USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 38
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From there the Indians went to Sioux Rapids and thence to Gillett's Grove enacting the same scenes and getting ready for the awful tragedy that was soon to follow. While the Sioux were at Lost Island one of them came to the cabin of the Gillett's and in the absence of the husband, very much abused his wife. On Gillett's return upon being told what had happened he followed the buck and shot him in his tracks. He and his brother then cut off the Indian's head, boxed it up, hid the body in a hollow tree and then left the country. Mr. Gil- braith, the Clay county historian, is authority for the statement that after many years one of the brothers returned and told the story of why they left so sud- denly. From Lost Island the Indians went direct to Spirit Lake to continue on a much more extensive scale their depredations of a much more horrible character.
The first settlements on the shores of Spirit Lake and the Okobojis were made during the summer of 1856, while there were no houses between Algona and that section of the country. Their claims being near the lakes the settlers built their cabins in the groves where the scenery was most beautiful and the pros- pects for maintaining happy homes all that they could desire. While a number of the cabins were only a short distance apart, the entire distance from one end of the settlement to the other was nearly six miles. These settlers had been previously visited by the Indians, but had not been molested by them to any great extent before the day of the awful massacre. Winter coming on pro- visions were scarce, for but little was raised by the settlers after their arrival in the new country. That winter of 1856-7 will be remembered as being one of continued deep snows and of intense cold. It was the hardest for the settlers to endure of any from that time to the present. To procure provisions they had to make long trips with ox teams to southern points in the state.
Rowland Gardner and his son-in-law, Harvey Luce, brought their families there in July, and built their cabin on the southeast shore of West Okoboji before any other settlers had arrived. The family had eaten an early breakfast on the morning of March 8. 1857, as Mr. Gardner intended starting to Fort Dodge for provisions. Suddenly the door was pushed open when in walked Inkpadutah, followed by thirteen warriors. After they had been given a warm breakfast they made an attempt to seize the guns and ammunition. While Luce was resisting them, two neighboring men entered and then the Indians went away, but hung around the place until about noon when they began killing the Gardner cattle. When the screaming of the women and children at the Mattocks cabin, not far away, was heard, it was then known at the Gardner cabin that the butchery had begun. Five men at the Mattocks cabin fought desperately to save the helpless women and children but were overpowered and massacred. The building was set on fire and the mutilated bodies of some of the children were roasted in the flames. The five men, two women and four children all perished. Returning to the Gardner cabin the Indians pushed open the barricaded door and shot Mr. Gardner. With clubs they then killed the remaining members of the family who were present, except the fourteen-year old Abbie, who was taken along as a captive. Luce and Clark, who had started from Gardner's to warn the settlers of approaching danger, were overtaken, shot and scalped. The Indians that night had a war dance to celebrate their butchery of the twenty people they had exterminated since noon. The next morning the murderous work was continued.
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for nearby neighbors on the east side of the lakes had not heard of what had happened. While the Indians were on the way to the Howe cabin they met Mr. Howe going to Gardner's to borrow flour, and after shooting him, separated his head from his body. Six members of the Howe family at the cabin were soon lying lifeless in the snow in front, having met with the most cruel treatment by the blood-thirsty fiends. At the Thatcher cabin the Indians pretended to be friends when they entered, but suddenly shot two men, dashed out the brains of two children by swinging them against a tree and then made captives of Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher who were living there together and who had not heard of the massacre on the previous day. The settlement at the Okobojis, with the exception of the three captive women, having been wiped out of existence the Indians prowled around until the 13th of March, when they went to the west shore of Spirit Lake, some six miles away, where resided the newly wedded couple of William Marble and wife who also were ignorant of the fate which had befallen their neighbors on the south. After first pretending to be friends the savage fiends shot the husband through the back, tore from his waist a belt containing $1,000 in gold. plundered the house and then took as the fourth captive Mrs. Marble, whom they placed on a pony under guard. Before leav- ing the premises the savages peeled the bark from a large tree, and on the smooth surface of the tree made pictures to represent the extent of the bloody work they had accomplished. Many settlers who came during the next few years saw this record and were thankful that they were not among the settlers of 1856.
