USA > Minnesota > Redwood County > The history of Redwood County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 47
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Kentucky blue grass is getting well established and is the mainstay of the stockman, as it is relished at any time in the
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year by stock, and they make their own living on it at all times except when it is covered with snow. S. P. Hicks of Tracy has five sections of land and keeps a part of it in blue grass pasture and always has on hand from 500 to 700 head of high grade Polled Angus cattle. C. Frederickson of Redwood Falls also has most of his land in blue grass pasture and keeps a large num- ber of cattle. He gets good interest on land worth $100 per acre in that way.
The grass crop is becoming more important each year and farmers are beginning to realize that nothing will restore the fertility of the soil so quickly and at the same time give a good profit as the grass crop.
FARM NAMES.
Many of the farm owners in Redwood county have shown their progressive spirit by giving names to their farms. Twenty- one such names have been legally registered in the county, seven in 1910, two in 1911, none in 1912, four in 1913, two in 1914, four in 1915, and two in 1916.
1910. "Fairview" farm is located in section 16, town 111, range 35 (Three Lakes), and is owned by Holmer Johnson.
"Pine Grove Stock Farm" is located in sections 11 and 14, town 112, range 35, and is owned by Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Lus- senhop.
"Riverside Nursery and Fruit Farm" is located in section 15, town 109, range 37, and is owned by J. M. Kenyon.
"Golden Flat Farm" is located in sections 33 and 34, town 110, range 39, and is owned by W. H. Knott.
"Pleasant Grove Farm" is located in section 10, town 113, range 37, and is owned by John E. Nelson.
"Winn Brothers Pleasant Grove Farm" is located in section 34, town 112, range 36, and is owned by Winn Brothers.
"Sunnyside Farm" is located in section 33, town 112, range 36, and is owned by W. E. Winn.
1911. "Four Hill Farm" is located in sections 14 and 15, town 111, range 38, and is owned by N. H. Haag.
"Banner Farm" is located in sections 11 and 12, town 109, range 36, and is owned by George A. Flaig and Helena Flaig.
1913. "North Star Farm" is located in section 11, town 112, range 35, and is owned by J. C. Bruer.
"Sun Prairie Farm" is located in section 1, town 109, range 36, and is owned by John Timlin.
"Lorndale Farm" is located in section 25, town 113, range 37, and is owned by Thomas Mckay.
"Maple Grove Farm" is located in sections 26, 35 and 36, town 110, range 36, and is owned by H. F. Meyer.
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1914. "Pleasant Orchard Riverside Farm" is located in sec- tion 32, town 113, range 35, and is owned by A. H. Seebeck.
"Ashland Farm" is located in section 28, town 112, range 35, and is owned by M. W. Dennistoun.
1915. "Pleasant Hill Stock Farm" is located in sections 27 and 28, town 110, range 34, and is owned by S. J. Hansen.
"Rock Dell Farm" is located in section 25, town 114, range 37, and is owned by D. R. McCorquodale.
"Pleasant View Farm" is located in section 14, town 112, range 36, and is owned by J. F. Conner.
"Four Oaks Farm" is located in section 28, town 112, range 36, and is owned by William Jamison.
1916. "Sunny Hill Farm" is located in section 11, town 113, range 37, and is owned by John Hines.
"Long Lane Stock Farm" is located in section 29, town 113, range 37, and is owned by William Peterson.
COUNTY FAIRS.
The county fair, maintained for over forty years, has been a vital factor in the social and agricultural life of Redwood county. It has not only reflected the agricultural life of the people, but in many cases had led it. It has been a great "get-together" movement of all the residents in the county. Its prizes have encouraged development along all lines of farm and domestic endeavor. The fair, under capable management, and in the hands of enthusiastic supporters, is now in a flourishing condition, and is annually growing in importance, value and influence.
The original Redwood County Agricultural Society was or- ganized in 1873 and held its first fair that fall on a tract of land on the west side of the Redwood river, not far from where the old road crossed that river at Redwood Falls. The first officers were: President, J. S. G. Honner; vice president, H. D. Bald- win; treasurer, E. A. Chandler; recording secretary, G. W. Bra- ley ; corresponding secretary, William B. Herriott.
