Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

Some time during the year 1858 the Minnesotian office received about half a dozen cases of very bad whisky in payment of a very bad debt. They could not sell it--they could not even give it to any one. Occasionally the thirst of an old-time compositor would get the better of him and he would uncork a bottle. The experiment was never repeated. Think of half a dozen cases of whisky remaining unmolested in a printing office for more than two years. During the campaign of 1860 the Wide Awakes and the Little Giants were the uniformed political organizations intended to attract the attention of voters. One dreary night one of the attaches of the Minnesotian office, and an active member of the Wide Awakes, met the Little Giants near Bridge Square as they were returning to their hall after a long march. In order to establish a sort of entente cordiale between the two organisations the Little Giants were invited over to the Minnesotian office in hopes they would be able to reduce the supply of this nauseating beverage. It was a golden opportunity. The invitation was readily accepted, and in a short time fifty ardent followers of the advocate of squatter sovereignty were lined up in front of a black Republican office, thirsting for black Republican whisky. Bottle after bottle, was passed down the line, and as it gurgled down the throats of these enthusiastic marchers they smacked their lips with as much gusto as did Rip Van Winkle when partaking of the soporific potation that produced his twenty years' sleep. One of the cardinal principles of the Democracy, at that time was to "love rum and hate niggers." As the entire stock was disposed of before the club resumed its line of march, the host of the occasion concluded that at least one plank of their platform was rigidly adhered to.

THE GREAT SIOUX OUTBREAK IN 1862.

NARRATION OF SOME OF THE EXCITING EVENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING THE GREAT SIOUX OUTBREAK IN 1862--FORT RIDGELY, NEW ULM AND BIRCH COULIE--OTHER DAY AND WABASHA--GREAT EXCITEMENT IN ST. PAUL.

In July and August, 1862, President Lincoln issued proclamations calling for the enlistment of 600,000 volunteers for the purpose of reinforcing the army, then vainly endeavoring to suppress the Southern rebellion. It was probably one of the most gloomy periods in the history of the Civil war. McClellan had been compelled to make a precipitous and disastrous retreat from the vicinity of Richmond; the army of Northern Virginia under Pope had met with several severe reverses; the armies in the West under Grant, Buell and Curtis had not been able to make any progress toward the heart of the Confederacy; rebel marauders under Morgan were spreading desolation and ruin in Kentucky and Ohio; rebel privateers were daily eluding the vigilant watch of the navy and escaping to Europe with loads of cotton, which they readily disposed of and returned with arms and ammunition to aid in the prosecution of their cause. France was preparing to invade Mexico with a large army for the purpose of forcing the establishment of a monarchical form of government upon the people of our sister republic; the sympathies of all the great powers of Europe, save Russia, were plainly manifested by outspoken utterances favorable to the success of the Confederate cause; rumors of foreign intervention in behalf of the South were daily circulated; the enemies of the government in the North were especially active in their efforts to prevent the enlistment of men under the call of the president; conspiracies for burning Northern cities had been unearthed by government detectives, and emissaries from the South were endeavoring to spread disease and pestilence throughout the loyal North. It was during this critical period in the great struggle for the suppression of the Rebellion that one of the most fiendish atrocities in the history of Indian warfare was enacted on the western boundaries of Minnesota.

* * * * *

It can readily be seen that the government was illy prepared to cope with an outbreak of such magnitude as this soon proved to be. By the terms of the treaty of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota in 1851 the Sioux sold all their lands in Minnesota, except a strip ten miles wide on each side of the Minnesota river from near Fort Ridgely to Big Stone lake. In 1858 ten miles of the strip lying north of the river was sold, mainly through the influence of Little Crow. The selling of this strip caused great dissatisfaction among the Indians and Little Crow was severely denounced for the part he took in the transaction. The sale rendered it necessary for all the Indians to locate on the south side of the Minnesota, where game was scarce and trapping poor. There was nothing for them to live upon unless they adopted the habits of civilization and worked like white men. This was very distasteful to many of them, as they wanted to live the same as they did before the treaty--go where they pleased, when they pleased, and hunt game and sell fur to traders. The government built houses for those who desired to occupy them, furnished tools, seed, etc., and taught them how to farm. At two of the agencies during the summer of the outbreak they had several hundred acres of land under cultivation. The disinclination of many of the Indians to work gradually produced dissension among themselves and they formed into two parties--the white man's party, those that believed in cultivating the soil; and the Indian party, a sort of young-man-afraid-of-work association, who believed it beneath the dignity of the noble Dakotan to perform manual labor. The white man's, or farmer's party, was favored by the government, some of them having fine houses built for them. The other Indians did not like this, and became envious of them because they discontinued the customs of the tribe. There was even said to have been a secret organization among the tepee Indians whose object it was to declare war upon the whites. The Indians also claimed that they were not fairly dealt with by the traders; that they had to rely entirely upon their word for their indebtedness to them; that they were ignorant of any method of keeping accounts, and that when the paymaster came the traders generally took all that was coming, and often leaving many of them in debt. They protested against permitting the traders to sit at the pay table of the government paymaster and deduct from their small annuities the amount due them. They had at least one white man's idea--they wanted to pay their debts when they got ready.