Inkpadutah and his band next proceeded north to massacre the settlement at Springfield (Jackson, Minnesota ), about eighteen miles away. There they found the news had preceded them. for sixteen men, women and children were bar- ricaded in the Thomas cabin when they arrived. Those in the cabin were well prepared for the attack, but they allowed the Indians to induce them to come out side of the house on some pretext. This ruse was effected by one of the sav- ages who, being dressed in citizen's clothes, approached the house while the other Indians were hiding behind trees for shelter. Just what this disguised savage said to the barricaded settlers is not known, but it is known that the whole com- pany stepped outside and received a volley from behind the trees. The eight- year old son of Mr. Thomas fell mortally wounded and Mr. Thomas, another man and a woman received dangerous wounds. After the settlers had reentered the cabin and braced the doors the attack began, but there were then but three able bodied men left to defend. Two of the women cast bullets and Mrs. Church defended with a gun. Seeing an Indian aiming his rifle at the house she gave him a charge of buckshot which caused him to fall sprawling in the snow. When night came the savages withdrew to complete their bloody work on other set- tlers. Before leaving the settlement the savage brutes went to the store of George and William Wood, shot them, plundered the store, and then set fire to the building while the remains of the proprietors were lying on the floor. These men had refused to join with the rest at the Thomas cabin, believing themselves safe. They had sold the savages the very powder and lead which were used in the attack at the Thomas cabin and which finally ended their own lives. The savages having withdrawn from the vicinity, those who had con- gregated in the Thomas cabin escaped at night, with an ox team and sled, in
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their efforts to reach some settlement that had not been exterminated by the savages. The sled being heavily loaded, even the wounded women trudged along behind through the deep snow. About the same time that this party left the Thomas cabin with the ox team all those who could get away from the Wheeler cabin, which had also been barricaded, left on foot to find some place of refuge. In doing so they had to abandon two helpless men in the house who had recently had their legs amputated on account of having had them badly frozen. These two fleeing parties came together on the second day out and reached the George Granger cabin, on the west branch of the Des Moines near the state line, that night after much suffering. After some delay the fleeing set- tlers left the Granger cabin for the south, camping out at night under the most trying conditions. On the third day when it seemed that their suffering was so great that they could hardly go another mile they saw what they supposed to be a band of Indians approaching, and bravely prepared to defend themselves as best they could. They were soon over-joyed when they discovered that the approaching party was the advance detachment of Major Williams' relief forces coming up from Fort Dodge to bury the dead, and to protect those who had escaped the general slaughter. They were assisted in getting to the Irish colony in Palo Alto county where they were made comfortable, and where for the first time in several weeks they closed their eyes in sleep without fear of the Indians.
Along with these fugitives there was one man at least deserving of much credit for the services he had rendered. That man was Morris Markham, who had been making his home at the Noble cabin. He was not at home when the slaughter began, but reached the settlement at midnight of the second day's deadly work. Going from cabin to cabin in the dark he came upon the bodies of his neighbors and friends lying about the yards of the cabins. He also came in sight of the camp of Sioux near the Mattocks cabin, and then realized that the settlement had been massacred in his absence. Having traveled more than thirty miles that day, in search for cattle that had strayed away, he was nearly exhausted. He remained in a ravine till nearly day light and then left for Springfield, Minnesota, eighteen miles away, to give the alarm. That is why the Indians found the Thomas cabin barricaded when they arrived a few days later. It was he who ventured out of the cabin at night and discovered an ox team for escaping, and found that the Indians had withdrawn from behind the trees and gone elsewhere.
