Renville County, Minnesota - Chapter 43: Monuments and Markers, 1916

Rich as Renville county is in historic tradition, sanctified as her soil has been by the blood of martyrs, notable as her territory is as the scene of some of the most stirring events in Minnesota history, it is fitting that many hallowed spots, here and there, should be marked with permanent marble and granite, suitably inscribed as a memorial to the past and an inspiration to the future.

The Minnesota Valley Historical Society Markers. Charles D. Gilfillan was for many years interested in the history of the great Sioux Outbreak in the Upper Minnesota valley. As attorney for many of the settlers that lost property by the Indians he recovered for them from the United States annuity fund large sums. His commissions for this work amounted to some $160,000. He and Major Return I. Holcombe, the Minnesota Valley historian, were friends since young manhood, and Mr. Gilfillan furnished the historian with desk room in his office. In 1S9S the two men discussed the marking of historic sites in the Minnesota valley, and Mr. Gilfillan declared that he would gladly spend $10,000 to identify and permanently mark such spots. Mr. Gilfillan then established the Minnesota Valley Historical Association, appointed its officers, and under its name, with himself as president and Return I. Holcombe as historian and agent, started to put his plans in operation. The historian got the necessary bill through the legislature, selected the sites, let the contracts, prepared the necessary historical material, issued booklets, and the like. A number of monuments .mil markers were erected, including the splendid Friendly Indian monument. Mr. Gilfillan's death in December, 1902, stopped the further work he had been contemplating. At the time of his death he had started plans for a monument costing $3,000 or more, a huge granite pyramid, to mark the actual battle ground of Birch Cooley. r

Birch Cooley Tablets. Upon and about the battlefield of Birch Cooley "the Minnesota Valley Historical Society has placed several monuments or markers, which serve to identify important points of the battle ground. The site of this hallowed ground is about two and one-half miles - ist and north of the present village of

The proper name of this ravine is Birch Coulee or Birch Coulie, but it has been corrupted to Birch Cooley, the official name of the township, and that spelling is used throughout this work.

At the time of the battle the ground was virgin prairie. Half a mile down the coulee was the cabin and claim of Peter Pereau, a Frenchman, who had been killed and his family taken prisoners. A number of other settlers living farther down the stream had been killed and some of their houses burned. The land where the battle was fought belonged to the government and was subsequently entered and occupied by Win. Weiss, from whom it was purchased by the state, in 1896. When Mr. Weiss entered the land, in the sixties, the rifle pits dug by the beleaguered soldiers, the bones of the horses killed, and other evidences of the fight were plainly visible.

A marker indicating the position of Mankato's band during the battle, stands between the high sheltering banks or tlie Birch coulee. Another marker indicates the position during the battle of the Indians under Gray Bird, and also the point where they made their last stand before retreating. West of the former corral or encampment was the mound behind which Big Eagle's band fought. It has been plowed over so frequently that it has nearly disappeared.

The Faithful Indians* Monument. In December, 1S99. the Minnesota Valley Historical Society completed the erection of a monument in recognition and commemoration of the conduct and services of the Indians who were truly loyal and faithful to the whites during the great Sioux war of L862. It is believed that this is the only structure of the kind ever erected in the United States up to that time. This soci- < ty resolved to honor the memories and services of the truly loyal Indians by the erection of a monument in the country which was the scene of their good deeds and noble conduct. It was concluded to place this commemorative structure on the state's ground whereon the Birch Cooley monument, erected in 1S94, stands. The state legislature, in the session of 1899, by a special act (Chap. 2, Laws of 1899), gave tlif required permission and the structure was completed in December of that year. The contractors were Homier. Hosken & Co., of the Redwood Granite Works. Redwood Falls, and the contract itself was most intelligently and artistically, as well as most faithfully, executed. The structure is 52 feet in height and built wholly of granite from local quarries, the greater part coming from the granite quarries at Redwood Falls. An appropriate inscription tells its purpose. The surrounding ground has been furnished with substantial iron seats for the accommodation of visitors and the site is a most commanding one, giving a good view for miles up and down the Minnesota valley of tin' historic locality.

