davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

lines will be on the crest and doubling
up our main line Of defense. Han
cock endeavored in vain to rally
Sickles' regiments to hold the line.
The minutes were passing. Suddenly
he saw that thin battalion sup
where he saw a group of its officers
standing, he asked: What regiment Is
this 2" First Minnesota" answered
Colonel Colville. Charge those lines!"
was sHancock's crisp command. Not q
soul of those 262 Minnesota boys but
knew what those three words meant.
the necessary commands, the line
moved out, took the double-quick,
broke into a dead run down q slope
Of some three hundred yards, under
the steady fire Of the rebel brigades.
AS they We're reaching the foot of the
slope they struck the enemy's line as
its formation was a little broken in
or, a. dried--up water course.
ing line remaining, but it came on
With such speed and determination
that, the enemy broke, fell back and at
length got, under cover from the Wig
orous fire poured into them. The little
band Of heroes held their ground till
supports We're moved in, and then they
were ordered out. OF those 262 men
| NcttSVS OolO41SAs SoAf1iAS wv -
that fatal slope, 215 were left wounded
or dead on the way. Forty-seven an
sWered to the roll call of: survivors,
"a percentage of loss without an equal
in the records of modern warfare.
There is no more gallant deed
recorded In history" is Hancock's tes-
timony. Il ordered these men in there
because I saw L must gain five min
utes' time. 81 would have ordered
that, regiment in if I had known that
every man would be killed."
It was the fortune of a Minnesota
regiment to be placed at this critical
point in the culminating attack of the
great struggle. So long as the name
of Minnesota is known among men, the
story Of what these men did on the
Gettysburg field will be told. Yet Col.
Ville's statue is not placed under the
dome of the capitol. A century from
now .Colville will be the best known
MinnesOtan of his day.: :5.t.
/ The grizzfed survivors of that charge
are walking our streets to-day. Should
there not be a law requiring each anG
all Of them to wear a. conspicuous
badge, SO that every hat may be lifted
as they pass?
/ The Indian Wars. -
| The state of Minnesota, unlike hel
sisters, had an added burden to carry
in the war period. Had the Siou,
outbreak, occurred in time Of peace i
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

makeup has been frequently changed.
At this time 1t Is composed Of three
members, elected for four-year terms,
and receiving a salary of SO 900. Since
1885 the same board has served also
as warehouse commission, control
ling the state grain inspection.
Agricultural Developments.
The development Of the agriculture
Of Minnesota has gone along with that
Of her railroads, and has passed thru
the same phases. The reason, for this
is that from the time the land grant
policy was adopted railroads in the
Of settlement. The railroad builders
decided what districts should be
opened to settlement, and where the
villages should be built. Population
spread from these local centers, and
under the benign operation of the
were established where the Sioux were
fighting in the generation previous. In
territorial days it was not believed
that wheat would be sure crop
altho Colonel Smelling raised good
crops at the fort in the twenties. In
1855 Captain John Rollins brought
1000 bushels of wheat from Iowa for
his mill on Hennepin island at the
falls Under the sod of the prairies,
however, there lay deep, strong soil
of glacial origin, unequalled in the
world for its richness in the elements
of wheat. This secret could not long
be kept, and was not. Another secret
| was soon out. that while winter wheat
could not endure the rigors Of the sea-
son, spring wheat attained a growth
and perfection which was amazing to
settlers who had come up from the
winter wheat belt. It took no long
| term Of years to open a wheat farm.
A section Of prairie broken up in
June and backset in October was ready
for sowing in the following March.
It was common for the first crop to
pay not only the expenses Of raising
and securing 1t, but the value of the
land itself.s So profitable was wheat
raising that capitalists were drawn
into it. Great tracts Of thousands of
acres were bought or leased, and put
into wheat. with all the economies of
larger production. Bonanza farms
became a fashion, almost craze.
But there was another secret to be
unlocked to give spring wheat pro-
duction a greater Importance. The
milling processes adapted to winter
wheat. when applied to our exceeding
/ ly hard red spring wheat. yielded a
product strong and nutritious, but
dark in color, and threw the better
4 part into the low grades. A process
of cleaning niddlings, " already
known In France, was readily adapt
/ ed to spring wheat milling by one La
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26
)RICAL SKETCH OF THE" STATE OF MINNESOTA

