been terrorizing the State of Missouri and surrounding states with
impunity, entered this state, and attacked a bank in the town of
Northfield, in Rice county, with the intent of looting it. The cashier,
Mr. Haywood, resisted, and they shot him dead. The people of the town,
hearing of the raid, turned out, and opened fire on the robbers, who
fled, with the loss of one killed. In their flight they killed a Swede
before they got out of the town. The people of the counties through
which their flight led them, turned out, and before any of them passed
the border of the state, two more of them were killed and three
captured. Two escaped. The captured were three brothers named Younger,
and those who escaped were supposed to be the notorious James Brothers
of Missouri. The three Younger Brothers pleaded guilty to a charge of
murder, and on account of a peculiarity in the law, that only allowed
the death sentence to be imposed by a jury, they were all sentenced to
imprisonment for life. One of them has since died, and the other two
remain in prison.
The manner in which this raid was handled by our citizens was of immense
value to the state, as it proved a warning to all such desperadoes that
Minnesota was a bad field for their operations, and we have had no more
trouble from that class of offenders.
In 1877 the constitution was amended by providing for biennial, instead
of annual, sessions of the legislature.
On May 2, 1878, a very singular and disastrous event took place at
Minneapolis. Three large flouring mills were blown up by a dust
explosion, and eighteen men killed. It was inexplicable for a time, but
it was afterwards discovered that such explosions had occurred before,
and prompt measures were taken to prevent a repetition of the trouble.
On the 15th day of November, 1880, a portion of the large insane asylum
at St. Peter was destroyed by fire, and eighteen of the inmates were
burned, others dying of injuries received. The pecuniary loss amounted
to $150,000.
On the first day of March, 1881, the old capitol burned, while the
legislature was in session. That body moved their sittings to the St.
Paul market house, which had just been finished, where they remained
until the present capitol building was erected upon the site of the one
destroyed.
On the twenty-fifth day of January, 1884, the state prison at Stillwater
was partially burned.
On the fourteenth day of September, 1886, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids were
struck by a cyclone. Scores of buildings were destroyed, and about
seventy of the inhabitants killed.
In the year 1889 the Australian system of voting at elections was
introduced in cities of ten thousand inhabitants and over, and in 1892
the system was made general throughout the state.
On the seventh day of April, 1893, the legislature passed an act for the
building of a new state capitol in the city of St. Paul, and appointed
commissioners to carry out the object. They selected an eligible and
conspicuous site between University avenue, Cedar and Wabasha streets,
near the head of Wabasha. They adopted for the materials which were to
enter into it--granite for the lower and Georgia white marble for the
upper stories. The whole cost was not to exceed $2,000,000. The corner
stone of the building was laid on the twenty-seventh day of July, 1898,
with appropriate and very imposing ceremonies, in the presence of an
immense throng of citizens from all parts of the state. Senator Davis
delivered the oration, and ex-Gov. Alexander Ramsey laid the corner
stone. The building has reached the base of the dome, and will be a very
beautiful and serviceable structure.
On Sept. 1, 1894, there was a most extensive and disastrous fire in Pine
county. Four hundred square miles of territory were burned over by a
forest fire, the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone were totally destroyed,
and four hundred people burned. The money loss was estimated at
$1,000,000. This disaster was exactly what was needed to awaken the
people of the state to the necessity of providing means for the
prevention of forest and prairie fires and the preservation of our
forests. Shortly after the Hinckley fire a state convention was held at
the Commercial Club in St. Paul, to devise legislation to accomplish
this desirable end, which resulted in the passage of an act, at the
session of the legislature in 1895, entitled, "An act for the
preservation of forests of this state, and for the prevention and
suppression of forest and prairie fires." Under this act the state
auditor was made the forest commissioner of the state, with authority to
appoint a chief fire warden. The supervisors of towns, mayors of cities
and presidents of village councils are made fire wardens of their
respective local jurisdictions, and the machinery for the prevention of
fires is put in motion that is of immense value to the state. The forest
commissioner appointed Gen. C. C. Andrews chief fire warden, one of the
best equipped men in the state for the position, and no serious trouble
has since occurred in the way of fires.
On the ninth day of February, 1887, the Minnesota Historical Society
passed a resolution, declaring that the pretenses made by Capt. Willard
Glazier to having been the discoverer of the source of the Mississippi
river were false, and very little has been heard from him since.
On the tenth day of October, 1887, President Cleveland visited the
state, and made a short stay.
This enumeration of passing events looks a little like a catalogue of
disasters (except the building of the new capitol and the visits of
Presidents Hayes and Cleveland), but it must be remembered that
Minnesota is such an empire in itself, that such happenings scarcely
produce a ripple on the surface of its steady and continuous progress.
