to me: "Judge, you don't
+seem to remember me." I replied: "General, did I ever have the pleasure
+of your acquaintance?" "Not exactly," he said, "but don't you remember
+the time when you had the old Sherman Battery in the field, with its
+tall first sergeant?" I said: "I recall the event quite clearly, but not
+the sergeant." He said: "One day, after a long, hot march, I was laying
+out the camp, and you were sitting on your horse observing the
+operation, when you noticed me and called me to you, and pulling a flask
+from your pocket or holster, you asked me to take a drink. That is a
+long time ago, but I remember it as the best drink I ever had, and I
+always associate you pleasantly with it." The tall sergeant had matured
+into a most dignified and charming gentleman, with whom I have ever
+since enjoyed the most agreeable relations.
+
+The moral of this story is, that when you are in the country of hostile
+savages, never accept any confidences or take any chances, and when you
+have more drinks than you can conveniently absorb, divide with your
+neighbor.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST STATE ELECTION RETURNS FROM PEMBINA.
+
+
+The State of Wisconsin was admitted into the Union in the year 1848,
+with the St. Croix river as its western boundary. This arrangement left
+St. Paul, St. Anthony, Stillwater, Marine, Taylor's Falls and other
+settlements, which had sprung up in Wisconsin west of the St. Croix,
+without any government. The inhabitants of these communities immediately
+sought ways and means to extricate themselves from the dilemma in which
+they were placed. There were a great many men among them of marked
+ability and influence--Henry M. Rice, Henry H. Sibley, Morton S.
+Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss, John McKusick, Joseph R. Brown, Martin McLeod,
+Wm. R. Marshall and others. Differences of opinion existed as to whether
+the remnant of Wisconsin on the west side of the St. Croix still
+remained the Territory of Wisconsin or whether it was a kind of "no
+man's land," without a government of any kind. Governor Dodge of the
+territory had been elected to the senate of the United States for the
+new state. The delegate to congress had resigned, and the government of
+the territory had been cast upon the secretary, Mr. John Catlin, who
+became governor ex-officio on the vacancy happening in the office of
+governor. He lived in Madison, in the new state, and would have to move
+over the line into the deserted section if he proposed to exercise the
+functions of his office. A correspondence was opened with him, and he
+was invited to come to Stillwater, and proclaim the existence of the
+territory by calling an election for a delegate to congress from
+Wisconsin Territory. He accepted the call, moved to Stillwater, and in
+the month of September, 1848, issued his proclamation. An election was
+held in November following, and Henry H. Sibley was chosen delegate from
+Wisconsin Territory to the congress of the United States.
+
+Sibley procured the passage of an act, on March 3, 1849, organizing the
+Territory of Minnesota, and we have had regular elections ever since.
+
+There is a little unwritten history connected with the transaction above
+related. The principal citizens west of the St. Croix fixed things up
+among the settlements in a manner entirely satisfactory to themselves.
+They divided the prospective spoils about as follows: Sibley lived at
+Mendota, and that place was to have the delegate to congress, St. Paul
+was to have the capital, Stillwater the penitentiary, and St. Anthony
+the university, which comprised all there was to divide. The program was
+faithfully carried out, and has been maintained ever since, although
+various attempts have been made to violate the treaty by the removal of
+the capital from St. Paul; but I am glad to be able to say, in behalf of
+honesty and fair dealing, none of them have been successful.
+
+The existence of this unwritten treaty has been denied, but there are
+men yet living in the state who took part in it, and have publicly
+affirmed its authenticity. Judge Douglas of Illinois, when chairman of
+the senate committee on territories, insisted on placing the capital at
+Mendota, with the building on the top of Pilot Knob, and had it not been
+for the stern integrity of Sibley, he would have succeeded, to the
+everlasting inconvenience and discomfort of our people.
+
+There were really no politics worthy of the name during the years of the
+territory. All the principal offices were filled by appointment by the
+general government, and the rest of them determined by personal
+rivalries. The main business of the territory was the fur trade, carried
+on by warring companies, whose chief factors sought office more for the
+sake of its influence on their business than for the principles they
+represented.
+
+I remember one year the legislature, in a spasm of virtue, passed a
+prohibitory liquor law, which the supreme court, under the influence of
+a counter spasm, immediately set aside as unconstitutional. Outside of
+the cities, where the missionaries exerted a strong influence, the
+contention was usually whisky or no whisky; in fact, there was very
+little else to fight about.
+
+The first government was appointed by the Whigs (the Republican party
+being yet unborn), and as Governor Ramsey was from Pennsylvania, we had
+a great influx of immigration from that state. The second governor
+(Gorman) was appointed by the Democrats, and came from Indiana, and the
+people of that state being much more migratory than the Pennsylvanians,
+we were flooded with Hoosiers. These various influences caused
+differences of opinion and interests sufficient to keep the political
+pot boiling quite lively, but on lines that were necessarily personal
+and temporary in their bearing. We soon, however, approached the more
+important subject of statehood, and, strange as it may seem to the
+present generation, the question of slavery was a strong factor. The
+Republican party was born about 1854, and as its principal creed was
+opposition to the extension of slavery, its followers naturally forced
+the subject into the politics of the day. I can, however, positively
+affirm that no one of any political faith had the slightest idea of
+introducing slavery into Minnesota. A constitution for the proposed
+state was framed in 1857, and in the fall of that year the election for
+the officers of the first state government was held, and, of course,
+great interest was manifested as to the result. The general election was
+fixed by law for November in all of the counties of the territory except
+one. The county of Pembina was so distant from the capital that it was
+found to be difficult to get the returns in so as to be counted with
+those of the rest of the state. The only transportation between the two
+places was by Red River carts, drawn by oxen in the summer, and by dog
+trains in the winter; the distance to be travelled was about four
+hundred miles, and the time necessary to compass it nearly or quite a
+month. The legislature had, in 1853, in order to remedy this difficulty,
+and because the population was on its annual buffalo hunt in November,
+passed an act fixing the time for holding elections in the county of
+Pembina on the second Tuesday in September in each year, thus giving
+ample opportunity to get the returns to the authorities in St. Paul in
+time to be counted with those from the other districts. The result of
+this was that no one outside of Pembina ever knew how many votes had
+been polled in that district until long after the rest of the territory
+had been heard from, and it became a common saying among the Whigs that
+the Pembina returns were held back until it became known how many votes
+were necessary to carry the election for the Democrats, and that they
+were fixed accordingly, which the Democrats denounced as a Whig lie.
+
+About all that was known of Pembina was that it was inhabited by a
+savage looking race of Chippewa half-breeds, and that Joe Rolette lived
+there, and Norman W. Kittson went there occasionally. It carried on an
+immense trade in furs with St. Paul, by means of brigades of Red River
+carts each summer and by dog trains in the winter, and the more you saw
+of these people the more you were impressed with their savage appearance
+and bearing.
+
+The first state election, curious as it may appear, was held in 1857,
+before the state was admitted into the Union, which latter event was
+postponed until May 11, 1858, and when the votes from all the counties
+except Pembina had been returned to the proper officer the result, as
+far as could be ascertained before the official count was made, was
+somewhat in doubt, which circumstance naturally excited great interest
+in the Pembina election, as it was well known that all the votes from
+that district would be Democratic, so the great question was, "How
+many?"
+
+While the country was holding its breath in suspense and expectancy, a
+man in the Indian trade, named Madison Sweetzer, came to me about two
+o'clock one night, or rather morning, and told me that Nat. Tyson, who
+was a merchant in St. Paul and an enthusiastic Republican, had just
+started for the north with a fast team and an outfit that looked as if
+he contemplated a long journey, and his belief was that he intended to
+capture Joe Rolette and the Pembina returns. I thought such might be the
+case, and we immediately began to devise ways and means to circumvent
+him. We hastened to the house of Henry M. Rice, who knew every trader
+and half-breed between here and Pembina, and laid our suspicions before
+him. He diagnosed the case in an instant, and sent us to Norman W.
+Kittson, who lived in a stone house well up on Jackson street, with
+instructions to him to send a mounted courier after Tyson, who was to
+pass him on the road, and either find Rolette or Major Clitheral, who
+was an Alabama man and one of the United States land officers in the
+neighborhood of Crow Wing (and, of course, a reliable Democrat), and to
+deliver a letter to the one first found, putting him on guard against
+the supposed enemy. I prepared the letter, and Kittson in a few moments
+had summoned a reliable Chippewa half-breed, mounted him on a fine
+horse, fully explained his mission, and impressed upon him that he was
+to reach Clitheral or Rolette ahead of Tyson, if he had to kill a dozen
+horses in so doing. There is nothing a fine, active young half-breed
+enjoys so much as an adventure of this kind; a ride of four hundred
+miles had no terrors for him, and to serve his employer, no matter what
+the duty or the danger, was his delight. When he was ready to start,
+Kittson gave him a send-off in about the following words: "_Va, va,
+vite, et ne t'arrette pas, meme pour sauver la vie_" ("Go; go quick; and
+don't stop even to save your life"), and giving his horse a vigorous
+slap, he was off like the wind.
+
+The result was that he passed Tyson before he had gone twenty miles,
+found Clitheral a day and a half before Tyson reached Crow Wing, if he
+ever did get there, delivered his letter, and the major immediately
+started to find Rolette, which he succeeded in doing, took the returns
+and put them in a belt around his person, and having relieved Joe of all
+his responsibility, left him to his own devices, which meant painting
+all the towns red that he visited on his way. We well knew that Joe
+could no more resist the temptations of civilization than an old sailor
+returning from a long voyage, and what we apprehended was that he might,
+while in a too-convivial mood, either lose the returns, or have them
+stolen from him.
+
+The tone of the letter was so urgent that the major did not know but
+that half the Republicans in St. Paul might be lying in wait to capture
+him, so he did not enter the town directly, but went to Fort Snelling,
+and left the returns with an officer of the army, and then proceeded to
+St. Paul. When we explained to him that no one but Rice, Kittson,
+Sweetzer and myself knew anything about the matter, he was relieved, but
+still cautious. He waited for a few days, and then proposed to a lady to
+take a ride with him to Fort Snelling. When they started home, he gave
+her a bundle and asked her to care for it while he drove, which she
+unsuspectingly did, and that is the way the Pembina returns of
+Minnesota's first state election reached the capital. It is needless to
+say how many votes they represented, but only to announce that the
+election went Democratic.
+
+Whether Tyson had any idea of doing what we suspected him of, I never
+discovered, but if that was his purpose, he had a long ride for nothing,
+and as our scheme terminated so successfully, I am willing to acquit him
+of the charge.
+
+
+
+
+A FRONTIER STORY WHICH CONTAINS A ROBBERY, TWO DESERTIONS,
+A CAPTURE AND A SUICIDE.
+
+
+In 1856 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux. My agencies were
+at Redwood, about thirteen miles above Fort Ridgely, and at Yellow
+Medicine, on a river of that name, emptying into the Minnesota about
+fifty miles above the fort. Under the treaties with these Indians the
+government paid them large sums of money and great quantities of goods,
+semi-annually, at the agencies. Up to a short time before the event
+which I am about to relate these payments were made by the agent, but,
+for some reason best known to the government, the making of the payment
+was turned over to the superintendent of Indian affairs having charge of
+the tribes. The manner of making these payments before the change was
+this: I would receive from the superintendent, at St. Paul, the money,
+in silver and gold (this being long before the days of greenbacks),
+amounting to a full wagon load, and take it up to the agencies, while
+the goods would be delivered by the contractors in steamboats, a census
+of the Indians would be taken, and the money and goods equally divided
+among them.
+
+After this duty was withdrawn from the agents and imposed upon the
+superintendents, of course all responsibility for the money and goods
+was shifted from the former and laid upon the latter, which was to me a
+great relief, as I had transported many wagon loads of specie from St.
+Paul to the agencies without guard, and at great personal and financial
+risk. A payment was due early in July, 1857, and the superintendent had
+brought the money as far as Fort Ridgely. Arriving at that point, news
+came of much excitement among the Indians at the agencies, which was not
+at all unusual, as thousands of savage fellows used to come in from the
+Missouri river country, and make trouble for our tribes about payment
+time, and the superintendent decided it was prudent to leave the money
+at Fort Ridgely until matters quieted down. There was no vault or other
+safe place in which to deposit the money at the fort, so it was placed
+in a room occupied by the quartermaster's clerk, a Frenchman, an
+enlisted man, and he, with another soldier, a German, who was the post
+baker, were put in charge of it. This Frenchman had been selected from
+the ranks of Captain Sully's company and made quartermaster's clerk on
+account of his superior education, his excellent penmanship and his good
+character. I always have thought he was some unfortunate young
+gentleman, serving under an assumed name. The money was all in stout
+wooden mint boxes, holding each $1,000 in silver, and in gold about
+$25,000 or more, there being usually one or two boxes of gold. The boxes
+were spread on the floor of the room, and the men slept on them.
+
+The constitutional convention to frame the organic law for the proposed
+State of Minnesota had been called to convene in St. Paul, on the
+thirteenth day of July, 1857, and the people of the Minnesota valley had
+done me the honor to elect me a member of it. I had delayed starting for
+St. Paul until a day or two before the meeting of the convention, and
+having heard rumors that there would be trouble in organizing it, I felt
+very anxious to be there on the opening day. The only mode of
+transportation, except the river, in those days, was the little
+canvas-covered stages of Messrs. M. O. Walker & Co., which would hold
+four inside comfortably, and six on a pinch. When the down stage reached
+Traverse des Sioux, on the morning of the 11th of July, it was full;
+that is, there were five inside, three on the back seat, and two on the
+front, and one man on the seat with the driver. I insisted strenuously
+on going, and said I would ride in the boot rather than not go at all,
+my insistence, of course, having reference to my desire to be at the
+opening of the convention. I was admitted, and took my place on the
+front seat, with my back to the driver, and my knees interlocked with
+those of the passenger on the back seat who faced me. At this time I had
+heard nothing of what had happened at the fort. The fact was that the
+two men who had been placed in charge of the money had opened one of the
+boxes of gold, taken out a bag containing $5,000 in quarter eagles, and
+sealed it up again. When the superintendent sent down for his money, and
+it was loaded into the wagon, the two soldiers immediately deserted,
+which, of course, excited the suspicions of the officers. A courier was
+at once dispatched to the agency to see if the money was all right, and
+the theft was soon discovered. The superintendent, who was then Major
+Cullen, had handbills struck off, giving the description of the
+deserters, and offering $600 for their capture and the return of the
+money. Couriers were dispatched in all directions to effect their
+arrest, and one of the handbills reached Henderson, which was the county
+seat of Sibley county, some twenty miles down the river from the point
+at which I took the stage. A deputy sheriff of that county had started
+out to hunt the thieves and secure the reward, carrying one of the
+handbills with him, and had proceeded up the river as far as Le Sueur,
+about half way between Traverse des Sioux and Henderson.
+
+It is well to state here that the stages carried the mails, and always
+stopped at the post towns long enough to deliver the incoming and
+receive the outgoing mails, which afforded time for a bit of gossip, a
+drink, and a stretch of the legs. There were two postoffices in Le
+Sueur, in upper town and lower town, about a mile and a half apart. As
+soon as the stage stopped at upper town, the deputy sheriff handed me
+the handbill through the window, announcing the theft and describing the
+thieves. I read it right in the face of my vis-a-vis, and after
+congratulating myself that I had no responsibility for the lost money, I
+remarked to the sheriff: "Of course, you don't expect to find these
+fellows on the main thoroughfare. They are probably now going down the
+Missouri in a canoe." Nothing more occurred until we arrived at the
+lower town postoffice, where we again stopped to change the mails.
+
+Let me here state that the man in front of me was the Frenchman, and the
+man on the front seat with the driver was the German, the deserting
+thieves. The Frenchman was slight of build, but the German was a
+powerful fellow, and had in his hand a double-barrelled shotgun. I, of
+course, had no idea of their identity at this time; but they, and
+especially the Frenchman, knew me perfectly well, having frequently seen
+me about the garrison. They had construed my anxiety to go on the stage
+into the belief that I knew them, and was after them, and had made my
+remark to the sheriff as a mere blind connected with some other scheme
+for their capture. It must have been a trying ordeal for the man in
+front of me, who was evidently watching my every move, and feeling the
+weight of his guilt, supposed I knew all about it.
+
+While we were waiting the change of mail at Lower Le Sueur, the deputy
+sheriff asked me to get out of the stage, and said to me: "Major [I was
+called major in those days], had we not better take another look at
+those fellows in the stage? They are going out of the country when
+everybody is coming in. It looks to me suspicious." I agreed with him,
+and took another look. I at once discovered that they were both dressed
+from head to foot in new slop-shop clothes, indicating the necessity for
+an entire change of costume, and I concluded from this clue there were
+sufficient grounds to suspect them. So the deputy sheriff said: "You
+hold the stage ten or fifteen minutes, and I'll go to Henderson, and
+take out a warrant, and arrest them on the arrival of the stage; so
+that, if we are mistaken, no particular harm will be done." He started
+on. I got my hand-bag out of the boot, and buckled on my six-shooter,
+all of which was seen by the thieves, who must have fully understood the
+program; at least, such must have been the case with the Frenchman, as
+subsequent events led me to doubt whether the German was a participant
+in the theft, or more than a mere deserter. I had a sense of uneasiness
+about the double-barrelled shotgun carried by the German, but I thought
+I could handle the other man. We started, and, much to my relief, when
+we reached the ferry over the river, the German fired one barrel of his
+gun at a pigeon, and snapped several caps on the other, which refused to
+go off. As we approached Henderson, quite a crowd had gathered at the
+hotel to see the arrest, and just as the stage swung up to the sidewalk,
+the Frenchman took out of his pocket a small penknife, the largest blade
+of which could not have been over four inches long. He opened it so
+quietly that it did not excite my apprehensions in the least, although I
+had my right hand on my six-shooter, intending to draw and cover him the
+moment the stage stopped. He made a desperate lunge at his breast with
+the knife, and handing me a carpetbag which lay on his lap, he said,
+"The money is all in this bag, sir," just as if we had been talking the
+whole matter over. I, fearing that he might strike at me with the knife,
+drew my revolver and struck him sharply over the knuckles, making the
+knife fly out of the window, and seizing him by the throat with my left
+hand, I covered him with my pistol. The stage stopped. Retaining my hold
+on him, and still covering him with my pistol, we got out of the stage,
+on the sidewalk. He wavered for a second, and fell dead. He had put the
+knife an inch into his heart. I found in a belt on his body, and in the
+bag $5,320 in gold, which I deposited in the United States land office,
+at Henderson, subject to the order of Major Cullen, who got it all in
+good time. The Frenchman had in his pocket some letters from a lady in
+Strasburg, written in French, conveying some very tender sentiments. I
+never thought he was a bad man, but had yielded, as many do, to a strong
+temptation, and had decided to die rather than be captured. It was not
+more than twenty minutes before we were on our way to St. Paul. As no
+evidence connected the German with the theft, he was sent back simply as
+a deserter.
+
+A curious question arose as to the reward. Major Cullen insisted on
+giving it to me. I knew very well that, had it not been for the superior
+detective sagacity of the deputy, the thieves would never have been
+caught, so I refused it, as I would have done under any circumstances.
+Then the sheriff claimed it, and finally the major left its disposition
+to me, and I divided it between the sheriff and the deputy, partly
+because I thought it just, and partly to keep the peace in the sheriff's
+official family. Where the extra $320 came from, or where it went, I
+never knew nor cared.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE PONY EXPRESS.
