The two were brought out upon the prairie. Again the thirty yards were allowed; again the Chippewa guns were fired. For once it seemed that this Indian punishment of "running the gantlet" would lose a victim. For Toopunkah Zeze was still running. The bullet had cut the rope that bound him to his falling companion. With new hope he leaped forward. There was a shout of triumph from a group of Sioux hidden in the bushes; and the children of the fort, who had climbed upon the buildings to view the bloody scene from afar, clapped their hands. But the Chippewas were cool in their vengeance. Guns were reloaded and deliberate aim taken. The flints struck, and Toopunkah Zeze, now a hundred and fifty yards away and a second's distance from a place where the straggling groves of the prairie offered life, fell dead. Two more bodies were thrown over the precipice into the river.[327]

For ten years the hostility continued, but the environs of the fort were sacred places. An effective lesson had been taught in 1827. But on August 2, 1838, Hole-in-the-Day, a Chippewa chief, and five of his band came to Fort Snelling on a visit. That spring there had been a treacherous massacre by Hole-in-the-Day at a Sioux camp. It was true, as he said in the poetic simplicity of Indian style: "You See I cannot keep my face Clean—as fast as it is Washed—I am Compelled to black it Again.—but My heart towards you is the Same.—My Fathers Bones Sleep by your house—My Daughter at the Falls Near the Grave of my Uncle—My Wife lies at the Mouth of Sauk River—and a few days past I buried My Son."[328]

On the following evening some Sioux of Mud Lake, hearing of the presence of the Chippewas, rode over to Baker's trading house where the Chippewas were encamped. Major Taliaferro had heard of the departure of the war party and had hurried to the scene. Just as he arrived the Sioux fired upon their enemies, killing one outright and wounding another in the knee. All but one of the Chippewas had laid aside their guns, thinking that they were upon neutral ground. This one, seeing a Sioux in the act of scalping the fallen Chippewa, fired upon him and wounded him mortally. But aided by the dusk the wounded Sioux was able to run more than a mile before he fell from loss of blood.

The Chippewas were immediately brought into the fort for protection. On the next day Major Plympton and the Indian agent called together the chiefs of the neighboring villages. There was a long council until Major Plympton broke it up by saying peremptorily: "It is unnecessary to talk much. I have demanded the guilty—they must be brought."

At half past five that evening the Sioux were delivered up. Three brothers had been accused of being guilty of the murder. One of them could not be brought because he was dying of the wound received the evening before. Much ceremony attended the proceedings as the Indian mother led her sons to the officers saying: "Of seven sons three only are left; one of them is wounded, and soon will die, and if the two now given up are shot, my all is gone. I called on the head men to follow me to the Fort. I started with the prisoners, singing their death song, and have delivered them at the gate of the Fort. Have mercy on them for their youth and folly."[329]

Because of the attack which Hole-in-the-Day had made on the Sioux a short time before, Major Plympton decided not to execute the prisoners. They were turned over to their own people to be flogged in the presence of the officers. More humiliating than death was their punishment. Their blankets, leggins, and breech-cloths were cut into small pieces, and finally the braves whipped them with long sticks while the women stood about crying.[330]

Although there was now a deep desire for revenge in each of the tribes, they manifested outward friendliness when they met at the fort. During the month of June, 1839, there came to Fort Snelling over twelve hundred Chippewas thinking that there they would be paid their annuities for the land they had ceded in 1837. There were two main groups—one which came down from the headwaters of the Mississippi, and the other which came up the river from the vicinity of the St. Croix. At the same time Sioux numbering eight hundred and seventy were encamped near the agency. This was considered an opportune time to conclude a peace, and so the long calumet with its mixture of tobacco and bark of the willow tree was smoked while friendly athletic contests were held on the prairie. On July 1st the two parties of Chippewas started for home. But in one of the bands were the two sons of the man who had been murdered the year before. In the evening before beginning their homeward journey, they visited the graveyard of the fort to cry over the grave of their father. Here the thought of vengeance came to them, and morning found them hidden in the bushes near the trail that skirted the shore of Lake Harriet. The Badger, a Sioux warrior, was the first to pass that way as he went out in the early morning to hunt pigeons. A moment later he was shot and scalped. The murderers then hurried away and hid behind the water at Minnehaha Falls.

A few hours later, when the news had spread throughout all the Sioux villages, two bands set out to take revenge upon the departing Chippewas. The old men, the women, and the children remained at home, eagerly awaiting the result of the coming battle and cutting their arms and legs with their knives in grief over the losses which they knew their bands would have to undergo.

It happened that at that time the Right Reverend Mathias Loras, the first Bishop of Dubuque, was at Fort Snelling. He had been an interested spectator at the Sioux-Chippewa peace parleys, had watched the departure of the determined avengers, and now was anxiously awaiting the result of the conflict. On the morning of July 4th as he was praying at his altar for the prosperity of his country he was startled by the shrill notes of the Sioux death-song, and gazing through the window saw a bloody throng, dancing about the long poles from which dangled scalps with parts of the skulls still attached. Two terrible struggles had taken place the day before. On the Rum River seventy Chippewa scalps had been taken, and on the banks of Lake St. Croix twenty-five more were obtained. In both cases the losses of the Sioux were smaller. These trophies were brought to the villages, where they were danced about nightly until the leaves began to fall in the autumn, when they were buried.[331]

These incidents which centered about Fort Snelling have led to the charge made against it, that instead of preventing the conflicts the fort intensified them. The fort was a convenient meeting place, it is argued, whither both parties resorted only to become involved in altercations and disputes which resulted in a flaring-up of old flames.[332] But it must be remembered that the murders away from the fort were more numerous;[333] and it is easier to recall the spectacular encounters which occurred at the fort, than the many occasions when the two tribes met peacefully as the guests of the officials.

A military officer who was stationed there wrote: "At Fort Snelling I have seen the Sioux and Chippeways in friendly converse, and passing their pipes in the most amicable manner when if they had met away from the post each would have been striving for the other's scalp."[334] The Indian agent, whose success depended upon the continuation of peace, noted with pleasure these friendly gatherings. "The Crane and the Hole in the Day—and other Chippeways at the Agency this day—Several Sissiton Sioux also at the Agency."[335] These visits were often protracted for several weeks without trouble. "Chippeways—a number of these people also at the agency—some have been here for nearly 30 days—fishing & liveing better & more independently than the Sioux."[336] On the 29th and 30th of June, 1831, Chippewas to the number of one hundred and fifty met five villages of Sioux.[337]

Efforts to combat the evil were made in council with the Indians. "Your wars with the Chippeways can never be of service to anyone", reasoned their "Father", "for as fast as you destroy one—two or three more young men are ready to take the track of their deceased friends—The old people among you ought to know this—after the long wars between you".[338] Most of the encounters took place either when the warriors were emboldened by liquor, or when the rival hunting parties met on the plains. The strict enforcement of the law of 1832 prohibiting the introduction of spirits had a tranquilizing effect in the country of the Chippewas. Indeed, the principal object of all efforts to suppress the liquor traffic was the prevention of inter-tribal wars.[339]

Constant watching of the hunting parties and admonition as to their conduct were among the duties of the agent. "Sent my interpreter up the Mississippi among the Indians", he writes, "to see how they are progressing in their hunts and as to the present hunting grounds of the Chippeways." Eight days later record is made of the fact that "the Rum River Chippeways left for their camp this morning—Sent word to their people to hunt on their own Lands & not by any Means to intrude upon the Soil of the Sioux." When the interpreter returned he reported that everything was quiet between the two tribes.[340] The sending of "runners" to the camps was a frequent occurrence during the winter of 1831, the region covered being eighty miles to the east and two hundred miles to the north.[341]

In the treaty of Prairie du Chien of 1825 a dividing line between the two tribes, beyond which neither should pass, was agreed upon.[342] But this provision was for many years a dead letter. As long as the line was unsurveyed the natives could urge indefiniteness of territory as an excuse for murder and depredations—claiming that the other party was the trespasser. When Schoolcraft met the chiefs of the Chippewas in council at Leech Lake in 1832, the latter complained that the provisions of the treaty had not been carried out. "The words of the Long-knives have passed through our forests as a rushing wind, but they have been words merely. They have only shaken the trees, but have not stopped to break them down, nor even to make the rough places smooth."[343] As a result Mr. Schoolcraft urged upon the Secretary of War the necessity of marking the line.[344]

Seven thousand dollars were appropriated by the act of June 26, 1834, for the purpose of running this line,[345] and the next spring Major J. L. Bean, accompanied by Duncan Campbell, the Sioux interpreter of the agency, commenced the survey.[346] Later an escort of troops from Fort Snelling was sent him under the command of Lieutenant William Storer, with the result that the reduced garrison was unable to enforce order.[347] When the survey had been completed from the Chippewa River to Otter Tail Lake the return of the military escort put an end to the work, but the agent was of the opinion that the most important part had been marked.[348]

