Early steamboating on the Minnesota and Red rivers

r

V6^

V

o,

,^^^

LIBRARY

OF THE

University of California.

GIF^T OF^

jQAA^v-v-tn b^V>LXxr'\**r(loJt fiU^C^LAJt^l.

C/jss

I

Minnesota Historical Society
Vol. X. Pl-\te IV.

EARLY STEAMBOATING ON THE MINNESOTA AND
RED RIVERS *

BY CAPTAIN EDWIN BELL.

ST. PAUL AND ITS VICINITY IN 185O.

On the 1 6th day of December, 1850, I called on Governor
Ramsey at his new house on Walnut street, to which he had re-
cently moved. The governor was surrounded by a large delega-
tion of Sioux Indians, each of whom had a long-stem pipe across
his lap. Those were the first wild Indians I had ever seen.
Their faces were painted in streaks of red and black, and many of
them had eagle feathers on their heads. They were orderly, so
far as I could see, and I little thought that within a few years I
should carry their yearly supplies to Redwood Agency, and guns
and ammunition up the Minnesota river to destroy these same
Indians.

St. Paul at that time was little more than an Indian trading
post? The Indians in winter camped in the heavy timber on the
west side of the river from Kaposia to a point opposite St. Paul.
As soon as the ice formed so as to bear them, great numbers
would cross over to trade. Trading was done with A. L. Larpen-
teur, on the corner of Third and Jackson streets ; with Mr. Simp-
son, on Minnesota and Third streets; and the Fuller Brothers,
at the Upper Levee. All these traders dealt heavily in furs.

In the year 1850, I preempted what is now called Langdon,
situated near the river, fifteen miles below St. Paul After I fin-

*Read at the monthly meeting of the Executive Council, May 13, 1901.

92 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

ished m}' house on the prairie and moved in, the Sioux used to
pass frequently on their way to Point Douglas. During the two
years we were on the prairie, we were not troubled by them,
neither did we hear of any family that was troubled. I found that
farming was not my forte, so I returned to St. Paul.

STEAMBOATING ON THE MINNESOTA RIVER.

In 1855 I had command of the steamer Globe, making trips
on the Minnesota river, and in the early fall of that year we car-
ried supplies to the Sioux at Redwood Agency. The Indians
would come down the river several miles to meet the boat. They
were like a lot of children, and when the steamboat approached
they would shout, "Nitonka pata-wata washta," meaning, **Your
big fire-canoe is good." They v/ould then cut across the bend,
yelling until we reached the landing.

In the fall of that year, 1855, their supplies were late, when
I received orders from Agent Murphy to turn over to the Indians
twelve barrels of pork, and twelve barrels of flour. As soon as
we landed, we rolled the supplies on shore. I was informed that
the Indians were in a starving condition. It was amusing to
see five or six of them rolling a barrel of pork up the bank, when
two of our deck hands would do the work in half the time.

A young Indian girl stood at the end of the gang plank,
wringing her hands and looking toward the boat, exclaiming
*'Sunka wanicha," meaning "They have my dog." The cabin boy
told me the cook had coaxed the dog on board and hid it. I could
speak the language so as to be understood, and I motioned to the
girl and said, "Niye kuwa," meaning *'Come here." She came on
board, and I told the cook to bring the dog to me. When the
dog came, she caught it in her arms, exclaiming, "Sunka washta,"
meaning ''Good dog." She then ran on shore and up the hill. It
seemed to me that white people took advantage of the Indian
when they could, even steamboat cooks.

When the flour and pork were on level ground, the barrel
heads were knocked in, and the pork was cut in small strips and
thrown in a pile. Two hundred squaws then formed a circle, and
several Indians handed the pieces of pork to the squaws until the
pile was disposed of. The flour was placed in tin pans, each squaw
receiving a panful.

