JARED WALDO DANIELS:

Daniels was born in Stratford, New Hampshire (June 15, 1827), the son of Joseph and Roxanne (Hatch) Daniels. His early occupations were farming and cabinet making, after which he studied medicine, graduating from Bellevue Medical College, New York City. Daniels came to Minnesota (1855) to visit his brother Asa Wilder Daniels, who served as the physician at the Lower Sioux Agency. Jared was appointed physician to the Upper Sioux Agency that same year, and assistant surgeon of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment in 1862. He participated in the U.S.-Dakota War (1862) and the resulting Sibley Expedition (1862-1863); served as Indian agent to the Sisseton Dakota at Fort Wadsworth (1869-1871); and engaged in many other areas of Indian affairs (1871-1887). Daniels died in Los Angeles on May 3, 1904. He married Hortense Eugenie Beardsley on June 23, 1856.

More biographical information will be found in the first folder of the collection.

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The collection consists of eleven chapters, comprising Daniels' reminiscences of his experiences as physician at the Upper Sioux Agency and during the punitive expedition against the Dakota Indians. The reminiscences are typed copies of originals owned by family members.

Chapter one is a brief biographical sketch of Daniels.

Chapter three describes the Yellow Medicine Indian Agency at the junction of the Minnesota and Yellow Medicine rivers at the time that Daniels arrived there (1855), when it served the Sisseton and Wahpeton tribes. There are descriptions of the agency, its geographical features, buildings; the presence of missionaries Thomas S. Williamson and Stephen R. Riggs; his friendly feelings towards the Indians; agency social life; and Indian women, including their clothing and customs.

Chapters two, four, five, and six describe his activities during the Spirit Lake Massacre (1857), the Dakota Conflict (1862), and the Sibley and Sully expeditions (1863-1864) against the Dakota. These chapters contain eyewitness accounts of the conflicts discussing the living conditions of the Dakota that caused the outbreaks; the battle of New Ulm and Wood Lake (1862), mentioning many instances of Indian cooperation with the whites; his appointments as surgeon on the Sibley and Sully expeditions, with mention of marches made by troops; and notes on skirmishes, weather conditions, and other details. Daniels expresses his views and those of others that the expeditions were a waste of time and money.

Chapters seven, eight, and ten contain brief vignettes of individual Dakota: John Other Day, Shaska (Chaska), and Standing Buffalo, a Sisseton chief. Daniels describes events in Other Day's life, his decision at an early age to enter the white world, and his aid to whites during the U.S.-Dakota War. A short article on Chaska describes Daniels' care of an Indian by that name. Chapter ten describes the illness at the Upper Sioux Agency of Standing Buffalo, who was presumed dead a number of times but revived by Daniels, and his death in 1874.

Chapter nine, entitled "Sisseton Agency," is one of the more detailed sections of the reminiscences, describing Daniels' tenure at the agency (1868-1871). He was sent there by Bishop Henry B. Whipple to insure that the monies appropriated for the Sissetons and Wahpetons were distributed properly. He describes his trip from St. Peter, Minnesota to Fort Wadsworth, Dakota Territory; conditions of life among the Indians; discussions of various aspects of the treaties; construction of buildings, including a blacksmith shop, boarding house, and the agent's house; figures on the amount of crops grown; his travels to other parts of the surrounding country, including Fort Totten and Devil's Lake; holiday celebrations; and general comments by Daniels on the progress made by Indians.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Jared Waldo Daniels Reminiscences. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 1845B

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, August 1997

Catalog ID number: 09-00320344

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865.

Indian women -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.

Indians of North America -- Health and hygiene -- Minnesota.

Federal aid to Indians.

Indians of North America -- Minnesota -- Medicine.

Sisseton Indians.

Dakota Indians -- Government relations.

Dakota Indians -- Treaties.

Sibley Expedition, 1863.

Sully Expeditions, 1863-1865.

Places:

Fort Sisseton (S.D.).

Minnesota -- Description and travel.

Minnesota River (S.D. and Minn.).

Persons:

Inkpaduta, -approximately 1879.

Other Day, John, ca. 1818-1869.

Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891.

Sully, Alfred, 1821-1879.

Whipple, Henry Benjamin, 1822-1901.

Types of Documents:

Reminiscences.

Occupations:

Physicians.

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