USA > Minnesota > Brown County > History of Brown County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions (Volume 1) > Part 12
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so anxiously protected by their owners had to be left behind. All manner of things were lying about in the deserted houses and in the streets. Of the hundreds of articles only the more important and valuable had been removed. Some tried to carry household utensils on their shoulders, but, finding it inconvenient if not impossible, dropped them. The road between New Ulm and Mankato was therefore covered with miscellaneous household furniture. Nearly everything to which they had become devotedly attached had to be left behind in order to save their lives. The extent of the loss and the seriousness of the situation increased their sorrow more and more; and many a scalding tear was shed as the stricken people looked back upon their lost treasures. But the saddest of all were those who numbered their kindred among the dead, and who were obliged to leave them un- buried on hostile ground. These things were more painful and oppressive than wounds. There were lonesome hearts in that sad procession, anxious to know what had become of father or mother, husband or wife, sister or brother or child.
ORDER RESTORED.
When they reached Mankato orders were received to bring the sick and the wounded as well as the women and children to St. Peter, twelve miles farther. The able-bodied men were retained to assist in defending the town, since the Winnebago Indians were reported to have gone on the war- path. This separation of families was a new source of anxiety and sorrow. On reaching St. Peter the wounded and the helpless received all possible care and attention at the hands of its noble-hearted citizens. A few days before
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many of the fugitives who had arrived there from West Newton could get nothing to eat, because the people of St. Peter did not believe the report of an outbreak. There were so many sick and wounded that the private residences could not accommodate them all; the Catholic church was there- fore turned into a temporary hospital. Later on, many wounded and sick, and also the women and children, were removed down the Minnesota river to other towns-Le- Sueur, Henderson, Belleplaine, Shakopee, and even to St. Paul.
After a few days, many of the citizens of New Ulm re- turned, for they had learned that a regular militia regiment and a number of well-armed volunteers had gone out in pur- suit of the Indians. The defense of the town had no regular militia, but was made up in a hurry of all kinds of people, including farmers, mechanics and laborers.
The sufferings which they had endured, the almost irre- parable loss of property and the dread of a repetition of these same trials were the causes why a number of the peo- ple of New Ulm and its vicinity did not return to their homes. St. Paul, Cincinnati and Chicago received many of the fugitives of that time. Many sold their property for a mere trifle, if they could only secure a little cash. Others, more courageous, took this occasion to settle in that country and made fortunes. Many thus obtained fine farms for a few dollars which were even then worth more than as many thousands.
It took quite a while, however, before immigration to New Ulm and its surroundings made any real progress, be- cause the Indians continued for a long time after the out- break to harass the settlers. It was hardly a year after that
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when Athanasius Henle was shot at by the Indians, on his way to town, in broad daylight. He escaped without injury. Not far from there a man named Bosche was shot dead the same day while working on what is now Pfaender's farm, just as his three sons were bringing him his dinner. But when, a few years later, the United States government in- demnified the people for their losses as far as money could do it, a golden era opened for New Ulm and vicinity. Immi- grants continued to come, and they brought with them wealth and prosperity.
THE MILFORD MASSACRE.
[Christopher Spelbrink, a resident of New Ulm, has written his recollections of the Indian troubles in Brown county-especially as to the "Milford Massacre," in which his family suffered, as well as his views concerning the gen- eral causes leading up to the awful Indian War of August, 1862.]
THE PIONEERS.
