Old Fort Snelling Part 15

[175] _United States Statutes at Large_, Vol. IV, pp. 729-739.

[176] _United States Statutes at Large_, Vol. IX, p. 395.

[177] Quoted from the complaint of the agent, Nathaniel McLean, September 25, 1850, in _Senate Doc.u.ments_, 2nd Session, 31st Congress, Vol. I, Doc.u.ment No. 1, p. 106.

[178] _Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro_ in the _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VI, p. 249.

[179] _Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro_ in the _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VI, pp. 253, 254.

[180] _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VI, p. 353.

[181] Taliaferro to Crawford, July 15, 1839.--_Indian Office Files_, 1839, No. 512.

[182] These papers are in the possession of the Minnesota Historical Society. The dates covered in these diaries are from December, 1830, to June, 1831; May 25 to September 21, 1833; May 23 to August 28, 1834.

[183] These letters are in the possession of the Minnesota Historical Society. In Volume I of these letters is the following notice: "These 326 letters, are part of the great ma.s.s of correspondence received by Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at Fort Snelling, 1819-1840. They const.i.tute but a small part of his acc.u.mulations in twenty years. The rest were burned in his house at Bedford, Pa., in 18__. It was a great loss to us, as, had they been spared, we would have received all of them. But even these 326 contain a large amount of valuable material for Minnesota history. Even as autographs they are valuable, [see autobiography of Taliaferro, Vol. 6, Coll.] These letters were given by Maj. T. in March, 1868. Arranged, bound and indexed (by J. F. W.) 1891."

[184] Photostatic copies of many of these letters were taken and are to be found in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, where they were consulted.

[185] These letter books are now in the possession of the Kansas State Historical Society at Topeka, where they were consulted. The only volume containing letters from Major Taliaferro is referred to as the _William Clark Papers, Correspondence, 1830-1832_.

[186] _Auto-biography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro_ in the _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VI, p. 253.

[187] Powell's _List of Officers of the Army of the United States, from 1779 to 1900_, p. 620. In the _Taliaferro Letters_ are many letters from William Clark and Elbert Herring in which they address Mr. Taliaferro as "major".

[188] _Taliaferro Letters_, Vol. I, No. 11. A note on this letter gives these dates.

[189] Nowhere is the date of his arrival at Fort Snelling given. In his autobiography he writes of his journey: "Jean Baptiste Faribault and family, had gone through by land, in charge of Colonel Leavenworth's horses and cows".--_Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VI, p. 198.

It was in the spring of 1820 that Faribault performed this service.--_Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. II, p. 103.

[190] Clark to the Secretary of War, August 20, 1832.--_Indian Office Files_, 1832, No. 285. For his resignation see _Indian Office Files_, 1824, No. 39.

[191] _Taliaferro's Diary_, March 24, 1831.

[192] Taliaferro to Crawford, December 12, 1839.--_Indian Office Files_, 1839, No. 516.

[193] Neill's _The History of Minnesota_ (Fourth Edition), pp. 337-339.

[194] In the report for 1850 the agency at St. Peter's is designated a "Sub-Agency".--_Senate Doc.u.ments_, 2nd Session, 31st Congress, Vol. I, Doc.u.ment No. 1, p. 103.

[195] _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. XII, pp. 339, 340.

[196] _Indian Office Files_, 1834, No. 213, 1827, No. 54, 1843, No. 222.

[197] _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. XII, p. 341.

CHAPTER V

[198] See _Notes on Canada and the North-West States of America_ in _Blackwood's Magazine_, Vol. LXXVIII, p. 323, September, 1855. These articles by Laurence Oliphant were later published in book form under the t.i.tle of _Minnesota and the Far West_.

[199] This is the height given in Nicollet's _Report intended to ill.u.s.trate a Map of the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River_, p. 69.

[200] Seymour's _Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the West_, p.

103.

[201] This sketch of the fort is obtained from the map of Fort Snelling in the _Minnesota Historical Collections_, Vol. VIII, p. 431; and from a _Report of the capacity and condition of the barracks, quarters, hospital, storehouses, &c., at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory, made to the Quartermaster General_. This report was made on August 23, 1856.

It is printed in _Reports of Committees_, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Report No. 351, pp. 407-409.

[202] _American State Papers, Military Affairs_, Vol. IV, p. 122.

[203] Latrobe's _The Rambler in North America_, Vol. II, p. 295.

[204] A statement of the equipment at the various posts during the fourth quarter of 1834 is printed in the _American State Papers, Military Affairs_, Vol. V, p. 853-900.

[205] Taliaferro to Lucas, September 30, 1839.--_Indian Office Files_, 1839, No. 492.

[206] _Indian Office Files_, 1830, No. 153.

[207] Taliaferro to William Clark, August 17, 1830.--_Indian Office Files_, 1830, No. 139.

[208] _Taliaferro's Diary_, April 7, 1831.

[209] _Taliaferro's Diary_, March 8, 1831.

[210] Taliaferro to Lucas, September 30, 1839.--_Indian Office Files_, 1839, No. 492; _Executive Doc.u.ments_, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol.

VII, Doc.u.ment No. 9, p. 19.

[211] _Indian Office Files_, 1830, No. 153.

[212] _Indian Office Files_, 1834, No. 207.

[213] _Indian Office Files_, 1830, No. 153. In the Sibley House at Mendota is hung an oil painting of Fort Snelling made by Sergeant Thomas who was stationed at Fort Snelling sometime between 1836 and 1842. This painting, which was made from the hill behind Sibley House, shows the location of these various buildings.

[214] For Baker's house see _Executive Doc.u.ments_, 3rd Session, 40th Congress, Vol. VII, Doc.u.ment No. 9, pp. 19, 33, 34; also _Reports of Committees_, 1st session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Report No. 351, p.

400.

[215] Latrobe's _The Rambler in North America_, Vol. II, pp. 295, 296.

Charles Joseph Latrobe visited the post in the fall of 1833.

[216] These buildings are shown in the picture mentioned in note 213, above.

[217] There is a description of Mendota given in Seymour's _Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the West_, pp. 101, 102.

[218] Seymour's _Sketches of Minnesota, the New England of the West_, p.

117; Bishop's _Floral Home; or, First Years of Minnesota_, pp. 156, 157.

[219] These figures are taken from Keating's _Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River_, Vol. I, p. 309.