Brown County, Minnesota - Chapter 19: Miscellaneous Items, 1916

Chapter 19: Miscellaneous Items

Brown county has the following incorporated and unincorporated places. The location, date of plattings and incorporation of the same is given, so far as they appear of record in the register of deeds office, but it is to be regretted that no better system obtains than is here found for permanently preserving the plattings of the county. Large and excellent blank plat-books have been purchased, but never been utilized for the purpose for which they were intended, as they simply contain an improvised index, while the plats are kept in various places in an unbound form, liable to be destroyed at any time. Indeed, several are now missing.

New Ulm (city) was originally surveyed in 1856, but the record shows that it was not filed for record until April 7, 1858, when it was effected by the German Land Association, through its president, William Pfaender. It extends from southeast to northwest along the banks of the Minnesota river, in township 110, range 30 west. Many additions have been made with the passing years.

Springfield, situated in sections 18 and 19 of township 109, range 34 west, was platted as " Burns" in 1877, on the line of the Winona & St. Peter railroad. A postoffice had been established there in 1873. It took the name of Springfield in 1881, when it was incorporated as a village.

Hanska was platted October 9, 1899. by Harry L. Jenkins and Anna L. Jenkins, in section 24, township 108, range 31. It was incorporated in 1901.

Evan, formerly " Hanson's Station," originally platted May, 1887, in section 8, Prairieville civil township, by Nels Hanson. Incorporated in 1904.

Cobden is situated in section 31, township 110, range 33 west; was platted February 16, 1901, by Thomas Peterson and S. C. Frederickson. It was incorporated in 1905.

Old And Present Places Named

postoffice and a station point on the Chicago & Northwestern railway in Stately township, thirty-three miles southwest of New Ulm and six miles northwest of Comf rey.

Cobden, with a population of about one hundred and fifty in 1910, is a village in Prairieville township, on the Chicago & Northwestern railway, twenty-one miles west of New Ulm ; has German and Danish Lutheran churches.

Comfrey, in Bashaw township, on the Chicago & Northwestern rail way, thirty miles southwest of New Ulm ; has Catholic, Congregational, German and Swedish Lutheran churches.

Essig, a village of less than one hundred people, is a village in Milford township, on the Chicago & Northwestern railway, eight miles west of New Ulm ; has a Lutheran church and other interests.

Evan, a village of one hundred and twenty-five in 1910, is in Prairieville township, twenty miles northwest of New Ulm; has business interests and a Danish Lutheran and Presbyterian church.

Hanska, a village of about five hundred, incorporated, in Lake Janska township on the Minneapolis & St. Louis railway, thirteen miles south of New Ulm ; has a Lutheran and a Unitarian church and business interests.

Lonetree, a discontinued postoffice in Eden township, twenty-five miles northwest of New Ulm, and six miles northeast of Morgan, on the Chicago & Northwestern railway.

Springfield, a village incorporation in Burnstown township, having about 1,600 population in 1910; it is twenty-eight miles west of New Ulm; has Catholic, German and Scandinavian Lutheran, German and English Methodist Episcopal churches; also a Congregational church.

New Ulm, the seat of justice of Brown county, with a population of six thousand, has Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical Friends, Episcopal and Bethel churches.

Past And Present Postoffices

Since the county of Brown was organized the following postoffices have been established within its bounds. Some of these have long since been discontinued, while others remained in use until the introduction of the present system of rural free delivery was established. This list has been kindly furnished by Congressman F. P. Ellsworth, representative from this district, and is a transcript of the records at the postal department at Washington.

Pajutazee - Jonathan F. Brown, postmaster, appointed January 20, 1850; discontinued, January 25, 1860; re-established; Hiram Buck, August, 1862; discontinued, September 10, 1862; re-established, John Rotering, May 18, 1869; discontinued, January 22, 1874.

Home - Joseph Libert, postmaster, appointed April 30, 1868; Jacob P. Current, January 16, 1869; discontinued, papers sent to Sleepy Eye, August 15, 1900.

Sonde. - Aslak Sigmdson, postmaster, appointed October 12, 1877 ; discontinued, January 26, 1880 ; re-established, Hans O. Moen, May 17, 1880; Ole M. Olson, December 1, 1881; discontinued/March 15, 1882.

Albin. - Hans O. Moen, postmaster, appointed May 26, 1890 ; William Rossbach, April 19, 1895 ; discontinued, mail to Sleepy eye, January, 1896.

Searles. - Frank A. Wolthausen, postmaster, appointed March 10, 1902; August L. Veech, December 15, 1904; Mathias Melerich, April 20, 1907 ; Alfred A. Schlumpberger, September 28, 1907; Marie Hass, July 1, 1915.

