Blue Earth County, Minnesota - Chapter 16: Closing Events of 1864 - Murdee of the Jewett Family, 1901

purchased a tract of land with a water power It was called ''Woodland Seminary," and mothereon lower down on the Blue Earth. Here deled after the plan of Mt. Holyoke seminary,

September 21st, 1864, the Sunday schools of lish, German and French, and the tuition ranged the county held a big picnic on the banks of from $7.50 to $13.50 per term. The parlor was Loon Lake. On October 25th the first teachers' seated and desked for .about forty pupils, the institute was held at the Farmers' Hall in Gar- next room had a piano and was devoted to den City, at which addresses were made by Eev. music study. There were about twenty-five Jas. Thomson, E. D. B. Porter and J. G. boarding pupils and eight or ten day scholars Craver. It may be of interest to give a list of in attendance. Each girl boarder brought her those present at this first public school insti- own food and was required to do one hour's tute, which is as follows : Eev. Jas. Thomson, work each day, and for that purpose the school Eev. I. Case, E. D. B. Porter, Jas. Miller, S. was systematically divided. Two girls were C. Clark, Dr. Welcome, Lem. Crane, Calvin to prepare breakfast, getting up at 4:30 A. M., Ellis, J. Bookwalter, J. E. Edsell, Edwin so the morning meal could be served promptly Craven, Carrie Pease, Clara JMcKenney, H. at six o'clock each morning; two were to clear Libbie Millet, Ella Clark, Emma Smith, Eliza- the table and wash the breakfast dishes, one beth Friend, Eliza A. Barney, Mary E. Jones, was to spend her hour sweeping and dusting, Nettie Hanna, Annie Patterson, Carrie Burgess, two prepared dinner and two washed the dishes Jennette Conklin, Florence Evans, Vernette after that meal, etc. Father Thomson was a Cram, Anna Parks, Hattie Eew, Emily Folsom, Puritan of the Puritans. He got up regularly Sarah A. Conklin, Isabella S. Burgess, Stella at 3:30 A. M., winter and summer, and all Sullivan, Prudence Degraff, Amanda Gail, Addie were to rise at 5 :30 A. M. After breakfast a Gail, Julia Marvin, Jennie Marvin, Ella Wei- half hour was devoted to morning worship, come, A. C. Barney, Secretary, and David Wil- The girls published a paper called the 'TVoodeox, President. land Lighthouse," which was issued every two Father Thomson, whose hobby ever since he weeks. Miss Huggins! health failing, she recame to Minnesota had been the establishment signed after the first term, and was succeeded by Miss Martha T. Eiggs, daughter of the noted missionary. A few of the girls, who attended this old-time seminary are among the honored matrons of the county, and love to tell of the good old days when they attended Woodland Seminary. After about a year and a half Father Thomson was obliged to abandon this educational project, because of the lack of funds and the failing health of his wife, and Woodland Seminary was no more. The old building still stands on the brow of the blufE, now almost a ruin.

This year (1864) we note the first recorded attempt to manufacture sorghum in the county by A. J. Crisp of Judson. Doubtless, others had started the industry before this, for in the early sixties it became quite common over the county.

In the fall of this year the grasshoppers made their appearance in large numbers in the present town of Cambria, devouring all the late crops.

The political situation in the fall of 1864 was as interesting as usual. There was a warm contest in the Eepublican primaries over the nomination for District Judge between Sherman Finch of Mankato and Horace Austin of St. Peter. - The convention was held at St. Peter and Mr. Austin won by one vote, and was elected that fall over Judge Branson, the Democratic nominee. The Eepublicans were again successful in Blue Earth County. The news of the re-election of President Lincoln gave the Eepublicans great cause for rejoicing. The girls of Woodland Seminary, being great admirers of the War President, celebrated the event by a grand illumination of their building, which because of the conspicuous situation, was quite effective.

Senator Wilkinson in his distribution of government patronage had made many enemies in his own party. Not one in ten of the various applicants for office could receive appointments and the nine unsuccessful ones felt ugly towards him. Then the Senator, in spite of his great ability and integritj^, had one very vulnerable point. He was addicted to intemperate habits, which drove from him the support of many of the best people of his party. The

Among the other events of 1864 was the building of the Presbyterian church, which was first occupied on November 37th, when the first sermon in it was preached by Father Thomson.

On March 2nd, 1865, Mr. L. C. Harrington, then a member of the Legislature, secured the passage of a bill changing the name of the town of "McClelan" to "McPherson," in honor of the noted Union General of the Civil War, and also changing the name of "De Soto" to "Eapidan." The town of McClelan, being settled largely by people of the Democratic faith, made a vigorous objection to the change, but it availed not. The Eepublicans were in the majority, and party spirit ran high in those days. During the winter Capt. Hugh G. Owens was busy recruiting a company for Heavy Artillery service in the war. In February, 1865, this company was mustered in, as Company F.

