St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-13
DR.. West Writes the Biog-
raphy of Honorable Henry
Hastings Sibley.
The Life, Times aud Ancestry
of the First Governor Of
Minnesota.
Story Of the Career Of a
Brave, ChivalroDs. Noble
Gentleman.
A Book That Will Be Read
With Relish a Century
Hence.

Minnesota is rich in historic charac-
tiers, in the names and deeds of her sons
who won renOwn in the pioneer days,
In the halls of national legislation and
Oh the tented field; and yet, of all the
men of Minnesota who have diStin-
guished themselves in the various fields
Of public service, there is one who en-
joys pre-eminent distinction, because
there is no sphere of public usefulness
that he has not filled. and his memory
will be forever inseparably IN
terwoven with the history of
the state he founded. That
man is Henry Hastings Sibley, the
prince of pioneers, the first judicial Off
Ger whose Jurisdiction extended west of
the Mississippi, the first delegate in
congress from Wisconsin, the patron of
the bill providing for the creation of the
territory of Minnesota, the first con-
gressiOnal delegate from the territory
which owed its existence to his efforts,
the first governor of the state, the first
commissioned general officer who COM
manded Minnesota trOUpS in the field,
the savior of the Northwest from an
Indian massacre. and in every depart
ment a brave. chiYalrous, honorable
gentleman. This grand Ole man has
not yet been gathered to his fathers.
The generations have passed by him,
but still he abides, and goes in and out
unblamably among us, loved and re-
Yered by all. and waits with Christian
resignation the call which he must hear
ere long to come up higher. And when
Gen. Sibley's gray head sleeps under
the sod, Minnesota will weep over the
truest friend with the bravest heart she
ever had.
It is fortunate that the biography of
Gen. Sibley has been written daring
his lifetime, for his career is the his
tory Of Minnesota from the birth of the
territory down to the present day. 1t is
Furthermore fortunate that this task has
been performed by one so capable and
so painstaking as Rev. Nathaniel
West. D. D., whose intimacy with the
hero of his book has enabled him to OBJ
tain the most accurate information. and
is all the more valuable for having been
submitted to Gen. Sibley's revision be-
fore it went to press. We have on our
table an advance copy of this book en-
titled "The Ancestry, Life and Times
of Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley, LII.
D." which is issued by the Pioneer
Press Publishing company in attractive
form. Those who know Gen. Sibley's
modesty will appreciate the following
extract from the authors preface:
To secure the utmost accuracy, the
following narrative, so far as relates to
events under his immediate Observa-
ton, has been submitted to the criticism
of Mr.. Sibley himself. The statements
made can be relied upon as historically
just. Authentic documents vouch for
the rest For whatever commentator
of the deeds. person, or character of the
subject of this sketch may be found in
the course of these pages, the writer is
alone responsible, needless of manV a
protest fOrbidding the same, and pur-
posed to express what justice and truth
required at his hands"