The society made three requirements for those whose names were to be cut in the granite die of the commemorative monument, making the list a roll of honor in all respects. 1. The subjects were to be full blooded Indians. 2. They were to have been truly loyal to the whites throughout the entire period of the outbreak, from its inception, on August IS. 1S62, until the close of that year. 3. They were to have actually, by personal effort and in a practical manner, saved the life of at least one white person.

After careful and thorough investigation the society decided that the names of but six Indians, four men and two women, were, at that time, entitled to the distinction of a position in the monument's inscription. The claims of scores of others were presented, but in the society's opinion thej did not meet the full requirements demanded. They either were not Indians of full blood, or they were not truly loyal throughout the war. or they did not directly save the life of a white person; indirect service could not be accepted. The names selected were these:

Am-pa-tu To-ki-clia (Other Day) known as John Other Day: Mah-za-koo-te-rnanne (Iron that Shoots Walking) known as Lit tie Paul: To-wan-e-ta-ton (Face of the Village), known as Lorenzo Lawrence: Anah-wang-manne (Walks Alongside), known as Simon; Mah-kah-ta He-i-ya-win i Traveling on the Ground), known as Mary Crooks, and Snahnah (Tinkling), later Mrs. Maggie Brass of Santee Agency, Neb. Snahnah's name was not, however, placed on the monument at that time. After her death her name was added to the others. The story of the services rendered the whites by these noble Indians is told in full in a pamphlet by Major Return I. Holcombe. entitled "Monuments and Tablets of the Minnesota Valley Historical Society."

The Redwood Ferry Monument. The ground where Captain John Marsh and his company were ambuscaded was at and about the ferry landing on the north side ei the Minnesota river, opposite the Lower Agency From the landing on the south side two roads had been graded up the steep high bluff to the Agency buildings, and from the north landing the road stretched diagonally across the wide river bottom to the huge corrugated bluffs, two miles or more away, at Faribault's Hill. The hill was no named for David Faribault. a mixed-blood Sioux, and a son of old John Batiste Faribault, and who lived at the base of the hill. He and his family were made prisoners by the Indians and held during the outbreak. At Faribault's Hill the road divided, one fork leading up the hill and over the prairie to the eastward and northeast, running along the crest of the bluff to Fort Ridgely. The other followed the base of the bluff down the river. There wire two or three houses betwei n the ferry landing and the bluff, and at the landing itself was a house. All about the landing on the north side the ground of the main ambush was open; it is now covered with willows and other small growths of the nature of underbrush. A few rods to the northward, however, is a cultivated field.

To commemorate and identify the scene of the ambush the Minnesota Valley Historical Society has erected a substantial granite monument at the site of the oldtime ferry landing, at the point, as nearly as could be determined, where Captain Marsh and his men were first fired upon. It is located on U. S. lot 3, section 5, south Birch Cooley. The site is now overgrown with small willow and other trees and the monument stands in a thicket. It is of sufficient proportions and so well set that it will endure for a century. The river frequently overflows its banks at this point, but the structure is so well placed on a secure foundation that it cannot be washed away. The inscription reads: "At and near this spot Capt. John Marsh and twenty-four men were ambushed and killed by Sioux Indians. Aug. IS, 1862. Also Peter Quinn, U. S. Interpreter.''

The Birch Cooley Monument. The legislature of 1S93 made an appropriation for a monument to commemorate the Battle of Birch Cooley. A commission was appointed, consisting of Charles D. Gilfillan, i >f Redwood county: Dr. J. W. Daniels, of Xorthfield, who was surgeon of the Birch Cooley expedition; William H. Grant, a cousin of Captain H. P. Grant, and who as a citizen soldier participated in the battle, and S. C. Arbuckle, who had been a member of Captain Grant's company. Later Dr. A. G. S.toddard, R. B. Henton and Jerry P. Patten. "all of Morton, were added to the commission.

