History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 7

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264

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"Owing to the hostility of the Renards, or Fox Indians, early in October, 1728, the post was left in charge of a young man, the Sieur Dntrost Jemeraye. and a few voyagers, while the rest placed

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

the goods in canoes, retreated down the Mississippi toward the Illinois river and were captured by allies of the Renards. The Sieur Jemeraye, early in 1729, abandoned the post, and nothing was done toward its re-establishment. In March, 1730, the Sieur Marin, a bold officer, moved against and had an engagement of the 'warmest character' with the Renards in Wisconsin; and in September of the same year another French force attacked them, killed many of their warriors and compelled them to escape.

"After this defeat of the Foxes it was determined to build a new post on higher ground, vet in the vicinity of the first stock- ade, which had been destroyed. The new commandant was Sieur Portuenf. Linetot's son, Campan and several others were licensed to trade with the Sioux. Linetot passed the winter of 1731-32 at 'Mantagne Quitrempe Dans L'eau,' now corrupted to Trempealeau, and early in the spring of 1732 proceeded to the vicinity of Sandy Point, Lake Pepin, and found at the site of the old stockade a large number of Sioux awaiting his arrival. Seleet- ing a better position, he erected a larger post, the pickets enclos- ing 120 feet square, and there were four bastions. The Sieur Linetot. in 1733. asked to be relieved, and the able officer, Sieur Legardeur St. Pierre, was sent to command. Upon the 6th of May, 1736. St. Pierre was informed by letters from Lake Superior of the dreadful massacre of twenty-one Frenchmen on an island in the Lake of the Woods by a party of Sioux. The 16th of Sep- tember there came to the Lake Pepin post a party of Sioux with some beaver skins as a pledge of friendship, and the next day another party, one of whom wore in his ear a silver pendant. When asked by St. Pierre how he obtained the ornament he refused to answer, and the captain tore it from his ear and found that it was similar in workmanship to those sold by the traders, and then placed him under guard. The Sionx, in December, were unruly, and burned the pickets around the garden of Guignas, chaplain of the post. In the spring of 1737 a war party of Ojibways appeared from the St. Louis river of Lake Superior, and wished to attack the Sioux, and threatened St. Pierre; and after conferring with the son of Linetot, the second officer. in May, 1737, he set fire to the post and descended the Mississippi.

"After a few years the Sioux begged that the French would return to bake Pepin, and in 1750 the governor of Canada sent the great Indian fighter and stern officer, Pierre Paul Marin, to take command there, and Marin's son was stationed at Chagana- migon, on Lake Superior. In 1752 Marin the elder was relieved at Lake Pepin and his son became his successor. The war between the French and English, which continued several years. led to the abandonment of the post at Lake Pepin. Captain Jonathan Car- ver, the first British traveler in Minnesota, mentioned in his book

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

of travels in 1766 he observed the ruins of a French factory (trading post). where, it is said, Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on a very great trade with the Naudowessies before the reduction of Canada.

"Lieutenant Pike, the first officer of the United States army to pass through Lake Pepin, writing in 1805 of Point au Sable, or Sandy Point, which he reached on the same day of the same month as La Perriere in 1727, observes: 'The French, under the government of M. Frontenac, drove the Renards, or Otaguainies, from the Ouisconsing, and pursued them up the Mississippi; and as a barrier built a stockade on Lake Pepin on the west shore just below Point au Sable; and, as was generally the case with that nation, blended the military and mercantile professions by making their fort a factory for the Sioux.'

"A short distance from the extreme end of the point, near the mouth of what Pike, on his map, calls Sandy Point, there is an eminence from which there is an extensive view of Lake Pepin below and above the sandy peninsula."

There is evidence that there had been once a clearing there, and it is the most suitable spot in the vicinity for a stockade, and visible to anyone coming up in a boat from the bend near where Lake City is now situated. By the valley of the creek the Sioux of the prairies could readily bring their peltries to the post. The cannon balls found in the ground at Frontenac station may have been discharged in some engagement with hostile Indians, or they may have been taken from the fort, after its abandonment, and placed in a cache.

In the meantime, there were probably many explorers and traders who passed Goodhue county ; but the next one of whom we have an authentic record is Jonathan Carver, the first native white American to explore the Mississippi. He did not, however. . land at Red Wing, but passed by on the other side of the island, through what is known as the back channel.

