The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-06-09

Well-trained armies seized with unac-
countable terron9just y -Vietory va
ready - perch ~ their stan1ards. Bnl
what aAall wslnpy when who communi-
ties bepome p6palysed with fnari When
the pSopls iufhAlfs dozen cotDties, COW
sring'n Is arsa, d hundreds Of miles in ex-
tent 90 In . moasnt seizsdi nth dread
and fearful apprehension from unseen
danger, from . foe whom no one had seen,
and which, in the very nature Of things,
could have no existence.
"Nsverthcless, such was the fate OF
Dunn. Chippewa, Eau Claire. Buffalo.
,Trsmpeleau, jackson, Clark and Monroe
counties, ON the last Saturday Of August,
1862. A few weeks before ct New Uim,
and other localities IN minnesota, bands
Of Sioux Indiana. while fsigniug friend
ship, had fallen upon the unsuspecting
settlers and committed The most horrid
b~arbarities, numbering mon, women and
children, manning and torturing those
lsft alive. and mutilating the bodies OF
their victims, and carrying terror and
dismsy into every remote settlement In
the northwest. Stories Of these fendish
cruelties were everywhere circulated,
and the timid caught up every whisper of
news in regard to the Indians on our
frontier, and every hostile indication was
. thousand times m~agniied, until many
really supposed that all the Indians on
u continent were stealthily assembling
in their neighborhood, prepared, without
q moments warning, to wreak their brutal
ferocity upon our defsnceless heads. I'm
der such circumstances the very atmos-
phere becomes laden with terror, and the
slightest intimation of approaching dan
ger is heralded in hot haste from neigh
Dor to neighbor, and from village to vii
lage, without any definite knowledge or
tangible reason for their alarm.
"In the early morning Of the Sabbath
in question, a dense fog rested upan the
landscape in all the region named, and
terror-stricken pedestrians in several To-
c~alities, their vision strained to discover
danger, imagined that stumps were armed
savages, and gopher-hills were forts, and
forthwith the country was alarmed. In
dams had been seen in the big woods,
with hostile intent; a thousand Of the
fiends were assembled in the big swamp
on Mud Creek, and as many more at Point
Bruley, on the Chippewa bottom. Sud-
den and improbable as such statements
were, almost every one put faith in them,
and ran to his nearest neighbor to know
what he should do. People in the coun-
try rushed with frantic haste to the vii
lagos, carrying with them everything in
the shape Of weapons for offensive or de-
fensive operations, while in the city ev-
erything was in q state Of CONSERVATION
and dread; but all were resolved to de-
fend their homes TO the last.
"At Chippewa Falls, Rev. Bradley Phil
lips was chosen captain Of the army OF
defense, with headquarters at the church
Pickets were stationed at every vulnera-
Bile point, armed with rifles, shot-guns,
pitch.forks, scythes, and spades. Patrols
guarded the streets at every corner; but
the only enemy discovered was in the
shape Of sundry jugs of whisky, which,
before morning, laid many q gallant sol
der low on the field Of battle.
"At Eau Claire, the alarm being sound
ed early in the day, the churches were
instantly emptied, and the w~orshippers,
like the Puritans of old, flew TO arms, re-
solved, individually, no doubt, that, as
the earth is the Lords, and the fullness
thereof and as he had given it to them,
his saints, to possess it, they would de-
fend their homes to the last. A large
body Of citizen soldiers were at once en-
rolled, who, by virtue OF a commission
from the governor some years before,
appointing William Pitt Bartlett, Esq,
an officer in the militia Of this part of
the state, with the rank Of Major, would
rightfully be subject to the command Of
that official; but recognizing the extreme
danger, and the necessity Of greater mill
tary experience, to give prompt direction
to the forces, 50 ardent and yet 80 green, |
that gentleman deferred to the wishes Of
his fellow citizens, in the selection Of a
veteran soldier to command the citizen
brigade in this emergency. But where
could such q person be foundf He was
here at the call Of his adopted country
A German had joined his fortunes with
Walker in his fllibustering expedition
against Nicaragua, and like him had lost, |
but, unlike him, had saved his head, and
initiating the exiled whaley, came to the
rescue Of the beleagured village with all
the experience Of a trained soldier.
"E. r. Hantych was a rigid discipline
rian. The best troops in the world could
accomplish nothing without discipline, |
and his first business was to organize and
drill the command; and ordering all to
appear instantly on Union Square, he was
soon surrounded by a rabble rout impa-
tient to be led against the foe. Not 80
with the commander. He knew that dis
erection was the better part Of valor, and
after organizing his forces and appoint
ing his subordinates, his next concern was
to see that each and every detachment
was well supplied with rations for the
campaign.
Fine-cut, to I'll their merchants, and
lager, were the principal items Of inquiry
with the German element, but whisky
was the great staple with the river boys.
MANY ludicrous scenes and circumstances