In 1915 this county had postoffices as follow: Cobden, Comfrey, Essig, Evan, Hanska, New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Springfield. The rural delivery routes have greatly diminished the postoffices within this county and the system has proven a great success.

Population At Various Dates

According to the last United States census reports, Brown county had the following population in its various sub-divisions in the last three decades - from 1890 to 1910:

The last census shows the following statistics of Brown county: Of its 20,134 population, 15,469 were native born; the following were the foreign born - Germany, 2,473; Sweden, 158 ; Norway, 580 ; Great Britain and Ireland, 61 ; Denmark, 262; Austria, 920; Russia, 26; other countries, 185.

The railroads now-a-days go on ahead of the settler, but not so in the fifties when Brown county was settled by the two German colonies. The pioneer headed this way either by team or by steamboat up the Minnesota river. The sound of the shrill locomotive whistle was not heard to echo up and down this beautiful valley until long after the pioneer had laid well and sure the foundation stones for a permanent settlement.

The Chicago & Northwestern railroad (main line from Chicago to the Black Hills), enters New Ulm from the east and passes through the county southwestward, with station points at Cobden, Sleepy Eye and Springfield. The Redwood branch of this system leaves the main line just west of Sleepy Eye, and runs to the northwest, while a branch of the Northwestern system connects Mankato by two routes - one direct over the main line east, while another runs by Nicollet, St. Peter and Kasota.

Another branch of the same great system runs from Sanborn to Belle Plaine, Iowa, passing through the southern part of Brown county, with a station at Comfrey, on the south line of this county. The stations of Pitson and Dotson are also on this road, in this county, between Comfrey and Sanborn.

The Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad - the Storm Lake and St. Paul division - enters Brown county in Lake Hanska township and runs to New Ulm, with stations at Searles, Hanska and New Ulm, in this county.

The first railroad to enter Brown county was what is now known as the Chicago & Northwestern, then the Winona & St. Peter Company, which completed its line as far west as New Ulm on February 22, 1872. This was not until ten years after the awful massacre by the Sioux had laid waste much in Brown county, and this event marked a new epoch in its history. From that day forward matters took new life and have ever since been advancing.

Memorial Services For President Mckinley

On September 19, 1901, occurred the memorial services held in the court house at New Ulm over the death of President McKinley, who was struck down by the hand of an assassin in Buffalo, New York, while attending and taking part in the Pan-American Exposition in September, 1901, a few months after his second election as President of the United States. It was on Thursday that the people of the county and citizens in New Ulm assembled at the court house, after participating in a long, solemn street parade, in which were all the orders, the Grand Army of the Republic and the entire military organization of the city took part. That was the day on which the departed President was buried at his old home in Canton, Ohio.

With side-arms laid away and riding at the head of the procession, Colonel Bobleter, marshal of the first division, led the way while Webster's funeral dirge was rendered by the celebrated Second Regiment band. The guns of the battery were all festooned in deepest black streamers.

The Second Division, under Captain Vogel, followed closely and marched slowly to the music of the Concordia band. The members of the Grand Army of the Republic, men who had actually marched and tented and fought with the martyred President along the Potomac and James rivers, Virginia, in the sixties, presented a never-to-be-forgotten spectacle as they tried to keep step and not give way to their feelings on that sad occasion.

The court room was modestly, simply draped. His honor, Judge B. F. Webber, was chairman of the meeting, and stated that at that very hour there were hundreds of thousands of starry flags in the Union at half-mast. His remarks were now and then interrupted by the booming of Captain Burg's cannon of the artillery company. Rev. S. G. Updyke, pastor of the Congregational church of New Ulm, delivered the invocation. The Methodist choir rendered ' i Lead, Kindly Light.' ' Einar Holdale then delivered an eloquent address, in truly impressive language. Next on the program was the rendering of "Des Herren Einzug," bv the band. Following this came an address in the German language by Rev. Father Sandmeyer, after which was sung President McKinley's favorite hymn - "Nearer, My God to Thee." The final address was made by Reverend Updyke, the same being a befitting estimate and euology of the lamented McKinley.

Retail Prices In 1915 Great Cyclone Of July 20, 1881

"The storm came on at 4:45 p. m., first striking the town from a northeasterly direction. It rained and blowed for about ten minutes when it appeared that another storm coming from the southwest met the first storm. And then the work of destruction began. It seems as though the clouds came to the ground, there was such a fearful pressure, all the fronts of the buildings being crushed. It was a terrible sight. The storms were accompanied by a good deal of electricity - in fact it seemed that there was almost a continuous sheet of flame. People who were not in the storm center, but observed the operation of the cyclone from a distance, sa\ r that there seemed to be four great spouts pointing toward the earth. Sometimes they touched the earth and at other times would be drawn up to the sky again. These spouts were of various shapes, one was in the form of an immense inverted cone; another was cylindrical in shape; a third was like an immense gourd; another was oblong with convoluted edges. It moved along in swiftly revolving force, and their path was about a mile and onehalf wide.

