History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 13

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547

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"We, chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have hereunto set our seals, do by these presents, for ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the aid and other good services done by the said Jona-

than to ourselves and allies, give grant and con- vey to him, the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract or territory of land, bounded as follows, viz: from the Falls of St. Anthony, running on the east bank of the Mississippi, nearly southeast, as far as Lake Pepin, where the Chippewa joins the Mississippi, and from thence eastward five days travel, accounting twenty English miles per day; and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, on a direct straight line. We do for ourselves, heirs, and assigns, forever give unto the said Jo- nathan, his heirs and assigns, with all the trees, rocks, and rivers therein, reserving the sole lib- erty of hunting and fishing on land not planted or improved by the said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns, to which we have affixed our respective seals. .

" At the Great Cave, May 1st, 1767.

"Signed, . HAWNOPAWJATIN.

OTOHTGNGOOMLISHEAW."

The original deed was never exhibited by the assignees of the heirs. By his English wife Car- ver had one child, a daughter Martha, who was cared for by Sir Richard and Lady Pearson. In time she eloped and married a sailor. A mercan- tile firm in London, thinking that money could be made, induced the newly married couple, the day after the wedding, to convey the grant to them, with the understanding that they were to have a tenth of the profits.

The merchants despatched an agent by the name of Clarke to go to the Dahkotahs, and ob- tain a new deed; but on his way he was murdered in the state of New York.

In the year 1794, the heirs of Carver's Ameri- can wife, in consideration of fifty thousand pounds sterling, conveyed their interest in the Carver grant to Edward Houghton of Vermont. In the year 1806, Samuel Peters, who had been a tory and an Episcopal minister during the Revolu- tionary war, alleges, in a petition to Congress, that he had also purchased of the heirs of Carver their rights to the grant.

Before the Senate committee, the same year, he testified as follows:

"In the year 1774, I arrived there (London), and met Captain Carver. In 1775, Carver had a hearing before the king, praying his majesty's approval of a deed of land dated May first, 1767,

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UNITED STATES REJECT CARVER'S CLAIM.

and sold and granted to him by the Naudowissies. The result was his majesty approved of the exer- tions and bravery of Captain Carver among the Indian nations, near the Falls of St. Anthony, in the Mississippi, gave to said Carver 13711. 138. 8d. sterling, and ordered a frigate to be prepared, and a transport ship to carry one hundred and ffty men, under command of Captain Carver, with four others as a committee, to sail the next June to New Orleans, and then to ascend the Missis- sippi, to take possession of said territory conveyed to Captain Carver ; but the battle of Bunker Hill prevented."

In 1821, General Leavenworth, having made inquiries of the Dahkotahs, in relation to the alleged claim, addressed the following to the commissioner of the land office :

"Sir :- Agreeably to your request, I have the honour to inform you what I have understood from the Indians of the Sioux Nation, as well as some facts within my own knowledge, as to what is commonly termed Carver's Grant. The grant purports to be made by the chiefs of the Sioux of the Plains, and one of the chiefs uses the sign of a serpent, and the other of a turtle, purport- ing that their names are derived from those ani- mals.

"The land lies on the east side of the Mississ- ippi. The Indians do not recognize or acknowl edge the grant to be valid, and they among others assign the following reasons:

"1. The Sioux of the Plains never owned a foot of land on the east side of the Mississippi. The Sioux Nation is divided into two grand di- visions, viz: The Sioux of the Lake; or perhaps more literally Sioux of the River, and Sioux of the Plain. The former subsists by hunting and fishing, and usually move from place to place by water, in canoes, during the summer season, and travel on the ice in the winter, when not on their hunting excursions. The latter subsist en- tirely by hunting, and have no canoes, nor do they know but little about the use of them. They reside in the large prairies west of the Mississippi, and follow the buffalo, upon which they entirely subsist; these are called Sioux of the Plain, and never owned land east of the Mississippi.

"2. The Indians say they have no knowledge of any such chiefs as those who have signed the grant to Carver, either amongst the Sioux of the

River or the Sioux of the Plain. They say that if Captain Carver did ever obtain a deed or grant, it was signed by some foolish young men who were not chiefs and who were not author- ized to make a grant. Among the Sioux of the River there are no such names.