The commission spent many days in dis cussing the site. Gradually for many reasons the sentiment of the members seemed to favor a site overlooking the village of Morton, the site being a part of the old

"The original intention of the commission was to place the monument on the site of the corral where the brave defense was made. But the owner of the site placed a price on his land which the commission believed to be too high. Captain H. P. Grant and S. C. Arbuckle, both of whom had taken part in the Battle of Birch Cooley, favored a site on a commanding crag overlooking Morton, over which the Indians were chased after the battle. This point, a part of the old failgrounds, is visible for miles around, and from its brow can be seen the bottoms and prairies where so many thrilling scenes of the Massacre were enacted. I consulted various survivors of the battle, and all seemed to favor the fair grounds site. State legal authorities declared that a monument under the act of the legislature need not be erected exactly on the corral but could be erected on any spot where any part of the battle was waged. The commission, therefore, proceeded to erect the monument, the site being presented by the Fair Grounds Association and the village of Morton agreeing to give the tract perpetual care."

When the commission met to decide upon the final location of the monument. Dr. Daniels and W. H. Grant voted that it should stand on the battle ground: the other five commissioners voted that it be placed on the fair grounds. Upon directing that the name Capt. H. P. Grant be placed on the die as the commander, only Dr. J. W. Daniels, the surgeon of the expedition, voted no. He said he had been directed by Colonel Sibley to report to Major Brown and receive his orders; that lie did so trom first to last, without any intimation from any one that Captain Grant was the commander.

"Gentlemen," said he to the other members, "you are falsifying history and doing a cruel injustice to a brave and good man, Major Brown, i dressed the severe wound he received during the battle: I rode with him on the march, and I slept in his tent, and from these circumstances, and Colonel Sibley's express and personal directions. 1 know that Major Brown was the commander of all of us. I cannot serve any longer with you." Whereupon he with drew from the conference and never thereafter met with the commissioners or had anything to do with the monument affair.

Even before the dedication of the Birch Cooley monument there was some dissatisfaction among survivors of the battle and other citizens over the selection of its site. They opposed placing the structure anywhere else but on the field of the battle which it was to memorialize. It was declared that a site two miles distant from where the fight actually occurred was unsuited to preserve the actual scene of that fight.

When it became known that the name of Capt. Hiram P. Grant was to be placed on the monument as commander of the white forces in the battle, indignant protests were made against the dedication of the monumental shaft until the alleged error should be corrected. It was asserted that all the authoritative records proved that Maj. Joseph R. Brown was the real commander of the whites; that he was appointed by General (then Colonel) Sibley to command the expedition; that he made a report as such commander; that Capt. Joseph Anderson, the captain of one of the two companies composing the white forces, reported to Major Brown; that these reports were printed, along with other official matter, and the fact well established that Major Brown was the commander-in-chief of the Birch Cooley expedition and Captain Grant was a subordinate commander under him. Several years ago Captain Grant, in a printed story of the battle, acknowledged that when he presented his official report after the battle, he was told by Colonel Sibley to present the report to the commander. Major Brown, and that in his indignation he tore his report up rather than present it to Major Brown.

The people of Morton were much pleased that they were to have the monument as a sort of decoration or embellishment of their fair grounds. On the day of its dedication, September 3, 1S94, they gave the visitors an excellent dinner and a cordial welcome to their village, expressing their appreciation of the favor done them by the state in placing the memorial structure in their midst. The village council formally agreed to an ordinance (or resolution) pledging the corporation to maintain it in proper condition so long as it remained in the village. A site of about one acre had been deeded to the state.

The services at the dedication were stormy and unpleasant. Such eminent public speakers as ex-Governor William G. Marshall, ('apt. Joseph Anderson (who commanded one of the companies in the battle), and Hon. Charles E. Flandrau denounced the placing of the monument on the fair grounds instead of on the battle ground and condemned the placing of Captain Grant's name as the commander as a gross injustice and a falsification of history. Captain Grant mildly defended the action of the commission in both instances, saying, among other things, "So help me God. I was the commander, for Joe Brown did not give me any orders."

Unfortunately the monument itself was faulty. In placing the stones composing the die a botch job was done. These stones bore the names of those officers, soldiers and citizen-soldiers that took part in the battle, killed, wounded and survivors. These names were in columns running from top to bottom. One stone with its list of survivors was placed over part of a column of the list of the killed. The result was that some of the attendants - Judge James G. Egan, of St. Paul, among them - found themselves listed among the killed! The monument was afterward taken down and put together again and the rror corrected. The expense of making the correction was $300 and was borne by Hon. ('. D. Gilfillan, chairman of the commission. Then the names Of two citizens, Carlton Dickinson and S. R. Henderson, who were killed, were left off the inscription, as were the names of two soldiers that were in the fight. The incident was mortifying and displeasing.

