USA > Minnesota > Ramsey County > St Paul > A history of the city of Saint Paul, and of the county of Ramsey, Minnesota > Part 3
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The History of the City of Saint Paul,
difficulties, however, were not sufficient to deter me from the undertak- ing, and I made preparations for setting out. What I chiefly had in view, after gaining a knowledge of the manners, customs, languages, soil, and productions of the different nations that inhabit the back of the Mississippi, was to ascertain the breadth of that vast continent, which extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, in the broadest part between 43 and 46 degrees northern latitude. Had I been able to accomplish this, I intended to have proposed to Government to establish a post in some of those parts about the Straits of Annian, which, having been first discovered by Sir FRANCIS DRAKE, of course belong to the English. This, I am convinced, would greatly facilitate the discovery of a northwest passage, or a communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean, an event so desirable, and which has been so often sought for, but without success. Besides this important end, a settle- ment on that territory of America would answer many good purposes, and repay every expense the establishment of it might occasion. For it would not only disclose new sources of trade, and promote many useful discoveries, but would open a passage for conveying intelligence to China, and English settlements in the East Indies, with greater expe- dition than a tedious voyage by the Cape of Good Hope, or the Straits of Magellan, will allow of. That the completion of the scheme I have had the honor of first planning and attempting will sometime or other be effected, I make no doubt. Whenever it is, and the execution of it carried on with propriety, those who are so fortunate as to succeed will reap, exclusive of the national advantages that must ensue, emoluments beyond their most sanguine expectations, and, whilst their spirits are elated by their success, perhaps they may bestow some commendation and blessings on the person that first pointed out to them the way."
HE SETS OUT ON HIS TRAVELS.
CARVER set out on his journey from Boston, in June, 1766. He proceeded to Mackinac, then the most distant British post, arriving in August.
"Having here (he says) made the necessary dispositions for pursuing my travels, and obtained a credit from Mr. ROGERS, the Governor, on some English and Canadian traders who were going to trade on the Mississippi, and received also from him a promise of a fresh supply of goods when I reached the Falls of Saint Anthony, I left the fort on the 3d of September, in company with these traders. It was agreed that they should furnish me with such goods as I might want for presents to the Indian chiefs during my continuance with them, agreeable to the Governor's order."
CARVER pursued the usual route to Green Bay, ascended the
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and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota.
Fox River, made the portage to the Wisconsin, and, descend- ing that stream, entered the Mississippi on October 15. The traders who were with him left him at Prairie du Chien, oppo- site to which village, at " Yellow River," they took up their quarters. CARVER here " bought a canoe, and, with two ser- vants, one a French Canadian, and the other a Mohawk of Canada," started up the Mississippi River.
Without giving too much space to CARVER's voyage, we must now come to his arrival at the present site of Saint Paul, and his description of
" THE GREAT CAVE,"
(under Dayton's Bluff,) which he thus describes in his work : " About thirty miles below the Falls of Saint Anthony, at which I arrived the tenth day after I left Lake Pepin, is a remarkable cave of an amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakan-Teebe, that is, 'The Dwell- ing of the Great Spirit.' The entrance into it is about ten feet wide,
the height of it five feet. The arch within is near fifteen feet high, and
about thirty feet broad. The bottom of it consists of fine, clear sand. About twenty feet from the entrance begins a lake, the water of which is transparent, and extends to an unsearchable distance; for the dark- ness of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it. I threw a small pebble toward the interior parts of it with my utmost strength ; I could hear that it fell into the water, and, notwithstanding it was of so small a size, it caused an astonishing and horrible noise, that reverberated through all those gloomy regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics, which appeared very ancient, for time had nearly covered them with inoss, so that it was with difficulty I could trace them. They were cut in a rude manner upon the inside of the walls, which were composed of a stone so extremely soft that it might be easily penetrated with a knife-a stone everywhere to be found near the Mississippi. The cave is only accessible by ascending a narrow, steep passage that lies near the brink of the river.
" At a little distance from this dreary cavern, is the burying place of several bands of the Naudowessie Indians; though these people have no fixed residence, living in tents, and abiding but a few months on one spot, yet they always bring the bones of their dead to this place; which they take the opportunity of doing, when the chiefs meet to hold their councils, and to settle all public affairs for the ensuing summer."
