USA > Minnesota > Hennepin County > Minneapolis > Personal recollections of Minnesota and its people : and early history of Minneapolis > Part 3
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Here and there were fine rolling prairies of a few acres in extent, in the immediate neighborhood of the Falls ; but toward Minnehaha the prairies were two or three miles long, and extended to Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Near the Falls was a deep slough of two or three acres. It was seem- ingly bottomless. This. and a few deep ravines and grassy ponds were the only things to mar the beauty of the scene around the Falls.
On the old road from the west-side landing to the rapids
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PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
where teams crossed the river was a fine large spring with a copious flow of clear cold water. From appearances it seemed to be a place of summer resort for Indians and soldiers. . Large linden-trees with wide-spreading branches made a' grateful shade. In after years the water of the spring was much used by the early settlers. Picnic parties were common in those days from Fort Snelling. The officers with ladies would come up and spend the long, hot days in the shade of the trees and drink the cool spring water.
From 1821 for many years all the beef cattle required for the Fort were pastured, wintered, and slaughtered near the old government buildings. For this reason the locality appeared more like a New England pasture than a wilderness.
On the way to Fort Snelling was a lone tree about half way to Little Falls creek. It was a species of poplar, and had escaped the prairie fires. Its trunk was full of bullet holes, said to have been made during a battle between the Chippewas and Dakotas. This was the only landmark then on the prairie between Minnehaha Falls and the west bank of the Falls of St. Anthony. It was far from being a pretty tree, but it served an excellent purpose during the winter months when the Indian trail was covered with snow, as a guide to the few travelers who passed over the lonely prairie. It disappeared long since, but there is not a pioneer who had occasion to use the old trail in the winter but will hold it in grateful remembrance.
LITTLE FALLS.
Arriving at Minnehaha creek, we waded through its silvery waters and encamped for the night near the Falls. We had for company several Winnebagoes who had put up their wig- wams for a few day's rest. They had been on a visit to their old home in Wisconsin and Iowa, and were on their way back to Long Prairie. The Indians seemed to be as enthusiastic over the beautiful Little Falls as we were. Early the next morning we left for St. Paul.
FORT SNELLING TO ST. PAUL.
Passing Fort Snelling, we crossed the St. Peter river on
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
the government ferry and went through Mendota without calling. We followed the west bank of the Mississippi, fre- quently through mire, to a point west of St. Paul. We were fortunate enough to secure the services of a Dakota Indian to cross to the village, where we were safely landed in our old room again, with Dr. Day, at the Merchants.
DISBANDING OF THE PARTY.
After a consultation among the members of the colony, it was determined to abandon the scheme of looking further for lands, for the present, and all, except two, took passage on the first boat for the lower country. In the meantime it would not answer to be idle while waiting for a treaty with the Indians, who were willing, if not anxious, to sell their lands west of the Mississippi.
EAST AND WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Though much good land could be found between the Mississippi river and the St. Croix, the report had gone abroad that there was too much sand in the soil east of the river, and that it never could be made good farming land- which is not true. Yet the old saying was pretty well illus- trated, that to give a dog a bad name, no one will believe he is a good dog; but for all that he may be one of the best of dogs. Be that as it may, the east side suffered greatly in an early day from these reports. It should have been determined in this way : while the country east of the river is pretty good, that on the west side, as a general rule, is better.
CHAPTER IV.
FRANKLIN STEELE.
Meeting Mr. Sibley early in May, he said the business of Mr. Franklin Steele, at Fort Snelling, required some one to take charge of it; that Mr. Steele was in the East, and was expected home soon. On the return of that gentleman I entered into close business relations with him, which were continued through his lifetime. A more enterprising, honor- able, and popular man never lived in the Northwest. He was born of distinguished parentage in 1813, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. His father, General James Steele, was of Scotch descent. One of his ancestors, General Archi- bald Steele, served under General Montgomery in the expe- dition against Quebec. He became Deputy Quartermaster- General of the troops in the western division of the Army in Pennsylvania. Another ancestor, John Steele, was an officer in the Revolutionary Army. A letter is preserved which he wrote to his brother, dated Morristown, New Jersey, June 14, 1787, in which he says : "I at present enjoy myself incompar- "ably well, in the family of Mrs. Washington, whose guard I " have had the honor to command since the absence of the "General and the rest of the family, which is now six or " seven days. I am happy in the importance of my charge, "as well as in the presence of the most amiable woman on " earth, and whose character, should I attempt to describe, "I could not do justice to; but will only say that I think it " unexceptionable."