The butchery began about noon March 8th, at the lakes, but the news of the massacre did not reach Fort Dodge until the 22nd, when it was carried there by three men who had taken claims at the lakes the fall previous and who on returning to the settlement on March 15th, found the mutilated bodies of those who had occupied the cabins scattered about the yards. Hurriedly they left for the south, and on reaching Fort Dodge gave the alarm. Major Williams pro- ceeded at once to raise one hundred men as a relief force to protect the remain- ing settlers, drive off the savages, bury the dead and rescue the fleeing settlers who had abandoned their houses. The forces under command of Major Wil- liams were divided into three companies, one under Capt. C. B. Richards, one under Capt. John F. Duncombe and one under Capt. J. C. Johnson, the last named company being from Webster City and the other two from Fort Dodge.
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In the haste to reach the scenes of the massacre, the expedition, poorly equipped for covering the distance between Fort Dodge and Spirit Lake, left for the latter place while the ground was covered with deep snow having a crust which broke through at every step, making the journey a tedious and fatiguing one from beginning to end. Some nights they found shelter in cabins and some nights they slept on the open prairie in the snow where they had no fuel for fire. Some of the men having complained of the hardships they were enduring, the Major told them that greater hardships were still to come. but that they or any others who so desired could turn back if they did not have the courage to proceed fur- ther on the journey. About nine men turned their faces southward, while the others marched against the northwest wind. On reaching the Irish colony, sev . eral men joined the expedition. At the Granger house, near the state line, it was learned that the Indians had left for the west and that soldiers from Fort Ridgley were at Springfield as a protection to the settlers.
The main body of the relief force began to retrace their steps towards Fort Dodge, while Capt. J. C. Johnson and about twenty-one volunteers left for the lakes to bury the dead. On arriving the burial party went from cabin to cabin picking up the bodies and depositing them in the ground. There was no one there to tell them the story of the defense the settlers made while defending their cabin homes. At some of the cabins it was plainly evident that a desperate defense had been made by those whose ghastly forms, now silent in death, were unable to tell the story of the horrible butchery. In that settlement forty per- sons lost their lives. Just how many of the savages were killed has never been fully known. There has been much dispute over that matter by the various people who have written on the subject. It is conceded by most writers that not more than two or three were killed and probably not as many as that, al- though it is known that that number were seen to fall, though possibly only wounded. The "braves" who conducted the massacre forfeited all claim to that title by the treacherous manner in which they carried on their deadly work. They were simply sneaking cowards of the lowest class of renegade Indians.
The burial party left for Fort Dodge, April 4, at a time when all their pro- visions had been consumed. The suffering they endured in reaching home hardly finds a parallel in any historic story pertaining to the hardships ex- perienced by the early settlers. They left the lakes when the weather was warm and the melting snows were filling the sloughs to overflowing. Through these the men had to wade and splash until there was hardly a dry thread in their clothing. In the afternoon, the wind suddenly changing to the northwest, a cold. raging blizzard came upon them, freezing their clothing stiff and making their march extremely difficult. Night coming on they became bewildered. Hands and feet were frozen and there was no chance to build a fire or get a mouthful to eat. They tramped around in the flying snow storm to keep warm, for to sit down or to remain quiet would insure certain death from freezing. Capt. Johnson and W. E. Burkholder became separated from the others and were never seen alive again. Eleven years afterwards their bleaching bones, their guns and their powder flasks were found by William Shea on section 3, 95-33 in Palo Alto county. The entire command, except Johnson and Burkholder, man- aged to reach home alive, but several were badly frozen. The weather grew
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more severe as they marched from day to day until the mercury registered very low.
