USA > Iowa > Howard County > Lime Springs > History of the Welsh in Minnesota, Foreston and Lime Springs, Ia. gathered by the old settlers > Part 7
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During the winter of 1857-8 a debating society was started in Butternut Valley, which had a flourishing existence for two or three years. In those early years, literary societies, temper- ance societies, and singing schools were common in all the set- tlements and our pioneers made themselves as useful and merry as could be in the wilderness.
The first school in the Seion neighborhood was taught by that famous old Welsh schoolmaster, Edward Thomas, Sr., in a log house belonging to Edward Jones ( Macs Mater), in the winter of 1856. A barn belonging to Evan H. Evans became the next schoolroom, and then in the winter of 1858 the school was removed to the church, then newly built, where J. T. Will- iams, Esq., wielded the rod.
The first school in Judson was taught in the winter of 1857 in a vacant house in the village by Miss Jennette, eldest daugh- ter of Rev. Jenkin Jenkins ( now Mrs. Jennette Jones, of Mankato).
In the Jerusalem neighborhood Mr. A. Crisp taught the first school at his own house ( where Mrs. Robert Roberts' present residence stands ) about 1860. There were only two or three children in attendance.
Addison Jones taught the next school in this neighborhood in the winter of 1861, and Edward Thomas, Sr., followed him in 1862. Both of these schools were well attended, and were kept in David T. Davis' log shanty, near where stands the present residence of Rev. John W. Roberts. This school continued in private houses until it was removed to the log church in 1866.
The first school in Butternut Valley was taught in District No. 10 by Miss Elizabeth Davis (now Mrs. Rich. Jones, of Cambria), daughter of the old pioneer, John E. Davis, in the summer of 1859, in a log schoolhouse which had just been com- pleted, and which stood in the edge of the timber about eighty rods due north of the present schoolhouse.
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(LE SUEUR COUNTY, MINN. )
OLD, ELIM CHURCH AND CEMETERY.
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THE WELSH IN MINNESOTA.
The first school in the Horeb neighborhood, now District No. 11, was taught by Miss Mary S. Davis (afterwards Mrs. Thos. Y. Davis), daughter of Dr. D. Davis, in the fall of 1859, in a vacant house which stood on the farm now owned by Jas. A. Thomas. Before the close of that year this district completed a log schoolhouse which stood on the site of its present frame building. The first to teach in this log structure was James Black, in the winter of 1860. Though a good scholar, he lacked one essential qualification for a successful pedagogue in those days- good muscle. The big boys soon put this qualification to the test, and found it wanting, and the school closed rather abruptly. The next teacher was Charles Buck, a brother of Judge Buck. He was six feet tall and well- proportioned-a powerful man physically as well as mentally. He ruled with a rod of iron-( wood )-and succeeded in bringing the turbulent spirits of young Wild West Wales under proper discipline. His school was quite successful. Edward Thomas, Sr., was the next teacher. He was not a great scholar, but he was fond of children, and his bustling, energetic way begat life and interest in all about him. His special forte was music, for which he had a great passion. To locate the district where this old Welsh schoolmaster taught, all one had to do was to listen, for it resounded with song from one end to the other. Singing schools were the order of the day and night in the neighborhood where he held sway.
In those days, Judson was an ambitious village not content unless it could excel. Accordingly, in the fall of 1858, instead of a common school, it must needs start an educational estab- lishment with the important title of "Judson Academy." A Joint Stock company, formed for the purpose, purchased for $800 a large frame building of T.R. Coulson, in which to hold the school. Rev. J. R. Ash, a young Baptist minister from Illinois, had charge of the school, and his wife taught the music department. Hon. Wm. R. Jones was one of the Trustees of the institution. A tuition fee, ranging from $3.50 to $10.00 was charged. A number of our Welsh young men and women attended this school during its existence, which, however, was but brief, lasting only until the summer of 1859. The school statistics of 1859 give the number of pupils in the several Welsh districts as follows: South Bend village, 74; Zion District, 45; Judson village, 42; Judson prairie, 38 ; John E. Davis District, 18; and Horeb Dis- trict, 52.
October 11, 1859, D. C. Evans, Esq., was elected to the State
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THE WELSH IN MINNESOTA.
Senate to the great rejoicing of the Welsh, who held a jollifica- tion meeting at South Bend November 29, on Mr. Evans' de- parture for the Legislative halls.
