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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 




3 1833 01066 7019 



"genealogy 

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HON. GEORGE \V. kim;m:u:y 



HISTORY OF 

DAKOTA TERRITORY 

BY 

GEORGE W. KINGSBURY 



SOUTH DAKOTA 

ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE 

EDITED BY 

GEORGE MARTIN SMITH, B.A., A.M. 



ILLUSTRATED 



VOLUME 



CHICAGO 

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
1915 



Copyright 1915 

BY 

THE S. J. CLARKE PUB. CO. 

CHICAGO 



;■& 








1151088 



TO MY WIFE 



Upbia JUarta (&tone) Iitngstmrp 



\ 



WHO FOR THIRTY-FOUR YEARS SHARED WITH ME THE PLEASURES AND 

TRIBULATIONS OF THE PIONEER ERA OF DAKOTA, THIS HISTORY OF 

THE TERRITORY OF DAKOTA IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 

BY THE AUTHOR AND COMPILER. SHE IS EVERY WAY 

WORTHY OF THIS TRIBUTE AND ALL THE PRAISE 

THEREBY TO BE IMPLIED. SHE WAS A 

TRUE, NOBLE, KIND AND UNSELFISH 

WIFE, MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. 



A WHITE GRAVESTONE, IN THE YANKTON CEMETERY, SUITABLY INSCRIBED. 

MARKS THE PLACE WHERE HER MORTAL BODY WAS LAID 

TO REST IN FEBRUARY. A. D. 1898. 



INTRODUCTION 



Regarding the early inhabitants of this country, trustworthy history goes no 
farther into the past than to the discovery and settlement of the Atlantic region 
by the Europeans. Conjectures have been formed from the traditions of tbe 
Indians, and from relics discovered in ancient mounds and earthworks taken in 
connection with the course of events narrated in sacred and profane history, 
that lead to the belief that this country was peopled at a very early period by 
colonies from Eastern Asia. 

Missionaries who met the Dahkotah Indians late in the Sixteenth Century, 
found them in the country between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, bordering 
the Great Lakes, and at war with the Algonquins, and relate that they had a 
tradition that their ancestors came from the North across a great water, being 
driven in war from their native country. From this tradition and other similar 
evidence, it was inferred that their progenitors were once inhabitants of China 
and Tartary, and from thence found their way to the islands of the Northern 
Pacific Ocean and thence to the American continent. This theory is rendered 
plausible by the similarity of language as well as by the physical resemblance of 
the two peoples. Tbe word slave in Chinese is called "shunko;" and in the 
Dakota tongue, dog is pronounced "shunka." The theory is that this emigration 
at first was made up of a civilized people, not as advanced as the civilization of 
the present day. but possessing and practicing many of the arts of a civilized 
race — that centuries later these were followed by a people of a fierce anil warlike 
nature, though probably of the same racial family, who were far more numerous 
than the first immigrants, whom they treated as enemies and drove them from 
their homes into the more southern climes of Mexico anil Central America. It 
is claimed that Tartary, from whence these immigrants mainly came, hail at one 
time been well advanced in civilization, which would seem to be probable of all 
the aboriginal peoples of Asia. 

In further confirmation of this theory is the old Indian tradition that when 
the Indian tribes of the Mississippi Valley migrated across the Uleghenies and 
descended the Atlantic Slope, they found a wilderness abounding in game and 
fish and wild fruits and flowers, but not inhabited by human beings and that 
the Indian nation found there by the early European discoverers were tin de 
scendants of those wdio had migrated from tin- West. 

Accepting with confidence the biblical account of the nativitj of the human 
race and oilier events connected with the primitive historj of mankind, we are 
led to believe, as the most rational theory, that tin- Western Hemisphere was 
first peopled by emigrants from Asia, who were descended I nun an ancestry 
that possessed much of what we know of civilization, and who believed in God, 
whom they designated a- the Great Spirit, who possessed the power and the will 
to punish or reward them according as their deeds mighl merit. Their faith in 

v 



vi INTRODUCTION 

a future life is attested by their funeral rites and burial customs. Accepting 
this theory as best explaining the origin of the first inhabitants of this continent, 
we must conclude that the western portion of North America was inhabited by 
human beings some time before the peopling of the eastern portion and the 
Atlantic Slope. 

With regard to the primitive tribes of Southern Dakota, Charlevoix relates 
that nearly two centuries ago, the Iowas, Omahas, and Ottoes, were in possession 
of Southern Dakota, and roamed and warred through the regions watered by 
the Des Moines, Big Sioux, and James, and that these tribes annually assembled 
in peace around their council fires at the great Red Pipestone Quarry. From 
here they were gradually driven south and west by the great nation of Dakotas 
moving down from the north. 

The period of this great retrocession of Indian nations, Hennepin informs us, 
was some time before the Eleventh Century, or over nine hundred years ago. Up 
to that era the Dakotas had remained as one nation, governed by one tongue, and 
were called by the French (Nadoues-sioux, meaning enemy), from the latter 
termination of which word is derived the word "Sioux." But during the great 
war and flight from the north, they had become disbanded and scattered into 
separate war parties, and in order to be distinguished from other tribes of the 
plain they called themselves Lakotahs, meaning the "friend-born" or friendly 
people. Since that period both history and tradition agree in placing the Dakotas 
as sovereigns of the vast region of country between the Mississippi and the 
mountains, and embracing the territory of Dakota. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

LOUISIANA— HOW NAMED AND ITS CESSION TO THE 
UNITED STATES 

THE TERRITORY OF LOUISIANA ITS DISCOVERY BY LASALLE ITS BOUNDARU 

ITS PURCHASE BY THE UNITED STATES INCIDENTS LEADING TO THE TREATY 

OF CESSION I 



CHAPTER II 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 

thomas jefferson's efforts to secure the exploration of the Missouri 
valley first exploration planned from eastern russia second at- 
tempt thwarted by the french third effort under lewis and clark 

successful- — jefferson's message urging an expedition congress 

favors lewis and clark on the way — enter the future dakota, 

august 21, 1804 — mineral poison in the water — elk and buffalo the 

vermillion valley and spirit mound 7 

CHAPTER III 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 

(Continued) 

AT THE MOUTH OF JAMES RIVER — YANKTON INDIANS SEND FRIENDLY GREET- 
INGS AT THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF DAKOTA — FOUR DAYS COUNCIL WITH 

YANKTONS AMERICAN FLAG UNFURLED ADMIRABLE SPEECHES A M 

SURRENDER INDIAN BAND STRIKE-TH E-REE THE FIRST — CENSUS — CALL 

BLUFF— FORTIFICATIONS AT BON HOMME ISLAND IN RUINS— PRINCE MADOC 
AND THE MANDAN INDIANS 1 - 



CHAPTER IV 
LEWIS AND CLARK I EXPEDITION 

(Continued) • 

DEPART FROM BON HOMME ISLAND — PRAIRIE DOG VILLAGE— F] VNNEL SHIRTS DIS- 
TRIBUTED TO THE MEN — A SINKING SANDBAR- LOISEL'S FORT — TETON [NDIANS 
— INDIANS NOT FRIENDLY — MAKE EFFORTS TO DETAIN EXPLORERS — PLAIN TALK 
FROM CAPTAIN CLARK — DOG FEAST — TETON CUSTOMS, APPAREL, NATIVE WOMEN 

OFFICER OF THE DAY AGAIN UNDER WA1 AGAINST Dill KM I MM 

TION 23 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER V 
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 

(Concluded) 

CHEYENNE RIVER ; HOW NAMED MEET A WHITE TRADER THE BLACK MOUN- 
TAINS — CHEYENNE INDIANS FRENCHMAN TAKES PASSAGE AN ARICKARA 

VILLAGE — MR. GRAVELINES — THE NEGRO, YORK, ATTRACTS ADMIRATION — IN- 
DIANS DO NOT WHIP CHILDREN CAPTURING GOATS — INDIANS NUMEROUS 

ENTER MANDAN COUNTRY — MR. MCCRACKEN — THE MINATAREES SEARCH FOR 

WINTEE QUARTERS — A PRAIRIE FIRE. AND AN INDIAN MOTHER'S PRESENCE OF 
MIND WIN 111; CAMP LOCATED — FORT MANDAN WINTER EMPLOYMENTS, PAS- 
TIMES. VISITORS — LEWIS AN'D CLARK'S CAMPS 29 

CHAPTER VI 
THE FUR TRADE 

FUR TRADE THE PIONEER INDUSTRY OF NORTH AMERICA JOHN JACOB ASTOR AND 

HIS ENTERPRISES THE CHOTEAUS, LISA AND OTHERS — FORT PIERRE CHOTEAU 

— ASTOR EXPEDITIONS BY LAND AND SEA — WASHINGTON HUNT'S PERILOUS AND 
TRAGIC JOURNEY — THE WAR OF l8l2 — ASTOR SELLS TO CHOTEAU 39 

CHAPTER VII 
THE FUR TRADE AND THE' FIRST STEAMBOAT 

FORT PIERRE CHOTEAU — FORT VERMILLION AND BENTON INTRODUCING THE 

STEAMBOAT, A MACKINAW BOAT; AND THE FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE UPPER 
MISSOURI — MAGNITUDE OF THE FUR TRADE — THE TRADERS 45 

CHAPTER VIII 
tNDIAN WAR— BRITISH TRADERS STIR UP TROUBLE 

FIRST BATTLE ON DAKOTA SOIL BETWEEN UNITED STATES TROOPS AND INDIANS 

HOW IT HAPPENED COLONEL LEAVENWORTH CHASTISES THE ARICKAREES 

THE YANKTON INDIANS All) GOVERNMENT FORCES MISCHIEVOUS INFLUENCE 

01 BRITISH TRADERS — AMERICAN OFFICERS CRITICISE THE INGRATE FOREIGNERS 
— FIRST INDIAN PEACE COMMISSION 53 

CHAPTER IX 
FIRST WHITE OCCUPATION OF DAKOTA— CAPTAIN TODD 

BEGINNING OF WHITE 0CC1 PATION OF DAKOTA — SIOUX WAR OF 1855 HARNEY'S 

MILITARY EXPEDITION AND MARCH To THE MISSOURI — FORT PIERRE PURCHASED 
[TS FIRST GARRISON BY STEAMBOATS — HARNEY'S DISAPPOINTMENT AND IN- 
DIGNATION' — POST Nor -1 -ok MILITARY PURPOSES FORT RANDALL 

LOCATED— FORT CONSTRUCTED — FORT PIERRE ABANDONED ROSTER OF HAR 

NEY'S I oki is CAPTAIN Todd 60 

CHAPTER X 

CI* >l ' iGICAL DAKl >TA FIRST LAND SURVEYS 

GEOLOGIl M SIOUX FALLS ROCK -THE RED PIPESTONE — THE MISSOURI RIVER AND 
mill R WAT] R COURSES — FIRST GOVERNM] NT SURVEYS — ORIGIN OF THE UNITED 
STATES SYSTEM OF SURVEYS- PRI EMPTIONS, HOMESTEADS, AND TIMBER CUL- 
TURE CLAIMS— PUBLIC LANDS -PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND LAKES 68 



CONTENTS ix 

CHAPTER XI 
EARLIEST WHITE SETTLEMENTS 

RED RIVER OF THE NORTH — SIOUX FALLS AND MEDARY — PEASE AND HAMILTON 
SETTLEMENTS — YANKTON, VERMILLION, AND BONHOMME- BIG SIOUX POINT 
— MIXVTLLE — ELK POINT 79 

CHAPTER XII 
RED RIVER OF THE NORTH COUNTRY 

RED RIVER OF THE NORTH; EARLIEST OF DAKOTA SETTLEMENTS — HUDSON'S BAY 
COMPANY AND NORTHWEST FUR COMPANY' PEOPLE AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 

FIRST INHABITANTS PEMMICAN GAVE NAME TO PEMBINA — VERENDRYE, A 

CANADIAN, EARLY EXFLORER LORD SELKIRK FAMOUS PIONEER — NORTHWEST 

FUR COMPANY' FORT DOUGLASS — DEVELOPMENT OF FUR INDUSTRY — RED RIVER 

HALF-BREEDS — FOUNDING OF PEMBINA — MAJOR LONG AND THE INTERNATIONAL 
BOUNDARY — EARLY AMERICAN SETTLERS — THE CHIPPEWA TREATY — FORT ABER- 

CROMBIE STEAMBOATING ON THE RED RIVER — PUBLIC LAND SURVEYS — 

BOUNDARY LINE CORRECTED BY ARMSTRONG RED RIVER ELECTIONS — HALF- 
BREEDS A HAPPY PEOPLE — RED RIVER COUNTIES — TODD AND JAYNES CONTEST 
FOR DELEGATE — REPEAL OF LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT — NEW BOUNDARIES 
FOR PEMBINA COUNTY S 1 

CHAPTER XIII 
SIOUX FALLS AND BIG SIOUX VALLEY 

SIOUX FALLS, MEDARY AND FLANDREAU — EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS — DUBUQUE AND 
ST. PAUL COMPANIES LOCATE TOWNSITES IN 1856-57 — DRIV1 01 1 BY YANK- 
TONNAIS INDIANS; RETURN WITH REINFORCEMENTS VXD \ SAWMILL Wn 
MAKE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS — TWO TOWNSITES TAKEN AT THE F \LLS — 
PROMOTERS DESIGN TO ORGANIZE NEW TERRITORY AND MAKE SIOUX FALLS THE 
CAPITAL — HOLD ELECTION — LARGE VOTE POLLED J. P. KIDD1 I; ELECTED DELE- 
GATE TO CONGRESS — PROVISIONAL TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT SI 1 1 I' — LEGIS- 
LATURE CONVENES AND PASSES MEMORIAL — DELEGATE KIDDER REF1 SED A SEAT 

AS DELEGATE — DAKOTA DEMOCRAT PUBLISHED INDIANS CONTIN1 1 HOSTILE — 

MEDARY EVACUATED SIOUX FALLS PREPARES FOR DEFENSE — JUDGE II W 

DREAU*S LETTER AND MR. ALLBRIGHT's STATEMENT — W. W. BROOKINGS MAKES 
A STATEMENT — DAKOTA CAVALRY MEET AND DEFEAT Till HOSTILE [NDIANS IN 

THEIR FIRST BATTLE GOVERNOR ORDERS EVACUATION OF Till FALLS SET! 

MF.XT — THE OCCUPATION OF Till-: COUNTRY \ I'Rl.M VTURJ I NTERPRISE. . . . < )~ 

CHAPTER XIV 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT < >N THE MISSOUR] SLOPE 

IN DAK< >T \ 

HOME OF THE YANKTON 1NDI \\S — STRI KE-TII E-RI 1 Willi \M II \\ I AM \N FIRST 
WHITE SETTLER— FROST, TODD ,\ COMPANY, THE [NDIAN TRADERS- iMES 

RIVER SETTLEMENT — UPPER MISSOURI LAND COMPANY— DELEGATION 1" WASH- 
INGTON TO MAKE TREATY — HOI. MAN. TRESPASSINi ER, BUILDS FIRST 
CABIN — IMPROVEMENTS DESTROYED B'i [NDIANS VND SOLDIERS GEl 
FISKE — Till-: TREATY EMBASSY SUCCESSFU1 I'll PICO! D I 1; ■. 1 FROS1 
& COMPANY, TOWNSITJ PROPRIl rORS WADING POST BUILT B\ 1 i> & 
COMPANY — THE BONHOMME SETTLEMENT Mil FIRS! rRADING POST M 

DOLLARD'S RES] ARCHES N II. SHOBER PERSONAL RECOLLECT] 

GEORGE T. ROUNDS THE EARL'S SETTLERS— FIRS! 115 



x CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XV 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT ON THE MISSOURI SLOPE 

IN DAKOTA 

(Continued) 

THE VERMILLION - VALLEY — SPIRIT MOUND FORT VERMILLION — A MORMON COLONY 

— DICKSON'S POST — ALECK c's POINT — KENNERLY AND VAN METER ESTABLISH 

A FERRY FIRST SETTLERS AT VERMILLION IMPROVEMENT FIRST LUTHERAN 

RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION — FIRST SCHOOL FIRST SUNDAY 

SCHOOL THE DAKOTA REPUBLICAN — FIRST TERM OF COURT TEXT OF THE 

YANKTON TREATY 126 

CHAPTER XVI 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSOURI SLOPE 

IN DAKOTA 

(Concluded) 

THE UPPER MISSOURI LAND COMPANY TOWNSITES — A NATION WIDE PERIOD OF 

REAL ESTATE SPECULATION — PRAIRIE FIRE CAUSES FIRST DEATH CHALK ROCK 

USED FOR PLASTERING — MOSES K. ARMSTRONG, A NEW ARRIVAL INDIANS IN 

THEIR DOMESTIC RELATIONS — INFLUENCE OF THE WHITE INTERMARRIAGE 
CUSTOM — ARMSTRONG AND THOMPSON IN PRAIRIE FIRE — POPULATION OF YANK- 
TON VALLEY AND JAMES RIVER JOHN STANAGE AND FAMILY PIONEER FARMERS 

OF JAMES RIVER HENRY CLAY ASH THE FIRST HOTEL KEEPER — GEORGE D. 

FISKE, FIRST BLIZZARD VICTIM — ELK POINT AND EARLY PIONEERS THE CANA- 
DIAN FRENCH COLONY — ON THE WESTERN BORDER — SETTLERS OPPOSITE FORT 

RANDALL BIJOU AND BIJOU HILLS THE PEASE AND HAMILTON SETTLEMENTS 

— LAKE ANDES. WEST OF THE MISSOURI FORT RANDALL AND THE PONCA RESER- 
VATION — MIXVILLE, THE SETTLEMENT AND ITS PIONEERS TODD COUNTY; PAR- 
TIALLY ABSORBED BY NEBRASKA 144 

CHAPTER XVII 

THE ORGANIC ACT 
1858-61 

DAKOTA A PART OF MINNESOTA — DAKOTA'S SITUATION; DIMENSIONS; BOUNDARIES; 
AND TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATLIRES — HEALTHFUL WATERS; SALUBRIOUS CLIMATE 

— GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTHWEST WINTER OF 1859-60 PIONEERS 

ANXIOUSLY AWAIT ORGANIZATION — FIRST SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRATION SET- 
TLEMENTS WITHOUT A LEGAL GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO SECURE A TERRITORIAL 

ORGANIZATION— MASS MEETINGS AT YANKTON AND VERMIL-LION COL. D. M. 

FROST — GOLD IN MONTANA — QUIET WINTER CATFISH GOLD FROM THE HEAD- 
WATERS hi THE MISSOURI ORGANIC ACT FOR DAKOTA TERRITORY THE NAME 

"DAKOTA" l62 



CHAPTER XVIII 

ORGANIZATION OF THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT- 
FIRST ELECTION 
1861 

FIRST DAKOTA OFFICIALS — FIRST NEWSPAPER — GOVERNOR CAUSES CENSUS TO BE 
TAKEN — WHITE AND RICH POPULATION — FEDERAL OFFICIALS RENDEZVOUS AT 
YANKTON — GOVERNOR JAYNE CALLS ELECTION AND ASSIGNS JUDGES — FIRST 



CONTENTS xi 

POLITICAL CONVENTION AND FIRST ELECTION — THE VOTE BY PRECINCTS — LEGIS- 
LATURE CHOSEN AND CAPTAIN TODD ELECTED TO CONGRESS — PERSONAL SKETCHES 
OF FIRST OFFICIALS 1 75 

CHAPER XIX 

DAKOTA IN THE CIVIL AND INDIAN WARS 

1861 

BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR — FORT SUMTER BESIEGED AND CAPTURED BY THE 

SECESSIONISTS — FIRST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS POSITION OF MONARCHICA] - 

ERNMENTS — UNION SETTLEMENT AMONG THE PIONEERS DAKOTA CAVALRY 

AUTHORIZED COMPANY A RECRUITED AND MUSTERED IN THE MUSTER ROLL — 

COMPANY STATIONED TO PROTECT SETTLEMENTS DR. W. A. BURLEIGH, INDIAN 

AGENT HIS EARLY EXPERIENCES IO.0 

CHAPTER XX 

THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 
1862 

FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY CONVENES ITS ORGANIZATION LOCATION OF CAPI- 
TAL THE MAIN ISSUE NAMES OF MEMBERS AND OFFICERS — GOVERNOR'S FIRST 

MESSAGE — REMARKABLE FORETELLING OF DAKOTA'S CAREER D 15 

CHAPTER XXI 

THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 

(Continued ) 

LEGISLATURE CONTINUED GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE WELL RECEIVED — THE CHIPPEWA 

INDIANS AND RED RIVER — JAMES M'EETRIDGE FROM PEMBINA LEG] \ IIYE 
COMMITTEES — THE CAPITAL CONTEST — YANKTON SECURES THE PRIZE — SPEAKER 
PINNEY RESIGNS; TIERNON SUCCEEDS HIM — SOLDIERS IN THE HOUSE: G 
INDIGNATION AN UNPLEASANT EPISODE — P.RIEE BIOGRAPHIES OF FIRST MEM- 
BERS AND OFFICERS — MISSOURI RIVER OVERFLOW — OLD SETTLERS' HISTORIC VL 
ASSOCIATION — EPISCOPAL MISSION ESTABLISHED BY REV. MELANCTHON 
HOYT -OS 



CHAPTKR XXII 

THE FIRST ELECTION UNDER TERRITORIAL LAW 

1 So j 

UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE THE Pol. ITU VI 1 IMPAIGN REPUBLICANS DIVIDED — 

GENERAL TODD VS. GOVERNOR JA1 \l , I HE [SSI I -FIRST REPUB1 [CAN AND UNION 
CONVENTION CALL — PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNTY AND TERRITORIA1 CONVEN- 
TIONS GOVERNOR JAYNE NOMINATI ; DELEGATE TO CONGRESS — GENERA] 

TODD NOMINATED BY FEOPLE's CONVENTION COUNTV CONVENTIONS AND 

COUNTY OFFICERS NOMINATED FIRST ELECTION — GOVERNOR APPOINT! D 

COUNTY OFFICERS — VOTERS WITH GUNS ON THEIR SHOULDERS — MIDNIGHT 

VOTING BALLOT BOX STUFFING FRAUD IN NEARLY ONE-HALE THE PRE! 

— JAYNE AWARDED CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION — RED RIVER Rl I 

RECEIVED TODD GIVES NOTICE OF CONTEST — WHY RED RIVER RETURNS « 

NOT SENT FOR -' ' " 



xii i • INTENTS 

CHAPTER Will 

THE GREAT INDIAN' WAR 
1862 

BEGINNING OF THE GREAT [NDIAN WAR — THE OUTBREAK IN .MINNESOTA — CAUSES 
OF THE REVOLT — THE LITTLE CROW MASSACRE- -HOSTILE INDIANS DRIVEN INTO 
DAKOTA BY MINNESOTA TROOPS — GOVERNOR I \LLS OUT MILITIA; MILITIA RE- 
SPONDS — DEFENSIVE WORKS HASTILY CONSTRUCTED AT YANKTON — INDIAN'S 
DRIVE. SETTLERS FROM THE TERRITORY — YANKTON ONLY OCCUPIED SETTLEMENT 
SKETCH OF PICOTTE — CAPTIVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN RESCUED 233 

CHAPTER XXIV 

THE GREAT [NDIAN WAR 

1 Continued ) 

HOSTILE INDIANS IN FORCE PREPARED TO ATTACK YANKTON DISSUADED BY THE 

PREPARATIONS OF THE SETTLERS — MANY SETTLERS ABANDONED THE TERRITORY — 

YANKTON INDIANS MISTERED IN — WASHINGTON REED A FALSE ALARM — 

APPEAL FOR TROOPS — GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS ALL DOWN SOUTH — SECOND CALL 
EOR MILITIA — HOW THE YANKTON TRIBE WAS KEPT FRIENDLY — SKETCH OF 

PICOTTE CAPTIVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN RANSOMED THE FIRST TERRITORIAL 

CAPITAL BUILDING — SAMUEL I.ATTA, AGENT, DISTRIBUTING INDIAN GOODS FROM 
STEAMBOATS — BEAR'S RIBS SLAIN AT FORT PIERRE 245 

CHAPTER XXV 

THE SECOND SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 

1862-63 

SECOND SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE — THE HOUSE DIVIDES — ELECTION FRAUDS 

INVESTIGATED — TWO LOWER HOUSES IN SESSION — BRULE CREEK INVESTIGATED 

JAYNE'S SECOND MESSAGE — GREAT SEAL OF SUPREME COURT — BIOGRAPHIES RED 
RIVER M EM BERS THE ELECTION FRAUDS 258 

CHAPTER XXVI 
THE [NDIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1863— SIBLEY 

INDIAN CAMPAIGN OF [863, P] W.NF.D BY MAJOR-GENERAL POPE — GENERAL SIBLEY, 

WITH MINNESOTA TROOPS, (.ROSSES CENTRAL DAKOTA PLAINS GENERAL SULLY 

N1 ^R< HIS UP Till MISSOURI VALLEY — SIBLEY'S FORCES, EQUIPMENT AND DIFFI- 
CULTIES — A DRY SEASON — SIBLEY DEFEATS HOSTILES IN THREE BATTLES; 

INDIANS DRIVEN WEST OE THE MISSOURI RIVER HIS RETURN MARCH OFFICI \L 

1 PORT — ERRONEOUS OPINION OF NORTHERN PART OF THE TERRITORY — INDIANS 
KILL AN [NDIAN- TRI vn BETWEEN YANKTONS AM) PONCAS 276 

CHAPTER XXVII 

GENERAL SULLY'S CAMPAIGN— BATTLE OF WHITE STONE HILLS 

1863 

GENERAL ALFRED SULLY — IMS MILITARY CAREER - GENERAL COOK HAD MADE. PREPA- 
RATION FOR 11 h, \ SULLY'S FORCES- Low WATER AND SLOW STEAM- 
BO 1 HINDER- PROTEI HON FOR NIL SETTLEMENTS — ADVANCE TOO LATE TO 
I OPI RATE WITH SIP.LI'A ; BUT III. FINDS HOS III.ES — BATTLE OF WHITE STONE 

HIM- 11. 1 mm. 1; 1, \\ii WINTER SUPPLIES CAPTURED — THE RETURN 



CONTENTS xiii 

MARCH — ONE HUNDRED PRISONERS — FIRST FORT SULLY BUILT — TROOPS STA- 
TIONED FOR WINTER — HOSTILE TRIBES AND THEIR NUMBERS — SULLY'S OFFICIAL 
REPORT 287 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

MINNESOTA INDIANS REMOVED TO DAKl >TA 

1863 

FRIENDLY INDIANS FORCED TO LEAVE MINNESOTA — SANTEES AND WIN 

REMOVED TO CROW CREEK, DAKOTA — FORT THOMPSON BUILT — THIRTY-EIGH1 
SANTEES ON THE SCAFFOLD — CAUSES OF THE INDIAN WAR — ENCOURAGED BY 

THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH INDIANS NATUR 

UNFRIENDLY TO WHITE RACE — DEATH OF LITTLE CROW — THE WEISMANN MAS- 
SACRE DIRT LODGES ON JAMES RIVER — HEART RIVER TRAGEDY — J VCOBSON 

KILLED AT JAMES RIVER FERRY — APPOINTMENTS — PROCLAMATION BY \i 1 
GOVERNOR — NEWTON EDMUNDS APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF DAKOTA Jo' / 



CHAPTER XXIX 

POLITICS AXD PROCLAMATIONS 
1863 

POLITICIANS DISTURBED REPUBLICAN PARTY DIVIDED JUDGE BLISS AND DR. W V. 

BURLEIGH, LEADERS OF THE RESPECTIVE FACTIONS — VERY SLIGHT ATTENTION 
GIVEN TO THE LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 1863 — REPUBLICAN AND UNION O 
VENTION TO ELECT DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF [864— FIRST 
TERMS OF COURT IN SECOND DISTRICT — THANKSGIVING — PROCLAMATIONS OF 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND GOVERNOR EDMUNDS ,i 1-1 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE THIRD SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 

1 81 13-64 

THE THIRD SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE, [863-64 — CONTESTED SEATS GROWINi 

OF THE FRAUDS OF 1862 — FIRST MESSAGI OF GOVERNOR EDMUNDS THE CIVIL 

WAR — THE INDIAN CAMPAIGN CRITICIZED- INI R01 I DAHO P 

IMMIGRATION — NORTH BRANCH OF Till PACIFIC RAILROAD THE PUBLIC 
DOMAIN — MILITARY PROTECTION FOB THI SETTLEMENTS- RED RN ISLA- 

riVE APPORTIONMENT REPEALED VI I t's REPORT ON MILITIA EXPENSES OF 

1862 3 21 



« 11 \rrru wxi 

IMMIGRATION FROM \K\\ Y< IRK 
1 81 , 1 

[864, IMMIGRATION — HARD TASK OF TH] PIONEER FARM ERA1 II 

FRIEND OF DAKOTA — THE NEW YORK COLONS VISITED Wl> \DDRESSED pa GEN- 
ERAL HILL AND DOCTOR BURLEIGH ITS ORGANIZATION IN DAKO 
ITS MEMBERSHIP \ \ 1 > w 1 1 ERE Til I ■ in DAKOTA'S RIVALS 1 I MMI- 

GRATION FIELD — BEGINNING OF EMIGRATION 1 5A1 ill 

— THE MISSOURI RIVER ROUTE — A ST. LOl 1 COMPANY 01 ■•••33' 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXXII 

THE GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE 
1864 

GRASSHOPPERS — INDIANS AND INSECTS FOE TO IMMIGRATION A GRASSHOPPER RAID 

GENERAL Sl'LLV's GRASSHOPPER EXPERIENCE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT INVES- 
TIGATES OFF YEARS — HOW THE FARMER FOUGHT THEM LIEUTENANT WAR- 

REN's STATEMENT — EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE WINNEBAGOES SENT TO 
NEBRASKA — THE OLD SETTLERS - HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, AND THE HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY OF DAKOTA 342 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

GENERAL SULLY'S SECOND CAMPAIGN 
1864 

GENERAL SULLY'S SECOND CAMPAIGN WEST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER— HIS ARMY — 

DEATH OF FIELDING — THE KILLING OF HIS SLAYERS FORT RICE BUILT MARCH 

THROUGH THE BAD LANDS — A THREE DAYS' BATTLE DAKOTA CAVALRY IN PER- 
ILOUS POSITION RETURN OF THE EXPEDITION GOVERNOR EDMUNDS ORDERS THE 

ORGANIZATION OF THE MILITIA — TROOPS STATIONED FOR THE WINTER ALL DAY 

BATTLE AT FORT RICE — MASSACRE NEAR FORT PHIL KEARNEY SULLY'S OFFICIAL 

REP0RTS 353 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE ELECTION OF 1864 

ELECTION IN 1864 — DIVISION IN THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP BURLEIGH AND 

BLISS FACTIONS TWO REPUBLICAN CONVENTIONS— BLISS RELIES ON DEMOCRATIC 

SUPPORT, BUT GENERAL TODD DECIDES TO RUN BLISS AND BURLEIGH COMPROMISE 

AND THE JUDGE LEAVES THE TERRITORY BURLEIGH ELECTED; TODD GIVES NOTICE 

OF CONTEST LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATION CONTEST WITHDRAWN 368 

CHAPTER XXXV 

THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 

1864-65 

ITS MEMBERSHIP KET( '1U MEMBERS V HARMONIOUS SESSION THE GOV- 
ERNOR'S MESSAGE — REPORT OF THE TERRITORIAL SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 

TERRITORIAL AUDITOR'S REPORT, INCLUDING REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER TO 
AUDIT THE MILITIA ACCOUNTS — GENERAL TODD's GROUNDS OF CONTEST 380 

CHAPTER XXXVI 

THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN 

1865 

1 iXM " x " '■ AUGURAL ADDRESS — ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT THE NATION 

GRIEF STRICKEN — MEMORIAL EXERCISES IN DAKOTA PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S 

PRO I I WIVI hi'. -FEDERAL APPOINTMENTS — MUSTERING OUT GENERAL SULLY 

1 ONGK \TUJ.ATES DAKOTA CAVALRY — COUNTY GOVERNMENT INAUGURATED HIGH 

PRICES THE RULE ,Q7 



CONTENTS xv 

CHAPTER XXXVII 

PEACE TREATIES WITH HOSTILE INDIANS 

1865 

GOVERNMENT WAGON ROADS IN DAKOTA — BIG SIOUX. VERMILLION' AND J \MI.S RIVER 
BRIDGES — OVERLAND TO MONTANA VIA THE MISSOURI RIVER — RIVAL K.11 11- 

CREATE COMPETITION CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITIES MILDLY CLASH — 

PEACE TREATIES WITH THE HOSTILE INDIANS — STEAMBOAT TRAFFIC — FORTS 
DAKOTA AND JAMES CONSTRUCTED — THE ANNUAL ELECTION — THE 50TH 

WISCONSIN INFANTRY TO FORT RICE AN ALL DAY BATTLE AT FORT RICE 

INDIANS KILL LA MOURE ON BRULE CREEK WATSON'S STORY SEAL OF THE 

SUPREME COURT ARA BARTLETT AND JEFFERSON P. KIDDER APPOINTED 

U. S. JUDGES 404 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 

THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 
1865-66 

THE FIFTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE THE EXEMPTION 

LAW PUBLIC LANDS IN MARKET — THE LEGISLATURE SOUNDED LEGISLATIVE 

DIVORCES — THE WAGON ROAD INQUIRY — SUPERINTENDENT MOODY REPORTS 

MOODY SUPERSEDED TERRITORIAL BONDS — VARIOUS LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS — 

GEORGE H. HAND THE TIMBER SUPPLY 4 J I 

CHAPTER XXXIX 
POLITICS— BLIZZARDS— INDIANS HOSTILE 

a political year president johnson and congress ix embroilment — new 

national political party — democrats capture republican organization 

in dakota the delegate campaign — doctor burleigh nominated by the 

johnson convention new republican party organized- — brookings nom- 
inated for delegate burleigh elected — massacre at fort i'll ii. kearney 

— indian account of the tragedy — blizzards ix 1866 colonel moodv and 

secretary spink have an experience lynching of hogan at vermi1 

— the missouri bottoms submerged for six weeks by till: spring i i 1 >od — 
immigration; the Minnesota colony Dakota bar organized undrew j. 
faulk appointed governor — a thanksgiving proclamation l.vi 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE SIXTH SESSION' OF TIM-". LEGISLATURE 
1866-67 

SIXTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY — GEN] RAL TODD 111. I! n SP1 ^KER - 
JOHNSON PARTY IN CONTROL — GOVERNOR 1 U I K's FIRST MESSAGE 
EFFORTS TO INDUCE IMMIGRATION GOVERNMENT WAGON ROADS FORT JAMES 
ABANDONED AND RE-GARRISONED — LOCATION OF Till SANTEE [NDIANS \ Mi 
— PUBLIC LANDS IN MARKET PROGRESS OF RAILROADS l<>\\ VSDS DAKOTA — RE- 
PORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC [NSTR1 < riON JAMES S. FOSTER -CONDITION 
OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS — PER CAPITA rAX COLLECTED COUNTH 
AND LARAMIE DEFINED — NEGRO SUFFRAGE BIL1 PAS ED <' ! I 
SPECIAL LEGISLATION — SEVEN Mill 1 I A COMPANIES ORGANIZED \N1) ARM 
PREPARING FOB PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 01 t868- REPORT 01 PERRIT 
TREASURER — ENOS STUTSMAN, THE PIONEER AND LI lER PREHISTORIC RUINS 



xvi CONTENTS 

AT FORT THOMPSON — FIRST TEACHERS' INSTITUTE THE BLACK HILLS — THE 

DAKOTA REPUBLICAN — ALASKA PURCHASED CUTTING TIMBER ON GOVERNMENT 

LAND — AN UNPRODUCTIVE APPROPRIATION FOR A PENITENTIARY 450 

CHAPTER XLI 

THE SEVENTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 

1867-68 

LEGISLATURE OF 186/-68 PARTY HONORS QUITE EQUALLY DIVIDED MESSAGE OF 

THE GOVERNOR — AGRICULTURE THE MUST IMPORTANT OF INDUSTRIES RAILROADS 

NEEDED, LAND GRANTS WILL NOT BE DENIED LARAMIE COUNTY' AND THE UNION 

PACIFIC — WESTERN DAKOTA AND THE INDIAN POLICY REPORT OF SUPERIN- 
TENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION COUNTY SCHOOL AND INDIAN SCHOOL RE- 
PORTS — TEACHERS' INSTITUTES GYMNASTICS, SCHOOL BUILDINGS, AND COUNTY 

SUPERINTENDENTS — FOUNDING CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND THE CATHOLIC 
ORGANIZATION — ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S REPORT AUDITOR AND TREASURER'S RE- 
PORT — LARAMIE COUNTY — LINCOLN COUNTY ORGANIZED MINNEHAHA COUNTY 

REORGANIZED — CARTER COUNTY ( NOW WYOMING) ORGANIZED 465 

CHAPTER XLII 

ERE CANDIDATES FOR DELEGATE 

1868 

JOHNSON VERSUS CONGRESS, THE ISSUE — GENERAL GRANT NOMINATED BY THE CON- 
GRESS PARTY — HORATIO SEYMOUR NAMED BY THE DEMOCRATS THE PROCEDURE 

OF RECONSTRUCTING THE SECEDED STATES — JEFFERSON DAVIS RELEASED ON BAIL 
IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON THE TRIAL AND ACQUITTAL POLI- 
TICS IN DAKOTA — FIVE CANDIDATES FOR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS — SOLOMON L. 

SPINK ELECTED DEMOCRATS ADOPT THEIR HISTORICAL NAME IN DAKOTA 

GRANT AND COLFAX WIN — FIRST DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPER GEORGE BROWN A 

PIONEER STEAMBOAT MAN — BUFFALO DIMINISHING GEORGE M. PINNEY KILLS 

EX-GOVERNOR BEALL IN MONTANA — ORIGIN OF DECORATION DAY — A REMARKABLE 
STORM IN MAY .gg 

CHAPTER XL] II 

LAST ANNUAL SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE 

1868-69 

LEG] 1 VTIVJ ASSEMBLY ol [Sf.8 <Mj i\ni \ NS IX THE BIG SIOUX VALLEY MESSAGE 

01 I Ml >.<>\ ERNOR- -CO M 111, SEATS — FUTURE SESSIONS TO BE BIENNIAL — THE 

fERRITOR-S OF WYOMING OPENING OF THE BLACK HILLS AGITATED WOMAN 

SUFFR VG1 Ml I I UTED — TO ABOLISH THE TERRITORY OF DAKOTA — DECREASE OF BUF- 
FALO HAS APPALLING RESULTS; INDIANS SUFFER FOR FOOD— FRIGHTFUL MORTAL- 
ITY < M Ml, BY PRAIRIE FIRE— PRESIDEN1 JOHNSON'S AMNESTY PROCLAMATION 
1 ' EGATI l;l R1 EIGH'S FAREWELL SPEECH IN CONGRESS, ASKS TUSTICE FOR THE 
INDIAN — IND] Ws SUFFER ERoM PRAIRIE FIRE .' 505 

CHAPTER XLIV 

GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT, PRESIDENT 

[869 

l ' KI> "" ' GRANT INAUGURATED— HIS WONDERFUL CAREER— CHANGE IN TERRI- 
TORIAL OKI h [ALS— WYOMING TERRITORY ORGANIZED— THE NEW INDIAN PEACE 
I'm. ICY— PRESIDENT DISCUSSED INDIAN QUESTION— GENERAL SHERIDAN STATES 



CONTENTS xvii 

THE MILITARY VIEW — IRISH REPUBLK USTS, JOHN POPE HODNETT — Till H 
TORY IN [869 — INDIAN TREATIES — BRITISH OFFICER SHOT BY SENTINEL ON 
STEAMBOAT — BOHEMIAN IMMIGRATION ABUNDANT CROPS VGRICULTI RAL SO- 
CIETY ORGANIZED THE YEAR 1869 COUNTIES ORGANIZED 521 

CHAPTER XLV 

DEMOCRATS ELECT DELEGATE TO CONGRESS 

1870 

THE DECADE BEGINNING WITH iSjO RAILROADS WERE DAKOTA'S PRESSING NEED 

— REVIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT — TERRITORIAL TREASURER'S RE- 
PORT TOWNS AND POSTOFFICES — FIRST TELEGRAPH LINE FEDERAL CENS1 S 

BY COUNTIES DAKOTA POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES — BURLEIGH SEEKS 

REPUBLICAN NOMINATION — YANKTON COUNTY THE BATTLE GROUND THE 

REPUBLICAN TERRITORIAL CONVENTION — NAMES OF DELEGATES — A SPLIT— 
BURLEIGH AND SPINK BOTH NOMINATED — DEMOCRATS NAME THEIR FIRST PARTY 
TICKET DEMOCRATIC TERRITORIAL CONVENTION NAMES OF DELEGATES— ARM- 
STRONG NOMINATED FOR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS AND ELECTED 534 

CHAPTER XL VI 

FIRST BI-ENNIAL LEGISLATURE P.UKP.AXK. GOYKKXOR 

1870 

burleigh's contest against Armstrong — spink also becomes a contestant — 
armstrong seated land districts established at pembina \m> spring- 
field — blizzard fatalities — public lands — legislature in first bi-ennial 
session, ninth in number — governor burbank's first message tmpi 
tant laws enacted — district court for northern dakota— iowa prison 
for dakota convicts — brule city's career 552 

CHAPTER XLYII 

EARLY STEAMBOAT DANS AND YEARS 
1830 and I ,ater 

THE FIRST STEAMBOATS — THE DAYS OF NIL MACKINAW — CAPTAIN JOSEPH I VBARGE 
A PIONEER — HOW THE TRANSPORTATION TRAFFIC GREW PROFIT IN THE B 
NESS — THOUSANDS OF RETURNING MINERS \ BAD MAN BURNING "I 
CHIPPEWA — A BATTLE WITH HOSTILE INDIANS — FIRST TRIPS OP rH] 1 1 "\\ 
STONE — DERIVATION OF THE NAME — MINIM, PARTIES RETURNING WITH I 
A MILLION IN GOLD— DESTRUCTION BY FIRE AT ST. LOUIS — FIVE CRAFT FROZEN 
OUT OF HARBOR — STEAMBOAT IN A Tornado -LOG OF THE I'l \IN\ll SHOWING 
THE NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI IN THE KALI. LOG OF THE FANCHON 
DESCRIBING A LATE JolKMA ON rill YELLOWSTON1 CAPT. JAW GARRY 
TELLS OF THE GRANDEUR OF A MISSOURI VOYAGE THE DESTRUCTION OF SN 
I HE MISSOURI ONE OF THE GREAT NAVIGABLE RIVERS OF THE WORLD 505 

CHAPTER X1AIII 

CHIEF [USTICE TO NORTHERN DAKOTA 
1870-71 ;-• 

THE SUPREME COURT — CHIEF JUSTK 1 ASSIGNED TO NORTHERN PARI 

T0R V — FIRST SESSlox OF COURT AT PEMBINA DESCRIPTIOI INTR1 

ARREST OF CENTRALIA LIQUOR DEALERS- GENERA1 tONS V ' 



iii CONTENTS 

DELEGATE — RIGHTS OF A DELEGATE — EXTRA SESSION OF LEGISLATURE DIS- 
TINGUISHED VISITORS TO NORTHERN DAKOTA — TEXT BOOKS — THE INTERNA- 
TIONAL BOUNDARY LINK — REMARKABLE PRAIRIE FIRES HANIBAL HAMLIN 

VISITS THE TERRITORY — INDIAN HOSTILITIES — BELDEN KILLED GENERAL ITEMS 

TURNER COUNTY ORGANIZED JOHN \V. TURNER 582 



CHAPTER XLIX 

RAILROADS NEEDED TO SETTLE THE TERRITORY 

1870 

THE RAILWAY SITUATION IN 1856 AND LATER — DAKOTA'S EARLY EFFORTS FOR RAIL- 
WAY LINES — THE UNION PACIFIC AND THE NORTHERN BRANCH THE MISSOURI 

& NIOBRARA VALLEY RAILROAD FRANCHISE — THE COMPANY PERFECTS ITS 

ORGANIZATION NEWTON EDMUNDS, PRESIDENT, INTENDED TO BUILD THE 

NORTHERN BRANCH OF THE UNION PACIFIC JOHN I. BLAIR GETS THE COVETED 

FRANCHISE AND BUILDS FROM MISSOURI VALLEY TO SIOUX CITY' URGENT AND 

INCREASING DEMAND FOR RAILROADS LEGISLATURE GRANTS A VALUABLE FRAN- 
CHISE TO THE DAKOTA AND NORTHWESTERN COMPANY PERFECTS ITS ORGANI- 
ZATION AND PROCURES A PRELIMINARY SURVEY" — REPORTS OF CHIEF ENGINEER 

— OTHER RAILROADS BUILDING TOWARD DAKOTA RAILROAD COMPANIES REFORT 

TO THE LEGISLATURE — 1860. GOOD CROP Y'EAR ABUNDANCE OF PRODUCE AND NO 

MARKET NEW AND NUMEROUS RAILWAY ORGANIZATIONS — THE DAKOTA CEN- 
TRAL AND THE GRAND TRUNK — FAILURE TO OBTAIN LAND GRANTS DEFEATED THE 
BUILDING OF MANY LINES 597 

CHAPTER L 

DAKOTA'S FIRST RAILROAD BUILT AT HOME 

1871-72 

THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN RAILROAD ILLINOIS CENTRAL IN FAVOR — EXTRA SESSION 

OF LEGISLATURE IN 187I WITH NAMES OF MEMBERS, AND NEW RAILROAD INCOR- 
PORATION LAW — LEMARS OBJECTIVE POINT — LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS — GOV- 
ERNOR'S MESSAGE — EXTRA SESSION AUTHORIZED LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS — 

AMAZING CONTRADICTION THE SPECIAL SESSION "NOT AUTHORIZED" — RE- 
SOLVED TO HAVE CONGRESS VALIDATE THE LAW — YANKTON COUNTY VOTFS 

$200,000 RAILROAD BONDS EFFORTS TO SELL THE BONDS FINALLY SUCCESSFUL 

COMPANY FINALLY CONTRACTS FOR BUILDING THE LINE — WICKER, MECKL1NG 
& CO., CHICAGO, CONTRACTORS — CLAY COUNTY VOTES AGAINST BONDS — ELK POINT 
GIVES $15,000 6l6 

CHAPTER LI 

BUILDING THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN 
1872-73 

ii' 1 m G rHE DAKOTA SOUTHERN RAILROAD — LEMARS NO LONGER CONSIDERED 

-RAILROAD COMPANY PROVIDES FOR BONDING THE ROAD YANKTON COUNTY 

OPPOSED TO THIS 1:1 [LDING I HE ROAD IN 1872— COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY, 1873 
— EXCURSION AND NAMES 1 'I EXCURSIONISTS — UNITED STATES JUDGES BARNES 

VND SHANNON COM] IN JUDGES FRENCH AND BROOKINGS RETIRED — COURT 
IS A BOND-RESTRAINING ORDER— DILATORY PROCEEDINGS — THE m'cOOK 

TRAGEDY REFERRED TO -.1 1 BARNES GRANTS CHANGE OF VENUE TO CLAY 

COUNTS — PARTIES THEN AGREE TO W WIN \ B I 1 S] III.F.MENT — THE INDICT- 
MENT AGAINST WINTERMUTH ACTING GOVERNOR REASSIGNS JUDGES 63O 



CONTENTS xix 

CHAPTER LI I 

RAILROAD MATTERS SUBJECT OF LONG LAW SI I I 

1S75 

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS TO RESTRAIN COLLECTION OF THE RAILROAD - -JOHN 
TREADWAY, COMPLAINANT — YANKTON COUNTY DEMURS — COURT - RE- 
STRAINING ORDER YANKTON COUNTY THEN APPEALS TO UNITED 51 VTES SU- 
PREME COURT WHICH REVERSES THE LATTER DECISION l88l, YND SI -I UNS THE 

DISTRICT COURT YANKTON COUNTY MUST PAY THE BONDS — TERRITORIAL I 1 

LATURE OF l88l ENACTS A SETTLEMENT LAW THAT PROVIDES FOR PART] \1. PAY- 
MENT AND IN 1883 ANOTHER LAW IS ENACTED THAT RESULTS IX AN 1 
TABLE ARRANGEMENT WITH BONDHOLDERS 640 

CHAPTER LIII 

NORTHWESTERN AND MILWAUKEE CONTEST FOR CONTROL 

1879-80 

(Railroads — Concluded) 

JOHN I. BLAIR PURCHASES A CONTROLLING INTEREST IN THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN — 
PRESIDENT WICKER LEASES THE ROAD TO A RIVAL COMPANY, THE CHICAGO, MIL- 
WAUKEE & ST. PAUL MR. BLAIR TAKES STEPS TO PREVENT TRANSFER OF Till-: 

PROPERTY' FINAL SETTLEMENT MR. BLAIR SELLS TO THE MILWAUKEE, AM) 

THE DAKOTA SOUTHERN FROM SIOUX CITY TO YANKTON' AND TO SIOUX FALLS 
BECOMES A PART OF THE MILWAUKEE SY'STEM — MILWAUKEE RAILROAD COMPANY 
IN VIRTUAL CONTROL OF THE TRANSPORTATION INTERESTS OF SOUTHEASTERN 
DAKOTA 648 

CHAPTER LIV 

DAKOTA VIEWED FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER— WARM 

DELEGATE CONTEST 

1872 

A VOYAGE UP THE MISSOURI RIVER FROM Y'ANKTON TO BISMARCK — INDIANS AXI> 
INDIAN AGENTS ALONG THE ROUTE — THE TIMBER CULTURE ACT — WILLIAM 
WELCH AND OTHERS VISIT THE SIOUX — NORTHERN DAKOTA A NEW FACTOR IN 

POLITICS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDID \TES — TERRITORIAL ELECTION — 

CONVENTIONS NAMES OF DELEGATES AND CANDIDATES — THE LIBERAL REP1 

CAN PARTY — HORACE GREELEY ABANDONS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY- -NOMIN I 
BY THE LIBERALS AND SUPPORTED BY THE DEMOCRATS — PRESIDENT GRANT RE- 
NOMINATED — ANTI-GREELEY DEMOCRATS NOMINATE O'CONNOR AND ADAMS 
JUDGE BROOKINGS AND COLONEL MOODY RIVAL REPUBLICAN CANDID 

DELEGATE ARMSTRONG RENOMINATED BY in MOCRATS- ARMSTRONG lilt TED — 

DELEGATES TO NATIONAL CONVENTION— I .1 N] RA] BEAD] E R] PUBLICAN NATIONAL 

t I'M MITTEEMAN L. D. PARMER DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEMAN WHEAT AND 

FLOUR 656 

(II \ITKR LV 
THE LEGISLATURE OF 1872-73— DEUEL COUN IV 

IRISH IMMIGRATION CONVENTION — DELEGATES I 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE CENTENNIAL — YANKTON LAND OFFICE— FORT 

BUILT LEGISLATURE OF 1872-73 — DEUEL COl KHUE W I IF M ' 

IIAHA — LEGISLATING ENACTMENTS DAKOTA HERALD ESTABLISHED LANDS 

YENS IX NORTHERN DAKOTA — GENERALS SHERIDAN AND HAN 

DAKOTA ''~ J 



xx CONTENTS 

CHAPTER LVI 

THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD 
1872 and Later 

THE STORY OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD PRESIDENT MONROE'S EXPEDI- 
TION — CONGRESS AUTHORIZES THREE ROUTES SURVEYED JOSIAH PERHAM, OF 

MAINE. PATRIARCH OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC CONGRESS GRANTS CHARTER 

AND LAND IX 1 864 — JAY COOKE BECOMES FINANCIAL AGENT IN i860, CON- 
STRUCTION BEGUN IN MINNESOTA IX 187O REACHED MOREHEAD, ON THE RED 

RIVER OF THE NORTH. IN 1872 — FIRST TRAIN THE BRIDGE AT FARGO LOCOMO- 
TIVE ENTERS NORTH DAKOTA JUNE 8, 1872 — FARGO FIRST NAMED "CENTRALIA" 

BY THE SETTLERS — SURVEY ACROSS DAKOTA INDIANS ANNOY ENGINEERS — 

JAMESTOWN AND FORT WM. H. SEWARD SITTING BULL HEADS THE INCORRI- 

GIRLES — STRONG MILITARY FORCE ORGANIZED TO GUARD RAILWAY WORK THE 

STANLEY EXPEDITION— FORT M'KEAN BUILT ON THE MISSOURI HARD TIMES 

AND RUMORED FINANCIAL TROUBLES OF JAY COOKE SILVER DEMONETIZED 

BURLEIGH COUNTY — HISTORICAL SURROUNDINGS ORGANIZATION BISMARCK 

RECEIVES ITS TITLE FROM THE GERMAN CHANCELLOR COOKE'S FAILURE — TEM- 
PORARY SUSPENSION OF WORK ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC WORK RESUMED IN 

1878 THE GREAT BRIDGE AT BISMARCK — A DISTANCE TABLE — CASS COUNTY 

ORGANIZED 686 



CHAPTER LVII 

THE COMING OF THE GERMAN-RUSSIANS 
1873 

LAKE KAMPESKA AND RAILROAD GRANT THE GERMAN-RUSSIAN EMIGRATION ONLY 

A FRACTION OF EMIGRANTS WERE MENNONITES, BUT THE MENNONITES WERE 

BEST KNOWN — ORIGIN OF THE SECT AND THE BROTHERHOOD EXPLAINING THE 

EMIGRATION OF THE GERMANS TO RUSSIA IN I770 AND LONG AFTER IN 1870 

CZAR ABROGATES ORIGINAL AGREEMENT AND THOUSANDS OF GERMANS EMIGRATE 

TO AMERICA ARE CALLED GERMAN-RUSSIANS SEVERAL THOUSAND EMIGRATE 

AND SETTLE IN DAKOTA TERRITORY AND ELSEWHERE IN 1873 AND LATER RE- 
CEIVE A CORDIAL WELCOME BROUGHT LARGE AMOUNT OF GOLD COIN WERE A 

VALUABLE FACTOR IN DEVELOPING DAKOTA'S AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES — EFFORT 

TO OBTAIN FROM CONGRESS SPECIAL LAND PRIVILEGE NAMES OF A NUMBER OF 

THE PIONEER EMIGRANTS — AMERICA, THE ASYLUM OF THE OPPRESSED OF ALL 
NATIONS 703 



CHAPTER LVIII 

THE McCOOK-WINTERMUTE TRAGEDY 
1873 

1873 WAS A XOTABLE Y'EAR FOR DAKOTA— THE ADVENT OF RAILROADS EARLY IMMI- 
GRATION AGENTS ELECTING TERRITORIAL OFFICERS — SECRETARY EDWIN S. 

M'COOK SHOT AND KILLED BY PETER P. WINTERMUTE SKETCH OF WINTERMUTE 

— INDICTMENT OF WINTERMUTE FOR MANSLAUGHTER — THE GOVERNOR REASSIGNS 
THE JUDGES — THE FIRST INDICTMENT AND PROCEEDINGS QUASHED AND NEW 
INDICTMENT FOUND CHARGING MURDER — THE TRIAL AND THE TESTIMONY — 

WINTERMUTE CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER — SENTENCED RETRIAL ORDERED 

l!Y SUPREME COURT— THE DEFENDANT TRIED AT VERMILLION AND ACQUITTED 

I I II- PRO( EEDINGS IN THE CASE— DEATH OF WINTERMUTE 718 



CONTEXTS xxi 

CHAPTER LIX 

INSTITUTING THE SIOUX INDIAN PEM I. Pi iLICY 

1854-1871 

A STATEMENT OF THE PEACE POLICY — THE SIOUX FROM 1854 TO 1868 PEACE 

TREATIES OF 1865 AND l866 MILITARY CLAIM PRIORITY IX TREATY MAKI 

THE ONKPAHPAH TREATY' AN INDEX TO MANY — GENERAL SILLY AND COMMIS- 
SIONER PARKER — GENERAL SHERMAN PROCLAIMS THE INDIAN WAR ENDED 
ARGUMENT, PRO AND CON, FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INDIANS -TEXT OF SHER- 
MAN TREATY OF 1868 THE INDUSTRIAL PEACE POLICY UNDER PRESIDENT GRANT 

CHURCH DENOMINATIONS FURNISH INDIAN AGENTS CONGRESS TO OPPOSE 

FURTHER TREATIES WITH INDIANS AS A FOREIGN NATION— SHERMAN TREATY 
GAVE INDIANS TOO MUCH DISCRETION IN CHOOSING BETWEEN WORK AND in 
INC} THE SIOLW IN iS/O AND 1 8~ I — STANLEY'S REPORT 744 

CHAPTER LX 
INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION ON THE SIOUX 

PE-HE-ZI-WI, SPOTTED TAIL'S DAUGHTER INDIANS IN COURT FOR MURDER — MIS- 
SIONARIES' GREAT WORK FOR CIVILIZATION FATHER DESMET — INDIANS LIKE 

WHITE MAN'S WAYS — SPOTTED TAIL'S RELIGIOUS VIEWS — TOMAHAWK READS 

THE ISI1SLE RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS HOLD MEETINGS WITH INDIANS — CUSTER 

HEARS "OLD HUNDRED" SUNG BY' HIS INDIAN SCOUTS //O 

CHAPTER LXI 
COST OF WAR AND PEACE COMPARED 

SECRETARY DELANO EXPLAINS PEACE POLICY — GENERAL SHERIDAN IN I S74 GEN- 
ERAL SHERMAN'S VIEWS COST OF WAR COMPARED WITH COST OF PEACE — WITH- 
DRAWING PLIBLIC LAND FROM MARKET TO PROTECT THE SIOUX AND RESTORING 
IT 783 

CHAPTER I.XII 
CHIEF STRIKE-THE-REE .MARKS A SPEECH 

HON. WILLIAM WELCH AND OTHERS VISIT INDIANS — INDIAN TREATS Willi INDIAN 
— THE INDIAN TALKS — THE OTIS TREATY — COMMISSIONER SMITH AND THE 
YANKTONS — STRIKE-THE-REE's VIEWS, \M> THOSE OF el 111 R I \.\DH - SA( HEMS 
IMPORTANCE OF BLISTERED HANDS ,""'"' 

CHAPTER LXI II 

INDIAN CHIEFS VISIT WASHINGTON 
1875-78 

NAMES OF INDIAN AGENTS IN 1875. AND THEIR M.I \i IIS IN DAKOTA TERRI1 

INDIANS REMOVED TO MISSOURI RIVER AFTER BLACK HILLS TREATY AND THEN 
MOVED BACK AGAIN- INDIANS GO TO WASHINGTON— PRESIDENT HAYES VS GREAT 

FATHER TALKS TO HIS RED CHILDREN RED CHILDREN II WE SOMETHING TO SAY 

COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS IIAYT CO.MI S 01 I I" DAKOT \ 1" -' E f I IS 

RED TEOPLE — PROHIBITS USE OF BEADS WHK 11 \RK A SERU 

IN THE PATH OF INDIAN WOMEN BECOMING CIVILIZED REMARKABLE REVIVAL 

OF BEAD TRADE — MR. IIAYT HAS AN INTERVIEW WITH SPOTTED TAII 



xxiv CONTENTS 

<\ ATTACK EMIGRANTS GORDON CASE ARREST OF LARGE PARTY OF INVADERS 

BY THE MILITARY — NEBRASKA JUDGE DECIDES THE TREATY OF l86S OF NO EFFECT 
— CI1 ISLES SOLIS ARRESTED, TRIAL AND DISCHARGE — THE POLICY' OF EXCLUDING 
EMIGRANTS FROM THE GOLD FIELDS HAD FAILED OF ITS PURPOSE OX>3 

CHAPTER LXXI 

MINERS AT WORK IN NORTHERN HILLS. DEADWOOD FOUNDED 

1875-76 

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CONCLUDE TO RELAX THE RIGID RULES OF EXCLUSION 

REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS PRESIDENT GRANT'S MESSAGE 

THE BLACK HILLS FEVER AMONG DAKOTANS LETTERS FROM DEADWOOD: PEAR- 
SON, GAY AND OTHERS INTERVIEWS WITH CAPTAIN KELLEY', JOHN BRENNAN 

AND OTHERS THE DISCOVERER OF DEADWOOD GULCH — GOVERNOR PENNINGTON 

DECLINES TO ORGANIZE COUNTIES 92O 

CHAPTER LXXII 

DELEGATE KIDDER'S ZEAL HASTENS THE TREATY 

1876 

DELEGATE KIDDER'S GREAT BLACK HILLS ADDRESS IN CONGRESS, JUNE, 1876 — KID- 
DER'S IMPORTANT ACTION IN SECURING THE OPENING OF THE HILLS 93I 

CHAPTER LXXIII 

CUSTER'S LAST BATTLE— BLACK HILLS" PURCHASED 

1876 

TERRY'S FATEFUL EXPEDITION AGAINST SITTING BULL'S 5,000 SIOUX CUSTER'S 

MARCH AND LAST BATTLE — THE TRAGEDY' OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN — CUSTER 
DIVIDES HIS REGIMENT AND ENGAGES SITTING BULL'S FORCES WITH FIVE COM- 
PANIES — COMPLETE SLAUGHTER OF THE GALLANT GENERAL AND HIS MEN NOT 

ONE ESCAPED TO TELL THE STORY OF THE MOST FAMOUS BATTLE IN OUR INDIAN 

ANNALS THE STEAMBOAT FAR WEST AND CAPTAIN GRANT MARSH GENERAL 

TERRY'S OFFICIAL REPORT — CARRYING THE WOUNDED OF RENO'S COMMAND TO 

FORT LINCOLN THE VOYAGE DOWN THE YELLOWSTONE — SENDING THE FATEFUL 

TIDINGS TO THE WORLD — UNIVERSAL LAMENT AT SACRIFICE OF CUSTER — DAKOTA 
OFFERS \ REGIMENT OF VOLUNTEER CAVALRY — SITTING BULL SEEKS REFUGE IN 
BRITISH AMERICA — GREAT EXCITEMENT FOLLOWING CUSTER SLAUGHTER AND 
THREATS OF EXTERMINATING THE INDIANS — NEW BLACK HILLS TREATY COM- 
MISSION APPOINTED COMMISSION AT PINE RIDGE — INDIANS QUIET AND 

OPPRESSED WITH FEAR OF PALE FACE INDIGNATION NEW PROPOSED TREATY FOR 

BLACK HILLS SUBMITTED AND AGREED UPON WITH LITTLE OPPOSITION — THE 
l-.l \<K HILLS COMPACT WITH THE NAMES OF INDIANS OF ALL THE TRIBES THAT 
SIGNED -SPOTTED TAIL AND OTHERS VISIT INDIAN TERRITORY TO INVESTIGATE 

Till: COUNTRY WITH THE VIEW OF REMOVING SIOUX DECIDE TO REMAIN IN 

DAKOTA— GENERAL NELSON A. MILES IN THE FIELD ACTIVE CAMPAIGN DURING 

1 VL] "I [876 LED BY CROOK ^ND TERRY — CROOK REACHES BLACK HILLS — BATTLE 

01 SI IM 1.1 I'll - Gl NERAL SHERMAN ON THE YELLOWSTONE INDIAN TROUBLES 

CONFINED TO THE BLAI K mils MAJOR RENO OF CUSTER'S REGIMENT DEMANDS 

AN INVESTIGATION — MILITARY C01 S I \l I III. VGO TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES 

— RENO'S I -.11 mi N I EXONERATES RENO — FINDING OF COURT SITTING 

i;i I 1 \Mi GALL'S STORY OF THE BATTLE — THE LITTLE BIG HORN BATTLEFIELD A 
NATIONAL CEMETERY g?8 



CONTENTS xxv 

CHAPTER LXXIV 

BLACK HILLS LAWFULLY OPENED— INDIANS HOSTILE 

1877 

(Black Hills— Concluded) 

REPORT OF THE BLACK HILLS TREATY COMMISSION — TREATY CONSIDERED OK GREATER 
VALUE THAN ANY FORMER AGREEMENT — EXPLAINING THE ALLIANCE OF THE 
CHEYENNES AND ARAPAHOES — BLACK HILLS COUNTIES AND BOUNDARIES — 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES SHERIFF BULLOCK CALLS FOR TROOPS— GOVERNOR AUTHOR- 
IZES CALLING OUT THE MILITIA — SEVERAL HOME COMPANIES ORGANIZED DIS- 
AGREEMENT AS TO TENURE OF APPOINTED COUNTY OFFICIALS — COURT DECIDES AX 

ELECTION MUST BE HELD DEMOCRATS CARRY THE ELECTION — WAGON ROAD 

ROUTES FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER TO THE GOLD FIELDS — FIRST SESSION OF COURT 

AT DEADWOOD EVIDENCES OF AN EARLIER WHITE OCCUPATION — THE OPENING 

OF THE HILLS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE IN PROMOTING THE PEACE POLICY. . . 



History of Dakota Territory 



CHAPTER I 

LOUISIANA— HOW NAMED AND ITS CESSION TO THE 
UNITED STATES 

1803 

THE TERRITORY OF LOUISIANA — ITS DISCOVERY BY LASALLE — ITS BOUNDARIES — ITS 

PURCHASE BY THE UNITED STATES INCIDENTS LEADING TO THE TREATY OF 

CESSION. 

The Territory of Dakota, with the exception of the portion drained by the 
Red River of the North and the Mouse River, was a part of the Louisiana Terri- 
tory, acquired by the United States from France, by purchase, in 1803. 

At the close of this country's successful war for independence, waged by the 
American Colonies against the government of Great Britain, that nation, by the 
Treaty of Paris, September, 1783, conceded the independence of the Colonies, 
and transferred to the new nation all its domain and sovereignty lying east of the 
Mississippi River, south of the Great Lakes and the River St. Lawrence, extend- 
ing south to the Spanish possessions. These Spanish possessions included Florida 
and all south of that state's northern boundary line, extended wesl to the .Missis- 
sippi River, excepting the Island of New Orleans. West of the Mississippi lay 
a large portion of the Territory of Louisiana, so named by the intrepid French 
explorer, LaSalle, in 1682, who had then, as discoverer, taken formal possession 
of the country drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, and named it in 
honor of his king, Louis XIV of France. 

Inasmuch as the boundaries of the original Territory of Louisiana do not 
appear to have been definitely marked by the first claimant or those claiming 
under that power, for the reason that but a small fraction of the territory had 
been explored; and because Dakotians must ever be interested in knowing the 
facts regarding these boundaries, we have copied briefly from a work prepared 
by the Hon. Dinger Hermann, commissioner of the general land office, and pub- 
lished by order of Congress, where the writer unravels the disputed questions, 
mainly those connected with the possessions of our Government west of the 
summit of the Rocky Mountains known originally as the Oregon country, in the 
lisdit of the facts connected with the original discovery and subsequent treaties. 
First, as to what was claimed by the discoverer: 

I.aSalle was the first to descend the Mississippi from its oavigabli n irthertl - 
to its mouth, and from the gulf inward again. His discover} was not 1 mere accident, nor 
was it left unwritten and in doubt. His journey was undertaken foi purpi >i 
and every important observation was carefully noted and reported by him. He was a man 
of education and received a patent of nobility. His expedition- were und ithority 

<>i the 1-Ycnch government, and he earlv won the confidence and admiration oi tl at 1 
monarch, Louis XIV. The Chevalier Henry de Tonty, Fathers Hennepin and Meml 
and other well known explorers were his companions in many expeditions, and 
before, over much of the same ground, Mkrquette and Joliet had opened the • the 

vol. 1— 1 

1 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

[ndian tribes. The result of his researches was made known in France, and efforts were 
at once made by the government to colonize the country and extend exploration. 

alle, standing with de Tonty, Dautray and other companions on the banks of the 
western channel of the Mississippi, about three leagues from its mouth, on April 9, 
1682, took possession of the country in the name of Louis XIV, and setting up a column, 
or, as Doctor Kohl insists, "a cross with arms of the King," buried a plate, unfurled the 
flag of France, sung a Te Deum, and naming the country "Louisiana," in a loud voice, pro- 
claimed its extent to lie "from the mouth of the great river St. Louis, on the eastern side, 
otherwise called Ohio, Alighin, Sipore, or Chiskagona, and this with the consent of the 
Chadnanons, Chikachas, and other people duelling therein with whom we have made alliance, 
as also along the River Colbert, or Mississippi, and rivers which discharge themselves 
therein, from its source beyond the Kious or Nadonessious, and this with their consent, and 
with the consent of the Miotanties, Illinois. Mesigameus, Natchez, Koroas, which are the 
most considerable nations dwelling therein, with whom also we have made alliance, as far 
as its mouth at the sea or Gulf of .Mexico, and also to the mouth of the River Palms, 
upon the assurance which we have received from all these nations that we are the first 
Europeans who have descended or ascended the said River Colbert. 

LaSalle also named the Mississippi "Colbert," in honor of his friend and 
patron, M. Colbert, the colonial minister under Louis X1Y, and upon whose 
report the king conferred upon LaSalle the rank of esquire, with power to 
acquire knighthood. 

Passing over an interval of thirty-five years, in 17 17. Bienville was appointed 
by the French king to be "Governor of Louisiana," and one of his first acts was 
to select a place for a French colony, which he did by choosing the site of the 
present City of New Orleans, named in honor of the Duke of Orleans, then 
regent of France. In 1723 the seat of government was fixed at that place, which 
contained 300 inhabitants. 

Concerning the northern and western boundaries of Louisiana, they were 
conceded to be the sources of the waters which by' various tributaries were 
drained into the Mississippi. Subsequently and as the result of treaties between 
France and England in 1773 (the Treaty of L'trecht), a boundary was fixed 
between the English and French possessions. The commissioners acting under 
this treaty fixed the "northern boundary of Canada and Louisiana by a line 
beginning on the Atlantic, at a cape or promontory in 58 30' north latitude; 
thence southeasterly to the Lake Mistasin ; thence further southeast to the 
latitude forty-nine degrees north from the equator, and along that line in- 
definitely." 

\t the time this treaty was made, France possessed Canada and Louisiana. 
This was followed by a treaty between the same powers in 1763 (the United 
States being not then in existence), by which France ceded all the Territory of 
Louisiana, east of the Mississippi River, to Great Britain. 

Now comes the new Government of the United States, which by the terms of 
the treaty <>f peace in 17N3. which closed the War of the Revolution, succeeds 
to all the country theretofore claimed by Great Britain, south of the Great Lakes 
and east of the Mississippi and its sources, extending west to the Lake of the 
Woods. 

Concerning the settlement of this question of the northern boundary, in which 
1 lakotians will feel an interest. ex-President Jefferson, in a letter to Mr. Mellish, 
the geographer, dated tvlonticello, December 31, 1816, says: 

By tlie charter of Louis XIV, all the country comprehending the waters which flow into 
tbe Mi sis ippi, was made a pari of Louisiana. Consequently its northern boundary was 
the summit of die highlands in which its northern waters rise. But, by the Xth Art. of the 
Treaty of Utrecht, France and England agreed to appoint commissioners to settle the 
boundarj between their possessions in that quarter, and those commissioners settled it at 
the forty ninth degree of latitude. This it was which induced tbe British commissioners, 
in settling thi boundary with us. to follow the northern water line to tbe Lake of the 
Woods, at the latitude fort) ninth degree, and then go off on that parallel. This, then, 
is the true northern boundary of | ouisiana. 

The purchase of the Territory of Louisiana by the United Slates came about 
without any premeditation on the part of this Government and so unexpectedly 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 3 

that it was not known to President Jefferson, under whose administration it was 
accomplished, until several weeks had elapsed after the treats ceding the terri- 
tory had been signed at the French capital. It was secured by peaceful methods, 
and the purchase was made because Napoleon was determined to sell, and not 
that the United States was predisposed to buy. The circumstances leading up 
to this transaction, and the consummation of it, appear to have been signally 
approved by Providence, beginning with the tyrannical decree of the Spanish 
governor at Xew Orleans, forbidding, in effect, the commerce of the Mississippi 
by American planters, up to the successful termination of the purchase. Spain, 
in enacting the role of an oppressor, was fostering the cause of human liberty. 

In 1762 France had ceded the Territory of Louisiana to Spain and that 
nation held it for thirty-eight years, or until the year 1800. At this time the 
Duke of Parma, a son-in-law of the King of Spain, was desirous of securing 
for himself the succession to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, that he might be 
raised to the dignity of a king, and have his dominion enlarged by the addition 
of Tuscany. In consideration of France giving assurances for these dolmen. 
and enlarged territory in Italy, Spain agreed to the retrocession of Louisiana. 
The treaty of retrocession was known as the "Treaty of Idlefonso," and v 
consummated Uctober 1, 1800. l'rior to this time the relations between Frai 
and the United States had not been harmonious, due chiefly to the disorderly, 
unsettled, if not chaotic, condition of the French government. At one time, 
during the administration of President Adams, 1798, our Government was on 
the point of declaring war against France, and Washington, said to have been 
tendered the command of our armies, had accepted and had selected a porti 
of his staff. It could not, therefore, be agreeable to the United Stales to have 
an unfriendly power for so close a neighbor. Spain, however, continued to 
administer the government of Louisiana, while France owned the soil. In 1802 
the Spanish governor of New Orleans took occasion to abrogate the treaty with 
the United States under which American planters along the Mississippi were 
given free navigation of that river and also were given the right to deposit their 
produce at New Orleans preparatory to its shipment by sea to Atlantic ports 
and to foreign countries. The enforcement of this interdiction and withdrawal 
of the right of deposit raised such a clamor that 1 'resident Jefferson appealed 
to France and .succeeded in having the Spanish act annulled; hut the event had 
served to draw the attention of the world to this quarter. Napoleon, who was first 
consul, in the meantime had become deeply involved in war with Great Britain, 
then the most powerful maritime nation, and he realized the precarious situation 
of his American possessions, which he would have been unable to defend I 
England earnestly endeavored to make conquest of them. This was the situation 
when in 1803 President Jefferson, desirous of securing control of the .Mississippi, 
instructed tiie American minister at the French capital. Mr. Livingston, to 
negotiate for the purchase of the Island of New ( (rlcans and \\ est Florida, and 
at about the same time dispatched James Monro, .1- a special envoy, giving him 
S2,ooo,ooo, to assist Livingston in his negotiations. Napoleon was apprised 
of the earnest desire of the United Mates to obtain New Orleans, and he 
had instructed his ministers not only to sell it. but to sell the entire territory 
of Louisiana; so that when our representatives made their proposition they 
were met by the counter proposal of France, to take the whole of I ouisiana, 
Xew Orleans included. This was altogether unexpected, and 110 authority had 
been given them to entertain such a proposition. They were urged to an 
immediate decision. This de-ire on the pari of Napoleon was not known to 
the representatives of the United States until the proposition was 
Napoleon, realizing the likelihood of I ngland's ambition, had said to Ins mini 
ters. Talleyrand of the state and Marbois of th< treasurj departments: 

The English shall not have the Mississippi, which they covet. ["h< com 1 
ana w.,„lcl be easj 11 :li,- onlj took the trouble to make a descent there. 1 have 1 
moment to lose in putting it out of her reach. I think of ceding it to the I nited . 



4 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

They only ask of me one town in Louisiana; but I already consider the colony as entirely 
lost; and it appears to me that in the hands of this growing power it will be more useful to 
the policy and even the cuinmerce of France, than it 1 should attempt to keep it. It is not 
only New Orleans that 1 will cede, it is the whole colony without any reservation. To 
attempt to retain it would be folly. I direct you (Marbois), to negotiate this offer with the 
envoys of the United States. 1 will be moderate in consideration of the necessity in which 
1 am of making a sale. But keep this to yourself. 

The American envoys could not consult the home Government for further 
instructions. The distance was great and time was precious and weeks would 
be required in which to obtain instructions from Washington. War was soon 
to be declared between England and France. Prompt action was necessary. 
Quickness in action meant the vast domain west of the Mississippi for our 
republic, as delay in action would mean it for England. Our negotiators read 
the future with the alternative before them, and they gladly accepted the issue, 
and soon there was an agreement for the whole of Louisiana. The article of 
the treaty conveying the territory to the United States reads as follows: 

Article I. Whereas, by the article, the third of the treaty concluded at St. Idlefonso, 
the 9th Vendemaire, an. 9 (1st October, 1800), between the First Consul of the French 
Republic and his Catholic Majesty, it was agreed as follows: "His Catholic Majesty promises 
and engages on his part, to cede to the French Republic, six months after the full and 
entire execution of the conditions and stipulations herein relative to his royal highness, the 
Duke of Parma, the colony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has 
in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be 
after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other states." "And whereas. 
in pursuance of the treaty, and particularly the third article, the French Republic has an 
incontestible title to the domain and to the possession of the said territory: — The First 
Consul of the French Republic desiring to give to the United States a strong proof of his 
friendship, doth hereby cede to the said United States, in the name of the French Republic, 
forever and in full sovereignty, the said territory, with all its rights and appurtenances, as 
fully and in the same manner, as they have been acquired by the French Republic, in virtue 
of the above mentioned treaty concluded with his Catholic Majesty. 

As this description was very vague and unsatisfactory as to the definite 
boundaries and extent of the purchase, our envoys insisted upon a more specific 
definition. The domain east of the Mississippi had all been determined by 
various treaties, and the claims of the different nations were generally well known ; 
but the great empire lying west of the Mississippi continued to remain a source 
of much trouble and uncertainty, as no satisfactory data was offered specifying 
the boundary, and none could be agreed upon. Marbois expressed to Napoleon 
the difficulty in reaching a definite conclusion as to boundary, and regretted the 
obscurity in which so important reference was made; but this did not trouble 
the conscience of Napoleon, who replied: That "if an obscurity did not already 
exist, it would, perhaps, be good policy to put one there." Even when questioned 
as to the eastern boundary, evasive answers were returned. "What are the 
eastern bounds of Louisiana?" asked Livingston. "I do not know," replied 
Talleyrand; "you must take it as we received it." "But what did you mean 
to take?" said Livingston. "I do not know," replied Talleyrand. "Then you 
mean that we shall construe it our own way?" said Livingston. To which 
Talleyrand made final reply: "1 can give you no direction. You have made 
a noble bargain for yourselves, and I suppose you will make the most of it." 

The date of this treaty was April 30, 1803. The treaties were sent to Wash- 
ington, as it was Napoleon's desire that ratification should be exchanged at 
Washington rather than at Paris. The papers arrived at Washington July 14, 
1803, and October 17th, following. Congress was convened, and after much 
discussion and contention as to the constitutional authority of Congress to annex 
foreign territory to the Union, the treaty was ratified. Even with all this done, 
our purchase was not secure. Up to this moment Louisiana still remained in 
the possession and under the government of Spain. There had as yet been no 
surrender to France under the Treaty of St. Idlefonso, October 1, 1800, and 





.1 \\!!> MONKUI 
Special ambassador to France in 1803 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 
Third President of United States, 1803 





ROBERT R. I.l\ LXGSTON 
I 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 States minister to France, I 803 



BARBK MARBOIS 

I 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 5 

three years had elapsed since then. France was not in the occupancy of the 
purchase to comply with the treaty negotiated with the Americans. Indeed, 
whon at last the treaty was made known to the Spaniards in Louisiana and even 
in Spain, protests were received at Washington from both quarters. The 
Spanish minister served notice on onr Government — "that he had orders to 
warn the Federal Government to suspend the ratification and execution of the 
treaties of cession of Louisiana, as the French government in securing the 
province had contracted an engagement with Spain not to retrocede it to any 
other power. France not having executed that engagement, the treaty of cession 
was void." 

It was thought by many that England had united with Spain to defeat the 
purchase. The French government had given orders that both transfers of 
authority should take place at New Orleans at the same time, so as to expedite 
the surrender to the United States before England could intervene. 

Regardless of the Spanish protests, the French charge d'affaires at Wash- 
ington transmitted instructions to the representative at New Orleans for the 
transfer. The representative reached there on the 23d of November, 1803. A 
conference foljowed between the French and Spanish officials, and it was agreed 
to make the change. The Spanish troops and militia were arrayed in solemn 
procession, and in presence of those assembled the commissioners representing 
France and Spain proclaimed the missions they were charged to execute. The 
French commissioner presented to the Spanish commissioner the order of the 
King of Spain for the delivery of the province, dated mure than one year 
previous, and with this was also presented the direction of Napoleon to receive 
possession in the name of France. The Spanish governor then surrendered the 
keys of the city, and thereupon the authority of Spain was withdrawn and the 
Spanish colors lowered as the flag of France was unfurled amid the booming of 
artillery. The authority of France continued for the brief period of twenty 
days, and then the last change was to occur, when the Stars and Stripes were 
to wave over the great empire west of the Mississippi and the Island of New 
Orleans. On December 20, 1803, the American troops marched into the metrop- 
olis and the French prefect announced : 

In conformity with the treaty, I put the United States in possession of Louisiana and 
its dependencies. The citizens and inhabitants who wish to remain lure and obey the 
laws, are from this moment exonerated from the oath of fidelity to the French Republic. 

Thereupon the American governor, addressing the concourse present, said: 

The cession secures to you and to your descendants the inheritance of liberty, perpetual 
laws, and magistrates whom you will elect yourselves. 

As the French colors came down, and the Stars and Stripes of the American 
Republic went up, the trumpets sounded, the troops saluted, and cheerful voices 
with loud huzzahs gave exultant welcome to the grandest and greatest of the 
young republic's triumphs, which "ranked in historical importance nexl to the 
Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the Constitution." 

The summit of the Rocky Mountains, as Jefferson held, was accept 
the northwestern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, and our country's claim 
to the domain west of the Rockies was based on other claims which were well 
founded. The forty-ninth parallel has come down to us as the northern boundary 
west of the Lake of the Woods, though for nearly fift) years it was a matter 
of international dispute, and gave rise to a protracted contn between the 

United States and Great Britain concerning that portion west of the summit 
of the mountains, known in early days as the "Oregon country," which from 
about 1820 to 1846 threatened to terminate in an armed conflict. Great Britain 
claimed all of that country north of the forty-second parallel, while the United 
States, disputing Britain's pretensions, insisted upon her right to all the domain 



6 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

as far north as 54 40' north latitude. The dispute was finally amicably settled 
by compromise, and the forty-ninth degree was fixed as the northern boundary 
of the possessions of the United States. 

The United States came into possession of this magnificent domain of 
1 .ouisiana at a cost of 60,000,000 francs in national bonds bearing 6 per cent inter- 
est, and in addition assumed the payment of debts owing by France to American 
merchants, amounting to about twenty million more. On this basis the treaty 
was consummated, the amount paid reduced to the United States dollar standard, 
allowing 5^ francs to the dollar, being $15,000,000. In the light of subsequent 
history, must we not conclude that in this transaction Providence signally favored 
our country? When intelligence of the treaty reached the President and the 
people of this country, it was regarded with many misgivings and regrets, except 
in the Southwest, where the farmers were so vitally interested ; and for a time 
the heads of Jefferson and the leaders of his party rested uneasily for fear 
that public opinion would be set against them and the Federalists restored to 
control at the national election in 1804. But as time passed the measure grew 
in public esteem and greatly strengthened the party in power. 

The reader is probably familiar with the extent of the territory so acquired, 
from the Mississippi west to the summits of the Rocky Mountains, and from 
the Gulf of Mexico to the international boundary on the north, embracing an 
area of 875,025 square miles in extent and containing 560,016,000 acres, accord- 
ing to the official figures of the general land office of the United States. It 
embraced, as shown on our Government maps of today, nearly the entire State 
of South Dakota, three-fourths of North Dakota, nearly all of Minnesota west 
of the Mississippi River; all of Montana and Wyoming lying east of the main 
range of the Rocky Mountains; one-third of Colorado; all of Kansas save the 
southwest corner south of the Arkansas River; all of the states of Missouri, 
Iowa, Nebraska and Arkansas; practically all of Oklahoma, including the Indian 
Territory, and a large part of the State of Louisiana ; in extent about one-fourth 
less than the original thirteen states; and larger than Great Britain, France, Spain, 
Germany. Italy and Portugal combined. Dakota Territory embraced one of 
the choicest portions of this grand domain, and after a half century of intelligent 
practical experience and development, we feel justified in claiming that it 
enclosed within its boundaries natural resources as varied, as useful, and as 
necessary to mankind as any area of Mother Earth of equal extent in any portion 
of the globe. A law was enacted by Congress, that was approved by President 
Jefierson in March, 1804, giving to the newly acquired country a stable form 
of government. The lower portion of the land was named the Territory of New 
( >rleans, and the upper portion was named the Territory of Louisiana. Dakota 
Territory is a part of Louisiana. 






CHAPTER II 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 

1804 

thomas jeffersonl's efforts to secure the exploration' of the missouri 
valley — first exploration planned from eastern' russia — second 
attempt thwarted by the french — third effort under lewis and clark 
successful — Jefferson's message urging an expedition — congress favors 
— lewis and clark on the way — enter the future dakota, august 21, 

1804 mineral poison in the water — elk and buffalo — the vermillion 

valley and spirit mound. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, would seem 
to have been the first of American statesmen whose interest was aroused regard- 
ing the nature and resources of that portion of our country west of the Missis- 
sippi River. Even before the formation of the Federal Government he had 
been party to an agreement in Paris whereby lohn Ledyard, a famous traveler 
and explorer, was to make a trip through Russia to Kamschatka by land, thence 
across the Behring Sea to the Alaskan coast in some Russian vessel engaged 
in the American Pacific fur trade, of which there were quite a number, thence 
down into the latitude of the Missouri, and thence to the United States. Ledyard 
started on this journey with the consent of the Russian government, and reached 
within 200 miles of Kamschatka, where he was obliged to halt for the winter. 
In the meantime the Russian empress had concluded to prevent the enterprise, 
and as he was preparing to resume his journey in the spring, he was arrested 
and taken to Poland. This ended the enterprise 

"In 1782," using the language of Jefferson, "1 proposed to the American 
Philosophical Society that we should set on foot a subscription to engage some 
competent person to explore that region in the opposite direction -that is. In- 
ascending the Missouri River, crossing the stony mountains and descending the 
nearest river to the Pacific. Captain Lewis warmly solicited me to obtain for 
him the execution of that project. I told him it was proposed that the person 
engaged should be attended by a single companion only to avoid exciting alarm 
among the Indians. This did not deter him: but Mr. Andre Michaux. a professed 
botanist, offering his services, they were accepted. He received his instructions, 
and when he had reached Kentucky in the prosecution of his journey, he was 
overtaken by an order from the minister of France, then at Philadelphia, to 
relinquish the expedition, and to pursue elsewhere the botanical enquiries of the 
government: and thus failed the second attempt for exploring that region." 

In 1803 the act for establishing trading houses among the Indian- being 
about to expire, some modifications of it were recommended to Congress by a 
confidential message of January 18th and an extension of its views to the Indians 
on the Missouri. Congress approved the proposition and voted a -inn ot money 
for carrying it into execution. 

The portion of the message referred to by the President is the following. 
the preceding portion of the document being taken up with recommendation 
regarding the Indians east of the Mississippi, among whom the Government 



8 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

had established public or Government trading houses in order to stop the 
nefarious plundering of the Indians by private traders whose extortions had 
-ioned much trouble. 

While the extension of the public commerce among the Indian tribes may deprive, of 
that source of profit, such of our citizens as are engaged in it, it might be worthy the atten- 
tion of Congress in their care of individual as well as of the general interest to point, in 
another direction, the enterprise of those citizens, as profitably for themselves and more 
usefully for the public. The River Missouri and the Indians inhabiting it are not as well 
known as is rendered desirable by their connection with the Mississippi, and consequently 
with us. It is however understood that the country on that river is inhabited by numerous 
tribes who furnish great supplies of furs and peltry to the trade of another nation, carried 
on in a high latitude through an infinite number of portages and lakes shut up by ice 
through a long season. The commerce on that line could bear no competition with that of 
the Missouri, traversing a moderate climate, offering, according to the best accounts, a 
continued navigation from its source, and possibly with a single portage from the western 
ocean, and finding to the more southern latitude a choice of channels, through the Illinois 
or Wabash, the lakes and Hudson, through the Ohio and Susquehanna, or Potomac or 
James rivers. An intelligent officer with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for the enterprise 
and willing to undertake it, taken from our forts where they may be spared without incon- 
venience, might explore the whole line, even to the western ocean, have conferences with 
the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse, get admission among them for our 
traders as others are admitted, agree on a convenient deposit for an interchange of articles, 
and return with the information required, in the course of two summers. Their arms and 
accoutrements, some instruments of observation, and light and cheap presents for the Indians 
would be all the apparatus they could carry, and with an expectation of a soldier's portion 
of land on their return, would constitute the whole expense. Their pay would be going on 
whether here or there. While other civilized countries have encountered great expense to 
enlarge the boundaries of knowledge, by undertaking voyages of discovery, and for other 
literary purposes, in various parts and directions, our nation seems to owe to the same 
objects, as well as its own interests, to explore this, the only line of easy communication 
across the continent, and so directly traversing our own part of it. The interests of com- 
merce place the principal object within the constitutional powers of Congress; and that it 
should incidentally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent, cannot but 
be an additional gratification. The nation claiming the territory, regarding this as a literary 
pursuit, which it is in the habit of permitting within its dominions, would not be disposed 
to view it with jealousy, even if the expiring state of its interests there did not render it a 
matter nf indifference. 

The appropriation of $2,500 "for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the 
United States," while understood and considered by the executive as giving the legislative 
sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice and prevent the obstructions which 
interested individuals might otherwise previously prepare in its way. 

Tho. Jefferson. 

This message was transmitted to Congress several months before the Louis- 
iana treaty was made with France. 

The enterprise having obtained the sanction of Congress, the President 
immediately made choice of Capt. Meriwether Lewis to command the expedi- 
tion, basin? his action and confidence on his intimate personal acquaintance with 
tin- man and officer, regarding whom the President gave the following unqualified 
indorsement : 

Captain Lewis, who had then been near two vears with me as private secretary, im- 
mediateb renewed his solicitations to have the direction of this party. I had now had 
opportunities of knowing him intimately. Of courace undaunted, possessing a firmness and 
determination of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from its direction: 
careful as a father of those committed to his charge, yet steadv in the maintenance of 
discipline: intimate with the Indian character, customs and principles: habituated to the 
hunting life: guarded, by exact observation of the vegetables and animals of his own 
country, against losing time in the description of objects alreadv possessed; honest, disin- 
terested liberal, of sound understanding and a fidelitv t.i truth so scrupulous that whatever 
bo should report would lie as certain as if seen by ourselves; with all these qualifications. 
as if selected and implanted by nature in one body, for this express purpose, I could have 
no hesitancy in confiding the enterprise to him. 

( aptain Lewis selected as his associates in the enterprise, William Clark, a 
lieutenant in the army and a younger brother of Gen. George Rogers Clark, 
conspicuous in the Continental army during the Revolution. Lieutenant Clark 




WILLIAM CLARK 



MERIWETHER LEW l^ 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 9 

received a commission as captain. The plans for the exploration of Louisiana 
contemplated a voyage up the Missouri River, which was to be explored to its 
source, thence to cross the mountains and go on by any practical river route 
to the Pacific. Information was to be gathered regarding the character of the 
country, its inhabitants, rivers, soil, climate, geography, woods and animals. 
Captain Lewis left Washington July 5, 1803, and proceeded to Pittsburgh, thence 
by the Ohio and Alississippi to St. Louis. The soldiers for the expedition were 
taken from military posts on the Ohio. At Louisville, Kentucky, he was joined 
by Capt. William Clark, his associate, and they proceeded to St. Louis, wtiere 
they arrived in December. Here the expedition was organized with as little 
delay as possible, intending to ascend the Missouri to the highest practicable 
point they could reach before the channel closed and there establish winter 
quarters. But the Spanish commander of the province, not having received an 
official account of the transfer to the United States, was obliged by the general 
policy of his government to forbid the passage of the expedition through Spanish 
territory. The expedition then encamped at the mouth of Wood River on the 
eastern bank of the Mississippi and opposite the mouth of the Missouri, where 
the winter passed in instructing the men and preparing for the journey. 

Including the leaders, the party was made up of nine young Kentuckians 
enlisted for the expedition, fourteen soldiers of the regular ami)', who bad 
volunteered, two French boatmen, and an interpreter and hunter, and a black 
servant belonging to Captain Clark, named York. (Their names are given in 
a subsequent chapter.) Their fleet of boats numbered three, the first a keel 
boat fifty-five feet long, drawing three feet of water, earning one large 
square sail and twenty-two oars. A deck of ten feet in the bow and stem 
formed a forecastle and cabin, while the middle was covered by lockers which 
might be raised so as to form a breastwork in case of attack. This was accom- 
panied by two pirogues, or open boats, one of six and the other of seven oars. 
Two horses were led along the banks of the river for the purpose of bringing 
in game or hunting. In addition to the force above described, a corporal, six 
soldiers and nine watermen were taken to accompany the expedition as far as 
Mandan \ illage to assist in carrying stores and in case of necessity to repel 
an attack. A large quantity of Indian goods, besides the necessary outfit of the 
party, were included in the cargo. The expedition entered the mouth of the 
Missouri on the 14th day of May, 1804, and proceeded without serious mishap 
until nearing the present boundary between Iowa or Nebraska and South Dakota. 
At a council held with the Indians a few days before reaching this point, the 
explorers first mention meeting with three Yankton-Avan Indians, who were 
on a visit to the Mabas, and from whom some information is gleaned regarding 
the disposition of the Dakotah Indians. 

We have thought proper to introduce that portion of the journal which 
describes the passage of the expedition through Dakota as it appears in the 
published record, beginning with the death of Sergeanl Floyd, the first ami only 
Fatality that occurred during ibis memorable journey: 

(hi the 20th of August the party had been holding a council with the Ottoes .1 few 
miles below (Sioux Cityi. ami that morning, after passing two island-, on the north, came 
to one on that side of the river under some bluffs, the first near the rivei left the 

\\auwa village. Here we had the misfortune to lose on< ot out 1 1 ants, Chart 
He had been sei/ed with a bilious colic the day before, and all the care and atti ible 

was bestowed upon him, but failed to give him relief. A little befon hi di ith I 1 to 

Captain Clark, "I am going to leave you"; and Ins strength failing, he added. "1 want 
to write me a letter," and died o mposedly, justifying the high opinion that had med 

of him. He was buried on top of the bluff with the honors due to ildier, and the 

place of his interment marked by a Cedar post on which his name and the day of his death 
were inscribed. About a mile beyond this place, to which we gave his name, is a small 
river about thirty yards wide on the north, which we called Floyd's River, where we 
encamped. 



10 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

The narrative then gives the entrance of the expedition into the region to 
become known as Dakota, on the 21st of August, 1S04: 

The breeze from the southeast carried us by a small willow creek (Perry Creek) on the 
north, about i'A miles above Floyd's River. Here began a range of bluffs which continued 
till near the mouth of the great Sioux River, three miles beyond Floyd's. This river comes 
in from the north and is about one hundred yards wide. Mr. Durion, our Sioux interpreter, 
who is well acquainted with it, says it is navigable upwards of two hundred miles to the 
falls, and even beyond them ; that its sources are near those of the Peters. He also says 
that below the falls a creek falls in from the eastward, after passing through cliffs of red 
rock. Of this the Indians make their pipes, and the necessity for procuring that article has 
introduced a sort of law of nations, by which the banks of the creek are sacred, and even 
tribes at war meet without hostility at these quarries, which possess a right of asylum. 
Thus we find among savages certain privileges deemed sacred, by which the rigors of their 
merciless system of warfare are mitigated. A sense of common danger, where stronger ties 
are wanting, gives all the binding force of more solemn obligations. The importance of 
preserving the known and settled rules of warfare among civilized nations, in all their 
integrity, become strikingly evident, since even savages with their few precarious wants 
cannot exist in a state of peace or war where this faith is once violated. At 4J4 miles we 
came to two willow islands, beyond which are several sand-bars; and at twelve miles a spot 
where the Mahas (Omahas) once had a village, now no longer existing. We encamped on 
the south, having come 24J4 miles. The country through which we passed has the same 
uniform appearance ever since we left the River Platte; rich, low grounds near the river, 
succeeded by undulating prairies with timber near the waters. Some wolves were seen on 
the sand beaches to the south ; we also procured an excellent fruit, resembling the red cur- 
rant, growing on a shrub like the privet, and about the height of a wild plum. On the 
22d, about three miles distant, we joined the men who had been sent from the Mahas village 
and who brought us two deer. The bluffs, which reach the river at this place on the south, 
contain alum, copperas, cobalt, which had the appearance of soft isinglass, pyrites and sand- 
stone, the two first very pure. Above the bluff comes in a small creek on the south, called 
Rolage Creek. Seven miles above is another cliff on the same side, of alum rock of a dark 
brown color, containing in its crevices great quantities of cobalt, cemented shells and red 
earth. From this the river bends to the eastward and approaches the Sioux River within 
three or four miles. We sailed the greater part of the day and made nineteen miles to our 
camp on the north side. The sand-bars are, as usual, numerous, and also considerable traces 
of elk, none of which are yet seen. Captain Lewis, in proving the quality of some of the 
substance in the first cliff, was considerably injured by the fumes and taste of the cobalt, 
and took some strong medicine to relieve him from its effects. The appearance of these 
mineral substances enables us to account for disorders of the stomach with which the party 
had been affected since we left the River Sioux. We had been in the habit of dipping up 
the water in the river inadvertently and making use of it till, on examination, the sickness 
was thought to proceed from a scum covering the surface of the water along the southern 
shore, and which, as we now discovered, proceeded from these bluffs. The men had been 
ordered, before we reached the bluffs, to agitate the water so as to disperse the scum, and 
take the water, not at the surface, but at some depth. 

The consequence was that these disorders ceased ; the biles, too, which had afflicted 
the men, were not observed beyond the Sioux River. 

In order to supply the place of Sergeant Floyd, we permitted the men to name three 
persons ; and Patrick Gass. having the greatest number of votes, was made a sergeant. 

On the following day we set out early, and at four miles came to a small run between 
cliffs of yellow and blue earth; the wind, however, soon changed, and blew so hard from 
the west that we proceeded very slowly, the fine sand from the bar being driven in such 
clouds that we could scarcely see. Three and a quarter miles beyond this run we came to a 
willow island and a sand island opposite, and we camped on the south side at IOJ4 miles. 
On the north side is an extensive and delightful prairie, which we called Buflfalo Prairie, 
from our having there killed the first buffalo. Two elk swam the river today and were 
fired at, but escaped; a deer was killed from the boat; one beaver was killed and several 
prairie wolves were seen 

It began to rain last night and continued this morning, the 24th. We proceeded, how- 
ever, 2'i miles to the commencement of a bluff of blue clay, about one hundred and eighty 
or one hundred and ninety feet on the south side; it seems to have been lately on fire, and 
even now the ground is so warm that we cannot keep our hands in it at any depth; there 
are strong appearances of coal, and also great quantities of cobalt, or a crystallized sub- 
stance resembling it. There is a fruit now ripe resembling a currant, except that it is double 
the size and grows on a bush like .1 privet, the size of a damson and of a delicious flavor; 
its Indian name means rabbit-berries. We then passed, at the distance of about seven miles, 
the mouth ,it a creek on the north side, called by an Indian name, meaning Whitestone 
River (Vermillion River). The beautiful prairie of yesterday has changed into one of greater 
height, and verj smooth and extensive. We encamped on the south side at io!4 miles, and 
found ourselves much annoyed by the mosquitoes. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 11 

The next morning, September 25th, Captains Lewis and Clark, with ten men, went t<> 
see an object deemed very extraordinary among all the neighboring Indians. They dropped 
down to the mouth of Whitestone River (Vermillion), about thirty yards wide, where they 
left the boat, and at the distance of 200 yards ascended a rising ground, from which a plain 
extended itself as far as the eye could discern. Alter making four miles, they crossed the 
creek where it is twenty-three yards wide and waters an extensive valley. The heat was 
so oppressive that we were obliged to send back our dog to the creek, as he was unable to 
bear the fatigue; and it was not till after four hours' march that w< reached the object oi 
our visit. This was a large mound in the midst of the plain about north twenty degrees .. 
from the mouth of Whitestone River, from which it is nine miles distant. I he base of tin- 
mound is a regular parallelogram, the longest side being about three hundred yards, the 
shortest sixty or seventy; from the longest side it rises with a steep ascent from the north 
and south to the height of sixty or seventy feet, leaving on the top a level plain of twelvi 
feet in breadth and ninety in length. The north and south extremities are connected b) two 
oval borders, which serve as new bases, and divide the whole side into three steep Inn n 
lar gradations from the plain. 

The only thing characteristic in this hill is its extreme symmetry, anil tlii-, together 
with its being totally detached from the other hills, which are at the distance oi eight 01 
nine miles, would create a belief that it was artificial; but as the earth and the 1 ose pebbles 
that compose it are arranged precisely like the steep grounds on the borders of the creek. 
we concluded from this similarity of texture that it might be natural. 

Hut the Indians have made it a great article of their superstition; it is called the Moun 
tain of Little People, or Little Spirits, and they believe that it is the abode of little devils 
in the human form, of about eighteen inches high, and with remarkably large heads; thej 
are armed with sharp arrows, with which they are very skillful, and are always on the watch 
to kill those who should have the hardihood to approach their residence. The tradition is 
that many have suffered from these little evil spirits, and. among others, three Waha Indians 
fell a sacrifice to them a few years since. This has inspired all the neighboring nations — 
Sioux. Wahas and Ottoes — with such terror that no consideration could tempt them to visit 
the hill. We saw none of the wicked little spirits, nor any place for them except some small 
holes scattered on the top. We were happy enough to have escaped their vengeance, though 
we remained some time on the mound to enjoy the delightful prospect of the plain, which 
spreads itself out till the eye rests upon the northwest hills at a great distance, and those of 
the northeast still farther off, enlivened by large herds of buffaloes feeding at a distance. 
The soil of these plains is exceedingly fine; there is, however, no timber, except on the Mis- 
souri, all the wood of the Whitestone River not being sufficient to cover thickly one hundred 
acres. The plain country which surrounds this mound has contributed not a little to its 
bad reputation; the wind driving from every direction over the level mound obliges the 
insects to seek shelter on its leeward side, or be driven against it by the wind. 

The excessive heat and thirst forced us from the hill, about i o'clock, to the nearest 
water, which we found in the creek at three miles distance, and remained an hour and a hall 
We then went down the creek through a lowland about one mile in width, and crossed it 
three times, to the spot where we first reached it in the morning. Mere we gathered si me 
delicious plums, grapes and blue currants, and afterwards arrived at the mouth of the river 
about sunset. To this place the course from the mound is south twenty degrees, east nine 
miles. We there resumed our periogue. and on reaching our encampment of last night sel 
the prairies on fire to warn the Sioux of our approach. 

In the meantime the boat under Sergeant Pryor had proceeded during the afternoon 
one mile to a bluff of blue clay on the south, anil after passing a sand-bar and tw sand 
islands, fixed their camp at the distance of -i\ miles on the south. We had killed a duck 
and several birds; in the boat they had caught some large catfish. 

We rejoined the boat at o o'clock .11 Sunday the 26th, before she set out. and then 
passing by an island and under a cliff on the south, nearly two miles in extent and composed 
of wdlite and blue earth, encamped at nine miles distance on a -and bar toward the north. 
Opposite to this, on the south, is a small creek called Petit Are. or Little Bow, and a 
short distance above it an old village of the same name. This village, of which nothing 
remains but the mound of earth about four feet high surrounding it. was built bj a Waha 
chief named Little Bow, who. being displeased with Black Bird (the principal chief I. the 
late king, seceded with 2011 followers and settled at this spot which is now abandoned, as 

tlie two villages have reunited since the death of Black Bird. We have great quantities of 

grapes, and plums of three kinds — two of a yellow color and distinguished the 

species being longer than the other, and a third round and red; all have an e: Ivor, 
particularly those of a yellow kind. 



CHAPTER III 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 
(Continued) 

AT THE MOUTH OF JAMES RIVER — YANKTON INDIANS SEND FRIENDLY GREET- 
INGS AT THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF DAKOTA FOUR DAYS COUNCIL WITH THE 

YANKTONS — AMERICAN FLAG UNFURLED ADMIRABLE SPEECHES — A NEVER- 

SURRENDER INDIAN BAND — STRIKE-THE-REE THE FIRST — CENSUS — CALUMET 

BLUFF FORTIFICATIONS AT BON HOMME ISLAND IN RUINS PRINCE MADOC 

AND THE MANDAN INDIANS. 

August 27th (nearing Yankton). The morning star appears much larger than usual. 
A gentle breeze from the southeast carried us by some large sand-bars on both sides and in 
the middle of the river to a cliff on the south side at 7J2 miles distant; this bluff is of white 
clay or chalk, under which is much stone, like lime, incrusted with a clear substance supposed 
to be cobalt, and some dark ore. About this bluff we set the prairie on fire to invite the Sioux. 
After I2t4 miles we had passed several other sand-bars, and soon reached the mouth of a 
river called by the French Jacques (James River), or Yankton, from the tribe which inhabits 
its banks. It is about ninety yards wide at the confluence; the country which it waters is 
rich prairie, with little timber; it becomes deeper and wider above its mouth, and may be 
navigated a great distance, as its sources rise near those of St. Peter's of the Mississippi 
and the Red River of Lake Winnipeg. As we came to the mouth of the river an Indian 
swam to the boat, and on our landing we were met by two others, who informed us that a 
large body of Sioux were encamped near us. They accompanied three of our men, with an 
invitation to meet us at a spot above on the river; the third Indian remained with us. 

He is a Maha boy, and says that his nation has gone to the Pawnees to make peace with 
them. At fourteen miles we encamped on a sand-bar to the north (V/2 miles above the 
James ). The air was cool, the evening pleasant, the wind from the southeast and light. The 
river has fallen gradually, and is now low. 

On Tuesday, the 28th of August, we passed, with a stiff breeze from the south, several 
sand-bars. On the south is a prairie which rises gradually from the water to the height of a 
bluff which is, at four miles distance, of a whitish color and about seventy or eighty feet high. 
Farther on is another bluff of a brownish color, on the north side; and at the distance of 8]/^ 
miles is the beginning of Calumet Bluff, on the south side (ten miles from the James), under 
which we formed our camp, iru a beautiful plain, to await the arrival of the Sioux. At the 
first bluff the young Indian left us and joined his camp. 

Before reaching Calumet Bluff, one of the periogues ran upon a log in the river and was 
rendered unfit for service, so that all our loading was put into the second periogue. On both 
sides of the river are fine prairies with cottonwood, and near the bluff there is more timber at 
the points and valleys than we have been accustomed to see. 

August 29th, on Wednesday, we had a violent storm of wind and rain last evening, and 
were engaged during the day in repairing the periogue and other necessary occupations, 
when at 1 "'clock in the afternoon Sergeant Pryor and his party arrived on the opposite 
side attended by five chiefs and about seventy men and boys. We sent a boat for them and 
they joined 11s a< did also Mr. Durion, the son of our interpreter, who happened to be 
trading with the Sioux at this time. He returned with Sergeant Pryor to the Indians, with 
a present of tobacco, corn and a few kettles, and told them we would speak to their chiefs 
in the morning. Sergeant Pryor reported that on reaching their village, which is at twelve 
miles distance from our camp, he was met by a party with a buffalo robe on which they de- 
sired to carry their visitors, an honor which they declined, informing the Indians that they 
were not the commanders of the boat. As a great mark of respect they were then presented 
wtih.a fat dog already cooked, of which they partook heartily and found it well flavored. 

The camps Hodges') of the Sioux are of conical form, covered with buffalo robes, 
painted with various figures and colors, with an aperture in the top for the smoke to pass 
through. The lodges contain from ten to fifteen persons, and the interior arrangement is 
compact and handsome, each lodge having a place for cooking detached from it. 

12 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 13 

On Thursday, the 30th, the fog was so thick that we could not see the Indian camp on 
the opposite side ; but it cleared off about 8 o'clock. We prepared a speech and some presents, 
and then sent for the chiefs and warriors, whom we received at 12 o'clock under a large 
oak tree, near to which the flag of the United Stales was flying. Captain Lewis delivered a 
speech, with the usual advice and counsel for their future conduct. We then acknowledged 
their chiefs by giving to the grand chief a flag, a medal, a certificate with a string of! 
wampum, to which we added a chief's coat that is a richly laced uniform of the United States 
Artillery Corps, and a cocked hat and red feather. One second chief and three inferior ones 
were made or recognized by medals and a suitable present of tobacco and articles of cloth- 
ing. We then smoked the pipe of peace, and the chiefs retired to a bower formi d ■! bushes 
by their young men, where they divided among each other the presents, and smoked and 
ate, and held a council on the answer which they were to make us tomorrow. The young 
people exercised their bows and arrows in shooting at marks for beads, which we distributed 
to the best marksmen ; and in the evening the whole party danced to a late hour, and in 
the course of their amusement we threw among them some knives, tobacco, bells, tops and 
binding, with which they were much pleased. Their musical instruments were the drum and 
a sort of little bag made of buffalo hide dressed white, with small shot or pebbles in it, 
and a bunch of hair tied to it. This produces a sort of rattling music, with which the, 
party was annoyed by four musicians during the council this morning. 

On the morning of the 31st, after breakfast, the chiefs met and sat down in a row, 
with pipes of peace highly ornamented, and all pointed toward the seats intended for 
Captains Lewis and Clark. When they arrived and were seated, the grand chief, whose 
Indian name, Weucha, is in English Shake Hand, and in French is called Le Liberateur (the 
deliverer), rose and spoke at some length, approving what we had said and promising to 
follow our advice. 

"I see before me," said he, "my great father's two sons. You see me and the rest of 
our chiefs and warriors. We are very poor. We have neither powder nor ball, nor knives, 
and our women and children at the village have no clothes. I wish that, as my brothers have 
given me a flag, and a medal, they would give something to those poor people or let them 
stop and trade with the first boat that comes up the river. I will bring chiefs of the Pawnees 
and Mahas together and make peace between them ; but it is better that I should do it than 
my great father's sons, for they will listen to me more readily. 1 will also take some chiefs 
to your country in the spring; but before that time I cannot leave home. I went formerly 
to the English and they gave me a medal and some clothes; when 1 went to the Spanish they 
gave me a medal, but nothing to keep it from my skin; but now you give me a medal and 
clothes. But still we are poor, and I wish, brothers, you would give us something for our 
squaws." 

When he sat down. Mahtoree, or White Crane, arose : "I have listened," said he, "to 
what our father's words were yesterday, and I am glad today to see how you have dressed 
our old chief. I am a young man and do not wish to take much ; my fathers have made me a 
chief; I had much sense before, but now I think I have more than ever. What the old chief 
has declared I will confirm, and do whatever he and. you please; but 1 wish that you would 
take pity on us, for we are very poor." 

Another chief called Pau-nau-ne-ah-pah-be (Strike-the-Rce") then said: "I am a young 
man and know but little. I cannot speak well, but 1 have listened to what you have told the 
old chief and will do whatever you agree." 

The same sentiments were then repeated by Awea Wechache. We were surprised at find- 
ing that the first of these titles means, "Struck by the Pawnees," and was occasioned by some 
blow which the chief received in battle from one of the Pawnee tribe. The second is. in I n 
lish, "Half Man," which seems a singular name for a warrior, till it was explained to havi 
origin probably in the modesty of the chief, who, on being told of his exploits, would say: 
"I am no warrior; I am only half a man." The other chiefs spoke very little, but after tiny 
had finished, one of the warriors delivered a speech in which be declared lie would support 
them. They promised to make peace with the Ottocs and Missouris, the onl) nations with 
whom they are at war. All these harangues concluded by describing the distress of the 
nation; they begged us to have pity on them: to send them traders; that they wanted powder 
and ball, and seemed anxious that we should supply them with some of the great father's 
milk, the name by which they distinguish ardent spirits. 

We then gave some tobacco to each of the chiefs, and a certificate to two of the warriors 
who attended the chief. We prevailed on Mr. Durion to remain here, and accompany as many 
of the Sioux chiefs as he could collect down to the seat of government. We also gave bis 
son a flag, some clothes, and provisions, with directions to bring about .1 peace between 
surrounding tribes, and to convey some of their chiefs to see the President. In the evening 
they left us and encamped on the opposite bank, accompanied by the two Durions 

During the evening and night we had much rain and observed that the river raised a little 
The Indians who have just left us are the Yanktons, a tribe of the gl 
These Yanktons are about two hundred men in number, and inhabit the Jacques, I I 
and SioUX rivers. In person they are stout, well proportioned, and have a certain air of 
dignity and boldness. In their dress they differ nothing from the other bands of the nat 
whom we saw and will describe afterwards; they are fond of decorations, and use paint 
porcupine quills and feathers. Some of them wear a kind of necklace of white bear's claws, 
three inches long and closely strung together around their necks. 



