Weekly Messenger, Volume 1, Number 51, Vevay, Switzerland County, 4 September 1832 — Page 4
Indian Hostilities. Ctnj) on the Htthts nf Quiftctmir. July 22, 1032. ';.; jC..I r of the Hiimii Patriot:
Sis Below you hive an extrac t lrc:n a L'ltri whi.!i h.13 k-en prepared to sond to
Genera! At liason, detailing lh;r cii cun-tan-ccs of uiir .st day's m irth, and a bailie with he Jio-til'j Indians, inJer the Black Otwk. A 1 informed yoi i i my last letter, we ltd "he pursuit of the Indians to g" tl) 'l,rt Winnebago ::f.: r nro isions. Wo there: drew :vl packed np;n our hordes twi ve day pro vision, leather with all our b.gg.ige. We then took up our march for the rapid's of Rock river, for th purpose tf falling in front f the enemy. When c gM fully under .vav, we fouv.d th:lt only .1 handful of mei, v. hen complied with th wh.-.lj at my, was ith u: but this did not deter us from our
purpos". We conlimieJ our march almost Jay and night, until we arrived at the Rapids of Rock river, where we ascert uned 'hat (he Indians had taken -a south-west course, and wcr.? making all p ssible speed to cross the Mississippi, Immediately all our wago;;s and all other heavy articles were aba::d jned, and we took the tr-ul in pursuit after the enemy. We. continued our mmn with all possible speed until the morniig of the ilst. On that day w rn ached witu our force (600 men ol the 3d brigade commanded by Gen. Hetiry, and about ISO men under Col. Dodge) froaa the F ur Lskes io this camp, a distance of forty miles, passed thro' the strong position of the Four Lakes tieietofore so much spoken of. N itvithstaidiug a chilling rain was constantly talli ig,e over
took and completely defeated and routed the
whole force 01 the erjomv before eignt o
clock ii the evening. When or viheie has an army composed of ra-u militia, done more than
ihhJh thr sim: time? Tne Ouiscoisin here
is swiinm ; g and verv rapid, and our horses complftudy exh.in.-t d. m anv of them having
u.cmy in Us accustomed mni'mer direcle
lantlv withstood the shock and drove hack
the survivor? in confusion and dismay. The brigade advancing from the right and left and centre, by heads of regiment, the line of battle was immediately cmr.p'.etcd, under the command ofNrolonel Jones on the left, supported by colonel Collins, who, a? soon as thev dismounted, commenced and maintain
ed a well directed fire against the enemy.
the right wine was commanded by lol.
Fry, who advanced nn the right with the tirt battalion and occupied a position on the
high ground above the marsh, and drove
back the enemv in its attemnts to flank to
the right of i3.
The enemy being driven back at all point?, took possession of a strong position on the
sides of the bights to the left, and in the ra
vine at tie-ir base. Thus ported, they threw
1 great rimber of shot against the front and
left wing, without ihe possibility of being
reacned ny ours: at tni- juncture. I ordered
the left wing, under com i.and of Col. Jones
(whose h irse had been shot under him at this
time,) and Collins, to advance quickly at a
charge, and take possession of the enemy's
position, and cover the height"; and Major James of (he 2d baitahon 2d regiment, with
wo companies of said battalion, sas ordered
to charge on the right. By request 01 gene
ral Dodge and major Lewis, they were or
dered to charge the enemy at point of bayo
net, lying covered in the ravine. These movements were effected with the greatest promptitude, nnd in the most gallant stvle.
I.i .1 few minutes the battle became general, and the enemy was soon driven from the heights, fleeing down the pres ipilous declivities, a.. 1 to.tlv refuge in the swamps and
1
itslberore they
vw. hence commented
re ache
d the Mississippi;
British Lfiieeu.wcre or'
.te t:
march; having all baggage wagons and eve
r) tiling else calculated to retard the pur-
Uit. The country through which the Indian rail lud our army between Ouiscunsin bluffs
and the Kicapoo river, was one continued sc-
ies ct mountain?. No sooner had thev reach
ed the summit 0:10 high and almost perpen
dicular hill, than thev had lo dcsiend on the
other side, equally steep, to the base of an
other, INothing but a deep ravine, with mud
dy banks, separated these mountains. 1 lie
woutls both upon the tops of the highest
mountains aid the deepest hollows, was el
from that time a fjrcr.J) ground.