December 11, 1859, a Congregational church was organized at a vacant log house, belonging to E. Evans ( Pant), in South Bend vi.lage. Rev. Jenkin Jenkins, assisted by Henry Hughes and David T. Davis, conducted the organization. The first deacons elected were Win. W. Davis and Thos. Evans. In 1861. this society erected its present house of worship at a cost of $700. In the spring of 1859, Rev. David Davis and Heury Hughes started a Congregational society at Evan D. Evans' house on James A. Thomas' present farm. This society was duly organized into a church at the house of Henry Hughes in Butternut Valley, on the 13th of March, 1860, by Rev. Samuel Jones, La Crosse, Wis. Dr. Davis and Mr. Hughes preached alternate Sabbaths for this church until the death of the former in the spring of 1862, when Mr. Hughes took charge of it alone until the great Indian massacre of that fall scattered the sheep of this fold never more to reassemble. In December, 1860, a Calvinistic Methodist church was organized in South Bend vil- lage by Rev. R. G. Jones, assisted by E. Evans ( Pant). This church in 1866 went over to the Presbyterians and for a season enjoyed the able ministry of Rev. James M. Pryse and after- wards of Rev. David J. Lewis, but in spite of all it fell into a decline and finally ceased to exist. In November, 1860, the Cal- vinistic Methodist church of Elim, Big Woods, was organized by Rev. Richard G. Jones at the house of Rev. Richard Davis. The first elders of this church were Evan Griffiths and Edward Evans, and its pastor for several years was Rev. R. G. Jones. It's worthy elder, Evan Griffiths, gave the society an acre of his farm, and a neat frame meeting house was erected thereon in the summer of 1860. The church yard is the principal Welsh cemetery of Le Sueur county to this day.
While foremost in founding temples for the Prince of Peace our Welshmen were not backward in war. In the great conflict of the Rebellion the Welsh towns of Blue Earth county were the banner towns of that county in the quotas of men furnished. August 15, 1862, twenty-one Welshmen enlisted together in Co. E. 9th Regiment Minnesota Volunteers, and one of their num- ber, John R. Roberts, was made 2d Lieutenant, and was about the bravest and most efficient officer of the Regiment. Decem- ber, 1863, twenty-two more Welshmen enlisted at one time in Co. E. 2d Regiment Minnesota Cavalry. Besides these two
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special enlistments a number of others singly and in groups of three and four joined other companies and regiments at divers times. One of these, Hugh J. Owens, served as captain in Co. F. 1st Minnesota Artillery. Several of our brave Cymry boys left their bones on Southern fields, among whom were: Lieu- tenant J. R. Roberts, wounded at the battle of Nashville and died in the hospital, Sergeant Thomas Rees, killed at the battle of Vicksburg, also Privates E. J. Davis. William Rees, David Breese, Lewis Lewis, Jolin G. Roberts, and Wm. Grif- fiths, who mostly perished in the Southern prisons. Noble men they were all and true, who fought and died for principles, not for gain or selfish glory.
THE SIOUX MASSACRE.
At the treaties of Mendota and Traverse de Sioux in 1853 the Sioux Indians, as we have before stated, ceded to the govern- ment all the lands of the Minnesota valley except two small res- ervations, 10 miles broad by 150 miles in length, These reser- vations were situated on the upper waters of the Minnesota river, about twenty miles up the river from the Welsh settlement and about fifteen miles from the village of New Ulm, and on the same side of the river.
On each of these reservations was located a government post, where resided the Indian commissioner with his retinue and a number of traders, forming two small villages. One of these. situated in the northwest corner of the town of Sherman, in Red Wood county, was known as the Lower Sioux Agency, and the other, located on the present site of Yellow Medicine village, in Yellow Medicine county, was called the Upper Sioux Agency. Three miles further up the Yellow Medicine river was the Mis- sion Station of Dr. Thomas S. Williamson, called "Pay-zhe-hoo- ta-ze," and two miles beyond was the Mission Station of Dr. Stephen R. Riggs, termed "Hazelwood." Thirteen miles below the Lower Agency, upon the north bank of the Minnesota river, Ft. Ridgely was situated, with a garrison of soldiers for the pro- tection of the frontier. A few Indians had been induced by the teaching of the Missionaries and by the great aids and rewards of the government to adopt civilized life, and had houses and farms near the two Agencies-about 60 farms at the Upper Agency and 100 farms at the Lower Agency, with about 1,500 acres under good cultivation. The great majority, however, re- tained their ancient customs, wandering about hunting and fishing through the great forests and plains. Little attention
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paid they to the lines of their reservations, but roamed at will over their ancient hunting grounds as freely as though the same had never been ceded, and mingled with fullest freedom among the few scattered settlers, who from daily associations had come to look upon them without the least fear or suspicion.
