USA > Minnesota > Brown County > History of Brown County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries and Institutions (Volume 1) > Part 7
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NATIVE TIMBER, FLOWERS AND ANIMALS.
[The publishers are indebted to Benedict Juni, one of the most practical botanists in this part of country, for the following article, showing the various species of animal and plant life found in Brown county when white men first discovered it.]
Time has wrought out many changes in animal and plant life since the advent of the first white man in this part of the country. The elk, beaver, buffalo, deer and the northern rabbit have vanished in the order named. The rat, cotton tail, jack rabbit and grey squirrel have made their entry since the country became settled. Countless flocks of geese and ducks covered the lakes and streams or darkened the sky as they flew from place to place. Such immense numbers of pigeons roosted in the forests that young trees bent or broke under their weight. There was no scarcity of fur-bearing animals, such as mink, otter and muskrats.
FRUITS AND FLOWERS.
Wild plums and grapes were found in unlimited quan- tities and of excellent quality. Strawberries of exquisite flavor and sweetness abounded on prairie and in sunny woodland. The higher ridges and bluffs of the prairies yielded an abundant crop of pome de prairie of the voy- ageurs, which were regularly harvested and dried by the Indians and formed a considerable part of their winter supply of food.
Prairie and woods were veritable flower gardens. It is to be regretted that many of the noblest of these flowers
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have become extinct or so rare that they are seldom met with. Of the four species of lady-slippers, there remain but two and these are scarce indeed. Of the lilies, the pret- tiest, Lilium Philadelphirum, no longer delights the eye.
Some of the best native grasses have given way for weeds and inferior grasses. Although all the original spe- cies of forest trees have persisted, they have deteriorated. Hickories and poplars, eighteen to twenty-four inches in diameter and straight as a candle can no longer be found. Where is the oak and butternut that will split like glass, of which the pioneer made his shingles, rails and posts? The forest primeval is a thing of the past.
Wild fruit abounded everywhere along the streams. Wild plums and grapes, excellent in quality, were gathered by the first settlers in Brown and adjoining counties. Ver- ily, this was a land of plenty.
Many ravaging insects and diseases that now sap the vitality of plants followed in the wake of the paleface. No potato-bug, nor chinch-bug, nor pea-weavil, nor scab or scale, nor rust wrought their destruction. The potato reached its highest perfection and development and its vines were loaded with fruitage now unknown to many peo- ple. In 1862 wheat was harvested two months after it had ripened; it was still standing upright, the straw bright and clean, with only the heads bending under the weight of the golden grain.
TREES.
The following is a list of trees found here when the pioneers first entered this part of the state of Minnesota : Sugar maple, soft maple, Kentucky coffee tree, plum, bird
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cherry, choke cherry, black cherry, hawthorn, Juneberry, cornel, white ash, black ash, white elm, slippery elm, rock elm, hackberry, butternut, black walnut, hickory, white oak, scarlet oak, swamp oak, ironwood, white willow, American aspen, cottonwood, balm of Gilead, large-toothed aspen, red cedar, linden or basswood and box-elder.
SHRURS AND VINES.
The pioneers of Brown county found the following shrubs and vines, growing in Nature's orderly array, each flourishing in the soil and moisture conditions to which it was best adapted: Sumac, cornel, burning bush, bladder- nut, wild grape, bittersweet, Juneberry, arrowood, Hazel- nut, black haw highbush, cranberry, rose, gooseberry, rasp- berry, currant, leatherwood, prickly ash, greenbrier, honey- suckle, spirea, juniper.
FISHES.
The following fishes were common and abundant in the waters of Brown county in the fifties: Cat fish, buffalo fish, pike, pickerel, bass eel, sturgeon, sheephead, carp, bream, perch, sucker, bullhead, gar-pike.
BIRDS.