Ii is the nci, era! itnprcfsion ;n the army
and al this phtce.lhat the Sate would be glad to conclude a peace on almost any terms wc misiKt propose. On the 'morning of the 4th inst. a party o.
Sioux came to i."ui camp, and begged permission to go on the back trail and have a tight with them. On the same day our whole army started to go down to Prarie du Chicn, (about 40 miles) and wait for further orders. Gen. Atkinson, accompanied by Generals Dodge aid i'ofey, with the U. S. Infantry, nrrived at the Frame on the evening of the 4th. on board the S. B. Warrior, and will ro
tbe highest growth. The tinder bushes were J main until the mounted volunteers arrive, chiefly thorn and prickly ash. This is a short The Winnebagots at Praiue du Chicn are
description of the route, and shews the difli
cuky of the pursuit. Nolwithstanumg I!
t'.tiis, our army gained on the evening daily
is appeared from the enemy a encampments. The tedious march thu continued whb met In our brave troops without a murmur; and as the Indians 6igus appeared, became anxious to push on. On the fourth night of our march from Helena, and at an encampment of the enemy, was discovered an old Sac Indian bv our t-pies, who informed them that the main body of the enemy had on that day
gone to the Mississippi, and intended to cross on the next morning, August 2d. The hor-
ges being nearly broken down, and the men nearly exhausted from fatigue, Gen. Atkinson ordered a halt for a few hours, (it being after 8 o'clock.) with the determination to start at 2 o'clock for the Mississippi, about 10 miles distant. At the precise hour the
bugles sounded, and all were ready (o marcb. (Jen. Dodge's squadron was honored with
beii g placed in front, the infantry followed
the Ouis nsin
Col. Fry, with the first battalion of his (2d) regiment, Invmg completely routed the enemv on our ritlv, was withdiawn from the
thick wo)ds and high grass in the bottoms of j next, Gen. Henry's brigade next, and Gen.
Posey's formed the rear guard
Gen. Dodge called for, and as soon receiv
ed, twenty volunteer spies to go ahead of
whole army.
In this order the march commenced ; they
nositioii he trten ore iinid in the battle, and
was ordered to guard the horse9 and bag- had not, however, gone more than five miles
ocen leii on trie march. ! e r;d r abandoning ig ige i itil the issue of the conflict was deter-1 icfore one oi our spies came back, announ
very thing bvn his t-n- and ammunition, 1 mined. I his important duty was rounded jung their having come in light of the ene
md ruutiiuj 01 f"t tarcah the high grass
and miry s vam' S a d ;.:ef t up with the horsemen. This detac'1 .ent of the arm is al tn.-.st on f pr- vi-iotic, and was so at the time of the b ttle, having thrown it away on ths pursuit of the enemy. Yet officers and men are determined to maintain our position io the country, uitil the arrival of fresh troops and provisions. Yours, Sic. M. M'CONNEL. I Briqadctr Gin. dikinson: Sir Part of the 3 J brigade, together with
lo the charge of Lt. Colonel Smi'.h, while mj 'a picket guaid ; he went back, and lntelli-
Col. Fry was engaged in the lines. Mj r gence was qcickly conveyed to Gen. Atkiie Wood of the 3d, and Maj Miller of the 4 s 'son, then to all the commanders of the brig regiments, commanded and sustained Ur: Ir-M ;ades, and the celerity of the march was ir.
