The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-04-18
The first CauSe of the Difficulty.


lock, of the Adretiser. to make an extract
from letter addressed to him by b. II. Ran
dali, Esq, of Fort Ridgley. The letter was
not written for publication; but the facts
| detailed, coming from so reliable a source,
have been deemed by Mr.. Whelock and
ourselves too important to be withheld from
the public longer than possible, after the
foolish excitement which was gotten up
about our streets on Tuesday. Mr.. Ran
dalrs position at the Fort enables him to
know all the news afloat in that quarter, and
his many friends and acquaintances in st.
| Paul will endorse his statements -both rs
regards matters Of fact and judgement.
| From what we have been able to gather
from all quarters since Tuesday, it would
scarcely seem that as many persons were
killed at the Spirit Lake massacre as our
verbal report of yesterday accounted for
| Mr.. Randall's letter bears us out in this lat
| ter opinion and we hope it may prove true.
We hope, at least that the unnecessary
excitement abont the matter is at an end
The settlers on the South western frontier,
as we have already shown, have thousands
of fir ends within days march of them,
aside from the aid which the troops will rem
der if necessary. And then, every one who
is not fool, knows that no such Indian force
as six hundred, or even one hundred, can
keep the field as a war party against whites
at this season of the year during ten days.
The extract spoken of here follows.
"Some forty miles from Spirit Lake, on
the Little Sioux River, a party of Indians
were passing the house of white man, when
dog rushed out and bit one of the number.
The Indian, Gas all Indians do in sparsely
settled country, considered himself. with his
comrades, superior to any force that could be
brought against them) shot the dog. The
party cainped for the night near the place
where the dog had been killed. The owner
Of the dog feeling aggrieved at his loss, or
indignant at the presumption Of the Indian,
proceeded in the evening to his lodge in
company with his neighbors, and there chas-
tized him and took home all the guns of the
party. After brooding over this returned
insult till the next day, the savages in body
went to the house where their guns were
stored and took their property, and strange
to say, left without offering any injury or
offence to the offenders wife, the sole occu-
pant at the time Had it not been for the
circumstance which will relate, probably
nothing further would have been done.
These Indians are small party of disaffect-
ed, detached Sioux, formerly belonging to
the Wa -ka-p -cou-t ia band. The leader or
chief is pa-du-tah, who has two daugh-
tiers married to Yank-tons. Everybody in
the country probably knows that this last
named band is far from being friendly with
the whites, although that appearance is
kept up and portion of the lower ones re-
ceiye their annuities at Yellow Medicine.
The manner in which they have been treated
heretofore, while down for that purpose, has
not been calculated to conciliate them. Those
best acquainted with them would have been
the least surprised at any hostile demonstra-
ton they might have, or may manifest a,
any time. This Ink pa-du-tah and his band
have very little feeling in common with
the other bands of the lower Sioux. They
lead rowing life have not been settled or
the reservation, and think have never re-
, ceived nv annuities, while their associations
have not been such as to strengthen or ere
: ate friendship for the whites.
r As intimated, had it not been for these
$ facts. nothing farther might have TRANSFERRED
and families that have been butchered, ant
ueighborhoods sacked and pillaged by then
! left undisturbed. But after rejecting upol
: the indignities-as they considered them
s had their guns taken from them, and the dis
), grace of being beaten by white men, and tn
seventies of the winter all preying upon thei
minds, together with the easy escape ant
is safe retreat, as they considered it, amon'
e their Yankton friends, the scene commenced
J. Not house on their march from that plac
n to Spirit Lake, distance of forty or fit,
It miles, but was robbed, and the inmates
men. women and children, that could not es