Efforts were made by the government to keep down the warlike spirit of the tribes. Thus, when Captain Gale allowed the Indians to come into the fort and dance the scalp dance in June, 1830, his act was disapproved of, and he had to stand trial.[349] Likewise peace conferences were fostered in order to put the seal of the authority of the government upon the transactions. During the winter of 1831 truces were made between several of the bands through the efforts of Agent Taliaferro.[350] On August 2, 1843, a great gathering of the two nations was held at the fort, where a treaty of peace was drawn up under the auspices of the civil and military authorities.[351] During the first year it was kept inviolate, "if we except two or three individual cases of outrage."[352]

Even as late as June, 1850, an assemblage of both tribes was called together by Governor Ramsey. The Chippewas were encamped north of the fort on the bluff above the Mississippi. In front of them a detachment of infantry was drawn up. Within the fort the artillery was in readiness. When word was sent to the Sioux that all things were ready, they approached, about three hundred strong, on horseback, all armed and painted, their whoops mingling with the jingling of their arms, ornaments, and the bells of their horses. Making a feint as if to rush around the soldiers, they suddenly wheeled to one side and became quiet; while the Chippewas on the other side of the line of infantry continued to dance and wave their weapons. It was amid such stirring war-like scenes that attempts for peace were made.[353]

The earliest policy of the government had been to interfere as little as possible, and to allow retribution to be made by one tribe on another. But such inactivity did not appeal to a red-blooded officer like Colonel Snelling, who wrote after the trouble in 1827: "I have no hesitation in Saying that the Military on this frontier are useless for want of discretionary power, and that if it is not intrusted to the Commander, Men of Straw with Wooden Guns and Swords will answer the purpose as well as a Regt of Infantry."[354]

But later the policy was adopted of confining in the "Black Hole" of the fort any culprits who were captured. Thirteen of the Sioux who participated in a massacre at Apple River were imprisoned;[355] and on one occasion Little Crow's band performed the scalp dance near Fort Snelling in commemoration of the murder of two Chippewas, while the murderers themselves languished in the fort.[356] Probably this method of dealing with the problem would have been adopted earlier; but "the force at this point", wrote an officer, "has been too small to send a sufficient force to take the offenders, even should an order to that effect be issued."[357]

To determine how influential Fort Snelling was in maintaining order is impossible. As was the case with the liquor traffic, conditions were bad but could have been worse. From time to time there were events that indicated some success. After a peace had been concluded on the fourth of June, 1823, a small quarrel almost precipitated a general conflict on the sixth. Much to the chagrin of the Italian traveller, J. C. Beltrami, who was then a guest at the fort, the officers were successful in preventing bloodshed. "Everything conspired against my poor notes", he wrote, "I had already perched myself on an eminence for the purpose of enriching them with an Indian battle, and behold I have nothing to write but this miserable article!... I almost suspected that the savages were in a league with the gentlemen of the fort to disappoint me."[358]

Peace was maintained during the winter of 1831 on a line of three hundred and forty miles above and below Fort Snelling, and on one occasion there occurred the pleasant sight of Sioux and Chippewas departing in company for their hunting grounds on the Sauk River.[359] Man-of-the-sky, who was chief of the Lake Calhoun band of Sioux, boasted that although he was only twenty-five years old at the time, he had already killed six Chippewas when Fort Snelling was erected, and added: "Had it not been for that I should have killed many more, or have been myself killed ere this."[360] It is interesting to note in connection with the sacredness of these treaties the comment of Major Taliaferro that "much more reliance is to be placed in the good faith of the Chippeways than in that of the Sioux."[361]

These spasmodic successes at least acquainted the Indians with governmental restraint. A paragraph from the manuscript diary of the agent refutes the argument that Fort Snelling intensified rather than alleviated these struggles. "From January 1833 up to this day", wrote Taliaferro, "there has been no difficulty between the Sioux and Chippeways—I once kept these tribes at peace for two years and Six Months lacking 15 days. And this between the years 1821 & 1825 till June 8th of the latter year. Colonel Robert Dickson remarked to me that Such a thing had never occurred before even when he headed the tribes against Us in the War of 1812."[362]



IX

THE FUR TRADE

The Indian trading-house which had been planned for the agency at Fort Snelling never materialized. Failure of the houses in operation to pay expenses and the opposition of the private traders led to their abolition in 1822. Thereafter, whatever attention the government directed toward the trade was influenced by the desire to prevent tampering with the allegiance of the Indians on the part of foreigners and to control this traffic which could contribute so much good or so much evil to the lives of the government's wards.[363]

With the Indian trade left to the private traders, great trading companies developed, since the fur trade easily lent itself to the corporation system. Cooeperation in the marketing of furs and in the buying of goods eliminated many of the difficulties which a single individual would meet. The American Fur Company, so long guided by John Jacob Astor, had a practical monopoly of the trade during the time that Old Fort Snelling was in existence. Mendota was the headquarters of a vast region which extended from the Mississippi to the headwaters of the streams flowing into the Missouri. At various places throughout this territory were trading posts called "forts", although they consisted of no more than a few huts within a stockade. These were all subsidiary to the post at Mendota.

Goods for the Indian trade were much the same as those given as presents by the government officials—blankets, trinkets, tobacco, knives, and the like. These goods were sent in great Mackinac boats from the East to be distributed among the posts. Each Indian hunter received on credit goods valued at forty or fifty dollars in payment for which he pledged the spoils of his winter's hunt. If the trader did not go with his band, he visited them occasionally or sent his engages to see that they were hunting and that no other trader was tampering with them to secure their furs. In the spring the Indian would deliver furs valued at twice the amount of the goods received. The trading company's profit was, accordingly, about one hundred per cent. To carry out the details of the traffic there grew up within the company a complicated system of factors, clerks, voyageurs, and hivernants.[364]

With the entire system of the fur trade the military officials had little to do except in the matter of regulation. Not much military protection was necessary as the Indian looked upon the trader more as a friend than an enemy.[365] Care in respect to the character of the men engaged and supervision of the method of carrying on trade were the two things necessary. According to the act of March 30, 1802, which was supplemented by the acts of April 29, 1816, and June 30, 1834, no one could carry on trade with the Indians without obtaining a license from an Indian agent, which was subject to revocation by the superintendent of the district.[366]

Many were the problems which Major Taliaferro was obliged to consider when he granted a license. A license was valid for trade only at a certain place and among a certain tribe. The trader must be an American citizen. He was not allowed to carry with him any insignia of a foreign power. An invoice of his goods was presented to the agent, who had to certify to its correctness. Liquor was prohibited, and the trader was responsible for the conduct of all the members of his party in this matter. To guarantee the fulfillment of all these requirements, bond had to be given at the time of obtaining the permit.[367]

To examine all the applicants, to keep in touch with them in the field, and to obtain the truth in regard to their conduct was enough to keep both agent and officers at Fort Snelling busy. In 1826 twenty-five licenses were granted; in 1827, eleven; in 1830, thirteen; and in 1831, fourteen.[368] The amount of this trade was very large, as is indicated by the case of Mr. Faribault who traded on the Cannon River. One year he marketed 50 buffalo-robes, 39,080 muskrats, 2050 pounds of deer skins, 125 pounds of beaver, 130 martin, 1100 mink, 663 raccoons, 331 otter, 25 lynx, and 5 foxes.[369]

There was a great deal of vagueness as to the application of the trade laws—"a mist of uncertainty" as Taliaferro called it.[370] Governor Cass of Michigan Territory allowed foreigners to enter into expeditions as interpreters or boatmen, who upon entering the wilderness took active charge of the crew and all operations.[371] As far as Fort Snelling was concerned there was little call for the ejection of foreigners by force. In 1833 it was rumored that a foreigner was trading on the Sheyenne River—a tributary of the Red River. But with the despatch of a company of troops and the rumor of their approach, the culprit immediately decamped.[372]

The building of the fort was in itself enough to impress British subjects with the firmness of the United States government. Joseph Renville, Kenneth McKenzie, and William Laidlaw, former employees of the English companies, in 1822 organized the Columbia Fur Company, and obtained a license from Major Taliaferro. In five years they had posts from Green Bay to the Missouri River, with their headquarters at Land's End, a short distance up the Minnesota River from Fort Snelling. But in 1827 a union with the American Fur Company was brought about.[373]

Traders licensed by the agent at Fort Snelling covered the territory as far west as the Missouri River. No post could be established without his approval; and he even attempted to regulate the form in which the establishment should be built.[374] On the whole, cooeperation between the factors of the fur companies and the officials at the post was desired by both parties. The most notable disagreement is that which existed between Alexis Bailly, the chief factor at Mendota, and Major Taliaferro. This disagreement continued until September 15, 1834, when the agent reported that he had refused to allow Bailly to hold further intercourse with the natives, "not only in Consequence of his bad tongue, but on account also of his frequent Violations of the intercourse laws". In this action he was seconded by the authorities of the fur company, who sent Mr. H. H. Sibley to fill Mr. Bailly's place.[375] The pleasant relations which existed between Mr. Sibley and all the government officials—civil and military—is one of the charming chapters in the history of the fort.[376]

