USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume I > Part 3
USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume I > Part 3
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
In 1848 Wisconsin adopted a state constitution, but ignored the enab- ling act, and made the northern part of the western boundary of the state along the line of the St. Louis and Rum rivers, which was not accepted by the United States government, and the boundary line from the Mississippi river to Lake Superior became fixed, as in the enabling act, on the line of the St. Croix river and in a direct line to the mouth of the St. Louis river.
After the acceptance of the Wisconsin constitution, in May, 1848, the territory north and west of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers being prac- ticaly without a government, the Hon. John Catlin, claiming to be still secretary and acting governor of Wisconsin territory, issued a proclama- tion for a special election, to elect a delegate to Congress. The election was held on October 30, and Hon. H. H. Sibley was chosen delegate, and after some delay was admitted as such into the Congress of the United States.
TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.
On March 3, 1849, Congress passed an act to establish the territorial government of Minnesota. It fixed the seat of government at St. Paul. and established the southern boundary of the territory along the north and west boundary line of the state of Iowa, from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river, the western boundary through the middle of the channel of the Missouri river to the mouth of the White Earth river, and up the middle of the channel of the White Earth river to the boundary line between the United States and Great Britain, the northern boundary running thence easterly and southeasterly on the international boundary line to Lake Super-
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ior, and the eastern boundary running thence in a straight line to the north- ermost point of the state of Wisconsin, and following the north and west boundary of said state down the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers to the place of beginning. At this time the population of the territory was mainly in the section east of the Mississippi river, and the settlers were almost entirely engaged in lumbering. The territorial government was declared fully organized, June 1, 1849, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey, who had been appointed first territorial governor. The year 1848 was noted as the year of excitement from the discovery of gold in California, and the eyes of many thousands of people throughout the east were turned westward, where opportunities were opening for the growth of new states. Although at the organization of the territory there was scarcely a thousand people, within a year the census of 1850 gave to the territory a population of 6,077. Of this number, however, 1,134 residents were credited to the northernmost part of the territory on the Red River of the North, many of these being half- breds, and the early pioneers engaged in the fur trade, brought there through the influence of the Hudson Bay Company.
The first territorial election was held on August 1, 1849.
The first session of the territorial Legislature commenced in St. Paul, September 3, 1849, during which counties were established and a code of laws enacted. The second session was commenced in January, 1851, at which time the capitol was located at St. Paul, the university at St. Anthony, and the state prison at Stillwater.
THE COUNCIL AT TRAVERSE DES SIOUX.
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In 1851 three treaties were made with the Sioux and with the Ojibway bands of Indians, whereby large tracts of lands were relinquished to the United States. In view of the great extent of country desired, and the importance of the transaction, and the long continued friendship of the Dakota nation, President Fillmore departed from the usual mode of appoint- ing commissioners, and deputed the Hon. Luke Lea, the commissioner of Indian affairs, and Gov. Alexander Ramsey to meet the representatives of the Dakotas, and to conclude with them a treaty for such lands as they might be willing to sell.
On the 27th of June, 1851, Commissioner Lea, arrived in St. Paul on the steamboat "Excelsior," and on the 29th he, in company with Governor Ramsey, landed at Traverse des Sioux, where the great council was to be held and the treaty consummated with the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands
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of Sioux. Great delay in the proceedings was caused by the non-arrival of certain Sioux chiefs from the upper country, and it was not until the 18th of July that the council convened and the preliminaries to the treaty com- menced. During this interval of about twenty days they all entertained themselves as best they could with races, dances, suppers, sham fights, and all sorts of fun.