14 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

They have only a few fowling pieces, being generally armed with bows and arrows, in 
which, however, they do not appear to lie as expert as the more northern Indians. What 
Struck us most was an institution peculiar to them, and to the Kito Indians farther to the 
westward, from whom it is said to have been copied. It is an association of the most active 
and brave young men, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured by a vow never to 
retreat before any danger, or give way P> their enemies. In war they go forward without 
sheltering themselves behind trees, or aiding their natural valor by any artifice. This punc- 
tilious determination not to be turned from their course became heroic or ridiculous a short 
time since, when the Yanktons were crossing the Missouri on the ice. A hole lay immediately 
in their course which might easily have been avoided by going round. This the foremost of 
the band djsdained to do, but went straight forward and was lost. The others would have 
followed his example, but were forcibly prevented by the rest of the tribe. These young men 
sit, and encamp, and dance together, distinct from the rest of the nation; they are generally 
about thirty or thirty-five years old; and such is the deference paid to courage that their seats 
in council are superior to those of the chiefs, and their persons more respected. But, as may 
be supposed, such indiscreet bravery will soon diminish the number of those who practice 
it, so that the band is now reduced to lour warriors, who were among our visitors. These 
were the remains of twenty-two who composed their society not long ago; but in a battle 
with the Kito Indians of the Black Mountains eighteen of them were killed, and these four 
were dragged from the field by their companions. 

While these Indians remained with us we made very minute inquiries in relation to their 
situation and numbers, and trade and manners. This we did very satisfactorily by means of 
two different interpreters, and from their accounts joined to our interviews with other bands 
of the same nation, and much intelligence acquired since, we were enabled to understand with 
some accuracy the condition of the Sioux, hitherto so little known. 

The Sioux, or Dacota Indians, originally settled on the Mississippi, and called, by Carver, 
Madowesians, are now subdivided into tribes as follows : 

First, the Yanktons. This tribe inhabits the Sioux, Des Moines and Jacques rivers, and 
numbers about two hundred warriors. 

Second, the Tetons of the burnt woods. This tribe numbers about three hundred men, 
who rove on both sides of the Missouri, the White, and the Teton rivers. 

Third, the Tetons Okaudaudas, a tribe consisting of about one hundred and fifty men, 
who inhabit both sides of the Missouri River below the Cheyenne River. 

I ourth, Tetons Minna Kennozzo. a nation inhabiting both sides of the Missouri River, 
above the Cheyenne River, and containing about two hundred and fifty men. 

Fifth, Tetons Saone. These inhabit both sides of the Missouri River below the Warre- 
conne River, and consist of about three hundred men. 

Sixth. Yanktons of the Plains, or Big Devils, who rove on the heads of the Sioux, Jacques 
and Red rivers ; the most numerous of all the tribes and number about five hundred men. 

Seventh, Wahpatone, a nation residing on the St. Peter's, just above the mouth of that 
river, and numbering 200 men. 

Eighth, Minda- war-carton, or proper Dacota or Sioux Indians. These possess the orig- 
inal seat of the Sioux and are properly so denominated. They rove on both sides of the 
Mississippi about the Falls of St. Anthony, and consist of ,^oo men. 

Ninth, the Wahpakoota, or Leaf Beds. This nation inhabits both sides of the River St. 
Peter's below Yellow wood River, amounting to about one hundred and fifty men. 

Tenth, Sistasoone. This nation numbers 200 men and reside at the head of the St. 
Peter's. Of these several tribes more particular notice will be taken hereafter. 

A slight digression here seems to be necessary because of some divergent 
accounts regarding the place where this council was held. 

The language of tin- Lewis and (dark journal regarding this camp is this; 
"Al the distance of 83 _> miles t from the last camp \ l / 2 miles above the mouth of 
James River) is the beginning of Calumet Bluff, under which we formed our 
camp, on the south." This would bring the second camping place above the 
James ten miles from its mouth. The encampment near the mouth of the James 
was in section 19, town 93, range 54, as since surveyed. The next camp (esti- 
mated ) was nut far from the present township line dividing ranges 55 and 56 
west, which is only a few feet wesl of Broadway, Yankton, and nearly opposite 
the old Village of Green Island, Nebraska, which was swept away in the flood 
of 1881. It is impossible t" locale Calumet Bluff, or the beginning of it, at 
( freen Island, or within any reasonable distance of that place. The insuperable 
difficulty is to make the natural conditions on the south side correspond with the 
description of the country on that shore as given by the editor of Lewis and 
Clark's journal, while no stub difficulty exists with regard to the north side. 
The editor of the journal admits that there may be discrepancies between the 
original notes and his transcription. The notes had already passed through two 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 15 

hands in preparation for publication. None of these transcribers or editors wire 
members of the expedition party. Captain Lewis died five years before the 
journal was finally edited and ready for publication, and could not have revi 
the work of the editors. 

The camp of the Yankton Indians was not far from the mouth of the lames 
River, and the journal says the Indians had come twelve miles from their camp 
to the place of this grand council. The journal does nol state on which side of 
the James the Yanktons had their camp, and this distance of twelve miles, owing 
to their being obliged to follow the bends of the river, would just about bring 
them to within a half mile of the foot of Broadway. We disdain any purpose 
to deny the integrity of the journal, hut there is no wa\ to harmonize its state- 
ment with regard to this council ground, assuming that the south side of the 
river was meant, unless we move the council ground to the north side, or remo 
Calumet Bluff from the north to the south side. Then, again, why should the 
Yankton Indians, a powerful representative of the great Dahkotah nation, 
whose good will and friendship was so much desired by tin- Government, have 
been compelled to cross the great river to a country not their own to hold this 
council when they could offer superior camping facilities, with far less incon- 
venience, in their own country? 

It may be asked why, if the camp was on the north side of the river, a boat 
was sent to transfer Sergeant I'ryor across? The boat, however, is not men- 
tioned when the Indians were sent for; but presuming that the camp had bi 
formed under Calumet Bluff on the north side, and on the south side of the 
Calumet Bluff, which is a reasonable interpretation of the language, the camp 
would not have been easily accessible by land. There was no nail down the 
bluff in this vicinity. The journal says the river ran near the bluffs on both 
sides. It would seem that the Indians coining up from their camp on the James 
reached the high bank of the Missouri in the neighborhood of the foot of Locust 
Street, Yankton, where the camp down in the valley could be distinctly seen and 
the Indians could also be observed from the camp. It is not at all unlikcK that 
the approach to the camp, along the Yankton shore, was beset with sand bars and 
water holes, and may have been entirely under water, and that Lewis and Clark 
had formed their cam]) with the purpose of taking advantage of the protection 
afforded by nature in these and other favorable surroundings. Y the Indians 
could not descend the bluff and make their way to the camp along tin shore, a 
boat was sent down to the first landing place for them. The locality of the cam]) 
might be regarded as of U ss importance but for the first council that was here 
held under the sanction of the Government and the protection of flic (lag. This 
was the first formal council held between the representatives of the United Si 
and the native inhabitants of this territory, and the first occasion when the Stars 
and Stripes, our national emblem, was displayed as a token of sovereignty upon 
the soil of Dakota. 

The Indians were line specimens of physical manh I. The chiefs, and a 

number of his warriors, wore a suit of buckskin curiously wrought with b( 
of a variety of colors, while the head chief wore, in addition, a coronet of I 
feathers continuing down the back almost to his feet. 

Captain Lewis was particularly impressed with the frank demeanor and dis- 
ingenuous manners of the savages, and he seems to have b en gr< itl tified 
at meeting with such courtesies as they, in their primitive etiquette, extended 
him and his crew. Their conical tepees ware a subjed of close it i tion 
and greatly admired. These were made of dressed buffalo and elk skins, painted 
'or stained white and crimson, presenting a most pleasing and fanciful 
auce. Inside, the principal ones, were partially carpeted with robes and : 
sional beaver and fox skin could be seen. Probably the Indians had designed 
to make their appearance and display of regal order, and were not exhibiti 
to the white people their ordinary domestic life or every day apparel, which 
however, only ser\es to prove that they possessed a certain barbaric ci\ 



,,; HISTORY OF DAKi 'I \ I ERRITORY 

tli.it we look for almost in vain amongst our American Indians after a century's 
intercourse with white people. 

I lie council was the occasion for the distribution of many medals and presents 
to the chiefs and braves who were in attendance and they were given to under- 
stand that these gifts wen- from the Great Father at Washington, who, though 
he could not be present in person, was with them in these gifts and wished to 
assure them that the welfare of his Indian children was a matter in which he 
felt the warmesl interest. Some of these Jeffersonian medals were in possession 
of the Yankton Indians more than a half century later. 

The language of the Lewis and Clark journal in leaving Yankton September 
1st betrays the error of presuming that their camp at Yankton had been on the 
south side, First, the journal of the 28th says they made their camp at the 
beginning of the Calumet Bluff on the south. 

As no such bluff existed on that side a camp could not be made under it; 
but luff did exiM and still exists on the north side and extends for 

Several miles up the river, and when the expedition left its Yankton Camp on 

irday, September tst, the journal says: "We proceeded this morning and 

1 d the Calumet bluffs. These are composed of a yellowish-red and brownish 
clay as hard as chalk which it much resembles, and are 170 to 180 feet high." 
description could not have keen given unless .Mr. Lewis made a personal 
examination. These are the same Calumet bluffs or chalk rock bluffs that extend 
from Yankton to the Lenient wurks. and under the beginning of these the 
expedition's journal states that they made their camp. There is nothing even 
remotely resembling them on the south side. 

.Mr. M. K. Armstrong, author of the history of Dakota published in 1866, 
was well informed in such matters, and had frequent occasion during his pioneer 
residence in Yankton, beginning in 1859, to converse with the old Yankton 
Indians then residing here, many of whom, including the chief, "Strike the Ree," 
remembered the occasion of Lewis and Clark's visit. A published statement 
made at the time by Mr. Armstrong regarding the location of Lewis and Clark's 
camps, says : 

It is difficult to determine the exact locality of their encampment at that time, but from 

all the information that can be gained from their journal nnd other authentic sources, we 

if the belief that it must have bi 1 n at the Oak Point and Bluff on the premises of J. S. 

It could hardlv have been at the Billido Bluffs, four miles 

or at Smutty Bear's ramp, nine miles from here; for in descending the river in icSoo 

encamped on a sandbai 1 pposite ( alumet Bluff, on the night of the 1st of September, 

ami passed the mouth of James Rivet al 8 "'clock next morning, having traveled by river 

ten miles from the bluff. 

It will be observed that the sojourn of the explorers at the Yankton Cam]) 
iod of four days, a longer time than was given to any other locality 
until the party went into winter quarters. 

ilurday. September 1, il-soa. — We proceeded this morning and passed the Calumet 

llowish red and brownish clay as hard as chalk, which it 
d are 170,,: high. At this place the hills ,,n each side come to 

1 the river, thi se on the south being higher than those on the north. Opposite 
land 1 Ambrose Island) covered with timber, above which the high- 
river on thi ! called White Beai 1 liff, an animal of that 
I in it, which are numerous and apparently deep. At six 

vith cotti nw I. \\ ■ ifteen miles to a 

it of a large island called Bon Homme or Good- 

' nil. 

ountry iracter of prairies, with no timber, with occa-' 

1 with Cottonwood, elm an I Hit hunters had killed an elk and 

undance. The foil ent three miles 

h side, and 1 ie head of Bon 

bered Vfter this the wind became so iolem that 

land at four miles On the nortl under a high Muff of yellow 

hundred at - I in height. Our hunters supplied us with four elks, 




MAP OF FORT BUILT B^ I \ I >l W- OM BON HOMME CSLAND 
Draw ii by Lew is and • 'laik 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 17 

and we had grapes and plums on the bartks ; we also saw the beargrass and rue on the sides 
of the bluffs. At this place there are highlands on both sides of the river, which become 
more level at some distance back, and contain but few streams of water. On the southern 
bank, during this day, the grounds have not been so elevated. Captain Clark crosed the, 
river to examine the remains of the fortification we had first passed. This interesting 
object is on the south side of the Missouri opposite the upper extremity of Bon Homme 
Island, and in a low. level plain, the hills being three miles from the river. It begins by a 
wall composed of earth, rising immediately from the bank of the river, and running in a direct 
course S. 76: W. ninety-six yards; the base of this wall or mound is seventy-five feet and 
its height about eight. It then diverges in a course S. 84 : \V. and continues at the same 
height and depth to the distance of fifty-three yards, the angle being formed by a sloping 
descent; at the junction of these two is the appearance of a hornwork of the sarrii hi 1 In 
with the first angle; the same wall then pursues a course at 69: \V. for 300 yards; near its 
western extremity is an opening or gateway at right angles to the wall and projecting 
inwards ; this gateway is defended by two nearly semi-circular walls placed before it, lower 
than the large walls, and from the gateway there seems to have been a covered way com- 
municating with the interval between these two walls; westward of the gate the wall becomes 
much larger, being about one hundred and five feet at its base and twelve feet high ; at the 
end of this high ground the wall extends for fifty-six yards on a course at 32: W. ; it then 
turns to N. 32: W. for seventy-three yards; these two walls seem to have had a double or 
covered way; they are from 10 to 15 feet 8 inches in height, and from 75 to 150 feet in 
width at the base, the descent inwards being step, while outwards it forms a sort of glacis. 
At the distance of seventy -three yards the wall ends abruptly at a large hollow place much 
lower than the general level of the plain^ and from which is some indication of a covered 
way to the water. 

The space between them is occupied by several mounds scattered promiscuously through 
the gorge, in the center of which is a deep, round hole. From the extremity of the last 
wall, in a course N. 32: W. is a distance of ninety-six yards over the low ground, where 
the wall recommences and crosses the plain over in a course N. 81 : W. for 1,830 yards to 
the bank of the Missouri. In this course its height is about eight feet, till it enters, at the 
distance of 533 yards, a deep circular pond of seventy-three yards diameter; after which it 
gradually lowers towards the river; it touches the river at a muddy bar, that bears every 
mark of being an encroachment of the water, for a considerable distance, and a little above 
the junction is a small circular redoubt. 

Along the bank of the river and at 1,100 yards distance, in a straight line from this wall, 
is a second, about six feet high and of considerable width; it rises abruptly from the hanks 
of the Missouri, at a point wdiere the river bends, and goes straight forward, forming an 
acute angle with the last wall until .it enters the river again not far from the mounds just 
described, towards which it is obviously tending. At the bend the Missouri is 500 yards 
wide; the ground at the opposite side highlands, or low hills on the bank ; and where the river 
passes between this front and Bon Homme Island, all the distance from the bend, it is 
constantly washing the banks into the streams, a large sand bank being already taken from 
the shore near the wall. During the whole course of this wall or glacis, it is covered with 
trees, among which are many large cotton trees that are two to three feet in diameter. 
Immediateh opposite the citadel, or the part most strongly fortified on Bon Homme Island, 
is a small work in a circular form, with a wall surrounding it about six feet in height. The 
young willows along the water joined to the general appearance of the two shores induce a 
belief that the bank of the island is encroaching, and the Missouri indemnifies itself by 
washing away the base of the fortification 

The citadel contains about twenty acres, but the parts between the long walls must 
embrace nearly five hundred acres. These are the first remains of the kind which we have 
had an opportunity of examining; but our French interpreter assures us that there are gi 
numbers of them on the Platte, the Kansas, the Jacques, etc., and some of our part} saj that 
they observed two of these fortresses on the Petite Arc (Little I'.ow 1 (reek n 1 fai 
its mouth; that the wall was about six feet high and the sides of the angles 100 yards 
in length. 

This fortification, Lewis concluded, was the ruins of an ancient fort that had 
been constructed by a fairly intelligent people, who possessed considerable 
knowledge of the science of military architecture. Durion, the interpreter, who 
had spent his life with the Indians, was unable to enlighten the captain, but told 
him that a similar work would be found on the fames River; but even the Sioux 
Indian tribe had no tradition that threw any light upon the matter. Directly 
across the channel on the island shore wa.s found the disintegrating remain 
what appeared to have been a citadel as ancient and probably a contemporary 
with the fort when constructed and undoubtedly designed for use in con 
with the fortification in case of necessity. The citadel was or had been a circular 
structure, and outside and enclosing it was a stone wall six feet high in places. 



l8 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

I Note by Ed.] The traditional story of the Mandan people forces itself upon 
the mind in contemplating the description of these works and those at tort 
Thompson, constructed apparentl) for the protection and defense of a part .ally 
civilized people againsl an enemy that was at any tune liable to assa. them 
These Mandans had passed up the Missouri Valley long before -how long is 
left to conjecture, but they had o ed and occupied a fortification above 

Fori Pierre and had abandoned that, and Lewis found them hundreds of miles 
farther north. There is a mystery connected with them, which the present gen- 
eration of Mandan. nor that which existed when Captain Lewis met them, were 
able or willing to unravel. Many of them did not resemble other Indians except 
partially, while in many striking physical characteristics they are essentially non- 
Indian.' Some had blue eyes, various shades of hair; the absence of high cheek 
bones the almost fair complexion of many of them, the knowledge they still 
po . of some of the primitive arts, including agriculture, all go to prove 

; lri , ,i,c\ ice ol peoph developing into a higher civilization, or in the 

ceding from a civilized and enlightened race to the barbaric 
state M would seem thai the latter theory would conform best with the little 
that is known of this remarkable people. They are the special aversion of the 
hkotah Indians who have never omitted an opportunity to wreak their enmity 
upon them and in explanation of the fortifications at Bonhomme it would appear 
to luxe been built for the purpose of protecting and defending a numerous body 
of civilized or semi-civilized people against a relentless and powerful enemy. 
The site bad been selected intelligently for the purpose of a permanent abode, 
and no doubl was occupied and used as the home of a people who practiced 
agriculti ped, hunted, fished, always wary of their red skinned enemy 

w hi mes may have come in force to assail them, when lodged behind the 

battlements of their fort they could as successfully resist as the other could 
ault, and if the dire emergency ever arose when their fortifications were 
taken, their citadel across the narrow channel afforded a secure place of retreat 
and an almost absolute defensive structure against any arms their enemy was 
conversant with. The Mandans courted peace by isolating themselves from all 
other human beings. They were unlike any other Indian tribe and avoided any 
lowship with their race. They had no desire to affiliate with other Indian 
trib. i i other whites. They desired to be let alone, and pass unobserved except 
as tl ities required them to barter with the traders. 

Now that we have indulged in some speculation concerning this strange band 
of nomadic people we ask the reader's attention to a brief review of the career 
of this remarkable tribe, and would direct attention to the result, after many 
centuries of trial, of the intermarriage of white- and Indians. The Mandans 
would seem to furnish a living illustration of the benefits accruing to the Indian 
Hire by this intermarriage or miscegenation, with the better class of white 
ople, and if thi narrativi is a true one it furnishes the most interesting evi- 
that truth is stranger than fiction. The Mandan Indians have been 
;nized as one of the oldest tribes in North America and their existence and 
have been traced back for several centuries, when even before the Colum- 
bian era. the. numerous and peaceful tribe inhabiting a portion of the 
South Atlantic coast. It is known that connected with them were a number of 
white men oi n intelligence and of strong religious inclinations. These 
1 to be Welshmen, who. under a leader known as Prince Madoc, 
visited ibis continent from Wales in the twelfth century. This party made one 
-fill voyage and a second was undertaken, but no authentic information 

i obtained, unless this tradition, which has the 

support of c two, early missionaries, should prove to be well 

founded. The tradition informs us that these white voyagers and explorers 

I near the coasl peopled by the Mandans, probably Georgia as 

known, and the survivors found shelter and subsistence from the Indians, 

with whom they continued to dwell, and realizing the hopelessness of rescue, 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 19 

finally, and with devout sincerity, concluded to unite their destinies with these 
strange barbarous' people, and with them spend the remainder of their days, 
taking Indian wives, and adopting Indian customs so far as necessary, and 
teaching the belter customs, methods and religion of the whites to the Indians. 
This may have been 700 years ago, and somewhat in confirmation of this is the 
story that a Welsh ship, on a voyage of discovery was losl on the southern 
Atlantic coast near the close of the twelfth century. In any event these whi 
or their descendants were seen and conversed with later by missionaries and 
explorers, and through the medium of their language it was ascertained that 
these whites were of Welsh extraction. As time passed the .Mandans, with all 
other aboriginal peoples, were crowded back from the oast by the aggressive 
and increasing forces of civilization, and as the Mandans would abandon a 
country where one or two generations had been born and lived and died, it would 
be discovered that they were not like the other Indian nations; that they pos 
sessed a knowledge of many arts not common to the children of the forest ; that 
they had erected substantial log buildings for residences, and their cultivated 
fields were far in advance of any agricultural knowledge possessed and practiced 
by Indians generally, and occasional instances of the construction of substantial 
fortifications were encountered. The story goes that there was always a sort 
of reticence or backwardness on the part of the members of this tribe, when 
asked a question that concerned their history, as though they knew a tradition 
of a singular character concerning themselves, but which they did not fully 
believe and felt that those who pressed them to relate it would brand it as an 
invention pure and simple. 

It is conjectured by some of the missionary writers that they fully realized 
a radical difference between their nation and other Indian nations, and even 
after the lapse of centuries their speech disclosed a foreign ingredient that they 
explained had been imparted by intercourse with a strange people in tlv remote 
past. The physiological characteristics of many of them denoted a blended organ- 
ism. In its migrations west the tribe finally reached the Valley of the Missouri. 
They seem to have made a settlement at certain points where they have remained 
a half or a full century, perhaps longer, then would follow a removal and the 
founding of a new village or fort hundreds of miles away. We believe it was 
the Mandans who built and occupied the Bon Homme fortifications which excited 
so much interest in the mind of Captain Lewis, and that be would have found 
the colony there had his exploration occurred a century or two earlier. They 
had passed on long anterior to his time, had built and abandoned another cen- 
tury old home, near Fort Thompson, and were beyond the reach of civilization 
by a half centurv at least when he formed their acquaintance. In numbers they 
had become reduced to a fragment of a tribe, still possessing, however, traits of 
character, customs and an unTndian appearance that placed them in a class by 
themselves. They arc a survival of the fittest, perhaps, of what can be produi 
by the union of the Anglo Saxon and native American under fairly favorable 
circumstances, and seem to demonstrate that no advantage has come to either 
race as a result of their long centuries of experiment. 

George Catlin, a famous painter and authority on Indian traditions gathered 
by himself during years of patient labor among them, from 1850 up. while visit- 
ing with the Mandans, came to believe that they had descended from a company 
of Welsh explorers who landed on the shores of North America about two 
hundred years before the arrival of Columbus. Of the ten ships which left 
Northern Wales some time about [290, in charge of Prince Modoc, no tidings 
were ever heard, but Catlin was of opinion that they planted a colony in the 
region of Ohio, coming inland from the southern shore or coast; and after his 
sojourn with them in their fortified village on the Upper Missouri he had no 
difficulty in tracing them back, and down the river, and up the < 'bio to the 
immense fortifications of that country. Thus finding constant tracks oi tl 
ruins, he became convinced that the Indians, with whom he had passed so much 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

lime were descended from those ancient builders. In some instances those forts 
', I .uuav and thirty feet high, with carefully covered passages leading 
to the water. Again the similarity can he traced in the Mandan canoe which 
5u an exact counterpart of the ' of the \ elsh, made ot buffalo hides 

stretched over a frame ... willows, and fashioned as round as a tub Lath 

Id the Mandans living in a massive stockade, with convenient portholes, on 
two sides of which then- cay was fortified b 3 standing back upon the edge of 
precipices that struck down a rock ledge to the ..vers brink Their lodges were 
circular in form, and from forty to sixty feet in diameter. The Mandans were 
1 fanners and believed in diversity of crops; raising corn, squashes and pump- 
kins Their cellars for storing their dried vegetables and corn in winter were dug 
six or seven feet deep, smaller at the top in a sort of jug like shape, and no matter 
how severe the winter nothing ever froze. Their homes were clean, comfortable 
and commodious I Here is where the Welsh intermixture is revealed.) Many 
of the women were almosl white, with gray, hazel or blue eyes; hair of every 
shade hut auburn, which they delighted to spread out, its long folds reaching to 
their knees. Many of the I >hio specimens of pottery dug from those archaic 
fortifications were like the utensils used by the Mandans, who spent much time 
in moulding pitchers, vases, pots and cups; baking the clay in kilns built in the 
hill sides; and from those ingenious artisans the fur hunters used to get a beau- 
tiful and durable blue glass' bead, of their own manufacture, but the process 
was never revealed by them to the whites. 

There is a legend' among them thai their ancestors once lived under a great 
bodj of water that is far to the northeast; but that some of the people came out 
from their horn beneath the seas, and their glowing accounts led others to 
also, for the outside country, although some were unable to climb out. 
From the time ol leaving their homes under the deep waters, they wandered 
over the prairies, suffering much, but always delivered by their Good Angel, 
through some mil u ulous interposition, and in time they were led by messengers 
who went south, "to the fertile land of the buffalo and elk, and people who lived 
in bouses and tilled the ground." But still they journeyed, and at length found 
themselves in tin greal valleys along the Missouri River; and there they dwelt 
and learned many arts. This legend certainly bears indications that give plausi- 
bility to the Welsh * !olony theory. 

Bryant, who was nol fri< ndly to the claim that a Welsh Colony had discovered 
America prior to < olumbus, and had become miscegenated with the Mandans, 
makes mention of the tradition in his "Popular History of the United States," 
discussing the subject substantially as follows: 

The tradition that Vmeriea was discovered about the year 1170 by a Welsh 
prince named Madog or Madoc, is still more circumstantial (referring to a prior 
claim of the Vrabs), and attempts to support it have been made from time to 
time for the last 200 years. Humboldt, in alluding to it, says: 

I do ii"t share the scorn with which national traditions arc too often treated, and am of 
hat with m earch, the discovery of facts entirely unknown would throw 

mucl ' hist irical pn iblems. 

'l'lr and In- voyage had no doubt some actual basis of 

The evidence adduced from time to time in support of it has been believed 

by in.< ertaining; the tradition itself has found a place in historical 

narrate, ch and .ill ili.se reasons, it demands brief consideration. 

It is evident that much of the narrative following was inspired by a desire to prove that 

the Welsh were entitlei dit as the pioneers in the discovery of the Vmerican 

ichievements antedal e of I olumbus by two and possibly three 

11 ern themselves with the Mandan story, although 

!.• it in iin Mars. 

1 in Caradoc's "History of Wales," published by Dr. David 

ver, came down only to 1157, and Humphrey Llwyd 

d), who ti later story ol ladoc. * * * The story is briefly 

this: "Wl rth Wales, was gathered to his fathers, a strife 

' n hi ti id, Madoc, one of the sons, took no 
part in this nd went to sea in search of adventure. He 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 21 

sailed westward and at length came to an unknown country where the natives differed from 
any people he had ever seen before, and all things were strangs and new. Seeing that the 
land was pleasant and fertile, he put on shore and left behind most of those in his ships, 
and returned to Wales. On his return he set forth the attractive qualities of the new land 
he had discovered with such good effect that enough of his countrymen to fill ten ships 
determined to go with him." 

The number of these emigrants is not given, and it should he remembered 
that ships in that day were small affairs compared with modern vessels. Colum- 
bus 300 years later, in his first voyage, had three ships and hut u<> men. Madoc 
probably took with him a number of families, intending to found a colony. There 
is no account of their ever returning to Wales, but it is said "the) followed the 
manners of the land they came to, and used the language they found there." 

Passing to the evidence since gathered, that a tribe of Indians, some of whom 
were of light complexion, and spoke a language differing from the Indian 
language in part, and resembling the Welsh tongue, who were found within the 
limits of the American Colonies in the seventeenth century, it is found that 
among the earliest testimony is a letter to Dr. Thomas Lloyd, of Pennsylvania, 
and by him transmitted to his brother, Mr. C. H. S. Lloyd, in Wales. The letter 
was written by Rev. Morgan Jones, a Welsh missionary, and was dated at New 
York, March 10th, 16S5. The letter states that Mr. Jones was sent as chaplain 
of an expedition from Virginia to Port Royal, S. C, in 1660, where he remained 
some months ; but suffering greatly for food, he and five others started to return 
lo Virginia. ( )n the way they were taken prisoners by a band of Indians and 
condemned to die. On hearing the sentence, Mr. Jones exclaimed, in the Welsh 
tongue: "Have I escaped so many dangers, ami must I now be knocked on 
the head like a hog." Immediately he was seized around the waist by a war 
captain of the Doegs, and assured in the same language that he should not die. 
He was taken before the Tuscaroras chief with his companions and ransomed. 
Their deliverers took them to their own village where they were hospitably 
entertained. For four months Mr. Jones remained among them, conversing 
witli and preaching to them in the Welsh language. The conclusion is that these 
Indians were descendants of the Welsh colonists under Madoc. Rev. Charles 
Beatty, a missionary traveling in the Southwest in 1776, met with people who 
had seen and conversed with these Welsh Indians. A Mr. Benjamin Slutton 
informed him that he had visited an Indian town west of the Mississippi, where 
people were not so tawny as other natives and whose language was the Welsh; 
these people also had a book which they cherished with great can-, which Mr. 
Slutton slated was a Welsh Bible, probably in manuscript. A Air. Levi Hicks, 
who had been among the Indians from a youth, told Mr. Beatty that he had 
visited such a town west of the < ireat River, where the language spoken was 
Welsh, and Mr. Hcatty's interpreter. Joseph, had been with the natives of the 
same tribe, whom he was sure spoke the Welsh language, as he understood it 
partially himself. 

In 1785 appeared a narrative that Capt. Isaac Stewart bad been taken pris- 
oner by the Indians with a Welshman named David, and they were carried 
several hundred miles up the Red River where they came to "a nation of 
Indians remarkably white, and whose hair was mostly of a reddish color." 
Welshman found that these people could converse in Welsh, Their story 
or tradition was that their forefathers came from across the seas and landed 
on a coast east of the Mississippi, supposed to be Florida. These Indians pos- 
sessed some rolls of parchment covered with writing in blue ink. which they 
kept wrapped Up in skins with great care. 

In a book entitled "An Inquiry Concerning the First Discovery of America 
by the Europeans," by Williams, it is stated that a Welshman, living on the 
banks of the Ohio River, in a letter dated ( (ctober 1. [778. declared that he had 
been several times among Indians who spoke the old British (Welsh) language, 
and that a Virginia gentleman with whom he was acquainted, had visited a tribe 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Welsh Indians living on the Missouri River. 400 miles above its junction 
with the Mississippi „ , , r , ... 

(The attention of the reader is called to the fact that the Mandan Indians 
wen- in the Missouri Valley at the time mentioned; and further, it should be 
borne in mind that these Welsh writers make no mention of this name as the 
tribe which spoke their language; the purpose of the Welsh historians being not 
to prove what nation these Indians belonged to, but to show that a colony of 
Welshmen had preceded Columbus to America, and were first discoverers of 
the new land. 1 

Further evidence, and the mosl modern, comes from the famous painter of 
Indians and [ndii . ' ^eorge Catlin, who in the first half of the last cen- _ 

tury, sp visiting various tribes, lie studied the Mandans particularly,' 

and believed them to be a cross between the Indians and the Welsh, and is 
inclined to accept the theory thai the Mandans are descendants of the Mound 
Builders, and that the builders of those works were people originating in Madoc's 
l olonj I atlin speaks of the boat used by the Mandans in being like the coracle 
of the \\el>b. and in complexion, in the color of their hair and eyes, they seem 
to be allied with the whites. Albert Gallatin, secretary of war under Jefferson, 
that a chief of the Mandan tribe whom he met at Washington, was of a 
lighter shade of complexion than other red men, and that he was the only full- 
led Indian he had ever met with blue eyes. 
Among the /mis of New Mexico there are Indians of fair complexion, blue 
eve- and lighl hair. Among the Xew Mexicans is a tradition that long ago 
some Welsh miner- wandered into that country with their wives and children, 
and that the /.tins killed the men and married the women. 

Historians properlj make a broad distinction between a tradition and an 
invention. The latter has no basis of truth whatever, while traditions as a rule 
have a substantia] basis of truth, though often embellished by fancy or distorted 
and amplified in their repctiton from generation to generation. 

The theory that ha- gained some credence in more modern times, that this 

was not the decaying ruins of an old fort, but clue to the natural causes produced 

by the river in periods of high water, is much more difficult to explain and believe, 

than the testimony of Captains Lewis and (.'lark, who were qualified by educa- 

tion and experience to form a sound judgment in a matter of this character. 

The natural action of the river would not build stone walls six feet high, with 

-tone transported overland for some distance; nor does it lay the foundations 

for large fortifications with the skill and precision that was required in laying 

out this abandoned fortress. It i- much more irrational, and difficult, to believe 

that this ruined fort was the result of natural causes, and so skilfully built as 

>i only Lewis and Clark, experienced and educated military men, 

but the crew composed of men of ripe experience in the army, who accompanied 

them, than it i- to accept the well-grounded opinion of the explorers who came 

upon the ruin- before they bad been disturbed by the white pioneers of a half 

1 opinion, formed after painstaking examination and measure- 

. pronounced them the ruins of an abandoned extensive fortress that had 

trueted b ! > .1 people who possessed considerable knowledge of the 

archil id who had built the fortress with the view 

of protection againsl nl foes. 

of the earliest settlers of Ron Homme, while lacking any evi- 
'li.it they bad made a careful examination of tin- ruins, but had frequently 
•rd them, was in a general way corroborative of the theory or 
and ( lark. 



CHAPTER IV 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 
(Continued) 

DEPART FROM BON HOMME ISLAND — PRAIRIE DOG VILLAGE — FLANNEL SHIRTS DIS- 
TRIBUTED TO THE MEN — A SINKING SANDBAR LOISFX's FORT — TETON INDIANS 

INDIANS NOT FRIENDLY, MAKE EFFORTS TO DETAIN EXPLORERS — PLAIN TALK 

FROM CAPTAIN CLARK DOG FEAST TETON CUSTOMS, APPAREL, NATIVE WOMEN 

— OFFICER OF THE DAY AGAIN UNDER WAY AGAINST DETERMINED OPPOSITION. 

The journal continues : 

The next morning, passed at sunrise three large sandbars and at the distance of ten 
miles reached a small creek about twelve yards wide coming in from the north above a white 
bluff; this creek has obtained the name of Plum Creek (Snatch Creek) from the number 
of that fruit which are in the neighborhood and of delightful quality. Five miles farther 
we encamped on the south near the edge of a plain; the river is wide and covered with 
sandbars today. The banks are high and of a whitish color; the timber scarce, but an 
abundance of grapes. Beavers' houses, too, have been observed in great numbers on the 
river, but none of that animal themselves. 

September 4th, at one mile and a half, we reached a small creek called White Lime 
Creek, on the south side. Just above this is a cliff covered with cedar trees, and at three 
miles a creek called White Paint Creek of about thirty yards wide; on the same side and at 
4J/2 miles from White Paint Creek, is the Rapid River, or as it is called by the French, La 
Riviere Qui Court (Niobrara). This river empties into the Missouri in a course S. W. by 
W., and is 152 yards wide and 4 feet deep at the confluence. It rises in the Black Mountains 
and passes through a hilly country with a poor soil. Captain Clark ascended three miles to 
a beautiful plain on the upper side where the Pawnees once had a village; he found that 
the river widened above its mouth, and was much divided by sands and islands, which, joined 
to the rapidity of its currnet, makes the navigation difficult even for small boats. We 
camped just above it on the south, having made only eight miles. We saw some deer, a 
number of geese, and shot a turkey and a duck. The place in which we halted i< a fine low 
ground, with much timber, such as red cedar, honey-locust, oak, arrowwood, elm and 
coffeenut. 

On Wednesday, the 5th. at five miles, we came to Pawnee Island in the middle of the 
river, and stopped to breakfast at a small creek on the north which has the name of Goat 
(reek (Chotean Creek) at S 1 .. miles. War the mouth of the creek tlie beaver had made 
a dam across so as to form 1 large pond, in which they built their houses. Above this 
island the River Poncara t Ponca ("reiki falls into the Missouri from the south, and is thirty 
yards wide at its entrance. Two men whom we had dispatched to the village of the same 
name returned with the information thai they had found it on the lower side of the creek, 
but as this is the hunting season the town was so completely deserted that they had killed a 
buffalo in the village itself. This tribe of Poncaras I P ncas 1, who are said to have once 
numbered 400 men, are now reduced to about fifty, ind have associated for mutual protet I 
with the Mahas (Omahas), who are ioo in number. 

These two nations are allied by a similarity of misfortunes; their common enemies, the 
Sioux and the smallpox, drove them from their towns, which they only visit for purposes 
of trade. At V ! miles from the creek we came to a 1 land on the south, along which 

we passed and encamped on the head of it at t o'clock. Mere we replaced our mast; some 

bucks and elk weir procured today and a black tailed deei tr the Poncaras' village. 

High wind and rapid current obliged us to use the towline the next day. We made but 
8) ■ miles and encamped on the north after passing high cliffs of sofl blue and red col. .red 
stone on the south We saw some goats and great numbers of buffalo, and the hunters fur- 
nished us elk, deer, turkeys, geese, a beaver, and a large catfish was caught. The next day 
at .;'.■ miles we reached and encamped at the foot of a round mountain on the south, hai 
passed two small islands. This mountain, which is about three hundred feet at the base. 
forms a cone at the top, rescmblino a dome at a distance, and scventv feet 01 m 

23 



._,, HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

the surrounding highlands. As we descended from this dome we arrived at a spot, on the 

cent of the hill, nearly four acres in extent and. covered with small hoes, lhese 

dence of a little animal oiled by the French petit chien little dog), who sit erect 

: , ,h and make a , but when alarmed take refuge m heir holes 

""order Z bring them out • of the holes five barrels of water without 

filling it but we dislodg. ter digging down another of the holed 

for six feet, we found ■ m I u nto it that we had not yet dug half way to he 

bottom; we di lil ,1 " hole ' and ? ear 7 we H llle , d a , dark rattle 

snake, which 1 tall prairie dog; we were also informed though we never 

witnessed the fad that a sort of lizard and a snake live habitually with these animals 1 he 
petit chien are justly named, as they resemble a small dog in some particulars, though they 

Live aK me points ol similiaritj to the squirrel. The head resembles the squirrel in every 

_ ec| excepl ter; the tail like that of a ground squirrel, the toe-nails are 

. fur is fine and the long hair is gray. [This prairie dog town is a little above Fort 

On Sundaj the Qth at seven miles, we reached a house on the north side, called the 

,.. 1V a trader named Trudeau wintered in the year 1796:97; behind this, 

hills much higher than usual, appear to the north about eight miles off. (Bijou Hills.) We 

came by three small islands before reaching this house, and a small creek on the south, and 

after having reached another at the end of seventeen miles, on which we camped and called 

it Boat Island We here saw herds of buffalo, some elk, deer, turkeys, beaver, a squirrel and 

prairie dog We passed two small creeks on Sunday coming in from the north (Pratt 

i e I Saw large herds of buffalo on the south, some of them numbering as many as 500. 

imped on the south ..tit. miles. . 

( in the 10th. at [0| miles, we reached Cedar Island, two miles long and covered with 

red cedar. Just below this island on a hill to the south is the backbone of a fish, forty-five 

feet long, tapering toward the tail, in a perfect state of petrification, fragments of which were 

ted and sent to Washington. On both sides of the river are high, dark colored bluffs. 

About a mile and a half from the island on the southern shore we discovered a large and 

mpregnated spring of water; and another not so large half way up the hill. Camped 

on Mud Island, elk and buffalo abundant. 

The next day we passed a prairie dog village and a number of islands and camped on 
the south side at' the distance of sixteen miles. In the morning we observed a man riding 
on horseback down towards the boat, and were much pleased to find it was George Shannon, 
who left us on the 20th of August to search for the horses which had strayed. After he had 
■ he attempted to rejoin us, but seeing some other tracks, which must have been 
In mistook them for our own and concluded we were ahead, and had been for 
sixteen days following the bank of the river above us. During the first four days he 
exl bullets and was then nearly starved, being obliged to subsist for twelve days 

ipes and a rabbit which he killed by making use of a hard piece ot stick for a ball. 
Ins horses gave out and was left behind, the other he kept as a last resource for food. 
1 1, 1 i taking us he was venturing down the river in hopes of meeting some 

..tber boat and was on the point of killing his horse when he was so fortunate as to joini us. 
All the following day, the 12th, the water was rapid and shallow and sandbars so numerous 
that the men were in the water much of the time. Encamped after traveling four miles. 
High, dark bluffs on the south containing a mixture of slate and coal. Sandbars were very 
numerous on Thursday; we made twelve miles. Hills on east side are high, separated from 
the river by a narrow plain. Great quantities of ripe grapes on the north and plenty unripe 
plums. We encamped on the north, opposite a small willow island; and the next day at 
two mill bed a round island on the northern side; at 7'A miles a small creek, and at 

nine miles encamped near the mouth of a creek on the south. Sandbars numerous. Searched 
all day for an ancient volcano which we heard at St. Charles was somewhere in this neigh- 
borly ....I, but found nothing even remotely resembling it. 

1 hi Saturday, September 15th, we passed the creek near our last night's encampment 
( Heart Creek) and at two miles reached the mouth of White River coming from the south. 
We si ne man to examine it above its mouth. It has a bed of about three 

bun. Ire. 1 yards; 111 the mouth is a sand island and several sandbars. It differs from the 

tirt in throwing out comparatively little sand. The sergeant went up about 

twelve mill and found th< general course west, the timber elm; they saw pine burrs and 

■in. Met buffalo, wolves, elk deer and barking squirrels. 

it tin of White with the Missouri is an excellent position for a town, the land 

gradual ascents, and the neighborhood furnishing more timber than is usual 

in this country. After passing high dark bluffs on both sides we reached the lower point 

an island toward the south at a distance of six miles. The island bears an abundance 

red with red cedar. (American Island at Chamberlain.) Encamped 

it miles on the north, opposite a large creek on the south, and early the following 

morning, bavin ' a convenient spot on the south side at i> 4 miles distant, we 

a small creek which wi 1 tiled Corvus. Finding that we could not proceed 

on thi we desired while the boat was so heavily loaded, we concluded 

ended, our third pcringue. bin to detain the soldiers 
until spring, and in the meantime lighten the boat by loading the periogue, which detained 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 25 

us all day. The cold season coming on, a flannel shirt wis given ot each man and fresh 
powder. 

The following day we remained in camp. Some of the party were employed in exam- 
ining the surrounding- country. A quarter of a mile behind our camp a plain twenty feet 
high extends for three miles parallel to the river. About a mile back of this plain we found 
another rise, cut by ravines, in which we found an abundance of plums, finely flavored. 
Antelope and buffalo are numerous. We do not exaggerate in saying that we saw i.ooo 
of the latter at a single glance. Made seven miles on the [8th, passed an island a mile in 
length covered with cedar. Encamped on the south at seven miles, dame abundant. 

September lotli we reached at three miles a bluff on the south and at four miles farther 
the lower point of Prospect Island, about _" _. miles in length; opposite are high bluffs 
eighty feet above the water; beyi nd are beautiful plains rising as they recede from the river, 
and watered by three streams that empty near each other, and are called by the 1 rench I 
Irois Riviere des Sioux, the Three Sioux Rivers, and as the Sioux generally cross the 
Missouri at this place, it is called the Sioux Pass of the Three Rivers. These streams 
have the same right of asylum as Pipestone Creek already mentioned. Two miles further 
we passed a creek fifteen yards wide; eight miles another twenty yards; three miles beyond 
a third eighteen yards wide, all on the south. The second we called Elm Creek and the 
third Night Creek, having reached it late at night. About a mile beyond this we reached a 
small island on the north side called Lower Island, as it is situated tit the commencement of 
what is known by the name of Grand Detour or Greal Bend of the Missouri. Opposite on 
the south is Prickly Pear Creek. We encamped on the south opposite the upper end of the 
island, having an excellenl day's sailing of 26; 1 miles. Large herds of buffalo, elk and goats 
were seen today. 

On Thursday, September 20th, finding we had reached the Big Bend, we dispatched two 
men with our only horse across the neck to hunt there and wait our arrival at the first creek 
beyond. We then set out to make the circuit on the bend. 

At o'j miles is a sand island; about ten miles beyond a small island with a creek on the 
north. I his is called Solitary Island, being at the extremity of the bend. Eleven miles 
farther we encamped on a sandbar, having made 27^ miles. Great numbers of buffalo, elk 
and goats are wandering over these plains. The goats have no beard, are delicately formed 
and very beautiful. The next morning, between 1 and 2 o'clock, the sergeant on guard 
alarmed us by crying that the sandbar on which we lay was sinking. We jumped up and 
found that above and below our camp the sand was undermined and falling in very fast. 
We had scarcely got into the boats and pushed off when the bank under which they had 
been lying caved in and would certainly have sunk the two periogues had they remained 
there. By the time we had reached the opposite shore the ground of our encampment 
sunk also. 

We formed a second camp and at daylight proceeded on to the gorge or throat of the 
Great Bend and breakfasted. A man whom we had dispatched to step off the distance across 
the bend found it 200 yards; the distance around is thirty miles. After breakfast we passed 
through a high prairie on the north and rich cedar lowland and bluff on the south till wq 
reached a willow island below the mouth of a small creek. This creek is called Tyler's 
River, comes in from the south, and is six miles from the Great Bend. At 1 1 Y- miles we 
encamped on the north at the lower point of an ancient island that is now covered with 
Cottonwood. We here saw some tracks of Indians, but three or four weeks old. This day 
was warm. The next day our course was through inclined prairies crowded with buffalo. 
We halted near a high bluff on the south and took a meridian altitude which gave us the 
latitude of 44° n' 33". We then reached a small island on the south at 4'j miles; imme- 
diately above is another island opposite a small creek fifteen vards wide. The creek and 
two islands are called the I hree Sisters. Next is an island on the north called Cedar Island, 
about i 1 .- miles long and the same distance broad, and derives its name from its timber. 
On the south side of Cedar Island is a fort built by a Mr. Loisel, who wintered here last 
year to trade with the Sioux, the remains of whose camps are in great numbers about this 
place. At sixteen miles we came to on the north at the mouth "i a small creek. Large 
stniies made navigation dangerous, and the mosquitoes are numerous. We passed Goat 
Island, the twentj third, above which is Smoke Creek, as we observed a great smoke to the 

southwest in approaching it. At ten miles we pased what we called Elk Island. -■'.> miles 

long and -M of a mile covered with cottonw 1. red currant and grapes. \ small creek on 

tin- north we called Reuben's Creek, as Reuben Fields, 'lie of our men, was tile first who 
reached it. Above this we encamped for the night at twenty miles distance. In the evening 
three Sioux boys -wain across the river and informed us that two parties ot Sioux were 
encamped on tin- next river, one consisting of eighty and the other sixty lodges, some dis- 
tance above. Alter treating them kindly we sent them back with two carrots of tobacco to 
their chiefs, whom we invited to a conference in the morning. 

On Monday, September 24th. we passed Highwater Creek a little above our encampment. 
\t live miles we reached an island 2 T .• miles long. Here we were joined by one of our 
hunters, who. while 111 pursuit of game, the Indians bad stolen bis b mly one. We 

500fl overtook live Indians on shore. We anchored and told them we were friends and 
wished to continue so. but were not afraid of any Indians. That some of their young men 
had st, ilen the horse which the Great bather bad sent for a present to their great chief and 
that we could not treat with them until it was restored. They said they knew nothing al 



ills loin OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

it but if the horse bad been taken it should be given up. At ii}4 nileswe passed what 

, [ S i an d l0 ut il, milei long, abounding in elk At 13^ miles we 

n the south and encamped, being joined by the 

ard, the rest took one penogue and went 

I | M fi v( [ n dian followed us and stayed with the shore guard. One of them 

1 ,1 we smoked with him and im a present of tobacco. As the tribe of 

Indians which inhabit this river are called Teton we gave it the name of leton River* 

1 Bad River I. . . , , , , , • , 

Septembei 25th was a fine morning. We raised a flag stafi and an awning, under which 

embled al with all the party parading under arms. 1 he chiefs and warriors 

from their camp two miles above met us. about fiftj or sixty in number, and after smoking 

peech, but as our Sioux interpreter, Mr. Durion, had been left with the 

Yanktons we were obliged to mak< usi of a 1 renchman as an interpreter, who could not 

speak ilue'mh and we, therefore, curtailed our harangue. We then acknowledged the chiefs 

bj giving to the grand chief .1 medal, a flag of the United States, a laced uniform coat, a. 

d hat and feather; to two • ther chiefs, a medal and some small presents, and to two 

warriors of consideration, certificates. The name of the great chief is Untorgasatan, or 

I, Fortahonga, the Partisan; the third, Lartongawaka, or Buffalo 

the name of his warri u . Wanginggo, the other Matocoquepa or Second Bear. 

them on hoard, showed them the boat, the air gun and other curiosities, in 

which we fell, for alter giving them a quarter of a glass of__whiskey, which 

thej seennd to like very much and sucked the bottle, it was with much difficulty we could 

get rid of them. They at last accompanied Captain Clark on shore in a pirogue with five 

men; but it seem- they had formed a design to stop us, for no sooner had the party landed 

than three of the Indians seized the cable of the pirogue and one of the soldiers of the 

chief put his arms around the mast ; the second chief, who feigned intoxication, then said we 

n, that they had m t received presents enough. Captain Clark told him we 

ed from going on; that we were not squaws but warriors; that we were 

sent bj our Great Father who could in a moment exterminate them. 

1 replied that he, too, had warriors, and was proceeding to offer personal vio- 
to Captain 1 lark, who imediately drew his sword and made a signal to the boat to 
prep. i! on. The Indians, who surrounded him, drew the arrows from their quivers 

and bent their hows when the swivel in the boat was pointed towards them, and twelve of 
our most determined men jumped into the pirogue and joined Captain Clark. This move- 
ment made an impri sii n on them, tor the grand chief ordered the young men away from the 
lie and they withdrew and held a short council with the warriors. Being unwilling to 
irritate them. Captain Clark then went forward and offered his hand to the first and second 
chiefs, who refused to take it. He then turned from them and got into the pirogue, but 
had not gone more than tell paces when both chiefs and two of the warriors waded in after 
him and he brought them on hoard. We then went on for a mile and anchored off a willow 
which, from the circumstances just related, we call Badhumored Island, where we 
spenl the night. 1 lui d nduct seemed to have inspired the Indians with fear of us and as 
we were desirous of cultivating their acquaintance we complied with their wish that we 
should gi\e them an opportunity of treating us well, and also suffer their squaws and chil- 
dren to see us and our boat, which would be perfectly new to them. Accordingly, after a 
i eleven miles, we came to on the south side, where a crowd of men, women and 
children were waiting to receive us. Captain Lewis went on shore and remained several 
that tii' 11 disposition was friendly we resolved to remain during the 
hey were preparing for us. Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on 
a ter the other, were met on landing by ten well dressed young men, who took 
them up in a robe highly decorated and carried them to a large council house, where they 
I on a dressed buffalo skin by the side of the grand chief. The hall or council 
was in the shape of three-qui a circle, covered at the top and sides with 

:i I together. 1 nder this shelter sat about seventy men forming 

whom weri placed .1 Spanish flag and the one we had 
I m a vacant circle of about six feet in diameter in which the 
ed on two forked ticks aboul six or eight inches from the ground, 
' of the swan wi red; .1 large fire in which there were cooking 

and in the center aboul four hundred pounds of excellent buffalo meat 
I . 

1 an ol I man got up, and after approving what we had done. 

on their unfortunab n. To this we replied with assurance of 

il chief arose and delivered a harangue to the same 

d. licate parts of the di g winch 

' and held it to the fl i by ivaj of acrifice; this done, he held 

■' I. vens, then to the four quarter, of 

rth, made a hori peech, lighted the pipe and presented it to us. 

. 1 d up to us. It consisted of the dog which they had 

the Sioux and used 1 11 all festivals. To this 

Of buffalo meat dried or jerked and then pounded and 

nd potato which we found good; but we could as 
"gly of the dog We ate and smoked for an hour, when it became 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 27 

dark ; everything was then cleared away for the dance, a large fire being made in the center 
of the house, giving light and warmth to the ballroom. The orchestra was composed of 
about ten men who played upon a sort of tambourine formed of skin stretched across a 

hoop and made a jungling noise with a long stick to which the 1 - oi deer and goats were 

hung; the third instrument was a small skin bag with pebbles in it; these, with five or six 
young, men tor the vocal part, made up the band. The women then came forward highly 
decorated, some with poles in their hands in which were hung the scalps of their enemies; 
others with guns, spears or different trophies taken in war by their husband, brothers or 
connections. 

Having arranged themselves in two columns, one on each side of the lire, as soon as 
the music began they danced toward each other till they met in the center. wh< re the utiles 
were shaken and they all shouted^and returned back to their places. They have no Step, 
but shuttle along the ground; nor does the music appear to be anything more than a con 
fusion of noises, distinguished only by hard or gentle blows on the buffalo skins. The song 
is perfectly extemporaneous. In the pauses of the uance any man of the company tomes 
forward and recites, in a sort of a low, guttural tone, some story or incident, which is either 
martial or ludicrous, or, as was the case this evening, voluptuous and indecent. Tins is taken 
up by the orchestra and dancers in a higher strain, who dance to it. The dances of the 
men are conducted very nearly the same way and are always, separate from the dances of 
the women. The harmony of this entertainment had nearly been disturbed by one of the 
musicians, who. thinking he had not received a due share of the tobacco we had distributed, 
put himself in a passion, broke one of the drums, threw two of them into the fire and left 
the band. They were taken out of the fire, and a buffalo robe held in one hand and beaten 
with the other by several of the company supplied the place of the lost tambourine, and no 
notice was taken of the offensive conduct of the man. We stayed until 12 o'clock at night, 
then told the chiefs they would be fatigued with their efforts to amuse us and retired accom- 
panied by four chiefs, two of whom spent the night with us aboard. 

This tribe is a part of the great Sioux nation called Teton Kandandas and number about 
two hundred men. They inhabit both sides of the Missouri between the Teton (Bad) River 
and the Cheyenne. Their persons are ugly, ill made, their legs and arms being too small, 
cheek bone high, eyes projecting. The females, with the same character of form, are more 
handsome, and both sexes appear cheerful and sprightly, but we found them cunning and 
vicious. The men shave the hair off their heads, except a small tuft on the top which they 
suffer to grow and wear in plaits over their shoulder; to this they are much attached, as the 
loss of it is the usual sacrifice at the death of near relations. 

In full dress the men wear a hawk's feather or calumet feather worked with porcupine 
quills and fastened to the top of the head. The face and body are generally painted with a 
mixture of grease and coal. Over the shoulders is a loose robe of buffalo skins dressed 
white, adorned with porcupine quills loosely fixed so as to make a jungling noise when in 
motion and painted in uncouth figures not intelligible to us but to them emblematical of 
military exploits or any other incident. The hair of the robe is worn next the skin in fair 
weather, but when it rains the hair is put outside. Under this in winter they wear a kind 
of shirt resembling ours made of skin or cloth and covering the arms and body. Round the 
middle is fixed a girdle of cloth or procured dressed elk skin about an inch in width and 
closely tied to the body. To this is attached a piece of clotn. a blanket or skin, about a fool 
wide which passes between the legs and is tucked under the girdle both before and behind. 
From the hip to the ankle he is covered with leggings of dressed antelope skins with si 
at the sides two inches in width and ornamented by little tufts of hair, the produce of the 
scalps they have made in war. which are scattered down the legs. The winter moccasins 
are of dressed buffalo skin, the hair being worn inwards and soled with thick elk parchment. 
Summer moccasins are of elk skin without the hair. On great occasions the young men drag 
after them the entire skin of a pole cat fixed to the heel of the moccasins. Another skin 
of the same animal is tucked in the girdle and serves as a pouch for their tobacco or what 
the French trailers call the hois roule (killikanick) ; this is the inner bark of a species of red 
willow which, being dried .in the sun or over the fire, is rubbed between the hands and 
token into small pieces, and is used alone or mixed with tobacco The pipe is of reel earth 
the stem made of ash. about three feet long, and decorated with feathers, hair and porcu- 
pine quills. The hair of the women is suffered to grow long and is parted from the 
across the head, at the back of which it is either collected into a kind of bag or hangs down 
over the shoulders. Their moccasins and leggings are like those of the mi n, except the 1 il 
reach only to the knee, where it is met Sy a long, loose shift of skin which reaches to the 
ankles and is fastened over the shoulders by a string, and has no sleeves, but a few piei 
of the skin hang a short distance down the arm. The women are fond of dress. Then 
lodges are in the same form as those of the Yanktons. The; consist 
cabins made of white buffalo hide dressed, with a large area in the cent 
and dances. They are built round with poles abi ut fifteen or twenrj feel I igh 1 overed with 

white skins. These lodges maj be taken to pieces, parked up and carried with the nation 
from place to place by dogs, who bear great burdi 

The women are chiefly employed in dressing buffalo skins; they seen; well 

disposed, but are addicted to stealing anything which they can take without being oi 

While on shore we witnessed a quarrel between two squaws which appeared b 

more boisterous when a man came forward, at whose appearance everyone seemed terrified 



HISTORY OF DAK< ITA 1 ERRITORY 

. to k the squaws and without any ceremony whipped them severely. On inquir- 
..■■ i such summary justice we learned that Uns man was an officer well 
Ibis and manj other tribes. His duty is to keep the peace and the whole interior 
ufided to two or three oi th< a . who are named by the 

chief and remain in at least until the chief appoints a successor. They 

secn] ■ constable 01 entinel, and thej are always on the watch to keep tran- 

quility rding the camp at night. 'Hie short duration of their office is 

compensati authority; Ins power is supreme and in the suppression of any riot or 

distui 11 is sacred, and if in the execution 

h e s ti nd class he cannot be punished. In general, they 

pany th( person oi the chief, and when ordered to do any duty, however dangerous, 
it is a point of honor rather to die than to refuse obedience. 

- when the) attempted to stop us yestejdaj the chief ordered one of these men to 
:.ike possession i diat< lj pul his anus an iund the mast and no force except 

the command of his chief could induce him to release his hold. 

1 in rhursda) morning we rose early. The two chiefs took off, as a matter of course, 

and a* 1 their cusl m thi lanket on which they slept. Captain Lewis went on shore 

s the nation that was 1 tpected but did not come. He returned with four 

chiefs, \\ h : half an hour and left with reluctance, Captain Clark accompanying 

them t" thi the grand chief, where a dance was given. He returned to the boat at 

econd 1 tiief and leading a warrior aboard. As we came near the 

boat the man who steered the pirogue brought her broadside against the boat's cable and 

it. We called up all hands to the oars, but our voice alarmed the two Indians; they 

called out to their companions, who immediately crowded to the shore, but soon returned 

leaving sixtj nun mar us. The alarm given by the chiefs was said to be that the Mahas 

ttacked us and they were desirous of assisting us to repel it; but we suspected that they 

afraid we imam in set sail and they intended to prevent us from doing so, for in the 

night the Maha prisoner had told one of our men that we were to be stopped. We, therefore, 

without giving any intimation of our suspicion, prepared everything for an attack. We were 

n.>t mistaken in these opinions, for the next morning, September 28th, after failing to find 

"tir anchor, it was with great difficulty that we could make the chiefs leave the boat. At 

length we got rid of all except the great chief, when, just as we were setting out, several of 

reat chiefs soldiers sat on the rope which held the boat to the shore. Irritated at this 

I everything ready to fire on them if they persisted, but the great chief said that these 

Us soldiers and only wanted si'ine tobacco. We threw him a carrot of tobacco and said 

to him, "You have told us you were a great man and have influence, now show your 

influence by taking the rope from these men, and we will then go without any further 

trouble.'' 

This had the desired effect, as it appealed to his pride; he went out and gave the 

soldiers the tobacco, and, pulling the rope from their hands, delivered it on board, and we 

\ short distance up stream we observed the third chief beckoning to us; we 

1. took him aboard and he told us the rope was held by order of the second chief, 

who was a double faced man. On his return to the nation we sent a speech to the great 

chief, telling him t.. make peace with his enemies, and if he persisted in attempting to stop us 

abli 1 defend ourselves. We encamped on a sandbar at six miles above our starting 

point and early on the 29th set out with fair weather. The Indians followed us and the 

ed us to take two women to the next station above, which we refused, but 

gave him a present of tobacco. They followed us along the shore. At 7'A miles we passed 

.1 small creek on the south which we called Notimber Creek on account of its bare appearance. 

We made eleven miles and encamped on the lower part of a willow island, using large 

n anchor. The next morning the wind was strong and it rained. The country 

h was low prairie covered with timber; on the south, first high, barren hills, then 

similar to the prairie on the north. We had not gone far when an Indian ran after us and 

• i'd and carried as far as the Ricaras, which we refused. Soon after 

red on the hills at a distance great numbers of Indians, who came to the river 

and encamped ahead of us. \Y< anchored a hundred yards from the shore, and, discovering 

,,u '. v v ' longing to the band we had just left, we took them by the hand and 

i tobacco; that we had been badly treated by some of 

waited for them two days below we could not stop here, but 

1 to Mr. Durion for our talk and an explanation of our views. They apologized 

'hat hai assured us they were friendlj and asked us to eat with them, which we 

hore with the tobacco, which was delivered to one of the 

; the duel whore we bad aboard, 

■•I later at the narrow- escape of the boat from upsetting 
and when wi landed toi k his gun and went ashore, telling us we would 
ive him a blanket, knife and some tobacco and he disappeared. 
dbar mar the north, having come 20". miles. 



CHAPTER V 

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 
(Concluded) 

CHEYENNE RIVER; HOW NAMED MEET A WHITE TRADER THE BLACK MOUNTAINS 

CHEYENNE INDIANS — FRENCHMAN TAKES PASSAGE — AN ARICKARA \ 11,1 V.l 

MR. GRAVELINES — THE NEGRO, YORK, ATTRACTS ADMIRATION — INDIANS DO 

NOT WHIP CHILDREN — CAPTURING GOATS — INDIANS NUMEROUS — ENTER MAN- 
DAN COUNTRY — MR. M'CRACKEN — THE MINATAREES — SEARCH FOR WINTER 

QUARTERS A PRAIRIE II KE, AND AN INDIAN MOTHER'S PRESENCE OF MIND — 

WINTER CAMP LOCATED FORT MANDAN — WINTER EMPLOYMENTS, PASTIMES, 

VISITORS LEWIS AND CLARK'S CAMPS. 

October ist was cold and windy. At three miles we passed a large island in the middle 
of tEe river and two miles beyond a river coming from the southwest about four hundred 
yards wide, but discharging very little water. It takes its rise in the second range of the 
Cote Noire, or Black Mountains. It is occasionally called Dog River under a mistaken 
opinion that its French name was Chien, but its true appellation is Cheyenne and it dci 
this title from the Cheyenne Indians who lived on the Cheyenne, a branch of the Red River 
of Lake Winnipeg. The invasion of the Sioux drove them westward; in their progress they 
halted on the southern side of the Missouri, below the Warrecome, where their ancient 
fortifications still exist ; the same impulses drove them to the heads of the Cheyenne where 
they now rove, and occasionally visit the Ricaras. They number 300 men. This pan of the 
river has but little timber, the lands are rich. As we proceeded we passed two creeks on 
the south which are named Sentinel Creek and Lookout Creek. At a distance of sixteen 
miles we camped on a sandbar. On the opposite shore we saw a house among the willows 
and a boy to whom we called and brought him on board. He was a young frenchman in 
the employ of Mr. Valle, a trader, who was here pursuing his commerce witli the Sioux. 
October 2d Mr. Valle visited us in the morning anil sailed with us for two miles. lie is one 
of three French traders who are awaiting the Sioux, who are coming down from the Ricaras 
to trade Mr. Valle passed the last winter 300 leagues up the Cheyenne under the Black 
Mountains. That river he represented as very rapid, liable to sudden swells, the bed and 
shores formed of coarse gravel and difficult of ascent even by canvas. One hundred leagues 
from its mouth it divides into two branches, one coming from the north and the other at 
forty leagues from its junction enters the Black Mountains. 

The Cheyennes reside chiefly on the head of the river and steal horses from the Spanish 
settlements, a plundering excursion which they performed in a month's time. The Black 
Mountains, Valle represents as very high, covered with great quantities of pine and in some 
parts the snow remains during the summer. Its animals are goats, white bear, prairie cocks, 
and a species of animal resembling a small elk witli large circular horns. We took a meridian 
altitude a short distance from I ookout Bend and Eound the latitude to b< 11 19' 36". This 
bend is twenty miles around and two miles across, In the afternoon we heard a shol lire. I 
and observed some Indians on a hill. One of ihem came to the shore and wished us to 
land, as there were twenty lodges of Yanktons, or Boisbrules, there, We declined, referring 
them to Mr. Durion. We passed a long island on the north and encamped 1 n a sandbar in 
the middle of the river, having made twelve miles We were not able to hum today. There 
are so many Indians in the neighborhood we were in constant expectation of being .111.1 1 d 
and therefore forced to keep the party together. October 3d, at noon, we landed oti a bar 
to examine our boats and found the mice bad been cutting the bags of corn and spoiled some 
of our clothes. \t eight miles we encamped on a sandbar and at daylight the nexl morning 
started to retrace our sailing three miles, having got into the wrong side of the river, where 
there was no practicable outlet. I he Indians were seen in small numbers. They wanted us 
to land and seemed willing, had they been more numerous, to molest US. ' bie of them gave 
three yells and fired a ball ahead of the boat. We took no notice of it and landed for break- 
fast on the south. An Indian swam across and begged for powder. We gave bun only 
tobacco. We made twelve miles and camped on a bar. A white frost fell and the next 

29 






HISTl 'UN OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



: sth, was very cold. Passed a large creek from the south, winch we named 

rom seeing several white brants among Hocks of colored ones. Camped 

, ,,, twent j mill i i i garni was a deer, prairie wol and some 

cold morning. At eight miles we came to a willow island on the 

i lc a point of timber, whi were many large stones near the middle of 

the river which seemed to have been washed from the hills and high plains on both sides or 

driven from a distance down the tream. At twelv. we halted for dinner at a village 

which we supposed to hav< to the Ricaras. It is situated in a low plain on the river 

alu | cons i sts f i i octagon form, neatly covered with earth, placed as 

sibli .,11.1 picketed round. t*he skin canoes, mats, buckets and articles 

,,, f ul suppose it had been left in the spring. We 

f ound the village and killed an elk and saw two 

topped for the night at Utter Creek on the north. Geese, ducks, 

etc. are abundant. . ., , 

Sun | was cold and rainy. At two miles we came to the mouth of a 

river called Saw Rivei I • iu). Its sources are in the first range of the 

Black Shortlj aftet w< saw two reton Indians, who asked us for something to 

eat, which we gave them [*hej wen to visit the Ricaras. At eighteen miles we 

passed ■ where thi re is an old village. We camped at twenty-two miles. Saw 

River. Next day, the 8th, we halted on the south and took the 
meridian altitude, which is 45 39' 5" m rth latitude. Here we came to a river on the south 

i . 1 .m.l River I. It rises in the Black Mountains and is 120 

mall river called Maropa. A mile from the Maropa a 

Ricara Indians came out to sic us. We took a Frenchman on board, who accom- 

mp on the north after sailing twelve miles. Captain Lewis with four of the 

visited the Ricara village, which was situated near the center of an island near the 

southi ity lodges. The island is three miles long and covered with 

Inch the Indians raise corn, beans and potatoes. Several Frenchmen are living 

with them and particularly a -Mr. Gravelines, who had acquired their language, and who 

return,,! with Captain Lewis 1. . the boats. On the 9th the wind was so high and cold we 

could not assemble the Indians in council. We received visits from some of the chiefs and 

gave them presents. Their names were Kakawissana, or Lighting Crow; Pocasse, or Hay; 

Piahato, I Jotwithstanding the high waves two or three squaws rowed to us 

in Httl nadi oi a single buffalo skin stretched over a frame of boughs interwoven 

like a basket. I h< object which appear,, 1 to astonish the Indians was Captain Clark's negro 

servant. V remarkabl) stout, strong negro. They bad never seen a being of that 

coloi flocked around him to examine the extraordinary monster. He told 

them, by way of amusement, he had once been a wild animal, and caught and trained by 

his master. He showed them feats of strength that made him more terrible than we wished. 

The [1 was a fine day. and after breakfast we dispatched Mr. Gravelines and 

Mr. Tabeau, two French traders, to invite the chiefs of the Ricaras to a conference. They 

led at 1 o'clock and after the usual ceremonies we addressed them as we had the 

, after which we made them the customary presents. Xhe Ricaras would accept no 

whiskey nor taste any. the example of the- traders who bring it to them having disgusted 

them, 'iu, ,.1 the chiefs remarked that he was surprised their father would present them 

a liquor which would make them fools. The council being over the chiefs retired to consult 

on their answer, and the next morning, the 1 1 ill. we again met in council at our camp. I be 

grand chief made a short speech of thanks for the advice we had given and promised to 

it, adding that the door was now open and no one dared to shut it, and that we might 

depart whenever we pleased, alluding t,, the treatment we bad received from the Sioux. 

'I bey brought us corn, beans and dried squashes, and we gave them a steel mill which pleased 

t In in very much \\ , ,,, nl the daj with these Indians and the following day councikd 

with t 1 nd warriors oi the second village, who requested us to take one of their chiefs 

in. i" thi Mansions and negotiate a peace between the two nations. We then repaired to 

mil, n ceremonie were bad. We explained the magnitude and 

the United Stales and three chiefs accompanied us aboard the boat, to whom we 

ll and mi glass. Two of them then left us and the third, Ahketahnasha, 

lanied us to the Mandans. We then left these Indians, who 

1 tal 1 leave of us. and after 7] i miles landed on the north side and 

■ originallj colonies of the Pawnees and lived below the 

Cheyenne, but bad been distressed by the Sioux until they emigrated to the Mandans in 

1707. but a new ! between them and the Mandans. and they came down the river 

lion. (Veri near the boundary hue between North and South Dakota.) 

ii. beans, pumpkins, watermelons, squashes and a species of tobacco 

1 heir commerce is chiefly with the traders, who supply them with 

For pelters which they procure not from their own hunting but in 

1 s civilized neighbors. They express a disposition to keep 

<ll armed with fusees and being much under the 

nuenci hanged th< ds thej got from the r.ritish for Ricara 

minds are sometimes poisoned and they cannot be depended upon. Mr. lirave- 

! tcques, River rises about forty miles northeast of this 

■ ft us on the morning "f the 13th except the chief, his brother and one 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 31 

squaw. We made eighteen miles and encamped on the north near a timbered lone plain. 
On Sunday, the 14th, we set out in a rain. At five miles we came to a crest on the south 
which we named Piahato, or Eagle's Feather, in honor of the third chief of the Ricaras 
Alter dinner we stopped on a sandbar and executed the sentence of a court-martial which 
inflicted corporal punishment on one of the soldiers. This operation affected the Indian 
chief very sensibly, for he cried aloud during the punishment. We explained the offense 
and the reason for it. He acknowledged that examples were necessary, and thai lie himself 
had given them by punishing witli death, but his nation never whipped even children from 
their birth. 

We encamped in a cove on the south, baving made twelve miles. < In the [5th met a num- 
ber of Ricara encampments, halted and exchanged presents at different camps. Made ten 
miles and encamped near the Indians on the north. The squaws left us at this camp. The 
next morning at seven miles a river came in from the north named Warreconne, or Elk 
Shed Their Horns. An island here is called Carp Island by Evans, a former trader. As we 
proceeded there were great numbers of goats on the banks of the river; and we soon after saw 
large flocks of them in the water; they had gradually been driven into the river by the 
Indians, who now lined the shore to prevent their escape and were now firing on them, while 
sometimes boys went into the river and killed them with sticks. We counted fifty-eight 
which they had killed. We also killed some, then passing the Indians encamped at 14' \ 
miles on the south. The Indians flocked into our camp, made a feast, and we had music 
and merriment until quite late. On the 17th the, wind was strong- we made six miles and 
stopped to hunt goats. Air. Gravelines, explaining the abundance of these animals, saj s 
tlicy migrate in the. spring to the plains east of the Missouri, returning to their haunts in 
the Black Mountains in the fall. Our latitude today was 46° 23' 57". The next day after 
sailing three miles we reached the mouth of Cannon Ball River. Its name is derived from 
the round large stones in the river and in the bluffs above. Its channel is 140 yards wide and 
it comes in from the south, rising in the Black Mountains. October iSth we made thirteen 
miles and encamped on a sandbar. Goats, buffalo and elk are seen in great number. 

Friday, the 19th. Fine morning. Set sail with southeast wind. The creeks running into 
the Missouri are all impregnated with salts. In walking along the shore we counted fifty two 
herds of buffalo in a single view. Encamped at 17'^ miles on the north, opposite to the 
uppermost of a number of round hills. The chief says the Calumet bird lives in the boles 
in these hills. On a point of a hill ninety feet above the plain are the remains of an old 
village; this, our chief tells us. is the remains of an old Mandan village and are the first ruins 
we have seen of that nation since ascending the Missouri. 

The 20th made twelve miles and encamped on the south near a vein of stone coal of 
inferior quality. Passed the ruins of another Mandan village covering six or eight acres, 
and great numbers of buffalo and elk ; we also wounded a white bear and saw some fresh 
tracks of those animals which are twice as large as the track of a man. On the 21st, Sunday, 
it began to snow at daylight and continued till afternoon. We set out early, and soon passed 
a large lone oak tree about two miles from the river on the north which the Indians hold 
in great veneration because it has withstood the prairie fires while all the other tree< have 
been destroyed. The Indians ascribe it to extraordinary powers. One of their ceremonies is 
to make a hole in the skin of their necks, pass a string through it and fasten one end by a 
knot, the other end is tied to the body of the tree. After remaining so attached for some 
time they think they become braver. Another Mandan village was passed the following day 
early, and at 7 o'clock we came to a camp of eleven Teton Sioux, who are almost perfectly 
naked, having only a piece of skin or cloth around the middle, while we are suffering with 
cold. They are a war party, going to or returning from the Mandan country. We passed 
two Mandan villages today and encamped at twelve miles on the south. Beaver are abundant. 
There are nine of these deserted Mandan villages in a span of twenty miles on either side 
of the river. The 23rd made thirteen miles to encamp on the south. 

Wednesday, October 24th, at four miles, found one of the grand chiefs of the Man dans 
with five lodges of his people on an island to the north on a'hunting excursion. Me met his 
enemy, the Ricara chief, with great ceremony and smoked with him. The grand chief and his 
brother came on hoard our boat for a time. We proceeded and camped on the north at seven 
miles and below the old village of the Mandans Here four Mandan-; came down and our 
Ricara chief returned with them, from which we augur favorably of their pacific views 
The 25th was cold. Passed several deserted villages of both Mandans and Ricaras. The river 
seemed filled with obstructions. Saw Mandan Indian'; on the banks but could not land, pn- 
camped after making eleven miles. Our Ricara chief joined us here with our Indian coin 
panion. On the 26th we set out early, after putting our Ricara chief ashore to join the 
Mandans, who are in great numbers along the hore We went on to the camp of the grand 
chiefs, four miles distant. Here we met Mr McCracken, one of the Northwest, or Hudson's 
Bav Company, who arrived with another person nine days before to trade for horses and 
buffalo rohev We encamped for the night on the south at eleven mile-; distance, and within 
a mile of the Mandan village \ crowd of Mandan men, women and children came ti 
us. and Captain Lewis returned with the principal chief to the village, thi 
at our camp during the evening. \t m early hour Saturday, Octobei 27th. we proceeded 
and anchored off the village Captain Clark went ishore and after smoking a pipe with 

the chief-; decline 1 an invitation to eat with them. I li < refusal gave great 'he 

Indians, who considered it disrespectful not to eat when invited, but it was explained that 



HIST* M\ OF OAK' »TA TERRITORY 

, tain was .11 and they were satisfied. We proceeded four miles and encamped on the 

north, opposite to a village oi the Ahuahawago. We here met with a Frenchman named 

iurat who lives among the Indians as an interpreter and has a wife and children. 

Sunday, th< z8th, we wee joined by many oi the Mmnatarees and 

Vhauhaways Erom above, but the wind was so vl lent from the south that the lower chiefs 
could not come up. Finding that we shall have to pass the winter at this place, we made 

r a Favorable locatioi ■ our quarters, but found nothing 

I, owingi nber. The following day we helda grand council with 

the Indians. wh« les and cen similar to those at the Yankton meeting were 

, . . large number of chiefs recognized with presents. In the evening 

ccurred. So rapid was it that a man and woman were fatally burned 

ould reach a plai i ty. . 

Imong the rest a boj of the half while breed escaped unhurt in the midst of the names; 

Medicine Spirit who had preserved him on account of 
his being white. But a much more natural cause was the presence of mind of his mother, 
carrying off her son, threw him on the ground and covered him 
with the fresh hide of a buffalo, escaping herself from the flames. As soon as the fire had 
I she returned and found him untouched, the skin having prevented the flames from 
reaching the grass on which he lay. , „ , ■ ° 

I lie winter encampment oi I ewis and Clark was in latitude 47° - 1 47 . longitude ioi , 
very near to the site oi the present Town of Washburn, McLean County, North Dakota, and 
• miles from the I the Missouri of date November I, 1804. A suitable site was 

found Mandan village for winter quarters with an abundance of timber, elm and 

i The fort was on the north side of the Missouri. The works consisted of 
: 1 ibins forming an angle where they joined each other, each containing four 
1 and even feet high, with plank ceiling, and the roof slanting 
so as to form a loft above the n oms, the highest part of which was eighteen feet from the 
ground, i he backs of the huts formed a wall of that height. Back of the angle of the plan 
of the wall was supplied by picketing. Here the command passed the winter of 1804-5, 
gathering from the Indians and an occasional white trader visitor much valuable informa- 
ling the country. The weather at times was cold enough to gratify an Esquimaux, 
but their qi were vi r> comfortable and the health of the garrison remained good, due 

in great measure to the abundant exercise afforded in various employments and in hunt- 
ing. A large herd of buffalo and elk strayed into the shelter of the timber near the post 
during December, affording the explorers the finest hunt they ever engaged, enabling them 
mindly replenish their fresh meat supply and yielding a rich harvest of buffalo robes 
and elk skins. 'I he post was named Fort Mandan, as a testimonial of esteem and friendship 
people who showed the whites the most friendly disposition in many ways during 
their residence among them. There was one extreme cold period during the winter when 
a spirit thermometer congealed on short exposure, but the men were not seriously disturbed 
in their out-door employments and suffered only slightly. Three white fur traders represent- 
dson's Bay Company on the Assiniboine, one of whom was a Mr. Hanley, visited 
the fort and partook of its hospitality on the loth of December and learned for the first 
1 ewis that the United States had purchased the country. The visitors 
manifi > surprise and thought England had been very lax in permitting such a prize 

captured by the infant republic, which was looked upon by foreigners generally as an 
uncertain quantity and a doubtful experiment in government. Christmas and New Years 
were celebrated at Fort Man. Ian with services appropriate and in feasts and dances in which 
the Indians participated. 

1 cpedition left Fori Mandan on Sunday evening, April 7, 1S05, at 5 o'clock. It con- 

lirty-two pi imelj Cant. Meriwether Lewis, Capt. William Clark. Sergt. 

John Ordway. Sergt. Nathaniel Pryor, Sergt. Patrick Gass (successor to Charles Floyd, 

who died b pedition pa-.Mil the month of the Big Sioux), Privates William 

1 .her. John Collins, Peter Cruzatte, Robert Frazier, Reuben Fields, Joseph 

Field Gibson, Silas G Inch. Hugh Hall. Thomas P. Howard, Baptiste Lapage, 

[ohn Potts, John Shields. George Shannon, Tohn B. Thomp- 

/illiarn Werner, Alexander Willard, Richard Winsor, Joseph Whitehouse, Peter Wiser 

black ervant, York. The interpreters were George Druillard and 

neau and Chaboneau's Indian wife, Skagaweah, a Snake Indian woman, who 

I efore and sold to Chaboneau. She bad an infant child 

back to her own people. This Indian woman, because of 

Rivei Indians, whose Ian poke, and her familiarity 

the mountain regions, proved an invaluable aid to the expedition, which might have 

but for her prudent and timely counsels and guidance. She did not 

'-' her own people, but continued on to the end of the long journej on the 

• : idly cared for by ( aptai wis and Clark 

d returned with the expedition in the spring of 1806 to her own people. 
1 from the pale faces, for one of whom she is said to have 
lie 1 um al la I to aj the final farewell she was over 
il he would not be deserted, but such was her fate, 
and nothing furthei ■ known of the brave and dauntless woman. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 33 

We shall not attempt to follow the daily incidents of this party further and 
will conclude with a brief summary of its experiences. While they had much to 
interest and enjoy they also encountered serious hardships and faced death on 
numerous occasions. Above the Yellowstone the grizzly bear was encountered. 
This was regarded as one of the most dangerous and formidable of all the wild 
animals, and members of the Lewis and Clark party had a number of hair- 
breadth escapes from its jaws and claws. On one occasion, when Captain Lewi- 
had been exploring a section of the country alone, he met a herd of buffaloe on 
his return and being desirous of providing for supper shot at one of them, who 
immediately began to bleed. Captain Lewis, who had forgotten to reload his 
rifle, was intently watching to see him fall when he beheld a large brown bear 
who was stealing on him unperceived, and was already within twenty sups. 
In the first moment of surprise he lifted his rifle, but, remembering that it was 
not loaded and that he had not time to reload, he felt that there was no safety 
but in flight. It was in the open level plain, not a bush nor a tree within 300 
yards, the bank of the river sloping and not more than three feet high so that 
there was no possible mode of concealment. Lewis therefore thought of retreat- 
ing in a quick walk as fast as the bear advanced toward the nearest tree, but as 
soon as he turned the bear ran, open mouthed, at full speed upon him. Lewis 
ran about eighty yards, but finding that the animal gained upon him fast, it 
flashed into his mind that by getting into the water to such a depth that the bear 
would be obliged to attack him swimming, that there was still some chance of 
his life; he, therefore, turned short, plunged into the river waist deep and facing 
about presented his espontoon. The bear arrived at the water's edge within 
twenty feet of him, but as soon as Lewis had himself in the posture of defense 
the bear seemed frightened, and, wheeling about, retreated as rapidly as he 
had pursued. From this adventure, which occurred near Medicine River, June 
14th, Lewis made up his mind he would never for a moment suffer his rifle to 
remain unloaded. These bears were monsters in size and very tenacious of life, 
sometimes requiring as many as ten balls to bring them down. 

The expedition continued its journey, tracing the Missouri River to its source 
and pushing on through the mountains, meeting with many thrilling as well as 
pleasant adventures; surrounded by savage inhabitants, most of whom had never 
met a white man and with whom their intercourse was so wisely managed with 
the aid of Skagaweah that not only no serious difficulties occurred between them, 
but the assistance of these nations as guides and in supplying food was in trying 
times most timely and of great importance. Through all the band of heroes 
struggled, finally reaching their goal — the mouth of the great Columbia River — 
about the 1st of December, 1805, near the mouth of which, on a tributary stream 
called Xetul, now Lewis anil Clark River, they built their winter quarters, 
naming it Port Clatsop from a tribe of Indians who had treated the party with 
great kindness and were uniformly friendly. The winter was industriously passed 
in explorations by land and water; in studying the character of the native 
inhabitants, who were numerous and interesting, and in hunting and fishing. 
Their outdoor employment was seriously hindered by almost continual rains, 
barely a day and night passing that did not bring its rainfall, and at times the 
rain would continue for days. It was disco\ ered that these Indians had for a long 
series of years traded with white men who came in vessels, probably some of them 
from the north, though the natives, when asked the direction, would point to the 
southwest. Captain Lewis procured the names of a number of these traders, all 
of whom voyaged in three and four masted schooners and who came in tin.' spring 
and fall. These names are Messrs. Haley, Yonens, Tallamen, Calalamet (who 
had a wooden leg), Swipton, Moore, Machey, Washington, Mesship, Davidson, 
Jackson, Holch and Skelley, who had one eve only. 

On Sunday, March 26, t8o6, the expedition sel out on it - return journey. 
which was accomplished without the loss of a life, though the party was at times 
exposed to great perils, and Captain Lewis narrowly escaped death in a skirmish 

Vol. 1—3 



I 



HISTORY < IF DAKi T\ I ERRIT< >RY 



with Indian- who had been camping with them over night and had stolen their 
guns and horses before daylight. In the struggle to recover their effects Lewis 
obliged to kill two Indian- and another was mortally hit with a knife in 
nds of one of the men. The guns and nearly all the horses were recovered. 
["his was the onl) occasion when such extreme measures were demanded, and 
it was an occasion when self-preservation unquestionably justified the killing. 
The expedition made fair progress, each day bringing its interesting if not 
exciting incidents. About the last of Augusl they passed the future site of fort 
Randall. On the ,;i-l they had reached Bon Homme Island, where they met a 
party of Yankton Indians, who represented about eighty lodges, that were 
encamped above on Emanuel Creek. Here a halt was made and the Yanktons 
invited to their cam]' where they were addressed by Lewis as good and faithful 
children. A piece of ribbon was tied in the hair of each Indian and some corn 
given them and a pair of leggings to the chief. The party spent an hour 
hunting on the island. The bottom land on the north is described as very rich 
ami SO iliickh \n with pea vines and grass, interwoven with grape vines, 

thai die party who attempted to hunt there were compelled to leave- 

it and ascend the plain, where they found the grass nearly as high as their heads. 
These plain- were described as much richer below than above the Quicourt, and 
the whole countrj was there very beautiful. After making fifty-two miles they 
stopped for the night on a sandbar (near Yankton) opposite to the Calumet 
Bluff, where they had encamped on the 1st of September, 1804, and where their 
flag staff was still standing. They suffered very much from the mosquitoes. 
I I In- encampment was made on Monday evening, September 1. i8cj6, just two 
year- to a day from the first visit when ascending the river.) 

It is reported on what would seem to be good authority that Captain Clark 
wa- married to a \cz l'erce Indian belle during the outward journey. The nuptial 
knot wa- tied according to the Indian custom. His bride accompanied him to the 
Pacific, remained at Ion ( lat-op during the winter and returned witli the expedi- 
tion in the spring to her own people, where the captain concluded to leave his 
dusky bride until he could arrange otherwise. In due time a son was born, 
this was in 1807, whom his mother named Tzi-kal-Tzae. When he grew up he 
called himself "Me-C lark," and could speak English, which had been taught him 
by his mother. He had sandy hair, which resembled that of the Explorer Clark. 
This son was killed at the age of seventy years in Bear Paw Mountains on Snake 
in a battle with General Mile-" command. "Me-Clark" was the father 
of a daughter born about [855 named Man- Clark, who is now living in Montana. 
Hon. Joseph Dixon, who represents Montana in Congress, Judge Hiram Knowles 
and Judge 1'. II. Mood) of Montana are mentioned as authorities for this state- 
ment. Dixon having taken the pains to investigate the matter on behalf of Mary 
(lark. 'I'he preparation made to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the 
Lewi- and (lark expedition at Portland in 1905 brought to light this incident, 
which may appropriately find a place here. 

At 8 o'clock the next morning they passed the River Jacques (James 1 at ten 
mile- and soon after were compelled to land on account of high northeast wind 
and remained until sunset when they went to a sandbar and camped, twenty-two 
mile- from the encampment of last night. During the day they killed three 
0, foui prairii fowl, which were tile first they had seen in descending, and 
two turkey-. I he following day. at it o'clock, they passed the Redstone I Ver- 
million) and made sixty miles before night, when they saw two boats and several 
on -bore. < >n landing they found a Mr. lame- Airs of a house at Prairie 
du Chien, who had come from Mackinaw by way of Prairie du Chien and St. 
Louis with a license t<. trade among the Sioux for one year. Mo-t of the night 
-pent in making inquiries into what had occurred during their absence. 
an interval the sight of anyone dial could give information was 
delightful and und Mr. Air- a very friendly and liberal gentleman. They 

proposed to him to purchase a -mall quantity of tobacco to be paid for in St. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 35 

Louis, when he readily furnished every man of the party with as much as he 
could use during the remainder of the voyage. 

Thursday they left .Mr. Airs and after passing the Big Sioux stopped at noon 
near Floyd's Bluff. On ascending the hill they found thai the grave of Floyd 
had been opened and was now half uncovered. They Idled ii up and then con- 
tinued down to their old camp near the Alalia villages. On the 6th they met a 
trading boat belonging to Mr. August Choteau of St. Louis, with several men, 
on the way to trade with the Yanktons at the River Jacques, and obtained from 
them a gallon of whiskey and gave each of the party a dram, which was the first 
spirituous liquor any of them had tasted since the 4th of July, 1805. For tobacco 
when there was none to be had in the upper' river the men cut their long 
tomahawk pipe stems, which had become saturated with the tobacco juice, into 
small pieces and chewed it. 

The party reached St. Louis in safetj on Thursday, September 23d, at \2 
o'clock, fired a salute and went ashore, where they received the heartiest and 
most hospitable welcome from the whole village. 

The old French interpreter, Durion, who had been left with the Yanktons on 
the way up took a number of Yankton chiefs to Washington in the spring of 
t8oS, where they were royally entertained and returned to their homes so favorably 
impressed that the tribe forever after remained on friendly terms with the whites. 
Durion had married a Yankton belle and had one son who became quite promi- 
nent as an interpreter and trader, and he may have had other children. He 
lived to a green old age and died here in the Valley of Yankton and was buried 
according to the Indian custom on a scaffold which was erected on the summit 
of the bluff near the Sister's Hospital and was a prominent landmark when the 
whites settled in Yankton. Armstrong indulges in the following sentiment to 
the memory of the faithful guide : 



There he has slumbered on his scaffulil tomb 
. Through fifty years of storm and summer mo m . 
There let him rest, for first was he to die 
Of all the white race beneath Dakota's sky. 



1151C8S 



Among the first Yankton pioneers it was maintained that the scaffold, with 
a portion of the skeleton, was visible when they first visited it, but the bones were 
soon carried away by those who discovered in them something of peculiar value 
as relics. 

Captain Lewis was appointed governor of Louisiana, with his residence at 
St. Louis, in 1807, and Captain Clark was made general of its militia and agent 
of the United States for the Indian affairs in Louisiana. Captain Clark engaged 
in the fur trade in 1S0S with Manuel Lisa and Sylvester Labbadie, who was 
related to the Choteaus by marriage and led an expedition of 150 nun up the 
Missouri, founding Fort Clark at the Ariekaras Village below Knife River, and 
then went on to the forks of the Missouri, built a fort and engaged in trapping 
with a large force of men. The implacable hostility of the Blackfeel Indians 
finally drove the whites out id' the country, killing thirty of them, ami Clark 
retired from the trade. 

Regarding Captain Lewis. President Jefferson furnished a biographical sketch 
to be published in connection with the journal of the explorations. It was written 
at Monticcllo in 1813, and gives a history of the events leading tip to the expedi 
lion, the letter of instructions to Lewis and closes with the following account 

of his melancholy death : 

Governor Lewis had from early life been I p ndriac affections. It was 

a constitutional disposition in all the nearer branches of the family of his name and was 
more immediately inherited by him from his father. The) had not. however, been - 
as to give uneasiness to his family. While he lived with me at Washin I 

times sensible depi ns oi mind, but km wing their constitutional soun 1 their 

course bj what 1 had seen in the family Dunne Ins western expedition tl 
which thai required of all the faculties of bod) and mind suspended these di 



HISTI >\<\ I IF DAK< 'I \ I ERRITORY 

i ■ blishment at ccupation, they returned upon 

oubled vigor and usly to alarm his friends. He was in a paroxysm 

rendered it nee- him to go to Washington. He 

•is where he arrived h day of September, 1809, with 

Mr. Neely, agent of the United States 

ound him extremely indisposed 

mind. I In- rumors of a war with 

that he might I papers he was bringing on, among which 

his publii urnals and papers of his western expedi- 

i is mind and to take his course by land through the 

country. Although he appeared somewhat relieved, .Mr. Neely kindly determined 

mpanj and watch over him. Uni ■ at their encampment after having lost 

Mr. NeeLy to halt for their recovery the governor proceeded under 

• for him at the house of the first white inhabitant on his road. He stopped 

at the house of a Mr. 1 iruider, who not being at home his wife alarmed at the symptoms of 

ave him up the house and retired to rest herself in an out 

lodging in another. About 3 o'clock in the night 

which plunged his friends into affliction and deprived the country of one of 

her m 1 valued iralor and intelligence would have been now (1813) employed 

1 and 111 emulating by land the splendid deeds which 

. d her arms on the ocean. It Inst, too, to the nation the benefit of receiving from 

of his sufferings and successes, in endeavoring 
tend for them I iries of science and to present to their knowledge that vast 

and t ntry which their sons are destined to fill with art, science, with freedom and 

happil 

melancholy close of the life of one whom posterity will declare not to have lived 

in vain, I i to add that all the tacts I have stated are either known to myself or 

communicated by Ins Eamilj or others for whose truth I have no hesitation to make myself 

: and I conclude with tendering you the assurance of my respect and consideration. 

Thomas Jefferson. 

In Robinson's Histor) of South Dakota (1904), it is stated that: 

The first action of Congress regarding a government for the 1 erritory of Louisiana 
1 > rritory of Indiana, of which William Henry Harrison was gover- 
nor at that time. The following year ( 1805), Congress created the Territory of Louisiana, 
with St. Louis as the capital, and the President appointed James Wilkinson, governor; Fred- 
erick I 1 J. Meigs and. J. B. C. Lucas, judges. [Capt. Merriwether Lewis 
in 1807.] 
In 1812 Louisiana was admitted as a state with us present boundaries. Congress then 
of Missouri. In [820 Missouri was admitted into the Union, but no 
nent north of the Missouri and west of the Mississippi 
until 1834, when the Territory of Michigan was extended to embrace the country west to the 
uri and north to the international boundary. In 1836 Wisconsin Territory was created, 
which included Wisconsin, towa, Minnesota, and Dakota east of the Missouri. In 1838 

and included all the territory north of the Missouri to the 

nd all lying between the Mississippi and Missouri. Minnesota was made a terri- 

and included all east of the Missouri as far north as White Earth River. That 

: .<...- called Mandan until 1S54, when it was included in 

ska. 

1 ewis and clark's camps i\ Dakota 

• be interesting to Dakotaians generally if it could be known definitely 
vhere the various encampments by Lewis and Clark's party were made. A 
I was kept of the number of miles traversed each Jay and a brief descrip- 
tion of the camps, but there have liven such Changes in the channel of the river 
:s during the century that lias elapsed since the exploration that their 
■ distances and description will nol now guide to all the points men- 
1 m their journal. Oul of a motive of curiosity more than of an expec- 
giving the precise location, the writer has endeavored to point out 
approximately whet various camps were laid between the Big Sioux and 

the winter camp. This may lead to a cli mination by those now inhabit- 

ing lll( ' ''"'''' 'b •' line of Lewis and Clark's landmarks may 

tablished, fifty two or more in number, along the borders of the Missouri. 
The expedition passed the mouth of the Big Sioux River August 21st. The first 



HISTORY OF DAK( >T.\ TERRIT< >RY 37 

camp made after passing this point was on the Nebraska side, about three miles 
west of McCook, Union County. The second camp was on the Dakota side, in 
Union County, in town yo, range 41). The third camp was on the Nebraska 
shore, two or three miles from Elk Point; and the fourth j 1 , miles above the 
mouth of the Vermillion River on the Nebraska side. The fifth night was -pent 
six miles farther upstream, on the south side of the river, probably about oppo- 
site section 22, town 92, range 52, Clay County. The sixth camp was in Clay 
County, near section 21, town i>2, range 53. The seventh camp was on a sand- 
bar, near the Yankton County shore, i l /> miles above the mouth of James River. 
Tuesday, August 28th, the expedition reached a point 8C miles by river from 
the camp of the night before, and went into camp for the eighth time "on the 
south, under Calumet Bluff" (which blurt is on the north side), and here the 
party remained until Saturday, September 1st, holding a council with the Yank- 
ton Indians. September 1st, the ninth camp was on the lower extremity of 
Bon Homme Island, fifteen miles from the Yankton Camp, and the next night, 
which was Sunday, the encampment was formed at the head of Bon Homme 
Island, where Captain Clark spent the day viewing and measuring the old forti- 
fication. The eleventh camp was on the Nebraska side, about opposite Spring- 
field, and the twelfth was just above Niobrara River in what was once Todd 
County, Dakota. The thirteenth camp was also in Todd County, about opposite 
section 19, town 94, range 62, on the Yankton Reservation. The fourteenth 
camp was very near Greenwood, on the Yankton Reserve; and the fifteenth in 
Gregory County, about 3^ miles above Greenwood. Sunday, September 
9th, the sixteenth camp was made on Boat Island, in Chas. Mix County, seven- 
teen miles above Greenwood. The seventeenth camp was on Mud Island. 
Charles Mix County, 10J/2 miles above Boat Island. Camp No. 18 was in Brule 
Countv, near section 14, town 101, range 71. No. 19 was in section 21, town 
102 range 71 ; and No. 20 in section 24, town 102, range 72, all in Brule County. 
At camp twenty the expedition remained a day examining White River Valley. 
Camp twenty-one was six miles above White River on the north side, in Brule 
County. Sunday, the 1 6th of September, camp twenty-two, near Lower Brule 
Agency, on the west side. Camp twenty-three was on the west side, below 
Chamberlain; and camp twenty-four was at American Island, opposite Chamber- 
lain. Camp twenty-five was near Crow Creek, Buffalo County. Camp twenty- 
six was on section 21, town 108, range 93, Hyde Countv, on a sandbar. Camp 
twenty-seven in Hughes County, section 4. town 108, range 74. The next camp. 
twenty-eight, was made Sunday, September 23d, near section 31, town no 
range 76, in Hughes County, and the following night camp twenty-nine was 
made on a sandbar at the mouth of Had, or Teton River, because of the threat- 
ening attitude and large number of Indians at that point. The following three 
days were spent with these Indians who were apparently friendly, but who 
acted as though waiting an opportunity to be otherwise. Camp was changed 
each night, moving up a mile or two along the bars, or anchoring the boat-. \ 
grand council was held. On Friday, the 28th, the expedition left Bad Uivcr and 
moved up about six miles above Pierre to camp thirty-one, near section 6, town 
no, range 81. No. 32' was in section 34, town no, range 81. No. 33 
was above and near Fort Sully; and thirty-four was on Devil's Island, 
Sully County, opposite section i<). town 113. range 80. The expedition had 
passed the mouth of the Cheyenne River this clay, which was the first of 
October. Camp thirty-five on sandbar near the north line of Sully County. 
No. 36 on sandbar eight miles from last cam]) and near latitude 44 l'i' 3' >" , 
about Opposite section 29. town 118. range 79. No. ,^ on sandbar near Forest 
City. Potter County, opposite section 7, town 118. range 78. No. 38 on the 
northeast shore, two miles below I.e Beau, Walworth County, section _><>. town 
121, range 78. Xo. 31), passed the mouth of Moreau River on Sunday, I >cto 
7th. made twenty-two miles, camped below the mouth of Grand River about 
four miles, opposite town 124, range 70. Walworth County. Camp forty was 



IMS 1» >\<\ ( IF DAK< IT \ TERRITORY 

bove i. rand River, which was passed on the 8th, and the altitude 
taken in latitude 45 39' 5". Camped in the southern part of Campbell County, 
section [6, town 124, range 79. Remained here until the [2th, counseling with 

rickarees, who had a large village on the south, and on an island. Three 
days at this point. < Ictober uth. camp forty one, Campbell County, town uS. 
mp forty-two was in Campbell County, near the boundary line 
between the two states. No. 43 in Emmons County, X. 1).. ten miles above the 
boundary, between the two states. No. 44. < Ictober 15th. Emmons County, nearly 
opposite Fori Yates. No. 15 on the north, about section 12, town [33, range 79. 
Camp forty-six, in the south or west, three miles below the mouth of Cannon Ball 
River. Camp fort) seven in Emmons County, above Fort Rice, in section 6, 
town [35, range 78, latitude (,6 23' 57". Camp forty-eight. Burleigh County, 
X 1 ).. four miles above the boundary, opposite section [8, town 137, range 78, 
camped on sandbar. No. p. < ictober [9, near Bismarck, on the west bank. Xo. 

an miles above Bismarck, on the east bank, Sunday, 21st. Camp fifty-one 
in Merer County, X. I)., five miles above southern boundary. Camp fifty-two 

the north line of Burleigh County and south line of McLean. Monday, 
1 Ictober 22, camp fifty-five; expedition reached Mandan and Ree villages, now 
McLean County, and spent a week looking for winter camping place, changing 
its camp occasionally, and finally, on the 29th of October, selecting a site for 
winter quarters near the present Town of Washburne, Aid. can County, in lati- 
tude 17" 2\' 47". longitude 101 west from Greenwich. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE FUR TRADE 

FUR TRADE Till: PIONEER INDUSTRY OF NORTH AMERICA JOHN JACOR ASTOR \ <. 1 1 

HIS ENTERPRISES — THE CHOTEAUS, LISA AND OTHERS — FORT PIERRE CHOTEAU 

— ASTOR EXPEDITIONS BY SEA AND LAND WASHINGTON HUNT'S PERILOUS AND 

TRAGIC JOURNEY — THE WAR OF l8l2 ASTOR SELLS TO CHOTEAU. 

The Upper Missouri Valley was the theater of a very large and profitahle 
industry generations before the country was opened to settlement, and pros- 
perity, measured in the profits realized from the fur trade, possibly equalled, 
if it did not exceed, our boasted per capita of the present day. YVe do not 
realize how much was accomplished in the exploration of this great Northwest 
by the pioneers who bartered with the savages during the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth centuries, nor do we realize the comparatively large number of civilized 
people who lived sumptuously on its bounty. The forests, plains and streams 
furnished the raw material in immense quantities; the natives found it a source 
of profitable industry and congenial employment. The traders were the middle- 
men and accumulated princely fortunes, while the product in its unfinished 
condition formed the staple of our foreign outgoing commerce. It found an 
eager and profitable market in Europe, and one of still greater pecuniary value 
with the opulent classes, the mandarins and royal princes of China, and Aster's 
Pacific coast enterprise with the China trades led to the founding of a trading 
port at Astoria. It will seem somewhat singular that during all these decades, 
when the fur trade flourished so vigorously, that the adventurous pioneers made 
no effort to discover the gold which lay hidden in the very gulches and river 
banks trod by the enterprising traders and trappers. There seems to be no 
record of gold discoveries nor of any attempt at prospecting for minerals until 
the discover) of gold in California in 1841). The fur trade was civilization's 
pioneer industry in the northern half of the United States as well as Canada: 
and the Dakotas, with their savage races, contributed as largely and possibly 
a greater volume to this profitable traffic than any other similar area in North 
America. 

from almost the earliest settlement of North America by white people, the 
fur trade was the only important industry to engage their enterprise. It had 
its beginning with the French occupation of Canada in the sixteenth century. 
and by the year 1S00 had grown to immense proportions, and had. by its 
alluring prizes in the immense profits accruing from it. led its working forces 
across the continent of North America to the shores of the Pacific. Fur co 
panics had been formed in the Canadian provinces on a scale of great magni 
tude and their enterprising projectors had become monafchs of wealth. Early 
in the last century the leading merchants of Philadelphia and New York WtV 
largely engaged in this trade, but the major portion of it was controlled h\ 
British sublets. 

John Jacob Astor. who was born in Germany some time about [760, had 
made his way to the United States and had been engaged exclusively in buying 
and exporting furs for .1 number of years, lie had succeeded in accumulating 
what was then considered a large fortune. He had become an American citizen 

39 



l0 HISTORY OF DAKOTA rERRITORY 

and was a resident of the Stat, and City of New York. He was a man of 
high and laudable ambition, of great executive ability, a sincere and active 
American patriot; in fact, a type of the best and most intelligent citizenship 
When Louisiana was purchased he saw the way opened for the establishment 
f a fur trade on a magnitude equal to that of Canada and exclusive y within 
,1k- territorial jurisdiction of th< 1 nited States. After the return of the Lewis 
and Clark exploring expedition he sel about the practical execution of the most 
d costh business undertaking that had up to that day engaged the 
attention of this country's business nun. He planned to open up and develop 
a fur trade that would embrace the entire country drained by the Missouri and 
Columbia rivers, reaching to the shores of the Pacific, and for this purpose 
ed a charter from the Legislature of the State of New York, in ibob, 
incorporating the American Fur Company with a capital of $i,ooo,ooo, prac- 
tical all of it furnished b) himself, Hecause of his high character as a citizen 
and probity in all hi- affairs, he was also enabled to secure the favor of the 
President and Congress, who extended to him every privilege that could be 
jtently given iii support of a private enterprise. Prior to this time, how- 
there bad been a profitable trade carried on with the Indian population 
of tlie .Missouri country by way of the British-American provinces controlled 
by the Hudson Bay Company of Great Britain, the Northwest Fur Company 
id by a number of traders licensed by the Spanish governors of 
Louisiana— all foreigners— all inimical to the young Republic of the United 
State- -and all. apparently, judged by subsequent developments, made it a large 
part of their bti-iness to prejudice the minds of the Indian population all 
along the Missouri against the new government that had come into possession 
of tiir territory of Louisiana by purchase from France. 

Mr. Doane Robinson, who has investigated the pre-settlement history of the 
L'pper Missouri Valley quite thoroughly and intelligently, had this to say in 
his 1 tistory of 1 >akota, regarding the infancy of the fur trade in the Northwest: 

From 1764 the French of St. Louis begun trading up the Missouri. There is very little 
of record indicating how far up the river this trade extended, but it is certain that long 
1 1800 they were trading within the South Dakota Territory. _ Loisell's Post, a strong 
fortified trading house, was built on Cedar Island in the Missouri River, thirty-five miles 
Pierre, in 1796. In the fall of 1796, Treaudeau, a St. Louis trader, established a house 
for trade with the Pawnees on the east bank of the Missouri, and a little above the site of 
Fort Randall 

Tc a paragraph the conclusions relating to the exploration of South 

Dakota prior to the nineteenth century, it may be said that it is highly improbable that 

South Dakota was explored by the Spaniards in the early portion of the sixteenth century; 

or that any while man -aw the territory during the sixteenth century at all. That it is 

quite possibli thai white men. employees of LeSeuer and LeMoyne, visited Sioux Falls in 

1'iN.!. and ible that I.eSeuer's men were here to trade in 1700; and that it is also 

ble thai LeSeuer visited South Dakota in person about 1695. That Verendrye was 

certainly hen in irt-'- and that DeLusignan visited our borders in 1745. That the French 

1 fur trade in our territory and had built two strong posts prior 

so far as is yet developed all other reputed explorations are based on 

conjc 

Small trading posts were also established at Big Stone Lake and along the 
• r b\ small traders, or as branch establishments of the larger com- 
pani< dured for a brief time and were then abandoned for a more 

favorable location, or were merged with other concerns. 

Tin Columbia Fur Company, aboul [827, had trading posts at the mouth of 
the Niobrara, lame- and Vermillion rivers. 

In the lower Missouri country a profitable and growing trade with the 
native- was carried on by citizens of St. Louis, first of whom in point of 
wealth and ability was thi ' ! it au family and its connections by marriage, 
who ■ ors founded St. Louis in 1764. The Choteaus were deeply engaged 

in the fur trade a- far west as the Kansas River, during the closing years 
of that century, and ending their business up the Missouri Valley as 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 41 

rapidly as practicable. A prominent character in the trade early in 1800 was a 
wealthy Spanish gentleman named .Manuel Lisa, also a St. Louisian, and asso- 
ciated with him were Benoit, Gregory, Sarpy and Charles Sanginet, who eon- 
ducted their enterprise under the partnership title of Lisa, Benoit >V Co. This 
gave way in 1806 to a new partnership headed by Lisa, in company with George 
Druillard, who was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The part- 
ners made a trading trip to the mouth of the Yellowstone in 1807, and built a 
trading post near that locality which they named Fort Manuel. It was the first 
trading post built in the Dakotah country. Druillard remained in charge of the 
post, while Lisa returned to St. Louis in 1808, and organized the American Fur 
Company of St. Louis, with Capt. William Clark, of Lewis and Clark, and 
Sylvester Labbodie, a relative by marriage of the Choteaus. In 1809 these three 
gentlemen, with a party of 150 men, trappers, hunters, frontiersmen and em- 
ployes, made a trip to Fort Manuel, locating a small trading post at the Arickaree 
village near Big Knife River on their way up. which was named Fort Clarke. 
They also established posts at a Mandan village a few miles above, and still an- 
other at a village of the Gros Yentres on the opposite side of the river. This 
party proceeded to the headwaters of the Missouri, erecting a fort at the three 
forks of the river, and began trapping on an extensive scale, as well as trading. 
They encountered serious trouble with the Black feet Indians, losing nearly a 
third of their men. Their employes became discouraged and deserted, some of 
them entering the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, which conducted an 
itinerant trading business through that section. The Lisa company abandoned 
the country. What is known as the second war with Great Britain, 1812-15. fol- 
lowed, the fur trade became too hazardous for Americans in that section, and it 
languished for four years. In 1816 it revived, however, with great spirit, and 
a number of new partnerships were formed at St. Louis, conducting their oper- 
ations mainly south of the Dakota line. In 1819 another partnership under the 
head of Lisa was formed at St. Louis, embracing nine individuals, men of 
wealth and business experience. Their names were Manuel Lisa, who was 
elected president of the partnership ; Thomas Hempstead, Jr., Lisa's brother-in- 
law ; Joshua Pilcher, an experienced upper river trader ; Joseph Perkins, Andrew 
Woods, Moses B. Carson, Andrew Dripps, Robert Jones and J. B. Zaroin. The 
firm sent Mr. Pilcher with about seventy-five men and a large stock of Indian 
wares into the Sioux country that same season and located trading posts, first at 
Cedar Island, about midway between Fort Randall and Chamberlain, or what is 
now Gregory County; they also built a post near Chamberlain, which they 
called Fort Lookout, and Fort Kiowa was afterward erected near this locality. 
' Passing on to the great bend of the river above Crow Creek, they built Fort 
George, and also put in a very complete frontier repair shop with a blacksmith 
outfit, and closed their season's building operations by the erection of Fort 
Tecumseh, opposite the mouth of Bad River and very near the site of the present 
capital of South Dakota. This post was looked upon as occupying hostile Indian 
country and was surrounded with a substantial stockade. 

In the meantime Mr. Astor had been pushing his great enterprise with all 
the energy and celerity possible in those days. With no lack of means, it was 
not an easy matter to secure the necessary assistants in an undertaking such as 
Wor contemplated. He needed experienced men who combined honesty, effi- 
ciency, courage, good judgment — qualities that go to make up not only a tirst- 
class business man but a great military commander, and as resolute as Napoleon. 
His first move was the sending of two expeditions to the Oregon country— 
by sea and one by way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers. This was in 1810 
The first was attended with greai misfortune and an appalling sacrifice of lite. It 
forms a chapter of tragic history, the most thrilling and disastrous in the annals 
of those early days of resolute adventure and exploration. The Missouri e: 
'lit ion fared little better, though its misfortunes were due to the difficulty of 
finding a path through the mountains, and its formidable enemy was starvation, 



Hl.su .UN ( IF DAK< »TA TERRITI Ui\ 



U 

which threatened its members for months and brought them possibly to feed 

upon a human body. . „ 

II,, Missouri expedition was under the command oi Mr. Washington Hunt, 
eri( nced fl „ ecutive ability, undaunted courage and reso- 

lution but a comparative stranger to the duties and experiences of such an un- 
dertaking M'ur visiting Canada and possessing himself of such information 
ing his trip as he could obtain, securing the most experienced boatmen 
other assistants, and outfitting with the necessary boats, he crossed to the 
Mississippi and voyaged down thai stream to St. Louis, where he completed his 
outfit and his complement of hunters and voyageurs, engaging for an interpreter 
on of the I renchman Durion, who had accompanied Lewis and Clark m a 
similar capacity as far as Yankton. Mr. Hunt found considerable difficulty in 
securing needed, certain St. Louis interests, notably those controlled by 

seeming to take particular pain- to obstruct his negotiations. 
Being amply supplied with money, however, and known as the agent of Astor, 
he was finally successful, and. everything being in readiness, he set out from St. 
Louis on the "jim of < Ictober, 1810. with a strong company, thoroughly equipped, 
having planned to follow, as near as possible, the route taken by Lewis and 
(lark. The time of starting was late, the stage of water was low, and. winter 
coming on early, the expedition made but 450 miles, when reaching the Xodawa 
River, [50 miles above old Fori Osage, they found an excellent point for a 
rmanent camp. On the [6th of November they landed and prepared their 
winter quarters. This encampment was surrounded by a country abundantly 
supplied with game and groves, and the winter was passed very pleasantly. The 
breaking up of the river, the following spring, came unusually late, and the 
■ pedition was obliged to remain in camp until about the 20th of April, 1S11, 
when the voyage toward the mountains was resumed, and continued with fair 
sua ■ 

It tin- expedition made any important halt in the vicinity of Yankton, along 
the river or other points, the record does not mention it, but does relate meeting 
with members of the Yankton tribe at the Omaha village below, who informed 
Mr. Hunt that the Teton Sioux, in the upper country, were inclined to be hos- 
tile, and advised him to act with caution. A village of the Poncas was found 
about tour miles south of the mouth of the Niobrara River, and the Indians 
proved to be very friendly. During the voyage Mr. Hunt had been, most unfor- 
tunately, persuaded to change the plan of his route, and instead of following 
in the path of Lewis and Clarke, he bad resolved to abandon the river at the 
Arickaree village, near the mouth of the Cannon Hall River, and strike across 
plains as a more expeditious route and affording many trading advantages. 
The \rickaree village was reached June nub. after many interesting experiences. 
And lure Mr. Hunt, after long and vexatious delays, in which Mr. Lisa again 
appears a- a trouble maker and then a- a mosl valuable and cordial cooperator. 
succeeded in procuring aboul eighty horses, which, however, was not as many 
be required for pack animals, having in addition to the ordinary sup- 
plier for hi- men. a large quantit) of goods for baiter and for presents to the 
Indian-. Finally the cavalcade gol awaj from the Missouri .about the 20th of 
July, having been nearly six weeks making the necessary arrangements caused 
the change of route. Mr. Hunt, however, believed he would be able to get 
ll rough tin- mountain- before winter set in and join the expedition sent by the 
oute. 
ubsequenl journey of this expedition, after reaching the eastern slope 
oi iln Rocky Mounl Forms a fearful chapter of early Northwest history. 

ng out with greal pomp, and about as well equipped for the journey as it 
ible lo !»■ furnished, the members of the party were called upon to 
ry hardship and privation that human beings could endure and survive. 
["he Indian- proved sometinn friendly and often treacherous ; ignorant guides 
I'd the party into imp. ms and barren deserts; storms and floods de- 



.,;•• 




r \ 



GENEB \l. HENRI LEAVENWORTH 
Commanded in first Indian war on Dakota soil, L817 



h > 







FOB I I \I"V ON THE I ITl I: MISSOl IM 
I'.uili bj i hof ea u .1 nd 1 ompany, 1830 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 43 

stroyed and swept away their supplies and raiment, horse flesh and dog meal 
became a luxury, and finally iliis was denied them. Their sufferings were inde- 
scribable — they were horrible. The party became necessarily separated in order 
to obtain subsistence, and labored on, half demented, and finally, almost literally 
naked, emaciated, barefooted and bleeding, Mr. Hunt, with a small number of his 
men. reached the new fort of Astoria, near the month of the Columbia River, 
about the middle of February. [812. This post had been built the summer before 
by the Aslor party which went around by sea on the chartered vessel Tonquin, 
which, with its captain and crew, had already met with a most tragic and mel- 
ancholy fate, lie received a welcome so sincere and heartfelt that no language 
can properly portray it. A portion of his party had preceded him by a full 
month, and had about given up their leader as lost. The reunion was cordial 
beyond expression. They had been seventeen months out from St. Louis, ami 
it was estimated that they had traveled 3.500 miles. 