This was CARVER's first visit to the now celebrated cave. After leaving it, he proceeded on to Saint Anthony's Falls, which he minutely describes in his volume of travels, accom-
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The History of the City of Saint Paul,
panying it by a copperplate engraving from a drawing made . by himself on November 17, 1766. - He afterwards took a short trip up the Mississippi River, as far as the "Saint Francis River," beyond which point, he says, it had never been explored, . and thus far only by Father HENNEPIN and himself.
HIS JOURNEY UP THE SAINT PETER'S RIVER.
On the 25th of November, CARVER returned to his canoe, which he " had left at the mouth of the River Saint Pierre," [Minnesota,] and ascended that stream. About forty miles from its mouth, he says, he "arrived at a small branch that fell into it from the north," which, as it had no name that he could distinguish it by, he called "Carver's River," which name it bears to this day.
HE WINTERS AMONG THE NAUDOWESSIES.
On the 7th of December he arrived at the most westerly limit of his travels, and, as he could proceed no further that season, spent the winter, a period of seven months, among a band of Naudowessies encamped near what is now New Ulm. He says he learned their language so as to converse in it intel- ligibly, (though white men who have learned this language declare that to be impossible,) and was treated by them with great hospitality. In the spring, he returned to the cave. His account of this is as follows :
THE RETURN TO THE "GREAT CAVE."
"I left the habitations of these hospitable Indians the latter end of April, 1767, but did not part from them for several days, as I was accompanied on my journey by near three hundred of them, among whom were many chiefs, to the mouth of the River Saint Pierre. At this season these bands annually go to the 'Great Cave,' before mentioned, to hold a grand council with all the other bands, wherein they settle their operations for the ensuing year. At the same time they carry with them their dead for interment, bound up in buffalo skins."
It was on this visit to the cave that CARVER made the alleged Treaty with the Indians, and received from them the celebrated deed of land. His account of it is as follows :
" When we arrived at the 'Great Cave,' and the Indians had deposited
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and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota.
the remains of their deceased friends in the burial-place that stands adjacent to it, they held their great council, into which I was admitted, and at the same time had the honor to be installed and adopted a chief of their bands. On this occasion I made the following speech which was delivered on the Ist day of May, 1767 :
CARVER'S SPEECH TO THE INDIANS.
1
"My brothers, chiefs of the numerous and powerful Naudowessies ! I rejoice that, through my long abode with you, I can now speak to you (though after an imperfect manner) in your own tongue, like one of your own children. I rejoice, also, that I have had an opportunity so frequently to inform you of the glory and power of the great King that reigns over the English and other nations; who is descended from a very ancient race of sovereigns, as old as the earth and the waters; whose feet stand upon two great islands, larger than any you have ever seen, amidst the greatest waters in the world ; whose head reaches to the sun, and whose arms encircle the whole earth; the number of whose warriors is equal to the trees in the valleys, the stalks of rice in yonder marshes, and the blades of grass on your great plains ; who has hundreds of canoes of his own, of such amazing bigness, that all the waters in your country would not suffice for one of them to swim in; each of which have great guns, not small like mine, which you see before you, but of such magnitude, that a hundred of your stoutest young men would with difficulty be able to carry one. And they are equally sur- prising in their operation against the King's enemies when engaged in battle ; the terror they carry with them, your language lacks words to express. You may remember, the other day, when we were encamped at Wadapaw-menesoter, the black clouds, the wind, the fire, the stupendous noise, the horrible cracks, and the tumbling of the earth which then alarmed you, and gave you reason to think your gods were angry with you ; not unlike these are the warlike implements of the English when they are fighting the battles of their great King.
" Several of the chiefs of your bands have often told me in times past, when I dwelt with you in your tents, that they much wished to be counted among the children and the allies of the great King, my master.
" You may remember how often you have desired me, when I return again to my own country, to acquaint the great King of your good disposition toward him and his subjects, and that you wished for traders from the English to come among you.