At the commencement of my acquaintance with Mr. Steele he was the foremost business man in this part of the North-
LITTLE FALLS OF OLD-NOW MINNEHAHA.
As one sees the Minnehaha, gleaming, glancing thro' the forest.
"Pleasant is the sound !" he murmured,
In the land of the Dakotas, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the "Pleasant is the voice that calls me !"
oak trees, Laugh and leap into the valley. Would he come again for arrows
And he journeyed without To the Falls of Minnehaha ? resting,
Till he heard the cataract's Heard the Falls of Minnehaha laughter, Calling to them from afar off : Heard the Falls of Minnehaha Fare thee well, O Minnehaha ! Calling to him thro' the silence, [Longfellow's Hiawatha.
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
west. His numerous enterprises were distributed from the head of Lake Superior to the Iowa line, and from the Missis- sippi to the Missouri. Gentlemanly and generous, every member of the community was his friend. He was a philan- thropist-a lover of men. His principal business office was at Fort Snelling, where he occupied the position of sutler. His pleasant home was just outside the walls of the Fort, where his accomplished wife presided.
OFFICERS AT FORT SNELLING.
On my arrival at the Fort, in May, 1849, that post was under the command of Brevet-Major Samuel Woods, Captain of Company E, Sixth Infantry. Major Woods married Miss Clayborne Barney, the youngest sister of Mrs. Franklin Steele. She was a lady of rare merit. She and her three children died of cholera at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1854. They are quietly resting in the beautiful Lakewood cemetery on the borders of Lake Calhoun.
The other officers at Fort Snelling at that time were Captain James Monroe, Company K, Sixth Infantry ; Captain Simon B. Buckner, Company C; Lieutenants I. W. T. Gardiner and Castor, Company D, Second Regiment U. S. Dragoons ; Lieutenants A. D. Nelson and Page. Dr. Martin, father-in- law of Captain Monroe, was the Surgeon, and Rev. Dr. E. G. Gear, Chaplain.
Early in June Lieutenant-Colonel Gustavus Loomis arrived and assumed command. Captains R. W. Kirkham and Wet- more, and Surgeon A. N. McLaren, also arrived in June. Soon after Colonel Loomis assumed command at Fort Snelling Captain John Pope of the Topographical Engineers-now Major-General Pope-and Dr. Sikes, arrived en route to the boundary line. The expedition was to be under the command of Major Woods, accompanied by Company E, Lieutenant Nelson, and Company D, Lieutenant Gardiner. The command left Fort Snelling on their march June 6th, and returned in September.
WHAT BECAME OF THE OLD COMMAND.
Few of the officers stationed at Fort Snelling at that time are now alive, and of the soldiers who were included in the
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PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
command I only know of four who survive, viz: James Brown, Valentine and Charles Haeg, and Mr. Geo. W. Gellenbeck of Shakopee, Scott county. One of the members of the old band, old-settler M. N. Kellogg, still lives in St. Paul. Colonel Loomis died March 5th, 1872, at Stafford, Connecticut, aged 83 years. He was a man of much moment, a friend of the early missionaries, and a Christian gentleman who delighted in good works.
Lieut. Paige soon after left the army and died in Massa- chusetts.
Lieut. Castor married the widow of Lieut. Whitehorn, and lived but a few years. Mrs. Whitehorn was the daughter of Rev. Dr. Gear.
Lieut. Gardiner became an officer of high rank, and died during the late civil war.
Captain Wetmore, who married a beautiful Mexican lady, retired from the army in 1850, and only lived a short time. He died in St. Louis.
Captain Monroe was a colonel during the civil war, and was killed in battle.
Captain Buckner left the army, in 1854, to superintend his wife's large estate in Chicago, which was left her by her father, Major Kingsbury. The lady lived only a few years afterwards. Her husband became a confederate general, and is now governor of Kentucky.
Major Woods was transferred to the paymaster's depart- ment, and has long lived in California.
Captain Kirkham became assistant quartermaster-general, from which service he retired, a few years ago, and now resides in Oakland, California.