+
+
+As western settlement progressed after the purchase of the Louisiana
+territory from France in 1803, it gradually extended up the west side of
+the Mississippi, until the State of Missouri was admitted into the
+Union, in 1820, which was followed by the States of Iowa and Minnesota,
+along the line of the Mississippi, and Kansas and Nebraska, on the
+Missouri. The Mexican War occurred in 1846, and as one of its fruits
+California was ceded to the United States, and was admitted to the Union
+in 1850. The territory which now composes the States of Washington,
+Oregon and Idaho was finally determined to belong to our country by the
+treaty with Great Britain, which was signed July 17, 1846, fixing the
+boundary line between us and the British possessions at the forty-ninth
+parallel of north latitude. These extreme western acquisitions gave us
+an immense coast line on the Pacific Ocean, leaving a stretch of country
+between our Pacific and central possessions, on the Missouri, of
+considerably over two thousand miles in extent, which was uninhabited by
+whites, and composed the hunting grounds of many savage tribes of
+Indians and the pasture ranges of countless herds of buffalo. This vast
+area of country was practically unknown and unexplored, although it had
+been crossed by the expeditions of Lewis and Clark, in 1805-1806, John
+Jacob Astor in 1811, Captain Bonneville in 1832, Marcus Whitman in 1836,
+and John C. Fremont in 1843, to which sources of information may be
+added the prejudiced reports of the Hudson Bay Company.
+
+When California was ceded to us by Mexico, very little was thought of it
+as an acquisition to our possessions. It was looked upon as a country
+out of which a small trade in hides and tallow might grow, but nothing
+more. I have heard it denounced on the floor of the house of
+representatives, in Washington, by some of the wisest statesmen of the
+day, as a bear garden, unfit for the use of civilized man; but prophets
+usually make bad work of matters about which they know absolutely
+nothing, which was the case with California in 1848. However,
+adventurous spirits soon found their way there, as they have always done
+in Western America, and in 1848 or 1849 gold was found accidentally by
+Captain Sutter, in digging a mill-race on his ranch, which discovery at
+once settled the status and fortunes of California. The news soon
+reached the States, and spread like a prairie fire on a windy day. All
+the subsequent gold excitements of Frazier river, down to and including
+the Klondike, have been insignificant in comparison. I was in New York
+at the time, and used to sit on the East river wharves, and see the
+ships sailing away for distant California with an insatiable boyish
+longing to join in the procession.
+
+There was no way of reaching the promised land except by a voyage around
+Cape Horn or an overland trip from western Missouri across the great
+American desert, the Rocky and Sierra Nevada ranges of mountains, either
+of which routes necessitated a weary and dangerous trip of nine months'
+duration. The usual plan adopted in the East was to form a company of
+about one hundred or more men, calculate the probable expense to each,
+and divide it, purchase an old whaling ship, fit her up with bunks and
+cooking appliances, and get an outfit and sail. Of course, there was
+nothing involved in the enterprise but the departure, the voyage and the
+arrival at San Francisco. No steamer had ever crossed the ocean at this
+time, and all navigation was done in sailing ships. So great was the
+rush that a scarcity of ships was soon felt. I remember distinctly on
+one occasion, when an old played-out vessel, purchased by a party which
+proposed to take out a printing press and start the first newspaper, was
+seized by the maritime authorities and condemned as unseaworthy just as
+she was leaving port. The next morning she was gone, and made one of the
+quickest and most successful voyages of the emigration. It is a curious
+fact that, out of all the ships that enlisted in this hazardous
+enterprise, not one was lost or seriously damaged.
+
+The overland route involved more dangers and hardships than the one by
+sea. Many people died on the way from exhaustion and disease, and many
+were killed by the Indians, but the emigration never ceased, or even
+lessened, from these reasons. I have followed the trails made by these
+emigrants in the Sierra Nevadas, and it seemed almost impossible that
+animals could have climbed the precipitous mountain slopes they
+encountered. These hardships, however, did not go unrewarded, because to
+enjoy the distinction of being a "Forty-niner" was ever afterwards a
+badge of nobility on the Pacific Coast.
+
+It was not long, under this vast influx of immigration, before
+California became a well settled state, and its business relations with
+the rest of the country, or as it was then called, "The States," became
+very extensive and important, and the difficulty of intercommunication
+was seriously felt. There were no telegraphs and no railroads, and no
+way for business men to correspond with each other except across a
+continent on wheels or around a continent by sea. What was to be done?
+It did not take the genius of American enterprise long to solve the
+problem. The overland immigration and its incidents had developed a
+class of men skilled in horsemanship, Indian fighting, and all the
+accomplishments that attend the latter, such as courage, wary
+intelligence, and a peculiar sagacity in trailing and scouting, only
+learned by intercourse with wild animals and wild men. Such men, for
+instance, as Col. Wm. Cody, now celebrated as "Buffalo Bill," and Robert
+Haslam, distinguished as "Pony Bob," are its best representatives. This
+class of men much resembled the rough riders of to-day, and could be
+relied upon for any enterprise that involved adventure, courage and
+endurance. At the same time, the country was not lacking in a higher
+degree of intellect which could conceive a project that would call into
+play the utmost ability of this class of men.
+
+California had been, and I think was, in 1860, represented in the senate
+of the United States by Senator Guin, who was associated with Alexander
+Majors and Daniel E. Phelps in transportation matters. They conceived
+the project of reducing the time between the Pacific Coast and the
+States by the establishment of an express, from St. Joseph, on the
+Missouri river, to Sacramento in California, a distance of about two
+thousand miles, which was to carry special business mails, together with
+light and valuable express matter, by means of ponies, ridden by young
+men rapidly for short distances, between the two points. Of course, this
+scheme involved an immense expenditure for stations all along the route,
+horses and men to ride them, and all other elements that would
+necessarily enter into the scheme. The matter was discussed fully at
+both ends of the route, and found many advocates and much opposition.
+The most experienced plainsmen and mountaineers pronounced it
+impracticable, on account of the dangers to be met with, and the
+opinion was expressed that no package risked on this line would ever
+reach its destination, and that all the riders would be murdered before
+a test could be made. Sense and experience seemed to uphold these views.
+It must be remembered that the whole distance was a wilderness of desert
+and mountain ranges, little known, and infested with the most savage
+Indian tribes on the continent, the relations of which with the whites
+were either unsettled or hostile. But, nothing daunted, the projectors
+decided to carry out their design, win or lose. They purchased six
+hundred Texas bronchos, built all the necessary stations, employed all
+the men required to operate and defend them, and secured seventy-five
+riders from the adventurous men found on the borders. The wages paid the
+riders were from $125 to $150 a month, with rations, and singular as it
+may seem to people of to-day, these positions were much sought for.
+Danger among this class of men has an irresistible fascination, and
+writing about it recalls an incident which verifies the assertion fully.
+When I lived in Carson City, Nev., the office of sheriff of Ormsby
+county, in which Carson was situated, was the most coveted position in
+the gift of the people, and it was well known that there never was an
+incumbent of it who had not died in his boots.
+
+The whole arrangement was perfected with western rapidity, and the first
+pony started from St. Joseph in Missouri on the third day of April,
+1860. On the same day and hour the western pony started from Sacramento
+in California. The distance between the stations was about forty miles,
+and was ridden in the shortest time possible. Two minutes were allowed
+for refreshments and change of horses. Each rider carried about ten
+pounds, and the freight charged for the full distance was five dollars
+an ounce. The line was maintained successfully for about two years,
+without any interruption more serious than the occasional killing of a
+rider by the Indians, when, in June, 1862, the first transcontinental
+telegraph went into operation, and the pony express, being no longer
+profitable, yielded, as many other things have since, to the
+all-conquering invader, electricity.
+
+The first pony carried from the president of the United States a
+congratulatory message to the governor of California. The best time ever
+made between the two extreme points was when the last message of
+President Buchanan reached Sacramento in eight and one-half days from
+Washington. It seems almost incredible that such time could have been
+made with animals, when we reflect that the first expedition sent out by
+Mr. Astor, was eleven months in crossing the continent.
+
+The pony express was a success financially to its projectors, and
+satisfied the hungering of the people for news from points so distant
+from each other, and immensely facilitated the transaction of business;
+but, in my opinion, it was most important in demonstrating that the
+western American never shrinks from encountering and overcoming
+obstacles that to most people would seem insurmountable.
+
+
+
+
+KISSING DAY.
+
+
+The Sioux Indian is an exceptionally fine specimen of physical manhood.
+His whole method of life tends to this result. He lives in the open air.
+He may be said to be born with arms in his hands. From the moment he is
+old enough to draw a bowstring, he commences warfare on birds and small
+animals. As he advances to manhood, he becomes familiar with the use of
+firearms, and extends his warfare to the buffalo and the larger animals.
+He rides on horseback from infancy, and excels as a daring horseman. He
+goes on the warpath when half-grown, and learns strategy from the wolf
+and the panther. He is a meat eater, which diet conduces to the growth
+of a lean, muscular, athletic frame, and a bold and highly spirited
+temperament. He is taught to spurn labor of any kind as unmanly, and
+only fit for women. His life occupation is, in the language of the old
+school histories and geographies, "hunting, fishing and war," in each
+and all of which accomplishments he becomes surpassingly expert.
+
+I attribute the superiority of the Sioux over many other tribes to their
+meat diet and their method of transportation--the horse. This
+peculiarity has been noticed by travellers and historians for many
+years. There is an old and true adage which says, "We are what we eat."
+Washington Irving, in his story of "Astoria," says in regard to this
+subject:
+
+    "The effect of different modes of life upon the human frame and
+    human character is strikingly instanced in the contrast between
+    the hunting Indians of the prairies and the piscatory Indians of
+    the sea coast. The former, continually on horseback, scouring
+    the plains, gaining their food by hardy exercise, and subsisting
+    chiefly on flesh, are generally sinewy, tall, meagre, but well
+    formed and of bold and fierce deportment. The latter, lounging
+    about the river banks, or squatting or curved up in their
+    canoes, are generally low in stature, ill-shaped, with crooked
+    legs, thick ankles, and broad flat feet. They are inferior also
+    in muscular power and activity, and in game qualities and
+    appearance, to their hard-riding brethren of the prairies."
+
+The general habits of the Sioux warrior tend to make him lordly, proud,
+and somewhat taciturn and morose, although he is not without a strong
+sense of humor. He is a good husband and indulgent father, but not at
+all demonstrative in his affections. Very little billing and cooing is
+noticeable among the nearest relations, and none between lovers. A kiss
+is regarded more as a ceremony than an endearment.
+
+In the natural and savage state of these people, they counted time by
+moons and seasons, having no division of years, and, of course, knew
+nothing of our red letter days of Christmas or New Year's,--but after
+the advent of the Christian missionaries among them, they were taught to
+understand the meaning of New Year's day, and to recognize its arrival,
+and to distinguish it they called it "Kissing Day," everybody being
+expected to bestow a kiss upon his or her friends in honor of the day.
+
+In 1857 I lived among the Sioux, having them in charge as their agent,
+appointed by the United States government, and when New Year's day came
+around, I found myself at the Yellow Medicine Agency, but was ignorant
+of their peculiar ceremonies for the occasion. I proposed to make the
+best of my isolation from my kind, and spend the day as pleasantly as
+circumstances would permit. While debating the subject of what to do, I
+was informed of the way the Indians celebrated the event, and told that
+I would probably be called upon by a numerous delegation of squaws, and
+that it would be expected that I should receive them by the bestowal of
+some sort of present. Not wishing to be ungallant, and desiring to gain
+information of the customs and manners of my savage wards, I ordered my
+baker to prepare several barrels of ginger bread, and purchased many
+yards of gaily colored calico, which I had cut into proper pieces for
+women's dresses, and with this outfit, prepared to meet the enemy.
+
+At this point I will say a word about the Sioux girl and woman. As a
+general thing, the very young girl is by nature pretty and attractive. I
+have seen many at the age of thirteen and fourteen who had graceful
+figures, good carriage, and very beautiful faces; but they marry very
+young, and as soon as married become pack-horses for their husbands,
+carrying loads on their backs, by means of a head strap across the
+forehead, that it takes two men to lift from the ground, and very often
+when thus loaded babies, puppies, and many other things, will be put on
+top of the pack. They will trudge fifteen or twenty miles a day with
+this burden, bending forward, and staggering under its weight. The
+result is to spoil the figure and gait, and deprive them of every
+semblance of beauty. The awkward walk produced by this hard labor we
+used to call "The Dakota shamble." Under this treatment they soon look
+old, and become wrinkled, and are called "Wakonkas," which might be
+translated to mean old witches.
+
+With this visitation in prospect, I awaited quietly their coming. About
+ten in the morning they began to assemble about the agency in groups of
+all sizes and ages. I could hear a great deal of giggling among the
+girls, and scolding by the elder women. They were apparently selecting
+someone to break the ice by making the first assault. Presently a
+venerable dame opened the door, and sidled in like a crab. She
+approached me and kissed me on both cheeks, and received her presents.
+Then they followed in a line, old and young, pretty and ugly, each
+giving me a hearty kiss, which, in some cases, I returned with interest.
+The ceremony continued with great hilarity and much frolicksome
+tittering and fun, until forty-eight squaws had kissed and been kissed
+by me. They all carried off their presents and seemed very happy.
+Whether it was all caused by the presents or not, I am unable to say,
+but I was not the grizzled old fellow then that I have since become. I
+have celebrated a good many New Year's days, both before and since, but
+none have left a more agreeable impression than the one I have
+described. I have never known the exact figures of Hobson's Kansas
+experience, nor can I make a just comparison between the Sioux and the
+Kansas article, but from the general reputation of that state, I would
+recommend the caress of the untutored aborigines.
+
+If Hobson ever reads this story he will have to admit that there were
+others.
+
+
+
+
+A POLITICAL RUSE.
+
+
+All people who keep the run of politics will remember that the
+Republican party, now called the "Grand Old Party" (I suppose on account
+of its extreme youth), had its birth in the year 1854, after the death
+of the Whig party, and succeeded to the position in American politics
+formerly occupied by the Whigs, with a strong tinge of abolition added.
+It was, of course, largely recruited from the Whigs, but had quite
+formidable acquisitions from the Free-soil Democrats. It sprang into
+prominence and power with phenomenal rapidity, coming very near to
+electing a president in 1856, and succeeding in 1860. Minnesota resisted
+the attractions of the new party, and remained Democratic until 1857,
+when the first state election occurred, and the whole Democratic state
+ticket was elected. Since then the Democrats have never succeeded in our
+state, unless the election of Governor Lind in 1898 may be called a
+Democratic victory.
+
+It was very natural that the politicians who had joined the new party
+should be exceedingly zealous and enthusiastic for its success. Such is
+usually the case, and verifies the old proverb, that "A converted Turk
+makes the best Christian." This phase of political tendencies was fully
+illustrated by the conduct of my old friend, Mr. James W. Lynd of
+Henderson, more familiarly known by us as "Jim Lynd," which occurred at
+the election of 1856, and forms the text for the present story.
+
+In the early days of the territory much had been said, and generally
+believed, about frauds being perpetrated by the Democrats in the
+elections on the frontier. For instance, it was asserted that, at
+Pembina and the Indian agencies, one pair of pantaloons would suffice
+to civilize several hundred Indians, as, by putting them on, and thus
+adopting the customs and habits of civilization, they would be entitled
+to vote. There never was much truth about these rumors, and being on the
+border, and having charge of an Indian agency, where hundreds of men
+were employed, I knew a good deal about how these matters were
+conducted, and I can conscientiously say that there never was much truth
+in them. The nearest approach to a violation of the election laws that I
+ever discovered was at Pembina, and that was free from any intention of
+fraud. It would come about in this way: Election day would arrive, the
+polls would open, and everybody who was at home would vote. It would
+then occur to some one that Baptiste La Cour or Alexis La Tour had not
+voted, and the question would be asked, why? It would be discovered that
+they were out on a buffalo hunt, and the judges would say, "We all know
+how they would vote if they were here," and they would be put down as
+voting the Democratic ticket. Of course, this would be a violation of
+the election laws, but who can say that it was not the expression of an
+honest intention by a simple people. While I cannot approve such methods
+in an election where the law and the necessities of civilization require
+the voter to be present, I cannot avoid the wish that we were all honest
+enough to make such a course possible as the one adopted by these simple
+border people.
+
+The Republicans being the "outs" and the Democrats being the "ins," of
+course all the frauds were charged to the latter, and every movement of
+either party was watched with zealous scrutiny. The law governing the
+qualification of voters provided that soldiers enlisted in other states
+or territories, coming into Minnesota under military orders, did not
+gain a residence, and citizens of Minnesota enlisting in the army did
+not lose their residence or right to vote as long as they remained in
+the territory. It so happened, in 1856 or 1857, that there were at Fort
+Ridgely a number of recruits who had enlisted in the territory, and had
+not lost their right to vote; but there was no precinct or place to vote
+where they could exercise their privilege. Knowing that they were
+Democrats, we had a polling place established at the "Lone Cottonwood
+Tree," a point about three miles above Fort Ridgely, for the purpose of
+saving these votes.
+
+Of course, it soon became known throughout the valley, and my friend Jim
+Lynd, who resided at Henderson, about fifty miles down the river,
+conceived the idea that it was the intention to vote the whole garrison
+for the Democrats, and he determined to checkmate it by challenging
+every soldier who cast his vote, laboring, as he did, under the
+erroneous impression that an enlistment in the army disqualified the
+soldiers as voters. So when the election day arrived, Jim, who had
+walked all the way from Henderson, was on the ground early, fully
+determined to exclude all soldiers from voting.
+
+It so happened that I was at my Indian agency, at Redwood, and on the
+morning of the election was to start for St. Paul. The agency was about
+ten miles up the river from the "Lone Tree," and, starting early in the
+morning, brought me to the voting place about the time the polls were
+opened. I knew everybody in the valley and everybody knew me, and we
+never passed each other on the road without a stop and a chat. When I
+arrived at the polls all hands came out to greet me, and after the usual
+inquiries as to how the election was progressing, the judges told me
+that Lynd had challenged the first soldier who offered his vote, and
+they, being in doubt as to the law, had agreed to leave it to me. I
+gave my version of it, but Lynd still disputed it, and insisted that an
+enlistment in the army disqualified the man as a voter. Being unable to
+convince him, I, with a significant wink to the judges, suggested that
+he should get into my wagon and go down to the post (where I knew the
+sutler had a copy of the statutes), and we could readily settle the
+controversy. He consented willingly to this proposition, and we started
+for the post. When we arrived, I gave my team to the quartermaster's
+sergeant, and we looked up the law in the sutler's store. I then began a
+game of billiards with some of the officers, and accepted an invitation
+to lunch. As noon approached, Lynd began to show signs of impatience,
+and he asked me when I proposed to take him back to the polls. I quietly
+informed him that my route lay in the opposite direction, and that I
+would not go back at all. Instantly it flashed upon him that I had taken
+him away from the polls for a purpose, and he fled like a scared deer
+over the road we had just travelled, leaving me to pursue my journey
+alone in the other direction. I afterwards learned that in the interval
+between Lynd's departure and return, all the soldiers had voted the
+Democratic ticket without challenge or obstruction. Whether my friend
+Lynd walked back to Henderson or not, I never certainly ascertained. I
+was sufficiently satisfied with the success of my ruse not to desire to
+inflict any discomfort on my dear enemy.
