Old Rail Fence Corners: The A. B. C's. of Minnesota History
History
Old Rail Fence Corners: The A. B. C's. of Minnesota History
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota; Minnesota -- Biography; Minnesota -- History, Local; Pioneers -- Minnesota -- Biography
After a day of preparation and suspense, Lieut. Shehan returned with his
fifty men, who were welcomed with joy by those holding the post, and
later, about forty-six men arrived from St. Peter, the Renville
Rangers. There were enough men to post sentinels, to guard the salient
points. I visited some of these posts with an officer and a lantern
later in the night, and no one was sleeping on them; they were deserted.
We followed to where they had taken shelter in the barracks among the
refugees, and they were ordered from under bedsteads, to resume their
guns and duties.
The ravine was between my house and the garrison, where my family had
taken shelter. About twelve o'clock I was at the house, with a horse and
buggy, when guns were discharged and sentinels shouting "Indians."
Seeing them running, I was not long in reaching the fort, and had been
there but a short time, when flames shot up from my dwelling and the
ravine I had just crossed swarmed with painted savages.
Miss Sara Faribault.
My father, Oliver Faribault, built a house which was his home and
trading post near "Little Six" or Shakopee's village in 1844. It was a
fine point for a trading post, as three Indian villages were near; Good
Roads, Black Dog's and Shakopee's. He was a very successful trader. I
can well remember the great packs of furs. We used to play all around
the country near. I could shoot an arrow as well as a boy. The hunting
was fine.
We used often to go to the sacred stone of the Indians and I have often
seen the Sioux warriors around it. It was on the prairie below town.
There was room for one to lie down by it and the rest would dance or sit
in council around it. They always went to it before going into battle.
They left gifts which the white people stole. I can remember taking some
little thing from it myself. I passed a party of Indians with it in my
hand. One of the squaws saw what I had and became very angry. She made
me take it back. She seemed to feel as we would if our church had been
violated. This stone was stolen by a man from the east and taken there.
This loss made the Indians very angry.
Little Crow was often at our house and was much loved by us children. He
used to bring us candy and maple sugar. My father was fond of him too,
and said he was always honest.
The Indians did not understand the white man's ways. When the white man
had a big storehouse full of goods belonging to the Indians and the
Indian was cold and hungry, he could not see why he could not have what
was there, belonging to him, if it would keep him warm and feed him. He
could not see why he should wait until the government told him it was
time for him to eat and be warm, when the time they had told him before
was long past. It was the deferred payments that caused the outbreak, I
have often heard from the Indians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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