Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1912-03-07

] I


NSSAsa - "
Sioux Falls $. u, March s The
death 0f Hansen Wisensn, 4 fsw days
ago, at his humble home at ! point
where the Missouri river divides the
states of South Dakota and Nebraska,
recalls q tragedy 81 frontier days.
"a revenge for the slaying of mem.
bers Of his family. in his absence from
home, while serving as d soldier In
the Indian campaigns on the frontier
Of Dakota, Wiseman ID believed to-
have been responsible for the death Of
many Indians who were found at in
teryals mysteriously slain HIS hat
red Of the Indians was deep, and iss
appeared to- be a mania with hfm to
send as many as possible Of them to-
the happy hunting grounds.
His name for more than d quarter
century had been terror to the des
|scendants Of the once. powerful tribes
|of Indians: Whether II was Sioux.
Pawnee or Ponca, there was no bribes
which would induce a wandering In
dian to approach within rife shot of
the rural arsenal in which Wisemaa
spent the greater part Of his life and
in which he died. 3
In a house built Of rough, implanted
oaken plank, the windows barred. the
roof sIoping and timed. Hansen Wise
an lived, an arsenal of revolyers, shot
gI.as and Winchester riflees ontinual.
lly near at hand 1:s
IA West Virginiar,.
yNisema1l was born in Harrison coull
| ty, West Virginia, in November, 1917,
In the early sixties he came west and
settler in what is now Cedar county,
Nebraska. He located on q strip Of
high but level bottom land n near
| the Missouri river. at one place a
point OF this land projected far into
/, the stream. and to round il one had 10
travel nearly two miles. Here he erect
led a typical frontiersman' 8 cabin, The
family consisted Of Wiseman, his wife
and three children The region was
swarming with Indians, but Wiseman,
who was a sturdy abolitionist and had
left Virginia on account of his al
LEGGED completely with the Nat Turner
insurrection, felt no fear Of them. He
always kept firearms near ct hand and
treated the sayages with fairness and
cordiality
4 AT the breaking out of the civil wtar
i Wiseman and his eldest son enlisted
under General Sibley and started for
the front. Shortly before their de
1 parture a babe was born at the Wise
man cabin and d a16-year-old son was
left to take care Of the mother. the
i 14-year-old sister and the infant.
/ Found His Children Dead.
Late in the fall OF 1862 the other
] was compelled to go to Yankton after
supplies. It was a t@o-days5 trip by
stagecoacll After her shopping expe;
Idition she returned to the frontier vii
i lage of ST James and then set out for
her home on foot In the dusk Of the
evening she emerged form a rayille
and started toward the cabin.
There were no signs of life. She
placed her hand on the doorlatch, but
withdrew it In terror The latch and
threshold were stained with blood
she ran to the rear window and reach
ed it just in time to see wounded In
dian trying to lift his body above the
\ windowsill. The baby lay dead on the
ground in the rear of the cabin, the
little body horribly mutiiated. Over
come by terror. the woman dropped
4 her pack Of supplies and fled through
| the nightsback to st. James
Boy Fought Desperately.
In the darkness no one dared to e
to the scene Of the massacre. but ~
| the morning a relief expedition was
organized. Two Of the children were
dead vixen the party reached the
cabin, The son had fought heroieai
4. N to save bis sisters. but had beer
oyerpowered BY numbers Both hi
arms had been broken His rife VA,
discharged and the stock had beer