"The storm lasted about twenty-five minutes and its destructive force was simply terrific. Solid brick buildings were leveled to the ground as though made of paper. Small frame buildings and heavy timbers were carried bodily through the air. There was, of course, intense excitement among the citizens during the terrible visitation and it was not allayed for a long time after the storm was over. As soon as the fury of the elements had subsided the first thing they did was to look after those who were the victims of the disaster. There were between five and six hundred buildings damaged by the storm, a large number of them being totally demolished. Many were swept away, the debris being carried away out on the prairies. The loss is estimated at about $400,000. It is difficult to find words to adequately express the frightful havoc done by the cyclone. Every store front in the town was blown in and the glass shattered. The streets were filled with the debris of the demolished buildings. Trees were twisted and uprooted as though they were but twigs and in many cases they were entirely stripped of their bark. A great many of the business men have been ruined by the work of the wind and scores of laboring men mourn the loss of their houses and all that they contained. In the country, as far as heard from, the storm was the most severe in the towns of West Newton, Nicollet county, and Wellington, Renville county.

"J. A. Sanborn, of Mankato, who was at Sleepy Eye that afternoon, says that not less than five separate and distinct cyclones crossed that part the state that day and could be seen from Sleepy Eye. The one that struck New Ulm occurred about 4 :45 in the afternoon and its progress through the air could be distinctly seen. It seemed to be in two separate columns, one moving upward from the earth and the other gradually descending from the clouds. It was about a mile or two in length at an angle of forty-five degrees and whirling round and round with great rapidity."

After The Storm

ings. At the same time a few of the business men, seeing the necessity of prompt action, at once set to work to devise ways and means for relief of the poor and homeless. Superintendent Sanborn having placed a special train at the disposal of the station agent, a committee consisting of Col. William Pfaender, Hon. S. D. Peterson and Joseph Bobleter, started for St. Paul, at two o'clock in the afternoon, to consult with Governor Pillsbury, and lay the facts of the awful calamity before him.

The governor handed the committee a check for one hundred dollars to start the relief work with. Soon after, money from all quarters began to be sent to the relief committee. On Tuesday, Governor Pillsbury visited New Ulm to see what aid was most needed. The Governor's Guards were placed on duty on Saturday and Sunday nights to prevent pillaging and to help the city authorities maintain order.

The relief committee, consisting of ten members, with Col. William Pfaender as president; Rev. A. Berghold, secretary, and C. Wagner, treasurer, did a great deal of active work. The total amount of money raised an distributed was about forty thousand dollars.

Rev. Alexander Berghold

The man who had the distinction of organizing the first Catholic church in New Ulm was Father Alexander Berghold, who was born in Austria, October 14, 1838. His father sold their estate and they removed to St. Marein. While quite young he expressed the desire to become a priest, but (32) when his father refused consent, he ran away from home in 1851, and entered school at Gratz ; then passed through the gymnasium and university earning the necessary funds by giving private lessons. In 1864, at the solicitation of Francis X. Pierz, he came to Minnesota, and finished his theological course at St. Paul ; was ordained on November 1, 1864, by Bishop Grace, and was appointed to the parish of Belleplaine. In 1868 he visited Europe; when he returned in the fall of that year, he volunteered to come to New Ulm and establish a congregation. Here he was signally successful in forming a good-sized congregation, and built up a dwelling, church edifice and college, besides having charge of Catholic congregations in six counties. He also, up to 1882, had built eleven other churches since his coming to America. It was this gentleman who founded Loretta Hospital, at New Ulm. Father Berghold was a versatile writer, and of high reputation. He published a book of poems entitled " Prairie Rosen," also a " History of New Ulm," 6 ' The Indian Massacre," "The Indian's Revenge," and a "Guide to German Emigrants." He removed to California many years ago and is there still doing a noble work for the church of his choice.

First And Important Events

President Lincoln's proclamation was first heard in New Ulm, April 22, 1861, and April 24 there were twenty men volunteered and started to the front - all but two returned.

The national government allowed two million dollars for settlement of the " Sioux Claims,' 9 growing out of the loss of property destroyed by that outbreak in 1862, in which New Ulm and Brown county lost heavily.

The first grasshoppers to annoy this county came in 1857 ; in 1864 they did great damage. In the seventies they were the worst pests in the history of the county.

