Three Score Years and Ten | Page 4

and
so the troops moved on, and the feeble mother, the sick child and the
little "Daughter of the Regiment" went with them.
By reference to "Neill's History of Minnesota," I see mention made
there of the arrival of ordnance, provisions and recruits from St. Louis
before the departure from Prairie du Chien, but am inclined to believe
that the additions to the commissariat could not have been adequate to
the needs, as there was much suffering for want of proper supplies.
When all was in readiness the expedition finally began the ascent of the
Mississippi. The flotilla was made up of batteaux and keel-boats, the
latter having been fitted up as comfortably as possible for the women
and children, and my father has told me that, notwithstanding the
inconveniences and annoyances of such a mode of traveling, the hope
that the change might benefit all, and the fact that they were making the
last stage of a very wearisome journey, inspired them with fresh
courage, and a general cheerfulness prevailed throughout the command.

CHAPTER II.
Of the difficulties and delays of that eventful journey up the
Mississippi, few at the present day can form a clear conception. The
keel-boats, similar in construction to a canal-boat, were propelled by
poles all that three hundred miles, in the following manner: Several
men stood on each side of the boat on what was called a running-board,
with their faces to the stern, and, placing their long poles on the river
bottom, braced them against their shoulders and pushed hard, walking
towards the stern. Then, detaching the poles, they walked back to the
bow, and repeated this operation hour after hour, being relieved at

intervals for rest.
The perfect safety of this mode of travel commends itself to those who
are in no hurry, and desire to learn all about the windings of the river
and the geological and floral attractions along its banks.
At night the boats were tied up, camp-fires were lighted, tents pitched,
sentinels posted and everything made ready, in case of an irruption of
Indians.
Arriving at Lake Pepin, a few days were spent on its beautiful shores,
resting, during which time the stores were overhauled and rearranged
and the boats regulated and put in perfect order. The sick were growing
stronger, and the little baby who was living on pap made of musty flour
and sweetened water, tied up in a rag, which did duty for a patent
nursing bottle, grew wonderfully, and bade fair to be a marvel of size
and strength.
Sometime in September the pioneer regiment arrived in pretty good
condition at--where? No fort, no settlement, no regular landing even;
simply at the mouth of the St. Peters river, where we had been ordered
to halt, and our long march was ended.
For many weeks the boats were our only shelter, and the sense of entire
isolation, the thought that the nearest white neighbors were three
hundred miles away, and that months must elapse before they could
hope to hear a syllable from home, proved, at times, exceedingly
depressing to these first settlers in Minnesota. I record, with pleasure,
what has been often told me, that in that trying time the courage of the
ladies of the party did not fail them, and that their cheerful way of
taking things as they came and making the best of them, was a constant
blessing and source of strength to that little community.
Without loss of time a space was cleared very near the site of Mendota,
trees were cut down, a stockade built enclosing log houses erected for
the accommodation of the garrison; everything being made as
comfortable and secure as the facilities permitted. The Indians proved
friendly and peaceable, and the command entered upon their life at "St.

Peters," as it was first called, cheerfully and hopefully. A few days after
their arrival Colonel Leavenworth, Major Vose, Surgeon Purcell, Mrs.
Captain Gooding and my father made a keel-boat trip to the "Falls of St.
Anthony," and were amazed at the beauty and grandeur of the scene.
A prediction at that time that some then living would see these mighty
falls turn the machinery of the greatest mills in the world, and a great
and beautiful city arise on the adjacent shores, would have been called
a visionary and impossible dream by those early visitors who saw this
amazing water power in its primeval glory.
That first winter of '19 and '20, like all winters in this latitude, was very
cold, with heavy snows and fierce winds, but there were many sunshiny
days, and there was little or no complaining.
The quarters, having been put up hastily, were not calculated to resist
the severe storms which at times raged with great violence. Once
during that memorable six