* * * * *

For several weeks previous to the outbreak the Indians came to the agencies to get their money. Day after day and week after week passed and there was no sign of paymasters. The year 1862 was the the second year of the great Rebellion, and as the government officers had been taxed to their utmost to provide funds for the prosecution of the war, it looked as though they had neglected their wards in Minnesota. Many of the Indians who had gathered about the agencies were out of money and their families were suffering. The Indians were told that on account of the great war in which the government was engaged the payment would never be made. Their annuities were payable in gold and they were told that the great father had no gold to pay them with. Maj. Galbraith, the agent of the Sioux, had organized a company to go South, composed mostly of half-breeds, and this led the Indians to believe that now would be the time to go to war with the whites and get their land back. It was believed that the men who had enlisted last had all left the state and that before, help could be sent they could clear the country of the whites, and that the Winnebagos and Chippewas would come to their assistance. It is known that the Sioux had been in communication with Hole-in-the-Day, the Chippewa chief, but the outbreak was probably precipitated before they came to an understanding. It was even said at the time that the Confederate government had emissaries among them, but the Indians deny this report and no evidence has ever been collected proving its truthfulness.

* * * * *

Under the call of the president for 600,000 men Minnesota was called upon to furnish five regiments--the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth--and the requisition had been partially filled and the men mustered in when the news reached St. Paul that open hostilities had commenced at the upper agency, and an indiscriminate massacre of the whites was taking place.

* * * * *

The people of Minnesota had been congratulating themselves that they were far removed from the horrors of the Civil war, and their indignation knew no bounds when compelled to realize that these treacherous redskins, who had been nursed and petted by officers of the government, and by missionaries and traders for years, had, without a moment's warning, commenced an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children. It was a singular fact that farmer Indians, whom the government officers and missionaries had tried so hard to civilize, were guilty of the most terrible butcheries after hostilities had actually commenced.

* * * * *

A few days previous to the attack upon the whites at the upper agency a portion of the band of Little Six appeared at Action, Meeker county. There they murdered several people and then fled to Redwood. It was the first step in the great massacre that soon followed. On the morning of the 18th of August, without a word of warning, an indiscriminate massacre was inaugurated. A detachment of Company B of the Fifth regiment, under command of Capt. Marsh, went to the scene of the revolt, but they were ambushed and about twenty-five of their number, including the captain, killed. The horrible work of murder, pillage and destruction was spread throughout the entire Sioux reservation, and whole families, especially those in isolated portions of the country, were an easy prey to these fiendish warriors.

* * * * *

The Wyoming massacre during the Revolution and the Black Hawk and Seminole wars at a later period, pale into insignificance when compared to the great outrages committed by these demons during this terrible outbreak. In less than one week 1,000 people had been killed, several million dollars' worth of property destroyed and 30,000 people rendered homeless. The entire country from Fort Ripley to the southern boundary of the state, reaching almost to the mouth of the Minnesota river, had been in a twinkling depopulated. How to repel these invaders and drive them back to their reservations and out of the state as they had forfeited all rights to the land they had occupied, was the problem that suddenly confronted both the state and national authorities.

* * * * *

Shortly after the news of the outbreak at Redwood had been received, word was sent from Fort Ripley to the effect that the Chippewas were assuming a warlike attitude, and it was feared that the Sioux and Chippewas--hereditary enemies--had buried the hatchet, or had been influenced by other causes, and were ready to co-operate in an indiscriminate massacre of the whites. Indian Agent Walker undertook to arrest the famous chief Hole-in-the-day, but that wily warrior had scented danger and suddenly disappeared, with his entire band, which caused grave apprehension among the settlers in that locality, and they were in daily dread of an attack from these hitherto peaceable tribes.

* * * * *

The suddenness with which the outbreak had occurred and the extraordinary rapidity with which it spread, driving the defenseless settlers from their homes and causing desolation and ruin on every side, rendered it necessary for the governor to call an extra session of the legislature for the purpose of devising means to arm and equip volunteers, and assist the homeless refugees in procuring places of shelter where they would be safe from molestation by these dusky warriors. Could anything be more terrible than Gov. Ramsey's picture of the ravages of these outlaws in his message to the legislature? "Nothing which the brutal lust and wanton cruelty of these savages could wreak upon their helpless and innocent victims was omitted from the category of their crimes," said the governor. "Helplessness and innocence, indeed, which would inspire pity in any heart but theirs, seemed to inspire them only with a more fiendish rage. Infants hewn into bloody chips of flesh or torn untimely from the womb of the murdered mother, and in cruel mockery cast in fragments on her pulseless and bleeding breast; rape joined to murder in one awful tragedy; young girls, even children of tender years, outraged by these brutal ravishers till death ended their shame; women held into captivity to undergo the horrors of a living death; whole families burned alive; and, as if their devilish fancy could not glut itself with outrages on the living, the last efforts exhausted in mutilating the bodies of the dead. Such are the spectacles, and a thousand nameless horrors besides which this first experience of Indian warfare has burned into the minds and hearts of our frontier people; and such the enemy with whom we have to deal."