Turkey buzzard, hawks (several species), eagle, owls (three species), wood peckers (two species), humming- birds, swallows (three species), whippoorwill, nighthawk, kingfisher, fly-catchers, thrush, robin redbreast, bluebird, wren, scarlet tanager, cedar bird, shrike, cat bird, Ameri-
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can creeper, nuthatch, phoebe, titmouse, goldfinch, snow- bunting, sparrow, cow bird, blackbirds (three species), meadow lark, oriole, crow, blue jay, wild pigeon, turtle dove, prairie chicken, partridge, quail, sandhill crane, blue heron, bittern or stake drivers, night heron, kill-deer, wood- cock, snipe, rail, snow goose, Canada goose, brants, mallard, teal, spoon-bill, wood duck, canvas-back, butter-ball, gull, tern, loon, grebe or mud-hen.
MAMMALS.
Bat, schrews, mole, lynx, wild-cat, prairie wolf, timber wolf, fox, fischer, weasel, mink, otter, beavers, skunk, bad- ger, raccoon, red squirrel, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, chipmunk, striped gophers, pocket gopher, prairie squirrel, woodchuck, mice (several species), rat, muskrat, rabbit, jack rabbit, northern rabbit, elk, deer, buffalo.
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CHAPTER III.
INDIAN HISTORY AND TREATIES.
When Spain ceded the territory now including Minne- sota to the United States, it was subject, of course, to all the former rights of the Indian tribes found herein. It was left to the United States to subdue, or drive away the Indians, or better still to make treaties and purchase the lands from them, as they might from time to time be needed. This latter was carried out in a large degree, along legitimate lines and in a business way which, at least, was satisfactory to the tribes at the date of making such treaties.
The treaty that mostly interests the citizens of Brown county, was that made at Traverse des Sioux in July, 1851, with the Sioux tribes. This ceded to the white man all the Sioux Indians holdings except a strip of ten miles in width along either side of the Minnesota river. This tract of now very valuable land, running from New Ulm to Lake Tra- verse, would have been held by the Indians had they not made war against the whites in 1862, by doing this they lost all title to such lands and were driven from the state of Minnesota, as a tribe. Hence, this was the first and last treaty with the Indians in this state that has had to do with the people of Brown county. The treaty is described more fully in Chapter I, on Related State History.
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INDIAN CHARACTERS.
The Dakota or Sioux Indians were divided into four great tribes: Medawakonton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton and Sisseston, who held a large territory west of the Missis- sippi; from the borders of Iowa along the Mississippi, up to the Minnesota, and stretching far into Dakota. They had great bodily strength, a slim and pleasing stature, and were remarkable for their shrewdness and deceit. Their features are rather long, and they have a dark, though not repulsive complexion. The subjoined account was written of them long years before they had caused the pioneers of the Northwest so much trouble in their warfare:
"They are continually wandering about and conse- quently use for means of subsistence whatever Nature af- fords them. Fishing and hunting are their principal sources of support. In the spring of the year they often make sugar and syrup from the juice of the maple, and dur- ing the summer they gather wild rice and berries. This work is done by the squaws. The Indian regards his wife as a slave, and he thinks it below his dignity to do hard work. When they travel, the women not only carry the papooses and baggage, but also lead the beasts of burden, which in the absence of a wagon or sled, carry the tepee upon their backs. He often compels her, although weighed down under a heavy burden, to carry even his gun so that he can trot along with greater ease. When they find a place where fuel and water are convenient, or where hunting and fish- ing are good, the women will have to go to work and set up the tepees and bring in whatever is necessary, except the game, which he provides. A few so-called civilized Indians
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till the soil, but they seldom raise anything except corn and potatoes. These dress like the whites, and they were for- merly supplied by the government with farming imple- ments, horses, cattle, etc. They are very proud of their dress, which consists merely of a high hat and a shirt. These Indians are usually despised by the real Indians who treat every kind of a head dress with a contempt, except their own peculiar one, and whose only covering consists of a woolen blanket or a buffalo robe; and they live in tents or tepees. These prefer to dress gaily, cover themselves with all manner of trumpery, and fold the skin of an animal around their body so as to look as much as possible like the animal itself.