Those who opposed the monument site and the retention of the name of Captain Grant on the monument as the commander continued their protest. Major Brown had died in 1870. and, representing his family and certain ex-soldiers, R. I. Holcombe, of St. Paul, was given charge of a bill pre> sented in the legislature of 1S95 to remove the monument from the fair grounds to the battlefield, and to change the inscription so that it would show the name of Major Brown as in general command ot the white forces in the battle, with Captains Grant and Anderson as his subordinates.

The bill was thoroughly investigated by a committee of five former Minnesota soldiers from each house. One of these. Senator litis, of Carver county, had been a member of the Sixth Minnesota (Grant's former regiment), and was present in the battle of Birch Coolie. The committee held meetings and received and considered much testimony. Finally they reported unanimously in favor of the bill, and it was passed without dissent in the senate and with only two votes against it in the house. The Grant partisans, with Gen. John B. Sanborn as their attorney, appeared before Governor Clough and asked him to veto the bill, but the governor said: "The monument should stand on the battlefield, where the blood ran and the men were killed, even if it is a mudhole. As tor the commander, the committee went thoroughly into that, and I believe their conclusion is correct."

The law is Chapter 376 of the General Laws for 1895 (beginning on page 776), and. briefly stated, prescribes that the monument shall be removed "to a portion of the corral or actual battle ground whereon was fought the battle of Birch Coulie." (The act of 1S93, appropriating $2,500 for the erection of the monument, provided that the structure should stand "on the land on which was fought the battle of Birch Coulie.") The removal act of 1895 also provides that the inscriptions on the monument be changed "so as to conform to and with the truths of history * * * and in particular said inscriptions shall show the established facts that Major Joseph R. Brown, of the state militia, was in general command of the state's forces."

The removal was placed in charge of Adjutant General (then General) Hermann Muehlberg, who appointed R. I. Holcombe. who had charge of getting the last law passed, as his agent for the work. The agent decided that six acres should be purchased by the state as a new site for the monument and for a park surrounding. He selected the tract, had it surveyed, and negotiated with the owner, a Mr. Weiss. The owner wanted $100 an acre for the land, which the agent deemed an exorbitant price and under the law brought conjemnatory proceedings. The jury of award allowed Mr. Weiss $S0 per acre and -lie appealed to the district court. Judge Webber heard the case at Redwood Falls and rendered judgment sustaining the award. Thereupon the state secured title to the six acres.

The monument was never moved nor the inscriptions changed. The year following the passage of the law (1896) was presidential and gubernatorial election year. It was declared that political motives had something to do with the governor's delay in the matter. So nothing was done about the matter for two years, the appropriation of $1,200 lapsed, and the money was turned back into the state treasury.

Since the erection of the monument various suggestions have offered as to the possibility of making the inscription legible. Owing to the nature of the stone, the quality of its finish, and the method of cutting, the inscription can be read only after long and careful scrutiny, and probably not a single person since the day of the dedication has taken the trouble necessary to read the names of those men whose deeds the monument perpetuates. Probably in time some method will be discovered by which the inscriptions will be made easier reading to the casual observer, and by that time the correction regarding the commanding officer will doubtless be made.

The Henderson Monument is located on the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 14. Beaver. It is a granite shaft on a base of similar material. This is erected in memory of Mrs. R. H. Henderson, her two daughters. Jehiel Wedge and Eugene White, who were killed during the Indian Massacre. It marks the spot where the bodies of these people were buried. Some time after the Massacre. Fred Thies accidently shot himself in the Minnesota bottoms. He was buried at the same spot and his name likewise appears on the monument.

The Earl Monument is located on the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 12, Beaver. It is erected in honor of Radner Earl, a boy. who gave up Lis life defending his father, and marks the place where he is buried. Soon after the Massacre the father and other mem- bers of the family erected on the spot a monument on which was a lamb, looking in the direction in which the enemy came on that fatal morning in August. After the father died, this monument was moved and placed near the father's burial place iu Iowa. The spot then remained unmarked until the present monument was erected. It is worthy of note that the soil above the devoted boy has never been disturbed since the day the body was buried. Though it is in a cultivated field, the plowmen had left it untouched, until with the years the drifting dust and annual vegetation has caused a mound to form, on the top of which the monument is located.

