Old Fort Snelling, 1819-1858

by Marcus Lee Hansen

As the nation increased in strength and the agricultural and commercial forces of the country were pushing westward and coming into contact with the distant tribes, the treaties increased in number and importance. Urged by the cries of hungry land-seekers the cession of land by the natives gradually became the most important phase of all treaties; and in order that the new settlements might be protected from vengeful Indians the title to the land rested on legal cession rather than on conquest. It is stated on the authority of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that “Except only in the case of the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, after the outbreak of 1862, the Government has never extinguished an Indian title as by right of conquest; and in this case the Indians were provided with another reservation, and subsequently were paid the net proceeds arising from the sale of the land vacated.”[477]

The negotiation of a treaty was not an easy affair. There were no recognized representatives of the tribe. In order that a treaty might be satisfactory it was necessary that all factions be consulted; and the braves who gathered often numbered into the hundreds. Thus, in planning the negotiations a satisfactory place and an opportune time must be selected, while the red men must be supported while away from home and protected from lurking enemies. It was in these phases of treaty-making that the military posts showed their importance.

The first important treaty with which the tribes living about Fort Snelling were concerned was that made at Prairie du Chien in 1825. The little frontier village presented a gala appearance during the month of August when the great convocation was held. There were Chippewas, Sioux, Sacs and Foxes, Menomonies, Iowas, Winnebagoes, and a portion of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Pottawattomie tribes living on the Illinois River gathered to consult with Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan and General William Clark, the government's commissioners. Of the 1054 drawing rations on the last day, 386 were of the delegation of Sioux and Chippewas gathered by Major Taliaferro at Fort Snelling and brought down in safety to make a triumphal entry in true Indian style with flags flying, drums beating, and guns firing.[478]

Although there was no cession of land, distinct progress was made in that the territories of the various tribes were defined, thus making negotiations easier for the future. Of especial importance was the Sioux-Chippewa boundary line, which made clear the territory of each tribe, so that when the year 1837 arrived and treaties were made to obtain the lands east of the Mississippi, the areas with which each was concerned were clearly understood.[479]

By the year 1837 many conditions called for the cession of these lands. The forests, the water-power, the mines of lead and other ores aroused the desires of speculators. Settlers were thronging to Wisconsin, and it was felt that if the land could be purchased and the Indians removed, the people would be safe from any attacks, and the Indians would be removed from the contaminating influence of many of the undesirable whites.[480] There were also the traders who for years past had given credit to many worthless Indians who had never brought back from the hunt furs sufficient to pay for the goods advanced them; and they hoped that in the payment for the lands certain sums would be reserved for the liquidation of these debts.[481]

In the early summer of 1837 Major Taliaferro was ordered to organize a delegation of Sioux Indians who could be taken to Washington, where the Sioux negotiations would take place. At the same time orders were issued to summon the Chippewas of the upper Mississippi to a council to be held at Fort Snelling. To both of these groups the subject of the purchase of the Indian lands east of the Mississippi would be broached.[482]

Miles Vineyard, who was the sub-agent at Fort Snelling, was immediately sent to the villages of the Chippewas. Early in July the red men began to arrive, and by July 20th about a thousand men, women, and children had pitched their tepees near the fort. Many were the notable chiefs gathered there with their warriors. With the Pillager band from Leech Lake was Chief Flat Mouth, who had twenty-five times been on the warpath without receiving a wound, who had delivered his English medal to Pike in 1806, and whose band had been attacked by the Sioux under the walls of Fort Snelling in 1827. The most famous of the Chippewa chiefs, he was still living in 1852, being then seventy-eight years old.[483]

The chief of the bands from Gull Lake and Swan River was Hole-in-the-Day. Energetic, brave, and intelligent, he gained a great influence over the Chippewas of the upper Mississippi. His name, which literally meant a bright spot in the sky, is often written Hole-in-the-Sky. He was a frequent visitor at Fort Snelling and came to his death at that place in 1847 when he fell from a wagon, breaking his neck and dying instantly.[484] His brother Strong Ground or Strong Earth was also present at the council. He had been a member of Flat Mouth's band at the time of the massacre in 1827. Thirty-six eagle plumes waved from his head-dress at the time of his death, each of them representing the scalp of an enemy. The first of these he obtained when as a small boy he dashed into the ranks of the Sioux during a conflict and scalped a fallen warrior.[485] Chiefs and warriors from the St. Croix River, Mille Lac, and Sandy Lake, with their followers, were also encamped near the fort.

There were also notables among the white men gathered there. The United States commissioner was Henry Dodge, known as an Indian fighter, and at that time Governor of Wisconsin Territory. General William R. Smith of Pennsylvania, who had been appointed by the President to serve as a commissioner with Governor Dodge, was unable to come. Lawrence Taliaferro, the Indian agent, was busied with many duties connected with the safety of the visitors. Four hundred Sioux hovered about, and these had to be kept at a safe distance to avoid conflicts. Verplanck Van Antwerp, the secretary of the commission; J. N. Nicollet, the explorer; H. H. Sibley; and many other fur traders watched the negotiations and put their names to the treaty as witnesses.[486]

The council began on July 20th. It was with the chiefs that Governor Dodge parleyed, but the warriors and braves felt that they also should have some part in the proceedings. On one occasion several hundred of them, streaked with their brightest paint, waving their tomahawks and spears and carrying the war flag of the Chippewas, together with the flag of the United States, interrupted the council with their whoops and drums; and when they had approached the chair of the Governor, paused while two of the warriors harangued the crowd on the kindness of the traders and the debts owed them.[487]