Intimately connected with the fur trade was the liquor traffic. Not that the traders were always responsible for the introduction of the tabooed commodity, but they were connected with it to such an extent as to be always under suspicion. Nor was the attitude of the government consistent. When Pike ascended the Mississippi he spoke of the evil effects of rum to the chiefs who ceded to the United States the military reservation; but the explorer closed with the words: "before my departure I will give you some liquor to clear your throats."[377] Even Taliaferro, foe that he was of liquor, knew its power. When a neighboring chief and thirty of his men visited the agency, he recorded: "After council—gave him 30 Rats Bread—50 Rats Pork—10 lbs Tobacco—3 gallons of whiskey—the last for good Conduct towards the Chippeways."[378]

Liquor was an important asset in carrying on the fur trade. The object was to please the red man, not to stupefy him to such an extent that he could be swindled. With the growth of the great companies and the influx of numbers of private traders there were many bidders for each Indian's furs. Complaint was continual that the British traders about the Lake of the Woods successfully offered whiskey as an inducement to get the trade of the American Indians.[379] Governor Cass, thinking it would be worse to lose the trade than admit the liquor, allowed its introduction, in "limited quantities", by those engaged in business along the boundary.[380] But the act of July 9, 1832, provided, that "no ardent spirits shall be hereafter introduced, under any pretence, into the Indian country."[381] This put an end to the stock excuse. At the same time Americans suffered to such an extent that Mr. Norman W. Kittson at Pembina wanted permission to destroy all liquor and punish all offenders, promising "that very little would be introduced after a short time".[382] So acute was the difficulty that it became the subject of diplomatic correspondence with Great Britain; but the authorities of the Hudson's Bay Company retorted that "spirits are even clandestinely introduced into the Company's territories by citizens of the United States."[383]

During the first years stringent measures were in force at the mouth of the Minnesota River. At Prairie du Chien, Taliaferro had seen the barrels rolled out from the river vessels and they foretold to him coming murders and depredations. His cooeperating friend, Colonel Snelling, graphically described its evil effects. "Herds of Indians", he said, "are drawn together by the fascinations of whisky, and they exhibit the most degraded picture of human nature I ever witnessed."[384] The drunken Indian did not molest the trader; his peaceful fellow-tribesman suffered more. "An Indian killed at Al [?] Faribault's Trading house—whiskey was given the Indian for his furs—by Mr. F.—The deceased then invited one of his friends to drink with him—the invitation was accepted—when this friend becoming inflamed with the Liquor very inhospitably sunk his Tomahawk into the head of his host—whiskey it is said does no harm in the Trade by persons interested—but the foregoing is only one of the many hundred fatal occurrences from its use in procuring furs unlawfully."[385]

In fact, the Indians were continually agitated. If they received the spirits they naturally revelled. When their supply was exhausted they raged and fumed until they secured more. Sometimes the disease was more desirable than the cure. "I have thus far seen but few of the indians of this place and I am in hopes of passing on North without much trouble there has just arrived a fresh supply of whiskey which will keep them busy for a few days and by that time my carts will be almost out of their reach."[386]

The eagerness for liquor on the part of the Indians made its introduction all the more easy. For it they were willing to pay much: eight horses were at one time exchanged for eight kegs of whiskey,[387] and the current rate at which it sold is indicated by the complaint which a Chippewa chief poured into the ears of the agent: "My Father—Is it right for our traders to make us pay 200 Musk Rats, and 3 otters for a 3 gallon keg of mixed whiskey?"[388] They would undergo extreme physical suffering, lying out in the rain and wading rivers and swamps, to bring the precious liquid to their villages.[389]

The officers were never successful in entirely banishing the prohibited article. Conditions depended upon the eagerness of the military and civil agents, on the number of soldiers stationed at the fort, and on the wiliness of the culprits. On one occasion liquor "was found secreted in barrels of corn, buried on the beach and in other secret places, and destroyed."[390]

Major Taliaferro was not lax in enforcing the laws. Every boat passing Fort Snelling was searched, and no liquor was allowed to enter the Indian country.[391] A few stray references seem to indicate what was a usual occupation of the troops. "The Sub Agent Mr. Grooms left with 10 men on his 2d expedition below Lake Pepin in quest of whiskey Smuglers—as our Indians even entering the country with it from Prairie du Chiens and the Traders of the Am Fur Cpy are geting whiskey over the country by land and water".[392] During May, 1827, the agent called the attention of Colonel Josiah Snelling to the fact that in Mr. Bailly's store at Mendota there was whiskey which had been introduced into the Indian country contrary to law. Accordingly a detachment of soldiers was sent under the command of Lieutenant J. B. F. Rupel, who succeeded in finding two barrels which were taken away and stored in the fort.[393]

The year 1832 saw especial activity in the destruction of liquor. The boat of one trader passed up the Mississippi during April, having on board eighteen barrels of whiskey.[394] Later in the season the vigilance of the officers had direct results. In July eleven kegs of high wines, very strong in quality, and in quantity amounting to one hundred and ten gallons, were taken from the boat of Hazen Moores by Captain J. Vail. The value of this liquor was $330. In October of the same year, five kegs of high wines and one keg of whiskey were found by Lieutenant I. K. Greenough in the boat of Louis Provencalle. These confiscated kegs were stored in the fort, and an interesting side-light on their ultimate fate is contained in the report of Major Taliaferro "I am of opinion", he wrote, "from what I hear that the High Wines, and Whiskey Seized by Lieuts Vail and Greenough, and in Store here will soon be of little account in Consequence of loss by leakage, and the property Not in charge of any responsible person—Other than its mere deposite in the public store." Whether any efforts were made to stop the leaks is not mentioned.[395]

These energetic movements caused "consternation among those natives who have not yet joined the temperance Societties".[396] But they also caused violent opposition from the men whose goods had been seized. These traders commenced a suit in the courts at Prairie du Chien against the commanding officer at Fort Snelling, arguing that while the law prohibited the introduction of liquor into the Indian country, this seizure had been made on the Mississippi River—"a common highway open to all the Citizens of the United States".[397]

It is impossible to follow the course of the whiskey traffic through its ups and downs. Numerous cases are recorded where the soldiers "knocked in the head" the whiskey barrels.[398] But it was probably true, as the missionary S. R. Riggs wrote from Lac qui Parle on June 15, 1847, to the Indian agent: "The whiskey destroyed by the efforts of yourself and the commanding officer at Fort Snelling forms the glorious exception, and not the rule."[399]

Under the regulations existing in 1830 the traders were allowed to take with them into the Indian country one gallon per month for every person engaged in the party. Under plea of this they brought in high wines which were later diluted with water and distributed among the Indians. Of the amount brought in, the employees actually saw only one-third, and this they paid for at the rate of from eight to sixteen dollars per gallon.[400] Accordingly, Major Taliaferro issued a circular letter in which he stated that high wines and whiskey would be allowed to be brought in "in no case whatever".[401] Actions such as these by the agent, who was still a young man, brought about the remark which Mr. Aitkin, a trader among the Chippewas, is reported to have made to some chiefs: "The Medals and Flags which you received at St Peters are nothing more than pewter and dish rags, and were given to you by a boy, and with a boys paw."[402]

Much of the good which should have resulted from the activities of the officers was lost because the Indian could not be punished. If liquor was found in his possession and seized there was nothing to prevent his going back and obtaining more, taking the chance of being more successful in evading the authorities the second time.[403] Accordingly prevention as well as cure was tried, and Captain Eastman, Mr. Sibley, and others sought, with some success, to persuade the Indians to refuse to accept liquor.[404] Two years later the Indian agent, R. G. Murphy, organized a temperance society among the Sioux, who, an observer stated, were careful in living up to the pledge when once taken; and added, "One such man as Major Murphy does more real, practical good than all the missionary societies of New York and Boston."[405]



X

SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS

Since the days of Father Marquette the Mississippi Valley has owed much to the missionaries. Parkman has recounted their sufferings and their glorious achievements in discovery, in exploration, and in inspiring others with their stories of the wonderful West. But when the black-robed Jesuit departed, and mass was no longer said in the log chapels about the lakes and tributary streams, the influence of Christianity still abided. There came a new generation of soldiers of the cross who served the great valley in a later stage of development as unselfishly and as thoroughly as their predecessors had done in the earlier days.

The Indian in the Northwest in 1830 was not unacquainted with or hostile to the whites; he did not fall down in awe to worship one of a different color. His grandfather had traded with the wandering traveller who often lived a whole winter in the village, and with his tribe had visited the great commercial center at Mackinac. His father remembered the day when the second class of strangers entered—the uniformed soldiers led by Pike—and now the sound of the big gun in the fort at the mouth of the Minnesota was no longer a dread portent.

