GLIMPSES OF BEAR ISLAND (LEECH LAKE) INDIAN WAR
By Colonel Henry V. Wurdemann

Way back in 1865, I was born in the Army. Out of the dim past came some fleeting glimpses at the time my father was ordered to Fort Laramie as Quartermaster in the year of the Custer Massacre. I remember the wagon train starting out from Fort Omaha overland to Fort Laramie, the buffalo, my father holding up an army Colt and letting me shoot into a herd. For years afterward, our sole meat was buffalo beef. I dimly remember a young man and his wife leaving the wagon train in a light sulky, two days' march before we expected to get into Fort Laramie, and finding them along the trail, dead and scalped.

I remember "Spotted Tail" and other chiefs who came to the Fort. My nurse at Fort Laramie was the squaw of "Young Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses." I remember she liked sugar in her soup. After that my experience with Indians faded into obscurity although I had contact with Chief Joseph of the New Perces and his band while they were prisoners at Fort Leavenworth where my father was in the Quartermaster's Department.

Then on one of my trips to Itasca County, Minn., I was of some service to old Buskekoggan, a Chippewa, for which the Indians made me a member of the tribe under the name of "Ogema-Watsisch-Muskewewinninie-Chemaqueman" and gave me a Tollewoggan and peace pipe.

Then comes one of the events in my life by which I may or may not be qualified to join the organization of the Veterans of Indian Wars, as at that time I was not in military service, although previously I had been in the National Guard of the District of Columbia and had been wounded in [shant] battle by one of the soldiers of the Regular Army during one of our National excursions to Dubuque, Iowa. However, on this occasion I was acting as temporary secretary to U.S. Senator Jos. V. Quarles whom I met later at Cass Lake, and investigated the causes of the Indian War.

"In 1898, there was an insurrection of the Chippewa Indians, the young bucks of the tribe becoming disgruntled and going on the war path. This started at Bear Island, Leech Lake, Minnesota, during the month of October. An Indian uprising, which may well be called the last of the long series of bloody encounters in which the red man and the white man have clashed in the struggle for a continent! The war with Spain was then occupying the attention of everyone and a skirmish in the woods in an obscure corner of Minnesota passed with little notice. The incident is really of considerable historical interest, however, not only because of its local significance, but also because the cause was typical of those of many similar Indian uprisings and because it was the last time that a band of Indians actually engaged United States troops in battle and inflicted considerable loss upon them.

The fighting which took place between a disaffected band of Chippewa and a detachment of the Third Regiment U.S. Infantry was of so hot a character that it recalls some of the encounters of Custer's day against the warlike Sioux. The shores of Leech Lake were the scene of the affair. This lake is a good sized body of water in the north central part of the State, the very heart of the lake region. About sixty miles west is Lake Itasca, celebrated as one of the sources of the Mississippi River, and north about forty miles are Cass lake and Lake Winnibigoshish. The Chippewa reservation practically surrounds Leech Lake, on the southwestern shore of which is the town of Walker, at the time of the uprising a place of about five hundred inhabitants. The country was covered with pine woods with occasional patches of hardwood timber, and was very sparsely settled. The lumberjack, the squawman, and the backwards farmer were the builders of most of the log cabins and little frame dwellings on the edge of "clearings" studded with stumps and girdled trees. It was one of our last frontiers and the men of those backwoods clearings were, for the most part, of that rough but picturesque type of pioneer which has filled so large a place in the American conquest of a continent.

In the case of the Leech Lake uprising one of the inciting causes was, apparently, certain irregularities in regard to the disposal of the dead and fallen timber on the Leech Lake Reservation. The Indians complained bitterly that they were being defrauded by white speculators, and it seems that on account of these complaints the cutting of dead and fallen timber was stopped shortly after the outbreak, pending an investigation by the department of the interior. If the petition of October 22, signed by fifteen Pillager chiefs and one hundred and twelve of their tribesmen, is an index to the sentiment of the band, this action, also, incensed them, for in this petition they stated that they depended on the continuance of logging operations during the winter to supply their families with groceries and clothing.

