BIOGRAPHY OF 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 Dakota Conflict 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.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
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 Dakota Conflict. 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.