On February 24, 1865, the first medical society was organized at the Mankato House by the physicians of Blue Earth and adjoining counties. The officers selected were:

Comniittee on Constitution and Bylaws, Drs. La Dow of St. Peter, Frisbie and Zenopolski of Mankato, Welcome of Garden City, and Francis of Sterling.

The winter of 1864-5 was quite mild, with hardly any snow until March, when there was quite a fall. Between the snow and copious rains the navigation of the Minnesota was quite good in the spring and sunamer of 1865. The Mollie Mohler and Julia entered the river as new boats. Other boats engaged were the Albany, Mankato, Ariel, Stella Whipple, Lansing, General Sheridan and others. These boats brought up on their first trips over fifty wagon loads of goods for Garden City, Vernon, Shelbyville and other towns along the Blue Earth, which required mnch teaming. The boats car-

The public school teachers of Blue Earth county held another meeting of their new association at Mankato on April 19th, 1865, when the following officers were elected :

Associate Editors, E. Middlebrook, M. P. Hathaway, Miss E. L. Miller, Miss Anna Jenkins, Miss A. M. Crosby and Miss A. Perrin. About thirty or forty teachers were in attendance.

Andrew J. Jewett had for a number of years been a prominent citizen of Garden City, where for a time he had held the position of Postmaster. He was very active and energetic both in the local politics of the county and in business. The previous summer he had purchased the northwest quarter of section thirty-three in Eapidan, built thereon a neat log house, and was living there with his wife, Harriet Jewett, their two year old son, William, and Mr. Jewett's parents, Mark Jewett aged seventy-three and Susan Jewett aged sixty-three, the latter being an invalid. With the family working at this time was a young man twenty years old named Chas. Taylor, a relative of the Jewett's, whose father, Moses Taylor, had been killed by a horse kick the year before, and whose widowed mother lived on the claim across the road from S. T. Mills in Garden City. Mr. Jewett was now about thirty-two years old and Mrs. Jewett about thirty, both in the prime of life. Mr. Jewett had a friend in the army, Marshall T. Fall, 3nd Lieut, of Co. B, Brackett's Battalion of Cavalry, who, about the first of April, 1865, sent Mr. Jewett some $500.00 in money to pay for a farm he had bid off for him at the second sale of the Winnebago lands, which payment it was expected would be demanded soon. It seems that in Company A of the same regiment was a half breed

Sioux, named John L. Campbell, a brother of Baptiste Campbell, one of the thirty-eight Indians hung at Mankato in 1862. He had got well acquainted with Lieut. Fall, having occupied the same tent, and knew of his sending the money to Mr. Jewett and where the latter was living in Blue Earth County. He had always borne a hard reputation and was accused of two or three murders among the Indians. Soon after Lieut. Fall had sent the money, Campbell deserted and came back to Minnesota. He repaired immediately to Ft. Ridgely and thence went west, where he met among the hostile bands some of his old Indian and half breed friends. Five of these he induced to join him in a raid into Blue Earth County, pretending he wished to avenge the death of his brother, and also holding out prospects of rich booty in horses and goods. The success of former raids, which had been made into the same locality, was also pointed out. Stealing cautiously by the lines of military posts, they arrived near the Jewett home on the evening of May 1st, 1865. The next morning at about half past six o'clock while the family were eating breakfast, the Indians came upon them suddenly through the east door of the cabin. There was another door at the North end of the cabin, and Mrs. Jewett snatched up her little boy and dashed out through this door, followed by her husband. Some of the Indians fired upon them and ]iursued them. Mr. lewett fell within four rods of the house with a bullet through ids breast. The wound was not necessarily fatal, but an Indian immediately struck him with his tomahawk over the right eye fracturing his skull and killing him instantly. His wife fell dead in the path about eight rods from the house with a bullet near the heart. The little child was struck a severe blow on the head and left on the ground for dead, ten feet from its mother. Twenty rods north of the house, in a small ravine in the timber, Chas. Tyler was chopping. Him they shot dead through the breast with a ball, a buckshot, and an arrow. Mark Jewett, the old gentleman had apparently just pushed his chair back from the table when he was shot in the forehead^ the ball coming out near the crown. An Indian had then dealt him two terrible blows with his tomahawk, one cut, a gash five inches long, extending from the top of the head to near the right ear, the second gash, about an inch forward of the other was about three inches long. Mrs. Jewett, St., had been tomahawked in bed. One of the savages had struck her with the back of his tomahawk on the forehead and nose smashing that part of her head in, and on top of her head, and on the right of her forehead were two frightful gashes made by the blade of the tomahawk. She must have been killed instantly. The Indians then plundered the house and took a horse, which Jewett owned, and John Campbell secured the money.