Then came the sturdy sailor, Zebulon M. Pike, who carried the American flag, and informed the Indians that the President of the United States, and not a European monarch, was now their great father. Pike passed Red Wing on September 18, 1805, on his way up the river. Of Pike's visit to Red Wing he himself wrote: "Embarked after breakfast. Mr. Cameron with his boats eame on with me, crossed the lake, rounded it, and took an obser- vation at the upper end. I embarked in one of his canoes, and we came up Canoe river (Cannon river), where there was a small band of Sioux, under the command of Red Wing, the second war chief of the nation. He made me a speech and presented a pipe, punch and a buffalo skin. He appeared a man of sense, and prom- ised to accompany me to St. Peters." I think that on September

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

18, 1805, Lieutenant Pike, for the first time in history, spoke the English name of the Sioux chieftain Red Wing. On his return trip he calls him by his French name, Aile Rouge. Continuing his narrative of the trip up the river, Pike says: "We encamped on the end of the island, and although not more than 11 o'clock, were obliged to stay all night; distance eighteen miles."

Lieutenant Pike writes after that. leaving his camp on the island, he proceeded to the mouth of the Minnesota river, then known as St. Peter, when on the 23rd of September, 1805, he held a council with some of the Dakota chiefs, and purchased from the Dakota Indians a large portion of land now known as Fort Snell- ing. Somewhere above the mouth of the St. Croix and below the mouth of the Minnesota rivers. Pike notes the following: "I ob- served a white flag on shore today, and on landing observed it to be white silk : it was suspended over a scaffold, on which were laid four dead bodies, two enclosed in boards and two in bark. They were the bodies. I was informed. of two Sioux women who had lived with two Frenehmen, one of their children and some other relative, two of whom died at St. Peter and two at St. Croix. This is the manner of the Sioux burial. when persons die a natural death ; but when they are killed they suffer them to remain un- buried. This circumstance brought to my recollection the bones of a man I found on the hills below the St. Croix. The jawbone I brought on board. He must have been killed on the spot. Distance twenty-four miles."

The names of some of the chiefs that signed the treaty grant- ing the United States the land spoken of above are familiar to our people. I quote from the "St. Paul Daily Democrat" of May 24, 1854. an article by Dr. Thomas Foster: "Le Boccasse should be written 'Bras Casse.' or 'Broken Arm.' His Indian name was, I believe. Wa-kan-tah-pay, and as late as 1825 he was still living at his small village. Wahpaykootans, on a lake near the Minne- sota, some five or six miles below Prairie La Flech, now LeSueur. The last named on the list is Le Bonef que Marche. the 'Walking Buffalo.' or Tah-taw-kah-mah-me. He was a kind of sub-chief of old Wabasha. who was not present, being also called Red Wing, and it is from him that the name of the village at the head of Lake Pepin derives its name. Ile was the father of Wah-koo-tay, the present old chieftain of the Red Wing band." After Pike had concluded the treaty at the mouth of the Minnesota. he continued on up the river. for. as he states, a distance of two hundred and thirty miles, and went into camp for some time. In the spring of 1806 he revisited Red Wing again; but I shall let him tell the story himself.

"April 13, Sunday .- We embarked after breakfast. Messrs. Frazer and Wood accompanied me. Wind strong ahead. They

