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Document - Historical information/data - Valley of the Black Dog -ftfkc,k DO& VALLEY OF THE BLACK DOG From "Once Upon a Towne" By Oliver Towne If you ride up highways 13-101 through the valley into the setting sun, the low, rip- pling hills will be to the left. And on the right --across the bottomlands and the river are forestlands. And not even the encroachment of the white man's civilization of suburban housing de- velopments and industry has penetrated the marshes and swamps, hidden by shadowy foliage, at the border of the river "St. Pierre," now called the Minnesota. At dusk, in the bottomlands, the scream of an owl may melt your marrow. Not too long ago that could have been an owl's lament --or the signal of a Sioux or Chippewa. And in the haze of the last sunlight, the hulk of a trailer truck, silhouetted at the top of a slope of the highway --that truck could have been the outline of a Concord Mail coach, the stage that ran along old Shakopee road. For this is the "Valley of Chief Black Dog," 22 miles of romantic Minnesota river val- ley, winding southwest from the steeple of St. Peter's in Mendota, oldest stone church still standing in the state, to the old Murphy house front lawn, just east of Shakopee. Along the north bank is the path the Indians took to Fort Snelling --and it became Old Shakopee road (County road 18); and the refugees took it later, fleeing the 1862 massacre which, some say, was hatched right at the west end of the valley by Little Six, son of Chief Shakopee. And just east of Savage, below Burnsville school, was the lair of Chief Black Dog, himself, after whom this section of the valley derived its name and in whose powerful mem- ory the chimneys of the Northern States Power Co. "Black Dog" plant now rise toward "Manitou's" skies. For most of us, Savage is historically associated with the famous horse, "Dan Patch," who lived there and made history around the Savage track. And he certainly added to the lore of the valley. But four miles west of Savage, at the intersection of highways 101 and County 18, is Ozzie Klavestad's Stage Coach Inn and Museum --on the exact site of the old Gallenbeck Stage stop, known as the Four -Mile House back in the 1850's. Just across the road and about 200 yards east, the First Minnesota Volunteers lined up for their first roll call in the Civil War. And if you follow their route, across on 80-year-oid iron and wood bridge that spans the river, you will be near the site of the Bloomington ferry. And just up the hillside and around a bend is a former summer mansion, now Shady Valley ridingstable and ranch. The estate home was built by a southern plantation owner, who put his family aboard a river steamer every May and brought them to Minnesota. One of our first vacationers. Not two miles south of the old Gallenbeck stage stop is Boiling springs, a strange phenomena of water that has been known to geyser out of the ground to a height of 5 and 6 feet. The Indians attached great reverence to the springs and, when the water shot un- usually high, they took it as a sign that the Great Spirit was angry. The spring still boils up and it is said there is no bottom. You may have gone past the old Murphy house, just east of Shakopee, off Highway 101. A great limestone house, erected by 'a red-headed Irishman named Murphy. It was near here in the late 1850s that the Sioux and Chippewa fought one of their last battles. It began on the river's edge and lasted two days and nights. And the white settlers came out from Shakopee to watch. When it had ended, so the story goes, 11 Indian bodies sprawled on Murphy's front lawn. So he piled them up like cordwood, poured coal oil over the mass and set a funeral pyre that blazed like a beacon. This was the domain of Chief Shakopee and until the mid-1920's some of the Sioux still lived near the river, tanning dog and deer hides, making beadwork. Most have left or pas- sed on —to the Great-Spiritland. But -they say Indian Minnie, -granddaughter of Chief -Shakopee, still lives in a little house near Shakopee. There remains a frontier nostalgia threading through the valley. Rolling down high- way 101 some day, you may see groups of horseback riders, galloping over the ridges. There are more than 1,000 horses in the area, most of them belonging to some dozen riding stables and ranches whose rail fences add a Kentucky "Blue Grass" charm. And here, where a species of buffalo --called wood buffalo --once roamed, you can watch them now at a buffalo farm near Lyndale and highway 13, which sells genuine buffalo steaks. At Ozzie Klavestad's Stage Coach, a studied restoration of an authentic frontier oasis, you can see two famous old stage coaches --the Concord, which rolled for Wells -Fargo and was reduced to the status of a chicken coop in South Dakota before Ozzie rescued it. His other "rolling stock" is a mud coach, in which Teddy Roosevelt once was a passenger, and which is a blend of two famous old coaches --the Dakota and the Kitty, of Overland Stage days. It made its last run in 1902 on a line from Roseau to Stephens, Minnesota. These are only a few of the stories of the valley as it was and --with a pinch of imagination --still is for the man with adventure in his eyes. He can ride the pavement in his cushioned car and envy, perhaps, those who live in ramblers occupying the high ground -where the signal fires once blazed in the valley of "The River St. Pierre and the Chief Black Dog." CHIEF BIG EAGLE, OR BLACK DOG was painted by George Catlin in the 1830s when he was an old man. He was chief of Block Dog Village in Burnsville. On his head he wears a roach of deer tail hairs which was (Photo courtesy the Smithsonian Insditution) typical of Sioux headdresses and in his hand he holds a pipestone pipe. Upon his death Grey Iron succeeded as head of the tribe. Grey Iron's son, the younger Chief Big Eagle, succeed- ed Grey Iron. Head of Dakota Tribe Chief Black Dog Ruled Area Along The Minnesota River Century and !-half Ago By DIANE CHRISTIANSON Two centuries ago the Dakota Indians inhabited this area in the Minnesota River valley.It is es- timated that they first moved in- to the area in about 1750. Before that date their main home had been at the village of Izatys on Lake Mille Lac. It was while they were still in the Mille Lac area that the Dakota Indians "entertained" Father Hennepin and accompa- nied him to St. Anthony Falls. Later, it was at Mille Lac that Du Luth found Father Hennepin. The Indian name for the group that settled in the Minnesota Valley near the river's mouth means "The people of Spirit Lake" (Mille Lac). During the time the white men were in this area, they placed the site of the Black Dog village approximately four miles from Mendota on the south side of the Minnesota River in what is now Burnsville. On the stretcher in back of George Catlin's painting of Chief Big Eagle is also noted "Black Dog." Whether this chief was the original "Black Dog" from whom the village de- rived its name, orwhetherCat- lin noted thus from the name of the village he was from, is not entirely clear. The fact that several Chiefs in succession often used the same name might indicate that the village was named for a former chief, perhaps the elder Big Eagle's father or even grandfather. Dakota legend has it that the Black Dog band was the oldest in this area and that they had originally been located on the north side of the Minnesotanear the site where Pinneshaw'svil- lage was located 1 at a r, in Bloomington near the mouth of the Nine Mile Creek. The painting of the elder Big E a g l e, which was done by GE•orge Catlin in the early 1830's, is owned by the Smith- sonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The painting shows Chief Big Eagle (or Black Dog) holding a pipestone pipe and wearing a medal around his neck, which may have been presentedtohim by' the Indian Agent at For t Snelling as was often done for the Chiefs. On his head he wears a typical Dakota "roach"which was made from the hair of deer tails and usually dyed red. He wears his hair long and un- braided as many early pictures show the Dakotas. Samuel William Pond tells us in his writing "The Dakotas in Minnesota in 1834" that at that time, the approximate time of the Catlin paintings, Big Ea- gle was an old man. This fact is corroborated by the wrink- le(' countenance of the man in the painting. Big Eagle was followed in the chieftainship by his son, known by various names to the whites, but most commonly called "Grey Iron." Some other names given to him were "My head aches" and "Medicine Bottle." This was not, however, the Med- icine Bottle who was executed at Fort Snelling for his part in the 1862 uprising. The younger "Medicine Bottle" is said to be a nephew of Grey Iron. • It was during this general time that the people of the Black I)og village were called "The people who did not eat geese." The reason for this was that they sold all the geese they could kill to the garrison of Fort Snelling. Chief Grey (Photo courtesy Min THE YOUNGER CHIEF BIG F 1827 at the Black Dog Vill Burnsville. He holds a war c the eagle feathers indicate ti Chippewa scalps. Iron was one of the signers of the treaty of Traverse desSioux in the summer of 1851. Grey Iron's son became chief when Grey Iron died in 1857. The younger chief took his grandfather's name, Big Eagle, when he became chief. This young Chief Big Eagle was born in the Black I)og vil- lage in the summer of 1827. The accompanying photograph of the younger Big Eagle was taken some time prior to the uprising of 1862. In this pic- ture he is shown holding a war club and the feathers in his headband indicate he had taken six Chippewa scalps and was a daring warrior. The picture of the younger Big Eagle is through the cour- tesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. He was one of the Chiefs who was against the uprising of 1862; however, when the tribe voted him down he stood by his people and fought along with them in the uprising. The younger Big Eagle sur- rendered to General Sibley and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was converted to Christianity and settled on a! farm near Granite Falls, Minn. Later, he wrote a report on the "Sioux War" from the Indian's standpoint. He died at his home near Granite Falls on Jan. 5, 1906 at the age of 77, a respec- ted and honored man. The Indians were moved out of this area in 1856 to reserva- tions farther west and south along the Minnesota River, in compliance with the treaty of Traverse des Sioux which was signed in 1851. VALLEY REVIEW Thursday, Dec. 12; 1963 PAGE 12 • Church Women Give Christmas Tea The American Lutheran Church Women of . Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of • Burnsville extend an invitation to friends and members of Prince of Peace Church to at- tend a Christmas tea, Sunday afternoon, December 15th, be- tween the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. The tea will be held at the R..D.• Taylor home, which,;is. located . •at 130th and Nicollet; Avenue,,Burnsville. Mrs. Lyle- Haugen, president of the wom- en's organization, has an - flounced .that nursery facilities will be .provided at the church, during ;the hours • of the tea.. New Members Are Church:Youth Plan 'Progressive Dinner St. James Lutheran r i The'high school youth group at' Received into congregation of.:the American" Lutheran 'Church, and.held,its first 'worsh•ip service in .early October; • New members -were -received' " into the St, James Lutheran Church last Sunday. , They include: Mr. and,, Mrs.• James Bickner;1 Mr. and'4/1rs - William 'Belz, Mi , and'.rMrs•. Ervin Hanson, '=Mr. aptly"Mr"s.'r William -La . '•Vigne, Mr.. and Mrs. `Wiiliain?Hammerlund,• Mr. and Mrs.::Arnold Askelin; Mr. Ahimon, Mrs. Arthur W4 Williams, Paul -Wil- liams .and Mrs. 'Martin`Beck- • Prince of Peace Lutheran church of Burnsville will have a progressive:Christmas dinner party Sunday night beginning at 7 pow -at -he church. Following the dinner the young,people will return to pastor Gerald Allen's residence for Advent devotional services. Hol 'Name Society y To,,Nieet Tonight Members of the Holy Name Prince. of Peace Lutheran;''Society`,-of• St. John ::the Baptist Church of Burnsville is 'a new'," Catholic, church will meet TO- NIGHT;: Thursday;- Dec. 12, at 8 p.m.' .the parish hall: Nexf;. Sunday ;the Holy Name men will 'receive Communion in .a bodyt,-at the 8 a.m. Mass. Even m for this sae purpose have 1 railed thee um -:that I might show my power in•thee, and.that. my name • • might be declared_thro tghout allthe earth -Exodus 9:16 Many'. times'; Christians meet the opportunity, to be : thankful for the mercy of God We begin with the promise of ,salvation the•=opportunity to conduct the course of our lives in ':a manner that will justify the 'highest reward. Particularly;, as we •appr'oach e Christmas;; season, we;: are again;reminded that through, life and death of Jesus ;the • ' ess of; God's love and mercy )st evident. •= shows mercy with:a."sure All those who follow ;the gs of Christianity::declare lief for "all the earth" to WIZ'I n1F 6I8LE BY CORNELIUS R. STAM PRES.- . BEREAN BIBLE SOCIETY `• CHICAGO• 35, ILLINOIS • Holy -Cross Lutheran The Young People of the Holy Cross.Lutheran Church attend- ed a roller skating party last ' Sunday .evening: Following the skating party lunch was served at the church. The Young People's group then •triinmed the Christmas Tree and sang -their favorite Christmas Car. ols. • The Church -School Christmas program will hold rehearsal for :their programs as follows; 3 years old through grade 1 will ,'practice Saturday December 14 from 9:30 until 11 a.m. Grades 2 and up will hold their rehears- -al on Saturday December 21 • from 1 p.m. until-3 p.m. The Christmas programs will „be held on Sunday, afternoon, December 15 at 4:30.p.m., for 3 year old through grade 1 and `:on Sunday,. December, 22 at 6:30 -p.m., for those `in grades 2 on :up. Every;"oneis welcome to _attend. • • Throughout this Advent sea- son an Advent Wreath will be lit and 'remain lit through the Sun - :day Morning Worship Services. .The wreath was made by mem- i"bers of the A.L,C.W.- - Burnsville• -Baptist Dress rehearsal for t h e :forthcoming Christmas pro - Will be held Friday eve- ning, December 13. The Christ - members will hold their.Christ mas party at• the church. They will also decorate the church and trim the. Christmas tree. All Sunday: School .children• from Christ. Lutheran Church will hold. rehearsal for their Christmas program on Saturday - morning, December 14, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. All chil- dren are 'urged to be present. Lord's Supper -will be cele- brated at the 10:30 Morning Worship Services on Sunday December 15.. The Walther Leaguewillhave their Christmas party at the church' Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ,All -the Teen-agers from the congregation are especially urged to attend. Sunday School teachers meet ing will be held on Monday eve- ning December 16 beginning. at 7:15 p.m. Board of Evangelism will meet for their monthly meeting on Wednesday evening, Decem- ber 18 at 7 p.m. Grace Methodist Tonight at 7 p.m. a meeting. of the Commission on Missions. willbe held at Grace Methodist Church. Also meeting at 7p.m. is the Evangelism Committee. Saturday morning, December 14 at 9 a m, the; Board -of Trus tees will meet at Grace Method- ist Church. Official Board Meeting will Mission_. Director FrornIndjaTo Sp�ak-at Orchard -Gaiden. The Rev. Rochunga Pudaite 'will be the„guest ..missionary :speaker tonight, Thursday, Dec. '12, at Orchard Gardens Ev. Free 'Church.. Mr. Pudaite is -_executive di- ;rector:• of the Indo - Burma Pio- neer Mission,, an ',Indian nation- al group which operates 65 Christian day schools with over 5,000 children, a high school, and . a Bible school in India. Its missionaries serve other parts of India and Burma and its evangelists work among the neighboring tribes in coopera- tion with ,the local :churches. 888-3010 tion. for added infor.ma- Cedar Grove Baptist The Womens•.Missionary So ,' ciety of Cedar Grove Baptist, c h u r c h will meet' 'tonight, •Thursday, Dec. 12, at the chapel house at 2167 Garnet Drive, Cedar Grove. The ladies'twill make props for the. forthcoming Christmas program. The Sunday School Christmas program -of Cedar Grove Baptist 'church:will be -.held at 7 p.m., Friday, • Dec. r.20,::fat•; the Cedar elementary school.'A rehearsal for the program will be -Con- ducted at" 10 a.m. next Saturday. Presbyterian Church -During the month, of Decem- ber, :the guest speaker at‘ -the Presbyterian C h u r. c h• ofr the'. Apostles will be the Rev Rich- } „�y p , B� /yam+ and W. nBouer al'M 'Missions assistant Gods Eternal Purpose in National Missions for the Presbyterian Synod of Minrie- "The Father of Lies" always .hates the truth, but he does sota. not always oppose it by the same methods. If he fails to succeed The Sunday School Christmas: ' as a roaring lion .he may. appear as an angel of light, suggesting A native Indian, Mr. Pudaite :Thereforei`it .was necessary for comes from northeast India .the native Christians to walk which was conquered by the 125 and 130 miles out of the British in 1870: His grandfather .rugged" -jungles , to see him and was one' of the chiefs of the learn more about the -Christian Huar tribe. This tribe resisted life and witness.' Then they re- the. British:,efforts to control turned to tell.the. story- to the them and in the battles that fol- people of their tribe. lowed the tribespeople took the - Mr. , Pudaite was converted -heads of many of the soldiers, - at the age of ten through the thus gaining the -reputation of ministry ,of his father. He at - being a savage, head-hunting tended -Neig mission grade tribe: school and the Baptist mission •.Christianity .• first came to school at Assam. Later, he 'area in 1910 when a Welsh 'studied at the University in missionary named Watkin Calcutta and Allahabed, India, Roberts arrived with the Gospel and Glasgow, Scotland. He was message. Mr..Roberts devoted brought to Wheaton College for himself to the distribution of graduate studies by World Vi- Christian -literature, particu- .sion under the direction of Dr. larly-the Gospels, in various Robert Pierce. He has trans - 'dialects and languages. One of •lated the New Testament and these-:. Copies fell into -the hands sixteen books of the Old Testa - 'of a tribal chief who invited :Roberts to : visit .his village, a distance of over •200 miles through rugged • mountain foot paths. On the first trip five natives were converted, one a boy of 'fifteen, Rochunga's father. Be- cause of governmental restric- tions, Watkin Roberts was not allowed to work in the area. ment for his native people..As a result of his work, a re- vision of the New Testament was printed• in 1960-1961 ,by the British and Foreign Society. ' The Rev. R. L.. Jackson, pas- tor of Orchard Gardens Ev. Free Church, has .extended an invitation to the, public to at- tend the missionary service. N.- FEATURE TIO ' f'7": aa2 /,13 ^ ^. 4,`.',,,,fekS � .��«' '0x������ Caw%h ����0��0�� ������� � Offle ���� ��� n�^����� �-~�v����' �� *����'�� Staff -'Writer was ki]16J_below�Iere :Some had his'-.'fatbqr,!s I gun -because the hall.. that -killed his father *sed`through the bredch of his,gun*. Thes�olo' el ha' the This account, in. the words of an�.:18-ye4r�-old '.Minnesota probably; is Ahe only. con. em- tletrow. Little Crow was -the Indian' -who, bekie he -was boy was nearl� sick 'not out of our way. 8e by tbo^ob�oy col �u� AlsoAlso�u noted uarethe �� o�o� [ tb Itouo�Ko'' sissippi ` Philatelic society und thee �� uuoh�rour7� UtheTwiu Cities Oroup. which bud a severe wound was not well yet. When he was on his way to Devils Lake from where his father was shot be wounded u wolf and when be rvmt up to the wou, beflew onto him and tore him up bad." This letter, written by Pvt. James Cady of Bofbuuo. Minn., uod'oovaralothers will be displayed Friday through Sunday when the Twin City Philatelic society honors the 8th Minnesota regiment., The Confederates in September, This 100th anniversary will th ee-prt exhibition in Hotel `PATRIOTIC emblemsadorn the envelopes and station- ery letters from this correspondence will be displayed Friday t6rough Saturday at Hotel Leamington, Minneapolis. -AP Newsfeatures Photo. ' PYT.JAMES E. CADY One of 600,000 More The letters written by Pvt. Cady now are owned by FloydE. Bi^volduf4801Up- per Torruco.