USA > Minnesota > Renville County > The history of Renville County, Minnesota, Volume II > Part 88
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Mrs. Marie Frorip, a widow, with her son John and daughter Louisa, and her brother, Andrew Ballke, lived on the hill in the southeast quarter of section 25, Beaver. The Indians came along and killed the dog. Andrew Ballke came into the yard and scolded the Indians, where- upon they shot and killed him instantly. Mrs. Frolip started to run. She was shot in the back, her flesh being filled with buck- shot. In time she made her way to Fort Ridgely. John and Mary were captured.
Emil Grundman, wife and three children, in the Flora settlement. The children were burned in the Krieger home at Bea- ver Creek.
Max Haack (also spelled Heck and Hack), killed near Camp township. His widow afterward kept the hotel at Three Mile Creek, in Camp township.
Jolin and Patrick Hayden were killed at Beaver Creek.
S. R. Henderson, wife and two infant daughters. Mrs. Henderson was burned alive with the two and a half year old child, and the nine months old baby was hacked
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to pieces and thrown into the fire piece- meal, near Birch Cooley.
Dr. Philander D. Humphrey, physician at the agency; wife, Susan Ames Humph- rey, and two children, killed at a cabin in Birch Cooley while fleeing to the fort. A son, John Ames Humphrey, a boy of twelve, escaped.
Ernest Honf, also wife and two little girls. Overtaken by Indians and wife killed in wagon; husband while trying to run with the children was shot and the children kicked to death, at Beaver Creek. Flora church records say that there were two more children killed in this family. and Horning, sons of Au- gust, one and three years old, burned in the Krieger home at Beaver Creek. Were left for dead but were only stunned; were with the Paul Kitzmann party attacked on the nineteenth.
Rosina Heining and three children. Mentioned in the Flora church records.
W. Inerfeld (may be Inefeldt or Einden- feldt), no particulars known. Name given in Flora Evangelican Association church as having been killed during the Massacre.
J. H. Ingalls and wife, killed near the Brown house in Sacred Heart. Four chil- dren were captured. Two of them, girls. twelve and fourteen years, found at Camp Release. Two little boys were taken by Little Crow and their fate is still shrouded in mystery.
Henry Keartner was killed near Birch? Cooley. Wife escaped to Fort Ridgely.
Patrick Kelly was killed at Beaver Creek.
Paul Kitzmann, wife, daughter Wilhel- mina and son Gustave. All except the baby hoy killed near Middle ('reek, while en- deavoring to escape. Gustave was slaugh- tered while in captivity, as he cried and annoyed the Indians. A son, Ludwig, now known as Louis, was a prisoner at Camp Release.
Frederick Krieger and infant, near Mid- dle ('reek. Of eight children six escaped, and one. Henrietta, was prisoner at Camp Release. The story of the wife Justina, is one of suffering and miraculous escape hardly equaled in history.
John Kockendorfer, wife and daughter Sarah killed at Beaver Creek. John Kock- endorfer, a boy aged eleven; Rose Kocken- dorfer, a girl aged nine: Katie Kockendor. fer, a girl aged seven, and Maggie Kocken- dorfer. aged five, escaped to Fort Ridgely.
William Lammers was killed at Cairo. Wife and two children at Camp Release. Later married to George Rieke.
John Lateau (called Latto and Sateau) was killed at Beaver Creek. Wife and four children escaped. Flora church records say one child was also killed.
- Levant, wife, two daughters and a son killed at Beaver Creek. A. Levant, aged eleven, escaped to Fort Ridgely .- Fort Ridgely records.
John and Edward Magner were killed near Birch Cooley.
Hubert Millier, generally known as Jacob Mauley. The brave ferryman who carried over fugitives till murdered at the Red- wood ferry.
Gottlieb Manweiler was killed at Middle Creek. His wife, nee Lenz, escaped with her parents to Fort Ridgely. He was super- intendent of the Sunday school.
