Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1890 — Page 6

AN AWFUL SLAUGHTER.

one; of the bloodiest pictures IN THE BOOK OF TIME.

The Most Tragic Cliap'e’ tn the History of the Northwest —The Minnesota Indian Massacre of 1863. an.l the Swift Punishineat of the Guilty Indians—Causes of the Uprising-Awful Scenes Enacted A Memorable Trial-Conviction of the Culprits—A Wholesale Execution—Death of Little trow.

battle-fields, and President Lincoln was calling for “six hundred thousand more,” what wonder that the uprising of the Sioux in the then far Northwest attracted, outside the localities that suffered or were menaced, but a passing notice? The events of those dreadful days

have not lacked careful historians, yet few of the present generation know much, if anything, of one of the “Bloodiest pictures on the book of Time,” as the awful slaughter of the whites and the subsequent defeat and punishment of the fiends may properly be termed.

The subject is not a pleasing one, nor has it lost much of Its hideousness by the lapse of nearly, three decades, yet--11 s consideration cannot fail to Interest all readers, ind cause them to rejoice that the long-discussed Indian question” is at

last well-nigh settled, and that similar dreadful scenes are not likely to again occur in our land. It would be pleasing to be able to re-

LITTLE CROW.

cord that too savages were solely responsible for that blood-curdling tragedy. But what use to write, unless to tell the truth? Seldom has the white man—never, perhaps, except in isolated cases—treated the red man in a fair and equitable manner. Minnesota was organized as a territory in 1849, and the emigration rapidly settling upon the eastern side of the Mississippi River began to encroach upon the fertile country opposite. So, in 1851, the Indians were induced to sign treaties by which they transferred to the United States over 30,000,000 of acres,

embracing all their lands in lowa, Dakota and Minnesota, except a tract along the Upper Minnesota, which they reserved for their future home. This tract began below Fort Ridgely and extended 150 miles to Lake Traverse, with a width of ten miles on both sides of the river. The treaty contained a provision by which this reservation was also to be ceded and the Indians located where the President might appoint. By a treaty made in 1858 they ceded to the Government all that portion nortn of the river, retaining the remainder.. It is the custom of the traders who know that the Indians will ultimately sell their lands, to give them credit for supplies, holding a claim against the proceeds of the sale. This was done largely in the present instance, and the traders, by means of many false representations as to the vast wealth the Indians would receive, and also by refusing them further credit unless they voted to

N the month of August, 1862, the Indians of Minnesota initiated a massacre i which will live in ' the pages of history as one of the bloodiest scenes in all the mighty conflicts that marked the advance of the white race across our continent. Occurring, as it did, in the midst of the great civil war, at a time when vast armies were contending on sanguinary

BATTLE OF BIRCH COOLIE.

COL. SIBLEY.

WHOLESALE INDIAN EXECUTION.

sell, were largely fnstrupiental tn bringing about the transfer. In this way a large amount of fraudulent claims were established, and just ones multiplied In amount. Of the money due the Indians under the

GRAVE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE SLAUGHTER.

treaties of 1851 and 1852, $400,000 were paid the traders on old accounts. Besides, many of the stipulations as to establishing schools and furnishing farming implements were never carried out. Under the treaty of 1858 they were to be paid $166,000, but of this amount they

