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*t?. A BIT OF MINNESOTA HISTORY. The Siege ofPt.Eidgely by Infuriated Sav ages in] 1862. Jf* Maj. Randall's Narrative of one of the most Thrilling events in Minnesota #pj Historyr ^tm^'*iM"$ Major Randall's account|of the Ft. Ridgley defence closed in our last issue with the cessation of the first attack on the fort. It continues as follows: Twenty old style Dragoon carbines were found in the magazine. Patrick Heyfron, who was for 15 years a ser geant in captain Fred Steel's company Second infantry,put them in condition. By cutting iron rods into slugs the women made cartridges away into the night and were glad of employment, In this way twenty men were furnished and added to the number of defenders. The night wore slowly, away aud the Indians did not come. Refugees con tinued to arrive who could in no way relieve the anxiety. There were already 300 helpless non-combatants. Sergt, Jones had charge of the artil lery and continued to direct its detail and management throughout the siege. The officer in command properly esti mated his merit and valued his exper ience above rank. The detail for Jones' piece were three brothers, George, Victor and Adam Reike,and Dennis O'Shea. O'Shea bad served one enlistment in Sherman's battery. J. C. Whipple and Werner Boesch were deta'led to man one twelve round howitzer and Sergt. McGrew of Co. the other, J. C. Whipple, who escaped from the agency had served with aitillery in the Mexican war. Werner Boesch lived on the agency road three miles west of the fort. He was an artillerist in his own country— Switzerland. Private Dunn, who survived tne slaughter of Marsn's command at the ferry and was the farst to bring the sickening news to'the fort, was one of Sergt. McGrew's able assistants. His merry laugh dried the tears of many a sorrowirg woman. His comical saluta. tions would ring out whenever the In dians' bullets splintered the carriage or flattened on the gun. Brave, courageous Dunn! I was sorry to learn that he was killed at Nashville. Sergt. Jones had his gun in position and stood by it all night, and days and nights succeeding, until reinforcements arrived. Geo. Rieke tells me that Lieutenant bhehan took meals to them that were eaten while standing by their gun. & On Tuesday morning about 9 o'clock the heart of everyone in the garrison *eaped with joy to welcome Lieutenant Shehan's return with his nfty men of Company C, who, after going into camp near Glencoe. at the end of two days' march toward his post at Fort Ripley, received the ordei^ sent-by] courier, struck tents and made nearly fiftj miles on foot during the night, Chaplets ot immortelles, woven with trembling hands, and garnished with tears_of despairing women, will forever wreath his brow. Ho at once took command. At 6 o'clock the same evening the Renville Rangers, forty six in number, arrived from St, Peter, where Dickinson over took them. This] company was made up of Frenchmen, "half-breeds and frontiersmen, acquainted with the In dians, and who spoke their language. They were accustomed to the use of arms, and were provided with different guns in store at St. Peter. Cheer up on cheer went upland hope, that had not been vaulting perceptibly, was again "springing eternal in the human breast," Shehan reconnoitered with a small party of the Rangers, that had just ar rived, alorjg the edges ot ravines and wooded bluffs, "Till twilight let her curtain down, And pinned it with a star." The lull gave the gunners time to prepare and shoot their pieces, when all of a sudden an awful crash of musk etry opened on the north and the east, from the ravine and wooded bluff. Whipple and Boesch soon had their pieces in position by the bake house, which sei ved them as a magrazine for ammuniuon. Junes hud moved his piece neatly across the parade ground when the aitacu. was renewed with double vigor from the southwest corner. He quickl returned to his position at this angle and had his six pounder trained on the point of attack. Sergt. McGrew occupied the northwest aDgle with his howitzer situated favorably for playing on both attacking pa'rties.These portions were maintained during thd iege. The Renville Rangers and some __ citizens rendered substantial support to Sergeant Jones, occupying the build ings onjboth sides. The battle raged with fury till sundown, when the* In dians drew off and went into camp at the foot of the bluff, three-fourths of a mile aboye the fort. Everybody breathed easier and the first day's experience had inspired those that were despondent be fore,with the.belief that they could^con tinue a successful defence. &-T Some old buildings on the edge of the wooded bluff in front of Whipp's piece had been occupied by Indians,and a constant fusillade was kept up to the great.annoyance of the gunners and guards on the east side. As dark set tled downjjover the scene, Boesch set them on fire and thus wiped out one of their most favorable and secure points. In the evening Jones sent up rockets as evidence to those who chanced to see them that our flag was still there. These were seen at New Ulm, eighteen miles distant. In the evening the Indian ha rangues were heard at the fort, and some men of the Rangers