The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1904-07-08

Deserved, it is prODable that TINS
Soint has been occupied by man
55Snce man occupied the country.
ertainly the earlier white settlers
h, Selkirk's colony and the Swiss
{ no came shortly after would find
safer if not necessary to arrange
leir rude log dwellings in the form
f a square. with a stockade fence
&c heavy posts in the vacant spaces
Aetween, which was the usual form
T frontier posts, and is that shown
i the picture. The Selkirk fort
r stockade, however, if any. dis,
ppeared without record. except
V inference from the writings OF
he older historians.
The fory as presented, however,
7as the first American post at this
oint, Our readers should not
onfound this with the Fort Penn
ina of later days built some ten
ears after and situated one mile
arther up the Red river.
The picture presented Is taken
rom a sketch made by a soldier.
vho was a member of Hatch's bat.
alion and who helped to build it.
It is just forty years ago since
his Fort Pembina was erected;
lot long time in history; not so
ong that there are still many men
,et in vigorous life who were men,
,ers of the battalion.
AS late as 1850 the ditch or
noat that ran across the point at
The base of the stockade was still
Visible, but was oblite, ated at the
lime of the grading of the streets
If the city. One building Of the
nanv that were built at that time
md afterwards, is still in existence,
being used by William Fowler as
4 stable.
To many however the query may
come, why was this fort built and
who and what was Hatch's Bat
;aGon?
We can in this place give but a
short account of this little phase
of history, which if it had occur.
red at any other period than it did
would have occupied a far more
prominent place in the annals of
our country.
1t was in the dark days of the
civil war. The Indians of Mime
sofa, encouraged by the fact that
the nation was apparently in the
throes of self destruction, attempt
ed to drive out the white settlers
from their former hunting grounds
and without warning they swept
down upon the defenceless frontier
killing and scaling as they went
until they reached the more thick
ly settled part of the state in the
vicinity of the Twin Cities. Not
withstanding Minnesota had al
ready sent a large portion of her
able-bodied citizens to the armies
which were fighting the rebels. yet
almost every man able to bear
arms rose, forming irregular COM
panies and battalions and went to
meet the Indians and preserve
their homes. Without going fur
Their into this part at the history
it is enough for the present to say
that they were successful and beat
back the murderous wretches in
several pitched battles, some being
fought ON the soil of what is now
North Dakota, eliminating at last
in the trial Of two or three hund.
red who had been taken prisoners,
OF whom forty were hung Oh one
scatfold at Nlankato.
A large number of the remain.
ing Indians fled to the country
Just across the line north of this
county. There were several hund.
red of these renegades in the party
and they were perpetual menace
to the few white people who re-
sided III this vicinity, and the peo.
pie Vt Minnesota were afraid of
possible raids for the sake of plum
der and revenge. On the other
hand the Indians were anything
but welcome to the authorities on
the Canadian side.
To those who are at all familiar
with the history of the rebellion 1t
will be easily understood why the
government had no troops to spare
in the ,ear 1868 to. protect the
northern border. That was the
time of the darkest days of the
war, when the result was in doubt
and volunteers hard to get and ev.
cry man possible was hurried to
the front.
In this emergency. the men Of
Minnesota had to help themselves
and while Hatch's Battalion wa.
authorized and raised unde,
the orders Of the govern.
ment, yet it was recruited In Min.
nesota and was q part of the Min.
aesota volunteers.
During the months Of Angus,
md September f6R3 three fssfSr,