Fifty Years In The Northwest Part 100

AN ODD CHAPTER IN POLITICAL HISTORY--THE BLACK HAWK WAR.

Gen. Winfield Scott, when a young man, was stationed at Fort Snelling, at that day perhaps the remotest outpost of the United States. When the Black Hawk War was inaugurated some militia from Illinois proffered their services to aid in conquering the savages. With a view to mustering them into the service of the United States two lieutenants were sent by Scott to the then village of Dixon. One of these was a very fascinating, good-looking, easy-mannered, affable, and fluent young gentleman. The other equally pleasant, but an exceedingly modest young man. On the morning when the mustering in was to take place a tall, gawky, slab-sided, homely young man, dressed in a suit of home-made blue jeans, presented himself to the two lieutenants as the captain of the recruits, and was duly sworn in.

This was he who afterward became the president of the United States--the lamented Lincoln. One of the lieutenants, the modest youth, was he who fired the first gun from Sumter, Maj. Anderson. The other, and he who administered the oath, was in after years president of the southern confederacy, Jefferson Davis.

AN EARLY RUNAWAY MATCH.

We have gleaned from the newspapers the particulars of a love romance in which Jefferson Davis was the central figure.

It was down at old Fort Crawford, whose ruins are still to be seen just south of Prairie du Chien. It was away back in 1834, when ex-President Zachariah Taylor, then a colonel in the regular army, was commandant of the post. Jeff. Davis, who was then a young lieutenant, was a.s.signed to duty under Col. Taylor, and fell in love with his commander's beautiful daughter. The love making between the young people was the most natural thing in the world under the circ.u.mstances, but for some reason Col. Taylor had taken the most intense dislike to the young lieutenant and frowned upon his suit. In order to prevent his daughter from marrying Davis the grim old warrior sent her to a convent at Baton Rouge.

Some months afterward the young lieutenant appeared before Col. Taylor with a doc.u.ment which required his signature. It was an order from Gen. Wayne granting a furlough to Davis. Old Zach. understood human nature well enough to know that when young Davis got his leave of absence he would take a bee line for Baton Rouge, so he immediately dispatched his swiftest messenger to bring his daughter home by the most circuitous route, and thus thwart the young officer, who he knew would be hurrying to meet her. When Davis returned to Fort Crawford the coldness between himself and his old commander grew more frigid, while the young woman pined away in the seclusion of a log hut, where her father had established his headquarters, until at last she was released from her imprisonment by her lover, who took her from her father's roof by stealth and in the night, and taking her across the river to a spot where a priest was in waiting, they were made man and wife.

George Green, an old river man, now eighty years old, who still lives at Prairie du Chien, is the person who rowed them over the river that night. He says that Davis took the young woman from an upper window in the log cabin and by the a.s.sistance of the chaplain was able to get her beyond the picket lines un.o.bserved. Green was at the river bank in waiting with a canoe and took them to the spot where the marriage ceremony was performed. He says the young lady cried a good deal during the voyage across the river, but she leaned her head on the young lieutenant's bosom in a way that a.s.sured him that she was not altogether unhappy. Soon after the marriage a steamboat from St. Paul came down the river and by a preconcerted arrangement halted, took the bridal couple on board and pa.s.sed on down the Mississippi to Jeff.

Davis' home in the South.

Gen. Taylor never did forgive Davis for marrying his daughter. He never spoke to him from that time until the evening after the close of the battle of Buena Vista. Jeff. Davis had undoubtedly won the battle with his Mississippi Rifles, and as he lay wounded in his tent that night Gen. Taylor walked in, extended his hand in friendly greeting and thanked him for his gallant services. But there was no further attempt at reconciliation after that. Mrs. Davis did not live long, and the lady who now presides over Beauvoir is Mr. Davis' second wife.

She was a Miss Howell, of Georgia.

DRED SCOTT AT FORT SNELLING.

The following incident connected with the famous Dred Scott case, taken from a St. Paul paper of 1887, may prove of interest to the present generation of readers, few of whom are aware that the princ.i.p.al personage in the case was a resident of Fort Snelling, or more exactly speaking, the chattel of an American officer at that place:

In the year 1839 the Fifth United States Infantry was stationed on the Upper Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers, and, although Fort Crawford (Prarie du Chien) was their headquarters, Fort Snelling was the most important, it being the only military post north of Prairie du Chien, between Lake Superior and the Pacific ocean, and far from the frontier, as the nearest settlement was several hundred miles away.