Once a year the tribes would gather at the Agencies to re- ceive their annuities, which, according to the treaty, were to amount to $30,000.00 in money and $10,000.00 in provisions an- nually. There were also paid $12,000.00 per year as a civiliza- tion fund, and $6,000.00 per year for an educational fund. De- lays, however, frequently occurred in the payment of these annuities, which worked serious hardship and inconvenience to the Indians. Greater still was the hardship due to the dis- honesty of agents and traders, who often took advantage of the simple minded savage to swindle him out of all his money even before he received it.
The government's custom of allowing agents and traders to present claims against the Indians for pretended credits that had been advanced to them, and deducting these amounts first from the annuities, caused particularly sore grievances.
It afforded the widest chance for frauds, as the Indians had no opportunity to dispute any of the claims. About $400,- 000.00 of the money due the Indians under the treaties of 1851 and 1852 were thus paid the first year to traders and agents on old debts, which roused great indignation among the Indians. who claimed they did not owe these parties a cent. One Hugh Miller was paid $55,000.00 for pretended services in helping to negotiate the treaties.
With the change of administration in 1861 came a change of agents and a change of policy. Instead of paying the annui- ties in money they were paid in goods. which afforded greater opportunity for fraud. if anything, than before, and caused greater dissatisfaction to the Indians. There were also vexa- tious delays in the payment of these annuities. In 1862 they were due the first of July, but did not arrive until August 19th, a day after the beginning of the massacre. The Indians, who had gathered at the Lower Agency, the place of payment, on time- many coming from a great distance with their families, were kept waiting, doomed to daily disappointment, until their small supply of food was exhausted and they were rendered desperate by want.
Settlers, also, were pouring into the country more and more every year and the land was fast being taken by them. The
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game, which had been the hunters sustenance, was fast disap- pearing, so the redman was beginning to realize what he had done in ceding his land to the pale-face, and how soon he would be driven out of the home of his fathers.
Then there was what may be termed the patriotic feeling- the strong innate love of their old customs, habits and institu- tions, which were fast being expelled by the aggressive power of the white man's civilization. Barbarism and civilization are naturally antagonistic, and when suddenly brought together there is usually a hos- tile clash.
To see a strange people, with strange . manners and institu- tions, expel them from the land of their fathers and destroy their ancient savage customs and rights nec- essarily begot a hos- tile feeling in the hearts of the Dakotas. These things were discussed and agitated by the Sioux in their Tee-yo-tee-pe (Soldiers Lodge) a secret society, LITTLE CROW. formed by them for the purpose shortly before the outbreak, until the savage mind was made ripe for mischief. Foremost among the agitators was a chief of the Medawakon- ton band, named "Tahohyahtaydootah," (His Scarlet People ) or as he was called by the whites after his father, "Little Crow.' This chief was a man of considerable ability and eloquence He had adopted the white man's costume, except that he still retained his long plaited hair and time-honored blanket, and he dwelt in a comfortable residence upon a well furnished farm near the Lower Agency, all generously supplied him by the government. Besides being civilized, he was also a Christian convert who went to church regularly and prided himself on his piety. At the house of this amiable chief, on Sunday afternoon
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the 3d of August, 1862, an Indian council met, and one of the darkest and most daring plots was conceived and determined upon.
. This horrible plot meant nothing less than the wholesale murder of all the whites west of the Mississippi.
It was decided to begin this horrible massacre on the mor- row at the Upper Agency and at Ft. Ridgely simultaneously, and cunning strategems were devised to capture these places. Ac- cordingly, on the morrow, ninety-six young braves, well armed and painted, went to Ft. Ridgely, pretending they were going upou an excursion against the Chippewas, and asked the privilege to hold one of their customary dances on a vacant lot within the fort. This privilege, for some reason, was refused, but they were granted a spot outside of the walls where at once they pre- pared themselves for the dance.
