The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-07-03
l SCHOOLHOUSE ATTACKED

.-CNOTte5 C0F5Ott, ~ 1l0alEFS MaO0ztne JOF
July.
A SCHOOLHOUSE ATTACKED
A young man from the West, Mr.. @.
F. Gleddale, has given the writer the fol-
lowing graphic and thrilling incident Of
the last Indian war in Western Iowa and
Minnesota, which I append in nearly his
own words:
/ had the fire to build at the school
house that morning, and started early.
It could not have been more than half
uast seven when l left home
The older boys took turns building the
Dire and sweeping out The boy whose
turn it was tooH the t,y home ut night,
and was expected to have the house warm
before. the girls came at the regular
school hour. -,
N,was about mile from our house to
the school. The road ram along the edge
Of the "timber,,'' and the schoolhouse
stood amongst the ''heavy growth so as
to be sheltered from the bleak prairie
winds.
settlers had built it only the year before.
It vas but twenty three feet square, and
made of logs, ''sidcd do.n," so as to fit
together and keep out the wind and
snow-for we used sometimes to have
fearful driving SHOW storms up there.
Ours was little frontier district, of
only seven families and twenty three
scholars in all. All were Americans ex-
cept one family, the Jensens, no were
Norwegians-honest, kind hearted people
as ever were.
Charley Bean, Clint Gargill and were
the three oldest boys. AS it happened,
we were sixteen years old; and the two
oldest girls, MERGED Bean and Lettie
Eastman, were but fifteen. The rest of
the scholars were younger.
We had no regular teacher. That fall
Mr.. Fitield, the Methodist minister, had
offered to take the school. His salary
was small; and the agent gave him the
school to help in his support
we'll remember the poor man, he was
quite young, not more than twenty three
or four years of age-very much frccklcd,
and with red hair. But far from having q
fiery temper, he was so mild that we said
and did just as we pleased. Even the
A B G fellows we're saying "Aon't', and
twill" to him before the first week of the
school had passed. Yet the scholars liked
him 50 we'll that we did not do anything
that would greatly hurt his feelings.
Some days, however, he was very iretful
and pcevish.
took my gun on my arm as l went tu
school that morning; tor the partridges
used to come to the sunny side Of the
timber for the buds ON the birches; and
sometimes there would be a deer there
browsing. had a pretty little single
= baIreled shot gun.
So There had been rumors that fall OF
attacks on settlers by the Sioux. In fact,
such reports were always going the rounds
in the frontier districts, and this was a
sort of excuse for the large boys to take
their guns with them to school.
The Eastmans lived only a little ways
from us; and on my way to school I gen
orally called for Lettic. The schoolhouse
stood at or near the forks of two roads
She and I we're the only scholars who
came by that road and we sat next each
other in the shack seat As school
books were scarce with us, we used to
look together over the same geography
and the same reader.
Indeed, I recollect that when Lettie
happened to stay at home day had a
dull time Of it. For she was uncommon
~ bright and quick at her lessons. Her
III finger would fly over the maps in the re.
"ogfaphy when we looked out answers to
the questions, and it was much easier to
follow her than to puzzle them out
- When1 went by Lettic's fathers home
that morning to build the fire in the
: schoolhouse Lettie came to the door and
said that she would start for school in
about half an hour.
About half way between Mr.. East.
mans and the schoolhouse there was 8
: "sle"," or water hole, surrounded By
thickets Of gray alder, and the timbe,
here came down to the road 1t was No.
vember, and the night hal been so cold
that the 'slew' was frozen over.
j 1t was hardly sunrise yet. The thin
blue tog lay low on the bright frosty
ground, and the smoke from the settlers
houses in the distance rose straight up tc
q great height, for the air was very still
As I went past the ISLE y" had g
glimpse Of something, could hardly tell
FswsA1sH ~AAOAkSt Tie lnlCk ALTERS, IOur Oh
five rods from the road, and in moment
more heard the ice crack. Nv frs,
! gthopghy was that some hunter was in
"Halloo!" called. "Shot anythine3'
t.. There was no answer. ''
= Then Thought for an instant that il
= might have been deer. But deer
when started, goes bounding off at tu}
spring, making plenty Of noise in tn,
bushes; whereas !. had only heard on,
cautious snap Of the ice. Then it occur
red to me that It might have been bear
tor bears were quite common in that 10
cality.
l set down my dinner-box and books
= went quietly in amongst the alders, ant
stood looking about for come moments
but did not see any object nor hear ,
sound.
It seemed odd, for l was positive
had had glimpse of some moving OBJ
1ect. However, I had the fire to build
and 20 went back to the road and hurried
to the schoolhouse. Yet kept tninkin,
that there was something odd about thI
noise and what had seen.
r.. BY the time had the schoolhous
warm and swept, nearly all the scholar
were there except Lcttie. A few minute
after Mr.. Fiheld arrived, and raped 70
~ TO take our seets. Lettie had said sh
would start in half an hour. If sac ha,