On the 18th of July, all the chiefs having arrived, proclamation was made, and being convened in grand council and the pipe of peace having been passed around, the council was opened by an address from Governor Ramsey. On the 23rd of July the treaty was concluded and signed by the chiefs, by which they ceded to the United States all the lands claimed by these bands east of the Sioux Wood (or Bois des Sioux), and Big Sioux rivers and Lake Traverse to the Mississippi, excepting a reservation one hundred miles long by twenty miles wide, on the upper part of the Minne- sota river. By this treaty the Indians were to remove within two years to the reservation; to receive from the government, after removal $275,000, to enable them to settle up their affairs and to become established in their new home; and $30,000 was to be expended in breaking land, erecting mills and establishing a manual training school. They were also to receive for fifty years from that time, an annuity of $68,000, payable as follows: Cash, $40,000 ; civilization fund, $12,000; goods and provisions, $10,000; educa- tion fund, $6,000.
About a week later, on the 29th of July, Governor Ramsey and Com- missioner Lea met the chiefs and leading men of the Med-ay-wakanton and Wah-pay-koo-tay bands of Sioux at a grand council at Mendota, to nego- tiate another treaty for the sale of other lands, which was concluded on the 5th of August, being signed by sixty-four chiefs, head men and warriors. In the treaty these bands of Indians ceded and relinquished all their lands in territory of Minnesota and state of Iowa, and in consideration thereof the United States was to reserve for them a tract of the average width of ten miles on either side of the Minnesota river, and bounded on the west by the Tehay-tam-bay and Yellow Medicine rivers, on the east by the Little Rock river, and a line running due south from the mouth to the Waraju river; and to pay them the following sums of money: For settling debts and aid in removal, $220,000; for erection of buildings and opening farms, $30,000; civilization fund, to be paid annually, $12,000; educational fund, paid annually, $6,000; goods and provisions, annually, $10,000; cash, $30,000. The annuities were to continue for fifty years from the date of the treaty.
These two treaties of 1851 at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota acquired
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for white settlement nearly 24,000,000 acres of the finest lands in the world. The cessions were mostly in Minnesota, but included about an eighth part, or nearly 3,000,000 acres, in the state of Iowa, between the line of the old "neutral ground" and the northern and western boundaries of the state. That tract of country, and generally all lands in Iowa, claimed by the Sioux, were therefore embraced in the articles of cession of both treaties.
The Senate of the United States, on the 23rd of June, 1852, ratified the treaties, with amendments to each, which amendments were subsequently accepted by the Indians, and on the 24th of February, 1853, President Mil- lard Fillmore issued his proclamation accepting, ratifying and confirming each of the said treaties as amended. . The total lands in the present state of Minnesota relinquished to the government by these treaties exceeded 19,000,000 acres; and they also ceded about 1,750,000 acres in South Dakota, besides the tract described in Iowa.
The third treaty of 1851 was effected by Governor Ramsey with the Red Lake and Penibina bands of Ojibways at Pembina, by which they ceded certain territory, sixty-five miles in width by one hundred and fifty miles in length, intersected by the Red River of the North. This treaty was not ratified by the government.
After the ratification of the treaties with the Sioux, a great wave of immigration set in from all the eastern states, and an era of speculation started which probably has never been excelled in any portion of the west. A census, taken in 1857, gave a population of 150,037.
INDIAN HUNTERS CAUSE TROUBLE.
Notwithstanding there was an abundant supply of good land outside of the limits of the land ceded under these treaties, the adventurous spirit of the pioneers led many of them to settle on the extreme limits of the grant, and in immediate proximity to the Indian settlements. In the south- western portion of the state, particularly, settlements were made close to the boundary line of Iowa and north and west of Spirit lake. Some were in Iowa and some were in Minnesota, and all were within the jurisdiction of the Indian agent resident in the territory of Minnesota. Although the Indians were living on the reservation lands west of these settlements, in their hunting expeditions they were accustomed to return to the ceded lands. In a general way the Indians were civil, and committed only petty depredations ; but their visits were at times annoying. Among the Indians there was a single band, under the leadership of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the Scar-
DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
let Point. of about fifteen lodges, which had been for many years an inde- pendent band and of a thieving, vagabondish character (really outlaws from the Sioux nation, and not represented in the treaties of 1851). who had taken possession of a strip of land running on both sides of the boundary lines of Iowa and Minnesota, and extending to the Missouri river. In March. I857. a few of these Indians were hunting in the neighborhood of Rock river and one of them was bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The dog was killed by the Indian. and in return the owner of the dog made an assault upon the Indian, and afterward gathered his neighbors. and they went to the Indian camp and disarmed them. The arms were afterward returned to them, and the party moved northeast. arriving at the Spirit Lake settlement about the 6th of March. where they massacred the men and took four women into captivity. Other settlements were attacked. and alto- gether forty-two settlers were killed. Two of the women were afterward rescued through the efforts of Hon. Charles E. Flandreau. then the Indian agent An effort was made to punish this band of savages, but all escaped except the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta, who had ventured into the camp of other Sioux. near the agency. and was killed in an attempt to capture him.
