Reminiscences of John H. Charles. 49 



about |40. A common plan was to enter a quarter sec- 

 tion at |1.25 per acre and. sell it at once on a year's time 

 for from |2.50 to |3.00 per acre. By going east an agent 

 could sell such a. piece for |4 an acre. There was much 

 politics in the land business. Agents were partial and 

 not all comers were treated with equal fairness. 



ADMITTED TO THE BAK. 



Early in 1858 Col. Means and myself were admitted 

 to the bar. He had some knowledge of the law, but I 

 had none except what little I had picked up while I was 

 Justice of the Peace. 



But the boys were bound to have me be a lawyer, 

 so Col. Means and I gave a supper. Judge Marshall F. 

 Moore of the District Court presided. He appointed a 

 committee to examine us. They asked, us only one or 

 two questions, and then certified that we had passed our 

 examinations. In this way we were admitted to the bar, 

 or, as the boys put it, we were admitted to be "eternally 

 at law and solicitous of good chances." 



I never practiced law in spite of my highly success- 

 ful examination for admission to the bar. In fact, about 

 the only advantage I received was to escape jury service 

 thereafter. 



INDIANS. SOLDIERS. GRASSHOPPERS. 



In May, 1861, I was appointed by President Lincoln 

 Indian agent for all the Indians on the Upper Missouri 

 River. I did not accept the appointment because I was 

 to be married the next week in Ohio, but I still have 

 the commission in my possession. 



In July, 1861, we had an Indian scare here. On the 

 9th the Inkpaduta band^ of the Sioux rose and murdered 

 Thomas Roberts and Henry Cordway [Cordua] in 

 Bacon's Hollow, now Greenville, while they were in their 

 fields hoeing corn. It caused a great flurry among the 

 people and stirred them to action. 



1. Renegade Indians of the tribe of the Santee Sioux, undoubt- 

 edly, but probably not of the followers of Inkpaduta. 



