Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul: A Collection of Articles Written for and Published in the Daily Pioneer PressMoore, Frank
History
Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul: A Collection of Articles Written for and Published in the Daily Pioneer Press
Moore, Frank
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota; Saint Paul (Minn.) -- History
with supplies for the troops at the fort. Of course the government
subsequently reimbursed the owners of the teams for their use, but in
this particular case the soldiers did not think the owner deserved it.
Gov. Ramsey's carriage team was early taken possession of by the
military squad, and when the driver gravely informed the officer in
charge that the governor was the owner of that team and he thought it
exempt from military duty, he was suavely informed that a power
higher than the governor required that team and that it must go to
Abercrombie. And it did.
* * * * *
It was necessary to send out a large escort with these supply trains
and It was easier to procure men for that purpose than it was for the
regular term of enlistment. On one of the trains that left St. Paul
was a young man by the name of Hines. He was as brave as Julius
Caesar. He said so himself. He was so heavily loaded with various
weapons of destruction that his companions called him a walking
arsenal. If Little Crow had attacked this particular train the Indian
war would have ended. This young man had been so very demonstrative of
his ability to cope with the entire Sioux force that his companions
resolved to test his bravery. One night when the train was camped
about half way between St. Cloud and Sauk Center, several of the
guards attached to the train painted their faces, arrayed themselves
in Indian costume and charged through the camp, yelling the Indian war
hoop and firing guns in every direction. Young Hines was the first to
hear the alarm, and didn't stop running until he reached St. Cloud,
spreading the news in every direction that the entire tribe of
Little Crow was only a short distance behind. Of course there was
consternation along the line of this young man's masterly retreat,
and it was some time before the panic-stricken citizens knew what had
actually happened.
* * * * *
In response to the appeal of Gov. Sibley and other officers on the
frontier, the ladies of St. Paul early organized for the purpose of
furnishing sick and wounded soldiers with such supplies as were not
obtainable through the regular channels of the then crude condition of
the various hospitals. Notices like the following often appeared in
the daily papers at that time: "Ladies Aid Society--A meeting of the
ladies' aid society for the purpose of sewing for the relief of the
wounded soldiers at our forts, and also for the assistance of the
destitute refugees now thronging our city, is called to meet this
morning at Ingersoll hall. All ladies interested in this object are
earnestly invited to attend. All contributions of either money or
clothing will be thankfully received. By order of the president,
"Mrs. Stella Selby.
"Miss M.O. Holyoke, Secretary."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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