Historical Accounts of Bottineau in Minnesota

 

Minnesota Massacre 1862
Conclusion,   pg. 270-271

        In writing this narrative my mind has been refreshed and incidents and the names of persons almost forgotten come to me - they press on my memory. I am able to many, but to specify them would unduly lengthen this book. There was one important character, however, whom I had quite forgotten at the proper time, and in this concluding chapter must make mention of him.
        Pierre Bottineau came originally from the Selkirk settlement and in 1837 made a claim near St. Anthony. I was with him upon the plains of Dakota in 1857, and in his way he was a remarkable man. On one occasion the party got lost in a furious storm, and we knew that war parties of Chippewas were roaming over the prairie and it was not any way too healthy to be in the region we supposed we were wandering.
        We halted to hold a council and Pierre said, "As soon as the stars come out I can locate." So we waited and waited for the storm to pass over. The night was pitchy dark, but in time the stars came out, when Pierre laid flat down on the ground, face up, and for perhaps half an hour surveyed the heavens, and located our wandering feet. We were soon on the right trail for our camp, which was forty or fifty miles away.
        Pierre was one of General Sibley's principal scouts during the several campaigns against Indians in 1862 and 1863. He died some years ago, and speaking of his death reminds me of others prominate in these military operations who have gone beyond the river.

 

The Seat of Empire, by Charles Carleton Coffin, 1890
Chapter V,   pg. 109-111

The Frontier

        Bottineau is our guide. Take a look at him as he sits by the campfire cleaning his rifle. He is tall and well formed, with features which show both his French and Indian parentage. He has dark whiskers, a broad, flat nose, a wrinkled forehead, and is in the full prime of life. His name is known throughout the Northwest, among Americans, Canadians, and Indians. The Chippewa is his mother-tongue, though he can speak several Indian dialects, and is fluent in French and English. He was born not far from Fort Garry, and has traversed the vast region of the Northwest in every direction. He was Governor Stevens's guide when he made the first explorations for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and has guided a great many government trains to the forts on the Missouri since then. He was with General Sully in his campaign against the Indians. He has the instinct of locality. Like the honeybee, which flies straight from the flower to its hive, over fields, through forests, across ravines or intervening hills, so Pierre Bottineau knows just where to go when out upon the boundless prairie with no landmark to guide him. He is never lost, even in the darkest night or foggiest day.
        There is no man living, probably, who has more enemies than he, for the whole Sioux nation of Indians are his sworn foes. They would take his scalp instantly if they could only get a chance. He has been in many fights with them, has killed six of them, has had narrow escapes, and to hear him tell of his adventures makes your hair stand on end. He is going to conduct a portion of our party through the Sioux country. The Indians are friendly now, and the party will not be troubled; but if a Sioux buffalo hunter comes across this guide there will be quick shooting on both sides, and ten to one the Indian will go down, for Bottineau is keen-sighted, has a steady hand, and is quick to act.
        The westward-bound members of our party, guided by Bottineau, will be accompanied by an escort consisting of nineteen soldiers commanded by Lieutenant Kelton. Four Indian scouts, mounted on ponies, are engaged to scour the country in advance, and give timely notice of the presence of Sioux, who are always on the alert to steal horses or plunder a train. Bidding our friends goodby, we watch their train winding over the prairie till we can only see the white canvas of the wagons on the edge of the horizon; then, turning eastward, we cross the river into Minnesota, and strike out upon the pathless plain. We see no landmarks ahead, and like navigators upon the ocean, pursue our way over this sea of verdure by the compass.
        After a few hours' ride, we catch, through the glimmering haze, the faint outlines of islands rising above the unruffled waters of a distant lake. We approach its shores, but only to see islands and lake alike vanish into thin air. It was the mirage lifting above the horizon, the far-off groves of Buffalo Creek, a branch of the Red River. Far away to the east are the Leaf Hills, which are only the elevations of the rolling prairie that forms the divide between the waters flowing into the Gulf of Mexico and into Hudson Bay.
        Wishing to see the hills, to ascertain what obstacles there are to the construction of a railroad, two of us break away from the main party and strike out over the plains, promising to be in camp at nightfall. How exhilarating to gallop over the pathless expanse, amid a sea of flowers, pluningig now and then through grass so high that horse and rider are almost lost to sight! The meadow-lark greets us with his cheerful song; the plover hovers around us; sand-hill cranes, flying always in pairs, rise from the ground and wing their way beyond the reach of harm. The gophers chatter like children amid the flowers, as we ride over their subterranean towns.

 

A History of the City of St. Paul and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota
by J. Fletcher Williams, 1876