Mrs. John Meyer (Caroline Zitlaff), at Middle Creek. Also three children. Hus- band escaped to Fort Ridgely.
Mrs. Nichols and son of Flora township killed. A daughter, Henrietta, captured and rescued at Camp Release and rejoined her father at St. Peter.
David O'Connor, at Beaver Creek, near Magner's place.
Peco killed. One daughter taken by Indians. Wife and several children es- caped to Fort Ridgely. The wife, E. Peco, is recorded as having been born at La Croix Creek in 1840. This was five years before La Croix settled there. She was probably a half-blood.
Peter Pereau (Paro), near Birch Cooley. Wife and a number of children escaped to Fort Ridgely.
Piguar, near Birch Cooley.
Heinrich Rieke died of fright at Fort Ridgely.
Eusebius Reyff, wife, one son, Benjamin, and daughter Annie were killed at Beaver Creek.
John Roesler, wife and two children were killed at Middle Creek. Mentioned in Flora church records.
Friedrich Roesler. Mentioned in the Flora church records.
John Rosbe ( Rusby), wife and two chil- dren. Killed in Renville county bottoms.
Ole Sampson and two children were killed between Beaver Creek and Fort Ridgely. Sampson was shot. two children were burned to death in the wagon, from which Mrs. Sampson, with the baby in arms, leaped and escaped.
John Sateau. (See John Lateau.)
Johan Schwandt, wife Christina, son Frederick, aged six. daughter Christina, four years old, daughter Karolina Schwandt Walz, son-in-law John Walz, and John Frass. Son August escaped; daughter Mary was taken captive with the Patoille party. At Beaver Creek.
Rev. Christian L. Seder was killed at Middle Creek. He was the pastor of the German Evangelical Association church.
John Sieg and wife, nee Zitlaff, and three of four children were killed at Beaver ('reek.
Sitzton and family (number not known, were killed at Beaver Creek.
Thomas Smith was killed near Birch Cooley, Aug. 18. 1862. Mistook a party of Indians for white men and approaching them was shot down. His wife and young children escaped to Fort Ridgely.
William Smith and family, except daugh- ter Minnie, about four years old, at Middle Creek. She was carried several miles by
I
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August Schwandt, when he became ex- hausted and left her at a house, promising to bring help. She was afterward taken by the Indians and was a prisoner at Camp Release. She died a day or two after reaching Fort Ridgely. Flora church rec- ords say the spelling of the name is Schmidt and that Schmidt, his wife and two children were killed.
Frederick Schmidt killed after a des- perate fight with the Indians near Fort Ridgely. Had left the fort with John Buehro to get Buehro's household goods.
William Taylor, colored citizen of St. Paul; dead body found by burial party, September 1, between Fort Ridgely and the ferry. He is mentioned in Grant's report, page 148, Indian outbreak, by Daniel Buck.
Mrs. Louis Thiele, nee Haak, and child of four years, killed at Beaver Creek.
John Walz, wife Karolina, nee Schwandt, at Middle Creek, were killed Angust 18, 1862. This murder was most horrid, an unborn child being taken from the mother and was nailed to a tree while yet alive.
Jehial Wedge, on section 14, township 113, range 35, at Beaver Creek. With the Earle party.
Mrs. Carl Witt, near Birch Cooley, was killed near that place. The husband and several children escaped to Fort Ridgely.
Gottlieb Zable was killed at Beaver Creek with the Paul Kitzmann party; his wife escaped.
Michael and Mary (Junis) Zitlaff were killed at Middle Creek.
Eugene White was killed at Beaver Creek with the Earle party.
John Zimmerman and his sons, John and Gottfried, were killed at Beaver Creek. His wife, Mary, blind, escaped with three children, the oldest seventeen and the youngest three.
John Zitlaff. Mentioned in the Flora eliurch records.
