St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-05-10
A REMARKABLE RIDE.
"reminiscences Suggested by
the Recent Birthday Of
Col. Prince.
The Great Sioux Massacre
and the Battle Of Birch
Coolie.
How Col. Prince and Capt.
SteeS Brought the News
Home.
The Memorable Days of'Sixty-
Two Very Graphically
Recalled.

birthday of Col. John S. Prince awak-
ems "reminiscences of war times, and
more especially the Sioux massacre of
Little Crow in Minnesota in 1862. 1t
was in August, 1862, while Col. after
wards Gen. Sibley, was camped at
Fort Ridgely. that Col. Prince, at the
request of Gov. Ramsey, went as bearer
of dispatches to Gen. ST bleY. He left
st. Paul at o'clock p. m., accompanied
by Capt. Peter Berkey. They drove to
Shakopee and took rest of two hours,
and then proceeded to Belle Plain,
where they took breakfast, thence going
to st. Peter. Here Col. Prince took a
relay of horses and pushed on to Fort
Ridgely with mounted escort of three
men, Duncan Campbell being one of
them. They arrived at Fort Ridgely
about midnight, having made the
trip in thirty hours from st. Paul,
in an open buggy-a long, tedious ride
without sleep. Here Col. Prince found
deserted camp, Col. Sibley having
taken every available man and gone to
the relief of Birch COolie. The day be-
fore the arrival of Col. Prince at Fort
Ridgely, Col. Sibley had detailed Capt.
d..
take commad of q buria party, which
consisted of three men from each com
pany Of the Sixth, armed with picks and
shoyels, constituting a fatigue party,
Company A and eighty mounted citl-
zens (or as Maj. Cullen termed them,
irregular horse infantry" acting as an
escort. This command, under Capt.
Grant, was sent out for the purpose of
burying such settlers as had been mas
sacred by the Indians and had not yet
been buried. After crossing the Mime
sofa river the first body they buried
was George Gleason, gentleman
from New York, who had been stopping
at the lower agency, and was shot and
killed while trying to escape III an open
buggy with Mrs. DR.. Wakefield. The
remains were identified by his name
written I'D full OH linen collar. The
fatigue party buried some ninety odd
settlers that day, and recrossed the
river and camped on the fatal spot made
memorable in Minnesota'S history as
the battle ground of Birch CooIie. The
camp was within rife shot or the woods,
and in establishing the camp, the large
picket rope to which the eighty horses
of The mounted men were tied, ran par
allel between Capt. Grants camp and
the woods. This little circumstance
the camp from entire destruction, for
when the Sioux opened fire from the
woods at early dawn, the eighty horses
dropped dead, and such men as were
not killed in their tents era wled out be-
hind these dead horses and used them
as breaStworkS.
In the meantime the main command,
under Col. Sibley, which consisted of
the Sixth, most of the Seventh Mime
sofa, and McPhail's Mounted Rangers,
quietly resting at Fort Ridgely.
The writer was second lieutenant and
officer of the guard. 1t was his first ex-
perience as such. Towards morning
Firing Was Reported
heard in the direction of Birch Coolie:
this was communicated to Gen. Sibey.
The firing was heard distinctly by lying
down with the ear close to the ground.
Long roll was Immediately sounded,
and the troops marched off forthwith,
the officer of the guard receiving in
structions to pack some wagons with
provisions and bring up the rear, which
was Immediately done. We overlook the
main body at halt within view
of Birch Coole. The Indians were
riding around us, but at a safe
distance 1.-THE woods were full of Them
and their war-whOOpS and yells were
anything but Emusic in the AIR." Away
off in the distance, OH our lie fit flank, sat
an Indian on pony. The outlines of
the same were just dscernibe. Orders
had been issued against firing without
command, and Lleut.-CoI. AYerill came
riding along the flank, when the writer
stepped up to him and calling his atten-
ton TO the Indian, rendered his canteen
and invited him to take an observation
fhrnnOh wi hui,
satisfied the object in the distance was
an Indian on horseback, the colonel
granted the favor asked, which was a
shot at "Mr. Lo." Borrowing a Spring
field rifle from one of the men he emp
tied the powder of two cartridges into
the same, and rammed it well home.
then the ball was rammed down. TAX
ing a rest on the hind wheel of a wagon.
the long sight was raised, the Indian.
covered, and the writer fired. The
horse and rider Immediately reversed
their position and gallOped off for the
woods. indicating, If he had not been
hit, he found it was not comfortable to
be there.
When the bugles sounded the adj
vance, the writer jumped onto a caisson
with Capt. Mark Hendricks and rode
into Camp Birch Coolie at the head of
the column. Just outside the camp Law
civilian, Henderson by name, Scaiped,
and the scalplng knife lying by his side
all covered with blood. He had run out
at the first fire contrary to orders and
advice, and met his fate, for the Indians
were all around the camp the writer
has that knife, and the blood is rusted
into the blade. On entering the camp
horrible sight met our view. Eighty
horses lay dead-forty facing each other
tied to a picket rope. Behind this fieshy
breastwork lay the bodies of the dead
soldiers who had succeeded in getting
out the tents. The tents were new and
white, and the Sioux used them as a
target at the hour when night retreats
and day advances. Five hundred bullet
holes were counted in one tent. First
Sergeant William Irvine, of Company
A, lay upen his back at the door of the
wall tent, shot square between the eyes.
and bullet In his brain; he breathed
heavily and poured some whisky upon
his tongue from my canteen. He
opened bis eyes and looked at me as If
he recognized me, and they expressed
gratitude. He lived to reach Fort
Ridgely before he died. Sergeant Ben
Terry, of my company, was shot in the
stomach and very much swollen. Cor.
poral Benneken was shot, like Irvine,
square between the eyes, and had been
covered over with dirt and his body
used as a breastwork. VIII Cobb, of
Company A, was shot while In his tent;
he was in half-rising position-that is,
his left foot was on the ground, the knee
at right angles, and the left arm resting