In 1882 the society was reorganized and incorporated, and a tract of forty acres was purchased, this being the present site of the fair grounds. The incorporators were: T. H. King, Delhi; O. A. Mason, Paxton; O. L. Dornberg, Redwood Falls; A. D. McLean, Delhi; J. W. March, Paxton; G. E. Mckay, Red- wood Falls; A. E. King, Redwood Falls; George Holden, Delhi; Thomas March, Paxton; H. D. Everett, Redwood Falls; Archi- bald Stewart, Kintire; A. T. Stevenson, Delhi; Robert Parker, Three Lakes; Andrew Stewart Delhi; Henry F. Clippell, Honner ; I. M. Van Scaach, Redwood Falls and Franklin Ensign, Redwood Falls.
This association held a fair every year. The discouragements were many, but the promoters persevered, contributions from the
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officers and the business men often being necessary to pay the current expenses, especially on those years when wet weather prevented a large attendance. The association, as incorporated in 1882 was to run twenty years. At the close of this period, the officers for many years having been Joseph Tyson, president; O. L. Dornberg, secretary, and G. E. McKay, treasurer, the busi- ness of the association was closed. For several years thereafter street fairs were held at Redwood Falls, with agricultural ex- hibits in the court house. This was done under a new Redwood County Agricultural Society incorporated Aug. 21, 1905, by H. A. Baldwin, H. M. Aune, C. Fred Thompson, A. M. Welles, Frank G. Hubbard, A. M. Dennistoun, H. G. Schmahl, Julius A. Schmahl, O. L. Dornberg, S. G. Peterson, W. H. Gold, J. P. Cooper, E. A. Pease, Fred L. Warner, George L. Evans, S. J. Race, J. A. Johnson, I. M. Tompkins, C. V. Everett, W. J. Smithers, C. W. Mead, William S. Brammer, H. M. Hitchcock and C. T. Howard. Of these, the first directors were: F. W. Philbrick, W. H. Gold, J. A. Schmahl, O. L. Dornberg, H. M. Aune, H. A. Baldwin, F. G. Hubbard, C. H. Mead and C. F. Howard. The capital was placed at $10,000 and divided into shares of $5 each. On Dec. 26, 1912, the articles were amended so as to place the value of the shares at $10 each.
This association continued to hold street fairs until 1911, when the old grounds were purchased, and a splendid county fair in- augurated. The half mile track, which is considered the best in the state, was improved at a cost of $2,000, and an old building erected in the eighties, 24 by 24 frame, and still standing, was converted into a poultry exhibition house. The erection of new buildings was started at once. In 1911 there were constructed a frame barn, 32 by 100, and a frame trotting horse barn, 120 by 8 feet, since lengthened to 160 by 8 feet. In 1912 many more im- provements were made. "Floral Hall," a splendid exhibition building, was erected of cement blocks with a substantial cement floor. The building is in the form of a cross, the arms of the cross being 100 feet long and 30 feet wide. A horse barn of cement blocks was also put up, its size being 32 by 100 feet. Stables were erected the same year. In 1913 the cattle barn, 32 by 100 feet, of cement blocks, was erected, while the grandstand, 160 by 34 feet was put up in 1912 and 1914. All the cement buildings have metal roofs and are fire proof and sanitary.
In 1915, the school districts of the county erected a sightly cement building for the purpose of exhibiting the work done in the schools. This splendid project, costing $1,600, is a decidedly progressive move, speaking highly of the character of the educa- tional work done in the county.
The fair property, as it stands, is valued at about $15,000. The total indebtedness is about $7,000. Something like $6,500 is
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spent annually in purses, premiums and attractions, in addition to what is put into the buildings and grounds. Prizes are awarded for every branch of farm, home, and school endeavor, the annual prizes for exhibitions amounting to some $1,500.
The present officers of the association are: President, Rud. Stensvad; vice president, George Phillips; secretary, C. V. Everett, C. A. Luscher, Frank G. Hubbard, A. C. Dolliff, George Phillips, M. W. Dennistoun, John Colville and A. D. Stewart.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE BISHOP WHIPPLE MISSION.
The Right Rev. Henry B. Whipple, first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota, visited the Lower Agency on Friday, June 22, 1860, met the Sioux chiefs in council, visited the farmer Indians, held services at the home of Dr. Daniels, and confirmed Captain DeRossey, of the United States army. Sunday, June 24, he preached to the Indians at Dr. Daniel's house, and received from White Dog the pledge that his people would receive a Christian teacher with warm hearts.