The Schwandt Monument was erected August IS. 1915. near the spot where the Schwandt family were murdered in 1862. The story of the wiping out of this family is told elsewhere by the surviving daughter. The monument bears the following inscription: "Erected by the State of Minra. 1915, in .Memory of the Martyrs ot Civilization, Johan and Christina Schwandt and their children, Frederick and Christina; John AValz. Karolina Schwandt Walz, john Fra^s: .Murdered by Sioux Indians. Aug. IS, 1862."

The monument was dedicated August 18, 1915, in the presence of many of the state's most distinguished men. Dr. Warren Upham, archaeologist of the Minnesota State Historical Society, said:

"In the dedication of this monument tell ing of the awful tragedy of race hatred and massacre which befell a German family of pioneers here fifty-three years ago, let us not forget the bright flower of a life long friendship which blossomed above their graves, gladdening the life of a rescued survivor of that family and the life of the kind Dakota woman, Snahnah, her rescuer.

"The Historical Society of this state, in its published volumes, preserves to all coming time the narrations of Mary Emilia unit Schmidt and Snahnah. children of parents and of races who met in mortal conflict, the one a captive German girl and the other a bereaved Dakota mother. They loved each other with affection that may be likened to that of David and Jonathan three thousand years ago.

"Can we learn something from this - does it even shed forth a ray of hope that when the present direful world war shall i" - aded with treaties of peace, it ma the beginning of trust and helpfulness, of mutual respect and friendship, between the now warring nations?

The original move toward erecting the Henderson and Earl monuments was made by the Old Settlers' Association, who appointed William Wichnian a committee of io take the matter in charge. With the assistance of John A. Dalzell. a bill was put through the legislature in 1907, appropriating $200 for the total expense, and placing the matter in charge of the county commissioners. The county commissioners delegated the task to Mr. Wichnian. He served entirely without recompense, and achieved results which could scarcely have been expected had more than twice the amount appropriated been expended. Mr. Wichman was also the prime mover in the erection of the Schwandt monument. It has been said by prominent officials that never has the state received more for its money than in the case of these three monuments.

The Fort Ridgely Monuments. The large Fort Ridgely monument is described elsewhere in this work. On the brow of the -hill near the Fort Ridgely cemetery are the Marsh. Muller and Loyal Chippewa monuments, while in the cemetery near by are many gravestones marking the last resting place of many an heroic character.

The Captain Marsh Monument at Fort Ridgely reads as follows: "In Memory of ('apt. John Marsh. First Sergeant Russell H. Findley. Serg't Joseph S. Besse; Pri- \ates Charles R. Bell. Edwin F. Cole, Charles E. French. John Gardner, Jacob A. Gehring, John Holmes, Christian Joerger, Durs Kanzig, James H. Kerr, Wrenzel Kusda, Henry McAllister. Wenzel Norton, Moses P. Parks. John W. Parks. John Parsley. Harrison Phillips, Nathaniel Pitcher, Henry A. Shepherd. Nathan Stewart, Charles W. Smith of Co. B. died Aug. 18, 1S62. Private Mark M. Greer. Co. C. died Aug. 22, IS*;:'. Fifth Regiment Minnesota \ olunteer Infantry. Peter Quinn, U. S. li terpreler. Killed at Redwood Ferry, Aug. IS, 1862." The face of the monument bears the words: "Erected by the State of Minnesota. 1S7M."

The men are buried in two trenches. From north to south on the west side the bodies are those of Nathan Stewart, Jacob A. Gehring, Charles E. French. Charles R. Bell. First Sergeant R. H. Findley, Capt. John S. Marsh. Sergeant S. A. Trescott, Corporal J. S. Besse. Edwin F. Cole, John Gardner and Interpreter Peter Quinn. From north to south on the east side the bodies are those of Nathaniel Pitcher, Harrison Phillips. John Parsley. John W. Parks. Moses P. Parks. Wenzel Norton. James H. Kerr, Durs Kanzig. Christian Joerger. John Holmes and Charles W. Smith. The bodies of Wenzel Kusda. Henry McAllister and Henry a. Shepherd were never found but their names are on the monument, as is that of Mark M. Greer, of Co. C, killed at the battle of Fort Ridgely.