The wind grist-mill was started at New Ulm, in December, 1856, by C. C. Brandt. The stones came from the river bed here and the timbers were sawed out by hand.

The first theatrical entertainment in New Ulm was in Turner Hall, on the evening of January 17, 1858, and the play was entitled: "One Must Marry.' '

The first train of cars to enter New Ulm was that coming over the old Winona & St. Peter (now Northwestern) railroad, February 20, 1872, and two days later there was a great public demonstration given in commemoration of the important event.

The first fire alarm in New Ulm was sounded by beating a circular saw in the old Turner's Hall, April 25, 1861, to warn the people against a sweeping prairie fire that was seen coming into the outskirts of the town.

November 11, 1904, Dr. L. A. Gebhardt, a dentist of New Ulm was brutally murdered while at work in his office after nine o'clock in the evening. The murderer was never convicted.

The first practicing physician in the county was Dr. J ohn Kaula, who was a member of the German Land Association, coming here from Chicago, in 1855. The next in the profession here was Dr. Charles Weschke, who came direct from Germany in 1860.

The records show that the first white man to die and be buried in what is now Brown county, Minnesota, was Murdock Cameron, an enterprising Scotchman, who had come to Prairie du Chien with Joseph Roulette, Sr., about 1804. General Pike, in his account of his expedition into Minnesota in 1805, relates that he met him at Lake Pepin. He usually had trading posts well toward the sources of the Minnesota. Accompanied by Henry Milor, Cameron started down the Minnesota river in the fall of 1811. A sudden and serious illness seized the trader and he was landed in the woods where he died a few hours later. Milor gave his friend a decent burial as circumstances would permit, and his resting place was long a land-mark and known as "Cameron's Grave." This burial place was thirteen miles from the mouth of the Cottonwood river and about three miles from Little Rock, which brings it within the territory of Brown county. [The writer is indebted to Judge W. Gresham, of St. Peter, for this information, the same having been published in the Minneapolis Journal in 1913.]

Interesting Anniversaries

New Ulm has had numerous important and interesting anniversaries in its history, among which are those growing out of the Indian massacre of 1862 and the unique founding of the city by the German colonies. The first of such memorials was held in memory of Goethe and Schiller, in the month of August, 1859, and was a great German gathering for so new a country.

The next of importance was the memorial held August 23, 1866 - four years after the Indian massacre - in memory of the massacre and of the brave defenders of the Union that had given up life on Southern battle-fields and prisonpens. A befitting monument was unveiled here upon that occasion.

The fifth anniversary of the Indian outbreak was observed in 1867. Again, August 22, 1885, a reunion of the defenders of New Ulm, was held, upon which occasion people came from all quarters of the country, and were hospitably entertained by New Ulm citizens. This was followed in 1887 with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the massacre. It was on August 23 that thousands assembled

On August 20, 1902, occurred the fortieth anniversary of the Indian massacre at New Ulm. Governor Van Sant, Senator Moses E. Clapp, John Lind, Horace Austin, Alexander Ramsey, Colonel Sheehan, Congressman J. T. Cleary and Judge Collins were all in attendance and made addresses befitting the occasion. Over twenty thousand people were present - more than the city could well care for, but all seemed happy and went away well pleased. Fifteen Sioux Indians who had taken part in the massacre, directly and indirectly, were induced to attend and had a tent in which they gave a war dance, by which they netted five hundred dollars. Sham battles were fought, bringing back the scenes of August, 1862. This reunion lasted three full days.

The week beginning with Monday, August 19, 1912, marked the semi-centennial anniversary of the Sioux Indian massacre in the Minnesota valley. It was the biggest affair in most ways that ever took place in New Ulm or Brown county, Minnesota. Never before or since were there so many people in the city as upon that week. During the week days it was estimated that there were from twelve to fifteen thousand people present. Minnesota street in New Ulm was decorated from end to end. "The White Way," then a new improvement, was the center of attraction - its standards were all draped with flags and red, white and blue bunting. Every business house was also beautifully decorated in gay attire. The arc lights were shaded with a pretty red bell-shaped shade, each bearing the name of the companies that defended New Ulm fifty years before. Four large shields bore the names of commanders and officers and prominent men of various companies. These shields were attached at each corner one on every " White Way" standard. They bore these inscriptions: (First street) S. Coffin, C. A. Steiner, A. M. Bean, F. Diepolder - Nicollet County Guards; (Center street), W. H. Meyer, Charles E. Flandrau, William B. Dodd, Dr. Asa W. Daniels - St. Peter Frontier Guards; (First Street, North), Dr. William Mayo, S. A. Buell, William Delaughter, E. C. Saunders - LeSueur County Tigers; (Second Street, North), Dr. McMahon, John F. Meagher, Henry Ruegg, William Bierbauer - Mankato Company; (Third Street, North), Charles Roos, John Bellm, S. A. George, J. Hauenstein - Company A, First Battalion of Brown County Militia.

