The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-02-21

N: Kolken, OF Volga, who is gathering
data for . history Of the Sioux valley, is in
receipt Of the following letters in regard to
pioneer times. j.. w: Evans writes from
his present home; Crawford, Neb.:
Our colony, under the name Of the Da-
kota Land company; pulled out from st.
Paul, Mimi, for Dakota, Sept. 81, 1857.
and A. ne e. go'd Failer o. n Thev :. n now peM iive
at Yankton, S. D., win their fam.
lilies. There we're twenty. one persons,
all told, eleven Of whom were left at
Medary. Their names 1 have forgot
ten-except Brown, DinRley, Merritt and
10 Legses, our interpreter, a Chippewa
half breea. There were also three LETT at
Flandreau, Merritt and Roe-the other
name I do not remember. The remaining
seven went to Sioux Falls, reaching there
Oct. 10, 1857. Their names and former
homes were: David Mcbride, Lafayette,
Ind; j.. L. Fisk, same place; James M.
Allen, Cleveland, o.; James w. Mccall,
Minnesota; VIM. Little, Maine; Henry
Merrill, Illinois: James W. Evans, Ak
ron, ..
Our first trouble with the Indians, the
Yanktonais Sioux, was June IL, 1858. It
was then when Medary and Flandreau were
sacked and burned, the colonists barely
escaping with their lives-and stock, suf-
fering many hardships in the stampede.
Then was when Fort Dakota at Sioux.
Falls was built of sods and logs, eight feet
high, four feet ct base and two feet at top
of wall, with port hoes every few feet. a
flag staff was raised from which was un-
furled the stripes aud stars made from
shirts Of red and white by the first white
woman in Dakota, Mrs. Goodwin. 1
donated two shirts aud d. Mcbride one.
The stars we're made of blue calico.
The flag and the port holes in the sod wall
Ind quite o soothing influence on the ma
RAIDERS who decamped in double quick. I
kept the pioneer flag until a few years ago
when, on o Fourth Of July occasion, I
foolishly loaned it and have not seen it
since.
Mrs. Goodwin accompanied her husband
to Julesburg on the Union Pacific railroad.
He was shortly after killed by someone.
Mrs. Goodwin was an excellent woman.
kind and charitable toward all. She pos
sessed more than womanly courage. She
always saw that her shotgun was loaded
and ready for the approaching redskin, and
no one could use it better than she.
The Western Town Site company, Of
Dubuque, was also represented at Sioux
Falls by eleven men under pay to hold their
town site and do the work necessary.
Judge W. w. Brookings, now at Sioux
Falls, was their agent. They brought with
them a portable saw mill which supplied us
with lumber. Their names wese: Two
Brookings, brothers of Judge Brookings,
L. 3. Atwood, Albert Kilgore, DIR. j. L.
Phillips, all from the state of Name, near
Bangor; John Mcclellan, Ireland; Smith
Kingsley, Dubuque, Ia; three others,
whose names l don't remember. Kilgore
and the brothers Of Judge Bookings re-
turned to the state of Maine. DR.. Phil
lips died at Sioux Falls. John Mcclellan
lives at Sioux Falls. Smith Kingsley re-
turned to Dubuque.
In the early spring aud summer of 1858
We received an addition to onr number,
about twenty persons, mostly from Mime
sofa. Mr.. White, wife and infant daugh-
ter, Ella White, came in June, 1858. Mr..
White, 1t is supposed, was surprised and
murdered by white men for his money,
about 5000, aud a fine horse he rode at the
time. Mrs. White died in Yankton. The
daughter Ella married some years ago; but
l don't know her name nor where she re-
sides.
Henry Masters succeeded Judge Brook
ings as western town site agent. He was
elected provisional governor of the squat
ter Legislature, Of which body I was q
member, in October, 1858. Mr.. Masters
preached the first sermon ct Sioux Falls
that was ever preached in Dakota. His
m was in support of the Sweden
borgian faith. He sickened and died and
was buried on the bluff Immediately west
also the first white man to die q natural
death in Dakota.
Our entire party left Sioux Falls Aug.
90, 1862, after the loss of two mem. Z.
Amidon and his son, Willie Amidon, who
were killed by Indians. We buried their
bodies and left three days afterward for
Yankton, where we fortified and drove the
Indians back.
Tjeran A.Johnson writes from DeForest,
Wis.,:
In June, 1862, 1 came to Clay creek,
in Clay county, which is about four
miles from Vermillion. There my old
est daughter, Anna Maria, was born
the 18th of November of that year. In
August, however, we were driven
away by Indians and had to flee to Sioux
City, where we staid q month. We then
returned to Clay Creek and were there I'M
til March, 1868. AS our %neighbors did not
return to Clay Creek, my wife and I die
not have the courage to place ourselves in
jeopardy a second time, for which reason
we found it most sensible to leave what
little property we had brought with US an6
return to Wisconsin.