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

outrowed us; the first boat or canoe we met with on the voyage able to do it, but then they were double manned and light. Ar- rived at the band of the Aile Rouge (Red Wing) at two o'clock, where we were saluted as usual. We had a council, when he spoke with more than detestation of the rascals at the mouth of the St. Peter's than any man I had yet heard. He assured me, speaking of the fellow who had fired on my sentinel and threat- ened to kill me. that if I thought it requisite, he should be killed; but that, as there were many chiefs above with whom he wished to speak, he hoped I would remain one day, when all the Sionx would be down, and I might have the command of a thousand men of them, that I would probably think it no honor; but that the British used to flatter them ; they were proud of having them for soldiers. I replied in general terms, and assured him it was not for the conduct of two or three rascals that I meant to pass over all the good treatment I had received from the Sioux nation, but that in general council I would explain myself. That as to the scoundrel who fired at my sentinel, had I been at home the Sioux nation would never have been troubled with him, for I would have killed him on the spot. But that my young men did not do it. apprehensive that I would be displeased. I then gave him the news of the Sauteurs; that as to remaining one day it would be of no service; that I was much pressed to arrive below, as my general expected me, my duty called me, and that the state of my provision demanded the utmost expedition ; that I would be happy to oblige him, but that my men must eat. He replied that Lake Pepin, being yet shut with ice, if I went on and encamped on the ice it would not get me provision. That he would send out all his young men the next day, and that if the other bands did not arrive he would depart the day after with me. In short, after much talk, I agreed to remain one day, knowing that the lake was closed, and that we could proceed only nine miles if we went; this appeared to give general satisfaction. I was invited to different feasts, and entertained at one by a person whose father was enacted a chief by the Spaniards. At this feast I saw a man (called by the French the Roman Nose, and by the Indians the Wind that Walks) who was formerly the second chief of the Sioux, but being the cause of the death of one of the traders, seven years since, he voluntarily relinquished the dignity and has frequently requested to be given up to the whites. But he was now determined to go to St. Louis and deliver himself up where he said they might put him to death. His long repentance, the great confidence of the nation in him, would perhaps proteet him from a punishment which the crime merited. But as the erime was committed long before the United States assumed its authority. and as no law of theirs could affect it, unless it was

IHISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

ex-post facto, and had a retrospective effect, I conceived it would certainly be dispunishable now. I did not think it proper, how- ever, to inform him so. I here received a letter from Mr. Rollet, partner of Mr. Cameron, with a present of some brandy, coffee, and sugar. I hesitated about receiving those articles from the partner of the man I intended to prosecute; their amount being trifling. however, I accepted of them, offering him pay. I assured him that the prosecution arose from a sense of duty and not from any personal prejudice. My canoe did not come up in conse- quence of the head wind. Sent out two men in a canoe to set fishing lines ; the canoe overset, and had it not been for the timely assistance of the savages, who carried them into their lodges, un- dressed them, and treated them with the greatest humanity and kindness. they must inevitably have perished. At this place I was informed that the rascal spoken of as having threatened my life had actually cocked his gun to shoot me from behind the hills, but was prevented by the others.

"April 14. Monday .- Was invited to a feast by the Roman Nose. llis conversation was interesting, and shall be detailed hereafter. The other Indians had not yet arrived. Messrs. Wood, Frazer, and myself, ascended a high hill called the Barn, from which we had a view of Lake Pepin, the valley through which the Mississippi by numerous channels wound itself to the St. Croix; the Cannon river, and the lofty hills on each side.

"April 15. Tuesday .- Arose very early and embarked about sunrise, much to the astonishment of the Indians. who were en- tirely prepared for the council when they heard I had put it off; however, after some conversation with Mr. Frazer, they acknowl- edged that it was agreeable to what I had said, that I would sail early, and that they could not blame me. I was very positive in my word, for I found it by far the best way to treat the Indians. The Aile Rouge had a beaver robe and pipe prepared to present, but was obliged for the present to retain it."

From this time onward all the early celebrities of Minnesota passed this way on their journey to Fort Snelling and other set- tlements that were afterward made. That many of them stopped with the Indians at Red Wing occasionally is not unlikely. In 1823 the first steamboat, the "Virginia," from St. Louis, came up the river, and up to May 26, 1826, fifteen steamers had passed Barn Bluff. After that they became more frequent.

Major Long was ordered by the War Department in the sum- mer of 1817 to proceed west and.examine sites on the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers suitable for the location of fortifications. "Minnesota in Three Centuries," on page 363, Vol. I, gives an account of Major Long's visit at Red Wing: "The next day. on July 18. Long similarly examined the country adjoining the

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

mouth of the St. Croix, in relation to its advantages for a military post. His stock of provisions was already nearly exhausted, and therefore a delay through the afternoon was allowed at the vil- lage of the old Sionx chief Red Wing, for catching fish, and Long ascended the Barn Bluff, called by its French name of the Grange in his journal. He wrote: 'From the summit of the Grange the view of the surrounding scenery is surpassed, perhaps, by very few, if any, of a similar character that the country and probably the world can afford. The sublime and beautiful are here blended in the most enchanting manner, while the prospect has very little to terrify or shock the imagination.' "'

