Old Rail Fence Corners | Page 7

them. It seemed as if
the small rough coated oxen just wandered along the trail. Sometimes a
cow would be used. I once saw one of these cows with a buffalo calf. It
seemed to be hers. Was this the first Cataloo?
When I was nine years old my father sent me to the spring for a pail of
water. I was returning with it, hurrying along as father had just called to
me to come quick, when I was surrounded by a band of Sioux warriors
on their way to Shakopee to a scalp dance. They demanded the water
but I would not let them have it and kept snatching it away. It tickled
them very much to see that I was not afraid. They called to the chief,
Little Crow, and he too ordered me to give it to them, but I said, "No,
my father wants this, you can't have it." At this the chief laughed and

said, "Tonka Squaw" meaning brave woman and they left. They had on
everything fancy that an Indian could--paint and warbonnets and
feathers. They always wore every fancy thing they had to a dance, but
in actual war, they were unpainted and almost naked.
The first soldiers I saw in 1843 were from Fort Snelling. They had blue
uniforms with lots of brass buttons and a large blue cap with a leather
bridle that they used to wear over the top. Their caps were wide on top
and high. The soldiers used to come to DeNoyer's to dinner so as to
have a change. Mrs. DeNoyer was a good cook if she would stay sober
long enough.
We had splint bottom chairs made out of hickory and brooms made by
splitting it very fine too. These were all the brooms we had in '43. Our
hickory brooms were round but Mr. Furnell made a flat one for my
sister.
Once when father was roofing our house, a storm was coming and he
was very anxious to get the shakes on before it came. We had had a
bark roof that was awful leaky. Some Indians came along on the other
side of the river and made motions that he should come and get them
with his boat, "The Red Rover." He sometimes ferried the soldiers over.
As he did not answer or get off the house, they fired several shots at
him. The bullets spattered all around him. He got down from the house
and shot at them several times. After that, my mother was always afraid
that they would come and shoot us when father was not home.
I have seen Indians run from Jackson's at sight of a soldier. They were
afraid of them always.
My father brought some beautiful pieces of red morocco to Minnesota
and the last piece of shoemaking he did, was to make that into little
shoes for me. They had low heels such as the children have today.
My sister was married the first day of January in '44. We lived on the
Main Road between St. Paul and St. Anthony. It just poured all day, so
that none of the guests could come to the wedding. Mr. Jackson did get
there on horseback to marry them, but Mrs. Jackson had to stay at

home. The bride, who was a beautiful girl, wore a delaine dress of light
and dark blue with a large white lace fichu. Her shoes were of blue
cloth to match and had six buttons. She wore white kid gloves and
white stockings. Her bonnet was flat with roses at the sides and a cape
of blue lute-string. The strings were the same. Wasn't she stylish for a
girl who was married New Years day in 1844?
The wedding dinner was fish, cranberry sauce and bread and butter.
One day a lot of Sioux Indians who were on their way to fight the
Chippewas borrowed my sister's washtub to mix the paint in for
painting them up. They got their colored clay from the Bad Lands.
They were going to have a dance.
Hole-in-the-Day used to stay all night with us. He always seemed to be
a friend of the whites. When the Indians first came to the house, they
used to smoke the peace pipe with us, but later, they never did.
Bears and wolves were very plentiful. We had an outdoor summer
kitchen where we kept a barrel of pork. One night a bear got in there
and made such an awful noise that we thought the Indians were on a
rampage. We often saw timber wolves about the house. They would
come right up to the door and often followed my father home.
A French woman by the name of Mrs. Traverse lived near us. She came
from Little