01 ineir respective regiments, wnne eng g( sianuy increases. 111 a lew minutes more
with the enemy on the charge, and acquiiteti :the hnng commenced At about 600 yards
themselves in a manner worthy of iheir chu
racters as othcersand men. Having no information of the probable position of the rest of the enemy, and the situa-
Hon ot the ground, ana necause 01 tne ap-
and
aie sq iadron undfr the commnnd of Gen. Dodge, moved from its encampment at the pass of the F"ir Like, on tkie 21st int. at quick time. H tv;ng passed this defile, the brigade entered an open country thinly cov
ered with overcup oik, on the right bank of
one of the hour Lukes. About 10 o clock, A m. a party of scouts discovered and killed the
first Sac warrior; proceeding in the trail of
the enemy a few miles further in advance at the head of our lines, three other hostile Sacs rere discovered, two of whom were killed, the other made his escape. These circumstances raised the hopes of (he brigade to th"i belief that the wih Hawk and h s desperate
tollowers could and would be ovarMken; its movements conseqHently were greatlv accelerated. In the rneanwhile a chilling rain begin to fall nrA continued all Mjr,t, which rendered thr i-nc exceed'r.!y unfavorable fir tiie ar.iicioned figM. Passing rapidly f.o.n tLi- p, hit, the enemy !)( : . t sh iw itc- if f,-m ih, i,ii,ts on
the rig .t .n, .j!-. T ie t-ne.ny threw back 1 pirty of mourn, d warri. o to'orrupy a position 0:1 the 1. ft; ibis .11 vemeiit occasioned a temporary halt and formation of the line of battle. It was soon, however, discoversd to be a chancteristir ;ratagem of the Sac leader, aod the brigade moved forward. The enemy occasionally sh.twed itself in front and
Ilank, until the advanced columns cotnnosr.d
'preach of night, I withdrew the troops, iihout eight o'clock, went into encampi:
ahead of the front of the arm), between our guards and the Indian picket. The Indians were driven from hill to hill, and kept up a tolerably brisk firing and frem every situation
commanding the ground over which ur spies had to march, but being charged upon and
pment 1 routed from their hiding places, they sought
on the ground where the attack was first safety by retreating to the main body, on the II iL I- f! 1
rnaue oy ne enemv. oann 01 tne river, anu joinea m one general
In all hese novement I received efficient' effort to defend themselves there or die on
aid from Col. McConnel, who in the absence of my first aid-de-camp, performed the duties of that statfon with coolness, promptness,
the ground.
Lest some might escape by retreating up
or down tne river, uen. Atkinson very judi
and lo my entire satisfac ion. Assisted by ciousl) ordered Gen. Alexander and Genera
Mr. Johnson and other, he communicated Posey to form the right wing of the armv
to the officers of the line all orders directed and march down to the river above the Inch
to be given, and accompanied Col. I ry in his au encampment, and then move down. Gen
charge on the right. ; Henry formed the left wieg and marrhed in
In short, it is with much pleasure that I ' the main trail of the enemy. The U.
have it in rov power to say to you, that the! Infantry and Gen. Dodge's squadron of the
officers and men under my command, with- mining troops marched in the centre
out a single exception, demand and have my With this order our troops descended tbe
sincere tnanKe, ana oeserve wen 01 meir almost perpendicular blult, and came into a country, far their prompt obedience of orders'low valley heavily timbered, with a large
and unyielding bravery on this occasion. growth of under brush, weeds, and gras. At an early hour this morning the whole Sloughs, deep ravines, old logs, ttc. were so aimy was marched on foot (except the 4th! plenty as to afford every facility to the encrcgiment left to guard the camp under com 'mj to make a strong co fence, mind of Col. Collins) through the swamp to General Henry first came upon and com
the bank of the river, where we expected to menced a heavy fire, which was returned by find the residue of ihe enemy's force but ' the enemy. The enemy being routed from they had escaped. By means of bark canoes their first hiding place, sought others. Gen. they were enabled to pass the river during Dodge's squadron and the U. S. froops soon 1 1 1 u . 1.:. j k .1 . : 0 . . .. . . . . .
tne nignt. leaving ucmnu me 1101.1.11 came into action, and with Uen. Henry
ot their rhvcis
daily blinking in Sac prisoner? ard scalps.