never received a penny until four years afterward, when $15,000 worth of goods were sent the Sioux, and these wore deducted out of money due them under former treaties. Thus a long series of wrongs, coupled with want amounting almost to starvation, had rendered the Indians desperate. and on Sunday, the 17th of August, 1862, the work of murder began. Four Indians killed as many whites, and then made haste to join their band. Little Crow, an influential chief who-Jiad been several times in Washington in the interests of the Sioux, was at once consulted. He knew the vast strength of the whites, and would, no doubt, have advised the surrender of the murderers were it not that he had been accused of acting in the interests of the whites against his people, and had thereby lost much of his influence. He now saw a chance to regain his lost power, and as, in common with all Indians, he hated the whites, he advised a general massacre. “Trouble with the whites is inevitable, sooner or later,” ho said. “It may as well come now. lam with you. Let us go to the ageriey. kill the traders, and tike their goods,” This advice was at once acted upon; runners wore S'nt out to call in the bfaves, and an awful slaughter was begun which extended along both sides of the Minnesota River to within six miles of the town of New Ulin. Many were put to death, and that by the most cruel methods that the ingenuity of demons could devise. Children were nailed alive to doors and used as targets at which to throw tomahawks: many were burned alive in houses; while,if possible,still more inhuman and unnatural crimes were perpetrated by these veritable fiends. That week an attack was made upon New Ulm and ( Fort Ridgely, but the Indians were driven off with considerable loss on both sides, Little Crow being wounded. The uprising had now become general and extended through the whole western frontier of Minnesota, and into lowa and Dakota. During the first week not less than 700 people perished, while 209 more were carried away as captives. In the meantime, the excitement cannot be described. AU who could hurried toward the largo towns, numbers falling on the -way. While the awful panic developed not a little selfishness and cowardice, it furnished many instances of devotion and endurance,

Many lost their lives in trying to save their friends, while not a few suffered martyrdom rather than abandon wounded and dying loved ones. Mrs Estlick’s son Barton, not ten years old, and his brother, aged five, having been separated from their mother, arrived at the settlements several days afterward. Barton alternately led and carried his little brother a distance of eighty miles. Such an act of heroism and devotion on the part ofumeof such tender years deserves to be keptugreen in our memories. Threeeorripanies of the Fifth Minnesota Infantry, just organized for service in the Union army, were rendezvoused at Fort Snelling to draw supplies to fit them for service at the front, when news of the uprising arrived. The first courier who galloped into the fort, wellnigh exhausted from his hard ride and the attendant excitement, was unable to give an intelligible account of what had transpired, and whs taken in charge ao

either drunker tnsare. Within an hear, hour, however, a second courier arrived with confirmation of the first awful account The Governor of the State, Alexander Ramsey, selected ex-Governor Henry H. Sibley to take command of an expedition against the Indians. He was well qualified for the perilous mission, having spent many years among the Sioux as a trader, speaking their language and knowing what could be expected of them. One week after the first outbreak. Col. Sibley was at St. Peter with 1,400 mien. This seemed a large force, and would have been so regarded were it not for the uncertainty of the whereabouts of the red enemy and their peculiar mode of warfare. On Sunday, the 31st day of August, Col. Siblev started out from Fort Ridgely a burial and scouting party under the command of Major Joseph R. Brown, whose family had been made captives by the Indians. The expedition numbered 153 men all told, of whom a considerable number were teamsters, with ninety-six horses, and a good supply of camp equipage and provisions. The first day about fifty murdered citizens were discovered and buried. Early the next morning they came upon the lifeless and scalped bodies of Captain Marsh and about thirty men who had been sent out on a relief expedition a few days before. They seem to have been surprised and fired upon from all sides'. They were buried by their comrades in one long grave, which was marked by a large wooden cross. On the night of the Ist of September, “Old Joe,” as Major Brown was affectionately called, ordered his command to go into camp in a gorge near the now thriving village of Birch Coolie, about sixteen miles from Fort Ridgely. Major Brown, who had great knowledge of the Indians, believed that all was well, and the men, with the exception of the guards, went to sleep. Slqmber is heaviest just before daybreak, and it is then that Indians generally make an attack. The guard well understood this, and were on the alert. Suddenly, about four o’clock, a watchful sentinel saw and fired upon a moving object. In an instant the camp was aroused. All sprung to their feet, and received a deadly cross-fire from not less than 300 rifles, mostly double-barreled, in the hands of their stealthy, fiendish enemies, the Sioux. Soon all who had not been killed or disabled by the first fire, broke for the wagons, from the doubtful shelter of which a brisk fire was returned. Almost immediately a discovery was made which sent a thrill of dismay through the hearts of the bravest of the “raw recruits. ” A mistake had been made in the ammunition; the cartridges were all of too large a caliber for the muskets, and not more than twenty rounds of the proper size remained for each man. The men fell to work whittling down the bullets with their knivo-, in the mean time firing occasionally to keep up a show of fighting. Only one shovel and one pick could be found, and these, together with knives, spoons, and bayonets, were used to dig intrenchments. A strong but losing fight was maintained, and by 10 o’clock sixty men were killed or wounded, and ninety-five out of the ninety-six horses were dead. The latter no doubt saved the command from annihilation, since their bodies were used as a barricade. For twenty-four hours longer the