In his "Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate," the Bishop gives an interesting account of this work. It was the time of the annual payment. There were 2,500 wild Indians as- sembled from the prairies. Thirty miles up the river, at Red- wood, the Presbyterians had a mission. There was not a single Christian teacher at the Lower Agency. The Lower Indians by the treaty were entitled to $6,000 a year for schools, and this was expended for eight years, but not a single child had learned to read. After they were removed to the upper Minnesota river they sold the government 800,000 acres more. Three years had now passed, and they had never received anything except a few thousand dollars of worthless goods. The slumbering fires of hatred and revenge were ready to break out. This was their first payment. The lower Sioux were entitled to $20 each, $100 for a family of five. It was at this time that the bishop and the Rev. Mr. Breck visited the Lower Sioux Agency to confer with the Indians in regard to planting a mission in this unoccupied field. One afternoon Wabasha, Taopi and Wah-keen-washta came and asked a council with the bishop. They said: "We are look- ing into a grave. We hear you come from the Great Spirit to help His poor children." They told the story of their removal, the second sale of land. They asked us for schools and teachers. "I promised them," said the bishop, "I would ask God for help, and if He gave me the man and means the mission should be
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planted." On my return to Faribault, one day Samuel D. Hin- man, then a candidate for Holy Orders, came to me and said : "Bishop, I have been learning the Sioux language and would like to become a missionary to them." The result was that Mr. Hinman decided to consecrate himself to that work, and was ordained deacon September 20, and on the eve of October 5 he and Mrs. Hinman, then a bride, arrived at his field of labor among the Lower Sioux. Emily West, who had been with Mr. Breck among the Chippeways, and had had the care of the In- dian children in the Mission House in Faribault, accompanied Mr. Hinman as teacher.
The work was begun in a rude one-story building which served for parsonage, school and church. The congregations were small, but the children were gathered in. Among the little ones who were made members of Christ's fold was a daughter of Good Thunder, twelve years of age, who the bishop received into the Indian school at Faribault. This beautiful child of the plains grew into the rare gentleness of Christian childhood. She had been baptized Lydia, from Mrs. Sigourney, who was a devoted friend of our early work. After a time Lydia was taken ill. The wild Sioux laughed at Good Thunder and said: "What could you expect ? Your child lives with our enemies; they have poi- soned her and she will die." When told what these Indians had said, Lydia replied: "These Chippeway children are my broth- ers and sisters; we pray to the same Saviour and we are going to His home. Every day they bring me flowers and pick me the first ripe strawberries. We are Christ's children and are no longer enemies."
When it became certain that little Lydia was to be early called the father started with her for their home a hundred miles away. "I gave him a letter," writes the bishop, "in which I asked all white people to be kind to the father for the sake of his Christian child. When we met in the Sioux country, he told me, with deep emotion, of the kindness he had received, how some motherly woman had prepared dainty food for the dying child and given her the best room, adding, 'I shall never forget the white man's kindness.' "
He did not forget. "I had the privilege of meeting my child again. It was on a beautiful summer afternoon-cloudless sky- the air soft as if wafted from the shores of Paradise. Mrs. Whip- ple was with me and as she stooped in the Indian tepee to kiss the child, Lydia said, 'I am glad to see you once more before I go to Jesus' home.' As she saw her father weeping she said, 'Don't cry, father, I am going where no one is sick, and some day Jesus will lead you there.' So she beguiled the hours till she fell asleep. The burial service was in her own musical tongue, and there was a short address. We sang in Dacotah, 'Jesus, Lover
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of My Soul,' and as we committed her dust to dust, simultane- ously every Indian came forward and dropped a handful of wild flowers in the grave. Elizabeth and Katie Biddle, Caroline Harris and Sarah Farnum were present, and we all felt that God had overpaid all our work in this blessed death of one of Christ's little ones.
"There was at this time a noted orator of the Sioux, Red Owl. When he spoke, his words seemed to sway his hearers as leaves are moved by the wind. He never came to church, and once laughed in derision at hearing an Indian child read. There hung in the school roof a picture of the 'Ecce Homo,' that sweet sad face of our dear Lord crowned with thorns. Red Owl stopped before it and said, 'Who is that? Why are His hands bound ? Why has he those thorns on His head?' Again and again he came to look on that picture, and each time asked some question about the Son of the Great Spirit, His mission to earth, His death, and His resurrection.
"Not long after Red Owl fell dangerously ill. Shortly before his death he sent for his friends and said, 'I know that story of the missionary is true, I have it in my heart. When I am dead I want you to put a cross over my grave, so that, as the Indians go by, they may see what was in Red Owl's heart.'"'
Our story would be lacking in graphic picturesquesness with- out the following incident. "At my visit I was pained to witness a scalp dance near our mission house. A party of Sioux had visited the Chippeway country and killed a worthy Indian who left a widow and four fatherless children. I went with Mr. Hinman and the interpreter to Wabasha's village, and calling on the old chief I said, 'Wabasha, you asked me for a missionary. I pitied your people. I have sent you a teacher to show you the good way. I have given you a school. I came to see my mission, and the sight which meets me is a bloody scalp dance. I knew that murdered Chippeway. His wife is asking for her husband. His children are crying for their father. The Great Spirit looks down from heaven and sees His red child laughing over his bloody hands. Wabasha, the Great Spirit is angry. Some day He will look Wabasha in the face and ask him, "Where is your Ojibway brother?"' When I had finished my speech, Wabasha blew a cloud of smoke out of his mouth and, smiling, said, 'White man goes to war with his own brother who lives in same country, and kills more than Wabasha can count as long as he lives. Great Spirit looks down from heaven and says, "Good white man. Has My book. Me love him very much. I have good place for him when he dies." Red man has no Great Spirit book. Poor man. He goes, kills one Indian, only ONE man,' holding up his little finger. 'Great Spirit very mad-put Red man in bad place. Wabasha don't believe it.'"
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Years afterwards Old Wabasha, one of nature's noblemen, be- came a humble follower of Him who prayed from the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
The first visit of the bishop to the mission was made December 12 and 13, that year. At this visit he confirmed two white per- sons, and administered the Holy Communion. The school num- bered fifty pupils, and many of the Indians were regular attend- ants on public worship. There was much to cheer and encourage. It was a Christian household among a heathen people.
The next visit of the bishop was in June, 1861. On the twenty- seventh he confirmed seven persons in the Mission House of St. John. The bishop says: "The merciful goodness of God has overpaid all my efforts in the first fruits of these Dacotahs to the Church. The mission has had an average of fifty scholars, who have shown very marked improvement."
About this time the mission met with a severe loss in the re- moval of the Messrs. Drs. Daniels, government physicians to the Dacotahs, who had co-operated with Mr. Hinman, and had been faithful friends of the Indians. Of these, Dr. Jared W. Daniels, from his knowledge of Indian character, was of great assistance to the bishop. It was a singular instance of a good man raised up and prepared for the work God had called the bishop to do. And the doctor retained to the end the warm love and confidence of the bishop.
Later in the summer the writer visited the mission and was eyewitness to the successful work. The spirit of God was evi- dently moving the hearts of these poor people.
A third visit was made by the bishop, Sunday, December 1, 1861. "Preached to a large congregation of Indians-the serv- ice was in Dacotah. Thomas Robertson was the interpreter, to whom we owe much for his interest in this mission, and assistance as interpreter-celebrated the Holy Communion-baptized three Indian children. Also preached at a second service to the white population. Six persons were confirmed, to whom I delivered an address. Monday was spent in examining the children in the schools, all of whom showed a good degree of improvement. The government is bound to expend six thousand dollars a year for schools among the Lower Sioux ; and after eight years, I doubt if there is a single child at the Lower Agency who can read, who has not been taught by our missionary. The cost of this mission is less than seven hundred dollars a year.
"There was one marked feature of these services, that in a crowded congregation every man, woman and child was upon his knees in prayer. It is the only place where I have witnessed this in my diocese. This mission which was planted in faith almost two years ago, has overpaid me an hundred fold for all my work. The Gospel is very evidently working its way in these
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hearts, and it will be to them the power of God unto salvation. In some of our converts I have witnessed a child-like faith in Christ, and a readiness to bear opposition for His sake, worthy of the early ages of the Church. We need a church for these poor people. The government has offered us the land; the gifts of friends have quarried the stone, and we hope this year will see the cross-capped turret of the first church in the Dacotah nation." (Written in June 1862, just before the outbreak.)
Under date of December 3, the bishop says: "Celebrated the Holy Communion-eight present. Oh, how blessed, a first communion with these poor heathen! I wish no greater joy to any bishop than to meet the newly converted Indian by his Lord's table."
At the Easter offering, Faribault, seventy dollars were given for a church to the Dacotahs. In his second report of his work, Mr. Hinman says: "We hope to complete our church during this summer, but we are still much straitened in our work for want of proper mission buildings." It is a modest statement of the results thus far achieved. He also speaks of the many kindnesses received from the agent and government employees during his residence on the reservation.
The last visit of Bishop Whipple before the outbreak was made early in July, 1862. July 1, 2, 3 were spent in visiting the Indians connected with the mission. On the Fourth the bishop laid the cornerstone of the church in the presence of a large con- gregation of Indians and persons of mixed blood, to whom he delivered an address. On the fifth he preached, and baptized three Indian women and six children. Sunday, the sixth, preached twice, confirmed six members of the mission, and cele- brated the Holy Communion."
The following is a description of the laying of the cornerstone of the church. "The spot chosen is one of surpassing beauty, on a part of the eighty acres presented by the government to the mission-on either side a wild ravine made by the windings of the Minnesota; in front, a beautiful rolling prairie stretching towards the setting sun. It was a picturesque scene, as the bishop and Mr. Hinman in their vestments, with the school children, Christian Indians, and friends, walked in procession from the mission house to the spot. They were joined by twenty or thirty of the wild Indians, decked with feathers and war paint, wrapped in blankets and protecting themselves from the sun with huge fans and green boughs cut from the trees. These clustered around the bishop and Mr. Hinman as they took their stand upon the foundation of the church, and no Christian congregation could have been more attentive than were these savages during the services and the admirable address of the bishop, in which he told them how the Son of the Great Spirit came down from heaven
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to die for the sins of men, of death and of the life beyond the grave."
In his convention address, 1863, the bishop says: "I had never had the opportunity to examine so thoroughly this mission as during this visit.
"There was a dark cloud lowering on the border, which, even then, filled us with fear. The medicine men, feeling their craft was in danger, excited their heathen followers to oppose the mis- sion. Each day had its heathen dances; and, even on the Lord's Day, our services were disturbed by the discordant sounds of heathen worship. The Indians had causes of complaint against the government for violated faith. The traders had informed them that the money due to them for the sale of their lands had been taken for claims, and that one-half of their annuities had also been taken for claims. There followed on this a withdrawal of credits, and a delay of two months in the annual payment. I noticed during this visit that the wild Indians were bold and turbulent, and the fears expressed to me by the agent and others, gave me great anxiety for the fate of the mission; but no man could have foreseen so terrible a massacre. You will bear me wit- ness, brethren, that for three years I have tried to awaken the people and their rulers to the enormities of an Indian system, which, I believed, if there was truth in history, would desolate our land with blood. I never left the Indian country with a heavier heart.
"Each day brought its new excitement. One day old 'Pap- pay' came to me and asked me how much money they would re- ceive at the payment? I said $40 each. In an hour he brought me some chiefs and said, 'Tell them how much money we shall receive at the payment. They will not believe me.'
"It was evident that some one had told the Indians that they would not receive the annual payment. Stories of robbing were rife among the Indians. They had received only worthless goods for the 800,000 acres of land sold the government in 1858. All the chiefs asked, 'Where is the money we were to receive? Per- haps the Great Father sent it, and the cars went so fast it was shaken off. We ask you to look it up.' The payment had al- ways taken place June 20. It was now July 1. Not less than 2,000 wild Indians had come together. There had already been much turbulence at the Upper Agency, and troops had been called out to preserve the peace. In visiting the Indian camps I was startled that Indians refused to shake hands. At the Lower Agency a trader's clerk said to me, 'The payment will not take place, more than half their annuities has been taken for claims. I know the money is gone. I have told the Indians this; we refuse to trust them. They came here and threatened, but I am not afraid.' Poor fellow. Like men who live under the
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shadow of a volcano, he had been lulled into security and saw no signs of the storm which would make him one of the first victims of savage fury.
"I shall never forget these days of anxiety and sorrow, when it seemed as if the very air was charged with materials for the cyclone of death, which in six weeks desolated one of the fairest countries on the face of the earth."
At length, on Monday morning, August 18, the threatened blow fell. The little church was now ready for the roofing, and the carpenters were to begin their work. Mr. Hinman was to start presently for Faribault, where Mrs. Hinman and child were on a visit, providentially, so were safe. Sounds of firing were heard; and, looking out, Mr. Hinman saw that hostilities had be- gun in wanton acts of violence. He exclaimed at once to Miss West to run; and immediately both started by different ways. By a long circuitous route Miss West reached the fort, twelve miles distant by the traveled road. On her way she met a party of Indians, who, from regard to her, kindly directed her where to go. While she escaped, others were cruelly murdered. Arriv- ing at the fort, she found that Mr. Hinman, to her great joy, had preceded her.
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