USA > Minnesota > Douglas County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume I > Part 36
USA > Minnesota > Grant County > History of Douglas and Grant counties, Minnesota : their people, industries, and institutions, Volume I > Part 36
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rods from the top of the beach, ten hundred and sixty to ten hundred and sixty-three.
Surface of till at the southeastern snow fences of the railroad, about a third of a mile southeast from the beach, ten hundred and seventy-three; at the northwest end of the northwestern snow fences, about twenty-five rods northwest from the highest part of the beach, ten hundred and fifty- four; and at the one hundred and eightieth mile-post, about a quarter of a mile northwest of the last, ten hundred and forty-nine.
Railroad track at Herman, ten hundred and seventy; at the one hun- dred and eightieth mile-post, ten hundred and fifty-one.
In the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 18, Dela- ware township, ten hundred and sixty-seven; beach here, ten hundred and sixty-six to ten hundred and sixty-seven. .
On the east side of the southeast quarter of section 12, Gorton town- ship, on the western slope of the beach, ten hundred and sixty-two; top of beach-ridge, ten hundred and sixty-seven. Beach through the next one and a half miles north, along the west side of sections 18 and 7, Delaware town- ship, ten hundred and sixty-six to ten hundred and sixty-eight. The beach for this distance is conspicuously developed, having a width of about twenty- five rods, rising five to eight feet above the depression at its east side and ten to fifteen feet above the land west.
In the southwest quarter of section 6, Delaware township, of same height with the top of the beach-ridge, ten hundred and sixty-eight.
Beach in section 31, Elbow Lake township, not so conspicuous as usual, ten hundred and sixty-six; in or near the southwest quarter of section 19, this township, ten hundred and seventy; in the southwest quarter of section 18, a gracefully rounded, low ridge, as elsewhere, composed of gravel and sand, including pebbles up to three inches in diameter, ten hundred and sixty- five to ten hundred and sixty-six ; in the northwest quarter of this section 18, ten hundred and seventy: in the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 2, North Ottawa township, ten hundred and seventy-one; about one mile north of east, near the north side of section 35, Lawrence township, ten hundred and seventy-five: and about one mile farther north, also ten hundred and seventy-five.
Beach in the northeast quarter of section 26, Lawrence township, ten hundred and seventy-five feet, being four feet above the land adjoining this ridge on the east, and about ten feet above the flat land near on the west ; in section 23, Lawrence township, ten hundred and seventy-six; and near the
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south side of section 10, ten hundred and sixty-nine to ten hundred and seventy-four.
Extensive sloughs of marshes occur in section 36, and in sections 25 and 24, Lawrence township, each being about a mile long, lying on the east side of the beach-ridge and reaching two and one-half miles northward; the eleva- tion of these above sea-level is about ten hundred and sixty feet.
In the north part of section 10, and the south part of section 3, Law- rence township, the shore line of Lake Agassiz is not marked, as usual, by a gravel ridge, but by a somewhat abrupt ascent or terrace, the top of which, composed partly of gravel, is ten hundred and eighty-five to ten hundred and seventy-nine; base of this terrace-land westward, consisting of till slightly modified on the area of Lake Agassiz, ten hundred and sixty to ten hundred and fifty. This escarpment, the eroded shore-line of the glacial lake, passes at the north side of section 10, Lawrence township.
Beach in section 34, Western township, the most southwest township of Otter Tail county, ten hundred and seventy to ten hundred and seventy- five.
NORCROSS BEACH.
At Norcross depot this beach has the same elevation as the railroad track, ten hundred and thirty-nine feet above the sea. There is a depression three feet lower on the southeast, and the surface ten to fifteen rods north- west from the top of this beach, on the side where the lake was, is ten hun- dred and thirty-two to ten hundred and thirty-four. Thence a very smooth plain descends to Gorton, Campbell, and the Red river at Breckinridge. About fifty rods northeast from Norcross depot, the beach attains its greatest height in this vicinity, ten hundred and forty-three feet. It is a rounded. low ridge of sand and gravel, lying on an area of till, having the same characters as the upper beach at the numerous places that has been described. The course of the Norcross beach has been mapped, but its elevation has not been exactly determined at other points in this county. In Western town- ship, Otter Tail county, its elevation is approximately ten hundred and forty- five feet.
