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by Arthur P. Rose, Northern History Publishing Company, Worthington, Minnesota Publishers, 1908 Transcribed by Nancy Piper Chapter I Aboriginal Days 1834-1866 Page 33 Turn back, as it were, the leaves of Time's great book to the period before the all-conquering White Man had set foot on the soil of the present day county of Nobles. We, of this generation, who play our part in the affairs of the present day, are apt to think of that time as long past. Yet there are men and women residing in Nobles county today who were living at the time of that event. Before a civilized eye had gazed on the country we now call home, Lewis and Clark, those intrepid explorers, had penetrated the Rocky mountain regions and pushed on to the Pacific coast, obtaining information of inestimable value; Marcus Whitman had planted his colony in the wilds of Oregon and taken the first step to secure possession of the Northwest to the United States. While knowledge was being gained of the far western country, southwestern Minnesota, on the border of civilization, remained a terra incognita. Let us imagine what this country was in its primeval state, when all was as nature had formed it. The broad and rolling prairies stretched as far as the eye could reach, presenting, in summer, a perfect paradise of verdure, with its variegated hues of flowers and vegetation; in winter, a dreary snow mantled desert. The creeks flowed in the same courses as now; the lakes occupied the same banks; the topography of the country was the same. But what a contrast! Wild beasts and birds and wilder red men then reigned supreme. Vast herds of bison, elk and deer roamed the open prairies and reared their young in the more sheltered places. With that wonderful appreciation of the beautiful which nature has made an instinct in the savage, the untutored Sioux had selected the country as his hunting ground. If inanimate things could speak, what wild tales of Indian adventure could be poured forth! The country which such a short time ago was an uncharted wilderness is today a prosperous land, filled with an enterprising, intelligent and happy people. Cities and villages, the peer of those that were centuries in building, adorn the former barren prairies; civilization and progress have supplanted savagery; schools, churches and libraries occupy the sites of the aboriginal's tepees. That part of the North American continent which is now designated on the map as Minnesota was occupied by the Dakota or Sioux Indians from the very earliest days up to the tiem when the white man supplanted the red man in the nineteenth century. Indian tradition tells of no earlier inhabitants. Certain it is that when the first explorers, centuries ago, came to the Northwest country they found the Dakotas or Sioux in possession. When knowledge was first gained of these people there were three great tribal divisions, namely: The Isantis, residing on the headwaters of the Mississippi; the Yanktons, who occupied the region north of the Minnesota river; and the Titonwans, who had their hunting grounds west of the Yanktons. The last named was the most powerful and numerous tribe. Coming down to the year 1834, we find that definite knowledge had been gained of the tribal divisons of southern Minnesota, and that their places of summer residence were known. General H. H. Sibley, an authority on Indian affairs, described the Indian bands as he found them in 1834. There were seven bands of the Dakotas, known as the M'daywakantons, or People of the Leaf. Their summer residences were in villages, the lodges being built of elm bark upon a frame work of poles. These villages were situated at Wabasha Prairie, where the city of Winona now stands; at Red Wing and Kaposia, on the Mississippi; three bands on the lower Minnesota, below Shakopee; and the Lake Calhoun band, on the lake of that name. These bands could bring into the field about 600 warriors. The Wakpotootas, or People of the Shot leaf, were in villages on Cannon lake, a short distance from the present city of Faribault, and at a few other points. They numbered about 150 warriors. The lower Wakpatons, or People of the Leaf, were located at Little Rapids, Sand Prairie and on the banks of the Minnesota, not far from Belle Plaine. The lower Sissetons occupied the regions around Traverse des Sioux, Swan lake and the Cottonwood, extending to the Coteau des prairies. It was this band which claimed jurisdiction over the present day county of Nobles. The upper Wakpaton tribe had its villages on the shores of the Lac qui Parle. The upper Sissetons were on Big Stone lake and lake Traverse. Portions of Minnesota had been visited by whites at a very early day, but the southwestern portion was unvisited until long after other parts were fairly well known. Catlin, Schoolcraft, Featherstonhaugh, Allen, Keating and Long were early explorers to the wilds of Minnesota, but they confined themselves to the ready routes of travel, passing through the country in a single season. But in the late thirties appeared one who crossed the upper Mississippi country in all directions, spending several years, winters included, in procuring data for his map. This was Joseph Nicolas Nicollet*, who, so