+
+This was the only political trick I remember of having perpetrated on
+the enemy during my long participation in active politics, and I don't
+believe any of my readers will regard it as transgressing the proverb
+that "all is fair in love or war."
+
+My friend Lynd was, like most of the characters in my frontier
+experience, killed by the Indians in the outbreak of 1862.
+
+
+
+
+THE HARDSHIPS OF EARLY LAW PRACTICE.
+
+
+Prior to 1855 the public lands of Minnesota were unsurveyed, and no
+title could be acquired to them. About that time, however, four United
+States land districts were established, with a land office in each of
+them. The districts were straight tracts of country extending from the
+Mississippi due west to the Missouri, the exterior lines of which were
+parallel to each other. The offices were at Brownsville, Winona, Red
+Wing and Minneapolis. I was then living in Traverse des Sioux, which
+place, together with Mankato, fell within the Winona district, so that
+any land business we had in our region of the country compelled a trip
+to Winona, a distance of nearly three hundred miles by water, or one
+hundred and fifty by land. After the closing of the rivers by winter
+there was no other way of getting there except to journey across the
+country.
+
+At the time I refer to there was little or no settlement between
+Traverse des Sioux and Winona, and no roads. I remember that there were
+one or two settlers on the Straight river, where now stands Owatonna,
+and about the same number on the Zumbro, where now is Rochester, and one
+house at a point called Utica, about fifty miles west of Winona, and a
+small settlement at Stockton, on a trout stream which flows through the
+bluffs a few miles west of Winona. The latter place, being on the
+Mississippi and easy of access, was quite a flourishing town.
+
+That fall I had been elected to the upper house of the territorial
+legislature, called the council, and the news reached us that there
+would be a contested seat in the council from some district in the
+southern part of the territory, but we had no particulars as to the
+locality or the person, and gave the matter very little attention.
+
+A controversy had arisen between parties at Mankato as to the right to
+enter a quarter section of land which was part of the town site, and
+ultimately became a very valuable part of the city. I represented one
+side of the fight, but cannot recall the name of my adversary. It was
+customary in those days to lump matters by making up a party of those
+who had claims to prove up before the land office, and act as witnesses
+for each other. On the occasion of this Mankato contest we formed two
+parties, one from Mankato and one from Traverse, and started with two
+teams, on wheels, there being no snow, and the first day we reached a
+point in the woods, somewhere near the present town of Elysian, and
+there camped. When morning opened on us we found the ground covered with
+from twelve to fifteen inches of snow, which made it impossible to
+proceed further with our wagons. We did not hesitate, but accepted the
+only alternative that presented itself, and decided to foot it to
+Winona. We travelled light in those days, carrying only some blankets
+and a change of clothes. We _cached_ our wagons in the timber, packed
+our animals with our impedimenta, and started. Such a tramp would seem
+appalling at the present time, but we were all accustomed to hardships,
+and were equipped with good Red River winter moccasins, two or three
+stout flannel shirts, and thought very little of the undertaking. We
+drove the horses ahead of us to aid in making a trail, and made pretty
+good progress. I think it took us about five days to accomplish the
+journey, which we did without suffering, or even being seriously
+incommoded, as we found shelter at the Straight river, the Zumbro,
+Utica, and Stockton.
+
+An amusing and interesting incident happened the night we arrived at
+Utica which, as I have said, consisted of one small log house. Our march
+that day had been a long and tiresome one, and I felt as if a good drink
+of whisky would be very supporting and acceptable, our supplies in that
+line having become exhausted by reason of the unexpected length of time
+consumed in our journey; but the prospect of getting one was anything
+but promising. While revolving the subject in my mind, and having all my
+faculties concentrated on the much desired end, I, by some accident,
+learned that the proprietor of the shanty was a doctor. At this
+discovery my hopes went up several degrees, and I determined to test his
+medicine chest. Putting on a look of utter exhaustion, with both my
+hands on my abdomen, and assuming the most plaintive voice I could
+muster, I said: "Doctor, I have made a long march to-day, and feel
+utterly broken up; have you not some spirits in your medicine chest that
+you could prescribe for me? I am sure it would be a great relief." He
+looked me over with suspicion, and said: "No, I am an herb doctor." I
+felt that my fate was sealed for the night, and prepared to seek my
+couch on the softest plank I could find, between the two men who looked
+the warmest of the party. While thus preparing my _toilette de nuit_, in
+a state of mind bordering on desperation, I heard the jingling of
+sleigh-bells, and a team dash up to the door, from which debarked two
+men, each comfortably full, followed by hand-bags, blankets and a
+two-gallon demijohn. They said they had driven from Winona that day, and
+would stay all night. They ordered supper, and while it was in course of
+preparation, indulged in a good deal of banter back and forth. Of
+course, I had formed the determination of becoming acquainted with the
+contents of that demijohn in some way, by fair means or foul, and became
+deeply interested in their conversation, looking for a favorable chance
+to carry my point. I noticed that one of them was very boastful about
+what he was going to do when the legislature met, and the other saying
+to him that "he would not be there three days before they would kick him
+out and send him home." At these words, it flashed across my mind that
+this must be the man whose seat was contested, and, waiting for a proper
+opportunity, when his friend was loudest in his assertions that he would
+not remain long in the legislature, I put in my oar, and said: "Maybe I
+will have something to say about that." In an instant the legislator
+gave me a most scrutinizing look, and said: "Are you in the
+legislature?" I said "Yes." "In which house?" he inquired. "In the
+council," I answered. I saw the man was bright and intelligent, and it
+was a study to watch the workings of his mind while debating to himself
+how I would be affected by his condition, whether favorably or
+otherwise. Having weighed the matter carefully, he showed his experience
+and good judgment of character by saying: "My friend, won't you take a
+drink?" From what I have said, it is unnecessary to record my answer. We
+spent the greater part of the night in pleasant social intercourse,
+drawing inspiration from the depths of the demijohn, which had seemed so
+far removed from my grasp but a short time before.
+
+The man was the famous Bill Lowry, from the Rochester district. This
+incident made us sworn friends for life, and singular as it may seem,
+when the legislature convened, I found myself chairman of the committee
+on contested elections in the council. It is unnecessary to go into the
+details of the contest. Suffice it to say that the contestant had a very
+weak case, and Lowry performed all he had boasted that he would do on
+that eventful night in Utica.
+
+We were engaged in trying our suit at Winona for several days. Captain
+Upman was the register of the land office, and presided at the trial.
+The captain was a jolly old German from Milwaukee, and a fairly good
+drinker. There was a building in the town which had been a church, but
+by the intervention of the evil one, had been turned into a saloon, and
+was popularly known as "The Church." This was the captain's favorite
+resort when thirsty, which physical condition occurred quite frequently,
+and he would always say on such occasions: "The bells are ringing; come,
+boys, we must go to church. It is unlawful to try cases on Sunday."
+
+What influences dominated, I don't pretend to say, but I won for my
+client three forties of the quarter section in dispute. We returned home
+the way we went down,--on foot,--with the exception that at Stockton we
+constructed a small sleigh, sufficient to carry our baggage, which much
+relieved the animals. My client offered me one of the forty-acre tracts
+for my fee, but I declined, and accepted a twenty dollar gold piece for
+my services. The land which I refused became worth a quarter of a
+million of dollars a few years afterwards, but I had a good deal of fun
+out of the adventure, and never regretted the outcome.
+
+
+
+
+TEMPERANCE AT TRAVERSE.
+
+
+The first members of the judiciary of the Territory of Minnesota were
+Aaron Goodrich, chief justice; Bradley B. Meeker and David Cooper,
+associates, who were appointed in 1849. They were Whigs, and held their
+positions until a change of administration gave the Democrats the power,
+when William H. Welch became chief justice, with Andrew G. Chatfield and
+Moses Sherburne as associates. The last named judges were in office when
+I arrived in the territory, in 1853. Judge Chatfield presided mostly
+over the courts held on the west side of the Mississippi. I made my
+residence at Traverse des Sioux, in Nicollet county, which was within
+the territory purchased from the Sioux Indians by the treaty of 1851,
+proclaimed in 1853. The fifth article of this treaty kept in force,
+within the territory ceded, all the laws of the United States
+prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous liquors in the
+Indian country, commonly known as the trade and intercourse laws. Of
+course, this inhibition was intended to prevent liquor getting to the
+Indians, but as the country began to be inhabited by whites, many of the
+new comers regarded it as infringing upon their rights and privileges,
+and serious questions arose as to whether the treaty-making power had
+any jurisdiction of such questions after the country was opened to white
+settlement. The courts, however, held the exclusion valid, and
+indictments were occasionally found against the violators of these laws.
+Traverse des Sioux was a missionary center, and the feeling against the
+liquor traffic was very strong, but, as it always has been, and
+probably always will be, men were found ready to invade the sacred
+precincts for the expected profits, and a saloon or two were established
+in defiance of law and public sentiment.
+
+The judges were empowered to appoint the terms of court where and when
+there was any probable necessity for them, and the sheriff would summon
+a grand or petit jury as the business seemed to require. The United
+States marshal was Colonel Irwin, and the United States district
+attorney was Colonel Dustin, both of whom lived in St. Paul, and, as a
+general thing, there were no county attorneys in the different counties.
+When a term of court was to be held in my county, or any of the adjacent
+ones, the marshal would send me a deputation to represent him, and a bag
+of gold to pay the jurors and witnesses; the United States attorney
+would empower me to appear for him, and on the opening of the court, the
+judge would enter an order appointing me prosecuting attorney for the
+county so the judge and I would constitute the entire force, federal and
+territorial, judicial and administrative. If I procured an indictment
+against a party at one term, in my capacity of prosecutor, and the
+regular attorney should appear at the next term, it was more than likely
+that I would be retained to defend; which would look a little irregular
+at the present time, but as there was no other attorney but me, as a
+usual thing, no questions were asked.
+
+At a very early day, a party not having the fear of the law or public
+opinion before him opened a saloon at Traverse des Sioux, much to the
+dismay and indignation of the religious element of the community, and
+went to selling whisky to the other element. The next grand jury
+indicted him, but, before a court convened that could try him, a squad
+composed of the temperance people headed by the sheriff, attacked his
+place, and demolished his contraband stores. Being determined to test
+the question of his rights, he sued the attacking party, and I was
+retained to defend them. I devised the plea that the country was full of
+savage Indians, whose passions became inflamed by whisky, which made
+them dangerous to the lives of the whites, and that saloons were
+consequently a nuisance which anyone had a right to abate. The case was
+tried before Judge Chatfield, and my clients were vindicated. Of course,
+the suit created a great sensation, not only on account of the feeling
+engendered, but because of the novel questions involved, and in due
+course of time the temperance ladies of the county sent to New York and
+purchased a handsome combination gold pen and pencil, with a jewelled
+head, and had it inscribed, "Charles E. Flandrau: Defender of the
+Right." They also procured a handsome family Bible for the sheriff. When
+all was ready, they held a public meeting, and made the presentations,
+which were accompanied by the usual speeches. These ceremonies occurred
+in the latter part of the year 1854, or early in 1855, and in the
+meantime a small newspaper, called the _St. Peter Courier_, had been
+established to boom the city, which contained an elaborate account of
+the proceedings, together with all the speeches, and diligently
+circulated them throughout the East, where they were caught up by Horace
+Greely, in his _Tribune_, and many other papers, and repeated under the
+head of "Moral Suasion in Minnesota," and came back to us enlarged and
+improved.
+
+Should I end the story here, it would leave me in the possession and
+enjoyment of virtues which I cannot conscientiously claim as my own, and
+would deprive the tale of its best and only amusing point; so as a
+faithful narrator, I feel in duty bound to tell the other side of it.
+
+In due course of events the trial of the indictment against the
+saloonkeeper came on to be heard, and I was acting as prosecuting
+attorney. Of course, I had to prove that the prisoner had introduced
+liquor into the Indian country, and, to do so, I called a French
+half-breed who I knew frequented the place, and after the preliminary
+questions, this examination followed:
+
+    "Q. Joe, were you ever in this saloon?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Did you ever buy and drink any liquor in there?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Did you see anyone else buy and drink liquor in there?
+
+    "A. Yes, many a time.
+
+    "Q. Who was it?
+
+    "A. I have seen you do it lots of times."
+
+Of course, the laugh was heavily against me, but I sat, as stoical as an
+Indian, and quietly asked him: "Anyone else, Joe?"
+
+I have forgotten whether the suit terminated in conviction or acquittal,
+but I never think of it without a good laugh at the way the witness
+turned the tables on me, and am also reminded of what my old friend, Van
+Lowry, from the Winnebago country, once said of me: "That Flandrau is
+one of the most singular men I ever knew. He invariably makes a
+temperance speech over his whisky."
+
+The gold pen with the jewelled head reposes among my frontier treasures,
+carefully wrapped up in several editorials cut from eastern papers,
+extolling my virtues as an apostle of temperance.
+
+Moral: Don't believe everything you read in the papers.
+
+
+
+
+WIN-NE-MUC-CA'S GOLD MINE.
+
+
+Every one who has lived in a mining country in its early periods, before
+its resources had been prospected and pretty well defined, will recall
+the fact that stories and rumors of a mysterious mine of great richness,
+which exists somewhere, are always in circulation. The discoverer of
+this mine is either dead, without having revealed its exact location, or
+it is known only to the Indians, who are compelled to secrecy by awful
+oaths, or fear of death from their chief or members of their band. At
+any rate, there is always a profound mystery connected with the hidden
+treasure, that envelops it with a tinge of romance and a spice of danger
+to those who seek to break the spell and lift the veil. There is also
+just enough known about it, which has leaked out through some obscure
+channel, to lend some slight probability to the story, and many have
+been the attempts to discover the bonanza by credulous and adventurous
+miners, but ever without success.
+
+When I was living in Nevada, in 1864, I became closely associated with
+an old Mormon by the name of Rose. He had been a settler in the Washoe
+valley long before the discovery of the rich silver mines at Virginia
+City, known as the Comstock lode, and necessarily at a time when no one
+inhabited the country but Mormons and Indians. The principal tribe of
+Indians were the Piutes, whose head chief was Win-ne-muc-ca. These
+Indians inhabited the country around Pyramid lake, about a hundred miles
+to the northeast of Carson City, where I resided. Rose was known to have
+been an intimate friend of Win-ne-muc-ca in times past, and to have
+performed some important service for him, which had placed the chief
+under lasting obligations to him, and rumor said that in compensation he
+had disclosed to Rose the whereabouts of the most valuable gold mine on
+all the Pacific Coast, and that Rose was the only white man who knew
+anything about it. The truth of these rumors was fortified by the
+existence of three old and abandoned arrastras and a twenty-five foot
+overshot waterwheel, which had evidently been erected to drive the
+arrastras, that stood on one of the back streets of Carson City, and
+were known to have been constructed by Rose, and as there was no stream
+in the neighborhood to propel the arrastras, it was generally believed
+that, when Rose built these works, he had a mine, the ore of which was
+so rich that he could bring it on pack animals, crush it with these
+machines, and divert a stream to propel them. As quite a large sum had
+been expended on these works, it was evident that they were intended to
+carry out some such purpose, which had been interrupted for sufficient
+reasons. At any rate, I caught the mine fever, and after many
+conferences with Rose, I and my associates, William S. Chapman and Judge
+Atwater, got far enough into his confidence to obtain an admission from
+him that he knew the exact location of the mysterious mine, the secret
+of which he had learned from Win-ne-muc-ca, and dare not disclose
+without the consent of that chieftain, but he assured us that it was
+fabulously rich. It was then learned that the mine was within the limits
+of the Piute reservation, and even if we had the consent of the Indians
+to work it, we would not be allowed to do so by the United States
+government. Here were presented two formidable obstacles, but we were so
+well satisfied that we had a fortune within call that we determined to
+remove them both.
+
+Our first operations were upon Win-ne-muc-ca, whom we proposed to
+conquer by presents and flattery, and succeeded to the extent of
+eliciting from him a promise that, if we could obtain permission from
+the United States government to enter upon the reservation and work the
+mine, he would disclose its whereabouts. All I can say about this branch
+of the case is, that with a great deal of delicate and masterly
+diplomacy, in which the interests of the Indians formed the principal
+argument used, we secured the desired permission, and prepared for an
+expedition to the mine.
+
+It is as well here to say, for the benefit of the uninitiated, that all
+such operations are conducted with the greatest secrecy and mystery,
+because should it be discovered that any such enterprise was on foot its
+projectors would be watched day and night, and followed to their
+destination by half the community.
+
+The government sent out a representative to see that the interests of
+the Indians were properly protected, and we got ready to start. The
+agent of the government was also charged to look up and report upon the
+progress of a mill for the Piutes, for which large appropriations had
+been made, and which was supposed to be situated on the rapids of the
+Truckey river, which is the outlet of Lake Tahoe, and runs about
+northeast in the direction of the Piute reservation, along the course to
+be followed by us. I mention this fact only in order to bring into the
+story the terse and witty report of the agent, said to have been made
+about his discoveries regarding the mill. He said: "He found a dam by a
+mill site, but he didn't find any mill by a damn sight."
+
+Our outfit consisted of a light farm wagon with a four mule team, which
+we procured from two Mormon brothers, who lived in the Washoe valley,
+and were skilled guides all over Nevada, both of whom we took along as
+guides, cooks, and to drive and care for the team. Rose took along a
+pony, which we led, and the government agent, old Rose and myself formed
+the passenger list. We were supplied with eatables and drinkables for a
+long campaign, but as it rains but once a year in that country, we never
+encumbered ourselves on a march with tents, except in the rainy season.
+In fact, the ground between the sage bushes and grease-wood trees is so
+dry and clean that you don't need even blankets or robes to sleep on,
+but they are usually carried.
+
+Our course lay down the valley of the Truckey river to its big bend,
+where Rose was to leave us and go to Pyramid lake for Win-ne-muc-ca. We
+accomplished this part of the journey, a distance of about one hundred
+miles, in three days, without any special incident, except on one
+occasion, when we were rounding a projecting point in the river, on a
+ledge of rocks, some driftwood got entangled with the legs of our
+leading mules, and came very near dumping us all into the boiling and
+rushing current, which would inevitably have drowned the whole party;
+but we reached our destination safely. At the big bend, which is now one
+of the principal stations on the Central Pacific Railroad, we found a
+spacious piece of bottom land, well supplied with grass for our animals,
+and a clump of six tall stately cottonwood trees, presenting an inviting
+place to camp, which we accepted as our resting place.
+
+The next morning Rose mounted his pony and started for the lake, saying
+he would return in a couple of days with the chief, who would guide us
+to the mine--and fortune. The government agent was an old friend of
+mine, a California forty-niner, and a most companionable fellow. The
+Mormons were excellent cooks, and most efficient camp men. We had
+abundant camp supplies, supplemented with fine fish brought to us by the
+Indians, so we settled down for a delightful rest. Every night the men
+would make a cheerful crackling fire of dry driftwood from the river,
+hobble the mules, and fall asleep for the night, leaving us to enjoy the
+soft summer air and brilliant moonlight, while discussing our future
+plans when possessed of the boundless wealth that only awaited the
+coming of Rose and the chief. Before retiring for the night, which only
+meant lying down on a blanket, we usually reclined each against a tree,
+with a demijohn between us, and by the time sleep overcame us the
+fortunes of Croesus, Astor and Vanderbilt combined were mere trifles
+compared with our anticipated wealth, for were we not to be soon endowed
+with the magic touch of Midas!