* * * * *

The old saying that the only good Indians are dead ones had a noble exception in the person of Other Day, who piloted sixty-two men, women and children across the country from below Yellow Medicine to Kandiyohi, and from there to Hutchinson, Glencoe and Carver. Other Day was an educated Indian and had been rather wild in his younger days, but experienced a change of heart about four years before the outbreak and had adopted the habits of civilization. Other Day arrived in St. Paul a few days after he had piloted his party in safety to Carver, and in the course of a few remarks to a large audience at Ingersoll hall, which had assembled for the purpose of organizing a company of home guards, he said: "I am a Dakota Indian, born and reared in the midst of evil. I grew up without the knowledge of any good thing. I have been instructed by Americans and taught to read and write. This I found to be good. I became acquainted with the Sacred Writings, and thus learned my vileness. At the present time I have fallen into great evil and affliction, but have escaped from it, and with sixty-two men, women and children, without moccasins, without food and without a blanket, I have arrived in the midst of a great people, and now my heart is glad. I attribute it to the mercy of the Great Spirit." Other Day had been a member of the church for several years and his religion taught him that the Great Spirit approved his conduct.

* * * * *

It was apparent that the Indian war was on in earnest. Ex-Gov. Sibley, on account of his long familiarity with Indian character, was placed in command of the troops ordered to assemble at St. Peter, and in a few days, with detachments of the regiments then forming, half-uniformed, poorly armed and with a scant supply of ammunition, commenced offensive operations against the murderous redskins. The newspapers and the people were crying "On to Ridgely!" which was then beleaguered, with the same persistency as did Horace Greeyley howl "On to Richmond!" previous to the disaster at Bull Run.

* * * * *

Any one who has seen the thrilling realistic Indian play of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" can form some idea of the terrible suspense of the little garrison at Port Ridgely previous to being relieved by the forces under command of Gen. Sibley. Fort Ridgely was a fort only in name, and consisted of two or three stone and several wooden buildings, surrounded by a fence, which did not afford much protection when attacked by a large force. The garrison was under the command of Lieut. T.J. Sheehan. His force consisted of about 150 men from the Fifth regiment, fifty men of the Renville Rangers, and a number of civilians. He was surrounded by 700 or 800 Sioux, fully armed and equipped. Although there were only two attempts made to capture the garrison by assault, yet the siege was kept up for several days. In addition to about 300 refugees who had gathered there for support and protection, the $72,000 of annuity money, which had been so long expected, arrived there the day before the outbreak. After bravely defending the fort for more than a week, the little garrison was relieved by the arrival of about 200 mounted volunteers under command of Col. McPhail, being the advance of Gen. Sibley's command. During the siege many of the men became short of musketry ammunition, and spherical case shot were opened in the barracks and women worked with busy hands making cartridges, while men cut nail rods in short pieces and used them as bullets, their dismal whistling producing terror among the redskins.

Almost simultaneously with the attack on Fort Ridgely the Indians in large numbers appeared in the vicinity of New Ulm, with the evident intention of burning and pillaging the village. Judge Charles E. Flandrau of this city, who was then residing at St. Peter, organized a company of volunteers and marched across the country to the relief of that place. The judge received several acquisitions to his force while en route, and when he arrived at New Ulm found himself in command of about 300 men, poorly armed and wholly without military experience. They arrived at New Ulm just in time to assist the inhabitants in driving the Indians from the upper part of the village, several citizens having been killed and a number of houses burned. Two or three days afterward the Indians appeared in large force, surrounded the town and commenced burning the buildings on its outskirts. After a desperate encounter, in which the force under command of Judge Flandrau lost ten killed and about forty wounded, the Indians retired. There were in the village at the time of the attack about 1,200 or 1,500 noncombatants, and every one of them would have been killed had the Indian attack been successful. Provisions and ammunition becoming scarce, the judge decided to evacuate the town and march across the country to Mankato. They made up a train of about 150 wagons, loaded them with women and children and the men who had been wounded in the fight, and arrived safely in Mankato without being molested. Nearly two hundred houses were burned before the town was evacuated, leaving nothing standing but a few houses inside the hastily constructed barricade. The long procession of families leaving their desolated homes, many of them never to return, formed one of the saddest scenes in the history of the outbreak, and will ever be remembered by the gallant force under the command of Judge Flandrau, who led them to a place of safety.