far as I am able to learn, was the first white man to set foot on the soil of Nobles county. He gave names to many lakes and physical features or adopted those which were current, and his map, issued in 1842, shows the scope of his explorations. The country of which Nobles county forms a part was labeled "Sisseton Country" on his map, he finding that that branch of the Dakotas were in possession. He found that the region west of the Mississippi had several plateaus, or elevated prairies, which marked the limits of the various river basins. The most remarkable of these he called Plateau du Coteau des Prairies (plateau of prairie heights) and Coteau Du Grand Bois (wooded heights). *Do not confound with Jean Nicollet, an American pioneer from France who visited the country nearly 200 years earlier. Nicollet described the Coteau des Prairies as a vast plain, elevated 1,916 feet abov the level of the ocean and 890 feet above Big Stone lake, lying between latitudes 43 and 46 degrees, extending from northwest to southeast for a distance of 200 miles, its width varying from 15 to 40 miles. He described it as a beautiful country, from whose summit grand views were afforded and said that at the eastern border particularly the prospect was magnificent beyond description, extending over the immense green turf that forms the basin of the Red River of the North, the forest clad summits of the Hauteurs des Terres that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the gigantic valley of the upper Minnesota, and the depressions in which are lake Traverse and Big Stone lake. That Nicollet visited Nobles county and other portions of the southwestern part of Minnesota is evidenced by the fact that several physical features of the country with which we are familiar were given names and more or less accurately located. "Okebene" lake has a place on the map, as also has "Spirit lake," "Ocheyedan lake," "Ocheyedan Hillock, or Mourning Ground," "Okoboji river and lake," and "Karanzi river, where the Kansas were killed." For several years after the visit of Nicollet the future county of Nobles was visited by white men only occasionally. In fact the whole of southwestern Minnesota remained the country of the red man up to the middle fifties and nearly to the time when Minnesota was admitted to the union as a state. Even then, although the settlements extended up to the borders of Nobles county on the south, east and north, Nobles county was without actual settlers. It was several years behind its neighboring counties, and permanent settlement did not begin until 1867. While the settlement of the southwestern part of the state-to-be was not attempted until a late day, other portions received some settlement, and Minnesota territory was created in 1849. Three years later the boundary line between the new territory and Iowa was surveyed. The territory from which, later, Nobles county was formed, being on the southern boundary of Minnesota, was visited at that time by surveyors, and on August 5, 1852, the first line was run that marked a boundary of the county-to-be. That day the lien along Grand Prairie township was surveyed; the following day that along Little Rock; on the seventh the surveyors completed Ransom and part of Bigelow; on the eighth Bigelow was finished, and the lien along the southern boundary of Indian Lake was completed and the surveyors continued their way eastward. Although the permanent settlement of the western counties of southwestern Minnesota was backward, trappers operated over the whole country for many years prior to actual settlement. The abundance of game that roamed over the region drew hunters and trappers regularly to its lakes and streams. Some of these later took claims in the country they had trapped over and became the first settlers. In 1856 there was a great tide of emigration "toward the setting sun" from the eastern states, and Minnesota territory grew rapidly in population. This inpouring of settlers continued during the following year. Then came the panic of 1857, and the influx of settlers almost completely ceased. Times were very hard all through the country, and especially was this condition of affairs felt in the Northwest. It was during this activity in the settlement of Minnesota that the first settlement was made in the southwestern part of the territory. During the years 1855, 1856, and 1857, a few hardy pioneers found their way to and made settlements in territory which now forms Faribault, Martin, Jackson and Cottonwood counties, in Minnesota, and the Spirit Lake country, in Iowa. In some of these counties substantial settlements were begun; villages were founded; counties were organized; civilization took its first advancing stride into the frontier. During this period of activity in southwestern Minnesota the future Nobles county had no active part; it was just beyond the "jumping off place." The greater part of the settlers engaged In trapping for furs, and in the pursuit of this avocation, they frequently visited the lakes of Nobles county. Unfortunately data of the doings of these men have not been preserved. They were trappers, not historians, and they left no record of their adventures. Only a few of these early day trappers are left. Of