STEAM BOATING ON THE MINNESOTA AND RED RIVERS. 93

Later, in the same season, we had an unfortunate trip. The
boat was loaded deep. Luckily Agent Murphy and Capt. Louis
Robert were on board. We had in the cabin of the boat ninety
thousand dollars in gold. About three miles below the Agency,
we ran on a large boulder. After much effort, we got the boat
afloat. Major Murphy gave orders to land the goods, so that
they might be hauled to the Agency. We landed and unloaded,
covering the goods with tarpaulins. There were about fifty kegs
of powder with the goods. While we were unloading, the agent
sent for a team to take Captain Robert and himself, with the gold,
to the Agency. Then we started down the river. We had gone
only a few miles, when we discovered a dense smoke, caused by
a prairie fire. The smoke was rolling toward the pile of goods,
which we had left in charge of two men. When we reached the
ferry at Red Bank, a man on horseback motioned us to land, and
told us that the goodi* we left were all burnt up and the powder
exploded. This was a sad blow to the Indians.

The following i« a list of the steamboats running on the
Minnesota river, during high water, in the year 1855 ^^^^ later:
Clarion, Captain Humberson ; Globe, Captain Edwin Bell ; Time
and Tide, Captain Nelson Robert; Jeannette Roberts, Captain
Charles Timmens; MoUie Moler, Captain Houghton; Minnesota,
Captain Hays; and the Frank Steele and Favorite, both side-
wheel steamers. These boats were drawn off when the water got
low; and when the railroad paralleled the river, all boats quit
running.

On the 1 6th day of December, 1895, I called on Governor
Ramsey again, to talk over old times, forty-five years after my
first call. What changes have taken place since then! When I
started to leave, I thought I would see how much the governor re-
membered of the vSioux language. I said, "Governor, nitonka
tepee, washta." "What did you say, captain?" asked the governor.
I replied, "Nitonka tepee, washta." *'Why, captain," said he,
"that means. My house is large and good ;" and, with a wink,
"Captain, let's have a nip." Of course we nipped, and said "Ho !"
All old settlers will know the meaning of the Sioux exclamation,
"Ho!"

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH.

In the summer of 1859 I arranged with Mr. J. C. Burbank

94

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

to go to the Red River of the North to take charge of the steam-
boat Anson Northup, load the freight on the boat, and take it to
Fort Garry. This was the first steamboat ever run on the Red
river.

I was to take a few men with me for deck hands, and Dudley
Kelly, a brother of Patrick H. Kelly, as clerk. I would find a pilot
and engineer at the boat. We left the next morning on the stage.
On arriving at the Red river, we were informed that the boat had
started for the townsite of Georgetown, in charge of the stage
agent. If we drove fast, they said, we would overtake the boat,
as the river was very crooked. We got ahead of her, and when
we heard her coming around the bend, we hailed them. They
landed, and I went on board and showed my papers to the man
in charge of the boat, who introduced me to the pilot, Jesse Young,
and also to Lem Young, the engineer. Then leaving us, he got
on the stage, going to Abercrombie.

We started for Georgetown. We found three deck hands
on the boat. Two were old pinery men. They were of great
service afterward at Goose rapids. There were also two families
on board, the first pioneer families coming through the United
States to Fort Garry. All others came by the way of Hudson bay.
Two men were also passengers, one a minister. We soon landed
at Georgetown, and loaded the freight on the boat.

Two more passengers got on board there for Fort Garry. I
inquired about the river below. They said the water was deep
down to the fort. As voyageurs, in their birch canoes, they had
passed up and down without trouble, but we found a steamboat a
little diflferent from a canoe. I called a meeting to find out the
amount of provisions there was on board, as in our stage trip to
the Red river we had passed the wagon with provisions for the
boat. They had a broken wheel, and a man had gone back to St.
Cloud for a new one. This would take several days. The pas-
sengers and crew were all anxious to start down the river, and,
as there were provisions to last through the trip, all went well
until we reached Goose rapids.