It is because these events can be particularized and described that they
assume proportions beyond their real importance, but when compared with
the colossal advances made by the state during the period covering them,
they dwindle into mere points of educational experience, to be guarded
against in the future, while the many blessings showered upon the
state, consisting of the health and wealth imparting sunshine, the
refreshing and fructifying rains and dews of heaven, which, like the
smiles of providence and the life-sustaining air that surrounds us, are
too intangible and indefinable for more than thankful recognition. Our
tribulations were really blessings in disguise. The bold invasion of the
robbers proved our courage; the storms and fires proved our generosity
to the distressed, and taught us lessons in the wisdom of prevention.
Minnesota has as much to be thankful for and as little to regret as any
state in the West, and our troubles only prove that we have a very
robust vitality, difficult to permanently impair.
THE WAR WITH SPAIN.
For many years there has been a growing sentiment in the United States
that Spain was governing Cuba and her other West Indian colonies in an
oppressive and unjust manner, and the desire to interfere in behalf of
the Cuban people received a good deal of encouragement, and its general
expression succeeded in creating very strained relations between Spain
and the United States. It is a well known fact that the Spanish people,
from the north line of Mexico to Cape Horn, as well as the inhabitants
of the Spanish Islands, hate the Americans most heartily. Why, I do not
know; except that our social, governmental and religious habits, customs
and beliefs are radically different from their own; but that such is the
case no one doubts who knows these people. In 1897 some effort at
conciliation was made, and Spain sent one of her warships to New York on
a friendly visit; but she did not stay long, and got away as soon as she
decently could. The United States sent the battleship Maine to Havana
on the same friendly mission, where she was officially conveyed to her
anchorage. She had been there but a short time when she was blown up, on
Feb. 15, 1898, and 260 American seamen murdered. There was an official
investigation to determine the cause of the explosion, but it found no
solution of the disaster. Various theories were advanced of internal
spontaneous explosion, but no one was misled. The general sentiment of
Americans was that the Spanish in Cuba deliberately exploded a submarine
torpedo under her, to accomplish the result that followed. Previous to
this cowardly act there was much difference of opinion among the people
of all sections of the country as to the propriety of declaring war
against Spain, but public sentiment was at once unified in favor of war
on the announcement of this outrage. On the 25th of April, 1898,
congress passed an act declaring that war against Spain had existed
since the 21st of the same month. A requisition was made on Minnesota
for its quota of troops immediately after war was declared, and late in
the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of April the governor issued an
order to the adjutant general to assemble the state troops at St. Paul.
The adjutant general, on the 29th, issued the following order, by
telegraph, to the different commands:
"The First, Second and Third Regiments of infantry are hereby
ordered to report at St. Paul on Friday morning, April 29, 1898,
not later than eleven o'clock, with one day's cooked rations in
their haversacks."
The order was promptly obeyed, and all the field, staff and company
officers, with their commands, reported before the time appointed, and
on the afternoon of that day went into camp at the state fair grounds,
which was named Camp Ramsey. Such promptness on the part of the state
militia was remarkable, but it will be seen that they had been prepared
for the order of the adjutant general before its final issue, who had
anticipated the declaration of war.
On April 18th he had issued the following order:
"The commanding officers of the infantry companies and artillery
batteries composing the national guard will immediately take
steps to recruit their commands up to one hundred men each. All
recruits above the maximum peace footing of seventy-six men will
be carried upon the muster roll as provisional recruits, to be
discharged in case their services are not needed for field
service."
On the 25th of April the adjutant general issued the following order:
"In obedience to orders this day received from the honorable
secretary of war, calling upon the State of Minnesota for three
regiments of infantry as volunteers of the United States, to
serve two years or less, and as the three national guard
regiments have signified their desire of entering the service of
the United States as volunteers, the First, Second, and Third
Regiments of Infantry of the national guard of the State of
Minnesota will immediately make preparations to report to these
headquarters upon receipt of telegraphic orders, which will be
issued later."
This commendable action on the part of our military authorities resulted
in the Minnesota troops being the first to be mustered into the service
of the United States in the war with Spain, thus repeating the proud
distinction gained by the state in 1861, when Minnesota was the first
state to offer troops for the defense of the Union in the Civil War. It
is a curious as well as interesting coincidence, that the First
Minnesota Regiment for the Civil War was mustered in on April 29, 1861,
and the first three regiments for the Spanish War were mobilized at St.
Paul on April 29, 1898.
The mustering in of the three regiments was completed on the eighth day
of May, 1898, and they were designated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and
Fourteenth Regiments of Infantry, Minnesota Volunteers. This
classification was made because the state had furnished eleven full
regiments of infantry for the Civil War, and it was decided to number
them consecutively.