We question seriously whether the annals of adventure in any part of the 
world can furnish an instance where men endured the bitter experiences of this 
hand of pioneers and survived to tell the story of their journeyings and their 
hairbreadth escapes. 

This expedition, occurring at that time and journeying through a region 
largely unexplored, must be regarded as only second in importance to that of 
Lewis and Clarke, for. although attended with much loss and suffering to those 
engaged in it. the survivors were enabled to furnish to the world a vast amount 
of useful information regarding the region traversed and the people who inhab- 
ited it. 

Following this Astor expedition came the war between the United States 
and Great Britain, from 1812 to 1N15. which placed an effectual embargo on the 
foreign commerce of our country. It was to Furope and China that our mer- 
chants looked for their commerce of furs. The fur business, including the 
traffic with the Indians, so far as Americans were concerned, languished during 
this period. The British traders, however, maintained a continual bartering, 
and although Congress had enacted laws prohibiting foreigners from trading in 
the Missouri country, little attention was paid to the law and the 'enforcement of 
its provisions was not practicable as long as the British possessed the friendship 
and confidence of the Indian, which they did to a great extent, having gained it 
by a wise, if not an honest, course of dealing with them long prior to the purchase 
of Louisiana by the United States. The long association of the British fur com- 
panies, the Hudson's Bay ami the Canadian Northwest Company, operating 
through itinerant traders from the Red River of the North and the ^ssiniboine, 
with the upper Missouri Indians, had established terms of friendship that en- 
abled the British influence to control their sympathies and their trade during the 
War of [8l2 and for many years after that contest was settled. The aggressive 
character of the American traders, however, was year by year gaining the ad- 
vantage. The provision of law requiring trailers to obtain permits from the 
Government was a great help to the legitimate business on this side of the 
boundary. After the close of the war there was a rapid revival, and the upper 
Missouri country, from the mouth of the I'.ix Sioux to the headwaters of the 
Missouri, was the scene of greatest activity. Mr. Astor's American Fur Company 
and the American Fur Company of St. Louis, controlled b) Choteau, were both 
energetic and backed by ample capital. The resident manager of the Vstor in 
terest was Kenneth Mckenzie, a Scotchman, who had learned the fur trading 
business very thoroughly during the many years of service with the Hudson's 
Bay Company, lie was considered one of tin- mosl competent men in the trade 
in experience and executive ability. The Pacific Fur Company, the Southwest 
Company and the Columbia Fur Companj were organized by Mr. ^stor between 
[810 and r8i7, and the North American Fur Company in [823. The three 
named were merged with the North \nierican in [826 and the \stor establish 
ment conducted its affairs under the title of the \mcrican Fur Compai 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

ilso the North American, until [834, when Mr. Astor disposed of all his western 

-t of the Kinky Mountains to the American Fur Company of St. Louis, 
of which Pierri 1 hoteau, Jr., was the principal owner, a man of rare business 
talents and great enterprise. In purchasing the Astor interests, Choteau secured 

i prices of McKenzie, whom he highly valued, and made him general manager 
of his entire upper Missouri trade, with headquarters at Fort Tecumseh, opposite 
the mouth of Bad River. McKenzie had located a post eight miles above the 
mouth of the Yellowstone in [829, for the Astor American Fur, Company, and 
called it Fori Union. It occupied one of the finest sites on the river. It was at 
tlte time the most complete post in the country; enclosed within a strong log 

ade 325 \ 350 feet in area, with two strong stone bastions in front, each two 
stories, supplied with camion. Inside were a large store, a comfortable residence, 
a work-hop for the carpenter, a blacksmith shop and buildings for employes. 
The post was supplied with a small herd of beef and dairy cattle, and a garden 

successfully cultivated. An abundance of pasturage was convenient, and 
hay was cut and -tacked for winter use and for the accommodation of visiting 
expeditions and adventurous travelers. Fort George, this side of Fort Tecumseh, 
w;h built in 1832 by an independent firm made up of Premen, Harvey and Boise, 
but was soon absorbed by Choteau's company. 



CHAPTER VI] 
THE FUR TRADE AND THE FIRST STEAMBOAT 

FORT PIERRE CHOTEAU FORT VERMILLION AND BENTON — INTRODUCING ?H\ 

STEAMBOAT, A MACKINAW BOAT; AND THE FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE UPPER 
MISSOURI MAGNITUDE OF THE FUR TRADE THE TRADERS. 

At this time Air. McKenzie resolved upon changing- the location of Fort 
Tecumseh to the west bank of the river. Experience had taught the manager 
that the west side was the most convenient for those Indians whose trade was 
the largest and most profitable, such as the Ogallallas and Arickarees, while on 
the opposite side were the Yanktons and Yanktonnais, but to reach them it was 
frequently necessary to go across the prairies to the James River, where com- 
petition would be met with. .McKenzie therefore resolved to change the location 
of the trading post to the south bank, and, having obtained the consent of the 
Arickaree Indians, who seemed to control that country at the time, he, in com- 
pany with William I.aidlaw, another Choteau employe, selected a site for a new- 
trading post about three miles above the mouth of Bad River and 300 feet back 
from the Missouri River, where they erected a stockade 280x300 feet square, 
enclosing a number of buildings that were necessary for a central trading posl 
and depot of supplies. The portable property of Fort Tecumseh was abandoned 
and business was begun at Fort Pierre Choteau, the name bestowed on the new 
post in honor of the head of the American Fur Company of St. Louis, about 
June 15, 1832. George Catlin, the famous Indian painter, arrived at the new 
post from the Yellowstone, very soon after its completion, lie found it in 
charge of Laidlaw, whose delighted guest he became, and in writing of his visit, 
says: "This gentleman has a finely built fort here of two hundred or three 
hundred feet square, enclosing eight or ten of their factories, houses and stores, 
in the midst of which he occupies spacious and comfortable apartments, which 
are well supplied with the comforts and luxuries of life, and neatly and respect- 
fully conducted by a line looking, modest and dignified Sioux woman, the kind 
and affectionate mother of his little flock of pretty and interesting children." 
This post, according to the same author, was 1,300 miles from St. Louis, and the 
distance is given by Lewis and Clark as 1,283 miles. 

Fort Pierre Choteau covered an area of about two acres in the form of a 
square. The outer walls were composed of cottonwood logs twenty feet long, 
set upright in the ground to the depth of four feet. Blockhouses were built at the 
northwest and southeast corners, which projected outside of the stockade some 
eight feet. There were two gates on the east side, each ten feet wide and reaching 
nearly to the top of the wall. Within this enclosure were about twenty buildings 
devoted to various purposes, including a store 100x24 feet, where the Indian 
goods were kept. There was a carpenter shop, saddler's shop, blacksmith -1 
living quarters for the employees, kitchens, storerooms for the furs and robes 
taken in, awaiting shipment to St. Louis, and very ample and comfortable quar- 
ters for the manager. Mr. Laidlaw and his family. There were also stables and 
a sawmill, and a small concrete structure made to stoic powder in. By crowding, 
the fort would accommodate 100 persons, but it was very seldom that more than 
twenty-five would people it at the same time. While it was named by its founders 

4."» 



HISTORY I )F DAK( »TA TERRITORY 

r , I lioteau, the last name wa n dropped and "Fort Pierre" became 

widely known throughout the United States than any military or trading 
Not onl) was it a great central mart for Indian barter, as 
nam i Indians being in camp around it at the same time, but it became 

the most prominent landmark in the Northwest fur Government expeditions sent 
uiu on scientific errands, and in tin- wa\ it became well and favorably known 
throughout the nation. It occupied a geographical position also that brought it 
in line with the first circle of military forts erected by the Government along the 
Northwest frontiei from Minnesota to Western Nebraska — a fortunate circum- 
stance for it- owners in years to come. 

Fort Vermillion, situated on the bank of the Missouri River about two miles 

below die present village of Burbank, in (lay County, was built by the American 

Fur Company in [835, under the direction of Larpenteur, a famous trader. It 

abandoned about [850. 

A trading post called "Dickson's Post" was built about the same time as Fort 

\ ermillion. It stood on the bank of the Missouri very near the present boundary 

line between N i ankton and Clay counties. Dickson had been in the employ of the 

British companies, but this post is presumed to have been his personal enterprise. 

Fort Benton was built in [846 by Alexander Culbertson for the American 

Fur Company, and named in memory of Thomas 11. Benton, of Missouri, for 

thirty years a member of the Senate of the United States. Fort Berthold was 

built about the same time. 

Maj. Charles E. Galpin, who had been employed by Choteau, in company 
with Capt. Joseph LaBarge, both well known to the early white settlers of Da- 
kota, engaged in the fur trade in 1S4S. and built Fort Campbell, above Fort 
Benton, and also a number of other posts. LaBarge was a pioneer steamboat 
captain and merchant, while Galpin was an old fur trader and had a wide ac- 
quaintance with the Indians. The building of these fur trading posts continued 
up to about 1850, when the trade entered upon its declining stage, and fifteen 
to twenty years later was numbered among the industries that had had its day 
and never could be restored. 

Intoxicating liquors were used by the fur traders in their dealings with the 

Indians. It was discovered that the red men were fond of it, and were willing 

. in barter, any price almost the trader would ask. It was discovered that 

when under the influence of liquor the Indian could be traded with to much 

better advantage to the trader than when sober, and this led the unscrupulous 

trader to use u freely a- a mean- of driving a good bargain. This criminal and 

general use of intoxicants became a matter of such serious importance that Con- 

gress, in [832, enacted the law prohibiting the carrying of liquors into the Indian 

country, and as a means of enforcing the law made it the duty of all army officers 

along the Missouri at the various posts to inspect the steamboats traversing the 

river, anil to seize all spirituous liquors consigned to fur traders or their repre- 

Intoxication among the Indians was materially lessened as a result 

of this beneficent measure, as forfeiture of the trader's license was one of the 

ildesl penalties for transgressing the statute; but it seemed impossible to stop 

■ lllu ' her, for some of the traders were shrewd enough to manufac- 

is claimed, good enough intoxicants for trading purposes at their posts, 

''^ i 1 iu ; where thej could feel safe from detection. The Indians 

rule would not divulge the trailer's name who furnished them liquor, knowing 

•add result iii depriving them of it. The law of [832, prohibiting the 

ntrodu oxicants into the Indian country, is still in force. 

'. Randolph, a merchant of St. Louis in 1867, then something more 

a Dakota pioneer bis own experience as a 

• 1840. In that year Mr. Randolph resided in Saline 

nty. Missouri, and iii connection with a Mr. Montgomery and a Mr. Breau- 

"P- '"' E si nt< 1 n 1 at l ouncil Bluffs, Iowa, for the 

rading with the Indians in the upper Missouri country. They planned 




FORT PIERRE l\ LS 12 



HISTI >RY OF DAK< )TA TERRITi IRY 47 

a land expedition, and their outfit consisted of one wagon and five two-wheel 
carls drawn by mules, and in addition eleven saddle horses, in all eighteen ani- 
mals. They took along ten months' provisions and all the Indian goods they could 
transport. Their route took them up the valley of the Missouri, and over the 
tenantless townsite of Sioux City to the Big Sioux River, which they crossed 
near the mouth of Brule Creek, on the 15th of December, [840. They then jour- 
neyed along the bluffs or highland until opposite old Fort \ ermillion, to which 
post they made a visit and found the American Fur Company established there 
and doing a thriving trade. At this point the Randolph party dismissed their 
Indian guides, whom they had "discovered to be worse than useless." These 
guides were accompanied by their families and a multitude of dogs thai were 
accustomed to breakfast off of Mr. Randolph's harnesses. Leaving hurt Ver- 
million, the Randolph party camped the same evening on the hank of the 
Vermillion River. Quite a number of the Indians had kept along with the party, 
and that night a squaw gave birth to a papoose, and the dusky mother washed and 
dressed it herself, and all the next day, carrying her infant child, kept along 
with the procession and camped with them the same night at a point near the 
present farm home of S. C. Fargo, not far from Gayville. The next day the 
Randolph party reached and crossed the James River, some distance north of 
the present wagon bridge on the main road to Yankton, and pursued their journey 
along the highlands north of the bottom, keeping two or three miles away from 
the .Missouri, the better to enable them to observe both highlands and lowlands. 
They finally reached the Bijou Mills region without serious mishap, their desti- 
nation being the White River country, a stream that abounded in fur-bearing 
animals and Indians, whose source was somewhere in the Black Hills, as they 
had learned. Crossing the Missouri at Makazith (ziti), or White River, 
they followed up the west hank of the Missouri to old Fort George, where they 
halted and made their preparations for trade and barter. 1 lere the company was 
divided into three detachments, each detachment being placed in charge of a 
member of the firm, and each detachment was to form a separate and distinct 
party for trading purposes. Randolph chose the White River Valley and Little 
Missouri as his field and traded with the l'.rules. Montgomery took up winter 
quarters on the Belle Fourche, or North Fork, of the Big Cheyenne, and bartered 
with the Two-Kettles, while Breauchamp drove a thriving business with the 
1 >gallallas on the South Fork of the Cheyenne. A general name for the Sioux 
who inhabited the country west of the Missouri was Teton, or I'etonw an. They 
were all wild and warlike, but had been at peace with the whites so long that it 
was not known among them that they were ever hostile, although constantly at 
war with other Indian nations. In the spring of 1841 the three parties came to- 
gether again in accordance with their plan, at old Fort George, all well and un- 
harmed. All had enjoyed a very profitable trade, despite the misfortune that 
came to Randolph, who lost a small boat load of robes and furs by the sinking 
of the boat containing them in the Little Missouri River. Snow had been un- 
usually abundant, as they learned from the natives, and the average weather had 
been much colder, a condition, however, that prevailed throughout the Northwest. 
The peltries were repacked at Fort George and the party returned without evenl 
to civilization, retracing the ground they followed <>n their way out. The adven- 
ture proved very profitable, and furnished the members of the expedition with a 
Tmd nf experiences that were well worth the toil and hardship each endured. 

While the fur tra.de grew to he a great and profitable industry, il declined 
fin- lack nf material to feed it. and passed awa\ leaving hut little impress upon 
the regions where its great sources of supply existed. It aided in bringing to- 
gether the while and red races, and rather led the wa\ to the advent of the 
better civilization that was to occupy the laud and subdue and develop n for the 
mis nf civilized mankind. It is now little more than a memory, except in the far 
North, though within a century it formed the principal industry of our nation. 
It was the one crop which was annually harvested and. which furnished the 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

means to a extent oi upplying subsistence to the pioneers and founders 

the republic, it laid the foundations of great fortunes that have since in- 
ed manifold and today wield a potenl influence in the business affairs of 

nkind. The \ erendrys, the Astors, the Choteaus, the renowned Lord Selkirk, 

and others, designedlj or not, used it to advance the standard of Christian civili- 

was a valuable aid to the earliest missionaries among the red men, 

tributing the ways and means which sustained and gave success to their un- 
i and ii< i Mir labors. 

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of small traders were engaged. The Randolph 

pedition reveals a type of trading that was largely represented. Even 
subsequent to the advenl of steamboats, for a score of years, the small 
trader continued to patronize the mackinaw, the pony's back, and his own, and 
move around among the producers who were scattered in small bands, and who 
provided the element of barter. Of this numerous class but little of record is 
left. A trader's license was all that was necessary to legitimatize and legalize 
the trader's right to pursue the business. 

I he original mackinaw boat was supplied, a little forward of midships, with 
iiit mast, thirl)' feet high. A rope from two hundred to three hundred feet 
long called the "cordel" was made fast to the foot of the mast and passed through 
a block at the tup. ami from there to the bow of the boat, passing through another 
block, -'I a- to bring this block at any required distance from the bow. The rope 
was then passed ashore and lengthened out or shortened as circumstances might 

iiire. From twenty to fifty men grasping the rope constituted the motive power, 

isted occasionally by a lodge skin set as a sail. The men who followed this 
business as a profession were generally French-Canadians and were known as 
"voyageurs," or "cordeliers." This was the genuine mackinaw used in Canadian 
streams and on the Missouri before the advent of steamboats, and on its unnavig- 
able tributaries until a much later period. It was a boat usually that would carry 

in in tift\ tons. With the advent of the gold miner in 1862 and later, when 
thousands of small boats descended the Missouri in the fall bringing down the 
miners and their gold, the name "mackinaw" was given indiscriminately to all 
kind- of small boats, and it became the custom to speak of the arrival of these 
boat- a- the arrival of mackinaws. A well equipped boat, having sail and oars, 
uld come down the Missouri at the rate of ten to twelve miles an hour. 
The Lewis and Clark bateau would seem to have been a first-class mackinaw, 
fitted for towing, rowing and sailing. 

[arding the average profits of the fur trade in its best days, Major 
Ipin and other- who were -till engaged in it when Dakota was opened to set- 
tlement and well acquainted with the pioneers, estimated that it was not below 
300 per cent net, and this, it was maintained, was justified by the extraordinary 
risks attending the trade and the fluctuations in the market price of robes and furs. 

As -bowing the magnitude of the traffic, the export business from the port 
of Philadelphia for the year 1824 was made public. Philadelphia was not the 
only export point, hut had the largest share of this country's business. The mer- 
landise was all from the upper Missouri country, and amounted to 250,000 
1 ounds of deer skins; 250,000 pounds of beaver; 17,000 buffalo robes; 800 bear 
skins; er -kin-; 25,000 raccoon; 81,000 muskrat; 1,000 mink; 1,500 fox 

1 wolf, and 400 fisher and martin skins. The shipment was on account of 
American u d largely for that company. The Hudson's Bay Company 

shipped from Canadian ports, and in still larger quantities, and while they con- 
tinued their illicit trade on the Missouri, the great hulk of their business was in 
the vast region drained by the Red Nicer of the North and its tributaries. It 
Stimated that this company received annually from the Northwest frontier 
120,000 beaver; 30.000 martin; 20,000 muskrat; 5,000 fox; 4,000 otter; 
2,o<" 2,000 mink; 30,000 buffalo; 5,000 lynx; 4,000 wolf; 1,000 elk, and 

12,000 d< ■ r skins. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 49 

The early fur traders, those that engaged in the traffic directly with the In- 
dians, were men of no ordinary mold. In many instances they were heroes, at 
all times resolute, self-reliant, and often self-sacrificing. As a rule no obstacle 
discouraged them, and they were appalled by no threatened calamity. This 
much can be said in commendation of their merits, without meaning to justify 
their methods of bartering with the ignorant natives. 

The fur traders have disappeared from the Dakotas along with the buffalo, 
the beaver, the elk and the mink, and to a large extent the native inhabitants. 
Civilization had no place for them, but delayed its invasion until their occupation 
had been well nigh extinguished for want of material to subsist on. Hut the 
memory of the traders has been preserved on history's page, and in story and 
song, and among the most attractive type of these itinerant merchants, who were 
self-banished in their lust for gold to a life of isolation from their race, and ex- 
posed to a brood of privations and dangers inseparable from their avocation, it 
is peculiarly appropriate that a native Dakota boy should compose the requiem 
that tells of their departure and disappearance. We have therefore thought it 
appropriate to give place to a most excellent poem composed by the talented 
son of Maj. J. R. Hanson, of Yankton, in which he portrays the fur traders as 
the central attraction of a word-picture that will be found true to nature and of 
charming expression : 

The moon on plain and bluff and stream 

Casts but a faint and fitful gleam, 

For striving in a ghostly race 

The clouds that rack across her face 

Now leave her drifting, white and high, 

In some clear lake of purple sky. 

And, then, like waves with crests upcurled. 

Obscure her radiance from the world. 

Across the wild Missouri's breast, 

Which lies in icy armor dressed, 

The north wind howls and moans, 

Wrenching the naked trees that stand 

Like skeletons along the strand 

To shrill and creaking groans. 

On distant butte and wide coteau 

Is snow, and never ending snow, 

Whirling aloft in spiral clouds, 

Weaving in misty, crystal shrouds, 

Then floating back to earth again 

To drift across the frozen plain 

In slow and strangely sculptured waves, 

Whose like no shell-strewn sea beach laves. 

Such night is not for mortal kind 

To fare abroad; the bitter wind. 

The restless snow, the frost-locked mold, 

Bid living creatures seek their hold 

And leave to winter's monarch will 

The solitude of vale and hill, 

The buffalo, whose legions vast 

A few short moons ago have passed 

Adown these bleak hillsides, 

Now graze full many a league away 

Where, through the softly tropic day 

The winds of Matagorda Hay 

Caress their shaggy hides. 

The wolves have sought their coverts deep 

In dark ravine and coulr steep, 

Where cedar thickets, druse and warm. 

Afford protection from the storm; 

And every creature of the plains 

lias left his well beloved domains 

To seek, or near or far, 

A haven when- w inn blooded life 

May cower from the dreadful strife 

Of hyperborean war. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITI >RV 

But, sei ' acri iss yon barren sw ell, 
Where wind and snow-rime weave a sjjlII 
i )i phanti in v o'er the hill, 

\\ ii it awkward creatures of tin- night 
i ome creeping, snail-like, on the sight, 
I lalting and slow in wear} plight, 
I tut evei i inward still. 

limbs arc long and lank and thin. 
Their forms arc swathed from foot to chin 
In garments rude of bison skin. 
I pon each broad and stalwart back 
[s strapped a huge and weighty pack; 
Their coarse and ragged 'hair 
Streams hack from brows whose dusky stain 
Is dyed by blizzard, wind and rain, 
They are a fearsome pair ; 
Lime pilgrims of the coteau vast, 
They seem like cursed souls, outcast, 
To roam forever there. 

Yet. hark! Adown the cold wind flung, 
\\ li.ii voice of merriment gives tongue? 
I is human laughter, deep and strong, 
And then, all suddenly, a song 
Kings o'er the prairie lone; 
A chanson old, whose rhythm oft 
lias lingered on the breezes soft 
That kiss the storied Rhone, 
Or floated up from lips of love 
To some dark casement high above 
The streets of Avignon, 
Where lovely eyes, all maidenly, 
Glance slyly forth that they may see 
What lover comes to serenade 
Ere drawing back the latticed shade 
To toss a red rose down. 

What tickle fate, what strange mischance, 
Has brought this song of sunny France 
To ride upon the blizzard crest 
That mantles o'er the wild Northwest; 
To find its echoes sweet 
In barren butte and stark cliff-side, 
W hose beetling summits override 
I be tierce Missouri's murky tide; 
To rouse the scurrying feet 
Of antelope and lean coyote, 
To hear its last, long, witchery note. 
Caught m the hoot owl's dismal throat. 
Sweep by on pinions fleet? 

Full far these errant sons of Gaul 
Have journeyed from the grey seawall 
That fronts on fair Marseilles. 
But still the spirit i if tin ir race 
I '.ids them to turn a dauntless face 
1 in w hatever fates prevail. 
I lie storm may drive to bush and den 
I features of the field and fen. 
neither storm nor darksome night. 
Nor icebound stream nor frowning height, 

i check or turn a foot to flight 
These iron-hearted men. 

lie flat oi stinging sands, 

Throu ;h thickets, u Is and sere uplands, 

Their weary pathway shows ; 
Toward -ome far post oi I i tnd tal 
Deep hidden in the willow brakes. 

iward still it goes 
Persistently, an emblazed track 
pi from the cheerless bivouac 



HISTORY ()[•' DAKOTA TKKRITORY 51 

Of some poor, prairie Indian band, 

Whose chill and flimsy tepees stand 

Half buried in the snows. 

S it what of costly merchandise 

I hat wealth may covet, commerce prize, 

Could these adventurers wring 

From that ill-fed barbarian horde 

Will be to them a sweet reward 

For all the risk and toil and pain 

They've suffered on the winter's plain 

Amid their journeyings. 

Ah, wealth enough such tepees hold, 

1 hough not of silver or of gold, 

To rouse the while man's longing greed 

And send his servants forth with speed 

The treasure to unfold. 

The trinkets cheap these traders brought 

The savages have dearly bought. 

Persuaded guilelessly to. pay 

A ten times doubled usury 

In furs of beavers and of mink ; 

Of silver fox and spotted lynx; 

For all their rich and varied store 

Of peltries, gathered from the shore, 

The wood, the prairie and the hill. 

By trapper's art and hunter's skill 

The trader's heavy packs now till. 

A journey far those furs must go, 

From these wild fastnesses of snow. 

By tra\ois, pack and deep bateau; 

By keel-boat, sloop and merchantman, 

Till half a hemisphere they span 

Ere they will lie, at last, dispkne.l 

l'..\ boulevarde and esplanade, 

In Europe's buzzing marts of trade. 

These martin skins so soft and warm 

May wrap some Russian princess' form 

And shield her from the Arctic storm 

That howls o'er Kroonstadt's Bay. 

That robe, a huge black bear which dressed, 

May cloak some warrior monarch's breast 

As, gazing o'er the battle crest. 

He sees the foemen's legion pressed 

In panic from the fray. 

But it is not the destinies 

Which may, perchance, beyond the seas, 

Await these rare commodities 

Thai chiefly signify, 

Though king and knight and fair princess 

Should (Irani the Northwest wilderness 

Of all its savage tribes posse-s, 

Their pride to gratify. 

I ; ul tin- that in the si. Tin tonight. 

Through cloudy gloom, through pale moonlight 

Two men still press along. 

Not hiding as the wolf ami hind 

From_ blinding snow and bitter wind, 

Nor like the Indian crouching low 

\bove a brush lire's feeble glow, 
lint vigorous and strong, 

Hasting their bidden task to close 

Whatever obstructions interpose, 
\nd parrying fortune's adverse blows 
Right gaily, with a song. 

Plains of tb. mighty virgin West, 

Plains in cold sterile beauty dressed ; 
Your time of fruit draws near! 

Creatures of thicket, vale and shore, 



HIST< »RY OF DAK< »TA TERRITORY 

Tribes of the hills, your reign is o'er; 

The conqueror is here ! 

His foot prints mark your secret grounds, 

i upi hi your air resounds, 
Mis name, unto your utmost bound-.. 
Is one of strength and fear. 

magic of In* virile pi iw ers 
Shall change your desert wastes to bowers, 
, i our nakedness to sh ide ; 
Shall stretch broad rustling ranks of corn 
Along your stc Miy crests forlorn; 
\nd wheat field*, dappling in the sun, 
When- your mad autumn tires have run, 
The trails your bison made 
Shall grow beneath his hurrying feet 
To highway broad and village street. 
Along whose grassy sides shall sleep 
Meadows and orchards, fruited deep; 
III 'in. iteads and schools and holy fanes, 
To prove that o'er the vanquished plains 
At last, the Lord Jehovah reigns, 
Whose power shall never fade. 



CHAPTER VIII 
INDIAN WAR— BRITISH TRADERS STIR UP TROUBLE 

FIRST BATTLE ON DAKOTA SOIL BETWEEN UNITED STATES TROOPS AND INDIANS 

HOW IT HAPPENED COLONEL LEAVENWORTH CHASTISES THE ARICKAREES 

THE YANKTON INDIANS AID GOVERNMENT FORCES — MISCHIEVOUS INFLU] 

OF BRITISH TRADERS AMERICAN OFFICERS CRITICISE THE INGRATE FOREIGNERS 

FIRST INDIAN PEACE COMMISSION. 

The first battle between the United States troops and the Indians to occur 
on what is now Dakota soil took place on the ioth of August, 1823, near the 
mouth of the Grand River, which empties into the Missouri from the west near 
Wakefield, Carson County, and near the state boundary. The United States 
troops engaged were a detachment of riflemen and infan.try commanded by 
Lieut. Col. Henry Leavenworth, of the Fifth United States Infantry. His com- 
mand numbered 200 soldiers, and in addition a large number of trappers, traders 
and frontiersmen, who were volunteers for this engagement only, and also several 
hundred Yankton Indians. The enemy were the Arickaree Indians, who had 
their villages on the banks of the .Missouri, near Grand River, and also on an 
inland near the same locality. These Indians had borne the reputation of a 
friendly tribe and inclined to a peaceful life. They were not nomadic in their 
tribal life, but built permanent villages, cultivated the soil in a crude way and 
raised corn, beans, pumpkins and potatoes, and traded these articles to other In- 
dians for furs and peltries, which, in turn, they bartered with the white traders 
for such articles as they desired to have and could procure. They also trapped 
and hunted, in addition to their agricultural employment. An occasion and 
temptation came to these Arickarees to perpetrate an act of serious hostility in the 
month of May, [823. William II. Ashley, of Missouri, a licensed trader, was 
descending the Missouri River with a number of small mackinaw boats loaded 
with furs and peltries, on the way to St. Louis. lie had in his company about 
ninety men. Regarding the immediate outbreak, Mr. \shley reported the facts 
five days later to Colonel Leavenworth, at Council City (Council I'.luffs), dating 
his report aboard "The Keelboat Yellowstone, 25 miles below the Aricka 
villages." lie says that he arrived at the Arickaree villages on the 30th of May, 
and that the chiefs invited him to stop and trade with them, lie was desirous 
of procuring some horses for a journey up the Yellowstone, and finding that the 
Indians had some animals to dispose of, he halted, made the Indians some pres- 
ents, and made arrangements to purchase forty or fifty burses. The Indians 
were apparently friendly disposed, though the} spoke of some recenl differences 
with the Americans in which a son of one of the Arickaree chiefs had been 
killed, hut they had concluded to overlook that offense because they regarded 
the Americans as their friends. The following day was passed in negotiating the 
horse trade satisfactorily. The horses were delivered and placed in charge of 
forty men of Ashley's force, and plans were made to get an early start the 
following morning. Mr. Ashley continues: 

"About half past three in the morning I was informed that one of fhj men had 
killed, and in all probabilit) the boat would lie immediately attacked. The nun were all 
under arms and -,, continued until sunrise, when the Indian- commenced a heavj and well- 

53 



.-,, HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

from a line extending along the picketing of their towns, about six hundred 

in length. I" aboul fifteen minutes from the time the tiring commenced the surviving 

j..irt oi the men embarked, nearly all the horse-, killed or wounded; one of the anchors had 

I. eeii weighed, the cable of the other cut and the boats dropping down the stream." His 

lie gives at twelve killed and eleven wounded; and says seven or eight Indians were 

killed. Ashley asks Colonel Leavenworth to -end a force to punish the Indians and tells 

mmander that "their town- are newly picketed in. with timber from six to 

eight inches thick, twelve to fifteen feet high, dirt on the inside thrown up about eighteen 

inches. They front the river where there i- a large sandbar, forming two-thirds of a 

it the head of which where the river is \ cry narrow, they have constructed a breast 

i drj wood. I lie ground on the opposite side of the river is high and commanding." 

The hostile force numbered about six hundred warriors, three-fourths of them 

armed with I .ondon fuzees and tlte remainder with bows and arrows and war axes. 

Vshley tells the colonel that he expects Major Henry, another trader from above, 

verj soon, and that his own part)' then numbers but twenty-three effective men. 

This Mr. Ashley was a man of enterprise and courage, and resolved to con- 
tinue hi- efforts to bring about the punishment of the Indians who had assailed 
him in such a treacherous and summary maimer. He dropped down the river 
tn near the mouth of the Gteyenne, where he was joined, probably in July, by 
the Major Henry spoken of above, who had passed the hostile villages success- 
fully and without being attacked. 

The combined forces went into camp here while Ashley made a trip down 
the river to about where the capital of South Dakota is now located, thinking to 
purchase horses from the Sioux. Here he learned that Colonel Leavenworth 
was on his way up the river at the head of a force of 200 men to punish the 
Arickarees. lie then returned to his camp, where he intended to join Leaven- 
worth's expedition with eighty men, forty men having been secured from the 
Missouri Fur Company. A camp of Yankton Indians numbering four or five hun- 
dred were also in the vicinity who had volunteered to join the whites, which 
would make a mixed force of about eight hundred, sufficient to destroy the hostiles. 
Colonel Leavenworth's expedition arrived in due time and was joined by Ashley's 
conglomerates, made up of the trappers, traders and Yankton Indians, whom 
! 1 i\ enworth does not regard as entirely trustworthy, for in a letter to the United 
States Indian agent. O'Fallon. at Fort Atkinson, he says: "These Yanktons appear 
to be zealously determined to cooperate with us, but I have some doubts as to 
the continuance of their ardor." Leavenworth's expedition reached the Arick- 
aree villages on the 9th of August. The Yankton Indians, who were in the ad- 
sauce, were met by the Ricaras a short distance from the towns, and a skirmish 
took place, the Ricaras forcing the Yanktons back upon the regulars and Ash- 
ley's nun. and by this time the Indians had become so intermingled that Leaven- 
worth declined to order his forces to tire, fearing that they would kill his friendly 
Indians. The military operations of that day appear to have ended with this 
skirmish, hut on the morning of the 10II1. Colonel Leavenworth's artillery having 
arrived by boats, a company of riflemen and a company of infantry took posses- 
sion of a hill to the north of the upper village within three hundred feet of the 
town. An attack on the lower town was also undertaken, aided by a six-pounder 
cannon and a 5 ' _■ inch brass howitzer. The assault was kept up with energy 
until ..; o'clock in the afternoon, the Yankton Indians in the meantime being 
industriously engaged in securing the spoils of war by carrying off the Ricaras' 
corn. Towards evening a party of Yanktons were discovered "holding a council 
with the enemy on a hill above the upper village, and it was discovered that they 
quietly withdrawing from the field though not having announced such an 
intention. Firing on the part of the troop- ceased about 4 o'clock, when the 
Ricaras -cut oul an embassy to ask for peace, stating that the first shot from the 
cannon had killed their chief "Grey Eyes," who had caused all the trouble, and 
that we had killed a great many of theii people and their horses. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

( olonel Leavenworth in his report says: 

They were evidently very much terrified and completely humbled. Being convinced oi 
this and supposing that the Government would be better pleased to have them corrected 
than exterminated and as the Sioux in a very strange and unaccountable manner, had 
us, it was thought best under all circumstances, to listen to the solicitations of the Ricara 
for peace, especially as it was understood that our round shut wen- nearly all expended 
Consequently a treaty was made with them and the next two days was occupied in arrang 
ing its terms. 

Under this treaty the Indians agreed to recognize the United States i rovern- 
ment as their rightful sovereign, and to remain true and faithful in their alle- 
giance to the republic, to live at peace with the white people and to commit no 
depredations upon the persons or property of the whites who came among them 
to trade and barter. To deliver over to the military power of the Government all 
offenders among their own people against the persons and property of the whites, 
for trial and punishment, and to seek peace with their neighboring and other 
tribes. The Government agreeing to protect the Arickarees so long as they 
fulfilled their agreements faithfully and to look after their welfare and to guard 
them against the imposition, fraud and violence of the whites; the Arickarees not 
to take the law into their own hands to punish such offenders, but to deliver 
them over to the military, report the facts of their grievance to a licensed trader 
<>r t<> the military authorities who would investigate the charge and punish the 
offenders. 

t ieneral Ashley's property was restored and although there was some com- 
plaints that the Indians had kept back some articles, the principal chief, who was 
now "Little Soldier," insisted that all had been turned back, while he made pres- 
ents of buffalo robes and protested that he could do no more. Leavenworth 
assured him that he would not further be disturbed, that his property was not 
wanted, to faithfully observe his treaty engagements and there would be no further 
trouble. But it would seem that the Indians had little faith in these assurances 
or in their treaty, for during the following night they evacuated their villages, 
and made haste to put as great a distance as possible between themselves and the 
little army. The next morning the soldiers entered the villages but did not dis- 
turb them. They found from the best evidence obtainable that not less than fifty 
of the Ricaras had been killed and a much greater number wounded. Troops 
were sent out to find the fugitives bearing this message to them: 

Kicaras — You see the pipe of peace which you gave to me in the hands of Mr. thai 
lonneau, and the flag of the United States. These will convince you that my heart i^ not 
bad, Your villages are in my possession; come back and take them in peace, and you will 
find everything as you left them. You shall not be hurt if you do not obstruct the road 
or molest the traders. If you do not come back dure are some bad men and bad Indians 
who will burn your villages. Come back and come quickly, lie assured that what 1 sa\ 
is tlu- truth. H. Leavenworth, 

Colonel l'. S. Army. 

The message bearer, however, returned without finding the fleeing band. 
The Ricarees had left the mother of their fallen chief "I I rev Eyes" in one of their 
principal lodges, giving her water and provisions, she being the sob- occupant of 
the town. She was an old woman and according to the custom of many tribes 
she was abandoned because she would require too much attention and assistance 
if taken along. Leavenworth did not disturb her nor anything else belonging to 
the Indians, believing that possibly they might return and he was desirous that 
they should find their property just as they left it. The troops then embarked 
For home, leaving the old squaw, the sole occupant of the villages Before the 
command bad passed out of the sight of the villages, however, they were dis 
covered on lire and it was supposed they were totally destroyed. The burning 
was undoubtedly the work of incendiaries and Leavenworth thought the guilty 
people were a partner and clerk of the Missouri Fur Company. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

There was a purpose in this military expedition beyond die mere 'punish- 
ment of tin Indians for their attack upon the Ashley party. It will be noted that 
tin- difficult) occurred bul a few years following the close of our second war 
with Greal Britain, and the cause of it was ascribed to the mischievous and 
iniquitous counsel and misrepresentations of the British traders of the Hudson's 
I'.av t ompanv, who lust no opportunity to prejudice the savages against the 
1 States and the American traders. Here is the view taken of the situation 
b) General Gaines, then in command of the western department, headquarters 
at Louisville, ky.. in a letter to secretary of war, John C. Calhoun: 

I .mi convinced from what you have said and written upon the subject of our western 

[ndian relatii ns thai I need not point out to you the evils that must result from our being 

lied to recedi From the position uc have taken, and give up our trade and intercourse 

with thosi distant nations. The trade itself, however valuable, is relatively little or nothing 

when compared with the decided advantage oi that harmonious influence and control which 

uired and preserved in a great degree, if not wholly, by the constant friendly inter- 

which the trade affords, and by which it is principally cherished and preserved. If 

up this trade, we shall at once throw it, and with it the friendship and 

physical power of .iO.ooo warriors, into the arms of England, wdio has taught us in letters 

of blood i which we have had the magnanimity to forgive, but which it would be treason to 

forget) that this trade forms rein and curb by which the turbulent and lowering spirit of 

i the forest can alone be governed. I say alone, because I am decidedly of the 

opinion that, ii then existed no such rivalship in the trade as that of the English with 

which we base always been obliged to contend under the disadvantages of restrictions such 

as have never been imposed upon our rival adversary, we should with one-tenth of the 

nd force to which we have been subjected, preserve the relations of peace with 

these Indians more effectually than they have been at any former period. But to suffer 

outrai ' as have been perpetrated by the Ricaras and the Blackfeet to go unpunished, 

would be to surrender the trade and with it, our stronghold upon the Indian, to England. 

Agent < )' ballon is another witness who testifies of the pernicious and mis- 
chievous influence of the British traders upon the American Indians. He says, 
rtirig a hostile act of the Blackfeet: 

■ 
Many circumstances have transpired to induce a belief that the British traders (Hudson 
i cciting the Indians against us, to either drive us from that quarter, 
P with the Indian the fruit of our labor. 1 was in hopes the British Indian traders 
to their rapacity. I was in hopes that during the late Indian war, in which 
they v. trumental in the indiscriminate massacre of our people, that they were com- 

pletely satisfied with our blood; but it appears not to have been the case. They ravage our 
Melds and are unwilling we should glean them. Like the greedy wolf, they devour our flesh, 
then quarrel over the bones. Although barred by the Treaty of Ghent from participating in 
our Indian trade, they presume to do so. Alarmed at the individual enterprise of our people, 
they are exciting the Indians against them. They furnish them with the instruments of 
death and a p ISSport to our bosoms. 

I' i ""' pleasant to refer to the perfidious character of these British traders, 
forgetful of the gratitude they owed to the Government of the United States 
for tacitly permitting them to trade in the country, endeavored to provoke the 
hostility of these savage nations upon the Americans by insidiously 
ing then- jealous) and anger somewhat as Iago played upon the confiding 
mest Othello. These Hudson's Bay emissaries knew what the effect 
" f ll " "gs would be they knew it meant the massacre of American trad- 

era, and thi n just as guilty of these murders as if they had personally 

Ii d the instruments of destruction or participated in the cruel tortures which 
ages resorted to. They were accessories before the fact. Thev planned 
the diabolical outrages, then viewed their bloody enactment with gratification, 
»" re iuge. I- whal depths of sordid diabolism had the greed for 
wealth Mink the governors and subjects of the I tudson's Bay oligarchy The sum- 
mary punishment oi these Ariel..,, „■ Indians was designed more to impress them 
and all the tribes with the power and authority of the United States than as a 
rhe British traders had never missed an opportunity to belittle 
tnont) oi this Government with the Indians and to weaken their allegiance 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 57 

and alienate their friendship until it had become a serious question whether an 
American trader was safe in the country. The fur trade was one that had then 
engaged millions of American capital and thousands of American citizens and 
must be protected, and the Indians taught that the Great Father was in fact the 
ruler as well as the owner of the soil and could punish as well as protect them. 
The Ashley difficulty was only one of many that was laid at the door of British 
intrigue and intermeddling. 

FIRST 1N1HAN PEACE COMMISSION 

In [825 the lirst Indian peace commission was formed under Brig. Gen. I!. 
Atkinson, of the United States Army, and the superintendent of Indian affairs 
on the Upper Missouri, Benjamin O'Fallon, who was resident agent at Fort 
Atkinson, a few miles above the present City of Omaha. The commission 
rendezvoused at Council City, near Council Bluffs, and had, in addition to its 
commander and OT'allon, A. L. Langham, secretary; also Colonel Leavenworth, 
Maj. S. W. Kearney and Maj. Daniel Ketcham ; Capt. Win. Armstrong, Capt. 
Benj. Riley, Capt. John Gantt, Capt. G. C. Spencer, Capt. R. I'.. .Mason. R. H. 
11. Stuaring, James W. Kingsbury, Levi Huney, Thomas Neel, J. H. Enger, M. 
W. Batman, Thos. P. Guynne, Geo. C. Huwer and W. Harris; Surgeon John 
Gale; Adjutants S. Wryz, and R. M. Coleman. Also William Day, A. S. Miller, 
G. H. Kennedy and 1'. Wilson, Indian agents; Antoine, Joseph and Pierre 
Garreau, interpreters; Edward Rose, Colin Campbell and Touissant Chaeneau, 
guides and interpreters. The escort was composed of 476 men. The expedition 
had a fleet of eight large boats, rigged with all the appliances for sailing, rowing 
and towing, and of sufficient capacity to accommodate the entire force and its 
equipment and provisions. A troop of forty mounted men traveled along the 
river bank. The expedition left Council City about the middle of May, 1825, 
and proceeded without unusual event to the village of the Ponca Indians at the 
mouth of the Niobrara River, where a grand council was held and a treaty of 
amity concluded. 

The next stopping place was at Fort Lookout, near the present Town of 
Chamberlain, where a treaty of peace was made with representatives of three 
tribes of the Sioux, the Yanktons, Yanktonnais and Tetons, who had assembled 
for the purpose, having been gathered together by advance agents of the com- 
mission. 

This treaty acknowledged the sovereignty of the United States and the right 
and authority of the Government to regulate all trade and intercourse with them. 
The United States agreed to receive the Indians into its friendship and afford 
them protection, and to have due regard for their welfare and to extend to them 
such assistance as might lie necessary lor their well-being. The Government 
agreed to designate certain points in the territory of these tribes where all trade 
and bailer with the Indians should he carried on; and the Indians agreed to 
trade with none bul licensed traders who were American citizens, and who were 
licensed to trade by the United States; the Indians agreeing to protect the prop- 
erly of such traders, and their persons and those employed by them; and the 
Indians further promised to arrest any foreigner found trading among them or 
making an effort to trade, or any unlicensed person, and to deliver such persons 
to the Indian agents or to the military power. The Indians further agreed to 
afford safe and a speedy conduct to all persons who may have occasion to pass 
over their country, having authority from the Government so to do, and to 
protect all agents of the Government sent to reside among them. The treat) 
further provided : 

That the friendship which is new established between the United States ami the Ta 
Yankton, and Yanktonnais bands of Indians shall n a he annulled bj any act of individu 
and it is agreed that for any injuries done bj individuals, no private revenge or retaliation 
shall take place, but instead thereof complaint shall he made bj the partj to the superintendent 



HISTORY ( »l DAK< >TA TERRITORY 

nl ol Indian affairs 01 other person appointed by the President; and it shall he the 
dun of the chiefs upon complain! being made, to deliver up the person or persons against 
whom the complainl is made, to the end that he or thej maj be punished agreeably to the 
laws "i the United States. And it anj offense, ut robbery, or murder, shall be committed 
bj anj white person on any Indian belonging to the bands who are parties hereto, the person 
il > punished, when found guilty, the same as if the offense had been com- 
muted against .1 white person And it is agreed thai the chiefs of the tribes here represented 
shall, to the utmost ol their power, exert themselves to recover horses or other property, 
which shall be stolen or wrongfully taken from any citizen of the United States, by anj 
individual ol said tribes; and the properly when recovered shall be turned over to the agent 

on authorized to receive it. in order that it may be restored to its owner. I be United 
States further guarantees to indemnify the Indians of said tribes, in full, for all losses of 
horses or other propertj tb.it maj be Stolen from them by person-, who are citizens of the 
United Slates; Provided, That said propertj cannot be recovered, and that proof is furnished 
.1 satisfactory character, showing that the offense was committed by a citizen of the 
I nited States. And said Teton, Yankton and Yanktonnais bands of Indians agree to 
deliver up to the said United States authorities, when so required, any white man resident 
among them. And the chiefs ami warriors of said tribes engage, on behalf of their 
respective tribes, that they will never furnish guns, ammunition, or other implements of 
war. either by trade, exchange, or as presents, to any nation or tribe of Indians not in 
amity with tbe L'niied Stites Government. 

Done ai I orl 1 ookout, near tin Three Rivers of the Sioux Pass, this jjiI day of June. 
A. D. [825, and of the independence of the United States the forty-ninth. In testimony 
whereof, the said commissioners, Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon, and the chiefs, 
headmen and warriors id' tbe Teton, Yankton, and Yanktonnais bands of Sioux Indians, 
have hereunto set their bands ami affixed their seals. 

H. Atkinson. Brigadier-General U. S. Army. 
Benjamin O'Fallon. I'. S. Agent Indian Affairs. 

YANKTON REPRESENTATIVES 

Maw too-sa be-kii. The Black Bear (Smutty Bear). 

U .1 kan-o-hig-man, The Evil Medicine. 

Cha-pen-ka, The Mosquito. 

Kta-ken-u-ske-an, The Mad Face. 

To-ka-oo, The One That Kills. 

O-ga-tee. The Fork. 

You-i-a-san, The Warrior. 

Wah-ta-kan-do, One Who Comes From War. 

To-qui-in-too, The Little Soldier. 

Ha an-shah. The Ioway. 

TETON REPRESENTATIVES 

To-tan-ga-guen-ish-qui-nau, The Mad Buffalo. 
Ma-to-ken-do-ha-cha. The Hollow Bear. 
E-gue-mon-wa-con-ta. One That Shoots At The Tiger. 
Jai-kan-kan-e, The Child Chief. 

YANKTONAIS REPRESENTATIVES 

Shawa-non-e-etak-ah, The Brave. 

Man-to-dan-za, Tbe Running Bear. 

Wa can gue-la-sas-sa, The Black Lightning. 

Wa-be-lah-wa-kan, Tbe Medicine War Eagle. 

Cam-pes-ca-ho ran-co, The Swift Shell. 

Na-pee-mus-ka, The Mad Hand, 

Ma pee. I he Soldier. 

\bi, ,-wah gab-Ink, Tbe Broken Leg. 

Cee-( lii ha, I*he Bui ned Thigh. 
( >-kaw-see ni m ge ah, Tbe Spj . 
\b kee chee-ha cha-^'o la. 'I be kittle Soldier. 
la inn ga see-ha-huh-e-ka, The Buffalo With tbe Long Foot. 

Following this, treaties of like tenor wore made with other Sioux tribes. 
namely: the Cheyennes, Ogalallas, Arickarees and Uncpapas; when the expedi- 
tion proceeded up the river, halting at Bad River, Cheyenne, and the Ariekaree 
villages, as far as the mouth of the Yellowstone, from which point it retraced 
its journey without incident to I 0,1 Atkinson. It must he added to the great 

lii of the Indians who were parties to these treaties that they observed their 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 59 

agreements with almost scrupulous fidelity, better, if anything, particularly in 
promptness than did the agents of the Government in man) cases and gave little 
occasion for complaint up to the time when in 1854, the unfortunate and avoid 
able trouble at Fort Laramie gave occasion for the Harney expedition, the Bat- 
tle of Ash Hollow in Nebraska, the march to the .Missouri, and the establish- 
ment of Fort Randall. 

The Dakotah nation of Indians while they were the most warlike and the 
most clreaded of all the .Missouri Indian tribes, seem to have abstained from 
any serious quarrel with the whites during the period of time covered by the first 
half of the nineteenth century. It would seem that their hostility was finally 
awakened near the beginning of the latter half of that period by the steady en- 
croachment of the wdiites upon their domain when they begun to realize that 
the aggressions of civilization were imperilling their freedom and restricting them 
of liberties that hail been theirs for generations. 

In the year 1838, Professor Nicollet, a famous French geologist, with John 
C. Fremont, celebrated in the annals of this country as the "Pathfinder," after- 
ward, in 1850, the first candidate of the newly formed republican party for the 
office of President, visited parts of .Minnesota and the famous Red Pipestone 
Quarry. On this scientific exploring trip an inspection was made of the region 
east of the St. James River, and Fremont gave names to a number of lakes, 
including Lake lienton. Lake Preston and Lake Poinsett, in honor of the secre- 
tary of war. Benton was a senator from Missouri, and Preston a senator from 
North Carolina. In 1839 a second expedition was undertaken, the purpose being 
to explore the Dakota country west of the James River, and particularly the 
lames River Valley north. It was headed by Professor Nicollet, with Fremont 
as topographical engineer and under the direction of the War Department. The 
party journeyed by the Missouri River, having chartered Choteau's pioneer 
steamboat, the Antelope, and left St. Louis early in May. 

At Fort Pierre the party abandoned their boat, made their necessary prep- 
arations and struck across the plains, reaching the James River near the Dirt 
Lodges (near Ashton, Spink County), thence north to the source of the stream 
near Devil's Lake, returning through Minnesota to St. Paul. 



CHAPTER IX 

MUM WHITE OCCUPATION OF DAKOTA— CAPTAIN TODD 

1856 

[NG Ol WHITE OCCUPATION OF DAKOTA — SIOUX WAR OF 1855 HARNEY'S 

MH.Ii \m ! XPEDITION AND MARCH TO THE MISSOURI FORT PIERRE PURCHASED 

1 GARRISON BY STEAMBOATS HARNEY'S DISAPPOINTMENT AND IN- 

POS1 NOT SUITED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES FORT RANDALL 

FORI CONSTRUCTED FORT PIERRE ABANDONED CAPTAIN TODD. 

It was comparatively a trifling incident that led to the military expedition 
under General Harney, which marched from the Platte to Fort Pierre in 1855, 
and built the military post at Fort Randall, in 1856, bringing with it the men 
under whose auspices and direction the treaty of cession with the Yankton 
Indian- was to be made, the Territory of Dakota as a political organization 
erected, and the early years of its career directed. The lands would have 
been ceded and the territory duly organized had not this incident occurred; 
Inn the individuals who composed the pioneers of the Missouri Slope and of 
would not have been those who are mentioned in these pages. What 
a world of difference this would have meant to many who. as they survey the 
past, and recall the peculiar circumstances and influences that led their steps 
hither. 

In [853 a hunting village of the Minneconjoux Indians, a tribe of the Sioux, 
or Dakotah Nation, was established near Fort Laramie on the north fork of 
the Platte River, on the bank opposite the fort. Two of the young Minne- 
conjoux braves who had visited the fort were detained at the ferry crossing 
for some trilling reason, and to show their displeasure discharged their guns 
into the air. They then returned to their village, but they had committed an 
tin- which tin- commandant of the fort deemed it necessary to call 
them to account, and the commander of a fort on the western plains at that 
embodied all authority. lie could do unwise things without objection or 
hindrance, and so Lieutenant Fleming, with a squad of soldiers, was sent over 
t" the Indian village to demand the two young braves. The chief at the village 
told Fleming that the young men were not there at the time ; but Fleming 
refused to believe him, and became so incensed because they were not imme- 
diately delivered up, that he ordered hi- soldiers to fire upon the Indians, 
>'hieh the) did. killing three outright. There were a hundred Indians in the 
car e time, bul they refrained from retaliating, and Fleming seized a 

uple of young bucks and took them hack to the fort as prisoners. This 
atroi ity laid the foundation fur "bad blood." It also incited a desire to emulate 
Fleming's uncalled for and brutal assault in the breast of Lieutenant Grattan, 
a who had graduated at West Point during the year, and had 

ered to duty at Laramie. When he heard of Fleming's exploit, he 
wish to lie senl on a similar errand so that he could win some 
' own - TKe tin all too soon for the young lieutenant. 

60 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 61 

In the following summer (1854) the same tribe of Minneconjoux, with 
another of about equal numbers, were in camp on the Platte, about eight miles 
below the fort, waiting for the Government to bring them some annuity goods 
that they were in need of, and anxious to receive, in order that they might 
get away on their summer hunting expedition. The agent was long delayed 
and the Indians began to suffer for supplies. Just at this time a Mormon 
emigrant passed the Indian camp, having in his outfit a lame cow. which he left 
behind, evidently intending to abandon her. One of the Indians shot the animal, 
and he and his friends appeased their hunger. In some way tin- -hunting f 
the cow was reported at the fort, probably by the Mormon, and it was looked 
upon as a grave offense for the Indians to shoot an animal belonging to an 
emigrant. The Indian chief "Bear" went up to the fort to explain the cir- 
cumstances of the shooting. Lieutenant Fleming was in command, and he 
told Bear that the only way to settle the matter was to surrender the offender. 
Bear asked for a little time and went back to the camp, which at this time 
had received large accessions from other bands who were to unite with the Minne- 
conjoux in their summer hunt, and now numbered all the way from one thousand 
to fifteen hundred lodges, with women and children. The following morning the 
offending Indian not being produced, young Lieutenant Grattan, who had ex- 
pressed his ambition to imitate Fleming's conduct at the Indian village the year 
before, applied to the commander for the privilege of leading an expedition 
against the Sioux camp and securing the offending Indian. Fleming gave him 
an order for seventeen men, and Grattan managed to increase the number by 
volunteers to thirty-one, well armed and supported by two howitzers. Arriving 
at the Indian camp Grattan should have realized the danger of any hostile act 
when he found himself and his small party confronted by over one thousand 
Sioux warriors who were in the camp. Grattan demanded the immediate sur- 
render of the offending Indian who had shot the lame cow, and when he did 
not appear Grattan ordered his men to fire. At the same time old Bear, the chief, 
urged the Indians not to fire on the whites. 

The next minute Bear fell mortally wounded by Grattan's soldiers. This 
maddened the Indians, who rushed upon Grattan's little force and in five minutes, 
he, with every man of his command, lay dead upon the ground. This event 
started a conflagration of great proportions. It was reported to the war depart- 
ment that the Indians had treacherously turned murderers and without provoca- 
tion had massacred a company of United States troops while in the performance 
of duty. Dispatches were sent to the secretary of war, and that official called 
upon Congress for authority to raise four regiments of cavalry. Exaggerated 
and grossly incorrect accounts of the terrible occurrence were printed in the 
newspapers, and suddenly and without warning a war against the Sioux of 
Western Nebraska was inaugurated. 

The Indians realized that they would be punished as soon as troops could 
be sent against them, and a portion of the reckless ones abandoned the Platte 
and fled to the headwaters of the White River and the south fork of the 
Cheyenne, donned their war paint and committed some depredations upon ex- 
posed emigrants. Red Leaf, a brother of Bear, had succeeded to the leadei 
ship, and was in command of the war parties. The Government regarded the 
whole Sioux Xation as having voluntarily and wilfully declared hostilities and 
the war department made preparations accordingly. The following summer 
(1855) General Harney, the ablest and most successful of our generals in 
Indian warfare, was ordered to lead an expedition against the hostiles. lie 
assembled a strong force and met the Sioux on the north fork of the Platte 
and completely defeated them so that they were glad to sue for peace on any 
terms. He killed eighty-six of the Indians and wounded seventy other-, his 
own loss being five soldiers. Harney's victory was followed by a treaty of 
amity which promised to the Indians liberal annuities so Ion- as they obset 
its provisions faithfully. This battle of Harney's was known as the Battle of 
"Ash Hollow." 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

With this accomplished, General Harney, in obedience to instructions set 
om for the Missouri River, blazing the first trad from the head of the North 
p, atte b wa) of t he White and the south fork of the Big Cheyenne to 
Bad River, striking the Missouri River at Fort Pierre late in the fall of 1855. 

rroborating the opinion held bj many of the commissioned military men 
of the Harney expedition, and ... some extent entertained by the general him- 
self thai this' Vsh Hollow conflict might have been avoided had the general fol- 
lowed the dictates of his own judgment instead of the influences of a council of 
war composed largely of young men. an excerpt from a letter, written in iS,s 3 
by Colonel Carlin, of the Fourteenth Infantry, is here copied, giving an account 
f h nturers while a young lieutenant, .luring a march with his_ company 

in the spring of 1855 from [efferson Barracks, Missouri, to Port Laramie After 
relating many interesting incidents of the long trip by river and overland, during 
, portion of the journey in the company of Captain Todd, the troops reached 
Fort Laramie I olonel Carlin then relates the Ash Hollow incident, m which 
lie participated : 

BAT1 11 OF \>H HOLLOW 

The troop- at Forts Kearney and Laramie were subject to the orders of General 
Harney, and constituted part of the Sioux expedition- "Ash Hollow is a wide and deep 
canyon near the Platte River on the ..1.1 emigrant road passing up the Platte via fort 
1 aramie It was across the Platte from Ash Hollow that Little Thunders band of bioux 
Indians were encamped m August, [855, when General Harney was moving his command to 
I orl I aramie. the Indians did not seem to expect an attack, or to fear one. and made no 
monstration against the troops. It was notorious, however, that the Sioux had been on 
path since the previous year, when they had killed Lieutenant Grattan, ol Hie 
Sixth Infantry, and about thirty men who had constituted Ins command. 

Harney was sent out with "his troops to punish the Sioux for this massacre, but when 
he arrived at Ash Hollow and saw Little Thunder's camp before him, he did not at first feel 
called mi to attack the Indians. Such, at least, was the current report of that day. It was 
his idea thai he ought to parley with Little Thunder and have an understanding of his 
status towards the Government and the white people. There were, however, two orhcers 
under his command, one of whom was on his staff, who comhatted this idea with all their 
;il energy. Major Winship, paymaster, was one of them. Capt. Henry Heth, 
nth Infantry, was the other. The report of that day was that Harney was persuaded by 
Winship and Heth, against his own inclination- and judgment, to attack the camp. It was 
done. Mam women and children were killed and wounded. Doubtless some warriors 
were killed also Spotted Tail, since so famous, was in the fight. He was the son of 
Little I lunider. There was very little said about tins affair outside of military circles, 
and there were many officers of the expedition thai did not approve of the attack. 

It was soon after this affair that a small force, one company of infantry and thirty 
men additional, with a little mountain howitzer, the latter detachment under my command, 
win- ordered to proceed under my command to Fort Pierre, in charge of a wagon train. 
11 Pierre was i n the Missouri River, .525 miles northeast of Fort Laramie. Fort Pierre 
had for man] years previously been an Indian trading post, and had but recently been pur- 
. based from the American Fur Company by the war department. It had been just garrisoned 
by a few companies of the Second Infantry, and was a part of Harney's command. It was 
hi- ■ n for the winter of [855-56. The wagon train which Capt. C. S. Lovell's com- 

mand was to ■ 1 .1 to Fort Pierre was for the use of Harney's expedition. The march 
made in September and October, [855, through the very heart of the Sioux country, 
d yel we marched to Port Pierre and back to Port 1. aramie without seeing an Indian. 
Our route la lie famous "Mamais Terns," or Pad Lands. It was interesting to 

as 1 was eager to see new regions, notwithstanding the general monotony of the scenery 

en thi T nun and the mountains. 
\i Fori Pierre I tost mel I apt. Nathaniel Lyon. Second Infantry, afterwards General 
Lyon, whom I have ever regarded as the besl and bravest soldier and one of the brightest 

men intellectually that I have ever known. He died too early in the great war for the g 1 

Ins country and for bis own reputation, if he had lived be would have won fame second 

.ill men who figured in the great conflict. I -aw Lyon 
once after this visit to Fori Pierre. It was in St. Louis, lie and Lieut. Charles Griffin, 
of the artillery (afterw rd General Griffin), were together. They invited me to take a walk 
with them on Fourth Street. We walked from the Planter's House down to the court 
1" 11 ■ \n auction of slaves was in progress at the time. A gentleman of well known 
name had failed in business, and his slavi had to go to the auction block. Among them 
■nan. the iimther of the fainih sold, about sixty years of age. She wa- bid 
i| $50. Tin- was tin first nid last sale of human beings I had ever witnessed. I 
had read "rmle Tom's Cabin," Wendell Phillip-' speeches, ami William Lloyd Garrison's 



HISTORY OF DAKol'A TERRITORY 6:J 

harangues, but had never fully realized the true character of the institution of slavery till 
1 witnessed the public sale of this family. Lyon and Griffin, 1 found, were both interested 
m the question, both strong anti-slavery men, and both really believed that a great conflict 
was soon to come, and were both fully convinced th it the disunionists would U defeated in 
the end. Both of these brave men lived to see their conviction verified a~ to the conflict, 
but Lyon was too daring to live to the end of it. lie died at Wilson's Creek, leading a 
regiment, when he was the commander of an army. 

UNION SENTIMENT IN THE ARMY 

The winter of 1865-66 was a hard one at Laramie. There were more than twenty young 
officers who had been compelled to pass the winter there away from their proper com 
mands, in consequence of heavj snows which had interrupted all travel. We had no mails 
after November till the following spring. There was no amusement except such as < 
afforded. It is probable that many young men took their first lessons in draw poker that 
winter. In those days the slavery question dominated all others in the arena of politii 
1 tfficers were discussing the question with each other, and the question of disunion was often 
referred to. I do not remember hearing any officer, even of southern birth, advocate seces 
sion or disunion. At the same time hardly one ever admitted the possibility of a republican 
President being elected. But I remember one circumstance that occurred that winter that 
showed how deeply some southern statesmen were interesting themselves at that time in 
the question of war and of the part the army officers would take in it. It was common 
rumor that a certain officer of southern birth had questioned his associates with whom he was 
intimate, on the subject, and endeavored to ascertain which side they would espouse in the 
event of an attempted dissolution of the Union. This officer subsequently became a promi- 
nent Confederate general and was already a reputed favorite of Jefferson Davis. I remem 
ber only one reply made to the inquirer by a northern born officer. It was in effect that be 
would go with the North, as it was certain that the North would pay best; that they had all 
the wealth of the country and would use it for the protection of their interests and their cause. 
This was doubtless a selfish view to take of the matter, but it was then only a speculative 
question, and no one should be held responsible literally for the utterance, which maj 
have been a jesting way of postponing a decision. When the time did come the officer 
referred to remained true to the Union. 

Till': PURCHASE «'l' FORT PIERRE 

It seems necessary to digress at this point and return to the beginning of this 
campaign in order to explain some matters in connection with this march to the 
Missouri and Fort Pierre. In preparing the plan of the campaign the war de- 
partment considered that the army's operations would he confined to the country 
north of the Platte River in Nebraska, east of the Black Hills, south of the 
Cheyenne River, and west of the Missouri River in Dakota. That not more than 
seven thousand Indians would he encountered and that it was advisable to have 
a decisive engagement with the whole body rather than permit them to break 
up into small detachments: and to this end three rendezvous for troops and 
depots of supplies were established, viz: at fort Kearney, and fort Laramie, 
Nebraska, and the third at some point on the Missouri River between the White 
and Cheyenne rivers, in the vicinity of Fort Pierre. As the department had no 
reliable information regarding Fort Pierre, which at the time was a fur trading 
post that hail stood the wear and tear of time and tempest for twenty-five years, 
the quartermaster general at Washington ahottt the las) ill' March, t S 5 5 , in- 
structed Major Vinton, the quartermaster at St. Louis, to obtain the mosl 
reliable information possible as to the suitableness of fort Pierre Choteau, at the 
mouth of Bad River, for a depot of supplies. Major Vinton seems to have 
had the mean- of securing the information desired with little delay, for on the 
thirtieth of the same month he sent a rough draft of Fori Pierre to Washing- 
ton accompanying it with a report stating that he hid conversed with Mr. lolin 
B. Sarpy, the active partner of the linn of P 1 lioteau, Jr., & Company, and 
hum the conversation he gathered that Fort Pierre was not a suitable posi tor a 
depot of supplies fur any considerable force. lie says the fori itself is small 
and is located in the "mauvaise terre" 1 Bad 1 ands) while fur hundreds of miles 
there is no grass that can he made into hay; no good ground for corn and fodder 
and no fuel for twenty miles; and although his opinion is very unf' 
he feeds compelled to state that there is no other point on the river more eligible. 



64 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



\ few days later, however, Mr. Vinton had met a Mr. Picotte, probably the Yank- 
ton pionei r and an old employee of the American Fur Company, from whom he 
tatemenl thai flatly contradicted that of Mr. Sarpy, and this statement 
Mr. Vinton sent forward to the quartermaster general. Picotte's statement seems 
to have agreed with the views held by the war department officials, who at once 

lived to secure Fort Pierre, and on the 13th day of April an agreement was 
made between Charles < iratiot, representing the firm of P. Choteau, Jr., & Co. and 
ter General [esup of the United States army, whereby Choteau was 
to sell to the United States the "trading establishment on the Missouri River, 
known as Fort Pierre," for $45,000, together with the buildings within and around 
the picket of the fort and the lumber and material, as well as an island in the 
vicinity, and give possession by the 1st of June, 1855. 

I he orders for the movement of the Harney expedition were issued March 23, 
[855, and provided that four companies of the Second Infantry at Carlisle Bar- 
racks, Pennsylvania, and two from Fort Riley, should proceed up the Missouri 
River in boats and establish a military post near Fort Pierre. This was a few 
days before the old trading post was purchased. The remainder of the expedition, 
consisting of about one thousand troops, dragoons, infantry and artillery, gath- 
ered at Forts Kearney and Laramie, in Nebraska, where the hostilities were to be 
punished. Owing to those impediments to navigation for which the Missouri was 
notorious, coupled with the mistakes of the officials in selecting unsuitable boats 
for the upper river channel, a great deal of difficulty and vexatious delays were 
experienced in getting the troops and supplies to their destination. One boat, the 
Australia, sank in nine feet of water. Two boats, the William Baird and Grey 
Cloud, were purchased by the Government on account of their light draught, but 
both were compelled to discharge part of their cargo at Niobrara and again at 
White River, taking the remainder to Fort Pierre and then returning for the por- 
tions left at these points. 

The first boat to reach Fort Pierre was the Arabia, July 7th, carrying Com- 
p.iii\ 1 1, of the Second Infantry, numbering 100 officers and soldiers. A few days 
later the Grey Cloud reached the landing with eighty-two men of Company A and 
supplies and the William Baird with eighty-four men of Company I, under com- 
mand of ('apt. Henry \\ . Wessels, Second Infantry. During the following week 
Mai. \V. R. Montgomery, the regimental commander, and Major Gains, of the 
pay department, (apt. 1'. T. Turnley of the quartermaster department, Captain 
Simpson, commissary of subsistence, Asst. Surg. T. C. Madison and Lieut. G. K. 
Warren, of the topographical engineers, arrived. These officers formed the first 
military officials of Fort I'ierre with Major Montgomery in command. 

On the 2nd day of August, Capt. Nathaniel Lyon, with Company B, Second 
Infantry, thirty-seven men. and Company C. thirty-five men, arrived on the steam- 
boat Clara, and on the 10th of August Capt. William M. Gardner, with two 
officers and eighty men, arrived on the steamboat Genoa. 

This garrison was the furthest advanced of any that had been sent to the 
frontiers, its distance from St. Louis being given at 1,525 miles. The nearest 
postoffice at that time was Council Bluffs, though one was established at Sargent's 
Bluffs and Sioux City that winter. 

The military officers were very much dissatisfied with Fort Pierre. A council 
was hclil to inspect the place and found the whole establishment in "bad order, 
ondition and bad repair." the buildings so dilapidated that they would have 
to be rebuilt — everything in fact nearly worthless, and estimated that it would re- 
quire $22,000 to put the establishment in anything like the conditions called for 
under th< agreemenl of purchase. Maj. Chas. E. Galpin was there as the agent of 
< hoteau to turn over tin- property. In replying to the complaint, he said his 
company was selling a trading post, not a military post— that it was all it had 
been represented to be. Finally the government paid the $45,000 agreed upon. 

General Harney with his command, consisting of four companies of the Sec- 
ond Dragoons, five companies of the Sixth Infantry, one of the Tenth Infantry 






HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 65 

and Light Battery G, of the Fourth Artillery, arrived on the 19th of October, 1855, 
expecting to go into winter quarters at Pierre. The troops that had previously 
reached there by river were the six companies of the Second Infantry. Recog- 
nizing the impossibility of wintering this force at Pierre, General Harney sent 
four companies of the Second Infantry under Major W'essels to a point five miles 
above on the east bank to establish a winter camp. The two other companies 
of the Second with two troops of the dragoons were sent to a point eighteen 
miles above, also on the east, under Captain Gardner, who established Camp 
Miller; four companies of the Sixth Infantry under Major Cady to a point ten 
miles above, named Camp Bacon; and Major Howe with a troop of dragoons and 
fifty men of the Second Infantry to a point far below between the White River 
and the Niobrara, where they established Camp Canfield. The whole number of 
officers and men in the command was given at 900. General Harney's reports to 
headquarters exhibit the utmost dissatisfaction with nearly everything that had 
been done by the Missouri division of his expedition. He finds at Pierre neither 
grass, nor fuel, nor accommodations, and after enumerating a number of unfor- 
tunate things, concludes by stating that the most unfortunate of all was the 
absence of an officer of energy, experience and industry. 

After disposing of his forces as best he could, the general set about finding a 
suitable location for a permanent military post, although he had been directed to 
cause a military reservation to be laid off about Fort Pierre. This duty he in- 
trusted to Lieut. G. K. Warren of the Topographical Engineer Corps, who went 
ahead and surveyed out an area of 270 square miles, or about 175,000 acres, in 
order to secure about ten thousand acres of good timber and hay land, but the 
commander had determined that Pierre was not the place for the permanent post 
and the following winter and spring of [856 were employed in reconnoitering the 
river for a suitable location. Fort Lookout on the west bank, near the present 
town of Chamberlain, was at one time decided upon and was occupied during the 
winter as headquarters, and arrangements for the removal of the buildings at Fort 
Pierre to that post were partially made; when in the month of June Harney dis- 
covered a site on the west bank of the Missouri thirty miles above the mouth of 
the Xiobrara River that met his requirements, and notified the War Department 
of his selection, suggesting that the post be named Fort Randall as a token of 
respect to the memory of Daniel Randall, late a colonel and paymaster general 
of the army. This disposed of this very important affair, which had occupied the 
attention of the commanding general for nearly eight months. In the meantime 
the troops that had come in with the expedition had been quartered at various 
points and had been subject to frequent assignments caused by the difficulty of 
procuring supplies and not from any hostility on the part of the Indian tribes, 
who were perfectly disposed to peace. 

Fort Lookout, though deemed to be lacking in the requirements for a per- 
manent military post, became the temporary abode of numerous bodies of troops 
during the years 1856 and 1857 and Fort Pierre with a strong garrison remained 
headquarters during the same period. Capt. Nathaniel Lyon was in command at 
Fort Lookout. Fort Randall, however, was designed to be the permanent military 
post and depot of supplies for all the Upper Missouri country. \\ hen completed 
it seemed to form the final link in the chain of military establishments that partly 
encircled the frontier of the Northwest. Fort Leavenworth had been built in 
1827 and seems to have supplied all that was necessary in the way of a depot of 
supplies for twenty years, when in [848, Fort Kearney, in Nebraska, was erected, 
probably demanded by the increasing Mormon emigration and commerce between 
the States and Salt Lake. This was followed a year later by the Government 
purchasing the American bur trading post mi the North Fork of the Platte River 
called Fort Laramie, which was converted into 1 strong military post. About 
[852 Fort Ridgely, at the head of the Minnesota River, was established, and Fort 
Riley at the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers in Kansas was 
built. It would seem that a depot of supplies, with a suitable garrison, should 



HISTORY OP DAKOTA TERRITORY 

have been established in this Upper Missouri country long before the coming of 
General Harney, but it was not done, though frequently recommended by military 
nun even .1- far back as the period of Lewis and Clark's exploration, so that 
Fori Randall became the first military establishment on the Upper Missouri coun- 
nd was designed to furnish the link which completed the chain from Fort 
Ridgely in Minnesota around by way of Laramie to Riley and Leavenworth, and 
while it was the last of the old frontier forts it was the first of a new line of 
forts to follow in a few years along the Missouri River reaching to Fort Benton. 

About the last of June, [856, the first troops reached the site of Fort Randall. 
They consisted of eighty-four recruits of the Second Infantry under command of 
Lieut. George II. Paige, regimental quartermaster, and First Lieut. D. S. Stanley, 
of the First Cavalry, who laid out the fort and built the first barracks. In August 
following, companies C and I of the Second Infantry and D, C, H and K of the 
Second Dragoons reached there, commanded by Col. Francis Lee, of the Second 
Infantry, and formed the first garrison of the post with Colonel Lee in command. 

In the spring of 1857 Fort Pierre was practically abandoned as a military post 
and its military stores removed to Fort Randall on the steamboat D. H. Morton, 
which had been sent up the river for this purpose. The fur trading firm of D. M. 
Frost & 1 o. of St. Louis, who had been trading at Pierre and at other points in the 
upper country, was given charge of the United States property, consisting prin- 
cipalis of the buildings and material at Fort Pierre and also at Fort Lookout, 
which had likewise been abandoned. Maj. Charles E. Galpin, who was in the em- 
ploy of the American Fur Company at the time, took the contract for taking down 
and removing a portion of the buildings at Pierre and Lookout to Fort Randall. 
Jn this he was agisted by .Mr. Dupuis, an independent trader, and so much inter- 
ested in the improvements begun in that year at Yankton that he selected enough 
of the best cedar logs from the old fort at J'ierre to make a raft and floated them 
down to Yankton, where they were used in the construction of the first trading 
post for Frost, Todd & Company. 

Fori Pierre was continued as the abode of a small force of troops under com- 
mand of Captain Lovell, Company A, Second Infantry. Capt. Alfred Sully, 
Company F, of the same regiment had marched across the plains in 1856, from 
Ridgely, Minnesota, to Fort Pierre, and with Lovell's forces formed the 
Fori Pierre garrison until 1858, when the post was altogether abandoned and 
Sully returned to Fori Ridgely or Fort Abercrombie in Dakota. Captain John 
R. S. Todd of Company A. Sixth Infantry, wdio came with General Harney, re- 
mained at b'ort Pierre during the winter of 1855-6, and resigned his commission 
on the Kith da\ of September, 1S56, to take up a business career. He was 
appointed sutler al Fori Randall immediately after quitting the army, at which 
time, [856, the linn of Frost, Todd & Co. was organized at Sioux City. 

At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion in 1861, Fort Randall was 
garrisoned by fivi 1 ompanies of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery under the com- 
mand of Lieut.-Col. John Monroe, [n May of that year three companies of the 
command were sent East to be used in putting down the insurrection 'of the seced- 
tates, leaving but two companies under Capt. [ohn A. Brown, of Maryland, 
in command of the post. And these were now the onlv troops left of all of 
1 l;m " es in this upper country. They had been withdrawn and distributed 

at various frontier posts, by the secretary of war, Tohn B. Floyd, known to be in 
sympathy with the rebellious states, and a very large proportion of the officers 
had already casl their fortunes with the Confederacy. Captain Brown, wdio was 
ndall, was inclined to favor the Union cause, but it is said that 
Huenced by the tie of marriage and against his inclinations, to join 
'1" l onfederatt He lefl the post without permission and the next heard of 
bun was hi- resignation enl to Washington from the South, in July. Fort 
Randall was thus left in command of Second Lieut. T. R. Tannatt, of'the Fourth 
Artillery, the only commissioned officer at the post. This officer was a staunch 
I nion man and remained in charge of the post until the following winter The 




NAPO] I ON 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 67 

post was surrounded by Indians whose loyalty to the Government had been seri- 
ously impaired by the counsel and influence of agents of the South and the dis- 
loyal military officers who had been stationed here and had frequent and unre- 
stricted intercourse with them for several years. Tannatt conducted the public 
affairs very creditably, and in December, '6l, was relieved by three companies of 
the Fourteenth Iowa Volunteers under Capt. Bradley Mahana, of Iowa City. 
Lieutenant Tannatt and the two companies of artillery were then ordered to 
Louisville, Kentucky, where he companies were united to form a light battery and 
as such performed most heroic and valuable service for the I fnion cause. 

While Fort Pierre, as it existed from 1S32 to 1858, had been demolished, its 
name remained and has continued to have a local habitation up to this day, and 
will doubtless become more celebrated as an emporium of commerce and the --eat 
of various institutions possibly for centuries to come. But its local habitation 
has been changed. The site of the old fort was abandoned when its buildings 
were finally demolished, but the name attached to another locality near by where 
Joseph La Framboise had built a trading post, at first known as Fort La Fram- 
boise and afterwards called Fort Pierre. 

That vicinity continued to be a favorite trading ground for the Indians of tin 
western portion of the territory, and the American Fur Company had maintained 
two trading posts in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Cheyenne after de- 
posing of Fort Pierre to the Government in 1855. When the early Governmenl 
agents were sent up the river to distribute gifts and pay annuities to the Indians 
which began with annual regularity about 1857, the principal point for assembling 
the Sioux on the west of the Missouri was known as Fort Pierre, but was in 
fact the La Framboise post. Subsequently when the settlement of the country 
was so far advanced as to demand a trading center for the civilized whites, a 
town was laid out at the mouth of Bad River and the City of Fort Pierre has 
grown up there with all the attendant advantages of modern cities, including 
schools and churches, and has enjoyed a very prosperous career. Three of the 
Mathieson boys, who were among the young lads of early Yankton in the '60s, 
George, and Richard, were among the founders of this town, and are yet to be 
found among the leaders of its best enterprise. These hoys including the young- 
est son, Robert, with their mother, were survivors of the Spirit Lake. Iowa, mas- 
sacre, led by Inkpaduta, in 1857. Mr. Mathieson, the father, was killed in that 
dreadful slaughter. 

Starting with that insignificant show of bravado by two thoughtless young 
Indians back at Laramie in 1853 we find the train of events leading to an Indian 
war. resulting in Harney's march to the Missouri, the establishment of Fori Ran- 
dall, the ushering into civil life of Captain Todd, and the pioneer history of 
Dakota Territory has its beginning, with the Missouri Valley as the theater of the 
important pioneer movements leading up to the political organization of the terri 
torv, and the location of its seat of government. "Behold what a greal flame a 
little lire kindleth." 

The foregoing account of the cause of die famous Harney expedition was 
substantially furnished to President Franklin Pierce by an army officer, who 
wished to induce tin- President to pardon a number of the Indians who possibh 
would have been executed for their crimes committed during the first outbreak 
of hostilities. The I 'resident seemed to believe that the Indians had been "more 
sinned against than sinning" and granted a full pardon, restoring them to all their 
annuities. 

And here begins the story of the opening up and settlement of the Qppei 
Missouri Valley of Dakota. Capt. John I'. S. Todd, who was destined to hear so 
conspicuous a part in the early history of Dakota Territory, was now' in civil lite. 
and resided at Fort Randall with his family. I le had charge of the sutler's 
as a member of the firm of Frost, ["odd & I 0., and was beginning to interesl him 
self in those affairs which were to engage his attention during the remainder of his 
life. 



CHAPTER X 
GEOLOGICAL DAKOTA— FIRST LAND SURVEYS 

,, [, \i. SIOUX FALLS ROCK— THE RED PIPESTONE— THE MISSOURI RIVER AND 

ES FIRST GOVERNMENT SURVEYS ORIGIN OF THE UNITED 

SYSTEM OF SURVEYS — PRE-EMPTIONS, HOMESTEADS, AND TIMBER CUL- 
i UMS PUBLIC LANDS — PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND LAKES. 

(BY GEN. W. II. II. BEADLE, WRITTEN ABOUT l8/5) 

The southern part of Dakota Territory belongs to the Cretaceous group of the Mesozoic 
system having sharks and Ammonites as the leading types of its fossils. A general view 
of Dakota's geologj can be had by referring to the generally received theory of the forma- 
lins continent. It had a regular growth. It commenced as an angulated ridge ot land, 
between the region now occupied by the River St. Lawrence and lakes, and Hudson Hay, 
enclosing the latter in its obtuse angle. This gave general form to the continent, which 
i this by a succession of upheavals, extending through a long series of ages. 
The Age of Molluscs saw the continent very small; all the rest an ocean. Jn the Age of 
area was enlarged, but yet only reached the extreme northeastern and north- 

; its of the United States. At the close of the Age of Reptiles the shore line 

fev I ngland and extended to Trenton, N. J., inside of Delaware and Chesapeake 

the interior of South Carolina, and thence curving west and north to the mouth of 

The gulf extended with varying width to the north and east of the eastern base 

of the Rocky Mountains, which had risen from the sea. Further to the northwest it extended 

along what is now McKenzie River.. The whole of the upper valley of the Missouri was 

then under the gulf, and ships could have sailed over the region now occupied by Dakota's 

pre-emption and homestead claims, long after the great mountain ranges had risen from 

Alaska to the isthmus. We find that the land grew upon the water to the south and south- 

i the formative nucleus or ridge of the continent, and hence that Dakota grew from 

the northeast to the southwest, and from the Rocky Mountains eastward. 

There 1^ probably little to be found older than the Cretaceous unless in the Valley of the 

Red River of the North, and from the discovery of salt springs in that region we are led 

■ ve that valley plows its way down to the Silurian Rocks, as the salt springs of the 

Males issue invariably from that formation. As the Devonian lies next to the 

Silurian, and the Carboniferous between the latter and the Cretaceous, it will be seen that 

our rocks include the possibility of coal in theory, whether present in fact or not. From 

the Red River Valley we pass southwest over the broad Cretaceous belt and when we cross 

the Missouri we enter a newer formation. This is a Tertiary; and nearly one-half of 

Dakota is found to be no older than the Tertiary belt along the Atlantic seaboard and the 

[exico and not as old as most of the Pacific slope. 

The part known as the Bad Lands, west of the Missouri River, belongs to the Ter- 

■ thi Cenozoii item, and here Nature has collected, in one desolate sepulchre, 

log ige. Iln I — lils are most interesting and remarkable. The ground 

on which one treads, the columi and buttresses, the monumental domes and massive 

walls, which characterize this strange domain of death and desolation, are strewn and filled 

with fossil skulls and jaws, and teeth, and thigh bones, which belonged to varied races of 

mamn [1< pecimen is familiar to the anatomist of the present day. 

ithyosaurs and turtles of wonderful size, rhinoceros different from any existing, 

elk with canine teeth, hornless rhinoceros with jaws live feet long, and horses that united 

t the characteristics of the tapir which had incisor. teeth and ate either flesh or grass 

and chewed tin- trange combinations shown in this grave where the 

slain of a i lie buried. Iln- region in its other characteristics is true to its 

general nature I he water is brackish and bad. The earth is burned by the sun in summer, 

arid. ashy, and nearly chalky white. It is a treeless waste, and in the winter is the abode 

formation of the hills and general surface of the 
Bad lands is tin- work of ind is a phenomenon of the Post-Tertiary Age. 

North of this region, ami a - the mi uth of the Yellowstone River, was a great inland sea 

68 




GENERAL JOHN I!. S. I < > I > I » 
First delegate l" Congress from Dakota 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 69 

after the Bad Lands had been drained. Around its shores roamed the rhinoceros, the ele- 
phant, the mastodon, the horse, beaver, wild cat, and wolf, with other animals now extinct. 
This sea changed slowly from salt to fresh, as its successive w, and its bottom 

was finally lifted, and its waters furrowed the great Vallej of the >h ouri. 

When these successive scenes had passed came the [ce Peril d I he equalizing currents 
between the south and the polar regions were cut off by the intervening continent. The 
whole northern regions were covered with ice, the southern border onlj being tree, and the 
expansive force of the whole body pushed this over the land with irresistible power, grind- 
ing and furrowing the rocks and covering the surface. Later the greater treams made or 
resumed their way, and smaller rivers and creeks cut down their varying routes, leaving the 
terraces, slopes and hills, with the depressions and gravelly ridges sprinkled with the lime- 
stone and granite boulders. In the parts through which streams have passed. Dak ta ha no 
lakes, but on the higher general levels between the sources of streams, we have the beautiful 
lake country of Minnesota and Dakota. Some of these are marshy, but the most have clear, 
pure water, and firm, gravelly or sandy shores. 

Here are found walled lakes similar to those in Northern Iowa. These walls are of 
rough and irregular stones, compactly built and filled with clay and sand, giving the appear- 
ance at first of man's handicraft, but a closer examination shows them in elemental and 
not mechanical order. These walls are generally upon the south sides of the lakes, and arc 
made of the same materials that are found in the bed of the lakes adjacent to them, showing 
that the power which set them there was the expansive force of ice, the same that acted on 
so grand a scale in the Glacial Period — one of those forces loosed from the right hand of 
God in that hour when "the morning stars sang together." A warmer age succeeded the 
Ice, and over this again the storms of changing seasons have waged their varying war: sum- 
mer followed winter, and water, air and frost, in infinite succession, wrought their slow but 
mighty changes upon the surface materials. To these were added the vegetable growth, 
which burned or decayed, mingled with the minerals and left our finely pulverized, deep, 
calcareous and arenaceous soils. Our soil is excellently suited to produce cereals from the 
presence of much mineral and other valuable constituents. 

But to return to Eastern Dakota, which, as indicated, belongs to the Cretaceous. Nearer 
its eastern boundary it seems to approach the Jurassic and Carboniferous, the coal measures 
appearing in Iowa. The Cretaceous, as its name implies, is marked by the prist nee of the 
chalk formation, This is shown in great abundance in the bluffs of the Missouri near 
Yankton, and at various points above, while it also appears at different points interior. At 
Sioux Falls, Dell Rapids, and in Davison County, are great masses of red quartzite rock, or, 
as some call it, red granite. It seems to be entirely without fossils. It is a very hard, 
unstratified rock, and is colored from a pale red to a rosy tinge. It is difficult to dress 
or cut, but breaks under the hammer into suitable shape for very substantial building stone. 
This rock is also found at other points in the territory, west, northwest and northeast of 
Sioux Falls, where the Big Sioux River breaks through and over the formation in a beautiful 
succession of rapids, cascades and falls; descending a distance of no feet in half a mile, 
forming a series of attractive pictures and a scene of wild beautv. Partly overlying the 
granite at Sioux Falls is a finely grained white or yellowish sandstone of a very friable 
texture, being easily pulverized in the hand. This does not show, however, in large amount. 
Tn the river bank above the falls, and at other places, and in considerable amount about 
forty miles east of north from Sioux Falls, appears the red pipestone of the Indians, so 
closely associated with their religious legends and traditions. 

i Professor Hayden's accounl of his journey to and exploration of the Black 
TTills and Bad Lands, in [866, will be found in the chapters devoted to the 
Black Hills.) 

Professor Harden furnished the following regarding a geological survey made 
by him of that portion of Dakota lying east and mirth of the Missouri River: 

In October, [866, after my return from a tour of exploration of the "Mauvaise Tei 
or Bad Lands of White River. I took advantage of an opportunity thai pn 
visit some portions of Dakota Territory on the n< rth side of the Missouri Rivi lerto 

examined by me. I have taken as my starting point the Village of Yankton, the capital of 
Dakota Territory^ located ,, n the Missouri Rivei about twelve miles above the mouth of 
the James. _At this point we observe a large exposure of the yellow < ilcareou marl beds 
of No. 3, Niobrara division, forming along the river nearly vertical bluffs, extendin 
times several miles. The rock varies in texture from a nearly white soft chalk, much ' 
Our chalk of commerce, to a somewhat compact limestone, which is used for burning into 

lime and for building purposes. Thick beds oi this chalk present a marked ru I From 

the presence of a greater or less amount of peroxide of iron; otherwise it could be hardly 

distinguished from the chalk of I'.uropv, and without doubt would serve the -am lical 

purposes. The organic remains found here are not very numerous in species. I' 

abundant shell i- tin- ostrea congests Conrad, which seems to have been so gregari - and 
to have aggregated together much in the same way as the little oysti i which is exposed when 



tHSTl 'UN < IF DAK< ITA I ERR] TORY 

the tide recedes along thi ea Islands of South Carolina. Near the base of 

there are layi I oi rock s< vi ral feet in thickness, made up almost entirely of one or 

i which has Keen identified as I. problemeticus. Ihe fish 

remains ar< quite numerous, diffused throughout the rock. Fragments, consisting of jaws, 
call an found in the greatest abundance, and Mr. Propper, a resident of Yank- 
ion has succeeded in recovering some nearly perfect specimens (undesenbed) irom the 
quarries there Ihis group of rocks extends for 400 miles along the Missouri River, and I 
am convinced thai when carefully studied, it will be found to represent the white chalk 
,. and be employed for similar economical purposes. 

us rocks of the Missouri River have been numbered in the order of super- 

s, 5, and all of these divisions have been located in the geological 

deuce of their organic remains. We find, therefore, that this 

portion i occupied exclusively, or nearly so, by the middle member of the 

( ,, 1 , ies. The soft and yielding nature of No. 3 is well shown by the topographical 

[eatu 1 il untry, where all the slopes are gentle in their descent, and for the most 

part, covered with a thick growth of grass; for the soil, which is composed of the eroded 

group, is quite- fertile, and in ordinary seasons produces excellent crops, 

especiallj adapted to the growth of cereals. 

I 1 1 -in Yankton our course was nearly north up the west side of James River. Our 

path a gently rolling prairie for sixty-five miles, with not a tree or bush to greet 

the eye There were no cut bluffs along the little streams over which we passed; the 

1 he hills bordering the valleys sloping at a very moderate angle and being covered 

with a thick growth of grass. No rocks were seen in place until we arrived at Fort James, 

about twelve nnks below the mouth of Firesteel Creek, a branch of James River. Erratic 

rocks of all sizes and texture were visible on the surface everywhere, more especially in 

the vallej of the James River and tributaries. At this point on James River, uncovered by 

the 51 'it of the valley, is a large exposure of reddish, variegated quartzites, differing 

somewhat in structure and appearance from any rock hitherto observed by me in the Upper 

Missouri. They ever a considerable area in the valley of the James at certain localities, 

but nowhere are they exposed at a thickness of more than twenty or thirty feet. Indeed, 

they have been much worn by water, so that they project above the surface in large square 

ses, suggesting to one in the distance a village of log houses. The rocks are mostly 

dish and flesh colored quartzites, so compact that the lines of stratification are nearly 

obliterated. They also appear to be metamorphic. '1 here is, however, a horizontal as well 

as vertical fracture, and the horizontal fracture breaks across what appear to lie original 

laminae of deposition. These lines or hands arc seldom horizontal, but much waved and 

inclined, as it" the materials had been deposited in shoal or troubled waters. The illustrations 

of ripple or wave markings in these rocks are numerous and very beautiful. There is 

considerable variety in the texture of the rock; some of it is a very fine, close grained 

quai thai when worn bj water it presents a smooth glistening surface like glass. 

Again it is tilled with small water worn pebbles, forming a tine pudding stone; again there 

layers oi silicious sandstone, which separate into slabs from one-fourth of an inch to 

several inches in thickness. This rock is very useful for building purposes, and has been 

employed at this poinl by the United States army officers in erecting the numerous buildings 

thai constitute the fort. 1 looked diligently wherever the rock had been quarried for some 

traces "i organic remains, but none were visible. Resting upon the quartzite of this locality 

1- a bed oi black plastic clay, precisel} like No. 2 Cretaceous as seen along the .Missouri 

River near the mouth of the Vermillion. 1 found no fossils in the rock, hut there ware 

numerous specimens of selenite in crystal-, which characterize it in other localities. Reston 

No. -' is the' chalky marl of \',,. 3, not differing ill structure from the same rock before 

inline at Yankton on the Missouri River. It here contains an abundance 

of it- ' I OStrea congesta. Its thickness exposed is about fifty feet, hut 

from 3 nation oi thi lope above I estimated its entire thickness at this point at 

'■■lii'. to "il'' hundred feel II"- formations at this locality, in descending order, are 

V, yellow chalky marl, No. 3; B, Mack plastic clay wath selenite crystals, 

1 i' ddish ami rose 1 olored quartzite. 

"i Fori James we again proceeded across the undulating prairie ill a direction a 

t, about sixtj toe miles, to Fort Dakota, at Sioux Falls, on the Big Sioux 

Nothing oi special interest, in a geological point of view, met our eye except a small 

ite in the valley of the Vermillion River. " The sod of the 

''i "Inch we passed and also the superficial deposits, as shown along the streams. 

gavi unmistakabli - ence that the surface features of all this region ire due to the wearing 

the Cri rocks, Nos. • and .',. and that they are the immediate underlying 

The mosi characteristic features which met the eye everywhere were the 

'hich i areas so thickly as to render cultivation impossible mini they 

er, will be found to lie very useful to future settlers for 

building ami ..' 

'•'lis il tarkable 1 schibition of the same red and variegated quartzites 

■ an hen 1 pot ed onlj in the valley of the river h\ the 

" nicks. 'Ihe falls are five or six in number, 

hal le, and have a di cen! ol no feet in all, forming ihe most 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 71 

valuable water power 1 have ever seen in the West. About t< n feet from the top of the 
rocUs, as seen at this locality, is a layer of Steatitic material, mottled, gray and cream color, 
very soft, about twelve inches thick, which is used sometimes for the manufacture of pipes 
and other Indian ornaments. When the quartzites have been subject to the attrition of 
water, they present the same smooth, glassy surface as before mentioned, there are also 
beds of pudding stone, and the most beautiful illustrations of wave and ripple markings 
that 1 have ever observed in my geological explorations hitherto. 1 was unable to discover 
any well defined fossils, but wherever the surfaces of the rocks had been madi smooth by 
the attrition of the water, quite distinct rounded outlines of what appeard to be bivalve 
shells could be seen so numerous that the rocks must have been charged with them. The 
matrix is so close grained and hard that on breaking the rock no trace of the fossil could be 
found. I am confident, however, that the rock is filled with organic remains, but they cannot 
now be separated from the matrix so as to be identified. 

From Sioux Falls to the celebrated Pipestone Quarry, the distance is just forty miles, 
measured with an odometer. Direction, a little east of north. We passed over similar 
undulating prairie, with but one small tree along the route, and but one ruck exposure, and 
that occurred about four miles south of the quarry. The rock is a very hard quartzite, 
composed largely of water worn pebbles, quartz, jasper, small clay nodules, chalcedony; 
some of the rock is a quartzite sandstone, other portions fine-gr aimd -ilicious rock. It lies 
in regular layers or beds, dipping at an angle of about live degrees thirty minutes south of 
east. On reaching the source of the Pipestone Creek in the valley of which the pipestone 
bed is located, I was surprised to see bow inconspicuous a place it is. Indeed, had I not 
known of the existence of a rock in this locality so celebrated in this region, I should have 
passed it by almost unnoticed. A single glance at the red quartzites here assured me that 
I bey were of the same age with those In fore mentioned at James and Vermillion rivers and 
at Sioux Falls. The layer of pipestone is about the lowest layer of rock that can be seen. 
It rests upon a gray quartzite. and there is about five feet of the same gray quartzite ibove 
it, which has to be removed with great labor before the pipestone can be reached. About 
three hundred yards from the pipestone exposure is an escarpment, or nearly vertical wall 
of variegated quartzite extending directly across the valley. Each end of the wall passes 
from view beneath the superficial covering of the prairie. It is about a half mile in length. 
About a quarter of a mile farther up the valley, there is another small escarpment, so that 
the entire thickness of the rock exposed at this point is about fifty feel. Not a tree can be 
seen; only a few small bushes growing among the rocks. There is a little stream of clear, 
pure water flowing from the rocks, with perpendicular fall of about thirty feet, forming a 
beautiful cascade, The evidences of erosion were very marked, and the question arose — 
how could all the materials which must have once existed here joined onto those walls, 
have been removed, except by a stream much larger and more powerful in it-; erosive action 
than the one at present flowing here? There is a slight inclination of the beds from one to 
three degrees about fifteen degrees south of east. About two hundred yards southeast of 
the quarry arc five massive boulders, composed of a very coarse feldspathic granite, very 
much like that which forms the nucleus of the Black Hills. 

Tin- pipestone layer, as seen at this point, is about eleven inches in thickness, only about 
two and a quarter inches of which are used for manufacturing pipes and other ornaments. 
The remainder is too impure, slaty, fragile, etc. This rock po,-cs-,cs almost every color and 
texture, from a light cream to a dee]) red. depending upon tin- amount of peroxide ol iron. 
Some portions of it are soft, with a soapy feel, like steatite; others slaty, breaking into thin 
flakes; others mottled with red and gray. \ ditch, Erom four to sj N del wide and about 

five hundred yards in length, extending partly across the valley of Pipestone Creek, reveals 
what has thus far been done in excavating tin rock. There are indicate lis of an unusual 
amount of labor on the part of Indians, in former years, to secure the precious material 
This is the only locality from whence the true pipestone can be obtained, and the labor is 
so great in throwing off the five feet of solid quartzite that rests upon it. that 'be rock has 
always been rare. For a mile or two before reaching the quarry, the prairie is strewn with 
fragments cast away by pilgrims. Nearly all our writers on Indian history have infested 
this place with a number of legends or myths. They have represented the locality as having 
been known to the Indians from remote antiquity. \I1 thi "s. I am convinced, will 

disappear before the light of a careful investigation of the facts It is quite that 

the rock has not been known to the Indians more than eighty or one hundred ■ 
perhaps not even as long a period. 1 could not find a trace of a stone implement in the 
vicinity, nor could I hear that any had ever bi id; and. indeed, nothing could be 

seen that would lead one to suppose tint the place bad beet er fifty years. 

All the excavations could have been made within that time. There are main rude iron 
tools scattered about, and some of them were taken h last summer in a I 

plete state of oxidation. Again, it d es n i] ar that in the mounds opened in the 
Mississippi Valley so extensively, any trace of this rock has ever been found. It is well 

known that the pipe is the most important ol thi dead Indian's \ essions, and is almost 

invariably buried with the body, in 1 if a knowledge of 

the stone age. it is almost cert tin that some indications of it would have been brought t' 1 

light in the vast number of mounds that have been i pined in the valley of the Mississippi. 



72 HISTI iRY I IF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

and other ornaments made from Steatite have been in use among Indians from the 
.!. f their In I they an still manufactured from this material on the 






Regarding the age of these rocks described above, Professor Hayden accepted 

pinion of Professor 1 [all, who had given the matter elaborate investigation by 

u .,1 visits to main points in .Minnesota and Dakota, and who concluded that 

they were of the same age with the Huronian rocks of Canada and Lake Superior. 



THE PRINI ll'AL RIVERS 



The Missouri River is probably the longest navigable river in the United 
the distance from its mouth, twenty-rive miles above St. Louis, to Fort 
on, the practical head of navigation, being not far from 3,185 miles. Its 
ipal tributaries in Dakota from the north and east, are the Big Sioux, the 
Vermillion and fames rivers, Choteau, and Medicine creeks, the Little Cheyenne, 
and Swan in Smith Dakota, and the Beaver, Apple, Turtle Valley, Snake and 
Pride creeks, and the Little Knife, White Earth* and Little Muddy and Milk 
riv< rs, in North 1 >akota. From the west and south it receives the waters of the 
Niobrara, which drain- quite an area of the territory, also the Ponca, White, Bad 
River, Big Cheyenne, Moreau and Grand in South Dakota, and the Cannon Ball, 
Heart. Knife. Little Missouri; and the Yellowstone in North Dakota, the Mis- 
souri'- largest tributary, being the only one of the tributary streams navigable. 
Missouri is navigable for ordinary steamboats during the boating season to 
ireal Falls, Montana, from the beginning of April and frequently from the 
middle of March to the last of October. Its peculiar and objectionable feature to 
steamboat nun is the frequent shifting that takes place in its channel, owing to 
the quicksands which compose the bed of the river. 

The Red River of the North is, next to the Missouri, the largest river in Da- 
kota, rising north of Lake Traverse, South Dakota, near the eastern boundary 
between North and South Dakota, and flowing almost due north to its outlet in 
Winnipeg. .Manitoba. 
The Red River of the North is navigable as far south as Fargo, and steamboats 
have ascended during the '60s, to Breckinridge and W r ahpeton, in favorable sea- 
sons. It form- the boundary between Minnesota and Dakota north of the 46th 
parallel, to the international boundary, and runs nearly due north. The valley 
of this stream is one of the largest and most fertile in the world. Its average 
width from easl to wesl is from fifty to sixty miles, and its average length from 
north to south in Minnesota and Dakota is about two hundred and thirty miles. 
This valley is divided about equally between Minnesota and Dakota; one-half 
being east and one-half west of the Red River. The valley is principally prairie, 
and i- uniformly smooth, and very nearly level throughout its whole extent. 
Along the Red River there was a good supply of timber before the country was 
ariety of timber living oak, ash, basswood and elm, and some others, 
bul the on.- enumerated predominated. It is a well watered valley; every few 
miles small stn am of water make down from the highlands to the west, across 
the valley and empt) into the Red River. These streams were likewise timbered 

with the same kind of v d. 

1 ommencing at the 46th parallel of north latitude and traveling north 
along the valley, in Dakota, one will cross first the Wild Rice, coming from the 
southwest, then the Cheyenne, coming also from the southwest. The Cheyenne is 
1 the most important rivers in the northern portion of the territory and wholly 
within the boundaries of the territory. It rises near Devil's Lake and waters 
a third of that section of the territory; it is skirted with fine timber for 
more than two hundred mile From it- mouth. It is called the Cheyenne River of 

*T!iis White Earth River formed the northwestern boundary of the Territory of 
Minnesota. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 73 

the North to distinguish it from the Big Cheyenne of Southern Dakota, and 
drains a greater area than any other of the Northern Dakota streams excepting 
the Red River. It rises about ten miles southwest of Fort Totten, and after 
coursing in and out in a southeasterly direction for about two hundred miles, 
river measure, it turns abruptly north from near the 46th parallel and following 
the general course of Red River, debouches into that parent stream a few miles 
below Fargo, at a point 250 miles by river south of Pembina. The valley of the 
Cheyenne was early noted for its luxuriant grasses, indicating a superior soil, and 
for its small forests of oak, hickory and walnut, which in great pail were felled by 
the early settlers for buildings and fuel. The Cheyenne is an important historical 
boundary line, marking with its tributaries, in Dakota, the northeastern extremity 
of the Louisiana Purchase. 

The River St. Jacques or James River, named by the act of Congress organ- 
izing the Territory of Dakota the "Dakota River," is over three hundred miles in 
length, and has its rise a few miles southwest of Devil's Lake in North Dakota; 
passing thence through the counties of Foster, Stutsman, La Moure and Dickey, 
North Dakota, it enters South Dakota a few miles west of the northeast corner of 
the County of Brown, passing thence through Brown, Spink, Beadle, Sanborn, a 
portion of Davison and Hanson, through Hutchinson, entering Yankton County 
near the northwest corner and running diagonally through the county, falls into 
the Missouri about six miles west of the southeast corner of the county. The 
river resembles somewhat an immense ditch excavated by artificial means, the cur- 
rent being broken by no falls or rapids, and its clayey banks are permanent and 
quite uniform in height. The windings of the stream are all long and gradual and 
bend with as much regularity as the windings of a canal. Occasionally the stream 
spreads out into the dimensions of a lake, affording ample sea room for small 
steamers, and the first 100 miles of the river could be easily navigated during the 
spring and summer when there is an average depth of water in a permanent chan- 
nel of about ten feet. The uniform width of the river for about one-third of its 
length from its mouth, is about one hundred and fifty yards, and the water being 
confined within the banks moves very slowly and smoothly. The fall does not 
average over a foot to the mile. The bottom lands seldom equal a mile in width 
and are among the most fertile and productive in the United States, while the 
highlands bordering the valley are equally productive though lacking the depth 
and probably the strength and durability of the bottom soil. 

While Congress has decreed that the name shall be "Dakota," one seldom hears 
it called by that name, and it is very probable that there are thousands of Dako- 
tans who would not recognize the river under that title. The popular name is 
the "Jim" but the name "James" is used in public addresses, and by those in 
charge of the educational interests of the state, and also by that numerous 
class (if estimable people who abhor a "nickname'' under any guise. 

The Pembina River is a favorite waterway in the extreme north and nearesl 
of all streams to the international boundary. For more than thirty miles Erom its 
mouth, it was sparsely settled and cultivated nearly a century ago and a thriving 
village stood upon its banks. It runs very close to and parallel with the interna- 
tional boundary line, and empties it^ waters into the Red near where the City of 
Pembina, on the northern border, is situated. The soil of the valley is called a 
black clay loam, partly alluvial and partly a deposit of decayed vegetation. The 
dark surface soil is generally about two or three feet in depth. The subsoil is 
principally clay. The land cannot be excelled as far as native fertility and dura- 
bility is concerned. It has not only the elements "I extreme productiveness, but 
is also cajiable of sustaining a long cultivation without the addition of manure. 

The valley through which the Cheyenne River flows i> no less valuable and pos- 
sibly superior in natural beauty to the Red, having a greater topographical variety. 
The Mouse River .also drains a large section of Western North Dakota, and 
empties its waters into the Assineboine in British America. ( See Report of Bis- 
marck Railroad Committee.) 



u HISTl >U\ OF DAK( MA I ERRITORY 

The Little Muddy empties into the Missouri River from the north, about 
twent) iles above Fort Buford, and was noted for its heavy forests of good 

timber, for winch the soldiers who were stationed at Fort Buford in the early 
vouch, for they cut thousands of logs from its wooded banks and rafted 
them down to the- fort. A portion of these logs measured 45 inches in diameter, 
and were 80 to 90 feet in length, and perfectly straight. 

The Big Mud.h empties into the Missouri eighteen miles above the Little 
Muddy, and forty-three miles above Buford. It is well timbered but not as 
densely as the Little .Muddy. Both streams have their source near the interna- 
il boundary, but are not regarded as important tributaries of the Missouri. 

The water-shed or elevation that divides the water courses flowing north and 

south is situated largely in North Dakota. Starting at Lake Traverse, it trends 

of north and northwest to very near the Devil's Lake region, southwest of 

which the James River has its sources, and on in the same direction, crossing the 

territory's northern boundary near the northwest corner. 

The Devil's Lake or Lake Minnewaukan (Spirit Water of the Dakota In- 
dians 1 was the largest lake in Dakota Territory. It covers an area of nearly 100 
square miles, and is probably the most romantic spot, including its natural at- 
traction^, in the northern stale. Its bed and beach is composed of fine gravel. It 
has no visible nutlet, but is supposed to have subterranean drainage into Cheyenne 
River. It is situated in the north central section of the northern portion of Da- 
kota Territory. It is eighty miles long and from three to twenty miles in width, 
and from fifty to two hundred feet in depth. Its altitude above the ocean is set 
down as 3,000 feet, it has a firm rock bottom, and its waters are clear and 
cold and palatable. Its shores are well timbered with valuable species of wood, 
and in the early days these forests sheltered large herds of deer, bears were 
numerous and fur animals abounded. It was a famious region in the earliest 
explorations of the Northwest, and a favorite resort of both the Chippewa and 
Sioux Indians, and furnished the battle ground for many a conflict. Fort Totten 
was built at this lake in 1868, or partially built, the improvements being of brick 
which were manufactured near the site of the post. 

FIRST SURVEYS 

The first surveys made by the Government in Dakota were made by two sur- 

veyors named James Snow and Stephen Hutton, who under a contract with the 

ernment surveyed and marked the eastern boundary of the Territory of 

ta from Big Stone Lake to the Iowa line. The Big Stone Lake boundary 

had been defined by the act admitting Minnesota into the Union. Snow and 

Hutton ran the boundary line south from Big Stone to the Iowa line a distance 

ot about one hundred and twenty miles, marking the boundary with four cast iron 

monuments. This work was done in the summer of 1859. The same season 

the United States surveyor general at Dubuque let a contract to a surveyor named 

in run the township lines in the southeastern part of the territory covering 

the Big Sioux from its mouth to Canton or above and extending west nearly to the 

Vermillion River, embracing about eighty townships. Thos. J. Stone of Sioux 

id a 1 ontract for subdividing these townships and probably did some of the 

work during the fall of 1859. 

In the spring of [860, Congress having appropriated $10,000 to be disbursed 
by Surveyor General Lewis of the Dubuque office, that official was induced to 
tire amount in surveying the newly acquired public lands in South- 
nd a contract was awarded by General Lewis to Ball and Darling, 
a firm of land surveyors, who were very close to the throne in the surveyor gen- 
eral's office, in do this work. Mr. William .Miner, afterward and for over a quar- 
1 ntury the junior member of the mercantile firm of Bramble & Miner of 
Yankton, was a member of this party of surveyors. Being a surveyor himself, he 
had gone from his home to Dubuque for the purpose of procuring a contract, 




WILLIAM MIXER 






HISTORY OF DAKi HA TERR] Imr\ 75 

Liu as there was only enough of the appropriation to satisfy the Liall and Darling 
people, he engaged with the successful contractors and assisted in the work during 
that season. 