Much resentment and bitter feeling had also been occasioned by the rather indiscriminate arrests of Indians by United States marshals and the trouble at Leech Lake was really precipitated by the attempt of a deputy marshal to arrest certain Indians concerned in whiskey-selling practices on the reservation. On September 15, 1898, two Indians were arrested by deputy marshals and were rescued by their comrades. This was an open violation of the authority of the United States and warrants were issued for the arrest of more than twenty Indians who had taken part in the rescue. As the Indians assumed a rather threatening attitude the marshals asked for troops to assist them. It was believed that a show of force in the form of a detachment of regular troops would induce submission. Twenty men of the Third Regiment, United States Infantry were dispatched to Walker, but as the Indians showed no signs of yielding a request by telegraph was made for more troops and on October 4, eighty additional men of the Third Infantry left Fort Snelling for the scene of the trouble.

Two days later the War and Interior departments in Washington received a bombshell in the shape of the following telegram from the assistant adjutant general at St. Paul:

"In answer to a telegram to your marshal at Walker, Minn., have received reply giving location of Gen. Bacon on mainland, southwest corner of Leech Lake and saying:

'Commenced fighting at 11:30 yesterday. Indians seem to have best position. Not moving. Maj. Wilkinson, five soldiers and two Indian Police killed; awaiting reinforcements.

Press dispatches and private Western Union dispatches seem to support these statements. Reinforcements will doubtless reach the command this evening. Reliable information indicates the Indians quiet in vicinity of engineer dams to the northeast. No report yet from Gen. Bacon. No need for further reinforcements unless to send to vicinity of Leech Lake dam to cut off escape of Indians. Would suggest authority be given to utilize one battalion of Minnesota volunteers in case of need. Reports just received of arrival of Col. Harbach's command at Walker about 4 o'clock."

It was fully decided that in any event a force should go to a point on the northwest side of the lake where Bugonaygeship, one of the two Indians rescued from the marshals on September 15, and anumber of his rescuers were known to be living.

The force consisted of seventy-seven men from the Third Infantry under Captain Wilkinson and Second Lieutenant Tenny Ross, etc.

One of the Indians near the hut, Mahqua, was identified by Deputy Marshal Sheehan as a dangerous member of the Pillager band who had taken a leading part in the rescue of the two Indians from the officers. Mahqua resisted arrest most vigorously, twisting the handcuffs from the hands of the marshal and attempting to hit him on the head with them. The marshal parried the blow, the irons bruising his right hand. Sheehan and the Indian grappled, several of the soldiers and deputy marshals joined the fray, and the Indian was overpowered, handcuffed, and sent on board the "Flora" under guard. While the arrest was being made, five Indians armed with Winchesters left the house and made their way to the nearby woods, but, as none of them were recognized by the authorities, they were allowed to leave unmolested.

After a brief consultation it was decided to scour the adjacent woods for Indians and a skirmish line of twenty-five men was sent out across the clearing and a short distance into the woods with orders to bring in any Indians seen. This searching party returned in about fifteen or twenty minutes, having seen two armed Indians, and those running along the shore at such a distance as to make their capture impossible.

There were three small Indian villages on the point and the next step was to visit these and see if any of the men wanted by the marshals might not be apprehended there or in the nearby woods. Lieutenant Ross with about sixty men was left to guard the landing while the detachment of twenty-five soldiers, General Bacon, Captain Wilkinson, Marshal O'Connor, three of the deputy marshals, and the four newspaper correspondents set off on a hike across the point. They followed a path which, leading out from the west side of the clearing and along the shore of the lake, came to an inlet about fifty feet wide and two or three feet deep. This had to be forded. They all waded through with the exception of Deputy Marshal Sheehan who was strongly opposed to a wet-feet campaign and who turned back to the clearing. The others followed the path, which meandered through the woods for about two miles. Three Indian villages were passed and although numbers of old men, women, and children clustered about the log and birch bark huts looking at the soldiers, no young men and no arms were seen. After a short halt at the last village the party returned to the clearing.

Here nothing of any importance had taken place except that a brave who had taken part in the rescue of Bugonaygeship had given himself up. He was sent on board the "Flora" under guard with two sick men, a hospital steward, the Marshal O'Connor. Morton, the correspondent of the "Globe," also returned to the "Flora."