"In summer months they appear mostly in the garb of the old original Adam, with the addition of a gun and a smoking pipe. Their arms are bows and arrows, guns, knives, and a sort of hatchet called a tomahawk. Their nec- essaries of life are few and very simple. They never wash their meat, and seem to have a dislike for water except "fire- water" (whisky). Still they very much like a clean white shirt. A kettle, a few pots and the skins of animals com- pose all their furniture, and they eat their food, especially their meats, half raw, and devour even the entrails raw. Their appetite is prodigious. Whenever they obtain any- thing palatable they eat and eat without regard to their real needs or the coming day. Hence it not unfrequently happens that they are compelled to fast for days at a time. They are not much troubled with any disease, except the small-pox, and their medicine-men have in vain tried by all manner of sorceries and strange appliances to banish that dreaded complaint. A cripple, lame or deaf and dumb, is
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seldom found. They love their ponies, and keep as many as possible. But during the winter they lose a great many, because they are too lazy to provide hay for them. With no barns and little food they die off before spring comes. They believe in a Great Spirit Manitou, think much of cere- monies over their dead, but hang them up on posts to be exposed to the elements until they are dried up. Their romantic life, their fidelity, their friendship and strength of character, which some writers tell us about, is pleasant sentimental reading-that's all.
"The Indian is always serious, seldom laughs or jokes, and is an uncomfortable and mistrustful companion. He understands begging above all things. He never forgets an offense, but is quite apt to forget acts of kindness. With the Indian revenge is a virtue and they practice polygamy. Their hospitality, however, is worthy of all praise. The stranger receives the best pelts for his bed, and the host keeps up a warm fire with his own hands if the pale-face happens to remain in his tent over night during the winter. They are skilful in the use of arms, keen in the chase and relentless in pursuing an enemy; they love noisy musical instruments and dance after their own peculiar fashion. Their natural senses are sharp and more fully developed than those of the whites. They are very cruel in war, and prefer deceit and stratagem to an open battle. After a fight they scalp their dead enemies before they think of carrying off the booty; for they take great pride in possess- ing a large number of scalps, because this indicates the num- ber of enemies slain by them. They ornament their heads with feathers, which they consider "wakan" (holy). They can endure more hardships than the white race and are won-
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derful runners, many of them being able to overtake a swift horse. In hiding their feelings and in self-control they can do wonders. They suffer pain with stolid indifference, and their wounds heal quickly. To leave one of their dead in the hands of the enemy is looked upon as a foreboding evil and the greatest ignominy that could possibly happen to them."
SEVEN WEEKS' CAPTIVITY OF BENEDICT JUNI.
Benedict Juni is still a resident of New Ulm. His own story of his capture by the Indians when only eleven years of age, is a testimony that there were some kind Indians and that the milk of human kindness was exhibited for nearly two months to a mere lad, and that during the awful outbreak in Minnesota in the summer of 1862. At that date his father was on a farm between Beaver Falls and Morton, five miles north of the Lower Agency. The story is as follows :
On August 18, 1862, while seated at the breakfast table, a noise so unusual that it caused comment, was at intervals heard by us in the direction of the Lower Agency. My father said it was the beating of drums announcing the ar- rival of soldiers. In reality it was the first volleys fired by the Indians at the defenseless whites. The previous day having been a Sunday, our working oxen had been left out at large. I mounted our only horse and brought them in. My father was just hitching up to the wagon when our nearest neighbors, John and Mike Hayden, and the latter's wife, approached our place in great haste and told us that the Indians were on the warpath. My father was disin-
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clined to take it seriously, but yielding to the pleadings of the women, took the hayrack off and replaced the box, hur- riedly threw in some clothing, bedding and provisions, and put the women and children in also. A Mr. Zimmerman and his eldest son took charge of the wagon. They had two guns and an old sword with which Mr. Zimmerman declared he would defend the occupants. On the way down the valley he picked up the rest of the family, consisting of his wife and two sons and two daughters.
ATTACKED BY REDSKINS.
His progress was unobstructed until he reached Fari- bault's place, where he and two of his sons were killed be- fore they had a chance to make any use of their weapons. The women and children were imprisoned in the house, and the Indians had a hot debate about what to do with them. Some wanted to set the house on fire, but finally milder counsel prevailed and the women and children were allowed to pursue their way to Ft. Ridgely on foot.