Six thousand people - men, women and children - came by the two systems of railway that enter the city. Excursion trains were run to accommodate the "Home-Comers." On Sunday (German Day) fifty-five cars on one line and thirteen on the other came in from the Twin Cities, some via Mankato. At least two thousand automobiles made the trip to New TJlm, from fifty to seventy miles. Three hundred motorcycles clogged the streets at one time.

The Program

ous ' 4 special' ' policemen appointed by Mayor Fritsche, besides precaution was taken against the i i crooks' ' who usually annoy such large gatherings. Several Pinkerton detectives were ordered and secured from the Twin Cities, a part of whom remained throughout the week, while others accompanying the train from St. Paul arrested and sent back to the city a number of known pickpockets, before they had opportunity to follow their profession in New Ulm. The program, in brief was :

Wednesday, August 21. - Grand military and historic parade in the forenoon, when all sorts of interesting industrial floats were in evidence. Governor Eberhart addressed the assemblage at the park down in the city.

Thursday, August 22. - A visit to Ft. Ridgely, accompanied by the Second Regiment band and a battalion of troopers from Ft. Snelling, which marched overland and all participated in the formal dedication of the State Park at old Ft. Ridgely; Burg's battery from New Ulm also took this trip.

Friday, August 23. - The " markers" or metal tablets, placed a few days before by the members of the Junior Pioneers Society, were dedicated.

Sunday, August 25. - The climax day of the anniversary week - it was i i German Day" for the German societies of Minnesota. Also the reunion of Methodists, whose church was burned by the Indians fifty years before. (33)

Details Of The Week

Many noted men were present, including the governor of Minnesota, the consuls of Germany and Austria-Hungary, from St. Paul. Governor Eberhart and Mayor Fritsche made addresses.

The civic, military and historic parade of Wednesday, with its many artistic creations in the shape of floats of rare design went up Minnesota street admired by thousands who filled every nook and corner on the sides of the street.

People came by rail from all directions. Redwood Falls, as well as many points in Nicollet and LeSueur counties, sent large delegations by automobiles ; also Springfield and Sleepy Eye were out in force with the modern vehicle of travel.

The Ft. Ridgely trip on Thursday was indeed a pleasing feature, and several thousand people left New Ulm at various hours of day and evening to be present at the dedication of the State Park at the site of the old fort. The Ft. Snelling battalion of regulars, the battery from New Ulm, the Second Regiment band and the hundreds of private party conveyances all made an imposing sight at that historic spot.

set by the Junior Pioneer Society, was an enjoyable feature of the week, replete with interesting events. Six of the eight tablets were formally dedicated on this occasion. They were as follows : The one out on Twentieth street, a quarter of a mile from the first steamboat landing at New Ulm, was visited first and there Jacob Hinderman, of Ft. Ridgely, spoke of the pioneer landing of the boat " Frank Steele/ 9 This is the "marker" attached to the huge granite boulder, near the brick yards. It is a stone about five feet high by two and one-half square, to which a metal plate is attached. It bears the following inscription: "On May 7, 1857, the steamer ' Frank Steele' landed with about sixty or seventy families of settlers from Cincinnati, at a place a quarter of a mile directly southeast of this point."

Luther C. Ives, of Tracy, dedicated the boulder at Fifth street, North, near the Loretta Hospital, where the following is inscribed: "Near this locality, while crossing the marsh, a scouting party on its return to town was ambushed by the Indians, August 19, 1862, and the following were killed: Almond Loomis, William Tuttle, DeWitt Lemon, George Lamb, William B. Carroll, Ole Olson, Tory Olson, Nels Olson, Thomas Rysan and Jan Thompson."

At Henle's creek, Julius Berndt spoke the dedicatory words in the township of Milford, where the metal plate bears this inscription : "While crossing a ravine a recruiting party of the Civil War was ambushed by the Sioux Indians, August 18, 1862, at the noon hour. The following were killed, or mortally wounded: John Schneider, Ernest Detrich, Julius Fenske and Adolph Steimle."

street is one reading: ' ' During the Indian massacre this building was the refuge for women and children. Powder with fuse was stored in the basement and it was intended to blow up the building should the Sioux gain possession of the town." At No. 117 Broadway the tablet set in the brick wall of the two-story residence reads: ' 6 This building was one of the outposts during the Indian massacre.' '

Friday evening thirty-four automobiles, beautifully decorated, bearing various emblems and inscriptions, all contested for cash prizes. Dr. G. F. Reineke had his car uniquely dressed and among other attracts he had a huge black crow, representing the Indian chief i i Little Crow" who was the wicked leader in that awful Sioux uprising in 1862.