Air. Miner relates that the surveying party left Dubuque late in May, i860, 
with a team and covered wagon loaded with their surveyor's instruments, pro- 
visions, etc., and drove across the State of Iowa; a great part of the way, and 
more especially the western half of the state from Fort Dodge west, being desti- 
tute of any road, just the naked bald prairie which supported an abundance of 
big game. Mr. Aliner says : 

There were eight in our party, and all except the one whose turn it was to drive the 
wagon, walked the entire distance. We had, in some respects, quite a notable party, made up 
as follows: John Ball, E. N. Darling, for many years after a well known civil engineer in 
Washington, D. C; Bill Jones, son of United States senator from Iowa; \\ arner Lewis, son 
of Surveyor General Lewis (.both Jones and Lewis, when the war broke out in '61, went 
south and enlisted in the Confederate army and I think both came to grief at Yicksburg) ; 
Miner Lorrimer, son of one of the best known business men of Dubuque; Thomas C. 
Powers, for many years after head of the firm of Powers Bros., Indian traders, and one 
of the first United States senators from the State of Montana; Horace J. Austin, for 
over forty years one of the best known and respected citizens of Dakota, residing anil doing 
business at Vermillion (Mr. Austin died at Pierre during the session of the Legislature of 
1893), and myself. Our instructions for doing this work were to go to a point on the Big 
Sioux River, about thirty miles north of Sioux City, where a standard line of Iowa surveys 
stopped on the Big Sioux, and between townships 94 and 95 north, and run that standard 
west until it came to something, either the Missouri River or the Yankton reservation. 
(The latter is what it hit near the old Sherman ranch on Chotcau Creek.) Then to do 
enough town line and subdivision work to use up the money, the work to be done being 
largely discretionary with us. We were also ordered to note and define the grants designated 
and selected at different localities by Frost, Todd & Co.; Charles F. Picotte, who had a 
grant of one section by the treaty at Yankton, and I think a few other grants in the Sioux 
Point region. Following our instructions we ran all the town lines between our standard 
line and the Missouri River and subdivided two fractional townships at Yankton, two at 
Vermillion, one at Elk Point, if I recollect right, and finished up late in the fall with a foot of 
snow on the ground by running all the subdivision lines in Big Sioux Point. Austin and myself 
bid the party adieu at Sioux City when they left for Dubuque with their team and wagons, and 
we went back to Yankton, on foot, of course, to take our chances for something to eat over 
the winter, and it was not a very brilliant chance either. D. T. Bramble had put up a little 
frame building on the levee near the foot of Walnut Street, and opened up a small store 
in it. I got a chance to bunk with him and we got our bacon and corn bread at the log 
dirt roof ranch which was presided over by Mrs. II. C. Ash. who, I venture to assert, could 
get up a better meal with a very limited stock and assortment of provisions than any woman 
in Dakota. 

With these surveys completed the pre-emptors were enabled to adjust their 
boundaries under the direction of Surveyor Armstrong. The former "squatter 
boundaries" thai had governed were found to be three chains too far south and 
four chains too far east. 

The land surveys under the United States are uniform and done under what is 
known as the "rectangular system." This system of surveys was reported trom 
a committee of Congress before the United Stales Government came into exist 
once. May 7. [784. The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, chairman: 
Messrs. Williamson, Howell, Grey and Reas. 

This ordinance required the public lands to be divided into "hundreds" ol 
ten geographical miles square, and those again to be sub divided into lots of one 
mile square each, to be numbered from 1 to ioo, commencing in the northwestern 
comer and counting from west to east and from easl to west continuously; and 
also that the lands thus subdivided should be firsl offered at public sale. This 

ordinance was considered, debated and amended; and on the 3d of May, 1785, on 

motion of Mr. Grayson, of Virginia, seconded by Mr. Monroe, the size of the 
townships was reduced to six miles square. It was further discussed until the 
20th of May. [785, when it was finally passed. 

The origin of the system is not known beyond the committee's report, ["here 
had been land surveys in the different colonies for more than a hundred years; 
still, the method of granting land for settlements in vogue in all the colonies was 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

in irregular tracts, except in the colony of Georgia, where, after 1733, eleven 

hips of 20,000 square acres each were divided into lots of fifty acres each 

I , , .m,,,, of the Slate of \ irginia of her western territory provided 

for the foundation of States from the same not less than one hundred nor more 

than one hundred and fifty miles square. 

This square form of states may have influenced Mr. Jefferson in favor of a 
square form of survey, and besides the even surface of the country was known, 
the lack of mountains and the prevalence of trees for marking it also favoring a 
latitudinal and longitudinal system. Certain east and west lines run with the 
parallels of latitude and the north and south township lines with the meridians. 

II,,- system as adopted provided for sale in sections of 640 acres, one mile 
square. In [820 a quarter-section, or 160 acres, could be purchased. In 1832 
sub-divisions were ordered by law into 40-acre tracts, a quarter-quarter-section 
to settlers, and in [846 i" all purchasers. On May 18, 1796, the ordinance of 
May 20, [785, was amended; also on May 10, 1800, on the introduction of land 
and credit sales, and on February it, 1805; April 24, 1820; April 5, 1832; 
and May 30, 1862. (For existing: laws on surveys see Chapter IX, United Slates 
Revised Statutes, "Surveys of the Public Lands," sections 2395 to 2413. ) 

Since the inauguration of the system it has undergone modification in regard 
to the establishment of standard lines and initial points, the system of parallels 
or correction lilies, as also of guide meridians, having been instituted, contributing 
largely toward its completeness. 

The cessions of the several states were organized from time to time into geo- 
graphical divisions by the laws creating them and the lands were ordered to be 
surveyed, including lands to which the Indian title had been or would be extin- 
guished. The same proceeding took place with purchased territory in 1803, 1819, 
1848, 1N50 and 1853. 

The extension of the surveys being authorized by Congress over a district of 
country, the commissioner of the general land office directs the surveyor general 
of the district, whose office is created by law prior to extending the surveys, to 
begin the same. 

PUBLIC LANDS THE NUMBER OF ACRES 

Dakota's boundaries enclosed a compact body of public lands, every acre of 
which belonged to the (iovernment of the United States (subject to the Indian 
titles), mi portion having been alienated by grants executed by its prior sove- 
Ets original boundaries included about two hundred and twenty-four 
million .acres, and at the time of its organization was the largest compact body of 
public lands wholly owned by the Government, except the Territory of Alaska, 
then belonging to the national Government. An early public document informs 
us that in tin- very infancy of the nation, before the adoption of the Federal 
the ownership and control of public lands was the chief obstacle to 
the I nion. The difficulty was finally magnanimously adjusted by the proprietor 
transferring their outlying lands to the general Government — New York, 
first, in 17S, ; \ irginia, in [784, with a cession of the Great Northwestern Terri- 
tory, tin- provisions of which cession have been so frequently and authoritatively 
quoted in the steps taken by Dakota to secure statehood. Massachusetts fol- 
d in 1785; and Connecticut. Georgia, North and South Carolina and other 
- surrendered their claims shortly after. 

ill' treat) of peace with England in 1783, at close of the Revolutionary 
war. the western boundary of our nation was fixed at the middle of the Missis- 
sippi River, and the outlying lands then belonging to the states in severalty, and 
ceded to the general Government as above stated, amounted to two hundred and 
twenty-six million acres (about two million acres more than was comprised 
within tin- original Territory of Dakota). By the treaty with France in 1803 
l I ouisiana Purchase) : the treatj with Spain in 1818 (Florida and west of the 




LIGNITE BED IN BILLINGS CO! NTY, DAKOTA 
Thirty-three feet in thickness 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY . 77 

Mississippi) ; the treaties with -Mexico in 1848 and 1853 (California, Arizona, 
New Mexico, Nevada, and part of Utah) ; and the treaty with Russia in 1867 
(Alaska 1, the public domain was increased over seven-fold, adding about one 
billion six hundred and nine million acres to the national territory. The United 
States thus became possessed of a total of one billion eight hundred and thirty- 
four million acres of land; a domain sufficiently ample to make twenty-five coun- 
tries each of the size of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales combined, capable 
of supporting a population estimated at seven hundred and twenty million of 
people of the average density of Great Britain or nearly half the population living 
on the globe in the year A. D. 1870. In the early days of our Republic the pub/ic 
lands were chiefly regarded as a possible source of public wealth in the dim 
future ; but under the stimulating influence of growth and development, the 
Government has been led to make use of them to accelerate their occupation and 
settlement by civilized people, by liberal land laws ; by generous donations to 
induce public improvements; and to foster and encourage popular education. 
In 1870 about four hundred ami forty million acres had been disposed of by sale, 
pre-emption and homesteads, and grants to railroads, etc. The surveyed land 
then on the market and ready for settlement, was estimated at seventy million 
acres; and the area unsurveyed at one billion and three million acres. 

During the first eleven years of our constitutional government land was 
taken up at the rate only of 100,000 acres a year. In 1806, the sales realized' 
$705,245. Durinj the War of 1S12 the sale fell off, but with the return of peace 
they improved, and in 1819 amounted to about three million dollars. The sales 
for 1835 aggregated thirty-five million dollars; and the next year following twen- 
ty-one million dollars, the largest year's sales made in our public land history. 
In 1842 the sales diminished to about one million. From 1850 to 1855. they 
averaged about ten million dollars a year. In 1862, the War of the Rebellion 
being on, they amounted to $125,048, the lowest of any year previous to 1890. 
Since the war they have slowly increased, averaging about three million dollars 
a year. 

The wise policy of setting apart a portion of the public lands for the benefit 
of common schools and the cause of education is one original with this Gov- 
ernment, and has been of great service to the cause of education in the western 
states. The Territory of Dakota was not permitted to make any sale of these 
lands ; but the common school lands in the two states of North and South Dakota 
inherit about ten million acres which is conservatively valued at one hundred 
million dollars. Public lands have also been generously donated in endowing our 
state educational institutions; and those of a charitable and penal character. 
Agricultural colleges have also been greatly aided by land endowments. 

I'UE-EMPTIOXS 

What was known as the pre-emption law. passed by Congress in 1841, was 

the first enactment that offered an inducement for settlement upon the public 
lands. Under tliis law any citizen of the United States or a single woman of 
lawful age, and persons of foreign birth who had declared their intention to 
become citizens, were permitted to settle upon and claim [60 acres of the public 
land, as a pre-emption right, under which right be was entitled to enter his land 
at any time after six months from settlement and before the expiration of live 
years, by paying therefor at the land office S 1 . _> 5 an acre. Before making his 
final proof the foreign born claimant was required to become a citizen. Bounty 
land warrants good for 1(0 acres of the public domain, given to veteran soldiers 
of the Mexican and other wars, were abundant in the years prior to the rebellion 
and were receivable by the Government in payment of these pre-emptions Resi- 
dence Upon the tract claimed and some improvements to indicate good faith, were 
required under the pre-emption law. 



HIST )R\ I IP DAK( ITA TERRITORY 

The homestead law was passed in 1862. ]t extended to the same elasses of 
people, the right to a homestead on the public domain not exceeding one hundred 
and sixty a! res. I itle to tin- homestead could be acquired by a continuous resi- 
dence of five years, ami the payment of $14 entry fees, or after six months actual 
residence and suitable improvement the claimant could commute his homestead 
entry by payment of $1.25 an acre. This law gave a great impetus to the settle- 
ment of the \\ est. 

The belief was quite prevalent that one great if not insuperable obstacle to the 
settlement of the vast prairies of Dakota and other public land sections was the 
lack of timber that if this could he supplied the country would till up with a 
Mr class of citizens. Congress in order to meet this condition as far as 
.null In- done, by encouraging legislation, enacted a law, in 1873, known as 
the I imbcr Culture Act. amended in 1874 and again in 1878, which gave to any 
parte, being the head of a family, or over twenty-one years of age, a citizen of 
the United Stales, who shall plant, protect, and keep in a healthy and growing 
condition, for a period of eight years, ten acres of timber, on any quarter section 
of any of the public lands of the United States, or five acres on any legal sub- 
division of eighty acres, or -''_■ acres on any legal sub-division of forty acres or 

a patent to the whole of said quarter section, or of such legal subdivision 
of eighty, or forty, or less, as the case may be, at the expiration of said eight 

. on making proof of such fact by not less than two credible witnesses, and 
a full compliance with the further conditions of this act; Provided, That not more 
than one-quarter of any section shall be thus granted, and that no person shall 
make more than one entry under the provisions of the acf. 

I he further provisions of the law provided that the applicant should make an 
affidavit similar in substance to the affidavit made in homestead cases, with the 
addition that the land claimed is wholly devoid of timber. The applicant was 
required to pay $10 to the land officers where the claim embraced a full quarter 
section, and a proportionate amount for an eighty acre tract or a sub-division. 
It was further stipulated in what manner he should cultivate his timber tract; 
the number of trees to the acre, and in case the young plants were at any time 
destroyed by grasshoppers or by extreme drouth the time limit of eight years 

-.tended; there were various other directory provisions; and when the appli- 
cant came to make final proof, provided he could prove by his witnesses that not 
less than two thousand seven hundred trees had been planted on each acre so 
cultivated, ami at the lime of making proof there were 625 living and thrifty 
trees (in each acre, he was entitled to a patent for the land upon paying the land 
office 1 

\ large number of entries were made under the provisions of this act, but the 

ritage oi claimants who appeared to offer final proof at the expiration of the 
eight of mi ire years provided was quite limited. And it was early discovered 
dial the law was not fulfilling the expectations of the Government. Where a 
homesteadei could secure a tree claim adjoining his homestead, he was able to 
comply with the law. as a rule, but this was seldom available. There was no 
commutation clause in the timber culture law. It did not appeal to the home- 

r in preference to the homestead law under which he could take a home- 
tead and after five years' residence secure his title. To fulfill the requirements 
"I the law in the great majority of cases was considered at the time as much more 
expensive than the requirements of the homestead law. Partial drouths were 
quite fatal to the early growth of the timber tracts planted; many claims were 
totally abandoned or relinquished to a homesteader after a few years' trial and 
failure; the law was finally repealed, and the prairies had been but little benefited 
directly from its well intended lull rather impracticable requirements. 



CHAPTER XI 
EARLIEST WHITE SETTLEMENTS 

RED RIVER OF THE NORTH SIOUX FALLS AND MEDARY — PEASE AND HAMILTON- 
SETTLEMENTS — YANKTON, VERMILLION, AND BONHOMME — BIG SIOUX P0IN1 
— MIXVILLE — ELK POINT. 

We have here undertaken to give a brief sketch of the pioneer settlements of 
Dakota which were contemporaneous, or nearly so. These include Sioux Falls 
and Medary, Yankton, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Mixville, below Fort Randall; 
Vermillion, Big Sioux Point, Elk Point, and Red River of the North region, 
which had been occupied by white people a half century earlier. What is now 
Lincoln County does not appear to have had a permanent white settlement until 
some years later, though the county was carved out and named in 1862, and there 
were a very few scattered pre-emptors along the valley in that section, in 1S64. 
While Yankton was the first point occupied by a permanent settlement of whites 
011 the Missouri slope in Dakota, the country opposite Fort Randall contained a 
number of white men, not soldiers, who bail probably come as civilian employes 
with the Harney expedition in 1S55 and had located in that vicinity in 1857, for the 
purpose of sharing in the wood and hay contracts that were annually given out, 
or to engage in hauling supplies for the Government. Thus the Hamilton and 
Pease settlements were both well established in 1859, and peopled largely by dis- 
charged soldiers and French Canadians who had been employed in various civil 
capacities in Harney's campaign. W'e have for convenience of reference fre- 
quently designated these various settlements by the names of the counties given 
them by the first Legislature in [862, though no county names or boundaries 
were existing during the period these sketches are designed to cover, up to the 
winter of r86l-2. 

In 1858 Minnesota was admitted as a state with its present boundaries, and 
that portion of its former territory lying west to the Missouri River, was without 
a government. This fact will explain the urgency of the early settlers to secure 
the organization of Dakota Territory. An exception to this statement a- to the 
absence of local government might he taken as to the strip of ceded lands lying 
west of the western boundary of the State of Minnesota and east of the llig 
Sioux, which the House .of Representatives virtually decided as still being the 
Territory of Minnesota, and permitted the d< legate to C ingress elected prior to the 
state's admission to continue as its representative to the end of his term- [859. 
The Territorial Legislature of Minnesota at its closing session in 1857 had also 
organized the counties of Big Sioux, containing Sioux Falls, and Midway, con- 
taining; Medary. and the governor had appointed officers for each county, who 
completed their organization in |S;S, and transacted business. 

The earliest settlements by the whites within the boundaries of the future Ter- 
ritory of Dakota were made when all of the country east and north of the Mis 
souri River as far away as White Earth River, was embraced in the Territoi 
Minnesota: the country on the south and west of the Missouri being then in 
Nebraska Territory, excepting the settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
made by Lord Selkirk in 1S0S. The first settlement in the future Dakota by citi- 
zens of the United States was made at Pembina about [843 by Norman W. 

79 



80 IMSTt IRY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Kittson and Joe Rolette. A postoffice was located there with Kittson as post- 
i and Rolette as deputy. In 1850 a custom house was established there, it 
close to the international boundary, with Charles Cavileer, of St. Paul, 
customs officer. The settlement has been continuous from that time. 

I h..- first settlement on the Big Sioux was made in 1856, December, by the 
Western Town Company, of Dubuque, Iowa, represented by David M. Mills, 
\V. \V. Brookings, John McClellan, and others, and in June, 1857, by the Dakota 
Land Company, of Si. Paul, Minnesota, represented by A. G. Fuller, F. J. Dewitt, 
Byron M. Smith, and others. The latter company the same season made settle- 
ments at Medary and Flandreau, on the Big Sioux. The Sioux Falls settlements 
... re abandoned in [862, owing to Indian hostilities, the Medary settlement in 
1859; and the country remained unoccupied until 1S67-68. 

In 1857 settlements were made on the James River near Yankton by W. P. 
Lyman. Samuel Mortimer, A. C. Van Meter and Sam Jerou; and as early as 
1855, Aleck C. Young made good improvements and opened a farm a few miles 
east of the Vermillion River, which he abandoned about the year 1859; Aleck was 
a white man, related by marriage to the Yankton Indians. (See sketch.) A few 
civilian employees of the Government and contractors who had come across from 
'latte with I [arney's expedition in 1855, were located in Charles Mix County 
opposite Fort Randall. Jn 1858 the settlement at Vermillion and also at Bon 
Homme, was begun, the former by McHenry, Van Meter, Kennedy and others, 
and the latter by John Shober, George Rounds, Thomas Tate and others. A 
more complete list of these early settlers is furnished in other chapters. Elk 
Point was occupied in 1859, and Eli B. Wixson built a log hotel there; in i860 the 
Brule Creel, Settlement was started by M. M. Rich, Mahlon Gore, E. B. LaMoure, 
and Judson LaMoure, a younger brother, and others. 



CHAPTER XII 
RED RIVER OF THE NORTH COUNTRY 

RED RIVER OF THE NORTH ; EARLIEST OF DAKOTA SETTLEMENTS HUDSON'S BAY 

COMPANY AND NORTHWEST FUR COMPANY PEOPLE AXD THEIR DESCENDANTS 
FIRST INHABITANTS — PEMMICAN GAVE NAME TO PEMBINA — VERENDRYE, A CAN- 
ADIAN, EARLY EXPLORER — LORD SELKIRK FAMOUS PIONEER — NORTHWEST FUR 
COMPANY- — FORT DOUGLASS — DEVELOPMENT OF FUR INDUSTRY RED RIVER HALF- 
BREEDS FOUNDING OF PEMBINA — MAJOR LONG AND THE INTERNATIONAL 

BOUNDARY EARLY AMERICAN SETTLERS THE CHIPPEWA TREATY — FORT ABER- 

CROMBIE STEAMBOATING ON THE RED RIVER PUBLIC LAND SURVEYS — 

BOUNDARY LINE CORRECTED BY ARMSTRONG RED RIVER ELECTIONS HALF- 
BREEDS A HAPPY PEOPLE RED RIVER COUNTIES — TODD AND JAYNE CONTEST 

FOR DELEGATE — REPEAL OF LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT — NEW BOUNDARIES FOR 
PEMBINA COUNTY. 

The Red River of the North formed the eastern boundary between the north- 
ern half of Dakota Territory and Minnesota. The first occupation of the country 
by white men was long prior to the formation of the Government of the United 
States. The Hudson's Bay Company charter,* granted by King Charles II 
to Prince Rupert and his associates in 1670, included all of British America 
contiguous to Hudson's Bay and its tributary waters. French and Canadian 
history are quoted as authority for the claim that in 1734, Pierre Gaultier 
Varennes, Sieur de la Verendrye, of Three Rivers, Canada, was the first explorer 
of the Red River Valley. Verendrye was a native of Canada, and a Frenchman 
of remarkable enterprise. In 173.) he traversed the country from the head of 
Lake Superior to the Red River in company with two sons and a nephew, and 
explored not only the valley of the Red, but also the Assinaboine and Pembina 
rivers. He is credited with having founded the fur industry in a portion of that 
region and established the young men who were with him as traders. He be- 
came noted as an explorer, and his work in that field formed the basis of the 
French claims to the Red River country, afterwards, in 1763, ceded to Great 
Britain. The younger Verendryes were also possessed of the adventurous and 
enterprising spirit of their ancestor, and in 1743 made a journey west across and 
along the valley of the Saskatchewan River, and discovered the Rocky Moun- 
tains during their wanderings. The elder Verendrye died in [849. 

One of the important divisions of Dakota Territory is the Red River of the 
North country. That portion since included within the Territory of Dakota was 
partly embraced within the 1 [udson's Bay Company grant, the oldest fur company 

♦The history of the Hudson's Hay Company, of Lord Selkirk's settlement, and the 
Northwest Kur Compan} would oivuj>\ a volume, and has been freelj published in various 
works, particularly by the North Dakota Historical Department. But it does nol appear to 
have any necessary connection with the history of Dakota, except through the introduction 
of missionaries and the half-breeds. It is probable that the missionaries would have come 
had there been no companies, for they were among the earliest of the white pioneers and 
were found wherever Indians had their habitation. The fur companies of that region were 
both foreign enterprises, and except in an illicit manner, conducted rations on Un- 

American side of the boundary, though indirectly obtaining a 1.1 e percenta I the fur 

traffic from the itinerant trappers and trader- who operated n irdli SS of international 1 

Vol. I- 6 

81 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

in America, and was occupied by white people earlier than any other section 
within the boundaries of Dakota as later denned, and possibly earlier than any 
section wesl of the Mississippi and north of Iowa. Its first white settlers were 

h subjects and went into the country when it was all British territory, under 
employment with the Hudson's Bay Company, hut there does not appear to have 

any event of importance to Dakota history until about the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, when Lord Selkirk, a Scotch nobleman, a leading member 
and large owner of the stock of the company, was granted by the Hudson's Bay 

racy, exclusive control, commercially and politically, as well as judicially, 
of the country bordering the lower Red River Valley, extending from the mouth 
of the river to the Red Fork of the main stream, in the vicinity of Grand Forks. 
Though the Selkirk grant was made some time after the formation of the United 
States Government, nothing definite was known regarding the northern boundary 
line separating the new Republic from the possessions of the mother country, 
and Selkirk, believing that his domain extended to the Grand Forks, erected his 
principal fort and trading depot in 1809, within the territorial limits of the 
United States. Lord Selkirk was a very intelligent and enterprising man, accord- 
ing to authentic reports, and was solicitous for the physical as well as spiritual 
welfare of the conglomerate population which composed his subjects. 

The Hudson's Bay Company had brought into the country a number of Eng- 
lish and Scotch families to assist in their fur trade with the natives, a trade that 
extended into the Upper Missouri Valley; and later a rival company formed in 
Canada in 1780, of French capitalists, and chartered by the Canadian Govern- 
ment as the Xorthwest Fur Company, had come into the field, and brought in a 
large number of assistants known as French Canadians ; these people constituted 
the early citizenship of the country including that portion belonging to the United 
States. In due time the population increased by the intermarriage of the white 
Canadians with the Indian women who were natives of the country, and this 
produced a distinct class known as "Red River half-breeds," who became much 
more numerous than the whites, and formed a very valuable factor in supplying 
robes and furs to the fur company. 

THE PEMBINA COUNTRY 

Lord Selkirk had fixed upon a point near the mouth of the Pembina River for 
hi- improvements which he made in 1809; he named his post Fort Douglass, that 
being his family name, and from that time the Pembina Settlement had a local 
habitation which it has ever since maintained, if not in the exact locality bf Fort 
I >ouglass, yet near enough to justify its claim as the first settlement on the United 
State- side of the boundary. 

The Pembina country south of the 49th parallel of latitude was much more 
inviting, because of its freedom from marshes, than a large portion of the coun- 
try north of that parallel, and was greatly preferred by the earliest whites, and 
later by the half breed natives, most or all of whom were British subjects, if they 
Iged allegiance to any sovereign. Selkirk's choice of location for the 
nam fort he erected i- convincing proof that he regarded the country su- 
1 to that further north. It possessed a deep, fertile soil, was free from 
and the fort was well situated to take care of the trade in furs. Father 
ourt, who had lived a score of years or more in the British Provinces, and 
on the American side, says of tin- Pembina Valley about 1850: "The soil is 
very fertile and the frosts never occasion any damage. Our gardens yield us an 
abundance of melons of a U kinds, a fruit that is not known in the gardens of the 
Selkirks, about fort further north." In 1851 he says: "The" first frost felt 

Paul was on the 6th or 71I1 of September; while at St. Joseph, on the Pem- 
lina River, thirty miles west of Pembina Village, the first frost was not until the 
'"' tober. We rai - potatoes which weigh about two pounds each, 

and carrots [8 inches long and 4 inches in diameter." The Reverend Balcourt 



IMS T< )RY ( )F DAK( >TA TERRIT( )RY 83 

speaks also of the "measly, soggy" character of the country further north, and 
the difficulty experienced in trying to make it a food producing region, with the 
limited facilities of the people then inhabiting it. 

The superior natural resources, including climate as well as soil, and the more 
attractive topography of the Pembina region were the principal factors in its 
favor, and to obtain possession of these was the motive actuating these who were 
attracted to its fertile vales at the time of its earliest white occupation. The 
Pembina River, which empties its waters into the Red coming from the west, is 
not only remarkable for its beauty, but the country through which it winds its 
way is of the most fertile character, with forests of hardwood on either side. 
and skirting its shores. The fur companies made very little if any effort to de- 
velop the resources of the country beyond its fur products, influenced no doubt 
by motives similar to those which governed the early fur companies on the 
Upper Missouri River, whose policy was to discourage any industry that would in- 
terfere with the fur trade, and agriculture, if successful, meant the extinction, 
to a large extent, of the fur hearing animals, and the certain banishment from the 
land of the trading industry. P.ecause of this policy, which necessitated the 
shipping into the country even the food required by the settlers, there were oc- 
casions when great suffering was experienced from lack of suitable food — when 
hundreds were compelled to pass the long winters on barely food enough to keep 
them alive. The possession of money, or large stocks of furs and merchandise 
other than food, availed nothing on such occasions, for these settlements were 
hundreds of miles removed from the nearest points where food material could he 
obtained. 

The name "Pembina" is said to have been given to a country east as well as 
west of the Red River of the North, and may have been applied to the entire 
valley and west to the James River. It first comes into prominence the latter part 
of the seventeenth and early in the eighteenth century. The name is derived 
from the word "pemmican,* - which formed the principal food of the Indians who 
inhabited the country from time beyond the ken of the historian. When the 
early missionaries, who were the first whites to enter that region, visited the 
Indians in the seventeenth century they found them using pemmican as the chief 
article of diet, particularly when on the chase in pursuit of buffalo and on the 
warpath, and it soon became the principal subsistence of the clergy during their 
pilgrimages from one missionary station to another. Flour being a commoditj 
not easily procurable, it is stated on good authority, pemmican was substituted 
by the priests in celebrating the holy communion. The Dakota Indians are also 
said to have given the name to the country and that its meaning when trans- 
lated is "sanctified bread," and was called Indian bread. Its use by the priests 
in administering the sacrament of the Last Supper was not uncommon. Another 
authority claims that Pembina is the French word for "high bush cranberry," a 
fruit that grows wild in the country and is used with the buffalo meat in the prep- 
aration of "pemmican." In either case the words "Pembina" and "pemmican" 
arc shown to he related and their meaning explained, 

When the Mudson's Bay Company began its intercourse and business with the 
native inhabitants of the Red River \ alley, it found that the missionaries bad 
preceded them, but it remained for the fur company to establish on a substantial 
scale the fur industry which was destined to become for scores of years tin- 1' 
ing industry of North America, and to give employment to many thousand people 
in procuring", transporting and disposing of the raw material. 

After the close of the War of iSij between the United State- and Great 
Britain, an event that greatly interrupted the fur trade, the trading posl built by 
Selkirk was discovered by some British a-ironoincrs to be located south of the 

boundary line, and his lordship, reputed to have been intensely hostile I 
Sam, and heartily loyal to John Bull, had it removed to Fori Garry, or to the site 
where Fort Garry was founded, now near Winnipeg. The Mudson's Bay people. 
however, constructed another post, safely, as the) supposed, within the British 



HISTORY OF DAK' >TA I ERRITORY 

,inions, but near enough to the line to give them control of the fur traffic 
of the Pembina country. Selkirk died in [820, being then in eastern Canada, the 
Northwest I ur I ompany, chartered by the Canadian government in 1780, had 

, me a powerful and aggressive rival of the Hudson's Bay, and the competition 
between these rival organizations at times had led to acts of extreme violence 
and open warfare. Their difficulties were finally settled shortly after the death 
of I ord Selkirk, by merging the Northwest with the elder concern in 1821, an 

ngemi nl thai gave to the Hudson's Hay people a monopoly of the fur traffic, 
and afforded an opportunity, which was improved, of exhibiting the remorseless 
character of those who controlled its Red River business. 

This was about the time of the coming in of the first American traders from 
points on the Mississippi River. Fort Snelling, at the mouth of the Minnesota 
River, was built by the United States Government in 1820. Jesuit missionaries 
from < anada had' made their way into the British colonies of the Red River 
\ alley, , Vl ,1 before the advent of Lord Selkirk, and thereafter, not only Roman 
Catholic bul missionaries of other denominations arrived, being encouraged 
thereto by Selkirk, who felt that the secular interests of the country as well as 
the spiritual welfare of the people, would be greatly enhanced by the zealous 
labors of the disciples of all Christian denominations. Selkirk himself was a 
Protestant, but quite catholic in his administration of the affairs of his colony. 

I he fur industry had brought into the country, largely as employees of the 
rival companies, a number of British subjects of excellent business qualifications, 
and a much larger number of French Canadians, also British subjects, men with 
more or less experience in trapping and bartering with the natives. The trade 
of the 1 [udson's Ray Company not only covered the Red River and its tributaries, 
but extended to the Missouri River where many flourishing trading posts existed 
with which the foreign companies had business intercourse when the Spaniards 
owned that country and continued it surreptitiously after the Louisiana Purchase, 
ough their trading on the soil of the United States had been interdicted by a 
law of Congress. This influx of white people, males only as a rule, had the 
natural result of many intermarriages with the native Indian women, so that in 
the course of a score or two years, the population of the country, wdiites and half- 
breeds only being included, numbered more than a thousand. Some authorities 
estimate the mixed bloods alone at about one thousand five hundred. This 
numerous native population inhabited the Red River Valley as far north as Fort 
Garry (now Winnipeg), and extended south as far as Grand Forks, though 
principally settled around Pembina and along the Pembina Valley to St. Joseph 
1 now \\ alhalla |. In the summer season it was customary for an entire village to 
break cam]), and with their women, children and household goods, betake them- 
selves i" the buffalo pastures ami spend the season slaughtering the buffalo which 
grazed in countless numbers on the plains, packing the meat for winter use, and 
tanning the robes for barter with the traders. These villages, at times, numbered 

many as five hundred all told. The village of St. Joseph, on the Pembina River, 
was one of the best examples of a Red River half-breed community, composed 
principally of mixed-bloods. It contained at one time over two hundred build- 
ing . and 11 was estimated that its population exceeded one thousand two hundred. 
This was about the year [845. Its streets and lots were laid out by compass and 
chain, and a number of business bouses did a flourishing trade. While the 
Roman Catholics largely predominated, the Presbyterians were well represented, 
and the former denomination had erected a fine church edifice. These people 
were not warlike, but peaceably disposed, and not remarkable for their intelli- 
gence or industry, but yielded cheerful obedience to their priests in observing the 
rites and ceremonies of the church. As a rule a priest would accompany them 
on their annual summer bunting excursions. In a crude way and limited in 
quantity some ground was tilled and grain and garden vegetables grown. There 

re. however, individual instances where farms were opened and domestic ani- 
mals raised, that would he considered creditable in the best of rural communities. 




TABLE ROCK, BIG SIOUX RIVER, SKUA FALLS 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 85 

The earliest white settlment in what was included in the Territory of Dakota, 
was that of Pembina, and was made in the year 1780, or a few years before 
the formation of the government of the United States and during the closing 
years of the Revolutionary war. 

Major Stephen 11. Long, I'. S. A., led an exploring and scientific expedition 
from the headwaters of the Red River of the North along that valley to l\ mbina 
in the year 1823. 

The 49th parallel of north latitude was known to be the northern boun- 
dary of the United States, from the Lake of the Woods in Minnesota to the 
Rocky Mountains, but this line had never been definitely established. .Major 
Long, at this time, located the parallel by astronomical observations. The new 
trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company was discovered to be on the I riited 
States side, and was moved across and re-erected on what was ascertained to be 
British soil by Major Long's official survey. Accompanying the Long expedi- 
tion was a Mr. Keating, the historian, who found an old white trader living at 
the mouth of the Pembina River, who claimed to have been there over forty 
years, but whose name is not given. This trader was personally known to Keat- 
ing. The date of this settlement corresponds nearly with the year which wit- 
nessed the organization of the Northwest Fur Company of Canada, an event 
immediately followed by the immigration of a large number of French Cana- 
dians to the Hudson's Bay and Red River country. Major Long found a Mr. 
Nolen residing at Pembina at the time who extended the hospitalities of his home 
to the major. The Red River settlements of that day were in no way connected 
with the southwest portions of the country, but they gradually grew toward the 
.Missouri River under the enterprise of the fur companies. M. K. Armstrong, 
of Yankton, who visited Pembina in 1867, leading a surveying expedition to estab- 
lish the seventh guide meridian, found old Peter Hayden at Pembina, who 
claimed to be seventy-six years old, and came over to the Hudson's Bay Terri- 
tory in 1810, and made a settlement at or near Pembina in 1821, upon a parcel of 
land where he found an abandoned church building in a dilapidated condition. In 
1840, Rev. Father Balcourt built a chapel at Pembina. At this time there were 
quite a number of French Canadian settlers, and also several bands of Chippewa 
Indians in that region. In 1843, the well known Commodore Kittson, who was 
connected for a time with the fur companies and afterwards a famous steamboat 
owner on the waters of Red River, established a mercantile house at Pembina. 

KITTSON AND KOI.ETTE 

Norman W. Kittson was a Canadian, born about 1 8 1 4 ; he went to Pembina 
in 1843 to engage in the fur trade, where, during the same year, he founded the 
Red River Transportation Company in connection with Joseph Rolette, lie was 
the first postmaster at Pembina, appointed in [849, by President Fillmore; and 
was elected to the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1855. lie continued in 
the fur trade at Pembina and Turtle Mountain for many years, lie is credited 
with building the first steamboat for traffic on the Red River. Kittson was favor- 
ably regarded by the half-breed population of that country and his influence 
usually carried whatever enterprise he engaged in. Prior to building his boat, 
he in company with Mr. Rolette, established a line of Red River carts connect- 
ing Pembina with St. Paul, in competition with the Hudson's Pay Company, and 
in 1847 attacked the English fort at Pembina, burned the buildings, and drove off 
the trader. Rolette had ambition for political distinction and was elected a member 
of the Territorial Legislature of Minnesota from the Pembina district, in [853 
and in 1855, and was a member of the last Territorial Assembly in [857, prior to 
the admission of Minnesota into the Union. In 1S51 the United States made 
Pembina the seat of a custom house with a revenue agent. Charles Cavileer, an 
Ohioan, was the first customs officer, and also deputy postmaster, and was a 
partner with Forbes & Kittson in their Indian trade. Cavileer's wife was a 
Scotch lady, born near Fori Garry, and educated in the mission schools. Cavileer 



HIST' >kY ( IF DAKl >l \ TERRITORY 

received his appointmenl from President Fillmore, the last of the Whig presi- 
.111. 1 about this time would seem an appropriate one to begin the history of 
the Red River country in connection with the history of Dakota. 

When President Pierce came in in 1853 he appointed Norman Kittson as 
1 ustoms officer, and he in turn was succeeded by Joseph Beaupre of St. Cloud, 
Minnesota, and Beaupre by Hon. James McFetridge, who, in 1861, was elected a 
member of the Council of the Dakota Legislature by the Red River vote. 

Pembina's first United Slates mail was received by dog train from St. Paul, 
once a month. In [856 William 1 1. Moorhead became a resident. He engaged in 
freighting with Red River carl- from St. Paul. From this time the growth of 
the Pembina settlement amounted to very little until the treaty with the Chippewa 
Indians, in 18(14, opened the valley to settlement. It may be remarked that it was 
during these years, 1856-57, that the settlements in the Big Sioux Valley, at Sioux 
Falls and Medary, and in the Missouri Valley at Yankton and opposite Fort 
Randall, had their beginning. 

The famous Red River cart was made without any iron save a strap iron band 
.if. mi the huh. and cost in Red River currency, two pounds sterling. The carts 
were made up in trains of twenty-five to forty or more, each drawn by an ox and 
containing when on the march from eight hundred to one thousand pounds of 
freight. They were used largely in transporting merchandise from St. Paul, 
Minnesota, to the settlements on the Red River of the North, and to the trading 
posts of the Hudson's Hay Company, the Northwest Company, and many indi- 
vidual traders. They were operated by transportation companies. One half- 
breed would drive three or four carts, and the distance covered in a day was about 
twenty-five miles. The carts were good for three or four round trips from Garry 
or Pembina to St. Paul, a distance of three or four thousand miles. They were 
also in common use among the half-breeds for transporting their portable prop- 
erty, and Armstrong speaks of employing one while prosecuting his surveys, to 
carry himself and his instruments. 

THE RED RIVER TREATY 

The Chippewa Indians on the Red River had made no relinquishment of their 
title to the lands of that region until 1864. The Chippewas owned the land on 
both sides of the Red River and extending nearly across the northern part of 
esota and also west as far as Devil's Lake, and the Cheyenne River, Dakota. 
Commissioners had effected a treaty with the Chippewas as early as 1851, when 
the treaties were made with the Sioux for their lands in Minnesota, but the treaty 
had never been ratified. In 1 Ictober, 1863, a treaty was concluded at the old 
crossing of Red Lake River, by Alexander Ramsey and Ashley C. Morrill, and 
the chiefs and head men of the Red Lake and Pembina hands of Chippewa In- 
dians for the cession of a large tract of country, of which the boundaries are as 
follows: Commencing at the intersection of the national boundary with the Lake 
of tin- Woods; thence in a southwest direction to the head of Thief River; thence 
following that stream to iis mouth; thence southeasterly in a direct line toward 
the head of Wild Rice River, and thence following the boundary of the Pillager 
n of [855 10 the mouth of said river; thence up the channel of the Red 
River of the North to the mouth of the Cheyenne: thence up said river to Stump 
Lake near the eastern extremity of Devil's Lake, thence north to the interna- 
tional boundary; and thence east on said boundary to the place of beginning. 

I: ■ nihi Li 1 d nearly all of the Red River Valley in Minnesota and Dakota, and 
itimated to contain eleven million acres. This treaty was ratified by the 
Senate March 1, [864, hut certain amendments had been made by that body 
required the assent of the Indians. This being obtained the treaty was 
confirmed by proclamation of I 'resident Lincoln, May, [864. Thereafter the 
white settl Led River were entitled to the privileges and protection of 

the laws of Dakota. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 87 

FORT ABERCROMBIE 

Fort Abercrombie, on the Red River of the North, was built in 1857, about the 
same time that Fort Randall was erected on the Missouri. It completed the chain 
of military posts partially encircling the frontier from Fort Leavenworth, Kan- 
sas, by Fort Riley, Fort Laramie, Fort Randall, Fort Abercrombie, Fort Ridgely, 
Minnesota, down to Fort duelling at the mouth of the Minnesota River. It was 
located on the west bank of the Red River, just north of the 46th parallel of 
north latitude, and about twenty-five miles north of the headwaters of the Red, 
which is formed by two streams named Otter Tail and the Bois de Sioux. The 
post was built under the direction of Lieut. -Col. John J. Abercrombie, for whom it 
appears to have been named. Logs were the material used in its construction. 
It was a two company post. The fort was the practical head of navigation on the 
Red River during favorable seasons. Gen. Alfred Sully, who later won distinc- 
tion in Dakota in the campaigns against the Sioux in 1863 and 1864, was stationed 
at Abercrombie shortly after the completion of the post, and marched across the 
plains with his company in 1858, to old Fort Pierre; returning to Fort Ridgely 
the year following. 

At the time of the Little Crow outbreak in the Yellow Medicine country, Min- 
nesota, in August, 1862, Fort Abercrombie was garrisoned by a portion of the 
Fifth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, the regular troops having all been sent 
south for service with the forces who were then contending for the preservation 
of the Union against the armies of the Southern Confederacy. Fort Abercrombie 
lay almost directly in the path of the thousands of fleeing savages who were being 
pursued from the headwaters of the Minnesota River country by Sibley's troops. 
The pioneer settlers from a large section in the western part of Minnesota sought 
refuge at the fort at this time, though hundreds were killed before reaching it. 
The settlement of Breckinridge, some twenty miles south of the fort, on the 
Minnesota side, was deserted save by a few who sought to barricade one of the 
best buildings and defend themselves. They were, nevertheless, assailed by an 
overwhelming force of the hostiles, all killed, their bodies mutilated, and the town 
partially destroyed. The fort was besieged by the same merciless foe, and from 
about the 20th of August until the same date in September, the soldiers and set- 
tlers gathered there had almost daily conflicts with the savages who attempted 
to capture the fort and slaughter its inmates. About the 20th of the latter 
month substantial reinforcements arrived from Fort Snellihg under Captain Ernie] 
Buerger. The hostile Indians then abandoned the siege and pursued their way to 
the Cheyenne Valley and on to Devil's Lake, where they spent the winter. A 
portion of these Indian refugees found their way to the Chippewa lands on tin- 
Lower Red River, and were pursued and many captured by General Sibley. In 
this terrible crisis which for a time depopulated the frontiers of Minnesota ami 
Dakota, Fort Abercrombie gave a good account of itself, and proved its inestima 
ble value in succoring hundreds of helpless settlers and many women and children 
included, from massacre. Abercrombie was abandoned as a military post in 1877, 
and the improvements disposed of to homesteaders of the surrounding country. 

STEAMBOAT! NG ON I II I RED Kl\ I R 

The era during which steamboating flourished on the Red River of the North 
began two or three years earlier than the beginning of the same industry on the 
Upper Missouri River and flourished in the American waters of thai stream a 
temporaneously with the period of activity on the Missouri, the industry rapidly 
declining in the early years of the decade beginning in [880. The inception of 
the industry on Red River, south of Pembina, was in the year [859 or [860, when 
the steamboat Anson Northrup, buill al or near Fori Abercrombie, expressl) for 
the shallow waters of the Upper Red River, and owned and op< 1 tted by An 
Northrup. its builder, made a trip From Abercrombie to I orl Garry and return. 



ss 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



The voyage down occupied twenty days. The boat carried freight and passen- 
gers, and at that time, owing to gold discoveries in British Columbia, there was 
quite an encouraging amount of travel out of the frontier settlement of St. Paul 
for the Red River country, many going out with the Red River cart-trams which 
made regular trips from St. Paul to Pembina. The Northrup was sold the 
i ing year to I. C. & II. C. Burbank, prominent in that day as the proprietors 
of Minnesota stage lines. The name of the Northrup was changed to that of 
the I loneer, and after some needed remodeling, it was put into service and proved 
a profitable venture. In 1861 the second steamboat was built at Georgetown, 
and named the International : Capt. Norman W. Kittson was her commander, and 
may have been the owner. Kittson was a capable man, and well acquainted with 
the' river, and the inhabitants of the country, chiefly Chippewa Indians and half- 
breeds. Kittxm. however, spoke their language fluently, which accomplishment 
coupled with his tine address and genial manners, made him a popular character in 
such an important position. Citizens from the southern portion of the territory 
had occasion to visit the Red Valley during the early '60s, and on official political 
missions, and spoke of their acquaintance with the commodore as one of the 
pleasing memories of their journey. The Indian troubles, however, seriously in- 
terfered with business. The Indians along the river complained that the whistles 
of the boats frightened their game away; and at the same period the troubles 
that culminated in the Little Crow war of 1862 were beginning to have a detri- 
mental effect on the freighting and passenger business through this exposed 
region. Navigation of the river by steamboats was nearly abandoned for a brief 
time; but in [864 the Indian troubles quieted down and the International made 
one trip that year to Fort Garry, and thereafter and until 1870, there appears to 
been no further effort to increase the commerce of the stream, though the 
boats then in commission were kept employed. In 1871, the steamboat Selkirk 
was built for Hill & Griggs, with Alex Griggs as master. The Mr. Hill of the 
firm is presumed to be Air. James J. Hill, who has since achieved renown as the 
railway king of the entire country. He was then getting acquainted with the 
transportation business. The Selkirk was a success, and soon added the former 
Pioneer and International to its line, so that the firm controlled a small fleet and 
did a thriving business. In the meantime the steamboat Manitoba had been built 
in [874 at Winnipeg, the name of the town that had sprung into existence near the 
site of Fort < iarry, and the capital of the Province of Manitoba. Another vessel 
named the Minnesota was put in commission in 1875. In 1876 Commodore Kitt- 
son bought both the Manitoba and Minnesota, and a new company was then 
organized called the Red River Transportation Company, and their steamboats 
wire called the Kittson Line, and included the International, Captain Painter; the 
Selkirk, Capt. John Griggs; the Manitoba, Capt. Alex Griggs; the Minnesota, 
Captain Timeus; the Qakota, Captain Seigers; and the Alphia, Captain Russell. 
1 1" the old Pioneer boat built by Mr. Northrup was in this fleet, it was steaming 
around under a new title. In 1872 the Northern Pacific Railroad had reached 
Moorhead, Minnesota, on the Red River, and that point became the head of navi- 
gation and the transfer point from the railroad to the steamboats for passengers 
and freight destined for the Red River settlements as far down as Winnipeg. 

[876 the transportation business had increased enormously, with the com- 
pletion of the shortening of the route by river and cutting off the portion of the 
stream which had presented the greatest obstacles to navigation. But the increase 
of tonnage and passengers had kept up with the increased facilities for carrying it, 
and the Kittson Line was abundantly patronized and proved a very lucrative enter- 
prise for the owners as well as an important factor in the growth and settlement of 
the country. 

I hi . as a rule, towed from two to a dozen barges all laden with 

merchandise, and in later years the volume of goods to be carried north increased 

1 extent that the boats continued running until the ice closed the stream, and 

when this occurred there would be waiting for shipment a thousand or fifteen 






r > 

3 W 






H 




HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 89 

hundred tons destined for the lower river as far north as Fort Garry. The trans- 
portation of these helated supplies to their destination was performed during the 
winter by teams. The tonnage of the Red River during these active years was 
given in round numbers at 60,000 tons per annum. But ils days were numbered. 
The St. Paul & Pacific continued the construction of its line from Crookston 
north, and reached the international boundary at St. Vincent, on the Minnesota 
side of the Red, in 1878, where it joined with the Canadian Pacific which had been 
built up to the boundary from Winnipeg, and thereafter the railways monopolized 
the carrying trade of the Red River. 

In this connection it will not be out of place to note the first adventure in 
transporting supplies by way of the Minnesota and Red rivers, to the Pembina 
settlement. 

An incident connected with its earliest navigation in 1820 is made the subject 
of a brief sketch by General Sibley, which he furnished the Historical Society of 
Minnesota. The sketch tells of a trip from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to 
Pembina, with Mackinaw boats : 

In 1820, on the 15th day of April, three Mackinaw boats, manned with six hands each, 
laden with 200 bushels of wheat, 100 bushels of oats, and thirty bushels of peas, under the 
charge of Messrs. Graham and Laidlaw, left Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi 
River, for Selkirk's colony on the Red River of the North. They were detained by ice at 
Lake Pepin, and the crews planted the Maypole thereon. On the 3d of May the ice was 
sufficiently broken up to allow the passage of the boats through the lake. The voyage was 
continued up the Minnesota River to Big Stone Lake, from which a portage was made into 
Lake Traverse, about one and a half miles distant, the boats being drawn across on wooden 
rollers. Traversing the latter body of water and descending the Sioux Wood River to the 
Red River, the party arrived at Pembina in safety, with their charge, on the 3d day of 
June. Pembina was at that time a small hamlet, the rival companies of the Northwest and 
Hudson's Bay having each a trading post at the confluence of the Pembina River with the 
Red River, but on opposite sides of the former. The crop at Selkirk's colony having entirely 
failed the previous year, the grain was much needed for seed the ensuing season, and, of 
course, commanded a high price. The trip performed in these boats is worthy of mention, 
as it is the only instance of heavy articles being transported the entire distance from Prairie 
du Chien to the Red River settlements, with the exception of the portage between Big 
Stone and Traverse lakes, by water. The party returned across the plains, on foot, as far 
as Big Stone Lake, from which point they descended to Prairie du Chien in canoes. 

PUBLIC LAND SURV1 \s 

The first public land surveys in the Red River of the North country were 
made by M. K. Armstrong, in 1867, who was selected by Surveyor General Tripp 
to perform the important work. It became necessary, before the work of town- 
shipping and subdividing was done, to extend the eleventh, and establish the 
twelfth, thirteenth, 'fourteenth and fifteenth standard parallels north, and extend 
the seventh guide meridian from the seventh standard parallel to the international 
boundary through the country ceiled by the Red Lake and Pembina hands of 
Chippewa Indians in 1864, in order to reach the locality of Pembina, which was 
presumed to he aboul two miles south of the international boundary, as astro- 
nomically established in 1S23, by .Major Long, United States topographical engi- 
neer. Armstrong was further instructed to run and define the international 
boundary for a distance of forty miles wesl along the 411th parallel from the 
post on the west hank of Red River placed 1>\ Major Long, It was the most 
important work that had ever devolved on the Dakota office, and the execution 
of the work involved all the hazards incident to an unexplored wilderness in- 
habited by a race of savage people. 

Air. Armstrong selected his assistants and procured his outfit at Yankton. In 
his company were Samuel .Morrow, Thomas A. Mcl.eese. Louis Frick and William 
Brewster. The party started on its journey overland June 15th, taking a din 
tion north by east, passing near Sioux Falls, thence up the Big Sioux, and .irross 
to the headwaters of the Red River, thence to fort Ahercromhie, where the first 
halt was made, and where it remained a few days resting and making final prep- 






HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



arations for its important duties. Leaving Abercrombie, they could not expect 
el with a white man or a semblance of civilization until they entered the 
Pembina settlement. Settlements at that time had extended but a very few miles 
north or east of the Missouri River in Dakota. While encountering many diffi- 
culties, suffering some privations and experiencing many exciting adventures, 
nearly devoured at times by myriads of mosquitoes and buffalo gnats, the pur- 
pose of their long journey was successfully accomplished, and they returned to 
homes in November following, with their scalps on, which it may be added, 
ibout ill they did have on. They had traveled 600 miles across the trackless 
prairies of Dakota, traversing the territory from its extreme southern boundary 
northernmost limit, walking the entire distance, and were probably the only 
human beings of any race who have made the journey through the Dakotas afoot. 
The party met with no disturbance from the Indians, enjoyed a number of thrill- 
ing occasions chasing the American bison, upon whose meat, in the form of 
pemmican, when obtainable in the chase, they mainly subsisted. The members of 
the party bad made good use of their opportunity to observe the natural features 
of the country, and were able to give the settlers on the Missouri border the 
assurance that Dakota was a vast domain of fertility, that would some day pro- 
duce sufficient food products to supply the inhabitants of the United States with 
their bread and meat. 

Regarding the character of the country, Armstrong says: 

This portion of Dakota is in reality a timbered region. I ran a line seventeen miles 
long through a heavy forest of oak, ash, birch and whitewood. These woods abound with 
1m ar, moose and wolves in the way of game, and as for fruit, strawberries, cherries and 
cranberries grow in profusion. The birds of the forest are here, the blue-jay, the pigeon, 
and the mocking bird being seen daily in the woods. 

Concerning the people of the Pembina region, Air. Armstrong wrote: 

I here were a great many, and they lived on pounded buffalo meat, or "pemmican," 
and called themselves "plain hunters." They make their annual summer visits to the plains 
with horses, oxen, carts, and families to procure meat and robes, and return late in the 
i.ill to live in their thatched-roof log houses on Pembina River, of which the woods are 
filled for sixteen miles below St. Joe. This pemmican trade is like our fisheries, and is 
carried on almost as extensively, 300 carts sometimes going out in one train. The pemmican 
is made by drying and stripping the buffalo meat, then threshing the same with a flail, like 
wheat, till broken into fine shreds; the tallow of the buffalo is then heated to a liquid and 
poured onto the meat, and the whole mixed with a wooden shovel, like mortar for plastering, 
and the entire compound, with berries and other fruits, is then shoveled into a sack of raw 
buffalo hide, which, when cooled, becomes as hard as wood and has to be cut or shaved off 
with an a\e for cooking. This is the food our party has been living on for the last six 
and 1 must say that when dished up "in style" with onions, potatoes and flour, salt 
and pepper, it is very nutritious, and a palatable food. This, with black tea, maple sugar, 
and rather hard-shelled bread, completes a northern meal. 

foi the means of transportation, large wooden wheel carts, tireless and with unhanded 

hubs, harnessed with rawhide to an ox or horse, constitutes a team, so much so that the 

are all three tracked cart trails, making them very tiresome for two horses. During 

my survey 1 have had some Crec and French half-breeds with me and two of these ox-carts. 

and 11 would make a while man look wild to see these two-wheeled things go through the 

through brush, tumbling over logs, and fallen trees, and plunging down 

dinks, sometimes both ox and half-breed under the cart, and the next moment 

coming up all righl on the other side. As for myself, I stopped riding in these northern 

sulkies after my first effort in crossing a creek, when I was thrown, compass and all, high 

jhboring tree. 

are among the happiest in the world. Tf they only have enough 

nd 1 ml hips are all the same to (hem, and after their day's labor 

they build a blazing camp fire and with the. iron kettle for a 

im, '' mi their Indian dance and song for hours, and when they retire for the 

neel by their beds and go through with the Catholii prayer. The Catholic religion 

I among the people here. They have a church at St. Joe, and there 

Sabbath. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 91 

THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY LINE 

In prosecuting this work, .Mr. Armstrong found by actual measurement that 
the 49th parallel crossed the Red River about one and one-half miles north of 
the boundary established by Major Long, leaving the Hudson's Bay posl within 
the United States. The improvements were not again disturbed at this time. 
The situation was explained to the United States authorities and the British am- 
bassador at Washington, whereupon it was tacitly agreed to permit the com- 
pany to continue business, foreseeing that the day was rapidly approaching when 
the company would abandon the post in any event. This post was the one taken 
by Riel's rebels a year or two later, and resulted in a case in court al Pembina 
and the liberation of Riel's followers. Armstrong's report led to a further and 
more accurate astronomical survey by the War Department in 1870, when Captain 
Heap, A. A. A., after the most careful observations with the best equipment ob- 
tainable, planted the boundary monument one mile and 683 feet north of the old 
oak post which Major Long had set to define the line, and about 400 feet south 
of Armstrong's line. Armstrong's measurements were unquestionably correct, 
but a parallel of latitude is not located by the surveyor's chain. The proximity 
of the measured line with that fixed by the astronomer entirely satisfied both gov- 
ernments that the correct boundary had been found and marked, near enough to 
the imaginary circle for all practical purposes. The boundary was, several years 
later, marked by iron posts between the Lake of the Woods and the Rockv 
Mountains. 

RED RIVER ELECTIONS 

Mr. Armstrong attended one of the far-famed "Red River Elections." the 
regular territorial election, held at St. Joseph, October 8, 1867. He left his work 
in the field, nine miles away, in order to be a personal witness of an event which 
had decided one or more territorial elections in Minnesota, and certainly one in 
Dakota. Of the visit he wrote: "Two hundred and fifty votes were polled at 
St. Joseph, mostly all in the morning before I reached the polls, and about thirty 
at Pembina." 

The voting population of the Pembina district was a much mooted question 
at that time and for some time later. Prior to the admission of Minnesota into 
the Union in 1858, the Pembina district formed a lanje part of the Territory of 
Minnesota and contributed several hundred votes at each territorial election to 
the ticket, and when the country became a part of the Territory of Dakota there 
was only a slight, if any, diminution of its vote, which biennially disturbed the 
calculations of Dakota's candidates for Congress, who, being Southern Dako- 
tans, were separated from their northern constituents on the Pembina River 
by at least a thousand miles by the nearest practicable route, which was by way 
of St. Paul. It was the Red River vote that decided the contest for delegate to 
Congress between Todd and Jayne, unseating the latter in 1864, after he had 
occupied the place for more than a year. It was the Red River vote that led 
Congress to decide that Indian land was not an Indian reservation within the 
meaning of the organic act, unless it had been specifically reserved by treaty. 

All this, however, was before the d.i\ of the settlement of that country by 
legitimate immigration of citizens of the United States. In the late '60s the 
Chippewa treatj bad been made and this state of political affairs began to correct 
itself. A judicial districl had been formed for the northern pari of the territory, 
anil the United States courl established with Pembina as its seat, and by 1870 
the people began to observe the written law without protest. 

RED RIVER C01 1 IKS 

Under the proclamation of Governor Jayne, issued in [861, calling the first 
election held in the Territory of Dak Red Rivet counti made a 



92 HISTORY OF DAKOTA CERRITORY 

pari of the First Council District, extending from the mouth of the Big Sioux 
River on the south to the international boundary line, taking in the settlements at 
Pembina and St. Joseph, and also those at Sioux Falls and below, including that 
portion afterwards included in Cole County. This was the First Council District, 
extending the entire length of the territory, distance about 450 miles, and given 
two councilmen. The western boundary was the range line dividing ranges 50 
and 51. It is now the dividing line between Union and Clay counties. 

All that portion of the territory lying on the Red River of the North, includ- 
ing the settlements at Pembina and St. Joseph, was made the Third Representative 
District and given one representative. The election in 1861 at Pembina Precinct 
was held at the home of Charles LeMay, and James McFetridge, Hugh Donaldson 
and Charles LeMay were appointed judges of election. At St. Joseph the elec- 
tion was held at the house of Baptiste Shorette, and the judges of election were 
Charles Bottineau, Baptiste Shorette and Antoine Zangrean (or Gingras). The 
election was held on the 16th of September, 1861, and Hugh S. Donaldson was 
elected representative. James McFetridge was a candidate for councilman, and 
received all the votes at Pembina and St. Joseph, nearly 200, but was not voted 
for in the precincts at Sioux Falls, Elk Point and Big Sioux, and the certificates 
of election to the two councilmen voted for in that district were given by the 
governor of the territory, to whom the returns were made and who canvassed the 
vote, in Austin Cole, of Big Sioux Point, and W. W. Brookings, of Sioux Falls. 
McFetridge, however, appeared at Yankton at the opening of the first session, 
and filed his claim to the seat held by Brookings, but no contest was made, the 
matter being arranged, outside the council, by an agreement to give to Red River 
an independent, or separate, council and representative district, with one council- 
man and two representatives, and such a law was passed at this session in words 
following : 

That all that portion of the territory lying on the Red River, including the settlements 
of Pembina and St. Joseph, shall constitute the Seventh Council District of the Territory 
of Dakota, and shrill be entitled to one councilman and two representatives in the Legislative 
Assembly of the Territory. 

At the second session of the Legislature, 1S62-63, the said Seventh district 
was represented by James McFetridge in the council, and PI ugh S. Donaldson 
and I. Y Buckman in the House of Representatives. 

At the firsl session of the Legislature, held in March, 1862, a law- was en- 

1 '1 defining the boundaries of four counties bordering the Red River and ex- 
tending from the international boundary south to the north line of Deuel County, 
which was on township line number 124 north of range 53 east. The names of 
these counties were Kittson, beginning at the 49th parallel and extending south 
sixty miles, or through ten townships, where it was joined by Chippewa County, 
embracing also ten townships, or sixty miles further south; then came Stevens 

mty, 1 mbracing a like number of townships; and last, the County of Cheyenne, 
whose southern boundary was the north line of Deuel County.' The western 
boundary of all thi -< counties was the west line of range 62; the eastern boundary, 
the Red River. Kittson County, the. farthest north, in which the towns or settle- 
ment- of Pembina and St. Joseph were situated, appears to have been the only 
of the four in which there were any settlements of white people at that time, 
and very few were citizens of the United States. The act defining the boundaries 
of the counties named St. Joseph as the temporary county seat of Kittson, and 
another enactment incorporated the Town of St. Joseph, authorizing the citizens 
i for their governing body a town council, and naming John B. Wilkie as 
1 -1 president of said town. 

The ( ounty of Kittson was organized the same year by the governor, who 
appointed .1 the board of county commissioners Norman W. Kittson, Charles 
LeMay and Baptiste Shorette, which board met at St. Joseph in Tune, 1862, and 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 93 

completed the organization, appointing Charles Morian as register of deeds 
and county cleric, and Joe Rolette, sheriff. 

No representative from the Red River for either house appeared at the capital 
during the session of the Legislature of 1863-64, the third session, although un- 
der the law above quoted the Seventh district was plainly entitled to one council- 
man and two representatives. No record was known of any election being held 
either at St. Joseph or Pembina, in 1863, when the members of the Legislative 
Assembly throughout the territory were elected. The Indian war was at full tide 
during the war, and Sibley's expedition had overrun the northern portion of 
the territory, and the presumption was that no attention was given to political 
matters in Kittson County. 

The contest for the seat of delegate from Dakota between Todd and Jayne, 
which had been before Congress during 1863, had served to make public the 
character of the Red River vote, and the fact that the Indian title to the soil of 
that section had not been extinguished. The minority report of the committee 
in that case, supporting the Jayne side of the controversy, was mainly devoted 
to the fraudulent character of the Red River vote, as upon the admission or re- 
jection of that vote depended the result of the contest. The majority report had 
counted the full vote of the Red River precincts, St. Joseph and Pembina, giving 
125 votes for Todd and 19 for Jayne. The minority report said: 

First, the census taken about one year prior to the election, showing that in the whole 
Red River country there were of white males but fifty-one, and of these over the age of 
twenty-one but forty-two. 

From the testimony of Joseph V. Buckman, taken March 11, 1863, before 
Hon. W. F. Purcell, judge of the Orphans' Court in the District of Columbia, on 
notice duly given, both parties being present at the examination, the contestant, 
however, under protest and objecting to the jurisdiction of Judge Purcell to take 
the testimony. This testimony shows that there were but six white persons, 
native-born and naturalized, present at the St. Joseph precinct on the day of 
election. The witness had been an Indian trader and postmaster at Pembina for 
several years; was well acquainted, and swears that he did not think that more 
than ten or twelve white persons were present on the day of election, and of this 
number there were but three who were native-born citizens of the United States, 
and three others who claimed to be naturalized, and none who had made declara- 
tion to become citizens; that forty-six or forty-eight votes were cast for delegate 
at the election ; that the excess over the number of legal voters present was cast 
by illegal voters, mostly half-breeds; and that there was added to the vote cast, 
after the close of the polls, a little over one hundred votes. 

It is probable that in the face of these disclosures by Buckman, who had 
been elected to the Legislature of Dakota by the same vote, but whose title was 
not contested, the sentiment of the law-abiding Red River people was averse to 
further elections until after the treaty of cession with the Chippewas was con- 
cluded, and this treat}' had already been practically agreed upon. It will be set n, 
however, that Congress recognized the vote of that section to the fullest extent. 
The majority report, known as the Dawes report, which gave the seal to Todd, 
held that the testimony of Buckman, being taken after the time for taking depo- 
sitions had expired, must be excluded. No criticism was made of the reliability 
of the testimony. Regarding the claim that the vote was illegal and void because 
the Indian title to the country had not been extinguished, the majority report 
he'd that the prdvisions of the organic act governing this matter did not apply 
"to territory upon which Indians may happen to be living, but only to such por- 
tions as are held by tribes under or by virtue of treaties defining boundaries and 
stipulating foT exclusive jurisdiction to be exercised by the tribe holding them." 

No such treaty existed covering any portion of the election precinct in Kitt- 
son County, and therefore the vote could not be excluded for 1l1.1t rea 



HIST! )RY ' IF DAKi >l \ I ERRIT< >RY 

The Red River country had participated for a number of years in the terri- 
torial of Minnesota prior to the organization of Dakota Territory, and 
this fact weighed in favor of the recognition of the vole cast there in 1862 which 
■ gave it. for to exclude it as fraudulent might have been taken as 
an indirect reflection upon the former government of a sister state. 

In view of the political condition of the Red River country as shown by the 
disclosures made in the Todd Jayne contest, the Legislative Assembly of the terri- 
. hi, h convened in December, (863, took official notice thereof, and quite 
early in the session bills were introduced in both houses for the repeal of the 
laws creating the Seventh Council and Representative District, and also the act 
establishing the counties of Kittson, Cheyenne, Stevens and Chippewa. The 
House bill passed that body the first week of the session, but was not approved 
by the Council, where a bill for the same purpose had been introduced and was 
being considered by the Committee on Elections, which committee reported 
favorably, accompanying its report with a statement of the reasons governing- 
its recommendation, from which statement the following paragraph is taken: 

The fact that the counties of Kittson, Chippewa. Cheyenne and Stevens were created 
on domain from which the Indian title had not heen extinguished, and consequently not 
under the executive, legislative or judicial jurisdiction of our territorial laws and courts, is 
of sufficient importance to justify the repeal of the statutes creating them. The further fact 
that representatives from the Red River districts, when residing in the territory comprised 
in these counties are not amenable to the laws they themselves aid in enacting, is a sufficient 
cause for denying them any participation in the enactment of such laws. The fact that they 
enjoy a total immunity from taxation, and from the provisions of all general laws enacted 
by the Territorial Legislature, of itself sufficiently denies the justice and equity of any claim 
to representation in this law-making body On an equality with the members from other 
districts. 

The report also recommended that the Legislature memorialize the President 
in behalf of an early treaty with the Chippewa Indians, in order to open the 
Red River country to settlement, and admit its settlers to the enjoyment of their 
political rights and to the advantages and protection of the territorial laws. The 
report also alludes to the diversity of the commercial and social interests existing 
between the northern and southern sections of the territory, thus early recogniz- 
ing a situation which was revealed when the northern section became settled. 

The Council bill passed by a three-fourths vote; the House also passed it, and 
the governor approved it. having the Red River country in the same political 
situation it held prior to the organization of the territory. No further action was 
garding Red River matters at this session, nor at the following session in 
r864-65; ''tit in the Council in 1865-66, Mr. Turner introduced a" bill to re- 
establish the counties of Kittson, Cheyenne, Stevens and Chippewa. This bill 
was amended in committee by striking out these several names and inserting the 
name "Pembina" in lieu thereof, and thus amended the bill passed the Council, 
but was defeated in the House mar the close of the session. 

The treaty with the Sioux Indians at Rake Traverse in 1851 ceded a portion 
of the R«<1 River country, beginning at the junction of Buffalo River 1 north of 
Moorhead, Minnesota 1 with the Red River of the North, thence along the western 
bank of the said Red River of the North to the mouth of the Sioux Wood River; 
, along the western bank of Sioux Wood River to Lake Traverse; thence 
along the western slope of said lake to the southern extremity thereof; thence 
in a direct line to the junction of Kampeska Rake with Tchan-kas-an-data, or 
lig Sioux. River; thence along the western bank of said river to its point of 
intersection with the northern line of the State of Iowa, including all the islands 
in said river and laki 

I he treaty made with the Red Lake and Pembina hands of Chippewa Indians 
in [863 ceded to the United States a large area of land in Minnesota and in Da- 
kota Territory, "beginning oi Red River at the mouth of the Wild Rice River 
111 Mil up the main channel of the Red River to the mouth of the 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 95 

Cheyenne ; thence up the main channel of the Cheyenne River to Poplar Grove : 
thence in a direct line to the Place of Stumps, otherwise called Lake Chicot ; 
thence in a direct line to the head of the main branch of Salt River; thence in a 
direct line due north to the point where such line intersects the international 
boundary aforesaid; thence eastward along said boundary to the place of be- 
ginning. (This place of beginning was on the international boundary line in 
Minnesota where the said boundary line intersects the Lake of the Woods.) This 
treaty, owing to amendments made by the United States Senate, was not com- 
pleted until 1867. This treaty freed a large area of the Red River country of the 
Indian title extending from the international boundary south to the sources of 
Red River. 

PEMBINA COUNTY 

At the session of the Legislature of 1866-67 a ^ avv was enacted to establish 
the County of Pembina and for other purposes, also creating the Seventh Repre- 
sentative District, and giving to that district one representative in the House, and 
at the following session in 1867-68 a Red River representative from Pembina 
County appeared at the capitol in the person of Hon. Enos Stutsman, formerly 
of Yankton County, who had already served nearly three terms in the Council. 
Mr. Stutsman had been appointed revenue agent by the federal authorities in 
1866, and in the course of his official duties had visited the custom house at Pem- 
bina where he was so favorably impressed by the country and its prospects that 
he became a citizen of the county. His selection for representative was a fortu- 
nate one for the northern part of the territory. He was elected speaker of the 
House, and during the session succeeded in having passed a number of memorials 
to Congress for the benefit of the northern part of the territory, among them one 
calling for a United States land office at Pembina, which was established two 
years later. A memorial asking for a division of the territory on the 46th parallel 
was passed at this session. 

The Pembina district was represented by Mr. Stutsman at the following ses- 
sion, 1868-69, during which a new apportionment of legislative members was 
made giving to the Seventh district one councilman and one representative. Pem- 
bina County was also made a part of the Third Judicial District of the territory. 

A memorial to Congress asking for a division of the territory on the 46th 
parallel of north latitude was passed at this session. 

At the election in 1869 Enos Stutsman was elected councilman and John Han- 
cock elected representative, but as Congress had provided for biennial sessions 
of the Legislature, the next Legislative Assembly did not convene until December. 
1870. At the convening of this session (December, 1870) it was manifest that the 
Red River country had made notable advances in population and settlement and 
was beginning not only to attract immigration but was seen to be the active held 
of great commercial enterprises. The Northern Pacific Railway had been under 
construction through the State of Minnesota (hiring the year past, and promised 
to enter the Territory of Dakota within the next twelve months. Already a 
vanguard of settlers had preceded it. I luring this session the 1 'ounty of Pembina 
was given new boundaries, as follows: 

Beginning at the northeast corner of Deuel County on the fort) sixth parallel of north 
latitude; thence north along the western boundary of the State of Minnesota rth- 

east corner of the Territory of Dakota: thence west along the international line 

to the ninth guide meridian; thence south along said meridian to th< th parallel 1 

north latitude; thence cast along said parallel to thi place of beginning. 

The ninth guide meridian passed just west of Devil's I ake and south through 
the center of Stutsman County. The boundaries of Pembina County as thus de- 
fined enclosed about one-half of the northern part of the territory ea-t of the Mis 
souri River. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

A new apportionment of members of the Legislature was made at this legis- 
oi [870-71, which gave to Pembina County one councilman and 
presentative. Pembina County was also constituted a part of the Third Ju- 
dicial 1 listrict of the territory and a district court ordered to be held at the Town 
of Pembina on the first Tuesday in June and September of each year. An act 
ed authorizing the county commissioners of Pembina County to raise 
j to build a jail at Pembina. ' Memorials were passed asking for the organ- 
ization of a new territory in the northern portion of Dakota; also to increase mail 
service from Abercrombie to Pembina to six times a week; also to remove obstruc- 
tions in the Red River of the North; also for an appropriation for a suitable build- 
in- fur a United States land office, custom house, post office and United States 
court ai Pembina; also to remove the Chippewa Indians to White Earth Agency. 

hi [872 Eno's Stutsman was elected to the Territorial Council from the 
Seventh Legislative District, and Judson LaMoure, of Pembina, was elected to 
the House of Representatives. During this year the Northern Pacific Railroad 
had been graded and the iron laid across the territory from the Red River prac- 
tically to the Missouri. Mr. Stutsman was elected president of the Council at 
the convening of the Legislature at Yankton in December, 1872. A Mr. Stone, 
of Fargo, entered a contest for Stutsman's seat on the ground that he had received 
the highest number of votes in the Seventh district, but soon after withdrew his 
claim and left the capital. At this session a large number of new counties were 
added to the map and for the first time in the history of the territory every por- 
tion of its area, including the Indian reservations, was enclosed within county 
boundaries. 

Along the Red River the boundaries of Pembina County were re-defined, and 
the counties of Grand Forks, Cass and Richland were carved out of the former 
Pembina, together with a number adjoining them on the west. The new boun- 
daries of Pembina County were thus given: 

Section 1. That all that district of country included within the following boundary 
lim>. to wit: beginning at the northeast corner of the Territory of Dakota, on the forty- 
ninth parallel of north latitude; thence running west on said parallel of latitude to a point 
where the same is intersected by the eighth guide meridian: thence running south on said 
guide meridian to its intersection with the fourteenth standard parallel; thence running east 
on -aid fourteenth standard parallel to the western boundary line of the State of Minnesota; 
and thence northerly on the said boundary of said state to the point of beginning, shall be, 
and the same is hereby declared to be, and is constituted the County of Pembina, "the county 
seat of which shall be and is hereby located at the Town of Pembina, and the' county and pre- 
cinct officers elected for Pembina County, at the last election, who shall qualify according to 
law, shall be the county and precinct officers of Pembina County, save in such case where a 
vacancy in either of such offices may be created by the provisions of this act, in which case 
such vacancy shall lie rilled by appointment by the majority of the board of county com- 
missioners of said county. 



-mm k i ■ 




i « .« Tumi* 

^Miiininn 





STEAMEK SELKIRK 
Floating palace oi the Red River oi the North. Built in L871 




\l.n\i. tIG -l"i \ i;i\ 1:1; AT SI01 \ FALLS 



CHAPTER XIII 

SIOUX FALLS AND BIG SIOUX VALLEY 
1857-60 

SIOUX FALLS, MEDARY AND FLANDREAU — EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS — DUBUQUE AND 

ST. PAUL COMPANIES LOCATE TOWNSITES IN 1857 DRIVEN OFF BY YANK- 

TONNAIS INDIANS; RETURN WITH REINFORCEMENTS AND A SAWMILL AND 

MAKE SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TWO TOWNSITES TAKEN AT THE FALLS 

PROMOTERS DESIGN TO ORGANIZE NEW TERRITORY AND' MAKE SIOUX FALLS THE 
CAPITAL HOLD ELECTION — LARGE VOTE POLLED J. P. KIDDER ELECTED DELE- 
GATE TO CONGRESS PROVISIONAL TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT SET UP — LEGIS- 
LATURE CONVENES AND PASSES MEMORIAL DELEGATE KIDDER REFUSED A SEAT 

AS DELEGATE DAKOTA DEMOCRAT PUBLISFIED INDIANS CONTINUE HOSTILE — 

MEDARY EVACUATED SIOUX FALLS PREPARES FOR DEFENSE JUDGE FLAN- 

DREAU'S LETTER AND MR. ALLBRIGHT's STATEMENT — W. W. BROOKINGS MAKES 

A STATEMENT DAKOTA CAVALRY MEET AND DEFEAT THE HOSTILE INDIANS 

IN THEIR FIRST BATTLE — GOVERNOR ORDERS EVACUATION OF THE FALLS SETTLE- 
MENT — THE OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY A PREMATURE ENTERPRISE. 

Iii the latter part of the summer of 1856, Dr. J. M. Staples of Dubuque, 
Iowa, while on a tour of the Upper Mississippi, obtained a copy of "Nicollet's 
Travels in the Northwest in 1839," in which was a description of the Big Sioux, 
called hy the Indians "Te-hau-kas-an-data," or the "Thick Wooded River." The 
doctor was immediately struck by Nicollet's graphic description of this favored 
region, and the land and town speculative fever at that time running high, he 
at once set about forming a company to secure so desirable a location. The 
refill was the organization of the Western Town Company of Dubuque, Iowa. 
composed of Dr. J. M. Staples, Mayor I letherington of Dubuque. Dennis 
Malioiu'v, editor of the Dubuque Herald: Austin Adams, afterward Judge 
Adams of the Iowa Supreme Court; George P. Waldron, William Tripp, \V. \Y. 
Brookings, Dr. J. L. Phillips, and possibly some others. 

In ( (etober following, Ezra Millard of Sioux Cily, later president of the 
First National Bank of Omaha, was employed by this company to go in quest 
of these remarkable falls and to make a townsite claim contiguous to diem of 
320 acres. Mr. Millard, in company with David M. Mills, also of or near Sioux 
City, started from this latter place in September, 1850, to explore the Big 
Sioux River and find these remarkable falls described by Nicollet. They were 
several days journeying along the Iowa side of the stream, examining it closely 
and following all of its multitudinous windings, apprehensive that the locality 
they were in search of was concealed in the woods and heavy underbrush that 
frequently dotted the margin of the river. At the expiration of the tenth day, 
as near as these explorers can estimate, they reached the summit of the bluff 
bordering the Sioux, about a mile below the island, where the greal falls of the 
Sioux and the beautiful wooded island near the foot of the cascades burst like 
a magnificent vision upon their view and fairly entranced them as they sat in 
their wagon and silently studied the splendors of the scene. They realized 
the lime that they had found one of Nature's grandest marvels, I'm would 
become famous among the scenic splendors of the world. 

97 

Vol. I— T 



98 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



These delightful sensations were, however, of brief duration, for even as 
they sat there drinking in the enchanting beauty of the scene, a band of red- 
skinned men, bedecked in the scant and hideous apparel of warriors, rose before 
them, and before our explorers could speak or had overcome a bit of their 
astonishment, two of the stalwart savages seized the horses by their bridles, 
wheeled them around with their backs to the magnificent picture, and, pointing 
south, spoke out in angry and sullen tones an order to the intruders to depart 
without a moment's lingering and go back where they came from. The situation 
was one thai appealed very strongly to discretion and not at all to valor. The 
discoverers did not need a second order. The flashing eyes, the fiercely sullen 
expression, and the stilled gruffness of the command to "go," uttered with 
clenched teeth and with threatening gestures, were evidences that the Indians 
would admit of no parleying — not a word was uttered in reply — not even a 
backward look — but urging their weary animals into a double-quick they did 
not halt in their journey southward until they reached Split Rock River, some 
twelve miles away, and here they were compelled from sheer exhaustion to 
camp and spend the cheerless night. Early the following morning they were 
ii]) and on the trail, and the second day after reached Sioux City, unimpaired 
in limb and loud in voicing the grandeur and value of their magnificent dis- 
covery, hut somewhat reticent regarding the abruptness of their departure. Mr. 
Mills appeared to have been of that mold who would not easily accept defeat, 
particularly when the reward was great and the risk no greater than the menace 
of a few angry Indians, and a few weeks later found him alone on the trail 
again, bound for the Falls of the Sioux, which he reached. Having no unpleasant 
experiences, as pioneers view it, he took up a claim and built a sort of cabin, 
where he says he resided for a year, but it is more probable that he took a 
vacation for the winter and returned to his home further down the river or 
at Sioux City. His name does not appear among the settlers who came in 
during the year following and who are all presumed to be mentioned in the 
records. 

Mills also took a personal claim, covering the northwest quarter of section 16, 
township mi, range 49, which included Brookings Island, and built himself a 
small 10 by 12 cabin on the island. (This land, the reader will understand, 
had been ceded by the Sioux treaty at Lake Travers and Mendota in 185 1 and 
was open to settlement.) 

In May. 1857, Jesse T. Jarrett, Barclay Jarrett, John McClellan. James 
Harwell and llalvor Oleson, employees of the Western Town Compaiiv of 
Dubuque, reached the falls. Jarrett (Jesse) was in charge of the partv," and 
they took up 320 acres bordering the falls in the name of the Western Townsite 
Company for townsite purposes. The tract selected for the townsite was de- 
cribed as the northeast quarter of section 16 and the northwest quarter of 
section 9, township [OIj ran g e 4<J> t0 which they gave the name of "Sioux 
Falls." 

In June folk, wing. Messrs. Franklin J. Dewitt, Alpheus G. Fuller, Sam A. 
Medary, Jr. 1 son of the governor of Minnesota Territory), J. K. Brown, W. K. 
Noble, E.. F. Brown, J. L. Fiske, Artemas Gale, Tames M. Allen, Tarries Mc- 
,Ir " 1 ' I ms, James McCall. William Settley and Arnold Merrill, repre- 

sent^ Anns and employees) the Dakota Land Company of St. Paul, 

to a point on the Minnesota River by steamboat— probably New Ulm— 
when they divided into two or three parties and pursued their journey over- 
bid to the Big Sioux River, the party headed by Dewitt striking the river 
farthest north, where they located and improved a townsite which they 
imed Medary Another party struck the river farther south and located the 
low-,, of Flandreau while the third party, headed by Smith and Fuller, with 
Noble Gale, Allen, Kilgore and Fiske, made their way to Sioux Falls arriving 
about June 20th, and were greatly surprised to find another party in possession, 
who had already made choice of and located the Dubuque company's townsite 




i^dtt 



i 



lllil j 'it jM 







■■^^^^■Ksn 




FIRS! CATARACT HOUSE, SIOUX FALLS, 1872 
Show ing the old stage coach 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 1)9 

However, the St. Paul people concluded to make the best of conditions, 
and selected the 320 acres immediately adjoining the "Sioux Falls" townsite, 
and gave the title of "Sioux Falls City" to their selection, the Dubuque peopli 
having appropriated the title of "Sioux Falls." 

This most important part of their mission accomplished — a townsite secured — 
the St. Paul people returned home, leaving their interests in charge of James L. 
Fiske and James McBride. There were five men in the Dubuque pari v. viz. : 
Jesse Jarrett, the superintendent; Barclay Jarrett, John McClellan, Farwell and 
Oleson, who with these two representatives of St. Paul, constituted a force of 
seven. These pioneers were then confronted with the growing antipathy of the 
Indians who had annoyed them by their presence and importunate attentions 
from their earliest arrival, 1ml in July their conduct betrayed symptoms of ex- 
treme ugliness which culminated in an order to the whites to abandon their settle- 
ment and leave the country, or they would be driven off. The Indians were much 
more numerous than the whites. They claimed that the land was theirs, that they 
had not been consulted when the alleged treaty was made and did not recognize 
it. It is supposed that "Drifting Goose," a Yanktonnais chief, was at the head 
of these belligerently inclined redskins. 1 [e was recognized years later as the 
leader of a serious trouble in the James River country. An attempt was made to 
pacify the Indians with presents of blankets, sugar and bacon, but the truce in- 
duced by this means was of short duration, and finally the palefaces were in- 
formed that they must leave "before another sunset" or there would be trouble 
of a serious character. The settlers had become convinced that the Indians 
had imbibed the war spirit, and as they were outnumbered and not prepared for 
a battle or even a safe defense, they concluded to evacuate the place, which they 
did, taking with them their property. The Indians did not molest their persons, 
and had evidently concluded that the best way to avoid a visit from the soldiers, 
which they dreaded, was to get rid of the whites without a resort to arms. The 
Dubuque party loaded their portable goods into skiffs, and returned by the Big 
Sioux and Missouri rivers to Sioux City. The St. Paul parties returned home. 
The Dubuque representatives reported the hostile attitude of the Indians to the 
officers of the Western Town Company, who urged them to make another effort, 
prepared to defend themselves at the point of a gun, and also to construct for- 
tifications that could afford protection in case the situation demanded it. It was 
the opinion of the leaders that the Indians would back down if they found that 
the whites were prepared to defend themselves. 

Accordingly, supplied with abundant provisions and weapons of defense, on 
the 23d day of August, 1857, [esse T. farrett, superintendent of the company, 
John McClellan, Dr. J. L. Phillips, \Y. W. Brookings, D. M. Mills, S. B. \twood, 
A. I.. Kilgore, Smith Kinsey, Mr. Godfrey, and James Callahan, all in the employ 
of the Western Town Company, reached the Falls from Sioux City, where they 
encamped, and began to make improvements upon the townsite which the com- 
pany had taken. They had with them a sawmill, and the necessary mechanic-.' 
tools for constructing buildings, with a span of horses and a number of oxen. A 
little later Dr. Staples, president of the company, arrived, and soon after he 
deposed Mr. Jarrett from the supcrintcndcncv, and appointed the voting attoi 
uey, Mr. Brookings, to the position, Brookings was then twenty-four years of 
age, and had displayed the qualities of enterprise, energy and courage that recom- 
mended him for the leadership. The first work performed was the construction 
of a building and the installment of the sawmill; then followed a good stone 
building and also a frame Store building. Indians annoyed them by running off 
their stock. Three dwelling houses were constructed. Parly in the fall lames 
M. Allen. William Little, lames w. Evans, lames p. Fiske, James McBride, 

lames Met 'all and ( '. Merrill, superintendent, representing the St. Paul CO 
"arrived, and these parties, with the Dubuque representatives, remained during 
the winter, during which season they erected a blockhouse near the island 



100 HISTORY m] DAKOTA TERRITORY 

l egislature of Minnesota Territory created the County of Big Sioux in 
1857, covering the same boundaries afterwards defined by a Dakota legislature as 
Minnehaha County, and also Midwaj ( ounty, adjoining on the north, with Me- 
dary, county seal, and in the year 1857 Governor Ramsey of Minnesota Territory 
appointed the following named officers for the new County of Big Sioux: County 
1 ommissioners, William Little, James McBride, A. L. Kilgore; register of deeds, 
lames M. Allen; sheriff, James Evans; judge of probate, James L. Fiske; district 
attorney, \\ . W, Brookings; justices of the peace, Dr. J. L. Phillips, James 
McCall. 

The Legislature of Dakota Territory at its first session in 1862 passed an act 
legalizing the official acts of Allen and McCall that had been performed after the 
State of Minnesota was admitted into the Union in 1858. 

Early in the summer of 1858 a band of Yanktonnais or Sisseton Indians, 
numbering about 100, appeared at Medary and demanded the immediate evacua- 
tion of the place. It is claimed that there were fourteen in the Medary party 
who remained there during the winter of 1857-58 and who built a few cabins 
and a blockhouse and began to prepare for farming in the spring of 1858. The 
Yanktonnais tribe, or a portion of it, had refused to recognize the treaty of cession 
made with the Sissetons and others, claiming that the Sioux Valley belonged 
to the whole Sioux Nation, and no tribe had any authority to cede it without the 
consent of all the tribes. These Indians had destroyed all the settlers' improve- 
ments in that portion of the valley, and informed the Medary people that they 
intended to burn their village, but would give them time to pack up their neces- 
sary raiment, and provision sufficient to last them until they could reach the white 
settlements in Minnesota. Major Franklin J. Dewitt, afterwards and for many 
years a prominent citizen of Yankton, was at Medary at this time, and was in 
favor of resisting the demands of the marauders; but the majority of the inhab- 
itants, numbering a dozen in all, having made no preparation for suitable defense 
or protection, and taken wholly by surprise, felt compelled to submit. The In- 
dians made no attempt to molest their persons, but burned the improvements that 
had been made, and then sent word to the settlers at Sioux Falls, by a half-breed 
Indian, demanding the immediate evacuation of the country; that they were on 
their way to the Falls and any white people found there would be driven off. 

There were between thirty and forty settlers at Sioux Falls at this time, and 
after a council of war in which all participated, including the lone woman, Mrs. 
Goodwin, they resolved to remain and fight it out. They immediately set to work 
and constructed a substantial fortification of logs and sod enclosing the Dakota 
Land Company's buildings, named it Fort Sod, and prepared for a siege; but the 
Indian^ did not appear, having doubtless heard of the preparations made to receive 
them, and abandoned their hostile expedition at Flandreau. The incident, how- 
ever, served to increase the uneasiness and anxiety prevalent among a portion 
of the people, and when the threatened war clouds drifted past, and the danger 
was over for the time, the Sioux Falls settlement lost nearly one-half its popu- 
lation. 

In 1858, the Sioux Falls colony was increased by the arrival of John Goodwin 
and his wife. Charles S. White and wife and daughter Ella; also Amos Dooley 
(or Duley 1 and wife, all from Minnesota. Mrs. Goodwin may be claimed as 
the firsi white woman to settle in Dakota. Later the same year William Stevens, 
with a number of others, came in. The Mr. Dooley and wife above named 
returned to Lake Shetek, Minnesota, the following year, and were all taken pris- 
oners by the Indians during the Little Crow massacre of 1862. Dooley was 
probably tomahawked and killed. His wife and one daughter were driven with 
other capti oss to the Missouri above Fort Pierre and ransomed in Decem- 

ber by Major Charles E. Galpin, brought to Yankton and sent back to Minnesota 
and Iowa. 

In the fall of 1858 the settlement was augmented by the arrival of Samuel 
Masters, of New York; I. I',. Greenway and wife, of Kentucky; George P. Wal- 




FIRST AND SECOND I IIIKl's OF THE 
MANDANS 



i HE} ENNE WARRIORS IN COl \<ll. 
COSTUME 




( EEYENNE \\ ARRIOE l\ I'l I.I. WAR 
i 0ST1 Mi: 



5101 \ SQ1 LWS CAPTURED FROM 
SITTING Bl 1. 1.. LS7-i 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 101 

dron and wife, two daughters and a son, from New England; and Margaret 
Callahan. Mr. Waldron being a member of the Western Townsite Company. J. 
B. Barnes and Miss Callahan were soon afterward married, which was the first 
wedding in Dakota. J. W. Amidon and family, Henry Masters and son Samuel, 
John Lawrence, George Frosphonridge, J. B. Barnes, A. G. Fuller, John Rouse 
and 1!. C. Fowler and wife reached there the same year. Fuller was a member 
of the Dakota Land Co. In 1859 these were joined by Amos F. Shaw, S. J. Al- 
bright with a newspaper plant. James W. Lynch, Jefferson P. Kidder and Samuel 
F. and N. R. Brown. 

The leading spirits in this Sioux Falls settlement were resourceful men of good 
ability and tireless energy, and the St. Paul parties represented some of the 
leading capitalists of New England. They were also backed by a number of the 
leading politicians of that day. The representatives of each company had come 
to Sioux Falls for the purpose of acquiring the water power and land adjoining 
in the interest of their companies, and to labor for the organization of the terri- 
tory with the view of making Sioux Falls the capital. The political situation in 
the United States at that time apparently favored their plans and they went to 
work as men always do when they feel that their success is well assured. 

They began in 1858 to make substantial improvements. W. W. Brookings had 
been appointed general manager of the interests of the Western Land Company 
and built a sawmill, a cornmeal grist mill and a stone dwelling. The Dakota Land 
Company built a large stone store building and a second stone building which was 
used for a printing office. The next important step taken by the Sioux Falls 
pioneers was a political movement. The settlers proceeded to organize what is 
called a provisional government for the purpose of promoting the early organi- 
zation of the territory and securing its capital at Sioux Falls City. An election 
was held in October, 1858, and prior thereto certain notices were issued and 
posted, as is the usual custom. The first notice for the election in 1858 read as 
follows : 

ELECTION NOTICE 

At a Mass Convention of the People of Pakota I erritory, held at the Town of Sioux 
Falls, in the County of Pig Sioux. September iStli, 1X5X, all portions of the Territory being 
represented, it was Resolved and Ordered that an Election should be held for Members to 
compose a Territorial Legislature. In pursuance of said Resolution, notice is hereby given 
that on Monday, the 4th day of October, next, at the house of (John Smith) * in the town 
of (Sioux balls.) in the County of Pig Sioux, an Election will be held for (two) Members 
of the Council; and (five) Members of the House of Representatives, for said Legislature. 
The polls will be opened at 9 o'clock in the morning and close at 4 o'clock in the afternoon 
of said day. 

The above notice would indicate that the plan at tbis time was to elect a 
Legislative Assembly only, the Legislature so elected to meet, elect a governor, 
and take steps to set the provisional government in motion. An election was duly 
held at Sioux Falls, but it is doubtful whether there was another poll opened in 
the territory, certainly none west of the Big Sioux. Encouraged by the precedent 
established at the time Wisconsin was admitted as a state, and its western con- 
nection left without a government, the Sioux Falls parties had some foundation 
for expecting the favorable recognition of Congress, and there was enough at 
stake to induce the Sioux Falls leaders to expend every effort that was made in 
behalf of their enterprise. 

Nearly a year later, or in [859, the prospect for recognition having possibly 
brightened, and possibly urged by the necessities of their situation, it was re- 
solved to hold a special election and a notice, of which the following is a copy, 
was published : 

TERRITORIAL CONVENTION 

\ convention of the Citizen of Dakota Territory will be held at the Dakota H 
Sioux Falls City, on Saturday the 3d day of September next, for the purpose of nominal 



* The wool, enclosed in parentheses indicate a blank, to be filled in a n required. 



[02 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

a Candidate for Delegate to represent the said Territory in the Congress of the United 
during the ( nsuing two years. 
ux Falls t T t % . August ioth, 1851 1. 

This was a territorial convention, and in accordance with the action thereof, 
Jefferson !'. Kidder, who had come into the colony from St. Paul in 1859, was 
duly nominated for delegate to Congress. 

I he next was an election notice, and the plans appear to have undergone some 
modification since [858, for now provision is made for the election of territorial, 
lative and county officers. This formal notice was issued: 

ELECTION Not ICE 

Notice is hereby given that on M< nday, the 12th day of September. 1859, at the several 
Election Precincts in the ( mint} ol LJi.u Sioux, an Election will be held for the following 
named officers, to-wit: A Governor; Secretary of the Territory: A Delegate to Congress; 
four Members of the House of Representatives; two Members of the Territorial Council; 
Judge of Probate, a District Attorney, three county Commissioners, a Sheriff, a Register of 
, a Count} Treasurer, a Coroner, two Justices of the Peace, two County Assessors, and 
two Constables. Election to lie held in the First Precinct at the Dakota House; Second 
Precinct at the house of Henry Mathers; Third Precinct at the House of Charles Philbrick. 

J. M. ALLEX. 

Dated this (>th day of August, A. D. 1859. Clerk Board County Commissioners. 

The clerk omitted in this notice to state at what hour the polls would be opened 
and closed, which, however, was not a matter of serious importance under the 
circumstances. 

Alpheus 1 1. Fuller had been appointed a delegate to Congress from Dakota 
Territory by the officers of Midway County, at Medary, immediately after the 
admission of .Minnesota into the Union in May, 1858, and had gone to Washing- 
ton for the purpose of taking his seat. At Washington he was confronted by a 
formidable obstacle in the person of Delegate W. W. Kingsbury, who had been 
elected delegate from Minnesota Territory prior to the state's admission, and 
who was permitted to hold the seat for the term for which he was elected as dele- 
gate from the portion of the former Minnesota Territory not included within 
the boundaries of the new state: and who might therefore be held to have been 
the first delegate from Dakota. His term would not expire until the following 
March. Mr. Fuller, however, remained in Washington, and labored in behalf of 
the organization of the new territory. 

The election at Sioux Falls was duly held on the 12th of September. The 
principal contest was between Jefferson P. Kidder and Alpheus G. Fuller. The 
election was not participated in by the settlers west of the Big Sioux River, and 
there is no evidence that these people knew there was an election: but the inhab- 
itants of the Sioux Valley at Sioux Falls and north all participated and a full 
vote, practically, was secured, as will be seen from the following abstract issued 
after election by the provisional secretary of state: 

Office of Secretary of Dakota Territory. 
Vbstract of Votes cast at the General Election held September 12th, 1859. for the 
m of Delegate to Congress as per Return from the various Counties now on file in 
this office : 

Big Sioux County. 1st Precinct. J. P. Kidder, 287 votes 

A. G. Fuller, 28 votes 

2d Precinct, Kidder. 198 votes 

.. .... Fuller. 5 votes 

\ ermilhon ( ounty Kidder, 52 votes 

... Fuller, none. 

Midway Count} Kidder. 973 votes 

FYiller, 1 14 votes 

Rock ' ' """>• Kidder. 69 votes 

Fuller, none. 

I embina County Kidder, 1 to votes 

Fuller, none. 

'' Kidder, 1689 votes 

Fuller, 147 votes 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 103 

It was claimed that Mr. Fuller was aggrieved at the action of the Sioux Falls 
convention in setting him aside and nominating Judge Kidder, deeming it a reflec- 
tion upon his official course; and he came out as an independent candidate. The 
vote shows that Mr. Fuller was in the field; but the subsequent proceedings of the 
Sioux Falls colony were not disturbed by any manifestations of inharmony among 
the leaders. 

Candidate Kidder seems to have enjoyed great popularity, and Midway 
County must have astonished even its most sanguine friends in getting all its 
voters to the polls. Medary, the county seat of Midway, was not a populous 
town, but it was surrounded by a region capable of sustaining a large population. 

From one of the parties who participated in these exciting events it was 
learned that the Alinnesota party, or at least a portion of it, made an earnest 
effort to promote the Town of Medary. The settlers there had a county organ- 
ization, given them by the Legislature of the Territory of Minnesota, called .Mid- 
way County, and Medary was the county seat. 

.Mr. Kidder received the certificate of election, repaired to Washington and 
made a very earnest effort to secure admission to the House as a delegate from 
Dakota. To sustain his claim, provided he had been properly elected and accred- 
ited, there were abundant precedents, but these precedents were all supported by a 
numerous body of people who were actual residents and citizens ; while in this 
particular Dakota case it is questionable whether there were over fifty white 
people in the entire region described in the table of returns. Gen. William Tripp, 
at that time a member of the Western Town Company and a resident of Sioux 
City, visited Sioux Falls a few weeks after this election was held, and found 
about thirty people there, while the country north of the Falls was understood to 
be practically uninhabited. At this time the Yankton Treaty had been ratified, 
and the Indian title extinguished to all the land west of the Big Sioux, and north 
of the Missouri as far west as Medicine Knoll Creek, and settlements had been 
made at P.ig Sioux Point, Elk Point, Vermillion, James River, Yankton. Bon 
Homme, and opposite Fort Randall. These settlers do not appear to have par- 
ticipated in this election, and it was claimed that they were not consulted or even 
apprised of what their neighbors on the Upper Sioux were engaged in. Congress 
was aware of this situation and it doubtless had an influence in determining that 
body to refuse recognition to its accredited representative. 

The Dakota Land Company located a number of towns in Dakota in [858 59 
The Dakota Democrat, the official organ of the company at Sioux Falls, printed a 
list of these locations as an advertisement. First was: 



Renshaw, at the mouth of the Upper Coteau Percee, connecting with the Sioux at the 
Big Walnut Timber, twenty miles north of Medary and near Lake Preston. This local 
embraces 320 acres, well improved. 

Mnlarv. the county seat of Midway County, the first 01 gani ed o mnty in D ikot i. situated 
"n the Big Sioux at the crossing of the government road ami twenty-five miles due west of 
Mountain Pass. Two hundred and twenty acres are script here. 

Flandrau is the county seat of Rock County, at the junction of Coteau Percee with the 
Sioux, fifteen miles south of Medary. Six hundred ami forty acres. 

Sioux Falls City, established seat of government i i I'.ie. Simix Count) and the- recognized 
capital of the territory, at the Falls of the Big Sioux, the head of navigation on that river, 
terminus of the Transit Railroad west, sixty miles south of Mountain Pass and [oo miles 
up from the Missouri. Three hundred and twenty acres. 

Eminija is the county seat of Vermillion County, at the mouth of the Split Ruck Rive! 
and Pipestone Creek, on the Big Sioux, thirteen miles below the fall nd al more 

practicable head of navigation for large steamers. Six hundred ai 

Commerce City is situated at the C.reat Bend of the Sioux on the Dakota side, half 
way between Sioux Falls City and the Missouri, a natural site for a town. Coal and tint 
plenty. At a point to which steamers of any class may ply in any stage of water. Three 
hundred and twenty ai 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

In addition to the foregoing, the statement or report contains the operations 
.,[' a part} thai had been sent over into the Missouri country to locate townsites. 
According to the report: 

expedition in charge of Messrs. Brawley ami Smith, which left this city in June, 

re this mm- planted the flag 'if the Dakota Land Company on each valuable site that 

,-.m be found between the mouth nf the Big Sioux and old Fort Lookout on the Missouri, 

i es, Vermillion and Wanari (Chotcau Creek) rivers. They have sounded to 

in to which steamers mav practically run, and there have also commenced the nuclei 

I lu -ir movements will be seconded by the more timid and adventurous, and the 

paved, a livelv emigration will follow up. This party went down the river from 

, , by boat in the latter part of June on their way to the Upper Missouri. 

than two thousand miles of navigable waters within the ceded portion of 

and this company will have already secured the most desirable centers for trade and 

commerce, and governmental organization on all these rivers. 

Any explanation of this unwonted activity in the location of townsites lies 
in the then prevailing speculative fever in western towns and lands. The new 
western states ami territories had been the theater of exciting and profitable 
ventures in real estate, the market for the property being found in the eastern 
-tales. The Dakota Land Company located its selections with half breed scrip. 
This speculative interest had grown up during the early settlement of Kansas 
and it- border war between the free state and pro-slavery parties. The people 
of all lite slates were warmly interested in this struggle, and this caused a large 
western emigration out of which real estate, whether farming lands or townsites, 
was in great demand. 

The members of the Sioux Falls Legislature elected in September met at 
Sioux Falls in October and elected Samuel Masters governor, and passed a 
memorial to Congress praying for the organization of the territory. The pro- 
ceedings of the Sioux Falls government were quite extensively published and 
must have led many people to believe that Dakota was duly organized and may 
have induced the immigration to the Missouri Valley during that year which came 
in only to be driven off by the military later. 

Mr. S. I. Allbright of St. Paul established a weekly newspaper at the Falls 
in 1858 which he called the Dakota Democrat. It was the first newspaper pub- 
lished in what afterwards became Dakota Territory. As Mr. Allbright declares, 
his purpose in starting a paper at that time was in order to be on the ground when 
the territory was organized and Sioux Falls made the capital, in order to get 
the public printing, which he estimated would be worth several thousand dollars 
a year. 

The Sioux Falls Legislature met again during the fall of 1859 an(J Governor 
Masters having died, Wilmot W. Brookings was chosen governor. The treaty 
with the Yanktons had been ratified and settlers were coming in to the Missouri 
slope 1 ountr) ami taking up land. Already the population of the Missouri Valley 
t.it ahead of the Big Sioux. It was apparent that if Sioux Falls was to suc- 
ii',l in her ambition, "delays were dangerous" and much depended upon the 
territory being organized at the earliest day possible, because of strong indications 
that there would be a change in the political complexion of the administration 
and in Congress at the election the following year, i860, which in all probability 
would retire from influential positions a number of the prominent friends of 
Sioux Falls. 

Strenuous efforts were made by those interested during the fall and winter of 
ut no results were obtained, and grave misgivings took the place of hope 
among tin- stout hearted pioneers on the Sioux. It may be that the influence of 
the Yankton and Sioux City "rings" had been used to its detriment, for shortly 
after tins failure the contest seems to have been dropped; the townsite leaders in 
great part returned to their former abiding places and the newspapers ceased 
to be published for a time There were a number of the early settlers, however, 
who refu acl now ledge defeat, including W. W. Brookings, Dr. J. L. Phil- 

lips. Amos F. Shaw, loin, MxClellan, George P. Waldron, Henry Masters, and 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 105 

J. B. Amidon and family, who held on to their property and remained until com- 
pelled to leave during the Indian raids of August and September, [862, following 
the Little Crow massacre. 

There were even in these earliest days, as shown by the newspapers, manifesta- 
tions of rivalry between Sioux City and Sioux balls, and it would seem that the 
leading interests of the Jowa town were not in sympathy with the ambition of the 
active pioneers at the Falls of the Sioux. 

Dakota's first delegate, w. w. kingsbury 

When Minnesota was admitted into the Union as a state in 1858, with its 
present boundaries, there was left a large portion of the former Territory of 
Minnesota outside the state on the west, including all of the present Territory of 
Dakota east of the Missouri River, that was left in a chaotic political condition. 
Minnesota had, while yet a territory, in 1857 elected Hon. W. W. Kingsbury as 
her delegate in Congress for two years, or until March 4, 1859, and Mr. Kings- 
bury was holding the seat at the time the state was admitted in 1858. About 
this time (,1858) Mr. Alpheus G. Fuller appeared in Washington claiming that 
he had been appointed delegate to Congress from the aforementioned outlying 
territory, which his credentials designated as the Territory of Dakota. As Mr. 
Kingsbury disputed the Fuller title, and claimed that he was the delegate from 
the Territory of Minnesota which still existed in the portion not included within 
the boundaries of the state, the matter was taken up by the House, and Mr. 
Cavanaugh, a member, on May 28, 1858, presented a resolution reading as fol- 
lows : "Resolved, That the Committee on Flections be authorized to inquire 
into and report upon the right of W. W . Kingsbury to a seat upon this floor as 
delegate from that part of the Territory of Minnesota outside the state limits." 

Mr. ] [arris, of Illinois, presented the credentials of Alpheus G. Fuller as 
delegate from the same territory. 

As reported in Volume 46 of the Congressional Globe, the whole matter was 
referred to the Committee on Elections. On June 2d Mr. Harris, chairman of 
the committee, submitted the majority report, holding that Mr. Kingsbury was 
legally elected delegate, on October 13, 1857, and that the admission of a state 
formed out of a part of that territory did not annul the election. The case of 
H. 11. Sibley was cited. Mr. Sibley was elected delegate from the Territory of 
Wisconsin after the State of Wisconsin was admitted, lie was elected from that 
portion of the territory not included in the state, and was allowed to take his seat 
by a vote of 124 to 62. In concluding, the report recommended that Mr. Kings- 
bury be allowed to retain his seat, and that the memorials of Mr. Fuller be given 
no further consideration. 

A minority report, signed by Messrs. Wilson, (lark and Gilmer, decided in 
favor of Mr. Fuller. This report stated that Mr. Kingsbury was elected by the 
voters of the territory now comprising the state, and that those living in that part 
of the territory not included in the state were not allowed to vote. (This was 
denied by the majority report. I It was also held by the minority thai Mr. Kings- 
bury lived in the Stale of Minnesota, not in the part of the territory left outside 
the state. 

Mr. Fuller, in the course of hK petition for a seat, said that be came "without 
form of law. but on the inherent principle of --elf government and protection." 

Mr. Harris contended that it was not necessary for the delegate to live in the 
territory which he represented. 

Israel Washburne, of Maine, supported Mr. Harris, declaring that there was 
both a state and a territory of Minnesota. 

Mr. Jones, of Tennessee, held that there was no Territory of Minnesota, and 
hence that no one was entitled to a seal as delegate, 

After much discussion, the majority report was adopted as before state. 1. and 
Mr. Kingsbury held his seal until March 4. 1850. lie was therefore the first 



L06 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

delegate to represent that portion of Dakota Territory cast of the Missouri River 
thai had formed a pan of the Territory of Minnesota. 

Sioux I all- had postal facilities as early as [858 and received a mail twice a 
month from Henderson, Minnesota. Byron M. Smith was postmaster. About 
the rst of March. 1859, a change for the better was made when the service was 
transferred from Henderson to Sioux City and thereafter the mail was delivered 
once a week by a man on horseback. 

The effort to scenic the organization of the Territory of Dakota in the interest 
of the Big Sioux Valle) continued intermittently during the winter of 1859-60, 
but relaxed during the latter year, and the settlement made no progress during 
that or the following year of [861. 

In iSiu. in August, the Little Crow Indian outbreak occurred in Minnesota, 
which was followed by a general Indian war. The hostile savages, being driven 
from Minnesota into Dakota, separated into small war parties and made a 
descent upon the Dakota settlements. Sioux Falls received the first fatal blow, 
losing two of its most valuable citizens. Judge J. B. Amidon and his son, who 
were killed while at work cutting hay. 

These persons bad gone out from their home in Sioux Falls in the morning 
intending to spend the day in the field. Night came and they did not return, 
which gave Mrs. Amidon much uneasiness and alarm, and she notified Lieutenant 
Bacon, who immediately instituted a search. The oxen were discovered fastened 
to the wagon, but neither Amidon nor his son could be found that night. At 
daybreak on the 26th the search was again undertaken and soon resulted in find- 
ing the bodies of both. The judge was found lying upon his face with a bullet 
wound in a vital place, and his son some distance away in a field of corn, to which 
he had probably fled upon being attacked. His body was perforated by ten or 
twelve arrows, which he had evidently pulled from his flesh and laid beside him 
before he died. The circumstances of the killing could only be conjectured. It 
was supposed that the Indians were concealed in the cornfield and by some device 
decoyed the son near their hiding place and then poured a volley of arrows into 
him; the father hearing the cries, started to his relief and was shot down with 
a bullet. The savages then made off without disturbing the oxen and wagon, 
their object having been attained apparently in the killing of the palefaces. The 
soldiers made an ineffectual effort to find the Indians, and their camp near town 
was tired into by a small band of mounted warriors, while the troops were out 
on this search. The Indians then made their way into the river bottom, which was 
covered with grass as high as a man's head, and with young timber, and were 
able in successfully elude the troops. At this time nothing was known at Sioux 
ball-, of die Minnesota outbreak. This intelligence reached Yankton, however, 
and led Governor Jayne to dispatch two couriers to Lieutenant Bacon apprising 
him of the hostilities, and ordering him to evacuate the place and move the in- 
habitant- tn Yankton forthwith, it having occurred to the governor that the 
Indians who were driven out of Minnesota would strike for the Dakota settle- 
ment, which proved in be the case. This evacuation order was received on the 
28th, and was put into execution the same day. the settlers reaching Yankton on 
the 30th, and bringing with them most of their personal effects. The Indians 
entered the Village of Sioux Falls very soon after the whites left and burned 
and destroyed all the improvements they were able to demolish and burn. The 
Stoni buildings defied their destructive efforts, though tire- were kindled in all 
of them. 

The Sioux ['alls settlers who removed to Yankton at this time were \V. W. 
Brookings, George I'. Waldron and his family. Heme C. Fowler and wife (Mr. 
Fowler bad been carrying the mail from Yankton to Sioux Falls during the stmi- 
mei : imi \\ Evans, Barclay Jarrett, Charles S. White and family, William 
Stevens and John Met llellan. 

\mii- Shaw went to Vermillion and Dr. J. I,. Phillips and Henry Masters and 
wife to Dubuque. 






HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRlTl >RY 107 

Lieut. James Bacon, of Company A, Dakota Cavalry, was in Sioux Falls at 
the lime the Indians attacked anil killed Judge Amidon and his son. He was in 
command of forty men of his company, and according to his own statement was 
encamped on the present site of the Cataract House. I'hc Amidons wire- massa- 
cred in a cornfield adjoining the settlement on the north. Mr. Bacon relates the 
incident : 

The shots which killed the men were plainly heard by myself as 1 was sitting at the lower 
fall in the river fishing, but thinking it some of my men hunting ducks in the slough, 1 paid no 
attention to it. About 10 o'clock that night,_Mrs. Amidon came to my tent and reported the 
absence of her husband and son, expressing a fear that they had been killed by the Indians. 
At that time those here knew nothing of the Minnesota massacre. Search was made for 
the missing men that night, but owing to the intense darkness it was postponed until day 
light when the bodies were found. The sun. who was a hunchback, had a do/en arrows 
sticking in his hump. After removing the bodies I" Ids camp, the lieutenant, with twentj five 
men, took the trail of the raiders, who were a band of a do/en warriors from the Minne 
hostiles. The trail led around the north side of the penitentiary bluff, and upon reaching a 
point in view of the present site of the city, the Indians were discovered tiring upon thi 
boys in camp. We went to the relief of our comrades, and the Indians, who were afoot, 
struck west, crossing Covell's slough, and by that means escaped, as we were in. united and 
unable to follow. The Indians returned the same night and attempted to stampede our 
burses, but we were prepared for them and they abandoned the effort. 

Next day I received orders from Yankton to evacuate Sioux balls, and bring all the 
settlers to Yankton. The civilian population of the city on that date embraced only three 
families, namely, Mrs. Judge Amidon's remaining family, Capt. George P. Waldron and 
family, and a man named Foster and his family, judge Brookings had left the place the day 
before the raid. 

While the occupation of the country in the Sioux Valley by the whites, includ- 
ing Sioux Falls, and the initial settlements in the Missouri Valley at Yankton and 
opposite Fort Randall was contemporaneous, there appears to have been no 
concert of action between the communities, nor does it appear that either section 
was aware that there existed any other settlement in the proposed territory. Even 
as late as 1859, when the Sioux Falls parties were straining every energy to 
sc> tire the organization of the territory, and even went so far as to hold an election 
and elect a congressman and territorial officers, the communities then existing on 
the Missouri at Elk Point, Vermillion, Yanklon and Ron Homme appear to 
have been totally oblivious of these proceedings, while Sioux Falls, where a news- 
paper was occasionally published, was apparently in blissful ignorance' of what 
was transpiring on the Missouri, and laboring under the impression that the 
Missouri country was an uninhabited wilderness, sent a parly of men represent 
ing the Dakota Land Company to explore the Missouri Valley for the purpose of 
locating townsites. We infer from this adventure that the Sioux Falls people 
must have looked upon the Missouri Valley al that time as unoccupied. 

It is probable, however, that the leaders of each section who were engaged 
in promoting the organization of the territory before Congress were informed 
of the ambition of a rival, and used "all honorable means" to checkmate him. 