In the year 1854 a party of land-seekers and home- builders from Chicago, going westward, arrived at what is now the city of New Ulm, Minnesota, in October of the year, and crossed what is now the township of Milford, Brown county, then a complete wilderness. The party being satis- fied that at last they had found good, fertile land with plenty of timber, looked for a suitable place for encampment for the winter, and finally built a log shanty near the Minnesota river, opposite the place of a certain Joseph La Framboise,
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a French-Canadian, who proved to be a friend indeed to the newcomers, in helping wherever he could to tide over the extremely cold and severe winter. In the middle of the winter their log shanty burned down and they considered themselves in luck to find a few abandoned Indian tepees (barkhuts) in which they lived the rest of the winter. I shall not try to describe the hardships and sufferings these people experienced during that time, as one must have had a similar experience to fully understand the situation. When at last spring came as a deliverer, they looked the country over for a suitable townsite, with a good attractive surrounding country for farming purposes, and finally de- cided upon the place where the beautiful city of New Ulm now stands. Those who preferred country life settled in the township immediately west of the townsite, in what is now the township of Milford. The land in question had in the treaty of Traverse Des Sioux, been ceded to the United States by the Indians. The Indians of the Sioux or Dakota tribe were friendly to the whites and in no way molested them, although they continued to hunt on the land ceded by them to the government. Settlers began to come in con- siderable numbers, and in 1857 every quarter section open for settlement had been pre-empted; the western line of the same being about six and one-half miles west of the city limits of New Ulm, where the Indian reservation (land owned by the Indians) commenced. The Indians being our near neighbors, naturally visited us quite frequently, some out of curiosity, others for the purpose of begging-and in the art of begging the Indian is hard to beat-but they never offered any serious molestation, or unfriendliness, until that terrible day, the 18th of August, 1862.
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The first settlers (recalled by me), and those who came in the autumn of 1854, with untiring efforts to find a suit- able place for a settlement, who braved the hardships and solitude of the wilderness, holding on till their efforts were crowned with success, are as follow: Ludwig Meyer, Sr., Joseph Dambach, Athanasius Henle, John Zettel, Franz Massapust, Peter Mack, Alois Palmer, Anton Henle, M. Wall, Vincent Brunner, Elizabeth Fink and Barbara Tuttle. Of all this little band, so far as I know, Peter Mack is the only survivor-all the rest have answered to the last call.
CAUSE OF THE OUTBREAK.
The Indians in selling their lands for a price that was simply nominal, were promised by contract by the govern- ment, to receive their payments in gold, in twenty yearly instalments at a certain time and at their agencies; the Lower Agency about eight miles east of what is now Red- wood Falls, and the Upper Agency near the Yellow Medi- cine river. In both of these agencies were storekeepers or Indian traders, who had the exclusive Indian trade, and when payday came, the Indian who received his pay in cash was considered very fortunate; how this could happen I will try to explain; some of the Indians, perhaps the ma- jority of them, could not, and especially when the buffalo hunt had been bad, make both ends meet, so to say, till the next payday, consequently they bought on credit, which was allowed them to some extent, the trader, of course, knowing how much money the Indian was entitled to, was very care- ful not to allow too much. When payday came, which was usually in June of each year, a large party of annuity In-
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dians (Indians entitled to payment) assembled at the agency, waiting for the arrival of the paymaster.
The paymaster, his assistants and the Indian traders take their places at a table which is surrounded by a squad of soldiers, who have been ordered from Ft. Ridgely, for the purpose of keeping order and to prevent any disturbance. The Indians waiting for the call of their names; an Indian is called; he steps into the inclosure, the agent counts off the sum he is entitled to, and is about to receive it when the trader or storekeeper steps in, presenting to the agent a bill against the said Indian, and most of the money, perhaps all, is simply handed to the trader or storekeeper without any further question, and the Indian is dismissed to make room for another, and in a great many cases this procedure is re- peated. Now, the trader cannot be accused of cheating the Indians, as they can neither read nor write, so all the ad- vantage is on the side of the storekeeper or trader, and he certainly is not in business for his health. Then there is another line where the Indian is badly beaten, the fur trade. The most valuable furs are sold by the Indians, who are as a rule ignorant of the true value, for far less than one-half of the valuation, which is given them in the way of cheap goods. Add to this the very excessive profit the trader takes, and what is really left to the Indian is practically not worth mentioning. To this is added the illegal sale of bad whiskey by some unscrupulous whites or half-breeds, and as a rule the Indians are cleaned out of every cent in a very short time, as an Indian will pay almost any price for whisky by some unscrupulous whites or half-breeds, and as trade. When at last, he finds out how badly he has been beaten, his grudge against the whites increases and true to
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his nature, he is waiting patiently, for the time to get even, and it becomes his fixed opinion, that all whites are thieves and scoundrels, whose only aim is to beat the poor Indian, and while this, of course, is exaggerated, in a good many cases is undoubtedly true. The Indian's nature is savage, brutal and cruel, and when in his opinion the time for re- venge and retaliation has come, he makes no distinction be- tween guilty and innocent. His savage nature is his only guide. In his lust and desire for blood he will surpass the tiger of the jungle; murder and torture are his enjoyment, and the proverbial imps of hell cannot outdo him in cruelty.
