USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The history of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 19
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"I cannot close without contradicting the reports that have gone abroad respecting the Christian Indians. I did not in a single instance hear of one of them committing any act of violence. Many of them were stripped of their white man's dress, clothed with a blanket, and compelled to aid in breaking in the warehouse to save their lives. It must be remembered they are very few in comparison with the wild ones."-From Tanner's "History of the Diocese of Minnesota."
Fenske's Escape. A remarkable but difficult and painful escape was that of John Fenske. At the moment when Wagner and Lamb fell dead near the barn, an arrow pierced Fenske's back. Unable to run far, he hid in a hay-loft. He extracted the arrow himself, but the point which was about three inches long, remained in the wound, causing fearful pain. When he noticed from his hiding place that no white man was alive on the Agency, and that the devouring flames were approaching nearer and nearer to him, he came down from the loft, and, wrapping himself in a blanket, crept away. It was about 4 p. m. The Indians were too busy with plundering to notice him. Covered with the blanket, and the way in which he was compelled to walk on account of his excessive pain, gave him the appearance of a squaw. A burning house between him and the plundering Indians was another circumstance in his favor. But he was obliged to fly towards the prairie, where he met some Indians driving cattle, and they requested him to help them. These took him for a squaw. He reached the Big Wabash, a creek, a gathering place for the Indians. Following the bank of that river he expected to cross the Minnesota below the Agency and escaped to Fort Ridgely, to which place all the fugitives directed their steps. Fenske was, however, held up by an Indian on horseback, who shot at him three times, but without effect. The superstitions Indian believed him to be a magician, and, stricken with fear, he hurried away as fast as his pony could carry him. Fenske reached Fort Ridgely only on the fourth day on account of his excessive pain, and the point of the arrow was removed. He recovered and was afterwards city marshal of New Ulm. On his way to the fort he entered a house, hoping to find some white people and get some nourish- ment, but all had fled, leaving a kettle with meat on the hearth. When he left that place again he looked around in hopes of see- ing some one, and he noticed several Indians busily engaged in plundering a house near by. He also noticed that Indians had
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killed a heifer close to where he stood. It did not take him long to decide upon going further .- From "The Indians' Revenge."
Mrs. De Camp's Experiences. Many incidents of a tragic, comic, or thrilling character occurred during this long and wearisome siege. When the writer entered the fort, on the nineteenth, with the Renville Rangers, one of the first persons he met was J. W. De Camp, of the Lower Agency. Mr. De Camp was absent from home at the time of the outbreak, and his wife and children were captured by the fiends, but it was not known at that time what had been their fate. He was a man of fine feelings and generous and noble impulses. He fortunately had with him his Sharp's rifle. The friends of the writer were also in the Indian country, and, as we both supposed, were either massacred or captives. As we grasped hands, poor De Camp remarked, with choked utterance, "Well, the red devils have got our families." It was replied, "We will make them pay the forfeit with their lives." "Yes," he replied, with nervous energy; and, turning away with a groan, as of more than mortal pain, remarked, between his clenched teeth, while the tears of anguish rolled down his cheeks, "but, curse them, they have not lives enough in the whole Sioux nation to pay it."
During the siege that ensued that rifle was made to do terrible execution, and woe to the redskin that came within its deadly range. Courageous even to recklessness, wherever the battle raged the fiercest, his form was to be seen, and the crack of his unerring rifle was to be heard.
De Camp passed through the battles of Fort Ridgely un- harmed, and went with the burial party to the Lower Agency, hoping to learn, if possible, something of the fate of his family; if they were among the dead, to give sepulture to their remains, and end the horrible suspense haunting him as to their fate. They were not among the murdered, and he went, with the rest of the party, into camp at Birch Coolie that night, and, in the desperate battle which ensued, was mortally wounded and taken to Fort Ridgely, where he died. In the meantime, his wife and children had been taken by the Indians toward the Chippewa river. A favorable opportunity occurring, a friendly Sioux, whose English name is Lorenzo Lawrence, a man of some educa- tion, who speaks the English language well, secretly obtained a boat and some provisions, and, taking Mrs. De Camp and her two children and his own family, descended the Minnesota river to Fort Ridgley in safety. Mrs. De Camp reached the fort, not to meet the living husband she had hoped to see, but only to look with tearful eyes upon the heap of earth that hid him from her sight forever .- From Bryant's History.
