History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 43

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198

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This account of the skirmish on the bottom near Turkey Creek or Volin has reference to another affair that occurred a few days later, and was participated in by the squad of Company A, stationed at Turkey Creek or Clay Creek under Liettt. Dave Benjamin. The squad tinder Sergeant English, or their return, stopped at all the cabins and escorted the settlers to the defenses at Yankton.

For a brief time, it will be seen, there was a virtual abandonment of all the settlements in the ceded territory, except the one at Yankton. Had Yankton been abandoned it would have left the territory without any population, the Indians would have been encouraged in their hostilities and would have burned and destroyed the improvements until checked by the military. It was no secret at the time that the leading military authorities favored the entire abandonment of the territory by the whites for the time being. They looked for a general Indian war of greater magnittide than any in which the Government had ever engaged, Vol. 1-16

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and they reasoned that if the settlements were abandoned, the troops would be free to follow and fight the redskins, and not be required to stand guard around a few widely scattered settlements whose entire money value was much less than it would cost to protect them. Soldiers at that time were in great demand in the Union armies east and south, and there were none to spare for troubles in Dakota.

As evening approached on the 6th inst., a genuine war scare occurred that for a time was a very serious affair. Captain Zeibach quietly moved around the stock- ade and ordered his men to get their arms and be ready for a fight ; that a band of mounted Indians had crossed the James River and were marching on the town. The men shouldered their muskets and gathered along the unfinished fortifications on the east, Stutsman, who had but one leg to stand upon, leading the ad- vance, with a nail keg in front of him upon which he rested his rifle. The heads of the enemy could now be discovered far down the road; and to add to the excitement of such an occasion, the women were on the lookout, having taken possession of a broad platform in front of the Ash Hotel, and were talking ex- citedly and pointing to the oncoming enemy. There was a good deal of hurrying and scurrying, and loud ejaculations, which continued for possibly fifteen min- utes, when it was discovered by nearly everyone simultaneously that the supposed Indians were a body of soldiers, who a little later rode up to the stockade, and proved to be Captain Miner with his Vermillion detachment, who had come out to search for the hostiles in answer to the dispatches from Captain English. It is perfectly safe to say that the captain and his men were very welcome, and if any were disappointed they managed to conceal their chagrin most successfully behind a mask of cheerfulness that had all the appearance of the genuine article.

The decision of the married men's meeting at Yankton was well received. As a rule the settlers felt that they were in a position to defend themselves against a thousand red men, and unless their ammunition should fail, or suffering should come from lack of provisions, or a contagious disease broke out, they felt that they would "pull through" safely, and now they were hopeful that they would have the assistance of Company A to do the scouting. English's squad remained throughout the trouble and was a host in giving a feeling of security to the women and young people. They were in the saddle a good portion of the time so as to detect any indications of approach on the part of hostiles. So far there had been no loss of life, thanks to the poor marksmanship of the Indians and coolness of the assailed settlers, but a number of cabins had been burned, homes pillaged, and horses and cattle captured and driven away. All semblance of civil pursuits had been abandoned at Yankton at the outset of the trouble, the male population turning their attention to buikling their stockade and to strict military duties. The raw militia men were given frequent lessons in the rudi- mentary course of military discipline, the soldiers acting as drill masters-they were taught the use of arms and how to handle them. A small troop of cavalry was got together under command of Major Lyman, that made frequent excursions outside. Enclosed within the stockade was the new Ash Hotel, and the old log hotel buildings, Robeart's saloon, Fisher's blacksmith shop on Third Street, three log buildings and the Dakotan office. The women and children were made as comfortable as possible under the various roofs.

Food had been furnished from a number of sources-many of the people had brought along a few days' supply ; all the provisions in the two stores were finally turned over to the commander of the stockade, Captain Zeibach, and duly receipted for. Captain Zeibach's authority was cheerfully recognized, and he acquitted himself throughout the most trying ordeal with great credit, growing in the confidence of the people every day. The saloon was closed and there was not the slightest disturbance from drunkenness.