        In 1841, Pierre Bottineau settled in Saint Paul, with his brother, Severe Bottineau, and purchased of Benjamin Gervais, a small tract of land on what was afterwards known as Baptist hill. Pierre Bottineau is one of the most notable characters of the Northwest. He was born in the Red River settlement, his father being a French Canadian, and his mother a Chippewa woman, and came to Fort Snelling, in 1837, where he was in the employ of General Sibiley for a while, as guide and interpreter. He was one of the settlers expelled from the Reserve, and came to Saint Paul, as above stated. He lived here six years, when he sold his claim, and made a new one at Saint Anthony Falls, which he subsequently laid out as an addition to the city. He was also the first settler at Maple Grove, or "Bottineauti's Prairie," in Hennepin county.
        Perhaps no man in the Northwest has passed a life of more romantic adventures, exciting occurrences, hair-breadth escapes, and "accidents by flood and field," than Mr. Bottineau. He has traveled over every foot of the Northwest, and knows the country like a map. He speaks almost every Indian language in this region, and his services as guide and interpreter have always been in great demand. He was guide to Col. Nobles' wagon road expedition to Frazer River, in 1859, to Captain Fisk's Idaho expedition of 1862, and Gen. Sibley's expedition to the Missouri River, in 1863. His adventures, could they be faithfully written, would make a volume of surpassing interest. Mr. Bottineau is now about 65 years of age, but is as strong and active as he was thirty years ago.
        With whisky as an element of traffic, making brutes of the white men and demons of the red men, making Saint Paul the little hamlet which was its nucleus, even among the savages, there is no knowing what depths of abasement might have awaited it, had not a mighty and powerful moral influence been thrown into the scale against rum, and that was a Christian church.
        In 1839, Bishop Loras, of Dubuque, had visited Fort Snelling and Mendota, with a view of establishing mission churches in a region, as yet, destitute of them, but which was now beginning to attract notice, and attention, and population, and day or two, or more, without reporting to their quarters. Consequently, a deputy marshal, from Prairie du Chien, was charged to remove the houses. He went to work, assisted by soldiers, and unroofed, one after another, the cottages, extending about five miles along the river. The settlers were forced to look for new homes; they located themselves about two miles below the cave. Already a few parties had opened farms in this vicinity; added to these, the new accessions formed quite a little settlement. Among the occupants of this ground were Rondo, (who had purchased the only cultivated claim in the place, teat of Phelan), Vetal Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais brothers. I deemed it my duty to visit occasionally those families, and set to work to choose a suitable spot for a church.
        Charles Cavileer came to Minnesota in 1841, in company with the missionary, Rev. B. F. Kavenau, H. and Wm. R. Brown, and settled at Red Rock. He was a saddler by trade, and in 1845, located in Saint Paul, which was then becoming enough of a place to carry on that business. He occupied, for some time, a building on the levee, and in 1847, perhaps, moved up to what was once called Saint Charles street. In 1848, he and Dr. Dewey engaged in the drug business. Mr. Cavileer was Territorial Librarian for a few months, and in to the present post office, to show the contrast of thirty years the first and the last, the alpha and omega of Saint Paul post offices. Saint Paul was not the first post office established in this region, as some have supposed. Lake Saint Croix post office, afterwards called Point Douglas, was established on July 18, 1840, and Saint Croix Falls on July 15, 1840. Stillwater was made a post office January 14, 1846, about four months before Saint Paul.
        Saint Anthony Falls, this year, gave promise of being a point of importance. This is why Pierre Bottineau sold his claim on Baptist hill, on June 16, for $300, and removed to the Falls, where he bought, for $150, a considerable tract, which afterwards became Bottineau's Addition, and built the second house in the place. In his deed of the claim on Baptist hill, to Francis Chenevert and David Benoit, he describes it as "bounded east by Kittson, north by Clewett, west by Hartshorn and Jackson, south by Louis Robert, and containing 100 acres." This was merely an estimate, there could not have been that much.
        Francis Chenevert was a clerk of Louis Robert. He was born at Prairie du Chien, of Canadian parents. He appears, from the Register of Deeds records, to have purchased in connection with David Benoit, the claim of Pierre Bottineau, on June 16, 1846. Chenevert was unmarried and lived here until 1865, when he died at the residence of a friend on Robert street.

 

Progressive men of Minnesota

D.S.B. Johnston

        In the spring of 1856, Mr. Johnston was employed by Hon. Isaac Atwater, then editor and proprietor of the St. Anthony Express, and assisted him in editing and managing the newspaper until the following winter. Mr. Johnston then joined a company organized to select town sites on the Minnesota side of the Red River at the North. The expedition set out from St. Cloud, January 1, 1857, with five yoke of oxen drawing two loaded sleds, and guided by Pierre Bottineau, the famous Hudson Bay scout, and his brother Charles. It required thirty days to make this distance between the Mississippi and the Red River, and the explorers nearly perished in snow storms. Four buffalo were killed out of a herd of about one hundred, north of the Otter Tail river, near the present site of Breckinridge.
        The winter was long and severe and the snow was so deep that no relief could reach the party until late in the spring. The flour was soon exhausted, and the cattle, unable to obtain anything but willow twigs to feed upon, were killed to save them from death by starvation, and were mostly eaten without salt. And, not only that, but other supplies having been exhausted before spring, the party was finally compelled to subsist upon boiled, saltless Red River cat-fish and tea until other supplies could reach them across the flooded streams and swamps in that memorable spring of 1857. From this adventure Mr. Johnston accumulated a large amount of experience, but not much else. He returned to St. Anthony in June, and the following July, in connection with Charles H. Slocum, he bought the St. Anthony Express and became its editor.

 

History of Minneapolis, Vol. 1
by Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter

The Carpenter Claim

        On November 3, 1838, Sergeant Carpenter sold a half interest in his claim to "Private Thomas Brown, of Company A, Fifth United States Infantry," for a consideration of $25. A log house was soon afterward built by the joint claimants. It stood near the river, opposite Hennepin Island, but the name of the occupant seems to have been forgotten. On May 6, 1840, Brown transferred his "undivided half" to Peter Quinn, "of St. Peter, Iowa Territory." Quinn was a native of Ireland and before coming to Fort Snelling in 1824 had lived at Winnipeg, where he married a half-breed Cree Indian woman named Mary Louise Findley. He served as a trader's clerk, Indian farmer, interpreter, etc., until killed at Redwood Ferry on August 18, 1862, at the beginning of the Sioux uprising against the whites.
        Quinn sold his interest on May 1, 1845, to Roswell P. Russell and Samuel J. Findley, who a year later transferred it to Pierre Bottineau for a consideration of $150. The deed describes the property as "a certain tract of United States land in the Territory of Wisconsin, St. Croix County, on the Mississippi River, above the Falls of St. Anthony, containing one hundred and sixty (160) acres, more or less." Pierre Bottineau had purchased Carpenter's interest in 1844 and after acquiring the interest of Russell and Findley became the owner of the entire claim of 320 acres.