Escape of the Reynolds Family. Joseph B. Reynolds resided, at the time of the Sioux massacre, at the Redwood river, on the
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Lower reservation, ten miles above the Lower Agency. He and his wife were located there, in charge of the Government school, near Shakopee's village, which had been established at this point for the benefit of that band. His house was ten miles from any white inhabitant upon that side of the Minnesota. John Moore, a half-bred trader, resided one mile from him, at or near the Indian village. Mrs. Valencia J. Reynolds, wife of Mr. J. B. Reynolds, says :
"On the morning of August 18, I had arisen, and was busily engaged preparing breakfast, when Francis Patoile, of Yellow Medicine, came and called for breakfast for himself and another man with him. It was soon ready, and, while Mr. Patoile and the other persons then at the house were eating, Antoine La Blaugh, who was living with John Moore, came to the house and called for Mr. Reynolds. He said Mr. Moore had sent him to tell us that the Indians had broken out, and had gone down to the Agency, and over to Beaver Creek, to massacre the whites.
"We went back into the house and asked Mr. Patoile if he would take us to New Ulm. He replied that he would not go away without us, as we had but one horse and buggy. When I went into the kitchen, I found nine squaws and one Indian in the room.
"Mr. Reynolds had, in the meantime, sent La Blaugh back after Mr. Moore, who came. Our horse was at the door when he arrived, and we were putting some things in the buggy. He told us to hasten our flight with all possible speed, and directed us what course to take. The three girls, Mattie Williams, Mary Anderson, and Mary Schwandt, got into the wagon with Francis Patoile and his companion and Legrand Davis, making six per- sons in that wagon. There was also an ox team, driven by a boy who was working for us.
"Into this wagon we put a feather bed, tied up in a quilt, and a trunk belonging to Mattie Williams. This boy was killed near Little Crow's village. Mr. Reynolds and myself took the buggy. When I went out the squaws were clearing every thing of the table, dishes as well as food, and tumbling all into sacks, which they carried for taking away their plunder. One of them asked me if she might have the flour. I replied, 'Yes.' Another said to me, 'Your face is so white you had better put some water on it,' thinking me frightened, perhaps. We got into the buggy and drove toward the Agency. Before we reached the Redwood river, which was but a short distance from the house, we passed the boy with the ox team, and that was the last we ever saw of either wagon. At the river there was a half-breed, named Louis, standing on the opposite bank. Mr. Reynolds asked him what was the trouble. He replied that an Indian had just come from the Lower Agency, who said they were killing all the whites
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there. We drove on to the top of the hill, on the east side of the Redwood. Here we saw Shakopee and two other Indians. We stopped, and called Shakopee to us, and asked him what the trouble was. He said he did not know, and kept motioning to us with his hand to go out upon the prairie; but we kept the main road until we came in sight of the Agency buildings. We had seen only one old squaw while going over the road thus far, but now we saw the Indians running toward the Agency, and we turned to the right, and drove out on the prairie and went around behind an elevation which ran parallel with the Minne- sota river, and hid us from the observation of those at the Agency. When opposite the buildings, we crawled up to the crest of the ridge on our hands and knees, looked over, and saw an Indian near us, driving in cattle. The doors of the stores were open, and Indians were all about.
"We returned to the buggy and hastened on toward New Ulm. After going on some distance in that direction, we saw Indians in the road going up toward the Agency. We met two squaws, who talked to us in the Sioux language, and urged us to turn back, and asked us where we were going. Mr. Reynolds told them we were going to hunt ducks, as we believed them to be spies. We pressed on, and soon met an Indian, who wished Mr. Reynolds to write him a paper, certifying that he was a good Indian, as he wished to go to Faribault, because the bad Indians were killing the white people at the Agency. 'That,' said he, pointing to a horse at some distance off, 'is mine, and those are my wife and papooses.' He seemed frightened, and had no caps on his gun. He was a man somewhat advanced in age, though not an old man.
"We soon overtook John Nairn, Government carpenter at the Lower Agency, and his family. Escaping with them were another man and a girl, Miss Frorip. We took two of Mr. Nairn's children into our buggy, and drove on.