BUILDING STONE.
As there are no outcrops of rock, the boulders of the drift are consider- ably used for rough masonry. They are frequent throughout much of the district, but are comparatively scarce on the more smooth and flat areas.
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LIME.
Magnesian limestone boulders have been burned for lime in the south- west part of Pelican township, and also in the north part of this same town- ship, as well as in the northwest part of Erdahl on the southeast side of Pomme de Terre lake.
BRICKS.
The first brick-making in the county was begun in 1881. The clay used is till, excavated to a depth of five or six feet, containing gravel, a large part of which is limestone, so that nearly every brick is more or less cracked by the slacking of particles of lime. Some sand, hauled from the Pomme de Terre river, is mixed with this clay for tempering. The bricks are mostly cream-colored, but have a notably greenish tint when they are subjected to the greatest heat, and a light pinkish color close to the outside of the kiln, where the heat is least.
ABORIGINAL EARTHWORKS.
An artificial mound of the usual dome-like form, forty feet across and six feet high, lies in section 12, Lien township, about thirty rods east of the road and a half a mile southwest from Little Pomme de Terre lake, which is about seventy-five feet lower.
Another mound, about five feet high, is located one-half mile northwest from the old Moose Island tank, on land some twenty feet above a little lake close east. This is four miles southeast from Herman.
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CHAPTER II.
THE INDIAN OUTBREAK AND THE STOCKADE.
The principal scenes of the Sioux Indian outbreak of 1862 occurred some hundred miles to the south, but no introduction to the history of Grant county would be complete, or furnish a proper understanding of con- ditions just prior to the advent of white settlers in this region, which did not recite the main events of that fateful summer which ended forever the occupa- tion of this county by the native red men. Not until this outburst of savage fury had been subdued and the hostile Indians driven from the state, was it safe for settlers to locate this far from supply stations and military protec- tion.
In the campaign which followed the outbreak, outposts of soldiers were stationed in the area which subsequently became Grant county, and several expeditions of troops traversed this region, going or returning from the engagements farther west. A number of the men who a little later were among the early settlers of this county, passed through here during the Indian warfare, and secured such a favorable impression of the country that they made plans to return.
CAUSES OF THE OUTBREAK.
There is a great difference of opinion as to the primary cause of the Sioux Indian outbreak in Minnesota in the summer of 1862. However, it is certain that the white traders and the government agents were not entirely guiltless in bringing about this formidable uprising. Under the terms of the treaties of 1851 and 1858 the Indians were paid a certain amount of money each year in exchange for the land they had ceded to the whites. This payment was usually made in June, in gold and silver coin, and amounted to about thirty dollars to each Indian of the various Sioux bands. It had become an established custom for the white traders to be present at the payment and present bills against the Indians which often equalled and some- times exceeded the amount to be drawn from the government. Soldiers were on hand to enforce the collection of these bills and this greatly incensed the Indians.
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DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
Another cause for dissatisfaction was the edict of the government that the Sioux should not make war on the Chippewas, who had recently killed several of their number. In May, 1862, a band of Sioux under Red Iron were hunting on the upper Pomme de Terre river, within the borders of this county, when they were attacked by the Chippewas, and lost two men.
The Indians assembled at the Yellow Medicine Agency about the usual time in 1862, to receive their annuity. The payment was delayed, and after waiting until their provisions were exhausted the Indians returned to their camps. This increased the unrest among the Sioux and the more headstrong warriors began to urge an uprising against the whites to regain the land they had parted with. The Civil War was then in progress and it seemed an oppor- tune time for an organized attack. An accident caused the smouldering resentment to burst into flame.
THE FIRST BLOOD SHED.
During the second week in August, 1862, a party of young Indians who were hunting in Meeker county got to bantering each other as to which were the braver, finally each vowing that to show their courage they would kill a white man. They proceeded to the house of Robinson Jones, near Acton, and after making a show of friendship, shot and killed five people. Securing horses in that neighborhood they mounted and rode to the camp of their band near the Redwood Agency. A council was called and after various chiefs -had been visited and informed of the happening, it was decided to make war on the whites rather than surrender their comrades who had killed the settlers.