Other Squatters

        A few others settled on the east side before the lands were legally opened to settlement. These persons were called "squatters," because they merely located or "squatted" upon the land, holding their claims by occupation until the lands came into market. What is commonly referred to as the "Petit John" claim was made in 1842. It extended along the river, south of the Plympton claim, and included the site of the State University. Maj. R. I. Holcombe, in the "Compendium of History and Biography of Minneapolis" (published in 1914), says: "In 1842 came Eli Pettijohn, an Ohio man. Strangely enough, his name is given in Warner & Foote's, Hudson's, Atwater's and other histories as 'Petit John,' as if his family name were John and his Christian name Petit. He made a claim south of Steele's, or down the river, where the University buildings now stand."
        Mr. Pettijohn was one of the first justices of the peace in Hennepin County, when it was organized in 1852, and afterwards held the office of assessor. He was still living when Major Holcombe wrote in 1914 and was then in the ninety-sixth year of his age. In 1845 he sold his claim to Pierre Bottineau, which made the latter the largest landholder on the east side.
        Another squatter who came in 1842 was Joseph Rondeau (sometimes written Rondo), a French Canadian, who made a claim north of the Carpenter claim. He was one of those who were evicted from the Fort Snelling reservation by Major Plympton's order and before making his claim at the Falls of St. Anthony had been living at "St. Paul's Landing", the site of St. Paul. He has been described as "aggressive and troublesome, continually trespassing upon the claims of his neighbors." Not long after Bottineau bought the Pettijohn claim in 1845, he got into trouble with Rondeau. But Bottineau was equal to the emergency. Rondeau was trying to hold two claims, one at St. Anthony and the other at St. Paul's Landing. One day while he was at the latter place, Bottineau took a few men and an ox team, went to Rondeau's claim, tore down his cabin and hauled the logs a mile or more back in the woods. He then proceeded to "jump" Rondeau's claim and succeeded in holding it. Rondeau then retired to his St. Paul claim, where he passed the remainder of his life. He acquired a comfortable fortune and a street in St. Paul bears his name.
        Two Canadian Frenchmen, Paschal and Sauverre St. Martin came in 1845 and made a claim below the Pettijohn claim, extending down the river below the present Washington Avenue to the vicinity of Riverside Park. Baptiste Turpin then occupied the cabin on the Pettijohn claim as a tenant of Pierre Bottineau, and the entire population of the east side did not number more than fifty persons.

St. Anthony Platted

        In 1848 the Government survey was completed, clear titles to land could be obtained, and the population on the east side of the river was about three hundred. William A. Cheever had his land laid out as a town, to which he gave the name of St. Anthony City. Franklin Steele soon afterward engaged William R. Marshall to survey his land and lay it out into lots, with the necessary streets and alleys, etc. Among the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society is the original plat made by Governor Marshall, with the following certificate attached:

St. Anthony Falls, October 9, 1849: "I hereby certify that the map hereunto attached is a correct plat of a Town Survey made by me for Arnold W. Taylor, Franklin Steele and Ard Godfrey. Said town being located on sections twenty-three (23) and twenty-four (24), in Township No. twenty-nine (29) north, of Range No. twenty-four (24) west of the Fourth Meridian." W. R. Marshall, Surveyor.

        The plat was recorded in the office of the register of deeds for Washington County, which had just been created by the Territorial Legislature. St. Anthony was then in Ramsey County and it has never been explained why the plat was not recorded at St. Paul. The original plat bears the following indorsement:

Register of Deeds' Office, Washington County: "I hereby certify that the annexed Town Plat of St. Anthony Falls, certificate of survey, or acknowledgment, was this day received in this office for record, at 6 o'clock p.m., and was thereupon duly recorded in Book A of Town Plats, on pages 36, 37 and 38." Done at Stillwater, November 10, 1849. William Holcombe, Register.

        The original survey covered twelve and one-half blocks up and down the river by five blocks back. The lots were 66 feet wide by 165 feet deep and the streets were 80 feet in width. Running parallel with the river the streets were: Main, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth. Beginning opposite the falls and running back from the river was Cedar Street. Below Cedar Street in order were: Spruce, Spring, Maple, Walnut, Aspen, Birch and Willow; while above Cedar Street were, in the order named, Pine, Mill, Bay, Linden and Oak. The names of most of these streets have since been changed. Major Holcombe tells the following story of how Pierre Bottineau had his lots "fixed":

        "Pierre Bottineau, the French half-blood, who had always been on the Northwestern frontier and had never seen a city, and who owned so much of St. Anthony realty outside of the Steele and Cheever surveys, was impressed with what Marshall had done for Frank Steele's property. He could not read, therefore he had never read of a city and did not know how one was constructed; but he heard Steele, Marshall and Cheever comment on Marshall's work and some months afterward he said to the surveyor: 'You jist take my land and fix him same lak M'sieu Steele land.' Asked for particulars, he threw up his hands, carelessly and replied: 'O, fix him lak you please, same lak M'sieu Steele, but do as you please.' Thereupon Marshall 'fixed' it accordingly."

        The lots platted by Cheever, Steele and Bottineau constituted the original Town of St. Anthony. Marshall gave the place the name of "St. Anthony's Falls," giving as his reason therefore that the falls were already so well known the name would advertise the town and identify its locality. But Franklin Steele said: "The name St. Anthony's Falls is too big a mouthful for a man to spit out at once," and the name was shortened to St. Anthony.