TOWN-SITE SPECULATION.
In 1835 and 1856 town-site speculation became the absorbing thought. and when the panic of 1857 set in. Minnesota was soon in a deplorable condition. The demand for an extensive railroad system and a state gov- ernment had originated in the flush times of 1856 and 1857, and on Febru- ary 26. 1857, Congress passed an act authorizing a constitutional conven- tion, and granting a large amount of lands in aid of public schools. On March 3. 1857. an act of Congress was approved making a large grant of lands in aid of railroads.
The election of members of the Constitutional Convention was held on June 1. 1857. and the result was an almost equal division representing the Democratic and Republican parties. So close was this division. and there being some contested seats, when the convention assembled. on July 13. two distinct organizations were made. each proceeding to frame a Con- stitution. but finally, by conference committees. they united in one docu- ment. which was submitted to a vote of the people on October 13, and was adopted almost unanimously. By this Constitution the boundaries of the state were changed on the west, making the Red River of the North the line, up the Bois des Sioux, and thence extending along that river and
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through Lake Traverse and Big Stone lake, and by a direct south line to the north boundary of Iowa.
This Constitution provided for an election of state officers at the same time of voting upon the adoption of the Constitution, resulting, by a close vote, in the election of the Democratic nominees. The first state Legisla- ture was convened on the 2nd of December, 1857, and continued in session until March 25, 1858, when a recess was taken until after the state should be admitted. Some doubts were raised as to the legality of the acts of the Legislature previous to admission by Congress. The act of admission was passed and approved. May 11, 1858. The Legislature again assembled in June, and finally adjourned. August 12, 1858. During this prolonged session the embryo state was without funds, and a loan of $250,000 was authorized; but as the acts of the Legislature before admission were some- what irregular, the loan could not be readily negotiated. To tide over the difficulty state warrants were issued in the form of bank notes, and passed current, with more or less discount, until the summer of 1858, when they were redeemed from the proceeds of the loan consummated after the admis- sion of the state.
RAILROAD BONDS ISSUED.
The first Legislature worked diligently in what they considered the best interest of the state, and as the grant of lands by the United States in aid of railroads within the state had to be turned over to companies, a large part of the session was devoted to railroad legislation. The scheme of further aid to companies who might be willing to undertake the build- ing of railroads was originated, and was commonly denominated the "Five Million Loan Bill," contemplating the loan of the credit of the state, to that amount, in such sums as would be paid upon the grading and final completion of certain miles of road. On a submission of this law to the people it was adopted by a large majority. The opposition at the time of the vote upon this measure was very bitter, and continued after bonds were being issued, and with the dissatisfaction arising from the small amount of work completed and the large amount of bonds issued, threatenings of repu- diation advocated by leading men in the state caused a distrust in financial circles and a final collapse of the whole scheme, with the foreclosure of the mortgages taken by the state upon the railroad lands and franchises, and the abandonment of all railroad construction for the time being. The total amount of bonds issued under this provision of the constitution was $2,275,- 000. By the foreclosure proceedings the state acquired about 250 miles of
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graded road, the franchises of the companies and the lands, amounting to five million of acres, as indemnity for this issue of bonds. Notwithstanding the state had acquired all the rights, including the improvements of the rail- roa.1 companies, the feeling against any settlement of the bonds was strong enough to secure an amendment to the constitution in 1860, prohibiting the passage of any law levying a tax or making other provision for the pay- ment of the principal or interest of these bonds without having the same submitted to a vote of the people and adopted.
