St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-06-06


and stamps and get him to write letters to
dence in Minnesota, during which he has
seen the territory become a state and
AN INDIAN VILLAGE
grow into the present city of st. Paul, with
its hundred odd thousand residents, has
convinced him that the Indians have been
abused and Systematically robbed by the
government officials and white residents
generally. He therefore has many excuses
for their outbreaks and maSsacreS. and
sympathy for them always.
Mr.. Larpenteur landed in what is now
St Paul on Sept. Is. 1S43, coming up from
Galena, Ills. after journey from st. Louis
in the steamboat Otter. A trading store
kept by Henry Jackson and William Harris
horn was the most important establish
ment on the bluff Directly across
the river was an Indian village, where
500 Indians were in permanent camp.
He came up to act as French interpreter,
the business dealings of the firm with the
French Canadians, many of whom came
down from the Canadian possessions. rem
dering such an interpreter necessary. He
remained with the firm and its successor
until 1S4S, learning, in the meantime, to
speak the Sioux and Chippewa dialects, at
which time he, in conjunction with ID. B.
Freeman, A. Freeman and W. Fl. Randall,
Jr., formed a partnership and bought out
the general store. Two years later the
partnership was dissolved and Mr.. Lar
penteur started out on his own hook and
has for the past thirty-sixl years continued
on his own account. with the exception of
a few years along in the sixties, when he
was associated in business way with
Burbank e. Co., in general merchandising.
EARLY IN HIS RESIDENCE
he married sister of the late B. Presley
and now has ten children and as many
grandchildren His first purchase of real
estate was at the corner of what is now
Jackson and Third streets, the lot being 70
feet on the latter street and 800 feet on the
former. The seller was David Faribault,
the price paid being $62.5O. The property
was transferred and horse. valued at $50,
was given in payment. Faribault was not
able to pay the $3.50, the difference, so he
proposed that Mr.. Larpenteur should take
an adjoining piece of ground, 70x300, for
5000, the $3.50 to be applied thereto and
long time given ON the balance. This
proposition was refused On the score that
Mr.. Larpenteur did not like to go too ex-
tenSively into the real estate business. A
frame house was erected, which was subse-
quently moved away and brick structure
put up. The latter was noted far and wide
as the most expensive building northwest
of Galena. The property was sold in 1864
for 500, while to-day it could not be
bought for less than 5000, 600. Four years
previous to selling it, Mr.. Larpenteur pur-
chased his present home on Dale and st.
Anthony avenues, which he named Anchor
age.
AT THE OLD HOMESTEAD,
which he made as attractive as possible by
planting and raising nearly everything that
would grow ON Minnesota SOIL he utilized
the corner for his store-room. At the inter-
section of the two streets stood a little frame
building, beneath whose roof was trans
acted very large and very remunerative
business. There the Indians the pioneers,
the travellers and the prospectors came to
do their trading. While thus engaged, he
met with more than one narrow escape from
death at the hands of his Indian visitors.
On one occasion, Shakopee, the chief in
honor of whom the town of that name was
called, and the father of Little Six, who be-
came famous in the Sioux massacre of 1868.
came in in an intoxicated condition. With
out a word OF warning, the drunken Indian
made for him with an uplifted knife. The
timely appearance of Mrs. Larpenteur at
the door saved her husband from instant
death, her presence giving Mr.. Larpenteur
warning of his danger, as well as causing
the inebriated chief to hesitate for moment
before making the fatal blow. The Indian
was soon disarmed.
He took an active part in laying out the
original city of st. Paul. 1t was in 1S41
that he and Gen. Sibley and the late Can't.
Robert went down to the land Office of St.
Croix and entered the land of the new
townsite, which was about half mile
square, and is now designated on all maps
as the original town. The county's organ
ization followed, and Mr.. Larpenteur be-
came the second treasurer of Ramsey
county. Naturally proud of his pioneer
days in the territory, and of the financial
success which has attended his efforts in
seeking home on the frontier he is most
at home when relating some of the expert
ences which befell the early settlers in and
about st. Paul. In the order of perma
nent location he is
THE THIRD OLDEST SETTLER
in the city, Mr.. Luther Furnell and Mr..
John r. Irwin being his forerunners.
Mr.. Larpenteur was born in Baltimore.
Md, May 16, 1928. His father was
Frenchman and his mother native of the
United States. The old farm on which
the subject of this sketch first saw the
light of day was at that time out of Balti
more, but is now enclosed in the Pimlico
race track. within the city limits. On the