XVIII
INKPADUTA ATTACKS SPRINGFIELD
The morning of March twenty-sixth dawned bright at Springfield; and the settlers at the Thomas cabin were astir early making preparations for the expected attack. The messengers from Spirit Lake had returned and no one longer doubted the strong possibility that Springfield would be visited by the Indians. While the supply of food, fire-arms, and ammunition which they had procured was sufficient for a resistance of some days, there was a shortage of wood. And so, on the morning of the twenty-sixth a number of the settlers were out chopping and hauling wood. As they carried on their preparations they hoped that the soldiers from Fort Ridgely would soon appear bringing the needed relief and protection. Cheffins and Tretts had been gone nearly two weeks; surely relief could now be expected any day or hour. Happy in the expectation that relief must be near the settlers slackened still more the vigil which they had been keeping and became somewhat careless. The forenoon wore away without incident, and a generous supply of wood was accumulated which would last for several days.
While preparations were thus going forward, Inkpaduta and his band of red men were hastening from Heron Lake toward Springfield. The wily Inkpaduta did not wish to make a precipitate attack, for his spies sent out on the nineteenth had probably informed him of how the settlers were preparing for opposition. As his party stole into the timber along the Des Moines near the Thomas cabin, he sent scouts forward to reconnoiter. Thus while the unsuspecting settlers were at work the spies of Inkpaduta were stealthily lurking in the near-by timber stalking their white brothers as they would some wild beast of the forest.
The settlers were unable to complete the task which they had undertaken by noon, and as everything seemed so very favorable it was thought advisable to continue the work without interruption. Accordingly, they did not pause to eat the mid-day meal that had been prepared for them, but continued working until about two o’clock in the afternoon. They then withdrew into the cabin to eat their long deferred dinner. While thus engaged they were startled by a cry from Willie Thomas, who was outside at play and who now thought that Henry Tretts was coming.[192]
Immediately the people in the cabin rushed out hoping that the report was true and that the messengers sent to Fort Ridgely were in fact returning. In the distance a man was observed to be approaching. He was clad in civilian dress and to all outward appearances bore a close resemblance to one of the messengers. In fact, so close was the resemblance that David Carver exclaimed, “Yes, it’s Henry Tretts!” But the words had scarcely been uttered before a volley of shots came from hitherto unseen guns in the direction of the timber. As near as could be determined fully a dozen guns had been discharged from the underbrush near the stable and hay stacks. The supposed white man was only a decoy Indian dressed in white men’s clothing and sent out for the sole purpose of drawing the settlers from the cabin. While he was slowly approaching the cabin, Inkpaduta and his men had crept up the ravine to the rear of the stable and posted themselves for action when the ruse worked out as planned.
In confusion the surprised settlers—men, women, and children—scrambled back into the cabin. Doors and windows were closed and barricaded, while women screamed. Bradshaw and Markham, as soon as the doors had been secured, seized their rifles and stood ready to shoot any Indian who might have the hardihood to show himself. The window shutters had been fastened open on the outside thus making it necessary to use the table to close one window; while puncheons were torn from the floor to cover other windows and aid in rendering the cabin bullet proof.
Meanwhile, the Indians kept up a constant fire; but Bradshaw and Markham kept them well in hiding by shooting at any who happened to show themselves. While the men were busy reloading, an Indian was seen to emerge from the brush near the stable and start for the house. Mrs. Church hastily seized a loaded gun and, thrusting it through a porthole, fired. After the firing the Indian was nowhere to be seen and it was concluded that he had either been badly wounded or killed by the shot. Three or four Indians next appeared from a hazel thicket, but the emptying of the contents of a number of guns into their midst caused them to disappear. All of this had taken place in four or five minutes after the first volley fired by the Indians. In that brief time the Indian attack had been repelled, windows shuttered from within by temporary means, and all doors barricaded securely against a rush attack.
During the attack no one had had time or thought for anything except the necessity of repelling the Indians. When a lull came it was found that several persons had been wounded. Mr. Thomas was bleeding profusely from a wound in his left arm where a bullet had broken a bone. Later this wound, owing to lack of attention, became so irritated and infected that amputation was necessary. David Carver was suffering greatly, for a bullet or buckshot had passed through the fleshy part of his right arm, penetrated his side, and affected his lung; while Miss Swanger, who had been hit on the shoulder, was suffering considerably from pain and was very weak from the loss of blood. It was she who has been alluded to as saying that she was too weak to fight but could pray, and so fell “upon her knees, fervently petitioning the God of Battles to help until the fight closed.”[193] Willie Thomas, who had given the alarm, was missing and no one seemed able to account for him until his older brother stated that after the door had been closed he heard groaning from the doorstep. It was presumed that the boy had been killed. At all events no one felt that it would be wise to open the door at this juncture. It later developed that he had been shot through the head and had probably died in a brief time.
There were now left in the cabin only three able-bodied men who could be counted upon for effective defense. These men were Jareb Palmer, John Bradshaw, and Morris Markham. Dr. Strong had gone to the Wheeler cabin that forenoon to dress the wounds of Smith and Henderson and had not returned at the time of the attack.[194]