The two years following the crash of 1857 were replete with financial disaster and a shrinkage of inflated values in town-sites; but the country was filling up with farmers, and the rich soil of the state was giving abundant harvests. The political contest of 1859 was bitter, and resulted in the Republican party carrying the state, both for state officers and the Legis- lature
The census of 1860 gave the state a population of 172,023. During this year there was great hope of a largely increased immigration into the county ; but the political situation in the Union, starting with the opening of the presidential campaign of that year, soon indicated a disturbing ele- ment throughout the country, and distrust and depression were manifest on all sides which was not allayed by the result of the presidential election. The war period, commencing with the time of the President's proclamation in April, 1861, to the final close of the rebellion in 1865, did not permit any material growth in the state. About twenty-two thousand of her able- bodied citizens volunteered and were enlisted in the Union army.
UNREST AMONG THE INDIANS.
The Indian reservation set apart by the treaties of 1851, a tract twenty miles wide on the upper part of the Minnesota river, embracing some of the finest lands in the state, was becoming a barrier to settlements in the upper Minnesota valley. Settlers had taken lands close up to the reserva- tion, and there was considerable complaint that Indians were coming off the reservation and committing petty depredations, and the Indians had more or less complaints to make regarding the extortions practiced by the post traders. The encroachments of the whites were viewed with suspicion by the Indians, and sooner or later, from these causes alone, a conflict would probably have occurred. The War of the Rebellion, calling away so many of the able-bodied men of the state, left the frontier settlements almost
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defenseless, and doubtless caused the younger portion of the tribes to become more offensive to the settlers and more exacting in their demands.
The lands embraced within the reservation under the treaties of 1851 were in the very heart of Minnesota, and, considering the forests and streams, were the choicest of farming lands. The settlers on the border were anxiously coveting this "Garden of Eden." A sentiment was created throughout the state that the Indians should abandon the tribal relations and become civilized. To this end the head men of the Dakota nation were induced, in 1858, to go to Washington, under the charge of Hon. Joseph R. Brown, in whom they had great confidence, for the purpose of negotiating for the whole or a part of this reservation. Treaties were signed ceding the ten-mile strip on the north side of the river, upon the payment of $140,000, and the government provided that every head of a family or single person over the age of twenty-one adopting a civilized life should secure in fee eighty acres of land. From some cause the pay- ments of $140,000 were never made, and there was great dissatisfaction on account of this treaty, among those of the tribes who were adverse to accepting the condition of civilization; and from the fact that there was no money divided among them on account of this relinquishment a bitter dissension arose between the older chiefs and the younger members, the latter claiming that they had been robbed either by the chiefs or by the government, and they proposed to have the settlement, peaceful or other- wise
This internal strife was augmented from year to year by the withdrawal of families who were willing to accept the civilization fund, the number in three years succeeding the treaty amounting to one hundred and sixty per- sons. They were, however, still annuity Indians, and claimed the right to be heard in the councils. The annuity Indians, all told, numbered about six thousand two hundred, and the annual cash payment to each person amounted to about fifteen dollars. The Indians were treated as wards of the United States. Two agencies were established, around which were gathered storekeepers to sell the Indians goods in anticipation of the annuity payments ; and, usually, the annual payment was simply a settlement of the claims of the traders, who took the risk of furnishing the goods in advance. That there was injustice practiced upon the Indians is doubtless true; probably not so great as the disaffected Indians imagined. There was enough, however, to make the time of the annual payment an anxious period, for fear of an outbreak. The failure of the government in its attempt to punish the Spirit Lake murderers had a tendency to create a feel-
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ing among the leaders of the rebellious spirit that if they could only unite the whole body of Sioux in an uprising they could make a successful attack upon the settlers, and perhaps regain the lands formerly held by the Indians. The War of the Rebellion, starting in 1861, gave renewed energy to the discontent. The Indians were well aware of the reverses of the Union forces during the first year of the war. The calls for troops were taking the able-bodied men from the farms, and many of the half-breeds had volun- teered for the army. All these conditions had a disquieting effect, and, added to this, in 1862 the June payment was not made; and as there was no satisfactory answer for the delay, the traders took advantage of the neces- sities of the Indians and insinuated that perhaps the government would go to pieces, and there would be no further payments. The missionaries endeav- ored to counteract these evil influences, and, with the aid of the civilized Indians. succeeded in averting deliberate outbreak. The delay in payment of annuities, however, tended to keep up the discontent, particularly among the younger braves. who were the hunters. Their vagabond life brought them into the settlements, and in contact with the whites; and their worth- less, lazy habits made them offensive to the families, as beggars of meals or money, or anything that took their fancy.
