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diff --git a/old/51990.txt b/old/51990.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a8d0c7d..0000000 --- a/old/51990.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6024 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota -Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63, by A. P. (Alonzo Putnam) Connolly - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63 - Graphic Accounts of the Siege of Fort Ridgely, Battles of - Birch Coolie, Wood Lake, Big Mound, Stony Lake, Dead Buffalo - Lake and Missouri River - -Author: A. P. (Alonzo Putnam) Connolly - -Release Date: May 3, 2016 [EBook #51990] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THRILLING NARRATIVE *** - - - - -Produced by WebRover, Tom Cosmas, Chris Curnow and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber Note - -Table of Contents added. Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_. - - -[Illustration: Governor Alex Ramsey, of St. Paul, - -The Last of the War Governors.] - - - - - A THRILLING NARRATIVE - - OF - - THE MINNESOTA MASSACRE - - AND THE - - SIOUX WAR OF 1862-63 - - GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS OF THE - - _SIEGE OF FORT RIDGELY, BATTLES OF BIRCH COOLIE, WOOD - LAKE, BIG MOUND, STONY LAKE, DEAD BUFFALO - LAKE AND MISSOURI RIVER_. - - - ILLUSTRATED. - - - CHICAGO: - - A. P. CONNOLLY, Publisher, - PAST COMMANDER U. S. GRANT POST, NO. 28, G. A. R. - DEPARTMENT OF ILLINOIS. - - - Copyright 1896, by - A. P. CONNOLLY - CHICAGO. - - - DONOHUE & HENNEBERRY, PRINTERS AND BINDERS, CHICAGO. - - - - -DEDICATION. - - -Thirty-four years ago and Minnesota was in an unusual state of -excitement. The great War of the Rebellion was on and many of her sons -were in the Union army "at the front." In addition, the Sioux Indian -outbreak occurred and troops were hurriedly sent to the frontier. Company -A, Sixth Minnesota Infantry, and detachments from other companies were -sent out to bury the victims of the Indians. This duty performed, they -rested from their labors and in an unguarded hour, they, too, were -surrounded by the victorious Indians and suffered greatly in killed and -wounded at Birch Coolie, Minnesota, on September 2 and 3, 1862. The men -who gave up their lives at this historic place, have been remembered by -the state in the erection of a beautiful monument to their memory and the -names inscribed thereon are as follows: - - John College, sergeant, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Wm. Irvine, sergeant, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Wm. M. Cobb, corporal, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Cornelius Coyle, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - George Coulter, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Chauncey L. King, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Henry Rolleau, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Wm. Russell, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Henry Whetsler, private, Company A, Sixth Minnesota. - Benj. S. Terry, sergeant, Company G, Sixth Minnesota. - F. C. W. Renneken, corporal, Company G, Sixth Minnesota. - Robert Baxter, sergeant, Mounted Rangers. - Richard Gibbons, corporal, Mounted Rangers. - -To these, knowing them all personally and well, I fraternally and -reverentially inscribe this book. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -"We are coming, Father Abraham, SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE!" - -This was in response to the President's appeal for men to go to the -front, and the vast levies this called for made men turn pale and maidens -tremble. - -The Union army was being defeated, and its ranks depleted by disease and -expiration of terms of service--the enemy was victorious and defiant, -and foreign powers were wavering. In England aristocracy wanted a -confederacy--the Commoners wanted an undivided Union. The North responded -to the appeal, mothers gave up their sons, wives their husbands, maidens -their lovers, and six hundred thousand "boys in blue" marched away. - -In August, 1862, I enlisted to serve Uncle Sam for "three years or during -the war." In January, 1865, I reenlisted to serve another term; but the -happy termination of the conflict made it unnecessary. I do not write -this boastingly, but proudly. There are periods in our lives we wish to -emphasize and with me this is the period in my life. - -The years from 1861 to 1865--memorable for all time, I look back to now -as a dream. The echo of the first gun on Sumter startled the world. Men -stood aghast and buckling on the sword and shouldering the musket they -marched away. Brave men from the North met brave men from the South, -and, as the clash of arms resounded throughout our once happy land, the -Nations of the World with bated breath watched the destinies of this -Republic. - -After four years of arbitration on many sanguinary fields, we -decided at Appomattox to live in harmony under one flag. The soldiers -are satisfied--"the Blue and the Gray" have joined hands; but the -politicians, or at least some of them, seem to be unaware that the war is -over, and still drag us into the controversy. - -"The Boys in Blue?" Why, that was in 1866, and this is 1896--thirty years -after we had fulfilled our contract and turned over the goods; and was -ever work better done? - -Then we could have anything we wanted; now we are "Old Soldiers" and it -is 16 to 1 against us when there is work to do. A new generation has -arisen, and the men of 1861 to 1865 are out of "the swim," unless their -vote is wanted. We generally vote right. We were safe to trust in "the -dark days" and we can be trusted now; but Young America is in the front -rank and we must submit. - -The soldier was a queer "critter" and could adapt himself to any -circumstance. He could cook, wash dishes, preach, pray, fight, build -bridges, build railroads, scale mountains, dig wells, dig canals, edit -papers, eat three square meals a day or go without and find fault; and -so with this experience of years,--the eventful years of 1861 and 1865 -before me, when the door is shut and I am no longer effective and cannot -very well retire--to the poor-house, have concluded to write a book. I am -not so important a character as either Grant, Sherman, Sheridan or Logan; -but I did my share toward making them great. I'll never have a monument -erected to my memory unless I pay for it myself; but my conscience is -clear, for I served more than three years in Uncle Sam's army and I have -never regretted it and have no apologies to make. I did not go for pay, -bounty or pension, although I got both the former when I did enlist and -am living in the enjoyment of the latter now. I would not like to say -how much my pension is, but it is not one hundred a month by "a large -majority"--and so, I have concluded, upon the whole, to profit by a -portion of my experience in the great "Sioux War" in Minnesota and Dakota -in 1862 (for I campaigned both North and South) and write a book and thus -"stand off" the wolf in my old age. - -When peace was declared, the great armies were ordered home and the -"Boys in Blue" became citizens again. The majority of us have passed -over the hill-top and are going down the western slope of life, leaving -our comrades by the wayside. In a few years more there will be but a -corporal's guard left and "the place that knows us now will know us no -more forever." The poor-house will catch some and the Soldiers' Home -others; but the bread of charity can never be so sweet and palatable -as is that derived from one's own earnings,--hence this little book of -personal experiences and exciting events of these exciting years--1862 -and 1863. In it I deal in facts and personal experiences, and the -experiences of others who passed through the trying ordeal, as narrated -to me. As one grows old, memory in some sense is unreliable. It cannot -hold on as it once did. The recollection of the incidents of youth -remains, while the more recent occurrences have often but a slender hold -on our memories; often creeps in touching dates, but the recollections of -August, 1862, and the months that followed, are indeed vivid; the impress -is so indelibly graven on our memories that time has not effaced them. - -The characters spoken of I knew personally, some for years; the locations -were familiar to me, the buildings homely as they appear, are correct in -size and in style of architecture and some of them I helped to build. -The narrative is as I would relate to you, were we at one of our "Camp -Fires." It is turning back the pages of memory, but in the mental review -it seems but yesterday that the sad events occurred. - - A. P. CONNOLLY. - -[Illustration: - - Yours truly, - - _A. P. Connolly_ -] - - - - -CONTENTS - - - Chapter Page - - I. General Remarks--Death of Dr. Weiser 11 - II. St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1836 and 1896--Father Hennepin. 14 - III. A Pathetic Chapter--Captain Chittenden's Minnehaha. 20 - IV. Origin of Indians--Captain Carver--Sitting Bull. 27 - V. Fort Snelling. 33 - VI. The Alarm. 38 - VII. Some of the Causes of the War. 43 - VIII. Little Crow at Devil's Lake. 50 - IX. Fort Ridgely Besieged. 63 - X. Siege of New Ulm. 67 - XI. Col. Flandreau in Command. 75 - XII. Mrs. Eastlick and Family. 78 - XIII. The Missionaries--Their Escape. 85 - XIV. The Indian Pow-wow. 87 - XV. Gov. Sibley Appointed Commander. 97 - XVI. March to Fort Ridgely. 103 - XVII. Burial of Capt. Marsh and Men. 106 - XVIII. Battle of Birch Coolie. 112 - XIX. Birch Coolie Continued. 118 - XX. Battle of Wood Lake. 128 - XXI. Camp Release. 139 - XXII. The Indian Prisoners--The Trial. 146 - XXIII. Capture of Renegade Bands--Midnight March. 153 - XXIV. Homeward Bound. 156 - XXV. Protests--President Lincoln's Order For the Execution. 163 - XXVI. The Execution--The Night Before. 169 - XXVII. Squaws Take Leave of Their Husbands. 176 - XXVIII. Capture and Release of Joe Brown's Indian Family. 178 - XXIX. Governor Ramsey and Hole-in-the-Day. 185 - XXX. Chaska--George Spencer--Chaska's Death--The "Moscow" - Expedition. 190 - XXXI. The "Moscow" Expedition. 195 - XXXII. Campaign of 1863--Camp Pope. 199 - XXXIII. "Forward March." 205 - XXXIV. Burning Prairie--Fighting Fire. 209 - XXXV. Death of Little Crow. 211 - XXXVI. Little Crow, Jr.--His Capture. 218 - XXXVII. Camp Atchison--George A. Brackett's Adventure--Lieutenant - Freeman's Death. 221 - XXXVIII. Battle of Big Mound. 232 - XXXIX. Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake. 237 - XL. Battle of Stony Lake--Capture of a Teton--Death of - Lieutenant Beaver. 241 - XLI. Homeward Bound. 252 - XLII. The Campaign of 1864. 257 - XLIII. The Battle of the Bad Lands. 261 - XLIV. Conclusion. 271 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -GENERAL REMARKS--DEATH OF DR. WEISER. - - -Historians have written, orators have spoken and poets have sung of the -heroism and bravery of the great Union army and navy that from 1861 to -1865 followed the leadership of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Logan, Thomas, -McPherson, Farragut and Porter from Bull Run to Appomattox, and from -Atlanta to the sea; and after their work was done and well done, returned -to their homes to receive the plaudits of a grateful country. - -More than thirty years have elapsed since these trying, melancholy -times. The question that then called the volunteer army into existence -has been settled, and the great commanders have gone to their rewards. -We bow our heads in submission to the mandate of the King of Kings, -as with sorrow and pleasure we read the grateful tributes paid to the -memories of the heroes on land and on sea,--the names made illustrious by -valorous achievements, and that have become household words, engraven on -our memories; and we think of them as comrades who await us "on fame's -eternal camping ground." - -Since the war, other questions have arisen to claim our attention, and -this book treats of another momentous theme. The Indian question has -often, indeed too often, been uppermost in the minds of the people. -We have had the World's Fair, the Four Hundredth Anniversary of the -discovery of America, the recollection of which is still fresh in our -memories. Now we have politics and doubtless have passed through one of -the most exciting political campaigns of our day and generation; but, -let us take a retrospective view, and go back thirty years; look at some -of the causes leading up to the Indian war of 1862; make a campaign with -me as we march over twelve hundred miles into an almost unknown land and -defeat the Indians in several sanguinary battles, liberate four hundred -captive women and children, try, convict and hang thirty-nine Indians for -participating in the murder of thousands of unsuspecting white settlers, -and if, upon our return, you are not satisfied, I hope you will in the -kindness of your heart forgive me for taking you on this (at the time) -perilous journey. - -I will say to my comrades who campaigned solely in the South, that -my experience, both North and South, leads me to believe there is no -comparison. In the South we fought foemen worthy of our steel,--soldiers -who were manly enough to acknowledge defeat, and magnanimous enough -to respect the defeat of their opponents. Not so with the redskins. -Their tactics were of the skulking kind; their object scalps, and not -glory. They never acknowledged defeat, had no respect for a fallen -foe, and gratified their natural propensity for blood. Meeting them -in battle there was but one choice,--fight, and one result only, if -unsuccessful,--certain death. They knew what the flag of truce meant -(cessation of hostilities), but had not a proper respect for it. They -felt safe in coming to us with this time-honored symbol of protection, -because they knew we would respect it. We did not feel safe in going to -them under like circumstances, because there were those among them who -smothered every honorable impulse to gratify a spirit of revenge and -hatred. As an illustration of this I will state, that just after the -battle of the Big Mound in 1863, we met a delegation of Indians with a -flag of truce, and while the interpreter was talking to them and telling -them what the General desired, and some soldiers were giving them tobacco -and crackers, Dr. Weiser, surgeon of the Second Minnesota Cavalry, having -on his full uniform as major, tempted a villainous fellow, who thinking, -from the uniform, that it was General Sibley, our commander, jumped up, -and before his intention could be understood, shot him through the back, -killing him instantly. Treachery of this stamp does not of course apply -to all the members of all tribes and benighted people; for I suppose even -in the jungles of Africa, where tribes of black men live who have never -heard of a white man, we could find some endowed with human instincts, -who would protect those whom the fortunes of war or exploration might -cast among them. We found some Indians who were exceptions to the -alleged general rule--cruel. The battles we fought were fierce, escapes -miraculous, personal experiences wonderful and the liberation of the -captives a bright chapter in the history of events in this exciting year. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS IN 1836 AND 1896--FATHER HENNEPIN. - - -As St. Paul, Minnesota, is our starting point, we will pause for a little -and cultivate the acquaintance of her people. The picture represents St. -Paul and Minneapolis about as we suppose they were previous to 1838, -and before a white man gazed upon the natural beauties of our great -country. In the picture you see "one of the first families," in fact it -is the first family, and a healthy, dirty-looking lot they are. They had -evidently heard that a stranger had "come to town" and the neighbors came -in to lend a hand in "receiving" the distinguished guest. The Indian kid -on the left hand, with his hair a la Paderewski, was probably playing -marbles with young Dirty-Face-Afraid-of-Soap-and-Water in the back yard, -when his mother whooped for him to come. He looks mad about it. They all -have on their Sunday clothes and are speculating as to whether it is -best to get acquainted with the forerunner of civilization or not. Their -liberties had never been abridged. The Indians came and went at will, -never dreaming that the day was approaching when civilization would force -them to "move on." As early as 1819 white people were in Minnesota, 'tis -true, but this was when Fort St. Anthony was first garrisoned. - -[Illustration: One of the "First Families" of St. Paul in -1835.] - -Anterior to this, however, a zealous Franciscan priest, Father Hennepin, -ascended the Mississippi, by oar, impelled on by its beautiful scenery, -and in August, 1680, he stood upon the brink of the river near where Fort -Snelling now is, and erected the cross of his church and probably was the -first to proclaim to the red man the glad tidings of "Peace on earth, -good will to man." He pointed them to the cross as the emblem of liberty -from superstition, but they in their ignorance did not heed his peaceful -coming, but made him their captive, holding him thus for six months, -during which time he so completely gained their confidence as to cause -them to liberate him, and his name is still remembered reverentially by -them. - -Father Hennepin named the Falls of St. Anthony after his patron saint, -and was the first white man to look upon its beauties and listen to the -music of Minnehaha, as her crystal water rolled over the cliffs and went -rippling through the grasses and flowers on its merry way to the bosom of -the "Father of Waters." - -Minnehaha, beautiful in sunshine and in shadow; in rain-shower and in -snow-storm--for ages has your laughter greeted the ear of the ardent -Indian lover. Here Hiawatha, outstripping all competitors in his -love-race, wooed his Minnehaha and in triumph carried her away to his -far-off Ojibway home. The Indians loved this spot and as they camped upon -its banks and smoked the peace pipe "as a signal to the nations," dreamed -only of peace and plenty. The Great Spirit was good to them; but the evil -day was approaching, invisible yet, then a speck on the horizon, but -the cloud grew and the "pale face" was among them. Sorrowfully they bid -farewell forever to their beautiful "Laughing Water." - -In these early days it was almost beyond the comprehension of man that -two populous cities should spring up as have St. Paul and Minneapolis, -and Pierre Parrant, the first settler at St. Paul, little dreamed that -the "Twin Cities," with a population variously estimated at from 200,000 -to 225,000, would greet the eye of the astonished beholder in 1896. They -sprang into existence and grew apace; they met with reverses, as all -cities do, but the indomitable energy of the men who started out to carve -for themselves a fortune, achieved their end, and their children are now -enjoying the fruits of their labor. - -There is no city in America that can boast an avenue equal to Summit -avenue in St. Paul, with its many beautiful residences ranging in cost -from $25,000 to $350,000. Notably among these palatial homes is that -of James J. Hill, the railroad king of the Northwest. His is a palace -set on a hill, built in the old English style, situated on an eminence -overlooking the river and the bluffs beyond. The grounds without and -the art treasures within are equal to those of any home in our country, -and such as are found only in homes of culture where money in plenty is -always at hand to gratify every desire. - -The avenue winds along the bluff, and the outlook up and down the river -calls forth exclamations of delight from those who can see beauty in our -natural American scenery. In the springtime, when the trees are in their -fresh green garb, and budding forth, and in the autumn when the days -are hazy and short, when the sere of months has painted the foliage in -variegated colors, and it begins to fall, the picture as unfolded to the -beholder standing on the bluffs is delighting, enchanting. - -The urban and interurban facilities for transport from city to city -are the best in the world, and is the successful result of years of -observation and laborious effort on the part of the honorable Thomas -Lowry, the street railway magnate; and the many bridges spanning the -"Father of Waters" at either end of the line give evidence of the ability -of the business men of the two cities to compass anything within reason. - -Minneapolis, the "flour city," noted for its broad streets and palatial -homes nestling among the trees; its magnificent public library building -with its well-filled shelves of book treasures; its expensive and -beautiful public buildings and business blocks; its far-famed exposition -building, and its great cluster of mammoth flouring mills that astonish -the world, are the pride of every Minnesotian. Even the "Father of -Waters" laughs as he leaps over the rocks and, winding in and out, drives -this world of machinery that grinds up wheat--not by the car-load, but -by the train-load, and--"Pillsbury's Best"--long since a national pride, -has become a familiar international brand because it can be found in -all the great marts of the world. What a transformation since 1638! -Father Hennepin, no doubt, looks down from the battlements of Heaven in -amazement at the change; and the poor Indians, who had been wont to roam -about here, unhindered, have long since, in sorrow, fled away nearer -to the setting sun; but alas! he returned and left the imprint of his -aroused savage nature. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A PATHETIC CHAPTER--CAPTAIN CHITTENDEN'S MINNEHAHA. - - -In August, 1862, what do we see? Homes, beautiful prairie homes of -yesterday, to-day have sunken out of sight, buried in their own ashes; -the wife of an early love has been overtaken and compelled to submit to -the unholy passion of her cruel captor; the prattling tongues of the -innocents have been silenced in sudden death, and reason dethroned. A -most pathetic case was that of Charles Nelson, a Swede. The day previous, -his dwelling had been burned to the ground, his daughter outraged, the -head of his wife, Lela, cleft by the tomahawk, and while seeking to save -himself, he saw, for a moment, his two sons, Hans and Otto, rushing -through the corn-field with the Indians in swift pursuit. Returning with -the troops under Colonel McPhail, and passing by the ruins of his home, -he gazed about him wildly, and closing the gate of the garden, asked: -"When will it be safe to return?" His reason was gone! - -This pathetic scene witnessed by so many who yet live to remember it, was -made a chapter entitled, "The Maniac," in a work from the pen of Mrs. -Harriet E. McConkey, published soon after it occurred. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Minne-ha-ha Falls Before the White Man Ever Saw It.] - -Captain Chittenden, of Colonel McPhail's command, while sitting a -few days after, under the Falls of Minnehaha, embodied in verse this -wonderful tragedy, giving to the world the following lines: - - Minne-ha-ha, laughing water, - Cease thy laughing now for aye, - Savage hands are red with slaughter - Of the innocent to-day. - - Ill accords thy sportive humor - With their last despairing wail; - While thou'rt dancing in the sunbeam, - Mangled corpses strew the vale. - - Change thy note, gay Minne-ha-ha; - Let some sadder strain prevail-- - Listen, while a maniac wanderer - Sighs to thee his woeful tale; - - "Give me back my Lela's tresses, - Let me kiss them once again! - She, who blest me with caresses - Lies unburied on the plain! - - "See yon smoke? there was my dwelling; - That is all I have of home! - Hark! I hear their fiendish yelling, - As I, houseless, childless, roam! - - "Have they killed my Hans and Otto? - Did they find them in the corn? - Go and tell that savage monster - Not to slay my youngest born. - - "Yonder is my new-bought reaper, - Standing mid the ripened grain; - E'en my cow asks why I leave her - Wand'ring, unmilked, o'er the plain. - - "Soldiers, bury here my Lela; - Place _me_ also 'neath the sod; - Long we lived and wrought together-- - Let me die with her--O God! - - "Faithful Fido, you they've left me, - Can you tell me, Fido, why - God at once has thus bereft me? - All I ask is here to die. - - "O, my daughter Jennie, darling! - Worse than death is Jennie's fate!" - - * * * * * - - Nelson, as our troops were leaving - Turned and shut his garden gate. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Father Hennepin Raised the Cross of His Church on the Bank of the -Mississippi River near where Fort Snelling now Stands in 1618.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -ORIGIN OF INDIANS--CAPTAIN CARVER--SITTING BULL. - - -There is something wonderfully interesting about the origin of the -Indians. Different writers have different theories; John McIntosh, who -is an interesting and very exhaustive writer on this subject, says they -can date their origin back to the time of the flood, and that Magog, -the second son of Japhet, is the real fountain head. Our North American -Indians, however, were first heard of authentically from Father Hennepin, -who so early came among them. - -At a later date, about 1766, Jonathan Carver, a British subject and a -captain in the army, made a visit of adventure to this almost unknown and -interesting country. The Sioux were then very powerful and occupied the -country about St. Anthony Falls, and west of the Mississippi, and south, -taking in a portion of what now is the State of Iowa. - -The country to the north and northeast was owned by the Chippewas. The -Sioux then, as later, were a very war-like nation, and at the time of -Captain Carver's advent among them were at war with the Chippewas, -their hated foes. Captain Carver came among them as a peace-maker; his -diplomacy and genial spirit prevailed, and the hatchet was buried. For -these good offices, the Indians ceded to him a large tract of land, -extending from the Falls of St. Anthony to the foot of Lake Pipin; -thence east one hundred miles; thence north and west to the place of -beginning--a most magnificent domain, truly, and which in Europe would -call for nothing less than a king to supervise its destinies. - -A writer, Hon. W. S. Bryant, of St. Paul, Minnesota, on this subject, -says: "That at a later period, after Captain Carver's death, congress -was petitioned by others than his heirs, to confirm the Indian deed, -and among the papers produced in support of the claim, was a copy of an -instrument purporting to have been executed at Lake Traverse, on the -17th day of February, 1821, by four Indians who called themselves chiefs -and warriors of the Uandowessies--the Sioux. They declare that their -fathers did grant to Captain Jonathan Carver this vast tract of land and -that there is among their people a traditional record of the same. This -writing is signed by Ouekien Tangah, Tashachpi Tainche, Kache Noberie and -Petite Corbeau (Little Crow)." This "Petite" is undoubtedly the father of -Little Crow, who figures in this narrative as the leader in the massacre. - -Captain Carver's claim has never been recognized, although the instrument -transferring this large tract of land to him by the Indians was in -existence and in St. Paul less than twenty-five years ago. It has since -been destroyed and the possessors of these valuable acres can rest -themselves in peace. - -In 1862 the red man's ambition was inflamed, and in his desire to -repossess himself of his lost patrimony, he seeks redress of his wrongs -in bloody war. Fort Snelling at the junction of the Mississippi and -Minnesota rivers was the rallying point for the soldiers and we produce a -picture of it as it appeared then and give something of its history from -its first establishment up to date. - -The great Sioux or Dakotah nation at one time embraced the Uncapapas, -Assinaboines, Mandans, Crows, Winnebagoes, Osages, Kansas, Kappaws, -Ottoes, Missourias, Iowas, Omahas, Poncas, Nez Perces, Arrickarees, -Minnetarees, Arkansas, Tetons, Yanktons, Yanktonais, and the Pawnees. It -was a most powerful nation and under favorable conditions could withstand -the encroachments of our modern civilization. The Ahahaways and Unktokas -are spoken of as two lost tribes. The Unktokas are said to have lived -in "Wiskonsan," south of the St. Croix and were supposed to have been -destroyed by the Iowas about the commencement of the present century. -The Ahahaways, a branch of the Crows, lived on the Upper Missouri, but -were lost--annihilated by disease, natural causes and war. The Uncapapa -tribe were from the Missouri, and Sitting Bull, whose picture appears, -although not an hereditary chief, was a strong man among them. He was for -a time their Medicine Man and counselor. He was shrewd and a forceful -diplomat; he was a pronounced hater of the whites, and has earned -notoriety throughout the country as the leader of five thousand warriors, -who annihilated General Custer and his command at the Little Big Horn -in 1876. After the massacre, this huge Indian camp was broken up, and -Bull, with more than one thousand warriors retreated into the British -possessions, from whence he made frequent raids upon American soil. His -band constantly suffered depletion until, in the summer of 1881, he had -but one hundred and sixty followers remaining. These he surrendered to -Lieutenant-Colonel Brotherton, at Fort Buford, and with them was sent as -a prisoner to Fort Randall, Dakota. He was married four times, and had a -large family. He was not engaged in the Sioux war of 1862, but being a -chief of that nation and an important Indian character, I introduce him. -He has gone to the happy hunting ground, some years since, through the -treachery of the Indian police, who were sent out to capture him. - -[Illustration: Sitting Bull, - -The Chief in Command at the Custer Battle of the Little Big Horn in -1876.] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -FORT SNELLING. - -FROM E. D. NEILL'S RECOLLECTIONS. - - -On the 10th of February, 1819, John C. Calhoun, then secretary of war, -issued an order for the Fifth regiment of infantry to rendezvous at -Detroit, preparatory to proceeding to the Mississippi to garrison or -establish military posts, and the headquarters of the regiment was -directed to be at the fort to be located at the mouth of the Minnesota -river. - -It was not until the 17th of September that Lieutenant-Colonel -Leavenworth, with a detachment of troops, reached this point. A -cantonment was first established at New Hope, near Mendota, and not far -from the ferry. During the winter of 1819-20, forty soldiers died from -scurvy. - -On the 5th of May, 1819, Colonel Leavenworth crossed the river and -established a summer camp, but his relations with the Indian agent were -not as harmonious as they might have been, and Colonel Josiah Snelling -arrived and relieved him. On the 10th of September, the cornerstone of -Fort St. Anthony was laid; the barracks at first were of logs. - -During the summer of 1820 a party of Sisseton Sioux killed on the -Missouri Isadore Poupon, a half-breed, and Joseph Andrews, a Canadian, -two men in the employ of the fur company. As soon as the information -reached the agent, Major Taliaferro, trade with the Sioux was interdicted -until the guilty were surrendered. Finding that they were deprived of -blankets, powder and tobacco, a council was held at Big Stone Lake, and -one of the murderers, and the aged father of another, agreed to go down -and surrender themselves. - -On the 12th of November, escorted by friends and relatives, they -approached the post. Halting for a brief period, they formed and marched -in solemn procession to the center of the parade ground. In the advance -was a Sisseton, bearing a British flag; next came the murderer, and the -old man who had offered himself as an atonement for his son, their arms -pinioned, and large wooden splinters thrust through the flesh above the -elbow, indicating their contempt for pain; and in the rear followed -friends chanting the death-song. After burning the British flag in front -of the sentinels of the fort, they formally delivered the prisoners. The -murderer was sent under guard to St. Louis, and the old man detained as a -hostage. - -The first white women in Minnesota were the wives of the officers of -Fort St. Anthony. The first steamer to arrive at the new fort was the -Virginia, commanded by Captain Crawford. The event was so notable that -she was greeted by a salute from the fort. - -In 1824, General Scott, on a tour of inspection, visited Fort St. -Anthony, and suggested that the name be changed to Fort Snelling, in -honor of Colonel Snelling, its first commander. Upon this suggestion of -General Scott and for the reason assigned, the war department made the -change and historic Fort Snelling took its place among the defenses of -the nation; and from this date up to 1861, was garrisoned by regulars, -who were quartered here to keep in check the Indians who were ever on the -alert for an excuse to avenge themselves on the white settlers. - -[Illustration: Fort Snelling in 1865.] - -Author's Note. - - When visiting Fort Snelling during the occasion of the holding of the - National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in St. Paul in - September, 1896, I found such a change. - - The old stone quarters for the use of the rank and file during the - war days were there, it is true, but are being used for purposes - other than accommodating the soldiers. I found my old squad room, but - the old associations were gone; the memories of the war days crowded - upon me, and I thought of the boys whose names and faces I remembered - well, but they are dead and scattered over the land. Some few were - there, and we went over our war history, and in the recital, recalled - the names of our comrades who have been finally "mustered out" and - have gone beyond the river. - - The present commandant of the beautiful new fort is Colonel John - H. Page of the Third United States Infantry. This officer has been - continuously in the service since April, 1861. He was a private - in Company A, First Illinois Artillery, and went through all the - campaigning of this command until the close of the war, when he - received an appointment in the Regular Establishment, and as Captain - was placed on recruiting service in Chicago. - - His advancement in his regiment has been phenomenal, and to be called - to the command of a regiment of so renowned a record as has the Third - Infantry, is an honor to any man, no matter where he won his spurs. - - Colonel Page is a Comrade of U. S. Grant Post No. 28, Grand Army of - the Republic, Department of Illinois, and is also a Companion of the - Loyal Legion. He has an interesting family who live with him in the - enjoyment of his well-earned laurels. - -In 1861, and from that to 1866, the scene underwent a wondrous change, -and volunteers instead of regulars became its occupants. All the -Minnesota volunteers rendezvoused here preparatory to taking the field. -Some years after the war the department determined to make this historic -place one of the permanent forts, and commenced a series of improvements. -Now it is one of the finest within the boundary of our country, and -we find the grounds, 1,500 acres in extent, beautifully laid out, and -extensive buildings with all the modern improvements erected for the -accommodation of Uncle Sam's soldiers. - -The present post structures consist of an executive building, 93x64 feet, -of Milwaukee brick, two stories and a basement, heated by furnaces and -with good water supply. It contains offices for the commanding general -and department staff. The officers' quarters: a row of thirteen brick -buildings with all the modern improvements, hot and cold water, and a -frame stable for each building. Minnesota Row: Six double one-story frame -buildings, affording twelve sets of quarters for clerks and employes. -Brick Row: A two-story brick building, 123x31 feet, with cellars, having -sixteen suites of two rooms each, for unmarried general service clerks -and employes. Quartermaster's employes have a one-story brick building, -147x30 feet, containing eight sets of quarters of two rooms each, also -a mess-house, one story brick, 58x25 feet, containing a kitchen and -dining room, with cellar 30x12 feet. Engineer's quarters, school house, -quartermaster's corrals, brick stables, blacksmith shops, frame carriage -house, granary and hay-house, ice house, etc., good water works, sewer -system, and electric lights. