The Spirit Lake Massacre

[138] Powell’s On Kinship and the Tribe in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. xxxviii; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 223.

[139] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 223.

For further support of the view that Sidominadota’s death was not a cause as here set forth see J. W. Powell’s Kinship and the Tribe in the preface to the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. xxxviii-xl; Senate Documents, 1st Session, 32nd Congress, Vol. III, Doc. No. 1, p. 280; Pond’s The Dakotas or Sioux in Minnesota as They Were in 1834 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, p. 389; Dorsey’s Siouan Sociology in the Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 213-218.

[140] Smith’s A History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 53; Flickinger’s Pioneer History of Pocahontas County, Iowa, p. 29.

[141] Flandrau’s Inkpaduta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, p. 388; Mrs. Sharp’s Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 60; House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. I, pp. 358, 389; Senate Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. III, p. 146; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 892.

[142] A. Warner and Company’s History of the Counties of Woodbury and Plymouth, Iowa, pp. 305, 306.

[143] Smith’s A History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 55; Fulton’s Red Men of Iowa, p. 303.

[144] W. S. Dunbar and Company’s Biographical History of Cherokee County, Iowa, p. 242; Fulton’s The Red Men of Iowa, p. 303.

[145] Peck and Montzheimer’s Past and Present of O’Brien and Osceola Counties, Iowa, Vol. I, p. 38.

[146] Gillespie and Steele’s History of Clay County, Iowa, pp. 56, 57; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 61; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 56.

[147] William H. Hart’s History of Sac County, Iowa, p. 38; Gillespie and Steele’s History of Clay County, Iowa, p. 57.

[148] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 892; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 58-61.

[149] John F. Duncombe’s Spirit Lake Relief Expedition of 1857 in the Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers’ Association of Iowa for 1898, p. 38; Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, pp. 493, 494.

[150] Pond’s The Dakotas or Sioux in Minnesota as They Were in 1834 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, pp. 436, 437.

[151] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 893; Mrs. Sharp’s Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 63, 64; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 65.

[152] Concerning the events at the Gardner cabin we must, of necessity, rely upon the statements of Mrs. Abbie Gardner Sharp who remained the only living witness of the scene. See Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 63-65.

[153] Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 65, 66; Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 21; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 297, 298; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 65-67.

[154] Richman’s The Tragedy at Minnewaukon in John Brown among the Quakers, pp. 214-216; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 67-71; Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 21.

[155] Pond’s The Dakotas or Sioux in Minnesota as They were in 1834 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, pp. 437, 438.

[156] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 73.

[157] See Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 73, where the statement is made that five men, two women, and four children were killed at the Mattock cabin.

[158] Hughes’s Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, pp. 271, 272.

But there is a third view as to the outcome of the conflict at the Mattock cabin. This version is sponsored by Major William Williams who was a member of the relief expedition sent from Fort Dodge. Major Williams believed that the Indians purposely concealed their losses. In his report to Governor Grimes, made upon his return to Fort Dodge under date of April 12th, he stated that “the number of Indians killed or wounded must be from fifteen to twenty.”—(Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 299.) This estimate would seem to be entirely too high. Only under exceptionally favorable conditions would it have been possible for five men, suffering every possible handicap, to have killed or wounded so many concealed enemies. Again, there were in all probability not more than fifteen or twenty warriors in the party of the red men. The loss or crippling of such a number would have meant practical annihilation. Later when the party was encountered in its flight from the scene of the massacre, various individuals who had the opportunity of recognizing the individual members of the band reported them to be the same in membership as at the beginning of the raid at Smithland. Thus the statement of Major Williams could not have been accurate. Mrs. Sharp speaks of only one Indian as being injured and of no deaths—which is more probable.

[159] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 74.

[160] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 894; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 76-78; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 68, 69; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 300, 301

Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher in later relations of the massacre spoke of their children as having been killed at their own cabin. If such were the facts then their dead bodies must have been carried to the Howe home; for there they were found by the members of the rescue party rather than at the place of death. This fact has led to the statement that five small Howe children were killed in addition to Sardis and Jonathan. There were, however, only three smaller children in the Howe family—Alfred, Jacob, and Philetus.

[161] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 78-80; Neill’s History of Minnesota, pp. 622, 623.

[162] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 81, 82.

[163] Agnes C. Laut’s Heroines of Spirit Lake in Outing Magazine, Vol. LI, p. 692.