Sunday, August 25

This day was set apart for the meeting of the consolidated German societies of Minnesota. The president was Julius Moersch, and they were bid a hearty welcome by Mayor L. A. Fritsche who assured them the grounds surrounding Hermann's monument, in Hermann Park, were theirs for the day. That day was one peculiar to the German nationality and it was estimated that fully twentyfive thousand people were in the city at that time. Speeches were made in German by a number of excellent speakers.

at their church and reviewed the history of that society in New Ulm during the last half century, for it was fifty years since their church - the first in the county - was destroyed by the Sioux Indians. They were addressed by a former pastor, Rev. G. E. Hiller, of Indianapolis, who with his parents came here in 1856 and were present at the date of the massacre.

Address By Dr. L. A. Fritsche

[This address was delivered by the mayor of New Ulm, Dr. L. A. Fritsche, on August 22, 1912, upon the jubilee or the semi-centennial anniversary of the Indian massacre of 1862.]

Half a century has passed since the stirring days of August, 1862 - days which have added pages to the history of our great state ; days that may well be compared with the savage warfare in the early history of our country. The onward march of civilization on this continent was beset with great danger, hardships and exposure, and demanded the greatest courage and tenacity on the part of the pioneers. It was a struggle for existence and a survival of the fittest.

The history of our city and vicinity is only a repetition of the early history of our country. The history of our pioneers is the same as the history of those who first set foot upon American soil. They all encountered the trials and

The Indians were loath to give up their hunting grounds to another and superior race. It was the lot of our pioneers to invade the country of one of the most warlike Indian nations on the continent, a nation that resented with vicious obstinacy the aggression of the whites. You paid dearly for this invasion, not in dollars and cents, but with your blood. You had to defend yourselves against an uncivilized enemy, one that was burning with vengeance and hatred against the intruding paleface, one that knew no mercy and did not differentiate between the guilty and innocent, one that did not spare woman or child, or the defenseless.

The uprising was without a warning, and you were totally unprepared to meet it. The vigorous youth had been drafted to uphold the Union in that great struggle between brothers and thereby weakened your defense, and materially weakened - a fact which prompted the wily Sioux to take advantage of your helpless condition.

I need not recall the dreadful conflict which followed after the terrible war-cry of the bloody Sioux burst upon the unsuspecting settlers. I need not recall the hopes and fears, which owed their birth to a time so full of cruelty, of barbarism and bloodshed. But I will say that the bravery and fortitude, manifested by you during those days, will never be forgotten, and the memory of your deeds will be cherished long after the last defender will have passed to his final reward.

also the junior pioneers to follow me in your minds eye to the time when our first settlers arrived. Here and there only an isolated trapper's cabin was found. The prairie was then covered with a growth of grass as tall as man. Wild flowers grew in profusion everywhere. Herds of buffalo roamed over the hill and plain, and fed on the juicy blue-joint. The monotonous stillness of the prairie was only broken by the howls of wolves and foxes. Waterfowls quacked and screamed on lake and swamp. The prairie chickens flocked together by the thousands. The wild pigeon roosted in such immense numbers in our woods that young saplings gave way and the branches of larger trees were broken by their weight. After dark they could be bagged by knocking them off their roosts with long sticks. Swarms of blackbirds reveled in the wild rice. The lakes and streams were teeming with fish. Verily, this was the land cf plenty, and the haughty Indian was king of all. Can we blame him for making an attempt to regain a lost paradise ?

One naturally asks, "What became of all this?" The answer is, it had to give way to the progress and culture of civilization. The Indians were forced to sacrifice everything that was near and dear to them ; even the crude tepee of bark he had to give up to his superior white brother, and seek new hunting grounds. The buffalo fell prey to the greedy paleface. The feathered tribes migrated to less frequented regions. Acre by acre the luxurious prairies were gradually transformed into fields, so that now hardly a trace of the bygone remains.

Who were they who transformed this wilderness during the course of a lifetime to one vast field and garden? The answer is, those gray heads, so ably aided by their faith- f ul wives, sons and daughters, in whose honor our beautiful city is wearing a gala-day attire, and the ones through whose endurance and untiring industry the endless prairies and woods were gradually turned with plow and axe into fertile fields and gardens.

