The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-25

sylvania, in 1884; came to St. Paul in 1851.
He was three weeks on the way from his
native place to this city, while the trip can
now be made in less than three days. This
year QS5D the river was high, the water
coming up to William Constans warehouse
steps.
Hearing of the Indian treaty going on at
Mendoza. he remained on the boat and went
up there. Here. thousands of Dacotahs or
Sioux had assembled to make treaty with
United States Commissioner Luke Lea and
Gov. Ramsey. The bluffs and surrounding
hills were covered with Indian tepees. while
chiefs. braves, warriors. squaws, pappooses
and dogs crowded around Sibley's trading
post and young Stees' heart beat with
drous and admiring excitement, he being
just from school and full of Fennimore Coo
pers romantic ideas Of the noble red man
of the forest. but subsequent events served
to change his sentiments in regard to the
redskins for eleven years later-during the
Sioux massacre of of 1S62-he had an oppor-
tunity to face. these same redskins in battle,
and assisted in capturing many of them, and
recapturing large number of white women
ard children and one white man. who were
he'd as prisoners by them. Some of the
braves made very fine speeches, were very
eloquent and graceful in their oratory, and
had a very happy, don t-carativeness manner
of speaking some wholesome truths which
the commissioners were not delighted to hear.
The whole scene was picture never to be
forgotten.
Capt. stees' first impressions Of st.
Paul were not of the best 1t was
then a village with few frame houses
| scattered among it's board shanties.
| Where Third and Minnesota streets
cross he gathered hazel nuts, and the
West side was a forest. There was q
beautiful promenade along the bluff
from Jackson to WabaSha streets, and
it was one of the pet schemes of Col.
Goodhue to have it made a public
boulevard.
Just below Cedar street on Third
there was ledge of rocks, out OF
which a constant dripping of water
came, making the walking Disagree
able. especially for the fair sex, and
G.. J. Stees, with r. West McCloud
and Ike Markley laid the first sidewalk
in st. Paul. which extended from Min
nesota to the foot of this ledge. Rev.
T.. d. Neills brick church was then
at Third and Market, and the women
of the city could then get to it dry
shod.
Capt. Stees' "reminiscences of these
| days were most interesting, and the
| late Maj. Newson embodied a number
of them in his Pen Pictures" Capt
| Stees had a vivid memory of St. PauPs
| first great fire. when Daniels hotel on
the upper levee burned in 1851 The
| fire apparatus available then consisted
| of ladders and buckets, and Capt. Stees
| has said that his shoulder was sore
from carrying the ladders until finally
| Tom Knox stopped farmer and
| pI6SSeu HIS team llIO SERVICE ION
! Knox, Bart Presley and Wash Stees
were muscular members of the FIRE
department in those days. Markley
and Charley Stees were chums, and
| they pre-empted a claim on the West
| side bluff opposite the Presbyterian
church. which would now be worth
Sl5O,OOO, but they did not hold it.
1t was about this time that a New
York paperhanger, named Peck, came
| out to get rich with the country but
the denizens of st. Paul We're not then
| luxurious enough to demand wall pa
| per in their apartments, and Peck went
| broke. Charley Stees fitted him out
with some bread, cheese and cold meat
| from his s!ster-in-laws larder, and sent
| Peck down the river in an Indians
canoe, the Indian not knowing any
| thing more about it than did Mrs
| Stees.
| Capt. Stees always recalled with
| much pleasure, a days fishing with
Little Crow, one New years day in one
| of the sloughs in West st. Paul.
| Sauaws, under the Indian style of fish
| ing, were stationed at holes chopped in
| the ice, each with q hickory switch
| having three hooks attached. Kneeling
| at the hole, with her blanket thrown
over her head, each could see into the
water clearly. The "bucks" would then
| dance on the ice, accompanying their
| gymnastics by pounding on the ice with
heavy club resembling a street paw
| er's mallet, the result being that the
| frightened fish, scurrying away, would
| seek refuge in the light places around
| the holes in the ice. Then the squaws
| would whip them out with their hooked
| sticks
Capt. Stees was astounded at the
| Indians lack of appreciation of the
value of money. Frequently the reds
| would come here and get 500 at the
| agency and spend it all in less than
| two hours.
! Wash Stees ran the first furniture