Early Cemeteries

        Although it is of record that the earliest settlers of St. Anthony interred some of their dead in a small tract near the corner of Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street Southeast, the first cemetery whose line is unbroken to within a comparatively recent day was Maple Hill. In 1849 Robert W. Cummings obtained some land from the government in St. Anthony township, and reserved a tract for a cemetery along what was afterward Broadway. The dedication of these burial grounds as Maple Hill Cemetery in February, 1857, gave the people, especially the early settlers of the east side, a resting place for their dead which was not disturbed for more than forty years. By that time, it is said that no less than 5,000 bodies had been laid away on the slopes of Maple Hill. In 1890, with the increase of population, the health authorities forbade further interments. The following year the city council condemned land on either side of the cemetery for street purposes, removals of the bodies commenced, and eventually the tract was incorporated into the east system of parks. The pretty little park bounded by Broadway, Fillmore, Polk and Summer streets is what remains of the old burial grounds.
        Hillside Cemetery, on Nineteenth Avenue Northeast, was platted soon after the closing of Maple Hill, and its eighty or more acres have served their design and been molded into a tasteful and attractive home for those who have gone over the line.
        The Minneapolis Cemetery was the first to be established on the west side of the river. Although it was platted under that name, it is still generally known as Layman's Cemetery. It lies east of Cedar Avenue and north of Lake Street, in the southeastern part of the city. The original tract of twenty-seven acres was a portion of the land preempted by Martin Layman in 1853. A few years later, Uncle Wardell died and Mr. Layman gave his people a lot, at what is now the corner of Cedar and Lake, that the remains of the deceased might be decently interred. In 1859, Mr. Layman laid out a half acre in the same locality for a family burial lot and for the accommodation of neighbors, and the following year platted ten acres under the title of the Minneapolis Cemetery. He added to the original plat several times before he died in 1886 and laid the foundation for what has persisted as Layman's Cemetery. Perhaps it should be instanced as a case of historic justice.
        In 1857 Pierre Bottineau, a French half-breed, gave the Catholic bishop at St. Paul two blocks of land on the east bank of the river above where the Great Northern Railroad tracks now cross, one for a church site and the other for a cemetery. They were portions of a tract which he had preempted several years previously. On these blocks were founded the Church of St. Anthony of Padua on Main Street and the St. Anthony Cemetery, at Central and Twenty-eighth Avenue Northeast.
        St. Mary's Cemetery was founded by the Catholics of the west side in the early '90s. Its nucleus was the old General Karnes homestead at Chicago Avenue and Forty-sixth Street.

 

Fifty years in the Northwest, Cha. 23

Pierre Bottineau

        Pierre Bottineau was born in the Red River settlement, now Dakota, in 1817. His early life was passed amongst the Ojibways in the employ of various fur companies. He has lived an eventful life and endured many hardships as a hunter, trapper and guide. He was early noted as a pilot to and from the Selkirk settlement. In 1843, he removed his family from Selkirk to St. Paul. In 1845, he removed to St. Anthony Falls, east side, where he laid out an addition to the new village. He was also, in 1851, the first settler at Maple Grove, or "Bottineau's Prairie," in Hennepin county. When he came to Fort Snelling he was employed by Gen. Sibley as a guide. In 1856, he assisted in selecting locations for forts. In 1858, after the establishment of Fort Abercrombie, he located the village of Breckenridge, now in Wilkin county, Minnesota. In 1859, he accompanied Geologist Skinner in his exploring expedition, having for its object the survey and location of salt mines, and was guide to Col. W. H. Noble's wagon road expedition to Frazer river. In 1860, he accompanied a military expedition with Gov. Ramsey to conclude treaties with the Northern Minnesota Chippewas. In 1862, he accompanied Capt. Fisk's Idaho expedition, and, in 1863, Gen. Sibley's expedition to the Missouri. Mr. Bottineau now resides at Red Lake Falls, Polk county, Minnesota.

 

Biographical Sketches of Old Settlers, 1841

Pierre Bottineau

        Most if not all the men I have already mentioned, came to St. Paul during the year 1840; but in 1841 appeared Pierre Bottineau, who purchased a tract of land known now only in history as Baptist hill, because a Baptist church had been erected thereon but of which no vestige at present remains. Where the church stood can be seen the imposing building of Wilder & Merriam, on Sibley street, occupied by Nicols & Dean.
        Bottineau's father was a French Canadian and his mother was a Chippewa woman, and with the blood of these two flowing in his veins, he was a somewhat remarkable man. He was in the employ of Gen. Sibley as guide and interpreter in 1837, and subsequently became famous in conducting expeditions across the plains, as he spoke all the Indian languages and had traveled over almost every foot of the great Northwest.
        On leaving St. Paul he made a claim at St. Anthony, and then established a settlement at what is now known as "Bottineau's Prairie." He is a large man physically as I remember him, with a prominent face and head, straight black hair and piercing eyes, and a swarthy complexion. An odd contrast to this appearance is his exceeding pleasant smile which nearly always radiates his face. He has the characteristics of the bear and the gentleness of the woman, and if alive, as I think he is, he must be a man 74 years old. He is a noble link of the past, as he combines the French, the Indian and the American, in all his elementary peculiarities. One of the best things which can be said of Bottineau is, he was always true to his trusts, and that of itself is a noble monument to any man.

 

Beginnings of Red Lake Falls and Red Lake County
by Virgil Benoit

        Some of the early settlers to come to St. Paul whose surnames appear later in Red Lake County are: Bottineau, Gervais, Labissonniere, Cloutier, Pepin, Desmarais, Bazile, Laroche, Benoit, and Fournier. Pierre Bottineau, born in Red River Settlement and trained as a scout, guide and fur trader certainly viewed the junction of the Red Lake and Clearwater Rivers where he founded Red Lake Falls as an advantageous site for a town. He was very influential in bringing settlers to Red Lake County. An early settler of this area recalled: "Pierre Bottineau and his son, John B., brought in a large number of French Canadians from Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota, and also quite a number from the East, locating them along Red Lake River from Louisville to Red Lake Falls, and along Clearwater River from Red Lake Falls to Lambert." The year was 1877 and already many factors pointed to a rapid settlement of the area. In 1863, a treaty with the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians at the Old Crossing of the Red Lake River had opened some three million acres of land to eventual settlement. The railroad had reached Fisher's Landing in 1875. Furthermore, since the 1850s, "Every effort was made to reach the minds of easterners and immigrants with Minnesota propaganda." (Tasse, 2:14-1 5; Holcombe, 72 (first quote); Blegen, 181 (second quote))

 

Pig's Eye's Notepad, by Paul J. Lareau
An Encyclopedia of St. Paul, MN, 1830-1850