There w^e saw the break of boulders in the channel of the
river, and we also saw shoal water on a gravel bar below. The
pilot and I took the small skiff to examine. We found that the
boulders would have to be removed before we could get through.
W^e made scrapers to dig below the boulders. When we had dug

STEAMBOATING ON THE MINNESOTA AND RED RIVERS. 95

a hole large enough to hold a boulder, we brought the bow of the
boat against it and then came ahead, shoving the boulder into the
opening we had made.

This we continued to do until the boulders were all out of
the way, and then we started over the bar. Getting half way
over, the boat stuck fast. We commenced to carry the freight
on shore, to lighten; and fortunately the freight was in square
packages with lugs. The men would turn their backs to the guard
of the boat, receive a package, and wade to shore, to the pile.
This was of no benefit, as the water fell fast. I sent two men back
to Georgetown, to have Mr. Joseph McKay come and get the
freight.

When we had the boat unloaded we tried to move her by
backing to throw the water under her, and then reversed to come
ahead quick for starting. It was of no use. Some of our party
wanted me to abandon the steamboat and strike for Pembina, a
hundred miles or more down the river. I said "No," and at once
decided to build a dam, this being the first dam ever put in on
the Red river.

I will describe the way it was built. First we cut two cotton-
wood logs, ten feet long, and chopped out the middle to form a
trough, leaving the ends and sides of each. We then spliced them
together, calked them, and built a platform on this scow for men
to stand on to drive stakes. The stakes were cut about seven
feet long and sharpened. We commenced to drive from the east
shore, and drove a straight line of stakes to the boat. We had
a man at each end of the scow, to hold it up to the stakes, and to
move it as the stakes were driven. There was a very strong cur-
rent over the bar. We knew that if the dam was not a success
there would be starvation, for our provisions were nearly ex-
hausted and we were a long way from civilization.

Now came the tug of war. Our crew cut cottonwood logs,
twelve feet long, and rolled them to the river. This was hard
work. All brush had to be cut in front of the logs to clear the
way. When in the water two or three men would follow them to
place them in line above the stakes. This was done until we had
enough to reach to the boat.

We had as a passenger a hearty Scotch minister. He sent
for me to come on board for prayers. I went. After prayers he

96 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

Spoke as though I ought to have brought the men with me. I
said to him, ''God will help them that help themselves."

The dam required a large amount of brush. This was car-
ried to the lower side of the logs, to be put on them with the brush
ends up stream and the butts on the logs. While we were so plac-
ing the brush, I looked on the shore where the freight was piled,
and saw a man. He hailed us and came on board. It was Capt.
Russell Blakeley. I explained to him the condition we were in.
He pulled from his pocket a lot of fish lines and hooks, and hand-
ed them to me. They proved a great blessing to us. I knew
then that they would save us from starving. All who could be
spared from the work began fishing, and they had great success.
We continued to pile the brush on the logs, and when w^e got
about half way from the shore to the boat I could see the water
begin to rise above the dam. When we got to within fifteen feet
of the boat with the brush, she rose and shot over the bar into
deep water.

We hauled the small scow aboard, which was built for driv-
ing the stakes, fearing that we might need it farther down the
stream. Then we raised steam and started for Fort Garry,
Captain Blakeley going with us from Goose rapids. W^hen we
reached the mouth of the Red Lake river, we saw a great many
birch canoes on the west bank of the Red river. We heard later
at Fort Garry that the Indians intended to intercept the boat ; but
they had got out of provisions, and had left their canoes to go on
a hunt.

Just below the Red Lake river we caught up with two men
in a canoe. They had a large number of geese and goslings in
their canoe that they had shot. We lifted their canoe on board,
and I offered to buy their game. They refused to sell, but made
us a present of all they had, knowing the need we were in. We
then lived high on fish and goslings for breakfast, goose for din-
ner, and goslings for supper.

The boat being light, we reached Fort Garry without further
trouble. We unloaded the passengers and freight, and then had
to find a place to lay the boat up in safety for the winter. We
were recommended to take her to the Stone Fort, about fifteen
miles below Fort Garry.

