CONCLUSION.
In writing this narrative my mind has been refreshed and incidents and
the names of persons almost forgotten come to me--they press on my memory.
I am able to recall many, but to specify them would unduly lengthen
this book. There was one important character, however, whom I had quite
forgotten at the proper time, and in this concluding chapter must make
mention of him.
Pierre Bottineau came originally from the Selkirk settlement, and in
1837 made a claim near St. Anthony Falls.
I was with him upon the plains of Dakota in 1857, and in his way he was a
remarkable man. On one occasion the party got lost in a furious storm and
we knew that war parties of Chippewas were roaming over the prairie and
it was not any way too healthy to be in the region we supposed we were
wandering in. We halted to hold a council and Pierre said: "As soon as
the stars come out I can locate." So we waited and waited for the storm
to pass over. The night was pitchy dark, but in time the stars came, when
Pierre laid flat down on the ground, face up, and for perhaps half an
hour surveyed the heavens and located our wandering feet. We were soon on
the right trail for our camp, which was forty or fifty miles away.
Pierre was one of General Sibley's principal scouts during the several
campaigns against the Indians in 1862 and 1863. He died some years
ago, and speaking of his death reminds me of others prominent in these
military operations who have gone beyond the river.
The two generals, Sibley and Sully, are gone, and of the field and staff,
I can recall Colonel John T. Averill, of the Sixth Minnesota, who was,
after the war, member of Congress. Adjutant Snow and Quartermasters
Carver and Gilbert, Colonels Stephen Miller and Wm. R. Marshall, both
honored by Minnesota by electing them to chief executive--they, with
Lieut. Colonel Bradley and all of the Seventh; Colonel Robert N. McLaren,
of the Second Cavalry, and Major Hatch, of the battalion bearing his
name, and Captain John Jones, of the famous battery. These are among some
of the chiefs who have been called.
Among the line of officers and the rank and file, it would be a mighty
host, and it saddens my heart when I think of them, so I will desist
and conclude by reminding you of the invitation extended and briefly
recapitulate our journeyings.
* * * * *
READER: The invitation extended to you to accompany us on a military
expedition into the Indian country has been accepted. It was under
exciting circumstances, when the whole country was surcharged with alarm,
and for good cause.
The Indians, cruel, relentless, revengeful, and with determination, were
murdering innocent men, women and children, and but for the friendly
offices of a faithful few, whose hearts were whiter than their skins, the
death list and list of horrors would have been far greater; and it is for
these few we speak when we say there are good Indians other than dead
ones; and Minnesota could not do a more appropriate thing to-day than
erect a monument to the memory of Old Betz, Other Day, Chaska and others,
who risked their lives to save their white friends from the tomahawk
of their more vengeful brethren, and who did so much to alleviate the
sufferings and to relieve the anxiety of the captive prisoners.
You went with us to besieged New Ulm and Fort Ridgely; helped bury
the dead at Redwood; marched with us and went into camp and endured
the thirty-six hours of anxiety and suffering at Birch Coolie; helped
bury the dead and care for the wounded there; returned with us to Fort
Ridgely; took part in the battle at Wood Lake, where the Indians were
defeated; shared our joys when we liberated the women at Camp Release;
helped arrest, shackle and guard the Indians; witnessed the execution of
thirty-eight at Mankato; marched across with the "Moscow Expedition";
rendezvoused with us at Camp Pope in 1863; marched and fought Indians
with us at Big Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake, Stony Lake and the Missouri
River. You mingled your tears with ours over Beaver's and Miller's
graves, as we left them in their loneliness on the bank of the river;
participated in and rejoiced with us all the way on our return, took part
in the campaign of 1864, and now, before bidding you adieu, one question:
Are you satisfied?
THE END.
* * * * *
Transcriber Note
Illustrations moved so as to not split paragraphs. Quotation usage in
quoted letters was standardized.