Taking the horse and other booty with them the Indians went diagonally across the Rapidan prairie in a northeasterly direction and entered the Le Sueur timber just north of a little ravine on the Gilbert Webster land in section eleven, where they built a fire and cooked their dinner. They were seen, when passing over the prairie, by a son of H. C. Eberhart while herding sheep and it may be by one or two other persons.

Having no further use for his associates, Campbell left after dinner and took the road for Mankato, evidently intending to go to his mother's home at Traverse Des Sioux. His main object evidently had been to secure the money and he used his five Indian comrades merely as tools to help secure the booty, and to hide his crime, for he thought the whites, when they discovered the deed, would naturally attribute it to these, five hostiles. Why he induced his fellow Indians to make the timber and bluffs of the Le Sueur back of Mankato their hiding place, or under . what pretext he left them will never be known. Certainly no better hiding place could be found in the county, and moreover it was admirably situated for carrying out the pretended objects of the expedition, to attack Mankato and steal horses. It is quite likely that the plan determined upon between Campbell and the other Indians was for him to go to Mankato as a white man, unarmed, and thus spy out the best way to make the attack and, also, learn where there were horses to steal. Whether Campbell had any thought of carrying out such designs may well be doubted. It probably was only a way of getting rid of his Indian allies, now that his purpose with them had been accomplished. How his plans were foiled we shall see later.

Mr. Harlow, a neighbor of Jewett heard the firing about six o'clock in the morning, but thought nothing of it at the time. About two hours later he went over to Jewett's home to borrow a wagon. As he approached the house he came upon Mrs. Jewett lying dead in the path and a few feet from her lay the child unconscious, but breathing. Nearer the house, but to one side lay A. J. Jewett dead. In the house a fearful sight greeted him. The elder Jewett, lying in his blood on the floor with his brains oozing from the gashes in his head, but still alive. The elder Mrs. Jewett lying on the bed all covered with blood and her head and face smashed beyond recognization. The table set for breakfast, the chairs upturned, the chests, trunks, bureaus, cupboards and beds broken open, ransacked and contents scattered over the floor. The upstairs rooms showing llie same ransacking and confusion.

Mr. Harlow did not tarry long amid these scenes of horror and death, but ran and told a Mr. Burgess, and a messenger was dispatched immediately to Garden City, four or five miles away, with news of the awful tragedy. Major E. P. Evans was a brother of the elder Mrs. Jewett and, with a number of Garden City citizens, he repaired at once to the Jewett home, and the dead and wounded were carried to Garden City. The elder Mr. Jewett recovered consciousness for a short time the next morning. He said there were five or six Indians, in Indian costume, with guns and bows and arrows. He tried to tell more but could not be understood. He died on this second day. The child however, recovered and is now a resident of Mankato. B. D. Pay v/ho was then in the livery business at Mankato, was returning home that morning of May 2nd, from Sterling, whither he had taken the Goff family. When passing not far from the Jewett claim he met J. T. Williams and T. M. Pugh ia a buggy and shortly after this they were told of the murder. Turning back they . overtook Mr. Pay and informed him and then Williams having the swiftest horse hurried ahead to carry the news to Mankato. When Mr. Pay got near the north line of Eapidan he saw, some distance aiiead of him in the road, a man walking towards Mankato, but he soon disappeared behind a spur of timber. As he was descending the hill towards John A. Jones he saw the man again walking through the woods parallel with the road. When Campbell (for it was he) reached John A. Jones' cabin, he turned in and asked for a glass of water. While Mr. Jones was after a fresh supply from a nearby spring, 0. W. Dodge rode up to inquire if the Mankato Company had just passed, and was telling Campbell of the murder, and on Jones return was relating the facts to him, also, when Campbell suddenly started down the road without waiting for his glass of water. This singular conduct, coupled with the fact that he was threefourths Sioux and a stranger aroused Mr. Jones' suspicion and he communicated the same to Dodge and advised him to arrest him and take him to Mankato. Dodge turned back and putting spurs to his horse soon overtook Campbell and, after asking him a few questions, and receiving evasive answers, drew his revolver and put him under arrest and brought him to Mankato. He was taken to the Clifton House, where a crowd soon gathered and began plying him with questions. He claimed his named was Pelky, that he was a halfbreed Winnebago and had been working for some farmer. Isaac Marks knew him well, however, and told the people so. That his real name was John Campbell, and that his mother lived at Traverse des Sioux, and that he was a bad rascal. Campbell denied all this strenuously, and was such a good talker and appeared to be so straight forward, that the people were inclined to believe him at first. He called Mr. Flower and Mr. Pay to one side and told them he would show them some Indians if they would go with him. He was finally lodged in the county jail to