Pierre Bottineau was born in the Red River colony. His father was Charles Bottineau and his mother was Margaret Clear-Sky, a Chippewa. He came to Fort Snelling in 1837, in the employ of General Henry H. Sibley as an interpreter and guide. He was one of the settlers who was expelled from the Reserve, and with his brother, Severe Bottineau, purchased from Benjamin Gervais a small tract of land on what was subsequently known as Baptist Hill. Pierre lived there for 6 years, then sold the property, and made a new claim at St. Anthony Falls. Later in his life, he was also the first settler at "Bottineau's Prairie", later known as Maple Plain, MN. Pierre was one of the most notable characters of the Northwest. He traveled over every foot of the region, and knew the country like a map. He spoke almost every Native American language in the region, and had a life of romantic and hair-raising experiences. He was guide to Col. Nobles' 1859 Wagon Road Expedition to Frazer River; to Capt. Fisk's Idaho Expedition of 1862; and to Gen. Sibley's expedition to the Missouri River in 1863. At the age of 65, he was said to have been as strong and active as he was at 30. Pierre married first, in Winnipeg, MB, to Genevieve Laurence by whom he had 8 children: Daniel, Jean, Pierre, Genevieve, Rosalie, Marguerite, Leon, and Elsie. He married secondly in Little Canada, 1852, to Martha Gervais, by whom he had Charles, Mathilde, Henry, George, William, Norman, Laura, Jennie, Agnes, and Noah. He died in 1895 at Red Lake Falls, MN. [WM107-8, LR326, MN50]

Pierre Bottineau died in 1895 and was buried in the Cyr Cemetery west of Red Lake Falls. In 1978 his remains, and those of four members of his family, were moved to this site by the Red Lake County Historical Society.
Directions: From Stop # 10 proceed along County Road 13 to Highway 32 in Red Lake Falls. Turn left on Highway 32, go one block, then turn right onto County Road 1. Follow County Road one mile to St. Joseph's cemetery. The Bottineau grave site is near the cemetery entrance.

Genevieve Laurence was born in Minnesota in 1818, and was the first wife of Pierre Bottineau. [LR326, MN50]

Martha Gervais was the daughter of Louis Pierre Gervais of Champlain, NY. Martha married in 1852 at Little Canada, MN, to St. Paul and St. Anthony pioneer, Pierre Bottineau. [LR1174]

Severe Bottineau was born in 1814 in Canada, the brother of Pierre Bottineau, with whom he came to Fort Snelling in 1837. He was also among those expelled from the reserve, and with Pierre, purchased from Benjamin Gervais a small tract of land on what was subsequently known as Baptist Hill. They lived there for 6 years, then sold the property, and made a new one at St. Anthony Falls, where, in 1852, he married Julie Chenevert. They had at least two children: Elise and Francis Edward. [LR327, MN50]

Baptist Hill was a hill that was located in early St. Paul, and originally included in the claim of Pierre Bottineau and his brother. The peak of the hill was located at what is now Mears Park in Lowertown, but no trace of it remains. During the early days of St. Paul, as new streets were platted in Lowertown, the land all around the peak was excavated and leveled for streets and construction sites, and the dirt was used to fill the natural ravine that flowed along what is today Sibley Street, and to fill the swamp that once covered the area on which the Union Depot now stands. At its "final gasp", Baptist Hill was a large mountain of dirt (50 feet high) surrounded by homes and businesses, and it was finally leveled completely. That final remaining plot of land became what is now Mears Park in Lowertown St., Paul.

 

Sherburne County
Page 453

        David Faribault was the first settler or trader, he having established a post on the Elk river in 1846, where he made a garden and raised potatoes. In September 1848, H. M. Rice and S. P. Folsom bought Faribault's improvements, and Folsom moved his family to the place and built a log cabin on what is now Auditor's addition to Elk River village. He was succeeded in the ownership by Pierre Bottineau.

 

The Pioneer Days of Red Lake Falls
by Charles E. Boughton, Sr.

        The first settlers in Red Lake, then a part of Polk County, came here in May 1876, just twenty-six years ago. No railroad train whirled along and deposited them and their household goods at a convenient station, with waiting friends ready to welcome them to their new homes. They left St. Paul with their families and the few things they could carry loaded into wagons and the clumsy old Red River carts drawn by horses or oxen - sometimes a horse and cow, or cow and ox. For days they winded their way just past little outlying settlements, through a wilderness of forests, swamp, camping out nights, the silence unbroken save by their own merry laughter and shouting, or the howl of wolves, or drumming of partridges in the woods. Coming at length to Crookston, the county seat of Polk, they found it an assemblage of eight or ten rude log houses and three stores girt 'round by stumps and woods. Walsh and Ross kept the best store there, and that was not a department store you may be sure. The territory east and northeast of Crookston was as yet unsettled. No townsite boomer had discovered Red Lake Falls, St. Hilaire or Thief River Falls, and land in their present vicinity was at a discount. There were homesteads "to burn," and of the best kind, too.
        Leaving Crookston, the home seekers followed up the Red Lake River, until, seventeen days after leaving St. Paul, arriving near the present site of Red Lake Falls, they decided that no better land could be found, and settled down. The first colonists were French from Hennepin and Ramsey counties. These were Pierre Bottineau, then famous as guide, trapper and scout, with his sons, Isaiah Gervais, Joseph Belair, Thomas Belair, John B. Demarais, N. Pouliot, Pierre Audette, Benj. Gervais, Eli Lasha, Edward LaBree, Joe Beaudrow, and a few others. J. B. Battineau had located about seven thousand acres of land here on Indian script, including the present site of Red Lake Falls, but his title proving defective, the land was homesteaded by the incoming settlers who set to work at once, built log cabins and prepared to farm with the limited means at their command. Food was scarce then and tales are still told of living all winter on a barrel of flour and jack rabbits.