and myself went to the bluff,west of my still smok ing house,where he could hear distinct ly Little Crow, in forcible oratory, pro claiming the feasibility and the advan tage that would result by wiping out the Fort—the only barrier to the Missi sippi river. They would seize all the provisions and money in the fort and would own the land where their lathers had been buried that had been stolen from them.Loud responses of"Ho!Ho!" signified their acquescience in the ar rangement. We also learned that the force would be augmented indefinitely, The intellegence thus gained was not of the most charing character. We made it known-fo Sergeant Jones and were enjoined by him to keep it secret, and keep every one hopeful and spirit ed. One great distress of mind was caused by the fear of fire. Everything was dry as tinder. The burning of my dwelling and warehouse during the bat tle had augmented it, and every pre caution was taken to tbe end that should one occur, it might be smothered in its incipiency. Four scuttles led up through the ceiling of the piazzas and roof of the barracks and ladders from these extended to the ridge. I had buckets of water at one of these scuttles next to the roof, and made fre quent trips up the ladder for inspection during the night, where the roof of the whole building could be seen. The In dians had been firing arrows with light ed punk to set fire to the roof. The night of Wednesday wore slowly away as others that preceded it without rest or sleep. The men were on post and by their guns in ceaseless vigil, Towards morning clouds gathered, darkness thickened,the muttering thun der and distant lightning grew nearer and louder and fiercer. Heaven's artil lery and batteries would have seemed but mimicry without rain. All had been wishing and looking and praying for rain. Soon the heavens opened with copious showers, prayers had been answered and all felt naoie than ever that the God of battles was on our side and saved us from the torch and lighted arrow of the remorseless savage. The morning of Thursday dawned upon a weary"anxious multitude. All was activity. Breast works were built and strengthened, barricades were con structed with cord wood, the commisary roof was covered with earth, and new and secure places for defence construct ed by the men. No military orders were given or executed, but every man knew that, to save himself, he must de fend tne garrison. Noon arrived and no enemy had been seen. It was eyident they were waiting reinforcements. Shortly small parties were observed, some sitting in groups on distant elevations and some were on horseback galloping over the prairie. Thus the day passed, and as darkness thickened, all were impressed with a certainty of a night attack and massa cre before morning, or the attempt to accomplish our destruction by firing the buildings. *$s ,| Friday morning broke, and the scene wasfunchanged, Early in the day, about a mile north, the prairie was swarming with Indians HKO a brigade of cavalry at drill, but less inspiring to us. Horses galloping and blankets fly ing—and soon all disappeared. Shortly before 12 o'clock, without premonition, like the explosion of a powder mill, a terrific crash of musket ry opened up on three sides—from sta bles, ravines, the sutler's store, granary and outbuildings. The replies from the garrison guns were incessant, with field pieces boom ing at short intervals. By opening up the hall of the commanding officer's quarters that protected one's position •n the south, he was enabled to fire the stable by sending shell through, the hall, McGrew shelled and set fire to tbe sut ler's store—the heat and want of shelter contracting their field of action to tbe southwest ana north and northeast cor ners. The oft repeated demands of Little Crow^to charge were distinctly heard, and the various attempts to concentrate in sufficient force were frustrated by well directed grape and canister pound ed into hiding places in the rank weeds and bushes.^ Apparently baffled in the conquest that had been pictured so easy of attainment, the firing became less furious, and at 6 o'clock the Indians withdrew. .J^fig fgj* Thus ende'd the last and most desper- ate attack upon Fort Ridgely. Eight hundred well armed and determined Indions took part in this engagement. They returned to their camp for the night, and left those in garrison as much in suspemse and anxiety as they had been at any previous time during the siege. '^SVSS»mk At 8 o'clock the next morning their was an easier feeling as^ they passed down the road in the direction of New Ulm, mounted and in true military style with flankers on either side of the main column. Their march was masked by smoke rolling up from buildings as they proceeded. This was their last day's tight at New Ulm. Baffled in their ef forts to reduce these two points, they turned their faces westward. On Sunday, we observed with a field glass, large numbers of Indians, horses, teams, and droves of cattle, passing an opening in the bluff on the south side ot the river in the direction of their Agen cy, The same watchfulness was main tained until Wednesday morning, the 27th, when Anson Northrop, with a company of mounted volunteers, and Col. Sam. McPhail, with