USA > Minnesota > Goodhue County > History of Goodhue county, including a sketch of the territory and state of Minnesota > Part 9
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went to Macinac and entered the service of the American Fur Com- pany. He remained there until 1834, when he came to Mendota as agent of the American Fur Company's establishment at that point. This company failed in 1842, and the inventory was purchased by P. Chouteau, Jr. & Co., of St. Louis, and Mr. Sibley was continued in charge of the business until 1848, when he was elected a delegate to Congress.
Mr. Sibley has been successively a resident of Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota without changing his residence. He came to Men- dota in November, 1834. The country was then subject to the juris- diction of Michigan. In 1836 Wisconsin Territory was created, and the jurisdiction of Michigan terminated, and the Wisconsin territorial authorities exercised dominion over the country until the 30th day of July, 1838, when the act creating Iowa Territory went into effect, and all that part of Minnesota lying west of the Mississippi River, became subject to the jurisdiction of Iowa. When Iowa was admitted as a State, without very materially diminished territory, the country lying outside of the State boundaries was left without any government until the establishment of the Minnesota territorial organization. Says Mr. Sibley in his reminiscences already quoted : " It was my fortune to be the first to introduce the machinery of the law into what our legal brethren would have termed a benighted region, having received a commission of justice of the peace from the Governor of Iowa, for the county of Clayton. This county was an empire of itself in extent, reaching from a line some twenty miles below Prairie du Chien on the west of the .Father of Waters,' to Pembina, and across to the Mis- souri. As I was the only magistrate in this region, and the county seat was some three hundred miles distant, I had matters pretty much under my own control, there being little chance of an appeal from my deci- sions. In fact some of the simple-minded people around me believed that I had the power of life and death. On one occasion I issued a warrant for a Canadian, who had committed a gross outrage, and then fled from justice. I dispatched a trusty constable in pursuit, and he overtook the man below Lake Pepin, and brought him back in irons. The friends of the culprit begged hard that he should not be severely punished, and after keeping him in durance vile for several days, I agreed to release him if he would leave the country, threatening him with dire vengeance if he should ever return. He left in great haste, and I never saw him afterwards."
On the 30th day of October, 1848, Mr. Sibley was elected as a dele- gate to Congress, and attended the session of 1848-9. He was sub-
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sequently re-elected, and served for several years in that capacity, dis- charging every trust faithfully and honestly. When the constitutional convention was ordered preparatory to becoming a "sovereign and independent State," Mr. Sibley was elected a member of that body, and was selected to preside over the deliberations of the Democratic wing. Upon the admission of the territory as a State in 1857, he was elected governor, but in consequence of some delay in canvassing the vote, he was not inaugurated until the 24th day of May, 1858, although the State Legislature met on the 2d of December, 1857. Mr. Sibley served as governor until January 2, 1860.
HENRY M. RICE.
This distinguished pioneer was a native of Vermont, and came to Minnesota about 1839, and first stopped at Fort Snelling. After remain- ing there a few months he removed to Prairie du Chien, and engaged in trade with the Winnebago Indians, and where he remained until that people were removed to the Crow Wing River country in 1847, whither he accompanied them.
The following sketch, published a few years ago, gives the views of one of Mr. Rice's friends :
" He settled here when there were no white men in the territory, except Indian traders, missionaries and soldiers ; and during his long residence, has been noted as the promoter of every enterprise tending to develop the hidden wealth of Minnesota, and attract hither immigration from other portions of the country. Two years ago (in 1854) he was elected (delegate) to Congress by an overwhelming vote; and then commenced a series of labors on his part which will make him long remembered in the territory as the most efficient of representatives. The pre-emption system he caused to be extended to unsurveyed lands ; the military reserves opened to actual settlers; land offices to be established; post routes opened out and offices established; millions of acres of lands to be purchased from Indians, and thrown open to settlers; and thousands of dollars to be appropriated to the construction of government roads. Nor was this all : legislation for the benefit of individuals entitled to it was secured, and no exertion ever spared, in Congress or out of it, at the executive department, or elsewhere, that would benefit the territory. The heavy immigration of the past two years is as strong proof as could be desired that Minnesota is regarded as the chosen spot of the West, either for immigrants seeking to establish themselves, or capitalists desiring investments; and for much of this heavy immigration, we cannot help thinking our territory is indebted to the late delegate. The beneficial legislation he procured for us, rendered Minnesota indeed a land of promise.
