The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-04-22
SS HANGED AT ONE TIME,
4 REMARKABLE EXECUTION OF
 INDIANS 40 TEARS AGO.
Moro Than Three Hundred Were Con- victed, but President Lincoln wouid Sign the Death Warrants of Only Thirty Eight,

Victeu, put President Lincoln WOuIt
 Sign the Death Warrants of Only
 Thirty Eight,
 Thirtyeight men standing on the
 drop at one time and on one gallows
 thirty-eight white caps in a row, thirty
 eight ropes around as many necks and
 tflirty-eight souls going to eternity to-
 gether. That was the greatest legal
 hanging that occurred in the United
 States, and was the result of the con-
 viction of murder of three hundred and
 three persons, all of whom were re-
 prieved except the thirty-eght. This
 great execution occurred on Friday
 February 26, 1868, in the town of Man.
 kato, Minn., thirty-eight years ago, and
 the reason it is so completely forgotten
 is because 1t occurred at time when
 the north and the south were engaged
 in the deadly conflict of arms; at a
 time when thirty eight was but drop
 compared with the thousands who were
 daily losing their lives on the field of
 battle.
 The origin of the trouble which cul-
 minated in these executions was in 1862.
 Every officer of the government at
 Washington had his hands full at that
 time. On the border, particularly in
 Minnesota the same obtained. The Sioux declared war against the Chippe- was, but they were not allowed to car ry out plans which appeared to be tyr annical, At this time several large bodies of land were purchased from the Indians. The agents and traders took advantage of this, and large quantities of goods were sold at enormous prices to the Indians. At one time over four hundred dollars due to the Sious was paid to some traders on old indebted ness, bolstered-up claims and bills for goods which were doubled for the occa- sion.
 A famous old chief, Red Iron, said:
 Council we will receive our next an- nuity, but we will sign no papers for anything else. The snow Is on the ground, and we have been waiting a long time to get our money We are poor; white Father has plenty. His fires are warm; his tepees keep out the cold. We have nothing to eat. We have been waiting a long time for our money Our hunting season is past. A great many of our people are sick for being hungry. We may die, but if we do we will leave our bones on the ground where our great father may see where his Dakota children died. We are very poor. We have sold our hunt ing grounds and the graves of our fath- CTS. We have sold our own graves. We have no place to bury our dead, and you will not pay us the money for our lands"
 For making this brave, eloquent and pathetic speech old Red Iron was locked up in the guard house for twenty-four ours, The Indians. led by Iron Bear, departed sullenly from the council, Lion Bear was a large. sinewy, resolute man and of great influence with his people. When Red Iron was impris- oned for telling the truth Lion Bear made the following speech:
 ''Dakotas, the big men are here; they have got Red Iron in pen like wolf. They mean to kill him for saying the big men cheat us out of our lands and the money the great Fla atliersh has sent us. Dakotas, must we starve like buffaloes in the snow? Shall we let our blood freeze like the little stream? Or shall we make the snow red with the blood of the white braves? Dakotas, the blood of your fathers talks to you from the graves where we stand. Their spirits come up into your arms and makes them strong. Tonight the blood of the white man shall run like water in the rain and Red Iron shall be with his people Dakotas, when the moon goes down behind the hills be ready, and I will lead you against the long knives and the big men who have come to cheat us and take away our lands and put us in pen for not helping to rob our women and children"
 But Red Iron was released and the outbreak for time was prevented. l, The robbery of the Indians continued, however, and their sufferings during the winter and spring were intense. Some fifteen, hundred of the old men, women and children died of exposure, and those who survived were obliged to eat their horses and dogs. The dis | thus engendered was fear \ fully augmented by the failure of the | to make the annual pay ment which had before taken place in l June, and the traders refusing any l more credit. The Indians were also in formed by the traders that in conse- Quence of the war in the south it was doubtful if they received more than half pay, and that in all probability that would be the last.
 Tn the south the northern army had met with great reverses and rumors of disastrous battles reached the Indians. Their faith in the great father was shaken Exaggerated stories were told by the malf-breeds and others interest ed in stirring up strife. The negro was m Important factor in all these stories. The basis of all the stories was to the effect that the great father loved the black man more than he did the red, md as he was about whipped anyway le was going to forsake the latter and levote all his attention to the former. The enlistment of all the young men on he frontier, of all the government em- )loyes not absolutely necessary and of alf-breeds, strengthened the Indians ,elief that the great father was in dea- ,erate straits. The head chief of the Sioux was at his time Little Crow. He had been in Washington, was an Indian of unusual and highly skilled in the .rt of war as conducted by the savage ', lis counsel was against war but he turned to avenge, the wrongs of his