* * * * *

As soon as Gen. Sibley arrived at Fort Ridgely a detail of Company A of the Sixth regiment, under command of Capt. H.P. Grant of St. Paul, and seventy members of the Cullen Guards, under the command of Capt. Jo Anderson, also of St. Paul, and several citizen volunteers, all under the command of Maj. Joseph R. Brown, was sent out with instructions to bury the dead and rescue the wounded, if any could be found, from their perilous surroundings. They were St. Paul organizations and most all of their members were St. Paul boys. They never had had an opportunity to drill and most of them were not familiar with the use of firearms. After marching for two days, during which time they interred a large number of victims of the savage Sioux, they went into camp at Birch Coulie, about fifteen miles from Fort Ridgely. The encampment was on the prairie near a fringe of timber and the coulie on one side and an elevation of about ten feet on the other. It was a beautiful but very unfortunate location for the command to camp, and would probably not have been selected had it been known that they were surrounded by 400 or 500 hostile warriors. Maj. Brown had about one hundred and fifty men under his command. About 4 o'clock on the following morning the Indians, to the number of 500 or 600, well armed and most of them mounted, commenced an indiscriminate fire upon the almost helpless little command. For two days they bravely defended themselves, and when relief finally arrived it was found that about half their number had been killed or wounded. When the news of the disaster reached St. Paul there was great excitement. Relatives and friends of the dead and wounded were outspoken in their denunciation of the civil and military authorities who were responsible for this great sacrifice of the lives of our citizens. It was feared that the city itself was in danger of an attack from the savages. Home guards were organized and the bluffs commanding a view of the city were nightly patrolled by citizen volunteers. There was no telegraph at that time and rumors of all sorts were flying thick and fast. Every courier reaching the city would bring news of fresh outrages, and our panic-stricken citizens had hardly time to recover from the effect of one disaster before the news of another would be received. Settlers fleeing from their homes for places of safety were arriving by the score, leaving crops to perish in the field and their houses to be destroyed. The situation was appalling, and many of our citizens were predicting the most direful results should the army fail to check the savage hordes in their work of devastation and ruin.

Every boat from the Minnesota river would be crowded with refugees, and the people of St. Paul were often called upon to assist in forwarding them to their place of destination.

Home guards were organized in almost every village of the threatened portion of the state, but the authorities could not furnish arms or ammunition and their services would have been of little account against the well-armed savages in case they had been attacked.

Advertisements appeared in the St. Paul newspapers offering rewards of $25 a piece for Sioux scalps.

* * * * *

Gov. Ramsey endeavored to allay the apprehensions of the people and published in the papers a statement to the effect that the residents of the Capital City need not be alarmed, as the nearest approach of the Indians was at Acton, Meeker county, 80 miles away; Fort Ripley, 150 miles away, and the scenes of the tragedy in Yellow Medicine county, 210 miles distant. This may have been gratifying to the residents of the Capital City, but was far from reassuring to the frontiersmen who were compelled to abandon their homes and were seeking the protection of the slowly advancing militia.

* * * * *

About 12 o'clock one night during the latter part of August a report was circulated over the northern and western portion of St. Paul that the savages were near the city, and many women and children were aroused from their slumber and hastily dressed and sought the protection of the city authorities. It was an exciting but rather amusing episode in the great tragedy then taking place on the frontier. Rumors of this character were often circulated, and it was not until after the battle of Wood Lake that the people of St. Paul felt that they were perfectly safe from raids by the hostile Sioux.

* * * * *

As soon as Gen. Sibley had collected a sufficient force to enable him to move with safety he decided upon offensive operations. He had collected about 2,000 men from the regiments then forming, including the Third regiment, recently paroled, and a battery under command of Capt. Mark Hendricks. The expedition marched for two or three days without encountering opposition, but on the morning of the 23d of September several foraging parties belonging to the Third regiment were fired upon in the vicinity of Wood Lake. About 800 of the command were engaged in the encounter and were opposed by about an equal number of Indians. After a spirited engagement Col. Marshall, with about 400 men, made a double-quick charge upon the Sioux and succeeded in utterly routing them. Our loss was four killed and forty or fifty wounded. This was the only real battle of the war. Other Day was with the whites and took a conspicuous part in the encounter. After the battle Gen. Pope, who was in command of the department of the Northwest, telegraphed the war department that the Indian war was over and asked what disposition to make of the troops then under his command. This request of Gen. Pope was met with a decided remonstrance by the people of Minnesota, and they succeeded in preventing the removal of any of the troops until they had made two long marches through the Dakotas and to Montana. Gen. Sibley's command reached Camp Release on the 26th of September, in the vicinity of which was located a large camp of Indians, most of whom had been engaged in the massacres. They had with them about two hundred and fifty mixed bloods and white women and children, and the soldiers were very anxious to precede at once to their rescue. Gen. Sibley was of the opinion that any hostile demonstration would mean the annihilation of all the prisoners, and therefore proceeded with the utmost caution. After a few preliminary consultations the entire camp surrendered and the captives were released. As soon as possible Gen. Sibley made inquiries as to the participation of these Indians in the terrible crimes recently perpetrated, and it soon developed that a large number of them had been guilty of the grossest atrocities. The general decided to form a military tribunal and try the offenders. After a series of sittings, lasting from the 30th of September to the 5th of November, 321 of the fiends were found guilty of the offenses charged, 303 of whom were sentenced to death and the rest condemned to various terms of imprisonment according to their crimes. All of the condemned prisoners were taken to Mankato and were confined in a large jail constructed for the purpose. After the court-martial had completed its work and the news of its action had reached the Eastern cities, a great outcry was made that Minnesota was contemplating a wholesale slaughter of the beloved red man. The Quakers of Philadelphia and the good people of Massachusetts sent many remonstrances to the president to put a stop to the proposed wholesale execution. The president, after consulting his military advisers, decided to permit the execution of only thirty-eight of the most flagrant cases, and accordingly directed them to be hung on the 26th of December, 1862.

* * * * *

Previous to their execution the condemned prisoners were interviewed by Rev. S.R. Riggs, to whom they made their dying confessions. Nearly every one of them claimed to be innocent of the crimes charged to them. Each one had some word to send to his parents or family, and when speaking of their wives and children almost every one was affected to tears. Most of them spoke confidently of their hope of salvation, and expected to go at once to the abode of the Great Spirit. Rattling Runner, who was a son-in-law of Wabasha, dictated the following letter, which is a sample of the confessions made to Dr. Riggs: "Wabasha, you have deceived me. You told me if we followed the advice of Gen. Sibley and gave ourselves up, all would be well--no innocent man would be injured. I have not killed or injured a white man or any white person. I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet to-day I am set apart for execution and must die, while men who are guilty will remain in prison. My wife is your daughter, my children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection. Do not let them suffer, and when they are grown up let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief, and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Holy Spirit. My wife and children are dear to me. Let them not grieve for me; let them remember that the brave should be prepared to meet death, and I will do as becomes a Dakotah."

Wabasha was a Sioux chief, and although he was not found guilty of participating in any of the massacres of women and children, he was probably in all the most important battles. Wabasha county, and Wabasha street in St. Paul were named after his father.

After the execution the bodies were taken down, loaded into wagons and carried down to a sandbar in front of the city, where they were all dumped into the same hole. They did not remain there long, but were spirited away by students and others familiar with the use of a dissecting knife.

Little Crow, the chief instigator of the insurrection was not with the number that surrendered, but escaped and was afterward killed by a farmer named Lamson, in the vicinity of Hutchinson. His scalp is now in the state historical society. Little Crow was born in Kaposia, a few miles below St. Paul, and was always known as a bad Indian. Little Crow's father was friendly to the whites, and it was his dying wish that his son should assume the habits of civilized life and accustom himself to the new order of things, but the dying admonitions of the old man were of little avail and Little Crow soon became a dissolute, quarrelsome and dangerous Indian. He was opposed to all change of dress and habits of life, and was very unfriendly to missionaries and teachers. He was seldom known to tell the truth and possessed very few redeeming qualities. Although greatly disliked by many of the Indians, he was the acknowledged head of the war party and by common consent assumed the direction of all the hostile tribes in their fruitless struggle against the whites.

* * * * *

Between the conviction and execution of the condemned Indians there was great excitement throughout the Minnesota valley lest the president should pardon the condemned. Meetings were held throughout the valley and organizations were springing into existence for the purpose of overpowering the strong guard at Mankato and wreaking summary justice upon the Indians. The situation became so serious pending the decision of the president that the governor was compelled to issue a proclamation calling upon all good citizens not to tarnish the fair name of the state by an act of lawlessness that the outside world would never forget, however great was the provocation. When the final order came to execute only thirty-eight there was great disappointment. Petitions were circulated in St. Paul and generally signed favoring the removal of the condemned Indians to Massachusetts to place them under the refining influence of the constituents of Senator Hoar, the same people who are now so terribly shocked because a humane government is endeavoring to prevent, in the Philippines, a repetition of the terrible atrocities committed in Minnesota.

* * * * *

The balance of the condemned were kept in close confinement till spring, when they were taken to Davenport, and afterward to some point on the Missouri river, where a beneficent government kindly permitted them to sow the seed of discontent that finally culminated in the Custer massacre. When it was known that the balance of the condemned Indians were to be transported to Davenport by steamer. St. Paul people made preparations to give them a warm reception as they passed down the river, but their intentions were frustrated by the government officers in charge of their removal, as they arranged to have the steamer Favorite, on which they were to be transported, pass by the city in the middle of the night. St. Paul people were highly indignant when apprised of their escape.

Little Six and Medicine Bottle, two Sioux chiefs engaged in the outbreak, were arrested at Fort Gary (Winnipeg), and delivered at Pembina in January, 1864, and were afterward taken to Fort Snelling, where they were tried, condemned and executed in the presence of 10,000 people, being the last of the Indians to receive capital punishment for their great crimes. Little Six confessed to having murdered fifty white men, women and children.

* * * * *

One of the most perplexing problems the military authorities had to contend with was the transportation of supplies to the troops on the frontier. There were, of course, no railroads, and the only way to transport provisions was by wagon. An order was issued by the military authorities requesting the tender of men and teams for this purpose, but the owners of draft horses did not respond with sufficient alacrity to supply the pressing necessities of the army, and it was necessary for the authorities to issue another order forcibly impressing into service of the government any and all teams that could be found on the streets or in stables. A detachment of Company K of the Eighth regiment was sent down from the fort and remained in the city several days on that especial duty. As soon as the farmers heard that the government was taking possession of everything that came over the bridge they ceased hauling their produce to the city and carried it to Hastings. There was one silver-haired farmer living near the city limits by the name of Hilks, whose sympathies were entirely with the South, and he had boasted that all of Uncle Sam's hirelings could not locate his team. One of the members of Company K was a former neighbor of the disloyal farmer, and he made it his particular duty to see that this team, at least, should be loyal to the government. A close watch was kept on him, and one morning he was seen to drive down to the west side of the bridge and tie his team behind a house, where he thought they would be safe until he returned. As soon as the old man passed over the bridge the squad took possession of his horses, and when he returned the team was on the way to Abercrombie laden with supplies for the troops at the fort. Of course the government subsequently reimbursed the owners of the teams for their use, but in this particular case the soldiers did not think the owner deserved it.

Gov. Ramsey's carriage team was early taken possession of by the military squad, and when the driver gravely informed the officer in charge that the governor was the owner of that team and he thought it exempt from military duty, he was suavely informed that a power higher than the governor required that team and that it must go to Abercrombie. And it did.

* * * * *

It was necessary to send out a large escort with these supply trains and It was easier to procure men for that purpose than it was for the regular term of enlistment. On one of the trains that left St. Paul was a young man by the name of Hines. He was as brave as Julius Caesar. He said so himself. He was so heavily loaded with various weapons of destruction that his companions called him a walking arsenal. If Little Crow had attacked this particular train the Indian war would have ended. This young man had been so very demonstrative of his ability to cope with the entire Sioux force that his companions resolved to test his bravery. One night when the train was camped about half way between St. Cloud and Sauk Center, several of the guards attached to the train painted their faces, arrayed themselves in Indian costume and charged through the camp, yelling the Indian war hoop and firing guns in every direction. Young Hines was the first to hear the alarm, and didn't stop running until he reached St. Cloud, spreading the news in every direction that the entire tribe of Little Crow was only a short distance behind. Of course there was consternation along the line of this young man's masterly retreat, and it was some time before the panic-stricken citizens knew what had actually happened.

* * * * *

In response to the appeal of Gov. Sibley and other officers on the frontier, the ladies of St. Paul early organized for the purpose of furnishing sick and wounded soldiers with such supplies as were not obtainable through the regular channels of the then crude condition of the various hospitals. Notices like the following often appeared in the daily papers at that time: "Ladies Aid Society--A meeting of the ladies' aid society for the purpose of sewing for the relief of the wounded soldiers at our forts, and also for the assistance of the destitute refugees now thronging our city, is called to meet this morning at Ingersoll hall. All ladies interested in this object are earnestly invited to attend. All contributions of either money or clothing will be thankfully received. By order of the president,

"Mrs. Stella Selby.

"Miss M.O. Holyoke, Secretary."

Mrs. Selby was the wife of John W. Selby, one of the first residents of the city, Miss Holyoke was the Clara Barton of Minnesota, devoting her whole time and energy to the work of collecting sanitary supplies for the needy soldiers in the hospitals.

Scores of poor soldiers who were languishing in hospital tents on the sunburnt and treeless prairies of the Dakotas, or suffering from disease contracted in the miasmatic swamps of the rebellious South have had their hearts gladdened and their bodies strengthened by being supplied with the delicacies collected through the efforts of the noble and patriotic ladies of this and kindred organizations throughout the state.

Many instances are recorded of farmers leaving their harvesters in the field and joining the grand army then forming for the defense of the imperilled state and nation, while their courageous and energetic wives have gone to the fields and finished harvesting the ripened crops.

* * * * *

By reason of the outbreak the Sioux forfeited to the government, in addition to an annual annuity of $68,000 for fifty years, all the lands they held in Minnesota, amounting in the aggregate to about 750,000 acres, worth at the present time something like $15,000,000. Had they behaved themselves and remained In possession of this immense tract of land, they would have been worth twice as much per capita as any community in the United States.

FIREMEN AND FIRES OF PIONEER DAYS.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ST. PAUL, FIRE DEPARTMENT--PIONEER HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY--HOPE ENGINE COMPANY AND MINNEHAHA ENGINE COMPANY--A LARGE NUMBER OF HOTEL FIRES.

WHEN WE RAN WITH THE OLD MACHINE.

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Brave relics of the past are we,
Old firemen, staunch and true,
We're thinking now of days gone by
And all that we've gone through.
Thro' fire and flames we've made our way,
And danger we have seen;
We never can forget the time
When we ran with the old machine.

In numbers now we are but few,
A host have pased away,
But still we're happy, light and free,
Our spirits never decay
We often sigh for those old days
Whose memory we keep green,
Oh! there was joy for man and boy,
When we ran with the old machine.
--Gus Wiliams.