Sioux Falls ami the Big Sioux Valley country north were made the Second 
Representative District by the proclamation of the governor calling the first 
election in [86l. At the election held in September of that year George I'. Wal- 
dron received ten votes for member of the I louse of Representatives and Janus 
McCall one. Waldron was declared elected. W. W. Brookings, for councilman. 
received 9 votes; Cole, 5; and Wixson, 3. indicating that there were less than 
twenty votes in the representative district at that time. 

In the Minnesota Historical Society Collections, [895-98, will be found a 
sketch of the "hirst Organized Government of Dakota," written by Samuel J. 
Albright, then of New York, at the solicitation of Judge Charles F. Flandrau, of 

Minnesota, prefaced by an explanatory note by the judge, who say- that the 
Sioux Falls settlement "presents the only actual attempt (except one earlier 
instance) to form a government on the principles of 'squatter sovereignty.' pure 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

imple, thai has ever occurred m this country." Judge Flandrau then pro- 
.rr. is with his preface: 

\\ hen \\ isconsin was admitted into the Union oi Mates, in the year 1848, the St. Croix 

River was ch sen as its western boundary, leaving cut the part of the County of St. Croix 

which lies between the St, Croix River and the Mississippi. Within the large territory so 

ml were the towns oi Stillwater, St. Paul, St. Anthony Falls, and several other 

settlements. The inhabitants of this region at .nice set about finding some government for 

themselves, and decided that the remnant of Wisconsin Territory so deserted was still the 

Territory ol Wisconsin. Governoi Dodge, who was the governor of the territory, had been 

elected United States senatoi of the new State of Wisconsin, which left Mr. John Catlin, 

a\ of the territory, ex ol ernor of what was left of it. Mr. Catlin lived at 

11. and was unite. 1 to come to Stillwater and proclaim the territory still existent. 

He did so, and called for the election of a delegate to Congress. Henry H. Sibley was 

1 cted and when he arrived at Washington was acknowledged and given a seat as delegate 

from the L'erritory of Wisconsin, after which the Territory of Minnesota was, on March 

.;, [849, duly organized, with its domain extending from the St. Croix to the Missouri. 

When Minnesota, on the nth day of May, 1858, was admitted into the Union, its 
mi boundary was fixed by the Red River of the North and a line extending south 
from the fool of Big Stone Lake to the north line of Iowa, thus leaving out all the land 
extending west ..i this line to the Missouri River, which now belongs to the two Dakotas. 
The situation was identical with that presented on the admission of Wisconsin. Anticipating 
this condition, a number of enterprising men, a year previous, had determined to improve 
pportunity of organizing a new territory out of the remnant which would be left of 
Minnesota, and to avail themselves of the advantages of being proprietors of the capital city 
an.l several lc ? ser ones that might become the seats of the university, penitentiary, and 
other public institutions of the new territory. They did not adopt the plan that was so 
fill in the case of Wisconsin, by calling upon the governor to order an election for 
a delegate, for the reason, undoubtedly, that until the year 1857 there were no inhabitants 
of the remnant, save those residing at Pembina at the extreme north, who could hardly 
claim to be of sufficient importance to ask that they be recognized as a separate govern- 
ment, but, instead, they boldly took possession of the country with the determination of 
creating an entirely new government with the aid of Congress. 

It must be remembered that Mr. Buchanan was then President, and that Minnesota 

was strongly democratic in its politics; but the republican party, then in its infancy, had 

gained great strength in Congress, and entertained hopes of electing the next President, 

which it did in 1S00. This condition of things militated against the organization of a new 

territory, the officers of which would be democratic, and prevented the realization of the 

the adventurers who first settled in Dakota. 

When the Sioux Indian war broke out in 1862, the remaining settlements on the Big 

Sioux were abandoned, and all the improvements were destroyed by the Indians. Shortly 

after the termination of the Indian war. a military post was established on May II, 1865, 

ux Falls for the protection of the surrounding country. This post, which was called 

"Fori I »aki ta," consisted of one company of cavalry at one time, and of infantry at another 

ml was maintained until June 18, 1869, when it was abandoned, nothing remaining but 

the quarters occupied by the troops, and two men, Mr. C. K. Howard and Ed Broughton, 

who bad acted as sutlers for the post. They operated a small trading house and dealt with 

the Indian- Broughton lived in the stone house on the river bank, which was built by the 

settler- from Minnesota. A few settlers found their way into the valley while the troops 

there — a .Mr. Jeptha Douling and his family, and several others. They supplied milk 

ibles ti 1 the soldiers. 

This state ol things continued until about June, 1869, when R. F. Pettigrew located at 

the falls, lie found lying upon the rocks the platen of the newspaper press that had been 

used 111 the issue of the "Dakota Democrat" and has preserved it until the present time. 

Mr Pettigrew has been very prominent in the progress of Dakota. He represented it in 

terril rial delegate, and is now serving a second term as United States senator 

from S-.m Dakota I am indebted to him for some of the facts in this narrative. 

About the year (871, a brother of Senator Pettigrew found his way into the valley of 
tlie Big Sioux and located on the old site of Flandrau. about thirty-five miles above Sioux 
which town the old compain bad named in my honor. There was then no vestige 
1,1 the formei settlemenl But a few Sisseton Indians were living there, and a man named 
Lew rlulett, a trapper, had built a shack in which he carried on a small trade with the 
Indians. 

The site of Me.Iary, one of the old locations, still farther up the river, was lost, and a 

new town by the same name was -tailed a few miles from the old one; but that has also 

presenl town of Brookings, on the railroad, about six miles away, has 

lemenl of the valley of the Big Sioux, which may 

bout the time of the arrival of Mr. Pettigrew in 1869, the 

th and progress of the countr has been marvelous, and the success of the principal 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 109 

selections of sites for cities made by the original settlers Sioux Falls, Flandrau and 
Brookings, the successor to Medary — proves conclusively the sagacity oi these pioneers, as 

they are now all prominent localities in South Dakota. I has. E. Flandrau. 

The following letter, written by Charles K. Flandrau, of the Dakota Land 
Company, regarding the operations of that organization, will prove of interest: 

St. Paul, Alinn., September 3, 1879. 
Edward Ely, Esq., 

Winona, Minn. 
Dear Sir: 

In response to your letter of August 15, 1879, asking me for information concerning the 
origin and early history of the Town of Flandrau, in Dakota Territory, 1 am glad to say 
that I am in possession of the facts you seek to know and that I give them to you with 
pleasure because there seems to be a good deal of misapprehension among the people oi that 
place about its origin. Being somewhat of an "old settler," 1 take great interest in all that 
concerns the history of this portion of the Northwest, and like to see the facts correctly 
stated. It happened thus: In the early part of the year 1857 we all felt pretty sure that the 
State of Minnesota would be admitted into the Union upon what we then called the "north 
and south" line of division, which was the line finally adopted. There was a strong party 
in favor of a state upon the "east and west" line of division which would, if adopted, h; 
cut the territory in two upon a line just north of .Minneapolis, making the stale out of the 
south portion and leaving the territory or remnant north of that line. 

You will remember that when Wisconsin was admitted on the western boundary of the 
St. Croix River, it left all the country west of that river in an unorganized condition, and 
that the inhabitants held a convention and elected Gen. II. II. Sibley as a delegate to Congress 
as an experiment, and that he was admitted to a seat and the act of Congress of 1840 was 
soon after passed organizing the Territory of Minnesota. We anticipated just such a con- 
dition of things on the admission of Minnesota, and concluded we would occupy the territory 
west of the new state, send a delegate to Congress, secure the capital, university, penitentiary 
and other public buildings at our own towns and make a good speculation out of the enter- 
prise. To enable us to accomplish this a corporation was organized, under an act of the 
Legislature of the Territory of Minnesota, passed May 23, 1857, which was entitled "an act 
to incorporate the Dakota Land Company." The original incorporators were \\ . II. Nobles, 
J. R. Brown, A. G. Fuller, S. A. Medary, Samuel F. Brown, James \Y. Lynch. N. R. Broun. 
F. J. Dewitt, and F. Freiderich. The corporation was vested with full powers for the 
purchase and entry of land, and the doing of anything that was necessary to establish towns 
and cities anywhere in the territory or future state. 

Under this organization agents were sent into the Southwest and sites for several cities 
selected, among which were Sioux Kails City. Miliary, and Flandrau, all on the Big Sioux. 
Sioux Falls was designated for the capital of the future territory, and the other places were 
to share the government prizes. Mr. A. G. Fuller was selected a delegate to Congress and 
went to Washington, but was never admitted to a seat, notwithstanding the precedent of 
General Sibley's admission. in 1848 from Minnesota. Sioux scrip was laid upon lands, but at 
a subsecpient date was withdrawn. Wry considerable improvements weir made by the 
company at all places, but especially at Sioux Falls City, where a capitol building was erected, 
a hotel built and a printing office established, with Sam Albright as editor, and a very 
handsome newspaper was published their > died the Dakota Democrat, of which 1 now have 
a copy of the issue of August 5, 1850, being Vol. 1. No. _• of the paper. 

The efforts of Mr. Fuller in Washington and of other friends of the organization, failed 
to procure a territorial government for Dakota for several years, and my opinion has always 
been that the delay was on account of all of the members of the Dakota Land Company 
being democrats, and Congress, expecting a change of administration in [860, desired to 
postpone the erection of a territorial government until the other party could control it. At 
any rate they did postpone it until March 1. (86l, when the art was passed organizin 
Territory and leaving the selection of the seat of government to the governor. 

During this delay, however, a serious state of things existed. The people "t the territory 
becoming impatient at the delay, organized a state government, elected first Henry Masters, 
then Sam Albright, governor, chose a Legislature which assembled at Sioux Falls and 
passed laws, which were duly printed and approved by Governor Albright, and demanded 
admission to the Union, "on an equal footing with the original states," but Congress was 
inexorable, and all the time and money spent by the company in this direction was lost. 

When the Sioux outbreak occurred, in August, [862, all the improvements at Sioux balls. 
Flandrau and Medary were burned by the Indians and the places were virtually abandi 
by the company. The United States Government made reparation to the company f 
losses, which enabled it to make its first and only dividend 011 its capital stock. Thi 
briefly the history of the Town of Flandrau up to the time when its present title was made 
by new comers and about which I know very little. Sioux Falls City, is its name indicates, 
was called after the falls in the Big Sioux, at which place it is located. Medary was named 
after Gov. Samuel Medary, who was then governor of the Territory of Minnesota, and the 
Dakota Land Company did me the honor to name the Town of Flandrau after me. 



ll0 HISTl >RY <i| DAK( ITA TERRITORY 

Xh< ou arc largely from recollection, but they are substantially correct in 

.ill essential particulars. 1 would suggest, however, that Mr. Alphens G. Fuller who now 

fankton; Mr. I I- Dewitt, who I believe also resides at Yankton or 

ere or lissouri in the territory ; Captain Fish, who is now in Pembina; Daniel 

1 Browley, who 1 believe resides in Winnipeg, all were intimately connected with the opera- 

i the Dakota Land < ompanv, and can undoubted!) give you accurate information as 

historj oi the [own oi Flandrau, and being old settlers, will willingly recount the 

i xperi< mi- i i the past. 

Respectfully yours, 

Chas. E. Flandrau. 

fudge Flandrau, of Minnesota, having given out a statement regarding the 
earliest settlement of Sioux Falls, in which errors were alleged by one of the 
pioneers who made up the ver) earliest company of settlers, Judge Wilmot W. 
Brookings, who participated in that settlement, took occasion to correct the erro- 
neous statements id' fudge Flandrau. It can be stated as a historical fact that 
fudge Brookings was better qualified to give a correct statement of that pioneer 
settlement, because he was on the ground and prominently identified with the 
work that was accomplished, overseeing much of it himself and participating in 
all of it. while Indue Flandrau was but a stockholder in the Dakota Land Com- 
pany, the St. Paul incorporation, and was never at Sioux Falls or in the Sioux 
Valley during the years included in the history of this first occupation. Inasmuch 
,i- the statemenl of Judge Brookings corroborates, in every particular, the version 
ni" this important event, already a part of this history, it is given entire, as 
follows. Mr. Brookings addressed his communication to the Sioux Falls Press: 

The letter of Judge Flandrau, taken from the Winona Republican, and published in your 
issue of the 15th of December. 1888, inclines one who knows the actual facts to the belief 
that much of what is called history is probably fiction. Perhaps the best way to point out 
the many errors of the judge would be to give the facts as known by one who was living 
.11 Sioux balls at the time, and was part of the history that is endeavored to be related. 

What the judge says about the organization of the Dakota Land Company is undoubtedly 
true, and certain members of the company came to Dakota as he related, in the spring of 
1857. and for the purpose probably as he states. Their first townsite on the Sioux was 
Miliary, named after tlie governor of Minnesota Territory. Their second, Flandrau, named 
after the judge himself, but when they arrived at Sioux Falls they found the site of the 
11 occupied by a party sent out by the Western Town Company of Dubuque, Iowa. Among 
the members of the latter company were the then Mayor Hetherington of the City of 
Dubuque, Iowa; Hon. S. P. Adams, since chief justice of Iowa; Dr. George M. Staples. 
Gen. William Tripp, Hon. George P. Waldron, and Colonel Mahoney, afterwards editor of 
the Dubuque Herald. This company had been organized for about the same purpose as the 
Dakota Land Company. It had. as early as the month of October or November, 1856, em- 
ployed Ezra Millard, late president of the Millard National Bank of Omaha, to proceed to 
this sectii n of Minnesota Territory and to take up a townsite of 320 acres at the falls of 
thi Big Sioux. Mr. Millard, accompanied by D. M. Mills, who now lives on the Sioux River 
about sixteen miles above Sioux City, visited Sioux balls late in the autumn of 185(1. arriving 
late one rainy evening, but still rejoiced that they had found the coveted spot. They came 
up "ii the east side of the river, through what is now the Village of Brandon, following 
1 -. of the river so that the first full view of the falls was from the high bluffs near 
the present brewery. Their mode of conveyance was a light two-horse wagon. After viewing 
thi picturesque beauty of the falls for a moment they concluded to drive down the bluffs 
and camp for the night near the lovely islands at the head of the falls. But to their astonish- 
ment they bad no sooner reached their beautiful resting spot than a party of Sioux Indians 
appeared on the scene, took their horses by the hits, turned them around, and in the Indian 
language indicated strongly that safety depended upon their immediately retracing their 
acl to Iowa, that Messrs. Millard and Mills, without any ceremony, concluded to let 
oux roam over the valley of the Sioux for a while longer unmolested by the pale 
mil traveled back twelve miles that same evening. Some two months later Mr. Mills 
ed and built a small log cabin on the island, and then returned to his home on the 
lower Sioux for the balance of the winter. 

In M.i following (1857), Jesse T. Jarrett, John McClellan, and Messrs. Farwell and 

ed in Sioux Falls in the interest of the Western Town Company, and were here 

when the mi thi Dakota Land Company arrived. The prospect was so inviting that 

.1 company concluded to take up 320 acres immediately south, and upon the river 

from 1 1 . ill 01 1 the Western Town Company. These parties from both companies 

driven ofl early in July following by the Indian-,. 
1 'n the 25th da) of August, 1857. a party of nine persons 1 ime to Sioux Falls in the 
interest of the Dubuque party, among whom were Dr. J. L, Phillips and W. W. Brookings, 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRIT* »RY 111 

who afterward became permanent settlers. A month later thi St Paul part] sent out seven 
men and during the winter of 1857-58, eighteen persons wintered at the nils, in the spring 
following enough tame in to make the number sixty or seventy. Two women came in 
summer of 1858 — .Mrs. Goodwin and Airs. White — the latter having a dau mi threi 

years old, the tirst white child ever in Sioux Falls. 

in the latter pan of October, [858, an election was held for members oi the Legislature 
and delegate in Congress, and A. G. Fuller wis elected to Congress, although at that tune 
his home must have been at St. Paul. The Legislature, a few days after this 
assemhled here. Henry Masters was elected president oi the council, and S. J. Albright, 
speaker of the House, and passed a memorial to Congress, praying that this portii n oi 
'territory of Minnesota, not included 111 the State oi Minnesota, might at once b< organized 
into the Territory oi Dakota. Also passed a law extending tlie laws ..1 Minnesota lerritorj 
over the proposed Territory of Dakota (.although they must have been in force without anj 
such act), and also passed a few other acts and memorials. Thus far there had been no 
governor, and by a joint resolution the president oi the council was declared the 1 
governor. So Mr. Masters became governor, and the hrst session oi the squatter Legislature 
for Dakota adjournal. 

In the following autumn. 1859, a new election took place, and Hon. J. 1'. Kidder was 
elected delegate, although he lived in St. Paul, and Henry Master was nominated for 
governor, but died a few days before election, and S. J. Albright was elected governor. 
He was in St. Paul at the time and refused to serve, and had himself returned as a member 
of the lower house, which was easily done, although he may not have received any voti 
for the Legislature. He seemed to have a strong desire tc > he speaker of the lower house, 
which was the height of his ambition. The Legislature met about the same time in 1850 as 
in the year preceding. W. W. Brookings was elected president of the council and Albright 
speaker of the House. The only business done was again to memorialize the new Congress 
to organize the Territory of Dakota, and also pass a tew more unimportant memorials. At 
the close of the session the president of the council was again declared governor ex-officio, 
and W. W. Brookings acted as governor instead oi Albright, and the only acts that tin 
writer remembers of the second governor signing was a certificate of election as delegate 
to Congress for J. P. Kidder, and several memorials to Congress, and after the Legislature 
of 1859 adjourned, no more were held. 

When Judge Flandrau says laws were passed, which were duly printed and approved 
bj Governor Albright, and demanded admission to the I nion "on an equal tooting with the 
original states," he draws wholly upon his imagination, for no such demand was ever made 
or desired, but the entire effort was to secure a territorial organization. The reason why 
a territorial organization could not he secured was that the I louse was republican and wanted 
a clause inserted in the organic act or law prohibiting the taking of slaves into the territory. 
This the democrats opposed and the Senate was democratic. So that no bill passed until 
the southern members left Congress, which left a majority oi republicans in the Senate. 
However, after the southern members seceded, the organic act was silent on the slavery 
question. 

Where the Dakota Land Company made the mistake was when Minnesota was admitted 
to statehood they did not induce the territorial officers to move to that portion of the 
territory not included in the state boundary and continue the government of Minm 
Territory. Had they done this they would undoubtedly have been recognized bj Congress, 
for Buchanan, who was Polk's secretary of state, favored tin- recognition of Wisconsin 
Territory after the State of Wisconsin hid been admitted to the Union as a state, and this 
was the ground taken by many republicans. I he writer at the time received a letter 1: 

lion. Israel Washburn, then a prominent republican member of Congress, saving it was the 
President's duty to appoint all the usual territorial officers oi the Territory of Minnesota, 
as the state enabling act did not interfere with the territorial organization outside ol the 
state limits. 

The vote- of the House of Representatives to admit .1. P. Kidder was about equally 
divided, he being defeated by only a few votes, and this was brought about bj the persistent 
opposition of Gen J. II. S. Todd of the Missouri slope, and General l-'rost of St. Louis, who 

had large interests at Yankton, ami were fearful tint if Kidder should he admitted a- 
delegate, the capital would go to the Sioux Valley instead of the Missouri. So that then. 
as at present, lealousies kept back our recognition. 

When Judge Flandrau says a Capitol building was erected, he again draws on his 
imagination or received his information from someone who misinformed him. a- no such 
building was ever erected. The Dakota Land Company constructed a log house here, oni 

storv. about sixteen bj twenty; a stone house about eighteen by twenty, one and one-half 

stones in height -tone laid in mini for mortar. Mso a printing office buili 

twentj feet square, one story, with shed roof, all their buildings not exceeding the value of 
$1,500. h u 1 1 1 1 1 be interesting to know how much they received from the Government 
ileu improvements a better sale probablj than could have been made to any one el 

Originally, it was evidently the intention to make Medary the cap equently it 

was then named for the then governor of Minnesota Territory, but in 1858-9 both the Medary 
and Flandrau settlements had ceased to exist, consequently the squatter Legislature was 

compelled to meet at Sioux Falls City, as lluv called their site here. Our impression is that 



n ._. HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

but one issue of the Dakota Democral came out in 1858, and that was filled with argument 
in favor of a territorial organization. The next season a number of issues were printed. 

In i860 the paper was printed bj Mr. Stuart, now of the Chicago limes staff, ami the 
name changed to Western Independent for the reason that Mr. Albright had taken the 
heading awaj with him, and the changed heading was found in Sioux City. 1 lie errors of 

epublican editorial correspondent oi the (5th inst. are the result of Judge Handrau s 
refutation and one disposes of the other. 

Like [udge Flandrau, "I take great interest in all that concerns the history of this 
portion of the Northwest, and like to see the facts correctly stated," and having been a 
resident oi >m<.ii\ Falls from (857 to [862, ought to have a better knowledge of them than 
the judge I Ins is my only excuse for sending you this communication, although 1 was 
ted to write up the history of that attempt at government for the .Minneapolis 
Tribune. The main facts are given here, and all that seems worth preserving. 

W. W. Brookings. 

Mr. Alpheus G. Fuller remained in the territory and removed to Yankton 
agency in i860, where he' kept the hotel and boarding house and also engaged 
in Government contracting at Fort Randall; J. P. Kidder returned to St. Paul 
and to the practice of his profession and in 1865 was appointed associate justice 
of Dakota Territory; and F. J. Dewitt and B. M. Smith also went to St. Paul, 
both coming to Yankton later. 

Regarding the publication of the newspaper at Sioux Falls and the date of 
certain settlements, a letter is hereto appended which tells the whole story. The 
writer of the letter was on the ground at the time, and among the most active of 
the colonists: 

Yankton, D. T., November 1, 1882. 
George \V. Kingsbury, Esq. 

Hear Sir: In reply to your inquiry of this date, I will say that the first settlements, at 
Sioux falls, Flandrau and Medary, were made during the months of May anil June, 1857. 
The Dakota Democrat was first published at Sioux Falls City (now Sioux Falls), July 2, 1850. 
h was issued once or twice a month from that time until .March, i860, by Samuel J. Albright. 
ami proprietor. Editor Albright went Fast in March, i860, hence the publication was 
suspended until December, when it was revived under the name of the Western Independent 
and published semi-occasionally until March, 1861, by I, W. Stewart. 

F. J. Dewitt. 

The writer. Major Dewitt, referring to the first settlement of Sioux Falls, 
must allude to the first settlement by the Dakota Land Company, the Western 
Land Company of Dubuque, having erected a cabin there in December, 1856, 
and it-- representatives were there in 1857, when the representatives of the Da- 
kota Land Company arrived. 

As there has been some controversy regarding the time when the first settle- 
ment of Sioux Falls was made, the following excerpt from a letter written by 
Hon. David M. Mills, in January, 1868, who was at that time a member of the 
Territorial Council from Union County, is the best authority on that point. Mr. 
Mills, who was writing of the natural resources of the Big Sioux Valley and of 
Sioux Falls, says ; 

One very prominent feature 111 the Big Sioux River is its innumerable mill privileges. 

within the bounds of truth to say that there might be one mill put in 

in everj mile of the river from Sioux Falls to the mouth of the Rock River, a 

the river oi over one hundred miles, and in many places. T doubt not, more than 

ising, 1 desire here to notice in a brief manner the famous waterfall on the 

nini mill est ol the point where the [owa state line touches the Sioux River. 

ln ' h <- month oi Oct >ber, [856, the first settlement was made at this place by myself. I 

laci .1 portion of the time, for about one year. 

I). M. Mn.is. 

AX INDIAN FIGHT AT SIOUX FALLS 

About the isl of November, [862, Captain Miner, with a detachment of eleven 
men from ( oinpany A. 1 1 orted a pari of the Sioux Falls people who had been 
compelled to evacuate thai town in August, from Yankton to Sioux Falls, for the 




FRANKLIN J. DEWITT 



BYRON M -Mint 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 113 

purpose of securing some household goods and other property belonging to them 
which they were unable to carry away at the time of their hurried departure and 
which they endeavored to secrete in the most secure buildings of the town. The 
civilians of the party were George P. Waldron, B. C. Fowler, I. \\ . Evans, Bar- 
clay Jarrett, W. W. Brookings and A. G. Fuller. The parly reached Sioux Falls 
the evening of the second day and camped out on the outskirts of the village. 
The next morning they moved into Sioux Falls, and while breakfast was being 
prepared, Captain .Miner discovered a number of men on horseback on a hill 
about a mile away, but he could not distinguish whether they were Indians or 
whites. Taking with him Corporal Joe Ellis to act as interpreter, he rode out 
toward them and very soon discovered that they were Indians, who then galloped 
down the hill and into a ravine, at the mouth of which was a small tract of level 
prairie covered with tall grass. Miner beckoned to the Indians, giving them to 
understand that he wanted to talk with them, whereupon four of the redskins 
rode up within pistol range. The captain then asked through Interpreter Ellis: 
"Where did you come from?" The answer was, "The Minnesota River." He 
then asked, "What are you doing here?" The answer was, "What is your busi- 
ness here?" accompanied by language and gestures that meant defiance and 
trouble. The captain then fired his pistol, which was the signal for his men left 
in camp to join him. Meantime the Indians returned to the tall grass at the 
mouth of the ravine, and as the troops came up on a gallop they were received 
with a volley of rifle balls poured at them by ten or twelve Indians secreted 
near the entrance to the ravine. The order to charge was then given, when the 
hostiles scattered, firing and galloping off. Miner pursued them about two miles, 
but their ponies were swifter on the prairie than cavalry horses, and they escaped. 
One giant of an Indian, however, laboring under great excitement and anger, 
leaped from his pony during the pursuit and signaled to the others to do the 
same, but they gave no heed to his signal, and made off into a body of timber that 
skirted the river. Corporal Ellis was in the advance, and as he rode up the 
Indian discharged his gun at him, and then clubbing it, struck a vicious blow at 
Ellis in the saddle. The corporal parried the clubbed gun with his sabre, break- 
ing the gun stuck. Just then Privates Charles Wright and Josiah Gray rode up, 
and Wrighl sent a ball from his carbine into the enraged Indian that brought him 
to his knees but did not kill him. The Indian then drew his long knife and made 
a desperate lunge at Ellis, missing him but wounding the corporal's horse in the 
neck. Ellis then dispatched the plucky and desperate foe with his sabre. The 
remainder of the Indians were now in the timber, and the balls from their guns 
were flying about the troops, indicating that the Indians were getting the range 
and might become serious. Miner then concluded to retire and not risk a battle 
with a secreted foe, influenced by the responsibility he felt for the civilians whom 
he had escorted and who relied upon him for protection, and who would have 
become an easy prey for the redskins had the soldiers suffered a defeat He 
therefore permitted the boys to take a lock of the dead Indian's hair, but would 
not suffer him to be scalped. Then firing the prairie grass, the soldiers galloped 
back' to camp and breakfasted. The Indian who met his death had on a soldier's 
jacket, and two "civilized" bed quills were rolled up and tud In bis saddle. \fter 
breakfast the captain, with a portion (if bis men, visited the place where the In- 
dians were first discovered at the ravine, found their camp and captured two light 
wagons, one harness and some camp utensils. Five newly slaughtered hugs were 
found, indicating that the Indians had also gone OUt tO battle before break 
fast. It was estimated that there were twenty Indians in the band, and that they 
composed .1 small war party that had cut themselves off from Little ('row and 
started on a pillaging expedition to the Dakota settlements. Little Crow had 
retired from Minnesota to Devil's Lake. North Dakota, 

This was the first time the boys composing this detachment had been under 
tire of the enemv. and their deportment was warmly commended b) their captain, 
who mentioned Corporal I'llis and Privates Charles Wright. Josiah Gray, John 



11 I HIST! >RY OF DAKOTA TERRITI >KY 

Bradley, Robert Buckheart, R. Alderson, B. Bellow and J. Ludwig as deserving 
nt especial praise. Privates Wright, < fray and Buckheart are citizens of Yankton 
at this time, 1904. John Bradley, now dead, was a brother of Henry Bradley, of 
Yankton. 

This was the firsl conflict between the Dakota troops and the hostile redmen 
in which an Indian was known to be slain, though Sergeant English reported the 
supposed killing of one of the band which raided the settlements on James River 
early in September. 

During the six years following, Sioux Falls remained unoccupied by the 
whites, save by a company of [owa troops stationed there in a fort constructed 
by the general Government in [865, named Fort Dakota, which was maintained 
until [869, when the country was thrown open. Quite a number of settlers had 
made their way into the County of Minnehaha, outside the military reserve, dur- 
ing iXoj-hN. and had not been disturbed by Indians, and no further annoyance 
from this source was experienced. 



CHAPTER XIV 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSOURI SLOPE 

IN DAKOTA 

1857 

HOME OF THE YANKTON INDIANS- STRIKE-THE-REE — WILLIAM PENN LYMAN FIRST 

WHITE SETTLER FROST, TODD & COMPANY, THE INDIAN TRADERS FIRST JAMES 

RIVER SETTLEMENT — UPPER MISSOURI LAND COMPANY — DELEGATION TO WASH- 
INGTON TO MAKE TREATY — HOLMAN, TRESPASSING SETTLER, BUILDS FIRS! 

CABIN — IMPROVEMENTS DESTROYED BY INDIANS AND SOLDIERS GEORGE D. 

FISKE THE TREATY EMBASSY SUCCESSFUL — THE PICOTTE TRACT — FROST, TODD 

& COMPANY, TOWNSITE PROPRIETORS — TRADING POST BUILT I!Y FROST, TODD S 

COMPANY — THE BONHOMME SETTLEMENT THE FIRST TRADING POST — MAIM; 

DOLLARD's RESEARCHES— JOHN H. SHOBER — PERSONAL RE( OLLECTIONS OF GEORGE 
T. ROUNDS — THE EARLY SETTLERS — FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE. 

hi the year A. D. 1857 what is now known as the City of Yankton, in South 
Dakota, was an Indian village occupied by the Yankton tribe of Dahkotah In- 
dians, and was the residence of its principal and most influential chief, l'c-la-ne- 
a-pa-pe, which, translated into the English, reads "Man that was struck by the 
Ree." Being the home of the head chief and the seat of the tribe's most im- 
portant councils, this was the principal village, or capital, of the Yankton tribe. 
It was known among the whites al ami before this lime as "Struck by the Ret' 
Camp," and this locality had been designated by traders and steamboalmen as the 
Yankton Valley! The great majority of the Indians, when not absent on the 
hunt or engaged in trapping, dwelt along the banks of the Big Sioux. Ver- 
million and James rivers, where their lodges were sheltered by the heavy timber, 
with fuel ami water abundant and convenient. An Indian burial ground occu- 
pied a tract about midway between Yankton and the James, as the road is now 
located, situated in the vicinity of what Yankton people know as the Risling 
farm. The Yankton Indians claimed complete ownership of the soil in Southern 
Dakota west of the Big Sioux River, which claim was disputed b) other tribes 
of the Dahkotahs, and was not finally conceded, if at all. until some time after 
the treaty of cession of [859. While the Yanktons hunted and trapped over a 
large area, the great majority recognized Strike the Ree (amp as their principal 
village and their sachems assembled here whenever an important council was to 
be hekl. and here at leasl once a year an embassy from the "Great Father" at 
Washington was accustomed in visit them bj steamboat, with gifts in token of 
the Great Father's paternal regard and evidence of his friendship and good 
will. The plains and streams of this Dakota country abounded in fur-bearing 
animals and the traffic in this merchandise brought independent trader- among 
them, while a number of trading posts, representing various fur companies, bad 
been maintained in their country for scores of years. 

Strike the Ree, or "Old Strike," a- he was called by the pioneer-, the head 
chief of the Yanktons at the time this local history begins, was a very able In- 
dian and chieftain, endowed by nature with main of the qualities of leadership, 
a consistent and lifelong friend of the white people, and a model ruler oi hi- 
tribe. lie had distinguished himself on the warpath when hi- tub. was engaged 
in coiithet with the red men of other nation-, but w.i- esteemed more tor his 

115 



116 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

ill victories than as a warrior. He was regarded by the braves of his own 
and other tribes as a wise chieftain with a good, kind heart, who sought at all 
times i" promote the welfare and best interests of his people. He seemed to 
realize thai fate had decreed the subordination of the Indians to the civilization 
of the paleface, and was therefore a friend of the whites from motives of self- 
interest, or the interest of his people, as well as influenced by a nature genial 
and peaceful and an ambition to improve the condition of the Indians by emu- 
lating the virtues of civilization. He was the "Grand Old Man" of the aborig- 
inal inhabitants of I lakota and possessed in a remarkable degree their confidence. 
He was inflexible in pursuing a policy of peace with the whites and cultivating 
tire friendship of the "Great bather" at Washington, and was therefore not dis- 
po ed to resist unreasonably the encroachments which the whites were making 
upon the Indian domain. He felt that this was inevitable, and if he did not 
invite it. he was too wise to oppose it by force, and was wise enough to make 
the best of it. 

The Yanknms had other villages or camps under the rule of subordinate 
chiefs. ( >ne of These was situated in the immediate valley of the Missouri, about 
three miles west of the Western Portland Cement plant and was known as 
"Smutty I lear's" cam]), the chief of that band being a celebrated warrior named 
Ma-to-sa-be-che-a, or, translated into the English, the "Smutty Bear." There 
was also a camp of the Yanklons on the east side of the James River near the 
present wagon bridge. This was the band under the command of "Feather-in-the- 
Ear," a redoubtable Yankton brave. 

Another band, under "Mad Bull," had a permanent camp on the Vermillion. 
and there wire two bands whose local habitations were on the Big Sioux and in 
the valley of Untie Creek'. "Rain-in-the-Face" was located at Emanuel Creek, 
now in Bon Homme County, and there were others farther up the river, even 
as far away as Fort Pierre and above, who seldom visited this section and who 
tool, little part in the councils of the tribes. 

On the [2th day of .May, 1S57, William P. Lyman, who had been connected 
with the military expedition of General Harney through Nebraska Territory in 
[855, came down from Fort Randall and established a ferry on James River, 
near the sin- of the present wagon bridge, and near the military trail from Sioux 
City to Fori Randall. The ferryboat used by Lyman was built at Randall and by 
him floated down the Misssouri and up the James to the crossing, where it formed 
a very useful link in the < iovernment military highway between Sioux City and 
the fort. Before the Lyman ferry was put in, the Government road crossed 
tin- James at a fording place a few miles north of the ferry site, following an 
old trail made by Lieutenant Warren in 1 85 5 , along the high land and passing 
three or four miles north of Yankton. After the establishment of the ferry, 
that road was abandoned, and travel patronized the road by way of Yankton. 
Up to this time. May 12, 1X57, there was not a "pale face" known to be living 
in what is now Yankton County, or west of the Vermillion River. Lyman must 
therefore be 1 redited with the title of first white settler, because he continued to 
" ide here with his Indian family until he was carried farther west by the Black 
I lilK wave of emigration in 1876. I [e was in the employ of Frost, Todd & Com- 
pany, compo -1 of 1 1. M. Frost, of St. Louis; J. B. S. Todd, of Fort Randall, 
and Lewis II. Kennedy and Edward Atkinson, of Sioux City, a mercantile asso- 
ciation thai held a permit from the Government to engage in traffic with the 
Indians at \ations points in the territory, and under the authority of this license 
Lyman superintended the construction of a ferry house and trading post on the 
banl -1 thi fami River at the ferry crossing. 

The firm of Frost, Todd & Company also kept a general store in Sioux City, 
and was evidently preparing to become more deeply interested in the fur traffic. 
A little later, during [857 and early in [858, the firm constructed other trading 
post^ along the Missouri Valley between the Big Sioux and Fort Pierre, osten- 
sibly at lea 1. foi the purpose of carrying on a traffic with the Indians, though 




A.C.VANMETEB WILLIAM P LYMAN CHARLES WAMBOLE 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 117 

in the light of subsequent events il would appear that these improvements were 
also designed to secure certain preferred privileges which were made to such 
parties under the treaty then in contemplation, under the leadership of Todd. 
Picotte, Strike the Ree, Brughier, Rencontre, and others —a tnaiy that was con- 
summated two years later and which effectually and forever did away with the 
special license feature of trade in this country where these trading posts were 
being erected. Captain Todd, as he was then called, was the active representa- 
tive and manager of the affairs of 1 >. .\1. Frost & Company and Frost, Todd & 
Company, in Dakota. 

The work of constructing the trading post on the James was completed 
during the month of June. Lyman being assisted by Samuel .Mortimer (known 
among the pioneers as "Spot"), Samuel Jerou, A. B. Smith and Arthur C. Van 
Meter, a French-Canadian, whose residence a portion of the time was on the 
Vermillion River, and who later made a permanent settlement in Clay County, 
and who about 1SS0 removed to Fort Pierre, near which place he died many 
years later. Van .Meter was connected with the Yankton tribe by marriage, his 
wife being a very intelligent half-breed; and about this time he was engaged in 
carrying the United States mail and express from Sioux City to Fort Randall, 
making a round trip once a week and using two horses in his journeys, one of 
which he rode, while the other was the pack animal. 

The James River settlement, of which Lyman was the pioneer and patriarch, 
was the sum total of "civilized encroachment" in what is known as the Missouri 
Slope counties west of the Big Sioux at the close of the year 1857, and this set- 
tlement was made up of the persons above named. This little colony of fron- 
tiersmen spent the winter at the ferry house and trading post, and its members 
employed their time hunting, trapping, fishing and getting out cabin timber. An 
occasional trip to Sioux City relieved the monotony of pioneering in their bache- 
lor quarters and enabled them to replenish their slender store with such viands 
as were almost indispensable to the social enjoyment of pioneers situated as they 
were. Many of the Yankton Indians had erected winter quarters in the shelter 
of the heavy timber along the river, preferring a wigwam in the forest to a dirt 
lodge on the prairie. About a thousand Indians of all sexes and ages were esti- 
mated to be in camp in that vicinity during the winter of 1857-58, and a more 
orderly and peaceful community could hardly be found in any part of the world, 
however civilized. Muskrat were abundant and thousands were taken. Heaver 
were quite plentiful and their furs this winter were uniformly of superior quality. 
The beaver had constructed an excellent dam across the river about three miles 
below the ferry house, exhibiting an intelligence almost human in the character 
of the work, which was formed by trees nearly a foot in diameter, through which 
the animals had gnawed and felled in such a manner as to support the 
wall of mud which they had applied in great abundance. This dam was on 
exhibition for many years after the whites occupied the country, and belonged to 
the preemption claim of Dr. Van < Isdel. 

In February, 1N58. the Upper Missouri Land Company was organized at 
Sioux City, made up of J. B, S. Todd. 1). M. Frost. Lewis II. Kcnnerly. Edward 
Atkinson, A. W. Hubbard 1 afterwards a member of Congress from [owa), Dr. 
I. K. Cook, Or. S. I'. Yeomans and Enos Stutsman, who was the secretary and 
executive officer. Under the direction and with the support of this company a 
movement was set on foot having for its purpose the making of a treaty with 
the Yankton Indians for the cession of a large tract of their Dakota domain. 
A treat\- delegation was selected, composed of Captain Todd, Charles F. Pio 
(an educated Yankton half-breed), VV. P. Lyman. Zephyr Rencontre, II 
philis Brughier, the last named a French Canadian who had married a half-breed 
Sioux wife, whose home just below the mouth of the Big Sioux had been a land- 
mark for a quarter of a century, and continued to be occupied by himself and his 
quarter-breed descendants up to the beginning of the present century. Th< 
with twelve or fifteen of the most influential warriors of the Yankton tribe, in- 



118 HIST< >RY < IF D \k< M \ TERRIT( >RY 

eluding "Old Strike." were senl to Washington for the purpose of effecting a 
^ sion, the details of which had been already practically agreed upon. 
This delegation sel oul at once for the national capital. The facilities for travel 
were ver) limited at that time, even through the great State of Iowa, and the 
part) was obliged to make the trip to [owa City, the nearest railroad point, or 
it not the nearest, the most convenient to reach, in three lumber wagons, and 
although all of them were accustomed to the privations that frequently beset the 
pioneer and inured to all sorts of weather, they all suffered intensely crossing 
the [owa plains. It was a cold month and there had been considerable snow piled 
up in drifts aluiig the mad. which at times was no road at all. At one place on 
route they encountered a big snowdrift near an open slough, and in their 
efforts to cross, Picotte's wagon upset and he found himself in the snow and 
mud at the bottom of the entire load and three or four stalwart Indians on top of 
him. Nearly a week was consumed when the delegation reached Iowa City and 
the cars, and from there to Washington the trip was without unusual incident. 
A long delay was met with at Washington, caused by the stubbornness of some 
of the Indian delegates, who had made up their minds that they did not want to 
-ell their land. However, Picotte and "Old Strike" had made up their minds 
that they did want to sell it. and that they had come to Washington for that ex- 
press purpose. Two month- were consumed in wearisome negotiations, in feast- 
ing and in consultation, and one by one the obstinate were brought over. About 
the middle of \pril the last recalcitrant surrendered and the treaty was formally 
agreed upon and signed, on the part of the United States by the commissioner of 
Indian affairs, I [on. Charles E. Mix, and on the part of the Indians by the leading 
chiefs of the parte. Before it became binding upon either party, however, it was 
required to he ratified In the I'nited States Senate. In this case, however, all 
parties felt -anguine that the Senate would speedily approve it as soon as prac- 
ticable after Congress assembled the coming winter, and the delegation returned 
to Dakota exultant over their success, and were received by the settlers at Sioux 
1 m and squatters along the upper river with a true frontier welcome. The Sioux 
(/in people realized fully the benefits to flow to them when Dakota should be 
peopled with a producing population. 

in i settlement, or attempt at settlement, made on the 'fownsite of Yank- 
ton was that of C. I. Ilolman. of Sergeants Bluff, Iowa, who, with his father, 
W. I'. Ilolman. and Johnson Burritt, Gilbert Bowe, Harry Narveas, Stephen 
Saunders, and a Mr. Tudor and Mr. Smith, came up from Sioux City on the 
Nebraska side, in March. [858, and halted at a point six miles below Yankton at a 
place called l.aneer. so-called by Mr. Ilolman, where the party, with the excep- 
tion of W. I'. I lolman, crossed in canoes to the Dakota side. This hand of young 
adventurers were supported by an organization at Sioux City, composed of 
Billis Robert-, a Mr, Lamb, who was proprietor of the Sioux City House, lien 
Stafford, Judge ( ampbell, with Charles I'. Booge, John 11. Charles and others as 
»ili nt partners, or member-. This company, aware of the purpose of the Upper 
Missouri Land Company, also a Sioux City organization, to locate towns in 
Dakota, hail resolved to be first on the ground at Yankton and locate the site for 
the coming metropolis and also secure a -hare of tin- surrounding country. Spring 
flood- were heavy in [858 and the bottom land- between the Missouri and lame- 
river- below Yankton were partially covered with water and ice. in places four 
and five feet in depth. Ilolman and his men waded through the flood about hw 
mile-, carrying their provisions and equipment on their backs, and finally reached 
dry land on the firsl bench w> 1 of the I. imc- river. The party came on to the 
present town-itc of Yankton the same day and found it vacant — not a vestige of 
human habitation. Indian or white — and I lolman pitched his tent near the foot of 
Pine street. This date was about the 20th of March. 1858. Shortly after, as Hol- 
111:111 claims, or about the loth of \pril. George 1). Fi-kc and Samuel Mortimer, 
representing Frost, ["odd >\ Co., who had been living at the Ferry cabin on the 
I mi" u 1 and pitched their tent near Holman's. Ilolman was then 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 119 

waited upon by a delegation of Indians and informed that his party were tres- 
passers and would not be permitted to remain on this side of the .Missouri. The 
Holman party thereupon withdrew to the Nebraska side. The delegation of 
Yankton Indians was in Washington at this time, with General Todd, Charles 
F. Picotte and others, arranging a treaty by which the lands of the southern por- 
tion of the territory would be ceded to the United Mates, and Holman's purpo 
was to make a settlement under which he could hold the land when tin- trealv 
was effected. Frost, Todd & Co., the licensed traders, were anxious to secure 
the same tract, and their employes were permitted to reside on the Indian lai 
All other whites were debarred as trespassers. Early in May, Holman received 
word that the treaty had been made and, being joined by a reinforcement con 
sisting of Hen Stafford of Sioux City and a man named Bonsell, who claimed to 
have a trader's license, Holman made a raft of logs he had been cutting on tin 
Nebraska side, crossed them in the night to the Dakota shore and began the con 
struction of a cabin near the foot of Pine street. Before completing his domicile 
he was set upon by a band of Yankton Indians under the direction of .Mortimer, 
who partially wrecked the cabin. Holman and his men in the meantime trying 
to prevent the destruction. A fist to list scuffle was indulged in. neither party 
being armed (the Indians had been instructed to use no weapons unless they 
were resisted with firearms, and the dolman party had left their guns in their 
Nebraska cabin I. dolman claimed to have subdued the attacking force, and then 
by use of soft phrases and a liberal feast to have won over "Dog's ( law," the 
Indian chief, and despite Mortimer's protest, he or his representative was per- 
muted to complete his cabin, which he did, and resided in it during the summer 
free from further molestation. 

In March, [858, George D. Fiske, an employe of Frost, Todd & Co., reached 
\ ankton and pitched his tent near the river bank at the foot of the present Wal- 
nut Street. Mr. Fiske had charge of the mercantile affairs of that firm at Yank- 
ton, and was the first white man to take up his permanent abode within tin 
present corporate limits of the city, though Holman was doubtless the first who 
made improvements. At that time there was not a structure of any kind except 
the tepees of the Indians west of James River within the boundaries of the 
present Yankton Count)-. Holman must have reached Yankton shortly after 
Fiske's arrival at James River, as he speaks of meeting both Fiske and "Spot" 
and of having some trouble with them. In July following Fiske's arrival a trad- 
ing post was built under Lyman's supervision, on the river bank just east of 
Walnut Street. This structure was composed of two log buildings, joined to 
gether by an open shed, one part intended to be used as a store and the other 
for living purposes. It was learned from the trealv making parly on its return 
from Washington in May that the treaty agreed upon and signed at Washington 
ceded a tract of ia.<X)0.000 acres, about twenty-five thousand square miles, of 
South 1 >akota laud to the United States in consideration of $i,6o >,' k 16, or a trifle 
over twelve cents an acre. In the tract SO ceded the Yankton Indians reserved 
400.0CO acres 1 known as the Yankton Reservation in Charles Mix County), and 
were by the terms of the treaty allowed one vear from the ratification thereof by 
the United Mates Senate to remove from their various villages and camps to 
their new homes. 'I'he treaty further provided that Charles F. Picotte should 
be entitled to select a trad of 64O acres of land at any point in die ceded portion 
he might elect; also that Zephyr Rencontre should have the same privilege; and 
that the traders (Frost, Todd & Co.) should have the privilege of purchasi 

for $1.25 an acre. [6o acres at every point where they had trading post. 

In lime. 1858, the trealv -ranis to 1'icotle. and also the selection made by 
Frost, [odd X < o., were surveyed oul by Mr. George M. Ryall, of Sioux City. 

Picotte had selected his -rani of one section soon after returning from his trealv 
making trip to Washington; ii embraced the fractional section lying betwi 

Don-lass \venue and the line running south to the river from the Stone farm on 
the old State fair road. It look in all of College dill, and east to the west line 



,-_.,, HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

of the Stone farm. Frost, Todd & Co. selected a quester section adjoining Picotte 
on the west and fronting on the river as the townsite of Yankton, and made other 
selections on the fames, Vermillion and Big Sioux rivers. This selection of 
Picotte's covered all the land staked off by the Holman party, including their 
cabin, and as Picotte does not appear to have made any protest against the im- 
provements made by Holman, it was presumed that he knew his title would be 

! . protei ted 1>.\ the treaty and he was not therefore inclined to protest against 

ratuitous improvement of his property, for he was in need of a cabin and 
would have unquestionably appropriated Holman's if the Indians and soldiers had 
permitted it to remain. 

I lure are some very plausible reasons for believing that the firm of Frost, 
Todd & Co. had in view the location of townsites in Dakota when they formed 
that business association. It appears that the formation of this company was 
immediately followed by the active efforts of the firm to affect a treaty of cession 
with the Yankton Indians. The erection of the trading posts at certain points be- 
tween the Big Sioux and Choteau Creek was being actively pushed at the same 
time that Captain Todd, 1'icotte and the Yankton chiefs were in Washington 
negotiating the treaty, and it is clear that the trading monopoly would be utterly 
destroved as soon as this treaty was perfected and ratified. There seems to be 
no other inference than that the trading posts were built to secure the privilege 
of purchasing the land at $1.25 an acre, and not for the purpose of traffic with the 
Indians, for there could no longer be any trade monopoly nor a great deal of 
Indian traffic after the country was thrown open to settlers and the Indians re- 
moved tb their reservation. 

The formation of the Upper Missouri Land Company in February, 1858, com- 
posed of a portion, if not all, of the members of the trading firm, together with 
a number of prominent Sioux City men, is another movement corroborating this 
view of the matter. As all these movements were publicly known at Sioux City, 
Holman was well acquainted with them and this will explain his resolute per- 
sistency in clinging to his Dakota holdings, and might justify in a measure his 
determination to secure a foothold at this point. The treaty fully discloses that 
a few parties obtained valuable concessions and as this became known, especially 
to the body of Indians, it created a great deal of indignation among the Indians 
and was made the pretext for considerable complaint, as will appear from time 
to time. 

In June, 1858, an enumeration of the white people in Yankton County would 
have revealed the presence of George D. Fiske, William P. Lyman, Samuel Mor- 
timer (Spot), Samuel Jerou, A. B. Smith, Lytle M. Griffith, the first carpenter, 
Frank Chapel. James M. Stone, who had come in during the spring and was 
operating the ferry on James River which he had probably purchased from the 
trading firm or had built another boat, and Francis Dupuis. Mr. Dupuis was a 
skillful raftsman, and had convoyed a small raft of sixteen red cedar logs from 
Fori Pierre to Yankton, which were employed in the construction of the trading 
post. Dupuis was an Indian trader of wide experience but we cannot find that 
he remained except for a short visit, when he probably went on to Sioux City 
to purchase supplies. lie has been seen by the reader once before at the demo- 
lition of Fori Pierre The Holman party may also be counted, though it would 
appear that they kept aloof from the trading firm's attaches and usually spent 
th( ir days on the Nebraska side cutting house logs and making canoes, lodging 

1 cooking in their Dakota cabin. All the others named were in the employ of 
Frost, I odd & I !o., the licensed traders, and hence were lawful residents. After 
completing the building of the trading post at the foot of Walnut Street, Lyman, 
with .Mortimer. Jerou and Smith" removed to Smutty Bear's camp, about nine 
mill . where they erected another log cabin for the traders. It is very 

doubtful, howevi r, aboul its having been occupied as a trading post. According 
to the statement of an early settler who had occasion to pass through the terri- 
tory on Government business in i860, and who must have taken some pains to 















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LAKE KAMPESKA, AT WATERTOWN 
One source of the Big Sioux River 

















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ON I ill B INKS OF I III MISSOl i:i M \i: 'i \\K l"\ 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY li'l 

investigate, these trading posts for Frost, Todd & Co. were located as follows: 
One at Sioux Point on the Missouri, nearly west of the wagon bridge which 
crosses the Big Sioux; one near the future Town of Elk Poiht; one at Miles 
Hall's Point, about half way between Elk Point and Vermillion; one at the \ er- 
million crossing; one at the Government ferry on the James River, where the 
bridge over the "Jim" is located; one at Yankton at the foot of Walnut Strei I ; 
and one twenty miles west of Yankton at Hon Homme. This statemenl omits 
the one at Smutty Bear's camp. The firm of D. M. Frost & Co. which was en- 
gaged in the trade prior to 1S57 had a post, and probably two, on the upper river. 
While these events were transpiring in the Lower James River Valley other 
portions of the Missouri slope country below Fort Randall were invaded by the 
intrepid pioneers. Bon Homme Island, with its ancient ruins of a stockade and 
citadel, and it was directly opposite the island on the north side that Lewis and 
Clark observed the wonderful growth of vegetation on the highlands, the plains 
being covered with native grasses which grew so tall that a man standing was 
nearly concealed by them. 

BON HOMME AND BEYOND 

Bon Homme County is carved out of that portion of Dakota famed for its 
natural riches. It was opposite Hon I Iomme Island, on the Dakota side, that 
Lewis and Clark observed the wonderful growth of vegetation on the highlands, 
the plains being covered by the native grasses that grew so high that a man stand- 
ing was nearly concealed by them. It was Bon Homme that attracted the admira- 
tion of the colony from Mantorville, Minnesota, in May, 1858, while on its way 
to Pike's Peak, and influenced a change in their plans which made them the first 
settlers of that section. The settlement and development of the county has fully 
justified these early impressions. It is now one of the richest agricultural coun- 
ties in the Xorthwest and owes its prosperity and substantial position altogether 
to its soil, for it contains no large towns and has no manufactories or industries 
of more than local importance, but its lands are sought for their fertility, and 
some of the most complete farm homes and ranches within the Dakotas are found 
within its borders. It embraces nearly seventeen congressional townships, nearly 
four hundred thousand acres. It is well watered by numerous streams and as a 
consequence its surface is more broken than the average prairie country in neigh- 
boring counties, and has always possessed an abundant supply of native timber. 

The first trading post in this section of the Xorthwest built for traffic with 
the Yankton Indians was built at the mouth of Emanuel Creek in what is now 
Bon 1 lomme County, by Emanuel Disaul, a French-Canadian, for whom the 
creek was named, lie was for a long time the solitary white occupant of the 
country, and the date of the settlement is set down at about 1 81 5. He treated the 
Indians honorably and won their confidence and friendship. He was never mo- 
lested, lie finally removed, but where to or the date of his leaving can not be 
ascertained. 

Maj. Robert Lollard, of Scotland, h.nl been to some pains to collect the tra- 
ditional history of Lou I lomme County. In an address delivered at < Hivel a few 
years ago he said ; 

Bon Homme Island in the Missouri River received its name from a young man who 
was captured by the [ndians about iS^o. ami who. after his release Erom captivitj which 

was given him because of his g 1 qualities, located on the island and lived there the 

remainder of his life; he died about 1848. He subsisted by hunting; wild turkeys and bufl 
supplying the fur traders who called upon him in their boats, with robes and turkey meat. 
He was known to the Indians as well as whites a .1 g ""i man because oi his m nr. icts of 
kindness to the savage as well as civilized people, li is related of him that between i"\;S and 
1840 he saved the 1 i \ <■ ~ of 1 number of white men who were prospecting for coal along the 
bluffs on the Nebraska side of the river where a thousand savage Indians held them 
prisoned in the Devil's Nest He was famous for his hospitality. He was called "The G 
Man." in English; "Bon Homme" in French, and "Washta Pale Face" in Indian. The county 
takes its name from the island in the rivet along its southern border. 



122 HISTI >K\ O] li \K' n \ rERRIT( >RY 

is explanation of the origin of th< name "Bon Homme," while commenda- 
ble, must be incorrecl as to the matter of time, as Lewis and Clark, a quarter of a 
centur) earlier, speak of Bon Homme Island. Mr. Dollard's tradition probably 
relates to an incident of much earlier date than he gives it. 

I In- first settlement of importance in Bon Homme ( ounty was made by a 
small nearlj all young men, from Mantorville, Dodge County. Minnesota. 

This compan) started for the gold fields of ( olorado, Tike's Peak, in 185S, and 
struck tlie Missouri River at Sioux ( ity, where they crossed the stream and con- 
ed their journey along the south hank of the river to Lion Homme Island. 
Here they halted, having been favorabl) impressed with the beauty and appar- 
ent fertility of the land on the Dakota side. I'hey finally resolved to investigate, 
and for tins purpose constructed a large canoe from a cottonwood log, and two 
or three of the leaders crossed to the Dakota side and landed at the future site 
of the Village of Hon Homme. The "lay of the land," the deep, rich soil, the 
heavy growth of grass, all justified their first impression and the result was that 
the trip to Pike's I 'eak was abandoned, and they decided to locate at Bon Homme. 
I In \ crossed their people and their effects in the Gentle Annie, the name given 
in the cottonwood canoe, swimming their animals. The first neeessary work of 
providing suitable shelter for their people was set about with no delay, and soon 
comfortable log buildings were erected for habitations, and a townsite located 
and a townsite cabin constructed. This company was led by John 11. Shober, a 
lawyer, a man of energy anil ability, and it was made up of John Remme, Edward 
and Daniel Gifford, bred Carman, John .Mantle, John Tallmann, Thomas J. Tate. 
W. \Y. Warford, George Falkingberg, Lewis Jones (colored). Aaron Hammond. 
wife and one child, Reuben Wallace and II. D. Stager. 

\1111ther party came from Dodge County. .Minnesota, under Air. Sbober's 
leadership, who bad returned fur them, that also settled in Bon Homme County, 
and arrived there on the [2th of November, 1859. consisting of thirteen wagons 
ami considerable loose stock. This party was made up of C. G. Irish and family, 
who. I think, left Dakota in the spring of 1 SS 1 ; John Butterfield, who returned to 
Minnesota; Jonathan Brown and family, the family returned to Minnesota, Mr. 
Brown died ill Meade County a few years ago; Francis Rounds, who died at 
Yankton in [901 ; Cordelia Rounds, now Mrs. \Y. T. Williams. Shawnee, Okla- 
homa; and George T. Rounds, Stoncvillc. South Dakota. Joseph and Charles 
Stager left in 1865, and Nathan McDaniels and family, C. E. Rowley and I.aban 
II. Litchfield arrived in Bon Homme on the 26th of December, 1859. Mr. Mc- 
Daniels died iii Meade ( ounty a few years ago; his willow and three sons, Daniel, 
1 ieorge and Joseph, live in Meade County. The rest of the family is scattered 
and some dead. 

A frontiersman of some repute named William M. Armour located in what 
is now Bon Homme County, near Choteau Creek, in [858, and in the same fall 
or the following spring went mil to the newly discovered Pike's Peak gold fields. 
I Ieorge I I ai kett, an early settler of Sioux City and the first sheriff of W'ood- 
bun County, nf which Sioux City is the capital, removed to the western border 
of Bon Homme Count) in [859, and built a verj large and substantial log build- 
for hotel purposes. It was bullet proof and "Tackett's Station" became a 
ius stopping place for military men. freighters and frontiersmen. 

iel l' Bradford and son Henry arrived in Bon Homme from fort Lara- 
mie. Wyo Jil day of January, [860; his family was then in Sioux 
Citj and came in Bon Homme the following spring. Miss Emma Bradford taughl 
' during the summer of [860, in a log schoolhouse at Bon Homme built by 
Shober. Warford and other- lie school consisted of nine pupils, namely: [ohn, 
Ira and Melissa Brown, Anna Bradford, Anna. Mary and George McDaniels. 
■■<■ and Delia Rounds. It -.a- the first schoolhouse built in Dakota and 
claims to have been the first school taughl in the territory. 

The school building was a lug structure 14x15 feet on the ground. It bad no 
floor other than the prairie soil, one window, six panes, 8x10, plastered with 





THOMAS II. BENTON 

United States senator from Missouri 

for thirty years 



GENERAL \V. s. HARN] 5 

In c maud of first military expedition 

to Dakota, L855 




MONl MEN l l i: I in I OMMEMOR Ml I III FIRSTS! HOOL 

HOI SE l\ n \K' 'I \ i I i;i:i rom , LOi VTED \ l BON nmiMi: 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 123 

ordinary frontier plaster. The desks were made from the lumber in a discarded 
wagon box, and the seats were three-legged stools. But it served every purpose, 
was really an ornament to the little settlement and its settlers who had shown 
such a commendable interest in hastening the beginning of educational facilities 

In the fall of [858 the Bon Homme settlement met with a serious r< vers< 
suiting in Us few pioneers being driven from their primitive abodes and com 
pelled to remove across the Missouri River into the Territory of Nebraska. 
Mention has already been made of the edict sent out by the Department of the 
Interior warning all trespassers to remove forthwith from Dakota, and following 
this came the order to the military commander at Fori Randall to use his troops 
for the purpose of effectually executing the order. Accordingly, Captain Lovell, 
with a company of infantry, came down from the fort and summarily ejected 
the trespassers. These trespassers included all white settlers who were 111 I 1.1 
kota without authority of law. and this authority covered only the military peo- 
ple, the officers and employes of the Indian agent at Yankton agency, and those 
white men who had obtained Yankton Indian wives and were living in the terri- 
tory, and the officers and employes of the licensed traders, who at this time were 
Frost, Todd & Company. The Bon Homme settlement was about the first point 
where the soldiers encountered the proscribed class, and they litcrallv drove them 
down the hank of the river and across the stream, at the same time applying the 
torch to their cabins and improvements, and that material that would not readily 
burn was dragged down and thrown into the river. The work of destruction 
was made complete. The refugee colony was made up of W. \\ . Warford, a 
half-brother of George T. Rounds, John Mantle, Fred Carmine, John Talinan, 
William Young, Aaron Hammond, his wife and one child. Daniel Gifford, Ed- 
ward Gifford and George Falkingberg. Mrs. Hammond was the first white 
woman to settle at Ron Homme. The colony built a log house on the Nebraska 
side and lived there until the early spring of [859, when they again removed to 
Bon Homme, and rebuilt their cabins near the site of those destroyed. 

The writer has much of this information from George T. Rounds, one of the 
party who reached Ron 1 lomine from Mantorv ille in [859. As to what became 
of this party later in life, Mr. Rounds says: 

Mr. Shober remained at Bon Homme until 1865, when he went to Helena. Mont. John 
Renne went to Colorado in [860; '1" not know what became of hint. Fred Carman, John 
Mantle and some others went to Colorado. Kdward Gifford went to Colorado in [865 and 
was killed by an accident in the mines. John Tallaman enlisted in Company \. hirst Dal 
( avalry, and was frozen to death m the timber near Vermillion during his term ,,\ service 
T.J. late is it the soldiers' home. I lot Spring-, this state. George Fafkingburg has a cattle 

ranch in the southern Black Mills country. \Y. W. Warford 'led at lion Homme in 

Lewis Jones was killed in Yankton by Burns Smith, about t86g. Mr. Hammond and wife 
had a child horn in i860, supposed to lie the first white child horn m the territory The) 
afterwards moved to Iowa 

Mr. I). P. Bradford died in Bon Homme. Mis-- Emma Bradford became Mrs. John 
Swobe and resides at Hartington, Neb. Mr-. John Kounl . widow oi Samuel Gran) and 
eldest daughter of Mr. Bradford, resides in Pittsburg, and the youngest daughter, Mini, 
who is married, lives in Scotland. There are a good many whom 1 have lost track of thai 
came in during the first two yi the most of the settlers left during the Indian trou 

of iSiu. Mr. VtcDaniels and family, l> P Bi idford and family, and Francis Rounds and 
family being the only families that returned to lion Homme County from the fortifical 
around the old Vsh Motel at Yankton, at the close of the Indian raid in Septembei 
Georgt \1. Pinnej came in the spring of 1861, and Charles V 1 d Richard M. John 

-on laid out the Town of Springfield in [861. Mr. Johnson is f in Li id, I awrence 

County, These facis have been mainly secured from Geoi ;e T. Round with his 

mother was one of the lion Homme pioneers. ! i the fortifications on or mar Bon 

Homme Island, Mr. Rounds sn » there wer< marl o) a fortification near the head of the 
island consisting of an embankment which co 1 iboul fiv< .0-. ah n a small .' 
tion near the fortification was a place marked .0 the gravi of the man called "Bon Homme." 
I lis real name 1 cannot remember. \ Frenchman b; John McBridi 

that he was one of the party who buried him Mi, M I imw dead. I had lettet 

enquiry in regard to his burial from 1. hue 10 who lived in St. Joseph, Mo. in tin 
twentj years the river has completelj cut away the it] 1 tin islar tful 

if then remains any tract ■•< the old fort Hugh Fraley and his son Benton Fralej came 



[24 HISTORY ( )!■' DAKOTA TERRITORY 

lo B me in the spring of 1861. rhere was a Miss Gifford (.Charlotte), 1 think, who 

1 i r ifankton during th( -■ Mj recollection is that Charles T. 

to Bi 11 Homme in 1867 from Olmstead County, Minn. 

1 1, \ki ES P. BOOGE NOMINATED 

Tin.' first formal political movement in Bon Homme County was a mass 
convention held in t86i, when the following proceedings were had: 

Pursuant to a call, the electors of Bon Homme district met in mass conven- 
tion in Bon Homme, September 5, [861, for the purpose of nominating one coun- 
cilman and two members of the Assembly. 

I he convention was called to order by D. C. Gross, chairman of the conven- 
tion. \\ . W. Warford was chosen secretary, after which a motion was made by 
Mum- Merrick that the convention proceed to nominate by acclamation. Carried. 

The following persons were then nominated without a dissenting vote: For 
1 ouncil, lohn li. Shober; for representatives, George M. Finney and Reuben 
Wallace. \ftcr which the following resolutions were introduced and unani- 
mously adopted : 

Resolved, That we recognize Charles P. Booge as a representative man of the people, 
one of die first settlers of the Territory, and has ever had at heart the best interests of the 
people "f Dakota Territory, and if elected to Congress we have every confidence he will 
fulfill any pledge made in his Platform. 

Resolved, That we, the electors of Bon Homme District, in Mass Convention assembled, 
do herebj pledge mir undivided support to the nominees of this Convention and to Charles 
P. Booge for delegate to Congress. D. C. Gross, Chairman. 

W. W. \\ \ki ord, Secretary. 

Bon 1 tomme embraced the Fifth Council District and the Seventh Representa- 
tive District, under the governor's proclamation of 1861 , and at the election in 
September elected John H. Shober, councilman, by fifty-two votes, no opposi- 
tion; and for representative chose George M. Pinney, by fifty-three votes, and 
Reuben Wallace, by fifty-one votes. 

At the session of the Legislature in 1864-65 a bill was passed through both 
houses of the Legislative Assembly, late in the session, changing the name of 
Hon 1 lomme County to Jefferson ; Charles Mix to Franklin ; and Todd to Jackson ; 
but it did not reach the governor until the last day of the session. It was not 
approved and the old names have been retained and will be to the end of time. 

The original Town of Bon Homme was laid out in the summer of i860 by a 
company composed of John II. Shober, Reuben Wallace and Moses Herrick. 
The last named built a hotel building and opened a public house. This was the 
first structure creeled on the townsite after the town was surveyed. The Town 
of \\ anari, about eight miles west of Bon Homme, was laid out at the same time 
by a company made up of R. M. Johnson, Henry Hartsough and C. N. Cooper. 
Both these towns were incorporated by the first Legislature, which convened in 
[862, and the name "Wanari" was changed to Springfield. 

The treaty of cession between the Yankton Indians and the Government pro- 
vided that certain Indians and half-breeds should be given a tract of land at any 
point they might select from the ceded lands not otherwise reserved. Under 
this provision of the treaty Zephyer Rencontre, a Yankton half-breed, took 
it]) a 640-acre tract adjoining and probably including the Shober town- 
site at Bon Homme. A large tract of this he sold a few years later to Dr. 
\\ . A. Burleigh and Gov. A. I. Faulk, who laid out a townsite which was after- 
ward incorporated. It was already the county seat by act of the Legislature; 
was also the seat of the United States Court, and had a postoffice with Mrs. 
Francis Round- as postmistress. lt< first hotel keeper was Moses Herrick, who 
afterwards moved to Yankton, thence to Vermillion. 

A number of stores were built, a blacksmith shop and dwellings, until 
quite a village had sprung up. The land surrounding for several miles (five or 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 125 

six) was all taken by settlers and mueh of it already producing sod corn, oats 
and potatoes. The village began to decline later, but was not entirely abandoned 
as a town until [885, when the county seat was removed to Tyndall. h was cut 
off from all railway facilities, and a number of other towns had grown up in the 
county and had taken away its trade. 

The early settlement of Bon Homme County was greatly retarded because 
of the proximity of the Yankton Indian reservation, which joined it on the west. 
But as a matter of fact the county was singularly exempt from Indian raids and 
depredations. It is not intended in this sketch to give any fads Liter than 1861 ; 
but as appropriate to this subject of settlement, will state that in the widespread 
Indian excitement of August and September, 1862, known as the Little Crow out- 
break, the county was entirely abandoned by its white settlers, who came to 
Yankton, and when the alarm hail subsided there were but three families who re- 
turned to their claims. 






CHAPTER XV 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSOURI SLOPE 

IN DAKOTA 

(Continued ) 

THE VERMILLION VALLEY — SPIRIT MOUND — FORT VERMILLION — A MORMON COLONY 

-DICKSON'S POST ALECK C'S POINT KENNERLY AND VAN METER ESTABLISH 

A FERRY — FIRST SETTLERS AT VERMILLION IMPROVE MIC NT — FIRST LUTHERAN 

RELIGIOUS VND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION FIRST SCHOOL — FIRST SUNDAY 

SCHOOL THE DAKOTA REPUBLICAN — FIRST TERM OF COURT TEXT OF THE 

YANKTON treaty. 

In the journal of the Lewis and Clark expediton is found the first his- 
torical mention of a conspicuous landmark in South Dakota, that of Spirit 
Mi mnd, Clay County, and the reader is referred to the first chapters in this 
book for the description of the mound given by Captain Lewis, who personally 
visited and measured it. We have in this visit the first introduction of white 
men to the Valley of the Vermillion, of date, 1804. The explorers, however, 
called the river the Whitestone and again Redstone. 

Fori Vermillion was undoubtedly the first improvement made by white 
turn in what is now Clay County. This was a trading post built by the Ameri- 
can Fur Company of St. Louis about the year 1830, and stood on the bank 
ol the Missouri River, about two and a half miles below the present Village 
of Burbank. Its site was dimly discernible in 1859. when this territory was 
thrown open to settlement, but since then the ground it covered has been 
swallowed up by the Missouri River, with hundreds of acres of adjoining 
soil, which has cut away the banks of the stream with its swift current. Audu- 
bon, the ornithologist, visited the fort in 1843 and described it as a square, 
strongl) Imilt. and without portholes. Larpentcur, a fur trader of many years' 
experience and a historian, was in charge of the fort as late as 1850. ' It was 
abandoned in 1854. In August, 1844. a colonv of Mormons, numbering ninety 
persons, with thirty wagons, left Hancock County, Illinois, to explore the Rocky 
Mountain country and select a new location for their church. They spent the 
winter following ai Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in that fall thev reached Fort 
\ ermillion and -pent the winter of 1845-46 at and near the trading post. The 
next spring thev marched up the Missouri, passing near "Strike-the-Rees" camp 
(Yankton), crossed the .Missouri at the mouth" of the Niobrara Valley and 
reached Greal Sail Lake about the first of August the latter year. 

Hie I olumbia Fur Company also built a trading post about the same time 

east of the present City of Gayville, on the bank of the river. 

The post , s supposed to have stood very near the present farm of Mrs. S. C. 

a small affair and was called Dickson's Post, named for Joseph 

n old irader. who had been in the country since 1804. It survived 

''"' •' ,IU years only, the American absorbing the company that built it 

. Young .am,' to Dakota in 18^4, or rather to old Fort Pierre. 
then a new trading post ,,f the American Pur Company of St. Louis, and was 
"i the employ of that company; he frequently associated with William Sublette 

lL'll 




.11 DGE JEFFERSON P. KIDDER, 
L865 

Delegate to Congress Menu is;;, to 
1879. Judge of the I'. S. District 
Court, lirst Dakota district from 1865 
to 1875 ninl from 1879 to 1883. Died 
in office. 




II DGE \\ il.Miir w . BROOKINGS 

Pioi r of Sioux Falls, L857. Later 

legislator, 1 . S. District Court Judge, 

and a leader in |>"lit ics 



SAMUEL -I. ALBRIGB I 
l'i -n\ isional governor 1859 
^~i- 'ii v Falls 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 127 

and Ik'iirv Vanderburg, two quite famous frontiersmen. He followed trading 
and traffic until aboul the time of Harney's expediton to Fort Pierre in [855, 
when he abandoned trapping and settled near the Vermillion, or old Fort Ver- 
million, with his Indian family, he having taken a wife from the Yankton tribe, 
lie built a dwelling at or near the present Village of Burbank, in [855, and 
his place was known among the early settlers as "Aleck C's Point." In 1S57 
Charles V. Cordier joined the Young settlement, which was the lirst in what 
is now Clay County, Cordier residing there a number of years, and finally died 
there: but the year of his death cannot he stated. Young removed to 
the Yankton Indian Reservation about the time the Indians removed from 
Yankton, or the year succeeding, and abandoned his possessions at "Aleck C's 
Point." He there renewed his relations with the tribe. In the year [858. 
Frost. Todd & Company built the cabin known as the "trading post" near the 
mouth of the Vermillion River, and Henry Kennedy, of St. Louis, a young 
man about twenty-four years of age, resided there and was the agent of the 
company Lip to the time when the country was opened to settlement in [859, 
It does not appear that the company kept any goods at this place for the purpose 
of traffic with the Indians or whites, and the impression among the settlers was 
that the main object of erecting the cabin was to secure the location for town- 
site purposes. When the territory was thrown open to settlement. Frost. Todd 
& Company made claim to two quarter sections, embracing a large part of 
the old Vermillion townsite, but their right was contested by settlers and the 
company was defeated, not being able to establish title to any portion of their 
claim. 

\ rope ferry was put in across the Vermillion in 1857, before the trader's 
cabin was built. It was known as Van Meter's ferry and was located at the 
"trading post." A. C. Van Meter lived at the cabin part of the time. He 
also carried the mail from Sioux City to Fort Randall at that time; but he 
called the Vermillion cabin his home, and claimed a tract of land at that point. 
His wife was a half-breed Yankton, a very intelligent woman, and an excellent 
wife and mother, as mam- white people among the early settlers could testify. 
It is conceded by ("lav County's pioneers, though it would appear from the 
best evidence now obtainable, that Kennedy and Van Meter were at least con- 
temporaries. An old shack of a building perched on a side hill not far from 
the trader's cabin had been abandoned before the settlers came in 1S58. and 
this rude structure is thought to have been erected by Van Meter some time 
anterior to the building of the trading post, with the view of making claim 
to the land when it was opened to settlement, and a few years later Van Meter's 
Addition to Vermillion appeared among the recorded town plats in that county. 

Following Kennerly and Van Meter, a small company of Xorvveigians 
came into the Vermillion and Missouri valleys in the early summer of [859. 
These were Ole Olson, father of the first white child born in Dakota, and 
Halvor Swenson, with their families, who came from North Bend, Nebraska, 
anil took up land not far from the presenl Village of Meekling. These may 
have been the first farmers to settle in the Vermillion or Missouri Valley in that 
section. Mr. Hans Myron, then a boy of twelve years, now of (iawille. was 
in company with these people, though his father, Syvert II. Myron, with the 
remainder of his family, arrived a few days later. 

James McHenry, of Nebraska, moved across the Missouri to Vermillion in 
1850, built a store building and became the first merchant. Vboul August 1. 
1859, George and Parker V Brown, brothers, and Marcellus Lathrop, all from 
or near Ponca, Nebraska, moved across the Missouri and settled in Vermillion, 
and a little later the colony was increased by the arrival of Miner Robinson 
and his family and lolm Listrop. Mr--. George Brown and Mrs. Marcellus 
Lathrop were the firsl while women who settled in what is now ('lav County. 
George Brown, mentioned above, was the father of the firsl wife of Hon I' T. 
Bramble, who died at Ponca prior to Mr. Bramble's removal to Yankton Parker 



L28 HIST< >KY I >F DAK' >TA TERRITORY 

Brown was known by the name of Deacon, but this name was a misnomer, 
for he was reputed to be the mosl proficient in profanity of an)- man in the 
settlement. I he Brown brothers built a log structure near the old trading 
which was afterwards bought by ( aptain Miner and used as a hotel. The 
Browns remained in this new location but a year or two. The moccasin tracks 
were fading out; they felt the restraint of so much civilization and removed 
early in the fall to a beautiful and sightly location ten miles west of Yankton, 
where the) tin ted a comfortable and rather commodious log hotel building 
and prepared to entertain the traveling public. They called the new location 
Lakeport because of a number of romantic sheets of water that environed their 
new home and gave to the atmosphere the odor of a fresh water watering 
place. These were not all permanent lakes and their number has since been 
materially decreased. 

In the year of 1859 there was quite a large increase of settlers in the Ver- 
million Valley and at Vermillion. A large increase at that time was not an 
overwhelming number, but the immigration 1 of that year brought in a number 
of men of the most substantial and resolute character. 

Among the new comers were Aslak Iverson, Ole Bottolfson, a born leader, 
John Aalseth, August Bruger, Alexander Lancrease, John Gidross, Miles R. 
Hall. Franklin Taylor, L. E. Phelps, Chris Larson, Lewis Larson, Cornelius 
Andrews and Nelson Cusick, nearly all farmers. 

.Mr. \Y. W. Benedict, late a resident of Springfield, Bon Homme County, 
left Minnesota as early as 1854, and with a prairie schooner crossed the plains 
to Nebraska and finally settled at North Bend, a small village on the Nebraska 
shore just above Vermillion. Here he remained until March, i860, when he 
crossed the Missouri and took a preemption on the Missouri bottom near Ver- 
million. The Vermillion settlement made numerous accessions during i860, 
among the new comers being John W. Boyle, Henry D. Betts, lacob A. Jacobson, 
Bligh E. Wood, Nelson Miner, A. W. Puett, S. B. Mulholland, wdio built the first 
hoti I on the site that was afterwards used for the St. Nicholas. Jacob Deuel and 
I fugh Compton came in February and built and operated a sawmill near the west 
bank of the Vermillion River in a heavy timber bordering the Missouri. 

The first child born in Vermillion was Viola Van Metre, daughter of the old 
pioneer, A. C. Van Metre. The birth occurred in 1859. The first white child 
born in Dakota was Ole Olson, of Meckling, then called Lincoln. He was born 
in [861. This statement is generally accepted as correct, but John and Mary 
Stanage, children of Hon. John Stanage, whose widow still resides in Yankton 
County, were born at Fort Pierre, and two of General Todd's children were born 
at Fort Randall, prior to 1861, and later than 1856. The first death in Vermillion 
or in that vicinity was that of Judge J. A. Denton, which occurred in Decem- 
ber. 1N5M. 

George and Parker Brown, with Marcellus Lathrop, settled at Vermillion in 
July or August, 1859, being the first settlers on the townsite after the territory 
was opened for settlement. They came from near Podca, Nebraska, where they 
had been among the earliest settlers of Dixon County. They erected a building 
near the log cabin known as the trading post. This building was bought by Cap- 
tain Miner soon after he came to Vermillion and used as a hotel, known as the 
Miner I louse. 

In the year [86l the population of Vermillion and its surrounding country 
was further increased by the arrival of lion. A. J. Harlan, an ex-member of 
Congress from Indiana: William Shriner. G. B. Bigelow, N. V. Ross, Henrv S. 
Kellev. A. J. Hell and I-'.. M. Bond. The little Presbyterian Church, known as 
Father Martin's Church, was built at Vermillion in August, i860 It was the 
first church edifice erected in Dakota, and was .1 log structure. Prior to this 
and as early as March. [860, Rev. Charles | ). Martin, who was called Father 
Martin, held religious services in the village. At the time the church building 
1 reeled a religious organization was perfected, presumed to be Presbyterian, 




WILLIAM SHRINER 

Came to Vermillion in Spring 

of L861 




JESSE SHRINER 
Came to Vermillion in ISfil 




in iRAi i: -I. AUSTIN, L860 




FRANKLIN T U Ll IB 

Pioneer of Vermillion, i tame t< 

Dakota in 1859 




N. V. ROSS 




JOHN I. JOLLEY, 1865 
Law j ei and lejnslal o 



i LA^ ( ui via PIONEERS 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 129 

and in September following a Sunday school was organized. A bell for the 
church was also procured by Father Martin, and Vermillion claimed to be the 
locality of the first religious meeting directed by a minister of the gospel within 
the territory ; it also claims to have built the first structure for church purposes 
exclusively; also to have had the first bell to call its people to divine worship 
and holy thoughts; also to have organized the first Sunday school in the territory. 
The church building was torn down in September, 1862, and its logs used in 
erecting a fortification on the bank of the river, as a defense against "the hostile 
Indians. The first school was taught in this church building near the close of 
i860 by the first physician, Dr. James Caulkins, and it has been claimed to be 
the first school taught in Dakota, but that claim has been abandoned in favor of 
Bon Homme. On the 2.2A of October, 18C0, Jacob Deuel and Miss Robinson 
were the principals in the first marriage celebrated in Vermillion, which was 
solemnized by Rev. C. D. Martin. The Dakota Republican, Vermillion's first 
newspaper, was founded by T. Flwood Clark and James Bedell, and the first 
number was issued September 6, 1861. 

The term of court held at Vermillion the first Monday in August, 1861, was 
the first term of court held in the territory. Judge Williston presided, and A. F. 
Eckles was the clerk. A grand jury was impaneled which investigated some 
offenses for cutting timber on Government land, but found no indictments. 
Franklin Taylor was clerk of the court. 

THE PIONEER METHODIST CHURCH 

Rev. S. W. Ingham was appointed to the Dakota Mission of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church by the Iowa Conference, in the fall of i860, and reached Ver- 
million on the 1 2th day of October, coming in on horseback. At that time there 
were few Methodists among the settlers, and not one was discovered at Ver- 
million, though the settlers turned out Sunday morning to listen to the message 
of the young divine who had come so far on horseback to cheer and enlighten 
them. Services were held in the Mulholland Hotel dining room. 

The following Sunday Mr. Ingham was in Yankton, and there he was more 
fortunate in finding members of his denomination, but did not have as large a 
congregation in the morning as that which greeted him at Vermillion. Me found 
at Yankton two of his church people in William Thompson, the carpenter who 
came in with Moses K. Armstrong from Minnesota in 1^59, and Mr. Huston, 
who was stykd by the old settlers as the "Old Yank." At the morning service 
four men and two women attended — a steamboat having arrived in port which 
proved a superior attraction. In the evening he held services at General Todd's 
town office, which was a frame building and something of a rarity. It was 
located on the corner of Broadway and Second streets, southwest, where he had 
a congregation numbering twenty-five. 

Mr. Ingham went from Yankton to Bon Homme, where he performed a 
marriage ceremony, uniting Samuel Grant, a printer-farmer, and Miss Anne 
Bradford, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Bradford. He found 
two Methodists in Bon Homme, Air. and Airs. Nathaniel AIcDaniels, but he re- 
ceived a hearty welcome, and the entire settlement turned out to hear him 
preach. These were the first Methodist services held in Dakota, and in the year 
preceding the organization of the territory. The person reporting these inci- 
dents mentioned the singing at the different meetings. It was fairly melodious 
and indicated that our early inhabitants were more or less familiar with gospel 
hymns. 

The following statement, which shows probably the date of the first assem- 
bling of Methodists for organization in the territory, was written in their records 
by Rev. I. I.. I'ayne, who succeeded Air. Ingham in the fall of 1862 and resided 
on Brule Creek, in Cole County: 

The class of Yankton, D. T., was Eormed on Thursday evening, January r, [863, at the 
home of Bro. Bligh F. Wood, where the friends of religion had is embled r pi - ven 

Vol. i-» 



!.;,, HISK >RY OF DAK< >TA TERRITORY 

ed thai evening and two more the next day. As far as can be ascertained this is the 
furthest up the Vallej o( the Missouri of any religious societj yet organized. 

J. L. Payne, Pastor, 1862, p. 3. 

Nanus of first members— Bligh F. Wood, Harriet or Hamet P. W. Wood, J. Whit- 
field I '.nis. Ann Matthiesen, William Thompson, James !•'.. Wilherspoon, L. Z. rorspeich, 
Rhoda Gifford, Jacob Kyler. 

The earliest Norwegian settlers came in from Nebraska and settled on the 
Vermillion bottom between the fames and Vermillion rivers. This was in the 
summer of (859, when Ole Olson and 1 la Ivor [verson and Syfert H. Myron. 
with their families, took claim- near the old Lincoln stage station, about three 
miles easl "i the Yankton County line. Hans Myron, now a prominent citizen 
of Gayville, was then a young lad and the only boy in the settlement. In i860 
in the spring, another small colony, headed by Ole Sampson, accompanied by 
his twelve-year-old brother, Louis Sampson, with Ole Bottolfson, John Aalseth 
and Aslak Iverson, Halvor Brydelson, llalvor Anderson and Peter Anderson, 
also from near North Bend, Nebraska, moved across the river and nearly all of 
thein took land in the neighborhood of a locality called The Lakes, near the 
.nt thriving Village of Gayville, in Yankton County. Bottolfson and pos- 
sible some others, however, went further east and settled near the Vermillion 
River. Still another settlement was made about six miles north of Gayville on 
(.'lav (reek, or un a small tributary called Plum Creek, from the abundance of 
wild plums that grew along its banks. Nearly all these people were Lutherans, 
and it was a custom among them to meet at some one of the settlers' cabins on 
the Lord's day and hold religious services by reading the Scriptures, singing 
hymns and listening to short addresses. The first ordained clergyman to visit 
these' settlers was Rev. Abraham Jacobson, in the fall of 1861, who came out 
with a body of Norwegian immigrants from Iowa and remained several months, 
holding frequent services. He officiated at two weddings during his stay and bap- 
tized a number. Mr. Jacobson had not come with any intention of locating, but 
more as a matter of' recreation, and during the winter he returned home. The 
first Lutheran Church to be established was organized at the home of Jacob 
Jacobson, not far from the present Town of Meckling. It was called the "Nor- 
wegian Lutheran Congregation of Dakota Territory." This was in January, 1864, 
and resulted in securing the services of a Chicago divine, Rev. J. Krohn, who 
came out the following fall, and entered actively into the work of organizing the 
field. The officers of his Congregational society were Ole Sampson, Helge Mathia- 
son, Peter Nilson, Aslak Iverson and Lars Olson Fannestol, and his parish in- 
cluded the entire country west of the Big Sioux and east of the James River. 
Reverend Krohn baptized a large number of children and held services throughout 
the field during the winter, but returned to Chicago in the spring of 1865. An- 
other visit was made by him after harvest, when he held divine services at the 
home of lion. Torger Nelson near Mission Hill, who had taken land there the 
year before. The first settled pastor was the Rev. Emil Christenson, of St. 
Louis, who came up in 1867 in answer to a call that had been given him by a 
body of Lutherans who had held a meeting in February of that year at Syvert 
Myron's residence. .Mr. Christenson divided his large and widely scattered con- 
gregation into three districts, named Brule Creek, Bergen and Vangen. The 
Vangen district included Mission Hill, and here the first Lutheran Church edifice 
was erected in 1869, and the Bergen Church a year later. These were the first 
Lutheran churches in the territory. Mr. Christenson proved to be an industrious, 
as well as an able clergyman, and in addition to attending thoroughly to his own 
field, he laid the foundations for the churches in Lincoln, Minnehaha, Moody 
and Brookings comities, and when the Black Hills emigration aroused the coun- 
try in [876 he felt that he could do better or more profitable work in that and 
other mountainous countries then being occupied, and much to the regret of his 
people, resigned and removed, lie finally settled in Washington and Oregon, 
doing valiant work in the Master's service. 





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First Public Si hool oi i ankton 



Firgl house in Yankton, northeast 
of Third and W alnul b( 



Adelphi Hotel, Vermill in L870 

Two views ol B Iwaj in Yankton, Capital oi Dakota, 1867 

i \\:\.\ Si ENES l\ 5 iNKTON Wl> \ ERMILLION 



HIST( >RY < )F I) \K< ITA TERRIT< >RY 13] 

The firsl Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church edifice in the Territory of 
Dakota was built in Yankton County about two miles east of the modern and 
sightly Village of .Mission Hill. The time of it- erection was [869-70. I or ten 
years prior to this date, or since 1859, the Norwegians of Yankton and Clay 
counties who resided on the Missouri bottom had held religious services at the 
private homes id" the fanner-, and as early as [861 a young clergyman named 
Abraham Jacobson, of their denomination, came out from Iowa and lived for a 
time in the settlement-, preaching and baptizing. Among the very earliest Nor- 
wegian settlers in that section were 1 lalvor Swcnson and Ole Oleson, St., who 
became the father of the first white child horn under the Dakota sky after the 
Yankton treaty and cession in [859. Man- Myron, a young lad. came with th< ' 
people, who arrived in midsummer, [859. A week or two later Syvert II. Myron, 
the father of young Mans, arrived and took up a claim about midway between 
the Vermillion artel Janus rivers. The following spring (i860) a colony of 
Norwegians, led by Ole Sampson, crossed the Missouri River from near St. 
Helena, Nebraska, and formed the Lake Settlement, which is near and possibly 
partly within the thriving City of Gayville. With .Mr. Sampson were Ole Bol 
tolfson, Aslak Iverson and John Alseth. A large number of Norwegian settlers 
came in during the years 1862-63-64. Torger Nelson made the first settlement 
on the highland north of the James River ferry in 1864, and it was in this year 
that efforts were first made to organize for the building of a Lutheran Church 
edifice. A minister from Chicago, Rev. J. Krohn, was sent out in the fall and 
remained a short time, baptizing forty-five children at one service near Ver- 
million. On October X, [864, a meeting was held at the home of Anders I'lven, 
near Vermillion, and the "Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of 
Dakota Territory" was organized and the following elected trustees; I [elge Mat- 
thiason. Aslak Tverson, Ole Sampson, Peter Nilson and Lars ( lleson Fanestol. 
This organization included about all the country embraced in the Missouri hot 
torn from the Big Sioux to James River. Tn [865 Reverend Krohn. who had re- 
turned to Chicago, came out again and held sen ice- at the home of Torger Nelson 
in Yankton County. In 1866 a minister was called, the Rev. Emil Christensen, of 
St. Louis. He came up in August. 1867, and went at his work with great energy 
and intelligence. The congregation grew and prospered, and soon became so 
large as to he unwieldy. It was then divided into Vaughn, Clay Creek, l.odi. 
Brule Creek and Bergen. Brule Creek soon formed an independent church. The 
Vaughn districl embraced eastern Yankton County and in 1S70 erected a church 
edifice east of Mission Tlill at a considerable cost, the building material having 
to be hauled by wagon from Yankton and Sioux City. Rev, Mr. Christensen re- 
mained the pastor until 187(1, and built up a strong and permanent congregation, 
extending his labors into other section'- of the territory. In the year named he 
accepted a call as missionary to the Pacific coast, and removed to Washington 
or Oregon. 

(apt. Nelson Miner opened the Dakota Mouse in Vermillion in the spring 
of 1861, hut a few months later entered the service of the United States a- captain 
of Company A, Dakota Cavalry. 

Franklin Taylor, who up to a few years ago was the only survivor of the 
handful of earliest pioneers that occupied what is now (lay County, is a native 
southerner, having been horn in North Carolina. August 3, [827. lie is still 
living on his pioneer claim near Vermillion which he has entitled "Wayside 
Farm." Mr. Taylor was the first register of deeds of Clay County, and a member 
of the Territorial Legislatures of [863-64, [865 66, and again in [874-75. He had 
always been an old-time democrat, popular with all classes, and an exemplary 
and useful citizen. 

Vermillion was the Second 1 ouncil District under the governor's proclamation 

of 186] and elected John \\ '. Boyle and II. D. BettS to the Council. The vote 
stood: Boyle, 311: I'.ctts, 34; Nelson Miner. _•;; Mile- Hall. u. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Vermillion also constituted the Fourth Representative District, electing Ly- 
man Burgess and A. \\ . Puett representatives. The vote stood: Burgess, 44; 
Puett, 32 ; 1 tans Gundei son, 24. 

West Vermillion was a separate political division, being the Third Council 
and the Fifth Representative districts. Jacob Deuel was the only candidate for 
the Council, and received 43 votes. For the House of Representatives, Jacob A. 
Jacobson received 41 votes; Bligh E. Wood, 27; Christian Lawson, 12; and Ole 
Bottolfson, 4. 

The following letter from a well-known gentleman of Madison, this state, will 
explain conditions at Yankton and vicinity in the summer of 1858: 

Madison, S. D., June 17, 1905. 
Hon. Georgi W. Kingsbury, Yankton, S. D. 

ar Sir— \\mr kind letter of the 3rd inst. has been lying on my desk since its receipt. 
while 1 have been hoping to find time to dust off my memory and bring to view some of 
the events connected with my early trip to Dakota. It was a sort of a "wild goose chase" 
anyway. 1 was but a green boy, having only one year before come from my father's home in 
New Hampshire to seek my fortune in the then almost unknown "out West." The opening 
of the Territory of Dakota for settlement was expected early in 1858, and in company with 
two young nun. I. 1 odd and F. Joss, on the 5th of May, 1858, we took passage on the 
Minnesota Bell, at Red Wing, Minn., bound for St. Louis. At St. Louis we found the 
in 1 in- Company's boat Spread Eagle nearly ready to start on her annual trip for 
Fort Benton. We took passage on her to Sioux City, starting out on the 15th of May. 
Among the passengers was one Charles Chouteau (don't know as that is spelled right), of 
the fur company, Charles Picotte, well known later in Yankton, and eight or ten Indians, 
among whom was Mad Bull and Strike the Ree, if I remember correctly, also a French- 
man, Boyer (or Brughier), who had a shack near the mouth of the Big Sioux and I think 
owned considerable land in and near Sioux City. [The Indians were returning from a 
treaty-making embassage, having been to Washington and treated for the sale of the 
Yankton Indian lands in the new Territory of Dakota that was not then organized.] We 
on the river between St. Louis and Sioux City nine days, a tedious trip with a mixed 
cargo. Sometimes we would make headway up stream, sometimes stick for hours on a 
sand bar and usually tied up at night. This was the regular program with but little varia- 
tion, except as would sometimes occur a flow of too much whiskey in the cabin, a flash of 
diamonds and the shuffle of the gambler's cards. The towns along the river from St. Louis 
up gave little promise of what they are today. Kansas City seems only a few straggling 

huts ; Omaha with its white "State House"' on the hill was considered the "castle in 
Spain" of some crack brained enthusiast. Our party left the boat at Sioux City where we 
found some two or three hundred people, two hotels, a city with a New Hampshire Y'ankee, 
Colonel Mean-, its mayor. After spending several days around the city, strolling along the 
bluffs of the Big Sioux overlooking the promised land of the Dakotas, we decided to still 

1. bought a pack mule, crossed the Big Muddy and took the trail up the western bank 

.t the river. We passed the town site of Logan (since washed away, 1 think), St. Johns, 

I'onca, and made a stop of several weeks at St. James, in Cedar County, Nebraska. From 

this point we took observations of the situation, making several trips across the river to the 

Dakota side, and waited impatiently for the country to be opened for settlers. 

On July 6th we went up the river to what the boys called "Strike the Ree's Camp" on 
the river, just opposite Yankton. Here we found several white men who had claims in view 
around the Yankton town site and who were waiting as we were for a chance to squat on 
the land. We crossed the river in a dugout and stayed that night in a log house, the only 
building in Yankton. The next day we strolled over the hills nearest the log house and 
ventured to cross the Jim to some Indian tepees where we found dogs and squaws, the 
latter busy drying buffalo meat. The only unexplained thing we discovered on this trip was 

Stuck in the ground on the ridge between the town and the Jim with a little sack of 
tobacco suspended from it. What this meant 1 never knew. 

1 think there were some twenty men at this time interested in claims at Yankton, but 

I am unable to give any names. It was not thought quite safe to remain on the Dakota side 

of the river, but these boys with their big cottonwood dugout for a ferry were anxiously 

"•'i'in 1 1 1 nele Sam to give them permission to add another state to the Union. I know 

oi these boys, but I hope you will be able to bring some of it to light. 

That tl of good stuff goes without saying, but I doubt much if their reward was 

to their risk and privations endured. 

When 11 nerally known that the country would not be opened for settlement, 

rty concluded to return to Minnesota. We bought four oxen, a covered wagon, and 

our return trip overland to Red Wing, travelling nineteen days, passing through the 

counties 1 I W Ibury, 1 I 1 lay, Dickinson, where we visited the scene of the Spirit 

mred in February, 1857. Thence we went through Brown, Fari- 
bault, Waseca, Steele. Rice and lime counties, some days swimming our oxen, and 



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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 133 

floating our prairie schooner across the swollen streams not less than three times and going 
to camp at night without a dry thread to our backs. 

This was my second year's experience out West and it seemed to work no bad results, 
but, friend Kingsbury, you and I were younger in 1858 than we arc now. 

Yours truly, 

II. P. Smith. 

In August, 1S5S. Joseph K. Hanson. Horace T. Bailey, John Patterson, Ker- 
win Wilson, and Henry and Myron Balcom reached a point opposite Yankton 
called Green Island. They had come from Minnesota looking for a Location, and 
learning of the opening of the Dakota country, had resolved to gel in early and 
secure favorahle locations. As the treaty was not in effect when they reached 
Green Island, not having been ratified by the Senate, the Hanson party was not 
permitted to locate on the Dakota side of the Missouri, and remained in Nebraska, 
where some of the men took up land. They visited the whites on the Yankton side 
occasionally and found the two cabins of Holman and Frost, Todd & Co., which 
were the only structures on the townsite. 

Some time in September the Indians made a second attack on Holman's cabin 
and tore it down while he and his men were across the river, and the following 
day a detachment of troops from Fort Randall, under Major Lovell, reached the 
place, intending to destroy the structure, having been so ordered by the war de- 
partment. Lovell ordered Flolman and his men to leave the territory, it being an 
Indian country. Holman made no resistance, but withdrew with his men to 
Nebraska, and shortly after abandoned the projected settlement, returned to Ser- 
geant Bluffs, going out to Pike's Beak gold fields a year later. 

The Hanson party made no attempt to settle in Dakota during 1858, but re- 
mained at Green Island with Saby Strahm, and provisions being limited, sub- 
sisted through the following winter on Mr. Strahm's corn and potatoes and Mis- 
souri River catfish. 

In the early years the frontiers were infested by small bands of roving Indians, 
whose principal purpose was the purloining of horses and cattle from the settlers. 
The Nebraska settlers opposite Yankton were obliged to keep a continuous watch 
and guard over their oxen and horses to prevent them from being run off by 
some one of the pillaging bands who would resort to violent and deadly measures 
only as a last resort. In Hanson's Nebraska party was a man named Hank Bal- 
com, who had exhausted all of his resources in getting to Green Island and who 
had worn his only suit of clothes until it was a mass of strings and ribbons, ver- 
itably threadbare. He had but one good eye and the sightless ball of the other 
was a frightful object; it was usually open, giving to his face an unnatural and 
verv forbidding appearance. Around his waist he wore a rope for the purpose of 
confining the strings and ribbons into which his raiment had been worn. I Ii-* hair 
was black- and very long and had been a stranger for months to comb and brush. 
His head was surmounted by a slouch hat that had parted company with its 
crown, and a portion of his long hair protruded through the opening and lent a 
frightful feature to the man in perfect harmony with his other apparel. Taken 
as an entirety he was a person that a law-abiding citizen would not care to meet 
in an uninhabited country, lie was abroad one day and wandered into a patch of 
wild rose bushes, where he gathered and ate the wild rosebuds. These were very 
palatable and at the same time served to eke out the very narrow rations t<i which 
the party had become reduced. \- he stepped out of the patch of bushes into the 
narrow trail that led up on the highland bordering Green Island he confronted a 
band of mounted Indians, ten or twelve in number, who had come in on a depre- 
dating excursion. Balcom was terribly surprised, but his surprise was nothing 
compared to the terror which suddenly seized upon the Indians, who looked upon 
him as an unearthly being, and the chief, who was in the lead on the trail, agi- 
tated and terror-stricken, gave vent to his alarm in a loud "Whoof," wheeled his 
horse and lied at a racing gallop hack along the trail, followed by the band, who 
kept up their rapid pace until losl t" view. Balcom returned to the < ,il>in and 



HISTORY OF DAKl >T \ TERRITORY 

related the incident, which satisfied his companions that he could be of valuable 
fording protection from these thieving marauders. These terrified 
redmen never visited I ireen Island again during the stay of the Hanson colony, 
and spread a report among the Indians that the place was haunted by the evil 
spirit; that they had seen him and described to their superstitious hearers the 
weird and awful appearance of this frightful incarnation. 

In i Ictober, [858, Enos Stutsman, of Sioux City, the first lawyer, Frank 
Chapel, also of Sioux City, and J. S. Presho, of New York, reached Strike the 
1 amp. Stutsman and Chapel were connected with the Upper Missouri Land 
Company as directors, and Presho was an employe of the traders; David Fisher, 
a blacksmith, and the inM of thai craft, also came in and opened a shop, also Lytle 
M Griffith, the first carpenter, equal to the best that have followed him even 
to the present day. Frost, Todd & Co. had selected their 160-acre trading post 
tract fronting on the river and adjoining Picotte on the west, and this became 
the original townsite of Yankton. At this time 1858, October, James M. Stone 
-elected his claim adjoining Picotte on the east and David Fisher squatted on a 
quarter north of Stone's. Presho, Stutsman, and Griffith took claims west of 
the townsite and adjoining it. There was a feeling amounting to certainty, that 
the Senate would ratify the treaty at the approaching session of Congress and 
then the lands would be thrown open to settlement and pre-emption. These early 
claim lakers understood that the selection of claims gave them no legal right to 
the land, and in order to secure possession until the ratification of the treaty, 
they banded together as "squatters," calling their organization the "Yankton 
Claim Club," and mutually agreed to protect the members from claim jumpers. 
Mr. Stone's claim is now the "Stone farm" and the State Fair Grounds were 
located on one of the subdivisions of the Fisher claim. Stutman's claim was 
afterward- platted as an addition to the city and called "West Yankton." Hanson 
had also -elected a claim south of Stone's which he occupied in 1859 after the 
ratification of the treaty. 

In November, 1858, a party of business men made a trip from Sioux City 
to Smutty Bear's camp, inviting a young Sioux City lad named Marcus M. Par- 
mer, to accompany them. Mark was then twelve years old and fond of novelty 
and exciting adventure, and he accepted the invitation. The business gentlemen 
were partners of the firm of Frost, Todd & Co., named Edward Atkinson and 
Lewis II. Kennerly. The party had its own conveyance and as game was plenti- 
ful, they look along their guns and a liberal supply of ammunition. They left 
Sioux City early in the morning and were ferried across the Big Sioux River by 
Paul Pacquette, proprietor of the famous Pacquette Ferry which figured liberally 
in the annals of early Dakota. Paul was a French Canadian and a popular man. 
( >n the 1 pit of September previous he had been married to Miss Roselle San- 
guemette al the residence of the bride's parents on the Big Sioux, Judge John P. 
Ulison, a Sioux City justice, performing the ceremony. Paul was in the midst 
of his honeymoon, when young Parmer and party came up, but he gave prompt 

ntion to his business. 

I 1 1 iris of buffalo and antelope grazed and fattened on the nutritious prairie 
grasses of the Dakota plains; mink and beaver abounded along the streams and 
furnished profitable employmenl to scores of whites. French Canadians mostly. 
who had intermarried with the Yanktons; while water fowl literally swarmed in 
the lakes, sloughs and streams during the season of fall and spring. This was 
truly a hunter's paradise. The Sioux City party of which young Parmer was a 
delighted and enthusiastic member, drove along the military trail made by the 
liters carrying supplies to Fort Randall, stopping now and then to test the 
accuracy of their markmanship on the wild fowl which were abundant, and to 
quench their thirsl al the little watering places which the Government expedi- 
tions had dug along the way. The party reached the east bank of the Vermillion 
River near the pre-ent bridge aboul nightfall, where they were hospitably enter- 
tained b) a young man named Henry Kennerly, a brother of one of the party of 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 135 

traders. Kennerly had for companions at that time Arthur C. Van -Meter and 
Van's Indian wife. They occupied a small new cabin, designed for a trading post 
for Frost, Todd & Co. Young Parmer mentions that they had passed three or 
four cabins during the day but he does not recall that there was any sign of 
habitation at the point where the old City of Vermillion was built a year later and 
was washed away during the flood of '8l. 

The following morning the party was ferried across the \ ermillion in a flat 
boat, and reached Jim River about it o'clock without seeing a v< tigi of human 
habitation. On the east bank of the Jim they came upon the ferry house occu- 
pied by Janus M. Stone. This ferry house was situated very near the present 
wagon bridge. Stone ferried the party across and they drove on to the pro- 
posed new townsite reaching there about noon, and dined at the trading post with 
Mr. Fiske. This was a large double cabin and Parmer thinks there were tw r o 
other cabins in the same vicinity. There were about one thousand five hundred or 
two thousand Indians camped on the banks of the Missouri, overlooking the 
river at the time of this visit. After dinner the party drove up the Smutty Bear 
Valley about a mile and a half to Major Lyman's cabin where they had supper, 
remained over night with Lyman and started on their return to Sioux City after 
breakfast the next day. Flour was selling at to cents a pound at that time, 
purchasable at the trading post. 

In the fall of :85s a party of Sioux City hunters made up of John Currier, 
William Treadway, Martin Nelson, Isaac Reynolds, Silas Marr, Robert Williams, 
lames Buchanan and Louis Kennerly came out with a complete hunting and 
camping outfit and went over on the James River to hunt buffalo, which were very 
abundant. Their hunting grounds lay in the vicinity of Walshtown and from 
there east to the Vermillion. They found hundreds of buffalo besides antelope, 
grazing on the prairies, and enjoyed a royal hunt for three days. Every man in 
the party slew his buffalo, most of them took several, and returned to Sioux City 
burdened with hides and choice cuts of buffalo meat. The hides were tanned and 
each member of the party had a coat and a rube made fur his own use. 

BIG SIOUX AND ELK POINT SETTLEMENT 

On the (2th day of October. [835, Theophile Brugltier left hi- home in 
Canada, and on the 14th of the same month he left Montreal for St. Louis, lie 
arrived in St. Louis on the 15th of November, and on the 19th set out for Old 
Fori Pierre, where he arrived on the 13th of January. [836. Me lived with the 
Indians in the vicinity of Old Fort Pierre for nearly fourteen years; married a 
Dakota woman of the family of a chief, and came down the Missouri and located 
near the mouth of the Big Sioux River on the Iowa side, on the 15th of May, 
1841). Mr. Brughier received his first contract from the Government in 1N55. 
for furnishing supplies to the Sioux, and was also granted a license to trade with 
the Indians on the Missouri at the mouth of the Big Sioux. Thereafter he con- 
ducted a very profitable mercantile and freight carrying enterprise which in the 
course of time brought him a large fortune. 

A settlement comprising a number of families of white men who had married 
into the Yankton tribe had been made al Big Sioux Point on the Dakota side of 
the river about tin tune of Brughier's coming to that vicinity where he established 
his trading house. John Mcl'.ridc and Christopher Maloney. who became mem- 
ber- of the first Legislature, belonged to this settlement. Vlso lames Somers, 
Antoine Fleury, \dolph Mason, Robear Primeaup, Vrchie and Gusta\ Christy 
and Joseph l.a Plant. I. a Plant claimed to have settled there in [849 and was 
regarded as the first white settler in Cole or Union County. 

Paul Paquette located in the Rig Sioux River in [854, and operated a Rope 
Ferry on the Sioux City and Fori Randall Wagon Road in 1S51, and later, near 
where the present wagon bridge is located. Paquette resided on the Iowa side. It 
is probable that the ferry enterprise grew out of th< demand for improved 1 1 
iug facilities created by the establishment of Fort Randall. Vim in I ole is cred- 



L36 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

ited with having been one of the first white settlers. He was a resident of Sioux 
City in 1857, but was frequently at Pacquette's Ferry, and no doubt had his land 
selected and occupied soon after the ratification of the treaty, as he himself 
claimed in [859. The county was fust named Cole County, and he represented 
that district in the first and second Legislative Council. Colonel Carson had a 
ranch on the west bank of the Sioux as early as February, 1859, and a Frechman 
named Lefleur lived with him. Eli B. Wixson, of Sioux City, came into the 
county lulv 22, [859, and selected land and built a commodious log- cabin at a place 
which he named Elk Point, whore he opened and kept the first hotel and traded 
with the Indians who were trapping on the Big Sioux and tributaries. 

Explaining whj he came to select that location and how it came to be named 
Elk Point, Mr. Wixson relates: 

In the spring of 1856-57 we had very high water. From a point northwest of Sioux 
City, on the bluff, one could behold a vast body of water covering nearly all the land in 
sight on the Dakota side of the Big Sioux. When the water subsided my brother, the 
doctor, and myself, with a third party, made a prospecting trip through the land that had 
been submerge'!, and we discovered that the locality where Elk Point is located had passed 

ugh tin flood and remained above water. This, and the distance from Sioux City, were 
strong arguments in favor of locating here. The name of the place was given by the 
Indians long before the whites came in, and was derived from the fact that it was a runway 
for elk between two points of timber, one on the Sioux and the other on the Missouri. 

SPFXIAL INDIAN AGENTS — -WHITE TRESPASSERS 

Alexander H. Redfield, of Detroit, Michigan, was appointed United States 
agent for the Upper Missouri Indians in 1857. The Dakota Indians had no 
agencies at that time and were accustomed to meet the agent, who traveled by 
steamboat at some designated point on the river and receive the gifts and annui- 
ties sent to them by the "Great Father." There were a number of places on the 
river where the Indians would gather for this purpose. Yankton was one such 
point and Fort Pierre was one, and there were others beyond Pierre, extending all 
the way to Yankton. There were also some annuities paid under the Leavenworth 
and Harney treaties. Such a distribution was made at Yankton during the sum- 
mer of '57 and the fall of '58 when there were assembled here about six hundred 
lodges, estimated to average three persons to a lodge. These were the Indians seen 
by j oung Parmer. 

Quite a number of emigrants came in 1858, some with prairie schooners and 
a good outfit of household goods, farm implements and domestic animals, and 
others came afoot, just a good pair of stout legs supporting a healthv body. New 
cabins began to dot the bottom lands here and there from the Big Sioux to Eman- 
uel Creek. The Indians viewed this trespass with much disfavor and the licensed 
traders were also displeased; but for a time there was nothing done beyond a 
mild protest and a notice given to the intruders that they were trespassing and 
would nut In peianiited to remain. These mild remonstrances were not sufficient 
to stop the encroachments, nor cause any abandonment by those who had made 
settlements, and finally resort was had to an appeal to the Government represent- 
ing that the evil had grown to such proportions that there was imminent danger 
oi a bloody collision between the new comers and the Indians. The result was 
thai the military authorities at Fort Randall received orders to eject all settlers 
who were in the territory without legal authority and cause the destruction of 

their impro 1 nts. The exceptions included only the persons in the employ of 

Frost, Todd & Company, licensed traders, and the cabins built for this firm, and 
the whiter connected with the Indians by marriage. Agent Redfield was deputized 
10 accompany the troops and point out the trespassers and their illicit improve- 
ments, kale iii Vugust, 1858, Captain Lovell, with his command, consisting of 

pan] I. second regular infantry, started out from Fort Randall and began 

the work of destruction and ejectment. Near Bon Homme a large family named 
Young was fou, 1,1 In, used in a new cabin. They were driven out and compelled 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 137 

to cross the river into Nebraska, while the soldiers pu1 the torch to the cabin. 
The logs being green refused to burn, and they were torn down and plunged into 
the river and left to float down stream. The people who were driven out were 
highly indignant. There were two families and the female members were with 
some difficulty restrained from pelting the soldiers with cobble stones. They up- 
braided the Government for permitting the outrage, stigmatizing it as a hypocriti- 
cal fraud for preventing the white people from occupying a country that the 
Indians didn't need, and didn't use and didn't know enough to use. The soldiers, 
notwithstanding, continued their desolating march down stream. At Yankton 
they found that the Indians had preceded them in the destruction of one or two 
cabins which had been burned the day previous to their arrival. One of these 
was Ilolman's. The troops went on to the Vermillion Valley when' the agent 
dismissed them, having extirpated every vestige of the habitations of the new 
comers and driven them out of the country. They were not numerous, however. 
Mr. Henry Bradley, late of Yankton County, was one of the young soldiers in 
Lovell's command. 

The Yankton Treaty of Cession was not ratified until February, 1859, but its 
provisions would seem to be of service in understanding the movements of parties 
and conditions in 1858, and as it had already been made and was ratified with- 
out change, it is here given in full : 

THE YANKTON TREATY 

Treaty with the Yankton Sioux Indians made on the 19th day of April, A. D. 1858. 
Ratified by the U. S. Senate February 17th, 1859. 

Articles of Agreement and Convention made and concluded at the City of Washin 
this 19th day of April, A. D. One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, by Charles E. 
Mix, Commissioner on the part of the United Slates and the following named Chiefs and 
Delegates of the Yankton Tribe of Sioux or Dakota Indians, Viz: 

Article I. The said chiefs and delegates of the said Tribe of Indians do hereby cede 
and relinquish to the United Stales all the lands now owned, possessed or claimed by them, 
wherever situated, except four hundred thousand acres thereof, situated and described as 
follows, to-wit : Beginning at the mouth of the Xaw-izi-wa-koo-pah or Choteau River, and 

1 \ i' nding up the Missouri River thirty miles, then due north to a point ? ,* 

thence easterly to a point on said Choteau River, thence down said river to the place of 
beginning; so as to include the said quantity of four hundred thousand acres. They also 
hereby relinquish and abandon all claims or complaints about or growing out of any and 
all treaties heretofore made by them to other Indians, except their annuity rights under the 
Treaty of Laramie, of September 17, A. D. 1857. 

