The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1927-01-27


lis Journal had an illustrated story
which alleged, among other things
that Rebel soldiers saved Mime
sofa from the Indians during the
outbreak of 1862.
In recent talk with the Herald
Byron Carr of this city denied
there were Rebels at Fort Rldgely
but said there were a few Rebel
prisoners with the outfit when the
march to the North Dakota Bad
Lands was started.
The Sank Centre man sent a
copy of the Journal Magazine story
to his brother, Theron F. Carr, 30
years old, now living at Bay City,
Tex. for verification. The latter
was very active in the campaign
with the Indians and he vigorous
Nv denies the statements made In
the Journal story in the following
letter, which the Herald believes,
will be read with interest:
Bay City, Texas,
January Ia, 1927.
To The Editor of the Minneapolis
journal Magazine:
Dear Sir:
received clipping from your
paper with the following heading.
ssDid a Confederate Regiment help
save Minnesota" l say positively
No! There were no Confederates
in Minnesota until after the Sioux
were out of the state.
I have a copy of the photo that
was sketched by Fred Brant and
was enlarged in your paper (there
were nine other pictures sketched
by him on that trip. I-still have
five of them). / also have a diary
of every day we marched from the
sixth of June when we left FIT.
Ridgely until we returned in Octo-
Der.
"He says the confederate grey
were still shouldering squirrel riff
les. I" The Confederates We're arm
ed with better guns than the Fed
erals were at that time. The pris-
oners did not carry their arms to
prison camps or buildings, where
they were held by Northern sol
-diers under guard. He says, "The
man who shot Little Grow did not
know it was Little Crow" That is
a mistake. Little Crow and his
son (who was educated at Fari-
bault) We're trying to get back to
Faribault when they stopped to
pick blackberries near a road. A
farmer and his son suddenly came
in sight on a wagon. They all had
guns, and Little Crow snapped the
gun at the white man and grabbed
his sons gun but the farmer fired
the bullet killing Little Crow. His
son son and thew hite man exam
ined the dead Indian and thought
it was Little Crow and he sent his
son to town for a man who was
well acquainted with Little Crow,
who said it was him, as both of
Little Crows arms had been brok-
zen and not properly set. 1t was
positive Identification.
Little Crows son started back
to the tribe without a gun, and
when near Fl. Abercombie, Corp
oral Chester Boss (who was my
cousin) of the 9th Mimi, Inf.
mounted, was out scouting and the
Indian saw him, and ran to him
and said: "Chester don't let them
kill me-" The boys wanted to
shoot him but Chester defended
him. They had been schoolmates
at Faribault where all of us boys
saw him and Little Crow often.
The Indian begged for something
to eat as he had only had a piece of
hawk in six days, and he told the
corporal the same story of the
killing of his father as. had been
published in the papers. The cor
poral had his prisoner mounted on
his horse behind him, and gave
him a bareback. He rode backstoi
the Fort, and turned him. oteri to
the commander who had him lock-
ed up, but he was Indian and would
not talk. They sent for Corporal
Boss, who said "Give me some
thing for him to eat and put me
in with him." They did so and he
talked as they did in school; he
answered all questions. The In
dian was sent to Rock Island later.
My parents had home on Can
non River a few miles below Fari-
bault, where I lived until near 20
years old, when I married a school
mate. In the spring of 1862 we
moved to Paynesville. Mike Beck
ley offered me half Of a crop of
wheat, oats and potatoes if / would
harvest it, as he had to go into
the army. I had the grain nearly
all stacked, when man drove up
and said: "You had better go to
town as the Indians are killing
the people west of YOU" l started
and drove the mile to town. We
saw people and parts of families
coming from every direction. We
formed squad of sixteen and
moulded bullets most of the night.
In the morning we took two horse
teams to go after the wounded and
bury the dead. Steve Harris and
] went to Lake Johanna, where we
found 40 men, women and chill
dren. The men were as badly
frightened as the women. We got
away with them and reached
Paynesville O. X. Little Grow
had his plans well laid, and one
band went to Grove Lake, where
they killed an old friend Of mine,
and the next day to lake Johannah,
but were too late because we had