The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1873-05-08

Perhapsl who knows1 He only knew
The largo gray eyes wsre dim With dow.
Saw only on tho mou the sweet bloom
The shadow Of reluctant doom;
Felt only one sad, gentle word
And then through the deep stillness heard
0ucs more the weary wandering rain
Beat dull against the window pane.
FRONTIER EXPERIEN.
CES.
The N1innesot8 Massaeres-H4orrihle
Cruelties and Treachertes OF tho In.
dtans-The Peace Policy Fostering
Indians and Crlnae--The India Ne Re-:
generation to be found In Work.
From tie Nev York. Tribune.
In the Spring OF 1862, when the
Sioux sat in: council to consider thu
question Of extsrmiustiog tho "pale-
faces" Of Minnesota, the extermiuators
urged the policy Of embracing that op-.
portunity Of ridaing themselves Of their
hated eighbors and taking possession
Of their muoh.ooveted goods, because
recent call for troops must drain the
State Of her defenders. The General
Government, having al it could do 10
trying to crush the Rebellion, could
not interfere. That was the time
Then or never. But the moro timid
feared the consequences and held back,
until Little Grow, who was . wise. old
bird and had studied the 1odiau policy
of the nation, assured them there was
no danger. "White man." he said,
"oot like Indian white mans heart
soft; white man kill Indian. Iodiau
catch him, scalp him, kill him Indian
kill white. men. =; white man catch In
dian, feed him, give him blankets 1"
On this hint they acted, and with the
full expectation Of being rewarded with
feod and blankets. The worst came.
They murdered nearly, or quite, 1000
people, principally women aud children.
Babies they shut up in the ovens of
oook.stoves, built 6res in tho fire cham
bers and roasted them. Some they tied,
Two sod two, by one wrist, hung them
across fence, and left them to die. In
one place they hung eight IN = row..
They collected small children aud shut
them up in rooms to starve then
manned the parents and bound them to
trees where they might hear their
cries, without being able to 90 to them
They cut off tho feet of several little
boys, osjointing them ounningly and
leaving the sufferers to die. They vic.
lated the persons Of women and girls
less than nine wars Of age, in presence
Of husbands, fathers, and mothers.
They committed every ensrmity pos
sible, many utterly ioconoeivable to
any but Indians. The parties irst At.
tackled were generally those with whom
they had been on the most friendly
terms. Houses in which they had
been NEST Hospitality entertained were
sacked among the earliest. The Chip
pewas, who had intended to join them,
were deferred by the non.arrival Of
their ammunition and the prscipitanoy
Of their allies, who were hurried on to
the decisive blow by the drunken zeal
Of two Of their number, who murdered
q family before the appointed time.
REpR1sALs By THE WHITES.
Two days after tho main massacre,
two companies Of new recruits marched
out Of St. Cloud to join their regiment
At Fort Smelling, leaving with their
wives such arms as they could spare.
They had waited until tho last moment,
hoping for an order countermandipg
that which required them to move, and
80 had not time to walk. Their depart
ure nearly drained the town Of means
Of transportation a. we'll as men. Those
women and children who wanted to 70
With them were left behind for lack of
wagons and horses. Next day, Role-
in.the.day sent US word that he would
restrain his young warriors . certain
number OF days, waiting for Commis-
sioner Dole. If he did not arrive at
Chippewa headquarters by that time,
be would no longer be answerable for
them. The St. Cloud men intercepted
= wagon lead Of ammunition on its way
to bis young warriors, and got ready to
give them . warm welcome. They
therefore postponed their visit. Next
year he went to Washington, got $10,-
600 ss . reward of merit, took . sew.
enth wife, and came homo il blaze Of
glory. Miunesota men and volunteers
from ne'ghborios States went after the
Sioux, captured 400 or 500 warriors,
and brought them in a prisoners.
They organized q court, tried them,
found 800 guilty Of murder IN 6rst Do
gree and sentenced them to bs hanged.
The general government interfersd, and
would not permit tho exeoutio. Of any
but those guilty Of murder and rape.
As they had left few witnesses alive,
only 80 we're convicted on this double
charge. These we're hanged, while the
others we're paid, got their blankets,
according to the Little Grow plan, and
/ wers turned loose, well.armed and
equipped for mora m,ss,eres. -
II the heat Of pnblio indignation,
Just now, Gen. Sherman talks OF sxter.
minating the Modocs. Two weeks
viii probably modify the order, and, in