" Mr. Rice possesses in a great degree the qualities necessary to make a good delegate. His winning manners secure him hosts of friends, and enable him to acquire great influ- ence; his business habits, industry, and perseverance, insure the accomplishment of whatever he undertakes, while his perfect knowledge of the wants of the territory pre- vents his efforts from being misdirected. His political opinions are those of a National Democrat-coinciding with those of the President and heads of departments, a majority of the Senate, and a respectable and united majority in the House-which will success- fully combat a divided majority."
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The first legislature under State organization convened on the first Wednesday in December, 1857, when Mr. Rice and James Shields* were elected as senators from the new State. Mr. Rice served as sen- ator until 1863, when he was succeeded by Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of the territory.
JEAN BAPTISTE FARIBAULT.
This early French trader and subsequent citizen of Minnesota, after whom the village of Faribault was named, was born at Berthier, Canada, in 1774. At the age of twenty-four years, when he became an attache of the Northwest Fur Company, and was dispatched to his new field of labor at Macinac, in May, 1798. Soon after their arrival there, Faribault was assigned to duty at Kankakee, some fifty or sixty miles below the present site of the city of Chicago. After remaining there for about one year, during which time he displayed commend- able business tact, Faribault was placed in charge of a more important post on the Des Moines River, of Iowa, about two hundred miles above its mouth. The post was named Redwood, and the Indians with whom he was to trade were the Dakota or Sioux, whose language was entire- ly different from that of the Pottawotamies, to which Faribault had been accustomed and which he learned to speak. A man named Debon was sent along as interpreter. Debon was an old man and had lived among the Yankton Sioux for a number of years. Faribault remained in charge of the Redwood post four years, during which time he saw no white man but his own assistants, except when on his annual tour to the mouth of the river. Mr. Sibley says, in a memoir of this gentleman :
" Having served the term for which he had been engaged, he returned to Macinac with the intention of going back to Canada, but having learned of the sudden death of both of his parents, within fifteen days of each other, Mr. Faribault again entered the service of his former employers and was dispatched to the river St. Peters, now the Minnesota, and took charge of the post at Little Rapids, about forty miles above its mouth. *
* * During the third year of his residence at Little Rapids, Mr. Faribault married a widow, the daughter of a Mr. Hanse, who had previously been Superintendent of Indian Affairs. At the time of their marriage the groom was in his thirty-first and the bride in her twenty-second year. This event precluded any idea of Mr. F.'s return to Canada, and he was thenceforth permanently established as a denizen of the remote Northwest."
* Mr Shields has had the distinguished honor of representing two different States in the U. S. Senate. He was first elected from the State of Illinois. After the expiration of his term of service from that State, he removed to Minnesota, and was elected with Mr. Rice. When the late war came on, he entered the service and made a glorious record. After the close of the war, he removed to Carrollton, Carroll county, Missouri, and in 1868 was a candidate for Congress from that district; but under the manipulations of the registry law of that State and the unjust charge of " copperheadism," and " disloyalty," was defeated, or rather " counted out," for it was a notorious fact that he had a large majority of the votes.
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" After ten years' connection with the Northwest Company, in the capacity of agent and trader, Mr. F. resolved to commence business on his own account at Prairie du Chien, which was then a mere hamlet, containing a few families. He erected a suitable house, and began trading with the Winnebagoes, the Foxes and the Sioux of the Wak- pa-koota band, these several tribes being at peace with each other. He continued in this business for a number of years, and on one occasion received a dangerous wound in the side from the knife of a drunken Winnebago, to whom he had refused liquor. In addition to the regular trade with the Indians, Mr. F. entered upon an exchange of goods for lead, with a Mr. Dubuque,* at the point now occupied by the city of that name. The lead was taken to St. Louis in keel boats, and sold there at a good profit. Fifteen days was considered a good average trip up the Mississippi from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien.
