The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-01-28

G. Fowler it was voted that engrossed
copies of the resolutions be presented
to the families of the deceased.
On motion of Gen. Baker, it was
voted to have banquet on the even
ing of Feb 10th.
The committee is composed OF
James Shoemaker. Chas. Wagon, A.
q. Barney, H. P. Christensen and W..
II. Shepard. The banquet will be held
at Union hall.
A vote of thanks was given to Judge
Torrey for his excellent paper.
T. S. Hays, of Vernon Center, gave
a short sketch of his pioneer days,
which began with his location with
his father while yet a boy in Green
Bay, Wis, in 1847. He came to Min
nesota in 1857, and has resided in Blue
Earth county ever since.
Gen. Baker followed with talk on
his first experiences in territorial
days, and gave vivid account of the
capture and hanging of the Indians,
in which he participated as the colo
mel of regiment. He. said that had
not the outbreak, capture and execu
tion of the Indians been overshad.
dowed by. the civil war, it would have
stood out in history as one of the
principal events in the life of the ma
tion,
A discussion followed as to what be-
came of the dead bodies of the In
dians after they were buried. B. D.
Pay, who was acting quartermaster at
that time, said that the. bodies were
all resurrected that night. Mr.. Shoe
maker said that the next morning
one was found lying on a log and one
was standing against tree.
]. G.. Fowler said that they were
not all resurrected the first night, as
he had helped to dig up two, the Sec
ond night. John Goodwin said that
the next morning he met a man on
the street with an Indians hide.
The man was going to have it tanned
for drum head.
Henry Zimmerman Sr. spoke of the
300 people who started toward Sibley
Mound to kill the Indians who were
held there as prisoners, and how the
entire 300 were taken prisoners by
the soldiers under Col. Miller. He
said that he carried a Ratchet under
his coat. Mr.. Pay said that the
people were not going to wait for the
troops to execute the Indians, but
were going to do it themselves, but
Col. Miller got on to the plan and
brought in troops from all directions.
Gen. Baker said that there is a
mistaken idea as to whom Sibley
Mound was named after. Some
thought that it was named after
Mrs. J. A, Wizards father, who was
postmaster in the early days. This
was mistake, as it was named after
Gen. Sibley many years earlier than
any of US were here, who was here
and chose the spot. as good place to
some day erect a trading post. He
was impressed with this extraordi-
nary geological formation, and it was
named after him. This is on the
records, and Gen. Sibley had himself
told the speaker so.
w. w. Paddock said that he came
here before any white settlers and
camped between the Mound and the
river, and that it was then called
Sibley Mound and was known by
that name at st. Paul. With p. K.
johnson and two others, the speaker
had come in the middle of February,
1852, 'and camped there the first
night, in foot of snow. There were
two or three trading posts down at
Traverse, one or two miles beyond St.
Peter. His party came with a sled
and pair Of ponies. They had
noticed where Mankato now stands
and thought that it would be the
point to locate, but had gone on to
the mouth of the Blue Earth. The
next morning they came back and
built shanty back of where .. W..
Schmidt's harness shop now is. 1t
was put there because the river came
up there and water was handy, 1t
was the first structure built in Man.
kato.
Mr.. Goodwin said that Bunker's
hill was named after Frank Bunker,
who was the sheriff and who lived on
top Of the hill.
Mr.. Pay said that Father Hanna
was buried on the top of Sibley
Mound. The first sheriff was Basil
Moreland, then came Ed. Howe, Frank
Bunker and MIR. Tyner.
The Free Press has received a
letter from August Bruck, formerly
Of this city, asking for recent copies
of the paper. Mr.. Bruck is now a
marine guard on the U. s. s. Balti
more, at San Francisco. The letter
was written from Honolulu, Hawaiian
Islands, Jan. 9th.