It was now about 11:30 and the men were drawn up near the house and ordered to stack arms preparatory to dismissal for dinner. As nearly as can be made out, one of the recruit's rifles was fired accidentally as the men were stacking arms. This, according to most of the witnesses, was followed by two shots from the woods, evidently fired as a signal and then by a volley from the three sides of the clearing. The men without waiting for orders snatched their guns from the stacks and jumped for the cover afforded by the house, the stumps, and the irregularities of the ground. A soldier who was present told the writer that in half a minute after the first fire from the Indians there was not a man in sight. There were only nineteen veterans in the detachment, the remainder being raw recruits who had never been under fire before and some of whom scarcely knew how to load and fire their own rifles. That there was a sort of panic for a few minutes as stated by some of the eyewitnesses, is not strange. The suddenness of the attack from the concealed foe would have shaken the courage of veterans. Encouraged, however, by the shouts and example of their officers and by the old soldiers in the force, the men quickly recovered themselves and formed a rough skirmish line in the shape of an irregular crescent, facing toward the wooded sides of the clearing and with their backs to the lake.

Here from the best cover they could obtain they vigorously returned the Indians' fire. General Bacon with Captain Wilkinson took charge of the center of the line, Lieutenant Ross the left, and Deputy Marshal Sheehan, who was an old soldier, the right. General Bacon, rifle in hand, fought like a common soldier, while he continued with the other officers to encourage the men by word and example. All the officers exposed themselves freely to the Indians' fire, walking up and down the line to see to the disposition of the troops. Captain Wilkinson proved himself true to the traditions of the brave though profane old army as he walked along the line shouting: "Give it to them boys; give 'em hell! We've got 'em licked! Give 'em hell!" He was in full uniform of his rank and evidently drew the fire of the Indians for he soon received a slight flesh wound in the right arm and a few minutes later a bullet struck his left thigh just above the knee. He fell to the ground saying to Lieutenant Ross: "I'm hit, Ross, but not badly. Keep 'em at it." He was carried behind the log house where the hospital steward dressed his wound as the captain sat propped up against the wall. But nothing could keep him out of the fight and as soon as his wound was dressed he was back on the firing line. He had scarcely returned when a bullet struck him in the right side passing completely through the abdomen and he fell mortally wounded. "Give 'em hell!" he shouted to General Bacon as he breathed his last a few minutes after being hit.

For a time both Indians and soldiers kept up a hot fire although neither side had much to aim at save the puffs of smoke. By the volume of fire from the woods it appeared that the braves were about equal in number to the soldiers. It was very easy to distinguish the rifle fire of the Indians for most of them were armed with Winchesters whose duller reports were punctuated by the sharp staccato crack of the soldiers' Krag-Jorgensens.

At the end of about half an hour the fusilade from the woods slackened and there was a short respite after which it broke out again more fiercely than before. Altogether there were six separate attacks or rather bursts of fire from the woods with short intervals between until about three o'clock in the afternoon when apparently the main body of the Indians withdrew. Occasionally a few shots would come from the woods but the main attack was over. It had lasted for three hours and a half and had resulted for the troops in the loss of one officer and five men killed and ten men wounded. There were plenty of narrow escapes among the remainder. A number had bullet holes in their clothing, one man had a bullet graze his chin, and another had a bullet take a piece of skin from the bridge of his nose. A bullet went through General Bacon's hat passing within an inch of his head. All from the general to the last recruit fought well and instances of individual gallantry were common. General Bacon, Lieutenant Ross, and Marshal Sheehan as well as Captain Wilkinson all showed great coolness and resolution, as did the noncommissioned officers, particularly First Sergeant Kelly who took charge of the center of the line after the fall of Captain Wilkinson. Sergeant Butler was killed by a bullet through the head while exposing himself in the carrying of a message. The hospital steward, Burkhard, distinguished himself by his disregard of danger while bringing in the wounded and by rendering first aid to the wounded under fire. The surgeon, Dr. Harris, was equally devoted to his duty. He was on board one of the steamers when action began, having accompanied one of the sick sent to the steamer. He returned to the command again by rowing ashore under fire in a small skiff. Together with his hospital steward he upheld the highest traditions of his department for matter of fact courage and efficient performance of duty in the face of danger and difficulties.