During the season of open water the post was reached by boats, and in the winter by pony or dog trains, but in the spring before the river was free of floating ice and in the fall before it was frozen, the inhabitants were almost cut off from civilization, as the place was considered inaccessible, by all but the hardy voyageur and the postman, who brought the mail on his back twice a month from Prairie du Chien. Fort Snelling was the only post office in what is now Minnesota, Dakota and Montana.

It was seldom that a stranger made his appearance after the close of navigation, for the timid did not venture so far from the comforts of life. During the winter the weather was severe, the houses were not so comfortable as now, storm windows and furnaces were unthought of, and stoves were considered luxuries.

It happened that on a cold, dreary day in the early winter the quartermaster was distributing stoves, but did not have more than enough to supply the officers and the married men of the command, and not all of the latter. The surgeon, Dr. Emerson, a giant in body, applied for one for his slave, Dred Scott, but was told by Lieut.

McPhail, the quartermaster, who was a man under size, that the darkey would have to wait until the others were supplied, and it was doubtful if there were enough for all. The doctor became very much excited and insinuated that McPhail was lying, whereupon the latter hit the doctor between the eyes, breaking his spectacles and bruising his nose.

Emerson, very much infuriated, rushed to his quarters, loaded a pair of huge flintlock pistols, returned to McPhail, who was unarmed, and without ceremony presented them to the head of the little quartermaster. He, not liking their looks, sought safety in flight, and with a speed that showed a good condition of body ran across the parade ground, followed by the doctor. As they neared McPhail's company quarters a friend of his, Lieut. Whitall, and a sergeant, seized firearms and prepared to give their a.s.sistance if it was needed. The commanding officer, Maj. Plympton, armed with a cane, ran after the doctor, and upon overtaking him put him under arrest. By this time the occupants of all the quarters had gathered upon the scene, too excited to feel the cold or think of stoves, and two parties were quickly formed. The smaller party consisted of the young men, who, anxious for a fight, insisted that by running McPhail had brought disgrace upon himself which could be wiped out only by blood.

The other and influential side was composed of men with families, who knew that in case of illness no other physician could be had except from Prairie du Chien, and the roads were such that it might be impossible to get one at all; therefore they urged peace, and after several days of excitement they were able to unfurl the flag of triumph.

The terms of settlement between the belligerents were not made known, and those who had hoped for a fight felt that the secrecy added largely to their already heavy disappointment; but the men of peace wore an expression of relief when they realized that if ill, their victory would enable them to obtain the immediate services of the doctor, and that there would not be a repet.i.tion of the duel which had been fought there many years before, the first and last duel ever fought in Minnesota. Although peace was declared, bitter feelings which had risen during the strife still lingered in the heads of all but Dred Scott, the innocent cause of the trouble, who for the first time in his life became at all conspicuous. Shortly after, however, his name was as well known, and oftener heard in social, military and political circles than any other, not only in his own country, but abroad. He left Fort Snelling with Dr. Emerson, and was afterward in Missouri, where he was one day whipped, as he had often been before.

But this proved to be the last time the poor fellow intended submitting as a slave, for immediately after a suit was commenced for a.s.sault and battery, claiming that as he had been in a free territory he was a free man. His master dying, his widow and daughter defended the suit, which was decided in their favor two days after the inauguration of President Buchanan, and Dred Scott was remanded to slavery. This was considered a great victory for the South, but in reality was not, for the civilized world became aroused in behalf of freedom, and public opinion, the higher law, was invoked. Civil war soon followed; slavery was abolished, and Dred Scott made free. It was half a century ago that this simple-minded negro lived in slavery in Hennepin, the historic county of Minnesota.

OLD BETZ AND THE ST. PAUL TRIBE OF INDIANS.

No history of the early days would be complete without mention of the celebrated and picturesquely homely squaw known as Old Betz and the tribe to which she belonged. The camp of the latter may still be seen at South St. Paul to the number of three or four tepees. The Indians are the descendants of the warriors of Little Crow. They live in canvas tepees of primitive style, but with the exception of moccasins and a few Indian trinkets they have conformed somewhat to the costumes of the civilized people around them.