In the morning we got ready to start for the Stone Fort,

STEAMBOATING ON THE MINNlESOTA AND RED RIVERS. 97

when a few men came and said they wanted to go down to the
fort with us. After landing at the fort, a few more men came
and said they wanted to take a short ride as they never had seen
a steamboat before. We started, and about five miles below the
Stone Fort, we saw a band of Indians looking with wonder at the
boat. When we got opposite the Indians, I motioned to the pilot
to blow the whistle. He did so, and such a scattering you never
saw. Some ran, and some jumped into the bulrushes close by to
hide. One of the gentlemen called to them, and they came to the
boat laughing and having great fun among themselves. Then we
returned and laid the boat up. The engineer drained the pumps
and blew the water out of the boilers, leaving the boat in good
order for the winter.

SCENES AT I^ORT GARRY IN 1 859.

All the crew walked to Fort Garry, and we made our camp
at the mouth of the Assiniboine, to wait for the ox train to go to
Georgetown.

I visited the fort several times. They were very precise in
all their movements within. The bell rang at nine o'clock, and
the gate was opened for trade. All goods came by way of Hud-
son bay. I was invited to dine with Governor McTavish, and had
a pleasant time, talking about our trip down the river. He asked
me, with a twinkle in his eye, if the minister prayed us over the
bar.

I was invited to attend an Indian feast in the morning. It
was a religious ceremony, and in the afternoon a feast. It was
held in an enclosure made of brush. No one was allowed inside
except their band, but we could see over the fence all that tran-
spired. The Indians sat on the ground inside the enclosure, and
there were in the center, at certain distances apart, five large dead
dogs with their hair singed off. At the head of the enclosure a
young squaw sat on a bed of moss. She wore a new red blanket,
and her hair was braided and hung down her back. An Indian
would spring up and go with a kind of hop, holding a beaver skin
in his hand and shaking it before her, saying something as though
asking a blessing. She would nod, and he would pass around the
squaw. The next Indian brought an otter skin, the next a musk-

yo MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

rat, and so on until they had brought all the animals, going
through the same ceremony as with the beaver. The next were
geese, ducks, and other birds, and so on down to hay from the
marsh. The company then broke up until the afternoon.

Going back about one o*clock, I found the squaws making
soup from the dogs that were in the enclosure. The Indians went
and took their seats as before, the young squaw in her place. The
squaws brought the soup to the entrance, and then the Indians
took the kettles of soup with a ladle in each kettle, and it was
passed around, each Indian taking a sup, until the soup was all
gone. I left before the company broke up.

Winnipeg now is not as Fort Garry was then. There were
only three houses there. 1 went across the river several times to
visit Mr. Norman W. Kittson in his Indian trading post, and al-
ways had a pleasant call.

THE RETURN BY OX TRAIN TO ST. PAUL.

When the train was ready to start for Georgetown, each of us
had an ox cart to travel in. We then started on our long journey.
We made a short stop at Pembina. The second day out from
there we saw some buffaloes running over the hills. The hunter
for the train started for them, and in a few hours returned with
all the meat and hide he could carry on his horse. The hide was
for harness. We passed deep paths made by the buffaloes going
in single file from lake to lake.

We made camp early that evening, having found good feed
and water for the cattle. Standing by a large oak tree, in full
view was an immense buffalo. A man from St. Paul who was in
the train gave the hunter two dollars to let him take a horse and
gun to kill the buffalo. When the man got within thirty yards
of him, the buffalo started toward the man. He shot, but did
not take time to look around to see if he had killed the buffalo.
It was amusement for us to see the buffalo chasing the man on
horseback. The way our expert hunter killed the buffalo was
interesting. He circled around him, and then shot. He dropped
dead.