A few Mankato citizens began investigating some of Campbell's stories and found many of ithem contradictory and false. That night a few persons took him out of the jail, put a noose about his neck and tried by torture to force confession out of him, but it did not avail, as his Indian nature was proof against any torture that might be applied. They then searched his clothing and found in his pocket a lady's white handkerchief, with the corner, where the initial of the name would naturally be, cut off and the towel still wet and having some blood on it. A piece of soap, a pair of Chippeway moccasins, a plug of tobacco, an old Jackknife and $5.00 in greenbacks were also, found. It was also discovered that he had two pairs of ladies white wool hose on his feet, and a pair of gents shoes that were not the best fit. They also discovered that he had on a broadcloth coat and a pair of new pants. These items of clothing were made into a bundle and sent that night by the hand of B. D. Pay to Garden City to be inspected by the relatives of the Jewett family. Mr. Pay stopped first at the Tyler home at the outlet ol Mills Lake. Eva Tyler, sister of the young man who had just been murdered with the Jewetts, had been working for the Jewetts until two days before, and was very familiar with their clothing. She described the coat before seeing it and her description tallied exactly, even to a certain small triangular rent ou the sleeve, which has been darned, and when the coat was shown her she identified it at once as the one her uncle, Julius Jewett, had brought with him from Boston and given to his father, the elder Jewett. She also recognized the pants as the same her uncle had bought at Slocum's store in Garden City and given to his father but which he had never ^','orn. The stockings she identified as exactly like what Grandma Jewett wore, the shoes were just like the pair her uncle, A. J. Jewett, wore, and the towel exactly like one of the Jewett towels, but she remembered no special marks on these articles. Mr. Pay then went on to Garden

City where Mrs. E. P. Evans identified both coat and shoes and Mrs. Benjamin Evans recognized the coat, shoes, and both pairs of stockings. Andrew had been over to their house the Sunday before and she had joked him about wearing his brother's coat and having such square shoes. The pants she, also, identified as the new pair bought for Jewett, Sr., and the stockings belonged to Grandma Jewett, one pair of which, Mrs. Evans recognized as having been knit by the old lady, when on a visit to her home. The clothing having been positively identified as belonging to the Jewett family, Mr. Pay returned to Mankato by morning with his report. During this same night, while Pay was at Garden City, Peter Kelley, a frontierman, arrived at Mankato from Eed Wood and said Louis Eoberts, the old Sioux trader and steamboat man, had sent word that Scott Campbell, a halfbreed Sioux trapper, had told him, that his brother, John Campbell, was heading a marauding band of Indians to steal horses and attack Mankato and to be on the lookout for them. Kelly knew John Campbell well and was at once taken to the jail and immediately identified him. Campbell now saw he could not hide his identity any longer and admitted that he was John Campbell and not Pelky, and that Scott Campbell was his brother and that his mother lived at Traverse des Sioux, near Myrick's store. Next morning when he found that the clothing too had been identified he told a new story to the effect, that he had been taken prisoner by a band of Indians, while out near Pt. Wadsworth, on the Dakota line. He said there were nine bands of them, and he gave the number and leader of each band. That they came down to the Blue Earth river the day before. That about noon that day near the Jones' ford on the Blue Earth a number of Indians, who had been away from the rest since the night before, took his own clothes away from him and gave him instead the clothes he had on. That these Indians were now hiding in the woods of the Le Sueur back of Mankato. That he had managed that afternoon to escape from them, but knew nothing of any murder.