����°�~��� Edina exhibi- tion . Stamp col - led Di.s,| vnld into col-. Mecially t ters, diaries and maps, of historical inter-��� osttotbeNorth-' Risvuld. west. From, stamps, lisbnter� est shifted to covers,— used envelopes — and then to the contents of the envelopes. Risvold's collection of Pvt. Cady's letters is one of the finest of its kind ever un- covered, according to the Minnesota Historical society. The letters trace the move- ment of the 8tb &8bomaotu from its. organization at Fort Snelling in 1868 to its dis- banding there in 1865. In be- tween, the roObuoot fought ludiuoa in the vraxtoru otutao and Cou[pdorutoo in tbo Soutb. The regiment was formed in answer to President Lin- coln's call for 600.000 more to fight in the Civil vvuc In 1864 Cady's unit 'ruarrhma4kv��t�7o ta in southern Minnesota tnFoct Rice on the Missouri river. There itjoined With Gen. Al- fred Sully for his great In- dian expedition through _the Dakotas. During this march the soldiers fought the Battle of }{iUdoor nuountuiu, in which they routed the In- dians, killing 113. Cady de- scribes this and -other bat- tles in detail. Cady then u group of ouldiocu who traveled 200 miles vvuot of Fort Dice to rescue uwagon train besieged by Indians. This task uccom' yliobod' all the soldiers head- ed for the war in the South. Pvt. Cady and the 8[b D8iu'. ueuotu participated in tho battle of 8voruD'u creek and the second o[Murfrees- boro in late 1884. Again he wcdao in Qzout detail about the fighting and how several of his comrades died. Be also relates bow members of the regiment used Indian yells when going into battle. Use of these yells, learned during their vvurx against the red men, led to the regiment be- coming known as the ludiuo regiment. The next mission for the 8th Minnesota was to join Sherman in his march to the oou and act as. police in the area captured by the goomr- ul/o troops. When they ar- rived in Washington appear- ing quite rough and tough, they were dubbed 8hec/uuo'o Woodbcko--uoothoc oanne which stuck with the regi- ment. Thus, tho 8tb Minnesota closed out its service. 0p July 8, 1865, Pvt. Cady wrote his last letter from Charlotte, N. C. "l um coming home in ufew duyo,"bosaid. "If you want tosee soldiers, come up to Ft. Snelling." - � r BLACKDOG VILLAGE - History of Dakota County pub. 1881 pgs. 347, 348 SETTLEMENT. The Indian village, known as Black Dog's, and situated near the mouth of Black Dog's creek, in section 18, has been previously described, After the treaty of 1837, a Frenchman named Louis Martin, was stationed among these Indians as farmer. He located on section 17, and the In- dians began to form a new village round him. Several log buildings were erected for residences and shops. In the spring of 1849, Hazen Mooers, the well known Indian trader, was appointed to succeed Mr. Martin. His wife was a half-breed Sioux,by whom he had three children. After the ratifica- tion of the treaty of 1852, when the Indians were removed to Red Wood agency, Mr. Mooers went with them. J. W. Brown, who bad married a daughter of Mr. Mooers, in 1848, came down to Black Dog village, in the fall of 1849, and as- sisted his father-in-law. When the Indians were removed he remained on the land, and pre-empted a farm, in the northern part of section 17, which he lived on until 1857, when he removed to Red Wing. IIe resided there for six years, returning at the end of that period t$ -his _farm in Eagan. Isere he lived until, len be sold his original claim and remove}t~ to his Regent place of resi- dence, in the nort$rwest quarter of section 9. Mr. Brown is accordingly the first white settler of the town. At the same dine with him, John Brown and a Mr.`Part* made claims also, in section 17. Neither of them remained, however, but a short time. Two brothers, Campbell, made a claim in the north-east quarter of section 18. They had been attaches of the Indian farm, and sftn sold their claim rights to Franklin Steele. A comrade named Benjamin Young then took possession of the claim, probably for Mr. Steele, and contin- ued to live there for several years. Mr. Young was one of the first two justices of the peace. elected within the limits of the present town of Eagan. He subsequently removed to St. Paul, and is now somewhere among the Indians in the West. HISTORY OF DAKOTA COUNTY AND TITE CITY OF HASTINGS, INCLUDING THE EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS OF MINNESOTA, BY REV. EDWARD D. NEILL. AND OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF MINNESOTA, BY J. PLETCHER WILLIAMS. MINNEAPOLIS: NORTH STAR PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1881. • •• them to enter the apart- ment where we were — knowing from what his own feelings would have been, if he had been placed in a similar situation, that we did not wish to have a gap- ing crowd around us." This young lieutenant was named Jefferson Davis, a man destined to be a pris- oner himself at Fort Mon- roe thirty-three years later. But first he would be Presi- dent of the Confederate States of America. Indeed, it has been said facetiously that the Black Hawk War in 1832 was a sort of dress rehearsal for the Civil War which was to break out in 1861. Major General Winfield Scott, first in command in the Black Hawk War, was to be a lieutenant general in com- mand of the United States forces in the early days of the Civil War. Colonel David Twiggs was to become a major general in the Confederate Army. Lieuten- ant Robert Anderson was destined to be Major Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter in April 1861. Lieutenant Albert Sidney Johnston would be one of the leading generals of the Confederacy and would lose his life at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Six companies of artillery were ordered from Fort Monroe to the scene of action. (In those days bat- teries were called companies.) While these troops were crossing the Great Lakes, cholera broke out among them. About fifty-five men died of this dread disease and the others re- covered too late to take part in the war. Another future president took part in this miniature war: Abraham Lincoln, who was captain of a company of volunteers. In later years Lincoln recalled his experiences with his usual humor, saying, "I fought, bled and came away ... I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes. And although Jefferson Davis Shrine Biloxi, Mississippi LIEUTENANT JEFFERSON DAVIS, U.S.A. He took Black Hawk from Fort Crawford, Wisconsin, to St. Louis, Missouri. I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was very often hungry." He made gallant charges on wild -onion beds, Lincoln said. After returning home Black Hawk kept the peace. He lived for five years after the publication of his bio- graphy. During most of this time his home was a lodge of peeled bark near the Iowa River. Residing with him were his wife, two sons and a daughter. He made one m o r e trip to Washington in 1837 as a member of an Indian dele- gation. On this occasion he was once more painted by Charles Bird King. In 1838 Black Hawk and his family moved to a new home along the Des Moines River. He died October 3, 1838. Those who wish to read more about Black Hawk would do well to get Donald Jackson's Black Hawk, published by the University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois. Jackson's book contains excellent and little known portraits of Black Hawk and his companions, a splendid map, a fas- cinating introduction which gives the back- ground of the Black Hawk War, and Black Hawk's own narrative with illuminating foot- notes by Jackson. It is a book which can be read with pleasure and profit by anyone from school child to professor ! The Casemate Museum contains an in- teresting Black Hawk exhibit, recalling his sojourn at the fort from May 1 to June 4, 1833. The museum consists of many other exhibits dealing with the history of Fort Mon- roe and the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps. The museum is open every day of the year. Admission is free, the museum being com- memorative and educational. TALES OF OLD FORT MONROE 1. Robert E. Lee at Fort Monroe. 9. 2. Black Hawk at Fort Monroe. 10. 3. Edgar Allan Poe at Fort Monroe. 11. 4. General Simon Bernard: Aide to Napoleon, 12. Designer of Fort Monroe. 13. 5. Is it a Fort or a Fortress? 14. 6. Fort Monroe in the Civil War. 7. Short History of the Civil War. 8. U. S. Grant Comes to Fort Monroe. Abraham Lincoln's Campaign Against the Merrimack. Old Point Comfort: America's Greatest Bastion. The Fanny: First Aircraft Carrier (1861). The Monitor and the Merrimack. Jefferson Davis: Brief Biography. On to Richmond! General McClellan's Peninsular Campaign. 15. Abraham Lincoln at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference (1865). The Casemate Museum, P.O. Box 341, Fort Monroe, Virginia 23651 TALES OF OLD FORT MONROE N0. 2 BLACK HAWK AT FORT MONROE Black Hawk refused to recognize the treaty by Which his people, the Sacs and the Foxes, had ceded all their land east of the Mississippi to the white men. He contended that Jumping Fish and the other chiefs, who signed the treaty of 1804 in St. Louis, had no authority to sell the land. Besides, they were drunk ! So Black Hawk stubbornly held on to his village of Saukenuk (present Rock Island, Illinois), even when the encroaching whites ploughed up the corn fields of his peo- ple. Only when menaced by United States troops did Black Hawk reluctantly move to the west side of the Mississippi River. Brood- ing over the loss of his village, Black Hawk fell under the influence of White Cloud, an Indian prophet, who was considered to be in touch with the spirit world through his dreams. White Cloud told Black Hawk that he should lead his people back over the river. Other Indian tribes would join with him. The British in Canada would send supplies. In April 1832 Black Hawk crossed back over the Mississippi River with 200 warriors and their families. He was quickly disillu- sioned. The other Indians, contrary to the assurances of the Prophet, feared to join him and even refused to give him corn. No help came from the British. (Black Hawk later learned that the British had never promised assistance, but had instead sent word for him to remain at peace!) United States troops and volunteers were rapidly converging on Black Hawk's little band. Disheartened, the chief sent out a flag of truce, but the nervous and poorly disciplined volunteers shot down the truce party. The angry Indians, outnumbered though they were, threw themselves on the volunteers and sent them scurrying from the field. Thus began the Black Hawk War. Under Black Hawk's valiant leadership, the Indians fought a brilliant campaign, but they were finally crushed at the Battle of Bad Axe River in Wisconsin, August 2, 1832. This final action of the war was in reality more of a massacre. The white troops, aided by a gunboat, shot down all Indians includ- ing women and children. A hunted fugitive, Black Hawk gave