rch ahead of the mules to break a road
for them. The Indians, as we expected, were gone. A short pursuit was
made, but the guides pronounced the camp fires of the Indians several
days old, and it was abandoned. The dead were buried, and after a short
stay, the soldiers returned to the fort.

When this affair became known throughout the territory it caused great
consternation and apprehension, most of the settlers supposing it was
the work of the Sioux nation. Many of the most exposed abandoned their
homes temporarily. Their fears, however, were allayed by an explanation
which I published in the newspapers.

I at once began to devise plans for the rescue of the white women. I
knew that any hostile demonstration would result in their murder. While
thinking the matter out an event occurred that opened the way to a
solution. A party of my Indians had been hunting on the Big Sioux river,
and having learned that Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Lake
Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, and that he had some white women prisoners, two
young brothers visited the camp and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble,
and brought her into the Yellow Medicine agency, and delivered her to
the missionaries, who turned her over to me. I received her on the 21st
of March, and learned that two of the other captives were still alive.
Of course, my first object was to rescue the survivors, and to encourage
the Indians to make the attempt, I paid the brothers who had brought in
Mrs. Marble $500 each. I could raise only $500 at the agency in money,
and to make up the deficiency I resorted to a method, then novel, but
which has since become quite general. I issued a bond, which, although
done without authority, met with a better fate than many that followed
it,--it was paid at maturity.

As it was the first bond ever issued in what is now Minnesota, the two
Dakotas, Montana, and, I may add, the whole Northwest; it may be
interesting to give it in full:

"I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I,
CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux,
being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two
Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the
Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity
Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent,
and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining
white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du