The privations and exertions they had to endure and the dangers they were exposed to are well known. The want in the line of clothing and food was often great. The dwelling made of logs was of the most primitive kind. Everyone had to manufacture his own furniture. Chairs, tables, bedsteads were made of rough boards or hewn planks. I remember very well, as a small boy, having slept in the attic of our log house on such a bedstead, and I am certain that I slept better than on a mattress and feathers now.

If we compare the conditions of the past with those of the present, we must admit that the old pioneers have accomplished a herculean task, and performed wonders. It is no more than our duty to raise our hats and salute them with due respect.

They can look back with pride upon the achievements of their industry. They have lived to see the ferry displace the canoe, the pontoon bridge the ferry, and the modern steel bridges the pontoon bridges. They have lived to see the use of steam, electricity and gasoline displace the oxteam freight wagon and stage coach as a means of intercourse with the outside world. They have lived to see the self-binder displace the sickle and scythe, and that the threshing flail has become a rare relic. They have lived to a period in which the homelike humming of the spinning wheel and the accompanying song has ceased. They have lived to a period in which they can talk from home to home, and from country to city through the telephone, and the rural free delivery brings them daily the latest news from our country and the whole civilized world. They have lived to see more advances along other lines, but let this suffice.

It is very much to be regretted that many of the old defenders and pioneers are not permitted to participate in this jubilee. Many were slaughtered by the Indians, and many have died from diseases which had their origin in the privations and hardships of early times. Let us always keep their memories fresh, for they, too, have bravely done their part.

You are the last survivors of that noble band of those memorable days. You have been invited to our city to participate in the fiftieth anniversary of the siege of New Ulm. You are our honored guests. We have not forgotten that you left your hearth and home to come to rescue our city, to help repel the savage besieger, and thus to save the beautiful Minnesota valley from death and desolation. You have come together to once more press each other's hands with a grasp as true and manly as when you united then in firm allegiance to defend and protect your home and fireside.

I extend to you a hearty welcome, a welcome not as demonstrative as that given you by our citizens, when you helped raise the siege fifty years ago, but certainly not the less hearty. Our best wishes for your welfare are with you. I herewith surrender to you the keys of our city. May you do well in our midst as our noble and respected guests, may the bonds of friendship be renewed to last forever.

Col. William Pfaender'S Address

[At the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of New Ulm, held at the Turner's theatre in 1904, under the auspices of the Junior Pioneer Society, Colonel Pfaender delivered this address.]

"For some time I had intended to cause the opening, fifty years ago, of this region of country through the pioneers of the Chicago Land Association to be celebrated in a manner worthy of the important event. When I found that the Junior Pioneers were following up the matter in a praiseworthy manner, and I was requested by the committee to deliver a short address on this occasion, I consented the more willingly, as I felt that those pathfinders for their courageous endeavors deserved the warmest expression of gratitude, but in order to correctly judge the difficult enterprise it will be necessary to look to the conditions of this region at that period.

"The Territory of Minnesota had been established by Congress in the year 1849, and the largest part of it at that time was still occupied by the different Indian tribes, and not until 1851, through the treaty with the Sioux at Traverse des Sioux was the territory north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi river thrown open for settlement.

"Brown county after the first division into counties comprised all the land north of Blue Earth county along the Minnesota river up to Big Stone Lake and westerly to the Missouri river, but at that time contained no white settlers, and the tract of land upon which our prosperous neighboring city of Mankato now stands, was only in the year 1852 settled by two squatters.

6 4 Through the treaty with the Sioux Indians a reservation was established for them commencing on the line of the present township of Milford and extended ten miles wide along the Minnesota river to Big Stone lake, but the Indians still considered the whole ceded region as their hunting grounds, and after Ft. Ridgely had been built the only settler in it in 1854 was Joseph La Framboise, whose trading post was about four miles this side of the fort, in the bottom near Minnesota river. The contractors for the building of the fort had a temporary lime-kiln near the mouth of the Big Cottonwood into the Minnesota river, and the Canadian, La Chappie, ran a primitive ferry across the Minnesota river.

' 6 This was the condition of the country in this neighborhood when the Chicago Land Association in the summer of the year 1854 sent out a committee to find a place for the projected townsite, and who thought that they had found a suitable spot opposite the present city of LeSueur, but when the first installment of settlers arrived in the fall, it was found an impracticable one and they proceeded up to Traverse des Sioux to look for suitable places.

i ' Four of the number, Louis Meyer, Alois Palmer, Athanasias Henle and Franz Massopust, went toward Ft. Ridgely, and were directed to see Joseph La Framboise, who received them in a friendly manner and recommended to them a location a few miles below his home on the south bank of the Minnesota river, which joined the Indian reservation and appeared to be the suitable place for a townsite. Whereupon they returned to Traverse des Sioux, and induced the whole party to go with them to the place selected, as it was necessary to prepare for approaching winter. The site had been occupied as a small village by the Indians, and contained a few primitive log huts, which could possibly be fixed into winter quarters; and as all provisions had to be procured from distant places the pioneers were in hopes to get many articles of food from Ft. Ridgely, which was only eight miles distant, and although they were not allowed to purchase anything at the fort, they were able to receive the most necessary articles through trading with the soldiers, mostly for liquor, which could not be obtained from any other source, and in this way they went through the winter, which fortunately, was a very mild one, without actual suffering, but under very great hardships.