Birch Cooley. The following list of those killed, mortally wounded and severe- ly wounded has been compiled by Major Return 1. Holcombe, the Minnesota valley historian. In furnishing this list, the Major says: "According to this list there were twenty men killed and mortally wounded. There were also thirty-two men severely wounded, scratches not counted. Ninety-four out of the ninety-five horses were killed. All available authorities have been consulted, including the newspapers of the time. Heard's History (page 135) says. 'There were some twenty men killed or mortally wounded, and some sixty se- verely wounded, and over ninety horses killed.' Other accounts say twenty-two, and still others say twenty-three men were killed, and the number of wounded is given as from forty to sixty and sixty-five. Cap- tain Grant say that twenty-two men were killed and sixty wounded, but his testi- mony concerning the battle is not reliable. The actual names are more convincing than any amount of figures would be."
Killed and mortally wounded: Co. A, Sixth Minnesota-Sergeants John Callege and William Irvine (mortally wounded), Corporal William M. Cobb, Privates George Calter. Cornelius F. Coyle (m. w.), Chaun- cey 1 .. King, Henry Rouleau, William Rus- sell, Henry Wlietsler. Co. G. Sixth Minne- sota-Sergeant Benjamin S. Tenny and Corporal Ferdinand (. W. Benneken. Co. A, Ninthi Minnesota-Private Joseph Klein (m. w.). Captain Anderson's company, "Cullen Guards"-Sergeant Robert Baxter, Privates Jacob Truman, Pierre Bourier and Richard Gibbons (m. w.). Unarmed citi- zens -- S. R. Henderson, J. C. Dickinson, J. W. De Camp (m. w.) and David Hol- brook, a teamster from Belle Plaine.
Severely wounded : Major Joseph R. Brown, commanding expedition, wounded in neck and shoulder. Co. A, Sixth Minne- sota-Privates Samuel G. Arbickle, Ernest S. Blase, Enoch Brown, Seth Fielding, P. G. Graney, Alvin Hayford, DeWitt C. Honse, W. A. Newcomb, Morris Neeley, John Quinn, Francis C. Shanley, Charles W. Smith and Sanders J. Weiting. Co. B, Sixth Minnesota-Andrew J. Thompson. Co. D, Sixth Minnesota- Christopher Swa- gert. Co. E, Sixth Minnesota-Louis Klinkhammer and Richard Miller. Co. F, Sixth Minnesota-Robert K. Boyd. Co. I. Sixth Minnesota-St. John T. Bean. Co. A, Ninth Minnesota-Louis McDonald. Cullen Guards (Minnesota Militia)-Capt. Joseph Anderson, wounded in leg. Pri- vates A. H. Bunker, Peter Burkman, James Cunningham, Henry Fandle, George Dage- nais (halt breed) and John Martin. Farrier, Thomas Barton. Volunteers, Maj. Thomas J. Galbraith, Sioux Indian agent for Minne- sota; Captain Redfield and Daniel Blair, a citizen. Major Galbraith received two wounds.
Much has been written concerning the Sioux outbreak. In this "History of Ren- ville County" it has been the aim of the editors to print the general story of the Massacre, a few typical experiences of Renville county people who went through those stirring times, the names, so far as possible, of the vietims, and a recapitula- tion of the efforts that have been made to preserve the story of those days. The thoughtful reader is referred to the follow- ing books for further information concern- ing the Massacre: The Collections of the 'Minnesota Historical Society; History of the Minnesota Valley, Warner & Foote; Sionx Indian Massaere of 1862-63, I. V. D. Heard; The Dakotah War Whoop, Harriet E. Bishop-McConkey: Indian Outbreaks, Judge Daniel Buck: Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, State Publication; His- tory of Kandiyohi County, Lawson & Tew; History of Wright County, Franklyn Cur- tiss-Wedge: History of Stearns County, William B. Mitchell; The Indians' Revenge, Rev. Alexander Berghold; Indian Massacre in Meeker County, A. C. Smithi; Recoller-
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tions of the Sioux Indian War, Oscar G. Wall; Monuments and Tablets of the Min- nesota Valley Historical Society; Memoirs of Gen. H. H. Sibley, Nathaniel West; Sheteh Pioneers and Indians, H. J. Hibsch-
man: Sketches of History of Huntchinson, W. W. Pendergast; My Capture and Es- cape, Helen Marr Tarbell; History of the Indian War, C. S. Bryant: and various his- tories of Minnesota.
