SINCLAIR,* who was in the employ of the missionaries KAVENAUGH, at Red Rock, came along on the trail, riding a pony. Him they hailed, and inquired, if there were any Dakotas about." SINCLAIR was about to reply, when his pony took fright, and started off at break-neck speed. He did not try to check him, but galloped on, and in a few minutes, arrived at the mission house, where he reported what he had seen. There were two Sioux at Rev. Mr. KAVENAUGH's house, who at once started off on the run to alarm the men at Kaposia. Mrs. THOMAS ODELL, then Miss ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, a half-breed girl, was a pupil at the Red Rock mission. She. states that, a moment after the Indians left, the rattle of guns was heard, showing that the work of death had commenced. But we must go back a little.

On Pig's Eye bottom, a little distance from Pine Coolie, where the Chippewas were lying in ambush, was the cabin and field of FRANCIS GAMMEL, a French Canadian, who had come to Minnesota as a voyageur, in 1829, and had lived at Mendota. He was now married to a Dakota woman, and they had one child, DAVID GAMMEL, then an infant. That morning, an old Indian, named RATTLER, a brother of old BETS, well known to the early residents hereabout, had gone over to GAMMEL'S house, with his two wives, and a son and daughter, infants, in order to help Mr. and Mrs. GAMMEL hoe their corn. GAMMEL and his wife, and one of RATTLER's wives, were in the field at work. The other Mrs. RATTLER Complained of being sick, and went into the house, whither old RATTLER followed. The three children were playing near by.

Just at this moment, a squad of Chippewas, who had been sent out to reconnoiter, sneaked through the bushes outside the field, and seeing the two Sioux women at work, fired a volley at them. Mrs. RATTLER fell dead, and Mrs. GAMMEL was mortally wounded. GAMMEL picked her up and carried

* SINCLAIR came from Selkirk Settlement, in 1839, piloting a drove of cattle. He was a simple-hearted, honest fellow. One time he was sick, at Mendota, and Surgeon EMERSON, at the fort, sent, by some one, a box of pills, for him to take a dose from. N. W. KITTSON called on him a little while after this, and found that SINCLAIR had not only swallowed all the pills, but was then chewing up the box! S. afterwards went to Sauk Rapids, or Crow Wing, where he died a few years ago.

her into the house, followed by some of the blood-thirsty Chippewas, who rushed in and scalped the dying woman in his arms, and at once retreated, not knowing of the presence of RATTLER and his other wife, in an adjoining room. As they bounded off, giving the scalp-halloo, GAMMEL seized a gun and fired at them, wounding one in the leg, but they did not, at any time, offer to molest him. Just then they observed the little boy of RATTLER, who was endeavoring to hide in the bushes. They seized him and cut off his head. The little son of GAMMEL,* and the daughter of RATTLER, named Ta-ti, (HER LODGE,) escaped unnoticed. This affair had all occurred in

a moment, and was undoubtedly a military blunder of the attacking party. Their design had been to crawl, unobserved, to the bank of the river, opposite Kaposia, and there, concealed in the dense shrubbery, lie in wait for some unsuspecting party of Sioux, and massacre them. But, seeing the Dakota women in the field, they had rashly attacked them, thus giving the alarm prematurely.

If they had carried out the first named plan, they could not have chosen a more opportune time than that day. The Sioux at the village were in the midst of one of their drunken sprees, and, as is customary at such times, the squaws had hid their guns and other weapons, to prevent them from doing each other any harm. The firing across the river first gave them the alarm that the enemy was near, when great excitement at once prevailed. The men hunted up their concealed weapons, meantime giving their barbaric war-whoop, and yelling like so many demons, in order to scare the enemy, probably. In this vocal exercise they were joined by the squaws and children. As soon as they could arm themselves, the Sioux bravely advanced across the river to attack the enemy. The latter, by this time, had advanced near the bank of the river, about where the quarantine grounds now are, and here the battle mainly

*GAMMEL'S son, DAVID, grew up to manhood at Mendota, and served in a Minnesota Regiment. Old RATTLER died in 1851, of an overdose of whisky. TA-TI, his daughter, afterwards became the wife of Wa-kin-yan-ta-wa, (His THUNDER,) Sometimes called "CHASKA," who saved GEORGE H. SPENCER'S life, in 1862, and was poisoned acciden tally the year following. TA-TI now lives at Mendota. FRANCIS GAMMEL died at Mendota, in 1871.

