USA > Minnesota > Renville County > The history of Renville County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 8
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Rene Menard, a Jesuit missionary, reached the Mississippi in 1661 by way of Wisconsin. This was twelve years prior to its discovery by Marquette and JJoliet, and to Menard historians in general give the honor of the discovery of the upper waters of the great river. Menard ascended the Mississippi to the month of the Black river, Wisconsin, and was lost in a forest near the source of that stream while attempting to carry the gospel to the Hurons. His sole companion "called him and sought him, but he made no reply and could not be found." Some years Jater his camp kettle, robe and prayer book were seen in the possession of the Indians.
In the summer of 1663 the intelligence of the fate of Menard reached Quebee, and on August 8, 1665, Father Clande Allouez, who had anxiously waited two years for the means of convey- ance, embarked for Lake Superior with a party of French trad- ers and Indians. He visited the Minnesota shores of Lake Supe- rior in the fall of 1665, established the Mission of the Iloly Spirit at La Pointe, now in Wisconsin, and it is said "was the first to write 'Messipi,' the name of the great river of the Sioux coun- try, " as he heard it pronounced by the Chippewas, or rather as it sounded to his cars.
May 13, 1673, Jaques Marquette and Lonis Joliet, the former a priest and the latter the commander of the expedition, set out with five assistants, and on June 17 of the same year reached the Mississippi at the present site of Prairie du Chien, thence con- tinuing down the river as far as the mouth of the Illinois, which they ascended, subsequently reaching the lakes.
In 1678, the Sienr De Luth, Daniel Graysolon, under commis- sion from the governor of Canada, set out from Quebec, to ex- plore the country west of the Lake Superior region. He was to take possession of it in the name of the king of France, and secure the trade of the native tribes. De buth entered Minne- sota in 1679, reaching the great Sioux village of Kathio at Mille Lacs, on July 2. "On that day," he says, "I had the honor to plant His Majesty's arms where a Frenchman never before had been."
In 1680 Aceault planted the French royal arms near the sonree of the Mississippi.
La Salle, however, was the first to lay claim to the entire valley in the name of his sovereign. After achieving perpetnal fame by the discovery of the Ohio river (1670-71), he conecived
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the plan of reaching the Pacific by way of the Northern Missis- sippi, at that time unexplored and supposed to be a waterway connecting the two oceans. Frontenac, then governor-general of Canada, favored the plan, as did the king of France. Accord- ingly, gathering a company of Frenchmen, he pursued his way through the lakes, made a portage to the Illinois river, and, Jan- uary 4. 1680. reached what is now Lake Peoria, in Illinois. From there, in February. he sent Hennepin and two companions to ex- plore the upper Mississippi. During this voyage Hennepin and the men accompanying him were taken by the Indians as far north as Mille Laes. He also discovered St. Anthony Falls. Needing reinforcements. La Salle again returned to Canada. In January, 1682, with a band of followers, he started on his third and greatest expedition. February 6. they reached the Missis- sippi by way of Lake Michigan and the Ilinois river, and March 6. discovered the three great passages by which the river dis- charges its waters into the Gulf. Two days later they re-as- cended the river a short distance, to find a high spot out of the reach of inondations, and there erected a columnn and planted a eross, proclaiming with due ceremony the authority of the king of France. Thus did the whole Mississippi valley pass under the nominal sovereignty of the French monarchs.
The first definite claim to the upper Mississippi is embodied in a paper, still preserved. in the colonial archives of France. entitled "The record of the taking possession, in his majesty's name, of the Bay des Puants (Green bay), of the lake and rivers of the Ontagamis and Maskoutins (Fox river and Lake Winne- hago), of the river Oniskonche ( Wisconsin', and that of the Mississippi, the country of the Nadonesioux the Sionx or Da- kota Indiansı. the rivers St. Croix and St. Pierre (Minnesota . and other places more remote, May s. 1689." (F. B. O'Calla- han's translation in 1855. published in Vol. 9, page 41s. "Doeu- ments Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York.". This claim was made by Perrot, and the proclamation is supposed to have been issued from Fort St. Antonie on the northeastern shore of Lake Pepin. about six miles from its mouth.
