1857 Spirit Lake Massacre - Dickinson County, Iowa This info is transcribed from page 73 of ANDREWS GENEALOGY AND ALLIANCES, written by Clara Berry Wyker, 1917. Transcribed by BRENDA S. DANIEL and submitted to the USGenWeb Project Archives on January 13, 1997. ======================================================================== Mary Andrews, my mother's sister, was married April 8, 1838, to James Mattock and, with the rest of her father's family, except Isabel (who married Mr. Wilson, of Lynchburg, Va.) and my mother (who made her home with her sister until her marriage), removed to Illinois, and later to Wisconsin, then to Iowa, where her family were the victims of Spirit and Okiboji Lake massacres. I am indebted to my nephew, Fred Berry Condon, for the account of the massacre written by the Hon. C. C. Carpenter, ex-Governor of Iowa, from which the following extracts are taken: "The recent completion of a monument in commemoration of the massacre in 1857 at Okiboji and Spirit Lakes has revived interest in the bloodiest tragedy of Iowa history. Prior to 1856 these lakes were unknown to civilized people, except the hunter, the explorer, and the surveyor. The vanguard of the population which rescued this beautiful portion of the State from wilderness arrived in July, 1856. "They were representatives of a race always facing Westward--a type of American citizenship which will become extinct with the disappearance of the frontier. Some of them had visited this outpost the year before, had staked out their claims, and now came back accompanied by their families, with oxen, wagons, their domestic animals, breaking-plows, scythes, hay rakes, axes, their scanty household furniture, a limited supply of provisions, but with boundless hopes, strong arms, and resolute purpose. The first arrival at the lakes was the family of Rolland Gardner, a wife, two daughters, and a little son. Also, a married daughter, her husband. Harvey Luce, and two children. Arriving, they built the first log house, which still stands as a memorial. They were soon followed by James Mattocks, his wife, and five children, who built a cabin near the lake. (Four married men with families followed, and three young men). There also lived with the Mattock family a Mr. Madison and an eighteen-year-old son. Finally the winter was upon them, and the first of December a snow fell two or three feet deep on the level, and in the ravines six to ten feet deep. During these long and weary weeks the half dozen families and the few young men had some apprehension that their slender stock of provisions might vanish, or disease requiring remedies not to be procured, might strike down some member of the settlement. During this long and lonely winter their scanty supply of food was held in common; if the bottom of the meal chest was reached at one cabin, the inmates knew that the neighbor's chest would be shared with them. In the early days of February a band of Sioux Indians, known as Inkapduta's band, made their way toward the lakes. The Indians, whose authority was acknowledged over a large portion of the territory of Minnesota prior to the Treaty of 1851, were known as Wakpekuti Sioux. This particular band, tradition tells us, were regarded as 'toughs,' even according to code of Indian morals. "On the morning of the 8th of February, just as the Gardner family were sitting down to breakfast an Indian entered the cabin, professed friendship, and the family shared their meal with him. He was soon followed by several more with their squaws and papooses, led by Inkpaduta himself. The family shared their scanty store with all these hungry visitors, who, when they had eaten, began a series of insolent and menacing interferences with the family and household goods. "The Indians stayed about the house until noon, and finally left after shooting some of the cattle and driving others before them. They went to the direction of the Mattock cabin, near which was the cabin of the three young men. Mr. Gardner sent his son-in-law, Luce, and young Clark to warn the other settlers. They started on their perilous mission, never to return. About an hour after they left, several gunshots were heard by the Gardners in the direction of the Mattock home. "Two hours passed, in which they hoped for the return of the young men with reinforcements. Finally several Indians came by, asked for flour, and, when Mr. Gardner turned to get it, shot through the heart, seized Mrs. Gardner and Mrs. Luce, her daughter, and beat them to death with the butt of their guns. They next snatched Mrs. Luce's baby and two other children who were clinging to Abigail Gardner, carried them outside, and beat them to death with sticks of wood. After ransacking the cabin, they led the helpless girl from the appalling scene toward the Mattock cabin. It is needless to describe the terror of this young girl when she realized that she was a captive. Arriving at the Mattock's cabin she found that the Indians had set up their tepees. The dead bodies of the family were scattered over the ground, the cabin was in flames, and two of the household were perishing in the flames. Here there had evidently been an attempt at defense. Near the house lay poor Haiott dead with his gun still in his hands. Young Snyder lay near by, showing that the attack on the Mattocks was made while these young men had crossed the strait from their cabin, and died with their face to the foe. It was now evening, and the day's carnage was celebrated with a war dance. The next morning the savages sallied forth on the warpath, killing, as they went, all but Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher, dragging these two into captivity--stopping to show Mrs. Noble the dead bodies of her mother, brothers, and sisters at the Howe cabin. Returning to their tepees near the Mattock place, where for a time Abigail Gardner shared the tepee with these captives. "Morris Markham had gone after a stray yoke of oxen, and when he returned to this scene of devastation he started, half famished and half frozen, to Springfield to tell the news. In March three men from Newton reached the settlement. They had visited it the fall before, and returned to find it wiped out. They started for Ft. Dodge to give the alarm, where two companies of volunteers were raised and the company of over a hundred men started out for relief. A detachment returned to the lakes, buried the bodied of the Howe, Noble, Mattock, and Gardner families. All the detachment but two returned, and eleven years afterward a settler hunting his cattle found their remains with their guns lying by them. To return to the captive women, I will now quote Abigail Gardner Sharp, the sole survivor of Okiboji: 'After six weeks of incessant marching, we came to Lake Madison, now in South Dakota, where Mrs. Marble was ransomed. As Mrs. Thatcher and I were about to follow the Indians across a bridge made by flood debris, and an Indian took Mrs. Thatcher's burden from her, and pushed her into the stream, and when she tried to escape they pushed her with long poles under the water. On the 30th of May I was ransomed for two horses, twelve blankets, two kegs of powder, twenty pounds of tobacco, thirty-two yards of blue squaw cloth, thirty-seven yards of calico, and a quantity of ribbon. Over $3,000 was expended by the Territory of Minnesota for the release from captivity of Mrs. Marble and myself.' A magnificent monument of granite 55 feet high and of graceful proportions was erected upon the site of the massacre by the State of Iowa, at a cost of $5,000 and its dedication will be of great interest to people of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and to all interest in pioneer history." __________________________ END OF EXCERPT________________________________ NOTE: There is also a photo of the Spirit Lake massacre monument with the following caption: Erected by the State of Iowa, and dedicated July 26th. The spot where Mr. Gardner fell marked by the pile of stones in the foreground. Sole survivor, Abbie Gardner Sharp. The Gardner cabin on the right. In this massacre, the family of Mary Andrews Maddox, my mother's sister, were victims. I am unable to send copy of photo because my email does not accept attachments. Can send copy if snail mail address is given to me. If anyone is related to the Mary Andrews Maddox family I have more info about her family in this book. Brenda Lawless Daniel ====================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ======================================================================