identification of the clothing and the contradictory statements made by Campbell made it certain to everybody that he was one of the murderers. Early Wednesday morning the people from Garden City, South Bend and all the surrounding country came pouring into Mankato until a crowd of 800 men had gathered in the vicinity of the Mankato House and the jail and it was evident from the temper of the mob that there was to be a lynching. Speeches were made by Daniel Buck, J. A. Willard, Eev. Adams and others on the street corners. Some advised strongly against lynching and wanted the law to take its course in the matter, others made fiery speeches in favor of hanging the murderer at once. He had showed no mercy to the Jewett family, why should any be shown him? These sentiments seemed to please the great majority and cries of, "Hang the villain." "Get the rope ready" were heard everywhere. There was a general impression among the people at that time that Gen. Sibley sympathized with the Indians, and fears were entertained that, when he heard of the arrest of Campbell, he would send the military and take him to Pt. Snelling or elsewhere and that there was a chance of his escaping the gallows like most of -the other condemned Indians. Col. B. P. Smith, who was in command of the militia of Blue Earth County, in a speech declared he would not tolerate any lynching. That the accused must be regularly tried and convicted of murder by a jury before he could be hanged. The crowd would brook no delay and were afraid Gen. Sibley's soldiers would appear on the scene any moment and carry off the prisoner. As a compromise it was suggested to give him a jury trial at once. A meeting of the citizens was called to convene on the Court House block immediately after dinner. There was an immense concourse present. A court was improvished with S. F. Barney as Judge, J. A. Willard prosecuting attorney, and 0. 0. Pitcher attorney for the defendant. A jury -was chosen composed of the following persons: E. K. Bangs, Edward Nickerson, N. Woloben, D. S. Law, Abel Keene, Wm. Funk, A. Tyler, Chas. Wagner, A. T. Noble, J. C. Haupt, A. Thompson and E. H. Smith. The session was held in the open air about where the present county court house stands. The prisoner was brought before his tribunal and plead "Not Guilty." His statement in brief was as follows: He knew nothing of the killing of the Jewetts. He had been taken prisoner on the Sioux Coteau by hostile Indians and compelled to go with them. That they came down and crossed the Blue Earth River about three miles above the ford of J. A. Jones on Monday night (May 1), a party of 16 in all, where they camped all night. At daybreak on Tuesday (May 2nd) three Indians started down the river, five of them went in the direction of where a mill is being built on the river, and the remaining seven started in an easterly direction towards the prairie. That he got away from them and came down the river to Jones' ford, which he reached in the afternoon. Before he could get across, the seven Indians, who had gone east towards the Eapidan prairie, came upon him and gave him a pair of pants, a coat and a pair of shoes, which they compelled him to put on. It was a halfbreed named Henry Roy, who gave him the pants and coat and a brother of standing Buffalo the shoes. Roy was the only halfbreed among them. There are nine different bands, numbering five to sixteen in each band, all headed for the Blue Earth river with intent to attack Mankato from the rear and to steal horses. They made him do all their work and used him badly, and Tuesday morning was the first opportunity he had to escape. They had been eight days on the way. Had not heard of tli& murder until Dodge told him of it yesterday. He had enlisted in Co. D, 3rd Minn. Infantry, and afterwards in Co. A Braekett's Battalion, and had served nearly three years in all. Admitted he had deserted from the army and was trying to get to Traverse des Sioux. He knew ihe clothing must have been stolen by the Indians.

The prosecution showed the conflicting statements Campbell had made. The night before he had not seen an Indian for over a year, that his name was Pelky, and that he was a half brother of John Pelky of Winnebago Agency, that he had clerked for H. M. Rice and others at Long Prairie, and many other statements, which were false in every particular. The clothes were fully identified as belonging to the murdered family. The Judge charged the jury directing them to give the prisoner the benefit of every reasonable doubt. The jury then retired and in half an hour brought in a verdict of guilty, with a recommendation that the prisoner be tried again at the regular term of the District Court, which would convene in about two weeks. Mr. Bangs as foreman of the Jury made a strong plea for the recommendation.

The crowd had the rope with them ready, and had waited thus long with much impatience. There was, however, a respectable minority, who were in favor of the recommendation and opposed to lynching. They tried to hold the others in check. But the personal friends of Mr. Jewett, and especially those who had been out and witnessed the horrors of the murder, were furious for immediate vengeance and with shouts of, "Hang him," from hundreds of throats they made a rush for the prisoner and began dragging him toward a basswood tree, which had a convenient limb, and which stood near the southeast corner of the courthouse square. The friends of law and order grabbed the prisoner, also, to take him to the jail. There was a wild tumultuous time for ten or fifteen minutes, one party pulling and struggling to get Campbell towards the jail and the other party dragging and pushing towards the tree about 300 feet away. It was a fierce struggle between determined men. Guns, revolvers and knives were drawn. For a time it looked like bloodshed between the two factions. The hanging party, being the most numerous, were finally successful, and seeing that resistance was useless tlie law and order party desisted for fear of a worse riot. A wagon belonging to Geo. Lamberton of Garden City stood near by. This was run under the tree, the prisoner hustled into it, a rope adjusted about his neck, the other end tied to the limb above, and the wagon pulled away. In their haste they had forgotten to tie the culprits hands and he grabbed the rope above his head and began to call lustily for a priest. The wagon was pushed back under the poor wretch. Father Sommereisen el- bowed his way through the crowd and climbing into the wagon requested a few minutes to talk and pray with liim. This was reluctantly granted and the good father employed the moments given him in prayer and religious converse with the doomed man^, speaking with him in French. His hands having been securely pinioned and the time having expired, the wagon was again pulled from under the victim and he was hanged.

In about fifteen or twenty minutes Dr. Zenopolsky pronounced him dead. Father Sommereisen took the body, and in accordance vrith Campbeirs last request, sent it to his mother at Traverse des Sioux for burial.

The murderer had also told the worthy father where to find a roll of money, which he had hid in the bedding of his bunk at the jail. About $470 was found, evidently the booty for which he had committed the awful murders, and which finally brought him to his terrible doom.

This was the first and only instance of lynching in Blue Earth County, and that there was great provocation, which in those days of blood, seemed to demand speedy punishment for so heinous and horrible a crime, must be admitted. Yet the ends of justice would have been much better served if the recommendation of the jury had been heeded.