The previous proclamations of St. Lusson in 1671 at the ont- let of Lake Superior, of De Luth, in 1679, at the west end of the same lake and at Mille Laes, strengthened the French claims of sovereignty.
For over eight decades thereafter, the claims of France were. tacitly at least, recognized in Europe. In 1763 there came a change. Of this change A. N. Winchell (in Vol. 10. "Minnesota Historical Society Collections") writes: "The present eastern boundary of Minnesota, in part (that is so far as the Mississippi now forms its eastern boundary). has a history beginning at a very early date. In 1763, at the end of that long struggle during
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which England passed many a mile post in her race for world empire, while France lost nearly as much as Britain gained- that struggle, ealled in America, the French and Indian War- the Mississippi river became an international boundary. The articles of the definite treaty of peace were signed at Paris, on February 10, 1763. The seventh article made the Mississippi. from its sonree to ahont the 31st degree of north latitude, the boundary between the English colonies on this continent and the French Louisiana. The text of the article is as follows (Pub- lished in the "Gentleman's Magazine, " Vol. 33, pages 121-126, March, 1763) :
"VHI. In order to re-establish peace on solid and durable foundations, and to remove forever all subjects of dispute to the limits of the British and French Territories on the continent of America: that for the future the confines between the do- mains of his Britannie majesty and those of his most Christian majesty (the king of France) in that part of the world, shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn down the middle of the river Mississippi, from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence. by a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the Lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain, to the sea." The boundary from the source of the river farther north, or west, or in any direction, was not given: it was evidently supposed that it would be of no importance for many centuries at least.
This seventh article of the definite treaty was identical with the sixth article in the preliminary treaty of peace signed by England, Spain and France, at Fontainbleau, November 3, 1762. On that same day. November 3, 1762, the French and Spanish representatives had signed another act by which the French king "eeded to his eonsin of Spain, and his successors forever all the country known by the name of Louisiana, including New Orleans and the island on which that eity is situated." This agreement was kept secret, but when the definite treaty was signed at Paris the following year, this seeret paet went into effect, and Spain at once became the possessor of the area described.
At the close of the Revolutionary War, the territory east of the Mississippi and north of the 31st parallel passed under the jurisdiction of the United States. By the definite treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, ratified at Paris, September 3, 1783, a part of the northern boundary of the United States, and the western boundary thereof was estab- lished as follows: Commeneing at the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, and from thenee on a due course west to the Mississippi river (the Mississippi at that time was thought to extend into what is now Canada), thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of said Mississippi river until it shall
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interseet the northernmost part of the 31st degree of north lati- tude. (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 8. page 82.)
In 1800, by the secret treaty of San (or Saint , Ildefonso signed October 11. Spain receded the indefinite tract west of the Mississippi to France, which nation did not. however, take formal possession until three years later, when the formality was made necessary in order that the tract might be ceded to the United States. Napoleon. for France, sold the traet to the United States, April 30, 1803. The region comprehended in the "Loui- siana Purchase. "as this area was called, ineluded all the country west of the Mississippi. except those portions west of the Rocky mountains actually ocenpied by Spain, and extended as far north as the British territory.
By an act of congress. approved October 31. 1803. the presi- dent of the United States was anthorized to take possession of this territory, the aet providing that "all the military, civil, and judicial powers exercised by the officers of the existing govern- ment, shall be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner as the President of the United States shall direet." (United States Statutes at Large. Vol. 2, page 245.1
December 20, 1803, Louisiana was formally turned over to the United States at New Orleans. by M. Laussat. the civil agent of France, who a few days previous November 30 had received a formal transfer from representatives of Spain. Renville conn- ty was included in the Louisiana purchase.