"3. They say the Indians never received any- thing for the land, and they have no intention to part with it without a consideration. From my knowledge of the Indians, I am induced to think they would not make so considerable a grant, and have it to go into full effect without receiving a substantial consideration.

'.4. They have, and ever have had, the pos- session of the land, and intend to keep it. I know that they are very particular in making every person who wishes to cut timber on that tract obtain their permission to do so, and to ob- tain payment for it. In the month of May last, some Frenchmen brought a large raft of red cedar timber out of the Chippewa River, which timber was cut on the tract before mentioned. The In- dians at one of the villages on the Mississippi, where the principal chief resided, compelled the Frenchmen to land the raft, and would not per- mit them to pass until they had received pay for the timber, and the Frenchmen were compelled to leave their raft with the Indians until they went to Prairie du Chien, and obtained the nec- essary articles, and made the payment required."

On the twenty-third of January, 1823, the Com- mittee of Public Lands made a report on the claim to the Senate, which, to every disinterested person, is entirely satisfactory. After stating the facts of the petition, the report continues:

"The Rev. Samuel Peters, in his petition, fur- ther states that Lefei, the present Emperor of the Sioux and Naudowessies, and Red Wing, a sachem, the heirs and successors of the two grand chiefs who signed the said deed to Captain Car- ver, have given satisfactory and positive proof that they allowed their ancestors' deed to be gen- uine, good, and valid, and that Captain Carver's heirs and assigns are the owners of said territory, and may occupy it free of all molestation.

The committee have examined and considered the claims thus exhibited by the petitioners, and remark that the original deed is not produced, nor any competent legal evidence offered of its execu- tion ; nor is there any proof that the persons, who

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EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA.

it is alleged made the deed, were the chiefs of said tribe, nor that (if chiefs) they had authority to grant and give away the land belonging to their tribe. The paper annexed to the petition, as a copy of said deed, has no subscribing witnesses ; and it would seem impossible, at this remote pe- riod, to ascertain the important fact, that the per- sons who signed the deed comprehended and understood the meaning and effect of their act.

"The want of proof as to these facts, would interpose in the way of the claimants insuperable difficulties. But, in the opinion of the committee, the claim is not such as the United States are under any obligation to allow, even if the deed were proved in legal form.

" The British government, before the time when the alleged deed bears date, had deemed it pru- dent and necessary for the preservation of peace with the Indian tribes under their sovereignty, protection and dominion, to prevent British sub- jects from purchasing lands from the Indians, and this rule of policy was made known and en- forced by the proclamation of the king of Great Britain, of seventh October, 1763, which contains an express prohibition.

" Captain Carver, aware of the law, and know- ing that such a contract could not vest the legal title in him, applied to the British government to ratify and confirm the Indian grant, and, though it was competent for that government then to confirm the grant, and vest the title of said land

in him, yet, from some cause, that government did not think proper to do it.

" The territory has since become the property of the United States, and an Indian grant not good against the British government, would ap- pear to be not binding upon the United States government.

" What benefit the British government derived from the services of Captain Carver, by his trav- els and residence among the Indians, that gov- ernment alone could determine, and alone could judge what remuneration those services deserved.

" One fact appears from the declaration of Mr. Peters, in his statement in writing, among the papers exhibited, namely, that the British gov- ernment did give Captain Carver the sum of one thousand three hundred and seventy-five pounds six shillings and eight pence sterling. To the United States, however, Captain Carver rendered no services which could be assumed as any equit- able ground for the support of the petitioners' claim.

" The committee being of opinion that the United States are not bound in law and equity to confirm the said alleged Indian grant, recom- mend the adoption of the resolution:

"' Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioners ought not to be granted."'

Lord Palmerston stated in 1889, that no trace could be found in the records of the British office of state papers, showing any ratification of the Carver grant.

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EXPLORATIONS BY LIEUTENANT Z. M. PIKE.

CHAPTER XII.

EXPLORATION BY THE FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICER, LIEUTENANT Z. M. PIKE.