In the year 1861 the buffalo hunt had been very unsuc- cessful, and in consequence of which the Indians were in want of provisions, as dried buffalo meat is an important factor as a means of subsistence, so in the winter of 1861-62 there existed great want among the Indians, and in some cases, especially among the infants, actual starvation. The government at both agencies had caused some land to be plowed and planted to corn, potatoes, etc., for the benefit of the Indians, but that could not do away or diminish in any way the present dire need, and making the situation still worse, the news had spread amongst the Indians that they were to receive no pay that year, as the government needed the money in the war against the Southern rebellion. This, of course, was unfounded, but it aroused the savages, who organized into the so-called "Soldiers' Lodge," who appear- ing in considerable numbers, broke into the government warehouse, and in the presence of a company of soldiers, began carrying out such provisions as they wanted, flour, bacon, etc. Finally, the soldiers having taken possession of the warehouse, the Indians, after a quantity of flour, pork,
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etc., was divided among them, were persuaded to disperse and go to their homes and not come back until the next pay- day, which somewhat later than usual, would surely come. To this the Indians agreed and sullenly left.
About the latter part of July, the Indian agent or pay- master arrived at the Lower Agency, and the Indians were called together to receive their pay, when it developed that the agent instead of paying them in gold, as agreed, tried to pay them in currency. Here for the first time, the agent had reckoned without the host, for the Indians positively refused to accept the paper money. Here again, was an at- tempted swindle on a somewhat larger scale. In 1862 on account of the stringency in money (gold coin) caused by the Civil War then in progress, gold commanded a very high premium, nearly if not quite two times the value of paper money. The government, so it is claimed, sent the gold to the agent, who was accused of selling same for paper money and intending to give the Indians dollar for dollar and pocket the profit for his own personal use, but for once this scheme did not work out, so all the agent could do was to take his paper money and exchange it for gold. This, of course, could not be done in a hurry, but that did not matter. The Indians must wait. After the agent had left for the East to make his exchange, matters with the Indians went from bad to worse, as they had waited overtime, and were in sore need of the money.
On Sunday, the 17th of August, the Indians held a great meeting, which of course was secret, but late in the day, mounted Indians (probably messengers) were seen to gallop in different directions over the prairie, and so the day closed.
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VENGEANCE ON THE TRADERS.
On the 18th of August, 1862, early in the morning, in- habitants of the Lower Agency were aroused by the sudden report of gunfire, and were very quickly aware of its mean- ing. Crack ! went the Indian gun and down went the trader, for the traders or storekeepers were the first upon whose heads fell the vengeance of the Indians. Few, if any, escaped. The superintendent of Indian affairs at the agency, August Wagner, saw the Indians enter the stables and take out horses, and in going in there to prevent it, was immediately shot down. Some few of the people of the agency escaped across the Minnesota river to Ft. Ridgely, some twelve miles east from the agency. From the agency, the Indians spread in small bands in all directions, carrying death and despair upon the unsuspecting settlers, who in most cases, not knowing the intentions of the savage mur- derers, allowed them to approach as usual, were shot down, tomahawked and in many cases mutilated in a most horrible manner. Others were overtaken while fleeing for safety. Their fate was the same, but more horrible, as these unfor- tunates knew what was coming and that they and their families were to die a most horrible death, without being able to offer any resistance or defense. Some of these un- fortunates may have had some slight hope of mercy from Indians that they were personally well acquainted with, but if so, their hopes were quickly dispelled, for the savage has the mercy of the tiger of the jungle or the shark of the deep. Many hundreds died on that awful day by the hand of the savage monsters, and so the old, old story that the many must suffer to satisfy the greed of the few was once more
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demonstrated, for all the talk that the cause of the outbreak could not be determined, is nothing but "rot," pure and simple, for had the Indians been treated as agreed, honest and upright, this bloody day in the history of Minnesota would have been avoided, but as it was, the Indians never got a square deal.
