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Spirit Lake Massacre Iowa's bloodiest
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INDEPTHIowa
The Spirit Lake Massacre, one of the most notorious events in the history of the state, occurred in Dickinson County on March 8-9, 1857, by members of the Wahpekute Sioux Tribe.

Historians disagree on the exact cause of the uprising. for years, most have agreed that members of the tribe were upset by the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux, which resulted in the Native Americans ceding a large portion of land in Minnesota and Iowa.  Others point to the death of in 1852 of an Indian leader named Sintomnaduta who was axed to death, Sintomnaduta was axed to death by an alleged  named Henry Lott. Sintomnaduta’s family--nine women and children—also died in the brutal attack.

Sintomnaduta’s brother, Inkpaduta, informed an army officer at Fort Dodge of the murder but the prosecutor responded by nailing Sintomnaduta’s head to a pole over his house, and left it there. Lott left Iowa and never returned. That was followed by the brutal winter of 1856-1857, which led to widespread starvation among Inkpaduta’s tribe. Among those who died was Inkpaduta’s young granddaughter.

Inkpaduta was among the Native Americans who left the reservation in Minnesota when the
government’s promise of money and food didn’t prove true. He had come to Iowa to hunt for wildlife along the Little Sioux River, near Smithland, in Woodbury County. But skittish settlers were certain that the Indians were stealing corn from settlers. A group of armed settlers order them to leave the area and took their weapons, promising they would be returned when the Dakota Sioux left the area. The Indians, angry, moved north through the prairie towns of Cherokee and Peterson, stealing weapons and killing livestock along the way.

Inkapaduta and his men reached the the area
now known as the Iowa Great Lakes on the morning of Sunday, March 7, just as the Rowland Gardner family was sitting down to breakfast. The Sioux demanded food and ammo, but the scene was tense and one of the Native Americans even raised a gun at a white settler. When two neighbors arrived, the Sioux left.

Rowland Gardner wanted to warn the 40 or so other settlers scattered around Dickinson County, and suggest they all gather together until tempers cooled. Two men living with the Gardners went to spread the word, but at 3 p.m.  the Gardners heard gunshots. Two hours, Rowland Gardner thought it safe to investigate and left the cabin, only to return almost immediately with a warning: “Nine Indians are coming and we are all doomed to die!"

His wife tried to calm him and suggested they negotiate with the Indians in order to avoid a fight. Inkpaduta and his men entered and demanded more flour. When Gardner, turned toward the flour barrel, he was killed, followed by the rest of the family, save Abigail, who was taken back to Inkpaduta’s camp, about a mile away. A total of 20 settlers were killed on the first day of the massacre; one Dakota was wounded.
The next day’s victims were taken by surprise, cabin by cabin. Four families were destroyed, although two of the women--Lydia Noble, age 20, and Elizabeth Thatcher, 19--were taken captive. Mrs. Thatcher’s husband was away at the time; Mrs. Noble was not so fortunate: she witnessed the deaths of her husband and two children. A few days later, 17-year-old Margaret Marble was taken captive near Spirit Lake after her husband was murdered.

The four captives were given moccasins and told to braid their hair and paint their faces in the Dakota style. Like the Dakota women, they chopped wood, put up the tents, cooked the food, and carried heavy packs as they traveled. The group headed to Minnesota, where Inkapaduta’s men attacked settlers near present day Jackson, then withdrew, heading west.

They headed north into Minnesota. Inkapaduta’s warriors attacked the town of Springfield (now Jackson), then withdrew, heading west toward the Big Sioux River. A Fort Dodge militia company left for Dickinson County on March 25, although heavy snowfalls had create perilous traveling conditions; two members of the militia froze to death in Palo Alto County.

Mrs. Thatcher died shortly after her capture, clubbed and then shot while crossing the Big Sioux River. They continued westward through springtime, through present-day South Dakota. On May 6, two reservation Dakotas bought Mrs. Marble, taking her to the Minnesota authorities in St. Paul. About a month later, Mrs. Noble was bludgeoned to death by Inkpaduta’s son, Roaring Cloud.

Abbie was sold to the Yanktons, who in turn sold her to three Dakota men who had come in order to rescue her.

Freed after three month’s captivity, Abbie Gardner’s life didn’t improve much. She endured a failed marriage, two house fires, the deaths of her children, and was besot by  poor health. In 1891, she bought her parents’ farm and set up shop in the cabin, operating it as a tourist attraction from which she sold frontier memorabilia and copies of her book about the massacre. The cabin stands to this day.

Inkpaduta remained in the region and was present during an uprising in 1862 which left 500 white settlers dead, although no one knows what role the feared chief played. After that he headed west and joined with the Lakotas and befriending Sitting Bull. He was listed among the great men present at the Little Bighorn in 1876, when Custer was killed in battle. He eventually fled with Sitting Bull to Canada, never to return. He died in Manitoba in 1881.

Artists rendition of the Spirit Lake Massacre