" Being now about to take my leave of you, and to return to my own country, a long way toward the rising sun, I again ask you to tell me whether you continue of the same mind as when I spoke to you in council last winter; and as there are now several of your chiefs here who came from the great plains toward the setting of the sun, whom I
1
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The History of the City of Saint Paul,
have never spoken with in council before, I ask you to let me know if you are willing to acknowledge yourselves the children of my great master, the King of the English.
" I charge you not to give heed to bad reports, for there are wicked birds flying about among the neighboring nations, who may whisper evil things in your ears against the English, contrary to what I have told you ; you must not believe them, for I have told you the truth.
" As for the chiefs that are about to go to Michilimackinac, I shall take care to make for them and their suits a straight road, smooth waters, and a clear sky, that they may go there and smoke the pipe of peace, and rest secure on a beaver blanket under the shade of the great tree of peace. Farewell !"
Whether any such grandiloquent speech as the above was really made by CARVER on the occasion or not, has frequently been doubted. It is probable, however, that he made them a short address, in such imperfect Dakota as he could command.
To this speech CARVER gives the reply of the principal chief, speaking, as the orator asserted, for the eight bands of the nation. He professed to believe CARVER's account of the King and his power, and desired CARVER to tell him that they " wished to be counted among his good children," and have traders sent among them.
THE PURPORTED DEED.
At this council was given the famous deed of land to CARVER, which reads as follows :
"To JONATHAN CARVER, a chief under the most mighty and potent GEORGE the Third, King of the English, and other nations, the fame of whose warriors has reached our ears, and has been now fully told to us by our good brother JONATHAN, aforesaid, whom we rejoice to see come among us, and bring us good news from his country.
" We, chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have hereto set our seals, do by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the many presents and other good services done by the said JONATHAN to ourselves and allies, give, grant and convey to him, the said JONATHAN, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract or ter- ritory of land, bounded as follows, viz. : From the Falls of Saint An- thony, running on the east bank of the Mississippi, nearly southeast, as far as the south end of Lake Pepin, where the Chippewa River joins the Mississippi, and from thence eastward, five days' travel, accounting twenty English miles per day, and from thence north six days' travel, at twenty English miles per day, and from thence again to the Falls of
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and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota.
Saint Anthony, on a direct straight line. We do, for ourselves, heirs, and assigns, forever, give unto the said JONATHAN, his heirs and as- signs, forever, all the said lands, with all the trees, rocks, and rivers therein, reserving the sole liberty of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the said JONATHAN, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed our respective seals.
" At the 'Great Cave,'
" May Ist, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven.
" HAW-NO-PAW-GAT-AN, his x mark, (picture of a beaver.)
" OTOH-TON-GOOM-LISH-EAW, his > mark,
(picture of a snake.)"
It is a somewhat singular fact that CARVER nowhere men- tions this deed in his writings. Why its existence was sup- pressed by him, can only be conjectured. It seems not to have been made public until after his death. JOHN COAKLEY LETT- SOM, who wrote the biography of CARVER for the third edition of his travels, says he (LETTSOM) had the original deed in his possession.
CARVER, after making the purported treaty with the Indians, returned to Prairie du Chien, and thence proceeded to Lake Superior, and spent some time in exploring that region, return- ing to Boston by way of Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit, and Niagara Falls. He arrived in Boston in October, 1768, “ having been absent from it on this expedition two years and five months, and during that time traveled near 7,000 miles."
CARVER'S SUBSEQUENT HISTORY.
He soon after sailed for England, made known his discov- eries, and claimed a reimbursement from Government. His petition was referred to the "Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations." They required him to surrender up the manuscript of a book he had nearly ready for the press, for which, with his other expenses, they allowed no reimburse- ment. He finally re-wrote his work from his original journals and papers, and it was published in 1769.
It is hardly possible that he realized much money from his book, as we hear of him a few months after this, in very indi- gent circumstances. His health also declined. In 1779, he secured a position as clerk in a lottery office, from the gains of
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The History of the. City of Saint Paul,
which he eked out a scanty subsistence for a few months. Disease soon ensued, however, and he actually died of want in London, January 31, 1780, aged 48 years.
SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE PURPORTED DEED.