The Muller Monument. Not far from the Marsh monument at Fort Ridgely ia the monument of Mrs. Eliza Muller, whose last request be that she be buried at Fort Ridgely. The inscription reads: "The State of Minnesota to the Memory of Mrs. Eliza Muller. 1S77. Her valor and her de- votion to the care of the sick and wounded soldiers and refugees during and after the Sioux Indian Outbreak of 1862 will forever be cherished in the hearts of a grateful people. - Mrs. Eliza Muller, wife of Dr. Alfred Muller, born in Berne, Switzerland, April 21, 1831, died Sept. 26, 1876. - Thy Mission on Earth was Unbounded Charity, Thy Reward is Eternal Peace."

The Chippewa Monument at Fort Ridgely bears this inscription: "Erected by the State of Minnesota in Recognition of, and to Commemorate the Loyal and Efficient Services Rendered to the State by Chief Mou-Zoo-Mau-Nee, and the Chippewa Indians During the Sioux Outbreak and the Civil War."

The following partial list of those killed in Renville county during the Massacre is from the pen of Marion P. Satterlee, who lias done much to preserve the facts concerning the Indian outbreak. To Mr. Satterlee's list have also been added a number of other names by the editor of this history. This list does not include the casualties at the battle of Bird Cooley and the ambuscade at Redwood Perry.

John Boelter. John was massacred at Middle Creek. The wife fled to the woods with two infant daughters; the youngest died of starvation and exposure. Another child was carried to safety by Michael Boelter, a brother-in-law.

Mrs. Michael Boelter and children were killed at Middle Creek. The face of the oldest was shot away, one was shot and thrown into a pit. The youngest was beaten to death by pounding it over something. It is also stated that the parents of Michael, or his wife, were killed, but the accounts are incoherent.

John Buehro. Killed not far from Fort Ridgely. His story is told elsewhere in this work. He had found safety in the fort, but was sent by his wife back to their cabin to get her green silk dress and household goods.

Gottlieb Busse and family were killed at Middle Creek. Gottlieb was shot with baby Bertha in his arms: Wilhelmina, the mother, and two-year-old Caroline were killed the same way; Augusta, five, was shot down alone. Minnie, August and Amelia were taken prisoners and rescued at Camp Release. Minnie is author of "Captured by the Indians." August, it is claimed, was so angered when the Indian who killed his parents was not hung with the others at Mankato, that he afterward made a business of hunting Indians and was probably killed at the Custer massacre. The name is sometimes spelled Buce and frequently in other ways.

Charles Blair, captured with the Brown family, escaped to Port Ridgely, but being in poor health died from the effect of the exposure soon afterward.

Charles Clausen and Frederick, his son, were killed near Birch Cooley. Mrs. Frederick and her two infant daughters were captured and were rescued at Camp Release.

- Cruer and wife were killed at Beaver Creek G. Cruer, aged eleven, and John Cruer, aged nine, boys, escaped to Fort Ridgely. - Fort Ridgely records.

Peter Eindenfeldt (or Inefeldt) was killed near Birch Cooley. He was stabbed with a butcher knife, which was left in his breast. His wife, nee Zitlaff, and child were rescued at Camp Release.

Mrs. Marie Frorip, a widow, with her son John and daughter Louisa, and her brother, Andrew Bahlke, lived on the hill in the southeast quarter of section 25, Beaver. The Indians came along and killed the dog. Andrew Bahlke came into the yard and scolded the Indians, whereupon they shot and killed him instantly. Mrs. Frolip started to run. She was shot in the back, her flesh being filled with buckshot. In time she made her way to Fort Ridgely. John and Mary were captured.

Max Haack (also spelled Heck and Hack), killed near Camp township. His widow afterward kept the hotel at Three Mile Creek, in Camp township.