Dr. McLaren became assistant surgeon-general, and died in Washington after the war. Dr. Martin was an old man in 1849. He died in Pennsylvania not long after leaving Fort Snelling. Rev. Dr. Gear was transferred from Fort Snelling to Fort Ripley. He retired from the chaplaincy, and died in Minneapolis.
Having been quartered with the Sixth infantry in the convent of San Fernando, in the City of Mexico, in the fall of 1847, it was a pleasure to meet a portion of the old regi- ment again at Fort Snelling. At that time it did not seem
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
that the City of Mexico was much further removed from the center of civilization in the United States than Fort Snelling. The change from the tropical South to the hyperborean regions of the North had a beneficial effect on the health of the command. The climate did what the surgeons failed to do with Uncle Sam's medicine-it banished malaria and other diseases incident to the South, contracted in Mexico, from the members of the regiment. As Fort Snelling is the fountain- head of the early history of the Northwest, it has become classic with interesting events of the long past. Many of them have never been published. I shall refer to the grand old fortress again, and at more length, in the pages of this humble offering.
IN BUSINESS.
Having got down to business, in examining the journals and ledgers of Mr. Steele, the posting of which was under my supervision, it was demonstrated that his extensive busi- ness was in a most satisfactory condition. His mills at the Falls were completed, and his trade was profitable.
A NEW DEPARTURE.
On the morning of the 10th of June, 1849, Mr. Steele came into his counting-room, in the rear of the sutler's store, and asked if I could spare the day to accompany him to the Falls of St. Anthony. He added that he had an object in view, which might possibly be of advantage to me. Having decided to go with him, I did not inquire, at the time, in relation to the proposed visit.
CHAPTER V.
ANOTHER VISIT TO THE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY.
On the way up to the Falls with Mr. Steele he said that, from the best information he could get, the military reserva- tion of Fort Snelling would soon be reduced in size ; that many valuable claims could be secured on it, provided the Secretary of War would grant permission to occupy them ; that Hon. Robert Smith, M. C. from the Alton district, Illi- nois, had secured such a permit to hold the old government property, which included the west bank of the Falls ; that the claim immediately north of Mr. Smith's was equally as desirable, and he thought, if I wished, there would be no difficulty in obtaining War Secretary Marcy's approval of its occupation.
MY CLAIM AT THE FALLS.
During the journey up to the Falls we completed our plans and marked out the claim that became my home for many years. I readily obtained permission from the Secretary of War to hold the claim, but was under bonds to maintain a free ferry for the crossing of government troops. There was constant communication between the government forces at Fort Snelling and Fort Ripley. Thus, through the engage- ment with Mr. Steele, I became an occupant of the land that I had so much admired a few weeks before on the occasion of my first visit to the Falls. Had any one intimated such a thing as possible at that time I should have considered it the most visionary of all earthly matters. The idea of such a result did not enter my mind at my first visit. There, on the
.
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
bank of the river, just above the rapids, I commenced build- ing my humble house, to which, when finished, I brought my wife as a bride, and in it my first children were born, the eldest being the first-born child in Minneapolis proper.
Under that primitive roof many important historical events occurred ; among them the organization of the county of Hennepin, and election of the first officers of the county. Indian councils were held in it.
SOME OF MY INDIAN GUESTS.
Little Crow, Good Road, Gray Eagle, Shakopee, and other Dakota chiefs, held consultation with the government agents, Major Richard Murphy and Major McLean, in that house ; while the Winnebagoes, when residents of the upper country, seemed to think they had a pre-emption right on their old down-country friend, when making portage around the Falls. Hole-in-the-Day and his Chippewa braves frequently dropped in. The nearer the dinner hour the better it suited the different tribes to make their call. A barrel or two of crack- ers, and a good supply of salt pork, was a special delight to the red brothers. It was thought advisable that these Indian luxuries should always be on hand, and ready for any emer- gency. They prevented depredations on the garden, growing crops, and stock. If the Dakotas did not always respect the property of the missionaries-such men as Dr. Williamson, Dr. Riggs, and Rev. M. N. Adams-it could hardly be expected that they would exhibit any greater respect for the possessions of a man who lived almost alone on the borders of their territory.
