The young man was noted for both the ardent, impetuous temperament and the chivalrous manners of the southern gentleman. He was exceptionally [pg 96] expert in the use of arms, being, it is said, for quickness and accuracy of aim, the equal of any of the robbers whom he encountered at the Watonwan. He was one of the two men from St. James whom the news of the reappearance of the robbers drew to the scene, Mr. G. S. Thompson being the other; and he was one of the coolest in the contest that followed. A comrade who marched by his side says that he “seemed to be in his element.”
In the autumn following the capture Mr. Rice removed to Murfreesboro, Tennesee. Here he was married soon after to Miss Sallie Bell Wright of that city. After a few years spent in commercial business there, he removed to Lake Weir, Florida, where he died August 14th, 1889, leaving a widow and two children. Mrs. Rice did not long survive him, but the son and the daughter still reside in Florida.
GEORGE A. BRADFORD was born near the village of Patriot, on the Ohio River in the state of Indiana, on the 28th of June, 1847. When about twenty year of age, he emigrated with his parents to the then new state of Minnesota. For the next six years he divided his time between farming and school-keeping, working on the farm [pg 97] in the summer and teaching school in the winter. In 1873 he became a clerk in a store, and after a time went into business on his own account. He was married in 1877 to Miss Flora J. Cheney, of Madelia. Mr. Bradford is well educated, and much respected in the community in which he lives, and a man of the highest integrity, and of great firmness of character. His modesty is shown in that when responding to the writer's request for biographical material for this notice, he had much more to say about the virtues of his comrades in the fight than about himself.
He was one of the last to arrive at the scene of battle, but one of the first to respond to the call for men to enter the robbers' retreat. He was slightly wounded in the engagement; but the wound did not prevent his doing his full share in the capture of the bandits.
Mr. Bradford has retired from business and is now engaged in farming at Madelia.
CHARLES A. POMEROY was born in Rutledge, Cattaraugus County, New York. His father, Mr. C. M. Pomeroy, was one of the earliest settlers in Madelia, Minnesota, having come to that place in 1856, while Minnesota was still a territory. He became one of the leading [pg 98] citizens of the community, a justice of the peace, etc. The young man was early inured to the hardships and the exigencies of pioneer life,—a good school in which to train one for such emergencies as that with which, as we have seen, he was destined to be identified. He was also a witness of some of the scenes of the great Indian uprising and massacre which swept over that part of Minnesota in 1862.
Mr. Pomeroy is described as short, compact, powerfully built, quiet in disposition, industrious and unobtrusive, yet cool and courageous in danger. He did not hear of the proximity of the robbers on that memorable 21st of September until the first squad of Madelia men had started for the scene; but the moment the news reached his ears, he armed himself, mounted his horse and hastened after them, reaching the field in season to offer himself as one of the seven volunteers who undertook the perilous attack. Mr. Pomeroy was married in 1879, and his home is still in Madelia.
S. J. SEVERSON was born in Wisconsin, in 1855, of Norwegian parents, the only one of that nationality among the seven captors. Coming, in the course of time to Minnesota, he spent several [pg 99] years on a farm, after which he became a clerk in a store, where he was employed at the time of the raid. A published description of him at that time by one who knew him well thus characterizes him: “The jolliest and most popular young man, especially among his customers. He speaks several languages well. To his wit and good nature everybody will bear witness, especially the ladies. He is a good salesman, industrious, correct and to be depended on. He is short, stout, and a little ‘dare-devil’ if any trouble is on hand.”
Mr. Severson quickly caught the news of the discovery of the robbers, and was among the first to join in the chase and in the attack, shooting at them in the open ground, following them through the slough, and hunting them in their hiding-place. Like Mr. Bradford, he was slightly wounded in the wrist at the first shot from the robbers,—a mere graze of the skin, but enough to remind him that they were not shooting into the air.
Mr. Severson's present home is in Brookings, South Dakota.