 

Pioneer History of Becker County Minnesota
Cha. 17, North Pacific Explorations

        The first route proposed for the Northern Pacific Railroad was to run from Duluth to St. Cloud and from thence to Breckenridge, as a feasible route was known to exists along that course, whereas most people had their doubts as to the practicability of building a railroad farther north. The first exploring expedition was fitted out in June, 1869, under the direction and management of George A. Bracket, of Minneapolis. Their first camp was pitched at Small Lake, a little west of St. Cloud on the 9th day of July, 1869.
        Accompanying the expedition was J. Gregory Smith, at that time governor of Vermont, and also president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, Eugene M. Wilson, of Minneapolis, member of Congress from the third Minnesota district, Senator William Windom, the Rev. Dr. Lord of Chicago, Charles Carlton Coffin, correspondent of the Boston Journal, and among several others the financial agent of Jay Cook, a man whose name was Holmes. Pierre Bottineau, a Red River half-breed, and one of the most noted frontiersmen of the Northwest, was the guide of the party, and John O. French, now of Detroit Township, was his assistant.
        The party consisted of about seventy men, fifty-five of whom were teamsters; twenty-five light wagons and buggies, and about thirty heavy wagons, loaded with provisions, baggage and general camping outfit. As they left St. Cloud, they made a very imposing procession, stretching out along the road for nearly half a mile in extent. They moved by easy stages, following the old Alexandria and Red River road, and in the course of about a week reached Fort Abercrombie, a frontier post occupied by United States troops. The party here divided, about one-half of them remaining behind to explore the Red River Valley and the country adjacent thereto in a direction north from Ft. Abercrombie.
        The other half of the expedition now procured the services of a squad of twenty-five or thirty soldiers from Ft. Abercrombie, under the command of a lieutenant to serve as an escort, and then, under the leadership of Bottineau and French, proceeded to explore the country across the Dakota plains to the Missouri River. They crossed the Maple, Sheyenne and James Rivers, coming to the Missouri some distance north of where Bismarck now stands.
        At their camp near the James River they were fired upon, in the night, by a party of Sioux Indians and skirmishing with the pickets was quite lively for a couple of hours, and was only brought to a close by the dawning of day. One soldier was slightly wounded.
        After examining the approaches to the Missouri, and ascertaining the feasibility of a crossing, the party started back by a new route a little north of their outward trail, and about the 15th of August reached the Red River a little north of where Fargo now stands. Here they met the party which they had left at Ft. Abercrombie a few weeks before.
        After a short rest, the united expedition crossed the Red River and started on their homeward journey in an easterly direction across the Red River flats, and on the 21st of August, 1869, camped for the night on the shores of Floyd Lake, in what is now Detroit Township. The next day being Sunday, the expedition rested from their journeying and the Rev. Dr. Lord held religious services at the camp, and preached the first sermon ever preached in Becker County by a white man of which we have any knowledge.

 

History of Foster County
Steven's Expedition of 1853

        The earliest recorded expedition to pass through Foster County was in 1853. Governor Isaac Stevens was directed by the government to organize and lead an exploring party overland across this new territory to Washington State. He was to make a preliminary survey that could be used in laying out a course for the railroad to the west coast. A party of less than 100 men which included engineers, soldiers, necessary guides, teamsters, and helpers, started at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. They traveled northwest, crossing the Red River at Breckenridge and then traveled across the prairies to Lake Jessie in Griggs County. This lake was well known by the Indians and the whites. It was first named by Lt. Freeman in 1839, when he was with J. N. Nicollet on a trip that took them to the Devils Lake Regions.
        On July 11, 1853, they arrived in Foster County passing south of McHenry and probably north of Juanita. Their guide was Pierre Bottineau. Mr. Bottineau, a Chippewa Indian, was born in 1812 and died in 1895. He had a very colorful career. In one story he was described in this manner: "It was Bottineau who walked from Winnipeg to St. Paul with James J. Hill. It was scout Bottineau who headed Jay Cooke's first Northern Pacific survey across the continent, it was the Chief Bottineau who gave his name to Bottineau County, it was the gambler Bottineau who had three queens in his hand, staked Nicollet Island, and lost." Mr. Bottineau served as a guide for Stevens until they reached Fort Union. He shot and dried a buffalo just north of Grace City. Governor Stevens was amazed at the speed and dexterity of the men accomplishing this feat.

 

Treaty with the Chippewa-Red Lake and Pembina Bands, 1863
Oct 2, 1863, 13 Stats., 667, Ratified Mar 1, 1864, Proclaimed May 5, 1864
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Vol. II (Treaties)

A treaty made and concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, in the State of Minnesota, on Oct 2, 1863 between the US, by their commissioners, Alexander Ramsey and Ashley C. Morrill, agent for the Chippewa Indians, and the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewas; by their chiefs, head-men, and warriors.