The township of Milford is immediately west of New Ulm, its western line bordering the Indian reservation, and is settled mostly by Germans, a sober, industrious people, who after years of hard toil and suffering the hardships con- nected with the settlement of a wilderness, were now in hopes that their trouble would be about over, and better times coming, as the harvest was all that could be expected, when as a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, savage fury burst upon them. At about nine or ten o'clock on Monday, the 18th of August, 1862, a party of Indians, perhaps six or eight in number, appeared at the house of Johann Massa- pust, and asked for water, which was given them. The family consisted of Johann Massapust, Sr., two daughters, Maria and Julia, aged twenty and eighteen years, respec- tively; John Massapust, Jr., aged fifteen years; two elder boys being absent. The girls were occupied in washing dishes, the father seated nearby, John, Jr., standing near the door, when like a flash the Indians leveled their guns and fired. The girls and their father fell mortally wounded, while John, Jr., who was standing close to the Indians, was only slightly hurt from a blow with a tomahawk or hatchet, managed to run upstairs. This, of course, would not have saved him, but at the same time, two teams hauling goods from New Ulm to the Indian agency passed the road which ran only a short distance from the house, were seen by the
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Indians, who now made for them to kill the teamsters. This gave the boy time to escape. He ran in an opposite direc- tion and hid in a slough, and as the house was located on a small hill, the Indians could not see him get away. When the boy left, his sister, Julia, who, although mortally wounded, had in some way managed to get outside, and see- ing him run, begged him piteously to take her with him, which the poor fellow was, of course, unable to do, and despairing and half crazed, had to leave his dying sister to the tender mercy of the savage fiends. The boy, although concealed in the slough, was detected by the returning In- dians, and some of them made for him, when seeing this, he ran through the slough, and finding that his wet clothes hindered him in fast running, discarded his trousers, and running like a hunted animal, succeeded in his escape, thereby warning some of the settlers of the approaching danger, and saving the lives of many in the more distant parts of the town.
While some of the savages, after murdering the team- sters, returned to the house of the Massapust's, the rest went to the house of a Mr. Stocker, on the opposite side of the road and bordering the timber. Mr. Stocker, who had seen the killing of the teamsters, saw the savages coming, but owing to the sickness of his wife, who could not leave the bed, could not and would not leave the house, but locked the door. The Indians finding the door locked, smashed the window and one of them leveled his gun at Mrs. Stocker, when Mr. Stocker, seeing this, grabbed the gunbarrel to protect his wife, and tried to wrench it from the Indian, when another of the savages took aim and killed the poor sick woman. Mr. Stocker, seeing his wife dead, and nothing
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more could be done in her behalf. went into the cellar, taking with him, Cecile Ochs, a girl about nine years of age, who helped at housekeeping, closing the trap door after them, while the Indians set fire to the house, believing their victims would have to come out and have to be killed or be burned alive. Now, as the house had only one door and windows facing south, the savages watched that side of the house. Mr. Stocker, when in the cellar, and being certain that the house was on fire, thought of some means of escape, and seeing a small opening under the sill leading outside, tried to enlarge it. In the cellar he found some shingles, which were used for covers for milk pans, and with these dug away the earth, making a passage large enough to crawl through, and as this was on the north side of the house, where the Indians (for the moment at least) did not watch, they escaped into the nearby timber and so got out of danger.
SETTLERS TAKEN BY SURPRISE.