himself up at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He was taken to Jeffer- son Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, where he and his companions were forced to wear a ball and chain. Black Hawk found this ter- ribly humiliating, but he consoled himself somewhat with the thought that it was the Newport Historical Society BLACK HAWK Portrait painted by Charles Bird King at Fort Monroe in 1833. custom among white soldiers. In the spring came an order to bring the Indians to Wash- ington to see President Andrew Jackson. Black Hawk and his companions took heart for they felt that the Great Father would no doubt admonish them and then send them back home. Black Hawk's entourage consisted of White Cloud the Prophet, Nea- pope, Fast -Swimming Fish, Black Hawk's son Whirling Thunder, and Pawasheet, an adopted son of White Cloud. The six Indians arrived in Washington on April 22, 1833, but they were not per- mitted to see the Great Father until April 25. They were greatly cast down when he told them that they must go to Fort Monroe, Old Point Comfort, Virginia, to stay until he decided they could go home. Both White Cloud and Black Hawk remonstrated, but to no avail. The decision had been made many weeks before. There were several reasons for sending them to Fort Monroe. First, it would be more difficult for them to escape and if, by any chance they did, they could be more easily apprehended. Sec- 1-68 BATTLE OF BAD AXE Black Hawk's defeat portrayed by Henry Lewis, English artist in St. Louis. ondly, by placing them in a more thickly populated area of the country, the Indians would be impressed with the futility of fur- ther resistance to such a numerous and pow- erful people. Their arrival at Fort Monroe was heralded long in advance by the news- papers of New York, Washington, Richmond and Norfolk. As far back as February the editor of the Norfolk Herald had pointed out that the Indians would be "objects of much curiosity at Old Point Comfort" and had gravely cautioned Marshall Parks, then owner of the Hygeia Hotel at Old Point Com- fort, that unless he made some additions to "his already extensive establishment . . . he will very probably be at a loss for room to accommodate the visitors who will crowd upon him to see those `Lions of the West.' " The Indians and their escort command- ed by a Lieutenant Alexander left Washing- ton on the same day they saw the President, April 25. They arrived in Richmond on April 28 (according to the Norfolk Herald of May 1 quoting the Richmond Compiler) . Their mode of travel from Washington to Rich- mond was undoubtedly by stage coach. The Richmond Whig of May 1 reported that they left Richmond for Fort Monroe that morn- ing on the steamer Patrick Henry. This would place the party at Fort Monroe the evening of that same day, May 1. Colonel Abraham Eustis, commanding officer at Fort Monroe, had been instructed to deal leniently with the hostages. They were to be given "every proper indulgence" and to be "restricted only to the limits of the garrison." As had been predicted by the editor of the Norfolk Herald, Black Hawk and his companions were "the objects of much curiosity." They were daily "beset by visitors who crowded to see them from all quarters." Steamboat excursions to Old Point Comfort were organized for this purpose. Noted artists came to paint their portraits. It is reported that Robert M. Sully spent six weeks at Fort Monroe making portraits of Black Hawk, Whirling Thunder, and the Prophet. Other artists who came to make portraits of the Indians were Samuel M. Brookes, John Wesley Jarvis and Charles Bird King. Thanks to the kindness of the Newport Historical Society, Newport, Rhode Island, we are able to reproduce the King portrait of Black Hawk, which Donald Jack- son, the well-known authority on Black Hawk, considers one of the best. Of his stay at Fort, Monroe Black Hawk said, "The war chief (Colonel Abraham Eustis) met us on our arrival, and shook hands, and appeared glad to see me. He treat- ed us with great friendship, and talked to me frequently. Previous to our leaving this fort, he gave us a feast, and made us some presents, which I intend to keep for his sake. He is a very good man, and a great brave ! I was sorry to leave him, although I was going to return to my people, because he had treated me like a brother, during all the time I remained with him." When Black Hawk left Fort Monroe he made a farewell speech to Colonel Eustis. He said: Brother, I have come, on my part, and in behalf of my companions to bid you farewell. Our Great Father (President Andrew Jackson) has at length been pleased to permit us to return to our hunting - grounds. We have buried the tomahawk, and the sound of the rifle will hereafter only bring death to the deer and the buffalo. Brother, you have treat- ed the red men very kindly. Your squaws (the wives of the officers at Fort Monroe) have made them presents, and you have given them plenty to eat and drink. The memory of your friendship will re- main till the Great Spirit says it is time for Black Hawk to sing his death song. Brother, your houses are as numerous as the leaves upon the trees, and your warriors like the sands upon the shore of the big lake (Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads) that rolls before us. The red man has but few houses, and few warriors, but the red man has a heart that throbs as warmly as the heart of his white brother. The Great Spirit has given us our hunting -grounds, and the skin of the deer which we kill there is his favorite, for the color is white, and this is the emblem of peace. This hunting dress and these feathers of the eagle are white. Accept them, my brother, .. . as a memorial of Black Hawk. When he is far away this will serve to remind you of him. May the Great Spirit bless you and your children. Farewell. The Indians left Fort Monroe on the evening of June 4, 1833, with Major John Garland in charge of them. Their first stop was Norfolk. Although it was nine o'clock in the evening when the steamer arrived, "the crowd which assembled to see them land was so great that it was some time before a passage could be opened for them to pro- ceed to ... the Exchange Hotel." The next New York Public Library PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON The Great Father said they were to be held at Fort Monroe. morning they were taken to the Navy Yard in Portsmouth where they were shown the warship Delaware. Black Hawk said he would like to shake the hand of the man who had built this "big canoe." Returning to their hotel both Black Hawk and White Cloud made speeches from the balcony to the dense throng blocking the street. From Norfolk the Indians were taken on a tour of our larg- est cities "to see the number and power of our people, that they may go home and coun- sel their young men against taking up the hatchet in future, when there is no sort of hope of accomplishing anything by it but their own destruction." (Norfolk Herald). By a coincidence President Jackson was in Baltimore the same time as Black Hawk. On the night of June 6 they were present in the same theater and on the following day they exchanged greetings. "You will see," said the Great Father, "that our young men are as numerous as the leaves in the woods. What can you do against us ? ... We desire your prosperity and improvement .. . and I pray the Great Spirit to give you a smooth path and fair sky to return." In Philadelphia and New York the Indians were received by city officials, lionized by society ladies and followed by admiring crowds. Although greatly impressed by what they had seen since leaving home, the Indians saw something in New York City that took their breath away. A man got into a balloon and went up in the air until the eye could no longer see him! Black Hawk was amused when one of the younger Indians asked the Prophet if the man was going up to see the Great Spirit. Soon after his return home Black Hawk dictated his biography to Antoine LeClair, an official Indian interpreter. LeClair was the son of a French-Canadian father and an Indian mother. He was not a trained writer, so he turned to John B. Patterson, a young newspaper editor, for help. Patterson was a Virginian who had come to the Midwest to make his career. Black Hawk dictated to LeClair, who translated into English while Patterson put the story into manu- script form. Both LeClair and Patterson swore that the final manuscript was a true account of what Black Hawk had told them. The book was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1833. When Black Hawk gave himself up after his defeat at Bad Axe River in 1832, he was given into the custody of a young lieutenant of the United States Army who took him down the Mississippi River to St. Louis. When the steamer stopped at Galena, Illinois, a crowd of curious people pushed their way on board. Black Hawk said, "The war chief (the young lieutenant) would not permit Courtesy Public Information Office Fort Eustis, Virginia COLONEL ABRAHAM EUSTIS Commanding Officer at Fort Monroe when Black Hawk was there. B. L. BAKER Dakota county was once the ideal camping grounds of the Indians, according to B.L. Baker, Mendota, taxidermist, medicine man, and keeper of a Dakota county museum of Indian relics. The thick woods, inter- spersed with prairies and the plentiful lakes and the river bottoms supplied buffalo, deer, fowl and fish in abundance. As many as 10,000 Sioux Indians camped in the vicinity of Mendota in one winter. "Natural resources never diminished when the Indians roamed the country", he said. They never cut down a green tree, nor did they distroy food. Whenever they shot a deer or buffalo, they used all of the meat. They did not leave it to rot on the ground as the whites did when they came. They ate whatever they cared for, and by drying and smoking the rest, preserved it for a long time. "There's some dried venison right there, which won't spoil in four years, he remarked, pointing to several strips of brown, leatherish meat which were hanging in the cupboard. Mr. Baker, a desendant from the Pottawatamie, and Mrs. Baker, whose grandparents belonged to the "Six Nations" are striving to preserve the Indian customs and traditions in every way possible. Although they are only part Indian, they prepare their food in the same manner that their native American ancestors did hundreds of years ago. They differ greatly with their neighbors, when it comes to selection of choice meats. WON'T