My father, about the time the women and children started off from our place in the wagon with the Zimmer- mans, ordered me to round up our milch cows and young stock and take them to a place now occupied by the village of Morton. I was then to proceed down the valley to alarm the settlers, while he and my younger brother guarded the herd. But I was not fated to call on many settlers that morning. The Indians interfered with our program. First they came upon my father, who was guarding the cattle, and drove him off into the open prairie. Their guns were
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significant and he took their advice to decamp, reaching Ft. Ridgely before any of the rest of the family.
WARNS NEIGHBORS.
Meanwhile I had taken the path laid out for me. I called at two places, Mr. Bureau's and Mr. Kumrows. Both families had already been told of the danger and were mak- ing ready to escape. They asked me to go with them but I declined, as that would have interfered with carrying out my instructions. My road led me through a gap in the high rocks. I had gotten within a hundred yards of this spot when I saw three Indians coming out of the pass. I obligingly turned my horse, intending to go around the bluff and avoid meeting them. But almost immediately three guns were leveled on me, and just as obligingly I came to a halt, having a high regard for the redman's marks- manship.
DEPRIVED OF HIS HORSE.
One of the Indians now took the horse by the bit and asked me if I intended to resist. I answered only with a smile at the thought of an unarmed boy only eleven years old resisting three armed men. At that he turned the horse around and started in the direction I had come. The thought struck me that perhaps he thought more of the horse than he did of me, so I slipped off. He swung him- self on and trotted away without deigning to notice me fur- ther. His companions seemingly well pleased with the per- formance followed their leader. I was free again. Thus
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far I had known no fear at all. But I thought it prudent to give the road a wide berth by going around the bluff rather than through it. Before again reaching the road I saw the first dead lying in the grass. It was the body of a Frenchman, one of two brothers who were operating the ferry at which Captain Marsh and his command were anni- hilated a few hours later.
DOG GUARDS DEAD MASTER.
I can never forget the appealing look the murdered man's little dog gave me as he sat beside his master licking the clotted blood from his face. Thenceforth my move- ments were guided by more caution. Indians, wagons and oxen, among them our own, passed me while I lay in the grass a few rods away. Whenever the Indians had disap- peared I would run until I saw new signs of danger, when I would hide again. In this manner I reached Faribault's place about noon.
I saw a group of Indians outside the house, the same group as I afterwards learned, which was deciding the fate of my people. One look was enough. I dashed into the cornfield on the opposite side of the road and made a detour around the usual fording place and thus missed seeing what happened at Faribault's place.
On the east side of the stream the road left the valley and wound up the hill toward Manger's place. The under- brush now impeded my progress and I again ventured into the road. When half way up the hill I was suddenly con- fronted with two young warriors who came round a sharp turn. One carried a double barreled shotgun and the other
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a bow. The one with the bow got ready instantly to send an arrow through me, but his companion quickly thrust the bow aside with the butt of his gun.
CAPTURED BY FOEMEN.
"Where go?" he asked me. I answered that I was bound for "Tepee tauke," or "Big House" as the Indians called the fort. He shook his head to indicate that I was mistaken, and ordered me to face about and precede them down the hill. This was the beginning of my seven weeks' captivity.
The trip down the hill to the ford occupied but a few minutes. Here we came suddenly on evidences of the brutal work of the Indians that day. The body of John Zimmer- man lay by the stream. It was stretched as naturally as though it was taking a noonday nap. This was what I thought until I tried to rouse him. Then I discovered that John would wake no more. The body of his brother Got- fried lay in the water, he having been shot while trying to escape on a log. The father of the boys lay on the west side of the stream. My captors must have suspected that he was still living, for they rolled him over and crushed his skull with blows from the butt of the gun. Scattered about were a few household goods that had been thrown on the wagon at home. I picked up some article of clothing, but was or- dered to drop it. A couple of books were there. We had only two at our house, Webster's speller and the Bible. I tucked the latter under my arm, but was compelled to drop that, too.
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WHIPPED BY CAPTORS.
It appeared that my captors had been on a reconnoiter- ing expedition toward the fort and were in a hurry to get back and report. The party in the house, including my mother, one brother and two sisters, must have gone before this, for all was quiet in and about the place. The Indians all had vanished. My captors and I started on again. I had my trousers rolled up and one of the Indians having a blacksnake whip, gave me an occasional cut across the bare calves. The object was two-fold. It afforded him great amusement to see me jump and it considerably accelerated my speed.