Trading Posts at the beginning of Nineteenth Century .- Sandy Lake Fort .- Lesch Lake Fort. - William Morrison, before Schoolcraft at Itascs Laks .- Divi- sion of North west Territory .- Organization of Indiana, Michigan and Upper Louisiana .- Notices of Woud, Fraser, Fisher, Cameron, Faribault. - Early Traders .- Pike's Counell at Mouth of Minnesota River .- Grant for Military Posts. - Encampment at Falls of St. Anthony .- Block House neer Swan River. -Visit to Sandy and Leech Lakes .-- British Flag Shot at and Lowered .- Thompson, Topographer of North west Company .- Pike at Dickson's Trading Post .- Returns to Mendota .- Fails to find Carver's Cave .- Conference with Little Crow .- Cameron sells Liquor to Indians.

At the beginning of the present century, the region now known as Minnesota, contained no white men, except a few engaged in the fur trade. In the treaty effected by Hon. John Jay, Great Britain agreed to withdraw her troops from all posts and places within certain boundary lines, on or before the first of June, 1796, but all Brit- ish settlers and traders might remain for one year, and enjoy all their former privileges, with- out being obliged to be citizens of the United States of America.

In the year 1800, the trading posts of Minnesota were chiefly held by the Northwest Company, and their chief traders resided at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, and Fon du Lac, on St. Louis River. In the year 1794, this company built a stockade one hundred feet square, on the southeast end of Sandy Lake. There were bastions pierced for small arms, in the southeast and in the northwest corner. The pickets which surrounded the post were thirteen feet high. On the north side there was a gate ten by nine feet; on the west side, one six by five feet, and on the east side a third gate six by five feet. Travelers entering the main gate, saw on the left a one story building twenty feet square, the residence of the superintendent, and on the left of the east gate, a building twenty- five by fifteen, the quarters of the voyageurs. Entering the western gate, on the left was a stone house, twenty by thirty feet, and a house twenty by forty feet, used as a store, and a workshop, and a residence for clerks. On the south shore of Leech Lake there was another establishment, a little larger. The stockade was one hundred

and fifty feet square. The main building was sixty by twenty-five feet, and one and a half story in height, where resided the Director of the fur trade of the Fond du Lac department of the North- west Company. In the centre was a small store, twelve and a half feet square, and near the main gate was flagstaff fifty feet in height, from which used to float the flag of Great Britain.

William Morrison was, in 1802, the trader at Leech Lake, and in 1804 he was at Elk Lake, the source of the Mississippi, thirty-two years after- wards named by Schoolcraft, Lake Itasca.

The entire force of the Northwest Company, west of Lake Superior, in 1805, consisted of three accountants, nineteen clerks, two interpreters, eighty-five canoe men, and with them were twenty-nine Indian or half-breed women, and about fifty children.

On the seventh of May, 1800, the Northwest Territory, which included all of the western country east of the Mississippi, was divided. The portion not designated as Ohio, was organ- ized as the Territory of Indiana.

On the twentieth of December, 1803, the province of Louisiana, of which that portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi was a part, was officially delivered up by the French, who had just obtained it from the Spaniards, accord- ing to treaty stipulations.

To the transfer of Louisiana by France, after twenty days' possession, Spain at first objected ; but in 1804 withdrew all opposition.

President Jefferson now deemed it an object of paramount importance for the United States to explore the country so recently acquired, and make the acquaintance of the tribes residing therein ; and steps were taken for an expedition to the upper Mississippi.

Early in March, 1804, Captain Stoddard, of the United States army, arrived at St. Louis, the agent of the French Republic, to receive from

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EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA.

the Spanish authorities the possession of the country, which he immediately transferred to the United States.

As the old settlers, on the tenth of March, saw the ancient flag of Spain displaced by that of the United States, the tears coursed down their cheeks.

On the twentieth of the same month, the terri- tory of Upper Louisiana was constituted, com- prising the present states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and a large portion of Minnesota.

On the eleventh of January, 1805, the terri- tory of Michigan was organized.

The first American officer who visited Minne- sota, on business of a public nature, was one who was an ornament to his profession, and in energy and endurance a true representative of the citi- zens of the United States. We refer to the gallant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, a native of New Jersey, who afterwards fell in battle at York, Upper Canada, and whose loss was justly mourned by the whole nation.