The next day, August 18, 1862, the Indians attacked the Redwood Agency, killing many white men and capturing the women and children. A few escaped and carried the news of the uprising to Ft. Ridgely, which was the nearest garrison of government troops, fourteen miles away. The Indians divided into small bands and that same day killed many settlers on both sides of the Minnesota river, burned their houses and ran off their stock.
AMBUSCADE AT REDWOOD FERRY.
Capt. John S. Marsh, in command of Company B, Fifth Minnesota Regiment, stationed at Ft. Ridgely, upon receipt of the news of the massacre at Redwood Agency, deeming it merely a local trouble, set out with a party of about fifty men to quell the disturbance at the Agency. He had no idea
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of the extent of the uprising and was confident that he could overcome any opposition he might meet. While this command was preparing to cross the river by ferry just below the Agency, they were attacked by Indians in ambush along the river and Captain Marsh and twenty-five soldiers were killed. This victory encouraged some of the hesitating Indians to join in the uprising.
ATTACK ON NEW ULM.
On Tuesday morning, August 19, 1862, about three hundred and twenty warriors under the command of chief Little Crow descended upon the town of New Ulm and laid siege to that place. After several fierce attacks dur- ing the succeeding four days the Indians finally withdrew. The loss to the defenders of New Ulm was some thiry-five men killed and more than sixty wounded. Ft. Ridgely was attacked on August 20 and 21, but was able to drive off the savages. A few days later reinforcements arrived under com- mand of Colonel Sibley.
BATTLE OF BIRCH COULIE.
The main body of the Indians retreated up the river after their repulse from Ft. Ridgely. On August 31 Colonel Sibley sent a detachment of men to Redwood Agency to bury the bodies of Captain Marsh's men killed at the ferry, and to learn the strength and location of the Indians. While part of this command under Captain Grant were camped at Birch Coulie, on Septem- ber I, they were attacked by a large band of Indians who were on their way down the river to make a new assault on New Ulm. The soldiers were not taken altogether by surprise and were able to hold off their assailants until help came to them from Ft. Ridgely.
After the battle of Birch. Coulie, Colonel Sibley organized a strong force and proceeded up the south bank of the Minnesota river after the retreating Indians.
BATTLE OF WOOD LAKE.
On the evening of September 22 Colonel Sibley's column of about two thousand men went into camp a short distance northeast of Wood Lake, in the eastern part of Yellow Medicine county. Early the next morning the camp was attacked by the Indians, who were driven off after many of their number had been killed. The loss to the whites was seven men killed and thirty-four wounded. This battle ended all organized effort on the part of
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the Indians, who retreated to their camps up the river, opposite the point where the Chippewa flows into the Minnesota river. There they dug rifle pits and were ready to make a determined resistance, but when the soldiers under Colonel Sibley came up the Indians saw they were greatly outnum- bered and surrendered, at the same time giving up ninety-one white pris- oners, mostly women and children. In commemoration of this event the spot was named Camp Release and is now marked by a fine monument.
While this campaign against the organized bands of Indians was in progress, many outrages were perpetrated on settlers all over western Minne- sota, by raiding Indians in small parties. A few days before the surrender at Camp Release, chief Little Crow with over one hundred warriors, fled into North Dakota. Later Little Crow returned to this state and was shot and killed by a settler near Hutchinson, McLeod county. Of the Indians who surrendered to Colonel Sibley, three hundred and three were condemned to death, but owing to appeals for clemency from eastern people, President Lincoln commuted the death sentences of two hundred and sixty-four to imprisonment. Thirty-eight were hanged on one scaffold at Mankato, on December 26, 1862. One of the condemned Indians proved an alibi at the last moment.
Thus ended the Sioux outbreak of 1862-the most terrible massacre the country has ever known. It is stated by R. I. Holcombe, in "Minnesota in Three Centuries," from which book many of the facts in the foregoing account are taken, that more white people perished in that savage slaughter than in all the other massacres ever perpetrated on the North American continent.
EVENTS IN GRANT COUNTY DURING THE OUTBREAK.
