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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 ad