On arriving at the ferry I noticed a great congestion of traffic. Four of five wagons drawn by oxen were await- ing transfer. There was great confusion. The Indians had managed pretty well so far, but coaxing the oxen onto the ferry was another matter. I stepped up to the foremost team and soon it followed me onto the boat. This act brought hand-clappings and calls of "Hocksheta washtav" (good boy).
It was not long till all had passed to the south or agency side of the river. Here I was allowed to rest a quarter of an hour or more. Seated on the high bank, I watched the gun practice of the Indians, who had many new guns taken from the stores, and some taken from their victims but a few hours before, and with which they wanted to get ac- quainted before Captain Marsh and his men should arrive on the scene. You would never guess the target. They were moving targets. Stacks of milk pans had been taken from the stores. Each marksman took one and hurled it with a
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spinning motion out into the stream, allowed it to right it- self and float some distance with the current, and taking good aim, fired. There was no need of a scorer. The bright pan would tell the story. The conditions in the battle fought some hours later were quite similar. It was an easy change from floating pans to the heads of swimming soldiers.
MENACED BY DRUNKEN RED.
One of my captors remained at the ferry to be on hand when the enemy appeared. The others took me up the hill to the agency. Here some of the buildings were burned, others were just plundered. I saw the Indians carry a man out of one. Whether he was dead of alive I could not tell. Some of the Indians had taken too much fire-water and were turned into demons. One brandished a butcher knife, made a lunge at me, but a thrust from the butt of the gun of my captor and protector sent him reeling. It was my third escape from death in the day and perhaps the closest. When nearing the edge of the agency, an Indian drove by with my father's wagon and oxen. Delighted at seeing some- thing from home, I exclaimed, "Oh, there is our team."
My captor replied, "Well, if it is yours, let's take a ride." He hailed the driver who took us on. I immediately assumed control of the team of oxen.
UNWILLING AID OF INDIANS.
On arriving at an Indian village my captor left me at the hut of his future mother-in-law, a widow with two grown daughters. Here several squaws were squatted around an
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open fire on the ground. They had bags of shot which they poured into a ladle and then melted over the fire and poured into bullet molds. There was a heap of bullets on the ground, with the nipple made by the hole in the mold still on them. One of the squaws ordered me to get busy with a knife cutting off these projecting nipples. The bullets were then placed in the empty shot bags and sent to the ferry by Indian lads. Thus I became unwillingly an instru- ment in killing some of Captain Marsh's men.
Like most boys, I had great faith in the prowess of sol- diers and believed them invincible if pitted against Indians. Repeatedly I told the squaws that they would "get their pay," meaning their punishment, for what they had done, but conveyed no meaning thus, so that if they showed dis- pleasure I could explain that I meant their annual payment from the government.
WHEN HOPE ALMOST DIED.
About four o'clock in the afternoon a flag came in view in the direction of the agency. Soon after was seen the glitter of bayonets and swords. What I had firmly be- lieved all day was now to come true. The soldiers were coming to mete out punishment and release the captives. I could contain myself no longer, and having no hat I picked up an old rag, clambered on the roof of an old hut, waved it and shouted several lusty hurrahs. Then I jumped down and ran toward the procession. Alas, the approaching pa- rade was a mob of wild Indians arrayed in the garb of soldiers they had slain at the ferry. This disillusionment was the worst shock of the day for me. I then and there
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gave up all hope of seeing white people again. Had not the invincible soldiers been annihilated ?
DRESSED AS INDIAN.
On the second or third day of my captivity several squaws assisted my mistress in making a regular Indian outfit for me. It consisted of a pair of leggings, a calico shirt, a breechcloth and a belt. In dress I was now like an Indian, but my complexion was fair and my hair silvery white. This naturally made me conspicuous in a group of Indian boys and I was soon known all over the camp as "Paw Skaw" (whitehead). At first I did not mind it, but it finally affected my temper to a point where the squaw demanded to know what was the matter. I told her. She found a remedy. Thereafter when she had mopped my face with a wet rag as she did every morning, she scattered dried powder over my head, smeared my face with paint, made a few streaks and dots in it with her finger nails. This worked like a charm and I was no longer annoyed.
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