ARTICLE 1. The peace and friendship now existing between the United States and the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians shall be perpetual.
ARTICLE 2. The said Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians do hereby cede, sell, and convey to the United States all their right, title, and interest in and to all the lands now owned and claimed by them in the State of Minnesota and in the Territory of Dakota within the following described boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the point where the international boundary between the United States and the British possessions intersects the shore of the Lake of the Woods; thence in a direct line southwesterly to the head of Thief River; thence down the main channel of said Thief River to its mouth on the Red Lake River; thence in a southeasterly direction, in a direct line toward the head of Wild Rice River, to the point where such line would intersect the northwestern boundary of a tract ceded to the United States by a treaty concluded at Washington on the 22d day of February, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-five, with the Mississippi, Pillager, and Lake Winnebigoshish bands of Chippewa Indians; thence along the said boundary-line of the said cession to the mouth of Wild Rice River; thence up the main channel of the Red River to the mouth of the Shayenne; thence up the main channel of the Shayenne River to Poplar Grove; thence in a direct line to the Place of Stumps, otherwise called Lake Chicot; thence in a direct line to the head of the main branch of Salt River; thence in a direct line due north to the point where such line would intersect the international boundary aforesaid; thence eastwardly along said boundary to the place of beginning.
ARTICLE 3. In consideration of the foregoing cession, the United States agree to pay to the said Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians the following sums, to wit: Twenty thousand dollars per annum for twenty years; the said sum to be distributed among the Chippewa Indians of the said bands in equal amounts per capita, and for this purpose an accurate enumeration and enrollment of the members of the respective bands and families shall be made by the officers of the United States: Provided, That so much of this sum as the President of the United States shall direct, not exceeding five thousand dollars per year, may be reserved from the above sum, and applied to agriculture, education, the purchase of goods, powder, lead, &c., for their use, and to such other beneficial purposes, calculated to promote the prosperity and happiness of the said Chippewa Indians, as he may prescribe.
ARTICLE 4. And in further consideration of the foregoing cession, and of their promise to abstain from such acts in future, the United States agree that the said Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians shall not be held liable to punishment for past offences. And in order to make compensation to the injured parties for the depredations committed by the said Indians on the goods of certain British and American traders at the mouth of Red Lake River, and for exactions forcibly levied by them on the proprietors of the steamboat plying on the Red River, and to enable them to pay their just debts, the United States agree to appropriate the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, it being understood and agreed that the claims of individuals for damages or debt under this article shall be ascertained and audited, in consultation with the chiefs of said bands, by a commissioner or commissioners appointed by the President of the United States; furthermore, the sum of two thousand dollars shall be expended for powder, lead, twine, or such other beneficial purposes as the chiefs may request, to be equitably distributed among the said bands at the first payment: Provided, That no part of the sum of one hundred thousand dollars shall be appropriated or paid to make compensation for damages or for the payment of any debts owing from said Indians until the said commissioner or commissioners shall report each case, with the proofs thereof, to the Secretary of the Interior, to be submitted to Congress, with his opinion thereon, for its action; and that, after such damages and debts shall have been paid, the residue of said sum shall be added to the annuity funds of said Indians, to be divided equally upon said annuities.
ARTICLE 5. To encourage and aid the chiefs of said bands in preserving order and inducing, by their example and advice, the members of their respective bands to adopt the habits and pursuits of civilized life, there shall be paid to each of the said chiefs annually, out of the annuities of the said bands, a sum not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars, to be determined by their agents according to their respective merits. And for the better promotion of the above objects, a further sum of five hundred dollars shall be paid at the first payment to each of the said chiefs to enable him to build for himself a house. Also, the sum of five thousand dollars shall be appropriated by the United States for cutting out a road from Leach Lake to Red Lake.
ARTICLE 6. The President shall appoint a board of visitors, to consist of not less than two nor more than three persons, to be selected from such Christian denominations as he may designate, whose duty it shall be to attend at all annuity payments of the said Chippewa Indians, to inspect their field and other improvements, and to report annually thereon on or before the first day of November, and also as to the qualifications and moral deportment of all persons residing upon the reservation under the authority of law; and they shall receive for their services five dollars a day for the time actually employed, and ten cents per mile for travelling expenses: Provided, That no one shall be paid in any one year for more than twenty days’ service or for more than three hundred miles’ travel.
ARTICLE 7. The laws of the United States now in force, or that may hereafter be enacted, prohibiting the introduction and sale of spirituous liquors in the Indian country, shall be in full force and effect throughout the country hereby ceded, until otherwise directed by Congress or the President of the United States.
ARTICLE 8. In further consideration of the foregoing cession, it is hereby agreed that the United States shall grant to each male adult half-breed or mixed-blood who is related by blood to the said Chippewas of the said Red Lake or Pembina bands who has adopted the habits and customs of civilized life, and who is a citizen of the United States, a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land, to be selected at his option, within the limits of the tract of country hereby ceded to the United States, on any land not previously occupied by actual settlers or covered by prior grants, the boundaries thereof to be adjusted in conformity with the lines of the official surveys when the same shall be made, and with the laws and regulations of the United States affecting the location and entry of the same: Provided, That no scrip shall be issued under the provisions of this article, and no assignments shall be made of any right, title, or interest at law or in equity until a patent shall issue, and no patent shall be issued until due proof of five years’ actual residence and cultivation, as required by the act entitled “An act to secure homesteads on the public domain.”
ARTICLE 9. Upon the urgent request of the Indians, parties to this treaty, there shall be set apart from the tract hereby ceded a reservation of (640) six hundred and forty acres near the mouth of Thief River for the chief “Moose Dung,” and a like reservation of (640) six hundred and forty acres for the chief “Red Bear,” on the north side of Pembina River.

In witness whereof, the said Alexander Ramsey and Ashley C. Morrill, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians, have hereunto set their hands, at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, in the State of Minnesota, this second day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.

Alex. Ramsey,
Ashley C. Morrill,
Commissioners.

Mona-o-too, his x mark, Moose Dunn, Chief of Red Lake.
Kaw-wash-ke-ne-kay, his x mark, Crooked Arm, Chief of Red Lake.
Ase-e-ne-wub, his x mark, Little Rock, Chief of Red Lak(e).
Mis-co-muk-quoh. his x mark, Red Bear, Chief of Pembina.
Ase-anse, his x mark, Little Shell, Chief of Pembina.
Mis-co-eo-noy-a, his x mark, Red Rob, Warrior of Red Lake.
Ka-che-un-ish-e-naw-bay, his x mark, The Big Indian, Warrior of Red Lake.
Neo-ki-zhick, his x mark, Four Skies, Warrior of Red Lake.
Nebene-quin-gwa-hawegaw, his x mark, Summer Wolverine, Warrior of Pembina.
Joseph Gornon, his x mark, Warrior of Pembina.
Joseph Montreuil, his x mark, Warrior of Pembina.
Teb-ish-ke-ke-shig, his x mark, Warrior of Pembina.
May-shue-e-yaush, his x mark, Dropping Wind, Head Warrior of Red Lake.
Min-du-wah-wing, his x mark, Berry Hunter, Warrior of Red Lake.
Naw-gaun-e-gwan-abe, his x mark, Leading Feather, Chief of Red Lake.