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Instruments for extinguishing fires were introduced in various parts of Europe more than three hundred years ago. The fire laddies of that period would probably look aghast if they could see the implements in use at the present time. One of the old time machines is said to consist of a huge tank of water placed upon wheels, drawn by a large number of men, and to which was attached a small hose. When the water in the tank became exhausted it was supplied by a bucket brigade, something on the plan in use at the present time in villages not able to support an engine.

The oldest record of a fire engine in Paris was one used in the king's library in 1684, which, having but one cylinder, threw water to a great height, a result obtained by the use of an air chamber. Leather hose was introduced into Amsterdam in 1670, by two Dutchmen, and they also invented the suction pipe at about the same period. About the close of the seventeenth century an improved engine was patented in England. It was a strong cistern of oak placed upon wheels, furnished with a pump, an air chamber and a suction pipe of strong leather, through which run a spiral piece of metal. This engine was little improved until the early part of the last century.

In the United States bucket fire departments were organized in most of the cities in the early part of the last century, and hand engines, used by the old volunteer firemen, did not come into general use until about fifty years later. The New York volunteer fire department was for a long time one of the institutions of the country. When they had their annual parade the people of the surrounding towns would flock to the city and the streets would be as impassible as they are to-day when a representative of one of the royal families of Europe is placed on exhibition. At the New York state fairs during the early '50s the tournaments of the volunteer fire department of the various cities throughout the state formed one of the principal attractions. Many a melee occurred between the different organizations because they considered that they had not been properly recognized in the line of march or had not been awarded a medal for throwing a stream of water farther than other competitors.

A Berlin correspondent of the Pioneer Press many years ago, said that when an alarm of fire was sounded in the city, the members of the fire companies would put on their uniforms and report to their various engine houses. When a sufficient number had assembled to make a showing the foreman would call the roll, beer would be passed down the line, the health of the kaiser properly remembered and then they would start out in search of the fire. As a general thing the fire would be out long before they arrived upon the scene, and they would then return to their quarters, have another beer and be dismissed.

To Cincinnati belongs the credit of having introduced the first paid steam fire department in the United States, but all the other large cities rapidly followed.

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In the fall of 1850 the town fathers of St. Paul passed an ordinance requiring the owners of all buildings, public or private, to provide and keep in good repair, substantial buckets, marked with paint the word "Fire" on one side and the owner's name on the other, subject to inspection by the fire warden and to be under his control when occasion required. The first attempt at organizing a fire brigade, was made by R.C. Knox in the fall of 1851. Mr. Knox raised a small sum of money by subscription, with which he purchased several ladders, and they were frequently brought into requisition by the little band of men whom Mr. Knox had associated with him. Mr. Knox was a man of enormous stature, and it was said he could tire out a dozen ordinary men at a fire.

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Two public-spirited citizens of St. Paul, John McCloud and Thompson Ritchie, purchased in the East and brought to the city at their own expense the first fire engine introduced in the Northwest. Although it was a miniature affair, on numerous occasions it rendered valuable assistance in protecting the property of our pioneer merchants. Mr. Ritchie is still living, his home being in Philadelphia.

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In November, 1854, Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 was organized under provisions of the city charter. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the members agreed to turn out promptly on all occasions of fire alarms. As compensation for their services they were excused from jury duty, poll tax, work on the roads, or state military service, for the period of five years. The original constitution of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder company contained the following membership roll: Foreman, Isaac A. Banker; assistant foremen, H.B. Pearson and George F. Blake; treasurer, Richard Galloway; secretary, Robert Mason; members, Henry Buell, John W. Cathcart, Charles D. Elfelt, Edward Heenan, Thompson Ritchie, Philip Ross, Wash. M. Stees, J.W. Stevenson, Benjamin F. Irvine, R.I. Thomson, John McCloud, J.Q.A. Ward, Charles J. Williams. Of the above John McCloud is the only one living in the city at the present time. Mr. McCloud was a member of the firm of McCloud & Bro., hardware dealers, and they occupied the building on the southwest corner of Third and Cedar streets.

This was the first full-fledged fire organization in the city, and as Mr. McCloud took the initiative in forming this company he may justly be called the "Father of the Volunteer Fire Department of St. Paul."

The old hook and ladder company was one of the representative institutions of the city. From the date of its organization up to the time of the establishment of the paid fire department many of the most prominent men of the city were enrolled among its members. All of the property of the company was owned by the organization, but in 1856, having become somewhat financially embarrassed, their accounts were turned over to the city and they were thereafter under the control of the city fathers. At that time they possessed one truck, hooks and ladders, and one fire engine with hose. Washington M. Stees was made chief engineer and Charles H. Williams assistant. This scanty equipment did not prove adequate for extinguishing fires and petitions were circulated requesting the council to purchase two fire engines of the more approved pattern, and also to construct a number of cisterns in the central part of the city, so that an adequate supply of water could be readily obtained. The city fathers concluded to comply with the request of the petitioners and they accordingly purchased two double-deck hand fire engines and they arrived in the city in August, 1858. They were soon tested and pronounced satisfactory. Our citizens then congratulated themselves upon the possession of a first-class fire department and they predicted that thereafter a great fire would be a thing of the past.

