The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-10-20

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point on the Minnesota, called Fort
Ridgely. Captain Woods with most of
his command left for the new post on
April 18th, 1858, and Lieutenant Corley
followed on the 2nd of June with the
balance. Thus the Upper Des Moines
country was left once more without
protection.
In November of this same year,
Though some claim, perhaps more cor
rectly, it was 1922 Henry Lott, whom
we had left near the mouth of Boone
river, removed with his stepson up on
the east branch of the Des MONIES, and
built a cabin and cleared a small piece
of land on the east bank of this stream
nearly opposite the mouth of Lofts
creek in section IL of Humboldt town
ship. He took with him few trinkets
and two or three barrels of whisky and
as was his wont, engaged in the Indian
trade.
In the winter of 1854 Sintomnidu-
tab was encamped two or three miles
south of Lofts cabin OH the right bank
of Bloody Run in section of the town
of Grove. For some reason, the chief
and his family, consisting of two
squaws Zone of whom some say was his
aged mother) and five or six children
were left alone for period of time
during January, 1854. When Lott dis
covered this, he concluded that his long
sought opportunity to glut his venge
ance for the death of his wife and son
had come. Apparently that occurrence
had long been forgotten and he and the
chief had been on the best of terms,
but in fact Henry Lott was as bitter
as ever down in his heart. Having
drawn his plot and gotten everything i'll
readiness, he and his stepson rode down
to Sintomnidutah's camp one afternoon,
and reported that they had just discov-
cred herd of elk, a mile or so up the
creek, at what is known as the Big
Bend, and invited the chief to help hunt
them. The prospect of lot of fresh
elk meat delighted the heart of Two
Fingers and his family, and he readily
accepted the invitation. Before start
ing Lott treated the chief literally with
whisky of which he was very fond, and
then the three rode off to the hunt.
When the appointed place was reached,
and the chief, because of the liquor and
his eager search for the game was Who'll
ly off his guard. Lott and his step
son shot him in the back dead Taking
his pony and gun they went home and,
Disgusting themselves in Indian garb
and paint, they stole down to the chiefs
wigwam at dusk. The two squaws and
children had heard the shooting about
shutdown and were eagerly awaiting the
arrival of the three hunters with the
elk meat. Suddenly out of the gloomy
forest leaped upon them what they sup
Sacs and Foxes. One squaw and three
or four of the children were butchered
before they could get away from. the
wigwam, but the other squaw with her
babe in her arms and accompanied by
boy of twelve years and a girl of ten
years fled a few rods before she and her
babe were overtaken and slain. The
boy also received a blow OH the head
and was left Oh the ground for dead.
The girl, however, managed to hide in
some brush and dead grass so as to baf-
llc in the darkness every effort of the
murderers to find her. Their bloody
work finished, Lott and his son gather
ed what furs they considered of value
and then set fire to the wigwams They
had already loaded their wagon with the
furs and other things worth saving at
their own cabin, and now they put the
building to the flames with intent to
lead to the belief that they had also
been attacked by the same enemy.
Lott and his son thereupon passed
hurriedly and as unperceived as possible
down the river, disposed of their proper
ty and escaped to California, and the
last heard from them was a letter a
year or two later from the stepson to
some friend near Fort Dodge stating
that his father had been killed in some
broil in the gold state. This letter was
probably written to mislead the author
tiles and get them to abandon the search
for the murderer.
The little girl, who had escaped into
the brush, found on the next morning.
that there was life still in her brother.
Joshpadutah, and in time he revived.
The two subsisted on roots and bark |
until some days later they were discov-
cred by some of their own people.
The bodies of the slain had been horri- |
bly, mangled by wolves and other wild