While these scenes were being enacted on the Court House square quite a difEerent scene was transpiring in the Presbyterian church just one block away. Here on this very day a synod of that denomination was being held, and in it another halfbreed Sioux was being ordained to the work of the Christian ministry. This was Eev. John B. Eenville, who from that day to this has been a faithful, consistent follower of the Christ, and an earnest able preacher of his gospel. At the opening of the synod, Monday night, Dr. Williamson in his sermon had dwelt at some length upon the wrongs done to the Indians. His words were true and well meant, but, as it happened, inopportune. The next morning occurred the Jewett murders, followed by the arrest of John Campbell, and on Wednesday the excited populace thronged the streets of Mankato thirsting for vengeance. Garbled extracts of the sermon were talked over by the rabble and false reports circulated to the effect that the Indians, who murdered the Jewetts, had come down from Dakota with Dr. Williamson. All manner of wild and lying rumors about the good old man were told upon the street, and the mob were beginning to cry that they would hang Dr. Williamson, too. Before dinner a committee of three prominent Mankato citizens went to the church, and calling the good old missionary to the door, explained the situation, and advised him to leave town at once. The grapd, innocent, kind hearted old doctor thanked the committee, left the meeting and mounting his pony hurried to his home at St. Peter.

On the afternoon of the day of the murder Major Evans organized a mounted posse at Garden City to pursue the Indians. Joseph Dilley, G«o. Heaton and Mr. Travis were members. They found where they had crossed the Maple liver, and where they had cooked one or two meals. An Indian blanket, a buffalo roTae, and some flour were found on the trail. The posse camped that Tuesday night on the trail. The next morning they found where the Indians had crossed the Le Sueur and two or three of them had gone down the river and the others up the stream. So rugged and wild was the country and so dense the forest, brush and vines that further pursuit on horseback was impossible besides being foolhardy, and the company returned home. Mr. Stratton and other settlers of Eapidan engaged to some extent, also, in the search. Within an hour after the news reached Mankato on Tuesday afternoon, Maj. Clark started for Garden City with twenty mounted men, and picketed the road from the village to Eush Lake all night. Militia men from South Bend, formed a line of pickets from Le Huillier to join Maj. Clark's line. Lieut. Mason, in command of the Vernon Militia, established a picket line from Vernon Center to Garden City. The Militia of Sterling and Mapleton formed a long skirmish line and combed the timber and brush bordering the Maple river almost to its mouth.

followed the trail from near the Jewett home across the Maple and a strip of Prairie between it and the Mouth of the Big Cobb. The remains of a cow and sheep were discovered which the Indians had killed for food. The soldiers camped on the trail Saturday night, and Sunday morning they discovered the Indian camp on the Le Sueur river about two miles from their own. Continuing the pursuit up tJie Le Sueur through the rough land and dense forest and brush one soldier, named James Jolley, who was a little in advance of his comrades, saw an Indian, who shot at him. He returned the fire and the Indian apparently fell. When the spot was reached a large pack of cooked meat was found but no Indian. He probably had merely dropped to the ground to avoid the bullets and sneaked away. The trail followed about two hours up along the river bank. When searching for it in a bend of the river, the soldiers were fired upon from the opposite bank. They returned the fire and saw a number of Indians skulking behind trees. The Indians fired another volley and this time a ball hit James JoUey in the left breast, just above the heart. He fell from his horse and raising himself partly from the ground, said, "Boys, I am shot," and then fell back dead. The soldiers now withdrew from their exposed position to a nearby thicket and the Indians fled further up the river. The death of their comrade discouraged the soldiers and, picking up his body, they strapped it upon his horse and brought it back to Mankato.

This same day a company of volunteers from Mankato and Winnebago Agency were picketed along the Mankato and Agency Eoad. They heard the firing down the Le Sueur between the soldiers and Indians and knew from the sound that the latter were coming towards them. Some of them got scared and left, and the savages passed up through their line. Just across the Le Sueur on the Agency road was the cabin of A. Mc- Carthy. Mrs. George Bennett with her ten year old son, Frank York, had brought some food to the McCarthy house for the volunteers. B. D. Pay had been to the Agency with a message from Judge Buck, and on his return wanted to know where a certain squad, which had been stationed near ]\leCarthy's place, was. The York boy had mounted one of the horses belonging to the men and was riding it around. He offered to guide jMr. Pay and started along a path, which led east of the house through some brush to a tract of lo-w land. When descending a short hill to this valley, they saw a man, dressed like a white man, walking through some brush and, mistaking him for one of the militia. Mr. Pay hollered to him to come up there. The man answered in English with a French accent and as he turned Pay saw he was an Indian or halfbreed and wheeled his horse round and galloped back. The Indians fired a volley at them and the boy's horse fell dead. The boy, after falling with his horse, jumped up and ran back some twenty rods to the house and at the door fell into his mother's arms and expired. A charge of buckshot had passed through his body.