croix Of Faribau1t. Many inventors
improved this process, which made it
possible to recover from the low
grades the glutenous parts OF the grain
and to produce from them the So
called Minnesota Patent" flour, equal
ing the finest winter wheat product In
color and much stronger and more
nutritious.
This development made the Mime
sofa farmers rich. Their spring wheat
was no longer an inferior product. All
southern, western and middle Mime
sofa became one vast wheat field. The
did show Later the Hungarian
process Of gradual reduction in flour
milling was applied to both winter and
spring wheats in a way to somewhat
reduce the advantages of the latter.
In the last census year the 324 mer-
chant mills Of Minnesota ground 1922
641,825, into 22,705,165 barrels Of
flour, valued at $72,381,659.
First in Flour.
In that census Minnesota stood No.
among the states for capital invested
in flour milling, number of employees,
wages paid and quantity of wheat used.
In number of mills she stood No. 10.
But at length and by the middle Of
the eighties the wheat culture was
much overdone. It was found that
nine or ten years Of successive CROP
| ping without manure or fertilizers so
reduced the stock Of natural wheat
elements as to cut the yield in two.
Bonanza farming became less profit
able, and the operators sold out and
moved to the Red river valley and the
Dakotas. Rotation of crops was nat
urally the first remedy to be applied.
Barley and oats came in first; corn
much later, because it was long be-
lieved impossible to mature this crop
before the season should close. For
the last ten years the area of corn has
steadily increased, so that 1t Is now
among the leading products Of the
state. Flax has been widely sown with
results highly satisfactory for time.
There is reason to expect that science
will soon provide an antidote to the
poison which flax is supposed to lodge
in the soil. Since there cannot be a
| complete rotation of crops without
grass, the Minnesota farmer soon found
that he must seed down his land from
time to time and maintain a suffi-
cient number of animals to consume
his hay and corn. AS If by a providen-
tial arrangement, the creamery and
butter factories were organized at the
happy moment. All over southern
Minnesota they were thickly spread.
Minnesota now became both Bread
and Butter State" her products stand
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

awaited the close of the great war be-
tween the states, best known as the
WAR of the Shareholders Rebellion"
When this gigantic contest was open
ing, the new state was recovering from
the reaction of 1857. The census Of
1850 gave a population Of 172,02S, an
increase of near thirty-fold in the
decade. Wheat was beginning to be
exported; wholesaling had begun in st.
Paul; a great lumber business had
grown UP at the Falls. Flour was not
exported till 1862. The first shipment
was branded "Muskingum Mills. Troy.
Ohio,''{ it being regarded as Incredible
that anybody would buy flour purport-
ing to come from land Of wild rice
and beaver skins. James j. Hill, then
a bill clerk on the levee in st. Paul,
cut the stencil. ~
One Of the most curious bits Of po-
litical gossip in our history was the
election by the first state Legislature
of that soldier Of fortune, General
senate. Henry M. Rice was his col
league and fortunately drew the long
err term. 49, s4
Happily recovered from the terrible
punishment visited on her rising in
dustries by the panic of 1857, the peo-
pie Of Minnesota in 1850 were facing
the future with hope and resolution
4NCW oClllClIlSlllSy WSIS uP III
the outlying counties Of the "Suland,'
vast harvests smiled where the buffalo
and elk had roamed, the log cabin
and the sod house were giving place to
the permanent dwelling, the towns
were prospecting on the swelling trade
Of the country; tomorrow would be
as this day, and much more abundant
A cloud suddenly fell over this fail
scene.
After lively contention between
the two great political parties, far
however, from personalities SO far as
the principal figures were concerned
the gallant Sibley had given place te
the manly, clear-headed and equally
patriotic Ramsey in the executive of.
flee.
Minnesota in the War.
It CHANGED that in April, 1861, Gov.
ernor Ramsey was in Washington. Or
Saturday night, the 18th, the news q
the attack on and surrender of For
Sumter came. That event had all the
effect of a declaration of war upo1
the United States. Early next, morn
ing the governor was calling on Sec
rotary Cameron to offer in a simple
business way 1000 men for the serv
! ice of the nation. Mr.. Cameron wa
equally business-like. Put that offe1
in writing. Governor Ramsey, and "
will lay it before the president, t.
whom I am now going" No soone
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