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE ALARM. - - -The Indians! The Indians are coming! - -How the cry rang out and struck terror to the hearts of the bravest. It -brought to mind the stories of early days, of this great Republic, when -the east was but sparsely settled, and the great west an unknown country, -with the Indian monarch of all he surveyed. The vast prairies, with their -great herds of buffalo were like the trackless seas; the waving forests, -dark and limitless; mountain ranges--the Alleghanies, the Rockies and the -Sierra Nevadas, towering above the clouds; the countless lakes--fresh and -salt, hot and cold; the great inland seas; the gigantic water falls, and -the laughing waters; the immense rivers, little rivulets at the mountain -source, accumulating as they flowed on in their immensity, as silently -and sullenly they wend their way to the sea; the rocky glens and great -canyons, the wonder of all the world. It was in the early day of our -Republic, when the hardy pioneer took his little family and out in the -wilderness sought a new home; a time when the Indian, jealous of the -white man's encroachment, and possessor by right of previous occupation, -of this limitless, rich and wonderful empire, when great and powerful -Indian nations--The Delawares, the Hurons, the Floridas, and other tribes -in their native splendor and independence, said to the pale face, "Thus -far shalt thou go, and no farther." The terror-stricken people were -obliged to flee to places of safety, or succumb to the tomahawk; and on -throughout the Seminole, the Black Hawk and other wars, including the -great Minnesota Massacre of 1862. - -[Illustration: Squad Room at Fort Snelling.] - -Reader accompany me. The atmosphere is surcharged with excitement, and -the whole country is terror-stricken. The southland is drenched in blood, -and the earth trembles under the tread of marching thousands. - -The eyes of the nation are turned in that direction, and the whole -civilized world is interested in the greatest civil war of the world's -history. The levies from the states are enormous, and the stalwarts, by -regiments and brigades, respond to the call for "Six Hundred Thousand -more." - -The loyal people of the frontier have long since ceased to look upon the -Indians as enemies, and tearfully urge their husbands and sons to rally -to the colors in the South. What is taking place in the land of the -Dakotahs? - -Their empire is fading away, their power is on the wane, their game is -scarce, and they look with disgust and disfavor upon their unnatural -environments. In poetry and in prose we have read of them in their -natural way of living. They have been wronged; their vast empire has -slipped away from them; they laugh, they scowl and run from tribe to -tribe; they have put on the war-paint and broken the pipe of peace; with -brandishing tomahawk and glistening scalping knife they are on the trail -of the innocent. - -"Turn out, the regulars are coming!" were the ringing words of Paul -Revere, as he, in mad haste, on April 18, 1775, on foaming steed, rode -through the lowlands of Middlesex; so, too, are the unsuspecting people -in Minnesota aroused by the cry of a courier, who, riding along at a -break-neck speed shouts: "The Indians, the Indians are coming!" All -nature is aglow; the sun rises from his eastern bed and spreads his warm, -benign rays over this prairie land, and its happy occupants, as this -terrific sound rings out on the morning air, are aroused and the cry: -"Come over and help us" from the affrighted families, as they forsake -their homes and flee for their lives, speeds on its way to ears that -listen and heed their earnest, heart-piercing not, of despair, for the -"Boys in Blue" respond. - -The people had been warned by friendly Indians that the fire brands -would soon be applied; and that once started, none could tell where it -would end. They were implored to take heed and prepare for the worst; -but unsuspecting, they had been so long among their Indian friends, they -could not believe that treachery would bury all feelings of friendship; -but alas! thousands were slain. - -Go with me into their country and witness the sad results of a misguided -people, and note how there was a division in their camp. The hot young -bloods, ever ready for adventure and bloody adventure at that, had -dragged their nation into an unnecessary war and the older men and -conservative men with sorrowful hearts counselled together how best to -extricate themselves and protect the lives of those who were prisoners -among them. The campaign of 1862 is on. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -SOME OF THE CAUSES OF THE WAR. - - -Lo! the poor Indian, has absorbed much of the people's attention and vast -sums of Uncle Sam's money; and being a participant in the great Sioux war -of 1862, what I write deals with facts and not fiction, as we progress -from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, to "Camp Release," where we found and -released over four hundred white captives. But I will digress for a time -and look into the causes leading up to this cruel Sioux war that cost so -many lives and so much treasure. There is a great diversity of opinion on -this question, and while not particularly in love with the Indian, I have -not the temerity to criticise the Almighty because he puts his impress -white upon some, and red upon others; neither shall I sit in judgment -and say there are no good Indians--except dead ones. The Indian question -proper is of too great a magnitude to analyze and treat with intelligence -in this little book; but in the abstract, and before we enter upon the -active campaign against them, let us look at it and see if the blame -does not to a great extent rest more with the government than it does -with these people. The Indians came from we know not where--legends have -been written and tradition mentions them as among the earliest known -possessors of this great western world. The biologist speculates, and -it is a matter of grave doubt as to their origin. Certain it is, that -as far back as the time of Columbus they were found here, and we read -nothing in the early history of the voyages of this wonderful navigator -to convince us that the Indians were treacherous;--indeed we would -rather incline to the opposite opinion. The racial war began with the -conquest of the Spaniards. In their primitive condition, the Indians were -possessed of a harmless superstition--they knew no one but of their kind; -knew nothing of another world; knew nothing of any other continent in -this world. When they discovered the white men and the ships with their -sails spread, they looked upon the former as supernatural beings and the -ships as great monsters with wings. Civilization and the Indian nature -are incompatible and evidences of this were soon apparent. The ways of -the Europeans were of course unknown to them. They were innocent of the -white man's avaricious propensities and the practice of "give and take" -(and generally more take than give) was early inaugurated by the sailors -of Columbus and the nefarious practice has been played by a certain class -of Americans ever since. Soon their suspicions were aroused and friendly -intercourse gave place to wars of extermination. The Indian began to -look upon the white man as his natural enemy; fighting ensued; tribes -became extinct; territory was ceded, and abandoned. Soon after American -Independence had been declared, the Indians became the wards of the -nation. The government, instead of treating them as wards and children, -has uniformly allowed them to settle their own disputes in their own -peculiar and savage way, and has looked upon the bloody feuds among -the different tribes much as Plug Uglies and Thugs do a disreputable -slugging match or dog-fight. A writer says: - -"If they are wards of the nation, why not take them under the strong arm -of the law and deal with them as with others who break the law? Make an -effort to civilize, and if civilization exterminates them it will be an -honorable death,--to the nation at least. Send missionaries among them -instead of thieving traders; implements of peace, rather than weapons -of war; Bibles instead of scalping knives; religious tracts instead of -war paint; make an effort to Christianize instead of encouraging them in -their savagery and laziness; such a course would receive the commendation -and acquiescence of the Christian world." - -There is not a sensible, unprejudiced man in America to-day, who gives -the matter thought, but knows that the broken treaties and dishonest -dealing with the Indians are a disgrace to this nation; and the impress -of injustice is deeply and justly engraven upon the savage mind. The -lesson taught by observation was that lying was no disgrace, adultery -no sin, and theft no crime. This they learned from educated white men -who had been sent to them as the representatives of the government; and -these educated gentlemen (?) looked upon the Indian as common property, -and to filch him of his money by dishonest practices, a pleasant pastime. -The Indian woman did not escape his lecherous eye and if his base -proposals were rejected, he had other means to resort to to enable him to -accomplish his base desire. These wards were only Indians and why respect -their feelings? "Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." The whirlwind came -and oh, the sad results! - -The Indians were circumscribed in their hunting grounds by the onward -march of civilization which crowded them on every side and their only -possible hope from starvation, was in the fidelity with which a great -nation kept its pledges. 'Tis true, money was appropriated by the -government for this purpose, but it is equally true that gamblers and -thieving traders set up fictitious claims and the Indians came out in -debt and their poor families were left to starve. Hungry, exasperated and -utterly powerless to help themselves, they resolved on savage vengeance -when the propitious time arrived. - -"The villainy you teach me I will execute," became a living, bloody -issue. This did not apply alone to the Sioux nation, but to the Chippewas -as well. These people have always been friends of the whites, and have -uniformly counselled peace; but broken pledges and impositions filled the -friendly ones with sorrow, and the others with anger. The commissioners, -no doubt, rectified the wrong as soon as it was brought to their notice, -but the Indians were plucked all the same and had sense enough to know -it. Our country is cursed with politicians--the statesmen seem to have -disappeared; but, the politician grows like rank weeds and the desire for -"boodle" permeates our municipal, state and national affairs. Our Indian -system has presented a fat field so long as these wards of the nation -submitted to being fleeced by unprincipled agents and their gambling -friends, but at last, the poor Indian is aroused to the enormity of the -imposition and the innocent whites had to suffer. In some instances the -vengeance of God followed the unscrupulous agent and the scalping knife -in the hand of the injured Indian was made the instrument whereby this -retribution came. - -There has been a great deal said of Indian warriors--we have read of them -in poetry and in prose and of the beautiful Indian maiden as well. The -Sioux warriors are tall, athletic, fine looking men, and those who have -not been degraded by the earlier and rougher frontier white man, or had -their intellects destroyed by the white man's fire-water, possess minds -of a high order and can reason with a correctness that would astonish -our best scholars and put to blush many of our so-called statesmen, and -entirely put to rout a majority of the men who, by the grace of men's -votes hold down Congressional chairs. Yet they are called savages and are -associated in our minds with tomahawks and scalping knives. Few regard -them as reasoning creatures and some even think they are not endowed by -their Creator with souls. Good men are sending Bibles to all parts of -the world, sermons are preached in behalf of our fellow-creatures who -are perishing in regions known only to us by name; yet here within easy -reach, but a few miles from civilization, surrounded by churches and -schools and all the moral influences abounding in Christian society; -here, in a country endowed with every advantage that God can bestow, -are perishing, body and soul, our countrymen--perishing from disease, -starvation and intemperance and all the evils incident to their unhappy -condition. I have no apology to make for the savage atrocities of any -people, be they heathen or Christian, or pretended Christian; and we can -point to pages of history where the outrages perpetrated by the soldiers -of so-called Christian nations, under the sanction of their governments, -would cause the angels to weep. Look at bleeding Armenia, the victim of -the lecherous Turk, who has satiated his brutal, bestial nature in the -blood and innocency of tens of thousands of men, women and children; and -yet, the Christian nations of the world look on with indifference at -these atrocities and pray: "Oh, Lord, pour out Thy blessings on us and -protect us while we are unmindful of the appeals of mothers and daughters -in poor Armenia!" - -This royal, lecherous, murderous Turk, instead of being dethroned and -held to a strict accountability for the horrible butcheries, and worse -than butcheries, going on within his kingdom and for which he, and he -alone, is responsible, is held in place by Christian and civilized -nations for fear that some one shall, in the partition of his unholy -empire, get a bigger slice than is its equitable share. - -The "sick man" has been allowed for the last half century to commit the -most outrageous crimes against an inoffensive, honest, progressive, and -law-abiding people, and no vigorous protest has gone out against it. -Shall we, then, mercilessly condemn the poor Indians because, driven -from pillar to post, with the government pushing in front and hostile -tribes and starvation in their rear, they have in vain striven for a -bare existence? Whole families have starved while the fathers were away -on their hunt for game. Through hunger and disease powerful tribes have -become but a mere band of vagabonds. - -America, as she listens to the dying wail of the red man, driven from the -forests of his childhood and the graves of his fathers, cannot afford -to throw stones; but rather let her redeem her broken pledges to these -helpless, benighted, savage children, and grant them the protection they -have the right to expect, nay, demand. - -"I will wash my hands in innocency" will not suffice. Let the government -make amends, and in the future mete out to the dishonest agent such -a measure of punishment as will strike terror to him and restore the -confidence of the Indians who think they have been unjustly dealt with. -But to my theme. - -The year of which I write was a time in St. Paul when the Indian was -almost one's next door neighbor,--a time when trading between St. Paul -and Winnipeg was carried on principally by half-breeds, and the mode -of transportation the crude Red river cart, which is made entirely of -wood,--not a scrap of iron in its whole make-up. The team they used was -one ox to a cart, and the creak of this long half-breed train, as it -wended its way over the trackless country, could be heard twice a year as -it came down to the settlements laden with furs to exchange for supplies -for families, and hunting purposes. It was at a time when the hostile -bands of Sioux met bands of Chippewas, and in the immediate vicinity -engaged in deadly conflict, while little attention was paid to their -feuds by the whites or the government at Washington. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -LITTLE CROW AT DEVIL'S LAKE. - - -It was in August, 1861, on the western border of Devil's Lake, Dakota, -there sat an old Indian chief in the shade of his wigwam, preparing a -fresh supply of kinnikinnick. - -The mantle of evening was veiling the sky as this old chief worked and -the events of the past were crowding his memory. He muses alone at the -close of the day, while the wild bird skims away on its homeward course -and the gathering gloom of eventide causes a sigh to escape his breast, -as many sweet pictures of past happy years "come flitting again with -their hopes and their fears." The embers of the fire have gone out and he -and his dog alone are resting on the banks of the lake after the day's -hunt; and, as he muses, he wanders back to the time when in legend lore -the Indian owned the Western world; the hills and the valleys, the vast -plains and their abundance, the rivers, the lakes and the mountains were -his; great herds of buffalo wended their way undisturbed by the white -hunter; on every hand abundance met his gaze, and the proud Red Man with -untainted blood, and an eye filled with fire, looked out toward the four -points of the compass, and, with beating heart, thanked the Great Spirit -for this goodly heritage. To disturb his dream the white man came, and -as the years rolled on, step by step, pressed him back;--civilization -brought its cunning and greed for money-getting. A generous government, -perhaps too confiding, allowed unprincipled men to rob and crowd, and -crowd and rob, until the Mississippi is reached and the farther West -is portioned out to him for his future residence. The influx of whites -from Europe and the rapidly increasing population demand more room, and -another move is planned by the government for the Indians, until they are -crowding upon the borders of unfriendly tribes. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Little Crow Sitting Meditating on the Banks of Devil's Lake, Dakota, -August, 1862.] - -This old chief of whom we speak awoke from his meditative dream, and -in imagination we see him with shaded eyes looking afar off toward the -mountain. He beholds a cloud no bigger than a man's hand; he strains -his eye, and eagerly looks, for he sees within the pent-up environments -of this cloud all the hatred and revenge with which his savage race is -endowed. The cloud that is gathering is not an imaginative one, but it -will burst in time upon the heads of guilty and innocent alike; and the -old chief chuckles as he thinks of the scalps he will take from the -hated whites, and the great renown, and wonderful power yet in store for -him. His runners go out visiting other bands and tell what the old chief -expects. They give their assent to it, and as they talk and speculate, -they too, become imbued with a spirit of revenge and a desire to gain -back the rich heritage their fathers once held in possession for them, -but which has passed from their control. They are not educated, it is -true, but nature has endowed them with intelligence enough to understand -that their fathers had bartered away an empire, and in exchange had -taken a limited country, illy adapted to their wants and crude, -uncivilized habits. This old chief's mind is made up, and we will meet -him again--aye! on fields of blood and carnage. - -The government had acted in good faith, and had supplied the Indians -with material for building small brick houses, furnishing, in addition -to money payments and clothing, farming implements and all things -necessary to enable them to support themselves on their fertile farms; -and missionaries, also, were among them, and competent teachers, ready to -give the young people, as they grew up, an education, to enable them to -better their condition and take on the habits and language of the white -settlers. - -But the devil among the Indians, as among the whites, finds "some -mischief still for idle hands to do;" gamblers and other unprincipled -men followed the agents, hob-nobbed with them, and laid their plans -to "hold-up and bunko" the Indians, who, filled with fire-water and a -passion for gambling, soon found themselves stripped of money, ponies -and blankets, with nothing in view but a long, cold, dreary winter and -starvation. A gambler could kill an Indian and all he had to fear was -an Indian's vengeance (for the civil law never took cognizance of the -crime); but if an Indian, filled with rum, remorse and revenge, killed -a gambler, he was punished to the full extent of the law. In this one -thing the injustice was so apparent that even an Indian could see it; -and he made up his mind that when the time came he would even up the -account. The savage Indians were intelligent enough to know that in these -transactions it was the old story of the handle on the jug--all on one -side. - -Those of the "friendlies" who were Christianized and civilized were -anxious to bury forever all remains of savagery and become citizens of -the nation, and if the government had placed honorable men over them to -administer the law, their influence would have been felt, and in time the -leaven of law and order, would have leavened the whole Sioux nation. The -various treaties that had been made with them by the government did not -seem to satisfy the majority, and whether there was any just cause for -this dissatisfaction I do not propose to discuss; but, that a hostile -feeling did exist was apparent, as subsequent events proved. - -The provisions of the treaties for periodical money payments, although -carried out with substantial honesty, failed to fulfill the exaggerated -expectations of the Indians; and these matters of irritation added -fuel to the fire of hostility, which always has, and always will exist -between a civilized and a barbarous nation, when brought into immediate -contact; and especially has this been the case where the savages were -proud, brave and lordly warriors, who looked with supreme contempt upon -all civilized methods of obtaining a living, and who felt amply able -to defend themselves and avenge their wrongs. Nothing special has been -discovered to have taken place other than the general dissatisfaction -referred to, to which the outbreak of 1862 can be immediately attributed. -This outbreak was charged to emissaries from the Confederates of the -South, but there was no foundation for these allegations. The main reason -was that the Indians were hungry and angry; they had become restless, and -busy-bodies among them had instilled within them the idea that the great -war in the South was drawing off able-bodied men and leaving the women -and children at home helpless. Some of the ambitious chiefs thought it a -good opportunity to regain their lost country and exalt themselves in -the eyes of their people. The most ambitious of the lot was Little Crow, -the old chief we saw sitting in the shade of his wigwam on Devil's Lake. -He was a wily old fox and knew how to enlist the braves on his side. -After the battles of Birch Coolie and Wood Lake, Minnesota, in September, -1862, he deserted his warriors, and was discovered one day down in the -settlements picking berries upon which to subsist. Refusing to surrender, -he was shot, and in his death the whites were relieved of an implacable -foe, and the Indians deprived of an intrepid and daring leader. - -There was nothing about the agencies up to August 18, 1862, to indicate -that the Indians intended, or even thought, of an attack. Everything had -an appearance of quiet and security. On the 17th of August, however, a -small party of Indians appeared at Acton, Minnesota, and murdered several -settlers, but it was not generally thought that they left the agency -with this in mind; this killing was an afterthought, a diversion; but, -on the news of these murders reaching the Indians at the Upper Agency -on the 18th, open hostilities were at once commenced and the whites and -traders indiscriminately murdered. George Spencer was the only white man -in the stores who escaped with his life. He was twice wounded, however, -and running upstairs in the loft hid himself away and remained concealed -until the Indians, thinking no more white people remained, left the -place, when an old squaw took Spencer to her home and kept him until his -fast friend, Chaska, came and took him under his protection. The picture -of Spencer is taken from an old-time photograph. - -[Illustration: George Spencer, - -Who was Saved by Chaska, August, 1862.] - -The missionaries residing a short distance above the Yellow Medicine, -and their people, with a few others, were notified by friendly disposed -Indians, and to the number of about forty made their escape to -Hutchinson, Minnesota. Similar events occurred at the Lower Agency on the -same day, when nearly all the traders were butchered, and several who got -away before the general massacre commenced were killed before reaching -Fort Ridgely, thirteen miles below, or the other places of safety to -which they were fleeing. All the buildings at both agencies were -destroyed, but such property as was valuable to the Indians was carried -off. - -The news of the outbreak reached Fort Ridgely about 8 o'clock a. m. on -the 18th of August through the arrival of a team from the Lower Agency, -which brought a citizen badly wounded, but no details. Captain John F. -Marsh, of the Fifth Minnesota, with eighty-five men, was holding the -fort, and upon the news reaching him he transferred his command of the -fort to Lieutenant Gere and with forty-five men started for the scene -of hostilities. He had a full supply of ammunition, and with a six-mule -team left the fort at 9 a. m. on the 18th of August, full of courage and -anxious to get to the relief of the panic-stricken people. On the march -up, evidences of the Indians' bloody work soon appeared, for bodies were -found by the roadside of those who had recently been murdered, one of -whom 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 endeavored to induce the soldiers to cross. A dense chaparral -bordered the river on the agency side and tall grass covered the bottom -land on the side where the troops were stationed. From various signs, -suspicions were aroused of the presence of Indians, and the suspicions -proved correct, for without a moment's notice, Indians in great numbers -sprang up on all sides of the troops and opened a deadly fire. About -half of the men were instantly killed. Finding themselves surrounded, -desperate hand-to-hand encounters occurred, with varying results, and the -remnant of the command made a point down the river about two miles from -the ferry, Captain Marsh being among the number. They evidently attempted -to cross, but Captain Marsh was drowned in the effort, and only thirteen -of his command escaped and reached the fort alive. Captain Marsh, in -his excitement, may have erred in judgment and deemed it more his duty -to attack than retreat; but the great odds of five hundred Indians to -forty-five soldiers was too great and the captain and his brave men paid -the penalty. He was young, brave and ambitious and knew but little of -the Indians' tactics in war; but he no doubt believed he was doing his -duty in advancing rather than retreating, and his countrymen will hold -his memory and the memory of those who gave up their lives with him in -warmer esteem than they would had he adopted the more prudent course of -retracing his steps. - -At a later date, in 1876, it will be remembered, the brave Custer was -led into a similar trap, and of the five companies of the Seventh United -States cavalry and their intrepid commanders only one was left to tell -the tale. - -After having massacred the people at the agencies, the Indians at once -sent out marauding parties in all directions and covered the country from -the northeast as far as Glencoe, Hutchinson and St. Peter, Minnesota, -and as far south as Spirit Lake, Iowa. In their trail was to be found -their deadly work of murder and devastation, for at least one thousand -men, women and children were found brutally butchered, houses burned, -and beautiful farms laid waste. The settlers, being accustomed to the -friendly visits of these Indians, were taken completely unawares and were -given no opportunity for defense. - -Major Thomas Galbraith, the Sioux agent, had raised a company known -as the Renville Rangers, and was expecting to report at Fort Snelling -for muster and orders to proceed south to join one of the Minnesota -commands; but upon his arrival at St. Peter, on the evening of August -18, he learned the news of the outbreak at the agencies, and immediately -retraced his steps, returning to Fort Ridgely, where he arrived on -the 19th. On the same day Lieutenant Sheehan, of the Fifth Minnesota -Infantry, with fifty men, arrived also, in obedience to a dispatch -received from Captain Marsh, who commanded the post at Fort Ridgely. -Lieutenant Sheehan, in enthusiasm and appearance, resembled General -Sheridan. He was young and ambitious, and entered into this important -work with such vim as to inspire his men to deeds of heroic valor. Upon -receipt of Captain Marsh's dispatch ordering him to return at once, as -"The Indians are raising hell at the Lower Agency!" he so inspired his -men so as to make the forced march of forty-two miles in nine hours and -a half, and he did not arrive a minute too soon. After Captain Marsh's -death he became the ranking officer at Fort Ridgely, and the mantle -of authority could not fall on more deserving shoulders. His command -consisted of Companies B and C of the Fifth Minnesota, 100 men; Renville -Rangers, 50 men; with several men of other organizations, including -Sergeant John Jones (afterwards captain of artillery), and quite a number -of citizen refugees, and a party that had been sent up by the Indian -agent with the money to pay the Indians at the agency. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Siege of Fort Ridgely, August 20, 21 and 22. - -Indians fired the Fort with burning arrows, but were finally defeated by -General Sibley's Column.] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FORT RIDGELY BESIEGED. - - -Fort Ridgely was a fort in name only. It was not built for defense, -but was simply a collection of buildings built around a square facing -inwards. The commandant's quarters, and those of the officers, also, were -two-story structures of wood, while the men's barracks of two stories -and the commissary storehouse were stone, and into these the families of -the officers and soldiers and the refugee families were placed during -the siege. On the 20th of August, 1862, about 3 p. m., an attack was -made upon the fort by a large body of Indians, who stealthily came down -the ravines and surrounded it. The first intimation the people and the -garrison had of their proximity was a volley from the hostile muskets -pouring between the openings of the buildings. The sudden onslaught -caused great consternation, but order was soon restored. - -Sergeant Jones, of the battery, who had seen service in the British army, -as well as in our own regular army, in attempting to turn his guns on the -Indians found to his utter astonishment that the pieces had been tampered -with by some of the half-breeds belonging to the Renville Rangers who had -deserted to the enemy. They had spiked the guns by ramming old rags into -them. The sergeant soon made them serviceable, however, and brought his -pieces to bear upon the Indians in such an effective way as to teach them -a lesson in artillery practice they did not forget. The "rotten balls," -as they termed the shells, fell thick and fast among them, and the havoc -was so great that they withdrew out of range to hold a council of war -and recover from their surprise. The fight lasted, however, for three -hours, with a loss to the garrison of three killed and eighteen wounded. -On the morning of Thursday, the 21st of August, the attack was renewed -by the Indians, and they made a second attack in the afternoon, but with -less force and earnestness and but little damage to the garrison. The -soldiers were on the alert and the night was an anxious one, for the -signs from the hostiles indicated that they were making preparations -for a further attempt to capture the fort. During the night barricades -were placed at all open spaces between the buildings, and the little -garrison band instructed, each man's duty specified, and directions -given to the women and children, who were placed in the stone barracks, -to lie low so as not to be harmed by bullets coming in at the windows. -On Friday, the 22d, Little Crow, the then Sioux commander in chief, had -the fort surrounded by 650 warriors whom he had brought down from the -agency. He had them concealed in the ravines which surrounded the fort, -and endeavored by sending a few of the warriors out on the open prairie -to draw the garrison out from the fort, but fortunately there were men -there who had previously had experience in Indian warfare, and the -scheme of this wily old Indian fox did not work. Little Crow, finding it -useless to further maneuver in this way, ordered an attack. The showers -of bullets continued for seven long hours, or until about 7 p. m., but -the attack was courageously and bitterly opposed by the infantry, and -this, together with the skillfully handled artillery by Sergeant Jones, -saved the garrison for another day. The Indians sought shelter behind -and in the outlying wooden buildings, but well directed shells from the -battery fired these buildings and routed the Indians, who in turn made -various attempts by means of fire arrows to ignite the wooden buildings -of the fort proper. But for the daring and vigilance of the troops the -enemy would have succeeded in their purpose. The Indians lost heavily in -this engagement, while the loss to the troops was one killed and seven -wounded. Lieutenant Sheehan, the commander of the post, was a man of -true grit, and he was ably assisted by Lieutenant Gorman of the Renville -Rangers, and Sergeants Jones and McGrau of the battery. Every man was -a hero and did his whole duty. Surrounded as they were by hundreds of -bloodthirsty savages, this little band was all that stood between the -hundreds of women and children refugees and certain death, or worse -than death! Besides, the government storehouses were filled with army -supplies, and about $75,000 in gold, with which they intended making an -annuity payment to these same Indians. - -The water supply being cut off, the soldiers and all the people, -especially the wounded, suffered severely, but Post Surgeon Mueller and -his noble wife heroically responded to the urgent calls of the wounded -sufferers irrespective of danger. Mrs. Mueller was a lovely woman of the -heroic type. During the siege, in addition to caring for the wounded, she -made coffee, and in the night frequently visited all the men who were on -guard and plentifully supplied them with this exhilarating beverage. An -incident in relation to her also is, that during the siege the Indians -had sheltered themselves behind a haystack and from it were doing deadly -work. Sergeant Jones could not bring his twenty-four pounder to bear on -them without exposing his men too much, unless he fired directly through -a building that stood in the way. This house was built as they are on the -plantations in the South, with a broad hall running from the front porch -clear through to the rear. In the rear of this hall were rough double -doors, closed principally in winter time to keep the snow from driving -through. The sergeant had them closed and then brought his piece around -in front, and the Indians away back of the house could not see what the -maneuvering was. He crept up and attached a rope to the handle of the -door, and looking through the cracks got the range and then sighted his -gun. Mrs. Mueller, sheltered and out of harm's way, held the end of -the attached rope. The signal for her to pull open the doors was given -by Sergeant Jones, and this signal was the dropping of a handkerchief. -When the signal came, with good nerve, she pulled the rope and open flew -the doors. Immediately the gunner pulled the lanyard and the shell with -lighted fuse landed in the haystacks, which were at once set fire to and -the Indians dislodged. This lady died at her post, beloved by all who -knew her, and a grateful government has erected an expensive monument -over her remains, which lie buried in the soldiers' cemetery at Fort -Ridgely, where, with hundreds of others whose pathway to the grave was -smoothed by her motherly hands, they will remain until the great reveille -on the resurrection dawn. - - - - -[Illustration: LITTLE CROW.] - -CHAPTER X. - -SIEGE OF NEW ULM. - - -Little Crow, finding himself baffled in his attempt to capture the fort, -and learning from his scouts that Colonel Sibley was on his way with -two regiments to relieve the garrison, concentrated all his forces and -proceeded to New Ulm, about thirteen miles distant, which he intended to -wipe out the next morning. Here, again, he was disappointed. The hero of -New Ulm was Hon. Charles E. Flandreau, who deserves more than a passing -notice. By profession he is a lawyer, and at this time was a judge on -the bench, and is now enjoying a lucrative practice in St. Paul. By -nature he is an organizer and a leader, and to his intrepid bravery and -wise judgment New Ulm and her inhabitants owe their salvation from the -savagery of Little Crow and his bloodthirsty followers. He had received -the news of the outbreak at his home near St. Peter in the early morning -of August 19, and at once decided what should be done to save the people. - -His duty to wife and children was apparent, and to place them in safety -was his first thought, which he did by taking them to St. Peter. He -then issued a call for volunteers, and in response to this soon found -himself surrounded by men who needed no second bidding, for the very air -was freighted with the terror of the situation. Armed with guns of any -and all descriptions, with bottles of powder, boxes of caps and pockets -filled with bullets, one hundred and twenty men, determined on revenge, -pressed forward to meet this terrible foe. - -Where should they go? Rumors came from all directions, and one was that -Fort Ridgely was being besieged and had probably already fallen. Their -eyes also turned toward New Ulm, which was but thirteen miles distant and -in an absolutely unprotected condition. Its affrighted people were at the -mercy of this relentless enemy. The work Judge Flandreau performed in -perfecting an organization was masterful, for the men who flocked in and -offered their services he could not control in a military sense, because -they were not enlisted. The emergency was very great and it was necessary -to do the right thing and at the right time and to strike hard and deadly -blows, and trusted men were sent forward to scout and report. Hon. Henry -A. Swift, afterwards governor of Minnesota, rendered good service in -company with William G. Hayden as they scouted the country in a buggy. -It was a novel way to scout, but horses were too scarce to allow a horse -to each. An advance guard was sent forward about noon, and an hour later -the balance of the command was in motion, eagerly pushing forward and -anxious to meet the enemy wherever he might be found. The advance guard -which Flandreau sent out to determine whether Fort Ridgely or New Ulm -should be the objective point had not yet been heard from, and, that no -time might be lost, he determined that he would push forward to New Ulm, -and if that village was safe he would turn his attention to Ridgely. He -found his guard at New Ulm, and they had been largely reinforced by other -men who came in to help protect the place. They arrived just in time -to assist in repelling an attack of about two hundred Indians, who had -suddenly surrounded the little village. Before the arrival of Flandreau -and his command they could see the burning houses in the distance, and -by this they knew that the work of devastation had commenced, and the -forced march was kept up. The rain was pouring in torrents, and yet they -had made thirty-two miles in seven hours and reached the place about 8 -o'clock in the evening. - -The next day reinforcements continued to come in from various points -until the little army of occupation numbered three hundred effective -and determined men. A council of war was called and a line of defense -determined upon by throwing up barricades in nearly all the streets. - -The situation was a very grave one and it was soon apparent that a -one-man power was necessary--that a guiding mind must control the actions -of this hastily gathered army of raw material; and to this end, Judge -Flandreau was declared generalissimo, and subsequent events proved that -the selection was a most judicious one. In a few days subsequent to this -he received a commission as colonel from Governor Ramsey and was placed -in command of all irregular troops. There were fifty companies reported -to him all told; some were mounted and others were not. His district -extended from New Ulm, Minnesota, to Sioux City, Iowa. It was a most -important command, and Colonel Flandreau proved himself a hero as well -as a competent organizer. He is so modest about it even to-day that he -rarely refers to it. - -A provost guard was at once established, order inaugurated, defenses -strengthened and confidence partially restored. Nothing serious -transpired until Saturday morning at about 9 o'clock, when 650 Indians, -who had been so handsomely repulsed at Fort Ridgely, thirteen miles -above, made a determined assault upon the town, driving in the pickets. -The lines faltered for a time, but soon rallied and steadily held the -enemy at bay. The Indians had surrounded the town and commenced firing -the buildings, and the conflagration was soon raging on both sides of -the main street in the lower part of the town, and the total destruction -of the place seemed inevitable. It was necessary to dislodge the enemy -in some way, so a squad of fifty men was ordered out to charge down the -burning street, and the Indians were driven out. The soldiers then -burned everything and the battle was won. The desperate character of -the fighting may be judged when we find the casualties to be ten men -killed and fifty wounded in about an hour and a half, and this out of a -much depleted force, for out of the little army of three hundred men, -seventy-five who had been sent under Lieutenant Huey to guard the ferry -were cut off and forced to retreat towards St. Peter. Before reaching -this place, however, they met reinforcements and returned to the attack. -The Indians now, in turn, seeing quite a reinforcement coming, thought it -wise to retreat, and drew off to the northward, in the direction of the -fort, and disappeared. - -The little town of New Ulm at this time contained from 1,200 to 1,500 -non-combatants, consisting of women and children, refugees and unarmed -citizens, every individual of whom would have been massacred if it -had not been for this brave band of men under the command of Colonel -Flandreau. Not knowing what the retreat of the Indians indicated, the -uncertainty and scarcity of provisions, the pestilence to be feared from -stench and exposure, all combined to bring about the decision to evacuate -the town and try to reach Mankato. In order to do this a train was made -up, into which were loaded the women and children and about eighty -wounded men. It was a sad sight to witness this enforced breaking up of -home ties, homes burned and farms and gardens laid waste, loved ones dead -and wounded, and this one of the inevitable results of an unnecessary -and unprovoked war. The march to Mankato was without special incident. -Especially fortunate was this little train of escaping people in not -meeting any wandering party of hostile Indians. - -The first day about half the distance from Mankato to St. Peter was -covered; the main column was pushed on to its final destination, it -being the intention of Colonel Flandreau to return with a portion of his -command to New Ulm, or remain where they were, so as to keep a force -between the Indians and the settlements. But the men of his command, -not having heard a word from their families for over a week, felt -apprehensive and refused to return or remain, holding that the protection -of their families was paramount to all other considerations. It must be -remembered that these men were not soldiers, but had demonstrated their -willingness to fight when necessary, and they did fight, and left many -of their comrades dead and wounded on the battlefield. The train that -had been sent forward arrived in Mankato on the 25th of August, and the -balance of the command reached the town on the day following, when the -men sought their homes. - -The stubborn resistance the Indians met with at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm -caused them to withdraw to their own country, and this temporary lull -in hostilities enabled the whites to more thoroughly organize, and the -troops to prepare for a campaign up into the Yellow Medicine country, -where it was known a large number of captives were held. - -[Illustration: Colonel Charles E. Flandreau, - -Who was in command at New Ulm, Minn., during the Siege from August 20th -to 25th, 1862.