" When the war of 1812 was declared, the British Government made great efforts to enlist the Indians of the Northwest against the Americans. Knowing the great influence wielded by the traders among these savages, commissions in the British army were ten- dered to each of them, and they were accepted by all but Messrs. Faribault and Provencalle, who declined to take any part against the American Government. The subject of this memoir was consequently arrested by a Col. McCall, of the British militia service, and held as a prisoner on a gunboat, commanded by a Capt. Henderson, on board of which were two hundred men en route to Prairie du Chien to dislodge the Americans. He was ordered to take his turn at the oar, but absolutely refused, saying he was a gentleman, and not accustomed to that kind of work. Capt. Henderson reported him to Col. McCall for disobedience, but the latter, admiring his pluck, not only did not punish him, but received him on board his own boat, and treated him with cour- tesy and kindness.
" The combined force of militia and Indians, upon their arrival at Prairie du Chien, made preparations to attack the American post. The families on the outside of the fort abandoned their homes, some of them taking refuge within the stockade, and others, Mrs. Faribault among the number, ascended the river in canoes to what is now called Winona. Mrs. F. supposed her husband to have proceeded to Macinac, and had no idea that he was a prisoner in the hands of the attacking party. A bombardment was opened on the fort, and on the third day the Americans surrendered to greatly superior num- bers. Meanwhile the deserted habitations were robbed of all their contents by the savages, and Mr. F., in addition to the losses thus sustained, received the unwelcome intelligence that lead belonging to him of the value of $3,000, which had been left in charge of Dubuque at his trading station, had been taken possession of by the hostile Indians and distributed among them.
" After the surrender of Prairie du Chien, that post was garrisoned by 200 British regulars. Mr. F. was released on parole, and repaired to his former home, but the buildings had been burnt with their contents by the savages, and his stock of horses and cattle either run off or destroyed. He was thus left almost penniless, but, with his usual energy, he set himself industriously to work to retrieve his shattered fortune. The band of Sioux with whom Mrs. F. had taken refuge had remained neutral during the war, and they manifested their warm friendship for the old trader by bringing him game in abundance, and all the furs and skins they could collect from their hunts.
" When peace was proclaimed, Col. Bolger, the British commander of the post at Praire du Chien, withdrew his forces, after having destroyed the buildings and stockade, and proceeded to Macinac. The following spring, a detachment of American riflemen under Col. Chambers rebuilt and garrisoned the fort. Mr. Faribault in due form declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and a militia company having been organized, he received the appointment of First Lieutenant. The Northwest Fur
* Dubuque commenced mining a few miles below the city of Dubuque, in 1788, and at one time held a large grant of land in that regon from Spain.
.
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Company not being permitted to continue their business upon American territory, sold out their interests to the American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. Joseph Rolette was constituted the agent of the newly-formed association in the Northwest, and Mr. Faribault made arrangements with him for a supply of such mer- chandise as was requisite for his trade. He continued at Prairie du Chien for a period of three years, and was quite successful in business. At the end of that time he removed his trading station to Pike's Island, near the present Fort Snelling. This was done at the suggestion of Col. Leavenworth, who was en route up the Mississippi to establish a military post at or near the junction of that river with the St. Peters, now Minnesota. Having fallen in with Mr. Faribault at Prairie du Chien, Col. Leavenworth was much impressed with the intelligence and extensive knowledge of the Sioux Indi- ans, their character and habits, displayed by that gentleman, and strongly urged him to accompany the command, promising that if he would locate near the contemplated post he should be guaranteed military protection and encouragement in business."