ished In excruciating PAIN; 1000 more
were manned; 5000 were thrown on
the bounty Of the state a stream, of
10000 fugitives rushed down the Min
nesota, valley. Not less than 81, 100000
worth Of property was destroyed in a
belt Of ESQ miles, and in ten counties
nothing was left"
The campaigns Of Sibley and Sully
to the upper Missouri country, in 1863
1854, whittier the Indians drew off,
need not here be related, altho large
bodies of Minnesota troops were en-
gagged. The Sioux were forever exiled
from their ancient home in Minnesota.
In their new residences they are max
ing no little progress In civilization
under the guidance of the missionaries.
In series Of treaties the Chippewas
have coded to the United. States the
northern half of the area of Mime
sofa and retired to the reservations,
on which they now reside. They are
making some progress towards civil
iZation, but the recent Bear island out
break is proof of the thinness Of the
veneer. The reduction" Of their reser-
vations is going on, and the land
hungry white man will presently leave
the Indian no country which he can
call his own. And it may be best for
the Indian to be merged into the peo-
pie of the United States and give up
|
The First Railroad.
In spite of the drain Of money and
men for the war, her population had
more than doubled. Now opened
career Of progress which has persisted
and still continues, broken only by
two intervals Of no great length. No
better gage Of this progress and its
| Interruptions could be chosen than
our railroad development. On July O.
1852, an excursion train ran from the
capital city to st. Anthony. At the
close Of 1865 we had 210 miles OF
railway. Then, large and steady an
nual gains till 1872, when the figures
stood at 1900 miles. In the next three
years building was suspended, but, re-
viving in 1876, the new construction
J increased the total mileage to 3,O9e
miles in 1880. Then. steady annual ad.
ditions which carried the total tc
4 5,O42 miles in 1883, where 1t stood til
1895. From that year dates another
! period Of steady construction. The
4 6,OOO-nlile mark was passed In 1898
and the whole mileage at this date !!
now not far from 7,51O.51. More thar
two hundred railroad companies frs
and last have been organized, but onl.
forty-three are now making their an
nual payments in lieu Of taxes int
the state treasury. Since 1871 the.
have been under the supervision O
a state commission, of which tn
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

into the constitution SO lately could
take it out. The legislature submitted
to the people an amendment provtd-
ing for the issue of special 7 per cent
bonds Of the state to the amount of
$5,O00,0OO to the railroad companies,
under conditions which would seem to
have been suggested by their attor-
neys. At special election, held April
Is, out of 31,756 votes cast only 6,733
were in the negative. ut went like
a whirlwind." Some $50 miles of
grading had been done, and $2,275,-
900 in bonds had been delivered to the
companies when they all collapsed and
ceased operations. In December, 1859,
in the last days of his term Of Of
flee, Governor Sibley refused further
delivery and ordered foreclosures of
the companies mortgages. Later the
state came into possession of what
property could be reached by that pro-
ceedtng. Now came on a popular re-
vulsion. It was alleged and widely
believed that the whole business was
saturated with fraud, and that the state
had been feloniously deceived and
robbed In response to unmistakable
popular demand, the legislature of
1850 submitted to the electors an
amendment to expunge that OF 1858
from the constitution and to forbid the
legislature from providing for the re-
demption Of the railroad bonds unless
after mandate Of the people. This
amendment was ratified and technical
ly, at least, Minnesota stood before the
world as the repudiator Of debt for
which she had pledged her faith and
credit, but the people believed and
steadfastly maintained that exact
equity had been done.
However that may be. experience
proved the policy a costly one. The
best business men of the state could
not for half a generation persuade the
people that it would be wise for the
state to liquidate these bonds, no mat
ter If she had not received value for
them. Governor Ramsey, In his mes
sage Of 1860, strongly advised settle
ment. Sibley in the legislature of 1871,
pleaded for adjustment. Finally Gov
ernor John S. Pillsbury, near the close
of his last administration, in 1881,
prevailed upon the legislature to &C
cept a proposition made by the hold
ers of the bonds to exchange them for
new bonds of the state at the rate of
two dollars for one. Minnesota state
railroad adjustment bonds to the
amount of $4,2S2,000 were thus ex-
changed and the old issues were taken
in and destroyed. In 1862, the fore
closures having been natured, the leg
3islature made over the franchises and
property to new companies which had
a more successful career than their
predecessors. But railroad building
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