[164] Gue in his History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 301, 302, says that Marble fired first at the target, and when he went out to see what had been the result of his shot the Indians fired on him; while Carpenter in his article on The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 22, states that when Marble’s gun became empty and he was defenseless he was shot.

[165] This is the list as it appears on the east tablet of the State Memorial near the Gardner cabin with the exception of the omission of the names of those not killed at the lakes but who were massacred in the vicinity of Springfield, Minnesota.—The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 920.

[166] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 83, 84; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 895.

R. A. Smith, in his History of Dickinson County, appears skeptical concerning the real character or meaning of this attempt at Indian pictographic writing, and in commenting upon it notes that “many of the writers who have mentioned this incident have made more of it than the facts would warrant. The three or four published accounts which have been given to the public agree in stating that the picture record gave the position and number of victims correctly, and also represented those killed as being pierced with arrows. Now this is mainly fiction. The first discovery of the tree on which the hieroglyphics were delineated was by a party consisting of O. C. Howe, R. U. Wheelock and the writer sometime in May.... It was a white ash tree standing a little way to the southeast of the door of the Marble cabin.... The rough outside bark had been hewed off for a distance of some twelve or fifteen inches up and down the tree. Upon the smoothed surface thus made were the representations. The number of cabins (six) was correctly given, the largest of which was represented as being in flames. There were also representations of human figures and with the help of the imagination it was possible to distinguish which were meant for the whites and which the Indians. There were not over ten or a dozen all told, and except for the hint contained in the cabins, the largest one being in flames, we could not have figured any meaning out of it. This talk of the victims being pierced with arrows and their number and position given, is all nonsense. Mr. Howe and the writer spent some time studying it, and, while they came to the conclusion that it would convey a definite meaning to those understanding it, they could not make much out of it.”

[167] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 93; Hamilton Freeman, July 13, 1857; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 895.

[168] Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 23; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 85-87; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 895; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 72, 73.

[169] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 895; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 73, 74.

[170] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 895; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 225; Hughes’s Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, p. 272; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 85-89; Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 23.

[171] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 225.

[172] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 226.

[173] Flandrau’s The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, pp. 389, 390.

[174] Daniels’s Reminiscences of Little Crow in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, p. 519; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 237; Flandrau’s The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, p. 390.

[175] This was the Barnard E. Bee who was later to win fame as a general of the South during the Civil War. During that conflict, he it was who fastened the sobriquet of “Stonewall” upon the Confederate General Thomas E. Jackson in his now famous charge to his men—“For God’s sake stand, men. Stand like Jackson’s brigade, on your right, there they stand like a stone wall.” Bee was killed in an attempt to hold his brigade in line of battle against a murderous fire in the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.—Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 238; Heitman’s Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, Vol. I, p. 205.

[176] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 237; Flandrau’s The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, p. 390; report of Captain Barnard E. Bee in House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 350.

[177] Report of Captain Barnard E. Bee in House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. I, No. 2, p. 350.

[178] Flandrau’s The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, pp. 390, 391.

[179] Hughes’s Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, p. 273; House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 358.

[180] Flandrau’s The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857 in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. III, p. 391.

[181] Report of Captain Barnard E. Bee in House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. I, p. 351.

[182] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[183] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 226, 230; Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[184] Hoover’s The Tragedy of Okoboji in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, pp. 19, 20; Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[185] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 234; Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[186] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[187] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857.

[188] The gold with which they paid for their purchases was presumably a portion of that which was taken from Marble’s body.—See Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 227.

[189] The Moccasin’s camp had been about six miles up the river to the north of Springfield, while the trading post here referred to was nine miles distant. Coursalle, or “Joe Gaboo”, was a well-known half-blood Sisseton Sioux. At all times Indians in small numbers were grouped about him; they were always friendly.—Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 226.

[190] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 227, 228.

[191] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 23, 1857; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 228.

[192] Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 23; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 94, 95; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 229. See also a different version in Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857.

[193] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 229, 230; Laut’s Heroines of Spirit Lake in the Outing Magazine, Vol. LI, p. 692; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 94-99.

[194] Dr. Strong has been considerably maligned as one who upon the first alarm had become so terrified that he summarily fled south, leaving his wife and children to the mercies of an Indian attack. For a more charitable view see Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857.

[195] For somewhat varying accounts of the attack upon the Thomas cabin see Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857; Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, pp. 23-25; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 304, 305; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 94-99; Hughes’s Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, pp. 275, 276; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 229, 230; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, pp. 898, 899.

[196] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 230.