INTERIOR OF INDIAN JAIL.

brave men fought on, but with less loss now. At 10 o’clock on the morning of September 3 the gleam of rifles was seen in the distance, and the savages sullenly withdrew before the advance of a relief party which had been sent from Fort Ridgely, where the firing, thanks to the favorable direction of the wind, had been heard. Taking into account the small number engaged, the battle of Birch Coolie was one of the hottest fought during the period of the civil war. Of the 153 whites, twenty-three were killed and forty-five severely wounded, while very few escaped altogether uninjured. When relieved they had been thirty-one hours without either food or water, and were almost exhausted. There were many'wonderful escapes from death. A. P. Connolly, Adjutant of the Sixth Minnesota Infantry, who was present, mentions the case of a woman, the only one of a party who had escaped with her life, though badly wounded with buckshot. She had been twelve days without food, other than berries, when she was found by Maj. Brown’s expedition. During the awful thirty-six hours of the seige she remained in the wagon where she had been placed, praying for her deliverers. The wagon was riddled with bullets, but, strange to say, she was struck by none of them. She ultimately entirely recovered. On the 18th of September the camp at Fort Ridgely was broken up, and the expedition, disgusted with its long inactivity, started on its march after the foe. On the morning of Sept. 23 the enemy were encountered at Wood Lake. The Indians were sanguine of success, but were badly beaten, the white loss being four killed and about forty wounded. Colonel Sibley sent out word to the Indians that if they would come in, no innocent, man would be harmed; and in a short time all except Little Crow and his most desperate followers were within reach and encamped near Lac qui Parle. Colonel Sibley encamped with his forces about half a mile from the Indians, at Camp Release, so called because 'the captives were released there. These, to the number of about two hundred and fifty were at once set free. A large number of Indians wore made prisoners and a commission appointed io try them. The remainder were sent down to Yellow Medicine Agency. An inquiry developed the fact that almost the entire nation had been involved in tho outbreak, and the bravos at the Agency wore quietly discovered and made prisoners. A number of half-breeds were among tho accused, and one negro, or mulatto, named Godfrey or Gussa, to whom the Indians had given he name

of Otaklfl, 1. e., “he who kills many.” He was the-first one tried. He was sentenced to death, but upon the recommendation of the commission, his sentence was commuted by President Lincoln to imprisonment l for ten years. He rendered the prosecuttom great service upon many of the trials, testifying in a number of cases, He is said to be still living on a Missouri reservation - . Over four hundred prisoners oi all ages, from 15 to 80, were tried, and of these three hundred and three were convicted. Their sentences varied from death down to one year’s imprisonment. Finally, after considerable thirtyeight of them were ordered to be executed at Mankato, on the 26th day of February, 1863. A few of the condemned Indians acknowledged their guilt, but for the most part they maintained their innocence. Clergymen, both Protestant and Catholic, labored with them and succeeded in converting and baptising quite a number. They were allowed to send for some of their relatives, with whom their parting was quite affecting. On the morning of the fatal day their irons were removad and their arms bound with cords, their elbows behind and their wrists In front. Then, long white muslin caps were placed on their heads, but left rolled up so as to show their painted faces. During this operation, which consumed over an hour, several exciting death songs were’Sung. At exactly 10 o’clock the condemned men wore formed into a procession and marched into the street and directly across from the jail, between files of soldiers, to the long scaffold which had been erected there. As they commenced the as?ent of the scaffold, they started the death song again, and made a perfectly hideous noise, which had a wonderful effect in keeping up their courage. Then the white caps were drawn down, the nooses adjusted, and, in the presence of a vast concourse of people, Major Brown gave a drum three distinct taps, a rope was cut, and the thirty-eight redhanded murderers shot simultaneously downward to a most righteous doom. As the platform fell, a long though not loud cheer went up from soldiers and citizens, and silence reigned over the awful scene. Another such wholesale hanging has never taken place in America, and perhaps not in the civilized world. The next summer Gen. Sibley drove the hostile Sioux from the State, killing over one hundred of them in the process. The number of whites killed in 1862 was 737, of whom 644 were citizens, massacred. Little Crow continued his depredations, killing a good many whites the next spring, actually venturing within twelve miles of St. Paul. July 3, 1863, while picking berries near the town of Hutchinson, ho was shot and killed by two men named Sampson, father and son. Little Crow was one of the brightest and bravest of all the Sioux. His name had become a synonym for terror in Minnesota, and news of his death wasreceived amid universal rejoicing.