It will therefore be seen that the territorial claim of title to Renville county was first embraced in the paper grant to Spain, May 4. 1493. It was subsequently included in the indefi- nite claims made by Spain to lands north and northwest of her settlements in Mexico, Florida and the West Indies: by the English to lands west of their Atlantic coast settlements, and by the French to lands south, west and southwest of their Cana- dian settlements. The first definite claim to territory now em- bracing Renville county was made by La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi. March 8, 1682, in the name of the king of France, and the second (still more definite) by Perrot, nor far from the present site of Winona, May 8, 1689. This was also a French elaim. France remained in tacit authority until Febru- ary 10. 1763. when, upon England's acknowledging the French authority to lands west of the Mississippi. France, by a previous secret agreement, turned her authority over to Spain. Oeto- ber 1, 1800, Spain ceded the tract to France, but France did not take formal possession until November 30. 1803, and almost im- mediately, December 20, 1803, turned it over to the United States. the Americans having purchased it from Napoleon April 30 of that year.
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March 26, 1804, the area that is now Renville county was included in the Louisiana district as a part of Indiana, and so remained until March 3, 1805. From March 3, 1805, to June 4. 1812, it was a part of Louisiana territory. From June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1820, it was a part of Missouri territory. From August 10, 1821, until June 28, 1834, it was ontside the pale of all organized government, except that congress had general juris- dietion. From June 28. 1834, to April 20, 1836, it was a part of Michigan territory. From April 20, 1836, to June 12, 1838, it was a part of Wisconsin territory. From June 12, 1838, to De- cember 28, 1846, it was a part of the territory of Iowa. The admission of lowa as a state left what is now Renville eounty without territorial affiliation until March 3, 1849, when Minne- sota was admitted as a territory. In the meantime, however, im- portant events were transpiring.
December 18, 1846, Morgan L. Martin, delegate for Wiscon- sin territory gave notice to the house of representatives that at an early day he would ask leave to introduce a bill establishing a territorial government of Minnesota. The name which was the Sioux term for what was then the river St. Peter (Pierre) and has now become the official designation was, it is believed, ap- plied to the proposed territory at the suggestion of Joseph R. Brown. It is a composite word and while there is some differ- ence of opinion as to the exact meaning, the most generally accepted is "sky tinted water, " which is a very satisfactory and poetical even if not accurate interpretation. The real meaning is blear water or cloudy water or milky water, the river at eer- tain stages in the early days having the appearance of what we now call a "mackerel sky." The bill was introduced in the lower house on December 23. 1846, by Mr. Martin. This bill was left to the committee on territories of which Stephen A. Doug- las of Illinois was the chairman. During its consideration by congress, the bill underwent various changes. After reported back to the house the name Minnesota had been changed by Mr. Douglas to Itasca : a word formed by taking syllables from the Latin words veritas caput, meaning the true head. Mr. Martin immediately moved that the name Minnesota be placed in the bill in place of Itasca. Congressman Winthrop proposed the name Chippewa, another from the word Ojibway, a tribe of Indians then inhabiting the northern part of Wisconsin and Minnesota. . Congressman Thompson of Mississippi, was opposed to all Indian names and wished the new territory named for Andrew Jackson. Congressman Houston of Delaware, spoke strongly in favor of giving to the new territory the name of Washington. Of these proposed names only one. Washington, has been preserved as the name of state or territory. After many months, counter motions and amendments, Minnesota was
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retained in the bill which with a minor change passed the honse. In the senate it was rejected.
A second attempt was made two years later. January 10, 1548. Stephen A. Douglas, who having in the meantime been elected to the United States Senate from Illinois, became chair- man of the committee on territories in that body as he had previ- ously been in the House, gave due notice to the senate that "at a future day " he would introduce a bill to establish the territory of Minnesota. He brought in the bill February 23. It was sey- eral times read. was amended. referred to committee and dis- enssed. but congress adjourned August 14 without taking ulti- mate action on the proposition.