Signed in presence of —
Paul H. Beaulieu, special interpreter.
Peter Roy,
T. A. Warren, United States interpreter.
J. A. Wheelock, secretary.
Reuben Ottman, secretary.
George A. Camp, major Eighth Regiment Minnesota Volunteers.
William T. Rockwood, Captain Company K, Eighth Regiment Minnesota Volunteers.
P. B. Davy, Captain Company L, First Regiment Minnesota Mounted Rangers.
G. M. Dwelle, Second Lieutenant Third Minnesota Battery.
F. Rieger, Surgeon Eighth Regiment Minnesota Volunteers.
L. S. Kidder, First Lieutenant, Company L, First Minnesota Mounted Rangers.
Sam. B. Abbe.
C. A. Kuffer.
Pierre Bottineau.

Treaty with the Chippewa-Red Lake and Pembina Bands, 1864
Apr 12, 1864, 13 Stat., 689, Ratified Apr 21, 1864, Proclaimed Apr 25, 1864
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Vol. II (Treaties)

Articles supplementary to the treaty made and concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, in the State of Minnesota, on the second day of October, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three, between the United States of America, by their commissioners, Clark W. Thompson and Ashley C. Morrill, and the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians, by their chiefs, head-men, and warriors, concluded at the city of Washington, District of Columbia, on the twelfth day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, between the United States, by the said commissioners, of the one part, and the said bands of the Chippewa Indians, by their chiefs, head-men, and warriors, of the other part.

ARTICLE 1. The said Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians do hereby agree and assent to the provisions of the said treaty, concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, as amended by the Senate of the United States by resolution bearing date the first of March, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four.
ARTICLE 2. In consideration of the cession made by said treaty, concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, and in lieu of the annuity payment provided for by the third article of said last-mentioned treaty, the United States will pay annually, during the pleasure of the President of the United States, to the Red Lake band of Chippewas the sum of ten thousand dollars, and to the Pembina band of Chippewas the sum of five thousand dollars, which said sums shall be distributed to the members of said bands, respectively, in equal amounts per capita, for which purpose an accurate enumeration and enrollment of the members of the respective bands shall be made by the officers of the United States.
ARTICLE 3. The United States will also expend annually, for the period of fifteen years, for the Red Lake band of Chippewas, for the purpose of supplying them with gilling-twine, cotton mater, calico, linsey, blankets, sheeting, flannels, provisions, farming-tools, and for such other useful articles, and for such other useful purposes as may be deemed for their best interests, the sum of eight thousand dollars: and will expend in like manner, and for a like period, and for like purposes, for the Pembina band of Chippewas, the sum of four thousand dollars.
ARTICLE 4. The United States also agree to furnish said bands of Indians, for the period of fifteen years, one blacksmith, one physician, one miller, and one farmer; and will also furnish them annually, during the same period, with fifteen hundred dollars’ worth of iron, steel, and other articles for blacksmithing purposes, and one thousand dollars for carpentering, and other purposes.
ARTICLE 5. The United States also agree to furnish for said Indians at some suitable point, to be determined by the Secretary of the Interior, a saw-mill with a run of millstones attached.
ARTICLE 6. It is further agreed, by and between the parties hereto, that article four of the said treaty, concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, and the amendment to said article, shall be modified as follows: that is to say, twenty-five thousand dollars of the amount thereby stipulated shall be paid to the chiefs of said bands, through their agent, upon the ratification of these articles, or so soon thereafter as practicable, to enable them to purchase provisions and clothing, presents to be distributed to their people upon their return to their homes; of which amount five thousand dollars shall be expended for the benefit of their chief, May-dwa-gwa-no-nind; and that from the remaining seventy-five thousand dollars the claims of injured parties for depredations committed by said Indians on the goods of certain British and American traders at the mouth of Red Lake River, and for exactions forcibly levied by them on the proprietors of the steam-boat plying on the Red River, shall have priority of payment, and be paid in full, and the remainder thereof shall be paid pro rata upon the debts of said tribe incurred since the first day of January, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, to be ascertained by their agent in connection with the chiefs, in lieu of the commissioner or commissioners provided for in the fourth article of said treaty concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River.
ARTICLE 7. It is further agreed by the parties hereto, that, in lieu of the lands provided for the mixed-bloods by article eight of said treaty, concluded at the Old Crossing of Red Lake River, scrip shall be issued to such of said mixed-bloods as shall so elect, which shall entitle the holder to a like amount of land, and may be located upon any of the lands ceded by said treaty, but not elsewhere, and shall be accepted by said mixed-bloods in lieu of all future claims for annuities.

In testimony whereof, the said commissioners, on behalf of the United States, and the said chiefs, headmen, and war[r]iors, on behalf of the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa Indians, have hereunto affixed their hands and seals this twelfth day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four.

Clark W. Thompson, [SEAL.]
Ashley C. Morrill, [SEAL.]
Commissioners.

Principal Red Lake chief, May-dwa-gua-no-nind (He that is spoken to), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake chief, Mons-o-mo (Moose-dung), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake chief, Ase-e-ne-wub (Little Rock), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Principal Pembina chief, Mis-co-muk-quah (Red Bear), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake headman, Naw-gon-e-gwo-nabe (Leading Feather), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake war[r]ior, Que-we-zance (The Boy), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake headman, May-zha-ke-osh (Dropping Wind), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake headman, Bwa-ness (Little Shoe), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake headman, Wa-bon-e-qua-osh (White Hair), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Pembina headman, Te-bish-co-ge-shick (Equal Sky), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake warrior, Te-besh-co-be-ness (Straight Bird), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake warrior, Osh-shay-o-sick (no interpretation), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake warrior, Sa-sa-goh-cum-ick-ish-cum (He that makes the ground tremble), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake warrior, Kay-tush-ke-wub-e-tung (no interpretation), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Pembina warrior, I-inge-e-gaun-abe, (Wants Feathers), his x mark, [SEAL.]
Red Lake warrior, Que-we-zance-ish (Bad Boy), his x mark, [SEAL.]

Signed in presence of —
P. H. Beaulieu, special interpreter.
J. G. Morrison, special interpreter.
Peter Roy, special interpreter.
T. A. Warren, United States interpreter.
Chas. E. Gardell.
Charles Botteneau.

 

 

The Bottineau Family

My Elusive Ancestors

E-Mail Debra McCann