+
+We revelled in our repose, seasoned with the exaltation of hope and the
+demijohn, until about four days had glided away, when even such delights
+began to pall, and became a little monotonous, and still no Rose and no
+Win-ne-muc-ca. The fifth, and even the sixth day passed, and yet they
+came not, and we were driven to the conclusion that either Rose had been
+victimized by the Piutes, or we had been victimized by Rose. So nothing
+was left for us but to pull up stakes and wend our weary way back to
+Carson. Here we found Rose, with the excuse that Win-ne-muc-ca had told
+him that he dared not give up the secret of the mine for fear his band
+would kill both Rose and himself, and that he had not dared to return to
+the camp for fear the Indians would follow him and destroy us all. And
+so ended our venture.
+
+We came out of the enterprise wiser and poorer men, to the amount of
+about one thousand dollars. As we had left town at midnight, and
+returned at the same quiet hour, we were able to keep our adventure to
+ourselves, and escape the ridicule of more experienced miners, many of
+whom, however, had passed through similar experiences under varying
+circumstances.
+
+I have never been able fully to satisfy myself whether Rose acted in
+good faith or not, but as he had no hope of gain outside of the mine I
+am inclined to believe his story.
+
+My next mining experience resulted much the same way. Rich finds were
+reported in the Walker river country, and a small syndicate of us
+outfitted a party of old and experienced miners to visit the locality
+and see what they could pick up. They started in the usual mysterious
+manner, at the dead of night, and in about two weeks returned, and
+brought to my office a gunny bag full of ore, which they left, and we
+appointed a meeting the next night at one o'clock, when the town was
+supposed to be asleep, to examine the bag and pass upon the contents.
+One of the prospectors tapped the sack affectionately, and, winking at
+me in the most significant manner, said: "Judge, we've got the world by
+the tail. It's all pure silver, and there are a million tons of it lying
+on the top of the ground." Of course, my curiosity and expectations were
+aroused to the highest pitch, and I awaited the appointed hour with
+impatience. Before the party arrived, all the windows were darkened with
+sheets and blankets, refreshments were prepared, and they dropped in one
+at a time to avoid notice. The bag was opened and its contents displayed
+upon the table. It was a pure white and brilliant metal, about the
+weight of silver, and with the assistance of the refreshments we had
+convinced ourselves before daylight that it was all pure silver.
+
+I took a chunk of it about the size of an orange, and, with one of the
+miners, went down to the Mexican mill, to have it assayed. The assayer
+took it, looked it over, and asked if we wanted it assayed for iron. My
+companion immediately answered, "I'll bet you a thousand dollars there's
+no iron in it." The assayer replied: "We don't bet on such things, but I
+will soon tell you all about it," and, after putting it to the test, he
+reported: "Magnetic iron, ninety-five per cent; no trace of gold or
+silver."
+
+We let the world's tail go, put our own between our legs, and went home,
+two of the worst disappointed men in all Nevada, and that was the last
+of my mining efforts.
+
+
+
+
+A UNIQUE POLITICAL CAREER.
+
+
+Gen. James Shields had a most extraordinary career. I remember no man in
+the history of our country who equals him in the diversity and extent of
+his public services and office-holding. He was a general in the Mexican
+War, and for a long time enjoyed the unique reputation of being the only
+man who was ever shot through the lungs and survived. This, however, was
+not true. Many others, no doubt, underwent the same experience, and I
+remember a young Chippewa Indian who, while on a war party into the
+Sioux country, was wounded in exactly the same manner, and lived to a
+good old age as a very robust savage.
+
+When the general returned from the Mexican War to Illinois, he was
+exceedingly popular. He was made commissioner of the general land office
+of the United States and judge of the supreme court of the State of
+Illinois, and was subsequently elected to the senate of the United
+States; but when he was about to take his seat he ran up against the
+snag that is found in section 3 of article I of the constitution of the
+United States, which provides that a senator must have been a citizen of
+the United States for nine years before election, and it appeared that
+the general fell short of the requisite period. The consequence was that
+he was rejected, and he had to return to his state. But the citizens of
+Illinois wanted him to represent them in the senate, and as soon as he
+attained the proper citizenship they returned him, and he was admitted
+and served his full term. The general found out that his chances for
+reelection were not flattering, and as Minnesota was about applying for
+admission as a state in the Union, he decided to emigrate to that
+territory. What his motives were I, of course, cannot say, but as I was
+watching closely political events, I concluded that he had in view an
+election to the senate from the new State of Minnesota, and I kept my
+eye on his movements.
+
+It was soon announced that the general had located the land warrant
+awarded to him for his services in the Mexican War, on a quarter section
+of land in the neighborhood of Faribault, in Rice county, in this
+territory, and that he intended to settle upon it. There was a little
+buncombe added to this announcement, to the effect that this was the
+first case in the history of America where a general officer had settled
+in person upon the land donated to him as a reward for the services he
+had rendered and the blood he had shed for his adopted country. We
+always called the general's home "The blood-bought farm."
+
+There was an election in our territory in 1856 or 1857, I forget which,
+for delegate to Congress. Henry M. Rice had received the nomination of
+the regular Democratic convention for the position, and General Gorman
+(then territorial governor), Henry H. Sibley and many other leading
+Democrats had deliberately bolted the judgment of the convention, and
+nominated David Olmsted for delegate. The fight was on hot. I, of
+course, was for Rice, the regular nominee. I then lived well up in the
+Minnesota valley, at Traverse des Sioux, and we were becoming a power in
+the territory in a political sense, and I looked forward to the arrival
+of such a prominent Democrat as General Shields in our midst as an event
+of major political importance. He soon landed at Hastings, on the
+Mississippi, with a complete outfit for a permanent settlement. A good
+story is told of his advent at Hastings. In those days of steamboating,
+all the belongings of an immigrant would be landed on the levee and his
+freight bill would be presented to him by what we called the mud clerk,
+and he would take an account of his stock and pay the freight. Legend
+reports that the general had five barrels of whisky among his
+paraphernalia, and when the first one was rolled ashore he seated
+himself upon it to watch the debarkation, and when the bill was
+presented he refused to pay it because he could see only four barrels,
+and demanded the fifth. The clerks got on to the joke, and pretended to
+search for the missing barrel until the last whistle blew, when they
+suggested to the general that he was occupying the disturbing element.
+Whether the contents of the barrel ever caused any other
+misunderstandings history fails to record.
+
+As soon as the general was comfortably settled on the blood-bought farm
+I dispatched a courier across the country to him, informing him of the
+political situation, and imploring him to come out for the regular
+Democratic ticket; but he replied in a very diplomatic way that he was
+too new a comer to take any active part in the election, and declined.
+Tom Cowan, George Magruder and I, a trio which composed the leadership
+of the Democracy of the Minnesota valley, decided that the general
+should never go to the senate if we could prevent it, and it so happened
+that when the first legislature of the state assembled Tom Cowan was in
+the senate, but all our efforts to beat him failed, and Henry M. Rice
+and the general were elected to the United States Senate. It was hard to
+beat a man in those days who was a Democrat, an Irishman and a wounded
+soldier.
+
+The only unlucky thing that the general ever encountered was the fact
+that he drew the short term when the lots were cast for the positions
+the new senators were to assume.
+
+The general served out his term in the senate just about the time the
+Civil War broke out, and he tendered his services to the country, and
+became a general of volunteers. He was wounded in some battle, and I
+remember reading a general order announcing that he had sufficiently
+recovered to ride at the head of his brigade in a buggy. I took
+advantage of this singular position for a military commander, and
+impressed into the service of the state a splendid $2,000 team of
+trotters belonging to Harry Lamberton, with his buggy, and himself as
+driver, and rode comfortably in it until the end of the Indian war, at
+the head of my brigade.
+
+The general was not long in discovering that the political wind had
+taken a Republican direction in Minnesota, which boded him no good. So
+he pulled up stakes and emigrated to Texas. There he felt the public
+pulse, and not finding any immediate indications that he would be chosen
+senator, and not having any pressing business in any other line, he
+emigrated to California. There he found a more favorable outlook, and
+almost as soon as he gained a residence in the state he was nominated
+for the United States Senate by the Democrats, and came within one or
+two votes of an election.
+
+The general had always been a bachelor before going to California, but
+he surrendered to the charms of a lady of that state, and married. Not
+being willing to remain until the next senatorial election, he migrated
+to the State of Missouri, where he was very soon elected to congress by
+a substantial majority of about 3,000; but, it being in the
+reconstruction period, and he being a Democrat, the state board found no
+difficulty in counting him out, after which event very little was heard
+of the general for some years, when he appeared on the lecture platform,
+discoursing on Mexico. This venture was not much of a success, and the
+general was reputed to be quite broken up financially.
+
+His next appearance was at Washington as a candidate for doorkeeper of
+the senate, which office, I believe, is one of both dignity and profit;
+but he did not succeed in getting it, and returned to Missouri, broken
+in fortune and spirit. It was just at this critical period in his career
+that his luck returned, and he became famous in a direction that no
+other man in the United States has ever reached. A vacancy occurred in
+the office of United States senator from Missouri, either by death or
+some other reason, and the governor bestowed the position upon the
+general, thus making him a member of the body of which he had so
+recently sought to become the doorkeeper, and conferring upon him the
+peculiar and conspicuous distinction of being the only man in the
+republic who ever represented three states in the senate of the United
+States.
+
+The general died some years ago, and the state of his original adoption,
+Illinois, conferred the additional immortal honor upon his memory by
+placing his full-length statue in bronze in the old house of
+representatives at the capitol in Washington, which has become the
+American Pantheon, in which each state is permitted to commemorate in
+this way two of its most honored sons.
+
+Truly a most extraordinary and enviable career.
+
+
+
+
+LA CROSSE.
+
+
+There is nothing remarkable in the fact that places should be named for
+something that has happened in or about their locality, and nothing is
+more natural than that places on the upper Mississippi river should be
+named after Indians and Indian occurrences. For instance, we have
+Prairie du Chien, which is the French for the Dog prairie. In early days
+an Indian chief, who sailed under the dignified name of "The Dog," had
+his headquarters at this prairie, and thus the name. It will be observed
+that it has maintained its name in full, "Prairie du Chien," and was, in
+days past, a military post, called Fort Crawford, and is now quite an
+important town in Wisconsin.
+
+A little way up the river, and we have "Prairie La Crosse," but the
+first part of the name is generally dropped now, and it is known as La
+Crosse simply. No old settler, however, who dates back of the fifties,
+ever calls it anything but "Prairie La Crosse." This place got its name
+from the fact that the Indians selected it as a favorite point at which
+to play their game, known to them as "Ta-kap-si-ka-pi," but called by
+the French, "La Crosse." Anyone who has been there, and is familiar with
+the prairie on which the city of La Crosse is built, will recognize at
+once its superior advantages for a game of ball of any kind. It is long,
+wide and level. This game has always been a great favorite with the
+Sioux Indians. It originated with them, and became what might be called
+their national game. From its spirited character, it was very much liked
+by the Canadian-French, and they adopted it to such an extent that it
+is called their national game, but under an entirely different name.
+They called it "La Crosse," and are still devoted to it. In fact, it is
+played very generally throughout the northern half of North America. In
+playing the game, the Indians used a stick made of ash about the length
+of a walking cane with a circular bend at the end most distant from the
+hand, in which curve was a network of buckskin strings, forming a
+pocket, about four inches in diameter and two inches deep. With this
+stick, which is called a "Ta-ki-cap-si-cha," the ball is manipulated.
+The ball is of wood, round, and about the size of a hen's egg, and in
+the game must never be touched by the hand. The Canadians have changed
+the form of stick used by them, by making it longer, and forming the end
+that takes the ball something like half of a tennis racquette.
+
+The site of La Crosse was in early years the favorite ball ground of the
+Indians, and from this circumstance acquired its present name. The game
+is too well known to need a description. Suffice it to say that the main
+object is to get the ball to certain goals by two contending parties
+struggling in different directions. In its main features it resembles
+hockey, polo, football, and similar games; but with the Indians differs
+in point of the numbers who play, the whites being limited to eleven or
+twelve on a side, while with the Indians a whole band may play on each
+side.
+
+When the Sioux were moved west of the Mississippi they selected the
+beautiful prairie on which now stands St. Peter, in this state, as one
+of their most favored ball grounds, and many a time I have enjoyed
+witnessing the game at that locality, and a most brilliant and exciting
+scene it presented. The Sioux, like most savages, are great gamblers,
+and the first thing in the game is to put up the stakes, which is done
+in this way: A committee is appointed by each contesting party as
+stakeholders. They assemble at a designated point on the prairie, and
+await results. Presently up will come an Indian, and put up a pony. He
+will soon be followed by a competitor, who will cover his pony with
+another, decided to be of the same value. Then up will come another, and
+put up a rifle, or a feather head-dress or a knife, all which will be
+matched from the other side, until all the bets are made. If the players
+are numerous, the stakes will accumulate until almost everything known
+as property in Indian life will be ventured. It sometimes takes several
+days to arrange these preliminaries. A pleasant afternoon is selected,
+and the contestants appear. They are usually very nearly naked, having
+on only moccasins, a breech-clout and a head-dress; the two latter
+articles, being susceptible of ornamentation, are usually adorned with
+eagle feathers, foxtails, or a string of sleigh-bells about the player's
+waist. The men are painted in the most grotesque and fantastic manner.
+It is not unusual to see some of them painted blue or yellow all over
+their persons, and before the paint has dried it is streaked with their
+fingers in zig-zag fashion from head to foot, sometimes up and down and
+sometimes zebra fashion. A yellow face with the imprint of a black or
+blue open hand diagonally upon it is much affected; in fact, the greater
+the ingenuity displayed in savage design and glaring colors, the more
+satisfied the subject seems to be with himself and the more admired by
+others.
+
+When the players are all lined up they present a striking appearance.
+About six on each side take the center from which the ball is to be
+started, and the rest scatter themselves over the prairie for half a
+mile in each direction, to speed the ball, should it come their way.
+
+All ready: one, two, three, and up goes the ball into the air, and as it
+falls, up goes each Ta-ki-cap-si-cha in an endeavor to catch it, and so
+skillful are the men that it is very often caught in the little pocket
+while in the air, which is a great advantage, as the party catching it
+has the right if he can to throw it in the direction of his friends,
+and, with a free chance, it is like throwing a ball out of a sling. I
+have seen one sent nearly a quarter of a mile. If the game opens in this
+way, there is, of course, a great rush by the partisans to capture the
+ball and keep it moving one way or the other; but if at the first toss
+up it falls to the ground, there is a tussle of all the middle men to
+see which one shall get it with his stick that puts civilized football
+in the shade. Shins are whacked, men are tripped and piled onto each
+other in the utmost confusion, until some lucky fellow extricates the
+ball from the mass, and sends it flying towards a group of his friends.
+The Sioux are splendid runners, and sometimes when twenty or thirty of
+them will be in full chase of the ball, a leading man will tumble, and
+the whole line will pile over him; but no matter how rough or boisterous
+the sport may be, I have never known a quarrel to grow out of it. There
+must be rules to this effect governing the game, such as they have in a
+Japanese wrestling match, where the parties, before tackling each other,
+sprinkle salt between them, which is a pledge that even a broken neck
+will not interrupt friendship. I think I have seen more feats of
+wonderful skill in running, jumping and catching in a game of this kind
+than in any play of a similar nature I have ever witnessed.
+
+No one who has seen the Indians play a good game of Ta-kap-si-ka-pi has
+ever forgotten it. Major Eastman of the old army, who was quite an
+artist, attempted to depict the scene on canvas, and while he made an
+excellent picture which would please the eye of anyone who had not seen
+the real thing, he found it impossible to convey an adequate idea of its
+best points. The picture, I think, is now either in the rooms of the
+Wisconsin Historical Society, or in the Cochran gallery of Washington.
+
+One of the noticeable results of a game of this kind, played on a virgin
+prairie, was the great number of huge snakes the players would kill. I
+have seen as many as would load a wagon piled up after a game, some of
+them ten or twelve feet long. They were called in those days bull
+snakes, and were considered of the constrictor species, but not
+venomous.
+
+
+
+
+MAKING A POST OFFICE.
+
+
+I had settled on the frontier, where Traverse des Sioux and Mankato were
+the extreme border towns in southwestern Minnesota. About the year 1854
+or 1855 a German settlement was commenced at New Ulm. It originated in
+Cincinnati, with an association which sent out parties to find a site
+for a town, and they selected the present site of New Ulm. The lands had
+not been surveyed by the general government, but our delegate in
+congress, Henry M. Rice, had anticipated that by obtaining the passage
+of the law allowing settlement and preemption on unsurveyed lands. Under
+the law a town site could only embrace 320 acres, but the projectors of
+New Ulm laid out an immense tract, comprising thousands of acres. Many
+of the settlers had not taken any steps toward becoming American
+citizens, which was a necessary preliminary to preemption, and
+everything among them was held in a kind of common interest, the
+Cincinnati society furnishing the funds.
+
+It was not long before they discovered that they needed legal advice in
+their venture, and called on me to regulate their matters for them. I
+was deputy clerk of the court, and always carried the seal and
+naturalization papers with me, so that I could take the declaration of
+intention of anyone who desired to become an American citizen anywhere I
+happened to find him, on the prairie or elsewhere. In this way I
+qualified many of the Germans for preemption, and took them by the
+steamboat load down to Winona to enter their lands. I would be furnished
+with a large bag of gold to pay for the lands, and sometimes, with the
+special conveniences furnished by the land office, I would work off
+forty or fifty preemptions in a day. I became such a necessary factor in
+the building of the town that, if any difficulty occurred, even in the
+running of a mill which they erected and ran by the accumulated water of
+many large springs, I was immediately sent for to remedy the evil.
+
+The nearest postoffice was at Fort Ridgely, about sixteen miles away,
+and it soon became apparent that one ought to be established in the
+town. I was, of course, sent for to see if it could be accomplished. It
+was a very easy thing to do with the very efficient and influential
+delegate we had in congress, Hon. Henry M. Rice. Having agreed upon a
+Mr. Anton Kouse as postmaster, I at once wrote to Mr. Rice to give the
+new settlement a postoffice. It was not long before I received an
+answer, which contained the postmaster's commission, his bond for
+execution, a key for the mail bags, and all the requisites for a going
+postoffice.
+
+The New Ulm people were a very social lot, and my visits to the town
+always included a good deal of fun, so I concluded to make a special
+event of the establishment of the new postoffice, and, as the weather
+was fine, I invited half a dozen friends to accompany me in a drive to
+New Ulm, to participate in the opening ceremonies.
+
+One of the earliest settlers in the town was Francis Baasen, who became
+Minnesota's first secretary of state, and was a gallant officer in the
+First Minnesota Regiment, so celebrated in the War of the Rebellion, and
+has recently been appointed by Governor Lind as assistant adjutant
+general of the state. He had a claim about two miles below the town,
+just where the ferry crossed the Minnesota river, at Red Stone, and had
+erected a log shanty there, in which he lived. Of course, we always
+called on Baasen on our way up, and also on our way back, when we
+visited New Ulm. Baasen was a charming gentleman, and while his shack
+was destitute of any of the luxuries or elegancies of life, there was a
+door, or hatchway, in the middle of the floor, which led to a kind of
+cellar, the contents of which supplied all the deficiencies of the
+house, and, flavored with the generous hospitality of the proprietor,
+made everybody happy.
+
+On this occasion we stopped to take Baasen into the party, and while
+discussing the great event which brought us up, I decided to add some
+new features to the inauguration of the new postmaster. Baasen had been
+appointed a notary public, and was provided with large business-like
+envelopes and formidable red seals, so I wrote a letter to Mr. Kouse in
+about the following language:
+
+    "EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
+
+    "July 20, 1855.