Coulee on the third Of September, but
they had succeeded in terribly pun
ishfng a. detachment Of $50 men I'M
der command Of Major James r..
Brown, sent out by Sibley to bury the
dead and ascertain the whereabouts
Of the enemy.
The Decisive Battle.
Little Grow held 300 captives whom
he was ready to slaughter at q mo-
ment's notice. Colonel Sibley wisely
spent some days in. better Organization
and equipment of his force, while cor
responding with the Sioux chief. On
the 9Th he passed the Minnesota and
moved UP towards the mouth of the
Yellow Medicine. Little Crow, en-
boldened by sibley's caution and ten
derness for the captives, wanted an
other fight. He got it. On the 22d he
drove In a foraging party and pre-
cipitated the battle Of Wood lake: It
was a lively affair of two hours, which
resulted in the disappearance of the
Indians from the field.
That evening Little Grow sent rep
resentative, under flag of truce, pro-
posing surrender of his whole force
on condition Of pardon. This proposal
was at once rejected. Little Grow
thereupon, with a small following,
dLQdllQOilSo LIS pCOp1C dllo oSpcll ~ 1oA
the James river country. Sibley
promptly moved to the near neighbor-
hood; Of the Indian camp, and, taking
a few officers and an escort of two
companions, which he left at the en-
trance, rode fearlessly into the CEN
trail area. He demanded the instant
release Of the captives, and was obeyed
His own description Of that scene is
worthy Of the cedar. It was on Sept
LIS. three days after that, President
Lincoln made Colonel Sibley a
brigadier { general Of volunteers.
It was. now necessary to infiict
such punishment as would satisfy
the savages as to the, white
mans power, and so far as pos
sible mark the atrocity of their deeds
Four hundred and twenty-f five Indians
and half-breeds were arrested and
placed on trial by a military commits
| sion on charges of robbery, rape and
murder Three hundred and twenty
one were found guilty, and 303 were
condemned to death by hanging. AS is
well known, these sentences were al
commuted except In thirty-e eight cases
In which the evidence proved sin.
dividual murders and atrocious abuse
! of female captives." On Dec. 26, 1852
execution was done on those thirty
eight murderers at Mankato. So CLOSED
the Sioux war of 1862 in Minnesota
Sibley,s biographer records the awfu
work: I'm a, week and mostly within
lforty-eight hours 1000 persons per
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

