St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-30


Potter and the other white men, believing
that they had killed Somerville and Carafel.
AS soon as the Indians were out OF sight
and Somerville and Carafel had revived
Potter and Hoffman helped the two wounded
men down to the steamboat landing where
Mr.. Sweet was, and he at once put The two
men into bark canoe and sent Joseph Hahn
son with them to ST. Anthony to Dr. j. ii.
Murphy to have their wounds attended to.
When the canoe was ready to push out
Potter asked if he could not go along,
which he was allowed to do.
Hoffman, the boat not being able to carry
any more, was then secreted in the attic
of Sweets log shanty. AS was expected,
the Potter party had but just been got away,
when the Indians came down in large force
and went into Potter's place and helped
themselves to his whisky, broke up his fur
niture and everything movable, and would
have killed him if they could have found
him. AS it was, number Of them, under the
lead of Cut-N ose-Jack, trailed them to the
steamboat landing, and then, finding the
canoe was gone, they gallOped ON down the
river trail in hot pursuit. Several miles be-
low, Potter caught glimpse of his pur
suers in the distance, and with daredevil
pluck he landed, and, secreting himself
within few feet Of the trail, as Jack came
within about ten feet, he rose from his am
bush and shot the Indian through the hip,
nearly unhOrSing him, which caused a pre-
cipitate return of the Indians. From there
Potter went ON below, and at once gave the
alarm, which resulted in Gov. German tax
ing force of United States regulars under
Capt. Monroe, on the steamer Gov. Ramsey,
and at once starting for Sank Rapids, with
a force of sixteen mounted volunteers
under William d. Philips, who
kept abreast of the steamer by land.
In the meantime the Indians becoming sat
isfied that Hoffman had not gone below,
they came to Sweets house with blackened
faces, about fifteen strong. and wanted to
come in. one of them coming up to the door,
the others remaining rod or so back.
Being tOlerably well prepared for siege,
with window and door baricaded, and with
dozen United States muskets with bay
onets and plenty of ammunition, which had
been hastily removed from the warehouse,
and the boxes containing them broken open,
the Indians were warned to keep away
from the house. The occupants, only three
in number, made as much noise as possible
loading the muskets with their steel ram
rods, and the Indians, not knowing just
AOW lduy IuCl WClC lllSluC, ulI llOb uttlO
storm the house in the dark. but waited for
daylight. just at daylight William d.
Philips, with his brave men, came in sight
on the bluff, following the trail, and almost
simultaneously the Gov. Ramsey rounded
the point with Capt. Monroes company on
deck and feldpiece on her bow. Before
the steamer landed Philips had the In
dianS prisoners having cut them off as they
atfnrn Tta1 fO rntroat 11,, tho rivor
How the troops went to Watab and
threatened to shell the Indian camp, unless
the others engaged in the affair were sur
rendered, was officially reported by Gov.
German, ex-officio superintendent of Indians
for Minnesota, and need not be repeated here.
Potter, fully realizing the risk he ran from
the vengeance of the relatives of his victims
concluded st. Paul was too near the Win
nebagOs, and went down to Red Wing,
where he was living a few years ago. The
P. P. correspondent has only made mis-
take of twelve OF thirteen years, trifle to
be sure, in the date of Maj. Newson's gold
operations at Watab. AS to the first error
in making Joe Brown a governor, he evil
IDENTIFY mistook him for Joseph R. Brown,
dubbed 'Joe the juggler,'' who was, as the
old settlers know, Sioux Indian agent, a
self-made man, and who was only a drum
mer boy in his youth. but who had the ca
pacity to take foremost rank even among
governors. He also makes the mistake of
writing David Olmsted's name with the let
ter "a" in it, and this error has arisen from
the spelling of S. B.. Olmstead's name, who
was a well-known early settler and resi-
dent of Benton county but not relative of
David Olmsted. Other errors, such as the
omission of Beaulen & Fairbanks, Charles
R. Rice, George B. Culver and Sylvanus B.
Lowry from the list of Indian traders, will
be noticed but as this correction has already
reached a length that will tire yuor readers
it must be closed. S.