New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1915-08-11

r :. III
Flandreau wasted no time with him.3
Hand over that gum, demanded tie
chief. Still the man chung to his weapon
and refused to part with it. Give me
that gun thundered Flandreau, and the
weapon was meekly surrendered.
II took my station on the top Of the
roof with the double barreled rifle and q
bottle containing powder and was joined
by Senator Swift who afterwards became
governor of the state. We had theodo-
lite and could get fine view of the sur
rounding country thru the telescope.
Besides picking off Indians, we were in
position to report the charges of Little
Crow before they were we'll under way.
Here is where the Sioux chief showed his
poor generalship. Had he attacked on
all sides at once nothing could have
saved the plucky little garrison. But he
would charge on but one side at time
and that enabled us to meet his attacks
as they came.
There were many stirring incidents
during the days we defended the town.
In a hand to hand fight between the
Indians and whites for one of the log
cabins at the end of the street, the Indians
were defeated and driven back. An
Indian is no match for white man in real
fighting. He wants odds of about four
to one. The anvil cannon we made
to scare them added touch of humor
to the tense situation. We knew of the
Indians wholesome respect for artillery
and so took two anvils out on the street
and loading them with powder and ar
ranging a section of stove pipe to re-
semble cannon we shot off the anvils
few times to intimidate the red-skins.
The plan worked admirably.
''The rescue of the town was perhaps
the most dramatic event of those stirring
days. Off in the distance that last day
we saw body of troops approaching.
1t was impossible to tell whether they
were friend or foe. One of our brave
fellows (his name escapes me now rode
out to meet them with a field glass in
his hands. We were covering him with
our rifles at his own request. Our orders
were that if the Indians closed in on him
he was to meet death by our bullets
rather than at the hands of the Sioux
That was the hardest duty ever placed
upon me. But suddenly we saw him
wave his hat and dash out to meet the
troops who proved to be the relief party
under E. St. Julian Cox. And as the
troops came near, we saw the Indians
quietly slipping away in defeat.
Preparations were at once made to
! take the women and children to place
of safety and they were speedily loaded
into the wagons. The greatest trouble
we had was to make the people realize
the impossibility of saving their house
hold goods. remember one family
insisted upon taking their big feather bed
with them. Under the directions of
! oooSC L Ad1lAAe eau, u1dOc SlIOlS WO1A u
the bed by simply slashing it with my
knife. The feathers soon foated away
in the wind.
There, you have my recollections of
the Indian uprising. I am glad to get
back to New Ulm and I intend to look
over the ground that remember so well.
There have been many changes but l
still have clear picture of how the
town looked when it was simply one short
street of log cabins with but few brick
buildings.
''There is just one thing would like
to suggest to the good people of New
Ulm, and that is that they take every
measure possible to keep fresh the
memory of those who so calamity gave
their lives for the city. The graves of
the old defenders should be cared for
with the reverence due to the memory Of
| their brave deeds. When was here. a
year ago, their graves did not look as
we'll kept as they might have been. l
say this, not in criticism; but merely as
suggestion of a fine way in which you
may show your appreciation of their
bravery"
After the war the people will need
much romance and many stories of love
in quiet places to get their minds and