In 1859 a road was built by the government from St. Cloud to Ft. Abercrombie, near the present site of Breckenridge, Wilkin county. This road entered Grant county on section 36, Pelican Lake township, and crossed the northeastern corner of the county. This road was for some years the main line of travel for soldiers on their way to the frontier forts in the Red river valley, and was also used for stage coach traffic and ox-teams hauling supplies to the upper garrisons. In 1862, as soon as the serious nature of the Indian uprising was appreciated by the authorities, the Eighth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, then being organized at Ft. Snelling, was hurried to the more exposed points on the frontier. The companies were widely scattered and one of them, Company D, was assigned to a position
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DOUGLAS AND GRANT COUNTIES, MINNESOTA.
along the old stage road on what is now section 18, in Pelican Lake township, Grant county.
THE OLD STOCKADE.
Company D, Eighth Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, was commanded by Capt. Samuel McLarty, with Dennis Jacobs, first lieutenant, and Thomas Harris, second lieutenant. The company reached Pelican Lake township in September, 1862, and in a skirmish with a small band of marauding Sioux two soldiers were killed, Corporal Zenas Blackman and Private Comfort B. Luddington. The soldiers then erected a stockade and remained there until May, 1864, when the regiment was assembled at Ft. Ridgely, to become a part of the expedition under General Sully in his cam- paign through the "bad lands."
The stockade was built on the southeast quarter of section 18, Pelican Lake township, on the north side of the road .where it passes between two small lakes, which would serve as natural defenses on the south and the north. There was quite a steep bluff leading down to the lake. The walls of the stockade were made from logs, ten or twelve inches in diameter, set close together in a trench and nailed securely to one another. They were about twelve feet high and enclosed an area some eight rods wide and twelve rods long. Two gates, one on the east side and the other on the south, afforded entrance to the enclosure. In the northwest corner of the stockade there was a two-story block house, with only one door leading from the yard. The second story of the block house was built over the first at an angle so that the sides of the building really faced in eight directions. Both stories were pro- vided with loopholes for rifle firing. Four long low log barracks were built for soldiers' quarters and stables, and a story and a half house for the officers. There was a well back of the officers' quarters.
A garrison was maintained at this point until 1865, when the buildings and ground were purchased from the government by Carpenter & Burbank, owners of the stage line from St. Cloud to Ft. Abercrombie, who placed Edward Buckmaster, an old stage driver, in charge of the station. Meager provision was made for the entertainment of travelers. Samuel Snow had a small sutler's store at the stockade while the soldiers were still there, and about 1868 he was succeeded by N. Q. Puntches, who increased the stock of goods and later moved over to the village of Pomme de Terre nearby. While at the stockade he used one of the old buildings for a store room. In 1872 David Burns traded land at Sauk Center for the farm on which the post stood and lived there until he died in 1879. The old stockade fence was
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used for fuel and the buildings were put to general farm purposes, disappear- ing gradually as they outlived their usefulness.
EXPEDITIONS THROUGH GRANT COUNTY.
After the Indians were defeated in the Minnesota valley those who fled from the state gathered at Devils Lake, North Dakota, where they were re-enforced by large bodies of Sioux from that neighborhood. An expedi- tion was organized against these Indians, under command of General Sibley, who had been promoted after the battle of Wood Lake. This column ascended the Minnesota valley, proceeded to Devils Lake, and thence to the Missouri river, where pursuit of the savages was abandoned. On the return trip the command marched to Ft. Abercrombie, and then over the old stage road through Grant county to St. Cloud. Ole E. Lien, Ole Larson Sunvold and Jens Peterson Lee were members of this expedition, and later became settlers in this county, having obtained their first personal knowledge of this country while on their way through here in the fall of 1863.
Another expedition against the Indians in 1863 was known as Hatch's Independent Battalion of Cavalry. Three companies were mustered into service in September, 1863, and in October marched through Grant county to the Red river valley and went down the river to Pembina. In connection with the British authorities they captured a number of prisoners. These companies were on duty at different frontier posts during 1864, and returned to Ft. Snelling in small detachments. One of the members of this command who a little later became the first settler in Grant county, was Henry F. San- ford, one of the leading figures in the organization of this commonwealth.