CHAPTER XLIV.
STORIES OF OLDEN DAYS.
Experiences of Darwin S. Hall-First Lawsuit in Renville County-Story of Rogues' Island Told by David Benson-Story of Werner Boesch by Nels 0. Berge-Fort Ridgely Drum, by Charles H. Hopkins-Early Politics, by J. M. Bowler-The Naming of Olivia.
It may be of interest to those who came into Renville county at a later day, when roads and bridges had begun to take form and shape, and to the lads and lasses who have been born here, and they don't have to be very young at that, to learn how some of the old trail blazers journeyed into this region, lying then just as it came from the hands of its Maker. Every one of these old settlers, who came here in the sixties, has an interesting number of in- cidents to relate if they would only dis- gorge them, and it is unfortunate that their timidity, modesty or that tired feeling pre- vents them from doing so, hence being about the youngest, of my age, among the number left to tell the tale, } present this narrative, even though it is not as thrilling as many another might tell.
In the spring of 1867 my brother Ward and [ rented a farm in Hebron township, Nicollet county. I had the previous sum- mer taken up a claim in Birch Cooley, in. this county, and we thought to put in a crop of grain only, which, after sowing, we could come to our land in Birch Cooley, break up some of it and get in shape for a crop the next year, as well as start things for the making of a farm. The spring of 1867 was very late. 1 paid $2 per bushel for seed wheat. 1 sowed all carefully by land, harrowed it with old fashioned V-shaped drags hauled by oxen, which was slow work, and it was the first part of June before we got started for our real home making in Birch Cooley.
1 well remember leaving that old Nicollet county farm. My aunt, Mrs. Cordelia Car- son, owned and lived on that. farm. Our pulling out for the west was an event and the family were all out to give us boys a cheerful seud-off. My brother was twenty and I was twenty-three years of age, both ex-soldiers of the Civil war. Our outfit consisted of two yoke of oxen, a lumber wagon, in which was a breaking plow, our subsistence, consisting of pork. flour, beans, corn meal. etc., with a variety of tools and the few things necessary to keep house with, including bedding and clothing.
In the back end of the wagon box we had a young calf, which the mother cow was very much attached to, so she followed right along after the wagon, giving us no trouble whatever.
Our start was late, that June forenoon, and we went only a few miles toward New Ulm and went into camp near the old Trogdon farm, not far from the old Red Stone ferry. We unhitched our oxen from the wagon, but left the yokes on them, and turned them out to pick up some feed on the prairie. We made coffee. Our appe- tites were keen, which we satisfied upon the heartiest of food. We spread our blankets under the wagon and both were ready for sleep in no time, but even though in June, the feed was so short on the prairie our oxen, though yoked, roamed a good deal in search of it, so we took turns watching them during the night, and at the first streak of light we hitched up and pulled out to find a place where our stock could get better feed. This we found in abundance in the bottom land along the Minnesota river, above Redstone ferry, op- posite New Ulm. We had found good feed for our cattle, which was all important to our progress and which relieved us a whole lot, but now the rain came down in torents. A settler kindly gave us room in his one-room shack, which he occupied with his wife and three children. Here we were marooned for a week, while the rain hardly let up. The quarters were some- what cramped at times, and the atmos- phere occasionally somewhat fetid, still we had plenty of substantial food, our animals were recuperating on the luxuriant river bottom pasture, and we considered our- selves fortunate that conditions were no worse. But finally the sun did shine. We yoked up our ox teams, hitched them to the wagon, loaded on our provisions and bedding from the settler's cabin, let the mother cow see us load the calf into the hind end of the wagon box so she would be sure to follow, then our small outfit was once more headed for our claim on section 27 in Birch Cooley township. We