"We were now near the fort, on the opposite side of the river, and in plain sight, and thought we would go to it, and turned out of the road to do so but a body of water intervening, we turned again toward New Ulm. We met Indians twice, with ox teams, who turned out, giving us one-half the road, as is usual. The last one we met Mr. Reynolds hallooed to, but he would not answer a word. We met two squaws also, who were going toward the Agency, and one of them ran off from the road toward an Indian house. When we had got in sight of the buildings of the settlers, below the reservation, which were about a mile from us, we saw some sixty Indians, on the left of us, nearly half a mile away, on foot, and between us and them were two yoke of cattle attached to a wagon. There was, also, an Indian on our left, on horseback, and another, also on horse-
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back, ahead of us, on our right, who had passed into a ravine. Between these two was a naked savage, on foot, about eight rods from us.
"Mr. Reynolds hallooed to him, supposing he was friendly, until he saw him change his gun from the left hand to the right, and look at the caps. The gun was a double-barreled one. Mr. Reynolds then turned his horse around, and the Indian raised his gun to his face and snapped both caps, but they failed to ignite the powder. I turned my head and saw an Indian coming after us on a white horse. He shouted to us to 'Puckachee, puckachee, puckachee.' Mr. Reynolds asked him which way. He pointed toward the Agency, and then rode between us and the savage who had attempted to kill us, with his gun leveled at him all the while, who tried again to get a chance to shoot us, but was foiled by our protector. Then the other two on horseback came up, and all started after us, when we moved off as fast as we could toward the Agency. This chase was kept up for about half a mile, when our friend on the white horse rode in before the other three, and between them and the buggy, and quite a parley took place between them, when they all fell in the rear.
"We had gone, after this, about two miles, when we came into the midst of about twenty squaws and boys and one old man, going toward New Ulm. The squaws turned out of the road, but the old man kept close to the track. Mr. Reynolds reined in the horse as we approached them and asked the man if he wished to kill him. He replied, in good English, 'No, no! Go, go,' and walked on without even stopping. The next rise of ground we reached we looked back, and saw one solitary In- dian, on horseback, in pursuit of us. Soon after this we turned off from the road to the right, having decided to attempt to go to Fort Ridgely. After going about one mile we struck the fort road leading from New Ulm. We had gone some distance on this road when the horse gave out and we could not urge him off a slow walk. Mr. Reynolds and myself got out, leaving the children in the buggy. The grass was very tall, reaching above my head. It was a prairie, but flat and low. After passing through the tall grass we looked back to see if they were follow- ing us. We saw two Indians standing some distance off, like sentinels guarding the road, their gun-barrels glistening in the sunbeams.
"When we reached the bluffs back from the Minnesota river bottom, the children also got out and we all walked a mile and a half further to the river opposite the fort. Mr. Reynolds then un- harnessed the horse, and attempted to swim the river on his back, but both went out of sight together, under the water. Mr. Reynolds then slipped off the horse and swam along by his
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side and they both reached the opposite shore. He then went up to the fort to get assistance to bring us across the river. As soon as he was gone I hid myself and the children in the wil- lows, near the river bank. I had moccasins on my feet, sending the children ahead, I followed them, covering their tracks with my own, turning my toes in as much like a squaw as possible. We remained concealed until Mr. Reynolds and the men came down from the fort. They called to us that they could not see us and wished us to come out in sight. We did so, and they came over to us with a boat.
"While we were concealed I had heard the bushes crack near us, and supposed Indians were searching for us; and when we went to get in the boat we saw fresh moccasin tracks all along the water's edge, clear up to where we went into the willows. Mr. Randall, the post sutler, had sent his carriage down to the river for us and we crossed over safely, got into the carriage and rode up the hill to the garrison. I was bare- headed, with an Indian blanket on, and my dress had been badly torn in my journey to the river, but I felt thankful to escape even with life. At the fort I went into the hospital and assisted Mrs. Muller, the wife of the surgeon, in the care of the sick and wounded for one day, and, after that, assisted in making cart- ridges during the siege. In this way I was very busy until after the last battle at the fort.
"The day after reinforcements reached us we left Fort Ridgley and came below, utterly destitute, the savages having destroyed or appropriated all the property we had in the world, even to our personal clothing, and, as we afterward learned, burned our house, with all its contents." (From Bryant's History.)