On the same day a party of 15 men from Cassville, under the command of Capf. Price,' were reconnoitering the country between th;it phict- and the Winconsin, and fell upon a fresh Sac trail making towards the Mississippi. They ruihed with full speed of horses, soon came upon them, and killed and took prisoners to the number of 12Gen. Scott and staff left here this morning for Prarie du Chien in the S. B. Warrior, to join Gen. Atkinson.
Anecdote nf the Emperor Alexander. The
emperor was accustomed to travel with the
utmost rapidity. On a ceitam occasion h!9 majest), fatigued by having remained a long
time in his carriage, alighted, and unaccom
panicd by any one of his suite, pursued h:s
way on foot through a village that lay before him. The autoerat of all the Russians was attired in his usual travelling costume a military g'tat coat without any particular
mark of distinction. Jjesirous ot obtaining some information respecting the road he was
pursuing, he accosted a military looking per1 . .- ..1
sonage, who siooa smoking a cigar at me
door of a house, io each ot the emperors questions the stranger replied in tbe most un-' courteous manner; and by way of terminating
the ungracious pane) "Allow me to ask, said Alexander, "what may be your rank?r
"Guess." ''Perhaps, sir, you may be a lieu
tenant '-Higher, if you please." "Lap-
tain?" "Another step." Major!" "Go on, go on." "Lieutenant colonel, I presume?'
"You have hit it at last, though not without fcfTsrt." These words were pronounced in ft
tone of arrogance; and the several answers in the preceding dialogue, were accompanied by a clould of smoke puffed full in the
emperor s face. "Wow comes my turn, good
Mr. Traveller, said the racer: "Pray what may be your military rank!" "Guess.
M t il, then, at the first glance, I should sayt
cuptain! ' "Higher, it you please." "M-
jort" "Go eft, if you please." Lieut, colo
nel." "Pray, go on. " Colonel. "A little higher, if yoa please." (The officer upon this threw away the stump of his cigar. " Major-gcneral i" "Another step, if you please." (The officer now stood immoveable at "attention.") ''Your excellency is then lieutenant-general." "You are not quite up to the mark." "In that case, I have the honor to address m)self to his 6erene highness the field-marshal?" "Do me the favor, lieutenant-colonel, to make another effort?" "Ah,
We had one man killed, and eight wound
ed, none mortally, The number of the ene. mv killed and wounded, is unknown, us the
idead are scattered over a large tract of coun
of Gen. Dadge's squadron and Mai. Ewing's'try covered with thick weode and high grass
battallion of spies halted. This Men wa la
ken in consequence of a scattering and skirmishing fire heard on the left. It was immediately dicovercd that the close pursuit and daring courage of the scouts from the sqad:on h id brought the enemy at bay at ihis point the Ouisconsin was in sight on the, right, 1 succession of lofty peks on the left, ai d
less elevated heights on the right; the btigade occupying an uneven plain; in front lay ! the second' step of (he river, thi-.ly coveted) with low overrup oak: on the L-t'l and h--i!
'ween the position of'tbe hi i.r.-wi.- n, 1b..1
above mentioned Sacs, runs a deep ravine from !';ft to right, diagonally across the fmr.1 nnd bounding thr aforc-said'siep; before this lies a marsh covered with' the luxuriant growth ,," gnss. which conlinues to the nifirin of the river, heii;g inlertupted only bv
on siignt eievateo.i of sandy ground
Between thirty and forty have been found,
and others continually being discovered by our scouts. From appearances the wounded and many of the de-id were removed the night snreceding the battle. The name of the person killed is J. T Short, of Randolph county, Illinois Signed, &C.
