The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-12-31
Staying Of Little Crow Is De-
scribed by the Mill City
Woman
From Mondays Daily

Yesterday marked the fifty second
anniversary of the hanging of the
thirty eight Sioux warriors AT Man
kato, Mimi. at the close of the Indian
uprising. The resistance of the In
dams was broken when troops under
General II. II. Sibley captured large
number Of the leading chiefs and their
followers. These were tried by mill
;ary commission and 303 condemned
go death and Is to Imprisonment. says
The Minneapolis Tribune. Appeals from
missionaries and well meaning east
erners who had not seen the work OF
:he scalping knife nor felt the heat
from the burning homestead, influenced
the tender-hearted Lincoln and pardon
after pardon cut the number of con-
dcmned savages to So by the time of
the execution. The misdeeds of these
Indians were too fragrant to bring them
within the scope of the extensive par
doning campaign, and they paid the
death penalty on, the rough scaffold
erected near what Is now the corner
of Main and Front streets, Mankato.
When the warriors knew for a Ger
tainty they were to be hanged, one OF
them remarked that there was Just
one more white man that he would
like to kill before he died and that
man was that-Lamson."
i Lamson, the man referred to, was
Nathan / amson of Hutchinson, the
slayer of Little Crow, one of the prin-
cipal chiefs of the Sioux tribe Little
Crow was shot near Hutchinson.
Mimi, July 3. 1863.
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Lamsor. 1O1i
Sixth street southeast. daughter Of
Mr.. Lamson. was child of five at the
time of the shooting and recalls many
of the events of those exciting days.
"My father owned farm about Two
and one-half miles from Hutchinson
In the direction of Lake Beldcn, bhi
we had abandoned the farm and were
in Hutchinson with other settlers for
protection against Indian attacks"
said Mrs. Lamson. speaking of the
shooting of Little Grow. "Our tenn
porary home within the stockade con-
sisted of covering OF poplar poles
with hay and blankets spread over
brush to form a place to sleep. So
many families had fed to Hutchinson
in haste without bringing food with
them that the supply was short and
can remember crying myself to sleep
many n night because OF hunger and
dread of Indians.
lean recall seeing the Cross fam
lily, the mother and two little children,
who had been murdered within hun
dred yards OF the Hutchinson stock
ade. In some way | eluded nv father
and went over to see them. They had
not been scalped: simply chopped with
an ak and ] never forgot that awful
sight.
ION the third of July my father and
my brother, Chauncey, left Hutchinson
to look after the stock which had been
turned loose I'm the woods when we
left the farm. II was the general
opinion of the settlers and soldiers
that there was no further danger from
Indians and that their raids had
ceased Nevertheless both men took
their guns with them. these being the
old fashioned muzzle- loading rifles so
common i'm those days. .
As they were following an old log
ing ROAD which lay through heavy
timber, nv father cautioned Chauncey
to be more quiet for there was always
the possibility of an Indian lurking i'm
the brush. Chauncey laughed at the
idea, but did not finish his reply be-
fore he exclaimed, There's two, faith
err"
1.-THE men separated. one going into
the brush at either side OF the road
way. Little Crow and his son, the
Appearing One, had been picking ber-.
rles and saw my father and brother
at the moment they were discovered.
Both parties fired at the same time.
None of the shots took effect and my
father reloaded. At his second shot
he saw one of the Indians leap to
his feet. cry out and fall forward
A second shot from one of the Indians
wounded my father in the shoulder rs
he crouched In the bushes. The bali
plowed "A furrow about six inches I'm
length across his left shoulder and
caused him great difficulty in reload
ing his rife.
Nathan Lamson crorched near the
spot where he had entered the timber,
afraid to move because he feared
there might be other Indians nearby
Chauncey crawled away after the Sec
ond exchange Of shots and returned to
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