St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-23
TO RALLY THE MEN.

TO RALLY THE MEN.
1t was at this point that saw Capt Bier
bauer standing alone, about half way ND
the bluff, firing with great steadineSS; his
presence and GOODNESS was used as rallying
point for the men; they soon emerged from
the buildings they had entered and charged
up the hill. carrying all before them. The
Indians left our front, and got into our rear
on the river side OF the town, and also on
the lower part of Main street, from which
direction the wind was blowing quite gale.
Taking advantage of the wind, they COM
menced firing the buildings on both sides of
the street. and the cOnflagration in the lower
town became general and alarming.
The dispersion of the Indians in their
general surround. of the town gave our men
a breathing spell, and they disposed them
selves very advantageously. A number of
the lie Sueur Tigers, with some of the
MankatO men. took possession of a large
windmill on the high plateau, barricading
themselves on the inside with sacks of
wheat and flour, which form a per-
feet protection against rifle bullets.
The possession of this building was a
great advantage to us, as it covered in two
directions, TO the limit of a rifle shot our
front on that side. Some twenty or thirty
men took possession of the postoffice build
a BAANh StAuCluIt III liiC OulcI part VI
the town, and with axes loopholed it in all
its stories. These two buildings COM
manded pretty well the west side of the
town, but
THE GREAT DANGER
was from the fire in the lower end, which
was gradually encrOaching on us. l gave
my attention TO that part of the town, and
there the fight ragged with the most in
tenSity. Houses were taken and retaken,
but still the fire came slowly along. About
1880, as near as l can remember, Capt
DOdd charged down the main street with
another man on horseback, and went to a
point where the Indians had the houses.
just as he passed side street the Indians
opened on him and l felt sure he was hit.
lie and his cOmrade wheeled and returned.
The captain wayeTed in his saddle and fell.
His horse fell in moment dead, and so
near TO where l stood that he nearly fell
upon me. The captain was pierced through
the body by several bullets, but lived for
some hours. During the day it became
necessary to remove the captain several
times, Is the fires encrOached upon us. He
was buried at New Ulm, and his remains
subsequently removed TO St.Peter.
Capt. DOdd was a vigorous, impetuous
frOntieTSman. who had been III some way
connected with the patriot war" in Canada.
and had taken Qnite prominent part in the
early affairs of this territory. He died in
the performance of his duty, and deserves
the gratitude of the citizens of Minnesota.
Our troops posted themselves as circum-
stances indicated in various parts of the
town, and did their fighting in their own
way, holding all points of the barricadeS,
and performing their duty manfully. Occa-
SiOnally a man would be stricken down,
and would be carried to the hospitals which
had been established in various parts of the
town by the surgeons.
We were peculiarly well supplied with a
corps of experienced and skilled surgeons
The MankatO company had with them DR..
McMahan. The lie Sueur companies had
DrS. Mayo and Aver. My company had Dr.
Daniels, and the town furnished DIR.
Wetchky. and perhaps others, all of whom
were well-knOwn surgeons of the valley.
Their care and devotion 10 the wounded and
dying relieved the situation of many of its
horrors.
From the time of the first attack until
about 2 o'clock in the afternoon no special
or extraordinary incident occurred that
now recall. The fighting was sharp at all
points and numerous casualties occurred;
but as the day progressed the men gained
confidence and experience, and they learned
how to take care of themselves.
MY FEAR WAS FROM THE FIRE
in the lower part of the town. 1t seemed
certain that we would be smoked out at
last, rs the Indians were constantly advanc-
ing behind the burning buildings. Our
outpost in this part of the town was a
small. square brick building outside of the
baTTicadeS, which was lOOpholed like the
Others and held by a squad of men. These
outer forts were not pleasant places to be
in, but the men held them splendidly all
day. They were occasionally refreshed
with a bucket of whisky and water and
basket of provisions, the bearers of which
had TO run the gauntlet of numerous hid
den Indians. who whenever they saw head
shot at il. / have a recollection of making
haSty excursion to the brick building l
spoke of in lower town and meeting Capt.
Nix. an old citizen of your town, about
half way, who was coming in the opposite
direction, we stopped to exchange a word,
when instantly bullet took the captain
through the arm and we parted company
without much ceremony. This was the
second wound the captain had received,
having lost a finger in the first attack.
When the bullet hit him he said: This
makes two," and showed me the stump of
his finger.
About $50 o'clock in the afternoon Asa
White and Newell HOughtOn, of whom |
have before spoken, came to me and said:
Judge, in about two hours from this time
the Indians will bag us" l replied that it
looked probable, and added, What do you
propose to do to prevent it?' Let me here
say that both of these men were unlearned,
but men of great frontier experience. White
was married to WinnebagO woman, and
all his life had been spent on the border.
HOughtOn was the best deer hunter on the
whole frontier, and have been told that
the steamer Antelope, which for years used
10 ply between ST. Paul and ShakOpee. was
built from the earnings of his rihe.) Their
answer to my question was, I'VE must
make for the cottonwood timber" 1t
needed no reflection on my part to satisfy
Inc that their proposed remedy was utterly
untenable, and / at once told them so; to
have left the town and struck for the cot
tonwOOd timber would have been
to convoy 1,5O0 people, most of
whom were women and children. and
many of whom were wounded and dying,
across an open prairie two miles wide, with
an enemy largely Outnumbering our
fighting men, ready TO concentrate upon us
and destroy us. l said to them ''Our
stronghold is right where we are, if we
can't hold this town with its buildings and
barricades we are lost. think we will stay
where we are" but 1 added, 1--WE must
drive the Indians out of this lower part of
the town. Get me forty or fifty volunteers
and with your aid
WE CAN DO IT."
They saw at once that their proposal was
impracticable, and in about an hour they
collected about fifty men who were ready
TO attempt the critical effort that was to
drive the Indians out of the lower part of