Note. In Vol. 6, of the Collections of the Minnesota His- torical Society, will be found, at considerable length, the ex- periences of Mrs. Mary Schwandt-Schmidt, pp. 461-474; of Mrs. J. E. De Camp-Sweet, pp. 354-380; and of Mrs. Mary McClure, pp. 439-460.
CHAPTER XIV.
MONUMENTS AND MARKERS.
Camp Pope was the point on the south side of the Minnesota river, in Redwood county, above the Redwood river, selected by General Sibley for the rendezvous and starting place of his military expedition against the Indians in the spring of 1863.
After the defeat of the Sioux at Wood lake (Sept. 23, 1862), those of them who still remained hostile fled into Dakota under the leadership of Little Crow. General Sibley had but twenty-
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six mounted men, and was, for this and other reasons, unable to pursue them. One band, numbering about 150 persons and com- posed chiefly of those who did not want to fight but were afraid to surrender, separated from the main body and was followed and captured at the Wild Goose Nest lake, in what is now South Dakota, by an expedition under Col. Wm. R. Marshall.
Nearly all of the Indians who went with Little Crow passed the winter of 1862-3 at and abont Devil's lake, in North Dakota.
In the early spring of 1863 it was determined by General John Pope, then in command of the Northwest Department, that a second campaign should be undertaken against the Sioux. At a conference between Generals Pope, Sibley and Sully, at Mil- waukee, it was decided that, as early in the summer of that year as possible, General Sully should move from Sioux City, with a force composed wholly of cavalry, and General Sibley should march from some point on the Upper Minnesota, with a force of three regiments of infantry, a regiment of cavalry, and two sec- tions of light artillery, and that the objective point of both of these commands would be Devil's lake, where it was supposed the main body of Indians was concentrated and would be en- countered.
The place of rendezvous for the forces composing the column of General Sibley was selected by him at a favorable site on the Minnesota above the Redwood-a mile west of north of the present site of Redwood Falls-and the encampment named Camp Pope. Its first occupation was in the latter part of April, and its first commandant was Lient .- Col. John T. Averill, of the Sixth Minnesota Infantry. The force which finally assembled and which composed General Sibley's column, consisted of the Sixth Minnesota, Colonel Wm. Crooks; the Seventh Minnesota, Lient .- Col. W. R. Marshall; the Tenth Minnesota, Colonel James H. Baker; the First Regiment of Minnesota Mounted Rangers, Colonel Sam. McPhail, and the Third Minnesota Battery, Captain John Jones. There was also a detachment of Indian and mixed blood sconts under Major Joseph R. Brown.
Camp Pope was established April 19, 1863. It was first oc- cupied by a detachment of the Sixth Minnesota, under Lieut .- Col. Averill, which had brought up considerable stores of sup- plies on the steamboat Favorite. At that day the Minnesota river was often navigable for light dranght steamers as high as the month of the Redwood and sometimes beyond. The camp was named in honor of Major-General John Pope, who was then commander of the Military Department of the Northwest.
The work of organizing the Sibley expedition was greatly and unreasonably delayed. It was not until June 16 when the force, numbering about 3,000 men, all Minnesotans, moved from Camp Pope up the Minnesota. But in the meantime the troops
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had been drilling every day and otherwise preparing for future duties, and so the time was not wholly misspent. The column marched via Big Stone lake and encamped at Brown's Valley, June 26. A month later occurred the notable engagements with the Indians at Big Mound, Dead Buffalo lake, and Stone lake, in what is now North Dakota.
General Pope's plan for subduing the Sioux was reasonably magnificent in its character and intentions, but, like other mili- tary schemes, came to nothing. General Sully's column of cavalry was to proceed up the Missouri far enough to cut off the retreat of the Indians to the westward, and then march eastward and unite with the forces under Sibley and "crush the Indians" at Devil's lake. The supplies for this column were to be taken up the river on steamboats. General Sibley's supplies were to accompany him in wagon trains across the country.