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followed the river bottom land, near the bluffs, opposite New Ulm, up the Minne- sota river for a number of miles, when we pulled up the bluff aud out on to the prairie in hopes of finding better roads. In turn- ing up the bluff we somehow made too short a turn and broke the tongue to our wagon. Such an event now would be seri- ous and a wagonmaker would have to be called in. Those days we depended upon ourselves entirely. We found a small tree by the roadside and from it made a new wagon tongue, and being of green timber, it was better now than before-it would bend and not break so easily. We went a few miles on the prairie and camped for the night, unyoked and turned our oxen out to graze while we cooked and ate our even- ing meal, Quantity rather than quality was important to us those days, and I can never forget how heartily we ate and how good everything tasted. Having finished our re- past, we spread our blankets on the ground, under the wagon, for our bed, but fearing our animals might wander, we rounded them up and tied each ox to a wheel of the wagon, after which we rolled into our blankets and were sound asleep in no time. The next morning, before day- liglit, we had turned our cattle loose to l'eed while we prepared and ate our break- fast, after which we hitched up and con- tinned our trek, which was to strike the old Prenesholtz farm, east of Fort Ridgely. The wet season had made the country al- most impassable. There were no bridges whatever and we were often stuck in the mud and streams, compelled to unhitch our teams from the wagon, move them ahead to dry footing, then hitch on to the end ot the wagon tongue and so pull our wagon across to the solid ground. Thus our prog- ress was very slow and just as the sun was going down it found us about three miles east of the Brenesholtz farm, where we had expected to put up for the night, but without warning we came to the banks of a creek, which evidently had assumed the proportions of some river. It didn't look a bit good to us, but the trail went through it and there was no way around it. No one lived anywhere in sight to tell us, so there was nothing to do but take the plunge, which we did. The stream was sluggish, not much current, but we noticed that our teams, as we drove in, were getting into deep water. Soon they were in so deep that they could get little foothold to pull the wagon, and the wagon stopped. We were stuck again, 1 got into the water up to my waist, unhooked the teams from the wagon and run them to the opposite bank, but the water was deep so far that our chains would not reach to the end of the wagon tongue. 1 suggested to my brother that it might be easier for me to go on to Brenesholtz's, get more chain and possibly some of them to help us. He as- sented, but admonished me to not delay my return. It was now dark. 1 had three
miles to go. I got there just as they were going to bed. 1 was some tired. They said wait till morning, invited me to a bed with clean sheets. I fell for it, leaving my poor brother out there herding the stock, with the wagon and all the kit in the middle of the stream, but morning came all too quickly for me. Brenesholtz's folks went with me and we soon had our outfit across that run and again moving. My brother Ward seemed some peeved at my long absence; in short, he was hostile; his voice was pitched in a high key and his language, I thought at that time, unneces- sarily forcible. 1 knew I had treated him shabbily and meekly took my medicine, We soon arrived at the hospitable Brenes- holtz farm, where we were so kindly en- tertained until the next morning that the troubles of the day before were all for- gotten.
A short distance west of the Brenes- holtz farm was another creek out of its banks by the late rains and good fording somewhat questionable, so as we started on our way Peter, John and the hired man went with us as far as the stream to see that we got safely across. It sure looked uninviting as we came to the fording place. The distance to the other shore was con- siderable, but the Brenesholtz boys said we could make it, so we plunged in. My brother was on the front end of the wagon driving the teams. I was near the back end watching things. When we were near the middle of the crossing the calf jumped out of the back part of the wagon box into the stream. I knew it would not do to lose that calf, so I jumped in to the rescue. The water, as it left the ford, daslied with a strong current between high banks and swept me off my feet, but I seized the calf around the neck with my left arm and with my right hand got hold of some brush on the bank as we swept by and made out to hold on until they pulled me out; but I had saved the calf, which we again loaded into the wagon and, thanking our kind hosts. we once more took up our march, much elated because we had saved the calf.