+
+    "_Hon. Anton Kouse, Postmaster at New Ulm, Territory of
+    Minnesota_,
+
+    "SIR: We have been informed that a flourishing settlement has
+    been founded on the waters of the upper Minnesota river, in
+    Minnesota Territory, which has been named New Ulm, and that the
+    inhabitants are sufficiently numerous and intelligent to need a
+    postoffice. It has also been represented to us that you are a
+    good and true Democrat, and the choice of the people for the
+    office of postmaster. It is therefore our duty and pleasure to
+    appoint you to that office. It is our desire that you locate the
+    office in a part of the town which will accommodate its
+    inhabitants, and see to it that they always vote the Democratic
+    ticket at all elections. I am,
+
+            "Yours very truly,
+    (Seal)      "FRANKLIN PIERCE,
+            "_President of the United States of America._"
+
+I inclosed this letter in one of Baasen's large envelopes, and we all
+drove up to the house of Mr. Kouse, and called him out. I stood up in
+the wagon, and made him a speech, informing him of the creation of the
+office, and that I had his bond and commission and a letter to him from
+the president of the United States, which I was instructed to deliver to
+him in person, and I added that it was customary on such important
+occasions for the newly appointed postmaster to propose the health of
+the postmaster general.
+
+Kouse rushed into his house, and appeared with a brown jug and a tin
+cup, from which we all drank a bumper to the health and prosperity of
+the postmaster general, the town of New Ulm, and its postmaster. I then
+handed him his credentials, including the letter from the president, and
+the postoffice at New Ulm was a reality.
+
+I have never learned whether my friend Kouse caught on to the joke, or
+whether he has cherished the executive letter as an heirloom for his
+posterity.
+
+
+
+
+THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION.
+
+
+In 1864-65 I was living in Carson City, in the State of Nevada, where, from
+the abnormal condition of the inhabitants, it was nothing remarkable that
+some event should happen almost daily that otherwise would have been
+startling. Many such events did take place, but, from their frequency, were
+soon forgotten. There was one, however, that impressed itself upon my
+memory because of the cool daring that characterized it, and it must be
+understood that bravery was not an uncommon trait in the inhabitants of
+Carson. Men carried their lives in their hands, and quite frequently lost
+them.
+
+In order to appreciate the situation fully, you must know that the
+population of Carson City was composed of about the roughest and most
+disorderly agglomeration of the refuse of California that was ever
+assembled at any one time or place,--gamblers, murderers, road agents,
+and all sorts of unclassified toughs. They were about evenly divided
+between the North and the South,--the only politics being pronounced
+Unionism on one side and outspoken rebellion on the other; but, as any
+discussion between representatives of such views during the hottest
+period of the war was generally concluded with six-shooters, all parties
+kept pretty quiet on the subject, and politics was about the least
+exciting cause of murder, there being others sufficiently numerous to
+give us a "man for breakfast" nearly every morning.
+
+Like all Pacific Coast mining towns, Carson had an immense saloon, with
+all the sporting attachments, such as billiards, roulette, faro, poker,
+etc., and at all times of the day and night it was frequented by
+hundreds of men, who amused themselves talking, drinking, gambling and
+reading their letters, as most of them received their correspondence at
+these headquarters. It was called the "Magnolia," and was kept by Pete
+Hopkins, who, I believe, still flourishes in San Francisco.
+
+The telegraph had reached us in 1862, and we kept pretty well posted on
+what was going on in the States. On the 14th of April, 1865, it was
+flashed over the wires that President Lincoln had been assassinated, and
+the excitement was intense. Men studiously avoided the subject, for fear
+of being misunderstood and being drawn into deadly conflict. The news
+was not credited at first, but soon became confirmed, and generally
+accepted as true. The Union men determined that some public
+demonstration should be made to recognize the event. A meeting was held,
+and a committee appointed to formulate a program. It was decided to put
+the town in mourning, have a procession and mock funeral, an oration and
+appropriate resolutions,--all of which was the correct thing. An evening
+or two before the ceremony was to take place the committee came down to
+the Magnolia, to announce publicly what it had decided upon. The
+chairman mounted the bar and made his proclamation, adding that anyone
+who failed to hang out some emblem of mourning on his house or place of
+business might expect to be roughly handled.
+
+The room was crowded, and with the most inflammable material. Had a
+bomb been exploded on one of the billiard tables the effect would not
+have stirred the rebels to greater depths. Among them was an old
+Virginian, whom we will call Captain Jones. He almost immediately
+accepted the challenge, and speaking up loudly, he said: "I am damned
+glad Lincoln was killed, and if any man attempts to put mourning on my
+house, or interfere with me for not doing so, there will be a good many
+more killed."
+
+Everybody knew that the old man meant just what he said, and was always
+equipped to make good his promises. The effect was remarkable. Instead
+of precipitating a fight, it seemed to paralyze the crowd, and nothing
+came of it that night; the captain was wise enough quietly to disappear.
+
+Captain Jones had a small brick building on the main street of the town,
+a block or two from the Magnolia, where he had his office, and lived in
+a back room.
+
+At the proper time the procession formed on the plaza. Bands of music
+were interspersed through the line. The orator and distinguished
+citizens were in carriages, every vehicle in town being brought into
+requisition. There was a large cavalcade of horsemen. I rode in a
+handsome buggy, with the principal gambler of the town, and many hundred
+footmen followed, the Chinamen bringing up the rear. It was a beautiful
+day, the sun shining brightly. The procession moved off majestically
+down a back street, off the main thoroughfare, and then turned into the
+principal street. Every house on the line of march displayed signs of
+mourning on both sides of the street. Soon appeared in the distance
+Captain Jones, sitting just outside the line of the sidewalk, in the
+street, exactly in front of his house. His head was bare, and his long
+white hair glistened in the sunshine. He sat in an arm-chair, with an
+immense double-barrelled shotgun poised quietly across his knees. He was
+carelessly reading a newspaper, and not a semblance of mourning was to
+be seen anywhere on his premises. As the head of the procession reached
+him hundreds of hands involuntarily sought their revolvers, and every
+man held his breath; even the music ceased, and the expectation was
+intense. There were many in the line who would have shot him if they had
+dared, but they knew he had hosts of friends in the line who would have
+resented it instantly, and to the death, and they also knew the
+captain's eye was coursing down the line and the first shot would be
+answered by the contents of both barrels of his big gun. So no one
+fired; no one spoke; hardly anyone looked. The captain never moved a
+muscle, and the column passed.
+
+I remember once of reading an incident in connection with the French
+army. While marching in Africa it encountered a splendid African lion,
+lying in the road, who did not seem disposed to give the right of way.
+The army halted. The circumstance was reported to the commanding officer
+and instructions asked whether they should kill the royal beast or march
+round him. The orders were to march round him. I have never thought of
+the incident here related without recalling the cool bravery of the king
+of beasts; but I always award the superiority to my friend, Captain
+Jones.
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE CAPITAL WAS SAVED.
+
+
+The ancestors of Joe Rolette, the leading character in the story which I
+am about to relate, emigrated at a very early day from Normandy, in
+France, to Canada. It is believed that the celebrated Montcalm was one
+of this party. Many of these emigrants became disheartened by the
+hardships they encountered, and returned to France; but not so the
+Rolettes. Jean Joseph Rolette, the father of our Joseph, was born in
+Quebec, on Sept. 24, 1781. He was originally designed for the
+priesthood, but fortunately for that holy order his inclinations led him
+in another direction, and he became an Indian trader. His first venture
+in business was at Montreal, next at Windsor opposite Detroit, finally
+winding up at Prairie du Chien, about the year 1801 or 1802.
+
+In the war of 1812, with Great Britain, the Americans captured Prairie
+du Chien in 1814, and built a stockade there, which was called Fort
+Shelby. The British, under Colonel McKay, besieged it, Rolette having
+some rank in the attacking party. He was offered a captaincy in the
+British army for his good behavior in this affair, but declined it. He
+continued his Indian trade successfully up to 1820, when John Jacob
+Astor offered him a leading position in the American Fur Company, which
+he accepted, and held until 1836, when he was succeeded by Hercules L.
+Dousman. He died at Prairie du Chien, Dec. 1, 1842, leaving a widow and
+two children, a son and daughter. His daughter married Captain Hood of
+the United States army, and was a very superior woman. His son was the
+hero of this story. Rolette senior was called by the Indians, "Sheyo"
+("The Prairie Chicken"), from the rapidity with which he travelled. Joe
+was called "Sheyo chehint Ku" ("The Prairie Chicken's Son").
+
+Joe Rolette was born on Oct. 23, 1820, at Prairie du Chien. He received
+a commercial education in New York, but having inherited the free and
+easy, half-savage characteristics of his father, he soon gravitated to
+the border, and settled at Pembina, on the Red River of the North, near
+the dividing line between the United States and Canada. At this point an
+extensive trade in furs had sprung up, in opposition to the Hudson Bay
+people, who had monopolized the trade for British interests for many
+long years. The catch of furs was brought down to the Mississippi every
+year by brigades of carts, constructed entirely of wood and rawhide,
+which were drawn by a single horse or ox, and carried a load of from 800
+to 1,000 pounds. These vehicles were admirably adapted to the country,
+which was in a perfectly natural state, without roads of any kind,
+except the trail worn by the carts. They could easily pass over a slough
+that would obstruct any other forms of wheeled carriage, and one man
+could drive four or five of them, each being hitched behind the other.
+They were readily constructed on the border, by the unskilled
+half-breeds, where iron was unobtainable. This trade, with an occasional
+arrival of dog trains in the winter, was the only connecting link
+between far away Pembina and St. Paul.
+
+When the Territory of Minnesota was organized, in 1849, St. Paul was
+designated as the capital, and a plain but suitable building was erected
+by the United States for the purpose of the local government, and when
+finished the territorial legislature convened there annually.
+
+Joe Rolette, being the leading citizen of Pembina, and naturally
+desirous of spending his winters at the capital, had himself elected to
+the legislature, first to the house of representatives in 1853, and
+again in 1854 and 1855. In 1856 and 1857 he was returned to the council,
+which was the upper house, corresponding to the senate as the
+legislature is now composed. This body consisted of fifteen members. The
+sessions were limited by the organic act to sixty days.
+
+That the capital should be located and remain at St. Paul had been
+determined by the leading citizens of this region, as far as they could
+decide this question, before the organization of the territory, but
+there were from the beginning manifestations of a desire to remove it
+exhibited in several localities. Wm. R. Marshall resided at St. Anthony,
+and at the first session in 1849 worked hard to have it removed to that
+point, but failed, and no serious attempt was again made until 1857,
+when, on February 6th, a bill was introduced by a councillor from St.
+Cloud, to remove it to St. Peter, a town on the Minnesota river, which
+had grown into considerable importance. General Gorman was the governor,
+and largely interested in St. Peter. He gave the scheme the weight of
+his influence. Winona, through its councillor, St. A. D. Balcombe, was a
+warm advocate of the change, and enough influence was secured to carry
+the bill in both houses. It, however, only passed the council by one
+majority, eight voting in its favor, and seven against it.
+
+It was at this point in the fight that Rolette proved himself a bold and
+successful strategist. He was a friend of St. Paul, and was determined
+that the plan should not succeed if it was possible for him to prevent
+it. He never calculated chances or hesitated at responsibilities, but
+would undertake any desperate measure to carry a point with the same
+unreflecting dash and heedlessness of danger that he would plunge his
+horse into a herd of buffalo, shooting right and left, trusting to luck
+to extricate him. It happened that Joe was chairman of the committee on
+enrolled bills of the council, and all bills had to pass through his
+hands for enrollment and comparison. On the 27th of February the removal
+bill reached him, and he instantly decided that the legislature should
+never see it again, so he put it in his pocket and disappeared. He had,
+however, foresight enough carefully to deposit the bill in the vault of
+Truman M. Smith's bank, in the Fuller House, on the corner of Seventh
+and Jackson streets, before his vanishment.
+
+On the 28th Joe did not appear in his seat, and no one seemed to know
+anything of his whereabouts. As his absence was prolonged, some of the
+advocates of the removal became uneasy, and sent to the enrollment
+committee for the bill, but none of them knew anything about it. At this
+point Mr. Balcombe offered a resolution, calling on Rolette to report
+the bill forthwith, and on his failure to do so, that the next member of
+the committee, Mr. Wales, procure another enrolled copy and report it.
+He then moved the previous question on his resolution. At this point,
+Mr. Setzer, a friend of St. Paul, moved a call of the council, and Mr.
+Rolette, being reported absent, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to
+find him, and bring him in.
+
+To comprehend the full bearings of the situation, it should be known
+that, under the rules, no business could be transacted while the council
+was under a call, and that it required a two-thirds vote to dispense
+with the call. As I have said before, the bill was passed in the council
+by a vote of eight for and seven against, which was the full vote of the
+body; but in the absence of Rolette there were only fourteen present.
+Luckily for St. Paul, it takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as
+it does to make two-thirds of fifteen, and the friends of the bill could
+only muster nine on the motion to dispense with the call. Mr. John B.
+Brisbin was president of the council, and a strong friend of St. Paul,
+so no relaxation of the rules could be hoped for from him. In this
+dilemma, the friends of removal were forced to desperate extremes, and
+Mr. Balcombe actually made an extended argument to prove to the chair
+that nine was two-thirds of fourteen. Both gentlemen were graduates of
+Yale, and, on the completion of his argument, Mr. Brisbin said,
+"Balcombe, we never figured that way at Yale; the motion is lost," and
+the council found itself at a deadlock, with the call pending, and no
+hope of transacting any business, unless some member of the five
+yielded. They were all steadfast, however, and there was nothing to do
+but to receive the daily report of the sergeant-at-arms that Mr. Rolette
+could not be found. Sometimes he would report a rumor that Rolette had
+been seen at some town up the river, making for Pembina with a dog
+train, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour; again, that he had been
+assassinated,--in fact, everything but the truth, which was that he was
+luxuriously quartered in the upper story of the Fuller House, having the
+jolliest time of his life, surrounded by friends, male and female, and
+supplied with the best the town afforded, including buckets of
+champagne.
+
+The 5th of March was the last day of the session, and the council camped
+in its chamber, theoretically handcuffed and hobbled, until midnight of
+that day, when President Brisbin took the chair, and pronounced the
+council adjourned _sine die_.
+
+The sergeant-at-arms was John Lamb, well known to all old settlers. He
+was a resident of St. Paul, and true to her interests, as his conduct
+proved. I don't suppose any man ever spent five days and nights trying
+harder how not to find his man than he did on this occasion. Whether his
+fidelity was ever rewarded I am unable to say.
+
+During the deadlock the friends of removal got a copy of the bill
+through, but neither the speaker of the house nor the president of the
+council would sign it. The governor, however, did approve it, but the
+first time it was tested in court it was pronounced invalid, and set
+aside. Other attempts at capital removal were made, but none of them
+proved successful.
+
+Rolette and I were close friends. We had served together in the council
+at its preceding session, and afterwards in the constitutional
+convention, and always roomed together when in St. Paul. I lived at
+Traverse des Sioux, which is next door to St. Peter, at the time of this
+attempt to remove the capital there, but vigorously opposed the measure.
+Rolette's life was threatened by the friends of removal, and many is the
+night I have played the part of bodyguard to him, armed to the teeth;
+but fortunately he was not assailed.
+
+As I rather admired the plucky manner in which my friend had stood by
+St. Paul in this, the hour of her danger, I conceived the idea of
+preserving the event to history by presenting his portrait to the
+Historical Society of the state, which I did, in April, 1890, and also
+hung one in the Minnesota Club. It is a capital likeness, representing
+him, full life size, in the wild and picturesque costume of the border.
+A brass tablet on the frame is inscribed with the following legend: "The
+Hon. Joe Rolette, who saved the capital to St. Paul, by running away
+with the bill removing it to St. Peter, in 1857."
+
+Joe died at Pembina, and is buried in the graveyard of the old Catholic
+church of Belencourt, under a cross of oak, which once bore the words:
+
+    "Here reposes Joseph Rolette.
+        "Born Oct. 23, 1820.
+         "Died May 16, 1871."
+
+The simple chronicle is long since effaced.
+
+"_Requiescat in pace!_" is the wish and hope of his historian and
+friend.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+AN EDITOR INCOG.
+
+
+In the years 1864 and 1865 I lived in Carson City, the capital of
+Nevada, which recently became famous as the place where the great prize
+fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Gentleman Jim Corbett occurred. The
+racecourse which became the arena on that occasion was during all the
+time of my residence there used by me daily as a gymnasium for exercise.
+I had very little to do with the actual politics of the country, because
+I was, and had always been, a Democrat of the most uncompromising
+character, and the party divisions out in that country were between the
+Republicans and men from the Southern States, who were generally
+outspoken rebels; and as it was in the midst of the Civil War, the
+feeling was intense between them. I was a warm supporter of the war for
+the Union, and found myself in the position of a man without a party.
+The situation did not incommode me, however, as I was fully occupied
+outside the realm of politics.
+
+There were two daily newspapers published in the town,--one Republican,
+which was called the _Carson Daily Appeal_, and the other Democratic,
+called the _Evening Post_. There were no associated press dispatches,
+although the telegraph had reached the Pacific Coast and the San
+Francisco papers had the benefit of that great purveyor of news.
+
+The proprietor of the plant of the Republican paper was an old Minnesota
+man, and a friend of mine, with whom I frequently came in contact, both
+in a business and social way. Under this condition of things, you may
+imagine my surprise and consternation when I tell you that one day he
+rushed into my office in a great state of excitement, and told me that
+his editor had left him and gone to San Francisco, and that he could not
+keep his paper going unless I would run it until he could arrange for
+another editor, adding that a failure to publish it for a single day
+would ruin him. At first I looked upon the proposition as utterly out of
+the question, and said: "How can I edit a Republican newspaper, when I
+am at swords' points with everything they believe and advocate?" It was
+with him, however, "a groundhog case," as we used to call such
+imperative occasions. He _had_ to get him, as he was out of meat. He was
+persistent in his demands, and as the negotiations progressed, I began
+to look upon the matter as a good joke, and finally promised that I
+would undertake to keep the paper going if he would swear that he would
+never disclose my identity, which condition he promised faithfully to
+observe.
+
+It was a matter that admitted of no delay. I had to prepare a column and
+a half of editorial that night for the next morning's issue. What I
+wrote about, I don't pretend to remember, but it was well received, and
+its Republican orthodoxy was never questioned, and I repeated the dose
+daily for some time with the same success, growing more and more violent
+in my attacks on the Democracy in each successive issue. Carson was a
+small town, and, as the old editor was missed by his friends, public
+curiosity increased as to who had succeeded him, and I enrolled myself
+among the guessers, and improved every occasion to criticise publicly
+the editorials. It soon became very tiresome and difficult to maintain
+my ground, with politics as the sole text for my editorials, and as news
+was very scarce, I sought relief in any channel that opened a way. A
+great race took place in San Francisco between Charley Brian's ever
+victorious horse, Lodi, and a colt of the celebrated stallion Lexington,
+named Norfolk, for which Joe Winters of Carson had paid fifteen thousand
+and _one_ dollars to the owner of Lexington,--Lord Bob Alexander of
+Kentucky,--especially to make the race with Lodi. The $15,001 was
+exacted by the owner of Lexington, because he had been laughed at for
+paying $15,000 for Lexington when he was old and blind, and had said he
+would sell his colts for more than he had paid for their sire. This
+race, of course, created an immense excitement. At least twenty thousand
+people went to see it, and everybody on the Pacific Coast from the
+forty-ninth parallel to the Mexican line had a bet on the result. Lodi
+was beaten, and as Nevada was the victor, and I knew all about
+Lexington, I wrote several essays on race horses in general and Norfolk
+in particular.