Galma, III
Havm;: just returned (rem the war, we i.:ve it in our power to impart some cheer
ing intelligence. The whole army und : r General Atkinson, embracing the brigades commanded b) Generals Henrv, P. sey,and Alexander, and squadron under Gen. Dodge, all crossed over to the north side of the Ouisconsin at Helena, on the 2'6ih and'29lh ult. Thev took a line
of march in a northerly direction, in order
Thus was the situation of the coui.trv !' intersect the Indian trail. At a distance
when it v . r 1.
01 Uie i-oiMi
Jell columns
.s di-coveicd tint the whole fic
ny w;ks advancing. The right and
of tho advance under the com-
fnati.l of Gi 11. Dodge, and fhe centre column
It llltl.1:: lilt; lltumii li.ail. 4l 41 lll?lrlinc of ti!i$ut live miles, the; greal trail was disco
vered, leading in a direction N. of W. towards the Mississippi, and supposed to be about four days old.
men, rushed into the strong defiles of the enemy, and killed all in their way, except a
few who succeeded in swimming a slough of
the Mississippi, 150 yards wide. During this time, the brigades of Generals Alexander and Posey, were marching down the river when they fell in with another part of the enemy's army, and killed and routed all that opposed them. The battle lasted upwards of three hours. About 50 of the. enemy's women and children were taken prisoners, and many by accident in the battle, were killed. p When the Indians were driven to the bank of the Mississippi, some hundreds of nu n, women, and children plunged into the river, and hoped, by diving, Szc. to escape, the bullets of our guns; very few, however, escaped our bharp shooters. The loss on the side of (he enemy never can exactly ascertained; hut according to the best compulation, they must have loM in killed upwards of 150. Our lo-s in killed and wonnded was 27. Some had crossed the river before our arrival, and ue lenrned by a prisoner, that I'd ick Hawk, while the bailie waxed warm, had stolen olF and gone Pier the river on this side. If he did, he toek nothing ui'h
him: for his valuables, many of them, togcth
sire," cried the officer with emotion, "will your majesty deign to pardon met But could I imagine that the emperor " "I am not effended; and lo prove it, if you have a favor to ask, I will grant it with pleasure." Patent Bread Our readers have doubtless heard of a late discovery by which the alcohol hitherto decomposed and dissipated in the process of baking, has been collected, so as (o form, when rectified, a spirit of considerable strength. The following are the distinguished features and advantages of the process: The dough is baked in two metallic ovens, which form together a square of fifteen feef. They are heated by one revolving fire beneath, either white coke or coal, of which the quantity consumed is small, less than one bushel sufficing to bake seven sacks of flour. The temperature of the oven is regulated with accuracy; consequently the bread is not carbonized; while the qualify becomes improved through its freedom from aridity. Upon the plan adopted, labor is also considerably diminished; and the knc'.uing being done by machinery, there is, 0! couree, greater ch anlmess. as well as grealor economy, than by Ihe old method. The spirit forms a source of profit, concerniii? which nothing need be aid, its quantity lc. ing no less than fn in three quarters of a;v
ounce to one ounce in a loaf of foJt pcandf
ind n:-o:nor advantage to which wc yet referred is that fhe bread ran
be kept lor a lengthened period, as good as when first baked a mosf important cons; ' delation to captains of ship,. An instance has been stated to hm, where it was kept six weeks; and it might probably even be kept longer. Hope. Never qua your l.opr;-". Hope is'
often letlf r than eiiovmenf. Ilene is ofie.
the cause n; well as the effect of youth. I; is n very nlen.-Janl and healthy nastifn. A
weight ;
have not
under the command of Mijor Lning, wer Geiu Atkinson seeing the direction of the er with certificates of good character, and nf'hoicle.v person is deserted bv himsrlf- -,r,rt
jimiiedi it'jlv formed in line of battle by their enemy, knew well that it would require all his having fought bravely against the United he who forsakes himself soon forskee. btr rc:-p ttive commanders; at this ir.-iiat' 'die dilHnce and cxpedittun to overt ike hetn Stales during tb? last v. :;r, fc". stjncd by friends a uJ fortane. I'trW. y. ' '