But the missionary was a novelty. His purpose was unknown. He did not ask for furs; he did not stealthily give them whiskey; he did not come to summon them to councils at the agent's house; and he did not ask for cessions of land. If they would respect the white man's "medicine day"[406] and let their boys and girls attend the school, if they would listen patiently while he talked to them of things they did not understand, this newcomer was content. Out in the woods he cleared a patch of ground and grew corn. If the red men wanted to help he was very glad. When the winter storms came, and game was scarce, and the small supply of corn that the squaws had safely cached in the fall was eaten, then the missionary helped them in their difficulty. He often went with them on their hunts, shared all their privations, and eased their pain if accident or sickness befell them. As the activities of the mission broadened and its personnel enlarged, the Indian became more and more acquainted with whites who lived on farms and tilled the soil. So when at last the land was opened to settlement, the transition from the missionary's establishment to that of the American farmer was not sudden.

Much has been written of the degeneration which came to the Indians about a fort through their association with the soldiers. That such degeneration did result is true, but it came about in spite of the efforts of the officers. On the other hand, distinct steps were taken to improve the condition of the neighboring tribes; and although these efforts were soon transferred to the missionaries, yet these missionaries depended so much on support and encouragement from the soldiers that their enterprises may be considered as part of the history of Fort Snelling. The freedom from annoyance enjoyed by the missionaries living near the fort as compared with those at a distance indicates the influence of the post.[407]

Soon after Fort Snelling was established, Taliaferro attempted to persuade some Indians to undertake farming in order to supplement their hunting. But they preferred leaving this work to the rather desultory efforts of the squaws. One chief, however, remembered the advice during the next winter. Far out on the plains that border on the Missouri River he and his party were overtaken by a blizzard. Each one wrapped himself in his blanket and let the snow drift about and over him. With a little dried buffalo meat which they divided among them, they kept alive until the storm was over. While lying here, knowing not whether his companions were dead or alive, expecting himself to be a victim of either the cold or hunger or both, Chief Cloud Man resolved that if he ever returned to the vicinity of Fort Snelling he would not depend entirely upon the hunt for his living, but would also engage in farming under the direction of the Indian agent. This was no mere death-bed conversion. Many of his companions refused to follow him in the movement; other chiefs openly opposed him; but in the spring eight Indians settled upon the shores of Lake Calhoun to begin the life of agriculturists. This community was named Eatonville in honor of Secretary of War John H. Eaton.[408]

On September 1, 1829, there arrived at the fort, the Reverend Alvan Coe and the Reverend Jedediah I. Stevens, two missionaries on a religious exploring expedition to locate a site for an establishment. They bore with them letters of introduction from Joseph M. Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, who commended them to Taliaferro's care with a convincing array of scriptural quotations.[409] The agent offered them the use of the buildings connected with the grist mill and the saw mill at the Falls and his own colony at Eatonville. After preaching a few times to the garrison, the ministers left. It was not until 1835 that Mr. Stevens located permanently near the post.[410]

Major Taliaferro was left alone to carry on the difficult enterprise of civilizing the natives. In 1830 he wrote to the Secretary of War telling of the progress he had made and of his plans for a log village in which the Indians could live, instead of in the flimsy bark houses, and a log house for the protection of the Indians' property. He begged for financial aid, saying that "Six or eight hundred dollars would mature what has happily been begun, and this sum from the Civilization fund would enable me to progress with great efficiency, and without further tax on the Government."[411] The need for his supervision was constant. From his diary can be seen how continual was his interest in the experiment. On April 18, 1831, he ordered the hoes and plows repaired, and on May 1 he went to the colony taking the implements with him. Here he found "most of them at work—Cuting down trees, Grubbing out the roots &c—What was more encouraging some few of the Men were at this unusual kind of labour for them—they laughed when they saw Me—I praised them, in every agreable way that could be conveyed to them in their language." Again on June 8th he was pleased to see the Indians all at work hoeing their corn and potatoes.[412]

The success of the colony was gratifying. In 1833 they raised from eight hundred to a thousand bushels of corn, and the population of the village was one hundred and twenty-five. Only one death had occurred in three years.[413] There was much to contend with, however, since the traders were "violently opposed to Indians commencing to seek a living in this way."[414] One trader stated that it was a loss to him of five hundred dollars whenever an Indian learned to read and write.[415]

With all his duties it is no wonder that the agent was anxious to receive the help of the missionaries, and although he was himself "a Deacon in the 'Old School Presbyterian Church'",[416] his basis for aiding the red men, as he expressed it in a report, was that he had "endeavored to impress all missionaries with the true fact that Christianity must be preceded by civilization among the wild tribes. I hazard nothing in this, for an Indian must be taught all the temporal benefits of this life first, before you ask him to seek for eternal happiness; teach him to worship the true and living God through the self-evident developments of his mother earth. In fine, let agriculture and the arts precede the preaching of the gospel, after which, Christianity inculcate if practicable."[417]

The men who were to be Taliaferro's first helpers were living in the little village of Washington, Connecticut—two brothers, one twenty-three years old and the other twenty-one. Here a great revival occurred and among those whose lives were changed were Samuel Pond and Gideon Pond. The next year the older of the two went to the West and drifted into the frontier town of Galena. Hearing from a traveller from Red River of the Sioux about Fort Snelling he decided to dedicate his life to uplifting them. Upon broaching the subject to his brother the latter agreed, and on May 1, 1834, they left Galena on the "Warrior". No missionary society was supporting them; they had only a little money; they did not know a word of the "Dakota" tongue; they were uneducated for missionary work. Living the roving life of the Indians as members of the tribe, they hoped to be able to gradually influence their lives and religion.[418]

On May 6, 1834, the "Warrior" reached Fort Snelling. At the agency house, Mr. Grooms, who was the acting agent in the absence of Major Taliaferro, rented them a room. Major Bliss, then in command at the fort, immediately summoned them to appear before him and explain their presence in the Indian country without permission.[419] When he heard of their plans, they fitted immediately into a problem that had been puzzling him. Big Thunder, chief of the Kaposia village, wanted to raise more corn. But by using the customary Indian method of hoeing up the ground before planting, it was impossible to get much land under cultivation. At Fort Snelling were oxen and a plow, but there was no one to do the plowing or teach the art to the Indians. Accordingly Samuel Pond volunteered to take charge of the proposition.

The plow was taken down the river in a canoe, while the oxen were driven by land. But the warriors were reluctant about touching the plow until Big Thunder, chief of the band, had seized the handles himself. For a week Samuel Pond continued the work. But the dogs had stolen the provisions he had taken from the fort, and so he was obliged not only to sleep in the Indian tepee, but also to live upon the ordinary Indian fare.[420]

This task of plowing had just been performed when Major Taliaferro returned from the East. The success of the work done by Big Thunder led him to ask the Ponds to take charge of the Eatonville colony. As this would give them an opportunity of carrying out their plans, the brothers accepted. Their position is indicated by the following entry in Taliaferro's diary: "I am to furnish out of my private funds—Hay for the Oxen—belonging to the Indians, & those young men are to have Charge of them for the Winter—They will plough some this fall and again in the Spring for the Indians, & go on thereafter to instruct them in the arts & habits of civilized life."[421]

Cloud Man, chief of the Calhoun band of Indians, chose a site near the lake, where a cabin was erected which cost a shilling—for nails. The walls were of tamarack logs from a neighboring grove; slabs obtained at the mill at the Falls of St. Anthony furnished a roof; and Major Taliaferro presented the missionaries with a window. Major Bliss gave them some potatoes, and Mrs. Bliss presented them with a ham. Knowing the thievishness of the natives, the Indian agent also added a padlock to the newly-finished cabin.[422]

Near the house about four acres of land were cleared and fenced with logs. A quarter of a mile distant was the Indian village of fourteen bark lodges, each containing two or three families. This village was surrounded by corn fields and was reached through a narrow lane made by putting up posts and tying poles to them with strips of bark.[423] According to Featherstonhaugh, who visited the establishment a year later, thirty acres were under cultivation and the yield of corn amounted to eight hundred bushels. It is interesting to note that this critical traveller found only one thing about Fort Snelling to commend and that was the self-sacrifice of the two Pond brothers.[424]

They entered immediately into the life of the Indians. An extract from a letter written by one of the brothers shows the wide variety of their duties. "One Indian," he said, "has been here to borrow my axe, another to have me help him split a stick; another now interrupts me to borrow my hatchet; another has been here after a trap which he left with me; another is now before my window at work with his axe, while the women and children are screaming to drive the black-birds from their corn. Again I am interrupted by one who tells me that the Indians are going to play ball near our house to-day. Hundreds assemble on such occasions."[425]