It was now getting towards dusk and further pursuit was abandoned that night. The Indians, disappointed and mystified by the failure of Campbell to return and, knowing that their biding place had been discovered, concluded it was high time for them to escape. To this end tliey tried on Monday night. May 8th, to secure some horses.

On this evening H. C. Howard, who resided on his farm on the south bank of Loon Lake, took his family to Garden City, where there was a log fort for safety. A young man named Eobert Johnson, from Brooklyn, N. Y., was staying with the Howards at this time. He came with them to Garden City, but not being able to find any place to sleep, except on the fioor, he concluded to return to the Howard home, as he did not think there were any Indians around any way. When he reached the house he was surprised to find the cattle running loose in the door yard. He, also, heard the colt in the stable call for its mother, who answered it from down by the lake shore. Something was wrong, for everything had been safely shut up when they left. It was a moonlight night. He went into the house and got his gun, and then went to the barn and let the colt out. It seemed greatly excited and scared and kept close to Johnson, as he walked through the grove toward where he could still hear the mare whining for the colt. When he got to a little rise of ground, where he could see down tlie lake front, he saw a man trying to lead tlin mare over a ditch or small creek. She was unwilling to go and pulling back. Without realizing ills danger Johnson walked straight toward the man and shouted to him. The Indian (for such he proved to be,) seeing Johnson's gun, dropped the halter and ran behind an oak tree about fifty feet away. Johnson jumped on the mare and, as he started back, he glanced behind toward the tree and saw the barrel of a gun, pointed toward him, glisten in the moonlight. He raised his own gun instantly, and the Indian and he fired simultaneously. Two or three other Indians, who were hiding behind trees, also fired at him, and one bullet struck his hand. Mounted on the frightened mare it did not take Johnson long to get beyond the reach of the Indian guns, nor did he stop until in Garden C'ity. It was now midnight, but the news he brought soon woke up the people and there was much excitement. As there were two or three families staying at their homes that night in the vicinity of Loon Lake, it was feared they might be murdered. A mounted posse composed of H. C. Howard, E. P. Evans and three or four others volunteered to go to their rescue at once. They found them safe and unmolested, the Indians having retreated from the Howard farm eastward to the Blue Earth river timber. The same night the Indians attempted to steal the horses of Carl Just in Rapidan, but before they reached the barn their presence was discovered by two fierce dogs. The appearance of Mr. Just with a gun together with the angi-y barking of the dogs finally scared the tliieves away. This same Monday, Major Clark, with a large posse from Mankato, had been scouring the woods of the Le Sueur in the vicinity of where Mr. JoUey was shot. The Indians saw that matters were getting critical and that the sooner they got away the better for them. Two of them managed to steal a couple of horses in Shelby township and by daybreak Tuesday they started across the vast prairies for their fastnesses in the far off Turtle Mountains. They had no fear but they could elude the white soldiers, stationed in the frontier forts and therefore journeyed leisurely. But since they came down to the settlements, something had happened that they did not know about. For three years it had been clearly demonstrated, that a line of forts along the frontier with a squad of soldiers, galloping on their horses back and forth between them, about once a day, was no protection whatever from Indian raids. The wily savages could crawl undetected under the very shadow of these fortresses.

Maj. Joseph R. Brown, Gen. Sibley and Maj. Robert D. Rose had in their charge a large number of friendly Indians and halfbreeds and appreciated fully their value as scouts in hunting other Indians. After repeated recommendations, the government at last gave heed to their advice. Accordingly in the Fall of 1864 Major Brown was authorized to enlist as many of these Indians as he saw fit into the government service. Joseph Renville was appointed chief of scouts under Maj. Brown, and was to make monthly reports to Maj. R. D. Rose, a commandant of Ft. Wadsworth. In the spring of 1865 a number of lines of these scouts were put along the frontier. One of these extended from the Shyenne River to the James river and had seven stations in it, each station having from twelve to fifteen scouts in it. At one of these stations, was a scout, who was thereafter called; "One Armed Jim," and the incident which gave him the name is connected with the Jewett murder. About the 17th, of May, 1865, Jim mountd his pony and started on a scouting trip after dinner. It was a bright clear day with a gentle breeze from the south east. He had only gone n mile or two from camp, when his pony began to act strangely. Jim at once concluded that there must be literally, "something in the wind." Tethering his pony behind a small knoll and plaiting a wreath of grass for his own head, he crawled cautiously to the top and scanned the prairies carefully for a time toward the south east as far as the eye could reach. He soon caught sight of small herds of buffalo moving westward, having evidently been disturbed by the scent of human beings to the eastward. It was th.e smell of the buffalo, which had dis- turbed his pony. But what interested Jim was, the young bucks of the warlike Dakotahs, sudwho had disturbed the bufEalo. So he kept his denly became very unpopular and soon ceased