EAT RABBITS "Lots of people eat rabbits and squirrels, Mr. Baker said, cutting a small strip of the dried venison for himself and his interviewer. "The Indians don't like rabbits, and they are too great lovers of squirrels to kill them'; He then explained that muskrats, groundhogs, beavers, and porcupines provide the best tasting meat you can find anywhere, since these animals live wholly on vegetables and roots. Asked whether he had ever eaten dog meat, he replied "I certainly have, and it isn't long ago. Let me choose between your choice beef steak from a 15 year old cow, and a steak from a fat young dog, and I won't even notice the beef." "Of course", he explained, "You must know how I prepare it. Take for instance, a muskrat or beaver. If you wish to prepare it as you do a common steak of roast, you couldn't eat it. But if you soak it in salt water for several days, and then smoke it, it's delicious." MAKE FANCY MINCE MEAT A fruit jar containing mince meat was then brought in by Mr. Baker. "I'll tell you how we make our mince meat", said Mr•. Baker. "Your know I'm a taxedermist, and I get several deer heads, with a good chunk of meat left on each one, to mount every year. I also get buffalo, moose, and bear. This can of mince meat, contains four kinds of meat, buffalo, deer, moose, and bear. We first soak it in salt water, smoke it, cut it into small pieces, and cook it. Then we grind and mix it with apples, citron, spices, brown sugar, and a little cider. It is then put in cans and used for sauce or pie." The Dakota county museum, which Mr. and Mrs. Baker maintain in ' Mendota, is open for the public, and a small admission charge is made. The building is one of the oldest in the state and was formerly owned by General Sibley. It was then a store, with a bar on one side. It was here that the Younger brothers, accomplices of Jesse James in the famous Northfield bank robbery, stopped to get their liquor to brace them up for that daring piece of work. Mr. Baker now uses the room as a work shop for his taxidermy. He also is a medicine man, having knowledge of medicines made from herb bark and oil. The museum is being kept in the second story of the frame house. A complete collection of Indian novelties has been gathered by Mr. Baker, including a variety of flint arrowheads, skinning knives, war clubs, beads, costumes, trinkets, a scalp, and an old canoe, hewed out of a log. SCALP ON DISPLAY The scalp on display is one of 36 which Chief Jeronemo carved for himself when he was making it hot for early white people. The famous stone pipe of Indian Betts, General Sibley's Indian wife, is also on display in the museum. Few visitors will leave the place until Mrs. Baker, formerly Ahwahneitta White Cloud, has sung her Indian lullaby. Her Indian name means, "Bowing Flower", in our language. Mr. Baker has attracted considerable attention with his famous dog teams in past years. He now has only two of his original team of eight, Polar King, and Lon Wolf. Courtesy. } G• Letendre Martin Des Laurier Francis J. Dembroski By J.C. Wild courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Fort Snelling in the mid-1820s. The island to the right is Pike Island. This is the site of the land Purchased by Lt. Zebulon Pike on September 23, 1805. Jean -Baptiste Faribault was present. One hundred thousand acres were sold for the sum of 200,000. and Mississippi Rivers --making camp on the island there which bears his name -- and two days later, a treaty was signed with the Sioux which granted to the United States two tracts of land for possible military use. One was the area around the junction of the Mississippi and St. Peter (Minnesota) Rivers. Pike had little effect on British trading activities or Indian loyalties; nor did he find the exact source of the Mississippi. The question of the northern boundary of the United States was not settled until 1818, with the designation of the 49th parallel running west from Lake of the Woods to the Pacific, while the Mississippi's source was not discovered until 1832. Nevertheless, the information gathered and the land designated in the treaty proved important in the later development of this area. In 1806 Pike won fame as an explorer for his discovery of Pike's Peak in Colorado. In the War of 1812 he became a general..and led a successful advance on York, Toronto, in which he lost his life. Despite Pike's journey, American presence in this region was threatened by the War of 1812 and British trading interests. By the end of the war the British were clearly in control of the northwest, occupying several outposts and having the support of most of the Indians. However, their losses else- where caused them to agree to withdraw from this region when the Treaty of Ghent was ratified in 1815. Even so, it was realized that the promotion of American interests here could only occur with the protection of the U.S. military. ��atiL�`K 1 The Americans When the Treaty of 1783 wassigned at the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States not only had gained its independence but also had claim to a large expanse of land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This included the area of Minnesota east of the Mississippi, which was organized as part of the North- west Territory in1787. The location of the northern boundary of this ter- ritory was in question, however, since the 1783 treaty called for it to be a line drawn west from the Lake of the Woods to the Mississippi River (a geo- graphical impossibility). With the approval of Jay's treaty in 1794, non -American fur traders were allowed to continue their activities in this area, although the treaty out- lawed foreign trading posts on U.S. land. Even so, the border uncertainty kept British trading posts operating. The loyalties of the Indians remained with the British; they viewed the coming of the American settlers as a threat to their way of life. American interest in exploring this region was greatly increased following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. (The territory included the land area of Eagan as well as the western portion of what would become the State of Minnesota.) The Louis and Clark journey to the Pacific Ocean is perhaps the hest -known of the early explorations of this newly acquired land. The first official U.S. expedition into Minnesota was under the leader- ship of Lt. Zebulon Pike. Pike was born in Lamherton, New Jersey on January 5, 1779. He began his military career at the age of 15. Leaving St. Louis in August of 1805 with a party of 20 men, his orders were to follow the Mississippi to its source, examine the geography and resources of the area, record the population and residence of the Indians and seek sites for the construction of military posts. On September 21, 1805, they reached the junction of the Minnesota steamboat landed there in 1823 and he is said to have been among the signers of the 1825 treaty at Prairie du Chien (designating the line dividing the Dakota and Chippewa tribes). The son of Wamditonka was named Grey Iron (Mazarota), also known as Pa-ma-ya-yaw ("My Head Aches"). He -became chief of Black Dog Village in 1836 and died in 1857. He was succeeded by his son, who also took.the name of Wamditonka. `Big Eagle (the second) was born in 1827, but by the time he became chief, the Dakota bands had all been removed to a res- ervation along the upper Minnesota River.. He went to Washington' with other chiefs to negotiate a treaty with the government in 1858. Big Eagle died January 5, 1906, the last Chief of Black Dog Village. The following; were listed as the locations of the r'dewakanton villages. in 1849: 1. At the present site of Winona; this was formerly.Wabasha's band. (There were three generations of chiefs named 'dabasha, the first being the chief at Tetankatane.) 2. The Red Wing village at the north end of Lake Pepin. 3. Kaposia, originally on the east bank of the Mississippi; this village moved into what is now South St. Paul about 1837. This was the home of 'Little Crow, who was said to have been one of the leaders of the 1862 Sioux Uprising. in southwestern Minnesota. His grandfather, also known as. LittlefCrow, signed the.1805 treaty with Lt. Pike which designated the site where Ft. Snelling would later be built. 4. At the site of Shakopee was the village of Chief'Shakpay (or Shakpe, from •which that city gets its name); this was the largest of the seven villages. 5. At Oak Grove, in what is now Bloomington, about eight miles from Ft. Snelling. This group formerly lived at Lake Calhoun, moving to the river location in 1843. 6. Across the Minnesota River from the Oak Grove village, in what is now Burnsville., The name of the chief of this village in 1849 was "'Good Roads." 7. Black Dog Village, on the south side of the Minnesota River, in what is now Fagan. The location of these summer camps undoubtedly varied over the years, but it was said that the Black Dog village was for many years situated at the mouth of Black Dog Creek, in section 18, just east of the present Cedar Avenue Bridge. The village was also known as Canoska and later Ma-ga-ya-tech-ne, meaning "people who do not eat geese," as the villagers sold the game they hunted at Ft. Snelling. In 1850 it contained about 50 lodges.and 250 people. Black Log Village takes its name from Chief Black Log, whose Indian name was Warnditonka, meaning 'Big rear Eagle." .Black Dog is mentioned as having been at Ft. Snelling when the first The Sioux By the mid-1700s the Mdewakanton. Sioux had begun to move south from Take Mille Lacs, both because of the conflict with the Chippewa and also to have better access to the trading posts. They at first reportedly lived in a single village called "Tetankatane" (The Old Village) on the banks of the Minnesota River, just west of Eagan. Wabasha Was the name of their chief. As the French and Indian War was ending, R-ritish forces. began to occupy several of the former French outposts in the Great Lakes region. The long association of the French with the various Indian tribes was not quickly ended, however. The Lake Indians were dissatisfied with the change; they had better rapport with the French. One reason for this preference is said to have been that the French respected Indian religious superstitions and observances, whereas British and Americans. were apt either to take no pains to conceal their contempt for. Indian'beliefs or to speak bluntly against them. Indian hostilities limited for a time the British