cavalry, reached the fort, to our great relief. This aftorded the hrst opportunity for lefreshins sleep since the news of the outbreak, on the morning of the 18th, Gen.Sibley soon followed with the Sixth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers. There were between 300 and 400 men, women and children who had found an asylum at the fort widows and orphans, many of them bereft ot all their fuends, most of them penniless and homeless, the country deyastated, some suffering from wouuds, and an experience that blighted every ambition. The one thing beyond controversy was that they must go somewhere. Facilities wero afforded and in a short space of time their escape from the savage Sioux was told to eager listeners hundreds of miles away. So much had the people behn accustomed to rely up on the fort for protection that a man arrived from New Ulm just as the first attack was made with a request for troops. His horse was taken by In dians. Another man from Glencoe, by the name of Richardson, leached tbe mouth of the ravine at about the same time on the same errand. Horse and man were killed. There were four killed in the garrison and eleven wounded during the investment. Pour others were killed in the immediate vicinity outside. The defence of Fort Ridgely was a test of bravery and endurance that men are seldom subjected to. When the time for action came no one was deficient these qualities. Dr. Alfred Mueller and his wife*"were untiring in their attentions to the sick and grounded. Men remained on post trom Monday night till Saturday with out relief or sleep, Mr. Geo. P. Hicks, hearing Se'rgetht Jones call, ran to his house, found his wife in a closet with her children, too terrified to make known her presence, and removed them safely to the garrison, while Indians were taking shelter around and firing into it through the windows. The magazines—two hewed log buildings-were on a line with the row of log buildings two huudred yards west. Early in the engagement, the capture or the destruction of the ammunition became distressingly probable. The supply was limited. Mr. Hicks volun teered with others and accomplished its remoyal to the commissary without loss or accident, while leaden missiles were sent after them from two sides. VOLUME XV. NO. 14. NE W ULM, BROW N COUNTY, MINN., WEDNESDAY. April 6, 1892. WHOLE NUMBER 743 J. W. De Camp reached the fort on his way to the Agency where heTPsided on the day of the outbreak, erased with anxiety to learn the fate of his family. He was ever on the watch to get a glimpse or an Indian. While standing on the upper porch of tho barracks in the first fight, with his Sharp's rifle, I saw him kill two that were under the stable, and afterwards found them wrapped in carpet, taken from Quinn's house, and buried on the side of the bluff. He died at the fort from woands I a°ove the earthv received at Birch Cooley two weeks la-' He was bnilt on a broad and splendid ter. His wife, who escaped from cap tivity soon after, reached the fort—only the story of his sacrifice and Christian burial to assuage her grief. The points where the artillery were stationed attracted the heaviest and sometimes concentrated fire of the en tire horde.^But no place where smoke of powder was seen was there that was not complimented in return. No criticism has ever been heard—if criticism were possible—of the manage ment of the artillery, while it is believed that without the trained skill of Serge ant Jones, who held the gateway of assault, the successful defence of the fort would have been impossible, The relief of troops and change in garrison continued. The Fifth regi ment soon went South, succeeded by four companies of the Sixth, the moun ted Rangers, the Ninth and the Cavalry successively. After the close of the war two compa nies of the Tenth regiment, United States Infantry, Major W. L. Kellogg, commanding, were ordered there, and in the spring of 1867 they were trans ferred to Fort Sisseton, and Fort Ridge ly was abandoned^ Near the edge of the bluff, sloping to the creek, bordered by timber, is a small enclosure in which are two mon uments erected by the State of Minne sota. One is in memory of Mrs. Eliza Mueller, for her devotion and kindness to the wounded and dying soldiers in the battles of Fort Ridgely, The other marks the resting place of Capt. Marsch and twenty-seven men whose lives went out on the Agency ferry on the 18th of August, 1862, a sacrifice to duty. Their names are ail engraved on a tablet, with one exception—that of In terpreter Peter Quinn. Never was a man more devoted to the country's good than he. Tne attempt of the er tatic Agent Galbraith to besmirch his character or impugn his loyalty by or dering him to return to the tort, for he "could not allow him to talk to his In dians," did not disgrace him in the eyes of those who knew the two men. And in two weeks bis family were fleeing across the prairie to Glencoe to save their scalps from "hi*" Indieas. This little cemetery is the onlv visible token lett to tell of Fort Ridgely, where the rollicking reveille waked the slee per from delicious dreams, when the guard marched in review to the soul stirring airs of a legimental band, the mellow notes of the bugle directing the evolutions of flying horsemen, in watch ing cadence floated out on the summer air to return in the murmuring echoes from the wooded hills.