While Major Williams' relief expedition was going and coming, and while the burial party was doing service at the lakes, Inkpadutah and his band were on their march westward with their four captives. They had with them some of the horses that belonged to the settlers they had killed. These horses, the ponies, the squaws and the captives were all loaded with goods that had been plundered from the cabins. These women had to carry burdens on their shoulders, day after day, through slush and water, and at night lodge in separate tents where they suffered indignities from the savage brutes worse than death. The horses finally starved to death and their bodies were cut up for food. The loads they had carried were then transferred to the four women and the squaws. The Sioux with their captives went on westward until they came to the Big Sioux river, where Mrs. Thatcher met with the most cruel death. The story of her capture and death is one that always excites pity when- ever told. She and Mrs. Noble (another captive) had married cousins at Hampton, Iowa, and each was the mother of a young child. Their husbands had taken claims on the lake shores and were occupying the same cabin. The two women had been intimate friends since girlhood and greatly enjoyed their homelife together. On the day of the massacre Thatcher was absent from home and escaped the slaughter. The two women saw Noble and the two children killed just before being led away as captives. Mrs. Thatcher was only nineteen years old and was sick with a fever at the time of the raid. As a result she could not carry the load upon her shoulders that the savages had placed upon her. They marked her for an early victim.
When the Indians came to the Big Sioux river they took the burden from her shoulders and ordered her to walk out on some drift wood. Realizing that her death was at hand she bade her sister captives farewell. Her last words were : "If any of you escape, tell my dear husband that I wanted to live for his sake." When she had reached a point nearly in the middle of the river the Indian behind her threw her into the icy river. She managed to swim and cling to some drift wood near the shore, but she was pushed off into the current with tent poles and not allowed to land. Turning her course she swam to the opposite shore where she was met with a shower of clubs and other flying missiles. As she was floating down the current the savages threw stones at her and then one of them shot her in the back as she was clinging to some drift wood. Poor Mrs. Thatcher ! In spite of her tender years, her sickness, and the murder of her only child she was compelled to meet such a death as this in the icy water of the Big Sioux.
After the cruel death of Mrs. Thatcher, Mrs. Noble cared but little whether she lived or died. Her husband had been shot, the brains of her child had been dashed out on a tree before her own eyes, her home was gone, her life-long com- panion had just been killed and she was on her way westward to the main camp of the Sioux at some unknown place. Had the two other captive women been willing, she would gladly have joined with them in jumping into the river and meeting death by drowning. Roaring Cloud, a son of Inkpadutah, ordered her one evening to go into his tent with him. She defiantly refused and re- sisted him with all her might. He thereupon dragged her outside the tent and Vol. 1-19
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beat her to death with a club. Joy came to Mrs. Marble May 6th, when she learned that she was about to be ransomed through the efforts of Major Flan- dreau, the Indian agent at Yellow Medicine Agency, and other parties. These parties sent friendly Indians to the camp and they secured Mrs. Marble's re- lease for $1,000, which had been raised for that purpose. The Indians not only received that amount for her release, but it will be remembered that when they killed her husband they took from his belt a like sum in gokl. Two of the captives having been killed and one ransomed left Abbie Gardner, fourteen years old, as the only prisoner. Just think of a girl of that age in the hands of that brutal band! What was to be her fate? Whither was she going? All of the family of her parents had been killed except one sister who happened to be at Springfield at the time. That sister was one of the number who was barri- caded at the Thomas cabin at the time the attack was made at that place. When the Sioux reached the James river Abbie found herself in an Indian village where there were about 2,000 savages. She now gave up hope of ever being rescued by friends or ever having her liberty again.
After being ransomed Mrs. Marble did everything in her power to enlist the sympathy of the authorities for the release of the captives, for she had not learned of Mrs. Noble's death. The Minnesota legislature authorized the gov- ernor to expend the sum of $10,000 if necessary in getting the captives released. The services of friendly Indians were secured to negotiate with Inkpadutah. They were offered large rewards in case they were successful. They spent three days in the Sioux camp on the James and finally bought Abbie's liberty. They took her to St. Paul where Governor Medary paid them $1,200 for their serv- ices. But what did Inkpadutah receive for her? Harris Hoover, whose home was at Webster City and who was a member of the relief expedition, wrote an article on the subject many years ago for the Hamilton Freeman. He said that what Inkpadutah really received was two horses, twelve blankets, two kegs of powder, twenty pounds of tobacco, thirty-two yards of blue squaw cloth, thirty-seven yards of calico, ribbons, etc.
