Minnesota weekly times., 1857-04-25

THE INDIAN TROUBLES.

/
Notwithstanding the exaggerated and foolsl
rumors to which the Times daily gives publicity
that the Indians are numbering settlers near Man
kato, we cannot obtain the least evidence, worth,
of belief, that single settler has been murdered
within eighty miles Of that place. Pioneer.
':The exaggerated and foolish rumors to which
the Times daily gives publicity," consist simply
of reports sent to US by reliable gentlemen resid
ing near the scene of action. Believing that thes
had better means of knowing the true state of af.
fairs than residents of St. Paul, we published
their accounts, and it is source of qualification
to know that up to the present moment everything
| with the exception of the number Of Indians) SC
published has been corroborated. .s
l. MIR. Nelson, bearer of dispatches from st.
Peter to this city, informed us that it was "ru-
mored'' that the Indians had murdered settlers
at Spirit Lake, which report has been subsequent
ly fully and unmistakably substantiated. Mark
that. ..,..l..
| 2. That it was ssrumored" that the said Indiane
had been numbering the whites at Blue Earth,
pillaging and burning the dwellings, and were
moving down on Mankato. B. Fl. Randall, the
Suttler at Fort Ridgely, writing to gentleman
in this city, says :-ssNot house on their march,
distance of forty or fifty miles, but was robbed,
and the inmates, men, women and children, that
could not escape by fight, butcherod." Mark
that. fiH'f
3. That a meeting of the citizens of St. Peter
had been called-that messengers had been sent
out and the reports con6rmed-that the hotel and
stone buildings had been forti6ed-that compa-
| ny of volunteers had been raised at st. Peter
that three companies of soldiers had been sent
from Fort Snelling-that men had left Mankato,
and that the settlers were aocking into St. Peter
from all parts of that section of country-aU of
tDhich is true. Mark that.
T. Later news brought us the report that bat
tie had been fought between the company of
volunteers under Captain Dodd and the Indians,
in which engagement twelve Indians were killed.
The report has been corroborated. Mark that.
s. The Advertiser publishes the following :
ga MIR. Slocum, residing TWENTY MILES FROM
MANKAro, being apprehensive of an attack from
the Indians, sent to Mankato for assistance
Thirty-eight volunteers, under command of DR..
Lewis, left that place and reached Slocum's on
Saturday night. An attempt was made to draw
| the party into IN ambuscade, but it failed. Four
Indians were killed in the slight skrmish which
ensued. The volunteers then fortified and occu-
pied Slocum's house, where they were surround.
ed by one hundred and fifty Indians.'
And the Minnesotian the following -
''Mr. Foley's residence is nearly halfway from
Mankato to Spirit Lake, the scene of the first
trouble. His understanding is that only five or
six whites were murdered at that place by the In
dians."
6. j. Kinds, ESQ.,, a gentleman we'll known in
the Minnesota Valley, writing to friend in Sha-
kopee, says
ssMr. Mcleod and myself left on horses at three
O'Clock, P. NJ, for Mankato, where we arrived at
five O'Clock. Another message has Just reached
US that a skirnish was had with large body of
Sioux Indians, 20 miles above Mankato, and sew
eral of the Mankato band killed. The Indians
were killing and burning every thing before
them.'
The report that some of the Mankato men had
been killed, is not corroborated at present writ
ing, but with this single exception, everything
published By the Times on this subject, has been
substantiated By facts. In addition to this, we
stated in an editorial that
"While We thus write, We hope the reports
of the terrible outrage in another column have
been greatly exaggerated, and that the excite
from fear than from a realization Of the scene
represented. The information we give in our
columns carries with it its own resp onsibility.
The names of those who father the report are ia
miliar to all of us, and until we have other evil
dence to the contrary, we shall give them the
credit for veracity due them."
Now, what means all this barking on the part
of our cotemporariesp Are they not satisfied
with human testimony, or is it the mortifca-
tion they experience from knowledge of the
fact that the TINES gave the public the first infor
nation concerning this Indian outbreak They
can swagger, affect to know more than other peo-
pie, put on the airs of a fool, laugh and sneer at
those who acted promptly at the call of their fell
w-men-but they dare not publish the truth
for fear it will displease class of men whose
souls are cankered all over with the corroding
and blistering influences of the Almighty Dollar.
We ask no odds of you, gentlemen. We shall
continue to publish what in our judgment is of
sufficient Importance to communicate to the pub
lie, and to the safety of those residing on
our frontier. We shall not stop to inquire wheth-
er it will make us popular OF unpopular, but
whether We can serve the people, not specula-
tors-whether by timely warning we can prevent
the massacre of hundreds of human beings.