There were about sixty soldiers at Ft. Ridgely at the time. and these not dreaming of danger were sauntering about negli- gent of every military precaution. As the Indians had expected, the soldiers and citizens soon gathered around to witness the strange performance. It was the plan of the savages, when the soldiers were thus unarmed and whoily unprepared, to rush . into the fort, seize the guns and ammunition and massacre the entire garrison. The accomplishment. however, of this strat- agem was thwarted by the cautiousness of a brave Welshman. In command of thesix small pieces of artillery at the fort was one Sergeant John Jones. This man, thinking it the duty of a soldier to be always prepared, loaded three of his guns with grape and canister shot and pointed them squarely at the dane- ing braves. All that afternoon and all night long Sargeant Jones kept himself and two subordinates stationed at the guns, whose frowning muscles were all that saved Ft. Ridgely. On the morrow the Indians, naturally cowards and having special dread of the white man's big guns, departed from the fort with- out causing even the suspicion of evil.
The contemplated attack upon the Upper Agency was, also, happily frustrated. On the same morning of the 4th of August about 400 Indians, mounted and on foot. made a raid upon the government warehouse at this place, breaking in the door and shooting down the flag before the eyes of the agent and 100 armed soldiers, but a prompt and vigorous action on the part of the soldiery awed the cowardly savages and defeated their mur- merous purpose. Their bloody plans having been thus thwarted at the start, another council of the entire Sioux nation with as
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many Winnebagoes and other Indians as wished to come, was called to meet on Sunday the 17th of August, at Rice Creek, sixteen miles above the Lower Agency. During the two or three days preceding this council the Sioux bands dwelling in the Welsh settlement, after holding a few wild dances, suddenly took their departure westward taking with them their squaws, pa- pooses and all their belongings. Likewise did the other Sioux bands dwelling over the rest of the state, and daily the roads leading toward the Sioux Reservation were full of Indians all going toward the Lower Agency, until by the evening of the 16th all were gone. This strange movement, however, created not the slightest suspicion among the whites as the In- dians had been in the habit of going to the reservation in great numbers to receive their annuities, which were then past due.
Sunday morning, August 17th, Little Crow, Inkpadoota and Little Priest, chief of the Winnebagoes, attended religious servi- ces at the Episcopal church in the Lower Agency and listened attentively to the sermon preached by Rev. J. D. Hinman. In the afternoon of the same day the three attended a large In- dian council held again on Rice Creek, at which they were the principal spokesmen. The theme was how to destroy the white race and redress their wrongs.
Then was thought to be the opportune time, as the whites were engaged in a great war among themselves. All the regu- lar soldiers, who heretofore had been stationed in the frontier forts, had gone to the south and their places were supplied by a mere handful of raw recruits. Fort Ridgely was occupied by Com- pany B, Fifth Minnesota Volunteers, which comprised eighty men and four officers, who had enlisted only six months before, together with Ordinance Sergeant John Jones with six small pieces of artillery, Post Surgeon Alfred Muller, Sutler B. H. Randall and Indian Interpreter Peter Quinn-in all only eighty- eight men to guard hundreds of miles of frontier against 4,000 Sioux and 2,000 Winnebagoes, while at the other frontier military posts, Forts Ripley and Abercrombie, only companies C and A, of the same regiment, with about the same number of men were sta- tioned to keep in check the hordes of Chippewas and Sioux in the distant region of the north and west. Besides all this four thousand of the best able-bodied men from the scattered homes of Minnesota had already gone to southern battle fields, and five thousand more had recently enlisted and had just started for the great conflict until it seemed there were only women and children and old men left.
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Company E, of the 9th Regiment was recruited in Blue Earth county and contained a large proportion of Welshmen. They had left Mankato only the previous Friday for Fort Snell- ing to be mustered in. On the same day the Indian agent, Maj. Thos. J. Galbraith, having enlisted thirty men at the Upper Agency and twenty men at the Lower Agency, went with them to Fort Ridgely, and this very Sunday morning, being furnished transportation, they had left the fort accompanied by Lieutenant N. K. Culver, Sergeant McGraw and four men of Company B for Fort Snelling, by way of New Ulm and St. Peter, to be sworn in and sent south with the thousands of able bodied men there gathered from all parts of the state in answer to their country's call. At 7 o'clock on the morning of this same Sunday Lieutenant Shechan, with fifty men of Company C, Fifth Regi- ment, who had been sent from Fort Ripley to aid Maj. Galbraith two months before in quelling certain disturbances which had broken out among the Indians of the Upper Agency, left Fort Ridgely to return to Fort Ripley, thinking the danger was all over. The watchful eye of the Indian had observed all this. Now, if ever, was the opportune time to avenge all their wrongs and recover all their lands from the hated pale-face invader.