[197] For the attack upon the Wood brothers see Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 230; Hughes’s Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre in the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. XII, p. 275; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 99, 100.

[198] Report of Captain Barnard E. Bee in House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. II, p. 147.

[199] All of the particulars of the events which happened at the Stewart home we owe to the relation of Johnny. He was later adopted into the home of Major William Williams at Fort Dodge and in 1915 was living in Byron, Minnesota, and at that time was one of the four living survivors of the raid. Read accounts in Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 230, 231; Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 305; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 100, 101.

[200] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 232; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), p. 107.

[201] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 148, 149. For Mrs. Marble’s impressions see an article from the St. Paul Pioneer, May 31, 1857, republished in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 13, 1857.

[202] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 102-104.

[203] Charles Aldrich in an address at the unveiling of a commemorative tablet in the Hamilton County Court House in Webster City, Iowa, on August 12, 1887, states that they started about midnight. It does not seem, however, that such a late hour could have been possible under the circumstances.—See the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 548.

[204] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857.

[205] Palmer’s Incidents of the Late Indian Outrages in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), July 30, 1857; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 233. For a wholly different view of Dr. Strong see Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 307, 308.

[206] One version of the flight of these refugees tells us that Smith and Henderson were not, at first, left behind but were taken for some distance on hand sleds. This proved impracticable and the men were abandoned. Miss Agnes C. Laut has this plainly in mind when she refers to Mrs. Smith as the “one dame, who abandoned an injured husband on a hand sleigh” and hence does not need to “be preserved as a heroine of the West.” This, however, is unfair to Mrs. Smith.—See Miss Laut’s Heroines of Spirit Lake in the Outing Magazine, Vol. LI, p. 692.

[207] For varied versions of the flight of the Wheeler refugees see Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 109, 110; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 307, 308; Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 234.

[208] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 239.

[209] Report of Captain Barnard E. Bee in House Executive Documents, 1st Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, Pt. II, Doc. No. 2, p. 146.

[210] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 160-162.

[211] Quoted from the St. Paul Pioneer and Democrat for May 16, 1857, in Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, p. 240.

[212] Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 158-160.

[213] Hubbard and Holcombe’s Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. III, pp. 241, 242.

[214] For information concerning the journey and findings of Howe, Wheelock, and Parmenter see The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, pp. 895, 896; Mrs. Sharp’s History of the Spirit Lake Massacre (1902 edition), pp. 125, 126; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, pp. 49, 74, 75; Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 26; Flickinger’s Pioneer History of Pocahontas County, Iowa, p. 35; Gue’s History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 311.

[215] Address of Capt. Charles B. Richards, at the placing of a memorial tablet in the Hamilton County Court House, in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 509.

[216] Carpenter’s The Spirit Lake Massacre in the Midland Monthly, Vol. IV, p. 26; Address of John N. Maxwell in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 525; Smith’s History of Dickinson County, Iowa, p. 75.

[217] Letter from Sergt. Harris Hoover in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 551; Hoover’s The Tragedy of Okoboji in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, p. 16.

[218] Hoover’s The Tragedy of Okoboji in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, p. 16.

[219] Address of John N. Maxwell in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 526.

[220] The Narrative of W. K. Laughlin in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 542.

[221] The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, pp. 932-937; Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. II, p. 71. See also the west tablet on the State Memorial Monument near the Gardner cabin, Arnold’s Park, Okoboji, Iowa.

[222] Address of John N. Maxwell in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, pp. 525, 526; The Spirit Lake Massacre and Relief Expedition in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, p. 897.

[223] Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, pp. 922, 923, 928; Duncombe’s Spirit Lake Expedition in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 495.

[224] The roster as here given is that found in the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers, Vol. VI, pp. 922-932, and is also to be found on the west tablet of the Memorial Monument at Arnold’s Park, Okoboji, Iowa. Harris Hoover in his Expedition to Spirit Lake in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), August 20, 1857, differs somewhat.

[225] Address of Capt. Charles B. Richards in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 510.

[226] Mr. Duncombe’s Address in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. III, p. 495.

[227] Hoover in his Expedition to Spirit Lake in the Hamilton Freeman (Webster City), August 20, 1857, speaks of Major Williams as “afflicted with rheumatism, and the frost of 70 winters whitening his brow” as resolutely setting “forward at our head.” This Major Williams resented and took occasion to reply in the succeeding issue of the Freeman that “I can’t agree to be made so old. I was 60 last December [1856], and never have I been afflicted with rheumatism in my life.... I don’t wish to be considered so old.”