University of Minnesota - Gopher Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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PREFACE. .N presenliino THE GOPHER of '92 bo bbe gbuclenbg and friends of blpe Universilty, ib i5 clearly oub of place lio lnake lslpe ugunl excuses: we are conficlenb of ibgs lnerihs, and regb well agsgurecl of ihg guccess. Xfe expecb, lpowevei, ho be crilsicigecl, and feel gsorry for lzlpe faullt-finclereg blge only blping lefb for ug is lio lialce your opinions for wlpall lilpey are worblp, :incl leh you bake lilpe bool: gpm- fl Dozzafp. i We 3191111 be in our offive ab various bixneg on cerllain clayps, ready bo explain any parbicularly fine joke or any unugually lmrillianb passageg liub znogb of bbe liilne we slpall be visilsincg friends all u clisbance, and any coln- xnunicabion delivered ho Yice-Preeiclenb Yalibaw will reaclp us in gafeby. There is u Qreuli deal in blpe book-bake ik, and profib by lilpe keen obgervaliiong- and wise juclQ1nenlJ5 of your 3uperior5. THE EDITORS.

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Qzhivatinn. To 'fbi Qlasg 'ol' '92, we, the Editors, dedicate fbislbonlg, For No doubt but sgz are the people, and wigdom qball die with you. i

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Henry' Fjasfings Sibley. ' ENRY HASTINGS SIBLEY was born in Detroit, Mich., Feb. 20, 1811. He died in St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 18, 1891. Between these two limits lies a life of honorable public activity. As a statesman, as a soldier, as a helper in all good work for the advancement of society, Gen. Sibley was among the foremost in Minnesota. When Wisconsin was admitted to the union, in 1848, the western boundary of the new state was fixed at the St. Croix rlver. The residuum of the former territory between the St. Croix and the Mississippi was thus left out, and the question of its exact status was undetermined. The inhabitants took the ground that it was unextinguished by the act of admis- sion, and hence remained the Wisconsin territory. In accord- ance with this view. Mr. Sibley was elected delegate to con- gress, and after a sharp contest was awarded his seat by that body. He immediately took measures to introduce a bill for the organization of a new territory, to include the residuum of Wisconsin and an extension west of the Mississippi. This bill he wisely induced Senator Stephen A. Douglas to adopt as his own, and it was accordingly brought into the senate Dec. 4, 1848. The contest was long and bitter, and it was only the untlrlng energy and tact of the delegate that carried it through. The bill became a law March 3, 1849, on the last day before the congress expired. I The new territory of Minnesota at once unanimously elected Henry H. Sibley its first delegate to congress, an elec- tion repeated in 1850. In 1853 he returned to private life in his home at Mendota. In the following year he was chosen from ,Dakota county to the territorial legislature. In the labor attending the admission of Minnesota to the union, in 1857-8, he had a prominent part, being chairman of one of the two conventions that simultaneously produced the constitu- tion under the enabling act. At the first state election Mr. Sibley was chosen governor, being thus the first governor of the state of Minnesota and the only Democratic governor the state has yet had. His term expired Jan. 1', 1860. The Sioux massacre, famous in the annals of our state, occurred in August, 1862. In the peril that confronted the border Gov: Ramsey at once availed himself of Mr. Sibleyls long experience in Indian affairs by appointing him colonel with command of all the troops levied to move against the hostiles. Col. Sibley justified the confidence reposed in him by a brilliant campaign. In one month and six days the frontier stations were relieved, the Sioux routed in two bat- tles, the captives released, and 425 of the worst offenders cap- tured and turned over to a military court for trial. For these services Col. Sibley received from President Lincoln the com- mission of brigadier general in the United States Army. In the following year an expedition was organized to drive the Sioux entirely out of the state. Of this force Gen. Sibley was given command. Again his efforts were crowned with brilliant success. In less than three months the column marched over a thousand miles and drove the enemy beyond the Missouri River, inflicting on them a heavy loss. The Sioux massacre was avenged.