The United States judges in the Federal court frequently sat "in chambers" in the small parlor of the old house, and decided questions of law that were brought before them- much to the disgust of the officers at Fort Snelling. Some- times soldiers would be brought before a Federal judge in relation to the legality of their enlistment. At one time when Judge Chatfield occupied the bench, he ordered Colonel Lee, the commanding officer at the Fort, to discharge from the army two privates who had enlisted before they were twenty- one years old, without the consent of their parents.
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PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
Then again the pioneer ministers of the gospel would hold meetings on Sundays, and sometimes on week days, in the lone house. The congregation would consist pretty much of my family and those employed to work for Mr. Steele and myself.
Once in a while this old house would be honored with the presence of politicians. For instance, when the fourth legis- lature met in St. Paul, on the 5th of January, 1853, the house failed to secure a majority of votes for any one man for speaker. Two or three weeks were spent in voting without choice. Many of the members became almost discouraged. When it adjourned, one Saturday, without an election, the Whig members held a caucus, at which it was decided to invite all the Whig members of both houses to be at the little dwelling under the hill, up at the Falls, on Sunday, to see if measures could not be devised for the election of a speaker, and to effect an organization. They all came. There was Dr. Day, Hon. John D. Ludden, Hon. Justus C. Ramsey, Colonel N. Greene Wilcox, and others, of the house ; and Hon. Martin McLeod, D. B. Loomis, Geo. W. Farrington, L. A. Babcock, and N. W. Kittson of the territorial senate. Messrs. Bass, Brunson, J. P. Owens, and other prominent citizens of St. Paul, accompanied them. Suffice to say, a programme was arranged, and on the morrow, at the opening of the session, the dead-lock was broken, and Dr. David Day was elected speaker.
ANOTHER GOOD SERVICE IN THE ANCIENT BUILDING.
In the early days, after the lands could be occupied by the settlers, the different religious denominations held meetings in the winter. The result was many conversions. Our good friends, the Baptists, with old Father Cressey, and the respected elders Palmer and Russell, were there, and through their influence a revival of much moment occurred. The house being close to the bank of the river, it was used for the reception of the members after baptisms, on the cold Sun- days. It happened, one winter, that almost every Sunday when these solemn rites were observed, the mercury fell to nearly forty degrees. A hole of sufficient size was made in the ice
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
to admit the clergyman and a candidate for baptism, when the immersion would take place. The parties would come out of the river almost covered with a sheet of ice, when they were hurried into the house for a change of clothing. There was always a good fire in the few rooms on these interesting occa- sions-especially for the benefit of the new-made Christians. There never was the least cold taken by any of those who were immersed during those extremely cold days.
The lowly dwelling was frequently honored with the pres- ence of distinguished visitors. One early autumn the Swed- ish authoress, Miss Fredericka Bremer, was entertained for a brief period. Another summer the authoresses, Miss Clark and Mrs. E. F. Ellet, made the household glad by a sojourn of a day or two. Military men of high rank fre- quently made it their home. From there Governor Isaac Ives Stevens started on his extraordinary trip to the Pacific.
The first agricultural society in the Territory was organized there, the first singing-school held, and the first lyceum matured. Marriages were solemnized-the most interesting of which, to my family, was that of Mr. Marshall Robinson to Miss Mary E. Miller, the youngest sister of Mrs. Stevens. Miss Miller was the first public-school teacher in the pioneer settlement. The organization of the first school-district on the west side, under the laws of the Territory, was completed in the house, and Messrs. Edward Murphy, Judge F. R. E. Cornell, and John H. Stevens were elected trustees.
The name of the place was first proposed to the county commissioners by Mr. Chas. Hoag, while those officers were in session in the parlor. The name was promptly confirmed by the board. At a previous session the name of Albion had been agreed upon. The name Minneapolis is derived from the classic Greek and the wild Dakota languages.
The first justices of the precinct and the first officers of the county were sworn into office under its humble roof. Its diminutive walls protected many a poor wanderer far from home and friends. Its site was on a small portion of the grounds occupied by the union depot near the end of the suspension-bridge. The house is in a good state of preserva- tion on Sixteenth avenue south between Fourth and Fifth sts.
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CHAPTER VI.