I quote from " Minnesota in Three Centuries." Vol. II, pages 37-38. that portion of Major Forsyth's journal that pertains to Red Wing: "A't Prairie du Chien Colonel Leavenworth (1819) was joined by Major Thomas Forsyth, a special Indian agent, who had been sent up from St. Louis in charge of the provisions, etc., for the troops to be stationed at the St. Peter's, and 'a quantity of. goods, say $2,000 worth,' to be delivered to the Sionx in pay- ment for the lands ceded by them to the United States under the Pike treaty of 1806. As stated, he joined Colonel Leavenworth at Fort Crawford and accompanied the expedition to the St. Peter's. Major Forsyth kept a daily journal of his trip from St. Louis to the St. Peter's and return. This important manuscript was secured from his son, Colonel Robert Forsyth, of St. Louis, in 1871. by Dr. Lyman C. Draper, and published in the Wisconsin Historical collections, of which he (Dr. Draper) was editor, and was reprinted in Volume III of the Minnesota Society Collections. From this journal the incidents of the voyage of Colonel Leaven- worth to Minnesota have. in the main, been obtained.

"The Sioux had somehow learned that an agent of their Amer- jean Father was on his way with presents for them, and on the arrival of Major Forsyth at Prairie du Chien, July 5, he found the son of Chief Red Wing, with a considerable band, awaiting him. Young Red Wing at once began begging for goods. He said a member of his band had recently been killed by the Chip- pewas, and on this account the hearts of himself and companions were very sad, and therefore the major should at onee give them goods to assnage their grief and lighten the gloom of their bereavement. 'But all this,' writes Major Forsyth, 'was a mere begging speech. I told him that I meant to go up with the troops to the River St. Peter's, and on my way up I would stop at their different villages, where I would speak to them and give them a few goods, but that I would not give any goods at this place. Yet he is such a beggar that he would not take any refusal. I got up in an abrupt manner and left him and his band to study awhile.' A week later the major writes: 'The Red Wing's son

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

is still begging.' And not until the 15th, after a stay of ten days, did he leave for home, to Forsyth's great relief. But in the mean- time old Wabash, he of one eye, whose big village was near the present site of Winona, had arrived, and a week later old Red Wing himself, with twenty followers, from their village, where the city of Red Wing now stands, had come. This is another begging expedition,' writes Major Forsyth. Lake Pepin was 'crossed with ease' on the 18th, and the next morning Major Forsyth had 'a little talk' with Chief Red Wing at his village. 'I gave him some goods. He was much pleased with his pres- ents. His son (whom the major encountered at Prairie du Chien) is exactly what I took him to be-a trifling. begging, discontented fellow.' This day, after making twenty-four miles, the expedi- tion encamped at the mouth of the St. Croix, which is described as a 'large river.' On the evening of the 20th a landing was made at Medicine Wood, probably near Gray Cloud Island. Medicine Wood takes its name from a large beech tree, which kind of wood the Sioux are unacquainted with, supposing that the Great Spirit placed it there as a genius to protect or punish them according to their deserts. This is the first and perhaps the only recorded instance of the existence of a beech tree in Minnesota. and it might therefore properly have a 'medicine' character, that term being Sioux for supernatural or deeply mysterious."

Henry R. Schoolcraft in 1820 accompanied the Cass expedi- tion as mineralogist and historian, and that part of the journey relating to Red Wing will be found in the work entitled Minne- sota in Three Centuries, Vol. I, page 353: "The next day they passed the mouth of the St. Croix, and at noon arrived at the village of Talangamane (for Tatankamani, his Dakota name, meaning Walking Buffalo). or the Red Wing, consisting of four large lodges and several other smaller. built of logs like those of Little Crows. Of this chief, Red Wing, and his band. Schoolcraft wrote : 'Talangamane is now considered the first of his nation, which honor, it is said, he enjoys both on account of his superior age and sagacity. Ile appears to be abont sixty, and bears all the marks of that age. Very few of his people were at home, being engaged in hunting and fishing. We observed several fine cornfields near the village, but they subsist chiefly by taking stur- geon in the neighboring lake, and by hunting deer. The buffalo is also occasionally killed, but they are obliged to go two days' journey west of the Mississippi before this animal is found in plenty.' "

Major Long Again, in 1823. called at Red Wing, and I quote from the same authority as above: "On the evening of June 30. Major Long arrived at the village of the chief Red Wing, then ealled Shakea; and in the next forenoon the boat party arrived

HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY

there. By invitation of Shakea a ceremonious council was held in his cabin, over which he hoisted the United States flag. Being shown the map of the upper Mississippi region used for the expe- dition, the Indians readily understood it, traced and named its rivers, and one of them laid his finger upon the Falls of St. Anthony, which he called Hahawotepa."