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CHAPTER III.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
Aside from the soldiers and stage company employees who lived at the stockade in Pelican Lake township, the first white resident in Grant county was Edward Griffin, who squatted on land in what is now Stony Brook township, in 1866. He was a trapper and trader. He constructed a rude cabin, planted a small patch of vegetables and later in the season harvested a crop of hay. Mr. Griffin had a small stock of provisions and goods which he traded to the Indians and half-breeds for furs, and as the white settlers began to come in he increased his stock until he had a nice little store. He was essentially a trapper, however, and in 1871 left these parts for a loca- tion more remote. His shanty was located near the big Skinnemoen grove in the northern part of the township.
SOME OF THE FIRST SETTLERS.
The first permanent settler in Grant county was Henry F. Sanford. Mr. Sanford made his initial visit to Grant county in 1863 as a member of Hatch's Battalion, stopped for a time at the stockade, then moved on with the troops to the Red river valley. In 1864 the company returned to the stockade, where Mr. Sanford was stationed until 1866, when he was hon- orably discharged from the service. In the meantime he had thoroughly explored this region and had determined to locate here. He located on sec- tion 17, township 129, range 42, just south of the present site of Elbow Lake village. He made a homestead filing on this land in 1868. Mr. San- ford erected a small cabin which was the first house built in Grant county. He cultivated a little garden in which he raised sufficient vegetables to sup- ply his personal wants and also enough to entertain other hunters, trappers and land seekers who happened his way. For the first few years, however, most of his time was spent in hunting and trapping, as fur gathering in those days was more profitable than tilling the soil.
Following Mr. Sanford, Ole Gudmunson was possibly the next actual settler. He took up land in what is now Elk Lake township, in 1867, and
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was the first settler in the county to break a large area of prairie land for crops.
Next in order were Timothy Heald, Joseph Pennock and Frank Smith who located here in 1868. Mr. Heald had made a prospecting trip through this region the previous year and selected a location on section 24, Pomme de Terre township, as he had hopes of establishing a town in that neigh- borhood, there being water power nearby and a railroad had been surveyed through there. Mr. Pennock located on section 18, across the line in Peli- can Lake township, and developed a farm there.
Many new settlers came in 1868 and from that year the development of the county really begun. K. N. Melby located in Pelican Lake township that same year, and Ole E. Lien located in Lien township, he being the pioneer for whom the township was named. In 1871 S. S. Frogner located in Logan township, the first settler in that portion of the county. In 1869 Iver G. Holt and L. L. Tobiason located in Pelican Lake township; Ole Larson Sunvold in Pomme de Terre; Jens Peterson Lee in Sanford, and Halvor · Anderson-in Elk· Lake. In 1870 O. W. Olson, Ole T. Ring,. Even Bjerke. Ole Torstenson and Peter Gran settled in Elk Lake township. In that same year John K. Lee and Ole-K. Lee were among those who settled in Lien township.
The year 1871 saw a considerable settlement made in Elbow Lake township and also in Stony Brook. In the former township J. N. Sanford and Ole O. Canestorp were among the first to locate, and in Stony Brook Steiner S. Skinnemoen and H. G. Lillemon were among the first settlers.
In 1872 accessions were made to all these settlements and farms were taken up in practically every part of the county except on the "flats" in the western border. The following year when the county was established and organized there were approximately eight hundred people in the county.
PIONEER CONDITIONS.
The experience of the pioneers in establishing homes in this virgin land varied only according to their means and equipment at the start, and the accessibility to timber for fuel and building purposes. As a general thing they came in covered wagons drawn by teams or oxen, and lived in the wagons until they could construct a rude cabin, which was soon dis- placed by a comfortable house. Where timber was not to be had, a dug-out was constructed and served as an admirable shelter. Those who had an equipment of farming tools went to work at once to cultivate their land,
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but they were in the minority, as most of the early settlers had very little. The country abounded with game and many of the pioneers secured a large part of their living by hunting and fishing. There was a ready market for all kinds of pelts. Some of the early settlers used their teams and oxen to haul freight between government posts and thus secured money to purchase farm equipment. Barring accident, the first few years were the hardest, but after a garden was started and markets were near enough to receive the crops, it was not long until the rich soil began to return a sufficient harvest to supply all necessary improvements for home and farm.
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