Article II. The land so ceded and relinquished by said chiefs and delegates of the said 
Tribes of Yanktons, is and shall be known and described as follows, to wit: Beginning at 
the mouth of the Te-han-kas-an-da-ta or Calumet or Big Sioux River; thence up the 
Missouri River to the mouth of the Pa-hah-wa-kah or East Medicine Knoll River; thence 
up said river to its head; thence in a direction to the head of the main fork of the Wau- 
dush-kah-for or Snake River; thence down said river to its junction with the Tchau-sau-sau 
or Jaqucs or James River; thence in a direct line to the northern line of Lake Kampeska; 
thence along the northern shore of said lake and its outlet to the junction of said outlet 
with tin- said lng Sioux River; thence down said Big Sioux River to its junction with the 
Missouri River. And they also cede to the In i all their right and title to and 

in all the islands in the Missouri River from the mouth of the Big Sioux Rivi 
mouth of the said Medicine Knoll River. The said chiefs and ites hereby stipulate 

and agree that all the lands within the said limits are their own. and thai thej have full 
and exclusive right to cede and relinquish the same to the United States, 

Article III. The said chiefs and delegates hereb) further stipulate and agree that 
the United States may construct ami use such roads as hereafter may he necessary act 
their said reservation by the consent and permission of the Secretary of the Interior, an 

' This "point" was about eighteen miles "due north from the starting point on the Mis 
souri Rivei but does not appear to have been marked There is no natuo I near that 

would define it and presumably 'I"' blank wa left and reliance placed on the concluding 
v 1 'ill "so as to include p * 1,1 

The reader will note that the next direction v.. 1 terly to Choteau Creek. The 

selection was probably defined after the treat) was - 

positively thai they would make tin treat; when they went to Washington where the t; 
was drawn 



l.;> HISTORY OP DAKOTA TERRITORY 

first paying the said Indians all dam; rid the fair value shall be ascertained and de- 

termined as the said Secretary of the Interior may direct. And the said yfanktons hereby 
agrei to remove and settle and reside on said reservation within one year from this date, 
and until thej do remove (if within said year), the United States guarantees them in the 
quiet and undisturbed possession of their present settlements. 

Article IV. In consideration of the foregoing cession, relinquishment and agreement, 

ited States do herebj agree and stipulate as follows, to-wit: First. To protect the 
said Yanktons in the quiet and peaceable possession of the said tract of 400,000 acres of 
land, so reserved for their future homes, and also their persons thereon during good behavior 
on their part. Second, 1 pay tor them or expend for their benefit, the sum of $65,000 per 
annum for the period of ten years, commencing with the year in which they shall remove 
to and settle and reside upon their said reservation; $40,000 per annum for and during ten 
years thereafter; $25,000 per annum for and during ten years thereafter; and $15,000 per 
annum for and during twentj years thereafter; making one million six hundred thousand 
dollars in annuities in the period of fifty years, of which sum the President of the United 
States shall, from time to time, determine what proportion shall be paid to said Indians in 
cash, and what portion shall be expended for their benefit, and also in what manner and 
for what objects, such expenditures shall be paid, due regard being had in making such 
determination to the best interests of said Indians. He shall likewise exercise the power 
to make such provision out of such sum as he may deem to be necessary and proper for 
the support and comfort of the aged or infirm, and helpless orphans, of the said Indians. 
In ease of any material decrease of the said Indians in number, the said amounts may, in 
the discretion of the President of the United States, be reduced and diminished in proportion 
thereto, or they may. in the discretion of the President of the United States, be discontinued 
entirely, should said Indians fail to make reasonable and satisfactory effort to advance and 
improve their condition, in which case, such other provision shall be made for them as the 
President and Congress may judge to be suitable and proper. Third. In addition to the 
foregoing sum of one million and six hundred thousand dollars, as annuities, to be paid to, 
or expended for the benefit of said Indians, during the period of fifty years, as before stated, 
the United States hereby stipulate and agree to expend for their benefit, the sum of fifty 
thousand dollars more, to-wit: $J5.ooo in maintaining and subsisting the said Indians during 
the first year after their removal to and permanent settlement upon their said reservation, 
in the purchase of stock, agricultural implements, or other implements of a beneficial char- 
acter, and in breaking up and fencing land, in the erection of houses, store houses or other 
needful buildings, or in making such other improvements as may be necessary for their 
comfort and welfare. Fourth. To expend ten thousand dollars to build a school house, or 
school houses, and to establish and maintain one or more Normal labor schools (as far as 
the sum will go) for the education and training of the children of said Indians in letters, 
agriculture and mechanic arts, and house-wifery, which school or schools shall be managed 
and .inducted in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior shall direct. The said Indians 
merely stipulating to keep constantly thereat, during at least nine months of the year, all 
thi 1 hildren between the ages of seven and eighteen years; and if any of the parents or those 
having the care of children, shall refuse to send them to school, such parts of their annuities 
as the Secretary of the Interior may direct shall be withheld from them and applied as he 
may deem iust and proper. And such further sum in addition to the said ten thousand 
dollars, as shall be deemed necessary and proper by the President of the United States, shall 
be reserved and taken from their said annuities and applied annually, during the pleasure 
of the President, to the support of said schools and to furnish said Indians with assistance 
and aid and instruction in agricultural and mechanical pursuits, including the working of the 
mills hereafter mentioned, as the Secretary of the Interior may consider necessary and 
advantageous for said Indians; and all instruction in reading shall lie in the English language. 
And the said Indians hereby stipulate to furnish, from amongst themselves, the numbet of 
young men that may be required as apprentices in the mills and in the mechanics shops, and 
at least three persons to work constantly with each white laborer, employed for them in 
agricultural and mechanical pursuits, it being understood that such white laborers and 
assistants as may be s,, employed, are thus employed more for the instruction of the said 
scholars, than merely to work for their benefit; and that the laborers so to lie furnished by 
lid Indians may be allowed a fair and just compensation for their services, and to be 
paid oul of the si, ares of annuity of such Indians as are able to work, but refuse to do so. 
And whenever the President of the Tinted States shall bee. .me satisfied of a failure on the 
Indians t , . fulfill the aforesaid stipulation, he may at his discretion, discon- 

; ' allowance and expenditure so provided and set aside for said scholar or schools, 

| nt > sa nstruction. Fifth To provide the said Indians with a mill suitable 

1 and sawing timber, one <t more mechanics shops with the necessary tools 

!" r ,1: ' 1!i1 dwelling h -use for an interpreter, miller, engineer for the mill (if one 

1 farmer and the mechanics that may be emploved for their benefit, and to 

expend therefor a sum nol exceeding $15,000. 

Indians further stipulate and bind themselves to prevent any of the 
members <>t their tribe from destroying or injuring any of the said houses, shi ps, mills, 
machinei ming utensils, or anj other thing furnished them bv the Government, 

and in ease of any such destruction or injury of any of the things so furnished, or their 




ii DSON I. A MOURE 
I'm er of Union County, I860. Leg- 
islator from Pembina County later 




( . T. Hi M.\l \\. L858 
limit Rrsl i abin 't , i unkton 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY L39 

being carried off by any member or members of the tribe, the value of the same shall be 
deducted from their general annuity; and whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall be 
satisfied that said Indians have become sufficientl) confirmed in habits ol industry, and 
advanced in the acquisition of a practical knowledge of agriculture and the mechanic arts 
to provide for themselves, he may at his discretion cause to be turned over to them all "i 
the said houses and other property furnished them by the United States, and dispense with 
the services of any or all of the persons hereinbefore stipulated to be employed for their 
benefit, assistance and instruction. 

Article VI. It is hereby agreed and understood that the chiefs and head men of the 
tribe may, in their discretion, in open council, authorize to be paid oul oi i In ir said annuil 
such sum or sums as ma> be found necessary or proper, not exceeding in the aggre 
$150,000, to satisfy their just debts and obligations, and to provide for such of their hall 
breed relations as do not li\c with them, or draw any part of said annuities of said Indians; 
Provided, however, that their said determination shall be approved by their agent for the 
time being and the said payments be authorized by the Secretary of the Interior; Provided 
also, That there shall not be so paid out of their said annuities, in any one year, a sum 
exceeding $15,000. 

Article VII. On account of their valuable services and liberality to the Yanktons, there 
shall be granted in fee to Charles I". Picotte and Zephyr Rencoutre, each, one section of 640 
acres of land, and to Paul I Mrain one half a section, and to the half breed Yankton wife oi 
Charles Renlo and her two sisters, the wives of Eli I'.edard and Augustus I ravers, anil to 
Louis Le Count, each, one half a section. The said grants shall he selected in said ceded 
territory, and shall not be within said reservation, nor shall they interfere in any way with 
the improvements of such persons as are on the lands ceded above by authority of law, and 
all other persons (other than Indians of mixed blood), who are now residing within said 
ceded country by authority of law. shall have the privilege of entering 100 acres thereof, 
to include each of their residences and improvements, at the rate of $1.25 per acre. 

Article VIII. The said Yankton Indians shall lie secured in the free and uninterrupted 
use of the Red Pipestone Quarry, or so much thereof as they have been accustomed to fre- 
quent and use for the purpose of procuring stone for pipes; and tin- United States hereby 
stipulate and agree to cause to be surveyed and marked, so much thereof as shall he con- 
sidered necessary and proper for that purpose, and retain the same and keep it open and free 
to the Indians to visit and procure stone for pipes so long as the\ -hall desin 

Article IX. The United States shall have the right to establish and maintain such mili- 
tary posts, mads and Indian agencies as may he deemed necessary within the nan of country 
herein reserved for the use of the Yanktons. But no greater quantitj of land or timber shall 
he used for such purposes than shall be actually requisite; and if in the establishment or 
maintenance .if such posts, roads and agencies, the property of the Yanktons shall he taken in. 
injured or destroyed, just and adequate compensation shall he made therefor by the United 
States. 

Article X. No white prison unless in the employment of the United States, or duly 
licensed Pi trade with the Yanktons, or members of the families of such persons, shall he 
permitted to reside or make any settlement on any part of the tract herein reserved tor said 
Indians, nor shall said Indians alienate or in any manner dispose .if am portion thereof, 
except t.. the 1'nited States; whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall direct, said tract 
shall he surveyed and divided as he shall think proper among said Indians, so as to give to 
each head of a family or single person, a separate firm with such rights of possession or 
transfer to any other member of the tribe or of descent to their heirs and representatives, 
as he may deem just. 

Article XI. The Yanktons acknowledge their dependence upon the Government of the 
United States, and do hereby pledge and hind themselves to preserve friendly relai 
with the citizens thereof, and to commit no injuries or depredations on their persons or 
property, nor On those of any other tribe or nation of Indians; and in case of any such 
injuries or depredations by said Indians (Yanktons), full compensation shall as far as pbs 

sible be made thereol out of their tribal annuities, the amount in all casi 1 be determined 
by the Secretary of the Interior. They further pledge themselves not to engage in hostili- 
ties with anj othei in he or nation, unless in self defense, hi n to submit, through their agent, 
all matters of dispute an. I difficult) between themselves and other Indians for the decision 
of the President of the United States, and to acquii e in and abide thereby. I h< j 
igree to deliver to the proper ..nicer of the United States all offenders against tin- treaties. 
law 01 regulations of the United State-, and to assist in discovering, pursuing and captur- 
ing, all such offenders as may be within the limits ,,f their reservation, whenever required to 
do s, . by such officei 

Article XII. To aid in preventing the evils of intemperance, it is hci.'v Stipulated that 

if am of the Yanktons shall drink, or procure for others, intoxicating lienors, their pro 
tion oi ill.- tribal innuities -hall he withheld from them for at least one year, ai 
violation of any of the stipulations of this agreement on the part of the Yanktons, I 
-hall be liable to have theii annuitii withheld, in whole or in part, and for such 1 
time as the President of the United States shall dii 

Article XIII. No part of the annuities of the Yanktons shall he taken 

the debts, claims or demands againsl them, .\cept such existim. d demands as h 



1 1,1 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

herein provided for, and such as maj arise under this agreement, or under the trade 
or inten >ut i laws of the I nited Si i . 

\rticle \ I \ The said Yanktons do hereby fully acquit and release the United States 
.,11 demands against them on the part of said tribe, or any individual thereof, except 
th( before mentioned righl of the Yanktons to receive an annuity under said Ireaty of 
Laramie, and except also, such as are herein stipulated and provided for. 

Article XV For the especial benefit of the Yanktons, parties to this agreement, the 

United S ees to appoint an agent for them who shall reside on their said reserva- 

.iii.l shall have set apart for his sole use and occupation, at such point as the Secretary 

..i tin Interior maj direct, acres of land. 

Article XVI. All the expenses of the making of this agreement, and of surveying the 
said Yankton Reservation, and of surveying and marking the said Pipestone Quarry, shall 
id by the United States. 
Article XVII. This instrument shall take effect and be obligatory on the contracting 
parties whenever ratified In the Senate and the President of the United States. _ 

In testimony whereof the said Charles E. Mix, Commissioner, as aforesaid, and the 
un ,l, . i lelegates and Representatives of the said Tribe of Yankton Indians, 

have hereunto set their hands and seals at the place and on the day first above written. 

Charles E. Mix, 
Commissioner for the United States. 

Pa-la-ne-a-pa-pe— The Man That Was Struck By The Ree. 

Ma-to-sa-be-che-a — The Smutty Bear. 

Eta-Ke-Cha — Charles F. Picotte. 

Ta-ton-ka-weti-co — The Crazy Bull. 

Pse-cha-wa-ke-a — The Iron Horn. 

Nom-be-kah-pah — One That Knocks Down Two. 

Ta-ton-ka-ma-ne — The Fast Bull. 

A-ha-ka-ma-ne — The Walking Elk. 

A-ha-ka-na-che — The Standing Elk. 

A-ha-ka-ho-che-cha— The Elk With The Bad Voice. 

Cha-ton-wo-ka-pa — The Grabbing Hawk. 

E-ha-we-cha-sha — The Owl .Man. 

Pla-son-wa-kau-na — The White Medicine Cow That Stands. 

Ma-ga-scha-che-ka — The Little White Sioux. 

Oke-che-la-wash-ta — The Pretty Boy. 

(The last three names signed by their duly authorized agent 
and representative, Charles F. Picotte. they being thereby 
duly authorized and empowered by said Tribe of Indians.) 

This treaty was ratified by the Senate in February. 1859, and became the law 
of the land. And while this general fact became well known in the new West, 
few of the people understood the provisions of the agreement, but believed the 
ratification was conclusive as opening the ceded portion to settlement, and a num- 
ber of new settlers came into the territory early in that year and squatted here 
and there near the timber tracts and began putting up their log structures. Major 
Redfield, the new agent of the Yanktons, was given as authority that the treaty 
was in effect and the country open to settlement. On the other hand the clause 
in the treaty giving the Indians one year in which to remove to their reservation 
was interpreted by them as continuing their control of the land for one year after 
the ratification, and led the Indians to oppose very earnestly the incoming and 
settlemenl of the whites. A great deal of ill feeling was engendered early in the 
year [859 between the Indians and the new comers, and in some instances the 
red men took the liberty of demolishing the improvements of the whites, threat- 
ening them with more serious injury if they did not cease their trespass; and but 
i"'' Picotte's friendly offices they might have resorted to forcible means to get 
rid of those whom they regarded as unlawfully intruding upon their domain. It 
would seem from this clause in the treaty that the intention was to give the 
Indians ample time to collect their effects and remove to their new home, but that 
the) wi re no longer to exercise any authority to restrain the settlement or prevent 
the improvemenl of the country. Fortunately no scalps were taken and as the 
Indian: practically withdrew in July when their first agent came to them and 
broughl the first installment of their annuities, the one year claim ceased to be a 
bone of contention, and although hundreds of the Indians returned to their fa- 
vorite camp- on the fames and Vermillion rivers, and remained during the sue- 




To|i row, left to right: Medicine Cow, Charles Picotti 
I i- Dewitt. 

Lower row: Strike the-Ree, Zephier Rencontre, I 
Prettj Boj 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 141 

ceeding fall and winter fishing and trapping, there was no further interference 
with the new settlers. 

YANKTON INDIANS REMOVE 

The lower valley of the James River and the country intervening between the 
valley and the proposed Town of Yankton extending also some distance up the 
Smutty Bear bottom, was occupied during the late spring and early summer of 
1859 by about two thousand Yankton Indians including women and children, and 
a small number of pale faces. 

The Indians had come in from Big Sioux Point, from the Vermillion and 
James river valleys, and from a number of smaller camps extending all the way 
from the Big Sioux to Choteau Creek. They numbered about two thousand two 
hundred men, women, children and papooses. The grand encampment at Yank- 
ton extended along the base of the highlands west and north of town to about 
where the Rhine crosses Capital Street, thence down that stream some distance 
and then to the Missouri, and thence up the bank of the Missouri to the base of 
the hill which is crowned by the Ohlman residence, forming an irregular circle 
of tepees from three to four miles in circumference. 

About six hundred Indian lodges were within this semi-circle. Peace brooded 
over all, and preparations indicated that an important event in the career of these 
people was rather anxiously expected. The time was approaching when the In- 
dians were to surrender their dominion and remove to their new homes on the 
reservation, and although lacking the cultivation and arts of civilization, there is 
little doubt that many of them were oppressed by a feeling of sadness similar to 
that which would render joyless the spirits of civilized people, if called upon to 
surrender a magnificent home in which their ancestors and themselves had been 
born and reared, and accept in its stead a paltry tenement, illy equipped and fur- 
nished, compared with the one surrendered. The unquestioned liberty to roam 
and hunt over the plains and through the valleys was to be theirs no longer. They 
were to be banished from the streams and forests to which they had become 
attached through lifelong association. And they must, too, have felt that they 
were making this sacrifice not of their own untrammeled will, but at the demand 
of a force they were powerless to resist, and that force they must have recognized 
as the white people. Considered from the savage point of view, can it be thought 
strange or remarkable that the Indians have not been able to regard the friendly 
professions of the pale faces as sincere? 

In July following, the good steamboat Carrier reached the port of Yankton 
having aboard Maj. A. H. Redfield, the first United States agent of the Yankton 
Indians. The boat was heavily laden with food supplies, certain bales of gaudy 
calico, great piles of blankets, and also a number of plows, wagons, mowers, 
rakes, and a saw mill and grist mill combined, with boiler and engine, all to start 
the Indians off in good form in their farm work and housekeeping at their new 
homes. A parly of Sioux City people, including a few ladies, were passengers on 
the Carrier going up as far as Fort Randall on a pleasure trip. The agent was 
furthermore burdened with a large sum of money— many thousands of dollars in 
gold and silver coin, which he was to pay over to the Indians at their new reser- 
vation as the first installment under the treaty. 

At that lime and for many years before and afterward, the main channel of 
the river ran quite close to the Dakota shore, and boats could effect a landing 
at any point as far west as Mclntyre's Hill, now Ohlman's. ["he I arrier tied 
up near the trading post at the foot of Walnut Street. 

A few days before the arrival of the boat the bands of Indians under I 
Smutty Bear located on the bottom lands a few miles above, began to entertain 
suspicions as to the coming of the boat, ai least they professed to have grave mis- 
givings. These bands bad been in an unpleasant humor ever since the treaty was 
made, claiming that they were not present at the time it was signed, and severely 



l42 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

criticized some of the treaty stipulations. There probably was a little sharp prac- 
i the pari of some of the braves by which they had secured some valuable 
lisites; but the assent of th< e recalcitrants to the treaty had been freely 
given and Chief [-ta-ke-cha {C. F. Picotte) had been given full authority to sign 
their names to it. The dissatisfied braves claimed that Strike-the-Ree and Picotte 
were on too friendly terms with the whites to have proper regard for the inter- 
ests of the Indian's, and Smutty Bear sent a very curt message to "Old 
Strike" requesting him to forthwith move up to that village to receive his annui- 
ties, as he (Smutty) was now head chief of the Yanktons and intended to exer- 
cise- the prerogatives belonging to that exalted station. Old Strike received the 
message very quietly and without any outward manifestation of ill humor, and 
returned answer to Smutty Bear that he. Strike, was the grand Sachem of the 
Yankton tribe; si. recognized by the "Great Father'' at Washington, and that if 
Smutty Bear and his followers desired any of the "loaves and fishes" from the 
in i.j they must repair without delay to the Yankton camp. This message the 
upper chief answered by summoning his braves and their families to forthwith 
proceed to the Yankton camp where the question of superiority would be set- 
tled, peaceably if it could be done with honor, forcibly if necessary. Accord- 
ing they marched down with their tepees, dressed and painted for peace but 
ready lor war. They (brew their tents around the camp of Old Strike in the 
form of a crescent opening' to the river. Stutsman, ITesho and Chapel, white 
men in charge of the trading post, observing the unusual proceedings and antici- 
pating a conflict, withdrew to the protection of the trading post, barricaded the 
door, and watched the movements of the contending forces from a cabin window. 
After considerable ceremony a council was held at which Smutty Bear aired his 
grievances concerning the treaty, though it was plainly manifest that his com- 
plain! was intended as an excuse for his refractory conduct, rather than to urge 
anv real objection to the treaty. To this Strike-the-Ree made reply explaining 
away all of the former speaker's objections and complaints and good humoredly 
reprimanding him for assuming to be head chief. The council ended in a good 
old-fashioned Indian dog feast, typifying brotherly affection. Red Pipestone 
pipes were puffed, two oxen were slaughtered, cooked and devoured. The three 
pale faces then ventured forth from the cabin. Medicine Cow was made officer 
of the day. The Jim River bands came up without protest, so that when the 
steamboat with their agent Major Redfield was moored at the landing there were 
not less than two thousand bucks, squaws, little Indians and papooses, waiting 
on the bank' of the river to give him a cordial greeting. Provisions and trinkets 
of various kind were distributed among the Yanktons by the wise agent who was 
anxious to make the first impression as favorable as possible, and the Indians 
were then notified that their goods and money would be turned over to them at 
the agency sixty five miles by land, farther up the river. It was evident that the 
Indians had expected a much larger portion of this distribution would be made 
lure- at Yankton, and they would then be privileged to take their time about reach- 
ing their new home; but the agent was firm in his purpose, and insisted that they 
must remove at once to their reservation where he would make his arrangements 
and have the goods properly distributed. 

lust before the Indians struck their camp preparatory to leaving for their 
reservation, a band of thirty-six painted warriors rode about the grand circle of 
tepees, vigorously whooping and brandishing their knotted riding whips, prob- 
ably conveying the order to all that the hour of departure had come. A number 
of aged squaws went up the hill to the vicinity of Dr. Joel A. Potter's residence, 
where two celebrated braves had been laid away on scaffolds in the Indian fash- 
ion of disposing of their dead, where they indulged in some peculiar ceremonies 
of a mournful description and then buried the remains in the earth. 

The boat departed near nightfall the same day ami the Indians immediately 
folded their tepees and loaded their travois and without further ceremony many 
of them were on the march for < ireenwood while yet the smoke from the Carrier's 




COLONEL KNOS ST1 TSM \\ 





< \ri \!\ NELSOS MINI i; 



h"\\ m i: i 1:1: \\ii:i. i: 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 14:; 

tall chininey> was visible in the gold of a Dakota July sunset. The many wind- 
ings of the river and the delays incident to snags and sandbars made the distance 
covered by the boat about twice that which the Indians traversed, so that the 
latter were enabled to reach the agency and the point of disembarkation just about 
the hour the boat landed. Xo improvements had been made for the work of the 
agency, and the goods were temporarily stored under cam as. The agent had 
with him a force of overseers and mechanics, including William Bordino and 
T. A. McLeese. The work of putting up temporary structures was quickl) 
completed and the Yankton Indians began their new life which was to be governed 
by their treaty obligations. 

What followed is eloquently told in the subsequent career of these Indians, 
who from ignorance, idleness and barbarism, have steadil) advanced in the scale 
of civilization until today those who are living and many of the descendants of 
that old stock are among the well-to-do farmers of Charles Mix County, attend- 
ants upon churches, patrons of schools, and upright industrious citizens of the 
United States. They have dissolved their tribal organization, own their own 
homes and farms, dress in the garb and live after the fashion of civilized people. 
Their numbers have decreased slightly — from 2,200 at that time, they now num- 
ber 1,800. There is a greater proportion of the present generation mixed bloods, 
and the time may not be far distant when their descendants will become undis- 
tinguishably absorbed in the flesh and blood of the Anglo-Saxon. 

Their reservation has practically disappeared, and is now covered by fruit fid 
farms and occupied largely with the homes of Yankton Indians. 



I ! I \PTER XVI 

FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS ON THE MISSOURI SLOPE 

IN DAKOTA 

(Concluded) 

THE UPPER MISSOURI LAND COMPANY TOWNSITES — A NATION WIDE PERIOD OF 

I ATM SPECULATION — PRAIRIE FIRE CAUSES FIRST DEATH CHALK ROCK 

USED FOR PLASTERING — MOSES K. ARMSTRONG, A NEW ARRIVAL INDIANS 

IN THEIR DOMESTIC RELATIONS — INFLUENCE OF THE WHITE INTER- 
MARRIAGE CUSTOM — ARMSTRONG AND THOMPSON IN PRAIRIE FIRE POPU- 

LATION OF YANKTON VALLEY AND JAMES RIVER — JOHN STANAGE AND 
FAMILY PIONEER FARMERS OF JAMES RIVER — HENRY CLAY ASH THE FIRST 

HOTEL KEEPER — GEORGE D. FISKE, FIRST BLIZZARD VICTIM ELK POINT 

AND EARLY PIONEERS — THE CANADIAN FRENCH COLONY — ON THE WEST- 
ERN BORDER — SETTLERS OPPOSITE FORT RANDALL BIJOU AND BIJOU HILLS — 

mi; PEASE AND HAMILTON SETTLEMENTS — LAKE ANDES, WEST OF THE MIS- 
SOURI — FORT RANDALL AND THE PONCA RESERVATION — MIXVILLE, THE SETTLE- 
MENT AND ITS PIONEERS — TODD COUNTY; PARTIALLY ABSORBED BY NEBRASKA. 

The "Upper Missouri Land Company" met at Yankton soon after the Indians 
withdrew, in July, 1859, and dissolved. The townsite was then surveyed into lots 
by John P. Culver, of Sioux City, under the direction of Enos Stutsman, who 
was the secretary of the "Yankton Land and Town Company," a new organization 
partially formed at that time, and fully organized the following spring, by the 
election of J. B. S. Todd, president; Patrick Robb, of Sioux City, trustee; John P. 
Allison, also of Sioux City, treasurer; and Enos Stutsman, secretary. 

Up to about this date, however, 1S59, tne name "Yankton" had not been 
adopted. Steamboatmen and the traders and Government agents all spoke of it 
as the "Camp of Old Strike" in the Yankton Valley. The name Yankton was 
given to it by the town company above organized, and Mr. Holman claims that his 
party had previously bestowed upon it the same title. 

In the absence of any government surveys of the newly ceded lands in the 
Yankton Valley, the beneficiaries of the grants under the treaty were not able to 
make their selections with accuracy as to boundaries; nevertheless the selections 
at this point were made and proved to be not very far out of the way when the 
lines were afterwards legally established. 

The platted tract of the town included about three-fourths of a section, 
bounded east by Douglas Avenue, west by the east line of Presho and Stutsman's 
claims, south by the river and north by a line running very near the south line 
of the present college grounds. A large portion of this tract was to be located 
with Sioux half-breed scrip, which at that time and for some years after was used 
by land speculators to secure choice pieces of the public domain in this and ad- 
joining counties. There was a business or financial reason for the apparent haste 
shown by the townsite owners in getting their property in condition to place it 
upon the market. 

144 




STRIKES THE-REE, AT NINETY TWO VICARS 01 

M.I 

( Inn ni the Yankton Sioux i ribe 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 145 

There had been since 1X55 all through the western country a 0-1 ailed "boom" 
in town lots and lands. For several years then- had been a great stream of immi- 
gration pouring out from the east into Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa, 
and the speculative fever in western lands and townsites had spread throughoul 
the entire nation. Real estate values were as high in a great many instances 
in the new West as they were a quarter of a century later and thousands of 
fortunes were won and lost by speculation in real estate during the years following 
1S54-55 until near the breaking out of the Civil war. Sioux City was a hotbed of 
this speculation and lots in that metropolis sold at very high figures. A dozen 
towns at least were laid out on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River and along 
its banks, between Sioux City and the mouth of the Niobrara River, land on that 
side having been in market, and town lots were sold at fabulous prices. Elegant 
and costly lithographed maps of these towns accompanied with a glowing descrip- 
tion of their commercial advantages, which were usually exhibited by a Reel of 
Steamboats moored at the levee taking in and discharging cargoes, were freely dis- 
tributed through the central and eastern states; and townsite agents sold their 
elaborately engraved certificates of stock about a-- rapidly as the printing presses 
could furnish them. This booming state of affairs could not have been unknown 
to the leaders in the pioneer movements at Yankton, and it may have been a 
desire to get their property into market while the boom raged, that urged expedi- 
tion in the preliminary work of building a metropolis at Yankton. But their haste 
availed little — in fact nothing at Yankton was realized from that period when 
values were so inflated. "Hard times" were already pressing sorely upon many in- 
dustries; railway building received a decided check', and the "wild cat" hauls-- with 
which the country was overstocked went down by hundreds, their currency ren- 
dered worse than worthless, entailing suffering and ruin upon thousand-. 

EARLY CLERGYMEN AND 01 HERS 

Rev. Melancthon lloyt, an Episcopal missionary clergyman of Sioux City, 
and Rev. S. \V. Ingham, a Methodist divine, who resided at Vermillion, hut had 
an itinerary throughout the settlements, were among the clerical visitors of that 
day, holding services as best they could. The Rev. ('has. 1 ). Martin, of Dakota 
City, Nebraska, preached the first sermon in Yankton County in February, [859, 
hut it is not known that he ever repeated his visit. William Houston, who was 
called the "' 'Id Yank." sermonized occasionally on the uncertainty of life in a 
land of "Indians and vipers." And William Marslin, "the old Jew" who dropped 
in anil dropped out in the most unexpected manner, discoursed on one occasion 
to a full gathering of the settlement on the sin of eating pork, which all the set- 
tlers indulged in when they could get it. 

Marslin was an American who had embraced the Jewish faith. lie was 
intensely religious and had credit among the settlers of knowing the Bible more 
thoroughly than the average of the clergy, lie with his entire family resided 
on a farm near St. John, Nebraska. 

The lii'st death after the beginning of white settlement in Dakota occurred 
on the 10th of September, [859, and was caused by a prairie tire. The grass was 
abundant and frosts came quite early, prairie tires lighting up the horizon at 
night in every direction. On the date named a squad of soldiers from Fori Ran- 
dall with an ox team were passing over the trail made by Lieutenant Warren's ex- 
pedition years before, about three miles north of Yankton, on their wa\ to the 
( lovernment ferry on the Jim, when the) were overtaken bj a prairie lire, and 1 
of the boys fatally burned and another seriously. Armstrong, in his Yankton 
history tells us that "it was after dark when the party reached the ferry with 
the il\ing man and called for the boat. While crossing the river a groan was 
Ik ard in the wagon, and the suffering man was .lead. In the morning h< appeared 
to he burned black as a coal, his skin .leaved from in- flesh and his teeth dropped 
from his mouth. A rude coffin was constructed during the day and his charred 



,1,; HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

remains placed in it and 'when the sun grew low and the hill shadows long,' he 
away to a neighboring summit near the old Sioux Falls road, where 
his companions slowly and sadly lowered him into his grave and to a long unsuf- 
fering sleep." A rude board was put up to mark his final resting place but his 
name was nol preserved by the settlers. 

Downer T. Bramble, at the time a member of the Legislature of Nebraska 
from Dakota I ounty, and who had been keeping a general store at Ponca, came up 
to Xankton early in the fall of [859. Mr. Bramble had been contemplating a 
removal to Yankton as soon as the Indian question was out of the way, and made 
preparations while here for the erection of a building in which to conduct a 
general store business. I [e selected a site at the foot of Walnut Street, taking the 
southwesl comer of that block, bis structure fronting south. This was the first 
frame building erected in the town or county, and the lumber entering into its 
construction was hauled up from St. James, Nebraska. It was a one-story 
building, about 24 by No. Air. Bramble found it necessary to plaster it in order to 
render it comfortable and protect his freezable merchandise, and as a matter of 
experiment as well as necessity used a plaster made from the native chalk rock. 

As the builders who came after him did not imitate his example, it is safe 
to conclude that the experiment did not result in recommending chalk rock for 
such purposes. But it served to keep out the cold. This building became some- 
what historic. It was used for mercantile purposes until the fall of 1861, when 
the growing business of the merchant demanded more commodious quarters. It 
then became the executive office of Dakota and was the political head center of the 
ruling party for a number of years. It housed the surveyor general's office as 
well as the executive at the same time, and an addition was made to it which was 
occupied by the secretary of the territory and the territorial library. It was the 
meeting place for a few weeks for one of the early bolting Legislatures. At the 
time it was built the only other buildings on the townsite were the Indian trading 
post, so-called, and another log structure built by Charley Picotte in the neigh- 
borhood of Picotte Street and the river front, and occupied by himself and his 
Indian family; and the Ash Hotel, composed of a number of log buildings, at the 
corner of Broadway and Third streets. 

On the 1 2th of October, 1859. Moses K. Armstrong, a surveyor and civil engi- 
neer and brother of the Thomas Armstrong- who was later the lieutenant governor 
of Minnesota, in company with William Thompson, a carpenter and builder, and 
George Grafft, reached Yankton from Minnesota, making the journey with a big 
prairie s.hooner propelled by oxen, and went into camp on the east bank of the 
James River near the ferry landing. Water and feed for stock were both very 
convenient and very abundant, more so on the Jim than around the Yankton 
trading post, while the society was just as select and the Indians fully as 
numerous. 

If the reader has never experienced the novelty of camping in the vicinity of a 
large body of Indians "at home" then he has got a very novel and entertaining 
experience in store for him. The Indians are superstitious and are by nature and 
habit early risers. 

THE INDIAN IN HIS DOMESTIC RELATIONS 

The dawn of day is an event in every well regulated tepee. It is then that the 
Indian arises and dons his abbreviated garment. He then speaks out in a loud 
x "" e, ■' though talking to some one inside the tepee, saying something after this 
fashion: "Wakan Sica! — Wakan Sica! Wakan Wakan, Wati etanhan, Kikoda 
Yo! Wakan Sica!" being translated means, "Bad devil, bad devil, devil; get you 
from my door, O, bad devil." No sooner has this jargon been started in 
one tepee than it is taken up and repeated by the neighbors and soon the whole 
camp resounds with a perfect babel of voices shouting this refrain with a good 
deal added to it. This however does not terminate the earlv rising exercise. The 




SI01 \ INDIAN GRAVE, L850 




.■fcEX, ,*&j44t 3 £& 


V 











PONI A INDIANS BOATING ON PONCA 
CREEK 



K 




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'fflpjf 1 ' 




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50 !§*£ 


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SIOUX PAPOOSE ASLEEP BOl ND ix 
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YANKTON INDIAN AGENI 5 




BULL-BOAT MADE B} SIOUX INDIANS SIOUX PQ1 UYS CURING HIDES VND 

M \Kl\i . BI i KSKIN 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 147 

talking inside the tepees continues until it is fairly light, but not an Indian will be 

seen out of doors, and in the meantime hundreds of dogs have been aroused, 
yelping and barking and pouring forth a torrent of noise that it is impossible to 
describe. It is said that this early rising custom prevails largely among all bar- 
barous and semi-civilized savages, and that its object is to drive away the evil 
spirits who during the night have entered the village and are gathered at the 
entrance of each lepee prepared to seize and destroy the first person who comes 
forth in the early morning. The noise is sufficiently terrifying to effectually 
accomplish this purpose, for when it gets light enough to enable one to discern 
objects out of doors, it is discovered that every devil has vanished out of sight. 
The Indians are now ready to begin the serious work of the day and the squaws 
are aroused for that purpose. They light the lires, and make ready the frugal 
breakfast. 

This peculiar custom of the uncivilized savage can be remotely associated with 
the devotional morning service in all enlightened Christian households where the 
family gather to implore God's blessings through the day, and pray that He lead 
them not into temptation but deliver them from evil. Possibly this custom of the 
modern Indian is a relic of an ancient ceremony when their ancestors besought the 
Great Spirit to deliver them from evil. 

Necessity had taught the Indian very little regarding the construction of a 
domicile or in furnishing it. Their domiciles are called "tipis," pronounced 
"tepees," and ordinarily are a conical structure, eight or nine feet high and twenty- 
five or thirty feet in circumference at their base, sloping to a pointed peak where 
an aperture a half foot in diameter is left through which the smoke escapes. The 
wall of the tipi is composed first of poles set on the ground in the shape of a circle 
and gathered together at the top, leaving the aperture before mentioned for chim- 
ney purposes. These poles support a wall of ducking or canvas fastened to- 
gether with stout thread or sinews, and before these were procurable, the skins 
of the animals slain in the chase were used for this purpose and arc yet tu £ 
limited extent by the chieftains. 

These canvas or other coverings arc fastened tu the earth and also securely 
tied at the top with an opening left at one point for a low entrance. This cum 
pleted the domicile proper. Inside the furnishings are of the plainest and simplest 
that can lie suggested. Around the circle mar the canvas were bestowed the 
sleeping quarters and it was surprising the number that could be accommodated 
with lodging accommodations in one of these primitive abodes. In the center of 
the room and directly under that small aperture in the roof arc two forked stakes 
driven into the earth about three feet apart, a pule or an iron rod stretched across 
between the stakes supporting a good sized camp kettle in which the family cook 
ing is done. Underneath the kettle the lire is kindled when it is needed. The 
squaw wife lias the management of the household, she also procures the fuel, 
builds the tins, and tradition informs us performs all the manual labor necessary 
to keep the establishment in proper order and free from debt. Her Hilinakei 
as she designates her liege lord and master, does the fishing and hunting, and 
smoking and trading, ami represents the family and its dignity on all occasion-. 
As a rule there is peace in the family there are very few domestic infelicitii 
The marital vows, in most tribes, are held sacred and the "Hilinakee" and his 
"Tawiau" move along in their allotted spheres in a quiet, peaceful, contei 
and reasonably happy wax. The instances where this is not the case are the 
exceptions to the rule, and one case of infelicit) never fails to attract much tl 
attention than the straightforward and honorable course pursued 1>\ hundreds 
of others. That the women perform what we term the work or the drudger\ is 
to 3 certain extent true, but it is mil pui upon her by a hard-hearted brute of a 
husband; it is the result of ages of custom, and is considered no hardship; for 
the Indian sipiaw residing in the tepee would not perform as much manual labor 
in a month as the ordinary domestic in a civilized white family would perform 
on a washing da\ or a cleaning house day. Where the Indian family was 



HISTORY l »l DAK* »TA TERRITORY 

situated that it could till a patch of ground, the squaw usually attended to the 
planting, cultivating and harvesting, but there was not a great amount of it at 
any tunc to be done and the warrior husband would in the meantime be occupied 
in the chase or on the warpath, securing game or the spoils of a successful battle 
for the subsistence of his family. 

I he writer has no desire to defend the Indian custom of keeping the squaw 
in a menial situation and as using her -imply as a bearer of burdens, which with- 
out any extenuation has obtained credence in the public mind; hut where this 
matter is examined free from prejudice and also free from popular notions which 
have never had any legitimate -round to stand upon, it will be seen that the 
large majority of Indian women have much less to complain of in their domestic 
relations than the majority of white women who are subjected to a life of penury, 
toil and privation by their worthless husbands. Our ordinary police courts in all 
communities disclose a condition of marical troubles and hardships that you 
would search in vain to parallel or to approach among any tribe of Indians. 

Regarding the influence exerted upon the Indians by the pioneer wdiites who 
intermarried with Indian women ami thus practically became members of the 
tribe, there may he diversity of opinion, but observation must have taught that 
in the greal majority of instances the white individual was not improved by the 
ociation and the same may he said of the Indian. The motives, ordinarily, that 
led the white person lo abandon civilization and seek a domestic career among a 
savage people and cling to such life from choice were not such as sway the minds 
of men of good inclinations and ordinary ambition. There may have been a few 
instances where persons who were the victims of unrequited affection or had 
suffered some monstrous reverse of fortune, sought surcease for their afflicted 
minds among these strange, and to a civilized person, totally uncongenial people 
whom we call savages; but the great majority seemed to have taken to it because 
of predilection and possibly in verification of the theory that civilized man, or 
many of them, following their natural impulses and asking guidance from no 
higher power or more potent source, will retrograde and deteriorate rapidly to 
the savage state, divested of the environment and virtues of civilization; and 
obtaining no recompense by securing the virtues of the savage — leaving him 
virtueless — a moral wreck; if in fact he had not touched this condition before 
In- association with the Indian squaw, for we know that he would not be led to 
his most abhorrent vices by any example or precept furnished him by the savage. 
The worst characters on the frontiers — the most reckless and violent — were white 
skinned men who had been trying to live and talk like the Indians and swagger 
and -wear like brutes. The most calamitous evil growing out of this association 
was the lasting impression these examples made upon the mind of the untutored 
and unartful savage regarding the white race. The great majority of these 
aboriginal people had known nothing of the pale face — many of them may never 
have seen a white man except those who had obtruded themselves into their 
society — they could not journey lo the abodes of the better and higher civiliza- 
tion, and that civilization had not come to them — so that this preliminary acquaint- 
ance with the white race left in his mind a prejudice hurtful and radically unjust 

ard all whin- people. The savage nature is not on that account unclean or 
impure. The Indian, .almost as a rule, would be found as possessing sterling 
trait- of character; high-minded, truthful; actuated by commendable motives; 
governed by good rules that might he termed principles, and while he could be 
extremely cruel and utterly merciless in dealing with a foe, his nature revolted 
at the coarse unbridled licentiousness and rank dissipation of his wdiite tribal 
relative, and he wa- seldom found participating in his degrading conduct. 

A large quantity of hay belonging to the pioneers was destroyed in the fall 
by the prairie lire- which were quite tierce and swept over a large area. The set- 
tlers who had animals to feed through the winter cut a second supply in the 
marshes and lowland- iii I i. tober. It was not merchantable hay, but it was much 
hitter than no feed. 




ASH HOTEL, \ ANKTON, L866 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 149 

Armstrong and Thompson, new arrivals from .Minnesota before mentioned, 
had gone into camp on the James River upon their arrival in the territory, and re- 
mained there for a number of weeks before removing to the settlement in town. 
They were so encamped during the season of these prairie fires, and came very 
near losing their winter's stock of provisions and tent. The fire assailed them in 
the dead of night while they were sound asleep, and had eaten away a portion of 
the tent before the heat aroused them. Mad Bull's band of Yanktons were in 
camp near and the squaw s who, after the Indian custom do all the hard work, were 
engaged in fighting the fire with wet blankets when Armstrong awoke. The 
Indian women in their strange and scant attire, in the glare of the furious flames 
which they were making frantic efforts to subdue, looked more like a baud of 
Tarn O' Shanter witches than human beings. Thompson, Armstrong's roommate, 
was awakened by the ridge pole of the tent falling upon his head, lie glanced 
toward the blazing prairie and the squaws and, supposing the Indians had attacked 
their camp, sprang to his feel with a yell and started on a keen run for the river 
under the impression that he had been hit on the head with a tomahawk. 

A census of the inhabitants of Yankton in October, 1859, would have shown 
the following named pioneer.-. : \V. 1'. Lyman, (.'has. F. Picotte, Samuel .Morti- 
mer. James Witherspoon, James M. Stout.'. I >avid Fisher, Lytle M. Griffith, Joseph 
R. Hanson, Frank Chapel, J. S. Presho, Enos Stutsman, Moses K. Armstrong, 
William Thompson, Obed Foote, William Werdebaugh, < 'tis I',. Wheeler. Horace 
T. Bailey, < ieorge Pike, Jr., A. B. Smith, Samuel Jerou and William Houston, an 
eccentric educated man who was locally designated as "Old Wank." And there 
were in addition the following named settlers in the valley of the lower [ames 
River: John Stanage, Felix LeBlanc, John Lefevrc 1 ( )ld Dakota), I.. ( i. l'.our- 
ret, F. Johnson. M. Minde, L. Hanson, John Alseth, John Betz, Henry Arend, 
Thomas Frick, William Xeuman, Ole Olson and John Claude. 

There were also three white women, wives of the settlers, Mrs. Stanage, Mrs. 
Frick and Mrs. Arend; five children, one --on and one daughter of Stanage, John 
and Mary, two smb of Arend, Henrv and Chris, and Mary, a daughter of Thomas 
Frick. 

W. 1'. Lyman had taken a claim adjoining the townsite on Smutty Bear bot- 
tom which he improved and cultivated, and Judge Presho had also taken a claim 
adjoining the town on the west. 

In July, [859, John Stanage with his wife- and two children, fohn and Marw 
with two yoke of oxen, two new wagons, a few cows, a breaking plow and a 
good supply of provisions reached the east hank of the James River near the < rOA 
eminent ferry and went into camp. Mr. Stanage had been a soldier in the regular 
army hut his term of five years ended in '},J at Fori Pierre, and he had then taken 
employment in the quartermaster's department after his discharge, and remained 
until '59, when he resolved to start out for himself; went down to Sioux City b) 
steamboat, outfitted as above stated, and returned as far as the Valley of the 
James, where he soon selected a location, and fell to work getting out house logs 
and constructing a pioneer home. He was the first settler on the lames, in fact 
he was the first farmer probably in the Territory of Dakota to settle upon his 
land and cultivate the soil as his sole occupation. Hi-- wife was then the onl) 
white woman in the territory outside of Fori Randall and Sioux Falls and 
Fort Abercrombie, and we know of none others in the territory west of the 
Big Sioux except those at Fort Randall. Their only neighbors were the Yank- 
ton Indians, a number of whom Mr, Stanage employed to help him in his build- 
ing operations. The Indians were perfectly well disposed, and Mr. Stanage, hav- 
ing learned their language while in the military service, had no trouble in neg 
dating with them. About the same time Felix LeBlanc, who had been appointed 
blacksmith at the Yankton agency, selected his claim near Mr. Stanage and em- 
ployed an old Frenchman named LaFevre who was better known as "Old Da 
kol 1" to open up the farm and improve it. LeBlanc was making $150 a month 
at the agency and for the time being concluded to run his farm by proxy, though 



1.-,,, HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

his wife and children came down to the claim two or three times a year in order 
to keep within the law's restrictions as to residence, and during these visits Mrs. 
LeBlanc would do some cooking for the old Frenchman which he did not relish, 
ise he didn't want any women around. He was an expert cook and a fine 
tanner and could mc no possible use for a woman on general principles. He was 
a confirmed bachelor and quite an eccentric character. Henry Arend and Thomas 
Frick, John I'.etz, and Robert Buckheart took claims a little later on this side of 
the fames River in the vicinity of the ferry. It would seem that Ireland, Canada, 
ay, < lermany and Dakota were all represented in these settlements. Stanage 
put in a good rope ferry at his place the same fall; this was about a mile below 
the first ferrj put in by I.vman. and "Stallage's Crossing" became popular in 
after years and the major portion of the travel patronized him, especially emi- 
grants' and freighters who found the camping privileges much superior. LeBlanc 
a few years later built a bridge at his claim and the ferries were then sent farther 
north and west. 

Henry Clay Ash, of Sioux City, a whole souled, genial Hoosier, born and 
bred, and possibly the most popular of all the early pioneers, came to Yankton 
early in October and put up two log buildings on the site of the present Merchants 
I lotel, and on Christmas eve following, at the close of a very cold day he came 
from Sioux City with his family, and the Ash Hotel was opened on Christmas, 
1859, lTi tnc '°g structures. Mrs. Ash was the first white woman to take up an 
abode in Yankton. 

The first jury trial in Dakota took place in Yankton in March, i860. In 
ill.- absence of local law, the "Yankton Claim Club" furnished the procedure and 
the rules. The case to be decided was a claim contest between W. P. Lyman and 
( ieorge Gillmore, a new comer. The land in dispute was a tract in Smutty Bear 
which a few years later became the home of Jacob Brauch and family. The 
judge was M. K. Armstrong, Enos Stutsman was Lyman's lawyer, while Gill- 
more, of Hanson's Nebraska party, seems to have appeared in bis own behalf, 
there being no attorney, except Stutsman, among the settlers. The jury was 
composed of D. W. Whitmer, Robert Crippen and P. Dupuis. The witnesses who 
testified were J. R. Hanson, Horace T. Bailey, Chas. Picotte, and James Falking- 
berg. The case was given to the jury after able arguments by both parties, who 
returned a verdict in favor of Lyman, and that ended the case. There was no 
higher court for Gillmore to appeal to and the verdict seemed to be generally 
upheld by the settlers. 

FIRST BLIZZARD VICTIM 

The winter of 1860-61 was extremely rigorous, especially the closing weeks. 
Xo known record was kept but the cold was intense for a long time, snows were 
frequent, high winds prevailed, and the drifts were colossal. It was a long, bliz- 
zardy winter and Geo. D. Fiske, the first white resident of Yankton, was frozen 
to death on the night of the 10th of February, during a scathing, blinding bliz- 
zard. Mr. Fiske came to Yankton in 1858 in the employ of Frost, Todd & Com- 
pany and for some time represented that firm at this point. He had not been in 
this employ, however, for about a year before his death, and had spent a good 
portion of the summer and fall of i860 at the little settlement of Frankfort on 
the Nebraska side. Lie was stopping with Wm, Thompson at the latter's claim 
cabin that winter. This cabin was situated in the vicinity of Valentine's old 
home northwest of and adjoining Yankton, where Thompson had made a pre- 
emption. ( )n the night Fiske met his death, he was down tow'n. and during the 
evening and while the storm was fiercely raging he called at the Ash Hotel to 
rest awhile, lie told Mr. Ash he was on his way out to Thompson's and he was 
met by a vigorous protest from that gentleman, who with great earnestness urged 
him to give up any such attempt for the night, as the chances were a hundred to 
one M-.it he would perish. The wind was howling and the air was literally filled 



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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 151 

with the flying snow. It would have been a dangerous storm to face in daylight, 
and in this case the way to Thompson's was a good three-fourths of a mile over 
a trackless prairie without a sign of habitation between, and the eddying and 
whirling snow so violent as to literally take one's breath away and to cause such 
confusion of the senses as to make it impossible to keep in any certain direction. 
The wind at times would seem to come with equal force from every point of the 
compass. Ash pleaded with him to abandon his intention, but the man was stub- 
born and determined to go. He told Ash he could make it and finally started out. 
He must have lost his way very soon after leaving the hotel, and instead of head- 
ing for Thompson's he made his way west up the slope of the hill until he reached 
a spot just north of Judge Presho's old cabin, where he fell exhausted and died. 
His body was found the next day after the storm by a searching part v. Arm- 
strong in his early history tells us that his funeral was the first in the county and 
in the absence of a clergyman the solemn ceremonies were performed by his 
young friends and companions. This was the first death in Yankton and the 
second in the county, both resulting from fire and storm. Mr. Fiske was a south- 
ern man but from what place or even state was not known among his acquaint- 
ances here. He was a good business man and popular with the settlers. He was 
buried in a plat of ground near Thompson's cabin, and here for a number of years 
those who died in Yankton were buried. Cemetery grounds were afterwards 
donated by Picotte on College Hill and these early interments were removed to 
the new burial place. 

H. C. Ash was one of the searching party that discovered the lifeless remains 
of the unfortunate man and assisted in preparing his body for burial. Fiske had 
worn a pair of leather mittens the night he was frozen and when found his hands 
were tightly clenched and held a small ball of ice that had formed from the 
snow he had gathered in his mittens. These mittens were left at the Ash Hotel 
and as no one cared to take them away Mr. Ash placed them on a shelf where 
they would be out of the way, as he didn't feel like throwing them into the street. 
He never had any desire to interfere with them, and denies that he is in the 
least superstitious, but says that for a number of years after, these mittens 
would turn up before him in the most unexpected places and at the most unsea- 
sonable times, and he could never account for it. 

ELK POINT AND COLE <m \li 

The Town of Elk Point was first laid out on an eighty acre tract by the 
Elk Point Townsite Company, of which E. P. Wixson was president. There have 
been additions made to the town of which quite a portion was on Wixson's land. 
Frost, Todd & Company had nothing near this place. Doctor Burleigh bought 
160 acres of Hastings Seamond and laid it out in town lots. The Pinckney and 
Carpenter additions were a part of Wixson's claim. The main street of Elk 
Point is the territorial road located by the Federal Government in 1865 when 
Colonel Moody or A. B. Miller was superintendent of thai enterprise. Mr. Wix- 
son is still living at Elk Point, which has grown to be a thriving and prosperous 
city, vindicating fully the promise it held out when Mr. Wixson made his settle- 
ment there nearly half a century ago. 

Mrs. George Stickney was the first while woman to settle in that section. 
She came in i860. Her husband was a prominent lawyer, legislator and politician 
of that county for a number of years. Early in the spring of [860, John R. 
Wood and family, George Sticknej and family, Wm. Adams, Myron Sheldon, 
Hastings Seamond, David Benjamin and Mr. Bartlett, settled near Wixson and 
K. |. Wallace came a little later, taking up land adjoining Michael Ryan's claim 
at Jefferson. J. A. Wallace, attorney at law, was an early settler, 

According to the recollection of Mr. M. B, Kent and data that he ha- been 
collecting ami preserving, the firsl settlers at Richland and on Brule ('reek, 
ginning in [860, were ,M\ron kuvkcndall. \. R. Stoddard, Amos I lexter. Orin 
Fletcher, Milton M. Rich, |olm Ream-. Thomas C. Watson, I-".. 1'.. LaMoure, 



l5 2 1 1 IS T< »IO OF ] lAKOTA TERRITORY 

fudson LaMoure, Elmer and Lester Seward, Thaddeus Andrews, Carl Kingsley, 
Patrick ( omfort and a brother, Thomas I »lson, John Thompson, J. O. Taylor, 
i hris Thompson, I. E. Hoisington, W. II. II. Fate, James Fate, and their father, 
["nomas Fate, Ole Bottolfson. Wesl of Elk Point were Hiram Stratton, E. C. 

lins, William Flannery, K. P. Ronne, John Morris, Emory Morris, Joseph La- 
Barge, David Benjamen, Runyan Compton and M. 1). Weston. South of Elk 
Point were Alvin Cameron, R. H. Langdon, David Pennell, Sherman Clyde, John 
Donovan, David Walters, R. R. Green, Howard Mbsier, Solomon B. Stough, 
Daniel Ballinger, Silas Rohr, Hegeick Townsend, Anthony Summey, Josiah 
Bowman, ( harles Patton. East were John R. Wood, Preston Hotchkiss, George 
Stickney, lames Phillips, Benjamin Briggs, F. W. Smythe, Jacob Keplinger, 
Patrick Carey, Daniel Connolley, .Michael Curry, Wesley McNiel, George 
t leisler. 

Among the firsl settlers in Elk Point were Eli B. Wixson, J. W. Vandevere, 
Timoth) Bryan, I EC. Fairchild, Henry Rowe, C. W. Briggs, C. M. Northrup, 
Hyrami iardner, \\ illiam Baldwin, Frederick Stroble, D. M. Mills, W. W. Adams, 
foseph Dufraw, M. L. Hoyt, J. I'. Bennet. The early settlers at Jefferson (the 
twelve mile house) were Michael Ryan, Charles LaBreche, Joseph Yerter, Desire 
Chaussee, the Beaubeans, Antonia Remillards and the Fountains. This vicinity 
was known a- die French settlement. 

In [859 a large colony of French Canadians who were excellent farmers, 
exceedingly industrious, moved in and formed what was called the French Settle- 
ment between Elk Point and the Dig Sioux in the central portion of the future 
( ole I ' unit v. For many years following, this settlement was famous for its 
well improved farms, the superior quality of its products, including live stock, its 
substantial improvements, and the hospitality and enterprise of the inhabitants. 
So attractive was it that pleasure parties from Sioux City made it daily visits dur- 
ing the growing seasons; and the most enterprising of the pioneer real estate 
'K.ilers and agents conveyed their customers there to exhibit the "improvements 
and 1" show them what could be done with Dakota soil in the hands of skillful 
fanners. This was in the early years of Dakota's settlement when its agricul- 
tural value was an unproved problem — when even its friends shook their heads 
in doubt as to its fitness for general farming; when frequent drouths afflicted, 
and myriads of hungry shark-teeth grasshoppers paid the Dakota settlements 
annual visits. Chiefly among American settlers this skeptical feeling was preva- 
lent and bore most heavily and it was remarked as the seasons grew 7 better that 
during the years when these scourges were most serious, the Scandinavians, 
Irishmen, Germans and Canadians were seldom known to complain. 

I he first political convention held in the future Cole and later Union County, 
convened at Big Sioux Point some time after the governor's proclamation was 
issued in 1 Siii. when the following proceedings were had: 

Big Sioux Point, Aug. 17, 1S61. 

Pui n mi to notice the voters of the First Council District in Dakota Territory met in 
Mass Convention at the house of Mr. Ryan, the Fourteen Mile House. 

'The 1 11 ni 1. hi was organized by electing Dr. R. Phillips, Chairman, and Judson 
1.1 1. .in , Secri '.11 1 

The 1 hairman then slated the ohject of the Convention to he the nomination of two 
1 uncilmen to represent said District ,11 the First Territorial Legislature. 

Mr Brookings, of Sioux Falls, asked permission to address the Convention, which heing 
granted, hi pol e at some length on the policy of allowing one Councilman to the Red River 
"t" the North. 

By permission, Mr. Cole addressed the Convention on general topics, after which the 
I nvention proceeded to the nomination of Councilmen, voting for one at a time. A hallot 
being had. it appeared that Austin Cole had received a majority of all the votes cast and was 
dei lared dulj m iminated. 

' '" moti n thi 1 nvi ntion proceeded to hallot for the second Councilman, which resulted 
in Eli B. Wixson receiving a majority of all the votes polled, and was declared duly nomi- 
nated for Councilman. 

No further business appearing, on motion the Convention adjourned. 

1 us LaMoure, Secretary. R. Phillips, Chairman. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 153 

At the first election held under the Governor's proclamation in September, 
1861, the first council election district extended from the mouth of the Big Sioux 
River lo Pembina or to the 49th parallel, a distance in an air line oi about 
four hundred and thirty miles, probably the longest legislative district ever defined. 
The nominees for the two council positions were \\ . \Y. Brookings, of Sioux 
Falls, and Austin I ole, E. 11. Wixson and William Matthews, of Elk Point, Big 
Sioux Point and Brule Creek. Another candidate, James VL I 1 tridge, was j n the 
field in the Pembina section. There was no effort made by the candidates from 
either end of the district to stump the entire territory covered bj the legal boun- 
daries, so that Mr. McFetridge had everything bis way at St. Joseph and Pem- 
bina and received more votes twice over than all his rivals received added together. 
McFetridge bad 15N votes at St. Joseph and 15 at Pembina, giving him 173. Cole 
received 27 votes at Big Sioux Point; Wixson, 15; William Matthews, 15; and 
Brookings, 13. And at Elk Poinl Cole had id; Wixson, 15; Matthews, [2; and 
Brookings, 12. At the Sioux Falls precinct Brookings bad 9; Cole, 5; and Wix- 
son, 3. Cole and Brookings were elected and owing to the failure of the Red 
River returns to reach the governor, the candidates named received the certificates 
from the governor, to whom the election returns were made. 

The first representative district included only a small fraction of the Sioux 
Valley. The vote for representative at Elk Point gave A. R. Phillips i-i votes; 
John McBride, 4; Christopher Maloney, 10: and John R. Wood, iN. Ai Big 
Sioux Point the vote stood for Phillips, 10; McBride, -'3: Maloney, 25; and 
Wood. 11 ; electing McBride and Maloney after an exciting contest. 

in June, 1859, it having been officiall) stated by one of the early exploring 
parties that the Big Sioux River was a navigable stream, the steam ferry boat 
at Sioux City called the Lewis Rums, with a party of ladies and gentlemen from 
that town, made a voyage up the Rig Sioux to the mouth of Rock- River. The 
Lewis Burns was a good sized boat and this trip was very successful as a social 
affair and as demonstrating the practicability of navigating the Big Sioux for 
that distance for light draught boats. The subsequent settlement and develop- 
ment of the valley does not show that the experimental trip was of any prac- 
tical value. We do not learn that a similar voyage has ever been undertaken 
since the pioneer trip was made, and it is safe to presume that dure was not 
sufficient business prior to the advent of railroads, to warrant the construction of 
a light draught boat for that forty miles of river. 

The first death in Cole county 1 now Union), that there is record of. occurred 
May 25, [862, and was that of Susan ( >leson, a young girl of fourteen years of 
age, and was occasioned by drowning in Brule I reek She was residing in the 
family of William Frisbie, and bad been sent on some errand to the creek near 
the house, and not returning search was made, and the lifeless body discovered 
some distance In-low where she bad accidentally fallen in. Efforts were made 
to revive her, and Doctor Phillips was summoned, who tried to resuscitate the 
unfortunate child, but all efforts were unavailing. She was buried in a plot of 
ground selected with reference to a permanent location foi cemeterj purposes. 

Unlike the other sections that were settled about the same time, the early 
comers to Union County did not center at one point, but located and built up 1 
and perhaps five central or trading points for as many farming communities. 
These were Rig Sioux Point, Elk Point, Richland, Jefferson and one othei 
far west of tbe Rig Sioux bridge, which was called Willow R. ( >. and afterwards 
Mc Look. 

ill \KI 1 - MIX 11 >1XTV 

That portion of Dakota called < harles Mix County was the home of a few 

while men as early as tS;S. and in [86l bad a population of about fifty white : 
miiis, nearly all contractors and their employee--, who furnished supplies to the 
garrison at Fort Randall. 



l.M HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

A French Canadian named Antoine Bijou established a trading post in the 
uppi i portion of that county and conferred upon that long stretch of rugged 
eminences that run parallel with the river for forty miles the name of Bijou 
Hills. These hills are hold irregular bluffs, much more elevated than the coun- 
try surroundings. His settlement is supposed to have been made in 1813. He 
had serious trouble with the Indians, who finally compelled him to abandon his 
post, and some of his trading stock. He was doubtless the first white man to 
settle in that section. 

Just above the Yankton reservation line in Charles Mix County was the Pease 
settlement, with 1". D. Pease, E. M. Wall, Felicia Fallas, Colin La Mont, John 
Mallert, Ed Fletcher, G. A. Fisher and Joe Ellis. About twenty miles beyond was 
Pratt Creek, the seat of the Hamilton settlement, and the actual jumping off 
place of civilization. Here were Joseph V. Hamilton, a lifelong frontiersman 
who had been for thirty years connected with the American Fur Company. He 
was the leader and patriarch of this settlement, with Paul Harol, Napoleon Jack, 
Colin Campbell, William Bartlett, Abel Forcess and John Archambeau as com- 
panions. The Pease settlement was also somewhat famous in early days as 
being the home of Mr. Cardinelle Grant, who was the oldest white man in 
Dakota, and so far as known the oldest in the West. He was born in 1765, in the 
Canadian Province of Quebec. 

Lake Andes, in Charles Mix County, is the largest lake in the southern portion 
of Dakota. It is shaped somewhat like a new moon and has a length of fifteen 
miles, with an average width of one and a quarter miles. It was surveyed a 
number of years before Dakota was settled by a surveyor named Edward Andes, 
an employe of the American Fur Company, and bears his name. It has a depth 
of about fifteen feet. No species of fish are indigenous to its waters, but the 
experiment is being made of planting some of the ordinary varieties. Two creeks 
empty into it draining a large section of the country. Its outlets are concealed 
beneath its surface. Its waters are good and it was a famous buffalo watering 
place during the first half of the eighteenth century and prior. It is now the 
most popular resort in the southern part of Dakota for hunting parties in quest 
of water fowl, a number of the varieties abounding there in great numbers. 

Maj. J. V. Hamilton, founder of what was known as the Hamilton settle- 
ment on Pratt Creek, in Charles Mix County, died at Fort Randall, where he 
had been taken for medical treatment, on Friday, the 23d of August, 1867. He 
had been on the frontiers since his boyhood, and was one of the oldest of western 
pioneers at the time of his death. He was appointed agent of the Omahas and 
Pawnees, at Council Bluffs, by Pres. Andrew Jackson, was at one time the sutler 
at Fort 1 .eavenworth, and held a like position at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He 
had also spent some years in the fur trade in the employ of the American Fur 
Company on the Yellowstone, and removed from the Yellowstone to settle on 
I 'rait ( reels. Dakota Territory, with his sons in 1859. ' This point was thirty miles 
above Fort Randall, and up to the time of his death it was an outpost on this 
frontier. Major Hamilton was a son of Maj. Thomas Hamilton, of the United 
Stales Ann)-, and grandson of Col. John Whistler, also a regular army officer. 
He was born at Fort Madison, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, in 181 1. His two 
sons, Charles and Crant, were with him at the time of his death. Major Hamilton 
was known among the Indians as the "man that fears nothing," and received this 
name from the following audacious incident in his career: In 1839 or '40, Gen- 
eral Kearney was ordered to Council Bluffs with a detachment of troops to hold 
ouncil with the Indians, there being at that time some disturbance among them. 
When the Indians came in, having been summoned by their agent, they showed 
signs of an ugly temper. General Kearney thought to appease them by appear- 
ing in council with his soldiers all unarmed, to prove to the red men that he 
had no hostile intentions. The subordinate officers remonstrated, deeming it very 
imprudent, but they could mil move the general, and then turned to Hamilton 
and urged him to see the general and dissuade him from such a dangerous step. 




MRS. LIZZIE (ASH) E< CLES 



First white child born in Yankton. Date 
of birtli, 1863. Now ;i resideni oi Belle 
Fourehe. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 155 

Hamilton saw that the Indians were in an ugly mood and prepared to commit 
some desperate act, and therefore went to the general and represented the critical 
situation to him, staling that he would run the risk of losing the life of every 
soldier and his own if he persisted in disarming his men. Kearney refused to 
change his plan, however, and required his officers and men to appear at the 
council without their arms. There were a number of kegs of powder and other 
ammunition on the council ground, designed as peace gifts from the "Great 
Father." Hamilton with his interpreter took his station immediately in front 
of the Indians, who were seated some four or rive deep, in a semi-circle, in num- 
bers from four to rive hundred. General Kearney and his staff were on one side 
of Hamilton, and the soldiers, numbering one hundred men, on the other. Th< 
council had not proceeded far when Hamilton discovered that the Indians were 
awaiting a signal to begin a massacre, and he understood their character so well 
that he believed the life of every white man present was about to be sacrificed, 
and would be unless the Indians could be turned from their purpose. Quick as 
thought he sprang into the ring, seized a glowing ember from the council Tire, and 
jumped upon an open keg of powder, exclaiming to the Indians: "If you do not 
every one of you instantly lay down your arms and retire from the ring, 1 will 
set nre to the powder and we will all go to the Spirit Land together." The 
Indians were appalled, and unconsciously dropped their arms and precipitately 
retired beyond the danger point, and the tragedy was averted, for it was sub- 
sequently ascertained that the Indians knew the whites were unarmed and in- 
tended to scalp the entire party. After recovering from their demoralization and 
being assured that they would not be punished for their premeditated offense, 
the Indians were allowed to state their grievances, which were not serious and 
were adjusted with presents and promises and cautioned to maintain peaceful 
relations with the "Great Father." Agent Hamilton's wonderful nerve had so 
won their admiration that they all came up, shook his hand with many ejaculations 
commending his bravery, and declared that he was a man that was afraid of 
nothing, and his Indian title from that time had that significance. Hamilton 
had been in peril a number of times during his career, and his body exhibited 
scars inflicted by knife and bullet, received in encounters with the Indians. 

WEST OF THE MISSOURI RI\ I 1; 

Crossing the Missouri at White Swan to Fori Randall, and coming east b) 
south, Mi.wille. near the Ponca Indian Agency, was the first settlement. It was 
about twenty miles from the fort. The Poncas were comparatively well 
advanced in civilized methods at that time and did not mingle with other tribes, 
though many of their warriors were inclined to make forays upon the white settle 
ments for plunder. They had a permanent village; their houses made of dirt 
were called Dirt Lodges. They were much more comfortable and a much better 
quality of dwelling than the tepee of the Yanktons. At this agency and at Mix- 
ville were found J. Shaw Gregory, Judge James I 'ufts, Robt. M. Ilagaman. 1'eter 
Keegan, [onathan Lewis, Harry rlargis, Joel A. Potter, Geo. Detwiler, Charles 
McCarthy and Robert Barnum. Gregory was the agent, and was the eldest son 
of Rear Admiral ( Iregory, then one of the foremost of our naval commanders. All 
whom we have named stamped the impress of their genius upon the material ami 
intellectual advancement of the territory, and all except Barnum, Keegan. Mc- 
Carthy and Detwiler, subsequently removed to Yankton, 

\s originally bounded, Dakota Territory included the eastern portion of the 
Niobrara River to the point of confluence with the Keha Paha, thence up that 
Stream to the 43d parallel. In [882 an art of Congress approved March 28th 
ceded to the State of Nebraska all the territory lying south of the 43d parallel 
and west of the Missouri, which cession was accepted by a vote of the people ot 
that state at an election held May j.?. [882, Lhe trad so ceded amount* d to about 
six hundred square miles and had Keen organized as the County of Todd. Dakota 



L56 HISTORY 01 DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Territory, in 1862. This will explain why and how Todd County came to be 
Erom the map of the territory, and its membership in the Legislature dropped 
11 the roll 

At the first election held under the governor's proclamation in 1861 the set- 
tlements wesl of Choteau Creek on the east side of the Missouri River and the 
communities on the west side of the river east of Fort Randall constituted the 
Sixth Council and Representative District, and at the September election J. Shaw 
Gn gory, of Ponka Precinct, was elected councilman, and John L. Tiernon, of Fort 
Randall, representative. Gregory received twenty-six votes on the east side and 
twent) nine al Ponka Precincl on the west, giving him fifty-five votes. His 
opponent, Freeman Norval, received thirty votes on the east side and none at 
Ponka. For the House, Tiernon received twenty-seven votes west of Choteau 
Creek and twenty-eight at Ponka, giving him fifty-five. Henry Price, his unsuc- 
cessful opponent, received twenty-seven votes west of Choteau, but had no sup- 
port whatever at Ponka. It was claimed at the time that Gregory was an Indian 
. gi hi. and Tiernon an army officer, which was a fact, but no objection was raised 
in either House to their eligibility to serve as legislators. 



THE DAKOTAH INDIAN NATION 

History furnishes a very satisfactory account of the Dakotah nation of In- 
dians beginning in the sixteenth century, when they inhabited the country west of 
Lake Michigan. They were a warlike people, as all Indians were, but their wars 
were altogether with other Indian tribes — the Hurons, Iroquois and Algonquins — 
in which they were uniformly successful. They were known as a very honorable 
nation, truthful and faithful to their agreements. Garreau, a young French mis- 
sionary, writing of the Dakotahs, whom he termed the Xadoweah Sioux, in the 
sixteenth century, says that "they are a people to be dreaded, who though using 
only bow and arrow, are so skillful and unerring in their aim as to make them a 
must formidable enemy. They can fire their arrows swiftly and with deadly aim 
while running, and even shoot behind with fatal accuracy, simply turning their 
heads in their flight and taking momentary aim." Their language differed rad- 
ically from all other tribes, and they were credited with the virtue of always 
telling the truth and abiding by the letter and spirit of their promises. They were 
humane in the treatment of captives taken in their wars, and frequently released 
them. 'They were at war a great deal with their traditional enemies, though the 
cause or purpose of their contests could never be ascertained unless it was for the 
purpose of exterminating the other nations or tribes in order to have sole pos- 
on and occupation of the land and its resources. These wars, however, sel- 
dom resulted in a battle where a force was engaged on either side. It was a 
condition of animosity that remained from generation to generation, in which 
neither party neglected an opportunity to wreak its hatred upon the other. The 
possession of the scalp of an enemy was a trophy of great importance to an 
Indian brave. It increased his influence among his fellows and gave him conse- 
quence in council, and in time would aid materially in raising him to the dignity 
of a chieftain, the ultimate ambition of the warrior. 

The lirsi capital of the Territory of Dakota derives its name from the Yankton 
Indians. In this way Dakota stands related to that tribe of the aboriginal inhab- 
itants of the country, and it will be therefore appropriate to inquire briefly into the 
history of the tribe in order to discover something of its past career. It will be 
gratifying al least to show that the name '"Yankton," with which our city, county 
and college have been endowed, has come down to us through a long line of 
illn trious .nicest,,!- from an honorable, ancient and numerous family of the abo- 
riginal inhabitants of the Northwest. That they were not a small branch of a 
tribe, or a band of modern organization, but part of a great and powerful and 
honorable nation thai lias stood in the forefront of defense against the aggressive 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 157 

progress of civilization for many centuries, battling heroically but unsuccessfully 
against a destiny thai has been beyond the power of human forces to control. 

To be proud of an honorable lineage is a part of our human nature, whether 
that nature is clothed in a white or a red skin, and whether ii is the nature of an 
untutored savage or a civilized being. The people of civilization sift their geneal- 
ogies for centuries, ransacking the archives of go\ eminent and every suspected 
repository of ancestral secrets, to learn from whom tluy are descended, and their 
hearts expand with joyous pride whenever they stumble upon some ancient hero 
or illustrious statesman whose name offers a hook whereon to hang a claim to a 
renowned ancestry. The Indian, undisturbed by the vices of civilization, is the 
embodiment of pride, and his greatest pride is in his ancestry. I [is traditions are 
filled with the marvelous feats of the great warriors who have distinguished them- 
selves in war and in the chase, and much of this tradition when sifted of its 
fanciful ornamentation has been found nearly as reliable as the written records 
of a civilized people. The Yanktons have their traditions that tell of mighty hat- 
ties between tribes of gigantic stature when so much red blood was spilled that it 
saturated the earth and colored the rocks at Pipestone and left them with the 
ruddy tint which they hear today; but they have traditions of another kind in 
which the imagery of fancy forms very little if any part. These traditions 
have also been passed down from father to son, just as the ancient people of our 
own race recorded and perpetuated their histories, through centuries of time, and 
have been, not infrequently, verified by comparison with the written records 
left to us by those whose lives were spent in teaching them the story of the < ross. 
Rev. John P. Williamson, 1). D., who is a general missionary of the Presbyterian 
Church, has resided with the Dakota Indians for a lifetime and may safely he 
regarded as among the best authorities today regarding their past career -their 
language, their tribal histories, or whatever would be interesting and useful to 
know of them. The following sketch has been kindly furnished by thai reverend 
gentleman to the readers of this history, and is taken from the manuscript fur- 
nished by the missionary himself. Air. Williamson now resides at Greenw 1, 

on what was the Yankton reservation, lie was a missionary to the Saulces in 
Minnesota at the time of the Little Crow outbreak in [862, and long before, and 
when the Santees were removed to Crow (reek, Dakota Territory, in [863, he 
came with them ami remained with them at Crow Creek anil at Santee, Nebraska, 
until [869, when he moved over to the Yankton Agency, where he has since been 
laboring as a missionary among the Yanktons. The letter was addressed to the 
writer of this work- : 

Greenwood, S. 1).. March 11. [905. 

My Pear Sir -Your Utter of March ~t li is received, and I take pleasure in giving you 
such knowledge .1- I have "ii the points you mention in regard to tin- Dakota In. Hans. 

Dakota is a Dakota Indian word, ami the name by which they call themselves. Like all 
proper names in common use, those who use it seldom think of its meaning. It means 
"Friends." or "I hose who are friends in each other." The root is k.xla. which is still the 
word commonlj n<c<\ for friend. The prefix "da", which limits the meaning to those spoken 
of. is the cause of it, sometimes being translated "Allies" But it is clear thai the name 
was not given because of any alliance having been nude i.\ different bodies of Indians. 
for we find that they are one people. They have one language, one religion, and no legend 

that intimates that they were ever brought together from different sources. The feeling 

among the Dakotas that all who speak the Dakota language are Dakotans, which is very 
strong, is proof that the language ami the nation have keen co extensive for centuries. 

The word "Sioux," by which the first white men who wrote of them designated them, is 
certainlj nol a Dakota word A number of explanations have been given as to its derivation. 
The most plan, tide I have seen is that of Charlevoix, who wrote in [720: "The name S 
that ur give to these Indians is entireh of our .inn making, or rather it is the last two 
syllables of the 'Nadowessioux.' as many nation, call them." \s this was only ah 

years after the first white man (Hennepin! looked wondrously upon the people and the 

land of the Dakotas, it would seem to I 

\, io the divisions of the Dakota nation, it i, clear that il som I, say 

a tie 11 igo thej b came divided into three parts: the Santee, the \: nkton and 

the I .en r 1 w the leading divisions and it was so long ago that their old men 

make no effort to designate the time when it was made. Each division, though the lane- 



158 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

a clearh defined dialect, so distinct that an Indian can hardly speak a sentence 
ui making known from which division he comes. Each of these divisions was subdi- 
ii fore the w hite people came anions them. The Santees had four divisions : the Mdewa- 
kantonwan, Wahpekulas, VVahpetonwan and Sissetonwan. The Yanktons hail three divi- 
sions: the Yankton, Yanktonais and Assinnaboine. Ihe Teton divisions seem to have been 
later, some oi them alter the advent of the white man, but at the time the United States 
[i ,i them there were seven divisions: Sichangu, Oohenonpa, Sihasapa, Min- 
nekai I la, [tazipco and Hunkpapa. 

Tin e secondai have some dialectic differences, but so small they would 

only be noticed ["hese secondary divisions have been subdivided more or less 

I ■(.! instance, the Mdewakantonna at the time of the Minnesota treaty of 
1851 were divided into -even bands: the Kiyuksa, Hemnican, Kapoje, Oyatesica, Magayutesni, 
Heyatatonuc, and Tintatonuc. And the Yanktons also at the time of the treaty of 185S 
wen divided into seven bands, namely: Cankute, Cagu, Wakmuhaoin, Ihaisdaye, Waceonpa, 
lkmer. and 1 lyatesica. Owing to changed circumstances this third class of subdivisions is now 
lete. \nd the lines of the second class are in many cases quite indistinct. The 
primary divisions however will remain clear as long as the Dakota language is spoken. 

\- to the original location of the Dakotas when the white man first heard of them, about 
two hundred and fifty years ago, they occupied nearly the whole of what is now the Slate 
of Minnesota, stretching over a little into each of the three continguous states of Wisconsin, 
Iowa and the two Dakotas. The Santees occupied both sides of the head waters of the 
Mississippi River Fr< m about Prairie la Crosse to its source. Ihe Yanktons occupied the 
central part of Minnesota, living in the woods as the old men still say. The Tetons, as the 
name seems to indicate, lived on the prairies in Western Minnesota and Eastern North and 
South Dakota. Their headquarters were about Bigstone Lake and the head of the Minnesota 
River, and they probably seldom hunted west of the James River. From this original location, 
for reasons which had little connection with the coming of the whites, they gradually drifted 
several hundred miles to the southwest, so that before they ceded any of their landed 
rights to the United States the Tetons were all west of the .Missouri River, the Yanktons 
were all in the Dakotas, but east of the .Missouri River; and the Santees had reached the 
111 boundary of Minnesota, and in places beyond. 

The Yanktons claimed a large portion of the country north of the Minnesota 
River and were estimated to be the most numerous and intelligent of all the 
divisions of the original tribe of the Sioux or Dakotah nation. They numbered 
nearly as many individuals as all the others combined. The Dahkotahs subse- 
quently claimed all of the country west of the Mississippi and north of the 
Missouri, and their claim was recognized by our Government to the greater part 
of it, as is abundantly attested by subsequent treaties of cession. They also 
claimed a large estate in the country east of the Mississippi, between the great 
1 r 1 if Waters and Take Michigan, where their forefathers had their homes 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and our Government being unable 
justly to resist their claims, paid the various bands of Dakotahs about three hun- 
dred thousand dollars some seventy years ago and obtained from them such a 
relinquishment of their claims as effectually quieted the question of the Govern- 
menl title for all lime. Later, in 1851, came the Travel's des Sioux and Mendota 
treaty, when the Sissetons, Mdewakantons, Wahpetons and Wahpedutes sold their 
Minnesota heritage, embracing 35.000,000 acres in Minnesota Territory, and 
following this was the treaty of 1859, by which the greater portion of Southern 
Dakota east of the Missouri River was ceded by the Yanktons, embracing a tract 
of 14,000,000 acres of the most valuable agricultural lands in North America. 
This sketch traces the genealogy of the Dakotahs back to about the year 
D. [640, which is sufficient to give them standing as one of the oldest of our 
Indian families, and shows their record to be in the main free from treachery, 
of extreme cruelty, in their almost constant struggles and warfare ; 
and with rare though notable exceptions they have faithfully observed their 
' 'i', o the lime they became treaty Indians. This record is now 
ritten history of our country, chronicled by a lonsj line of illustrious 
w "° lived and worked among them for scores of years before this Govern- 
ed -'I, came into existence, and by historians of this later period since the 
" m<m wa s instituted. It is worthy of note that this record, in all its i,n- 
'" featun antially coincides with the traditions of the Indians of the 

tion, who can recite the substance of it a- it has been handed down 



4 > 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 159 

to them from the preceding generations who likewise received it from their fath- 
ers, and on back for hundreds of years, interspersed more or less with the super- 
natural and marvelous tales invented from time to time to account for some 
great event, and give a lively coloring to the narrative. 

During the summer of 1859 the Indians along the upper river were at war 
among themselves, and this seemed to be a chronic condition between the Dako- 
tahs or Sioux on the one side and the Arickarees, Mandans and Crows on the 
other, who were all targets for the Sioux whenever and wherever they met. The 
steamer Spread Eagle made a trip to the Yellowstone and Fort Union, returning 
in July, 1859, with a number of white passengers, traders and explorers, who 
reported that they passed war parties nearly every day along the upper river, and 
they frequently saw the scalps of Indian braves dangling at the entrance to the 
lodge of some successful leader. The scalps, however, were in every instance 
those of Indians, and no act of personal hostility toward the whites had been 
committed; but it was surmised that the Indians were growing unfriendly and 
that it would be necessary to construct two or three forts and keep them gar- 
risoned by a force of troops as the most effective means of restraining the war- 
like disposition of the savages and prevent them from breaking out into open 
hostility. Steamboat transportation was increasing and wood camps were being 
established by white men in the Indian country, a procedure that was angrily 
complained of by the red men. 

It is not improbable that there would have been a serious family quarrel in 
the fall of 1859 had the Dakotah Indians of the upper river been able to meet 
the Yanktons. Major Schoonover, who was the Government agent for the upper 
tribes, made a trip down the river in the fall and he brought the report that some 
small parties of Poncas had been exasperated at the treaty effected by the Yank- 
tons and Poncas for the sale of the land in the southern portion of the territory. 
Nearly all the upper Sioux, not Yanktons. but classed as the northern tribes, 
shared in the disaffection over the treaty, basing their opposition on the general 
principle that the Indians had already ceded away much more of their domain 
than their welfare demanded and they were all beginning to feel the hurtful 
effects of the restrictions put upon them as these cessions continued, by narrow- 
ing their hunting and trapping grounds and destroying their resources for obtain- 
ing subsistence. The Sioux in many cases claimed that the Yanktons had no 
right to make the treaty because the land ceded was the common property of the 
Dakotah nation and not the Yanktons alone. 

Another report substantially confirming that of Major Schoonover was 
brought by Mr. Avery, a clerk of the steamer Chippewa on its return trip from 
Benton, who represented that the upper Sioux were not only "fighting mad" 
toward the Yanktons for their assumption in ceding lands that were common 
property, but that they were eager to show their resentment, and would contest 
the right of the Government to the ceded tract unless a further treaty was made 
that would include all the Indians interested. 

From the numerous complaints made by individual members of Indian tribes 
who had ceded land to the Government, in which a comparatively small number 
of the chiefs and head men had taken upon themselves authority to dispose of 
domain, there was awakened a disposition to treat the individual Indian as | 
seeing the right to a voice in the making of treaties of cession, and it is snip 
ing that such awakening had not occurred to the Government authorities much 
earlier, for it was no trivial matter to take from the Indian his recog ed prop- 
erty without even consulting him in regard to the transaction. This more honest 
method, founded in immutable justio. appeal to have been adopted, in great 
measure, in the making of treaties subsequent to the Yankton treaty of 1858, and 
furnished the treaty commissions an excellent pretext for tying up the country 
north of the I'nion Pacific Railroad in such a manner that no competing routes 
to the gold fields of Montana ami Idaho could be opened through for 

a number of years. In these later treaties it was usually provided that 1' 



HIST* IRY I »F DAK< >T \ TERRITORY 

senl of two-thirds of the Indians interested should be obtained before treaties of 
m should be concluded. 

hi RED PIP) i QUARRY 

( Ine of the provisions of the treaty between the Government and the Yankton 
Indian- required the United Stales to make a survey and define the Red Pipe- 
Reservation, in Minnesota, a spot sacred to the Indians of the Northwest 
for centuries, and -nil treasured in their hearts as the scene of mighty conflict 
i en the giants of their rare at a period long anterior to the coming of the 
white- among them. As the Yankton Indians regarded the place with peculiar 
reverence and had charged themselves with the duty of caring for it, the pages of 
this work seem a fitting place for a brief description of the quarry and its en- 
vironment. 

The Red Pipestone quarry is situated in Minnesota about thirty-five miles 
north by east of Sioux Palls. It is the quarry from which the Indians of the 
Northwest have obtained the reddish mottled stone from which they have made 
their pipes, hatchets and various ornaments ever since they inhabited this coun- 
try. Lewis and Clark knew of it as a revered place in the estimation of the 
Indians and neutral ground, where members of all tribes had access. On its 
charmed soil they could meet in peace, though ready to slay one another if found 
be) ond its boundaries. 

The quarry lies in an elliptical valley about three miles in length with a 
maximum breadth of half a mile. From a distance the region of the quarry has 
the appearance of ridges or palisades and fancy might arrange its novel archi- 
tei ture into ruined structures of an ancient city. On a nearer approach one finds 
thai there are three ridges or palisades paralleling one another, the central one 
being the largest. At intervals these ridges stand above the surface ten or 
twelve feet, and then slope to nothing, disappearing in the earth. The material 
of these ridges is an indurated metaphoric sandstone or quartz, varying in hue 
from a purple to a light dull scarlet, sometimes a bright red. The upper surface 
is split into innumerable cubical pieces, and from a large fissure in the principal 
ridge issues a stream that drains the Pipestone Valley and is called the Red 
River. About a quarter of a mile from its source it falls over the 
lower ridge, forming a beautiful cascade about twenty feet in height. 

The quarry itself is an ordinary trench about six hundred feet in length and 
twelve feel deep, with a varying breadth from eight to fifteen feet, which has 
been excavated by the Indians during the last two centuries, possibly more. As this 
quarrying has been done without the aid of drills or powder, and as there has 
been greal quantities of quartz to loosen and remove that covers the pipestone and 
interlies between its several strata, it will occur to the observer that great labor 
has been expended here covering a long period of time. 

The quarry was included within the land belonging to the Sisseton Sioux In- 
dians, but has been utilized by all Indians, and has been visited by them annually 
for the purpose of procuring the peculiar stone which is now quite common in 
pipes and ornamental hatchets and various devices and trinkets, frequently rings 
and watch charms, which are seen in every western community. The pipestone 
is used very generally by the Indians for the manufacture of their pipes, upon 
which a great deal of labor is bestowed, some of them being rudely carved and 
decorated where designed for the use of a grand peace council or other important 
ceremony. The Indians possess a tradition explaining the origin of nearly every- 
thing under the sun, and there has never been any difference of opinion among 
their scientific men as to the cause of this peculiar formation. Their tradition 
is that the quarry was one of the great battlefields of their ancestors and was 
the plai e v here tribe fought against tribe through countless moons, and the rocks 
drank in the torrents of blood thai were spilled upon the surface until thev took 
the permanent hue they now have. That the Great Spirit has since presided 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 161 

over the battlefield and has banished forever all war or contest of any kind within 
the area of the quarry, and for this reason all red men meet here on an equal 
plane, with an equal right to take of the rock which hears within it the crimson 
life fluid of their renowned ancestors. All enmities are forgotten here. The 
Dakotas cherished it as a sacred and charmed spot and observe some peculiar 
ceremonies and incantations whenever they visit it. They bathe themselves fur 
several days, are very abstemious as to food and drink, and wives and husbands 
remain separated. These ceremonies would remind the Bible student of some 
of the more rigid observances of the Mosaic code. At the quarry all excavations 
are preceded by supplication to the Great Spirit, and one Indian is set apart to 
do the digging. If he fails to strike a stratum that will make good pipes it i- 
because he has neglected to purify himself, and he is temporarily disgraced, while 
another one is chosen to pursue the work, which is continued until the desired 
quality of rock is found, when there is a further ceremony expressive of gratitude 
over their good fortune and the Indian who made the fortunate strike is rewarded 
by receiving the choicest pieces. Several weeks are spent by the Indians who 
visit the quarry in making their excavations and securing this treasure. The 
place is barren — not a tree near it, and the earth is covered partially by scanty- 
vegetation, it having been all destroyed by the blood of their ancestors which 
saturated the soil. 

Professor Xicolet, the famous geologist and explorer, who came up the Mis- 
souri with Fremont in 1839, spent some time at this quarry the year previous, 
and made an exhaustive investigation. He reported : 

In the quarry that I had opened, the thickness of the bed is eighteen inches, the upper 
portion of which separates in thin slabs and ma} he thus described: compact structure, slaty, 
receiving a chill polish, having a red streak, color blood red. with dots of a fainter shade of 
the same color, fracture rough, sextile, feel somewhat greasy, hardness, not yielding to the 
nail, not scratched by silatine but easily by calcareous spar; specific quantity, 200. The acids 
have no action upon it; before the blow pipe it is infusible per se but with borax wives a 
green glass. 

According to Professor Jackson, of Boston, who has analyzed it and applied to 
it the name of "Catlinite," after Mr. Catlin, the Upper Missouri artist, it is com- 
posed of water, 8.4 ; silica, 48. 2 ; alumnia. 28. 1 ; magnesia, 6.2; peroxide of iron. 
5.0; oxide of magnesia. 0.9; carbonate of lime, 2.6, less probably: magnesia, 1 .0. 
Total, 100.4. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE ORGANIC ACT 
1858-61 

DAKOTA A TART OF MINNESOTA — DAKOTA'S SITUATION; DIMENSIONS; BOUNDARIES; 
AND TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES — HEALTHFUL WATERS; SALUBRIOUS CLIMATE 
—GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTHWEST— WINTER OF 1859-OO— PIONEERS 

ANXIOUSLY AWAIT ORGANIZATION FIRST SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRATION SET- 

II I Ml -NTS WITHOUT A LEGAL GOVERNMENT — EFFORTS TO SECURE A TERRITO- 
RY! ORGANIZATION MASS MEETINGS AT YANKTON AND VERMILLION — COL. 

D. M. FROST GOLD IN MONTANA QUIET WINTER — CATFISH GOLD FROM THE 

HEADWATERS OF THE MISSOURI — ORGANIC ACT FOR DAKOTA TERRITORY THE 

NAME "DAKOTA." 

Dakota Territory, east of the Missouri River, was a part of Minnesota from 
1849 t0 l8 5 8 - The Territory of Minnesota was organized March 3, 1849, with 
the following boundaries : 

Beginning in the Mississippi River at the point where the line of 43 degrees and 
30 minutes of north latitude crosses the same; thence running due west on said line, 
which is the northern boundary of the State of Iowa, to the northwest corner of the State 
of Iowa; thence southerly along the western boundary of said state to the point where said 
boundary strikes the Missouri River; thence up the middle of the main channel of the 
Missouri River to the mouth of the White Earth River; thence up the middle of the main 
channel of the White Earth River to the boundary line between the possessions of the 
United States and Great Britain ; thence east and south of east along the boundary line be- 
tween the possessions of the United States and Great Britain to Lake Superior; thence in 
a straight line to the northwestern point of the State of Wisconsin in Lake Superior ; thence 
along the western boundary line of the State of Wisconsin to the Mississippi River; thence 
down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning. 

The White Earth River referred to as forming a small part of the western 
boundary of the Territory of Minnesota is a small stream emptying into the Mis- 
souri from the north, about midway between Fort Berthold and Fort Buford, now 
in Mountraille County, North Dakota. As laid down on the old maps, it rises 
about thirty miles south of the international boundary. It was also called the 
Whitewater River. On some of the earlier maps the White River, which runs 
south of the Black Mills and courses east, falling into the Missouri River a few 
miles south of Chamberlain, is erroneously called White Earth. 

South Dakota was largely in Blue Earth County. Minnesota. This county 
comprised about one-fifth of the entire Territory of Minnesota. Starting from 
Big Stone Lake, it followed the Minnesota River to Mankato, which was also in 
Blue Earth County. From Mankato it followed the Minnesota River up to Heel 
and Tor Bend, Le Seuer County: thence southeast along the western boundary of 
Le Seuer to Rice County ; thence south along the western boundary of Rice to 
the northern boundary of Iowa; thence west along the said northern boundary to 
the Big Sioux River ; thence down the Big Sioux to its mouth ; thence up the 
Missouri River to a point directly west of the starting point on Big Stone Lake, 
nearly o [he mouth of the Moreau River; thence cutting across the present 

counties of Roberts, Day, Brown. Edmunds and Walworth, in South Dakota; in 

162 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 163 

area embracing about one-fiftli of Minnesota Territory and including its choicest 
agricultural section. 

Pembina County was directly north of Blue Earth, taking in the upper por- 
tion of the counties in South Dakota above named and all of North Dakota east 
of the Missouri River. It also embraced the country east of the Red River of the 
North, having a somewhat irregular boundary on the east ; beginning on the 
Magia Wakan River, about forty miles east of Big Stone Lake, running thence 
north and northeast to Winnebigoshish Lake, thence northwest to Rainy Lake 
River, and up that river to the Lake of the Woods ; thence west along the inter- 
national boundary. I'embina County comprised about one-third of the Territory 
of Minnesota. 

Blue Earth County was in the Tenth Council and Representative District in 
the Territory of Minnesota, and in the same district with Le Seuer, State, Fari- 
bault, Brown, Nicollet, Sibley, Pierce and Renville counties, Minnesota. These 
counties do not now all appear on the maps of Minnesota; that is, names and 
boundaries have been changed. In 1856 the councilman representing the Tenth 
district was C. E. Flandreau, and the representatives were Parsons K. Johnson, 
Aurelius F. de la Yergne and George A. McLeod. In 1857 P. P. Humphrey was 
the councilman, and Joseph R. Brown, Francis Basaen and O. A. Thomas, rep- 
resentatives. 

Pembina County formed the Seventh Council and Representative District by 
itself. Its councilman in 1856 was Joseph Rolette, the famous Red River vote 
getter in the olden time. Its representatives the same year were R. Carlisle Bur- 
dick and Charles Grant. In 1857 Rolette was again returned to the Council, and 
Charles Grant and John B. Wilkie were the House members. The Legislature 
of 1857 closed the legislative career of Minnesota Territory. It was admitted into 
the Union as a state in May, 1858. 

In the constitutional convention held at St. Paul, Minnesota, in July, 1857, 
to form a constitution for the state, the Seventh Council and Representative Dis- 
trict was represented by James McFetridge, J. P. Wilson, J. Jerome, Xavier 
Cantell, Joseph Rolette and Louis Vasseur. The Tenth district was represented 
by Joseph R. Brown, C. E. Flandreau, Francis Baasen, William B. McMahan and 
J. H. Swan. These early lawmakers and constitution framers all resided east of 
the Big Sioux River in the Tenth district, but in the Seventh district the names 
of Rolette, McFetridge and Grant are familiar to the early settlement of Pem- 
bina 011 the Dakota side of the Red River of the North, both McFetridge and 
Rolette subsequently being identified with Dakota Territory, McFetridge as a 
member of the early Legislatures from the Red River region, and Rolette as a 
deputy United States marshal. 

In 185 1 the Indian title tn all the land claimed by the Sioux Indians east of 
the Red River of the North. Lake Traverse and the Big Sioux River was extin- 
guished by the treaties of Lake Traverse and Mendota, by which treaties certain 
bands of the Northern Dakota or Sioux Indians, notably the Sissetons and Wah- 
petons, ceiled about thirty million acres of the most fertile agricultural laud in 
the United States tn the general Government fur the sum of $1,665,000. 

The Territory of Dakota was situated about midway between the two jjreat 
oceans, and between the parallels of latitude 42 30' and 49 of north latitude, 
which latter parallel forms the northern boundary of the United States from near 
the Pacific < >cean to the 95th degree of longitude west from Greenwich. It em 
braced an area of (49,000 square miles, according to the estimate of the United 
States census bureau. Its longesl dimensions were about four hundred and 
thirty miles from south i" north, and approximately three hundred and eigh 
five miles east and west, but its average length was placed .it 400 miles and its 
breadth 380. The Missouri River divided the territory into two greal secti 
entering it near the northwestern boundaries and leaving it at the southeast corner 
— that portion, how ever, lying east of the river being much the larger in at 
owing tn the course of the stream. 



1(l , history OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

The distinctive topographical feature of the territory is a vast plain, gently 
undulating, which covers nearly four-fifths of its area. This feature extends 
of the Missouri River, though broken to a much greater extent by rivers 
and creeks ami by the "bad lands." marked on most of the older maps as the 
"mauvaise terres," a French term having the same significance as "bad lands," 
and beyond these die Black Hills, which cover an area of 3,200 square miles, have 
an average elevation of 6,000 feet, one of its mountains, Harney's Peak, rising 
to an altitude of 8,200 feel above die sea. the highest point in the United States 
e.1-1 of die Rocky Mountains. The Turtle Mountain region, which lies in the 
extreme northern portion of the territory, embraces about eight hundred square 
miles. Its highest peak is called Butte St. Paul, in the County of Bottineau, 
and is 2,300 feel above sea level. For a description of the "bad lands" and Black 
Hills, so far as was known at the time, the reader is referred to Professor Hay- 
den's lecture delivered at Yankton in 1866, and to Sully's Indian campaign of 
that year, which are given in this book. 

The Wessington Hills in Jerauld and Hand counties form a conspicuous land- 
mark in that region, with an elevation nearly equal to the Turtle Mountains, and 
extend from the northern limit of Brule County, entirely across the County of 
ferauld to about the center of I land County. 

HOW WYOMING BECAME A PART OF DAKOTA 

The western boundary of Dakota was early modified by the organization of the 
territories of Idaho. .March 3, 1863, and Montana, May 26, 1864. The entire 
Territory of Montana, and a portion of Southeastern Idaho, had been included in 
the original boundaries of Dakota, but by section 18 of the Montana act it was 
provided that until Congress shall otherwise direct all that part of the Territory 
of Idaho included within the following boundaries, to wit: 

Commencing at a point formed by the intersection of the 33d degree of longitude west 
in in Washington, with the 41st degree of north latitude; thence along said 33d degree of 
longitude to the crest of the Rocky Mountains; thence northward along the said crest of the 
Ricky Mountains to its intersection with the 44th degree and 30 minutes of north latitude; 
eastward along said 44th degree and 30 minutes north latitude to the 34th degree of 
longitude west from Washington ; thence northward along said 34th degree of longitude to 
its intersection with the 45th degree of north latitude; thence eastward along said 45th degree 
hi north latitude to its intersection with the 27th degree of longiude west from Washington; 
thence south along said 27th degree of longitude west from Washington to the 41st degree of 
north latitude; thence along the 41st degree of north latitude to the place of beginning shall 
be and is hereby incorporated temporarily into and made a part of the Territory of Dakota. 

Under this change Dakota received the entire range of the Black Hills with 
the Wind River and Big Florn Mountains, the sources of the Missouri, Yellow- 
stone. I Matte and l'.ig Horn rivers, and also Fort Laramie, South Pass and Fre- 
mont's Peak, about one-half the territory included four years later in the Terri- 
tory of Wyoming lying west of Nebraska, which was organized as a separate 
territory in [868-69, though its organic act became a law as early as 1866, the 
delay in organization being due to the disagreement between President Johnson 
and Congress. 

Dakota's medical side 

I lie Department of Agriculture, United States, says of the soil in the Terri- 
tory of 1 i.ikota : 

Tin- lightness and porosity of the freshly upturned soil of Dakota is a marvel to one 
win. would expect sogginess from the luxuriant growth of grass. This lightness suggests 
sand and shallowness, but we see that it is a salient feature of rich land. Nature has pur- 
sued a conservative course toward Dakota, enabling her to hoard her wealth, and her 
citi/ens should bear tins ever in mind, so as to increase the treasury of this wonderful country. 
There is no region that I know of with so generally rich a soil. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 165 

A scientific authority, Dr. ]•'. C. Duncan, of Chicago, visited Dakota in early 
years for the purpose of studying its climate, soil and waters, and subsequently 
published his conclusions, which are very interesting and valuable. He says: 

Every country, territory and town has a medical side and none is more interesting than 
Dakota. The location, ingredients of the soil, water peculiarities and r; ihere, no 

doubt account to a certain extent for Ms invigorating climate. Besides being rich in : 
cultural promise it is destined to be a health resort. The effects oi the wain upon the 
health brings me to look at the medical side of the water question. 

I he persons who drink the well water of Dakota should not be troubled with bili 
ness, at least not until the soda is replaced by potash, which may take placi after long 
cultivation. Those who drink water from the Dakota (James) River should nol i implaii 
of kidney trouble. The action of magnesia on the bowels i- well known. None need buy 
any purgative pills when alkaline water can be drank freely, ddie sick ma\ lake 11 with 
decided beneficial results. The fat people should visit Dakota and drink bitter well watei 
h is the anti-fat. The action of the river water upon the digestive organs will be benefii i 1 
There is nothing in these waters that is deleterious to health unless used to excess 

Dakota maj yet be as famous for seekers after health as it now is for agricultural 
interest. I would advise those who would be benefited by a change of climate to visit 1 takota. 
Whether Dakota answers the requirements of a health resort can be gleaned from its char- 
acteristics. It is a vast plateau reached from Chicago after passing up through hill and dale. 
over rivers and picturesque lakes. As far as the eye can reach, for miles and miles, in the 
growing season, green waving grass and grain is seen below, and a clear blue sky above. I he 
effect upon the mind is most soothing. Dakota is so situated that there are constant breezes 
coming up the rivers and over the broad expanse of prairie. These increase with the evap- 
orating heavy dews, and wax and wane with the sun, as in California, The lakes and mois 
tine are on the high ground, so that the air is not SO dry as in Colorado, therefore there is 
a large amount of ozone always present. 

For dyspeptics, especially, the climate, water and cereal products of Dakot i will yet have 
a great reputation. City business men should take a few weeks' recreation in Dakota, espe- 
cially in the spring and fall. The mental diversion and physical energy recovered should 
amply repay them. Young ladies in the last suffering from neurasthenia and ennui, would 
gel health bj a short residence in Dakota. 

I he river and surface water is a mild alkaline water. The chief ingredient is magnesia. 
The soil is loaded with saline ingredients which increase the nitrogenous elements of the 
fond, rendering Dakota products very healthful and appetizing. The people of Dakota are 
vigorous, intelligent, enterprising and remarkably hospitable. These are features that in 
the - pinion of many medical men will yet make Dakota a famous health resort. 

for consumptives and those suffering from diseisi- of the lungs in general, it will yet 
rival Colorado and California, especially for the first stae.e of lung troubles. The absence 

of low marshes and malaria make it desirable for those troubled with bilious disorders. 
For diseases of the kidneys and bladder the water of Dakota is especially valuable, rivaling 
that of any noted water. 

[IMMIGRATION, CATFISH, AND GOLD DISCOVERIES 

There was a fair immigration into the territory during the summer and fall 
of 1859 after the Yankton Indians had withdrawn to their reservation, II 
were two ferry boats in operation on the Big Simix River during most of the 
latter part id" the season, rope ferries, and both were kept fairly well employed. 
ddie immigrants settled along the Big Sioux and Brule Creek valleys ami as tar 
west as Vermillion, a few getting into the country tributary to Yankton. 

The catfish was an important factor in the settlement id' Dakota, and in the 
opinion of man) of the early settlers tin- food problem would have been a very 
siaimts une had it nol been fur the abundant supply "I this lust of all fishes right 
at the threshold of the settlements. It is occasionally remarked in these later 
times that the people <>\ Dakota are not acquainted with the edible merits of this 
excellent fish, hut send to eastern and western markets fur an inferior article. 
whiU' they have such an inexhaustible suppl) lure at home, ddie celebrated natu- 
ralist Audubon made a very exhaustive investigation of the fishes of the Mis- 
souri about the year [858 and gave it as his opinion that the catfish was a very 
valuable article of iom]. containing in due proportions the constituents that form 
the verj hest of food fishes. For semes of years the early traders subsisted al- 
most exclusively mi a diet >d" buffalo mo, it and catfish, having' vegetables very 
rarely ami small desire for them. litis was before the day of canned vegetables. 






HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



1 he existence of gold in paying quantities in the streams and gulches on the 
eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in what is now Montana was known to 
the old Eur traders of nearly throe-score years ago. Maj. Alexander Culbertson, 
a member and manager of the American Fur Company of St. Louis, brought 
down nearly $500 in gold nuggets in the fall of 1859, when he was returning to 
St. Louis from an inspection of the company's business in the upper river. He 
obtained the gold from while men, who exchanged it for goods at the trading 
posts on the headwaters of the Missouri, and who were very reticent regarding 
how they came by it or where they had procured it, though it was no doubt taken 
out of the placers in that country by the early prospectors. Major Culbertson 
had for a companion Maj. Charles E. Galpin, another famous frontiersman and 
fur trader. They spent the night with the Yankton pioneers early in December, 
1859, and exhibited some of the gold, consisting of coarse nuggets, telling them 
that the mountainous regions of the Northwest were rich in auriferous treasures, 
dial there would be a stampede for this country as soon as it became known, and 
that the only practicable route, on account of its freedom from hardships and 
danger, was by way of the Missouri River to Fort Benton. These gentlemen had 
been on the road from Benton sixty days, visiting a number of trading posts on 
their way down, and traveling by Mackinaw until the river filled with ice, when 
they procured horses and pack animals. They were going first to St. Louis, 
thence to Washington, to urge the establishment of a military post near Benton 
and at one or two other points as a measure of protection, and as a means of 
preserving peace with the Indians, who would be apt to resent the coming of 
the whites into the country. 

SETTLERS DEMAND A LAWFUL GOVERNMENT 

In 1859 the question of securing a political organization for the Territory of 
Dakota was uppermost in the minds of the settlers. (A preceding chapter tells the 
story of the efforts of the Sioux Falls pioneers.) It will be readily admitted that 
there would be little incentive to industry and improvement until the settlers 
were secure in some form of authorized government that would protect their 
property and open the avenues for the orderly administration of the law. The 
Yankton settlers were cordially supported by those of the other settlements along 
the Missouri slope. United States Senator Fitch introduced a bill to organize the 
Territory of Dakota and for other purposes December, 1858, which was referred 
to the territorial committee, but nothing came of it, the treaty not having been 
ratified, and for the same reason a bill presented by Senator James I. Green, 
February 4. 1859. was not acted upon. In the House of Representatives on the 
29th day of January, 1859, Alexander H. Stephens, who was about two years 
later elected vice president of the "Confederate States of America," introduced a 
bill for the establishment of a territorial government in Dakota. This measure 
got no further than to be referred to the committee. 

A Settlers' mass convention was held in the 1 '.ramble store at Yankton on the 
8th day of November, 1859, where resolutions were adopted, and a memorial to 
Congress setting forth the needs of the people was authorized to be drawn up 
and circulated throughout the territory for signatures. D. T. Bramble was chair- 
man of the convention, M. K. Armstrong secretary, and J. B. S. Todd, Obed 
ote and Thomas Frick the committee on resolutions. George D. Fiske. James 
M. Stone and 1 aptain Todd composed the committee to draft the memorial. Gen. 
D. M. Frost, of St. Louis, a heavy stockholder of the "Yankton Land and Town 
1 ompany" and head of the firm of Frost, Todd & Co., was present at this meeting 
and made an able speech in support of the movement while the committee on 
resolutions was preparing- its report. Others present were J. R. Hanson, George 
Pike, Jr., John Stanage, Henry Arend, II. T. Bailey, Enos Stutsman. J. S. Presho, 
Frank Chapel. Charles F. Picotte, Felix LeBlanc and Lytle M. Griffith. Because 
this meeting and a similar gathering at Vermillion were the first formal steps 




JOSEPH R. SANSON 
Yankton County. Dakota, pioneer oi 1858 



History of dakota territory igt 

taken on the Missouri slope to secure the organization of the territory, the pro- 
ceedings are herein given in full as taken down and preserved in the archives of 
the "Yankton Claim Club": 

Report of the Settlers' Meeting at Yankton and Vermillion to Urge the Organization 

of Dakota Territory 

At a meeting of the citizens of Yankton and vicinity in Dakota Territory, held at 

Bramble's store on the 8th of November, [859, Mr, D. T. Bramble was called to the chair 

and M. K. Armstrong chosen secretary. The object of the convention, as explained by Capt. 

J. B. S. Todd, was to take into consideration the necessity for a territorial organization and 

to draw up and sign a memorial to Congress praying for a legal form of government. 

On motion of Captain Todd a committee of three was appointed i. di.iii 
expressive of the views and wants of the convention. Captain Todd, Obed Foote and I nomas 
Frick were appointed as such committee. During the absence of the Committee on Resolu- 
tions, General Frost of St. Louis was called upon and delivered some encouraging remarks 
to the settlers, which were listened to with most earnest attention. 

The Committee on Resolutions reported as follows : 

Whereas, The State of Minnesota, composed in part of the late Territory of Min- 
nesota, has been admitted into the federal Union, and that part of the territory lying outside 
of the state limits has been declared by resolution of the House of Representatives to be 
without any distinct legally organized government, "which said resolution was adopted on 
the 3d day of June, 1858" and the people thereof are not entitled to a delegate to Congress 
until that right has been conferred upon them by statute, thereby withdrawing from us the 
protecting shield of the laws of our country and the inestimable privilege of a representa- 
tive of our wants and wishes at the seat of the Federal Government, and leaving us to be 
"a law unto ourselves," without providing for the people of the remaining part of the terri- 
tory any organized government, or guaranteeing to us any of those wholesome provisions 
by which well ordered society is established, fostered, maintained and protected ; and that 
we are without laws, courts or civil officers, from the mouth of the Big Sioux on the Missouri 
to Pembina on the Red River of the North ; and as we feel the want of those wholesome 
guards and shields, and of those wholesome rights and privileges, which of right pertain to 
good citizens, to constitute them a healthy, contented and happy people, to give direction to 
their will and to provide for their wants in all the forms of government; therefore, be it 

Resolved, First, That we, the citizens of Yankton and vicinity in Dakota Territory, 
earnestly urge upon the Senate and the House of Representatives the condition in which we 
arc placed, not only by the failure of Congress to provide for the people of that part of the 
Territory of Minnesota outside of the state limits known as Dakota with any form of gov- 
ernment, but by withdrawing from them that under which they had lived, and denying to 
them a representative on the floor of Congress ; and by withholding from them laws, courts 
and civil officers, and thereby creating the necessity of an early organization of a legal form 
of government. 

Second. That the House of Representatives having declared by resolution thai "the 
admission of the State of Minnesota into the Union, with the boundaries prescribed in the 
act of admission, operate as a dissolute n .if the territorial organization of Minnesota, and 
that so much of the late Territory of Minnesota as lies without the limits of the present 
State of Minnesota, is without any distinct legally organized government." and "the people 
thereof are not entitled to any delegate in Congress until that right is conferred upon them 
by statute ;" that we do not approve of any election that lias been held,* nor will we partici- 
pate in any that may lie held, in any portion of this territory, for the purpose of electing a 
delegate to Congress; but we trust to the wisdom and justice of Congress to provide us 
with a heal form of government at an early day. 

Third. I ha1 a committee of three be appointed by this meeting to draft a memorial to 
the Senate and House of Representatives, expressive of our views, as indicated in the fore- 
going preamble and resolutions, and that the same be circulated for signatures among the 
people. 

Fourth. Thai the secretary of this convention communicate the foregoing preamble and 
resolution to out fellow citizens at their meeting to be held at Vermillion, and also to those 

to be held at Big Sioux, Bon Ilonmie and at Kitson precincts, and all others that may be 
called, and to unite their cooperation with US. 

Fifth. That the secretary be requested to forward a copy of the proceedings of this 
meeting to (lie committee provided for in resolution Third, and that said 1 >p ittached to 

tlie memorial therein directed to be drafted and with it forwarded to the Senate and Eiouse 

of Representatives. 

On motion of Mr. Chapel the report was unanimously adopted by the convention. 

On motion of Mr. Foote the convention appointed 1. B. S. Todi 1 D, Fiske and 

J. M. Stone as a committee to draft the memi rial designated in resolution Third. 

On motion of Mr. Chapel, the secretary was authorized to furnish a copj of the pro- 
lings of tbis convention for publication in the Sioux City Register and the St. 1 

Republican. 