The Indians living in this vicinity, says A. L. Larpenteur in the _Pioneer Press_, represent a remnant of the Minnesota Sioux who were not taken to the reservation after the ma.s.sacre of 1861. There may be nearly a score of families in all, including the inhabitants of the little Indian village at South St. Paul, the aboriginal residents at Mendota, and some red men living near Newport. These are mostly descendants of the members of Little Crow's band. Three or four families have descended from the famous old squaw known as "Old Betz,"

who died at an advanced age only two years ago. At least two of old Betz's daughters are living. They are very large, fleshy squaws, and are frequently seen on the streets of St. Paul. When you catch sight of a big squaw with a heavy pack slung over her shoulders, seated in some doorway down street panting for breath, you may make up your mind that it is one of Old Betz's daughters--either Doo-to-win (Scarlet Female) or Pa-zen-ta-win (Medicine Woman); for such are their names.

They obtain a livelihood suitable to their lingering aboriginal tastes and their condition of life, by selling moccasins, ginseng and wild flowers in their season, and the skins of animals which they hunt or trap. These skins are chiefly muskrat skins. They bring several hundred to market in the course of the season. Then the squaws do the begging, and the great white packs which these dusky females carry upon their backs as they trudge along the streets of the city are filled with specked fruit, tainted chickens and meat, dried up cranberries and other unsalable stuff that the commission men of the city have kindly bestowed upon them. An Indian is not so particular about what he eats as a white person. When meat is tainted he boils it until he gets all the taint out. What remains serves as savory sauce for the meat. The Indians are intelligent. They don't have much to say to strangers, but among themselves they are quite sociable, and sit together by the hour smoking pipes and recounting traditions and incidents. They are very fond of story telling. They also discuss topics of interest with a freedom and intelligence worthy of a modern white man's debating society. "I have sat with them in their lodges by the hour," says Mr. Larpenteur, "and have been vastly entertained by their anecdotes and discussions." So it appears that the Indians hereabout are not so glum and reticent as red men in general are credited with being.

There are a great many people in St. Paul who remember Old Betz, and the stories that were told in relation to her, quite well. She was said to be one hundred and twenty years old when she died, and, as there was no evidence to the contrary, and she certainly bore the mark of great age, this estimate of her years was generally accepted. Mr.

Larpenteur has reason for thinking that her age has been very much exaggerated. Old Betz told him one day, a short time before her death, in a confidential way, that when soldiers first came to Fort Snelling she was still in her teens. That was in 1819, and, therefore, Old Betz could not have been over eighty-eight when she died.

FOOTNOTES:

[F] NOTE.--The Wah-tap--or Wa-tab--empties from the west into the Mississippi just above Sauk Rapids--H. M. R.

[G] The rejection of Thomas P. Burnett as a member of the council, by Gov. Dodge, created great excitement at the time, and the governor was severely criticised for his action. In making the apportionment the governor had made Crawford county a district, but had left it without a representative in the council, although two had been a.s.signed to the house, the governor claiming that this was equivalent to one in the senate and one in the house. His action, to say the least, was curious and unprecedented.

[H] Jean Brunet was of French extraction. He made the first manufacturing improvements at Chippewa Falls.

[I] Alexander McGregor, a Scotchman, built a large hotel in Prairie du Chien, and located a claim on the western side of the Mississippi rivers opposite which has become the site of the city of McGregor. In the third session of the territorial legislature he was elected to represent the Dubuque district, and charges were preferred against him of accepting a bribe. Pending the investigation of the charges he resigned, removed to the east side of the river and was elected to represent the Crawford district. The ensuing session, the house, by resolution, declared him unworthy of confidence.

[J] The loan amendment was approved by Gov. Medary, through his private secretary, March 9, 1858. The amendment was adopted by the people April 15, 1858, by a vote of 25,023 to 6,733. The amount of bonds issued was $2,275,000. The expunging resolution was adopted Nov.

6, 1860, by a popular vote of 19,308 to 710.

[K] Rev Mr. Webber was born in the state of New York in 1821; was educated for the ministry ordained and sent to Minnesota as a missionary by the Calvinistic Baptist church. He came to Stillwater in 1850. He is now a resident of Fleming, Cayuga county, New York.

ADDENDA.