trading activities here. This caused a significant hardship for the Sioux, as the good5provided from the fur traders. had become quite important to their survival. Wabasha led a small group to Montreal where he requested that the trading be resumed. The British were quite impressed with Wabasha and the fur trading with the Sioux was reopened. By about the end of the War of Independence in 1783 Wabasha established a village near Prairie du Chien, and' other villages of the Mdewakanton were formed along the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. An account written in 1823 lists seven villages, consisting of huts made of wooden Holes covered with bark. They were basically only summer camps; during the winter the bands traveled, hunting for food and furs. Their winter homes were buffalo -skin teepees which could be easily moved. There were two classes of voyageurs: "pork eater:" (mana.geurs de lard), who traveled the Great lakes in their. canoes but did not remain in this are: - in winter, and ."winterers" (hivernants ), who stayed here and worked for the clerk in charge of the trading post. In 1804 the Northwest Company moved its headquarters from Grand Portage to Ft. William in Canada, both because it' was advantageous for trading and because the United States was be— ginning.to show interest in what was by then American territory. Even so, it would be several years before the transition from British to American control of this area ','ras complete. (3r-iC;/s ,hmcn+-5 Technically, British territory did not include the land area. of Eagan •or any other land to the west of the I%ississippi River. The year before the Treaty of Paris was •signed, France secretly deeded this land to Epain, which retained title until 1800, when it was returned -to French control. Nevertheless, with their extensive trading activities spreading through the upper mid - west, the British were clearly in control. Fur trading remained the biggest activity in Ninnesota while it was under British domination, accompanied by exploration as the British learned about their new territory. When the British took over the French outposts the govern- ment at first granted to certain parties the exdlusive right to trade in an area. The practice was discontinued in 1767 and the opportunity for independent traders greatly expanded. A larger organization was necessary to collect and market the furs; during the 1780s and 1790s •the Northwest Company slowly emerged with a virtual monopoly on the fur trade around the upper Great lakes. While Iantreal remained the Northwest Company's center, the outlying posts closer to the source of the furs. took on added importance and increased. A typical trading post consisted of storehouses for supplies and powder; a shop and houses for the clerk in charge and for the men, all surrounded by a stockade. I-uch of the Northwest Company's success was due to the voyageurs --the French-Canadian canoemen who transported the • goods into the interior from Eontreal and returned with the furs.. interior of the continent was claimed in the name of King - Louis XIV. This was soon followed by the establishment of a number of forts' (used .mainly by.traders and missionaries) throughout the' region. Among the earliest French outposts within -Minnesota were those built under the direction of Daniel Greysolon, Sieur duLuth. Also active in this region were Nicolas Perrot and Pierre Charles LeSeuer, who strengthened the French claim by creating outposts in the Minnesota area. The continuing conflict.among the various Indian tribes in the region caused the French governor in Montreal to ban trade with the Sioux in 1699. Competition from British interests gradually increased and the French were faced with trouble with the Iroquois as well as war in Europe, so that after 1702 there were no official French outposts in the area for several years. As circumstances changed the French slowly renewed their efforts to occupy the posts. As late as the 1750s there reported- ly were major French outposts near lake Fepin and 3rainerd as well as a number of minor posts including one at the junction of the i•:innesota and Nissiscippi Rivers. However, the French were .losing their control. ilith the Treaty cf Faris in 1763 (ending the French and. Indian riar) the British caa.imed ownership of the land east of the i.ississippi, and for the next fifty years they dominated the activities in the I° inn eso to region. French Establishments The story of European influence in this area begins with the explorations of the French during the seventeenth century. After establishing Quebec in 1608, they gradually spread throughout the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi Valley region. The reasons for their interest in this area. included aspirations for a wes- tern empire, the promotion of the work of religious missionahres,. the potential of mining valuable minerals and the long -existing dream of finding -a "Northwest Passage" which would provide a more direct route to the Far East. However, the key to the continued presence of the Europeans here was the development of the fur trading industry. Montreal quickly became a center of fur trading activity. The governors. of "New France" lived there and as official rep- resentatives of France they had authority over the exploration of the territory and the regulation of trade. Iroquois warfare in the mid-1600s prevented other tribes from bringing furs to Montreal, so French traders called coureurs de bois traveled westward to trade directly with the Indians. Among them were Sieur Groselliers and Sieur Radisson, who with their expedition in 1659 are commonly recognized as the first white explorers to enter Minnesota. The French did not try to colonize their part of North America the same way the British did on the eastern seaboard. It was felt that the development of the fur trade and extension of French authority here could be better served through. the exis- tence of small outposts in various parts of the region. In 1671, with a ceremony held at Sault Ste. arie, much of the adapting to a hunter's life on the plains. The Dakota who still lived to the north were increasingly challenged by the Chippewa and eventually had to leave the Mille Lacs area. When the Europeans first entered this region, hostility along all the different Indian tribes was cormon. For a long time there were no villages anywhere along the Mississippi between what are now Minneapolis and Prairie du Chien, as this route was often used by various war parties. (around the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Highway 13). Of these, all but three were said to be fairly round, between one and 51 feet high, and from 15 to 75 feet in diameter. The other three were 12 to 3 feet high and measured 40 x 100, 20 x 125 and 50 x 125 feet. Over the years, as land was plowed for planting, the Indian mounds here were destroyed. Today few traces of past Indian cultures remain in Fagan. The Eagan area is usually considered part of the traditional homeland of the Dakota, or Sioux, Indian nation, but several tribes lived in the region of the upper Mississippi River at the time of the early European explorations. The Iowa Indians reportedly once made their home here, creating a village within Eagan itself before being driven south by the Dakotas. (This was reported in the 1881 History of. Dakota County, in which an account is given of a major battle between the Dakota and Iowa at Pilot Knob. However, later sources question the authenticity of this story.) The Fox Indians lived in the general area of Wisconsin, traveling into southern Minnesota at various times. The Huron and Ottowa)who had been forced from the New York area during the mid-1600s by the Iroquois, lived near the present site of Hastings before moving into Wisconsin following a conflict with the Dakotas. The Chippewa, or Ojibway, Indians also began to move into Minnesota from the northeast. The Dakota Indians were once located in northern Minnesota, in the vicinity of Mille Lacs Lake. The word "Dakota" means "ally" and refers to a loose alliance ct groups which spoke similar languages. The main Dakota tribes, called the seven "council fires," were the Teton,. Yankton, Yanktonai, Wahoekute, Wahpeton, Sisseton and Mdewakanton. (The last four are all included under the name of the Santee Sioux.) The Mdewakanton, which means the "People of Spirit Lake" in reference to Lake Mille Lacs, later settled in the vicinity of Eagan. Tay the 17th century, many of the Dakota bands had moved to the southwest, begun at this time and the many burial mounds filled with artifacts that the Woodland people formed. life was still -highly dependent upon food available in the wildo Deer and buffalo were hunted in this area. The use of copper had all but disappeared.as.the.source of the metal near Lake Superior was depleted; instead, tools were made of_stone or animal bone. Although agriculture had become part of the: Woodland life in areas further south, in northern Minnesota it was wild rice which supporteda somewhat larger and less migratory population. The Indians in that vicinf±y still ex- hibited a basic Woodland. life style when the .Europeans first encountered them. About 700 A.D., a new influence entered this area from the south. The Mississippian culture originated near the -Gulf of Mexico and was more oriented toward agriculture (supplemented by hunting and fishing) than earlier cultures had been. Mississippian peoples had a different style of potter although. their tools were still made of stone or animal bone and burial mounds remained common. Evidence shows that the Mississippian culture reached as far north cis the Twin City area and had some effect on the pottery and tools used here. The Cheyenne and Mandan Indians lived in this manner and it is likely that they along with the Oto and Omaha tribes were in southern Minneso*a at some time in the not -too -distant past. - In a series of field surveys conducted between i880 and i895, •Theodore H. Lewis attempted to locate and describe all of the Indian mounds within Minnesota. His survey.included-104 mounds, called the "Black Dog" group, that were situated within Section .19 of Eojan Lr Is r, C J + rc. 5 �ar Four different cultures existed in the Minnesota area before the coming of European explorers. The first was:the Paleo—Indian culture, believed to have entered North America around 25,000.B..C. Based on evidence found elsewhere in the. state, archeologists