Among the settlers none seemed to be more alarmed and uneasy than our half-breed Yankton citizen, Charley Picotte. He had probably no fear of per- sonal injury, but he seemed convinced that the Indian hostilities had commenced

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in earnest, and would continue until the whites had been driven from the territory. He knew that the Santees were intriguing with the Yanktons to join them; he was certain that some progress had been made, and a few of the young bucks had left the reservation and gone into the hostile camp.

He had more information that he would impart to his white fellow citizens. and his conduct for weeks was that of a man watching for a sign of the enemy's approach, and informing himself of the whereabouts of the small bands who were known to be lurking in this vicinity, and with whom he undoubtedly held com- munication through three or four friendly Yanktons ( who were visiting at his place during the trouble ) with the view of averting their threatened attack on the town. Picotte usually spent the days at his cabin in lower Yankton, but he slept every night within the stockade.

On one occasion our eccentric townsman "Limber Jim," who didn't believe there would be much of a war and had very little fear of the Indians, took it into his head to burn the tall prairie grass around Stutsman's claim cabin which stood on the summit of a knoll just north of the present city water tanks. Hostile Indians have a code of signal fires to announce their attacks and retreats. Jim had apprised no one of his incendiary design. The sun had disappeared, and the curtains of night had begun to fall, when a great blaze was discovered around the cabin, and five minutes later Picotte came thundering through the gates of the stockade standing upright and bareheaded in a lumber wagon, to which was attached a span of foaming big mules. He had seen the signal fire on the hill and knew that it meant an attack upon the town without delay. The alarm was given and the garrison's defenders were preparing for the onslaught, when "Jim" returned and soon quieted all fear by telling in what manner he was the innocent cause of it all. There was that about the incident that was so supremely ludi- crous that men who had refrained from all semblance of mirth for many days relaxed, and laughed until they were red in the face, and there were some, Picotte among the number, who thought it would serve Jim right to duck him in the river. Jim wobbled around, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and retired out of the gaze of the people, until both indignation and mirth were forgotten in more serious incidents that followed.

So many human beings penned up in such circumscribed quarters rendered anything like comfort out of the question, and the wonder is that there was so little sickness in the camp. There were some beds, but not enough to accommo- date the women and little children, but what there were, by general consent, were given to the mothers and daughters and little people. The men were forbidden to occupy them. Still there were a few who would not heed the prohibitive edict, but would sneak into the hotel rooms after dark, possess themselves of a bed, lock the door and sleep soundly. The Ash Hotel was crowded from basement to garret during the night with weary women and children sleeping wherever they could find a place to lie down. They were packed in, apparently, as closely as sardines in the box. The other buildings inside the stockade need not be described regarding their lodging accommodations, for a description of one is a description of all.

Fortunately the nights, for a good portion of the time during the height of the excitement, were moonlit, and the skies were clear. One beautiful evening, the 8th or 9th of September, a militiaman was passing the Ash Hotel on Third Street, when a female voice called to him from an upper window of the hotel. He approached the house and discovered Mrs. Edgar, sister of Mrs. Obed Foote. sitting at the open window apparently enjoying the charming loveliness of the night. But she was not, it seems, indulging in any such pleasing reveries. She immediately and earnestly inquired if the militiaman had a pistol he would loan her. That very morning this party had placed an old single-barreled pistol in his coat pocket intending to have it repaired and made fit for service, and he replied to the lady telling her that he had such a weapon, but that it was useless in its present condition.

