The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-10-06


head and In flank
The spatter of the musket shot. the rifle.
whistling rain
Inc sandhills drift round hope forlorr
that never marched again!
"A y INETY-NINE years ago Chi
N cago experienced her frs
NV tragedy In the little stock
ade fort at the bend in the
river, where the sluggish cur
rent turned sharply southwark before
losing itself in the lake. all was hustle
and excitement. For the summons
had come across the lonely wilder
ness of Michigan and northern In
diana to the commander of the gar
rison TO abandon the sheltering walls
of the stockade and effect, If possible
retreat to Detroit or Fort Wayne
Before the start could be made there
was much to do by way Of prepare
ton. Wagons must be provided tC
carry the baggage. the little children
and the helpless; the soldiers. the
women and children must prepare
themselves for the wearisome journey
and the Indians must be conciliated
Here, indeed. was the crucial prob
lem for the busy commander Outside
the little fort, stretched away for
leagues in every direction practical
ly unbroken sea of savagery. 1t is
true that within sight of the fort and
under its sheltering protection half
dozen rude cabins had been erected.
and that these were inhabited by as
many families, who depended for
their livelihood either upon the In
some sort of service for the garrison.
These constituted the only signs OF
civilization To the north and west
the wilderness was limited only by
the bounds of the continent. To the
southwest ST. Louis. 300 miles away.
was already a place Of considerable
importance and antiquity. the COM
mercial emporium Of the upper
Mississippi valley. with a population
of upward of 1000 souls.
The Garrison at Dearborn.
In southern Illinois. along the
Mississippi, was little group of set
Elements whose origin went back to
the French regime: and, in addition
during the last decade. hardy Ameri
cans had been coming into this par.
of the territory. chiefly from the
southern states, and had fairly begun
the work of carving out the great
commonwealth of today. Two hun
dred and fifty miles to the southeast
was Fort Wayne, like Fort Dearborn.
the site of garrison and center OF
governmental control of the sur
rounding Indian tribes. Indiana terri
tory contained about 10000 whites,
all in the southern and southeastern
portion. In all Michigan there were
but 5000, nearly all in the group of
troit.
The history of Fort Dearborn goes
back to 1903, the year of the Louis
lana purchase. With that acquisition.
and with the wave of white settle
ment steadily pushing out into the
northwest it became necessary to
have a garrison more conveniently To-
Gated for the protection and control
of the region between Lake Michigan
and the Mississippi than were the old
forts at Detroit and Mackinac. Ac-
cordingly, in the summer of 1903. an
expedition set out from Detroit. part
going by boat around the lakes. part
marching overland for Chicago. On
its arrival the work Of constructing
a fort was entered upon.
For nine years the little garrison
was maintained, the tediOusness of
the monotonous life there being re-
lieved only at rare intervals by the
visit of some trader or officer. or by
an occasional birth, resignation or
death. Thus time passed until the
rising Unrest of the northwestern In
dams and the lowering war cloud on
the northern horizon gave new in
terest, as well as an added danger. to
the Fort Dearborn garrison.
The declaration of war In June,
1912, found the United States woeful-
" unprepared. The Indians. believing
in the ultimate triumph of the Brit
isr. thus were reused to strike a blow
on their own account. and the tribes
moved In close to the post, prepared to
take advantage of any opportunity that
might arise Hull notified the secre
tary of war that ne was about to
send an order to Captain Head TO
abandon Fort Dearborn and retreat
to Fort Wayne or Detroit he him.
self retreated to Detroit. and six days
later a message from Tecumseh
made known TO the Indians around
Fort Dearborn Huls predicament and
the probability of Ills surrender By
this time the news Of his instructions
to Head were known to all the t.ibes,
and doubtless there was a thrill in
many a savage heart at the prospect
of wiping out the three obnoxious
posts-Detroit Chicago and Fort
Wayne.
chicago's Greatest Tragedy.
The Indian runner. Winnemac, de-
Iivered Hulrs message to Head order
ing the evacuation. and the next three
days were spent in an effort to deter
mine the probable conduct of the In.
dams in case II should be attempted
Hull's orders were to distribute the
government property to the Indians
as the price of safety. The news of