a nomadic temperament, when permanent settlement was begun, the majority of these frontiersmen pushed on to still unsettled countries to the west. One of these trappers who operated in what is now the western part of Nobles county was Jude Phillips, and one of his adventures is worth relating. In company with a brother, he was trapping one season on Kanaranzi creek, his camp being near the present site of Adrian. His brother's camp was some five miles distant, also on the creek. A terrible cloudburst raised the Kanaranzi to a raging flood. Jude Phillips barely escaped with his life. The morning after the disaster he started out to look for his brother, but found no trace of him, and never did. The raging Kanaranzi had claimed its first victim. As before stated, the financial panic of 1857 retarded the growth of the territory and brought to a standstill the activities in southwestern Minnesota. But there was another event of that year that changed the whole history of the country. That was the Inkpadutah massacre. The Indians, under the leadership of Inkpadutah, went on the war path and ruthlessly murdered settlers at Spirit Lake, Iowa, and along the Des Moines river in Jackson and Cottonwood counties, Minnesota. Had the settlement at that time been extended to Nobles county there can be no doubt that its soil would have been drenched in blood, as the savages operated in the county during the famous massacre. The women and children of Inkpadutah's band were camped on Indian lake, in the southeastern corner of the county, while the warriors were committing their deeds of violence. After the massacre at Spirit Lake part of the murderers retreated to the northwest and made their camping place at the same point. It is said that a force of soldiers who were in pursuit of the redskins, came as close to this band as Iowa lake. Had they struck the Indians on Indian lake, Nobles county would doubtless have played an important part in the history of the massacre. When the first white settlers came to the Indian lake country in 1869 the remains of the Indian camp were plainly seen. The massacre proved to be a serious blow to the growth and development of this region. The counties in which settlement had been made were depopulated. The pioneers fled for their lives; everything was abandoned. Troops were soon stationed in the country, but it took time to restore confidence, and for some time all of these counties lying west of Faribault county remained almost wholly devoid of inhabitants. During the boom days of 1856 and the early part of 1857 the people of Minnesota were optimistic. Thousands of people were pouring into the territory and building themselves homes in the heretofore frontier sections. Elaborate schemes for big ventures were planned; nothing was done in a niggardly manner. Frenzied finance reigned supreme. Railroad rumors filled the air, and it was indeed an out of the way place that did not look forward to the coming of the iron horse in the immediate future. Paper roads covered the territory from one end to the other, and southwestern Minnesota was no exception to the rule. The territorial legislature caught the fever, granted bonuses to various contemplated railways, and indiscriminately created counties in all parts of the territory - in many of which there was not at the time a single resident. And Nobles county came into existence under these conditions. It had no settlers at the time, but abundant prospects. Had it not been for the panic and the Indian outbreak, there can be no doubt that the county would have been inhabited and in a prosperous condition within a very short time after its creation in the spring of 1857. As it was, it was ten years later when permanent settlement was begun and thirteen when the organization were perfected. Before considering the creation of the county let us take a backward glance and trace the structural history of Minnesota territory from the date of its creation, insofar as is relates to Nobles county. When the first legislature convened after the organization of the territory in 1849 it divided Minnesota into nine counties, names as follows: Benton, Dakota, Itasca, Cass, Pembina, Ramsey, Washington, Chisago and Wabasha. The whole of southern Minnesota was included in Wabasha and Dakota, and of these two, Dakota had the bulk of the territory. Wabasha included that part of the territory "lying east of a line running due south from a point on the Mississippi river known as medicine Bottle village at Pine Bend, to the Iowa line." Dakota county (created oct. 27, 1849) was "all that part of said territory west of the Mississippi and lying west of the county of Wabasha and south of a line beginning at the mouth of Crow river, and up said river and the north branch thereof to its source, and thence due west to the Missouri river." Although Dakota county was larger than many of the eastern states its population was almost nothing, and it was declared "organized only for the purpose of the appointment of justices of the peace, constables and such other judicial and ministerial officers as may be specially provided for." For judicial purposes it was attached to the county of Ramsey. The future Nobles county remained a part of Dakota county until