She answered that she would be very glad to have it

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any way, that she would have it repaired. It was well known that many of the women would never submit to be taken prisoners by the Indians. They had learned how brutally white women prisoners were treated, and they had con- cluded to die by their own hands rather than be captured. Mrs. Edgar was one of these, and the militiaman understood that in the last resort she would turn the weapon upon herself. It was an uncomfortable reflection ; but he drew the weapon from his pocket, placed the muzzle on the point of his bayonet, and passed it up. The lady received it with a bow, and the militiaman passed on. About two hours after this incident, at midnight, there came ringing out on the quiet air an ominous alarm. Bang, bang, bang, bang, in rapid succession four guns were fired outside the stockade, and down in the plum patch, near Picotte's, there was a fusillade of musketry. The whole camp was aroused almost instantly, and there was a rush to the four walls of the stockade and the bastions. Captain Zeibach had well prepared for any attack and had his men instructed as to the place they would occupy. The several walls were under the command of a sub- ordinate officer. (A small three pounder iron cannon, mounted on cart wheels and loaded with powder and scraps of iron from the blacksmiths, stood near the gateway in charge of William Bordino and John Stanage.) A troop of cavalry went out to ascertain the cause of the alarm. At the Ash Hotel there was great commotion and confusion, resulting from the efforts of some to get out while others were trying to get in. The sleepers were all awakened by the confusion. The women supposed the stockade had been attacked, but they suppressed any exhibition of fear if they felt it-only the children awakened from their sound sleep cried, and were difficult to pacify. Mrs. Edgar, being awake, heard the aların, and like a Joan of Arc, armed with her single barreled unloaded pistol, she declared she would shoot the first man she caught in the house who was not on his way out to defend the town. She went to all the rooms and awakened the occupants. She knew that some of them were occupied by men who had sur- reptitiously got possession. These she routed out and sent them forth at the muzzle of her gun. She did valiant service in cheering the other women, who felt strengthened and encouraged by her example.

In half an hour the cavalry returned, having found that the friendly Yank- tons at Picotte's had been firing on a party of Santees who were trying to steal their ponies. A feeling of relief came over the camp, but the men were kept on duty during the night and were not further disturbed. The three pounder field piece that stood near the gateway of the stockade was not called into service dur- ing this troublous time. There was no occasion to use it against the foe, but a month later, after the danger had measurably melted away, the cannon was taken out on the prairie where the tall weeds were abundant, and touched off. If the slaughter of the weeds and grass could be taken as representing Indians, the discharge would have slain a regiment.

Captain Zeibach proved himself a very competent commander in chief. and his administration was of a character that won for him the warmest gratitude of the penned-up colony.

CHAPTER XXIV THE GREAT INDIAN WAR (Continued)

JIOSTILE INDIANS IN FORCE PREPARED TO ATTACK YANKTON-DISSUADED BY THE PREPARATIONS OF THE SETTLERS-MANY SETTLERS ABANDONED THE TERRITORY- YANKTON INDIANS MUSTERED IN-WASHINGTON REED-A FALSE ALARM-APPEAL FOR TROOPS-GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS ALL DOWN SOUTH-SECOND CALL FOR MILI- TIA-HOW THE YANKTON TRIBE WAS KEPT FRIENDLY-SKETCH OF PICOTTE- CAPTIVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN RANSOMED-THE FIRST TERRITORIAL CAPITAL BUILDING-SAMUEL LATTA, AGENT, DISTRIBUTING INDIAN GOODS FROM STEAM- BOATS-BEAR'S RIBS SLAIN AT FORT PIERRE.

Yankton had had a very fortunate and narrow escape from much more serious trouble. During J. R. Hanson's incumbency of the United States Agency for the Upper Missouri Sioux Indians, which covered a period from 1866 to 1869 inclusive, he was thrown in contact with individuals from all the former hostile tribes, and learned much of interest regarding the operations of the hostiles dur- ing the period from 1862 to 1865. Among other things, he learned that about five hundred hostile Sioux were scattered along the Jim River north of the ferry and within a distance of three or four miles of Yankton, early in Septem- ber, 1862, for the purpose of attacking and destroying the town and the people. They had set the night of September 6, 1862, for the attack and had noticed that our fortifications were at that time not completed on the east side. Such a force, if determined and persistent, and well armed, would have outnumbered Yankton's armed force, which could not have exceeded one hundred and twenty-five armed with guns, and as many more who had small arms. About 6 o'clock the same evening, Captain Miner with forty cavalry reached Yankton from Vermillion. The hostile Indians on the highlands to the north saw the troops, watched their movements carefully and finally conchided not to make the attack, as they were not supplied with ponies. Fearing discovery, they set out up the James River Valley the following morning and made their first halt near the Yankton reservation.

