The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-08-02
THEEARLYDAYS
The Movements of the Pioneers.
of this Section of Min
neSOt1.
SenSd tiOnal Narrative, RELATING to
Chasing the Sioux In
dians,.


Chasing the Sioux In
didnS..
copyrighted. All rights reserved by the.
Author, Charles E. Flandrau)
When the lake was. reached. the
Indians we're gone. 4 careful exami-
nation was made of their camps and
fires by the guides, who pronounced
them three or four days old. Their
trail led to the west. A pursuit was
made by portion of the command,
partly mounted on the mules, and
partly on foot; but it was soon abandS
oned, on the declaration of the guides
that the Indians were, by the signs>
several days in advance. The dead
were buried, guard was established
under Lieut.. Murrey with twenty-four
men, and Capt. Bee, with the balance,
returned to the fort.
| afterwards learned from Mrs.
Marble, one of the rescued women,
that the troops in the pursuit came so
near, that the Indians saw them, and
made an ambush for them, and had
they not turned back, the prisoners
would all haye been murdered. The
guides may haye been mistaken in
their judgment of the age of the
camps and fires, and may have de-
ceiyed the troops. I knew the young
men so we'll that I never accused them
OF betrayal of their trust; but it was
probably best as it was, in either case,
because, had the troops overtaken the
Indians, the women would all have
certainly been butchered, and some
of the soldiers killed. The satisfac-
ton of killing some of the Indians
would not have compensated for this
result.
Of course this affair created excite
ment throughout the territory. So
little was known about the Indians
waio ha6 perpetrated this outrage,that
suspicion attached to the whole Sioux
nation. In order to allay the fears of
the people. l wrote letter to the
Pioneer and Democrat of date of
April 18th, 1857, explaining who Ink
pa-du-ta was, and what relation he
bore to the annuity Indians, and Civ
ing the facts of the massacre, as near
~ accurate as they were then known.
This letter was published in that pa
per on the 2lst day of April, 1857.
1 was engaged in deyising plans for
the rescue of the captives anu IT,
punishment of the Indians, in connec-
ton with Colonel Alexander, of the
Tenth Infantry, but had found it very
difficult to settle upon any course
which would not endanger the safety
of the prisoners. We knew that any
hostile demonstrations would be sure
to result in the destruction of the
women, and we were without means
to outfit an expedition for their ran
som. While we were celebrating up
on the best course to pursue, an
accident opened the way to success.
A party of my Indians were hunting
on the Big Sioux river, and having
learned that Ink-pa-du-ta's band was
camped at lake Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka,
about thirty miles to the west of that
river, and also being aware of the fact
that they held some white women as
prisoners, two young men, brothers, of
the name or MISREPRESENTATION and
Se-ha-to-ta, visited the camp, and af-
ter much talk, they succeeded in pur-
chasing Mrs. Marble. They paid for
her all they possessed in the way Of
guns and horses, and brought her in
to the Yellow Medicine Agency, and
delivered her into the possession of
the missionaries stationed at that
point, ReY. S. R. Riggs, DR.. William
son, and their families. She was at