The work that was thus started soon expanded. In the spring of 1835 Rev. Thomas Smith Williamson arrived at Fort Snelling with his wife, a child, Miss Sarah Poage, and Alexander G. Huggins. At about the same time Rev. Jedediah I. Stevens returned to the post he had visited in 1829, and with the help of the Pond brothers built a mission school at Lake Harriet. Dr. Williamson went up the Minnesota River to Lac qui Parle, where another station was established. On May 19, 1837, Rev. Alfred Brunson came to Fort Snelling for a similar purpose, and after consulting with the agent and the commandant he chose the village of Kaposia for his headquarters. But these mission stations and their personnel were not permanent. The work of the Ponds was soon amalgamated with that of Mr. Stevens. In 1839 when the Sioux-Chippewa feuds were at their height and the Indians were afraid to remain at Lake Calhoun, Mr. Stevens tore down the little cabin the Ponds had built and used the material for breastworks and moved down the river to Wabasha's village—outside the influence of Fort Snelling. At the same time the Ponds moved nearer the fort, where they remained until in 1842 they established a mission at Oak Grove, eight miles up the Minnesota River. This same war spirit and the hostility to the missionaries who preached against it led to the abandonment of the Kaposia enterprise in 1841. In 1846, however, Little Crow asked for a school, and Dr. Williamson came from Lac qui Parle to take charge of it. These missions remained in existence throughout the period of Old Fort Snelling.[426]

The activities of the missions took on two forms—industrial and educational. By the treaty of 1837 a farmer was provided for the Sioux about the fort. This position was offered to Gideon Pond who in 1838 accepted. In return for his salary of six hundred dollars he had to plow the cornfields, cut hay for the cattle and feed them during the winter, and build such shelters as the animals might need. As he could not do all this work alone—and he wanted it thoroughly done—much of his salary was spent in hiring others to help him. His services were offered in the same spirit of sacrifice which first brought him to the region.[427]

Blacksmiths were maintained at some of the villages. In 1849 Mr. Chatel, blacksmith for Good Road's village, made among other things, 73 chains to hang kettles on for cooking, 23 traps, 230 axes, 50 rat spears, 208 pairs of fish spears, 24 pairs of stirrups, 63 crooked knives, and 199 hoes. During the same year, Mr. Robertson, the farmer for Little Crow's village, ploughed 75 acres of land, made 500 yards of fence, put up 20 tons of hay, and hauled corn for seventeen days. To be sure, Robertson and Chatel were not missionaries, but they were part of the movement for civilizing the Indians which was fostered and encouraged by the officers of the fort.[428]

In 1837 at Lake Harriet there was an Indian boarding-school, where some half dozen half-breed girls were learning to read, write, and sew.[429] The Pond brothers had made the beginnings of an alphabet of the Sioux language, and books and primers for the use of the scholars were soon printed.[430] At all the stations surrounding Fort Snelling schools were maintained, but here as elsewhere "the children in pleasant weather prefer playing to reading".[431] Some progress was made, however, as is indicated by the school reports. In 1851 at the school maintained at Kaposia it is reported that Daniel Renville, Gustavus A. Robertson, Rosalie Renville, and Fat Duty Win can spell and read in English in McGuffy's Eclectic Primer, and can spell and read in the Sioux language in Wowape Metawa.[432]

The success of these pioneer efforts depended much on the encouragement received at the beginning; and by a coincidence this encouragement was brought about the second summer that the Ponds were in the vicinity. During the winter Major Gustavus Loomis initiated "a red-hot revival among the soldiers", and although many of the converts backslid with the simultaneous appearance of spring and whiskey,[433] yet there were so many that remained faithful that on June 11, 1835, when Dr. Williamson arrived, a church was organized in one of the company rooms at Fort Snelling. This church was composed of soldiers, missionaries, and fur traders and was a basis of support in the difficult task of civilizing the Indians.[434] The officers protected and encouraged the workers under all circumstances, the post doctor gave his services to them free, and once a month Mr. Stevens preached at the fort.[435]

In 1838 the church was strengthened by the appointment of a chaplain, Rev. Ezekiel Gear of Galena. But on December 11, 1838, as he was leaving Fort Crawford in a sleigh, the horse started up sooner than was expected and he was thrown out, breaking his right thigh bone. He was kept at the hospital at Fort Crawford for some months and did not arrive at Fort Snelling until April 28, 1839.[436] As there was no room large enough to hold all the soldiers, they were at first not compelled to attend the services. In 1841, however, the chaplain reported that all the soldiers attended regularly, but answered feebly to the responses, although the chaplain believed they were attentive to what was said. These movements, which were undertaken to elevate the character of the soldiers, could not but have an effect upon the success of the missionaries.[437]

Under the protection of Fort Snelling efforts were also made to do religious work among the fur traders. The inhabitants of Mendota were old voyageurs and traders, French and half-breeds, and most of them, having lived long without the ministrations of the church, remembered the faith of their childhood days in Canada. When in 1838 the Minnesota country west of the Mississippi was made a part of the Territory of Iowa, the Diocese of Dubuque was extended to correspond with the political area. In the following summer Bishop Loras of Dubuque visited the upper Mississippi and was entertained at the fort and by the faithful Catholics at Mendota. These amounted in number to one hundred and eighty-five, fifty-six of whom were baptized, eight were confirmed, and four couples were given the nuptial benediction. The need for permanent work was great. Plans were made to bring one or two Sioux to Dubuque to pass the winter and teach the language to some worker. In the spring of 1840 Rev. Lucian Galtier was sent up to be the pastor of this flock.[438]

It was often with despair that the missionaries saw the Indians still clinging to their heathen rites, and the few additions to the churches do not indicate any great transformation of an Indian nation. But if the lives of the natives were not elevated by their contact with the whites it was not because they had no opportunity. The forces which led to their degeneration had the start of the civilizing forces, and they also appealed more to the Indian's nature. At the same time both romance and lustre is added to the relations of Old Fort Snelling with the surrounding Indians by the story of the attempts of the men who had a vision of what Indian life could be, and who unselfishly tried to make that vision a reality, encouraged and supported by the military men at the fort.



XI

THE FASHIONABLE TOUR

George Catlin, whose wanderings in the West had acquainted him with the most beautiful and the most accessible scenic spots of the country, urged upon his readers the adoption of a trip to the Falls of St. Anthony as the "Fashionable Tour".[439] Primitive life and unspoiled landscapes could be seen from the comfortable decks of the steamboat. The objective point of these trips was the Falls of St. Anthony, but it was at Fort Snelling that the passengers were dropped. Only because of the necessity of bringing supplies to the troops at the post did the steamboats make the journey. It is in the writings of these visitors that there have been preserved many pictures of life in and about Fort Snelling. Moreover, these visits from the outside world brought pleasure and satisfaction to the smaller world about the fort.

In the month of May, 1823, occurred an event which was epochal, not only in regard to the commercial development of the Northwest, but also in respect to the growth of the upper Mississippi as a Mecca for travellers. The steamboat "Virginia", one hundred and twenty feet long with a twenty foot beam, commanded by Captain Crawford, left St. Louis with supplies for Fort Snelling; on the tenth of May it was received by the soldiers at the fort with a salute of cannon and by the assembled Indians with awe and consternation.[440] "I know not what impression the first sight of the Phoenician vessels might make on the inhabitants of the coasts of Greece," wrote one who was a passenger on that eventful voyage, "or the Triremi of the Romans on the natives of Iberia, Gaul, or Britain; but I am sure it could not be stronger than that which I saw on the countenances of these savages at the arrival of our steam-boat."[441]

The man who wrote these words was J. C. Beltrami, an Italian refugee, who for political reasons had fled from his native land. In 1823 he met Major Taliaferro at Pittsburgh and requested permission to accompany him to the Falls of St. Anthony. This was granted, and in company with the Indian agent he arrived at Fort Snelling on the first steamboat to brave the current of the upper Mississippi.[442] Here for almost two months he was entertained by the officials at the post, visiting the Indian bands, attending their councils, writing letters to "My Dear Countess",[443] and conversing with Mrs. Snelling who alone could speak French with him.[444] He was on the point of setting out overland for Council Bluffs when another party arrived at the post.

In the list of the exploring expeditions which traversed the region about the head of Lake Superior, by far the most important was the one led by Stephen H. Long and conducted under the auspices of the War Department. The permanent members of the party were Major Long of the Topographical Engineers, Thomas Say, zooelogist and antiquary, William H. Keating, mineralogist and geologist, Samuel Seymour, landscape painter and designer, and James E. Colhoun, astronomer and assistant topographer. The start was made at Philadelphia on April 30, 1823, and the route led by way of Wheeling and Chicago to Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. From this point Major Long and Mr. Colhoun travelled by land and the others by water, the two parties arriving at the fort on July 2nd and July 3rd respectively. After a few days wait the journey was again resumed late on the afternoon of July 9th.[445]

In the meantime much had been done. The orders issued to Major Long had authorized him to call upon the commanding officer at any post for men, horses, camp equipage, provisions, boats, clothing, medicines, and goods to the value of three hundred dollars to be distributed among the Indians.[446] Biscuits were baked in the ovens of the fort; Joseph Renville was engaged as an interpreter; and the detachment of troops which had accompanied them from Prairie du Chien was exchanged for a new guard, consisting of a sergeant, two corporals, and eighteen soldiers under the command of Lieutenant St. Clair Denny.[447]

