Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/556

 476 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY Spring creek in the summer of 1854. were accustomed to visil I [awley's shanty. One day they had a quarrel with him, in regard to some bargains, in which he had deceived them. He ordered them to leave his premises, but they refused, and continued to annoy him, till, in anger, In- shot at them, and wounded one of them so thai be soon after died. There was now a great outcry in thr Indian camp. Every white person who came near was threat- rued and ordered away. People were under the impression that revenge was meditated upon somebody. Hawley had fortified his shanty with loaded rifles. It was reported thai lie threatened to shoot the first man who came to lake him. The few settlers in Red Wing, Burnside and Vasa were very much alarmed. The alarm almost created a stampede. A deputation, consisting of Dr. V. AY. Sweney, Lawyer I'. Sandford, and the writer, all beinsi' well known by the Indians, visited their camp to make peace, if possible. We were kindly received, and a Tier a short talk, were convinced that they did not intend to injure any one excepl Hawley. Whatever became of him we do not know. It was reported that his shanty was descried very soon after. The Indians watched him day and night, and he was probably hilled in his last attempl to make his escape. Early in March, 1866, the regular weekly papers contained notices headed "Oil Well in Red Wing!" "Steady Flow of Petro- leum!"' "A -Joint Stock Company Organized," etc. The facts of the case were thai a party of men had keen engaged in digging for water For household purposes in the eastern part of the vil- lage, between Barn and Sorin bluffs. They found water twenty feet below the surface, hut not sufficienl in quantity for the pur- poses required. Consequently, they continued to dig deeper. The nexl morning, after having found water, they commenced dipping oiii that which had run in during the uight. Immediately tin 1 strong odor of petroleum was realized, hut they kept on digging. And the next morning the same thing happened. There was clear evidence of oil on the water before it was stirred. A portion was saved for visitors to smell of during the day. Every morning, for several days in succession, some si^ns of oil were apparent in the water drawn out of that well. A joint stock company was actually organized. The stock was all taken, officers chosen, and the operations commenced. There were some doubting Thomases, however, who would wait for a dearer view. Soon after the news had gone abroad in the papers under the headline "Steady Plow of Petroleum in East Red Wing," and almost everybody seemed to have oil on the brain, the doubters set a watch over the famous well during the dark and black night. And when the stillness of midnight had settled down upon all