Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-03-06
PICTURESQUE IOWA-THE SPIRIT LAKE INDIAN MASSACRE.
eiS-ByA

struggle to the bank, but an lndlaii
pushed her back into the water and
she came up a second and third time,
but finally another Indian shot her
and her body sank to rise no more.
Amid such scenes Mrs. Abigail Sharpe
spent three months before she was
rescued The clothing she wore when
captured was all torn to threads before
they were out long and she was dress
ed in the Indian fashion. She ate the
rough, poor fare of the savages, and,
often they had scarcely anything atall
to eat The great wonder is that a
| girl of her age should have survived.
The wonder is still greater that her
mind did not give away and that she
did not become raving maniac. God
must have had purpose in preserving
| this girl.
| When the relief party which had
been sent out, as stated above, met
some refugees from Minnesota, who
told them there was no use in continu-
ing the relief expedition, as the set
tiers who had not been killed had all
left. party was sent on to bury the
dead. Two of them We're lost from the
party in the terrible cold and were
frozen to death. 1t will be recalled
that this occurred in the latter part OF
March. when is an indication that
northern Iowa used to have some rath-
er cold winters in an early day. The
main incidents are briefly related
on the monument as follows:
Miss Abbie Gardner. Mrs Margaret
Ann Marble. Mrs. Lydia Noble and
Mrs. Elizabeth Thatcher were carried
into captivity. Mrs. Marble was res
cued May 81 and Miss Gardner June
%, 1857. Through the efforts of Gov.
Medary and Hon. Chas. e. FlandreaX,
of Minnesota Mrs Noble and Mrs.
| Thatcher We're murdered by the Indi-
ans. Capt. J. c. Johnson. of Webster
City, and VIM. E. Burkholder, of Fit.
| Dodge, were frozen to death on the
return march. April 4, 1857. The per-
sons who fled from the attack on
Springfield, now Jackson. Mimi. and
were rescued by the relief expedition;
John Bradshaw, David Carver, Mrs. S.
j. Church and her two children, Eliza
Gardner, George Granger, Mrs. Harsh
man, and children, Harshman
(son of the preceding and wife), Nor
ris Markham. Mrs. VIM. Nelson and
child, Jareb Palmer. A. P. Shigler j.
B. Skinner and wife. John Stewart,
Drusilla Swanger, j. B. Thomas, wife
and five children"
/ Those few lines contain world of
history TO the early days that is more
pregnant with meaning than all the
historical novels that have been writ
ten. Those were days that tried the
souls of men and women And notice
that they were nearly all Americans.
Their names indicate that they were
4 sturdy. fearless and adventuresome
Americans. There is not an Algernon
nor Gladys among them. They all
had rugged, sensible names, which in
dicates the strength of the character
of the old settler. They had no time
for tomfoolery nor to hunt pretty
names in the dime novelst-hey led
the Strenuous Life They dared
and did. This is the bloodieSt chapter
in Iowa pioneer days. In many other
states there We're hundreds of just
such bloody episodes. but iowa was
singularly fortunate in this respect.
The martyrs of approaching civiliza-
ton who were massacred on Okiboji
Lake are entitled to our loving remem-
| brance