But these preparations did not prevent them from enjoying the scenic views about Fort Snelling. On the sixth of July a walk was taken to the Falls of St. Anthony. An island in the river which divided the falls into two parts tempted Mr. Say, Mr. Colhoun, and Mr. Keating to cross, the water being only two feet deep. But the ford was located only a few feet above the ledge of the rock, and the slippery footing rendered the exploit extremely dangerous. When this had been safely accomplished, Mr. Say and Mr. Colhoun crossed in the same way the eastern half of the falls, while Mr. Keating with great difficulty returned to the western bank. Later when the others were crossing the dangerous passage, they were seen to be in great difficulties whereupon one of the soldiers went out and aided them to the shore. Only after they had been strengthened by a dinner, prepared by the old sergeant who was in charge of the government mills, were they able to return to the fort.[448]

The expedition went up the Minnesota River to its source, then down the Red River to Lake Winnipeg and returned to the East by way of the fur trader's route along the international boundary and Lake Superior. Fear of the Indians living about the mouth of the Blue Earth River, one of whose number had been arrested and sent to St. Louis for murder, had suggested the necessity of the military escort. But when the place was reached no trouble resulted, as the Indians had gone on their summer hunt. Accordingly nine of the soldiers were sent back with canoes—some of the supplies having been destroyed by accidents. Those who remained had no easy task. There were only nine horses, and these were reserved for the officers and "gentlemen" of the company, so that the privates were obliged to walk.[449]

On August 9th when the party left Pembina behind, their number had dwindled. Joseph Snelling, son of Colonel Snelling, who had gone with them thus far, returned by the same route with three soldiers. J. C. Beltrami, who had been allowed to cast his lot with theirs, and who had been equipped and supplied by the Indian agent, who had presented him with the "noble steed 'Cadmus'",[450] also left them. In company with two Chippewas and a bois-brule of Red River, he set out for the southeast with the purpose of there finding the source of the Mississippi. Upon a small lake, which he named Lake Julia, he conferred the honor of being the head of the great river, while it seemed to him that the "shades of Marco Polo, of Columbus, of Americus Vespucius, of the Cabots, of Verazani, of the Zenos, and various others, appeared present, and joyfully assisting at this high and solemn ceremony".[451] After a journey of great suffering he was welcomed at Fort Snelling—wearing a hat made of the bark of a tree, and clothes of skins.[452]

Not until late in the fall did the connection of Fort Snelling with this expedition cease, when the soldiers who had accompanied the party as far as Sault Ste. Marie returned to their post by the Fox-Wisconsin route after a journey rendered exceedingly disagreeable by the cold.[453]

In the summer of 1835 George Catlin and his wife spent several months at Fort Snelling. Mr. Catlin was an artist who made a specialty of Indian scenes, and his time was occupied in painting scenes of Indian life and portraits of Indian chiefs. His studio was a room in the officers' quarters, and his models were the natives who lingered about the agency.

Mr. Catlin was extremely desirous of painting some pictures of Indian dances and ball-plays. In order to persuade the Indians to do their part, Lawrence Taliaferro told them on July 3rd that if they would come the next day and entertain the visitors, the great gun at the fort would be fired twenty-one times for their amusement. As this was the salute for the national holiday, he was safe in making the prophecy. Accordingly, on the fourth of July the prairie near the fort, for two hours, rang with the excited shouts of the ball-players; and when this pastime was finished the "beggar's-dance", the "buffalo-dance", the "bear-dance", the "eagle-dance", and the "dance-of-the-braves" furnished entertainment for three hours more.[454]

On the sixteenth of July General Robert Patterson of Philadelphia with his sister and daughter arrived on the steamboat "Warrior". For their amusement the Indians staged the "dog-dance", using for their victims two dogs which were presented to them by the officers of the garrison. Accompanied by a soldier George Catlin left for Prairie du Chien on July 27th. "About this lovely spot", he wrote, "I have whiled away a few months with great pleasure, and having visited all the curiosities, and all the different villages of Indians in the vicinity, I close my notebook and start in a few days for Prairie du Chien, which is three hundred miles below this; where I shall have new subjects for my brush and new themes for my pen, when I may continue my epistles."[455]

In the thirties began that series of geological surveys which has continued ever since, under both the national and State governments. In the fall of 1835 George William Featherstonhaugh and William Williams Mather, geologists in the service of the government, made a survey of the Minnesota Valley. The detailed scientific report of the survey was published by the government;[456] while a popular description of the trip, written by Mr. Featherstonhaugh, appeared in London in 1847 entitled, "A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor".

From September 12th to September 15th on the up-journey and from October 16th to October 22nd on the return, the scientist was entertained at the fort. The reception which he received did not impress him with its cordiality. "I could not but reflect upon the contrast betwixt the very kind attentions I had received at the other American posts, and the want of them I experienced here."[457] But the feeling was mutual. The keen Indian agent characterized him by saying: "He attempted to pass current for that which he possessed not—superior talent and modesty in his profession."[458] Mr. Featherstonhaugh was an Englishman in whose narrative American institutions were not praised. Even the presence of his American co-laborer, Mr. Mather, is not suspected by reading the entertaining story, for his name is not mentioned once.

It is difficult, therefore, to judge how accurate the account of his stay at Fort Snelling really is. The room which was given to him for his use was "an old dirty, ill-smelling, comfortless store-room", and Major L—— (Loomis?) who was asked by the commandant to provide accommodations for the visitor bored him with his psalm-singing and exhortations, being "a living rod in soak to tickle up sluggish Christians". But, probably unwittingly, Featherstonhaugh admitted that Fort Snelling was of some service to him. For the supplies and vegetables taken from the post gardens brought the gunwale of the canoe to within four inches of the water![459]

Further exploration of the upper Mississippi was made by Joseph N. Nicollet during the summer of the next year. This French scientist was aided in part by the War Department, and in part by the fur traders, P. Chouteau, Jr., & Co., of St. Louis.[460] While at Fort Snelling he determined to visit the sources of the great river, and in his enterprises he was greatly assisted by Lawrence Taliaferro, H. H. Sibley, and the officers at the fort. Some of the soldiers wished to accompany him, but the absence of many of the garrison at Prairie du Chien made their presence at the post necessary. Some Chippewa Indians, some half-breeds, and a Frenchman, Desire Fronchet, were his only companions when the ascent of the river was commenced. But at the first stopping place, near the Falls of St. Anthony, a band of thieving Sioux robbed him of many of his supplies, and the attempt would have been given up had not Major Taliaferro made good the loss from his own means.[461] Nicollet visited Lake Itasca and indicated its principal tributary, so that some authors have credited him with being the discoverer of the true source of the Mississippi.[462]

After the return from this perilous journey, the winter was spent at Fort Snelling in working over the notes and a map. For the kindness shown him Mr. Nicollet expressed great appreciation, though the rude hospitality of the frontier post could provide no supper better than wild rice, mush, and milk, and no sleeping quarters better than the storehouse. But here he was entertained, as the agent wrote, in Virginia fashion where a call lasts six months and a visit one year; and the nights were made merry with the music of the violin and piano, and with the animated conversation of Taliaferro and Nicollet. For many hours on cold winter nights he studied through his telescope the stars in the clear heavens.[463]

Mr. Nicollet devoted two more seasons to examining the country between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in company with John C. Fremont. In 1838 a trip was made from Fort Snelling to the pipestone quarry; and in 1839 his party ascended the Missouri River to Fort Pierre, and then passed over the prairies to the Mississippi.[464] The accounts of these journeys were widely read, and coming from the pen of such an able scientist and pleasing writer, the interest of the country was turned to the rich possibilities of this new Northwest.[465]

In addition to these well-known travellers there was a host of people who made the trip as a vacation jaunt. On June 1, 1836, the "Palmyra" arrived with thirty passengers. The steamboat "Burlington" tied up at Fort Snelling on June 13, 1838, having among its many passengers Captain Frederick Marryat, the popular English novelist. Only two days later the "Brazil" was moored near the "Burlington", the presence of two boats at the same time being considered a novel sight. The family of Governor Henry Dodge was on this second boat.[466]

On June 26, 1838, the "Burlington" was again at Fort Snelling. Among the tourists on this trip was Mrs. Alexander Hamilton who had embarked at Galena where she had been visiting her son, W. S. Hamilton, who was connected with lead mining enterprises in Wisconsin. The fact that Mrs. Hamilton had been a belle in society during the time of George Washington, and the general sympathy felt for her ever since the tragic death of her husband in 1804, caused her to be received with more attention than was usually bestowed on tourists. At nine o'clock she was taken in a carriage to the Falls of St. Anthony, and when she returned to the fort in the afternoon the officers met her at the gate and led her to a chair placed upon a carpet in the center of the parade ground. After the troops had been reviewed she was entertained at the headquarters of the fort until the "Burlington" left that same evening.[467]

The extent of this tourist traffic is well illustrated in the newspapers of the time. Advertisements tell of the interesting features to be seen on a trip to the upper Mississippi, of the pleasures of steamboat travel, and promise that "A first rate band of music will be on board."[468] An editor paused long enough in the exciting presidential "Log Cabin" campaign of 1840 to remark that "Pleasure trips to these Falls appear to be quite the go. Large parties of ladies and gentlemen have passed up on the steamboats Loyal Hanna and Malta. And we noticed in a late St. Louis paper, the advertisements of the Valley Forge, Ione, Brazil and Monsoon, all for 'pleasure excursions to St. Peters'. We see also in the same paper, that the steamboat Fayette is advertised 'for Harrison and Reform'—rather an extensive country we should think, at the present time."[469] Even as far away as Louisville, Kentucky, steamboats were chartered for trips to the upper waters of the Mississippi River.[470]

The pleasures of such a journey, the scenery enjoyed, the people met, the events of the day spent at Fort Snelling are well illustrated by two letters written by the Right Reverend Jackson Kemper, who was the missionary bishop of the Northwest of the Episcopal Church.[471] In the month of August, 1843, he was the guest of Captain Throckmorton on the steamboat "General Brooke"; and he made the trip to Fort Snelling to confer with Rev. Ezekiel Gear who was the chaplain at the post. The first letter was dated August 25, 1843, and was written to his daughter.

