Land Claims
When Phelan and Evans were discharged from Fort Snelling they both decided to make land claims in what is now Saint Paul. Hays, who was expecting to be discharged several months later, made plans with Phelan to make a claim for Hays nearby on the provision that Hays would later reimburse Phelan. Phelan selected a claim in what is now Downtown Saint Paul and built a log house to spend the winter in while he waited for Hays to be discharged. Phelan started a little opposition to Pierre Parrant or Pig's Eye, the first person to settle in Saint Paul. Hays was discharged in April 1839 and lived with Phelan in the log cabin until September 1839. The two did not get along very well according to other settlers near them. In September, Hays's body was found murdered in the Mississippi River near Carver's Cave by a friendly Indian. His body was badly beaten which to his neighbors indicated a "desperate murder"
Read more about this topic: Edward Phelan
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