There are a great many people in St. Paul who remember Old Betz, and the stories that were told in relation to her, quite well. She was said to be one hundred and twenty years old when she died, and, as there was no evidence to the contrary, and she certainly bore the mark of great age, this estimate of her years was generally accepted. Mr. Larpenteur has reason for thinking that her age has been very much exaggerated. Old Betz told him one day, a short time before her death, in a confidential way, that when soldiers first came to Fort Snelling she was still in her teens. That was in 1819, and, therefore, Old Betz could not have been over eighty-eight when she died.
FOOTNOTES:
[F] Note.—The Wah-tap—or Wa-tab—empties from the west into the Mississippi just above Sauk Rapids—H. M. R.
[G] The rejection of Thomas P. Burnett as a member of the council, by Gov. Dodge, created great excitement at the time, and the governor was severely criticised for his action. In making the apportionment the governor had made Crawford county a district, but had left it without a representative in the council, although two had been assigned to the house, the governor claiming that this was equivalent to one in the senate and one in the house. His action, to say the least, was curious and unprecedented.
[H] Jean Brunet was of French extraction. He made the first manufacturing improvements at Chippewa Falls.
[I] Alexander McGregor, a Scotchman, built a large hotel in Prairie du Chien, and located a claim on the western side of the Mississippi rivers opposite which has become the site of the city of McGregor. In the third session of the territorial legislature he was elected to represent the Dubuque district, and charges were preferred against him of accepting a bribe. Pending the investigation of the charges he resigned, removed to the east side of the river and was elected to represent the Crawford district. The ensuing session, the house, by resolution, declared him unworthy of confidence.
[J] The loan amendment was approved by Gov. Medary, through his private secretary, March 9, 1858. The amendment was adopted by the people April 15, 1858, by a vote of 25,023 to 6,733. The amount of bonds issued was $2,275,000. The expunging resolution was adopted Nov. 6, 1860, by a popular vote of 19,308 to 710.
[K] Rev Mr. Webber was born in the state of New York in 1821; was educated for the ministry ordained and sent to Minnesota as a missionary by the Calvinistic Baptist church. He came to Stillwater in 1850. He is now a resident of Fleming, Cayuga county, New York.