"Here we are snug and almost dry on a sand bar and not more than 13 miles below St. Peters", he wrote. "While the Captain and his men are using all kinds of methods to get us off—the chief of which is to put our freight into a large barge aside of us—I will write you a few lines. It is now past 8 o'c. P. M. We still hope to get to the fort before night (mid-night I mean). Then the Captain says he will give us an early breakfast tomorrow and send us off to see the falls (5 Miles distant) and we must return so as to start down the river by noon. This is too bad in many respects; but what can we do? I have not time to stay with Mr. Gear until the next boat arrives; that may not be for a week or two; so I will say to Mr. G. when I see him: Here I am, & I have come not to see the falls but you, and I am at your disposal as long as I am here. If you choose to take me to the falls, it is well; if you prefer that I should remain in your house I am content. It is still probable that I shall be at Potosi next tuesday Morning. To travel on Sunday, and particularly to do so without an opportunity of preaching, will be very hard. There will probably be only 4 passengers besides myself on the return. There was a little boat the other [day?] a-head of us, and I hoped she might be detained at the fort until Monday—but that prospect has vanished, for she has just past us descending to Galena.

"It is supposed to be 500 miles from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien and 300 from there to St. Peters. We stopt at Prairie du Chien for some hours and a Judge Lockwood came on board who with his wife is an Episcopalian. He told me there are several in and about the town & he thought the prospect of organizing a church a fair one if a Missionary could be obtained (We are off the sand bar). From the prairie our voyage has been delightful. At the distance of a mile or two from the river on each side are ranges of lofty hills, in a great variety of shapes. Many of them appeared as if the river had flowed for ages near to their tops. Some of them looked as if they had been cut in two; and on the peaks of several were large blocks of rock. As we were woodding I spoke of going up to one of them but was told it was dangerous on account of rattle-snakes. There is a curious fact connected with that reptile. Cannon river flows into the Mis^i from the west—it is a long & narrow stream—nine miles above Lake Pepin. They are never found north of that stream, although they abound below it. One of the hills we saw yesterday had 3 or 4 large blocks of rock upon it, called the pot and kettles from their resemblance to those useful utensils. The prairies were frequent & some peculiarly attractive. On Wabasa's we saw a Sioux village—and a farmer's establishment—he being sent there by the U. S. to civilize the Indians. This morning we passed another village called Red Wings but saw very few of the inhabitants. The corn field was very ... [illegible] and there were in it elevated frames where the boys are kept to scare away the blackbirds. I saw smoke near the frames, the boys having kindled a fire to roast ears of corn for their comfort. The Sioux have winter & summer houses. The latter are conical made of buffalo robes covering poles. The summer lodges looked something like poor log huts & are made of poles & elm bark. Near Red Wings village there is a Miss^y establishment from Switzerland.—Lake Pepin is a beautiful sheet of water thro wh the M. flows or is an expanse of the M. & is 25 miles by 3. It apparently abounded in large fish, for they were constantly jumping out of the water. Its banks you know are celebrated for agates—but we have not time to stop a moment.—The settlements above P. du Chien are very few—now and then a solitary dwelling & a wood yard. At one of these places the man told me his nearest neighbor was 20 miles off. In winter there is a good deal of travelling on the river in sleighs. About half way up Lake Pepin is the lover's rock of which you have heard, the Chippeway river enters from the East just below the commencement of the Lake, & its Mouth is 100 Miles below St. Peters. Up it & like wise up the St. Croix are saw mills, as that country abounds with Pine. The Mouth of the St. Croix is 30 miles below St. Peters. Here is a beautiful lake as large as L. Pepin thro' which the St. C. flows just before it joins the M.—We have a Mr. Akin on board whose trading establishment is 300 Miles north of the St. Peters & 60 west of Lake Superior. Then he has been among the Chippeways 33 yrs. He has been thro' Lake Superior 30 times to New York for goods & returned as often; and now for the first time he has traded with St. Louis. He knows perfectly all the languages around him. The most copious is the Chippeway. He says they have some what of a written language, and he has frequently seen an Indian write off a ... [illegible] for another on a piece of bark. He thinks the characters are something like those of the Mexicans.—Now I suppose you would like to receive a letter with the S. Peter's post Mark; and if I ascertain it will not take more than a Month on its journey you shall receive this thro that channel; otherwise I will reserve it for the p. o. of P. du Chien".[472]

The narrative is continued in a letter of August 29, 1843, written from Potosi, Wisconsin, to his son:

"Although you may not have a very high opinion of the West, yet I think you would have liked to be with me in my late trip to St. Peters. The weather was delightful and the scenery grand and very novel. You have probably seen my letter to your sister; I will therefore say, we arrived at the end of our voyage last friday night, and as the fog was very thick the next morning we could not see where we were until 8 oclock. Then the fort on a high hill, with its flag flying, had a fine appearance. Mr. Gear the chaplain soon called at the boat and appeared greatly rejoiced to see me. I accompanied him to his quarters and saw his family and some of the officers and ladies of the garrison, and then he and I rode out 8 miles to the falls of St. Anthony. Though very inferior to those of Niagara, they are still well worth seeing. The scenery is wild—there are many immense rocks in the river, evidently broken off from the precipice over which the water is dashed with considerable noise—the water in its fall is frequently broken—but even when it is not so, the height is not more than 17-1/2 feet. Returning we went to a hill from whence we could see the whole of the fall for there is an island in the middle of the river which hides one half of it when you are near. A mile or two further brought us to a most beautiful and lofty cascade on Nine Mile river. The quantity of water was not large, but it fell amidst the wildest scene, unbroken, over a ledge of rock which extended far beyond its foundation.—There were not many Indians. The few I saw were Sioux who looked much degenerated by their contact with the Whites. The families of the officers appeared very happy; the ladies told me they were like sisters. For months they have no visitors but wild Indians—Sioux or Chippeways. An old Scotchman who had been in this country 50 years told me that all the tribes to the North and West speak the Chippeway language or its dialects; that the Sioux is entirely different from it, but that a dialect of it is spoken by the Winnebagoes, with this difference that the Sioux language has not the sound of the letter R in it while almost every word of the Winnebago abounds with Rs. He thinks that a person knowing the two languages—the C. and S. could travel through the indian country from Mexico to the N. Pole and make himself understood.—We had to return to the boat by one oclock, and soon after we started down the river. Near the Mouth of the St. Croix—about 45 miles below St. Peters, I saw on a prairie a large stone painted a bright red, to which the Indians offer sacrifices of tobacco &c. and consider a Wa-Kon or Spirit.—As we were on our journey sunday afternoon I saw a bark canoe paddling towards us with great rapidity containing as I first thought an Indian and a white Man. The steamer was stopt, and soon the chattels (kettle, coffee-pot, &c) then the men afterwards the boat itself were on board. They proved to be a miner who had gone from Galena and a stout lad. Eight months ago a number of persons were induced by offers of land from Government to go to Lake Superior in search of copper; and a large party had lately been occupied in removing an immense block of copper from the bed of a river which empties into the Lake. This miner had been thus occupied; and he informed me that the task was done—that the block weighed three tons—that it was to be taken to New York &c as an object of curiosity. A fortnight ago he had started from the spot—skirted the Lake to a certain river, ascended that to its source, then carried the canoe with its contents 2 or 3 miles on their shoulders until they met the head waters of the St. Croix, and descended that river to the Mississippi."[473]



XII

THE CHIPPEWA TREATY OF 1837

The relations of the United States government to the Indians prior to 1871 shows a dual attitude. On the one hand, the Indians were the government's wards. By the ninth of the Articles of Confederation, Congress was given the right of "regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians who were not members of any of the states";[474] and by the act regulating Indian trade no cession of land could be valid unless made by treaty or convention.[475] On the other hand, these treaties were negotiated and proclaimed with all the pomp and ceremony which would appeal to the Indian's mind and impress him with his importance as a member of a sovereign nation. This was distinctly a "legal fiction", but it continued as the customary method of procedure until the act of March 3, 1871, abolished the practice of considering the tribes as independent nations.[476]

As the nation increased in strength and the agricultural and commercial forces of the country were pushing westward and coming into contact with the distant tribes, the treaties increased in number and importance. Urged by the cries of hungry land-seekers the cession of land by the natives gradually became the most important phase of all treaties; and in order that the new settlements might be protected from vengeful Indians the title to the land rested on legal cession rather than on conquest. It is stated on the authority of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that "Except only in the case of the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, after the outbreak of 1862, the Government has never extinguished an Indian title as by right of conquest; and in this case the Indians were provided with another reservation, and subsequently were paid the net proceeds arising from the sale of the land vacated."[477]

The negotiation of a treaty was not an easy affair. There were no recognized representatives of the tribe. In order that a treaty might be satisfactory it was necessary that all factions be consulted; and the braves who gathered often numbered into the hundreds. Thus, in planning the negotiations a satisfactory place and an opportune time must be selected, while the red men must be supported while away from home and protected from lurking enemies. It was in these phases of treaty-making that the military posts showed their importance.