The summer of 1849 at Fort Snelling passed quietly. The last of May the governor and other officers appointed by the President for the territory arrived and, on June Ist at St. Paul, assumed the duties of their high trusts. The governor, Alexander Ramsey, frequently called at the Fort, and made many friends.
Emigration was the great staple during the year, and St. Paul received the lion's share of it.
EDITOR GOODHUE.
The village was fortunate in its pioneer editor, Colonel James M. Goodhue, who wielded a pen equal to any writer on the continent. I had known him in Wisconsin, and was proud to class him among my friends. He was faithful to the whole territory but, as a matter of course, he saw more favorable prospects for the future of St. Paul than for other portions of the territory. This is not to be wondered at ; it was his home. In the fall he wrote to me these playful, char- acteristic lines : "The election has gone-all right enough, of " course. I have done my duty as drummer. If our folks did "not choose to fight and conquer, it was their own fault. Tell "Steele that as the organ, I have to grind for the organization, " whatever it may be. But he understands that. Whatever "comes up as regular, I have to conjugate through all modes " and tenses-and class everything else as 'irregular, defective "or redundant'-until after election. I shall try to come up "on the first ice: Yours truly."
CHAPLAIN GEAR.
Fort Snelling was favored in having an efficient chaplain. In July, 1848, while on board a steamer en route from
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OF MINNESOTA AND ITS PEOPLE.
Chicago to Buffalo, I had as a fellow-passenger Rev. Dr. E. G. Gear, who was the chaplain in question. He was making a pilgrimage to the scenes of his early eastern labors, and to visit the churches he had ministered to so faithfully in early life. He had many years ago abandoned these comparatively easy places for the life of a clergyman in the wild northwest which, at that period, contained but few whites; yet among them were men of rare ability. At that early day Dr. Gear was of the opinion that many of the settlers did not select the northwest for homes from choice, but drifted here from various causes ; some came in the army, many in the Indian trade, others prospecting for lumber, while a few were attracted by the beneficial influence of the climate.
Agriculture was then in its infancy and at a low ebb north of the Iowa line. Dr. Gear thought the indications were that most of what is now Minnesota would suffer from a lack of sufficient moisture in the atmosphere to mature the crops. There was a possibility that a large portion of the northwest would, for a long time, be occupied only by Indians.
Dr. Gear's life and labors at Fort Snelling brought him in contact with all the prominent residents and tourists of the upper Mississippi of two-score years ago and, being a close observer of men, he seldom made a mistake in estimating their worth. He belonged to an old New England family of Puritans, and though an Episcopalian, he retained all the characteristics of his ancestors in relation to the stern duties of life. A man incapable of knowingly doing the slightest injustice to any one, he could not countenance a fault in others. He was greatly pleased with the immigration of 1849, so different from that of previous years-not superior in ability or morality, but the men were in many instances accompanied by their families, and had come to stay.
Dr. Gear was born in Connecticut, September 1793, and was ordained to the ministry by Bishop Hobart of New York. In 1835, he was sent as a missionary to Galena, Illinois. Three years later, through the influence of General Brooke . and other high officers in the army, he was appointed chaplain at Fort Snelling and assumed his duties as such at that place in the spring of 1839. He had an interesting family. Most 3
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PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS
of his daughters married army officers. His only son, Hon. John H. Gear, was for several years governor of Iowa. He ยท is at this time a member of congress from that state. After Dr. Gear retired from the chaplaincy he lived at Minneapolis, in which city his death occurred on the 13th of October, 1873, at the age of eighty years. His honored remains quietly rest in the beautiful Lakewood cemetery. His death was a great loss to the people of the northwest. His aged widow and two daughters are residents of this city.
A TRIBUTE TO THE NOBLE MEN WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY.
People of the present day may not properly appreciate the good works of those of a past generation ; but it is a pleasure to those who have outlived their former friends and associates to speak of those with whom they were intimate, and bear witness to the present generation of the great moral worth of those who have crossed the silent river. The pioneers of Minnesota, as a class, were men of great merit-more so than in many other states-equal to the stern pilgrims and their descendants ; perhaps because there was a mixture of all races, uniting the best blood in the world, which could not fail to accomplish wonders.
Every one seemed pleased with the new officers, and the territory was started under the most favorable auspices.
PIONEER CELEBRATION OF THE FOURTH OF JULY IN ST. PAUL.
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