At last he caught sight of five horsemen ap- On May 17, 1865, the Board of County Comproaching along the distant foot hills. He con- missioners of Blue Earth county passed a resocluded they must be hostiles returning from a lution offering a bounty of $200 for every hosraid and, crawling cautiously back from the tile Indian scalp taken in Blue Earth County, where the trail, after crossing a small swale, The killing of his relatives and the failure iiseended out of it through a small gully and of the militia and military to apprehend the concealed themselves in some grass, which grew murderers, though they skulked around the a trifle taller than elsewhere in an angle of the neighborhood for a full week, induced Maj. E. gully. No one knows better than an Indian p_ Evans to push his scheme of getting bloodhow to form a good ambush. With a fillet of hounds from the south, with which to hunt grass on his head and a string of grass down his prowling Indians. On May 27, the representaback, he can lay on the prairie and be so con- tives of four counties met at Mankato to disformed in color and appearance to his surround- cuss the project and take action with reference ings, that one might pass within a few feet and to it. Those present were Andrew Hanna of never suspect his presence. In due time the five Blue Earth County, John Castor of Brown, Mr. hostiles came without a suspicion of danger di- Furber of Watonwan and A. L. Ward of Marrectly into the trap laid for them. Instantly at tin. It was concluded to procure bloodhounds a given signal the four scouts Jumped to their and eacli county appropriated for the purpose feet with a war whoop and fired at close range, the following amounts: Three of the hostiles fell dead and the other to a pony, which had been tethered by one of E. P. Evans was appointed an agent to go the scouts near by. As the hostile was mount- south and buy the dogs. He started on June ing the pony Jim fired at him, but in the excite- 1st, and at St. Paul Gov. Miller gave him $100 ment he had overloaded his gun and it exploded, for the enterprise, and "The Press" $.50, and blowing off his hand and shattering his arm so it a few other prominent citizens contributed like liad to be amputated. The mare and colt belonging amounts. The Major spent three months and toMr. Jewett were recovered here and a lot of traveled 1500 miles, but could not find a single silverware bearing Jewett's initials and some cloth- bloodhound. He finally managed to get thiring which had been stolen from the Jewett teen fox hounds, with a little blood hound blood in two or three of them. Six of these he sent So of the six Indians implicated in the Jew- by Capt. Potter from Tennessee in July and the ett murder, five met their just doom, and the other seven he brought with him in August to sixth would have done so were it not for the Mankato. The major filed an itemized statebursting of Jim's gun. During the spring and ment of the receipts and disbursements consummer of 1865 these friendly Indian scouts nected with the matter which is as follows: exterminated every party of hostile Sioux, which

Paid traveling expenses of agent and trans- from ten to sixteen miles apart with 134 mountportation and care of does 522.28 ^ , . t , -t ± n n mi t t

' therein. The third line was as follows : The dogs were divided six to Blue Earth M'ankato 40 soldiers. Loon Lake 11 sol- County, three to Martin and three to Watonwan diers, Garden City 20 soldiers, Vernon Cen- Counties. The other dog had escaped the first ter 21 soldiers, Winnebago City 21 soldiers, night they arrived in Mankato. The six dogs making five garrisons and 113 soldiers distribapportioned to Blue Earth County were kept uted therein. Then fifty mounted minute men at the expense of the county for a time by a were stationed in groups of five or six between Mr. E^Tggles of Vernon Center, who was a the second and third lines. In all 443 soldiers returned soldier and pretended to understand were stationed as guards in southwestern Minnethe management of that kind of dogs. They sota. Beside all this the militia companies in were tested in tracking a white man on foot, every town were kept on duty more or less, and again on horse back, and it is claimed the But as we have stated before, the raid led by test was successful. Then early in September John Campbell was the best ever made into there was a big scare over a report, that a party Blue Earth County. The Sioux war was now of Indians had been seen in the timber in practically over as also was the great Eebellion. Eapidan and Decoria and Capt. Davy started The year 1865, saw the end of both. For four after the enemy with a squad of men and the years the people of Blue Earth county had been hounds full tilt, but the band of painted sav- so absorbed in the two wars, and especially in ages with guns and tomahawks proved to be two the Indian war, that they had had no time to or three friendly halfbreeds digging ginseng attend to the arts of peace. Every man and with hoes. In fact, the Indian scouts on the boy, who was not carrying a gun on southern frontier under Major Brown and Eose never battlefields, was carrying one at home. For permitted the dogs a smell of a genuine hostile three years our people had been busy either SiouX. The hounds escaped one after another running away from the Indians or chasing and soon like the Indians disappeared from after them. The farm and the shop were de- Blue Earth County. serted for the camp and the fort. The people The Jewett murders stirred up all sorts of were learning war and not trade and the musmeasures for the protection of the settlers. Besides ket had taken the place of the plow.