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Slaughter Slough
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Slaughter Slough
Slaughter Slough is a wetland in southwestern Minnesota, named for being the site of the Lake Shetek Massacre during the Dakota War of 1862. It is located in Murray County east of Lake Shetek. On August 20, 1862, about 25-30 Sisseton warriors and women led by Chief Lean Bear of the Sleepy-Eye band attacked the Euro-American settlers living nearby, killing 15 and taking 3 women and 8 children captive. 21 settlers escaped and made difficult treks across the prairie to safety.
Today the site is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Slaughter Slough Waterfowl Production Area, a component of the Windom Wetland Management District. It is developed with interpretive signage, a short trail, and a memorial.
About 50 Euro-American settlers from perhaps a dozen families were living along the east shore of Lake Shetek in August 1862. They were quite isolated, 40 miles (64 km) from the nearest settlement and even farther from any sizeable town; it was over 60 miles (97 km) east to New Ulm or 70 miles (110 km) southwest to Sioux Falls.
The first homesteaders arrived in 1855. By 1862 at least 9 families had cabins spread along 5 miles (8.0 km) of lakeshore. Listed roughly north to south they were the Meyers, the Hurds, the Kochs, the Irelands, the Eastlicks, the Duleys, the Smiths, the Wrights, and the Everetts. There were also a few single men.
Prior to the hostilities the settlers had traded with the local eastern Dakota people. Some spoke the Dakota language passably.
The growing Euro-American population, however, was making it increasingly difficult for the easternmost Dakota people to pursue their traditional lifestyle. Resettlement on reservations, treaty violations by the United States, and late or unfair annuity payments by Indian agents caused increasing hunger and hardship among the Dakota. Pushed to the breaking point, a council of Dakota leaders decided to wage war on the whites on August 17, 1862.
The declaration of war reached White Lodge and Lean Grizzly Bear, the chiefs of two bands living northwest of Lake Shetek. Their villages were Sisseton Dakota, a sub-tribe still living outside the reservation. They had not been signatory to any treaties with the United States. About 40 warriors and a few women set out to remove "white" encroachment on their land. A third Sisseton band, headed by Old Pawn, was camped near the Wrights' cabin at the south end of the Lake Shetek settlement.
On the morning of Wednesday, August 20, 1862, the eastern Dakota entered the settlement from the north. At the first farm they simply trampled through the cornfield and vandalized a fence, leaving the Meyers family perplexed but unharmed. At the next farm, the Hurds', circumstances changed. Phineas Hurd and another settler were long overdue from scouting land in Dakota Territory. Now his wife Alomina recognized that one of the Dakota men was riding her husband's horse. Some of the men followed her into the dwelling, which woke one of her two children. John Voigt, a hired hand, carried the crying toddler outside. Without warning one of the Sisseton killed Voigt while not harming the child. Many more attackers then looted the farm. Mrs. Hurd was told that she and the children would be spared if she didn't warn the other settlers. Refusing them to take provisions, some attackers escorted the Hurds 3 miles (4.8 km) from home and pointed them in the direction of New Ulm.
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Slaughter Slough
Slaughter Slough is a wetland in southwestern Minnesota, named for being the site of the Lake Shetek Massacre during the Dakota War of 1862. It is located in Murray County east of Lake Shetek. On August 20, 1862, about 25-30 Sisseton warriors and women led by Chief Lean Bear of the Sleepy-Eye band attacked the Euro-American settlers living nearby, killing 15 and taking 3 women and 8 children captive. 21 settlers escaped and made difficult treks across the prairie to safety.
Today the site is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Slaughter Slough Waterfowl Production Area, a component of the Windom Wetland Management District. It is developed with interpretive signage, a short trail, and a memorial.
About 50 Euro-American settlers from perhaps a dozen families were living along the east shore of Lake Shetek in August 1862. They were quite isolated, 40 miles (64 km) from the nearest settlement and even farther from any sizeable town; it was over 60 miles (97 km) east to New Ulm or 70 miles (110 km) southwest to Sioux Falls.
The first homesteaders arrived in 1855. By 1862 at least 9 families had cabins spread along 5 miles (8.0 km) of lakeshore. Listed roughly north to south they were the Meyers, the Hurds, the Kochs, the Irelands, the Eastlicks, the Duleys, the Smiths, the Wrights, and the Everetts. There were also a few single men.
Prior to the hostilities the settlers had traded with the local eastern Dakota people. Some spoke the Dakota language passably.
The growing Euro-American population, however, was making it increasingly difficult for the easternmost Dakota people to pursue their traditional lifestyle. Resettlement on reservations, treaty violations by the United States, and late or unfair annuity payments by Indian agents caused increasing hunger and hardship among the Dakota. Pushed to the breaking point, a council of Dakota leaders decided to wage war on the whites on August 17, 1862.
The declaration of war reached White Lodge and Lean Grizzly Bear, the chiefs of two bands living northwest of Lake Shetek. Their villages were Sisseton Dakota, a sub-tribe still living outside the reservation. They had not been signatory to any treaties with the United States. About 40 warriors and a few women set out to remove "white" encroachment on their land. A third Sisseton band, headed by Old Pawn, was camped near the Wrights' cabin at the south end of the Lake Shetek settlement.
On the morning of Wednesday, August 20, 1862, the eastern Dakota entered the settlement from the north. At the first farm they simply trampled through the cornfield and vandalized a fence, leaving the Meyers family perplexed but unharmed. At the next farm, the Hurds', circumstances changed. Phineas Hurd and another settler were long overdue from scouting land in Dakota Territory. Now his wife Alomina recognized that one of the Dakota men was riding her husband's horse. Some of the men followed her into the dwelling, which woke one of her two children. John Voigt, a hired hand, carried the crying toddler outside. Without warning one of the Sisseton killed Voigt while not harming the child. Many more attackers then looted the farm. Mrs. Hurd was told that she and the children would be spared if she didn't warn the other settlers. Refusing them to take provisions, some attackers escorted the Hurds 3 miles (4.8 km) from home and pointed them in the direction of New Ulm.
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