42:" for riding 150 miles (240 km) on the night of April 19–20, 1866, first to warn others of an expected Native American attack and—when the threat proved false—back through a spring blizzard to intercept his request for reinforcements from the U.S. Army. Though the ordeal left him dependent on a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he went on to serve as an educator, civic leader, advocate for Native Americans, and historian.
246:. From the ridgeline, however, he found to his dismay that the wind must have shifted during the night, leading him 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Fort Wadsworth. The blizzard still raged and now Brown was forced to face into the wind as he corrected course. Soon his legs, fingers, and face were numb from the cold. He could have taken shelter in a wooded ravine, but Brown was determined to fulfill his mission.
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290:. One-eighth Dakota, Sam Brown became closely involved in Native–white relations. He was an advocate for the local Dakota bands, campaigning, for example, to secure annuities for Indigenous scouts who had assisted the U.S. Army. He worked to provide educational and religious services to Native Americans as a teacher and
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Marrying, he and his wife Phebe would have four children. Later in life he became interested in history, writing several articles and corresponding with other historians about frontier life and the Dakota War of 1862. Of his famous ride, though, he would merely say "it is nothing to talk about. I
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He reached Fort
Wadsworth's scout headquarters around 8:00 a.m. He dismounted and immediately collapsed, his legs unable to support him. He managed to see to his horse before crawling into the scout cabin and falling unconscious. He woke up in mid-afternoon and stumbled a quarter mile to the next
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Despite his exhaustion, Brown knew he had to correct his mistake. Nor could he wait till daylight, when a lone horseman on the prairie would be vulnerable to any hostile Native
Americans. Rouilliard provided a fresh horse and Brown set off to retrace his journey. However the sky had clouded over,
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Among a semi-military scouting unit composed of white frontiersmen, mixed-bloods, and allied
Eastern Dakotas, Brown helped locate hostile encampments, rode patrols, provided escorts, and served as an interpreter and courier. He distinguished himself in his duties and was promoted to scout inspector
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Sam Brown earned regional fame for his 1866 ride, enhanced by his civic achievements and relation to a major figure in
Minnesota history. Shortly after his death, citizens of Browns Valley successfully lobbied the state to establish a memorial. Now known as
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for mobility. Brown also wrote that the ride "deranged my eyes, dimmed my eyesight, paralyzed my muscular powers, deprived me of the use of my legs, and of all natural power of motion, and permanently impaired my general health."
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station at midnight with his warning, chief scout Joseph
Rouilliard assured him that the tracks had been left by messengers dispatched by Brown's own father to call Dakota in western Minnesota to a peace council at
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Sam Brown was just 21 when he made his epic ride, covering 150 miles (240 km) in 15 hours in horrific conditions. He was never able to walk again, and spent the rest of his life using a
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Brown left Fort
Wadsworth just as night was falling and rode the 55 miles (89 km) across the dark, nearly featureless prairie in just five hours, navigating by the
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scout's cabin, where he was able to get word to his commanding officer
Lieutenant James F. Cochrane, who dispatched a courier to Fort Abercrombie to cancel the alert.
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broke out. He was among the numerous mixed-blood and noncombatant Dakota taken captive by Dakota combatants during the conflict. Most were freed during the
239:. With no landmarks or stars, he simply kept the wind on his back to stay on course. Twice his mount broke through ice, spilling Brown into frigid rivers.
315:, it includes interpretive signage and the 1864 scout headquarters building, which is operated by the Browns Valley Historical Society as a museum.
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He had just passed the halfway point thinking he would outrun the storm when a violent wind nearly tore him from the saddle. This was followed by
224:. Brown immediately realized that the false alarm he'd sent to Fort Abercrombie could mistakenly lead U.S. soldiers into provoking an actual war.
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Western Dakota continued to resist U.S. expansion. Under the command of his own father, Brown was ultimately posted to
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at an
Episcopal mission, superintendent of the Sisseton Manual Labor Boarding School, and editor of a publication called
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did my duty as I saw it. That is all." He died in Browns Valley on August 29, 1925, at the age of 80.
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278:, and stagecoach inn. Sam Brown opened a post office in the building and became the town's first
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On April 19, 1866, a Dakota chief, OĂĽiduze, reported to Brown that five days earlier he had seen
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200:. He then set off himself to alert a scout encampment deep in "unfriendly" territory on the
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that turned to hail then snow, and soon enough Brown found himself in the grip of a spring
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Brown's father Joseph gained title to 1,000 acres (400 ha) and founded a town in
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covering the North Star, and he could see a storm approaching from the west.
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in March 1866. He was soon supervising scouts for the entire district.
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Everyone's
Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks
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At daybreak Brown found himself on the western slope of the
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tracks from what he took to be a war party heading from the
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and politician. His mother was Susan Freniere Brown, a
22:(March 7, 1845 – August 29, 1925), better known as
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410:. City of Browns Valley, MN. 2010
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344:. Minnesota Historical Society
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479:People from Dakota Territory
339:"Brown, Joseph R, 1805-1870"
109:. This fort, later renamed
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428:Meyer, Roy Willard (1991).
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494:People from Minnesota
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408:"About Us"
393:2016-07-21
348:2016-07-21
319:References
280:postmaster
262:Later life
255:wheelchair
213:North Star
46:Early life
38:" or the "
268:Minnesota
222:Fort Rice
217:Elm River
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24:Sam Brown
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158:May 2024
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