One of the most irrepressible members of Pioneer Hook and Ladder company in the early days was a little red-headed Irishman by the name of A.D. Martin. He was foreman of the Daily Minnesotian office and he usually went by the name of "Johnny Martin." Now Johnny always kept his fire paraphernalia close at hand, and every time a fire bell sounded he was "Johnny on the spot." After the fire was over Johnny generally had to celebrate, and every time Johnny celebrated he would make a solemn declaration that it was his duty to kill an Irishman before he returned to work. He would accordingly provide himself with an immense Derringer and start out in quest of a subject upon whom he proposed to execute his sanguinary threat. Strange to relate he never succeeded in finding one of his unfortunate countrymen, and it generally required two or three days to restore him to his former equilibrium. If Johnny was a member of the fire department to-day he would probably discover that the task of finding one of his countrymen would not be so difficult.

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In 1857 Hope Engine Company No. 1 was organized, and they petitioned the common council to purchase 500 feet of hose for their use. In the fall of 1858 this company was given possession of one of the new engines recently purchased and it was comfortably housed at their headquarters in an old frame building on the southwest corner of Franklin and Fourth streets, and in a short time removed to a new brick building on Third street, fronting on Washington. Michael Leroy was made the first foreman and R.C. Wiley and Joseph S. Herey were his assistants. The membership contained the names of John H. Dodge, Porteus Dodge, John E. Missen, Joseph Elfelt, Fred Whipperman, John T. Toal, J.H. Barstow, J.C. Grand, Charles Riehl, John Raguet, E. Rhodes, B. Bradley, Charles Hughes, Bird Boesch, T.F. Masterson, John J. Williams and V. Metzger. During the fall of 1858 a large number of the most prominent business men in the vicinity of Seven Corners joined the organization and continued in active membership until the arrival of the first steamer.

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In the winter of 1857-1858 Minnehaha Engine. Company No. 2 was organized, and it was provided with an engine house near the corner of Third and Jackson streets. The first officers were H.P. Grant, foreman; M.J. O'Connor and H.B. Terwilliger, assistants; members, Harry M. Shaw, Nicholas Hendy, John B. Oliver, F.A. Cariveau, H.A. Schlick. C.D. Hadway, N. Nicuhaus, L.R. Storing, William T. Donaldson, Daniel Rohrer, J. Fletcher Williams, N. W. Kittson, Alfred Bayace, John McCauley and a number of others. The Minnehahas were a prosperous organization from the first, and their engine house was always kept open and served as a general lounging and reading-room for such of its members as had nothing particular to do.

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Rotary Independent Company No. 1 was the third engine connected with the St. Paul fire department, but that was a private institution and was only used when there was a general alarm and on the days of the annual parade of the department. This engine was purchased from the government by John S. Prince when Fort Snelling was abandoned, and was used for the protection of the property of the mill, which was located on lower Third street.

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By the formation of Minnehaha Engine company the city fathers thought they were possessed of quite a respectable fire department, and from that time on the annual parade of the St. Paul fire department was one of the events of the year. The first parade occurred on the 12th of September, 1859, and was participated in by the following organizations:

Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
Hope Engine Company No. 1.
Minnehaha Engine Company No. 2.
Rotary Independent Company No. 1.

These four companies numbered 175 men, and after completing their line of march were reviewed by the mayor and common council in front of the old city hall.

In 1858 the legislature passed an act requiring the sextons of the different churches to ring the church bells fifteen minutes whenever there was an alarm of fire. The uptown churches would ring their bells, the downtown churches would ring their bells, and the churches in the central part of the city would ring their bells. There was a regular banging and clanging of the bells.

"In the startled air of night,
They would scream out their afright,
Too much horrified to speak,
They could only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune."

Every one turned out when the fire bells rang. Unless the fire was of sufficient volume to be readily located, the uptown people would be seen rushing downtown, and the downtown people would be seen rushing uptown, in fact, general pandemonium prevailed until the exact location of the fire could be determined.

Whenever there was a large fire the regular firemen would soon tire of working on the brakes and they would appeal to the spectators to relieve them for a short time. As a general thing the appeal would be readily responded to, but occasionally it would be necessary for the police to impress into service a force sufficient to keep the brakes working. Any person refusing to work on the brakes was liable to arrest and fine, and it was often amusing to see the crowds disperse whenever the police were in search of a relief force.

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Upon the breaking out of the war a large number of the firemen enlisted in the defense of the country and the ranks of the department were sadly decimated. It was during the early part of the war that the mayor of St. Paul made a speech to the firemen at the close of their annual parade in which he referred to them as being as brave if not braver than the boys at the front. The friends of the boys in blue took serious umbrage at this break of the mayor, and the press of the city and throughout the state were very indignant to think that the capital city possessed a mayor of doubtful loyalty. The excitement soon died away and the mayor was re-elected by a large majority.

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