Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-02-13
never came nearito try the bravery Of the
half frightened odeath garrison at Little

never came nearito try the bravery Of the
half frightened todeath garrison at Little
Falls. In connection with this narrative
Of the intended massacre by the Indians,
it would be unjust not to mention the
good services Of the Gull Lake Chief,
Bad Boy, who, when he found that Hole,
in-the-D Day intended to make: an attack
upon the white people, stole away in the
night and came down and reported to
the whites Hole-in-the-Day's intention,
and remained at Fort Ripley for some
time after the difficulty was over, fearing
to return to his own band lest his life
would be taken on account of his action
in exposing them. @ 49,. ..
| Bad Boy is still living, and now re-
sides at Crow Wing, very old and fee
BILE man. He visited Little Falls about
two years ago, and as / noticed some ug-
ly scars upon his face, l inquired the
cause and learned that not long before he
had been attacked by bear, which bit
him in the face and came near killing
him. At that time our Hon. Peter Roy,
who is possessed of large heart, started
q contribution, bad raised sufficient
funds to buy Bad Boy a nice blanket.
Mr.. Roy stated that the government,
through the Indian agents, had cut off his
annuity because he would not leave his
old home at Gull Lake and go to White
Earth, a beautiful state of affairs and ex-
tremely encouraging to the Indian who
risks his own life as he did to warn the
white people of the deadly attack that
was about to be made on them. Con-
trast his case with that of Hole-in-the-
Day. The latter was organizing and in
citing blood thirsty fends to commit the
most atrocious crimes, and butcher indis-
criminately the men, women and child
ren of the white people, and defed the
US. government, while the former, who,
though an Indian, had a human heart,
was doing all in his power to avert the
threatened calamity, and retired to an
humble home after the storm passed. A
magn animous government indeed is the
great United States to bestow, in the face
of such facts, upon Hole-in-the- Day a
section of the choicest lands he could
| find, six thousand dollars in money, and
| an annuity of one thousand dollars
year, and take from Bad Boy the mere
pittance of So or $40 year and a blank
ct each for himself and squaw in his
feeble old age. Consistency is said to be
| jewel, and no doubt is, but if the treat
ment Of Bad Boy is consistent with de-
cency or common humanity, especially
when his case is compared with that of
Hole-in n-the-Day, my judgment is won.
derfully defective.
At an early day, (on account of the
leniency of the government in its deal
ings with the Indian 1nurderers and cut
throats, generally taking them to St.
Paul, and as soon as they got fat, dress
ing them up and giving them new
blanket and gun, and sending them forth
much bigger devils than they thought of
being before coming in contact with the
benign influence of our SO called courts
OF justice), three Indians near Gull Lake
killed German pack peddler, on the
road and took his goods. They had very
little fear Of punishment and took but
little pains to conceal their act, and were
soon discovered, complained of, and
brought to the sheriff Of Morrison coun-
ty, who, after making them secure, start
ed to take them to St. Paul. He was
overtaken, when about ten miles from
Little Falls, by party of men from
Swan River, headed by Anson Northup,
who took the Indians from the sheriff
and brought them back as far as Swan
River, where, upon examination, they
confessed that they had committed the
crime. They were accordingly taken the
same evening about half way to Little
Falls, and all three were hanged by the
road side, at the south edge of Little Falls
Prairie, on pole laid in the forks of two
oak trees. They were left hanging until
the next day at 10 o'clock, when crowd
| of people assembled and took them down.
A grave was dug near the roots of the
trees on which they were hanged, and
| all three were put in the same hole.
Three or four squaws were present, one
of whom was said to be the wife of one
of the criminals, and she took of her
blanket and spread over them, after
which they were covered with earth. A
change has since been made in the track
of the road and it now passes directly ov-
er their graves. A tree that held up one
end Of the pole on which they were hung,
was hauled to the writer and sold with
other small trees for wood, and was rec
ognized and laid aside to be kept in re-
membrance of the good it had done the
human race. The hanging took place
in the fall of 1857, and for long time
afterwards Indians were quite rarity
about Little Falls and Swan River. In
justice to wild and unchristianized In
dians it may be proper to state that these
three, who were hung, had been brought
up at the Gull Lake mission, and were
supposed to have been reclaimed from
their barbarous state of heathenism.
49,. ITO be continued.] .~-