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -COL. FLANDREAU IN COMMAND. - - -While the exciting events narrated in the previous chapters were -taking place other portions of the state were preparing for defense. -At Forest City, Hutchinson, Glencoe, and even as far south as St. Paul -and Minneapolis, men were rapidly organizing for home protection. In -addition to the Sioux, the Chippewas and Winnebagoes were becoming -affected and seemed anxious for a pretext to don the paint and take the -warpath. Colonel Flandreau having received his commission as colonel -from Governor Ramsey, with authority to take command of the Blue Earth -country extending from New Ulm to the Iowa line, embracing the western -and southwestern frontier of the state, proceeded at once to properly -organize troops, commission officers, and do everything in his power -as a military officer to give protection to the citizens. The Colonel -established his headquarters at South Bend and the home guards came -pouring in, reporting for duty, and squads that had been raised and -mustered into the volunteer service, but had not yet joined their -commands, were organized into companies, and the Colonel soon found -himself surrounded by quite an army of good men, well officered, and with -a determination to do their whole duty. This was done by establishing -a cordon of military posts so as to inspire confidence and prevent an -exodus of the people. Any one who has not been through the ordeal of an -Indian insurrection can form no idea of the terrible apprehension that -takes possession of a defenseless and non-combatant people under such -circumstances. - -The mystery and suspense attending an Indian's movements, and the -certainty of the cruelty to his captives, strikes terror to the heart, -and upon the first crack of his rifle a thousand are put to flight. -While cruelty is one of the natural characteristics of the Indians, yet -there are many among them who have humane feelings and are susceptible -of Christian influences. As friends, they are of the truest; but the -thoughtless cry out as did the enemies of our Savior: "Crucify him! -Crucify him!" Other Day, Standing Buffalo, Chaska and Old Betz were as -true and as good people as ever lived, and yet they are held responsible -for the atrocities of their savage brethren. At the risk of their own -lives they warned hundreds of people and guided them by night, and hid -them by day, until finally they reached a place of safety. At the hostile -camp, where they had over four hundred women and children, it was only -through the influence of these and other sturdy friendly chiefs that any -lives were saved. They had to even throw barricades around their tepees -and watch day and night until the soldiers came, giving notice that -whoever raised hand to harm these defenseless people would do it at their -peril. When we know of these kind acts, let us pause a moment before we -say there are no good Indians. - -It was a study to look at some of these old dusky heroes, who said -nothing but thought much, and who had determined that, come what would, -harm should not come to the captives. There were statesmen, too, among -them; men wise in council, who had respect for their Great Father at -Washington, who were cognizant of the fact that much dissatisfaction was -engendered among their people by occurrences taking place at the time of -the negotiation for the treaties. They counselled their people, and no -doubt tried hard to induce them to forsake their desire for vengeance -on the whites, and thus retard the progress they were making for their -offspring toward civilization and a better manner of living. - -You might properly ask here: "What became of the friendly Indians while -the hostiles were on the warpath?" Some of them forgot their friendly -feelings and, like the whisky victim, when they got a taste of blood, -they wanted more! They were all forced by the hostiles to don their war -paint and breech-cloth, and go with them against the whites, and they -were wise enough to know that it was folly to resist. Their main object -was to prevent the wholesale murder of the captives, for when hostilities -opened, they knew if they did not go, every woman and child in the -captive camp would be murdered; and the friendlies would be blamed as -much as the hostiles themselves. - - - - -[Illustration: MRS. EASTLICK AND CHILDREN.] - -CHAPTER XII. - -MRS. EASTLICK AND FAMILY. - - -The note of alarm sounded throughout the neighborhood and without a -moment's warning hurried preparations were made for the exodus. Women -and children and a few household goods were loaded into wagons and a -start made for a place of safety. Indians suddenly appeared and commenced -an indiscriminate fire upon the terror-stricken refugees. - -The individual cases of woman's heroism, daring, bravery, cunning and -strong-willed self-sacrifice, could be recounted by the score, and in -some instances are past belief. Their achievements would be considered -as pure fiction but for our own personal knowledge. Many of the real -occurrences would seem like legends, when the father had been murdered -and the mother left with two, three and even five and six children to -care for, and if possible save them from the ferocity of the painted red -devils, whose thirst for blood could seemingly not be satiated. One noted -case was the Eastlick family, and this was only one of a hundred. Eleven -men of the party had already been killed, and Mr. Eastlick among the -number. The women with their children were scattered in all directions in -the brush, to escape if possible the inevitable fate in store for them if -caught. The Indians shouted to them to come out from their hiding places -and surrender and they should be spared. The remaining men, thinking -perhaps their lives might be saved if they surrendered, urged their wives -to do so, and the men would, if possible, escape and give the alarm. -Thus, without a word or a look lest they should betray the remaining -husbands, were these women driven from their natural protectors and -obliged to submit to the tender mercies of their hated red captors. The -supposed dead husbands watched the receding forms of their devoted wives, -whom in all likelihood they never would see again. Burton Eastlick, the -fifteen-year-old boy, could not endure the thought of leaving his mother -to this uncertain fate, and he followed her, but she persuaded him, for -the sake of his fifteen-months-old baby brother, to leave her and try and -make his escape, carrying the little one with him. And how well did he -execute his mission. - -The Indians fired upon the little group and Mrs. Eastlick fell, wounded -in three places, and the boy ran away, supposing his mother dead; but she -revived, and crawled to where her wounded husband and six-year-old boy -were, to find both dead. Can you picture such a scene or imagine what the -feelings of this poor mother must be under these awful circumstances? -Sublime silence reigning over earth and sky, and she alone with her dead! - -What a parting must that have been from husband and child--death and -desolation complete. Could she look to her God? A heart of faith so -sorely tried, and yet she said: "I am in His hands; surely I must trust -Him, for I am yet alive, and two precious children, Burton and little -baby, are fleeing to a place of safety." - -This heroic boy, Burton, seeing his mother shot, and supposed to be dead, -and watching the life flicker and the spirit of his six-year-old brother -pass away, placed the dear little body beside that of his father, and -with a bravery born of an heroic nature he accepted his charge, and with -the injunction of his precious, dying mother still ringing in his ears, -made preparations to start. It seemed an herculean effort, but the brave -boy said: "We may yet be saved!" So, pressing his baby brother close to -his heart, he took a last look upon the faces of his dear father, mother -and six-year-old brother and started. - -Ninety miles, thick with dangers, lay before our young hero; but he -faltered not. When tired carrying his little brother in his arms he -took him on his back. The first day he made sixteen miles, and in ten -consecutive days covered sixty miles. He lived on corn and such food as -he could find in deserted houses. At night his bed was the earth, his -pillow a stone, and the sky his only covering, the bright stars acting -as nightly sentinels over him, as weary, he and his little baby charge -slept. If angels have a duty to perform, surely troops of them must have -hovered around. He fed the little brother as best he could to appease -his hunger and covered him as with angel wings to protect the little -trembling body from the chilly night air. Brave boy! The pages of history -furnish nothing more noble than this deed, and if you yet live, what a -consolation, what a proud reflection, to know that there never before was -witnessed a deed more deserving of immortal fame. - -"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that -flyeth by day." The resolute mother, badly wounded and left for dead, -revived. She looked upon the face of her dead husband and little boy, -and with sublime courage started for a place of safety. At the risk of -being discovered and murdered--hungry, tired, with wounds undressed and a -heavy, aching heart and deathly sick, she was obliged to lie by for some -time, after which she again started, and for ten days and nights this -poor sorrow-stricken woman traveled on her weary way. - -Providence led her in the path of a mail carrier on a route from Sioux -Falls City, in Dakota, to New Ulm, Minnesota. He had formerly known her, -but in her emaciated, jaded, pitiful condition the change was so great he -did not recognize her. - -At New Ulm she found her children, where they were being kindly cared -for, having been found in the tall grass nearly dead from exposure and -starvation. Thus the remaining portion of the family were reunited on -earth, and it is proper to here draw the curtain and allow them a few -moments for communion, that the fountain of the heart which had been -dried up by the awful occurrences of the previous few days might unbidden -flow. The mother's heart was nearly crushed with the thought of husband -and child--victims of the ferocious Indians, killed and yet unburied on -the prairie nearly one hundred miles away; but, mother-like, she rejoiced -in finding the two children who had wandered so far and through a kind -Providence escaped so many dangers. - -[Illustration: ESCAPE OF THE MISSIONARIES.] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE MISSIONARIES--THEIR ESCAPE. - - -A few miles above the Yellow Medicine were the churches and schools of -the Rev. S. R. Riggs and Dr. Williamson. Both of these gentlemen had long -been missionaries among the Indians and had gained their confidence; and -in return had placed the most implicit confidence in them. But these -good men had been warned to flee for their lives, and they reluctantly -gathered together a few household treasures, and placing themselves and -families under the guidance of Providence, started for a place of safety. -Fort Ridgely was their objective point, but they learned that the place -was being besieged and that it would be unsafe to proceed further in this -direction, so turned their weary steps toward Henderson, Minnesota. - -With courage braced up, weary in body and anxious in mind, they went -into camp until the morning. "The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar -of fire by night," guided this anxious band through a most trying and -perilous journey, but they gained the settlement at last and were -among friends. In leaving their little homes, where they had found so -much pleasure in the work of the Master, in pointing the Indians to a -better way of living, they were sorrowful; but, like Abraham of old, -faithful in their allegiance to God, not daring to question His ways in -compelling them to turn their backs upon their chosen work--His work. -The missionaries and teachers formed strong attachments among this dusky -race. In their communion with them they found them ready and eager to -converse about the Great Spirit and to learn of the wonderful things -taught in the Bible. They loved to sing, and the melody of sacred song -found a responsive chord in their souls as they were gradually emerging -from their barbarous condition, and coming into the full light of a -Christian salvation. In conversation with the writer, Mr. Riggs once said -that as he was passing one of their happy little homes he could hear the -squaw mother, in her peculiar plaintive tones, singing to her little -children: - - "Jesus Christ, nitowashte kin - Woptecashni mayaqu"-- - Jesus Christ, Thy Loving Kindness, - Boundlessly, Thou Givest Me. - -She had become a Christian mother through the teachings of the -missionaries. Her maternal affection was as deep and abiding as in the -breast of her more favored white sister, and her eye of faith looked -beyond the stars to the happy hunting ground, where the Greater Spirit -abides, and with the assurance that some day she and all her race would -stand with the redeemed in the presence of the Judge of all the worlds. -The Christian missionary felt for these people as no one else could; and, -while not trying nor desiring to excuse them for their unholy war against -the whites, yet they could not persuade themselves to believe that they -had been justly dealt with by civilized America. - - - - -[Illustration: LITTLE PAUL.] - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE INDIAN POW-WOW. - - -The Indians of the various tribes of the Upper and Lower Sioux--the -Sissitons, the Tetons, the Yanktons and the Yanktonnais and other tribes -held a pow-wow to try and force a conclusion of the war, and some of -their ablest men, their statesmen, were present, and their views you -have here verbatim. More decorum prevailed among them, and they were -more deliberate than is observed in the average white man's convention. -Little Crow had his supporters present, and a very fluent Yanktonnais -Sioux traced on the ground a map of the country, showing the course of -the Missouri River and the locality of the different forts. He marked -out the mountains, seas and oceans, and stated that an army, great -in numbers, was coming from across the country to assist them. This -gave rise to the unfounded rumor referred to in another chapter, that -emissaries from the South were among them to incite them to war. - -John Paul, or Little Paul, was friendly to the whites, and in a speech to -the Indians at this pow-wow said: - -"I am friendly to the whites, and will deliver these women and children -at Fort Ridgely. I am opposed to the war on the whites. You say you are -brave men, and can whip the whites. That is a lie--persons who cut women -and children's throats are not brave. You are squaws and cowards. Fight -the whites if you want to, but do it like brave men. I am ashamed of the -way you have acted towards the captives; and, if any of you have the -feelings of men, you will give them up. You may look fierce at me, but I -am not afraid of you." - -Red Iron, one of the chiefs of the Upper Indians, was not friendly. -He was one of the principal chiefs of the Sissitons, and at one time -was so outspoken against the whites that Governor Ramsey, who was then -Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was at the agency, had occasion to -rebuke him in a substantial way--he reduced him to the ranks. In other -words, he broke him of his chieftianship. This was in December, 1852. - -Red Iron was a handsome Indian, an athlete, six feet in his moccasins, -with a large, well-developed head, aquiline nose, thin lips, but with -intelligence and resolution beaming all over his countenance. - -[Illustration: RED IRON.] - -When brought into the presence of Governor Ramsey he walked with a firm, -lordly tread, and was clad in half military and half Indian costume. -When he came in he seated himself in silence, which was not broken until -through an interpreter the Governor asked him what excuse he had to offer -for not coming to the council when sent for. - -Red Iron, when he arose to his feet to reply, did so with a -Chesterfieldian grace, allowing his blanket to fall from his shoulders, -and, intentionally dropping his pipe of peace. He stood before the -Governor for a moment in silence, with his arms folded, his bearing -betraying perfect self-composure, a defiant smile playing upon his lips. -In a firm voice he said: - -Red Iron--"I started to come, but your braves drove me back." - -Governor--"What excuse have you for not coming the second time I sent for -you?" - -Red Iron--"No other excuse than I have already given you." - -When the Governor, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, informed this -proud chief that, by virtue of his office, he would break him of his -chieftianship it appealed to his pride, and he said: - -"You break me? I was elected chief by my tribe. You can't break me." - -The chief, while surrendering to the powers that be, never felt friendly -to the whites, and during this war of which we write he continued -stubborn and sullen to the end. - -Standing Buffalo, hereditary chief of the Sissitons, was a different -type, and counselled living in peace, but desired fair treatment and -honest dealings with his people. He was a handsome Indian, and a man -of rare ability. General Sibley was anxious to know how he felt on -the important question agitating the Sioux Nation, and desired his -co-operation in liberating the captives and compassing the capture of -Little Crow and his followers. At this Indian convention this noted chief -said: - -[Illustration: STANDING BUFFALO.] - -"I am a young man, but I have always felt friendly toward the whites, -because they were kind to my father. You have brought me into great -danger without my knowledge of it beforehand. By killing the whites, it -is just as if you had waited for me in ambush and shot me down. You Lower -Indians feel bad because we have all got into this trouble; but I feel -worse, because I know that neither I nor my people have killed any of the -whites, and that yet we have to suffer with the guilty. I was out buffalo -hunting when I heard of the outbreak, and I felt as if I was dead, and I -feel so now. You all know that the Indians cannot live without the aid of -the white man, and, therefore, I have made up my mind that Paul is right, -and my Indians will stand by him. We claim this reservation. What are -you doing here? If you want to fight the whites, go back and fight them. -Leave my village at Big Stone Lake. You sent word to my young men to come -down, and that you had plenty of oxen, horses, goods, powder and lead, -and now we see nothing. We are going back to Big Stone Lake and leave you -to fight the whites. Those who make peace can say that Standing Buffalo -and his people will give themselves up in the spring." - -They kept their word, and would have nothing to do with Little Crow. - -Standing Buffalo was killed in 1863 by an accident. - -Other Day, a civilized Indian, in addressing the council at this time, -said: - -"You can, of course, easily kill a few unarmed whites, but it would be a -cowardly thing to do, because we have gained their confidence, and the -innocent will suffer with the guilty, and the great Father at Washington -will send his soldiers to punish you, and we will all suffer. I will not -join you in this, but will help defend these white people who have always -been our friends." - -Other Day was a true friend of the whites; he looked it. He was a -full-blood Indian, it is true, and the Indians respected and feared him, -but his desire to forsake the barbarous teachings of his father inclined -him towards the unsuspecting settlers. - -In 1863 he was General Sibley's most trusted and confidential scout. In -the early outbreak Other Day manifested his loyalty to his white friends -by risking his life in their defense, piloting sixty people through the -river bottoms during the nights to a place of safety. He traveled with -his charge in the night, and hid them in underbrush during the daytime. -He was a true-hearted, kind man, with a red skin, who has gone to his -reward in a land where there are no reds, no blacks, but where all are -white. - -Little Crow, who is one of the principal characters in this narrative, -was an Indian of no mean ability. He was the commander-in-chief of the -hostile tribes, and wielded a powerful influence among all the tribes -of this great Sioux Nation. He was a powerful man, and felt his lordly -position; was confident of final success, and very defiant at the outset. -He had a penchant for notoriety in more ways than one. In dress he was -peculiar, and could nearly always be found with some parts of a white -man's clothing. He was particularly conspicuous in the style of collar he -wore; happy in the possession of one of the old-style standing collars, -such as Daniel Webster and other old-time gentlemen bedecked themselves -with. He also possessed a black silk neckerchief and a black frock coat, -and on grand occasions wore both. - -He had strongly marked features, and in studying the lineaments of his -face one would not adjudge him a particularly bad Indian. As we had -hundreds of these men in our custody, a good opportunity was offered -while guarding them to try one's gift as a reader of character as stamped -in the face, but Little Crow proved an enigma. It was like a novice -trying to separate good money from bad, an unprofitable and unsuccessful -task. Little Crow said: - -"It is impossible to make peace if we so desired. Did we ever do the most -trifling thing, the whites would hang us. Now, we have been killing them -by the hundreds in Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, and I know if they get us -into their hands they will hang every one of us. As for me, I will kill -as many of them as I can, and fight them till I die. Do not think you -will escape. There is not a band of Indians from the Redwood Agency to -Big Stone Lake that has not had some of its members embroiled in this -war. I tell you we must fight and perish together. A man is a fool and -coward who thinks otherwise, and who will desert his nation at such a -time. Disgrace not yourselves by a surrender to those who will hang you -up like dogs; but die, if die you must, with arms in your hands, like -warriors and braves of the Dakotas." - -In one of our battles we took some fine-looking bucks prisoners, and the -soldiers were for scalping them at once, but we had a little "pow-wow" -with them, and found them intelligent and well educated; they were -students home on a vacation from Bishop Whipple's school at Faribault, -Minnesota, and said they were forced, much against their will, to go on -the warpath; that they had not fired a bullet at the whites; that they -fired blank cartridges because they felt friendly to the whites, and -had no desire to kill them. There were three of them; we told them they -could take their choice--be shot or enlist; they chose the latter, and -went South with us, staying until the close of the Rebellion, and they -displayed the courage of the born soldier. - -[Illustration: Brevet Major General H. H. Sibley, - -Commander in the field in 1862 and 1863 against the Sioux Indians.] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -GOV. SIBLEY APPOINTED COMMANDER. - - -While these scenes which I have related were being enacted in the -upper country excitement ran high at St. Paul, and for a time the -great struggle then going on in the South was forgotten. The news of -the outbreak soon reached St. Paul, and couriers, with horses covered -with foam, kept coming in one after another, until the officers at Fort -Snelling were ordered by Governor Ramsey to be in readiness with their -men to move at a moment's notice, and we did not have long to wait. - -The Sixth Minnesota, of which I was a member, had just organized, and -was assigned to Hancock corps, Army of the Potomac, but the events -transpiring in the Indian country made it necessary for all available -troops to go there. When I say that the whole country was seething with -excitement it is no exaggeration. The towns, big and little, were filled -with frightened refugees; the rumors that came in were of the most -frightful nature, and the whole state was clamorous for protection. - -Governor Ramsey, in his desire to protect the panic-stricken people and -liberate the captives, cast about for a suitable commander for this -important work. Of all the men in and about St. Paul who seemed eminently -qualified for this position, Governor Henry H. Sibley, who at that time -was living in quietude in his home in Mendota, just across the river from -the fort, was his choice. - -Governor Henry Hastings Sibley, the hero of these Indian campaigns, was -born in the city of Detroit February 20, 1811. His sire was Chief Justice -Solomon Sibley, of Detroit, and his mother was Sarah Whipple Sproat, -whose father, Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, was an accomplished officer of the -Continental army, and the granddaughter of Commodore Abraham Whipple, an -illustrious commander in the Continental navy. He came from a long line -of illustrious ancestry on both sides, of good Puritan stock, and dating -his lineage back to the Sibleys of William the Conqueror of England in -the fifteenth century. - -He was not a fighter; his heart was too tender for that, but he felt -the weighty responsibility he had assumed when he consented to lead -the soldiers and save the lives of the captives. For delaying he -was denounced on all hands. The press denounced him for not falling -immediately upon the Indians; but he knew the enemy better than his -censors. If he had heeded the behests of the clamorous people not a -captive would have been spared; but to-day hundreds live to bless him for -his cautious, conservative movements. Until his death, which occurred -but a few months since, he lived in his beautiful home in St. Paul; and, -although a half century of winters in the far Northwest had whitened -his head, and a great deal more than a half century of time had made -his limbs tremble, neither time nor frost had sapped the citadel of his -mind. He was a member of Aker Post, No. 21, Department of Minnesota, and -the comrades, in deference to his declining years, went in a body to his -beautiful home where he was mustered in. He lived in peace and plenty, -surrounded by his family and friends, who esteemed him for his worth. -He passed away respected and regretted by a host of friends throughout -the land, who knew him as a citizen and a soldier. I knew him personally -and intimately since 1857; and in his death, with others great in our -nation's history, we are reminded that in war the bullet is no respecter -of rank; the commander and the soldier fall together. - -Governor Sibley was commissioned by Governor Ramsey as Colonel of -Volunteers, and assigned to the command of the expedition. He was -selected because he had spent many years of his life among the Indians -as a trader, he spoke their language, he knew them personally, and knew -their characteristics. He was a man of large experience, education and -ability, and possessed, withal, a cool head. He knew the Indians, and -they knew him and respected him. He consented to lead the forces against -the Indians when appealed to by Governor Ramsey, upon conditions that he -should not be interfered with by His Excellency, or any one else, and -that he should have adequate supplies of men, stores and transportation. -Colonel Sibley, afterwards Brigadier and Brevet Major-General of -Volunteers, with his staff and Companies A, B, and E, of the Sixth -Minnesota Infantry, embarked on a small steamer then at anchor near the -fort, and steamed up the Minnesota river to Shakopee, distant about forty -miles by water. We started in a furious rain, and after a slow trip up -the narrow and winding Minnesota, arrived at Shakopee, where we found the -frightened citizens ready to receive us with open arms, although all the -firearms we had were worthless and condemned Austrian rifles, without -ammunition to fit them. All serviceable material of war had been shipped -to the South. Our first guard duty was on picket in the suburbs of -Shakopee, and our instructions were to press all teams into the service. -We felt the gravity of the situation, and obeyed orders to the letter as -nearly as we, raw recruits, could. While here the news was spread that -Indians were in the vicinity, and the women and children began to flock -to the vicinity of the soldiers; the alarm was without foundation. As -we were stationed on the various roads leading to and from the town, -the citizens who had been so badly scared seemed to feel comparatively -safe. The news from the upper country, however, was discouraging, and -appeals for protection very urgent. We could not move at once from lack -of transportation, and had no adequate supplies, either of food, arms or -ammunition, for we had been so hurriedly dispatched from Fort Snelling -that only about half of one company had been supplied with even the -worthless muskets spoken of, and the whole command with but two days' -rations. It was necessary, however, to make some quick demonstration to -appease the panic-stricken people. After a delay of one day, by various -routes by land and water, the regiment concentrated at St. Peter, under -command of Colonel William Crooks, where it was inspected and remained -four or five days, awaiting the receipt of suitable arms and ammunition -and also reinforcements. - -Our guns were so absolutely worthless that it was necessary to delay -a little, as the Indians, in large numbers, were then besieging Fort -Ridgely, and were well armed with Springfield rifles, while our own arms -were condemned Austrian muskets. - -We embarked on a boat at Shakopee and sailed up to Carver, forty miles -above, and there pressed in teams to carry us through what was known as -the "Big Woods." It had been raining for days, and the town of Carver -was literally packed with refugees. There was not an empty building in -it, even the warehouses were filled, and the muddy streets were a sight -to behold. The mud was ankle deep, and you may imagine in what condition -everything was. I cannot describe it. - -The frightened people, who had flocked in from all the country round, -told most woeful tales of Indian atrocities. In some cases they were -overdrawn, but later on we saw evidences enough to warrant them fleeing -to a place of safety. There was no safety, however, in coming to these -small towns, for they were without protection. - -After loading up the teams, we started through the "Big Woods," and the -roads were in such a horrible condition that we made but slow progress. -However, we had to make Glencoe, twenty-five miles distant, before night -or camp down in the woods in the mud. It became pitchy dark, but we kept -on the move, and in time got through the woods and could see the lights -of Glencoe afar off. This was only a small place, but the twinkling -lights from the houses were a pleasant sight, and when we arrived there -the people were glad to see us. We remained over night, and the next day -started for St. Peter. We could see evidences of Indian devastation in -every direction, among which were the burning buildings and grain stacks -on the beautiful neighboring farms. - -On the route to St. Peter, which we reached early in the evening, we -discovered a few dead settlers, and took some families along with us. -Upon our arrival we went into camp with the rest of the command, and were -soon placed under strict military discipline, and in a brief time our -commander, Colonel William Crooks, a West Pointer, brought order out of -chaos. - -Of the preparation and forward march to relieve Fort Ridgely I will -reserve for another chapter. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -MARCH TO FORT RIDGELY. - - -In the interval the companies were drilled and the command otherwise -prepared to act effectively against the formidable body of hostile -warriors, who were well armed and plentifully supplied with powder and -ball. Colonel Sibley, having looked the ground over with a critical -eye, uninfluenced by the public clamor and fault-finding of the press, -remained firm in the determination not to take the field until assured -of success in his operations. He knew the Indians well, and knew it was -necessary to fight or failure, there would be no adequate barrier to the -descent of the savages upon St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the desolation -of the state generally. The Chippewas on the north were known to be in -secret communication with Little Crow, the head of the Sioux hordes, and -ready to them cautiously if he would succeed, for, in case of defeat -co-operate with him if victorious, while the Winnebagoes were also in -active sympathy with him, for two or three of their warriors were found -among the dead after the battle of Wood Lake, which occurred later on. -Arms, ammunition and supplies arriving, we took up the line of march for -Fort Ridgely, which was then in a state of siege. Our advent at the Fort -was hailed with delight, for the little garrison was pretty well tired -out with the fighting and watching that they had had on their hands for -the eight days previous. Barricades had been erected at all weak points, -but the Indians so far outnumbered the soldiers that they approached near -enough to fire the wooden buildings of the fort proper in many places. - -Our march to Fort Ridgely was the first we had made as an entire -organization, and under an able commanding officer we profited by it. On -the way we found the dead body of a colored man from St. Paul by the name -of Taylor. He was a barber by trade, but also quite a noted gambler, and -had been up to the agency to get his share of the money when the Indians -got their pay. - -He played one game too many, and lost--his life. - -Before we reached the Fort the Indians took alarm and sullenly retreated -upon our approach, after having done all possible damage to men and -property. As we entered, the brave little garrison accompanied by the -women and children turned out to greet us, and a right joyous time we -had. A detachment of thirty men of the Fifth Minnesota, under Captain -Marsh, the commander of the fort, upon receipt of news of the outbreak, -had marched in the direction of the Lower Sioux Agency, distant a few -miles. The Indians, perceiving the advance of this small detachment, -placed themselves in ambush in the long grass at the crossing of the -Minnesota River and awaited the oncoming of their unsuspecting victims, -and, when in the toils, they opened a terrific fire upon them, which -destroyed almost the entire party. - -Colonel Sibley hurried forward supplies and ammunition for an extensive -campaign, for, from his knowledge of the Indians, he knew it was no boy's -play. The moving spirit among the hostiles was Little Crow, a wily old -chief, without principle, but active and influential. He had harangued -his people into the belief that the fight going on among the whites in -the South had drawn off all the able-bodied men, leaving none but old -men, women and children. "Now," he said, "is the time to strike for -Minnesota. These fertile fields, stolen from us, are ours; the buffalo -are gone; we have no food, and our women and children are starving. Let -the warriors assemble in war paint and drive the pale-faces from the -face of the earth!" He told his people they could pitch their wigwams -the coming winter in St. Paul and hold high carnival in the legislative -halls. So widespread had the alarm became that it reached St. Paul and -Minneapolis, and "minute men" were on duty on the bluffs adjacent for -several days. In addition to the Sioux, the Chippewas and Winnebagoes -were becoming very restless, and this caused additional uneasiness in the -two cities. - -Colonel Sibley, upon his arrival of the fort, sent out scouts to -ascertain the whereabouts of the Indians. The news they brought was that -a large camp of hostiles was located above the Yellow Medicine, where -they held as captives about four hundred white women and children, and -one white man. They also reported that the Indians were preparing to make -a raid on the small towns below the fort. - -It was also known that a large number of citizens who had been killed -near the agency were yet unburied, and the fate of Captain Marsh and his -men was in doubt. To this end a small command was organized, as narrated -in another chapter, to go out to bury the dead and relieve Captain Marsh -and his men if they were found alive. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -BURIAL OF CAPT. MARSH AND MEN. - - -Company "A," of the Sixth Minnesota, together with two men each from -the other companies, were detailed to accompany a burial party, with -instructions to properly bury all bodies found, and, if possible, -ascertain the fate of Captain Marsh and his thirty men, who had gone out -to intercept the Indians at the Redwood Crossing. In addition to this -detail we had a small detachment of citizen cavalry, under Captain Joe -Anderson, to act as scouts. - -Our little command numbered, all told, 153--infantry, cavalry and -teamsters--and ninety-six horses, including twenty teams taken along -to carry camp and garrison equipage, rations and ammunition, and to -transport our wounded, either soldiers or citizens. The expedition was -under the immediate command of Captain H. P. Grant, of Company A. Major -Joseph R. Brown, better known as "Old Joe Brown," was in charge of the -scouts. He had a cool head, but no fighting qualities; had been an Indian -trader for many years, raised an Indian family, and knew a great deal -about Indian signs and customs. In this particular case, however, the -Indians fooled Joe. The first day out we found and buried about fifty -citizens, and at night went into camp in the river bottom near Redwood -Crossing. The night was dark and dismal, and particularly sad to us who -had been gathering up the dead all day long. The instructions to the -guard by Captain Anderson were of a very solemn nature, in view of the -surroundings and the probable fighting ahead. This, together with the -stillness of the night and the impression that a lurking foe was near, -made the boys feel rather uncomfortable. - -[Illustration: DR. WILLIAMSON'S HOUSE.] - -Deep sleep settled upon the camp, but the sentinels maintained a vigilant -watch, however, and the night slowly passed without incident. After -reveille the next morning we found Captain Marsh and his comrades, but -not one of them answered to "roll-call." We found the captain's body and -those of a few of his men in the river, and the rest of the bodies in the -thicket on the river bank, where they had evidently been hemmed in and -fired upon from all sides. Nearly all had been scalped, and were minus -guns and ammunition, for these had been confiscated by the redskins. We -buried the soldiers side by side, with their captain at their head, and -marked the place by a huge cross, so that the bodies might be easily -found and removed, which was subsequently done, when they were finally -buried in the Soldiers' cemetery at Fort Ridgely. After this last service -to our dead comrades, we took up the line of march, leaving the bottom -lands for the prairie above, and it was when passing over the bluff that -a large body of Indians, who were on their way to capture Saint Peter and -Mankato, espied us. What was our subsequent loss was the gain of the two -towns mentioned. Our scouts had crossed the river, making a detour to the -south, and thus missed making the acquaintance of our enemies, who had -their eyes on us. - -We went into camp the second night near Birch Coolie, and sixteen miles -distant from Fort Ridgely, about 5 p. m., well tired out with our day's -march. Birch Coolie is a deep gorge running north and south in Redwood -county, Minnesota. What was then a bleak prairie is now a beautiful -farming community, and Birch Coolie a thriving village. - -From information gathered by the scouts we felt comparatively safe. - -[Illustration: "Chickens for Supper."] - -Old Joe said: "Boys, go to sleep now and rest; you are as safe as you -would be in your mother's house; there is not an Indian within fifty -miles of you." At that very moment five hundred Indians were in the -immediate vicinity watching us and impatient for the ball to open, as -they intended it should at the proper time, which, with the Indian, is -about four o'clock in the morning. - -After our supper on chicken stew, song-singing and story-telling, we -turned in, well tired out and in a condition to enjoy a good night's -sleep and dreams of home. - -The night was warm, the sky clear, with the stars shining brightly, and -a full moon in all her glory. It was a beautiful night--too beautiful -to witness the scene that was so soon to follow. The guard had been -stationed and cautioned to be on the alert for strange sounds; "tattoo," -"roll-call," "taps," sounded, and the little camp was silent. The low hum -of voices became less and less as slumber came to the weary soldiers, and -all that could be heard was the occasional challenge of the guard: "Halt! -who comes there!" as he was being approached by the officer of the guard. - -Soon the soldiers slept, little dreaming that the lurking enemy and death -were so near. The awakening to some was in eternity. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -BATTLE OF BIRCH COOLIE. - - -The battle of Birch Coolie was fought September 2 and 3, 1862. It has -never taken its proper place in history, but with the exception of the -massacre at the Little Big Horn, in 1876, it was the hottest and the -most desperate battle fought during the war of the Rebellion or any of -our Indian wars. In comparison to the number of men and horses engaged, -I know of no conflict, the one above referred to excepted, where the -casualties were as great as they were here. - -The Indian custom is to make an attack about four o'clock in the morning, -so this relief had been especially cautioned, and soon after the guard -was placed one of them thought he saw something moving in the grass. It -proved to be an Indian, and they were slowly moving in upon us, their -intention being to shoot the pickets with arrows, and as noiselessly as -possible rush in and destroy us in our confusion. The sentinel fired at -the moving object, and instantly our camp was encircled by fire and smoke -from the guns of five hundred Indians, who had hemmed us in. The guard -who fired escaped the bullet intended for him. He said he thought the -moving object in the grass might be a hog or it might be an Indian, and, -hog or Indian, he intended to kill it if he could. The fire was returned -by the pickets as they retreated to the camp, and although there -necessarily was confusion, there was no panic. Quicker than I can write -we were out, musket in hand, but the captain's command to "fall down" -was mistaken for "fall in," which makes a vast difference under such -circumstances. We soon broke for the wagons, however, which were formed -in a circle about our tents, and this afforded us some little shelter. - -As this was our baptismal fire, and a most important engagement, I devote -more space to it than I otherwise would. What an experience it was to -inexperienced, peaceable, unsuspecting men! Think of being awakened out -of a blissful sleep by the fire from five hundred Indian rifles--it is a -wonder that we were not all destroyed amid the confusion that naturally -would follow; but we had cool heads among us, and none were cooler than -Old Joe Brown and Captain H. P. Grant, of Company A, who was in immediate -command. I will here refer to two others. First, Mr. William H. Grant, a -lawyer of St. Paul, who still lives in Minnesota. He went out to see the -fun. Well, he saw it, and the "trial" was a severe one. He "objected" and -"took exceptions" to everything the Indians did. - -He wore a black plug hat, and this was a good mark for the redskins; -they shot it off his head twice, and it was finally lost altogether. -"Bill" was cool; he did not lose his temper, but laid down very flat on -the ground and gave directions to those about him how to shoot to kill. -We afterward voted him in as a brevet private, and were always ready -to divide grub and "shake." Postmaster Ed. Patch, of St. Anthony, was -another of our citizen escorts. He was a jolly good fellow and "cool as -a cucumber," with a bay window on him like an overgrown bass drum. He -found this excess of stomach very much in the way, in his great desire to -hug mother earth and get out of range of the Indian bullets, and looked -as if he wished he had never been born, or that he had been a disciple of -anti-fat. - -One of our little thin fellows was lying down alongside of "Ed," and I'll -never forget the expression of his face when he said: "God, bub, I wish I -was as little as you be." - -The camp was miserably located, being commanded by the deep ravine on -one side and by a mound on the other, so that the savages were well -sheltered from our fire. Had the instructions given by Colonel Sibley -been followed, which were always to encamp in open and level prairie, -there would have been no such destruction of valuable lives, but the -spot was chosen for our camp because it was near wood and water, and the -Indians were supposed to be fifty miles away. It was a mistake, which we -discovered after it was too late. A brisk fire was opened by the boys, -and soon the cartridge boxes were being depleted. Ammunition was called -for, and upon opening a box, to our dismay we found it to be of too large -a calibre. Other boxes were opened with a like result. In loading up -our ammunition a mistake had been made, and we found ourselves in this -unfortunate dilemma; but no time was to be lost, as we had not more than -an average of twenty rounds to the man, and a hoard of savages about us -who seemed well supplied with powder and ball. - -We went to work cutting the large bullets down with our knives, but this -was a slow and unsatisfactory process. We used the powder from these -large cartridges to load our guns with, putting in an extra amount, so -that when we fired these blanks they made a great noise, and thus kept -up a successful "bluff," though doing no damage. A dead silence would -ensue, and occasionally some of our best shots picked off a more daring -redskin simply to remind them that we were awake. We had but one shovel -and one pick; there were others in some of the wagons, or they had been -thrown out in the grass and could not be found. The captain offered $5 -apiece for them, but the bullets were too thick to admit of a search, so -we used jack-knives, spoons and bayonets to dig our intrenchments with. -In time we had very good pits dug, and with the assistance of the dead -bodies of our horses had ourselves tolerably well protected. - -With the wounded horses rearing and plunging, the men groaning and -calling for help, the hurried commands, and the unearthly yells of the -five hundred red devils about us, this baptismal fire was trying to the -souls of raw recruits, as most of us were. We were encircled by fire and -smoke, the bullets were doing their deadly work, and it really seemed as -though no man could escape death. Our orders were: "Load and fire, but -steady, boys, and give them hail Columbia!" - -Upon the first fire of the Indians two men fled from the camp, one a -citizen, who was with us, and the other a soldier. The citizen we found -afterward on the prairie, dead. He was the last of his family, for we -had buried his wife and two children just the previous day, before going -into camp. The soldier, a Swede, returned, but he was so paralyzed with -fear that he was like a dead man during all this memorable thirty-six -hours, and the poor fellow afterward succumbed to sickness. Everything -was improvised for a barricade--camp kettles, knapsacks, wagon-seats, -etc., and it was done in a hurry, for hot work was on our hands. The -word soon went the rounds: "College is dead, Irvine is dead, Baxter, -Coulter, Benecke, King and a score of others are dead, and nearly all are -wounded." It was only a few minutes after the first fire when we realized -all this, and it verily looked as though the little command would be -wiped out of existence. If a head was shown fifty Indians leveled at -it. During all this terrible fire Old Joe Brown walked about seemingly -unconcerned, until a bullet went through the back of his neck. He came to -the ground as quick as if shot through the heart, for it was a bad wound, -but with it all he continued to give instructions. Nearly all the damage -was done before ten o'clock, for up to that time we found ourselves with -sixty killed and wounded, out of 155, and ninety-five horses dead, out of -ninety-six. The horses saved our little encampment. As soon as they fell -their bodies formed a good barricade for us, and this and the overturned -wagons were our only protection. The Indians, occupying higher ground -than we did, had us at a disadvantage. The day wore on, and all we could -do was to assist Surgeon J. W. Daniels with the wounded and keep the -Indians at bay. Dr. Daniels proved himself a cool-headed, brave man, -never flinching for a moment. Where duty called he was found, and he -immortalized himself with the boys. The great fear of the wounded seemed -to be that we would be obliged to abandon them to their fate, for the sun -was extremely hot and the camp had become very offensive from the smell -of decomposing bodies of horses; besides, we had no means of transporting -the wounded, and their fears were not without foundation, for it looked -as though we would be driven by necessity from the camp. We assured and -reassured them that if we went they would go, too. If we died it would be -in defending them as well as ourselves. - -The one thing, aside from cowardice on the part of the Indians, that -saved us from assault was the fact of our having several half-breed -scouts with us, who talked back and forth. - -The Indians said: "Come out from the pale-faces; we do not want to kill -you, but we want all their scalps." - -Private James Auge of our company was the spokesman. He was a Canadian -Frenchman, but had lived among the Indians, knew them well, and spoke -their language, and as he went so would all the other Indians and -half-breeds who were with us. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -BIRCH COOLIE CONTINUED. - - -On the second day, at about sunrise, we discovered a large body of -Indians closing up nearer to us, when one of their number, probably -Little Crow's brother, came within twenty rods of us. He was on a white -horse, and carried a flag of truce. He held a conversation with Auge, our -interpreter, and tried to persuade him to leave us and bring the other -half-breeds with him. When the conversation was interpreted to Captain -Grant, he said: "Well, Auge, what do you fellows intend to do, go with -the Indians or stay with us?" Auge replied: - -"Captain Grant, we want nothing to do with these Indians; we will stand -by you and fight as long as there is a man left, and I will now tell them -so." He did call to them, and said: - -"We won't come over to you; we will stay with the soldiers, and if you -come we will kill you if we can. You are cowards to kill poor women and -children, and if we catch you we will treat you as you treated them." - -We felt relieved to know that our half-breeds were loyal. Auge, after -this, was Corporal Auge, and he went all through the South with us, -making a splendid soldier. I shall have occasion to refer to him in -another place in this chapter. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Battle of Birch Coolie. Minn. - -Fought September 2nd and 3d, 1862. Ninety-five horses lay dead within the -camp; 60 men killed and wounded; 500 Indians were under cover in the tall -grass, and concentrated their fire on the camp.] - -Captain Grant told Auge to say to them that we had two hundred fighting -men and plenty of ammunition, and that Little Crow and all his dirty -Indians could not take us, and for him to get out with his flag of truce. - -It was a game of bluff, for at that time we only had about sixty-five -effective men, and were nearly out of ammunition. - -We did not know whether we could trust the half-breeds or not, and were -instructed to fire on them to kill if they made the slightest move to -desert us. Our firing had been heard at Fort Ridgely, sixteen miles away, -and the Colonel dispatched two hundred and fifty men, with one howitzer, -to our relief. - -Just at sunset the second day we saw two horsemen come to the edge of -the woods across the Coolie, but the Indians also saw them, and chased -them back. They returned to their command and reported a large body -of Indians, and said they saw a small camp with the stars and stripes -flying, but as they had no field glass, could not make it out. Colonel -McPhail, who was in command of this relief, ordered the howitzer to -be fired to give us courage, if the little camp proved to be ours. A -shout went up at this welcome sound just as the sun went down. Old Joe -Brown, who had been disabled early in the day, called out from his tent: -"Captain Grant, instruct the men to be watchful; we are in a bad fix; -the Indians will hate to lose our scalps, now that they are so near -their grasp; give them a few shots occasionally, assure the wounded men -that we will not leave them, and keep the pick and shovel busy." We -disposed of ourselves for the night as best we could. Every man was on -guard, and nearly all had two rifles fully charged and bayonets fixed. -We clasped our rifles, looked up into the starry heavens, and, asking -God's protection, swore not to yield an inch. We made this demonstration -to encourage the wounded men, who seemed fearful that something more -terrible was in store for them. The prayers and groans of the wounded -and the awful silence of the dead inspired us to do our whole duty. The -watch-word, "wide-awake," went the rounds every few minutes, and there -was "no sleep to the eye nor slumber to the eye-lids," during all that -live-long night. - -Out of our ninety-six horses we had but one left. This was a splendid -animal, and had thus far escaped without a scratch. He was feeding about -the camp, unmindful of the fate of his fellows. - -The picture of Birch Coolie is an exact reproduction of the situation. -The ninety-five dead horses were all within the enclosure, and the one -who escaped for the time is grazing among them. - -Just before midnight the clouds began to gather, and we felt cheered to -think we would soon have rain. We were sorely in need of water, for we -had not tasted a drop since the night before, and the wounded men were -nearly famished with thirst and burning with fever. As the sky darkened -Captain Grant called for a volunteer to go to Fort Ridgely for relief. -Corporal James Auge volunteered to go, and by this act proved himself -a truly brave man, and if it had been successfully carried out would -have gained for him a commission at no very distant day. The fact of its -not being carried out was no fault of his, and, in the abandonment of -the trial, he was declared not the less brave by all his comrades, who -trembled for him while he was preparing to make the perilous journey. -The night was cloudy, and he being conversant with Indian methods and -well posted in the topography of the country, could be successful in -getting through the Indian's lines, if anybody could; but the chances -were ten to one against the success of the undertaking. - -The horse was saddled and the Corporal had his instructions. He had his -foot in the stirrup when the clouds rolled back from the full moon like -the rolling back of a scroll, and it was almost as light as noon-day. The -Indians, ever on the alert, saw the preparations and opened fire anew -upon us, and, long before they ceased, our good horse was pierced by six -bullets, and the project was abandoned--we could only wait anxiously for -results. The enemy did not allow us to wait long, for at four o'clock -they opened a terrific fire, which they kept up for an hour. The only -response they got from us was blank cartridges, but we made a great noise -with them, and it answered the purpose very well. We had ourselves so -well protected that in this fusillade they killed but one man and wounded -another. - -The early morning dawn and heavy, dewy atmosphere found our eyes heavy -from loss of sleep, so we divided up and some slept while others watched. -We heard nothing of the detachment, and as the day advanced the Indians -became bolder. They had driven the relief back and were closing in upon -us, and we, having so little ammunition, could do them but little harm. -They were puzzled at our silence. Some of the chiefs said it was a trick, -others said we were all killed. At any rate, with them "discretion was -the better part of valor," and we didn't object. - -About one o'clock the same day we descried the glimmer of the polished -rifle in the distance. We had no glass, but anxious eyes strained to see -what it was, and the dark outline of a moving mass told us reinforcements -were coming. The chiefs, by waving their blankets and shouts, called off -their warriors. "There's a mile of whites coming," they said. They waved -their tomahawks, shouted, fired, and finally galloped off on the prairie. - -A few warriors more daring than the others remained behind for a time -to get a scalp, and some of them came so close we could readily discern -their war paint. Before the main body of the Indians left, however, they -rode very close, and gave us several parting volleys. The wounding of a -few of our men was all the damage they did at this time. - -Right joyful were we when the reinforcements arrived. Our camp had been -formed by driving twenty teams in a circle, and it can readily be seen -that it was not large. It was about as large as an ordinary circus -tent, and inside of this we had our horses, men and tents. After the -battle the sight was a sickening one, for with sixty dead and wounded -men and ninety-five horses in such a small space, and all the confusion -arising out of such a siege it was enough to appall the stoutest heart. -Strong men, when they beheld the sight, wept like children. It was our -baptismal fire, and the horror seemed greater to us. Our men, whose -nerves had been on a tension so long and bodies exhausted for want of -food, water and sleep, when the relief came, fell down and slept. Colonel -Sibley was the first to arrive, and when he rode up to our barricade, -and saw the terrible loss of life he looked as though he had lost his -best friends. His heart bled at the sight, and the tears he shed spoke -volumes. A detail was at once made to bury the dead side by side in a -temporary grave, dinner was cooked for the remainder of the command -and the wounded were put in ambulances, tents were "struck," and we -took up the line of march for Fort Ridgely, which we reached sometime -during the night. Our tents had been so completely riddled with bullets -that they were condemned as useless, and were finally sent down to Fort -Snelling and placed on exhibition for a long time. One of them had 375 -bullet holes in it, and when the people looked at them they wondered -that any man escaped. The narrow escapes were almost miraculous, and -congratulations were frequently in order. It was not every man for -himself, but a strong fellow-feeling sprang up among us that forever -afterwards cemented our hearts. We shared our shelter and encouraged one -another, and no man shrank from duty. We had determined to die together, -and if ever soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder we did on this bloody -spot, where our nerves and courage were taxed to the utmost. Company A, -so nearly wiped out, was ever afterwards considered the "Old Ironsides" -of the regiment. - -Before we left, Colonel Sibley addressed a note to Little Crow, and -placing it on a stick stuck it in the ground so he might find it when he -would visit the battle ground, as he surely would do as soon as we were -out of the way. The note was as follows: - - "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 my camp. - - H. H. Sibley, - Colonel Commanding Military Expedition." - -To specify the remarkable escapes would unduly lengthen this chapter, -but, as near as my recollection serves me, no man entirely escaped. I'll -specify two--one an escape and the other an incident. Lieutenant Swan, -of the Third Minnesota, now a lawyer of Sioux City, Iowa, was with us on -this picnic. He was not ordered to go, neither was he detailed, but he -simply went, and he had a very narrow escape. During the sharp firing, -and after we had some shallow pits dug, this officer was in one as far as -his long legs would admit. He had a fine gold watch in his fob pocket, -and one of the boys asked him the time of day. He undoubled as well as -he could and got out his watch, but in returning it put it in his vest -pocket instead of the fob. It was no sooner in his pocket than an Indian -bullet struck it squarely in the center. The concussion knocked the -lieutenant over, but the watch saved his life. He keeps it as a valued -souvenir of the occasion. - -The incident relates to Private James Leyde, of Company A, of the Sixth. -He was a little fellow who could march longer and eat oftener than any -youngster of his size I ever saw. Jimmy was a splendid soldier, always -ready for drill or guard, and never forgot his manners when he met a -"shoulder-straps." He was a pious little fellow, too, and carried a Bible -his mother gave him. - -Well, "after the battle" Jimmy was looking over the wreck with his -comrade, Billy Caine, and in taking up his Bible found a bullet embedded -in it. "Hello, Billy, my Bible got struck!" The ball had gone through -Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, until it stopped half way through -Deuteronomy. Jimmy says: "God, Billy, it didn't get through Deuteronomy -anyway!" - -There were many close calls, and it really seemed remarkable that so many -could escape. I could specify scores, but it is not necessary. - -Among the incidents on the march before we arrived at Birch Coolie I -might mention the finding of a wounded woman by the roadside. She had -been without food or water for twelve days, and was the only one of a -large party supposed to have been murdered. She did not escape uninjured, -however, for the surgeon took fourteen buckshot from her back. During -our thirty-six hours' siege this poor woman remained in the wagon where -she had been placed the first day, and spent her time in praying for -our deliverance. She sustained a broken wrist in addition to her other -wounds, but after we got to the fort she was among her own people and -soon fully recovered to tell the tale of her twelve days' wanderings and -her marvelous escape. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE. - - -At this juncture the press and people were clamoring for Colonel Sibley's -removal because of his delay and, as they claimed--lack of energy and -judgment. He lacked in neither, for he knew the foe he had to deal with, -and if he had heeded the behests of the press and people, so far away, -not a woman or child of the captives would have escaped. However, he -dispatched Col. William Crooks to St. Paul to explain the situation in -detail to Governor Ramsey and satisfy the clamorous press that they knew -but little of the situation as it existed at the seat of the Sioux war. - -After our return to Fort Ridgely and a few more days of preparation, the -command was put in splendid marching condition, and "forward" was the -word for the rescuing of the captives and if possible the capture of the -renegades. We met the Indians next at Wood Lake and had a sharp battle -with them early in the morning. They had come down in force to annihilate -us, but we were glad to meet them in broad day light on the open prairie -and receive them with "open arms to hospitable graves." We were just -up from a good night's sleep and had partaken of a generous supply of -Old Java and "hard tack," and felt abundantly able to defend ourselves. -Besides we were veterans now, for we had profited by our baptismal fire -and had an old score to settle with "Mr. Injun," and we settled to our -entire satisfaction. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Battle of Wood Lake, Minn. - -Fought September 23d, in which the Indians were defeated.] - -Our sappers had gone out to repair a bridge that had been burned, and the -temptation was too great for some of the younger warriors. The plan of -the Indians was to surprise us as we were crossing the river--to divide -our attention by having a small body in the rear and one in front, and -then the main body to spring from their ambush, and in our confusion to -destroy us; but the young bucks, when they saw a few of our men, wanted -their scalps so bad they opened fire. The "long roll" was sounded, and -we stood to arms. Little Crow knew that Colonel Sibley was aware of his -tactics, and was determined to remove him if he could by detailing about -eighty of his best warriors to do the work, and at this battle of Wood -Lake they tried hard to reach him, but he was too watchful to be caught -napping. A detachment of the Third Minnesota, under Major Welch, and -the Renville Rangers charged upon the Indians in one direction, and the -Seventh Minnesota, in command of Col. William R. Marshall, in another, -while the battery, under command of Captain Mark Hendricks, did effective -work also. The Sixth Minnesota, under command of Colonel William Crooks, -routed the Indians from a deep ravine on the right flank of our camp and -probably saved Colonel Sibley from being captured by the picked men sent -out for that purpose by Little Crow. - -The conflict lasted more than two hours and was decisive. The Indians -offered to surrender if Colonel Sibley would promise them immunity from -punishment, but this was sternly refused. They fled in dismay, not being -permitted to take their dead and wounded from the field. So confident -were they of success that they had brought their women and teams to take -back the pillage after the Indians had loaded themselves with glory and -scalps--but presto, change; they got no glory and lost their scalps. - -The soldiers had not forgotten Birch Coolie quite so soon and took great -pleasure in procuring Indian scalps for trophies. - -"Other Day," who guided a large party in escaping the massacre, seemed -to have a charmed life, and a little incident here, in which he is the -chief figure, will not be amiss. "Other Day," the same as other scouts, -wore United States clothing. The day before the Wood Lake battle he was -out scouting, and coming to a house turned his pony out to graze and lay -down to take a noon-day nap. An Indian espied the pony and wanted it. -He stealthily came up to the sleeping "Other Day," and putting up some -kind of a sign so he might know a brother Indian had his pony, he rode -off with the animal. "Other Day," considerably crestfallen, came back to -headquarters and reported his loss and the manner of it. The Colonel and -his staff had a hearty laugh at his expense, which rather offended his -Indian sensitiveness. "Never mind," says he, "me get two for one." - -Early next morning "Other Day" put on his Indian toggery, paint, feathers -and all, and as the Indians hove in sight the morning of the Wood Lake -battle, he started out on his pony hunt. Our men espied him across the -ravine, and thinking him a hostile opened fire on him. His blanket was -perforated with bullets, even the feathers in his hair were shot off, and -yet no harm came to him. After the battle he came in with two ponies, -and reporting to the Colonel, laughingly said: "Me got two for one." -His wonderful escape was the talk of the camp, and the Colonel had an -order issued prohibiting any one attached to the command, in the future, -wearing anything but the United States regulation uniform. - -The battle was a very decisive one and very discouraging to the Indians, -who suffered a loss of 175 in killed and wounded, while our loss was -fifty-seven killed and wounded. The engagement lasted two hours, and -after the dead were gathered up and buried and the wounded cared for -the column was again ready to move. This battle developed the fact that -the Indian forces resisting our advance were composed in part of the -Medawakantons and Wahpekutas of the Lower and Wahpetons and Sissetons -of the Upper Sioux and Winnebagoes, half-breeds and deserters from the -Renville Rangers. - -The utmost solicitude was expressed for the safety of the white -prisoners, who knew that the Indians had gone down to fight the soldiers. -They knew the temper of the squaws especially and feared the results of -the battle. They heard the firing of the howitzer away in the distance, -and by noon squaws began to arrive and in a most unhappy mood. - -It was immediately after the battle of Wood Lake that General Pope wrote -to General Halleck as follows; - -"You do not seem to be aware of the extent of the Indian outbreak. The -Sioux, 2,600 warriors, are assembled at the Upper Agency to give battle -to Colonel Sibley, who is advancing with 1,600 men and five pieces of -artillery. Three hundred and over of women and children are captives in -their hands. Cannot the paroled officers and men of the rifle regiment -(dragoons) now in Michigan be sent here?" - -The stay-at-homes, who were loudest in their complaints, were raising the -cry, "On to Richmond," on the one hand, and then again, "On to Little -Crow" on the other. Colonel Sibley stood like a man of iron against these -impatient behests. The "howlers" were not heeded, and in the liberation -of the captives he gained the gratitude of the nation and a merited -promotion. - -The friendly chiefs who had determined at all hazards to protect the -defenseless women and children redoubled their vigilance during the -night; because they, too, knew the temper of a vanquished Sioux warrior. -The position of these poor creatures was truly pitiable. - -No less than four different councils were convoked, the Upper Indians -arrayed, in a measure, against the Lower, and a quarrel ensued. Little -Paul, Red Iron, Standing Buffalo, Chaska and a hundred Sissetons -determined to fight Little Crow himself should any attempt be made to -massacre the captives or place them in front at the coming battle. The -hostiles began to fear that judgment was near, and it compelled Little -Crow to assume a spirit of bravado not at all in consonance with his -feelings. - -[Illustration: INDIAN CAMP TAKEN BY COLONEL SIBLEY.] - -Colonel Sibley, when he came in sight of the hostile camp, did not do -as the majority of the soldiers thought he ought; viz., march up and -at once surround the camp. This is where his coolness and knowledge of -the Indians served him so good a purpose. He knew if he attempted such -a course that the renegade Indians in the camp would at once take the -alarm and run away, and that probably before they did go they would -attempt to take the prisoners with them, and failing in this would kill -them outright. He was informed of this by one of the scouts and at once -concluded to adopt but one course, to go into camp and pay no attention -to them and thus disarm them of any fear as to his real intention. While -the Colonel did this, and apparently intended to leave them alone, he -was informing himself of the condition of affairs in the Indian camp. He -learned that several of the worst bands had gone farther up north, and he -sent word to them to return and they should not be harmed. Several bands -did come back, but there were those who did not, and after the scouts had -located them, companies of soldiers were sent out to make their capture. -In this way they all came back or were captured and compelled to come, -excepting Little Crow and his immediate followers. - -At Camp Release we attended to guard mount, company and battalion drill, -and all other duties incident to a soldier's life. It became necessary to -make a concerted move against the Indian camp in our immediate vicinity -and relieve the white prisoners, and the orders were received one night -for all the infantry to turn out at twelve midnight. It was to be done -noiselessly, and the instructions were so given. The whole command -marched out in single file until the Indian camp was surrounded, and then -we were ordered to close in. After this was done we received orders to -lie down and to remain until daylight, when, at the sound of reveille, we -were to rise up. The Indians, hearing the early bugle call so near them, -flocked out to see what it was and found themselves prisoners. - -Negotiations at once commenced for the unconditional surrender of -the white prisoners, and the object about which General Sibley was -so solicitous was accomplished. He knew that he could not attack the -hostiles in the friendly camp without endangering the lives of the -captives, and that the best policy was to appear indifferent about their -presence and thus disarm them of fear. The plan worked admirably, and the -game was successfully bagged. - -[Illustration: OTHER DAY.