The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-08-27
from a bottlei The children then made
their escape.
From saturday, paiiy.

Il
those whose hands helped carve out
the fortunes of this great state. Judge
| Lorin Cray. VINO was one OF the
younger men engaged In the Indian
warfare OF those dangerous days, was
sought out by Free Press reporter
with a view of obtaining q correct
account OF some of the unpublished
incidents OF those days to satisfy the
demand for true and reliable story
| dealing with early Minnesota his
tory. Judge Cray is the only man liv-
| ing i'm this vicinity who had hand in
the building OF the old sod fort near
Judson and the happenings of that
exciting period are as vivid In his
memory as though they were hap
penings of yesterday. The old fort Is
rapidly sinking into its native ele-
ment. and will soon be obliterated by
the natural changes of nature Casual
passersby would never notice II. peo-
pie looking for II as a historic spot
OF interest would never be able TO
find Il without a guide, and residents
of the neighborhood have never
heard OF II. yet the true and complete
account of it's building, which has
been given to The Free Press through
the courtesy Of Judge Cray, and
which has never before been pup
lished will be eagerly welcomed by
Minnesota historians.
Storning Of Judson Fort.
II was serving In the army in those
days, and my company which was
company ID. Ninth Minnesota. under
the command OF Captain A. X. Skaro.
was stationed at st. Peter" writes
Judge Cray. On December 20, 1862.
we had acted as guard on one side
OF the scaffold at the execution of the
thirty eight Indians who were hang
ed about one hundred and fifty feet
! north OF the Saulpaugh hotel, between
'FRONT.' street and the river. In the
early spring of 1853 we were ordered
from st. Peter to Judson on the South
west side of the Minnesota river.
very near where Judson station now
is, about midway between Mankato
and New Ulm. There we built a sod
fort about $50 feet square and about
ten feet high, making an excellent
fort for resisting Indian attacks, and
we remained there until June of that
year. scouting the prairies and tim
Der lands. and bearing dispatches be-
tween New Ulm. St. Peter. South
Bend, and Mankato. The remains OF
the fort can still be seen. and an en- :
/ einecr's draft of II is In the files o.
the Minnesota Historical society.
Tore Down Old Barracks.
Company T. OF our regiment. under
Captain Dane and Lieutenant Clark
Keysor, had been stationed at Jud-
son before we came there, and when
they moved elsewhere we succeeded
them. They had occupied IAN aban-
doned dwelling house, andNhad built
board barracks for their sleeping
quarters and mess room very near
the dwelling house. We inherited the
barracks and dwelling, and occupied
them until we completed our fort.
which we began to build about the
middle OF April and completed the
same month. AS we proceeded with
the building of our sod fort we tore
down the old barracks and recon
structed them inside our fort. At
each corner we fashioned turrets. I'm
which we could stand. and placing
our guns in the port holes. we could
sweep the country i'm all directions.
Through the sod all along the sides
OF the fort we made similar port holes
through which we could fire i'm safe
~ upon an advancing enemy.
No Protection From indians.
Before the completion of our fort
we had no protection from the Indians
in case OF surprise or an attack and
II became necessary to maintain a
strong picket line every night. We
would deploy the entire company ex-
cert the cooks. In a picket line ex-
! tending from the river on the north
to the open country on the south. and
then throw out three or four videttes
few hundred feet In advance of
the pickets. On several occasions I
occupied one OF these vidette posts
| from sunset to sunrise. without re-
lief or communication with anyone.
would take'a position near "a tree,
break off all nearby twigs, kick the
leaves from under my feet. and rest
secure in the thought that could
hear an approaching Indian before he
could discover me.
How Rations Were Supplied.
When my company first arrived
at Judson and went into eamp we
were supplied with rations from st.
Peter by team. The only means OF
crossing the Minnesota river was on
the ice. which was then moving out,
and by a ferryboat. kept in place
and pulled across by a trolley, or
pulleys attached to a cable stretched
across the river. We found the cable
In place but the ferry boat was not
fastened to II. We attempted to run
the boat across the river by'holding
II up to the cable by hand. This re-
CURED a number of men. and one day
while we were doing this and get
ting along finely. all hands, with the
exception of myself. let go their hold
on the cable, and the force of the re-
bound threw me into the river ten or
fifteen feet from the boat. The wat
er was ice cold. lost my hat, and
before could reach the fort. more
than mile away. my clothes were
so badly frozen that IL was extremely
difficult to walk
/ Carried Dispatches on Mule.
| While at the fort was on one
occasion ordered to saddle the fleet
est mule. and carry important dis
patches to Mankato. Riding mules
was not my long suit but obeyed
When | had ridden about two miles
| came to a narrow bridge which my
mule refused TO cross. We fought II
out and the mule conquered. sue
ceeded I'm getting him so tnmaua 90 I.