- The evening serenade with song and mirth are dif ft sed with the fleeting years and faint ly linger in the memory of a few. The starry flower of freedom that floated in billowy folds wilh its flitting shadows hallowed the ground where the corn and pumpkin grow. The metamorphosis is as complete as an island sunk in the ocean. INGERSOLL'S ELOQUENT PRAISE Poetic Words of Tribute Uttered at the Grave of the Grey Poet Whitman. "At the funeral service of the aged po» et, Whitman, Col, Ingersoil stood near the bier and spoke in eloquent sentences as follows: Again we in the* mystery of life are brought face to face with the mystery of death. A great man, a great Amer ican—the most eminent citizen of this republic—is dead before us. And we have met to pay a tribute to his great ness and to his worth. I know that he needs no words of mine. His fame is secure. He laid the foundations of it deep in the human heart. He was above all that I have known the poet of humanity, of sympathy. Great he was—so great thatj he rose above great ness that he met without arrogance and so great that he stooped to the low est without conscious condescension. He never claimed to be lower or great er than any other of the sons of men. He came into our generation a free un trammelled spirit, with sympathy for all. His arm was beneath the form of the sick. He sympathized with the imprisoned and the despised and even on the brow of crime he was great enough to place the kiss of human sym pathy. One of the greatest lines in our literature is his. Speaking of an out cast—and the line is great enough tc do honor to the greatest genius that has ever lived—he said.\ "Not until the sun excludes you will I exclude you." A charity as wide as the ssy. And wher ever there was human suffering,,human misfortune, the sympathy of Wnitman bent above it as the firmament bends plan—ample,without appearing to have limitations—passing easily for a brother of mountains and seas and constella tions—caring nothing for the little maps and charts that timid pilots hug the shore with and giving himself freely with the recklessness of genius to winds and waves and tides—caring for noth ing as long as the stars were above him And he walked among men, among writers, among verbal varnishers and veneerers, among literary milliners and tailors with the unconscious dignity of antique God. He was the poet also of that divine democracy that gives equal rights to all the sons and daughters of men. He uttered the great American voice, uttered a song worthy of the great republic. He has uttered more supreme words than any writer of our century, and possibly of almost any otner, He was above all things a man. And above genius, above all the snow capped peaks of intelligence, above all of art, rises tbe true man—greater than all. He was a true man and he walked amonsgt his fellow men as such. He accepted and absorbed all theories, all creeds, all religions, and believed in none. He had a philosophy aud reli gion of his own, broader, as he be lieved—and as I believed—than others. He was willing that all the sons of men should be absolutely acquainted with his heart and brain. He was net afraid to learn not afraid to speak his thought. Neither was he afraid to die. For many ears he and death lived near neighbors. He was always willing and ready to meet and greet this thing called deith. And for many months he sat the deepening twilight waiting for night—waiiing for the light. In his brain were the blessed memor ies of the day, and in his heart were mingied the dawn and the dusk of life. He was not afraid—cheerful every mo ment tne laughing nymphs of the day did not desett him. They remained that they might clasp the hand of the veiled and silent sisters of the night when they should come. And when they did come Walt Whitman stretched his hands to both—one on one side, the the nymphs of day and the other, the silent sisters of the night. And so hand in hand.between smiles and tears, he reached his journey's end. From the frontier of life, from the Western wave-kissed shore he sent us messages of content and hope And tnose mes sages seem now like strains of music blown by the mystic trumpeter from death's pale realm.' To-day we gave back to mother na ture, to her clasp and kiss, one of the bravest, sweetest souls thit ever lived in human clay. And I thank him for the brave words he had said on the subject of death. Since he has lived death is less fearful than he was before, and thousands and millions will walk down into the dark valley of the shadow holding Walt Whitman by the hand long after we are dead. The brave words be has spoken will .sound like trumpets to the dying. And so I lay this poor wreath upon this great man's tomb. I loved him living and I love him still. The story, told by Senator Sherman apropos to the refusal of certain Demo crats to admit that their party i» a iree siiyer party, says the Meriden Repubh* can, is verjT much to the point: An Irish man walking through a cemetery came upon a headstone with the inscription: "I still live." "Bejabers," saiu Pat, "if I was