We soon turned off the prairie and went over the bluff into the Minnesota river bottom, as the land is called, some distance from the river in either side between the bluffs which tower up on both sides. Here we found plenty of timber and good feed for our stock. We built up a big fire, after getting our supper, so I had a chance to dry out some before turning into the blan- kets, but whether wet or dry, externally, made little difference to us those days.
We arose early the next morning, pushed on by Fort Ridgely, and made out to reach Holder Jacobus, who kept a primitive stop- ping place along the road at that time. The next day we landed on our claims in Birch Cooley, some glad that the trek was at an end.
The building of our cabin, the breaking
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HISTORY OF RENVILLE COUNTY
up from one to five acres for new settlers desirous of holding and making their claims, breaking up a good sized field for ourselves, making hay with a scythe, hand rako and pitchfork, would make anotber fairly good story.
There is one other incident which, in writing the foregoing, is brought to my mind.
My brother Ward came from Wisconsin out to our aunt's, the Widow Carson's farm, where I made my home, having taught a country school nearby during the winter, arriving about the first of March, 1867. He had never been in Minnesota before and wanted to go out and look over the coun- try where I had taken up my land. So one bright March morning we started, on foot, for the upper reaches of the Minne- sota river to spy out the country. The first day we arrived at New Ulm and put up for the night at the hotel. We were not much fatigued, but our eyes seemed to hurt some, which we attributed to the March winds, and we felt about all right the next morning, resuming our hike, we arrived at Fort Ridgely, about twenty miles, that afternoon, by that time our eyes felt as though full of particles of sand, quite painful, my brother in a much worse condition than myself, he was at a loss to account for it and thought he was sure enough going blind. There was a company of U. S. infantry then stationed at the Fort, we went to the surgeon or Post doctor. who gave us some kind of an eye wash and told us we were snow blind: that relieved us somewhat, as we had an idea that it would soon pass off, but to us it proved a serious affair. At that time E. T. Tillotson was carrying the mail from the fort to the west end of the county. He impro- vised a seat on his shaky outfit, and bind- ing up our eyes we took passage. He went the bottom road and carried us as far as the mouth of the Birch Cooley creek, by where Robert Simmons now lives. A track left the road there and followed the banks of the creek, up through the woods, some distance, to Terrence Brazil's log cabin where he lived with his wife and a pretty good sized family. We two boys had some- thing of a time getting to Brazil's, you may be sure. we were practically blind and had to feel our way along that blind trail, which took us the longest time, and our eyes were hurting us mighty bad. Arriving there, old Terrence Brazil and his good wife welcomed us with genuine Irish hospitality, they gave us the best, and about the only bed in the house. They did everything they could think of to re- lieve the pain we suffered and help us regain our sight. Slippery elm bark poul- tice and every remedy that any of them could think of was tried out on us, but nothing seemed to do us any good, and for more than a week we were practically blind and in our bed there, suffering much
and far more helpless than an ordinary blind person, when one afternoon some mixed-blood Indian trappers came down through that neck of woods, and good old Terrence Brazil, on the lookout for some- thing to cure or relieve us, asked them if they knew of anything to do for snow blindness, or anything to stop the pain, or to do for it in any way. They said it was easy to be cured over night; that our many days of suffering and bother to other pro- ple had all been entirely unnecessary. They told him to get some fresh cow-dung, put it in clean cloth and bind it on our eyes at night, and we would be all well in the morning. This was done and the next morning the pain was all gone and we were nearly as well as ever, so well, I know, that we went over to Joseph L. Preston's the next morning. Preston was a bachelor, a Civil war veteran, and had just put up a quite pretentious hewed log house. Here we made our headquarters, not only at this time, but when we came up to break on our land, and at other times as well. Joe Preston was a typical Mainite. He most always had some family in his house who were getting things ready to go on their own claim. John R. Wimer, R. W. Davis, Knauf and many others can remember, if alive, the helping hand of Joseph L. Preston.
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