When a young lieutenant, he was ordered by General Wilkinson to visit the region now known as Minnesota, and expel the British traders who were found violating the laws of the United States, and form alliances with the Indians. With only a few common soldiers, he was obliged to do the work of several men. At times he would precede his party for miles to reconnoitre, and then he would do the duty of hunter.

During the day he would perform the part of surveyor, geologist, and astronomer, and at night, though hungry and fatigued, his lofty enthu- siasm kept him awake until he copied the notes, and plotted the courses of the day.

On the 4th day of September, 1805, Pike ar- rived at Prairie du Chien, from St. Louis, and was politely treated by three traders, all born un- der the flag of the United States. One was named Wood, another Frazer, a native of Vermont, who, when a young man became a clerk of one Blakely, of Montreal, and thus became a fur trader. The third was Henry Fisher, a captain of the Militia, and Justice of the Peace, whose wife was a daughter of Goutier de Verville. Fisher was said to have been a nephew of Pres- dent Monroe, and later in life traded at the sources of the Minnesota. One of his daughters was the mother of Joseph Rolette, Jr., a mem-

ber of the early Minnesota Legislative assem- blies. On the eighth of the month Lieutenant Pike left Prairie du Chien, in two batteaux, with Sergeant Henry Kennerman, Corporals William E. Mack and Samuel Bradley, and ten privates.

At La Crosse, Frazer, of Prairie du Chien, overtook him, and at Sandy point of Lake Pepin he found a trader, a Scotchman by the name of Murdoch Cameron, with his son, and a young man named John Rudsdell. On the twonty- first he breakfasted with the Kaposia band of Sioux, who then dwelt at the marsh below Day- ton's Bluff, a few miles below St. Paul. The same day he passed three miles from Mendota the encampment of J. B. Faribault, a trader and native of Lower Canada, then about thirty years of age, in which vicinity he continued for more than fifty years. He married Pelagie the daugh- ter of Francis Kinnie by an Indian woman, and his eldest son, Alexander, born soon after Pike's visit, was the founder of the town of Faribault.

Arriving at the confluence of the Minnosota and the Mississippi. Rivers, Pike and his soldiers encamped on the Northeast point of the island which still bears his name. The next day was Sunday, and he visited Cameron, at his trading post on the Minnesota River, a short distance above Mendota.

On Monday, the 23d of September, at noon, he held a Council with the Sioux, under a cover- ing made by suspending sails, and gave an ad- mirable talk, a portion of which was as follows : " Brothers, I am happy to meet you here, at this council fire which your father has sent me to kindle, and to take you by the hands, as our chil- dren. We having but lately acquired from the Spanish, the extensive territory of Louisiana, our general has thought proper to send out a number of his warriors to visit all his red children ; to tell them his will, and to hear what request they may have to make of their father. I am happy the choice fell on me to come this road, as I find my brothers, the Sioux, ready to listen to my words.

" Brothers, it is the wish of our government to establish military posts on the Upper Mississippi, at such places as might be thought expedient. I have, therefore, examined the country, and have pitched on the mouth of the river St. Croix, this

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GRANT OF LAND FROM THE SIOUX.

place, and the Falls of St. Anthony ; I therefore wish you to grant to the United States, nine miles square, at St. Croix, and at this place, from a league below the confluence of the St. Peter's and Mississippi, to a league above St. Anthony, extending three leagues on each side of the river ; and as we are a people who are accustomed to have all our acts written down, in order to have them handed to our children, I have drawn up a form of an agreement, which we will both sign, in the presence of the traders now present. After we know the terms, we will fill it up, and have it read and interpreted to you.

" Brothers, those posts are intended as a bene- fit to you. The old chiefs now present must see that their situation improves by a communication with the whites. It is the intention of the United States to establish at those posts factories, in which the Indians may procure all their things at a cheaper and better rate than they do now, or than your traders can afford to sell them to you, as they are single men, who come from far in small boats; but your fathers are many and strong, and will come with a strong arm, in large boats. There will also be chiefs here, who can attend to the wants of their brothers, without their sending or going all the way to St. Louis, and will see the traders that go up your rivers, and know that they are good men. * * *

"Brothers, I now present you with some of your father's tobacco, and some other trifling things, as a memorandum of my good will, and before my departure I will give you some liquor to clear your throats."