DWIGHT BALDWIN.

Dry Go ds Salaries.

“It is not generally known.” said Mr. C. B. Worth, of H. B. Claflin & Co., a few days ago, “that some of the highest salaries are paid in our business. We are often accused of paying starvation wages to our clerks by people who never look at the expenses entailed in running an establishment. Take the buyers, for instance. There are firms in this city who pay men from SIO,OOO to $30,000 a year for simply being able to tell three-quarters of a year in advance what the fashion is going to be. One gentleman, who buys for a wholesale house on Broadway, is said to earn $50,000 a year. “Dry goods houses are noted for paying low wages to their clerks, because the supply of clerks is so abundant. In some of the smaller stores the pay runs as low as $3 a week. But the buyer on whose judgment the sale of next year’s fabrics depends gets half as much as the President of the United States. 'lhe smallest, and some of the largest, salaries are paid in the dry goods business.” “How does the buyer for the house distinguish in advance what the fashion for next year is to be?” “Ah, that is where it requires a wide awake man. He must watch the growing tendencies among the firm’s richest and most fashionable customers at home and abroad. Whatever has become popular among them will make its way among the masses, and this tide the house must catch and swim along with it. “In Europe textile manufacturers make few goods except on orders. The buyer for a firm must decide what his house can sell next season, and order his supplies of cloth made in advance. A serious mistake might be sufficient to bankrupt the firm, by leaving them with a stock on hand of unsalable goods, the patterns not being to the liking of the firm’s customers. So you can easily see why a skillful buyer can command his own price.” “How do you select a man for such » position ?” “Nothing less than a kind of intuition is demanded for such a place. In addition, the buyer must estimate what amount his employer can sell of a given style of goods. If he overstocks the firm, then they are left with oldfashioned articles on hand which they must resort to the ‘bargain-counter’ devices to get rid of at a severe loss. ” —New York Star.

Astonishing success has attended the effort of Dr. Lannelongue, an eminent specialist of Paris, to give intelligence to a little idiot girl. Though four years old, the child could neithei walk nor stand, and never smiled nor took notice of anything. The Doctor concluded that the abnormal narrow-' ness of the head obstructed the growth of the brain, and in May last he mads au incision iu the center of the skull and cut a piece of bone from the left side of it. The result was marvelous. Within less than a month the child could walk, and she is now quite bright —playing, smiling, and taking notice of everything around her. The length of the telpherage line between Bueno Ayres and Montevideo is 186 miles, and it is designed to carry electrically driven letter boxes, which may be dispatched every two hours. The two wires cross the La Plata estuary at a point where it i-. nineteen miles wide.

A BOY MURDERER.