A history of the Northwest that would omit any mention of the war of the Rebellion would be an unfinished work. It was the original intention of the author of this work to add a military history in which should be placed upon record not only some statistics as to the number of troops contributed to the United States service from the parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin lying along the Mississippi river, but some account of incidents connected with the war, which the citizens of the valley would take pride in perusing. The plan was abandoned reluctantly on account of the want of s.p.a.ce for such a record. We are able to furnish a synopsis of the military history of Minnesota taken from a recent address made by ex-Gov. Ramsey before the Loyal Legion at St. Paul. It is doubly interesting, coming as it does from the governor of the State during the earlier portion of the war:

Ex-Gov. Alexander Ramsey was called upon to respond to the toast, "Minnesota and the War; For G.o.d, Our Country and the Right." He said:

"Amid the many evidences of harmony and prosperity in all sections of the great republic it is difficult to realize that the citizens of Minnesota, within the memory of many still alive, were called upon to preserve the integrity of the United States of America by the force of arms.

"There has ever been a community of interest between our own State, in whose midst are found the sources of the Mississippi, and the several states on its borders toward the Gulf of Mexico; the wheat fields of Minnesota, the cotton and sugar plantations of Mississippi and Louisiana must be inseparable, yet it can not be disguised that a short-sighted statesmans.h.i.+p made a vigorous attempt to separate those whom an all-wise Providence had joined together.

"In the month of April, 1861, upon official business as governor of Minnesota, I was called to the city of Was.h.i.+ngton. The knots of earnest men and anxious faces in the corridors and reading rooms of the hotels indicated a widespread belief that there was an impending peril, a serious conspiracy upon the part of some in the cotton producing and slave holding states to secede from the Union, although the general government had never infringed upon their rights under the const.i.tution.

"On Sat.u.r.day night, April 13th, the population of Was.h.i.+ngton was deeply moved by the intelligence that Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston had been attacked by insurgents, and that the garrison had surrendered.

"Early Sunday morning, accompanied by two citizens of Minnesota, I visited the war department, and found the secretary with his hat on and papers in his hand about to leave his office. I said 'My business is simply as governor of Minnesota to tender a thousand men to defend the government.' 'Sit down immediately,' he replied, 'and write the tender you have made, as I am now on my way to the president's mansion.'

"This was quickly done, and thus Minnesota became the first to cheer the president by offers of a.s.sistance in the crisis which had arrived.

"My action and the acceptance of this offer were dispatched to St.

Paul, and in a few days companies in the different towns in Minnesota were being organized, and on the twenty-seventh of the month Adjt.

Gen. John B. Sanborn issued an order that more companies had been organized than were necessary to complete the First regiment of Minnesota, and on the third of May, having returned to St. Paul during April, I sent a telegram to the president offering a second regiment.

"On the twenty-first of June the First regiment, under Col. Gorman, left Fort Snelling, and in one month, on Sunday, the twenty-first of July, distinguished itself as the advance of Heintzleman's division in the battle of Bull Run, Virginia. The Second regiment, in command of Col. H. P. Van Cleve, a graduate of West Point, left Fort Snelling in October, and on the nineteenth of January was in close conflict with the enemy near Mill Springs, Kentucky, Gen. Zollicoffer and other insurgent officers having fallen under their fire. A third regiment, under Col. H. C. Lester, left the State in November, 1861, and a fourth regiment, under Col. John B. Sanborn, was soon organized, and not long after a fifth, under Col. Borgersrode, was formed. In the spring of 1862, within a few weeks of each other, the last two left for the seat of war, and were a.s.signed to the Army of the Mississippi, and before the close of May were, with their comrades of the Second, in the action at Corinth.

"But while Minnesota was thus rapidly sending forth her able bodied men, she was called upon to endure a trial greater than any of her sister states. On the nineteenth of August there rushed into the governor's office at the capitol a dusty and exhausted messenger who had been fifteen hours in the saddle with dispatches from Galbraith, the Sioux agent, containing the startling intelligence that the Sioux had risen and were murdering the settlers and plundering and burning their houses. An hour or two later another messenger arrived from Forest City with information that the Sioux had also killed many whites at Acton. It was evident that there was a general uprising, and that no time was to be lost.

"I immediately proceeded to Fort Snelling and consulted as to the best measures to protect our people. Here were only raw recruits, without arms or clothing, but at length four companies of the Sixth regiment were organized, and that night sent up the Minnesota river to Shakopee, and ex-Gov. H. H. Sibley, who had had a long acquaintance with the Sioux, was placed in command.