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
While it was baking an Indian man came into the camp and sat down by the
fire. I paid no attention to him but attended to my loaf, just as I
would have done if he had not been there. Mrs. Riggs said, "You should
not have let that man see your bread." I said, "Why not," and she
answered, "He may come in the night and steal it," which I thought was
preposterous. In the morning I fried some bacon, made coffee, spread the
breakfast on the ground and went to get my bread and it was gone. So the
breakfast had to wait until I could mix some of the bread I disliked so
much and bake it. I remember well I thought "So this is the kind of
people I have come to live among."
At the point called Traverse de Sioux we left the river and made the
remainder of our journey nearly one hundred miles in wagons which had
been sent from the mission at Lac qui Parle to meet us. A new station
was to be started at Traverse and Mr. Riggs and two of the men remained
there to build houses for us.
We were four or five days going from Traverse to Lac qui Parle and had
many thrilling adventures. Dr. Riggs had been east a year and had taken
with him three young Indian men that they might see and learn something
of civilized life. They were returning with us on their way to their
homes. The last morning of our journey two of them proposed to go ahead
on foot and reach their friends, as they could go faster so, than in
wagons. The other, being sick, remained with us. We had an extra horse
and later he was told that he might ride on to meet his friends. After
some time he came tearing back. He excitedly told us that his only
brother had come to meet him and had been murdered by ambushed Ojibway
Indians.
We soon came to where the scalped and bleeding body lay, right across
the road. The men of our party carried the body gently to one side and
covered it with a canvas. In a short time we met large numbers of Indian
men armed and very much excited, in pursuit of those who had murdered
their neighbor and friend. I could not understand a word they said, but
their gestures and words were so fierce that I expected to be killed.
They fired at our team and one of the horses was so seriously injured
that we had to stop. Mrs. Riggs and I walked the rest of the journey,
five miles, she carrying her fifteen months old baby. This was July 4,
1843. My first baby was born on the 10th of the following September.
On this last five miles of our journey, Indian women came out to meet
us. Some of them had umbrellas and held them over us. They seemed to
know that this was a terrible adventure for us. One of them put her arms
around me and tried to help me on and was as kind as any white woman.
They offered to carry Mrs. Riggs' baby, but the little thing was afraid
of them and cried so that they could not. Mrs. Riggs kept saying over
and over again, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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