Intelligence of a similar character was afterwards given by some Yankton Indians and also by Santees, for while the Yanktons remained friendly as a tribe, bands of hostiles paid them a number of clandestine visits for the purpose of inducing them to join in the war on the white people, and during these visits related their exploits.

The Indians dug a lookout station on the top of the hill near Van Antwerp's residence from which they overlooked Yankton and scanned its defenses. There were other points on the highlands where they screened themselves and watched their pale-faced adversaries as they prepared to give them a hot reception should they attack the town. A little later Picotte reported that the danger was past for the present, and the Indians had withdrawn. He called attention to a number of small fires strung along the highlands at intervals of half a mile, which had been observed the evening before to the north of town. He said these were sig- nals which Indians understood and were to inform the hostiles that the siege of

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Yankton had been raised, and the war parties were retiring into the country of the Upper Jim. A few days later a small band of the boldest settlers, well armed, went out to their claims for the purpose of ascertaining the condition of their live stock and homes, and day by day thereafter, the population of the stockade dimin- ished in numbers, some returning to their deserted cabins, while others, thor- oughly disheartened and almost penniless, "threw up the sponge" and bid a final farewell to the territory.

These Indian troubles had aroused widespread distrust and fear all through the new West extending far into Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. The general belief was that an Indian war, unparalleled in extent by any in recent times, was inev- itable, and particularly was this the belief of those engaged in military affairs, who were outspoken in proclaiming it, as if they felt constrained to give a warning to the settlers of their danger, and arouse them to a sense of their insecurity, that they might escape the perils incident to a frontier war by removing to some less hazardous or dangerous locality. It was understood that the Indian people of all nations and tribes throughout the entire country had been apprised of the great war then on between the "pales faces" of the North and South, and the Indians had been advised that this was an opportune time for them to unite and strike a blow that would drive the whites from the frontiers and restore to the native inhabitants their old hunting grounds. It must be borne in mind that this state of hostility among the Indians extended from Kansas through Nebraska and Dakota to Minnesota, and throughout the mountain country. The Indians had apparently been convinced that the "Great Father" would not be able to spare enough soldiers from the Union armies to successfully oppose them, and their triumph, if united, was assured.

Dakota had but a few feeble settlements, strung along the Missouri and Big Sioux valleys, peopled by a frugal, industrious, peace-loving class who had little more than their strong arms to depend upon to win the necessaries of life for themselves and those dependent upon them, and it should not be considered at all remarkable that a large percentage of the settlers, anxious for the security of their families, concluded to seek a home where the promise of peace was less haz- ardous ; and it was estimated, shortly after the local troubles of 1862, that the territory lost at least one-half its farming population.

The determined stand taken by the pioneers had not been without a most salutary effect upon the good Indians. They had become convinced, by the firm attitude and ample preparation Yankton had exhibited, that the whites . would not be driven off. The story of Yankton's preparations for defense was after- wards known and discussed in Little Crow's camps, and in many of the Indian camps along the upper river, as was learned from reliable Indian sources after peace was restored, and the fortifications and other particulars described with an accuracy that could only have been obtained by eye witnesses. So far as the Yankton Indians were concerned they were completely tamed, and Strike-the-Ree no longer feared that any great number of his young men would join the hostiles. To such an extent was the loyalty of the Yanktons carried that Agent Burleigh, with the assent of the authorities, raised a company, numbering 100, of young braves, for service against the hostiles. They were mustered into the service, and made themselves of great value to General Sully during his campaigns as scouts, and in frequent skirmishes throughout the two years following.