estimate that human existence in this area began eight to ten thousand years ago. Life at that time was dependant upon large. animals such as the woolly mammoth and giant bison for food.. The early mammals gradually became extinct, affected by changes in the climate (and also perhaps by more effective hunting methods); by 5000 B.C. a different way of life had emerged. The small family groups of the Eastern Archaic Culture lived. by foraging for edible plants or hunting small game. The use of copper tools was introduced about this time in the western Great Lakes region. About 2500 B.C., the' growing of domesticated plants for food began; the main crops, corn, beans and squash, were first introduced in the area of Mexico. They gradually became common in much of the rest of North America and helped develop more permanent settlements. As the centuries passed, regional differences became more distinct in the way of life of the American Indian and around 1000 B.C. the Woodland culture was predominant through most of the east and upper midwest. It appears at this time that the•social and religious organization of the Indian groups became more complex and formalized. Much has been learned about this culture from two important sources: the pottei7 which was first .1'r5.f.5ei+ less 1,1 EcA c 1 It was a provision in the Treaty of 1837 for teaching farming to the Indians that led'the first white settlers to move into what would. become Eagan. Known as an "Indian Farmer," a French- man ;.rjamed 'Louis Martin came here following ratification of the treaty to work among the people of Black Dog Village. He set- tled in Section 17 (in'the present vicinity of Highway 13 and Blackhawk Road) and the Indians formed anew village there, 'consisting of several log houses for shops and residence. Eartin's successor at Black Dog Village wa.s•Hazen Mooers, who arrived in the spring •of 1849. A native of New York, Mooers was a well-known fur trader who had worked for.the Northwest Company following the War of 1812 and then for the. American Fur Company after about 1820. He was stationed at trading posts on the Cheyenne River and at -Lake Traverse (in western Minnesota) where he reportedly introduced the Indians there tothe raising of crops. After 1837, Mooers had a farm on -Grey Cloud island (this Mississippi island takes its name from his half -Indian wife), but he soon returned to work among the Dakota as a gov- ernment employee. One of Mooers' daughters married a man nc{med 'J .W. Brown, who joined his father-in-la.w at Black Dog Village in the fall of 1849. When the Dakotas were removed to western Minnesota after the signing of the treaty of 1851, Mooers accompanied them. J.W. Brown acid his family remained) pre-empting a farm in section 17 where he lived until 1857. He then moved to Red Wing for six years before returning to Eagan and living on his original claim until 1873, when he moved to a farm in the northwest quarter of Section 9. Accordingly, J.W. Brown is credited as the first white settler in Eagan. The "Sioux Uprising" Life in Eagan was not always hard work and peaceful living. At times, during the Indian Uprisings of the 1860s, some of the, settlers gathered at the Barry cabin in section 23 for better protection from the Indians. Those headed for the cabin would bring along a jug of spirits for protection against the cold. After several hours of sipping,waiting and talking, they would become much braver and decide to go looking for the Indians. Luckily for all concerned, they never found any. This tradition became to popular that it was difficult for otter neighbors to learn the exact termination of the Indian uprisings. Ref: Ellen Kalal Jean Kalal Francis J. Dembroski 7 h d i;rn Ti"Bar1 i es f Even though the United States had acquired this territory through agreements with the French and British, treaties with the native Indian tribes were negotiated before an area was opened to settlement. Many treaties with the Dakota Indians were signed over a period of years, beginning with the Pike treaty in 1805, but perhaps the two most important to the settlement of Minnesota were the land cession treaties of 1837 and 1851. In 1837 there actually were two separate treaties negotiated, one with the Chippewa at Ft. Snelling and the other with the Dakota at Washington, D.C. They opened much of the area between the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers to settlement (and also led to the development of the lumber industry in the state. Among the provisions of the treaty were promises to make annual payments to the Indians and teach farming and other occupations to help them adjust to a new way of living. In 1851, a treaty was signed under which the United States opened for settlement some 24 million acres west of. the IMiissis- sippi in Minnesota., Iowa and South Dakota. This agreement was negotiated at two separate proceedings, first with the western . Dakota tribes at Traverse, des Sioux (near St. Peter) andthen at Mendota with the Mdewa.kanton and Wahpekute. In accordance with the treaty, the Dakota bands were removed to a reservation on the upper Minnesota River. Complications with payments, the reluctance of the Dakota to give up their traditional way of life and poor administration of the reservation led to the Sioux Uprising in 1862. Although the fighting in Minnesota lasted little more than a month, the result was the removal of the Dakota from Minnesota to lands farther west. r • • 1,1,r , . , . -111 a,Lz • • 1 • . e 4.° • / 1 • I P.P..... IG j It( ".f.•• t • • f . I • 8),‘c_k 003 V; 110.i-c, TWer 6.6.•r •••..••..•..•. r r w .•.••.' :iyr.W ... Y. IN*n.r...,. I.•••.. ni.rr r••....** :•...••—... .ay.•• - w• *Id T,,.• •:. Ir.. • •.• maim .•. r *rob W ..on. j di }.1j �YI�'r..•�• r .. Y. W -ply \ r•••r*••..•..•••Yy•• MENDOTA PIONEER HAS SEEN ST. PAUL GROW FROM TOWN TO LARGE CITY. • Immigrated to Old Trading Metropolis — • • • - From Canada 74 Years Ago. -•zr. Y. .**�urlti lr.••.r add y�a a.R • •• •r•r•* r.y r •••• *um um n.�• r. ram. ����...r TWA l..•. ►.ter Calm*. ad **lid Telesphore Lemay at age 95 in 1926. MINNESOTA HISTORY A complex man caught in crossfirf CURT BROWN Joseph "Jack" Frazer was caught in the crossfire — liter- ally and figuratively — when the U.S.-DakotaWareruptedin 1862 on the Minnesota frontier. Frazer was in his 50s, living by the Lower Sioux Agency near modern-day Morton, working for a white trader, when a French Canadian named Antoine Young was fatally shot on the war's first morning. When Dakota war- rior Cut Nose tried to shoot Frazer, too, the men struggled and the powder failed to ignite. Two Dakota fighters then came to Frazer's defense because he grew up among the Dakota — one of countless early Minne- sotans of mixed blood. Born around 1806 to a Scot- tish trader and a Dakota mother, Frazer was friends and hunting partners with both Little Crow and Henry Sibley — opposing leaders of Dakota warriors and U.S. government forces duri ng the bloody six -week clash. Frazer spent his first 30 years known as Ite Maza, meaning "Iron Face" in Dakota He lived with the community of his mother, Ha-zo-do-win, a daugh- ter of the chief of the Red Wing village. He married a daughter of Black Dog village's leader. But in his 30s, Frazer adopted the white ways of his father -- speaking English, working for traders, advocating farming and dressing like a settler. He was Minnesota's territo- rial -era version of Paul Revere, witnessing pivotal moments in JOSEPH "JACK" FRAZER 1806-1869 Bom to a Scottish trader and a Dakota mother, Jack Frazer was friends and hunting partners with both Little Crow and Henry Sibley — opposing leaders during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Birch Coulee and living after the war in the Dakota intern- ment camp at Fort Snelling. Frazer embodies the mixed - race history of Minnesota's early years, according to St. Cloud State historian Mary Wingerd. Her award -winning, 2010 book, "North County: The Making of Minnesota," looks at the state's sorted you out was by how you dressed, by what kind of customs you observed." Some accounts paint Frazer in a questionable light, while Dakota traditionalists might consider him a sellout. It's safe to say he was among the more complex characters on the Minnesota frontier. 1986 biography titled "Little Crow." He says Frazer was "sac- rilegious, constantly poking fun at Dakota customs, and even mimicking Dakota spirits." Sibley biographer Rhonda Gilman said Little Crow and Frazer shared a "roving eye, prowess at hunting, and a disregard for the authority of REMINISCING WITH SIBLEY For more on Joseph "Jack" Frazer, a part -Dakota, part -Scottish character from Minnesota's early days, consider this: Henry Sibley, the state's first governor, wrote about Frazer's adventurous life under the pseudonym Walker in the Pines. The Mendota pioneer inter- viewed Frazer during winter nights of 1857 and '58, but the stories remained unpublished until a 16-part,1866 series in a St. Paul newspaper. That series was collected in a 1950 book called "Iron Face: The Adventures of Jack Frazer, Frontier War- rior, Scout, and Hunter" with an introduction and notes by Theodore Blegen and Sara Davidson It's rare and doesn't show up in many libraries, but it can be found online. Links: tinyurl.com/Sib- ley-Frazer or, for a 1951 review, tinyurl.com/ Sibleybook. mission, Dahlin said, adding that "Jack must have been a formidable fighter as he was able to hold Cut Nose, a Large person, at bay for a time." Thanks to the internet, we don't need to rely solely on experts. We can hear from Frazer himself. Woodbury historian Carrie Reber Zeman recalled how, "in the long Dakota used arrowhead bone and stone to kill anil for food. "But in those times, beasts that walked the c were very plentiful," Fr. said. "In those times bea in hordes filled all the bo of water wherever water consequently, life was sible; they kept alive." By 1839, Frazer said, "t if someone tried to live in way, he would fail, he cc not live, and he would e with hardship.... Man can now only from working soil, planting, aside from there is nothing possibletc by.... He who honors the thereby makes a man of l self to a far greater degret He challenged the Dal for ridiculing people like who "plant gardens and k like women ... you yourse are the greater fools!" In a precursor to air change concerns, Frazer "The earth is very post undergoing change. It is k ing. Now in turn, all the ga withering away; and so, the it once seemed that