took place. It raged with great spirit for a couple of hours, during which the firing was incessant. Some hand-to-hand encounters also took place between the two sides, while the forest and bluffs rang with their incessant yelling. The firing was plainly heard in Saint Paul. Every inch of the battleground was hotly contested. Toward noon, the Chippewas began to fall back, and soon retreated on their path, followed by the Sioux, who pursued them over the bluff, and several miles toward Stillwater. The Chippewas left some nine or ten dead bodies on the field, and may have carried off their wounded. The Sioux also lost heavily. Different accounts place their loss at nineteen or twenty, including the mortally wounded, who died subsequently. The dead Chippewas were at once scalped, while the squaws amused themselves by hacking and mutilating them. "Old BETS", went around pounding their heads with a huge club. One of her sons, afterwards called Ta-opi, or WOUNDED MAN, was so named because wounded in this fight.

When the Chippewas first made the attack, a messenger was sent to Fort Snelling with the intelligence. It was the. policy of the Government to prevent and punish these intertribal carnages, and Major DEARBORN at once dispatched a party of soldiers from Companies D, G and H, First Infantry, who at that time garrisoned the fort, to Kaposia, to stop the conflict. The party came down below Pickerel Lake in boats, and thence across by land, but did not arrive until after the conflict was over. THOMAS S. ODELL, now of West Saint Paul, was one of this party. I am indebted to him and his wife for many of the minor incidents of this strange affair.

CHAPTER X.

EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1843.

NOTICES OF SOME SETTLERS-JOHN R. IRVINE, J. W. SIMPSON, WILLIAM HARTSHORN, A. L. LARPENTEUR, SCOTT CAMPBELL, ALEX. R. MCLEOD, &C., &C.— RONDO SELLS HIS CLAIM-AN INDIAN IN PURSUIT OF WHISKY.

D

URING the year 1843, there was quite an accession to the population-among others, JOHN R. IRVINE, C. C. BLANCHARD, J. W. SIMPSON, ANSEL B. COY, WILLIAM HARTSHORN, A. L. LARPENTEUR, SCOTT CAMPBELL, AnTOINE PEPIN, &c., &c.

JOHN R. IRVINE

was born in Dansville, New York, November 3, 1812. When 'a boy, he worked at blacksmithing, but, about the age of 17, removed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of plastering, and, in 1831, was married to Miss NANCY GALBRAITH. He afterwards returned to Dansville, and resumed blacksmithing. In 1837, he emigrated west, living for three years in Green Bay, and, in 1840, settled in Prairie du Chien, where he went into the grocery trade. While living in Buffalo, New York, he had become acquainted with HENRY JACKSON-— indeed, he and JACKSON had come to Green Bay together, the latter soon removing to Galena, however. About February, 1843, JACKSON was on his way down the river to purchase goods, and, stopping at Prairie du Chien, there found his old friend, who was in business with ANSEL B. Coy and C. C. BLANCHARD. JACKSON at once urged him to remove to Saint Paul, as being a much more promising place for trade, rapid growth, &c., than Prairie du Chien. So warmly did he set forth the advantages of Saint Paul, that Mr. IRVINE resolved at least to visit it and see the land of promise. He accordingly came up here in the latter part of that winter, in a sleigh, with

a load of groceries and other goods for sale, and, after looking around over the field, resolved to remove here. He therefore purchased of JOSEPH RONDO the balance of the old Phelan claim (remaining after the sale of about half to Sergeant MORTIMER.) The price paid for this tract was $300. RONDO had at that time a very good log dwelling built on the French plan,

(i. e., the logs squared and let into grooves not notched at the corners.) It, stood about where the northwest corner of Third and Franklin streets would now be. With some additions, it made a very comfortable dwelling, and was used by Mr. IRVINE for several years. Mr. IRVINE thinks that the claim he bought of RONDO contained 300 acres. It extended back to the marsh on the Lake Como road, which residents of some 15 or 20 years ago may remember.