braves stole q wagon and span Of
horses and drove at headlong speed to
the Redwood agency, arriving towards
Their story was soon told.
They We're sons of influential families,
who at once demanded the support OF
the band. The night before. at coun-
Gil at Rice creek. it had been agreed
that $50 young men should march
the next morning to st. Paul to demand
the delayed payment. The members
Of this party were early moving to
the rendezvous at Little Crows house,
two miles above the lower agency.
Crow, reused from his sleep, sat up in
the murders and the wild cry for
blood His savage heart prevailed over
the knowledge and judgment which
should have governed him. This"
said he, lis as good a time as any.
I am with you. Let us kill the traders
and take their goods.'' Before the
dew was off the grass the killing be-
gan. More than a thousand naked
and painted savages were ranging the
country, numbering and burning. The
horrors Of that day cannot possibly be
described, nor could they have been
Imagined. After the first wild out
break there was some semblance Of Or
ganized warfare. On Tuesday, the 1 9th,
q demonstration was made on New
OlIIl. HO1l wv eQneSOdy ana InurSudy re-
peated attacks were made on Fort
Ridgely, held by a, small garrison, who
made gallant and effectual defense.
Friday passed without battle, but far
on the outskirts of the settlements the
savage work of rape and plumber went
on. On Saturday, the 23d, a second
and determined attack in great force
was made on New. Ulnl. A citizen or
Iganization, commanded by Judge
Flandreau, held the extemporized for
LITIGATION so firmly that after dark the
savages drew off. The news of the
outbreak at the lower agency was
brought to Governor Ramsey in St
Paul late on Tuesday. On the after
noon of that day he had commissioned
Governor Sibley his late political an
tagonist, a colonel and placed him in
command of all state troops. The next
day, Wednesday, Colonel Sibley was
marching from Smelling to st. Peter
100 miles away, with four companies
Of the Sixth infantry, which had rem
dezvoused at the fort. He arrived the
following evening. Here three days
were consumed in organization and il
collecting food, arms, ammunition
transportation and medical supplies
On Monday, the 18th, Colonel Sibley
with a force of 1,400 men, was on the
march for Fort Ridgely. and Little
Crows army. A descent by. the siou,
on the towns along the Minnesota riV
er was successfully checked at Bircf
The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

would have aroused the whole coun-
try. Within g. few years after the
treaty of Traverse des Sioux, the war
rior bands of that nation had been es-
tablished on their reservations, strad-
ding the Minnesota river from near
New Ulm to Lake Traverse. They had
not been there five years before the
white settlements began to crowd their
eastern boundary. So great was the
pressure and SO influential were Ger
tain interested persons that the Indians
were induced in 1858 to sell their lands
on the northeast of the Minnesota riv-
er for $4,000. This money was new
vision for grant.in the form of eighty
acres to every Sioux family which
should adopt civilized life. But 16O
persons accepted this proposition, and
they were the most unpopular persons
in the bands. Over 5000 annuity In
d1ans remained on the reservations to
the south and west Of the river. They
Indians From time iInmemor1aI nc
Indian could be respectable unless he
had been "a murderer. He could not
wear the eagle feather until he had
killed an enemy. This passion was
at the bottom Of the trouble. :
For years there had been dtscon-
tent over the continued aggression 81
InO aWullGS O4l+CACfls 1o1ISo, VIC oSAAy
of their payments, the extortions Of the
traders, to whom the. Indians Were
deeply in debt This discomfort was
at It's highest in the summer of 1852
They had already seen large numb ers
Of white men and half-breeds sent of
to a distant war, and doubtless We're
aware that many other white men re-
garded the contest In which they were
engaged a hopeless i not an unjus!
one. The all-powerful white mans
government had not punished Ink
paduta, and his followers in the mas.
sacre at Spirit. lake. The young mer
were spelling for a fight In which te
win their eagle plumes, and were hold.
ing soldiers lodges by night.
The First Victims.
| The efforts Of the missionaries and
native Christians and the counsels O.
the older men might have held then
/ In order and kept peace on the border
but for an event almost accidental. Or
Sunday, Aug. II, 1862, a party Of foul
Sioux braves, wand ering along the biz
woods, came upon a settlers cabin al
which they obtained whisky. They pro
ceeded to a neighboring dwelling, fol
lowed by the settler and his wife: Here
a considerable company was assem-
bled. "A proposition to shoot at ;
mark was made and accepted. Til,
Indians reloaded; the whites neglected
to. Five white people were almos
simultaneously shot to death. Tn
= = = Z. Il "