command to camp, and would probably not have been selected had it been
known that they were surrounded by 400 or 500 hostile warriors. Maj.
Brown had about one hundred and fifty men under his command. About 4
o'clock on the following morning the Indians, to the number of 500 or
600, well armed and most of them mounted, commenced an indiscriminate
fire upon the almost helpless little command. For two days they
bravely defended themselves, and when relief finally arrived it was
found that about half their number had been killed or wounded. When
the news of the disaster reached St. Paul there was great excitement.
Relatives and friends of the dead and wounded were outspoken in
their denunciation of the civil and military authorities who were
responsible for this great sacrifice of the lives of our citizens. It
was feared that the city itself was in danger of an attack from the
savages. Home guards were organized and the bluffs commanding a view
of the city were nightly patrolled by citizen volunteers. There was no
telegraph at that time and rumors of all sorts were flying thick
and fast. Every courier reaching the city would bring news of fresh
outrages, and our panic-stricken citizens had hardly time to recover
from the effect of one disaster before the news of another would be
received. Settlers fleeing from their homes for places of safety were
arriving by the score, leaving crops to perish in the field and their
houses to be destroyed. The situation was appalling, and many of our
citizens were predicting the most direful results should the army fail
to check the savage hordes in their work of devastation and ruin.

Every boat from the Minnesota river would be crowded with refugees,
and the people of St. Paul were often called upon to assist in
forwarding them to their place of destination.

Home guards were organized in almost every village of the threatened