dead I'd own up to it.V It| makes the ku-klux remnants in Alabama chuckle clear down into their noots when they read this from one of Senator Hill's Alabama speeches: I am rejoiced to know that it ib a coun try where the people rule, and where every citizen, no matter how humble or unlettered he may be, has the same rights as the wealthiest citizen in the a ," ^Senator Hill his Birmingham speech said of the city's growth: "Your triumphs here in every department are the wonders of the world. There is no example like it afforded in the country. The place where this city stands, only a few years ago was an open plain, and no«v is one of the most^thriving cides of the whole Stfuth." The Senator spoke the truth as far as he went, but he should have told the whole truth and said that all that wonderful growth was the direct result of the Republican pol icy of protection to home industries, Birmingham's chief industry is the manufacture^ iron, and without pro tection the place would yet be as the speaker said it was a tew years ago— "an open plain." If the senator is as honest as he claims to be, why didn't he tell the whole truth? THE MAINE MAN WILL ACCEPT. An Indirect Statement that he will not refase the domination. Blaine Said to have been Harassed into *Mj Writing his Declination. 4 3f A&< Washington Special Telegram, April If! 2,—W. H. Grace, a prominent Brook lyn Republican, came here yesterday by #^f appointment and going at once to the Blaine mansion was ciosKed with the secretary for two hours. He spent to day with some Blaine iuen and when seen at the capitol later, just before his departure for home, sftld: ,4 As a result of my talk with Blaine 1 make the prediction thut ho will be nominated at tbe Minneap-jhb conven tion, and I desire to state openly that if nominated he will not refuse to ac cept. A delegate to the convention to whom the statement was repeated said: I Lelieve it, not onl because of its harmonizing w^th what I have known, but because I have positive knowledge that Blaine wrote his letter, not because he wanted to, but because Harrison and Klkins harrassed him into writing it. These statements do not laeR. corro boration to warrant tbe belief that Blaine has at last made up his mind to run. A prominent Western senator, one of the anti Hanison crowd, smiled when the remarks of Giace were re peated to him. Questioned, he said. I called on Blaine last week and spent several hours with him. I went to see how he looked, and unfl I rose to go did not mention the pibjidential race. A.s I was about to leave I asked him how he felt. He stood up and replied in a strong voice. "Better than I have been at any time in the last ten years. It will tike a lit tle time for me to get back my llesb, buu my spirits are excellent. I eat and sleep well and^feel strong and like my self of old." "Then, Mr. Secretary," I s.ud, "we shall nominate you at Minneapolis." "No you won't,"' he replied. "Indeed we^will if your health is good." "My health is all light," he said, "but you will not nominate me." "Why?" I said. "Would jou wnte a letter declining to accept?" No," he replied with a determined shake of his head, "No, I shall never write another letter on tho subject of the presidential nomination." "Then what do you mean by sayin^ we shall not nominate ou?" I asked. He looked at me for a moment and re plied. "Because jou can't get yotes enough to nominate me You mav better lmij^ine my feelings than I cau describe them. I felt like hugging him,for what he had said was tantamount to a consent to run. I only remained iot enough to vvnng his hand and 11 him to be prepared to acce*pt the nomination. Then I rashed away to inform the leaders of tbe Biaine movement. The next time I saw Blaine was last Monday, when I called on him at the state de partment. 1 purposely refrained from talking politics aud connned myself to some appointments. As 1 was leaving he said with complete inappositenass: "Do }ou believe that my nomination would make any inroads in the Farmers' Alliance?" I am sure of it." 1 replied, "As much as the nomination of any one else?" he next said. "More," I said. He looked out of the window a moment and said: "Why do you think so? Several gen tlemen have told me the same thing,but none have given any reason for it. I should like to have a reason." "It is this," I said. "The only thing in the legislation of the past two years that has benefited the farmer by raising the price of their products was your reciprocity ^treaty. Faimers all know this and appreciate the fact that you deserve the credit of it. That- is my reason." n* He thanked me, and somebody com ing in I took my leave, I don't think it is necessary for me te draw any conclu sion from what I have told you. It all speaks for itself, namely, first, that Blaine has been fearful that he could not be nominated second, that he is calculating on his chances of success -^^v third, that when satisfied that he will t£*%* be successful, he will consent. Ba whether he consents or not, he will be pat in nomination unless he writes & letter declining, and he says he will ne ver write another of thatjeharacter. Mrs. H. F. Schrader is home from Michigan where she has been visiting relatives, •&:-* 91 *j* if