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -CAMP RELEASE. - - -Among the attractive and cultivated women found among the prisoners was -a Miss Mattie Williams, of Painesville, Ohio, who at the time of the -outbreak was living with an uncle on the Yellow Medicine River. They -had been surprised by the Indians without a moment's warning, and of -course, in their hurry, had no time to plan for an escape; but each -sought safety as best they could and became separated. Miss Williams, in -her wanderings, was picked up by a Mr. Patwell, who was escaping with a -German girl, who also was fleeing. They were overtaken by the Indians, -Mr. Patwell was killed, the German girl so wounded that she died, and -Miss Williams herself, wounded in the shoulder, was alone with her Indian -captors, who imposed upon her all the indignities born of their hellish -desires. For forty days she suffered as no human mind can imagine, forty -anxious days and sleepless nights in a dirty, smoke-begrimed, leaky tent, -clad in Indian costume and obliged to submit to savage passion. But the -angels listened and the day of deliverance drew near. The women of this -camp were all of one mind--in accord they prayed that deliverance should -come, and that the guiding hand should be directed by a clear head. As -Moses was preserved in the bulrushes and found by Pharaoh's daughter and -educated for a purpose--to lead the children of Israel from out the land -of bondage and through the Red Sea to the wilderness and the promised -land--so, too, was Colonel Sibley raised up to frustrate the designs of -the Indians and liberate these women and children. - -On the night of September 25th our heroine, wrapped in her Indian -blanket, laid herself down, not to pleasant dreams, but to blissful -waking visions of release. Nor was she alone in her night vigils; other -hearts, burdened and borne down with unutterable anguish, petitioned God -to so direct the soldiers who were on the way, that their release might -be sure. The soldiers are coming, and are these weary, anxious, fearful -days and nights to end? At the first dawning of the day, September 26th, -the Indian camp was astir and preparations made to receive distinguished -guests. And who were these guests? Colonel Sibley, the big white chief, -and his staff. Extra paint, paint of every hue, and beads, together with -eagle feathers and white flags, were conspicuous throughout this excited -Indian tepee village. - -The bright gleam of muskets away in the distance, banners fluttering in -the breeze and the sound of martial music as it struck the glad expectant -ear, was an answer to all their prayers: "Deliverance had come!" Hearts -made glad because the terrible nightmare of weeks had been dissipated, -the anxious days and sleepless nights were at an end, prayers had been -answered, and it was now a time for thanksgiving. Was it ended, this -horrible dream? Yes. But with it all, strong attachments sprang up -between the captive and the captor. They would have been less than human -if it were not so. These sturdy and determined Indian women and men who -protected them had jeopardized their lives, and what greater love can we -show one for the other than that we lay down our lives? - -[Illustration: CAMP RELEASE.] - -The little children, from one year up to four or five, who had become -orphaned, were adopted by the Indian mother, and these mothers, who -became so under such sorrowful circumstances, and having all the maternal -instincts of her more favored white sister, cared for them as tenderly as -she did her own. The little things were there with their dirty, chubby -faces, just the same as their Indian mates, their faces were painted, -their hair braided and garnished with eagle feathers, and they really -seemed happy and contented amid their changed and strange environments. -When the time came for them to go to our camps they cried and wanted -to stay with their newly found Indian mothers, and the mothers in turn -hugged them and cried over them and hated to give them up. There is -nothing passes a mother's love, even an Indian mother's love. - -It was a proud day for Colonel Sibley, and as he looked into the happy -faces of the captives and received their blessings and reverent homage, -his heart was touched and tears coursed down his cheeks. He was yet a -colonel, so far as we knew, and one of his staff officers, in addressing -him said: - -"Colonel Sibley, I would rather have the glory of your achievement to-day -than the proudest victory ever won in battle." - -The military camp at this point was designated Camp Release, so named -from the nature of our mission in releasing the people from their Indian -captivity. The manner in which they were rescued and the Indians captured -reflects greatly to the credit and sagacity of Colonel Sibley and his -advisers. The impetuous and indignant soldiers, after what their eyes had -beheld in the region where the whites had been murdered, were determined -to annihilate the camp, and it was almost impossible to restrain them, -especially Company A, of the Sixth Minnesota, which had suffered so -severely at Birch Coolie; but wiser counsels prevailed. - -After the Indians had been secured, and the captives released, we went -among them and listened to the recital of experiences that would make the -blood of any ordinary mortal boil with indignation, and it was a miracle -that the soldiers did not take the matter in hand and then and there -forever settle the Indian question. The orders were very strict about -guarding the Indians, but on the sly many acts of cruelty were indulged -in by the soldiers that would hardly be warranted, for we should not for -a moment forget the fact that they were our prisoners and we were not -savages and should not indulge in savage propensities. - -Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley at Camp Release received a notification of -his deserved promotion, and we shall hereafter speak of him as General -Sibley. - -During our stay at Camp Release we were daily drilling by company and -battalion, and perfecting ourselves in all things pertaining to soldier -life. We had a splendid camping place on the broad prairie near the river -bank, but the cold nights reminded us that winter quarters would soon -be more comfortable than the open prairie, and the rations were getting -rather scarce. "Fall in for grub" ordinarily is quite as welcome to the -hungry soldier as is the gong at a fashionable hotel to the fashionable -guest. How we jumped for the haversack containing, not solid silver, but -tin cup, tin plate, knife, fork and spoon, and fell in line according to -our agility to get there, and not according to size, so as to give the -ponies an equal chance with the tall men, whose place is on the right -when in parade. Each received his ration of coffee, hard tack, pork and -beans, irrespective of size, weight or previous condition. - -Commissary stores at Camp Release were getting very low and the supply -train was not yet due by several days' march, so it became necessary -to count out the crackers--five crackers to each man for a day, and no -pie or strawberries and cream for dessert. From five we were reduced to -three, and then there was nothing left but the bottom of the barrels. -There was some ear corn, but a guard was placed over that to keep it safe -for the horses and mules. Every mule was honored with a guard during his -meal hour to prevent the "boys in blue" from appropriating the precious -ear for his own use. No coffee, no meal, no hardtack, but there was a -load of potatoes remaining, and when the call to grub sounded, again we -scrambled into line to receive our ration for the day, which was--one -potato. Just after we received this potato ration the commissary train -hove in sight under strong guard with three days' rations, which were -issued to the hungry soldiers, and the indications were that the command -would soon move. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE INDIAN PRISONERS--THE TRIAL. - - -After liberating the captives it became necessary to at once proceed -against the Indians, and to this end the General appointed a commission -consisting of Colonel William Crooks, president; Lieutenant-Colonel -William R. Marshall, Captains H. P. Grant, H. S. Bailey and Rollin C. -Olin and Lieutenant I. V. D. Heard as recorder. The Indians were properly -represented, and through an interpreter understood the nature of the -charges brought against them. - -The rescued white captives, as soon as possible, were sent under suitable -escort to Fort Ridgely and then forwarded to their friends. As before -narrated, some of them had formed quite strong attachments for their -dusky protectors. - -And it is not to be wondered at. Because a man's skin is red or black it -does not follow that his heart is black. The blackest hearts the world's -history ever recorded beat beneath the whitest breasts. - -These friendly Indians were in a very small minority, succeeded in saving -the lives of the captives. It was a watch by day and by night, and -through a bold determination, that the few friendly ones succeeded in -saving, as they did, these captives, and they would be less than human if -they did not form strong attachments for their dusky friends. - -[Illustration: THE COURT-HOUSE OF THE MILITARY COMMISSION.] - -After the departure of the white captives, the Indian trial proceeded, -but for good reasons the General concluded to move the camp down to the -Lower Agency on the Red Wood River. The Indian camp, mostly made up of -women and children, had been moved from Yellow Medicine to this place, -where the trial still progressed. - -It was really amusing to sit by and listen to the testimony given in by -the Indians through their interpreter. They were nearly all like the -white criminals of to-day--innocent. I will only record a few. Cut-Nose, -for instance, will be a fair example of others, who were as guilty -wretches as ever escaped the immediate vengeance of an outraged people. - -The bloody old chief tried to play the innocent by saying he was not in -the battles to hurt anyone. He was most always there, but he was engaged -in some innocent pastime, such as feasting on roast beef and green corn, -while his comrades of the paint and feathers were killing people by the -score. If he fired at all it was at random and nobody was hurt. He would -steal, but that was for the benefit of his wife; she insisted upon his -doing something towards the support of herself and their Indian kids; but -as for killing anyone, oh! no, he could not think of that for a minute. - -We have his picture here, and his looks are a "dead giveaway;" and, -besides, twenty-seven murders were traced directly to him, and his -protestation of "me good Injun" all went for nought. He was a notoriously -bad Indian; he was so adjudged by the commission, who condemned him to -death, and he finally dangled at one end of a hempen cord. - -[Illustration: CUT-NOSE. - -Who killed twenty-seven persons, and was hanged.] - -Another one, prematurely gray, thought this ought to be evidence in his -favor, and others protested that they were too weak to face fire; others, -that their lives were threatened and they were compelled to go on the war -path; others, that they slept while their more wakeful companions fought; -and one old man who said he was fifty years old a great many years ago, -thought he might be excused, but a boy swore straight against him and -said, "I saw that man kill my mother," which solemn words settled the -prisoner's fate. - -This Indian was "Round Wind," but it was afterwards shown that he was not -there and he was reprieved just before the day set for the execution. - -Among the Indian prisoners were some who had been enlisted in the -"Renville Rangers," and had deserted to their friends--our enemies. These -rangers were all Indians and half-breeds, and it was largely from this -fact that the Indians conceived the idea that all the white men had left -the state and that the time was propitious for the Indians to strike to -regain their territory. - -It was proven conclusively that these men had been in all the battles, -and at Wood Lake one of them had taken the first scalp, and this from an -old man and a former comrade in his company. For this he received one -of the two belts of wampum which had been promised by Little Crow as a -reward for killing the first white man. These men all offered excuses, -but the evidence was so overwhelmingly against them that they also were -condemned to death. - -It was necessary to make an indiscriminate capture of the Indians and -then investigate their several cases to find out the guilty ones, -because, there were many among them who no doubt had been compelled to -participate in the fights we had with them at Birch Coolie and Wood Lake, -and only kept with the hostiles from policy and to save the lives of the -white people. To these and a good old squaw, well known in St. Paul and -other parts of the Union as "Old Betz," over 400 persons owe their lives. - -"Old Betz" has gone to her reward in the happy hunting grounds, having -lived over seventy-five years. She was a good woman and a good friend to -the early settlers of Minnesota. Others who were friendly to the whites -and loyal to their great father at Washington were liberated, and the -guilty placed under strong guard. - -[Illustration: OLD BETZ.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -CAPTURE OF RENEGADE BANDS--MIDNIGHT MARCH. - - -General Sibley was apprised by his scouts that there were several lodges -of Indians up around Goose Nest Lake, and also near the mouth of the -Lac-qui-Parle River, and he dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Marshall with -two hundred and fifty men (having six days' rations) to bring them in. -The little expedition started at midnight. They did not find Indians at -the point designated, but struck across the country, and by a forced -march of forty-five miles, found two lodges. They took the young men -prisoners, but the women and children were placed in charge of the old -men and sent away with instructions to report at Camp Release, which they -did in due time. Colonel Marshall heard of twenty-seven lodges at a place -described as Two Wood Lake, but upon arriving there, found the place -deserted, the enemy leaving behind for the benefit of other Indians, a -sign indicating that they had left two days before. In order to catch -them, the infantry were instructed to follow, while the cavalry, with a -howitzer, pushed on as fast as possible, and about midnight on the 16th -the detachment came up to the Indians, who, unsuspecting, were enjoying -their sleep. The barking of the dogs awoke them, and they realized that -something unusual was about to occur. Peering out through the opening -of their tepees, they saw horsemen and at once suspected they were -soldiers. The half-breed scouts called upon them to surrender and they -would not be harmed. Some of the younger men started to run away, but -they were overtaken and all made prisoners. In their conversation with -the interpreter they said they would have given themselves up, but were -afraid to do so. They said they knew that starvation stared them in the -face, because a cold winter was at hand, their provisions were all gone, -and that for the sake of their families they were glad to be caught. They -said also that Little Crow and some of his immediate followers had gone -farther north, near Devil's Lake. - -The game having been successfully bagged, Colonel Marshall hastened with -the prisoners back to Camp Release, where everything was in readiness for -a move down to Red Wood. - -Among the Indians was a negro by the name of Godfrey. He had never known -any other people and was totally ignorant concerning his parentage; but -he was among them, taking part in all their battles, and a very active -part, too, for the charge against him was "murder," in that with his -own hand he had killed seven white men, women and children. He said he -was not guilty. It is often thus--guilty men are innocent in their own -estimation. Mr. O-ta-kle (Godfrey), was in his own opinion one of this -sort. Certain it was, he had been enthusiastic over the prospect of -the excitement that would follow a general uprising, for he put on a -breech-clout and decorated his black face and legs in all the gorgeous -hues of Indian war paint. He could "whoop" as loud and yell as fiercely -as the best of them, and when the Indians returned from one of their -raids he was accounted one of the bravest of their warriors. He admitted -that he had killed seven; this he did, however, to his Indian comrades, -when it would, if a fact, add feathers to his coronet and renown to his -cruel record; but, when confronted by the men who could pass judgment -against him if found guilty, he was the most innocent creature in all -the world. In his hesitating, broken way of speaking, he gave a minute -account of his whereabouts. There was no direct evidence against him, -excepting his own confession to his comrades that he was with the Indians -in all their raids and that he had killed seven people. In his earnest -denial of the fact, he had such an honest look, and spoke with such a -truthful tone, that the court, although prejudiced against him, were -inclined to listen to his story with a reasonable degree of favor; yet -he was finally found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, the verdict -being accompanied with a recommendation that his punishment be commuted -to imprisonment for ten years. He did not go to prison, but was sent to -a reservation and compelled to stay there. Who he was, or where he came -from, no one seemed to know, and he could remember nothing beyond his -life among the Indians. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HOMEWARD BOUND. - - -"We start for home to-morrow morning," were the gladsome words passed -around the camp-fire on the evening of the 22d of October. The nights -were getting chilly, and the shortening days indicated that the autumn -was fast passing away, and that warmer quarters than our tents would -soon be an absolute necessity. The contemplation of the homeward march -was a pleasure, for there were ties of friendship there that forbade -procrastination. A sad thought came over us as we remembered the poor -fellows who had given up their lives--their waiting ones at home would -wait in vain. - -[Illustration: "Reveille."] - -Reveille sounded early one morning, and after a hurried breakfast of -coffee and hard tack, the headquarters bugle sounded "strike tents," and -the city of canvas was soon razed to the ground. With the captives and -prisoners we took up our line of march for Yellow Medicine, where the -commission appointed by the General tried and condemned 305 Indians to -hang. - -The morning we left Camp Release the sun shone brightly, the sky was -clear, but there was frost in the air; and, as we were on very short -rations and only one blanket each, we were in high glee as we marched out -to the music of the band. I think our steps were more than the regulation -twenty-eight inches, for we were headed towards God's country--home. -About four p. m. the fierce fall wind veered around in our faces, and -coming as it did off the burnt prairie, our faces soon presented the -appearance of men from the interior of Africa. We were black in the -face. At five o'clock we went into camp. It was pitch dark, with the -wind blowing a hurricane, and in the darkness, infantry, cavalry, and -artillery were one interminable mass of troops and order was impossible. -So the orders were: "By company, left wheel, halt;" "stack arms;" "break -ranks," with orders to pitch tents and get under cover. To make fires and -cook supper was impossible, so we supped on raw salt pork, hard tack, -and cold water. The Sibley tents blew down as fast as put up, and in -this condition we crawled under them to get the best protection possible -from the fierce northern blast. Some of the men had found potato cellars -that had been dug in the hillside by the Indians, and taking possession -of them were thus afforded good, warm quarters and plenty of potatoes to -eat. In this respect they were much more fortunate than the rest of us -who were on the outside and had all we could do to keep from freezing to -death. The storm abated somewhat by morning, so we could make our fires, -which we did, and availed ourselves of the Indian potatoes, and with salt -pork, hard tack and coffee made a hearty breakfast and were soon on the -march again. - -The exposure of that night gave many of us the rheumatism, and it took -several hours' march to get ourselves limbered up, but the day was bright -and we were homeward bound. We made a good day's march, and pitched our -tents in the valley of the Red Wood. - -The Indian camp, consisting principally of women and children, had -been previously removed to this place from Yellow Medicine, where the -quartermaster had erected a large board prison to hold the captive red -men, who had all been condemned by the Commission. The papers had been -sent on to President Lincoln for his final decision, and we were here -awaiting developments. - -The condemned Indians were sent under strong guard to Camp Sibley, on the -banks of the Red Wood River. They were chained together and kept in a -structure built for the purpose, and their squaws, who were camped on the -outside, were allowed to cook for them under the supervision of a guard, -to prevent them from smuggling knives or a weapon of any kind on the -inside of the enclosure. - -[Illustration: CAMP LINCOLN.] - -After a week or ten days we again took up the line of march to a -destination known only to the General and his Staff, but which proved -to be that the Seventh Minnesota, under Colonel William R. Marshall, -should proceed with the prisoners to Mankato, and the Sixth Minnesota, -under Colonel Crooks, should report at Fort Snelling for further orders. -The two regiments marched together until we reached a point some way -below New Ulm. Nothing of importance took place until we reached this -place. The General having heard that the citizens had determined to kill -every redskin regardless of consequences if they could possibly get -hold of them, took precaution against it. It was said that every house -was supplied with hot water, hot soft soap and anything and everything -that ingenuity could invent to inflict sudden and sure punishment, and -death if possible, to those that had brought such woe to them. For this -reason the General changed his course somewhat, and making a detour to -the right, escaped the necessity or perhaps bloodshed, in trying to save -his captives from the hands of this justly furious people. Men and women -turned out en masse and hurling imprecations, flourishing butcher knives, -table knives, and even scissors, axes, pitchforks--in fact, every sort of -weapon--seemed determined to get at them, and abused soldiers and Indians -alike because they were held at bay. They followed us for two or three -miles before they became convinced that the General was determined at all -hazards to uphold the supremacy of the government in protecting these -blood-stained captives from the furies of a people who had suffered so -much at the hands of some of their tribes in the murder of their innocent -women and children. - -At a point below New Ulm the command was divided, a portion taking all -the condemned men to Mankato, and the balance of the command proceeding -to Fort Snelling. - -At Mankato, as the days wore away and there was some doubt as to what the -final decision of President Lincoln would be, great fear was entertained -that there would be a general uprising of the people, and an attempt -made to override military and civil law by wresting the Indians from -the soldiers and instituting a general massacre of them, irrespective of -their guilt or innocence, but Colonel Stephen Miller, the post commander, -having determined that law and not lawlessness should prevail, used the -utmost vigilance to defeat any such undertaking. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -PROTESTS--PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ORDER FOR THE EXECUTION. - - -The Indians did not seem to feel cast down; some in fact appeared -rather to enjoy the situation; others, again, were more serious, and -were probably speculating as to the probable outcome of the unfortunate -condition of affairs. The soldiers did not relish the idea of guarding -them, and one night a conspiracy, which I overheard, was formed to create -a false alarm in the camp and in the excitement fall on the Indians -and murder them. The plot leaked out and the plan miscarried, as it -should, for it would have been rank murder to have executed it. Among -the prisoners there were many who really were not guilty, but had been -caught in bad company. The prisoners were arraigned upon written charges -specifying the criminating acts, and these charges were signed by General -Sibley, and with but few exceptions were based on information furnished -by Rev. S. R. Riggs, who had long been a missionary among them. The -majority of the prisoners were condemned to death, and the news reaching -the East, far away from the scene of the outrages, petitions went in from -many New England cities, imploring the President to exercise clemency -toward this unfortunate people. He yielded to the clamor in so far as -only to include the very worst characters among them. - -Bishop Whipple said: "There are times when the Christian laborer has -a right to ask for the sympathy, the prayers and the co-operation -of our fellow-citizens, and to make a strong appeal in behalf of -this most wretched race of heathen men on the face of the earth. The -responsibility," he says, "is great, the fearful issues are upon us, and -as we are to settle them justly or unjustly we shall receive the blessing -or curse of Almighty God. Many of these victims of savage ferocity were -my friends. They had mingled their voices with mine in prayer; they had -given to me such hospitality as can only be found in the log cabin of -the frontier; and it fills my heart with grief, and blinds my eyes with -tears, when I think of their nameless graves. It is because I love them -and would save others from their fate that I ask that the people shall -lay the blame of this great crime where it belongs, and rise up with one -voice to demand the reform of the atrocious Indian system, which has -always garnered for us the same fruit of anguish and blood." - -Thousands of miles away from the scene of the outrages perpetrated -against the inoffensive white settlers, protests were sent in to the -President from all sorts of humanitarians, imploring him to stay the -sentence that condemned to death so many human beings. The provocation -to indiscriminately condemn and hang was very great, for thousands of -innocents had been ruthlessly murdered; no moments of warning were given -them; no former kindnesses seemed to be remembered by the Indians, and -their hands were steeped in their friends' blood, and there seemed no -palliating circumstances. The enormity of the outbreak and the fiendish -cruelty of the redskins were appalling; the people were paralyzed -with astonishment and fear, and the witnesses, no doubt mistaken and -prejudiced, gave such positive testimony that the commission felt -satisfied in pronouncing them guilty of murder in the first degree; but -would this have been the case if these prisoners had been white instead -of red? - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF INDIAN JAIL.] - -No doubt General Sibley himself was surprised when he learned of the -indiscriminate condemnation of these prisoners, and was glad not to be -held responsible for their hanging. - -It is a fact that there were Indians found with arms in their hands in -nearly all the battles, but their object was to protect the women and -children prisoners, and they said they must make a show of fighting -whether they did or not in order to accomplish this. It would have -been a great stain on the fair name of our country if this wholesale -hanging had occurred, and President Lincoln acted wisely in overruling -the recommendation of the commission, which he did to such an extent -as to sanction the execution of thirty-nine of the condemned men, and -the balance to be further held as prisoners until he should designate -a reservation to which they should be sent. During the time the -preparations were being made to carry out the President's order the -people were clamorous. They were not satisfied with the modification of -the President's order, and grave rumors were abroad that there would be -a vigorous effort made to take the Indians from the soldiers and have a -wholesale execution, but the military authorities prevented it. - -The President acted wisely in this matter. In fact, the state of the -public mind was such and the pressure within our lines was exercised -to such a degree that the President could do nothing less. If all the -condemned Indians had been executed the impression would have gone -abroad that the great government of the United States was putting to -death its prisoners of war, and this would have done much toward bringing -about a recognition of the Southern Confederacy. - -The President's order was as follows: - - "Executive Mansion, - Washington, December 6, 1862. - - Brigadier-General H. H. Sibley, St. Paul, Minn.: - - Ordered, that 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 19th day of December, instant. - - 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 United States." - -The execution was carried out on the 26th of December, 1862. Thirty-eight -were hanged. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE EXECUTION--THE NIGHT BEFORE. - - -The date of the execution was fixed for December 26, 1862. On the 22d -instant the condemned prisoners were separated from the others, and -on the same day Colonel Stephen Miller (afterwards Governor), who was -in command, through the interpreter, Rev. Mr. Riggs, called upon the -condemned and announced the decision of the Great Father at Washington. -He said: - - Tell these thirty-nine condemned men that the commanding officer of - this place has called to speak to them on a serious subject this - afternoon. Their Great Father at Washington, after carefully reading - what the witnesses testified to in their several trials, has come - to the conclusion that they have been guilty of murdering his white - children; and, for this reason, has directed that each be hanged by - the neck until dead next Friday at ten a. m. - - That good ministers, both Catholic and Protestant, are here, and can - commune with them for the remaining four days they have to live. - - That I will now cause to be read the letter from their Great Father - at Washington, first in English and then in their own language. - - Say to them, now, that they have so sinned against their fellow-men, - that there is no hope for clemency except in the mercy of God, - through the merits of the blessed Redeemer; and that I earnestly - exhort them to apply to that, as their only remaining source of - comfort and consolation. - -Rev. Mr. Riggs, the interpreter, had been a missionary among them for -twenty-five years, and he had known them intimately, and it pained him -sorely to be obliged to convey to them as an interpreter the words that -were to condemn them to death. In so doing he said: - - I have known you for many years; I have pointed you to the cross; - endeavored to prayerfully convince you that allegiance to God, and - the Great Father at Washington, was your duty. I have with a broken - heart witnessed your cruelty to inoffensive men, women and children; - cruelty to your best friends. You have stained your hands in innocent - blood, and now the law holds you to strict accountability. It pains - me to inform you that your Great Father in Washington says you must - die for your cruelty and murders, and I am directed to inform you - that on the 26th day of February you will be hanged by the neck until - you are dead, and may God have mercy on your souls. - -The prisoners received the sentence rather coolly; some smoking their -pipes composedly during its reading, one of them knocking the ashes out -of his pipe, and another putting in his a fresh supply of kinnikinnick. -On Tuesday evening they held a death dance, accompanied by wild Indian -songs, and there were some fears that the excitement might cause an -attempt to make an escape or create a panic; so, precautionary measures -were taken. The Indians' friends and families were permitted to visit -them and take a last farewell. It was a solemn time even to the white -soldiers, for it was plainly evident that while there was a lack of -such demonstration as would be witnessed among the whites under similar -circumstances, yet to the observant eye only, it was plain to be seen -that deep, deep grief had taken possession of their hearts. There -were few tears; no hysterics, but profound sorrow was depicted on the -countenances as the parting word was said, and messages sent to children -and friends. Some were completely overcome; others in bravado laughed and -joked as if it were an every-day occurrence. One said: "Yes, tell our -friends that we are being removed from this world over the same path they -must shortly travel. We go first." - -Many spoke in a mournful tone; in fact, the majority of them desired to -say something, and with one or two exceptions they seemed to be penitent. -Why should they not? Their white brethren under like circumstances are -accorded religious privileges. They repent and accept the invitation, -"Come unto Me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you -rest." The thief on the cross repented. Could not an ignorant, misguided -Indian under religious instruction receive light and repent? - -The night before the execution Colonel Miller received a stay for one of -the condemned, as strong doubt existed as to his participation in the -murders, and he was finally pardoned. - -It has been said that in the excitement of the preparations for the -execution that the wrong man was pardoned. He was guilty, but the -innocent man suffered in his stead. The last night was spent by the -prisoners in quite a jolly camp-fire, chatting merrily and smoking to -their hearts' content. - -Father Ravoux, a Catholic priest from St. Paul, remained with them all -night administering consolation and communion, and the more serious of -them listened attentively to his words of comfort. In the morning, as -the hour for the execution approached, and while Father Ravoux was -speaking to the Indians, the provost marshal entered and whispered -something to the good priest, who in turn spoke in French to one of the -half-breeds, and he repeated it in Dakota to the Indians, who were all -lying down around the prison. The information he gave was that the hour -had arrived when they were to march to the gallows. In a moment every -Indian stood erect, and as the provost marshal opened the door they fell -in behind him with the greatest alacrity. Indeed, a notice of release, -pardon or reprieve could not have induced them to leave their cells with -more apparent willingness than this call to death. At the foot of the -steps there was no delay. Captain Redfield mounted the drop, at the head, -and the Indians crowded after him, as if it were a race to see who would -get there first. They actually crowded on each other's heels, and as they -got to the top, each took his position, without any assistance from those -who were detailed for that purpose. They still kept up a mournful wail, -and occasionally there would be a piercing scream. The ropes were soon -arranged around their necks without the least opposition being offered. -The white caps, which had been placed on the tops of their heads, were -now drawn down over their faces, shutting out forever the light of day -from their eyes. Then ensued a scene that can hardly be described and can -never be forgotten. All joined in shouting and singing, as it appeared -to those who were ignorant of the language. The tones seemed somewhat -discordant, and yet there was harmony in it. It was not their voices -alone, but their bodies swayed to and fro, and their every limb seemed to -be keeping time. The drop trembled and shook as if all were dancing. The -most touching scene on the drop was their attempt to grasp each other's -hands, fettered as they were. They were very close to each other, and -many succeeded. Three or four in a row were hand in hand, and all hands -swaying up and down with the rise and fall of their voices. One old man -reached out on each side, but could not grasp a hand; his struggles were -piteous and affected many beholders. - -Those who understood their manners and language said that their singing -and shouting was necessary to sustain each other. Each one shouted his -own name and called on the name of his friend, saying in substance: "I am -here! I am here!" - -The supreme moment arrived, and amid an immense concourse of citizens and -soldiers the drop fell, and thirty-eight human beings, whose hands were -steeped in innocent blood and who had spread such desolation and sorrow -to thousands of happy homes, were ushered into the presence of their -Maker. - -The arrangements were under the immediate supervision of Captain Burt, of -the Seventh Regiment, and they were so complete that there was not the -slightest hitch. - -"Positions of honor were given to the most interested. For instance, the -cutting of the rope was assigned to William J. Daly, of Lake Shetek, who -had three children killed and his wife and two children captured, and who -were at this time in the hands of Little Crow, on the Missouri, and were -afterward ransomed by Major Galpin at Fort Pierre." - -The quotation I make here is from a book in the public library, and I -found penciled on the margin by one of those persons who take advantage -of the courtesies extended by public libraries, the following: - -"So should every remaining Indian be 'elevated'!" Nay! Nay! scribbler. -We cannot tell why one man's face is black and another red, while yours -and mine are white. Would you mete out the same measure to the whites? -Innocency among the Indians, per capita, is not more rare than among -their more favored white brethren, and we are brethren of a different -hue. Punish the guilty, be he white or black, but protect the innocent. - -After the bodies had hung for about half an hour, the physicians of -the several regiments present examined them and reported that life was -extinct. The bodies were carried away in United States mule teams and -dumped in one common grave, dug in the sand bar in front of the city, the -half-breeds in one corner of the hole so they might be found by their -friends if they so desired. There may be times and circumstances when a -Christian people can afford to act as we expect the benighted to do; but -it has not arrived yet. No matter what the crime, the penalty has been -paid, and after the spirit has gone to God to be adjudged, it is part -of our civilization to be decent in our conduct toward all that remains -mortal. It is not necessary to make a great display, but that we perform -our duty according to our law. We have taken a life in accordance with a -human law, and in justification of it we quote, "An eye for an eye and a -tooth for a tooth." No matter how atrocious the deed, after the penalty -has been paid we cannot as a Christian people, apologize for our acts of -barbarism to the inanimate clay. - -After the mandate of the President had been executed the telegraph -flashed to Washington the following: - - "St. Paul, Minn., December 27, 1862. - - "To the President of the United States: - - "I have the honor to inform you that the thirty-eight Indians and - half-breeds, ordered by you for execution, were hung on yesterday - at Mankato, at ten a. m. Everything went off quietly, and the other - prisoners are well secured. - - "Henry H. Sibley, - "Brigadier-General." - -With this the curtain drops on this bloody drama, and thus ended the -great Indian campaign of 1862. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -SQUAWS TAKE LEAVE OF THEIR HUSBANDS. - - -The condemned men, and the others who were to be deported after the -execution took place, were called upon to bid good-bye to their wives -and children, who were to be taken down to Fort Snelling. The wives were -allowed a few at a time to go inside the jail and with the children have -words of conversation with the husband and father. After a reasonable -time they took leave of them. There were no hysterics, no sobs, no tears, -but the heart-beats and the thoughts were there. Love? Yes. How deep, no -white on-looker could tell. It was a supreme moment to the poor Indian -and his dusky wife. Their roads were very divergent from this time, and -in low tones they answered in their own tongue. Some of the soldiers made -slighting remarks, but there are those among educated whites who have no -serious moments, no serious thoughts; they have not time to be serious, -and no inclination; but this was a serious time for those poor creatures; -they knew the hour had arrived when they must say good-bye forever on -earth to their red-skinned partners in life's joys and sorrows. No hand -shake; no embrace; no crying; but a sorrowful, affectionate look, and -they turn their back on them forever. - -The women and children are taken down to Fort Snelling, and in a camp -prepared for them they are put for the winter, and a strong guard placed -about them to prevent any outrages being committed. The night the news -was carried to them of the execution the wails of the poor creatures -could be heard for a long distance away: "Rachael mourning for her -children and would not be comforted, because they were not." - -Much sorrow was expressed for them because we could but feel that they -were unfortunate creatures, endowed with all the attributes of human -beings. - -The mortality among them was very great and hundreds died before the -winter of suspense had passed away. - -In April, 1863, the camp was broken up and the remaining ones were placed -in a steamer for St. Louis, from whence they were to be sent up the -Missouri River to the Crow Creek agency. Some died on the way, and as -they left their homes and looked for the last time on their native hills, -a dark cloud was crushing out their hearts. Soon after landing at Crow -Creek every tepee had its sick and anxious hearts--mothers and children -far away from their dead. - -The deported ones joined their families in time, and as the years glide -on they have had time for reflection, and the events, as they undoubtedly -come trooping back to them, furnish food for thought. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -CAPTURE AND RELEASE OF JOE BROWN'S INDIAN FAMILY. - - -We knew Major Brown well. He was known to nearly all early settlers, -because he came to Minnesota when the white people were very few. He felt -that it was not well for man to live alone, a white man especially, and -so he took unto himself a dusky bride. He was in government employ and a -big white chief among his new found wife's people and to whom he was a -friend. - -As he grew in years his family grew also, and the dusky mother's -household cares increased. Yes, they lived in a fine stone house, -elegantly furnished, down on the Yellow Medicine below the agency, -but which came in the way of his red brother's vengeance, and it was -destroyed. The Brown family lived happily in their rather modern home. -The Major attended to his official duties, and the wife and boys -cultivated the land; but in common with all the others during these sad -days, their only safety was in flight. Their home, including books and -furniture, was totally destroyed. The father was a fugitive and his -family prisoners. They did not suffer as some others did, because the -wife and mother was a full blood and was related to the Sisseton tribe -and had powerful friends among them. Their capture, captivity, and final -release, as related by Samuel Brown, the fifteen-year-old boy, is an -interesting recital. He says: - -On Monday, the 18th day of August, I went to Yellow Medicine with my -sister Ellen upon an errand. We met on the way an Indian named Little -Dog, who told us that the Indians had killed a family at Beaver Creek, -and were going to kill the whites as far as St. Paul, and that we must -not tell any one about it, or they would kill us. He said he warned us -at the risk of his own life. This was about noon. Soon after our arrival -at Yellow Medicine an old squaw told us that we had better be getting -away, as there would be trouble. We asked many of the other Indians -about it, but they said they had heard of nothing of the kind. Another -squaw afterward told us that she thought it must be the Yanktonais -who were coming down to take the agency. We left them about half-past -three o'clock. George Gleason had just left with Mrs. Wakefield and her -children for below. When we reached home we told mother what we heard. -She was very much scared and did not sleep any that night. About four -o'clock next morning I heard some one outside calling in a loud voice -a number of times for my mother, and then I heard Charles Blair, my -brother-in-law (a white man), ask what was the matter, and the man, who -was a half-breed named Royer, said that four hundred Yanktonais had -arrived at the upper agency and were killing everybody. We then became -very much alarmed, and had our oxen yoked at once to the wagon, put -everything in we could, and started for Fort Ridgely. We had all the -neighbors warned, and they went with us. They had three wagons, with -ox teams. Four or five white men overtook us on the road, among them -Garvey's cook (Garvey was the trader wounded at the agency, and who -afterward died at Hutchinson.) - -When we had gone about five miles we saw some men two miles ahead, near -the bank of the river, but supposed they were farmers. The Yanktonais, -whom we were afraid of, lived above us. We thought nothing about the men -until we saw an Indian on a hill ahead of us. He beckoned to others, and -before we knew it we were surrounded. De-wa-nea, of Crow's band, and -Cut-Nose and Shakopee, three of the worst among the Lower Indians, came -to us first. We were in the head wagon. Mother told them who we were, -and they said we must follow them, and that we were all as good as dead. -De-wa-nea said that the whites had taken him prisoner a good many times -and that it was now his turn. He wanted the rest of the Indians to kill -us all. There was an Indian in the party, John Moore's brother-in-law, -who took our part, and he and his friends saved us from the others. This -Indian had once come to our house when he was freezing and my mother took -him in and warmed him. He told the other Indians that he remembered this, -and that we should live. They insisted that my brother Angus should shoot -one of the white men, but he refused to do so. Each of the Indians had -one of the whites picked out to shoot as they came up. My mother said -they were poor men and it would do no good to kill them. John Moore's -brother-in-law said they should live if she wanted them to. The Indians -made a great fuss about it, and said she ought to be satisfied with what -she had got, but afterwards consented and told the men to start off. -The women stayed with us. After the men had got off a little, Leopold -Wohler, who had a lime-kiln at the agency, came back to the wagon after -his boots, and an Indian told him if he didn't go away he would kill him. -He started off with one boot, and came back again for the other, and -the Indian drove him away again with the same threat. He went a short -distance and came back again to kiss his wife. The Indians then became -very much enraged, and acted so fiercely that he was glad to escape -without further difficulty. There were ten Indians close to us, and -twenty-five or thirty near, running into the houses. They made Angus and -Charles Blair, who were riding horses, give them up. De-wa-nea put on my -sister's bonnet and began singing a war song. He was very merry. He said -the Indians were now going to have a good time, and if they got killed it -was all right; that the whites wanted to kill them off, and were delaying -the payment in order to do it by starvation, and that he preferred to be -shot. We saw three men and a woman on the road terribly hacked up. This -party had committed the murders. The men had been mowing together; their -scythes and pitchforks were lying near by. Cut-nose showed us his thumb, -from which a piece had been bitten near the nail, and he said it was done -by one of these men while he was working the knife around in his breast; -that he was very hard to kill, and he thought he would never die. - -Cut-nose afterward went to a wagon and told a Scotch girl who was in -it that he wanted her for his wife, and to get out and follow him. She -refused, and he then drew his knife and flourished it over her, and she -got out and went away with him. That was the last I saw of him until we -got to camp. He was called Cut-nose because one of his nostrils had been -bitten out. This was done by Other Day in a quarrel. - -When we reached the camp of the Red Creek Indians, four miles above the -Redwood River, they told us that the Agency Indians had sent word for all -to come down there, and that those who did not come would be taken care -of by the "Soldiers' Lodge." They were then about starting, and an Indian -made Augus and myself hitch up a mule team which he said he had taken -from Captain Marsh's men the day before. He said they had just heard a -cannon at the fort and they wanted to go down and whip the whites there. -This was about noon. We then went down to John Moore's house (this was -where Other Day's horse was stolen), and they put us upstairs, where they -had two or three women captives. We were there about an hour, when three -Indians told us to come up to their camp on the hill, where we were to -stop with John Moore's mother, or grandmother. We followed them, and when -we got halfway up suddenly missed them. We supposed they hid from us, and -we wandered on. We met a German woman who had seven or eight children -with her, all under eight years of age,--two on her back, one under each -arm and two following behind. They came along with us. We went to Moore's -relative, but she said she knew nothing about us and couldn't take us, -and that we had better go down to Crow's Village. We started, not knowing -where to go, when a squaw, who was crying about the troubles, met us, -and took us home with her. The Indians sent our team back to camp. They -gave Augus and I blankets and moccasins, and we put them on and went down -to see Little Crow. He told us to bring our folks down there, and no -one should hurt us. This was Tuesday evening, about seven o'clock. He -was in his own house, and the camp was pitched around it. We went back -and brought our folks down. Little Crow put us up in the top room of the -house, and gave us buffalo robes and everything to make us comfortable. -He brought us a candle as soon as it was dark; he was very kind to us; he -said he would take as good care of us as he could, but he didn't believe -he could keep Charley Blair alive until morning. He gave him a breech -clout and leggings, which he put on. - -During the night an Indian or a half-breed came in the room downstairs -where Crow was, and told him that we ought to be killed. We overheard -what they said. The man was very ugly, and said no prisoners ought to be -taken, and that we were related to the Sissetons, and had no claim on the -Lower Indians, and there was no reason why we should be spared. He said -he wanted Crow to call a council about it immediately. Crow told him that -he saved us because we were his friends, and that he would protect us; -that it was too late to hold a council that night, and he compelled him -to leave. - -He gave us plenty to eat, and came up several times during the night to -see how we were getting along. We begged him to let Charley Blair go. He -said he couldn't; that the Indians knew he was there, and would kill him -(Crow) if he allowed it. We coaxed him for a couple of hours, when he -consented, and brought an Indian, who took Charley down to the river and -left him in the brush. He made his escape from there to the fort. Crow -told us not to say anything about it, for the Indians would kill him, and -that he did it because he had known our folks so long. He said the young -men started the massacre, and he could not stop them. A week after that -Akipu, an Upper Indian, came down from the Yellow Medicine Agency and -took us up with him. From that time until our deliverance we remained -with our relatives, and were well treated by them. - -The foregoing recital is just as the boy gave it, and in subsequent -conversations with the father it was substantially verified. - -Major Brown, after recovering his family, lived for a few years, and -did much toward assisting the Government in adjusting the many claims -brought against it by persons who had suffered so much at the hands of -the Indians. He died a number of years ago, but the members of his family -live and are much respected in the community in which they live. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -GOVERNOR RAMSEY AND HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. - - -Alexander Ramsey, of Minnesota, is the last of the famous coterie of war -governors; a band that will be immortal. Curtin, of Pennsylvania; Dix, of -New York; Dennison, of Ohio; Morton, of Indiana; Randall, of Wisconsin; -Yates, of Illinois; Blair, of Michigan; Andrew, of Massachusetts; and -Kirkwood, of Iowa;--a notable group, stalwart, rugged patriots with -hearts beating as one. Comprehending the danger that menaced the nation, -confronted with no easy task, these grand old stalwarts pledged their -states to uphold, with men and money, the general government. They -have passed away honored by a grateful country and beloved by the men -who responded to their call. Governor Ramsey alone remains, and in the -National Grand Army encampment held in St. Paul in 1896 he was a central -figure. Passed, as he has, beyond the allotted time of man, measure full -and running over, he saw the salvation of his country, proud of the -part Minnesota's sons took in its restoration, and proud to meet them -after the smoke of battle had cleared away. Governor Ramsey, being in -Washington at the time of the first call for troops, promptly responded -in person to the President, and tendered a regiment from Minnesota, and -it was accepted; and it was the first to be accepted. He immediately -telegraphed to Adjutant General William Henry Acker to at once issue a -call for one regiment of three months men. - -[Illustration: HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.] - -The companies were soon filled up, and Adjutant-General Acker was -commissioned as captain of Company "C." He was afterwards commissioned as -captain in the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, and was killed at Shiloh. - -Governor Ramsey was elected United States Senator from Minnesota, and -served his state faithfully and well, and was at one time Secretary -of War. At this writing he is hale and hearty, honored by men of all -political faith. - -Governor Ramsey's part in the Indian trouble was more than commissioning -officers and sending men to the frontier. - -The Chippewas were in a turbulent state of mind, and Hole-in-the-Day, -their chief, did not seem inclined to soften their feelings to the -Government, but rather encouraged them in their desire to break their -compact. He said to his people that "we had all we could manage, with our -brethren in the South, and if they pleased to combine with the Sioux, -their power could not be resisted." - -This surely was cause for alarm,--alarm for the safety of the state, and -it required strong measures to curb this uprising among these Indians. -Commissioner Dole lost hope of successfully meeting the demands of the -Indians, and dispatched a messenger to Governor Ramsey asking him to -hasten to his relief. The Governor lost no time, and with two or three -others were soon on the way. He did not go with an army carrying banners, -but quietly and unostentatiously met the Chippewa chiefs, and soon -adjusted all difficulties. - -When it became known to Hole-in-the-Day that General Sibley had an -overwhelming force, he was then desirous to befriend the state and assist -in making a treaty of perpetual friendship with the whites, and assist -them in fighting Little Crow. And after the battle of Wood Lake the -Winnebagoes, who were inclined to go to war against the "pale faces," -concluded it best to court his favor and proclaim war against the Sioux. -Prior to this, all the tribes in Wisconsin had sent their "wampums" to -the Winnebago chief, and a council of war had been fixed for the 28th -of September. There seemed to be indications that an unfriendly white -element was stirring up strife among all our Indian neighbors, and hence -the impression that it was emissaries from the South who were doing it. -It came from high authority that evidence existed to show that "the -Western tribes are going to join the South." It was a critical moment -for this country. Slavery existed yet, and God's hand was laying heavily -upon us. Federal reverses and Confederate successes cast a gloom over the -North, and loyal men trembled, while the copper-head came forth and, with -an exultant hiss, impeded the progress of the Government in its efforts -to bring about an honorable peace. Under these depressing conditions -Governor Ramsey, to whom all looked with so much solicitude, nerved -himself to bring about an amicable settlement with the Chippewas. - -In three days from the time of departure, Governor Ramsey returned, -having effected a settlement of all misunderstandings on September 15th, -1862. - -The public mind was relieved, for nearly every chief of the Nation being -present to sign this treaty of peace, all hostile demonstrations ceased, -and they evinced their further friendship by coming to St. Paul to return -Governor Ramsey's visit, and tender their services to General Pope to -operate against the Sioux. - -The Governor assured them he was pleased to know they had not stained -their hands in innocent blood, as the Sioux had done;--that he would -communicate their desire to join the white soldiers to the big chief, -General Pope, and he would send for them. The talk they had with the -Governor so pleased them that they became confidential and talkative. -Their responses thus far had been grunts and "ho, hos," but Chief Berry -Hunter said the words they listened to "went right into his ears, and -they were good," and although he was an old man he had not lost his -reason. That they had come down to show their white brothers they felt -very friendly, and never desired to have any other feeling towards them. - -Big Dog, another of their noted chiefs, whose hands were very red, said -he had painted them purposely, so that if he should kill an enemy and -blood got on his hands it would not stain them. - -Governor Ramsey extended them an invitation to ride in the "fire wagon" -to St. Anthony (now East Minneapolis). - -This meant that he would take them on the train. Railroading in Minnesota -at this time was new to the white people, and the beautiful engines -were objects of delight and admiration to them, and more so to the -Indians, who were much interested in everything they saw in and about the -locomotive, and they expressed great wonder at the steam whistle, and -invariably ducked their heads as its shrill notes broke upon their ears. -They did not wish to appear as cowards, but, like white soldiers dodging -bullets after they had passed, so they inadvertently would "duck" when -the whistle blew, and afterward have a hearty laugh over it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -CHASKA--GEORGE SPENCER--CHASKA'S DEATH--THE "MOSCOW" EXPEDITION. - - -Chaska and George Spencer were great friends, and there was reason -for it, as you will see. It was in George Spencer's store where the -first shot was fired, and he was the victim. He ran upstairs, but the -Indians surrounded the place and threatened to burn the store, which -they probably would have done but for the fact they wanted the goods. -They could not muster courage to go upstairs to kill him, because they -naturally thought: "What would he be doing while we are trying to kill -him?" - -An old squaw got him out the back way and secreted him in her tepee, and -the Indians finally burnt the building, and supposed he had perished in -the flames. The squaw turned him over to his Indian friend Chaska, and -when the other Indians, who supposed he was dead already, saw him quite -alive, they were much puzzled, for they had no inkling of his escape. - -[Illustration: HOUSE OF CHASKA, A CIVILIZED INDIAN.] - -He was the only white man at the agency who did escape, and can attribute -it to the friendly ministration of those two native Americans, Chaska -and the squaw. It was no miraculous escape, but a plain case of genuine -friendship toward a white man by an Indian. An Indian will avenge a -wrong--that is his nature. It is born in him, and it cannot be blotted -out; so, too, will he remember a kindness with an equal degree of -fidelity, and, under any and all circumstances, will "stick closer than -a brother." Friend Spencer in this case found that the investment he -had made in kindness to this red man was a paying one--it came in good -time--his life was surely in jeopardy, and no miracle, but a faithful -Indian, saved him, and this Indian was Chaska, a chief whom Little Crow -had depended upon to help carry on the war. His friendship for Spencer -was great, and when his friend's life was threatened, he with a double -shooter in his hands would cry out: "Shoot if you like, kill him if you -will, but two of you will come out of your saddles if you do." - -Chaska dressed his friend in Indian garb and painted his face. It became -necessary to kite him about, first in one friendly tepee and then in -another, so that the spies could not keep track of him. I remember well -the day I spoke with him. He had been wounded and was suffering from -this, and the long days and nights of anxiety had told on him, but now -that he could throw all this off he said he would soon be on the speedy -round to complete recovery. Chaska was faithful to his friend of former -years. He was desirous of becoming a white man so far as he could, by -adopting their manners and customs. He came to see General Sibley one -morning in his Indian garb, and the General said to him: "I am not -pleased to see you in your blanket." - -"Then I will wear it no more," was his reply. He washed off the paint -from his face, trimmed his hair, and dressed as a citizen. He desired -to live in a house rather than a tepee and to have his children attend -school. This was the wish of all the friendly Indians. They instituted -reforms in the social fabric, and in marrying, the rite was performed -by an ordained minister, the same as among their white brethren. Poor -Chaska, I remember well the night he died, for at the time a strong -suspicion pointed toward a member of my own regiment, who was a clerk in -the hospital department, and there never was a doubt but Chaska's death -was by poison administered by this man. George Spencer, his white friend, -said of him: "On the second day of our return from the Missouri, we -rode along talking pleasantly of the future, he telling me how he would -like to be situated on a small farm of land near me, and congratulating -himself that his trouble was over, and that he would soon be restored to -the bosom of his family. Alas, for my friend! He now sleeps tranquilly -near the turbid waters of the Missouri, under the shadow of our -intrenchments. Savage though he was, he was a noble man!" - -The night he died he had gone around to his white friend's tent, where -he was always welcome, and supped with him and arranged for carrying in -the commissary wagon, a pack of furs he had captured. He went to his -quarters after taking a dose of medicine and was soon taken ill. He sent -for his white comrade, who went immediately to his bedside, to find him -senseless, dying. In his delirium he predicted a thunderstorm that would -shake the earth and blind the people the day he was put in the ground, -and the prediction came true. He did not once recognize his friend, who -remained with him, closing his eyes with a sorrowful heart. He died at -the age of thirty-two, leaving a wife and two interesting children. He -was faithful among the faithless. - - - - -[Illustration: The Sentinel.] - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE "MOSCOW" EXPEDITION. - - -This expedition, well named "Moscow," will be remembered by the -participants so long as they live. The government had decided to remove -all the Indians to Fort Thompson, a military post on the Missouri, and -after it had been done, it was found a little later that they were -in a starving condition. General Pope communicated this fact to the -authorities at Washington, and that the Indian agent had applied to -him to furnish an escort for a supply train, that would be sent from -Minnesota rather than from Sioux City, Iowa. Three companies were -designated to undertake this perilous journey, and placed in command of -Captain J. C. Whitney, of the Sixth Minnesota. It was impossible to hire -teamsters to go, so an offer of twenty-five cents per day was made to the -soldiers in addition to their $13 per month; but the undertaking was too -hazardous and the offer was refused. The bid was raised until it reached -$1.25 per day extra, when a few soldiers agreed to accept. On the 6th -day of November a partial start was made, but one delay after another -occurred until the case became desperate, and the teamsters finally got -two dollars a day extra. - -The fact was, the soldiers rebelled, and in order to frustrate the plans -of the contractors the wagons were so disabled that it was impossible -to move. Colonel Crooks, of the Sixth Minnesota, took matters in hand -so vigorously that the soldiers knew that the expedition would have to -move at all hazards, and it was foolish and dangerous to object and -waste any more time. Several arrests of mutinous soldiers were made, but -upon promises of better conduct they were released, and the "Moscow" -expedition was finally and fully launched on the 20th day of November, -1863. The undertaking was hazardous, but the men were supplied with the -best of Sibley tents and blankets in plenty. Under the most favorable -circumstances it was not a picnic, but barring the stinging cold days and -colder nights, with a few frozen noses, no serious mishap overtook the -brave soldier boys of this celebrated "Moscow" expedition. - -The return march was by way of Sioux City, Iowa, and the first post in -Minnesota was reached on December 29th, 1863. During the trip the command -encountered severe storms and the thermometer at times fell to 40 degrees -below zero--but thirteen dollars a month in depreciated currency was a -fair compensation. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Camp Pope. - -Where the troops assembled for the campaign of 1863.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -CAMPAIGN OF 1863--CAMP POPE. - - -In October, 1862, General John Pope had informed General Halleck that -five Minnesota regiments could be sent south by November 1, but local -influences were at work to prevent the transfer of troops, as it seemed -very likely that hostilities would be renewed by the Indians again in the -spring, and the demand that the State should be fully protected against -these roving bands was acceded to, and orders were forthwith issued to -the various companies to proceed at once to points designated on the -frontier and go into winter quarters. Rumors were afloat at all times, -but there really was no danger, and the soldiers had little to do but -attend to a light guard duty and while away the tedious hours as best -they could. The campaign of 1863 was planned by General John Pope, and -General H. H. Sibley, who was in command of the district of Minnesota, -with headquarters at St. Paul, was selected to command the Minnesota -column, and General Alfred Sully to command the column that was to -proceed up the west bank of the Missouri. - -These two columns were to co-operate for the final extinction of the -Indians; but the low water of the Missouri prevented the plan from being -carried out. - -The rendezvous of the Sibley column was at a point near the mouth of the -Red Wood River, and twenty-five miles above Fort Ridgely. The forces -comprising the expedition organizing at this point were the Sixth, the -Seventh and the Tenth Regiments of Minnesota Infantry, under Colonels -William Crooks, William R. Marshall and James H. Baker; eight pieces of -artillery, under command of Captain John Jones; the Mounted Rangers, -under Colonel McPhail; Indian scouts and other small detachments, which -brought the force up to 3,052 infantry, 800 cavalry and 146 artillerymen. - -The camp, named in honor of General John Pope, then in command of the -Department of the Northwest, was situated at the mouth of Red Wood -River, in the vicinity of the place where the outbreak was inaugurated. -The various regiments, composed of infantry, cavalry and artillery, -rendezvoused here. Colonel William Crooks, of the Sixth Minnesota, was -in temporary command, and soon after the troops began to assemble, guard -mount, company and regimental drills were the order of the day. - -The land upon which we were encamped was a perfect level, and in order -to attain better discipline, and instruct the men in works of defense, -a complete system of sod breastworks and bastions were erected about -the camp, of sufficient width to admit of the sentinels being placed on -the top of them. It was really a magnificent piece of engineering and -reflected credit on the officer in command. The sentinels were instructed -to "walk the beat" all in the same direction, turn about at the same time -and retrace their steps, so that an enemy could not creep in between -them. This was done to instruct the men in guard duty and keep them out -of mischief, for there really was no danger. - -On the 9th day of June, 1863, the monotony of the camp was relieved -by the arrival of General Sibley and his staff. This official family -consisted of Captain R. C. Olin, A. A. G.; Captain Forbes, brigade -commissary; Captain Atchinson, ordnance officer; Captain Edward L. -Corning, brigade commissary; Captain Kimball, A. Q. M.; First Lieutenants -Douglas Pope, F. J. H. Beaver, Joseph R. Putnam and Charles H. Flandreau, -aides-de-camp, and Rev. S. R. Riggs, brigade chaplain. - -The cannon, placed across the river on the high bluff, boomed forth the -intelligence that the cavalcade of brilliantly uniformed officers was -approaching, and the General doffed his hat in salute as he rode down -the long line of soldiers who stood at "present arms." General Henry H. -Sibley, who had gained the confidence and universal respect and love of -the soldiers, was again with us. - -Soon after his arrival he received the sad intelligence of a beloved -daughter's death. But the responsibilities resting upon him would not -admit of days of mourning; there was no time for communion with grief; -the needs of the hour reminded him of his duty. - -While lying at Camp Pope, General Sibley heard that a party of Indians -were on their way down to the settlements, and would cross Red Wood River -at a certain point the next night. He at once gave orders that my own -company, the one that had sustained such losses at Birch Coolie, should -proceed at once to watch for and intercept this band. We received the -orders at midnight, and with three days' rations, and sixty rounds of -ammunition, started out on our mission in charge of First Lieutenant -Harry J. Gillhams. We had no doctor with us; no team; not even an -ambulance. I never thought our General knew of this, for he was a very -careful man, and the question with me was: "If we are attacked and meet -with losses in killed or wounded what shall we do with them in the -absence of any means of transportation?" - -We arrived at the point designated the next day about noon and halted. -There was no going into camp, for we had no tents. We simply halted and -waited for night and Indians. I was in hopes that the Indians would -not come, and I got my wish. There were others hoping they would come, -and among those most desirous for them to make their appearance were -our three full blooded Indian soldiers we had captured, and who were -present at the various battles the year before. One of them, Joe Alord, a -powerful fellow, claimed to have a grudge against his own people. He said -they had always treated him badly, and he wanted to fight them, but I was -a little suspicious of him--did not think him sincere. This Alord formed -a strong attachment for me, which endured until he was finally mustered -out. He went south with us and stood the climate, and proved himself a -faithful soldier. I at one time saved him from death by his own hands. He -had been punished by the Colonel for an offense of which he said he was -not guilty. I think myself he had been imposed upon, like "Old Dog Tray," -by getting into bad company. The Colonel, as a punishment, ordered him to -parade up and down the square with a bag of sand on his back. This was -galling to the Indian, and calling me to one side, he said: "Sergeant, me -kill me mine self; me kill me mine self!" - -I tried to persuade him from his purpose, but he seemed determined to -carry out his threat, and I watched him closely. I could see he was very -much aggrieved, for to him the humiliation was galling. - -He grabbed a bayonet, and putting it to his breast, attempted to throw -the weight of his body and thus push it through him. I jumped and kicked -it from under him just in time and then put him in a cell until he became -more reconciled. Soon after the close of the war he enlisted in the -regular cavalry, but one morning he was missing. He had deserted, taking -his horse and all his equipments with him; and although he was posted as -a deserter, he was not heard of for many months. - -When heard from it was to the effect that he had gone back to the -Indians, taking the horse and all plunder with him. The old grudge -against him was rekindled and intensified on account of the course he -pursued against his people during the Sioux war, and some of the young -bucks, engaging him in a controversy, it resulted in his death. - -The Indian soldier Miller was inclined to be pious. He served until the -close of the war, and afterwards was caught on the prairie in a severe -thunder storm, from which he took refuge in a barn, which was struck by -lightning and he was killed. The third was named Walker. At the outbreak -he was home on vacation from Bishop Whipple's school at Faribault, Minn., -and was taken prisoner. I have referred to these Indian soldiers once -before. Walker was quite well educated and now lives near St. Paul. - -These three Indian boys were with us on this midnight expedition, and I -felt they would bear watching, because I could not make up my mind to the -fact that they should want to so suddenly turn against their own people. -About midnight the second night an incident happened that gave us some -alarm for a little while. We were all on duty watching and listening -for Indians. You have heard about the burnt child dreading the fire. -Well, we had been seriously burnt at Birch Coolie, and did not relish -another taste of the same sort of fire, and it is not astonishing under -such circumstances how many Indian sounds there are to the square foot. -Every minute some of us heard an Indian sound, and all at once Joe Alord -skipped out in the darkness, and immediately he was followed by Miller. -I at once thought it was treachery, and the same opinion prevailed among -nearly all the boys. I was but a sergeant then and of course could not -assume supreme authority. If I had been in command I should have held -the remaining one as a hostage. He wanted to go after the other two and -gained the consent of the lieutenant to do so, and away he went out in -the darkness. I expected soon to hear the crack of the rifle, for I felt -satisfied that they had proved false to us. After they were gone half an -hour and returned to our lines with the news that the noise they heard -was not Indians we all felt relieved. - -But the half hour was an anxious one, and we were rejoiced to have them -return. The Indians we were sent out to intercept did not appear, and the -next day our little expedition returned to camp. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -"FORWARD MARCH." - - -On the 16th day of June, 1863, with the thermometer 100 degrees in the -shade, all things being in readiness, the column took up the line of -march into the almost unexplored region of Dakota Territory. - -This invading army was composed of nearly five thousand men, with a -pontoon train, and an adequate ammunition and commissary train composed -of 225 four- and six-mule teams; and these, with the troops, really -made a formidable army. The big train, five miles long, was necessary, -because the expedition was headed for an unknown and hostile country, -and expected to traverse a territory totally devoid of vegetables of any -sort, and game would probably be very scarce. - -The force was well organized, and the appearance of the train alone would -awe the whole Sioux nation. It was a season of drouth such as was never -before known in the West. The prairies were literally parched up with the -heat, the grass was burned up, and the sloughs and little streams were -dry. The fierce prairie winds were like the hot siroccos of the desert, -and great clouds of dust, raised by the immense column, could be seen for -miles and were viewed in wonder. We suffered from the heat, the dust and -the weight of our knapsacks, gun and equipments, for the first day. The -second day was as hot and dry, but the knapsacks were much lighter. Any -one, even at this late date and so far removed from the days of the war, -who thinks that a soldier's life is an easy one, that war is a picnic, is -not endowed with common "horse sense." And yet there are those who thus -express themselves. - -The trains were soon being relieved of a part of their load by us drawing -rations, and we had transportation to carry our individual loads. - -I cannot in the few pages allotted me follow the daily march of General -Sibley and his hosts; but will, after a hard day's march of eighteen -prairie miles (twenty-five in God's country), with heavy knapsacks, halt, -stack arms, pitch our tents and direct letters from - - CAMP SIBLEY, - -for such it was named, in honor of our commander. - -The General had decided to observe Sunday as a day of rest, deeming it -necessary for the welfare of man and beast. There is no doubt but better -service was rendered for so doing, and General Sibley was honored for -this proper respect shown the Lord's day. - -The several camps were named after the officers in the command, -the senior officers taking precedence; first, the colonels, then -lieutenant-colonels, etc., etc. Nothing of an unusual nature other than -a prairie fire occurred until we reached camp Atchison, where the forces -were divided, and this will be the subject of a future chapter. - - - - -[Illustration: PRAIRIE ON FIRE.] - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -BURNING PRAIRIE--FIGHTING FIRE. - - -We started out on an exploring expedition to hunt Indians when we left -Camp Pope. On the prairies there are enemies of various sorts--Indians, -dust, heat and fire. The latter is a most formidable weapon with the -Indian if the grass is plentiful and the weather dry, and they can use it -to great advantage if the attacking party is not cool headed. - -Our sentinels were always instructed to report fire at once, no matter -how far off it might appear to be. This enemy came in good time--it -appeared one night when there was a high wind. - -The flames spread, becoming one vast sheet, sweeping over the prairies--a -very roaring cataract of fire, the billows of which reached to the -clouds. Coming on at this rapid, relentless rate, it would envelop and -destroy the whole command. - -To arms! to arms! we are called, by bugle and by drum, and in face of -this enemy, at a "double quick," we march out to meet it. In case of fire -the animals are frenzied, and it was a question at one time whether there -would not be a stampede. - -The only way to conquer this sort of an enemy is to fight fire with -fire, and this is done by burning away from you; so we started our fire, -and as it burned away from us, we took possession of the burnt area as -the fire demon in the rear came roaring on to consume us in his hot -embrace. The red flames roared on high, the dense smoke obscured the moon -and the stars, the atmosphere was stifling and thick with coal black -dust, and the roar, as the fire fiend rolled on towards us, would have -struck terror to the stoutest heart did we not know that his fury would -soon be spent. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -DEATH OF LITTLE CROW. - - -We will halt the column for a little and hunt in another direction for -Little Crow. He had not been captured and would not surrender after the -battle of Wood Lake in 1862. Carried away with the idea that he would -receive proper recognition and the confidence of the Indians he started -away towards the British dominions. Devil's Lake was always a favorite -"summer resort" for the Indians, and perhaps we can find him there. - -In the State of Dakota, nearly five hundred miles west from St. Paul, -Minn., is the celebrated Minnewakan, or Devil's Lake. It is about -sixty-five miles in length, and its waters are as salt as are those of -the ocean. The immediate shores are part timber and part prairie; but a -mile beyond, the country is one vast rolling prairie, destitute of trees, -and dotted over with little lakes of salt water. This inland sea is a -romantic place, and is well filled with fish, and game quite plentifully -can be found there. Among other things are sea gulls and swan. The shore -of the lake is covered with petrified wood, and the bones of fishes and -animals are in abundance. - -To this neighborhood Little Crow and his followers, after the defeat -at Wood Lake, Minn., wended their way and encamped, where they were -joined by nearly all the Minnesota Sioux who had not surrendered or -been captured. There were in all about 4,000 souls, and among them were -Yanktonais. During the winter the chief sent out runners with messages -and presents to many of the Western tribes, and endeavored to enlist them -as allies in a general war. - -About the first of June Little Crow went to St. Joseph and Fort Garry to -gain recognition from the British, as well as to obtain ammunition, but -both were refused him. - -When at St. Joseph Little Crow had on a black coat with velvet collar, -a lady's fine shawl adorned his head, and another was knotted around -his waist. He had discarded his rifle, and carried a pistol instead, -which latter was one of his trophies from the last summer's raid. He had -learned of the deportation of his friends to the Missouri, of which the -white residents there had as yet received no information. Crow received -the news in advance from an Indian who had outstripped the regular mail. -He and sixty of his braves had a war dance, after which he made a speech, -in which he said that he considered himself as good as dead, but that he -still had plenty of warriors upon whom he could rely, and would not be -caught during the summer. He failed to get the recognition he thought -he was entitled to as commander-in-chief of the Sioux army then in the -field. It is a little strange that he could not be recognized, when -cannibal kings from the islands of the sea can get recognition, and the -devotees of royalty will tumble over each other to pay their respects to -a lecherous, murderous Turk. - -Being disappointed in this, he made up his mind to slip through the -cordon of posts that had been established for the protection of the -people, and while General Sibley with his army was hunting for him -away towards the Missouri, he would, single-handed and alone, go horse -stealing down in the settlements. - -Alas! How are the mighty fallen! From a commander-in-chief, seeking -recognition of a foreign nation, he at once becomes a vagabond horse -thief. - -His son, Crow, Jr., was his only confidant, and to him he said: - -"I am getting old and cannot fight the white men, but will go below, -steal horses from them for you children, so you may be comfortable, and -then I can go away where they cannot catch me." - -The whole party that went with the fallen chief numbered sixteen men and -one squaw. - -Crow, Jr., whose Indian name was Wa-wi-nap-a (one who appeareth), -was with his father near Hutchinson, Minn., picking berries to "stay -their stomachs," when they were discovered by a Mr. Lamson and his son -Chauncey. This was Friday evening, July 3, 1863, and the skirmish that -followed between Crow, his son, and the Lamsons prevented the Sioux chief -from celebrating the Fourth of July in any sort of patriotic manner, for -two shots from the trusty rifle of Mr. Lamson sent Crow's soul on its -eternal mission to the happy hunting ground of his fathers. Mr. Lamson -and his son were out in the country and they saw two Indians picking -berries in an "opening" in the woods. The Indians did not discover the -white men, who were taking aim at them. Mr. Lamson had crept cautiously -forward among the vines and rested his gun against a tree and fired. His -first shot took effect, but not a deadly one, as evinced by the loud -yell of his victim, who fell to the ground severely wounded. - -With prudence and caution Mr. Lamson retreated a short distance, where he -could obtain shelter from behind some bushes. - -The wounded Indian, not to be foiled, crept after him, and thus they were -brought face to face. Another shot from the white man and the Indian was -dead. His companions, his own son and another Indian, mounted a horse and -fled. - -The Indian's shot, however, had not gone amiss, for it lodged in Mr. -Lamson's shoulder, and he being some distance from his son, was supposed -by him to be killed. The son returned to town to give the alarm. A quick -response brought men to the scene of conflict, where they found the dead -Indian, but Mr. Lamson was missing. A singular thing about it was that -Crow was laid out, his head resting on his rolled-up coat, and he had a -new pair of moccasins on. It would appear as though his son returned to -make sure of his father's death, and finding him dead, he performed this -last deed.[A] - -[Footnote A: Brown's Valley, Minn., Nov. 30.--Nathan Lamson, the man who, -during the Indian outbreak in Minnesota in 1862, killed Little Crow, the -famous Sioux chieftain, died to-day on his farm across the line in South -Dakota, aged 96.--[Chicago Times-Herald, Dec. 1, 1896.] - -Mr. Lamson's wound was a severe one, but he made his way back to his -home, which he reached about two o'clock the next morning. Little Crow's -body was brought to town, and the coat he had on was recognized as -belonging to a man who had been found murdered some weeks before. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Mr. Lamson Shooting Little Crow near Hutchinson, Minn., in August, -1863.] - -The body of this murderous old chief, after it lay in state on the ground -for a day or two, was dumped into an unhonored grave, and no tears of -regret were shed for him. While this was being done down in Minnesota, a -military train five miles long was in pursuit of him up in Dakota; and -the news did not reach General Sibley for two weeks. The description -given of this Indian was so accurate that the General said it was no -other than Little Crow. This again was corroborated by his son, who was -some weeks after captured in a starving condition. - -Thus ended the ignominious life of Little Crow, the great Sioux chief who -had influenced his people to believe that the time had come for them to -reclaim their lost empire. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -LITTLE CROW, JR.--HIS CAPTURE. - - -After the death of Crow, senior, as narrated in the preceding chapter, -his son and heir, Wo-wi-nap-a, becomes an important character in this -chapter, and we will follow him and hear what he has to say about his -father's death. - -When he was satisfied that his father was dead he started off he knew not -where. He was a fugitive, a miserable creature, bereft of home, country -and parents--a human being without a country, but with a soul--in a land -where every hand was raised against him; a fugitive from an enraged white -people because of the sins of his father. He hid by day and travelled by -night until beyond the white settlements. He was captured by a company -of soldiers who were out hunting Indians in the region of Devil's Lake, -Dakota. When captured he was in a starving condition and glad to get even -among Uncle Sam's soldiers. He was questioned as to his father and where -he had been. He said: - -"I am the son of Little Crow; my name is Wo-wi-nap-a, and I am sixteen -years old. Father said he was getting old and wanted me to go with him -to carry his bundles. He left his wives and other children behind. There -were sixteen men and one squaw in the party that went below with us. We -had no horses, but walked all the way down to the settlements. Father and -I were picking red berries near Scattered Lake at the time he was shot. -It was near night. He was hit the first time in the side, just above the -hip. His gun and mine were lying on the ground. He took up my gun and -fired it first, and then fired his own. He was shot the second time while -firing his own gun. The ball struck the stock of the gun and then hit him -in the side near the shoulder. This was the shot that killed him. He told -me that he was killed and asked me for water, which I gave him. He died -immediately after. When I heard the first shot fired I laid down and the -man did not see me before father was killed. - -"A short time before father was killed an Indian named Hi-a-ka, who -married the daughter of my father's second wife, came to him. He had a -horse with him, also a gray-colored blanket that he had taken from a man -whom he had killed, to the north of where father was killed. He gave the -coat to my father, telling him that he would need it when it rained, as -he had no coat with him. Hi-a-ka said he had a horse now and was going -north. He further said that the Indians who went down with them had -separated, and he had not seen them since." - -After the death of his father Young Crow took both guns and started for -Devil's Lake. He had no ammunition, but found a cartridge and cut it into -slugs. With this he shot a wolf and ate some of it. His strength gave -out, and twenty-six days after his father was killed he was captured. - -The old chief was a great wooer of the fair sex, for his son said of him: - -"My father had two wives before he took my mother; the first one had one -son, the second a son and daughter; the third wife was my mother. After -taking my mother he put away the first two; he had seven children by my -mother; six are dead; I am the only one living now; the fourth wife had -four children born; do not know whether any died or not; two were boys, -two were girls; the fifth wife had five children; three of them are dead, -two are living; the sixth wife had three children; all of them are dead; -the oldest was a boy, the other two were girls; the last four wives were -sisters." - -This young savage was cared for and finally sent away to the reservation. -Having found the whereabouts of Little Crow and disposed of him, we will -return to the command. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - -CAMP ATCHISON--GEORGE A. BRACKETT'S ADVENTURE--LIEUTENANT FREEMAN'S DEATH. - - -Camp Atchison was the most important of all the camps on the whole route. -It was here the General was visited by some three hundred Chippewa -half-breeds, led by a Catholic priest named Father Andre, who told him -that the Indians, hearing that General Sully, who was marching up the -west side of the Missouri with a large body of troops, was delayed on -account of low water, were deflecting their course in the hope of being -reinforced by the Sioux inhabiting the country west of the Missouri. - -The General, upon becoming satisfied of this, decided to push on as -rapidly as possible after them, and to facilitate the movement he formed -a permanent post at Camp Atchison, which is located about fifty miles -southeast from Devil's Lake, where he left all the sick and broken-down -men, and a large portion of his ponderous train, with a sufficient guard -to protect them if attacked. With these arrangements completed, the -column, with twenty-five days' rations for 1,500 infantry, 500 cavalry, -100 pioneers and artillery, started by forced marches to overtake the -Indians before they reached the Missouri River. - -On the morning of July 20th the General, with his selected men and -reduced train, left Camp Atchison to pursue the Indians and engage them -in battle. Attached to the expedition in the capacity of contractor -was Mr. George A. Brackett, who met with an experience, the memory of -which will remain with him during his life. It is most interesting and -exciting, and his own version of it, as narrated at the "camp fire" when -he found his old St. Anthony friends and Captain Chase's company, known -as the "Pioneers," will be read with interest. Mr. Brackett says: - -On the fourth day out, in company with Lieutenant Ambrose Freeman, of the -Mounted Rangers, we left the main column for the purpose of adventure -and game. I had my train started and in good hands, and got permission -for the Lieutenant to accompany me. Five miles away, having met nothing -worthy of note, we surveyed the country from the summit of a range of -hills, when we saw several scouts not very far away. We struck a parallel -course, believing we were moving in the same direction as the main -column. While watering our horses in the lake, we espied two other scouts -on the opposite side doing the same thing. We then moved farther on, over -the range of bluffs, covering about three-quarters of a mile. We followed -along parallel, or perhaps a little to the left of the main body, a -distance of three miles. Lieutenant Freeman saw three antelopes, an old -one and two young ones, in the distance. We fired and wounded the old -one, who made off around the bluff. I held the Lieutenant's horse and he -chased her on foot, which took us off our course some distance round the -bluffs. We traversed a section of country bordering a large lake, near -which we succeeded in killing the antelope. - -As we were coming down to the lake and while the Lieutenant was creeping -up toward the antelope, I again saw scouts on the opposite side of the -lake, and the train was in sight on the hillside several miles distant. -Instead of taking our course back, we had a curiosity to go around the -lake to where we saw the scouts. On our way around we saw cherry bushes -newly cut and piled up, and I set about to tear them down. Lieutenant -Freeman persisted in saying that they were Indian signs and that Indians -were in the vicinity. In preparation for them we cocked our rifles and -made around the bushes, so as not to put ourselves in a too exposed -position. We took our course, as we supposed, towards the train, or where -the train had recently passed. - -Between one and two o'clock we discovered three objects a long distance -off, but between us and the train's course, and making for the train. -This action, as soon as we came near enough to judge, convinced us that -they were Indians, yet we kept on toward them, and they were making -preparations to meet us, one leading and the other two riding their -horses. We got all ready to give them a trial, they creeping around on -one side of the bluff and we creeping around to meet them. I saw one -with a straw hat on rise up and recognized him as one of our scouts. He -beckoned us to come towards him. From all the description I had of him I -supposed him to be Chaska, and the other two were full blood Sioux. Both -had government horses, and armed, one with a Springfield and the other a -carbine. I asked him where General Sibley was. They pointed to a hill, -I should judge, three miles away from where we stood, in the direction -where the train passed. - -I saw a large number of men on a bluff, judged to be about two hundred -in number, whom I supposed to be General Sibley's men looking for us. We -all started directly for them, and as we did so, saw what we supposed -to be a guard of cavalry starting towards us. After we had started the -scouts turned to a little lake to water their horses, but the Lieutenant -and myself having previously watered ours, did not go with them. We still -saw the cavalry, as we supposed, about fifteen in number, coming towards -us. - -I remarked to Lieutenant Freeman that they must have turned back, as -they had disappeared and were out of sight. We were soon surprised, -however, by seeing fifteen Indians charging upon us as with a flag of -truce; but they were not coming evidently in a friendly spirit, as they -fired a volley upon us. I yelled to the scouts that they were Indians, -and remarked to Lieutenant Freeman that we had better at once join -the scouts, which we endeavored to do. When we got within twenty or -twenty-five rods of the scouts we were riding about three rods apart. One -Indian rode up to Lieutenant Freeman and shot an arrow through his back, -on the left side, and at the same time another Indian dismounted and -discharged his gun at me, but I laid low on my horse's neck, as close as -I possibly could, and he shot over me, and Chaska stepped up to the top -of a knoll and shot this same Indian who had fired at me. - - ------------------------------------------ - - [Illustration: George A. Brackett Telling the Thrilling Story of His - Escape to the Members of Capt. Chase's Company of "Pioneers."] - - ------------------------------------------ - - THE MINNESOTA MASSACRE OF 1862. - - Price, to any address, { 60 Cents in Paper. - { $1.00 and $1.50 in Cloth. - - _A. P. CONNOLLY, Chicago._ - - ------------------------------------------ - -As Lieutenant Freeman dropped from his horse I asked him if he was hurt. -He replied, "I am gone." He wished me to cut a piece of string which -was around his neck, and supported a part of the antelope which he was -carrying. As I cut the string he changed his position more on his side -and more up hill. He asked faintly for water, which I gave him from my -canteen, and by this time the scouts had mounted their horses and left -us. The Indians were then all around us, and one at the side of the lake; -but as the scouts ran toward them they fell back. Lieutenant Freeman, -by this time being dead, I took his rifle and revolver and followed the -scouts as fast as I could. The Indians mentioned as near the lake, seeing -the Lieutenant's horse, which followed me, left us and started for the -horse, thus enabling me to overtake the scouts. The Indians succeeded in -catching the horse, and the whole crowd again started after us. We rode -for about four miles, when we were overtaken and surrounded by them by -the side of a little marsh. We all jumped from our horses. The scouts -made motions and ran up to meet them, but Chaska motioned for me to jump -into the tall rushes on the marsh. I saw nothing more of the scouts, and -the Indians all rushed down to where the horses were. I cocked my rifle, -and lay in the rushes within ten feet of where they were, and heard them -quarrel about the possession of the horses. They presently settled their -dispute and started off, for fear, as I supposed, of being overtaken by -some of our forces. They took their course around the marsh in which -I lay for an hour; this was about three p. m. A shower came up, and -immediately after it cleared I started on my course, with the sun to my -back, and traveled for two hours. I followed this direction for two days, -stopping in marshes during the night. On the evening of the second day I -struck a river of clear water, about a quarter of a mile wide, running -in a southerly direction. Next morning I started due south, and traveled -until almost night, when I took a westerly course, concluding that the -trail was not in that direction; traveled a little to north of west, and -struck Gen. Sibley's trail the afternoon of the third day, about twelve -miles from where we camped the night before. I left the main column, -and made the deserted camp that night. I started next morning on the -back track for Camp Atchison, and made the painful journey in two days, -arriving there the second night, between eight and nine o'clock, making -the distance of the four camps in two days, bare-headed, barefooted and -coatless. I was obliged to leave my rifle on the last day of my travel, -but I could not carry it any farther, and made up my mind that this would -probably be my last day. It was probably about nine o'clock, and I was -about to give up when I came to a few tents and found them to be those of -the Pioneers (Captain Chase's company of the Ninth Minnesota Infantry), -and fell to the ground faint and unable to rise again. But, thank God! -around that fire were sitting some of my old St. Anthony friends, who -kindly picked me up and carried me to my tent. - -I lost my coat, hat and knife in the fight the first day, so I took -Lieutenant Freeman's knife, and with it made moccasins of my boot legs, -as my boots so chafed my feet in walking that I could not possibly wear -them. These improvised moccasins were constantly getting out of repair, -and my knife was much needed to keep them in order for use, as well as -to make them in the first place. But just before reaching the trail of -the expedition on the fifth day I lost the knife, and the loss, I felt -at the time, would have decided my fate if I had much farther to go. -But a kind Providence was in my favor, for almost the first object that -greeted my eyes upon reaching the trail was a knife, old and worn to be -sure, but priceless to me. This incident some may deem a mere accident, -but let such a one be placed in my situation at that time and he would -feel with me that it was given in answer to a prayer made to the great -Giver of Good. On the third day, about ten miles from the river spoken -of, I left Lieutenant Freeman's rifle on the prairie because I became too -weak to carry it longer; besides, it had already been so damaged by rain -that I could not use it. I wrote upon it that Lieutenant Freeman had been -killed, and named the course I was then pursuing. The pistol I retained -and brought with me to Camp Atchison. - -While wandering I lived on cherries, roots, birds' eggs, young birds and -frogs, caught by my hands, all my ammunition but one cartridge having -been spoiled by the rain of the first day. That cartridge had a gutta -percha case and was preserved. It was my only hope for fire when I should -need it, or when I dared venture to make one. I had also some water-proof -percussion caps in my portmanteau, which were also put to good use. I -took one-half the powder in the cartridge, with a percussion cap, and -with the use of my pistol and some dried grass, started a fire at which -I cooked a young bird. How did I catch the bird? Well, Providence again -favored me, and as I was lying low and making no noise, the bird wandered -so near that by firing a stick I had with me in such a manner as to make -it whirl horizontally, it struck the bird on the side of the head and -broke its neck. This was on the second night. On the fourth I used the -remainder of the cartridge in the same way and for a like purpose. The -rest of the time I ate my food uncooked. Except some hard bread (found at -the fourth camp mentioned above), which had been fried and then thrown -in the ashes. I have forgotten one sweet morsel (and all were sweet -and very palatable to me), viz., some sinews spared by wolves from a -buffalo carcass. As near as I am able to judge I traveled in the seven -days at least two hundred miles. I had ample means for a like journey -in civilized localities, but for the first time in my life found gold -and silver coin not legal tender. My boot-leg moccasins saved me, for -a walk of ten miles upon such a prairie, barefooted, would stop all -farther progress of any person accustomed to wearing covering upon the -feet. The exposure at night, caused more particularly by lying in low -and wet places, in order to hide myself, was more prostrating to me than -scarcity of food. The loneliness of the prairies would have been terrible -in itself, but for the drove of wolves that after the first day hovered, -in the day time, at a respectful distance, and at night howled closely -around me, seemingly sure that my failing strength would soon render me -an easy prey. But a merciful Providence has spared my life by what seems -now, even to myself, almost a miracle. - -The body of Lieutenant Freeman was afterwards found and buried by members -of General Sibley's main force. An arrow had pierced his breast, and the -tomahawk and scalping knife had left bloody traces about his head. He was -buried on the desolate plain, five hundred miles away from his beloved, -bereaved wife and children. After the war closed his body was exhumed, -carried to his late home, and re-interred by loving hands, with all the -honors due a brave soldier. The peculiar circumstances of his death, my -last moments with him, my subsequent days of weary, dangerous wandering, -my suffering, anxiety and happy deliverance have made an impression upon -my memory so indelible that time has not, nor cannot efface them. - -My friend Brackett and myself came to St. Anthony, Minn., on the same -day, May 1st, 1857, and we "put up" at the same hotel, and it is most -interesting to hear him relate this wonderful adventure and marvelous -escape. He yet lives to tell the story, and poor Freeman! It seemed sad -to leave him in his lonely grave on the prairie wild, but such is the -fate of war. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - -BATTLE OF BIG MOUND. - - -A few days after leaving Camp Atchison scouts began to report to General -Sibley that Indians in large numbers were between us and the hills -beyond. Everything indicated this, and the evidences were that we were -soon to have a battle. - -We came in sight of the Indians every day, but nothing decisive until -July 24th, when we overtook them. Scouts reported a large body of -Indians, with Red Plume and Standing Buffalo among them, encamped by the -very lake near which the General intended camping. Standing Buffalo was -not there as a hostile, and it was a surprise all around. The General, -satisfying himself that a determined resistance would be offered us, -corralled his train and made such disposition of the troops as he deemed -necessary. It was here where Dr. Weiser, of the First Minnesota Rangers, -was killed while parleying with a delegation from the hostile camp, and -it was treachery, pure and simple. The battle was opened by Whipple's -battery, and while the cannon boomed and sent leaden hail and death -among the fleeing Indians, the artillery of Heaven opened amid a furious -thunder storm, and a private of Colonel McPhail's command was killed. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Battle of Big Mound, Dakota. - -Fought between General Sibley's forces and the Sioux, on July 24th, 1863. -The Indians were defeated.] - -The Indians in this affair lost eighty-seven killed and wounded and a -vast amount of property. - -A portion of our command made forty-six miles that day. My own regiment -was ordered in pursuit, and we followed them for ten miles, after having -already marched eighteen. An order had been sent by an aide for the -pursuing troops to bivouac where they were, but being misunderstood, -instead of camping, as it was intended, we returned, having been on the -march all night. As we came into camp we found that an early reveille had -been sounded, and the troops were about ready to march. The part of the -command that had joined in the pursuit and returned during the night was -so completely exhausted that the whole force was compelled to rest for -a day. This battle was a decided victory, counting heavily in the scale -of advantage, as it put the savages on the run to a place of safety and -materially disabled them from prosecuting further hostilities. - -After the battle of the Big Mound, as narrated, the command was compelled -to take one day's rest on account of the over-taxed condition of the -troops. The next day we marched over the same ground, and it was a -comical yet interesting sight to witness the wholesale abandonment of -buffalo robes, camp equipage and "jerked" meat; robes by the thousands -and meat by the tons had been thrown away by the Indians in their hurry -to get out of harm's way. We found dogs that had been harnessed up and -loaded down with cooking utensils, dead;--they had died from sheer -exhaustion. The prairies as far as the eye could penetrate on either side -presented this condition of abandonment by the Indians, of their property -and winter's supply of food. As far as the eye could penetrate on either -hand were evidences of their hasty flight, as if swept with the besom -of God's wrath. The men would "right about" and fight the soldiers, and -then turn, and running towards their fleeing families, urge them to still -greater exertion to get away from the avenging army. - -In the sand on the bank of the lake, I found a tiny papoose moccasin, and -could see the imprint and count each separate toe of the little foot in -the sand, as it probably was dragged along by the anxious mother, who was -too heavily laden to carry her little baby. I thought,--poor, helpless -child, not in the least responsible for its unhappy condition, and yet -made to suffer. So with all classes of God's humanity;--the innocent too -often made to suffer, not only with the guilty, but for the guilty, and -in our decisions we should be careful lest we injure innocent persons. -The fresh made graves we found on this trail told their sorrowful -story,--the little Indian spirit had taken its flight,--the body was -buried and the heart-broken mother hurried on to keep up with her people, -and get away from the army. - - - - -[Illustration: Ready to Go Into Action.] - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - -BATTLE OF DEAD BUFFALO LAKE. - - -After the decisive battle of the Big Mound the Indians made up their -minds evidently that the army and destruction was in their rear, and -their Rubicon must be reached and crossed or annihilation was their -portion, hence activity was apparent among them. The great impediment to -their active work in the field and hasty flight was their families, and -it required good generalship to successfully manage this retreating host. - -The next decisive engagement with them was fought on July 26th; known as -the battle of "Dead Buffalo Lake," so designated from the fact that the -carcass of a big buffalo was found on its shores. - -This day strict orders had been given that there should be no shooting -within the lines. This was made necessary from the fact of a soldier -having been wounded the day before from the careless use of a rifle in -the hands of a comrade. We were going along at an easy jog, when all at -once a beautiful deer went bounding along. He seemed terribly frightened, -and evidently had been surprised by the skirmishers ahead. All orders -were forgotten, and a general stampede was made for this beautiful deer. -Shots were fired after him, but he made his escape, and it did seem too -bad, for we were hungry for deer meat. The general thought we had met -the Indians again, and aides were sent to the front, with orders for the -proper disposition of the troops. As the Indians were known to be in -large numbers not far ahead, the General was pardoned for his surmises. - -We passed their abandoned camp early in the morning, but about noon the -scouts reported a large body of Indians coming down upon us from various -directions. The command was placed in line of battle, and soon the -skirmishers, in command of Colonel William Crooks, opened fire, supported -by Lieutenant Whipple's six-pounder. - -The savages came swooping down on us, and it seemed as though they sprang -up out of the earth, so numerous were they. - -There were those among them who knew something of the tactics of war, -and they attempted a vigorous flank movement on the left of the column, -which was promptly checked by Captain Taylor and his mounted Rangers. -Another determined attack was made which was handsomely repulsed by two -companies of the Sixth Minnesota, under Colonel Averill. - -A running fire was kept up until about three o'clock, when a bold dash -was made to stampede the animals which were herded on the bank of a lake. - -This attempt was promptly met and defeated by Wilson's and Davy's cavalry -and six companies of the Sixth Minnesota, under Major McLaren. The -Indians, foiled at all points, and having suffered serious losses in -killed and wounded, retired from the field, and galloped away after their -families, who, a few miles ahead, were hurrying on towards the Missouri -river. Our animals were so jaded they could not stand a forced march. The -reason was very apparent. We had our regular rations, while the horses -and mules were on short rations on account of the hot weather burning up -the grass, and, besides, the alkali water was as bad for beast as for man. - -We were obliged to dig wells every night for water before we could get -our supper, for we could not use the water from the alkali lakes. As many -as sixty wells were dug in a night. Think of it,--each company obliged -to dig a well in order to get water for supper, but this was one of the -daily duties of the soldier. It is astonishing how the "boys in blue" -could adapt themselves to every condition and circumstance. I am on a -tender spot now,--"the boys in blue." 'Tis true times are changed; a -few of us are alive yet, and perhaps we are just a little bit "stuck on -ourselves"; but, "the old soldier," as we are now dubbed, cannot forget -"the boys in blue." In a few years more a new generation will have -control of our government, but the wonderful years from 1861 to 1865 will -not be forgotten. If we do not give our government, body and soul, into -the hands of foreigners who cannot speak our language it is possible that -the memory of the "boys in blue" will remain with us for a time yet. They -were a mighty host then, and the tramp, tramp, tramp of their feet as -they marched to defeat and victory will go down the centuries;--but, I -must come back to my narrative. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - -BATTLE OF STONY LAKE--CAPTURE OF A TETON--DEATH OF LIEUTENANT BEAVER. - - -On the morning of July 28th, just as the command was breaking camp at -Stony Lake, we were attacked by Indians, in full force. - -General Sibley had the expeditionary forces so well in hand that the -enemy could not possibly do us any harm. We halted but a moment, as some -of the scouts came riding furiously towards us, followed by Indians -intent on their capture. The boys cheered as they came within our -lines. The battery was ordered to the front, and soon threw a shell -among the Indians, who then galloped around on the flank, while another -squad came immediately upon our rear; but, the whole column, in a solid -square, moved on. The engagement took place on the prairie, and it was -a beautiful sight to see the regularity with which the column moved. -First, two companies of cavalry skirmishers, and at a proper interval -two companies of infantry; the same order was preserved in the rear, and -flankers on the right and left, so as to form a hollow square. In the -center were the reserve troops, stores of all sorts, and the artillery. - -The teams were so fixed as to make it impossible to get up a stampede. -The Indians resort to their peculiar tactics to stampede the teams,--they -tried it to its fullest extent on this occasion, but without avail. They -did not impede our progress in the least, and as the column moved right -along, they soon gave up the attempt, and we pressed them so closely they -allowed the killed and wounded to fall into our hands. The casualties -were light, because the shells that were thrown among them did but little -damage. - -The cavalry in this case was effective, and crowded the Indians, as they -charged them with drawn sabre. - -This was the last stand the Indians made in a body, and they hastened -on towards the Missouri river, which they finally crossed at a point -near where Bismarck, North Dakota, now stands. They made a determined -resistance, and had been repulsed in three successive engagements, and -their situation was critical in the extreme,--the victorious army in the -rear and the Missouri in front. - -After the Indians had given up the fight and had ridden ahead to urge -their families on, and we had buried the dead and cared for the wounded, -we pushed on after them. - -A young Teton chief, who was out on a tour of observation, was captured -by some of the cavalry, and the circumstances and manner in which it was -done are interesting. - -Thousands of us saw the strange object, but the men who captured him were -the more interested observers, and the narrator says: - -"As the scouts approached it, a dark, motionless object was seen lying -upon the ground. Coming nearer, some one cried out: 'It's an old buffalo -robe'; but, as one stooped to pick it up, it sprang from the earth and -bounded off like a deer, arms extended, and flying swiftly, in a zig-zag -manner. It was a broad mark for the carbines, but where in it was the -motive power? It was impossible to tell. Some thirty shots were fired, -all hitting the robe, but still he kept on with the same zig-zag motion, -so that it was impossible to hit him. - -[Illustration: Designed by A. P. Connolly. - -Battle of Stony Lake, Dakota, July 28th, 1863. - -Indians defeated and slaughtered in great numbers by General Sibley's -troops.] - -"At last one of the guides reined up near him and, placing a revolver to -his head, fired, but he dodged and escaped the ball. - -"He now stopped, dropped the robe, and threw up both hands, in token of -surrender." - -The robe he wore was literally riddled with bullets, but not a scratch -upon the body of the Indian. His gallantry and his lordly bearing won the -admiration of his captors, and placing him behind one of the scouts they -bore him away in triumph, and presented him to General Sibley, to whom -he extended his hand in friendly salute, but which was declined until he -had made his statement, and assured the General that his hands were not -stained with innocent blood. Being thus convinced, General Sibley shook -him by the hand, and they became friends. He belonged to the Teton band, -which is one of the largest divisions of the Dakota Nation. They lived -west of the Missouri, and his information was that they were interested -observers, but had no sympathy with, nor taking no part in, the war. - -He and his father, who was one of the head chiefs, were out on a visit -to the Yanktonians, and, learning that they were soon to have a fight -with the soldiers, his curiosity prompted him to go as an observer. His -curiosity was satisfied, and he retired with the balance, but had stopped -in a clump of grass to allow his pony to graze. While here he had fallen -asleep, and the pony was the object that first attracted the attention -of the scouts, which resulted in the Indian's capture, as above narrated. - -He was a prisoner with us for five days, during which time he was treated -with some consideration as the heir apparent to the chieftainship of his -tribe. He was about twenty years old; a fine looking fellow, tall and -athletic. He became strongly attached to the General and the staff. - -General Sibley afterwards learned of this Indian's death. He had given -the boy, on his departure, a letter to his father, commending him for -refusing to take up the tomahawk against the whites, and in appreciation -of this, that he had kept the son for a few days in his camp and then -gave him his liberty, so that he might return to his own people. It was -good policy, because the letter, being found in his possession, indicated -to the Indians that General Sibley was not responsible for his death. - -A few days after his departure, a party of miners, who had been up in -Idaho, were coming down the Missouri river, and at the very place where -our men had reached the river and filled their canteens the Indians were -lying in wait for the descending miners. - -The young Teton desired peace, and rushed toward them waving General -Sibley's letter over his head. They, not understanding his signal, shot -him to death, when they were at once surrounded by the exasperated -Indians, and a battle, short and decisive, was fought, and every man of -the miners was killed, but not before twice their number of Indians had -shared the same fate. - -This was another sad chapter of this unholy war. - -The Indians now approached the river, but, owing to the thick underbrush, -were obliged to abandon all their carts,--their ponies they took with -them, but their winter's supply of meat they abandoned. - -Our skirmish line was formed at three paces, but even then it was -impossible to observe a line, so thick were the weeds and underbrush. The -enemy was sighted, and an advance ordered, when the line moved forward, -and after an hour of hard work, we, like De Soto, when he discovered the -Mississippi, gazed in admiration on its prototype,--the Missouri. - -After having for weeks drank the brackish water of the prairie lakes, we -drank from this sweet though turbid stream, and were refreshed, as were -the children of Israel, who partook of the cool water from the stricken -rock. - -While drinking and wading in the stream, we were fired upon from the -opposite shore, although a flag of truce had been raised. The Indians' -bullets fell short of their mark, but the retreat was sounded, and we -marched back for the open prairie, and returned to our camp, which was -situated on a beautiful plateau a few miles below. The brush was so thick -that the Indians were obliged to abandon all of their carts and camp -equipage, with thousands of buffalo robes, and tons of dried meat. The -rout of the Indians and destruction of property was complete. - -Our casualties were very light; but, among the killed was Lieutenant -Beaver, an English lord, who came to this country to engage in a buffalo -hunt; but, upon his arrival, learning of the Indian outbreak, tendered -his services to the Government, and was commissioned a lieutenant on -General Sibley's staff, as aide-de-camp. He had been sent by General -Sibley with an order to Colonel Crooks, who was in command of the -advance, and, on his return, he and his beautiful black horse were -killed. - -Colonel Crooks said to Lieutenant Beaver that the regiment would return -as soon as the skirmishers could be rallied, and invited him to remain -and ride with him back to camp, but the aide, true soldier that he was, -felt it his duty to report to General Sibley at once, and paid the -penalty. - -The Indians, some at least, not being able to cross the river, were in -hiding, and others had re-crossed, and were skulking in the thick brush, -waiting for a chance to shoot with arrows. Lieutenant Beaver had mistaken -the path he came in on, and took one that led him on to some of these -skulking Indians, and he thus met his death. - -Colonel Crooks returned, and though Lieutenant Beaver messed with him, -his tent was at General Sibley's headquarters, and his absence from mess -was not noticed until, upon inquiry at the General's tent, it was found -he had not reported. The sudden disappearance of one who was such a -general favorite cast a gloom over the camp. - -As soon as it became dark fire rockets were sent up, in hopes that if he -was wandering away, through taking a wrong road, he might be guided back -to camp. The early morning found us astir, for a detail of my regiment -had been made to reconnoiter and to skirmish clear down to the bank of -the river, in order to gain tidings of Lieutenant Beaver, and, also, of -Private Miller, of the Sixth Regiment, who also was missing. - -The reconnoissance proved successful, and both bodies were found, as well -as the body of the lieutenant's horse. Lieutenant Beaver had evidently -made a desperate fight for his life, because his two revolvers were -empty, and the indications were that he had made more than one of the -enemy bite the dust. - -[Illustration: Sighting the Enemy on the Missouri.] - -The bodies were brought to camp and prepared for burial in the trenches -on opposite sides of the camp, and the work was so done as to obliterate -all signs and prevent the Indians from locating the spots and desecrating -the graves. The service was touchingly solemn, and many tears were shed, -as we thought of these lonely graves so far away from the homes of the -living relatives. - -Lieutenant Beaver had friends in England who were abundantly able to have -his remains disinterred and removed to a more suitable place of burial. -Money was sent out from England for this purpose, and trusted agents sent -up to the Missouri banks for the purpose of bringing back the remains. -There is a grave at Graceland, in St. Paul, on the top of which rests a -slab of granite, and engraven on this are the words: - -"Sacred to the memory of Lieutenant F. J. H. Beaver, who died July 28, -1863. Peace to his ashes." - -On the banks of the Missouri is a lonely grave. The winter's storms and -the summer's heat have come and gone. The night vigils of the strange -birds have been kept, the requiem of gentle breezes has been sung over -this lonely grave. Comrade Nicholas Miller, private of Company K, Sixth -Minnesota Infantry Volunteers, sleeps in his lonely bed, and "after -life's fitful fever he sleeps well." - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - -HOMEWARD BOUND. - - -We remained but two days at this Missouri camp, when the reveille sounded -early in the morning of August 1st, and the troops were astir. We were -a long way from home, and on short rations; and, in addition to this, -we felt some anxiety about the boys we left at Camp Atchison, having -heard nothing from them. The sun was very hot the day we left; one of -the kind the boys called "muggy,"--disagreeable in the extreme. At dress -parade the night before, we received the compliments of the General in -orders read, announcing that the purpose of the expedition had been -accomplished. This was, of course, good news to us, and we speculated as -to how early a date would find us taking leave of this far-away camp. - -The scouts reported to the General that Indians had been crossing the -river below us all day long, and the indications were that they intended -to make an attack about midnight, in order to steal our teams. With this -information before him, General Sibley ordered one-half the command out -on guard, and the balance to lay on their arms. In an hour or so another -order came, for the balance of the command to reinforce the guard, -because there surely would be an attack, and it did come about twelve -o'clock; but the attempt to capture the teams miscarried; for, after a -few shots, the Indians retired. Having lost nearly all of their wagons -and cured meat, they were in a desperate condition, and a commissary -train would have been a rich prize. - -On the morning we left it was astonishing how quickly we got ready, and -how lonesome the canvas city looked after the bugle sounded "strike -tents." We marched out this fine morning with our banners flying, and the -band playing "The Girl I Left Behind Me." - -There were no regrets, for the "beautiful Indian maiden" had not made a -favorable impression on us, and we had our own little families at home. - -The Sixth Minnesota was in the rear, and we were hardly beyond the limits -of the camp before the Indians had taken possession and commenced firing -on our rear guard. The Colonel gave the necessary commands to bring us -to a "right about," with orders to "commence firing." The orders came in -quick succession, and were such a surprise to the Indians that they took -to their heels with great alacrity. They hovered about us during all the -day, but did not in the least retard us in our homeward march. We were -instructed to supply ourselves with water before starting, because we -must march eighteen miles, to Apple river bend, before we could get a -fresh supply. - -The day was excessively warm, and the men became thirsty; but, behold! we -look away, and a beautiful lake appears before us. "Water! water!" cry -the thirsty men, and our canteens were soon empty, in anticipation of -refilling them from the bosom of this beautiful lake before us. We march -and thirst again, and the beautiful lake seems just as far away. - -"It's two miles to that lake," says one thirsty soul. We march the -two miles, and yet are two miles away, and the thirst and heat are -intolerable. - -"Surely that's water," said another, "but we don't seem to get any nearer -to it." - -We marched and marched; but we must be in a valley, for the lake is out -of sight. - -"When we get over the ridge we'll see the beautiful lake," comes from -some one in the ranks. - -We got over the ridge, but the beautiful lake, in all its refreshing -loveliness, had vanished. Had it evaporated, or had it sunk into the -ground? Neither. We had been deceived,--it was a mirage! The air was hot, -the earth parched, the throats dry, the canteens empty, and we were yet -eight miles from water. - -Eight long, weary miles to go before we reach the bend in Apple river, -but there was no help for it, and we bear to it with our soldier load. -"Five miles farther," says the scout, and our hearts almost stop beating, -we are so parched; three miles, and on we march; only one mile more, and -we would run if we could. We reach the bank, and the Colonel commands: -"Battalion, halt!" but the refreshing water is too near, and the -famishing men make a run for it, and do not stop until they are in waist -deep, and then they drink to their fill and replenish their canteens. - -On our return march we passed nearly over the same ground as we did -going out. We passed the battlefield of the Big Mound, and went into -camp by the lake where Lieutenant Freeman was killed; this was on the -4th of August. The next day our scouts reported "Indians ahead,"--a -false alarm,--the Indians espied were half-breeds bringing us mail from -Camp Atchison, and also the news that George A. Brackett, who was with -Lieutenant Freeman when he was killed, had made his way, after weary -days and nights of wandering, and in a half-starved condition, to Camp -Atchison, where he fell among friends. - -When we arrived at Camp Atchison it took but a day to arrange for our -final departure. Lieutenant Freeman's body had been recovered and buried, -and the place so marked that it was easily found afterwards, when the -body was removed and taken to his home for final interment. - -We drew five days' rations of hard tack and bacon, and the side dishes -that go with it; just what they were I cannot now remember. I guess the -dear old army bean was one and desiccated vegetable another; anyway, -we were not troubled with the gout from too much eating of rich food. -The surgeons made proper provision for the transportation of the sick -by placing them in ambulances, and at an early hour the headquarters' -bugler sounded "strike tents," and the canvas city was razed to the -ground;--Camp Atchison was a back number. - -The command took up the line of march for Fort Snelling, where we -expected to receive orders to proceed at once to join the Union Army in -the South. We were a jolly crowd, and the march seemed but a pleasant -pastime; we had driven the enemy out of the country, and, save the first -two or three days of our return march, he was giving us no trouble. We -made good time, and the nearer we got home the shorter the miles became. - -When we got down to civilization we were accorded an ovation; especially -was this the case at Minneapolis, where the whole city turned out to bid -us welcome. - -We arrived at Fort Snelling on the morning of September 12th, after -having made a march of more than twelve hundred miles;--and thus ended -the campaign of 1863. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864. - - -My active work in the Sioux Indian war ended in the autumn of 1863, -and the regiment went South, but history has made me familiar with the -campaign of 1864, and I thus devote space to it, so as to follow the -troops and Indians to the culmination and final successful closing of the -greatest Indian war of modern times. - -The return of General Sibley from the Missouri campaign of 1863 did not -end the Sioux war, because, while the Indians had been defeated in five -pitched battles in 1862 and '63, yet they were known to be in large -numbers, ready to take the field again in 1864, as soon as the weather -would permit. Such being the case, it became necessary to organize -against them. - -To this end another expedition was fitted out from the Minnesota side, -which was to co-operate with General Sully from the Missouri side. -General Sully, on account of the low stage of water in the Missouri in -1863, was unable to co-operate with General Sibley, as was intended, and -on August 1st, 1863, and when General Sibley's order for the homeward -march was promulgated, General Sully was one hundred and sixty miles -farther down the river than it was intended he should be. This was the -reason why the Indians were not more severely whipped than they were. It -would have been suicidal for General Sibley to have crossed the Missouri -river at this time, with rations and ammunition as scarce as they were. - -The Indians took advantage of the situation and evinced a determination -to take the field again. A cavalry regiment had been authorized by the -War Department for one year and for frontier service. This regiment was -filled to the maximum, and placed in command of Colonel R. N. McLaren. - -A battalion had been raised previous to this, known as Hatch's battalion, -and was on duty near Pembina, and by this wise provision confidence was -restored in this part of the country. - -The Indians still had undisputed possession of the country west of the -Missouri, and, although they may have been peaceable, it was necessary to -settle the question permanently, and place them on their reservations. - -The plan of the campaign of 1864 was very similar to that of the year -previous, excepting in the matter of command, the two columns,--the one -from the Minnesota side and the other from the Missouri side,--were to -combine and become two brigades, under the command of General Sully. - -The first brigade was composed of Iowa and Kansas infantry, and they -embarked at Sioux City, Iowa, and proceeded up the Missouri. The second -brigade embraced the Eighth Minnesota Infantry, mounted on ponies, -Colonel M. T. Thomas in command; the Second Minnesota Cavalry, Colonel -McLaren; and the Third Minnesota Battery, Captain John Jones. This -brigade was in command of Colonel Thomas, and left Fort Snelling on June -1st. - -General Sibley and staff accompanied this brigade of 2,100 men as far as -Fort Ridgely, where he gave them their final orders. - -Colonel Thomas, who considered General Sibley a man of ability, thought -him too cautious, and, in response to his final orders, said: "General, I -am going to hunt for Indians; if they will hunt for and find me it will -save a heap of trouble." - -It was a beautiful morning on June 5th, and as the first rays of the -morning sun flashed the full light of day, "boots and saddles" sounded in -the clear tones of the bugles, and the column, headed by a magnificent -band, mounted on milk white horses, marched out to the tune of "The Girl -I Left Behind Me." - -The General reviewed the column as it passed, and after complimenting the -appearance of the soldiers and bidding good-bye to Colonel Thomas and his -staff, who were starting on a five months' campaign beyond the bounds of -civilization, rode back to the fort. - -The column was now under way, and day after day the march went on, in -solid square, so organized that all the Indians in North America could -not disturb it. At night the square closed up, so as to ensure greater -safety and reduce guard duty. - -The column moved up the valley of the Minnesota river to its source, and -then took a westerly course, making daily from sixteen to twenty miles, -resting on Sunday. - -The scouts, failing to find even signs of Indians, the march became -monotonous until the valley of the Missouri was reached. Here was found -General Sully's trail of the year previous, and soon some of his scouts -came into camp and reported General Sully only one day's march away, -where he was waiting for the fleet of boats on which were supplies for -the troops. - -The monotony of the daily march was enlivened by the report that Indians -were hovering around,--they came to reconnoiter, but not to fight yet. -This of itself was encouraging, because the boys began to think they -would not even see an Indian; but there was fun ahead, as we shall see in -the next chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII. - -THE BATTLE OF THE BAD LANDS. - - -General Sully, an unpretentious man, with clear perception, appeared to -know where the Indians were, and what they would do. His service in the -regular army peculiarly fitted him for this service, and this, with his -genial temperament, made him an agreeable commander. - -The boats were unloaded, the command supplied with sixty days' rations -and divested of all surplus clothing and equipments, made ready for a -vigorous march after Indians. - -The troops were reviewed by the commanding officer, General Sully, -who, by the way, was at one time Colonel of the First Minnesota, -and afterwards promoted to Major-General of Volunteers and Brevet -Brigadier-General of the regular army. The review of the troops -constituted the celebrating the Fourth of July, 1864. - -When the column finally moved, which was on July 19, it marched out into -an unknown and unexplored country, from the white man's standpoint. - -[Illustration: Resting Before an Attack.] - -What a transformation,--then unknown and unexplored,--no highways, no -railroads, no civilization,--to-day the onward march of our race has left -its imprint by railroads, beautiful farms, busy cities, busy factories, -Christian civilization, education and the "little red school house." But -I am anticipating; turn back the leaves and we are again on the Knife -river, and we snuff a battle, for the Indians are ahead in great numbers. - -It was on July 28th, among the foothills of the mountains, that a large -camp of Indians was found. In this camp were no less than one hundred -and ten bands of hostile Sioux, and they meant business, for they had -congregated here for the express purpose of cleaning out the white -soldiers, and they felt confident they could do it. - -The Indians, on their horses, were stripped for the fray, and began -leisurely to ride in line of battle toward the white enemy. When within -rifle shot, the soldiers opened fire, and instantly the scene was -changed. The bands concentrated, and, uttering their war cries, they -dashed at full speed on our lines, firing, and, like the wind, whirled -to the rear, loading as they went, when they would again face the enemy, -and, coming within gunshot, fire again. - -They were so confident of success that they did not attempt to save their -own camp, which was the objective point of the soldiers; and they did not -realize their dangerous position until they found that their terrific -onslaught on our lines did not in the least impede the progress of the -troops. - -Soon the artillery was brought up, and the shells were sent thick and -fast among them. By this time they began to realize that retreat were the -tactics now. - -There were 1,600 tepees filled with women and children, with the usual -supply of dogs,--not less than two dogs to a tepee, and such a stampede. - -It was a grand sight in one sense and sad in another. To see this great, -moving mass of 10,000 or 12,000 souls, with their camp paraphernalia, -including dogs and ponies, rushing over the prairie; the fleeing -multitude spread out as far as the eye could reach on either side, -rushing on in mad haste, as though fleeing from the city of destruction. -It was the sight of a lifetime, but sad to contemplate that the sins -of some were being showered upon the heads of the innocent women and -children. - -The loss to the Indians in killed was estimated at 100 to 150; the -wounded they carried off the field. The dead were buried in the night in -large trenches, the earth leveled off, and the troops marched away. - -The Indians were not satisfied with the result of this engagement; they -naturally would not be. They claimed that the best of their young men -were off hunting for our troops in another direction, and they should at -once call them in and give battle again. - -The last six days had been very exciting, and was a nervous strain on the -soldiers. One hundred and seventy-five miles had been made, a battle of -eight hours had been fought, and the camp of Indians destroyed. - -The march to the west was resumed over the prairie, with the Knife -Mountains to the north and the Black Hills to the south, looming up in -the distance like great sentinels, standing to contest the approach of -civilization and defying the elements of ages. - -In the immediate front, off towards the horizon, was what seemed to be a -level plain,--it was level, but for a little distance, and then broke to -your view what might have inspired a Dante to write a more recent edition -of Inferno; for, as far as the eye could reach, north and south and for -forty miles to the west, the body of the earth had been rent and torn -asunder, as though giant demons, in their infuriated defeat, had sought -to disembowel the earth. - -General Sully said of it: "It is hell with the fires put out." - -We are now in the Bad Lands, and it is Sunday,--the Lord's day, and in -such a region,--where devils had fought. White men's eyes had probably -never before seen this region, and the Indians were afraid of it; they -looked upon this region as the abode of evil spirits, and that the great -gorges and buttes and yawning chasms were but the product of their wrath. - -The Sunday passed quietly until after noon, when a reconnoitering party -returned and said they had been fired upon by Indians. - -About five o'clock on this Sunday General Sully changed the position of -the camp and went four miles farther up the river, in order to be in -better position to prevent a surprise or repel an attack. - -The Indians were interested observers, for while this move was being made -1,000 of them were quietly sitting on their horses on the surrounding -hills, observing. - -General Sully, being sick in his tent at this time, the command devolved -upon Colonel Thomas, of the Eighth Minnesota, and to him he gave orders -to "have everything ready to move at six o'clock in the morning, in -perfect fighting order; put one of your most active field officers in -charge of a strong advance guard, and you will meet them at the head of -the ravine, and have the biggest Indian fight that ever will happen on -this continent; and let me further say that under no circumstances must -any man turn his back on a live Indian." - -On Monday morning, bright and early, on August 8th, 1864, the columns -were formed. The General was in an ambulance at the front, and in -admiration looking up and down the lines of the soldiers who were so soon -to engage the Indians in battle, gave vent to his feelings in words more -expressive than elegant: "Those fellows can whip the devil and all his -angels." - -General Sully himself was unable to go farther, but when he grasped -Colonel Thomas, who was in immediate command, by the hand he said: "You -must make some history to-day." - -"Forward!" and the column is marching out, and not a sound is there to -indicate that its progress will be impeded, as we enter the narrow gorge, -only wide enough for a wagon trail. Almost an hour passes in steadily -climbing up the narrow and secluded way, and when near the head of the -gulch, from the beautiful stillness of the morning the pandemonium of war -broke loose. - -The artillery advanced in a gallop, and, in position, soon commenced -planting shells among the redskins. This was followed up by the steady -advance of the dismounted men, who pressed their lines, and they -commenced to fall back. The General, sick though he was, and in the -ambulance, could not endure being there when the fight was going on, so -he ordered up his horse and, mounting, rode to the front, but nature -resisted, and he was obliged to dismount, which he did, and seating -himself on a boulder, with his field glass took in the whole situation. -Colonel Thomas, who was in command, hearing that the General was on the -field, sought him out and said: "I am ready to advance, sir." - -The General, pointing his hand toward a range of hills, said: "Go ahead, -you will find the camp beyond those buttes; hold your men well in hand, -push the Indians; they will fight for their families; protect your -flank, and I will protect the rear." - -The fight went on; the wounded were sent to the rear, and for twelve -miles we drove the Indians from point to point, but darkness came on -before their camp was reached. - -In the bivouac at night the scene was a varied one. At the roll-call -there were names not answered, for the unerring arrow and Indian bullet -had done its work. At the next muster it would be necessary to mark after -some name: "Killed in battle in the Bad Lands August 8th, 1864," or, -"died of wounds received from Indians in battle in the Bad Lands August -8th, 1864," for there were 109 killed and wounded on this day. - -The wounded received proper attention at once, and the other soldiers, -well tired out with the day's fighting and marching, were soundly -sleeping and dreaming of home. - -There were 8,000 warriors engaged in this battle, and as nearly as could -be estimated they lost 350 killed and from 600 to 800 wounded. It was a -bloody battle, and the field was named by the Indians Waps-chon-choka. - -The Indians, after this decisive battle, broke up into small bands and -went in every direction, so that the soldiers, as an army, could not well -follow them. - -The war had ended so far as the Indians were concerned, but there was -another fight on hand. Bad water and lack of rations are not a happy -condition of affairs, and the soldiers had to look this square in the -face. And hot! The tongues of some of the men were so swelled from thirst -and heat that they could not talk. The animals suffered equally with the -men, and in numerous instances it became necessary to put them out of -their misery by blowing out their brains. - -And thus things went on from day to day until August 12th, when glad -news came from one of the scouts, who came riding back and frantically -waving something in his hands. It was simply a little chip of wood, and -why should this create such unbounded joy among a lot of war-begrimed -veterans? It was freshly cut and evidently came from the steamboat men, -as it was borne down on the bosom of the cool waters of the longed-for -Yellowstone. - -The weary soldiers, thirsting and starving, viewed this little harbinger -of plenty with delight, and their strength began to return as they -increased their step in the march toward the river. - -O, that beautiful river:--"The Nectar of the Gods." How life-inspiring -its fluid, as discipline was forgotten and joy and happy shouts took the -place of misery in the command. - -The thirst was slaked, and now for something to eat, for soldiers, -poor mortals, get very hungry, and how often they longed for some good -home-made bread and sugar and cream for coffee. And pies; well, our -mouths used to fairly water for pies. But, on this especial occasion, -almost anything would do, for the boys were awfully hungry, and the -commissary was like "Old Mother Hubbard's" cupboard--empty. - -There were timber bottoms a little way down the river full of elk and -black-tailed deer, so the Indians informed us. - -A detail was made, and the hunters went out in search of game, and before -night they returned with the evidence of their day's hunt with them. They -were like the spies sent out in Bible times, who came back laden with -grapes, and reported that the country which they had explored was rich, -and flowed with milk and honey. - -So, too, our soldier-hunters said the bottom lands were alive with elk -and deer; and, by the next night, the luscious ribs and steaks were -sizzling in the blaze, and hunger was being appeased as well as the -thirst had been. - -The war being practically over, the several commands returned by various -routes to the points from whence they came, and were at once ordered -South to take their places in some of the other armies. The campaigns of -1862, '63 and '64 were successfully carried out, and we will recapitulate -our desires, our journeyings, our hopes and our fears and our rejoicings -in another chapter, and bid you adieu. - - - - -[Illustration: Examining the Colors After the Campaign.] - -CHAPTER XLIV. - -CONCLUSION. - - -In writing this narrative my mind has been refreshed and incidents and -the names of persons almost forgotten come to me--they press on my memory. - -I am able to recall many, but to specify them would unduly lengthen -this book. There was one important character, however, whom I had quite -forgotten at the proper time, and in this concluding chapter must make -mention of him. - -Pierre Bottineau came originally from the Selkirk settlement, and in -1837 made a claim near St. Anthony Falls. - -I was with him upon the plains of Dakota in 1857, and in his way he was a -remarkable man. On one occasion the party got lost in a furious storm and -we knew that war parties of Chippewas were roaming over the prairie and -it was not any way too healthy to be in the region we supposed we were -wandering in. We halted to hold a council and Pierre said: "As soon as -the stars come out I can locate." So we waited and waited for the storm -to pass over. The night was pitchy dark, but in time the stars came, when -Pierre laid flat down on the ground, face up, and for perhaps half an -hour surveyed the heavens and located our wandering feet. We were soon on -the right trail for our camp, which was forty or fifty miles away. - -Pierre was one of General Sibley's principal scouts during the several -campaigns against the Indians in 1862 and 1863. He died some years -ago, and speaking of his death reminds me of others prominent in these -military operations who have gone beyond the river. - -The two generals, Sibley and Sully, are gone, and of the field and staff, -I can recall Colonel John T. Averill, of the Sixth Minnesota, who was, -after the war, member of Congress. Adjutant Snow and Quartermasters -Carver and Gilbert, Colonels Stephen Miller and Wm. R. Marshall, both -honored by Minnesota by electing them to chief executive--they, with -Lieut. Colonel Bradley and all of the Seventh; Colonel Robert N. McLaren, -of the Second Cavalry, and Major Hatch, of the battalion bearing his -name, and Captain John Jones, of the famous battery. These are among some -of the chiefs who have been called. - -Among the line of officers and the rank and file, it would be a mighty -host, and it saddens my heart when I think of them, so I will desist -and conclude by reminding you of the invitation extended and briefly -recapitulate our journeyings. - - * * * * * - -READER: The invitation extended to you to accompany us on a military -expedition into the Indian country has been accepted. It was under -exciting circumstances, when the whole country was surcharged with alarm, -and for good cause. - -The Indians, cruel, relentless, revengeful, and with determination, were -murdering innocent men, women and children, and but for the friendly -offices of a faithful few, whose hearts were whiter than their skins, the -death list and list of horrors would have been far greater; and it is for -these few we speak when we say there are good Indians other than dead -ones; and Minnesota could not do a more appropriate thing to-day than -erect a monument to the memory of Old Betz, Other Day, Chaska and others, -who risked their lives to save their white friends from the tomahawk -of their more vengeful brethren, and who did so much to alleviate the -sufferings and to relieve the anxiety of the captive prisoners. - -You went with us to besieged New Ulm and Fort Ridgely; helped bury -the dead at Redwood; marched with us and went into camp and endured -the thirty-six hours of anxiety and suffering at Birch Coolie; helped -bury the dead and care for the wounded there; returned with us to Fort -Ridgely; took part in the battle at Wood Lake, where the Indians were -defeated; shared our joys when we liberated the women at Camp Release; -helped arrest, shackle and guard the Indians; witnessed the execution of -thirty-eight at Mankato; marched across with the "Moscow Expedition"; -rendezvoused with us at Camp Pope in 1863; marched and fought Indians -with us at Big Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake, Stony Lake and the Missouri -River. You mingled your tears with ours over Beaver's and Miller's -graves, as we left them in their loneliness on the bank of the river; -participated in and rejoiced with us all the way on our return, took part -in the campaign of 1864, and now, before bidding you adieu, one question: -Are you satisfied? - - -THE END. - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber Note - - -Illustrations moved so as to not split paragraphs. Quotation usage in -quoted letters was standardized. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Thrilling Narrative of the Minnesota -Massacre and the Sioux War of 1862-63, by A. P. 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