Leaving his family behind, he followed the troops to their destina- tion the succeeding spring (1820,) so that Mr. Faribault's permanent residence in Minnesota dates from that period. He established him- self, as we learn from Mr. Sibley, on " Pike's Island," where his log cabins were situated. He soon had a goodly number of acres under cultivation, and was favored with good crops, so that he and his family, who had rejoined him, were contented and happy for the space of two entire years. In June of the third year there occurred a flood in the Mississippi, which covered the island, and carried off or destroyed all his moveable property. Nowise discouraged, he crossed to the east bank of the river, and erected a dwelling and storehouse on a plateau which seemed to be above high-water mark. But the fates liad more ill in store for him, for in 1826, four years later, the ice gorged above the fort to such an extent that the river rose many feet beyond the highest mark previously known, and when the barrier gave way under the enormous pressure, the torrent carried with it Faribault's buildings and their contents, and his stock of animals.
In the year 1821 Col. Leavenworth called together the chiefs and head men of the Sioux bands, and procured from them a grant of land nine miles square at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. In the same treaty was inserted an article by which the Indians donated " Pike's Island" to the wife and children of Mr. F., whose Indian name was "Cha-pa-sin-tay," or the " Beaver's Tail."
After the flood of 1826, Mr. Faribault removed to the site now occu- pied by Mendota, where he erected a dwelling, and where his family lived for many years, he himself passing the winters at Little Rapids, where he had established a trading post. He narrowly escaped death in 1833 at his station, at the hands of a treacherous Sioux Indian who became enraged because he could not procure some article he desired on credit which Mr. Faribault did not have in his store. Without say-
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ing a word, the savage drew a knife and stabbed Mr. F. in the back, under the shoulder blade, when, leaving the knife sticking in the wound, he turned to make his escape, but would have been shot down by Oliver, a son of the old gentleman, aged about fourteen years, had not the gun been seized by Indians standing by who were relatives of the intended murderer. The wound was a very serious one, the knife having penetrated the lungs, and a long time elapsed before Mr. F. was considered out of danger ; but his vigorous constitution and temperate habits finally carried him through, and his health was restored. Mrs. Faribault manifested her devotion to her husband by a walk during the night of thirty-five miles from Mendota to Little Rapids, so soon as she learned of the injury he had received, without any escort but that of a single Indian.
Ir. Sibley concludes : "The death of Mr. Faribault took place at his daughter's house at Faribault, on the 20th day of August, 1860, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. He closed his eyes upon things earthly, after witnessing the marvelous changes wrought by civilization in the region which had for so many years been his abiding place, sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Among the pioneers of Minnesota there are none whose memory and whose name better deserve to be respected and perpetuated than Jean Baptiste Faribault. Requiescat en pace."
DAVID OLMSTED.
David Olmsted was a native of Fairfax, Franklin county, Vermont, and was born May 5, 1822. He left home in the spring of 1838, when he was sixteen years of age, his sole possessions consisting of a limited wardrobe and twenty dollars in money. He was about one month making his way to Chicago, from which place he went to Mineral Point, Wisconsin. There he purchased forty acres of land and lived in the rude style of the miners of that region, keeping " bachelor's hall." In the fall of 1839 he and a brother went to Prairie du Chien, where they remained several months, and then started on foot to explore the northern part of Iowa, then an almost unbroken, undisturbed wilder- ness waste. After visiting several localities in that region, they selected a claim at a place now known as Monona, about thirteen miles west of the Mississippi, and erected a cabin. The nearest white occupancy (of any note) was at Prairie du Chien. West of their new home there was no settlement. The Winnebago Indians possessed the country in the immediate vicinity north and west, and the Olmsteds found it to their interest to traffic with the natives, by which means David learned a
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good deal of the character, custom, habits and language of the Winne- bagoes-a fact which probably more than anything else, was the cause of David Olmsted becoming subsequently identified with the Indian trade on a large scale, and a resident of Minnesota, where he became one of the most prominent and influential of her early settlers.
In the fall of 1844, at the age of twenty-two years, he sold his claim and entered the employ of W. G. & G. W. Ewing, at Fort Atkinson, Iowa. In the fall of 1845 he was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention of Iowa, from Clayton county. The convention assembled in May, 1846, at Iowa City, and consisted of thirty-three members. On the 18th of May the instrument was completed, and signed by the members.