the lbt of the field had great gins all over ... they suffer. "Now, therefore, ma* ing on earth can only prat labor ... because labor its only means of subsistencz all wise men place pland the highest value." Frazer died in Faribatdl Feb. 23,1869, and was busios the French -Catholic St. IL Cemetery in Rice Cu' cxr-ly Inc1;00n G;,,l+Arc.5 Four different cultures existed in the Minnesota area before the coming of European explorers. The first. was thePaleo-Indian culture, believed to have entered. North America around 25,000_B.C. Based on evidence found elsewhere in the state, archeologists estimate that human existence in this area began eight to ten thousand years ago. Life at that time was dependant upon large animals such as the woolly mammoth and -giant bison for food. The early mammals gradually became extinct, affected by changes in the climate (and also perhaps by more -effective hunting methods); by 5000 B.C. a different way of life had emerged.. The small family groups of the Eastern Archaic Culture lived. by foraging for edible. plants or hunting small game. The use of copper tools was introduced about this time in the western • Great Zakes.region. About 2500 B.C., the growing of domesticated ' plants for food began; the main crops, corn, beans and squash,. were first introduced in the area of Mexico. They gradually. became common in much of the rest of North America and helped develop more permanent settlements. As the centuries passed, regional differences became more distinct in the way of life of the American Indian and around 1000 B.C. the Woodland culture was predominant through most of the east and upper midwest. It appears at this time that the social and religious organization of the Indian groups became more complex and formalized. Much has been learned about this culture from two important sources: the potteiywhich was first. begun at this time and the many burial mounds filled with artifacts that the Woodland. people formed. Life was still highly dependent upon food available in the wild} peer and buffalo were hunted in this area. The use of copper had all but disappeared as the source of the metal near Lake Superior was depleted; instead, tools were made of stone or animal bone. Although agriculture had become part of the Woodland life in areas further south, in northern Minnesota it was wild rice which supported a somewhat larger and less migratory population. The Indians in that vicinity still ex- .hibited a basic Woodland life style when the Europeans first encountered them. About 700 A.p., a new influence entered this area from the south.. The Mississippian culture originated near the Gulf of• Mexico and was more oriented toward agriculture (suppAemented- by hunting and fishing) than earlier cultures had been. Mississippian peoples had a different style of potter although their tools were still made of stone or animal bone and burial mounds remained common. Evidence shows that the Mississippian culture reached as far north as the Twin City area and had some effect on the pottery and tools used here. The. Cheyenne and Mandan Indians lived in this manner and it is likely that they along with the Oto and Omaha tribes were in southern Minneso*a at some time in the not -too -distant past. In a series of field surveys- conducted.between i880 and 1895, 'Theodore H. Lewis attempted to locate and describe all of the Indian mounds within Minnesota. His survey included 104 mounds, called the "Black Dog" group, that were situated within- Section 19 of Eajan (around the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Highway 13). Of these, all but three were said to be fairly round, between one and 511 feet high, and from 15 to 75 feet in diameter. The other three were 11 to 3 feet high and measured 40 x 100, 20 x 125 and 50 x 125 feet. Over the years, as land was plowed for planting, the Indian mounds here were destroyed. Today few traces of past Indian cultures remain in Eagan. The Eagan area is usually considered part of the traditional homeland of the Dakota, or Sioux, Indian nation, but several tribes lived in the region of the upper Mississippi River at the time of the early European explorations. The Iowa Indians reportedly once made their home here, creating a village within Eagan itself before being driven south by the Dakotas. (This was reported in the 1881 History of Dakota County, in which an account is given of a.rajor battle between the Dakota and Iowa at Pilot Knob. However, later sources question the authenticity of this story.) The Fox Indians lived in the general area of Wisconsin, traveling into southern Minnesota at various times. The Huron and Ottowa)who had been forced from the New York area during the mid-1600s by the Iroquois, lived near the present site of Hastings before moving into Wisconsin following a conflict with the Dakotas. The Chippewa, or Ojibway, Indians also began to move into Minnesota from the northeast. The Dakota Indians were once located in northern Minnesota, in the vicinity of Mille Lacs Lake. The word "Dakota" means "ally" and refers to a loose alliance aa' groups which spoke similar languages. The main Dakota tribes, called the seven "council fires," were the Teton, Yankton, Yanktonai, Wahpekute, Wahpeton, Sisseton and Mdewakanton. (The last four are all included under the name of the Santee Sioux.) The Mdewakanton, which means the "People of Spirit Lake" in reference to Lake Mille Lacs, later settled in the vicinity of Eagan. By the 17th century, many of the Dakota bands had moved to the southwest, adapting to a hunter's life on the plains. The Dakota who still lived to the north were increasingly challenged by the Chippewa and eventually had to leave the Mille Lacs area. When the Europeans first entered this region, hostility among all the different Indian trues was common. For a long time there were no villages anywhere along the Mississippi between what are now Minneapolis and Prairie du Chien, as this route was often used by various war parties. The Sioux By the mid-1700s the Mdewakanton Sioux had begun to move south from Lake Mille Lacs, both because of the conflict with the Chippewa and also to have better access to the trading posts. They at first reportedly lived in a single village called "Tetankatane" (The Old Village) on the banks of the Minnesota River, just west of Eagan. Wabasha,was the name of their chief. As the French and Indian War was ending, British forces began to occupy several of the former French outposts in the Great Lakes region. The long association of the French with the various Indian tribes was not quickly ended, however. The Lake Indians were dissatisfied with the change; they' had better rapport with the French. One reason for this preference is said to have been that the French respected Indian religious superstitions and observances, whereas British and Americans were apt either to take no pains to conceal • their contempt for Indian beliefs or to speak bluntly against them. Indian hostilities limited for a time the British trading activities here. This caused a significant hardship for the Sioux, as the good5provided from the fur traders had become, quite important to their survival. Wabasha led a small:group to Montreal where he requested that the trading be resumed. The British were quite impressed with Wabasha and the fur trading with the Sioux was reopened. By about the end of the War of Independence in 1783 Wabasha established a village near Prairie du Chien, and other villages of the Mdewakanton were formed along the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. An account written in 1823 lists seven villages, consisting of huts made of wooden poles covered with bark. They were basically only summer camps; during the winter the bands traveled, hunting for food and furs. Their winter homes were buffalo -skin teepees which could be easily moved. 1849: 1 The following were listed as the locations of the Mdewakar-iton villages in At the present site of Winona; this was formerly.Wabasha's band. (There were three generations of chiefs named Wabasha, the first being the chief at Tetankatane.) 2. The Red Wing village at the north end of Lake Pepin. 3. Kaposia, originally on the east bank of the Mississippi; this village moved into what is now South St. Paul about. 1837. This was the home of 'Little Crow, who was said to have been one of the leaders of the 1862 Sioux Uprising in southwestern Minnesota. His grandfather, also known as Little Crow, signed the 1805 treaty with Lt. Pike which designated the site where Ft. Snelling would later be built. 4. At the site of Shakopee was the village of Chief'Shakpay (or Shakpe, from which that city gets its name); this was the largest of the seven villages. 5. At Oak Grove,_ in what is now Bloomington, about eight miles from Ft. Snelling. This group formerly lived at Lake Calhoun, moving to the river location in 1843. 6. Across the Minnesota River from the Oak Grove village, in what is now Burnsville. The name: of the chief of this village in 1849 was "'Good Roads." 7. Black Dog Village, on the south side of the Minnesota River, in what is now Eagan. The location of these summer camps undoubtedly varied over the years, but it was said that the Black Dog village was for many years situated at the mouth of Black Dog Creek, in section 18, just east of the present Cedar Avenue Bridge. The village was also known as Canoska and later Ma-ga-ya-tech-ne, meaning "people who do not eat geese," as the villagers sold the game they hunted at Ft. Snelling. In 1850 it contained about 50 lodges and 250 people. Black Log Village takes its name from Chief Black Log, whose Indian name was Wamditonka, meaning "Big rear Eagle." Black Dog is mentioned as having been at Ft. Snelling when the first steamboat landed there in 1823 and he is said to have been. among the signers of the 1825 treaty at Prairie du Chien (designating the line dividing the Dakota and Chippewa tribes). The son of Wamditonka was named Grey Iron (Miazaro ta) , also known as Pa-ma-ya-yaw ("My Head Aches"). He.became chief of Black Dog Village in 1836 and died in 1857. He was succeeded: by his son, who also took the name of Wamditonka. •Big Eagle (the second) was born in 1827, but by the time he became chief, the Dakota bands had all been removed to a res- ervation along the upper Minnesota River. He went to Washington with other chiefs to negotiate a treaty with the government in 1858. .Big Eagle died January 5, 1906, the last Chief of Black Dog Village.