+
+The office of sheriff of our county was a very hazardous one, every
+incumbent of it prior to the then holder having "died with his boots
+on." Tim Smith, who filled the office when I was there, and had shown
+desperate courage on several occasions in the performance of his duties,
+had gained my admiration and friendship, and afforded me a good text,
+and I wrote him up.
+
+There was an ex-governor of California residing in Carson with whom I
+became intimate, and on one occasion I wrote him up; and last, but not
+least, I made the acquaintance of a beautiful and accomplished lady
+living in the town, and as such a person was a phenomenon in that rude
+land, I was inspired to write her up, and did so in the following poem:
+
+    "This descriptive epigram is dedicated to the most beautiful
+    woman in Carson City, by the editor:
+
+    "Gorgeous tresses, exquisitely arrayed;
+    Noble brow where intellect's displayed;
+    Liquid eyes that penetrate the heart;
+    Teeth of pearl, whose brilliancy impart
+    To the whole expression of the face
+    A ray of love, a fascinating sense of grace.
+    A bust--but here presumptuous mortal stay:
+    Let artist gods this beauteous bust portray;
+    Splendor, royalty, magnificence combined,
+    A Venus in Diana's arms entwined.
+    The tiny hand, so soft, so pure, so white,
+    Robs its emerald gem of half its light.
+    The secret charms beneath her robe-folds hidden,
+    Like heavens' joys to mortal eyes forbidden,
+    Are dimly outlined to our rapturous gaze,
+    Like veiled statues through a marble haze.
+    Her fairy foot, as in the graceful waltz it glides,
+    Our admiration equally divides.
+    And proves, that of her many charms of form and voice,
+    If one you had to choose, you could not make the choice.
+    Their perfect harmony is like the arch's span;
+    Displace one stone, you destroy the noble plan."
+
+My political attacks did not seem to make much impression on my
+Democratic contemporary, and he paid very little attention to what I
+said, feeling, no doubt, indifferent in the overwhelming majority of the
+Republican party, but when I branched out in the line I have indicated,
+he opened on me savagely in several editorials. He said the _Appeal_ had
+discovered a soft-soap mine, and had used it lavishly to lather
+governors, sheriffs, ladies, and a great many other people, for the
+purpose of gaining their support and patronage, all of which afforded me
+a fine opportunity of getting back at him in a humorous, and at the same
+time effective manner, so I shot at him in verse, which I will repeat;
+but to a full understanding of it, I will explain that all mining claims
+are measured by the number of feet the claimant owns on the ledge, and
+the word "feet" became synonymous with the mine itself. This was my
+answer:
+
+    "SOAP."
+
+    "Great renovator of the human race!
+    Great cleanser of the human face!
+    Thy potent art removes each stain
+    From dirtiest mortal on this sphere mundane.
+    'Tis sad to think thy mystic spell
+    Can't penetrate within the shell,
+    And to a soiled, perverted heart
+    Cleanliness and purity impart.
+    Thy subtle essence, heretofore confined
+    In bars of Windsor toilet cakes refined;
+    In Colgate's honey for the barber's brush,
+    And shapeless masses much resembling slush,
+    Has now, according to our evening sheet,
+    Been found in ledges, known as "_feet_."
+    To use the language of the _Post_, in fine,
+    The great _Appeal_ has found a mine;
+    And having now much soap to spare,
+    Soaps governors--sheriffs--ladies fair.
+    How sad it is, with all this soap,
+    To know there's not the slightest hope
+    If all the Chinamen in town
+    Should wash it up and wash it down,
+    And scrub 'till it gave up the ghost,
+    Of making clean the _Evening Post_."
+
+The effect of my shot was equal to a thirteen-inch shell in the camp of
+the enemy. The whole community laughed, and the _Post_ left me
+studiously alone until the new editor came and relieved me. I had lots
+of fun out of the experiment, besides getting the magnificent
+compensation of twenty dollars a week for my services. I also had the
+gratification of knowing that the exciting question of "Who edits the
+_Appeal_?" remained unanswered until I answered it myself.
+
+
+
+
+THE INK-PA-DU-TA WAR.
+
+
+All old settlers will remember what in the history of Minnesota is known
+as "The Ink-pa-du-ta War." It occurred in 1857, and, briefly described,
+was something like the following: Near the northwest corner of the State
+of Iowa, in the county of Dickinson, and near the southwest corner of
+the State of Minnesota, in the county of Jackson, there are two large
+and very beautiful lakes, called Spirit lake and Lake Okoboji. The
+country about these lakes is surpassingly beautiful and fruitful, and
+naturally attracted settlers in a very early day. In 1855 and 1857 a few
+families settled on a small river which heads in Minnesota and flows
+southward into Iowa, called in English Rock river, and in Sioux
+In-yan-yan-ke. In 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing, Minn., started
+a settlement at Spirit lake, and near the same time another location was
+made about ten or fifteen miles north of Spirit lake, and called
+Springfield.
+
+There was a small band of Indians, numbering ten or fifteen lodges,
+under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the "Scarlet Point," which
+had for long years frequented the region of the Vermillion river, and
+although Sioux, they had become separated from the bands that made
+treaties with the United States in 1851, and were regarded as outlaws
+and vagabonds. This band had planted in the neighborhood of Spirit lake
+prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to the Missouri.
+
+Early in March, 1857, these Indians were hunting in the neighborhood of
+Rock river settlement, and got into a row with the white people from
+some trivial cause, and the treatment they received greatly angered
+them. They proceeded north and massacred all the people at the Spirit
+lake and Okoboji settlements, except four women, whom they captured and
+carried off with them. They then attacked the settlers at Springfield,
+and killed most of them. The result of the massacre was forty-two white
+people killed and four white women taken as captives.
+
+I was then United States agent for the Sioux, and the news of the
+trouble reached me at my agency, on the Minnesota river, early in March,
+1857, by two young men, who had escaped, and had travelled all the way
+on foot through the deep snow, a distance of nearly one hundred miles.
+Although the air was always full of rumors of Indian troubles in those
+days, I was convinced that the news brought by these boys was true, so I
+made a requisition on Colonel Alexander of the Tenth United States
+Infantry, stationed at Fort Ridgely, for troops, and he sent me Company
+"A," commanded by Captain Barnard E. Bee and Lieutenant Murray. I
+supplied guides and interpreters from my Indians, and after a most
+laborious and painful roundabout march of many days, we reached the
+scene of the troubles, only to find, as I fully expected, the Indians
+gone. The dead were buried, and the troops, after remaining for some
+time, returned to the fort.
+
+Now comes the most interesting part of the incident. The captured women
+were Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Thatcher, Mrs. Marble and Miss Gardner. The
+legislature of the territory was in session, and the news of the event
+soon reached St. Paul, and, as might be expected, created great
+excitement, and, of course, the principal interest centered in the
+rescue of the prisoners. All the legislature could do was to appropriate
+money to defray the expenses of the undertaking, and as nobody knew
+what to do or how to do it, they appropriated $10,000 and wisely left
+the whole matter to Governor Medary, who was then the governor of the
+territory, with full power to do what he thought best about it. He,
+being a practical man, and having no idea at all of how to proceed in
+the matter, very sensibly turned the whole business over to me, with
+_carte blanche_ to do whatever I thought best.
+
+An accident controlled the situation, and shaped future events. Two of
+my Indians, who had been hunting on the Big Sioux river, heard that
+Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Skunk lake, about seventy-five miles west
+of Spirit lake, and had some white captives in his camp; so they went to
+see him, and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble, for whom they paid
+horses and rifles, and whatever they had, and brought her into the
+Yellow Medicine agency and delivered her to me. I paid them $500 each
+for their services, and immediately sent out another expedition to try
+to rescue the other captives. I say I paid these two Indians $500 each.
+The fact is, I could raise but $500 in money on the reservation, which I
+gave them, and resorted to a financial scheme to get the rest, which has
+since become quite the fashion when people or communities are short. I
+issued a territorial bond, and as it is the first government bond that
+ever was issued in all the country that lies between the Mississippi to
+the Rocky Mountains, I give it in full.
+
+    "I, Stephen R. Riggs, missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
+    Charles E. Flandrau, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
+    being satisfied that Mak-pi-ya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
+    Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
+    Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
+    Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux
+    agent, and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two
+    remaining white women who are now in captivity among
+    Ink-pa-du-ta's band of Indians depends much upon the liberality
+    shown towards the said Indians who have recovered Mrs. Marble,
+    and having full confidence in the humanity and liberality of the
+    Territory of Minnesota, through its government and citizens,
+    have this day paid to the two said above named Indians, the sum
+    of five hundred dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said
+    two Indians that the further sum of five hundred dollars will be
+    paid to them by the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens
+    within three months from the date hereof.
+
+    "Dated May 22nd, 1857, at Pa-Ku-ta Zi-zi, M. T.
+        "STEPHEN R. RIGGS,
+        "_Missionary A. B. C. F. M_.
+
+        "CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,
+        "_U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux._"
+
+This bond differed materially from some that were issued by Minnesota
+afterwards, in being paid promptly at maturity.
+
+My expedition brought in Miss Gardner, but Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher
+were killed before relief reached them.
+
+All this occurred before I heard of the action of the legislature, and
+was done wholly on my individual responsibility. I, however, reimbursed
+myself for the outlay from the state funds, and covered the balance of
+the appropriation into the treasury.
+
+Very shortly after the rescue of Miss Gardner, while at the Redwood
+agency, I received a note from Sam Brown, a trader at Yellow Medicine,
+by an Indian courier, which informed me that Ink-pa-du-ta and several
+of his band were at the Yellow Medicine river. I at once determined to
+kill or capture them, and sent word back that I would be on hand with a
+proper force on the morning of the second day, and that he must send an
+Indian who knew where to find them, who would meet me at midnight on the
+top of a butte half way between the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers,
+and guide me in.
+
+I then made a requisition for troops on the commander of the post at
+Ridgely, who sent me a lieutenant and fifteen men. It chanced to be
+Lieutenant Murray, who had accompanied the expedition to Spirit lake.
+While waiting for the soldiers, I raised a volunteer force of about
+twenty men, among whom was a son of the celebrated electrician,
+Professor Morse, and some other young gentlemen who were visiting the
+agency, all of whom insisted on going for the fun of the thing. The
+balance consisted of employes, most of whom were half-breeds. The
+soldiers arrived about five o'clock in the afternoon, and I put them in
+wagons. I mounted my squad on good horses, and every man was furnished
+with a double-barrelled shotgun and a revolver. We started about dark,
+and at midnight arrived at the butte. I galloped to the top of it, and
+found sitting there in the most composed manner possible smoking his
+pipe, An-pe-tu-toka-sha, or John Otherday, who had been deputed by Brown
+to guide us in. He said he knew where we could find the enemy, and
+indicated six lodges standing together about four miles above the Yellow
+Medicine Agency, on the open prairie. He left the road, and guided us
+through the open country to a point on the river about a mile below the
+lodges, they being on the other side of the river. We arrived at about
+four o'clock in the morning, just as the light of day was breaking. It
+was an engrossing study to observe how skillfully he kept us concealed
+from view of the enemy, by keeping rolls of the prairie between us. All
+his movements were like those of a wary animal, stealthy and noiseless.
+The fact is, the education of a savage is learned from the wild animals
+on which he lives, and that is what makes him such a good hunter and
+fighter.
+
+The river, with a narrow stretch of bottom land and a bluff of about
+thirty feet in height, lay between us and the plateau on which was the
+camp where Ink-pa-du-ta was supposed to be. Here we formed our plan of
+attack. As soon as we crossed and attained the high prairie, and located
+the enemy, we were to divide our force into two squads, one of which was
+to be the soldiers and the other the mounted men. The soldiers were to
+double-quick up the edge of the bluff, to intercept a retreat into the
+river bottom, while the mounted men took the open prairie to cut off
+escape in the other direction. Lieutenant Murray was to lead the
+soldiers and I the horsemen. I said to Otherday and my interpreter: "How
+are we to know the guilty parties?" The answer was: "Whoever runs from
+the camp you may be sure of."
+
+The scene presented when we reached the high land was beautiful,
+inspiring, and frightfully alarming. As far as the eye could reach there
+was an unbroken camp of savages, not less than eight or ten thousand of
+them, representing all the Indians of my upper bands, and those from the
+Missouri who always visited us at payment time. I knew many of them were
+relatives of Ink-pa-du-ta and his people, and most of them his friends,
+but there was no time for balancing chances, and, at the word, away we
+went for the enemy's camp, which was the farthest up the river of them
+all. The night had been very hot, and, as is the custom, the tepees had
+been rolled up at the bottom, to allow a free circulation of air, which,
+of course, allowed the inmates an open view of the prairie. When my
+squad got within about two or three hundred yards of the lodges a young
+Indian, holding the hand of a squaw and carrying a double-barrelled
+shotgun, sprang out, and made for the river bluff as fast as his legs
+would carry him. All the soldiers fired at him, but he did not seem to
+be hit, and disappeared among the chaparral in the bottom. We surrounded
+him. He fired four shots, and each time I looked to see a man fall, but
+only one shot was effective, and that struck the cartridge box of a
+young soldier, turning it completely inside out, but without injuring
+the wearer. Whenever he shot, we poured a volley into the place
+indicated by the smoke, and succeeded in killing him. We took his squaw
+and put her into one of the wagons, more for the purpose of identifying
+the man than anything else, and started down the river towards the
+agency. We had to pass through the heart of all these camps, and the
+squaw yelled as only a scared squaw can. The savages swarmed about our
+party by the hundreds and thousands, threatening vengeance, and
+flourishing their guns in a blood-curdling manner. A shot from one of
+them, or from one of us, would have sent us all into heaven in less than
+a moment. The shot was not fired, and we succeeded in reaching the
+agency in safety. I have always attributed our escape to the moral force
+of the government that was behind us.
+
+At the agency there were great log buildings, in which we fortified
+ourselves. I sent a courier to Fort Ridgely for reenforcements. The
+commanding-officer sent us the old Sherman Buena Vista Battery, which
+assisted us in letting go and getting out.
+
+The Indian we killed turned out to be the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta,
+who was one of the head devils in the Spirit lake massacre. He had
+ventured in to see his sweetheart, and was the only one of the gang that
+was present when we made our attack.
+
+The question has often been asked, why the government allowed the
+massacre to go unpunished. Colonel Alexander of the Tenth and I had a
+plan by which we would have destroyed Ink-pa-du-ta and his band without
+a doubt, but just at the moment of putting it into execution an order
+came for all the companies of the Tenth at Ridgely to leave at once for
+Fort Bridger, in Utah, to join the expedition under General Albert
+Sydney Johnson, against the Mormons, and that was the end of it.
+
+Our raid was about as foolhardy and reckless a one as ever was
+undertaken, and our escape can only be credited to providence or good
+luck.
+
+
+
+
+MUSCULAR LEGISLATION.
+
+
+My attention was once arrested by a short editorial, under the caption
+of "Gold Lace Lawmaking," which recalled an amusing incident in my
+experience that occurred in 1856. The editorial said: "When the
+lawmakers of the province of Manitoba met at Winnipeg, the occasion was
+something to impress the voter. The Royal Canadian Dragoons paraded, and
+the Thirteenth field battery roared a salute. Mark the contrast. On one
+side of the line, ceremony, gold lace and honor. On the other, nothing
+but a few clean collars and a camp-fire of the bobby."
+
+It is not my intention to discuss the question of which is the better
+method, but to relate an incident which will cast some light on the
+views people of the two sections take of legislative etiquette and
+ceremony, and the slight effect such ideas have on the practical subject
+of legislation and the conduct of the legislators.
+
+In the year 1856 I was elected by the people of the Minnesota valley to
+the territorial council, which corresponds to the state senate under our
+present political organization. At the same election a neighbor of mine,
+George McLeod, was elected to the house of representatives from the same
+district. George was a Scotch Canadian, who had passed his life in that
+part of Canada where French is the dominant language, and it had become
+his most familiar tongue. He was a giant in build, being much over six
+feet in height, and correspondingly powerful. He was red headed, and
+although well educated, preferred his fists to any other weapons in
+argument, and generally carried his points. He was fond of good horses,
+boasted of his skill as a hunter, and possessed all the requisites of a
+successful frontiersman. He added to these accomplishments an extensive
+knowledge of Scotch poetry and a varied repertoire of choice songs,
+which he sang on all appropriate occasions. On the whole, George might
+be classified as an all around good fellow. Another attribute which I
+must not forget to mention was, that he was the brother of one of our
+most distinguished first settlers, Martin McLeod, who was a member of
+the first territorial council, which convened in 1849, and also the
+brother of Rev. Norman McLeod, a plucky Presbyterian preacher, who
+settled in Salt Lake City in the fifties, and preached the Gentile
+religion when Mormonism was at its height and its disciples were in the
+habit of killing people who differed from them.
+
+After the excitement of the election was over, George naturally began to
+reflect upon his exalted position, and, of course, all his conclusions
+were reached from a Canadian point of view. Feeling a little doubt on
+some questions, he decided to consult me, supposing I was more familiar
+with the American way of doing things than he possibly could be; so one
+day he came to see me on the all-engrossing subject. We found each other
+in the regulation costume of the country, which consisted of blue
+flannel shirts, cheap slop-shop trowsers, Red River moccasins, and the
+whole finished off with a scarlet Hudson's Bay or a variegated Pembina
+sash, all of which was picturesque, but carried with it no semblance of
+pretentious aristocracy. I welcomed George with great cordiality, and he
+at once opened his budget. He said: "Flaundreau," giving my name the
+full French pronunciation, "when we get down to parliament, we will have
+to set up a coach." My surprise may be well imagined, when I tell you a
+journey of a hundred miles on foot was to either of us no unusual event,
+and that neither McLeod nor I had been the owner of a boot or a shoe for
+several years. I, however, restrained my astonishment, and asked: "What
+makes you think so?" His reply was, that it was entirely inadmissible
+for a member of parliament to walk from his hotel to the parliament
+house or to ride in a public conveyance. The question of British or
+Canadian etiquette flashed upon me, and explained McLeod's meaning; but
+it required an immense effort on my part to control my laughter, when I
+had fully taken in the ludicrous features of the proposition. I would no
+more have given way to my inclinations, however, than I would have
+yielded to the same desire when some ridiculous event happens at an
+official Indian council. The picture of a coach with liveried coachman
+and footman driving up to the door of the old American House in St.
+Paul, and two half-savage looking men, shod in moccasins, climbing into
+it, to be transported three or four blocks to the old capitol, with a
+gaping crowd of half-breeds and ruffianly spectators looking on in
+amazement, passed before my mind, and made me wonder what would be the
+result of such a phenomenal spectacle; but I simply said: "We had better
+wait until we get there, and see what the other fellows do; but there is
+one thing I can promise you, and that is, that our district shall not
+fall behind any of the rest of them if it takes a coach and six to hold
+it up."
+
+When we arrived at the parliament, of course McLeod's ideas of etiquette
+and good form met with a rude check, and that was the last I ever heard
+of the subject.
