Redwood Ferry owner Oliver Martell in his own words

This is Oliver Martell's story in his own words carried down through our family.
 
 
"Between seven and eight o'clock on the morning of August 18, 1862, I was standing in the door of my house by the ferry and Wacouta.
A Sioux Indian chiefs son appeared on the opposite side of the river, and shouted something to him (Wacouta) in the Indian langauge. Wacouta at once seemed excited and started quickly for the ferry and my partner ferried him across.  Then he and his son disappeared in the direction of the agency.  During the crossing of the river, firing of small arms and guns began at the agency, accompanied by the war whoops of the Indians.  The firing was sometimes desultory and again it sounded like a hundred or more being fired simultaneously.  As the ferry boat reached the other shore and the Indians left it, it was boarded by an Episcopal missionary, Rev. Hinman, and a party of ten or twelve men, woman and children, and immediately brought across. Mr Hinman told me that an employee of the government, John Lamb had been killed by the Indians,  but they had let him and his family pass unharmed.  There was no doubt that the Indians had broken out.  He asked me if I had any horses.  I replied that I had a team and a single horse in the stable.  Mr Hinman said "Give me the team to take my family and these people to the for and you saddle the single horse and go to Fort Ridgely and notify the commandant of the outbreak"  I immediately started for the fort riding as fast as possible, and notifying all the settlers along the road of the trouble.  On arriving at the for I reported to Captain Marsh, the sommandant who sent a man to St.Peter for reinforcements and prepared to go to the Agency at once.