CARVER, as we before mentioned, does not speak in his work of the deed said to have been given May 1, 1767. It was not until after his death that it was brought to light. CARVER had married during his sojourn in England, (although he had a wife and five daughters in Connecticut at the time,) and by this second wife had one daughter, named MARTHA. She was raised by Sir RICHARD and Lady PEARSON. When she grew up, she eloped with, and married a sailor, whose name seems to be now unknown. A mercantile firm in Lon- don, thinking that money could be made by securing the title to the alleged grant, secured from the penniless couple, a few days after their marriage, a conveyance of the grant to them, for the consideration of one-tenth the profits. The merchants dispatched an agent named CLARK to go to the Dakotas, and obtain a new deed, but on the way CLARK was murdered in New York, and the speculation for the time fell through.
. In the year 1794, the heirs of CARVER's American wife, in consideration of £50,000, conveyed their interest in the Carver Grant to EDWARD HOUGHTON, of Vermont. In the year 1806, Rev. SAMUEL PETERS, who had been a Tory during the Revo- lutionary war, alleged, in a petition to Congress, that he had also purchased of the heirs of CARVER their right to the grant.
In 1821, Gen. LEAVENWORTH, pursuant to a request of the Commissioner of the Land Office, inquired of the Dakotas in relation to the grant, and reported that the land alleged to be granted "lies on the east side of the Mississippi." The In- dians do not recognize or acknowledge the grant to be valid, and they, among others, assign the following reasons :
" I. The Sioux of the Plains never owned a foot of land on the East side of the Mississippi. * * *
"2. The Indians say they have no knowledge of any such chiefs, as those who signed the grant. They say if Capt. CARVER did ever obtain a deed or grant, it was signed by some foolish young men who
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and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota.
were not chiefs, and who were not authorized to make a grant. Among the Sioux of the River there are no such names .*
"3. They say the Indians never received anything for the land, * and they have no intention to part with it without a consideration. *
"4. They have, and ever have had, the possession of the land, and
* * intend to keep it." * *
On January 23, 1823, the Committee on Public Lands re- ported to the Senate on the claim of CARVER's heirs, at some length. They argue that the purported grant has no binding effect on the United States, and give very satisfactory and con- clusive reasons therefor-at too great length, however, to include in this paper. The prayer of the petitioners was,. therefore, not granted.
It is certain that CARVER's American heirs always supposed, (and are said to this day to assert,) that they had a good title to the grant in question. Some of them have visited Saint Paul in their investigations of the subject.
Numerous deeds for portions of the land were made at vari- ous times by CARVER's heirs or their assignees. In 1849, and a few years subsequent, when real estate agents throve in the infant city of Saint Paul, very many of these deeds were re- ceived by land dealers here, to "locate." Several of them are among the MSS. in the Library of the Historical Society.
SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CAVE.
After the visit by CARVER, the cave remained unentered by the white man for nearly half a century. PIKE tried in vain to find it in 1806, but its entrance was stopped up. Maj. LONG succeeded in gaining an entrance to it in 1817. FEATHER- STONHAUGH, in 1835, found the entrance again closed up with debris. NICOLLET explored it in 1837, however, and says CARVER's description of it was "accurate." Indeed, it is so accurate, that, at the present day, if one wished to describe it, he could do no better than use CARVER's own language.
* CARVER only once, in the body of his work, mentions the chiefs whose signatures and " family coat of arms" are appended to the deed. On page 380, speaking of Indian nomenclature, he says: Thus, the great warrior of the Naudowessies was named, Ottahtongoomlisheah, that is, "The Great Father of Snakes;" ottak, being in English, father ; tongoom, great ; and lisheah, a snake. Another chief was called Honahpawjatin, which means, " A Swift Runner Over the Mountains."
1173319
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The History of the City of Saint Paul,
Carver's Cave is now the most interesting relic of antiquity in this region. Unfortunately, the spirit of progress and im- provement has no veneration for historical associations, and the Saint Paul and Chicago Railroad, which runs along the bank of the river directly by the mouth of the cave, will doubtless ere long dig down the bluff, and thus destroy the cave. The centenary of CARVER's treaty with the Naudowessies was duly observed on May 1, 1867, by the members of the Minnesota Historical Society. They paid a visit to the cave in the day- time, and held a reunion in memory of CARVER at their rooms in the evening. The proceedings were printed in pamphlet form, subsequently, at the expense of GEO. W. FAHNESTOCK, of Philadelphia, an estimable gentleman of historical tastes, (now deceased,) who was present.