General Sibley carried out his part of the programme and reached Devil's lake in due time, but, of course, finding no con- siderable number of Indians. But the Missouri was too shallow for navigation, the summer was dry, the grass of the prairies withered, and the horses of Sully's command suffered severely and many of them died. The boats grounded on sandbars and could not proceed; the soldiers had no rations, and Sully's column was forced to turn back without co-operating with Sib- ley's. General Sibley made a toilsome and exhausting march, but persisted until he succeeded in falling in with the Indians, who were driven back, after successive engagements, until they had been chased far across the Missouri. Then the Minnesotans, having accomplished more than their share of the co-operative movement, and secured their frontiers from further Indian raids, returned to their quarters in their own State.
Camp Pope continued to be one of the posts on the patrol line maintained to protect the settlers from marauding bands of savages. It was probably due to Camp Pope that Redwood Falls was established. In visiting the vicinity of Camp Pope as an Indian fighter, Col. Sam. McPhail first conceived the building of a city where the great drop of the Redwood river afforded such excellent facilities for water power, and where the natural falls made the power immediately available.
The Minnesota Valley Historical Society.
The Minnesota Valley Historical Society had permanently marked many of the historic sites in Redwood and Renville coun- ties, with monuments and tablets. The society was organized at Morton, February 2, 1895, and incorporated under the State law, March 15 of the same year. The first annual meeting was held May 10 following. Hon. C. D. Gilfillan was its president, financial backer and moving spirit, the society being merely a nominal
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organization behind which he masked his patriotic purpose and kindly generosity. His friend, Major Return I. Holcombe, the distinguished historian, did the research work in connection with the monuments and tablets, and superintended their erection. He also edited a book, "Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of the Monuments and Tablets, Erected by the Minnesota Valley Historical Society," which book is among one of Major Hol- combe's most valuable contributions to the story of the massacre.
The sites marked in Redwood county are: Robert Forbes' and Myrick's trading house; La Bathe's living room, where, after the hostile Indians were driven from the State, more than a hundred Indian prisoners were tried by the military commission; the frame house in which lived Little Crow; the location of Camp Pope; and the grave of Hon. James W. Lynd. The monu- ment marking the ground of the Redwood Ferry Ambuscade is just across the river from Redwood county.
In the latter part of the year 1898, Charles D. Gilfillan con- tracted with the P. N. Peterson Granite Company of St. Paul for the construction and placing in position of the granite struc- tures marking these spots, as well as marking a number of his- toxic spots in Renville county.
The character of the markers varies. But all are of granite, all are suitably inscribed, and all are permanent. Some are sub- stantial blocks, while some are imposing monuments.
Following are the inscriptions :
"Here Lie the Remains of Hon. J. W. Lynde, Killed by Sioux Indians, Aug. 18, 1862."
"188 Feet North Stood Robert's Trading Post, Aug. 18, 1862."
"700 Feet North Lived Little Crow, Head War Chief of the Sioux Indians, Aug. 18, 1862."
"Forty Feet North Stood Myrick's Trading Post, Aug. 18, 1862."
"400 Feet North Stood Forbe's Trading Post, Aug. 18, 1862."
"175 Feet North Stood the Building in Which Upwards of 100 Sioux Indians Were Tried by Court Martial, Convicted and Sentenced to Death, Nov., 1862."
"Between This Point and the River on the North and East Was Located Camp Pope, from Which General Sibley Marched against the Hostile Sioux Indians, June 16, 1863."
It will be noted that the name of J. W. Lynd is misspelled on the monument, and the apostrophe is misplaced on the Forbes marker.
Authority and References. "Monuments and Tablets Erected by the Minnesota Valley Historical Society," by Return I. Hol- combe.
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CHAPTER XV.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION.
Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial governor of Minne- sota, arrived at St. Paul with his family May 27, 1849. June 1, 1849, he issued a proclamation declaring the territory duly or- ganized. June 11 a second proclamation was issued, dividing the territory into three temporary judicial districts. The first com- prised the county of St. Croix. The county of La Pointe and the region north and west of the Mississippi and north of the Minne- sota and of a line running due west from the headwaters of the Minnesota to the Missouri river, constituted the second. The country west of the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota formed the third district. Judge Goodrich was assigned to the first, Judge Meeker to the second, and Judge Cooper to the third. A court was ordered to be held at Stillwater on the second Monday, at the Falls of St. Anthony on the third, and at Men- dota on the fourth Monday of August. Redwood county was included in the third district, with Judge David Cooper on the bench.
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