Old Fort Snelling Part 8

SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Major Taliaferro was left alone to carry on the difficult enterprise of civilizing the natives. In 1830 he wrote to the Secretary of War telling of the progress he had made and of his plans for a log village in which the Indians could live, instead of in the flimsy bark houses, and a log house for the protection of the Indians' property. He begged for financial aid, saying that "Six or eight hundred dollars would mature what has happily been begun, and this sum from the Civilization fund would enable me to progress with great efficiency, and without further tax on the Government."[411] The need for his supervision was constant.

From his diary can be seen how continual was his interest in the experiment. On April 18, 1831, he ordered the hoes and plows repaired, and on May 1 he went to the colony taking the implements with him. Here he found "most of them at work--Cuting down trees, Grubbing out the roots &c--What was more encouraging some few of the Men were at this unusual kind of labour for them--they laughed when they saw Me--I praised them, in every agreable way that could be conveyed to them in their language." Again on June 8th he was pleased to see the Indians all at work hoeing their corn and potatoes.[412]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Near the house about four acres of land were cleared and fenced with logs. A quarter of a mile distant was the Indian village of fourteen bark lodges, each containing two or three families. This village was surrounded by corn fields and was reached through a narrow lane made by putting up posts and tying poles to them with strips of bark.[423]

According to Featherstonhaugh, who visited the establishment a year later, thirty acres were under cultivation and the yield of corn amounted to eight hundred bushels. It is interesting to note that this critical traveller found only one thing about Fort Snelling to commend and that was the self-sacrifice of the two Pond brothers.[424]

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

The work that was thus started soon expanded. In the spring of 1835 Rev.

Thomas Smith Williamson arrived at Fort Snelling with his wife, a child, Miss Sarah Poage, and Alexander G. Huggins. At about the same time Rev.

Jedediah I. Stevens returned to the post he had visited in 1829, and with the help of the Pond brothers built a mission school at Lake Harriet. Dr. Williamson went up the Minnesota River to Lac qui Parle, where another station was established. On May 19, 1837, Rev. Alfred Brunson came to Fort Snelling for a similar purpose, and after consulting with the agent and the commandant he chose the village of Kaposia for his headquarters. But these mission stations and their personnel were not permanent. The work of the Ponds was soon amalgamated with that of Mr. Stevens. In 1839 when the Sioux-Chippewa feuds were at their height and the Indians were afraid to remain at Lake Calhoun, Mr.

Stevens tore down the little cabin the Ponds had built and used the material for breastworks and moved down the river to Wabasha's village--outside the influence of Fort Snelling. At the same time the Ponds moved nearer the fort, where they remained until in 1842 they established a mission at Oak Grove, eight miles up the Minnesota River.

This same war spirit and the hostility to the missionaries who preached against it led to the abandonment of the Kaposia enterprise in 1841. In 1846, however, Little Crow asked for a school, and Dr. Williamson came from Lac qui Parle to take charge of it. These missions remained in existence throughout the period of Old Fort Snelling.[426]

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

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

In 1837 at Lake Harriet there was an Indian boarding-school, where some half dozen half-breed girls were learning to read, write, and sew.[429]

The Pond brothers had made the beginnings of an alphabet of the Sioux language, and books and primers for the use of the scholars were soon printed.[430] At all the stations surrounding Fort Snelling schools were maintained, but here as elsewhere "the children in pleasant weather prefer playing to reading".[431] Some progress was made, however, as is indicated by the school reports. In 1851 at the school maintained at Kaposia it is reported that Daniel Renville, Gustavus A. Robertson, Rosalie Renville, and Fat Duty Win can spell and read in English in _McGuffy's Eclectic Primer_, and can spell and read in the Sioux language in _Wowape Metawa_.[432]

The success of these pioneer efforts depended much on the encouragement received at the beginning; and by a coincidence this encouragement was brought about the second summer that the Ponds were in the vicinity.

During the winter Major Gustavus Loomis initiated "a red-hot revival among the soldiers", and although many of the converts backslid with the simultaneous appearance of spring and whiskey,[433] yet there were so many that remained faithful that on June 11, 1835, when Dr.

Williamson arrived, a church was organized in one of the company rooms at Fort Snelling. This church was composed of soldiers, missionaries, and fur traders and was a basis of support in the difficult task of civilizing the Indians.[434] The officers protected and encouraged the workers under all circ.u.mstances, the post doctor gave his services to them free, and once a month Mr. Stevens preached at the fort.[435]

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

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

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

XI

THE FAs.h.i.+ONABLE TOUR

George Catlin, whose wanderings in the West had acquainted him with the most beautiful and the most accessible scenic spots of the country, urged upon his readers the adoption of a trip to the Falls of St.

Anthony as the "Fas.h.i.+onable Tour".[439] Primitive life and unspoiled landscapes could be seen from the comfortable decks of the steamboat.

The objective point of these trips was the Falls of St. Anthony, but it was at Fort Snelling that the pa.s.sengers were dropped. Only because of the necessity of bringing supplies to the troops at the post did the steamboats make the journey. It is in the writings of these visitors that there have been preserved many pictures of life in and about Fort Snelling. Moreover, these visits from the outside world brought pleasure and satisfaction to the smaller world about the fort.

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

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

and conversing with Mrs. Snelling who alone could speak French with him.[444] He was on the point of setting out overland for Council Bluffs when another party arrived at the post.

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

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

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

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

On August 9th when the party left Pembina behind, their number had dwindled. Joseph Snelling, son of Colonel Snelling, who had gone with them thus far, returned by the same route with three soldiers. J. C.

Beltrami, who had been allowed to cast his lot with theirs, and who had been equipped and supplied by the Indian agent, who had presented him with the "n.o.ble steed 'Cadmus'",[450] also left them. In company with two Chippewas and a _bois-brule_ of Red River, he set out for the southeast with the purpose of there finding the source of the Mississippi. Upon a small lake, which he named Lake Julia, he conferred the honor of being the head of the great river, while it seemed to him that the "shades of Marco Polo, of Columbus, of Americus Vespucius, of the Cabots, of Verazani, of the Zenos, and various others, appeared present, and joyfully a.s.sisting at this high and solemn ceremony".[451]

After a journey of great suffering he was welcomed at Fort Snelling--wearing a hat made of the bark of a tree, and clothes of skins.[452]

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

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

Mr. Catlin was extremely desirous of painting some pictures of Indian dances and ball-plays. In order to persuade the Indians to do their part, Lawrence Taliaferro told them on July 3rd that if they would come the next day and entertain the visitors, the great gun at the fort would be fired twenty-one times for their amus.e.m.e.nt. As this was the salute for the national holiday, he was safe in making the prophecy.

Accordingly, on the fourth of July the prairie near the fort, for two hours, rang with the excited shouts of the ball-players; and when this pastime was finished the "beggar's-dance", the "buffalo-dance", the "bear-dance", the "eagle-dance", and the "dance-of-the-braves" furnished entertainment for three hours more.[454]

On the sixteenth of July General Robert Patterson of Philadelphia with his sister and daughter arrived on the steamboat "Warrior". For their amus.e.m.e.nt the Indians staged the "dog-dance", using for their victims two dogs which were presented to them by the officers of the garrison.

Accompanied by a soldier George Catlin left for Prairie du Chien on July 27th. "About this lovely spot", he wrote, "I have whiled away a few months with great pleasure, and having visited all the curiosities, and all the different villages of Indians in the vicinity, I close my notebook and start in a few days for Prairie du Chien, which is three hundred miles below this; where I shall have new subjects for my brush and new themes for my pen, when I may continue my epistles."[455]