S. R. Henderson, wife and two infant daughters. Mrs. Henderson was burned alive with the two and a half year old child, and the nine months old baby was hacked

Dr. Philander D. Humphrey, physician at the agency; wife, Susan Ames Humphrey, and two children, killed at a cabin in Birch Cooley while fleeing to the fort. A son, John Ames Humphrey, a boy of twelve, escaped.

Ernest Houf, also wife and two little girls. Overtaken by Indians and wife killed in wagon; husband while trying to run with the children was shot and the children kicked to death, at Beaver Creek. Flora church records say that there were two more children killed in this family.

and Horning, sons of August, one and three years old. burned In the Krieger home at Beaver Creek. Were left for dead but were only stunned; were with the Paul Kitzmann party attacked on the nineteenth.

W. Inerfeld (may be Inefeldt or Eindenfeldt). no particulars known. Name given in Flora Evangelican Association church as having been killed during the Massacre.

J. H. Ingalls and wife, killed near the Blown house in Sacred Heart. Four children were captured. Two of them, girls, twelve and fourteen years, found at Camp Release. Two little boys were taken by Little Crow and their fate is still shrouded in mystery.

Paul Kitzmann. wife, daughter Wilhelniina and son Gustave. All except the baby boy killed near Middle Creek, while endeavoring to escape. Gustave was slaughtered while in captivity, as he cried and annoyed the Indians. A son. Ludwig, nowknown as Louis, was a prisoner at Camp Release.

Frederick Krieger and infant, near Middle Creek. Of eight children six escaped, and one. Henrietta, was prisoner at Camp Release. The story of the wife Justina, is one of suffering and miraculous escape hardly equaled in history.

John Kockendorfer. wife and daughter Sarah killed at Beaver Creek. John Kockendorfer, a boy aged eleven ; Rose Kockendorfer. a girl aged nine; Katie Kockendor- It r. a girl aged seven, and Maggie Kockendorfer. aged five, escaped to Fort Ridgely.

John Lateau (called Latto and Sateau) was killed at Beaver Creek. Wife and four children escaped. Flora church records say one child was also killed.

Gottlieb Manweiler was killed at Middle Creek. His wife, nee Lenz, escaped with her parents to Fort Ridgely. He was superintendent of the Sunday school.

Mrs. - - Nichols and son of Flora township killed. A daughter, Henrietta, captured and rescued at Camp Release and rejoined her father at St. Peter.

- Peco killed. One daughter taken by Indians. Wife and several children escaped to Fort Ridgely. The wife, E. Peco, is recorded as having been born at La Croix Creek in 1840. This was five years before La Croix settled there.' She was probably a half-blood.

Ole Sampson and two children were killed between Beaver Creek and Fort Ridgely. Sampson was shot, two children were burned to death in the wagon, from which Mrs. Sampson, with the baby in arms, leaped and escaped.

Johan Schwandt. wife Christina, son Frederick, aged six. daughter Christina, four years old. daughter Karolina Schwandt Walz, son-in-law John Walz. and John Frass. Son August escaped; daughter Mary was taken captive with the Patoille party. At Btaver Creek.

Thomas Smith was killed near Birch Cooley, Aug. IS, 1862. Mistook a party of Indians for white men and approaching them was shot down. His wife and young children escaped to Fort Ridgely.

August Schwandt, when he became exhausted and left her at a. house, promising to bring help. She was afterward taken by the Indians and was a prisoner at Camp Release. She died a day or two after reaching Fort Ridgely. Flora church records say the spelling of the name is Schmidt and that Schmidt, his wife and two children were killed.

Frederick Schmidt killed after a desperate fight with the Indians near Fort Ridgely. Had left the fort with John Buehro to get Buehro's household goods.

William Taylor, colored citizen of St. Paul; dead body found by burial party, September 1, between Fort Ridgely and the ferry. He is mentioned in Grant's report, page 14S, Indian outbreak, by Daniel Buck.

John Walz, wife Karolina, nee Schwandt. at Middle Creek, were killed August 18, 1862. This murder was must horrid, an unborn child being taken from the mother and was nailed to a tree while yet alive.

John Zimmerman and his sons, John and Gottfried, were killed at Beaver Creek. His wife, Mary, blind, escaped with three children, the oldest seventeen and the youngest three.