' ' Plans for the laying out of the town plat were made and a few streets were cleaned, as the adjacent country was timber land, and the settlers also began to select claims and prepare for opening farms, as the land back from the river bluffs proved to be prairie of very fertile soil. In the spring of 1855, after navigation on the Mississippi had been opened, a few steamboats with supplies for Ft. Ridgely and the Indian agencies passed up the Minnesota river, and also brought a number of the association with stores of provisions and merchandise, so that the survey of the town plat could be continued, but during the winter many doubts of the practicability of the site had been expressed, as the strip of land lying along the river bank seemed too low and the valley for the contemplated town too narrow; and during their hunting trips in the direction of the lime-kilns a number of men came to the conclusion that this spot was far superior to the f ormer site, and they began to agitate plans, which were finally approved by the association at Chicago, with the reservation that the erection of the water power

" About the middle of May several officers of the company with a competent surveyor arrived, and under their direction a branch of the society was established here, and on the 30th of May, 1855, the new town was formally declared established and named New Ulm.

"It cannot be the intention of this anniversary to dwell more particularly upon the further development, which must properly be reserved for later occasions, and we therefore return to the doings of our pioneers who had commenced the breaking up and cultivation of the prairie in order to produce the necessary crops for themselves and the newcomers, and these consisted of corn, potatoes, beans and vegetables, as our own experienced farmers had the impression that wheat could only be raised after the prairie had been cultivated for several years ; but even if this desirable and necessary grain had been raised it would not have been of much benefit, as all small grain had to be harvested with sickle and cradle and threshed with flail, as there was no grist-mill within sixty or seventy miles, and if there had been it would have taken at least four days with an ox-team to get flour or sell the grain for cash ; as I know from my own experience three or four years later it was only possible to realize forty cents per bushel for wheat in trade.

"With the means of communication now, it is hardly possible for our present generation to form correct ideas of the difficulties of beginning a new settlement fifty years ago. For if we considered that the nearest railroad station was at Galena, Illinois, and no telegraph, and the production of food in the territory was nearly sufficient to meet the wants, and most of the necessities of life came from Dubuque, Chicago or St. Louis, and that steamboats only arrived during four or five weeks of the spring, and meantime everything had to be hauled by ox-teams from St. Paul, and that even in the spring of 1856 there was but one horse in the settlement, which was owned by Joseph Dambach, then those who enjoy the advantages of civilization can hardly believe that there were people who braved all those hardships to secure for themselves and families a home where in the course of time they could live peaceably and independently. It is, therefore, but an act of justice that the names of the thirty-two persons who formed the first settlement of the Chicago Land Association should be reverently remembered by posterity. They were : Ludwig Meyer, Alois Palmer, Athanasius Henle, Franz Massopust, Anton Henle, Miss Elizabeth Finck (present widow of Athanasius Henle), David Haeberle, Leonard Haeberle, J ohn Keck, Martin Weidmann, Christ Voehringer, Martin Walser, Meinroth Wall, J. G. Mack, William Winklemann, William Thiel, John B. Zettel and wife, Fred Julius and wife and son Fred, Casmir Boermann and wife and mother, John Brandt, B. Drexler and wife, Joseph Dambach, L. Meyer, Jr., and Surveyor Schwartz.

" Twenty of them came originally from the village of Erbach, near the historic city of Ulm, in Wurtemberg, Germany. A number of these fell as the first victims of the Sioux Indian outbreak on the 18th of August, 1862, and only Alois Palmer, Mrs. Elizabeth Henle, Meinroth Wall and Peter Mack are able to participate in this festivity and enjoy the privileges of a community which, in spite of

"To do full justice to the subject and to mention all the most important data in the history of this first German settlement in Minnesota, it would take an address of hours ; but as we have assembled here to celebrate only the first beginnings of the history of New Ulm and to enjoy ourselves socially, I close this sketch, and would only express the hope that the pioneers of this region in remembrance of early associations will meet from time to time and organize an Old Settlers' Society, to perpetuate in mutual intercourse the friendly relations which bound them together and which they enjoyed in spite of all hardships.' '