The Yonngant Convict in the United State* Wonderfully innocent-looking is pris oner No. 1900 in the lowa State Pris an, a slim boy eleven years old. He ie rather a handsome boy, with a broad forehead and a thoughtful face, as the photograph shows. He is the youngest prisoner ever received at the prison or it is believed, at any other State prison. Prisoner 190ri is sentenced to the lowa State Penitentiary for life. Hicrime was the brutal and premeditated murder »f his father and stepmothei near Edgewood, Clayton Countv, in July, 1889. Early one morning Wesley drove the old farm team furiously up to a neigh bor’s house. He had the baby in the wagon with him. He had an awful story to tell. When he aiose that morning and went to his parents’ room a terrible sight met his eyes. Lying stretched out on the bed was the body of his father with a bullethole through his head. Half on the bed and half on the floor was the bod\ of his stepmother. Her head was beaten to a jelly. On the floor lay a heavy club, smeared with blood, and his father’s old muzzle-loading rifle, with which the ghastly work had been done. The community was excited and many people were thrown under suspicion. The eldest son proved an alibi. Wesley, the ten-year-old boy, maintained his story. He showed* no sign of grief. No tear came to his eve. Coolly and in a matter of fact wav he related again and again the details of his horrid discovery. It was always the same. He was finally arrested, however, and locked up in jail at Elkader. One day this 10-year old child called the officials into his cell and confessed that the work was his. There was no breaking down, no tears. Coolly and calmly again he detailed the story. His father and his stepmother whipped him and he would not stand it. He waited until his brother was gone away and he was alone in the house with his parents. At 3 o’clock in the morning he got up, stole down stairs and loaded his father’s old muz-zle-loading rifle, which hung on the wall in the bed-room. He put the muz-

zle to his father’s forehead and fired. As he had expected, his step-mother was awakened by the report and leaped out of bed to strike a light. Wesley knocked her down with a club which he had ready. Then, to make the matter sure, he beat her head to a jelly.

FOUR SCORE AND TEN.

George Bancroft Celebrates His Ninetieth Birthday. At his cozy cottage in Newport, R. 1., Geoige Bancroft recently celebrated his ninetieth anniversary. The occasion was not forgotten by Mr. Bancroft’s friends, the mails and telegraph conveying to him hosts of remembances and congratulations from all parts of country, although, owing to his enfeebled health, the usual reception was omitted. Mr. Bancroft, though somewhat weakened by the heavy burden of his years, continues to enjoy his walks and drives. He has entirely given up horseback riding, which used to be one of his greatest pleasures. His mind seems to be perfectly clear on all subjects historical, and he will discuss the

GEORGE BANCROFT.

■ matters and happenings of a decade ago vrithout hesitancy, but, he seems to have lost all interest in the present.

How to Arouse a Drunken Man.

“The best wav to arouse a drunken man is to pinch him under the arms,” says a police officer. “I found a drunken fellow lying across the track at Tenth and Morgan streets late one night and it seemed impossible to arouse him. I clubbed him over the soles of his feet and rolled and shook him, but he lay as limp as a rag. Just then an old gentleman suggested that I pinch him under the arms. “The effect was electrical. I had him awake and fighting mad at once. On another occasion Sergeant Pierce tried the same experiment on a sot at the Fourth District station, who was delaying the Black Maria. The man stood it for awhile, and then suddenly opened his eyes, and dealt the sergeant a blow that would have felled an ox. The treatment is a dead sure thing; fetches them every time.”— Globe Democrat. Johnnie—My pop is richer’n youi pop. Freddy—Mebbe he is, but he’ll never get back the money he lent my POP- 1

WILL FILL IN THE LAKE.