+
+But it was not the last I heard of my colleague. His convivial and
+belligerent characteristics led him into all sorts of scrapes. He was,
+however, usually quite competent to take care of himself, and we each
+followed our own trails without interference, until some political
+question of more than ordinary interest came up in the house, and an
+evening session was agreed upon for its discussion. McLeod was to speak
+on the subject, and he spent nearly all day in preparation, which
+consisted in dropping in at old Caulder's, a brother Scotchman, about
+every hour and taking a drink, so when the time arrived he was loaded to
+the guards with inspiration.
+
+In the old capitol the halls of legislation were on the second floor,
+the house on one side and the council on the other, with an open hall
+between them and a stairway leading up from below. The height between
+the floors was about sixteen feet. It had been arranged that a keg of
+whisky should be put into the council chamber, to be presided over by
+the sergeant-at-arms of the council, who was an enormous man, larger
+even than McLeod.
+
+The hour arrived, a large party attended the debate, among whom were Joe
+Rolette and I, many ladies also gracing the occasion. McLeod spoke, and
+after he had finished, he sauntered over to the council chamber to
+refresh himself. While the custodian of the keg was getting him a drink,
+McLeod asked if he had heard his speech, and how he liked it. The
+sergeant ventured a not very flattering criticism on some remark he had
+made, when George slapped him viciously across the face with a pair of
+buckskin gauntlets he held in his hand. He had hardly struck the blow,
+when the sergeant seized him, and rushed him across the hall to the
+railing around the staircase, reaching which, over McLeod went backwards
+to the bottom, sixteen feet below, with a crash that could be heard all
+over the building. In a moment or two, my friend, Joe Rolette, came
+running breathlessly to me, and gasped out, "Hiawatha, Hiawatha" [the
+name he always called me], "McLeod is dead." I sprang to my feet, and
+rushed down stairs, where I found McLeod laid out on a lounge in the
+office of the secretary of the territory, with Doctor Le Boutillier, a
+French member from St. Anthony, endeavoring to pacify him. The
+conversation ran as follows:
+
+    Doctor: "Georges, mon ami; ne bouge pas, tu a le bras casse."
+
+    McLeod: "Fiche-Moi la paix, on peut courber le bras a un
+    Ecossais; on ne peut pas le lui casser."
+
+    Which translated would read:
+
+    "George, my friend, be quiet, your arm is broken."
+
+    "Stand aside, you may bend a Scotchman's arms, but you can't
+    break them."
+
+Poor McLeod's right arm was broken badly, which laid him up until the
+end of the session.
+
+A short time after the legislature had dissolved George was standing in
+a saloon on Third street, with his right arm in a sling, and a glass of
+whisky in his left hand, which he was about to drink, when who should
+walk in but the big sergeant. Without a word George discharged the
+contents of his glass into the face of the sergeant, and prepared for
+battle, crippled as he was; but the interruption of friends and the
+chivalry of the sergeant prevented an encounter, and so ended the
+legislative career of the gentleman from Canada. Whether it would have
+terminated otherwise had we set up our coach and livery and changed our
+moccasins for patent leather boots I leave to the decision of the
+reader.
+
+He went with General Sibley's command to the Missouri, where I believe
+he remained.
+
+
+
+
+THE VIRGIN FEAST.
+
+
+In all ages, and among all people who had progressed beyond absolute
+individualism and gained any kind of government or community interests,
+there must have been some kind of law to settle disputes and
+controversies, whether of a public or private nature, and I remember
+once, in the very early days of Minnesota, of witnessing a test which
+bore a close resemblance to a trial by jury, and involved an important
+question of individual character which would have been classified under
+our jurisprudence as an action of slander. It occurred among the Sioux
+Indians, and presented many features of much interest that made an
+impression on me which I have never forgotten. The whole proceeding was
+absolutely natural and aboriginal in its character and conduct, and free
+from the technicalities which sometimes obstruct the progress of the
+administration of justice in modern times.
+
+It is well known that the value of the testimony of a witness depends
+very much upon his demeanor and manner of delivering it in court, and
+that the judge usually tells the jury that they must take these matters
+into consideration in giving it its true weight; but in the case I am
+about to relate there was nothing but the appearance and manner of the
+witnesses testifying upon which to base a judgment of their truth or
+falsity, and it was this novel feature that lent additional and peculiar
+interest to the controversy.
+
+The Sioux Indians have a rude kind of jurisprudence which gets at the
+truth by a sort of natural intuition, and the case I witnessed convinced
+me that justice had been reached with more certainty than in nine out of
+ten of our jury trials. We have all heard of trial by battle, under the
+old English law, and the trial of witches by water, where, if they sank
+and drowned they were innocent, and if they floated they were guilty and
+were hanged. But this trial was based on public sentiment or the ability
+of bystanders to detect guilt or innocence from the appearance and
+conduct of the litigants during the trial, which, although a crude
+method, is, in my judgment, much safer than some of those practised by
+our ancestors at no very remote date.
+
+The trial I refer to is called the "Virgin Feast." It is brought about
+in this way: Some gossip or scandal is started in a band about one of
+the young women. It reaches the ears of her mother. In order to test its
+truth or falsity, the mother commands her daughter to give a "Virgin
+Feast." The accused cooks some rice, and invites all the maidens of the
+band to come and partake. They appear, each with a red spot painted on
+each cheek, as an emblem of virginity. They seat themselves in a
+semi-circle on the prairie, and the hostess supplies each of them with a
+bowl of rice which is set before her. A boulder, painted red, is placed
+in front of them, about ten feet distant, and a large knife is thrust
+into the ground in front of, and close up to, the stone. All the young
+men attend as spectators. This ceremony is, on the part of the accused
+and any girl who takes a place in the ring, a challenge to the world,
+that, if any one has aught to say against her, he has the privilege of
+saying it. If nothing is said, and the feast is eaten uninterruptedly,
+the maiden who gave the feast is vindicated, and the gossip disbelieved;
+but if the challenge is taken up by any young buck, he steps forward and
+seizes the girl he accuses by the hand, pulls her out of the ring, and
+makes his charges. She has the right of swearing on the stone and knife
+to her innocence, which goes a great way in her vindication, but is not
+conclusive. If she swears, and he persists, an altercation ensues, and
+public sentiment is formed on view of the contestants' actions.
+
+I remember once, at one of these trials, of seeing a young fellow of
+about twenty-five, step forward and rudely grasp the hand of a girl of
+about sixteen, jerk her to her feet, and make some scandalous charge
+against her. The look she gave him was so full of righteous indignation,
+scorn and offended virtue that no one could see it without being at once
+enlisted in her favor. She glared on him for a moment, with a look that
+only outraged innocence can assume, when shouts went up from the crowd,
+"Swear! Swear!" She approached the stone with the bearing of a princess,
+and placed her hand upon it with an air that could not be mistaken; then
+throwing a look of triumph at the spectators, she strode back to face
+her accuser with the confidence that bespeaks innocence. The fellow
+began to weaken, and in less than a moment was in full flight with a
+howling mob after him, hurling sticks and stones at him with no gentle
+intent. He disappeared, and the girl took her place in the ring as fully
+vindicated as if the lord chief justice of England had decided her case.
+I recollect very distinctly that my convictions of her innocence induced
+by the general features of the trial and conduct of the litigants were
+as strong as any member of the court.
+
+It probably would not do to depend upon such evidence in the more
+complicated affairs of civilized life, and with a people educated in
+dissimulation and the control of the emotions, but with a simple and
+natural people I don't believe many mistakes were made in arriving at
+just judgments.
+
+                        "Innocence unmoved
+    At a false accusation doth the more
+    Confirm itself; and guilt is best discover'd
+    By its own fears."
+
+
+
+
+THE ABORIGINAL WAR CORRESPONDENT.
+
+
+From the earliest days of recorded history man has regarded his prowess
+in war as the most valuable of his exploits, and success in war has
+generally been measured by the number of slain on the battle-field. I
+don't know how the facts were arrived at in ancient times, and whether
+or not they had war correspondents who followed the armies and reported
+their doings I can't say, but as the art of printing was unknown, and
+the means of communication were very limited, it seems doubtful if the
+results were arrived at in that way. From what I know of human nature
+and character, I am convinced that, if the reports were made through the
+commanders in the field, the lists of the enemy slain may fairly be
+discounted about seventy-five per cent. Have we not had reports of the
+most exaggerated character as to the number of prisoners captured and
+enemies killed so recently as our Civil War? And have we ever read of a
+battle with the Indians or other uncivilized people where, after giving
+our own losses, we have not met with the old stereotyped report, "that
+the loss of the enemy was far greater, but as they always remove their
+dead and wounded, it is impossible to ascertain the exact number?" The
+wars now raging in the Philippines and Samoa form no exception to this
+familiar report. So far as our fights with the American Indians are
+concerned, I feel quite confident that, where we have killed one Indian,
+we have lost ten whites, take it through from the Atlantic to the
+Pacific; but you can't figure out any such results from the reports
+which have made up history. The temptation to exaggerate for the
+purpose of hero-making and future political preferment is too great to
+be resisted, and the consequence is that truth suffers amazingly.
+Perhaps it is better for mankind that the slaughter should be on paper,
+rather than in fact.
+
+Modern warfare has introduced the new element of the war correspondent.
+He is generally either a creature of the commander, or desirous of
+flattering him for personal advantage or some other consideration, and
+he piles on the praises of the side he represents, diminishes the credit
+due the enemy, and resolves every doubt against him.
+
+Now the Indian has a way of arriving at the truth of such matters which
+is infinitely more satisfactory than that of his white brother. He knows
+just as well as any one what boasters all men are on matters relating to
+their own exploits, and especially those relating to war, and in order
+that there shall be no humbug about such matters, he will give no
+credence to any statement that is not accompanied by the most
+irrefragable proof. When a warrior comes home and says, "I killed six
+enemies on my last raid," he is confronted with the demand to produce
+his evidence, and the only evidence admissible is the scalps of the dead
+enemies. Should he make such an assertion without the proof, he would be
+laughed out of the camp as a silly boaster.
+
+Most people think the practice of scalping an enemy, generally indulged
+in by the Sioux, is a wanton desire cruelly to mutilate the foe. Such is
+not the case at all; he is prompted solely by the desire of procuring
+proof of his success, and he will take more chances to get a scalp than
+he would for any other object in life. Among the Sioux, and I believe
+most of the tribes of North America, for every enemy killed a warrior
+is entitled to wear a head-dress with an eagle feather in it, which to
+him fills the same place in his character and reputation as the Victoria
+cross or the medal of the legion of honor, or any other of the numerous
+decorations bestowed upon white men for deeds of bravery and honor; and
+to gain this distinction he is moved by the same impulse that actuated
+Hobson in sinking the Merrimac in the harbor of Santiago, or the actors
+in the thousand and one daring deeds in which men in all ages have
+freely risked their lives.
+
+Scalping is an art, and the manner in which it is done, depends wholly
+upon the circumstances of the occasion. A complete and perfect scalp
+embraces the whole hair of the head, with a margin of skin all round it
+about two and a half inches in width, including both ears with all their
+ornaments. This can only be obtained when the victor has abundant time
+to operate leisurely. When he is beset by the enemy, all he can do, as a
+general thing, is to seize the hair with the left hand and hold up the
+scalp with it and then give a quick cut with his knife, and get as big a
+piece as he can. By this hurried process he rarely gets a piece larger
+than a small saucer, and generally not bigger than a silver dollar; but
+no matter how small it may be, it entitles him to his feather. Among the
+Sioux the killing of a full grown grizzly bear is equivalent to the
+killing of an enemy, and entitles the victor to the same decoration. I
+have known Indians who wore as many as sixteen feathers.
+
+It is not alone the importance that these decorations give the wearer
+which enters into their value. When he returns from the war path,
+bearing scalps, he is received by all his band with demonstrations of
+the greatest pride and honor. If you can imagine Dewey landing at New
+York from the Philippines, you can form some idea of the honors that
+would be heaped upon a victorious savage. If the weather is pleasant, he
+strips to the waist, and paints his body jet black. He places on the top
+of his head a round ball of pure white swan's down, about the size of a
+large orange, and takes in his hand a staff, about five feet long, with
+a buckskin fringe tacked on to the upper three feet of it. On the end of
+each shred of the fringe is a piece of a deer's hoof, forming a rattle,
+by striking together when shaken up and down. When arrayed in this
+manner he marches up and down the village, recounting in a sort of a
+chant the entire history of the events of the raid on the enemy, going
+into the most minute details, and indulging in much imagination and
+superstition. He tells what he dreamed, what animals he saw, and how all
+these things influenced his conduct. He continues this ceremony for days
+and days, and is the admiration of all his people. I have seen four or
+five of them together promenading in this way, and have taken an
+interpreter and marched with them by the hour listening to their
+stories.
+
+When this part of the performance is over, the scalps are tanned by the
+women, as they would tan a buffalo-skin, the inside painted red, and the
+whole stretched on a circular hoop, about the size of a barrel hoop, to
+which is attached a straight handle, about four feet long, so that it
+can be carried in the air above the heads of the people. It is also
+decorated with all the trinkets found on the person of the slain.
+
+Then begins the dancing. When night comes the men arrange themselves in
+two lines, about fifteen feet apart, facing each other, all provided
+with tom-toms, and musical instruments of all kinds known to the savage.
+When everything is ready, they sing a kind of a weird chant, keeping
+time with the instruments and their feet. Then the squaws, with the
+scalps held aloft, dance in between the lines of men from opposite
+directions, until they meet, when they chasse to the right and left,
+then dance back and forward again, every once in a while emitting a
+sharp little screech which I have never known to be successfully
+imitated. During the dance, the men join in a kind of shuffle from right
+to left, and back again, keeping the music going all the time. The whole
+performance is one of the most savage and weird ceremonies I have ever
+witnessed. It is kept up for weeks.
+
+It was a frequent amusement for half a dozen of us to throw blankets
+over our heads, and join in the dance for half an hour or so. I have
+been lulled to sleep many times by this wild music, heard from a
+distance of half a mile, on a still night.
+
+It was supposed that when the scalp was taken while the leaves were on
+the trees, it was danced over until they fell, and then buried, and when
+taken in winter it was buried when the leaves came in the spring, but I
+never was quite sure about this. I wanted one very much once, and a
+party of us went in the night just back of St. Peter, where we supposed
+they had been buried, and dug for them, and to our horror struck the
+toes of a dead Indian. That cured my desire in this direction.
+
+
+
+
+BRED IN THE BONE.
+
+
+In the early days of what is now Minnesota there were two families of
+missionaries living among the Sioux of the Mississippi, who, like many
+of their profession, devoted their whole lives to spreading the gospel
+of Christ among the savages. They were those of Dr. Williamson and the
+Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, both of whom had lived with these Indians long
+before I came among them. When I first became connected with these
+Indians I found the missionaries comfortably installed at the Yellow
+Medicine agency, with quite a village around them. They had dwelling
+houses, and a commodious schoolhouse, where they took Indian children at
+a very early age, with a view of civilizing and Christianizing them.
+They had also a very pretty church, with a steeple on it, and a bell in
+the steeple, and all the other buildings necessary for the complete and
+efficient operation of their laudable undertaking. They were full of
+zeal and enthusiasm in the cause, and had progressed to a point where it
+looked to an outsider as if success was only a question of a short time,
+if it was not already an accomplished fact. The Bible had been
+translated into the Sioux language, and they had hymn books and
+catechisms in the same language. They had learned to speak Sioux
+thoroughly, and could preach and sing in that language. Many is the time
+I have attended church at the little meeting house, and heard the simple
+old Presbyterian hymns sung to the tunes that have resounded for
+generations through the meeting houses of New England. It was a most
+solemn and impressive spectacle, in the heart of the Indian country, to
+see a Christian church filled with devout worshippers all in the costume
+of savagery, and to listen to the oft-told story of the Saviour who died
+that man might live. Such a scene carries with it a much more convincing
+proof of the universality of the Christian religion than a church full
+of fashionably dressed people in a great city. It suggests its limitless
+application to all the human race, even if dwelling in the remotest part
+of the earth.
+
+The experience of these good missionaries had taught them that
+civilization was the most potent auxiliary to religion, and, for the
+success of either, the other was a necessary aid and adjunct when
+dealing with these primitive people. So they set themselves to work to
+devise plans to instill into the Indians the elemental principles of
+government based on law. They organized a little state or community
+among them, through which they endeavored to prove to them the
+advantages of civilized rule through the agency of officers of their own
+choice and laws of their own making. They called their state "The
+Hazelwood Republic," which embraced all the missionary establishment,
+and all the Indians they could induce to unite in the enterprise. They
+drew a written constitution, the provisions of which were to govern and
+direct the conduct of the members and the workings of the community. Of
+course, the fundamental principles upon which the whole fabric rested
+were similar to those taught by the ten commandments. The Indians, with
+the advice of the missionaries, elected a president for the young
+republic, and the choice fell upon a wise and upright man, about fifty
+years of age, whose name was Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, or "The man who shoots
+metal as he walks," and to give the matter a more pronounced
+ecclesiastical aspect, they added a scriptural name by way of a prefix
+to the names of all the officers. For instance, they called the
+president, Paul Ma-za-cu-ta-ma-mi, and one of the deacons, Simon
+Ana-wang-ma-ni, which means "The man who can keep up with any moving
+object;" or, as things turned out in the end, it could well have been
+translated into the "Fast Man."
+
+The first act necessary for initiation as a citizen of the republic was
+cutting off the long hair universally worn by the Sioux, and if any act
+could be taken as indicative of sincerity, this one seemed to be
+conclusive. It is quite as much of a sacrifice for an Indian to cut off
+his hair as it would be for a young lady in society possessed of a
+splendid suit of hair to cut it off short and appear at a grand ball
+with her head thus denuded.
+
+The next step was to wear a hat, and exchange the breech-clout for
+pantaloons, and the blanket for a shirt or coat. Notwithstanding this
+terrible ordeal of naturalization, the population of the republic
+increased, and the church was well attended. The praying and singing was
+participated in quite generally by the members, and the future republic
+looked promising. One of the most exemplary citizens and devout
+worshippers was deacon Simon Ana-wang-ma-ni. He led in prayer, and
+labored heart and soul for the good of the republic and the church. He
+was the last man that anyone would have expected to fall from grace, and
+no one ever thought of such a thing; but, strange as it may appear, he
+one day sought an interview with the missionaries, and announced the
+astounding fact that an Indian who had killed his cousin some eight
+years before had returned from the Missouri river country, and he
+thought it was his duty to kill him in retaliation. The astonishment of
+the missionaries may be well imagined. They cited to him the
+commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," and dwelt upon the awful sinfulness
+of such an act, and he would say, "I know what the Bible says, and I
+believe in Sundays, but he killed my cousin." Then they would attack him
+on the laws of the republic of which he was a high official, and dwell
+upon the dreadful example such an act would set before the brethren of
+the church, and he would reply, "Oh, yes; I know all that; but he killed
+my cousin." Then, in despair, they would tell him that he was no longer
+an Indian; that he had become a white man, and the laws of the white man
+forbid such revenge. "I know all that," he would say, "but he killed my
+cousin." As a final resort, the faithful and believing missionaries
+concluded to call in the aid of heaven to assist them, and they prayed
+with Simon for hours, days and nights, in all of which he joined with
+fervor and unction; but he could not divest himself of the all-pervading
+idea that his cousin had been killed, and the sacred duty had devolved
+upon him to avenge his death. This belief had been born in him, and no
+religion of the white man could eradicate it. True to the creed of his
+ancestors, he got a double-barrelled shotgun and went out and killed his
+enemy.