Nearly thirty years ago Mrs. Abbie Gardner Sharp had a book published, giving a full account of the massacre and of the experiences of the four captives. Many articles since that time have appeared in print which were taken from her book. From these articles much that appears in this volume on that subject has been taken. There is a satisfaction in learning that after her release Abbie had the good fortune to meet Mr. Thatcher and convey to him the last message from his youthful wife, "Tell my dear husband that I wanted to live for his sake." There is a sad disappointment in the information, however, that she and Mrs. Marble never met after their release. There is a consolation in learning that Roaring Cloud who murdered Mrs. Noble was afterward killed by the soldiers and friendly Indians under the direction of Major Flandreau. It is furthermore good news that three more of Inkpadutah's band met the same fate some time after the captives were released. It is to be hoped that some of those savages who were hanged at Mankato in the fall of 1862 were members of Inkpadutah's band, for they were in those attacks with their leader and were among the most horrible butchers who nearly exterminated the Minnesota settle- ments, when Little Crow made his invasion in the region of New Ulm. General
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Sibley's army in 1863 chased Inkpadutah and his followers far to the west into the bad lands beyond, where all trace of him was lost.
The Gardner cabin has been well preserved, and close to it stands an im- posing monumental shaft, fifty-five feet high, to commemorate the sad event. The legislature in 1894, appropriated the sum of $5,000 for that purpose. The bill was secured through the personal entreaties of Mrs. Sharp and the influence of Senator A. B. Funk. The commission in charge of the work consisted of C. C. Carpenter, John F. Duncombe, Mrs. Sharp, A. R. Smith and Charles Aldrich. On the east tablet are these words: "The pioneer settlers named below were murdered by Sioux Indians March 8-13, 1857. The barbarous work was commenced near this spot and continued to Springfield (now Jackson, Minne- sota)." Then follows the names of forty persons. On the west tablet are the names of the members of Major Williams' three companies of the relief expe- dition. The following words are upon the face of the south tablet : "Miss Abbie Gardner, Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, Mrs. Lydia Noble, and Mrs. Elizabeth Thatcher were carried into captivity-Mrs. Marble was rescued May 21, and Miss Gardner June 23, 1857, through the efforts of Governor Sam Medary and Hon. Charles E. Flandreau of Minnesota. Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher were murdered by the Indians.
-Capt. J. C. Johnson of Webster City and William E. Burkholder of Fort Dodge were frozen to death on their return march in Palo Alto county, April 4, 1857."
CHASING AND KILLING THE LAST ELK
Chasing elk over the fertile prairies was a favorite line of sport for the hunters in the early-settlement days of the county. In the chapter "Coming to Kossuth in 1854," W. H. Ingham has told of his experience in killing the first elk slain by any settler. It is now in order to give an account of the chasing and killing of the last elk ever seen in the county.
The herds of elk that roamed through the county when the first settlers came were nearly annihilated by the deep snow and severity of the weather, during the memorable winter of 1856-7. As herds they wholly disappeared, but occa- sional stragglers were seen in various portions of the county until a couple of years after the close of the war. During the fall of 1867 a lone elk, grazing with the deer, was reported to have been seen on the favorite hunting ground along the banks of Prairie creek, some eight miles east of Irvington. M. B. Dalton having traded a wagon to Samuel Reed for a horse, went down on the ridge in company with his brother-in-law, M. B. Chapin, to bring his horse up to Algona. Learning that the horse, with others, was running at large some place on the prairie, they started out to locate him. They followed the ridge road east from the Reed farm until they came within a short distance of Prairie creek, where horses, cattle and deer were in the habit of congregating and mingling as one happy family. Presently they came in sight of a large elk which soon raised his head, threw his antlers back and made a half circle run near them, and in so doing scared up several deer. The men having no guns with them, simply sat and watched the movements of the coveted game, though somewhat fearing the elk might undertake to show fight. The monarch of the prairies and the
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