Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-09-14
Letter From the 3Oth Regt.

readers will find it very interesting:
Fort Wadsworth, D. T., Aug. %, 1851
Friend Ingraham :-Having'a few leisure
moments | did not know how I could pass
them more proftebly than by writing to
YOU l will tell you how we got up here
and how we are prog ressing now we are
here
We left Fort Ridgely on tie 9th of July
and arrived here on the 18th, after march-
ing seventeen days without resting, over
dreary waste of prairie, we sometimes
having to carry wood from one camping
Mace to another to boil our coffee. Water
was very scarce some days we would
be lucky enough to camp near some small
stream of water, but ottener near mud
lakes, the water of which would have to
be strained before 1t could be used.
Marching twenty miles day IN hotJuly
dav on one canteen full of water, and kept
back by the OK teams that could not travel
as fast as we could, was no fun. This
side Of Big Stane Lake we have had first
rate water. Some days before we got in
to Dakotah we had to dig wells six or
eight feet deep near swamps to get water
| to drink. Now we have a first-rate place,
! The site for the fort is on hill, three
/! sides of which are bounded by Kettle
Lake VIII ich is very long, narrow and
| crooked, winding around and between in
| hills which are covered with Burr Oaks ;,
ali that we know of around these plains
| The size of the fcr5 is Clio by GO feet,
around which earth works have been
t thrown up, and on each corner of which
a block-house 80 feet square and two
stories HIGH, is to be built, on which the
men are working every day. Other build
ings are to be erected inside the works,
such as Head Quarters, Quartermaster'
Comnissary' and Hospital buildings, Of
ficer's Quarters, and other necessary
| buildings The men are working most
all the time cutting timber, hauling it,
rafting across the lake, hewing, burning
coalpits, Hme-kilns, digging intrench-
ments, working saw-mills, carpenter and
black smith shops and guarding. We
have fixed up twelve horse power saw
ing machine. Myself with three men
have been running whip saw" We
draw our rations Of ''Woppy" every night.
About fifty men are out west about n
miles cutting hay. The boys are all we'll
and are enjoying themselves as well as
they can so far away from civilization
Game is plenty around here, such as
buffalo, of which we have plenty, wolves,
geese, duck, pelican, and the lake contain
ing any amount Of fish. The boys employ
all their spare time in hunting and fishing.
| We receive visits every day from the
"aborigines of these parts, both Sioux
and Chippeways they claim to be friend
Iy and loyal to Uncle Sam, but viii steal
everything they can lay their hands upon.
The squaws and warriors always come in
scperate squads and are not very gay
set Of beings We have got Sioux war
rior under arrest for stealing horses. He
saws through an interpreter, that he was
in the massacre below Fort Ridgely IN
| 1862 l suppose they will send him back
to that place with Brackets train, when
| it GOES back. We expect tin tomorrow.
Jack Treloar, Joe Thomas and Harry
Sampson are with him from our company.
1t may interest you to know how the
boys have fixed up shanties for them
selves, as we will not get into the block
house for two months yet. Four men
Join tents and cut logs and raft them
across the lake The tents are built four
; LOGS high; the roofs are made of the tents;
the ends are matched with rushes in one
end are the hunks and in the other is the
door about two feet by four. The size of
the cabin is feet by II, a coy little dog
house for four men They are just high
enough for man to stand up straight in,
and as they have them fixed and chinked
with mud they are very comfortable.
The climate is very temperate and it is
g very healthy place. Each company has
built for itself a bake oven, and we have
frst-rate bread with which, and fresh
beef, buffalo meat salt pork, beans and
coffee, we get along first-rate. | think we
? shall have long and cold winter if we
stay up here as suppose we shall, aItho
there are rumors that we shall 90 back to
the State this fall
Last Monday was notable day for the
garrison Of this fort. The cavalry came
in from Fort Ridgely, bringing with them
the mail that had accumulated there for
us since We left There was big mail
for our company, and every man listened
attcntiyely while the names were being
read over. We could appreciate their
worth fully as we had been so long with
out any mail a mail goes to Fort Aber-
crombie on the Red River every Thurs
dav morning and our mail will come by
that route after this, being carried through
by scouts.
Capt Fisk's train Of emigrants passed
us on their way to Idaho about three
weeks ago. He did not have a very large