NEW GROUND TO BE MADE FOR THE WORLD’S FAIR. Eighty-nine Acres to Be Reclaimed from the Lake—The Filling: to Be Finished by the Last of Next July—Making Appointments—The Foreign Exhibits. [Chicago dispatch.] Specifications have been prepared for filling and piling the lake front for the World’s Fair. The executive committee spent two hours discussing the details of the work. A number of contractors awaited the result of the committee’s action, and about a hundred copies of the specifications were made for the bidders. The filling required to be done will be east of the Illinois Central Railroad, between the north line of Van Buren street and the south line of Park Row, both lines being extended east for a distance of 2,600 feet. A line connecting the outer ends of these projected lines will be the eastern boundary of the portion to be filled. The area will be about-forty-four acres, and will be inclosed by a revetment or shore protection 4,360 feet in length. The area to be piled is about forty-five acres and lies on two sides of the filled territory—north and east —and is Lshaped in general outline. Between the center line of Monroe and the north line of Van Buren street the piling is to extend east from the Illinois Central right of way 850 feet, and from Van Buren street to Park Row the piling is to be 250 feet wide. The piled area is to be protected by rows of piles tied together by heavy timbers. The contractor for the filling will be required to have the revetment completed and the whole area stipulated for filling filled up to a height of six feet above city datum on or before April 15, 1891, and the whole work of filling on or before July 31, 1891. That part of the piling between Monroe and Van Buren streets is required to be done by April 1, 1891, and the remainder of the work must be done by July 31. Treasurer Seeberger said that since the directory had decided to fill and pile the lake front there had been a noticeable increase in the collections, and that a better feeling prevailed among the subscribers. Some of them had been holding off because the work was not rapid enough. Now they were satisfied and coming forward with their payments. The Treasurer has $890,000 in bank to the credit of the corporation. “Who shall solicit exhibits? is the question that is forcing itself on the attention of all concerned in the interests of the fair,” said a Commissioner. “While the commission has the power of absolute control of the Exposition, Congress has not provided it with funds to pay the necessary expenses. There is a vast difference between the authority of the commission to act and its financial ability to perform, owing to the meager sum placed at its disposal by Congress. It makes no difference how much ‘authority’ the commission may have, the moment it ceases to have the necessary funds to pay current expenses that’moment it becomes powerless to go ahead. This Exposition is not like a Government contract, which so soon as the appropriation is expended can wait until Congress meets again. This work must be pushed night and day without any letup. “The Chicago Board has undertaken to furnish a site and expend $10,000,000 in buildings and other accommodations. Thus it may be seen both ends of the fair have been provided for. The Government has furnished the bosses and Chicago the capital to erect the buildings, but who is to furnish the exhibits or procure them seems to have been left out of the calculation. The ten or eleven bureaus proposed by Director General Davis to attend to these matters will cost at least SIO,OOO each, some of them much more, and of course it is out of the question to pay this expense from the present Government appropriation. It must be evident that this work, to be done effectively, must be done through bureaus, as proposed by Mr. Davis, and under his special supervision. It looks as if Congress created a great national commission without making provision to enable it to perform the duties required. No doubt this will be remedied when Congress meets again, but in the meantime ‘who will collect the exhibits’ and pay the necessary expenses is a question for the numerous ‘conference’ committees to solve.” Mr. Davis will probably appoint Vice President Bryan Chief -.of the Foreign Bureau. The appointment of Mr. Bryan will make him an officer of the National Commission, which has charge of the foreign exhibits. Mr. Bryan is an exceptional linguist for an American, speaking five or six European languages. He is a courteous and polished gentleman, a scholar, and a’business man of large capacity. He Is iMrst-class lawyer withal, and is eminently fitted for the place. Some of the Commissioners are veering around to the original position of the local board respccting>the site. “The main buildings,” said ohe of them, “ought to be on Jackson Park. I’d like to see Washington Park used for the overflow and as the camping ground of Indian villages and special exhibits. As much of the money as can be so used ought to be put into permanent improvements. I think the position ihr the South Park Board in<t]iis matter was right. Jackson Park; it seems to me, could easily be made the location of the main exhibition. The view would be the finest in the world —nothing like it anywhere. It would be , convenient, and could be reached by water and have a water connection with the Lake Front.” J. Ilerva Jones, of R6ckfard, Hl., proposes to reproduce “Old Faithful,” the largest geyser in the Yellowstone basin. He thinks the recurrent explosions can be reproduced by means of compressed air. Plans for dividing the fourth floor of the Rand-McNally building for the World’s Fair headquarters are being made by the architects.

Short Bits of News.

Stanley proves the Nile to be 4,100 miles long. Seven out of every eight loaves of bread eaten in London are made from foreign wheat. France has ordered a submarine boat, 131 feet long, to be built by the inventor of the Gymnote. Franklin File has obtained from a New York court permission to spell his name Fyles, -the old Holland way of spelling it. ' The hlndern way had a look about it that has long rasped his feel-* irgs.