March 5, 1853, when there was a readjustment of Wabasha and Dakota county boundaries, and Blue Earth county came into existence. The boundaries of the latter were described as follows: "So much territory lying south of the Minnesota river as remains of Wabasha and Dakota counties undivided by this act." As the boundaries of the two older counties as defined by this act was very indefinite, it is impossible to state exactly what the dimentions of Blue Earth county were. It is known, however, that it included all of southwestern Minnesota. For two years the unknown Nobles county remained a part of Blue Earth county, and then come another change. By an act approved Feb. 20, 1855, the county of Blue Earth was reduced to its present boundaries, Faribault was created with the boundaries it now has, except that it then extended one township farther west than now, and the new county of Brown came into being. It was described as follows: "That so much of the territory as was formerly included within the county of Blue Earth, and has not been included within the boundaries of any other county as herein established, shall be known as the county of Brown." All of the territory lying south of the Minnesota river and west of a line drawn south from the western boundary of the present day Blue Earth county now became Brown county, and Nobles remained a part of this until two years later, when it became a political division of itself. The conditions which led up to the creation of Nobles county and the many others in the southwestern corner of the territory have been briefly referred to. Among the other contemplated enterprises of the boom days of 1856-7 was the building of a railroad into the southwestern part of the territory. This enterprise was, of course, arrested by the panic. But it had not prevented the building of air castles in the young country prior to the financial crash. Although no survey for the railroad had been made it had been learned that it was to be built through the Graham lakes country, and an imaginary town came into existence there. This was known as Gretchtown, and in the very early days it found itself on the maps of the frontier country. It was located on the south bank of West Graham lake - on land which in time came into the possession of Hon. J. B. Wakefiled, of Blue Earth City. Gretchtown was literally a "paper town." It was never even platted, nor did it rise to the dignity of having a trapper's hut thereon. Yet it became the county seat of a county - a county without inhabitants. On the 23rd day of May, 1857, the bill was passed creating the county of Nobles and eight others in the southwestern corner of the territory. It was named in honor of Col. W. H. Nobles, of St. Paul. Section three of the act describes the boundaries: Sec. III. That so much of the territory of Minnesota as is embraced in the following boundaries be, and the same is hereby, established as the county of Nobles: beginning at the southeast corner of township 101 north, of range 39 west; thence north to the northeast corner of township 104 north, of range 39 west; thence west to the northwest corner of township 104, range 43 west; thence south to the southwest corner of township 101 north, of range 43 west; thence east to the place of beginning. Of the nine counties created by the act only Martin, Jackson, Nobles and Big Sioux were declared to be organized counties and "invested will all the immunities to which organized counties are entitled by law." They were attached to the third judicial district for judicial purposes, and to the tenth council district for elective purposes. Provision was made for the early organization of the four counties named. Commissioners residing within the respective counties were to be appointed by the governor to perfect the organizations. These commissioners were to meet during the first week in July, 1857, at the county seat and set in motion the machinery of the county government. The county seat of Nobles county was temporarily located at Gretchtown, that mythical city in Graham lakes township, but provision was made for the selection of the permanent seat of government by the voters. It is needless to say that the organization did not take place as provided. Only a short time later, there were not only no settlers in Nobles county, but the whole of southwestern Minnesota was deserted. County government was not begun in Nobles county until 1870; then it was organized under the provisions of the act of 1857. The panic and Indian troubles had caused a setback of thirteen years. It will be remembered that so early as 1852 surveyors had established the line between Minnesota and Iowa, and for a few days had operated in Nobles county. That was the only surveying done for several years. But after the territorial legislature had divided southwestern Minnesota into counties, it was deemed advisable to establish their boundaries. A surveying party visited the county in September, 1858, and marked its boundaries. Guide meridian No. 5, along the eastern boundary of the county was surveyed, as was also standard parallel No. 1, which was the county's northern boundary. It was nine years later when the county was divided into townships, and one and two years after that