At Birch Cooley. The following list of those killed, mortally wounded and severely wounded has been compiled by Major Return I. Holcombe, the Minnesota valley historian. In furnishing this list, the Major says: "According to this list there were twenty men killed and .mortally wounded. There were also thirty-two men severely wounded, scratches not counted. Ninety-four out of the ninety-five horses were killed. All available authorities have of the time. Heard's History (page 135) says. 'There were some twenty men killed or mortally wounded, and some sixty severely wounded, and over ninety horses killed.' Other accounts say twenty-two, and still others say twenty-three men were killed, and the number of wounded is given as from forty to sixty and sixty-five. Captain Grant say that twenty-two men were killed and sixty wounded, but his testimony concerning the battle is not reliable. die actual names are more convincing than any amount of figures would be."

Killed and mortally wounded: Co. A, Sixth Minnesota - Sergeants John Callege and William Irvine (mortally wounded), Corporal William M. Cobb, Privates George Calter, Cornelius F. Coyle (m. w.), Chauneey L. King, Henry Rouleau. William Russell. Henry Whetsler. Co. G, Sixth Minnesota - Sergeant Benjamin S. Tenny and Corporal Ferdinand C. W. Benneken. Co. A, Ninth Minnesota - Private Joseph Klein (m. w.). Captain Anderson's company, "Cullen Guards" - Sergeant Robert Baxter. Privates Jacob Truman, Pierre Bourier and Richard Gibbons (m. \v.). Unarmed citizens - S. R Henderson, J. C. Dickinson, J. W. De Camp (m. w.) and David Hoibrook, a teamster from Belle Plaine.

Severely wounded: Major Joseph R. Brown, commanding expedition, wounded in neck and shoulder. Co. A. Sixth Minnesota - Privates Samuel G. Arbickle, Ernest S. Blase, Enoch Brown, Seth Fielding, P. G. Graney, Alvin Hayford, DeWitt C. House, W. A. Newcomb, Morris Neeley, John Quinn. Francis C. Shanley, Charlea W. Smith and Sanders J. Weiting. Co. B, Sixth Minnesota - Andrew J. Thompson. Co. D, Sixth Minnesota - Christopher Swagert. Co. E. Sixth Minnesota - Louis Klinkhammer and Richard Miller. Co. F, Sixtli Minnesota - Robert K. Boyd. Co. I, Sixth Minnesota - St. John T. Bean. Co. A, Ninth Minnesota - Louis McDonald. Cullen Guards (Minnesota Militia) - Capt. Joseph Anderson, wounded in leg. Privates A. H. Bunker. Peter Burkman, James Cunningham, Henry Fandle, George Dagenais (half breed) and John Martin. Farrier, Thomas Barton. Volunteers, Maj. Thomas J. Galbraith, Sioux Indian agent for Minnesota; Captain Etedfield and Daniel Blair, a citizen. Major Galbraith received two wounds.

Much has been written concerning the Sioux outbreak. In this "History of Renville County" it has been the aim of the editors to print the general story of the \l ai le, a few typical experiences of Renville county people who went through those stirring times, the names, so far as possible, of the victims, and a recapitulation of the efforts that have been made to preserve the story of those days. The thoughtful reader is referred to the following books for further information concerning the Massacre: The Collections of the 'Minnesota Historical Society; History of the Minnesota Valley, Warner & Foote; Sioux Indian Massacre of lS«2-tJ3, I. V. D. Heard; The Dakotah War Whoop, Harriet E. Bishop-McConkey; Indian Outbreaks, Judge Daniel Buck: Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars. State Publication; History of Kandiyohi bounty. Lawson & Tew; History of Wright County. Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge; History of Stearns County, William B. Mitchell; The Indians' Revenge, Rev. Alexander Berghold; Indian Massacre in Meeker County, A. C. Smith; Recollec tions of the Sioux Indian War, Oscar G. Wall; Monuments and Tablets of the Minnesota Valley Historical Society; Memoirs of Gen. H. H. Sibley, Nathaniel West; Sheteh Pioneers and Indians, H. J. Hibschman; Sketches of History of Huntchinson, W. W. Pendergast; My Capture and Escape, Helen Marr Tarbell; History of the Indian War, C. S. Bryant; and various histories of Minnesota.