Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-05-05
WAS LEFT ron DEAD.
An Incident OF the Minnesota Indian war
Of 1852.

OF 1862.
Mankota Free Press: One of the
earliest settlers in Minnesota was
Thomas Ireland, who now resides in
this city, near the suburbs of Tink-
He is an active man for
one of his years, and no one would
dream that eighteen bullet holes
were made in his body in one day.
He was a caller at the Free Press
office yesterday and at our request
related the story of that terrible day,
giving all Of the little circumstances,
as nearly as his memory would serve
him. 1t is a thrilling account, and
can best be told in his own language.
81 was born in Pennsylvania"
said Mr.. Ireland, "March 1s, 1912,
and from there moved to Illinois,
coming to Winona county, Mimi,
in 1858. In November, 1861, 1 located
at Lake Chetek, in Murray county,
and was engaged in farming at the
time of the Sioux Indian outbreak.
"About 0 o'clock in the morning of
Aug. 90, 1862, a young man came to
me at my house in breathless haste
and informed me that the Indians
were on the war path and that all
my neighbors, had been killed, and
urged me to so to the lower end of
the lake, where all the settlers below
my farm were to gather. l took my
family and went where 1 was
directed, and found about twenty
white people gathered together.
There were nine families, including
eight men Of us. The Indians came
up to where we were and told us
If we would go away pcaceably they
would not harm us.
"We took them at their word and
started off on foot, the one team that
we had being used for transporting
the women. We went two and a
half miles, intending to go to the
nearest settlement, when at about
eleven o'clock in the forenoon, thirty
Indians came up from behind and
surrounded us. They formed a
hollow square about us and began to
fire upon us. The fight that followed
lasted an hour. The Indians were
cute when being fired at, for as soon
as they saw the smoke of a rifle
the one aimed at would jump up
and drop over backwards before the
bullet reached him. l told the men
that we must shoot lower.
~ killed three Indians with my
rifle. The first was the chief, who
was the only mounted one of the
gang. The Indians chased two of
our men away and followed them up
until they killed them, and this chief
thought that he would do the same
with me. 1 stood my ground. how
ever, and aimed at him. He stopped
his pony thirty-flve rods from me and
opened his bosom and pattcd it, as if
defying me to shoot him there. 1
fired and he attempted to dodge the
bullet by turning a back summer
sault from his horse. However, 1
had aimed so low that Istruck him
in his bosom and killed him, and at
the same time cut the pony's back so
deeply with the bullet that it was
never ridden after that day. Another
Indian that / had not seen was be-
hind the pony and he took the pony
and got away before 1 could reload.
l also killed two warriors while they
were loading their guns and were
watching the other white men, so
that they did not see the smoke from
my gun in time to dodge. l was a
fine shot in those days and can still
handle a rifle better than most young
men.
"The Indians reported that only
four were killed in that fight, but it
must have been a mistake. On our
side one nan was killed outright,
John Eastlake, and all of the others
were wounded. l received a bullet
through the thigh, but hardly knew
that / was wounded. The Indians
told us to come out the grass where
we we're hidden and they would spare
us all. The women and children went
out, and 1 decided to go also and live
or die with them. When l came out
an Indian with a double-barreled
shotgun fired at me only two rods off.
His gun was loaded with bullets or
large buckshot, and seven of them
went into me, one passing through
each lung, one striking a rib on the
left side and going into my right side.
One went through my left arm and
destroyed the nerve to such an extent
that 1 have never had the full use of
that arm. There were then eighteen
balls in my body. 81 was not
unconscious, but VIXEN my wife
passed me l told her that 1 could live
but a few moments. I heard an
Tolio~ Gnu, Tint <n,,, 1,, -.