MASSACRE OF 1862.
These are, in brief, the circumstances which led up to the great mas- sacre of 1862, which for a short time threatened the lives of all the settlers on the western boundary of the state. There was no concerted action for the massacre, and to some extent there is an uncertainty as to why the first murders were committed. Four young men or boys are believed to have commenced the massacre, in a spirit of bravado, making a threatening attack first upon a family, driving them from their home, and afterward following them to a neighbor's house, where, after an altercation with the families, they killed three men and two women. These occurrences took place on the 17th of August, in the township of Acton, twelve miles west of Litchfield. Realizing that if they remained in the vicinity punishment would soon overtake their murderous acts, they lost no time in going back to camp, relating what they had done, and asking protection. A hasty consultation was had between two of the chiefs; they realized that the mur- derers must be given up, or the annuities would be stopped, and a war of extermination would be inaugurated. They chose to stand by the murder- ers, and immediately following there was a general uprising of the entire
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Sioux bands. So swift were their movements, before any effective resistance could be brought against them, that about eight hundred of the settlers, men, women and children were murdered within a few days. The prompt action of the state authorities, aided by the national government, resulted in the capture of about 2,000 of the belligerent Indians and the withdrawal of the remainder beyond the boundaries of the state, into the wilds of Dakota. Of the captured Indians, 303 were found guilty of murder and rape, and were condemned to death by a military court-martial. Of this number 265 were reprieved by President Lincoln, and the remainder, thirty- eight of the most prominent engaged in the massacre, were hung in Mankato on the 26th of December, 1862. The next year the general government authorized an expedition against the Indians who had escaped to the Dakota plains, because of their constant raids in small squads on the frontiers of the state for the purpose of horse-stealing and marauding upon adven- turous settlers who might risk going back to their abandoned farms. After two decisive encounters, the Indians retreated beyond the Missouri river, and in 1864 another expedition was sent forward and a final settlement of the Sioux outbreak was accomplished, by a confiscation and surrender of the ponies and arms of most of the bands hostile to the government.
The several tribes of Sioux Indians were engaged in this massacre, and were the representatives of the tribes that had made the cession of lands in 1851, under the first and second treaties of that year. Under these treaties the government had set aside trust funds of $2,520,000, from which there was paid annually the sum of $126,000. Settlers who had lost prop- erty urged their claims for indemnity, and Congress promptly established a commission to receive all claims and investigate the facts. The commis- sion was duly organized and established headquarters in the city of St. Paul, and carefully examined all the claims presented. The total number filed was 2,940, with damages amounting to $2,458,795.16. The commission allowed 2,635 claims, and cut down the damages to $1,370,374. By act of Congress these claims were paid, and the annuities and all further pay- ments to the tribes were stopped. The state was also reimbursed for extra- ordinary expenses incurred during the period of insurrection.
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