Mr. J. F. Williams, in his memoir of Mr. Olmsted, says : "We might mention as a fact, showing the primitive modes of traveling in Iowa at that day, that a prominent citizen of Minnesota [Mr. Hodges] saw Olm- sted on his way to the convention, riding a bare-back mule with a rope halter." It is further related by the same authority that so youthful was the appearance of young Olmsted that many of his constituents thought he was not of age, but said they " would send him anyhow, as he was so much esteemed."
In 1847, continues Mr. Williams, Mr. Olmsted, in company with H. C. Rhodes, purchased the interest of the Ewings in the Winnebago trade, and in the summer of 1848, when the Indians were removed to Long Prairie, Minnesota, he accompanied them."
In October, 1846, the Winnebagoes made a treaty at Washington City, by the terms of which they agreed to abandon their " old posses- sions in the soon-to-be State of Iowa, and remove to a new reservation procured for them in the Chippewa country, in the year 1848. But when the time of their removal arrived, they seemed very reluctant to go, and it required all the diplomacy and influence of Gen. J. E. Fletcher, their agent, accompanied by the presence of U. S. troops from Fort Atkinson, with the threat of coercion, to induce the savages to start. At Wabasha Prairie (now Winona) they made another stand, and having purchased that spot from Wabasha, the Dakota chief seemed determined to resist to bloodshed any attempt to move them a step farther. The situation was now critical. The first drop of blood hostily spilled would have led to a bitter war. An express was dispatched to Fort Snelling for more troops, which soon arrived under command of Capt. Seth Eastman. This, with the dragoons from Fort Atkinson, a company of volunteers from Crawford county, Wisconsin, and two pieces of artillery, made quite a formidable force. The Winnebagoes began to reconsider their first hasty resolves, and the defection of a part of
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their number under an influential chief, added to the arguments and persuasion of Mr. Olmsted, Hon. Henry M. Rice, George Culver and others who were present, finally convinced them that resistance would be unwise and ruinous, and they proceeded on their journey. The value of the services that Mr. Olmsted rendered in quieting the revolt can hardly be overestimated. Perhaps no man living had more influence with the tribe than he. They trusted him implicitly. Had he given any encouragement to their rebellious conduct, or said one word to urge them on, a long and bloody war with the tribe would have desolated the frontier.
" On arriving at Long Prairie, Mr. Olmsted, with his partner, established a trading post which was continued for several years."
" The Territory of Minnesota was organized March 3d, 1849. On the 7th of July fol- lowing Governor Ramsey issued a proclamation dividing the Territory into Council Districts, and ordering an election for members of the legislature, on August 7th. Mr. Olmsted was elected a member [for two years ] of the Council, from the Sixth District, which was constituted as follows : ' The Sauk Rapids and Crow Wing Precincts of the county of St. Croix, and all the settlements west of the Mississippi, and on the north of a due west line from the head waters of said river to the northern line of the territory.' In the absence of any surveys or well known natural lines, this was the only way in which such a district could be described. The legislature assembled on the 3d of Sep- tember, and Mr. Olmsted was chosen President of the Council. The next session of the legislature was not held until January, 1851. It is unnecessary to add that Mr. Olmsted took a prominent part in both sessions."
To summarize, the leading events in Mr. Olmsted's prominency in Minnesota are collated from the memoirs already quoted :
In 1851 Mr. Olmsted married a Miss Stevens, of St. Albans, Vermont, by whom he had two children-a son and a daughter-both of whom are residents of Minnesota.
When the profits of the Indian trade began to fall off, Mr. Olmsted disposed of his interest in the business and removed to St. Paul, and in June. 1853, purchased the Minnesota Democrat establishment from Col. D. A. Robertson. The paper gained an increased circulation and influ- ence under his management, and in May, 1854, was changed to a daily. In September, 1854, in consequence of failing health, he sold the office to Charles L. Emmerson. "His connection with the Democrat," says Mr. Williams, " made him widely known and popular with the people of the territory."
St. Paul became an incorporated city in the spring of 1854, and Mr. Olmsted was elected its first mayor.
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