p. 743

the Chippewas and Sioux (or Dacotas) in the summer of 1839 A party of Chippewas had visited Fort Snelling and in returning home in two divisions they killed a Sioux, which was sufficient to excite all the savage propensities of that warlike tribe. Runners were immediately dispatched to all the lands in the neighborhood, and by ten o' clock the same morning two large war parties had collected and were gone in pursuit of both divisions of the Chippewas. The party of Chippewas under the command of Strong Ground their chief encamped at the head of the Lower St. Clair Lake in a marshy thicket partially surrounded by high bluffs, and bordered by the lake in front. They encamped in supposed security, but at the dawn of day the Sioux descened upon them with great fury, murdering men, women, and children. They defended themselves bravely, surrounding their chief and driving the Sioux up the rocky precipice, but scarce any of them escaped alive. A still more disasterous battle was fought the same morning, with the other division of the Chippewas. The number killed in these engagements is supposed to be two hundred.