Adjourned sine die. M. K. Armstrong, Secret 



L68 



HIST! IRY ( il- DAKOTA TERRITORY 



\ t a meeting of the iti en ■• \ ermilli. n and vicinity, held at the house of Mr. James 
McHenry, on the 9th of November, 1859. on motion J. A. Denton was called to the chair and 
ili Henn was apj ti d >ei retary. . . 

The object of the meeting having been explained, on motion of Doctor Caulkins a com- 
mittei of three was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the wants of the meeting. 
, 1 aulkins Doctor Whitness and Samuel Mortimer were appointed such committee. 

Il„ proceedings <>f the meeting of the citizens of Yankton having also been communi- 
cated to this meeting and their cooperation invited, it was ordered that the preamble and reso- 
lutions of that meeting be received bj it and the committee on resolutions be requested to 

ider them. While the committee was absent, General Frost of St. Louis addressed the 
meeting in a forcible and eloquent manner. .1.1 

The Committee on Resolutions then reported that it had under consideration the preamble 
and resolutions of the meeting al Yankton and begged leave to report them to this meeting 
for adoption as embracing everything necessary to be done. The preamble and resolutions 
having been read, the committee was discharged and the preamble and resolutions unam- 
niou.lv adopted as the views of the meeting. There being no further business before the 
meeting it adjourned sine die. 

(Signed) Jas. McHenry, secretary. 

The memorial was a strong paper and had been prepared with considerable 
cue. Though it failed to secure the affirmative action of Congress at this session, 
it made a very favorable impression upon the members. It called attention to the 
necessity and justice of furnishing the citizens of the United States who were 
here with some form of government. It set forth the situation as it existed 
regarding the absence of any legal authority in the form of local government, the 
exposed condition of the settlers to hostile Indians or white desperadoes, the ab- 
sence (if all forms of protection to property except that extended by the settlers 
to one another in their voluntary associations, the difficulty of pursuing any indus- 
try or commercial pursuit where an established credit protected by law was a 
great advantage, and the utter lack of any method by which titles could be ac- 
quired, thus delaying important and much needed improvements. The memorial 
was signed by every settler on the Missouri slope, whose numbers as attested by 
this document reached the surprising total of 428. It was taken to Washington 
in I >ecember following by Captain Todd. No copy of it 'was preserved, which is 
to be regretted, and the original may possibly be reposing in a pigeon hole of the 
archives of the Committee on Territories in either Senate or House. Xo action 
was taken by Congress in response to this memorial. 

Joseph R. Hanson is the only one who attended this meeting who is present 
today at roll call. H. T. Bailey, however, is a prominent citizen of Aten. Cedar 
< ounty, Nebraska, and occasionally pays a visit to his early friends and acquaint- 
ances (in this side of the river. 

In [859 Frost, Todd & Co. sold their Sioux City store to L. D. Parmer and the 
firm name was changed to that of D. Al. Frost & Co., Captain Todd and Ml". 
Atkinson retiring. 

I • M. Frost of this firm had been engaged in the fur trading business along 
the Upper Missouri for a number of years prior to the opening of Dakota to set- 
tlement by the whites. He was a native of New York and had been an officer in 
the regular army, having graduated at West Point in the year 1844. He served 
with distinction during the Mexican war, and had resigned his commission in 
[853 for the purpose of taking up this fur trading enterprise. He also took an 
active part in the politics of Missouri, was elected to the Legislature of that state 
from St. Louis, and became a general of the state militia. He conducted a farm 
in connection with his other employments, was largely interested in securing the 
treaty of cession From the Yankton Indians, and aided materially in securing the 
organization of Dakota Territory. He was a man of wealth and good general 
ability. On the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861 he joined the Southern 
1 !onfederacy and attained to the rank of a brigadier general. He was still living 
near St. Louis al the close of the last century. 

I he winter of [859-60 passed away very quietly. It was a dull winter and 
the ■spirit of enterprise .and improvement among the settlers was more fanciful 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERR] 1< IRY 169 

than real. The question of territorial organization was all-absorbing. The pio- 
neers felt that they would be seriously handicapped until Congress furnished them 
a government under which they could go forward with their work and improve- 
ments, secure in their property rights. The advantages to spring from an organ- 
ization had been canvassed over and over again until it seemed that with it they 
would rapidly achieve fortunes — that immigration would pour in, capital would 
crowd upon them for investment, their landed interests would rapidly increase in 
value and many other benefits would follow. Captain Todd spent the winter in 
Washington working with members of Congress to facilitate the passage of an 
organic act, and while the feeling was friendly, the active friend- ol organization 
found it impossible to push the measure through, and Congress finally adjourned, 
leaving the territory helpless so far as government was concerned. This condi- 
tion served as a serious damper on all enterprise during the year t86o. 



AN OKI, \\ K ACT 

On the 15th of January, 1861, a second territorial mass convention was held 
in 1 '.ramble's store at Yankton for the purpose of promoting the long deferred 
organization of the territory. It was not, however, a time when conditions 
seemed to favor the affirmative action of Congress, and the settlers were by no 
means sanguine of success, but encouraged by recent advices from General Todd, 
who was in Washington laboring with Congress, the settlers at Yankton felt it 
their duty to support his efforts as best they could. The nation was on the verge 
of a long and sanguinary civil war. Congress was torn with dissensions and 
absorbed in efforts to avert the impending national calamity. Many of the 
southern states had passed ordinances of secession, and their senators and repre- 
sentatives had abandoned their seats and returned to their homes to join in the 
hostilities that rapidly followed. An earnest and carefully prepared memorial 
was the result of the convention. This document was neatly enrolled and signed 
by 47* pioneers, which probably included the entire population of the territory and 
possibly some of Picotte's kindred, and was then forwarded to the presiding officer 
of the Senate. Little more than a month remained before Congress would ad- 
journ and a new administration be installed in power, so that the importance of 
speedy action and unceasing effort was very apparent. Fortune favored the pio- 
neers despite the many discouraging circumstances of that time. February 14, 
r86l, Senator Green from the Committee on Territories reported a hill "To pro- 
vide a temporary government for the Territory of Dakota and to create the office 
of surveyor general therein," which passed the Senate the 26th of the same month, 
passed the I louse .March 1st, and received the approval of President Buchanan 
March 2d, less than forty-eight hours before his term as president expired. It 
was eleven days later, on the [3th of March, when the good news reached Dakota. 
There were no telegraph lines north of St. Joseph. Missouri, at that time, and 
none that extended very far west of the Mississippi River in Iowa, so the good 
tidings traveled slowly. But it reached Dakota and found the pioneers in a mood 
to receive it and give it a most generous welcome. It is said that the shouts of 
joy that went up made the welkin ring and started a jack rahhit stampede for 
the distant bluffs that was a sight to behold. Laboring men 1 and all were of this 
honorable cla>s) took a day off and went about congratulating one another in 
language vigorous; there were handshakes that would abash a pump handle in 
energetic motion, and laughter loud and long and hearty, and other smiles. Songs 
were sung and jigs were danced and eloquent speeches of excellent quality and 
generous quantity were a feature of the joyous occasion. There were no bonfires, 
hut an abundance of hot air and fervid words. It was a never to b< forgotten 
occasion and the enactment of the law was rightly regarded as an important pro- 
gressive step in Dakota's career. 



17ii HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

THE ORGANIC ACT 

I lu- organic act is here given in full: 

An act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Dakota and to create 
tlie office of surveyor general therein. . 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled, that all that part of the territory of the United States 
included within the following limits, namely: 

Commencing at a point in the main channel of the Red River of the North where the 
49th degree of north latitude crosses the same, thence up the main channel of the same, and 
along the houndary of the State of Minnesota, to Big Stone Lake; thence along the boundary 
line of the said State of Minnesota to the Iowa line; thence along the boundary line of the 
State of Iowa to the point of intersection between the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers; thence 
up the Missouri River and along the boundary line of the Territory of Nebraska to the mouth 
of the Niobrara or Running Water River; thence following up the same in the middle of 
the main channel thereof, to the mouth of the Keha Paha or Turtle Hill River; thence up 
said river to the 43d parallel of north latitude ; thence due west to the present boundary of 
the Territory of Washington ; thence along the boundary line of Washington Territory to 
>th degree of north latitude; thence east along said 49th degree of latitude to the place 
of beginning, be, and the same is, hereby organized into a temporary government by the name 
of the Territory of Dakota; Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be so con- 
strued as to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said 
territory, so long as such right shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United 
States and such Indians, or to include any territory which bv treaty with any Indian tribe 
is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or juris- 
diction of any state or territory ; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries 
and constitute no part of the Territory of Dakota, until said tribe shall signify their assent to 
the President of the United States, to be included within the said territory ; or to affect the 
authority of the Government of the United States to make any regulations respecting such 
Indians, their lands, property or other rights, by treaty, law or otherwise, which it would 
have been competent for the Government to make if this act had never passed; Provided 
further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the Government of 
the United States from dividing said territory into two or more territories in such manner 
and at such times as Congress shall deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any por- 
tion thereof to any other territory or state. 

Section 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and authority in and 
over said Territory of Dakota shall be vested in a governor who shall hold his office for 
four years and until his successor is appointed and qualified unless sooner removed by the 
1 'resident of the United States. The governor shall reside within said territory, shall be 
commander-in-chief of the militia thereof, shall perform the duties and receive the emoluments 
of superintendent of Indian affairs, and shall approve all laws passed by the Legislative 
Assembly before they shall take effect ; he may grant pardons for offenses against the laws of 
said territory, and reprieves for offenses against the laws of the United States until the 
decision of the President can be made known thereon; he shall commission all officers who 
shall be appointed to office under the laws of said territory, and shall take care that the laws 
be faithfully executed. 

Section 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of said territory 
who shall reside therein, and who shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed 
by the President of the United States. He shall record and preserve all the laws and pro- 
ceedings of the Legislative Assembly, hereinafter constituted; and all the acts and proceed- 
ings of the governor in his executive department ; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and 
one copy of the executive proceedings on or before the first day of December in each 
year, to the President of the United States, and at the same time two copies of the laws 
to the speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President of the Senate, for the 
use of Congress; and in case of the death, removal or resignation or other necessary absence 
of the governor from the territory the secretary shall have and is hereby authorized and 
ecute and perform all the powers and duties of the governor during such 
vacancy or necessary absence or until another governor shall be duly appointed to fill such 
vacancy. 

Section 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and authority of said 
ed m the governor and Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly 
shall consist of a council and house of representatives. The council shall consist of nine 
members, which may be increased to thirteen, having the qualifications of voters as herein- 
after prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two years. The house of representa- 
tives shall consist of thirteen members, which may be increased to twenty-six. possessing the 
same qualifications as prescribed for members of the council, and whose term of service shall 
continue one year. An apportionment shall be made as nearly equal as practicable among the 
several counties or districts for the election of a council and house of representatives, giving 
h section of the territory representation in the ratio of its population (Indians excepted) 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 171 

as near as may be; and the members of the council and of the house of representatives shall 
reside in and be inhabitants of the district for which they may be elected respectively. Pre- 
vious to the first election the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants 
of the several counties and districts in the territory to be taken; and the lirst election shall be 
held at such time and places, and be conducted in such manner as the governor shall appoint 
and direct; and he shall at the same time declare the number of the members of the council 
and house of representatives to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under 
this act. The number of persons authorized to be elected having the highest number of 
votes in each of said council districts for members of the council shall be declared by the 
governor to be elected to the council; and the person or persons authorized to be elected 
having the highest number of votes for members of the house of representatives equal to 
the number to which such county or district shall be entitled shall be declared by the governor 
to be elected members of the house of representatives; Provided, That in case of a tie between 
two or more persons voted for, the governor shall order a new election to supply the vacancy 
made by such tie. And the persons thus elected to the Legislative Assembly shall meet at such 
place and on such day as the governor shall appoint; but thereafter the time, place and man- 
ner of holding and conducting all elections by the people and apportioning the representation 
in the several counties or districts to the council and house of representatives according to 
the population, shall be prescribed by law, as well as the day of the commencement of the 
regular sessions of the Legislative Assembly; Provided, That no one session shall exceed the 
term of forty days, except the first, which may be extended to sixty days, but no longer. 

Section 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male inhabitant of the 
United States above the age of twenty-one years who shall have been a resident of said 
territory at the time of the passage of this act, shall be entitled to vote at the first election 
and shall be eligible to any office within the said territory ; but the qualifications of voters 
and of holding office, at all subsequent elections, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the 
Legislative Assembly; Provided, That the right of suffrage and of holding office shall lie exer- 
cised only by citizens of the United States and those who shall have declared on oath their 
intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath to support the Constitution of the 
United States. 

Section 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the territory shall 
extend to all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the Constitution of the United 
States and the provisions of this act; but no law shall be passed interfering with the primary 
disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed upon the property of the United States nor 
shall the lands or other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or property 
of residents; nor shall any law be passed impairing the rights of private property; nor shall 
any discrimination be made in taxing ditTerent kinds of property; but all property subject to 
taxation shall be taxed in proportion to the value of the propertj taxed. 

Section 7. And be it further enacted, That all township, district and county officers, 
not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, in such 
manner as shall be provided by the governor and Legislative Assembly of the territory. The 
governor shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, 
appoint all officers not herein otherwise provided for; and in the first instance, the governor 
alone may appoint all said officers, who shall hold their offices until the end of the first se 
of the Legislative Assembly, and he shall lay off the necessary districts for members of the 
council and house of representatives and all other offio I 

Section 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the Legislature shall hold 
or be appointed to any office which shall have been created, or the salary or emoluments of 
which have been increased while be wax a member during the term for which he was elected 
and for one year after the expiration of such term; and no person holding a o mm n or 

appoiptment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member of the Legis- 
lative Assembly or shall hold any office under the government of S lid territory. 

Section 0. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said territory shall 

be vested in a Supreme Court, District courts, Probate courts and in justices of the l 

The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, any tw 
whom shall constitute a quorum, anil who shall bold a term at the seat of government of said 
territory annually and they shall hold their offices during the period ,,i tour years. 1 hi said 
territory shall he divided into three judicial districts and a District Court shall he held in 
each of said district by one of the justices of the Supreme Court at such tune and : 

as ma} be prescribed by law; and the said juile.es shall, after their appointment respectively, 
reside in the districts whuh shall he assigned them. I he jurisdiction of the several courts 
herein provided tor both appellate ami original, and th it I thi Probate i "iirts and of justices 
of the price shall he is limited bj law . Provided, That justices of the peace shall not have 
jurisdiction of any matter in controversy when the title or boundaries of land may be in 
dispute or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred doll, is Ami the 
Supreme and District courts respectively shall po e chancery as well as . law 

jurisdiction; and authority for the redress of all wrongs commit nstitution 

or laws of the United States or of the territory, affecting p h District 

Court, or the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also he the regi ter in chancery, 
and shall keep bis office at the place where the court nui be held. Writs of error, bill 
exception, and appeals, shall ' I in all cases Horn the lirst decision ' rict 



[72 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

he Supreme Court under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; but in no 
moved to the Supreme Court shall trial b) jury be allowed in said court. The Supreme 
i ourt "r the justices thereof shall appoint its own court, and every clerk shall hold his office 
at the pleasure of the court for which he shall have been appointed. Writs of error and 
from the final decisions of said Supreme Court shall be allowed, and may be taken to 
ipremi I ourt of the L'nited State-, in the same manner and under the same regulations 
in the Circuit courts of the L'nited Stites, where the value of the property or the 
amount in controversy to be ascertained bj the oath or affirmation of either party, or other 
o mpetent witness, shall exceed one thousand dollars: and each of said District courts shall 
have and exercise the same jurisdiction in all cases arising under the laws and Constitution 
of the L'nited States as is vested in the Circuit or District courts of the United States, and 
the said Supreme and District courts of said territory and the respective judges hereof shall 
and maj grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases in which same are grantable by the judges 
of the United States in the District of Columbia; and the first six days of every term of said 
courts, or as much thereof as shall be necessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of cases 
arising under the said Constitution and laws, and writs of error and appeals in all such cases 
shall he made to the Supreme Court of said territory the same as in all other cases and the 
-aid elerk shall receive the same fees as the clerks of the District courts of Nebraska Terri- 
tory now receive for similar services. 

Section to. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed an attorney for said 
territory, who shall continue in office for four years unless sooner removed by the Presi- 
dent, and who shall receive the same fees and salary as the attorney of the United States 
for the present Territory of Nebraska. There shall also be a marshal for the territory ap- 
pointed, who shall hold his office for four years unless sooner removed by the President, 
and who shall execute all processes issuing from the said courts when exercising their 
jurisdiction as circuit or district courts of the L'nited States; he shall perform the duties, be 
subject to the same regulations and penalties and be entitled to the same fees as the marshal 
of the district courts of the United States for the present Territory of Nebraska, and shall, 
:n addition, be paid $200 annually as a compensation for extra services. 

Section 11. And be it further enacted, That the governor, secretary, chief justice and 
associate justices, attorney and marshal shall be nominated and by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, appointed by the President of the United States. The governor and 
secretary to be appointed as aforesaid, shall, before they act as such, respectively take an 
oath or affirmation before the district judge or some justice of the peace within the limits 
of said territory duly authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws now in 
force therein, or before the chief justice or some associate justice of the Supreme Court of 
the L'nited States to support the Constitution of the United States and faithfully to discharge 
the duties of their respective offices, which said oaths, wdien so taken, shall be certified by 
the person by whom the same shall have been taken, and such certificate shall be received 
and recorded among the executive proceedings; and the chief justice and associate justices 
and all other civil officers in said territory, before they act as such, shall take a like oath 
or affirmation before the said governor or secretary or some judge or justice of the peace 
oi ili< territory who may be duly commissioned and qualified, which said oath or affirmation 
shall be certified and transmitted by the person taking the same to the secretary, to be by 
him recorded as aforesaid; and afterwards the like oath or affirmation shall" be taken, 
certified and recorded in such manner and form as may be prescribed by law. The governor 
shall receive an annual salary of $1,500 as governor and $1,000 as superintendent of Indian 
affairs; the chief justice and associate justices shall each receive an annual salary of $[,800; 
all receive an annual salary of $1,800. The said salaries shall be paid quarter 
■>; arl) al the Treasury of the United States. The members of the Legislative Assembly 
be entitled to receive $3.00 each per day during their attendance at the session thereof, 
and $3.00 for every twenty miles travel in going to and returning from said sessions, esti 
mate ! according to the nearest usually traveled route. There shall be appropriated annually 
000 to lie expended by the governor to defray the contingent expenses of 
thi territory. There shall also be appropriated annually a sufficient sum to be expended by 
retarj oi the treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses of the Legislative 
ly, the printing of the laws and other incidental expenses, and the secretary of the 
territory shall annually account to the secretary of the treasury of the United States for 
the manner in which the aforesaid sum shall have been expended. 

Section [2. \nd be it further enacted, That the Legislative Assemblv shall hold its 

ucit time and place in said Territory of Dakota as the governor thereof 

hall appoint and direct; and at such first session, or as soon thereafter as they shall deem 

expedient, the governor and Legislative Assembly shall proceed to locate and establish the 

■ nunc 111 for said territory at such place as they may deem eligible, which place, 

r, shall thereafter be subject to be changed by the said governor and Legislative 

mbly. 

'.":" '.< And be it further enacted. That a delegate to the House of Representatives 

1 ''" ' ""''I States, to serve during each Congress of the United States, may be elected by 

qualified to eleel members of the Legislative Assemblv. who shall be entitled to 

iid privileges as are exercised and enjoyed by the delegates from the several 

other territories of the I nited States to the said House of Representatives. The first 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 17:; 

election shall be held at such time and places and be conducted in such manner as the 
governor shall appoint and direct, and at all subsequent elections the times, places and 
manner of holding the elections shall he prescribed b) law. The person having the highest 
number of votes shall be declared by the governor duly elected and a certificate thereof 
shall be given accordingly. 

Section 14. And be it further enacted, That when the land in said territory shall he 
surveyed under the direction of the ( iovernment of the United State,, preparatory to bring 
the same into the market, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in each township in said 
territorj shall be and the same is hereby reserved for the purpose oi being applied to si 1 
in the state hereafter to be erected out of the same. 

Section 15. And be it further enacted. That temporarily, and until otherwise provided 
by law, the governor of said territory tua\ define the judicial districts of said territorj and 
assign the judges who may be appointed for said territory to the several districts and also 
appoint the times and places for holding courts in the several counties or subdivisions in each 
of said judicial districts by proclamation to be issued by him, but the Legislative \ sembly 
at their first session may organize, alter or modify such judicial districts and assign the 
judges, and appoint the times and places of holding the courts as to them shall seem proper 
and convenient. 

Section 1(1. And be it further enacted. That the Constitution and all laws of the United 
States which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the 
said Territory of Dakota as elsewhere within the United States. 

Section 17. And be it further enacted. I hat the President of the United States. b\ and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be and is hereby authorized to appoint a 
surveyor general of Dakota who shall locate his office at such place as the secretarj ol 
the interior shall from time to time direct, and whose duties, powers, obligations, responsi 
bilities, compensation, and allowances for clerk hire, office rent, fuel and incidental expenses 
shall be the same as those of the surveyor general of Nebraska and Kansas under the 
direction of the secretary of the interior, with such instructions as he may from timi to 
time deem it advisable to give him. 

Section 18. And he it further enacted, That so much of the public lands of the United 
States in the Territory of Dakota west of its eastern boundary and east and north of the 
Niobrara or Running Water River, be formed into a land district to be called the Yankton 
District at such and at such time as the President maj direct, the land office E01 which shall 
be located at such point as the President may direct and shall be removed from time to time- 
to other points within said district whenever, in his opinion, it may be expedient. 

Section 10. And be it further enacted, That the President be and he is herebj authorized 
to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of tin- Senate, a register and receiver for 
said district, wdio shall respectively be required to reside at the site of said office, and who 
shall have the same powers, perform the same duties and be entitled to the same com 
pensation as are or may be prescribed by law in relation to other land offices of the United 
States. 

Section 20. And be it further enacted. That the river in said territory heretofore known 
as the River aux Jacques or James River, shall hereafter be called the Dakota River. 

Section 21. And be it further enacted. That until Congress shall otherwise direct, that 
portion of the Territories of Utah and Washington, between the forty-first and forty third 
degrees of north latitude and east of the thirty-third meridian of longitude west from 
Washington shall be and are hereby incorporated into and made a part of the Territory of 
Nebraska, 

Approved March 2, 1861. 

James Bui 11 an w. 
Attest; Wm. II. Seward, Secretary of State. 



The name "Dakota" had been applied to this country by common consent after 
the admission of Minnesota as a state' in 1S5S, ami was so designated from the 
powerful Indian nation that claimed and occupied the greater portion of the terri- 
tory at that time. The territory covered an area of about three hundred and fifty 
thousand square miles, extending from Minnesota and [owa on the east to the 
dividing ridges of the Rocky .Mountains on the west, and front the Missouri, 
Niobrara and Keha Paha rivers ami the '3d parallel of north latitude- on the 
south to the 40th parallel on the north. 

Rev. John I'. Williamson, of Yankton Agency, who hail spent possibly a half 
century as a missionary and teacher among the- Sioux Indians nf Minnesota and 
Dakota, writing of the derivation and meaning in the English tongue of Indian 
name's, te-lls us the proper meaning of two or three- which will interesl Dakotans. 
llis Utter was called out by the' Dakota proceedings in Congress and comments 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

made by well-known Sioux interpreters. It may be understood that there was 
no better living authority on this subject than Mr. Williamson. He writes that: 

The derivation of proper names is often obscure, but happily for future historians the 
title of our coming state is derived from no obsolete tongue, and all intelligent Dakotans will 
Km- but one answer as to the meaning of the word "Dakota," and that is that it means 
"friends" or "allies." The Dakota Nation is the nation of friends, and the State of Dakota 
will doubtless honor the name and be a state of friends. 

As to "Lakota," the women use that form no more than the men. All the Teton or 
Western Sioux use "L" entirely for "D," hence Lakota for Dakota. 

As to Minnesota, it means neither "plenty of water" nor "muddy water." Minnesota 
might mean "muddy water," and Minneshoshe (the Dakota name for the Missouri River), 
means "muddy water." 

Minnesota is harder to define because of the want of any equivalent word in the English 
language. I should translate Minnesota "hazy water." John P. Williamson. 







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LINCOLN IN 1861 



CHAPTER XVII] 

ORGANIZATION OF THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT 

FIRST ELECTION 

1861 

FIRST DAKOTA OFFICIALS FIRST NEWSPAPER — GOVERNOR CAUSES CENSUS TO BE 

TAKEN — WHITE AND RED POPULATION — FEDERAL OFFICIALS RENDEZVOUS AT 
YANKTON — GOVERNOR JAYNE CALLS ELECTION AND ASSIGNS JUDGES — FIRST PO- 
LITICAL CONVENTION AND FIRST ELECTION — THE VOTE BY PRECINCTS — LEGIS- 
LATURE CHOSEN AND CAPTAIN TODD ELECTED TO CONGRESS — PERSONAL SKETCHES 
OF FIRST OFFICIALS. 

President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1861. In 
the following month of April he made the following appointments for the Terri- 
tory of Dakota : 

Governor, Dr. William Jayne, Springfield, 111. ; secretary, John Hutchinson, 
Minnesota; chief justice, Philemon liliss, Ohio; associate justice, J. P. Williston, 
Pennsylvania; associate justice, Joseph L. Williams, Tennessee; United States 
district attorney, W. E. Gleason, Maryland ; United States marshal, William E. 
Shaffer, Missouri; surveyor general, George D. Hill, Michigan. 

On the 6th of June, 1861, the Weekly Dakotian was issued at Yankton by 
the Dakotian Printing Company, composed of Frank M. Ziebach and William 
Freney, both young journalists and practical craftsmen from Sioux City, where 
they were engaged in the publication of the Sioux City Register, a democratic 
weekly newspaper, and the only paper at that time published in Northwestern 
Iowa. The Dakotian was the first newspaper published in the Territory of Da- 
kota after the passage of the organic act. The office of publication was in the 
log building on the west side of Broadway, near Second Street, 1 mill in 18511 by 
John Patterson. Mr. Frank M. Ziebach was the editor and did a good portion of 
the mechanical labor besides. He was a number one journalist and a master 
printer. lie needed to have a thorough knowledge of the printing art in order 
to overcome the many difficulties that are met with in establishing and printing 
a newspaper in a frontier settlement. 

During the month of June, [861, Newton Edmunds reached Yankton from 
Ypsilanti, Michigan. He came to open up the office of surveyor general, of which 
he was chief clerk, and set the machinery in motion for the surveying of the 
public lands. Mr. Edmunds secured office accommodations in the Bramble build- 
ing, corner of Front and Walnut streets, known on the early plats as Elm Street. 

( >n the 27th of August, [861, the surveyor general issued the following notice: 

By direction of the honorable commissioner of the general land office, bearing dat< 
July 29, [861, the surveyor general of this territory is directed to receive declaratory state 
ments of settlers until the opening of the local land office Notice ao 
given thai this offii open for the reception of such declaratory statements which 

may now be tiled in this office as fast as the surveys are completed and 1 wnships platted. 

G. D. Hill, Surveyor General Dakota territory. 

By X. Edmunds, Chief Clerk. 

175 



176 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

William lavne, the new governor, came in June, accompanied by William 
Shaffer, United States marshal, and established the executive office in a log 
structure on Broadway, opposite the Ash Hotel. This log structure thus became 
the first capitol building of Dakota, inasmuch as the governor began the work 
of organization in that humble structure, and made it his domicile, official and 
personal, for a number of week-. I [e had no authority to locate the capital and 
the organic act gave no direction as to the seat of government further than to 
authorize the Legislative Assembly to locate it. As the Legislative Assembly 
was not vet in existence, the governor carried the seat of government with him 
and issued his proclamations and official documents from the "Town of Yankton." 

VOTING POPULATION IN l86l 

The governor proceeded without delay to set the wheels of government in 
motion. His first official act was the appointment of persons to take the census 
of the territory. He appointed Henry D. Betts, Wilmot W. Brookings, Andrew 
J. Harlan, Obed Foote, George M. Pinney and J. D. Morse census agents. He 
assigned to II. D. Betts that portion of the territory embracing all the settlements 
on or contiguous to the Red River and at St. Joseph and vicinity. Wilmot W. 
Brookings was assigned to the Sioux Falls district, embracing settlements on the 
Big Sioux River north of the Brule Creek settlement and south of the Big Stone 
Lake. Andrew J. Harlan was assigned to that part of the territory embracing all 
the settlements from the Brule Creek settlement to the mouth of the Big Sioux, 
and all settlements on the Missouri River between the mouth of the Big Sioux 
and east of the line between ranges 53 and 54, the west boundary of Clay County. 
Obed Foote was assigned to that part of the territory lying on the Missouri 
bounded on the east by the range line between ranges 53 and 54, and bounded 
on the west by the range line between ranges 57 and 58, the west boundary of 
Yankton County. George M. Pinney was assigned to that part of the territory 
lying on the Missouri bounded on the east by the range line between ranges 57 
and 58, and bounded on the west by Choteau Creek. J. D. Morse was assigned 
that portion of the territory lying between the Missouri and Niobrara rivers, and 
that portion on the Missouri bounded on the east by Choteau Creek, and running 
west and north to include the Pease and Hamilton settlements. 

'Flie following is a summary of the census returns filed with the executive : 

RED RIVER DISTRICT 

Whole number white males 51 

Whole number of white females 28 79 

Mixed males 264 

.Mixed females 260 524 

VERMILLION AND THE BIG SIOUX DISTRICT 

Brule Creek Whole number white males 31 

Whole number white females 16 47 

Point on Big Sioux Whole number of white males 47 

Whole number of white females 32 

1 lalf breeds 25 104 

Elk Point Whole number white males 35 

Whole number white females 21 

Half breeds 5 61 

Vermillion Whole number white males 152 

Whole number white females 106 

1 lalf breeds 7 265 

Bottom and Clay Creek Whole number white males 131 

Whole number white females 88 2IC 




WILLIAM lAVXi: 
Firs( Tei ritoi a] Govei nor 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 177 

Sioux Falls 1 district Whole number white mal< s 50 

Whole number white females 10 be 

Yankton District Whole number white males 

Whole number white females 278 

Half breeds 9 287 

Bon Homme District Whole number white males [02 

Whole number white females in [63 

WESTERN DISTRICT 

Pease and Hamilton Settlements . White pi ipulation 53 

Half breeds 128 [8l 

Fort Randall Whole population 210 210 

Vankt' in Agency White population 29 

Half breeds 47 /6 

Ponca Agency and Vicinity White population 95 

Half breeds 34 I2g 

Total population of territory 2.376 

Upon receiving these returns the governor expressed himself as dissatisfied 
with the returns from the Red River as being underrated, because a large number 
of the settlers were oft" on their annual summer hunt ; and he regarded the re- 
turns made by Mr. Morse of the Western district overrated, and that the agenl 
had been deceived by representations made to him. 

The report of the census taken by the Federal Government in i860, which 
was the year following the treaty with the Yanktons and also the year preceding 
the passage of the organic act, gave to the Territory of Dakota the following agri- 
cultural and livestock productions: Eighty-four horses, 19 mules, 286 milch 
cows, 318 winking oxen, 338 other cattle. 22 sheep and 287 swine. In grain and 
other farm products, 915 bushels of wheat, 700 bushels of rye, 20,296 bushels 
of corn, 250 bushels of oats, 286 bushels of peas and beans, 9,489 bushels of 
potatoes, 1,670 pounds of butter. 1,122 tons of hay and 20 gallons of maple 
molasses. Number of white population, 2,128. This was supposed to represent 
the entire area afterward included within the boundaries prescribed in the or- 
ganic act. 

According to the census of i860, the Territory of Dakota contained a popula- 
tion of 2,376. and of this number the Pembina country contained 1,606, consid- 
erably more than half, but the Pembina population had a much greater proportion 
of mixed-bloods than the other portions of the territory in the south. 

William E. Gleason, the attorney general of the territory, was the next to 
arrive after the governor. Mr. Gleason was rather a fastidious gentleman from 
Maryland — a staunch, southern republican of the Henry Winter Davis school. 
His apparel fitted his station and tradition has it that he came crowned with a 
stovepipe hat. The governor, aware of the limited accommodations in town, 
courteously invited him to share bis quarters in the humble structure of cotton 
wood log-., and Mr. Gleason graciously accepted, conceiving that he could stand 
anything a governor could. So he placed his effects in the gubernatorial chamber 
and lodged in his official apartments. Mr. Gleason's first concern was to find 
water and a suitable vessel for a wash basin, which the executive office had 
strangely neglected to provide. Some wag related that the governor, when ap- 
pealed to b) the attorney, told him thai there was an abundance of water in the 
Missouri, pointing toward the river, which was free to all. Mr. Gleason proved 
himself a very capable official and a genuine southern gentleman, nevertheless. 

Yankton appears to have been selected as the rendezvous for the newly ap- 
pointed federal officials prior to their coming to the territor) 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Reference has been made to the organization of a provisional government at 
Sioux rid the earnest efforts of the pioneers there to secure an organization 

of the territory in their interest, which is treated at length in former chapters. 
Their efforts seem to have been intelligently and aggressively directed, and their 
failure was due to conditions beyond their control. Had the organization come a 
arlier, as the Sioux balls parties anticipated, while Buchanan was president, 
it would probably have been Sioux Falls and not Yankton, for the reason that 
the governor and other'leading democrats of Minnesota, and many of Iowa, who 
stood high in the councils of the party, were active in its support. The appoint- 
ment of Governor Jayne gave Yankton a valuable advantage. He was from 
Springfield. 111., the home of the President, and a personal friend. Captain Todd, 
who had been at the head of all the movements on the Missouri slope leading 
up to the organization, was also a former Springfield man and a cousin of Mrs. 
1 in. oln. There is no doubt that Captain Todd, who had high hopes of Yankton, 
and had arranged to enter the townsite under his treaty privilege, and who was 
also a very skillful plan maker, had arranged the place of rendezvous at Yankton, 
for hither all the federal officers came in the beginning. It will be admitted by 
all unprejudiced people that Yankton possessed natural advantages of a superior 
and prepossessing character that would have exerted a favorable influence on the 
minds of unbiased men who were looking for an official and domestic residence, 
but at that day its natural advantages comprised about all its possessions. 

The census having been returned, the governor proceeded to issue a proclama- 
tion dividing the territory into legislative districts and calling an election for 
members of the Legislative Assembly and a delegate to Congress, and a second 
proclamation creating the judicial districts and assigning the judges. These 
proclamations are here given in full : 

PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Whereas, the Organic Act organizing a temporary government for the Territory of 
Dakota, has provided for the election of one delegate to Congress and for a Legislative 
Assemhly consisting of nine councilmen, whose term of office shall be two years, and thirteen 
members of the House of Representatives, whose term' of office shall be for one year ; and 
whereas, 

In pursuance of the provisions of the Organic Act, I have caused to be taken a census, 
or enumeration of the inhabitants of said Territory, and upon said census returns, I have 
divided and apportioned the said Territory into Council and Representative districts, as 
follows, to-wit : 

All the portion of the Dakota Territory lying between the Missouri River and the Big 
Sioux River, and bounded on the west by the range line dividing ranges fifty and fifty-one, 
and that portion of the Dakota Territory lying west of the Red River of the North and 
including the settlement at and adjacent to Pembina and St. Joseph, shall compose the First 
Council District, to be entitled to two Councilmen. 

\11 that portion of Dakota Territory bounded by the Vermillion River on the west and 
bounded on the east by the range line dividing ranges fifty and fifty-one. shall compose the 
Second Council District, and be entitled to two Councilmen. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded by the Vermillion River on the east and 
bounded on the west by the range line dividing ranges fifty-three and fifty-four, shall compose 
the Third Council District, and be entitled to one Councilman. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by the range line dividing 
ranges fifty-three and fifty-four, and bounded on the west by the range line dividing ranges 
fifty-seven and fifty-eight, shall compose the Fourth Council District, and be entitled to 
two Councilmen. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by the range line dividing 
ranges fifty-seven and fifty-eight, and bounded on the west by Choteau Creek, shall com- 
pose the Fifth Council District, and be entitled to one Councilman. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by Choteau Creek and on the 
west bj a line west of and including that settlement known as the Hamilton Settlement, and 
also that portion of Dakota Territory situated between the Missouri River and the Niobrara 
River, shall compose the Sixth Council District, and be entitled to one Councilman. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory situated between the Missouri and the Big Sioux 
rivers, and bounded on the west by the range line dividing ranges fifty and fifty-one, and 
bounded on the north by the township line dividing townships ninety-four and ninety-five, 
shall compose the First Representative District, and be entitled to two Representatives. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 179 

All that portion of Dakota Territory lying west of the Big Sioux River and hounded on 
the south by the township line dividing townships ninety-four and ninety-five, and on the 
west by the range line dividing ranges fifty and fifty-one, and on tin north by a line drawn 
due east and west from the south end of Lake Preston, shall constitute the Second Repre- 
sentative District, and shall be entitled to one Representative. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory lying on the Red River oi the North, including 
the settlements of St. Joseph and Pembina, shall compose the Third Represenl i trict, 

and be entitled to one Representative. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded by the Vermillion Run- on the wist, and 
bounded on the east by the range line dividing ranges fifty and fifty one, shall compose the 
Fourth Representative District, and be entitle. 1 t.. urn Representatives. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded by the Vermillion River on the east, and 
bounded on the west by the range line dividing ranges fifty-three and fifty-four, shall com- 
pose the Fifth Representative District, and shall be entitled to two Rein enl 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded by the range line dividing ranges fifty- 
three and fifty-four on the east, and bounded on the west by the range line dividing ran 
fifty-seven and fifty-eight, shall compose the Sixth Representative District, and be enti 
to two Representatives. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by the range line dividing 
ranges fifty-seven and fifty-eight, and on the west by Choteau Creek, shall compose the 
Seventh Representative District, and be entitled to two Representatives. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by Choteau Creek, and bounded 
on the west by a line drawn west of, and to include the settlement known as the Hamilton 
Settlement, and also that portion of Dakota Territory situated between the Missouri and 
Niobrara rivers, shall compose the Eighth Representative District, and be entitled to one 
Representative. 

Now, therefore, I. William Jayne. Governor of said Territory, by authority vested in me 
by the Organic Act, do proclaim that an election will be held on Monday, the 16th day of 
September, [86l, for one Delegate to Congress, and nine Councilmen, and thirteen members 
of the Mouse of Representatives, who shall be elected in the several districts as above 
apportioned. At which election the polls shall be opened at 9 o'clock A. M., and close at 
6 o'clock P. M. 

I do hereby establish, in the aforesaid district, the following places for voting: 

In the first Representative District, at the dwelling house of Thomas Maloney, and do 
appoint as Judges of Election thereat, William Matthews. James Summers and Thomas 
Maloney; and also at the hotel of Eli Wixson, in Elk Point, and do appoint as judges of 
election thereat Sherman Clyde, William Frisbie and K. P. Romme. 

In the Second Representative District, at the house of William Amida, and do appoint 
as judges, George B. Waldron, Barney Fowler and John Kelts. 

In the Third Representative District, at the house of Charles LeMay, in the town of 
Pembina, and do appoint as judges, Charles Le.May, James McPetridge and II. Donelson; 
also at the house of Baptiste Shorette in the town of St. Joseph, and do appoint as judges, 
Baptiste Shorette, Charles Bottinau and Antoine Zangran. 

In the Fourth Representative District, at the house of James McIIenry. and do appoint 
as judges, A. J. Harlan, Ole Anderson and A. Eckles. 

In the Fifth Representative District, at the house of Bly Wood, and do appoint as 
judges, Ole Oldeson, Bly Wood and Ole Bottlofson. 

In the Sixth Representative District, at the house of Frost Todd & Companj 
appoint as judges, M. K. Armstrong. Frank Chapel and J. S. Presho 

In the Seventh Representative District, at I let-rick's Hotel in Ron Homme, and do 
appoint as judges, Daniel Gifford. George M. Pinney and George Falkingh. 1 

In the Eighth Representative District, at the house of F. O. Pease, and do appoint as 
judges, J. V. Hamilton, Benjamin Estes and Joseph Ellis; and also at Gregory's Store, and 
do appoint as judge . Charles Young, James Tufts and Thomas Imall. 

If one of the Judges of Flection be absent or decline to serve, the two judges pri 
shall select a third person, to act as judge, but if two or more judges be absent or decline 
to serve, then a majority of the voters present will elect persons to fill such vacancies. 

\ majority of the judges at each election poll will select two competent persons to act 
as Clerks of Elect m 

The voting shall be by ballot and the qualifications such as are prescribed by the Organic 
An. to wit : 

Everj free white male inhabitant of the United States above the age of zi years, who 
shall have been a resident of the Territory at the time of the passage of the Organic Act, 
shall be entitled to vote at the first election, provided that the right of suffrage and of holding 
office shall be exercised only bj citizens of the United State-, and those who havi declared 
by oath their intention to become such, and shall have taken an oath to supp irt thi 
stitution of the United States. 

v voter shall be required to vote in that district in which he resided at the time 
of the issuing of this proclamation. 



[80 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

judges and derl • in required to observe the following regulation-,: 

tst on the morning oi election, the firsl judge oi the list will administer to the other 
two judges the oath oi orrice bj mi pn scribed, and one of the other two having been sworn 
shall administer the like oath to the first on the list. ,,,,,■ 

2nd. Having taken the oath, they will appoint two clerks, who shall take before one 
of the judges, the oath by me prescribed. 

nd. I he ballots will he deposited in ballot box furnished. 

4th. The judges will not receive the vote of any person, unless they believe that the 
IH . r .,,,, offering to vote is entitled to vote bj the Organic Act. and should Ins right be 
doubted bj the judges, or should he he challenged by any person, the vote will not he received 
unless the person offering to vote shall state under oath (administered by one of the 
judges I. that he is a free white person and a citizen of the United states, or has on oath 
declared his intention to become such, that he is Jt years of age and that he resided in this 
Territory on the 2nd day of March. [86l, when the Organic Act was passed, and that he 
has not voted previoush on that day. .... 

5th. The Clerks of the Election shall record in two separate books by me furnished, 
the nami oi each person voting, as it shall be given him by the judges, and shall certify to 
the correctness of the list of votes polled. 

oth. Immediately after closing the polls the judges and clerks shall proceed to count 
the votes, and shall set down in the poll books the number of votes cast for each person, 
and for what office and certify to the same. 

7th. Alter the votes shall have been counted, they shall be replaced in the ballot box, 
tin box and ballot box sealed, and together with the certificates of the judges and clerks, 
shall Ik- taken by one of the judges or clerks to the Governor of the Territory, at Yankton, 
Dakota Territory. 

In testimony whereof I have subscribed my name and caused my seal 
to be affixed. Done at the Town of Yankton, this 29th day of July in the 
\ ear of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-one. 

By the Governor, 

William Jayne. 

John Hutchinson, 

Secretary of the Territory. 

It will be observed that this proclamation calls for a delegate to Congress and 
members of the Legislative Assembly only. There were no counties, no local 
laws, and therefore no territorial or county offices to be filled. Those were to be 
provided by the Legislative Assembly yet to be held. 

PROCLAMATION 

I. William Jayne, Governor of Dakota Territory, by the authority vested in me by the 
Organic Act, do herein- proclaim that the said Territory shall be divided into the following 
named and described Judicial Districts: 

All that portion of Dakota Territory hounded on the east by the east line of the Terri- 
tory: 'Hi the west by the range line dividing ranges 53 and 54 (the line dividing Day and 
Yankton counties), and on the north by the north line of the Territory, shall constitute the 
hirst Judicial I hstrict. 

All that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by the range line dividing 
ranges 53 and 54: on the south by the south line of the Territory; en the west by the range 
line dividing ranges 57 and 58 (the line dividing Yankton and "Bon Homme counties 1, and 
on the north by the north line of the Territory, shall constitute the Second Judicial District. 

Ml that portion of Dakota Territory bounded on the east by the range line dividing 
rangi s 57 and 58; on the south by the south line of the Territory; and on the north by the 
north line oi the territory, shall constitute the Third Judicial District. 

do declare that L. P. Williston has been assigned as Judge of the First Judicial District, 
and that the place for holding the terms of Court will be at Vermillion; that Philomon Bliss 
has beer a igned as Judge of the Second Judicial District, and that the place for holding 
the terms oi Courl will be at Yankton, and that Joseph L. Williams has been assigned as 
Judge of the Third Judicial District, and that the place for holding the terms of Court will 
be al Bi in Hi >mme. 

In the First Judicial District Court will be held commencing on the first Monday in 
August, [861, and thereafter there will be holderj annually, two terms of Court, the first 
commencing 1 n tin 3rd Monday in May and the second commencing on the 3rd Monday in 
September. 

In the Second Judicial District. Court will be held commencing on the 3rd Monday in 
August, 1861, and thereafter there will be holden annually two terms of Court, the first 
commencing on the first Monday in May and the second commencing on the first Monday 
in September. 

In the Third Judicial District. Court will be held commencing on the 3rd Monday in 
Vugust, t86l, and thereafter there will be holden annually two terms of Court, the first 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 181 

term commencing on the third Monday in April, and the second term commencing on the 
third Monday in October. 

There will be holden annually at the Seat of Government of the said Territory, one term 
of the Supreme Court, commencing on the first .Monday in June. 

In testimony whereof 1 have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the said 
Territory to be hereunto affixed. Done at the Town of Yankton this oi luK. in the 

Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Might Hundred and Sixty-one. 

By the Govern i , 

Attest, John Hi-tchinson, William Jayne. 

Secretary of the Territory. 

The reader will observe that the districts had their southern boundary mi die- 
Missouri River and the northern boundary on the international boundary line. 

PEN PORTRAITS OF FIRST TERRITORIAL OFFICERS 

Of the first federal officials Judge Bliss was the patriarch in point of years, 
and the frosts of age had already grizzled his finely shaped head, and a full beard 
of corresponding whiteness covered his checks and chin. He did not cultivate a 
mustache. The judge was a finely formed man, full six feet tall, but his studious 
habits more than the encroachments of age had already given him a slightly 
stooping posture. He was a lawyer of ability, a quiet, deliberate man and self 
possessed at all times. As a judge he gained the confidence of the settlers on 
sight, lie was about fifty years of age, but appeared considerably older. 

Judge- Williams of the Fort Randall district was next to Bliss in age, and was 
a learned man, a good lawyer, and a conscientious official. He was a Tennesseean, 
accustomed to something more than the ordinary or necessary comforts of life, 
and found pioneering in Dakota difficult to assimilate. He was greatly bereaved 
during his term by the death of his son. who was his companion and just growing 
into promising manhood. Judge Williams was inclined to reticence and solitude, 
lie was of medium height and form, wore a full beard and carried a cane more 
as a convenience than a necessity. 

Judge Williston of the Vermillion district was younger than his brothers of 
the bench, and much the largest. Ik- was an able lawyer and an excellent judge. 
He was a portly man, somewhat florid, and the prey of Dakota fleas and mos- 
quitoes. These pests at time so wrought upon his temper that he was led to 
speak disparagingly of the country in language terse ami emphatic. Judge Wil- 
liston was about forty years of age and nearly six feet tall. 

Judge Bliss resigned in [864 and settled at St. Joseph, Missouri, where he 
engaged in journalism; Judge Williston was transferred to the bench of Mon- 
tana in [863 and was succeeded by Ira l'.artlett, of Kankakee. Illinois; and Judge 
Williams returned to Tennessee at the expiration of his term. 

Gov. William Jayne was about thirty-six years of age at the time he was 
appointed. Me was a physician and had enjoyed an extensive practice in Sanga- 
mon Count}-, Illinois, his home being at Springfield, lie was an active man, in 
vigorous health, wore a beard which was of a dark brown color, I lis height 
was about five feet ten inches. He was a man of liberal education and of practical 
ability. I lis first message was an able paper containing much information, 
abounding in remarkable and unerring predictions regarding Dakota's future. 
1 le was the candidate of the republican ami union party for delegate to Congress 
against General Todd in 1862, ami was awarded the- certificate of elec- 
tion by the territorial board of canvassers. General Todd contested his right to 
the seat. Jayne was given the seat in January. [864, but lost it upon the final 
hearing a few months later. Congress allowing the Red River vote, which was in 
Todd's favor. He then returned to his former home in Springfield, Illinois, 
where be still resides. He has been several times elected mayor of the city, and 
now. though over eighty-six years of age, is a member of the State Board of 
Charities ami Corrections. 

John Hutchinson, the territorial secretary, was a western man. He had b 
through the border troubles of Kansas, but was appointed from Minnesota. He 



182 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

.1 law ver of good ability, and owed Ins appointment to the personal friendship 
of I [on. \\ illiam II. Seward, the secretary of state of President Lincoln's cabinet. 
Hutchinson was about thirty-two years of age, about five feet eight inches in 
height and slightly round shouldered, was married, and in 1862 brought his wife 
to Yankton and became a bona fide citizen of the territory. He was the only one 
of the commissioned federal officers to do this and it made him quite popular. 
Mr. Hutchinson was a black haired man, very full beard, dark complexion, nerv- 
ous temperament. He was devoted to his family, attentive to his official duties, 
and quite socially disposed. 1 le was reappointed at the expiration of his term in 
;. bin resigned within a month to accept the consulship to Leghorn, Italy, 
desiring to give his daughter the advantage of a foreign residence and study. He 
returned in 1869 or 1870 and entered upon the practice of law in Chicago, which 
he continued until his death some twenty years later. 

Gen. George D. Hill of Ann Arbor. Michigan, the first surveyor general, 
was a man of distinguished appearance, fine intellect and fair education. He was 
well versed in the theory and practice of agriculture, and had been prominently 
before the people of his state as a speaker and writer on agricultural topics for 
years. I le was over six feet tall, quite corpulent, always carefully. dressed, auburn 
hair and full whiskers tinged with gray, but no mustache. Qnite a pompous 
sort of man, fond of good living, but seriously lacking the element of popularity, 
due largely to his custom of giving surveying contracts to his Michigan friends 
who were non-residents, and to an unfortunate parsimoniousness that he made 
unnecessarily conspicuous, and an unpardonable habit of forgetfulness that gave 
rise to reports that injured his standing among the people. But he was one of 
the most useful of Dakota's first officials, nevertheless, because of his well 
grounded faith in the natural resources of the territory. He was the first to 
take hold of the practical work of inducing immigration to the territory, and his 
knowledge of the merits of our soil and climate and his study of the vegetation 
in the valleys and on the plains enabled him to talk convincingly on that subject. 
He labored in this field in Michigan and was mainly instrumental in inducing the 
New York colony of nearly one hundred families to settle in Dakota in 1864. Mr. 
Hill was a candidate for reappointment but failed to get it. He returned to Ann 
Arbor, where he resided until his death, which occurred about 1890. He made' 
but one visit to Dakota after his retirement from office — this was in 1888. He 
came with Judge James Tufts and went on to Niobrara, presumably on some busi- 
ness connected with early days, but the mission, whatever it was, proved unsuc- 
cessful. It was observable at this time that Mr. Hill's faculties had been seriously 
impaired and his robust vigor had declined. His life had not been a success, and 
after his return to Michigan from this visit the decline was more rapid, termi- 
nating within a year or two in his death. He should be kindly remembered for 
his valuable labors in behalf of the infant territory and his unfaltering and rock- 
rooted faith in the capabilities of Dakota's soil and climate. He was ever con- 
stant in sounding their merits, and this too in the face of many discouraging cir- 
cumstances. 

William E. Gleason, of Maryland, was the first United States attorney. He 
was quite a young man, highly gifted and well educated. He was a southern re- 
publican and had been appointed through the influence of his friend, Henry Win- 
ter Davis, of Maryland, who at that time was the national leader of the radical 
wing of the republican party. Mr. Gleason was a sparely built, willowy man 
about five feet eleven inches tall, long dark hair, black eyes, beard and mustache, 
and not to exceed thirty years of age. In habit he was quite fastidious, and 
while his speech betrayed his southern origin it also disclosed the best and the 
highest sounding phrases the language afforded. He had a fine legal education 
and was ardently devoted to his profession. His extreme sensitiveness was re- 
sponsible for many of the difficulties he encountered, leading him at times to sus- 
pect when there were no grounds for suspicion. It would seem that there are 
- me unfortunate persons who are so morbidly sensitive that they imagine every- 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 183 

thing they say and every aet they commit is being overheard or watched, com- 
mented upon and criticized; and yet the weakness of undue vanity should not be 
ascribed to them. It is an inborn trait that only time and experience and rough 
knocks can only partially blunt of its torturing propensity. Mr. Gleason's official 
duties, like those of all the other officials, were not onerous but he gave conscien- 
tious attention to them and his career as the legal representative of the Govern- 
ment was marked by fidelity, integrity and ability. He was extremely courteous, 
accommodating and generous, though his salary and emoluments were not suf- 
ficient to defray his necessary expenses, being but $250 a year and certain fees. 
The law governing his office and that of the marshal presupposed that the fees 
would be sufficient to make the office desirable and the income princely, whereas 
the fees amounted to less than the salary during Mr. Gleason's term and' there was 
no private practice. Mr. Gleason, like Judge Bliss, did not unite with the gov- 
ernor and some of the other federal officials in territorial political matters, but 
became the chief counselor and advisor of General Todd and his friends. This 
created a serious estrangement which continued throughout his term as attorney 
for the Government. His political alliance with the Todd interest did not seem 
to affect his standing at Washington and when his term expired in 1865 he was 
appointed to succeed Joseph L. Williams as associate justice of Dakota, lie 
served a few months of this term, was then appointed consul to Bordeaux, France, 
and with the expiration of that term returned to Baltimore, where he died some 
years later. 

William F. Shaeffer, who was appointed United States marshal and was the 
first incumbent of that office in Dakota, was a Missourian, and when appointed 
was out at Pike's Peak in what had been Arrapahoe County, Kansas, though soon 
after organized as the Territory of Colorado. lie was a young man, not over 
thirty years of age, of prepossessing appearance, good address, and well qualified 
for his office. He remained in the territory about a year attending court in Ver- 
million, Yankton and Fort Randall. He was not satisfied with his position, and 
furthermore was an ardent Union man and desired to enter the Government 
military service. He resigned in 1862 and went back to Missouri and was no 
more heard from by his limited acquaintances here. 

None of the first officers were widowers. All were married except Gleason 
and Shaeffer, who were bachelors. 

As a rule, these first officials were a very temperate class of men. The gov- 
ernor, chief justice and attorney neither drank intoxicants nor used tobacco. 
Judge Williams smoked but if he drank anything it was very sparinglv. fudge 
Williston was likewise an abstainer. Secretary Hutchinson had been a Kansas 
pioneer long enough to become an occasional moderate drinker, but seldom 
smoked. General I lill was quite fond of the "bubbles that swim on the beaker's 
brim," and enjoyed a good story even if lie had to tell it himself. Take the 
first officials as a body, and without disparagement to their successors to the 
present day, they were their equals if not superiors in point of intellectual attain- 
ments. 

I ooking upon these first officials from the present day point of view we are 
led to believe that all of them were disappointed when they came face to face 
with Dakota and into actual pos ession of their offices. They had expected more 
than they found. Even the simplest of ordinary physical comforts wen- largely 
wanting; there was neither school nor church, a small number of log huts and 
but a moderate prospect of more improvement. They hail all literally gol in on 
the "mound floor," and were in time to assist in laying the first foundation of 
the social as well as political structure, The governor, chief justice anil secretary 
were accompanied by their wives a- far as Sioux City. \t that point they were 
apprised of the prevailing newness of civilization wesl of the "Jim." and the 
ladies were left at Hagy's one-story hotel fronting the river, where the host 
would take you out of doors and along a good piece of sidewalk when he came 
to "show you up" to your lodging place. 



!84 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

FIRST POLITIl \r. MOVEMENTS 

In its earliest days Dakota attained a reputation because of the interest mani- 
fested by its settlers in political matters. It was said that Dakota contained more 
politicians in proportion to the whole population than any other section of the 
Union. The first political convention was held at Vermillion on June I, 1 86 1 . 
The following were the proceedings: 

In response to a call, the people of Dakota Territory met in mass convention at Ver- 
million, on Saturday. June I, [86l, at 2 o'clock P. M., and organized a national union party. 
George M. Pinney, of Bon Homme, was elected chairman, and A. W. Puett, of Vermillion, 
secretary. The following platform was adopted: 

Resolved, That we. as citizens of Dakota Territory, are unanimously in favor of main- 
taining inviolate tin Constitution of the United States and the enforcement of all the laws 
of Congress and the perpetuity of the Union. 

Resolved, That we pledge our cordial support to the governor and secretary of this 
territory in maintaining the Organic Act and especially the sacred right of elective franchise. 

Resolved, Thai we are in favor of a liheral homestead law, giving 160 acres of our 
public domain to all native and naturalized citizens who will make homes thereon, and that 
we will only support such a man for Congress, who is not only in favor of such a measure, 
but whose antecedents warrant us in believing him to be unwavering in his position. 

Resolved, That we fully and frankly endorse the policy of the present administration 
in relation to our national difficulties, believing that it is both patriotic and just. 

Resolved, That monopolies of all kinds are dangerous to the interests of the masses, 
and often disastrous, and especially the holding for speculative purposes of large tracts of 
the best portion of a new country, and we earnestly call upon all citizens of Dakota Terri- 
tory t" aid us in preventing the extension of present land monopolies in this territory or 
the inauguration of new ones. 

Resolved, That this convention nominate A. J. Bell as our candidate for delegate to 
Congress. 

Resolved, That we pledge our individual support to the nominee of this convention, 
Hon. A. J. Bell. 

Alter the passage of the resolutions, Mr. Bell was introduced and made an excellent 
speech, receiving the applause of the convention, after which the convention adjourned with 
nine hearty cheers for A. J. Bell. 

George M. Pinney, Chairman. 
A. \Y. Puett, Secretary. 

This was considered the first territorial party convention held in Dakota. The 
proceedings furnish no names except those of Pinney and Puett, and Bell, all 
republicans, and while the proceedings designated it as a national union conven- 
tion, it was popularly called a republican convention. Except Mr. Pinney, it 
was claimed that those who participated in the convention were all from Ver- 
million. Mr. Bell, the nominee, was not a voter under the organic act. He had 
come in from Minnesota in May. He was a man of good ability. At the time 
the convention was held neither the governor nor any of the federal officers had 
reached the territory. There had been no election called, and no doubt a preju- 
dicial impression got abroad among the voters because of the apparent haste to 
hold the convention, possibly, for the purpose of forestalling political action in 
which all the settlements might participate. It was suggested that Mr. Pinney 
was disappointed that the nomination for delegate did not fall to him, and it was 
remarked after the election was held, that the Bon Homme precinct, which Mr. 
Pinney represented, and the Yankton precinct, gave no vote for Mr. Bell. 

About the ts1 of September, Charles P. Booge, who held the position of 
trader at the Yankton Indian agency, was nominated by a convention held at 
1 Ion I lomme. 

There wa- mi convention held to nominate General Todd. He was in the 
field and his friends and supporters were very active and comparatively numerous. 
Although himself a democrat, he did not want to go to Congress at that time 
!■ presenting any party, and he was aware that a large proportion of the repub- 
lican voters were supporting him, believing that he could accomplish more for 
the territory under existing conditions than any other citizen of the territory, 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 185 

having borne the leading part in all public affairs from the beginning of the 
negotiations for the treaty of cession, and from his connection with Mr. Lincoln, 
being a cousin of Airs. Lincoln's, and wide acquaintance with public men and 
general knowledge of public business, would be able to secure for the young terri- 
tory many favors from the departments which a stranger in the territon and at 
Washington would fail in procuring. 

The time for the first election under the organic act called by the governor's 
proclamation to be held on the 16th of September was rapidly approaching and 
the settlers were largely occupied with state affairs and in considering who should 
be their first law makers. Three candidates for delegate to Congress had been 
placed in the held. Capt. J. B. S. Todd, himself an old line democrat, whose serv- 
ices in bringing about the organization of the territory had made him by far the 
most prominent and influential man in Dakota was being supported by the sub- 
stantial element of citizens without regard to their party affiliations and without 
a convention. 

Mass conventions were held in the different settlements for the nomination of 
candidates for the Legislature. While the sentiment in most districts was prac- 
tically unanimous for Todd for Congress there was considerable strife over the 
selection of candidates for the Legislature. Non-partisanship was the popular 
cry, and nearly all advocated the abolition of party lines for this election, at the 
same time it was apparent that the views of the voter as to non-partisanship were 
very largely influenced by his political antecedents, and the majority of the voting 
population in the legislative districts as well as a majority of the leaders were 
democrats. At this time, and for a long number of years prior, the democratic 
party was in the lead in the nation and in a majority of the states, in fact the 
United States since the formation of the Constitution had been, a large portion 
of time, under democratic control, though not always under the democratic title. 

The first formal. political movement in Yankton was made on the 171b day 
of August, [861, when the following non-partisan call was issued. 

The voters of the Sixth Representative District oi Dakota Territory are requested to 
assemble in mass convention at Yankton, in said district, at 1 o'clock P. M., on the -'4th day 
of August, A. D. [861, for the purpose of nominating two councilmen and two representatives 
for the Territorial Legislature to be voted for on the lOth day of September, [861. 

Signed: John Stanage, .1 M. Stone. M. K. Armstrong, D. I. Bramble, William Miner, 
William Thompson, Lytle M Griffith, F. Chapel, E. Stutsman, D. Fisher, .1. D. Morse. 

In accordance with this call which is signed by six democrats and ti\e republi- 
cans the convention was held and the proceedings are here given in full: 

Pursuant to notice the people of the Sixth Representative District assembled in mass 
convention at Yankton on the 24th day of August, 1S01. On motion oi \. M. English, 
Dr. J. Townsend was called to the chair, and on motion of T. V McLeese, .1. I' VIorsi was 
appointed secretary. L'pon taking the chair Doctor Townsend made a few remark.-, stating 
that the object of the meeting was for the purpose of nominating two councilmen and two 
representatives, and closing with an urgent appeal that harmony might prevail. 

Enos Stutsman moved that the convention proceed to vote for one representative n> the 
Legislature, which was carried. T. A. McLeese nominated M. K Armstrong, flu- re being 
no opposing candidate, on motion of Olu-d Foote, Mr. Armstrong was nominated by 
acclamation W. P. Lyman nominated John Stanage. No other name being proposed, 
Mr. Stanage was nominated bj acclamation. 

Frank Chapel nominated Enos Stutsman for the council. There being no opposition, 
Mr. Stutsman was nominated by acclamation. W 1'. Lyman nominated D T. Bramble tor 
the council. Being the only person proposed, Mr. Bramble was nominated by acclamation. 

i in motion the chair appointed the following committee <>i five on resolutions: 
Stutsman, M. EC. Armstrong, James M. Stone, .1 K. Hanson and James M. Ulen. The 
c immittee repi irted the fi illi iv* i 

Resolved, 1'h.n the heal voters of the Sixth Representative District of Dakota Terri- 
tory, m mass convention assembled, do most a rdiallj endorse the war policy of the present 
administration, in all endeavors to put down rebellion, and preserve the Constitution 
union of states. 

Resolved, That in the organization of I territory we fully realize the confi 

that Congress has reposed in our ability to govern ourselves, and therefore we pledge our 



186 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

earnest endeavors, with the aid of the officials of the territory, to preserve peace, enforce 
the laws, establish society and build up a territorial government which will be an honor to 
es and an ornament to the Union. 

olved, I hai in view of the value of economy of time and money as one of the 
essential objects oi legislation, we shall demand of the men this day put in nomination that 
they use diligent exertion to forward and close up the business of the Legislature in as 
short a term as may be consistent with the best interests of the people. 

Resolved, That we advocate the policy of free ferry charters on James River, allowing 
to each man the right to run a ferry on his own premises so long as it does not conflict 
with claims of another. 

R( solved, That we pledge our earnest and united support to the candidates this day put 
in nomination by this convention, and also to J. B. S. Todd for delegate to Congress. 

\Y. 11. Allen moved that the resolutions be adopted in a body. An amendment was 
i by James Al. Stone that each resolution be adopted separately. Amendment lost. 
The resolutions una then adopted. 

On motion the convention adjourned. 

J. Townsend, President. 
J. D. Morse, Secretary. 

it might have been a mere accident but the result of the convention's labors 
was a ticket composed entirely of democrats and while there were a number of 
staunch republicans in the convention and in the town, they were not recognized 
on the ticket. 

This omission was the cause of considerable feeling. At the same time it will 
be conceded that the gentlemen who were nominated were among the ablest and 
most enterprising citizens of the county, and in point of representative ability 
and length of residence could not have been improved upon materially. The reso- 
lutions, it will be observed, strongly endorse the war policy of President Lincoln 
and affirmed staunch loyalty to the Union. 

The restoration and preservation of the Union was the only question of im- 
portance, and both political parties in the North adhered to the Union cause, 
though there were some minor differences that served to identify the two parties 
and create sufficient estrangement to keep them divided. 

As a sequel to the convention above reported, two of the parties attending it, 
both life long and leading republican citizens took occasion a few days later to 
have printed and circulated the following : (The Yankton newspaper, The Weekly 
Dakotian, was started in June, 1861). 

Editor Dakotian : In your last issue we notice our names given as two of the committee 
appointed to draft resolutions adopted at our late district convention. In reference to that 
we wish to say that it was without our consent or even knowledge that we were placed upon 
that committee and that we had no voice in drafting the resolutions and were opposed to 
their being adopted "in a body" and in favor of their being taken up "separately." Against 
a portion of them we had not one word to say, while against the balance we are most 
bitterly opposed. 

1 he proceedings of that convention were not, in our opinion, conducted on those prin- 
cipli 01 fairness which should characterize an occasion fraught with so much importance 
to this place and territory, and we do not consider ourselves bound, in the slightest degree, 
by them. 

I he meanness to which some of the nominees of that convention stooped to gain their 
nomination, exhibits an imbecility of mind indicative of no future political good to them. 

Our names being on that committee carries with it the inference that we helped make 
and endorse thi si n solutions, while our course and actions since that day have been in direct 
opposition. We wish that our records may stand unpolluted by any such foul blot. 

We said on the daj of that convention that we would use our utmost exertion to defeat 
the ticket then put in nomination, and we now know no good reason why we should change 
our course of action. ' J. R. Hanson, 

J. M. Stone. 

The (mi. -I niie nf this convention difficulty was another legislative ticket made 
up ot J. |:. Greenwa] and William Thompson for the councilmen and Tames AT. 
Stone and < Itis B. Wheeler for the House. They were placed in nomination with- 
out the formality of a convention. 

\\ hile the territorial campaign was marked by a good share of excitement and 
feeling, mostly occasioned by the energetic and eloquent campaigners on their 



J* 

[ \ 


V— 


1 















DR. JUSTUS Tn\\ NSEND 
Firs! physician, 1861 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



187 



election tours from various points and by the resolute activity of the independent 
candidate for Congress, Mr. Booge, the affair passed off without serious disturb- 
ance. The election came off September 16th, and a statement is here given of all 
the votes polled at the various precincts in the territory for all candidates. 



ELECTION RETURNS FOR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS 

First Representative District 

Maloney Precinct, Willow Big Sioux Point — 

J. B. S. Todd 24 

A. J. Bell 2 

Chas. P. Booge o 

Elk Point Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 2 

A.J. Bell 15 

Chas. P. Booge 1 1 

Second Representative District 
Sioux Falls Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 2 

A. J. Bell 27 

Chas. P. Booge 3 

C. Booge i 

Third Representative District 
Red River, Pembina Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 15 

Red River, St. Joseph Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 171 

Fourth Representative District 
Vermillion Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 22 

A. J. Bell 27 

Chas. P. Booge 4 

Fifth Representative District 
West Vermillion Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 17 

A. J. Bell 26 

Sixth Representative District 
Yankton Precinct — 

J. B. S. Todd 86 

Chas. P. Booge 1 

Seventh Representative District 
Bon Homme Precinct — 

T. B. S. Todd 2 

A. J. Bell 1 

Chas. P. Booge 52 

Eighth Representative District 
West of Choteau Creek— 

J. B. S. Todd 

Chas. P. Booge 28 

Ponka Precinct (now Gregory County) — 

J. B. S. Todd 

Chas. P. Booge 1 

Recapitulation 

Whole numlier of votes cast 5^5 

J. B. S. Todd 

' A. J. Bell 

Chas. P. Booge 

C. Booge 1 



L88 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



I lk Point Precinct- 



Si i i rid Prei ini i. Big Sii iujt 



ELECTION RETURNS FOR REPRESENTATIVES 

First Representative District 

A. R. Phillips 12 

John McBride n 

McBride 3 

Christopher Maloney 10 

John R Wood 18 



Sioux Falls Precinct — 

Pembina Precinct, Red River- 

St. Joseph Precinct — 

Vermillion Precinct — 
West Vermillion Precinct — 



A. R. Phillips to 

John McBride 23 

Christopher Maloney 25 

John R. Wood 11 

Second Representative District 

G. P. Waldron 9 

G. W. Waldron 1 

James McCall 1 

Third Representative District 

Hugh S. Donaldson 15 

Hugh S. Donaldson 158 

Louis Lacarter I 



Y inkton Precinct — 



Bon 11' imme I 'recinct- 



vVi t of Ch iteau Creek- 



Fourth Representative District 

Lvman Burgess 44 

A". W. Puett 32 

Hans Gunderson 24 

Fifth Representative District 

Jacob A. Jacobson 41 

Bligh Wood 27 

Christian Lawson 12 

Ole Bottlefson 4 

Sixth Representative District 

M. R. Armstrong 53 

John Stanage 32 . 

J. M. Stone 29 

Ole Sampson 22 

Otis B. Wheeler •. 28 

Seventh Representative District 

Geo. M. Primey 53 

Reuben Wallace 51 

Eighth Representative District 



John L. Tiernon 27 

I Knrv Price 27 

Ponk 1 Precim 1 1 South -1 Fori Randall)— 

John L. Tiernon 28 



First I'n' ini 1 Big Sioux- 



ELECTION RETURNS FOR COUNCILMEN 

First Council District 

Austin Cole 27 

IF B. Wixson 15 

William Matthews 15 

\Y. W. Brookings 13 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 1*9 

Elk Point Precinct — 

Austin Cole 16 

E. B. Wixson 15 

W. W. Brookings i-> 

W. Matthews u 

Sioux Falls Precinct — ■ 

\\ . Brookings 9 

Austin Cole 5 

Eli B. Wixson 3 

Pembina Precinct — 

Jas. McFctridge 15 

St. Joseph Precinct — 

Jas. McFetridge 158 

Charles Grant 130 

Louis Lacerte 15 

Second Council District 
Vermillion Precinct — 

H. D. Betts ^4 

J. W. Boyle 

Nelson Miner ' j^ 

-Miles Hall 1 j 

Third Council District 
\\ 1^1 Vermillion — 

Jacob Deuel 43 

Fourth Council District 
Yankton Precinct — 

Enos Stutsman Si 

D. T. Bramble ; 

William Thompson 5 

John B. Greenway 5 

Fifth Council District 
Bon I [omme Precinct — 

John H. Shober 52 

Sixth Council I listl icl 

West of Choteau Creek — 

J. Shaw Gregory 26 

Freeman Norval 30 

Ponka Precinct — ■ 

J. Shaw Gregory 29 

James Norval 1 

The returns of the election were made to the governor of the territory, who 
canvassed the vote, and a certificate of election was i>stted to the person having 
the highesl number of votes for the respective office. There were no contests, but 

it was rarely that this could he said of subsequent elections. 



CHAPTER XIX 
DAKOTA IN THE CIVIL AND INDIAN WARS 

1861 

BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR — FORT SUMTER BESIEGED AND CAPTURED BY THE 
SECESSIONISTS — FIRST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS — POSITION OF MONARCHICAL GOV- 
ERNMENTS — UNION SENTIMENT AMONG THE PIONEERS DAKOTA CAVALRY AU- 
THORIZED — COMPANY A RECRUITED AND MUSTERED IN THE MUSTER ROLL — 

COMPANY STATIONED TO PROTECT SETTLEMENTS — DR. \V. A. BURLEIGH, INDIAN 
AGENT HIS EARLY EXPERIENCES. 

BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR 

The people of the United States were at this time in a condition of great ex- 
citement and alarm caused by the attempted secession from the Union of nearly 
all the southern or slave states. Southern senators and representatives had been 
withdrawing from Congress during the winter of 1860-61, their states having 
through their Legislatures, or in convention, passed ordinances of secession, which 
they regarded as severing the political and territorial ties which had connected 
their states with the United States of America, and relieved them of their fealty 
to that Government. Armies had been levied in the South, and acts of hostility 
against the Government were committed before Mr. Buchanan's term expired in 
March, 1 861. The inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President was the signal 
for open revolt and acts of war. Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, was as- 
sailed by the batteries of South Carolina under command of General Beauregard, 
April 12, 1861, and Major Anderson, the commanding officer of the fort, was 
finally compelled to evacuate the fort after contending with the besieging force 
of 3,000, equipped with an abundance of heavy artillery, that had been the prop- 
erty of the United States. Sumter had been virtually destroyed for defensive 
purposes before Anderson hoisted the white flag in token of surrender. He had 
held out five days in the face of an incessant cannonade hoping to be relieved 
by reinforcements, at the end of which time he gave up the fort, securing from 
Beauregard exemption from capture as prisoners, with leave to return North on 
a Government vessel. Anderson then marched out and embarked for Fortress 
Monroe. 

On the 15th of April, two days after the surrender of Sumter, President 
Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers for three months army service, that 
being the time which the United States authorities believed ample to put down 
the rebellion and bring the recalcitrant rebels back to their allegiance. Southern 
leaders of the rebellion were just as sanguine of an early termination of the strug- 
gle in their favor. No one seemed to grasp the magnitude of the great contest upon 
which this country had entered, or even so much as imagined that there were to 
be four years of terrible war, such as the world had seldom if ever witnessed, 
which this nation was destined to pass through before the difficulties and extreme 
differences of three-fourths of a century's accumulations, would be settled by the 
Stern arbitrator of arms and peace restored. None could believe that it would re- 
quire over a million nun for each contestant — the flower of the country's gallant 

190 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 191 

sons — and billions of money, before the rebellious forces would acknowledge 
defeat, and the revolting slates be restored to their places in the Union. Xo one 
apparently suspected that in addition to the domestic enemy, this young republic 
had never secured the sincere friendship of England, France, Spain or Germany, 
and the moral as well as financial support of these monarchies, or their wealthy 
subjects sustained the rebellion under a belief and a hope that it would destroy 
the system of free government that had been adopted by the United States, and 
which monarchy had sullenly and wishfully predicted would be a failure. Kings 
saw in this rebellion a possible means to overthrow and destroy the work of 
Washington and his compeers, and it had the sympathy of those rulers who feared 
its example, if successful, upon their fettered subjects. Russia was an exception, 
however, and stood openly and actively by the young republic, and sent it- Hi i 
to our waters to defend our shores if necessary against foreign interference. 
Confederate bonds were freely sold to a vast amount in the markets of Europe 
and munitions of war and ships purchased with the proceeds. The South fur- 
nished the soldiers and the blood for the Confederacy — Europe the "sinews of 
war." 

In the fall of 1861, the War Department authorized the governor of Dakota 
to raise two companies of cavalry for the War of the Rebellion, to be employed 
in patrolling and garrison duty in the territory. Three recruiting stations were 
established by Governor Jayne, by proclamation of December 7, 1861, viz.: At 
Yankton. Vermillion, and a third at Bon Homme, at that time the three principal 
towns on the Missouri slope. Elk Point did not begin to be a "principal town" 
until the following year, though a number of settlers had occupied lands in its 
vicinity. The governor appointed J. Kendrick Fowler, a brother-in-law of Sec- 
retary Hutchinson, recruiting officer at Yankton; Nelson Miner at Vermillion, 
and James M. Allen at Bon Homme. These recruiting officials entered at once 
upon their duties, and Company A had raised its complement of men during the 
winter following and was mustered into the service of the United States at Yank- 
ton in April. 1862. Its commissioned officers when mustered in were Nelson 
Miner, captain, Vermillion ; J. K. Fowler, 1st lieutentant, Yankton; Frederick 
Ploghoff, 2nd lieutenant. Bon Homme. The company rendezvoused at Yankton 
awaiting the formality of "mustering in" to the service of the United States. 

The company was claimed by some of the Yankton people as a local organi- 
zation, though not more than one-third of its members had been residents of the 
future county prior to enlistment, the remainder coming from Clay, Cole, Bon 
Homme, Minnehaha, and one from Nebraska. Its membership included several 
veterans who had seen service in the regular army. Taken collectively it was a 
fine body of men, physically, intellectually and morally. Quite a number of the 
recruits were farmers and nearly all claimholders. The ceremony of "mustering 
in" took place at Yankton on the 29th day of April. 1862, Lieut. M. R. Luce, of 
the Forty-first Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, being mustering officer. The term 
of service was for three years or during the war. We here append the muster 
roll: 

COMMISSIONED OFFfCERS 

Nelson Miner, captain ; J. K. Fowler, first lieutenant ; Frederick Ploghoff, second 
lieutenant. 

NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 

\. M. English, first sergeant; Patrick Conway, second sergeant ; K Wilson, P. F II 
William Neuman, Ben F. Estes, J. B. Watson, H I \ustin, sergeants; George Falkingl 
Dave Benjamin, Joe Ellis. William Young, C. 1'.. Stager, C. H. Brurud, Amos Shaw, ^dolph 
Mauxsch, corporals; A. Hanson, E. Wilkins, buglers; V Jones, farrier; Timothy Prii 

blacksmith. 

PRIVATES 

M. Anderson. T. Allen, R. Alderson, C. Andrews. B. Bellows, W. W. Benedict, R 
Burkhart, John Bctz, John Bradley, John Bell, N. Cusick. I). Campbell, X. Ellingson, J. 



L92 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

i. X. Felling, I. Gray, I. Haggin, I. fohnson, C. Lewison, J. Ludwig, J. D. Morse, 
I. A McLeese, V. Munson, P. Omeg, C. Olson, I.. E. Phelps, 11. M. Pierce, George Pike, 
J Solberger, J. Tallman, T. J. Tate, B. II. Wood, J. Wells, 11. Woodruff, J. Cramer, George 
Hoosick, II. Snow, A. Gibson, Michael Fisher, J. II. McBee, John Claude, John Collins, S. 
Delaney, I homas Frek, J. O. Ford, B. F. Gray, E. Harrington, Ben Hart, J. Kinney, Charles 

Herri] G. Lothrop, J. Markell, John McClellan, .\1. J. Mind, O. N. Orland, O. Olsen, 
J. O. Phelps, James E. Peters, R. A. Ranney, P. Sherman, J. Trumbo, A. J. Trake, T. H. 
Charles Wampole, Charles Wright, W. 11. Bellows. 

(During the term of service the following named were discharged for disability: J. 
Cramer, 11. Snow, Michael Fisher, G© rgi Hoosick and A. Gibson. Died in hospital, J. 11. 
Mi Bi e, J I 'ummings. Frozen to death, J. Tallman. Resigned, Lieut. J. K. Fowler and Lieu- 
tenant Ploghoff. Expelled, W. 11. Bellows. Total, 94.) 

Company A had remained at Yankton after being mustered in, awaiting the 
coming of their horses and other cavalry equipment which were received about 
the 15th of .May. Orders then came to report at Fort Randall and the company 
left for thai post on May 20th. The departure of the company was a very serious 
loss to the business of Yankton, and was also severely felt in social circles, where 
the young soldiers had been the principal reliance. They had also contributed 
much of value to the various societies and organizations that were being formed 
to promote education, religion, and also general town improvements, which the 
pioneers of a community are required to organize and put in motion. About the 
[5th of June an order was received from the War Department by Acting Gover- 
nor I lutchinson, directing that the First Dakota Cavalry be placed under the direc- 
tion of the governor of Dakota Territory. The company at this time was at 
Fort Randall, where Lieutenant Colonel Pattee, of the Seventh Iowa, was in 
command. In July Lieutenant Ploghoff reached Yankton with twenty-five men 
of Company A, fifteen of whom were stationed on Turkey Ridge Creek at the 
crossing of the Sioux Falls road, and ten at Sioux Falls with Lieutenant Ploghoff 
in command. Later in the same month the remainder of the company under 
Lieutenant Fowler arrived and about the same time Lieutenant Ploghoff, with 
a small detachment from Sioux Falls, came over to procure equipment for the 
Sioux Falls detachment and the squad at Turkey Ridge. At this time Lieutenant 
Ploghoff resigned his commission and James Bacon, of Sioux City, who had 
been with the company for some time was commissioned second lieutenant. The 
companj was now assigned under direction of the governor: Lieutenant Bacon 
at Sioux Falls with twenty men; Orderly Sergt. A. M. English at Yankton with 
twenty men ; and Captain Miner with the remainder of the company at Vermillion 
and Brule (reek. English's camp was about a mile west of James River on the 
bench land. There was also a small detachment at the Turkey Ridge crossing of 
the Sioux Falls road. Fort Randall at this time was garrisoned by the Seventh 
Iowa, with Lieut. Col. W'allis Pattee in command. 

WALTER A. IU'RI.1 li.ll 

Dr. Walter A. Burleigh, of Kittaning, Pennsylvania, had been appointed LTiited 
States agent of the Yankton Indians to succeed Mr. Redfield, whose administra- 
tion bad not been satisfactory to the Indians. He served, however, until the 
expiration of Mr. Buchanan's term as President, who was succeeded by Mr. Lin- 
coln, when in accordance with the time honored Jacksonian maxim, "to the vic- 
tors being the spoils," the democrat was turned out and the republicans turned 
in. Doctor Burleigh's firsl trip to bis new official residence was undertaken in 
May Mum after bi- appointment, lie came out to see what sort of a prize he 
bad drawn in the political lottery, remained a few days at the Yankton Agency 
and returned to Pennsylvania for bis family and also' to facilitate the shipment 
of the annuity goods due the Indians. Having secured his goods, he brought 
mily with him to St. Joe, Missouri, where he secured accommodations on 
the Steamboat J. ( i. Morrow, a very comfortable vessel built for the Hannibal and 
St. Joe Railroad for use at Atchison, Kansas, and owned at the time by Cnited 




DR. WALTEE A. i:i RLEIGB 

United Statea agent to Sfanktor tndians, LS61 L865 Delegate to 

( kmeress from 1 865 t" I ^i-' 1 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 193 

States Senator Pomeroy. Doctor Burleigh's family, at the time, consisted of 
Mrs. Burleigh and three children, Timothy, Walter and Andrew, who was a 
babe in arms. A nurse girl and a cook for the agency also made part of the 
family. The boat was loaded with $30,000 worth of Indian annuity goods, and 
a shipment to Major Gregory at Ponca Agency, Frost Todd & Co., Fort Randall, 
and a small assortment of supplies for the Government at the military post. The 
voyage up the river was accomplished without unpleasant incident until the 
boat had reached a point nearly opposite St. Helena, Nebraska, about eleven miles 
below Yankton. Here it was discovered that the boat was leaking badl) ami 
investigation showed that she was rapidly tilling with water and 111 a sinking 
condition. The captain ordered her run ashore on the Nebraska side. She got 
very near the bank when she touched bottom in water six feet deep at the bow 
and about twelve feet at the stern. This was rather a trying position for the new 
Yankton agent. His annuity goods for the coming year were on the boat and 
much of the stuff would be injured by water. His little family must be pro- 
vided with shelter and food until he could arrange some method for transporting 
them to the agency, and to add to his troubles and perplexities the captain of the 
boat refused to have the goods put ashore claiming that they were now liable to 
marine law and must only be removed after certain legal proceedings had been 
gone through with. Burleigh saw that this would consume the entire fall and 
winter and would cause endless trouble with the Indians, and he resolved to 
remove the goods by force if necessary. He had fortunately found a vacant log 
cabin near the landing where the boat was lying, and this was fitted up as well 
as could be done under the circumstances and Airs. Burleigh, the children, nurse 
and cook installed therein. The accident to the boat occurred Thursday, August 
29th and after spending a day getting his family settled, Burleigh set off for 
Yankton, eleven miles, on Saturday the 31st on foot, and through the underbrush 
and tall grass. A large scow ferry propelled by oars was found at Yankton. 
Fifteen minutes after his arrival he had engaged Major Lyman with a squad 
of twelve men of the Home Guards to assist him in securing the goods. The 
party returned with a lumber wagon to the scene of the disaster and there set 
diligently at work removing the cargo to the shore, the captain yielding to "supe- 
rior force and inevitable necessity." Burleigh was not at all alarmed about in- 
fringing upon the maritime laws. He knew the proverb "a bird in the hand is 
wurth two iti the bush" and he knew also that his Indian charges would endure 
much suffering and possibly starvation and possibly be incited to the commission 
of grave offenses, if they failed to get these supplies. The fact that the goods 
had been destroyed on a sunken steamboat would not satisfy the cravings of 
their hungry stomachs and they would probably have believed the storv was a 
falsehood and the new agent had stolen the entire cargo. No doubt that Mr. 
Burleigh acted wisely and for the best interest of all concerned. lie succeeded 
in getting all the goods ashore, although a portion were badly damaged by water; 
ami felt greatly relieved to think that he could go to his post with the conscious- 
ness of duty well performed, the Indians would sec that the "Great Father" was 
keeping his compact with them, and whatever damage had resulted would be 
made good thereafter. Burleigh openly charged that the boat's officers were 
grossly incompetent and the pilot intoxicated. He covered his supplies with tar- 
paulines and placed them under a strong guard, then engaged every team in town 
anil county, and as rapidly as possible shipped them to the agency seventy-five 
miles up the river. A less energetic and resolute man would undoubtedly have 
had a most bitter experience from this misfortune, as any failure to furnish 
the annuity goods so soon after the treaty had been made would have given 
rise to grave suspicions among the Indians and might have led to serious disturb- 
ances. The boat was afterward raised and taken back to Atchison, and no action 
was ever commenced to punish the agent for his violation of maritime etiqui 

Mrs. Burleigh with her family remained in her log hut nearly a week, when 
Lieutenant Tannatt, at the time in command at Fori Randall, came down with 

Yfll.1 —13 



194 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

an ambulance and took them to that post. During her stay at the cabin .Mrs. 
Burleigh remembers that she was furnished with milk and some other supplies by 
a Mrs. Wiseman who lived near and whose children two years later fell victims 
to the murderous Indian.-. After leaving the hut Mrs. Burleigh's first stopping 
place was the Ash Hotel at Yankton where she put up for the night. The hotel 
was then occupying its pioneer log quarters, and no arrangement had been made 
lor the accommodation of families or even the feminine sex. Mrs. Ash, how- 
ever, did the very best she could, and gave up her room to her new guest and the 
children and the nurse, all of whom were nicely stowed away somewhere within 
it> precincts. The carpet of earth that covered the floor before the cabins were 
built was -till doing floor duty, and Mrs. Burleigh had some reason to believe that 
she bad really reached the land and homes of the pioneers. The next morning 
before she had arisen, a gentleman came stalking through the room to the small 
looking glass hanging on the wall, picked up a comb and arranged his hair and 
passed out into the breakfast room. She became acquainted with this gentleman 
a tew months later and learned that his name was Brookings. She now pro- 
ven led to get her little flock ready for breakfast and when they had seated them- 
selves at the dining table she discovered a little short man on crutches coming 
through her room into the dining room where he popped up into a chair with a 
suddenness that startled her. When she afterwards became acquainted with this 
gentleman she learned that his name was Stutsman. He proved to be a very 
social little fellow. The family went on to Fort Randall that day, stopping the 
next night at Choteau Creek where Tackett kept a hotel, and gave them comfort- 
able quarters; they reached Fort Randall the next day and were given quarters in 
the residence of the commanding officer whose family was absent, and where 
they spent a fortnight very pleasantly, when they removed to their new home at 
the Yankton Agency, having had a very thorough introduction into pioneer life. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 
1862 

FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY CONVENES ITS ORGANIZATION LOCATION OF CAPI- 
TAL TII1C MAIN ISSUE — NAMES OF MEMBERS AND OFFICERS GOVERNOR'S FIRST 

MESSAGE— REMARKABLE FORETELLING OF DAKOTA'S CAREER. 

The important event to which the attention of Dakotians had been directed 
for many months was the convening of the first Legislative Assembly under the 
Organic Act, members of which had been elected at the election called by the 
governor in September, 1861, and were authorized to convene as a Legislature 
at the Town of Yankton at noon on the 17th day of March, A. D.. [862. The 
people of the territory were now as Dakotians for the first time to have a 
voice in their government through their chosen representatives, who were to 
lav the foundation of a governmental structure that would endure for all time. 
The duty was a sacred one. 

Franklin J. Dewitt of St. Paul and George W. Kingsbury of Junction City, 
Kansas, were the only occupants of the .Marsh and Rustin ambulance that 
reached Yankton from Sioux City Monday evening, March 17, 1862. Major 
I Hwitt's mission must have had something to do with legislation, the Legisla- 
ture having convened at noon on the day of his arrival in its first session. He 
took quarters at the Ash Hotel and remained there during the sixty days' 
session, giving an occasional banquet and keeping "open house" in his rooms. 
Mr. Dewitt had been in Yankton during the summer of [861, and was then 
looking for a location for a slock ranch, lie was one of the pioneers of Sioux 
Falls, and was doubtless interested in the location of the capital, which would 
be decided by this first Legislature. 

Mr. Kingsbury came to assist in the mechanical department of Josiah 
Trask's printing establishment, Trask having been appointed public printer by 
the secretary of the territory, John Hutchinson, whom he had known in Kansas. 
Kingsbury expected to remain in Yankton about three months and then return 
to Kansas, lie has not yet reached the day of departure after a lapse of more 
than fifty years. lie came up from Lawrence. Kansas, by the way of St. 
Joseph, Missouri, and recalls that the stage road was miry for many miles 
north of St. Joe; and a brisk snowstorm with a change from wheels to runners 
during the nighl before reaching Council Bluffs: and afterward a week or two 
of mild, dry weather that beguiled the unsophisticated into discarding winter 
raiment for the more comfortable and lighter garb of spring. Then the blizzard 
came. 

The members of the Legislature were a representative class, embracing the 

lust informed and most influential men in each community, and representing 
aLo the various occupations of (he people. The winter had not been severe, 
hut there was an abundance of snow and a temperature at times severe enough 
to form ice twenty inches thick in the Missouri. \ short season of mild 
weather prevailed during the close of February and early in March that carried 
off much of the accumulated snow, hut this vvas later succeeded by heavy 

195 



196 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

storms, blizzardly in their proportions, and these were especially severe during 
the settling of the Legislature. 

The 17th of March, 1862, had been a very pleasant day. The ground was 
bare and the sky cloudless. At high noon on that eventful Monday the members- 
elect of the two houses assembled at Yankton, the councilmen resorting to their 
chamber in a new frame building on the southeast corner of Fourth Street 
and Broadway, and the representatives gathering at the log structure erected 
by the citizens of Yankton for the use of the Episcopal parish near the north- 
west corner of Fourth and Linn streets. The two houses were thus within 
convenient proximity. The organization of the two bodies, the council and 
House of Representatives, had been prearranged, and had been made with 
the question of location of the capital of the territory as the governing factor. 
The aspirants for this favor were Yankton and Vermillion, with Sioux Falls 
a "dark horse." 

The members of the council were all present. They had been chosen by 
districts as defined by the proclamation of the governor, and there were no 
contested seats, though James McFitridge of Paulina filed a notice of contest 
for the seat held by W. W. Brookings of Sioux Falls, after the session had 
been inaugurated. From the First District came W. W. Brookings, of Sioux 
Falls, and Austin Cole, of Sioux Point ; Second District, Henry D. Betts and 
John W. Boyle, both of Vermillion ; Third District, Jacob Deuel, west of the 
Vermillion River; Fourth District, Enos Stutsman and Downer T. Bramble, 
Yankton; Fifth District. John H. Shober, Bon Homme; and Sixth District, 
J. Shaw Gregory; this district being west of Choteau Creek and also west of 
the Missouri and north of the Niobrara River, called Mixville ; also Fort 
Randall. 

The ceremony of organizing began with the calling of the roll of members 
by Hon. John Hutchinson, as returned to the secretary of the territory. The 
members then stood before Chief Justice Philemon Bliss with the right hands 
uplifted and took the oath of office, which the venerable jurist adminstered 
with due solemnity. This was followed by a prayer from Rev. Mr. Ingham, the 
Methodist clergyman. The council then proceeded to effect a temporary organ- 
ization by the election of Enos Stutsman, Yankton, president ; James Tufts, of 
Mixville, secretary; E. M. Bond, Vermillion, assistant secretary: W. R. Good- 
fellow. Elk Point, messenger; Charles F. Picotte, Yankton, sergeant-at-arms ; 
and Rev. S. W. Ingham, Vermillion, chaplain. A permanent organization 
immediately followed, the only change being the election of fohn H. Shober, 
Bon Homme, as president. Still Mr. Stutsman had been elected first president 
of the first council. 

The members-elect of the House of Representatives, thirteen in number, 
were: First District, John McBride, of Elk Point, and Christopher Maloney, 
of Sioux Point; Second District, George P. Waldron, of Sioux Falls; Third 
District, Hugh Donaldson, Pembina, who was absent; Fourth District, Lyman 
Burgess and A. W. Puett, of East Vermillion; Fifth District, Bligh E. Wood 
and Jacob A. Jacobson, West Vermillion ; Sixth District, M. K. Armstrong, 
Yankton, and John Stanage, James River Crossing; Seventh District, George M. 
Pinney and Reuben Wallace, Bon Homme; Eighth District, Tohn L. Tiernon, 
Fort Randall. 

The roll was railed by Secretary Hutchinson, and all were found present 
except Mr. Donaldson of the Red River of the North District, who had not yet 
reached Yankton; and the oath of office was then impressively administered "by 
his honor, Chief Justice Bliss. The divine blessing was then invoked by Rev. 
M. D. Metcalf, of Bon Homme. A temporary organization was then effected, 
which must have been for the purpose of testing the good faith of the members 
in abiding by a prior agreement regarding the distribution of the various offices 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 197 

to be filled, as the permanent organization which followed, without the inter- 
vention of other business, was a reaffirmation of the first, and is here given: 

Mr. Armstrong, of Yankton, nominated Mr. Pinney, of Bon Homme, for speaker, and 
he was elected by the unanimous vote of the members and escorted to the chair, where he 
delivered a brief address as follows : 

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : I do not solicit your attention for the 
purpose of making a speech, but to express my thanks and gratitude for this mark of your 
respect and confidence manifested by selecting me to stand for and represent the will of the 
assembly. 

1 desire to assure you that I shall endeavor not to be so undmindful of my duty as to 
trample on the rights of any member of this House, and that there is no want of feeling in my 
heart to look strictly after the interests of each individual member so far as it is within my 
province and capacity so to do. I can see no reason why we cannot have a session remarkable 
for its rapid and beneficial transaction of public business; the best motives seem to be apparent, 
party prejudices are out of the way, and the grave influences of the times in connection with 
the responsibility which rests upon us as members of the first Legislature of Dakota, ought to 
be sufficient to invite us to our best efforts, I trust you will not consider me attempting to 
pronounce a homily when I say that if we would succeed as the first law makers of Dakota 
Territory we should have energetic action, and that we should also have a true and lively 
friendship existing among us, that generous sentiment not incompatible with honorable emu- 
lation which encourages a member instead of dragging him down, which throbs and delights 
when he acquits himself fairly in debate, which hastens to pardon his faults and follies, is as 
ready to grant pardon as to accept it, and to award praise as to court it. Knit together by 
these manly sentiments, we can fondly hope that, wherever our lots are cast in future years, 
we will look back with pleasing thoughts upon our relationship in this House, and so long as 
life lasts, will we regard it with a feeling akin to that which hallows the place of our birth, 
and consecrates in our memory the scene of our early years. Thanking you again for this 
expression of your kindness and confidence, I accept the position assigned me, assuring you 
that I shall use every effort commensurate with my ability to discharge the duties of the office 
in a faithful and impartial manner. 

At the conclusion of the speaker's address the House proceeded to perfect its 
permanent organization by the election of the persons whose names and office, 
follow : 

I. R. Hanson, Yankton, chief clerk: James M. Allen. Sioux Falls, assistant 
clerk: Daniel Gifford, Hon Homme, enrolling clerk: James Somers, Sioux Point, 
sergeant-at-arms ; Ole Anderson, East Vermillion, fireman; A. B. Smith, Tower 
Bute, messenger; Rev. M. D. Metcalf, T!on Homme, chaplain. Mr. Waldron 
nominated Henry Masters for assistant clerk' and Mr. I'uelt nominated A. A. 
Partridge for sergeant-at-arms, but they were unsuccessful. 

Both houses appointed committees to wait upon the governor and notify him 
of the organization and also committees to notify each other of their organization 
and then adjourned: the council to meet at <) A. M. and the House at _' 1'. M. 

( )n the second day of the session the two houses appointed the hour of 2 
o'clock P. M. on Wednesday, the third day to meet in joint convention at the hall 
of the 1 louse to receive the message of Governor Jayne. At the appointed lime 
the joint convention assembled and the governor, by his private secretary, Geo. 
W. I.amson appeared and read the first communication made by a governor of 
Dakota to a Dakota Legislature. This document is a part of the early history of 
Dakota Territory. It displays many features that will be warmly commended, 
and discloses a knowledge of the resources of the territory that could only have 
been acquired by earnest stud_\ of the subject. The feature that will attract the 
most attention and comment at the present day is that which endeavors to picture 
the future' of our nation and our territory or state' a half century hence. The 
language of the' governor seems truthfully prophetic as he elips "into the future 
far a- human eye could see." The message follow-: 

GOVERNOR TAYNK's FIRST MESSAGE 

Yankton. S. D., March 17, 1862 
Gentlemen of the Council and House of Representative 

In assembling at this period of interna! dissension .and Civil war. it would ippear tint we 
have especial reason to return thanks to an all wise ami beneficent Pi foi ' 



I1ISK >KY I )l DAK( >TA TERRITORY 

and quiit which the people of our territory have enjoyed; also for the bountiful harvest we 
have gathered; and the unparalleled good health we have been blessed with during the past 
year throughout <'iir settlements. 

Li i us express the hope and faith, and offer an earnest prayer, that the same Providence 
that directed our forefathers, more than two centuries since, across an unknown trackless 
ocean, to plant in the Western World tlie germ of civil and constitutional freedom, and which 
directed Washington through all the perils of the American Revolution, will direct and guide 
the Federal Government through the struggle that now threatens her unity and life, until 
peace is secured and the majesty "I the Constitution and laws are vindicated, and the people 
of all the world are rejoiced to behold the temple of constitutional liberty, safe, secure, rest- 
ing upon a basis unmoved and immovable — 'the affection of the people. 

I'.\ an act of Congress, on the second day of March, 1861, the territorial government of 
Dakota was created. By virtue of the provisions of that organic act. you have been chosen 
by the voters of Dakota to compi.se the first legislative assembly. To you they have dele- 
gated the authority to enact laws necessary for the protection of property, the security of 
life, and the efficient guarantee of all the social and civil rights, privileges, and immunities 
pi naming to the citizens under our free constitutional form of government. 

It is well for you to remember that you are not legislating alone for today, but also for 
an indefinite future — not for the few thousand now resident in the territory, but for the 
tens of thousands who will soon be attracted within our limits. Impress yourself with the 
responsibility resting upon you, and go forward in your labors in founding a civil structure, 
with liberal and enlarged views of the duties devolving upon you. In judging correctly of the 
future, and calculating upon the coming wants and necessities of the territory, it is proper to 
examine our surroundings, to reflect upon our soil, climate, and the natural resources of the 
country. 

Dakota Territory extends from the 43d to the 49th parallel of north latitude, and from 
the 97th to tlie 113th parallel of longitude — embracing an area of country greater in extent 
than all New England, combined with the great states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Illinois and Missouri. Occupying the most elevated section of country between the Arctic 
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico; forming to a great extent the water shed of the two great 
basins of North America, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and the tributaries of Hudson's 
Bay. Thus within the limits of Dakota are found the sources of rivers running diametrically 
opposite; those Mowing northward reach a region of eternal ice, while those flowing south- 
ward pass from the haunts of the grizzly bear and the regions of wild rice, through the 
cotton fields and the sugar plantations of the southern states until their waters are mingled 
with the blue waves of the gulf. 

The general surface of the country east and north of the Missouri is a beautiful, rich, 
undulating prairie, free from marsh, swamp or slough, traversed by many streams, and dotted 
over with innumerable lakes of various sizes, whose wooded margins, and rocky shores, and 
gravel bottoms, afford the settler the purest of water, and give to the scenery of the territory 
much of its interest and fascination. West of the Missouri the country is more rolling, and 
gradually becomes broken, hilly, and finally mountainous as the western limits are reached and 
terminated by the Rocky Mountains. The mighty Missouri runs through the very heart of 
our territory, and gives us more than one thousand miles of navigable water course; thus 
giving us the facility of cheap water transportation, by means of which we can bear away 
the surplus products of our rich, luxuriant lands to southern markets, and receive in ex- 
change the trade and commerce of all climes and lands. We have, located on the Missouri. 
Big Sioux. Red River of the North, Vermillion, Dakota (James) and Niobrara rivers, millions 
and millions of acres of the richest and most productive lands to be found anywhere within 
the bounds of tin- national Government. We have combined, the pleasant, salubrious climate 
of Southern Minnesota, and the fertility of soil of Central Illinois. 

The incentive to immigration is so great, and the inducements and advantages so promis- 
ing thai 11 is 110 idle fancy which pictures the towns and cities which are soon to cover and 
enrich our lulls and valleys and river sides. In arriving at a correct estimate of the probable 
settlement of our territory, it is well to bear in mind some very favorable facts which promise 
much in the development of our resources and increase of our population. Thermal statistics 
and experiment prove, that within the limits of our territory are to be found both the climate 
and soil necessarj to produce most successfully the two great leading staples of American 
agriculture coin and wheat. We find that starting from Chicago as a point, that the 
isothermal lines rise to a higher and higher degree of latitude as you go westward. We find 
that fort Benton, on the Missouri River, in the extreme northwest part of Dakota, possesses 
''" same mean temperature of Chicago and Albany. M. Y. The corn producing belt of country 
which runs through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois extends north and west through Iowa, up the 
Valley oi the Missouri, through Dakota. According to Blodgett. the author of a very able 
and interesting work on the climatology of the United States, the thermal capacity required 
for the successful cultivation of Indian corn is a mean temperature of 67° for July, ami it 
' a little beyond 65° for the summer. According to the same authority, the thermal 
capacity required for the successful cultivation of wheat is a mean temperature from 62 to 65° 
during the ripening months. Statistics prove that our territory possesses a considerable 
excess of the temperature required, being beyond 70°. Another fact should be born in mind, 
that while we are not flooded with the excessive spring rains which often retard the putting 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 199 

in of crops in the states southeast of lis, yet we do have in the Iati- spring and early summer 
months copious showers, which supply vegetation with all the moisture m edi -1 for tin- rapid 
growth which is characteristic of this region. The capacity of our territory for raising im- 
mense herds of cattle, and for the production of large crops of corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, 
buckwheat, potatoes, sorghum, melons, fruits and vegetables, demonstrates the ability o) our 
country to sustain a dense population. 

( Hir territory possesses a climate especially conducive to health and longevity. * Iccupy- 
ing an elevated section of the country, we are free from the humid, raw, chilly weather ofti n 
prevailing in the central western states. We have a dry, bracing atmosphere, which gives tone 
and vigor to the physical system. We have a temperature sufficiently high in July and August 
to insure the rapid growth and maturity of all our cereal products; yet our hot weather is not 
continuous enough to engender those malarious diseases, ague, bilious fevers and dysentery, 
which prevail in Ohio, Indiana. Illinois and Missouri. What were once the great wheat pro- 
ducing states of the country are becoming less and less so each succeeding year. The uncer- 
tainty of the crop discourages its cultivation in those states and the growing demand for 
shipment to western Europe must be supplied from other sources. I venture the prediction 
that the wheat growing belt of this continent will yet be found in the valleys of the Red River 
and Saskatchewan. The day is not distant when the eye, which can now behold only the vast 
expanse of prairie and the tall, luxuriant grass waving before the wind, will rest gratified and 
contented upon the farm and workshop, the schoolhouse and church. We should bear in 
mind that within the last thirty years the great states of Indiana. Illinois, Michigan and 
Missouri have been settled up, and that within twenty years Iowa and Wisconsin have been 
rescued from the possession of the roaming Indian and subdued to the usages of civilized 
man. Thus has one generation witnessed an area of country no less than ours, transformed 
from the hunting ground of the Indian, the scene of the chase and war dance, and converted 
and divided into six of the most populous and thrifty states of the Union. 

Shall we not judge of the future by the nast ? As regards soil, climate, beautiful uplands. 
rich prairies, luxuriant bottoms, productive mountain valleys, mineral wealth, navigable rivers 
upon which to float our cereal products and commercial exchanges, what section of country 
within the broad confines of our republic is fairer, or lovelier, or richer, or more inviting as 
the home of the active, intelligent and industrious citizen? Before a generation shall have 
passed, more than a million of people will be living in the Valley of the Missouri alone. 
The Pacific Railroad will have been long completed, connecting the two oceans with its iron 
bands. The trade with India and Japan, the commerce of the opulent and gorgeous Fast 
will pass through our borders on its way to the great cities on the Atlantic. By the transit 
of a world's commerce over l.ooo miles of our territory, we derive incalculable benefit. 
The experience of 6,000 years and the verification of all history is pointed and conclusive 
that intelligence, prosperity and opulence are the result of intercourse between nations. \Iong 
the great highways of the world, where pass and repass the goods, wares, merchandise, the 
products, the commodities, and the wealth of nations, there towns and cities spring up. manu- 
factures are established, and all the industrial arts are quickened and encouraged, and from 
these centers ramify and extend rivulets of business and avenues of wealth. 

I congratulate you. gentlemen, as the representatives of the people who are most fortu- 
nately and happily located in a portion of this country which possc-scs within itself all the 
elements which are necessary to constitute a great, prosperous and powerful state. Our rich 
alluvial lands will produce the corn, and the broad prairies the nutritious grasses which are 
ample to feed and support cattle enough to supply every market in the Union. Tin- salt lakes 
in the northern part of the territory can furnish inexhaustible supplies of the besl of salt. 
The high, rolling prairies south and west of the Missouri seem especially intended for the 
herding of sheep and the growth of wool. 

The falls on the Big Sioux furnish a motive power sufficient to drive all the machinery 
i i tin' New England mills. 

I lie ['.lack Ilills. and the mountain ranges at the sources of the Wind River. Yellow- 

e and Missouri, are rich beyond conception in mineral resources of coal, copper and iron 
The explorations and discoveries at Pike's Peak and on Fraser River, connected with the 
logical formation of the western part of Dakota, would indicate these facts; but what is 
more satisfactory, we are already in possession of actual knowledge in relation to the mineral 
deposits of that region, obtained h\ tin- discoveries of missionaries an d 1 1 |>i" is. who. braving 
all trials and dangers, have visited thai region which has been scarcely marked 1,\ the 
print of a white' man. With all the elements of power surrounding us, we need bul numl 
combined with industry, intelligence and virtue, to make Dakota one of the most desirable 
and potent states of the Government. 

Gentlemen, upon the result of your legislative action depends in a '.Teat measure the 
rapidity with which this territory is to be settled up and her mighty resources devel ped, and 
her place claimed as one of the bright states which shall emblaze on our national ensign. It 
is your duty, and I doubt not the result of your labors will 1"-. by the exercise of iust. wise 

and judicii US legislative action, to invite and encourage immigration, to stimulate settlement 
in our midst, and to attract within the limits of our territory thousands ol people who each 
yea] leavi their homes in the older stales to eek new homes and participate in tin- common 

benefits incident to all new countries Laying the foundations of government, and 
then upon a solid civil structure, beautiful and symmetrical in all its parts, will requiri 



200 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

thoughtful consideration, based on all the light you Qan obtain from an examination of the 
enactments of the different states and territories of our country. Among the different sub- 
jects which will demand your attention not the least will be a system of civil and criminal 
i ation il system; a military system; the character of your country organization; 
, nit \ and territorial financial system; to the extent of powers proper to be granted to 
corporations, of a moneyed, mining, manufacturing or railroad character. I trust you will 

due deliberation to all your enactments of civil and criminal law. 
: e peace, quiet and stability of society depend upon the protection and security of prop- 
em. liberty, and life. In a natural state of society, without any form of government, every 
man is compelled to rely upon his own individual protection for the maintenance of his rights 
and the enjoyment of Ins property, and security of his life. With the organization of society, 
law and government, every one concedes and gives up a portion of his natural rights, and 
deters to law and authority for the adjustment of questions and the decisions of claims which 
otherwise could onlj be settled by force. Therefore, it is due from the Government to the 
citizens, that what he lias relinquished of his national rights should be more than compensated 
in the security of person and property by the guarantee of law. Therefore it becomes your 
duty to secure to every citizen the peaceful possession and enjoyment of all his rights of 
property and person; also enact laws which shall deal out prompt punishment to all evil doers 
and violators of law. Criminal law should not be so harsh and cruel as thereby to defeat itself, 
but it should be just in its retributions, and severe in proportion to the offense committed. 
I trust and believe that your record of both civil and criminal law will be such as will com- 
mend itself to the approval of an enlightened age and an advanced civilization. I believe in 
the truthfulness of the remark of one of the most sagacious of our revolutionary states- 
men, "that the great hope of a free people was dependent upon her educational and militia 
Sj steins." 

I line is no subject more vital to the prosperity and general welfare of the territory, than 
the subject of education. The virtue, intelligence and public happiness of a people, and all 
that conduces to the advancement of the prosperity, wealth and power of a country, is inti- 
mately associated with, and dependent upon, the development of the educational interest of 
the state. In communities where truth, virtue, intelligence and knowledge prevail, there crime 
is rare, and poverty almost unknown. Every dollar of taxes levied for the support of schools 
lessens, by many dollars, the taxes which would be assessed for the support of prisons and 
poor houses. If attention to one interest more than another has made Massachusetts the first 
of the great, rich, proud and powerful commonwealths of the Union, it has been the ever 
watchful, constant, liberal encouragement and aid given to her educational interest. I recog- 
nize the difficulties you must encounter in your efforts to establish a practical and efficient 
system in our. at present, sparsely settled territory. Let us, at least, take the first steps, and 
show to all who may be looking to our territory for a future home, that we are not unmind- 
ful of the great interests of education and the proper moral and intellectual training of the 
youth of our land. 

Every nation relies more or less upon her militia system for the maintenance of her 
authority at home, and vindication of her national rights and honor abroad. A free people 
are and should be ever jealous of a large standing army. Those nations who enjoy a consti- 
tutional form of government are more dependent upon their militia than those ruled by arbi- 
trary power. A free people, whose laws and government are the expression and creation of 
the popular will, are averse to a regular army, which eats up the resources of the industrial 
classes ; they rely chiefly upon the citizen soldier in any emergency which shall give occasion 
for the use of military force. Holding, as we do, the most advanced outposts of settlements, 
having a widely extended frontier exposed to the hostile incursions of a savage foe, it is 
imperative that we institute and cultivate a plain, economical, and thorough militia system, 
adapted to our situation, and adequate to the necessities of our people. 

The slavery question has been an exciting and distracting subject of dispute, of late years, 
in the territories. I hope we may be free from it. I would recommend to your body that you 
pass a law prohibiting, for all time to come, in this territory, slavery or involuntary servi- 
tude, except for crime. I shall hope to see such a law passed without a dissenting voice. I 
hope that the free air of Dakota may never be polluted, or her virgin soil pressed by the 
footprint of a slave. Congress having seen proper to create this territory without exercising 
her authority in prohibiting slavery, to us, therefore, has devolved the welcome task of record- 
ing our approval of the sentiment of Jefferson, when he declared slavery was "a moral, social 
and political evil." There is a conflict between the principles of freedom and slavery. That 
conflict has existed from the creation of the human race. There is an eternal antagonism 
between the principles of freedom and slavery. The constitution of the human heart and 
human mind makes the conflict inevitable, and sooner or later one or the other must gain 
the supremacy. Liberty is neither a cheat, a delusion, or a lie, but a vital principle of the 
human heart, horn of the nature of man and the revelation of God — it is eternal and cannot 
die. Recognizing these self-evident truths. I trust that we shall start right. Let us by a 
prohibitory enactment express our repugnance of an institution which today convulses the 
continent, arrays a million of men in arms, interrupts our commerce, suspends business, pros- 
trates trade, and paralyzes all the industrial interests of the country; which has darkened 
the home, widowed the wife, and made fatherless the children of some of the bravest and 
noblest on the land, and bequeathed to our children and children's children an untold burden 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 201 

of taxation and debt. In this great and rich territory, possessing extent of country and natural 
resource-, sufficient to make ail empire, let freedom rule — let this be the home of the white 
man. Declare by legislative enactment that her labor shall be honored, respected and 
rewarded. Let us make room in our territory for no privileged class, spurning labor and the 
laborer — exalted above common sympathies and cares — sacred against vulgar necessities, and 
scorning honest occupation. Let us pass this law, and then we shall be done with slavery, 
so far as we have any authority over the question; leaving it where the Constitution has 
left it, and the fathers of the Constitution left it. with the states where it exists, to be by 
them regulated as they deem best. 