In the meantime Wisconsin was admitted to the Union May 29. 1548, and the western hall of what was then St. Croix county was left outside the new state. The settled portions of the area thus ent off from Wisconsin by its admission to statehood privi- leges were in the southern part of the peninsula of land lying between the Mississippi and the. St. Croix.
The people of this area were now confronted with a serions problem. As residents of the territory of Wisconsin they had enjoyed the privileges of citizenship in the United States. By the creation of the state of Wisconsin they were disfranchised and left without the benefits of organized government. Thus. Stillwater, which had been the governmental seat of a growing county (St. Croix), was left outside the pale of organized law. Legal minds disagreed on the question of whether the minor vivil officers, such as justices of the peace, created under the territorial organization, were still qualified to exercise the au- thority of their positions. At a meeting held at St. Paul, in July. 1848, the citizens of that (then) village considered the question of the formation of a new territory. August 5 a meet- ing of citizens of the area west of the St. Croix was held at Stillwater, and it was decided to call a general convention at that place, August 26, 1848, for a three-fold purpose: 1 -- To elect a territorial delegate to congress. 2-To organize a territory with a name other than Wisconsin. 3-To determine whether the laws and organization of the old territory of Wisconsin were still in effect now that a part of that territory was organized as a state. In the call for this meeting. the signers called them- selves, "We, the undersigned citizens of Minnesota territory." The meeting was held pursuant to the call. Action was taken in regard to the first proposition by the election of HI. H. Sibley, who was authorized to proceed to Washington and use such et- forts as were in his power to secure the organization of the ter- ritory of Minnesota. In regard to the second proposition, a memorial was addressed to the President of the United States, stating the reasons why the organization of Minnesota territory
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was necessary. The third proposition presented technical points worthy of the attention of the wisest legal minds. The state of Wisconsin had been organized, but the territory of Wisconsin had not been abolished. Was not, therefore, the territory still in existence, and did not its organization and its laws still prevail in the part of the territory that had not been included in the state? A letter from James Buchanan, then secretary of state of the United States, expressed this view in a letter. If the terri- torial government was in existence would it not give the resi- dents thereof a better standing before the nation in their de- sire to become Minnesota territory? Might not this technicality give the delegate a seat in congress when otherwise he must. as simply the representative of an unorganized area, make his requests in the lobby and to the individual members? John Catlin, who had been secretary of the territory of Wisconsin before the organization of that state, declared that the territory still existed in the area not included in the organized state and that he was the acting governor, Territorial Governor Henry Dodge, having been elected United States Senator. According- ly, the people of the ent-off portion organized as the "Territory of Wisconsin," and named a day for the election of a delegate, John H. Tweedy, the territorial delegate from Wisconsin, having gone through the form of resigning in order to make the new move possible. In the closely contested election held October 30, 1848, Sibley won out against Henry M. Rice and accordingly made his way to Washington, technically from the "Territory of Wisconsin," actually as a representative of the proposed terri- tory of Minnesota. As a matter of fact, indeed. Sibley, living at Mendota, had ceased to be a citizen of the territory of Wis- eonsin in 1838, when Iowa territory was created, and was a resident of the part of lowa territory which the organization of the state of Iowa had left without a government, rather than of that territory in question (between the Mississippi and the St. Croix) which the admission of Wisconsin as a state had left with- out a government. Sibley was, however, after much opposition, admitted to congress and given a seat January 15, 1849, but not without much discussion as to whether exeluded territory was entitled to continued politieal existence and representation, after a state has been created out of part of a territory.
Mr. Sibley devoted himself assiduously to securing the passage in the United States senate of the bill for the creation of the ter- ritory of Minnesota which had been introduced at the previous session and met with gratifying success. His efforts in the house of representatives were less satisfactory, political questions enter- ing largely into the matter, and it was not until March 3, 1849, the very last day of the session-and then only through the strenuous work of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, that he suc-
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ceeded in securing the passage of the bill. This was finally done under suspension of the rules, the previous opposition having been unexpectedly withdrawn.
As passed the aet read as follows: "Be it enacted. That from and after the passage of this act. all that part of the territory of the United States which lies within the following limits, to-wit: Beginning in the Mississippi river at a point where the line of 43 and 30' of north latitude crosses the same, thence running due west on said line, which is the northern boundary of the state of lowa, to the northwest corner of the said state of Iowa : thence southerly along the western boundary of said state to the point where said boundary strikes the Mis- souri river; thence up the middle of the main channel of the Missouri river to the mouth of the White Earth river; thenee up the middle of the main channel of the White Earth river to the boundary line between the possessions of the United States and Great Britain : thenre cast and south of east along the boun- dary line and between the possession of the United States and Great Britain to Lake Superior: thence in a straight line to the northernmost point of the state of Wisconsin, in Lake Superior ; thence along the western boundary of the state of Wisconsin to the Mississippi river: thenee down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning, and the same is hereby erected into a temporary goverment by the name of the territory of Minnesota."
This being before the days of railroads and telegraphs in the West, the good news did not reach St. Paul until thirty-seven days afterwards, when it was brought by the first steamer com- ing from the lower river.
At the time of the organization of Minnesota as a territory the country was described as being "little more than a wilder- ness." That which lay west of the Mississippi river, from the Iowa line to Lake Itasca, had not yet been veded by the Indians and was unoeenpied by the whites save in a very few instances. On the east side, in this more immediate vicinity, were trading posts with the cabins of a few employes at Sauk Rapids, and Crow Wing. Away up at Pembina was the largest town or settlement within the boundaries of the new territory, where were nearly a thousand people, a large majority of whom were "Metis" or mixed bloods, Freneh Crees or Freneh Chippewas.
In " Minnesota in Three Centuries" attention is called to the faet that at this time the east side of the Mississippi, as far north as Crow Wing, was being settled here and there by people who had come to the country when it had been announced that the territory was organized. The settlers were almost entirely from the Northern States, many being from New England. The
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faet that the state which would succeed the territory would be a free state, without slavery in any form, made it certain that the first settlers would be non-slaveholders, with but few people from the Southern States interested or in sympathy with South- ern ideas.
The people of the territory of Minnesota were not long con- tent with a territorial government. In the words of A. N. Winchell, "December 24, 1856, the delegate from the territory of Minnesota introduced a bill to authorize the people of that territory to form a constitution and state government. The bill limited the proposed state on the west by the Red River of the North and the Big Sioux river. It was referred to the com- mittee on territories, of which Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, was then chairman. January 31, 1857, the chairman reported a sub- stitute, which differed from the original bill in no essential re- speet except in regard to the western boundary. The change there consisted in adopting a line through Traverse and Big Stone lakes, due south from the latter to the Towa line. The altered boundary cut off a narrow strip of territory, estimated by Mr. Grow to contain between five and six hundred square miles. Today the strip contains such towns as Sioux Falls, Watertown and Brookings. The substitute had a stormy voyage through congress, especially in the senate. but finally completed the trip on February 25, 1857."
The enabling act. as passed and approved February 26, 1857, defined the boundaries of Minnesota as follows: "Be it enacted * * * That the inhabitants of that portion of the territory of Minnesota which is embraced within the following limits, to-wit : Beginning at the point in the center of the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions crosses the same; thenee up the main channel of said river to that of Bois des Sioux river ; thenee (up) the main channel of said river to Lake Travers: then up the center of said lake to the southern extrem- ity thereof ; thence in a direet line to the head of Big Stone lake; thence through its center to its outlet ; thence by a due south line ern boundary of said state to the main channel of the Mississippi to the north line of the state of lowa ; thenee east along the north- river; thence up the main channel of said river and following the boundary line of the state of Wisconsin, until the same inter- seets the St. Louis river; thence down said river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michi- gan, until it intersects the dividing line between the United States and the British possessions ; thence up Pigeon river and following said dividing line to the place of beginning; be and the same are thereby authorized to form for themselves a consti- tution and state government, by the name of the state of Min-
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