The Twelfth and Fourteenth left Camp Ramsey on the sixteenth day of May
for Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia, and the Thirteenth departed for
San Francisco on the same day. The Thirteenth was afterwards ordered to
Manila. The others did not leave the country, and were subsequently
mustered out. The Thirteenth did gallant service in the Philippines, in
many battles, was mustered out in San Francisco, and, on Oct. 12, 1899,
returned to our state. A warm welcome was given it in Minnesota, where
it will always be regarded with the same pride and affection formerly
bestowed upon the old First, of patriotic memory.
President McKinley and several of his cabinet arrived in St. Paul at the
time of the arrival of the Thirteenth, and assisted in welcoming them to
their homes.
There was a second call for troops, under which the Fifteenth Regiment
was mustered in, but was not called upon for active duty of any kind. It
is to be hoped that the war may be ended without the need of more
volunteers from Minnesota, but should another call be made on our people
no doubt can be entertained of their prompt response. Having given the
part taken in the war against Spain and the Philippines by Minnesota,
its further prosecution against the latter becomes purely a federal
matter, unless we shall be called into it in the future.
When Spain sued for peace, soon after the destruction of her second
fleet off Santiago de Cuba, a commission to negotiate a treaty of peace
with her was appointed by the president, and Minnesota was honored by
the selection of its senior senator, Hon. Cushman K. Davis, chairman of
the senate committee on foreign relations, as one of its members. The
commission consisted of William R. Day, secretary of state of the United
States, Cushman K. Davis of Minnesota, William P. Frye of Maine, George
Gray of Delaware, and Whitelaw Reid of New York. It met at Paris, and
concluded its labors the tenth day of December, 1898, when the treaty
was signed by the commissioners of both contracting parties. It is
hardly necessary to add that the influence exerted on the result by the
distinguished and learned representative from Minnesota was controlling.
THE INDIAN BATTLE OF LEECH LAKE.
Early in October, 1898, there was an Indian battle fought at Leech lake,
in this state, the magnitude of the result of which gives it a place in
the history of Minnesota, although it was strictly a matter of United
States cognizance and jurisdiction. In Cass county there is a Chippewa
Indian reservation, and like all other Indian reservations, there are to
be found there turbulent people, both white and red. There is a large
island out in Leech lake, called Bear island, which is inhabited by the
Indians. On Oct. 1, 1897, one Indian shot another on this island. A
prominent member of the tribe named Pug-on-a-ke-shig was present, and
witnessed the shooting. An indictment was found in the United States
district court against the Indian who did the shooting, but before any
trial could be had the matter was settled among the Indians in their own
way, and they thought that was the last of it. A subpoena was issued for
Pug-on-a-ke-shig and a deputy marshal served it. He disregarded the
subpoena. An attachment was then issued to arrest him and bring him into
court. A deputy United States marshal tried to serve it, and was
resisted by the Indian and his friends on three different occasions, and
once when the Indian was arrested he was rescued from the custody of the
marshal. Warrants were then issued for the arrest of twenty-one of the
rescuers. This was in the latter part of August, 1898. Troops were asked
for to aid the marshal in making his arrests, and a lieutenant and
twenty men were sent from Fort Snelling for that purpose. This was
simply a repetition of the many mistakes made by the military
authorities in such matters. If troops were necessary for any purpose,
twenty men were simply useless, and worse than none, and when the time
came for the application of military force would, of course, have been
annihilated. The United States marshal, with a squad of deputies,
accompanied the troops. It soon became apparent that there would be
trouble before the Indians could be brought to terms, and General Bacon,
the officer in command of the Department of Dakota, with headquarters at
St. Paul, ordered Major Wilkinson of Company "E," of the Third Regiment
of United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Snelling, with his company
of eighty men, to the scene of the troubles. General Bacon accompanied
these troops as far as Walker, on the west bank of Leech lake, more in
the capacity of an observer of events and to gain proper knowledge of
the situation than as part of the force. On the 5th of October, 1898,
the whole force left Walker in boats for a place on the east bank of the
lake, called Sugar Point, where there was a clearing of several acres
and a log house, occupied by Pug-on-a-ke-shig. They were accompanied by
R. T. O'Connor, the United States marshal of Minnesota, and several of
his deputies, among whom was Col. Timothy J. Sheehan, who knew the
Indians who were subject to arrest. This officer was the same man who,
as Lieutenant Sheehan, had so successfully commanded the forces at Fort
Ridgely, during the Indian War of 1862, since when he had fought his way
through the Civil War with distinction. When the command landed, only a
few squaws and Indians were visible. The deputy marshals landed, and
with the interpreters went at once to the house, and while there
discovered an Indian whom Colonel Sheehan recognized as one for whom a
warrant was out, and immediately attempted to arrest and handcuff him.
