Page "lore" Paragraph 555

At Fort Garry some of the Swiss also decided to cast their lot with the United States, and in 1823 several families paid guides to take them to Fort Snelling.

The disasters of 1825-1826 caused more to leave.

After heavy rains and an onslaught of mice, snow fell on October 15, 1825, and remained on the ground through a winter so cold that the ice on the Red was five feet thick.

In April came a rapid thaw that produced high waters which did not recede until mid-June.

On June 24 more than 400 families started the three-month trip across the plains to the Mississippi.

By fall, 443 survivors of this arduous journey were clustered about Fort Snelling, but most of them were sent on to Galena and St. Louis, with a few going as far as Vevay, Indiana, a notable Swiss center in the United States.

In 1837, 157 Red River people with more than 200 cattle were living on the reservation at Fort Snelling.