The traders, Cameron and Frazer, sat with Pike. His interpreter was Pierre Rosseau. Among the Chiefs present were Le Petit Cor- beau (Little Crow), and Way-ago Enagee, and L'Orignal Leve or Rising Moose. It was with difficulty that the chiefs signed the following agreement; not that they objected to the lan- guage, but because they thought their word should be taken, without any mark ; but Pike overcame their objection, by saying that he wished them to sign it on his account.

"Whereas, at a conference held between the United States of America and the Sioux na- tion of Indians, Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, of the army of the United States, and the chiefs and warriors of said tribe, have agreed to the follow-

ing articles, which, when ratified and approved of by the proper authority, shall be binding on both parties :

ART. 1. That the Sioux nation grant unto the United States, for the purpose of establishment of military posts, nine miles square, at the mouth of the St. Croix, also from below the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Peter's, up the Missis- sippi to include the Falls of St. Anthony, extend- ing nine miles on each side of the river; that the Sioux Nation grants to the United States the full sovereignty and power over said district forever.

ART. 2. That in consideration of the above grants, the United States shall pay [filled up by the Senate with 2,000 dollarsj.

ART. 3. The United States promise, on their part, to permit the Sioux to pass and repass, hunt, or make other use of the said districts, as they have formerly done, without any other exception than those specified in article first.

In testimony whereof, we, the undersigned, have hereunto set our hands and seals, at the mouth of the river St. Peter's, on the 23d day of September, 1805.

Z. M. PIKE, [L. S.]

1st Lieutenant and agent at the above conference. his

LE PETIT CORBEAU, M [L. S.] mark

his

WAY-AGO ENAGEE, M [L. S.] mark "

The following entries from Pike's Journal, des- criptive of the region around the city of Minne- apolis, seventy-five years ago, are worthy of pres- ervation:

"SEPT. 26th, Thursday .- Embarked at the usual hour, and after much labor in passing through the rapids, arrived at the foot of the Falls about three or four o'clock ; unloaded my boat, and had the principal part of her cargo carried over the portage. With the other boat, however, full loaded, they were not able to get over the last shoot, and encamped about six yards below. I pitched my tent and encamped above the shoot. The rapids mentioned in this day's march, might properly be called a continuation of the Falls of St. Anthony, for they are equally entitled to this appellation, with the Falls of the Delaware and

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EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA.

Susquehanna. Killed one deer. Distance nine miles.

SEPT. 27th, Friday. Brought over the residue of my loading this morning. Two men arrived from Mr. Frazer, on St. Peters, for my dispatches. This business, closing and sealing, appeared like a last adieu to the civilized world. Sent a large packet to the General, and a letter to Mrs. Pike, with a short note to Mr. Frazer. Two young Indians brought my flag across by land, who ar- rived yesterday, just as we came in sight of the Fall. I made them a present for their punctual- ity and expedition, and the danger they were ex- posed to from the journey. Carried our boats out of the river, as far as the bottom of the hill.

SEPT. 28th, Saturday .- Brought my barge over, and put her in the river above the Falls. While we were engaged with her three-fourths miles from camp, seven Indians painted black, appeared on the heights. We had left our guns at the camp and were entirely defenceless. It occurred to me that they were the small party of Sioux who were obstinate, and would go to war, when the other part of the bands came in; these they proved to be; they were better armed than any I had ever seen ; having guns, bows, arrows, clubs, spears, and some of them even a case of pistols. I was at that time giving my men a dram; and giving the cup of liquor to the first, he drank it off ; but I was more cautious with the remainder. I sent my interpreter to camp with them, to wait my coming ; wishing to purchase one of their war clubs, it being made of elk horn, and decorated with inlaid work. This and a set of bows and arrows I wished to get as a curiosity. But the liquor I had given him began to operate, he came back for me, but refusing to go till I brought my boat, he returned, and (I suppose being offended) borrowed a canoe and crossed the river. In the afternoon got the other boat near the top of the hill, when the props gave way, and she slid all the way down to the bottom, but fortunately without injuring any person. It raining very hard, we left her. Killed one goose and a racoon.

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History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 13

Author: Edward D. Neill Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 547

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547