I take this occasion to warn you against falling into the snares of bank men. Too often 
it has been the case that legislative sanction has been given, in the new territories, to the 
designs of cunning men, who. unwilling to labor, have endeavored by plausible schemes of 
finance to put afloat worthless bank paper, which soon depreciates and robs the laboring men 
of the country. I hope you will turn a deaf ear to all their applications for bank charters, 
and that you will, to the best of your ability, secure our citizens against the evil of a pernicious 
paper currency. 

Elections in the new territories, of late years, have been so fraudulently conducted 
that the word "election" has almost become, in the territories, a synonym of fraud, deception 
and corruption. L T pon the purity of the elective franchise rests the basis of our Government. 
I trust that you will enact a stringent election law, one which shall secure to our people 
immunity from fraud. 

At the present time we are suffering inconvenience for the various departments of our 
territorial government, but they are but temporary. I have no doubt but what Congress, 
with her accustomed liberality and fostering care to her territories, will make provision by 
appropriating as liberal an amount as tin- state of the treasury will justify, for the purpose 
of erecting buildings for the use of the various departments. While I think it is very 
necessary these should be made, it may be neglected by the general Government, unless 
we bring them to the notice of Congress, and show the prosperity and the advantages to 
be received by the territory and the Government in return for the expense. It would 
seem to me very proper that the Legislative Assembly should memorialize Congress on 
the subject of an appropriation for military roads, and for a geological survey of the terri- 
tory, and a Pacific railroad. There should be a military road from the mouth of the Big 
.Sioux to Fort Randall, and from Randall to Fort Laramie; also one from the Red River 
of the North to the Missouri. Every man who is acquainted with the country west of 
the Missouri is aware of the fact that Fort Randall should be the distributing military 
post west of the Missouri and north of the Kansas River. Thousands and tens of thousands 
could and would be saved to the treasury by making Fort Randall, instead of Fort Leaven- 
worth, the distributing post for supplying Laramie and the military posts in Utah. There 
would be thus saved to the Government the expense of more than three hundred miles 
land transportation. No better road can be found to Laramie than one running along the 
Niobrara River. As we have good water communication from St. Louis to Randall, goods 
and army stores would be delivered at Randall at but a trifling cost more than the Govern- 
ment pays for freight to Leavenworth. It is only necessary that this matter be brought to 
the attention of Congress to have the change effected. The economy of the change, in 
connection with the present excessive demands on the treasury, is an imperative reason 
why it should he done promptly, and at once 

I would recommend that you memorialize Congress on the subject of the Pacific Rail- 
road. The only route to the Pacific, along the line of which the country is capable of 
sustaining a continuous and prosperous settlement, is through this territory. By any other 
route hundreds of miles of the railroad must pass through a barren, sterile country, not 
susceptible of settlement. The cost of construction of such parts of a railroad would 
necessitate an immense outlay in the original cost, as would also the annual expense of 
repairs. Through Dakota is found tin- most direct route; one easy and cheap of construc- 
tion, and the character of the country through which the road would pass insures a rapid 
and prosperous settlement along the whole line. A direct route from New York City 
along the shore-, of the lakes, would pass through (Imago, Dubuque and Sioux City, up 
the Valley of the Missouri to the mouth of tin- Niobrara, and then up the Valley of the 
Niobrara to the South Pas^. Chicago and Dubuque must extend the hand of welcome to 
us, and cooperate with us in securing the early completion "f a railroad to tin- territory, 
if they would avail themselves of the trade of the tens of thousands who will soon occupy 

the Valley of the Missouri. Otherwise our trade and travel will seek New I'lm and Man- 
kato foi an outlet, and St. Paul as the center of the trade ami commerce of the territory. 
St. Paul being only 200 miles distant from the Town of Sioux balls, situated near the 1 
line of the territory. 

The propriety of a geological survey of the territory lias already been brought to the 
notice oi the Government in a very able manner he our efficient surveyor, (leu. George 
IV Hill. Esquire. Feeling a great interest in thi I cannot refrain from urging on 

you that you shall cooperate in securing from Congress a liberal appropriation for that 
purpose. 1 am confident that there is. west of the Missouri River, untold wealth in the 
mineral resources of Dakota Territory. The recorded opinion of some of tin- m 1st eminent 
geologists in the I'nitcd States, and information gathered from missionaries and trappers 



202 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

who have visited that part of the country confirm that belief. Every dollar appropriated 
will be returned a hundred fold by the addition to our population, the increase of business 
and the amount of land sold. 

1 hope you will memorialize Congress upon the subject of the Homestead Law and 
urge ii- immediate passage. Thai question is no longer an open one and subject to debate. 
The American people have declared almost unanimously in favor of the justice, wisdom 
and necessity of such a law— the grant of [60 aires of land to every actual settler who is 
willing to go out on the public lands and settle upon and occupy the same. If such a bill 
fails to become a law at the present session of Congress, it can only be by the neglect of 
those who are the most vitalh interested in its enactment. Agriculture being for some 
time to com< the leading interest in our territory 1 should deem it proper in you to give 
to that mil rest the benefit, fostering care and protection of wise legislation. Proper laws 
should be passed to prevent, as far as possible, those extensive prairie fires which sweep 
ovei the country in the fall months, and have destroyed crops and fences, and houses, and 
havi injured to a great extent the young timber, which is so rapidly growing along all our 
itreams. If these fires can be prevented, a few years will suffice to make Dakota a well 
timbered country. Territorial roads should be surveyed and established by law at an early 
day between the different towns and settlements by the most direct and eligible routes. 
Proper attention to this will secure our settlers from much trouble and annoyance which 
otherwise will hereafter arise upon the location of roads at a later day. 

Having within our territory a large Indian population, it would seem desirable that you 
should enact some law regulating intercourse between our citizens and the different tribes. 
As our citizens are excluded from going upon the Indian land without a permit, it would 
seem to be just that the Indians should not be allowed to roam at will over the ceded lands. 
I believe that all Indians should be restricted to the unceded lands and their reservations. 
1 believe that such a requirement would conduce to the peace and quiet of the territory, 
and free the settlers from the annoyance of these straggling Indians who are wandering 
about the country. Such an exclusion from the public lands would do away with the oppor- 
tunity which now tempts bad white men to carry on an iniquitous liquor traffic with the 
Indians. 

I would recommend to you that a law be passed securing to every family freedom from 
execution and sale of their homestead; if resident in the country, a house and so many- 
acres as your wisdom may determine. I believe that such a law is eminently just and 
proper. I would have every man know, and especially every wife and child feel, that there' 
was one spot on earth that they could call home ; one place that the cruel and remorseless 
creditor could not tread upon; that one fireside was sacred, and that one roof should shelter 
the innocent and unfortunate. I hope never in Dakota to see the harsh creditor darken the 
door and drive from the home the wife, or it might be the widow and her children, because, 
forsooth, he could, in his wily brain and bloodless heart, overreach in trade the honest but 
improvident husband and father. 

The vast expense of the Federal Government incurred in the prosecution of the war, 
will necessarily impose upon all the people of this country a burden of taxation hitherto 
unknown in our Government. As the expenses of the executive, judicial and legislative 
departments of our Government are defrayed by Congress, with the exception of our pro- 
portion of the war tax, the taxes levied upon our people should be very light. I hope that 
the form of our county organization, and the powers granted to the county authorities for 
the levying of taxes, will be so guarded as to confine them to the strictest economy con- 
sistent with efficiency. The great error committed in other territories has been the disposi- 
tion to mcur debt, and to issue territorial warrants and county orders. Sound public policy 
toil, ids such a system of finance. A depreciated currency increases the price paid, and 
the enhanced price necessitates an additional issue, which* again contributes to lower the 
county or territorial credit. Our proportion of the war tax our people will cheerfully pay. 
["here being as yet no titles to real estate in this territory — no land office having as yet 
been opined— much is left your body to decide as to the proper system of taxation to 
adopt. 

I would recommend the passage of a law which shall secure to everv citizen of Dakota, 
who shall volunteer to go into the service of the United States, upon" the requisition of 
the War Department, his right to vote for all territorial, legislative and county officers, 
111 election day. I would not have his patriotism he the means of depriving him of 
tie- proudest right of the citizen— the enjoyment of the elective franchise. This proposi- 
ti!, is so plainly just that it need only he suggested to be approved. 

I take tins occasion to express my gratification at the prompt response made by our 

loyal citizens to the requisition made by the War Department upon the executive of 

Dakota for volunteers to garrison Fort Randall, and thus relieve the regulars who were 

tied there, who were needed South to aid in crushing this most accursed rebellion In 

a few weeks tin requisition was filled, and we now have a volunteer force of which we have 

just reason to be proud. Every citizen felt it a privilege that Dakota, in common with her 

tsters, should lie allowed to contribute her mite to aid the Federal Government in 

tins, the darkest day of her life. If the exigencies of the war should demand it. I believe 

i mali citizen within our limits would abandon the field and workshop, and with 

musket upon his shoulder would rush to the tented field to the rescue of the Constitu- 
tion. That, I trust, will not be necessary. I believe the dawn of a better and brighter day 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITl >U\ 203 

is upon us. This most infamous rebellion, born and bred of an aggressive, domineering 
interest, must die — must perish, that faith in the justice of God shall be vindicated. He is 
but a superficial observer of political events, who does not recognize in the primary 
cause of this wicked rebellion, the institution of slavery. Can h be possible that in 

the providence of God, an institution founded in error, injustice and despotism, shall Income 
the instrument for the destruction of a government, the wisest and best ever framed by 
the inventive genius of man? 1 cannot believe so. I recognize in the darkness that now 
clouds our beloved country, and the heavy hand that presses upon her, the inscrutable work- 
ings of a Divine Providence "who doeth all things well." 1 believe that we shall come out 
of this rebellion better, purer and stronger — that the American Union will continue to 
move upward and onward in her destined path in the history of the world. I have never 
entertained any fear of the disruption of our Government, the division of our Union, and 
the overthrow of the Constitution. A glance at the map of North America should satisfy 
anyone that nature made this country for one people to dwell in, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, from the Lakes of the North to the Gulf of the South. The great Northwest, the 
region of the lakes, ami the valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri, whose waters 
divide and seek the ocean, to the East through the chains of the Great Lakes and the St. 
Lawrence, to the South through the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, forbids a division. 
The millions who live upon the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries can never consent to 
a division of the Union. To them an imperative political and commercial necessity forbids 
a division. To allow the mouth of the Mississippi to belong to a foreign power, would In- 
to subject ourselves to trouble and annoyance, and all our commerce to unjust and arbitrary 
taxation. An absolute, overwhelming necessity compels us to remain one people — one 
nation — with the flag of our fathers floating over every state. Six hundred thousand free- 
men are today in martial array — citizen soldiers not an unwilling conscript among them 
all — a prouder army than Napoleon, m the plenitude of his power, ever reviewed: each 
and every man crying aloud to he led on to battle and to victory. The men composing that 
army are men of peace, who prefer the peaceful walks of life, who love to tread in the 
paths of agriculture, the mechanic arts, trade and commerce; but they are men who. when 
treason opened its batteries upon Sumter and its little hand of devoted nun, inspired by 
the noblest impulses which are implanted in the human heart, bid farewell to home and its 
comforts, to father and mother, wife and children, and rushed to the field with willing 
hearts and strong arms, offering all upon the altar of their country, ready to pour out 
their blood like water, and yield their lives, if need he, in defense of the supremacy of 
law and the Constitution. With such an army, engaged in such a cause, who can doubt the 
final result? Though they were not the first to seek the arbitrament of the sword, they 
will he the last to leave it. Though they did not provoke or commence the conflict, they 
will he the last to abandon it. Let the war he prosecuted vigorously and in deadly earnest, 
with hut one object in view, the security of the country, the preservation of the Union, 
and the assertion and supremacy of the Constitution, over every foot oi our widelj 
extended domain. Let nothing cramp or hamper the noble efforts of our army; what 
soever stands in the way of success let it he trampled under foot. Let us commit no 
blunder by placing any interest before or above the Union, least of all that interest which 
is solely and entirely responsible for the rebellion which today convulses the nation. If 
slaverj stands in the way of a successful subjugation of this hellish rebellion, let slavery 
die. If in the providence of God it should come to pass that through the efforts for the 
preservation of constitutional liberty, the institution of human slavery should he blotted 
out of existence, no lover of humanity, civilization, and Christianity, will drop a tear over 
its gr.'n e. 

The events of the last forty days have given heart and hope to the whole country. 
The advent of Secretary Stanton into the War Department, with the declaration that the 
business of the army was "to attack, pursue, and destroy the rebellious enemy." electrified 
the nation. The late glorious victories in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Mis 
SOUri, have made good the declaration. Manassas and Columbus are evacuated the two 
great strongholds of the enemy. This is due to tin- new vieor infused into the War 

Department by the act of the President in placing in thai department a man of will and 

purpose. Upon the accession of Stanton into the war office, a cabinet meeting was called 

The country had furnished 6oo,dbo men, and #0,000,000 of money; and was clamorous and 

impatient for an advance. The zeal and patriotism of the people were likely to become 

paralyzed unless something was done to justifj the immense outlay of men and money. 
The President, rising with the occasion, asserting In- rights and duties as commander-in- 
chief of the tinny and navy, having with his far-sighted and sun 0. iti d judgment, declared 
that the backbone of the enemy was to he broken by a vigorous advance in the West, and 
that the just expectations of the people should b< Fulfilled; Abraham Lincoln directed that 
Buell and Grant and McClernand and Curtis should advance, and 1 ! the declara 

lion of Stanton that the business of tin- arm} was "to attack, pursue, am' the 

rebellious enemy." The terrible energy of those armies, drawn From the bone and sinew 
of the West, led b\ Generals Grant, (act lernand, I urtis and Buell, havi n.n the 

most fiercelj contested battle Fields, but have compelled the evacua 1 olumbus and 

Manassas, without the sacrifice of a life. We already see the beginning of the end. 
haughty and rebellious enemj have been driven at the point of the bayonet, hind 

their own chosen and well Fortified entrenchments. 



204 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

Tlu- ries do not prove that the men of one section are any better or braver 

than those of a different section of our common country; but it proves "that he is thrice 
armed thai hath his quarrel just;" it evidences that the ingrate, and wicked, and rebellious 
citizens seeking to destroj the priceless legacj ol constitutional liberty, bequeathed by 
Washington and his noble compatriots, cannot withstand, on the battle field, the indomitable 
will and determined valor of the citizen, who. giving his life to his country and his soul 
to God, fights to "preserve, protect and defend" that rich political inheritance, purchased 
by the struggles of our fathers on the bloody fields of Trenton, Monmouth, Saratoga and 
VTorktown. The glorious victory won by the Northwest— the men of Illinois aided by their 
fellow soldiers of Iowa ami Indiana and other western states, have won imperishable 
honor. The attack and capture of Fort Donelson is the most brilliant military victory 
ever won on the American continent. To every officer and soldier of that gallant army, 
the whole American people owe a lasting debt of gratitude, and they will ever live in their 
hearts. This victory has given us possession of the state which holds the honored remains 
of the great chieftain who so heartily hated and despised this cursed heresy of secession. 
Standing by the grave of Jackson, may our brave soldiers renew their faith and redouble 
their will, ami swear "by the Eternal," secession shall die. 

Andrew Johnson, the first of patriots and most courageous of men, who, in the darkest 
hour and amid the thickest gloom, when reverses attended our arms, and hope almost fled 
the stoutest heart, he faltered not — despaired not — proscribed and exiled from his home 
for months by the hell-hounds of secession, today he revisits his home, and stands upon 
the soil of Tennessee with the Stars and Stripes floating over the capital. Let the energy 
of the last sixty days continue — as it will continue — and a few months will witness the 
end of this monstrous and stupendous slaveholders' rebellion. 

Gentlemen I trust that when your labors are over and you shall have passed away from 
the field of legislative action, that those who shall come after you may remember you as 
not unmindful of the responsibilities imposed upon you. It is well you should bear in 
mind the age in which you live, and the nation of which you are a part. Let your memories, 
run back a little over two centuries, and there is present before you a small band of 
refugees, hated, despised, and oppressed, about to set sail upon an angry sea, seeking a 
home in the unknown western world, bearing with them the germ of civil and religious 
liberty, which today has expanded until it has become the first nation of the world. 

Let your imagination run forward only half a century, and you behold the American 
L T nion dictating the law to all nations. You behold her without a parallel in the history 
of nations; first in the arts and sciences, in religion and literature, in peace and arms, the 
pride of all governments, the hope of the oppressed, the asylum of the refugee, a nation 
kind to the weak, firm to the strong; a republic which will stand unmoved amidst the 
throes of revolutions, while thrones totter and empires pass away; beautiful as Cytherea 
as she arose from the flashing foam of the .Hgean ; more powerful than Rome in the days 
of the Caesars, or France under the imperial sway of Napoleon; a government with a 
hundred millions of loyal subjects, carrying the beneficent influence of her arts and her 
civilization upon the wings of her commerce, over every sea and ocean, to every continent 
and isle which smile beneath the genial rays of the sun. 

In conclusion, allow me to assure you that it will be my endeavor to cordially, earnestly 
and faithfully cooperate with you in the enactment of all laws which your wisdom may 
suggest, which shall prove kind in their influence, and tend to advance the honor and 
greatness and glory of Dakota. 

Yankton, Dakota Territory. 

Executive Department, March 17, 1862. 

TTTE BIG SIOUX RIG BEND 

The Missouri River is noted for its sinuosities, some of them most remarkable 
because the river seems to have chosen for its channel the very longest way 
round a neck of land when it apparently could have saved many miles by cutting 
"across lots." Such a great bend existed a short distance above the mouth of 
the Rig Sioux River, which resembled somewhat a colossal letter S. It was 
fifteen miles around the bend and the flood of 1867 cut through the narrowest 
part, a distance of fifty yards and made a new navigable channel for the river, 
which was greatly appreciated by the steamboat people, because it practically 
shortened the river fifteen miles. The land thus segregated was occupied but it 
was many years before the question was settled as to whether Nebraska or Dakota 
had jurisdiction over it and it required an assault with intent to kill case to deter- 
mine the matter. The sheriff of Union County went there to serve a legal process 
anil was met by armed resistance, which culminated in a fight. The sheriff was 
seriously wounded. The offender was subsequently arrested and held to answer 
under a decision of the 1 takota court that he had committed his offense in Dakota. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 

(Continued) 

LEGISLATURE CONTINUED — GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE WELL RECEIVED THE CHIPPEWA 

INDIANS AND RED RIVER JAMES M'FETRIDGE FROM PEMBINA LEGISLATIVE COM- 
MITTEES THE CAPITAL CONTEST — YANKTON SECURES THE PRIZE SPEAKER PIN- 

NEY RESIGNS; TIERNON SUCCEEDS HIM — SOLDIERS IN THE HOUSE; GREAT INDIG- 
NATION AN UNPLEASANT EPISODE/ — BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF FIRST MEMBERS AND 

OFFICERS MISSOURI RIVER OVERFLOW — OLD SETTLERS' HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 

—EPISCOPAL MISSION ESTABLISHED BY REV. MELANCTHON HOYT. 

The governor's message struck a responsive chord in the breasts of the mem- 
bers of both council and House. The former body, by resolution ordered 1,500 
copies printed in the English language, 300 in Norwegian and 200 in German; 
while the House ordered 1,200 copies all told, 500 in English, 300 in Norwegian, 
200 in French, and 200 in German. 

James McFetridge, of Pembina, through Councilman Brookings, presented 
a petition on the eighth day of the session, claiming the seat occupied by said 
Brookings and asking the council to appoint a committee to investigate his claims. 
The petition was referred to the Committee on Elections from which committee 
Mr. Brookings had resigned. This petition received no further direct attention, 
and was not reported from the committee, it being the conviction of a majority 
that the Red River region was country still belonging to the Chippewa Indians, 
and therefore the whites residing there could not legally exercise the elective 
franchise. But the Legislature passed a suitable memorial praying that a treaty 
of cession be made with the Indian owners ; and also in anticipation of a treaty 
being made during the succeeding year, created a legislative district in the country 
and apportioned to it a councilman and two members of the 1 louse. The standing 
committees of the House were composed of the members hereafter named : 

Privileges and Elections — Messrs. Tiernon, Wallace and Wood. Ways & 
Means — Messrs. Armstrong, Donaldson and McBride. Judiciary — Armstrong, 
Puett and Donaldson. Agriculture and Manufactures — McBride, Maloney and 
Burgess. Military Affairs — Stanage, Wa'ldron and Maloney. Internal Corpora- 
tions — Puett, Armstrong and McBride. Engrossed and Enrolled Hills — Puett and 
Donaldson. Counties — Tiernon, Wallace and Maloney. Corporations — Puett, 
Armstrong and Jacobson. Library — Waldron, Tiernon and Burgess. Common 
Schools, Universities and Colleges — Puett, Wallace and Jacobson. Federal Rela- 
tions — Waldron, Wood and Tiernon. 

In the council the standing committees wen' thus made up: Judiciary — 
Messrs. Bramble. Stutsman and Boyle. Education — Boyle, Berts and Brookings. 
Military Affairs — Gregory, Brookings and Doyle. Incorporations — Deuel, Boyle 
and Stutsman. Highways, Bridges and Ferries Bramble, Deuel and Gregory. 
Public Printing — Stutsman. Bramble and Cole. Counties — Cole. Deuel and Betts. 
Territorial Affairs Bramble, Stutsman and Cole. Agriculture --Belts. Brook- 
ings and Boyle. Expenditures — I'.oyle, Betts and Brookings, finances Stuts- 
man, Deuel 'and Betts. Engrossed and Enrolled Bills— Brookings and Betts. 
Federal Relations — Gregory, Stutsman and Deuel. 

The location of the seat of government of the territory was the bone of con- 
tention during the early part of this session, and not a great deal was done in the 

205 



206 HIS I ()U\ OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

way of law-making until that priz< was allotted. Yankton and Vermillion were 
the rival candidates, and it was generally understood by the Yankton people that 
the matter had been satisfactory adjusted in favor of Yankton at the time the 
Legislature organized by the distribution of the principal honors; but the sub- 
sequent proceedings did' not justify this view of the question unless we inferen- 
tially charge one or more of the parties to the compact with double dealing. It 
was understood that Mr. Pinney was to give Yankton his support in return for 
the speakership, but the Legislature was not a week old when it became manifest 
thai he was not friendly in Yankton's ambition, and the Yankton members were 
very much disturbed. The House was nearly equally divided on the capital mat- 
ter.' ( >u1 of the thirteen votes there were four members from the Vermillion and 
West Vermillion district and it required but three more to give them a majority. 
Waldron, of Minnehaha and Donaldson, of Pembina, were against Yankton and 
would vote for Vermillion but were presumed to be laboring to prevent a loca- 
Ui. n at this session, thus giving Sioux Falls a future opportunity. Air. Pinney 
held the balance id' power. In general ability he was the peer of any member 
and in fertility of resource he was more than a match for any one of them, lie 
was dial son of man in a convention or Legislature that the others would watch 
with apprehension of mischief. A harmless motion to adjourn from him would 
be accepted by half the members as portending a plot. As Vermillion had been 
an outspoken candidate for the capital it is not to be presumed that the members 
from the East Vermillion and West Vermillion districts had given any assurance 
that they would support Yankton but Air. Pinney was from Bon Homme, and 
Bon Homme had been given fhe position of honor and double-pay of speaker 
of the House and president of the council, and this would not have been done in 
the absence of any understanding regarding the capital location. 

Hugh Donaldson, who had been detained on his way from the Red River dis- 
trict reached Yankton and was sworn in on Friday, the fifth day of the session. 

In the council on the eleventh day of the session Mr. Stutsman introduced a 
bill "to locate the seat of government of Dakota Territory" at Yankton. It 
was read twice, referred to the Committee on Territorial Affairs, reported favor- 
ably on the thirteenth day and taken up for third reading when Mr. Boyle moved 
an amendment to strike out "Yankton" and insert "Vermillion." The amend- 
ment was lost and the bill was then passed by the following vote: For the bill 
Messrs. Bramble, Brookings, Cole, Stutsman and Mr. President. Against, 
Messrs. Boyle and Betts, of Vermillion. Deuel and Gregory did not vote. The 
bill was transmitted to the House, where on the seventeenth day of the session it 
was called up by Mr. Armstrong, and laid on the table, and on the day following 
it was considered in committee of the whole, with Mr. Puett in the chair, when 
Mr. Pinney moved an amendment to strike out "Yankton" and insert "Bon 
Homme" which was lost by a vote of live to eight — Donaldson, Puett, Waldron, 
Wood and Pinney voted for the amendment and Armstrong, Burgess, Jacobson, 
McBride, Maloney, Stanage, Tiernon and Wallace voting against it. Pinney 
then moved in strike out "Yankton" and insert "Vermillion" which was adopted, 
the vote being seven to six — as follows: For the amendment, Burgess, Donald- 
son. Jacobson, Puett, Waldron, Wood and Pinney. Negative — Armstrong, Mc- 
Bride. Maloney, Stanage, Tiernon and Wallace. The committee rose, but did not 
report, and the next day Armstrong called the matter up, and moved that the 
bill be referred to the Committee on Counties with instructions to strike out "Ver- 
million" and insert "Yankton." 

The chair ruled that the motion to instruct violated the rules. Mr. Arm- 
Strong appealed and the House sustained the appeal by a vote of ten to three, 
Messrs. Armstrong, Burgess, facobson, McBride, Maloney, Stanage, Tiernon, 
Wallace, Wood and tin; Speaker Pinney voting to sustain the appeal. While 
Donaldson, Puett and Waldron voted in the negative. This vote was a puzzler, 
and the anti- Yankton men moved to adjourn until Monday, which motion was 
lost. Donaldson. 1'uett and Waldron became somewhat active and made numer- 




COUNCIL ( HAMBI2R, *> WKI'oN 
Where first Territi rial ( icil was held in Ma v. L8C2 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 1207 

ous efforts to stay any further vote on the bill, but the House finally voted, nine 
to four, to refer the bill to the Committee on Counties. The affirmative votes 
were Armstrong, Burgess, Jacobson, McBride, Maloney, Stanage, Tiernon, Wal- 
lace and Wood. Negative, Donaldson, Puett, Waldron and 1'innev. The next 
day, Tiernon, chairman of the Committee on Counties, presented a report on the 
lull, which the speaker ruled out of order and in violation of the rules. Arm- 
strong moved a suspension of the rules and the reception of the report, which 
the chair ruled out of order, and Waldron asked for the enforcement of the rules. 
After a heated discussion at the same daily session the bill was taken up and 
passed as amended, by inserting "Vermillion" in place of "Yankton." The vote 
on its final passage being unanimous. The bill was now returned to the council, 
where it was immediately considered by the council which by a vote of six to two 
refused to concur in the I louse amendment, and instructed its secretary to notify 
the 1 louse immediately of its action. This was done; and there appears to have 
been a radical change in the sentiment of the House members during the time the 
bill was in the hands of the council, for on its return Armstrong moved that the 
1 louse recede from its amendment to the bill which motion was supported by all 
except Puett and Waldron. The bill was then passed as it came from the council 
originally, by a vote of ten to one. Messrs. Armstrong, Burgess, Donaldson, 
Jacobson, McBride, Maloney. Stanage. Tiernon, Wallace, Wood and the speaker 
voting affirmatively — eleven. Waldron did not vote, and Puett voted in the 
negative. 

During the session excitement was at fever-heat, and the lobby was packed 
with spectators. Early in the proceedings a body of United States troops from 
Company A, Dakota Cavalry with muskets entered the hall and marched to the 
speaker's stand where they remained during the session. Their commander, 
Lieutenant 1 'lughoff stated that they came on the order of the governor by re- 
quest of Speaker 1'innev to prevent riot and disorder. Great indignation was 
created by this demonstration and it was the subject of subsequent investigation 
by both the council and House. 

These final proceedings on the capital bill took place on Saturday, the twentieth 
day of the session; the bill was promptly approved by the governor the following 
Tuesday, April 8th, and Yankton was "out of the woods." Mr. Pinney's singu- 
lar course on this bill was never satisfactorily explained, lie was a young man 
of lowering ambition and now aspired to leadership in tin' republican party, lie 
had been mainly instrumental in the movement of [86] by which Bell was nomi- 
nated for delegate to Congress at the republican convention at Vermillion, a result 
it was claimed that I 'inney was not apprehending, desiring the nomination him- 
self. Another delegate election was to be held in [862; ( lovernor Jayne was com- 
ing to the front as a candidate and was supported by the Yankton republicans. 
Pinney's course would indicate a purpose to popularize himself with the anti- 
Yankton sentiment and by advising the sending of troops to the House he must 
have expected that it would create a sentiment of hostility toward Governor Jayne 
throughout the territory, and the governor's immediate and frank statement 
that 1'innev. as speaker, had requested the troops to prevent riot and disorder, 
was all that saved him from popular obloquy. Pinney, with all his remarkable 
mental qualities, was inclined to be erratic. 

In this matter it would appear that he bad built his plan upon a shaky foun- 
dation for it all went to pieces in an hour, and even the \ ermillion representa- 
tives, except Puett gave their support to Yankton. But there must be a sequel 
to this trouble and u came out tin day after the capital bill was approved, im- 
mediately after the Mouse assembled on that day the clerk read the following 
communication : 

Gentlemen of tin- 1 1. him- .if Representatives 

Reasons which are quite satisfactory to myself prompt me to resign the 
speaker of tins House, and in tendering mj i in, 1 wish to offer tin- members of I 

House very main thanks for the honor which thej conferred upon me by electing mi 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

the office without a dissenting voice. Hoping that you will be able to agree upon my suc- 
cessor, you will confer a favor upon me by accepting this resignation without hesitation or 
delay, 1 subscribe myself, 

Your obedient servant, 

Geo, M. Pinney. 

On the motion of Mr. Armstrong the resignation was accepted and Mr. 
Pinney then vacated the chair, took the floor and nominated John L. Tiernon, 
Fort Randall, for speaker. Tiernon was elected by an unanimous vote, and there 
was peace in the House for the remainder of the session. 

The law locating capital at Yankton was in the words following: 

An Act to Locate the Seat of Government of Dakota Territory. 
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota: 

Section I. That the seat of government of the Territory of Dakota be, and the same 
is hereby located and established, in a central part of the town of Yankton, on section 
eighteen (18) in township ninety-three (93) north range fifty-live (55) west of the fifth 
principal meridian, in the County of Yankton. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and 
approval bv the governor. 

Approved, April 8, 1862. W. Jayne, Governor. 

As an explanation of the final settlement of the capital in favor of Yankton 
and the summary manner in which it was finally disposed of, the reader's atten- 
tion is invited to the passage of a bill locating the territorial university at Ver- 
million and the territorial penitentiary at Bon Homme, together with memorials 
praying Congress for a grant of lands for both institutions. The generations of 
that day no doubt failed to realize how pernicious their example would become, 
for many years later the bonds for an agricultural college at Brookings_ were 
voted and the capital removed from Yankton to Bismarck at the same session of 
the Legislative Assembly. 

The employment of United States troops as a measure of precaution to pre- 
vent serious trouble in the House aroused great indignation. It was looked upon 
as a despotic attempt to over awe the members of the House and coerce them in 
their official action and as the responsibility for such an extraordinary exercise 
of authority was not definitely known and fixed, Mr. Stutsman presented a 
resolution to the council requesting the appointment of a committee "to call on 
the governor" and request his reasons for placing an armed body "of soldiers in 
representative hall." Stutsman, Cole and Deuel were appointed the committee 
and performed their duty without delay. The next day this committee reported 
as follows : 

Mr. President: 

Your special committee appointed with instructions to call on his excellency, the 
governor, and demand his reason for placing an armed body of troops in the representative 
hall yesterday, while the House was in session, beg leave to report that we called upon the 
governor, and after presenting the resolution of the council, received a verbal statement 
of facts about to the following effect: One Geo. M. Pinney, speaker of the House, repre- 
sented to the governor, verbally and in writing, that there was imminent danger of the 
peace and quiet of the House being disturbed by persons in and out of the House, and said 
Pinney demanded protection of the governor. In compliance with said demand, His excel- 
lency issued an order to Lieutenant Plughoff, a copy of which is hereto attached and made 
a part of this report. After a full examination of all the facts in our possession your 
committee believe that by false representations made by said Pinney and others, the 
governor, with the best intentions, did an unnecessan act, thereby offering an insult to the 
representatives of the people, to the citizens of Yankton and to the territory at large. And 
your committee believe that the said order of the governor and the scandal thereby created, 
were wholly occasioned by the false ami slanderous representations of said Pinney and 
others. All of which is respectfully submitted. 

Yankton, Dakota Territory, E. Stutsman, 

Executive Office, April 7, 1862. A. Cole, 

J. Deuel, 

Committee. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 209 

Lieutenant Plughoff, 

Commanding Dakota Cavalry. 
Sir: — I have been informed by a written communication received from Hon. Go. M. 
Pinney, speaker of the House of Representatives, that from threats and representations 
received from reliable sources, that he fears that the business of the House will be inter- 
rupted by violence, and he calls on me for force to protect the House in the lawful pursuit 
of its duties. You are directed to proceed to the hall of the House tomorrow morning, at 
half past 8 o'clock A. M., with twenty men, for the purpose of protecting the II. .use while in 
the peaceful pursuit of its business, from violence. It will be your duty to aid the speaker in 
preserving order, and to arrest any person violating the peace, and quiet, and dec. .rum, 
of that body. 

I am, very respectfully. 
'\Ym. Jayne, Governor. 
Commander in Chief Dak. .la Militia. 

No further action was taken by the council. 

The feeling' of the Vermillion councilmen over their defeat in the capital mat- 
ter led to a great deal of acrimonious discussion among members and others out- 
side the legislative session. There was one occasion at a dinner party at the 
Ash Hotel when Councilman Boyle, the Vermillion champion, and Councilman 
Stutsman, who was Yankton's leader, had some hot words. Stutsman was crip- 
pled from birth but he was every inch a fighter and amply able to take care of 
himself if he could get his hands on an antagonist. Something like the lie passed. 
Boyle seized the ketchup bottle and flung it at Stutsman's head, narrowly missing 
him. "Stuts" retaliated with a fusillade of tumblers, cups and the skeleton of a 
fowl that had contributed to the feast. The combatants then flung themselves 
forward across the table for a finish flight, which might have resulted seriously 
had not friends interfered and led the enraged gentlemen out into the air by dif- 
ferent exits and walked them around until their ardor for a fight had time to 
cool, which it did, and they soon after joined hands in token of forgiveness and 
forgetfulness. 

Antoine Robeart's saloon was the rendezvous not alone of the merry-makers 
but of the statesmen with important matters of state to discuss; of politicians 
who had plots to lay and plans to make; it was a meeting ground for all classes, 
and reveling in a mild way was nightly witnessed within its walls, where songs 
were sung and speeches were made and stories related, and the news was dis- 
cussed. It was quite a center of interest at all times and especially during the 
Legislature of March, 1862, although as a rule the law makers of Dakota from 
tir-t tu last, a- they appeared at Yankton, were not immoderate drinking men. 
and we cannot recall an instance of the intoxication of a member of either body 
during the session of any Legislature that met at Yankton covering a period of 
twenty-one years. It is more than probable that Antoine's attractive hall would 
have been less visited had there been other places, as there were later, for legis- 
lators and lobbyists to get together. In connection with Robeart's place an inci- 
dent occurred during the pendency of the capitol fight that deserves mention. A 
large party of gentlemen had retired to tin- rear room of the saloon to discuss 
the situation. Suddenly tin- window, opening upon Third Street, flew up and 
Speaker Pinney popped out as though mere had been a force behind him. and 
started down the street at a gait that was faster than a walk and slower than a 
run. Behind him pursued another member of the Legislature, and behind this 
member was Robeart swinging bis arms furiously and behaving like a person very 
highly enraged. Pinney walked briskly across Broadway, and as he went along 
drew a pistul from a pocket. When be reached the easl side of the street he 
stopped -hurt and allowed the others to overtake him. 1 »bserving a remarkable 
change in the manner (if the two pursuers when they reached Pinney's side, indi- 
cating that their belligerent ardor had moderated, it was evidenl thai they had 
seen the weapon in Pinney's band, and it was fortunate fur both parties thai they 
did not crowd him, for hi- subsequent career in Montana proved him a man of 
nerve who would use bis gun if occasion called for it. The conversation that 
followed was imt intelligible to parties who bad witnessed the affair, but the 

Vol. I— 11 



210 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

gestures made by the pursuers were not belligerent, nor was their posture one that 

meditated assault. 

1'iniicv shot and killed a former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, named 
Beall, of Helena, Montana, a few years later, an account of which appears else- 
where ; winch would justif) the assumption that he had decided to use his weapon 
en diis occasion, and would have done so had there been sufficient provocation. 

The first Legislature adjourned on the 16th day of May after a session of 
sixty davs. It had enacted a body of very good laws, including criminal, civil, 
justice and probate codes; bail defined the boundaries of the counties of Yankton, 
Clay, Cole '(now Union), Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Urughier (now Buf- 
falo), also fayne and Hutchinson counties on James River; also Lincoln, Minne- 
haha and Brookings counties mi the Big Sioux, and Deuel County east of Lake 
Kampeska; also Todd and Gregory counties, west of the Missouri and north of 
the Niobrara; also Cheyenne, Stevens, Chippewa and Kittson counties in the val- 
ley of the Red River of the North. In some cases like that of Yankton the county 
seat was located in the act, and in others provision was made for voting on the 
question, which was done in Cole County; an act to provide for locating county 
seats was passed ; a number of territorial roads were authorized and a score or 
more of ferry charters granted; three private divorce bills were passed, and a 
general divorce law ; also a good common school law, revenue, election and 
militia laws. There was only a slight change in the apportionment of members 
of the Legislature ; this was an act giving to the Red River country one council- 
man and two house members. A law fixed the time of the annual election on the 
first Monday of September, and the time of the meeting of the Legislature on 
the first Monday of December. Nearly every legitimate subject was covered by 
various enactments, and the general sentiment was that the legislative body had 
acquitted itself very creditably in covering the field of necessary legislation so 
thoroughly. When the time came for adjournment the best feeling prevailed. 
All the unfriendliness occasioned by the capitol contest had apparently disappeared 
and the members sought their homes impressed with a conviction that they de- 
served to have it said of them: "Well done, good and faithful servants." And 
after a lapse of half a century one can find little unfriendly criticism of the work 
of this first session. 

There was a third house organized during the week following the regular 
organization of the Legislature, with Capt. F. M. Ziebach as squatter governor, 
and James Tufts, speaker. (Governor Ziebach takes his title from this incident.) 
Ordinarily a matter of this kind would be deemed of very small importance, but 
for Yankton at that time, it was everything in the way of social entertainment, 
for fortunately its meetings were genuine feasts of wit and wisdom. With the 
exception of two or three social dances, the third house was the only public enter- 
tainment Yankton could offer. 

The hotel and boarding house accommodations combined were severely taxed 
to accommodate the legislative members, officers, the military, the lobby and the 
traveling public, so that the ladies of the territory whose husbands were connected 
with the Legislature could find no place suitable to reside in had they been dis- 
posed to remain at Yankton during the legislative session. The capital was not 
therefore a very attractive place socially during the first or second session, and 
many improvements and plans that would have added largely to the attractions of 
tin- town were necessarily abandoned and undeveloped during the summer of 
[862, because of the serious character of the Indian troubles. This is to be 
regretted because of the opportunity lost to the pioneer ladies of the territory to 
meet and become acquainted, and to make the acquaintance of the members of 
the Legislature, who wire then emerging from comparative obscurity into a 
larger field where many of them were destined to become conspicuous in territorial 
affairs, wielding a strong influence in the arena of politics. To an intelligent and 
observing lady, a season at the capital in that pioneer day would have afforded 
her much enjoyment and probably embellished her memory with a fund of recol- 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 21] 

lections regarding the notable people she had met during her sojourn, and how 
they appeared to her as promising an eminent future, and a score of incidents 
which in her later years she could narrate to her children and friends to their 
great delight and entertainment. It is to he regretted that Yankton at that time 
was nut better prepared to fulfill its functions as host, and thus have preserved to 
posterity, through the storehouse of many memories, a thousand incidents that 
.ifter generations would have appreciated. All this is lost, like the rose that blos- 
somed in the desert and wasted its sweetness there. 

There had been a great deal of wintry weather during the session. An unusual 
amount of snow had fallen and immense drifts hail accumulated in places and 
were still visible when the Legislature adjourned. When the ice broke in the 
Missouri that spring, a gorge was formed in the big bend below the mouth of 
James River, hacking the water up the stream and overflowing the bottom lands 
between Yankton and Vermillion and below; the overflow extending to the Big 
Sioux. In many places the sheet of water was twelve miles wide, stretching 
across from the Nebraska bluffs to the Dakota highlands. The settlers on the 
bottom hurriedly sought refuge on the highland, removing their household effects 
and live stock. The water finally broke over the Missouri bank between Pieotte 
Street and the Rhine Creek at Yankton, swept across to the valley of the James, 
covering the low lands and forming a vast lake ten miles broad by thirty miles 
lung. Travel between Yankton anil Sioux City was confined to row boats and the 
mails were carried in small skiffs. Parties who patronized the boats followed the 
stage route as near as practicable, and enjoyed themselves spearing catfish along 
the way, that weighed from twelve to thirty pounds each, if they told the truth 
about it. The Greenway Ferry was used as a freight boat during an emergency, 
between Yankton and Vermillion, and landed its freight on the O. 1'.. Wheeler 
farm, now Major Hanson's sightly "Prospect Place" two miles below town. The 
inundation continued three weeks, and the Indians declared that it far surpassed 
any of the overflows that had occurred during their generation. It may he well 
to mention that while this overflow practically covered the Missouri bottom from 
Yankton to the Big Sioux, the land at the lakes, now I iayville, was not submerged, 
and the same is true of Meckling and of Elk Point. There were a few other 
-pot- that kept their heads above water. 

An ( )ld Settlers' Historical Association was chartered by the first Legislature, 
and inasmuch as it was the fust association of this character in Dakota, we here- 
with give the act of incorporation: 

\n Art to Incorporate the "Old Settlers' Historical Association." 
Be it enacted In tin- Legislative Assembly of tin- Territory of Dakota: 

Section i. Thai .1. I'.. S. Todd, J. S. Gregory, James Tufts. \\ . \Y. Brookings, E. 
Stutsman. J. II. Shoher, Reuben Wallace. I >. Gilford, E. Gifford, X. McDonalds, C. F. 
Pieotte, Conn Stanage, I. B. Amnion. (,. I'. Waklrou. 1',. M. Smith. A. C. VanMeter, J. 
Deuel, I. R. Hanson, A. (i. Fuller, I). T. Bramble, M K. Armstrong, .1. M. Allen, Austin 
Cole. !•'. Carman, J. Wherry, II. C. Ash, John 1.. Tiernon, J. M. Stone. \Y. 1'. Lyman, \\ 
II. Granger, C. \Y. Cooper, R. M Johnson, Norman W. Kits. in. !.. M. Griffith, F. J. Dewitt, 
J. C. McBride, Christopher Maloney, II. S. Donaldson, James Mel etridge, William Mathews, 
M. Ryan, John McClellan, 1. B, Laplant, \. Mason, I'm,. Vrpin, John Bruillard, \Y. \\ 
Benedict, Ole Bottleson, Ole Vnderson, ('. Law son, A. I'.. Smith, George Brown, Moses 
Herrick, J. McLeese, John Lafevre, Felix Leblanch, George Bourret, II. Bradley, Joseph 
Chattelion, and A. \Y. Puett and their associates, he and they are hereby constituted a 
body politic and corporate, to all intents and purposes, by the name of the "Old Settlers' 
Historical Association," and by that name may sue and he sued, plead and he impleaded, 
answer and he answered imln; nu\ purchase, hold and convey, both personal and i e.d 
property, to any amount not exceeding twentj thousand dollars, and the same to lease, 
grant, mortgage, and sell or otherwise dispose oi tor the benefit of thi . and to 

receive donations, to he applied as the donor or donors ma\ direct: and to devise ami 
keel) a common seal, with the right to alter the same at pleasure; and to make and enforce 

such by-laws, rules and regulations as the) maj il si not repugnant to the laws ol the 

territory, or of the United States, and to enjoy all the privileges and franchises incident 
to a corporation. 

Sec. j. No person shall become a member of this societj who tirst became an inhal 

of the territory alter the passage "f the organic act. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

These pioneer legislators and the officers of each body represented nearly 
every state in the Union. John Shober, of Bon Homme, president of the Council, 
was born in the year [833, in Loudon County, Virginia (his ancestors were of 
Switzerland), removed to ( ihio, then to Illinois, next to Minnesota, and from 
thai state to Dakota 1 in [859). By profession a lawyer. Age twenty-nine. He 
was unmarried. A democrat. Resides now at Helena, Montana. 

Enos Stutsman, of Yankton, was horn in Indiana, in 1826. His ancestry was 
German. Removed to Illinois, thence to Iowa, and from Iowa to Dakota in 1858. 
Mr. Stutsman was a lawyer. Aged thirty-six. A single man and a democrat. 
Died at Pembina (buried in Zion City, Illinois). See biographical sketch. 

Austin Cole, of Cole or Union County, was born in Ohio in 1815. Ancestry 
cannot be given, but his grandfather was a Pennsylvanian, and probably a 
Quaker. Removed to Indiana, thence to Iowa in 1836, and settled in Dakota 
in i860. Mr. Cole was a farmer, aged forty-seven, and married. Union County 
was first called Cole County out of respect to the oldest member of the Council. 
A democrat. Died in Iowa. 

H. D. Bctts, of Clay County, was a native of New Hampshire. He was a 
lawyer, and merchant. Settled in Dakota in i860. He was twenty-seven years 
old, the youngest of the councilmen. He was married. Mr. Retts left the terri- 
tory during the Indian troubles in the fall of 1862, and his seat during the second 
session remained vacant. A republican. Died in New York. 

John \Y. Boyle, of Clay County, was descended from Irish-German ancestry. 
I [e was born in Pennsylvania in 1826, where he remained until twenty-four years 
old. Studied law; was admitted to the bar. Went to California in 1850; thence 
to Texas, then to Iowa, settling in Dakota in i860. His age was thirty-six. 
Married. A republican. Died in Iowa. 

Downer T. Bramble, of Yankton, was born at Hartland, Vermont, in 1833. 
Ancestry not known, hut he was from an old English family. Learned the mer- 
cantile business. Removed to Tennessee; thence to Nebraska, and to Dakota in 
1859. A merchant, aged twenty-nine. Unmarried and a democrat. Died at 
Watertown, South Dakota; buried at Yankton. 

Wilmot W. Brookings, of Minnehaha County, was born in Maine in 1833. 
Ancestry English. In early years a sailor. A lawyer later. Removed to Da- 
kota in (857. Was the oldest Dakotan in point of residence in the Legislature. 
Age twenty-nine. Not married, republican. Died in Massachusetts. 

Jacob Deuel, of Clay County, was a native New Yorker. Born in 1830. 
German ancestry. Removed to Virginia. Became a machinist, engineer and 
mill wright. Removed to Minnesota; thence to Dakota in i860. Was a married 
man. Age thirty-one. Republican. Died in Nebraska. 

J. Shaw Gregory, of Todd County, was born in New York in 1831. Son of 
Admiral Gregory, United States Navy, English ancestry. Educated for the navy, 
and graduated from Annapolis. Came to Nebraska in 1856. Was appointed 
agent of the Ponca Indians in 1857. Was thirty-one years old, and unmarried. 
Democrat. Died in Black Hills. 

Of the officers of the Council, James Tufts, the secretary, was born in New 
Hampshire in [833. Ancestry not given. Educated for the bar. Removed to 
Nebraska in [856 ; thence to Dakota in 1859, settling near Niobrara. Was a single 
man. aged twenty-nine. Republican. Died in Connecticut. 

E. M. Bond, of Clay County, assistant secretary, was born in New York in 
[834. Was a lawyer. Age twenty-eight. Settled in Dakota in i860. Not mar- 
ried. Republican. Resides in Brule County. 

William R. Goodfellow, of Cole County, engrossing clerk, was born in ( >hio 
in (838, and settled in Dakota in i860. Was a lawyer. Age twenty-four, and 
single. Democrat. Died at Pembina. 

Rev. S. W. [ngham, of Yankton, chaplain, was a native of Indiana, born in 
1838, and tame to Dakota in i860 at the age of twenty-two; in charge of the 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 213 

Methodist Mission, settling at Vermillion. Clergyman. Age twenty-four and 
single. Republican. 

Charles F. Picotte, of Yankton, sergeant-at-arms, was born at the mouth of 
the Bad River at old Fort Pierre, Dakota, in 1830. This country at that time 
must have been a part of the Territory of Louisiana. Picotte's ancestry was 
native American and French. He was a farmer, thirty-one years old, and mar- 
ried. Republican. Died at Yankton agency. 

Eli B. Wixson, of Union County, messenger, was born in New York in 1834. 
He was descended from a Revolutionary family. Removed to Iowa in 1857, and 
to Dakota in 1859. Democrat, aged twenty-eight and single. Air. Wixson had 
been a photographer, and was a landlord. Died at Elk Point. 

\V. W. Warlord, of Bon Homme, fireman, was born in Pennsylvania in 1836. 
Removed to Minnesota; thence to Dakota in 1859. He was a farmer. Aged 
twenty-six, and single. Democrat. Died at Bon Homme. 

George M. Pinney, of Bon Homme, speaker, was born in Pennsylvania in 
1833. Removed to Wisconsin. Studied law at Madison and was admitted to the 
bar. Removed to Dakota in 1861. Was married. Aged twenty-nine. Re- 
publican. Removed to Montana ; thence to California. Died at San Francisco. 

John L. Tiernon, of Fort Randall, succeeded Pinney as speaker; was born in 
Indiana in 1840. Was the youngest member of either house. Removed to Da- 
kota in 1855 with Harney's expedition. Was twenty-two years of age and not 
married. Democrat. Died in Buffalo, N. Y. Was a general in the regular army. 

Moses K. Armstrong, of Yankton, was born in Ohio in 1833. Ancestry, 
Scotch-English. Removed to Illinois; thence to Minnesota. Settled in Dakota 
in [859. Was a surveyor and civil engineer. Aged twenty-nine years; single. 
Democrat. Died in Minnesota. 

Hugh S. Donadson, of Red River, was born in Canada in 1833. Ancestry, 
English. Removed to Red River country in 1857. Was a fur trader. Aged 
twenty-nine; single. Independent in politics. Died at Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Lyman Burgess, of Clay County, was born in Norway in 1834. Was a 
fanner. Settled in Dakota in i860. Aged twenty-eight; married. Republican. 
Died in Clay County. 

I. A. Tacobson, Clay County, was born in Norway in 1832, and settled in 
Dakota in i860. Was a farmer; thirty years old; married. Republican. Killed 
by Indians in 1863 on James River. 

lohn C. McBride, Union County, was born in Missouri in 1827. Ancestry, 
Irish-Scotch. Was a farmer, and settled in Dakota in 1847. Married. Democrat. 

Christopher Maloney, of Union County, was born in Ireland in 1833. Settled 
in Dakota in 1855. Was a farmer. Twenty-nine years of age. Democrat. 

Tohn Stanage, of Yankton County, was born in Ireland in [829. Emigrated 
when about twenty years of age and settled in California. Enlisted in the reg- 
ular army. Reached Dakota in 1855; settled in Yankton county in 18511. Was a 
farmer; aged thirty-three, and a Democrat. Died in Yankton County. 

George P. Waldron, of Minnehaha County, was born in New Hampshire in 
1824. The family was one of the earliest in New England. Removed to Iowa, 
then to Dakota in [859, Was a farmer and lawyer. Married. Aged thirty-eight. 
Independent republican. Died on ranch west of Fort Pierre. 

Reuben Wallace, of Bonllomme, was born in Vermont in iSu. lie was the 
..blest member of either house, and one of the oldest men in Dakota. lie emi- 
grated to Minnesota; thence to Dakota in 1858. Was a fanner; not married, and 
a democrat. 

Bligh 1 ; .. Wood, of Clay County, was born in New York in 1827, and emi- 
grated to Minnesota, lie removed to Nebraska, and thence to Dakota in [8 
He was a farmer. Aged thirty-five; married, and a republican 

Joseph R. Hanson, chief clerk, was born in New Hampshire in [836, I lis 
ancestors were among the early settlers ,,f \ew England, emigrating from Scot- 



214 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

land and England. Removed to Illinois in 1855 ; thence to Minnesota, and then 
in I lakota in (858. A fanner, twenty-six years old, and a republican. Single man. 

James M. Allen, \ ankton, assistant clerk, horn in Ohio in 1832. Grandparents 
lived 111 New England. ( lecupation, explorer. Removed to Sioux Falls, Dakota, 
in [857. Age thirty; not married. Republican. Died in Black Hills. 

Daniel Gifford, of Bon Homme, enrolling clerk, born in New York in 1837. 
English ancestry. Farmer. Removed to Dakota in 1858. Age twenty-rive. 
Single, and a democrat. 

Byron Al. Smith, of Bon Homme, engrossing clerk, born in New York in 
[834. Scotch-German ancestry, banner and geologist. Removed to Sioux Falls, 
Dakota, in 1857. Age twenty-eight. Single. Died in Minnesota. 

Rev. M. D. Metcalf, of Bon Homme, chaplain, born in New York in 1825. 
Clergyman and fanner. Removed to Dakota in i860. Age thirty-seven. Mar- 
ried. Republican. 

James M. Somers, of Union County, sergeant-at-arms, born in Maine in 1839. 
New England ancestors. Removed to Dakota in 1859. Age twenty-three. Single 
man. Killed in Brule County. Independent republican. 

A. I!. Smith, of Charles .Mix County, born in Wisconsin in 1837. New York 
ancestry, tame to James River, Dakota, in 1857. A pioneer of Yankton. 
Farmer and inventor. Age twenty-five. Democrat. 

Ole Anderson, of Clay County, fireman, was born in Norway in 1833. Emi- 
grated and settled in Dakota in 1851;. A blacksmith. Age twenty-nine. Re- 
publican. 

REV. MELANCTHON HOYT 

Rev. Melancthon Hoyt was the first Christian clergyman to take up his resi- 
dence with his family in the Territory of Dakota. The Methodists had preceded 
him with an itinerant clergyman, a single man, but to Mr. Hoyt must be accredited 
the title of pioneer, for he remained a Dakotan, and was actively engaged in the 
work of the church until called by death to relinquish his earthly pilgrimage. 

Doctor Hoyt was born in Connecticut in 1807. Of his younger years we 
know but little, because we have never made inquiry, but we have learned that 
he received a liberal education, and graduated from Yale College in his twenty- 
litth year, lie had resolved to become a minister, and studied for that calling. 
In 1834, on the 14th of October, he was made a deacon of the Episcopal Church, 
and was assigned to missionary work on the 25th of March, 1S35. He was then 
twenty-seven years old. He began his work as a minister on the frontiers of 
civilization in Indiana, in 1835. From Indiana he was called to Michigan, and 
the year [843 found him laboring in Wisconsin, from Watertown to Green Bay. 

In 1858 Doctor Hoyt removed, with his family, to Sioux City, Iowa. His 
family, in addition to himself and wife, consisted of three boys and five girls. 
Dak-ota was then Indian country. He was the first Episcopal pastor in Sioux 
City, and he not only gave attention to his church work, but took a leading part 
in the educational work of the city, secular and religious, in the meantime gain- 
ing a knowledge of the nearby Territory of Dakota and paying its scattered and 
meagre settlements an occasional visit. In [86i Dakota was organized as a terri- 
! " and was made a part of the Diocese of Nebraska, with Bishop Robert 
Clarkson as its bishop. Mr. Hoyt was placed in charge of the Dakota field by 
the Board of Domestic Missions, and in [862 removed, with bis family, to Yank- 
ton, lie organized a parish at Yankton, and established mission stations at Ver- 
million, Elk Point, and probably at Bon Homme, then the only centers of popula- 
tion except those in the far-away Pembina country. In 1865 he built a substan- 
tial church edifice at Yankton, and until the coming in of Rev. Joseph Ward, late 
in [868, ministered practically to the religious instruction of the entire com- 
munity tho e "i .,11 denominations— and was quite successful. He remained as 
tin- representative head of the Episcopal Church a number of years, maintaining 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 215 

his rectorship at Yankton, and organizing over fifty parishes and superintending 
the building of seventeen church edifices. His work, then, was largely the laying of 
the foundation for others to build upon. Doctor Hoyt had at this time resigned 
his pastorate at Yankton, and as dean of Dakota was engaged in looking after 
the interests of the church generally. At Sioux City he had conducted die priiv 
cipal school during the years 1858 and 1859, having an average of seventy pupils 
in attendance. In this work he was assisted by his daughters, Elizabeth and 
Anna, who were well qualified to instruct the young. A feature of his Sioux ( lit) 
school, and one that he found to be exceptionally popular with his scholars, as 
well as with the patrons of the school, was a weekly lecture given by some one 
of the learned men of the city on scientific subjects. 

Rev. Melancthon Hoyt was an ardent worker in the cause of education — an 
earnest advocate and laborer for the establishment of schools, which new com- 
munities are sometimes indifferent about. He was one of the most active and 
useful promoters of the first historical society which flourished at Yankton in 
early days, and wherever enterprise and assistance were needed, in his character 
as a citizen, he was found with his shoulder to the wheel. His hospitality was 
proverbial, and his time and abilities were given to the promotion of all things 
beneficial to the community and to his fellowmen. While he was a rigid Epis- 
copalian, be was a broad-minded, great-hearted Christian gentleman who re- 
minded one of that unostentatious divine mentioned in Goldsmith's ''Deserted 
Village," who took a personal interest in the material, as well as religious, welfare 
of all the people, and all the people held him in high esteem and bore for him a 
warm affection. .Men and women of all denominations were members of his con- 
gregation during the early years, and many of these were among his strongest 
supporters and most valued friends. 



CHAPTER XXII 
THE FIRST ELECTION UNDER TERRITORIAL LAW 

1862 

UNITED STATICS LAND OFFICE — THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN REPUBLICANS DIVIDED 

..I NTERAL TODD VS. GOVERNOR JAYNE, THE ISSUE FIRST REPUBLICAN AND UNION 

CONVI \M"\ CALL PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNTY AND TERRITORIAL CONVEN- 
TIONS — GOVERNOR JAYNE NOMINATED FOR DELEGATE TO CONGRESS GENERAL 

TODD NOMINATED BY PEOPLE'S CONVENTION — COUNTY CONVENTIONS AND COUNTY 

OFFICERS NOMINATED FIRST ELECTION GOVERNOR APPOINTED FIRST COUNTY 

OFFICERS — VOTERS WITH GUNS ON THEIR SHOULDERS MIDNIGHT VOTING BAL- 
LOT BOX STUFFING — FRAUD IN NEARLY ONE-HALF THE PRECINCTS JAYNE 

AWARDED CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION — RED RIVER RETURNS NOT RECEIVED TODD 

GIVES NOTICE OF CONTEST WHY RED RIVER RETURNS WERE NOT SENT FOR. 

The Homestead Law, under which so many millions of western farmers have 
acquired homes and fortunes on the public lands of the United States, was passed 
at the session of Congress held in 1861-62. Andrew Johnson, afterward president 
and successor to Abraham Lincoln, is said to have been the originator of the 
homestead plan, and was its principal advocate in the Senate of the United States. 
The law was approved by President Lincoln May 20, 1862. 

The first United States land office in the territory was opened for business at 
Vermillion on the 6th day of October, 1862. Prior to that time claim takers had 
made their pre-emption filings in the office of the surveyor general at Yankton 
by authority of the general land office. The land officers were J. M. Allen, of 
Springfield, Illinois, register ; and Mahlon Wilkinson, of Indiana, receiver. The 
land district was named by the organic act the Yankton Land District. W. W. 
Brookings made the first filing in the office on the morning of the 6th, taking a 
quarter section of land at Sioux Falls. 

Territorial and county politics began to engage the attention of the people 
during the early summer. There was a delegate to Congress to be elected and 
a territorial auditor and treasurer; also members of the House of Representatives 
of the Legislative Assembly of the territory and a full list of county officers. It 
need not be surmised that the pioneers of Dakota were without political ambi- 
tion, or lacked in understanding practical politics according to modern methods. 

The election under a law of the first legislature was appointed to be held on 
the first Monday in September, which in 1862 would fall on the first day of that 
month. Yankton was already the political headquarters of the territory, and the 
two candidates for Congress, Gov. William Jayne and Gen. J. B. Todd, were 
to all intents and purposes both Yankton men; and though neither had been for- 
niallv placed in the field by nominating conventions, they were being very vigor - 
ously pressed by their respective partisans and the nomination of each was a 
foregone conclusion. 

Governor Jayne was sup]>orted by the republicans and General Todd by the 
democrats and quite a faction of republicans under the lead of some of the fed- 
eral officials. The main argument in support of Jayne was that politically he 
was in accord with the party in power, and therefore could obtain more favors 

216 










*# 



( HEYENNE MEDICINE LODGE ON 
THE YELLOWSTONE 



CROW SQUAW, DRESS TRIMMED 
WITH ELK TEETH 




■we* — r-~&;\\rr ' " 




MEDN INK BEAR, I HIEF OF THE 

i iti i: \ vnktonia SIOUX, i -. . 



BIG BREAST PLATE, SIOUX \\ \S 
RIOB IN WAR COSTUME 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 217 

from the National Government than could a dyed-in-the-wool democrat as Todd 
was supposed to he. 

Todd's supporters argued that he had for years given his time and money to 
promote the interests of Dakota, which was true as the history proves. He had 
been at the head of all the progressive movements from the time when the 
Indians owned the soil and had shown himself lc> lie an able, astute and success- 
ful leader; that he was thoroughly acquainted with those needs of the territory 
which the National Government was looked to to supply, and that his distant 
relationship to the President would enable him to secure many favors from the 
executive departments, which was no small item in his favor. The contest 
waxed warm and the feeling between the parties was at times extremely bitter. 
The older pioneers adhered to Todd. Jayne had the support of the Dakotian 
newspaper at Yankton and the Republican at Vermillion, a paper that was started 
September 6, 1861 ; while Todd was ably backed by the Sioux City Register, and 
also by a series of campaign letters written by M. K. Armstrong, over the notn- 
de-plume of "Log-Roller" and published in the Register. Of the federal officials 
Attorney-General Gleason and Provost .Marshal Waldron openly espoused the 
cause of Todd, and Judge Rliss was also claimed as friendly to the general's 
ambition. 

The "Republican and Union Territorial Congressional Convention" was 
called to meet at Vermillion on Wednesday, July 16, 1862, at 10 o'clock A. M. 
This was the first party convention to be held in the territory, subject to a formal 
and generally recognized call, and announced the commencement of political 
party construction and the birth of the republican organization in the territory. 
The call is here given, with the names of those who signed it: 

REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONGRESSIONAL CONVENTION 

To the Electors of Dakota Territory: 

A republican and union delegate convention will he held at Vermillion, Dakota Territory, 
on Wednesday, July 16, A. D. 1862, at 10 o'clock A. M., for the purpose of nominating a 
candidate for delegate to Congress. 

All citizens, without regard to former party differences, who support the administration 
of Abraham Lincoln and approve of its policy and principles, and who are in favor of the 
vigorous prosecution of the present war until the rebellion is crushed out and the supremacy 
of the Constitution and laws completely established in every state and territory of the I'nion, 
are earnestly requested to participate in the primary meetings for the election of delegates. 

The apportionment of delegates to the convention, based upon that of the Legislature, is 
as follows : 

County Delegates County Delegates 

Cole 6 Todd 2 

Clay 14 Charles Mix 2 

Yankton 8 Minnehaha 3 

Bon Homme (1 Kittson (Red River North) 4 

To secure concert of action, it is respectfully recommended that cmnty mass conven- 
tions for the election of delegates be held at the county scats of the above named counties 
on Saturday. July 5. 1862, at 2 o'clock 1'. M. 

This call was circulated in the several counties and signed by the persons 
whose names are here given: 

1 01 1 . OUNTY 

R. A. llotcbkiss. Judson LaMoure, X. J. Wallace. M. I'. Hoyt, James La Bergo, K. P. 
Rouue. Ilenrj S Carpenter, Sherman Clyne, M. M Rich, Stephen Horton, W. W. Frisbie, 
] loci I'liillips, \aron Carpenter. Nathaniel Ross, William Hammond, 

CLAY I 01N iv 

A. W. Puett, John W. Boyle, 11. D. Betts, 1 W. Tawney, M. Wilkinson, L. Bothun, H. 
Peterson, William C. Letts, Samuel Lyon, John C. Glaze, 



218 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 



YANKTON COUNT} 



\\ . Jayne, X. Edmunds, Wra. II. Sanders, Geo. W. Lamson, John C. Smart, John 
Hutchinson, Charles Wambole, C. F< senden, John Millen, J. R. Hanson, William Miner, 
0. B Wheeler, D. C Higley, [ustu fownsend, John Lawrence, L. M. Griffith, 11. T. 
Bailey, R. M. Hagaman, Charles F. Rossteuscher, J. M. Stone, George W. Kingsbury, Henry 
Vrend, Felix Vonlns. 

HOM -II COUNT} 

Geo. M. Pinney, Moses Herrick, I). C. Gross, James Skinner, D. P. Bradford, L. II. 
Litchfield, N. McDaniels, B. M. Smith, M. L. Metcalf, M. W. Metcalf. 

. II UJLES MIX COUNTY 

W. A. Burleigh, A J. Faulk, II. Hartsough. 

MINNEHAHA COUNTY 

J. F. Shook, S. G. Irish, George P. Waldron, William Stevens, H. Masters, B. Fowler. 
J. W. Evans, A. I-. Shaw, B. Jarrett. W. W. Brookings, J. B. Amidon, William Amidon. 

The proceedings of nearly all the eounty conventions held in the territory are 
given in this chapter. They were all what is termed mass conventions, being 
the lirst to be held. The party machinery of the counties had not been organized 
until this election campaign of [862, which was the first after the organization 
of the territorial government, which is supposed to have been completed with the 
system of laws passed at the first session of the Legislative Assembly, begun in 
March of this year. 

YANKTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN CONVENTION 

hi response to the call of the republican and union people so numerously signed, the 
republicans of Yankton County met at the office of the territorial secretary on Saturday, 
July 5, 1862, at 2 o'clock P. M. Joseph R. Hanson called the meeting to order. Justus 
Townsend was elected president, and Geo. W. Kingsbury, secretary. 

On motion of Mr. Barge, a committee of three was appointed to select and present to 
the convention the names of eight persons to act as delegates to the territorial convention. 
The chair appointed Messrs. N. W. Barge, G. W r . Lamson and J. R. Hanson such committee. 

On motion of William Thompson, the chair appointed Messrs. Thompson, Edmunds and 
Druerson a Committee on Resolutions. , 

The committee to select the names of eight delegates to the territorial convention 
made a report recommending the following: Justus Townsend, Knud Larson, Otis B. 
Wheeler, Charles F. Picotte, Joseph R. Hanson, Newton Edmunds, Ole Sampson and 
Ceo. W. Kingsbury. 

The report was adopted. 

Governor Jayne then offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, 'I hit the following named persons be herebj chosen and constituted a county 
committee of the republican and union party for the County of Yankton and empowered to 
transact all business usual to such committee: Messrs. G. W. Kingsbury, chairman; M. K. 
Armstrong. Ole Sampson. ( ',. W. Lamson, N. W. Barge, .1. R. Hanson and Peter Johnson. 

I his was the first republican convention held in Yankton county, and the com- 
mittee designated was the lirst committee appointed by any political party in the 
county. It is difficult to understand why .Mr. Armstrong's name appears in this 

nmittee, as he was an avowed democrat and a supporter of the democratic 
ticket in this campaign, and a candidate on that ticket for the Legislature. It is 
probable thai as there had been no lining up of parlies before this campaign 
came on, the governor may not have been apprised of Mr. Armstrong's political 
affiliations. M that time, because id" the war for the Union, tens of thousands of 
democrats all over the northern slates had joined hands with the republicans fur 
a vigorous prosecution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion, and in 
electing Mr. Armstrong a committeeman, the members of the convention were 
doubtless under the impression that their party had secured a valuable recruit. 

'I he delegates elected to the territorial convention were instructed to vote as 
a unit. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERR I 1 1 >RY 219 

The Committee on Resolutions reported as follows : 

Resolved, That the unanimous prayer of this convention is for tin- perpetuity of our 
American Union, under the same old Constitution, which was the production oi men 

whose wisdom was equalled only by their patriotism, and which only can hold the states 
together in the bonds of love and guarantee that national greatness which all g iod citi 
desire. 

Resolved, That in the vigorous prosecution of the present war, we hail even suco 
of our armies and navies as the most effective contributions to that real and onlj perma- 
nent peace which the country can accept as the termination of our present troubli 

Resolved, That our delegates to the convention to be held at Vermillion on the t6th 
of July, are expected to secure the nomination of a man for delegate to Congress who 
shall be known and a recognized endorser of these sentiments, anil whom the friends of 
the administration and lovers of our Union, without regard to past political connections, can 
cordially support. 

On motion the convention requested that the proceedings be published in the Dakotan, 
after which the convention adjourned sine die. 

J i sirs ToWNSEND, Chairman. 
G. W. Kingsbury. Secretary. 

TODD COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

The republican and union electors of Todd County met at the house of l'eter Kegan, in 
Running Water Settlement, on Saturday, July 5, 1862, pursuant to call, for the purpose of 
electing delegates to the territorial convention to In- held at Vermillion on the 16th inst. 
Peter Kegan was placed in the chair, and Thomas Goodwin was elected secretary. 

The convention resolved to elect two delegates to the territorial convention 1,\ 1. allot. 
which resulted in the choice of Robert M. Hagaman and Hollowell Lowe. X,, further busi- 
ness being ordered, the convention adjourned. 

Peter Kegan, Chairman. 

THOS. Goodwin, Secretary. 

CLAY COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

The Clay County Republican and Union Delegate Convention was held at Vermillion 
on Saturday, July 5. J. W. Royle was chairman and J. B. (daze secretary. The following 
delegates to the territorial convention were elected: A. \Y. Puett. J. \Y. Boyle, Thomas 
Holverson, H. D. Betts, J. W. Tawney, L. Bothun, George Dimmick, J. B. Glaze, S. Lyon, 
Ilalvcr Burgess, J. A. Jacobson. B. \V. Collar, Torge Ellifson and Israel Trumbo. 

MINNEHAHA COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

Sioux Falls, July 6, 1862. 

At a meeting held here on the 5th inst.. Judge Amnion was called to the chair, and II. 
Masters appointed secretary. 

The following delegates to the Vermillion convention on the [6th were unanimously 
chosen: II. Masters, W. W. Brookings and Barclay Jarrett. 

The following named gentlemen were chosen as substitutes, in case all or either of the 
regular delegates failed to attend: 1'.. C. howler, J. \Y. Amidon, .1 YV. Evans. 

The annexed resolutions were then adopted unanimously: 

Resolved, That we fully and cordially endorse the policy of the administration i 
Vbraham Lincoln — that in the present condition of the country it deserves and ought to 

receive the cordial and earnest support of every true and patriotic citizen. 

Resolved, That the territorial administration of Dakota Territory, \<\ the faithful dis 
charge of it- duties, meets with our warmest approbation. 

Resolved, That Governor Jayne, for the efforts he has made for the protection of thi 
frontier settlement- against Indian depredations, is entitled to the highest commendation of 
every son and daughter of Dakota. 

Resolved, That the delegates of Minnehaha County to the convention to lie held at 
Vermillion the r6th inst.. are hereby instructed to vote i--v Hon. William Jaym for deli 

to Ci •litres-. 

The following resolutions were then offered and adopted: 

Resolved, That if any of our delegates or substitutes b< absent, those present -hall 
for tin- entire delegation. 

On motion the meeting adjourned sine die. 

J. B. \midon, President. 

II. Masters, Secretary. 

REPUBLICAN AND UNION I I Kl;[ I OB 1 u C0NVEN 

The first territorial republican and union convention met at Vermillion Wedm 
July 16, 1862, at 10 o'clock A. M., and was • tiled to order by Bon 



220 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

mme. A. W. Puctt, of Clay County, was elected president of the convention, and Andrew 
J. Bell, of Cole County, and Geo. W. Kingsbury, of Yankton County, were elected 
secretai i< s 

W. W. Brookings, of Miinnehaha County, moved the appointment of a Committee on 

dentials, which motion was approved, and the chair appointed W. W. Brookings; J. B. 
i.l.i e, "i i lay; M. M. Rich and Robt. M. Hagaman, of Todd County, the committee. 

Mr. Pinney moved thai the chair appoint a Committee on Resolutions, which motion 
being adopted, the chair appointed Geo. M. Pinney, John W. Boyle, of Clay County; William 
Mathews, of L'nion County; Henry Masters, of Minnehaha County; Ole Sampson, of Yank- 
ton County; and Robt. M. Hagaman, of Todd County, a Committee on Resolutions. 

A recess was taken for fifteen minutes on motion of Newton Edmunds, of Yankton; 
at the expiration of which the convention reconvened and the Committee on Credentials 
repi irted as follow - : 

Mr. President- -Your Committee on Credentials beg leave to make the following report: 
The delegates duly elected and entitled to seats in this convention are: 

i lay Country A. W. Puett, J. B. Glaze, J. W. Boyle, Samuel Lyon, Thomas Halverson, 
II. Burgess, II D. Betts, J. A. Jacohson. J. M. Tawney, B. M. Collar, Lasse Bothun, T. Ellef- 
son, George Dimmick, and Israel Trumbo — 14. Yankton County — Justus Townsend, Otis 
B. Wheeler, Joseph R. Hanson, Ole Sampson, Geo. W. Kingsbury, Kund Larson, Charles 
I . Picotte and Newton Edmunds — 8. Cole County — Milton M. Rich, A. J. Bell, John R. 
Wood, H. Seamens, William Mathews, J. P. LaPlant — 6. Minnehaha County — Henry 
Master-, W. W. Brookings, Jesse B. Jarrett — 3. Bon Homme County — Geo. M. Pinney, 
Henry llartsough, D. C. Gross, Laban H. Litchfield, Henry Brooks, and Charles E. 
Hedges — 6. Todd County — Robert Hagaman and H. Lowe. Charles Mix County — Cortez 
Fessenden and G. W. Lamson. 

On motion the report was adopted. 

The Committee on Resolutions reported the following: 

Resolved, That the old Constitution of our fathers, which inaugurated so beneficent a 
Government as ours, should still possess the virtue to perpetuate the glorious union of 
states which it initiated, and for the perpetuity of which all good citizens must ever pray. 

Resolved, That the administration of Abraham Lincoln has been thus far eminently 
wise and patriotic, exhibiting at once the highest statesmanship and the most earnest devo- 
tion to the country and justly thereby securing the support and hearty approval of a 
generous and loyal people. 

Resolved, 1 hat the present war should be vigorously prosecuted by all the means 
which the ingenuity and resources of the country can command, until the unreasonable and 
unholy rebellion shall be entirely crushed, federal power asserted, federal property recov- 
ered, and federal allegiance acknowledged in every part of the land. 

Resolved, That while the welfare of Dakota is indissolubly embodied in the restora- 
tion of the Union and the prosperity of the nation at large, still, Dakota has many specific 
interests for which we must ever labor and which are to be protected only through a watch- 
ful and energetic policy which shall oppose all land monopolies and favor actual settlers; 
which shall secure to us every benefit that Dakota, through her admirable natural facilities 
can possibly derive from the railroad enterprises which are soon to be inaugurated in the 
West ; that shall favor the expenditure in the territory of all moneys in future appropriated 
for public purposes of the territory by the general government, and the disbursement of 
the same to actual and bona fide residents of Dakota ; a policy that shall contribute to the 
advancement of our educational interests through such schools and colleges as Congress may 
he induced to foster; and in fine, a wise and liberal policy that will at once brighten every 
aspect in which Dakota is to be viewed, which shall attract a large and intelligent popula- 
tion, and advance us rapidly on the road to rank and position which numbers and material 
wealth, combined with intelligence, never fail to secure. 

Resolved, That we favor such an amendment of the Homestead Law as shall give to 
each actual settler on the public lands, in accordance with the provisions of that law, twenty 
acres of timber land in addition to the 160 acres conferred under the present act. 

Resolved, That while nominating a candidate for delegate to Congress and territorial 
officers, to be supported by the people at the election in September next, we can advocate 
their election on this platform with every confidence of success, and we cheerfully extend an 
invitation to every Union man in Dakota, without the least reference to his past political 
connections, to join us in our pledges and our labors, for those ends which we sincerely 
believe involve Dakota's best interests. 

On request of the delegates from Cole County, the apportionment of that county was 
increased from si\ t<> ten. those who had been admitted stating that they should feel com- 
pelled to retire from the convention if their request was denied. The four additional dele- 
:-;:it< :s were: Ole Maker on, Robert llotchkiss, William Adams and William Mathews, who 
took their seats 

On motion, the convention then proceeded to an informal ballot for candidate for 
delegate to I ongress, John R. Wood, J. R. Hanson and Halvor Burgess being appointed 
teller-. the informal ballot exhibited the following result: William Jayne, 20; Philemon 
Bliss, [3; John W. Boyle, 6; James Tufts. 4: A. J, Harlan, 1. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 221 

A resolution was then adopted pledging the members of the convention t.. support the 
nominee. Mr. Boyle withdrew his name. A formal ballot was then taken, resulting as fol- 
lows : William Jayne, ,?/ votes; Philemon Bliss, 7, and Charles E. Booge, 1. William Jayne 
having received a majority of the votes, the president declared him to lie the nominee of 
the convention, wdien on motion the nomination was made unanimous. 

Justus Townsend, of Yankton, was then nominated for territorial auditor, and 1' 11. 
Jewell, of Clay, territorial treasurer. 

Governor Jayne was not present at the convention and the president was instructed to 
notify him of his nomination. 

On motion of Mr. Brookings, the following named persons were appointed by the 
chair to be the territorial' central committee of the republican and union party, namely: 
J. B. Glaze, Clay County; A. J. Bell, Cole County; Newton Edmunds, Yankton County; 
Geo. M. Pinney, Bon Homme County ; Robt. Hagaman, Todd County ; F. D. Pease. Charles 
Mix County ; W. W. Brookings, Minnehaha County, and Hugh S. Donaldson, [Citson and 
other counties in the Red River of the North District. 

On motion of Newton Edmunds the proceedings of the convention were ordered pub- 
lished in the Vermillion Republican and Yankton Dakotian. 

On motion of A. J. Bell, the convention adjourned. 

A. W. Puett, President. 

A. J. Bei.i., 

G. W. Kincseury. 

Secretaries. 

No territorial campaign was made or ticket nominated by the democratic 
party in 1862. The opposition to the republican and union territorial party 
adopted the title of "People's Union Party." Though the people's union party 
included the democrats, and was in fact their party, there was an element of 
republicans, including some federal officials, who were not acting with the new 
republican and union organization, and no doubt the title "People's Union" was 
much more congenial to them than the straight-out democratic title would have 
been. In deference to this element, which was an important and necessary factor 
if success was to be achieved, the "People's" name may have been adopted. It 
will be observed, however, that the title declared that the party was a "Union" 
party, which at that time was the dominating issue in national and territorial 
political affairs. 

Under the "People's Union" title a call was issued about the 1 si of July, of 
which the following is a copy : 

People's Union Delegate Convention, to he held at Vermillion, July 24, 1862, for the 
purpose of nominating a candidate for Congress. The respective counties shall lie entitled 
to the following number of delegates: Cole County. 6; Clay County, [2; Yankton County, 
8; Bon Homme County, 5; Todd, Gregory, Charles Mix and Brughier counties, 4; Minne- 
haha County, 2; Red River District, 4. Signed, M \ny Chi/ens. 

YANKTON COUNTY PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

In pursuance of this notice, a mass convention was held in Yankton on Sat- 
urday, the 19th inst., on which occasion the proceedings printed below took- place: 

Yankton, S. I'., Saturday, July 10. 1862. 
Pursuant to previous notice a primary meeting wis held at Yankton on Saturday, the 
10th inst., for the purpose of electing delegates to represent Yankton County at the People's 

I 'nil in Delegate Convention, to lie held at Vermillion on the 24th inst. 

On motion, ()lied Foote was chosen chairman, and James M, Allen, secretary, of the 
convention. 

The following persons wire then, on motion, elected delegates to Vermillion: Henry 
Bradley, Peter Johnson, W. P. Lyman, William Bordino, John Stanage, J. M Vllen, David 
Fisher and Nelson Collamer. 

On motion of Mr. Lyman, the delegates present at the territorial convention were 
authorized to cast the vote of absentees; and on motion of Mr. Fisher the delegates were 
instructed to vote as a unit. 

Mr. Lyman offered the following resolution, which was adopted withoul m or 

a dissenting vote 

Resolved, Thai the delegation be instructed to use ill honorable means to secure the 
nomination of General Todd as delegate to O ngress. 

I 'he chairman, on motion, appointed the foil committee to call a county 

convention for the purpose of nominating a county and representative ticket, at such time 



HIST* n<\ I "I DAKOTA TERRITORY 

deemed proper, i,. wit: \\ . I'. Lyman, William Bordino, Gonzac Bourret, David 
Fisher, John Johnson and Obed Foote. 

On motion of .Mr. Spottswood, the proceedings wore ordered published in the Dakotian, 
and on motion of Mr. Bordino, the convention then adjourned. 

Obed Foote, Chairman. 

Jas. M. Allen, Secretary. 

c'l.W coi my people's union CONVENTION 

At a meeting held at Vermillion on the igth day of July, 1862, as per previous notice, to 
nominate delegates to attend a territorial convention to be held at the above named place on 
the ->4th inst., for the purpose of nominating a candidate to represent the people of Dakota 
in the Congress of the United States, on motion of Mr. G. B. Bigelow Judge Wm. Shriner 
was called to the chair, and Jesse Wherry elected secretary. After which the chair stated the 
object of the meeting. 

On motion of Mr. Kellcv, the following resolution was offered: 

Resolved, That this meeting proceed by ballot to elect fourteen delegates to represent this 
county in the territorial convention to be held at this place; and be it further resolved that we 
respectfully suggest to the said convention of the 24th to give the said county the number of 
fourteen delegates, humbly conceiving, as we do, that said county is entitled to the same upon 
the proper basis of representation. 

( in motion of T. Halverson, said resolution was adopted. 

Mr. Bond offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the delegates be chosen separately, and a plurality vote entitles each 
delegate to an election. 

On motion of Mr. Kennerly, for the adoption of the resolution, an argument ensued, 
which was participated in by Messrs. Bond, Kelley, Clark, Deuel, and others, and resulted 
in Mr. Bond's resolution being sustained. 

On motion of Mr. Deuel, the chair was instructed to appoint two tellers to conduct the 
election. Mr. Chairman appointed Messrs. Bigelow and John Russel. 

On motion of Mr. Bond, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That whereas P. H. Jewell has been a participant in the convention of this 
place on the 16th inst., for the purpose of nominating a delegate to Congress and territorial 
officers, and as the said P. H. Jewell suffered his name to be presented for territorial 
treasurer, and has received the nomination for the same and has not declined said nomina- 
tion, yet denounces said convention, and wishing to force himself upon this meeting to secure 
the endorsement of this honest body for the purpose of obtaining a renomination ; therefore 
be it resolved that we exclude the said Jewell from any participation in this meeting. 

On motion of Mr. Kelley, the meeting proceeded to ballot. On the first ballot Mr. Deuel 
received the largest number of votes and was declared elected, he having received 29, Mr. 
Kelley. [8; Mr. Compton, 7; Mr. J. Whitehorn, 1; Mr. Kennerly, I. The 2d, 3th, 4th, 5th, 
6th, 7th, 8th and gth ballots resulted in the election of the following named gentlemen as 
delegates: II. Compton, Ole Bottolfson, H. S. Kelley, B. A. Collar, Frank Taylor, Thomas 
Halverson and Ole Anderson. At this period the chairman, either worn out by the ballot- 
ing, or not deeming himself equal to the emergency, requested to be relieved from the chair, 
which was granted, and Mr. T. Elvvood Clark was unanimously chosen chairman, and the 
balloting resumed, which resulted in the election of the following gentlemen: Messrs. E. M. 
Bond, Miles R. Hall, Judge Shriner, E. Vinton and Erick Oleson. 

On motion of Mr. Deuel, the proceedings of this meeting be published in the Sioux 
City Register and Weekly Dakotan at Yankton. 

On motion of Mr. Bond, the delegates were instructed that if a vacancy should occur 
in delegates to the territorial convention, a majority of those present should cast the vote of 
the absentees. 

No further business appearing, on motion of Mr. Kennerly the meeting adjourned. 

T. Elwood Clark, President. 
J. Wherry, Secretary. 

PEOPLE'S UNION TERRIT0RIA1 CONVENTION 

Pursuant to the regular call the delegates from the various organized counties in this 
territory met at the Mcllenry House in Vermillion, on Thursday, July 24. 1862, for the 
purpose of nominating a candidate for delegate to Congress and territorial auditor and 
treasurer. 

■ W -' o'clock P. \l.. Janus M. Allen, of Yankton, called the convention to order, and 
upon his motion, lion. John II. Sbober, of Bon Homme, was chosen temporary president, 
who, upon taking the chair made a few well-timed and patriotic remarks. 

(in motion of E. M. Bond, of Clay. Ilenrv S. Kellcv and Franklin Tavlor were elected 
secretaries. 

1 in motion of Jesse Wherry, the chair appointed Mai. W. P. Lyman, Yankton; E. M. 
Bond and M. R, Hall, of Clay, Committee on Credentials. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 223 

A brief recess was taken on motion of Austin Cole, of Cole Countj ; and the conven- 
tion being called to order, the credentials committee reported as follows: 

.Mr. President — Your committee bet; lcaxe to report that they have examined the ere 
dentials presented by the parties claiming seats in this convention and find the following 
11. nncd persons entitled to the same: Cole County— Joseph LaBarge, Judson LaMoure, 
William Adams, Ole Halverson, William Frisbie, Ole Kittleson, Dr. A. R. Phillips, William 
Mathews, Austin Cole and W. R. Goodfellow — to. Clay County — Jacob Deuel, 11. ( i mpton, 
Ole Bottolfson, H. S. Kelley, B. A. Collar, Jesse Wherry. Franklin Taylor, Ole Anderson, 
Thomas Halverson, E. ,\1. Bond, M. R. Hall, William Shriner, E. M. Vinton and E. 
Olson — 14. Yankton County — Henry Bradley, Peter Johnson, Win. P. Lyman, William Bor- 
dino, John Stanage, J. Ml Allen, David Fisher, and W. Nelson Collamer — 8. Bon Homme 
t ounty — Reuben Wallace. Daniel C. Gifford, W. W. Warford, R. M. Johnson, James Skin- 
ner and John II. Shober 6. Todd County- Felix Le Blanc and Otto Knutson — _'. Minne- 
haha County — William Stevens and Charles Wambole. Charles Mix County- F. D. Pease 
and Elias W. Wall. 

On motion, the temp, nary officers of the convention were declared to be the permanent 
officers. 

On motion of James M. Allen, the chairman appointed J. M. Allen, E. M. Bond and 
Jesse Wherry a Committee on Resolutions. On motion of F. D. Pease, the apportionment 
of Charles Mix County was increased by allowing that county two mure delegates. 

The convention then proceeded to nomination of a candidate for delegate to Congress. 
W. P. Lyman and E. M. Bond were appointed tellers. 

On motion of Mr. Bond, the first ballot was informal, and resulted as follows: J. B. S. 
Todd, 2/ votes; Chas. P. Booge, 9 votes; F. J. Dewitt. 4 votes. 

On motion of Mr. Bond, the convention then took a recess for one hour, at the expira- 
tion of which it reconvened; and on motion of Mr. Wherry, proceeded to a formal ballot 
for a candidate for delegates, as follows: J. B. S. Todd received 34 votes, and F. J. Dewitt 
5 votes. Todd's majority, 29. 

The chairman of the convention then stated that he was requested to say that Mr. 
I tewitt was not a candidate before the convention and that he had been voted for without 
Ins request. 

Mr. Booge also withdrew and the nomination of General Todd, on motion, was made 
unanimous. Maj. Wm. P. Lyon and II. Compton were appointed a committee to notify 
General Todd of his nomination. 

Henry S. Kelley, of Clay, was then nominated by acclamation for territorial auditor. 
and S. G. Irish, of Bon Homme, for territorial treasurer. 

The Committee on Resolutions reported the following, which were unanimously adopted 
as the platform of the people's union part] : 

Whereas, The Constitution of the United State- especially reserves to the people the 
right peaceably to assemble to discuss public matters, and forbids any abridgement of the 
freedom of speech; and whereas, in the misfortunes tint now surround our dearly beloved 
country, it is especially the duty of every citizen to support the Government established by 
tin- federal Constitution and guard with a jealous eye all infringements of the rights of the 
peple by any department of the Government thereof; therefore, 

First. Resolved, As a sense of this convention, that the present war should be waged 
for the purpose of restoring the Union as it was. and for the preservation of the Consti 
tution as it is, and until that object is accomplished, the war should be vigorously prose- 
cuted. 

Second. That the hopes of the country arc not centered in the republican or demo- 
cratic parties, but in the union of all loyal, patriotic and law abiding citizens, irrespective 
of former party proclivities or partisan tenets, and that it is enfeebling the administration 

and jeopardizing the preservation of the Union, to attempt to draw party lines until our 

national difficulties are settled — the Union restored — the Constitution preserved, and the 
supremacy of the law- enforced and recognized. 

Third. That we invite all conservative voters, whatever may have been their past 
political associations, to unite with us in a vigorous effort in favor of the Union, the Con- 
stitution and the enforcement of tin- laws 

Fourth. That we believe it to be- tile desire of the administration, that our officials 
should reside within the territory, during their term -1 olli , . and as lie who is the highest 

in position has not vet become a resident of the territory, but i- demanding the suffrages 
of the people to represent them in Congress, therefore we call upon the people to mete 
!ii to him the rebuke which his conduct so justly deserves. 

Fifth. M it the present unlimited veto power of the governor strip> the Legislature 

of its free expression of the will of tile people, and W( therefore favor amending tin- 
Organic Act b\ Congress, so as to confer upon the governoi onlj the usual two thirds t 
power; and to give to the people, through their 1 egislature, control of the public prim: 

Sixth. That the best interests oi the people require that all appro 
the general Government for the benefit of Dakota territory, bo disbursed among thi people 
thereof; hence we utterlj condemn the conduct ol oui Government officials in employing 
10 hi resident persons in the service ol the territorj to the exclusion of competent residents, 
and paying out to them the monev which should be disbursed and retained in the territory. 



-., HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

And we look upon those politicians who profess to advocate such a policy in their platform, 
hut continually acl otherwise, as a cheat upon the people, injury to the territory, and an 
imposition upon the general Government. 

Seventh. That in view of the disproportion of timber and prairie lands in the North- 
west, ur urge the propriety of Congress so amending the Homestead law as to allow the 
applicant to select his claim in two tract-, so that the actual settler shall be able to procure 
timber to support the prairie-: 

Eighth. That we favor the complete and perfect protection of claims on our public 
domain belonging to our citizen soldiers who have enlisted to fight our battles, preserve 
our liberties, and defend our Government in its hour of peril. And we believe that 
patriotic soldiers, drawn from the rank- of freemen, should have the privilege of express- 
ing their choice, and recommending the officers to be stationed over them. 

Ninth. That we repose implicit confidence in the ability and integrity of our candi- 
dates this day put in nomination, and cheerfully recommend them to the people for their 
suffrages as citizens who are identified with and have at heart the best interests of Dakota. 

On motion of W« P. Lyman the chair appointed a Territorial Central Committee as 
follows : 

lesse Wherry. Clay County, chairman W. P. Lyman, Yankton; John H. Shober, 
Bon Homme; Joel A. Potter, Todd County; E. W. Wall, Charles Mix; William Stevens. 
Minnehaha; James McFetridge, Kitson, and" Joseph LaBarge, Cole County. 

()n motion of I.. W. Bond the Sioux City Register and Vermillion Republican were 
requested to publish the proceedings. 

(In motion the convention then adjourned. 

Henry S. Kelly, John H. Shober, 

Kuan Klin Taylor. President. 

Secretaries. 

These proceedings completed the territorial political conventions for 1862 
and have been given in full in this book in order that the reader may be informed 
regarding the first steps taken in forming the political parties of Dakota. 

The campaign was now open and very active were the politicians in all the 
settlements during its progress. The contest, it was evident, was to be a close 
one. Many republicans were supporting General Todd openly, and many others 
were doing the same quietly, caused largely by the sentiment that Governor 
Jayne, being a newcomer, was not entitled to the best office in the gift of the 
people, while the federal officials who supported Todd averred that Governor 
Jayne, in permitting himself to be a candidate, was creating a prejudice in the 
public mind against the officials, who would be charged with banding together 
for the purpose of controlling the political patronage of the territory in their own 
interest. It was also urged that party lines were out of place in a territorial elec- 
tion where the Delegate selected would have no » Mce or vote in legislation, and 
therefore voters should exercise their judgment as to the best man for the place 
regardless of his political or party antecedents. 

YANKTON COUNTY REPLIBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

A republican and union county convention was called by the chairman of the county 
committee. ( i W. Kingsbury, to meet at Yankton on the 9th of August, 1862, at 2 o'clock 
P. M. to nominate candidates for representatives in the Legislature and county officers. 

The convention was held at the Union House in accordance with the call. B. F. Barge 
was elected chairman, on motion of Doctor Townsend, and William Miner, secretary. 

The convention proceeded at once to nominate a ticket. J. K. Fowler and John 
Lawrence were appointed tellers. The members of the council elected in 1861 were chosen 
for two years, and therefore held over. 

I 1 representatives there were two to he nominated. On the first ballot Knud Larson, 
of the Lake Settlement, received 26 votes; O. B. Wheeler, n; J. R. Hanson, 4, and J. M. 
Si. me, 2. 

Larson was declared nominated, and a second ballot taken for the remaining repre- 
sentative, resulting. Han-on' 21 ; Wheeler, 17; Stone. 7; no choice. A third ballot was 
had. resulting. Hanson, 26; Wheeler, 22. On Wheeler's motion Hanson's nomination was 
made unanimous. 

The countj officers, except sheriff, were now nominated by acclamation, as follows: 

Register 1 if deeds, \\ illiam Miner. 

For sheriff ( '. F. Rossteuscher and ('. S. White were named, and a ballot being bad, 
Rossteuscher received twentj one votes and White seventeen. Rossteuscher was then 
unanimous!} m iminated. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 225 

Judge of probate. James M. Stone; justices of the peace, H. C. Ash and Samuel Grant 
(Ash afterwards withdrew); county attorney, George N. Propper; surveyor, James M. 
Stone; constables, J. B. Greenway and Abe D. Fisher; coroner, James E. Witherspoon. 

On motion, the nomination of William Jayne for delegate to Congress was endorsed; 
after which the convention adjourned. 

YANKTON COUNTY PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

The Yankton County Convention of the people's union party was held, pursuant to 
call, on Tuesday, August 12th. 1862, at the James River House kept by John Stanage. 

M. K. Armstrong called the convention to order. W. P. Lyman was elected chairman, 
and J. M. Allen secretary. 

On motion of Mr. Armstrong, the chair appointed Messrs. Armstrong, Obed Foote 
and Peter Johnson a committee on resolutions. 

The following nominations were made by acclamation : 

For members of the House of Representatives, M. K. Armstrong and Obed Foote; 
register of deeds, James M. Allen; sheriff, Henry Bradley; judge of probate. John Stanage; 
attorney, Samuel Mortimer; surveyor, Thomas C. Powers; coroner, Nelson Xelson; 
county commissioners, Nelson Collamer, F. Johnson and B. Oleson ; justices of the peace, 
J. S. Presho and George S. Brown ; constables, Samuel Jerou and John Johnson. 

The committee on resolutions reported as follows : 

Resolved, That we cordially adopt the platform of the people's union convention con- 
vened at Vermillion on the 24th of Jul} last, as our basis of principles and labor in the 
present campaign. 

Resolved, That we endorse the candidates that day put in nomination, as eminently 
worthy the support of every good citizen of Dakota. 

Resolved, That we repose implicit confidence in the integrity and ability of the nominees 
of this convention, and we believe that if elected they will serve with credit in the adminis- 
tration of our county affairs. M. K. Armstrong, 

Obed Foote. 
Peter Johnson. 

Hon. John H. Shober of Bon Homme, being present, was called upon and enter- 
tained the convention with a few remarks, which were enthusiastically received. 

On motion of Mr. Armstrong, the Dakotian. Vermillion Republican and Sioux City 
Register were requested to publish the proceedings. 

The convention then adjourned. 

BON HOMME COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

Pursuant to public notice given by the republican and union county committee, the 
citizens of Bon Homme County nut at the town of Bon Homme on the 24th day of July, 
1862, for the purpose of nominating a legislative and county ticket and to ratify the 
nominations made at the republican and union congressional convention held at Vermil- 
lion on the 16th inst. 

Rev. M. D. Metcalf called the convention to order and nominated D. C. Gross as 
chairman. 

1 hi motion of Henry Hartsough, S. L. Parker was chosen secretary. 

On motion of L. H. Litchfield, the convention proceeded to nominate, by informal 
ballot, candidates for the House of Representatives. The chair appointed L. H. Litchfield 
and M. 1> Metcalf as tellers. The vote having been taken and counted, it was found that 
G. M. Pinney had received 13 votes; Henry Hartsough, 7; D. P. Bradford, 4; L. PI. Litch- 
field, 2; D. C. Gross, 1; scattering, 10 votes. 

On motion of Mr. Hartsough, the convention proceeded to a formal ballot for the nomi- 
nation of candidates for the House of Representatives. Geo. M. Pinney having received the 
unanimous vote of the convention was declared nominated, and Henry Hartsough having 
received a majority of the votes was declared nominated. 

On motion of Moses llerrick, the convention proceeded to nominate candidates for 
county offices, b\ accl iniatioti, with the following result: 

I). C. Ream. I ). P. Bradford and Nathan McDaniel were nominated for county com- 
missioners; M. D. Metcalf for county register; I. F. Hook for sheriff; D. C. Gross for 
probate judge; Samuel Hardy for justice of the peace; Jacob Keil and Morris Metcalf for 
constables; and Mendel Metcalf for coroner. 

The following resolution was then introduced and adopted without a dissenting vob 

Resolved, That we heartily endorse the principles set forth in the platform adopted by 
the republican and union convention held at Vermillion on the [6th of this month, and that we 
pledge our entire cordial support to the nominees of the convention. 

On motion of L. II. Litchfield, it was decided thai the Vermillion Republican and Yank- 
ton Dakotan be requested to publish the proceedings of the convention Thi convention 
then adionrned. D. C. Gross. Chairman. 

S. L. P \nki 1;. Secretary. 

Note Geo, \1 Pinnej was appointed United States marshal about August 1st. and 

I.aban 11. Litchfield was substituted as a candidate for the HoU 
Vol. 1—15 



226 HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

MINNEHAHA COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

At a mass meeting of the citizens of Minnehaha County, held on the 30th inst. (July.) 
at Sioux falls City, lor the purpose of selecting candidates tor the Legislative Assembly and 
county ollicers, Amos F. Shaw was called to tne chair and Charles Vvambole elected secre- 
tary, i lie object of the meeting being slated, Air. Brookings offered the following resolu- 
tion, which was unanimously adopted: 

Resolved, That we fully and cordially endorse the nomination of Gov. William Jayne 
for delegate to Congress, as one eminently lit to be made, and that we will use all honor- 
able means to secure his election. 

fhe lollowing nominations were then made: 

tor representative, H. .Masters; judge ol probate, J. W. Evans; register of deeds, J. IS. 
Ami don; district attorney, G. P. Waldron; sheriff, Charles Wambole ; justices of the peace, 
John McClellan, William Stevens; county commissioners, Berne C. .bowler, A. F. Shaw, 
John McBee. The meeting was addressed by H. Masters and W. W. Brookings, urging the 
election of Gov. William Jayne to Congress and the support of the whole ticket. Judge 
Amidon offered the lollowing resolution, which was adopted : 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be sent to the Dakotan and Dakota 
Republican for publication. Amos F. Shaw, President. 

Chas. Wambole, Secretary. 

CHARLES MIX COUNTY REPUBLICAN AND UNION CONVENTION 

At a meeting of the electors of Charles Mix County, held at the store of C. E. Hedges, 
on the nth inst. (August), Elias W. Wall was called to the chair and Joseph P. Hamilton 
chosen secretary. 

The chair stated the object of the meeting to be to place in nomination a ticket for 
county officers ; whereupon, on motion of F. D. Pease, it was resolved that the convention 
should proceed to make nominations. 

For delegate to congress, William Jayne was unanimously nominated ; territorial auditor, 
Justice lownsend; territorial treasurer, P. H. Jewell; representative to Legislature, F. D. 
Pease; sheriff, John J. Thompson; judge of probate, Elias W. Wall; county commissioners, 
Napoleon Jack, Colin LaMont, and William A. Bartlett; justices of the peace, Y. A. Fisher 
and Paul Harsell; coroner, Colin Lamont. 

The convention then unanimously adopted the following resolutions : 

Resolved, That for delegate to Congress we heartily and cordially endorse the nomina- 
tion of Governor William Jayne and the territorial ticket placed in nomination at Vermillion 
on the 16th day of July, and that the platform adopted by that convention is one that should 
meet the hearty approval of every true Dakotan who has at heart the real interest of the 
territory and her present and future prosperity. 

Resolved, That the county ticket placed in nomination this day is of the right sort, 
and shall have our cordial and undivided support on the day of election. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the Dakotan. 

E. W. Wall, Chairman. 

Joseph B. Hamilton, Secretary. 

Charles Mix County, August 12, 1862. 

BON HOMME COUNTY PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

Pursuant to notice the citizens of Bon Homme County met in the schoolhouse in mass 
convention, August II, 1862, for the purpose of nominating two candidates for the House 
of Representatives of Dakota Territory, county officers, and to ratify the action of the 
People's Union Convention held at Vermillion, July 24, 1862. 

The convention was called to order by J. H. Shober, and on motion of Edward Gifford, 
Reuben Wallace was chosen president of the convention. On motion of N. McDaniels, W. 
W . Warford was chosen secretary. 

On motion of J. H. Shober the convention proceeded to ballot for two candidates for 
the House of Representatives of Dakota Territory. On motion of R. M. Johnson, N. Mc- 
Daniels and S. G. Irish were appointed tellers. The first ballot for members of the legis- 
lative assembly resulted as follows: 

Edward Gifford received 31 votes, R. M. Johnson received 31 votes, and having received 
the unanimous vote of the convention, were declared, on motion of Jas. Skinner, to be the 
nominees. 

On motion of Mr. Hammond, the convention proceeded to nominate county officers by 
acclamation; the following were unanimously nominated: 

County commissioners, N. McDaniels, James Skinner and S. G. Irish; sheriff, J. F. 
Hook; register of deeds, W. W. Warford; judge of probate. Hush Fraley; county surveyor. 
Erastus Rowley; district attorney, Samuel Hardy; coroner, C. W. Cooper; justices of the 
peace, William Hammond, D. P. Bradford, Henry Brooks; constables, Jacob Teel, D. C. 
Gross and Morris Metcalf. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 227 

On motion of J. H. Shober, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: 

Resolved, That we unanimously endorse the principles set forth in the platform adopted 
by the People's Union Convention held at Vermillion, July 24, 1SO2, recognizing therein the 
expression of the true sentiment of all parties who have at heart the best interests of Dakota 
Territory, and we hereby pledge our undivided support to secure the election of the nominees 
of said convention. 

Resolved, That the Dakotian and Dakota Republican be requested to publi.-h the pro- 
ceedings of this convention. 

On motion of Hugh Fraley, the convention adjourned to meet at the polls on the first 
Monday of September next, to elect the candidates this day placed in nomination. 

R. Wallace, Chairman. 

W. W. Warford, Secretary. 

EAST DISTRICT CLAY COUNTY' PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

Pursuant to the previous notice the citizens of the East District of Clay County met in 
mass convention on Saturday, August 16, for the purpose of nominating two candidates for 
representatives, for the people's union ticket for said district. 

On motion of H. Compton, T. E. Clark was called to the chair and E. Vinton was 
chosen secretary, after which the object of the meeting was stated by the president. 

On motion of Mr. Wherry, A. J. Harlan was nominated (there being no opposition) by- 
acclamation. 

On motion of Mr. Wherry the convention proceeded to an informal ballot for the re- 
maining candidate. On motion of Mr. Harlan the convention determined that a majority of 
all the votes cast should constitute a choice. On motion of Mr. H. O. Kelley, Messrs. 
Kelley and Lyman Burgess were appointed tellers. The convention then proceeded to ballot 
for the following named gentlemen: Franklin Taylor, Halver Gunderson and Lyman Bur- 
gess, which resulted in Mr. Taylor receiving the largest number of votes. On motion of 
Mr. G. Pratt, the convention took a recess for fifteen minutes. The convention was called to 
order at the expiration of that time, and on motion of Mr. Bigelow, proceeded to a formal 
ballot for the nomination of a representative, which resulted in the choice of Mr. F. Taylor, 
who had received a majority of all the votes cast and was declared duly nominated. On 
motion of H. Compton the convention adjourned. 

T. Elwood Clark, Presidenl 

E. Vinton, Secretary. 

WEST VERMILLION PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

Pursuant to call, the People's Union District Convention for the Third Representativ< 
District convened at the Eight Mile House. Lincoln, Clay County, for the purpose of 
nominating two candidates for the House of Representatives of Dakota 

The convention was called to order by Hon. J. A. Jacobson. 

On motion of E. M. Bond, Hon. Jacob Deuel was chosen chairman; and on motion "I 
Mr. Jacobson, Charles Porter was chosen secretary. On motion of E. M. Bond the chair 
appointed F. Ellison and H. Ormen tellers. The convention then proceeded to take an 
informal ballot for two candidates for representatives, which resulted as follows: J. A. 
Jacobson, 30 votes ; E. M. Bond, 33 votes ; J. Whitehorn, 6 votes ; Lasse Bothun, 3 votes. 

On motion of Michael Lawson, J. A. Jacobson and E. M. Bond were declared unani- 
mously nominated. 

On motion of E. M. Bond the Dakotan and Sioux City Register were requested to pub- 
lish the proceedings of the convention. On motion of L. Robinson the convention 
adjourned. J. Deuel, Chairman. 

Chas. Porter. Secretary. 

CLAY COUNTY PEOPLE'S UNION CONVENTION 

According to notice heretofore given, the citi/ens .if Clay County met in mass conven- 
tion on the 1 6th of August, at 2 V. M., for the purpose of nominating a people'.; union 
ticket for the respective offices of said county. 

On motion of Mr. Bigelow, A. J. Harlan was called to the chair and E. Vinton was 
chosen secretary. 

()n motion of F. M. Bond the convention determined that Vermillion be allowed two 
county o immissioners. 

Mr. Bond and Lyman Burgess were appointed teller-. 

On motion of II. S. Kelley. it was determined that a majority vote should constitute a 
choice for a nominatii m 

On motion of Jesse Wherry. Win. Shrimr. for probate judge, and G. I'. Bigelow, for 
prosecuting attorney, were nominated by acclamation. 

1 in motion of Hon. Jacob Deuel, the convention determined that in the further nomina- 
tion of candidates, if there Ik- more than one proposed, the convention -hall decide the nomi- 
nation by ballot, otherwise by acclamation. 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 

On motion of A. C. Van .Meter a ball. .t was taken for county commissioner. In fifty- 
five votes cast T. Halverson received thirty and was declared nominated. 

in. in, m of Mr. Deuel, T. Ellison was nominated for commissioner of East Ver- 
million. . . . 

i in motion of Mr. Whitehorn, Auslick Overson was nominated for county commissioner 
of \\ est Vermillion. 

On motion of II. Compton, 11. Gunderson was nominated for register of deeds. A 
ballot was then taken uii Humiliation for sheriff and B. W. Collar was duly nominated. 

( in motion ,i Mr. Halverson, Ole Bottolfson was nominated for coroner by acclamation. 

Minor Robinson for East Vermillion and Charles Porter for West Vermillion were 
nominated for justices of the peace, and N. Ross for East Vermillion and C. Larson for 
West Vermillion were nominated for constables. 

On motion of Frank Taylor, Israel Trumbo was nominated for county surveyor. 

committee "ii resolutions consisting of Jesse Wherry, N. Ross and Ole Bottolfson 
reported as follows: 

Resolved, That we cordially endorse the nominees of the people's union convention of 
the J41I1 of July and adopt their platform as our principles in this campaign. 

Resolved, That we pledge our undivided support to the candidates this day put in 
nomination, reposing implicit confidence in their integrity and ability, believing them to be 
for our true interest, and will use all honorable means to secure their election. 

i hi motion of J. Deuel the resolutions were adopted and on motion of Mr. Wherry the 
Sioux City Register and Dakotan were requested to publish the proceedings. 

No further business appearing, on motion of Mr. Bigelow the convention adjourned 
sine die. A. J. Harlan, Secretary. 

E. Vinton, Secretary. 

COLE COUNTY PEOPLES UNION CONVENTION 

Pursuant to previous notice the citizens of Cole County met at the schoolhouse in Elk 
Point on Saturday, August 16, 1862, for the purpose of nominating two candidates for the 
House of Representatives of Dakota Territory and the different county officers. 

The convention was called to order by A. J. Bell, and on motion of J. Labarge, Judson 
La Moure was chosen chairman and E. B. Wixson, secretary. 

( >n motion of Austin Cole, a committee was appointed, consisting of George Stickney, 
R. A. Hotchkiss and Wm. Goodfellow, to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the 
meeting, and after due deliberation presented the following resolutions, which were unani- 
mously adopted : 

Resolved, That this convention in nominating county officers nominate by ballot, and 
separately for each officer, and any person receiving a plurality of all the votes cast shall be 
declared the nominee. 

Resolved, That the men this day placed in nomination by this convention shall publicly 
pledge themselves before this meeting to support the nominees. 

On motion of Austin Cole, the convention proceeded to a formal ballot for representa- 
tives, which resulted as follows ; 

X. J. Wallace received 26 votes; John McBride, 9; Michael Ryan, 6; M. K. Somers, 25 
votes. Wallace and Somers, having received the highest number of votes, were declared the 
nominees. 

( )n motion the nominees for county officers were elected by acclamation. The following 
ticket was nominated : 

County commissioners, Thomas C. Watson, Sherman Clyde and Archibald Christie ; 
register of deeds, Henry Carpenter; sheriff. John Brouillard; probate judge, A. R. Phillips; 
coroner, Michael Ryan; surveyor, A. J. Bell; county attorney, George Stickney. 

On motion the Yankton Dakotan, Vermillion Republican and Sioux City Register were 
requested to publish the proceedings. 

On motion of Austin Cole the convention adjourned. 

Judson La Moure, Chairman. 

E. B. Wixson, Secretary. 

-^. 

TODD, GREGORY, CHARLES MIX AND BRUGHIER COUNTIES CONVENTION 

At a mass meeting of the electors of the counties of Todd, Gregory, Charles Mix and 
Brughier, held at tin- store of H. E. Gregory in Todd County, on the 14th day of August, 
1862, loel A. Potter was called to the chair and H. A. Kennedy elected secretary. 

The chair staled the object of the meeting to be to place in nomination a candidate 
for representati - e 

On motion of Felix LeBlanc, Henry A. Kennerly was unanimously nominated for rep- 
resentative. 

The Todd and Gregory County delegates then nominated the following for county 
officers : 

County commissioners, J. Knutson, Jacob Hack and William Morsler ; register of deeds, 
Henry Gregory; sheriff, James Maloney; coroner, William Hargiss; surveyor, G. Howe; 



HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY 229 

justices of the peace, Felix LeBlanc and G. A. Fisher; constables, William Monsel and 

P. Gorran. 

The Charles Mix and Brughier County delegates nominated the following ticket : 
County commissioners, Colon LaMont, Colin Campbell and \V. A. Bartlett; sheriff, 

John J. Thompson; probate judge, Flias Wall; coroner, W. A. Burleigh; surveyor, I'. 

Phleceant ; district attorney, George Pleach; justices of the peace, Louis Archambeau and 

J. balk; constables, Charles E. Hedges and J. Burleigh. 

On motion of J. Potter the following resolutions were unanimously adopted 
Resolved, That we heartily endorse the nominations made at the people's union con- 
vention held at Vermillion July 24, 1SO2, and we pledge mir undivided support to secure the 

election of the persons put in nomination by the said convention. 
On motion of Felix LeBlanc, the convention adjourned. 

Joel A. Potter, Chairman. 
H. Kennerlv, Secretary. 

The purpose of these county convention sketches is simply to inform those 
who have since settled in the old counties, of the first step in the organization of 
political parties in their county, which organizations were probably continuous 
during the territorial days, and until the modern reforms displaced them. 

I. COUNTIES AND COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS 

At the first election in the Territory of Dakota, held in 1861, the only officers 
elected were a delegate to Congress and members of the Legislature. This elec- 
tion w : as called, and election districts set off, by