At the commencement of the firing the steamers lying off the point were exposed to a sharp rifle fire from the Indians and in a short time they stood out from the shore and returned to Walker where no little excitement and consternation was caused by the report which they brought. Indian Inspector Tinker, Marshal O'Connor, and several of the deputy marshals were aboard, and their rather hurried return to Walker, leaving the soldiers to fight it out or be driven into the lake, caused a great deal of unfavorable comment and a good many broad hints that the courage of those aboard was rather questionable. It seems, however, that both Inspector Tinker and the marshal were desirous of getting to town to hurry up reinforcements as well as to send food and blankets to General Bacon's detachment. The boats themselves were quite unable to render any material assistance as their sides and pilot houses were readily pierced by rifle bullets.

The night was an anxious one for General Bacon's men. The wounded were made as comfortable as possible and a trench and some rifle pits were dug and pickets posted. Several alarms took place and an Indian policeman was killed by a sentry who mistook him for one of the hostiles. The provisions were scantly and the mend id not have their blankets. When morning came the little force was well entrenched and felt confident that it could easily repulse the Indians if again attacked. Most of the enemy had apparently left the peninsula but occasional shots from the woods proved that some of the Indians were still lurking there. A chance shot killed a soldier digging potatoes in the neighboring field, and the situation was hardly a pleasant one, particularly for the wounded. The arrival of a steamer from Walker with blankets and a quantity of food greatly cheered the men. The steamer was fired upon and consequently was able to take off only one of the wounded.

About 3:30 p.m., October 6^th, Lieutenant Colonel Abram A. Harbach with a force of two hundred and fourteen men and a Gatling gun arrived at Walker to reinforce the detachment at Sugar Point. About two hours later, the steamer "Flora," returning with the dead and wounded of General Bacon's party, brought the report that fighting had practically ceased and that the steamer had established satisfactory communication with the shore. Indeed, from about noon on the sixth no Indians were seen and only one or two shots were fired. The wounded were sent to the Walker hospital and the bodies of the dead were taken to Bailey's warehouse near the dock.

About noon on Friday, October 7, General Bacon's force embarked on the steamer "Leila D." arriving about five-thirty in the afternoon at the Walker dock where they were warmly greeted by the citizens and by the men of Colonel Harbach's command. The next morning the latter force went to the Indian agency five miles north of Walker where they pitched tents and went into camp. Runners were sent out inviting the Indians to come to the agency for council to discuss the surrender of the braves for whom warrants had been issued and to investigate and settle the complaints in regard to the disposal of the dead and fallen timber. The United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, W. A. Jones, arrived from Washington October 10, and the next morning he and Father Aloysius, a priest who had great influence over the Indians, went to Bear Island, where they had a long and friendly conference with those chiefs of the Pillager band who were principally concerned in the outbreak.

The news of the clash between the troops and the Indians spread like wildfire and resulted in a general alarm throughout the northern villages. The settlers and timber cruisers poured into the towns for protection and telegrams were sent tot he adjutant general of the department requesting that troops be sent to Walker, Bemidji, Farris, Cass Lake, Deer River, and Aitken, while, at the same time the citizens of these towns armed and organized for the defense of their homes. At Bemidji something like a panic took place. The women collected in the court house and two hundred armed citizens kept watch and ward. The arrival of detachments of troops in the villages soon quieted the alarm and caused the excitement to subside.

Trops were poured into the Indian country, not only for the sake of actual protection in case of an extensive uprising, but also to impress the Indians with the fact that recourse to arms was hopeless and that the government was determined to supress any armed resistence to its authority. At the same time a thorough investigation of the Indians complaints in regard to the disposal of the dead timber on their land was promised. Influenced by the tact of the Indian commissioner, persuaded by the chiefs and the leading men of the tribe, which has always been conspicuously friendly to the whites, and also, probably, impressed by the military force brought to the scene, the Bear Islanders gradually acceded to the demands of the marshals and by the middle of October practically all the men for whom warrants had been issued were in the hands of the authorities. They were transferred to Duluth for trial. When their cases came up before Judge Lochren on October 21, all were found guilty and were given sentences varying from sixty days imprisonment and a fine of twenty-five dollars to ten months and one hundred dollars. On December 13 the Indian office recommended that the term of imprisonment be commuted to two months and that the fines be remitted, and finally on June 3, 1899, the pardons were granted."