The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-09
AT THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
THE OLD FRONTIER POST SHELL
TERED MANY MEN OF NATIONAL
RENOWN.
Which Will Last as Lomas as the Ma
ton of Which 1t Is
Pioneer.

uted to the archives of the StaSe ills
tor1cal society last evening by Gen. R.
w. Johnson. who himself figured in a
modest degree in the making OF that
noted army post.
cen JohnSon's paper was listened to
by one of the largest audiences which
mas attended sitting of the execu-
i've council of the association. The
paper was of extreme local interest
ana was very voluminous, containing
considerable data which has never
peen collected under one cover. In sub
stance the paper contained the follow
ing facts:
The government as early as 1905 de-
clded to establish a military station
at the junction Of the Mississippi and
st. Peter rivers, but until 1S12-15 moth
ing was done. About this period, how
ever, the British established a colony
at the United States border, and on the
news reaching Washington the gov
eminent decided to Immediately pro-
ceed with the work of establishing the
post This portion of Minnesota was
acquired from the province of Louisi-
ana in 1903, and was then practically
an unknown wilderness. In 1906 the
war department detailed Lieut.. z. Pike
at the request Of President Thomas
JEFFERSON. Pike Immediately proceeded
into the Northwest at the head of a
detachment from. the army. He ar
rived in 1905 and hcamped near the
present site of Mendoza. He acquired
an immense grant of land from the
Sioux Indians, paying for the grant
h Of nd
gallons of whisky q Nothing further
was done until 1919 when Lieut.. Col.
Leavenworth was ordered by the gov
eminent to occupy the lands. He ar
rived in the fall and took up quarters
under the bluff and near the present
site Of Fort Smelling Here he re-
manned with his camp for five years,
until in 1924 the river overlooked neces
stating a move to higher ground.
LeaVenWOrth moved his command to a
site where a cool spring bubled forth
and named his new site Camp Cold
water The same spring is still bub-
bling forth it's waters and supplying
the post.
Col. Leavenworth, who belonged to
the Fifth infantry, soon changed the
name of the camp to Fort ST. Anthony,
and he directed that saw mill be
erected at the falls for the purpose of
supplying the new post with lumber
for the construction of the fort. The
whole country was then a wilderness.
The fort was the Western enc, of twill
cation, and the plains to the west had
never been explored. To show how
great had been the growth of the
Northwestern country, Gen. Johnson
said that as late as 1910 nothing was
known of the country west of Mime
sofa, and that the census of 1890 show
ed a population of 100000 900 people west
of this line 1t is now possible to cross
the continent in six days and seven
teen hours, but Col. Leavenwo1'th,
when he moved his troops from De-
troit, Mich. could make but twenty
five miles a day Soon after Leaven-
worth picked out the site and started
the construction he was promoted to a
better post and was succeeded by Col.
Smelling. The latter officer pushed the
work of construction so assiduously
and displayed such good judgment that
upon the recommendation of Gen Win
field Scott the post was named after
him. The work was attended by diff
Guilty and danger, and the troops were
constantly on the watch for Indian
raids. Many of the men who saw the
construction and who made the early
history of Fort Smelling became famous
afterward. Joseph r. Brown and ]
McClelland Boal were drummers who
came up in CoLtLeavenworth' regi-
ment. After being mustered ont
Brown became editor of the ST PAM
Pioneer.
The original fort was surrounded nv
massive stone walls to repeI possihIe
attack. Portions Of the walls sin
stand, and in them can be seen loon
holes ana embraSures for the Weancns
OF the troops. The speaker deplorer1
the work of demolition which was heing
carried on by a Vandal civilizations
Durlng a portion Of the thirties and
1ort1eS the fort was abandoned nv tba
government '"e
Cen Johnson arrived in st. PauI in
1o1S on river packet. He had heard
wonderful stories about ST. Paul In
Eastern newspapers and expected fo
IND great city. He found four b,,r,0
ored people living in log houses The
whole country was then very wild Gan
Johnson often saw deer and eanoa ~
all kinds. One of the soldiers AT +he
tort killed 1,19O prairie chickens in three
years. In the spring of 1S49 the In
dams at Prairie du Chen were renort-
ed to their reservation at Rum River
but they did not want to stay. and
started back. A detachment from tba
fort was sent out by Col. Loonjs to
turn the Indians back to their reser-
walton. The red skins obeyed and did
not again trouble the government in
u ~
the advancement Of Fort Smelling and
the many ambitious schemes which
had been cherished for it, but no one of
which had ever been carried out Often
the rumor was heard that the govern
ment would abandon the reservation or
certain portions Of it, and a rush Of
Squatters would ensue.
There is one chapter Of the history of
Fort Smelling which is of considerable
national interests Prior to 1857, the
government had reduced the military
reservation by 5000 acres. 1t was
thought that at that time the whole
reservation might bes given up, and
Franklin Steele, one of the pioneers,
offered Secretary of War John E.
Floyd, $4,000 for 1.-THE tract; the pay
ments were TO bessnade in three equal
installments. Interested in the deal
was one DR.. Archibald Graham. of
Virginia, who was SECRETLY known to
represent Floyd i'm the transaction.
Floyd was carrying on a deal under
cover, and when few years later. he
placed the arsenals of the country at
the disposal of the South, his true
character came out. Graham. or Floyd,
was to have paid his portion Of the
purchase price whenever the profits OF
the land would enable him to do so.
but he never did 1t. In July, 1858,
possession Of the reservation was given
RI Cfno1e An Investigation fx n0r