Mr. Washington Reed moved his family from Smutty Bear into the stockade during the excitement, and as soon as the alarm had in a measure subsided, he returned with his wife and sons to his claim. They were accustomed to border life and had little apprehension for their personal safety, but were solicitous for their cattle and horses and other property left behind with no one to look after it. The morning following the departure of the Reeds. Captain Miner, who had come up from his headquarters at Vermillion, received a message from Mrs. Reed that her husband and two sons were missing, having left home the evening before to search for their cattle. The captain dispatched Sergeant English with

EX-GOVERNOR ANDREW E. LEE

REV. JOSEPH WARD Yankton, 1868. Congregational minis- ter and founder of Yankton College

RED RIVER CART AND HALF-BREEDS

SPINNING WHEEL IN CONTINUAL. USE IN SOUTH DAKOTA

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a squad of Company A's boys to look up the truants. About an hour before this, Sergt. William Neuman, of Company A, a tall German and a fearless soldier, had discovered that his horse had strayed away and he set out on foot to find the animal. Ilis search led him as far away as the cement works ravine. Still an- other party, made up of Samuel Mortimer ( Spot), Sam Jerou and A. B. Smith, who had spent the night at Spot's cabin just above Reed's, had learned that the Reed men folks were missing and that Mrs. Reed was in great distress fearing that Indians had waylaid them; and being men of intrepid mold who could not close their ears to the cries of a woman in distress, they sallied out on ileet ponies in quest of the lost. Just as "Spot" and his party had got fairly under way, English and his cavalry emerged from the timber and came in sight of them. Spot's forces were about two miles in advance, and Sergeant English saw at once that they were a band of Indian marauders and possibly had the scalps of the Reed men dangling at their belts. They now put spurs to their steeds and fairly flew up the road in pursuit. Spot and his gallant band had not as yet discovered that they were pursued, so intently had their attention been directed to an Indian on the brow of a hill near the cement works ravine, and with all the speed their ponies could muster, goaded by whip and spur and urgent shouts, they were furi- ously galloping to overtake him, for no doubt he was standing there as a decoy for quite a band who were hidden in the tall grass around him, and had already tomahawked the Reed people. The cavalry ponies at breakneck speed were gain- ing on Spot's detachment, and the report of a rifle shot told that one of the boys had opened fire. Spot and his chivalrous companions were arrayed in the ordi- nary garb of border men and closely resembled children of the plains. The cav- alry boys had donned some bright red flannel shirts that had been issued that morning and under the enchantment of distance, if hurriedly viewed, looked very much like a band of fleeing or pursuing savages. The report of the gun caused Spot and his men to look around when they discovered the red devils coming after them. Here was a situation perilous in the extreme. Indians in front and rear ; the Missouri River on the left, and frowning, precipitous bluffs on the right. Spot afterwards declared that he had just decided upon striking for a near by ravine and trying to escape by the bluff, when he discovered that the lone Indian on the bluff was a white man like himself, and putting more energy into whip and spur his small force sped along with the speed of race horses toward the solitary figure on the hill, expecting every moment that the attack in their rear would be renewed. At this juncture Sergeant English discovered the lone Indian on the highland, and could not fail to note that "Spot" and his followers were making the utmost haste to reach him. He saw in an instant that it was all one party, who had doubtless disposed of the Reeds and had probably been engaged in other atrocities. Spot had now reached the lone Indian and the barbarous cut-throats were holding a parley. as English coukl see, though now about a mile away, and he conjectured that they were preparing for a rapid retreat into the ravine, where under cover of the bushes they could keep up a running fight, and where cavalry woukl be at a disadvantage. Ile was very anxious to reach them before this could be accomplished, and on his troopers dashed, their good steeds reeking with foam, and their sabers clanging, as they thundered along the road. An order to open fire was just about to be given, when English discovered a bright gleam of sunlight reflected from the scabbard of Sergeant Neuman's saber. and the flash informed him that the lone Indian on the bluff was the sergeant himself in quest of his lost horse. Chief Spot and his men then resolved them- selves into distinguished shapes. The recognition was a mutual one and not unpleasant, for just then the bluff party began a burlesque performance as if defying the oncoming cavalry to battle ; and when the sokliers rode up the comedy of errors, which for a time threatened a tragedy, was fully explained.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 43

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1198

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198