+
+Of course, this murder opened up a new feud, arraying relative against
+relative, and destroyed Simon's influence as a deacon in the church and
+an officer of the republic to such a degree as almost to destroy all the
+good that both had accomplished. I mention this incident to show what
+uncertain ground the missionaries find to sow the seeds of Christianity
+in when working among savages.
+
+Notwithstanding such discouragements as the above, I believe much good
+was done through the efforts of the missionaries. In times of great
+trouble and excitement I always found the best friends of the whites
+among the Indians who had felt the enlightening influences of the
+missionaries, not excepting Simon, who with Paul, John Otherday, and
+many others, performed heroic services for the whites when friends were
+most needed; but I have never been able to settle the question in my
+mind as to whether any of them ever grasped the principles of the
+Christian religion.
+
+In 1862 the Sioux openly rebelled against the whites, and it was solely
+through the good offices of Otherday and Paul that these missionaries
+escaped massacre. All their buildings and their labor of long years were
+destroyed, and they were driven out of the country. Most people would
+have thought that they would have had enough of such a life. I know I
+thought so, but not so with these devoted people. Shortly after the
+suppression of the outbreak I met Dr. Williamson, and asked him what
+were his future intentions. Without the least hesitation he answered
+that he would look up the remnant of his tribe, and continue his work.
+
+All the heroes are not found in the ranks of the fighters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     NOTE.--The reader of both the history and the frontier stories
+     will notice that many of the facts stated in the history are
+     repeated in the stories. I decided to insert both because the
+     different way in which they are related led me to believe that
+     the elimination of either would detract from the interest of
+     the work.
+
+         THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+AN ACCOMPLISHED RASCAL.
+
+
+In the late fifties a young man of very attractive manners and
+extraordinary accomplishments appeared in St. Peter. His name was La
+Croix, or at least he said it was, and no questions were asked. We had
+not at that time acquired the habit of asking newcomers what names they
+went by in the States, as was the usual practice in the early settlement
+of Texas and California. We were an unsuspicious people, and accepted
+those who settled among us for what they said they were and appeared to
+be.
+
+It was soon discovered that La Croix spoke French fluently; nearly all
+our first settlers were French. He said he learned it while living in
+New Orleans. He soon developed a large acquaintance with military
+matters, and we made him captain of our militia company (now the
+national guard), and he drilled us up to a high state of discipline and
+skill in company tactics and movements. I had the honor of being second
+lieutenant of the company. This art, he said, he acquired as sergeant of
+a company in the crack New York Seventh.
+
+He was a graceful and adroit fencer, and could explain the difference
+between the French system and the American plan as taught at West Point.
+I learned both from him. His conversational powers and the extent of his
+general knowledge surpassed anything that ever graced the border. In a
+word, he possessed all the qualities, including personal beauty, that
+were necessary to make him a general favorite with both men and women.
+He did not fail to improve all his advantages.
+
+He soon became the trusted bookkeeper for one of our business concerns,
+courted and married a lovely young girl from a neighboring town, and
+settled down to a life of domestic felicity, esteemed by all, questioned
+by none.
+
+Shortly after his marriage the Civil War began, and in due course of
+time a baby was born to his house. Shortly after the latter event he
+announced that news had arrived that certain stock of the Chemical Bank,
+in New York, which he had inherited from his father, who had died in New
+Orleans, was in danger of confiscation by the federal government as
+rebel property, and he was obliged to go East and take care of it. He
+made the most elaborate preparations for the comfort of his wife and
+child during his absence, and departed. We gave him a splendid send-off,
+and several of us, I among the rest, entrusted him with commissions to
+perform for us in New York, and for a long time that was the last we
+heard of La Croix.
+
+Of course, there were many who said, "I told you so," but they had not
+done anything of the kind; we were all taken in without exception. His
+wife was the last to lose confidence in his return. I followed up every
+clue she could give me, but without results. He had disappeared as
+completely as if the ground had opened and swallowed him up, and we
+forgot him.
+
+The war was fought out, and peace returned. A Connecticut regiment,
+commanded by Colonel Brevet Brigadier General Thompson (I will call him
+that for certain reasons) was mustered out in one of the chief cities of
+that state, and nothing was too good for its gallant commander. He was
+sought after socially, and by the business community, and soon became as
+popular as La Croix had been in St. Peter. He married one of the most
+beautiful and aristocratic young ladies of the state, and was appointed
+to the position of general inspector of agencies of one of the great
+insurance companies of Connecticut, and he decided to improve the
+opportunity of his first tour as a pleasant way of passing his
+honeymoon. So he started west with his confiding wife.
+
+I forgot to mention that, when La Croix reached St. Paul, after leaving
+St. Peter, he drew and cashed a small draft of a few hundred dollars on
+his employer, and appropriated the proceeds.
+
+Thompson's luck seemed to have deserted him on his wedding trip, as, on
+arriving at Cleveland, Ohio, a citizen of St. Peter met and recognized
+him as his old friend La Croix, and not knowing he was a brigadier
+general slapped him familiarly on the shoulder and said: "Hello, La
+Croix; I am glad to see you." The general was immensely indignant, and
+spurned his new found friend, which angered the latter exceedingly, and
+he at once telegraphed to St. Peter, and received a reply to have the
+party arrested and held, which he did. The general wired to his
+principals, setting forth his difficulty, saying it was all a case of
+mistaken identity. They instructed their agent in Cleveland to go
+General Thompson's bail for any amount required, which was done, and he
+at once started for home to procure evidence, leaving his wife to await
+his return, and that was the last seen of General Thompson for many
+years. I believe, however, he was once recognized in Vienna.
+
+Time passed; the West grew and expanded; many new states were added to
+the Union; many immigrants were attracted to its fertile fields and
+booming cities, very few of their number hailing from either Minnesota
+or Connecticut. Among them, however, was a gentleman of most attractive
+mien. He went into the real estate business, and greatly prospered. His
+varied accomplishments soon made him the most popular man in his state.
+He united with the political party which held the power. He married an
+attractive young woman, and settled down to a quiet and respectable
+domesticity. In the course of events a United States senator was to be
+elected, and what was more natural than that this intelligent,
+respectable and popular citizen should be considered a worthy candidate.
+The legislature convened, his prospects of election were more than
+promising, and he would undoubtedly have been chosen had not some
+meddlesome fellow recognized him as the long lost La Croix. Of course,
+he disappeared, and this time, permanently.
+
+The moral of this story is, that it is better, as a general thing, to
+find out what name people went by in the States before you either marry
+them or elect them to the United States senate.
+
+
+
+
+AN ADVOCATE'S OPINION OF HIS OWN ELOQUENCE IS NOT ALWAYS RELIABLE.
+
+
+In the early days of the territory a large part of the legal business
+arose out of misunderstandings about claim lines and the attempts of
+settlers to jump the claims of other people. These suits usually took
+the shape of trespass and forcible entry and detainer. In some instances
+they ripened into assaults and batteries, and were generally tried
+before justices of the peace. Nearly all the people were French, and
+that language was quite as usually spoken as English. The town of
+Mendota was almost exclusively French and half-breed Sioux, the latter
+speaking French if they deviated from their native tongue. One of our
+earliest lawyers was Jacob J. Noah, from New York. He was the son of a
+very celebrated journalist of that city, and was a very cultured and
+accomplished gentleman. He spoke French like a native, which, no doubt,
+had a good deal to do with his living at Mendota. That town boasted of a
+justice of the peace, who occupied an exalted position in the estimation
+of the French inhabitants, on account of his learning and established
+character for justice and fair dealing. He was a handsome old gentleman,
+with white hair and beard and impressive judicial manner. About the year
+1855, among the new arrivals in the legal fraternity, was Mr. John B.
+Brisbin, also from New York. He was a graduate of Yale, and acquainted
+with some of the leading lawyers in St. Paul, so his advent was
+announced with a good many flourishes, and he soon took a leading stand
+in the profession. Mr. Brisbin was a cultured and eloquent lawyer, and
+no one knew it better than himself. He settled in St. Paul. Soon after
+his arrival a controversy arose between a couple of settlers in Dakota
+county about their claim boundaries, and a suit was brought before the
+French justice at Mendota. Major Noah represented the plaintiff and the
+defendant employed Mr. Brisbin. It being Brisbin's first appearance in
+court, he made extraordinary preparations, intending to create a
+favorable impression. He discovered some fault in the law of the
+plaintiff's case, and when the parties met in court, he demurred to the
+plaintiff's complaint, and made an exhaustive argument in support of his
+position. He was fortified with numerous citations from English and New
+York cases, all of which he read to the court. When he would become
+particularly impressive, the court would evince signs of deep interest,
+which convinced the speaker that he was carrying everything before him.
+When he finished his argument, he looked at his adversary with a
+confident and somewhat exultant expression, as if to say, "Answer that
+if you can."
+
+The major opened his case to the court in French, and had hardly begun
+before Mr. Brisbin interposed an objection, that he did not understand
+French, and that legal proceedings in this country had to be conducted
+in English. The major answered by saying: "I am only interpreting to the
+court what you have been saying." Mr. Brisbin indignantly replied: "I
+don't want any interpretation of my argument; I made myself perfectly
+clear in what I said." "Oh, yes," said the major, "you made a very clear
+and strong argument; but his honor, the judge, does not understand a
+single word of English," which was literally true. Tradition adds that
+when the court adjourned, the judge was heard to ask the major: "Est ce
+qu'il y a une femme dans cette cause la?" Whether the court decided the
+case on the theory of there being a woman in it or not, history has
+failed to record.
+
+
+
+
+A MOMENTOUS MEETING.
+
+
+The people of St. Paul have often been proud of a remark which was made
+by Hon. Wm. H. Seward, in a speech delivered by him in 1860, at the old
+capitol on Wabasha street, where he said he believed that the center of
+power on the North American continent would be very near the spot where
+he stood. Everybody, while they liked the prediction, looked upon it as
+a pleasant way the speaker had of giving his hosts and St. Paul a little
+"taffy," and nothing more. Such, however, was not the case, and Mr.
+Seward, when he uttered the prophecy, was thoroughly impressed with the
+truth of what he said, as I will prove further on.
+
+This speech was delivered on the 18th of September, 1860. If I remember
+correctly, Mr. Seward was on an electioneering tour in support of
+Lincoln's candidacy for the presidency, and that Hon. James W. Ney of
+New York, afterwards governor of Nevada, was of the party; but I am not
+very sure of these facts, and they are not at all material to the point
+I am about to make. Mr. Seward stayed at the Merchant's Hotel, at the
+foot of Jackson street, kept by our well known host, Colonel Allen,
+while he remained in St. Paul.
+
+Many of the older settlers will remember James W. Taylor of St. Paul,
+who, for many years, represented the United States as consul at
+Winnipeg. Mr. Taylor was the most popular man in that city. He was not
+only esteemed for his superior ability as an official, but was beloved
+by all classes of the people for his gentle and genial manners. He was a
+great friend of Bishop Anderson of Rupert's Land, who, for twenty years,
+had performed the duties of missionary bishop of that far away country.
+He had travelled the McKenzie river to its mouth in the Arctic ocean. He
+had been all over Alaska, up and down the Yukon, and, in fact, knew more
+about the vast country that lies north and northwest of the United
+States than any living man at the date we are speaking of. It so
+happened that the bishop and Consul Taylor were on a visit to St. Paul
+at the time of the arrival of Mr. Seward, and were also guests at the
+Merchant's Hotel. They, of course, called on the distinguished American,
+Mr. Seward, who became deeply interested in the conversation of the
+bishop about his travels through this vast upper region, and was so
+impressed with the immensity and future possibilities of the country
+that he forgot all about his appointment to speak at the capitol, and
+kept his audience waiting for nearly an hour before he could tear
+himself away from the fascination of the bishop's conversation.
+
+The topic Mr. Seward had selected for his speech was one in which he was
+profoundly interested. It was, "The Duty, Responsibility, and Future
+Power of the Northwest," which was a magnificent subject for discussion
+by such a thoughtful statesman. Before meeting Bishop Anderson, Mr.
+Seward had conceived certain theories on the question, as the quotation
+which I shall make from his speech clearly establishes, and that these
+preconceived ideas had been, by his intercourse with the bishop,
+radically changed, if not thoroughly overthrown, seems equally clear. It
+must be remembered that, in 1860, very little was known about Alaska and
+the British possessions in the far northern regions, and it is quite
+possible that even a man of Mr. Seward's learning may not have included
+them in his calculations for the future. Of course, what he said about
+his preconceived conclusions, and the subsequent changes made in them,
+involved the fact of the absorption into the United States of the whole
+continent, which in all probability will happen at some future time.
+
+When Mr. Seward arrived at the capitol, he was introduced by John W.
+North, and, among other things, said:
+
+    "In other days, studying what might perhaps have seemed to
+    others a visionary subject, I have cast about for the
+    future--the ultimate central power of the North American people.
+    I have looked at Quebec and New Orleans, at Washington and at
+    San Francisco, at Cincinnati and St. Louis, and it has been the
+    result of my last conjecture that the seat of power of North
+    America would yet be found in the Valley of Mexico,--that the
+    glories of the Aztec capital would be renewed, and that city
+    would become ultimately the capital of the United States of
+    America. But I have corrected that view, and I now believe that
+    the last seat of power on this great continent will be found
+    somewhere within a radius of not very far from the very spot
+    where I now stand, at the head of navigation on the Mississippi
+    river and on the great Mediterranean lakes."
+
+When and where had this correction been made? Doubtless an hour before,
+at the Merchant's Hotel, through the influence of the interview with
+Bishop Anderson. While at the capitol they visited the rooms of the
+Historical Society, where the bishop made a short address to Mr. Seward,
+to which Mr. Seward responded. Now, all this might have happened, and
+been of no particular interest to the world, except as a pleasant
+episode between two distinguished men. But in this instance it turned
+out to be of vital importance to three of the greatest nations of the
+world. Mr. Seward was so deeply impressed with the St. Paul incident
+that, immediately after his return to Washington, he opened negotiations
+with the Russian government for the purchase of Alaska, and persistently
+carried them on, until he succeeded in acquiring that vast empire for a
+mere bagatelle of seven or eight millions of dollars. This remarkable
+prevision of Mr. Seward has stamped its effect on our present and future
+destiny and relations with England, Canada, Russia and perhaps all the
+nations of the Orient. Had not Mr. Seward visited St. Paul on that exact
+day, would this great change have been made in the map of North America?
+It certainly would not after the discovery of gold in Alaska. So I claim
+that Minnesota played an all-important role in the purchase of Alaska.
+
+Having spoken of my dear old friend, James W. Taylor, I cannot omit to
+mention a most touching tribute paid to his memory by the people of
+Winnipeg. The municipality has placed upon the walls of its city hall a
+fine portrait of the faithful consul, under which hangs a basket for the
+reception of flowers. Every spring each farmer entering the city plucks
+a wild flower, and puts it in the basket. The great love of a people
+could not be expressed in a more beautiful and pathetic manner, and no
+man was more worthy of it than Consul Taylor.
+
+
+
+
+A PRIMITIVE JUSTICE.
+
+
+The lands west of the Mississippi river, in Minnesota, were the property
+of the Sioux Indians until treaties were made with them in 1851, by
+which they ceded them to the United States, but these treaties were not
+fully ratified until 1853, on account of amendments which deferred final
+action. But immigration was pouring into the territory, and it naturally
+found a lodgment on the west side of the river, from the Iowa line up to
+Fort Snelling, and gradually extended up the Minnesota river to Mankato.
+Of course, all the settlers on the Indian lands were trespassers, and as
+the lands were unsurveyed, no claim rights could be acquired, but the
+settlers did the best they could to mark their claims, and gain what
+right they could by possession. The usual and best way of marking claim
+lines, was by running a plow furrow around the land. When the prairie
+was once broken, the line was indelible, because an entirely new growth
+would spring up in the furrow that never could be eradicated.
+
+In 1854 a law of congress was passed, by which settlers in Minnesota
+were given rights in unsurveyed lands, their claims to be adjusted to
+the surveyed lines, when they were run, "as near as may be."
+
+Of course, this condition of things gave rise to many disputes about
+claim lines and rights, and as there were no legal tribunals to appeal
+to, we organized claim associations to protect our rights. In my part of
+the territory we had an association that covered what is now Blue Earth,
+Nicollet and Le Sueur counties, and most of the actual settlers were
+members, and all were pledged to support each other against any one
+attempting to jump the claim of any member. Protection, of course, meant
+driving out the intruder and restoring the rightful owner to his
+possession. The means of reaching the object were not defined, but were
+understood to be adequate to the necessities of the occasion.
+
+I had made a claim on the second plateau, back of what afterwards became
+the town site of St. Peter, and Gibson Patch, the sheriff of Nicollet
+county, had settled on the adjoining quarter section. These claims
+covered the ground where the Scandinavian college now stands, called, I
+think, "Gustavus Adolphus."
+
+I was the president of the Nicollet county branch of the claim
+association.
+
+About 1855 the government survey lines were extended over our lands, and
+we had to adjust our lines to those of the official surveys as best we
+could. It so happened that the established lines left the shanty of my
+neighbor, the sheriff, outside of the quarter section he had always
+claimed, and before he discovered this fact, a man designing to take
+advantage of the sheriff's peculiar situation, and intending to jump his
+claim, erected a shanty on his land and moved his family into it. It was
+soon discovered, and Patch notified the claim association, which
+immediately assembled and decided that the jumper must be ejected and
+banished from the county. It was winter time. A committee of one hundred
+and fifty was delegated to perform the work at a certain day and hour.
+The jumper heard of it, and in the morning of the day fixed, he
+prudently fled down the river. Being president of the association, it
+devolved upon me to lead the party. We arrived at the house, and finding
+no opposition, we politely informed the family of our mission, and
+offered them comfortable transportation to any point they would name for
+themselves and their portable belongings, which they accepted. We then
+burned the house, and appointed two committees of ten each to chase the
+jumper down each side of the river, with full discretion to punish him
+as they saw fit. They pursued him for about forty miles, and it was
+fortunate for the fugitive that they did not overtake him, because had
+they caught him after two p. m., I think they would have been in a
+condition of mind that would have resulted in his summary execution.
+
+Of course, we thought no more about it, as matters of that kind were of
+frequent occurrence; but that was not the last of it. It turned out that
+the jumper was a Mason of high degree, and when he got to St. Paul he
+made a most pitiable complaint, charging me with destroying his home,
+and with attempting to murder him. I was a small Mason, and was cited
+before the lodge to defend myself. I simply denied the jurisdiction, and
+did not appear. I was tried, and triumphantly acquitted.
+
+On another occasion a claim was jumped in Le Sueur, just between upper
+and lower town, and the jumper had a great many friends who rallied to
+his defense. The associations of all three counties were called out, and
+when we appeared at Le Sueur, we found about seventy-five Irishmen, all
+well armed, camped on the contested claim ready to defend it to the
+death. We camped at a short distance, and negotiations were opened
+between the hostile armies, which finally resulted in some sort of a
+compromise, satisfactory to the contesting parties, one of whom (the
+original claimant) was K. K. Peck, who was left in possession of the
+disputed territory. Mr. Peck laid his claim out into lots, and gave each
+one of the members of the association that had come to his rescue a deed
+for a lot, which we called a "land warrant," on account of services in
+the Peck war; but before we could realize on our warrants, the
+government surveys located a school section on the battle-field, and
+destroyed all our hopes.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Minnesota and Tales of
+the Frontier, by Charles E. Flandrau
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