when the section lines were run. So soon as confidence was restored after the Spirit Lake massacre, settlement was begun again in portions of southwestern Minnesota, and in the late fifties and very early sixties quite a number of settlers had founded homes in Martin, Jackson, Cottonwood, Murray and Nobles counties. Some of the counties east of these had not been seriously affected by the Indian outbreak, and had substantial settlements. Eleven families, comprising thirty-five people, had pushed out to the heretofore unknown Nobles county country. That was the number found by Elias D. Bruner, assistant marshal, who took the census July 16, 1860. These were located in the Graham lakes country, and Jackson was their post office address. The enumerator stated that he had visited eleven dwelling houses, and that there were the same number of families. On following page are names of the inhabitants, their ages, occupations and places of birth as listed by Marshal Bruner. All of these were white, free inhabitants. Being squatters, they did not have title to real estate, but four of the number had personal property, as follows: John Oleson, $200; uriah Kushman, $175; William Hertwinkle, $275; John Hertwinkle, $10. Other information contained in the schedule is to the effect that none had been married within the year, none had attended school within the year, only one person over twenty years of age (Thomas Marks) could not read or write, and one was deaf and dumb, blind, idiotic, pauper or convict. It is greatly to be regretted that nothing further can be learned of this attempted early settlement. Although I have made extensive research for information concerning it, I have been able to find little more than is contained in the bare census returns. These people doubtless came to Nobles county some time after the Spirit Lake massacre, and probably only a short time before the census was taken. This is made evident from the fact that in three different families were children of two years of age or younger, and none of them was born in Minnesota. How they happened to locate in this frontier land, stories of their adventures, when and why they left, will probably always remain a mystery. We can only surmise. The development of this frontier region was destined to delay. It had only fairly recovered from the effects of the Inkpadutah, or Spirit Lake, massacre and the hard times period when the outbreak of the civil war in 1861 again set a brake on emigration. Then in August, 1862, was inaugurated the terrible Sioux war, which again depopulated the western part of Minnesota and crimsoned the fair soil with the blood of so many innocent men, women and children. 1860 Nobles County Census
Fiendish atrocity, blood curdling cruelty and red handed murder ran riot. At New Ulm was enacted one of the most atrocious massacres recorded in the annals of Indian warfare. At lake Shetek, in Murray county, and other places in southwestern Minnesota the murder crazed redskins fell upon the settlers and enacted lesser tragedies - lesser only because the victims were not so numerous. Those farmers, trappers and traders who had builded themselves homes in Nobles county had taken their departure, and so escaped the fate that befell so many in southwestern Minnesota. Whether they had departed of their own volition or taken alarm and retreated when the Indians went on the warpath is not certain. It is certain that they were not in the country during the war, and nearly every trace of their occupancy disappeared. The growth of Minnesota received a set back from which it took many years to fully recover. After the inauguration of this fiendish warfare the western frontier line receded eastward, and the greater portion of southwestern Minnesota was again left in the midst of the hostile Indian country, and for many months no white man trod its soil. After the settlements in the eastern part of the state had partially recovered from the first rude shock of the Indian outbreak, which fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, steps were at once taken to defend the exposed settlements, to conquer the redskins and drive them back. The civil war was in progress, and the majority of the able bodied settlers were in the south fighting for the union. It therefore required some time to muster troops and place them in advantageous positions to cope with the wily red foe. In the meantime the Indians carried on their brutal warfare, murdering men, women and children, and burning as they went. After considerable delay the Indians were driven back, soldiers were placed all through this western country, and the prairies were constantly patrolled by companies which were detailed for this service. The expeditions against the hostile Sioux resulted in Nobles county being frequently visited by military parties. On one occasion a force under General Thomas pursued a band of the hostiles to the shores of Okabena lake and beyond. For convenience in operating against the savages military roads were constructed in different parts of the country. One of the main thoroughfares was through Nobles county, extending from Jackson to the present site of Luverne and on to Yankton. Another one, coming from Blue Earth City, united with this on section 27, Graham Lakes township. The road from Jackson crossed Hersey township, traversing it in a northwesterly direction. It crossed Jack creek and entered Graham Lakes township in section 34, continued in a northwesterly direction to its junction with the other trail on section 27, and then bore to the southwest. It passed through the northern part of Elk and Summit Lake townships and entered Larkin a short distance southeast of the present village of Wilmont. Larkin township was traversed, the road leaving it at section 18. Lismore township was entered at section 13; thence the road continued its way through sections 14 and 15 and on to the west. The road was a good one, and in after years was used as the mail route from Blue Earth City and Jackson to Luverne, Sioux Falls and Yankton. To this day evidence of the old road can be seen in places. The savages were soon subdued after troops were placed in the field, but for a number of years the settlers on the extreme frontier lived in a state of constant fear and anxiety, not knowing at what time the scenes of 1862 might be repeated. Soldiers were kept on the frontier for some time, and some of them were among the first settlers to take up their homes in the new country when peace was assured, not a few selecting their claims while here in the service. When peace was established on the border, settlement again began - destined this time ot be permanent - and the frontier line moves westward rapidly. During the first half of the sixties the settlement did not extend so far west as Nobles county, if we expect a few trappers who regularly plied their trade here. A few of these built shanties, which they occupied during the trapping season. They would then depart to their homes farther east or south and dispose of their catch. Sometimes they would return to the trapping ground of Nobles county the next season; sometimes they would not. In no sense of the word could they be called permanent settlers. They neither laid claim to land (except under the unwritten law governing trapping rights) nor intended to make their homes here. On the other hand, while those first settlers who came in the early summer of 1867 also engaged principally in trapping for a livelihood, they were permanent settlers, and the settlement of the county may properly be said to date from that time. They came to build permanent homes for themselves and engage in agricultural pursuits so soon as conditions would permit, and they all took land claims. Their trapping was done because of necessity, not because they were trappers. When the settlers of 1867 appeared they came as pioneers to a new country. Practically all trace of the former occupation had disappeared, and the only evidence found were a few trappers' shacks and dugouts. These early settlers knew nothing, or very little, of the people who had preceded them, so completely had the efforts at civilization been obliterated, and few people today know that there were settlers prior to 1867. For evidence of occupation of Nobles county prior to the arrival of the settlers of 1867 I am under obligations to Judge B. W. Woolstencroft, now of Slayton, who became a resident of the county July 4, 1867. In his occupations of hunter, trapper and surveyor he visited nearly all parts of the county in the early days, and knows whereof he speaks. The evidence of this letter and other sources of information lead to the belief that evidence of former occupation had almost completely disappeared. Judge Woolstencroft writes: Slayton, Minn., June 24, 1907 When the civil war closes, railroads - those great civilizers - began reaching out and interlocking through the Northwest. For Minnesota this was the starting point of such an era of rapid growth and development as was the marvel of the times. The iron horse had reached the eastern part of southwestern Minnesota late in the sixties, and early in the next decade railroads were guilt through and beyond these counties. It was in 1871 that the first railroad was built into Nobles county, although the road was projected and the preliminary survey made as early as 1866. This was done by the Minnesota Valley Railroad company, which later became the St. Paul & Sioux City and the Sioux City & St. Paul. The line of the proposed road entered Nobles county in section 12, Graham Lakes township, and passed in a southwesterly direction between the two Graham lakes. It left the township at section 31, passed through the northwest corner of Hersey and into Worthington Township, continuing its general southwestern direction, going along the north and west side of West Okabena lake. The route thus surveyed was much longer than the one finally decided on. After the land grant had been secured - alternate sections in a strip of country on each side of the survey - the route was changed to the shorter one, over which the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha is now operated. A country through which railroad surveys are being made is not destined to remain long without settlers, and the year 1866 marks the close of an era. At that time there was not a settler in the county, Nobles had not yet been divided into townships and smaller divisions, it was an untamed country. |