The Great Spirit had delivered the white people into their hands with all their rich spoil. It would be but a small pastime for the Indian warriors to kill the women and children and the few men-mostly old and decrepit-left in the country. These were the sentiments expressed with all the force of Indian ora- tory at this Sunday afternoon council.
There were present, by special invitation, delegates from the Winnebagoes, Chippewas and the tribes who dwelt on the great plains of Dakota, and all gave assurances of sympathy and aid in ridding the country of the common foe. It was thought prudent, however, to defer the attack until all the soldiers then mustering at St. Paul had left the state, and to make sure of this a delegation of Indians was to be sent to St. Paul to spy into affairs, under the pretext of seeking redress for their grievances. Little Crow and his associates planned well and undoubtedly it these plans had been carried out to full maturity the awful In- dian massacre of 1862 would have been ten times more awful and the Indian prediction that all the whites in Minnesota, west of the Mississippi, would be destroyed and corn planted on the sites of St. Peter, Mankato and Red Wing would have been ful- filled.
A merciful providence, however, hastened the massacre pre-
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maturely and thus weakened the foe: and the gathering at Fort Snelling of so many thousands of men enlisted ready for war turned out to be a very important factor in saving the state from destruction by the savage tomahawk.
On the 10th of August twenty Indians had left the Lower Agency for the north end of the Big Woods in Mecker county to hunt deer. On the morning of this eventful Sunday (August 17) four of these twenty, having become separated from the others came to the house of one Robinson Jones in the town of Acton. Jones kept a sort of a public house and had a bar with liquors for sale.
A violent quarrel soon arose between Jones and the Indians regarding a gun, which Jones charged they had taken some time before to shoot deer with and had failed to return. Jones finally drove them out of his house and refused to give them more whiskey. They then went a quarter of a mile distant to the house of Howard Baker, a son of Mrs. Jones' by a former husband. There they conducted themselves peaceably, until an hour later when Mr. and Mrs. Jones came over on a visit and resumed with them the old quarrel with much bitterness. It seems these Indians belonged to Chief Shakopee's band near the Lower Agency, which band was the worst disposed towards the whites and had been the most violent and aggressive in their denunciation in the "Soldiers Lodge." Evil inclined at heart towards the whites and greatly incensed by the scurrulous abuse of Jones and his wife, and their brains probably somewhat in- flamed by whiskey, their savage thirst for vengeance could con- tain itself no longer, so they induced the whites to shoot with them at a mark and taking advantage of them when their guns were empty, they immediately shot and killed Jones, Baker and his wife, and an immigrant named Webster, who was stopping at Baker's house, and then returned to Jones' house and killed a Miss Wilson, who was stopping there. This occurred about noon. The bloody work done, they began to reflect on the ter- rible consequences it might bring on themselves, and, stealing a span of horses from a Mr. Eckland near by, they made all haste for home, 35 miles away, at Shakopee's village on Rice Creek, where they arrived late at night. The story of the murders was at once communicated to the head men of the tribe and a second council hastily summoned, after midnight, of all the - Indians within reach.
The four murderers were closely related to the strongest and most influential families in the tribe. To save the young men
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from being immediately arrested and hung by the whites there seemed to be but one remedy: to commence the massacre at once and annihilate the pale face from the land before tidings of this outrage should reach them and put them on their guard, and soldiers should be sent to their defense.
The young bloods not having the foresight of the older chiefs, having before been impatient of the delay in beginning the massacre, now swept all before them in their mad enthusiasm. Little Crow, however, was keen enough to foresee the difficulty of so hasty a beginning and expressed his regret that the out- break was forced thus prematurely, but finally yielded to the argument of necessity as their hands were already red. Seeing nothing could stem the mad tide he threw himself on it's top wave, ambitious of the hero's place, as leader of his people. Ere yet it was dawn the roads leading to the Lower Agency were full of armed savages, hideous with paint and feathers, and eager to begin the carnage.
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