The first important treaty with which the tribes living about Fort Snelling were concerned was that made at Prairie du Chien in 1825. The little frontier village presented a gala appearance during the month of August when the great convocation was held. There were Chippewas, Sioux, Sacs and Foxes, Menomonies, Iowas, Winnebagoes, and a portion of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Pottawattomie tribes living on the Illinois River gathered to consult with Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan and General William Clark, the government's commissioners. Of the 1054 drawing rations on the last day, 386 were of the delegation of Sioux and Chippewas gathered by Major Taliaferro at Fort Snelling and brought down in safety to make a triumphal entry in true Indian style with flags flying, drums beating, and guns firing.[478]

Although there was no cession of land, distinct progress was made in that the territories of the various tribes were defined, thus making negotiations easier for the future. Of especial importance was the Sioux-Chippewa boundary line, which made clear the territory of each tribe, so that when the year 1837 arrived and treaties were made to obtain the lands east of the Mississippi, the areas with which each was concerned were clearly understood.[479]

By the year 1837 many conditions called for the cession of these lands. The forests, the water-power, the mines of lead and other ores aroused the desires of speculators. Settlers were thronging to Wisconsin, and it was felt that if the land could be purchased and the Indians removed, the people would be safe from any attacks, and the Indians would be removed from the contaminating influence of many of the undesirable whites.[480] There were also the traders who for years past had given credit to many worthless Indians who had never brought back from the hunt furs sufficient to pay for the goods advanced them; and they hoped that in the payment for the lands certain sums would be reserved for the liquidation of these debts.[481]

In the early summer of 1837 Major Taliaferro was ordered to organize a delegation of Sioux Indians who could be taken to Washington, where the Sioux negotiations would take place. At the same time orders were issued to summon the Chippewas of the upper Mississippi to a council to be held at Fort Snelling. To both of these groups the subject of the purchase of the Indian lands east of the Mississippi would be broached.[482]

Miles Vineyard, who was the sub-agent at Fort Snelling, was immediately sent to the villages of the Chippewas. Early in July the red men began to arrive, and by July 20th about a thousand men, women, and children had pitched their tepees near the fort. Many were the notable chiefs gathered there with their warriors. With the Pillager band from Leech Lake was Chief Flat Mouth, who had twenty-five times been on the warpath without receiving a wound, who had delivered his English medal to Pike in 1806, and whose band had been attacked by the Sioux under the walls of Fort Snelling in 1827. The most famous of the Chippewa chiefs, he was still living in 1852, being then seventy-eight years old.[483]

The chief of the bands from Gull Lake and Swan River was Hole-in-the-Day. Energetic, brave, and intelligent, he gained a great influence over the Chippewas of the upper Mississippi. His name, which literally meant a bright spot in the sky, is often written Hole-in-the-Sky. He was a frequent visitor at Fort Snelling and came to his death at that place in 1847 when he fell from a wagon, breaking his neck and dying instantly.[484] His brother Strong Ground or Strong Earth was also present at the council. He had been a member of Flat Mouth's band at the time of the massacre in 1827. Thirty-six eagle plumes waved from his head-dress at the time of his death, each of them representing the scalp of an enemy. The first of these he obtained when as a small boy he dashed into the ranks of the Sioux during a conflict and scalped a fallen warrior.[485] Chiefs and warriors from the St. Croix River, Mille Lac, and Sandy Lake, with their followers, were also encamped near the fort.

There were also notables among the white men gathered there. The United States commissioner was Henry Dodge, known as an Indian fighter, and at that time Governor of Wisconsin Territory. General William R. Smith of Pennsylvania, who had been appointed by the President to serve as a commissioner with Governor Dodge, was unable to come. Lawrence Taliaferro, the Indian agent, was busied with many duties connected with the safety of the visitors. Four hundred Sioux hovered about, and these had to be kept at a safe distance to avoid conflicts. Verplanck Van Antwerp, the secretary of the commission; J. N. Nicollet, the explorer; H. H. Sibley; and many other fur traders watched the negotiations and put their names to the treaty as witnesses.[486]

The council began on July 20th. It was with the chiefs that Governor Dodge parleyed, but the warriors and braves felt that they also should have some part in the proceedings. On one occasion several hundred of them, streaked with their brightest paint, waving their tomahawks and spears and carrying the war flag of the Chippewas, together with the flag of the United States, interrupted the council with their whoops and drums; and when they had approached the chair of the Governor, paused while two of the warriors harangued the crowd on the kindness of the traders and the debts owed them.[487]

The negotiations were carried on in a bower near the house of the agent. The chiefs were assembled daily; the peace pipe was smoked; and the red men, dressed only in leggings and breech cloths, with their long hair hanging over their shoulders under the eagle feathers upon their heads, and medals dangling from their necks, spoke of lands, of the traders, and of wars. The speeches of the Indians seemed interminable. From day to day action was postponed as they were waiting for other bands to arrive.

To prolong the council as long as possible was satisfying to the appetite of the Indian. The rations issued by the commissary at Fort Snelling were not to be eagerly exchanged for the fare of a Chippewa lodge in the northern woods. But at first the menu was not satisfactory. Nadin (the Wind) complained on July 24th: "You have everything around you, and can give us some of the cattle that are around us on the prairie. At the treaty of Prairie du Chien, the case was as difficult as this. The great Chief then fed us well with cattle."[488] Evidently this hint was acted upon, as the old records show that by July 30th ten beeves weighing 6123 pounds had been furnished the Chippewas who were assembled to the number of 1400.[489] The amount of supplies used on such an occasion is indicated by instructions given to Alexander Ramsey and John Chambers who in 1849 were commissioned to treat with the Sioux Indians at Fort Snelling. They were authorized to obtain from the commissary at Fort Snelling 15,000 rations of flour, 10,000 of pork, 10,000 of salt, 10,000 of beans, and 5000 of soap.[490]

At the first meeting Governor Dodge spoke to the Chippewas of the purpose of the council. Their lands east of the Mississippi, he informed them, were not valuable in game and were not suited for agricultural purposes. They were said to be covered with pine trees, which the white men were eager to obtain, and accordingly the government was willing to pay the Chippewa nation for them. Thus, by selling the land they could obtain money for that which actually was of little value to them.[491]

There evidently was no intention on the part of the Indians not to sell the lands, but the council was protracted, pending the arrival of other bands. Not until July 27th did they make any movement to close the deal. On that day, Ma-ghe-ga-bo, a warrior of the Pillager band, dressed in his most fantastic costume, covered a map of the land in question with a piece of paper, remarking that when the paper was removed the land would be considered sold. He added a final request: "My father, in all the country we sell you, we wish to hold on to that which gives us life—the streams and lakes where we fish, and the trees from which we make sugar."

Finally he asked all the chiefs who agreed to sell the land to rise. About thirty arose at his word. Immediately Ma-ghe-ga-bo raised the paper from the map and seized the hand of Governor Dodge. The sale was made. There remained only to agree upon the terms of the cession.[492]

During the negotiations, reference had been made continually by the Indians to the traders and the payment of the debts owed them. Pe-she-ke said: "I have been supported by the trader, and without his aid, could not get through the winter with naked skin. The grounds where your children have to hunt are as bare as that on which I now stand, and have no game upon them.... We have not much to give the traders, as our lands and hunting grounds are so destitute. Do us a kindness by paying our old debts." That he was coached to make the remark is evident from his statement that "No-body—no trader has instructed me what to say to you."[493]

On July 29th the terms were finally agreed upon, and while the secretary was writing out the treaty the braves of the Chippewas held a dance under the walls of Fort Snelling. This indicated not only their satisfaction at the successful conclusion of the council, but was also intended as a compliment to the commissioner. Three hundred warriors circled about in their gaudy costumes, recounting during the pauses of the dance the deeds of bravery they had done and the number of Sioux scalps they had obtained. At a distance a great number of Sioux looked upon the scene, not daring to interfere when the troops of the fort were so near.[494]