The Indian resisted vigorously, and it was only with the aid of three or
four soldiers that they succeeded in arresting him. He was put on board
of the boat. The whole force then skirmished through the timber in
search of Indians, but found none, and about noon returned to the
clearing and were ordered to stack arms preparatory to getting dinner.
They had scouted the surrounding country and had seen no Indians or
signs of Indians, and did not believe there were any in the vicinity,
when in fact the Indians had carefully watched their every movement, and
were close to their trail, waiting for the most advantageous moment to
strike. It was the same tactics which the Indians had so often adopted
with much success in their warfare with the whites. While stacking arms,
a new recruit allowed his gun to fall to the ground, and it was
discharged accidentally. The Indians who were silently awaiting their
opportunity, supposing it was the signal of attack, opened fire on the
troops, and a vicious battle began. The soldiers seized their arms, and
returned the fire as best they could, directing it at the points whence
came the shots from the invisible enemy, concealed in the dense thicket.
The battle raged for several hours. General Bacon, with a gun in his
hands, was everywhere, encouraging the men. Major Wilkinson, as cool as
if he had been in a drawing room, cheered his men on, but was thrice
wounded, the last hit proving fatal. Colonel Sheehan instinctively
entered the fight, and took charge of the right wing of the line,
charging the enemy with a few followers and keeping up a rapid fire. The
colonel was hit three times, two bullets passing through his clothes,
grazing the skin, without serious injury, and one cutting a painful but
not dangerous wound across his stomach. The result of the fight was six
killed and nine wounded on the part of the troops. One of the Indian
police was also killed, and seven citizens wounded, some seriously. No
estimate has ever been satisfactorily obtained of the loss of the enemy.
The most reliable account of the number of his forces engaged is from
nineteen to thirty, and if I should venture an estimate of his losses,
based upon my experience of his ability to select a vantage ground, and
take care of himself, I would put it at practically nothing.
The killed and wounded were brought to Fort Snelling, the killed buried
with military honors, and the wounded properly cared for. This event
adds one more to the long list of fatal errors committed by our military
forces in dealing with the Indians of the Northwest. They should never
be attacked without a force sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of
the whites in all cases and under all circumstances. Many a valuable
life has been thus unnecessarily lost.
Major Wilkinson, who lost his life in this encounter, was a man who had
earned an enviable record in the army, and was much beloved by his many
friends and acquaintances in Minnesota.
The principal Indian engaged in this fight has been called, in every
newspaper and other reports of it, Bug-a-ma-ge-shig; but I have
succeeded in obtaining his real name from the highest authority. The
name, Pug-on-a-ke-shig, is the Chippewa for "Hole-in-the-day."
Shortly after the return of the troops to Fort Snelling the settlers
about Cass and Leech lakes became uneasy, and deluged the governor with
telegrams for protection. The national guard or state troops had nearly
all been mustered into the United States service for duty in the war
with Spain, but the Fourteenth Regiment was in St. Paul, awaiting muster
out, and the governor telegraphed to the war department at Washington to
send enough of them to the front to quiet the fears of the settlers.
This was declined, and the governor at once ordered out two batteries of
artillery, all the state troops that were available, and sent them to
the scene of the troubles, and then sent his celebrated telegram to the
war department, which may be called the "Minnesota Declaration of
Independence." It ran as follows:
"Oct. 8, 1898.
"_H. C. Corbin, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C.:_
"No one claims that reinforcements are needed at Walker. I have
not been asked for assistance from that quarter. Although I do
not think General Bacon has won the victory he claims, other
people do not say so. The Indians claim to have won, and that is
my opinion. The people all along the Fosston branch of railroad
are very much alarmed, and asking for protection, which I have
asked of the war department. The soldiers are here, and ready
and willing to go, but as you have revoked your order of
yesterday, you can do what you like with your soldiers. The
State of Minnesota will try to get along without any assistance
from the war department in the future.
"D. M. CLOUGH,
"_Governor._"
Rumor says that the telegram which was forwarded is very much modified
from that originally dictated by the governor.
The United States government concluded to withdraw its refusal, and send
troops to the front, and several companies of the Fourteenth were
dispatched to the line of the Fosston branch railroad, and distributed
along the line of that road.
In the meantime the commissioner of Indian affairs had arrived at
Walker, and was negotiating with the Indians, and when it became known
that matters were arranged to the satisfaction of the government and the
Indians and no outbreak was expected the soldiers were all withdrawn,
and the incident, so far as military operations were concerned, was
closed. There were some surrenders of the Indians to the officers of the
court, but nothing further of consequence occurred.
POPULATION.