In small bands, the Indians appeared at the several houses almost simultaneously. The families of M. Fink and Max Zeller being entirely wiped out, nobody was left to tell the story of their sad end. Florian Hartman was working in the field, when his wife came through the cornfield to bring him some refreshments, when she saw to her horror, her husband shot down, and two Indians a short distance away. As Hartman was not dead but unable to move, she ran to him and tried to drag him into the nearby cornfield, which she was unable to do, and so had to leave him to his terrible fate. The families of Casimer Herman and Athan- asius Henle, seeing their nearby neighbors thus killed, had
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time to escape into the timber, warning Alois Palmer of the situation. They crossed the Minnesota river on Mr. Pal- mer's ferry and escaped to New Ulm. With Mr. Hartman, a Mr. Reiner, who helped him in harvest, was also killed. Next the house of John Zettel was visited by the savage brutes, Mr. Zettel and three or four children were killed, and Mrs. Zettel left for dead. The poor woman afterward revived, and was found by a rescuing party from New Ulm later in the day. At the home of Franz Massapust a small boy was killed in the absence of his mother, who, when she returned, found the little fellow dead near the house. She with the rest of her children escaped into the nearby timber and later to New Ulm, where she was joined by her hus- band, who had been absent from home on that day. A Mr. Pelzl, living near the timber, was killed, also his wife. Christian Haag, seeing the home of Mr. Fink burning, mounted a horse to help them; he was met by the Indians on the road and shot down.
Next, B. Drezler was killed. Next the house of Anton Henle was visited, and the children, three or four of them, killed; a little baby boy, sleeping in his cradle, received a glance blow with a hatchet; but, aside of being rudely awakened, was not much hurt. To clearly understand, what happened at this place, a little explanation is necessary ; the dwellings of Anton Henle and the one of his father-in- law, Mr. Messmer, were only fifteen or twenty rods apart, but, a small grove intervening, one could not be seen from the other. Mrs. Henle was about to see her mother, Mrs. Messmer on some little errand shortly before noon. She saw, when about to step out of the grove an Indian leveling his gun at her mother, and the next instant the poor woman
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fell, shot to death. Mrs. Henle, in deathly terror, turned to run back to her own home, when, to her horror, she saw that the savages had already entered the house. Benumbed and crazed with fear, she ran down the nearby wooded ravine, and hiding in the underbrush, did not venture out until late in the afternoon, when she heard her husband calling her name. Mr. Henle had gone to New Ulm early in the morn- ing, intending to return soon, as it was a fine day for har- vest work, and did return with a party from New Ulm, who had left the town that day for the purpose of canvassing the county in quest of volunteers to serve in the United States army, as the Civil War was then raging, and drafting was in order to bring up the quota called for by the President. This party consisted of several wagons, loaded with citizens of New Ulm, and a band of musicians, same going west, intended to make their first stop at A. Henle's place (as Mr. Henle kept a tavern) and there begin with the recruiting. About one-half mile east of the Henle place the timber fringes the road for a short distance, as a creek or ravine, draining part of the lowland, commences there. This creek crossing the road, was bridged over in a primitive way. When the first wagon approached this bridge, they were suddenly fired upon by the savages concealed in the ravine, and three of their number, Detrich, Sneider and Fenske, were killed outright, and the rest returned, as fast as pos- sible, to New Ulm, and taking with them some wounded white settlers, Joe Messmer, who was horribly mutilated, and A. Schilling, who soon died, whom they found by the roadside. When this party reached New Ulm, Charles Roos, sheriff of Brown county, at the head of an armed de-
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tachment of citizens, proceeded at once to the place where the party had been ambushed, and from there to the place of Anton Henle, Mr. Henle being one of the party, he found his wife and his murdered children.
A DAY OF TERROR.
Before dwelling further on the doings and proceedings of this party, I will have to relate some of my own experi- ence during that terrible Monday. In the early days, farm- ers, or rather the settlers, had not many acres in cultivation, so we had rented ten acres on the quarter section north of our own; the owners, two bachelors, having left the land. Mr. Anton Henle had also rented ten acres of said quarter section, twenty acres being in cultivation; our part on the northern line, Henle's south thereof. While our own land joined this to the south; Henle's place was northeast. Shortly before noon, while we were about ready with our load of wheat to take home, Mr. Messmer, father-in-law of Anton Henle, Martin, a son of Henle, and about twelve years old, and a young girl whose name I do not now re- member, crossed with a load of barley close in front of our team in going home in a northern direction. Now, immedi- ately north of where we were a range or continuation of hills (northwest to southeast), obliterated the view to the north, and Mr. Messmer and his companions had to cross this hill in going home, so, when passing us, he remarked : "I guess this will be the last load." Of course he meant the last load before noon, but it was the last load in his life, for scarcely had they crossed said hill, when they were met by Indians and killed. We had perhaps gone ten or twelve
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