CARVER'S PROPHESIES CONCERNING THIS REGION.
CARVER was a man of keen perceptions and shrewd fore- sight. He hints in his work at the possibility of a ship canal from the Mississippi River to the Lakes, and was sanguine that this region would ultimately become populous and wealthy. He says :
" To what power or authority this new world will become dependant, after it has arisen from its present uncultivated state, time alone can discover. But as the seat of empire, from time immemorial, has been gradually progressing toward the west, there is no doubt but that at some future period, mighty kingdoms will emerge from these wilder- nesses, and stately palaces and solemn temples, with gilded spires reach- ing the skies, supplant the Indian huts, whose only decorations are the barbarous trophies of their vanquished enemies."
Already events were transpiring, which led to a more rapid fulfillment of his vision, than perhaps he himself even anticipated. The disputes between the Colonies and England were fast culminating in open rebellion. While CARVER was absent in England, the
REVOLUTIONARY WAR
broke out, and all progress toward the settlement of this region was stayed for the time. The war virtually terminated in 1782, and, by the Treaty of Paris, 1783, the territory east of the Mis-
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and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota.
sissippi River was ceded and yielded up to the United States, which now took its place among the nations of the earth. On March 1, 1784, Virginia, which claimed what was afterwards known as the Northwest Territory, ceded all that district to the United States, and, three years later, the famous " Ordinance of 1787" was enacted by Congress, creating the "Northwest Territory."
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
This vast domain, comprising the present noble States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota east of the Mississippi, was probably the finest body of land, of .
equal extent, on the globe. At that time there were scarcely a dozen settlements of whites in the whole domain. Its present population must be over 10,000,000. Wonderful has been the transformation of this great empire from barbarism to civiliza- tion, and in the brief space of 88 years. It has scarcely, if at all, a parallel in the world's history.
Civil government was soon after established over the Terri- tory, and it began rapidly to settle up. On May 7, 1800, Indiana Territory was created, embracing all of the previous Northwest Territory except the present State of Ohio, and, in 1805, Michigan Territory was formed, whose southern boundary ran from the Maumee Bay, on Lake Erie, westerly to the Mississippi River. Minnesota (east of the Mississippi) remained attached to Michigan until the formation of Illinois Territory in 1809, when it was included in the bounds of the latter, and so continued until 1819, when Illinois became a State. This region then fell again into the arms of Michigan Territory, and continued there until Wisconsin Territory was formed in 1836.
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The History of the City of Saint Paul,
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MINNESOTA.
EXPLORATION BY LIEUT. PIKE-HE SELECTS THE SITE FOR FORT SNELLING-RED RIVER COLONY FOUNDED-TROOPS ORDERED TO "SAINT PETER'S"-THEY BUILD FORT SNELLING-JOSEPH R. BROWN-RED RIVER REFUGEES SETTLE HERE- ARRIVAL OF FIRST STEAMBOAT-EARLY MAIL SERVICE - GOVERNMENTAL CHANGES-SKETCHES OF TWO PIONEERS, H. H. SIBLEY AND N. W. KITTSON. -
"THAT portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi, as mentioned before, had, by the "Louisiana Purchase," (December 20, 1803,) come into the possession of the United States, and President JEFFERSON took prompt steps to extend the authority of the United States over the domain acquired, and to make an exploration of the same. Lieut. Z. M. PIKE, U. S. A., was the officer selected to visit this region, expel the . British traders, and make alliances with the Indians. He ascended the Mississippi River in a batteau in the month of September, 1805, and arrived at the encampment of J. B. FARIBAULT, an Indian trader, a mile or two above Saint Paul, on September 21. On the 23d he held a council with the Sioux at Mendota, and obtained from them a grant of land nine miles square, for military purposes, which has since been known as the Fort Snelling Reservation. Lieut. PIKE remained all winter in Minnesota, and returned to Saint Louis in the spring.
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