We were called next morning early. The oxen were all near
the carts excepting mine. I could see him a long way behind
feeding, and Mr. Dudley Kelly and I started for him. By the

STEAMBOATING ON THE MINNESOTA AND RED RIVERS. 99

time we arrived where we thought the ox was, there came a dense
fog, so that we could not see thirty feet ahead of us. I exclaimed,
"Dudley, we are lost !" "I haven't a knife or match with me," he
said. "Well," said I, pointing to the large frogs in the grass, "as
long as these fellows are jumping around, we will not starve." I
knew the way the wind blew when we left camp, and I was sure
by keeping the wind on my left shoulder I could return to it.

After about half an hour's walking, I said, "There is the
tree near the camp where the buffalo was that we killed last
night." As we approached the tree, we could see, through the
mist, that the limbs were moving. Directly we heard a voice.
The tree was Captain Blakeley, and the limbs moving were his
arms waving for us. He was on the road waiting for us, and it
was a great relief to find him. He informed us that the train
had moved on. We did not overtake it until they went into camp.

This must have been the great hunting ground for the In-
dian, as there were thousands and thousands of bleached buffalo
bones lying on the prairie.

We reached Georgetown all right, and thence we left the
river and went across the country to St. Cloud. When we arrived
at the Crow river, the water was so high that we had to ford it,
carrying our clothes on our heads, and it was indeed a cold bath,
as there was ice on the edge of the river. We arrived at home in
St. Paul safely after a hard trip.

INCIDENTS OF THE SIOUX OUTBREAK.

In August, 1862, we were making the steamboat trip from
St. Paul to Carver and back again daily. On one of our return
trips from Carver in the latter part of that month, as we arrived
opposite Fort Snelling we were hailed by two soldiers, with guns,
and ordered to land. As soon as our head line was made fast,
one of the soldiers came on board and asked me whether I was
captain of the boat. I said, "Yes." "I have orders," said he,
"to bring you to the fort." "Why?" I asked; and he replied,
"I have no time to talk." Then we started on half a run up the
bluff to the fort. When we arrived inside the gate we met Cap-
tain Arnold, who said, "Captain, they are waiting very anxiously
for you in the next building." I knocked at the door, and it was
opened by Governor Ramsey. Then I learned that the Indians

100 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

had broken out and were murdering the settlers right and left.
General Sibley was also present. The governor said, "We want
you to make a quick trip to St. Paul, get arms and ammunition,
and return to the fort." They gave me a detail of twenty men
to assist.

As soon as we landed in St. Paul, I went to the arsenal, and
started the guns and boxes to the boat. My brother, H. Y. Bell,
found Mr. Rider, and they went to the magazine, and got all the
ammunition there, that being all there was in the city. We then
started to the fort. I had arranged with General Sibley that
when we arrived at Mendota island, I was to blow the whistle, to
give him time to meet the boat on the landing. As soon as the
general came, we started for the fort, received the troops on
board, and went to Shakopee. On our arrival there, we landed
all the soldiers except one company, and then went on up the
river.

When we rounded the point below Carver, a sight I shall
never forget was seen. Men, women, and children, were on the
bank of the river, many in their night clothes just as they left
their beds to flee from the Indians. There was much rejoicing
when they saw the boat had come to their relief. We went about
three miles above Carver, there left the remaining soldiers, and
then returned to Shakopee.

The next spring we carried the supplies to Camp Pope, at
the mouth of the Yellow Medicine river, for General Sibley's
troops. This was a dangerous trip, for Indians were seen along
the bank of the river. We had a small guard of soldiers on
board, and as we had not run at night we took the precaution to
anchor the boat in the middle of the river.

LIBRARY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

THIS BOOK IS DUE BEFORE CLOSING TIME
R ON LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW

IBR^RY

aECPLD OCT 21

72-5 PM54

noT 1" 13^:^

r::.ciR. DEC 1" '92

RFcra. .\pR 1 5 1993

<^f

r^'2\

LD62A-30m-2,'71
(P2003sl0 ) 9412A-A-32

General Library

University of California

Berkeley

utu 4 mz

LD 21A-50m-9,'58
(6889sl0)476B

General Library

University of California

Berkeley

\.

UC BERKELEY LIBRARIES
C0mMm,3MQ

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY