Resting for only a brief time at the Granger home, Markham accompanied by George Granger started north to Springfield to warn that group of settlers against the Indians who had stricken Okoboji. It had occurred to them that the red men might also visit the Minnesota settlement; and they hoped to reach the place before the Indians appeared and thus prevent a repetition of the affair at the lakes.
At Springfield these bearers of bad tidings had a wholly different reception than that accorded the men who carried the news to Fort Dodge. No sooner did the people at this place become aware of the outbreak than they took measures looking toward protection from a similar attack. The coming of Markham and Granger was indeed fortunate, for if the information had not reached them when it did it is not unlikely that the settlers of Springfield would have met a fate similar to that of the people at Okoboji.
While some of the settlers fled at once upon receipt of the news, others remained; and a few gave their lives as the price of refusal to believe that danger was imminent. Among these was the Indian trader and settlement storekeeper, William Wood, who steadfastly refused to believe that a massacre would be attempted at Springfield. His refusal to believe that the community was in danger was doubtless due to the fact that he had traded with the Indians for years and did not note, in his recent dealings with them, any cause for alarm.[170]
The thought uppermost in the minds of most members of the settlement was to send a relief party to the lakes at once. After some deliberation this was deemed unwise: soberer second thought convinced them that it would be better to take measures for their own protection. At the time there were fifteen able-bodied men and about twelve adult women in the village.[171] This number, it was argued, would make a reasonably efficient fighting force in case of attack—although they realized that they would be able to resist for only a brief time, since they were in no condition for a prolonged defense. And so it was decided to send messengers to the United States military authorities at Fort Ridgely for aid.
Two young men, Joseph B. Cheffins who had come thither with the trader William Wood, and a young German, Henry Tretts, were selected to bear the message for help to the Lower Agency of the Sioux.[172] These men carried with them a written statement of facts which was signed by individuals at Springfield who personally knew the agent of the Lower Sioux at Red Wood.[173] Cheffins and Tretts left Springfield at once, but they were not able to reach the Lower Agency until the eighteenth.
The trip was one of unusual privation. Owing to the exigencies of the situation, the men had left hastily and without making adequate preparation for the hardships of such a journey. The direct distance between the two points was not greater than seventy miles, but owing to difficulties encountered they had been obliged to detour and thus the distance traveled was more than one hundred miles. Under the most favorable conditions they made but little better than fifteen miles per day. The trip was undertaken on foot through deep snow and for most of the way under the disabling effects of a dazzling sun. When the Lower Agency was reached they could scarcely see—so severely were they suffering from snow blindness. They were also physically exhausted, for they had traveled almost continuously with but very little rest. After their arrival they were forced to remain in bed for two days before they were able to begin the return journey to Springfield.[174]
XVI
RELIEF SENT FROM FORT RIDGELY
Charles E. Flandrau was at this time the agent for the Lower Sioux, and as soon as he was informed of the situation to the south he proceeded at once to Fort Ridgely, which was located on the Minnesota River fourteen miles southeast of the agency. Here he immediately had an interview with Colonel E. B. Alexander of the Tenth Infantry who was then in command of the post. As the result of this conference, Colonel Alexander, on the morning of the nineteenth, ordered Company D of the Tenth Infantry, under the command of Captain Barnard E. Bee[175] and Lieutenant Alexander Murry, to prepare for an expedition to Springfield and if need be to Spirit Lake. So expeditiously did the military authorities operate that at half past twelve, less than three hours and a half after the order was issued, Captain Bee with a company of forty-eight men was on the march to the scene of reported trouble.[176]