The first men to locate on what is now the site of Red Wing were Revs. Daniel Gavin and Samnel Denton, sent out by a mis- sionary society of Basle, Switzerland. After arriving in this region. Mr. Denton married Persis Skimer and later Mr. Gavin married Eney C. Stevens, of Lake Harriet. Their first mission was located at Trempeleau, on the Mississippi, near the present site of Winona, and its field of work was near Wabasha's Prairie. However, the Sioux of that region had become degenerated through intermarriage, and the missionaries in 1837 decided to come to Red Wing's village, where the Indians were of a higher degree of intelligence and morality. Mr. and Mrs. Denton came first and were soon joined by Mr. and Mrs. Gavin. They built two mission houses of logs on a spot which is now about a third of the way along the east side of Bush street, between Third and Main streets. One of the houses extended into what is now the street. It is unfortunate that we have not a more complete ac- count of the work done by these devoted souls. To them belongs more credit than has ever been accorded them. The Indians were taught to read and write and many of them learned farming and gardening. In July, 1838. Mrs. Denton, writing to Governor Sibly, said :

"The Indians have planted something more than thirty acres of corn, also some vegetables, all of which are growing finely .. They are now in excellent humor, and have about given up the practice of begging from ns. Many thanks for your prompt at- tention to our call for seeds. Could you see how finely they are growing in our beautiful garden I am sure that you would be glad with us. Indeed you can hardly imagine what won- derful improvements have been made at our village since you were here. You must know also that among many other mereies which I enjoy I have at length a friend with me, a Miss Blakesly, from the vicinity of Cooperstown, N. Y. I know that you will rejoice at this, as you know how much I needed assistance."

This letter would indicate that the Dentons and Gavin fam- ilies were in the habit of entertaining the people at Fort Snelling as well as other guests from time to time. The Gavins left Red Wing in 1845 on account of the ill health of Mrs. Gavin, and a year later the Dentons also left on account of the ill health of Mr. Denton. The respect in which these missionaries were held by the Indians is shown by the fact that the mission honses re-

ILISTORY OF GOODHICE COUNTY

mained unmolested for two years, until the arrival of the Rev. J. F. Aiton in 1848. J. W. Hancock came the following year. Revs. Aiton and Hancock were sent out by the American Board of Foreign Missions and moved into the houses abandoned by their predecessors, the Messrs. Denton and Gavin. Mr. Aiton soon afterward departed, having, however, rendered future gen- erations the great service of having closely examined the few stone cairns in this vicinity and established their identity as burial places.

The above are the cold historical facts as we find them, and as I am supposed to write only of those things that transpired previous to 1853. and while our old friend, the Rev. J. W. Han- cock, will receive full mention in this work by persons delegated to that duty, yet I cannot drop my pen without adding a few words out of respect to the man whose memory all the old pioneers delight in honoring.

In 1852-53 I was a member of Rev. J. W. Hancock's Sunday school, when it was held in the little log cabin that stood in what is now Bush street. There were perhaps six or eight of we small white children and fifteen or twenty little red brethren and sis- ters. While Julia Bevans instructed the white children (in the English language) how to walk in the straight and narrow way, so that when we had passed over to that "bourne from whence none return" we might be worthy to wear a crown of glory, Mr. Hancock was laboring hard with the little Indians (in the Sioux language), endeavoring to impress the same lesson upon their minds. I do not think the lesson indelibly impressed on my mem- ory the first day of my attendance at a house of divine worship will ever be forgotten .. The plan of instruction at the Sunday schools in those early days was different from the course now pursued; not so much of love or merey but more of his satanie majesty. lakes of fire and everlasting torment, if you departed from the path of rectitude.

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History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, Part 7

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper Number of Pages: 1264

Author: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, H.C. Cooper
Number of Pages: 1264